Of Pride and Power - 28. Interlude- Search for Avalon Part II

Upon the discovery of a creature's involvement in the disappearance of the Viking settlement, a state of alert was raised among the Royal Marines. Frances had urged that Robert and I return to the HMS Relentless, while her team continued to scout the area and attempt to find Avalon facility or hunt the creature that was connected to the mass deaths. However, before paranoia could take hold of all my soldiers, Robert raised an important point concerning the graves.

"Do we even know why all these people died? Wouldn't it be more proper for a savage creature to murder all the inhabitants of the settlement, and then leave their corpses to rot rather than to give them a proper burial with funeral markers? Also, as we know, only human beings possess such a level of conscious empathy and ability for such actions."

I joined to support my partner's theory, "Robert's right. No one would bury bodies, even the bodies of enemies with such care, unless they could empathize with the dead. We would want to do that for our friends and family since we're humans. With just the mass deaths, we can't conclusively claim that these people were killed by the graves’ creator or something else happened to them and a third party gave them a proper funeral. As such, we need to unearth some of the graves, so Robert and I can perform a forensic investigation."

"Forensics? What is that?" Frances asked, not understanding the term. Forensic studies were still a new field that I was championing at the Royal College in London and Bristol, so there were few practitioners in the field. The various subjects related to forensics were invaluable for law enforcement, financial administration, and even intelligence operations.

"It's the study of crime or in this case, the process that led to death. We can identify how a person died based on their corpses. Forensics allows us to make conclusions that aren't based on superficial clues or hearsay," I explained.

Frances frowned, "We need an open grave, but we do not have the tools, my lord."

I shook my head, "We just need ropes and a pulley, which Robert can create. I can remove the dirt with my displacement ability for a few minutes, while we elevate the bodies for me to perform the investigation."

"That sounds reasonable, my lord," Frances acquiesced, though she did not fully understand the procedure. Robert and I had a rudimentary knowledge of the subject from watching old reruns of CSI and Bones, but my encyclopedic ability was a neat shortcut to years of medical school and several post-graduate degrees.

While my ability can penetrate obstructions like wood and stone walls of various thicknesses, I could not analyze objects beyond 1,000 feet or 305 meters without a line of sight. Using my other ability, I displaced the topsoil from an area of the graveyard where there were multiple burial markers, potentially a family, so I could unearth a few bodies and examine them at the same time. It took several attempts to remove the soil until we reached the bodies, approximately 1,640 feet or 500 meters of soil had to be removed. In a surprising turn upon removing the soil, there were objects buried along with the dead bodies, including metallic bowls, knives, and tools that were missing from the settlement. Then, using Robert's rope creation ability, we created a harness with a strong adhesive and pulley system to lift some of the objects and bodies out of the ground so that I have a clear line of sight on them.

They should have mostly decomposed at this point, but there were still visible amounts of muscle and skin tissue on the bodies, which led me to do an initial analysis of the bodies to understand the lack of decomposition. I detected abnormal amounts of radiation emanating from the bodies. Then, I scanned the objects being pulled up as well and found high amounts of radiation as well emanating from them. Upon realizing that these objects were radioactive, I quickly ordered the bodies to be lowered back into the earth. Robert covered the ground openings with a layer of lead until the soil materialized again. Without me asking him, Robert created and disbursed iodine tablets for everyone. After performing a body check on myself, Robert, and all the Royal Marines with us, I breathed a sigh of relief. The radiation was weakened after over sixty years, but it was still at dangerous levels for human exposure. Luckily, no one had more than a few seconds of contact.

Glancing at Robert, "I guess now we know why the clawed guy buried the bodies and how they died."

Robert nodded, "At this level, there's a good chance the settlement died of high doses of radiation. My ability in matter and energy manipulation may not be as fine-tuned as your analytical ability, but I can feel the abnormally high amounts of radiation, too. It was a smart move that the clawed guy buried these bodies and the contaminated metals. They followed proper radiation procedure."

"You're right," I replied. "But that leaves us with more questions, rather than answers. What could emit such strong levels of radiation? Why did it not harm the clawed guy? What is the connection between this guy and the radiation?"

