Hvisland: A VR Colony Sim Game

During the day, my colonists took a break from their work. Kat sat leaning against a large tree while Miro's head lay on her thigh. Miro looked asleep, and Kat folded her arms across her chest, still expressionless. Meanwhile, Rex lay next to his master.

"Do you think they make a good match as a couple?" Tom, who was sitting some distance away, asked Manu who was sitting next to him.

Manu shrugged. "I don't know. But I don't think Kat is the type to want to be in a relationship."

The horses neighed. The ground where my colonists live begins to shake, Miro wakes up with a sleepy face, and Kat immediately leaves that man.

"Well, that looks different." Yvonne raised an eyebrow, looking up at the bluish mech that was hurtling toward the colony.

I told them not to be too suspicious about it since the mechs weren't really enemies.

My colonists – minus Gwen – gathered near the mechs that were already kneeling on the ground. It wasn't long before an elevator descended from the mech's cockpit. Everyone gasped immediately, while Kat remained expressionless.

"Hello, friends from the nameless colonists." Trevor, whose body was bound in chains, greeted in an awkward tone.

"A monster!" Miro was already in a fight pose, but Kat immediately spoke to him. "A metal monster!"

"He's not a monster, but an android, dumbass." The amber eyed woman said. "You could say he was a creature created by humans."

The others immediately looked at her. Kat's tone did sound different than usual.

"I'll deliver this antidote to Gwen." Eric, who was standing next to Trevor, said while holding up an ampoule of antidote. "The sooner it's treated, the better it will be."

"Go on." After saying that, Leva approached Miro. "There are things you need to hear, Miro."

Miro raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Leva?"

"It's about your tribe. It turns out that the signal we received came from near your tribe." Leva swallowed. She couldn't possibly tell that she and Eric had known about it from the start.

Miro's brow furrowed.

***

Miro sat on the grass in a cold sweat, breathing uncontrollably, and his eyes slightly opened wide. He was speechless after seeing the recording of what happened from Trevor's tablet computer.

Yes, the tribe was completely wiped out.

The others were also speechless, and that was probably for the best. Miro needed time to process all of that.

The big man's teeth gritted, and suddenly he came up to Trevor, who was still bound with the chains, then strangled the android by the neck.

"I-I didn't do all that!" Trevor sounded panicked.

"Only you are still alive, right!?" Miro snapped. "You who are still surviving, who else can do this besides you!"

"That's because of the rogue artificial intelligence! Luckily I wasn't affected!"

Miro strengthened his grip, though it had no effect on Trevor. The others just stood there, and I did order them to do just that. I don't want all of this to escalate into anything more significant. After all, Trevor wouldn't die with something like that.

"Stop it! I can prove he is innocent or not!"

Everyone there turned to look at Gwen, who had arrived entirely naked. Yvonne immediately covered her husband's eyes, and Manu sneered. "Well, I haven't seen anything like that in a long time."

"Why are you naked again, Gwen?" Leva snorted.

"There was a possibility that some radiation was stuck to my clothes, so I left them. And don't worry, I've been bathing in the river to wash off the radiation outside my body."

The woman's body and hair were still wet, a sign that she hadn't even had time to dry herself. Maybe afraid that the towel she used was stuck with radiation.

Miro pushed Trevor until the android fell, then came at Gwen with a glare. "How can you believe you? Have you forgotten you had misread Peter's mind?"

Well, actually, I was surprised that Gwen would do something like this again.

Gwen's gaze sharpened. "You believe in guardian spirits, right? I was forced to lie because of the guardian spirit's orders."

"Can you really do it anyway, Gwen?" Eric joined in. "This android's head is just filled with circuits and wires. It's not an organic living being."

"Who said that I can only read the minds of organic beings?" Gwen replied. "I said, I can read anything that has consciousness."

I whispered into Miro's ear. "Please, Miro. Listen to what Gwen has to say. This Trevor is a valuable asset to this colony."

