Breachers

Breachers – Path of Steel

3

I

Neanderthal Tech

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Forty minutes later

 

Marcus

 

 

A while later, Marcus sat beside his mother in the car, his gaze fixed on the passing scenery outside the window. Soon, a towering building came into view on the left, capturing his attention. The colossal modern structure jutted into the skyline, its sleek silver façade reflecting the sunlight, while vibrant banners fluttered defiantly in the breeze, displaying ‘Tech Expo’ in clear text. He could see several people standing in front of it craning their necks to look up at the banners.

 

“Perhaps you could bring your brother with you next year,” his mother suggested, maneuvering the car to a vacant spot near the entrance. They both observed the throngs of people gradually streaming inside, eager to experience all that awaited within. “Martin would love events like these.” Her words trailed off, a hint of wistfulness in her green gaze as it settled on her son.

 

Marcus's chin dipped in a careful nod, tension visible in the twitch of his jaw, aware of the delicate ground he was standing on. The sound of his mother’s voice echoed in his ears as she continued to talk about his little brother, praising his scientific interests and how well he was doing in school. Each word carved a fissure into his confidence, the weight of being the family's 'black sheep' settling heavier. “Sure, Mom. Next time, I’ll bring him along,” he muttered, hoping to ease the tension. “Felix might be able to fix an extra ticket next year,” he suggested.

 

An uncomfortable silence settled between them as they waited for his friends to arrive. Usually, his father would drive him to such events, as he had a more flexible schedule compared to his mother, who worked as a general practitioner and had her own practice. However, on her day off, his mother had insisted on bringing him, claiming it would be a bonding experience with her eldest. ‘It’s like she’s deliberately trying to make me feel just how disappointed she is without explicitly saying it,’ he thought before he diverted his attention to the radio, focusing on the updates about a recent protest regarding a nearby solar park, the miserable weather forecast for the upcoming days, and the meteor shower that had been visible the last few days.

 

The car's roof suddenly shuddered because of a large thud, while Marcus and his mother shot up from their seats. As if on cue, Felix and Oscar peered through the car window with amusement. ‘Idiots neatly gave me a heart attack,’ Marcus thought as he shook his head, undid his seatbelt and stepped out of the car. “Thanks for the ride, Mom,” he muttered, closing the car door with a thud. He waved one last time at his mother before joining his friends as they made their way toward the entrance, each friend greeting one another by fist bumping twice in a row.

 

"Marcus, Mommy loves you!" Liane suddenly called out to her son, freezing him in place.

 

In response, Felix's grin stretched, revealing a row of mischievous teeth, while Oscar's laughter bubbled up, unable to be contained. 'She just had to twist the knife, didn't she?' Marcus thought, feeling a mix of shame and resignation.

 

Ever the diplomat, Oscar wrapped his arms around Marcus and Felix, pulling them close as they entered the building. He handed three tickets to a female employee at the entrance, making sure his smile was extra wide. “So, gentlemen, what’s the plan?” he asked while he was already steering them to the left with a determined stride.

 

“How about—” Felix began, only for Oscar to playfully silence him by wrapping his arm tightly around his neck, nearly choking him.

 

“Ah, Felix, my sweet, sweet boy. What I just offered was a rhetorical question,” Oscar grinned, as they turned the corner and caught sight of a colossal Formula One driving rig equipped with VR technology in the helmet. “I’ve already mapped out our entire day, tailored to our preferences and, of course, your endearing low attention span,” he teased, giving his friends a playful nudge while forcing them in line. “First stop, an adrenaline rush at a blistering speed of three hundred and seventy kilometers per hour. Hope you lads have brought spare underwear,” he added as they edged closer to the machine.

 

 

- - -

 

A few hours later, Marcus found himself leaning against a wall, fighting the urge to empty his stomach right there and then. Beside him stood Oscar, equally pale and sick, his blond hair clinging to his sweaty face. “How is that freak managing that?” Oscar asked, both turning around to watch their friend. Felix remained securely strapped into the gyroscopic ride, his dark skin and brown hair visible only as a blur of motion and infectious laughter.

 

“Maybe he’s too thickheaded to even feel nausea?” Marcus suggested, tearing his gaze away from Felix. Merely watching the contraption’s relentless rotations intensified his own nausea. The ride consisted of multiple hoops and rings arranged in different orientations, with a central seat spinning in various directions at once, replicating the sensations of astronaut training and multidirectional forces. Marcus had endured it for a mere minute and a half, while Oscar barely lasted forty seconds. Meanwhile, Felix had already surpassed the three-minute mark. “God, I feel sick,” Marcus admitted as Oscar just nodded and swallowed a bit of bile.

 

“I don’t think those bio-printed burgers we had earlier were such a bright idea,” Oscar commented weakly as they heard Felix being unstrapped from the ‘vomit machine’. Marcus reached for his water bottle and cautiously took a few sips, testing his stomach while Felix joined them.

