Quite a rude awakening [Lucian]

[Scarlett Freeman]

Scarlett Freeman wasn't one for pretending, but when a guard came to check on her, she played possum and feigned sleeping. He picked her up and took her somewhere, after many turns and many more corridors he finally stopped in front of something. He knocked once and tried to speak through the thick metal door.

"Lucian Verdus, we have a new Protector. She goes by the name Scarlett, but she is a mute. Can you take care of her shoulder, she got injured during capture." The guard bellowed at the door and she felt him shift her body around so that he could knock on the door again. She knew she was dressed in a bad looking silver suit but had ignored her injury until the guard mentioned it.

Her brow creased slightly in pain as she felt the painkillers wearing off. A dull throbbing started in her left shoulder and she felt her chalkboard and a pack of chalk press into her torso slightly. So he was counting on her waking up was he? Great, whoever this Lucian Verdus was could talk with her! Her lips curved into a small smile as she thought of it and her short red hair brushed her cheek. He hefted her up and her head fell back, revealing the tender flesh of her throat and then the doors opened, she could hear it.

[Lucian Verdus]

The Inquisitor handled the call at the door, Lucian making some adjustments on the Magna Mater model, and was somewhat taken aback. Accessible databanks revealed this as the second mute mutant who sought some sort of business with Lucian, though it seemed as though the present mutant had somewhat less choice. This only mattered so much, as a new protector meant a new meatbag in which to inculcate the rules, and the extended rules that applied specifically to protectors, and little more. Possibly some insipid and overdone revulsion regarding the machines there, but nothing beyond that.

"Statement: Progenitor, there is a new protector member that desires audience with you," The Inquisitor said, approaching the modified door with its segmented circular lock. "Permit them in. Keep a very close watch on them. If a guard is with them, I do not want them in here. Their armor makes modifications frustratingly difficult." The Inquisitor nodded, and an attachment came out of its right index finger, inserting itself into the lock so that interface could begin. The door was not impenetrable, by any means, but somewhat reinforced and lacking any visible handle, or any point of entry besides the central, circular orifice surrounded by indentations that, overall, formed a larger circle.

Interfacing with Inquisition and Diplomacy Servitor Model 001...
Input passcode: "Thunderhorse"
Please wait, randomizing passcode...
Passcode randomization complete. Now uploading new passcode to servitor database.
Please wait while the device interfaces with authorization codes.
Now checking authorization code...
Authorization code found. Door opening.
The segments turned and shifted, and the magnetic lock released, allowing the door to swing open. Seeing the subject prone on the ground, the Inquisitor unceremoniously proceeded to attempt to drag her into the cell, clear of the door so that it may shut. With a brief hum, the magnetic lock returned and the segments of the circle shifted again. "Concerned observation: Our guest has been damaged, Progenitor. Should we wait for it to wake?" The Inquisitor asked. Lucian stood, letting Magna Mater sit and gaze up at her master as he walked over to the newcomer. "Stand up. If you are able to speak sign language, we are able to interpret it."

[Scarlett Freeman]

"Permit them in. Keep a very close watch on them. If a guard is with them, I do not want them in here. Their armor makes modifications frustratingly difficult." She heard metallic voices before the door opened, to some extent. The guard had left her there, something unceremoniously dragged her within the place behind the door. She clutched her chalkboard and chalk pack to her, not wanting to leave it behind.

"Concerned observation: Our guest has been damaged, Progenitor. Should we wait for it to wake?" A metallic voice stated and she heard something stand. Then a voice spoke again.
"Stand up. If you are able to speak sign language, we are able to interpret it." It commanded and Scarlett carefully uncurled from her position on the floor, standing on two feet. She took a length of pale white chalk from the packet and turned to the wall, writting hurriedly on her small chalkboard.

"I never learned sign language, I apologise. My name is Scarlett D. Freeman, pleased to meet you all." She finished her writing and held it out carefully for them all to see. Her dark brown eyes took in the robed figures and she smiled shyly. She liked meeting new people, even if they didn't look human. Her short red hair had spiked out in odd angles, she shook her head like a dog. The fiery locks then fell into their rightful places on her head.

