One-six

“Tell us everything…” One-six panted as he and his team stepped through Alpha’s front door. “Please.”

The scientist had told them everything he knew. What they are, how they were created, and what they were created to do.

Then the scientist told them to shoot him, because he would get taken away and tortured for giving out classified information. So One-five put a bullet through his brain.

Guards came sooner than they expected, but after a brief firefight, they managed to slip away into the night. It would be a while before they’d be tracked down.

“Well, come in and sit down, and I’ll tell you everything that I know.” Said Alpha, sitting on her couch besides the window. “So I assume that you’ve seen all you needed to see?”

“Yeah…a scientist told us everything.”

“What did he tell you?”

“That we are printed, not actually real people. That we were created purely for the purpose of fighting and not anything else. That we’re just…"

“Products?” Alpha completed One-six’s sentence for him.

“Well…yeah…”

“Most of the soldiers, probably all, actually, including you four, are just products, not actually people,” Alpha explained, looking up at the ceiling. “It’s been like that way for many decades already, long before you were created and when I was still a young researcher.”

“Back before the war started?”

“No not that far back,” Alpha chuckled. “Do I really look that old?”

One-six didn’t answer.

She sighed. “I was only an infant when the war started, I remember nothing about those first few years. Luckily for me, my family got here early, just when the city got established. It was calm for several years, but then news came that resistance still remained in Asia, New Asia. So we started fighting again. By the time the first year had passed, the only cities left standing were New Asia and us. North America was destroyed beyond recognition, poisoned so thoroughly by nuclear radiation that not even cockroaches could survive there.”

“Our sworn enemies…” One-six muttered to himself.

“Yes, our sworn enemies,” Alpha echoed mockingly. “At first it seemed like we were going to win. But then we started to run short not on resources, but on people. We just couldn’t compete with the huge population New Asia had. Soon we were running behind, and defeat loomed closer by the day. Then there were reforms, uprisings, revolutions. The old government was overthrown, and the Council was established, like in the past, when times got rough, and extremist parties come into power. They started to use technology, exploit it really, throwing ethics and morality out the window in order to fight the war. There were purges, mass killings. But in end it was all for the better, or at least that’s what they said. By the third or fourth decade we had become the most efficient and digitalized city ever, but that came at the cost of human lives.”

“Didn’t New Asia also work many people to death to fight the war? Don’t they also force children to work in factories?” Two-six asked, hoping to prove their city at least has some good aspects.

“Of course,” Alpha continued. “Behind the walls of every city are hidden dark secrets. Behind their’s are hidden child labor, horrid slums and poverty. But behind ours, is hidden one of the greatest innovations in the history of mankind.”

“And that is?”

“Bio-printing. The creation of biological things... well... people, through artificial means,” Alpha said. “They realized that printed people—bio-robots, could help fill in the gaps in the population and keep us fighting, so they began to invest in the technology. Massive factories and production lines were set up, able to produce hundreds of ‘people’ everyday without pause. At first it seemed alright, the printed were no different from regular people. But then they started to fiddle with genes and DNA. They started to make people who could run a marathon without breaking a sweat, they made people who could pick up a car with a single arm. Then they went further, and started messing with the neurons. They made people who could think as fast as a computer and people with photographic memory, just to name a few.”

“But we can’t think as fast as computers nor pick up cars with a single arm,” said One-six. “Where are the people who can do that?”

Alpha chuckled. “You see, the Council is run by normal people, born from a sperm and an egg, raised by others. If they mass manufacture people as smart as computers and as powerful as machines, it would threaten their positions of power and the stability of the system. So they just resorted to the basics, removing the feelings and thoughts that would inhibit efficiency, optimizing people into bio-robots. Namely, they removed emotions. Or, well, they tried.”

“And that’s us?” One-six asked.

Alpha nodded, sipping from her cup of tea. “Yes, you. They made you into the ideal soldier. A soldier who didn’t let emotions get the better of him, who didn’t show enemies any mercy, and who wouldn’t even think for a moment to abandon their comrades if told to do so. Because of that, we managed to pull even with New Asia, and fall into a stalemate which has lasted up until now. However, our brilliant new technology had one flaw. A fatal flaw.”

“Flaw?”

