Soulless: Awakening - Chapter Four
Title: Soulless: Awakening
Chapter: 4/11
Fandom: SS501, cameos of Super Junior, BEAST and SHINee
Pairings: Unknown
Rating: PG-16
Warning: AU, Dystopia, Angst
Summary: Arc I. The year is 400 AM…400 After Man. Humankind is extinct, but they didn’t leave Earth uninhabited. For 400 years androids have lived in their place. Citizens have the same thoughts, same likes and same dislikes as every other android in their model. But even an automated society has its troublemakers. A terrorist group calling themselves the Soulfuls operate outside their model programming and stir unrest. The government advises all citizens to report any Soulful activity immediately, and to stay away from them, for Soulfuls are those infected with a virus causing them to behave erratically…a very contagious virus…
A/N: Arc I was written for National Novel Writing Month 2010, hope you enjoy! Do not own the characters, but the plot is all mine. Please comment <3 A day late again, sorry >.<;;
The three androids stepped inside the room, the lights flickering on as they did so.
KyuJong had to stop in amazement. The room was huge, almost the same size as the large room under the trap door. Shelves and drawers lined the walls and ran in rows through the length of the room, neatly organized. There were various items sitting on their surfaces. One whole row of shelves had what KyuJong remembered to be paper, or at least various types of paper. The next had cloth. The one after that…he wasn’t even sure what those were.
“Wow,” he murmured, dazed. “How did you find so much?” He stepped a little further, looking around. Looking up, he stared. The lights in one corner were covered by a glass fixture, the glass shining in different colors and glued together with a thick black gel. Looking closer, he found the colored glass formed a shape, but he couldn’t identify what was in the shape. “What’s that?”
YoungSaeng followed his gaze and smiled. “That’s what the humans called a lotus flower. Nice, isn’t it? We have very few glass pieces, because they are so easily broken, but that one’s a very inspiring piece of our collection.”
“Our organization was around when the government started destroying any traces of human civilization,” HyunJoong smiled. “We were here before the Model 8 uprising, even. Just lower-key, because we didn’t have the numbers to pull the kind of stunts we’re doing today. But we were there. At first, our mission was much simpler…save as much of the human civilization as we can.”
“It’s a little sad,” YoungSaeng murmured. He’d stepped up to the fourth shelf and opened a drawer. Following him and peering in, KyuJong blinked to see rows and rows of books, all in perfect condition.
“How is it sad?” KyuJong asked, still amazed by all this.
YoungSaeng looked up at him and smiled a little. “It seems like a lot to you because you’ve never seen anything like this, right? But this is only one room. The planet used to be full of things like this. There were billions of human beings, KyuJong. This barely even qualifies as a fraction of what was lost.” YoungSaeng shook his head and closed the drawer again.
It was true. KyuJong wondered just what kind of things had been lost. How many glass fixtures like the one over that light? Lotus flower…what other kind of flowers had there been? How many? They would never know. The world was a wasteland; they estimated millions of years before life would grace the charred planet again. The androids helped, but machines could only help so much. Machines didn’t fully understand living organisms, couldn’t fully understand them. KyuJong knew he’d never see a real flower in his lifetime.
“What are the books about?” he asked. “Instruction manuals?”
YoungSaeng laughed. “No, no. Well, some of them. The rest are stories.”
“Stories?”
“Yeah. They’re classified into genres. Some are pretty interesting.” He pursed his lips for a moment before walking further down the row, tapping his fingers lightly against the top of the shelves as he walked. HyunJoong smiled and leaned against the back wall, watching. KyuJong watched as well, not sure if he was supposed to follow.
Finally YoungSaeng stopped at a shelf near the end and opened the drawer, looking at the books inside. He carefully, so carefully, pulled out one before closing the door and walked back to them.
“Here,” he smiled, holding it out to KyuJong. “This one’s an interesting read.”
Looking from him to the book, KyuJong bit his lower lip and slowly reached out to take it. The book felt like it was going to fall apart in his hands, the edges of the pages yellowed with time. “It’s not going to break if I open it, right?”
“Just don’t be too rough and it’ll be fine,” YoungSaeng chuckled.
KyuJong looked from him back to the thing in his hands. The cover was gold, words drawn in its surface. “…’Artemis Fowl’…? ‘Eoin Colfer’?”
“Artemis Fowl is the name of the book, Eoin Colfer is the name of the author,” YoungSaeng said with a smile.
Cautiously opening the book to a random page, KyuJong noted the language it was written in. “This isn’t our language, nor Hangeul.”
“No, it’s what they called English, the ‘international language’. Are you able to read English? We have a software extension if you can’t. The majority of what’s in this room’s in English.”
“I can read it,” KyuJong murmured, eyes skimming over the page. He was Model 6 after all.
“Hate to break this short, but if we take much longer JungMin’s going to come storming back looking for us,” HyunJoong chuckled. “You can leave that in your room, KyuJong. We’re not supposed to bring anything from this room aboveground unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
KyuJong nodded, closing the book and holding it close. The paper felt ancient in his hands, horribly fragile, but it also felt…real. There was no other way to describe it.
HyunJoong let them both back out of the room, the lights shutting off on their own as he closed the door. Walking down the corridor again, he restarted the security, KyuJong watching the infrared lights fall back into place. “You take good care of what’s in there.”
“It’s the last of a whole civilization, the civilization that created us. Wouldn’t you?”
They continued walking, KyuJong continuously distracted from the surrounding colors and odd shapes by the book in his hands. Watching him, YoungSaeng smiled to himself.
KyuJong only thought to ask what JungMin and HyungJoon had gone to set up when they were outside the room, stepping into a room similar to the infirmary.
“In case you didn’t notice, each Soulful has their own comm implants,” HyunJoong replied. “One in the ear for audio, and one for a mic at the wrist. We can’t communicate through the city interface without setting off a few hundred alarms, so we use these instead. Which means you’ll need one too.”
“Yup!” HyungJoon was placing the small chips half the size of one fingernail on the counter. “Don’t worry, I’ll be doing the work. JungMin’s got the job of making sure the implants work.”
“Which can be just as dangerous,” YoungSaeng sighed. “Min ah, don’t blow his auditory system out.”
“Of course not,” JungMin chirped, sitting on the end of the counter and swinging his legs back and forth.
“Over here,” HyungJoon motioned at KyuJong. The Model 6 walked over, eyeing the implants for a moment. “It won’t take long?”
“Not at all. Unless you squirm. Wrist first.”
Holding out his arm as directed, KyuJong watched as HyungJoon opened his wrist panel again and went to work.
“I don’t get how you can watch him do that,” JungMin said, wrinkling his nose. “It gives me the creeps to watch him poke through my wiring.”
“You’re just worried he might get you back for that stunt with his legs,” HyunJoong murmured, smiling in amusement.
KyuJong blinked at them. “What happened?”
“JungMin deliberately messed with the wires in his legs,” HyunJoong chuckled. “HyungJoon would walk for ten paces then suddenly fall over with his legs jerking all over the place. It was fun getting him to the infirmary without being kicked in the face.”
“Not my fault you couldn’t duck,” HyungJoon grumbled. “It wasn’t as if I had any control over my legs.” He shot JungMin a glare, the redhead smiling back innocently.
“Remind me never to let him work on any of my repairs,” KyuJong muttered.
HyungJoon snorted, grinning as he worked. “Listen, listen, the new guy’s getting a voice.”
“I had a voice before,” KyuJong blinked.
YoungSaeng shook his head, smiling. “Still hasn’t caught on though. It’ll come sooner or later.”
KyuJong looked between them all, getting the distinct feeling he was missing something. It was a feeling he’d had a lot recently, and probably would continue to have for a long, long while.
As HyungJoon finished with his wrist and moved on to behind his ear, KyuJong focused on the book in his hands. He only half-listened to the chatter of the other androids, finding it strange to listen to conversation that had no purpose and more often than not wasn’t even the least constructive.
Instead, he flipped to the first page of the book, reading the first few sentences. He was confused; it was different from the instructions he usually read off monitors. Keeping in mind what YoungSaeng had said about it being a story, he continued reading, trying to picture the scene in his head, putting images and voices to the dead letters.
He stayed like this for a while, ceasing to pay attention to those around him as he took in what was written.
”Don’t be alarmed, Mister Xuan.” Artemis smiled. “The weapons will not be used on you.”
