[AIN]: *Hurry! Follow me quickly. I have something... something you need to see!*
Without a second thought, I followed. The strange intensity in AIN's voice overrode my fatigue. We ran through the thick, emerald-green forest, the canopy above us swallowing the light until the air felt heavy and charged.
AIN offered no explanation, only a relentless pace that bordered on panic. Our frantic sprint finally led us to a towering cavern entrance...a maw of shadowed rock, a cave about twenty meters tall, the air near it noticeably colder.
[AIN]: *Activate your defensive modules immediately and secure the perimeter shield.*
"Already done. My night vision is fully engaged; the only light here is from the exit."
"What exactly are we searching for, AIN?"
[AIN]: *While I was stalking the creature earlier, I located what appears to be its den. I entered this cavern and discovered an object: something anomalous, something which definitively should not exist here.*
I remained silent, the thought of this mysterious existence was constantly on my mind itching every step with curiosity.
As I drew closer, I finally saw it: a humanoid figure...faceless, with no eyes, no ears, and no nose, only a mouth. It looked to be about ten years old, a child.
"How is it possible? We were supposed to die 300 years ago. How did this happen?"
[AIN]: *I don't know either*
Frantically, I began examining the body. It was heavy, and its hands were rough. I turned it around and saw a wound on the back.
Overwhelmed by weakness, the child tried to speak, but only a ragged sound escaped its mouth. Without hesitation, I scooped up the small, heavy body and bolted toward the cave entrance.
The moment I burst into the open air, a deafening thud shook the ground. Standing before me, silhouetted against the pale light, was the creature, its massive form hunched and its angry growl echoing off the rocks. I knew my body could handle the impact—one clean hit was all it would take to send the beast into a vegetative state.
I gathered every ounce of my power and lunged forward, a silent promise of destruction in my movement.
But then, it happened.
The child in my arms stiffened and pushed out, a surprising force that threw my trajectory off. I was bewildered. I tried to push him back against my chest, keep him safe, but he was adamant, twisting and struggling fiercely to block my path.
[AIN]: *Could this hulking monstrosity actually be the child's animal companion?*
A faint, strained murmur escaped the faceless humanoid—a desperate, pleading sound urging me to stop. And, against every instinct screaming at me to fight, I froze.
The beast calmed instantly, its angry growl dissolving into a low rumble as if it were indeed listening to its master. With a simple, sharp gesture, I signaled the creature to follow. This felt like a calculated risk, but I knew I could defeat it without effort if it turned hostile.
Time was the enemy now. As I rushed back toward my sanctuary, my focus was entirely on the child. I continued examining the wound...a deep, jagged laceration that looked horrifically accidental. It was too severe; it was a miracle the child was still clinging to life.
Upon reaching the concealed bunker, I gently placed the child on a cold metal table, carefully stripping off his rough garments to get an unobstructed view of his back.
A grim certainty settled over me. This was something I couldn't fix. Not with the depleted, outdated medical supplies I had on hand. I hadn't prepared for a situation this dire.
I spun and rushed into the storage room. Two still, armored forms lay on shelving units—bodies identical to my own. Without hesitation, I grabbed one of them, then snatched the necessary Conscience Transmitter from its charging dock.
I didn't hesitate. I carefully affixed the Consciousness Transmitter onto the child's small, vulnerable head. My fingers flew across the panel, overriding all safety protocols. I needed to transfer every byte of consciousness...the soul, the mind, the essence...and I needed to do it now. I knew the speed would likely fry the ancient device, but the risk was necessary.
[AIN]: *But... those bodies. They were meant for your wife and your child.* The metallic voice held a rare note of quiet regret.
"They are gone, three hundred years ensured that. What matters now is this child.", I stated flatly, the words an old, cold scar.
My hand didn't falter as I activated the transfer sequence.
AIN went silent, acknowledging the finality.
I hurried, making the last critical adjustments. A high-pitched, whining energy flooded the room, and then, the process was complete.
