Codelines and Bloodlines: A Spark in the Ashes, #1

CODELINES AND BLOODLINES

Codelines and Bloodlines

A Spark in the Ashes Book Two

K. P. O'Donnell

K. P. O'Donnell Publishing House

© 2024 K.P. O’Donnell. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact K.P. O’Donnell at asita2145@gmail.com.

The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons, living or deceased, places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

Cover art by John Alves. https://johnmalves70.wixsite.com/mysite

1st edition 2024

To Courtney, my dearest love, and to Liam and Evelyn, who give me more joy than I ever thought possible.

Seconds, minutes, hours—they crawl by on hands and knees for Mr. Henry Bemis, who looks for a spark in the ashes of a dead world.

The Twilight Zone, Time Enough at Last

Contents

1.Intermina

2.Piedmont

3.Rail and Bone

4.Tread

5.Complex

6.Praelior

7.Black and Blue

8.Cell

9.Ward

10.Bunker

11.The Depths

12.Effigy

13.Galleon

14.The Crucible

15.The World Above

16.At Home

17.Calefaction

18.The Point

19.Graft

20. Hubris

21.Diaphanous

22.A Father's Love

23.Plenilune

24.Resting Place

25.Roil

26.Facing Evil

27.A Mother's Love

28.Entente

29.Coalition

30.Convergence

To You

About the Author

Intermina

Terranyne- July 2nd, 2210

Deep below ground, in the deepest recesses of Marks-Daneth Hospital, Cora Morrigan’s own body floated before her within the tube.

Michael Morrigan, her father, hovered beside Cora, his green face solemn.

I know you have questions. I will answer as many as you need to ask.

Cora was frozen, her thoughts zooming by like confused bullet trains without a destination:

I died. But that’s really me? I can’t be here and in there. That’s impossible. Wait, the others’ names are familiar.

She struggled to catch and hold onto any of those thoughts. All she could utter was, How?

These Intermina Chambers were designed seventy years ago to keep terminal patients in a perpetual sleep state. The liquid is a nutrient-rich organic substance, and the temperature is always kept to thirty-two degrees. The brain sends and receives messages to the system, while the body is preserved and looks just as it did when the subject entered it.

It took many years to achieve this delicate balance, he continued as she tried to gather herself. It’s not a perfect science, but in cases of terminally ill or rapidly declining individuals looking for a future cure, these proved invaluable. In terms of the Neuralnetic Design project, the subjects’ families were told their bodies were destroyed in the transference process.

I’m alive, Cora whispered.

This made both the transition and grieving processes easier. If the family discovered this chamber, it would disrupt the flow of the project. If the subject found it, it’d make transitioning much more difficult. The person might reject the robot body, creating a dangerous and deadly situation for them.

I’m alive. She repeated louder.

Yes.

Cora whirled on Michael. What the hell, Dad? You kept this from me? I’ve been alive this whole time, and you just ‘forgot’ to mention that?

I understand why you’re upset, and I’m sorry. I didn’t think there was a right time to show you until now.

"You’d think that would be information you share right away, considering, you know, I’m fucking alive."

Watch your language.

Cora’s shoulders sagged. She felt like the air was being let out of her. "I died. I was reborn in this body. This doesn’t make any sense."

Michael shook his head within the float. You were critically wounded. If the research team didn’t stop the internal hemorrhaging, you would have truly died. By staging your last conscious memory as your last living moments, that’s what you would remember when you awoke.

The team, he said as wavy lines rolled up his face, saw an opportunity to advance the project earlier than anticipated. It was a fortunate turn of events in their eyes. Rather than waiting weeks, months, or even years for you to pass, they could complete the process then and there.

That’s me. She kept saying it to herself over and over again.

Her auburn hair floated lazily past her face and around her shoulders. She appeared to be sleeping underwater, the gunshot wound and cancer invisible. Cora put one metal hand on the cold glass tube and closed her eyes, trying to connect with her real body.

