The car stopped at an intersection. The streets lights were all apparently broken, so the machine decided to go straight, regardless of the fact that the street surveillance was still online.
“I bet those little cameras are messed up, too,” Saki noted. “Just like us!”
DN-AI just looked out the window.
“Don’t be sullen like that again... Talk to me!”
“Eh.”
“’Eh’? That’s all you have to say?”
“For the moment, yes.”
“If you feel it appropriate, I wish to relay the information now.” CORE pushed himself into the conversation, which really was not going anywhere.
“Apparently the Department of Artificial Life Control has been doing their homework.”
Saki giggled.
CORE continued. “The DALC has been doing more research on cybernetics and how cyborgs originate. I have discovered that just recently they have strengthened their forces and are now branching out their newfound power to all of their facilities.”
“What does this mean for us, CORE?”
“It means that,” CORE grew a bit quieter, “the government now has more power. Power to control and capture the likes of us, that is.”
DN-AI turned her face to the car’s stereo. “Are you saying… that now they’re blaming us for the hacking incidents?”
“I cannot say for certain. However, this is one of the main areas for the DALC, and I suspect that they will begin here, as in the case of Saki here. Saki, tell us what went on when you were captured.”
Saki straightened up and began to speak. “Well, they bound me to a chair; this chair was supposed to be the latest technology for suppressing crazed suspects, but they weren’t expecting me. Anyway, I remember them sticking some sort of needles into my neck; those were in turn connected to a small supercomputer in the corner. Then I blacked out, only to wake up, at what I assume to be hours later. I felt like my internal systems were weakened-“
“Which ones?” DN-AI asked.
“Both of them,” Saki replied.
CORE cleared his ‘throat’ and cut it again. “As you can see, the government is beginning the hunt. And it’s not just hackers they’re looking for: they know that hackers are, after all, cyborgs, and will steal away anyone they think will give them information.”
“What about the machines like—“
“We machines are being treated just as humans in a court trial; unless we are manipulated by cyborgs, we have consent just as you all do.”
Saki turned to DN-AI. “So… what’s the plan for them? Both the man and the hackers?”
“I, for one, believe we need to put an end to overzealous government involvement and the hacker menace. I can’t do it without consent from you guys, though.”
“That tactic sounds adequate.” CORE retained his cool.
“I like it!” Saki exclaimed.
A while of silence passed as the group continued down the lonely street. DN-AI eventually got fed up with it.
“You, too.”
Suddenly the car swerved and stopped horizontally in the street, ready to go the other way.
“You heard me. What do you think?”
The engine kept running, the only noise for a few minutes. Then, gradually, the sound of the engine began to die away. The car spoke.
“I think that sounds AWESOME! Completely awesome. I can’t even begin to say how very awesome. It’ll be tough, sure, but what’ve we to lose? Practically NOTHING!” I knew it was a bad idea to ask R.K., DN-AI thought to herself. At least we have a unanimous agreement.
“R.K., where should we start?”
“Ahhh…” He checked his GPS. “I suggest forming a larger team to tackle this. It’s a big job.
A team composed of cyborgs, need not remind you. Besides, with your splendiferous cybernetic abilities, Miss DN-AI, I’m sure it won’t be so hard.”
“What of that, DN-AI?” CORE inquired.
She cocked her head in thought, but quickly picked it up again. “This city is immense, so it could be hard finding other cyborgs fit for the job; after all, plenty of cyborgs don’t even realize what they are.
“Adding to that, we will need specifically different cyborgs, ones that can do more than just control a computer remotely. We need talented, gifted cyborgs with unusual abilities, such as Saki and me. With that said, out of all the people in the entire city –which is more than one million, mind you –we need to locate the cyborgs. After that, we need to find the unusual cyborgs. Do you understand how long that will take—“
“Without upgrades?” CORE said quietly.
DN-AI was surprised to hear this. “What upgrades?”
“While I was in the DALC system, I discovered that they have been doing more homework than we previously suspected. They have been able to conjure up ‘upgrades’ of sorts to heighten the powers of cyborgs. I do know that regular cyborgs develop stronger cybernetic powers, and can, very rarely, develop an added ability. I do not know the effects on an unusual cyborg.”
“Let’s leave it at ‘Unusual,’ shall we?” Saki interrupted. “Do you have a copy of the program?”
“I was only able to remove the program itself, not copy it; apparently their systems only keep one copy of these programs –the originals. They will undoubtedly discover one is gone.
“Well. Provided this one is installed into your internal feed, DN-AI, perhaps we can heighten your special branch of power. Do you wish to risk it?”
DN-AI looked at Saki, the only other cyborg in the car. He smiled reassuringly at her, as if to say ‘Do it!’ DN-AI looked back down at CORE, in his little MP7 body, and said “Get the USB cord, Saki, and plug it into my HMD. CORE, let’s download this thing.”
Saki plugged the USB cord accordingly on the back of DN-AI’s HMD. CORE overwrote the simple applications of the media player and began to download.
DN-AI could feel the file being put into her system. It was like a heavy boulder was on her head, steadily traveling to her inside; CORE thought it was as though the same boulder was being lifted off his current form. Soon the file settled, and DN-AI no longer felt the heaviness of the 200GB program; DN-AI thought it had disappeared completely, only to remember that she was a cyborg, and programs could easily be integrated into her organic and cybernetic systems.
Once Saki released CORE, DN-AI fell over in her seat and remained unconscious for a few moments. Just as R.K. was beginning to worry, DN-AI sat up and touched her head.
“That’s one strange file,” she said.
“Did it enter correctly?” CORE asked.
Before responding, DN-AI tried to start it up. Her heartbeat accelerated and her pulse tripled; Saki could feel the tension. The circuit lines on her hands glowed brightly, and everyone soon realized that the program was ‘installing’. The slightly horrific event ended quickly, though, and DN-AI felt more powerful than before.
“So, then, gorgeous Miss DN-AI, how do you feel?” R.K. was accustomed to flattering females, particularly the ones he found to be good-looking.
“I can find the Unusuals. That thing really did jolt my power.”
DN-AI stepped out of R.K. and stood on the empty street. She knew that many lines of wires and cords were underneath, but they were irrelevant to her mission at the moment. Her head turned toward the sky…
Huge chunks of information ran through her being like salmon swimming upstream to their mating ground. Instantaneously DN-AI could see and feel life forces similar to hers; life forces that were part machines. “Hey! I found some.”
Her companions were quickly interested. “I can find out their address, street, whatever we need. The hard part will be to convince anyone of what’s going on right now.”
“I think,” CORE started, “that the DALC will reveal themselves soon enough. Although the cyborgs must live in secrecy, I do not believe that the government will also keep quiet.”
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by -Ty-
No, Hiroko is not some kind of robot, Hiroko is the robot, no person could make an A.P.E.X.
Linear Mode
