I remember the original episode 3 being one of my shortest chapters. I'm not gonna lie to you; it still is. Well, hopefully you enjoy this "flashback" episode even if it is a bit late. Compare me to Highlander all you want. -_-

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"Our greatest battles are that with our own minds."
- Jameson Frank

Wily Modular BIOS V7.31
Copyright (C) 2037-2042

09/16/2027 For XR33 Chipset

Main Processor: LightAlpha HeptaCore 8800+
Memory Testing: 27917287424K OK
CPU Real Clock: 1833GHz, DRAM CLK: 266GHz Type: WILY2100

Checking Primary Master...LIGHTPLUSBETA A93.0500
Checking Primary Slave...ALICENEURALNET80
Checking Secondary Master...LIGHTNEURALNET80
Checking Secondary Slave...WILYKURZWEILBETA

Loading Operating System....

Confirmation. ESCD Updated successfully.

Loading digital video...Done.
Reading Primary Drivers...

"...Hear....normal..."

Switching to Dolby 17.1 Crystal Audio

"So how are we doing, Richard?"

"Just fine. I believe it can hear us now, Will."

"Alright, I'll examine it's optic sensors."

Registering Pressure Drivers.... Done.
Registering Optic Systems.... Done.

"Rock, can you hear me?"

Analyzing Face Graph....
Loading Recognition Files....


Name: Dr. Thomas William Light
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Weight: 101.9kg
Height: 178.78cm
Occupation: Classified


Connecting Clusters....

"...Dr..." crackled the voice. Nothing but static erupted from within.

"Hey Richard! Is there anything you can do about it's vocal output?" yelled Dr. Light.

The android saw itself blink a few times. It was staring at itself in the mirror above the table. A small child with wires and metal tucked firmly into it's chest. This was not alarming.

Analyzing Face Graph....

Name: Rock
Age: 0
Gender: N/A
Weight: 233.1kg
Height: 160.00cm
Occupation: N/A

"Yeah, just give me a second...and there we go! Try it now," the voice came from far away.

"State your reply," Dr. Light looked into Rock's eyes, this time with practiced urgency.

"All systems normal," Rock followed protocol.

"Recognize Statement: Load system file local, slash, Wily Linux, slash, system32, slash, AJ zero zero three dot dll."

local//wilylinux/system32/aj003.dll ..... File loaded into virtual memory. Database Online.

In nearly an instant, Rock was flooded with a wealth of knowledge. History, Science, Medicine, and Politics were amongst the many topics. 6,000 years of relevant human history had been condensed into a number of text files of only a few hundred gigabytes.

"State the current date please," Dr. Light let his shoulders down and seemed to relax.

"Understood. The year is 1998 and--" Rock began.

"Recognize Statement: Load system file local, backslash, AJ zero zero three four two dot dll," interrupted Dr. Light.

This time, all of his processors were consumed with news articles, science journals, reports, and television broadcasts. An entirety of fifty-four years covered in twelve terabytes.

"I understand. The year is 2042..." said Rock, then he looked up, "...correct?"

"Hey Richard, come over here!" yelled Dr. Light ecstatically.

Rock took this time to look around. They were inside a small chamber. It seemed built to house this body and the replacement parts set upon shelves. The little wallspace available displayed circuit diagrams; Rock scanned them and recognized them as his own. His body was lying at an angle on the central table, facing the ceiling mirror. Rock saw movement from his peripheral vision and turned to see another man walk into the room. They were both wearing the same clothing, but this new man had wild greying hair and only a mustache instead of a full beard.

Analyzing Face Graph....

Name: Dr. Albert Richard Wily
Age: 53
Gender: Male.
Weight: 76.2kg
Height: 170.22cm
Occupation: Classified.

"We got this one working, Will?" asked Dr. Wily. He had his hands clasped behind his back, keeping his composure.

"It's simply amazing. It actually showed doubt in a calculation!" Dr. Light was visibly pleased. Wily nodded and let out a sigh of relief.

"Fantastic! The changes made to the AI must have worked this time!" said Wily quietly, sharing in the enthusiasm.

Rock did not understand. It was clear, however, that the two doctors had a great deal planned for the future.

***

"Again!" yelled Light from the far corner in the room.

Rock was standing at the other end of the training area. This place resembled a large gymnasium, but was made of thick steel and concrete. Against the far wall was a network of computers, all being monitored by Wily. Rock was wearing a blue training jumpsuit. It was padded with wireless sensors constantly monitoring and double-checking his systems. He jumped up and grabbed the parallel bars for a fourth time as instructed.

"1.34 seconds. Much better Rock, you seem to be improving," said Light with pride. "However, you still need to put more force into your dominant leg."

"I would suggest an increase of about 13%," Wily yelled from the back corner. He walked over to Light with some papers in his hand. "I'm not sure how that will affect his heatsink; take a break and I'll run a few simulations. Take a look at these."

Wily walked over from Light and came up to Rock who was currently awaiting further instruction.

"Okay, Rock, I'm gonna need you to switch to your secondary coolant system for a second. Reduce power so you don't overheat, alright?" Wily stated his instructions clearly. He used his philips screwdriver to remove the plate on Rock's chest. Rock immediately switched and began to breathe steadily. Wily took a look at the sensors and started to pry through the heatsink, making sure it was properly hooked into Rock's back.

"Okay, I'm gonna go run a simulation based on this data. You guys hang on," Wily took off in an excited jog which suggested a far younger age for the man. Rock switched to his primary coolant system and approached Light.

