Deeper than any mine, Araf was built with the equipment, materials, and scraps of those who fell into the Abyss, and with what was left by miners. This whole city was built by Lucy as a last home for those who fell and were misfortunate enough to survive. After all, one had to keep oneself busy somehow.
When Lucy first fell, she had waited for years to die without getting up, but she just couldn't pass away. Bored after what seemed like an eternity, Lucy got up and started to see how she could keep herself busy. “One has to figure out how to keep oneself busy,” she thought. At first, she had wandered the Abyss, which surrounded the grove of the world. Again and again. Initially, there was no one else, but over time, there we others who survived their fall to the Abyss. “I think a new trend started with me,” thought Lucy. She noticed that there were certain places where people were thrown, and she mapped them out. She would come and check for other survivors from time to time.
Those who were thrown originally were lucky, unlike her. All those who fell were met with death straight away. Lucy was hesitant at first as it would be disrespectful to the dead, but after a long moral argument with herself, she started replacing her deteriorated parts with scraps. Over time, she mounted the upgrades that she found advanced and beneficial, without hesitation. “Technology must be getting better up there,” she thought, with each new body coming in. It was out of this boredom that the idea of making herself six legs arose. “I've become quite brassy, but they don't need these anymore, and I'll be more comfortable this way,” she thought. The idea of climbing back up didn't even cross her mind. She had a reason for this. As the price of her impudence, she showed respect to those who fell and buried what was left of them. So they were even, she thought.
When she discovered the place where Araf is located now, her only goal was to build a house for herself. She had chosen this place because it was in the center of the places where people were thrown. After digging the entire Abyss, the miners obviously didn't even bother to take most of the high-end equipment with them. She had benefited greatly from them. Lucy remembered the rush to the Abyss like it was yesterday. It was a new-age discovery, and corporate states were not the kind of entities that would miss this opportunity. Of course, when they were done with the Abyss, when they scraped the bottom, they blew up the elevators used to descend here. It was a place that connected almost the whole continent, after all. No company-state had taken the risk of enemies coming from beneath the city in which they lived lightly. Maybe they were afraid that if what they found - whatever it was - was left a little down there, they were afraid others would take it. When it came to corporations-states, they were more likely to think about profit percentages than human lives.
As time went on, Lucy was building the city, constructing buildings in case there were any survivors. She was a little tired of being alone. She hoped that maybe one day someone would survive and tell her what was going on up there. With time, what she expected came true, and there were those who were unlucky like her and survived. She found them and healed them. She gave them a roof over their heads. She took every person that survived in front of her and listened to the developments. It seemed like much had changed up there and nothing had changed at the same time, as in all human history. Lucy wasn't surprised by what she heard, it wasn't like mankind was going to do much to surprise her anymore.
And here was the city of Araf that Lucy had created out of nothing, standing in front of Dan, Brad, and Zoe. It was not a very big place. Houses made of metal sheets lacked imagination. It could be seen from their modest structures that they were made by a single person. The houses looked somewhat grotesque. Cables hung from some buildings, and in others metal kneecaps, elbows, and hands were visible. Despite all these sights, it was not a scary place. Only some houses were different from others because some people got bored and redesigned and built their own houses. Still, everyone was grateful to Lucy, it was beyond imagination for a single person to build a city out of just scraps. They didn't mind the houses lacking imagination. Not wanting to give people false hopes, Dan and Brad decided to take Zoe directly to the only TechDoc they had in the city, as they were a bit afraid of what could happen.
Of course, Dan and Brad's arrival in town with a new person caught the attention of many. It was a rare occasion for someone to survive the fall, after all. Most people were curious about the situation of the new person that shared their fate, and they were trying to find out by talking with Dan and Brad. On the other hand, some didn't seem to care at all, they didn't even look up. Dan and Brad were only saying that she was in critical condition and they were trying to get her to Flo as soon as possible.
Flo's place was different from the others. She was one of those people who got bored and built their house all over again. After all, she was someone with a technical aptitude. The single-storey metal structure had a roof, windows, and even a chimney. As if she was going to have to burn something. Adjacent to the building was a large garage. Although she would not be able to drive a vehicle in the Abyss, she wanted to build the garage she never had in the world above. Contrary to its original purpose, the garage served as a consulting room here, but at least she designed it to her own taste. Considering that she was the only TechDoc in the Abyss, it was possible to say that her garage was quite a busy place. In the garage, there was a stand that served as an operating table where she could treat the injured. There were all kinds of scrap organs hanging on the wall. Of course, Flo had taken care of them all and was displaying the usable ones. She also stored all kinds of materials she could use during surgery in a cupboard.
