Defective Product 16: The First Thing Upon Waking, Look at Birds

Northern Mountain Range. Elevation: 2,300 meters.

Android 18 stood halfway up a mountain, her short golden hair blown against her cheek by the mountain wind.

"This is the place." Android 17 stood beside her, hands in his pockets as he looked around.

"He said it was inside the mountain."

"He." Android 17 clicked his tongue. "That guy you keep talking about sure says some interesting things. He kissed you, ran off, and still gave you directions. You sure he wasn't just messing with you?"

Android 18 ignored him.

Her gaze fixed on an unnatural seam in the mountainside.

There was a subtle difference in color. At a glance, it looked like a natural fracture in the rock strata, but the angle of the seam was too precise.

She raised her hand.

An energy blast shot from her palm and struck the seam with pinpoint accuracy.

The rock shattered, fragments spraying to both sides.

Revealing an alloy door behind it.

The door was dark gray, with no handle and no lock. The Red Ribbon Army insignia was stamped on its surface.

The eagle emblem had chipped away, but its outline remained.

Android 17 whistled. "There really is one."

Android 18 looked at the door.

An image flashed through her mind.

That human crouching amid the ruins—the fear in his eyes had been real when she lifted him by the back of his collar.

Yet every word he said had been unlike anything a person on the verge of death should have said.

"Lazuli."

He had called her by her name.

A name even she herself did not remember.

Android 18 unconsciously brushed her fingertips over her lips.

Cold. But for that fleeting instant that day, when the human's lips had pressed against hers, they had been warm.

She lowered her hand.

"Open it."

Android 17 shoved the alloy door with one hand. It did not budge.

He put a little more force into it.

The door caved in at the center, then the entire thing was slapped into the corridor, crashing against the wall and bouncing twice.

The corridor was long, with metal walls. The emergency lights overhead were still on, casting a deathly pale glow.

The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust.

Android 18 glanced down at the ground.

There were footprints in the dust.

They did not belong to her or Android 17. Someone had arrived before them.

"Someone's been here," Android 18 said.

Android 17 saw them too. He crouched down and examined the direction of the footprints.

"How long ago?"

"Judging by the dust settlement..." Android 17 pinched a bit of dust between his fingers and rubbed it. "One or two months. Maybe longer."

The two of them followed the corridor inward.

At the end, the corridor split into two paths.

The left led to a glass door with a label reading "Main Control Room."

The right led deeper inside, labeled "Cultivation Area."

Android 18 went left first.

The main control room was not large. Three rows of consoles and more than a dozen screens—all of them dark.

There was a desk in the middle, with half a cup of moldy coffee and a stack of papers still sitting on it.

Android 18 walked up to a console and casually pressed the power button.

Nothing happened.

Android 17 went to the corner and found the electrical box. He flipped the switch.

Bzzzz—

Every light in the laboratory came on at once.

The monitors on the console powered up one by one, cursors blinking across the black screens.

Android 18 sat before the main console and tapped a few keys.

She had never learned how to use a computer.

But when Dr. Gero had modified her, he had written vast amounts of data into her brain, including the Red Ribbon Army's standard operating system.

A file directory popped up on the screen.

"Project 17. Project 18. Project 19. Project 20."

Her finger paused over "Project 18" for a second.

Then she scrolled down.

"Project 21: Cell."

She opened it.

A mass of files appeared on the screen—design blueprints, genetic sequence charts, energy circuit diagrams, incubation cycle calculations.

The data was densely packed.

"...Upon absorbing Android 17 and Android 18, it will enter its perfect form. Estimated combat power."

Her hand moved away from the keyboard.

The number on the screen was enormous. So enormous that she had to look at it twice to make sure she had not read it wrong.

"Android 17. Come look."

Android 17 walked over and bent down to glance at the screen.

His expression did not change, but he straightened up and pulled his hands from his pockets.

"Absorb us?" Android 17's voice turned cold. "That old bastard made a monster specifically to eat us?"

"The blueprints are here, but that thing in the incubation area..." Android 18 stood up. "Let's take a look."

The two of them took the passage on the right into the incubation area.

The corridor was narrower here, with all kinds of pipes and cables embedded in the walls on both sides.

