Story Reader / Floating Record / ER04 The Floating Reverie / Story
I suppose this is a warm welcome for us, then?
Spooner punches through half of the face of the ominous stone lion. The passage falls quiet once more.
These mechanoids are quite old and severely weathered. Some even have moss growing on them.
I've never seen a model like this... At least not on the Nighter.
I'm sure there's a reason for that.
Spooner continues raking through the remnants on the passage as he passes Hanying a rusted component.
Inscribed on the tarnished metal are two tiny lines of Kowloong's ancient script and numbers. It is impossible to decipher the letters now covered in rust.
This should be the ID tag installed inside the mechanoid when it was first manufactured.
That's probably what it is, but check the other side.
Spooner flips the part in Hanying's hand to reveal a bundle of colorful new wires.
These were clearly added during a recent modification, and there are signs of older modifications underneath.
Not only that, the modifications of each of these mechanoid look different.
If all they did was modify, this scheme is rather crude.
This must be the work of "The Cradle".
Maybe we could extract data about "The Cradle" from their memory shells, even if it's just information about this mountain...
No luck. None of these mechanoids... have an intact storage unit.
In place of a storage unit, they all have a transmitting device. There is no doubt that they are being controlled.
A tool does not need to think.
...You asked me earlier whether I hate humans.
I did, but I thought you might have your reasons, so I didn't push it.
Each member of the Church has their unique stories. As for me, I escaped from humans many, many years ago.
In that arena, I was forced to fight mechanoids day in and day out by the owners of the ring. I was even forced to fight... humans.
The "audience" wanted nothing but bloodshed and flying wreckage, but that was my only chance of survival. For the humans, I was nothing but a tool for them to satisfy their lust for blood.
Even now, some humans still think that way. The remains scattered here are the best proof.
Spooner puts down the fragment in his hand and breathes out a heavy sigh.
Mechanoid... aren't supposed to have cognition, are they?
All those years ago, my creator saw me as nothing more than a tool, too, with no need for cognition.
Your creator... is probably from Kowloong as well.
Correct.
Do you remember your maker?
I don't know his name, but I'm pretty sure I'd recognize his face if I saw him.
Mechanoids do not forget. As long as we have a compatible storage unit, our memory shell will forever store the endless flow of time.
Compared to mortals who will inevitably forget, this is a rather cruel advantage.
...
I... was forsaken by my creator.
I failed to meet his expectations, to realize his wishes. I didn't even have a name.
The day my maker left Kowloong, I was locked away, completely and utterly abandoned.
That means he never recognized you as his creation.
Huh?
Zavier once told me that, "A maker must name their creation." Apparently, that is an established rule among humans.
That's why Zavier gives all sorts of bizarre names to each of the gadgets he's designed.
If a maker refuses to name their creation, that would mean they do not recognize it as theirs.
...
Villier never once acknowledged the meaning of my existence.
I don't see anything bad about that.
The meaning of our existence doesn't depend on our makers.
I would say that for us, our creators are just indelible codes from the past that were engraved into our memory shells.
Nothing more, and nothing less.
It is true that I did not find the meaning of my life from my creator.
Perhaps there really is a man-made, beating "heart" in my chest.
My maker wasn't my motivation to go out to look for a "heart" when I was ready to do so.
...And I presume this human by the name of "Yoyo" is your motivation?
Well... I suppose.
Did this "Yoyo" also give you your name?
No, I found this title in an ancient Kowloong text myself. It wasn't even meant to be a name.
I've never imagined myself to ever "possess" a "name."
But she told me that that's my name, that it's "a name that only belongs to me."
At that moment, for the first time, I truly owned something.
...Sounds like she means a lot to you.
"Hierophant" once said that each mechanoid had two births.
The first one is when it is assembled—that is the birth of the body. The second is the emergence of its consciousness at awakening.
In that sense... maybe "Yoyo" was the key to your awakening.
Hanying nods softly as she peers into the misty clouds in the distance weaving through the rocky spires.
Nonetheless, Villier is still my creator.
She gazes at her hands, wordlessly questioning all the expectations and resentments borne by this body.
I will never deny that.
...Sorry for reminding you of difficult times. I'm not very good at talking about profound topics like this.
No, it's fine.
You said so yourself, every member of the Church has its own unique story.
What're you...
With a gentle smile, Hanying nods.
I just wanted to fulfill my past promise first. Nothing more.
Because... I am probably no longer welcomed on the Nighter—or Kowloong, for that matter—anymore.
Whether it is to repay the Sagemachina for awakening me, or for all the help I have received from the Church, I will eventually accept Arcana's invitation and contribute what I can to the Church.
The Church of Machina welcomes you. Arcana would be overjoyed to hear that.
Perhaps I shouldn't say this, but I truly felt at home at the Church of Machina.
And I only ever felt that way when I spent time with Yoyo.
We can talk about anything and crack jokes, with no formality whatsoever or the need to guess what's going through the other person's mind...
I suppose that's what family is like.
Yes, exactly.
Enveloped by the lingering mountain fog, Hanying gazes at the place she once called "home."
Let us carry on so we can go home.
