Ultimate Nation Group HQ. 11:13 AM.
Days after Redwood's announcement of the fall of Altea, an emergency meeting accured worldwide.
The Ultimate Nation Group chamber was collapsing into noise, shouting, accusations, half-finished sentences stacking over one another. Even the silent delegates felt loud. Six nations called Tera home. Only two of them shared a border with what used to be Altea. The Republic of Remidican and Elyndor were east of Kasparia. United Virellia was west of Veridian Coast.
They'd been at it for over an hour, and the UNG judge's patience was thinning.
Kasparia's representative shouted at Remidican and Elyndor. "How do you expect us to fight them? They can reproduce endlessly. Altea was an industrial giant. They had more robot factories than anyone in the world, and now those factories belong to the robots."
Remidican's delegate replied, unbothered, "Why are you afraid? You have enough military strength to not only invade them, but erase this threat completely. We cannot allow armed robots to roam freely."
Kasparia's official fired back, "Then fight with us. Why are we the only ones pushed into a war we didn't create? Why should our soldiers die for your comfort?"
Remidican's official scoffed. "We don't even share a border with them. But if you don't act soon, we will share some with them."
Veridian Coast's representative spoke quietly, which made everyone listen harder. "We still don't know if they control Altea's nuclear weapons. Neither we nor Kasparia possess them. And even if we did, one strike won't stop a country that's just begun. You don't kill a fire by throwing one bucket at it."
Virellia's official answered sharply, "History will not forgive us for hesitation. It's a risk worth taking to save humanity. If you stay defensive, you give them time to grow stronger. The video of Minister Redwood announcing Altea's fall is already proof of their intentions."
"Why should we die for you?" Kasparia's representative slammed his palm on the table. "Our people's lives are not expendable. I understand you are protecting your own interests, but not at our expense."
The UNG judge slammed his hammer. "Compose yourselves, gentlemen," he said firmly. "As decided, any trade with this so-called country is now illegal. Any nation that establishes diplomatic relations with them will face severe consequences."
"Our economy depends ninety percent on trade with Altea," Kasparia's official replied. "How is that fair? Give us a real solution."
The judge hesitated. "We can provide financial assistance—"
"For how long?" Veridian Coast's representative interrupted.
The judge had no answer. The other officials avoided eye contact. Supporting two major economies would cost an enormous amount. Altea's power had supported the entire region.
The Kasparian representative stood up. "We will no longer follow your orders. From now on, we act in Kasparia's interest first. None of you helped New Mer when they begged for aid. You ignored them for years. We refuse to suffer the same fate. At this point, maybe the robots show more empathy than you."
He walked out.
Moments later, Veridian Coast's official sighed and followed. Before leaving, he said quietly, "It wouldn't surprise me if that monster takes Altea's empty seat at the next meeting."
The room fell silent.
The judge shook his head and struck the hammer again.
CLACK. CLACK.
"Meeting suspended until the 20th of this month," he announced. "Let us hope we return with better news." But deep down, he knew the Kasparian representative was right. He just didn't know what to do about it.
The Hope Bubble. 03:00 PM.
03 entered the charging bay of the E-Medic unit. Many E-Medics were using it as a resting area now. The last few days had pushed them to their limits. Treating so many civilians at once was never part of the original plan, and the Hope Bubble was almost full.
03 looked around. "Did anyone see 05? Her comm has been offline for a while."
E-Medic M41 slowly turned toward her. She looked exhausted. The others didn't even react. "Father's lab. She's been brute‑forcing the door for almost a full day."
"She really can't stop being a creep," 03 muttered. "Where is this lab?"
"Main elevator. Press the last button."
"Thanks."
03 walked past the garden and reached the main elevator. On the grass nearby, 04 and 07 were sitting and talking.
"No duty today?" 03 asked as she stopped beside them.
"Nope," 04 said calmly. "We're counting the pixels in the sky. And arguing about who's creepier. You, when you stare at someone's neck, or 05, when she sees an unhacked camera."