Robert sighed, "Technologically speaking, the fair folk during the Camelot era were close to early to mid-20th century levels of technology based on the Cadbury Hill facility. You and I know that's around the time when experiments with radiation weapons began. My theory is that the technology and these deaths are related to one another."

I nodded, "I know Greenland has the second largest supply of Rare Earth Elements, including Uranium, near this location at Kvanefjeld. While there was a ban by Greenland in our timeline from exploiting this resource, it was well-known and a reason why some postulated that the United States might unilaterally seize the country for exploitation. Your past incarnation, Merlin, could have extracted materials for experimentation from here. However, I can't believe you in any form would want to experiment with nukes."

Robert sighed, "You know I run on logic, so I wouldn't want to create nuclear reactor technology for that purpose. However, this discovery further emphasizes our biggest concern. We need to find Avalon before anyone else, can you pick up any high-energy signatures nearby that equate nuclear reactions?"

We left the graveyard and began frantically searching the vicinity near the settlement. I looked around with my inner sense and made a 360° scan, but I could not find anything. Near dusk, we headed north of the settlement onto some rocky terrains.

"What about that hill range over there?" Robert pointed to the hills north of the settlement, "If Avalon is there, maybe a radio jamming tower would be placed there".

I shook my head, "There's no radiation or a background signal for radio jamming. The radio jamming was all around us, so I've been actively trying to find its source for a while now, too."

Robert considered, "If you can't find a central location for jamming, then the radio jamming equipment must be smaller and similar to late 20th-century standards. However, there must be an energy source for the facility to power such devices, even if it's not from nuclear power. How about heat signatures? Look for pockets beneath the earth in irregular man-made patterns. I would have wanted you to find it using your abilities."

I shifted my senses to look for heat, and despite Greenland being a barren tundra, there were many pockets. The key reason was the presence of geological instability that Greenland fell under due to volcanic and tectonic activity. As Robert had surmised, the hill range did have several pockets of heat signatures, including an odd pool of water that was heated to around 200° Celsius and appeared to form an "e" and "m" shape. Assuming Merlin did make these for me to find them, using the initials of my original name would be a good calling card. Using my inner sight, my ability was acting like ground sonar, and detected various tunnels around the pool, but several of them led to areas I could not view. Among the viewable tunnels, there was a passageway that appeared passable up to the surface with one obstruction that might be a sealed doorway with what appeared to be raised platforms of some sort.

"I found a pathway through the hill range," I told Robert. "We'll need to head down the tunnel to the first obstruction. I think there's an automated door, but it may be locked from the outside."

Frances shook her head, "My lord, are you sure that you and Lord Robert should be going into the tunnel?"

Robert and I both shook our heads in agreement, I replied to her, "Nothing against your abilities Frances, but I think Merlin would have wanted me and his next incarnation to go down there. I do not think the clawed being or whoever is down there will harm us as a result."

"Besides, it's not like we have a choice," Robert smiled.

With Robert, the Royal Marines, and Frances, we marched towards the tunnel entrance, which was located at a natural rock formation that was shaped like an irregular half-circle. Only Robert and I would be heading down the passageway, so Frances would be stationing marines in case we needed assistance. As we cautiously made our way through the dimly lit cave tunnel, a mysterious aura surrounded us. The air felt heavy with anticipation, and the faint echoes of their footsteps seemed to resonate with the secrets concealed within the depths.

As we progressed further, the tunnel widened, revealing an expansive cavern adorned with intricate carvings and writings in Norse Runes, Japanese Kanji, Latin, and Old English were etched into the rocky walls. They all appeared to say that only the chosen may enter, like a legal disclaimer form from my timeline. At the cavern's center stood two raised platforms, each bathed in an ethereal glow that emanated from unseen sources.

