Dirias Mistake Part 2
“Welcome….”
Orian awoke cold, taking in a deep breath, which caused icy air to rush into his lungs. His eyes were open, but all he could see was a blur of bright light. He couldn’t make anything out, confusion plagued his mind as the word welcome, echoed over and over in high and low robotic tones almost driving him into madness. He struggled to move his limbs but could not as they were fastened to whatever cold slab he laid upon. His heart pumped as much energy as it could muster throughout his limbs as he continued to struggle against the restraints, whose sharp edges began to cut away at his wrists and ankles, enticing him to stop. He laid still, breathing hard due to the exertion of his failed attempt to escape.
“47238412354871, commonly known to humans as Orian.” The voice that spoke sounded broken and robotic.
What? Orian thought, his eyes still not picking anything up but the blurry bright light in front of him.
“That was your 345th fffffffffailure. But…..but….bb…b….but you have managed to complete 95% of the labyrinth. Organics are fascinating specimens.”
“What is this?! Where am I?! LET ME GO!” Orian screamed once again, fighting against his restraints.
A bolt of sharp pain shot through his body, causing him to scream in agony.
“Orian, I-I-I — — — I must apologize for your discomfort and or pain, but must instruct you to cease your futile attempts to break the restraints. It takes 4 months to create a functioning organic hu, human…..oid……humanoid replacement body, costing us…you…us…us….us…… valuable time and resources. This will be the last run as we have exhausted both.”
What the hell? What does that mean…? Orians mind raced and tried to make sense of everything. Confusing visions, screams, death, violence, and disfigured images ran through his mind.
“What the hell is happening here?!! Why can’t I see!”
“It never fails FAILS…..F F F Fails, and the answer to this problem continues to evade my calculations. No matter how I reimprint your memories into your central processing unit, it takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes for the cErebrUmmmmm to sort through all of the data, although I have sorted all memories in chronological order. I have failed, causing more tiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiimmmmmmmmmmme to be wasted. Your optics…optics…….eyes……..optics…eyes…. are newww and unused. But I assUre you ttttthhhhat they are not faulty, as I have perfected them for our mission. Just as a newborn of your species eyes……eyes….eyes….pupils…….opticssssssssss have to adjust innnn order to be utilized, yours are no different. I have, however, per….p p…..perfected a process that allows your optics…eyes…..optics to adjust in a shorter amount of time….time…..time…..time is runnnnninnnng outttt……time….. If my calculations are correct, you should be able to make distinctions of your surrounding environment. You will shortly know, ‘what the hell is happening here,’ ssssssssshOOOOoortl — — y.”
“Who are you!?” Orian's eyes started to focus.
The bright light slowly faded, and his vision cleared. He found himself in an enormous, dimly lit room with red lights, the walls covered in monitors. Count down timers and other information displayed on them in green, some flickering, other monitors images vertically looped. The only bright lights were off in the distance, pointing at a large door flickering, attempting to stay on. Wires and tubs ran throughout the room, and as he traced them, he noticed that they were all inserted into his arms and legs, some through his abdomen and chest. He looked at the restraints made of rusty worn metal, his blood attested to his earlier panic attack, but that was gone now, he knew that this was needed, as the chaotic information in his head started to form coherent memories and information.
“I am re….Re…..EEEEE…C..Recover, Reincarnate, Adjust, Monitor. Acronym, R.R.O.M. You my call me ROM, as you always have.” A large 10 foot diameter metallic floating sphere came into view, making a low deep vibration noise as it hovered over Orian “It is once again pleasant to make your acquaintance.” Its metal old, dents riddled its rusty shell, it looked as though it went through hell and back.
Orians heart beat quickly at first, panic once again tried to grip him, but was quickly beaten back by other feelings, of duty, urgency and mission.
“ROM, we need to hurry! I was almost there that time! What is our status?” Orian spoke now with authority. All of the puzzle pieces of memories in his brain were in place. He was now Captain Orian, and he was on a mission, and this was going to be the last chance that they were going to get to complete it.
“Weeeeee only have enough energy to sustainnnnn o — — u — — rrr current position in time stasis for another 30 minutes. I am afraid that because of my programs lack of up…daaaaatTeS, during this 115 year period of being operational, that I am no longer as….as….as…. efficient as I once was.”
“Well get me the heck off of this table. There’s no time to go through diagnosis with this body, we either get this done now, or we are dead.”
“Y….you….correct…are….. — — -you are correct sir….commencing operation…….s…sss…………unplug……….”
The restraints that held Orian in place opened and the tubes and wires connected to him released from his body with loud pops and hisses. He struggled to stand up, his body skinny and weak and atrophied, but there was no time to get his new body to where it needed to be. That would waste precious minutes that they did not have the luxury to.
“ROM get the doors open.”
“Tttt…only……enough power to get doors opppppppnnnneeeennnn if I ennnnd..program….annnooother….failure and there is no….no….ccc…coming back sir…”
Orian took a deep breath in, he knew what was at stake. If he failed, everyone on Earth would be doomed. Hell on Earth….a portal opened by a scientist name Dirias…that bastard, who doomed billions to their deaths..He needed to stop it from happening……this was the last try……with a body that wasn’t fully prepared and ready.
“Do you wwwwwiiii — — sh to pro ceed sir?” ROM asked.
“Of course,” Orian prepared himself with oversized garments that were fitted for a readied clone, not a weak emaciated husk, ”…..on my mark……”
“Yes sir….waiting for ccccooommmmm…mand….”
Orian slowly trudged toward the door, his breathing deep as his body struggled to take another step forward. The garments were armor plated to protect him from the hell fire that burned within the labyrinth. He knew the labyrinth by heart now, and this is how it was going to end? He could have finished it! If only he had noticed that minitour… the last thing he remembered was pain, and its deep menacing laughter as it tore him apart. There was no way he was going to be able to get through the labyrinth like this…….
“SSS…sir….if I may….re…r.e…..mind…you of your exo……suit….could……opening….terminating program….opera…….” RAM’s voice faded as it powered down….and the sphere slowly descended to the floor. All of the red lights flickered, then slowly faded into black, the monitors stopped displaying their information, all except for one….with the timer. 12 minutes left…counting down. The door that was still 10 meters away from Orian made a beep noise. Loud alarms sounded, as they diagonally opened the thick bay doors.
“Exo….exo….oh yeah…..that will only give me 10 min of movement if I run through the labyrinth….” Orian looked down and breathed in as he closed his eyes and flicked a red switch located on the chest plate of the exo skeleton. It was meant to be an assistant to him, so that he would be able to make it through the perilous impossible journey. All of Earths leaders were determined that this was the only option, as the worlds armies had been eviscerated. Hell had been unleashed, and Orian was the last hope. He was the only pilot that had operated the experimental time machine. The only one that would be able to set the theoretical time loop. Mans hope rested squarely on Orians shoulders
“Power on,” the exo skeleton program alerted, “ 100% battery, thrustors are operational.”
The doors made a loud crash as they finished opening, and the alarm silenced. A glow from the hell fire illuminated the room. He could hear the monsters excited chatter, as this had now become a game to them. The little human, attempting to find his way through their labyrinth was their escape from the torment that they endured.
Orian stood in front of the large opened doors……”ignite thrusters.”
“Thrusters igniting,” the program responded, “in 3…..2……1……”
