Chapter 18: This Strangely Familiar Dialogue
In flesh, there is no unchanging truth, only decay.
In flesh, there is no lasting strength, only weakness.
In flesh, there is no eternal stability, only putrescence.
In flesh, there is no certainty, save for death.
The Machine God is the creator and master of all machines. Therefore, the followers of the Machine God replace their weak, fleshly bodies with the immortal machine bodies that the Machine God created and loves, so that they may more rationally, more logically, and more directly understand the technological knowledge He has bestowed upon them.
Magos Laust, save me! They're trying to take my legs too!
This was the distress signal Laust received from Omega. We'll get to Laust's reaction in a moment, but for now, let's turn the camera back to Omega.
"Master, have mercy on my youth and let me go!"
"That's not very friendly! Call me 'brother in faith'!"
"Yes, yes, Master Brother in Faith, please let me go!"
This dialogue seems strangely familiar. Where have I heard this before?
Today's "Master" was an acquaintance introduced by Priest Alpha. He'd been in the business for years, severing countless legs. The adamantium chain-saws, axes, restraints, gags, scalpels, and hemostats on his six mechanical arms were solid, reliable, and wear-resistant. Not a single bone had ever lasted a round against them.
"Didn't you come here yourself?" the "Leg-Chopper" Master said. "If Alpha hadn't introduced you, you wouldn't have even gotten an appointment with me! You know that, right?"
"Yes, yes, I 'thank' Priest Alpha for his 'help,' it's just that..." Alpha! I thank your ancestors for eight generations! Just you wait until I get out of here! Magos Laust, please hurry! I'll never say a bad word about you behind your back again, I swear! Just get here fast...
"Just what? Hurry up and lie down!" the Leg-Chopper Master said impatiently, pointing to a metal operating table stained with the patina of old blood.
Omega desperately tried to stall for time. "It's just that I don't have any money! I don't have the money to buy prosthetics!" he lied.
The Leg-Chopper Master paused. Omega pressed his advantage. "I came here on my own, yes, but it's my first time! Master, just look at my age, you can see I don't have any money!"
"Indeed, these prosthetics are not cheap!"
(￣▽￣)ゞ` Just as planned!*
Just as Omega thought he was safe, the master pulled a piece of vellum from a nearby cabinet and handed it to him.
"Take it."
"Master, what is this?"
"A loan contract."
Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ Is your service really this thorough?! Okay, stay calm, stay calm. Pretend to read it carefully, then say the interest is too high and you won't take the loan.
"No need to look so closely. The interest is nine in, thirteen out."
Loan sharks! Can't you people do anything legitimate?!
Seeing that the act was up, Omega refused outright. "I'm not taking the loan!"
"You're not? Heh heh. Young man, don't say I didn't warn you. See the symbol on top?"
"Even if I see it, I'm not taking it!"
"So you don't know. Then I'll tell you directly. Any business with this symbol is the Archmagos's business! Understand now?"
Veyl, you son of a grox-herder with no backside! You're already the Fabricator-General, why are you still nickel-and-diming people like this?!
(Archmagos Veyl: My academic skills are lacking. This is my only specialty and hobby. Forgive me, forgive me.)
Omega stood his ground. "I wouldn't take a loan for the Archmagos's business either!"
"Hah, you still don't get it!" the Leg-Chopper Master sneered.
"Get what? I'm not taking the loan, period!" Omega threw the vellum to the floor.
A tentacle extended from the master's back, picked up the vellum, and he said, "Once you've seen this contract, whether you agree or not is no longer important! Understand now?!"
Why didn't I bring my exosuit today?! What are you doing with that syringe?!
"Now I have to use an extra dose of anesthetic. I'll add this needle to your bill later," the Leg-Chopper Master said, loading a tranquilizer dart into a limb that ended in a gun barrel.
Omega's mind went blank. Wait... you weren't planning on using anesthetic before?!
Just as Omega thought his doom was sealed, that he was about to say goodbye to the legs he'd only had for two years, the operating room door creaked... and then burst open with violent force.
Standing in the doorway was a red-painted Kastelan Robot. Behind it was Omega's long-awaited savior—Magos Laust. And behind him was another Kastelan Robot and a fully armed Rhea, Jacob, Aedus, Louis, and Paul.
"Waaaah... Magos... you're finally here... sob..." (இωஇ) Omega cried. Don't blame him for being childish. After such a rollercoaster of emotions and a narrow escape from dismemberment, he couldn't hold back the tears of post-traumatic relief.
Let's rewind to when Laust received Omega's message.
"Rhea! Notify Jacob and the others! Omega has been kidnapped!"
"What?! So soon?! Are they making their move already?" Rhea frantically sent out the message while demanding confirmation.
Countless lines of binary code flashed in Laust's eyes. He shook his head. "I don't know. Omega's location is strange. Just in case, prepare for the worst!"
"Yes, Father! Strange? Where is he now?"
"According to the location data from his comms unit, which I've hacked into, he's inside the Temple of the Machine God."
"The Temple of the Machine God?! Who would make a move in a place like that?!"
"I can't figure it out either. Just get ready. When we get there, don't say anything. Leave everything to me!"
"Understood, Father!"
Soon, Jacob and the others arrived, armed with their best wargear. Time was short. Laust immediately activated his personal aerial vehicle, a modified Archaeopter. It was a bird-like aircraft, its wings woven from nano-carbon fiber, capable of morphing to adapt to any environment and speed.
Laust piloted the Archaeopter directly towards Omega's location. With his superb piloting skills and the superior performance of the modified vehicle, they arrived at the Temple of the Machine God in record time.
However, due to the special nature of the temple, Laust didn't act rashly. He first contacted the Magos in charge of the temple and explained his intentions. The temple's Magos, clearly aware of the shady dealings Veyl's people were conducting within his temple and being a pious believer himself, directly pointed Laust to Omega's location. He implied that Laust could do as he pleased; he had been tolerating these people for a long time, and the temple would not hold him responsible for any damages.
Laust, desperate to save Omega and understand what was happening, didn't hesitate. And that's how the door-breaking scene occurred.
"Sob... Magos... I said I didn't want to get new legs! But they insisted! Waaah..." Omega wailed. (˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅)
"..." Magos Laust was speechless.
"I said I didn't have any money! And he tried to give me a high-interest loan! Waaah..." (ಥ_ಥ)
"..." Rhea, Jacob, Aedus, Louis, and Paul were speechless.
"I said I wouldn't take it! And he said it was the Archmagos's business, and that seeing the contract was the same as agreeing! Waaah..." (っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
"..." The temple's Magos was speechless.
"I didn't want to! And he was going to shoot me with a tranquilizer gun! Sob... Magos, if you had been a moment later, my legs would be gone... waaah..." (´థ౪థ)σ
"..." The Leg-Chopper Master was speechless.
Laust had certainly not expected this. He didn't know what to say. While he wouldn't call himself the most pious believer of the Machine God, he considered himself a loyal one. He never imagined that such predatory practices were happening within a temple of the Machine God.
Laust looked at the temple's Magos and saw shame, humiliation, anger, and disgust in the man's fully mechanical features. "This..." Laust began, but didn't know how to continue. Rebuke the temple Magos? Such an irrational act was no longer in his thought process. Even if he activated his emotional subroutines, what good would it do? Besides, the temple Magos was clearly not complicit. He finally turned to the "Leg-Chopper Master."
"Forcibly performing a prosthetic replacement on Omega at his current stage of development... are you telling me you don't know what kind of impact that would have on his future?"
"It is a necessary sacrifice to follow the Machine God!" the Leg-Chopper Master retorted.
"And the forced loan?!"
"..."
"And the anesthetic needle?!"
"..."
"Blasphemy! This is blasphemy!" the temple Magos's mechanical body roared, the sound vibrating through the air. "I have consoled myself by tolerating your prosthetic business in my temple, telling myself that at least it brings more people to the Machine God. I never imagined you would be so blasphemous!"
The Leg-Chopper Master, frightened by the temple Magos's fury, stumbled back. "This was all the Archmagos's arrangement! If you have a problem, go talk to the Fabricator-General!"
Hearing this, the temple Magos froze, as if a mandatory-pause command had been issued. His voice stopped, but his mechanical body trembled uncontrollably. Seeing this, the Leg-Chopper Master regained his confidence. He took a step forward and said smugly, "This is the Fabricator-General's business. If you have an opinion, go tell him. And don't forget to take your 'blasphemy' with you!"
The temple Magos looked at Omega and Laust's group. Without another word, he turned and walked away, his steps heavy and slow.
"You lot, take this brat and get out! If you have any objections, take them to the Fabricator-General!" the Leg-Chopper Master said before turning and leaving as well.
Only Omega and Laust's group remained. Their objective achieved, they didn't linger. As they were leaving...
Bang.
"Paul, Louis, Aedus, Jacob... thank you for coming to save me! I misunderstood you! All this time, I thought you were hiding things from me, ostracizing me, plotting against me! I was wrong! I apologize!"
Bang.
Omega, having escaped dismemberment, was now overcome with emotion. He couldn't believe he had doubted the companions who had come, fully armed, to brave a temple to save him.
"What about me? What about me?" Rhea demanded.
Bang.
"Stop hitting me! I thank you too, Rhea!"
Bang.