“Yes. You see, the scientists could manipulate genes, but they couldn’t directly manipulate the brain itself. Simply because the brain is so complex and so fragile. But the thing is, the brain knows how to adapt. The brain will always adapt in a way which suits the survival of its owner the best. And so, over time, your brains will recognize that emotions are beneficial to survival, and will begin to slowly develop emotions. However, because the genes which tell your brain how to feel and understand emotions have been removed, your brain has to start from scratch, and build up its understanding of emotions and how to deal with them little by little.”

“And that means…?”

“That means as the soldiers grow older, they begin to feel emotions for the first time. This process normally only progresses to a noticeable degree when a clone gets to about ten years of age after production, around eighteen to twenty biologically. We tried to correct this, but couldn't, so we circumvented this problem by simply retiring the soldiers before they got old enough, and just reuse their bodies to produce more clones.”

“But we’re eleven right now. Well, at least according to our personal details tables we are."

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

“Yeah… For a long time, the system worked well. But recently, resources are beginning to run out too. There isn’t enough stuff to keep replenishing old pilots with newer ones, so they’ve had to extend the retirement age. Before, they used to incinerate the clones as soon as they turned ten. But now, they do it once they turn twelve,” Alpha stopped and stared at them intently for a while. “I’m sure you four may have started experiencing some new feelings recently. Remember those feelings well, they’ll help you better understand who you really are.”

“Who we really are…” One-six muttered to himself. Then he looked up at Alpha with questioning eyes. “How…do you know all this?”

Alpha looked at One-six with somber eyes. “I made it all.”

“You…”

“Back then, I was a patriotic and energetic young woman. As soon as I graduated from university with a bio-engineering degree I joined the lab to develop printing technologies. It started out as a way of bolstering the birthrate, but then we were approached by the government. They proposed we use it for warfare. I saw it as a way to protect my city and help us win the war. It was a way to put my passion to good use,” she stopped, sighed, then continued talking. “Scientists are too ignorant back then, they still are now. We just developed whatever we thought was cool and innovative. We just made things and never questioned the implications it brought. We loved making people, producing life, doing the work because it was our passion. We never thought of the problems this technology would cause. We never really wanted to think about it.”

“Why did you decide to stop working for them?” One-six asked. “If it was something you were so passionate about?”

“I worked under the founding father of this technology for a long time. Until one day he disappeared, gone without a trace. It was then when I realized that something was wrong.”

“So…”

“I worked in the industry for almost two decades. I worked to bring suffering upon tens of thousands, millions perhaps. But when they started going too far with our technology, me and many of my colleagues decided to stand up and speak out against it,” she poured herself some more tea. “But we were silenced. My coworkers began to disappear one by one. I should have known since the beginning, but I realized then that I was in danger. So I, along with the help of some kind people, faked an escape to New Asia. The plane which I supposedly escaped on never made it to New Asia, by the way. It got shot down over the mountains by our interceptors."

“But you remained here?”

“Yeah…I remained here to fight against the exploiting of printing technology. I formed the Phoenix Bond, and I’ve been working as part of the organization for the better part of my life. We work to fight against the unethical use of printing technology and grant the printed human rights, but we never really got much done," she paused for a moment. "Years ago they finally had enough, tracked us down, destroyed us... I escaped, but many couldn't..."

Alpha finished talking, and they sat there in silence for a good few minutes.

Then, the sounds of shouting and running came in through the open windows. The guards are here.

“It’s time for you four to go,” said Alpha.

“Th…thank you,” One-six stuttered, hurriedly getting up with his team and heading towards the door.

“The Council is getting desperate, desperate to maintain their power and social stability. More and more of the printed are being blended into society by the day. More and more people are disappearing left and right. There is word of the Council planning something, something big, something sure to end the war in one decisive strike. Yet society is crumbling, tearing apart at the seams. Change is coming. Big, big changes. If Europa wins the war, printing will take over the world. For better or for worse, I don’t know. But it’ll be people like you who can make a difference,” Alpha spoke as they opened the door.

“And how will we do that?” One-six asked, stopping at the doorway.

“That’s for you to decide. But if you really wanted me to say something, this is what I’m going to tell you,” she leaned forwards. “Knowing often hurts more than not knowing. But knowing is the only way to make a change, and not knowing is the only way to live in bliss. Personally, I prefer to be able to make a change. I think the ability to do something is of more value. But in my state of health currently there isn’t much I can do. Your futures are not decided by others, it’s for you to carve out on your own. But if you want to make a change, act fast, act now, because time is running out.”