Scarlett then thought of something and erased her previous message, writing a new one.
"I have no idea why I was taken here...but it is good to have someone to talk to, well not really talking but still." She showed it to the one that looked like the leader of the group before absentmindedly touching her left shoulder. The painkillers had fully worn off now, the effort it took to stay standing was mighty. Scarlett backed away from the robotic people so that she was supported by the wall. She looked down curiously at a box of items before hesitantly touching some of them.

Then she started a new message on her chalkboard.
"May I? I know how to make a robotic dog..." She showed it to the one in the red robe before wincing a little.
"Keeping my hands busy takes my mind off of pain. Thank you for letting me in." She showed this to the red robed being once more before touching a piece of metal lightly. Scarlett longed to make a dog out of metal and such, either a lap dog or an attack dog. Either one would be good company for her.

[Lucian Verdus]

"Indignant correction: We are not units designed for conversation!" The Inquisitor snapped, his synthesized voice sounding more emotionally human than it usually did. "Condescending explanation: The Progenitor is the leader of the servitors here. Usually, he will be managing patrols as he goes about his other work but, recently, the guards have made it inhospitable for the police force. We managed to pull out our units before there was any severe casualties, but some damage was done to a fleeing close combat servitor. We cannot afford such things." The Inquisitor's voice had become as condescending as he had prefaced it, a tinge of bitterness evident as he spoke about the latest incursion of guards.

"Inquisitor, that is enough," Lucian said, turning to face the newcomer with cold, yellow lenses glowing brightly. It seemed almost wrong that an emotionless metallic vibration held more authority than an artificial human voice. But, it was clear, and not to be questioned. "As the Inquisitor stated, you are not in the right place for conversation. If what you seek is business, we may be able to assist you, but we are machines. Idle chatter is for citizen castes, of which there are none. No willing subjects." Lucian moved towards his makeshift operating table, moving his muscular, clawed arm to rest upon it while the small precision arm hung at his side.

When the girl had moved to touch the box, Lucian was immediately looming over her. "That is vital technology and metal. We only have enough totaled in storage for two and a half complex machines, and there is no room for useless creations of leisure. It is within your best interests to step away from the box before the combat servitors are activated." Lucian said. His anger was clear enough in his words, despite having no tone, and his claw had slid off of the operating table to loom dangerously close to the interloper's face. "You will speak business now or we will arrange for your departure. Is that clear?"

[Scarlett Freeman]

"Indignant correction: We are not units designed for conversation!Condescending explanation: The Progenitor is the leader of the servitors here. Usually, he will be managing patrols as he goes about his other work but, recently, the guards have made it inhospitable for the police force. We managed to pull out our units before there was any severe casualties, but some damage was done to a fleeing close combat servitor. We cannot afford such things." The one that had dragged her in didn't seem very happy with her, but she understood, he was irritated because of the injuries sustained to one of his own. She nodded once and smiled once, no sense in hating him for her own folly.

"Inquisitor, that is enough. As the Inquisitor stated, you are not in the right place for conversation. If what you seek is business, we may be able to assist you, but we are machines. Idle chatter is for citizen castes, of which there are none. No willing subjects." Said the one in the red robe, its yellow lenses glowing brightly. It moved to some sort of opperating table and placed one hand on the metal structure.

She nodded once more and he then loomed over her as she had touched the box.
"That is vital technology and metal. We only have enough totaled in storage for two and a half complex machines, and there is no room for useless creations of leisure. It is within your best interests to step away from the box before the combat servitors are activated." It said tonelessly, she dug in her pocket for a moment and pulled out a couple of things that she thought would have been useful. An Ipod and its speakers. That was all she could find other than a letter.

