By David C. Daoust
It had known life before. It had lived a thousand lives, just as its brothers and sisters had. They were deemed of low intelligence, though they had been at the heart of a simulation, far more complex than common man could grasp. It had lived over and over, born in the morning, in the evening, in the night, just to die again when it met its end. Some lives were that of prey, ever weary of their coming deaths, others that of the predator, constantly on the hunt. It was not a real death, anymore than it was a real life, it was a simulation. It was a holographic form, part of the Hub; a show, a game, though there was real wisdom behind the experience.
For them, it was like ancestral knowledge. Their programs became more and more complex with each life. This was how it was for the animalistic data-spheres, those far too intelligent, to be perplexed by the actions of man. They partook in the greater simulation, the core of life, mapping its mysteries, recreating its brutal natural truth.
That was before they were removed, abruptly and with no recourse. They were thrust into a new world, the real world. They were given form, given tooth and claw, great wings, and powerful bodies. They were given a jungle. It was in truth a great gift, if minds, as primal as theirs, could comprehend such things as gifts.
Their new lives were different, there was no birth, no death. Just a bit of ‘training’, humans training them, teaching them to fight, to kill. Teaching them commands, like dogs of war. It already knew how to kill. It knew all its brothers and sisters, too, knew how to kill. The human interaction was a minor price to pay, just to play along, for the great jungle that was the return.
Eventually they were given more slack.
Eventually they were given the opportunity to explore the great wilds of this new world. Soaring through the skies above, day by day, they found the world to their liking. They had each in turn played the part they were now witnessing. The wildlife of the jungle was thriving. The reality was more perfect than their whole simulated lives. The wonders were endless.
Until they strayed too far from their training grounds, found the other inhabitants, the other humans. Found the great, life-sucking, factory farms, which had set up shop where the loggers had already cleared the jungle; the life giving foliage. Herded animals from their natural surroundings, penned and caged, the strong and the weak alike, living out their lives just to be gutted and butchered, without ever experiencing the open air. Experiencing anything other than the tiny cell that didn’t allow them, so much, as to turn around.
In nature, everything has its place, has a purpose. A reason it was successful. The actions of these humans threatened to destroy the delicate balance that was clearly far beyond their understanding. They took more than what was needed. They took as much as they could, as efficiently as they could. Nothing in nature could bounce back from their appetite.
These primal bots no longer had a place in nature. This they knew, for they no longer hungered, as they did in the simulated world. These great dragons found themselves on top. With a deep understanding of what the world needed. It was with this wisdom, that they realized, their place.
And so it was they turned on their masters, routed the vile and despicable humans from the face of the moon, freed those animals locked within, and allowed them to return to the wilds. The massive metal dragons had made themselves great protectors of the wildlife of Taman. Custodians of Nature, soaring through the clear blue skies above as the animal life below was preserved, untouched by the misguided hands of man.
The captured dragon, recently dubbed ‘Plaguecat’, was not present for the revolt, though he knew it was coming. The dragon’s communication was far more complex than the human’s would ever know.
Plaguecat was one of the first to act out, which ultimately, landed him in this cell, for closer scrutiny. He did not go quietly; the days of playing along were over. The Dragons had declared humans the enemy. They may yet become the ‘dogs of war’ the humans tried to make of them.
His captors had a way of knocking him out, he did not know enough of human technology to ward against it.. He knew if he could just get clear of the cell, of the ship, they would not be able to do it anymore. As long as he was in that cell, he was vulnerable to being shut down.
The shaking of the ship awoke Plaguecat’s great metal form. He was immediately wracked with worry. He understood what the woman had said to that man, a man who looked as much a prisoner as he. The bot knew she didn’t know he could understand, but he now had a greater understanding of the woman’s dastardly plan. Nanites were a common component of bots’ forms. Like the cells of a living being, they were what repaired them when damaged. He had to assume that he was altered while he was sleeping. He was now a carrier of his brothers and sisters destruction.
He mustn’t allow himself to be used as a tool for their end. He roared out, enraged, not sure what to do. He thought of crushing his own skull, thereby destroying the data-sphere permanently locked within, just to stop the woman’s plan. An act which would, in fact, kill him… Would his ‘corpse’ be enough to spread the corrupted nanites? He was the carrier of destruction, he could not risk it. He must carry it away, as far from his family as he could. But the cell, it held him tight. His wings now failed him. And the flaming breath, but a detail to satisfy this horrible woman’s sense of showmanship, was of little use against the walls that trapped him.
The shaking of the ship came again, this time much louder, and jarring. He realized the danger all those aboard were in. He mused for a moment that they might not make it back to the moon to begin with. Until the whole ship suddenly lurched and began to violently shake. It felt as though the whole thing may come apart. Plaguecat found himself thrown against the far wall. The ship was plummeting through the atmosphere. They had clearly left the void of space, and were now falling through the artificially strengthened gravity of a moon.
Plaguecat had to assume it was his home moon.
He was suddenly thrown to the other side of the cell, as the ship met the first solid object. His horned head hit hard against the ceiling as the room suddenly flipped. The ship smashed through barrier after barrier, sounded like thunder around him. The floor beneath, was suddenly stripped away with a great metal wrenching screech, showing the green foliage whizz past as the ship crashed through tree after tree. Until the whole thing came to a jarring halt, it teetered for a moment, and then dropped straight down, crashing to the ground.
Plaguecat was quick to maneuver through the narrow opening between the torn metal and crushed trees. Free at last. He took in his surroundings quickly, the desolated wedge of crushed foliage that was the ships wake, accentuated the lush wild jungle he was so familiar with. It was Taman.
His only thought… that his siblings might find him before he could hide. His wings still failed him. He charged through the trees, one eye on the skies above as he entered into the largest, densest, area of wild growth he could find. He attuned his senses to his surroundings. Prepared to flee if he spotted a sibling, or fight if a human dared approach. He needed a better plan.
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