? Sols

Bothered by his dry mouth, 1441 opened his eyes just for a massive headache to hit him right as he was trying to confirm his surroundings.

He soon understood where he was, he understood how he got here, and he remembered why he fell to the ground.

"Ray? Soj?"

Only this time, unlike before, he was all alone. It took him a bit of time to understand this. The lonely traveler was truly alone once more.

A click of his tongue was the last sound he made before getting up. His body felt weakened, and he soon understood that the only thing keeping him alive was the motor in his heart.

How long had he been sleeping there? He did not know. There was only one thing on his mind.

"Both of them? Really? They just left like that?"

Kicking up the Martian dust was his way of showing how displeased he was with the sudden twist.

Somehow, he found it ironic. Looking back at his encounters, he never welcomed someone in his life with ease. Ever since leaving the lab, he had prepared himself for a life of solitude. The planet should have been the only witness to his actions from that moment until the end of his life. Yet there he was, thinking about his travel partners. He hated the cruel irony of this world.

"Things never go as you plan them. That's just your hopeful thinking; trouble always finds its way. He said as he took in the bare minimum nutrients necessary for his body.

"But that robot would never leave in silence. I know that much."

Even betrayed as he was, 1441 did not lose his trust in Soj, so he started looking for clues as soon as his body recovered. First he tried to find out how much time had passed, yet to no avail. When he ran out of daylight, he decided to climb up the mountain. If he knew one thing for sure, it was that Soj was dead set on going up for whatever reason.

That was when he kicked a small, shining device by mistake. Unaware of what it could be, he picked it up and listened to it playing a recording.

Seems you don't plan on waking up any time soon, so I took the liberty of checking out some things and leaving you a message. I doubt we will see each other again, but I figured you should know where your robot friend went and who you will have to deal with soon enough. Also, I am sure you are just sitting there with a dumb face, slouching right now. Is that what you should be doing right now?. Those goals aren't making their way to you themselves. Idiot."

1441 laughed. "Ray, you bastard. Running away like that but still making time to act smart."

...

"Teacher, the robot is done. Anything else you need today? If not, I will head back. I'm not a fan of wasting time in this creepy room." The lady said as she fixed her glasses.

"Tell me, 555, do you believe in God?"

"Couldn't care less." That was the only answer the lady left as she headed for the exit.

"I see. You learned so much from me, yet this alone I could not teach you."

That was how we spent our days. He kept going on about how that robot would be the key to "waking God up." I never understood what that meant, yet somehow, Soj landed in your hands. I guess whatever plans he had for it must have failed miserably.

At first I started learning from him because he was renowned as the best. I was just a lady thrown on an unknown planet with no memories of my past life. As luck would have it, I was pretty important back on earth, so I was given priority when I tried to find out about my past. Once I started learning from him, it felt like I was opening an old drawer. Everything was still there; I just had to put in a little effort to remember it.

It didn't take long for me to close in on his level, but standing by teacher's side all the time made me understand something was wrong with him. He kept talking nonsense about how a certain "God of Humanity" would come and save us all. I decided to ignore it. It was none of my business until he completely went crazy.

"That's it! Hate me! Scream! You can take it!"

I found him torturing a group of people. He was beating one up and starving another. Another one had his death faked and was forced to watch on a screen as his lover was starting a new life without him. Some others were forcefully fed medicine that would boost and then lower certain hormones.

I instantly stepped in and confronted him.

"There is nothing for you to do here! Go back and live your life as if nothing happened!!"

I refused to do as he said, and I freed his prisoners. Instead of stopping me, he just stayed there and screamed.

"No! You were not supposed to do any of this! You were perfect! You have no idea how much it took me to search for the perfect sloth subject.

That's when I finally understood his goals. He was creating sinners. All of his subjects were eventually forced to commit every sin known to man. That was his way of "awakening God." Whatever that means.

I guess I was temporarily spared because of the nature of sloth. He couldn't force anything on me too soon. Still, I can't shake the feeling that he was searching for someone specific.

So... I fled from there instantly and never looked back. I never want to have anything to do with that man, but one thing is clear. I saw Soj going to that guy. I don't know if anything happened between you and the little guy, but him using some sort of command to get the robot back seems way more plausible than you two having a fight. Or maybe he just blackmailed the robot?

Either way, you are on your own with this one. Be careful. That man is crazy, and I don't know what kind of "sinners" he gathered around him. In those times, can we even call anyone free of sin?

That's all from me. You better be grateful I saved your ass again. Now go and find that guy. He is leading a big group, so it should be hard to miss. Oh, and good luck! If we ever meet again until the last day comes, you better be next to that robot gazing at the sky or whatever you like to do in your spare time.

By the way, about all those experiments I did on you. I have nothing. Your body is clearly way above the rest; you just refuse to use it. I have a lot more things to study, so I may never give you an answer on who you truly are. Too bad. Not like you need an answer since we are all going to die in what? 120 sols? Better focus on No. 2. See ya! Maybe.

The message ended, and 1441 was now stuck with more questions than answers, but one thing stuck out the most.

"Wait..."

The one thing he couldn't let go regarding his new target was his identity.

"DID YOU SAY NUMBER 2?!"