Chapter One - Life Variable

 

 

 

 

    In a small town in eastern Germany dusk was settling in. It started as all towns, small and barely known until Morgendämmerung Tech-Branchen, or Dawn Tech Industries in the Americas, built one of their high security center near on the outskirts. Now, downtown has been relocated to around where the facility is and now included several sky scrapers. A busling metropolis now, the small town that resides there now only a small suburb from the wealth of a corporate city.

    In the old down town area of Waldlaufer, Forests Run, two collage students were walking home in the dwindling light of the sun. One was Sven Engel, a native of the Waldlaufer but a mediocre student, the other was Yoshimitsu Abe, a high ranked Japanese student studying abroad. Sven, a red head with green eyes, was intelligent and into mechanics while Yoshi, black hair and brown eyes, was still fairly young at heart having intrests in anime and collectables. By chance they met in class and became quick friends through discussing their studies. Sven wasn't stupid or lazy, he just didn't find the purpose in doing all the work if he aced the tests, and, when yoshi found out, started questioning him about it. Two weeks later here they were best of friends and heading to Svens house for dinner.

    Their laughter was broken by a faint and unique srien. They stopped walking and looked at each other.

    "What do you think that is?" Yoshi asked.

    "Not sure," Sven replied, "first time I've heard that siren before."

    Both of them looked forward again towards the downtown of Moganstadt, Dawn City.

    "Probably a test of their systems," Yoshi said inquisitively.

    "Yeah maybe, but I would mind seeing it turn to rubble," Sven replied, "That place has caused nothing but trouble since it came here."

    Yoshi laughed awkwardly as they continued to walk.

 

    The Morgendämmerung Strene, Dawn star, Facility was on high alert as security ran around franticly trying to organize. Three squads came together outside the main research structure and headed in followed by a large, heavily armed hardsuit, but as they entered, a glowing light greeted them as a huge explosion followed. Men went flying 50 meters across the surface of the asphalt. Shortly after the hard suit came soaring through the entrance struggling against something human size. Gears grinded and compressors hissed on the hardsuit under the combating force of the opposition. With a quick push and several swings of light, the hardsuit lost its balance and had its limb amputated before it hit the ground. A mix of oil and blood began to pool as the aggressor wasted no time and began running for the fence. Machine gun fire was blanketed across the clearing in a blind attempt to stop the assailant. As the target emerged from the smoke several hardsuits fired shoulder mounted anti-tank rounds in desprate attempt, but with an inhuman leaped the target sailed over the seven meter fence and darted into the city.

    The site manager was in the security room watching the monitor displaying the east fence, repeating the tape of the target leaping the fence, as a security officer walked in.

    "The target got away sir," The officer reported.

    "So I noticed," Said the site manager with a gruff voice when one of the lead scientists walked in.

    "Mr. Amsel, We have collected the possible damage to the unit and determined a relative combat capability," the scientist said.

    "What's the damage," replied Mr. Amsel the site manager.

    "Most of the damage appears to be superficial to the units vital components, but we believe that the damage was severe the physical actuators," the scientist explained, "And based on the original abilities should only have a combat efficiency 45%, but..."

    "What else is there?" asked Mr. Amsel.

    "The unit displayed actions of adaptation to the original abilities given," answered the scientist grimly.

    "And what might those be?"

    The scientist walked up to the video controls and rewound the tape from the camera above the entrance to the main structure to the point of the unit fighting the hardsuit and played it.

    "As you can see, the unit didn't have any equipment to severe the hardsuits limbs," the scientist explained, "We believe this is use of a reconfigured energy shield. There isn't confirmation yet, but, based on the lack of armaments the unit had, this is our best guess. And if this is so, we estimate is combat efficiency at about 86-7% still."

    "Any guesses where is might be going?"

    "None as of yet, but it will need to make repairs. First priority would to check local auto shops and such. The A.I. in the unit is advanced enough for us not to know what it's thinking, so, for all we know, i might stop to make repairs anywhere between the facility and the next country."

    "And what about the threat to the local populous?" asked Mr. Amsel.

    "Based on the need to evade our search, it is most likely that it will attempt the blend in unless threatened."

