Murder Drones: New Models

Izun and J had already walked far from the town, reaching a rocky terrain. Quite literally, the ground ended—and in its place stretched a landscape made entirely of reddish-brown stone. Izun: Were you serious about us being on the road for two years? J: Yep. Why? Izun: Maybe… we don’t have to be gone that long? J (laughs): Nope. I’ve got training to do with you! Izun: Training? In what? J: Don’t ask too many questions. We haven’t even spent a full day together and you’re already starting to annoy me. Izun: Me? Annoying? Maybe you should just take me home then! J: In that case… I think it’s time to start right now. Izun: Start what? J: Your look reminds me of someone who nearly killed me once. And knowing your origin… I can do this without a shred of guilt. Izun: What? Suddenly, J struck Izun with her knee at high speed—right in his display. He flew backward, skimming across the tops of two medium-sized rocks, then spun mid-air and slammed head-first into a tall cliff. After clinging to the stone for a moment, he dropped onto his back from a height of about a meter. Izun: Owwwwwwwwww! J: So? How was that? Izun (writhing): I-I-I’ll get you back for this! Someday! J: Ha! Go ahead and try! You won’t succeed. Izun: Mmh. In that moment, J was struck by something unexpected: Despite the powerful blow and the impact with the rocks, Izun’s display was completely intact. Only his clothes were torn in a few places on the back—everything else was untouched. J (thinking): Well then… You might be even tougher than my own son. Which means training you might actually be easier. ***INTERESTING FACT: Can Izun Take Revenge on J?At first glance — no. But if you dig deeper, things J — 60 N — 50 Thad — 12 Uzi — 10 Izun — 4*** RCNC9 Work continued as usual. Khan’s new system kept the round-the-clock operations highly productive. Some couldn’t handle the pace and took leave, while others, having heard rumors about increased core activity, came in to apply for jobs—hoping to help stabilize the situation. After all, no Drone wanted to sit idle while their planet risked exploding. After another core inspection, N went for a short break and ran into Uzi. N: Hey. Uzi: Oh, hey. Taking a break? N: Yeah. Did you need something? Uzi: I wanted to ask you about yesterday’s conversation. N: What conversation? Uzi: About your connection to J’s son. You never answered. The Disassembly Drone visibly tensed. He’d managed to forget about it—and hoped Uzi had too. But clearly, she hadn’t. N (nervously): Well… honestly, I don’t want to talk about it. Uzi: Why not? Are you hiding something from me? N: Yes! I mean—no! sighs It’s just… it’s a sad story. Uzi: What do you mean? N: Uzi, I’m not hiding anything from you. And I didn’t do anything wrong. Can we drop it? Uzi: But—! N turned and walked off to respond to another inspection call. Uzi stood there, confused. Dark thoughts began to creep in. Uzi (thinking): What if he did have something with J—and that’s her son?! No… he’s not like that. Or is he? If you think about it, it all lines up. J said her son is a Disassembly Drone—which only happens if both parents are Disassembly Drones. They fit that description. She also said he’s about the same age as Izun… So N’s been hiding this for eight years?! Now it makes sense why their relationship is still strained. She’s bitter that N left her for me—and lived with us. But what was she hoping for? She knew about us! Maybe she stayed away all these years just to avoid reminding him of herself. But now she’s back—and took Izun on a two-year journey. She wants revenge. Izun’s existence ruins her happiness. No. No. No. NO! IT CAN’T BE!!! --- Rocky Terrain — 11 km from Izun’s Home Izun stood alone among towering stone pillars—massive boulders shaped like small mountains. He scanned the area, trying to spot any movement. Suddenly, a fast and powerful blow struck him in the back. It was so swift, it felt like the air itself had kicked him. The force sent him flying sideways, skidding across the rocky ground and leaving a trail of shattered stone. He groaned in pain, trying to get up quickly—knowing his opponent wouldn’t wait. As he rose to his feet, he saw a Disassembly Drone with two braids standing before him. J: Stay alert. An enemy can strike at any moment. With that, she spread her wings and vanished behind the rocks at high speed. Izun, now standing, cautiously looked around. Another powerful blow hit his back—he flew again. This time, he managed to land on his hands mid-air, stopping his fall and avoiding another crash. Instinctively, he pushed off and flipped upright. Izun: Whoa. Didn’t know I could do that. His joy was short-lived. Another, even stronger hit slammed into his back. He tried to regroup again—but saw a cliff rapidly approaching. Realizing he couldn’t avoid impact, he flipped backward and downward, letting his back take the hit instead of his face. He crashed into the cliff, groaning—then, like lightning, J’s fist struck him again, smashing him into the rock and cracking it. Izun couldn’t speak. Two streams of oil dripped from his mouth, running down his display as he hung upside down. J kept him pinned until his display flashed: Error Reboot System Admin: Serial Designation N, Uzi Doorman --- Izun finally came to after what could barely be called “training.” Izun: Mmm… What happened? Where am I? It was deep night. A bright campfire burned nearby. He was leaning against a cliff. J: Oh! Look who’s awake! Izun: What happened to me? J: Guess I hit you a bit too hard. You shut down. Only now did Izun realize they were still in the same place. Apparently, J didn’t bother dragging him anywhere—they’d be sleeping right here. J: I’ve been thinking. We’ll train every other day. That way, we’ll make better progress. Izun: So I’ll get beaten up half as often as I expected. Great. J: Hey! This isn’t beating you up! If it were, I’d use full force—and you wouldn’t even get a chance to defend yourself. Izun: Oh, so you didn’t even use full strength… And you gave me a chance? Didn’t notice. J: I told you—call me “you,” not “ma’am.” And be glad tomorrow’s a rest day. Izun: Fine. Thanks, Aunt J. J: That’s better. But drop the “Aunt.” Makes me feel ancient. Izun: Okay, Aunt J. J (grumbling): Grrrrrhh… Whatever. Let’s sleep. We’ve got 20 kilometers to walk tomorrow. With a flick of her wing, J dimmed the fire. Moments later, her yellow display read: Sleep Mode Izun (thinking): Ugh… There are 395 days in a year. We’ll be traveling for 2 years—that’s 790 days. Training every other day means 395 days of beatings. Minus today… that’s 394. Oh robo-god...