Dream in the machine

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A small, makeshift city is on fire. Rebel humanoid borgs, barely equipped for fighting are scattering and attempting to make the slightest dent in the over whelming forces of Claw Robots and their commander, G Red.

One Claw Robot, gray in color, rusted with dull claws caked in dirt, wanders aimlessly in the carnage. Unlike his brothers he doesn't attack, merely blankly scanning what is going on. His head stops, two green eyes landing on a single, small girl borg in the middle of everything. G Red lands by her and raises a glowing hand. The green eyes widen slightly, brightening with awareness. Cumbersome and slow, the strange Claw Robot uses all of the power in it's thrusters to reach G Red and the girl borg but just as he's within range of saving her, the gl-

"Isaac. Isaac! Wake up. Come on, activate." The voice came from speakers outside of the stasis room, there was a small window and outside was a Build Robot and a Thunder Robot, monitoring screens just out of view. The Build Robot spoke once again through the speakers "The stasis is over, you're assigned to construction on the beta perimeter today, coordinates should have been uploaded to you recently." In response, Isaac stared into space for a few moments before standing up, and walking out of the room slowly, wires unhooking from the stasis device as he lumbered off.

Once the claw robot was gone, the thunder robot turned to his research partner. "So what's the point of his stasis anyway? Does it have something to do with his weird model?" He asked, scanning over the data on the screens.

"Nah, he has some processor issues. Isaac's a bit of a relic, maybe even one of the oldest Borgs in existence." The Build Robot began compiling the data into a crystal while he explained. "Oldest? As in.. Even before the protos?" Thunder asked, in awe of the very thought.

"According to the records in this lab, the first borg built by Emperor was a replicant, after that it was the first G Series borg and then a basic utility borg code name: Isaac. He's the prototype of Claw Robots." As the conversation went on, Build took the data crystal and started walking down a winding hall with Thunder. "Okay, that explains the processor issues. That's thousands of years we're talking about. So why haven't we deactivated him like the other protos?" Thunder asked again, trying to keep pace with his superior.

"You know the procedure here. We idolize the war heros, lay them to rest and we squeeze every last bit of work out of the dumber units." Build turned a corner and entered a data crystal storage facility. "That and he has processor abnormalities that are extremely complex. Claw Robots don't tend to have thoughts of real high magnitude so Isaac provides interesting research opportunities." Build places the crystal in a slot.

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"Alright, we need this wall cleared borgs. C'mon! We don't have all day. Isaac! Hey! You listening?..." These dull words echo from an Army Robot in Isaac's direction, falling into the void as the claw robot stands there staring into space.

G Red kneels before a monitor of a blurred unrecognizable face. "Sir, we've received reports of civilian unrest in southern Safari Town." Reports G Red, his head still bowed to the great face as he speaks. "Pity... Swift and decisive action as usual G Red. Take an excessive force. Make an example of them. No survivors." A deep voice spoke from the speakers of the monitor, filling the dim lab.

"Sir, we will have to make due with a merely adequate force. Most of your Machine Borgs are either on patrol or constructing for the new line of Replicas." G Red winced at his own words, hoping to not be scolded for disappointing emperor. "Hmmm... Very well, I have a single Claw Robot put aside. It may not be much, however every little bit counts. Isaac. Activate.... Activate... ACTIVATE!"

"HEY IDIOT! ACTIVATE!" The Army Robot's fist made contact with Isaac's head causing him to stumble. "Get to work! I ain't got all day!"

With that, Isaac stared into space for a small moment and began to mix cement with his claws.

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Isaac completed his shift and was ordered to return to the stasis chamber. Walking through the facility, he happened by the courtyard where there were the Proto Machine borgs all posed in battle ready positions, deactivated and made monuments to themselves.

The purple claw robot scanned the Protos as he walked by, gradually making his way to the labs and the stasis chamber. Once seated in the device, wires automatically hooked up to Isaac and he transitioned into standby mode. Everything goes dim for Isaac as Build and Thunder monitor the activity.

"So, I've been looking over your records... Most of them show just tracking of the abnormal complex processor anomalies." Thunder pointed out while he observed the screens. Build's left eye dimmed and right eye brightened, giving the impression of an arched brow. "Is there a problem with that? It's the sole purpose of the research."

