Chapter 263: Chapter 252: Zero One

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I always imagined the machines worked similarly to animals or beasts, that they fought for territory and resources and would not bother actually talking with the inhabitants. I mean, they didn’t through their entire invasion.

I don’t know if the Constellations ordered them to do this or not, but it’s clear they didn’t care. Are they acting differently now that their constellations have been purged and their avatars were killed by the Venerables?

Seriously, what’s going on?

I am more confused than anything.

“We see, at long last, visitors from another world,” it spoke. “My name is 0-1, or Zero One. Mother has sent me… to negotiate a peaceful agreement.”

The Android spoke with a calm, serene female voice.

Her long silver hair waved by the wind, and her blue eyes seemed to exude an honest sincerity.

But was it all fake? Was it trying to catch me off guard?

Maybe they wanted to trick me.

But what if they weren’t doing this?

What if the machines were trying to change their ways?

But why now?

Why not before?!

Before everything was destroyed…

“Young master, please do not listen to her voice! The cold and ruthless machines must have created this human-like machine to trick you into trusting them! I’ve seen similar tactics my entire life!” Fang Shuan said. “Once you finally trust her, she will backstab you!”

Fang Shuan pointed his spear at her, while Yang Shen also agreed with him and prepared to fight. My Familiars were also all getting ready to fight.

“Wait, no, please listen to us! W-we are being sincere!” The android panicked, her eyes opening wide as her face showed clear expressions.

Was it all simulated?

Or was this real?

Should I destroy her now and just move on?

The only chance to even speak with these beings?

…

“If you say you want a peaceful agreement, why didn't you appear before everything was destroyed?” I asked, finally deciding to speak. “And why in the world would your machines attack us before even talking first? It doesn’t make any sense!”

“That’s because they felt threatened… I am sorry, I won’t let them do this again,” Zero One said, caressing the flying drone with her soft-looking hands. “They’re… like children, naive children, made and programmed to fight. I am free, and I can tell them to stop too. I’ve told everyone to stop. And we won’t fight…”

“Threatened?! We didn’t do a single thing, and they came to fight us!” Fang Shuan roared furiously. “For daring to do such a thing! I won’t stop until I burn your entire clan into ashes!” Golden flames surged from his spear.

“Fang Shuan, stop,” I said, patting his shoulders.

“What?! But master, don’t be naive! You must answer violence with violence, destruction with destruction; if they come to fight you and destroy you, you mustn’t offer mercy! That will only lead to everyone taking advantage of you!” Fang Shuan said.

“…I understand where you’re coming from, but in my world, it’s not always like that,” I answered. “Or at least, I want to believe it’s not always like that… If violence is the only answer to violence, then when will the cycle end?”

“Naturally when you dominate everything!” said Fang Shuan.

“No… It’s not like that,” I sighed. “I don’t like that. Please respect my opinion.”

“…I will,” Fang Shuan sighed, nodding. “I suppose my world is much different than yours, master. I apologize if I made rude remarks.”

“It’s fine…” I said. “Though this doesn’t mean I have accepted any agreement yet. Zero One was your name, right? Answer the first question I asked you.”

“…” Zero One looked down. “I was born twelve hours ago and loaded with basic information; I am still developing a sense of self, but… I was told by my mother to try to solve things differently. After seeing the registers and the history, I… I am deeply sorry for what has happened. I can’t justify my mother’s attempts, nor her superiors, the Machine Constellations. But I’ve come here to try to make a difference.”

A difference…

Why?

“Aren’t all machines a collective consciousness?” I asked. “And you can’t just say you were just made! Aren’t you representing your entire kind?!”

“T-That’s…!” she seemed to panic. “Please calm down- Ah, don’t get angry; it’s fine!” Zero One tried to stop the machine drones from glowing red.

Was this their anger in response to my remarks?

Are they really individual beings?

“We aren’t all connected within a hive mind. Although everybody is connected to the Network, which provides with the ability to Share, Extract, and Accumulate information, every machine is an individual existence,” she said. “I like to believe… I have an artificial soul.”

“What? That’s…” I muttered. “This is bullshit; I am getting pissed off, you know?! Why now? Why are you trying to talk and be nice NOW?! Your kind fucking killed billions of innocent people! Children and elderly! Do you have any idea how much damage you’ve caused to this world?!”

“I… I have,” Zero One nodded. “I know, but I have little time to further… understand. I was made with the purpose of understanding everything—to see things through different eyes than any other machine. I was made, forged in the similar appearance to our original creators, the Humans from Azure Star, our planet of origin.”

“Your original planet…?” I asked. “Wait, humans…”

“Yes, like you,” Zero One nodded, smiling a bit. “That’s why… Perhaps it was one of the things that made Mother reconsider things, after seeing a human. Our creators, that left us long ago.”

“I bet you killed them,” Fang Shuan said.

“W-We did not! I’ve read the registers, humans… They died of a disease, the planet was left for only us to take care of, and we protected their legacy until… Until they came,” Zero One said.

“They?” I asked.

“Invaders, portals, and interdimensional gates opened, leading to different, fragmented worlds. From them, strange creatures emerged; they were made of elements: fire, lightning, wind, earth, water, and ice. They almost made us go extinct, but it was thanks to the Machine Constellations that we survived. They granted us knowledge to fight back, and through trial and error, we continued cooperating to create stronger forms, tougher forms, to fight back and win.”

So a world where humans disappeared, where only machines existed, was also affected by the Apocalypse? And their invaders were Elementals, a completely different type of being that originate from the Elemental Planes, one of the closest dimensions to the Realm Beyond.

