quietmorning sun slipped through the steel lattice above the Sector 11 apprentice dormitories, casting soft lines of gold across Luke's face. The dormitory was quiet at this hour, quiet enough that he could even hear the faint tick of the wall sensors adjusting temperature in the room.
Luke lay awake, his eyes half-open, staring at the ceiling. He had slept, technically. But rest was a luxury his mind rarely allowed. Even in his dreams, he kept returning to the same image of a single glove resting on a workbench waiting for him to finish it.
This was his Fifth Generation machine prototype.
Or the closest thing he had to one.
He had completed the chassis , having already set the composition of the micro-reactor to a three-quarter alignment, and the sensory circuits were just stable enough to not explode when he activated them. The headache now layed in its data phase. The calibration which was also the soul of the machine.
This part has been a constant headache for him for the past few days. And no matter how much he racked his brain, he just couldn't seem to figure out the internal composition and the idea of a soul component formation of the prototype.
The long constant analysis on this part was already laying him on the border of insanity and if this continued on he suspected that he might as well just end up as one of those apprentices who went mad in the midst of their work.
But then again, he couldn't afford to stop, this project of his.
In three days time the Oxford Scientific University would be hosting its entrance exam for this year, and this glove was his ticket into it.
The requirements for the entrance to this prestigious university was for an apprentice to produce a simple but complete Fifth Generation Machine. And this machine had to be created sorely by that apprentice without the help of another.
So knowing full well of his time limit, Luke couldn't afford to stop racking about the project, even in his dreams.
He turned his gaze on the crater that contained the machine.
Whilst trying to figure out how he could produce a miracle in the following three days, Luke at this moment suddenly heard a knock coming from his door.
A knock tapped once, twice, against his door.
"Luke!" Rin's voice, light but breathless sounded from the other end of the door.
"You awake? You need to see this!"
When he heard her voice, Luke sighed. Rin had the worst timing.
He stood up took his coat and slipped into it.
"If it's another video of kittens operating vending drones, I swear—"
"It's not!" Rin said, louder this time. "Just open the door."
He did. Rin stood there with her dark hair tied loosely and her cheeks flushed with excitement that made him blink.
"What happened?"
"You're not going to believe this." She held her breath for dramatic effect. And after seeing Luke's concentration she then said.
"Dr. Chuck is unveiling something today. At the Saint Cauvery Museum."
Without waiting for him to ask, she then added.
"The media says it's a Second Generation Machine. "
Luke paused mid-motion.
Dr. Chuck. The man considered to be one of the last surviving links between modern engineering and the pre-war era of pure mechanical engineering. His lectures were the backbone of every apprentice's training. A Second Generation machine announced by him… that alone was rare enough to draw the attention of half the scientific community in the city.
And with the Oxford examination only three days away…
Luke gestured Rin to enter, and the excited girl entered without fanfare.
"A Second Generation machine?" Luke asked.
Rin nodded. "He's revealing it personally."
Second Generation Machines were rarely seen. Only Great, Expensive Museums like the Louvre were known to house such machinery, which was one of the highest caliber a mmachinery could be llabeled.
Also other governmental institutions and high noble families were known to house such machineries.
Upon seeing his shocked state, Rin decided to add another shocking statement.
"Thats not all, it is said that Governor Archibald Wenshire will be there too."
That gave Luke pause. Governor Wenshire rarely appeared in public without months of notice, let alone at something as specific as a machinery exhibition. The man had built his reputation before taking office, an eminent scientist who designed the first countermeasures that ended the Second Robotic War. People still spoke his name with a mix of reverence and unease, as though the aftershocks of the war still resonated in his shadow. A legendary figure"
Luke exhaled slowly. "Fine. Let me get my gloves."
He planned on taking inspiration from glancing the Second Generation Machine, to finally gain inspiration he needed to create the calibration of the machine, finally giving life and soul to the prototype and successfully creating a Fifth Generation Machine.
Taking his Fifth Generation Prototype, Luke swiftly followed Rin out of the room.
They exited the building, took a cab and after a brief moment of travel, eventually reached the Saint Cauvery Museum
Today , the usually scarce plaza in front of the museum was seething with life.
Crowds stretched for nearly a kilometer, spiraling in slow-moving clusters around reinforced barricades.
Every kind of citizen had come:
Be it the apprentices in crisp lab coats
The families wearing glowing holo-scarves
The veteran engineers leaning on mechanized canes.
The retired soldiers with prosthetic limbs that clicked rhythmically as they walked
And the enforcers of city department of security.
Drones zipped overhead, casting shafts of scanning light onto the crowd.
Rin let out a low whistle. "I've never seen this place this packed"
Luke nodded and said.
"Well a Second Generation Machine is no joke. Most people rarely get to witness one in person.
Some people would even cross continents to see one."
"Which means we got here early," Rin said brightly. "Sort of."
The line crawled forward. Mecha-armored guards monitored the crowd, their exoskeletons polished to a mirror finish, joints shifting in smooth, predatory motions.
They scanned the crowd with vigilance, seemingly scanning for any suspicious individuals.
When Luke and Rin finally stepped into the scanner gateway, a cool band of light swept from their boots to their heads. The scanner chimed softly indicating a clear pass.
The gates parted with a hydraulic sigh, and the two stepped into the museum's vast interior.
The museum's main chamber was a cathedral of technology with a vast space , echoing and carved from layers of steel arches and glass ribs that crisscrossed above like the skeleton of some ancient mechanical beast. Floating platforms drifted overhead, carrying holographic diagrams that shifted with ghostly precision.
Thousands of voices murmured, merging into a soft, living hum in the air.
Luke tilted his head upward, awe tugging at his chest.
"Every time I come here," he murmured, "it feels bigger."
Rin nudged him lightly. "Come on. The First Wing is open today."
They weaved through the crowd, stopping before the tall glass capsules lining the walkway.
Each capsule contained a relic of the past wars.
A Third Generation exoskeleton frame, its plating thick and weathered, built for brute strength. It had been used and created during the first robotic war.
A Fourth Generation modular rifle, its parts still in peak condition. Also been created in the second Robotic War.
A Fifth Generation skeletal limb actuator, fibers dense as muscle tissue, hummed softly with dormant energy. This one unlike the others had been created during the First Robotic War.
Luke placed a hand on the glass, leaning closer.
"Look at that wiring density," he whispered. "The torque pathways… they compressed the entire system."
Rin nodded pretending to understand what Luke was rambling on about.
They move towards different kinds of wings taking on into detail the various Generations of machines displayed in glass capsules.
Since the Meusium of Saint Cauvery was only at the Platinum level, it only housed machinery ranging from Third Generation to Fifth Generation.
Those of Second to First Generations were not housed in here, and were only housed in Gold-level Museums
Although given how Dr. Chucks has decided to introduce and donate his newly formed Second Generation Machine, the rank of the Meusium was about to rise from Platinum to Gold.
After a few peeks at the different types of machinery artifacts, Luke and Rin eventually decided to head to the Gallery, as the time for the announcement was drawing near.
As they approached the gallery floor, Luke's attention snagged on something unusual.
A person leaned against a distant column.
He was tall reaching almost two meters in height.
He was donning a black hoodie, his face hidden behind a smooth white bunny mask. The mask's painted smile was faint and almost serene.
Luke frowned.
There was nothing overtly threatening about the figure. No weapons, nor any abnormal movements..but.... The stillness. His stillness was unnatural in a way that people rarely had in public spaces.
Rin followed his gaze. "What is it now?"
"That person," Luke murmured.
"A bunny mask," she sighed. "Luke, it's probably just someone trying to stand out."
"Maybe," he said quietly.
But his instincts kept warning him.
Without any evidence of the threat posed by the man, Luke decided to let it go. He and Rin proceeded into the Gallery.
The floor was already packed with people and Luke and Rin had to squeeze through the crowd with difficulty in order to reach the front row of people so that they could get a clearer view.
Normally people wouldn't just let them reach the front, but with the help of Rin's charm, lot of men, who were the norm around here, were more than happy to let her at the front. That way they could enjoy the view.
As they reached the front row, they did not wait that long before the, announcement began.
A gentle chime echoed through the chamber.
Instant silence followed with thousands of breaths held at once.
Spotlights converged on the central stage.
And Governor Archibald Wenshire stepped into the light.