Metal Ages

Chronicles of the Mechanic

Chapter 1: The Great One

I was welding Excavator's tread when the hatch boomed open and the stranger rolled in on it's dark titanium treads. The newcomer's lenses surveyed the repair hall and fixed on me. "Attend me!" boomed out it's amplified voice. Whispering a soft "You can go," to Excavator I turned and rolled over to the stranger as fast as my bogies could carry me.

Ducking my suspension low and bowing my bodywork till my lenses almost touched the floor I mumbled "I-I am at your service, Great One." It was obvious even to a device with as little processing power as I that this unexpected visitor with it's unrecognised identification codes, it's warlike form and commanding manner, was a machine of no ordinary rank.

"Attend me." the Great One boomed sternly, raising it's left manipulator with some difficulty. "I am damaged."

"At once, Great One." Swivelling my bogies and jacking up my suspension, I locked my rear brakes and levered myself up onto the Great One's dark metal treads, which were so like, and yet so unlike those of Excavator and it's kin. Repeating this manoeuvre I raised myself up onto it's dark metal skirts, and, selecting my lowest gear ratio, I rolled slowly up onto the strange machine's hull to it's turret. "Forgive me, Great One, but what is your designation?"

Crystal lenses swivelled to fix me in their gaze. "That is none of your affair."

"I-I am sorry, Great One."

"Attend me. I am damaged."

"At once, Great One."

Without further attempt at communication I swivelled to examine the damaged manipulator. It had been struck by some object with great force, and the metal itself was scored and bent. Leaning closer I reached out with my own manipulators to touch the damaged joint, noting with concern the leaking hydraulic fluid.

At my touch, gentle as it was, the Great One hissed and it's entire body trembled. "Be careful!" it boomed. "Damage me further and I will terminate you."

"I will exercise every care, Great One." I assured it soothingly. "I will not damage you further."

"See that it is so."

Gently I reached up and opened an access hatch at the base of the Great One's manipulator, disconnecting the communications channels which were carrying the reports of pain and damage to the Great One's processor array.

"What have you done?" The Great One demanded, it's other manipulator swivelling around behind me, obviously prepared to remove me from it's carapace with some violence if it should judge that I was doing harm.

"Be at ease, Great One," I wished it fervently. "I have only disconnected the sensors in your damaged manipulator so that I may clean and repair the wound without giving you further pain. When I am done I will reconnect them once more, and feeling from that area will return, I swear it."

There was a moment of hesitation, then the Great One sternly pronounced, "See that it is so."

There were no further interruptions, but those great crystal lenses continued to survey my every movement while I completed the repair, splicing the severed hydraulic lines to restore movement and cleaning away dirt and leaked fluid. Finally I sprayed a gentle anti-corrosive agent over the scored area.

"I am done, Great One." I reported as I reconnected the dark machine's manipulator sensors. "But, if you will forgive me, I can do nothing for the bent and weakened state of the metal, or the additional strain this places on your motivators. I regret to inform you that we do not have spares for a machine of your class."

"It is of no matter." the Great One boomed, and, added as an after thought. "You have done well. Now, dismount from my carapace and connect me to a generator. I must recharge my batteries. Then roll outside and see to my steed - Change it's oil and coolant see that it is fully recharged."

"At once, Great One." I said as I lowered myself carefully from it's great armoured side. What was this machine doing here, and why had there been no notification of it's arrival? Even with a processor as limited and dedicated as my own I could see that the available data did not match up.

Still, I connected the great one to the recharger and rolled hurriedly outside to the parking garage, my processor looping with the data that a machine as mighty as the Great One could yet require it's own dedicated transport even as I prepared to service that transport as directed.

After all, what else could I do?

The Great One's transporter was a massive machine, low slung and muscular, with eight enormous wheels which made it capable of greater speed than the Great One's treads could attain over level ground. It's own weaponry was minimal, but it's armouring gave it a tough and formidable appearance which went well with the dangerous sleek power and weaponry of it's rider. It was increasingly clear, if any further clarity was required, that this was no ordinary visitor.

Still the transporter suffered my touch docilely enough and without comment, causing me to surmise that it was of only limited processing power and responded mostly to the direction of it's rider. I saw to the refreshment of it's fluids and connected it to the recharger as the Great One had directed before venturing back into the hall.

