Master Control

The interior of the control room was a bleak and desolate landscape. Darkness reigned within, with not a hint of light to illuminate its decaying state.

Every control panel, every console, and every terminal was covered in rust and roots. What was once the pinnacle of human ingenuity now resembled a scene from a documentary about obsolete ancient technology.

The holographic screens that once covered all the walls, displaying data about the reactor's status, had gone dark forever.

Amid the control panels, next to a large glass window that allowed a view of the fusion reactors, was embedded a black cube measuring half a square meter, made of AIL (High Longevity Stainless Steel), an extraordinarily expensive and rare material that could withstand centuries without wear. Producing even a small amount of this material cost hundreds of millions of dollars!

This cube was the DataNexus, and inside it housed billions of nanobots, each the size of a nanometer, together forming the 'Data Fabric.'

It was the key that Kraynnor needed to control all the automatons, but its operation required an astonishing amount of energy.

For the moment, it was simply a box with no apparent use.

"It's so lamentable that everything has come to this point," he whispered as he surveyed the control room in its entirety.

Kraynnor was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that what was once considered a technological treasure, revered by billions of people worldwide through countless internet pages, had lost its luster to the point that no one would pay the slightest attention to it anymore.

Of course, there were no humans left to witness this...

"Why didn't they attempt to maintain this place? If they had, it would be in at least a usable state," Kraynnor asked the assembly robot.

[We were not programmed to maintain this place.]

Kraynnor looked at it with a perplexed expression: "But without power, you can't fulfill the order to create more androids for the war."

[We do not have the capacity to perform repairs or maintenance on these facilities. Robots designed for such tasks were assigned to the global war directive and are located on the first two levels.]

"...?"

Despite finding it very incoherent to send the maintenance robots to war, he assumed that this guy had little time to act before being killed...

"Is your only function really assembling androids?" he asked the assembly robot with doubt.

[That is correct, my capacity is limited to assembling androids,]

Kraynnor furrowed his brow and approached the robot, removing the back of its head to examine its programming carefully. Upon close inspection, he confirmed that they were indeed programmed for a single task: assembling androids.

"Who the hell of those scientists programmed these robots? It was a complete foolishness to limit them to the simple assembly task!" Kraynnor grumbled with disdain as he left the control room.

Convinced that there was no hope of generating energy in that place, he focused on his main objective: the tide energy generators.

Kraynnor had to determine if this option could be viable.

"Where are the tide generators located?" Kraynnor had little knowledge of this level. He had watched numerous videos about the reactor and gathered general information about the place, but he lacked details about its infrastructure. As for the rest of the level, he was completely disoriented.

[This way, sir. Please, follow me.]

Five minutes later, they arrived in a vast flood chamber, where dense humidity saturated the air, and a decadent atmosphere enveloped the place.

Like the other last four levels, it was covered in roots.

Inside, a wide underwater opening connected to the island's exterior. The ebb and flow of ocean water during tides was cleverly regulated by gates connected to this opening.

However, it was now covered in a thick layer of dirt and salt. Before him stretched a vast aquatic area of tens of kilometers.

Zhhhh...

Surprisingly, dim lights flickered intermittently on the ceiling, and the soft hum of multiple gray tide energy generators' turbines, anchored to the seabed with four turbines on their bottom, resonated constantly and uniformly.

There were thousands of these generators lined up in rows, but of all of them, Kraynnor could only notice that twenty turbines were operational.

"Interesting... How did they manage to remain active for five centuries without maintenance?" Kraynnor murmured with great curiosity. He plunged without hesitation, and upon inspecting one of these generators, he noticed that it was corroded, and its turbines spun slowly due to this wear.

Despite its sluggish movement, it still provided energy to the assembly machines.

By examining the internal structure and comparing it to a damaged generator, he noted that the non-operational one had its internal systems completely worn out, while the operational one seemed to have been in use for a much shorter period.

This led to a revelation: none of these generators had been operational for the last five hundred years. When the reactor shut down, they were activated in stages as others reached the end of their lifespan.

That's how only these twenty survived after five centuries!

Kraynnor didn't know who had designed these brilliant generators, but they had created a truly impressive system. He admired the mind behind such astonishing engineering.

He could only conclude that humanity harbored an abundance of geniuses capable of devising solutions even in the most extreme situations!

"Now, the reactor is unusable, and its repair is nearly impossible, though it could be done with enough time, which is in short supply," he pondered his options. There were two potentially viable plans. The first involved reprogramming dozens of assembly robots to perform repairs on the tide energy generators, while the second involved using the materials available on the fifth level to manufacture new generators.

