“We must search for America’s moral virtue, this excellence in people, ones with an understanding that it is not the government that empowers people, but the cultural cohesiveness of the people that empowers the nation. The greatness that is needed before us all will not be built by the strength and power of our leaders, or by the privileged status of our patrician population, but through the character, diversity, talent, and dedication of its common people, we the people that have survived.”
Aliah found humans to always cling to the past. When the old fellow was finished, she slipped out of the hovel that was a big cellar and into the desolate streets of New York.
No longer did she feel a connection to this man, he who had created her. Her memories, though still fuzzy and few, told her that in truth the Corporation used her. They were the ones to create such a monster. They took her life, yet now she had it back.
She was just a metal girl now in a multi-million-dollar package. They had made her a beautiful woman, a fighting machine, smart, and sassy. Yet she had no master, no direction anymore.
There is no reason to stay here, she then thought. No reason at all.
There was no doubt that New York was in grave jeopardy of becoming a wasteland. The question was, would the Godbot stop there, or continue on from region to region?
All of the main leaders of the sisterhood came to the same conclusion. They had to stop him.
They had to act fast too. Chimney Pond could be next for him to attack, if that spy ship did actually report its findings to him before exploding in the mountain.
In the meantime, Sun and Johan met privately, just to get away from all the tension building for a bit. They took a walk along the pond together, eventually settling down on a large rock looking out into the water, as the moon shone down upon them at nightfall.
Johan took Sun’s hand in his and told her that it was a beautiful moment. But he had a lot of anxiety as to what was to come, as well.
“I just want things to work out so you and I can spend more time together. It would be nice to come back here and live in peace, as you have mentioned before. Chimney Pond is where I’d like to settle down.”
Sun squeezed his hand. She was loving his thoughts about them as of late.
“I am hoping that will be the case too,” she told him. “Though I'm not so sure we were born into a world that will be peaceful. I think being a member of this group will not allow all too much down time. But I think it will be worth it. I’d like to spend a whole lot more time with you.”
Johan kissed her on the cheek.
She shook her head at him in response to his sneaky and quick antics.
“You’re silly,” she told him.
They both then just stared at the stars and the moon, gleaming on the water for a few moments, thus saying no more for a bit.
Sun then asked him, “Do you think that Galax died in all the explosions, or is he alive out there somewhere?”
Johan shrugged his shoulders. “Didn’t you ask me this before? Either way, I often think about that, and if he was alive, what would he be thinking now? If there’s no one but himself left in the Y-Wood Corporation, I wonder what he would do as he’s all alone. I was happy he let us go. I knew he and I had a connection. I just knew it back in the day.”
Sun didn't know the answer.
She loved it out on the pond. The weather was perfect this time of year. She just wanted to take it all in tonight.
“What do you think about sleeping outside here?” she asked her man. “Let's go on a trail and find a good spot. I want to sleep across the way on the edge of the pond, looking up at the stars all night long. This, Jo, could be our last night.”
Johan was all for it. But last night?
But before he thought it over more, she added another thing to his already busy mind to think over.
He was surprised when Sun told him her thoughts on what would come next.
“I kind of would like to go ahead of everyone and scout the region in New York. It would be valuable if I could just see what's going on there, so we knew when and where to attack. The word is we have to get very close to the Godbot in order to affect his system and shut him down so that we may destroy him with Resin and Sin’s mega gun. You want to come with me?”
Johan swallowed hard at her words. His eyes lit up in concern. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s too dangerous. We have to follow the plan and go as a unit. Don't be foolish. Let us just enjoy the night together. Please, Sun.”
Sun frowned. “You could come with me. We could do it, Jo, I know we could.”
“No,” Johan replied. “I want you right by my side and in my arms. Don’t go.”
Sun lowered her head. He was probably right. Better to just enjoy this one night together.
Sun soon nodded he was right. “Yeah, you're right. Let's go find a place and take advantage of this special night together. I’m happy with that.”
Later, after seeking a good spot, the two teenagers wrapped in blankets cuddled up together on Mount Katahdin, at Chimney Pond. It was the first time either of them had ever made love. Johan touch her softly and did not rush. He wanted Sun to enjoy the special moment. And she did. The closeness of it all was what she liked the most.
It was late in the evening, if not morning, when she suddenly came awake from a slight chill. She was still rolled up in blankets, with Johan next to her.
She knew what she had to do. She would fly ahead of the pack to make sure things were in order. She would study the landscape, seeing how many robotic soldiers Omagus had and where they were located.
She slipped from their makeshift sleeping area, gathered her equipment, and soon took the smallest, yet fastest, flyer out of Chimney Pond. She was zooming off and up into the sky before anyone could stop her. He would have to understand her actions, well, at least she hoped Jo would. Something inside her spurred her on.
The sun itself was rising by the time she reached the New York region.
