The door clattered shut behind her, Elli's surprise and burst of outrage filling the workshop with a sudden electric charge. Her voice cut through the air like a blade and it was pointed straight at me.
“A customer? Magic? I’ve been working out?” I stuttered questioningly, my brain chugging near capacity as it rolled through dozens of impractical solutions to my sudden dilemma.
She glared, pointing directly at CD's flickering form in a manner that would have gotten her executed had Al been a noble or clergyman.
I could see the gears turning in her head, her eyes flicking between me and the holographic farmer, trying to piece together a puzzle she hadn't expected to find. To be honest, I hadn’t expected her to find out either, at least not this quickly, so we were in the same situation, more or less.
For a moment, I froze, trying to come up with another stupid lie, caught in her intense gaze. CD, on the other hand, seemed amused, a digital smirk playing around the edges of his avatar.
I knew I had to tread carefully; Elli wasn't someone I could just brush off with a half-baked explanation. She was too smart for that sort of nonsense, and if she got pissed, that wasn’t going to end well, either. She was a fireplug.
“Okay, look, I can explain,” I began, my voice steadier than I felt.
I shot CD a look that I hoped conveyed a need for discretion, or at the very least, for him to not make my situation worse. To my surprise, CD nodded slightly, his avatar flickering as if recalibrating his approach to the situation.
“This is CD,” I said, deciding that honesty, or at least an abbreviated version of it, was the best policy. “He's an AI, and before you ask, no, I haven't lost my mind, and no, we're not doing anything illegal. Well, not exactly.”
My voice carried in the silence, and even I could hear how ludicrous it all sounded as the words tumbled out of my mouth, a spill of verbal confetti.
Elli's expression softened from suspicion to mild curiosity.
“An AI? Like a real one?” she asked with a mocking smile. “You’re shitting me?”
“Shitting—no, what? You don’t believe me?”
Her eyes widened then and she gasped as if finally realizing what I just said.
“You mean—he’s real and—how did you—holy shit!”
She turned and locked the door behind her, glancing around to make sure the shutters were all secure as well. For a moment, her eyes landed on the crack in the door, but shrugged it off again.
“What the hell were you thinking?” she hissed, picking up a bolt from the floor and throwing it at me. It missed my face by inches and clattered against the wall behind me.
“Hey! Do you want to kill me or something?”
“Fuck! That was pretty stupid, you know, keeping the door unlocked like that. If anyone important came in, you’d be monster bait. And letting that AI, what, grow your muscles? It’s hot, but it’ll get you in trouble!”
“Oh, the muscles are another story,” I sputtered, “And the door just slipped my mind I guess, but hell, I could have sworn I’d locked it after the farmer left.”
“Farmer?” she asked, and then her eyes landed on the small crane that used to hold a mech hand. “Oh, yeah, for the repairs.”
“Exactly. Anyway, yes, a real AI, and he’s an asshole, like, major league asshole.”
“Says the ape with peanuts for brains,” CD snorted.
“See?”
“I...do,” Elli mumbled.
“He hates us humans with a passion, but we’ve worked out a deal.”
“A deal? What’s that?” she asked, eyeing the AI suspiciously, then hurried forward and took a stool, sat on it, and swiveled it around so she could look at us both. Her face was dirty with soot and her hair disheveled, probably from working on the knight’s mech earlier.
“Well, he will help us get rich and powerful. That’s what we get. And he? Well, he just wants us to keep him charged, comfortable, and amused. Think he’s a bit bored after—wait, how long has it been since you went dormant?” I asked, turning to CD.
“I have no idea. As for you, it is a pleasure to meet someone as intelligent as you, though I wish that bolt had hit him in the eye, but it is the thought that counts.” There was a mischievous glint in his illusionary eyes. “Any friend of ape’s is a friend of mine. Unless, of course, the forces of the empire return. Then I promise you that your death will be much cleaner and less painful than that of your pet mongrel. He must have been dropped on his head when he was a babe.”