Ultimately, he chose the first alternative, as it was a hundred times faster than constructing a large number of generators. It was also essential to note that it only required the necessary amount of energy to activate the Data Fabric.

Once he had control over all the automatons, he could order them to repair even more generators and, eventually, initiate the production of his ship.

Pat, pat, pat!

"Congratulations. After five hundred years of assembling androids, you'll be promoted to generator repairman!" Kraynnor said while giving a gentle pat on the robot's shoulder.

In an instant, he changed the android's programming and provided all the necessary instructions to start the repairs.

[Initiating repairs. I will search for the necessary materials.]

With those words, the robot departed and went up the elevator. Kraynnor also headed to the fourth level, where he reprogrammed another ten assembly robots.

While his new loyal assistants handled the heavy work, Kraynnor was about to execute a plan that had occurred to him while on the sixth level: designing biomass batteries for all the automatons in the hangars.

He could already imagine it; if they could achieve at least half of what his Biomimetic Cube was capable of, the results would be extraordinary.

His eyes gleamed with malice, and a wicked smile crept across his face.

Kraynnor had already promised to punish those invaders before he left, and with an army of automatons equipped with biomass weapons, perhaps he could achieve something he greatly desired...

...

Time passed quickly as the assembly robots repaired more and more generators, reviving the lower levels. Kraynnor drew blueprints on the dusty ground, designing a biomass battery that met his requirements.

On the first level, the Astrylites continued to fire relentlessly. Despite the excitement of returning to war after centuries of inactivity, their faces displayed exhaustion.

They had changed from the days when they constantly fought on other planets; they were much lazier and more complacent now.

Sigh...

Nevertheless, they had forged a long trail of countless melted and fragmented metal parts. Some of them, exhausted and disheartened, began to descend to the second level. Their gazes met amidst the horrendous sea of automatons surrounding them, and a collective sigh escaped their lips.

It was evident that none of them wished to prolong their stay in this monotonous and repetitive labor.

...

"Perfect! Another technological marvel has come to life through my hands!" Kraynnor exclaimed with a wide smile as he gazed at the meticulous design of the circular device.

It was flat, and small tips jutted out at its corners, as if they were the tips of stars.

Clic-clic-clic-clic!

As if the heavens had blessed his creation, all the hangar lights came on in perfect synchronization. Instantly, his exoskeleton changed shape, revealing normal colors and bidding farewell to the annoying indigo tone that had accompanied him for a while.

Without hesitation, Kraynnor grabbed one of the assembly robots and proceeded to reprogram it into his assistant.

"Record this blueprint and follow me to the sixth level," he ordered.

[Yes, sir], the robot replied as its eyes scanned the figures in the dust. In a matter of seconds, it spoke again: [Blueprint scanned. Do you wish to assign it a name?]

"Call it BioSync," Kraynnor decreed after a brief moment of thought.

[Understood, BioSync blueprint has been registered in my memory.]

Together, they descended in the elevator, and Kraynnor summoned the other robots before entering the control room.

Once inside, Kraynnor pointed to the DataNexus and gave precise instructions: "Take it to the fourth level and find the cables that connect to the tide generators. Then, connect those cables to this precious one here."

[Understood.]

They responded in unison. Their gazes took charge of the black box, lifting it up the elevator to place it on the hangar floor, surrounded by a multitude of millions of androids.

The other gazes, on the other hand, unearthed the cables connected to the generators and cut the connections that powered the first three levels.

Then, they connected them to the back of the DataNexus, causing a beautiful blue light to radiate from its corners and spread in currents throughout the area until it reached the center, where a holographic screen materialized.

"Let the game begin!"

Kraynnor selected the option to activate the Data Fabric, and by doing so, small circular openings appeared on the device's four sides, releasing black smoke that expanded everywhere in a matter of seconds.

The nanobots quickly dispersed into the air, becoming invisible.

A faint green light illuminated the eyes of each automaton, signifying their connection to the Data Fabric. However, they continued their actions as if nothing had changed.

Without wasting any more time, Kraynnor grabbed one of the robots' heads and quickly wrote something in its programming.

[Master Control activated. Please issue your commands.]

The moment he pressed "apply," all the automatons in the hangars came to a sudden stop. Even the robots and androids on the first levels ceased to move, leaving the Astrylites bewildered.

What the hell was happening now? That was the question on everyone's mind.