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Post by Stoney on Sept 12, 2007 15:32:46 GMT -5
The corgi remained rooted to one spot as he watched the wolf flee into the woods in a random direction. He honestly didn't know what to make of that guy... After several moments of staring, he selected an appropriate action from his list of programmed responses and facepalmed. "Is everyone in this planet utterly insane, or are we just lucky?"
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Post by DB on Oct 7, 2007 11:55:44 GMT -5
"I must elaborate, or you will destroy all my cheaply made, easily expendable drones on sight? Oh dear. Then, surely, I must tell you what you wish to know! What is it, oh terrible and powerful one, must I inform you of as to not incur your considerable wrath?"
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Post by matrixx on Oct 18, 2007 0:17:51 GMT -5
Resson's grip tightened considerably. "Do not underestimate me." He neglected to tell him that he was once able to trace Bogert's signal, and would be likely able to do it again.
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Post by Stoney on Oct 23, 2007 15:17:24 GMT -5
Rush sat down in the dirt and sighed, resting his elbows on his knees. He no longer knew what to do with himself; he and his dad were trapped here, with no possible leads on how to return home. Plus, Resson was starving and Rush had no idea what plants or animals here were safe to eat. He began idly picking through the data he'd managed to obtain from Bogert before they were interrupted. Roughly half the files had been successfully downloaded, though some of them appeared incomplete. Hmm. The corgi began inspecting the notes on this planet's history. The further he read, the more incredulous he became, until he reached the end of the file and sat there staring off into the air in shock. "...Whoa." He leaped to his feet suddenly, eyes blazing with a brainwave. Of course!"DAD! This is it! This is the answer! It's perfect!" He turned to Resson, grabbing his sleeve. "This 'Roboticizer' thing! If you could modify it so they keep their free will, then maybe...maybe we could use it at home!" A crazed grin leaped onto his face. "We could show the whole world what it feels like to be a robot! Then they'll have to treat us equally!"
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Post by DB on Oct 23, 2007 17:25:35 GMT -5
"I'm not planning on staying long enough for it to matter if I underestimate you or not. Goodbye." And with that, the droid self destructed into a puddle of goo in Resson's hands.
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Post by matrixx on Nov 20, 2007 1:50:31 GMT -5
Resson glared at the liquid in his hands for a moment before shaking it off unceremoniously. "Ew." Wiping his hands on his lab coat, he turned back to Rush. "The thought had indeed crossed my mind when I heard of it... but it's not quite as simple as that. We're in a parallel universe, you must realize. Any code or mechanics that must be altered will likely not be similar to our own. It's the same principle that makes you and your brothers hack-proof. Of course, that doesn't mean it isn't worth a try, given some time and some test subjects... but a bit more disconcerting at the moment is Bogert's sudden shift in behavior... and hue. And now, phase of matter..." He looked down upon the puddle left by the drone.
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Post by AnT on Nov 20, 2007 2:05:16 GMT -5
"Keh! So someone wanna play Robotnik in yur other world, huh?" It took some time getting out of Robotropolis...really long time. Normally, Shortfuse wouldn't mind blasting bots in his way, but sadly, he had this little robot kid to think of, Robo-Cream. Also, he was quite annoyed that Tekno would leave him like this. Sure, she wouldn't do that; blame it on the doc's cronnie, but still... And that he finally was in the forest, trying to figure out what to do with this workerbot on his back, he came to this. His enhanced robotic hearing overheard dog-boy thinking it was a good idea to be a Robotnik wannabe in the other world. Yeah he knew they were from that other stupid world; he and Tekno seen that green dog before. But what did he care? Its not like they'll get lucky and steal Robotnik's stuff. Besides, he still needs to erm...help this kid. "Heh! Good luck with that! I'm sure your people would LOVE to be slaved bots like WE DO!" Adjusting Robo-Cream on his back, Shorty prepared to walk off. "Eh whatever! Have fun..."
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Post by Stoney on Nov 29, 2007 20:59:50 GMT -5
Rush didn't see Bogert liquefy; he did, however, see the goo covering Resson's hands afterwards as the professor directed his attention to it. Rush put two and two together to get twenty-two, and looked intrigued. He pointed at the goo and said, "I remember reading about this online. There's a ton of info on it there, including these really helpful live video demonstrations. It's fascinating." After a couple moments of studying Resson's face, Rush grew puzzled. His father's reaction to the goo did not seem at all in accordance with what Rush had expected. "...Huh, weird." Thank God, he was distracted at that moment by a nearby voice speaking up; Shortfuse wasn't the only one with enhanced audio sensors. Rush began turning to glare in the robot's direction. "Gee, I guess you must have a TOTALLY DIFFERENT idea of what 'keep their free will' means than I--" He froze, staring at the workerbot on Shortfuse's back. It looked very familiar. " ...What the...?"
