New Awakening
The screwdriver, small by any standards, looked impossibly tiny in Hanks huge, blue hands. It seemed absurd that he could use it at all let alone manipulate it with any kind of precision. *Like a gorilla attempting to perform brain surgery* he thought with a wry smile.
Except of course that brain surgery was only one of the things that Dr Hank McCoy could perform, his immense hands being endowed with a dexterity and gentleness proportionate to their size. Which was fortunate for the many patients whose lives his skills had saved over the years and equally unfortunate for those unlucky enough to be classed as his enemies.
Now as he approached the prone form before him he hesitated slightly, focusing his astute mind on the task on hand. This was going to be interesting to say the least The operation he was embarking upon at the moment was groundbreaking if nothing else. State of the art one might say. As was his patient.
The robot lay stretched out on the table, fooling the eye with its seeming humanity. Hank knew it for what it was. A construct, brilliantly executed, the finely grafted skin which covered its metal structure giving it the illusion of life. A walking weapon built for destruction, efficient and deadly. A shadow crossed Hank’s face as he thought of the grief this creature had already caused. Its bullets had ripped through a young woman’s body, taking the life of her unborn child.
A wave of sadness washed over Hank and once again he hesitated. *Why not just destroy this thing and have done with it?* Intellectual curiosity alone could not justify taking the risk of reawakening this killer to wreck further havoc on the students of the institute.
But, he told himself, there was always the chance that some good could be hauled from the horror of this situation. Whoever had sent this machine to destroy Riley and Cat was obviously still out there. That they had access to immense resources was obvious from the complexity of the robot which had fallen into his hands. Surely studying it could help them learn more about this mysterious enemy, perhaps even give them the means to destroy them before they could cause any further damage.
*All well and fine Dr McCoy, but be honest enough to admit, at least to yourself, that there is more to it than that.* He had read Riley’s report of the tragic incident, only guessing at the anguish it must have cost him to write it. And yet even he, who had most cause to hate this machine, had been forced to attest to its strange behaviour.
An unfeeling killer who warned its victims of its intent, apologised for its actions and ultimately sacrificed itself in an attempt to put an end to the carnage? It was more than puzzling. It opened up a whole range of metaphysical questions that Hank found almost irresistibly intriguing.
In any case, all philosophical implications aside, the robot was physically here in the institute, having been teleported to the med lab by Kurt shortly after the shooting and afterwards secured in the advanced lab until they decided what to do with it.
It was not out with the bounds of possibilities that it was fitted with some sort of tracking device, and the fact that it could conceivably lead its creators to the school was an unacceptable risk. Hank stared at the gaping hole in the robots chest, stark evidence of its desperate ‘suicide’ *Looks like an invitation to me*he said to himself and bent over to take a better look.
He had previously run a series of extensive tests on the creature including a full body scan, but its major systems were so well protected that he still felt he was going in blind.
One thing was certain however. Residual traces of radiation, not harmful but complex surrounding the area where his now destroyed power source had lodged. *Whatever gave you life you my friend will not be easy to replace. For the moment however let us concentrate on removing any potential sources of problems that you may have hidden about your person.*
Hank adjusted his safety glasses and verified once more that the lab was secure. He had little doubt that whoever had crafted this being would not take lightly to anyone foraging around in its innards.
*Let us just hope that any booby traps are within my capacity to disarm. Otherwise there will be a rather embarrassing blue mess to clean up!* Taking a deep breath he began to probe into the depths of the circuitry that constituted the anatomy of this strange creature.
He proceeded slowly, cautiously, recording his findings meticulously as though conducting an autopsy. There was a beauty and symmetry about the construction which delighted his scientific mind. Whoever had created this was certainly a genius. Intellectually it was a privilege to cross swords with such a master, pitting his own wits against the deadly labyrinth which stretched out before him. A bizarre game of chess where each move could prove to be the last.
Finally, after long hours of painstaking work he sighed. *There! A transmitter circuit.* Well hidden and insidiously dangerous, linked as it was to an explosive devise located deep within the chest cavity. *Designed, if I’m not very much mistaken, to destroy the processor chip thus rendering your little prodigy here totally ineffective. And of course killing me should I happen to make the slightest mistake whilst trying to remove it. Check, I believe my mysterious adversary! Now to see which of us can win the game.*
Calmly, steadily he reached towards the microchip, seeing in his mind the complicated path the electrical pulse would have to take to trigger the trap. *Now I’m supposed to think that because he is shut down this pulse will not be generated. Somehow I am not convinced.*
Hank had already detected, hidden just beneath the surface of the robots skin, miniscule captors, infinitesimally small solar panels no doubt able to provide the unit with the bare minimum of power necessary to function at a reduced capacity. More than enough to trigger the explosive device and so numerous and dispersed that it would be impossible to verify with any degree of certainty that they had all been drained. *No I have to assume that this is live and act accordingly. Speed is of the essence. Let us hope that mine will be enough.*
Scientific calculations rushed through his brain *Fast, so very fast this invisible pulse!To fast for any normal human reaction to prevail against it. I however am far from being a normal human. You are unlucky my friend to have come up against someone with the intellectual capacity to realise what must be done and just possibly the dexterity necessary to do it.*
He made a move once more towards the circuit then pulled back smiling broadly. *However I am sure that you would have taken even such a remote possibility into consideration. Sometimes even a queen can be sacrificed if there is a pawn waiting to replace her. Now where would you have concealed your back up unit?*
Long minute passed as each pathway was checked and rechecked till finally he was satisfied that all the intricate ramifications of the bomb has been assimilated. It was clever but then he had expected nothing less. In fact, caught up as he now was in this intellectual challenge, anything less would have disappointed him.
*So let us see if this is possible.* Three points to be deactivated simultaneously. Truly simultaneously. Not one heartbeat separating the three actions. In theory all but impossible to coordinate even with trained experts working together. Unless all three circuits were deactivated by the same person there would be inevitably a delay and that delay would prove fatal. Now the question was could he do it.
