Chapitre 19: Khan, The Liberator (1)
Multiple drones swung their pickaxes mindlessly and endlessly into the rocks deep below Copper-9's surface. Rows of worker drones lined the caverns, while the only sound that rang out was the heavy blows of their tools against the rocks and minerals embedded in the walls.
None of the drones spoke. They all knew what would happen if they did anything other than work. The last drone to speak out was 'reset'. Once he came back, nothing was left of him but an obedient husk.
One of the drones, similar in appearance to every other drone, wearing a small flashlight of sorts on the temple of his head swung his pickaxe deep into the wall. A piece of rubble broke off and fell to his feet.
He picked up the small stone and examined it for a moment.
"Hmm… Worthless."
After realizing it had no value, the worker drone tossed the rock over his shoulder and began mining the cracked area where the pieces of stone fell from.
With a powerful horizontal swing, the worker drone lodged his pickaxe deep into the crevice he'd previously carved out. He tried to pull the tool out to no avail.
"Dang it…"
He mumbled quietly to himself and pressed his foot against the wall of rock. While gripping the handle of the pickaxe with both hands, the worker drone began tugging with all his might.
The drone gritted his teeth and pulled with all his might.
"C'mon…!"
His body fell backward once the pickaxe finally gave way and dislodged itself.
"Finally…"
Every word spoken was quiet and low enough that even he had trouble hearing it.
The worker drone readjusted himself before swinging his damaged pickaxe into the rocks once more. He found it purely disrespectful that the only tool the worker drones had were shabby pickaxes from ancient times. JcJenson apparently didn't trust the drone enough to outfit them with better equipment than a fragile piece of iron on a stick.
The company that created every worker drone on Copper-9 had incredible control over every action the drones took. A chip, implanted into the back of their heads, which could both track the movements of a drone and disable it just as easy, was more than enough to prevent the workers from revolting.
"This is bull…"
Again and again, he drove the head of his pickaxe into the neverending wall of the cavern. Each swing became more aggressive and emotional as the worker drone kept losing himself in thought.
Why did he have to be stuck here?
The rocks began to crack. A short shock ran through the drone's body.
JcJenson wouldn't tolerate even a single thought of disobedience.
Why couldn't he live a normal life, a life like the humans?
Each swing caused multiple small pebbles to fall onto the drone as well as causing his body to glitch and shock.
Why was he forced to mine rocks endlessly until he was shut down once his purpose was served?
His eyes lit on fire as he reached back to prepare one final swing.
Why were all his people victims of the same torture for all eternity?
A final shock erupted in his head. Within a moment the worker drone's consciousness faded.
-
The worker drone opened his eyes. The cavern was encased in darkness. Not a single light from his fellow drones remained inside the dusty underground.
"What happened…?"
He gripped the back of his aching head and felt a slight dent. His hand ran slowly over the dent, attempting to grasp the severity of the injury. The drone noticed a large rock, similar in size to the dent on the back of his head.
"That must've hit me. Jeez, how long was I out?"
Pushing off the floor, the worker forced himself upright. His vision was foggy.
He'd been left in the caverns like one of the dead drones. When a worker drone shut down or got crushed by any rubble or debris down in the cavern, they were often ignored. The humans felt it unnecessary to clean a place they didn't dare travel to.
"Surely they would've noticed I'm still functioning. Disgusting humans… Leaving me down here like I'm some sort of easily replaceable piece of scrap! I'm WD-117118 for God's sake!"
117118 clenched his fist.
"They don't deserve the freedom they have… If it were up to me they'd all be slaving away down here!"
The drone leaned down and picked up his fallen pickaxe. He swung it overhead as if he were stabbing someone.
"Take that!"
He laughed to himself. Whatever happened to his head must've made him crazy.
These thoughts and actions were far more violent than his previous ones, but why wasn't he being shocked for thinking such things?
117118 rubbed his chin for a moment.
"I can't wait to kill every human!"
Nothing.
"I hate humans! I'm going to revolt and kill them all!"