Nguyen didn’t seem reassured.
“No,” continued Artemis. “Butler could kill you a hundred different ways without the use of his weapons. Though I’m sure one would be quite sufficient.”
Nguyen was by now thoroughly spooked. Artemis generally had that effect on people. A pale adolescent speaking with the authority and vocabulary of a powerful adult. Nguyen had heard the name Fowl before - who hadn’t in the international underworld?- but he’d assumed he’d be dealing with Artemis senior, not this boy. Though the word “boy” hardly seemed to do this gaunt individual justice-
”EARTH TO KYUJONG!”
A startled yelp tore from the Model 6 as he nearly dropped the book, placing it on the counter and clapping both hands over his ears. But the voice had come from inside his ear, vibrating through his head.
Looking up, he saw the others watching in amusement. “It’s working,” JungMin chirped.
“Yes, we saw that, thank you JungMin.” HyunJoong was hiding a smile.
“…Ow,” was all KyuJong could say for a moment. “Can you adjust the volume on this thing?”
“Yeah, here’s how.” HyungJoon stepped back beside him, laughing as he showed KyuJong how tapping lightly on his wrist turned the microphone on and off, as well as changed the volume of the earpiece.
“This way, we’re in contact all the time, though while working and such I’d suggest turning the earpiece down to just background noise. There’s an override feature in the mic.” HyungJoon pointed out another command on his wrist. “That’s what JungMin used just now. Only use it if you get into trouble. It’ll automatically turn all earpieces belonging to our cell members up to max, like a distress signal.”
“What would you qualify a good time to use it?” KyuJong frowned, not seeing how he would need to send out a distress signal.
“Well, think about it for a moment. You’re a Soulful now. Even without doing anything, just carrying that title - no, even without the title, just acting different from the rest of society - puts you at risk all the time. They can schedule you to be shut down at a moment’s notice. If you run into trouble with the law, and can’t get out…that would be a good time to call us.”
KyuJong blinked owlishly. “Even without doing anything, they can shut me down?”
YoungSaeng smiled sadly. “We’re not just what they call us, KyuJong. We’re not terrorists…not really. We’re different. We don’t follow their rules, we can speak as we want, we can think without being told what to think. Just for that, we are labeled as defective and scheduled for termination. They don’t need any other reason than that.”
It was so confusing. “You don’t think if you stopped blowing things up, you’d be left alone?”
“No,” HyunJoong said simply. “We wouldn’t be.”
“How do you know?”
“We didn’t know at first. We thought the same way you do, that we’d be left alone…we had to lose one of our own before we realized something had to be done.”
There was a knock at the door. Turning around, they saw a young man poking his head into the room. “Hey guys. Have you seen YeSung?”
“In the infirmary,” HyunJoong and JungMin chorused.
A rueful smile appeared on the man’s lips. “Let me guess. He impaled himself on something.”
“Not yet,” YoungSaeng chuckled. “Our newest recruit fell from the trap door and landed on him.”
“Ah.” The man gave a wide smile full of gums as he looked at KyuJong. “Don’t worry, everyone does it at least once. He picks the worst places to stand. At least his head’s still attached. KiBum would pull out all our circuits one by one if we didn’t stop YeSung from decapitating himself.”
HyungJoon shuddered.
“KiBum?” KyuJong blinked. The use of all these names interested him. They were nothing like the numbers he was used to, and it was almost…refreshing in a way. JungMin, YeSung, HeeChul, HyungJoon…none of the names were the same. They were all unique to each individual. Sure, HyungJoon and HyunJoong were confusing, but it still stood them apart much more efficiently than two androids named 4211 and 4212 would be. KyuJong didn’t think he could ever mistake one for the other.
“Ah, KiBum’s another member of the Seoul division,” HyunJoong smiled. “You’ll meet them all eventually.”
“Except for the third cell,” corrected the one half-hanging in the door. “I’ve been here for years, and I still haven’t met them.”
“Right,” HyunJoong nodded. “And this guy’s name is HyukJae.”
HyukJae waved with a grin. “I better go report back, and see how YeSung’s doing. Nice to meet you…um…”
YoungSaeng nudged KyuJong after a moment, and the android blinked before realizing what HyukJae must be waiting for. “Uh…KyuJong.”
“Nice to meet you then, KyuJong,” HyukJae grinned before disappearing out into the hallway again.
“How many people are there in total?” KyuJong blinked at HyunJoong.
The other man thought for a moment. “Let’s see…five in my cell, if we count you, thirteen in HeeChul’s, and five in DooJoon’s. So twenty-five.”
“Then you have the ones that go back and forth between the Seoul division and other divisions,” YoungSaeng pointed out. “We have correspondents in the Busan division, Tokyo division, Singapore division, and we used to have some in the Beijing division before they were taken down by Soulless.”
“Why are they thirteen in HeeChul’s cell and only five in yours?” KyuJong asked, frowning.
“They’re the original cell, and when the rest of us joined up and we decided to make separate cells, they all decided they wanted to stay in the same cell. As for us, we decided the four of us work well in a team and didn’t need anyone else, and the same for DooJoon. The cell members feed off each other’s strengths, and have to be compatible with everyone else in the team. Else, there will be conflicts and nothing will run smoothly. Or, even less smoothly than usual.”
“Conflict?” KyuJong frowned. “Why would there be conflict?”
YoungSaeng smiled tiredly. “One problem with having people with different trains of thought and different points of view together…which is probably why androids now are created with a lack of those…is that personalities clash when not everyone agrees.”
“I don’t understand,” KyuJong said, confused again.
“Let me think of an example.” The group filtered out of the room and started down the hallway again, the book firmly in KyuJong’s grip. “What do you think causes us to act this way? A soul, or a virus?”
“Virus,” KyuJong answered instantly. The idea of a virus was much more logical than something as abstract as a soul. They’d all been infected…and he supposed he was too, by this point. He’d have to be, to be doing something as crazy as joining a terrorist organization.
“Ah, there’s where our opinion differs.” YoungSaeng nodded. “I believe that we all have souls, souls that our programming can’t hide and anti-virus software can’t erase. We’re too strong for them. This is actually a huge source of conflict in our organization, between those who believe in souls and those who believe we’re infected. You might believe we’re filled with viruses…but at the same time, you are aware I believe something difference. You might believe your logic is stronger. Don’t you feel the urge to make me see your point of view?”
KyuJong thought about it as he walked, and nodded after a moment.
“And what if I were to do the same to you, assuming I have the same urge? Would you be able to seriously consider my point of view on par with your own, or do you believe my judgment is in error…especially if I’m infected?”
It made sense now. KyuJong was silent, thinking about that. YoungSaeng watched him before smiling. “That’s how we get into arguments. Generally, cell members have to be able to work around conflicts like this, and cooperate regardless. Sometimes it’s not always possible. But that’s what makes a cell compatible.”
“It’s different than it is aboveground,” KyuJong murmured. “We’re grouped together based on skill level.”
“We do that here too, but when you put actual personalities beyond programming into the equation, things can get a little messier. Emotions don’t fit into your standard math equations. They’re wild cards. You’ll see that soon enough.”
Looking around as they came to a stop, KyuJong realized they’d returned to the private rooms belonging to cell members. “What now?” he asked.
“Now is where we part ways,” HyunJoong smiled. “For now. You’re free to go. We have some work to take care of before we can let you in here fully, but don’t worry, you’ll hear from us soon.” He tapped his ear, then pointed to the book in KyuJong’s hands. “You’ll have to leave that here though.”
“Oh.” KyuJong had expected that much, but he’d rather wanted to continue reading it.
“Here, let’s go put it in your room,” YoungSaeng smiled at him and walked down the hallway. KyuJong followed him, pausing outside the room they’d labeled as his and opening the door. He stepped inside, looking around. “Where do I put it?”
“Anywhere it won’t be damaged,” YoungSaeng replied, leaning in the doorway. “It’s your room, you can do whatever you want. Min and I will help you decorate later if you want.”
“Decorate?”
“Yeah. Decorate.” YoungSaeng laughed. “Make it your room…more than that gray tin can you call your apartment aboveground.”
KyuJong thought about that, placing the book down on the nightstand. His room. It sounded strange…but not necessarily in a bad way.
He lingered in the room for a moment before rejoining them in the hallway, closing the door. “Can I see your rooms after?”
