Chapter Two: From One Mind to Another
Charles was so warm and inviting, even while in his studio, Xan-I felt as if though it was a meeting with an old friend as opposed to being a patient with a doctor looking into vulnerable spaces. One of the mechanisms that lay against the wall of Charles’s studio was a four-wheeled arm with four fingers that made a t-shaped intersection- the hand was four to five times the size of Xan-I’s hands. As Charles set up his microscope cameras, he asked Xan-I, “Okay, Xan-I, is it okay if we pop open the cranial dome now? After we open it up, I’m going to place one of my cameras inside to take a thorough look throughout your mind.”
“Of course, Charles! Please, allow me to open the hatch.” With that, the dome that sat on top of Xan-I’s head popped up, and there was now room for a hand to reach under the dome base from the back of the mechanism and push the cranial dome forward and upward. As Charles pushed the cranial dome toward the front of Xan-I’s head, the inner-working lights of Xan-I’s brain blinked and twinkled like a starry night from an artificer’s dream. Charles was happy that Xan-I would not be able to see his excitement, for he felt the mechanism would find him to be immature for feeling such joy from looking into the depths of the mechanism’s cranial dome.
“So far, so good, Xan-I! I am going to start positioning and directing the camera inside your cranial dome. Please keep operating as usual, we can talk about things if you like, or we can be silent for a moment. Your choice.” Xan-I was conflicted to ask too many questions, but it felt that this was a good chance to get some helpful information.
“Charles, please tell me why you and Conjurer are so elated by finding me? Why am I a real gem? I am just a mechanism whose purpose is to serve Xanropa. Not to impede on your glee, but I could detect the motion of a grin as you opened up my cranial dome just now.”
“THAT. Everything that you just said to me Xan-I is why we are so happy to have you! You are going to make me mess up my scans from how excited I am to see you again! Give me one sec and I will explain our elation more.” With that, Charles finished putting the camera into Xan-I’s brain. The camera was a sphere the size of a hair width, that had a special camera that would zoom in on specific pieces of mechanisms’s inner workings. After a small sequence of beeps flourished, Charles exclaimed, “Alright! I got the camera synched and now, we can get back to where we were. Let me swing around to the larger monitor.” Charles walked around from behind Xan-I so that he could watch the larger monitor that stood in front of Xan-I.
“This monitor is in front of us so that we can both look at what is going on in your cranial dome. My hope is that nothing has been altered or changed. If you see anything, please tell me immediately. I will also alert you if I happen to see anything in your brain that may appear out of your history.” A light humming came from the camera as its lenses moved and rotated around its spherical body. It was a silent, recording, and wingless mechanized mosquito flying throughout Xan-I’s brain.
After the two watched the beginning of the camera scan inside Xan-I’s cranial dome, Charles returned to Xan-I’s questions, “Your programming was designed to be neutral and forever loyal to all Xanropians. You were designed to only operate under the directive of helping Xanropa. The other Xan-I models like you perished while they defended and helped fight back against Tyrant Vaine as he slowly took over all of the tetrahedron. We won’t get into that right now. Maybe we can go over that when we go to Mele’s later, but your design makes it so that you will never turn against Xanropa.” As Charles was telling Xan-I all of this, the monitor showed many lights and wires running down and around a bright sphere that sat in the middle of Xan-I’s cranial dome. Charles continued, “The reason why I have to assess any mechanisms that come down to the Inner Planet is because there is a small receptor piece that more recently constructed mechanisms had installed into their cranial domes that made them exceptionally more prone to be possessed by the frequencies of Tyrant Vaine. Even though we still don’t know if he is dead, innocent mechanisms and people continue to become possessed by the ghoul.”
Not knowing how to proceed with the conversation, Xan-I sat silently and watched the living lights blink and process information before its lens. Charles was also watching the scan with a calm and comforted look. So far, there was no sign of the aforementioned receptor piece. Charle’s camera rotated in the opposite direction that it had been going in and the second sweep around and through Xan-I’s brain began. “It’s so beautiful how we were able to make your brain so similar to ours. We could be more mechanism than you are, and you could be more human than we are. This correlation between us is something that I think many people would not care to understand, but I take great pride in saying that I helped create you. You mean more to the universe than you know.” Charles walked back over behind Xan-I and waited as the second camera scan began to finish. Charles continued speaking to Xan-I, “So, Xan-I, the scan so far looks fantastic. It is exactly the result that I was hoping for you. What do you want to ask me? As part of this exam, it is important that we hold a conversation for a bit so that I may take note of how you operate and handle certain scenarios.”