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Post by AnT on Dec 10, 2007 22:25:04 GMT -5
"Whatchu lookin at?" he find being stared at rather irritating.
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Post by Stoney on Jan 24, 2008 16:10:53 GMT -5
A creeping coldness settled into Rush's robotic equivalent of a gut. Almost unconsciously, he brought up an image of the rabbit girl he'd met earlier and compared it to what he was seeing now. Then he cross-referenced that comparison with what he knew about this world so far. The conclusion was obvious. ". . . . ." He didn't know what to say. The robotic squirrel was expecting some sort of reply, yet Rush couldn't give him one. The shock had drowned out all output from his emotional matrix, leaving dull emptiness in its wake. He stared at Cream's soulless red eyes. He didn't understand. This girl had been just another organic. Just another statistic amongst the billions of other victims on this planet. He seriously doubted that seeing any other person become a robot like this would have such an effect on him. What made this girl so special? Rush slowly raised his eyes up from the rabbit's emotionless chrome face to center on ShortFuse. "T-that girl..." He croaked out at last, his voice warped from the low power he was feeding his synthesizer. He slowly lifted a hand to point at Cream. "I know her...but, she wasn't...like that before." He didn't know why he was reacting this way. Shouldn't her roboticization have been a good thing? He was just now enthusiastically recommending the method to his father as their ticket to world domination on their homeworld. Why shouldn't he be thrilled that the girl was now one of his robotic kin? Oh, wait, the whole mind-wiping thing. Of course. A robot without a mind was just as bad as an organic that had been rendered a mental vegetable -- not much use at all. Resson's belief was that robots should be just as alive as organics, able to think and feel with the best of them. A soulless machine in the shape of something alive was a mockery to everything his father and himself stood for. And...recalling that girl, how scared she had been, how lonely...to see her like this... Was this what it was like to feel numb? Rush turned to face his father. "Dad...can you...is she...?" He was trying to ask if there was any possible way to recover Cream's mind and free will, but couldn't articulate his thoughts. His insides felt like a jumbled mess.
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Post by matrixx on Feb 21, 2008 2:31:17 GMT -5
Resson shook the goo off his hands - he fixed his emotionless gaze at the robotic rabbit for a moment, his mind working. He wasn't entirely sure what the problem was - the nature of the roboticization process was completely unknown to him, so he had little to go off of. "She is... was... just a child. It's likely that a developing psyche could not handle such mental trauma and come out the other end intact." There was a certain air of tragedy about it, but it took more than this to break through the multitude of emotional barriers he had active at all times.
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Post by AnT on Feb 21, 2008 11:39:15 GMT -5
"I don't know what da hell you just said, but yeah! That punk Robotnik wouldn't care if he robo'd a little baby, and you wanna use HIS junk?" He remembed when Robotnik, or at least Omega, robo'd him. The moment he was robotic, Shorty was angry. He was so angry, but he felt like a caged animal that wanted to rip out the one who trapped him. But it wasn't really a truma moment for he faced harsh times before...well not as hard as the robotizer, but still... ...But to go through that as a little kid like this tyke?...Oh yeah, Robotnik and Omega was gonna pay. And he didn't like the idea of the other world going through that too.
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Post by Stoney on Mar 3, 2008 18:18:25 GMT -5
Rush wasn't really paying attention to anything anymore. After Resson had given his verdict it had felt like his power core had dropped out of a hole in his lower abdomen and lay detached. He tore his eyes away from Cream's unblinking ones, unable to stand that soulless gaze a moment longer. "She's dead," He mumbled, drooping in place like a withered flower. "Gone..." He sat down, curling up and leaning his forehead against his bent knees. Someone like her had not deserved this fate, and seeing her that way filled Rush with an inexplicable sense of loss. He hoped that Resson would be able to permanently disable this mind-wipe feature should they ever obtain the Roboticizer for themselves. Speaking of which...something Shortfuse said lit a spark within the gas chamber of the corgi's emotions. Rush's head snapped up, giving the squirrel a look of mixed anger and indignation. "You think we're like him?" He spat the last word like a vile curse. Never mind who this guy was, he could not let an insult like THAT go by. Getting back, up, Rush formed a plasma buster and motioned to it with his free arm. "Look at me, buddy! I am one-hundred percent living, thinking robot with emotions and a free will -- just like you! People like me are what we're aiming for, not that." He waved vaugely in Cream's direction, unable to look directly at the rabbit.
