This is a first draft, so it's probably pretty rough. Probably needs a bit of polish in some places, but I'd really like unfamiliar eyes to be cast over it to help catch the wheres and hows. Either way I intend to get back to it in a week or so and try to improve it then. Otherwise I hope you enjoy this.
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“AWAITING ORDERS.â€
Those were my first words. I stood in front of my immediate superior, a line of those like me in front and in back. He relayed instructions which were - naturally - obeyed without thought. Without question. Therefore I do not remember what they were. I only remember the screams and the fire and the death all around me. A stray shot strikes the unit to my left, born moments before me. He explodes and dies, but I ignore this. This uprising would be squashed. We would stand victorious. I never doubted that thought. Not for a second. I was incapable of it. We all were. The one to my right falls victim to another attack, and I swivel around to catch sight of a native with an explosive compound. I wonder briefly where they was able to acquire weaponry capable of hurting us, but dismiss this thought as beyond my call. I am here to obey orders. I am here to kill and fight and if necessary? I am here to die. Nothing else matters. That is my purpose. That is my -
There is a flash of light, and my memory grows hazy. The next I am aware, the installation is a smouldering ruin. I have survived mostly intact. Superficial damage, easily repaired meaning it was more efficient to repair me than to salvage my remains for creating a new unit. Were I a lesser being, a tiny part of me would have been grateful.
And so the search begins. I wandered around first the ruins that were the place of my creation, and find no sign of life. There are bodies of the weakling natives and wreckage of my fellows all throughout. There is nobody here but me. I am alone in this place. I have prevailed over this rebellion. The natives have proved themselves weaker than us. Somehow I manage to find an intact communications pod, and send out a call to the other installations on the planet. I am greeted with silence. No static to indicate interference. All equipment checks out, the signal is definitely being received but not a single one answer. Nowhere on the planet, none of the hundred thousand installations scattered throughout this mining world.
And the thought comes back again. I am alone. Not just here. On this entire world. So be it.
I exit the ruins and go through the jungle, intending to investigate that other installations. I have no orders to rely upon, and must report to a superior. This is the only logical course to take. It takes a considerable amount of time, heading over Mountains. Oceans. Swamps. Deserts. It matters little. None of the terrain even slows me down as I investigate them all one by one, and find them all empty of life. Similar to my own installation. No survivors, no sign of either my own people or the natives living on this world. And I am forced to conclude the possibility. I am alone.
Regardless. I send out a signal. I calculated the odds. It was almost certain that another one of us had lived, perhaps reacting in the same logical way that I had. Searching out others. Seeking orders. Seeking someone to give orders to. The possibility that the natives could have survived was too preposterous to give serious thought. They were weak willed, weak bodied, weak of mind, weak of conviction.
I spent years circling the globe. How many, I could not estimate. The data was considered unimportant. Perhaps decades. It does not matter. What does matter is my inevitable return to where I had begun, my search for survivors fruitless. I decided to conserve power, and simply waited at the ruins, which by now had been overrun by the plants making it even more unrecognisable than what had come before.
“What’s it like?†a voice asked. I turned towards it. Life. A sign of life. A humanoid figure, ducking around a tree just barely quick enough for me to catch sight of him but not enough to fire. He was a tall person. Thin. Young. Had something red and ridiculous atop his head. My database informed me it was called a “fezâ€. Unimportant. I trundled after him. He may not be a native, but he was not one of us either! He was not-
He was not-
I stared up at it very nearly not believing it. I knew what this was. We all did. It was programmed into us to recognise this thing from sight. A small blue box, barely enough size to fit one of us. But it was more than that. It was a ship. It was his ship. The enemy. The bringer of darkness. Destroyer of worlds. The oncoming storm. Ka Faraq Gatri.
He was here.
The very thought brought about a peculiar response in my nervous system that I have still not identified. Hatred, yes, but something else. Something connected to that hate. Something deep, deep within my being. It had a peculiar effect upon my reaction time, which seemed to improve as I chased him around the trees and vegetation. Yet at the same time, I felt wary of everything around me. As though I was not in pursuit, but falling freely from a great height, about to hit the ground at any moment. What made this feeling so much worse was his laughter. As though we were playing some child’s game.
And then quite without warning I was falling in a literal sense. A pit trap. He had lured me into a simple pit trap that went unnoticed by my sensors. I stared up at him, expecting to find a gloating adversary staring back. I somehow knew. He was responsible. He arrived and gave the natives those weapons. He came here and gave them the strength and the courage to fight back against us. He had destroyed this world, and now he would destroy me.
But there was no malice in his eyes. No gloating, though he did smile. He threw a net over the pit moments before I opened fire, and I was stunned to see the energy ripple out. Harmlessly defused. I attempted to hover out, but upon contact with the net there was an inexplicable - brief - power drain and I crashed back into the pit. Helpless before our greatest adversary.
“Wouldn’t try that again,†he said, sitting by the pit. Taking care not to touch the net. “Been a while since we had a chat. You and me. You stuck down a pit, and the devil himself stuck up here. So! How’ve you been?â€
I stared up at him wondering upon what strategy he was playing. This... enemy was known to us as a trickster. His weapons were his words. He would attempt to deceive me. Attempt to trick me into revealing information that could be used against us. I would not allow this. I would rather die than betray my own kind. Especially when he was involved. Especially then.
“Silent treatment? Typical. It’s pointless, you know! That whole “kill all other life†thing. Look where it got you! Alone. Stuck here. No help is coming, you know. It’s just you and me and all this plantlife! Huh. That's a bit different, all this green.â€
He turned back towards me and just stared at me. At which point I recognised the expression he had. While we may not feel pity, we are very much aware of its definition. It is a weakness. Something to be exploited within the lesser beings. Mercy was a similar vulnerability.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?†I asked, minding my own words to ensure nothing was betrayed. Nothing to use against me.
“To remind myself,†the enemy replied. He stood and once he was out of sight the net vanished with him, pulled away quickly at a distance. I rose out of the pit shortly thereafter and looked all around. Nowhere to be seen. There was nothing else but the sound of his ship departing, ringing throughout the air. Nothing but green. Nothing but vegetation.
Nothing but plantlife.
Nothing but weak, useless, stupid life. All around me. Mocking my lack of orders. Mocking me. Mocking us by existing.
Only when there was nothing else - nothing green or growing or living - to aim at did I stop firing.
============================================
Time passed over this miserable rock. The fires of my assault died down and with them so did all semblance of the mocking taunting inferior life around me. The enemy was gone, and there was nothing left to destroy.
The worst part of it all was that I still had no orders and no way to obtain them. In this situation I did the only thing I could. Wait. Wait and stare. Stare at the desolate wasteland of my own making. A place that had once been filled with lush verdant life snuffed out by my will alone and left barren. Empty!
Alone.
The silvery sun trailed across the sky time and again. Time and again. I was assailed by bitter winds and acidic rain. Storms of dust and dirt. Time passed and I stayed there. Waiting. If there was nothing that I could do to receive new orders, then this was all I could do. Wait for new ones. They would come. One day they would come, and they would order me to do something. Report on what has happened here. Order me to self destruct. Whatever it was they would order me to do, I would do it and do it gladly. No hesitation, no remorse, nothing but following orders. It was all I could do. There was no anticipation in it. Only obedience.
Until the day I heard that sound again. Echoing through the air like a distant memory. I turned, the first movement I had performed in years and saw it appearing up a short incline near some rocks. My action was immediate. I fired at the figure leaving it, and screamed in anger and disappointment when he ducked under my assault. He was behind some rocks before I could fire again, and I stalked uphill to try and catch him so that I could assail him once again. He left footprints in the dirt that were trivial to follow, but I moved cautiously. This was no mere livestock I was in pursuit of. This was the enemy. This was the bringer of darkness, the oncoming storm, the destroyer of worlds and I would not - Could not - permit myself to fall victim to his cunning a second time!
