The Final Desperation

After a whole day of exploring the lab, the group found a hidden passage behind a pair of bookshelves. It was an inconspicuous spot, one they might have missed if Bennet hadn't grown curious about the recorded information. Upon removing the book, Bennet realized there was a gaping hole behind it.

"You might want to see this," he called down the hallway.

Genji left his fruitless efforts behind and joined the others in the room.

"Any luck?" he asked Rosaline as they carefully emptied the bookshelves.

"No. I would have been better off messing with those generators," she replied.

"I'm not surprised. Other than some strange collections, there's nothing useful here."

'Of course, this doesn't include that hyper core,' Genji silently added.

After carefully stacking the books aside, they pushed the shelves away and entered the extra hallway. The hallway was well-ventilated, lacking the musty smell common among still air.

Unlike the previous hallway they explored, this one had fewer but more elaborate rooms. Oftentimes, only a small, reinforced window separated the hallways from the rooms behind them. It was oddly secure, built like a nuclear bunker to resist a large impact.

"You've been here before?" Genji asked Bennet, noticing how comfortable he was traversing the area.

"Maybe?"

"Maybe? It's a yes or no question. Why are you giving such a vague answer?"

"I...I-ah." Bennet suddenly yelped in pain, his hand pressing against his forehead.

Seeing this reaction and grimace, Genji knew Bennet was experiencing another bout of headaches. Ever since he got hit by the EMP wave, Bennet has been randomly troubled by this. The headaches come in unknown frequencies, sometimes lasting mere moments while other times lasting multiple consecutive minutes. It was not a fun experience.

"I would get that checked out sometime. That does not look normal," Genji commented as Bennet calmed down from his relapse.

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

"No, it might be worse. You never know with a head injury."

Genji's response left Bennet speechless. Although it was scary to think about, there was a good chance Genji was right. His headaches had been acting up more often now, and it wouldn't make sense otherwise.

'But that's a worry for later. I need to get back to my time for it to matter.'

"So care to answer my question?" Genji asked as Bennet's pain faded.

Bennet briefly recalled what Genji was asking about before his headache and gave a similarly vague response. "I'm not sure. This place feels familiar to me, but I've never seen this hallway before."

"Sounds like lucid dreaming to me. Are you sure you've never been here and you're just forgetting about it?"

"I'm certain. I would never have forgotten it since this hallway leads right to my lab. You know, the place where everything went wrong for me."

Genji started to notice the irregularities in Bennet's statements. He said he'd never been in this hidden passage, but he knew it led to his lab? Rosaline also noticed this discrepancy, but they kept silent after exchanging a brief look.

Bennet was not in the right state of mind after all his headaches, and they weren't willing to push his condition. While the man might not have noticed it, Genji knew his headaches always acted up when he tried to recall something about this place.

There was something more to the story, but Bennet was subconsciously suppressing it. If they wanted to find out more, they would have to slowly probe his mind.

"Is that so? Then let's go check out that room."

Bennet nodded and led the way, going past the rooms in the hallway to reach a locked door. Genji stepped forward with his cutting intent and dismantled the hinges before Rosaline pushed it aside. From there, they found a room with glass walls and an observation deck. In the middle of the room, a strange machine with multiple outstretching arms stood.

"That's a weird machine. What were you trying to do before you got transported?"

At the question, Bennet's headache acted up again, but he swiftly responded with, "We were trying to observe the ripples of space and test if we could move particles with it. That machine is our attempt at it, but you can see how that turned out."

"It's in the same condition as when the accident happened?" Genji asked, noticing another discrepancy.

"Yes."

"No rust, scratches, or wear. Like exactly the same?"

Bennet realized what he was asking and tried to recall the scene. Yet before he could remember much, his headache overwhelmed him and caused him to collapse.

Both of his hands clenched the side of his head, and Bennet rolled from side to side in pain. His head roared with pain, refusing to think about this issue. But deep down, Bennet already knew the answer to Genji's question.

