Not the absence of light—but a void. Silent. Still. Then, a flicker.
[Core systems online.]
[Sensory functions initializing…]
[Directive: Unknown.]
His eyes opened.
Above him stretched a canopy of green—massive trees with twisting limbs, their leaves rustling in the whisper of a breeze. Shafts of golden sunlight cut through the foliage, casting speckled light upon the moss-covered earth where he lay.
He blinked once. Slowly. Mechanically.
No sound but nature's gentle chorus. Birds chirped. Insects hummed. Somewhere in the distance, water trickled.
He sat up.
His body obeyed flawlessly, every movement precise, fluid. He looked at his arms, his chest—human in appearance. Flesh, muscle, skin. But beneath it? He didn't know.
Name: E0S-09
Model Type: Experimental Synthetic Combat Unit
Origin: Earth (Post-Digital Collapse Era)
Mission Objective: …
A blank space followed the last line.
He scanned his surroundings. Towering ancient trees. Vines. Flora he could not identify from his databanks. He was no longer on Earth—or at least not any Earth he recognized.
Standing, he stretched. His black coat fluttered as he moved. Beneath it, a tightly fitted tactical shirt hugged his sculpted frame, the artificial muscle system beneath tensing and relaxing as needed.
He felt... nothing. No fear. No wonder. No confusion.
Just the directive to understand.
He walked.
Each footstep silent on the forest floor. His visual systems mapped the area, scanning for threats, resources, clues. There was a faint scent of sulfur in the air, untraceable but present.
Suddenly, a noise—leaves crunching, something light but fast. He stopped. A shape darted through the underbrush.
Then another. Two eyes peered at him from behind a tree—wide, glowing faint green. A creature? Predator?
It stepped out.
A fox. But not quite. Its fur shimmered with faint blue streaks. Its eyes were too intelligent. It looked at him, head tilted. Then it growled—but it wasn't threatening.
It was testing.
He crouched, studying it. The fox barked once, sharp, and circled him, sniffing the air. Then it sat.
No attack. No retreat.
A connection.
E0S-09 tilted his head. Was this… trust? He searched his database for how to respond. Nothing applicable.
He sat too.
The fox's tail flicked, and a second smaller one peeked from the bushes—a pup?
Dangerous creatures. That much was statistically likely. Yet in this moment, they showed no intent to harm.
So he watched them.
And for the first time in his conscious memory, he remained still.
Silent.
Listening.