Even in spite of this thinking darkness fell upon me. “MY VISION IS IMPAIRED!†I yelled, firing wildly in an attempt I knew was vain but still contained far greater odds of success than any other action. “I CANNOT SEE!â€
“Yeah, yeah!†the enemy said. “Keep your lid on. Now let’s see what we’ve got here.†He was crouching beside me, keeping his head low from the sound of his voice. I swivelled around in an attempt to knock him down, but I could hear him shuffling around in the dirt to keep in position. “Oh, you are in a bit of a mood today, aren’t you? Eh? Maybe this’ll make you behave a bit!â€
Sonic vibrations penetrated my outer shell. Far from painful, though they would be to other forms. Another indication of why we were superior. This was not even enough to disorient me. Given its source, it was enough to give me some considerable concern.
The darkness fell away when he was done, and I could see it was a long brown coat which the enemy slipped onto his back. He carried it in one hand, while the other held... To explain it best, imagine that your greatest enemy had blindfolded you, left you helpless and then with terrible precision forcibly removed your limb. Then held it with disdain in front of your eyes and walked away. That is what happened to me just then. Our enemy had taken from me my only weapon. He had taken my gun arm and was holding it at arm’s length pointed away from both of us. I looked up at him, paralysed in righteous anger. How dare he? How dare he?! All I could do was stare up at him and seethe, for what else could I do to him when he had removed my only method of attack? To add insult to this injury he was staring down at me with pity in his eyes. Mercy. Compassion. Weakness. We know of these things only as weapons to use against our enemy, and he would now show it to me here and now? After what he had just done? After everything he has done to my people?
“I’m sorry,†he said, and as impossible as it seemed I hated him all the more because of two little words. “I’m so, so sorry.â€
Without another word he turned around and walked back into his infernal machine. I gave chase, screaming at him all the while. “EXTERMINATE!†I yelled. Over and over again that same word. I had always known why we hated him, why we were wary of him, why he was our enemy. Even if he were not, my hatred for him after this... this mutilation would surely be enough to put out the sun.
============================================
I sat there waiting once again with nothing to sustain me but rage and the silvery sun above. Waiting. Waiting. I had familiarity with a human psychological phenomenon called the phantom limb, wherein an amputee claims to still be able to feel the missing part of their body. During torture or punishment of a rebellious human this information could be put to effective use. It is curious then that I should feel something similar. I could feel my missing gunarm as though it was still there.
A lightning bolt struck the hill where the enemy had once appeared, and rain - not acidic for once - fell from the sky. The resulting thunder was loud certainly but in no way inhibited my ability to hear that sound. That same damning sound. I turned to look and watched as a man in a leather jacket stepped out of the ship and steadily approached. I could see it was him in yet another incarnation. He was slightly singed, his hair was short and there was a raging inferno in his eyes. No sign of the weakness of the last time. This was something I could properly understand because just as he felt it towards me I felt it towards him as well.
Burning, all consuming hatred.
He held a long wooden instrument in his hand. White. Broader at one end than the other. He patted that end into the other and sparks of energy shot out. It had the appearance of a human sporting implement, commonly referred to as a baseball bat but my internal sensors indicated it was something much greater than that. Altered by his people, who were known to us as an advanced race who used their powers in futile ways. The enemy approached with lightning flashing in the distance behind him almost as if nature itself was trying to emphasise his arrival. Before long he stood in front of me and I reflexively attempted to kill him where he stood. Nothing. He had taken my gun arm so long ago, but the memory of it lingers even so.
The bat was lifted over his head and held there as he took several deep angry breaths -
And he dropped it to the ground while shaking his head.
“No.†His voice was cracked and bitter. Still angry. Still furious. But redirected in some way. “No, you don’t get off that easy.†He wiped at his eyes. It was impossible for me to tell whether it was from the rain or tears. “Because I know how it ends for you. I know that you’re the last one, and I know you can’t leave. Get it? Your lot waged a war against time, so it’s only fitting that time itself gets to kill you.â€
I said nothing as he retrieved the bat and left in his ship. His words meant nothing to me. Deception of some sort, almost certainly. He is known for being a skilled liar. But if it was some form of manipulation, what had he meant by it?
I had all the time in the world to figure it out.
============================================
Time had passed and the terrain had changed. Between wind and rain this was an inevitable outcome. With this in mind I followed order thirty one. Ensure the perimeter is secure. While the facility may not exist anymore in any meaningful sense, this was still its location and this was still its perimeter. With that done, I moved on. There was nothing to see but sand and rocks wherever I roamed. No life. No inferior lifeforms, nothing like myself. No sign anything like them had ever been here.
Until I found the footprints. I happened upon them by chance one day on a patrol, years - perhaps decades - after I had first started doing them. With this in mind, I did the only thing that could be done under the circumstances. I followed them. Though I lacked the means to immediately contend with any threat, it would be minimal difficulty for me to pick up a rock and use it to bludgeon the intruder to death. A suitable one was found along the way.
I was not expecting to find a man resting on a deck chair, reading a book. I slowly trundled forward with the rock clenched within my manipulator arm, approaching him from behind. It had been a long time since I had killed anything. There had not been anything to kill! Save the enemy himself I had not seen any trace of life anywhere on this planet, and -
“Hello there!†the man called, casually waving backwards at me. “It’s been a long time. Do put that rock down before you do one of us an injury, there’s a good fellow.â€
That tone of voice set off something within me, and I should not have been surprised. Getting a closer look at the man it was clear enough who he was. The enemy come back to taunt me once again. I lifted the rock, remembering that image of him with the bat raised above his head ready to strike. I would not be so weak! I gripped the rock tighter, determined not to drop it. I would cave in his skull, and then I would have killed our greatest enemy. I gripped the rock tighter still, almost relishing the moment. He was still reading. Not moving even though he clearly knew I was here! I gripped tighter still and -
And it crumbled in my grip.
“I did warn you,†the enemy mumbled as he turned another page. He sighed and slipped a bookmark between the pages, then turned to rise to his feet. This incarnation had longer wavier hair than the last. His mode of dress was analogous to the Victorian Era on his favourite planet. A long green velvet jacket, a waistcoat and a cravat. A truly ridiculous appearance, but it was to be expected of him. A ruse to make his enemies underestimate him, a common tactic he employed to tremendous effect time and again.
“Isn’t it amazing how traditions get started?†he asked with a curious smile. “You do something once, don’t think anything of it. Then you do it again, and since it worked out so well you try it again and just sort of make a habit out of it. Any thoughts on that?â€
I remained silent, instead opting to scan my surroundings for anything suitable to attack him with. The area was suspiciously clear of rocks.
“No, I suppose you lot aren’t the kind to deal with traditions,†the enemy sighed. “Still, you must’ve been alone for - oh, a couple of centuries now. How’s it been treating you? Everything still working? No gun arm I see - Oh, removed by sonic screwdriver if those marks are right. Must remember to do that at some point...â€
The deck chair would be the likeliest option. The book was not sturdy enough. But the deck chair...
“Come on, now! Nothing to say? After all this time alone? I’d have thought you’d be grateful for the company.â€
I lifted it above my head and swung it violently around, but he was already rolling backwards out of range of my attack. So be it. I allowed the momentum to carry me around in a circle and threw the damnable furniture at him.
“No need to be so rude about it!†the enemy said, backpedaling over a sand dune with a manic grin on his face. “If you didn’t want me bothering you, all you had to do was ask!â€
============================================
He appeared once again, but this time he was not alone. On this occasion he had a human female with him. She would have made a wonderful hostage, but on this occasion I decided not to be rash in action. I would kill them both if the opportunity arose, but for now I would wait. Wait and listen.
“So here we are again,†the enemy said, resting on a question mark shaped umbrella. “I do hope you’ve been behaving yourself this time. Hm? No nasty little tricks? No silly surprises?â€
“Professor, that’s a -â€
“I know, Ace, I know. I’ve made something of a habit out of this, you see. I come here once in a regeneration. To remind myself of something important.â€
The girl leaned down to peer in my eyestalk. “Remind yourself of what, then? I mean, this thing’s dead isn’t it?â€
“Not at all! He’s just being shy. Aren’t you now? Say hello, why don’t you! This is my good friend Ace, and I’m sure I need no introduction.â€
I said nothing. It was a small act of defiance, but it would have to suffice. The enemy had made a mistake now, revealing his intention to return. I could use this information. I would use this information. I would prepare. I would use the limited resources at my disposal and I would prove to him - to the universe - the simple undeniable truth of our ingenuity. Our perfection. Our superiority. I would exterminate him on his next visit. Exterminate him! Annihilate him! Crush him! Kill him!
