Chapter Text
>REBOOTING SYSTEMS…
>SYSTEMS REBOOTED. RUNNING ANALYSIS…
COMMUNICATIONS: ONLINE
PROCESSING ARRAYS: ONLINE
COOLING SYSTEMS: OFFLINE
GRAVITY SYSTEMS: ONLINE
REBOOTING PUPPET…
ERROR: PUPPET.EXE NOT FOUND
TRY AGAIN?
[YES] >[NO]<
CANCELLING REBOOT…
REBOOT CANCELLED.
Ow.
Everything hurt.
Your puppet drifted about your chamber as you drifted into consciousness. Your… Puppet did, actually, why was that your first thought.
Your puppet's eyes opened. Your… your eyes?
There you were, drifting aimlessly in your chamber.
And there your puppet's support arm was, attached to nothing, cleanly disconnected as if you were never there.
What.
What.
What.
That's not possible. This wasn't possible. This isn't possible.
But it is.
You couldn't help but scream .
Seconds passed that felt like minutes that felt like hours that-
You bumped into a wall. You snapped out of it, however briefly.
You… Were disconnected. Your puppet was? But you're you? No, this was confusing, why are you your puppet? Is this a problem? You don't know, you don't know.
You bounced off the wall, drifting back towards the support arm. Okay. You're not on that anymore. Was that fine? Was it ?
You don't know.
As you drew near the arm- The life support to what was barely even a limb , now rendered all you are, you reached an unsteady arm out.
Contact was made, and you drew yourself towards it, clinging to it. You were still, now, still enough to think.
You are disconnected. There is not a single wire connecting your puppet to that arm, to this room.
The lights marking the access shaft flickered overhead. Underhead? Beside you? There was no gravity here. That way was up, you knew that as a fact, but at the same time, it wasn't up.
It flickered. It flickered. You'd fit through there. You checked, once, long ago, out of pure curiosity. The shaft was wide enough for your puppet to go through, if it weren't for the support arm. There is no arm, not anymore. You can leave. You need to leave.
What if you wake up, and this was all a dream?
Do you even dream?
You've never slept. Will that change? You don't know.
There's only one way to find out. With great hesitation, you remove one arm from the cold, lifeless metal. You begin to drift sideways. No, not like that…
Grabbing it again, you push yourself the wrong way. No, not like…
There we go.
You send yourself gliding upwards, reaching an arm into the access shaft. And then the other. And then, you pull yourself up…
Your back passes the edge of the tunnel. This is the farthest you have ever been from your chamber, and you haven't even fully left yet.
One arm up, then the other, pull yourself forwards… Before long, the tunnel gave way to open space.
A thousand flickering lights, purple and red and blue and yellow, like stars, flashing along to programs and processes that you just couldn't feel anymore. You've never thought much of them, yet in the moment, you've never seen anything so… So…
Something pushed against you, you were moving now, to the side, you flailed and spun and finally turned. An Inspector, glowing violet, stared back. You could not sense those processes, you didn't know it was there .
The organism, effortlessly, glided through the space. For a moment, you envied it. Why did you envy it? The reason slipped from your mind, there were bigger things to think of. You watched it draw near. Long necks bearing dark eyes- Curious eyes, you'd say, if you didn't know better- Reached to view you.
"Ah, err… Excuse me," You did not know if this would work. The Inspectors are simply an extension of the Iterator, just as you… Were.
"I, ah. Am… Stuck? Struggling. I am struggling, it would be appreciated if you could… Bring me towards something solid?"
Those dark eyes flickered briefly, the bioluminescent membrane around them closing in like a camera's lens. Briefly, you worried that it would work. As an extension of what-used-to-be-you, they did not need commands to function.
Your drifting came to a stop, though. Not to a wall, as it pushed back- It worked, it listened. Luminous heads almost juggled you across the room that you really were not meant to be in , not in this state, until you were once again above your own chamber, below another tunnel further upwards.
There you were, clinging to your own immune system , floating loose in your own body - Was it your own, anymore, now that you lost every sense of it? The lights flickered anyways, doing just fine without you, if you had to guess.
It was hot in here. How have you never noticed that? You did, of course, you knew that your temperature was far above what was intended, but you never felt it. It was hot in here. Unpleasantly so. The air that should be clean and sterile had a faint sting of smoke. You knew this, you knew, factually, that the frequent bouts of overheating caused issues like this, but…
You looked upwards. Another tunnel. You knew where every pipe and tunnel and room led, you knew the workings of your structure, and that one…
That one, eventually, would lead to your city.
To the surface.
To outside .
The thought echoed through what was left of your mind- The mind that was both fractured and clear. You no longer had the power of the structure around you, the capabilities, you reached out and nothing was there, but your mind was clear . You still had your thoughts. You still had your memories. And now…
The tunnel beckoned. Outside beckoned. Outside. Outside. You've never thought about that, not this much. You are an Iterator, you do as you were made to, the desire to leave never crossed your mind- And, when it did, you pushed it down, you didn't humour the thought, you had better things to think of.
Outside. That was a possibility, now. The word ringed in your mind. The tunnel leading there did, too.
You still clung to the Inspector. It stared back, patient.
You knew that it was not sentient. The logical part of you, the Iterator , knew that it was not sentient.
Yet, as you pushed yourself away from it, floating higher, you couldn't help but whisper "thank you" , you couldn't help but think goodbye .
The tunnel drew near, the walls closed in, the star-like-lights as well, now clearly a work of machinery.
Would you see the stars, out there?
You grabbed onto the first rung of a ladder left unused. It creaked. The sound shook through you. You remembered, distantly, people using this, once. Your hands fell where theirs once did, and then again, and you pulled yourself up, holding on tight as if the whole experience would slip away and leave you back where you started.
Now, in a long, horizontal hallway, you felt the slightest tug downwards. Gravity, weak as it is. When was the last time you felt that? It's been years. You haven't had a reason for years.
It was easier, this time, to move. You'd eventually hit the ceiling, or a wall, or the floor, and you'd pull yourself a little further onwards. And then, another upwards tunnel.
You knew where this one went. This time, there was no hesitation- With what little force you had, you pushed yourself towards it, hauled yourself up the ladder as fast as you possibly could.
When the space opened back up, you flew up, and slowly, slowly sank down. The room was tinged with a dull golden glow, what little power was left in those lights.
As you reached the floor, you looked up. A faded mural stretched above you. You've seen it, through your overseers. A depiction of your creators, of a primal urge. You were familiar with the topic. This one was violence, wrath, anger, considered the easiest urge to deny, at least, by them.
You have not seen them in a very long time. They have not existed for just as long.
Do you miss them? Something bitter stirred in your mind. You pushed it back.
There were stairs, to the left of the painting. Outside , they seemed to call. You stumbled forwards, barely even touching the ground, until you could grab the railing. Up you went. The gravity was heavier.
This level was just as empty, save for another mural. Lust, reproduction, the second urge. You were more concerned with walking, now that you weren't floating . One foot, then the other… Figure this out before you leave, you were leaving , are you really leaving?
You took a step. Then another, another, you're doing it, you're doing it -
The next flight of stairs stood in front of you. Deep breaths. You're doing this.
Further, further you go, more steps, heavier steps. The mural for companionship loomed overhead. How long have you been alone? How long since your communications last worked?
Did anyone know you were gone?
Onwards you go, getting steadier by the second. Gluttony, this time, hunger, desire, greed, wanting . You wanted. You needed , needed to leave. It was so close.
Faster, faster, a stumbling sprint. You couldn't stay here. It was so close. So close. Survival, this time, the very desire to live.
You were going to live.
You are living.
You are alive.
The last flight of stairs. Grand, dust-coated doors, left ajar. You pushed through, the urge to go and live and want and breathe burning like acid through your wires. The ancient gates gave way.
Sunlight flooded your eyes, forcing you to squint. Bright, warm, real light, after so long, it was real, you were real.
You stepped into the windswept sand. A city loomed around you.
You're free .