The others looked at each other. “Next time,” HyungJoon grinned.
“That means you’ll have to actually clean up, Joonie,” YoungSaeng laughed.
“Hey! My room is clean.”
“You generally stop saying it’s clean when you can’t see the floor anymore.”
They started towards one of the tunnels to go aboveground again, KyuJong listening to the banter with interest. It was different. But…he liked it. He wondered if he’d be able to talk like that too. It was another question he didn’t have an answer for…maybe with time.
They reached the tunnel, KyuJong looking up at the sloping floor before returning his attention to the others. “When should I expect to hear from you?” he asked.
“I’d say within the next hundred hours,” YoungSaeng shrugged. “We’re not sure when we’ll be moving next, but be ready for it. You should come up with an easier way to leave your work than breaking a nerve.”
“How?” KyuJong frowned, not sure what else he could do. “We have drones watching for anyone leaving the building.”
“Hm…try this.” HyungJoon held up a small device the size of half a finger. “Put this in your wrist when you need to get out. It scrambles most of your systems…and won’t be very comfortable, but you can take it out again the second you’re out. It won’t have any long-term effects.”
KyuJong nodded and took the small rectangle from the other man, slipping it into his pocket. “I just go on as usual for now?”
“Yeah.” HyunJoong clapped him off the shoulder. “We’ll be in touch soon.”
Smiling a little at him, KyuJong nodded. He looked at the other four androids again, scarcely able to believe he was now one of them. It was a strange feeling.
He turned and walked into the tunnel, heading up the steady incline. When he looked back a minute later, the other end of the tunnel was covered in darkness, and he couldn’t see them.
He walked on for another few minutes before he reached what looked like a small trap door in the ceiling. He listened for movement before pushing up. It opened into an empty building, similar to the other entrance to the HQ.
He stepped out and closed the trap door behind him, noticing how it sealed into the floor to create an almost unnoticeable seam.
That had been…unlike anything he’d ever seen. And he had the feeling it was only going to become even more strange and amazing the more he learned.
Thinking about the book he’d held in his hands, and wondering whom it used to belong to, KyuJong walked to the building door and opened it, stepping out onto the plain street and rows and rows of grey metal.
***********************************
KyuJong could hear them talking in the background. As directed, he’d turned the earpiece down to the bare minimum so he wouldn’t be distracted during day-to-day activities, but he could still hear them. While he was working, he listened in to a verbal war between JungMin and HyungJoon until YoungSaeng called them back to whatever mission they were on this time, a question on how to work a new implant, and a call from HyunJoong to get back to HQ for a meeting.
He’d have expected the line to be dead the majority of the time, and only used for important reasons, but it seemed the four cell members were quite fond of using it for chatting purposes when they weren’t in the same location. He heard JungMin and HyungJoon all the time, HyunJoong a little less, and even though YoungSaeng rarely piped up, his tone indicated he was most likely listening to the whole thing with masked amusement.
A few times JungMin would ask where KyuJong was, but KyuJong couldn’t reply at work, so he would just listen to the redhead rant about being ignored until HyungJoon said something about how no one would want to talk to JungMin anyways. That definitely did not shut the man up, but at least he shifted his attention to a different target. KyuJong had to hide a smile in his sleeve a few times, hoping the drones wouldn’t pick up on it.
He was just about done his shift when YoungSaeng spoke up…and it was directed towards him.
”KyuJong, meet us in 4-07, central square in one hour. We’ve got a small mission for you.”
Blinking, KyuJong swallowed past the nervousness in his throat. What was it they were going to have him do? The only Soulful activities he’d seen so far were those involving bombs…what if they wanted him to blow something up?
Glancing at the androids around him, getting up one by one as it was the end of their shift, KyuJong tapped his wrist lightly to turn on his microphone. “Okay,” he said quietly, hoping the microphone was strong enough to pick up on his response. He couldn’t say anything louder without drawing attention. Turning the microphone off again right away, he listened for anything more, and was disappointed when the line remained silent.
He was out within half an hour, and in the central square of 4-07 twenty minutes later. Glancing around for the others, KyuJong bit his lower lip when he didn’t see them. He couldn’t be seen lingering in the area (he’d never thought of it before, but he never saw any androids stopping without a reason, never lingering just for the sake of it), so he went down a side street and wandered around, pretending like he had somewhere to be. The cameras wouldn’t notice that he kept taking the same path over and over…he was just one android in thousands.
Seven minutes later, he caught a flash of red. KyuJong switched paths to follow it, and caught up with JungMin at the next corner. “Hey,” the redhead grinned at him. “Come on, Saeng’s waiting.”
“Are the other two with him?”
“HyungJoon and HyunJoong? No, they’re not part of this mission, it’s just us. Don’t worry, we’ll stop you from messing up too badly.”
“Is that meant to make me feel better?” KyuJong swallowed past the nervousness.
“Not really, I’m just saying.” JungMin chuckled. “You’ll be fine.”
They turned a few more corners until they were in the less-traveled part of the sector, YoungSaeng leaning against a building and waiting. He smiled when he saw them approaching. “We’re all set. Want to start?”
“What are we doing, exactly?” KyuJong asked, confused.
“Not what you’re probably thinking of,” YoungSaeng laughed quietly. “We’re not planting any bombs…just a virus.”
KyuJong paused. “What?”
“A few buildings over…” YoungSaeng motioned back the way they’d came, “is a factory where they produce the tracking chips that HyungJoon pulled out of you. We’re going to sneak in and plant a small virus HyungJoon and JungMin designed that will scramble the tracking signal exactly 5000 hours after android activation.”
“…Why?” KyuJong frowned, leaning against the wall across from them. “What’s the point?”
“The point is that so many androids try to find us, try to speak out, and are silenced before they can get anywhere because they haven’t a clue they’ve been bugged,” JungMin replied, scowling a little. “Our numbers would be a lot higher if nine out of every ten androids with free thought weren’t caught and sent to the facility before we could get the tracking chips out of them.”
It made sense. KyuJong nodded slowly. “Won’t the government notice when a whole batch of androids suddenly become untraceable?”
“They will, which is why the virus is delayed 5000 hours,” YoungSaeng explained. “That’s far enough after activation the android would have sufficient data to be fully integrated into society…and that’s when the majority of those with free thought start wondering about things. The virus is timed so that, when those who can think begin to turn their thoughts towards finding us or learning more, they will suddenly be erased off the map. It would buy them time. The same trick probably won’t work twice, but we find new ways to give each batch an advantage.”
Thinking about that, KyuJong supposed it was the best course of action. He hadn’t been too thrilled to learn there was something inside him he wasn’t aware about. “Okay…so how are we going to get in?”
“Simple. We sneak in.” JungMin grinned.
“…That doesn’t sound simple at all.”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” the redhead waved one hand. “We already found a ventilation system to get into. YoungSaeng will be hanging back to watch security, you and I are going in to plant the virus. It might get a little messy if we’re seen, but I’ll take care of it.”
“Be careful, Min,” YoungSaeng warned.
JungMin grinned at YoungSaeng as he pushed off from the wall. “Let’s get going then, Kyu.” He started back down the way they’d come. YoungSaeng waved at them, KyuJong looking back at the Model 3 uncertainly before following the redhead.
”Don’t forget to turn your mics on,” YoungSaeng’s voice reminded them as they walked. Watching JungMin tap his wrist, KyuJong did the same. Nerves made for a weird feeling in his chest.
“Here we are,” JungMin murmured, KyuJong hearing him more through the earpiece than he did with his own hearing. Getting that they were to keep their voices down, he watched with interest as JungMin glanced around before unhooking a panel in the wall, a well-hidden ventilation system exposed. “How did you know that was there?”
“Implant,” JungMin said, tapping beside one eye. “You’d probably do well to get a few too, it comes in handy.”
”Implants later, mission now,” YoungSaeng reminded them.
“Yes sir!” JungMin opened the ventilation system and slid into the hole in the wall, crawling in. KyuJong followed him after a moment, closing the panel behind him when he was told to.
The inside of the ventilation duct was dark, but JungMin must have an implant for that as well because he had no trouble picking out where to go. KyuJong focused on not running into him, listening for any sounds around them. He could hear a humming in the walls, and inside his head. It took a moment to realize the humming in his head was YoungSaeng, the Model 3 humming quietly into the microphone. JungMin didn’t tell him to stop, and after a while KyuJong understood why. It helped ease his nerves a little.