"Well, no but look. His processor is reviewing ocular data, we could record that, even view it. Maybe it'll give us a better understanding of what's going on in his head..." Thunder pointed out the activity involving the visual sectors of Isaac's processors.

The wind howls through the city, the only other sound being the gears twisting and the foot stomping of a battered, gray claw robot. In his massive claws, he holds the pieces of a shattered borg, the only recognizable part is a fragment of a Girl Borg's face, a single blue eye stares back at him, empty and cold, broken...

He carries the shattered remains aimlessly, merely staring down at them as he goes. Eventually, the antique Claw Robot enters a long abandoned lab of Emperor's make. After sitting down, he stares at the pieces for a while longer before setting them aside and looking at his surroundings.

Old, dusty data crystals are strewn about, half finished projects of replica borgs and combat machine borgs hang in machinery and storage. Isaac begins searching through the defective data crystals carefully, after finding the right ones, he takes them over to a computer and starts tapping away at the keys, lightly and accurately despite his massive claws. The machines begin to run, with a new blue print available, it asks for resources.

The Claw Robot takes the shattered pieces and several other key components, placing them on the conveyor belt. He waits on the other side, staring at the output port... Hours of whirring and clicking pass and then finally, there it is, a small blue eye peering out of the dar-

"Alright, nap's over. Head over to Digamma and get to work Isaac." Build's voice called through the speakers once again, awakening the slumbering Machine Borg.

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A tower for the main lab, equipped with gatling tanks as turrets is completed with the work of various machine borgs. As all of the other machines go on to their next assignment of fortifying the lab, Isaac sits atop the dull, concrete spire, looking over the city. Flashes and disruptions appear in his ocular sensors, he sees glimpses of a world before and after the great rebellion, the death borgs and he even recalls very faint glimpses of a world not inhabited by Gotcha Borgs at all. Empty at first, but then teeming with life so alien yet so similar...

A voice echoes from the darkness, unrecognizable. "Emperor Ea-Ear-.." *Static* "Em-Emperor Earth, what are your mission obj-dividedintothreedividedintothreethejackalreturns- mission objectives?"

A deeper voice emerged, clearer booming. "My mission objectives as Emperor Earth, monitor the planet, make preparations for re-colonization of the human speci-"

Loud thundering explosions echo across the sky, as pieces of machinery fall to earth, set ablaze. Missles are firing from the ground, striking what appears to be some kind of ships in the sky. The land is scorched in hell fire and then everything goes quiet and dark.

Isaac's eyes brighten once again, he carefully uses his thrusters to cushion his landing to the ground and walks off after his machine brethren, to the next building assignment.

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Isaac slowly makes his way through the courtyard again, as he enters his scanners go over his glorified younger brothers but then suddenly he stops dead still on small figure in a conversation with a much larger one. He stares at it, focusing his old ocular sensory equipment to see if it's real as Isaac's awareness of the present fades away...

"Isaac! Come on, slow poke I've already dusted most of the lab!" A cheery girl borg says, her eyes red and blue and her uniform of a standard replica borg gray jumpsuit. She holds an old rag, looking down from atop a ladder at the lumbering gray claw robot who is very slowly and very carefully dusting shelves with his own rag which is hooked on a single large claw. "You know, I've been thinking. You fixed me up, so maybe I can use the machinery here to return the favor Isaac. Maybe we can work on some of those dents? Paint you a new color?" The girl borg slides down the ladder and circles Isaac who is quietly cleaning away. "How does purple sound? Sure beats that boring old gray!" The smile on the girl's face brightly shines up at Isaac, slowly melting into a scowl

The scowl belonging to the eerily familiar girlborg ahead. "You wanted information and I got it to you King. Now, give me the data crystals before I arrange an accident through the syndicate." The notorious Killer Girl Akumi threatens the Victory King.

"This isn't what I was looking for, you and your useless tribe can rust for wasting my time. I'm not afraid of your petty delusions of adequacy. Now leave." Victory King growls, pulling out a plasma blade and pointing to the exit of the courtyard. With one last scowl Akumi retreats, passing by Isaac as she does so, she flinches when she looks up and sees the claw robot and quickly runs for no discernible reason. Isaac's gaze follows her as far as it can.