Grand Entrance

Time as we called it was something we have familiarized ourself with. Time as we called it

was the absolute law in our universe. Time as we called it was a linear force that always moves like a raging stream. Time as we called it was old and unchanging. Time as we called it was an indifferent concept that rules the life and death of everything in this universe. Time as we called it was the sole observer of everything that ever happen. Time as we called it had a fluctuation. Be it a person, a concept, an invention, a knowledge, everything that had happened, that would happened, and that won't happened, everything that had been dictated by fate. Fluctuation of absolute concept causing a new world to be made. The world where there was no such thing as absolute, the ever changing world of Scaliopolis. This was a tale of a young girl in such a world.

Rysher Mountain, as it was called in the old day, was a stack of metals forming a triangular geometric shape that somehow didn't crumble despite having such brittle foundation. In the old day that had been forgotten, this stack of metals was once a group of family. Near 2037 it was reported an illegal settlement was formed in this sorry excuse of place, an illegal settlement of AI. About fifteen ex-researchers, a group of AI extremist, and many hostile AI were discovered to work in tandem in making the ideal settlement where AI and human didn't need to kill each other. Alas, in the end an ideal was just that an ideal, it was nothing but a paper thin idea combined with child fantasy. The first election held in 2035 where each person had to elected one representative for human and one representative for AI, was the first step toward tragedy. Both the representative of AI and representative of human were won by AI called

C9-HGS. Some human objected to the election result and demand re-election and so it was held. But the result didn't change. Human was a minority in that settlement, their ability to propagate was pale in comparison to AI, and so their voice won't amount to anything. After one week of the election a researcher was caught reporting the settlement to central government then to set an example C9-HGS publicly executed the researcher using sarin injection. Fear, paranoia, and trauma made an excellent fuel for revenge. The next day C9-HGS was turned into a scrap metal. The gap of distrust between the organic and inorganic creature and the involvement of government force had turned the once peaceful settlement into mass graveyard of both human and AI. Time passed. The river of blood had been oxidized and became nothing less than brown mark on the ground. Any surviving AI couldn't sustain their own energy and

degrade themselves into simpler program. Now on that pitiful settlement two girls were seen

entering it.

"Are you sure you really know the way? I think we should go back and take other route. This place give me a chilling sensation." said Clara, trying to made attention of herself.

"Please be patient we'll arrive in just a moment," Frey had been acting really strange. Before she was cheerful and looked clumsy but now she looked oddly cold and calculating, the image of her straight face combined with occasional 'dot' sounds from digital map had further reinforce her change of face. Depends on the situation human did have a persona for each

different situation and now, the digital map make funny sounds indicating they had arrived on their destination, once she got to the destination, Frey had turned into her usual cheerful persona. "what are you waiting for Clara!? Let's go there, our first priority is to seek shelter before we meet another kind of hostile creatures." Said Frey as she pointed to the giant metal door.

The sight of metal door was astonishing, at first glance it looks like a normal door used on old fort that only had metal bar behind it as lock mechanism but if you look closely there was tiny square besides it that act as biometric scanner. Even a naïve girl like Clara knew the door

in front of her was fishy as hell. Gulping her fear she object Frey's demand to enter the metal

door "I'm sorry but I can't waste my times loitering around. I need to get that medicine as fast

as possible." And so having said her word, Clara ran away leaving the dumbfound Frey in

front of that metal door.

"Don't hesitate fire it now!" Frey's cold calculating sound seems to

ordered something on the mountain of scrap to fire tranquilizer dart. In only a few seconds

Clara was unconscious and Frey seems to be talking with someone from inside the metal door.

"…yes we've get her now…..the revival of our God is near....treat her carefully before we

move to the next step…". After giving a few instruction the metal door finally opened and modified night dwelling creature carry Clara's frail body inside.

In her dream Clara saw her mother attending her father inanimate body and she could smelled

the rotting smell of her father yet in that messed up family she felt warm. She came to her

mother, hugging her and sleep soundly on her lap as she tightly held on to her mother waist. It

was warm and she felt a heavy sensation was mixed in it. She cried calling her mother's name

, hoping the dream wouldn't end. As She woke up she realized that she had been crying and

her hand had been clutching the tip of her blanket tightly.

"Good so you've wake up Clara." In

front of her was Frey wearing some kinds of religion garb.

Erasing her tear, Clara looked around and noticed she was inside some kind of bed chamber, "Tell me Frey what do you want with me? If what you want is credit, I don't have anything

valuable with me right now."

"Don't be silly Clara of course you have something valuable. As teaching of Scaliop School

dictates 'what makes one life weight more than the others? What makes animal worth less than human? What makes AI superior to human? One unique value was ingrained inside each creature and that is logos, those who doesn't have logos has been declared as failure by God' , human might they be but any deviation from standard means they had lost their logos. You Clara as I saw it nearly went outside the standard and lost your logos but you return and by

extension God had ordered me to bring you here."

"What are you even talking about!? Logos? God? I don't have any care for your crazy beliefs!

Frey tell me how to get out of here right now or I'll have to walk out using your corpse!" As she said it, Clara's hands were tightly pressing Frey's neck. It was strange she didn't feel any warmth from her neck and Frey didn't even panic from prospect of her death,

"Clara, Clara, Clara. I tell you it's useless using your flesh and bone to fight me as my body had been modified by God. And…." Frey's snap her finger 'snap!'. The sound of her finger snap invite several bulky creature which were covered with disgusting fur and exposed flesh.

"No….no….anything but them…." Clara started loosening her grip on Frey and felt down on

the floor. She need to ran away, her instinct, her entire body telling her to retreat. But she couldn't, her knee had give up as night dwelling creatures gathered inside the small bed chamber.

"Just take it easy Clara. I know they looks like a savage but I assure you God have given them

logos. I need to go for now but we'll meet again for morning sermon."

Frey left the bed chamber and one by one the night dwelling creatures follow her. Clara knew even if she went out from her bedchamber, the night dwelling creator would kill her instantly and most strange of all was Frey. She looked and acted like human but something very crucial seems to be missing from her.