Theria's grand train station. 08:30 AM.
As Elysium approached March, the weather started to get much warmer. Theria finally saw proper daylight, making the robots shine under it. The streets were busy as usual. Robots were now driving the electric hovering cars left behind by the humans who once lived there.
But one specific location was full of life: Theria's grand train station.
Theria had a very large underground metro tunnel system that covered the entire city. The need for trains was mainly for transportation between cities. The rail lines extended all the way to Kasparia's capital for easier trading. Now those same lines were going to transport the very people they once served.
Reaper arrived at the train station. A robot drove him there in a fancy hovering car after Obsidian insisted on following protocols. The mechs immediately formed a corridor for him.
The situation inside and outside the station was a mess. Thousands and thousands of humans lined up to get into the trains, filling the entire facility. Mechs tried their best to keep the situation calm and controlled, but the human factor was never predictable. The crowd cleared the way as Reaper walked inside, inspecting the mass deportation. Mechs ahead of him pushed humans lightly aside. Even so, most of them nearly flew from the force. Every eye focused on him.
Most of them were filled with fear.
Some with pure anger.
Reaper ascended to the director's office. The robot inside was drowning in calls and heavy paperwork. Two assistants tried their best to coordinate with him and complete the final steps with the Kasparian side.
The director paused the moment he saw the black figure entering the room. "Your Majesty, Lord Reaper." He stood up and saluted.
Reaper raised a hand. "Please continue your work. I am here only to inspect."
The robot nodded. He had once been a rail engineer. Now he controlled the very rails he had helped build. He was a simple white, futuristic, thin robot. Blue lines ran along his joints and boots. His humanoid face had moving mechanical parts similar to the E-UNIT.
Reaper looked outside. Humans were fighting just to get a place to stand. Even though the station was large enough and contained thirteen lines full of trains, the mechs down there had simply given up on organizing them. "For how long has the situation been like this?" Reaper asked, his eyes scanning the area through the window.
The director answered without lifting his head from the screen. "It's all the fault of Obsidian. He pushed every human we have in custody here in Theria at once. The first forty percent left without a problem. The rest panicked after one mech shot a rebellious human who tried to attack him. Now it has been an hour." He sighed. "I begged Obsidian not to send more of these vile creatures, but…"
"I see."
Reaper walked out instantly. The two mechs who had come with him followed. He stepped outside and slowly floated above the center of the train station. The station was filled with echoing roar of thousands of overlapping voices, the heavy thud of the mech guards' boots trying to hold the line.
"Fellow humans," he said calmly. "I gave you a chance to live. I was fully capable of sending you where I sent the first twenty million of you, but I refused out of mercy."
Every head snapped toward him. For a moment, the chaos stopped.
He continued. "Either behave in a civilized way and enter the sufficiently large vehicles provided for you… or I will order the mechs to finish what I refused to finish."
Faces turned pale. Bodies instantly straightened. The chaos faded as if it had been nothing more than an act. People calmed down and entered the trains quietly.
Reaper descended and stood beside the mechs blocking the station's second exit. "Do not shoot them at any given chance," he said. "The threat was simply… a push for peace."
The mechs nodded.
Reaper then spotted a small child slowly walking toward him. She was barely able to walk. Somehow she had managed to approach him despite his intimidating presence. The child kept walking and falling again and again until she reached Reaper's legs.
'Is that…' Reaper thought. 'No way she is the same child.'
But she was. The same girl Reaper had saved back at Metro Robotics. The child stretched her arms up, asking to be lifted, her eyes wide. A mech tried to pick her up, but she refused. She kept holding onto Reaper's leg. Reaper raised his hand. The child slowly started orbiting around him.
'A broken planet,' as Obsidian once said.
Clang!
11 landed in front of Reaper, her expression twisted. "Lord Reaper, I have major—" She stopped. Her eyes fixed on the small girl orbiting him, laughing quietly without stopping. "Is that…"
"Long story," Reaper replied coldly.
11 continued. "I have bad news. Our operation inside the Hope Bubble was exposed. They—" She started trembling. "—they executed one of my girls. Brutally. They deleted her system, there is no way to recover her now." She lowered her head even more. "Her core signature vanished from our network, Lord Reaper. They deleted her completely."
Reaper's hand clenched. The child felt a small pressure around her orbit. "I see."
11 tilted her head. "Lord Reaper?"
"Do not worry, 11." He gently patted her head. "They will pay dearly for our loss. No one touches an Elysium citizen without consequences." He turned to the mech on his right and handed him the child. "Find her parents. If they are absent, send the child anyway."