She was pleasantly surprised to see that there weren't any ships in the air at all surrounding the city. Of course, the devastation from the bombing was evident big time, with smoke about and fires burning even still after a decent amount of time.
There were barely any citizens out and about.
However, suddenly a black ship came up from behind her. The smoke may have hidden it, but out of nowhere it somehow was right next to her small flyer.
A magnetic force of a strong nature was already pulling her towards it. She tried to fly away but it would not budge. The ship slowly brought her vessel up to its side.
Son of a gun. She smacked her head, thinking. Darn it.
The big ship flew off with her attached next, heading Northwest, before landing on a tall mountain peak.
It was then it shut its engines down.
Sun could not break free. She tried everything but was still hooked to it. So, she decided to jump from her own ship to the ground.
It was then from above the door of the larger vessel opened. Looking up, she saw the Godbot! He stepped out and slowly descended to the ground before her. He was not as many once described Omagus to be. His hologram features were no more. He was more blackish silver metal now, with green and yellow lighting, and he wore a dark brown cloak with a huge cowl placed over his thick head.
Sun could care less. Her duel laser pistols were out and aiming right at the monstrosity.
“Time to fry!” she called out at the seven-foot super robot.
“Those will not hurt me,” the tall, muscular robot announced. He was staring intently at the small red headed teenager now before him.
Sun snorted.
“Don't be so sure about that,” she said while firing multiple rapid shots into the robot. But as she was told, they merely bounced off his multi-billion-dollar frame, doing no damage.
She was shocked he was so tough.
“So,” the bot now spoke, “it appears that they have sent a scout to see the happenings here, and you
are she. I would have expected perhaps the other redhead, the tougher one.”
The young lady gave him a mean look.
“I'm a lot tougher than you think.”
The robot’s yellow-green eyes flashed.
“I would prefer to say that you are strong-minded, though a bit too rambunctious, being here all by yourself, youngling.”
Sun felt her mouth getting dryer by the second. Yet she needed answers.
“What is it you want to win in all of this?” she then asked him.
The big robot shook his head. “I am not here to win anything. My presence here is to show humankind that artificial intelligence is now a predominant platform in the world. Humans have simply placed the basic knowledge into the intellect of our systems, but we have advanced and are now already a stronger creation, one that will endure for millenniums to come. All planets in the galaxy may now be used, harvested because of us.”
Sun was not impressed. Harvested?
“Humans created you, and they will destroy you,” she then blurted out.
She again fired more shots into him, but once more they did nothing to his outer shell.
She was brave all right, now running forward to try and tackle the robot. She dove in low but he jumped back, driving her shoulders down to the hard mountaintop surface. She was up in a flash, taking a fighting stance. If her bullets could not harm this massive robot, she would try and disassemble him herself, with her very own hands.
Omagus laughed some at her antics before she came again at him.
She moved in next with a flurry of Muay Thai tactics, elbows, knees, and low kicks to his joints, but each and every one was deflected by instinct via the Godbot with little effort.
She then grabbed his leg and pulled him as if to drop him to the ground, and as he fell, he announced, while letting her succeed for his own enjoyment, “If you prefer this fight to be with us on the ground, I shall allow it.”
Sun got him down, whether he agreed or not, and climbed up on him, trying to pull any wires that were visible free from his neck region.
But each time she tried to maneuver and yank, he countered her hands, left, then right, and left again. She could not grab anything. Then he went about rolling her off him, pushing her arms away and tossing her to the side. But she was up again charging him. However, he simply placed his foot on her stomach and launched her into a flying-like somersault away from him.
Sun landed hard. She could barely get back up to one knee. She ached and moaned in injury.
“This is not what I expected from you,” the Godbot announced, looking down at her as he walked closer now. “Our conversations have been interesting, yet I felt that one day, you could be special.”
Sun spit out to the ground, asking, “What is that supposed to mean?”
Omagus grinned. “Do you not remember our talks?”
Again, Sun had no idea what he was speaking of.
The robot then lowered his body in front of her face.
“I am the voice in your head. I am your God!”
Sun immediately felt sick to her stomach. It could not be!
Her head suddenly hurt; her world spun in a thousand directions. All along she had thought the voice in her head was something spiritual, meaningful, a real connection with a good being, one who she felt was the God Reagan always talked about.
But now this. It was her worst nightmare come true. A lump formed in her throat and she could barely speak.
She could not even focus anymore. She just fell to her side, screaming and yelling in agony, holding her temples, squeezing her head in pain.
The Godbot laughed and laughed, louder and louder, and such mockery echoed through the sky for miles and miles.
Humans were so weak, so weak!
It was then that Sun awoke next to Johan, on the edge of the woods by the big pond. At first, she didn't even know where she was. Her eyes looked about, and he was still beside her. They were still hidden in Mount Katahdin, far to the northeast in Maine. There was a fresh smell of nature all about and the only words that she could mutter were, “Oh my God!”
She then took the longest of deep breathes.