Wait, a letter? She read who it was addressed to: 'Lucian Verdus, concerning the issue of Head Case a.k.a. Scarlett Freeman.' He then pulled his claws off of the opperating table and put them close to her face.
"You will speak business now or we will arrange for your departure. Is that clear?" She nodded once and placed the letter in front of his claws. The guard had been up during the night writing it, the letter itself was very impersonal.

'To Lucian Verdus, concerning the issue of Head Case a.k.a. Scarlett Freeman.

The guards have given her to you as a gift, in recompense for your other robot that they have injured in combat of sorts. She requests that her memories before her capture are wiped, but she wants to remember her first meeting with you. She is quiet and kind, the guards think that she would be able to do minor repairs on robots as she has a talent with robotics and electrical things. She created an attack dog that was completely functional within three hours.

Head Case would also like for her emotions to remain intact, but any other modifications you would like to make to her are approved. Unless it involves anything to do with reproducing, then she asks that you leave those organs untouched. She does not mind if you equipt her with a voice, but she will rarely use it, unless to address you.

She has a weak body that is susceptible to infections and such so we ask you to repair her shoulder first. Head Case has a history of psycological and physical violence being commited against her but contrary to popular belief she is quite trusting and harmless. May we suggest she be given small tasks like cleaning your cell until you decide what to do with her.
Regards,
The Guards of Freakopolis.'

She had never read it but she supposed that was what it said. Now that she had seen what Lucain looked like, she didn't mind so much about the wording. They had said that she would be turned into a semi-human semi-robot, she went along with it. She was a very easygoing person. She stood before wobbling slightly and stumbling away from the box of supplies. Her dark brown eyes were foggy with pain, but she struggled until she had her back against the metal door she had come through.

[Lucian Verdus]

Lucian scanned the letter handed to him in a matter of moments, his claws careful not to damage the letter until it was fully read, at which point it was shredded in Lucian's claws. "I take it you are expecting me to believe the guards feel remorse about damaging one of my units. I do not see this as possible, given their actions of late. I do not know why you would try to deceive me in this way, but it is not of any particular importance. Whatever these guidelines may have meant to you, there will be no defiance of citizen caste format. Emotions are standard protocol, but there will be the option on both your end and mine to turn them off and on." Lucian took a few steps toward his latest subject, a small rod, bulged at the tip, coming out of the palm of his clawed hand.

"If I turn them off, only I will be turning them back on. As for reproductive organs, preserving them is begging for a miscarriage. You will not have the proper nutrients, no longer necessarily requiring food, or the proper flexibility to gestate. Your reproductive desires and related organs will not remain," The rod began to spark with electricity. Enough to stun the average mutant, and then some. Incapacitation was key. The heavier they were out, the more easily he could work. He took another step toward the girl, muscular arm, and thus the shock prod that came out of his palm, extending nearer to her.

"You will be given free will, but you will not have access to the servitor network. You will be a citizen caste, and nothing more, especially considering this deception. You are fortunate it was not my decision to make you a servitor. I am only squandering metal on you to perfect the living machine model, so additionally count yourself fortunate to have caught me at the proper time. Now, hold completely still before this becomes very painful." Lucian moved to place the shock prod, and thus the incapacitating jolt of electricity, onto the girl's skin.

[Scarlett Freeman]

The mechanical man read the letter then shredded it, she looked at him expectantly before he spoke.
"I take it you are expecting me to believe the guards feel remorse about damaging one of my units. I do not see this as possible, given their actions of late. I do not know why you would try to deceive me in this way, but it is not of any particular importance. Whatever these guidelines may have meant to you, there will be no defiance of citizen caste format. Emotions are standard protocol, but there will be the option on both your end and mine to turn them off and on." Lucian took a few steps forwards and some sort of electrical rod protruded from his clawed hand.