Upon the first platform stood a statue of a teenage boy with unruly hair, freckles, and a look of wonder. Clad in his usual polo-style shirt, horn-rim glasses, and khaki shorts, the statue exuded the youthful sagacity of my partner, when he was still Jack Humes. Beside it, a plaque, written in Latin, read, "Sapientia est via agnitae scientiae. (Wisdom is the path of recognized knowledge)"

On the second platform, an equally imposing figure was an androgynous-looking teenager. Dressed in vibrant, ever-changing garments with hair colors that seem to shift based on the angle you look at them. It represented non-conformity and self-expression, someone who can never be checked into a box, the statue exuded the individual of my former self, when I was Eric Meeks. The accompanying plaque, written in Japanese Kanji, proclaimed, "独創性、永遠の新奇の道 / Dokusousei, Eien no Shinki no Michi. (Ingenuity, the path of perpetual novelty)"

Between the platforms, an inscription, written in English, on the cave wall read, "Choose wisely, for the wrong path heralds doom. Only those who tread the correct path shall find the gates to Avalon open."

The air hung thick with tension as we exchanged wary glances.

"If someone tried to enter here without realizing it was supposed to be you and me, who should be standing on these platforms, the outcome would be bad," I told Robert.

"Yeah, I guess the system is booby-trapped to protect the secrets of Avalon for only you and me. Maybe the intruder would be killed or something. Still killing all those innocent people at the settlement doesn't feel like something I would have allowed. There should have been a fail-safe of some sort."

As we pondered about Merlin and the dire security measures that were implemented to protect Avalon, we went to our assigned platforms. A blue light began to glow around us, which we knew indicated the presence of a core. We were both used to being scanned by cores and knew that this was likely the primary security measure to guard against intruders into Avalon.

An automated message began to play all around us from what sounded like an elderly man, "All the work and all my sacrifices have brought you back to me, Eric. There’s a lot I want to tell you, a lot of things I wished I told you when you were alive. At least, I want you to know that I have never forgotten about you after two lifetimes. I still love you,” the message paused, then began again, “This part of the message will only be spoken if the scans indicate that you have given birth, Eric. With my future incarnation alongside you, I want to congratulate both of us on having our first child. However, our child was merely a proof of concept. We must complete my promise to the fair folk and give them the same means to have offspring like you can. Only by creating Omegas can we prevent humanity’s ultimate destruction. All that I have prepared and have in this world is yours to complete this task. May the last become first!"

The sealed doorway opened upon the conclusion of Merlin’s speech. On the other side of the doorway, a seven-foot-tall heavily armored android knelt on one leg before Robert and me. The color patterns on the android were white and blue with several reddish chrome highlights that gave it a sense of style. The shape of the head and shoulder joints appeared to be slightly block-like. It had a visor with flickering-colored lights, where its eyes should be. There was no mouth, but I could see what appeared to be an audio speaker where a mouth should have been. Despite this inhuman appearance, it did not impart any malicious aesthetic as science fiction robots like Cylons held with their completely chrome bodies. Beyond its head and audio speaker, it was heavily armored across the rest of its torso and limbs. For one of its hands, it had five claws that appeared to be both durable for grasping objects and sharp for various uses. The other hand was human-like with five fingers, it held a four-foot-long spear. The first thought upon seeing this android in front of us was a reference to the famous Japanese Manga and Anime series, "Gundam".

The android, who continued to bow before us in silence, surprisingly spoke in a creaky male tenor similar to someone amid puberty, "I am Goliath unit 03 of the second knights of the Round Table, my lords. I pledge my life to your service. Command me as you will."

I looked over at a shocked Robert and muttered, "You created Gundam mechas for me!" then directed my gaze at Goliath Unit 03 like any Otaku worth their salt, "How many mobile suits are there? Do you specialize in different types of weapons? Is your suit's interface mind-linked or manually remote-controlled? Any additional battle modes for optimizing combat in different environments?"

Goliath unit 03 was taken aback by my questions, then stammered a reply, "My...my...lord, I was originally one of twelve units, who formed the second Round Table. We were former pages of the original Knights of the Round Table. Master Merlin saved us from certain death at Camlann. We are trained in various weapons, including various firearms, but we each have our preferences for melee weapons. As for your reference to this being merely a suit of armor, I must inform you that I am no longer a human being as my mortal coil was shed a thousand years ago. Even in this form, I am not as mighty as your words imply, sadly. Most of my comrades are currently in death stasis until we can gain a charging station for the depleted cores that power our mechanical bodies. Master Merlin stated you would arrive around this time, but I fear that I have erred too much in my duties and I only have ten days’ worth of energy remaining."