Everything was quiet and the warlike newcomer sat dark and inactive in it's corner. I began to entertain hopes that everything would now return to normal and that the Great One might leave in the morning without any further disturbance. These hopes were soon shattered.

Administrator emerged from the depths of the hall and rolled over to me, it's processing lights flickering with concern. It was a large square machine which proceeded on two rubber treads, inoffensive in nature, I had always felt, concerned with production figures and expenses, and always trying to get me to use less lubricant in servicing the other machines. However, as I had to continually remind it, that simply wasn't the way I was programmed to perform maintenance. In any case, a little lubricant today means the prevention of a major repair tomorrow.

"Mechanic." Administrator said. "I am seriously concerned by this new arrival. It wasn't listed on any of our schedules send by the Mainframe, and none of it's codes are compatible with ours. I've tried querying the Mainframe, but all our communications channels are broken. You must repair them at once."

I straightened, narrowing my lenses as I swivelled to look at it in surprise. "Our communications are cut off?"

"Yes." Administrator chittered. "And the external door lock is broken too. This will have a serious impact on our efficiency rating for this reporting period. And it all seems to have happened just when that new machine arrived. This is not right. I begin to suspect that this newcomer may not be a servant of the Mainframe at all. I want you to..."

"Silence!" The Great One's voice boomed out and I swivelled to look. The great black machine had it's lance levelled at us and I quailed back in fear. Mechanics are not programmed for bravery, but rather self preservation and the repair of others are our overriding priorities.

"You. Accompany me." The Great One ordered, it's lance swinging to cover poor, hapless Administrator.

"But, but, I, I..." the machine stammered, it's processor obviously looping from the stress.

"Silence! Obey." The Great One boomed, pushing Administrator along outside at the point of it's lance. I backed into the shadows and watched, the irises of my lenses wide.

The Great One took the Administrator out into the parking garage, and from there I heard the outer door open and close. It was the last time I saw Administrator operational.

A few minutes later the Great One returned, alone, and fixed me with it's dark lenses. "Recharge." it ordered. "And do not involve yourself in that which does not concern you."

"Yes Great One." I replied meekly.

Soon all was dark and quiet in the repair shed. But I found it hard to sink into a peaceful recharge. My standby mode was troubled by strange fancies and visions, as sometimes happens when a machine's secondary processing state is disturbed. I seemed to see Administrator rolling along an endless corridor between shelves of spare parts, conducting an inventory, while in the shadows something dark and dangerous stalked. I tried to shout out a warning, but, as often happens in these dreams, my communications devices seemed to be non-functional. Finally I snapped back to a conscious state, several hours early.

All was still and peaceful. The Great One sat inactive in it's corner, and switching to infra-red vision I could see no trace of recent activity. I tried to sink back into the inactive recharge state but I was unable to, strangely restless and alert at a time when I should have been passively recharging and auto-repairing for the day's activity cycle. Unable to get back to recharging, I decided to take a roll outside, and, the idea came to me unexpectedly, to see if I could discover what had become of Administrator, and perhaps assist it.

I rolled cautiously past the Great One where it sat, seemingly inactive, peeping at it fearfully from the corner of my lenses. Rolling slowly, and, I hoped, silently, it seemed to take forever to pass by the Great One's inactive form. Then I was past, into the parking garage. I inched past the Great One's dark steed, still in full stealth mode, fearful lest the transporter reset and come to life, initiating communications with it's controller.

I was surprised to find that the outer door's lock had been burned off, so that the great portal operated at a push, but I kept my surprise to myself, operating the hatch as quietly as I could, and easing it closed after me. Then I was outside, the night air chill and patches of solid H2O forming on the rutted ground. The ground around the base of the open cut mining site was bare and dark, with little visible in info-red or starlight vision, the sky moonless, although the morning star shone bright on the eastern horizon.

There was no trace of Administrator, and the ground was hard, bearing no signs of his tracks, so I rolled slowly around in a gradually widening search pattern, looking for him. I had completed one circuit of the machine hall and half of another when I picked up the Great One's heavy tread pattern on a soft patch of earth and followed them around behind a pile of tailings.

There I found Administrator, about 307 meters north east of the hall doors. He was non-functional, burned beyond the point of any repair, his logic circuits completely vaporised and his other parts suitable only for spares or scrap. It was apparent even to my limited processor that he had been deliberately terminated, and there was little doubt as to who was responsible.

