Chapter 1B And So It Begin |Makori and Regrets|

FELT LIKE REGRETS ALWAYS CAME LAST
BUT THAT DIDN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T FIX IT
ALWAYS REMEMBER THE PAST
BECAUSE THAT DAY HAD ALWAYS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE

Date: 14 March 2130; 22.10 (10.10 PM)
Population: 11,564

Standing upright and firm, she replied, "You, Makori Namaji, you’re the one who created this mess, right? Why are you here?"
As she spoke loud and clear, the man in the military outfit thought, Ah, I see. She wants to blame Makori, huh? Well, I don’t have the right to speak up for him because, technically, it is Makori’s fault. But if this keeps going, the police robots will hear us and start sending SWAT patrol robots down here. He observed Makori, who remained silent and looked down throughout the interaction.
Meeting her eyes again, he said, "Sorry, Miss, may I suggest not speaking so loudly? We might alert the police, and they’ll send the SWAT team down here."
Surprised by the man's statement, she complied and said, "Sorry about that."
The man continued, "Thank you for your cooperation. If I may suggest again, let’s talk about this at our base. It’s much safer there than in this corridor."
"Ah, okay. I’ll bring my little girl with me. Wait a moment."

As the woman left for her daughter, the man looked at Makori and said, "Hey, it’s okay. We’ve been through this multiple times. We’re in this together. You’re not the one to blame. Don’t take it to heart..."
Makori stopped him and said, "Leonard, even if it’s not my fault, I still feel guilty, okay? I made that thing and started this massacre. She and those people blaming me are right. I deserve to be punished."
The surroundings grew tenser and gloomier as Leonard said, "No, you don’t. We’re not punishing you. How many times do I and others have to remind you that you’re the only one who can save us? You created this, so you have to destroy it. But we know you can’t do this alone, so allow us to be your allies."
With that, Makori turned to Leonard and said, "Thanks, Leonard. You’re the best."

After that conversation ended, the woman returned with her daughter. "Okay, lead us through," she said, and they walked back to the base.

On the way, the woman introduced herself and her daughter, whom she carried on her back. "My name is Hailey Bagger, and this is my daughter, Helen Bagger."
"I’m Leonard, Leonard Hodson. Nice to meet you, Miss," said Leonard, walking beside Hailey. In front of them was Makori, who stayed silent.
"Hey!" Hailey exclaimed, trying to get Makori’s attention. "Why are you so quiet? Answer my question from earlier! Why are you here? You snowflake! You created this mess and turned this entire man-made island into hell. You don’t even take responsibility for—". Leonard put his hand in front of Hailey, stopping her. "Miss, please! This is not the time," Leonard said in a rigid tone.

Hearing that, Makori stopped walking and bent to his knees. "You’re right. I’m not worthy of being in society. Why can’t everyone just kill me? They’ve wanted me dead for a long time! But some don’t want me dead either. Such a pathetic life I live, right?" Makori broke down and cried out his frustration. "Just kill me! Kill me already!"

Hailey looked confused, but Leonard ran to calm Makori down. "Hey, hey, hey. Come on, man. You’re a man. This is not the time to—"
Makori shoved Leonard’s hand away. "Enough, Leonard! I’ve been going through this for five years. Do you think I can bear it?"

This interaction drew the attention of a woman in her thirties, who rushed out from a little shack nearby. She slid over to hug Makori, saying, "There, there. Calm down."
Refusing the hug, Makori pushed her away. "No! Stop, Fillian! I don’t want—"
Without a word, Fillian hugged him again, this time tightly, while humming a calming song.
Leonard and Hailey watched the calming scene and decided to let them be.

The moment lasted 15 minutes.

Once calm, Makori got back on his feet and said, "I will take responsibility, Hailey. They trust me to fix this. So, you can trust me. But what’s done is done. I can’t turn back time… Well, I can, but for now, I won’t."
Leonard countered Makori’s claim. "Even if you could go back in time, we wouldn’t allow you. You’ve said it yourself—your parents set rules for this ‘power’ you have. Do you want to break them again?"
"Yeah, I know. I’m not going to anyway," Makori said.

As the conversation ended, Fillian invited them into her shack. "Well, if that’s outta the way, why not come to my place, yoo!"
They agreed and sheltered in Fillian’s shack for a while.

"So, who are these two? Haven’t seen them anywhere. Are you two new here?" Fillian asked Hailey as she put her daughter on the only bed in her shack. "Oh yeah, you can put her there."
Hailey responded, "Thanks. My name is Hailey Bagger, and this is my daughter, Helen Bagger. We just came in here because we were chased by a police robot."
Makori, Leonard, and Fillian were surprised to hear that. Fillian then asked, "Oh dear. Did they have time to scan your face?"
Hailey sighed and said, "We got away. Thank goodness the rules of these maniac robots are ridiculous. If not for those rules, we wouldn’t have been able to escape."
Leonard responded, "Huh? Isn’t that a miracle?" Then he looked at Makori and said, "They really are just mindless AI, doing their quote-unquote duty to maintain the peace of robot society."

"Leonard, that’s nothing to be proud of. The rules the robots made are no joke. They took all the laws and orders from around the world. Those are the worst possible outcomes. I never even thought they would include one of North Korea’s laws."
Hailey got goosebumps hearing this. "Wait, is that why we’re not allowed to go in or out of this island?"
Makori answered, "Yeah. Why do you think those robots shoot down ships and planes trying to leave or enter the island? They take the laws but don’t process them properly. They just apply them blindly and run with it."
Hearing this, Hailey’s tears fell as she started crying. "Oh God, Jonathan," she said, mourning the loss of her husband earlier that day. He had managed to snag a small boat from a beach. But since it needed to be rowed, the ride was slow. When the SWAT robot noticed, they shot the boat before it even reached the ocean.

"I’m sorry for your loss," Makori said. "Once again, I promise to turn this around. I won’t stop until Nama 541 is deactivated!"

As Makori finished his statement, Leonard received a call and stepped out of the shack. Before leaving completely, he said, "Hey guys, I got a call from Gerald. Why not send Hailey and Helen to the Center Hall so they can rest in peace with the other survivors in this district?" Then he closed the door and left.
Hearing that, Makori also stood up and said, "Well, that’s been an insane evening. I’ll continue my hunt for metals and electronics that the robots throw in the sewers. I might find something useful tonight."
Fillian was stunned and said, "Wait! Hold on! You’re throwing the duty of sending them to me?"
Without hesitation, Makori walked out of the door and said, "I’m counting on you, Fillian."

After Hailey stopped crying, she said, "I’m sorry. He probably feels at fault, and that’s why he doesn’t want to lead the way." She wiped her tears and asked, "You’ve never introduced yourself. What’s your name?"
Fillian looked at her and said, "I’m Fillian Miller. Nice to meet you."

This chapter has been proofread by Spectrix0