INTERWOVEN ADVENTURES | Circadian Earth: Book 1

Chapter 7

Izzy was sketching out some ideas to repair the window that 2-14 had broken on her way out, and was suddenly distracted by a knock at the door.

"Huh? Citrine, was anything scheduled for this time?"

"Let's see..." Citrine looked at the schedule on the wall. "Yes. I believe this is Amelix, she scheduled another session of hanging out.."

"Ah... right. I hope she doesn't take the news too badly. I know how much she liked the prototypes. Can you get the door?"

"Sure." Citrine flew out of the room and towards the front door, using all her strength to open it. Sure enough, a familiar dark coloured robot was outside, although this was no Nasric.

"Citrine! It has been a while," Amelix stated. "How's the second generation project coming along?

"Could be better, could be worse. We had a fourth success."

"Oh, good. The new more powerful cores are holding up as expected?"

"Yes," Citrine replied, fully opening the door to allow Amelix inside. "We're still struggling to create an effective way of handling them, though."

"I see."

Citrine followed Amelix inside. "You know, for all the times you've visited, I don't even know how you met Izzy."

"Oh, it's simple. We encountered each other one day, and I recognised them. As I'm sure you know, I am a big fan of their work, especially the Nasrics."

"Well, that is what they're known for. And I know you got along well with the prototypes."

"Got? Past tense?" Amelix looked around. "What happened to them? This place does seem a bit quieter than usual."

"I'll let Izzy let you know what went down." Citrine was about to continue, but they'd reached the workshop.

"Amelix! Good to see you again!" Izzy greeted. "Don't worry, I know by now not to ask what you've been up to."

"Because you know by now that I won't say. My business remains private. However, Citrine tells me you have a new successful prototype!" Amelix sat down at the workshop table, opposite Izzy. Citrine left to hang out with Niko. "Based on the timeline, I have to assume this is 2-21."

"Yep! We awakened her this morning, and she's definitely proven to be a breakthrough. 2-20 ended up using a lot more Nil energy than we'd anticipated, so that didn't really work out. For Stardust, we tried out a method of releasing that energy in a harmless way, and it worked."

"I see. Does this mean generation 2 is going ahead?"

Izzy shook their head. "Not yet. I want to figure out how to either stop the excess usage, or find a way to make use of it. If Stardust loses her ability to expel that energy, she'll die. I don't want that to be a risk that the next generation has to take simply by existing."

"Makes sense. Where are the prototypes anyway?"

"They left. All four of them decided to find their own paths in life. Alice and Cybal first; Stardust and 2-14 earlier today," Izzy explained. "2-14 didn't go quietly, though." She pointed at the shattered window.

"Oh... I see." Amelix's response was devoid of emotion. "Well, I'm sure they'll be fine."

"I trust Cybal to keep Alice safe, and the others should be capable enough."

"About the excess energy issue. Have you considered feeding the energy back into the core?"

"Niko had the exact same idea. It's something we're looking into."