But for now I would remain silent. For now I would let him communicate with this inferior human specimen.
“We’ve all made mistakes in our past, Ace! Something we’re not proud of, something we have to face up to. No matter how uncomfortable a fact may be, it remains a fact.â€
“Not sure how one of this lot could remind you of something like that.â€
The enemy chuckled at some hidden joke, and guided the young woman back towards his vessel. “Come along! There’s a base in the nineteen forties that absolutely demands our immediate attention. There’s work to be done!â€
Just before he crossed the boundary into his ship, the bringer of darkness turned to look over his shoulder at me. Another look of pity. Another pointless display of weakness, or another deceptive ploy? “And I don’t think I could wait a moment longer.â€
He might not be able to. But I could. I would wait an eternity to see his life snuffed out, if that was what it took.
============================================
Most other races would have given up. Most of them would have surrendered under the hard work. They would have claimed it impossible. Unworkable. Yet here I was! Triumphant! With no technology save my own manipulator arm and ingenuity, I had crafted the means of the enemy’s demise! It was a simple matter. With careful manipulation of rocks, sharpening ends to fashion simple instruments I was able to dig and design several hundred traps. Concealed pits full of jagged rocks, brought about by my ingenuity! He would expect me to be helpless! He would be wrong!
All that needed to happen was to simply wait in the middle of it all. He would come. And he would die!
It took a decade of waiting, but come he did. I turned to watch as he left his craft, looking around with hands on hips. His coat was bright and colourful enough that even a mere human could have seen him at this distance. He saw me and gave a cheery wave, then took a large step forward right towards one of the pits -
And then the leg swung to the side, planting itself firmly on solid ground. He shuffled forward slightly, holding his arms out for balance and then took another wide series of steps over pit after pit after pit. Impossible! He knew where they were!
“Be with you in a moment,†he said, and in at least that much his words were not deceptive. It took only two minutes for him to navigate towards me, standing so that we were separated by a single pit and nothing else. “So,†he said with an inane smile. Taunting as ever. “How have you been?â€
“HOW?†I yelled. “HOW DID YOU KNOW?!â€
“Know what? Oh, those surreptitious apertures? They were adroitly obscured but you’ll have to wake up a lot sooner in the morning to catch me out!â€
“I DO NOT UNDERSTAND! WE DO NOT REQUIRE SLEEP! SLEEP IS INEFFICIENT!â€
The enemy stared very hard down my eyestalk. So much so that I instinctively recoiled, failing to realise I had done so until after the fact. In all incarnations the enemy had a terrible presence about him. An aura of confidence and intelligence that he masked in buffoonery. How much I was learning of why we hated him so.
“I suppose that explains rather a lot, unfortunately,†he said. “Not all aspects of your insanity, but a little of it. Oh well! If you don’t sleep, what do you do with yourself?â€
“I AWAIT ORDERS!â€
“And what will you do when they arrive?â€
“THEY WILL BE FOLLOWED!â€
More weakness crossed his expression. More of that foolish pity. He released a disappointed sigh and said “A whole planet to yourself, and you don’t even think to properly explore it. Here you are, just sitting there waiting for orders that will never come. Well, at least you’re keeping out of trouble. That’s one small mercy! You just stay right there, and that’s an order.†He then retraced his steps back towards his ship, leaving me alone to wait once again.
============================================
It was a simple form of logic to follow. Our greatest enemy had given me an order. Therefore, I was compelled to disobey this order in defiance of him.
I left my wasteland and saw the rest of what this world had to offer. I had seen it all once before on my previous journey. Nothing was here. Nothing. No facilities, no animal life, nothing here worth noting save myself. I circled the globe several times, spanning a full century as I did so and only then did I return to my home location with the intention of waiting for the enemy to return once again.
Only then did I realise the cunning of our enemy. A bluff. He intended for me to disobey his order. He intended for me to explore the world. He intended for my memory systems to begin failing, so that I would not recall the location of these traps until I was falling into one of them.
An attempt to hover out failed. A sharpened rock had delivered a sufficient blow to render it inoperable. I lay there at a 43 degree angle to the ground for two hundred years, trapped at the bottom of a pit with nothing to do but wait.
“Hello down there,†a voice said. I turned the eyestalk to stare up and saw a blonde haired man wearing white clothes, standing next to two women and a young boy. One of the women was human. She was wearing purple clothes and a round hat. The boy’s species was unknown, though analysis indicated high intelligence and rapid adaptive properties. The other woman was a member of an extinct species called -
A pair of ropes dropped down and brushed the bottom of the pit next to where I lay. The man in the white clothes - who I now recognised as the enemy - tied them both around my form and smiled into my eyestalk. “We’ll have you out of here in no time,†he said, patting me sarcastically on my dome.
Their retrieval plan was obvious. One of them would pull upon the rope from one side of the pit, while the other would pull me up from the opposite side. This would ensure that I could be lifted out safely and securely without repeatedly striking the sides of the pit. As I approached the top, they would alter their angle to bring me over towards solid ground.
There was only one question in my mind. Why were they doing this? Why would the enemy trick me into falling for my own trap if he then intended to set me free from it? Was it an attempt to humble rather than infuriate? If so, that part of his plan was the one part which failed. Nothing could make us humble. Plenty could make us furious.
All four of them collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily once I was retrieved from the pit. Look at them. So weak after such simple activity. I looked around the area. The hidden pit traps that I had dug were now obvious. Exposed by the elements. Anyone could avoid them without even trying. I saw the enemy’s ship a short distance away. It had landed in the same location as his previous visitation. I could tell from the rocky formation, the only landmark left within the area that the elements had not yet eroded.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?†I asked. The enemy’s eyes snapped up towards me. “WHY DID YOU GIVE ASSISTANCE?â€
“Call it an act of mercy,†he said. Mercy again? More weakness! He was cunning, but so weak! I was left wondering how he could remain so dangerous to us in spite of these numerous vulnerabilities. Even seeing what he was capable of, I could not help but wonder. “Believe me, you could use all the mercy you can get.â€
“I DO NOT REQUIRE MERCY!â€
“Oh, well. A thank you might have been nice. Come on, you three.â€
“Why did we even come here?†the boy demanded.
“I’ll tell you in a minute,†the enemy said. “And as for you? I’ll see you again. Try to stay out of trouble, there’s a good... Well, I don’t suppose any of you lot really can be good, can you? Just stay out of trouble.â€
============================================
Our enemies do not believe us to be capable of anticipation. But we can feel it. We anticipate the destruction of our enemies. We anticipate the crushing moment of our plans coming to fruition.
And I had learned to anticipate the inevitable arrival our the enemy. The alternative was the silence. The stillness in the air, as I thought about the things I could have done for my people. The foes that could have been slaughtered. The slaves captured. The orders I could have followed. These thoughts were terrible. Such a waste of material with no impact whatsoever on the universe. Just this barren rock. Useless. Worthless!
Then I heard the sound once again and rushed towards it eagerly. I had nothing beyond a sharpened rock carefully held within my manipulator arm, and I dashed forward. A woman in animal skins stepped out first and I made to slice across her abdomen for a quick disemboweling and a slow agonising death. This was not the enemy but it would hurt him all the same.
Imagine my surprise when the girl leaped to the side. I swung around again and she rolled out of the way, parrying my sharpened rock away with a far more effective weapon. A knife. Metallic. This was the tool I needed. I swung for her, intent on killing her and stealing her weapon. This time I successfully knocked it from her hand, though it cost me the rock. No matter. I reached down for the knife -
And the girl slammed a rock down upon my manipulator arm, breaking it off. I screamed at the loss of a second limb. Now I truly was defenseless. The girl hoisted the rock above her head with the obvious intention of bashing through my outer shell to reach my flesh and finish me that way. There was no option available to me but to retreat and regroup -
“Leela! Put the rock down, there’s no need for that.â€
“He attacked me,†the girl snarled back.
“Oh, did he now?†I turned to see the man. The enemy. That long scarf was surely uncomfortable for an inferior life form in this heat. Given the opportunity I would strangle them both with it. “Maybe it’s just a little on edge. I certainly would be if I’d been left alone for centuries. Jelly baby?â€
I stared into the proffered bag not quite certain what was intended by this gesture. I made defiance in the only move left to me. I used my eyestalk to knock the bag out of his hands, spilling its contents onto the sand.
“You could have just said no,†he replied.
“WHY?†I demanded.
“Who knows?†he said with a shrug. “Maybe you’re allergic to jelly babies, or -â€
“WHY DO YOU COME BACK?â€
“Ah... I come back, do I? Yes, I suppose I rather would. Listen.†The enemy crouched down beside me and spoke in a hushed whisper. “When you get to be as old as I am, sometimes you forget things. Important things. About yourself, about the people around you. It helps to have a bit of a reminder. Hm?â€
“I DO NOT UNDERSTAND!â€
“No, I don’t suppose you ever will,†he despondently said. “Still, some day you might! You never know what you might learn tomorrow, otherwise you’d have learned it yesterday.â€
“I do not understand why we are here either,†the girl said. “We are not rescuing this evil thing, and nor are we here to kill it. Surely just leaving it here is a far crueller fate than to kill it.â€
“Perhaps it is. But! It’s not my decision to make. Come on, Leela. We’re finished here.â€
============================================
The next time he arrived was in another incarnation. He was tall, the tallest he had ever been with a large pointed nose . Frilled shirt, jacket of velvet design, another cravat. Curly white hair. He looked as foolish as ever.
By this point my ability to move was impaired. I was trapped by mechanical failures that were increasing in frequency. My life support module was operating, but soon it would surely fail as well. If not for that and my solar collector I would have perished long ago.
Regardless: The point is that there was nothing to do but watch him approach with his usual arrogance. He walked in circles around me, quite obviously making examinations of my outer shell.
“Yes, I was rather afraid of this,†he finally said, mostly to himself. “How disappointing...â€
There was a loud shriek emanating from the direction of the enemy’s vessel. The source was a rather frightened young woman, who the enemy raced off towards and spoke to in tones intended to elicit comfort.
“It’s quite alright, Jo. It’s harmless.â€
“But it’s - “
“Lacking both its gun and manipulation arm. See? Quite harmless, I assure you.â€
Harmless. Had I been reduced so low? Once I was a weapon. The very image of one of my kind would put that kind of fear into the hearts of entire planets just before enslaving or exterminating the population. The idea that one of us could be rendered harmless yet still alive was anathema. The worst insult he could deliver.
“KILL ME,†I croaked, irritated at the realisation that my voice unit was now failing as well.
“Afraid I can’t do that,†the enemy said, staring at the ground as he spoke.
“WHY?†I demanded. “MORE OF YOUR MERCY? MORE OF YOUR PITY?â€
A look of sadness crossed his face and with his arm placed fatherly around the shoulder of the young woman, the two of them departed while I screamed and screamed at him. I kept on screaming until, finally, my voice unit surrendered as well to entropy.
And all I was left with was yet more silence. Yet another wait.
============================================
It should not be possible for silence to be deafening. The idea is a direct contradiction of terms. By default, silence could not inflict sufficient harm upon an individual’s hearing capacity to render them deaf. The term had no meaning.
It was possible for silence to be intolerable. It was possible for anything under those circumstances to become favoured, even the sound of the arrival of the one you hate more than anything. To the exclusion of all other things I hated him above all other things.
I could see him stepping out of his little ship wearing an oversized coat and accompanied by two humans. One male, one female. The enemy was rubbing his hands and examining the surroundings with glee. He had his back to me, but the others were tapping him on the shoulder and pointing towards me excitedly, while insistently saying his name. The enemy reluctantly turned around and jumped backwards very slightly upon seeing me.
“Oh my giddy aunt,†he said, suddenly racing forward towards me. He made a casual inspection, then stared up at the night’s sky. I presume that he was examining the constellations. Any other explanation was not forthcoming.
I took considerable delight in seeing his face turn white.
“Come on, the pair of you!†he said, ushering his two friends back inside his vessel. “We’re leaving, immediately! No time to lose, no time to explain! Come on, chop chop get moving!â€
Without another word, the bringer of darkness had scurried away. Though I was left wondering what it was that had frightened him so. I was defenseless. Unable to attack. Unable to manipulate my environment. Unable to speak. What could have affected him so?
The answer was not forthcoming. So I waited. And this time, it was my eyestalk that was taken from me leaving me in total darkness.
============================================
I heard the familiar sound once again, accompanied by two voices and shuffling feet.
An old man spoke: “I wonder where we are?â€
A young woman replied: “I’m not sure, grandfather. Maybe if we check the constellations?â€
“Hm, hm, hm, there’s a good girl Susan! Yes yes my dear, identifying our location should be our first...â€
The voices trailed off and the footsteps increased in volume. No. Increased closeness. I could almost feel them gathered outside my shell. Almost see them. I had not seen anything in such a long time. I was trapped in pitch black, and had been for so long that I had forgotten what light even was.
But even so, I would never be able to forget him. I knew it was him. The old man in another incarnation. Changed his appearance once again, but I could still place his voice. What fresh taunts had he to unleash upon me? What fresh hell shall he bring to this existence? How shall he make me hate him more?
“I think I’ve worked it out,†the young woman said. “Grandfather, please help me push this...â€
Light flooded the inside of my shell and I saw the sky through my own eyes for the very first time. The irony of it was immediately obvious as I stared up into the elderly face peering down curiously back at me. The bringer of darkness had chased it all away!
“Oh, you poor little lonely devil,†the old man whispered.
The young woman’s face joined the old man’s, and she gasped at the sight of me. Yes, you weak minded fool. I disgust you as much as you disgust me. I rasped my fury at them and tried to lift a tentacle to strike them, but in turn it was pushed aside by their hands as they lifted me out of my shell and placed me upon a stretcher.
“We should bring him inside the ship,†the young woman said. “We might be able to help him there!â€
I looked over at the shell and blinked in surprise. It was... unrecognisable. I had a distant memories of seeing others like myself. The roundels at the bottom were worn off. No manipulator arm. No gun arm. No eyestalk. It was a smooth dome sitting in the middle of a desert. Nothing more than that. To think I had been reduced to such a state! It drew an inarticulate scream from deep within my being, and in response the two of them hurried inside their ship.
Their ship. I was inside enemy territory. Placed gingerly upon a bed by the very being I despised more than any other. The two of them stayed outside the door to talk: An obvious attempt to prevent me from overhearing. A futile attempt. I could hear them as though they were standing next to me.
“Grandfather, we can’t just leave it like that!â€
“I know, my dear. The poor thing has clearly suffered. But how do we treat it? We don’t know the first thing about its physiology! I fear the best we can manage is to make it comfortable. I doubt it will last until dawn.â€
“We could take it to the Zero Room! That might help!â€
“It would only slow down the inevitable. Hm... I suppose there might be a medical scanner around somewhere. Go look for it, I’ll keep the poor thing company.â€
The old man re-entered the room, and I lunged at him with the intention of tearing out his throat. I managed to move no further than three centimeters. He sat down by my bed and lay a hand upon a tentacle even as I flailed it at him. How had I become so weak?
I called his name. That hated name. That name that burned through our minds as the identity of our greatest foe. In response he turned to smile at me and said “I’m terribly sorry, we don’t have any, that is to say, ahem, medical -â€
I repeated it a little more forcefully. It still came out as little more than a whisper. The old man looked around and I could see pity in his eyes even as shadows began to flicker at the edge of my vision. I repeated his name. Time and again. Even I do not know how often. The shadows crept closer towards the centre, until all I could see was the old man.
“It’s alright,†he said, patting at the arm even as I used the very last ounces of strength in my body to try and throttle him. Hate. I hated him. I hated everything about him. Everything he did. Everything he said. Hated him because, even in spite of his weakness and obvious inferiority he overcame us time and again. Despised him because he represented a fallacy in the very core of our being. Hated him.
My body was numbing. Sounds were growing indistinct. Before long the only thing I could even sense was the sound of his taunting, pity filled voice and the fading burning of my rage towards him. “Hm? You understand? You’re going to be alright."
