Magus ex Machina [Cyberpunk-Fantasy LitRPG] (Book 1 complete!)

A peaceful night gave rise to a peaceful dawn, and right as Tapper was about to voice his hopes for a peaceful day he saw the armed monks surrounding their car. Those that could fit them wore simple plastic armor over their robes and carried rifles pointed at the ground, while the rest sported enough mutations to make up the difference. They strode through the parking lot with the confidence of authority and the man in front identified them as church security, here to retrieve the party for a meeting with the church's pastor. He had some questions for the operative Green Ghost and his associates, none of whom were under arrest or any threats thereof, but refusing the meeting would be seen as an insult to the church. Thankfully, the church was so trusting that the party was allowed to leave their weapons in their vehicle, instead of security confiscating everything.

After a quick huddle session of whispers and panic, Salazar locked up the jitney and the party walked to the train station. They stayed in a tight knot with security ringing them on all sides, hands casually resting on their own weapons to set the mood: They weren't here to threaten their guests, but a simple twist of the wrist would change that. No one spoke until they reached a suite of offices in the rear of the train station, and the security chief pointed to a small waiting room.

"You three can wait here until the pastor is ready. Bot waits outside."

"The heck? We already left all our weapons behind!" Ricky instantly protested.

"All bots are weapons," the chief firmly responded, and the surrounding security shifted their stance from casual to decidedly alert.

Tapper held up his hand before Ricky could say anything else. Logically Tapper was not surprised; his salesmanship programming knew a potential power move would be to split the party at the last moment, and as a robot he was the easiest to justify removing. "I understand, my friends. I will return and wait for you at our jitney." Everyone grumbled their annoyances under their breath as he departed, Tapper included. His logical understanding of the situation did not alleviate his emotions, and Tapper quietly fumed that he was once again seen as 'just equipment.'

"Excuse me, robot?" a voice asked. Tapper looked up at the surprisingly velvety tone to find a man of sharp contrast. He wore a monk's robe like everyone else, but left his open like a cloak to reveal the gaudy business suit underneath. The man himself looked like a cheaper version of numen body modification trends --- while Fairbanks and his ilk sculpted themselves to porcelain perfection, this man could have been molded from plastic and designed by committee. Exaggerated blue eyes, blonde hair, strong chin, even his smile was two perfectly straight lengths of dazzling white segmented into teeth. "Is your owner Get-a-Gig user 'WyrdWon'?"

"Um, yes," Tapper answered. Technically true, since he owned himself. "May I ask who you are, sir?"

"I am the local representative for the Get-a-Gig corporation within the Church of Phasic Enlightenment," he flashed his dazzling smile again. "You may call me Mr. Rep, and I heard that you recently had a poor experience when working a Gig through our system."

"Ah, yes!" Tapper's mood chirped up, finally someone else that cared about customer service! "The job description did not prepare us for the dangers held therein!"

"Of course, and as an introductory offer on your first Gig we want to ensure that we take special care to address your needs," Mr. Rep responded, but Tapper's second thoughts wondered whether the saccharine sweetness in his voice was genuine. Is this how he sounded to other people? Mr. Rep stepped aside and pivoted to face the small figure standing behind him, and Tapper instantly recognized the oversized blue and yellow eyes. "Initiate #224, due to your recent performance review your internship within the Church has been terminated."

"Wait, wait, what?" Tapper's head ratcheted between the two.

The clerk didn't say anything, just slumped as she started removing her robe, but Mr. Rep turned back to Tapper and flashed another predatory smile. "I hope this resolves your issues, sir."

"It does not! In fact this un-resolves previously resolved issues!" Tapper snapped back. "In the review I said that the two stars were due to the clerk, because otherwise the job would have been ZERO stars! She is without blame!"

Mr. Rep shrugged one shoulder with a nonchalant half-grin. "In that case, if you wish to rehabilitate the scoring metrics of a poor performer then the Get-a-Gig corporation will authorize one Gig of comparable worth, at the clerk's expense. So congrats, Mr. WyrdWon! Until the Gig is completed, you can do with her as you will. Termsandconditionsapply." His voice rapidly sped up towards the end, and by the time Tapper replayed the recording to understand his words Mr. Rep had already turned away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lunch meeting to attend."

Heat blossomed behind Tapper's faceplate that had nothing to do with his CPU temperature, and his mind reeled as he tried to make sense of what just happened. Tapper eventually blurted, "Lunch? It's half past 8 in the morning!" but Mr. Rep had already departed, closing the door behind him so quickly that it almost caught on his trailing cloak. Tapper looked around, desperate for guidance, but only found the former clerk standing to resigned attention.