There was an indescribable smell in the air, like disinfectant mixed with the stench of rotting organic matter.

The door to the incubation area stood open.

Android 18 walked in.

The room was large. At its center was a circular platform with four large mounting bases for incubation units.

Metal bases, bolt holes, pipe connectors.

But the incubation tanks themselves were gone.

All four bases were empty.

The pipe connectors had been neatly dismantled, their cuts clean and the tool marks precise.

They had not been blown up. Someone had taken them apart and removed them.

Android 18 crouched down and examined the bolt holes on one of the bases.

Android 17 looked around. "There are no signs of a fight anywhere in this room. It wasn't intruders. Someone came here calmly, took their time, and dismantled everything."

"Who?"

"Dr. Gero himself?" Android 17 guessed.

"After Dr. Gero became Android 20, he no longer had the physical needs of a human. He had no reason to come back." Android 18 stood up. "Besides, even we didn't know this lab existed."

She glanced back down the corridor.

Android 18 suddenly turned and returned to the main control room.

She sat down at the console again and opened another folder.

"Emergency Shutdown Remote—Blueprints."

She opened it.

The folder was empty.

The icons for three files were still there, but the files themselves were marked: "Transferred to external storage device."

Someone had copied and taken the remote's blueprints.

Android 18 stared at the screen.

"The blueprints were taken too." Her voice was flat.

Android 17 came over and took a look. "Shouldn't the remote be a physical object? You said that human told you there was an actual remote."

"He told us the remote existed. It could have meant either the physical device or the blueprints."

Android 18 opened the file's detailed log.

Last file access time: two years ago.

Footprints from two years ago. Someone had come here two years ago, copied the remote-control blueprints, and dismantled Cell's incubation tank.

Who was it?

"This is more complicated than I thought." Android 18 shut off the screen and leaned back in her chair.

Android 17 stood against the doorframe with his arms folded.

"So everything that human said was true so far. The lab was real, Cell's project was real, and the remote control was real too."

"Yeah."

"It's just that someone took the stuff before us."

"Yeah."

Android 17 tilted his head and looked at Android 18. "You're thinking about that human."

"I'm thinking about who took the incubation tank and the blueprints."

"You're thinking about the human who kissed you."

Android 18 stood up. "Keep searching. This lab has more than just these rooms."

She headed deeper into the corridor.

Android 17 followed behind her, a faint smile on his lips, but said nothing else.

There was another door at the end of the corridor. It was thicker than the previous ones, with hydraulic locking mechanisms along its edges.

A label was affixed to the door.

"Unit No. 16 · Completed Model · Dormant."

Android 18 glanced at the label and reached out to push the door.

It didn't move. The hydraulic locks were still active.

She applied more force. The doorframe let out a metallic creak under the pressure.

The hydraulic pipes inside the walls burst, and oil sprayed from the cracks.

She pushed the door open.

Inside was a small, separate room.

It was about ten square meters. An incubation pod stood in the center.

This pod had not been dismantled.

Unlike the empty bases outside, it was different.

It was a complete, sealed device that was still running.

Through the observation window at the front of the pod, Android 18 saw what was inside.

A person.

He was enormous, at least two meters tall. Broad-shouldered and built with exaggerated muscles, yet his facial features were unexpectedly gentle.

He had an orange-red mohawk, with metallic-looking patterns running across his skin.

He wore a suit of black, armor-like clothing.

His eyes were closed.

A line of text was displayed on the control panel.

"Android 16. Fully Automated Combat Type. Status: Dormant."

Android 17 walked up to the incubation pod, looked over the data on the panel, then at the massive figure inside.

"Another one of our kind?"

"Not our kind." Android 18 swept her eyes over the technical specifications. "He's purely mechanical. We're modified humans; he's a complete robot built from scratch."

"What about his combat power?"

Android 18 searched for the relevant value on the panel.

"It isn't displayed."

Android 17 raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting. Dr. Gero made someone as strong as us, then kept him sleeping in here? Why not let him out?"

Android 18 found another note beneath the panel.

She read it aloud.

"'Personality correction failed. The target unit's compliance rate for combat directives is below expectations. This unit has demonstrated unprogrammed tendencies toward autonomous behavior.'

