#rilfau

Before him stood a creature so ethereal that he couldn’t tell if it was a robot, or a person cast in a thin layer of smooth a glossy metal.

“What is this.” Delhuis whispered in fascination.

“This” Nero answered, gazing at his creation with his lazy eyes “is your ultimate weapon.”

Delhuis’ eyes roamed over the so-called weapon, mesmerized by the deep black of his armiur, the pure white of his face, the striking features of his eerily human looking body.

“I thought to myself, why make a missile, a gun or a vehicle, when I could make all in one, and even top it off with a hint of handsomeness.” Nero slid next to Delhuis, letting his hand rest on the governor’s shoulder. The latter was so caught with the robot that he didn’t even flinch at the touch which would have him snap in disgust otherwise.

“Under this pretty facade hides a highly dangerous mass destruction weapon. He may look beautiful, but I’m sure you’ll be even more seduced by the efficiency at which he fulfills his tasks.”

“Please develop some more.”

“Let me turn him on before getting into details.” Nero smiled and hurried to one of the numerous computers of the room. He typed a few commands and, when he finally straightened up, the robot came to life.

Cold blue strings of light ran over every interstice between his armour plates, until it reached his face, which soon got decorated by a faint glowwing blue pattern, like veins of light. And finally, he opened his eyes.

Delhuis held his breath as the robot looked around with his icy synthetic irises, and as he took a first step out of his cocoon of wires, which came undone one after another, he walked towards the two men.

What was taking the governor’s breath away wasn’t so much the fact that this robot was moving, but the grace with which he was accomploshing the feat. His moves were as fluid as human, and his feet were light against the floor, the sound of impactnearly non existent, whereas all robots the city has until then were still more of a pile of metal and less of a humanoid imitation of life.

The robot’s gazelocked on Delhuis, who shuddered slightly in return under the piercing blue. It felt as if his soul was being inspected.

“He’s checking if you aren’t a sinner to be disposed of.” Nero explained “he is scanning your features to detect anything forbidden. You shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

“He better not be encountering any bugs or you’ll have a big problem.” Delhuis mumbled, wary of what the robot could do if he made a mistake in his analysing.

“Don’t worry, even if he had an issue, he still is under security lock-down. He’d ask before executing the next steps of his procedure.” Nero said “also if anything did go wrong, I wouldn’t have to worry too much, having one of the most powerful weapons of mankind in my hands at the moment.”

Delhuis glared at the scientist. This was no joking matter.

“What’s taking him so long anyway ?” Delhuis said, well annoyed by both the doctor’s antics and by the robot’sdelay for finding out he was, indeed, a pure citizen, free of all sin.

“Because it’s his first run he has quite sime things to set up, and he’s manually doing everything one step at a time instead of doing all procedures at once as he’ll do on the field.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean with...?”

“Both ‘it’s his first time running’ and ‘procedures’“

“Oh” Nero scratched his head “Well I didn’t exactly have many people around to test him out, and even when I did, I still prefered to reboot him afterwards so he’d be all fresh and new. As for the procedures...”

Nero grabbed a nearby chair and slid it towards him before throwing himslef over it in a disgraceful pose. He pushed on his heels to roll back a few feet.

“In short” he started, and Delhuis knew there’d be no way this would be short “There are many different things he must check for on each individual. First of course, the exhaustive list of all banned traits. Moles, freeckles, scars, disfigurations, features smaller than the set norm and you know the whole ordeal I’m sure. But he doesn’t simply stop at that : before moving on to the executive step, he goes through the full list of Redempted Sinners of New Pangaea. That’s what ensures I’m still alive to this day. And in a parrallel, he has to go hrough the lsit of Enemies of Heaven, or as you call them, the scums who try to oppose greater good. Then, depending on the results, he’ll carry on, or not, to the executive part of his program.”

Delhuis turned his attention back to the robot, and found him looking at Nero, waiting as well for the scientist to finish. Nero nodded to him, and Delhuis got to hear the robot talk for the first time.

“No sinners detected in this area. Please, citizens, enjoy your day, and blessed be Gran-Heaven.”

Delhuis cocked an eyebrow.

“He sounds far from threatening.”

“He’s adressing a citizen, why would he sound agressive towards them. Also he doesn’t need to have a threatening look or voice, or even aura. His efficiency is all that matters. Once someone sees him at work, they’ll fear him with all their soul.”

“That is, if they have one. It seems only sinners will get to witness his skills.”

Nero smirked at Delhuis, and the governor felt somehow more endangered under that devilish grin, surrounded by devilish moles, than under the ice cold stare the robot gave him earlier. But he blamed it on the fact Nero still and would always carry with him the mark of the cursed.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you.”

Nero rose from his chair and gave the robot a sign, and when he walked towards the exit, th metallic humanoid followed him.

“Where are you going ?” Delhuis asked, trailing behing him.

“The roof. I requested for a few props to give you the demonstration you deserve to see.”

Golden tiles.

 Delhuis frowned in distaste. 

  He hadn't been in this wing of the palace in at least a decade, and it had been because of those awful piss coloured tiles, covering the floor and walls.

  Gold was the colour of the pest, of death and destruction. He was raised to always examine each corner of the city he was in charge of governing, in search of individuals tainted by this colour. Golden eyed individual. They were the ones who caused the downfall of mankind. 

Years and years ago, they launched a cataclysm upon Earth, destroying every bit of civilisation, leaving only mere survivors, in a gigantic wasteland. There wasn't much known about this cataclysm, other than the changes it brought to Earth : mostly the genetics mutations which the survivors were subjected to, and the sudden escalation of the levels of electricity in the air. A rise so high it brought what were called continents together, into one single mass. 

  Delhuis knew the golden eyed made it. After all, once every living human was left stranded and disoriented, they rose, like saviours, with knowledge. They built cities and technologies, which enabled a new civilisation. And then put themselves at the very top of their newly built world. It was all a scheme. When the people noticed it, they immediately went on slaughtering them. 

  A new order was put to place, freed from the imposters the golden eyed were. Freed from the monsters whom had caused all of mankind's struggles. 

  As a governor of Gran-Heaven, one of the biggest cities the new world had seen growing on its surface, it was Delhuis' job to protect the crowd from these creatures. And from all other monsters life could create. Because not only had he to get rid of the few possibly remaining golden eyed, but also of the consequences of their acts : mutations. All children born unpure. 

  Those who had their skin stained by marks of the plague, those whose bodies weren't even properly working. Those who were damaged at birth, and therefore were threats for the well-being of pure individuals. 

  But, luckily, Delhuis had just what was needed to finally get rid of the whole of them. A weapon that justified his boots echoing down the most cursed corridor of his quarters.