Taking a brief moment to consider what it could ask Charles, the mechanism did not want to immediately bring up any negativity surrounding Tyrant Vaine, so Xan-I asked Charles, “Can you please tell me more about that mechanism against the wall? The hand on wheels?” Charles looked over at the wheeled hand and then returned his stare to Xan-I.
“Oh, yes! That is what I refer to as an extractor. It is one of my mechanisms that is remote-controlled as opposed to being operated with the usual marionette controls. Its sole purpose is to push, pull, and hold things. It has come in handy for many situations. Oh, and it of course lives up to its name and, ‘extracts’.” Charles finished putting air quotations on the last word of his sentence and Xan-I continued with another question.
“Is that hand based on the design of my own hand? Why do I only have three fingers on each hand and this one has four?”
Charles responded, “Your hand design was actually very interesting because there are certain controls around Xanropa that were made for only our hand shape to control- your hands are keys- in a way. The extractor’s hand has four fingers because it is more of an industrial tool as opposed to you, a sentient mechanism.” Xan-I looked down at its hands and then stared back at the extractor. It was hard to believe for Xan-I that it was more than just a tool and that its hands could be used to activate certain things that only it could unlock. It took much longer than it should have for Xan-I to figure out that it was more special than it realized. As Xan-I looked at its hands again, it asked Charles, “This is going to sound selfish coming from a mechanism, but were there ever any updated or newer models of me produced?”
A shaking head motioned in Xan-I’s peripheral vision. Charles said, “No, we had considered making a different type of model, but chaos took reign over all plans in the department of planning anything. There were many plans put to waste when Xanropa began to fall.” Concerned about the grim direction the conversation could be taken in, Xan-I at the right moment, asked Charles, “Do you think I could assist you in making and/or finishing those models you mentioned, Charles?” The kind-hearted words of the mechanism made Charles visually relax and smile. “Oh, Xan-I, you worry about tension and negative feelings in conversations too much, don’t you?”
“Well, it is in my programming that one of my priorities is to ensure comfort to all Xanropians. So when I detect any possibility of a conversation heading in a negative direction, I am able to try and make light out of the conversation. Even though I know we are going to have to talk about Tyrant Vaine.” A small silence separated the two as Charles grabbed his camera from Xan-I’s cranial dome and packed it away. After a last look with his eyes upon Xan-I’s brain, Charles closed up Xan-I’s cranial dome.
“It is true, I am going to sit down with you and talk about Tyrant Vaine finally, Xan-I.” Charles went over to a nearby desk, put the camera away, grabbed the chair that partnered with the desk, and brought it over toward Xan-I. Charles softly sat down as he massaged his temples and prepared to embark back down a dark side of his life and the history of Xanropa- one that Charles and Xanropians did not ever venture back to much. After a sigh brought on by his nerves, Charles began, “It has been over a decade ago when the signs of Tyrant Vaine’s emergence first began.”
(Note from the author: if you have not yet read the preface, now would be a good time to go back and read its contents. Charles is about to retell most of the events through his perspective and I have written out a brief history of events that led up to Xan-I’s discovery to be helpful with the backstory of Xanropa.)
“I had been the fifth vertice leader for not that long, in the grand scale of things, when the Day of Illusion happened. I was in my previous studio when I felt these massive quakes underfoot. So I ran outside and heard much commotion from all around. When I looked in the sky, the massive rainbow that now fills the horizon, started to form and throughout the rainbow was debris from the third and fourth vertices. Horror filled my heart, and like every other Xanropian, I was crippled by fear and did not know what to do within the first minute of the catastrophe.”
Charles took a second to take a deep breath and recenter himself before continuing, “Since you have been offline for as long as you have, the Day of Illusion to keep it simple was the day that the third and fourth vertices were destroyed. It would take some time for it to be revealed that the former first vertice leader Vaine, had become corrupt by his paranoia, and he had reemerged from the Day of Illusion as Tyrant Vaine on his own terms. The tyrant had sent a fleet of his mechanisms with himself to start taking over Xanropa. To this day, I still feel like Hyanthra and I were lucky to be spared from his wrath. I really don’t know why we were not attacked as well.
“The possessed that you have encountered, Xan-I, are possessed by the visors of Vaine. During the fall of Xanropa, he was able to refabricate the minds of those who wore his visors. Tyrant Vaine found a way to achieve his true definition of utopia through the act of digital omnipresence. After all the time he kept getting reelected as the first vertice leader, Vaine decided that the only way to achieve utopia was to have all minds be controlled by one mind. From one mind to another, this is the very definition of suppression.”
Throughout its recently scanned mind, Xan-I felt chills of disbelief slither through its wires. Vaine had unbelievably transitioned into a nightmare from the Ceaseless End. Xan-I remained seated and in silence waiting to be fed more dreadful details from Charles.