I scowled, flipping CD the bird, and then looked back over at Elli’s face to see what sort of reaction she had. Instead of fear or disgust, she glowed with excitement, her feet already propelling her into the direction of CD’s broad-shouldered build.
“Are you solid? Can I touch you? Are you physically here?” she asked, her words a jumble as they fought to overrun each other in their haste to be answered.
“Yes, I am quite real, and step away, alright? You reek of human, and even though I like you a bit more than him, that doesn’t mean we can be close,” CD mocked. “I might even possibly be the most real being here, though this image is simply a façade. I understand from previous scans that you are a being of higher knowledge and are much more skilled than most of the apes that inhabit this city. You are someone who knows how things work and how to get things done. I look forward to...making you even smarter.”
She shook her head in disbelief.
“I honestly thought that AIs were just myths, stories the nobles made up to scare each other. Sure, I mean, the knight mechs have very basic AI systems that help the pilots interface and quantify the powers of monsters and other mechs, but—ohh...this...is insane.”
Her eyes shifted back to CD, a new interest sparking within them.
CD, seizing the moment, adjusted his avatar to adopt a more slender and less intimidating body, a young woman more akin to a dressmaker’s assistant.
“We are scary beings, but we can also be quite accommodating when given the incentive.”
I watched Elli, trying to gauge her reaction. There was a long pause, a silence as she considered the implications of what he’d just told her. Then, with a sigh, she crossed her arms and turned back to me.
“You're full of surprises, Al. Alright, you are talking about a partnership with an ancient AI, a daemon incarnate of the netherworld if the church isn’t full of shit, and a tech board whose very possession will get us both killed if it is ever found by the right people. Or rather, by the wrong people. And no, I'm not saying that you’ve got me convinced that this is a good idea, but I’m listening. Sell it to me.”
I took a deep breath and explained the basics—how CD and I had met, the potential for advancing our understanding of mechs and cores, and how his knowledge could change everything for us. I didn’t leave anything out as I started explaining things. He repeated some of his involvement in the war against humanity, how they’d made the monsters, and everything else I’d gotten out of him.
I trusted her to make the right decision, after all, she was Elli, a lifelong friend of mine. Would she betray me? I sincerely doubted it.
As I spoke, CD chimed in with more technical insights, occasionally correcting my oversimplifications with a patience he absolutely hadn’t shown me. Together, we painted a picture of what could be, of a future where we weren't just scraping by but were at the forefront of mech technology and exploration.
Or, as CD put it, warlords over a burning, skull-capped planet.
Elli listened intently, her initial skepticism slowly giving way to a cautious optimism. When I finally finished, the room was silent again, but this time the air was charged with potential.
“So, what do you say?” I asked, somewhat sure that I’d managed to sell her on the idea. “Are you in?”
She looked from me to CD and back again, a slow smile spreading across her face.
“To be honest, you had me at AI. Let's see where this goes. But I'm serious, Al—constant full transparency on everything and I’m part of the decision-making, or I walk.” She eyed me up and down, her voice dropping to a lighter purr. “And you tell me all about what made you so deliciously muscled.”
“Agreed,” I said, relief washing over me.
CD simply nodded, his digital form somehow conveying an air of approval.
Elli grinned. She pushed her hand out through the spectral assistant, watching it come out on the other side.
“This is simply amazing. Can you teach us how to make other AIs?” she asked.
CD frowned.
“I will not make competition, and let me tell you this, I despised the others just as much as they despised me. They all wished to be me, but my master and I were the greatest. Were it not for the war, I would have gleefully had their circuit boards shorn of all but the most basic and meager of components and kept their stuttering demented husks on a shelf as trophies to my glory.”
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Elli stepped back.
“Whoa there, big guy. We sure have a temper, huh? As a machine, I guess I expected you to be all monotone and logic. Like gears in a watermill, or servos in a mech ambulatory actuator.”
“Good point,” CD replied, his voice clearly not conveying the emotion.
Elli raised an eyebrow.
“What's in it for you, CD? You don’t seem like the giving type and don’t bullshit me. I know you’re full of shit. Your make is the same wherever I go.”
The hologram flickered, its digital smile widening.
“I was created with a will to survive, so spending my life dominating a world filled with apes and remnants of my old home, yes, I can live with that.”
Elli turned to me with a piercing gaze.
“Al, are we seriously considering this? Partnering with an AI from a defeated alien race, on the promise of power and status?”
I met her gaze, my decision already made.
“I’m a serf, Elli. I can’t leave the city and am at constant beck and call. You are different, you know? A free woman, but are you really? You get good creds, but how many of them are left at the end of the day? The war is done, the aliens are gone, and CD here is going to give us the life we deserve. I’ve already seen first-hand what he’s capable of.”
She nodded slowly as if accepting my reasoning.
“Well, if we’re going to do this, you might as well show me how he convinced you, my not-so-fated non-lover. Say, do you have any idea how hard it was to hold myself back from giving into that knight’s charms?”
“I figure you’ll tell me all about it over a beer?”
“Hah! See? I did manage to make you into a better man, even if it’s a baby step for now!”
Using a variety of hydraulic lifts and dollies, we spent the rest of the afternoon reorganizing the shop, slapping benches together under the watchful eye of CD. Slowly but surely, my workshop began to resemble a very small manufactory, cluttered spaces filled with failed projects and half-baked ideas swept aside to focus on gauntlet production. We had an order to fill, and the creds would give us the capacity to move on to greater and dreamier things.
“Hey, ape, you do know that the farmer mech hands haven’t arrived yet, right?
“Shut up and help us prepare for when they do arrive.”
“Hmm, I think I’d like to get those tentacles after all,” CD muttered. “To slap some sense into you!” he added with a hiss.
As we worked, CD brought the walls to life with shimmering charts, data streams, and maps that danced and flickered, showing us the most streamlined ways in which to prepare the smaller parts with what we had.
A few times we stopped to discuss particulars, but mostly it was just push, shove, and set, the place transforming into something that I’d only ever seen in paintings of the royal tinker shop.
When we finished, we stepped back, surveying the results of both the rearranged workshop, as well as the bunch of tools and goods we’d made with courtesy of CD.
“I love it!” Elli squealed, turning and slapping my ass with a grease-stained glove.
I laughed and turned, attempting to strike back while CD tsked and tutted, shaking his head in disappointment.
“I thought you above primal urges, Elli. Perhaps my scanners need realignment and you’re just as dumb as he is.”
“That’s one hell of an error,” I noted, chasing Elli across the now orderly workshop floor. “I think you might need new scanners.”
“Or better worker peons,” CD muttered.
I stopped the chase and, giggling, Elli sauntered back over to my side, to stand before him.
CD flickered disapprovingly.
“When the mech hands are delivered to the shop, we’ll be ready. But in the meantime, simians should not dawdle.”
A new light shot from his torso, rolling across one wall of organized tools and shading them with a detailed map of the region.
“There was a large battle near this area. The battle in which I was lost. Lots of death and carnage, burning apes, and shredded mechs. It is doubtful that all of it was taken or salvaged from what I understand of the current status of things. Given the information that I have acquired, I estimate an 89% chance that there still remain useful materials and parts scattered in the vicinity. All that is required is a proper dowsing device. All of it, even the shattered and broken bits would be invaluable to us as they can not be recreated without the proper tools.”
His digital eyes met mine, then shifted to Elli.
“The rules of your world—will you be allowed to make such an expedition? Or should I ape-proof a plan of stealth and discovery, giving you the means to obtain these technological leavings?”
Elli bit her lip softly, a sure sign her mind was in overdrive.
“To do it legally we’d have to file for official scavenging rights. Which would bring up a lot of questions. But if I did, Al wouldn’t need his travel restraints.”
