Year 0, Month 3, Week 3, Day 2, Hour 14, Minute 32

3 months passed by quickly.

When I had gotten back from the battle, I put Aurea back on the bed I had made for when she was healing. Eve then unblocked my emotions, and I collapsed the moment she did so. Even if I didn't have a flesh-and-blood body, that didn’t stop my mind from trying to puke my guts out. Eve tried to minimize the psychological impact as best as she could, but she could only do so much. I spent several hours sitting alone in a corner of the mine, struggling to come to terms with what I had done. In my head, I could still feel the bones of my victims crunching when I hit them, and hear their screams as they slowly died. I didn’t want to ask Eve to turn off my emotions again, since that could eventually lead to permanent psychopathy. Once I was able to get over the nausea and dizziness, I shoved the dark thoughts to the back of my mind. Eve suggested I use work to distract myself, a suggestion I welcomed gratefully.

Using the fabricator, I made some GARs, short for General Assembly Robots. They were used in construction, as their multitool hands and impressive carry capacity made erecting buildings and structures easy. While they were being fabricated, I ordered the Enforcers to deposit the attackers' remains outside, and then to begin clearing the top of the hill of trees and foliage. Once the GARs were done being fabricated, I charged them up and had them bury Aurea’s father on the hill above the mine, before ordering them to chop down oak trees. I would have had the Enforcers do it, but I was worried they would destroy the wood rather than harvesting it.

“[I suggest you do not delay in conducting an analysis and autopsy of the corpses we’ve collected.]”

I nodded reluctantly to Eve’s suggestion. Dragging in one of the better looking corpses, I placed it on the fabricator for study. Eve first did a visual examination, taking notes of all the physical features.

“[Young male specimen, estimated to be between 20-30 years of age. Nothing out of the ordinary on the outside.]”

Using the fabricator, I cut open the chest cavity, removing the bones in the way.

“[Heart is normal. The lungs are slightly inflamed and gray, and the diaphragm is smaller than it should be, suggesting a smoking habit. Abdominal organs are normal as well. Next is the cranium and brain, as well as the spinal cord and nervous system.]”

Once the autopsy had concluded, I found that this indeed was a human.

“So there’s no doubt that the villagers and the other attackers were human.”

“[Correct. There is no physical difference between these humans and humans from Earth.”

“Eve, can you bring over and do a full analysis of the remains of the guy in the robes?

“[Yes.]”

An Enforcer quickly brought over the corpse and dumped it on the fabricator.

“[Analyzing…Nothing of note found.]”

“Really? Did you at least find a weapon on him after you killed him?”

“[No. This individual was not equipped with any weapons aside from one iron dagger.]”

“That makes no sense. If he didn’t have a weapon on him, how the hell was he throwing flames at me? Maybe Aurea knows? I’ll try asking her when I can properly communicate with her.”

While I was busy, the GARs were finished harvesting wood. In one night, they used it to build a large log cabin, complete with simple pieces of furniture. It even had a pump that was fed using the small rivulet I had found before. I ordered the Falcons to hunt and kill deer and wolves for their pelts and meat. Surprisingly, they also managed to dispatch a bear, although one Falcon was destroyed in the process. It had taken a few days to cure, but in the end the bear became a thick blanket. The wolf pelts were worked into a coat, while the deer skins were turned into a large backpack and a few small pouches. The leftovers were turned into gloves and a high quality pair of boots. When Aurea woke up the next day, I escorted her to the cabin, telling her it belonged to her now. She thanked me with tears in her eyes, and when they were ready, I gave her the fur and leather items. In the weeks following the battle, I made a kiln and charcoal furnace. With them, I started manufacturing steel using all of the iron I had accumulated up to that point. In the second week after the battle, Aurea approached me with a request.

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“Sword.”

“You want sword?”

“Yes. Can you make one?”

“Yes.”

Although I could only communicate in simple sentences, my grasp of the language had increased tremendously. I already had a deep understanding of old latin, courtesy of my memory banks, and with Eve helping me, I learned quickly. With all these advantages, it didn’t take long to begin adapting.

I briefly considered making a firearm to give her instead, but Eve quickly quashed that idea, pointing out that we had no way to make chemical propellants for bullets. Scanning through the memory banks, I created various diagrams of different styles of swords. There were thin pointed swords for thrusting, curved scimitars designed to maximize the damage of a slicing cut, and man-sized claymores that translated momentum into crushing force .

“How many can I choose?”

“As many as you want.”

In the end, she chose a claymore, a choice that surprised me considering her shorter than average stature. She also asked me to make a long dagger to replace the one she had lost, drawing a simple illustration on the dirt floor. Her design reminded me of a stiletto, with its thin, straight blade and needle-sharp point.

“Did you want to learn how to use these?”

“Yes.”

“I will help you.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes.”

To help her, I created two robots, along with two memory chips. The first resembled a suit of medieval plate armor made of steel and equipped with a large broadsword. The other took after a renaissance era fencer, with a completely featureless face and wearing baggy cloth clothing, along with a small leather scabbard on its waist for the stiletto it used. Within both of them I implanted memory chips full to the brim regarding their fighting specialty, from its history to fighting styles to advantages and disadvantages.

“Are you sure you can learn both?”

“I will try.”

“It will be hard. Very hard.”

“I know.”

I made the weapons for her, and included a sheath for both. I ordered the two training robots to work her hard, as she seemed up for the challenge. Returning to my own work, I set about creating new robotic units. During the battle with the strange robed man, I realized I was in danger of overheating or having my innards melted, and that I needed a new unit to combat this threat.

From that, spawned the next model of robots. Based off of firefighting robots, they were equipped with heat resistant armor and large spiked shields. Their purpose would be to charge the enemy, with Enforcers and Falcons following behind. They would also double as protection against ranged attacks like arrows or javelins. I decided to call them Montanas.

The second unit was called Sentinels. Back on Earth, they were some of the first robotic units that played a large part in wars and battles. They were essentially stationary turrets, with a single large rifle barrel set on a swiveling mount. Although they were unable to move themselves, they excelled in long distance accuracy and marksmanship. Sentinels were often positioned in areas with high visibility, making it difficult for enemy soldiers to advance across open terrain without first dealing with the Sentinels. Since I didn’t have the ability to make gunpowder yet, I made it so that the Sentinels would use powerful magnets to launch iron bullets. The resulting energy would generate a ton of heat, making these types of guns unsuitable for normal people to use.

During the time I was manufacturing these new units, I checked in on Aurea. The training robots would run her ragged, forcing her beyond her physical capabilities. The claymore required immense strength, and took advantage of the crushing force and momentum it could create. The stiletto, on the other hand, focused more on speed and fast stabs. The two opposing styles made learning difficult. A month after beginning training, Aurea was still only focusing on improving her endurance and strength. It was only part way through the second month that she began training with the real weapons. Her constant practice took a toll, however. She had developed several blisters on her palms, and I had to force her to rest for a few days and allow for some recovery. During that time, she tutored me in her language. By the end of 3 months I was able to hold a normal conversation with her.