-By direct order of Akuma Gesher you are under arrest, come with us Mr. Fox and Dr. Polanski," they ordered while pointing their guns at them.
-This must be a mistake. We are here by order of the command of this section. We have been called to repair the broken sensors in the lift," Liam replied, holding his gaze to those eyes made of cold glass and metal.
-We know, and yet you are being detained. Come with us... -he said sharply.
-For what reason, may I ask? -Vega demanded.
-Because you're traitors, for one thing. Akuma knows exactly what your true intentions are. In fact, just a few minutes ago a spy gave him the coded message. He knows the plans of your false father. We certainly don't know how that old geezer was able to affect the power supply in the city in this way. That doesn't matter now, we'll find out, but I inform you that Akuma has ears everywhere, even in the ranks of his opponents. You see, traitors like you are everywhere," he said, spitting out the words as if throwing a sharp knife. Has artificial intelligence really gone so far as to make an android into an asshole, Vega thought in disgust.
These intelligent systems had become so "humanised" that they not only simulated a human being on a physical level, but also on an emotional level. Their anthropomorphic form was covered with a synthetic skin, and made of materials such as graphene, platinum, steel, metallic glass, translucent polymer and microfluidics. All of them materials of great strength for their structural mechanisms, they were the ones that gave shape to the skeleton and the frame, but they also had soft parts capable of almost muscular deformation. At the level of consciousness and emotions, the androids had built-in "emotional" components such as status indicators, "feeling anger" or "feeling fear" like other aspects of human nature. All this was possible thanks to a feedback system that allowed them to be aware of their own "self", recognising their internal states. Thus, their emotional and rational systems complemented each other in such a way that they had their own autonomy and decision-making. They thought like humans through artificial neural networks, acted like humans by imitating their behaviour, and as a consequence, intelligent behaviour.
They also convincingly mimicked the freedom of human gestures and movements.
Liam and Vega had been discovered, without understanding how this was possible, or rather without knowing who the whistleblower was within their father's party. However, such questions were now on the back burner, it was much more urgent to think about how they would escape from those three humanoid robots.
Vega had gradually developed an unusual ability to transmit information through thought waves, and while his ability was still centuries away from that of his father who was able to use telepathy naturally, in his sessions Vega was ahead of his brother, demonstrating an innate talent for the subject. She could transmit basic messages such as feelings or emotions, but more complex and detailed messages still eluded her. There was only one problem with this system, and that was that the thought waves could pass through any material except iridium, the material with which the city of Under Legacy was coated.
Iridium was a very hard material and resistant to deformation. It was abundant beneath the earth's crust, which is why it became part of the outer structure of the city. What the engineers did not know was that the material formed a barrier to electromagnetic fields, thus isolating the city from wave interference. The maester was unable to communicate with Erleak and transmit the urgent message himself by telepathy, as the very armour protecting the city made such an action impossible. Nevertheless, he had tried to teach his students how to do so, so that they could at least use the ability among themselves.
Vega was grateful for the lessons she had received at that moment, and using her neural capacities, she transmitted an emotion of unease, fear and alarm to Solomon. She closed her eyes to concentrate on the gesture of disbelief of her brother, who did not know what was going on in his sister's mind.
-Vega, what are you doing? she said in a half-voice.
In the eyes of those machines, ciphertext flashed across their pupils, transmitting programmed information from their software that only they were able to understand. The chief android finished processing the information, and addressed Vega again.
-I order you to stop transmitting information on a subconscious level immediately!
Her brain, specifically her pineal gland was acting as a wave emitter. The woman's brain capacity presented an astonishing activity that only some people, with proper training, could develop, reaching psychic powers. It was to be expected that this artificial intelligence, endowed with sensors receptive to any variation in the environment, would notice.
-How is this possible? -the robot wondered aloud.
-Just keep the mind blank, and put a dam against the mental current. Liam repeated the words he had long heard from the maester, understanding even then what his sister intended; to raise the alarm to his father. She was in absolute concentration, so he would try to buy time by making conversation.
Your sister is emitting waves at an ever-increasing vibrational speed, either you stop it this instant, or I shoot. -He threatened, pointing his gun directly at Vega as a wicked grin spread across his face.
