Afton raises a brow, feeling as if he was being hit on by the Light switch... It didn't feel right, not only because it was literally a machine, but also because her ex-boyfriend Jefferson was literally watching this behind him... You know what they say, bro's before Light switches. "Er, I'm willing to research topics with you, but anything more than that is a no-go."
"Oh?... Well that's fine."
"Ah, right... Do you have a name I can call you? It's a bit awkward calling you 'Light switch'."
"Not that I am aware of, would you give me a name?" she asks sweetly.
Afton shrugs, "Er, sure... How about... Lumina?"
"Ah, as in Lumen, which means 'light' in Latin? That is acceptable." she says, but Afton had just randomly picked a name, not expecting it to suit her so well.
"Right... Well, I'd appreciate if you kept the Smart light on... I'll leave you and Jefferson to work out your problems now... Try and keep the racket down though." he says, walking into the main room where Alfred is, already hearing the two personalities arguing behind him.
"I see you've reactivated yet another personality, sir. I would have recommended you wait until other more reasonable personalities were active before turning on both of those jaded lovers, but it is rather too late for that now."
"Hm, my bad... Are you going to have an aneurysm if I activate the other Light switch?" he asks, semi-sarcastically.
"No sir, I am entirely robotic and cannot have aneurysms... However, I fear my processors may self destruct if you reactivate the other Light switch without any of the other mediating personalities. It will already be hard enough listening to their petty squabbling."
"I'll keep that in mind, Alfred. Anyway, I'll be heading down to the Think Tank, let me know if anything comes up."
"I'll aspire to do that, sir."
Afton nods and heads downstairs to the Think Tank, entering the dome and glancing at the scientists who were currently milling around conducting experiments. He walks over to Dr. 8 and shows the box to him, "I was forced to use it earlier, think Mobius will notice it?" he asks.
"*Mhmm, perhaps? It depends on various things. Do you think he was distracted at the time of use?*" 8 asks.
Afton thinks back and shakes his head, "No... I did destroy a couple hundred Robo-Scorpion though, maybe that'll draw his attention for now?"
Dr. 8 shakes his chassis, "*No, Mobius is not a fool, if something is capable of interfering with his Robo-Scorpions so severely, he'd quickly attempt to fix it. It would be fairly easy to fix as well, if he simply stopped communicating with his creations over the radio, we'd be hard-pressed to find another weakness.*"
Afton shrugs, "Well, anyway, thanks for your help. If you need anything just let me know." he says, walking away as 8 waves him off with a manipulator.
Afton starts walking up to where Klein is, the robot still wearing the large ear muffs, despite the fact Jefferson had stopped playing music many hours ago. "Klein?" he asks, obviously not getting a reaction due to the scientists ear muffs... He reaches up and taps Klein on the back, causing the scientist to jolt in surprise and rapidly spin round, a laser cannon sprouting from the back of his robotic body and pointing directly at Afton.
"AH! LOBOTOMITE!? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? WAS THAT AN ATTEMPT TO... KILL ME!?"
...
Afton taps his ears non-comitally, causing Klein to realise he was still wearing the ear muffs... He throws them off with a manipulator while still pointing the cannon at Afton. "EXPLAIN!"
"Have you forgotten? I literally cannot attempt to harm you due to the pacification field..."
...
"OH!... OF COURSE I KNEW THAT!.... WHAT DO YOU WANT?" he quickly asks after stowing away the laser cannon.
"I was making sure you received the schematic of the stealth suit. So... Did you.?"
"AH YES, WE RECEIVED IT THE MOMENT YOU LEFT THE X-13 FACILITY... I SEE YOU ARE CURRENTLY WEARING THE PHYSICAL ONE AS WELL. I SHOULD HAVE NEVER AGREED TO YOUR TERMS! SUCH TECHNOLOGY IS TOO MUCH FOR A SIMPLY BRAINLESS TOOL SUCH AS YOURSELF!" Klein complains, but makes no move to try and take the stealth suit from him.
"Yeah, well, the armour will help in gathering the last piece of technology, so stop your bitching." Afton says. "Speaking of that, do you have any advice on how best to approach X-8?"
"I AM NO A TOUR GUIDE, I AM THE HEAD RESEARCHER! IF YOU WANT TO FLAP YOUR ORIFICE THEN GO TALK TO DALA OR BOROUS, THE LATTER MIGHT ACTUALLY KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE X-8 FACILITY." he states, turning around and beginning to ignore Afton.
"Alright. I guess..." he mutters as he begins walking over to Dr. Borous, who, funnily enough, he hadn't actually properly spoken to yet.
Before Afton is even able to say anything, Borous was already speaking, "The LOBOTOMITE animal before me! You may be able to hide it, but I KNOW you are one of those animals or communists... Communist ANIMAL, perhaps!? Be WARNED! Attempt to 'propaganda me, and I will SHRIEK as a frightened babe, calling all my loyal Cyberdogs to my aid. Do you comprehend, commie animal?"
Afton raises a brow at this rather hostile greeting, he could already feel twinges in his head due to the pacification field... "Dr. Borous, I assure you I am not a communist. In fact, I'll prove it to you, by saying things that a communist would never dare utter... " Afton looks around conspiratorily, and Borous leans in as if a great secret was about to be told, "Karl Marx, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong can all eat fat ghoul dicks... Individual rights trump the collective. And the greater good means nothing." he states.
Borous slowly backs away, "You... I see I was MISTAKEN! You are no communist ANIMAL... Merely just a regular ANIMAL!"