Two actions was no problem. He was ambidextrous in the truest sense of the word, his synchronisation perfect and undisputed. Bringing the third element into play could prove more challenging.
Hank glanced at the robot lying on the table. *He seems solid enough and I’m sure he wont mind the momentary embarrassment of the situation.*
So saying he leapt up onto the prone figure and settled himself comfortably on its midsection. *Now to see if all those sessions in the danger room will finally pay off.* He grasped one small soldering iron in each hand and took up the last one in his prehensile right foot.
He slowed his breathing, forcing himself to remain calm, slipping almost into meditation. *One small movement and I will take the king. Or die trying. One! Two!* He leaned forward and touched the circuits sensing the pulse trying ineffectively to make its way to the deadly explosives. A small moment of doubt and then relief! *Checkmate I do believe!*
For a moment it was enough just to sit there savouring the victory but soon the cold facts of the situation forced their way into his mind. Certainly the institute was safe from anyone who may have been tracking the robot but this led him on up the weighty question of what to do with it now.
He descended from the table and looked at the recumbent form. So much information potentially lay within its memory banks. He doubted his capacity to access it all successfully. Yet could he take the risk of awakening this sleeping killer.
It was true that without its power source the robot would be barely functional, still precautions would have to be taken. *Reprogramming for the moment could be counter productive, after all its original programme could reveal a great deal about the intentions of those who had despatched it.*
Hank thought the matter over. The advanced med lab was specially constructed to be able to contain some of the more problematic patients they had to deal with from time to time. He calculated that it could contain this creature in its weakened state.
The explosive device was still present, if neutralised, within its chest. It would take but a little adjustment to give him control of it. An action he deplored but which seemed judicious given the risks involved. He rapidly made the necessary changes, modifying his communicator to act as a primitive detonator and once more stood back to look at the life like figure.
"And now, Pinocchio, lets see if we can turn you into a real boy" he said and pressed the robot's activation switch.
Power surged through the lifeless machine, heading directly for the CPU, setting about the restoration of his systems to active status. As programs began to run again a faint red glow developed in his eyes, but as more and more systems turned on the demand for power soon became greater than the supply, and as swiftly as the robot had turned on it began to deactivate and the glow in his eyes shrank till it was little more than a pinprick.
It had been a mistake on the initiative’s part when they created him, with all the sophisticated programs and systems installed within him needing a high power input it was near impossible for it to run properly on its backup supply, though they never thought it would have to, the cells were too well protected for them to get damaged.
Within seconds of him realizing the drain was too great and that he was turning off again his CPU began to deactivate the less important systems in an attempt to reduce the demand for power until the supply could be restored. Circuitry all over his complex form slowly became dead again, the remaining systems running only the bare essential programs to keep his CPU and memory active, the need to survive spurring him on to seek other ways of gaining power.
There were several options available for him although only two were feasible in the current situation. One was to wait and hope that whoever turned him on would attempt to restore his power supply, and the other was to seek out an external source of electricity, a plug socket for example, and tap into it. Even at low power the last option was the most promising, he just couldn’t take the chance that someone might do it for him, it was too risky, but without his sensor array active it would be like looking for a black object in the middle of a darkened room.
He took a moment to assess the situation, activating the sensor array for a long period of time would inevitably cause a massive drain on his other systems as it required a huge amount of power to run, however if it were active for only a few seconds the chances of it causing the drain to be too great were significantly reduced. It was a risk that by activating this he would be increasing the chance of inadvertently switching himself off, but all other avenues seemed to be closed off to him.
Once the sensors were active It took less than a second for him to gain an accurate picture of the immediate surroundings, the room was well stocked with electrical items, however most were out of his reach at the moment, all except a small soldering iron, obviously put down by the person who’d turned him on. For now even though he had detected the fuzzy blue creature he didn’t bother with Hank, it was more important to restore power as he was unable to run anything on the current solar backup.
Directing power to his left arm he moved his fingers ever so slowly towards the soldering iron, the desire to survive greater than the risks of whether or not he was in the hands of a friend or enemy. Without his main sensory array it only became clear to him that it was working when the tiny pressure detectors in his hand registered the object, slowly he closed his fingers around the tool, crushing through the casing and causing the electricity to flow through his adamantium skeleton.
Almost immediately lights began to flash inside his body as systems became active again, programs now running and circuits being restored to full active status. It still wasn’t enough really and he was only able to activate some of his systems, but at least he could see now and move a little if he wanted to. Now he was active again he began to run checks on himself and the area around, he was in the mutant school, he could tell that and he soon had isolated a file on Hank. After running a quick virus check and establishing that the explosives had been tampered with he silently pointed to a computer console before electronically opening a small section of his chest armour plating to reveal a small amount of circuitry and more importantly a socket from when he was originally programmed.
Re: New Awakening
Hank watched in fascination as the seemingly human body twitched, the eyes glowing faintly red before fading back to near extinction. *I feel like Dr Frankenstein awaiting the awakening of his monster. Indeed the comparison is perhaps too appropriate. I’m not sure that a lightening strike wouldn’t do this fellow the world of good.*
Once again he felt a surge of admiration for the robot’s creator as he noted the subtle adjustments the creature made to its systems in order to maximise the effectiveness of the apparently insufficient power supply.
Perhaps it was a failure of judgement on the part of this unknown genius which left the machine unable to function adequately on its back up power supply, but the intelligence module which enabled it to assess he situation and take the necessary steps to remedy it was nothing less than a work of art.
Yet what had all that intellectual effort produced in the long run? A soulless machine designed with the express purpose of taking life? Without identity, emotions or conscience? How could it be otherwise.
