Time passed quickly. I barely noticed the passage of the sun as I made my way through the underbrush of the forest. It took approximately 5 hours to travel 20 kilometers. Once I reached 20 kilometers, I retracted my legs and powered up the drone a second time. Flying upwards until I reached 120 meters of altitude, I searched for the column of smoke I had seen previously. A shine in the distance drew my attention. I realized I could now see a large lake with deep blue waters. Its surface reflected the setting sun in a dazzling display of light.

“This must be where the osprey hunts.”

I approached the lake slowly, noting the cattails and reeds that grew around it. Zooming in, I could see frogs and turtles, various species of fish, and water insects living in and around the lake, confirming my theory of a fully developed ecosystem. It was only after zooming out that I realized the most important thing I had missed: A village, situated across the lake. It sat right next to the lake, and was surrounded by fields of recently harvested grains.

“Well, at least I found the source of the smoke.”

To ensure that I would go undetected, I flew several hundred meters higher, until I would only be a speck in the sky to those on the ground. My rotor blades buzzed as I hovered and observed.

“Oh my god. The thatched houses and style of architecture is reminiscent of a village during the medieval era.”

Zooming my camera as much as possible, I studied the inhabitants of the remote village.

“Humans?”

…

…

“What in the goddamn fuck?”

...

“Well, they look like people, sound like people, and act like people, so they are probably people. I would need to do a full body examination of one of them to be sure, but from what I’m seeing, I’m 99% sure they are humans. What do you think, Eve?”

“[Analyzing data…Based on several observations, including their use of tools, opposable thumbs, and use of language, I concur that these entities are most likely humans, related to humans, or a part of the homo genus. At the very least, they have passed the neolithic stage of human development by growing their own food and altering the environment to suit their own needs.]”

…

“Looks like they haven't invented steam engines or electricity. I see a blacksmith’s forge and anvil behind one of the buildings. Is their level of technology and science equal to that of the Middle Ages on Earth?”

“[More data required to reach a definite conclusion.]”

“Their clothing looks like it's made of linens and fur. I don’t see sheep nearby, so they probably aren’t wearing wool. Hmm…they also have some knife sheaths and belts made out of leather.”

These discoveries shook me to my core. The only other people on this planet should have been the 9 Asylum Seekers that came with me.

“Based on their facial features and skin tone, they could be of western European descent. Spanish or Italian maybe?”

“[Light olive skin, dark colored hair, and brown eyes corroborate this theory.]”

“The hell am I supposed to do now?”

“[I don’t know.]”

“Thanks Eve,” I thought sarcastically.

“You are welcome.]”

“…”

“I’m not sure if they would be hostile or not once they see me or my drone. Even if they found my Chassis, they would most likely not be able to damage me at all. But I would rather not take the risk in the first place. Should I find a way to increase my offensive capabilities? Or maybe just avoid them entirely?”

I thought hard on my options for several minutes, but I gave up in the end. These developments were just too jarring.

“Either way, if there is a village of humans here, there are definitely more elsewhere. There is even a possibility that there are larger cities or countries.”

I paused for a moment as a shocking possibility came to me.

“Hold on, could I still be on Earth?”

By now, the sun had already set completely. I decided to try identifying possible constellations or known stars. Quickly scanning through my data banks, I found information regarding astronomy and constellations.

“Eve, run through known constellations and see if you can match them to the stars here.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“[Analyzing data…no matches found.]”

“No matches. None. That confirms I’m not on Earth. But if I'm not on Earth, then how are there animals like deer and ospreys here? Doesn’t matter right now. Those people can and will be hostile, especially with something they don’t understand. I need to find a way to defend myself, something better than my laser.”

Before checking my data banks for ideas, I flew back to my main body to recharge my drone.

“If I want to build anything to defend myself, I first need to be able to harvest some materials.”

I realized that I was far too close to the village to harvest the needed materials in peace, so I started walking back the way I came. As I walked, I pondered the best way to collect the resources needed. My plan was to build an Enforcer. According to my database, the Enforcer was one of the first robots capable of fighting. Their bodies were based on human anatomy, and the body structure was therefore very similar to humans. Originally it was used as part of a police force, but then spread as general security robots to replace humans. It was strong and relentless, but those were its only advantages. It wasn’t particularly fast or agile, and its onboard AI was not advanced enough to use weapons such as tasers or pistols effectively.

However, it was simple to make, and I wouldn’t need to make the expensive components that would house the onboard AI, as I could just control it remotely. I might have to make do with cheaper and weaker materials, but some offense is better than none. Then again, I would have to get those materials first.

