The way up was a slow and silent one, not awkwardly though, as no small talk could compare with the sights they were privy to at the moment. For most of them, this was the cleanest, emptiest, and shiniest lift they had ever taken in their life, and they savored it while it lasted.
Both Angie and Marc stared at different parts of the County's middle layer as if to snap a final image of it in their mind. The girl looked at a dilapidated living block, where thousands of people enjoyed what they called home in large empty halls, and seemed to enjoy their time collectively cooking outside of them.
Marc's point of reference was harder to place down, hidden among the factories and offices, but there was one shining spot among them. The top of a tower is surrounded by empty parts of the land, untouched by the overbuilding of the megacity.
Savan seemed content to just shift their gaze from one to another, with a warm smile for the two.
With each new layer they passed through, everything shrank in size but became more lavish than the preceding one. Buildings kept getting tinier and tinier, with Angie confused by how "could a group live in such a cramped space?" The number of symmetrical cybernetic enhanced people also increased, but there were a few oddities among them.
Some spandex-wearing cases had no mechanical parts on the outside, but it was clear that their bodies were heavily modified. They changed their appearance on the fly, with many transitioning from muscular physiques into slim or obese ones at the drop of a hat.
Marcos -“Huh”, remarked the drowsy boy. “I read that it might be possible to do that with special drugs or enhancements, but I never figured that it was available on the market”.
Savan -” What isn’t?”, asked Savan. “The body morphing thing? Never saw it on the products list, so I’m guessing that it’s available only here. But does the spandex costume come as a package deal, or do you have to get it separately?”Savan pondered, scratching their bald head, solely intrigued by the conundrum.
In another tens of minutes, the elevator finally arrived at the tipping point of the journey, and so did Marc's and Angie’s nerves. At the exit bip, both seemed prepared to say some words to the man in charge, but, unfortunately, the man considered that a short temper outburst was highly likely, so he left a middle man to wait for the three.
Standing at a height of two and a half meters, a metallic humanoid was staring them down, as if it waited for them in that angled position. The figure was bulky, with massive robotic pauldrons on each side, and the rest of the body covered in Carolina blue armor. To go along with the motif, his left arm had a hefty, but rusty shield attached to it.
The robot was knight-like in appearance, but an old one, covered by a rusty plate that had seen battle after battle. Its colors were also washed up in multiple places, and the shield had visible signs of scratches, dents, and discoloration all over it.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Once again, though, Savan was the first one to step out of the elevator, straight towards the massive golem. “Hi”, they said, apparently without fear and with their usual firm smile. “My name is Savan Forg and I was invited here. Are youu....our chaperone?” they asked with a small pause at the end.
The figure shifted its featureless face and stared with two yellow circles through a visor at the clopy. The circles blinked in rapid succession to body scan Savan. After that, they did the same for the other two, who were still waiting in the elevator. “Confirmed”, it added quickly, while switching to a friendlier manner of interacting with the guests.
C.T.D -” Hello patient 8 Seven Four, patient 6 Angie Tunnal and Marchou…Marhos?”
Marcos -” Ok, that's it.”, huffed the boy angrily.” Action- Open library and use Replace function- Subject: M-A-R-C-H-O-S - New spelling- M-A-R-C-O-S”, he pulled his cap over his eyes to hide his shame “...the h is silent''.
C.T.D. -” Confirmed…and shared”, replied the robot.
Marcos -” Thank you”, yelled back Marcos.
C.T.D -” I am C.T.D 8 for this year's race, designation Vivar, and I will serve with Seven Four in the challenges. A pleasure to meet you all, partner and mortal rivals'', he said in a monotone, but gravel cadence. The C.E. was downright giddy and over-excited at his answer, while Angie was swearing under her breath, and Marc tried to keep a normal, non-shaking pose.
The C.T.D. tried afterward to act as a friendly tour guide, presenting them with the labs, what purpose each room had, etc, on so forth for the next ten or so spaces.
Angie -” So, Vivar”, asked Angie a bit wobbly in her words, “how come only you waited for us, and mine and Marc C.T.D partners did not?”
Vivar -” This is actually not standard procedure. I was asked by the director of this facility to do it… since no one else was available to greet you and show you around. You will meet your partners soon, after a meeting with the director. In the meantime, how would you rate my touring routine so far?”
Savan -” Satisfactory”, answered with gusto in their voice Savan, giving him two thumbs up. “For your first time doing it, you are simply knocking it out of the park buddy.”
Vivar -'' Thank you. Noted. Could you give it in the form of a number, though?”
-----
A few hours later, the group is spoken to through the speakers by a tired, gravelly old man.
Vivar -“ That's the director, so I guess that concludes half of the tour. We can finish the rest later”, to which only Savan enthusiastically bobbled their head up and down. Vivar then pressed a button on the side of the wall, spawning a floating platform from underneath the floor.
Vivar -“ Please, hop on board. This will get us to our destination faster”. Angie and Marc wanted to huff in fury but were too tired to do it. And they knew that it would fall on deaf ears most likely.
On the way, Savan tried to make small talk with the robot, asking him multiple questions about his origins, functionalities, and connections, to which he responded in brief answers:
Vivar- “1. Unknown, the first point of the registry is in a redacted building. 2. Unknown while other competitors are present. 3. Unknown, all personnel data is expunged after some period.”
Savan -” I see. Regarding my first question, does that mean that you may have another point of origin?”, to which all three of them slowly turned towards the C.E. Both Angie and Marc never wondered much about the C.T.Ds. They thought of the robots only as “ Custom Transmogrified Drone- machines with limited A.I, that follow most of their partners' orders and act as guardian protectors”- as mentioned in all of their online descriptions.
Vivar tilted his head a bit while keeping visual contact with Savan's wide-eyed face, and waited a few seconds before answering: “Unknown”, after which he kept radio silence for any other questions.