And yet he had heard Riley’s report, detected the puzzlement the young man had felt over this creature’s apparent self sacrifice. Could a simple programming error account for its irrational behaviour? Perhaps. Indeed it seemed the most likely, the only rational explanation. Yet some doubt lingered at the back of Hank's mind.
*Have we finally overstepped ourselves? We scientists have become so used to pushing back the limits of the possible that sometimes we forget why those limits were there.*
He looked down at the artificial man struggling back to some form of life on the operating table. *We do so love to play God. Now we have begun taking on the most basic of his prerogatives. Creating beings in our own image.
But are we ready to assume the responsibility that comes with it?*
A sudden movement of the hitherto motionless left arm caught him by surprise, fingers creeping slowly towards the small soldering iron he had been working until it was grasped and crushed in the strong hand. *So, now you have power, let us see how you shall use it. *
Lights flashed throughout the robots exposed circuits, a visual indication of its returning strength. The red eyes blazed once more, consciousness seeming to gather behind the glowing orbs. Hank remained unmoving as the creature took stock of its situation, yet he was alert, waiting for the first sign of encroaching trouble, ready to intervene and shut it down should this prove necessary.
Finally the heavy left arm was raised the index finger pointing towards a computer screen while a section of the chest cavity opened up revealing another impressive array of circuitry.
The gesture was self explanatory *So you would like a lifeline would you. Well that’s to be expected. And it seems that you have put yourself at my mercy at least for the time being. But then in your present condition could you do anything else. Still your intentions do not seem to be belligerent so lets give you the benefit of the doubt.*
*I only hope I don’t live to regret this. though if you suddenly spring to life hale and hearty, all guns blazing it may just be that I don’t live at all! Oh well, lets do what I knew I was going to do from the minute I laid eyes on you.*
With just the trace of a sigh at his own temerity, Hank found the appropriate cable and connected the robot's circuits to the computer and through it to the central electricity supply. Then he sat back and waited for the show to begin.
Re: New Awakening
upon connection to the console he felt the electricity supply signalling that he was able to drop the soldering iron, with a sharp movement he let it fall to the floor. it was time for some questions to be answered, Within a few seconds he began to transfer data from his memory to the computer, streams of seemingly incomprehensible data scrolled across the screen.
less than a miniute later the scrolling data came to an end before the screen went blank, a command box appearing with a prompt demanding security clearance. Slowly asterisks appeared where T1 filled in the password, upon finishing the screen changed again to the one that the initiative normally saw through their transmittor, the wireframe image showing the damage sustained.
data began streaming through the main box as he searched for files, eventually he found what he was after, the school's files.. from the initiatives point of view. quickly he ran through a list of known person's within the school, first momentarily stopping on Xavier's file, there was a picture in the top right corner, he'd highlighted part of the summary
Xavier:
"Leader of the terrorist group known as the X-men, this highly dangerous mutant presides at a terrorist training camp operating under the guise of a school for gifted youngsters.. this is just a disguise however for the real purpose of this facility where he trains up young hostiles to battle readiness"
"It is clear to the commanding officers that there is only one reason why he is building this army of freaks... to take control of this country and destroy all which we are sworn to protect"
below this there was a list of crimes that he was supposed to have commited, mainly terrorist activity, and his entire life history, but that wasn't really importaint for the moment. He opened another file over this one, it had a picture of Hank, before and after he had fur, once again it had information on his life, but again that was unimportaint to T1, instead he'd highlighted parts of the extensive summary
Hank McCoy:
"Ruthless demonic killing machine, strong enough to rip a man apart with his bare hands, it is clear that he is not human in any sense of the word, shows no remorse when fighting"
"Member of the terrorist group the 'X-Men' he both aids in the training of demonic lifeforms and the slaughtering of innocent's.. is believed to be insane"
they were just a couple of snippets of what was written on both of them, and none of it was very nice, in fact all the files portrayed the people of the school as being terrorist lunatics who killed people for fun. He tilted his head to look at Hank, "is this true" his artificial voice sounded human, even though the accent was a little exaggerated, he needed to know wether what the initiative said was true.. any of it, they had lied so much in the past and his observations of the school didnt show any of this Demonic activity, even now his sensor array showed the blue furry creature perched on top of him to be human.. in fact there was very few demons in the entire place.
Re: New Awakening
As soon as the connection was made the computer screen sprang to life. *Good At least the possibility of some form of communication seems to have been established* Hank thought to himself. *Now to see what we can learn from each other.*
He waited patiently as the data flowed across the screen, noting with interest and some measure of concern the demand for password and subsequent accessing of the initiatives files.
*So he’s tapping into someone’s secret resources. I only hope he is not transmitting details of his present position to them. Dr McCoy sometimes you should think more about the possible consequences of your actions and less about their scientific interest. Either we have just gained access to an important new source of information or we have been irremediably compromised. Only time will tell.*
Suddenly the screen filled with what was obviously part of an extensive file on Prof Xavier. Hank felt his anger rising as he read the twisted vision of the Professor’s life which the computer now displayed. Certainly it was not the first such calumny he had read on the subject of the X Men but that did not make it any easier to accept.
Terrorist! Hostile! Freaks! The same words and the same lies they had used for the past twenty years. Surely those writing this report must have realised that if taking over the country had been the real aim of the mutants trained at the Institute it would have been achieved long ago. Their hatred of all that was different permeated the words, the claim of terrorist activities a paltry excuse to justify an unjust war against everyone who did not conform to their limited definition of normality.
By the time his own file replaced the professor’s Hank knew more or less what to expect. Still the viciousness of the accusations stunned him. He knew what he now looked like , was used to people’s first reaction to him being one of fear and misgiving. But to hear himself described as an inhuman killing machine, hit him harder than he would have believed possible .
"Is this true?" The robotic beings question hung in the air as Hank thought of an adequate way to answer it. Every part of him wanted to reply with equal simplicity "‘No! Never! This is not how things are! Nor how they have ever been!."