"Whatever." Miro snorted and surprisingly turned away from Gwen.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Yvonne asked timidly. "I mean, you looked so devastated back then after checking people's minds."

"Androids like him were never designed for the crimes," Gwen explained. "If his mind is corrupt, I'm sure it won't be as bad as humans."

"Oh, you wouldn't understand, naked human," Trevor answered. "I'm different from ordinary androids. I don't mean to be arrogant, but I am the most advanced."

"Let's take a look." Gwen crouched down at Trevor, then pressed her forehead against the android's metal head.

Less than a minute, Gwen pulled her head. "Hmmm …. Interesting, it turns out that your mind is more complex than any androids I've ever read."

"Well, thank you, Miss Psychic." Trevor shrugged. "One of the functions of an android like me is to prove that the machine can help humans in various fields. You're from Earth, right? You must know that people at the top are still afraid to use machines for war and other things. They are afraid that androids like us will turn against humanity."

"I do not understand." Eric crouched near the android. "With a more complex mind like this, wouldn't it increase their suspicion that the machine would attack?"

"Well, the scientist who made me hypothesized that AI needed more personality in order to be more accepted." Trevor shrugged. "After I spoke at length, do you intend to let me go?"

"A moment," Gwen said again. "I still have a question. I feel that you are missing something in yourself…. Ah, that's really hard to explain."

Trevor gave a sound like someone's sighing. "Well, it's a long story..."

"Then keep it short." Eric chimed in.

"Okay, okay..." Trevor nodded. "The bottom line is, for some reason, my personality is split in two. One bad, one good. And I managed to escape the evil one by taking over this body."

"That evil one destroyed the Acornhull tribe." Gwen's eyes started to widen.

"I don't really understand your conversation." Leva shrugged. "However, the evil one was defeated, right?"

"Unfortunately, no." Trevor looked at Leva. "Actually, that evil one is no longer near the Acornhull tribe. He moved and controlled the mechs remotely. I managed to protect the computer system in several mechs, but I didn't have time to do it completely. So, there was a clash between the mechs."

"Well, that's a lot to unpack." Manu walks up to Trevor. "However, the most important question is. Is this metal creature a good person, Gwen?"

"I think we're safe with him." Gwen stood up. "At least for now. His knowledge will be of great help to this tribe. It would be a shame if we missed it."

"Unlock the chain then, Eric." I gave orders.

***

Dusk was approaching. Kat and Rex came to Miro, who was sitting on a large rock. I did ask the amber eyed woman to come over to the big tall man.

"How are you, Miro?" Kat asked, of course with her blank expression.

Miro jumps down, and Rex goes straight to him. The white dog was already familiar with Miro.

"I have a hunch that actually Leva and Eric already knew about the Acornhull's destruction when they left," Miro said while rubbing Rex's head. The tall man's face looked gloomy. "That explains your sudden change in nature. You've always avoided me, and suddenly you were clinging to me. Perhaps you prevented me from recklessly approaching my own tribe."

"I apologize."

I'm starting to think that this meeting was the wrong decision.

"Well, it's okay. Maybe you think I won't be able to fight those metal giants." Miro took a deep breath. "But, can you leave me alone? I just lost a lot. Not only my family but a tribe. I need time."

Kat was silent for a few seconds. "Would you like Rex to accompany you?"

"Well, if you allow it." Miro rubbed the white dog again.

"I also brought messages from the others," Kat said again. "You are free to bring our horses. Or you can ride a mech driven by Eric. Unfortunately, it couldn't be done immediately. Eric and Leva still need some rest, but they'll be back to pick up other items like parts from the mechs near Acornhull."

"Oh, thank you." Miro closed his eyes. "Maybe tomorrow I'll take one of the horses."

"Bye then." Kat then walked away from the place.

"Wait, Kat." Miro's call immediately stopped the amber-eyed girl's steps. "I really appreciate your coming."

"No problem.." Kat is walking again.