The Shadow Over Costa Del Sol (Open)

[Demetri Malius]

As Demetri silently walked the streets and the sun began to set, leaving red streaks across the sky, his thoughts constantly wandered to the image of Nealaphh teaching the girl how to summon items with Omnilium, as well as the dataverse device that he used to project the images of the machines he was looking for. Demetri began to wonder if perhaps he could summon a companion to aid him in his observations and quests, and certainly another pair of eyes would be helpful. His footsteps came to a halt as the sun’s dying light disappeared across the sky, leaving nothing but darkness overhead. The calm breeze grazed the dark alleyway, softly caressing Demetri’s face as he stared at the dirty floor in thought. His eyes stood still as he recalled anything that could help him visualize what he wanted in a companion. His ally would need to be strategic and intelligent, and well fit to accompany him and keep up with his speed and stealth. He remembered peculiar metals and devices at the mechanist shop, and all the different unfinished and broken machines that were laid across the floor and shelves, although he didn't pay enough attention to remember much details. If he could indeed summon an ally, it may be in his best interest to summon a living machine that could support him. He subconsciously walked by a dented dumpster, leaning his back on the brick wall of the building it belonged to before sliding down to a seating position. The stench of rotting food and urine reached his nostrils, but he paid no attention. He needed to focus, there was no room for error or distractions. The machine would have to be small, yet mobile. If it could somehow levitate, it would most likely be sufficient enough to move beside him but he also needed it to not attract too much attention. Perhaps if it was a sphere, each immediate necessary part could reach out and retract, allowing it to function at all times yet be able to retreat into itself for defense or stealth movement. Demetri then held his hand out. Perhaps...

As he focused his energy a small orb began to form. Demetri closed his eyes and let out a deep breath willing the machine to form and to be born into this world. He visualized each piece, trying to complete technology far ahead of his home world age. He struggled to make sense of it, hoping that his will alone was enough to create such a machine. Soon he began to feel a presence, and slowly he opened his eyes. A silver plated mechanism floated centimeters above his hand, it reminded him of the steel weapons and armor that warriors used in his home world, the sturdiest and most durable metals used in battle. Small puffs team erupted from small crevasses between the plates, where it could be seen that it hid a retractable mechanism within. It then began to speak.

Powering on.... calibrating gyroscope and gps locator...connecting to the dataverse... searching for artificial intelligence... decrypting personality... initiating protocols… downloading bounty and news updates... booting up... successful.

Steam then poured out from the machine, the heat warming his hand as the mechanism expanded, hissing while the front plates shifted and opened, revealing a camera-like glass and a small blue light that flickered and darted from side to side, which Demetri assumed to be its eye. Mechanical whirrs echoed in the alleyway as two small metal arms came out from its sides towards its bottom, with small plates located at each of its joints for protection. At the end of each arm was a clawlike hand, complete with three sharp metal fingers, and a small rubber bump on its palm. Another two devices prodded out from its side on the top. The top devices were plated on top as well and lasers beamed from each side with what seemed like some kind of ranged shooting device. The eye began to emit a blue ray at Demetri, as if it was analyzing him.

Scanning... no threat detected. Current affiliate is known creator. Thanks is given. Logging biometric details into database for future reference and recognition. Registering... complete. Boot complete. Completing setup....Intelligent Robotic Infiltration Strategist IRIS variant initiated. Starting personality program.

Each part then squeaked as it seemed to stretch itself, almost as if it awoke from a deep slumber. Suddenly the weapons retracted into the machine and its blue eye flickered before the machine began to speak.

"Ugh... starting up is such a tiring process,” the robot paused for a moment as the blue light darted around for a moment before focusing on Demetri. “Ah, hello there, creator. I am IRIS. Intelligent Robotic Infiltration Strategist variant of omniverse technology...or at least that's what my programming says. Nice to meet ya!" The machine seemed surprisingly human, almost as if it wasn’t a robot at all. Perhaps Demetri did better than he expected.

The machine floated upwards and back up from Demetri, allowing him to rise from his position, while it surveyed its surroundings. Demetri was still shocked by his creation, and examined the machine, moving his head to see it from different angles.

"According to my gps, we are in the Vasty Deep, Costa del Sol to be exact. I can retrieve some information from the dataverse on this location if you… why are you staring at me like that.” the bot questioned Demetri, although its tone was more accusative and questioning. However, the informant ignored him, continuing to examine the machine, and proceeded to poke it, still not believing it was completely real.

"HEY! Stop it! I thought i was summoned to help you spy on stuff! Not to be your "hands-on" robot you pervert!”

The robot spoke in a semi-serious tone,and Demetri stopped and finally acknowledged its voice. He blinked a few times, realizing that he had actually summoned a mechanical companion, and that perhaps he could do more.

"Oh, I apologize. I just can't believe I was able to summon a machine as mechanically calibrated and functional as you..." Demetri spoke in awe.

The robot waved a hand at him, and a small hiccup of metal clanking was audible from within it. Was it perhaps laughing or giggling at him? "Well thanks for the compliment, to be fair I did get a teeny-weeny bit of help from the dataverse, as you managed to at least give me a a mobile dataverse integration." The bot shook up and down, almost nodding to him. "That means that you can use me as a mobile dataverse device, and it helps me with figuring out what the heck you want me to do. Which brings me to my point. What the heck are ARE we doing anyway?"