With his words, my dreams of getting a Gundam mech suit were squashed, but hearing about the dire situation of these androids who were essentially teenage boys trapped inside robot bodies, I regained my composure.

"I can try recharging your core and friends' cores without a charging station using my ability, will you allow me to attempt it?" I asked him.

The robot warrior visor spread a beautiful rainbow light show, then settled on a warm magenta before speaking to me, "My lord, can you recharge a core with just your innate magic? Master Merlin never mentioned that such an ability was possible."

His armored chest opened and there were two cores within, separated by compartments. The core in the left compartment shined like an incandescent light bulb and buzzed like an electric fan’s motor, while the right core was dim and seemed inert. I used my analytical ability to check the electrical flow between them and I could see the core on the left was being powered by the one on the right. If I had to guess the core on the left was where his consciousness resided. In this way, their power system appeared to resemble Zoid cores rather than Gundam mobile suits. While I could use my displacement ability to recharge his right core, it would in effect cause him to be brain dead for a bit. Having been through the feeling of emptiness that death creates, I would never wish it on this android.

Thus, I asked him, "Do you have a depleted core that I can recharge? I want to test if a partially recharged core is sufficient for your needs. I do not want you to feel the discomfort of being dead, while a core is recharging. Based on your energy consumption, 1 hour of charging with my ability should be equivalent to a year and a few months of use for you. It would take 42 hours to recharge a depleted core fully."

Goliath unit 03 answers, "Yes, my lord, there are more than two hundred cores in various inner chambers. I was being impatient and rash with my desires, you have much to do before you attend to me. I also should have taken you to meet the Three Sisters before asking for this honor of recharging my core. Master Merlin said that was our first duty upon encountering you. I am sorry, I just wanted my friends and me to have a new life again. My master in life, the great knight Gawain, said I can be a bit impulsive though my deeds are noble."

The Three Sisters turned out to be a computer system, composed of three unique composite rare earth elements-silicon crystals in a sealed room within the facility. The crystals were partially submerged in a pool of cool water that was constantly pumped in and out through a complex hydraulic system. There was no visual display or user interface as personal computers of the late 20^th and early 21^st century had. However, non-visual and non-tactile interfaces were common in the original computer systems of the 1940s. Computer systems of the 1940s and 1950s were apartment-sized systems with vacuum tubes and large Bakelite electronic circuit boards that had to be continuously changed frequently due to overheating. Things such as memory and processing power were measured in double-digit bytes and hertz. Yet, the composite crystal system was far more powerful, comparable to the petabyte and terahertz supercomputers of my era with a water-cooling system. Essentially, Merlin designed a customized solid-state system with the abundant resources he had access to in Greenland.

Even this unique computer system was also running out of power due to various cores being depleted from nearly a thousand years of use. The system’s artificial intelligence program had very limited functionality as it greeted us with its audio speakers that creaked due to their rare use.

"(static, followed by a sequence of beeps and sirens) Audio check completed…Jack Hume's return to the facility has been logged. Eric Meek's presence in the facility has been logged. Access has been released to the Avalon facility. Facility authorization by current incarnations is enabled. I am attempting to disable fail-safe measures. Warning: System power is at critical levels, unable to disable fail-safe measures. Require a new core with at least 1% energy reserve to be installed. Basic operations at this facility will continue on geothermal energy until a new core is installed."

I displaced eighteen of the cores to maximize their charge at 42 hours to return a maximum charge, while two cores were displaced for one hour to give the Three Sisters’ system power to perform tasks and test if this method would help the knights extend their lifespan. I started feeling dizzy and my body felt heavy due to the exertion of displacing so many cores. I had only used my ability like this three times before with at most four cores, so I did not realize how draining this ability could be. Robert was quick to stand by my side and offered me electrolyte-enhanced water for the momentary discomfort. While the cores were displaced and I healed from the strain, we learned several details about the Avalon facility from Goliath unit 03, who I learned was called Lok, when he was still a human boy of fourteen. We exchanged our current names and the basic outline of the circumstances in the outside world.

The primary power source of the Avalon facility is geothermal, not core-based power. Merlin, using his abilities, had created two water pools for cooling and exchanging heat from a small amount of magma that was allowed to leak out from the earth. These two pools essentially made a binary cycle of geothermal energy, which was first done by Italy in 1940. This power generator configuration can produce around 300 kilowatts/hour, which is more than enough for most basic equipment and heating units in an early 20th-century city. In terms of what geothermal energy could power, it included various machinery, lab equipment, and defensive systems like the radio jammer. However, the advanced systems of the Avalon facility were powered by a core connected to the Three Sisters' computer system, these advanced functions included analyzing scans from a core, maintenance of the knights and their stasis system, fabrication of spare parts and equipment, and mining drones for raw materials. As none of those listed related to what happened at the settlement, we questioned Lok about the radiation, which killed the Viking residents sixty years ago.

While not a human being, Lok’s voice pattern did sound like a guilty teenage boy when he explained the issue, "Master Merlin enabled a security protocol to only allow either of you to enter Avalon. The door would simply reject anyone who was not either of you and one of us would be dispatched to eliminate them. However, if someone attempted to forcibly enter Avalon, then a terrible weapon would be used. Master Merlin called it a Neutron Bomb," he hesitated for a moment then continued, "I...I... was supposed to guarantee that the weapon would only be activated if enemies were trying to storm Avalon, but I wasn't doing my duty."

Gingerly, I asked him, "Why weren't you monitoring the fail-safe?"

The visor emitted a somber blue light, "I had just separated from Brin. He was my lover in life and is unit 08. He was entering death stasis like the others, and we spent the night reminiscing about our lives. It has been nearly a thousand years, and we weren't sure if you would come...we thought...I thought it was the last time I would see him."

Robert hung his head low, "I'm sorry for what I did to you all."

Lok replied quickly with an alarmed orange light from his visor, "No, Lord Robert, you have nothing to apologize for. Master Merlin saved us and gave us renewed purpose. I was just too impulsive and rash with my feelings. In my moment of weakness, I had my core shut down for a long slumber, wanting to share my lover’s death-like sleep. When I awoke due to the Three Sisters’ drones, I realized the mistake I had made, but all the humans in the nearby settlement had died and the land was poisoned. I spent the last 60 years burying the bodies and clearing the radioactive particles in the area, so it would be possible for you to journey to Avalon as Master Merlin said you would. Due to my exertion, I have used most of my core's energy reserve. In Master Merlin’s plan, one knight was supposed to preserve a decade's worth of energy to aid you in claiming a charging station. As a result of my selfish act, I cannot assist you in claiming one of the charging stations, damning my comrades if your ability was unable to recharge our cores."

After the hour passed, we installed the temporary cores into both the Three Sisters AI interface and Lok. The power inside should last for around 450 days based on their average power consumption. Upon receiving the new power core, the water around the crystals began to heat and steam rose into the air. At the same time, we installed a new core into Lok, which acted instantly as his visor began to shine in various colors.

Lok elatedly spoke, “Lord Eli, your ability has recharged the core to 2.38% of its full potential. Please assist me in reviving my other comrades. Even if you need to prioritize other cores ahead of our own, we can survive more than a year on this much power alone.”

I replied to his spirited appeal, “No, your friends and you, along with the Three Sisters’ computer system, will receive the majority of the 18 cores I have displaced for recharging. There are twelve knights like you and one computer system, so 5 cores will be surplus until I recover from my fatigue. Then, we can recharge the other cores.”

At that point the computer interface known as the Three Sisters responded with a series of distinct female voices.

The first voice spoke in a sweet and gentle tone, “Lord Eli, I am Phoebe, I was created by Merlin to safeguard lord Merlin and Omega physical health through extracted knowledge. Your fatigue requires at least 30 hours of standard physical restoration before another attempt may be made. Expedited recovery is possible with sustained rest for no less than 16 hours. Be advised, your temporal displacement ability requires phantom energy, there are unknown effects.”

The second voice added in an aloof and balanced voice, “Lord Eli, I am Luna, I was created by Merlin to ensure that you and the Omega subspecies will successfully integrate into humanity. My scan of you indicates that you and Lord Robert have had the successful birth of a male human child recently, who carried recessive Omega genes for future generations. As a template exists, I must requisition all 5 cores for the Omega conversion system. I will also require your assistance in providing genetic samples and body scans for future conversion subjects.”

The third and final voice exclaimed with a strong soulful accent, “Lord Eli, I am Seline, I was created by Merlin to provide tactical support for you and allied forces. I am initiating a geothermal bypass with our drones to prevent a manufactured fail-safe that would destroy the facility within three weeks. As Lord Robert is the current incarnation of my creator with his abilities, I require his assistance in forestalling this disaster.”

In the next few days, the rest of the Royal Marines joined us in the facility to catalog various equipment, weapon systems, and research notes that Merlin had created over his extremely long lifetime. With help from Robert, the Seline program was able to fix a hairline fracture between the artificial channel of the magma chamber and the water pools for geothermal energy. It was a flaw that Seline was instructed to create centuries ago in case I never rediscovered this facility. While everyone was working on various things, I rested and went to see Luna about being a template for the Omega conversion equipment, which needed five cores to function. While I was in that chamber, I recharged twenty depleted cores for 42 hours. That appeared to be the most I could handle at one time as I fell unconscious from that experience. It would take at least two weeks to recharge all two hundred twenty-one cores, as twelve were used to house the mechas consciousness, at my best rate. After another period of rest, I entered the Three Sisters’ computer system chamber where the original eighteen cores would reappear, alongside Lok and Robert. We replaced Lok and the computer system’s cores, so they were at full power for the first time in 60 years.

After gathering the remaining sixteen cores, we went to revive the remaining eleven knights within their death stasis chamber. All the individual inactive knights were arrayed in alcoves around the room, forming a circle. They had wide ranges of coloring in their armored humanoid bodies with various weapons in their hands, almost like the toy Gundam robots that I had always dreamed of owning. I knew they were once human beings and young kids no less. They were not my toys, but that was my first impression, so I had a desire to essentially load them up with batteries to play with. However, unlike Lok, I was able to hold back my impulsiveness and proceeded to wake them up one by one.

Starting with their leader, Goliath unit 01, whom I was told was named Gard, a sixteen-year-old boy, and was Lancelot’s page, we installed a fully charged core.

As the light returned to his visor, his head turned towards me and Robert, then to Lok.

He spoke in a deep masculine voice, “We live again, old friend!” he stood forward, then bowed on one knee to me, “I can detect both your male and female anatomical characteristics, are you the prophesized Omega, who will deliver a new future for mankind?”

I nodded, “Yes, I guess I am, but you don’t need…”

He cut me off, detached his claw arm to the floor in front of him, and began to swear an oath, “I pledge my unwavering loyalty to you, my lord, to serve you with honor, courage, and devotion. With a heart unyielding and a spirit unbroken, I shall stand as your shield, defending you from all perils that may threaten. I swear to uphold the principles of justice and chivalry and to be a beacon of righteousness in times of darkness. My sword shall be unsheathed in your name, and my arm shall strike true against those who would dare to oppose you or bring harm to our lands. In times of peace, I shall be your steadfast companion, attending to your needs and the needs of our people. I shall be a guardian of virtue, upholding the dignity and honor befitting your noble lineage. I shall be obedient to your commands, following your lead with humility. Your wisdom shall guide my actions, and your will shall be my purpose.”

I looked over at Lok, who answered the unspoken question, “Gard is far more formal than me Lord Eli, Sir Lancelot was our chief knight and instilled a greater sense of protocol amongst those who served him. As you are our destined lord, Gard believes he owes you his fealty with a formal knight’s pledge.”

Based on our first interactions, I learned Gard was a Boy Scout. He was a little stiff and formal, but something was endearing about having a seven-foot-tall robot warrior seeking my approval and pledging to do anything I wanted. As the leader of these knights, he had to hold his people together for a thousand years based on merely a promise from Merlin. That kind of dedication is extremely laudable. I had a soft spot for warrior mechas like him.

During our first meeting, I learned from Gard, why Merlin had named their mech units “Goliath”, not after the biblical giant, but the battle armor used by some elite soldiers of Mars, whom Merlin praised as warriors capable of defeating thousands alone. Gard asked me if the soldiers of Mars were fearsome knights in my era. I did not know how to explain to him about The Expanse novel and streaming series. While technically realistic for science fiction and probably the closest approximation to the Japanese Gundam mobile suit, according to some articles the writers were fans like me, my era was not even close to the point of building such battle armor. Still, there was a character that did remind me of knights like him. I told him about Bobbie Draper and her many exploits as a Martian Marine from protecting an enemy mercenary army to working as an agent for Chrisjen Avasarala, whom Gard considered a mighty Queen. Later, when he began working alongside Frances as a fellow commander, he began calling her “Gunny” as she was the leader of the Royal Marines and was an elite soldier in her own right.

The other ten knights were revived, and I learned their full ranking order and names.

Gard, unit 01, knight commander, age 16 at death, former page of Lancelot

Lucan, unit 02, Right-Lieutenant, specialized in fortification, age 15 at death, former page of Bedivere.

Lok, unit 03, Left-Lieutenant, specialized in offensive formations, age 14 at death, former page of Gawain.

Hector, unit 04, knight-upper, specialized in close-quarter combat, age 14 at death, former page of Kay

Curt, unit 05, knight-upper, specialized in escort protection, age 14 at death, former page of Ywain.

Alexander, unit 06, knight-upper, specialized in ranged combat, age 14 at death, former page of Agravain.

Michael, unit 07, knight-lower, support specialization in fortification, age 13 at death, former page of Gaheris.

Brin, unit 08, knight-lower, support specialization in offensive formations, age 13 at death, former page of Tristan.

Achilles, unit 09, knight-lower, support specialization in close-quarter combat, age 13 at death, former page of Perceval.

Ken, unit 10, knight-lower, support specialization in escort protection, age 13 at death, former page of Galahad.

Helmut, unit 11, knight-associate, support specialization in ranged combat, age 12 at death, former page of Galehaut.

Marc, unit 12, knight-associate, general support, age 12 at death, former page of Mordred.

After their awakenings and pledges of fidelity to me, including noticeably nervous pledges from Helmut and Marc, who served knights that betrayed Camelot and caused a rebellion that destroyed the fair folk kingdom. The fall of Camelot was a complex affair, but I knew for a fact that neither of these young men had betrayed their people as Merlin had rescued them for this unit. Marc was very shy and asked Gard to speak on his behalf.

In contrast to the nervousness of Marc, Brin was unabashed with sensitive topics.

Brin softly knelt before me and spoke, “Lord Eli, I am not sure if you are aware. Since we are machines and cannot engage in pleasurable acts, Master Merlin created a means for us to copulate with the use of energy to link our consciousness cores. Due to our lack of a recharge station in the past, Commander Gard had banned us from engaging in the act. As your ability eliminates the need for a recharge station, will you lift that ban now?”

The room fell silent upon Brin’s brazen question. Looks flipped between Brin and Lok, like the two of them had grown new heads. As many of the knights were lovers from their time as pages serving in the fair folk kingdom, all of them would want to ask me what Brin did. Brin was as impulsive as his lover, Lok; they were a couple with similar personality traits. However, there was nothing wrong with what Brin was requesting with some limits. As soldiers in the Royal Army were allowed to have their “play time” with alcohol, certain recreational drugs, and prostitutes outside military campaigns, I can’t deny the same right to these guys. Unlike the moralistic military rules that got promoted in my world in later centuries, the classical allowances and obligations for soldiers were simpler.

I cleared my voice, “I will lift the ban, but you will have to follow the same military rules as the Royal Army. You may enjoy this recreation, but you have obligations just as your former masters had as knights under Arthur. For now, enjoy yourselves and celebrate your reunions with lovers.”

A roar of cheers came from all the mech warriors, “May the last be the first!”

I left the death stasis chamber to allow the second knights of the Round Table to release some pent-up stress. I had five more cores to deliver to the Omega conversion chamber. Another human being was already in the chamber when I arrived for the core installation. As the royal marines had jobs assigned to catalog the material and Robert was busy redirecting the magma flow to create another binary cycle pool for geothermal energy generation, there was only one person from my retinue who could be here.

“Takechiyo, why are you in this room?” I asked the Japanese boy, who was staring at the Omega conversion equipment.

He turned to me and hung his head low, then spoke to me in Japanese, “I wish to be like you, my lord. I wish to reclaim my honor.”

I shook my head, “Takechiyo, I know your life has been hard and I do want to help you reclaim your homeland and honor. I can promise you that one day you will be remembered as a great lord with many wives, lovers, and children.”

Takechiyo sighed deeply and undid the belt holding his pants up, pulling it and his underwear to reveal something I had not been privileged to know. In addition to being sold into slavery, Matsudeira Takechiyo had also been castrated. The possibility of Takechiyo becoming the same powerful shogun as my history was impossible as he was.

Tears began to flow freely from his eyes as he stood there partially nude in front of me, “I am not a man, nor a woman. Even with your aid, I cannot reclaim my noble title or lands without progeny. I need a body free of this dishonor. I have spoken to the three goddesses of this cave; they can understand and speak my language just like you. The goddess of health stated she could not assist me since I was not a Yosei or similar to you.”

Considering his situation, I asked one of the drones that was controlled by Luna for installing the five cores, “Is it possible for this equipment to repair Takechiyo’s body? If not, can he be converted into an Omega and have his reproductive functions repaired?”

A blue light covered Takechiyo, and then the computer program Luna spoke, “Medical function of physical repairs is not the goal of my programming. However, an Omega conversion will meet the goals of this individual to repair reproductive capabilities. Matsudaira Takechiyo’s compatibility shall be analyzed with the three required conditions. The requirement of the male Y chromosome in genetic makeup has been met. The requirement of the genetic sequence for sexual orientation variance development has been met. The requirement of a genetic memory modification marker with 50% or greater expression has been met. His body can be converted, and reproductive organs repaired. Will you permit the procedure?”

Phoebe’s medical assistance is limited to Robert as Merlin’s current incarnation and Omegas due to how Merlin programs her, while Luna’s assistance comes with a catch. While it was unfair to discriminate, I can understand why Merlin limited the functionality of his equipment to only certain individuals. One of the issues that the former Camelot kingdom had was the open-source nature of technological miracles, the same technology was in turn used against the nation and people that developed it.

Over the years, I learned many truths about fair folk society. The remaining people of Camelot, who became the fair folk, were genetically modified by Merlin and their belief systems were influenced to be less prone to rebellious actions. They maintained genealogical records on all individuals to track lineage and offer connection to their group. While there were aberrant individuals within fair folk society, such as the serial killer Caliban, those individuals held less than 50% genetic modification for specialized knowledge abilities. Merlin set a higher standard to be considered a fair folk.

I knew Jack had dreamed of an open-source society like many other kids of our generation, who were raised in a world of open social interaction. I was far less idealistic than my partner about such things because even in our time, we were already seeing the breakdown of open-source idealism due to innate human interests, ideologies, and hubris. There is no true freedom in an open society if the information and realities are distorted for directed purposes. In the end, offering new technologies to the world brought far more mistrust and death. With context, Merlin’s limits would be appropriate after seeing his dream fall apart at Camelot.

“Takechiyo, do you want this? You will be able to have children with women, of course. However, my biology is optimized for male partners. Though Japan has a history of male lovers, accepting a daimyo with children from both sexes will still be a difficult challenge,” I told him.

He smiled, “Having more options and progeny would be wonderful, lord Eli. There is no doubt in my mind, my decision has been made.”

That was how Takechiyo became the first converted Omega.