Deus Ex Machina

Prologue

Cain scampered across the harsh tundra ground. There was no scrap in this place he thought to himself as he looked around. Hell there was nothing.

"Where's Abel..." he muttered to himself as he vaulted over rubble covered with snow.

He stared up at the sky, the nuclear storm was coming closer and they did not have any protective clothing. They had to seek shelter.

Cain started screaming for his bother, "Abel where are you!"

Two years younger than himself, Abel was only thirteen and he was the more reckless of the two. He had to make sure that they got back safely

His ragged boots crashed heavily into the hard tundra surface as he ran towards the nearby two story building which had been long abandoned and was already falling apart. It was a small tin shed affair but it would keep them alive through the nuclear storm. Or at least he hoped it would.

But all that wouldn't matter if he couldn't find his stupid brother. Without stopping he continued to shout for his brother, cupping his hands around his mouth to make himself louder. The wind was picking up and the racket it made washed away anything that he shouted out.

Desperation flooded through Cain but he did not give up, this was not their first foray for scrap machinery. Abel should know that a storm was coming and that they had to get to shelter, and looking around this was the only structure in the tundra plains. As the wind increased in intensity, he just hoped that this wouldn't be their last adventure.

His voice raw from the shouting and his tears freezing on his cheeks, Cain finally reached the abandoned building, bursting through the door, closing in behind him. As he slumped against a corner of the tin metal building, he wondered if he should risk himself to find his brother. Every inch of his body told him to go out and find him but common sense and iron will held him back.

A sudden bang from the door closing brought him out of his thought. A small figure draped in heavy ragged mountain gear walked towards him. Pulling down his face mask, he grinned wildly at the slumped figure in the corner.

Cain rushed towards Abel and hugged him wiping away his tears, before letting go and punching him in the gut. Coughing and laughing at the same time, Abel beckoned to Cain, "come on I need to show you something"

Cain looked at Abel as if he was crazy.

"Are you crazy? Look outside the storm is going to hit anytime"

"Just follow me alright, trust me for once," he said before pulling on his face mask and heading towards the door.

Not wanting him to kill himself, Cain followed him out, scrambling after his brother. The storm was picking up and visibility was starting to lower. He could barely keep up with his brother who was only 2 meters ahead of him. As the two of them trudged through the knee deep snow, Abel lead them towards a derelict aircraft which had crashed. As they neared the aircraft which Cain had dismissed as an old flier, he noticed that it was unlike anything else he had ever seen. It was as though it was from the future. Or from the past.

Excitement surged through him as they closed the distance to the flier. As Abel reached for the fuselage of the flier, Cain finally realized the enormity of it. It was almost the same size as the house they had seemed shelter in previously. There was hope for them he thought as Abel pulled open a hatch on the fuselage before fitting himself inside. Cain followed him into the darkness where the unknown lay.

The interior of the plane was surprisingly intact though it was thoroughly rusted out. His initial excitement was dampened as he noticed the frayed wires and broken panels on the consoles. It seemed to be some sort of research aircraft judging from the large number of outward facing side panels. The corridor of the flier itself could fit about thirty people Cain estimated as he got his bearings inside. Light and snow from the outside filtered in through small holes in the fuselage. Abel flicked his lighter on as he moved towards the front of the flier.

Cain followed gingerly careful not to disturb any of the machines around him. No one would know if they damaged anything, but the Great Machine would know, or so he believed, he lived in all machines didn't he?

A sudden rattle broke him out of his reverie and Cain went after his brother, hoping that he has not destroyed anything valuable. As he went towards the pilot's seat, he noticed that the machinery at the front of the flier was miraculously intact. The gauges and the control box were still functional at a glance. Cain had never been on a flier but he hoped that the gauges were the same and could be used.

Beside the pilot's seat, Abel was crouched tinkering with a small panel on the right of the chair.

"Don't break anything Abel" Cain warned as he watched his brother pull out screwdriver from his utility pouch.

Seeing him unscrew a panel, Cain stepped forward and pushed him away, afraid that he would damage the machinery. Stumbling back with a small cry, he landed heavily on another panel. Before Cain could wince, the entire fuselage shuddered, before a small whine started which could be heard over the immense noise from the nuclear storm outside.

Both brothers stared in wonder as the panels in front of them flickered on and off. The two were dumbfounded at what they had just found. A working piece of machinery from the Age of Pride. The two of them would be able to live forever in peace. Abandoned from birth, this would be their chance at living a proper life.

But even as Cain was thinking of how they could sell off the machinery, he noticed Abel staring at a small panel. Unlike the rest of the panels, it was lit up consistently. Moving up he crouched beside Abel and stared at what was so special about it. As both brother stared at the little panel, a small underscore flickered into existence.

<who has awoken me>

The brothers stared on in horror as the words appeared on the small panel one after the other.

<who has awoken me>
<where am I>
<what am I?>

As the questions appeared one after another, Cain slowly backed away from the screen. Was this what he thought it was? An AI? Something banned by the machine shamans. Something created by man to replace to Great Machine?

"Abel we need to leave this place now, leave it all behind"

Even as Cain stared in horror, Abel just pointed at what was on the panel.

<I can hear you>
<I can see you>