 

“That... was... amazing!” Felix exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across his face as he embraced his friends, who tensed up in response. “You guys feeling better? We could get something to eat if that helps? I usually eat when I feel sick. It clears me right up.”

 

Under his breath, Oscar started muttering in response, "If you hug me again or mention food, I swear I'll stab you." Afterwards he peeled off Felix's hand from his body before taking the lead towards the next section, eager to get away from the gyroscopic puke machine.

 

Despite his usual disinterest in technology and science, even Marcus had to admit that the tech event had been surprisingly enjoyable. It struck the perfect balance between being informative and entertaining, arousing curiosity before going into explanations. From bio-printed hamburgers and AI software to drones and even peculiar materials that could shift from fluid to solid like granite in a matter of seconds. "Let's head to the robot section next," Oscar said, guiding his companions down another hallway, occasionally exchanging smiles and playful banter with every attractive woman along the way.

 

Marcus shook his head in exasperation, convinced that, ‘That man will never change.’ His friendship with Felix and Oscar spanned countless years, ever since kindergarten. Felix was the group’s lively and compassionate center, always armed with jokes and weirdly affectionate hugs. Oscar, the ringleader, was always leading them towards the next thing to explore. Oscar always attributed to himself the label of the brain, Felix that of the heart, and Marcus the brawn. However, observing his friend’s shameless flirtations with any woman in his path, Marcus couldn’t help but feel that Oscar was better likened to an entirely different organ.

 

The three friends strolled through the next section of the expo hall, marveling at the sights that greeted them. They spotted self-driving cars showcased on display, with large banners claiming that the future of autonomous transportation was around the corner. Beyond that, there were dog shaped robots capable of climbing ladders and stairs, demonstrating impressive agility. Among the exhibits, they also encountered humanoid-looking robots, mostly in model form, and small drones that flew above their heads, zipping left and right. Oscar nudged Marcus in the ribs, his eyes lighting up as he spotted a chair with a helmet and gloves hooked up to a machine with a robot a few paces next to it. After steering the group towards it, the blonde quickly lost himself in conversation with the staff nearby, his curiosity piqued. Meanwhile, Marcus directed his attention to the robot connected to cables leading to the rig itself.

 

The robot itself had a simple, utilitarian appearance, with basic steel framing, wires, motors and pistons. Its head sported a single lens, positioned in a way that granted it a distinctive cyclops-like appearance. Covering most of its body was a hardened plastic exterior. As Marcus observed it, he couldn’t help but grin. ‘It looks like a budget-tier Terminator.’ Suddenly, the robot’s arm surged forward, startling him. The moment it happened, Felix and Oscar burst into laughter, with the former sporting a helmet on his head while he was being scolded by the staff members nearby.

 

“This is awesome, dude,” Felix exclaimed, slowly moving his own arm while the robot mirrored his actions. The robot remained securely fastened to chains hooked up to a small crane, which not only kept it in place, but also provided the necessary power and data through thick cables. Enjoying the experience, Felix flexed the robot’s fingers, marveling at its responsiveness. Meanwhile, Marcus headed over to Oscar, who was engaged in conversation with one of the staff nearby, who naturally was female.

 

“The command rig allows for direct user input of our experimental model,” the staff member explained, holding Oscar’s attention, while the blonde quickly asked a dozen more questions, some of which Marcus never would have thought to even ask. Meanwhile, Marcus kept himself busy by looking at the array of robotic limbs sets on display, ranging from intricate systems with dozens of digits to simpler features like steel grips or magnetic clamps. The staff member chatting with Oscar went on to emphasize that despite the progress that they had made in developing the robotic framework, years of programming and research were still required to achieve even a semblance of autonomous functionality. The challenge ahead involved enabling the robot to respond to basic commands, achieve mobility, and operate without direct human control. Nonetheless, the existing framework held tremendous promise for future advancements.

 

“Marcus, it’s your turn to go Skynet,” Felix’s voice called out. Stepping out of the rig, Felix didn’t waste any time dragging Marcus towards the chair and nudging him into the proper position. Simultaneously, another staff member aided Marcus in putting on the gloves and helmet, ensuring a snug fit. This staff member then proceeded to outline a comprehensive set of rules and expectations, emphasizing the importance of strict adherence to staff commands to avoid the kind of rebuke Felix had experienced. Marcus nodded, not wanting to break anything and risk crippling financial consequences.

 

“Just so you know, there might be a bit of initial discomfort. It can be a little disorienting in the beginning when it switches on,” the man cautioned, though Felix arrogantly chimed in to say he hadn’t felt anything of the sort. With a press of a button, the system came alive, and Marcus’s helmet sprang into action, displaying a Heads-Up Display as the system went through its startup sequence.