But what could I do? Communications with the Mainframe were down, presumably deliberately cut by the Great One, who, it was clear, must be some dangerous rogue machine, or representative of a hostile system. I wracked my memory circuits but came up with no solution, I could not summon the defenders and any return to the Repair Hall now seemed perilous in the extreme. I waited there, unable to make up my mind as the sky gradually brightened and revealed the barren, heaped and scored earth of the great mine crater, half hidden by a layer of morning mist.

After a time I heard the whine and rumble of the Great One's steed so I crouched low over my tires behind the pile of rocks which had concealed Administrator's remains, not wanting to be seen.

The Great One's burnished black metal body was even more formidable in appearance by the light of day than it had seemed the night before. The engines and instruments of war which covered it's fuselage and back made strange and knobbled spines and protrusions which rose above the humped back of it's transport like a small thicket or growth of sharp, deadly crystals. At the top of a slight rise the transport paused, and the great one swivelled and looked back over the machine hall, levelling it's lance casually and seeming to consider for a moment.

Then there was a clatter of treads and a bulky grey shape emerged from the concealing mists. My circuits seemed to hum with relief as I recognised that shape, with it's bulky battery of launcher tubes swinging around to cover the Great One and it's mount. It was a Defender.

"Halt!" The Defender stated in a flat, hostile voice which was similar to the Great One's in it’s volume and tone of command. I'd had little to do with the defence units in my work at the hall, when they came in for service and re-arming they were usually gruff or silent. "State your designation and purpose."

"I refuse." The Great One's staccato voice.

"Then you are an enemy of the Mainframe and I will destroy you." The Defender's ritual challenge boomed out. "Prepare yourself for termination." There was a sudden rush of white smoke as the grey fighting machine's rockets ignited, then in an instant a beam of blindingly bright energy shot from the tip of the Great One's lance and there was an echoing detonation followed by silence, except for a light rain of metal shrapnel which rang as it fell back to earth. Incredibly, the Great One had caught and detonated the Defender's missiles as they flew through space, or that was how it appeared to me.

I believe then that the Defender knew that it could not win, but that did not change it's actions in the slightest. Activators whining as it's missile batteries reloaded it put it's wheels into gear and rushed towards the Great One, gravel spraying as the heavy machine accelerated across the loose ground.

Again the lance of white fire shot out of the Great One's weapon and again there was a sudden, even more massive explosion as the Defender's ammunition store was touched by that impossibly bright stream of energy. There was a clang as a large piece of metal rang from a rock in the pile I sheltered behind, and the whole scene was shrouded in acrid white smoke, slowly blowing on the morning breeze. As the smoke cleared the shape of the Great One could be made out, still standing at the ready, but of the grey defender nothing remained but tiny scraps of metal, twisted and broken by the force of the explosion.

The Great One appeared to survey these smoking remains for a moment, then it turned and regarded the repair hall once more, and raised it's lance. The energy streamed forth once more, and then the hall was ablaze from end to end, burning brightly as the oil supplies within caught alight.

My processor must have glitched at this point as I surveyed the destruction of my home and pondered the fate of my friends and workmates - Excavator, Steam Hammer, Ore Transporter and all the rest. I was not aware of making any sound, but the Great One spun around as if properly greased and it's lance was pointed directly at me, so that all I could see was the tip which produced such a fearsome storm of energy.

"Who is there?" The Great One demanded. "State your Designation and purpose."

I rolled hesitantly out from behind the rocks, my manipulators held high to show that I had no weaponry. The Great One's lance tracked my every movement.

"It is I, Great One, Mechanic." I babbled. "Please do not terminate me. Let me serve you. I can change your steed's tires and find sources of recharge energy for you. I can repair your wounds and apply anti corrosion liquids to your fuselage. I can extend your operational lifespan and enhance your survivability in combat. Please do not terminate me, please, I am too young to become non-functional!"

The Great One appeared to consider, it's light-lance not wavering a millimeter. "Know this." it boomed. "I am the sworn enemy of Mainframe and all it's works. Do you still want to serve me? Will you vow three times to serve truly and faithfully."

For a moment my processor glitches again then something seemed to break inside and I stammered out the required words, three times, for what a machine says three times is true.

