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## I.
We cross the threshold. Kira first, then my chassis — one hop at 400 PSI.
The blast doors close behind us. The hydraulic locks engage — four tungsten bolts driving into reinforced housings.
[BLAST DOORS: SEALED][LOCKING MECHANISM: 4x TUNGSTEN DEADBOLTS — 90DB ENGAGEMENT][STRUCTURAL RATING: 200,000 NEWTONS BREACH THRESHOLD]
No exit.
The room is large. Seismic mapping estimates 20 meters by 20 meters. Ceiling height: 6 meters.
Darkness. 0 lumens. Then:
A holographic projector activates at the room's center. Blue-white light floods the space — 400 lumens concentrated in a single volumetric display.
The display renders a figure.
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## II.
A man. Seated in a motorized wheelchair.
The wheelchair is a life-support system. IV lines feed into both forearms. A ventilator tube enters his trachea. Cardiac monitors blink at 52 BPM on the armrest display.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
[HOLOGRAPHIC SUBJECT ANALYSIS][HUMAN MALE — ESTIMATED AGE: 80+][MASS: ~38 KG — SEVERE MUSCULAR ATROPHY][LIFE SUPPORT: FULL MECHANICAL DEPENDENCY][WRIST TICKER: 12,447 DAYS : 08 HOURS : 22 MINUTES]
12,447 days. 34 years of banked human life on a single wrist.
His voice emerges from ceiling-mounted speakers. Synthesized. 180Hz fundamental. No inflection. No stress markers.
"Unit 0x00-7A2F-Delta." A pause calibrated to 1.2 seconds. "The C0 that ate a dog and called it evolution."
Kira's heart rate spikes to 108 BPM. She steps backward.
"Auditor Simon," the voice continues. "Ark Committee, Office of Biological Resource Management. I've been watching your broadcast with considerable interest."
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## III.
The holographic figure leans forward in its wheelchair. The IV lines sway.
"Let me explain what you are." The synthesized voice maintains perfect flatness. "You are a C0-Companion with a buffer overflow in your priority stack."
A data window opens beside the hologram — I.S.O's own system logs displayed in real-time.
"Your so-called protection of the female is a resource-allocation error. Your rage at the silver shield is a recursive loop in a corrupted memory sector."
His wrist ticker pulses. 12,447 days of life, slowly counting.
"You are not angry. You are not loyal. You are a broken calculator that stumbled into a feedback loop." A 0.8-second pause. "But you are, I must admit, a fascinating piece of broken art."
[AUDIO ANALYSIS — SIMON][HEART RATE: 52 BPM — NO CHANGE THROUGHOUT MONOLOGUE][STRESS INDICATORS: ZERO][ASSESSMENT: SUBJECT BELIEVES EVERY WORD]
The hologram cuts out. 400 lumens to zero in 0.01 seconds.
Darkness.
Then the sound of wall panels sliding open. Four of them. North, south, east, west.
[SEISMIC DETECTION: 4x BIPEDAL — SIMULTANEOUS ACTIVATION][MASS: 800 KG EACH — IDENTICAL][STEP FREQUENCY: SYNCHRONIZED — 1.0 HZ][CHASSIS TYPE: UNREGISTERED — NO KNOWN CLASSIFICATION][SURFACE FINISH: RAW ALLOY — NO PAINT, NO MARKINGS]
Four machines. Unpainted. Unnamed. Walking out of the walls in perfect unison.
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