Pointing to their own head, one said to the other “It was not apparent to me before but you seem to have sustained an injury during your recent incident. I suggest you not repair the damage—your adventures are being written to your surface.”
Riding the breezes across the slight ridge, the two robots were finally out of range of the buzzing, noisy RF emitted by the edifice and its circuit of shattered rings.
Rising to a dizzying height above the desert floor, the blackened structure kept its mysteries and menace to itself. The two companions shouldered their packs and gave the structure a final look before turning and striking out for the next horizon. “This is a dangerous place best left alone. We’ll return, but only when we’re better prepared. For now let’s go see what other interesting things we can discover.”
“The tower was an irresistible mystery. It promised to be a bottomless treasure of answers and yet more questions. But what I found was a ghost, a mad thing that had forgotten its purpose and asked only one question.”
After a moment the found explorer responded: “I ventured out this far because I wanted to map the territory. Knowledge was the only treasure I sought— to make known the unknown.”
Once clear of the tower and at a distance where the EMF noise was diminished, the robot revived the collapsed explorer. Offering a fully charged battery, they asked What brought you to this area where so few think to tread?”
Pulling a length of webbing from their pack, the robot fashioned a sling and looped it around the chest and under the arms of the collapsed figure. Once secured, the robot set about dragging their burden out of the tower…
The robot reached the threshold of the tower and stepped inside. Immediately within was a large, high-ceilinged space. At the far end, laying on the floor in disarray was the body of a lone robot, apparently another misfit; a lone explorer of the Unmapped Areas. They moved in for a closer look at the body, and a quick examination revealed that the body had not been inactive for very long at all…
As the robot picked their way through a narrow passage between two rock faces the tower came into view; it was very close now, not more than another hour’s walk. As they carefully chose their footing, the robot spotted something glinting among the rocks and stopped to pick it up. A flat, square object with a delicate metal aperture along one side bearing the marking “2HD.” With a piece of string from their pack, the robot attached the object to their walking staff; an enigmatic ornament for a journey full of mystery.
The next morning the robot set out at first light, seeking the source of the EM spike. After a while the terrain became rocky and wild, straining servos and gyros. Happening upon the desiccated remains of a tree, they fashioned a walking staff out of a branch and continued on, the tripod stance providing welcome additional stability.
A storm darkened the sky early and forced the robot to take shelter in the derelict building over night. Before going to sleep mode, they spent some time exploring deeper into the structure, the lantern casting long shadows. The building was empty and devoid of anything of any interest— save for one wall. It was covered in strange, indecipherable markings and pictographs— the raw materials of legend and myth. The robot set their pack down and dig out a paper notebook and stylus. After recording some visual data they set about logging the find in the notebook— a failsafe storage mode. First the odd EMF spike and now this…