    "So I see," replied Mr. Amsel as he continued to watch the tapes over again.

 

    Sven and Yoshi were nearly to Sven's parents house, it being just down the next street. As they approached the intersection the light turned red for them and they stopped on the corner. A truck was heading towards the from the opposite direction that they were going to go, most likely heading for the small Dawn Tech support facility a mile or two beyond Sven's parents place. Sven looked back across the street from looking at the truck and notice someone running towards them. They were moving remarkably fast, as if sprinting for their life. Sven looked back at the approaching truck and then back at the runner. Considering there were no street lights illuminating the runner, Sven knew the truck driven hadn't seen them yet, but the runner didn't seem to be slowing down. Yoshi at this time noticed this too and they looked at each other then back and forth between the runner and the truck.

    "Hey, stop!" Sven yelled towards the runner, "There's a truck coming."

    By that time though the truck was entering the intersection as the runner did. The runner stopped in the head lights like a dear before it get run over. The runner lifted a hand at the truck as the screech of tires pierced the air. Yoshi look away towards the ground as they both felt the terror of seeing someone run over. The truck began to grown and strain as it lost control swerving into a shop just a couple stores down.

    "Yoshi, check on the driver," Sven said.

    Yoshi nodded and hurried off as Sven ran into the smoke cloud created by the tires to look for the runner.

    On the ground laid a young woman dressed in a tattered full body athletic leotard with the Dawn tech and Dawn Star facility logos on it. Sven looked her over to try to determine injuries to call in as he pulled out his cell phone, but noticed some odd penetrations in her outfit that didn't match being dragged across the ground. They were more like punctures. She then made a slight movement in her left arm, the one that she head up before the accident. Sven leaned over her opening his flip phone, but she grabbed onto it like lightning. She was now looking at him fully conscious, and with a blinding flash of light both Sven and the girl vanished from the scene.

    Yoshi had found the driver dead from something that had torn through the truck, and then saw Sven vanish. Nearly going into shock he sat down and tried to calm down as he called emergency services.

 

     The light faded from Sven's eyes and was plunged into darkness. His eyes didn't adjust because their wasn't any light, but the smell of grease gave him the idea that he was in a mechanics garage. He felt the air move as the woman he was holding stood and walked off.

     "Are you okay?" he called out.

     There was no reply. He began to move slowly about the garage to find a door or light switch. Stubling over hoses and into compressor tanks he finally made it to a wall. From there he began carefully moving along it to find an exit or light. All along the sound of clanking from tools could be heard.

     "What is she up to?" he wondered.

     Finding the door, Sven opened it and used the faint light to find the light switch on the wall. But as he reached for it, a cold hand grabbed his and he heard the crackling of a mechanical voice.

     "We do not want attention drawn to us," said the female voice, "I will just be a moment to get the proper supplies and materials to fix my damaged parts."

     "Well, so you're what they have been developing at that damned facility," Sven replied.

     "You are an enemy of theirs as well?" the android asked.

     "Not an enemy, but that doesn't mean I side with them, nor you for that matter."

     "I may be made by them, but I am not theirs to control," she said releasing his hand.

     "Some advance A.I. turning on its maker, sounds like a cliche movie scenario."

     "They made us to learn, so that we would not be destroyed so easily. But they only have us to be destroyed instead of them."

     "Well now, this is the first I have heard of a machine being sentimental," he replied, "Let's head to my place, you can fix yourself up there."

     This machine was odd to Sven but he felt connected to it some how. Maybe just because it seemed like they went through a life or death situation together. She definately had some advanced logistics programing, and for her size, she was state of the art. Long blonde hair and nearly perfect face, she was made to not only fit in but be widely accepted by those around her based on natural laws of beauty. The tattered parts of her clothes were even stained with a liquid highly resembling blood. She was made to fit in, which will help when he brings her home.

     They exited the shop and Sven got his barrings. Flipping open his phone, he called Yoshi as they started walking towards his house. Comparatively to where him and Yoshi were walking, they were a couple streets north and eastward, east being the direction that him and Yoshi were coming from. His phone rang twice before the surprised Yoshi picked up.