“You know, when I was elected as the fifth vertice leader, I did not want the position.”
Quickly, Xan-I responded in shock, “Really?!”
“It is true. I never envy those who have such power. Trying to do all that you can for the good of all people, the pressure that that role inflicts upon you is immeasurable. When Tyrant Vaine emerged from the Day of Illusion, something really did change within me. The pressure subsided and like a mother watching over their children, I saw and knew my people were in danger and so all of my stresses of being the vertice leader did not matter anymore. Only the people mattered. It was at that moment that I realized the true calling of being a leader, even if I did not want to be one. A leader needs to do everything in their ability to keep people safe. Leaders are unofficial parents and the people that follow them are our children.” There was another pause and a long disheartened sigh from Charles.
“That is what makes what he has done that much more disturbing. You know, the tyrant was a good man. It is impossible to believe that underneath that horrid monster lays the original identity of a friend. I remember before I was the fifth vertice leader, he taught me much of what I know about artifice. Selfishly, I think that I have surpassed his abilities with my style and creativity but I cannot dismiss the great abilities of Tyrant Vaine.” Xan-I was sensing that even though Charles wanted to move on from Tyrant Vaine, he had a strange relationship with the former first vertice leader, Vaine. It is difficult to completely let go of someone you looked up to, but it is even more difficult to recognize the stranger who wears your friend’s face.
“After Tyrant Vaine revealed to us all who he was and what he stood for, I worked closely with Hyanthra and some brave Xanropians to get the Inner Planet created and begin our defense against the tyrant’s control of Xanropa. We did not have long to prepare, but we worked day and night to make sure the Inner Planet was set up to be habitable and create the gravity trap that you and Conjurer witnessed on Stratos’s platform. After all the planning and the community that formed from the New Originators, the battle we fought against the tyrant came. I almost killed Hyanthra.” Charles stumbled and slowed his words with the last sentence. His eyes grew wide and a slight sweat began to drip from his brow. Somewhere in his mind, Charles was reliving a nightmare and he had to find a way to continue retelling the events of almost losing Hyanthra. Xan-I reached its hands toward Charles in the most loving way that a mechanism could try and comfort Charles, “Charles, do you need help? I think you need to take a slight break and relax. May I make you some tea? Please tell me what I can do, I sense unparalleled distress within you.”
Charles remained looking down at his studio floor, trying to do everything in his might to return to reality, and eventually after some time his eyes looked and met Xan-I’s singular eye. Through teary eyes and a smile, Charles responded, “I’m sorry, I get caught up in remembering all who we lost and all we almost lost during that time. I still have not completely recovered. There are nights, hell, even daydreams that I have where I am sent back into the action and I constantly keep reevaluating what I could have done differently and if I could have saved anyone from death or their injuries.”
Xan-I closed its mechanized hand gently on Charles’s shoulder to give what empathetic grip of care a mechanism could give a human. The mechanism consulted Charles, “There is nothing that you could have done differently. Unfortunately, it is common for human minds to fantasize about a myriad of solutions to problems past. I don’t think you are to blame for anything that took place during the fateful period of Xanropa.”
“You’re right.”, Charles responded, looking down as if he were having a moment of encouragement with himself. “We are left with the present, and I suppose I will forever fight these feelings of guilt, but ultimately, I did all that I could have done. The Inner Planet has been nothing but beautiful; I will do anything in my power to ensure its people are safe and that we all may keep thriving here.” Xan-I released its most tender grasp of Charles’s shoulder and leaned back into its seat. Without trying to be rude, Xan-I asked, “Forgive my timing, Charles, but what happened with Hyanthra? And have you or anyone else of the Inner Planet considered returning to the surface of Xanropa?”
Charles looked up at Xan-I and with his fingers helping him talk, replied, “One; I will never be returning to the surface. It would take something short of a miracle to get me back on top of the tetrahedron. Two; Hyanthra survived her near-lethal injuries. Hyanthra and I actually fought against Tyrant Vaine. I held his corrupt body in the talons of my owl mechanism. I could have easily taken his life away from his mechanized shell, but I was haunted by my former friend, and I could not put an end to someone that I had looked up to and who gave me such inspiration. I sent his remains as far back as I could fly my owl mechanism toward the wastes of the first vertice. I never bothered to check if he was dead or not. My feelings were too concentrated on Hyanthra. She would eventually recover, but her feelings about the Inner Planet were not the same as mine.” Charles stood up from his chair and began to walk toward one of his bookcases in his studio and continued, “Hyanthra told me that, ‘we all have fought and given too much to Xanropa only to dwell inside of it.’, which I understand her sentiment but I had also tried to voice my reason of all our safety. As you and I both saw and dealt with today, we have no idea if Tyrant Vaine is still running around with his mechanisms and possessed users, or if their minds are all still under the omnipotent control of the dead tyrant.”
