K
Kino
Guest
At eleven, the workers and servers for the party began preparing the stage for the big night. A podium was placed in the front center for those who were making their speeches, and a few chairs were set out for any council members who might take part. A large television screen was set on the stage, which was taking a tally of all of the votes.
Lydia was winning, but only marginally.
The atmosphere was quickly changing from enjoyment and excitement, to tension and unrest. Citizens were no longer dancing, but eagerly watched the stage for the big event. Protesters outside were heard over the blaring music; their chants were growing incessant and overwhelming. News stations crawled over the entire event, interviewing dancers, authorities, protesters, androids, everyone.
Thirty minutes before midnight, the screens showing vote counts were changed to show the time instead. Five minutes before midnight, Xavier made his appearance. When the crowd saw him, many launched into applause. He bowed, waved, and smiled, as was his duty, and then took his place by the podium. He calmed the audience with a lowered hand, and chuckled into the microphone.
"Wow, there are so many of you here tonight. Are you all having fun?"
He was met with a roar of approval.
"Good, good." Xavier shifted his weight, peered down at the podium, took a moment to look upon the audience, and then began.
"Well, as you all know today is a big night. Today, we will find out if our new Captain will be an android or a human."
He paused as murmurs made their way around Club Concord.
"If Lydia is made into our Captain, she will be making history. Now, I know some of you have your doubts, and I can't blame you for having them. Nor will I make any attempt to soothe your worries. That will be Lydia's job. But I will say this - this android, no this woman - has done her damnedest to ensure that this ship has stayed on course. She has never once led us astray, and she's been serving us ever since this ship was launched. Lydia is older than anyone in this room, and she kept us safe and thriving.
"Even if she is not chosen as Captain, I ask that all humans reevaluate how they feel about androids. Some of you are older than us, have watched us wither away and die. Most of you can feel emotions, and some of you are newly made, but inhabit bodies that make you look like adults. Androids are different than us, yes that is true. But we've given you one special trait, and that is our humanity."
There was applause, one that comes abruptly from choice and heroic words. Whoops were heard throughout the room, from both androids and humans. But, there were those that were quietly seething, afraid to ruin the moment of celebration. Carter's guards could not have been more attentive.
Xavier turned to Lydia sitting in a chair near the back of the stage. She was sitting with several of the council members, Sofia sitting next to her. The sight of her once again brought a smile to his face. The screens around the club changed from eleven fifty-nine to twelve o' clock midnight. Within moments the votes had been tallied, and the results relayed to Xavier from his earpiece. He turned back to the podium and continued his speech.
"And so concludes my time as Captain of this ship. Over thirty years I've held that title, but now it's time for me to pass the mantle on. The results are in, and the people have spoken. With a vote of four million, six hundred ninty-two thousand, five hundred sixteen, it is my great honor to announce that android eight one five dash one six five, Lydia, is your new Captain."
The club went nuts with cheer and applause. The jeers from those who voted against were easily drowned out by the others. Xavier's smile only grew as he saw everyone's reaction. It was the greatest moment of his life thus far, almost overwhelming. He turned and started walking towards Lydia to give her a congratulatory hug. She smiled to him as he approached. They didn't even hear the gunshot.
Lydia's face was splattered with blood as a bullet tore through the right side of Xavier's chest. The ex captain fell forward into her arms. Near the middle of the dance floor, the AI Artemis had his handgun raised still. In an instant, the club turned from a place of celebration to a living nightmare.
Outside the club in the sea of protesters, another AI pushed his way through the crowd towards the entrance. All security personnel were receiving orders to take Artemis down, shots fired. The moment of confusion gave him the perfect opportunity as the AI known as Z reached the doors with a military grade assault rifle and shot both guards in the head. Now the outside of the club matched the inside as everyone began screaming and running in terror. Z entered club Concord just as the crowd of civilians was about to begin rushing out through the same door, but unfortunately, Z wasn't going to let them leave.
Z opened fire on the crowd, stopping anyone from escaping. Security was nearly powerless to fight back for fear of shooting civilians. Artemis was fighting back against the hack. His Omega Firewall may not have been able to prevent him from getting hacked in the first place, but through force of will, he managed to halt it momentarily. He stood there with his gun still raised, refusing to allow his body to move anymore. It gave Rowan enough time to rush over and tackle him to the ground. She pressed a small device to Artemis's chest that looked like a normal tazer, which delivered a surge of anti-magic through the AI's body, shutting him down.
