CAZADO: BOOK ONE (WATTYS 2023)

Chapter 18

After dinner, we all went to our separate rooms. Shaki's was the largest and Maverick's room was much colder than any of the other rooms, which made sense because of his Pariah ability. Carlos' room looked like a technology lab and mine was no different then Shaki's, just much smaller in comparison. I was fine with it though. I did not desire a huge space, even though it was still much bigger than I would have liked.

"Beginning to get comfortable, I see."

"Yes, 4536. I am." I replied, my attention towards the ceiling.

"This is a pretty nice place and they have a large dojo downstairs that can be mechanically turned into any sort of atmosphere and landscape. It is quite an advancement from what I have seen in most Pariah homes."

"Do you think I belong here? I mean... I know I have powers, but do I actually belong?" I asked.

"Human. To be honest you have grown on me. Kind of like a parasite. You know those things that you don't want, but you can't get rid of."

"Thanks machine!" I replied, smirking.

"In all seriousness, you are quite an exceptional specimen. There is much growth to be had, but I would not desire to be with any other Pariah or human in existence than you. You are honestly special. And even within myself, while I do not have a soul; I believe deeply that you and your three friends will eventually change this world for the better. I do not know how or why, but I believe that."

"You are a machine. How could you predict that?" I asked.

"Algorithms, foolish human! At times I forget that you lack intelligence. Please do not speak...What's so funny?"

"Thank you, machine. Have a good night," I replied and closed my eyes.

"I will never understand any of you creatures," 4536 whispered. "Good night."

The next morning, I was the first to wake up. 4536 helped me to get ready in a short time, but I still felt uncomfortable with the procedure. I wanted to do it on my own but that is not the way it worked as an official or student official. I descended down the stairs and noticed a large plate of food on the main table. There were three machines standing over the food in the living room. I observed as only one of their heads turned towards me and beckoned for me to have a seat. They waited until I was seated to offer me a plate of meat, fruit and some sort of drink that tasted like the water pills we were used to taking.

 My friends ambled down the stairs soon after and began to eat their fill. After breakfast, we decided to go over the next mission. It was best that we took care of it now. I knew we did not need to complete any missions for dinero because the money we had received as a reward would take care of us for the rest of our time at the university. If we did want to take the mission, we needed to do it now or it would be passed on to another student group. If a mission was not completed within three to five days, it was normally passed on to someone else. It was even shorter for an official. We still needed to rack up points which would be added to our ranks once we graduated.

"Hey, so I just pressed the mission begin button on the platform upstairs. We don't always need to press it on the machine," Maverick said enthusiastically.

"You could have waited until after our meeting," Shaki replied, somewhat annoyed.

"You may leave." I said to the machines that had created our delightful meal.

"Well. Thank you, Maverick. Now I think it would be best if today we familiarize ourselves with the mission," Carlos said with a smile.

"De nada, hermano!" Maverick replied enthusiastically.