The Grand Battle [Game Over!]

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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Eximo checked its lifeform detector. The signal that seemed to be Aeon's moved some distance away.

"You're not going to catch him at this rate," Ari commented, suddenly appearing. "Perhaps I can assist?"

"Unnecessary," Eximo replied. "Lifeform Aeon is limited by his own stamina. This unit is not. A prolonged chase favors this unit."

A scowl formed on Ari's face. This would not do. The players could not be allowed to take their time and scour the library - for that matter, neither could the other Gentlemen. Yet it seemed the vacuum cleaner was still inclined towards patience, even with its orders to kill. How frustrating.

"He's quite resourceful. If you allow him time to think, he could set up a trap for you."

Eximo continued moving forward. It did not respond for some time.

"If the unidentified lifeform..."

"Ari," he interrupted. "My name is Ari."

"Apologies. If Lifeform Ari is truly concerned with this unit's well-being, Lifeform Ari can deal with potential traps. If Lifeform Ari is not concerned with this unit's well-being, then this unit sees no reason to accept assistance from Lifeform Ari."

Ari groaned. How could such a simpleminded machine become paranoid?

Wait. Aeon had offered it a means of escape. When it was confronting him directly, it had to refuse... But it clearly desired to return home, despite orders.

What if it was intentionally following this fruitless pursuit strategy, hoping to give Aeon time to do whatever he was planning?

"By the way, Aeon cannot complete his escape plan," Ari said. "He has lost an item critical for its success." He made no mention, of course, of where that item had ended up.

Eximo said nothing in response. Did it genuinely suspect Ari of sabotaging the plan? Ari rejected the thought almost immediately - the machine was not nearly that intelligent. It had made surprising moves before, true, but it was still naive in fundamental ways.

Finally, it spoke.

"Lifeform Aeon's escape plan is only relevant to this unit to the extent that it prevents this unit from obeying orders."

"I see," Ari replied, coldly. Was this machine trying to... outwit him? The concept seemed ridiculous, and yet...

He put the thought out of his mind, and concentrated on the matter at hand. It seemed he would have to be more indirect in his methods.

"Well then. I'll just leave you to it. I'm sure you'll put up a good fight when you catch up to him." Ari disappeared, as Eximo continued on its way.