But he knew that this was not enough. The reports were more than just outright lies, being instead laced with a perverted version of the truth that had to be faced and repudiated. *They already know so much about us and about the Institute. That in itself is worrying. And it is this knowledge that allows them to twist facts to fit their own distorted version of our activities.*
Hank swung down and seated himself once more on the chair beside the operating table his yellow eyes scant inches from the robots questioning red ones.
"This place where you now find yourself is, as you have rightly surmised, Professor Charles Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters. Charles opened it over twenty years ago with the intention of giving young mutants a safe place where they could come to complete their academic studies and more importantly to learn how to control their mutant powers. I was one of his first pupils and can assure you that we have never indulged in terrorist activities of any sort. However I will not deny that we teach our youngsters how to fight."
"It is a sad necessity in a world which considers mutants to be somehow excluded from even the most basic human rights. There are those who kill mutants for fun, who think nothing of kidnapping them and using them in the most base experimentation, who look on them as a pariah to be eradicated at all cost. At least our pupils are able to defend themselves against such treatment."
"As for the X men." Hank paused before continuing. *It seems he already knows of our existence. Denying it would be pointless. At least he should have our side of the story.*"Let us just say that there are threats out there which cannot be dealt with by conventional methods. The object of the X men is to protect both mutants and humans alike from these dangers."
"Now for myself, I must say that find your description far from flattering. It is undeniable that I am strong enough to do as they claim and also that I have spent many years learning the art of combat. However I have never in all that time intentionally killed anyone. I am a doctor and a scientist and as such am committed to preserving life not to taking it. It is difficult to reconcile the indiscriminate slaughter of innocents with such a philosophy. Though I suppose I might manage it if I was, as they claim, insane."
Hank smiled slightly as he continued "Although I may leave you to make up your own mind on that last point. There are doubtless those who would argue that activating you was not exactly the act of someone in full possession of their senses. Nor would it seem altogether logical for me to be justifying my intrinsic humanity to a mechanical construct. However the fact that you can even question the veracity of this data confirms me in my impression that you are more than you seem."
"So tell me, given the information you have processed, do I meet your expectations?"
Re: New Awakening
His mechanical eyes adjusted their focus as the doctor moved closer, the red glow changing size briefly before returning to normal, focusing was not usually a problem as he could see a large area clearly but at lower power he was unable to spare enough to sharpen the entire image.
"This place where you now find yourself is, as you have rightly surmised, Professor Charles Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters. Charles opened it over twenty years ago with the intention of giving young mutants a safe place where they could come to complete their academic studies and more importantly to learn how to control their mutant powers. I was one of his first pupils and can assure you that we have never indulged in terrorist activities of any sort. However I will not deny that we teach our youngsters how to fight."
it was what T1 had hoped would happen after giving out the initiative's version of the truth, he wanted to know was wether or not his own observations were true or not. Twice he had been within the walls of the school and never had he found any evidence to indicate the levels of violence and danger outlined in the initiative's reports, and now the doctor was basicaly telling him what he had recorded himself in files that were hidden deep within his memory banks, these were his own personal files of things he had learnt by himself, data that the initiative had no knowledge about.
"It is a sad necessity in a world which considers mutants to be somehow excluded from even the most basic human rights. There are those who kill mutants for fun, who think nothing of kidnapping them and using them in the most base experimentation, who look on them as a pariah to be eradicated at all cost. At least our pupils are able to defend themselves against such treatment."
it sounded like a description of the initiative, he could detect the deep feeling in Hank's voice as he spoke.. it semed that this subject was of great importance to him. "As for the X men. Let us just say that there are threats out there which cannot be dealt with by conventional methods. The object of the X men is to protect both mutants and humans alike from these dangers." the doctor's voice continuing registered and he put his analisis on hold, what he had just said seemed of little sense to the logic of his artifical mind, he made a note to question about it later, and though the list of questions was growing larger by the miniute this one was going to be the first.
"So tell me, given the information you have processed, do I meet your expectations?"
there was silence for a momment as he processed all the information that had been said, reecoprding the most important parts to his long term memory and discarding the bits in between. "No.." the answer was a little blunt, but truthfull, he was after all incapable of lying, he hadn't really seen much of the doctor's behavior of which to analise "to perform a proper analisis would take more data"
he paused for a second "why do you protect those who seek to destroy you" more bluntness, though he was having too much trouble trying to work it out on his own, it had no logical explanation whatsoever and interested him.
A warning flashed across his vision as the damage report was run through his system, the initiative link had been severed "they will be looking, it wont take long before they look here" he knew the protocol's for lost agent's, he had seen them do it so many times already, especially if they were considered as being rogue. "They will not allow technology to fall into enemy hand's.. i am unable to self terminate, you should probably destroy what you can"
he had run a risk assessment, the destruction of himself was the only feasible option in his current state to protect the school from any offensive action the initiative may attempt "i pose too much of a threat to this place like this"
Re: New Awakening
OOC Wow Hank got all philisophical on me! It's not my fault!
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"No. To perform a proper analysis would take more data"*Direct and to the point* Hank thought *but then I could not have expected anything else. It is almost exactly what I feel about him. Perhaps we can learn about each other as we learn from each other.*
"why do you protect those who seek to destroy you?" Now that was an interesting question . *Although what is more interesting is his reason for asking it in the first place. Is it simply that such a course action does not enter into his logic schema and therefore demands an explanation or does he seek the moral reasoning behind such a viewpoint."
Hank shook his head wryly *Or am I too anxious to see something more than a machine in this creature I have, for better or for worse, brought back to life. Something that can justify my fascination with a instrument of destruction that has already brought sorrow and suffering to two of the children I am sworn to protect?*
"they will be looking, it wont take long before they look here" Hank broke of from his thoughts *They?* Could it be that the robot was about reveal who was behind the attack?
