Erlantz delicately extracted the tube from the circuitry, which was drenched in blood and the white fluid characteristic of certain synthetics. He handed it to a nervous Hektor, who watched with wide, expectant eyes.
The tube fit like a glove into the decrypter—a once-illegal device, a strange relic from turbulent times. The screen began spitting out digital characters without permission, bypassing every access restriction. A sound similar to archaic modems screeched through the underground room.
“We have it,” said Hektor, the "Guardian" netrunner. “We... have it,” confirmed the armed historian with a serious expression, trying to keep his surging adrenaline under control. “Hooray! We have it!” a synthetic voice echoed in the workshop, coming from a droid barely half a meter tall.
>READING …
>Codex 000140
>READY
Codex #000140. Black Temple Congregation. STIX Headquarters Core. Neguri-Getxo. Year 2512. High-Security Document.
Regarding the Current Situation
We could not prevent the nuclear collapse of 2410. Following the impacts, only the Basque sectors north and south of the Pyrenees survived, along with a branch of our corporation in the region.
That branch became the sole ruling group on Earth. Despite all efforts to understand it, we have spent over a century in study. We have yet to fully discover how such a miracle was possible.
Today, the old self-styled Euskal Herria or Basque Country—though rarely called that anymore—is divided into three distinct groups of sectors:
STIX: Getxo and Donostia. They are under our control and totally isolated from the rest. For generations, we have not mixed with subhumans. Our central terrestrial server is in Neguri. We need nothing more.
Automated Communities (AC): These comprise almost all the former historical capitals of the region. They are managed with an iron fist by a politico-military block led by the local bourgeoisie and heirs of the previous system. They do not interest us unless we wish to confiscate something in their possession. They serve us as a containment shield. They fear us and eat from our hand.
The Euskal Zone (EZ): Comprises the rest of the non-capital sectors. It has no known laws; it is filled with thugs, terrorist groups, hackers, communes, bandits, rogue AIs, and obsolete droids.
They only interest us for reproduction. No one from the Euskal Zone or the Communities has ever been able to enter our cities on their own. This demonstrates our evident superiority. The Communities would never dare lift a finger. However, we have had more trouble than we’d like to admit preventing terrorist threats and cyberattacks against our field forces.
We have no control over the pockets of resistance which, for now, remain impregnable, nor have we managed to fully map the "Oscura" tunnel network.
Contact with xxxxxxxxxx remains lost. We do not hold great hope after so much time, but we will make further efforts. If they are still there—which we doubt—we will attempt to reach them. Construction this year will see qualitative leaps.
Our objectives are non-negotiable. We renew our determination.
For the void. For the blood. For eternity.
Cardinal Lord Augusto
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In the present…
“For the void. For the blood. For eternity,” the phrase from that document echoed in Erlantz's mind the moment he woke up, perhaps the fruit of some nightmare.
The dawn, with reddish streaks inherited from the nuclear cataclysm, looked as if it were weeping oil. Two figures were silhouetted on the horizon along a narrow, untraveled path, kicking up dust as they stepped on the gravel.
The man had slept straight through out of exhaustion; the machine had remained awake, keeping watch all night. They abandoned the shelter of the ruined church after scanning the surroundings. Acid rain was once again tinting the puddles with multicolored coppery iridescence.
“There are smoke columns in a neighborhood of B2. I think it’s Zaramaga,” the mecha narrated with concern. “I thought I saw red lasers disappearing into the sky.”
“Sounds like a punishment operation for yesterday’s business, M. There’s nothing we can do.” The war machine's eyes shifted to an intense red.
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“We never stay still, my boy. What is it we're looking for?” “We look into the past to act in the present and change the future,” he replied to his metallic companion. “I know you like acting all interesting to impress my AI-CPU, but don’t start with your mysterious little phrases. Do me a favor,” Mari Loli implored. “Alright, M, let’s get to the point…”
Erlantz Txatarra grew serious and frowned. “I know you're no stranger to the peculiarities of the Euskal Zone Resistance. After all, you were part of it in Portu,” he looked at her intently, “and now that we travel together, you still are.” “I’m an ‘action-oriented girl.’ Don’t you doubt it.” She closed one hand into a fist and struck the open palm of the other.