One-six nodded as the sound of boots banging on concrete rose up from the stairwell.

Isn’t that the same thing which One-five said?

“At the top of the stairs there’s a door to the roof,” said Alpha. “The rooftops are close enough together that you can easily jump from building to building. Run, get away, and go make those changes.”

“Thank you,” One-six said once more. “And, one more thing… what’s your real name?”

Alpha smiled. “Emily.”

One-six nodded, closing the door for the last time before charging up the stairs with his teammates.

They bursted through into the cold night air, atop the apartment with the city skyline painted against the horizon. They picked a direction, any direction, and began running.

With one big leap, One-six jumped into the darkness, soaring eight stories above the narrow alleyways, landing hard on the opposite rooftop. His teammates did the same, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, their shadows dancing on the streets below.

“They’re there!” Someone shouted as gunfire erupted from behind them.

The bullets wizzed by them, but they were far enough away that the night had almost eaten them whole. Sparks flew and the air crackled as some stray rounds hit the ground around them.

Two-six took a stumble, barely getting off the ground at the next jump and landing just short of the next rooftop. She grabbed the ledge with her hands, her feet sliding against the dusty concrete walls.

“One-six!” She screamed.

He turned back, running back through the gunfire and bullets, and grabbed Two-six's wrists with both of his hands. With a big tug he lifted her over the edge and back to safety, then they chased after One-five and Two-five together.

Soon the gunfire stopped, and the voices of the guards could no longer be heard above the howling wind. They sprinted down an emergency fire staircase by the side of a building and waved down the first car they saw. Within minutes they had made their getaway and were speeding down the highway towards Transfer Central, where they plan to take the maglev back to their base.

“What are we going to do now?” Two-six asked as they sat in the speeding car, still panting.

“We’ll discuss it when we get back,” answered One-six, looking out of the window. “I have a crazy, but somewhat selfish idea.”

“Rebellion?”

“Yeah… something like that.”

One-six had already made up his mind, back when they were running up the stairs, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

“Didn't we say that before?” Two-six asked again.

Perhaps printing could save the world, perhaps it could change human nature for the better.

He won't let printing take over the world. He wasn't going to let his suffering be cast upon others. It's a selfish decision, based upon nothing but his own wants.

But it doesn't matter.

“Well… for real this time...” One-six replied.

*****

Just as the sky began to turn pink with the rising sun, they stepped into their common room and collapsed into the folding chairs in the corner, too tired to cross the room to the couches. The guard at the checkpoint did not even bother raising his eyes at them as they hurriedly ran past.

The room is empty, none of the others awake at this early hour.

As their ragged breathing began to subside, they could hear rapid footsteps echoing down the hall, growing closer by the second.

“Are they onto us?” Asked One-five, who had frozen on the spot and was listening intently.

“I don’t-”

But before One-six’s words fully made their way out of his mouth, the footsteps turned the corner.

An armed soldier stepped into the room, holding a rifle pointed at One-six and his team.

“Hands in the air!” He commanded as two more soldiers came in after him. “Get on your knees!”

One-six followed the orders, raising his hands into the air and slowly getting down to his knees. His teammates did the same, dropping to their knees with their hands in the air.

With as subtle a movement as possible, One-six looked over at his teammates and locked eyes with them. No words were needed to communicate their plan with each other. Their many years together has given them flawless teamwork and synergy.

Biting his lip, One-six kicked a chair forwards towards the men. They panicked and scattered as the chair flew towards them, firing off rounds at random targets in the room. The powerful muzzle blast of the rifles in the small room making One-six's ears ring painfully.

Simultaneously, One-five drew his pistol and dived to the side, firing off two rounds in the process, striking one of the armed men twice in the head, killing him instantly.

The remaining two men turned their guns onto One-five. But before they could fire, Two-six and Two-five had both drawn the pistols they took from the guards earlier, and squeezed off multiple rounds, killing the two remaining men as well.

“Go get your flying suits, now!” One-six shouted to his crew, grabbing One-five and running towards their room.

“Why?” Two-six asked, scrambling to her feet.

“It’s time for us to fly.”