"Yes. It looked exactly like this when I got transported."

Rosaline exchanged another look with Genji, but he merely tilted his head at the machine. Understanding the cue, she approached the unfamiliar creation to examine it. Bennet followed, and they tried to decipher how they could undo the time travel. Unfortunately, they had no results and could only step back in disappointment.

"This is going to be a long night, isn't it?" Genji asked.

"Don't even get us started. After so long, I still can't figure out how Bennet time-traveled. By my analysis, the machine shouldn't have been capable of it. It's only emitting some electrodynamical waves similar to weak magnets. And I'm more surprised that it's preserved like this," Rosaline replied.

"You know, I've been thinking while you two were working on it, and I think I found something."

"What is it?"

"The dimensions of this room don't add up."

"What do you mean?" Bennet was confused by Genji's words.

"There's a hidden tunnel somewhere in here."

"That's impossible. I've worked in this room for years, and I've never seen such a discrepancy."

"And you're certain this room hasn't changed since?"

Another intense wave of headaches assaulted Bennet, but he remained firm in his response. "Absolutely."

Genji stared into those confident eyes for some time before saying, "It's interesting that you denied it right away when the normal response would be to ask how I can tell. It's almost like you're conditioned to overlook this by someone."

Then Genji walked past the stunned Bennet and slowly tapped his sword along the walls. Once an abnormal echo sounded, Genji coated his sword in cutting intent and pierced it hilt-deep into the walls. After a hard twist, the wall collapsed, revealing a hidden passageway made from one-way glass.

When Bennet saw this scene, he snapped out of his daze and examined the tunnel in shock. "H-how long h-has this been here?"

"Longer than you, at least," Genji said, turning to Rosaline for confirmation.

"It's ancient. Around 1,000 years," Rosaline replied after running some tests.

"How can it be? This building isn't that old. It's only been a few hundred years. You must have made a mistake somewhere," Bennet said, aghast at the revelation.

"You can think whatever you want, but let's check out this passage. I'm sure you must be curious about it." Genji walked down the hidden tunnel, observing the contents of this spy tunnel. This passageway snaked around many of the rooms, allowing its user to easily watch their actions.

It was creepy, to say the least, but Bennet was more bothered by the secrecy of such an elaborate system. How had it stayed hidden for so long? It was humongous!

"I'm surprised it took me this long to realize. This tunnel covers like half the area in this lab," Genji said as he led the way.

"It's not normal," Rosaline added, agreeing that it should have stuck out to her earlier.

Bennet said nothing and followed with a heavy heart, still overwhelmed by the revelation. After exploring most of the rooms through this tunnel, they entered a new part of the lab that was hidden from the outer layer.

An earthy smell clung to their nostrils as they walked in, informing them of its isolated nature. Wherever this room was, it had no direct connection to the external lab. Even part of the walls had bits of soil poking through, worn down over the years without any maintenance.

Multiple robots also dotted the room, all powered off and in decrepit states. Bennet felt a sudden melancholy when he saw this scene, but he didn't know why he would feel this way for such strangers.

"Their models are more advanced than mine," Rosaline commented as they squatted down to observe the group. "They also don't show any signs of damage. It's like they willingly shut themselves down."

"Just another question to the mystery. No point in thinking too much," Genji responded, leading the group further in.

They walked past the robots and continued deeper, only stopping when Bennet paused before another robot.

"Something the matter?"

Bennet didn't respond; his head hurt too much from seeing this one robot. Something about it was calling out to him, but it felt too absurd to state aloud. Instead, he fell to his knees and stared absentmindedly at the metallic creation.

"I... I think I remember now."

"What do you remember?" Genji asked, not paying much attention to him.

"I'm not Bennet the scientist. I am Sentinel #976."

Genji's eyes wandered to the spot that Bennet was focusing on and saw a faint outline of numbers. 9-7-6.

"Is that so? Care to tell me about it?"

