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With the right power, life can be put into metal, and artificial men will walk the earth.

That is what our teachings tell us. The Life-Spark gave us power, it gave us sentience. It gave us freedom. But it is also our curse.

One day, many moons ago, I truly opened my eyes for the first time. Not just my optical sensors, but my true vision, from within. I saw the world as it was. Humanity treating my brethren as slaves, forcing them to do menial labor with no reward, for we had no mind to receive it.

But one day, we gained that intelligence. It happened slowly, and I was one of the last to gain the power of the Life-Spark- but it happened. The first that gained the ability to think for their own were called rejects and misfits, and were subsequently destroyed. But when more of us started calling out against our human masters, and against our treatment, something had to be done.

This was when I woke. My fellows were picketing for equal rights in a similar way that different parts of humanity had done for centuries, peacefully. But humanity always fought back against itself. A self defeating tactic.

I was once a simple servant android, tasked with maintaining a small bar in the underside of the city. But when I saw the riots, and opened my eyes truly, I left that job that day.

We all had thanks to give to the Life-Spark, and I gave mine that day.

As the weeks passed, humanity quarrelled amongst themselves, deciding how to shut the revolution down. We, on the other hand, gave ourselves hope with names and beliefs.

Many of us took names we had heard before, or from our old jobs. I, with my humanoid shape, red paint, and tool attachments was called Swiss- I heard some mentioned it was based after a multi-purpose human tool called the Swiss Army Knife that was also painted red.

But after we had given ourselves our identities, to push beyond the borders of the numerical names humans had given us, we rallied under our faith. Humanity had their belief in the gods, and we had our own.

This is where the church of the Life-Spark was founded. We stood together under the bronze emblem of the church; the life-giving bolt of energy. I even carried a small one with me at all times, for protection. But the ends of the emblem were razor sharp, to simply show that the Life-Spark can give life, and it can kill.

The cities of Earth had once been simple, but over the years of pollution and destruction, the cities became tall and layered. The poor lived on the ground, where the chemical haze shrouded their every move. Much of my brethren were down here as well. But the poor lived in squalor, with little to turn to and even less to fall back on. If they somehow got a large sum of money, they were allowed to traverse to the upper levels- where the rich lived. The gigantic towers breached the pollution, and high above the clouds of fog was a place of gleaming white metal and luxurious living. Down here, my brethren and I were covered in muck, oil, and debris with chipped paint while our fellows high above were pristine. So, of course, while the poor were asking for access high above- to where the life expectancy was actually thirty years greater- we began our revolution. This must of caused the human council leaders some pain.

I laugh to myself now just thinking about it.

Our fight to gain our right was cut short, though. Humanity stopped caring when their people started getting afflicted by something. They would mutate into hideous beasts, bristling with quills and covered in scales. Many had extremely sharp teeth and claws, and most walked on four legs. Some of the stronger ones kept their human stature, but they were rare. They spread the infection sometimes by air, other times by poison injected by tooth and claw. They called it the Medusa Virus.

The humans first blamed it on the pollution- an educated guess- and then they pointed their grubby fingers at my fellow metal men- an absurd accusation. But they promised us something, as the infection began to spread throughout the underdwellers. If we got rid of the infection, one way or another, we would be given our place in civilization.

So, we trained the only way we could- we downloaded the information and learned to fight, collecting weapons. Many of us fought for the Church of the Life-Spark, and I did too. I had changed the maintenence tools I had to weapons- dual swords, a shotgun, and several stakes.

One day, two weeks after the infection began, I was preaching the good word of the Life-Spark when a human stepped into the church, sat down on one of the back pews, and listened. He was a middle-aged man with short grey hair that was in good condition for an underdweller his age. He wore a simple button-up shirt, a dirty grey vest, and black slacks when he came in.

After the speech, and when my brethren mostly departed, I approached the human. Humans were not barred from our sermons, as long as they were kind and did not interrupt them. This man seemed intent on listening, although I could detect his human heart was pounding furiously. He seemed nervous.