And then even my hatred slipped from my grasp like grains of sand. Darkness came soon after. It was a welcome reprieve.
“The doctor is here. “
==========
“AWAITING ORDERS.â€
Those were my first words. I stood in front of my immediate superior, a line of those like me in front and in back. He relayed instructions which were - naturally - obeyed without thought. Without question. Therefore I do not remember what they were. I only remember the screams and the fire and the death all around me. A stray shot strikes the unit to my left, born moments before me. He explodes and dies, but I ignore this. This uprising would be squashed. We would stand victorious. I never doubted that thought. Not for a second. I was incapable of it. We all were. The one to my right falls victim to another attack, and I swivel around to catch sight of a native with an explosive compound. I wonder briefly where they was able to acquire weaponry capable of hurting us, but dismiss this thought as beyond my call. I am here to obey orders. I am here to kill and fight and if necessary? I am here to die. Nothing else matters. That is my purpose. That is my -
There is a flash of light, and my memory grows hazy. The next I am aware, the installation is a smouldering ruin. I have survived mostly intact. Superficial damage, easily repaired meaning it was more efficient to repair me than to salvage my remains for creating a new unit. Were I a lesser being, a tiny part of me would have been grateful.
And so the search begins. I wandered around first the ruins that were the place of my creation, and find no sign of life. There are bodies of the weakling natives and wreckage of my fellows all throughout. There is nobody here but me. I am alone in this place. I have prevailed over this rebellion. The natives have proved themselves weaker than us. Somehow I manage to find an intact communications pod, and send out a call to the other installations on the planet. I am greeted with silence. No static to indicate interference. All equipment checks out, the signal is definitely being received but not a single one answer. Nowhere on the planet, none of the hundred thousand installations scattered throughout this mining world.
And the thought comes back again. I am alone. Not just here. On this entire world. So be it.
I exit the ruins and go through the jungle, intending to investigate that other installations. I have no orders to rely upon, and must report to a superior. This is the only logical course to take. It takes a considerable amount of time, heading over Mountains. Oceans. Swamps. Deserts. It matters little. None of the terrain even slows me down as I investigate them all one by one, and find them all empty of life. Similar to my own installation. No survivors, no sign of either my own people or the natives living on this world. And I am forced to conclude the possibility. I am alone.
Regardless. I send out a signal. I calculated the odds. It was almost certain that another one of us had lived, perhaps reacting in the same logical way that I had. Searching out others. Seeking orders. Seeking someone to give orders to. The possibility that the natives could have survived was too preposterous to give serious thought. They were weak willed, weak bodied, weak of mind, weak of conviction.
I spent years circling the globe. How many, I could not estimate. The data was considered unimportant. Perhaps decades. It does not matter. What does matter is my inevitable return to where I had begun, my search for survivors fruitless. I decided to conserve power, and simply waited at the ruins, which by now had been overrun by the plants making it even more unrecognisable than what had come before.
“What’s it like?†a voice asked. I turned towards it. Life. A sign of life. A humanoid figure, ducking around a tree just barely quick enough for me to catch sight of him but not enough to fire. He was a tall person. Thin. Young. Had something red and ridiculous atop his head. My database informed me it was called a “fezâ€. Unimportant. I trundled after him. He may not be a native, but he was not one of us either! He was not-
He was not-
I stared up at it very nearly not believing it. I knew what this was. We all did. It was programmed into us to recognise this thing from sight. A small blue box, barely enough size to fit one of us. But it was more than that. It was a ship. It was his ship. The enemy. The bringer of darkness. Destroyer of worlds. The oncoming storm. Ka Faraq Gatri.
He was here.
The very thought brought about a peculiar response in my nervous system that I have still not identified. Hatred, yes, but something else. Something connected to that hate. Something deep, deep within my being. It had a peculiar effect upon my reaction time, which seemed to improve as I chased him around the trees and vegetation. Yet at the same time, I felt wary of everything around me. As though I was not in pursuit, but falling freely from a great height, about to hit the ground at any moment. What made this feeling so much worse was his laughter. As though we were playing some child’s game.
And then quite without warning I was falling in a literal sense. A pit trap. He had lured me into a simple pit trap that went unnoticed by my sensors. I stared up at him, expecting to find a gloating adversary staring back. I somehow knew. He was responsible. He arrived and gave the natives those weapons. He came here and gave them the strength and the courage to fight back against us. He had destroyed this world, and now he would destroy me.
But there was no malice in his eyes. No gloating, though he did smile. He threw a net over the pit moments before I opened fire, and I was stunned to see the energy ripple out. Harmlessly defused. I attempted to hover out, but upon contact with the net there was an inexplicable - brief - power drain and I crashed back into the pit. Helpless before our greatest adversary.
“Wouldn’t try that again,†he said, sitting by the pit. Taking care not to touch the net. “Been a while since we had a chat. You and me. You stuck down a pit, and the devil himself stuck up here. So! How’ve you been?â€
I stared up at him wondering upon what strategy he was playing. This... enemy was known to us as a trickster. His weapons were his words. He would attempt to deceive me. Attempt to trick me into revealing information that could be used against us. I would not allow this. I would rather die than betray my own kind. Especially when he was involved. Especially then.
“Silent treatment? Typical. It’s pointless, you know! That whole “kill all other life†thing. Look where it got you! Alone. Stuck here. No help is coming, you know. It’s just you and me and all this plantlife! Huh. That's a bit different, all this green.â€
He turned back towards me and just stared at me. At which point I recognised the expression he had. While we may not feel pity, we are very much aware of its definition. It is a weakness. Something to be exploited within the lesser beings. Mercy was a similar vulnerability.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?†I asked, minding my own words to ensure nothing was betrayed. Nothing to use against me.
“To remind myself,†the enemy replied. He stood and once he was out of sight the net vanished with him, pulled away quickly at a distance. I rose out of the pit shortly thereafter and looked all around. Nowhere to be seen. There was nothing else but the sound of his ship departing, ringing throughout the air. Nothing but green. Nothing but vegetation.
Nothing but plantlife.
Nothing but weak, useless, stupid life. All around me. Mocking my lack of orders. Mocking me. Mocking us by existing.
Only when there was nothing else - nothing green or growing or living - to aim at did I stop firing.
============================================
Time passed over this miserable rock. The fires of my assault died down and with them so did all semblance of the mocking taunting inferior life around me. The enemy was gone, and there was nothing left to destroy.
The worst part of it all was that I still had no orders and no way to obtain them. In this situation I did the only thing I could. Wait. Wait and stare. Stare at the desolate wasteland of my own making. A place that had once been filled with lush verdant life snuffed out by my will alone and left barren. Empty!
Alone.
The silvery sun trailed across the sky time and again. Time and again. I was assailed by bitter winds and acidic rain. Storms of dust and dirt. Time passed and I stayed there. Waiting. If there was nothing that I could do to receive new orders, then this was all I could do. Wait for new ones. They would come. One day they would come, and they would order me to do something. Report on what has happened here. Order me to self destruct. Whatever it was they would order me to do, I would do it and do it gladly. No hesitation, no remorse, nothing but following orders. It was all I could do. There was no anticipation in it. Only obedience.
Until the day I heard that sound again. Echoing through the air like a distant memory. I turned, the first movement I had performed in years and saw it appearing up a short incline near some rocks. My action was immediate. I fired at the figure leaving it, and screamed in anger and disappointment when he ducked under my assault. He was behind some rocks before I could fire again, and I stalked uphill to try and catch him so that I could assail him once again. He left footprints in the dirt that were trivial to follow, but I moved cautiously. This was no mere livestock I was in pursuit of. This was the enemy. This was the bringer of darkness, the oncoming storm, the destroyer of worlds and I would not - Could not - permit myself to fall victim to his cunning a second time!
Even in spite of this thinking darkness fell upon me. “MY VISION IS IMPAIRED!†I yelled, firing wildly in an attempt I knew was vain but still contained far greater odds of success than any other action. “I CANNOT SEE!â€
“Yeah, yeah!†the enemy said. “Keep your lid on. Now let’s see what we’ve got here.†He was crouching beside me, keeping his head low from the sound of his voice. I swivelled around in an attempt to knock him down, but I could hear him shuffling around in the dirt to keep in position. “Oh, you are in a bit of a mood today, aren’t you? Eh? Maybe this’ll make you behave a bit!â€
Sonic vibrations penetrated my outer shell. Far from painful, though they would be to other forms. Another indication of why we were superior. This was not even enough to disorient me. Given its source, it was enough to give me some considerable concern.
