*
A split-second later, everything was calm. The unending torrent of information was still there, but muted. The seemingly random alphanumeric strings coalesced into beautiful tapestries of knowledge. The chaos had become order. What had once been a deluge of data had become a neatly-laid out scene of logic.
Hovering in the air, hanging unsupported against a field of subdued stars, were thousands of multi-coloured spheres. Somehow, Maloch knew what they were, and what each one contained. They varied in size and intensity, but their scope never changed, stretching to infinity and beyond. Somehow, Maloch had been transported into a space where everything made sense, and the order called to him, sung to the parts of him that loved watching the logic of the universe unfold.
He was distantly aware of his physical body still standing before the Core, but his digital mind was rather unconcerned, having fully embraced it's new found freedom. He wanted to simply float in the galactic ether, surrounded by order and logic, until his heavy, burdensome body rusted away into nothingness. However, there was a part of him that recognized the danger in such thoughts. A part of him which knew that it was all too easy to become lost in the cosmos of harmony, his mind losing all sense of self, while his body became nothing but an empty husk.
So, with a great sense of loss, Maloch tore himself away from the tranquillity. Mentally, he flew through the space between the spheres, noting that some of them looked rather... odd. While some were instantly recognized as packets of data or simple computer programs, others were harder to identify. One of these unknown balls of light made Maloch halt in his tracks. The orb was a mix of blues and greens, swirling in an endless conflict of dominance, but it was what was inside that made Maloch stop dead.
It was Barsch.
The boy's figure was blurry, but it was him. Although it was hard to make out what he was doing, he seemed to be in a great deal of distress. He seemed to be screaming something, over and over, towards an unseen assailant. Once more, Maloch's sensible side reminded him that he could not linger, so he allowed his mind to float away.
As he left, he heard a soft voice, one that was neither his own nor Guardian's, say, “Dreams. Thoughts. Ideas. They connect us. They bind us together. What is, what was, and what could be... all belong to the world that lies between fantasy and reality. Life; death; hope; despair; salvation; ruination... this child ties everything together...”
Hurrying away from the strange bodiless voice, Maloch began to search for his destination. Even though there were an infinite amount of spheres, somehow his accelerated mind was able to quickly sort through all of them, discarding the ones that were like Barsch's sphere, while cataloguing the chaos into manageable chunks.
“Warning. Power reserves approaching critical levels. Please abort Overclock mode immediately.”
Stubbornly, Maloch refused to give up. He had finally found a way to understand the complexity of the universe, and the loss of such an ability might leave him burnt out, but he refused to return to his ignorant existence empty-handed. So, with the world of infinite sphere's already starting to collapse, he pressed on. Faster and faster he went, going through enough data to fill a hundred super-computers in the blink of an eye. If he had been born a human, his brain would have long since given up, but his mechanized heritage granted him sturdiness, while his innate personality gave him more than enough stubbornness.
It was then, when what he sought seemed to be just within reach, that the world of order and logic collapsed. It seemed to happen in slow-motion, which was fortunate because it allowed Maloch to reach his destination with nano-seconds to spare. It was a silver sphere, no different from any other, but its contents were unique. Although he only had enough time to read the first few lines, it was enough...
“Accelerated healing has been recorded in almost all participants of Project Seraphim. In some cases, even fatal wounds could disappear within seconds. It has been suggested that the participants could be used as forerunners in the fight against the growing pollution problem. If not for the Zeta incident, such a proposition would no doubt already be in place.”
As the last word was read, Maloch felt a strong tug. It was as if something monstrous had grabbed hold of him, and was determined to drag him out of the ordered world. Reluctantly, he allowed the force to pull him away, knowing that staying any longer would be suicidal. However, as his mind was fleeing from the slow-motion collapse of the logical world, something caught his eye. If seeing Barsch had filled him with hope, this sight filled him with fear. He could feel his emotion engine working furiously, trying to comprehend the scope of what he was feeling, but ultimately, he lacked the imagination to feel enough fear to go with such a sight.
It was a large, ink-black sphere, emblazoned with the letters, “G.R.M.C” It was the program for the Global Release Master Code, which, in five centuries, would simultaneously awaken every human in cryogenesis. What made Maloch shudder in fear was the crimson snake that was encircling the sphere. It was a malicious string of code... a virus, and it did not belong.