Zoe had been conscious since she had come to the city and had begun to look around. She was hearing people calling out to Dan and Brad, studying their looks, and trying to understand what they were saying. She was examining everything she could see in the city. For a long time, she just stared into the darkness, and apart from that, all she could see were chunks of rock. Even this ghost town excited her immensely. She gathered from Dan and Brad's conversation that they were going to try to heal her as soon as possible. How am I going to repay my debt to these men? she thought to herself. She was both relieved and excited when they arrived at Flo's place. She wanted to get up and learn everything and be able to help as soon as possible.
Unable to see Flo, Dan and Brad were frantically looking around the garage, discussing what to do. Just as they were deciding that one of them should stay with Zoe and the other find Flo, she appeared at the door. This woman, who was about 2 meters tall, had blond silky hair and stern green eyes. This hard look in her eyes was the only thing that kept her from looking like a 2-meter-tall child. "No worries, gentlemen, I've already heard that you came back with someone," she reassured the two Abysscrawlers. “What did you bring this time? Is she another sociopath or a mass murderer?” She immediately headed towards Zoe, who was lying on the table, without wasting any time.
"We don't know, she's not in a position to talk but we hope she's a good person." Dan said in a whisper, trying to hide his excitement as he added, “Because this fallen one could be the opportunity we've been waiting for all these years.”
“Since you said the opportunity we've been waiting for all these years, I understand that someone with a Cyberdeck has finally fallen.” Flo said calmly. Activating the X-ray enhancements in her eyes, she studied Zoe and was sure of her suspicion. She closed the garage door, as she warned Dan and Brad to be quiet. “We don't want that to be heard. I hope you didn't tell anyone about this on the way.” She waited for both of them to confirm and continued talking. “You will stay with me until the process is over. Fallen One's condition seems critical anyway. Her core is damaged, it would be appreciated if you could help me here.” It was clear from her voice that she was ordering, not requesting. “Then we can call Lucy and talk about what to do about this situation. Yes, we've been waiting for a SorCyber for a long time, but there's no guarantee that it won't wake up and kill us all, you understand? You know from yourselves what kind of people are thrown here," she said and gave the duo a contemptuous look.
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Dan and Brad had never thought, or even wanted to, think about the possibility that the SorCyber might turn out to be an evil person. Because if they thought about it, the profile of the people who were thrown into the Abyss would come to their minds and they would want the SorCyber to not wake up a all. "It doesn't matter anymore." said Brad. "Even if she gets up and kills us all, I don't want to live like this."
"Well, who do you think you are, making a decision for everyone." said Flo with a look that showed that she didn't respect the speaker, which offended Brad. After a short silence, she realized that she was being too cruel and said, “I understand what you mean. Even I feel the same way, but we can't decide for everyone." She was trying to reduce her hurtful tone a little. "We'll talk about it once Lucy arrives, but before that, we don't even know if we'll be able to save Fallen One. Come on, stop thinking and help me!”
Zoe was lying there conscious while all this was going on. She had analyzed Flo the moment she walked into the garage and thought she was a beautiful, cool woman. But when Flo started talking, she didn't like her very much. She found her attitude towards Brad and Dan very disrespectful, but then appreciated her effort to soften her tone. She was back to a point where she didn't know what to think of this woman. She was also intrigued by what was that SorCyber thing that made her so special. She was sure that this knowledge was lost with the memories she had erased, too. She also found the conversation about her getting up and killing everyone after she got better strange. Who would be so despicable as to attack the people who helped them? And Flo's comment about the profile of the people thrown here did not go unnoticed by Zoe. What was I like before I was thrown in here? Did you push me here because I was a vile person, Cain? She was beginning to think. “What could I have done to deserve to be pushed here?”
With Flo's orders, Dan and Brad were shaken to their senses, and they began to do exactly what was being asked of them. They had long learned not to be too offended by Flo's insulting words. Flo could scold, despise, embarrass you, and then try to conciliate you as if nothing had happened and she just hadn't done all this. This unstable personality may have been formed in the Abyss, perhaps it had caused her to be thrown into the Abyss. No one knew that except Flo. Maybe she wasn't aware either.
Flo, on the other hand, was already working on Zoe lying on the operating table. First, she shut Zoe's consciousness because she didn't want her to go into shock or suddenly get up. She was changing the lens in her eye, examining Zoe's damaged parts, and nerves, as well as intervening by transforming her hands into pliers, scissors, and screwdrivers respectively. She was removing the useless, unrecoverable parts and throwing them into a corner while trying to save the parts that she thought could be salvageable, at least she thought that she could whip into shape later and put them in a separate corner.