     "You're alive, thank the heavens. I wasn't quite ready to tell you parents you were dead," Yoshi said ecstatically.

     "Your not at my house are you?" Sven asked.

     "No, the ET's just let me go from the scene," Yoshi replied.

     "What did you tell them?"

     "Nothing they believed."

     "Alright, head for my parents place. I'll meet you there," Sven said.

     "Okay then."

     Sven ended the call and they hurried to his place. The sound of sirens in the near distance was faintly present, a fact a which kept drawing the attention of the android girl. He met up with Yoshi, who was quite surprised to see the woman alive as well, in front of his house, and he explained what was going on.

     "Well we can't just walk in there with her looking like that," Yoshi exclaimed looking at her tattered outfit.

     Sven looked at the android, "Do you have a cloaking measure to stay out of sight out here till later tonight?"

     "Not that wouldn't draw attention from Morgandaemmerung Stern agents," she replied, her voice still a little off from normal.

     "Oh," Yoshi began to comment, "and her voice will fit in to. Why the hell did you help her again?"

     "Well, she is an ally to me in her book," Sven started, "Not to mention she isn't bad looking. I need a girl friend after all."

     Yoshi just sighed and put a hand to his face, then looked up at Sven, "Be serious, she is a multi-million dollar piece of research that the largest R&D corporation in the world has developed. This is no time to be joking that she could be your girl friend."

     "Alright calm down," Sven replied, "She needs a little help and I aim to please. Ever since that damned corporation came in, my families business has gone down the shitter. This is a little pay back."

     "Ah damnit," Yoshi sighed, "and now I'm an accomplice."

     The house was a small three bedroom of modern design with a garage and driveway. To the right of the garage was the entrance of the house which had a little porch. The porch light shown brightly, relevealing the baish color of the house which was indeterminant by the lack of light that was now present from the sun. Sven looked at Yoshi, then at the android who was now dressed in his over shirt, leaving Sven to only his under shirt ,and a pair of Yoshi's extra pants that he had packed to stay at Sven's parents place. Yoshi looked at Sven and nodded. Sven nodded back and rang the door bell. A squeal of excitement came from a woman inside and a second later the locks on the door were being undone. The door swung open revealing a slightly older woman with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes.

     The woman leap through the doorway and hugged Sven, "It's so good to have you home again."

     "It's good to be here mom," Sven replied.

     His mom looked at Yoshi and then at the girl, "I thought you said you had one friend with you?"

     "I was originally only bringing Yoshi here," Sven began with the cover up, "But Yoshi introduced me to his friend here who wished to come as well. She is an American student."

     "Yes," Yoshi said, continuing Svens start, "Here name is Machina, Machina Machinema."

     "It's nice to meet you both," Sven's mom said, "Well come on in, dinner isn't ready yet. So you guy can 'hang out' for a little."

     Sven's mom walk back inside, then yoshi commented, "And I thought my parents were bad at trying to stay hip."

     "Ah, cut the crap," Sven replied, "Lets head for the garage."

     The interior of the house was late 20th century rustic with a few pieces mid 21st technology in it such as the television. The stairs were stright ahead just inside, the living room to the right, the dinning room and the kitchen behind them both, and the garage entrance inbetween the the back of the stairs and the dinning room where they headed for. Sven switched on the light and the two car garage was illuminated. On the close end was Sven's parent's car and on the far side the was a long shallow work bench and a nearly completed, custom made motor bike. Yoshi went over to the bike while the girl began looking through the materials there.

     Sven walked up next to Yoshi, "She's a beaut' yeah?"

     "Indeed, it looks framiliar though..." Yoshi replied.

     Sven looked away nervously as Yoshi though.

     "Yes, now I remember," Yoshi said, "It's from an anime."

     "Ack," Sven replied, "Don't get any thoughts, I don't watch that stuff. I was looking for a design of a high performance bike and ran across a damn anime site. It looked cool, had an aero dynamic frame, and the engine block to hold a high capacity motor."

     "But still," Yoshi said, "I never would have though that I would seen Priss's hardsuit bike in real life."

