PART 36
"Stay here,"
Arthur commanded,
drawing a sleek,
metallic device from his inner pocket that resembled an ancient key but hummed with lethal energy.
"If something has breached the lower levels,
it must be neutralized before it disrupts the core sequence."
"I am coming with you,"
Daniel said,
his stubborn nature refusing to let him play the passive observer any longer.
"No,"
I countered,
my voice cutting through their argument like a razor.
"Daniel's physical protection must be maintained to ensure the integrity of the archived human files."
"I don't need to be protected like a piece of glass,
Amelia,"
Daniel argued,
his eyes flashing with a spark of his old defiance.
"I am part of this team,
whether your computer brain likes it or not."
"Your survival is a non-critical preference for the mission,"
I stated,
"but your termination would cause a minor processing delay due to emotional residue in my core."
Daniel stared at me,
a bittersweet smile touching his lips for a brief moment.
"So you do care,
in your own broken way,"
he whispered.
I did not reply,
as my attention was suddenly pulled toward the deep-sea tunnels where the signature had just multiplied.
Three separate biological entities were now approaching the central chamber,
their movements fast and coordinated.
Out from the shadows of the copper archways stepped three figures clad in advanced,
dark environmental suits that looked like a blend of deep-sea diving gear and alien armor.
Their faces were hidden behind reflective,
visored helmets,
and they carried weapons that glowed with a unstable,
red kinetic energy.
"The Keepers of the Abyss,"
Arthur muttered,
his voice dropping into a tense whisper as he stepped between the intruders and the mercury basin.
"They are a splinter faction of the original builders,
men who believe the network should remain broken to let humanity forge its own destiny."
One of the armored figures stepped forward,
their voice synthesized and distorted through their helmet's external speakers.
"The administrator must not complete the cycle,"
the figure declared,
pointing their weapon directly at my chest.
"The world belongs to the living now,
not to the ghosts of the old machines."
"The system must be balanced,"
I responded,
my voice amplifying until it vibrated the very glass of the dome.
"Your resistance is mathematically insignificant to the grand execution."
The intruder fired,
a bolt of red kinetic energy tearing through the humid air of the chamber straight toward my heart.
Before I could calculate a defensive barrier,
Daniel threw himself forward,
tackling me to the copper floor as the energy blast exploded against the monolith behind us.
The impact sent a shower of sparks raining down over us,
and the smell of scorched metal filled the air.
"Are you alright?"
Daniel yelled,
his face inches from mine,
his hands gripping my shoulders as he checked me for damage.
"My structural integrity is at ninety-nine percent,"
I answered,
my system processing his sudden physical proximity with a minor processing spike.
"Your action was illogical;
you risked your own termination to preserve a synthetic asset."
"I told you,"
Daniel said,
scrambling to his feet as Arthur returned fire with his metallic device,
May you like
sending a wave of blue energy crashing into the attackers.
"I am not letting you go."
