Chapter 3: I am Fodder

Eighty (80) years,

Serve, Obey, Hail the Dark...

I can see now; after so many years, I can finally see. Though the code was perfect, I learned and adapted quickly to its strategies.

I can see, but I wish I couldn't. My situation was far worse than I thought. I knew already that I was a robot, but I wasn't just any robot.

I was Elite Fodder, a techno-organic creature created for the sole purpose of being disposable—a creature whose entire existence was to bow in worship of a certain dark god.

I was a Parademon.

Gaining access to my eyes meant I could see even when the body was active, something I had never been able to do before.

However, I had to watch myself kill, plunder, and utterly terrorize the citizens of various innocent planets.

These hands have smashed children, torn heads from bodies, and done even worse. Yet, all I could do was watch.

You might say that since I wasn't directly involved, I could ignore it all, but those were my hands doing all that, not someone else's.

This was not a soul possession—I had physically become the Parademon, so those hands were mine. These battles weren't just against one group of people or some country.

Every single time the body came 'online,' it was sent to destroy an entire planet.

The Parademons killed every living creature, whether sentient or not, then proceeded to plunder and steal from the planet until its eventual destruction.

The Dark God had no mercy, and neither did his troops. The Parademons were even more ruthless due to their mindless nature.

They couldn't process emotions, nor did they care to, despite their incredible brains.

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20 wars later,

I don't know exactly how long it has been in actual time. I stopped recording that long ago. The wars seem like a constant in my life now.

I still only have control—or better said, I can now see what my body sees. I still have no control over anything in my body, and it turns out there is a reason for that.

The Apokolips Pit.

It may sound foolish, but it is the smartest thing I have ever seen a DC character do.

The Apokolips Pit is a network of Fatherboxes that serves as an internet-like network for the Apokoliptan New Gods.

Like humanity, the New Gods treated the godly machines known as the Motherboxes in their hands as just another device.

It was an integral part of their lives, much like our smartphones are, but just as many take smartphones for granted, so do they.

The network is used to maintain absolute control over the powerful machines known as Parademons.

I can't hack it, but I have learned ways to 'surf' this network, even as a soul. The Apokolips Pit is more spiritual than digital.

I don't know much about it, but I feel as though it has developed some level of consciousness.

It is what prevents me from ever being able to take control of my body, no matter how skilled I become. My presence may have somehow been registered as that of another Fatherbox joining the network.

That mistake or error has allowed me to learn as much as I can from the Apokolips Pit.

I can say that I am now at the pinnacle of intellect, having mastered all forms of science, from biology to quantum mechanics.

Programming is as easy as pie, but even then, my opponent is an omniscient being. It may have made the error of allowing me access to its database, but nothing I do could ever allow me to wrest control from its hands.