Imperial Beginnings, Part 2
In the most unfortunate turn of events, the very first drones activated by the scientists who were experimenting, Just happened to be drones which were designed to replicate other sentinels! Immediately after replicating the first dozen drones, the programming identified Homo sapiens as their enemy. Shortly thereafter, the cleansing of Earth began.
We Begin our story as the empress rushes to the young Prince’s Chambers. She will inform him of a bold escape plan they have devised that could save their lives. But due to the urgency she will have to tell him on the trip to the portal. . . .
“Wake up my son,” the empress said. As she reached down and gently took him by the shoulders. The prince, opening his eyes, immediately saw his mother’s face. He could tell that something was wrong. A frown darkened her beautiful green eyes, and he could hear the faint rattling of the glass in their window panes behind her.
As his senses returned to him and he fully woke up, he saw that dust was filtering down from the ceiling in small little tufts of powder, and some had settled in his mother’s hair. “My son,” she said again more urgently. “We must go, this artificial intelligence that is trying to eliminate us. It has penetrated all but the last defenses of earth. We have to reach the portal quickly!” “But mother?” the prince inquired. “I thought you said the shield protecting Gilead prevented our portal signals from leaving this system?” “There is no time to explain here, come quickly, follow me. I will tell you along the way.”
With that, she pointed at his shoes which were in the corner, and his weapons, which were laying on his dresser, nodded her head towards the door indicating he should follow, then she swept from the room, lifting her skirts to avoid the dust on the floor.
Not knowing what else to do, the prince grabbed his belongings and rushed after her. In the hallway, he could tell she was headed for the short range teleporter room. It was only one floor down, but it would take them a minute to get there. As he caught up to her she looked over her shoulder and said. “You are correct we cannot send our signals out of the system, but we have found a way to put them into a loop. We believe that once these creatures have wiped out all sentient life, that they will release their hold on the signals and that the loop will resolve itself and that we will appear in a nearby system.” “That is an awfully big risk to take isn’t it mother?” asked Prince Almar. At this, his mother stopped short, leaving subtle skid marks in the dust on the ground, she turned around and took him by his shirt color and pulled him close . . . “What choice do we have?” she demanded! her breath smelling of mint was soft on his face. “The eld family must survive,” the Empress continued “they have cut us off from everything else. We try this or we die without trying anything!”
“Now no further questions. Get to the teleporter room now! I will be right behind you.” She emphasized this point with a firm shove between the Prince’s shoulder blades . . . He broke into a sprint for the room, hearing his mother’s footsteps padding along behind him. The automatic door of the teleporter room opened shortly thereafter. He rushed in and stepped onto the pad. The teleporter Flashed white, then took him directly to the portal. As he stepped off he turned around and waited for his mother to appear. . . . But she never did. . . To be continued….