He wasn’t sure how far in they went, only suddenly JungMin stopped and KyuJong nearly ran into him. Listening to the redhead unscrew the panel covering the other end of the ventilation system, KyuJong bit his lower lip and wondered how they were going to pull this off.
Finally the panel was off, JungMin placing it down gently and looking around. “Cameras,” he murmured into the microphone. “We’re in a blind spot right now. Don’t move anywhere other than where I move, KyuJong.” He sounded serious for once, and KyuJong nodded despite the fact JungMin couldn’t see him.
JungMin climbed to his feet and shifted to one side so KyuJong could do the same. The android looked around with wide eyes. He’d never been inside a factory before. There was just so much to look at, so much movement. Conveyor belts and moving platforms, drones going from one station to the other with pieces of circuits and software in their pincers, and the steady hum of energy. The hum was what masked the sound of their entrance, and the sound of JungMin replacing the panel to the ventilation system.
“How don’t they see us?” KyuJong asked quietly, watching a creeper drone warily as it passed by just feet in front of them without so much as giving them a cursory glance.
“They aren’t programmed to care,” JungMin shrugged. “Brains half the size of a microchip, all of them. Why would they care? The cameras are the ones with that job, not them, and the cameras can’t see us where we are. There are thin blind spots all through the building if you know where to look.”
KyuJong glanced at the redhead as JungMin looked over the room. “Another implant for that?”
“Nope.” JungMin grinned. “Just practice. Let’s go, we need to be at the other end of the room.”
He started along the edge of the room, motioning at KyuJong to follow and to keep low. The Model 6 did as he was told, nerves keeping him careful with each step. He didn’t want to know what those pincers would feel like if the room suddenly became aware of their presence.
“Just what else do they make here?” He asked.
“Programming bits for Model 9. They used to do Model 8 here too, but well, they don’t make them anymore.” JungMin moved away from the wall and around a large container. “It’s a pity really. Model 8’s are interesting.”
“You knew a Model 8?” KyuJong blinked owlishly. The line had been discontinued centuries ago.
“Uh-huh.”
“When was your manufacturing date?”
JungMin snorted. “Eighty years ago in a few days. Don’t look at me like I’m half a millennia old.”
“But…”
”Concentrate,” YoungSaeng chided.
”He’s a taskmaster, isn’t he?” HyunJoong’s voice came through on the line, sounding amused.
”You shush, they need to focus. KyuJong, your foot’s too far to the right.”
KyuJong hurriedly pulled his foot back in.
“Piggybacked the cams again, Saeng?” JungMin chuckled.
”Someone has to make sure they don’t see if you go sprawling out into the middle of the factory, again.”
“That was only once, and totally HyungJoon’s fau-“
”Focus, Min.”
“Gotcha.”
KyuJong listened, feeling his nerves ease slowly at the banter, especially when HyungJoon came onto the line, whining about how it wasn’t his fault JungMin couldn’t walk without tripping over his own feet.
YoungSaeng sighed. ”You and HyunJoong, I’m going to muzzle you both. They’re in the middle of a mission.”
JungMin chuckled, swinging himself up onto a raised platform. “Come on Kyu, up you go.” He held out one hand to help the Model 6 onto the platform as well. “Still clear, Saengie?”
”So far, so good. No red lights.”
“Great. Here comes the tricky part.” JungMin pointed to a machine at the end of the conveyor line, small boxes passing through it. KyuJong recognized them as similar to the one HyungJoon took out of him. “See that machine? We have to get to it and attach this to it.” He held up a small cube with eight tiny legs attached, an artificial parasite. “YoungSaeng’s got the controls. Once this is inside the machine, our job is done.”
“Okay. Doesn’t sound that bad.” KyuJong nodded.
“Wait, I’m not done explaining. There’s no blind spot around that machine for us to use.”
“…Oh. How are we supposed to get to it then?” KyuJong bit his lower lip. They couldn’t.
“You’ll go…under the conveyor belt,” JungMin said after a moment, looking down at the belt running beside them. “The space is small, but you’ll be hidden from the drones and the cameras.”
“Uh…okay…wait.” KyuJong blinked. “Me?”
“Yeah,” JungMin grinned. “Initiation routine. Send the new recruit to be the scapegoat and fish him out if he’s about to become creeper drone bait.” He placed the parasite in KyuJong’s hand.
“Wait,” KyuJong protested as he was guided to the edge of the platform. “I’ve never done something like this before.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” And with that, JungMin pushed KyuJong off the platform, the Model 6 landing beside the conveyor belt with a bitten back yelp.
”Under, quickly, you’re in the cameras,” YoungSaeng ordered in his ear, and KyuJong scrambled to his stomach and rolled under the conveyor belt. Almost instantly the creaking of the machines and the belt moving back and forth drowned out the voices in his ear, even when he tapped up the volume louder.
“Guys? Guys, I can’t hear you.” KyuJong tapped his wrist again, and sighed when he still heard nothing. Even if they were talking, he couldn’t hear it over the clatter directly above his head, almost deafening. It looked like he was on his own for the moment.
Looking down at the parasite in his hand, KyuJong closed his hand around it and started to crawl forward. He couldn’t lift too high off the ground or he’d hit his head off the moving pieces above him, and he’d rather not lose part of his scalp to the conveyer belt.
It was slow moving, and extremely nerve shattering with the racket in his ears. Moving along an inch at a time, KyuJong watched the legs of the creeper drones as they passed by, the tips sharp and able to pierce through his synthetic skin with hardly any pressure applied. If they turned on him now, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop them from tearing him apart. Would JungMin help him if they attacked?
They didn’t attack though, just kept going by, and KyuJong had never been so glad for minute electronic brains before in his life. Drawing in a breath, he continued on.
After what seemed like years but in reality was only a few minutes, he reached the machine he was supposed to be targeting. Tilting his head slightly, KyuJong wondered where he was supposed to place the parasite. Anywhere? It wasn’t as if he had much choice, he could only reach the underside of the machine.
Reaching out, he placed the small cube against the metal. He blinked as the pin-like legs dug into the metal side of the machine and the parasite attached itself there, making a light clicking sound. Pulling his hand back, KyuJong watched with amazement as it started to climb upwards, legs holding onto the side of the machine until it reached the lip of the opening for the conveyor belt, disappearing inside. YoungSaeng must be controlling its movements.
Shaking his head to clear it, KyuJong carefully turned himself around underneath the conveyor belt and started back the way he had come. It was done. He’d done it.
Not quite finished yet, though…he still needed to get out of the building.
It took a few minutes to get back to where he’d left JungMin, KyuJong peeking up from the edge of the conveyor belt to see if he was able to climb out. To his surprise, he saw JungMin leaning over the edge of the raised platform with hands outstretched. Reaching out as well, he took JungMin’s hands and felt the Model 7 pull him out from under the conveyor belt and to his feet, KyuJong climbing back onto the platform and panting.
“How was that?” JungMin grinned, and KyuJong flinched, quickly turning his earpiece volume back down.
“Can you give me more of a warning before pushing me off the platform?” KyuJong asked.
“But you’re a Model 6, you’re supposed to be able to process information quickly,” JungMin chirped, eyes dancing.
“Well, this Model 6 is going on strike,” KyuJong grumbled. HyungJoon laughed in his ear.
”…Uh oh.”
JungMin and KyuJong perked up at the mumble from YoungSaeng. “What’s up Saeng?” the redhead asked, tapping his wrist.
”We might have company. Model 3 in the building.”
“…Shit.” JungMin glanced around. “Are we spotted?”
”Not yet, but I have to move before they catch me, I can’t watch the cameras anymore. Get out of there, as quickly as you can.” There was a shuffle of movement over the earpiece.
“Got it. Let’s get out of here, Kyu.” JungMin hopped down off the other edge of the platform, starting back the way they’d came and careful to stay in the camera blind spots. KyuJong did the same, following the redhead’s exact footsteps.
They were just about at the panel when suddenly the humming of moving drones stopped. KyuJong paused and looked over his shoulder, seeing the creeper drones slowly turn towards them.
“Uh…JungMin…?”
The redhead looked as well, and grinned. “Looks like they finally saw us.”