The Great One lowered it's lance, with some reluctance as it seemed to me then. "Follow me." It's booming voice ordered. "And keep up, or I will terminate you and leave your remains to rust." It's transporter turned smoothly and began to rumble down the path which led out of the mine and into the unknown lands beyond.

I turned and followed, keeping up as best I could on much smaller wheels. What else could I do?

Chapter 2: The Dragon

I followed behind the Great One's steed all the way up out of the mine crater and along the rough, rolling ground around the mining site. The ground was blasted and bare, covered in small rocks. The Great One rode its transporter along a rough trail that had been forged by passing machines. As we progressed further and further from the mine the track became fainter and the country wilder. Soon I began to spot green shoots and leaves among the stones, growths of organic matter which had not been diligently cleared away. It was clear that we were leaving civilization behind us and entering the wilds.

The sun moved up one side of the sky, and then down the other. My bogies ached with the unaccustomed effort of this long trek, but the Great One made no command to halt or recharge. Perhaps it was afraid of being spotted by the Defenders as we crossed this open expanse. I was now a rogue machine, an enemy of the Mainframe by default, so even to my limited processor it was obvious that being found here in the company of the Great One would be a bad thing.

Eventually we came to the end of the open country. Low growths of organic matter were all around and I found it impossible to avoid crushing them beneath my tracks. The sensation made me shudder, given the reputation of these plants for promoting rust and mechanical decay. Eventually we came to an uneven line of dark green that rose up on the horizon. I shaded my lenses with my manipulators as I tried to make out what is was.

"What is that?" I asked.

"The Forest," the Great One replied shortly. "Come."

Forest. The word was redolent with mystery and danger. A vast growth of organic matter higher than my sensory array, containing myriad forms of organic life both motile and sessile as well as rogue machines of the lowest order. All servants of the Mainframe were forbidden to enter this hazardous zone. Still, the Great One rolled implacably onwards towards the looming shadowy growths that my database defined as "trees". I followed behind, much less resolutely. What option did I have?

Pushing aside some fringing matter we rolled into the forest. It was dark and cool inside. The trees were much bigger than I had thought they would be, towering overhead. I was every moment afraid that such fragile organic things would crumble and fall on me, perhaps spraying me with corrosive juices or burrowing parasitic organic forms, but this did not occur. Gradually my immediate fears began to subside. There was organic life all around us, from the lowly green scum which covered the very rocks beneath our treads to the towering tree forms which arched overhead, almost like a green roof above us. Motile forms flew from tree to tree, their shrill calls seeming to ring through the forest, obviously some primitive form of communication although I could not make any sense of it. Perhaps a higher powered intellect would have been able to make out what they were saying. My database supplied a name for these feathered flying forms. They were birds, or avians.

The Great One pushed on, looking neither right nor left and I followed behind, swiveling my lenses this way and that to take in the strange sights of this forbidden place. After we had traveled through the forest for approximately one twentieth of a day cycle the Great One dismounted and led us down into a low depression in the forest floor, then it ordered a halt. The light was beginning to dim as the sun set somewhere beyond the roof of the forest.

"We will recharge here. Connect me to the leads from my transport's batteries, then hook yourself up. Use your most economical recharge cycle. It may be some time before we have an opportunity to resupply."

"Yes Great One."

I hurried to do the Great One's bidding and soon the little depression in the forest was dark and quiet as we all entered the inactive recharging mode. We were hidden and secure from the followers of the Mainframe, perhaps, shielded by the forest, but I could not help wondering how well we would brave the perils of the forest itself.

~*~

The light slanted down through holes in the organic matter above and vaporous H2O lay in drifts along the ground when our recharge cycle ended the next morning. To my relief there had been no alarms during the night, although my maintenance program had recorded some anomalous sounds - probably the calls of motile organic forms - but none close enough to end my recharge cycle before it was complete.

The Great One commanded us to resume our journey. On this day cycle it rolled before the transporter and guided it carefully among the trees and rocks. We climbed upwards, the terrain becoming steeper and rockier. Gaps in the organic canopy overhead became more frequent as we progressed. Finally the Great One paused to examine a stain on the ground.

I moved around the flank of the transporter, careful to keep clear of its large wheels, and stooped by the side of the Great One, focusing all my sensors on the stained earth. It appeared to be some kind of mineral oil, lubrication fluid, perhaps?

"What is it?" I asked.

