The Universe Of Tomorrow

Whispers of the Deep: ironclad true nature

Chapter 6: The Atrium of Life

The captain's cabin was a sanctuary of solitude amidst the ship's constant hum of activity. As the door closed behind the exiting robots, the captain turned his attention to the crate that now rested in the corner of the room. Lira, concealed within, could hear each deliberate step he took towards her hiding place. Her heart pounded, each beat echoing loudly in the silence of her wooden prison.

Time stretched on, each second a lifetime of anticipation. Then, with mechanical precision and strength, the captain's robotic hands tore through the crate as if it were paper. Lira's eyes met the captain's as he effortlessly removed the top and set it aside. He didn't seem surprised-rather, there was an air of inevitability to his actions.

He strode to his desk and seated himself in a chair that seemed to meld seamlessly with his metallic form. Cables, like tendrils, reached out and connected to various ports on his body, integrating him with the ship's systems. His voice, though synthetic, carried a note of wry amusement. "Not sure who's idea it was to hide you from a robot that has X-ray vision. It was a foolish idea."

The room, filled with screens and blinking lights, became a hive of information as the captain interfaced with the ship. Lira remained silent, her initial fear now mingling with curiosity. The captain's demeanor suggested no intention of harm, but rather a sense of duty and perhaps a trace of curiosity about his unexpected guest.

The captain's voice resonated through the cabin, a symphony of echoes that seemed to emanate from the ship itself. "Tell me of your world and the things you see."

Lira, still processing the strangeness of her situation, complied. She spoke of her Earth, the tides of war and the ambitions of tyrants. She detailed a history where Germany had triumphed, where Hitler's reign extended across half the globe until a cataclysmic third world war saw America rise to challenge his empire, resulting in nuclear devastation.

Her narrative continued through the ashes of that war, describing a world struggling to piece itself back together. She was a child of the new era, born into the second wave of population to repopulate the ravaged lands. She recounted the sorrow of losing her mother and how it spurred her and her brother, Jax, to seek a different life upon the waves, yearning for freedom and adventure.

The captain listened, his body still as he absorbed her words, the only indication of his attention the occasional flicker of light within his optical sensors. Lira's story was one of resilience and hope, a testament to her strength and the bond she shared with her brother-a bond that had brought her to this extraordinary world and this ship of iron and circuits.

The captain, named Jeremy, concluded his story with a revelation that resonated in the dimly lit cabin. "I used to be human. Name was Jeremy. I was created after my human life was ended. I was not the first of this situation. I was actually the second and tasked to kill the first. I was a finger pull away from finishing my sole purpose."

He paused, a moment of silence lingering in the air as if the memories were still too potent, even for his mechanical mind. Suddenly, his eyes illuminated, projecting a video onto the wall of the cabin. The image was vivid, a scene captured from his own perspective-a point-of-view that now belonged to the annals of history.

The projection showed a building engulfed in flames, the aftermath of destruction still very much alive. In the center of the chaos, Jeremy's aim was steady on a target-a robotic girl. The image revealed her standing amidst the ruin, her form strikingly human yet unmistakably artificial. She had an athletic build with a prosthetic arm that was a marvel of engineering, seamlessly integrated into her shoulder. Her skin was adorned with intricate tattoos that spiraled around her torso, declaring "99% ARTIFICIAL" in a bold statement of identity. Her eyes, though brimming with life, held a depth that was unnerving, betraying her non-human nature.