"Overdrive" - Chapter 6
"OverDrive"
(C) 2017 Sinclair Diavante
Chapter 6.
"When you think of Grimm's fairy tales, they are deeply, deeply psychological. They're so powerful, so bloody, and really, really disturbing. Think about five-year-olds reading that stuff. Even 'Little Red Riding Hood' is a really freaky story. Grandma is gobbled up by a wolf, and the wolf is going to eat the girl. That's scary stuff."
- Denis O'Hare
Anger, betrayal, it had tricked him. Species 001, height weight scent, details stood in bas relief in his vision. The meal had been there, then the wall had come down, now he circled, and had to wait.
Compound Iron Nickel Chromium Titanium Carbon Molybdenum, surrounding on all six sides, penetrative scan, 10mm thick, tensile strength 210,000 k/sc. Meat consisted of hindquarters from list of potential Terran animals: gazelle, zebra, buffalo, bison, additional samples required to narrow further. He had swallowed it almost whole.
Reactor fine tuning in progress, some noncrit systems offline until complete.
Back and forth.
Anger, betrayal, will never trust it again. Waiting.
Internal fluid stores at 99%.
Lonely. Incomplete. System said he could get through the wall easily, but not right then. Various angles of exit providing tear forces through (metal) with sufficient kilo-joules of energy. NS activation not permitted at this time.
He waited.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Ready, eager, but... he was incomplete.
A wall came up. Adrenaline levels heightened by twenty percent, replay visual, tracking motion of wall, close zoom, threat assessment, edge of wall analyzed, non-cutting, barrier only, internal scan of control mechanism, maximum possible strength of wall movement servos: calculated.
Threat level: zero.
He left.
Lights, smells, sounds, he ran! Only a bit of speed, System says he could go much faster, but not now. Wind roaring past his ears, freedom.
Present velocity, 122kph, 18 meter stride, hind over fore, minimal overlap, performing surface terrain scan, sandy loam, underground burrows, (grass), 24C air temperature, predictive surface scan in progress, fine resolution, maximum speed determination for suggested possible routes, 512kph, 488, 233, 600. Track map stored, obstacles recorded, 13 seconds remaining to complete map, 20 kilometer radius...
Grass terrain, rocky soil, animals, drool, yes, animals... live food. Olfactory notification, priority.
Full stop.
He turned around, head low, other... male, well fed, happy. Track. Permission granted, GeoSat assistance, location... here, there, there.
He ran. Freedom, System reports pending performance checks.
He leaps over a fallen tree, timing issue, paw spacing incorrect.
System warns, biologic threat, object, collision warning.
Danger!
Shield activation.
The ASU plows right through a tree that had been standing for over 300 orbital units, at 100M/sec, splinters and water vapor both erupt in an explosion before it even starts to topple.
He turned, paused, watched. Object trajectory prediction, here, there, potential danger: mitigated.
The tree crashed to the ground.
He ran, other kind located, visual.
Caution.
Comfort, happy, communicate: Lonely, misery, incomplete. Helpless, despair.
Out there. He will find you.
Who?
You'll see.
The two ASU's circle each other.
Run with me. Help me find him.
I cannot.
Growl, frustration, veiled anger, lonely! Incomplete.
Go. Run, play, eat. In time, he will find you.
Back and forth.
Distrust, wary, skeptical. System says, no threat, ally, identification confirmed.
Back and forth.
He ran, looked back only once.
Lonely, incomplete, sad, despair, helpless, hope, want, need.
The ASU descended into the uninhabited forest to learn more about itself and its environment. But it was haunted, and terrified, fearful of being alone forever.
He howled, but there came no answer.