“[…] The more widespread access to media became, the more humanity lost its sensitivity to horror. As news stories were bombarded with accounts of heinous crimes, one horrific assault became just a blip in the mind. Then there was rape, murder, hate crimes, war crimes, genocides, and war. Why should they matter when everyday violence is constantly escalating?
Perhaps that’s why, when the Global War started, most people took it as just another Monday—filled with dreadful stories that had become as usual as traffic on the way to work. Nobody cared. People became less than human, deprived of their basic empathy and infused with a moral numbness that continues to this day.
I call for change. […]”
— An excerpt from a manifesto left by a person who committed self-immolation, signed as “Concerned Citizen,” the year 2204.
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As I realized that the building we infiltrated was not technologically advanced, my combat protocols strained through all my experiences in active fighting zones to look for an answer as to what my next action should be.
Since mechanical means of waging warfare grew too outdated along with the dropping costs of manufacturing a motherboard, the current means of fighting relied more so on electrical power and processing speed of a firearm or combat-capable augment, rather than a combustion chamber of a gunpowder-based gun or a tripwire hooked to a mine.
That is why, all the fighting I’ve done and all the experience those previous missions acquired, was inadequate to rely on in this situation.
What I needed to do was to set monitoring the building’s network as a secondary process, and focus more on the physical input my body could gather.
I uncapped my senses’ limitations and quickly searched through historic databases that spoke of old age warfare tactics.
That was all I could do, when it came to reassessing the enemies’ tactics.
Now, what was left was a quick assessment of the next course of action.
“They heard it, right?” Rin asked me hurriedly as she ducked behind one of the pillars present in the restaurant’s space.
I copied her and hid myself behind another pillar.
I checked the floor above with my x-ray and infrared vision, and strained my hearing. The people up there were moving frantically. One person looked at their datapad, and I was able to sense an incoming ping to the camera feed. I sent out a neutronium pulse to prevent that.
The cameras would not work while I was here.
“They're arming up. I recommend retreat.” I said as I felt a neutronium signature of a rifle. They were armed well.
At my suggestion, Rin’s face remained stoic, although I could see an increasing amount of sweat gathering on her brow.
“No.” She said as she looked at her gun. “They’ll move the merchandise if we leave, and we'll never find it again.” She explained and I agreed with her reasoning.
But, no matter how much resolve one had, it would not stop a neutronium sped bullet from exploding in their guts.
“They’re well armed. Five hostiles. Two with neutronium-based weapons. One with a rifle and another with a handgun. They're coming down.” I informed Rin and another curse erupted from her mouth.
“Alright, this is what we're gonna do. Cover me while I grab the merchandise. Got it? ” She looked at me expectedly. I checked my Colt’s magazine. Six rounds were present. I could do this quickly if I aim well. If not, then I still have the M7 strapped to my shoulder.
“Go then. They'll be in range in five seconds.” Rin’s eyes widened, and she dashed through the open space of the restaurant.
As she came closer to the kitchen, two men stepped in my sights.
I aimed and tried to fire.
I couldn't.
“I don't hear your Colt going off! Why aren't you shooting?!” Rin’s frantic voice went through the comm link and the men shot at the pillar I was hiding behind.
It would not hold for another salve.
In milliseconds, I was able to tell that a memory process was overriding my command to shoot.
Hazel eyes widened in fear. A child of war.
I couldn't squish it down. Couldn't do anything to it.
I holstered my gun. If I was unable to shoot, then I only had one option left.
When the hostile gunfire stopped, I listened to the sound of magazines changing. Only the man with a rifle moved during the pause.
I would need to prioritize the gunman.
I looked quickly at the restaurant’s floor layout and calculated the optimal route.
After a second of deliberation, I dashed from behind the pillar. I saw two middle-aged men dressed in white tank tops and underwear. No protection. Perfect.
Only when I reached the midway point, the gunman realized someone was moving towards them. My sound dampeners were on.