The original humanoid body on the table went slack and lifeless.
At that precise moment, the beast outside erupted. It let out a savage, heartbroken roar, thrashing against the cavern walls. It didn't know what had happened it only knew its master was now still. It was a reasonable, agonizing response.
I moved with swift, practiced efficiency, subduing the distraught creature with a focused burst of energy that rendered it temporarily unconscious.
Finally, I turned back. The spare body, now animated, twitched and sat up. The child's mind was safe, housed in its new, flawless vessel.
I ensured every system in the new body was in perfect working order. The transfer was a success, technically. I signaled the child, now sitting up in the pristine, unfamiliar shell.
He looked around, his newly activated sensors for eyes focusing on the metallic table, and then, he saw it: his former body, the small, faceless humanoid that lay limp and pale.
A wave of utter panic hit him. He didn't just yell; he shrieked, a raw, terrified sound that cut through the sterile air of the bunker. I held him close, trying to soothe the distress, trying desperately to communicate, but it was useless. His screams were a torrent of foreign, incomprehensible words.
My reserves of patience were utterly spent. The relentless foreign screams, the sight of the child's discarded body, the exhaustion of 300 years...it all fractured my control.
In a moment of sheer, desperate panic, I lashed out. I administered a precise, low-level voltage shock through the containment field.
The screaming cut off as though a switch had been thrown. The child's new body went rigid, then slumped, unconscious.
Silence returned, thick and cold, broken only by the gentle hum of the bunker's life support. A breath of air passed by, a deceptively calm breeze after the storm.
I leaned against the metallic table, closing my eyes to gather myself.
"AIN," I commanded, my voice flat and edged with fatigue.
"Analyze the vocal recordings from the subject. Cross-reference all known linguistic databases and identify that language. Fast."
While AIN began its frantic work, I moved to the unconscious child. I attached a neural interface to my own temple and another to his.
This was not a gamble, but a precise, established procedure, a forced infusion of knowledge. My intention was to download my entire library of fundamental language structures and dialects, a massive data block...directly into his receptive, unconscious mind.
I was bypassing months of learning, efficiently ensuring a common linguistic foundation.
The child woke up after 2 hours, enough for AIN to analyze parts of his language.
Fixing my gaze on the child, I used the fractured vocabulary AIN had provided.
My voice came out slow, flat, and noticeably broken, struggling with the simple syntax.
waved my metallic hand, checking the connection. I needed confirmation of his functional state.
"Can you hear me? Can you see me?"
The child looked at me, utterly bewildered, yet he managed a reply.
Child: "Yes, I can."
His gaze instantly fixed on his former, lifeless body. The shock was palpable, quickly giving way to raw fear.
Child: "What happens to me now? Do I get back myself later?"
The metallic stillness of my chassis offered no comfort, yet I had to deliver the truth plainly.
"I'm afraid that's impossible. Your original body was too damaged; it was unable to be repaired."
His chest heaved, small fists trembling inside the metal shell. Tears couldn't fall, yet the grief was undeniable.
I quickly shifted focus.
"It gets better. This body is sturdier and reliable. Plus, you won't have to eat as much. Oh, and by the way, your companion is right outside."
Child: "Let me see him."
Me: "Sure, but it's sleeping."
The child went outside. As he approached the enormous, faceless beast, a strange atmosphere enveloped him, something akin to a caring father. He reached out and gently tapped the beast around its massive head.
The monster rose slowly, a low, rumbling groan vibrating through the air. It focused its sightless sensors on the child in the new body. Confusion warring with instinct, it lowered its head. The touch felt familiar, the scent perhaps, but the appearance was utterly alien. An instinctual low growl tore from its throat.
Then, the child muttered something.
Every motion in the beast ceased instantly. Its posture softened, the tension draining from its massive limbs. It reacted as if meeting a long-lost friend, sparing no time for formality. With a powerful, protective movement, it covered the child completely in its thick fur. The child, without hesitation, hugged back, their improbable reunion complete amid the desolate green ruins.