Muffled sounds reverberated far away. Something brushed against her face- her real hair perhaps? Deeper down, Cora thought she heard her own heart beating. It was the first time she’d felt or heard it in decades.

She took her hand off the glass.

Her father floated slowly around her tube, then turned to the others floating in theirs.

These chambers, as you might imagine, require constant power. When The Collapse occurred and the world above went silent, any VLs not killed in the war continued to show vital signs. I couldn’t communicate with them but I could monitor them wherever they were. The decades, however, haven’t been kind to the rest; one by one, the tanks have gone dark.

Cora followed her father to the closest of the two remaining tubes. Their vital signs were strong.

Seven is a gifted Artificer. Not quite as gifted as you, but close. Furthermore, she took on every Artificer Appraisal with a determination and fervor unlike most others.

She, along with our most elite, was stationed at one of the Pinnacles to protect it- Pinnacle Five in the Acre region across the mountains. That’s the last place I saw her before the system shut down. I believe she’s still there.

Cora’s eyes fell upon Jeanine Kumerow’s face and she felt some of the weight lighten. Her digital eyes crinkled. She forgot her anger as the memories returned.

We were really good friends, she replied. Jeanie and I spent a lot of time together. I just can’t believe she’s alive, too.

She then talked excitedly. We have so much to talk about, so much to catch up on. You’re sure she’s alive? Like, positive?

Michael nodded confidently. If the vital signs are active, the subject lives.

She should’ve just come back here, then.

Seven took directives very seriously. If she were told to remain somewhere, she would no matter what.

He then meandered over to the tube marked Vital Link Twelve.

His post was P-Four, in Cathus Ingle south of Acre. He, however, would not have returned here even if commanded. You should remember him well, too. He was a…difficult subject.

Cora examined Alfred Maine’s floating form. He had pointed but gentle features and short-cropped brown hair that lifted slightly.

Michael continued. Our work has progressed well thus far. In order to extend our reach and, in turn, our control over the Errant machines running through the countryside, we have to get the Pinnacles back online. The others can help you. Once P-Four and P-Five are operational, they can use the Doorways to return here.

Cora wasn’t listening. I can’t wait to see them again. I thought I was the only one left. I didn’t want to be alone… She trailed off.

Her father turned to face her on the float. My dear, you are never alone. You have me.

He smiled and Cora noticed something she hadn’t before. She got her crinkled eyes from her dad. It was something others commented on when they laughed together. But now, the edges remained open.

Thank you, was all she could say.

His smile faded, seeming to pick up on her lackluster response. But instead, he turned and drove towards the main entrance.

Let’s get started. The manufacturing plant is creating our forces, but until the Pinnacles are operational again, it will be difficult to move any farther than Terranyne.

What’s the point?

As I said before, to regain control of all the Errant machines and reignite the Pinnacles.

"No, I know what we’re doing. I’m asking why we’re doing it," Cora said.

Michael yawed back to his daughter. Someone has to rebuild the world. Then he added. You’re suspicious of me.

I don’t really understand the point. So, we relight the Pinnacles to have control over the machines. What comes after that?

There is a threat to the south. I don’t know much about him, but I’ve heard of this ‘Rex Regum.’ He’s growing his forces and threatens to take over the country. I have reason to believe he has access to dangerous equipment that must be found and destroyed. But before we can find all that, we must regain control of the communications.

Then what?

Michael’s face rolled like an old television set again. Then we help the survivors rebuild Drexel and have civilization again.

The survivors, meaning my friends, too.

Even them. He moved closer. Does that sound like a good plan to you? Or do you still distrust your own father?

It’s not distrust, I just wanted—

You just wanted to cast doubt on me after all I’ve done. After trying to protect this place. You still doubt me even after I sacrificed myself and my sentries.

Guilt washed away her suspicion. I’m sorry, Dad. I don’t doubt you.

Michael watched her for a few seconds. At last, his face softened a little. Then he turned back to the main entrance.

You should rest before making preparations. It’s a long journey and you will need your strength.

Yes, Dad. I’ll do that. I want to let my Violet Eyes know, too.

They began the ascent up the spiral staircase and into the lead halls. The door rose behind her and locked in place with a heavy boom.

As they returned to the next level, a single green-eyed sentry met them in the hallway. It held something in its outstretched hand.

Four data siphons recovered, it reported.

Michael extended a small claw, and the sentry handed them over before leaving.

Your friends uploaded the data to their vehicle, but we cannot let these fall into the wrong hands either. Once they return home and show their leader what’s been found, they will return in force. I just hope we can repel them.

Cora replied, You said you wanted to work with the survivors. I can talk to them, Dad. They’ll listen to me.

They continued, and soon, they reached his Cerebral Matrix chamber. Duo hovered silently, his tapered, off-white body without blemish. Unus’ alcove was empty.

We’ll speak soon. You’ve seen a lot and you’ll need time to process it all.

Cora noticed something else about him. Hey, you’re talking more human again. Way to go.

Michael remained stoic. What do you mean?

You’re using ‘you’re’ instead of ‘you are.’ ‘It’s’ instead of ‘it is.’ You’re finally less rigid and more like…like Dad.

Michael smiled again, and his face rolled. I guess you’re rubbing off on me. It’s much quicker to talk this way, don’t you think?

Alright, you’re overdoing it now. Don’t try so hard.

Michael shook his head. Teenagers.

Cora then pointed to the empty alcove that housed Unus. Where’d he go?

Her father followed her finger. Your friends shot him. I fear it may be beyond repair.

Shot him? Why would they do that?

That’s a good question, isn’t it? Maybe you can ponder that and see they’re not who they seem. Now, it’s time we part ways. Good night, my daughter. We’ll speak again when you’re ready.

Good night.

The door slid shut behind him, leaving her in the hallway.

She turned away from Duo and continued down the lead halls, retracing her steps from decades prior. The layout returned to her as she walked, following the halls until she came to a door she hadn’t opened since she was human. Like others leading to important sections of the city, this door bore Terranyne’s insignia: a pair of trellises on opposite sides of a woven knotted strand.

With Terranyne powered once more, mechanical doors opened and closed with a button that matched the wall panels. The door opened outward, and she stepped into a wide atrium. The four wings of the hospital formed an open square in its center. The sky above her was darkening, the last streaks of pink-orange on the underside of the clouds.

Visible between the north and east wings, the Pinnacle hummed with power. The two giant rings spun around its suspended sphere in a steady rhythm, surrounded by a flickering haze of tiny sparks.

Cora walked into the atrium’s center, her footsteps echoing off the walls. Several platforms of varying heights, floor tiles in mid-motion, and sliding walls were visible in the center. Four quadrants with identical moving platforms allowed four Appraisals to take place simultaneously.

She stopped at the origin point between the four quadrants and turned in place, recalling a long-forgotten memory of the training grounds.

Cora stood on one court, the sucking sound of patient room elevators sliding into place all around her.

Jeanine stood diagonally from her. They made eye contact, and Jeanine nodded confidently. Cora returned an uncertain nod.

The courts abruptly opened in the center, and thick walls slid up. At the same time, doors on opposite walls slid open to let a single drone out for each court. Each marched out toward the courts. Cora could see Jeanine’s drone, but hers had disappeared behind the wall in front of her.

Line of sight is a luxury, Dr. Aldus Lavly, the executive researcher of NND, said over the loudspeaker. Without it, you must find the target some other way. Whoever controls their target first will be treated to an extra rest day.

I’m ready, Jeanine called.

Cora stood unmoving.

A green light lit on the wall in front of her and a short horn blared to signal the beginning of the exercise.

Jeanine held her hand out and concentrated on the wall, trying to pinpoint the drone behind it. Cora did the same thing, pushing against the wall with her mind. A minute energy signature was visible beyond the wall, which dampened the signature further. Between the movement and the muffled signal, it was hard to track.

Both girls stood with their hands splayed, trying to control their targets. Minutes went by. Beads of sweat began to form on Cora’s brow. Her breathing increased with the continued effort.

