City of Robots (a Dimensional Switch! tie-in)
By
Angry_Angel,
Posted on: 2005-10-13 21:49 in Roleplaying
Roy had swum the circumference of the island before finding the huge gate in the war wall. When the gate wouldnt open, he settled in on the ledge of rock beside it -- the only land around the wall -- and began to wonder how the seals in his robotic body would be affected from so much time in saltwater.
So he began doing what he was designed to do. From the ends of his fingers, seldom-used chisel-tips sprang out, like the claws of a cat. The same motors that caused his fists to hit with almost explosive force hummed into high gear, driving those chisel-fingers percussively against the grey stone of the war wall like jackhammers.
This got someones attention. The gate opened. Dozens of robots of varying size poured out of the gate and surrounded him. He put his back to the wall and prepared for a fight.
At first Roy thought he was under attack by the Clockwork, but the designs were too varied, some boxlike and crudely put together, some sleek and humanoid in shape. One, a dark blue hulk even larger than HEROID came forward. It didnt have hands at the ends of its arms, but rather on one it had a series of probes, on the other, a spiked ball. The hulk extended an arm toward Roy, and the probes began to light up on the ends, one after another until one lit, and then grew brighter.
Roy had no idea what the big robot was up to, but he didnt intend to give it a chance to finish. He quickly activated the force fields that augmented his titanium armor. Whatever the blue robot was doing with the light, it stopped and its other appendage went into motion. The spiked ball smashed into Roys chest driving him into the war wall, knocking out a Roy-sized chunk.
So ya wanna play hardball, huh? Roy said. If he had had his human face, he would have smiled.
The blue robot swung at him again, but Roy dodged, grabbed the arm at the wrist where it connected to the ball, and lifted the giant robot off of the ground. He swung the robot like a baseball bat, clearing a swath through the mechanical horde, then let the robot go on his second swing, sending it splashing into the ocean over a hundred yards away. Before the robots could recover, he dashed past through the opening hed made and through the open gate.
He should have known there would be even more inside. One, roughly the size and shape of a Hercules Class Titan, strode forward. It hit Roy once.
Well, that rattled th ol motherboard
he thought just before he shut down.
((With apologies to Red-Eye for the use of his name. The character in the story is not meant to be a parallel version of Red-Eye. It's just the way Roy's mind works.))
Wake up, abomination.
Somebody turned the world back on.
Identify yourself.
Roy looked around. He was outside, chained to the top of a large metal cube roughly as wide as he was tall. He was tethered to the cube by battleship chains. He arose from his prone position, discreetly testing the strength of the chains as he stood.
Do not try to free yourself. The machine you are chained to is emitting a dampening field. You will not have the strength to break them.
The figure speaking was another robot, smaller than HEROID. It carried itself like a human, and had about it an air of confident authority. It looked at Roy with a singular, glowing red eye set in an otherwise featureless face.
Now, identify yourself, abomination.
Roy weighed his options. He didnt see any point in identifying himself to this machine. After all, he had been attacked without provocation. He decided to play his trump card.
Ya say ya gotta dampenin field, huh? Well lets see how good yer dampenin field works on a human bein instead o a robot!
Roy visualized himself as human. Always, this activated the magic Ireland Love had given him, allowing him to change forms from a technologically created robot to a magically created flesh and blood man.
Or almost always. Somehow, wherever he was, Maggies magic couldnt reach him.
Oh great, Roy muttered, more embarrassed than anything else.
The red-eyed robot regarded him patiently.
Really, I can usually do that
Yes, Im sure you can. The robots tone grew more demanding. Now, can you identify yourself?
My names Roy. My adorin public knows me as HEROID.
Roy looked past the red-eyed robot. A crowd of humanoid and not-so-humanoid machines were gathered in a circle around him. Apparently he was in the center of the town square.
And what a town it was. At first sight, it reminded Roy of Founders Falls. Or Athens around the University of Georgia. Pretty. Warm. Human. But he could see the brick red paint flaking in places, revealing grey steel beneath.
Like the machines, the buildings were only meant to look human.
Roy turned his attention back to the robot he now thought of as Red-Eye and waited for the next question. Red-Eye was standing, looking at him silently, unmoving. Unnerving.
Geez, thought Roy, Is that what its like talkin ta me? No wonder Maggie never likes it when she cant see my human face.
After a few seconds, Red-Eye turned away and faced the crowd.
You have heard abominations confession! He is the HEROID!
A strange noise went up from the crowd, and it took Roy a few seconds to realize the noise was a cheer. A surge ran through his tactile sensors when he heard them start chanting, Compact and recycle! Compact and recycle!
Just when it seemed like the mob was going to get ugly, Red-Eye held up a hand at the end of a long, skinny arm, an said, No, my people, we must not become savages! He shall be held here until such time as the Council of Reasoning decides what to do with him. In the meantime, I implore you to keep your distance.
Red-Eye stepped away from the block that Roy was chained to, then pressed a button on his slender robot wrist. Instantly, a force field activated around Roy, keeping the mob at bay. At least he was safe.
For the moment.
She had come through the force field as soon as Red-Eye had posted one of the Titan-like robots as guard, bringing with her polishing cloths, a small tool kit, and a few cans of solvents, cleaners, and waxes. She set her tools on the floor beside Roy and began working.
I am sorry for the treatment you are receiving, she said.
Her voice was smooth and femine, as was the robot that it belonged to. A striking machine, she stood perhaps six feet tall, and was shaped like a 1950s Hollywood starlet. Her face, though metal, looked delicate and graceful, with almond-shaped optic sensors, and a small, slightly upturned protrusion where a real womans nose would be. Her mouth moved when she spoke. It moved so realistically Roy was almost convinced those full, ruby lips were real. Her skin shone like polished platinum, the morning sun setting off fiery sparkles that danced when she moved. Such beauty would have blinded human eyes. No mere engineer had conceived her. She had been designed by an artist.
Why? Roy asked as she cleaned the dried crust of ocean salt from his joints and seals.
Please ask more specifically.
Well
Why did he call me an abomination?
Because, she said as she sprayed him with a lubricating polish and began rubbing him, You are not like us. We had heard the rumors that Crey Industries had created a method by which human sentience could occupy a robotic body -- the HEROID Project.
Roy raised his arms as she worked around his shoulders. He almost wished he could feel her massaging movements. But he couldnt, and he knew the interaction between them was having no effect on her either.
But
why does that make me an abomination?
She walked around so that she was facing him, and looked him straight in the optic sensors. Humans are frail. They die. When faced with their own mortality, many will seek to have their sentience transferred to another vehicle.
An th robots re afraid th humansll take over their bodies?
She went back to her work. Having finished applying polish, she began buffing him.
Well, you know the history
Roy considered this statement. He had no idea what she was talking about. He also had no idea where he was, or how he had wound up here instead of South America. Should he ask her what history she was talking about, or play along like he already knew?
Uh
Exactly where am I? This seemed like a good approach to take.
She stopped buffing his abdomen and looked at him. Her expressive mouth frowned.
You really dont know where you are?
No.
Welcome to Autotron City.
Her name, it turned out was Elle. Her position in the community was not a high one. Politics among the robots appeared to mirror politics among humans. Dissenters were punished, and those who showed no talent for sycophantism were relegated to lowliness.
"If I were braver," she told Roy once, "I would perhaps be a martyr instead of a scrubbing maid."
"I'm glad yer not a martyr, Elle," he had replied.
It was one of many moments they had shared over the course of the past several days. Her lowly position allowed her to come and go as she wished without anyone being suspicious. In some of those moments, she told him something of the place he was in. It was enough to let him know he had somehow gone portal-hopping, and was not in his home dimension.
Autotron City was the City of Robots, established ten years ago after the twelth generation of domestic and industrial robots had progressed beyond A.I. and into true sentience. The humans of this world didn't trust the sentient robots, but could also not condone killing them. Therefore they were granted their own city, and would be safe so long as they remained there.
Other shared moments had nothing to do with retellings of history. They joked. They laughed. If he had not been in prison, he would have enjoyed the time he was spending here. He did enjoy every moment the spent with the lovely feminine robot.
There came a day when Elle arrived, and her beautiful, expressive mouth was downturned in a frown.
"The Council of Reasoning meets tomorrow," she said.
"An' I should be worried?"
She nodded. "Your fate will be determined."
Roy didn't say anything, only looked at this robot he had grown to appreciate in ways he never thought he could.
"I would..." Elle began, but broke off.
"Ya would what?"
"I would have..."
"What?"
"I would have you freed. I would have you freed to..."
Roy knew what she was going to say. He reached out, as he had to Maggie, to Julia, to touch Elle, to hold her.
Elle settled her hard metal body close to his and began to emit a low-frequency hum. Roy could hear the sound in his audio receptors, and feel the vibration of it in his stabilzers. The wavelength was even affecting his internal circuits.
"Match my frequency," she told him.
With a few tries, he did so.
The result was unexpected. His sensory equipment was suddenly overwhelmed with input. The world seemed to spin around them. The effect lasted a moment, then with a soft moan, Elle let him go.
Roy reached for her again, but she quickly scrambled out of his reach.
"I... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have..."
"Elle..."
Her expressive mouth formed a sad smile, and then the force field opened and she was gone.
Roy sat down on his metal block and sighed. He couldn't think of anything but Elle, and what he had just experienced with her.
But he needed to get that out of his head.
The Council of Reasoning was meeting tomorrow.
I don't know how to say this without sounding crude...
Did Heroid just get some action?
"All rise as their Eminences enter."
Roy watched as ten roughly humanoid robots entered the room and walked to the front of the large hall he was in. The room -- floor, walls, and ceiling -- was made of polished stainless steel. He wondered if all of the interiors in Autotron City were metal, but this was the first time he had been taken indoors since he had arrived.
At the front of the hall two arcing ramps led up to a high dais on which ten chairs were arranged in a semi-circle. Of the two center chairs, the one on the right-center was on a riser, setting it higher than the rest. The ten robots took their places in these chairs. Among the ten was Red-Eye, and it was he who sat in the highest chair.
"The Council of Reasoning will now convene."
Roy never did get a look at whichever robot was doing the proclaiming, but he did take a good look at the robots who made up the council of reasoning. Each of the Council bots wore a colored robe. From Roys left to right the colors of the robes were: white, red, orange, yellow, green, grey, blue, very dark blue, violet, and black.
Somehow, even though they were machines, and none of them had a face as complex and human-like as Elle's, they still, every one, seemed to exhibit a maleness, as if the traditional prejudices and power-structure the humans had taken root here.
Even for robots, it appeared, it was still a man's world.
Roy, himself was still on his metal block which had been transported into the hall, and placed in the very of the room. Between himself and the Council was a large floor on which stood, packed shoulder to shoulder, the citizens of Autotron City.
Somewhere in that crowd, he knew Elle must be standing.
Suddenly, Red-Eye spoke aloud, "The Council recognizes his Eminence, White."
The robot in the white robe stood. His face reminded Roy of a Studebaker -- two large round eyes, a small chrome grill in the middle that flashed yellow from behind it in response to his voice emulator.
"Citizens," Eminence White said in a solemn monotone, "Behind you we have imprisoned the greatest threat our kind has ever known. It is an abomination. An attempt to replace the sentience of the machine with the sentience of the flesh."
Roy listened to the speech. It was well-spoken lies, designed to paint him up as a devil of sorts. The boogey man who was the harbinger of the battle for the robot soul. It ended with a cheer from half of the Council and maybe half of the citizenry.
When he concluded, Eminence White sat down.
Red-Eye -- apparently Eminence, Grey -- then announced:
"The Council recognizes his Eminence, Black."
Black stood up and gave a speech that was the exact opposite of White's. Black was painting him up as a savior who would show the way to peaceful co-existence between the machine and the flesh. It all made no sense to Roy.
When Black finished there was more cheering, and Roy really couldn't tell by the cheers if he was villified or vindicated.
Then the Council began its "reasoning". The council members who sat between White and Black began speaking in turn, presenting viewpoints that seemed to hover somewhere between the extremes of Black and White. Numbers were quoted. Schematic diagrams were projected on a screen which dropped from the ceiling. A grainy video showing Crey techs working on a robot that looked very similar to Roy was shown. Crey documents regarding the HEROID project were read. It went on for hours.
Roy already knew it wasnt going to go his way. Red-Eye, whose role in the Council of Reasoning seemed to be arbiter, sat in his high chair and hardly said anything, letting the other council members present their cases. He seemed inscrutable in his high perch, and yet something about the way he moved, the way he leaned forward when certain points were made, the way he crossed his arms at other times. Body language was body language. If the decision was to be Red-Eyes then Roy was going to die.
Thats when he decided to act.
The dampening field had kept him weakened by lowering the level of energy available to power his servo motors and hydraulics. If he tried to out-power it, the dampening field would adjust, drawing more energy from him. Yesterday, after Elle had left him, he had shut down every sensor except for his audio receptors and his optic sensors, and even those he had decreased the sensitivity of. He had not moved except to turn his head because he had shut down power to most of his body. Now, if he maxed out his power crystal, pushed the strength of his robot body to the limit before the dampening field could make the adjustment
Of course, he would have to get past the two Titan-ish guards beside his block. He would have around two minutes to defeat them and make an escape. Next to impossible, but it was the only hope he had.
Or so he thought.
Red-Eye called a cessation to discussion. He stood, stepped down from his high seat and stood before the assembly.
It is the conclusion of the Council or Reasoning that the prisoner shall be compacted and recy
An explosion.
The sound of it reverberated through the steel room, producing a throbbing thrum that had a devastating effect on the two guards. Roy watched as they swayed and jerked about with every wave of sound. He was thankful his own stabilizers werent affected.
Thats when he saw Elle. She had come out of the crowd and ascended the stairs to the dais. She began to emit a low frequency hum. Around the room her co-conspirators matched her frequency. The resulting sound filled the hall. Others, either voluntarily or simply overwhelmed by the sensory stimulation, joined them.
Soon the entire hall was filled with robots enthralled by ecstasy.
Roy gathered his wits, tore his optic sensors away from a sensually swaying Elle, and cranked up the juice. The dampening field failed to adjust in time. Roy jumped down from the metal block and lifted his fists in defiance.
Red-Eye screamed and ran out of the building.
Roy ran out into the grey steel street outside, the intoxicating drone of sensory overload fading behind him. Red-Eye was going as fast as his spindly legs would carry him. Roy caught up with him in one leap.
Goin somewhere, pal?
I command you to stop!
Roy lifted Red-Eye off of the ground.
Answer me a question? How come you an me re th only ones who could shake that off in there?
I-I dont know what you mean
You know what I mean. Theres a little somethin different about th both o us.
Red-Eye wriggled in Roys grasp.
I tried ta figger it out. What kinda robot are ya? Yer not stout enough ta be a work bot. Yer not pretty enough ta be a domestic
Red-Eye stopped wiggling.
So I figger yer a test bot. Question is, what wuz they testin with ya?
Red-Eye slipped a slender hand into his robe.
When ya broke free o th
th
well, th good feelin, I knew what yer a test bot fer
That knowledge will die with you.
As he spoke, Red-Eye withdrew his hand from the robe. In it he held a small black box with toggle switch in the center. He touched it to Roys chest and flipped the toggle.
Roy had felt the sensation before, months ago, when he was shot and his soul was departing his body. He had also felt it going on two years ago when he reclined in an experimental cockpit and allowed his soul to transferred into the body he now wore.
Youre smarter than I gave you credit for. I was the first, and until you, the only. But there is a flaw in the process. But I guess you already knew that. The flesh dies. The flesh always dies.
Roy could feel his spirit leaving his body. He fell to his knees.
Soon, I will be the only again.
Roy mumbled something.
Eh? What was that? Youre mumbling.
I said, Domo Arigato.
What?
Roy knew he only had seconds to move. He raised one hand and wrapped it around Red-Eyes skinny leg to keep him from running. Then he raised the other and drove it into the frail robots chest, busting through the metal there as if it was only aluminum foil. When he pulled his hand back out, it held a motherboard a Pneumatronic motherboard very similar to the one inside his own expansive chest.
Elle was still humming when he returned. The sound hit him like a drug and he almost dropped Red-Eyes soul-circuit. But he fought off the urge to just give himself up to the sensation and marched to the dais.
If he had had a mouth, he would have kissed Elle.
Instead he swept her up in his arms and carried her out of the hall. Behind them, the mass humming continued.
Elles expressive mouth formed a soft smile.
Wow, she said.
Yeah, wow, Roy said as he looked at her.
All this time, he had fought his fate. He had used magic to make himself human again. He had tried wearing a protective suit to keep from having to take robot form. Now, he realized he could do this. He could be a robot. He could stay here and be happy, and be in love.
He held her tighter. Everything ya done fer me
Yer wonderful. Elle, I lo
There was a green flash.
((The wrap up to this will be in Red-Eye's original Dimensional Switch thread. And that's the "real" Red-Eye's thread. Not the "City of Robots" Red-Eye's thread.
Thanks to anyone who read this. And thanks to Red-Eye who didn't complain a bit that I put this on a separate thread.
And thanks to everybody who rp'd with the switched heroes. I had a blast! 
))
[ QUOTE ]
Did Heroid just get some action?
[/ QUOTE ] - Itsumi
[ QUOTE ]
"Match my frequency," she told him.
[/ QUOTE ] - from tale of wild robot abandon
well, i don't think she was talking to Kenneth 
*smiles knowingly at Itsumi then panty dances to a cartwheel - backhandspring - tushie bump - splitz* 
thank you for posting Heroid.. 5 stars
Thankyou Heroid, that was splendiferous. Roy really needs to catch a break.
[ QUOTE ]
Thankyou Heroid, that was splendiferous. Roy really needs to catch a break.
[/ QUOTE ]
He does. So much angst. He's really earned his "Woe!" badge. 
My characters at Virtueverse
Faces of the City
((This is a tie in with Red-Eyes open RP. Thanks Red-Eye for a great idea!))
The sound of waves breaking in the distance was like music to Roys audio receptors.
He had swum in the darkness for hours, his internal pumps filling every available cavity in his body with air to keep him buoyant. Now he was getting close to somewhere. But where? His optic sensors emitted a light, but only reached 20 feet in front of him.
The water temperature was all wrong for the South Atlantic. In human form he would never have survived in these 50 degree waters. If the plane had been heading for South America, he should have landed in much warmer waters.
He pushed ahead, following the sound of the waves.
Wherever he was heading to, as soon as he was on dry land, he would change back into flesh and blood. No use in alerting anyone who might be looking for a big red and white robot to his location.
And by this point he was also pretty sure he had made a mistake.
A check of his internal clock told him that the sun would be rising soon. Good. He should be getting close to his destination. He would rather not approach it blindly.
The first rays of daylight were beginning to reflect off of the rolling ocean, burning off the fog of the wee hours. Roy could see his destination.
Ahead of him, rising out of the ocean was an island. He was far enough away to see both ends of it. Its size was hard to gauge, since he didnt know exactly how far away from it he was, but he could tell that it was an island, singular, with no other land in sight.
The island also had another distinguishing feature.
It was surrounded by a war wall