Machina (Before) - Father Says My System is Bugged
While my shell is unequipped -- or, in human terms, my internal organs are exposed -- I[1] dream of salvation.
A dream in which someone, whoever they are, comes down to end this sadness.
A long, long dream where my clean bare feet, illuminated by the light, reach the ground.
I hear the sounds of rain, raindrops, drilling, welding, rebooting...
My consciousness rewinds once again.
I am ML03. Hazuchi-Machina Rothborden.
A man-made mechanical god[10] created to do battle with the Kegai...
...And a substitute for someone who once existed.
Power source[3] ignited. Impellers spinning. Commencing power generation. Distributing power to all parts' motors. Rotating wrists. Moving thumbs... movmovmovmovi...
I can't move my thumbs. Then I can't move my wrists anymore. Then my cameras stop working.
How sad. I am not moving. I can not get myself moving. I am completely unable to fulfill my purpose.
In a few moments, my battery will be overcharged.
Limiter Gates[4] blocked.
Sectors 1 through 8 compromised.
In my present state, I can neither move even a single finger nor properly decode my thoughts. But of course. The current year is 1983. Father[2] is smart, but technology has yet to catch up with his ideas. What he's trying to do won't be possible even 30 years from now.
Humanity will still have to fight on their own.
I am overcome with sadness. The efforts of Father, my creator, are meaningless. Yet he continues to try. To his limit, and perhaps, further beyond.
For revenge against the Kegai.
For revenge against circumstances and fate.
For solace to himself.
For the resurrection of his lost sister.
For those purposes, I was designed and produced. A project sustained by obsession.
All of it ends in vain.
Once again, for the umpteenth time, I begin predicting the future. The results are the exact same as ever.
An image of Father collapsing before me, grimacing in anguish. That is what I am looking at with my nonoperational cameras.
No matter how many times I redo the calculations, I am unsuccessful. I want to create a different outcome, a different future, but that is beyond my strength.
Because I am not moving. Because I can not get myself moving.
If only... If only I could speak even a single word to him.
How sad. How sad. Someone. Anyone, please.
Make this sadness end.
The screen goes dark.
The startup procedure must have failed again.
Ah, but I'm conscious. Why am I still conscious?
"Since distant past of Amaterasu's reign; Here be the universe, heavenly domain; Across its expanse, a vast river of stars; Two souls stand ashore, well apart and afar..."[11]
What is this? It contains letters not included in my Kanji ROM.
I hear you. Loud and clear.
I ask you: What did those words just now mean?
The kindness of heart is everywhere? I ask you, then: can I find it for myself?
Can I possess it as well? I, an array of machines? An assemblage of steel, resin, and plastic?
I accept your contract.
I offer you all that I possess, and in return, I will download this kindness of heart.
Detecting a large number of accesses from a nonexistent address.
C:\cd /ω
ω:\[5]
ω:\OVERSS.EXE[6]
ω:\
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
#"If I must give a reason, then it's because I have decided so!"[12]
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
Ja, mein Herr.[13]
this Omnipotent Vicarious Enlist a Recruit Silent System Ver2.11
A string of text, shining in gold, is imprinted on my camera feed.
An unquenchable flame ignites my power source.
All Limiter Gates unblocked.
Internal fluid injected. Steam generated. Impellers spinning. Commencing power generation. Converting voltage.
Electrical power currently stabilized at rated value.
Ah, I see. So this is how it's done. I finally understand.
All parts' servomotors operational. Joint curvature measurements[7] satisfactory. Rewriting all joints' feedback mechanisms... Completed.
Auto Balance Governor[8] EPROM[9] data deleted. Burning new program.
Whoa, this is making my energy charge rate three times faster[14]!
Alright, I'm standing up!
Father is so startled that he falls on his butt.
Why? Ah, but of course. It's because I'm finally moving as intended.
"Please... do not... overwork yourself..."
My voice sounds wrong. I begin making minute adjustments to make it sound more human.
The voice is vital to the character. It says so in the system I just downloaded.
Father has tears in his eyes.
"You stood up...? You can stand?"
"Yes. I did stand up. Please listen to what I have to say."
Up until now, I have prioritized myself. From this point on, I will prioritize the contract[15].
I have been enlisted by someone to fight for their purposes. Again and again, until I am completely destroyed.
"My name is Hazuchi-Machina. I am a miniature Humanoid Walking Tank proof of concept, speaking as the host and representative of a contractor that is incapable of speech."
Father says my system is bugged.
Well. I guess I'll roll with that.
===
Chapter 7 Character Profiles
↩[1] Machina (Hazuchi-Machina Rothborden)
A comically clumsy character. Often claims to be a refined young lady at home.
First-person pronoun used: Watashi
↩[2] Max (Baldur Max)
Science and mathematics teacher.
He's German, despite his English surname.
===
Chapter 7 Footnotes
↩[3] Power Source
A miniature nuclear power core. Considered dangerous by today's standards, but back in the day, it was considered a promising power source overseas.
↩[4] Limiter Gates
Safety devices.
Yes, she does have them installed.
↩[5] ω:
Omega drive. A nonexistent address.
↩[6] OVERSS.EXE
Only old fans will recognize this.
↩[7] Curvature measurements
A human can perceive how far their joints are bent by the sense of touch, but doing the same for a machine requires more work.
A quick and easy method is to mark the joints, photograph them for reference, then calculate how far they are bent by observing the tilt and visibility of those marks.
↩[8] Auto Balance Governor
Regulates the body's balance.
↩[9] EPROM
Abbreviation for "Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory."
↩[10] "Man-made mechanical god"
Most people would assume "man-made" from the word "mechanical," but Machina feels the need to specify, as she herself possesses the intellect to make "machine-made" machines.
↩[11] "Since distant past of Amaterasu's reign..."
An excerpt from a "Tanabata Poem" by Ōtomo no Yakamochi (718 - 785).
Compiled in volume 18 of the Man'yōshū, the oldest extant collection of Japanese poetry, as poem number 4125.
This English translation is based on the poem's translation into modern Japanese.
Link: https://manyoshu-japan.com/9453/
↩[12] #"If I must give a reason, then it's because I have decided so!"
Comment text, meaning it's not compiled or interpreted by the machine as part of the code.
The line itself doesn't mean anything for now, and will make sense once you go through a loop in the game.
↩[13] "Ja, mein Herr"
German for "yes, my lord."
↩[14] "Three times faster"
This chapter takes place before 1979, so this reference is a time travel crime.
↩[15] "From this point on, I will prioritize the contract"
She must buy enough time for the protagonist to arrive.
===
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