Chapter 00: Prelude

Technology was created to enslave humanity. But why not use it to help humanity? We rely on technology heavily, to the point that we willingly become slaves to it. We're nothing without it. Take away our technology, and you have nothing. Nothingness. But even something can rise from nothing.

I weep for future generations. They will not value the gift of life nor this planet and its beauty. They will not know what lies in front of them, under their very noses! Will they notice the beautiful petricor, when the very first shower hits after a long drought? The way the leaves change clothes, just to lie on the ground at night. The way the sky fades to black. The way the moon wanders around in the darkness, providing light to the blind. The way the sun wakes up at dawn, greeting the morning. Will they be blind to this beauty that is Mother Nature? The trees whisper to one another, every time the wind passes by, almost as if they were admiring it. The leaves all dance with joy with every breeze that passes through. The sky gets painted by the delicate brush of an artist, every dusk and dawn. Few pause to admire the artist at work. Very few care about our mother, and even more are destroying her. Soon enough, we will run through every resource and tarnish her beauty. She won't even recognize herself.

This was the last entry in my grandfather's journal. He went missing weeks before the initial release of the 083Y, a machine like no other, capable of understanding and learning. He was part of the engineers who developed the robots and vanished the moment Project Zero went into effect.
Project Zero was a covert operation and assassination of the Seven Architects responsible for Project Sui Generis, implemented by the very corporation responsible: Dades Robotics. They were held responsible for the creation of the first androids and were taken out of the equation. They were silenced for knowing the reasons behind their creation, after they were finished. They were told they would help humanity and that they would save us. When they learned the truth, they were sick to their stomachs. Architects 3 & 5 took their own lives. Architects 1, 2, & 4 all moved far away and lived in reclusion. Architect 6 was never heard of again.

My grandfather, William Fortis, was the only one who decided to have a life. He had one son with his wife, Esperanza. My father, Ethan Fortis, was branded Architect 8 for being the only descendant of the original 7 Architects. He followed my grandfather everywhere he went. Though my grandfather felt his guilt, he used it as fuel. He stood against Dades Robotics, and its founder, Marcellus "Mercilus" Jagernaut. He did everything he could to protect my father, to prepare my father and to create a fighter. He thought my father how to disengage a machine and rebuild it, how to manipulate the system, and how to override any machine at will. He even prepared my father for fatherhood. My beautiful mother, Frida, gave her life granting mine. She valued my life over hers, and gave me my name, Alexander, months before I was born. My grandmother perished of a heart attack the day of my accident, and I always felt guilty for it. I lost my right arm to an unexplained explosion at our house, but my father was able to save me. He designed and built a robotic arm for me. It branded me an outcast growing up, but sparked the fire of revolution within my heart.

My father looked out for me until 10 years ago, when the initial wave of destruction hit. When my father was taken from me, he whispered "Keep fighting" as he faded into the universe. His words echoed in my head through the years. I knew I had to take a stand. I channeled the rage to fight against Dades and its robots. I couldn't sit still after they took my grandfather and my father from me.