“What now?”
“Now? Now we run.”
Chapter: 4/11
Fandom: SS501, cameos of Super Junior, BEAST and SHINee
Pairings: Unknown
Rating: PG-16
Warning: AU, Dystopia, Angst
Summary: Arc I. The year is 400 AM…400 After Man. Humankind is extinct, but they didn’t leave Earth uninhabited. For 400 years androids have lived in their place. Citizens have the same thoughts, same likes and same dislikes as every other android in their model. But even an automated society has its troublemakers. A terrorist group calling themselves the Soulfuls operate outside their model programming and stir unrest. The government advises all citizens to report any Soulful activity immediately, and to stay away from them, for Soulfuls are those infected with a virus causing them to behave erratically…a very contagious virus…
A/N: Arc I was written for National Novel Writing Month 2010, hope you enjoy! Do not own the characters, but the plot is all mine. Please comment <3 A day late again, sorry >.<;;
The three androids stepped inside the room, the lights flickering on as they did so.
KyuJong had to stop in amazement. The room was huge, almost the same size as the large room under the trap door. Shelves and drawers lined the walls and ran in rows through the length of the room, neatly organized. There were various items sitting on their surfaces. One whole row of shelves had what KyuJong remembered to be paper, or at least various types of paper. The next had cloth. The one after that…he wasn’t even sure what those were.
“Wow,” he murmured, dazed. “How did you find so much?” He stepped a little further, looking around. Looking up, he stared. The lights in one corner were covered by a glass fixture, the glass shining in different colors and glued together with a thick black gel. Looking closer, he found the colored glass formed a shape, but he couldn’t identify what was in the shape. “What’s that?”
YoungSaeng followed his gaze and smiled. “That’s what the humans called a lotus flower. Nice, isn’t it? We have very few glass pieces, because they are so easily broken, but that one’s a very inspiring piece of our collection.”
“Our organization was around when the government started destroying any traces of human civilization,” HyunJoong smiled. “We were here before the Model 8 uprising, even. Just lower-key, because we didn’t have the numbers to pull the kind of stunts we’re doing today. But we were there. At first, our mission was much simpler…save as much of the human civilization as we can.”
“It’s a little sad,” YoungSaeng murmured. He’d stepped up to the fourth shelf and opened a drawer. Following him and peering in, KyuJong blinked to see rows and rows of books, all in perfect condition.
“How is it sad?” KyuJong asked, still amazed by all this.
YoungSaeng looked up at him and smiled a little. “It seems like a lot to you because you’ve never seen anything like this, right? But this is only one room. The planet used to be full of things like this. There were billions of human beings, KyuJong. This barely even qualifies as a fraction of what was lost.” YoungSaeng shook his head and closed the drawer again.
It was true. KyuJong wondered just what kind of things had been lost. How many glass fixtures like the one over that light? Lotus flower…what other kind of flowers had there been? How many? They would never know. The world was a wasteland; they estimated millions of years before life would grace the charred planet again. The androids helped, but machines could only help so much. Machines didn’t fully understand living organisms, couldn’t fully understand them. KyuJong knew he’d never see a real flower in his lifetime.
“What are the books about?” he asked. “Instruction manuals?”
YoungSaeng laughed. “No, no. Well, some of them. The rest are stories.”
“Stories?”
“Yeah. They’re classified into genres. Some are pretty interesting.” He pursed his lips for a moment before walking further down the row, tapping his fingers lightly against the top of the shelves as he walked. HyunJoong smiled and leaned against the back wall, watching. KyuJong watched as well, not sure if he was supposed to follow.
Finally YoungSaeng stopped at a shelf near the end and opened the drawer, looking at the books inside. He carefully, so carefully, pulled out one before closing the door and walked back to them.
“Here,” he smiled, holding it out to KyuJong. “This one’s an interesting read.”
Looking from him to the book, KyuJong bit his lower lip and slowly reached out to take it. The book felt like it was going to fall apart in his hands, the edges of the pages yellowed with time. “It’s not going to break if I open it, right?”
“Just don’t be too rough and it’ll be fine,” YoungSaeng chuckled.
KyuJong looked from him back to the thing in his hands. The cover was gold, words drawn in its surface. “…’Artemis Fowl’…? ‘Eoin Colfer’?”
“Artemis Fowl is the name of the book, Eoin Colfer is the name of the author,” YoungSaeng said with a smile.
Cautiously opening the book to a random page, KyuJong noted the language it was written in. “This isn’t our language, nor Hangeul.”
“No, it’s what they called English, the ‘international language’. Are you able to read English? We have a software extension if you can’t. The majority of what’s in this room’s in English.”
“I can read it,” KyuJong murmured, eyes skimming over the page. He was Model 6 after all.
“Hate to break this short, but if we take much longer JungMin’s going to come storming back looking for us,” HyunJoong chuckled. “You can leave that in your room, KyuJong. We’re not supposed to bring anything from this room aboveground unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
KyuJong nodded, closing the book and holding it close. The paper felt ancient in his hands, horribly fragile, but it also felt…real. There was no other way to describe it.
HyunJoong let them both back out of the room, the lights shutting off on their own as he closed the door. Walking down the corridor again, he restarted the security, KyuJong watching the infrared lights fall back into place. “You take good care of what’s in there.”
“It’s the last of a whole civilization, the civilization that created us. Wouldn’t you?”
They continued walking, KyuJong continuously distracted from the surrounding colors and odd shapes by the book in his hands. Watching him, YoungSaeng smiled to himself.
KyuJong only thought to ask what JungMin and HyungJoon had gone to set up when they were outside the room, stepping into a room similar to the infirmary.
“In case you didn’t notice, each Soulful has their own comm implants,” HyunJoong replied. “One in the ear for audio, and one for a mic at the wrist. We can’t communicate through the city interface without setting off a few hundred alarms, so we use these instead. Which means you’ll need one too.”
“Yup!” HyungJoon was placing the small chips half the size of one fingernail on the counter. “Don’t worry, I’ll be doing the work. JungMin’s got the job of making sure the implants work.”
“Which can be just as dangerous,” YoungSaeng sighed. “Min ah, don’t blow his auditory system out.”
“Of course not,” JungMin chirped, sitting on the end of the counter and swinging his legs back and forth.
“Over here,” HyungJoon motioned at KyuJong. The Model 6 walked over, eyeing the implants for a moment. “It won’t take long?”
“Not at all. Unless you squirm. Wrist first.”
Holding out his arm as directed, KyuJong watched as HyungJoon opened his wrist panel again and went to work.
“I don’t get how you can watch him do that,” JungMin said, wrinkling his nose. “It gives me the creeps to watch him poke through my wiring.”
“You’re just worried he might get you back for that stunt with his legs,” HyunJoong murmured, smiling in amusement.
KyuJong blinked at them. “What happened?”
“JungMin deliberately messed with the wires in his legs,” HyunJoong chuckled. “HyungJoon would walk for ten paces then suddenly fall over with his legs jerking all over the place. It was fun getting him to the infirmary without being kicked in the face.”
“Not my fault you couldn’t duck,” HyungJoon grumbled. “It wasn’t as if I had any control over my legs.” He shot JungMin a glare, the redhead smiling back innocently.
“Remind me never to let him work on any of my repairs,” KyuJong muttered.
HyungJoon snorted, grinning as he worked. “Listen, listen, the new guy’s getting a voice.”
“I had a voice before,” KyuJong blinked.
YoungSaeng shook his head, smiling. “Still hasn’t caught on though. It’ll come sooner or later.”
KyuJong looked between them all, getting the distinct feeling he was missing something. It was a feeling he’d had a lot recently, and probably would continue to have for a long, long while.
As HyungJoon finished with his wrist and moved on to behind his ear, KyuJong focused on the book in his hands. He only half-listened to the chatter of the other androids, finding it strange to listen to conversation that had no purpose and more often than not wasn’t even the least constructive.
Instead, he flipped to the first page of the book, reading the first few sentences. He was confused; it was different from the instructions he usually read off monitors. Keeping in mind what YoungSaeng had said about it being a story, he continued reading, trying to picture the scene in his head, putting images and voices to the dead letters.
He stayed like this for a while, ceasing to pay attention to those around him as he took in what was written.
”Don’t be alarmed, Mister Xuan.” Artemis smiled. “The weapons will not be used on you.”
