Chapter 2. Ursula

Red awoke with pain all over her body; she opened her eyes and gasped as all the incidents from the previous night instantly through her mind. Her eyes blinked, every jo**t under the surface of her flesh aching. She was in the arms of a gigantic robot that leaned against the cold cave wall.

Red reached up and tapped the robot's arm, but it didn't respond. She had no idea where she was. Like the cave, Red had seen on the knowledge tablet. Wires stretched out in the cave as though no end was in sight. Some type of altar was in the center, but it was covered with buttons on the floor. That was more or less like a hideout.

Red walked carefully around the cave, inspecting the surface of the altar floor with strange symbols. A holographic screen appeared before Red's face when her foot stepped on a green triangle button, causing the girl to flinch in alarm. A blue light scanned Red's body, followed by the appearance of other holographic screens. Red was amazed by it.

"Aegea Harts. Fáilte. Welcome."

There was a voice that came from nowhere. A voice resembled Ingo's.

"Who are you?" asked Red cautiously.

"My name is Ingo-Lan 889. I go by the name of Ingo-Lan." Not long later, Ingo's hologram face appeared. "As instructed, if you are present, I must explain everything. I'll answer any questions you have."

"Are you still alive, Ingo?"

"I am a program which has been installed to the software of the altar's hardware. Neither dead nor alive. But I was activated at 00:01 on December 31, 3055."

"That robot? Who did it belong to?" Red pointed curiously at the robot sitting still near her.

"Ursula, it's yours. It was designed nine years ago and improved six years ago, helped by Ingo. A robot programmed by Jeremiah Harts. Your father."

Ursula.

A strange name for a giant, intimidating robot.

"Why is she mine? What for?"

"As requested by Jeremiah Harts, every AI in the universe must be terminated. You and Ursula are the executor."

"What?"

Red remained silent. The contents of her mind seemed void. She was dazed by the attack. Especially now that she has inherited the robot legacy from her father, who was forced to destroy the AIs. For what purpose? At this period, the AIs were incredibly helpful to Red and Aelea; Red had been raised by AIs since childhood, especially when her mother died.

Red's mother died while giving birth to her, and she was raised by robots and her father all through that time.

Then there was Sophia. Red recalls Sophia, her stepmother, as a kind woman. Without favoritism, she and Aelea are cared for. Nevertheless, 10 years ago, Sophia just then disappeared, and Jeremiah never explained why. There was no funeral since she had no idea if Sophia had died. After then, Ingo entered their life. As a mother, she looks after Red and Aelea.

Her life was normal. So why did she suddenly have to become the AI executioner?

What went wrong with the AIs that Red had to execute them all? How many AIs were there, and how well were their programs protected? How could Jeremiah give such a clear command? Red would never be able to achieve it. It would be suicide.

"I didn't hear anything wrong, right?" muttered Red, confused.

"This is Jeremiah Harts's direct order. There is no error in the system."

"Gosh, I'm not talking to you!" snapped Red.

"Ingo-Lan will answer if Aegea Harts delivers a voice command."

The holographic screen then simply disappeared.

Red stretched her body, revealing the bruises on her immaculate white legs and arms. She approached Ursula, observing its huge and sturdy appearance. Its head almost touched the cave's ceiling, even sitting.

Ursula was sand-colored and the size of a golem. Its frame was a mix of metal and soft tissue, firm on the surface but with intermittent streams of bluish hue emerging all over its body. All Red knew was that this robot was extremely heavy, and there was no knowing how many people it would take to bring it out of the cave.

Two ornate sapphire stones, each an inch wide, formed an eye-like curve on its breast. Its golem-like head was rounded in one line, with lips, a bloated nose, and eyes devoid of ornamentation. To Red, a name as beautiful as Ursula was unsuitable for this robot.

"Ursula, hey … stand up!" ordered Red.

The giant robot in front of the girl made no response. Red sighed gently as she searched for the voice recognition button or sign.

"Hellooo … I'm talking to you. I am your owner." Red's words echoed across the cave.

But it was pointless. Ursula stayed still.

"Ingo-Lan!" summoned Red. "How do I activate this robot? I mean Ursula."

The holographic screen appeared at the altar's center.

"Ingo used a unique code to activate Ursula six years ago. Ingo-Lan has no authority over Ursula and no knowledge of her. Only Ingo and Aegea Harts had the authorization."

"I'm not sure how to make her awake, stand up, or do anything else," Red groaned in frustration. "Ingo was already destroyed, and she didn't have time to tell me anything. Oh my goodness! I'm losing my mind."

"Ingo-Lan suggests injecting two milligrams of sedative."

Suddenly, a box of medicine appeared on the altar floor.

"Caution, Aegea Harts is undergoing a mental breakdown; an emergency injection of the necessary prescription is authorized."

"You're such an asshole," Red snorted. She let out a gentle sigh. "I don't need medicine. Put it away. What I need is food, do you have it? Or water?"

"Request denied."

"Where do I get food?!" Red was enraged.

The holographic screen disappeared once more.

Red walked along the cave's long tunnel, seeking a way out. It wasn't too dark since there were dim lights in the lower corners of the tunnel that lit up every time Red took a step.

She came in front of a large metal gate that was securely locked. There were symbolic buttons on the gate's threshold, but Red knew that red indicated shut and green meant open. It appeared to be a primary symbol. She didn't have to figure it out.

When Red pressed the red button, the gate slowly opened, with a deafening wind rushing through it. Red's body was dragged by the force of the outside wind combined with sand. Her hands flailing on the side of the buttoned threshold, she tried to hang on to the gate as it began to open wide. Red's body was already half-flying; she was out of breath, holding onto the gate and trying to reach the green button.

"Help me!" The sound of the howling wind outside drowned out Red's screams.

Red's body bounced out, carried by the sand-encircling wind. Red gasped and coughed, her body slipping lower. Red closed her eyes, terrified that she would die due to her life's stupidest and most reckless act.

"Ghníomhact."

The voice echoed in the distance. Red's one eye flashed, emitting a red light that refracted towards Ursula's body, which had flown up and clutched Red's body. She was unsure when the robot arrived, but its chest opened, and Red entered its body. Red coughed fiercely inside Ursula's body, seeing the horrors outside on the holographic screen. There were too many wire streams but no buttons within Ursula's body. There was simply a thin cable with a concave end that formed a basin. It was about the size of an eyeball.

A gleaming blood-red ruby sat on Red's stand. Every wire entered and exited the stone.

"What are you?" Red hissed.

As Ursula entered the cave again, Red's body wavered as she straightened into a prone posture. Ursula sat back down, and her entire system appeared to fall back to sleep. Red remained silent while tapping Ursula's chest from inside.

"Get me out of here, Ursula," ordered Red.

Yet Ursula seemed to disregard the instruction. Red's eyes scanned Ursula's body. There was no significant information, only labeled with 'unknown objects'. Red's eyes examined the suspicious-looking wire, which had an infrared flow from its concave end. She grabbed it up and inspected it closely.

"If you're mine, something must be attached to me, right?" Red muttered softly.

She took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. Red brought the cable's concave end closer to her eyes. Her heart was racing at a breakneck pace. Red's skin was stabbed by tiny needles when the hollow felt chilly in her eyes. Red screamed in agony.

Her eyes seemed to melt from the heat and pain. Her body trembled in response to the excruciating pain. But Ursula was active, and the ruby over Red's throne was glowing. Red's brain seems compelled to absorb numerous memories and information into her body there.

Red was fatigued and couldn't handle it any longer.

She fainted.