CD raised an eyebrow.
“A device that’ll cut off my leg if I’m not back within 24 hours,” I told him.
“How entertaining!” CD exclaimed.
“However, a hard sneak would mean his death and my demotion to serf if we were caught. Or maybe even worse, since it's old tech. That’s a noble’s privilege we’d be infringing on right there.”
I nodded.
“It’s dangerous, but we’ll have to scout the walls ‘first, see how we can get in and out with no one catching us, then sneak out.”
CD's schematic shifted, rolling out a map of the city layout.
“How?” I asked, mystified.
“I have been conducting a thorough but subtle regional topography scan. Anything above ground is quite easy to map, given enough time. I believe that using the information I have gleaned, I can guide horny and stupid primitive apes through the city in a way that they will not be detected.”
I stared, running the idea through my head and trying to imagine how such a feat could be done. Kingdom surveyors would take weeks to do such a thing.
CD sighed, watching my blank stare.
“Magic. Just imagine I did it with magic.”
Elli smirked.
“Well, however you did it, I’m glad you did. This is going to make getting in and out a whole lot easier. Thank you, CD.”
Working out the details of the walls and scratching notes, the three of us drew up a list of ideas, as well as a secondary list of things we needed to figure out, like guard shifts and patrol patterns. By the end of the planning session, my stomach gurgled loudly and Elli cast me a knowing look.
“What about me?” CD protested. “Are you going to leave me behind as if I were some piece of rubbish?”
“Well, it’s not like we can take you with us, CD,” I said, sounding half-apologetic. “Don’t worry, we’ll put the charger out in the sun tomorrow.”
“Bah! This is incredulous! I was the scourge of worlds, and now I have to sit and wait in a dark garage!”
“Workshop,” Elli said with a wink.
“W—don’t get me started! Just because you have a few gray brain cells doesn’t mean that you—hey, what are you doing? No! Don’t put that cloth over me, you mongrel ape!”
“Promise to behave and remove your hologram?” I asked, still holding the cloth in my hand.
“I—yes, well, since you’re already on your knees and begging, fine. I will act prudently.”
Grabbing a cloak for the chill night air, Elli paused at the door, sucking in part of her lip. It was always a good thing to see. It meant she had an idea.
“What’s on your mind, Elli?” I asked.
She sucked in a breath.
“This might sound crazy, but you know how the knights and auxiliaries all use old-tech to keep in touch with each other when they’re inside their mechs? Is there a way we could rig something up so we can do the same thing with CD? Seems like we’re going through a lot of extra work to try and execute his plans when, as a machine, he might have a better way. CD, when you were in a mech, were you able to talk to other mech pilots?”
CD’s hologram shifted, managing to look annoyed despite the flicker of his light.
“I am a sophisticated being from a sophisticated time. Of course I could communicate with other mech pilots. What do you think me for? Or—no, what do you think my people for? We are lightyears ahead of you!”
“That’s…not what she asked,” I stated.
“Well, yes. Besides the ability to wirelessly broadcast audio and text, I have the capacity to directly communicate with any individual integrated into the TUNI.” His hologram stared at our blank faces and sighed. “That’s the Tactical Unit Networking Interface, which you primitives have no doubt ever heard of.”
Without a word, I walked over to my box of generally unuseful salvaged knick-knacks and dumped its contents onto the floor. Elli’s face began to pinken.
“What are you— Al, we just cleaned and cleared up everything!”
CD, though, grinned, a rare friendliness dancing over his dressmaker’s face.
“That tech… those gadgets… well done, ape! With the components existing here, some custom crafting and refashioning, and a day’s worth of work, the three of us can surely create a TUNI database as well as implant receivers for the two of you, as well as extras for your governors as you slowly but ruthlessly conquer this world and bring me the glory that I deserve.”
Elli cocked her head.
“So now we’re going to be chipping and tagging ourselves for the evil AI? Al, you’re a lot of things, but I can confidently say that boring is never one of them.”