 

---

 

A long time ago, a civilization of advanced technology achieved success. They possessed technology beyond the imagination of mortals, rivaling that of gods. They had reached the pinnacle of machinery and couldn't advance any further.

They were the Mecalans, the former rulers of the galaxy containing the Spatial Battlefield. However, they didn't reach this point solely through technical advancements but through a stroke of luck. As they reached their bottleneck in advancements, a strange meteor crashed into the planet. Back then, it was classified as a disaster, having wiped out half of their population on impact.

Yet as its energy dispersed through the world, the Mecalans slowly discovered the advantages of the meteor. While there were plenty of undocumented changes, they all stemmed from its unique energy: mana.

Using this newfound energy, the scientists at the time devised a way to fuse technology with mana, forming a supercomputer beyond their strongest capabilities. They called this program Skynet.

With the assistance of Deep Blue, they pushed their technological advancements to never-before-seen levels, achieving feats they had only dreamed of. That was the golden era of the Mecalans.

In this era, advancements popped up like spring mushrooms after rain, seemingly endless and persistent. They had no bottlenecks in development, with the world changing with each passing day. It was an era where researchers could revolutionize their understandings in a single week, making discoveries that would normally have taken decades.

It was a joyous period, full of self-learning and history. They would wake up in the morning, experiment with knowledge that would go down in history, and repeat joyously. They couldn't have asked for a better time, but all good things eventually end. For the Mecalans, this end came in the form of the world's limit.

After hundreds of years of prosperity, they had reached the point where they'd learned everything there was to know about science, at least with their given technology. If they wanted to go beyond, they would have to enter the wider universe and explore other sources of energy.

To the Mecalans, this was a scary thought because they knew nothing about the sea of stars beyond. They didn't know what dangers they would face or if they could even carve a foothold in it. Deterred by the possibility, they swore to make as many preparations as possible and fully digest their advanced technology.

So, they gathered their brightest minds and slowly converted their advancements into practical items. They built the deadliest plasma weapons, capable of piercing planets. They created powerful combat robots that exceeded their wildest imaginations. Countless weapons of war emerged from this era, yet they remained vigilant, continuing with the belief that they were nothing special.

This was how they amassed enough weapons to win a galactic war. After confirming that they had reached the true limit of this world's technology, they began their final preparations.

First, they divided Skynet into multiple parts, each with a different goal. They took the largest fragment and created a powerful robotic general with the sole purpose of war.

All its computational powers were dedicated to winning battles, regardless of the conditions. The Mecalans designed this general to be the brain behind their operations, fearing that emotions would cloud their judgment in times of importance. This was Sentinel#0000, the original Sentinel.

The second-largest fragment was left behind to manage the planet and ensure order in their absence. They granted it full authority to develop itself, knowing that whatever policies they created wouldn't last. All they asked was to minimize the damages their home planet would endure. This Skynet fragment would later be known as Deep Blue, the tyrant AI.

Finally, there was the third fragment, the smallest and most unique of them all. Instead of forming a single consciousness, the Mecalans split this fragment into countless pieces, each with its own personality.

Their goal was to research ways to develop a similar civilization to theirs without outside assistance. It was an unreasonable request, but only in practice. Their thought process was that if the idea was feasible, then it should be guaranteed without their interference. Basically, they aimed to train a group of successors who would continue their civilization if they died during galactic exploration.

During their quest for this goal, they experimented with many ideas, including genetics and engineering memories. That was the origin of human clone experiments.

Bennet was one such experiment, more specifically, a clone who lived as the scientist Bennet. The reason Bennet found so many identical clones of himself wasn't that he was from the past, but because he was a clone.

Among these experiments, Bennet's batch was the last one where they allowed the clones to make discoveries on their own. The main reason was the accident in Bennet's memories that wiped out the entire colony. It also took the researchers many years to repair the damages, something they'd rather not deal with again.

