Gray Matter

The Origin of Madness

Dr Wiley started to pace back and forth in front of the restrained Nico. She watched him with no interest or like.

"What are your opinions of my old partner, Dr Thomas Hikari?" Wiley asked.

"Better than the ones I have for you." she said.

"And what do you know about me?" the robotist asked her.

"I know that you stole many of Hikari's older projects and turned them into cold and unfeeling robots."

"You mean to say, you believe that I am removing their cognitive circuits? Well, if that is all Thomas told you, then it would be correct. I did remove the CC from the robots I recovered from Thomas's scrap heap. And I'm sure that you wonder why."

"Not really." Nico said, actually surprised at how much she didn't care right now. "But I don't have much of a choice, now do I?"

Dr Wiley made a gruff sound, as if discomforted or amused. Proto Man continued to stay where he was, not daring to come between Nico if she was in a sour mood. And he hadn't even known her for that long.

"Regardless," Dr Wiley continued, "I had known Thomas for a long time. We were in the same robotic college, you know. When I first met him, however, he was a family man. Oh yes, many people have forgotten the little family Thomas had thirty years ago. They were a beautiful family too; a pair of twin boys, a daughter, and his wife. Thomas's wife, Alia, was such a beautiful woman. If she wasn't married to Thomas when I first met her, I would have had the honor myself."

Nico raised an eyebrow. Even Proto Man couldn't quite believe what was coming out of the robotist's mouth.

"But Thomas's family was short lived." Wiley continued. "One could take in the death of Alia... but the loss of Lan, Hub, and Mayl? Three young lives with so much potential... gone with ashes in the wind.

"After that, there was a... a change in Thomas, to say the least. He desired to create robots that were human, almost perfectly. He asked me to help him with the first robots, each given certain personalities and jobs to accomplish as their goals in life. Rush was the first robot we created that was nearly identical to the living being it was based off of, in Rush's case; a dog. But Thomas always saw a flaw, so he was always building more and more into the creation's hardware. That was when we started working on the 'Robot Masters' project, which resulted in the failed Proto Man, and the successful Mega Man."

Proto Man did not take too kindly at these choice of words, and glared at Wiley. Nico wasn't too appreciative of Wiley's working either.

"Proto isn't flawed or a failure." she said. Wiley and Proto looked at her.

"And what makes you say that?" Wiley asked, scoffing at her.

"I saw his blueprints." she said, as if the answer was simple. "Proto has an aging protocol, but his weapon systems conflict with it. Glitching and shorting out when doing mundane human activities is just a response of the two conflicting with each other."

Wiley and Proto Man looked at Nico with equally shocked and amazed looks.

"How do you know that?" Wiley asked.

"How do I not know that?" Nico asked back.

Wiley continued to stare at her. Some how, in some way, Proto felt exposed, like a human that was caught nude on a photo used for blackmail. They were talking about him after all.

"But what about you?" Nico asked. "What's your reason for ripping out a robot's personality? Without a CC, the robots will be cold and lifeless. They'll have no regrets, no sense of conscience or right and wrong. They'd be the perfect killers. Why would you do that to them? Why would you do that to the humans?"

"Because computers were not meant to have a personality." he said, his tone becoming low and all emotion leaving his voice and face. "Do you remember darling, that, at the turn of the century, computers were only simple aids to our lives? They didn't think for themselves or show a lack of interest or disinterest in what you were doing to them. Five years ago, all of this changed. The world wanted robots that could think and act on their own will. The world wanted human sized robots that could clean the house or mind the kids like a nanny. Hell, they were even asking for robots that could be better sex partners than a human could.

Robots are computers child. They were not meant to have personalities or thoughts or emotions. But the world is changing, and I do not intend for them to be greater than what it is now. Thomas's robots are the only ones of their kind, there are no other robots like them in the world. Get rid of what is special to them, no one will want them."

"But why?" Nico asked, not seeing the point. She took a glance at Proto Man. When she and Roch first met him, they didn't know that he was different. Even in the events that transpired between the three of them, she wouldn't have taken it back. She loved him.

Wiley opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a sudden crash through the wall. Everyone turned their attention to Mega Man, who had been the one to crash through the wall.

"Let her go!" Mega demanded, aiming the blaster at Wiley's head.

"You'll have to get through me first." Proto Man said, speaking up for the first time since Nico had been captured.

"Fine." Mega Man said in a dark tone before taking the first shot.