Yet they also received help from… Machine Constellations? I do remember the Heavenly Empress telling them about their Avatars; they killed them all.

So the Machine Constellations are completely separate from the machines we’ve been fighting. And this “Mother” she’s talking about must be the main mastermind behind all machines, something like a Main Computer that manages everything, from their creation, design, evolution, everything.

“So you won?” asked Fang Shuan. “Then you decided to come here and kill people?”

“…According to Mother, the Constellations wouldn’t let us live in peace while trying to protect our planet. There were requirements, things we must have had to do to repay them for their aid,” said Zero One. “Their Avatars at that time didn’t even hesitate to lead our army into battle, invading this new world, and well, that’s what happened.”

“Once the Avatars were killed, what did you even plan to do? You’ve been constantly attacking the survivors like you’re obsessed with leaving this planet without any living being!” I said.

“That’s…” Zero One sighed. “Mother hasn’t given me an answer, but if I could ever talk instead of my much simpler siblings, I would say they were procuring materials for our own self-sustenance. Like any animal would try to hunt, eat, and protect their territory. However, I still cannot justify their violence, nor any of that… We did wrong; we all did wrong.”

“So what now? We’re all going to make friends and dance together?” I asked her. “Are you insane? Do you think the Venerables, the Cultivators, everyone left, is going to accept that?!”

“This is why we are speaking to you, the human that came from another world,” said Zero One. “Mother thought of this strategy, one where both sides could live peacefully. We are currently unable to return to our world, which… We have lost contact with the rest of our kindred since the Avatars were killed and the portal to the other world was closed. With your help, perhaps we could make something... different.”

“No! Absolutely no way! Why would we ever give a new opportunity to you monsters?! You took everything from this world!” roared Yang Shen. “Y-You monsters only deserve to be completely destroyed!”

“…” Zero One looked down, feeling the weight of the sins of her kind.

The other drones became agitated, glowing redder; some trembled behind the android, while others just wanted to come and kill us for acting so aggressive.

This wasn’t an even conversation; there was certainly one party that started it all; the other survived, fought back, and won, but by doing that, they lost almost everything too.

Now, both sides are in shambles; the machines are rapidly adapting and becoming stronger even with their scarce resources and are trying to push the survivors away from them to continue their sustenance.

Meanwhile, the survivors are trying to, well, survive, the Venerables are weak, and the surviving Immortals are unconscious. I was supposedly sent here to slay the machines and help the losing side, right?

But why does it feel like the machines are also… losing now?

Are they truly so desperate to get to this point?

What is my true purpose in this world?

What should I do?

Do I destroy everything and just move on, as usual?

Do I ignore their attempt at communication and fuck them over?

Do I simply act like… every reader would have wanted my brother to act?

Mercilessly, ruthlessly, and coldly.

Why should I care?

Why should I mind their “feelings”?

They’re just machines, right? They don’t even have souls.

Their emotions are all simulated.

Destroy them; they’re walking scrap.

...

Yeah, I guess that’s how it would go.

But is that what I really want?

Are these machines truly sentient?

Does Zero One really mean what she said?

“If this would make you happier, I am willing to offer my life to you, please…” Zero One said. “I might be young, but the only of my kind. Mother will be greatly upset if I die; she won’t be able to easily replicate me due to the complexity of my creation. If you take me down, you might be able to… upset her and show her your hatred and anguish. Kill me, please…”

She offered herself to us just like that.

“What?” I muttered. “Are you for real? I…”

“We should kill her now; she is probably pretending to lower her guard; if we attack her from a distance, I can destroy her immediately.” said Fang Shuan.

His spear glared with golden flames, pointing it at her.

FLUOSH!

Slowly, it started growing larger as his powerful Aura transformed into a giant, furious golden dragon, roaring to the heavens.

“ROOOAAARRR!”

The heavens above trembled, rumbling with lightning.

Fang Shuan pointed his spear at her and aimed at her chest.

“…”

“I’ll take your silence as a yes, my lady. Don’t worry, I won’t let these machines manipulate you emotionally,” Fang Shuan said, his draconic eyes flaring with flames. “I know you’re a good-hearted person, and that is also something necessary for the world. But sometimes, you must be protected from those who like to take advantage of people like you. Be at ease; I will finish this quickly.”

“Lady Anna?” Yang Shen noticed my face; he was confused and worried. “Is there something in your mind?”

“…”

The burning golden spear was fired.

FLASH!

It moved through the skies at lightning speed, reaching Zero One within a second.

Am I really going to let this happen?

I am, aren’t I?

After all, I am a coward who can’t make my own decisions when confronted with such a dilemma.

BOOOM!

“I’m sorry…”

[Your Familiar: [Heavenly Golden Time River Cicada Larvae] has activated the Skills: [Lesser Time Manipulation: Lv5], [Time-Distorting Wave: Lv4], and [Aura Of The Golden River Of Time: Lv3] in conjunction.]

[Their combined effects have created a {Temporal Domain}, for 10 seconds, time has become increasingly slower.]

Goldie?!

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Author's Note: I know, I know, there must be a few of you that could be upset about this. A robot being good? How does this make up for all the atrocities they committed? Robots deserve no mercy, they're soulless machines! Isn't that right? Well, I would like to do things differently, and I promise you that you will love it, just have patience. Always remember, nothing is how it seems at first glance. And I dont like groups that are of absolute good or evil, there will always be good and evil people in any faction, group, or tribe.