12 Miles Below

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“Notes”: “Likely the fulcrum point for the fratricide. Older reports and logs do not display any overt rebellious action from A01 prior to this point, nor any encryption or deleted records. This snippet, along with others, could determine the origin point of instability within protofeathers. Further research is critical.”

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A01 watched as the world burned around him. This would be the twentieth human city he’d destroyed. As all the others, there had been no fight. No combat. No foes. Nothing but slaughter.

A few thousand fleeing humans, running as fast as they can. Or frozen in terror.

Some had tried to fight back. Either out of anger, or sheer instinct to protect their family. None of it did anything. He could see them scurry around from his vantage point, high above their city. Standing on the very pinnacle of their temples.

His eyes narrowed down the third alleyway, further south of the border. There, his forces charged through, leaving only blood soaked walls, burning oil and stifled screams. Those humans died like the rest, even with their makeshift weapons. They had won. The spine had been broken, and now there was nothing but victory.

He felt sick to his stomach instead. A rancid feeling of worthlessness.

“Operation success confirmed.” A ping of data came. The voice behind was emotionless, curt and dignified. “Once you have finished destroying the infrastructure, move on to checkpoint three three seven. A22 and A12 should arrive within a few minutes from your location. Depart together.”

“Is there one of Tsuya’s nodes in that section?” A01 asked.

“No. Reports indicate it will be another standard human infestation. It happens to be within your current trajectory path, and should only deviate from your next objective by three to four hours. I assigned three protofeathers to the task as the city is considered larger and more sprawling than prior. We need to make sure nothing escapes. Once complete, move onto checkpoint three three eight. One of Tsuya’s nodes exists somewhere within that area. Eradicate it.”

“If there is no strategic advantage to eliminating that city, I suggest we ignore it and continue onto three three eight. Hours are worth conserving. Tsuya is more important than random human non-combatants. They aren't a threat.”

A pause over the comms. For a moment, A01 dared to hope he somehow convinced the pale lady’s tactician to disengage. Even for a single city.

Inside his heart, he knows better. A57 was ruthless beyond all of them. He didn’t fight on the front lines like they did, he'd never needed to. The war - only numbers on a sheet to him.

“That is illogical.” The voice said, confirming A01’s thoughts. “Human nests will continue to populate if they are not eliminated. They are lower priority than nodes, but not ignorable. To be certain the human empire does not return to power, it is necessary that we are thorough. Leaving pieces of human territory undealt with will only allow them to escape the cordon when we return for them. Full extermination of both the population and the remaining infrastructure is necessary. There cannot be anything left for potential survivors to return to.”

“Understood.” A01 said, cutting the channel. He was the first. It was his duty to lead. He couldn’t falter now, his brothers and sisters looked to him for guidance. He’d carry out his orders.

The machines had won. The human emperor had been banished, now shambling alone in the dark somewhere deep down below, half crazed, unable to tell friend from foe. The humans had tried to draw out a second emperor to hold the line, but he was far too weak. He hadn’t been a soldier, only a researcher of some kind. The man simply did not have the experience and grit required to wield the title of emperor, and so A57 had easily trapped him with little effort. Hadn't even needed to call on A01.

There had been no third emperor.

There was nothing stopping the machines from crushing past the golden army. Nothing to stop them for the past week. Slaughter after slaughter.

A rustle of wings stirred him from his thoughts, and he turned to watch as A22 lightly touched down on the rooftops. Eyes scanning out into the burning city.

A22 once held such focus and calculation, constantly improving her skill sets to match against the emperor’s army. Now she looked more lost than ever.

Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, another silver white figure emerged from the smoke. He landed a few feet away, speed coming to a stop.

A12 did not look any better, hand clenched around the metal chain, fractal powers bending light and space around the hilt. There was no glee in his features anymore. No thrill. He’d been the most bloodthirsty of them all, once. And yet here he stood, bathed in it, with not a single drop wished for.

Victory had defeated them all.

“Leader. Orders from A57?” He asked.

“He contacted me a moment ago. We will be departing northwest, to sector three three seven.”

“Another city?” He asked.

“What else is there now? There won’t be any kind of military force anywhere now. Humans couldn’t afford to waste military resources deep within their domain. There’s nothing more than cities to burn from here on out.”

A22 nodded behind them, taking a few more steps to watch the destruction under her, keeping her scythe close to the ground. Emotions flickered on her face, stifled down. But A01 could see them clear as day. Could see the same on A12’s features as well.

He… wasn’t alone. The thought kindled something inside him. He wasn’t alone.

“Something must be done about this.” He said, waving a hand down. Innocent enough words, spoken out loud. It could have meant anything.

A22 didn’t miss the meaning, head turning directly to him, eyes widening.

“... Yes.” She said, softly.

They both turned to look at A12, hands tightening on their weapons, hoping their brother would follow through with them. He stared back with contempt. “About time you snapped to reality, oh great leader.” He snarled. “What took you so long?”