Flo had been a TechDoc at the Abyss for a duration that no one remembered. By examining each fallen person, she would figure out what types of developments were taking place in technology, and she would install herself the upgrades that she thought would benefit her. She did not lag far behind technology, thanks to her long-time scrutiny of everyone who fell so that she could intervene to save the next survivor. After all, newspapers or academic articles about developments did not come to this boring place. Besides, those who fell and survived generally did not have enough knowledge to tell about technological developments. In any case, Flo didn't respect anyone but Lucy in this garbage heap, she preferred not to talk to people unless it was necessary.
During the operation that lasted for hours, only Flo was talking, while the other two were trying to do what she was saying. Brad must have gotten a little bored during this process, so he decided to start a discussion. Although he was in a dilemma for a long time, his curiosity overcame his fear of Flo. “Flo, let me ask you something.”
Dan, who had lived with Flo longer and knew his partner closely, tried to interrupt, worried about what could happen, when Flo said calmly, "Of course, go ahead." Dan sighed with relief as what he feared didn't happen.
“If we're afraid that SorCyber might be a bad person, why don't we take the CyberDeck out and put it on someone else? Someone we all trust, like Lucy?” Brad asked the heart-rending question.
Frankly, Dan had wondered about that, too. He had turned to Flo with Brad, hoping that Flo would give a rational answer instead of scolding Brad. After all, most people were unaware of such technical information and he didn't even know if that was even possible.
Flo didn't look angry at all. She even liked that there were people who wanted to benefit from her technical knowledge. She took the question seriously and began to explain it. “First of all, I have to say this. What you are thinking about is possible. We can disassemble the CyberDeck and install it on you or anyone else we all approve of. There have been many people I've had the CyberDeck installed on while I was above, it is a subject I'm proficient in, without a doubt. Although I would like to have the CyberDeck in someone we trust like you, there is a problem. It's something that Lucy strictly forbids."
The two looked at each other, indicating that they could not understand. It was clear that neither of them was aware of such a ban. “I've never heard of a rule like this before.” Dan couldn't help but ask.
Trying to be more descriptive, Flo said, "It's just something she said to me. In other words, the only person with the ability to install a CyberDeck." As she rolled her eyes.
“But why?” Brad couldn't stop himself from asking. He couldn't comprehend the reasoning behind this rule.
"I don't know. Maybe it's because Lucy is a SorCyber that had her CyberDeck dismantled.” Flo said as if she were giving out information that everyone knows.
"Was Lucy a SorCyber????" the duo cried as they were overcome with shock.
Realizing that she blundered, Flo thought that there was no way back from here and said, “I didn't notice that you didn't know. Why are you so surprised? Many people here are people who got their CyberDeck removed. But of course, it is normal that you do not know, no one in Araf has trained eyes like mine. Since I had seen the surgery on her spine, I more or less guessed what happened. So I spoke to her.”
The duo who learned a clue about the previous life of the person they saw as their leader, were very surprised. They didn't know anything about the past of the person they had known for what seemed like forever. As Dan thought of how wise and proud Lucy was, he said, "I think she might not want the person who fell to go through what she went through."
Flo said, “I don't know. I am not sure. But the thing is, you forget that most people here are dangerous. Many people would risk killing to get to this CyberDeck. There may even be carnage for this CyberDeck. My guess is that Lucy doesn't want such a mess.”
Brad, who seemed to have some understanding of the situation, said, "Maybe she knows that the commotion would end only when she put on the CyberDeck, and she doesn't want that. But why?"
Still baffled by the fact that Lucy was a former SorCyber, Dan broke his silence. "Maybe it has something to do with what happened before she fell here."
Realizing that this conversation would go no further than speculation, Flo returned to her work and closed the subject by not speaking at all. Brad was about to break the silence once again when he was silenced by her with only a stern stare and got to work again. After a long struggle, Zoe's body was almost completely renewed. A few parts of her old body were salvaged. Flo had set aside pieces that impressed her with their craftsmanship, content, and materials as she thought she could make use of them later.
“We've done everything we could and it looks like The Fallen One will live...” heralded Flo. Without allowing Brad and Dan to celebrate, she continued, "One of you should bring Lucy here, but try not to attract too much attention. And who knows, maybe you will have a chance to learn some of the things you are curious about.”
Dan signaled to Brad with his eyes that he was leaving as he lifted the garage door without a word and shot out like an arrow. He had spent enough time in this pit. He didn't have another minute to waste.