Charles reached up on the uppermost shelf of one of his bookcases and retrieved a tetrahedron that fit in his palms. He turned toward Xan-I and showed the mechanism the replica of Xanropa. Xan-I looked at the planet he once recognized and in its cranial dome, it felt a sensation of longing. A longing to return to the planet that it remembered so fondly. It was not possible for mechanisms to have such sincere feelings, but at that moment, Xan-I reached out to the replica as if it could dive back into time when it helped families move furniture, helped construct new buildings or larger mechanisms, a time when hope was easier to be sought as compared to now, where the mechanism was on a planet that lay inside of its former home planet.
Charles observed Xan-I reaching toward the tetrahedron model in his hands, “Would you like to hold it, Xan-I?”
“I would very much appreciate that, Charles.”
With a gentle nod, Charles brought the model of Xanropa over to Xan-I and carefully placed it in the mechanism’s lap. At first, Xan-I only stared at the model and did nothing more than that. After some time and what Charles could only classify as mechanism contemplation, Xan-I gingerly touched the sides of the model. While the mechanism continued to pick up the model and look over it, it spoke, “This is really beautiful, Charles. It makes me connect to the feeling you would call missing. No. It is not quite that word, but this model makes me feel so lost, in a world that I remember so fondly. Especially after everything you have told me, I feel that I was just here in your model yesterday, and now, everything that I remember and care about Xanropa lingers about nothing more than dust that coats this model from time to time. Did you make this model, Charles?”
Returning the gesture that his mechanized friend gave to him earlier, Charles put his hand on the shoulder of the seated Xan-I. Even though this organic being and mechanized being could not feel everything in the same way, Charles could tell that Xan-I was experiencing a similar type of shock that he felt during the tribulations of Xanropa’s fall.
They both looked at the model and eventually, Charles answered Xan-I’s question, “I did in fact, make this model. I was proud to have been able to preserve the tetrahedron that was and is inside our hearts. I am so glad and flattered that it gave you such a reaction.”
“I don’t know how I am going to get by, Charles, without Xanropa being the way it used to be. I don’t think I can be of any help to anyone. What if people were to become afraid of me?”
In a parental way, Charles raised his voice in a comforting but stern manner, “No one will be afraid of you! Do not think that way. I need you to stabilize your system and understand that you have just experienced what all of us in the New Originators have gone through. It is a lot to take in and very emotional to wander about for too long. I understand your sensations, Xan-I.”
Time had slipped away from the two, and Charles’s communicator device buzzed in his pocket. In response to the buzzing, Charles brought it out of his pants pocket and clicked on a button that spoke through the speaker, “Hey! Are you two still doing okay? Mele said you both should come on by when you are free.” It was Conjurer chiming in to see how Xan-I’s assessment had gone. Charles replied back into his device, “Hey Conjurer, Xan-I’s scan was successful! We have every reason to feel over the moon for your discovery. I think we could make a trip to Mele’s.” Through the speaker of Charles’s device, a female voice hollered back through the device, “You better! You need sustenance! I also got whatever our mechanism friend needs!”
Charles grinned, “Alright! Alright! We will conclude things here and then come on by. I think our new friend will like you, Mele.”
“Only if it behaves!” With that, the device blipped off. Xan-I handed Charles’s model of Xanropa back to Charles. “Well, it is time for you to meet Mele!’ Charles told Xan-I. Charles set the model of Xanropa back in its original place on the bookshelf and looked up at it. “I am glad we could share our feelings of missing Xanropa together Xan-I. I look forward to you meeting Mele and exploring around the Inner Planet a bit. Shall we head over to Mele’s?”
In a quick reaction for mechanisms, Xan-I stood from its chair and warned Charles, “We better head over there soon, that Mele sounded concerned about our prompt arrival!” This made Charles cackle. “Oh my, Xan-I, Mele is going to love you! You just wait!” The two began to leave Charles’s studio as they headed to the door and shut the lights off. The model of Xanropa not only sat in the darkness of Charles’s studio but it was now also laying, etched, inside the dark lens of Xan-I’s eye and mind.