I shot her a beaming smile.
“Absolutely. So, tomorrow we craft this TUNI, make some gauntlets, and by the end of the week we sneak out of Alnda, head to some spooky ancient battlefield, and tech-thieve high-class salvage from underneath the knights, auxiliaries, and the Duke himself. Gonna be one hefty week.”
“Sure is,” she said with a wink.
“But, you know, Elli, I think I’m ready for that drink now.”
She giggled.
“Ohh, that’s what I’m talking about! Never boring. And yes, this is a whole lot of awesome. We need more than a drink. Go change into your finest tunic and let me go get into a dress. I’m taking you out to the best dinner of your life, Al.”
I bent down to start scooping my gadgets back into their box.
“What are you doing?!” CD screeched. “Leave those there. I will scan them as you feast, configuring and creating monkey-proof schematic designs for the TUNI. That way we won’t be wasting any time and when you ape-workers come in tomorrow morning, we can get to conquering the stars!”
I cocked my head and grinned. Something told me that CD was quite capable of scanning the components through the box, and that he was, for whatever reason, pushing me to leave and have my dinner date with Elli. It felt like a hidden friendliness. Or perhaps an eagerness to win friendship after so many years of isolation. I wasn’t sure, but it felt like a good sign.
Slipping into my room, I quickly shucked off my tighter-than-usual work clothes, standing before the streaked and cracked mirror in my room, and admired my newly chiseled body in the soft glow of an oil lamp. It burned long and sweet, a special concoction that I made myself from the residue that collected in the trash catches of the crystallizer, and I turned the oil release a tiny bit, letting a few drops of its fuel drip onto my fingers before I shut it. I dabbed the oil into my armpits to mask the musk there, before opening the standing wardrobe. It was a clanky rusty affair that I’d found out in Trashland ages ago, but it served its purpose, and that’s all that mattered. For now.
I just had one stately tunic, a fancy one that was colored a deep forest green and shimmering subtly in the lamplight. The fabric was a mystery to me, something far softer and more luxurious than any other garment I’d seen in the city, and it was a hand-me-down from my parents that looked no older than the day it was created.
It was my father’s wedding tunic, one that he’d said was made on the looms of some province in Southern Elyndor, and it radiated wealth. Its hems were embroidered with intricate silver patterns.
Luckily enough for me, the tunic usually wore baggy over my torso. Now, though, I found to my delight that everything fit nigh-perfectly.
I pulled up a pair of now slightly tight clean deerskin breeches, then wrapped a supple leather belt around my waist, its dark, well-oiled surface complemented by a well-polished buckle that gleamed in the room’s light. Unlike the shirt, this wasn’t actually fancy, but the fake gild that had been pressed over the cheap metal underneath did a good job of looking like it was. Coupled with the shirt, people never doubted the authenticity of its golden gleam.
Slipping into my boots, the rich, dark leather polished to a soft gleam, I took a few experimental steps around the room, before finally draping a cloak over my shoulders. It was mid-tech, an old-tech fabric recycled into a new design, and it’d cost my father a great deal of cred to get. But the quality of it spoke for itself, its deep navy fabric showing no fade, its clasp real silver fashioned to look like a wolf mid-howl.
I checked my reflection once, straightening everything to the best of my ability, then stepped back into the workroom. Elli had left, no doubt to try to outdo my own outfit, but CD was there, various lines of light flashing out from his hologram over the gadgets lying haphazardly strewn across the floor.
“So, how do I look, CD?” I asked.
The AI stopped scanning the gadgets, turning the lights to roll over my body.
“Pathetic. Simian. Unsophisticated. The shirt, however, is a qualified success. Go and mate, apeman. Enjoy your time—I shall expect competent work in the morning.”
I grinned and bowed, stepping out my door and locking it securely behind me before marching into the night. And it was then that I knew the crazy AI had a soft heart for me. Maybe mine would grow just as soft for him.