 

╔                                                                                ╗

[Booting up...]

 

[System diagnostics in progress...]

 

[Component calibration…]

 

[Loading subsystems...]

 

[Initialization complete]

 

[System activation: 100%]

╚                                                                                ╝

 

Marcus’s perspective suddenly shifted, his vision now through the lens of the robot’s camera. It felt strange and disorienting at first, causing him to even lift up the helmet momentarily to witness the robot’s reactions with his own eyes. “This is so bizarre,” he exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. He flexed his hand slowly, observing with fascination as the robot mirrored his movements. As Marcus scanned his surroundings through the lens of the robot, he noticed the HUD encompassing the edges of his vision. It displayed vital information like time, remaining battery life, core temperature, and other readings. Intrigued, he couldn’t resist the temptation to test the things on his HUD further. His robotic fingers reached out, attempting to make contact with the virtual interface. A faint chuckle escaped him as he imagined how idiotic it must have seemed to those observing him.

 

“Hey, Marcus, make the robot flip Oscar off,” Felix suggested, a mischievous grin on his face as he patted Marcus’s shoulder. Sharing the same eagerness, Marcus obliged, robotic fingers deftly curling into a fist before the robot’s hand extended its middle finger towards Oscar as the two of them started laughing.

 

Oscar let out a mocking sigh. “Classy, guys,” he said as he did a sarcastic slow clap. “Real classy. And here I was, bringing you two Neanderthals with me in an attempt to intellectually and culturally enrich you, only to have you two fall back to your basic instincts.” He then approached the robot, pointing his cellphone towards himself to snatch a selfie. “Hey, Marcus, make it look like the robot is choking me,” he said, an amused glint in his eyes while a nearby staff member immediately started to scold him, causing him to hastily raise his hands in surrender. “Kidding! I’m just kidding,” he quickly said as he moved back a few paces to calm the staff members down. “But seriously, this whole setup of you guys, and lovely lady, have here is simply—” Sudden violent tremors seized the building, cutting Oscar’s words short, followed by cracks forming into the concrete structure. In response, a tsunami of terror cascaded through the once-energetic crowd, panic seizing their hearts as chaos painted the scene in hues of desperation and survival. People scattered in a frenzy, displays collapsing and scattering their wares, or toppling over and hitting people. The very foundation quivered beneath their feet, a symphony of even more cracks and groans on display as if the world itself were coming apart. “Felix! Are you alright?” Oscar yelled, although his voice was drowned out by the mounting clamor as he witnessed people rushing past them, nearly trampling over Felix in the process. The tremors persisted, reverberating through the structure, while ominous sounds of impacts could be heard, coming closer and closer.

 

Marcus’s body and the robot went rigid, his gaze fixated on the carnage that surrounded them. The building groaned and cracked as a barrage of objects tore through its concrete and steel defenses, mercilessly striking people and objects alike. The impact was catastrophic, rending bodies apart and eliciting agonized screams from those unfortunate enough to be hit and survive. Horror clawed at Marcus's gut as he watched the horrifying spectacle—human forms reduced to grotesque pulp by unrelenting projectiles, while others convulsed as the searing strange debris melted into their flesh. The echoes of their anguished cries etched itself into his mind as he heard it all. An icy grip tightened around Marcus's heart, his senses dulled by the sight of all the death and devastation. Yet, beneath the numbness, a fire suddenly ignited when he heard his friends cry out. It instantly snapped him back to reality. The thought of losing them banished all traces of doubt and hesitation. He stretched out his hand, only to be reminded of his symbiotic link with the machine. A metallic limb surged forth, snatching Felix and yanking the dark male back, keeping him protectively behind the metal frame of Marcus’s temporary robotic frame.

 

Through the camera lens of the robot, he glimpsed his own vulnerable body strapped to the chair, still mimicking his every movement. ‘Your body doesn’t matter. Save your damn friends first!’ he mentally commanded himself. The motors and pistons within his frame whirred to life, propelling his steel and plastic body toward Oscar who was struggling to get back up on his feet. As Marcus did so, he fought against the resisting steel cables and wires. A sudden jarring impact tore through the right side of his actual body, followed by dozens of fragments flying into and scorching his flesh as he howled in pain. Through the robot, he could hear the cries of his actual body while blood filled his mouth. ‘Screw the pain. Oscar’s right there!’ He kept the robot moving through sheer willpower as the pain in his body suddenly went away with a jolt. He could see his friend rushing towards him, eyes wide and staring at something, but before his steel fingertips could bridge the gap, a sudden impact launched them both backwards in an explosion of blood, fire and steel fragments. During that moment, a violent snap reverberated through the air, as the power cable that breathed life into Marcus’s robotic form came apart and destroyed the sensory link, instantly plunging his world into darkness.

 

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Copyright: OsiriumWrites