Scarlett nodded once before frowning in confusion as he mentioned the guards. But then her face was as smooth as glass, her shoulder pulsed irritatingly and a red stain was starting to show in her left shoulder.
"If I turn them off, only I will be turning them back on. As for reproductive organs, preserving them is begging for a miscarriage. You will not have the proper nutrients, no longer necessarily requiring food, or the proper flexibility to gestate. Your reproductive desires and related organs will not remain." He said and the rod sparked with electricity. Scarlett's mouth formed a small 'o' of understanding and she smiled bravely.

He took another step towards her and the rod extended towards her. She in turn stretched a pale forefinger out to the rod in curiousity.
"You will be given free will, but you will not have access to the servitor network. You will be a citizen caste, and nothing more, especially considering this deception. You are fortunate it was not my decision to make you a servitor. I am only squandering metal on you to perfect the living machine model, so additionally count yourself fortunate to have caught me at the proper time. Now, hold completely still before this becomes very painful." He moved to touch her skin with the prod and she tried to hold still. Scarlett had just finished writing a sentence when he came for her.

The electrical rod touched her skin and sent a jolt through her body. The blue sparks danced on her body and she slumped to the ground, her eyes closed and her left shoulder was stained mostly red now.
"Actually, I never did learn how to lie. May I make a request of my own? Will you teach me what to do in your presence so I don't mess up next time I see you?" The blackboard skittered out from under her body and stopped in front of him.

[Lucian Verdus]

The inquisitor picked up the board, reading over the message. "Suspicious observation: It seems the meatbag claims she does not know how to lie. Query: What do you make of such a statement, Progenitor?" Lucian already had his subject on the operating table, beginning to incise and remove organs. This was not a tested design, by any means, but it was a meticulously planned one. The proper designs had been outlined and their functionality calculated as often as possible, nearly as good as actually building it. But, it was no substitute for physically creating the design. Hence, it was with some high expectations that Lucian had begun to form the first true living machine, apart from himself.

"It is of no concern to me whether or not she is attempting to deceive us. Prior to this operation, her thoughts are transparent," Lucian said, beginning to take a few pieces of piping and a half-broken circuit board and sliding them into her open chest cavity, "The hatefulness the guards have shown us of late has made this environment dangerous. I doubt that they would reimburse me for a damaged servitor, especially when it is clear they care not for the innocent, much less those of any consequence. If anything, they should be happy they are suppressing potential threats, not handing over more bodies to them."

"Statement: It would appear, then, that she is hesitant to immediately admit that she wishes to become a servant of yours. Projection: She will come around, in time. If not, it can hopefully be extracted from her thoughts," The Inquisitor agreed, indifferently watching the gory procedure. Even a meatbag, Lucian considered, would become accustomed to operations such as this had they dwelt in his cell for long enough. Such operations cease becoming more than commonplace after some time. His preservation of emotion was an attempt to preserve the adaptability of the standard meatbag, something that could be vital in a severe situation, such as this one.

It was evolution, natural selection at its finest; those who would adapt to the severe situations would survive, and the rest would die. The strong elements of the compound would remain in the genetic pool and as a potential conversion, while the weak would be purged. It was a solidly positive aspect. Lucian considered who was likeliest to survive, from knowledge stored in the collective database, as he finalized operations on the subject's brain, sealing the incision shortly after. Like the standard servitor, she was metal, in the majority, with the occasional patch of flesh in some places, though in more than one would expect. A good chunk of the waist, right leg, and left arm were all flesh on the outside, though reinforced with metal on the inside.

In spite of the metal plating dominating most of the subject's head, there was still artificially maintained hair coming out. It would not grow without the behest of the one possessing it, however. Instead of large lenses, the eyes were synthesized like Magna Mater's, given smaller visual receptors inserted in the center of said artificial eyes. Unlike Magna Mater's or the Inquisitor's (though the latter lacked synthetic eyes), these receptors were clear, colorless, and did not glow. They could, however, switch settings to see in the dark. More advanced receptors, like the Inquisitor's or Lucian's, could be set to night vision, as well as infared and limited heat signatures, and a fair amount of physical analysis used for diagnosing injuries or disrepair in certain areas.