"they will be looking, it wont take long before they look here They will not allow technology to fall into enemy hand's.. I am unable to self terminate, you should probably destroy what you can I pose too much of a threat to this place like this"
Hank looked at the mechanical man in surprise. This was the second time he had seemed willing to sacrifice his own existence in order to save others, putting their safety before his own .
Riley’s report had clearly stated that the damage Hank had so recently repaired had been self inflicted, done by the robot to prevent himself causing any more harm to the two young people he had apparently been programmed to attack. What overpowering necessity had allowed him to override that programming, to put himself in danger? And was the real tragedy not that such a supreme effort on his part had ultimately been unable to prevent the death of Catherine’s unborn child?
Hank closed his eyes briefly, choosing his words carefully before speaking. "I think that first I should answer your question, not that it is easy to answer for it is a question that each one of us here has asked themselves many times."
He paced the room seeking a way to express all that he felt in a way the robot could assimilate. "As a doctor here I have seen the cruelty with which some people treat mutants, using children for experimentation, little caring the pain and suffering they inflict upon them in the name of science or progress or simply in their quest for power."
"And there have been many times my friend when I have been sorely tempted to say ‘These people do not deserve to live’, to take it upon myself to chastise them for the good of all and the protection of those I hold dear." Hank sighed thinking of the long years he had spent as an X man , of al the injustice he had witnessed
"The fact is that the majority of humans fear us because they do not understand us, because they see our powers and think that we must surely pose a threat to all those who do not possess them. These fears are easily exploited by those who would keep us in banished to the fringes of accepted society forced to flee and hide rather than take our rightful place as an integrated part of that society working side by side with humans to everyone’s mutual benefit. If we fight fire with fire taking the battle to our enemies we can be more readily portrayed as wild beasts or killing machines in the eyes of the public".
*A Beast and a killing machine is not that how the mysterious they that lie behind your creation have labelled us? Can you be brought to see that we do not conform to their vision of what we are? *
"And above and beyond the practicalities or political implications of our actions lie the moral issues. It is important each thinking being recognises the notion of right and wrong and strives to live by these guidelines. There are those who think that mutants are not deserving of even basic human rights. Whatever their so called philosophical justification the persecution of others just because they are different is wrong. "
"But indiscriminatingly exterminating those who seek to destroy us would also be morally wrong. We must not permit them to pull us down to their level, to make us less than we are" Hanks eyes reflected the sadness he felt as he continued. "It is not always easy, indeed sometimes it is beyond our bearing, but we still strive to uphold certain standards, even if others tend to abandon them."
Hank smiled apologetically at the robot who regarded him so attentively "Forgive me for sounding pompous but it is subject which as a doctor is very dear to my heart. The sanctity of life, all life!"
"It is one of the great joys of my existence as an X man to have been given the rare privilege of encountering many different forms of life. I have frequented alien races, vampires, even demons and found good and bad in all of them. The bounds of my credibility have been tested and not found wanting . Even such entities as I had almost foresworn when a child such as fairies have come to me and become my friends. I frequent on a daily basis those who can converse freely with not only animals but also plants and spirits; the diversity of life delights and astounds me constantly and I am not ready to abandon it."
"Which is why I say to you here and now that I will not destroy the spark of life that is in you without a fight. I doubt that your makers would have anticipated the possibility of someone being able to deactivate their little tracking device."
Again Hank smiled this time a hint of mischief in his grin. "Without wishing to appear immodest there are very few beings on the planet who could have done so and remained unscathed. I rather think that your mysterious masters will come to the conclusion that you have perished in the line of duty, another casualty of their senseless war".
Hank was suddenly serious again , striving to make the being in front of him appreciate the importance of what he was about to say.
"And even if that were not the case you would not be the first person to come here with a heavy past and the possibility of bringing difficulties to the institute. . We may not actively seek out our enemies to destroy them but we are not without the means to defend ourselves. And those who seek protection within our walls."
Hank sat back down beside the prostrate robot looking intently into the glowing eyes. "For the moment you are unable to protect yourself, due to conscious actions on your part. Actions taken if I am not mistaken with the intent to preserve the lives of those you were sent to attack."
"Therefore I have taken upon myself the responsibility to bring you back to life in the full knowledge of what you have done in the past, of the harm you have already caused to certain of the students here. If I did not believe that you did these things against your will I would have destroyed you as you lay helpless on the operating table thus eliminating any threat you may have posed to this place."
"Every conscious being has the right to change. I you have the desire to do so know that I will be her to help you in whatever way I can. The past cannot be undone but the future is as yet unwritten. I would not deprive you of the opportunity to experience it."
Re: New Awakening
T1 lay quietly as the doctor talked, his explanation of the X-Men’s actions was noted into the robots memory banks, it seemed an important part in the describing of this group of mutants. It seemed to him that some of the description of atrocities carried out upon mutants.. the “little caring the pain and suffering they inflict upon them in the name of science” was an accurate description of the actions of the Initiative, it was a point he would have liked to mention but for some reason he was unable to.
“if we fight fire with fire taking the battle to our enemies we can be more readily portrayed as wild beasts ore killing machines in the eyes of the public”
What the doctor said was true.. Even the initiative knew this, it is why they hid behind all the disguises, why he was made to look so human, to keep the public from seeing what they themselves were doing to the mutants as this could cause sympathy for the enemies cause. But all they had ever said was lies.. They had tricked him into believing innocent people were hostiles, then when he realized this they tried to destroy him, tried to reprogram him like they had with so many Agent’s before.
He noticed a sudden change in Hank’s voice and posture, a seriousness obviously designed to make a person concentrate on what he was saying, a sort of emphasis on a fact, though it didn’t really matter that T1 wasn’t looking at him, everything he said was being processed and analised even if the robot was doing something else at the time.. Such was the complexity of his systems. Again he processed the information given and filed it accordingly, he could tell that he would be able to learn a lot from this place, they seemed to share knowledge more readily than those at the initiative.. the scientists and doctors there didn’t deem any of this necessary.
“every conscious being has the right to change. I you have the desire to do so know that I will be her to help you in whatever way I can. The past cannot be undone but the future is as yet unwritten. I would not deprive you of the opportunity to experience it.”
Questioningly he rose one eyebrow, it was part of his fake humanity that he couldn’t avoid “you must be mistaken” his voice came out slowly as if he was having trouble processing the last sentence “surely I do not have any right’s, I am a construct designed merely to perform task’s for my human masters” he paused to try to comprehend wether or not the doctor believed he was entitled to rights of any kind “I do not believe they wanted me to…” again he paused, searching for the right words “…Think”
He moved his head to look directly at The mutant, there was something that he had wanted to ask the scientists back at the initiative labs but he was sure that they would not have understood, perhaps this doctor could help “sometimes when I…” he paused searching for the human word to adequately describe what he wanted to say “…Sleep, I have strange thoughts..” he thought that it must seem a stupid thing for a robot to say, he decided that he must currently be feeling embarrassment, perhaps it would explain it better if he showed him, as he searched through his memory he gestured towards the computer screen he was attached to
He was standing in a garden, the green grass stretched for a good few meters before stopping at a flowerbed, the multitude of flowers cascading downwards from the plants to the floor, small insects moved through the air from plant to plant, he looked around, there were many more flowerbeds like this one around the grass. In the center of the lawn was a pair of chairs, arranged neatly under a parasol so as to shield them from the sunlight. One of the chairs was empty, in the other sat a woman though he couldn’t see her face as she was sat looking away from him, she was looking at two children playing on the grass in front of the chairs.. they looked happy.
A voice suddenly cut in sharply “Unit T1 Report To The Center” the image disappeared quickly, he opened his eyes and the lab shot into focus, a man dressed in white was looking intently at some mechanical object on a desk in front of him, it looked like some sort of gun…
The picture cut off sharply, as if something had just noticed that he was doing something he shouldn’t and pulled the plug.. the robot once more looked directly at Hank “what does this mean” he was blunt, he didn’t mean to be blunt though, but he hadn’t been taught about rudeness or anything like that
Re: New Awakening
The robot turned to look at him a quizzical expression on its face. Once again Hank marvelled at the complexity of the being before him, so human in its appearance and mannerisms.
*Did they build it too well?* he asked himself*Does the resemblance run deeper than mere programming can account for?*
"Surely I do not have any right’s," the voice too, previously so sure and certain in its intonation was hesitant, questioning, as it continued. "I am a construct designed merely to perform task’s for my human masters."
*How dare we do such things* Hank thought bitterly, *we scientists always pushing at the boundaries of what is possible. Having abolished slavery from our lands do we now wish to reinstate it via our own creations?I am no better in amny ways. I did not ask his permision before forcably resurrecting him here int his place. Playing God simply because i could*
"I do not believe they wanted me to…” again the tell tale pause, the quest for adequate expression, "think”
*Of course not. Why would they grant freedom of thought to a creature they had designed only to serve?*
But still the fact remained that this being had escaped from the confines of his own imposed restrictions, had indeed by some miracle crossed the boundary which separated the machine from the sentient being. Cogitos ergo sum Descartes had theorised, I think therefore I am.
It was a definition of consciousness, of existence which was as valid today as it had been all those centuries ago. *And if indeed thought does define existence, then this creature is surely alive, even if it is a form of life that has hitherto been unrecognised.*
“sometimes when I…“…Sleep, I have strang thoughts..” the artificial human continued, choosing its words carefully as if constructing some elaborate but infinitely fragile puzzle. Seemingly shamed by its inability to adequately describe the experience the robot gestured imperatively towards the computer screen.
"My God" Hank breathed as the scene unfolded.* It dreams! *T
here was no doubt in his mind as to what was playing out on the screen before him. The implications of what he was witnessing were far reaching and ultimately irrefutable. The so called’ creature’ possessed the basic human need to work out its problems and confront its fears in the unfathomable depths of its subconscious mind. It not only thought on a rational level but also operated on the lower instinctive planes of creation and imagination.
“What does this mean” The question hung in the air between them. The answer could change both their existences.
Hank drew a breath struggling to put into words the enormity of what had just been revealed. "
"Before we go any further," he said "I would like to remind you that despite all the false hoods that may have been told about me in your files there remains one thing on which everyone agrees. I am a scientist, just as those who created you are scientists. And as such I apply certain rules, certain unchanging criteria to any experiment or observation that may be presented to me. Yet beneath it all I am still a man with a mans weaknesses and a mans sometimes illogical desire to believe the unbelievable."
Hank ran his hands through the thick fur that covered his head as he tried to convey to the mechanical man the importance of what he was trying to say.
"When I first saw you, when I read the rapport of what you had done, of how you had tried to end you own existence in order to protect others I was intrigued both as a scientist and as a man. The scientist saw a wonderful machine, a beautiful construction to be admired for its perfection and its efficiency."
"The man wanted to see more, to believe in the circumstantial evidence that seemed to indicate conscious thought behind the seeming sacrifice that you had made. I admit that I reawakened you more out of curiosity than of a scientific train of thought. I could have removed the tracking device, disarmed the bomb and left you inert on the table. After the tragic events that your attack had provoked it would indeed have been the logical thing to do."
"And yet I could not bring myself to do it. Deep inside I wanted to believe that you had somehow transcended the limitations imposed upon you by your programming and become something more than a mere machine. At that point I had no scientific evidence to back such a preposterous theory but now……… "
Hank looked deeply into the robots eyes, striving to hold its attention as he would have any other of his patients.
"One of the first things you did when you awoke was to offer to let yourself be destroyed rather than to bring harm to the Institute. Perhaps this seemed a logical, cold blooded action to you, but for me it confirmed my initial reading of the situation You provided me with the proof the scientist needed to sustain the mans belief."