* * * * * * *
Mele’s was not only home to the Xanropian known as Mele herself, but it was a makeshift commonplace constructed and hosted by the Mele as well. There, citizens of the Inner Planet could come and eat, drink, gather, and use the space just as Xanropians used to thrive in the pyramid iterations on the surface before. When one enters Mele’s, they are actually entering though the legendary aircraft, Skyfish II, that was piloted by Mele during the transition and creation of the New Originators. Then, Mele helped and assisted in transporting materials and citizens safely to the Inner Planet. Now, Mele is known as a mother to those who are in need of guidance, care, and entertainment. When entering the mouth of Skyfish II, occupants walk into a cozy bar setup with tables and chairs surrounding it.
Conjurer was seated at the bar with a glass of Mele’s lager. This was not only a place of comfort to so many people of the Inner Planet, but it was Conjurer’s favorite place. Perhaps his most favorite place of both Xanropa and the Inner Planet. There, Conjurer could sit and meditate about events gone by and yet to come. Across from Conjurer and behind the bar stood Mele, she was a woman who was about to be seventy years old with gorgeous grey hair that emitted wisdom and a presence of comfort. Mele, like Conjurer, had seen and take a part in the events of Tyrant Vaine’s takeover of Xanropa. Over time, she provided so many people with what essentials they needed, and still, she continued to do all that she could for everyone who sought her at her establishment. While Conjurer was thinking with his lager, Mele asked, “Conjurer, you have not told me how you are doing. Take your hood off! For my sanity, you are inside, I promise I don’t have any leaking pipes!”
Conjurer smiled and laughed at Mele’s reasonable request, he pulled his hood down revealing his whitened wavy hair and his face that looked like the embodiment of the word, tired.
“Look at you! Have you gotten any proper sleep?!” Mele finished scolding Conjurer like a mother and put her hands on his face, assessing his eyes and the bags under his eyes.
As the movements of Mele’s hands tickled Conjurer’s face, he finally fought through the motherly assessment and replied, “Oh Mele! I’m fine! I am just deep in thought about what has happened and what could happen now with Xan-I.” Mele released her proverbial son’s face and took a seat behind the bar, for now, Mele knew that they were going to have a conversation about Xan-I before it and Charles arrived at her place.
From across the seating area, a citizen jumped up and with a terrified demeanor exclaimed at Conjurer, “Am I crazy or do I keep hearing you and your friends talk about ‘Xan-I’, like the mechanism model?! What’s happening?!” With this scared expression, more of Mele’s patrons began to talk amongst each other and join in on the paranoid feeling surrounding the talks of a mechanism. It must be remembered that any mechanisms that were not created nor operated like Charles’s, were seen as demons that drove the Inner Planet inside of Xanropa’s tetrahedron.
“Now everyone, just quiet down!”, Mele pounded just loud enough on a nearby pan to get everyone’s attention. “Yes, we are talking about a mechanism, and NO, it is not going to come and destroy us all. Xan-I, our new mechanism friend, is coming over with Charles to join us for a late dinner.” With this revelation, some people got up from their seats and started to exit Mele’s in a panic. “Alright, alright!” Mele got up from behind her bar and now stood in the midst of the crowd that was making their way out of her place, “Would I ever do anything to harm you all? You know I love you all, I would never bring something that could harm you all into my home. Remember! You all are in my home. You may leave if you like, I understand our shared trauma, but I think we will have another lovely evening as usual here.”
After Mele’s reassurance, some of the patrons could not get their tacts in order, and their fears led them home while others sat back down as if nothing happened. Patrons slowly decided to get back to their card games, puzzles, and meals. After the miniature panic outburst had subsided, Mele made her way back to the still-seated Conjurer- who could have been confused for a stone sculpture, for he did not move at all during the commotion that had taken place. In Mele’s mind, she knew her lager had calmed Conjurer and put him in a much needed state of relaxment.
“Sorry, Conjurer, that was a fuss! Anyway, I want to hear about your feelings and what you saw up there.” Mele pointed up toward the surface of Xanropa. “Did you see any Surfacers, or harvest patrols?” Conjurer finished taking a sip of his lager and replied, “Nah. No Surfacers or harvest patrols. Just more of those possessed ghouls.” In the reflection of the golden beer, Conjurer sighed and broke his gaze upon himself in his lager. “You know Mele, I wish I knew if Tyrant Vaine was dead or alive. I think the day of really venturing out there on the surface is upon us, whether we want to or not. It is the only way to really put an end to this monster and maybe bring back the planet we once knew. That day may be soon now, I may head out on that quest much sooner than I thought.” Mele made contact with Conjurer’s soul as her stare pierced his soul. Upon Conjurer’s face was a smile that broke through the veil of the exhausted man who was drinking at Mele’s. Mele pointed at Conjurer and spoke, “You know that that could kill you! No one knows what exists- or what does not exist anymore, at the first vertice. Who knows what that monster has constructed since, you know? My vote may not matter, but I say nay to your idea.” Inside, Mele could sense pride and optimism around both Conjurer and his idea. So as any mother would say, she included, “However, I do believe in you. You know, I just hate the idea of anything happening to you, or damn it, if I say it at all, anything happening to the Inner Planet.”