“I don’t doubt it, M. I know direct action is your thing,” he sighed, “but now there are other needs: we can’t go around blowing up zainbots for sport and drawing too much attention.” “I draw attention wherever I go, kid. And I’m only saying that to make you jealous.” “Relax, I’m not feeling any kind of way. Stop derailing the conversation and saying nonsen—” The hum of a seeker cyber-drone silenced the pair.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
The sound of the freezing wind over the gravel became prominent. Erlantz lowered his voice instinctively despite the great distance to the threat. “As I told you, we have to go to Errekaleor. I need to contact an old friend there. According to what I was told, he has relevant information for what we’re looking for.” “That’s what I mean. What exactly are we looking for?”
The militant finally told her the inner workings of the mission: he had to find information about the STIX domes. There were two: one in Getxo and another in Donostia. They were their strongholds. Impenetrable, impregnable hemispheres. A true enigma.
M kept her arms crossed while her database grew at the pace of his explanation. “Did you know they appeared in 2410 when World War III broke out?” “Yes, I saw the Getxo one every day when I was in Portugalete.” The mecha grew somewhat pensive as her routines processed. “Then you know firsthand that no person—unless kidnapped—has ever been able to enter them.”
“No one has ever even managed to get close to them, Erlantz. I once saw the weapons of that unknown technology activate the mobile light grid and tear a poor soul to pieces in an explosion of blood just for getting near. Yuck, how gross!” Mari Loli spat.
Hearing the description of the well-known defenses, the man felt a twitch in his temple and a sense of unease spread through his chest. “In short: the titanic opaque domes keep the two cities shielded, and what has happened inside them during all these long decades is unknown,” he continued. “The objective of the mission is, precisely, to crack the bubbles and look inside; which is easier said than done, but no one has achieved it yet.” “We’re in for a rough time,” the robot snorted.
“I know. All of this could lead us into complicated situations. If you want, you can leave. You’re under no obligation.” “Don’t get me wrong, handsome. Even though I can roam freely... I am bound to N(A)K. You’re with Aberria ala Hil, right?” “Are you asking because of the pistol model? No, I’m from Matxinada Orokorra.” “It’s not like there are many differences anyway. We’re all in the same boat.” “True. Do you have an ideological cartridge installed?” he asked, surprised. “No.”
Well, well. How strange. This is taking an interesting turn. “Alright,” his eyes were fixed on her. “Then, let’s move out.” “I might seem like a piece of lunatic junk in zoro-sys to you... but I’ve seen many of our people fall. I will never pass up an opportunity.”
When I get the chance, I’ll talk to a techie about this. She is a... singular machine. “Neither will I.” He extended his hand, gripping the mecha's. Argh.
The continuous STIX raids, like the one they witnessed the day before in B2, were a problem for the Euskal Zone and, to a lesser extent, for the Automated Communities as well. The difference was that the Resistance wanted to end the terror. It didn't keep the AC Executive up at night.
START: Strategic Reflection SOURCE: Etsaiak Folder RESPONSE: Interpellation
“Erlantz, why do you think they’ve been kidnapping people for so many decades? My algorithms can’t find any plausible reason. What would those villains want them for?… And by the way, who are the ones in charge there? What are they doing hiding in those balls? We only know the synthetics that come out on raids and, as far as I know, they don’t talk, they don’t think…”
“The little we know has been discovered when we cut open the guts of Runners to pull out their tubes.” “I thought they were just a legend,” M said, scanning her database. “I’ve never seen one.” “Their technical name is cyberhound. They exist, but they show themselves less and less. Their information isn't always news to us, either. We caught one recently after many years.” “But tell me, what do they do inside the domes?”