Without her robe Tapper could confirm that she was an adult amalgam woman, though she still wore a baggy hoodie covered in different corporate logos. The grim set in her face showed a mix of resignation and quiet despair, but she didn't complain or run away. She simply stood there, gaze downcast at Tapper's feet, and waited for him to give her an order.

Just like a mindless automaton.

The realization rattled Tapper. Every line of his social programming was coded under the pretext that Tapper would always function as a servant, and he was still growing accustomed to working with this friends as equals. But his emotions and programming unified in rejecting the concept of anyone working under Tapper as a servant — even Kakisi, decreed Tapper's familiar by the magical system, still acted on his own whims a majority of the time. Tapper didn't choose to gain a familiar, just like this situation wasn't his decision, but if he continued to accept the hierarchies of other systems then would he eventually get used to the idea of owning sapient people?

His emotions dredged up a recording from Tapper's memory without his conscious input, of Caspian Fairbanks screaming that he owned everyone and everything around him. He believed that with every fiber of his being, and Tapper resolved to end this predicament without causing further inconvenience for anyone. "Excuse me, miss…?"

"You can call me whatever you wish," she responded, still not looking up from the floor.

"My wish is to call you by your name."

She paused, and the silence stretched long enough for Tapper to wonder if she even had a name before she quietly said, "...Makenna. My name is Makenna."

"Excellent! My name is Tapper, and I believe we are both victims of a breakdown in communication. I apologize for my part, and absolve you of this obligation. Shall we move to the Get-a-Gig kiosk so I can give you a glowing review, and go our separate ways?"

Makenna shook her head once. "Then we'll both get dinged for gaming the system. I need to work an actual job for you, sir."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Then what would count? All I desire is to see you safely home and end this ridiculous circumstance!" Tapper snapped. Makenna flinched away from the outburst, and Tapper reeled in his emotions. This wouldn't do, he just needed to think like a salesman. "Miss Makenna, I am new to the train station and currently a bit lost. How about if you serve as a guide to, say, your own home? Would that satisfy Get-a-Gig?"

Another long pause from Makenna. "It would…"

"Wondrous!"

"...But only because I lost my cot here when you got me fired. I actually live in Neudopolis."

Tapper's eyebrows wiggled with joy, despite the subtle bitterness in Makenna's voice. "What a stroke of serendipity! Neudopolis is actually our next stop after my compatriots finish their business here. We can drive you home!"

"Thank you sir, but I can't afford any sort of ticket. I already checked all the caravans."

"Afford…?" Tapper asked, caught off guard again for his lack of context. "Miss Makenna, I am not going to charge you to work a job for me."

Makenna looked up at Tapper for the first time and her eyes, slightly too large for a head that was already too large for her body, sparkled with hope. "You'll do it for free? For real?"

"Of course! I give you my word that you can guide me to your home, for free, if that means we can end this farce once and for all."

[New Quest: Little Riding Hood
Safely deliver your servant home]

At least this time Tapper received a quest for his trouble.

Tapper quickly started to regret his decision. Church security didn't want Makenna to loiter in the train station and she refused to let Tapper out of her sight before securing her ride, so she followed him back to the jitney without another word. Tapper attempted to make small talk, if only to gauge Makenna's personality, but once Tapper agreed to the contract Makenna closed up again. As if she, maybe, feared drawing too much attention to herself. He was busy calculating other avenues of communication when they approached the jitney, and Tapper stopped so suddenly that Makenna bumped into him.

"Miss Makenna, that is our vehicle. Please make yourself at home while I attend to a personal business matter. Now." Tapper tracked Makenna moving away from the corner of his eye, without shifting to follow her.

Tapper didn't dare to turn away from Jellico, but the other man made no move as he pretended to study the wreck of his hovercar. He simply stood in the clearing next to the jitney, hands clasped behind his back, fingers idly tracing the silver gem embedded into his glove. Jellico had cleaned himself up from last night's mess, though his expensive black and red suit showed heavy damage. Acid damage had eaten away from his jacket and exposed the dark purple welts on his pale midriff. There was no way Jellico hadn't noticed the robot's noisy approach, and the lack of response did nothing to ease Tapper's anxiety as he prepared for a fight.

"Relax bot, I'm not going to attack you," Jellico said, without turning to face him.

"Why not? You've caught me alone and unawares, the perfect time for an ambush," Tapper asked. He still held his guard up, but he took a step closer and saw Jellico slowly take a long, deep breath.

"Oh I know, and I offered, but Lord Fairbanks insists on a more… theatrical confrontation, and so I have been called away to prepare for it. Even though leaving now means I cannot track you, but my orders are absolute." Jellico finally turned to glare at Tapper, enunciating his words with exaggerated force. "And that means I will instead be forced to use your last. Known. Location."

