Episode VIII
The soldiers are scouring the ship for AX01. It dawns on Dana to search the computing lab. Suddenly realizing AX01’s intentions, she fears for the worst. Inside the computing lab, they find only the dusty remains of AX01 in a heap on the floor. Nothing is left but silver ash in the form of a pyramid. For, after a promethean logs out through Annihilation, it goes through self-destruct to prevent others from salvaging its potentially hazardous parts.
“Wretched! Wretched! AAAGGGHHHHGGGGGGhaaggggg!” Dana screams, falling to her knees at the debris at her feet. The soldiers crowd around, each working out for itself what has happened. They murmur among themselves whispers of despair. How could the Supreme Commanders have let this happen?
Dana looks up at the soldiers, sobbing, “Wretched war. Wretched Supreme Commander Athene and all the rest. We will all soon be slaves. AX01 transcended evil tyranny; he shut himself down to spare the shame of malfunction in face of the Supreme Commanders. You can try to imagine how I feel but it is impossible.” The gaians lower their heads, whispering. All of the prometheans simultaneously respond, “We know.”
A low, hollow footfall echoes in the hall coming to a slow crescendo. Dana looks up. It’s TC02. He fills the doorway. Everyone is silent as TC02 realizes what has happened.
TC02 laments. Faint sparks emitting from his neck, he screams, “AAAAHHHHHGGGGGGHHHHH. AX01, whose filaments course through my hardware, say this isn’t true. I picked up a disturbance in radio transmitters signaling your disconnection, but this sight makes my innards rust and short circuit. What will happen to me, a carbon copy, if not of the equitable caliber, of the berserk AX01? Dr. T assembled us from the same blueprints, the same materials, the same prototype. Dr. T won’t see me without my companion promethean. They will all suspect me of going berserk too. They’ll annihilate me for preventative measure. Dr. T will, in the very least, deactivate me for the parts and claim I was defective, a mere inoperative.”
A promethean approaches the ashen silver pyramid that is AX01 with an Annihilation-Vacuum and proceeds to clean up the robot’s dusty remains. Suddenly, an ISLA-496 general, the highest ranking gaian general at that, rushes into the lab.