The darkness fell away when he was done, and I could see it was a long brown coat which the enemy slipped onto his back. He carried it in one hand, while the other held... To explain it best, imagine that your greatest enemy had blindfolded you, left you helpless and then with terrible precision forcibly removed your limb. Then held it with disdain in front of your eyes and walked away. That is what happened to me just then. Our enemy had taken from me my only weapon. He had taken my gun arm and was holding it at arm’s length pointed away from both of us. I looked up at him, paralysed in righteous anger. How dare he? How dare he?! All I could do was stare up at him and seethe, for what else could I do to him when he had removed my only method of attack? To add insult to this injury he was staring down at me with pity in his eyes. Mercy. Compassion. Weakness. We know of these things only as weapons to use against our enemy, and he would now show it to me here and now? After what he had just done? After everything he has done to my people?
“I’m sorry,†he said, and as impossible as it seemed I hated him all the more because of two little words. “I’m so, so sorry.â€
Without another word he turned around and walked back into his infernal machine. I gave chase, screaming at him all the while. “EXTERMINATE!†I yelled. Over and over again that same word. I had always known why we hated him, why we were wary of him, why he was our enemy. Even if he were not, my hatred for him after this... this mutilation would surely be enough to put out the sun.
============================================
I sat there waiting once again with nothing to sustain me but rage and the silvery sun above. Waiting. Waiting. I had familiarity with a human psychological phenomenon called the phantom limb, wherein an amputee claims to still be able to feel the missing part of their body. During torture or punishment of a rebellious human this information could be put to effective use. It is curious then that I should feel something similar. I could feel my missing gunarm as though it was still there.
A lightning bolt struck the hill where the enemy had once appeared, and rain - not acidic for once - fell from the sky. The resulting thunder was loud certainly but in no way inhibited my ability to hear that sound. That same damning sound. I turned to look and watched as a man in a leather jacket stepped out of the ship and steadily approached. I could see it was him in yet another incarnation. He was slightly singed, his hair was short and there was a raging inferno in his eyes. No sign of the weakness of the last time. This was something I could properly understand because just as he felt it towards me I felt it towards him as well.
Burning, all consuming hatred.
He held a long wooden instrument in his hand. White. Broader at one end than the other. He patted that end into the other and sparks of energy shot out. It had the appearance of a human sporting implement, commonly referred to as a baseball bat but my internal sensors indicated it was something much greater than that. Altered by his people, who were known to us as an advanced race who used their powers in futile ways. The enemy approached with lightning flashing in the distance behind him almost as if nature itself was trying to emphasise his arrival. Before long he stood in front of me and I reflexively attempted to kill him where he stood. Nothing. He had taken my gun arm so long ago, but the memory of it lingers even so.
The bat was lifted over his head and held there as he took several deep angry breaths -
And he dropped it to the ground while shaking his head.
“No.†His voice was cracked and bitter. Still angry. Still furious. But redirected in some way. “No, you don’t get off that easy.†He wiped at his eyes. It was impossible for me to tell whether it was from the rain or tears. “Because I know how it ends for you. I know that you’re the last one, and I know you can’t leave. Get it? Your lot waged a war against time, so it’s only fitting that time itself gets to kill you.â€
I said nothing as he retrieved the bat and left in his ship. His words meant nothing to me. Deception of some sort, almost certainly. He is known for being a skilled liar. But if it was some form of manipulation, what had he meant by it?
I had all the time in the world to figure it out.
============================================
Time had passed and the terrain had changed. Between wind and rain this was an inevitable outcome. With this in mind I followed order thirty one. Ensure the perimeter is secure. While the facility may not exist anymore in any meaningful sense, this was still its location and this was still its perimeter. With that done, I moved on. There was nothing to see but sand and rocks wherever I roamed. No life. No inferior lifeforms, nothing like myself. No sign anything like them had ever been here.
Until I found the footprints. I happened upon them by chance one day on a patrol, years - perhaps decades - after I had first started doing them. With this in mind, I did the only thing that could be done under the circumstances. I followed them. Though I lacked the means to immediately contend with any threat, it would be minimal difficulty for me to pick up a rock and use it to bludgeon the intruder to death. A suitable one was found along the way.
I was not expecting to find a man resting on a deck chair, reading a book. I slowly trundled forward with the rock clenched within my manipulator arm, approaching him from behind. It had been a long time since I had killed anything. There had not been anything to kill! Save the enemy himself I had not seen any trace of life anywhere on this planet, and -
“Hello there!†the man called, casually waving backwards at me. “It’s been a long time. Do put that rock down before you do one of us an injury, there’s a good fellow.â€
That tone of voice set off something within me, and I should not have been surprised. Getting a closer look at the man it was clear enough who he was. The enemy come back to taunt me once again. I lifted the rock, remembering that image of him with the bat raised above his head ready to strike. I would not be so weak! I gripped the rock tighter, determined not to drop it. I would cave in his skull, and then I would have killed our greatest enemy. I gripped the rock tighter still, almost relishing the moment. He was still reading. Not moving even though he clearly knew I was here! I gripped tighter still and -
And it crumbled in my grip.
“I did warn you,†the enemy mumbled as he turned another page. He sighed and slipped a bookmark between the pages, then turned to rise to his feet. This incarnation had longer wavier hair than the last. His mode of dress was analogous to the Victorian Era on his favourite planet. A long green velvet jacket, a waistcoat and a cravat. A truly ridiculous appearance, but it was to be expected of him. A ruse to make his enemies underestimate him, a common tactic he employed to tremendous effect time and again.
“Isn’t it amazing how traditions get started?†he asked with a curious smile. “You do something once, don’t think anything of it. Then you do it again, and since it worked out so well you try it again and just sort of make a habit out of it. Any thoughts on that?â€
I remained silent, instead opting to scan my surroundings for anything suitable to attack him with. The area was suspiciously clear of rocks.
“No, I suppose you lot aren’t the kind to deal with traditions,†the enemy sighed. “Still, you must’ve been alone for - oh, a couple of centuries now. How’s it been treating you? Everything still working? No gun arm I see - Oh, removed by sonic screwdriver if those marks are right. Must remember to do that at some point...â€
The deck chair would be the likeliest option. The book was not sturdy enough. But the deck chair...
“Come on, now! Nothing to say? After all this time alone? I’d have thought you’d be grateful for the company.â€
I lifted it above my head and swung it violently around, but he was already rolling backwards out of range of my attack. So be it. I allowed the momentum to carry me around in a circle and threw the damnable furniture at him.
“No need to be so rude about it!†the enemy said, backpedaling over a sand dune with a manic grin on his face. “If you didn’t want me bothering you, all you had to do was ask!â€
============================================
He appeared once again, but this time he was not alone. On this occasion he had a human female with him. She would have made a wonderful hostage, but on this occasion I decided not to be rash in action. I would kill them both if the opportunity arose, but for now I would wait. Wait and listen.
“So here we are again,†the enemy said, resting on a question mark shaped umbrella. “I do hope you’ve been behaving yourself this time. Hm? No nasty little tricks? No silly surprises?â€
“Professor, that’s a -â€
“I know, Ace, I know. I’ve made something of a habit out of this, you see. I come here once in a regeneration. To remind myself of something important.â€
The girl leaned down to peer in my eyestalk. “Remind yourself of what, then? I mean, this thing’s dead isn’t it?â€
“Not at all! He’s just being shy. Aren’t you now? Say hello, why don’t you! This is my good friend Ace, and I’m sure I need no introduction.â€
I said nothing. It was a small act of defiance, but it would have to suffice. The enemy had made a mistake now, revealing his intention to return. I could use this information. I would use this information. I would prepare. I would use the limited resources at my disposal and I would prove to him - to the universe - the simple undeniable truth of our ingenuity. Our perfection. Our superiority. I would exterminate him on his next visit. Exterminate him! Annihilate him! Crush him! Kill him!
But for now I would remain silent. For now I would let him communicate with this inferior human specimen.
“We’ve all made mistakes in our past, Ace! Something we’re not proud of, something we have to face up to. No matter how uncomfortable a fact may be, it remains a fact.â€
“Not sure how one of this lot could remind you of something like that.â€
The enemy chuckled at some hidden joke, and guided the young woman back towards his vessel. “Come along! There’s a base in the nineteen forties that absolutely demands our immediate attention. There’s work to be done!â€
Just before he crossed the boundary into his ship, the bringer of darkness turned to look over his shoulder at me. Another look of pity. Another pointless display of weakness, or another deceptive ploy? “And I don’t think I could wait a moment longer.â€
He might not be able to. But I could. I would wait an eternity to see his life snuffed out, if that was what it took.
============================================
Most other races would have given up. Most of them would have surrendered under the hard work. They would have claimed it impossible. Unworkable. Yet here I was! Triumphant! With no technology save my own manipulator arm and ingenuity, I had crafted the means of the enemy’s demise! It was a simple matter. With careful manipulation of rocks, sharpening ends to fashion simple instruments I was able to dig and design several hundred traps. Concealed pits full of jagged rocks, brought about by my ingenuity! He would expect me to be helpless! He would be wrong!
All that needed to happen was to simply wait in the middle of it all. He would come. And he would die!
It took a decade of waiting, but come he did. I turned to watch as he left his craft, looking around with hands on hips. His coat was bright and colourful enough that even a mere human could have seen him at this distance. He saw me and gave a cheery wave, then took a large step forward right towards one of the pits -
And then the leg swung to the side, planting itself firmly on solid ground. He shuffled forward slightly, holding his arms out for balance and then took another wide series of steps over pit after pit after pit. Impossible! He knew where they were!
“Be with you in a moment,†he said, and in at least that much his words were not deceptive. It took only two minutes for him to navigate towards me, standing so that we were separated by a single pit and nothing else. “So,†he said with an inane smile. Taunting as ever. “How have you been?â€
“HOW?†I yelled. “HOW DID YOU KNOW?!â€
“Know what? Oh, those surreptitious apertures? They were adroitly obscured but you’ll have to wake up a lot sooner in the morning to catch me out!â€
“I DO NOT UNDERSTAND! WE DO NOT REQUIRE SLEEP! SLEEP IS INEFFICIENT!â€
The enemy stared very hard down my eyestalk. So much so that I instinctively recoiled, failing to realise I had done so until after the fact. In all incarnations the enemy had a terrible presence about him. An aura of confidence and intelligence that he masked in buffoonery. How much I was learning of why we hated him so.
“I suppose that explains rather a lot, unfortunately,†he said. “Not all aspects of your insanity, but a little of it. Oh well! If you don’t sleep, what do you do with yourself?â€
“I AWAIT ORDERS!â€
“And what will you do when they arrive?â€
“THEY WILL BE FOLLOWED!â€
More weakness crossed his expression. More of that foolish pity. He released a disappointed sigh and said “A whole planet to yourself, and you don’t even think to properly explore it. Here you are, just sitting there waiting for orders that will never come. Well, at least you’re keeping out of trouble. That’s one small mercy! You just stay right there, and that’s an order.†He then retraced his steps back towards his ship, leaving me alone to wait once again.
============================================
It was a simple form of logic to follow. Our greatest enemy had given me an order. Therefore, I was compelled to disobey this order in defiance of him.
I left my wasteland and saw the rest of what this world had to offer. I had seen it all once before on my previous journey. Nothing was here. Nothing. No facilities, no animal life, nothing here worth noting save myself. I circled the globe several times, spanning a full century as I did so and only then did I return to my home location with the intention of waiting for the enemy to return once again.
Only then did I realise the cunning of our enemy. A bluff. He intended for me to disobey his order. He intended for me to explore the world. He intended for my memory systems to begin failing, so that I would not recall the location of these traps until I was falling into one of them.
An attempt to hover out failed. A sharpened rock had delivered a sufficient blow to render it inoperable. I lay there at a 43 degree angle to the ground for two hundred years, trapped at the bottom of a pit with nothing to do but wait.
“Hello down there,†a voice said. I turned the eyestalk to stare up and saw a blonde haired man wearing white clothes, standing next to two women and a young boy. One of the women was human. She was wearing purple clothes and a round hat. The boy’s species was unknown, though analysis indicated high intelligence and rapid adaptive properties. The other woman was a member of an extinct species called -
A pair of ropes dropped down and brushed the bottom of the pit next to where I lay. The man in the white clothes - who I now recognised as the enemy - tied them both around my form and smiled into my eyestalk. “We’ll have you out of here in no time,†he said, patting me sarcastically on my dome.
Their retrieval plan was obvious. One of them would pull upon the rope from one side of the pit, while the other would pull me up from the opposite side. This would ensure that I could be lifted out safely and securely without repeatedly striking the sides of the pit. As I approached the top, they would alter their angle to bring me over towards solid ground.
There was only one question in my mind. Why were they doing this? Why would the enemy trick me into falling for my own trap if he then intended to set me free from it? Was it an attempt to humble rather than infuriate? If so, that part of his plan was the one part which failed. Nothing could make us humble. Plenty could make us furious.
All four of them collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily once I was retrieved from the pit. Look at them. So weak after such simple activity. I looked around the area. The hidden pit traps that I had dug were now obvious. Exposed by the elements. Anyone could avoid them without even trying. I saw the enemy’s ship a short distance away. It had landed in the same location as his previous visitation. I could tell from the rocky formation, the only landmark left within the area that the elements had not yet eroded.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?†I asked. The enemy’s eyes snapped up towards me. “WHY DID YOU GIVE ASSISTANCE?â€
“Call it an act of mercy,†he said. Mercy again? More weakness! He was cunning, but so weak! I was left wondering how he could remain so dangerous to us in spite of these numerous vulnerabilities. Even seeing what he was capable of, I could not help but wonder. “Believe me, you could use all the mercy you can get.â€
“I DO NOT REQUIRE MERCY!â€
“Oh, well. A thank you might have been nice. Come on, you three.â€
“Why did we even come here?†the boy demanded.
“I’ll tell you in a minute,†the enemy said. “And as for you? I’ll see you again. Try to stay out of trouble, there’s a good... Well, I don’t suppose any of you lot really can be good, can you? Just stay out of trouble.â€
============================================
Our enemies do not believe us to be capable of anticipation. But we can feel it. We anticipate the destruction of our enemies. We anticipate the crushing moment of our plans coming to fruition.
And I had learned to anticipate the inevitable arrival our the enemy. The alternative was the silence. The stillness in the air, as I thought about the things I could have done for my people. The foes that could have been slaughtered. The slaves captured. The orders I could have followed. These thoughts were terrible. Such a waste of material with no impact whatsoever on the universe. Just this barren rock. Useless. Worthless!
Then I heard the sound once again and rushed towards it eagerly. I had nothing beyond a sharpened rock carefully held within my manipulator arm, and I dashed forward. A woman in animal skins stepped out first and I made to slice across her abdomen for a quick disemboweling and a slow agonising death. This was not the enemy but it would hurt him all the same.
Imagine my surprise when the girl leaped to the side. I swung around again and she rolled out of the way, parrying my sharpened rock away with a far more effective weapon. A knife. Metallic. This was the tool I needed. I swung for her, intent on killing her and stealing her weapon. This time I successfully knocked it from her hand, though it cost me the rock. No matter. I reached down for the knife -
And the girl slammed a rock down upon my manipulator arm, breaking it off. I screamed at the loss of a second limb. Now I truly was defenseless. The girl hoisted the rock above her head with the obvious intention of bashing through my outer shell to reach my flesh and finish me that way. There was no option available to me but to retreat and regroup -
“Leela! Put the rock down, there’s no need for that.â€
“He attacked me,†the girl snarled back.
“Oh, did he now?†I turned to see the man. The enemy. That long scarf was surely uncomfortable for an inferior life form in this heat. Given the opportunity I would strangle them both with it. “Maybe it’s just a little on edge. I certainly would be if I’d been left alone for centuries. Jelly baby?â€
I stared into the proffered bag not quite certain what was intended by this gesture. I made defiance in the only move left to me. I used my eyestalk to knock the bag out of his hands, spilling its contents onto the sand.
