Prologue

"How much can humans endure before losing their humanity?"

Dusk sat on the yellow, dying grass as he stared forward — partly blinded by the afternoon sunlight through a thin veil of yellow chemicals.

"You'd always ask that. Just like Mom did. When eating, after a shower, before going to bed… And, being honest, at some point, I began wondering about it too."

"Human. Humanus. Homo and humus. Man and Earth. That's what we're, beings rooted to the soil."

He took a sip from his cold soda. 

Summer was getting hotter with each year, almost unbearable. He had to put on a special spray to avoid serious sunburns.

"We can eat, speak and reproduce. We can recall the nostalgic memories. We can predict the future blindly and prepare beforehand. We can live the gift of the present..."

"That's right, we can live as humans."

He gritted his teeth for a moment before taking a deep breath and trying to relax.

"Or we can hide our humanity and replace it with copper wires. With electronics and steel. Chips and code."

"Oh, look! A new Implant has been found. I should pre-order it to boost my intelligence!" Dusk mimicked with a high-pitched voice.

"Look, this company has found a new Rank 4 Implant! It will end all the wars! Who will be the lucky one to implement it?"

"A new Rank 5 half-robot has appeared! Here are his Implants and core Implant!"

Dusk heaved a sigh as he took another sip.

"Hypocrites. But I guess I'm no one to speak. In mere days, I'll also have a spine implanted to get some robot speaking to me like an annoying fly."

"Not like I can do anything. What choice does a sixteen-year-old kid like me have? I always boasted about being strong and not wanting to submit to society's decisions. And yet…"

"Yet…"

Dusk closed his eyes.

"Sorry, Astra. Guess your brother it's good for nothing."

Dusk clutched his jet-black hair and pulled slightly from it. His heart was heavy. It ached harder than ever with each beat as he stared forward.

He opened his blue eyes and couldn't get them off her sister. It was painful.

Sighing, Dusk stared at the tainted sky.

Warehouses produced corrosive gas, which inevitably ended up in the atmosphere. It was estimated that in a decade, Earth would be inhabitable.

Humans were trying to get the most out of it before their home planet inevitably collapsed.

"I'm leaving Earth tomorrow. I'm going to Europa, to a new military academy they created after igniting the moon's core and creating a breathable atmosphere. It should be a fresh start. It should feel like one."

"…"

"It's not. Because you won't be there with me."

Dusk subconsciously let a sob escape his lips.

"I just want to kill them."

"I want to kill every single fucking robot. For what they did to us. For what they did to Mom and Dad."

"For what they did to you."

Dusk couldn't hold the tears in. 

"But I'm still too weak."

He cried as he sat on the rough grass for five minutes. 

When he calmed down, he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the cold tombstone with her sister's name engraved on it.

"I'll promise you, Astra. I'll get our revenge no matter what."

"I'll make them dream of eternal sleep."

"I promise…"

Tears fell on the grass.

"Forgive me for becoming one of them. The day everything ends, I'll make sure to put a bullet through my head and join you. So, please forgive me."

"I miss you."

"And I love you. I love you dearly, Astra."

Dusk remained still with his forehead pressed against the tomb for some minutes in sheer silence before leaning back and standing up.

He took a look at her grave, then at his soda, and poured its contents over the stone.

"You loved this drink. Here's a last one. Sorry if I drank most of it."

Dusk laughed, tears and snot making its way into his mouth.

Gripping the can tightly — deforming the aluminum — he turned around and walked towards the car waiting for him at the end of the gate.

There, a robot in an expensive suit was waiting for him.

It bowed slightly

"My apologies for your loss, Du-"

The robotic tone of its voice made Dusk bite his lower lip a bit too hard, making him wince as the teeth cut the tissue. He threw the empty, deformed soda at it, bouncing with a metallic echo as it hit its head. 

The robot was unfazed.

"I don't want to hear it."

"I could offer psychological assistance until reaching Section's 03-E Space Program."

"What would a robot know about emotions? You think with ones and zeros."

The robot didn't even spend a split second in silence.

"I have thousands of research papers on human emotions. I can offer psychological assistance in an attempt to help you get peace of mind over your deceased sis-."

"Say another word and I'm tearing you apart."

The robot instantly replied.

"I am sorry if my intentions have appeared ill. I will learn from today's interaction."

"How about you learn how to shut the fuck up."

Dusk mumbled as he got into the back of the car, slamming the door shut. The robot merely stared at him getting inside.

Without a word, the robot stepped into the car and drove down the highway.

It didn't take long for Dusk to see the first spacecraft sent outside of Earth.

Years, decades, centuries of evolution. Everything culminated in leaving the very planet that made it all possible.

With a deep inhale, Dusk closed his eyes and rested before it was his turn.