That was all I wanted at the moment. A little respite from the clamor and clang of my surroundings. Banging and hissing and clicking and humming and whirring. These noises usually go unnoticed by me but today they were boring into my brain like a dentists drill.
Would you all please just be quiet!
I had become so distracted that my hand had begun to shake. I could feel the vibrations rattling my bones, causing my eye to twitch. The ring in my ears was constant and my eyes hurt as pressure built up inside my head. And it wouldnt stop . . . tick, tick, tick . . . click, click, click . . . whirrrrrrrr.
Deactivation Protocol Initiated! Command Override Alpha Sigma Four Seven! Execute!
And with that, all of my robots shut down. Motors wound down, gears stopped meshing. The incessant tick-tock of my creations ended. I finally had silence. Wonderful silence. All of my ailments vanished when the cacophony had. My hand was steady and my eyes focused. No more headache, no more pressure. An audio vacuum.
And my mind drifted, drifted to a time practically forgotten. Back to a most wonderful day. Back to a day when the world trembled at the stunning fact that robots were real and capable of anything. When mad genius named Nemesis became Emperor of the Americas.
I was a young man and a brilliant one at that. Oh this is no arrogant statement. I was brilliant. You do not get recruited by the Prussian Prince of Automatons by being average. But Lord Nemesis, as he liked to be called, came to me . . . well sent an envoy to me . . . seeking my services. It was 1940 and I was 18. I went to work with many other scientists in his employ. But there he was himself, Nemesis. I literally stood next to him. This was long before he began wearing his signature armor. This was definitely before he had transplanted his intellect. He was a man of average stature, but his mind was itself like a machine. He could draw the most intricate mechanical designs from memory. One day he sketched out a brand new design for leg servo motors on a chalkboard as he imagined it. That design became the template for his little Jaegers.
I envied him his mind. I envied him the utter brilliance he possessed. But I will not lie . . . even then we all knew that Nemesis was slightly mad. But none of us were foolish enough to say it.
In 1941 Lord Nemesis put all of his scientists to task . . . a task that was grand. We were going to take control of America. I worked in Automatons, what everyone would call robotics. I was the lead engineer on the Warhulk project. The Warhulks then were not like those today with their transplanted human brains commanding the machines. No my Warhulks were all machine and they were to be feared. How they ran will always be my secret, but know that they were brilliant computers in a time when there was no such term. Lord Nemesis himself even complimented me on my innovative designs.
There were other teams involved. There was one that was designing flight units with jet engines. Vast arsenals of exotic weapons that would be envied on the battlefield rocket-rifles and even Atom Rays! There was another factory that was churning out Hundreds of Jaegers from a massive assembly line. I even remember the day that Nemesis unveiled the first version of the Goliath, the large robots that have been commonly referred to today as Fake Nemesis Robots.
Oh the factories and labs were just wonderful places to be. You would walk in and smell the solder and the oil and the hydraulic fluid. The light smoke and mild humidity generated by the steam powered engines. You would marvel at the dancing and whirling robots being tested. Their shining metal skins would glisten off of overly brilliant incandescent bulbs. And beautiful. You cannot imagine the joy it was to see the lovely etching and filigree work that would be applied to some of these machines. Brass and copper, always polished was the metal of choice. It was the Golden Age of Robots, before the life clock of robots was measured.
We all worked hard to achieve Nemesis goal. While the world was at war we prepared for a revolution. We were going to rule the world. Indeed, reflection allows us to realize that we were not going to rule the world, but rather Lord Nemesis. But we were young and enthusiastic and like every young man of the time, we wanted to rule the world. Such a utopian time. The blood races clear and strong just to think of it.
And then we struck. The day after VE day we assaulted the Capital of the United States of America. While America was still drowsy from the final defeat of the Nazi war machine we came in and shocked them. We struck the nations capital with an army that could never be imagined, even in the science fiction magazines. So swift were our machines and so deadly that we took the capital in less than an hour. Yet in that victory Nemesis had not captured President Truman. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was forced to declare Lord Nemesis the Emperor of the Americas. I was on the steps that day, one of the few humans that surrounded Nemesis.
But those memories fade because his reign lasted only two years, ended by Statesman and his allies after they discovered how to end the Nerve Gas threat. When they recaptured the Capital and had Nemesis on his knees . . . they discovered that the Prince of Brass was not there. He had created a duplicate, a true tribute to his brilliance and cunning, and as would be the case so many times later, the denial of true victory.
But in all honesty, he foresaw the end nearly a year earlier when I was summoned to aid in the creation of his clones. I worked on the Goliath suit that he inhabited and we had designed over a dozen fakes alongside it. Nemesis knew and unlike most of my counterparts, I saw it as well. I had stashed away large sums of money and had even secured several secret laboratories for myself. Nemesiss reign would end, but I would not be captured when it ended.
I watched the final battle from a distance as the veteran superhoereos tore through our creations. Yes our robots fought well, as we had designed them, but they were no match. Death Rays fired and explosions crackled and metal clanged but in the end they could not overcome human ingenuity and tenacity. It was a lesson I noted with both sadness and regret.
I left the service of the Nemesis Army. Though a genius he was, I could not place my lot in with someone who was not stable. I could not stand with someone who was not content with victory. I could not work for an individual who would sought perfection but knew that it was unachievable. For when the cheers or boos of the victors and their conquered recede there is only silence.
Silence.
That deafening silence that is the absence of noise . . . the absence of life. Nothing is less alive than when there is not a stirring. The shuffle of two things making contact with each other, the hushed whisper of breath . . . these are what defines alive
I cannot stand its absence.
It makes me feel alone.
"Activation Protocol Initiate! Command Nemesis Zero Zero! Execute
And my mind became at peace as my little machines stirred back to life. The breath of their compressors huffing and puffing soothed my nerves. Their metal feet shuffling on the floor eased the pressure in my head. The ticking of their mechanisms steadied my hands and restored the vitality to my blood.
I was alive.
General Gizmo is currently a level 11 Robotics/Force Field Mastermind on Virtue
High Beam - 50 Blaster Energy/Ice - 1228 Badges
Munitions Mistress - 50 Mercs/Traps
Many Other 50's, Too Many Alts, All On Freedom
Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should!
Silence!
That was all I wanted at the moment. A little respite from the clamor and clang of my surroundings. Banging and hissing and clicking and humming and whirring. These noises usually go unnoticed by me but today they were boring into my brain like a dentists drill.
Would you all please just be quiet!
I had become so distracted that my hand had begun to shake. I could feel the vibrations rattling my bones, causing my eye to twitch. The ring in my ears was constant and my eyes hurt as pressure built up inside my head. And it wouldnt stop . . . tick, tick, tick . . . click, click, click . . . whirrrrrrrr.
Deactivation Protocol Initiated! Command Override Alpha Sigma Four Seven! Execute!
And with that, all of my robots shut down. Motors wound down, gears stopped meshing. The incessant tick-tock of my creations ended. I finally had silence. Wonderful silence. All of my ailments vanished when the cacophony had. My hand was steady and my eyes focused. No more headache, no more pressure. An audio vacuum.
And my mind drifted, drifted to a time practically forgotten. Back to a most wonderful day. Back to a day when the world trembled at the stunning fact that robots were real and capable of anything. When mad genius named Nemesis became Emperor of the Americas.
I was a young man and a brilliant one at that. Oh this is no arrogant statement. I was brilliant. You do not get recruited by the Prussian Prince of Automatons by being average. But Lord Nemesis, as he liked to be called, came to me . . . well sent an envoy to me . . . seeking my services. It was 1940 and I was 18. I went to work with many other scientists in his employ. But there he was himself, Nemesis. I literally stood next to him. This was long before he began wearing his signature armor. This was definitely before he had transplanted his intellect. He was a man of average stature, but his mind was itself like a machine. He could draw the most intricate mechanical designs from memory. One day he sketched out a brand new design for leg servo motors on a chalkboard as he imagined it. That design became the template for his little Jaegers.
I envied him his mind. I envied him the utter brilliance he possessed. But I will not lie . . . even then we all knew that Nemesis was slightly mad. But none of us were foolish enough to say it.
In 1941 Lord Nemesis put all of his scientists to task . . . a task that was grand. We were going to take control of America. I worked in Automatons, what everyone would call robotics. I was the lead engineer on the Warhulk project. The Warhulks then were not like those today with their transplanted human brains commanding the machines. No my Warhulks were all machine and they were to be feared. How they ran will always be my secret, but know that they were brilliant computers in a time when there was no such term. Lord Nemesis himself even complimented me on my innovative designs.
There were other teams involved. There was one that was designing flight units with jet engines. Vast arsenals of exotic weapons that would be envied on the battlefield rocket-rifles and even Atom Rays! There was another factory that was churning out Hundreds of Jaegers from a massive assembly line. I even remember the day that Nemesis unveiled the first version of the Goliath, the large robots that have been commonly referred to today as Fake Nemesis Robots.
Oh the factories and labs were just wonderful places to be. You would walk in and smell the solder and the oil and the hydraulic fluid. The light smoke and mild humidity generated by the steam powered engines. You would marvel at the dancing and whirling robots being tested. Their shining metal skins would glisten off of overly brilliant incandescent bulbs. And beautiful. You cannot imagine the joy it was to see the lovely etching and filigree work that would be applied to some of these machines. Brass and copper, always polished was the metal of choice. It was the Golden Age of Robots, before the life clock of robots was measured.
We all worked hard to achieve Nemesis goal. While the world was at war we prepared for a revolution. We were going to rule the world. Indeed, reflection allows us to realize that we were not going to rule the world, but rather Lord Nemesis. But we were young and enthusiastic and like every young man of the time, we wanted to rule the world. Such a utopian time. The blood races clear and strong just to think of it.
And then we struck. The day after VE day we assaulted the Capital of the United States of America. While America was still drowsy from the final defeat of the Nazi war machine we came in and shocked them. We struck the nations capital with an army that could never be imagined, even in the science fiction magazines. So swift were our machines and so deadly that we took the capital in less than an hour. Yet in that victory Nemesis had not captured President Truman. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was forced to declare Lord Nemesis the Emperor of the Americas. I was on the steps that day, one of the few humans that surrounded Nemesis.
But those memories fade because his reign lasted only two years, ended by Statesman and his allies after they discovered how to end the Nerve Gas threat. When they recaptured the Capital and had Nemesis on his knees . . . they discovered that the Prince of Brass was not there. He had created a duplicate, a true tribute to his brilliance and cunning, and as would be the case so many times later, the denial of true victory.
But in all honesty, he foresaw the end nearly a year earlier when I was summoned to aid in the creation of his clones. I worked on the Goliath suit that he inhabited and we had designed over a dozen fakes alongside it. Nemesis knew and unlike most of my counterparts, I saw it as well. I had stashed away large sums of money and had even secured several secret laboratories for myself. Nemesiss reign would end, but I would not be captured when it ended.
I watched the final battle from a distance as the veteran superhoereos tore through our creations. Yes our robots fought well, as we had designed them, but they were no match. Death Rays fired and explosions crackled and metal clanged but in the end they could not overcome human ingenuity and tenacity. It was a lesson I noted with both sadness and regret.
I left the service of the Nemesis Army. Though a genius he was, I could not place my lot in with someone who was not stable. I could not stand with someone who was not content with victory. I could not work for an individual who would sought perfection but knew that it was unachievable. For when the cheers or boos of the victors and their conquered recede there is only silence.
Silence.
That deafening silence that is the absence of noise . . . the absence of life. Nothing is less alive than when there is not a stirring. The shuffle of two things making contact with each other, the hushed whisper of breath . . . these are what defines alive
I cannot stand its absence.
It makes me feel alone.
"Activation Protocol Initiate! Command Nemesis Zero Zero! Execute
And my mind became at peace as my little machines stirred back to life. The breath of their compressors huffing and puffing soothed my nerves. Their metal feet shuffling on the floor eased the pressure in my head. The ticking of their mechanisms steadied my hands and restored the vitality to my blood.
I was alive.
General Gizmo is currently a level 11 Robotics/Force Field Mastermind on Virtue
High Beam - 50 Blaster Energy/Ice - 1228 Badges
Munitions Mistress - 50 Mercs/Traps
Many Other 50's, Too Many Alts, All On Freedom
Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should!