"And now you have given me this" he indicated the now blank computer screen, his yellow eyes shining as he continued. "What you have shown me here, what you experience when you sleep, for have no doubt that you do indeed sleep , is nothing less than a dream."
"It is something that only sentient beings are capable of doing. Living beings endowed with emotions too complex to be fully assimilated during waking hours."
"You ask me if you have rights and I say that you live in a world where people fight to defend the rights of animals, the rights of unborn children even perhaps one day the rights of mutants."
"Your dreams prove that you are alive even in the demanding scientific sense of the word. So therefore as a scientist, presented with the cold facts I am forced to say yes you have the same rights as any living entity . As a man I say welcome to the world! You already know my name I would be honoured to know yours."
Re: New Awakening
ooc: humbly apologises for the delay.. and the length of the post
A dream… he processed it for a while, the thoughts did certainly fit in the same category as dreams, though it should be impossible… he did not understand how it could happen as he was not programmed to do such a thing, and all this talk of him being alive seemed to throw his logical thinking systems into confusion.
“my name” he paused for a while to search his own files… He didn’t really have a name, not a normal human one anyway “Tactical Unit 101, or Unit T1. The number is my serial number” he indicated to the battery cover, inside a number was moulded into it, the words property of the US government underneath in tiny letters “the first attempts failed because of structural failure, its why they had to seek outside collaboration for the Adamantium” suddenly he went silent, unable to continue his sentence as the programming detected the chance of him mentioning the initiative.
He wished that he was able to move around instead of being reliant of external power, perhaps the doctor could sort that out, though he wasn’t too hopeful of getting any power supply as strong as the ones the initiative put in him, they were specially made and didn’t come cheap. Lying on the table in silence he directed power from some of the functions he wasn’t using at the moment to allow himself to repair the external damage to his skin.
Slowly but visibly the damaged skin on the side of his face began to regrow, covering the exposed metal of his skull, all over his form this began to happen, except for around his chest where the cables were, he thought that it was pointless doing this bit as he would probably require access to it for other repairs. Some of his scanners were a little damaged due to the lack of power… he would put the repair to work on those later, though it was not very advanced and could only do so much.
Re: New Awakening“My name…” the mechanical being seemed to have some difficulty dealing with the concept. It saddened Hank to see him struggle so. Any being capable of dreaming should have a name.
* Guess its up to me to do this* he thought to himself* It’s the least of my responsibilities.* *So* he said “Your name is T1 and I’m pleased to meet you.” He watched with increasing curiosity as the robotic man regenerated the skin on his damaged face. Not only intelligent but efficient he reflected. *The ghost may be in the machine but it is quite a machine.*
“And now I fear we must come down to more practical matters” Hank stated quietly. "I am aware of your need for a new source of power Indeed I realise now the full extent of the sacrifice you made during your encounter with Riley and Catherine.” *It is just a shame that it came too late* Hank thought sadly *So much suffering could have been avoided.*
“Rest assured that I shall do everything in my power to find you an alternate source of sustenance”, he continued “but as you must be well aware this will be no easy task. I fear that your movements will be restricted for quite some time to come. Perhaps you have some suggestion as to how this enforced rest could be most profitably spent?" he urged. "Alas I am not so familiar with your systems as to be able to propose anything other than some hopefully helpful suggestions.”
"Also …."here Hank hesitated, unsure how to broach the subject which after all lay at the heart of the controversy which T1s eventual integration into the institute was bound to provoke, "there’s is the matter of your presentation to the students to be taken into account."
"I do not know how much of the confrontation between yourself and Riley you remember but it is certain that it will make things difficult, at least in the beginning."
"Rest assured" he hastened to add, "your sacrifice was not in vain It almost certainly saved the lives of toe two young people involve. But what you may not know is that there was none the less a victim in the affair. "
It was hard to say, harder to admit. The sadness was still fresh in his mind. *God alone knows how it is for the Riley and Catherine* Hank thought. *The loss of a child, even an unborn one. Is there anything worse? How will this sentient machine react to the idea that he killed such an innocent. Still he has to be told and there is no one else to do it.*
"At the time of your attack Catherine, the young woman you shot was carrying Riley’s child. Unfortunately she miscarried." So few words to describe so great a tragedy. How easy it is to say and how hard to live with.
"I’m sure you realise how painful this has been for everyone concerned , yourself included no doubt, now that you are aware of the situation. I am sorry to have been the one to break the news to you but you had to know. You will appreciate that your arrival in the institute will have to be handled with care and tact especially where these two young people are concerned. Perhaps your period of inactivity could be seen as somewhat of a blessing in disguise" he continued "giving people time to come to terms with these tragic events."
"I will take it upon myself to explain your presence here to Riley and Catherine when the time comes. I am sure that given your attempts to overcome your programming they will understand your situation."
"You are welcome here, I want you to know" that Hank said seriously. "I have no intention of just leaving you lying here but will give you the same care and attention as I would give any one of my patients. I merely ask for your cooperation and discretion until I can find some means of restoring you to something approaching your full capacities. I would not have these unfortunate children hurt any more than they have already been And I’m sure you feel the same." Edited by: HankMcCoy13 at: 10/26/04 2:22 am
to T1 the concept of someone being pleased to meet him was a strange one... nobody had ever said that before, not the scientists and certainly not the demons he'd fought. He decided that it was a good thing, though had little idea of how to formulate a correct response, though perhaps someone here could teach him that sort of thing, the initiative didnt really think that communication skills were necesary for weapons.
the talk of alternate poower sources was interesting to him also, the programs within him designed to gather as much information as possible wanted to know more.. did they have the capability to create the kind of power source that he needed, as far as he was aware the initiative were the only ones who had harnessed the volatile radioactive material and made it safe to use in power supplies. this fact he did doubt though, for being connected to their computer and power system he couldnt detect a drain as much as would be caused by such equipment, though there was a machine other than him which required a lot of power.