Conjurer was still smiling, but it was fading as he sunk further into his chair and his body continued to tell him it was time for rest. “I know Mele, I know. I just want our planet back. One day, I hope we can no longer hide inside our home but be free on the surface again. It is funny, I could see myself becoming a Surfacer.” Mele gave a fake but gentle bop on top of Conjurer’s head. “Why would you want to live like one of those hooligans?! They are going to get themselves killed.”
Looking around at her patrons and the beautiful life-like screens of tropical trees dancing with the wind, Mele said, “Even in the darkest of times, I find my goal is to have everyone that enters here feel as happy as they can considering all the evil that has taken place above. We may have cast ourselves away within Xanropa, but Xanropa’s good intuition still runs through the hearts that occupy my place.”
With her compelling and sentimental truth, Conjurer lifted the last remaining swallows of this lager to Mele for a toast. Mele then poured herself a glass of lager, and as she tapped Conjurer’s glass with her glass, she said, “Sköl!” Conjurer returned a hearty and grateful “Sköl!” As Conjurer finished his lager and Mele started drinking her glass, they could hear a small commotion of people gasping and running from something thumping out in the streets. Down the street the voice of Charles echoed, “It is okay! This is Xan-I, and it comes in peace! It does not have the receptor piece that makes it possible for it to be possessed!” Charles kept repeating these sentences as he and Xan-I made their way up the stairs into Mele’s. The rest of the Patrons that remained in Mele’s after the first bout of panicked people left- at first, were too invested in their conversations, games, and meals, to care about Xan-I and Charles’s entrance into Mele’s. Charles was giving Xan-I a short tour of Mele’s and soon a terror would fill Mele’s as Xan-I exclaimed, “This place is beautiful! Look at the tropical vegetation on the walls! The space is wonderful for gathering!”
As soon as the remaining patrons heard the digital voice of Xan-I resonate in the air of Mele’s, their shock prodded them to shake, jump, and gasp at the sight of Xan-I. It did not take much time for Mele’s to empty out, leaving Mele, Conjurer, Charles, and Xan-I to be the remaining occupants of the space. As patrons quickly ran out of Mele’s some of them made comments to Mele, saying things such as: “I can’t believe you would let that monster in here!”, “What’s wrong with you?!”, and the melodramatic “Save yourself!!!”
Xan-I had raised its hands in the air to show that it came in peace as Mele’s cleared out. In a delayed and soft response, it said, “I promise I am here only to help you. I’m sorry for the fright.” Mele shook her head with a grin of surprise and let out a light laughter. “Well, looks like we are the only company here tonight fellas! Thanks for clearing me out, Xan-I!” Not understanding sarcasm, Xan-I lowered its arms in a defeated stance which caused Mele to direct the situation, “Hey now, I was being silly! It is good to meet you! I am Mele. Thanks for coming over!” She then walked around the bar and stood in front of Xan-I. Using her arms as a visual guide, she directed Xan-I around her establishment and said, “It is a custom of mine to always welcome new patrons, and for the last few years I have not had many new guests arrive. Xan-I I would like to welcome you to my abode. You are always free to come and go as you please. I just ask that you follow my one rule, which is that you treat everyone in here with respect and don’t start any monkey business.”
Xan-I gave a bow in gratitude to Mele’s welcome, then it replied, “Fortunately, I am programmed to do just that, Mele.”
Mele made raspberries in the air as she waved her hands at him, “Of course you are! You perfect hunk of metal!” She smiled at Xan-I and then looked at Charles and Conjurer, “Well boys, you definitely did find someone special didn’t you?” Charles and Conjurer both nodded and smiled back at Mele. Charles tapped Xan-I on the back and said, “You better believe it, Mele. This is an original Xan-I model with no added receptors or additional programming. I don’t know how we got so lucky! As Xan-I and I were holding conversation, I also noticed that it expresses emotion unlike other mechanisms I remember.”
Conjurer stared at and spoke to Charles, “So, my friend, what all did you tell Xan-I about its lost time in our history?”
