>//: Light. As he opened his eyes, he was bombarded with flashing, blinking, bright lights. As he sat up his first thought was Where am I? a room.Blown apart by an explosion, by the look of things. How did I get here? he tried to remember, but nothing came. Wait... who am I? He looked down at his feet, but they looked... odd. Two heavy metal toes connected to wickedly sharp claws. Come to think of it, what am I? he slowly stood up. That's odd, he thought. what's that whirring noise? Servomotors. His brain replied. Whining due to heavy damage, probably from the blast. How did I know that? His brain didn't reply. he slowly lurched towards the door, the bare floor creaking as his metal claws dug into the woodwork. He paused with his hand on the door, noticing that his hand seemed too large for the handle. when he tried to turn the handle, it refused to move, breaking off in his hand. He dropped the broken piece and examined his hand closely. His palm was made of the same material as his feet. In fact, is whole body was covered with the matte red-brown metal. as he turned over his hand, he saw the large, complex machines covering the back of his fist and on the tips of his fingers. As he brought his hand closer, the machines suddenly lit up with an orange outline. "What is that?" he said out loud, then jumped as a slightly robotic female voice replied, "It's a mega-fist, equipped with finger lasers, a flamethrower tube, and breaching charges."
He looked around, then said "Who are you? Why can't I see you?"
The voice replied, "My name is Vera, short for Variable Engagement Response Assembly."
"So why can't I see you?"
"The short answer is that i'm a part of your armor's software, and I don't have enough power to produce a hologram. In fact, i'm running very low on power, so make it quick."
"Okay... Who am I?"
"You have amnesia, so I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Your instructions. I can only tell you to find the gatekeepers."
He inhaled deeply, keeping in his frustration. "can you at least tell me my name?
Vera hesitated, then gave a static-filled sigh. "Your name is... Omega." the name seemed to fit somewhere in Omega's mind. He looked around, rolling the name around in his head. "Vera, where am I?"
"you're in the desert, in a town called *kssshhh*"
Vera's voice dissolved into static and omega screamed "Vera!"
"I'm... still here..." Vera said weekly, "I'm not... going to last much longer..."
Omega frantically looked around for anything that could be a source of life-giving power for Vera. "Hang on, Vera. It's going to be okay." Then his gaze fell upon the machines on his fingers. LASERS! He thought. They must hold a lot of power, up a lot of power... providing they haven't been fired yet... "Vera?"
"Yes... Omega?"
"Can you take power from the lasers on my hands?"
"I... think so..."
A diagram appeared, a battery icon slowly draining into a box labeled "AI Power System." Omega waited until the box was completely filled, then said "Better?"
Blue numbers and symbols scrolled rapidly across omega's vision, then Vera replied "Yes. Much better. you just saved my life." Suddenly, Omega felt an electric tingle across his body, and he somehow knew more about Vera. "But don't you have backup data stored somewhere safe in case of a power loss?"
Vera remained silent for a few seconds, then said, "I am a transferable AI,but I don't have backup files. I'm a prototype, only designed to test a new set of programs... then be destroyed to retrieve the beneficial effects."
"So... what were you testing?"
"An individual personality algorithm, increased virtual memory storage, and an experimental system interface and acquisition program."
"Umm... basic, please?"
"It means that I've got a unique personality, I can remember everything, and I can transfer myself into anything I want."
Omega felt himself start to grin, then said "That should come in handy..."
Vera laughed. It was a pretty, musical laugh. For a moment, omega was felt as if he was transported to another time, another place, where everything was good, and he felt an odd peacefulness. Then the laughter stopped, he felt the heavy weight of purpose and determination descend upon him. "Alright, Vera. let's go. I want to find these gatekeepers you were talking about."
"Slow down, Omega!" Vera laughed again. "First, we need to get out of this building, then we need some kind of transportation. After that, you can worry about finding the gatekeepers."
"Okay... how do I get out of here?"
A targeting icon flashed in midair. No, not in midair, on your HUD. His mind told him. Omega found himself raising his arm, making a fist in the direction of the icon. Without thinking, Omega Blinked twice rapidly, and a square object shot out of the machine on the back of his hand. A red light appeared on the object, and Omega's HUD highlighted it, displaying a three-second countdown. Vera screamed "OMEGA! MOVE!" Just as the timer hit zero. omega heard a strangely muffled roar and the world went white. Then he felt himself flying backwards, repeatedly hitting something hard behind him. Then Omega slid to a stop as sparks and dark chunks passed through the white cloud enveloping his vision.
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