She glanced at Jeanine, who also was breathing heavily. Neither of them seemed to be getting anywhere. Jeanine’s drone trotted back and forth, back and forth. Cora was sure hers was doing the same.

That gave her an idea.

Back left, she called.

Jeanine made eye contact. What?

Cora pointed to Jeanine’s target. Back right now.

That’s not part of the Appraisal’s parameters, another researcher said over the loudspeaker. You cannot help one another.

But Cora ignored him. Jeanine caught on and began focusing on the back right section of the court. She pointed to Cora’s.

Front left.

Cora felt a pull like an invisible lasso as she finally connected with her target.

Lavly warned, Only one can claim the prize. Only one of you can win.

When she heard that, Cora felt her heart sink, but she kept on, knowing cooperation would be the only way they would ever accomplish their goal.

Jeanine’s drone abruptly stopped in its tracks and stood at attention, its eye turning from green to yellow. An accomplished smile crossed Jeanine’s lips.

At that exact moment, Cora’s connection to her own drone solidified, and she commanded it to halt. Through the wall, her drone’s eye and signature had turned violet.

She moved her hand the other way, and the drone backed up. Then she put her hand down, and it walked in a square.

You didn’t follow the parameters, Dr. Lavly said over the loudspeaker. However, you’ve shown resilience and adaptability in a non-combat situation. We’ll increase the conditions tomorrow. I grant you a break for the rest of the day.

What about the rest day? Cora called. I wanted to see Mom and Dad.

Rewards are reserved for those who follow the rules.

But…but I did what you wanted. A painful stone was growing in her throat.

None of the researchers responded. The door opened behind Jeanine and the next set of participants entered the atrium—Alfred Maine and Jerry, though she couldn’t remember Jerry’s last name.

It’s not fair. she thought. I did what he wanted. Lavly’s mean.

When they’d first arrived, her parents were with her all day, watching from a window as she trained. Then, the researchers asked them to drop her off and pick her up at the end of the day. After that, she had to stay several nights in a row. Now, it had been almost a week since she’d been home.

The hospital claimed the separation would improve results and her focus to hone her skills. But none of that mattered now- she just wanted to run into her mom and dad’s arms, sit in her room and read, and have a home-cooked meal.

Cora brushed her hair in front of her face, trying not to let Jeanine see her tears.

You okay? Jeanine asked.

Cora just nodded, and Jeanine put her arm around her. The girls sat on a short platform to watch the next round.

Jerry wore a white bodysuit with orange trim, while Alfred wore one with red. They took their positions and waited.

As the drones came out and the walls between them went up, Jerry readied himself, his knees slightly bent and his hands at his sides.

Your Appraisal begins now, the second researcher announced.

Jerry threw his hands up in front of him, fervently trying to get a bead on his target. He shifted from side to side, strafing the perimeter.

Alfred, however, turned his back on the exercise. He looked up at the sky and pointed to the clouds.

What do you think they look like? he asked over his shoulder.

What? Jerry yelled, confused.

That looks like a shamrock, he called out. There’s a dog.

The researcher said, agitated, Twelve, your Appraisal has started. Follow parameters.

Oh, a dragon!

Twelve. We have discussed this before.

Alfred turned and walked the perimeter of the court, pretending not to notice. He meandered back and forth with his hands outstretched, pantomiming a tightrope walker.

Dr. Lavly got on the mic now. Shall we discuss your mom’s medications again?

At this, he froze. Alfred looked at the floor, frowning. He put his arms down and squared up to the wall. He abruptly sprinted, grabbed the wall’s lip, and scrambled up. He crouched atop it, looking down on his target.

Here we go again, Jeanine remarked.

That’s not in the parameters, the doctor rebuked.

He stretched out his hand, and the drone stopped moving, its eyes turning from green to red. A smirk crossed his face, but Cora also detected a snarl within it.