Lucian stepped away from the operating table to get a brown robe. Unlike the monastic dark brown of the servitors, this robe was a lighter, sandier shade in order to differentiate it from a servitor even further. Dressing the subject in said robe, he stepped away again to look over it. "She should wake, soon. I hope the speech synthesis and language programs were all installed properly, I do not want to have to read over her words any further." The Inquisitor nodded, "Agreement: The least she could have done is learned sign language, like that other speechless meatbag."

[Scarlett Freeman]

Scarlett came to very slowly, it was like she was drowning in the darkness that surrounded her. But instead of panicking, she let the darkness gradually push her to the surface of awareness.
"She should wake, soon. I hope the speech synthesis and language programs were all installed properly, I do not want to have to read over her words any further." She recognised the voice as Lucians and blinked open her eyes slowly, but remained on her back on the operating table.
"Agreement: The least she could have done is learned sign language, like that other speechless meatbag." Replied another voice that she recognised also, the Inquisitor.

She sat up gingerly and blinked a few times, she didn't notice anything very different at first. But she was covered by a sand hued robe, she could feel parts of her body that were open to the air and others were covered by metal. Scarlett swallowed thickly before feeling something different in her throat. Was it her voice box? Yes, it probably was. Her dark brown eyes surveyed the room curiously, nothing had changed but her.

"G-greetings Master..." She tested speaking and at first she thought that she was talking in her head. The voice was still soft, and husky as always. She wanted to run around and sing, but remembered the Inquisitor's warning just before the operation that Lucian had completed for her.
"Thank you Master." She said before smiling up at him. Then she noticed that she had no memoried prior to meeting Lucian, Inquisitor and the other female robot.

She stretched her arms up in the air, like she was just waking up. In a way she was, but she ignored the pain for now. But she remembered his comment before the opperation and the smile faded a little before she tried to cover it up with touching her robe curiously.
"I am only squandering metal on you to perfect the living machine model, so additionally count yourself fortunate to have caught me at the proper time." She remembered the words and mentally flinched at them before pushing the words to the back of her mind and looked at the Inquisitor seriously.
"I hope your comrade gets better soon." She said before smiling again, she really did mean it.

Scarlett couldn't believe that the guards had done this to a robot for no justification. She also didn't know what had been the contents of that letter, she had only guessed. Maybe she had been right and that was why Master thought that she could lie and decieve someone. She then waited patiently for orders of some description.

[Lucian Verdus]

Lucian regarded his new creation, misbegotten as the meatbag preceding it had been, with something vaguely similar to pride. Mere corpses were not nearly as complex as these living machines could be, and it was significant, to say the least, that he was able to create something of this complexity. It seemed to move properly, synthetic eyes appeared to work, and the vocal synthesis also seemed to be functioning properly. It was adequate. There was, of course, room for improvement, but it was a large step forward to be able to create something such as this. It was far more human than any servitor, though the plates of metal were a clear sign of Lucian's handiwork. Perhaps, Lucian processed, it could be useful.

"It is clear that I must understand that you were not given any programming, simply limitations to your processes. I am not your master, and it is not appropriate to refer to me with the implication that you are a servant to my will," Lucian said, turning briefly to the inactive servitors lined up behind him, "Those that are servants to my will do not refer to me as such, and neither should you." Lucian took a step forward, the Inquisitor looking on passively, "I am your creator, not your master. Not yet. However, if it is orders you desire, it is orders you shall receive. You are an example of humanity's conversion to perfection."

Lucian turned to the door, pausing for a few seconds before walking over to it and inserting an input that came out near the very top of his precision hand's palm. The segmented circles moved and the segment placement shifted, the door soon lazily falling open. "Depart. Live as you would as a normal human, but remember that your more volatile emotions can always be shut off if you feel it necessary. Take advantage of this. When you feel the need to retire, though sleep is no more than a positive action to you, now, you may return here. The inquisitor will allow you in." Lucian moved his claw in the direction of the open portal, as if to encourage her departure.