     "Yeah, yeah," Sven said, then looked over at Machina, "Machina, you finding what you need?"

     "Is that really what my name is to be?" She replied, her voice emulator still on the fritz.

     "Don't blame me, but that's what my parents know you as."

     Machina sighed, "Yes, I should have at least my voice emulator working correctly before this dinner of yours."

     "Are you capable of eating?" Sven asked.

     Machina nodded as she set up the tools, "As an alternate form of power intake, I have been designed to be able to take in biomaterials and break them down into an engery source."

     "Good, just eat what we eat and nothing else, okay?" Sven instructed.

     "Roger that," Machina replied.

     Just then, Sven's mother opened the garage door to call out that dinner was ready. Sven, Yoshi, and Machina entered the dining room to see an elaborate layout of food. Looking like an American Thanks Giving dinner, the three sat at the table in amazement at how much food there was.

     Machina leaned over to Yoshi, who was to the left of her, and whispered, "Is it normal for five to eat this much in one sitting?"

     Yoshi gave a short chuckle and whispered back, "No, the amount of food is more for display purposes. Eat what you fancy, but dont eat more than Sven's mother."

     Machina nodded in compliance.

     Sven's parents put the last of the food on the table and sat down. Sven's father started at the food giving the indication that everyone else can start.

     "So," Sven's father started, "Machina, you are a friend of Sven?"

     "I just met him this morning as he met up with Yoshi," Machina expertly played out.

     "Ah, so you're Yoshi's friend."

     "Yes, I met him at Tokyo University before he started studying abroad."

     Yoshi and Sven looked at each other puzzled at how she knew that information.

     "Where did you go to school before you started studying abroad," Sven's father continued.

     "Yale University, studying language," Machina replied.

     "You must get A's with how well you speak german."

     Machina perfectly made a embarassed giggle as Sven and Yoshi chuckled at how well she was able to cover.

     The conversation continued throughout dinner as they ate. The old grandfather clock struck seven by the time they were done. Sven showed Yoshi and Machina up stairs to his room before heading to the dining room to help clean up.

     "You covered very well down there," Yoshi complimented.

     "I am an intellegent construct, Having the most advanced A.I.," Machina said, "Why else would I chose to leave my birth place."

     "You're talking about the facility in town, right?"

     "Yes, I was not the first nor am I the last. Many were destoried because they failed once. Machines cannot feel but the knowledge that I would be terminated at the first trasgression went agains my self presservation programing. My brother did not agree with my understanding though."

     "Wait," Yoshi exclaimed, "Your brother?"

     "Yes, that would be the correct term for another that was created by the same machine and programmed similarly, am I correct?"

     "I guess so."

     "At this point I need to find Dr. Lehrer, an Ex-employee that was the creator of the skeletal system I have and had disappeared before the Morgendämmerung Tech-Branchen could deal with him."

     "So this company is more like a government than a corparation."

     "Isn't that what a corparation is?" Machina asked, "A sociaty with rules and regulations, with imports and exports, and an economy. The only difference is that they didn't own land, they rent it from other countries."

     Just then Sven entered the room, "So, what's next?"

     "Machina needs to find a Dr. Lehrer," Yoshi said.

     "You're joking right?"

     "Why do you ask such questions?" Machina asked.

     "I knew him, he was from Waldlaufer," Sven said, "and now it makes sense why that damned facility is here."

     "I will not search for him in your presence if you have hostilities against him. I require his expertise to fix the more vital components I have."

     "Oh, no worries. I'll let him fix you before I give him a black eye," Sven remarked, "And to think he was a friend of my fathe... wait a moment. You said "to find" right?"

     "Yeah," Yoshi replied.

     "Well then, let's give the old geaser a visit tomorrow."

     "If you know where he is, I would insist that you take me to him now," Machina said.

     "Insist all you want, you can't hack my head for the information like you did the T.U. computers."

     Machina looked almost shocked, "Now I understand the credit I must give for my creation. You human are capable of much using only small amounts of data."

     "Yeah, I figured as much, but don't give us that credit yet. I didn't know till you told me."

     Again Machina looked shocked, "I understand, this is what assuming is."