To procure them, I needed to make a generic drillbot. Drillbots were small remote controlled robots that could tunnel through earth and mine deposits of metal. They were often used due to their small size, and could go deeper than any mine. Using the rest of the cannibalized metal, I created 2 drillbots. I would need one to find and mine copper deposits, while the other one dealt with finding gold. Luckily, gold could sometimes be found alongside copper, so maybe I would get lucky and find both soon enough. After diverting part of Eve’s processing power to monitoring the drillbots, I focused on acquiring the next item on my list: Iron. Iron would have to be the main metal I used for the structure and body of the Enforcer. Ideally I would use a stronger metal like steel or titanium, but I didn’t have a way to manufacture those right now.

“Although, I could probably use the carbon from some coal to strengthen the iron somewhat. Not as sturdy as steel, but better than nothing.”

Iron wasn’t that much of a problem to find. In their search for copper and gold, the drillbots found a few small iron deposits that they promptly retrieved. Once they had gotten enough iron, I began using my fabricator to melt and refine it into something usable. First washing away the dirt on the outside, I melted the iron and constructed the metallic frame for the Enforcer. As I was making the frame however, I decided to make a few adjustments. The fists had bumps added on the end for added blunt force trauma. Blades were attached to the forearm and tricep areas, while the knees had spikes molded on top of the joints in hopes of making them less appealing targets.

“The frame’s finished. Now I just have to wait for copper and gold to start on the chips and control systems. In the meantime, I need to study my environment even closer. Although I’m pretty sure that the village was occupied by humans, I am not completely certain. What’s to say the plants or animals around me are still the same as those on Earth?”

With that thought in mind, I began my analysis of the surrounding flora. Using my laser, I sliced off a piece of wood from a nearby tree and fed it into my fabricator. Using my data banks, I identified the tree as an oak tree.

“The wood appears to be normal. High cellulose content as well as ligin. The cells in the wood still have their cell walls and membranes.”

Discarding the wood sample, I continued the examination of the environment. I was able to identify many species of plants and fungi in my surroundings, such as ivy, birch trees, and wild garlic. However, I encountered one strange species of plant I could not recognize. It appeared very similar to a common hop vine, with serrated leaves similar in shape to a maple leaf, along with twining stems. But strangely enough, there were clusters of small orange fruit hanging off the ends of the stems. Like the oak tree, I cut off a small sample of both the orange fruits and the leaves to study them more closely.

“Huh…”

“The leaves look pretty ordinary. Cells contain chlorophyll to harness solar energy for glucose, and they’re still working normally. But the fruits are kinda weird. Eve, do a full analysis on these fruits.”

“[Analyzing…these fruits are high in natural oils. Additionally, there is a possibility that these fruits can be harvested and refined into a material similar in nature to plastic. More testing and analyzation required.]”

When Eve finished her report, I realized the implications of this discovery. Plastic was an essential material, one that had a variety of uses, with the most important one being a thermal and electrical insulator. Looking closer, I saw that the chemical makeup was nearly identical to synthetic polymers. With a slight bit of refinement, I would be able to make materials like rubber, adhesives, and lubricants. In all the simulations I had gone through, I had always needed to make advanced refinement machines to make plastic and polymers.

For the first time since coming here, I was excited. This would open up so many possibilities! Not wasting any time, I harvested as many of the orange seed clusters as I could. By the time I was finished harvesting the seed clusters, the drillbots had returned with a large amount of copper and enough gold to begin making the necessary components.

Year 0, Month 0, Week 1, Day 5, Hour 17, Minute 32

The sounds of welding and forging rang through the forest as I put the finishing touches on my Enforcer. Using the nanomachines, I assembled all the individual parts together to form the first unit under my command.

“It’s beautiful.”

The Enforcer was an ugly hunk of metal. It looked like it had been rescued from a junkyard and slightly polished, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was that I finally had a way to defend myself.

“Initiate consciousness transfer,” I ordered.

“[Searching for compatible systems…compatible system located: Enforcer, Model 1.0. Initiating consciousness transfer…]”

Remotely controlling the Enforcer, I tried taking a few steps around the forest . Predictably, I ended up tripping and falling to the ground. Slowly getting up, I had to catch my balance before trying again. After inhabiting my Chassis for so long, it was a bit hard to get used to walking on 2 legs again. Standing up once more, I carefully kept my center of balance steady, putting one foot in front of the other and allowing my hips to rotate more freely. When necessary, I used my arms to help balance. After walking for a few minutes, I realized that there was a flaw in the design of the Enforcer. The feet were one piece of metal, which made traveling over uneven terrain difficult, as the foot could not conform to the uneven surface. Quickly making some adjustments, I took off and reinstalled the feet, but this time with joints added in several spots. This seemed to help the problem, and within an hour, I was able to move around as well as I could in my human body. Eventually, I was even able to do a speedy jog without tripping. Practicing occupied my mind completely, and I didn’t notice the sun beginning to rise from the east. Suddenly, a scream rang out through the forest.