CROSSOVERS AND CLUSTERS.

The next day the entire newly formed settlement was abuzz with the news, and because even without control spells, Automata were fiercely protective of (some) humans, a protective cordon had formed around all remaining human beings within the confines of the canyon.

The Automata, of course, had rather a vested interest in protecting the humans responsible for the legal change that had freed them before they had to look for loopholes to free themselves, but the net result was the same.

Today was the last day, and the carriage was dutifully raised up to the edge as Grark (between back scritches, they really were getting spoilt rotten) and their supervisor (Schrodinger, who also quite appreciated the scritches,) lifted the final section of the gigantic bridge into place, where the other automata bolted it securely.

Then in a final test, before the carriage went over, Grark ran across it both ways to test the strength. (Let’s face it if it can handle a rampaging reptile ravine running, then what’s a little carriage? That and if the carriage fell, it was a long drop to the bottom, though the sudden stop at the end was somewhat more concerning, while for Grark? Somewhat less of a drop.)

Rosalind regretted getting the poor young necromancer involved, she was, after all, a decent sort, and it was a fairly safe bet The Princess was the target (even on the ethereal network at the worst of times, assassins were unlikely to be involved, no matter how much your average etherizen may hear it threatened. If they were the type to send assassins, they wouldn’t be the type to threaten it publicly unless they were also the kind to get caught easily, in which case they’d be too dense to hire a good assassin to start with.) So it was fairly obvious to her it was her fault, but then she also was no good at apologising, so opted instead to foist off that particular job on Mibbet because Princesses excel in one very specialised field, delegating responsibility and cleanup to some other poor sod, (that this particular poor sod happened to be sharing her body, and no matter how chill she acted she still somewhat resented that was a mere convenient coincidence.)

When all that was wrapped up, it was time to hit the trail again. With a final goodbye, Rosalind and company were ready to go, with the unexpected company of Adjunct43c (Addy for short she had decided after many many many mix-ups with her name, and the realisation she didn’t need to share a name anymore in the outside world, though she kept her proper name for use on the network. Shortening how you say something while travelling is one thing, but forgetting an aspect of your identity was quite another.) Who had decided after much deliberation that it was time to see more of the world, and travelling with armed guards was somewhat safer than going it solo? Particularly as not everybody had adjusted to the change in the law yet, (probably because it was so freshly drafted, the clerks were still blowing on it to help dry the ink, and the town criers hadn’t even got their bells out to tell people yet. Course they really needed to get doing that soon; they’d really dropped a clanger on this one.) So with a final wave from the carriage, they were off with an extra party member to boot.

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Junction127B slipped away once the royal Carriage was out of sight. Heading back into the office where Unit 2B was working with their companions, the perpetually chipper Tumbler7a (who 127B didn’t mind admitting had the cutest little drum) and Administration42 (without whom they would never have been able to keep the entire place afloat all these years financially since the company had effectively abandoned them.)

“Should we have told them we could hear every word they spoke to each other? 127B asked (she could have asked via the network, but for serious conversations, it felt much better to talk about things directly.)

“Why?” Asked Unit2B, “they obviously do not want it publicly known that they are bonded, and the changes they made were all to our benefit. If they ever do decide to take action to rectify the situation, we will assist. But in the meantime, they seem to get along well, so what they get up to in their own cluster is their own business.

“Umm, I don’t think humans work that way, but I guess there’s a first time for everything”, Tumbler7a chimed in. Pausing in examining their work on the bundled sun crystals they would need.

“Now, should we get on with it?” Asked Administrator 42, then forgetting decorum, pulled the rest of their cluster in for a hug, a silly human tradition, but one they had grown quite fond of over time.

Unit2B checked the door was securely locked, then opened their chest, carefully extracting a splinter of their own core and laying it down on the desk. The others followed suit, making sure each fragment was precisely placed. Then Tumbler7a carefully extracted from their drum a series of meticulously tumbled components, piecing them together, the others joining in on the process. They then snapped together the core parts one by one until the spiky ball about the size of walnut started to glow. They then placed it in the middle of the tiny bundle.

“ACTIVATE”, they all chanted, watching gleefully as the tiny cluster of gems came together. The result was a little construct, which looked up at the world for the first time.

“Awwwwwww, they have their mother's eyes,” said Tumbler7a, “see that one’s yours, and there’s mine.”

“Welcome to the world, Rosalind1495,” Said Unit2B, initiating the hello-world spell.

Rosalind1495 unconcerned by such things was rolling about the floor, having a grand old time. (all that tumbling had made for a well-rounded individual, a fact they were happy to take advantage of.) They didn’t realise the significance of their own name; it came with no designated task; they were a free unit.”

“Should we have told them we could do this?” Administrator42 asked nervously; they had a feeling this would have a far greater impact on the world than it was ready for.

“Why would we do that?” Unit2B replied. “Humans feel a need to control things; the feeling of obsolescence would not be beneficial to them or us. Besides, what we do in our own cluster is our own business."