Meeting the Magistrate

The guards brought me to the second-tallest of the towers in the city. The Aethergear Main Tower. A sprawling building was connected to the tower. Once we entered, I could see a wave of cubicles and a long line leading to a back counter. Beyond the counter was a door that read Magistrate. They led me straight to the back counter. After a few words, he led me past the counter. Right to the door for the magistrate.

"Enter." The leader of the guards commanded.

As I opened the door, it creaked with a very audible groan. Beyond the door was a very drab room filled with only the necessities. A desk. A chair. And nothing else. Slumped over the desk was a small, little bot of a man. Lights were blinking blue and green all about the back of his head.

"Lord Magistrate!" The leader of the guards bellowed in a tinnish voice. "This is no time to be offline."

The clockwork person in the chair suddenly moved. When he did, all the lights turned yellow and stopped blinking. As he lifted his head, I got a better look at him. His face was a series of plates that moved on gears and joints. His eyes were sunken in orbs of glass. He didn't have a mouth, so much as a grill on the lower half of his face. His body was very small compared to the other clockwork people I had seen along the way. And, their bodies varied based on the jobs they did.

"Lord Magistrate," the leader of the guard began, "an entity has intercepted the distress beacon." He motioned to the other guards, who pushed me forward.

"A terran?" The magistrate commented. "How long has it been since a terran graced our world's shores?" Then, he changed the subject quickly. "Stand outside, Madden. We shall discuss the beacon in private." Once the guards had left the room, the magistrate focused on me. "Now, terran give your designation."

"Mara Windmire."

"Mayday Transmission Code?"

"M1-A6-71.6." I responded as coldly as I was being treated, which was probably how this society worked anyway.

The magistrate clapped his hands together and immediately a cube emerged from the front of his desk. "Have a seat, Mara. We have much to discuss." I did as commanded. He continued as I took my seat. "Magnus is the descendant of the first magistrate, Lucius. Magistrates have been elected to living-cycle terms for the last 3500 centuries. And, while Magnus was a being of great importance, both to the defense of our planet and to its governance, he has decided that this system no longer operates efficiently.

He has deviated from our core directives. He has committed unauthorized modifications to his personal being and actively hindered our society through engaging in hostile interactions with fellow members of the defense force as well as members of society, resulting in the sabotage of critical infrastructure, refusal of command protocol, and destruction of several key aspects of central command.

I am aware of the request to decommission Magnus. If possible, I would rather he just be neutralized not decommissioned. His core is more precious to this society than you can imagine. If we can somehow convince him to realign himself with the cause of our society, it would be a more pleasing outcome."

I mulled over all the information I had been given. It was a lot to take in. "I think I understand. You want me to detain him not kill him, if possible. But, magistrate, I have a question."

"What is your query, terran?"

"What kinds of abilities do I have to watch out for? What does Magnus possess?"

"Magnus is a bombardier. He was outfitted with the most firepower of most of the other guards. He has since increased the amount of firepower that he contains. I suggest caution when dealing with him. Secondly, Magnus also has the ability to control gravity, something that has been passed through all the Gearheads."

"He was last seen in the oil wastes?" I asked. The magistrate nodded. "I will see what I can do." And then, I was gone.