Re: Petty Squabble [ROUND 1] [Fort Ayers, New Atlantis]
04-12-2011, 06:47 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by TimeothyHour.
“GPS DOWN”
This alert blinked on and off in the corner of Six’s HUD. It was just the newest mystery in a torrent of perplexing puzzles. Six’s GPS never went down. Never. It would have greatly frustrated six if he wasn’t already preoccupied with even bigger questions.
First and foremost: What happened to the game he was hosting? He was right in the middle of an elimination!
Six scanned the area around him. He appeared to have been placed into a trench, among the strewn bodies of the dead and wounded. The roar of gunfire filled the air, punctuated every so often by the sound of an explosion or a nearby soldier’s cry of pain. It was a strange sight to see, an oddly, almost comically, themed robot among the bodies of the dead and dying. This particular strangeness, however, was lost upon the robot as he struggled with an emotion he did not often experience: Confusion.
“Replay Memory Designated ‘Recent,’” Six said calmly. The Charlatan’s introduction replayed before his eyes, and then abruptly ended. He thought on the Gamemaster’s words for a moment.
“You’re all going to kill each other.”
So, this was a battle of some sort, Six reasoned. A game. Just another game. He wondered what he had done to be transferred to another game show.
It was odd, though. Why would he have been introduced like a contestant, when he was strictly labeled as a Gameshow Host under MediaPolitical law? Was he the host or a contestant? Either way, the robot reset his question counter in preparation for this new challenge, whatever it would throw at him.
“HEY! YOU! UNREGISTERED ROBOTIC SOLDIER!” a voice rung out angrily. “GET OVER HERE, OR I’LL SHOOT!”
Six turned, and a soldier stood a ways down the trench, armed with a large rifle pointed at the automation. Noticing he got Six’s attention, the soldier repeated his command.
Six, his view of the current situation still muddled, pondered weather or not the soldier was a contestant, too, as he complied with his orders. He figured not, however, as it seemed as though the others introduced in the Charlatan’s lounge were the focus of this game.
“Follow me, unregistered robotic soldier,” The soldier barked as he continued along the trench. Six complied, lost in thought.
He replayed the scene back again. Just who was this Charlatan, anyway? The more six reviewed his actions, the less he seemed like a member of MediaPolitics. His demeanor, some of the way he worded things, the strange sense of immense power The Charlatan held about him, how the GPS was down...
Six dismissed such thoughts. He was overanalyzing things again. But the thoughts still nagged at him, like the blinking alert in the corner of his vision.
Six decided to focus on what was actually happening around him to get his mind off of these bothersome thoughts. The soldier and the robot had arrived at an underground bunker a short while ago, and now they were heading deeper and deeper into its bowels, makeshift lamps illuminating their way. Every once and a while a muffled explosion could be heard, and the ground would gently shake for a short time.
“Question 01: Where are we going?” Six asked.
“You don’t need to know, unregistered robot.”
“It would be helpful if you informed me despite the fact I am not in direct ne-“
“If you continue to ask me, I will shoot you, regardless of military protocol. Be quiet, and that’s an order.”
Six complied.
They continued in silence for some time, until suddenly the soldier turned and knocked on one of the metal doors lining the tunnels. A few words were exchanged, and then Six was led through the door and into the next room.
Five other soldiers were there, stern looks on their faces. They, along with the first soldier, stood in front of Six and began questioning him.
“Unregistered Robot, please state your registration code.”
Six experienced confusion for the second time in a few minutes. Registration Code? Six was confident he had no such thing…
The Six soldiers stood in front of the robot, waiting impatiently. One of them repeated the question.
Six soldiers. Six.
One of the soldiers sighed, leveling a rifle at Six’s cubed head.
“If you do not state or registration code, we will fire,” the soldier barked.
Six contestants. Every game of dice of death has six contestants.
“This is your last warning!”
Six knew what to do. The programming took over. This is what he was designed to do. Six contestants. Six.
“Question 02: Of the chemical elements between #95 and 100, three are named after humans. Name the three.” Six said suddenly, his voice startling the soldiers.
“That… that’s not relevant, Unregistered Robot.”
Six paused for a long moment, as if he was thinking of a response. The silence seemed to bother the soldiers, as some of them began to fidget. Another whistled a short tune.
“Contestant 1… you are…”
Another long moment. An explosion rumbled in the distance.
“INCORRECT.”
Six’s saw blade began to whirl.
“GPS DOWN”
This alert blinked on and off in the corner of Six’s HUD. It was just the newest mystery in a torrent of perplexing puzzles. Six’s GPS never went down. Never. It would have greatly frustrated six if he wasn’t already preoccupied with even bigger questions.
First and foremost: What happened to the game he was hosting? He was right in the middle of an elimination!
Six scanned the area around him. He appeared to have been placed into a trench, among the strewn bodies of the dead and wounded. The roar of gunfire filled the air, punctuated every so often by the sound of an explosion or a nearby soldier’s cry of pain. It was a strange sight to see, an oddly, almost comically, themed robot among the bodies of the dead and dying. This particular strangeness, however, was lost upon the robot as he struggled with an emotion he did not often experience: Confusion.
“Replay Memory Designated ‘Recent,’” Six said calmly. The Charlatan’s introduction replayed before his eyes, and then abruptly ended. He thought on the Gamemaster’s words for a moment.
“You’re all going to kill each other.”
So, this was a battle of some sort, Six reasoned. A game. Just another game. He wondered what he had done to be transferred to another game show.
It was odd, though. Why would he have been introduced like a contestant, when he was strictly labeled as a Gameshow Host under MediaPolitical law? Was he the host or a contestant? Either way, the robot reset his question counter in preparation for this new challenge, whatever it would throw at him.
“HEY! YOU! UNREGISTERED ROBOTIC SOLDIER!” a voice rung out angrily. “GET OVER HERE, OR I’LL SHOOT!”
Six turned, and a soldier stood a ways down the trench, armed with a large rifle pointed at the automation. Noticing he got Six’s attention, the soldier repeated his command.
Six, his view of the current situation still muddled, pondered weather or not the soldier was a contestant, too, as he complied with his orders. He figured not, however, as it seemed as though the others introduced in the Charlatan’s lounge were the focus of this game.
“Follow me, unregistered robotic soldier,” The soldier barked as he continued along the trench. Six complied, lost in thought.
He replayed the scene back again. Just who was this Charlatan, anyway? The more six reviewed his actions, the less he seemed like a member of MediaPolitics. His demeanor, some of the way he worded things, the strange sense of immense power The Charlatan held about him, how the GPS was down...
Six dismissed such thoughts. He was overanalyzing things again. But the thoughts still nagged at him, like the blinking alert in the corner of his vision.
Six decided to focus on what was actually happening around him to get his mind off of these bothersome thoughts. The soldier and the robot had arrived at an underground bunker a short while ago, and now they were heading deeper and deeper into its bowels, makeshift lamps illuminating their way. Every once and a while a muffled explosion could be heard, and the ground would gently shake for a short time.
“Question 01: Where are we going?” Six asked.
“You don’t need to know, unregistered robot.”
“It would be helpful if you informed me despite the fact I am not in direct ne-“
“If you continue to ask me, I will shoot you, regardless of military protocol. Be quiet, and that’s an order.”
Six complied.
They continued in silence for some time, until suddenly the soldier turned and knocked on one of the metal doors lining the tunnels. A few words were exchanged, and then Six was led through the door and into the next room.
Five other soldiers were there, stern looks on their faces. They, along with the first soldier, stood in front of Six and began questioning him.
“Unregistered Robot, please state your registration code.”
Six experienced confusion for the second time in a few minutes. Registration Code? Six was confident he had no such thing…
The Six soldiers stood in front of the robot, waiting impatiently. One of them repeated the question.
Six soldiers. Six.
One of the soldiers sighed, leveling a rifle at Six’s cubed head.
“If you do not state or registration code, we will fire,” the soldier barked.
Six contestants. Every game of dice of death has six contestants.
“This is your last warning!”
Six knew what to do. The programming took over. This is what he was designed to do. Six contestants. Six.
“Question 02: Of the chemical elements between #95 and 100, three are named after humans. Name the three.” Six said suddenly, his voice startling the soldiers.
“That… that’s not relevant, Unregistered Robot.”
Six paused for a long moment, as if he was thinking of a response. The silence seemed to bother the soldiers, as some of them began to fidget. Another whistled a short tune.
“Contestant 1… you are…”
Another long moment. An explosion rumbled in the distance.
“INCORRECT.”
Six’s saw blade began to whirl.