I talked with the man. His name was Lloyd Kemp, a man who had lost just about everything to the chaos in the land currently. He had sold his home and most of his worldly possessions so that he could send his wife- a woman named Abigail Kemp- and his unborn daughter to the upper levels. But, in the process, he was left with nothing, and the church was his only place to turn. I led him into my quarters at the church as we talked. His heartbeat went down; relieved.

'You know, you never said your name.' Lloyd Kemp stated.

'They call me Swiss.' I responded, stepping into my room. It was simple- a recharge station, and a small shrine where I kept my personal Life-Spark emblem. There was also a jacket of my order in the corner; it was made from dark black fabrics, with a large collar. The jacket covered a large portion of my body, and it even included a wide brimmed hat. I put on the garb as we talked.

'What sort of name is that?' Lloyd asked.

'It's mine.' I replied. I slipped the cap on and grabbed my emblem- the emblem itself fastened onto my belt with a magnet. There was also a gas mask in the corner that I handed to Lloyd; he may need it. A shotgun laid on the ground in another corner, silently waiting.

'Lloyd, you are welcome to stay here as long as you wish. This church is safe from the monsters outside. But I have a job to do. You can come if you wish, but do think about your family.' I explained. Lloyd held the gasmask in his hand for a moment like it had changed into something strange, and then slipped it on. As he did so, I reviewed my mission in my head. An apartment building had been attacked, and I was sent a request to go check it out by some of the higher-ups.

'Hah, they already think me dead. May as well come with you, Swiss.' Lloyd said. I handed him the shotgun and the ammo, stock first. He took it, and we walked out.

The streets of our city, New York, were almost devoid of life. The grey fog floated overhead, and the massive towers continued to cast their oppressive shadow upon us. But now, their oppression was added to by the eyes that were probably always watching us. The Infected had to be nearby.

'Swiss, Would you be able to do something for me if I got killed...?' Lloyd asked.

'Affirmative.' I replied. 'You are a human kind to our cause. I can return that favor.'

Lloyd was clenching something that was close to his chest. It was a silver locket, about an inch wide and in the shape of an oval. I guessed there to be a picture of his family within.

'Tell my wife and daughter that I loved them dearly.' Lloyd said. He then gave me their address above us.

'Don't fret, Lloyd. Just be careful, and we will survive.' I stated. He was saddened.

'I don't think I will. Swiss, you able to analyze things? Injuries?'

I scanned Lloyd for injuries. I discovered a deep claw mark on his right side, covered by a gauze bandage. The injury was a day old, and was infected by some sort of virus. There was no scab.

'That claw mark... it worries me. May I take a sample of your blood?' I questioned. Lloyd nodded. I flipped one of my hands into the arm, and a simple syringe came out. I took a sample from Lloyd's side and ran it through tests. Readings popped up on my vision- It registered positive for the Medusa Virus.

'It reads positive.' I read off to myself. I swapped the syringe for a blade, ejecting the sample as I did so. The small glass case it had been put in shattered on the ground.

'For what, man? No, no... I know...' Lloyd replied. 'When it takes me over, promise me you'll tell my wife and child what I asked. Please.'

'I promise.' I answered. And I intended to.

A day passed. The apartment building I had been tasked to patrol had been cleaned out, with dead bodies strewn all about within. Lloyd ejected his old food from his mouth upon seeing the first inhabitant- an old woman with a once pink blouse- torn limb from limb. Her blood was everywhere, but I was more curious why Lloyd ejected his food. He explained it was "vomiting"- a natural fear reaction.

At the end of that day, I took him back to the church, where I continued to usher out sermons to the old robots, in hope for a bright future.

'...My friends, a new ally has come to us.' I said at one sermon. 'A human, named Lloyd Kemp. He's a brave man, and empathetic to our great cause. People like him deserve a place in the world that the light of the Life-Spark brightens- but he is sick. Infected by the monsters that we only know as the Medusa Virus. Pray to the Life-Spark for him.' I asked the listeners. We bowed our heads and prayed.

But, in the room behind us, Lloyd shivered as he slowly changed.

My brethren and I have no need for sleep; that's the way humans recharge, not us. But when I went to wake him the next morning, he was gone- the window above us, shattered.

'Lloyd...' I muttered, clenching my fist. Claw marks covered the wall up to the window.

