My Primary Function
Compendium 2020 – Story 38
By Andrew Hawnt
My skin is partially burned off now. My core 'feels' the cold against the exposed sections of my metallic skeleton through the hundreds of receivers planted throughout my body. My suit, an all-in-one black bodysuit that is able to bend light around it to create the illusion of invisibility, has been damaged. I am no longer invisible. It crackles with a green hexagonal grid over its surface. I am in enemy territory. Their fire has caused me a great deal of damage, but I must fulfil my primary function.
“Stand down, you monster,” comes the voice of a human officer, his assault rifle pointed at me. I know he is conflicted. I am a beautiful woman in his eyes, albeit one whose cybernetic innards have been exposed. It must have been a long time since he has had companionship. He stares at me with fear that he is trying to hide behind bravado.
I take a step forward and he does not fire, instead staring at the sparking mess of synthetic organs and wiring that hang from my exposed steel ribcage.
“You're the last one,” he says. His vitals flash over my vision as he raises the rifle to my face. “It's over. This reactor has been secured. Power down. You lost.”
I smile, and sparks erupt from the exposed workings of my face. “Your blood pressure and heart rate are raised beyond safe parameters. You should get yourself to safety.”
This confuses him. “I ain't takin' no orders from a frigging machine. Not me. If you don't stand down I'm going to put you down myself.”
“What would that achieve?” I ask. I gesture to the bloodied, scorched battlefield around us, where the forces of Silver Edge battalion emptied clip after clip of energy weapons upon my squad of sisters, each of us with the same face, each with the same suit that hid us from sight. The Silver Edge had all been wearing goggles that had clearly been modified to counter the effect of our suits, thus taking away the element of surprise from our attack upon the remote reactor. Far behind me, others of their number had destroyed our ship. We would never leave here. “You are victorious.”
He grimaced. I saw the last remaining few of his soldiers join him, each raising their weapons to me. “Not until you're dead too.”
“I am merely carrying out my primary function,” I say flatly. “I will not stop until my body does.”
The war had been long, and it shows in their faces. Their communications network had remained encrypted, its heart situated here beneath a reactor that hid its signature from our sweeps. I wish for the war to end for them too, as it will.
As they prime their weapons, I expose the core of my own reactor. They fire upon me and I feel my body blown apart. My processor hits the ground and I am aware that my core has exploded. The shockwave causes a chain reaction, and the enormous form of the reactor blossoms into what looks like a new sun. The soldiers are atomised in its searing force.
My processor fades. I receive data that the encryption wall has fallen. The armada is being awoken.
Their war is over. Soon it will end for the rest of them scattered across the globe. I die along with their only hope.
I have fulfilled my primary function.
© Andrew Hawnt 2020
=======================================
About Compendium 2020:
Compendium 2020 is a project from author Andrew Hawnt that consists of 52 original short stories, flash fiction stories and vignettes given away for FREE in 2020. Featuring science fiction, fantasy, horror and more, this began as a personal quest and due to the weirdness of 2020 has become an ambition to provide free distractions for anyone who needs them.
About Andrew Hawnt:
Andrew is based in Nottingham, England. Known for his music journalism career, comics writing and film critique work, Andrew is a prolific writer and is the author of a growing stack of books, including the cult hit VHS Ate My Brain. He made the movies The Demon And I and The Demon And I: Birthrite completely in lockdown with cast members filming their scenes remotely, and new films are coming.
Andrew is also the creator and presenter of the YouTube shows Planet Hex, Turn One Shock and the VHS Ate My Brain series as well as the video versions of the Compendium stories.
Follow Andrew: YouTube Mixcloud Facebook Instagram Twitter
© Andrew Hawnt 2020
Comments