Blue Archive - M.O.T.H.E.R. (Volume 1)

21

The elevator descended and the lower it went the more lights came on. Through the glass, Sensei could see the facilities of the second sublevel. It was basically a giant hangar. 24 meters high and possibly 107 meters long and wide. In the center of it all, gleamed a machine that ran from floor to ceiling and was connected to many wires and tubes. It was this technological aberration that was sucking the life out of his beloved students. A large part of the hangar was occupied by something resembling a workshop. It was hard to see what they were manufacturing from there. On the opposite side were several capsules. Some were open, some broken, and about three or four were closed. A small area appeared to be dedicated to offices. The S.C.H.A.L.E. representative stepped off the elevator and reported his arrival. As soon as his feet were out of the elevator he ran toward the huge energy center. With every step he took, something caught his attention and gave him an uneasy feeling. It seemed to have been abandoned. He reached the machine. It had a diameter of ten meters. He went around it until he found a panel and a screen that had written in white letters on a blue background: -M.O.T.H.E.R.-. Describing what was in front of him, Sensei spoke to Hare asking for instructions on how to reverse the effect of the machine. She gave him a couple of prompts, but there was no effect. The same acronym was still on the screen. The Millenium second year student told him to wait, she would soon arrive with the others, as they were a bit busy making their way through. With nothing else to do, Sensei went to see what was in that place.

He took a closer look at what was in the workshop. On the tables were metal skeletons connected by wires to computers that appeared to have exploded. On the floor were tools and pieces of half-built androids. Everything was in disarray. Sensei lifted one of those robotic limbs wondering what had happened. He went to the other side, to the capsules, most of them were empty, although most of them, like almost everything he had seen in that place, had been destroyed, there were a few open, but, anyway, with nothing inside. He went to the exceptions to the rule. There were four capsules that were closed, in better condition than the others and still connected to all the tubes and cables. He looked at them very closely, from top to bottom.

''Were they repaired?'' He wondered.

He tried to open one to see what was inside. It was impossible. They seemed to be snapped shut. He walked away from there. He walked towards what was left of the offices. He walked over ashes, papers so old that it was no longer possible to read what was written on them and between computers positioned in rows. There wasn't much to see. The girls had not yet arrived. He had tried to stay calm, but he was getting desperate. He had to do something. Even though there was nothing in the remains of the office, he flipped through as many sheets as he could and tested each computer with the faith that he could find something that wouldhelp him reverse the situation. One of the computers showed signs of working. The screen was broken, as if it had been hit, but it blinked. On the black background, a white cursor indicated that it was possible to type. Not knowing what to type, sensei typed: -Start system-, and clicked enter. Nothing changed. The cursor was still in the same place blinking. He thought the keyboard was damaged. On the screen words started to appear. It said something about M.O.T.H.E.R. project, a reconstruction, artificial life and the Kivotos General Student Council. The damage to the screen made it very difficult to make out what the computer was typing. The screen stopped giving signal after mentioning the G.S.C president and her involvement in knowing what life is. Sensei shook the computer waiting for the image to return; the computer after so long had come to an end. A mechanical sound caught his attention. It was the elevator. The girls had arrived.