“I don’t have a goddamn clue, Mari Loli. I only know that Untxitxo Beltza entrusted me with the mission to find some crack where we can hook in and pull.” He rubbed his aching temple as he recalled the details. “Ooh! Untxitxo Beltza, now that is a legend.” “We must unravel the mystery once and for all,” after a short pause, he continued, “we don’t have much to start with, but after many years, it seems we have something.” “But what do we have?”
He adjusted his black gloves. “Some addresses that an archaeologist and historian like me,” he looked at M with expressive eyes, “might be able to put to good use. No luck in Bilbao. But that’s where Errekaleor and Kofi come in.” “And what is a historian like you doing in this kind of mess? Shouldn’t you be poking around books and codices or digging up some lost ark? Or the Holy Grail? Instead of being a mature, sexy gunslinger…”
At first, he remained solemn. Shortly after, a burst of laughter took him, nearly making him choke. It had been a long time since he had laughed like that. “The things you say, M.” His eyes were tearing up. “History and archaeology—the past—help more than any magazine clip. Without that knowledge, our present cannot be understood, let alone what the future might be.”
“‘Search the past to act in the present and change the future,’” Mari Loli said, perfectly mimicking Erlantz’s voice with her synthesizer. “Heh!” her companion replied with a wink. “Besides, I’m also a scavenger; I’ll tell you about it someday. Do you know the Chrome Junkyard?” “Yes, but I’ve never been.” “We’ll get there.”
As they moved forward, the hum of the seeker cyber-drone faded away like a silenced voice. “Let's see if we can get a gravity vehicle; I’m fed up to my pigtails with getting my steel dress dirty. How are you at stealing them? Do you have an Irekiloop or should I lend you a ‘hairpin’?” She pointed with a finger toward a white building covered in graffiti that looked like a dilapidated hotel-parking garage.
The combat robot began to intone in Japanese: “God Knows” by Haruhi Suzumiya—a nostalgic J-pop song from the 90s that spoke of love and loss—as they continued their journey amidst rubble that reeked of plasma and neglect.
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They stopped at the roadside hotel-parking. They used a fake credit chip modeled by some of the best hackers in the Euskal Zone. Erlantz calibrated his “Intxorta IV” in front of the room's window. He had cleaned himself up, changed clothes, and eaten as if it were his last meal. Mari Loli had applied lubricant to her mechanical joints. Now she was combing her pigtails in front of a mirror.
“Now what?” “Hand me a ‘hairpin.’” The robot had a secret internal compartment that was proving to be very useful. “Sure, of course, but first answer me this: Are you married? Separated? A widower? Do you have a partner?” “No... But didn’t you say I was your boyfriend?” “Of course you are.”
Erlantz tilted his head from side to side, wearing his best smile. He tucked the pistol into its internal holster. In Zaramaga, the embers of the barricades were already dying out; they had given enough time for some of the persecuted to escape the repression. Others were already being led away, hands cuffed behind their backs and hoods over their heads, toward the AC dungeons.
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Glossary:
Tube: A cylinder with digital information installed inside some STIX synthetics.
Sector: Each Basque town and city is designated as one, with alphanumeric identification. Current divisions of Euskal Herria include the STIX, AC, and EZ sectors.
Communes: Hubs of sovereignty, also called assemblies or askagunes. They hold independent power over any other structure, self-defense group, or assembly, including the National Assembly, which acts only as a manager and coordinator.
"Oscura" Tunnel Network: Construction began before the Basque Insurgency War. They were intended as support infrastructure for the war effort and guerrilla tactics. Today they form a dense tangle spanning the entire territory.
CPU-IA: A hybrid node of an advanced processor utilizing AI. Normally installed in war vehicles, mechas, and first-grade robots. Lost technology.
Cyberhound: Also called Runners. STIX synthetics with a canine appearance. They move secretly between Getxo and Donostia. They are rarely detected.
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Images of datapad terms and video here: