Re: The Fearsome Encounter (GBS3G8) [Round 1: Circumlocution]
04-07-2012, 09:30 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.
Just as Augustus had made up his mind on which direction to check first, he saw an explosion in the distance. He sighed, and opted to investigate first; perhaps the explosion had also drawn the spider's attention, after all. Or, if Azungrada were truly smiling upon him, perhaps it would destroy her and he could retrieve Saturday's coin without interruption.
He began walking towards the site disturbance, completely unaware that something was stirring in the ruins of the nearby warehouse.
***
Saturday soon realized that Augustus had only given him a general direction; it wasn't long before he found himself with no idea where to actually look for the birds.
He considered his options. On the one hand, he could wander around aimlessly trying to find a flock of birds which he had no idea how to deal with; on the other hand, he could just head to the lake and wait for Augustus. After all, looking for the birds was only a recommendation, when it came down to it; it wasn't part of the actual deal. He'd just drag Augustus with him if it turned out the spider didn't have his coin.
As he arrived at the edge of the lake, Saturday smiled. This was actually a nice place to spend ten minutes or so, come to think of it. He sat down and gazed at the surface of the water, watching the sunlight shine down on it.
And then he noticed a particularly shiny spot in the water.
"No freakin' way," Saturday said to himself. "Is that my coin?"
He dove in to find out.
He found himself questioning the decision a moment later when he realized there was a large metallic cobra down there staring him in the face.
***
The forest's primary function was a testing ground for artificial intelligences. The intruders had, up to now, mostly presented a threat to each other, and so the monitoring systems had largely paid them no heed.
Redclaw's assault had changed that. The system held in its memory banks a few military-grade schematics, which it was programmed only to use in situations like this. The assembly line worked quickly to create two new machines.
Assassin was to investigate the destruction of the Lingual Emulator and, if possible, to eliminate its attacker; Enforcer was dispatched to the Circumvent Generator to prevent a similar attack on it. Both were permitted to use deadly force.
"Warehouse status: Badly damaged," Assassin said. "Escape necessary."
"Create exit," Enforcer replied. "Separate, locate targets."
"Affirmative," Assassin said. A massive blade extended from its left arm, and it cut a hole in one of the still-standing walls of the warehouse. Assassin retracted its blade and walked out, following the path Augustus had taken only minutes before.
"Complete objective, then report," Enforcer said to its companion, before making its way to the lake.
***
Azungrada sat perfectly still. This was somehow even more unnerving to Saturday than if it were moving. He stared at his reflection in its ruby eyes, wondering why it wasn't moving at all.
He didn't dare move closer, unsure of just what the statue would do. Not even when he realized that the coin he had come to look for was resting on Azungrada's head.
Was it waiting for Augustus to give it an order? That seemed odd - if this idol was a god, as Augustus had claimed, Saturday would expect it to be the one giving the orders, not taking them. Then again, perhaps it was just a golem and Augustus had delusions about what it could do without him.
Which made Saturday wonder - with Augustus gone, would it take orders from just anyone?
"Hey, Snakeface!" he said, his words traveling through the water. "Can you hand me that coin?"
Azungrada simply sat still.
"Huh. Dumb thing must be broken," Saturday muttered to himself. "Well, guess that means I can grab the coin..."
He swam towards the statue's head, only for the serpentine idol to swiftly reach out with one of its muscular arms and grab Saturday by the neck.
"You have got to be kidding me," Saturday grumbled.
And then a small torpedo detonated where he had been a moment before. Saturday glanced over and saw a human-sized robot floating nearby, pointing a hollow finger at him.
"Leave immediately," Enforcer said. "Otherwise, be destroyed. System currently permits Enforcer's lethality."
Just as Augustus had made up his mind on which direction to check first, he saw an explosion in the distance. He sighed, and opted to investigate first; perhaps the explosion had also drawn the spider's attention, after all. Or, if Azungrada were truly smiling upon him, perhaps it would destroy her and he could retrieve Saturday's coin without interruption.
He began walking towards the site disturbance, completely unaware that something was stirring in the ruins of the nearby warehouse.
***
Saturday soon realized that Augustus had only given him a general direction; it wasn't long before he found himself with no idea where to actually look for the birds.
He considered his options. On the one hand, he could wander around aimlessly trying to find a flock of birds which he had no idea how to deal with; on the other hand, he could just head to the lake and wait for Augustus. After all, looking for the birds was only a recommendation, when it came down to it; it wasn't part of the actual deal. He'd just drag Augustus with him if it turned out the spider didn't have his coin.
As he arrived at the edge of the lake, Saturday smiled. This was actually a nice place to spend ten minutes or so, come to think of it. He sat down and gazed at the surface of the water, watching the sunlight shine down on it.
And then he noticed a particularly shiny spot in the water.
"No freakin' way," Saturday said to himself. "Is that my coin?"
He dove in to find out.
He found himself questioning the decision a moment later when he realized there was a large metallic cobra down there staring him in the face.
***
The forest's primary function was a testing ground for artificial intelligences. The intruders had, up to now, mostly presented a threat to each other, and so the monitoring systems had largely paid them no heed.
Redclaw's assault had changed that. The system held in its memory banks a few military-grade schematics, which it was programmed only to use in situations like this. The assembly line worked quickly to create two new machines.
Assassin was to investigate the destruction of the Lingual Emulator and, if possible, to eliminate its attacker; Enforcer was dispatched to the Circumvent Generator to prevent a similar attack on it. Both were permitted to use deadly force.
"Warehouse status: Badly damaged," Assassin said. "Escape necessary."
"Create exit," Enforcer replied. "Separate, locate targets."
"Affirmative," Assassin said. A massive blade extended from its left arm, and it cut a hole in one of the still-standing walls of the warehouse. Assassin retracted its blade and walked out, following the path Augustus had taken only minutes before.
"Complete objective, then report," Enforcer said to its companion, before making its way to the lake.
***
Azungrada sat perfectly still. This was somehow even more unnerving to Saturday than if it were moving. He stared at his reflection in its ruby eyes, wondering why it wasn't moving at all.
He didn't dare move closer, unsure of just what the statue would do. Not even when he realized that the coin he had come to look for was resting on Azungrada's head.
Was it waiting for Augustus to give it an order? That seemed odd - if this idol was a god, as Augustus had claimed, Saturday would expect it to be the one giving the orders, not taking them. Then again, perhaps it was just a golem and Augustus had delusions about what it could do without him.
Which made Saturday wonder - with Augustus gone, would it take orders from just anyone?
"Hey, Snakeface!" he said, his words traveling through the water. "Can you hand me that coin?"
Azungrada simply sat still.
"Huh. Dumb thing must be broken," Saturday muttered to himself. "Well, guess that means I can grab the coin..."
He swam towards the statue's head, only for the serpentine idol to swiftly reach out with one of its muscular arms and grab Saturday by the neck.
"You have got to be kidding me," Saturday grumbled.
And then a small torpedo detonated where he had been a moment before. Saturday glanced over and saw a human-sized robot floating nearby, pointing a hollow finger at him.
"Leave immediately," Enforcer said. "Otherwise, be destroyed. System currently permits Enforcer's lethality."
Spoiler
There's no reason for this | Or this | Death is inevitable | You can't challenge fate | The smallest change | I'm overwhelmed
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse