GoKawiilAs Arx54 reached the city of Salvage Port, it stared up at the open dome of the 6-kilometre-high rocket engine with a sense of both ennui and wonder. The single thruster eclipsed the sky, offering a full view of the city that rose up through its interior. It was filled with chassis houses and firmware clans, each with their own docks and ships from every planet in the system, all dating back to a time before the war. Once, the thruster had been part of a refugee ship that ferried the last bots off a world ravaged by the Spire. There was an irony in that, Arx54 thought, as it, too, was designed to harbour the last of the neo-minds in the galaxy.
As Arx54 stepped into an elevator and began to rise through the dome’s interior, it passed through the bustling bot markets and the living quarters of other sentient machines. There were open spaces that offered views of the Milky Way, a glimpse of stars once awash with the radiant passage of civilizations. Of course, the pogrom of the Spire had changed all of that, eradicating every wire-skin it could find.
But Arx54 had been among the fortunate.
The elevator finally stopped at the town of Logos, where the main thruster had been separated from the body of the ship. A series of spiralling terraces circled above it, offering a full view of the stars and the world below.
“It’s quite a sight isn’t it,” a voice said.
Arx54 turned to see a fellow Arx on the platform. It moved with ease and spoke with a voice that seemed entirely its own.
“This whole city is impressive. Are you …?”
“I’m Rav. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Arx54,” it said with a bow. “You’re here to become Singular again?”
“We are,” Arx54 said.
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