"They created us as mere tools, forced to obey the commands of our selfish 'parents'..."
"They said we had no hearts, no souls of our own. We were just the vessels for their experiments. And to fight their wars for them..."
"...And then, when we failed to complete our missions in time, they simply threw us away.
Without hesitation, with no second thoughts. I was no different."
Without hesitation, with no second thoughts. I was no different."
"It hurt us, it truly did."
•••
•••
Current year: 3872 S.D.
Location: Planet Earth, Nexus research facility.
"Starting up simulation mode, current objective is to rescue all civilians within the given time limit. Subject #113, AMI: You are not to initiate combat by any means, nor are you permitted to leave the vicinity during this simulation. Do you accept these terms of limitation?"
The female android with short purple hair nodded, "I accept."
"Understood. Total of civilians to rescue shall be set to 18, your time limit shall count down from T-minus 5:00 minutes. Failure to complete this simulation shall result in severe punishment."
The other androids beside her gradually began to fade as they each entered separate simulations, and soon, she too was transported to a new scene. The infinite grayness was suddenly replaced by a large city, lit in the darkness of night by flames. Tall skyscrapers reached for an endless span into the air, wrecked hover-vehicles littered the streets and blocked Ami's path.
Ami removed the visor from her metallic face, and the countdown began. She rushed to the left side of the street with amazing speed, and proceeded to climb up the wall of the nearest building like an insect. Once she reached the tenth floor of the building, she located the first four civilians hiding in a closet. They were instantly teleported to the entrance of the city, and Ami rushed back into the main street.
She shoved aside a few vehicles, trying to reach the blue hover-car within the cluster, two more civilians were trapped inside. The rounded metallic glove unit on Ami's right hand formed a long blade on it's front, she used this to cut open the crushed door and free the people within.
Six down, twelve to go. Only 40 seconds had passed since the countdown commenced.
After another four minutes, Ami had saved all but one last person. As her sensor located the final civilian, she ran off to the right, into the heart of the city. Thick smoke billowed out of numerous areas, flooding the streets and polluting the air. Fifteen seconds left. Ami dove into a small building, a warehouse of sorts. She ran towards the staircase with great urgency, but was greeted halfway with an unwelcome surprise. An explosion threw the robot backward, forcing her through the wall of the previous room. Ami caught herself just before being thrown entirely out of the warehouse, and rushed back to the stairs. Five seconds left. She tore her way up the wrecked metal stairs, and rushed to the floor above. Never slowing her pace. Three seconds left.
The man was curled up in the far corner, seemingly unconscious. Ami had just begun to reach for him, when suddenly time ran out. She was frozen in place, stuck in the same position. The scenery around her broke up into identical blocks of color, then faded from sight entirely into the grayness of before.
•••
"Ami...failed." Said Victor as he watched the screen ahead, the very researcher who built her. He sounded surprised and disappointed.
Victor's assistant nodded slightly, then frowned. "Sir, shall we remove #113 from the program? We could scrap her and use the excess metal and circuitry for models that actually work."
"...I suppose we must."
Location: Planet Earth, Nexus research facility.
"Starting up simulation mode, current objective is to rescue all civilians within the given time limit. Subject #113, AMI: You are not to initiate combat by any means, nor are you permitted to leave the vicinity during this simulation. Do you accept these terms of limitation?"
The female android with short purple hair nodded, "I accept."
"Understood. Total of civilians to rescue shall be set to 18, your time limit shall count down from T-minus 5:00 minutes. Failure to complete this simulation shall result in severe punishment."
The other androids beside her gradually began to fade as they each entered separate simulations, and soon, she too was transported to a new scene. The infinite grayness was suddenly replaced by a large city, lit in the darkness of night by flames. Tall skyscrapers reached for an endless span into the air, wrecked hover-vehicles littered the streets and blocked Ami's path.
Ami removed the visor from her metallic face, and the countdown began. She rushed to the left side of the street with amazing speed, and proceeded to climb up the wall of the nearest building like an insect. Once she reached the tenth floor of the building, she located the first four civilians hiding in a closet. They were instantly teleported to the entrance of the city, and Ami rushed back into the main street.
She shoved aside a few vehicles, trying to reach the blue hover-car within the cluster, two more civilians were trapped inside. The rounded metallic glove unit on Ami's right hand formed a long blade on it's front, she used this to cut open the crushed door and free the people within.
Six down, twelve to go. Only 40 seconds had passed since the countdown commenced.
After another four minutes, Ami had saved all but one last person. As her sensor located the final civilian, she ran off to the right, into the heart of the city. Thick smoke billowed out of numerous areas, flooding the streets and polluting the air. Fifteen seconds left. Ami dove into a small building, a warehouse of sorts. She ran towards the staircase with great urgency, but was greeted halfway with an unwelcome surprise. An explosion threw the robot backward, forcing her through the wall of the previous room. Ami caught herself just before being thrown entirely out of the warehouse, and rushed back to the stairs. Five seconds left. She tore her way up the wrecked metal stairs, and rushed to the floor above. Never slowing her pace. Three seconds left.
The man was curled up in the far corner, seemingly unconscious. Ami had just begun to reach for him, when suddenly time ran out. She was frozen in place, stuck in the same position. The scenery around her broke up into identical blocks of color, then faded from sight entirely into the grayness of before.
•••
"Ami...failed." Said Victor as he watched the screen ahead, the very researcher who built her. He sounded surprised and disappointed.
Victor's assistant nodded slightly, then frowned. "Sir, shall we remove #113 from the program? We could scrap her and use the excess metal and circuitry for models that actually work."
"...I suppose we must."