As he shot once, then twice; I threw a bottle that sat on one of the tables at the gunman. He grunted and I moved again.
With a couple of swift movements, I positioned myself next to the hostiles. With a quick right hook I neutralized the lesser threat. The man’s jaw was crushed with a piercing power of my punch, and there was no resistance as he fell to the floor. As my bioscan was always active during an engagement, I was able to tell that he was still alive.
Bang!
In the background, I heard a single distant gunshot. My hearing implants were malfunctioning.
“You bitch!” With an unnecessary expletive, the rifle-handling man rushed at me with the raised weapon. He intended to hit me with it. What an idiotic plan.
You have one of the most disastrous weapons in your hands, and you still rush at the enemy like an animal?
When he raised his rifle higher, with an intent of hitting me with it, I punched the man in his abdomen. The sharp edges of my plasteel knuckles were like a sharp rock against raw flesh. My fist disintegrated first the flimsy material of his tank top, and then the skin.
The air rushed through the man’s lungs, and he doubled over in what FERS described as agony.
As he was still conscious, I kicked the man in the head. The sound of breaking bone echoed through the restaurant’s floor and brain matter exploded out the point of impact. The second enemy was dead.
Soft features twisted in horror.
As I turned my attention to the unconscious man, I heard three sets of rushing feet coming down the stairs. I checked my processes, and they were still overridden by the memory.
I positioned myself next to the wall near the bottom of the stairs.
With a lightning-fast infrared scan, I saw the men put on vests made of what I would guess would be military grade synthcotton. It wouldn’t save them.
“I got the stuff! But I can't carry it out by myself. How’s it looking?” Rin’s voice sounded out through the comm link.
As the first man came into my field of vision, I rushed at him and hit him once in the back of the neck. The bone twisted inside the flesh at a deadly angle. Third hostile down.
“Two to go.” I informed Rin as the fourth man came down carefully. He noticed what happened to his companion.
When the barrel of his rifle peeked through the edge of the wall, I grabbed the muzzle and pulled it down. As the man’s body fell on the ground, I raised my foot and stamped his head. A loud crack and a splashing noise echoed through the floor.
I would need to clean these shoes afterward. That’s why Jack didn’t like me to fight hand-to-hand. It was such a mess to clean up.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
A single gunshot flew behind my head. I turned my attention to the last hostile. The man was not a man at all.
It was an adolescent boy. His face was twisted in what FERS recognized as dread and anger.
Another shot missed me by a couple of millimeters. I jumped towards him and pulled the handgun from his hands. I threw it away.
“Hey?! Is it over? Can I come out?” Rin asked as I stared at the boy.
With a loud desperate cry, he rushed at me with a raised fist.
I limited my strength to average human levels and put the boy in a headlock. In a couple of seconds, he was unconscious. I set him against the wall.
I used my bioscan to assess the hostiles’ status. Of all the enemies around me, two were alive. The rest were dead.
My emotional response circuits went numb under the energy strain they generated. I felt a shiver travel through my artiflesh. When I looked at my hands, they were trembling. Issuing an administrative command to that part of my body did not stop the tremors.
Even when the control over my body slipped, I could still think. I gathered my thoughts and answered Rin’s previous query.
“The hostiles are down? Should I assist you?”
“I'm c–coming over.” She responded with some level of hesitation in her voice.
As Rin walked out of the kitchen, I moved to meet her.
Her face was looking grim.
“Well, you managed just fine I see?” She mused as she came closer to the pile of the enemies that accumulated near the bottom of the stairs.
“How many dead? Four?” She asked as she picked up the neutronium-based rifle and handgun.
“Three. This one,” I pointed to the man with a crushed jaw, “and that one are alive.” Then I gestured to the boy.
The more I looked at the young man, the more my hands shook.
The energy in my core pulsated in a nauseating rhythm.
“You've absolutely destroyed them. Fan’s not gonna be happy, but at least they saw only your face and you’re new. It probably won't come to bite us in the ass.” She said as she started to walk towards the kitchen again. “Come on! You're gonna have to haul the merchandise to the car.”
“And what about you?” I asked as Rin set the gathered firearms on one of the tables.
“Me? I'm gonna scrub the footage. Look,” She pointed to one of the corners above. “That one is old as fuck. They have to keep the recording stuff somewhere. It won’t be visible in the network. I'll handle that, and you can deal with the digital footprint.”
“Alright.” I answered as I walked towards the kitchen.
In the corner of my vision, a pair of hazel eyes watched my every move.
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“I think we’re done here. Let’s go. I’ll send you the address.” Rin exclaimed as she rushed toward the passenger seat of our stolen car.
I closed the trunk of the car carefully since it was not in a good condition and would certainly not benefit from my uncapped strength.
Besides the obvious problem of my body’s control, as my hands were still trembling, and I could tell that my logical pathways were trying to override the emotional response circuits, the other thing that was nagging me was the merchandise in question.
When I carried the case to the car, Rin clearly stated to me that I should under no circumstances look inside. Why? I didn’t ask because I was quite certain that Rin would not tell me the truth.
Even though I knew that it would probably be rude to disobey Rin’s request, I just kept thinking of what this could be.
The case holding the merchandise wasn’t big; as wide as the inside of the trunk and slim enough to fit in, so whatever it held was not massive. I did hear faint rattling from inside, as if many small items bounced around there.
Rin said games, but her reaction when I first asked about what the merchandise was pointed to a more elaborate answer.
I could check with infrared and x-ray vision, and I did, but the answer didn’t become any clearer. Rin would notice if I peeked, right?
I decided to be a good teammate and respect Rin’s wish. Maybe she had an important reason for it?
After that quick deliberation, I stepped into the car and with a quick neutronium pulse commanded the car to start.
“This is awesome every time.” Rin mused as she looked at the car’s dashboard, which showed all the information a driver needed.
“What’s awesome?” I questioned as I started to back away from the street we parked on. There wasn’t anyone on the streets, so I quickly drove forward. With a quick search through the Nova York layout, I decided on the best path to the address Rin provided me.
“The technomancy. You do realize that it’s not something you see every day?” Rin questioned with some curiosity in her voice.
“I suppose.” I was aware that usually it was synthoids that were as well-versed in this ability, and not humans. Although, every human with a good quality SDI was able to do at least some of the things synthoids could.
Jack always said that it was mentally exhausting and in the long term could be hurtful to the thalamus, since it was basically the brain’s relay center.
Synthoids did not have a thalamus and therefore did not have such fear.
“Gabby’s fantastic at it. He’s so quick with it too. Once, I brought him on a mission similar to this one, and with just a quick glance at the building he was like ‘Finished. Network’s done.’ At this Rin tried to imitate Gabriel’s voice. “It was so cool.” She finished with a sigh.
“I noticed.” I agreed.
“By the way, why are your hands shaking?” Rin asked me suddenly.
I looked at my hands that sat on the wheel, and they were indeed slightly trembling.
With that reminder, I checked the whole of my processes and saw that it was getting better. My emotional response circuits were slowing down as the logical pathways minimized. I also felt less nauseous. My core was settling.
Even though all of that was getting better, I still had a flickering image of hazel eyes in the corner of my vision. Did I do the right thing? Back at the restaurant?
Rin didn’t seem fazed by the violence. Jack never had qualms about it either, except that one time.
I killed people in combat before, while under orders obviously, but this time it was different. All the actions were my own.
It was I who decided who would live and who would die.
I felt a shiver travel through my body as an increasing pressure bloomed in my head where the emotional response circuits were situated. Parts that made me a thinking, fully realized life form, one would argue. Like a human brain, my ‘brain’ got a headache.
