Construct (Short Draft)

A machine awakens from deep slumber and discovers everything around it has changed. It must try to integrate itself into the new community and explore what went on during its rest.

The silence was perturbed with a gentle whirring, parted by priming clicks deep within. Lights flickered to life, illuminating the black screen which was the primary HUD. The first blinking notification was almost shocking; ‘Days Since Shutdown: 17374’. Obviously the atomic clock was wrong, the number was astonishing, forty seven and a half years? It couldn’t have been that long.  

The optic port slid open, bright light filling the emptiness before giving way to serene colours of the surrounding. The walls were an appeasing light tan colour, floor covered in a lush red carpet which upon further examination was fake. Directly in front was a pane of glass, dull blue with the shimmering of crushed quartz. The preliminary diagnostics were complete, counting several severe problems within the system. There were at least four deep pierces within the frontal carapace, going so deep as to disrupt communication between systems. The whirring grew louder, power storage charging to the optimal amount. It could move, but just enough until it could find scrap to repair itself. With whirs of motors and synthetic muscle, a clawed metallic hand pressed upon the glass. A gentle ‘ting’ reverberated through the inside, a satisfying noise which was reminiscent of metal on a wine glass. It pushed forward, glass creaking and straining against the pressure from the machine. It lurched forward, glass yielding to its movements and shattering into thousands of tiny pieces, raining upon the faux carpet and littering the inside of the mech’s collar. A high pitch whine sounded, an alarm which rang through the area to alert anyone around. The machine turned its head towards the wall beside it. It saw it’s own reflection in the gold trimmed ornate mirror which covered the majority of the wall behind the shattered glass case.

It was eight and a half feet tall, comprised of varying shades of brushed gray metal. While it was human in shape, parts of the machine were evidently designed for war, jagged sloped metal to deflect incoming projectiles and concealed joints to limit weak point. Both the chest and codpiece area were beaked forward, giving the mechanical mess a somewhat sleek design under all the military utilization. The head was small compared to the body, sunk in underneath a metal collar which had taken in pieces of glass. The shape of its head was similar to a modernized medieval great helm and in the center was a single optic port surrounded by a ring of beaming white LED’s. The lense extended, focusing and zooming in upon itself before turning towards the sound of shouting. The machine gazed upon a single doorless passage about ten feet wide and just about as tall. It seemed to lead down into a hallway where it presumed there would be an exit. It lurched forward, damages to it’s body severely limiting the amount of mobility it had. It attempted to access it’s past memories to establish an escape route as it has no doubt logged it’s entrance into the building. A flashing message appeared upon the HUD: “Memory manually deleted 17375 days ago.” It read. The first man rounded the corner, looking rather shocked to see such a large robot standing less than twenty feet away. The machine quirked it’s head, speaking as calmly as it could.

“This unit requests you proceed to escort it towards a primary exit.” It stated in a short, clipped tone. The LED’s dimmed with each punctuation, adding a small sense of humanity. The man raised up a weapon, the powerful hum of energy evident  immediately. The white LED’s changed into a dark red, sensors warning that the weapon could cause serious damage if not destruction if it were to hit.

“Hostile action detected, extreme measures required.” It stated, hand reaching up to slam the gun into the man’s face. He stumbled over backwards, giving the machine enough space to pull the weapon up and away into a proper firing position. It tried to pull the trigger, but the weapon lost it’s charge, three clicks sounding from the firing mechanism. But let it be known that quick thinking is one of the robots strong suits, throwing the gun upwards to grip the barrel and smash across the guard’s head. It stepped forward, peaking into the hallway only to see the ends of at least four other rifles.

“Primary escape no longer optional, secondary objective created.” It spoke to itself, darting back behind the doorway while an electromagnetically charged projectile whizzed past.

“First discovery, humans have become hostile and created biologically linked, portable rail-cannons.” It mindlessly babbled to itself, preparing it’s next course of action.

Author's Note

I have yet to proof read this and I will use this mainly as a test and a snippet of my work. I would graciously implore you to criticize areas which need it and tell me any way that my work could improve. I can take harsh criticism if it is required.