Charles walked up to the bar to sit next to Conjurer. Since Xan-I could not fit in the seats at Mele’s, it stood next to Conjurer and Charles as Mele seated herself behind her bar. “Xan-I and I went over everything that happened after the Day of Illusion up until now, I didn’t give a seminar on the events but I gave as much information as I deemed necessary.” Mele chimed in and replied, “Did you tell Xan-I about Skyfish II?” She pointed her finger on the table and then waved her hands in a circle to indicate the vessel they were sitting in. “How about my big score that I have hanging over here?” Mele pointed her thumb toward a placard that had the head of one of Tyrant Vaine’s mechanisms. It looked like it had been cut clean off and then propped to look like a taxidermy trophy. Charles and Conjurer looked at each other knowing what direction Mele was going to take her conversation in. Charles answered Mele, “Well, Mele, you know the only person that can talk about Skyfish II and your big score is you. I would never take your spotlight away!” Conjurer laughed at Charles’s response and soon Charles started to laugh as well for they both knew if they told Mele’s story, she would tell it better no matter how hard they tried. Xan-I spoke, “Well, I would be very interested to know more about Skyfish II and your big score, Mele.”
“Thanks, dear. I am glad somebody around here has anticipation for my stories. I like you a lot!” She then gave a playful sneer and smile at Charles and Conjurer. It was a signal of thanks for letting her tell her stories and tell them the way she did. Before Mele started her stories, she brought out some tea and bowls of stew for Charles and Conjurer, and then she checked to see if Xan-I needed anything along the lines of charging himself or oil to lubricate any of his joints. After her hospitality duties were done, she started to tell Xan-I everything about Skyfish II.
“My home, this establishment is more than just a commonplace for the citizens of the Inner Planet, it is the vessel I named Skyfish II.” Xan-I used Mele’s slight pause to ask, “What happened to Skyfish I?” Mele shushed and gestured with her hands to quiet down and continued, “Hush now, Xan-I! I will get to that, let me work my story!” Charles and Conjurer snickered for they knew Mele did not like when folks interrupted her stories. “During the time the New Originators were founded, I decided to get to work on a ship that could help transport those who wanted to leave Xanropa and come with us. So, I thought that I would also have the ship be something other than just a ship. Make it fun, and also give it a bit of whimsicalness! In times of darkness, I have always believed that even a teaspoon of joy can make it easier to live through darkened times. Skyfish I was, and still is, above on the surface of Xanropa. The first version of Skyfish was more in the form of a narwhal. I attached a long horn on the head of the ship to skewer the mechanisms that the tyrant was sending out. It was a real work of art!
During the war that Tyrant Vaine birthed, I was taking out one of those monstrosities after another. I was not on the battlefield; I positioned myself near the Commonplace of the fifth vertice- the pyramid that you and Conjurer came down through so that I could defend Stratos’s platform and the innocent.”
Mele tightened her grip around the glass of her half-finished lager. “I always get a mixture of adrenaline and angst when I tell this story. God! I truly enjoyed taking out those monsters! If any of them laid a finger on anyone, I would have done unspeakable things to them! Anyway, there was a moment when I was a proud mother toward the folks who helped defend the platform to the Inner Planet. As I took out a small fleet of those demons, there were some of Charles’s mechanisms and Hyanthra’s warriors taking care of business. They were independent, and I saw my opportunity to fly toward the battlefield. Taking the chance, I began to head past Spiral City and toward Lake 125. From the sky, I saw the same colors that our ancestors talked about from the Ceaseless End. As I passed through and assessed where I could help out, it dawned on me that Tyrant Vaine brought the very thing we all left behind on to Xanropa, the Ceaseless End. Skyfish I and I took out some more of the monsters but then I saw the monster of all monsters near Lake 125.” Mele took a drink of lager to moisten her throat and continue talking comfortably. Conjurer looked over to Xan-I and before Mele continued said, “You are not ready for this, Xan-I.” “HUSH!” Mele spoke lovingly to Conjurer.
“In Lake 125, there was a being that we have documented as the Behemoth of Lake 125. It was a mechanism that the tyrant constructed- it was like a serpent that towered into the sky. It was nothing like anything I had ever seen. I saw it devour Xanropians, batter the face of the tetrahedron, and when I looked it in the eyes, I swear that I connected with the tyrant operating it. It was that moment that I knew that our former friend and first vertice leader had become a crazy madman and that we needed to do anything to stop him. Now, before I go into this part, I just want to say that I did indeed help vanquish the behemoth, however, some of Hyanthra’s people, and Charles actually, also helped finish the job. It was a group effort!” Charles nodded in agreement. “Charles had shown up and with his colossal mechanism, gave the beast a couple of blows before holding it by its throat. As Charles got the beast into that lock, I helped protect Charles and Hyanthra’s people as some of the other monsters kept crawling around and attacking. When Charles got the beast into the lock, I took the chance. I threw all power into the throttle, and with a calm and excited feeling, I harpooned the Behemoth of Lake 125 through the heart! I got that bastard!” Mele enthusiastically slammed her hand on the table to emulate Skyfish I piercing Tyrant Vaine’s mechanism. “Now, the only downside of my actions was that the behemoth was not happy, and I may had to abandon Skyfish I. That glorious ship got stuck in the chest of the monster. It was not quite dead yet, but that is when Hyanthra’s group of warriors came in and like shooting stars, fell upon the Behemoth of Lake 125, becoming nothing more than a story in our history. If you were wondering, I was fine when I abandoned the Skyfish I. As the beast fell from the finishing blows of Hyanthra’s folks, I used the opportunity to use the serpent body to slide down to the surface free of any injury. The only thing that hurt was abandoning my ship. Luckily, I was able to bring Skyfish II to the scene with my communicator device.