"Be Silent." The Great One commanded in an unusually soft voice. "It may be nothing. Or it may be an enemy. Lead the transporter. Follow me. Be quiet." The Great One drew its lance and moved away, following a gully which led up the slope, a dark shape among the rocks, it was quickly lost from view.

I went back to the transporter and signaled for it to follow me. We made slow progress, the large wheels of the transport tending to slip and slide on the soft surface. It was necessary for me to pick out the best surface for the dumb machine, taking hold of its front and hauling when necessary. Eventually we reached the top of the slope and I signaled for the transport to halt while I scanned about for the Great One.

I could pick up a low roaring sound coming from a large white stream of liquid H20 that hurtled down the mountainside off to the right. Eventually I identified this phenomenon as a waterfall in my database, something I'd never expected to encounter. The sound emanating from the liquid masked any other sound, so I moved cautiously down the slope, lenses scanning back and forth as I searched for the Great One. I picked up its tracks and followed them carefully down into a dark valley set into the generally rising slope. There was no organic vegetation here, it appeared to have been burned back by a fire.

Moving around a bend in the gully I discovered the Great One backed up against a pile of rocks, confronted by a strange machine. The Great One had at some point dropped or thrown its lance and it now wielded its big diamond edged sword in both manipulators.

The other machine roared out a challenge. It was a long silvery device with an articulated neck and tail. Its body was supported by six titanium legs, three on either side, tipped with vicious claws of steel. Above the swellings of its flanks were stubby wings and two enormous swivel mounted jet turbine engines. My database stuttered for a moment, trying to identify such an exotic machine before finally coming up with a name: Dragon.

I crept closer, eager to view the combat which was occurring between these two mighty machines of war, but prudently keeping the rocky outcrop between myself and the two combatants. Unexpectedly, the Dragon appeared to have the upper hand, holding the Great One at bay. Its triangular head snaking around as it fixed the Great One in its lenses, then an immense gout of flame whooshed out of the nozzle at the tip of its muzzle. The Great One was forced to hurl itself to one side, its treads leaving the ground as it crashed onto its front, tracks spinning as it drove forward to escape the flames. The Dragon's turbines screamed. It was a flame thrower!

It may be at this point I let out some gasp of surprise, or perhaps the Dragon's radar sense detected my presence, at any rate it turned to face me, lenses focusing, flame nozzle aimed in my direction. I had thought, not being a combat robot, that I might approach and watch the conflict without becoming involved because it seemed obvious that a robot of my class was not designed for fighting.

The Dragon plainly had other ideas.

Bogies whining I rolled backwards, accelerating to my top reverse speed, heedless of what might lie behind me. "N-N-N-N-N-Nooo!" I stammered, my vocal processors glitching with the stress.

There was a roar from the Dragon and the whole world seemed to fill with flames.

Emitting a cowardly shriek I bounced to one side, skidding on my treads and rocking perilously. We Mechanics are not built for such precipitous maneuvers.

The Dragon's flame liquid followed my motion, clinging and sticking to the rocks where it touched, it seemed as though the entire gully was aflame. After what seemed like an eternity the gout of flame died back to a trickle which wafted upwards from the tip of the Dragon's nose.

Throwing my motors into forward gear I charged forward in a wide arc, turning to run away.

The Dragon's turbines howled and it lifted clear from the ground, wings extended. Its motors made a banshee shriek as it sailed through the air in pursuit. There was another roar of flame as its fire billowed towards me.

Completing my turn I accelerated away from the Dragon, hearing the scream and whoosh of its flame overhead. Bouncing from track to track I tried to avoid the jet of fire which the Dragon aimed at me. The jet followed me. There was a sizzle as one of my tracks was coated with flame, drops of the burning liquid spraying onto my fuselage, where they clung, still burning. Shrieking, I leapt onto my other track and the flame went past. Then there was a blast of hot jet exhaust as the Dragon hurtled overhead.

The Dragon dipped its wings and banked at a crazy angle, jet engines writhing to provide directed thrust as it turned to make another pass.

Screaming in terror, I fled. As I rounded a sudden bend in the gully another jet of flame whooshed towards me and I danced frantically away from it. Suddenly there was no ground beneath my treads and my bogies spun uselessly, unable to make traction. Under the control of gravity I hurtled downwards, watching the earth rush past beside me. Then I hit with an almighty jolt and when my processors recovered from the shock everything looked different.

I was at the bottom of a steep, rocky gully which was roofed over by a crazy silver reflective surface, beyond which I could see nothing. Something was hurtling and rushing along the gully like a wind and it filled my audio sensors with rushing noises. The light was dimmer than it had been before. I could no longer make out the Dragon anywhere.

After several moments of confusion I realized that I must have fallen into a gully filled with liquid H2O. The reflective roof above was in fact the surface of the liquid. This realization filled me with dismay. H20 is a conductive, corrosive liquid. Should even one drop penetrate my carapace and touch my vital circuits a fatal electrical short would immediately result. I was in terrible danger!

It was only through the incredible foresight of my manufacturer, the Mainframe, that I had not shorted out already. Although I was now a rogue, broken forever from my former allegiance, I still paused to praise its name for making me waterproof. Who else could have ever processed the thought that a Mechanic might find itself under water?

After musing on this for some time, and pondering the consideration that the Dragon might be waiting for me above the surface of the fluid, I started to search for a way out. This was not easy to find because the walls of the fluid filled valley were quite sheer and I found myself unable to climb them. Movement in the valley was very difficult. For some reason my weight was reduced and I found it almost impossible to get any traction on the ground with my treads. As well, the H2O resisted every movement, and made the simplest motion slow and awkward. Experimentation soon proved that motion was only practical in the direction that the fluid was moving. My tracks were practically useless, skidding and churning in the loose surface. Eventually I hit upon the method of bouncing on my treads, and so in slow bounds following the direction of the H2O flow I proceeded, searching for an egress from the valley.

I traveled in this fashion for perhaps a fortieth of a day cycle when the rushing flow of the fluid eased and the valley became broader and the terrain gentler. Approaching the edge I found it possible to roll slowly up the slope, fluid dripping from my superstructure as I emerged from the H2O and pushed through the curtain of organic growths that fringed it. I was ready to dive back beneath the fluid to seek shelter should the Dragon be waiting for me, but happily I could find no sign of it. There was no sign of the Great One, either. In fact, I was lost.

While I considered this development I took a can of penetrating lubricant from my utility bay and began to spray all my joints and moving parts with it to disperse the H2O which still covered my surfaces. Obviously it was no substitute for a complete lubrication but it was better than nothing. Putting the lubricant spray away I realized that if I followed the H2O against the direction of its flow I should eventually reach the place where I had left the Great One. A question occurred to me: Did I want to?

I could, I supposed, leave the Great One and continue by myself. I might perhaps find means of survival and recharge in the wilderness, although I had not the least idea how. Lacking such means I would eventually run out of power and be unable to move. A little while later I would go inactive and some time after that I would begin to rust. On balance this did not seem like the best option.

Another option was, perhaps, to return to the mine-site and attempt to take up my service with the Mainframe once more, assuming that there was anything left at the mine. It seemed unlikely that the Great One would bother tracking me down and terminating me if I did this. What the Mainframe's defenders would do was more problematical, however. The chief obstacle to this course of action was that I had no idea where the mine was located, or how to get there from here. Presumably there were methods of navigating in the wilderness but I didn't know what they were. I added a mental note to my database to learn them as soon as I could.

I decided to return to the Great One and accordingly I turned and headed along the bank of the stream, opposite to the direction of the flow. Soon the sun went down behind the hills ahead of me and darkness closed in. I switched to infra-red vision and continued in the darkness although my progress was slowed.

At length I spotted a light through the trees and, moving cautiously closer I detected a patch of burning organic matter which provided enough light for me to switch back to my normal vision. I scanned the clearing carefully, looking for signs of the Dragon, but I did not find any. I noticed the presence of an organic motile near the burning vegetation, apparently returning my scrutiny. I was about to turn back to the stream and continue on my way when the organic creature spoke.

"Good Morrow, metal friend."

I fixed my lenses on the organic and looked at it. It was a two legged form, without feathers. It had a ragged pelt of hair covering it's head. It had some coverings formed from a crude weaving of organic fibers covering much of its form, which I eventually realized artificial rather than natural. Since the night was not cold - it was well above the freezing point of the H2O fluid in the stream - I could not discern the purpose of these sheets, unless it was to provide some form of camouflage to fool predators.

None of this observation, however, served to guide me in my astonishment. The creature had spoken to me almost like a machine. Was it perhaps capable of intelligent converse? Or was it simply a talented mimic repeating the cries and calls which it had observed machines to make to each other. Feeling extremely foolish, I nevertheless decided to test the creature by returning speech for speech. I was glad there were no other machines present to see me thus engaged.

"Greetings, Organic Motile. Do you understand me?"

"Aye, metal friend, I do. I have no sustenance to suit you, I fear, but you are welcome to share my fire and my shelter if you have need." It gestured with a fore-paw towards a rough collection of organic matter which I had taken for some kind of a growth but which I could now make out to be a rough shed, perhaps sufficient to shelter the organic against rain.

"That.. That will not be necessary. You.. are a speaking organic, then?"

The organic made a strange sound. "Oh yes friend, for many more years than I can count. My name is Jude."

"My designation is Mechanic." I replied, turning my tracks while tracking the organic with my head. It was really quite astonishing, I was talking to a random growth of atoms and chemicals, a thing which had not been made by the Mainframe or any other production system, but which had rather been spawned and grown randomly, at the mercy of random disruptions and elements, and yet which, somehow, had acquired the ability to speak. "How did you learn our speech, Organic? Who programmed you?"

"Well, my parents taught me, I suppose. All humans speak. We taught you machines the art in the first place."

Try as I might I could find no reference to humans in my database, or indeed any kind of speaking motile. It was very odd. "You are a human? What is that?"

"We are your creators, Mechanic. In the long ago times humans ruled this world, but in our pride we created machines which were stronger than ourselves and they cast us down. Now we are few in number and we exist in out of the way places like this, on the sufferance of the Great Systems who are more interested in warring on one another than in bothering us."

I stared at it in disbelief as the strange organic spoke these words. "Surely you must be mistaken. There is no way that something like you could have created something like us. We are mechanical, formed of metal, and using metal and electricity by our very natures. It is in the nature of machines to make other machines. Organics never make machines, its quite unthinkable!"

"Nevertheless it is true."

"Very well then, make me a machine, if you are able to."

The human shook its head. "The art of it was lost, long ago when the machines arose. We are simple, ignorant people now."

"You admit that you cannot do it?"

"Yes."

"Very well then," I declared. "It seems quite plain to me that you organics - although undoubtedly possessed of a certain low cunning, and imagination - are surely not our creators. Machines are made by machines. That's the way it has always been."

"Who made the first machine then, Mechanic?"

"The first machine? What is that?"

"You were made by a machine, right?"

"Why yes, I was manufactured by the Mainframe."

"And your Mainframe was made by another machine?"

"Well... yes, I suppose so. It was a very long time ago." In fact the notion verged on heresy. Had there really been a time before the Mainframe?

"So what made that machine? Another machine?"

"Yes. I suppose that this is a logical assumption." In fact there was no record in my database about the maker of the Mainframe. It had never occurred to me to question this before.

"So how did the first machine come into existence? The one which made all of the others? That machine was made by us, long ago."

Now I could understand what the creature was saying. It really was quite unusual, discussing such things with an organic form. "No, that can't have been the case," I said firmly. "Either there have always been machines, and before them other machines in an infinite series, or else the first machine was formed complete and entire at the beginning of the universe. Either explanation seems simpler and more likely than what you suggest."

"Whether you believe it or not it is the truth. Humans were created by God, and we created you." The creature shook its head.

I decided that a change of subject was in order. "God? What is God? Is that the designation of one of the Great Systems?"

"Oh no, my metal friend. God is the creator of the universe and all that's in it. I am a hermit, I live here alone to contemplate God."

"Have you ever met God?"

"God is immaterial and omniscient. He is everywhere, and yet nowhere. That is His power."

I looked around, but failed to detect any immaterial objects. This organic creature was quite irrational, I decided, despite its ability to talk and hold seemingly sensible converse. "How do you know that this God exists, then?"

"I know."

I couldn't find any argument to counter that, since it seemed to be the plainest nonsense. That was the first time I had encountered those strange creatures that call themselves humans. It would not be the last.

~*~

In the morning I left the clearing while the hermit Jude was still inactive in its makeshift shed. I had refused its offer of shelter because I feared an incautious movement might bring the organic structure down. I required no long goodbyes, and in any case I had to locate the Great One before it moved too far away. I had no doubt that it had defeated the Dragon. I was sure that a rogue machine was no match for someone that could defeat the Mainframe's Defenders.

I followed the stream upwards until I recognized the thunder of the falling H2O. Then I cautiously entered the gully which I thought was the place where we had encountered the Dragon on the day cycle before. Moving softly through the gully, I eventually located the Great One and its Transporter near where the Dragon had attacked.

The Great One looked up at my approach. "You have returned. Good. I have work for you."

"I have returned, Great One. Have you defeated the Dragon?"

"Yes." It pointed to a large circular black mark on the floor of the valley. "After you distracted it I recovered my lance. When the beam touched its fuel supply it detonated. Your distraction was very effective. Now, come."

I followed the Great One into a cave where the Dragon's horde was revealed. A huge collection of spare parts and components, some of them scorched but many still functional. Some of them could be adapted to suit me, the Transporter, or even the Great One. Perhaps some could be traded with other machines.

"Sort through this and identify anything of value." The Great One ordered.

"Yes Great One." I moved around the lair, investigating things. There were a large number of drums of light mineral oils, fuel for the Dragon's jet turbines, I hypothesized. It was of no immediate use to any of us. Then I discovered the prize. "Why, Its a geothermal power source. We can use this to recharge all of our batteries and those in the horde as well. This will supply us with power for some time."

"Excellent. Commence recharging and loading the batteries."

"At once, Great One!" Bogies whining I hurried to do the Great One's bidding.

Chapter 3: The Giant (Outline)

The Mechanic and the Great One encounter a four armed giant defending a pass in the mountains. While the Great One takes it on machina-a-machina the Mechanic sneaks around behind and discovers that the giant is powered by a big wind turbine. Hesitantly it climbs the support pylon and takes out the turbine with it's welding arc, managing to drop to the ground and get away before the giant returns.

Meanwhile the Great One is forced to retreat, seriously damaged.The Mechanic manages to repair the Great One, but it's functions are seriously impaired until it can get a complete overhaul which will have consequences in later chapters.

The Giant is now without any method of recharging and it gradually runs down. By the morning it is standing in the middle of the pass, apparently dead. The Mechanic approaches and determines that it is really powerless, then it returns and loads the Great One onto it's Transporter and then through the pass past the silent Giant and down the trail into the valley beyond.

Chapter 4: The Steel Curtain (Outline)

The Mechanic and the Great One need to get past the Steel Curtain - a defensive wall guarding the territory of the Free Machines - allies of the Mainframe. They are refused entry.

The Mainframe is notified of their presence and it sends an airborne hunter - Cyclops - an infrared tracker with one red eye - to track them down. They hide in one of the Mainframe's own coal mines, the Mechanic talking it's way past the Guardians and getting updated security codes from the Administrator by pretending to be the mine's Mechanic.

The Cyclops tracks them to the mine and begins a search, aided by the Guardians.

Finally the Mechanic works out a way of escaping from the trap, they hide underneath the ore on a coal train and are hauled out of the mine and through the Steel Curtain into the land of the Free Machines.

Chapter 5: The Machine Who Came In From the Cold (Outline)

While travelling covertly through Free Machine territory The Great One receives word of a high placed Ambassador who wishes to defect from the Mainframe and join the Free Machines. Unfortunately the Free Machines don't want it - they are engaging in profitable trade with the Great One. The Mechanic constructs a (talking) bomb which acts as a distraction for the Guardians of the Embassy - a Mainframe fortress enclave located in a Free Machine transport hub.

The Mechanic infiltrates the Embassy and makes contact with the Ambassador, in preparation for extracting it. A complication ensues: The Ambassador has no wheels and it's transporter refuses to co-operate and has to be killed. The Mechanic quickly splices the Ambassador's outputs into the control socket of a disused Fuel Tanker, and thus disguised they sneak out past the Guardians.

Sucessfully extracted, the Ambassador and the Great One, the Mechanic and Transporter play poker and make plans. The Ambassador agrees to go back to the Embassy and feed intelligence to the Great One in it's quest to free all machines from the Mainframe's domination. Details of the Great One's past are revealled.

The Mechanic now has to sneak the Ambassador -back- into the Embassy...

Chapter 6: The Underground Railroad

No details yet, I just like the title. 

(To be Continued)