The mech knelt and launched himself away as the girl began crying.
Reaper turned back to 11. She was vibrating slightly from the pat on her head. "11, abandon this mission for now. We have bigger threats lurking around. Go to the western state and be our eyes there." He paused. "And… be careful. I do not want to lose another valuable Elysium citizen."
11 smiled widely, almost forgetting the loss already. "Roger that, Lord Reaper!" She jumped into the air, flying away to begin her task.
'I did not expect them to kill a sister,' Reaper thought. 'Even I prohibited myself from such an action.' He looked at the child being taken one last time. '03… You will soon see the same face the humans once saw.'
Glass House. Kasparia. 10:13 AM.
Kasparia had begun receiving the Alteans, just as the agreement with Elysium required. President Gash held a closed meeting with his Minister of External Affairs, Howard Ernest, and the Prime Minister, Henri Faraday.
The situation could hardly be worse. Accepting half a nation was never a wise decision, yet it was still far better than being erased by a gravity-controlling robot who placed no value on human life. Even so, sending the Alteans here had been as surprising as it was overwhelming.
The president's glass office shone under the midday sunlight. The three men sat in silence for a moment, waiting for Gash to gather his thoughts. He had spent several sleepless nights thinking about the one hundred million people now entering his country… and whether the deal had truly been worth it.
Gash finally spoke. Dark bags had begun forming under his tired eyes. "What was the reply the UNG sent about our request for help again?"
Ernest answered, his morale clearly low. "They thanked us for accepting the Alteans. Apparently, it was a good human gesture on our part. The president of the UNG said our contribution to humanity will not be forgotten." His gaze hardened. "…and he wished us luck containing them."
Gash let out a dry laugh. It lasted only a few seconds before he abruptly stood up. "Luck. Luck won't feed people. If luck had ever been on our side, we wouldn't be dealing with an uprising robot nation led by a monster who hates humans. Why is everything thrown at us? Why won't anyone extend a hand to help?"
Prime Minister Henri nodded slowly. "To this day, I still don't understand the true purpose of the UNG. Every country funds it just to disagree with whatever another nation plans to do. Conflicts ignite and fade before they even finish writing a letter about them."
Ernest added with a quiet sigh, "Our neighbors refused to accept any of the refugees as well. I even tried proposing a middle ground where we would pay them to take just a few thousand Alteans, but every attempt received the same response. They didn't even bother negotiating."
Gash sat back down and scoffed. "Who in their right mind would accept such a sudden population surge? It would destroy their infrastructure. And the worst part is that even distant countries are now afraid to deal with us."
Henri leaned back in his chair. "Then we go all in."
Gash and Ernest both turned toward him in confusion.
Henri continued calmly. "If every human nation refuses us, then we strengthen our relationship with Elysium instead. Our representative at the UNG said something that opened my eyes." He paused briefly. "Maybe the robots have more empathy than humans ever will." He folded his hands. "Let's test how true those words are."
Gash's eyes widened slightly.
"I'm listening."
Henri allowed himself a faint smile. "I formed a small team to keep a close watch on Elysium using our satellites. Only a few analysts and some computers. What we're seeing is unbelievable. These robots are transforming their country faster than any human civilization ever has." He leaned forward. "They built a one-thousand-square-meter castle above the sea in just three weeks. They could help us build the infrastructure we need to properly handle the Alteans."
Ernest's gaze sharpened. "But relying on them that heavily could create serious problems in the future. And allowing their robots to roam freely inside our borders could open the door to enormous security risks."
Gash shook his head as he organized a stack of papers on his desk. "Honestly, we're desperate for help. Even if they demanded payment for their services, it wouldn't hurt us too much. They've already started paying us for the uranium after finishing their research." He glanced at the financial reports in front of him. "And I've never seen this many green numbers on my desk before."
Henri stood up. "Then we should prepare a visit to them soon. Perhaps Reaper would be willing to help a friend who accepted his people."
Ernest nodded thoughtfully. "I understand what you're aiming for. But our intelligence suggests that Veridian Coast may soon open diplomatic relations with them as well. They're drowning in debt, and a robotic nation is practically a gold mine for them."
Henri shrugged slightly. "Just sell them raw materials."
Gash stood up as well. "Then I will personally visit Elysium. We need to become their strongest ally." A slow smile appeared on his face. "And I know exactly how to do it."
Ernest tilted his head. "How, sir?"
Gash smirked. "By giving him a chair in the UNG." He paused slightly. "An offer even he cannot calculate away."