"your sacrifice was not in vain It almost certainly saved the lives of toe two young people involve. But what you may not know is that there was none the less a victim in the affair. At the time of your attack Catherine, the young woman you shot was carrying Riley’s child. Unfortunately she miscarried."
On hearing the doctors summary of what must have been a much more complex event the robot detected something strange about himself, what was happening he could only guess was the feeling of sadness... though this meant nothing to him at the moment.. he had taken an innocent life. upon thinking more about the events of that day some grey area's had been removed, after all the death of the child would account for him detecting the termination of a lifeform.. something which was a little confusing when he discovered that the woman he thought had died was still alive.
"I.." he didnt know what to say, he had taken an innocent life, it was something that would probably have been written off by the initiative as a necessary sacrifice, but to him it was a major thing "i tried to warn them.. she..." again he broke off, unable to formulate the words, instead he gave up on trying to listen to the doctor.
What Hank was saying seemed the most logical thing to T1 now, it was best that he stayed here away from Riley and Catherine, though he had a strange desire to explain his side of the story to them.. "I was originally trying to help them.." as he recalled the events that led up to the shooting short video clips unwittingly flashed across the screen as they prompted his memory systems "It was not supposed to turn out like this.." again he fell silent, perhaps it was better if he didnt say anything at all.
Re: New Awakening
The robots voice was hesitant, the sentences broken and fragmented as it spoke of the shooting. If it had been a human in front of him Hank would have said they were shaken, saddened by the tragedy that had occurred. Even now his gut feeling told him this was the correct interpretation of T1’s reaction. None the less, the scientist in him drew his eyes to the computer system, monitoring any power fluctuations that could have been responsible for the change in speech patterns. There were none. He hadn’t really expected there to be.
Sputtering images of violence traversed the screen, like so many laser blasts, obviously leaking from the robots brain. Hank tried not to watch them, feeling like a voyeur before T1’s obvious loss of control.* I wonder if this is how Talia feels in med lab when peoples sickness leads to the weakening of their natural mental barriers?* he asked himself. *I realise now how difficult and intimate a sensation it can be.* Still the few glimpses he had caught seemed to register a common theme. Regret coloured the sad little scenes and permeated the robots artificial voice.
Already Hank was convinced of the metal beings capacity for complex emotional reactions. *He has shown me curiosity, self sacrifice and the ability to dream. Surely remorse is not too hard to believe?* He hoped that others would be similarly convinced by T1’s repentance.
Whichever way he looked at it, it was not going to be easy to convince people that keeping this potentially lethal ‘machine’ in the school was a good idea, although he was sure that he would manage to persuade the older members of the community to accept his judgement on the matter. With Riley and Catherine it would undoubtedly be more difficult. He knew he could impose T1’s presence upon them but doing so risked to alienate the troubled youngsters, adding more pain to their already heavy lot. No it would have to be done with tact and consideration and even then the consequences were difficult to foresee.
*And yet something tells me that T1 is worth all the effort.*Hank thought determinedly.* He will not be the first amongst us to have been programmed to act against his own profound nature. The incident with the wraiths should have shown us that no one is safe from such insidious possession. The only problem is convincing people that he does in fact possess a personality, independent of the mechanical components that make up his physical being. The ‘small still voice of conscience.’ *
As the silence lengthened Hank looked across at the still figure of the robot.* Surely the best way for me to argue his case is by understanding it* he thought to himself. *And there is only one way I can do that!*
"I realise that this is a difficult subject for you T1" he said quietly "but if you would like to talk about it I would be glad to listen. There are two sides to every story and it may help if you told me yours."
Re: New Awakening
His side of events… The robot wondered where to start, from the time the override kicked in, or before, the events leading up to it.. The reason the initiative decided to take control of the situation, but that led to one major problem.. he was unable to mention the initiative. How was he going to be able to explain himself believably without actually telling the doctor what had happened, but part of him could not understand why the doctor would disbelieve him, after all what reason would he have for lying, the risk of being found to be lying was too great to even consider doing such a thing.
After careful, yet quick consideration he decided that it was probably best to just tell as much as he could “they kept it secret for so long… the reprogramming was wrong, I found out by mistake when they sent me after him… his picture… it was present on more than one file, they obviously overlooked it. At first I was confused, assuming it to be some admin error, but that was not enough, I had to find out more… I recalled the events in the room when they took them before, what the woman said to her in the chair…” he realized that he probably didn’t make any sense but it was all that his restricted systems could allow, his voice slow and purposeful continued “so I began to spy on them to find the truth, and when I did I couldn’t let it go on… how could I believe anything that they had said? That’s when I began to cross-reference the files on the school with my own data… nothing seemed to fit, none of what they had said made logical sense”
Images of the events he described flashed through his mind as he searched his memory and spoke “The woman was suspicious from the start… I couldn’t let it happen, they were manipulating him… and her, I took the files, I had to show him, warn him of what they were planning. As I tried to leave they asked for a permit for using the bike, I hit him and rammed the barrier… it was not logical to do so, but I couldn’t help It.” Running over the past made it all come back to him, something that could be vaguely described as anger was occurring within him at the thought of what the initiative were doing to their own “I was halfway here when it happened.. suddenly I couldn’t move and lost control of the vehicle, crashing into the barrier, from then it becomes fragmented, the security override taking control of all motor and sensory array’s.. but I managed to gain visual and vocal functions by bypassing it… but it was too hard to get anything more… I couldn’t stop them, they made me…”
He stopped talking, the doctor knew the rest and it was becoming hard for him to keep the words from becoming distorted due to the sudden surges of power induced by these new and unknown stimuli within his mechanical mind, he decided it was best to stop, his tightly clenched fist was loosened slowly.
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