Chương 6: Chapter Five - Voices in the Mind

Alexis checked over her work one last time. Was it the best job she'd ever done? No. Was it going to impress anyone? Also no. Was the servitor able to move both legs and one limb? Yep!

"I think that's the best I can do," she told it.

"I'm sorry. To fix your other arm up, I'd need a few things I don't have." The servitor stared at her, and then her datapad beeped. It took her a moment of staring to see that it had sent her an acknowledgement. She smiled back at it.

"You're welcome! Now, back to work!" The servitor turned and waddled off. The others that she had been able to help were hard at work as well. She wasn't sure if it would be enough, but the raging inferno of heat around the core had abated a little, and the temperature in the room was a tiny bit lower, though she was still slick with sweat. Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, she felt fine. Better than fine, really. Her mind was tired, but her body... it was like she had had the best sleep ever.

"Thank you," she said.

"Was that last directed to me?"

"Yup! Thanks, Machine Spirit."

"I'm not quite what you seem to think I am. You are nonetheless welcome, Alexis Lambda-3. Are you ready to retreat from this space? Or did you want to take this moment of privacy to talk more?" Alexis paused and considered it. She had a lot of questions. Burning ones, at that. But this open space, next to the servitors that she wasn't able to save? It didn't feel like the right place for it.

"Later?"

"At your convenience. If you need to speak with me more privately, I can understand your sub-vocalizations as well."

"Neat... what's that?"

"Speak, without letting the full sound escape. It is something that some humans do while reading. A low murmur." She nodded. She knew what Vyper meant. It wasn't something she did, though she was known for humming. Alexis grabbed the tools and oils and spare parts left on the ground around her and sorted them into something more orderly. She repacked Servitor Overseer Ash-Theta's bag as well as she could, making sure not to forget any tools and wiping them as best she could before putting them away.

It wouldn't do to give him back dirty tools! Then she stood, and after a moment of hesitation, walked closer to the great core. It was beautiful, and that wasn't just her education in the Mechanicus that told her so. The machine was large, powerful, it provided for the ship, and in turn, they provided it. She bowed to the core. It had almost killed her. Would have, were it not for Vyper. Still, it didn't do so out of malice. At least, she hoped not. She didn't understand its machine spirit.

"Blessed be the motive spirit. Blessed be the symmetry of force. Blessed be the hand that forged thee, and thrice-blessed the Omnissiah whose thought is made manifest in thy motion." It was a simple prayer, but she hoped that the machine spirit heard it nonetheless. Stepping back, she scooped up her tools, then looked at the five servitors she was unable to help. A bit of shame squirmed in her tummy, but she pressed it down, then continued to the doorway.

The first opened, and she moved on, waiting for it to close behind her. The air hummed as it was cleaned and cleaned, and she closed her eyes against the sting of purifying chemicals. Then the second door opened and she almost stepped out before pausing. There were fewer tech priests than before. She supposed that it had been several hours. But the Servitor Overseer was there, as were a few others.

She noticed Rho-17 Kaster in the midst of them, wearing a shiner on one eye and strapped down with several pieces of equipment on some webbing.

"I'm back!" she said cheerfully. One of the priests waved an auspex-like device at her.

"Registering high levels of radiation. My bioscanner shows... the acolytum is in perfect health."

"That is not possible," a larger tech acolyte said. He had several augments that she suspected meant that he was one of those responsible for the core.

"The ambient levels of radiation within would have melted her flesh. This acolytum should be dead."

"Tech Acolyte," Servitor Overseer Ash-Theta said, his voice louder.

"I promised her advancement on leaving the room alive, as long as her task was done."

"This is Unusual/Bizarre/Strange." Alexis straightened. The sweat still covering her went cold at the voice. The person that slipped out from behind the small crowd of adeptus mechanicus persons was a small, lithe figure, his Mars red robes wrapped around a skeletal frame. He was held aloft on a set of large mechadendrites, and beneath his hood were two dozen lenses that scanned her carefully.

"Techseer Prime," Ash-Theta said before bowing his head slightly. If the Enginseer Prime was out of commission, then the hierarchy about The Broken Scale was a little skewed, but a lot of responsibility would come to lay on the Techseer Prime. Thale-66 Mirr, had, fortunately, rarely had reason to look down upon Alexis Lambda-3, at least until now.

"Sir," she said with a bit of a quaver in her voice. He stared, then looked to another.

"Enginseer, what is the State/Condition of the divine machine? Current/Prior to the arrival of the... Acolytum/Tech Acolyte Alexis Lambda-3?" The smaller man off to one side raised a third arm onto which a dataslate was affixed.

"Prior State: 12 Servitors. 4 Unresponsive. 5 Critical. 3 Malfunctioning. Current state: 12 Servitors. 4 Unresponsive. 1 Critical. 3 Malfunctioning. 4 Functional." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Techseer Prime Thale-66 turned his attention back to her.

"Why were the Auspex/Cameras/Sensors non-responsive while you were in the room?"

"I-I don't know?" she said.

"That statement registers as truthful," he replied.

"How are you Uninjured/Hale?" She paused.

"I... wasn't! I was dying. But then a machine spoke to me. She said that I was going to die, and that I still had work to do, sorta, and then she helped me, uh, not melt to death? I feel great!" There was a hush, then many voices speaking at once, both in High Gothic and binharic. It was a bit too much for her, and she couldn't parse it all. Techseer Prime Thale-66 put an end to it by raising an arm. She got to peek under his sleeve, and realized that there was just a bunch of mechadendrites there.

"Cease/Stop. We will Verify/Confirm this, but at a later time. The Broken Scale is still in sub-critical condition."

"But it's a miracle!" someone said. The Techseer spun, and a zap of light shot out, tagging the speaker who yelped.

"That is to be Decided/Determined." He continued to stare at her.

"Current Evidence/Observations aside, you have done as asked. As your superior, Servitor Overseer Ash-Theta is capable of Conferring/Giving you an elevation in rank. Congratulations on your Rise/Promotion, Tech Acolyte."

"Oh! Th-thank you, sir!" Alexis said before bowing rapidly, then she hastily made the sign of the cog, which a few returned.

"I... where do I go now?"

"Return to your Duties/Work. If you are Hale/Functional, then there is no wasting your Time/Energy on dawdling. Isn't that so?" the last was directed to the people standing around, many of whom found themselves rapidly looking for work. Alexis took that opportunity to slip away. She made good time returning to the Servitorium, only to wince at the state of it once more. There were parts all over and... no, the bodies had been moved, at least.

"Machine Spirit Vyper?" she asked, trying to keep it below a whisper.

"Yes?"

"Why were the sensors off?"

"I enjoy privacy, and can act within my directives to offer privacy to my Vanguard."

"Ah... and what's a Vanguard?" she asked as she returned to her workstation. She still had the Servitor Overseer's tools! Oops? She left, placing them on his desk, but not before removing the two plastic boxes from the bag. Vyper replied while she was walking back.

"A Vanguard is someone who has both shown a willingness to sacrifice themselves for the betterment and protection of others, and someone chosen by a Protectorate... Machine Spirit. You fit both criteria. This position comes with many advantages."

"And responsibilities?" she asked.

"No."

"Huh?" Alexis paused. Wasn't that how it worked? She always knew that higher ranks came with more responsibility. Some good, but more work as well.

"You can choose to do nothing with the gift. I will be here, waiting. Your points will accrue. But you may safely ignore it all."

"Oh... well, that's nice. No pressure, then?"

"Only that which you exert upon yourself and the pressure that your conscience can bear." Alexis snorted. There was the catch! She couldn't ever just... not help, that was wrong! Not that everyone thought the same.

"Okay, then. Um... where do we start?" She asked that both to Vyper and herself. There was such a mess in her closet that she didn't know where to begin.

"Do you want a basic overview of the Vanguard system?"

"Yup!" Alexis started to tidy up. She hated cleaning, but it needed to be done! Having someone talk in her ear... head, helped make it more palatable.

"In brief, as a Vanguard, you may spend points. Points allow you to purchase items. These can either be consumables, or more permanent items. The items you purchase are separated into Catalogues. These require that you unlock them. There are, however, Tier Zero catalogues which hold a host of basic items for everyday use, such as the healing implements you purchased earlier."

"Got it so far... I think. Are all the items, um, archeotech?"

"Yes. Though items that look like mundane ones can be produced." Alexis paused, then picked up one of her least-favourite spanners. It had a crooked wheel, and didn't tighten correctly. Plus it kept slipping and bruising her knuckles.

"Can I have one of these?"

"Certainly. That will cost you two points. However, with a Tier One Simple Tools Catalogue it would only cost you a single point."

"And that Catalogue costs..."

"Ten points. But it would give you access to a wide range of tools. From spanners to ship fabricators." Alexis blinked.

"Is a ship fabricator... uh."

"A device that builds ships autonomously from raw resources."

"Oh, yeah, that's obvious. I need to sit down." She sat.

"Oh boy."

"You cannot currently afford a ship fabricator."

"Yeah, okay! Good. Well, yes, actually, good!" She swiped a hand across her brow. Avoiding problems because she was too poor was a new one for her, but she'd take it.

"So, how do I make more points?"

"You will earn ten a day. Saving a human life earns you a single point. The saving must be direct. Providing food to a starving man or jumping in the path of a projectile would count. Selling food at a discount or providing bullet-resistant armour would not."

"Alright!" She liked that. A system built around being nice and helping people could only be good!

"Killing those deemed to be enemies of civilization also provides points."