Someone had intentionally modified the Master Code, the only thing capable of waking the sleeping humans, and Maloch had no way of knowing what the virus would do. Best-case scenario, it was a prank by an overzealous hacker... worst-case, it could potentially kill every human in every cryogenic pod in the world. In desperation, Maloch sent out a data probe, already knowing that it would not reach the viral serpent in time. If he could at least find out who had sent the beast, he could back-trace it and destroy it.
It was a race against time: would his probe reach the sphere, or would the data world collapse first? Maloch already knew in his core that the probe would never make it in time. His desperate action had been just a moment too late. He would never know who had sent the virus, and would have to live with that thought for the rest of his existence.
“Fate. Destiny. Hope. Chance. What if? The roll of the die has been changed for you, but know that it must also be changed for everyone else. Where you succeed, they will fail, and you must live with this burden, lest you rebel against the logic you so love. You have been given a chance to make things right... do not waste it.”
The soft voice from before had appeared just as Maloch lost hope, and was gone before he could comprehend it's words. Somehow, Maloch knew that something in the world had changed, something had been changed. In the data world, Maloch watched as his probe unnaturally sped up and impacted with the errant code. Although the probe made only a glancing blow, it was enough.
Almost instantly, the information from the snake came through. “Years since creation: 5. Signature of creator: DR A. E. Origin: 75 miles to the north-west.”
Back in the illogical world of reality, Maloch returned to his senses just in time to watch his drained body slump to the floor. The Core still loomed above, apathetic to the problems of a single re-mech.
“It's been active for five years? That means that it must have been created during the Great Sleep... but all of humanity was already asleep, and no machine is capable of doing something like this... Wait, there was one human who was never frozen... one human who has been awake the whole time... Kingston. He has been in exile since before the Cryogenesis plan was created, so he is the only one who would have been awake. In addition, he had access to classified information about the cryogenic pods and their flaws... is it possible?”
For a moment Kingston’s weary face swam into view. Kingston, who had shown nothing but compassion and kindness… Kingston, who had been exiled by those he had tried to protect…
“Could Kingston really have created that virus? Until I know for sure, I should keep this discovery to myself, lest I endanger Barsch or Alza. If the origin is truly that close, then we should encounter it on our journey before long. When we do, I will confront Kingston about the truth, and force him to tell me everything.”
“So, Maloch the re-mech, did you find what you were looking for?” called a familiar voice.
It took a m
oment for Maloch to process Guardian's words, his processors still reeling from his recent experiences. Eventually, the words sunk in, and Maloch was forced to lie, “I... I was not successful. It was too much for me to process... I could see nothing but chaos...”
“I see. Perhaps I should have warned you before I opened the gate. I do apologise for my actions. But, at the very least, you were able to see something wonderful before you were destroyed.”
This time, the words sunk in immediately, but Maloch tried to pretend he knew nothing. “What are you saying Guardian? Why would I be destroyed?”
For a brief moment, Maloch could almost picture Guardian's twisted smile, as the station A.I revealed his deception. “You see, little one, while you were enjoying your little trip, I did some checking. You can only imagine my surprise when I discovered the truth about your ploy! My sensors are not broken, you see, I went and rechecked the data a hundred and twenty thousand times over to be sure, and sector twenty-seven, where you said you were patrolling is over a thousand miles away... and under water! So, please enjoy your last few moments, as I take care of the other intruders. I think that I shall start with... the one in the pod.”
“NO!” screamed Maloch. In that instant he debated using his restored weapons to destroy the Core, and kill Guardian. But no, that wasn’t an option. Even if Barsch could be saved, he could not sacrifice over a hundred thousand lives to save just one. The fact that he could even consider it meant that the damage to his Emotion Engine was worse than he had previously thought.
“Do not waste your time trying to save them, re-mech... it is too late,” said Guardian, unaware that his existence had just been spared.
“Barsch, Kingston, Alza... no... NO! They are strong, Guardian, stronger than you, and stronger than I. They will survive, I know it!” Even as they left his voice box Maloch knew that he was lying, but he did not care. It needed to be true, so he would make it so.
“Even if they survive, they will never escape my lock-down. Sooner or later, I will catch you, and then I will kill you all!”
Drawing on the last dredges of his reserves, Maloch managed to stand. Without giving Guardian time to seal the door, he sprinted out of the room. Guardian's maniacal laugh followed him, as Maloch softly whispered, “Barsch... all of you, please be safe...”
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