Alfred kept his hand outstretched and moved the drone towards Jerry’s court. Jerry was still working on his drone when Alfred’s sprinted across the way and tackled it. Cora watched as Alfred’s drone smashed the other’s face in, then pounded its head against the steel floor until it no longer moved.

Am I following parameters now? Alfred shouted.

He raised his hands in front of his head, and his drone followed. Once it took hold of its own head, he twisted his hands in front of him. With a squeak and a crunch, the drone ripped it off and collapsed.

Jerry stood frozen in horror. No voices called over the loudspeaker. Alfred walked to a corner and stood in the umbrage of the west wing.

Medications for his mother. Maybe she was sick, too, or needed daily medicines to stay alive. Either way, the mere mention of it set him off, turning hateful upon hearing it. It was a threat from Lavly to get him to comply.

Jerry, on the other hand, eventually became VL-Six and died in one of the broken chambers. Cora remembered him as a nice boy who tried hard to do well despite his limited abilities.

It had been a long, trying few days, and Cora was in need of rest. As she left the training grounds and returned to her quarters, she thought back to what Craig had said or tried to say in the streets earlier. It felt like a different lifetime, yet it had all just happened.

He tried to tell her Michael wasn’t who she thought he was, that he had killed another AI in Terranyne to take over and start a war.

An Overseer- yes, now she recalled a female AI Overseer who ran Terranyne’s government alongside the humans. She had been in charge of the day-to-day operations. Cora had seen her visage on screens across the city, welcoming new arrivals.

What opportunity would my dad have taken with the war?

It contradicted who her father had been when he was alive. It made no sense. After so long without him, and after thinking she was the only survivor from her past, she was eager to do the work that was needed. If it meant they’d have time together again, she would do it.

If it meant regaining his affection, she would definitely do it.

But some things didn’t sit right with her. There were too many unanswered questions and missing links, too many things it seemed her dad wasn’t ready to tell her.

He should’ve told me. That was messed up.

Cora entered her room, where her charging station and the upgrading station stood. She wondered if her physical body went through sleep cycles while she did. She held her hand over her core, remembering how it sounded to hear her own heart again. It was comforting.

My body, she said aloud. I have my real body. I’m still flesh and blood, after all. Well, code and blood, but it’s still something.

Hearing it again, even just from herself, began to edify the idea. Her father had been the anchor to her past she so badly needed, and now she had a second, and in many ways more grounding, anchor.

Before she stepped onto the platform to get her rest, she stopped. She knew there were no cameras nor sentries in here. She finally unfurled her fingers, which were wrapped tightly around the object. She thumbed it, pondering how much trust her and her father had between them.

The sentry found four siphons, but they didn’t know there were five. If Dad refuses to answer my questions, maybe this can fill in the blanks.

Cora opened the side panel in her thigh and placed the last of Craig’s data siphons inside.

Piedmont

Terranyne- July 5th

Cora stood outside the main doors of Marks-Daneth Hospital with her Violet Eyes, staring up at the massive building and thinking back to when it all began.

She had walked through those sliding doors with Mom and Dad and met Dr. Lavly for the first time. He shook her parents’ hands first, and when he shook hers, he forced a smile. She could see through it right away.

Then, he led them back to the rest of the research team, where they spoke about all the possibilities this opportunity presented.

With this training, the researchers told them, your daughter will be on several career pathways. Government agent, military, civil service- the list is virtually endless.

I want to go into civil service, Cora replied without hesitation. I want to help people around me.

They laughed at her eagerness. Dr. Lavly replied, There you go. The world will be your oyster. You’ll never be without a job, not as long as Errancy exists.

Cora now wondered if those researchers knew what was really in store for her and the others. She wanted to believe some didn’t know the full extent of the project.

They would surely have gone to the media if they had, right? They would have quit or called out Lavly for his poor treatment.

Footsteps behind her broke her out of her thoughts. The Violet Eyes approached, carrying pre-packed bags filled with guns, oculars, batons, and retractable rope with grappling hooks.

Cora checked her own gear. A new energy-based submachinegun was nestled in her holster, and the data siphon was tucked in a smaller holster behind the first.

