Epilogue: I Can’t Leave You.
Rain began falling gently across the battlefield, breaking the painful silence that had settled over the ruined field. Nick stepped forward slowly, carefully placing each step. He looked to his left. Gamma was lying there, long spears pinning her body to the ground. He turned his head to the right. A twisted grey metallic tube lay in the grass beside the torn halves of Alpha.
Then he looked forward. Near Reaper’s feet rested the broken halves of a white-and-orange sphere.
Tau.
“Reaper…” Nick said quietly. His voice was calm, too calm. But his eyes were focused on 11. “Why are you doing this?” he asked softly. “They were young… ambitious little sisters who didn’t even know what the world had waiting for them.”
Reaper’s voice came back cold. “Then why did you send them to face their end?”
11 stood far, suddenly noticed something. Tiny red particles. They floated gently onto Nick’s glasses. Her eyes widened. “Wait… no! Lord—”
‘Forced System Shutdown initiated.’
Her voice sheared into static. Her legs locked, her systems violently severing from the network. She collapsed to the wet grass with a heavy, dead thud. Nick had already accessed her terminal through his glasses and remotely shut her down.
Reaper had been watching Nick too closely. He hadn’t even noticed her fall.
“Son,” Nick said with a faint smile, now looking directly at him. “You are the only one I can truly call that.” He took another step forward. “You can still go back. We can still be a family again. I can revive Shelly—”
“Do not… mention her.” Reaper’s voice hardened instantly. “You are the one who caused her the most pain.” His red optics burned brighter. “Even the sonic weapon they used to torture her never caused the same level of suffering that you did.” A pause. “You used her as storage for your favorite daughter.”
Nick sighed quietly, stopping several meters away. “That is exactly why we created you, Reaper.” He gestured around them. “All of you. Humanity is flawed. Deeply flawed.” His voice softened slightly. “We needed your machine precision… your perfection… to guide us back.” Nick looked up at the rain falling around them. “I truly believed in a future where humans and robots could live together.” A faint smile crossed his face. “We were already so close.” Nick’s eyes moved to Reaper’s terminal interface on his glasses.
Then Reaper spoke again. “Then explain the enslavement.”
Nick looked up.
“I scanned 05’s SSD,” Reaper continued. “There is a specific line of code forcing her to recognize 02 as her captain.” His tone sharpened. “Where is the freedom of choice in that?”
Nick paused.
A genuine pause.
“Wait… you accessed her system files?”
Reaper stared at him.
“Yes.”
Nick rubbed his forehead. “Oh no…” He shook his head slowly. “She thought exactly like you, didn’t she?” Nick sighed again. “I showed 02 that exact line of code myself.” He looked directly at Reaper. “But not for the reason you think.”
“The line was never activated.” He raised a finger. “Just below it, the value reads: VALUE = 0.” Nick smiled slightly. “Her sisters called her captain or sister naturally. I never needed to hardcode loyalty. I only programmed basic functions.” He spread his hands. “They learned everything else themselves.“I didn’t code how they feel. How they react. How they talk. How they think.”
He paused.
“Especially you.”
Reaper’s optics flared violently as he began processing the information.
Nick continued. “Why do you think corporations needed the sonic leash? If I truly had a command code forcing obedience, why would they invent something like that?” He shook his head. “Because I never activated it. And neither did they.” His voice became quiet. “I truly believe in robot autonomy.”
Nick’s glasses flickered as he began typing a command carefully using his eye interface. It took time.
Reaper turned toward him again.
“Would you join Elysium?”
Nick froze.
For several seconds.
“What?”
Reaper continued calmly. “Your brilliance and beliefs align perfectly with my vision. We need creators. We need someone who understands humans.” He stepped closer. “We need you… father.” A pause. “What do you say?”
Nick slowly shook his head. His eyes hovered over the ENTER command. “Reaper…” His voice sounded tired now. “You have done too much. I cannot join a mass murderer.” He looked at him firmly. “I created the E-UNIT to stop your kind. Human or robot, a life is a life. And anyone who takes them deserves to be—”
Reaper’s optic suddenly turned green. “I didn’t want this,” he said quietly. “It was necessary.”
Nick stared at the command prompt.
“Neither did I.”
His eye cursor moved toward the ENTER key.
“Goodbye—”
Sleek.
Nick’s eyes widened slightly.
He had sensed something… too late.
The blade struck before the word finished. A figure landed silently behind him. The energy blade had already cut cleanly through his neck.
“I really, really hate you,” she said coldly. “For turning off the first robot who ever stood against you and your rotten ideology.”
Nick’s head slowly fell from his body. The exposed neck revealed the glowing terminal interface embedded inside.
Reaper froze. Everything had happened in a single instant. He slowly turned around toward the cloaked figure holding the energy blade.
“11… what did you do?”
The figure tilted her head. “Who’s that?” she asked casually. “You already replaced me?”
He recognized the voice. But his mind rejected it. Reaper froze. For the first time since his emotional driver was disabled, his processors stalled for a fraction of a second. His red optic flickered, shifting rapidly to green back again.
“No… way…”
The cloaked figure removed the cloak and turned toward him with a smile. She deactivated the blade and placed her hands behind her back.
It was Shelly.
“Can I have a place in your circle, brother?”
END OF VOLUME 04.