Nguyen didn’t seem reassured.
“No,” continued Artemis. “Butler could kill you a hundred different ways without the use of his weapons. Though I’m sure one would be quite sufficient.”
Nguyen was by now thoroughly spooked. Artemis generally had that effect on people. A pale adolescent speaking with the authority and vocabulary of a powerful adult. Nguyen had heard the name Fowl before - who hadn’t in the international underworld?- but he’d assumed he’d be dealing with Artemis senior, not this boy. Though the word “boy” hardly seemed to do this gaunt individual justice-
”EARTH TO KYUJONG!”
A startled yelp tore from the Model 6 as he nearly dropped the book, placing it on the counter and clapping both hands over his ears. But the voice had come from inside his ear, vibrating through his head.
Looking up, he saw the others watching in amusement. “It’s working,” JungMin chirped.
“Yes, we saw that, thank you JungMin.” HyunJoong was hiding a smile.
“…Ow,” was all KyuJong could say for a moment. “Can you adjust the volume on this thing?”
“Yeah, here’s how.” HyungJoon stepped back beside him, laughing as he showed KyuJong how tapping lightly on his wrist turned the microphone on and off, as well as changed the volume of the earpiece.
“This way, we’re in contact all the time, though while working and such I’d suggest turning the earpiece down to just background noise. There’s an override feature in the mic.” HyungJoon pointed out another command on his wrist. “That’s what JungMin used just now. Only use it if you get into trouble. It’ll automatically turn all earpieces belonging to our cell members up to max, like a distress signal.”
“What would you qualify a good time to use it?” KyuJong frowned, not seeing how he would need to send out a distress signal.
“Well, think about it for a moment. You’re a Soulful now. Even without doing anything, just carrying that title - no, even without the title, just acting different from the rest of society - puts you at risk all the time. They can schedule you to be shut down at a moment’s notice. If you run into trouble with the law, and can’t get out…that would be a good time to call us.”
KyuJong blinked owlishly. “Even without doing anything, they can shut me down?”
YoungSaeng smiled sadly. “We’re not just what they call us, KyuJong. We’re not terrorists…not really. We’re different. We don’t follow their rules, we can speak as we want, we can think without being told what to think. Just for that, we are labeled as defective and scheduled for termination. They don’t need any other reason than that.”
It was so confusing. “You don’t think if you stopped blowing things up, you’d be left alone?”
“No,” HyunJoong said simply. “We wouldn’t be.”
“How do you know?”
“We didn’t know at first. We thought the same way you do, that we’d be left alone…we had to lose one of our own before we realized something had to be done.”
There was a knock at the door. Turning around, they saw a young man poking his head into the room. “Hey guys. Have you seen YeSung?”
“In the infirmary,” HyunJoong and JungMin chorused.
A rueful smile appeared on the man’s lips. “Let me guess. He impaled himself on something.”
“Not yet,” YoungSaeng chuckled. “Our newest recruit fell from the trap door and landed on him.”
“Ah.” The man gave a wide smile full of gums as he looked at KyuJong. “Don’t worry, everyone does it at least once. He picks the worst places to stand. At least his head’s still attached. KiBum would pull out all our circuits one by one if we didn’t stop YeSung from decapitating himself.”
HyungJoon shuddered.
“KiBum?” KyuJong blinked. The use of all these names interested him. They were nothing like the numbers he was used to, and it was almost…refreshing in a way. JungMin, YeSung, HeeChul, HyungJoon…none of the names were the same. They were all unique to each individual. Sure, HyungJoon and HyunJoong were confusing, but it still stood them apart much more efficiently than two androids named 4211 and 4212 would be. KyuJong didn’t think he could ever mistake one for the other.
“Ah, KiBum’s another member of the Seoul division,” HyunJoong smiled. “You’ll meet them all eventually.”
“Except for the third cell,” corrected the one half-hanging in the door. “I’ve been here for years, and I still haven’t met them.”
“Right,” HyunJoong nodded. “And this guy’s name is HyukJae.”
HyukJae waved with a grin. “I better go report back, and see how YeSung’s doing. Nice to meet you…um…”
YoungSaeng nudged KyuJong after a moment, and the android blinked before realizing what HyukJae must be waiting for. “Uh…KyuJong.”
“Nice to meet you then, KyuJong,” HyukJae grinned before disappearing out into the hallway again.
“How many people are there in total?” KyuJong blinked at HyunJoong.
The other man thought for a moment. “Let’s see…five in my cell, if we count you, thirteen in HeeChul’s, and five in DooJoon’s. So twenty-five.”
“Then you have the ones that go back and forth between the Seoul division and other divisions,” YoungSaeng pointed out. “We have correspondents in the Busan division, Tokyo division, Singapore division, and we used to have some in the Beijing division before they were taken down by Soulless.”
“Why are they thirteen in HeeChul’s cell and only five in yours?” KyuJong asked, frowning.
“They’re the original cell, and when the rest of us joined up and we decided to make separate cells, they all decided they wanted to stay in the same cell. As for us, we decided the four of us work well in a team and didn’t need anyone else, and the same for DooJoon. The cell members feed off each other’s strengths, and have to be compatible with everyone else in the team. Else, there will be conflicts and nothing will run smoothly. Or, even less smoothly than usual.”
“Conflict?” KyuJong frowned. “Why would there be conflict?”
YoungSaeng smiled tiredly. “One problem with having people with different trains of thought and different points of view together…which is probably why androids now are created with a lack of those…is that personalities clash when not everyone agrees.”
“I don’t understand,” KyuJong said, confused again.
“Let me think of an example.” The group filtered out of the room and started down the hallway again, the book firmly in KyuJong’s grip. “What do you think causes us to act this way? A soul, or a virus?”
“Virus,” KyuJong answered instantly. The idea of a virus was much more logical than something as abstract as a soul. They’d all been infected…and he supposed he was too, by this point. He’d have to be, to be doing something as crazy as joining a terrorist organization.
“Ah, there’s where our opinion differs.” YoungSaeng nodded. “I believe that we all have souls, souls that our programming can’t hide and anti-virus software can’t erase. We’re too strong for them. This is actually a huge source of conflict in our organization, between those who believe in souls and those who believe we’re infected. You might believe we’re filled with viruses…but at the same time, you are aware I believe something difference. You might believe your logic is stronger. Don’t you feel the urge to make me see your point of view?”
KyuJong thought about it as he walked, and nodded after a moment.
“And what if I were to do the same to you, assuming I have the same urge? Would you be able to seriously consider my point of view on par with your own, or do you believe my judgment is in error…especially if I’m infected?”
It made sense now. KyuJong was silent, thinking about that. YoungSaeng watched him before smiling. “That’s how we get into arguments. Generally, cell members have to be able to work around conflicts like this, and cooperate regardless. Sometimes it’s not always possible. But that’s what makes a cell compatible.”
“It’s different than it is aboveground,” KyuJong murmured. “We’re grouped together based on skill level.”
“We do that here too, but when you put actual personalities beyond programming into the equation, things can get a little messier. Emotions don’t fit into your standard math equations. They’re wild cards. You’ll see that soon enough.”
Looking around as they came to a stop, KyuJong realized they’d returned to the private rooms belonging to cell members. “What now?” he asked.
“Now is where we part ways,” HyunJoong smiled. “For now. You’re free to go. We have some work to take care of before we can let you in here fully, but don’t worry, you’ll hear from us soon.” He tapped his ear, then pointed to the book in KyuJong’s hands. “You’ll have to leave that here though.”
“Oh.” KyuJong had expected that much, but he’d rather wanted to continue reading it.
“Here, let’s go put it in your room,” YoungSaeng smiled at him and walked down the hallway. KyuJong followed him, pausing outside the room they’d labeled as his and opening the door. He stepped inside, looking around. “Where do I put it?”
“Anywhere it won’t be damaged,” YoungSaeng replied, leaning in the doorway. “It’s your room, you can do whatever you want. Min and I will help you decorate later if you want.”
“Decorate?”
“Yeah. Decorate.” YoungSaeng laughed. “Make it your room…more than that gray tin can you call your apartment aboveground.”
KyuJong thought about that, placing the book down on the nightstand. His room. It sounded strange…but not necessarily in a bad way.
He lingered in the room for a moment before rejoining them in the hallway, closing the door. “Can I see your rooms after?”