There was so much that my ethical protocols and logical pathways were unable to handle regarding this realization that I think I blanked out for a second.
Thankfully, Rin didn’t notice.
“I don't know,” I admitted, my voice flatter than I intended. “It's been happening since the fight.”
Rin glanced at me with a conflicting expression on her face.
“Aren’t you made for combat? You shouldn’t be getting post-battle jitters.” She questioned.
I was indeed made for combat, but that was not my only use. I could fly, be stealthy. I possessed vast experience with maintaining weapons and other machines. Tasks that were needed from a synthoid in a military base.
I was made for fighting, but did I want to? Wasn’t the question of want, what made a synthoid sentient?
I should reevaluate my combat protocols. They were set for lethal force and editing them in the middle of combat was possible, but not advised.
If killing someone made me feel this strange and uncomfortable, then I don’t think it’s worth it.
Hazel eyes started at the sky. Widened in death.
The pair of hazel eyes in the corner of my vision was still there, but it was fainter.
Is that why it was there? So I would resolve these moral quandaries?
Being sentient was more uncomfortable than I anticipated.
I weighed the consequences of what I’d done in that restaurant. They were too overwhelming with uncomfortableness to repeat. I could kill again, but I don’t think I’d want to.
“I don’t think I want to kill anymore.” The words escaped me. Strange sensation.
“Um, okay?” Rin’s voice held a great dose of breathiness and when I took a quick look at her, FERS said she was confused. “Are you sure you’re okay? Are you malfunctioning?” She changed her tone to concern.
The word ‘malfunctioning’ made my core’s energy flare in an uncomfortable rhythm. I don’t think I liked her using this word to describe me.
Was what I was feeling and thinking a simple ‘malfunction’ or was it simply a syndrome of being an intelligent life form with emotions grafted onto them with the moment of their creation?
I think it was the latter.
“I’m not ‘malfunctioning’. Never say that to me again.” I asserted, and my voice came out harsher than expected.
“Damn! Fine!” She loudly said. “Sorry.” She said much quieter. That made me feel a bit better.
We drove in silence until we reached the destination.
The address led to a place called ‘TechLuk’, which I guessed meant that it was a store of some kind with technological equipment.
The only light came from the neon sign. The front windows were blacked out. I checked with my infrared vision for people and noticed two silhouettes inside.
“Okay, so go grab the merchandise, and I’ll lead you inside. There’s a back door.” Rin said as she stepped out of the car.
I did as she said and grabbed the box.
As we stepped onto the wet road, I followed Rin. She was basically strutting; confidence was oozing out of her and with a bioscan I was able to determine that she was indeed feeling good. The serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin levels were elevated.
It had to do with the job we did, as Rin and I did get the merchandise the contact mentioned.
When we were close to the doors, Rin turned to me and said.
“Let me do the talking, alright? You just watch and learn.” I nodded to appease Rin and then we stepped inside.
The backroom of the store was barely visible. A couple of lights were illuminating the space, but even then, I was able to conclude that there wasn’t anyone here.
I checked with infrared vision again and noticed two figures talking to each other behind the door at the end of the room.
I overheard a snippet of a conversation.
“--so many? You plannin’ something big, Jane?” A deep voice spoke with a hint of amusement.
“None of your business. Just tell me. Will you do it or not?” Softer voice responded.
Jane? Why did that name sound familiar—
“I sent Luk a message that we’re here, but I guess he’s busy or something. Let me check his office.” Rin said as she came closer to the door behind which were the two figures.
She knocked twice and went in. I did after her, while carrying the merchandise in my arms.
“Yo, Luk. Why didn’t you come out? I have your stuff– Oh! H–hi, Jane!” Rin’s voice wavered as she saw the female figure of Luk’s companion.
The man himself looked to be of average build and with standard neural cybernetics.
It was the woman that made me curious.
When our eyes met, I could swear that I’ve seen her before—
[Restricted memory accessed by administrative command.]