Chapter 3A Preparing For Counter Attack |The Mind Driver Helmet|

IF WE ARE EVER GOING TO FIGHT BACK,
AT LEAST, WE HAVE TO COME PREPARED.
NOW OR NEVER, DON'T BE A SLACK.
THERE ISN'T ANY TIME FOR QUIVERED.

Date: 15 March 2130; 03.00 AM
Population: 11,562

Leonard arrived at Gerald's van and came inside, "Hey!"
"Hey!" before continuing, he sighed, "Keep it together. Okay, pal. We can get through this tough time."
"Yeah, I know"
Then, Leonard got the rotary phone at the back of the Van and dialed Makori's Motorola MicroTAC.

"Hey, Makori. This is me, Leonard."
From the telephone, Makori responded, "Hi, Leonard. What's up?"
"Can you build one of those that disable robots for sector 30?" Leonard asked while walking closer to Gerald, "There was a robot outbreak two hours ago."
"Sure..." then Makori realized something, "Sector... 30?" He hesitated to ask, but then he did it anyway, "Is Larry and his squad... Okay?"
Leonard didn't respond. With heartbreak, Makori said, "I'm... sorry for your loss, Leonard."
"I'll be okay, Makori."
"You are tough, Leonard. I know you'll get through this. Is Gerald with you?"
Gerald heard that and, without hesitation, grabbed the phone and said, "I don't need your pity. Just get yo ass here and help block the place."
Makori was startled a bit when Gerald responded but he responded, "I know. I'll be there."

03.15 AM
Makori arrived at Gerald's van and came inside, "Hey guys, sorry I...", he was surprised to see someone he knew, "Linda? What are you doing here?"
"Just visiting Gerald and then stayed a little bit after he told me what happened to Larry."

Linda Hildaberg, a 40-year-old lady who lost all of her body and a patient of Makori's parents 6 years ago. She got into a massive accident that led to the loss of her body and left with just her head, and the doctor couldn't help her. That's where Makori and his family help her. They created a body complete with a heart, lungs, and every organ, even nerves, to help Linda get back to being herself again. This was the first time Makori had ever seen a functional mechanical body that operated with a human brain.

Leonard heard their conversation and said, "No time to waste, Makori. Come on, we need to build that thing."
Linda touched Makori's right shoulder and said, "Welp, time to go back, see you guys."
As Linda exited Gerald's van, Leonard saw the gems that Makori harvested, "What is that, Gems Projector?"
Makori raised his hand and showed the gems, "Ah, yeah. I don't know why this is attached to a Biskit Robot that I was getting attacked 3 hours ago."
The statement shocked both Gerald and Leonard. Leonard responded, "Seems like you doing fine."
"Yeah, I beat their ass," Makori looked around and then asked, "Can I use your Projection Box, Gerald?"
Gerald said, "Yeah, sure, whatever. It's in the cupboard above the sink."

Makori brought it down and placed it on the table just behind Gerald's workspace.
"Thanks. I promise I'll work on the thing after seeing what this is all about."

Like any kind of gem, Gem Projector isn't actually a gem. It's just a chunk of transparent metal that is coded, and the color will change to red once that metal has readable data. To use the gems, the gems will be put inside the Projection Box. Once the gem is put into it, a hologram will emit on top and show what's inside the gem.

"Hmm, this... This looks like a gadget", Makori said, "it looks like something I've seen before."
Gerald grasped Makori's hand with his mechanical arm and said, "No, you are not getting away and building this thing until..."
Makori got the gem back and tried to escape Gerald's hold, "Gerald, I swear, I will. But please, this is who I am."
Leonard responded, "Then give us the blueprint of the thing."
With utmost enthusiasm, Makori pulled a blueprint out of his lab coat and gave it to Leonard, "Here, you two know how to build it now." Gerald loosened his grip, and Makori dashed toward the exit and left, "Sorry, Gerald, Leonard. I will be back as soon as I finish this build. This thing will be a great addition to defend the Center Hall. I swear District 7 will be back to its former glory, and then we can send this to other districts and help them too."

Gerald and Leonard watched Makori running through the window and Gerald said, "Are we really trusting him to do this operation?"
Leonard answered, "If he didn't pay for his sin, then who will? Besides, for 5 years, he has taught us engineering and coding. If it wasn't for him, we won't survive for goddamn minutes."
Gerald responded, "I hope you're right, Leonard because I'm still not convinced."

06.00 AM
Meanwhile, at the Center Hall, people have woken up one by one.
Hailey, who sat in the corner, was approached by a man. He said, "Hey, miss. I haven't seen you around. Are you new here?"
Hailey responded, "Yeah, I just got here this midnight."
"Oh, welcome to Center Hall, then. Please treat this place like home."
"Ah, thank you. I will."
"So, what's your name?"
"My name is Hailey, Hailey Bagger. This is my daughter, Helen Bagger."
"Hope you have a good day, Miss Bagger. I'm Collen Leidger, I'm kind of a leader in this place, so if you want something, you can ask me."

Survivors around just did their daily activities until there was a shout in front of the hall, "Hey guys! Guess what? I have a new blueprint. As appreciation for giving me a chance to correct my mistake, I want to invite you all to build this thing."
People inside the Center Hall cheered except for Hailey.
As Makori and the others built the machine, Helen woke up, and Hailey squared to be on the same level as her daughter and asked, "How are you night, sweety?"
Helen didn't answer. Instead, she looked down on her clothes.
Hailey noticed it and asked, "Need a toilet break?"
Helen once again went silent, but she responded with a nod. Seeing Helen respond, Hailey carried her daughter and brought her to the bathroom

After a while, the gadget that Makori and others worked on was finished.
It was some kind of helmet that looked very futuristic and scary, at least according to Hailey, when both she and Helen got back to the crowd.
"Okay, people, here it is. The Mind Driver Helm. This device used to be a device to let you control a character in a game. Basically, it's like an AR helmet. BUT! Before I went here, I designed it and upgraded it to be able to control nearby electronics, including robots. So, I want to share with you how it worked. Who wants to be a volunteer?"

Without hesitation, Collen raised his hand and said, "I'll volunteer. I'm the leader after all."
"Thanks Collen. You may sit down here."
Collen sat down and wore the helmet, and then Makori said, "To prove me right, I connected this device to a Projection Box."
A Hologram emitted and showed a perspective of someone looking at the crowd; everyone was in awe, and Makori said, "That looks like a POV. Is it... connected to someone?"
Before it continued further, Collen wore off the helmet. He said, "Ughh, my head hurt. It felt like my body shrank."
"YOOUU," a shout from afar heard by everyone and made them look to someone. Someone that is very mad.

*SLAP*
"HOW DARE YOU!" it was Hailey, and she rushed to Makori to slap him.
"I thought you didn't want to involve me and my daughter in any of your things. Then why? WHY DID THAT MACHINE JUST SHOW MY DAUGHTER VISION?"
Everyone was shocked, including Makori. He was about to apologize, but Hailey stopped him and said, "NO! I don't want your apologies. My daughter and I will leave now, thanks for your service, and goodbye!"