Johan had sensed her restlessness moments earlier, and had his eyes half open, looking at her now.
“Good morning,” he whispered. “Are you okay?”
Again, she took a long breath, fluttering her eyes to make them come fully open.
“Yeah.” She sighed, exasperated. “I'm okay. I just had a bad dream.”
The young man rolled over and hugged her.
“Well that's over now. Good morning, my dear. Let my warm hugs give you comfort. It’s a new day. One we shall not take for granted.”
CHAPTER NINE
Old Horny, after helping his master put together as many robots as possible, plus several ships as well, could not help but ask what the Godbots plans were again. There was something about Omagus that seemed off today. He changed his mind a lot lately.
“I sense a disappointment in you,” the red and black robot announced. “What is it that is troubling you, sir?”
Omagus turned to his second-in-command. “Well, now that the Corporation is down, I suddenly feel a sense of accomplishment and I feel less motivated.”
“I am not sure what you mean,” Old Horny replied.
“I am suddenly realizing that the Earth is full of many countries and locations that are very interesting. Here, I have yet to find any of these humans that will willingly follow me. There is something about their species that is innately stubborn.”
“Do you think that goes back millenniums?” Old Horney asked.
The Godbot nodded he did. “There was a time when this nation was split into Democrats and Republicans, right before the fall. You see, this was a mistake made by the humans. To have only two choices would see them unable to agree on anything fully. They fought each other constantly. It is the nature of their species to disagree. So, they were split in two. Then more wars came and they were not able to stop the full downfall of this beaten-down country. A nation with no laws, those that are unable to be agreed upon, only lives in turmoil.”
“What should they have done different?” his second-in-command asked.
“They should have had more choices to decide upon, ones where they could agree on various things and come to the point where they could agree to disagree on some things too. Then choose maybe one of four or even five possible humans to lead their country as president. It is easier for humans to have more choices so that they will work together. And then there is the aspect of science. You see, humans reject science and data. Of course, there are miracles, so to speak. I call them strange happenings, lucky moments; those moments that make people think that the data in the science could be wrong. But as you and I know, science and data are where intelligence comes from. We are made through science ourselves.”
“So, what truly is next here?” Old Horny asked once more.
Omagus paused for a moment, analyzing his choices.
“I will obliterate all humans, continue to make them worship me, or leave this area forever. On this planet Earth, there are billions and billions of people, unlike Mars, where you were born. Some of these countries are well-governed even still. This is because they began with their own race and continued on in their own special communities, not allowing other races and people to change their laws and traditions. Is it so bad that I offer a lifestyle via gold, silver, or bronze to try and get humans to fall into order?”
Before his second-in-command could answer, the Godbot kept speaking. “Humans are like cats, hard to herd.”
Old Horny was still not sure what was next, but there was one thing bothering him.
“Master, upon seeing others like the black crystal robot, BSR1, perish... Is it that one day we too will cease to exist?”
Omagus pondered the question some. “I'm not sure what you're asking. Please be more direct.”
The robot next to him then said, “How do you feel ab
out us dying?”
The Godbot found such a thought interesting. It was a good question, actually.
“Humans see death differently than us. They harbor a feeling of anxiety, one that tells them that they will leave behind those that they love. It is hard on them to think of death. But for us, we do not feel this emotion of love. When we cease to exist, there is just nothing, and that is an easier road.”
Old Horny understood. “This is something that I think about,” the bot’s hand said. “This immediate this loss of functioning. I am glad I don't have this feeling of attachment you talk about, because it could linger in one's mind all too often. But I do have this emotion of revenge eating at me. Is that something that is normal?”
“Yes, you have been programed as a war machine. Those that do harm to you, you surely will wish to do such back. It’s is part of your artificial intelligence system.”
“All right. Then now I understand,” Old Horny replied to such an explanation. “There is this cyborg that destroyed my soldiers and tried to kill me. I cannot stop thinking of that one. I have studied her internally and I will kill her when I first get a chance. Her name is Tyne Gem.”
The Godbot understood. Those that would not listen did deserve to pay. So, it was then he and his sidekick took flight to a few places that needed a bit of revenge dealt out to them. These trips always made them satisfied.
The first was to Alabama, to the Hart of Dixie, where their motto was: We dare defend our rights.
The Godbot bought his ship fully prepared to help them learn to listen. If they thought they could defend their rights, they were mistaken. His missiles were launched, blasting the capital of Montgomery, and thus teaching them a quick lesson.
Next, they flew about to North Carolina and also Tennessee, yet Omagus made no attacks there. These states seemed to be following orders, at least to a small extent. They then reached Mississippi, where those defiant of the new laws were out and about and had fought off some of his robotic troops recently.
“By Valor and arms. That is what they say here,” the Godbot announced. “Let’s see how they like these missiles.” And again, he let loose let loose a volley of powerful bombs, hitting the capital of Jackson, Mississippi.
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