Proof of Humanity (RWBY - Lies of P)

Remnant I: Doomed Repetition

Inside a dimly lit room, there was a body. It was not of flesh, and certainly not alive. It's cold metallic body was resting up on a large operating table, surrounded by various power tools. Plastered across the walls were blueprints, but it was too dark to read the contents. Besides it was a desk with even more notes and books.

A door swung open, and a beam of light filled the dark expanse. Along with it, the sound of rain and the honking of car horns.

The blueprints were illuminated. Sketches of a robotic body that were detailed enough to drive an ordinary mechanic insane. The notes on the desk weren't mathematical, but instead artistic. They had drawings of a protector with swords floating around its body.

The pile of books was uninteresting for the most part. They were thick, heavy items that varied between engineering, chemistry, and anatomy. Boring subjects that most students would groan or roll their eyes at. However, there was a single book placed right in the middle of the desk. A book that was still open. It had peculiar imagery, depicting a boy with a strangely shaped nose.

The door was closed. The room returned to darkness.

Slowly, a figure waded in the dim room. It seemed to be in a trance, it's walk hardly more than an exhausted limp. With a loud groan, it slumped into the chair besides the desk. After a minute of it staring at the wall, it took a deep breath, and flipped a switch on the wall.

Fluorescent lights lit up all around the room, despite there being no lamps. It seemed to be beamed down from a thin piece of glass in the ceiling.

With the room now completely visible, the figure could be seen properly. It was a man with dark skin, dressed in a business professional suit. His tired old eyes were a light shade of brown. The man's hair and beard were grey.

The desk had a name tag, too. Pietro Polendina.

The man looked down at his desk, gazing at the picture of a boy. His eyes were full of fascination, and he reached across the desk and grabbed a white stick, about the same shape and size as a ruler.

Suddenly, a bright blue screen extended from the stick's side. The man started to press buttons on the screen, then began to talk to it.

"Day 174 of recreating the fairytale. I haven't made much progress due to the rising demands of the SDC. Their so-called 'military adjustments' have everyone concerned, even General Ironwood. Ever since Arthur left us, it's been difficult to keep Jacque in check. I'm not as witty and cutthroat as he was. I'm making ends meet, though. I have just enough time to work on my passion project." His voice was just as tired as he looked, but full of passion.

The man glanced down at the book on his desk. He gently closed it like the slightest rough touch could make the pages crumble.

The book's name was Pinocchio.

"I don't just want to make a robot. It's something I haven't spoken much about, since most of the investors only care about weapons. But for me, it's about making that book come to life. Everybody reads fairytales, it's how we remember ancient history. "Tale of Two Brothers" and "Princess in the Tower" are both good examples of this. But that's all we see. Memories. Nobody had ever tried to make art from art."

Polendina walked towards the desk where the robot body laid. It's chest cavity was open, an empty place where a human heart would be.

He grabbed one of the various power tools, a glove that just looked like solid metal. However, when he put it on, the metal started to fade away and the same light blue light from the tablet surrounded it. When he waved his hand, various screens appeared out of thin air, all with different images and equations just as complicated as the blueprints on the walls.