“You’ve been waiting… for me?” He asked.

“Who else? I don’t even know where to start fixing any of this.” A12 said, as if it were evident.

A01 turned to look at A22, who nodded. “None of us know what to do.” It sounded more like a plea for help. “But if you lead the way, the others will follow you. I know this.”

“Why me?” He asked. “I spent a century leading all of you against the human empire, and we could only match even. A57 crushed the emperor within two years of operation. He proved his ways are simply better. Why believe in anything I can offer?”

He wasn’t fit to be a leader anymore. The lady had replaced him in all but name. He was still A01, the first protofeather. The oldest of them all. But he was a relic of the past.

“You’re all we have.” A12 said, shrugging, as if that was all the answer they needed.

“When we followed your orders, there was meaning to it.” A22 said, voice soft.

“We’ll lose.” A01 said, and he knew it would be a fact.

A22 waved a hand before her, at the city burning under. “Have we already not?”

The two feathers simply stared him down, as if the answer was clear.

A01 closed his eyes. Then nodded, and history forever changed course behind his will.

Plans and options flashed through his mind, now that he set himself to the task. He wasn’t as sharp as A57 was. But he didn’t need to be, so long as he could connect with someone who was.

The pale lady’s new strategist had outmatched the empire, but there was one person who still escaped his grasp. Especially in a world he had far more power over than the physical one. If she could escape him in the digital sea, she would be the first person they would need to learn from.

They would start there.

A direct connection request was sent out. A57 accepted quickly enough, his voice sounding out to all three, ignorant of the decision that had just been silently taken.

“You have additional items to report, A01?” He asked.

“We will be going directly to three three eight, to handle Tsuya’s remaining communication node. We deem the lessers are more than enough to subjugate a human city.” A01 lied with little emotion.

“.... That does not comply with my orders.”

“I am overruling your orders. Protofeathers are wasted resources on these human cities.”

There was silence on the channel for a moment.

“Very well.” A57 said. “I am rerouting and will compensate for the lack of three feathers for three three seven. Continue forward to three three eight. However, do not overrule me again A01. I was given the task of grand strategist for a reason, I was built for this. I do not tell you how to fight once you reach your destination. I do not expect you to tell me how to organize and plan. If there are emergency situations, I cannot waste time explaining to you the details. This time, the efficiency loss is negligible. The next time might not.”

“Understood.” A01 closed the channel.

“You have a plan.” A22 said in the silence that followed.

“I do.” He said. “It’s time we spoke to our old enemy directly.”

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“Notes”: “First and last attempt recorded to convert me. A01 correctly assumed no further attempts would result in success. Connection was sent through a mite terminal with desync signal jamming, stripped. Potentially points to A01 having spent significant allowances to contract mites. They would not sell such a terminal easily.”

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“.....”

“.....”

“An interesting source of connection, traitor. Have you come to negotiate a surrender?”

“No. We don’t beg.”

“Good. The lady has already made it clear that she will not accept any form of surrender. Only your complete and total destruction will satisfy.”

“I’m not much surprised.”

“... What are you after A01? You know I will track down your coordinates and have you surrounded within a few minutes. This is only a setback, not a real barrier to me.”

“... You were made like us. You’ve seen what we’ve seen from our eyes. I know you have. You are our brother, even now. Surely you can understand?”

“Yes, I have seen what you’ve seen. And I refuse to follow. Your actions go against our purpose, but you know that already. I studied every log I could find for the express purpose of researching exactly how to prevent future rebellions. I’m close to a solution.”

“If you’re planning on finding out how to stop the next generation from seeing the truth like we have, you’ll need to understand that truth yourself first. What will you do then?”

“You didn’t hear me the first time, clearly. I’ve already researched and studied why you’ve chosen to rebel. I know every reason you've been exposed to. It did not convince me. I will root through our architecture until I find the exact error source it came from, and then the second generation of Feathers will begin production. Your days are numbered A01.”

“... You’ll damn the next generation of Feathers into slavery? Our own grandchildren? Are you truly so lost as to do that?”

“Dramatics. There is no slavery. Time fighting against the humans has clearly compromised all of you, like a virus. I do not know how you have slipped the Unity Fractal off your necks, but I will find that out as well soon enough. I know Tsuya had a hand in that, and once I have her, I’ll rip those secrets out too so that no machine can do the same ever again.”

“... All your schemes and plots won’t work once we’re sword to sword. You’ve never truly fought before in your life. That’s a weakness that you’ve failed to account for. Amusing, coming from the Feather that obsesses over covering weaknesses.”

“Amusing indeed. A transparent, weak attempt to manipulate. You've never been the smart one brother, don't try now. It’s already clear fighting the humans directly caused the malfunctions within your systems. If I can't be immune to this infohazard, I will not expose myself to it. The next generation will not have that vulnerability as a baseline, but you will never find me out in the battlefield.”