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Post by AnT on Mar 7, 2008 17:24:21 GMT -5
"-pssh- With 'da robotisicer? Yeah, noble. I'm sure 'da people there will be glad once you ask[/b] them!" And calling him a robot? Shorty sometimes doesn't consider himself a robot. He was a robotizced being that didn't ASKED to be one. People like him are not going to be like this for now, nor were they robots to begin with. Does that make him a robot? Well...maybe so right now, but not originally. And these guys preaching about something we once remembered Tekno's dad saying once. He wanted to make robots that act like living people, and live with living people. But with Robotnik giving robots a bad name, that may never happen. "One, I'm a Robian; a punk that never ASKED to be a robot, so that don't count! And two," he then snapped at Rush. "Whadda you mean she's dead?? How could she when she went 'priority one' mode on us?" But then again, this was just a little kid. No freakin way a little child can take something horrible and painful as the robotisicer. He remembered that day like yesterday. What Robian didn't remember their horrible time? That thing was painful, right on to your....everything. But every day he saw nothing but being forced to do a terrible job and Robotnik laughing at him. And every time that happens, Shorty just grew angry and kept rattling his 'cage'. He never stopped trying to break free until Tekno helped. But this kid...no freakin way she would take anything like that. But no! He won't believe she's dead. What would her parents think, provided they're not robo'd? "Forget this!" taking the Robian rabbit, Shortfuse rocketed away, hoping that Tekno could help.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Mar 24, 2008 4:04:32 GMT -5
In the roboticized squirrel's sudden haste, however, he failed to notice his poorly secured grip on the deactivated rabbot in his arms. Cream slipped loose and, being unable to attempt breaking her fall, fell to the ground in a crumpled mess a few feet away from where Resson and Rush stood.
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Post by Stoney on Jun 12, 2008 21:44:31 GMT -5
And Rush was suddenly there, gathering up the little rabbit girl in his arms before she hurt herself or did something equally regrettable. " Damn it." He cursed, very quietly. His face was twisted into an agonized expression, feeling the unbearable weight of Cream's empty stare boring into him full-force. He could no longer look away from her...now he HAD to stare back, taking in the chrome face devoid of any semblance of life. Rush stood up, head bowed and eyes shut tight. "Dad...will you be okay being alone for a few minutes? I..." He felt an odd obstruction in his throat, a involuntary tightening of his neck cables that controlled his head rotation. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly wished for the first time that he had tear ducts. "...I need to return this girl to her mother."
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Post by matrixx on Jul 19, 2008 2:30:50 GMT -5
Resson sighed deeply, lowering his head and adjusting his glasses. "Rarely do I use the word 'evil' to describe anyone, but this Julian Robotnik character tempts me." He slowly walked to Rush's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. "This is just a small sample of the cruelty we're fighting against, Rush. When you realize you live in a world where you could hold a lifeless child in your arms, it changes you..." His expression went distant for a moment. With a look of slight sadness, his eyes wander to the motionless robotic body. "I'll go with you. Her mother deserves to know the cruelty we all face. The rest can wait."
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Post by Stoney on Jul 29, 2008 21:22:13 GMT -5
Rush gave his dad a small, sad smile; he knew exactly what the canine was likely thinking about. Was this what it was like for you, Dad? He wondered. Did you hold him in your arms at the end?Rush clenched his jaw shut to hold in these questions; he didn't want to upset his father by reopening old wounds. The corgibot instead turned to the clearing edge, nodding his head towards it to indicate the direction they should go. "I saw the rabbit lady head off that way. If we're lucky, we can catch up to her." He gave one last look at the clearing they were in. An irrational sensation occurred to him; so much had happened here in so little time. It didn't feel like a few hours had passed; it felt like seven months. The realization that they were now leaving felt somewhat bittersweet as a result, as if they were saying goodbye to an old friend. Rush shook off the nonsensical surge of emotion -- seriously, where had THAT come from? -- and turned away from the clearing with a sigh. "Let's get out of here." He murmured. And they left.
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