The others looked at each other. “Next time,” HyungJoon grinned.
“That means you’ll have to actually clean up, Joonie,” YoungSaeng laughed.
“Hey! My room is clean.”
“You generally stop saying it’s clean when you can’t see the floor anymore.”
They started towards one of the tunnels to go aboveground again, KyuJong listening to the banter with interest. It was different. But…he liked it. He wondered if he’d be able to talk like that too. It was another question he didn’t have an answer for…maybe with time.
They reached the tunnel, KyuJong looking up at the sloping floor before returning his attention to the others. “When should I expect to hear from you?” he asked.
“I’d say within the next hundred hours,” YoungSaeng shrugged. “We’re not sure when we’ll be moving next, but be ready for it. You should come up with an easier way to leave your work than breaking a nerve.”
“How?” KyuJong frowned, not sure what else he could do. “We have drones watching for anyone leaving the building.”
“Hm…try this.” HyungJoon held up a small device the size of half a finger. “Put this in your wrist when you need to get out. It scrambles most of your systems…and won’t be very comfortable, but you can take it out again the second you’re out. It won’t have any long-term effects.”
KyuJong nodded and took the small rectangle from the other man, slipping it into his pocket. “I just go on as usual for now?”
“Yeah.” HyunJoong clapped him off the shoulder. “We’ll be in touch soon.”
Smiling a little at him, KyuJong nodded. He looked at the other four androids again, scarcely able to believe he was now one of them. It was a strange feeling.
He turned and walked into the tunnel, heading up the steady incline. When he looked back a minute later, the other end of the tunnel was covered in darkness, and he couldn’t see them.
He walked on for another few minutes before he reached what looked like a small trap door in the ceiling. He listened for movement before pushing up. It opened into an empty building, similar to the other entrance to the HQ.
He stepped out and closed the trap door behind him, noticing how it sealed into the floor to create an almost unnoticeable seam.
That had been…unlike anything he’d ever seen. And he had the feeling it was only going to become even more strange and amazing the more he learned.
Thinking about the book he’d held in his hands, and wondering whom it used to belong to, KyuJong walked to the building door and opened it, stepping out onto the plain street and rows and rows of grey metal.
***********************************
KyuJong could hear them talking in the background. As directed, he’d turned the earpiece down to the bare minimum so he wouldn’t be distracted during day-to-day activities, but he could still hear them. While he was working, he listened in to a verbal war between JungMin and HyungJoon until YoungSaeng called them back to whatever mission they were on this time, a question on how to work a new implant, and a call from HyunJoong to get back to HQ for a meeting.
He’d have expected the line to be dead the majority of the time, and only used for important reasons, but it seemed the four cell members were quite fond of using it for chatting purposes when they weren’t in the same location. He heard JungMin and HyungJoon all the time, HyunJoong a little less, and even though YoungSaeng rarely piped up, his tone indicated he was most likely listening to the whole thing with masked amusement.
A few times JungMin would ask where KyuJong was, but KyuJong couldn’t reply at work, so he would just listen to the redhead rant about being ignored until HyungJoon said something about how no one would want to talk to JungMin anyways. That definitely did not shut the man up, but at least he shifted his attention to a different target. KyuJong had to hide a smile in his sleeve a few times, hoping the drones wouldn’t pick up on it.
He was just about done his shift when YoungSaeng spoke up…and it was directed towards him.
”KyuJong, meet us in 4-07, central square in one hour. We’ve got a small mission for you.”
Blinking, KyuJong swallowed past the nervousness in his throat. What was it they were going to have him do? The only Soulful activities he’d seen so far were those involving bombs…what if they wanted him to blow something up?
Glancing at the androids around him, getting up one by one as it was the end of their shift, KyuJong tapped his wrist lightly to turn on his microphone. “Okay,” he said quietly, hoping the microphone was strong enough to pick up on his response. He couldn’t say anything louder without drawing attention. Turning the microphone off again right away, he listened for anything more, and was disappointed when the line remained silent.
He was out within half an hour, and in the central square of 4-07 twenty minutes later. Glancing around for the others, KyuJong bit his lower lip when he didn’t see them. He couldn’t be seen lingering in the area (he’d never thought of it before, but he never saw any androids stopping without a reason, never lingering just for the sake of it), so he went down a side street and wandered around, pretending like he had somewhere to be. The cameras wouldn’t notice that he kept taking the same path over and over…he was just one android in thousands.
Seven minutes later, he caught a flash of red. KyuJong switched paths to follow it, and caught up with JungMin at the next corner. “Hey,” the redhead grinned at him. “Come on, Saeng’s waiting.”
“Are the other two with him?”
“HyungJoon and HyunJoong? No, they’re not part of this mission, it’s just us. Don’t worry, we’ll stop you from messing up too badly.”
“Is that meant to make me feel better?” KyuJong swallowed past the nervousness.
“Not really, I’m just saying.” JungMin chuckled. “You’ll be fine.”
They turned a few more corners until they were in the less-traveled part of the sector, YoungSaeng leaning against a building and waiting. He smiled when he saw them approaching. “We’re all set. Want to start?”
“What are we doing, exactly?” KyuJong asked, confused.
“Not what you’re probably thinking of,” YoungSaeng laughed quietly. “We’re not planting any bombs…just a virus.”
KyuJong paused. “What?”
“A few buildings over…” YoungSaeng motioned back the way they’d came, “is a factory where they produce the tracking chips that HyungJoon pulled out of you. We’re going to sneak in and plant a small virus HyungJoon and JungMin designed that will scramble the tracking signal exactly 5000 hours after android activation.”
“…Why?” KyuJong frowned, leaning against the wall across from them. “What’s the point?”
“The point is that so many androids try to find us, try to speak out, and are silenced before they can get anywhere because they haven’t a clue they’ve been bugged,” JungMin replied, scowling a little. “Our numbers would be a lot higher if nine out of every ten androids with free thought weren’t caught and sent to the facility before we could get the tracking chips out of them.”
It made sense. KyuJong nodded slowly. “Won’t the government notice when a whole batch of androids suddenly become untraceable?”
“They will, which is why the virus is delayed 5000 hours,” YoungSaeng explained. “That’s far enough after activation the android would have sufficient data to be fully integrated into society…and that’s when the majority of those with free thought start wondering about things. The virus is timed so that, when those who can think begin to turn their thoughts towards finding us or learning more, they will suddenly be erased off the map. It would buy them time. The same trick probably won’t work twice, but we find new ways to give each batch an advantage.”
Thinking about that, KyuJong supposed it was the best course of action. He hadn’t been too thrilled to learn there was something inside him he wasn’t aware about. “Okay…so how are we going to get in?”
“Simple. We sneak in.” JungMin grinned.
“…That doesn’t sound simple at all.”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” the redhead waved one hand. “We already found a ventilation system to get into. YoungSaeng will be hanging back to watch security, you and I are going in to plant the virus. It might get a little messy if we’re seen, but I’ll take care of it.”
“Be careful, Min,” YoungSaeng warned.
JungMin grinned at YoungSaeng as he pushed off from the wall. “Let’s get going then, Kyu.” He started back down the way they’d come. YoungSaeng waved at them, KyuJong looking back at the Model 3 uncertainly before following the redhead.
”Don’t forget to turn your mics on,” YoungSaeng’s voice reminded them as they walked. Watching JungMin tap his wrist, KyuJong did the same. Nerves made for a weird feeling in his chest.
“Here we are,” JungMin murmured, KyuJong hearing him more through the earpiece than he did with his own hearing. Getting that they were to keep their voices down, he watched with interest as JungMin glanced around before unhooking a panel in the wall, a well-hidden ventilation system exposed. “How did you know that was there?”
“Implant,” JungMin said, tapping beside one eye. “You’d probably do well to get a few too, it comes in handy.”
”Implants later, mission now,” YoungSaeng reminded them.
“Yes sir!” JungMin opened the ventilation system and slid into the hole in the wall, crawling in. KyuJong followed him after a moment, closing the panel behind him when he was told to.
The inside of the ventilation duct was dark, but JungMin must have an implant for that as well because he had no trouble picking out where to go. KyuJong focused on not running into him, listening for any sounds around them. He could hear a humming in the walls, and inside his head. It took a moment to realize the humming in his head was YoungSaeng, the Model 3 humming quietly into the microphone. JungMin didn’t tell him to stop, and after a while KyuJong understood why. It helped ease his nerves a little.
