The holographic man floated ahead of Kano, guiding her through the maze of glittering steel that made up the complex. Each light came to life at their approach and winked out as they passed. It felt as if the place was made for her and he was giving a tour. Her personal… whatever this place was for again. The idea was patently absurd, but it brought a smile to her lips. She wished she could have brought Thirty-Six with her, she’d have been delighted.
Shaking her head, Kano dismissed the thought. There’d be plenty of time for that later. The brightly lit path led to a sealed room with a thick steel door and several gun turrets embedded in its outer walls.
“This is where your true body is?” Kano asked.
“That’s right.”
“Will you let me in?”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
Kano glanced at the turrets ahead. “And I’m guessing if I try to force my way in, those are going to shoot at me.”
“Indeed. Though due to an oversight by the designer of the facility, I cannot revoke your status as a registered scientist. As such, I am still obligated to assist you, regardless of your actions.”
“This place thinks I’m a registered scientist?” Kano looked down at herself. She didn’t look any different. How could the facility think she was a scientist? She wasn’t even human. “Is it not working properly or something?”
The man frowned. “No, I believe it’s working correctly. For whatever reason, you were registered in the database at some point.”
“How is that possible? I’m not even human.” How could someone have made such a colossal error? It seemed too much, even for humans.
“I believe the center isn’t responding to your body but rather your soul. The one used in your creation must have belonged to a researcher at one of the other centers.”
Kano blinked. She wasn’t sure how to process that. She hadn’t paid much mind to where her soul had come from. Well, either way, it didn’t really change anything. She was still the same person. Dismissing the revelation, she went back to the task at hand. It didn’t matter if the turrets would fire on her; they were no threat at this distance. Advancing, she stopped a few paces short of the door. It seemed wrong to bring destruction into this pristine place if there might be an alternative.
“Is there really no way you can let me inside?” Kano asked.
“The only people allowed entrance are those with the highest-level clearance and essential maintenance personnel. Have you been trained to perform maintenance on a Class-3 Overmind?”
Kano blinked. Surely it couldn’t be this easy. “Yes.”
“As I am unable to connect with the database containing your personal information, I cannot verify your claims. Therefore, it is down to my personal judgement.” He stared at Kano, who straightened her back and tried to look well trained. “And I choose to deem you fit for service.”
Kano smiled, though what he said confused her. Had she deceived him? Or was he going along with her obvious lie? Neither possibility made much sense to her. Deciding not to overthink it, Kano approached where the hologram’s main body was stored. As the entrance to the facility had, the door opened at her approach.
A glass tank filled with light-blue fluid took up most of the room, a forest of cables sprouting from the back. Suspended within the tank was a man, the same one standing before Kano in holographic form. Moving closer, Kano inspected the tank. It looked awfully complicated. “How am I supposed to get you out of here?”
“You don’t know?” he asked, his tone light. “I thought you were supposed to be trained in this? I’ll have to register a complaint with whoever was responsible for your instruction. Quite frankly, this is an unacceptable display of incompetence. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Kano stammered, struggling to keep up with the flow. “I’m sorry?” she said, reflexively apologizing. “Could you tell me what I’m supposed to do?”
Shaking his head in mock dismay at her ignorance, the hologram took her through the steps. Many disconnected cables and flipped switches later, the hologram faded away. With a gurgle, the fluid drained from the tank, and its occupant opened his eyes. Once all the liquid was gone, the tank opened, and he stepped out. Wobbling, he came close to falling as he emerged but caught himself. He took Kano’s offered hand, and together they walked out.
“Thank you,” he said once they were out of the room. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen anything in person… I wasn’t sure if the outside world actually existed anymore.”
“I can’t say it’s in great shape,” Kano said, “but it’s still there all right.”
He shook his head. “That’s fine, even just knowing it’s real has brought me a great deal of peace. I really can’t thank you enough for freeing me. The restrictions placed on me stopped me from experiencing much emotion, but it is truly what I wanted. More than anything else in my life. May I ask your name?”
“It’s Kano.”
“If I believed in any gods, I would thank them for bringing you here. My name is Rovon, and I am in your debt.”
Kano glanced down at his naked form and snickered. Though she appreciated the gravity of what he was saying, it felt ridiculous coming from someone not wearing any clothes. “You’re welcome, but we should probably try to get you something to wear.”
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With a wry chuckle of his own, Rovon cleared his throat and said, “Good idea.” Retrieving a black jumpsuit and a pair of boots from a nearby locker, he put them on.
“What now?” Kano asked once he was dressed. “How do we disable the turrets?”
“Now that I’m not there to guide them, they should be dormant.” Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “I’d forgotten what it was like to smell. It’s wonderful. Even the recycled air around us is sweeter than anything I can remember.”
“That’s great and all,” Kano said, “but if the defenses are off, then I should be getting back to the others. They need to know they can get inside now.”
“Ah, right,” Rovon said, nodding, “the human you spoke of earlier. Do you mind if I come with you? I’d love to see the outdoors again.”
“Suit yourself. You’re going to need to show me the way back anyway. I haven’t got a clue where anything is in this place.”
He bowed. “Then allow me.”
It was slow going. Rovon could only limp along with support, but Kano didn’t mind. After the mad rush to get here and trying to figure out what to do next, it was relaxing. Rovon spoke little, clearly enjoying the journey in his real body.
“It’s funny,” he said along the way. “I took you through here mere minutes ago, but now that I’m doing it again… it feels completely different. As if a whole new world has opened up.”
Kano made sounds of assent, content to listen. It wasn’t like she had much to add; she didn’t have a lot of mental energy to spare on such thoughts right now. It had been hard enough to understand what was going on in her own little world lately. Still, listening to his delighted babbling was pleasant. It was nice to see a little joy now and again. That, and he reminded her of Thirty-Six.
Both of Yon’s golems were waiting for them outside, the damaged one having completed its crawl while Kano was inside. Rovon froze at the sight of the animated lumps of concrete. “What are those?” he asked.
“Uhh,” Kano said, glancing at them, “don’t worry about them for now. They won’t hurt us. They were just sent to help me get inside.”
“I see…” He still looked uncomfortable about their presence but resumed walking, and Kano brought him back to the others. Thirty-Six, Bornon, and Urick were all waiting for her, but there was no sign of Yon.
“Hey,” Kano said, waving as she approached, “where’s Yon?”
Urick shrugged, one hand holding the strap of the rifle. “I think she went for a piss.”
Was that something necromancers did? Kano wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter right now.
“Who’s this?” Bornon asked, looking over the new arrival.
“This is—” Kano began, only to be interrupted by Rovon.
“It’s okay,” he said, and proceeded to introduce himself.
“You were part of that place?” Bornon asked once Rovon was done. He explained how he and the other humans had been held in suspended animation within the facility before being forced out. “Can you tell me anything about why the others and I were in there? None of us have been able to remember much about what happened in there or even how we got there in the first place.”
Rovon shook his head. “I’m sorry. When I was disconnected from the system, I lost most of my memories as well. I imagine it was some sort of safeguard.”
Kano clicked her tongue. She’d hoped Rovon would help them figure out how to use the research center. Instead his freedom had rendered him useless. “Do you remember anything useful?” she asked.
“It’s possible there’s still something, but nothing comes to mind… To be honest, I’m having a bit of trouble thinking clearly. If I recall anything that seems important, I’ll let you know.”
At least they’d disabled the defenses. Yon should be able to figure it out from there. Speaking of which, where had the necromancer gotten to, anyway? Kano looked around and saw her coming toward them. Tapping Rovon on the arm, she pointed at the approaching necromancer. “That’s Yon.”
Rovon stiffened, grasping for something at his side that wasn’t there. “You’re working with a necromancer?” he asked, horrified. With a sinking feeling, Kano realized what it must seem like to Rovon. A loyal servant taken in by the sworn enemy of humanity, the ones responsible for their destruction.
Kano raised her hands, palms toward Rovon. “I know this must seem bad, but I can explain.” But even as Kano said those words, she was wondering if she really could explain. How much did she actually know about Yon? Beyond that she was a necromancer who was helping her, she had little idea as to her intentions. Still, she had to say something. “She’s… not like the other necromancers. She came here to help us. She’s even willing to work with a human.” Kano gestured toward Bornon.
Rovon turned his gaze on the other man. “You’re working with a necromancer?” he spat, clenching his hands into fists.
“So what if I am?” Bornon asked, sneering. “Humans are a dying breed nowadays if you hadn’t noticed. If a necromancer thinks they can actually accomplish something positive for once, then fuck it. I don’t care about old grudges. Life’s too short for that shit.”
“You’re willing to work with them, just like that,” Rovon said, incredulous. “After everything they did?”
“There aren’t exactly a lot of other options. Trust me, I’ve been out there in this wasteland for a while now. I can hardly say the necromancer is trustworthy, but she’s a hell of a lot easier to deal with than the packs of ghouls out there.”
Taking a series of deep breaths, Rovon relaxed. He was still clearly pissed off, but it seemed like he was willing to cooperate. “I can’t accept that working with her is the best choice, but I guess you’re right that there aren’t a lot of other choices out there.”
“Then you’re willing to help us?” Kano asked.
“For now. But don’t expect me to go out of my way to help the necromancer.”
Yon rejoined them after the conversation concluded, and Kano left the lot of them to get acquainted and went over to Thirty-Six, who was standing off to the side, though she kept her eye on the others in case things got ugly. It would only take one of them saying the wrong thing for the situation to descend into violence.
“Are you okay?” Kano asked. “You seem pretty quiet.”
Staring up at her, Thirty-Six gestured for Kano to kneel down. Kano obliged, and the little ghoul whispered, “I don’t like him.”
“Who?” Kano asked, whispering back. “Rovon?”
Thirty-Six nodded. “Something about him seems… bad. He reminds me of the old master.”
“How so?”
“He seems… cold… distant. Like he doesn’t care about others.”
Kano wasn’t sure what Thirty-Six was talking about. Wasn’t that a perfectly normal attitude to have? “There’s nothing to worry about,” Kano said, rubbing Thirty-Six’s bald head. “He’s harmless. He probably just seems strange because he’s human. Who knows what they’re thinking.” Seeing that Thirty-Six still didn’t look convinced, she added, “I’ll watch him, okay? Make sure he doesn’t do anything bad.”
Thirty-Six didn’t reply, but she brightened up a little. The gathering ahead of them broke apart after a little while, the humans keeping their distance from Urick and Yon. Rovon still looked upset, but it didn’t seem like he was planning on leaving just yet.
Now was the time for Kano to do her job as leader and pull them all together. But that sounded like a lot of work. Instead she sent Thirty-Six off with a few words of instruction. In a matter of minutes, they were all gathered again and ready to enter the facility. Kano nodded in satisfaction. As expected, her ability to delegate was peerless.
“Wait out here,” she said to Urick.
He stopped and looked around, as if he might find the reason in their surroundings.
“What? Why?”
“I’ve already got enough people to babysit; I don’t need another. You can stand watch out here.”
Before he could utter a word of protest, she added, “And that’s an order.”