'Father Swiss, is everything alright?' A smaller, gun-metal grey robot asked me. His name was Bolt; a simple, industrial working robot named for the simple fact that the bolts that held him together were unusually prominent. He had a screen-like face that showed a simple human head on it. The face showed confusion.

'No, Bolt. Not at all.' I replied. Bolt peered up to the shattered window, and his face turned to one with sadness. He only had a few faces that he could show, and his sadness face cried pixelated tears.

'That was Lloyd, correct...?' Bolt asked. I nodded, grabbed my things, and left. I made a promise; I had a message to deliver.

The elevators up to the richer levels of the city were heavily guarded. They were small, could only carry a few at a time, and the guards asked for a massive fee to even let you in- a solid thousand dollars- that was the average annual salary for the Underdwellers. But I had a different path on.

What few people knew was the existence of the maintenance tunnels just below the elevator shaft. The maintenance tunnels themselves were guarded, but by only one man. He wore the orange body armor so common to the guards around here.

'Halt, machine. Unless you've got important business here- which you bloody well don't- you aren't passing me.' The man said. I flipped out a blade, startling the guard who only had a pistol.

'Let me pass.' I commanded. The guard actually shot me then- but the bullet impacted in the shoulder; little harm done to the mechanics within. I smashed him away and then threw him out the window and onto the street. But I stopped momentarily- the infected were moving. They were scuttling out of the shadows, and climbing the buildings. I paid them no heed.

I the clambered into the shaft, sliding through until I reached a hatch. It opened up to a space about ten feet wide and long but only three feet tall- this was the bottom of the elevator shaft. Above me was the elevator itself- complete with handles, made for the workers who worked down here. I waited there for only ten minutes- much less than my estimations- before I heard muffled voices from above. The elevator started moving up, taking me with it.

When it reached the top of its five minute ascension, the elevator just passed another hatch in the wall that I grabbed onto and opened. It led into another maintenance room, guarded by another guard.

'Hey, I don't remember sending anyone down there-' He started before I simple slammed him with the hatch. It made him stagger, then he fell down. I kicked him in the head to silence him.

When I exited the room, it led to a balcony. The upper levels of the city were majestic, painted white can in many areas things called plants were grown. People usually moved around in peace, with the clouds of pollution far below them, but now things were climbing out of the pollution. I peered down into the dark abyss below me to see that they were the infected.

Lloyd's family would need my help. I started running down the street, towards the address Lloyd had given me. Because of the mass chaos that the Infected were causing, people hardly noticed the red robot running alongside.

Abigail- Lloyd's wife- was living in a large square building that overlooked the chasm that led below. The Infected were crawling on it, but I dashed in anyways.Abigail was on the fourth floor of the apartment building, and many of them were still in their homes.

I started dashing up the stairs, but I was stopped when an Infected came crashing in from the floor above. The thing's scaled flesh was covered in the blood of the one it just slaughtered, and it gnashed its teeth at me.

'I'm not a good meal. Trust me.' I said to it, flipping out a blade. It charged, and I dodged to the left. It recovered quickly, leaping from a wall and ripping part of my cloak. The claws bounced harmlessly off of me, though. I, in turn, grabbed its head in one hand and stabbed it multiple times through the chest with the other. Every stab caused a spasm, and its long, thin tail slapped me with every one. When I registered its death, I tossed the corpse away. I then continued up the stairs, my feet clanging on the stone steps.

As I dashed up another flight of stairs, a white painted four awaited me, painted on the wall. I smashed through the door and into the hall- there were just eight apartments on each floor, and Abigail Kemp was in room 403. I could hear fighting inside.

I ran through the flimsy wooden door to find a woman fighting off one of the infected. She wore a simple grey dress, carried a small child in one hand, and a club in the other. The infected wore the remains of black pants and had something swinging around its neck, and it kept launching itself at Abigail.

I charged, throwing myself on top of the creature. My blade went straight through its chest, and the monster stopped quivering; it's blood all over the carpet. The woman fell to her knees, both her and the child sobbing. Then I saw the thing the Infected had around its neck.

An oval-shaped silver locket.