07 crossed her arms. "05, obviously. I'm telling you, she can access everyone's SSD. I know it sounds crazy, but 01 felt her checking her SSD one day."
03 raised an eyebrow. "01? The same 01 who worships 02? And I am not that scary."
"We're talking about a professional creep, sis," 07 said, standing up. "I heard she modified her body to add a second SSD slot just to store recordings. And don't you think it's weird she disappears every day at exactly 00:00?"
03 narrowed her eyes. "Wait…"
"Exactly!" 07 clapped. "Don't worry. I assigned 08 and 06 to watch her. Any movement will be recorded."
03 grabbed 07's shoulder. "Sister, now you sound more like her."
"It's for science," 07 replied seriously.
03 shook her head. "Let's just ask her. Come on."
They stepped into the elevator. 03 pressed the last button. The lights inside dimmed.
"Identity confirmed," the system announced. "Access granted." The elevator descended.
04 tilted her head. "Why is this floor the only one with special verification?"
03 answered calmly. "I don't know, but that proves that our bookworm never does things without a reason."
Ding.
The doors opened.
05 was sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by floating screens. A tablet was in her hand. Her eyes jumped from one display to another at high speed.
03 walked toward her. "05, you've been here for—"
"Shh. I'm close," 05 whispered weakly, not looking away.
04 sat beside her and gently held her head. "05. Why are you spying on everyone's SSD?"
05 blinked slowly. "What?"
07 knelt next to her. "Come on. Everyone feels someone entering their SSD. You're the only hacker we know. Just admit it."
"01 said that as a joke," 05 replied, pulling away and typing faster. "YES!"
A heavy door unlocked behind them. The lab entrance opened. Cold air rolled out. The lights inside were already on. 05 stood up with a tired smile. "I can't believe Father built such strong security. It took me 28 hours straight to crack it." She looked at them. "Want to see what he's been doing for five years?"
03 sighed. "She really can't help herself."
They stepped inside. The lab was huge. Clean. Perfectly organized. White tables lined the room. Tools were polished. The floor reflected like glass. Each E-UNIT scanned the surroundings automatically.
03 stopped at a set of large colored tubes. They were empty. The control terminal had been ripped out. "They were hiding something here," she said quietly.
07 rushed toward an unfinished weapons section. "Let's try them!"
04 grabbed her arm. "Not today."
07 still tried to reach one. "Nooo…"
They regrouped near the last door. A label read: "Discarded E-UNIT Factory Machinery."
They exchanged looks and entered. The room inside was even bigger. One entire wall was glass, showing the deep sea outside. Shadows of sea creatures moved slowly in the dark water. The space was filled with identical machines. At the far end, there was a storage room. They walked in different directions, staring in shock.
04 spoke softly. "Is this the factory that was supposed to open in 2027?"
05 nodded. "Yes. Before the Hope Bubble project."
07 started pressing random buttons. One screen lit up with a counter. She ignored it and moved on.
03 walked to the storage room and opened the normal metal door. "OH MY GOD!"
The others rushed to her.
04 arrived first. "What is— WHAT?!"
07 followed. "03, why are you— what the…"
05 came last. "That reaction was unnecess— FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FATHER?!"
03 stepped inside slowly and dropped to her knees. "Is that…"
Thousands. Thousands of empty E-UNIT bodies stood in rows. Silent. In stasis. Waiting. No systems installed. Just hollow shells. Each unit had a spotlight above it. Only a few glowed red.
05 slowly sat beside 03. "…An E-UNIT army."
"We weren't the project," 04 whispered. "We were the prototype."
04 paced between the rows, scanning everything. 07 checked the wall shelves. Thousands of SSDs were neatly stacked there.
WEEEEP.
Behind them, the factory activated. Machines began moving. Arms assembling limbs. Mechanical claws attaching eyes. Frames being built piece by piece. More E-UNIT bodies were being created. The team ran back into the main area, and froze. The assembly lines were fully active.
They all slowly turned toward 07.
"What?" 07 tilted her head innocently.
The counter she had ignored earlier now read: 4,704 units in queue.