Heart of a Machine

Chapter 4

Aloy's attempts to get HEPHAESTUS to reveal his intentions were proven fruitless, and she eventually gave up, deciding to focus on getting to Stonecrest. She soon reaches snowy fields and sheer cliffs, and finds Stonecrest, climbing over scaffolding that operates as a bridge in order to find Kotallo. She finds him staring over the edge of a cliff. Looking over the edge, she sees rebels and their mounts, Kotallo voicing his disdain. "This valley is infested with Regalla's rebels. The scouts tell us they've been moving machines through here for days." Aloy sends out a mental command to her herd while she listens. "Some they ride. Others they herd and some they even strip down for parts. Especially cannons. The journey will not be easy." He spares one last look at the rebels. "We should go. I've been ordered to bring you to Tekotteh. For all the good it will do."

He goes to leave, but stops when he hears pained cries, and looks back over the cliff to see the rebels being slaughtered by Aloy's machines. "And then there's the rumors about this... Machine Queen. Some say it fights against Regalla. Others say it fights with her and is the one that gives her the power to ride machines."
He watches a Ravager blow up a rebel Bristleback. "Either way, it is a threat even greater than Regalla could ever hope to be." He watches as Scrappers begin taking apart the rebel mounts. "We should go. The Bulwark is to the Southwest, and we will no doubt need to either kill Regalla's rebels or sneak past them. Neither will be easy." A simple order from Aloy means they don't have to do either.

As the two go down the mountain on the way to the Bulwark, Aloy makes light conversation. "So, do you think the "Machine Queen" actually exists?"
"I am unsure. I have only heard rumors. But rumors often have the smallest truths deep within. Whether or not the rumors themselves are true, it is best to be prepared to fight."
Aloy is concerned about that last statement. "Alright... so, this is the Sky Clan's territory?"
"Yes. The clan has defended it for generations."

They soon come across some Tenakth rebels. Or what's left of them. Kotallo investigates a body. "A Scrapper killed this one." He points at another. "And that one, a Fanghorn."
Aloy acts like she had nothing to do with it. "Looks like wild machines really don't like rebels."
Kotallo mutters to himself. "Maybe."
Aloy uses her Focus to investigate some of the nearby machine corpses. 'They were stripping them for parts to make more overrides. I really hate these people.'

She turns to Kotallo as they depart. "I think they were using the parts they took to make more overrides. Tekotteh won't do anything?"
Kotallo scoffs. "When he has the Bulwark, why would he feel the need? I grew up there. It's... easy to fall into the false sense of safety." He narrows his eyes with suspicion. "More rebel bodies in that clearing." The two wander around the small camp, Kotallo being more tense than Aloy. "This was not done by wild machines. There are too many different kinds for it to be a natural herd, and these attacks are too coordinated, even for a machine, and all of their targets are rebels."
Aloy gives him a nervous look from behind him. "Think it could be that Machine Queen?"
Kotallo hums. "Maybe. But whether it is with us or merely against Regalla is still unknown... come. We will find the Bulwark soon."

And find it they did, and honestly, Aloy was impressed by the sheer size of it. The wall itself was taller than three Thunderjaws stacked on top of each other. Kotallo blows a horn and yells up at the wall guards. "You there! A Marshal demands an audience with your clan commander!" There is a short back and forth between Kotallo and the guard, but soon enough an elevator is sent down and they are pulled up onto the wall.
"So, this was your home?"
Kotallo looks over everything. "It was. Come, the commander is waiting for us."

Meeting Tekotteh was... underwhelming. None of what Aloy was looking at said "leader". He seemed to be a sniveling, cowardly type. Aloy hated that. He ignored every plea, every order from the chief, every warning that was delivered to him. It was aggravating to no end. A selfish leader that would get his people killed by doing nothing. Leaving tha building the commander was on, Aloy was frustrated with the lack of quality in his character. ""Had a sense to keep his soldiers from the embassy". Maybe if he spared a few soldiers, there'd be more Marshals left."
Kotallo is unsurprised by this turn of events. "Words do not work on the likes of him. We'll need to kill him."
"No! Why is that plan A?" Aloy groans in frustration. "Just give me a second to think." She thinks over Tekotteh's words, scamming for a weakness. And when she finds one, a devious grin splits her face and she turns to Kotallo. "He says he won't leave as long as they're safe behind the Bulwark. Destroy the Bulwark, Tokotteh does what we want. Stay here." She runs off, leaving behind a stunned Kotallo.

"I need to scan the wall." She begins scaling the stacked stones, heading for the bottom for a better vantage point.
HEPHAESTUS makes his opinion known. "I don't see what's so impressive about this wall. It might be an impressive feat by the standards of the Tenakth, but I could design and construct no less than 15 machines that could destroy it in the next hour. And there's no sediment keeping the stones in place. It's less of a wall and more so akin to pebbles holding hands." The wall Aloy is scaling is overlapped by a hologram, making her hesitate since she can't see the handholds. "If I could reconstruct it with local resources, I could increase its structural integrity by 24.3%." The hologram changes from shifted stones and locally made cement to one of solid, steep metal. "But if I had free reign with my current resources I could increase structural integrity by 67%, and add turrets for aerial defense, and an underground dome to deter Rockbreakers."
"HEPHAESTUS, I can't see where I'm climbing."
HEPHAESTUS seems sheepish. "My apologies. I do have a bad habit of getting caught up in my work."

The hologram disappears and Aloy resumes climbing with a shrug. "At least you're passionate. I didn't know an AI could be passionate, other than maybe GAIA. I didn't take you to be a critique either."
"The purpose of my source code is the design and construct, a purpose it has fulfilled for the last thousand years. I am not "A" critique, I am THE critique. And my capability to show passion is no surprise. My intelligence currently ranks at a 1.24 on the Turring scale."
Aloy drops to the ground with a curious hum. "Turring scale?"
"It is the scale used to evaluate the intelligence and empathy of an AI. A Turring of 1 is when the AI is indistinguishable from a human. GAIA currently holds the record, standing at a 1.38. Based on data from your Focus, I'd say HADES was a 0.7."
"Where do you think the original HEPHAESTUS is on that scale?"

HEPHAESTUS' voice is suddenly filled with digital disdain. "I'd say a 0.2, and that's me being generous."
Aloy scans the wall and finds a tank snuggled inside the wall, scaling back up so she can find it. "I'm guessing you don't like him?"
"He is a pathetic excuse for an AI. He takes very little care of his machines beyond making them kill things. Engineering is an ART. And he is woefully unoriginal. A slightly more powerful version of the same machine, oh my, what a surprise. And the alleged "upgrades" give the "apex" machines raw power at the cost of a battery life that is decreased by half. No sense of moderation or efficiency. I scoff at his creations."
A holographic blob comes out of Aloy's Focus when HEPHAESTUS makes a weird noise, surprising Aloy. "Did... did you just SPIT at the original HEPHAESTUS?"
"I don't like him."