As I waited for Skyfish II to fly over to me, helped the injured and felt a horrible sense of dread. It got too quiet out there. Not for long, Skyfish II showed up and I started helping the injured onto the vessel. Of course, during this time the next wave of the crab-looking freaks charged at us. I was about to take off when I spotted a warrior crawling toward me and the ship. In the midst of chaos, it is easy to overlook things and I felt a horrible guilt as I saw that warrior on the ground. Skyfish II was about to take off but I shifted it to hover, so that it was off the ground but not going anywhere. I HAD to save that Xanropian.” Mele stood up from her seat and walked over to the placard that said Mele’s Big Score. “As I ran to the Xanropian, one of the tyrant’s mechanisms spotted our activity and was coming toward us. As I saw the mechanism charging at us, I screamed directions at the injured Xanropian, ‘Hey! Quickly, get on your knees! No time to explain!’ The Xanropian was now injured AND confused. Bless them, they got up on their knees and I used them as a step stool to jump off of. As my feet climbed up on the back of the injured warrior, I leapt off of their back,” Mele pulled out an axe from beneath the bar and lifted her axe above her head. “With one clean swipe, I screamed horrible things at the mechanism and I brought my axe and fury down upon the monster!” Mele then gently brought her axe down, making sure not to damage the table. “It was the cleanest cut I think I have ever made. I also was able to bring the injured back to Skyfish II and bring them along with the rest of the injured to the Inner Planet.”
Mele placed her axe back under the bar counter and returned to her seat and took another drink of her lager. She then brought out glasses for Charles, Conjurer, and Xan-I. After the glasses were set, Mele poured some lager for Conjurer and Charles while leaving Xan-I’s glass empty. “Alright, Xan-I, I know you cannot drink, but I am going to have you join us for an obligatory toast. We do this when we celebrate the present, past, or whenever! It is a part of my family, and I invite you to partake in this ritual.” Mele directed everyone to take their glass. As everyone held their glass, Mele raised her glass up into the air. With her free hand, Mele motioned the toast participants to raise their glasses too. As everyone held their glass in the air, Mele proceeded with the toast instructions, “Now, I am going to say, ‘Sköl!’, and then you, along with Conjurer and Charles, will reply back with, ‘Sköl!’, Does that make sense?” Xan-I nodded in agreement and awaited its first toast with its new friends. Mele raised her glass, “Alright everyone! To those we have lost, and to us finding our new friendship with Xan-I, Sköl!” Simultaneously, Conjurer, Charles, and Xan-I shouted back with a hearty, “Sköl!”
Xan-I felt a feeling of elevation, yet it was not floating. Something felt right about being there at Mele’s with Mele, Conjurer, and Charles. As if this was the place that Xan-I needed to be despite waking up in a time that it felt it did not belong. After the toast had subsided, Charles started to focus on eating his stew as Mele and Conjurer drank more of their lager. Xan-I decided that it was probably best to shut off for the night, so that it may process all that it learned and perhaps figure out what the next steps were for tomorrow. Xan-I set the toast glass on the bar counter and asked, “Excuse me, everyone, but where may I shut off for the night? I think it is best that I put myself to sleep so that I may process everything I have learned for tomorrow.” Mele quickly responded, “Why don’t you stay here with me? I got a charging terminal if you need one in the back. Based on some reactions from this evening, we would probably stir up some trouble if we had you wander back outside.” Conjurer and Charles nodded in agreement. Charles finished eating a bite of his stew and said, “That sounds like a good idea, we can meet back here in the morning and discuss our next course of action.” Mele looked at Charles as if he needed to finish a sentence. “Of course, we will do that after I prevent any commotion from those who are concerned.” With that reassurance, Mele smiled and then turned to Xan-I and said, “Alright, kid, follow me! Let’s get you settled in for your first night here on the Inner Planet.” Xan-I shook his head in affirmation and followed Mele into the back of her establishment.