Incomprehensible

Chapter 4: Production

5554 exited the elevator as the doors parted. While 1245 was busy checking the logs, he went underground to check on bracelet productions. As he walked, he couldn't help but think about what happened once again. 1125 and Asimo's death were his fault, he felt. The weight of his guilt was so immense, he didn't even notice he ran into another scientist. The two stepped backwards a bit after the collision. "Apologies, I wasn't paying attention." 5554 said to the other. The other scientist was short, with frizzy, brown orangish hair. Their orange eyes looked into 5554 curiously. 5554 shifted his attention to their name tag, which had the numbers 3865. "You're one of the scientists I assigned to production." He spoke.

3865 nodded, a sheepish grin on his face. "I was on my way to another room. I'm just ping ponging around, assisting others where I can." 3865 redirected his gaze down and to the side. "I'm terribly sorry for what happened. You were there when it occurred, live." 5554 waved his hand dismissively. "I try not to think about it too much. We need to prioritize production." 3865 nods in agreement. "I'm glad that me and everyone else can assist you." The two shared a friendly smile to each other, in mutual understanding. What happened wasn't just impacting 5554, it was to every personnel in that facility. It had made them anxious, and on edge.

In 5554's eyes, he had found the solution.

5554 said his goodbyes to the scientist, patting them on the shoulder as they trudged down the hallway. Stopping in front of a door, they enter a room labeled "monitoring." A room utilized to monitor the production of any products made by chromatic laboratories. Tapping a few buttons on the computer, 5554 could see the scientist live, building and programming the bracelets, as well as how many they make in a set timeframe. He noticed how careful the latter was with the chrome. Rightfully so, he thought. After the "Echo" situation, nobody would dare try to handle it. "Alright, at this rate it should be fine..." He murmured to himself. They already had a ton of bracelets made, but they've yet to use them to find 9637. Controlling chrome was harder than it seems, even with the crutch of technology. 5554 continued to gaze upon the screens as mass productions continued. He felt he should also be down there, assisting in the creation. After all, he did design the intricacies of the bracelet himself, without the assistance of his fellow scientist.

There was a sudden knock on the door. 5554 turned his head to it, as he watched it open. 1245 entered the room, with a grim look on his face. 5554 countered the grimness with a grin of his own. "Sup. Did you check the logs?" 1245 nods, his gaze not meeting his co-workers. 5554 raised an eyebrow, his grin wavering. "Something the matter?" He asked. 1245 shook his head. "Nothing at all, don't worry. But besides that, the logs are like you presumed. Empty. No inside calls have been made on our devices. If one was made at all, it may have been on a foreign one." 5554 put a hand on his chin, pondering the situation. That would make finding the "traitor" a hell of a lot harder. Something feeding the government inside info they aren't supposed to know can't continue, for the sake of the city.

1245's gaze drifted over to the screens. "Looks like the product is coming along nicely." 5554 nods, turning to look towards 1245's stare. "Quickly too. we'll have more than enough of these bracelets to find 9637." 1245 closed his eyes, sighing. "About that. Are you sure we'll be able to do that, even with the tech as a crutch? Sure, it'll help us harness it more, but we've yet to try something at this degree." 5554 couldn't help but agree with this notion. That was quite the jump in capability. Of course, he was confident chrome could pull it off, but not with himself or others that they could channel its immense capability to pull it off. The only one who likely could be 9637, and he was who they searched for after his disappearance. 5554 could only pray they didn't die, considering people don't spontaneously disappear. 5554 put the schematics for the bracelet in his back pocket.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Let's take a little snack break." 1245 narrowed his eyes, before sighing. "Of course, you would suggest that. I suppose we can." 5554 grinned, heading towards the door as it opened.

BAM.