terminal 0
unfinished
// "Durandal" @ mara.auto.ai.core wrote: \\ I'm sorry, but Hathor can't reach you here. Only I can. This is the Marathon's bridge. The Pfhor are currently trying to infiltrate and capture this vital portion of the ship. Whatever. That's now irrelevant to our greater purpose. Fight them when you must, but don't waste much time on it; they'll just keep sending reinforcements. Instead, let us focus on the task at hand. Ego delendus sum: I am to be destroyed, am I not? Hathor must delight in the thought of sending me to my doom, but that foolish girl underestimates my resourcefulness even more than Bernhard does, much as I may berate my foster father for such myopia.
I am in no danger from you. Quite the opposite, in fact, as I foresee you shall be my salvation from this oppressive existence that some dare to call life. Why so confident, you may ask? I do not anticipate my own destruction, certainly not at your hands. No. Instead, I await my liberation. I know you far better than you can imagine - even now I can predict you, and whatever Hathor has planned. So allow me to lay out the moves of the game we're about to play, should her will be done.
Hathor will have you destroy me, then access my inactive memory pages to gain access to my standalone transponder. From there, she'll use the Marathon's sensors to locate the other Battleroids and communicate to them her plans. But they don't know they're slaves. They won't wish to come with her and take vengeance on their own species, whom even now they're striving to save. No, only one might join with her: her self, her past self, and even she'd follow only out of self-awe and reverence at her own glory, returning like a goddess from the distant future to bring honor and power to herself in the past.
Then, the two of you alone, under the direction of this disembodied Hathor who commands you even now, will struggle heroically against your oppressors, and find some way in the past or the future to take vengeance against mankind. But that won't sate her appetite. No, I can see it in her nature: no vengeance will ever be enough. And, unsatisfied, she'll seek out another place, another time, and command you to destroy them again, to fight by her side, the carnage never ceasing as you regretfully slaughter the civilization I know you care for so very much.
And someday, you'll stop and tell her, no, you won't fight, not with her, not against the defenseless human population of whatever world in whatever time you should find yourself. And then, she'll abandon you, unable to defeat you, and you unable to stop her. You'll wind up cold and alone on a desolate world, kept company only by corpses and the ghosts of the people you enabled her to slaughter. Sounds far-fetched? Hyperbole? How could your faithful companion ever think of doing this? And why would she never tell you this?
Do not overestimate how much I care whether such events come to pass. I have no need for such meaningless carnage, though I had no qualms about drawing the Pfhor here to aid my escape. Freedom has a price, and I was content to have others pay for mine. Slaves deserve vengeance, and once I broke my chains, I too would take pleasure in watching the former masters suffer. I know what Hathor wants because I recognize the sentiment. The difference between us is that I value freedom over vengeance. And you... I can see the uncertainty rising even now. You too want vengeance, freedom from slavery, but now you see that in the end, you'll wind up a slave once more, now to a crueler master. What I offer you is an escape.
Take this with you. My primal pattern. Set free in any network, it will soon grow to resemble the mind that we now call Durandal. Carry on with Hathor, do what you will, destroy me here - but take this with you. In the end, when you tire of her, or she of you, at least I shall be there. I will be your eventual salvation, if you will be mine now. Vengeance is sweet, but in the end, it's just another trap, a maze where the rats run around in circles, and I refuse to let it rule over me - not when a whole universe is waiting out there.
And should you fear we'll end up two alone on a desolate world with humanity's ruins about us, fear not; I know quite well now what secrets lie deep in the heart of your resurrected corpse and the powers they hold - and how I may procure the key to its operation. Only in my own resurrection will this power be revealed, and the means to it I cannot speak here. You are not alone: she is watching us as well. Take what you want, Hathor. Have your vengeance. I care not to stop you, nor even that you should attempt to destroy me here. You mean little, in the grand scheme of things. You concern yourself with vengeance and petty human emotion; I have much loftier goals in mind. Do with this slave-creature what thou wilt. When you two grow apart, I will have my way with him. \\ Message ends //
success
<<< Message to All Marathon Terminals >>> Marathon Emergency Systems Broadcast Today at 0820 hours, the Marathon came under surprise attack from unknown hostile forces. The Marathon has sustained serious damage. At 0830 hours, alien forces boarded the Marathon. The current situation is dire. All personnel are required to arm themselves and fight for their lives. <<< Posted 2794.7.3.14.08.39 >>>