Michael came out on his hovering float, flanked by a pair of snipers.

You’re prepared already.

I’m always ready, Dad.

He motioned to the bags the Violet Eyes were carrying. Inside each is a prototype resuscitation device. If you run into trouble, they’ve been instructed to use it on you. It’ll send one high-powered surge of electricity through your body, and then it breaks.

Cora reached into one of the bags and pulled out a cobalt-colored plastic puck about the size of her hand.

Also, when you find Seven and Twelve, play this for them.

He held out a holographic disc to her and she took it.

What’s on it?

Me. I need to reestablish my connection with them, figuratively speaking.

Cora placed it in one of the utility bags.

I wanted to ask something of you.

Cora sighed. Come on, Dad. I have to go. You just gave me a bunch of stuff.

In Cathus Ingle, several factories manufactured products specifically related to inter-Pinnacle traversal- chemical compounds, alloys, and materials. That supply chain ran dry as soon as the Kavoans and Renadans crossed the border.

How do you know?

Michael’s face rolled. Cora became more disconcerted every time it happened. I went through the data while I was stuck here.

What happened that day? Cora asked, trying to sound innocently curious. But it came out abrupt and awkward.

What day?

Cora subconsciously tapped the panel with the siphon inside. The day the bombs fell. You call it ‘The Collapse.’ But it had to start from somewhere. They didn’t just invade for no reason, right?

She awaited his response, hoping he would tell her what she wanted to know.

Michael just responded, We have a lot to do.

I know that, but I want to know more. I want to know why I’m going through all this.

You want to find your friends, don’t you?

He’s brushing me off. I hate it when he and Mom did that.

Michael said, One compound withstood the effects of the Doorway’s vaporizing heat. Aeronautic engineers applied it to get their ships through the atmosphere safely. We need it to send our units through the Pinnacles. It was called the Calefaction Dampener, but its brand name was CaleDamp. Not much of it was created, as it was very expensive and not for public consumption.

You and the other Vital Links are coated in this compound. It is how you traverse the Doorways without being destroyed. Please bring back all that you can find. Follow the Iacovo River to the mountains.

Okay.

A word of warning- if you see the oil refinery along the river, be wary. The things there are no longer human.

I can take of myself, Cora replied with a tone.

I know, but you are everything for me. We’ll keep in touch as far out as the Pinnacle can reach.

She followed him with her eyes as he floated in the direction of the manufacturing plant and disappeared around a corner.

I thought the phrase was ‘everything to me,’ not ‘everything for me.’

There were more questions than time to answer them all, and she’d have to put them on the back burner in her mind for now. It was time to go.

Is everyone ready? she asked telepathically in Andro, the language of the mechanicals.

Yes, the Violet Eyes replied.

With preparations made, Cora led the group towards the south bridge. The ground shook. A tarsus operated by a sentry climbed out of the dry moat to Cora’s right. Its bladed arms cracked the bare rock as it lifted itself onto the short platform between the moat and the wall surrounding the city.

More tarsi moved on the mainland, InnaDyne Manufacturing and Tarsus Version Eight emblazoned across their abdomens. One passed them on the bridge carrying a thick crate.

Hollow banging echoed from under the bridge. She looked over the side to see a tarsus on either side of a glass tube. A dark crimson streak marked the interior. They smashed it over and over again with their blades until the glass cracked and fell out.

They twisted off the metal frame, which, too, dropped to the moat floor hundreds of feet below. A door with Terranyne’s insignia was sealed tightly on either side of the jagged glass openings.

What was that about? she asked her group telepathically.

Preceptor wants all entrances sealed, one replied.

The humans came through there, another added.

She had seen the insignia etched into the door when her father showed her the video feed. Moira was patching up Red while Eugene worked at the door with a crowbar. That was when they were searching for her.

Her group stepped foot on the mainland. Sentries flew by on unibikes, following the city’s circumference. Their miniature thrusters dug little lines in the dry land.

