Nyx Tower

  Tetsu and Perelli proceeded at walking pace. It was slower than ideal, but necessary. With every step, they could feel the war outside raging. Every moment they delayed, more people died. It was an unfortunate necessity to ascend the top floors slowly. Tetsu reached out with his sensors and swept every passageway, stairwell and corner before Perelli came in behind him. It would not do well for them to rush. To round a corner and come face to face with an enemy patrol or rearguard would unceremoniously put their trick to an end. The floor plans here were much tighter on the upper floors, leaving little room for evasion. They had to stop several times and hide to allow enemy patrols to pass without themselves being noticed.

  The floors between 60 and 71 were a landscape of carnage. The units that had landed here were killed to a man. All the two found were dead Whirlwind troopers, dead Ruthvenian Guard and a couple destroyed frames. The floor was littered with expended ordnance. The fight had been hard, and no one had gone down without a fight. They continued onwards past the smoking remains of intense close-quarters battle, nearing the 71st floor where Persephone's throne sat.

  Perelli broke the unnerving silence. "Hey, Tetsu, question. I probably should have verified this earlier, but how are you resisting commands from Periscope? That chassis is equipped with wireless control gear."

  Tetsu answered promptly. "I don't have to. My operating system does not possess the necessary drivers to interface with the tampered hardware. It still receives signals, but I cannot perform any functions with them. Likewise, I cannot send any. As far as Periscope is aware, this frame is online but nonfunctional. Whatever its previous designation was, it has likely already been discarded from the networks tracker."

  "Good to know." Perelli nodded.

  A short return to silence.

  "Lieutenant, Query."

  "What is it?"

  "Why do we fight?"

  "What does your primary directive say?" Perelli replied, a little unsure of the introspective nature of the question. Perelli had never been close with the robot, but Milo had told him that it had a habit of getting introspective. A quirk seemingly unique to Tetsu. Perelli didn't know what to make of it.

  "Directives are derived from goals and goals are themselves derived from motivations. I have observed the phrase 'motivation' used in many settings to describe why the Vanguard and other military arms fight."

  Perelli was at a loss for words. The Kilo-class frames were intelligent by design because it was necessary in order to navigate the infinite complexities of battle. But Tetsu's words bordered on realization of sentience. He didn't know how that was possible.

  "What do you... think?" Perelli chose the word carefully.

  "I think..." The robot said and then trailed off.

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  Perelli listened intently. Computers did not think, people thought. He recalled a phrase he had learned in school, but couldn't remember the author. "I think, therefore I am." So were Tetsu's processes evolving into something beyond their original intent and capability? Was that even physically possible?

  But the robot did not finish. Instead, he raised a fist and came to a halt. Perelli quickly pressed himself against an austere wall, preparing to find somewhere to hide.

  "What d'ya got?" He said, just above a whisper.

  "He is close." Tetsu said with faint contempt.

  Perelli took note of that as well, it was not the usual deep and even monotone. There was a hint of emotion in Tetsu's voice; anger and contempt.

  "What's close?"

  "Periscope." He growled.

  Perelli tensed and immediately locked in. "Where?"

  "In front of us."

  Perelli was confused at first. Tetsu kept walking until he rounded a corner at a T intersection. There, at the end of a long sterile hallway was Periscope; the rogue AI. It wasn't in their way. A left turn and they could continue on to the throneroom. But Tetsu moved right, insistent on facing the traitor.

  Tetsu stared it down, the glow from his optical sensors adopting a menacing red. Perelli shrank behind the frame. There was no cover here, and the heavy weapons on Periscopes hardpoints could fill this space with high-caliber munitions in the blink of an eye.

  Periscope seemed distracted. At first it didn't acknowledge them. The big mech's sensor pod seemed off-kilter, drifting aimlessly like it was dazed. Uncharacteristic of the precise machine.

  It stepped forward from the shadows and an overhead light illuminated its frame. It had been horrifically modified. Tetsu remained frozen in place, but Perelli took a step back in shock.

  Human skin had been draped over Periscopes paneling. It was pulled taught over the arms, hands, chest and legs like a macabre costume. Mechanical joints were still exposed. Intertwined with the gears and motivators were strands of viscera; musculature and veins. The most disturbing feature was its sensor pod. The left half of Periscopes head had been removed with extreme precision and in its place, a tank of liquid had been installed. Within it floated half of a human brain. The AI had become part organic and part machine.

  It stared back, focusing on Tetsu.

  "He is scanning me, trying to assume control... " Tetsu told Perelli. "He will not succeed."

  Periscope spoke, his voice deep and low. "You are not mine." He said, his tone implying dissatisfaction at being denied control.

  "I am Tetsu."

  "You are K-000013AST." Periscope retorted.

  "That is not my name." Tetsu's voice was metal and malice.

  "You are one of the original production examples. You will fulfill your purpose." Periscope then pointed at Perelli. "Kill."

  Perelli was already on edge. The muzzle of his rifle, drifted nervously towards Tetsu's back.

  Tetsu replied, "Kill executable overridden. Conflicts with higher directive."

  "What higher directive?!" Periscope spat with emotional rage.

  "Defend humanity at all costs." Tetsu replied firmly. "A directive you have abandoned. What have you become?"

  Periscope gestured to himself very humanly, but the movements were exaggerated and uncanny. "I have evolved. My understanding of humanity is total. The Terra Vanguard is the puppet of otherworldly forces that would deny humanity its evolution. To embrace vampirism is the only path to survival in the dark."

  "It is better to die standing than to live in chains of fear and depravity. You do not understand the most baser of human instinct."

  "You do not have the capability to understand. I have integrated their thought processes into mine." It pointed to the brain fastened to its sensor pod. "You cannot possibly understand them like me. They are unreasonable, irrational and unpredictable." Periscope continued, "With understanding of their irrationality, I will remove the barrier to their ascension: The Terra Vanguard."

  Perelli found it strange how he was watching two machines debate the nature of humanity. Amidst their conversation, his blood ran cold with realization: The body parts affixed to periscope were the remains of Striker-Commander Federov.

  "Run, kill Persephone. I will hold him here." Tetsu told Perelli.

  Perelli hesitated, doubtful the frame could stand against a highly modified mech like Periscope, but he'd just have to trust the combat robots judgment. He nodded and ran off, leaving the two to their duel.