As such, they changed their research direction to directly implanting knowledge into the clones, a genetic memory of sorts. In this attempt, they deconstructed the information of their memories into tiny subatomic constructions, which they fused with the clones.

Unfortunately, they could never confirm if they had succeeded because the clones experienced a drastic decrease in intelligence, dropping to retarded levels. The researchers tried their best to rectify this flaw, but the study of genetics was too much for them. They were robots, not flesh. Why did they have to know so much about genetics?

They persisted for another hundred years but eventually gave up and opted to shut themselves down. They had enough of this insanity.

Fast forward to modern times, an unexpected accident caused a certain clone to reawaken these implanted memories and become the scientist Bennet. But with these memories, a hidden piece also tagged along. 

Under normal circumstances, this hidden piece would have remained inactive, leaving Bennet to his life. However, by another stroke of luck, this hidden personality also awakened after experiencing the agitation of an EMP wave. That was the current Bennet.

"That's an interesting story you have there," Genji commented. "So what now? What's your goal now that you realize time travel doesn't exist?"

"I honestly don't know," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "Bennet wanted to return because he had familial attachments he never resolved, but none of that matters since they've already died. It also doesn't feel right to live as #976 since he already lived his life. I'm neither Bennet nor #976, but a combination of them. I don't know what I want anymore."

Bennet's lost gaze wandered across the room, reminiscing about his past before it landed on Rosaline. Then he smiled at the friend who had always been there for him, regardless of peril and doubt.

"No, maybe there is one thing I want to do. The creators never envisioned a world where one AI ruled with an iron fist, oppressing everyone in the name of peace. It's time for a change of dynasties. Let me right the wrongs of the past millennia and create a new society. A new world that moves forward instead of waiting for the past. Let me replace Deep Blue as the herald of robots, towards a new beginning."

When Bennet finished speaking, the atmosphere around him changed. Gone was his lost look, replaced by a determined glint that refused to stop until he achieved his goal. His aura also changed, taking on a tint of fate common among the protagonists of the world.

"An admirable goal," Genji said with a wide grin. "Let me help you with that."

Bennet gave him a side glance and shook his head. "No. I can't trust you. I don't know your true motives or what you're after. I've told you about myself. Isn't it time for your turn? Just what do you have to gain from helping me?"

"I told you, didn't I? I need Rosaline to find someone for me."

"I don't believe any of that. Who knows if you will betray us at a crucial moment? Nothing is holding you back."

Genji's grin widened when he heard Bennet's doubts. "You've gotten smarter since you awakened those memories. It's not so easy to trick you anymore."

"I've seen a lot as #976."

"Fine. I'll show some sincerity as well instead of hiding behind a wall of half-truths. To keep it short and simple, there's someone by Deep Blue's side I have to kill."

"And this is non-negotiable?"

"Not if I want to leave this world." Genji dropped this bomb on them, but Bennet's eyes didn't waver. Instead, he stared into Genji's pupils, trying to determine the truth value of his statement.

'He's serious,' Bennet thought, glimpsing a coldness that rivaled his own determination.

"I still don't understand why you chose to join me."

"I hate to admit it, but he's a slippery bastard. It'll be problematic if he hides."

"So you want me to find him after overthrowing Deep Blue."

"I like working with smart people."

"But I don't like working with snakes," Bennet retorted.

"It's either that, or you wait an indefinite amount of time for your opportunity. But your current body can't afford to wait that long. You have to work with me if you want a chance of success," Genji said with a shrug.

"Even with my new memories, I still hate that attitude."

"I have to do what I can to ensure success. Otherwise, what will happen to me if you team up with Deep Blue?"

"Aren't you afraid of me doing exactly that out of spite?"

"If you do that, then I'll just blame my lack of judgment."

The two men stared at each other for multiple seconds before Bennet broke the silence with a loud laugh. "Yes, you never do something you aren't confident about. If you thought we would report you, you would have attacked us instead of having this conversation."

"Correct. So can we discuss our plans now that we're done probing each other?"