Machine Story

History of the Mecheons

David felt a mix of emotions; relief that the threat of the Metadross was over but also grief of the sacrifices that were made. He heard a cough near him and as he turned to look, he saw his enemy, Sibleon, lying heavily injured.

David crawled towards the defenseless Sibleon and once he was near him, he stayed still waiting for his reaction. “Looks like you won. My plan was completely foiled and I no longer have the will to fight.” He said while his body was malfunctioning.

“Tell me why you did all this? Why did you want to wipe out humankind and turn some of us into fighting machines?” David asked. Sibleon looked at David and could see beneath that tough exterior, David possessed a kind heart that most humans lacked. Realizing his time was short, he began to share how it all came to this.

Long ago my kind known as the Mecheons came to Earth as visitors. We saw this place teeming with life and wanted to make this place our new home. My older siblings, who were the leaders of our tribe, came to the people of Earth in peace. We were open to sharing our technology and knowledge with the humans in exchange to live on your planet.

The pact was signed here in Corrinth by the previous leaders of this city. It was a momentous day and it became a day of celebration every year for humans and mecheons alike. It marked the start of a great friendship where we could thrive by learning from each other and create a utopian world. Unfortunately, the human leaders had other plans.

Over time, many generations of the human race passed away. But we mecheons survived for thousands of years. Eventually the humans thought it was unfair that we mecheons possessed such longevity and wanted us to share. My siblings were more than willing but the problem was that we didn’t know how to pass our survivability trait onto humans.

However, the humans thought we were deceiving them and hoarding immortality for ourselves. They accused us and treated us like monsters even though my siblings were more than willing to help. I suggested to my siblings that we should fight back before the humans had a chance to strike. But they insisted that it was all just a misunderstanding. They didn’t want to start a war because they wanted to keep this planet prosperous.

Shortly after our dispute, a messenger arrived letting us know the human leaders wanted to apologize for their inappropriate behaviour. As an apology to all the mecheons, they invited us all back into the city of Corrinth to honor the pact that was signed thousands of years ago between humans and mecheons. I was still furious with my brothers and sisters, so I decided not to attend. All the other mecheons did and little did I know, that would be the last time I would see any of them again.

.

When the next morning came and I noticed that no one returned, I left my home and searched for them. I went into the area of Corrinth which is now known as the slums area. When I arrived, I witnessed a horror that no one should have to witness. Lying lifeless and all torn apart were my siblings and all the Mecheons that I knew. The humans lured them all into one area where they could ambush them all when they least expected it.

From that day on, the rage within me took over my entire system. My clear metallic armor suddenly began to become tainted and corrupt. It had been tarnished but also made stronger for battle, I named it Metadross.

I gathered all the metallic remains I could find and went into hiding. Over centuries, I ran tests to create the ultimate fighting machines to exact revenge on the humans. The Metadross units I created were easy to mass produce despite being rigid and docile. They would suffice against the majority of the human population.

Through many battles my armies eliminated many camps, villages, tribes, and even cities but there were some human warriors that proved to be resilient. It was after defeating some of these fighters that I began experimenting with the idea of merging Metadross technology with humans. Some resulted in success, others were disappointing. Through trial and error I found that only specific humans would be compatible with my Metadross DNA.

“They had to be humans who had siblings! That is why you went through all the trouble of having Councilor Shen run the census.” David answered and Sibleon nodded. “That is correct, only humans with siblings can withstand the procedure without losing both their mind and body. Of course there is an exception, if the person possessed an A.I., they would be able to survive.”

“That’s what happened to Rice isn’t it? You tried that experiment on him?” Again Sibleon nodded. “Yes, Rice did not have any siblings but by implanting an A.I. in him, he was able to survive, but I would have never imagined how strong and rebellious he would be. It was after that incident that I decided never to implant an A.I. into another human.”

“Now you know everything that happened. I’m just some evil villain that wanted to exact my revenge on the human race for taking away my family. And I nearly would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for, well, you know how it goes.”

“Sibleon, I don’t believe you ever wanted to destroy the human race.” Sibleon was intrigued, “Haha, you really are a strange one. Then perhaps you can tell me why I did everything I did.” David gave it some thought before speaking.

“It is true that you were driven by your rage to rid the world of humans. However, I believe as time wore on, you grew weary. You wanted to keep your siblings' dream of preserving this planet. To keep that dream alive you tried to replicate the bond you shared with the siblings you lost. You knew the closest thing to that were humans that also had siblings. That’s what you were so desperately seeking for. That is the reason you haven’t been able to destroy the human race. You couldn’t bring yourself to do it.”

Sibleon broke a smile. “Ha, unbelievable. After all this hatred I harboured against the humans. To be understood by the kind I was seeking to destroy. You are an interesting one David.” His body was beginning to rust and deteriorate into the air. Looking at his hand disappearing, he uttered some of his final words. “Looks like my time is almost over. Take care of this planet, young David and protect it as best you can.”

Before he was completely gone David reached out, “Protect it? From who?” With only his face left that hadn’t vanished he spoke, “Humans.” Then his face withered away and only David remained.

David thought about what Sibleon said and knew in his heart that there was much truth to what he said. Humans could become a huge detriment to the planet if left unchecked. He pondered, before realizing how quiet it was. “Wait, Siri?”

He tried to call out in his mind and bring her out but it was no use, she never appeared. “I guess you really are gone. Thank you for everything, your efforts will never be forgotten.” As he continued staring into the sky, a voice called to him, “Who are you talking to?”

“Siri!” David had the daylights scared out of him. “But how, what happened? I thought you went down with the warship!” David asked. “I was trying to take control of the ship and steer it away from Corrinth, but someone appeared and knocked me out. Next thing I know I woke up and I’m here talking to you!”

Siri was confused as to what happened but David was able to piece it together. Rice must have gotten his A.I. to pull Siri out of the mainframe of the warship. That allowed her to return back into David’s system. From there, they took control of the warship and made sure to steer it away from the city. Both Siri and David knew they owed a big debt to the man who saved them even though he would no longer be around to accept the return.

“Alright David, let’s get out of here. This place is getting really depressing and all the people from Corrinth are going to need our help.” She told him. “Great idea, just one problem, my systems are completely damaged and so I can barely move right now.” Siri fumed in frustration, “Again! Ugh! I have to go and fix everything again? Every time!”

As she continued on her rant, David tried to reason with her. “Hey calm down, you don’t need to rush. Help is on its way.” As he finished his thought, people began to appear from the horizon. “David! Is that you? Hold on, we are coming to get you.”

Niall shouted to get everyone else’s attention. He slid down to reach David first to see his current status. “We all thought we lost you when that ship exploded! I can’t believe I’m saying this but well done, you saved us all!” Niall exclaimed. “It wasn’t all me. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without all of you and Rice.” When Niall heard the mysterious name he gave David a weird look. That was when David realized that Niall had never met Rice.

He attempted to explain but the pains of battle returned forcing him to clutch his wounds. Niall put David’s arm over his neck to help support him. After moving a few meters, help finally arrived to help David stabilize and treat his wounds.