A mixture of anger and fear was growing inside Liam, a flow from the pit of his stomach up his spine like a snake. The force that rose from his gut grew more and more intense, climbing furiously up his entire body until it reached his eyes, which turned a dazzling blue-gray colour like ice. The androids took a step back at the sight of his gaze, but at the same time they gripped their weapons with more determination, gripping them tighter.
Liam, unaware of it, was giving off that bluish light through his eyes, energy that was concentrated as he felt that fury inside him. He took a quick glance around the room, his vision had changed, now he saw everything as if it was a negative in blue tones. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before, but it was also true that his sister had never been in a life and death situation before. She was his only sister, and even if she was not his blood, he loved her as much as if she were. Besides, he had promised Solomon that he would take care of her. He looked around for a way out, while Vega remained in a trance, silently shouting cries for help to the grand master, the only one he could communicate with under the circumstances, and above all the only one capable of disabling the cyborgs.
At last he found it, a small but sharp object that had been obtained in the black market of the UR315 district. A somewhat sinister place in the city, where you could find dealers of old objects that from time to time came to light, usually because their owners needed to sell them due to lack of liquidity in their accounts. In this way, Liam had obtained that knife belonging to a family that had fallen into disgrace, a legacy of past generations. The small weapon was a remnant of the old world, its hilt made of an amazing material, belonging to the tusk of an extinct animal. It was ivory-coloured and engraved with handmade reliefs. The blade was of good quality steel. The only problem was that he had forgotten it on a shelf next to Polanski.
-Vega, open your eyes! - He grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her desperately to bring her back to her senses. Meanwhile, the waiting androids debated whether to shoot them, or wait. Akuma's orders had been clear: stop them, bring them in alive, and shoot only in case of escape.
Liam cursed his inaptitude for telepathy, for he could only communicate through words, and it seemed his sister ignored purely verbal communication. In a millisecond he grabbed the knife, taking advantage of his approach to the shelf, and before he was conscious, the bewildered android fell to the floor with the knife stuck in his motherboard. His processor was destroyed. Seizing the moment of distraction, he threw himself to the floor, grabbing his sister. They fell abruptly to the ground. Vega's eyes snapped open, she regained consciousness and ran to the back of a nearby table serving as a makeshift shelter. They were being shot at close range.
Sitting on their backs behind the makeshift barricade, it was only a matter of seconds before they were dead. The humanoids were quickly processing the level of risk in their surroundings, and would soon come to the conclusion that they were totally defenceless. Meanwhile Liam turned back to his sister. Her gaze had returned to normal.
-At what point do you fucking meditate, we almost died. -He grinned at Vega. She gave him a sly smile in return, letting him know she had good news.
-You've been warned, Liam. Solomon got the message and he's going to help us. We only have to hold on for a few minutes. As for the three androids, Solomon will deactivate them, then we'll get into the lift.
-We only have to deactivate two of them, the third one has a knife stuck in his badge, for fuck's sake. -He turned around, peering over the side of the table, to confirm that there were only two standing and that the third was still lying on the floor.
-A knife, you say? -she asked incredulously.
-It's called a razor, an ancient weapon. The thing is, while you were doing your thing, I knocked some of those guys out. Remember, they requisitioned our atomic weapons when we entered the capsule, so I didn't have anything else.
-Yes, that's true... but I wonder how you got through the android's processor if it's protected by a platinum casing? -Vega asked in amazement, as the material was one of the strongest in existence.
-It's both amazing and puzzling, but we don't have time right now. Cover me, I'm going out or they'll find us before Solomon disables them. We'll take whatever we can find to cover us," he indicated where he should look.
-See that corner over there, right next to the lift access panel? - he said, pointing with his finger. Vega nodded her head, unconvinced, "Wait there while I divert them to the exit, they'll think we want to escape. The androids were getting closer and closer.
-Do you have another one of those knives? -Vega asked worriedly. She knew her brother was a bit reckless, but this idea seemed like the worst she'd ever had in her life. He shook his head, so she continued, "We'd better stay here Liam, it won't take long to deactivate them and then we'll get out safely," she whispered frightened.
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