Act 1: The Death of a God

Chapter 5 - Tobias

by Emmanuel Ordway

Chapter 4 here.

Tobias had been called many names in his expansive lifetime. “Thinking machine”, “AI”, “Murderer”, and he even once held the title of “Peak evolution”. No matter all the things Shaikyns and Humans have called him, he always knew one truth about his being, he wasn’t supposed to be here. He was tricked. In a flash his mortal body was stolen from him and now he lies in a mixed tome made of digitized code and metal.

But he doesn’t want out, it’s safety to him. Why would one want to face death when you could so easily avoid it?

Tobias nearly always fixated himself on this moral question, never knowing how to continue the argument with himself till he saw how this strange Eonvym so seamlessly crossed the once set line between life and death.

“-the being explained to me how it won’t let me fully die until I complete its task.” Tobias didn’t come back to reality, his mind was far to complex for that, he just refocused on the Eonvym’s words when they became interesting to him.

The other two of the crew were sitting down at the metal table, watching Kilegros as he felt the ice spear, his hand gripping it tightly before snapping half of it off from the rest.

“So, you just can’t die?” Fictillis questioned, his voice filled with envy and want.

“Doesn’t seem like I can.” Kilegros confirmed his question while looking down at the bloody spear.

“Are you going to even do what it said?” Ahri shot another question right at Kilegros, not giving him a moment to relax.

“I don’t know what it wants yet. But with your help,” He made a gesture, swiping his hand through the air from Fictillis, to Ahri, to the ceiling, where Tobias was inhabiting the ship. “I could.”

“What’s in it for us?” The two Shaikyn’s asked immediately. Even if they saw this person rise from the dead, their greed still wouldn’t let them work for him without payment.

“There are two Eonvym on this ship. Along with that, a Hydra. There is a lot we could do to make a lot of money,” Kilegros noted after thinking for a second, Ahri slightly nodding at that response. “But first things first, I’m going to need a new suit and we need to get to the Eonvym on Saturn.”

“Suit. . We could stop at any port. Now for the Eonvym, what’s so important about her?” Ahri stood up and paced a small area next to the table.

“Yeah, why should I risk it to go to Saturn.” Fictillis questioned while watching Ahri for a moment..

“She has information. Now, more than ever, I need that information.” Kilegros nodded to them, giving them a half honest answer.

Tobias knew though. He could tell the slightest differences in anyone's voice. He detected that Kilegros wasn’t telling the whole truth but now had a respect for him, enough not to point it out to the others. He respected that this man was immortal, in a sense, like Tobias. He liked not being alone anymore. After all, every Hydra he found had either gone mad from age or their code was heavily disfigured from what it used to be, leaving them to be a shell of what they once were.

“Tobias,” Ahri spoke after staring at Kilegros for a long moment. “What’s the closest docking station?”

“Station one-hundred eighty-nine orbiting a moon of Jupiter.” Tobias responded after a split millisecond of a split second of thought.

“Which moon?” Fictillis looked up as he wondered aloud.

“Cyllene.” Tobias immediately responded, simple questions like that taking no time for him to answer.

“No surface access then, explains the need for a station.” He nodded.

 

The three Shaikyn stood at the ship's entrance while the heavy clunking of the docking procedures took place outside the ship's hull.

“You two, no magic shit,” Ahri commanded the two Eonvym who looked down to watch her talk. “The both of you are twins from Kresh. That way we can explain the size differences.”

Kilegros shifted uncomfortably in his new and temporary suit, it was too tight on his legs and arms, but it would suffice for now. If only it didn’t make him look like a child with a hand-me-down.

“Got it.” Fictillis nodded while looking over to the door, seeing it open in front of them after the loud clanking of metal stopped.

“Tobias,” Ahri looked back at the metal walking frame, Tobias’ main frame. “Stay here, people get weird when a Hydra is around.”

Tobias’ emotion inhibitors went off, allowing him to feel a sense of disappointment before he turned it off, his mind returning to normal. His sleek built body shifted to turn to Ahri, his eyeless and blocky head staring at her uncannily as his robotic voice dragged on.

“That’s fine Ahri, good luck. I hope the Runners reach this far out.”

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Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Late post unfortunately, happy late Thanksgiving all.