"'Including but not limited to: refusing to carry out destructive missions, actively protecting non-target lifeforms, and persistent attention to the natural environment. Deemed defective and placed in storage.'"

Android 17 fell silent for a moment after hearing that.

"An android who doesn't want to fight."

"A complete robot, but with independent consciousness, and he doesn't like destruction." Something indescribable entered Android 18's voice. "Dr. Gero considered that a defect."

Android 17 tilted his head, looking at the sleeping face inside the incubation chamber.

"Should we open it?"

Android 18 glanced at him.

"The three of us were made by Dr. Gero in the same batch. He's been locked in here for who knows how many years." Android 17 shrugged. "I think he's kind of pitiful."

Android 18 said nothing.

She turned and examined the control buttons on the panel, finding the "End Hibernation" option.

She pressed it.

The incubation chamber let out a dull hiss of released pressure.

A layer of condensation formed over the viewing window on the chamber door.

The temperature inside rapidly rose.

Hydraulic supports slowly pushed the door open.

White mist poured from the chamber, spreading across the floor like dry ice.

Then the massive figure moved.

He opened his eyes.

Blue eyes. Not the icy blue of Android 18's. The blue of the sky—clear, warm blue.

Android 16 stood up.

He was even bigger than he had looked. Once fully upright, his head nearly touched the ceiling.

His broad shoulders filled the open chamber door.

He looked down at his hands.

Then he raised his head.

His gaze passed over Android 17 and Android 18, settling on the wall behind them.

A sliver of light shone through a crack. Sunlight.

Android 16 took a step toward the crack.

His footsteps were heavy, landing on the metal floor with a dull thud.

He walked up to the wall, tilted his head, and brought his eye close to the crack.

Outside were mountains. Green trees, gray rocks. A bird flew past the crack.

Android 16's lips moved.

"Bird," he said.

His voice was low. Flat. It did not sound human.

Yet in the way he pronounced that word was something that absolutely should not have belonged to a machine.

Android 17 and Android 18 exchanged a glance.

"This is the 'defective product' Dr. Gero mentioned?" Android 17 whispered to Android 18.

Android 18 did not answer.

Android 16 turned around, his gaze falling on the two of them.

"Who are you?"

"Android 17." Android 17 pointed at himself, then at Android 18. "She's Android 18. You're Android 16. We were all made by Dr. Gero."

Android 16's blue eyes shifted between them.

"Dr. Gero," he repeated.

"Where is he?"

"Dead," Android 18 said. "We killed him."

Android 16 looked at her for a while longer.

"What is this place outside?"

"Earth," Android 17 said. "You've been locked in here for who knows how many years. Things have changed quite a bit outside."

Android 16 looked toward the crack again.

"I want to go out and see."

Android 17 grinned. "Sure. The door's over there. But you're too big—you might have to tear down the wall."

Android 16 thought for a second.

Then he reached out and gave the wall a very gentle push.

The entire wall toppled outward. Mountain wind rushed in, carrying the scent of soil and grass.

Android 16 stood in the opening.

Sunlight fell across him. A faint shift of expression appeared on his huge face, etched with metallic lines.

Android 17 walked over to Android 18 and lowered his voice.

"I've changed my mind. This guy isn't pitiful. He's weird."

Android 18 watched Android 16's back.

An android who didn't want to fight. An existence his creator had deemed defective.

A machine whose first act upon waking had been to watch birds.

Android 16 stood in the mountain wind for a long time.

Android 17 was already growing impatient. "Hey, big guy. Had enough looking? We should get going."

Android 16 turned around.

"Where are you going?"

Android 17 glanced at Android 18.

Android 18 said nothing.

Android 17 sighed. "I guess we're going to find a human."

Android 18 turned and headed back the way they had come.

Footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Behind them, Android 16 lowered his head and looked at the beetle that had crawled in through a gap in the wall.

He bent down, carefully scooped up the beetle with his huge fingers, and placed it in the grass outside the wall.

Then he followed them.

Android 18's cold voice came from the end of the corridor.

"Android 17."

"Yeah?"

"Within your detection range, search for all traces of human activity involving abnormal energy waves. Search south."

Android 17's lips curved upward.

"I knew it."