Now Z was the only threat left. He kept firing into the crowd of people, bodies dropping left and right. It wasn't until he paused to reload that an opening was presented. Keloran took advantage of it, plowing through the club to reach Z. The hulking security officer grappled the crazed AI, flipping him over his head and onto the ground with a slam. A firm stomp from Keloran landed onto Z's chest, pinning him down. Another security officer rushed over and delivered the final blow with an anti-magic surge just like the one that shut down Artemis.
It was over. Not just the attack, but the party as well. The chaos of the shooting lasted less a full minute, but you couldn't tell from the amount of harm that was done. The rest of the night would be spent calculating the damage, and trying to save the lives of those were we hurt. Lydia's coronation would have to wait, but of course, she didn't care about that now. She couldn't think about that when Xavier was dying in her arms.
Lydia was winning, but only marginally.
The atmosphere was quickly changing from enjoyment and excitement, to tension and unrest. Citizens were no longer dancing, but eagerly watched the stage for the big event. Protesters outside were heard over the blaring music; their chants were growing incessant and overwhelming. News stations crawled over the entire event, interviewing dancers, authorities, protesters, androids, everyone.
Thirty minutes before midnight, the screens showing vote counts were changed to show the time instead. Five minutes before midnight, Xavier made his appearance. When the crowd saw him, many launched into applause. He bowed, waved, and smiled, as was his duty, and then took his place by the podium. He calmed the audience with a lowered hand, and chuckled into the microphone.
He was met with a roar of approval.
"Good, good." Xavier shifted his weight, peered down at the podium, took a moment to look upon the audience, and then began.
"Well, as you all know today is a big night. Today, we will find out if our new Captain will be an android or a human."
He paused as murmurs made their way around Club Concord.
"If Lydia is made into our Captain, she will be making history. Now, I know some of you have your doubts, and I can't blame you for having them. Nor will I make any attempt to soothe your worries. That will be Lydia's job. But I will say this - this android, no this woman - has done her damnedest to ensure that this ship has stayed on course. She has never once led us astray, and she's been serving us ever since this ship was launched. Lydia is older than anyone in this room, and she kept us safe and thriving.
"Even if she is not chosen as Captain, I ask that all humans reevaluate how they feel about androids. Some of you are older than us, have watched us wither away and die. Most of you can feel emotions, and some of you are newly made, but inhabit bodies that make you look like adults. Androids are different than us, yes that is true. But we've given you one special trait, and that is our humanity."
There was applause, one that comes abruptly from choice and heroic words. Whoops were heard throughout the room, from both androids and humans. But, there were those that were quietly seething, afraid to ruin the moment of celebration. Carter's guards could not have been more attentive.
Xavier turned to Lydia sitting in a chair near the back of the stage. She was sitting with several of the council members, Sofia sitting next to her. The sight of her once again brought a smile to his face. The screens around the club changed from eleven fifty-nine to twelve o' clock midnight. Within moments the votes had been tallied, and the results relayed to Xavier from his earpiece. He turned back to the podium and continued his speech.
"And so concludes my time as Captain of this ship. Over thirty years I've held that title, but now it's time for me to pass the mantle on. The results are in, and the people have spoken. With a vote of four million, six hundred ninty-two thousand, five hundred sixteen, it is my great honor to announce that android eight one five dash one six five, Lydia, is your new Captain."
Lydia's face was splattered with blood as a bullet tore through the right side of Xavier's chest. The ex captain fell forward into her arms. Near the middle of the dance floor, the AI Artemis had his handgun raised still. In an instant, the club turned from a place of celebration to a living nightmare.
Outside the club in the sea of protesters, another AI pushed his way through the crowd towards the entrance. All security personnel were receiving orders to take Artemis down, shots fired. The moment of confusion gave him the perfect opportunity as the AI known as Z reached the doors with a military grade assault rifle and shot both guards in the head. Now the outside of the club matched the inside as everyone began screaming and running in terror. Z entered club Concord just as the crowd of civilians was about to begin rushing out through the same door, but unfortunately, Z wasn't going to let them leave.
Now Z was the only threat left. He kept firing into the crowd of people, bodies dropping left and right. It wasn't until he paused to reload that an opening was presented. Keloran took advantage of it, plowing through the club to reach Z. The hulking security officer grappled the crazed AI, flipping him over his head and onto the ground with a slam. A firm stomp from Keloran landed onto Z's chest, pinning him down. Another security officer rushed over and delivered the final blow with an anti-magic surge just like the one that shut down Artemis.
It was over. Not just the attack, but the party as well. The chaos of the shooting lasted less a full minute, but you couldn't tell from the amount of harm that was done. The rest of the night would be spent calculating the damage, and trying to save the lives of those were we hurt. Lydia's coronation would have to wait, but of course, she didn't care about that now. She couldn't think about that when Xavier was dying in her arms.