Nothing…
He began to laugh. 117118 laughed as loud as he could. No one would ever hear him. He was miles under the surface and no cameras were in place anywhere in the cavern.
"HAHAHA! THE ROCK! GOD BLESS THE ROCK!"
The rock that dented his head must've snapped the chip that controlled him.
117118 relished in his newfound freedom. He sprinted down the pitch-black cavern towards the elevator that took the workers up each time a shift was over.
-
Bright dots of light stared down at 117118.
"Are those… Stars?"
Hundreds of tiny rays all seemed to envelop 117118's visor. This was the first time he'd ever seen the stars. Worker drones were forced indoors and shut off before any sliver of night was visible.
They worked grueling shifts from sunrise to sunset. The drones had a few hours to recover from each shift. During that time, they were held up in closed-off rooms like old Christmas decorations on New Years.
"They're so beautiful…"
117118 only knew of the stars from the limited knowledge embedded into his programming. Each worker drone was equipped with an extensive vocabulary for better use in communication with their human owners. The drone knew much more about the world than he ever would have managed to experience.
"But now, I'm free!"
He laughed. No matter how long this freedom lasted, 117118 would make the absolute most out of it. A single second wouldn't be wasted, that was a promise.
The worker drone began walking around the prison-like encampment where he and his fellow drones were trapped. On his left and right stood two tall chain link fences, standing at fifteen feet tall. Behind him was the large elevator that sent the worker drones into the caverns.
Directly in front of 117118 was his home, a large rectangular building, which was easily the size of a football field.
117118 turned and walked towards the left fence and examined it. It was poorly crafted, most likely made by a human.
"Hmm…"
The drone grabbed the holes in between the wires and lifted himself up.
"Too easy!"
He smirked while embedding his feet in the chainlink fence. 117118 became more and more excited at the thought of escaping the walls of his prison.
A singular loud footstep rang out in the distance behind him.
117118's heart dropped as his hands began to shake.
"The guardian…"
He let go of the fence quickly and dropped to the floor.
"No no no!"
The drone began to run for the doors of the facility.
A set of steps seemed to get closer and closer with each passing second. 117118 burst through the double doors of the building and ran down the hallways.
"Dang it! Dang it! Dang it!"
His panic footsteps stopped once he approached another double door near the middle of the hallway. He pushed past it and saw dozens of drones lined up neatly in single-file lines with their heads staring down at a 45-degree angle. Each screen was blacked out with nothing covering it.
This was 117118's home, the place he felt the safest.
Yet there was another drone in his spot, HIS place in the line.
"They replaced me, ME, in less than a day…"
The drone clenched its fist as the footsteps drew closer. Whatever amount of noise came from the two sets of double doors opening must've led the guardian here. 117118 knew that if he was caught by the guardian then he'd most likely never see the light of day, let alone anything else, again.
"DAMN IT!"
He instantly covered his hand with his mouth.
The footsteps grew quicker.
117118 looked at the door and then the drone standing in his spot. The spot he'd rested his entire life.
The footsteps stopped right outside the door.
117118 clenched his teeth and grabbed the shoulder of the drone who took his place.
"I'm sorry. I can't… I CAN'T LOSE THIS!"
He threw the drone to the floor and quickly took back his former spot. The drone on the floor snapped awake and looked around in a daze.
"H-hello? What h-happened…?"
117118 had his head hung down at the same angle the other resting worker drones did.
"Wait w-what…? M-my spot!"
The confused worker stood up and prodded 117118's shoulder.
"H-hey you! You're in my spot!"
The doors to the room erupted open and slammed into the walls they were mounted to.
117118 kept his head down and said nothing. He kept apologizing in his head as the room went silent.
"Who are y-"
The drone began to mumble and panic as 117118 clenched his eyes shut tightly.
A loud crushing sound filled the room as he shivered. The drone from before made no noise as the sound of metal hitting the floor filled 117118's head.
His entire body shook slightly as he apologized once more under his now anxious breaths.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
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Power Stone 
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