Come Dance in Muràn

As soon as my systems rebooted, I realized we were inside one of the structures. The walls, the air, and the floor were a glossy black.

An alarm blared through the structure, a metallic echo bouncing off the smooth surfaces. Neon lights, changing color intermittently between white and red, were placed on the corners, dividing the surfaces.

... Unfortunately, I realized right away that the 0 Liwan had suffered severe damage. There was no trace of the windows and the body had lost its shape...

I tried to turn on the central panel and start the engine. But to no avail...

I was sorry to lose such a faithful companion. It had protected us and accompanied us so far. It was a miracle that it hadn't disintegrated after everything it had been through. We owed it a lot.

Beatrice and Punch were lying unconscious. I checked their vitals, they were stable, no apparent damage.

A relief in the midst of this chaos.

I took a moment to gently stroke Beatrice's soft cheek. She was alive, and that was enough for me to find some strength... But I couldn't stay like this forever, there was a risk that some warm suits were coming here.

I tried to undo my seatbelt, but it was jammed. I tore it off easily, then did the same with Beatrice's and Punch's. As soon as I freed them, they woke up and looked around.

Beatrice rubbed her head and looked at me confused. «Where are we?»

Punch was immediately perky. «It looks like we've made it inside!»

«There's no time for explanations. Let's grab our weapons and get out of here.»

As soon as we got off the carcass of the 0 Liwan, I noticed a hole not far away. I approached it, curious. It was full of water, and below, I saw other lights dimly illuminating a room with a huge hole in one wall.

«Pierrot, don't get distracted!»

As soon as I turned to her, I noticed she was holding the plaser sword from the red suit. «Take a weapon that doesn't use plaser.»

«Why?» she retorted, annoyed.

«Because the blade reaches high temperatures. Without an army suit, you risk burning yourself just by activating it.»

«But I didn't get burned when it injured me!»

«Don't lie…» She looked away. «I saw what happened to you when it cut off your arm. The area around the cut was severely burned.»

«So what?! I'm fine now, aren't I? You and Dango fought against them!»

«I'm thermally protected. Dango was careful to approach the area and stay there as little as possible to avoid getting burned.»

«What about Punch?! He wielded it!»

«I don't know how it works!»

«Sorry to bother you.»

We both turned towards Punch, shouting. «What?!»

He shrank back guiltily at our reaction. «I just wanted to tell you, I hear footsteps approaching.»

Beatrice and I turned immediately towards the sound. There was no time. She threw me the sword with an angry gesture and, from the trunk of the vehicle, took a pair of gauntlets, a dagger, and a short sword. I grabbed a longsword.

Even though we didn't know where we were, we started running in the opposite direction. We moved silently through long, wide corridors.

Punch, despite his limp, managed to keep up. Beatrice was behind us, walking stiffly, trying to keep a stealthy pace.

«Which way?» Punch whispered.

«I don't know. Let's try this way.»

We came to a junction where the corridor divided into three directions. At each fork, the neon lights were all white, there was nothing to indicate a section or a path to follow. It felt like being in a maze.

Every now and then, we heard a distant hum, the sound of machinery in motion, but we didn't see anyone. It was unsettling, as if the entire structure was watching us.

After a series of turns, we arrived in a huge open space, with suspended walkways crossing the void.

Below us, we saw an intricate network of conveyor belts transporting androids, robots, vehicles, mask phones, and other electronic objects. Some seemed broken and others with missing parts. It must have been a maintenance or scrapping area.

Every step we took on the walkways echoed with a long, disturbing sound.

«Be careful where you step.» I said, looking at the walkway floor. Some points seemed more fragile.

«Thanks for the warning.» Punch muttered sarcastically, as he gripped the handrail with both hands.

We crossed cautiously, careful not to make any noise. Halfway across, we heard a low, continuous sound approaching. I stopped suddenly and raised a hand to signal us to stop. Beatrice crouched, her muscles tense, ready to react.

From the far end of the large space, we saw a light moving slowly towards us. It was a surveillance drone, a shiny black sphere with a grid of pulsating red lights.

«What do we do?» whispers Punch.

I looked around, looking for a solution, but there was only one feasible one in this situation. «Jump to the walkway below.» I whispered. «If we stay here, it will detect us.»

«Are you crazy? You might slip and fall!» whispers Beatrice animatedly.

«What other options do we have?»

We remained motionless, holding our breath as the drone approached, the red lights pulsating faster and faster, as if it had detected something, Beatrice glared at me, gripping her sword, ready to draw it, the drone was now only a few meters away from us.

I'm tired of your bickering like lovers. Make way!» Punch pushed us aside and jumped down, we both leaned over immediately. Incredibly, he made it. We looked at the drone, then at each other, with a nod we jumped too, I landed on the walkway, my knees bent to cushion the impact, the metal rang beneath me, Beatrice misjudged it, hit the railing, fell...

Punch grabbed her, I hurried to help him pull her up.

«Are you all right?» I asked, putting my hands on her shoulders. Anxious, I checked that she had no injuries. Beatrice took my hands, and then removed them with a smile. «Don't worry, I'm fine. Let's go.»

Reassured, we started moving again.

After passing the area, we found ourselves in a narrower corridor. We stopped at a corner to check the road. We heard footsteps approaching. We tried to look down the opposite road, but the situation was the same. Even if we wanted to go back, it was impossible.

We were surrounded. There was no escape.

«There's a door here!»

I turned to Punch. He was trying to open a door without a handle by sliding his hands over it and scratching it with his nails.

«Well done, Punch!» Beatrice whispered. «But how do we get in?»

I approached it. Placing my hand on it, I understood where the electrical energy was channeled to unlock it. As soon as I touched the exact spot, a holographic keyboard and a biometric scanner appeared. I tried to bypass it, but the system was too sophisticated. Every attempt failed, and the footsteps were getting closer.

«We can't waste any more time!» Beatrice said, looking nervously at the corridors.

«Give me a second.» I said, trying one last time. An impulse ran through my system, I managed to partially decode the mechanism, the door opened, we entered without hesitation, the door closed behind us.

The room was immense, with walls made of luminous panels. Various cables and tubes were connected to them, through which information could be seen moving. Each panel emitted a constant hum, and the air was charged with static electricity. It was beautiful. It was like observing the electrical impulses of neurons in the nervous system.

«This must be the server room.»

«Is this a good thing?» Punch asked confused.

«Yes. It's like the central heart of the structure. From here it will be easier to download the map of the place.»

«If it's such an important place, let's move and get out of here.» Beatrice said, determined.

We walked and walked, looking around, until we reached the center, where the cables converged. A pedestal of blue lights stood before us.

Approaching it, we found something strange. There was a black head embedded in it. The facial features seemed caricatured: a large nose, large lips, pronounced cheekbones, sunken eyes.

«Who are you?» Suddenly, the head spoke in a voice that seemed to be choked.

I took a step forward. Beatrice grabbed my arm. «Wait! We don't know if it's dangerous..»

«Don't worry, it doesn't seem hostile.»

Hesitantly, she let go of me. I took another step towards the head. «I'm Pierrot, an android, and they're Beatrice and Punch, mutants. Who are you?»

«I am Mamuthones, the first android. How can I be of service?»

I turned to Beatrice. «See? It's not hostile.»

«Be careful anyway.» she said with a worried look.

With a nod, I turned back to Mamuthones. «We're lost, we need a map to find something. Could you help us?»

«I'd be more than happy to provide you with what you need. But on one condition.»

«What would that be?»