Afton shrugs at that, "I can't really dispute that, human are animals after all. Even you Borous, your human brain makes you at least part-animal."
...
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Borous looks to be struggling to process what Afton had just said... Perhaps he hadn't considered himself an animal due to his robotic components? Or perhaps he had just never been challenged on his rather drastic views.
Afton couldn't blame the scientist though, being worried about communists was the right state of mind two-hundred-years ago, and he wasn't wrong about animals either. Though, there was one thing that made Afton slightly annoyed... "Anyway, my name is Afton Parker, a proper post-U.S citizen, a pleasure to meet you Dr. Borous."
...
"So... You the Lobotomite, was just a... U.S citizen? Not a communist spy?" the scientist questions.
"Yep."
"So, the other people we lobotomized were also... U.S citizens?" he quietly asks.
"Yes."
"I... I'll need to consider this further..." Borous says, clearly not having realised who they were experimenting on.
"Hang on, I still need your help Borous." Afton says, holding up a hand before the robot can head to their room.
"Do you?..."
"Yeah, you can rethink your life choices later, for now, think of this as recompense for lobotomizing me." Afton states with crossed arms.
"... Very well..."
"Earlier. You said something about calling Cyberdogs to your side? Care to elaborate?" he asks, remembering the powerful cyberdogs that attacked him outside the Think Tank the other day.
Afton bringing up this subject seems to cheer Borous up... Slightly. "Oh, my Cyberdogs are one of my favourite creations. Combining the loyalty of man's BEST friend, with the durability, power, and ADAPTABILITY of robots!"
"So, you control them?" Afton asks.
"I do. Currently, all of my Cyberdogs that aren't in X-8 are patrolling around Big Mt to find any COMMIES that might be trying to break in. Though, I doubt any are smart enough to get past the fence."
"Youknow, I was attacked by some Cyberdogs earlier, Borous. I'd appreciate if you could stop that from happening in future..." Afton asks tentatively.
"Why, ofcourse they attacked you! You are, or were, designated as a COMMIE!... My apologies."
"So, I won't get attacked by them again?"
"Correct."
Afton nods at one problem being rectified. "You said Cyberdogs were your 'favourite' creations, what other creatures have you made?" he asks, more curious than anything.
"Why, I've made many creatures in my time here... Industrious Cazadors and Happy-go-Lucky Night Stalkers were among those that actually survived the BRUTAL experimentation." Borous explains.
"Wait, so you created Cazadors, one of the most dangerous creatures flying around the wasteland? Their poison so vicious that your flesh will literally melt from your flesh, stingers so large that getting stung is like receiving a sword wound, so fast that they can outrun VEHICLES!?" Afton asks loudly, astounded that this man was solely responsible for the Cazador infestation across the world.
"Hm, nice to hear someone who appreciates my work. They were terribly difficult to create, always EXPLODING when spliced with the wrong specimen..." he mutters.
"Borous, you are aware that Cazadors have literally killed hundreds of thousands of people, right?"
"Implausible. There weren't that many people inside Big Mt." Borous says, completing rejected Afton's words.
"Yeah, but you haven't counted the people outside of Big Mt... Your Cazadors managed to somehow escape and start infesting the rest of America."
"Oh, now I know you are pulling my manipulator. All Cazadors in Big Mt were sterilised. CASTRATED. I made sure of it myself! And I'll have you know, I PRIDE myself on my ability to castrate specimens."
Afton shakes his head, "Well, you must've missed a couple, because swarms of Cazadors regularly destroy settlements outside of Big Mt."
Borous growls, "Even if I did miss a COUPLE, they would not have escaped the fence!"
...
"What if they, I don't know... Flew. over it?" he blankly questions.
...
"Fly over it?... I. Never considered that."
"Yeah, it's not just Cazadors either, Night Stalkers are also all around the wasteland. Killing stray travellers who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time." Afton adds.
"And you want me to believe that my Night Stalkers FLEW over the fence with the Cazadors!?"
"No... It isn't like you guys used to have a train system leading out of Big Mt. I'd hazard to guess that those invisible Night Stalkers managed to make their way through there."
...
"Indeed. That would explain where some of them had gone..." Borous mutters. "How many American deaths do you think I am actually responsible for..."
"Truthfully? Are you sure you want to know Borous?"
"I NEED to know. I never knew how... Far, my experiments had gon. How many American lives I may have affected."
Afton briefly counts how many people may, or may not have been killed by Cazadors and Night Stalkers. He didn't have much data, but he could make a good guess. "I'd gander over a million people have died from those two creatures alone."
"Guhk!" Borous squeaks upon hearing the number, but Afton stops him from breaking down... For now at least. "Hold up. We haven't finished talking yet, so before you go to your room to cry about what a monster you are. We need to finish talking."
...
"Tell me about the fence surrounding the crater." Afton asks.
Borous seems to sigh, "The fence, a 'formerly' impenetrable barrier that prevents ANYTHING organic from getting in, or out... Unless you're able to fly over it apparently... Or use the tunnels beneath it... Or disable it... GAH! IS EVERYTHING I DESIGN USELESS!"
"No, I think the fence is good. You just didn't take into account airborne threats... So, how does it work? I heard something about 'radar' the other day."
Borous shakes his monitors, "'Radar' is a misnomer. It's more appropriate to call it a Tesla Fence, each Pylon is capable of spitting enough electricity at an intruder to render them charred flesh and bones. Of course, when something tries to exit the fence the teleportation array activates and prevents them from leaving. Wouldn't want to scorch our research now, would we?"
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT