"Have you read through the data I gave you?"
"Yes, Simon."
"En. I've read through it."
He nods and shows them his supercomputer.
"This is the computer that lets you control all the drones and monitor the status of every piece of tech in this city. You two should have access to it. I've already made you admins and allowed you to control the computer remotely."
The twins nod, and Simon sees them accessing the computer from their internal systems. He lets them be and continues the tour.
"I have a medium-sized fabricator here. It uses Energy–Matter Conversion technology to make anything you or I need. However, it cannot produce very large things. For that, you need to use the ones outside."
Popola tilts her head and asks, "The one next to our house, Simon?"
"That's right. It's the same size as our house and takes a lot of energy to use, but it's very useful."
"Can it make a vehicle, Simon?" Devola asks. "A car or even a motorcycle would be great for us. We might not need it now, but we might need it in an emergency."
Simon stops at that suggestion. Devola is right. These past days, he hasn't had an escape plan if the Machines find him. His plan has always been a last stand—fight to the death.
He needs something that lets him get away if he gets overwhelmed. It looks like he still thinks he's a dead man. Dying on the side of the road from a stab wound will do that to you. The acceptance of dying still lingers.
"Vehicle, huh? I can do that. I'll design a vehicle for us to use."
"And what about us, Simon?" Devola steps forward; Popola follows. "My sister is right. Please give us something to do while you're working."
Simon thinks for a second and says, "Very well. As your first assignment, I need the two of you to expand the base. At the moment, we only have one wall and fewer than a hundred sentry guns. We need a bigger wall behind the first one and more sentry guns. You can access my plan on the computer; it's called 'Base Expansion,' and you two can take over the Builder Drones. I'll create a new Macro-Scale Fabricator—maybe upgrade it—and make a blueprint for the new vehicles."
They both nod quickly.
"We will complete the assignment as fast as possible, Simon!" Popola declares with determination. Devola looks at him with the same fire in her eyes and adds, "When we're done, we'll come and help you!"
Simon smiles. "Of course."
After they leave his workshop, Simon takes a deep breath and thinks for a second. Devola and Popola are right. He needs a vehicle—not only to travel long distances, but also to give him a mobile army besides the drones. The drones are good, but because of their size, he can't increase their durability too much, or they'll struggle to fly and move.
A mobile base would help. A command vehicle with a fabricator and power generator would greatly improve his chances of survival and his fight against the Machine Network.
So, without hesitation, Simon puts four charges into {Vehicles}. It's a general specialization, but it works for him. A rush of knowledge enters his head, and he lets out a sigh when it stops. He does not stop there.
Devola and Popola are healing-type androids, and he wants to ensure they have the right tools to do their jobs. He is not arrogant enough to assume he'll come out of every fight uninjured. Because of that, he needs them ready to heal him if it happens. They already have the tools to heal him built into their bodies, but there's no reason not to add more and safer ways of healing.
He decides to use three charges to create {Biotech} and two charges for {Medicine}. He smiles a little at the rush of knowledge and thinks for a second about what to do with the last charge. After a few seconds, he decides to use it to upgrade {Efficiency}.
He lets out a soft sigh and a smile. With that done, he begins work. Simon already has a public-use fabricator but needs one exclusively for himself. To do that, he must add more Helio Array Mk2 units dedicated to the new fabricator.
He sends a message to the twins telling them to create five more Helio Array Mk2s and batteries to store the excess energy they produce. When that's arranged, he starts.
After he is done with the Fabricator, he wants to make a Command Vehicle and a tank. In essence, Simon wants to create a moving fortress full of weapons and support tech for a long journey and long war.
With a smile, an image appears in his head, and he begins to work.
== Popola ==
"Simon gives us a new order, sister!"
Popola looks to the side and sees her sister happily informing her, even though she also receives the same notification. Truthfully, she understands why her sister is so happy.
The command comes directly from a human—their creator and god.
Because of Simon's presence, something awakens inside them. The almost-lost hope ignites again. After his promise, that spark becomes a roaring inferno. Sometimes all they need is hope, and now the hope is real and touchable.
"Making a new Helio Array, huh? Where do you think we should put it, sister?"
She looks around while her sister thinks for a second.
"Simon wants it to power his new project inside the workshop, right? Then we should put it close to our house."
Popola and Devola blush a little at the last part. Our home… they love the sound of it. It implies closeness to Simon, and that makes them very happy. What kind of androids are not happy when getting close to their creators?
"Should we clear the building behind the house?"
"That's a good idea. Do you want me to take care of it, Popola?"
She nods. "Sure. I'll take care of this part."
"Okay!"
Devola happily walks back home, smiling. Popola hums as she looks at the massive sentry gun beside her. She's impressed by the number of things Simon has created in the past four days.
Not even the androids could make all the things he has made in that time. Simon's technology is something even the Machines would struggle to conceive. As expected of humans—they can create tech that can beat the Machines.
She wonders why the humans on the moon didn't develop this technology and send it to the androids.
Popola shakes her head and pushes that thought away.
She needs to focus on the work at hand. She orders her army of Builder Drones and starts crafting more sentry guns. Expanding the wall is progressing smoothly and needs less attention, but the sentry-gun fabrication requires more oversight because the drones sometimes mess up when fabricating complicated parts.
She hums and watches the army of drones. After a few minutes, her sister returns and helps her with their main duty.
In a matter of hours, they create fourteen Tarantula Sentry Guns, eight Hawk Sentry Guns, and two Hydra Automated Missile Launchers, and by following Simon's plan, they put them in the locations that need fortification. Before they can continue expanding the wall, they notice movement in the distance.
Because they're connected to the All-Seeing scanner, they see that movement is from machine lifeforms—about five hundred of them.
Without hesitation, they leave the drones and run toward home. There, they find Simon with a serious expression, standing beside a massive battle tank. Popola looks at the tank curiously but holds her curiosity to focus on the immediate problem.
"Sir! We have a problem." She says, watching him nod.
"Yes. I noticed. We have hundreds of hostile enemies coming our way."
"What should we do, Simon?" Devola asks, worried—not for herself, but for Simon. She and her sister are willing to lay down their lives as long as Simon lives. He is their god; they will protect him with everything they have.
"We will fight. I know you two are worried about me, and I understand. However, this is my home and I will fight for it."
"But—"
Before she can finish, Simon raises his hand. "You don't need to worry. I will run away if the situation gets worse." He pats the tank next to him and continues, "This bad boy will carry me away when the enemies get too close."
They look at him for a few seconds, then nod. They don't want him to leave the fight, but they know he won't change his mind.
"Good! To the battle station!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Simon's Specialization (Day 6):
Solarpunk = 3 Charges
Miniaturization = 2 Charges
Efficiency = 2 Charge (+1)
Automation = 2 Charges
Stealth = 2 Charges
Energy – Matter Conversion = 3 Charges
Fabrication = 3 Charges
Surveillance = 2 Charges
Fortification = 2 Charges
Computer = 5 Charges
Hacking = 3 Charges
Cybersecurity = 2 Charges
Android = 8 Charges
Range Weapon = 2 Charges
Vehicles = 4 Charges New
Biotech = 3 Charges New
Medicine = 2 Charges New