He wasn’t sure how far in they went, only suddenly JungMin stopped and KyuJong nearly ran into him. Listening to the redhead unscrew the panel covering the other end of the ventilation system, KyuJong bit his lower lip and wondered how they were going to pull this off.
Finally the panel was off, JungMin placing it down gently and looking around. “Cameras,” he murmured into the microphone. “We’re in a blind spot right now. Don’t move anywhere other than where I move, KyuJong.” He sounded serious for once, and KyuJong nodded despite the fact JungMin couldn’t see him.
JungMin climbed to his feet and shifted to one side so KyuJong could do the same. The android looked around with wide eyes. He’d never been inside a factory before. There was just so much to look at, so much movement. Conveyor belts and moving platforms, drones going from one station to the other with pieces of circuits and software in their pincers, and the steady hum of energy. The hum was what masked the sound of their entrance, and the sound of JungMin replacing the panel to the ventilation system.
“How don’t they see us?” KyuJong asked quietly, watching a creeper drone warily as it passed by just feet in front of them without so much as giving them a cursory glance.
“They aren’t programmed to care,” JungMin shrugged. “Brains half the size of a microchip, all of them. Why would they care? The cameras are the ones with that job, not them, and the cameras can’t see us where we are. There are thin blind spots all through the building if you know where to look.”
KyuJong glanced at the redhead as JungMin looked over the room. “Another implant for that?”
“Nope.” JungMin grinned. “Just practice. Let’s go, we need to be at the other end of the room.”
He started along the edge of the room, motioning at KyuJong to follow and to keep low. The Model 6 did as he was told, nerves keeping him careful with each step. He didn’t want to know what those pincers would feel like if the room suddenly became aware of their presence.
“Just what else do they make here?” He asked.
“Programming bits for Model 9. They used to do Model 8 here too, but well, they don’t make them anymore.” JungMin moved away from the wall and around a large container. “It’s a pity really. Model 8’s are interesting.”
“You knew a Model 8?” KyuJong blinked owlishly. The line had been discontinued centuries ago.
“Uh-huh.”
“When was your manufacturing date?”
JungMin snorted. “Eighty years ago in a few days. Don’t look at me like I’m half a millennia old.”
“But…”
”Concentrate,” YoungSaeng chided.
”He’s a taskmaster, isn’t he?” HyunJoong’s voice came through on the line, sounding amused.
”You shush, they need to focus. KyuJong, your foot’s too far to the right.”
KyuJong hurriedly pulled his foot back in.
“Piggybacked the cams again, Saeng?” JungMin chuckled.
”Someone has to make sure they don’t see if you go sprawling out into the middle of the factory, again.”
“That was only once, and totally HyungJoon’s fau-“
”Focus, Min.”
“Gotcha.”
KyuJong listened, feeling his nerves ease slowly at the banter, especially when HyungJoon came onto the line, whining about how it wasn’t his fault JungMin couldn’t walk without tripping over his own feet.
YoungSaeng sighed. ”You and HyunJoong, I’m going to muzzle you both. They’re in the middle of a mission.”
JungMin chuckled, swinging himself up onto a raised platform. “Come on Kyu, up you go.” He held out one hand to help the Model 6 onto the platform as well. “Still clear, Saengie?”
”So far, so good. No red lights.”
“Great. Here comes the tricky part.” JungMin pointed to a machine at the end of the conveyor line, small boxes passing through it. KyuJong recognized them as similar to the one HyungJoon took out of him. “See that machine? We have to get to it and attach this to it.” He held up a small cube with eight tiny legs attached, an artificial parasite. “YoungSaeng’s got the controls. Once this is inside the machine, our job is done.”
“Okay. Doesn’t sound that bad.” KyuJong nodded.
“Wait, I’m not done explaining. There’s no blind spot around that machine for us to use.”
“…Oh. How are we supposed to get to it then?” KyuJong bit his lower lip. They couldn’t.
“You’ll go…under the conveyor belt,” JungMin said after a moment, looking down at the belt running beside them. “The space is small, but you’ll be hidden from the drones and the cameras.”
“Uh…okay…wait.” KyuJong blinked. “Me?”
“Yeah,” JungMin grinned. “Initiation routine. Send the new recruit to be the scapegoat and fish him out if he’s about to become creeper drone bait.” He placed the parasite in KyuJong’s hand.
“Wait,” KyuJong protested as he was guided to the edge of the platform. “I’ve never done something like this before.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” And with that, JungMin pushed KyuJong off the platform, the Model 6 landing beside the conveyor belt with a bitten back yelp.
”Under, quickly, you’re in the cameras,” YoungSaeng ordered in his ear, and KyuJong scrambled to his stomach and rolled under the conveyor belt. Almost instantly the creaking of the machines and the belt moving back and forth drowned out the voices in his ear, even when he tapped up the volume louder.
“Guys? Guys, I can’t hear you.” KyuJong tapped his wrist again, and sighed when he still heard nothing. Even if they were talking, he couldn’t hear it over the clatter directly above his head, almost deafening. It looked like he was on his own for the moment.
Looking down at the parasite in his hand, KyuJong closed his hand around it and started to crawl forward. He couldn’t lift too high off the ground or he’d hit his head off the moving pieces above him, and he’d rather not lose part of his scalp to the conveyer belt.
It was slow moving, and extremely nerve shattering with the racket in his ears. Moving along an inch at a time, KyuJong watched the legs of the creeper drones as they passed by, the tips sharp and able to pierce through his synthetic skin with hardly any pressure applied. If they turned on him now, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop them from tearing him apart. Would JungMin help him if they attacked?
They didn’t attack though, just kept going by, and KyuJong had never been so glad for minute electronic brains before in his life. Drawing in a breath, he continued on.
After what seemed like years but in reality was only a few minutes, he reached the machine he was supposed to be targeting. Tilting his head slightly, KyuJong wondered where he was supposed to place the parasite. Anywhere? It wasn’t as if he had much choice, he could only reach the underside of the machine.
Reaching out, he placed the small cube against the metal. He blinked as the pin-like legs dug into the metal side of the machine and the parasite attached itself there, making a light clicking sound. Pulling his hand back, KyuJong watched with amazement as it started to climb upwards, legs holding onto the side of the machine until it reached the lip of the opening for the conveyor belt, disappearing inside. YoungSaeng must be controlling its movements.
Shaking his head to clear it, KyuJong carefully turned himself around underneath the conveyor belt and started back the way he had come. It was done. He’d done it.
Not quite finished yet, though…he still needed to get out of the building.
It took a few minutes to get back to where he’d left JungMin, KyuJong peeking up from the edge of the conveyor belt to see if he was able to climb out. To his surprise, he saw JungMin leaning over the edge of the raised platform with hands outstretched. Reaching out as well, he took JungMin’s hands and felt the Model 7 pull him out from under the conveyor belt and to his feet, KyuJong climbing back onto the platform and panting.
“How was that?” JungMin grinned, and KyuJong flinched, quickly turning his earpiece volume back down.
“Can you give me more of a warning before pushing me off the platform?” KyuJong asked.
“But you’re a Model 6, you’re supposed to be able to process information quickly,” JungMin chirped, eyes dancing.
“Well, this Model 6 is going on strike,” KyuJong grumbled. HyungJoon laughed in his ear.
”…Uh oh.”
JungMin and KyuJong perked up at the mumble from YoungSaeng. “What’s up Saeng?” the redhead asked, tapping his wrist.
”We might have company. Model 3 in the building.”
“…Shit.” JungMin glanced around. “Are we spotted?”
”Not yet, but I have to move before they catch me, I can’t watch the cameras anymore. Get out of there, as quickly as you can.” There was a shuffle of movement over the earpiece.
“Got it. Let’s get out of here, Kyu.” JungMin hopped down off the other edge of the platform, starting back the way they’d came and careful to stay in the camera blind spots. KyuJong did the same, following the redhead’s exact footsteps.
They were just about at the panel when suddenly the humming of moving drones stopped. KyuJong paused and looked over his shoulder, seeing the creeper drones slowly turn towards them.
“Uh…JungMin…?”
The redhead looked as well, and grinned. “Looks like they finally saw us.”
“What now?”
“Now? Now we run.”