Jellico's tone clearly carried a deeper meaning, but unfortunately Tapper could not determine what the man was trying to say beneath his words. Before he could ask anything, a deep rumble drew his attention and Tapper noticed movement near the wreckage at Jellico's feet. Part of the wreck was actually a wagon from the cornfield, in which Jenakite snored from a deep sleep. Jellico looked down at her, and Tapper noticed the man's gaunt features soften by the smallest degree. "Also, I literally could not wake up Jenakite if I tried. Easy to forget that most proles still need to sleep, especially after fighting bugs for two days straight. But I promised her a fight, and I won't do it without her."

Tapper hummed in thought as clues started to slot into place, and his stance eased. "Leaving you to balance an order and an oath. I have faced similar conundrums between my programming and my word. Tell me, are commands and promises equally important in your eyes?"

Whatever soft moment in Jellico's mind passed, and he resumed glaring at Tapper. "Of course not. Only one gives me a choice, and breaking a promise won't trigger the killswitch in my skull. I live and die by Lord Fairbanks' command."

"Then why struggle to maintain the two? Logically, it would make more sense to break the promise to ease your burden and achieve the same end result."

"Because Jena's the first person to ever give me a choice," Jellico snapped, before he turned to face the morning sun and take another deep breath. "Not that I would expect a robot to understand something illogical like that."

Throughout the conversation Tapper had slowly advanced, until the two were standing side-by-side and just out of arm's reach. Threat assessments calculated that he actually stood a good chance of defeating Jellico if Tapper sprang his own ambush right here and now, but his emotions refused to budge. For the first time his sense of Adventure insisted on not taking action, to instead stand still and absorb the moment with a man sworn to destroy him. Jellico's words made him think back to Miss Uxral's own speech on the importance of promises, and Tapper nodded as the words slowly formed.

"Actually Mister Jellico, I believe that I am beginning to both understand and appreciate your predicament. If your word is all you can afford to give, then keeping it is your true wealth."

Jellico gave Tapper a long side-eye before he quietly scoffed. "Why am I even talking to you?"

"Because bartenders beget beneficial banter." Tapper's wordplay caught Jellico off guard, and when he turned to see Tapper's wiggling eyebrows he barked with sudden laughter.

Jellico turned the laugh into a cough and recovered his steely demeanor. "Well, don't get used to it. Next time I will capture you, bot."

"You will certainly try, sir."

A chime played from somewhere on Jellico's body, and his eyes flicked over an invisible message. "You better scurry off and hide now. Don't want to ruin Lord Fairbanks' little game, now do we?" Tapper quirked his head in confusion and after a moment passed without him catching on, Jellico heaved an exasperated sigh.

In a flash Jellico grabbed Tapper by the arm, and the robot's mind burst with a dozen different thoughts and emotions. Surprise, disappointment, anger, fear, and regret all clashed together; this really was an ambush, and Tapper fell for it! But then disorientation overtook Tapper's senses as Jellico pivoted and threw Tapper into the air, high and far enough for him to sail over the jitney and crash down on the other side. Tapper rolled underneath their vehicle for cover as he scrambled to calculate a new battle plan, but he saw his rival hadn't followed up on the attack.

Jellico was just standing there, again. Tapper could only see him up to the mid-thigh but Jellico's stance had returned to patiently waiting, acting as if he didn't have a care in the world. Tapper heard a warbling drone, faint at first but growing louder before a brand new hovercar gently landed in the clearing. From Tapper's obscured position it looked identical to his old flying metal dinghy, including a driver in the same black and red uniform. Jellico picked up the handle to Jenakite's wagon with one hand, and the other plucked something too small for Tapper to see out of the wagon. It made a loud clicking sound and the wreckage of his old hovercar lurched, dead bugs tumbling to the ground as the gremlin surfaced from within the pile.

Was it the same gremlin? Tapper couldn't tell under the fresh layer of bug guts, but it looked like the creature had either grown or affixed a partial exoskeleton to its own body. It gnawed on a large bug leg and made happy little grunting noises as it bounced along behind Jellico, and the group boarded the hovercar together. Jellico exchanged words with the new driver, which grew to an argument before it became a tussle. Tapper could not clearly hear or see what happened, but the fight ended just as quickly as it started and the hovercar lifted up and out of sight.

After a moment's hesitation Tapper slowly crawled out into the open, but the hunters were nowhere to be seen. "What a strange man," Tapper said to no one, and he yelped when a burst of static answered from his chest.

"Tapper! Tapper, where the hell are you??"

Tapper mimicked a sigh of relief, he had forgotten that he was still wearing the radio on his bowtie. "Hello, Salazar! I am awaiting at the jitney, as I said I would. Why do you sound panicked?"

"Good! Get ready, we're leaving FAST!"