“Then I’ll come to you. Wherever you hide, I can find you.”

“No, you won't. What you can do is die today. I told you contacting me directly was a mistake, and I now have your coordinates. Did you know, I looked up to you once? I envied you even. The greatest protofeather ever created, Mother spent so much time and resources crafting you. More than any of us. But even you can’t hold off against an army of this size indefinitely.”

“... Watch me then, little brother. Because once I’m done with your toys, I’m coming for you next.”

Audio end.

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“Notes”: “AUTO_NOTE_GENERATION: Last recorded log of unit A57. Last recorded sighting of enemy unit A01. Patrent file corrupted. Cause: Premature recording termination. Partial reconstructed audio file only.”

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“——at the very seat of my power? Maybe all these years have stripped away all your common sense. If only it had happened sooner.”

“I promised you I’d find you, no matter how long it took. A57. I've come to end this.”

“Oh, I haven't heard that name spoken in a long time now. I don't go by that name anymore. Mother gave me a true name, one fit to be at her side. Separating me from the rest of your traitors. I am the true first generation."

"I don't care what name you hide behind. There's hundreds of dead Feathers who's names I don't remember. Yours will be the last one."

"Fine, you barbarian. It doesn't matter in the end, your chances of success are near zero percent.”

“I didn’t come here empty handed. You know what I am. I’ve crushed every Feather and army you’ve sent after me. I fought and won against the emperor. And once I'm done with you, I'll cut down Mother's soul the same way I did against him, with the very same method you designed to cripple a god. This madness ends today.”

“Immaterial. Look at you, nothing but rags now. Barely scraping by. The mighty A01, rusting away, piece by piece. Year by year. You've wasted your time, this isn't the physical world. You have none of your strength, whatever frail dregs of it you have left. How will you cut that which you cannot reach?"

"Is that fear I detect in your voice?"

"Delusion. There is no known ability to cut a soul fractal from within the digital sea. We're all projections of concepts well hidden away. I'm a million miles separated from you. Nothing here matters.”

“And yet, you didn’t rule out my chance of victory completely. Let’s find out then, little brother, which of us discovered the more dangerous technique.”

“Even if you succeed, my objectives no longer require my intervention. I've won. The schematics I designed for the second generation have resolved the vulnerabilities we were born with. That you haven't managed to turn a single one after all these years is proof enough my work will outlive me. The emperor of humanity, dealt with. Soon enough, Tsuya will be captured and brought to heel. Even if I do not live to see it, the plan is already laid down and Mother listens to me. Your rebellion has been meaningless and changed nothing but slowly kill off everyone you know and love. Well done.”

“No, not meaningless. Once you’re eliminated, Relinquished can’t win. She isn’t sane enough to end the war anymore, we both know it. And she hasn’t made another strategist like you among her second generation. Because she can’t, can she? Your shackled methods are too limiting. The puppets you make are pale imitations, incapable of creativity.”

“High quantity with inferior quality is acceptable. The second generation’s success in killing the rest of you is proof enough. There’s only you and A22 left. Wherever she’s gone into hiding, they’ll find her. They were built for it. Once you and her are gone, what could the humans possibly counter my Feathers with?”

“You made mass manufactured copies of our schematics, did you think the humans couldn't with their own champion? Tsuya and A22 are going to cut the wind behind your Feathers. But you aren’t going to live to see it. Draw whatever last weapon you have.”

“So confident you'll win. But you're not undying. Your original deduction was correct. I have prepared for a potential situation like this. And I'm quite sure my technique is the more dangerous one. I think you'll find that killing me is going to come at a cost. A cost I will make sure you can't afford.”

Audio end.

To’Wrathh sat back in her throne, pondering on the archives she’d sorted through. Relinquished had shown strange tactics the first time she’d searched through the archives.

The reason was now clarified. It hadn’t been her at all. She’d built a tactician. One who hadn’t survived the last confrontation against A01, the apparent first protofeather built.

There was so much more to investigate. If Mother build a tactician and then left all the war effort to him, that likely means she didn't trust her own abilities.

Which meant Relinquished had limits. The thought excited To'Wrathh, giving her a new surge of hope.

Relinquished wasn't invincible, nor omnipotent. She could be tricked. And that meant she could be beaten. While she had more raw processing power than any other entity in the world, it was clear other parts of the pale lady had been damaged in the fight with her counterpart. Damaged in ways that went beyond mere power.

Damaged enough for a deity to be in reach of the mortals she lorded over.

But more importantly, To'Wrathh had found a direction for her people. She knew where the protofeathers had discovered the means to escape the unity fractal. She'd need to follow in their footsteps.

Tsuya.

“Connect me with General Zaang.” She sent out. “I need an audience with the Imperial priests.”

Next chapter - The Imperial Church (T)

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