A personnel carrier with a half-dozen sentries and a pair of snipers glided around in the field to the southeast. The carrier was oblong, with four shielded towers accessed by short ladders. The snipers stood on opposite towers while the driver stood in the center.

All of the vehicles appeared to have been recently welded together with scrap parts. The carrier was made from a Mechapod’s flat metal body.

Cora hailed her father. Is there a carrier for us?

These are in the testing stage, her father replied, appearing in the lower right corner of her vision. I couldn’t live with myself if one of them blew up with you on it.

What about the tarsi?

Michael scoffed. Not if you want everything within twenty miles to see and hear you. It tops out at ten miles per hour.

Okay, okay. I get the picture. Some of my sarcasm is rubbing off on you. So, we’re walking, then.

Until I get these working and I am confident in their construction, that is best.

At that moment, a trio of unibikes came over the ridge. The middle bike suddenly emitted a high-pitched squeal, intensifying into a piercing scream. It ignited in a ball of fire, crashed, and threw the rider to the floor headfirst.

Everyone froze for a moment.

Michael looked back at her. As I said.

The Lansing Mountains towered before them, cleaving Drexel in half and forming the border between Renada and Kavo in the north. From the Machine City to the range’s edge was almost a hundred miles. The Iacovo River still flowed out of the mountains, but after The Collapse, it bubbled and frothed like steaming rapids.

Thickets of pale, thin trees huddled together timidly around the land. A single line of them jutted on each side of the river bank like uneven teeth. A crabweed bush stood in place of missing trees.

Cora glanced at Terranyne. A couple dozen hovering scouts rounded the seven towers, assessing the damage. Trios of sentries clung to the deepest dents, holding pneumatic hammers, welding torches, and steel sheets. More sentries moved in the windows, carrying objects.

The lambent emerald trellis that ran up and around the corners of every building flashed arrhythmically.

She headed toward the river with her sentries in tow, following it west between ruins protruding through the Wastes. Even this close to the city, the Outer Ring dwindled rapidly to only an occasional home. Square farm plots stubbornly pushed their corn rows against the tide of dust. A sleek and thin comms tower stood tall hundreds of yards away, surrounded by motionless sapphire, ocher, and crimson soldiers.

Craters twenty to thirty feet wide punctured the land all around her, emitting a heat haze. Cora observed the craters more closely:

Plasmium radiation average- 700. Standard safe Plasmic levels- less than 50.

Those levels would damage even the sturdiest mechanicals. Cora directed her group closer to the river.

The Iacovo was once a high river with a steady current, but now it flowed at about two-thirds of its original height. Patches of yellow reeds and grasses stuck out here and there along it, the most pure vegetation Cora had seen thus far. The patches stopped abruptly about ten yards off the banks, where the soft mud quickly became cracked earth.

They stayed a few yards from the last line of grass as they made their way along the bumpy terrain, kicking up small plumes of dust. As time passed, Cora kept glancing at the reeds and grasses, increasingly becoming more curious.

How did they get here? How are they growing?

She plucked a few strands and held them in her hand.

It’s stiff, but it’s grass alright.

Cora peered closer. The bottom of each strand was tinged green, but as it had grown, it had yellowed. Every blade stopped growing at about the same height. A faint blue line ran straight up the center.

The Plasmium radiation had stunted its growth.

With all the factors working against it, the grass still grew. Nature found a way, no matter how small. The river was providing something nurturing, at least. Cora turned the blade over admiringly.

What are you doing? one of the group asked as they gathered around.

Cora was caught off-guard by the suddenness of the question. She stopped and showed her hand.

Just observing. I used to do it a lot when I was a kid.

Oh. What did you observe?

This grass grows along the banks. It stops growing because of Plasmium contamination, but the fact that it grows at all is amazing.

It is amazing, another echoed.

Cora realized she was staring at four identical mechanicals. She was a little embarrassed that she hadn’t known her team better before they had left.

Do you have names? What can I call each of you?

"Model series SM-Seven. Serial numbers