Mechanical Gods (lgbtq+)

Interlude Part II -- Five Minds of One

     Four chairs stood in a circle in the middle of a frozen lake, and Aiden sat on one of them. He didn't know how he got there. His mind always tried to take him to certain places that were too odd for him to understand. He couldn't even remember if he had been there before, or maybe he did unless his memory got corrupted again. He had learned that it was better to wait and see where it took him. He sometimes liked where he ended up; on a beach, on top of a snow-capped mountain, or in Tyler's apartment watching the History channel.

     One of them took him to a lab. Not the ones from Reese's facility, but a different one. White walls, and too many Androids with the same face. Not his own. He was the only different one, but those androids scowled at him hungrily. He didn't particularly like that one.

     It took him to more places;

     A desert pounced by its relentless sun, parched and devoid of life.

     A city destroyed by Gods and bodies lay at its wake.

     A floating tower out in space, with him staring at Earth.

     And an army, this time with similar faces as Aiden, looking over the cliffs toward a beautiful sunrise on the neverending ocean.

     Aiden shuddered reminiscing about these things. They felt all too real for his taste, not that he could taste it all. He was a machine, and the machines couldn't eat. He was no different from the rest. At least that's what he told himself every night.

     And every night, he always failed. The constant nag of his existence whispering madly at the back of his mind.

     When he pulled his mind away from his memories, he didn't notice that a man was now sitting on one of the empty seats. Aiden felt a little excited. This was the first time someone joined the circle. He had been here so many times, exploring all those different places, but he was always alone. He was intrigued by this turn of events.

     The man sat on the chair thirty feet across from Aiden. But, even this close, he couldn't quite see his face. There was a white mist that hovered over his head, its wisp dancing from a silent winter waltz, and his breath added to it like dousing a fire. Aiden couldn't distinguish his form either. He couldn't describe if he were enormous, or if he was old, or if he had blue eyes, or if he was lanky.

     The man didn't say a word. The cold air was slowly seeping down to the frozen lake, and chilling Aiden's synthetic skin. He had to work hard to keep his core body temperature normal to keep his functions running smoothly. He wanted the man to initiate a conversation first, but it looked like he wasn't going to do that. Aiden didn't mind. He loved getting to know people.

     "Hello, my name's Aiden," he said enthusiastically.

     "Hello, Aiden," the man whispered. But it wasn't just him. Two more voices spoke with him.

     Aiden glanced at the other two chairs. A split second ago, they were empty. Now, they were occupied by two individuals with the same mist hovering over their heads. All three of them were staring at him. He couldn't see their eyes, but he knew they were. He could feel it.

     Then, he noticed the fourth figure in their circle. Aiden knew he was a man like the first man that appeared, except he didn't have a chair of his own, opting to stand outside the circle instead, close to where the first man was. Aside from the three sitting figures, the fourth figure was distinguishable from the rest;

     He was a giant. If Aiden stood up, the man would be a few inches taller and broader than him. Aside from the rest, Aiden found a sense of familiarity with him. Like he knew him. Somehow. A forgotten memory from a long time ago.