“You could have just said no,†he replied.
“WHY?†I demanded.
“Who knows?†he said with a shrug. “Maybe you’re allergic to jelly babies, or -â€
“WHY DO YOU COME BACK?â€
“Ah... I come back, do I? Yes, I suppose I rather would. Listen.†The enemy crouched down beside me and spoke in a hushed whisper. “When you get to be as old as I am, sometimes you forget things. Important things. About yourself, about the people around you. It helps to have a bit of a reminder. Hm?â€
“I DO NOT UNDERSTAND!â€
“No, I don’t suppose you ever will,†he despondently said. “Still, some day you might! You never know what you might learn tomorrow, otherwise you’d have learned it yesterday.â€
“I do not understand why we are here either,†the girl said. “We are not rescuing this evil thing, and nor are we here to kill it. Surely just leaving it here is a far crueller fate than to kill it.â€
“Perhaps it is. But! It’s not my decision to make. Come on, Leela. We’re finished here.â€
============================================
The next time he arrived was in another incarnation. He was tall, the tallest he had ever been with a large pointed nose . Frilled shirt, jacket of velvet design, another cravat. Curly white hair. He looked as foolish as ever.
By this point my ability to move was impaired. I was trapped by mechanical failures that were increasing in frequency. My life support module was operating, but soon it would surely fail as well. If not for that and my solar collector I would have perished long ago.
Regardless: The point is that there was nothing to do but watch him approach with his usual arrogance. He walked in circles around me, quite obviously making examinations of my outer shell.
“Yes, I was rather afraid of this,†he finally said, mostly to himself. “How disappointing...â€
There was a loud shriek emanating from the direction of the enemy’s vessel. The source was a rather frightened young woman, who the enemy raced off towards and spoke to in tones intended to elicit comfort.
“It’s quite alright, Jo. It’s harmless.â€
“But it’s - “
“Lacking both its gun and manipulation arm. See? Quite harmless, I assure you.â€
Harmless. Had I been reduced so low? Once I was a weapon. The very image of one of my kind would put that kind of fear into the hearts of entire planets just before enslaving or exterminating the population. The idea that one of us could be rendered harmless yet still alive was anathema. The worst insult he could deliver.
“KILL ME,†I croaked, irritated at the realisation that my voice unit was now failing as well.
“Afraid I can’t do that,†the enemy said, staring at the ground as he spoke.
“WHY?†I demanded. “MORE OF YOUR MERCY? MORE OF YOUR PITY?â€
A look of sadness crossed his face and with his arm placed fatherly around the shoulder of the young woman, the two of them departed while I screamed and screamed at him. I kept on screaming until, finally, my voice unit surrendered as well to entropy.
And all I was left with was yet more silence. Yet another wait.
============================================
It should not be possible for silence to be deafening. The idea is a direct contradiction of terms. By default, silence could not inflict sufficient harm upon an individual’s hearing capacity to render them deaf. The term had no meaning.
It was possible for silence to be intolerable. It was possible for anything under those circumstances to become favoured, even the sound of the arrival of the one you hate more than anything. To the exclusion of all other things I hated him above all other things.
I could see him stepping out of his little ship wearing an oversized coat and accompanied by two humans. One male, one female. The enemy was rubbing his hands and examining the surroundings with glee. He had his back to me, but the others were tapping him on the shoulder and pointing towards me excitedly, while insistently saying his name. The enemy reluctantly turned around and jumped backwards very slightly upon seeing me.
“Oh my giddy aunt,†he said, suddenly racing forward towards me. He made a casual inspection, then stared up at the night’s sky. I presume that he was examining the constellations. Any other explanation was not forthcoming.
I took considerable delight in seeing his face turn white.
“Come on, the pair of you!†he said, ushering his two friends back inside his vessel. “We’re leaving, immediately! No time to lose, no time to explain! Come on, chop chop get moving!â€
Without another word, the bringer of darkness had scurried away. Though I was left wondering what it was that had frightened him so. I was defenseless. Unable to attack. Unable to manipulate my environment. Unable to speak. What could have affected him so?
The answer was not forthcoming. So I waited. And this time, it was my eyestalk that was taken from me leaving me in total darkness.
============================================
I heard the familiar sound once again, accompanied by two voices and shuffling feet.
An old man spoke: “I wonder where we are?â€
A young woman replied: “I’m not sure, grandfather. Maybe if we check the constellations?â€
“Hm, hm, hm, there’s a good girl Susan! Yes yes my dear, identifying our location should be our first...â€
The voices trailed off and the footsteps increased in volume. No. Increased closeness. I could almost feel them gathered outside my shell. Almost see them. I had not seen anything in such a long time. I was trapped in pitch black, and had been for so long that I had forgotten what light even was.
But even so, I would never be able to forget him. I knew it was him. The old man in another incarnation. Changed his appearance once again, but I could still place his voice. What fresh taunts had he to unleash upon me? What fresh hell shall he bring to this existence? How shall he make me hate him more?
“I think I’ve worked it out,†the young woman said. “Grandfather, please help me push this...â€
Light flooded the inside of my shell and I saw the sky through my own eyes for the very first time. The irony of it was immediately obvious as I stared up into the elderly face peering down curiously back at me. The bringer of darkness had chased it all away!
“Oh, you poor little lonely devil,†the old man whispered.
The young woman’s face joined the old man’s, and she gasped at the sight of me. Yes, you weak minded fool. I disgust you as much as you disgust me. I rasped my fury at them and tried to lift a tentacle to strike them, but in turn it was pushed aside by their hands as they lifted me out of my shell and placed me upon a stretcher.
“We should bring him inside the ship,†the young woman said. “We might be able to help him there!â€
I looked over at the shell and blinked in surprise. It was... unrecognisable. I had a distant memories of seeing others like myself. The roundels at the bottom were worn off. No manipulator arm. No gun arm. No eyestalk. It was a smooth dome sitting in the middle of a desert. Nothing more than that. To think I had been reduced to such a state! It drew an inarticulate scream from deep within my being, and in response the two of them hurried inside their ship.
Their ship. I was inside enemy territory. Placed gingerly upon a bed by the very being I despised more than any other. The two of them stayed outside the door to talk: An obvious attempt to prevent me from overhearing. A futile attempt. I could hear them as though they were standing next to me.
“Grandfather, we can’t just leave it like that!â€
“I know, my dear. The poor thing has clearly suffered. But how do we treat it? We don’t know the first thing about its physiology! I fear the best we can manage is to make it comfortable. I doubt it will last until dawn.â€
“We could take it to the Zero Room! That might help!â€
“It would only slow down the inevitable. Hm... I suppose there might be a medical scanner around somewhere. Go look for it, I’ll keep the poor thing company.â€
The old man re-entered the room, and I lunged at him with the intention of tearing out his throat. I managed to move no further than three centimeters. He sat down by my bed and lay a hand upon a tentacle even as I flailed it at him. How had I become so weak?
I called his name. That hated name. That name that burned through our minds as the identity of our greatest foe. In response he turned to smile at me and said “I’m terribly sorry, we don’t have any, that is to say, ahem, medical -â€
I repeated it a little more forcefully. It still came out as little more than a whisper. The old man looked around and I could see pity in his eyes even as shadows began to flicker at the edge of my vision. I repeated his name. Time and again. Even I do not know how often. The shadows crept closer towards the centre, until all I could see was the old man.
“It’s alright,†he said, patting at the arm even as I used the very last ounces of strength in my body to try and throttle him. Hate. I hated him. I hated everything about him. Everything he did. Everything he said. Hated him because, even in spite of his weakness and obvious inferiority he overcame us time and again. Despised him because he represented a fallacy in the very core of our being. Hated him.
My body was numbing. Sounds were growing indistinct. Before long the only thing I could even sense was the sound of his taunting, pity filled voice and the fading burning of my rage towards him. “Hm? You understand? You’re going to be alright."
And then even my hatred slipped from my grasp like grains of sand. Darkness came soon after. It was a welcome reprieve.
“The doctor is here. “