"Dr. Light, I am ready to receive instruction," asked Rock. The android then paused. "How are the results of your test so far?"

"Just fine," Light smiled. "You know, it's amazing. I can't believe how much you've advanced in this past month," said Light.

"Thank you Doctor, but I have been advancing within the standard parameters specified."

Light just chuckled as he looked down into Rock's eyes.

"Rock, we've done pretty much everything we can. The robot masters were easier to test, but now they're waiting on us to finish the crown jewel of our presentation," Dr. Light looked away. "We're starting to run out of time and over budget. I don't know if you're ready yet, but it's coming down the wire..."

"My physical and mental performance has met your standards; has my performance not met theirs?" Rock stated simply, pointing at the wide mirror which took up a good chunk of the wall near Wily's stations.

"You know about them, huh?" Dr. Light mused with a gruff voice. "You're right of course. We're not the only ones watching your test."

"The reflective index of that mirror is not perfect; I have observed that their backroom is normally overstaffed."

"Yes well, it's no wonder they're excited," Light smiled again. "You're one of a kind, after all. Decades of AI research and hardware from scientists all over the world led to your construction."

"What else remains to test for the presentation?"

"Well, socially you are underdeveloped," Light replied. Rock seemed confused, so Dr. Light continued. "The fact is that you've only dealt with two very old scientists. You don't learn manners talking with a bunch of old geeks like us. The project isn't just about proving that machines can handle complex human tasks; we've built many with AI to handle dangerous occupations, for example. But Richard and I both have a much higher goal in mind. You're the next step: fully simulated humanity."

"And I am lacking in social ability?"

"Well, it will probably take you a decade to develop properly. But we need to show that it's possible for you to interact with society; you'll need to pass the Turing test at some point. Until then, there is a lot of body language and facial expressions you'll need to learn."

"I am expected to simulate human emotion?"

Dr. Light paused. "No... but simpler human behaviour is a good start. I'm not sure emotions or free will can truly be achieved. But my research isn't done yet, either."

"What must we do first?"

"Well, we need to make you either more male-looking or female-looking. Part of simulating humanity will have to be in choosing a gender for your day-to-day interactions."

"Why?" Rock asked, but it was merely a statement. The android didn't look confused and barely sounded like it. There was no change in the face or body or tone. This was going to take a lot of work.

"Well, the two behave and think in subtly different ways. Also, the reactions you receive from others will be different. Not to mention that your physical appearance, in order to be fully realistic, will require some serious changes."

"Please explain in detail the advantages and disadvantages of both genders."

"Um...well...I'm not to sure I'm qualified to really explain--" stuttered Light.

Rock just waited patiently. Rock heard another airplane fly by. It happened often. Rock felt a pressure in the air, indicating danger. He turned to look at Wily, who was still tapping away on several different keyboards.

The air paused and was cut by an arc of electricity. The lightning danced across the walls, followed by the pulsing sound of a shockwave hitting a wall of air. Wily's body flailed across the room like a broken puppet. The old man hit the floor, the squeaking sound of his unconscious body sliding brought a look of terror to Dr. Light's eyes.

"Oh shit," Light looked for any signs of life from his friend. " Richard... Rock, you stay here and watch him!"

Dr. Light ran towards the mirror and began banging against it. Rock saw that the crowd was frantic before Light alerted them. It seemed that there was an emergency. An alarm sounded and many panicked. Rock continued to stare at the body; both the android and Wily were unflinching and still.

***

Rock continued to sit and stare. The android had held this position for many hours over the past two weeks. Dr. Light was also sitting down; they were waiting for Dr. Wily to wake up. The incident at the gym allowed Rock to see what was beyond the laboratory for the first time. There were no tall buildings, indicating that they were not in a town or a city. Everyone was in uniform; extrapolating on past data allowed Rock to conclude that it was a military base. This small clinic was only a few hundred metres from the laboratory.

"Will he be fully functional soon, Dr. Light?" asked Rock.

"Yeah..the doctors said he should wake up today," replied Light, his brow was furrowed. Rock attempted to imitate it. The android had been instructed to learn and duplicate human behaviour whenever possible. Dr. Light smiled when he saw what Rock was doing. He then looked back at his friend. Dr. Wily had many wires embedded in his skin, presumably monitoring his performance. Rock remembered wearing similar devices; since the sensors weren't flashing or making noise, everything was fine.

"I have made my decision."

Rock stated it cleanly, without even looking at Light. They both continued staring at the bed.

"I will be male," the comment roused Dr. Light's interest. The doctor turned to face his pupil.

"What's the reason?"

"You may have designed what you consider a gender-neutral appearance, but the hospital staff considers my appearance male. Observing them, I have noticed they use masculin pronouns to refer to my presence. Choosing to be male, therefore, should require little alteration."

"Fair enough. Logical, as expected," Light's voice faltered, perhaps disappointed. Rock concluded that he did not understand and recalculated his request with plain words.

"I don't want to change my current appearance," Rock said. Dr. Light responded with apprehensive body language, even though he smiled. Body language was a very confusing concept. The two sat there in silence for only a few moments, before they were interrupted by stirring from the bed.

"unnh..." Wily opened his eyes and rubbed his head. He had clearly recovered most mobility. "You still here?"

"Richard!" exclaimed Dr. Light. "Thank God you're alright."

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine," Wily straightened up in his bed, squinting from all the light in the room. "Ow, pain in my back..."

"It was pretty serious. The burns were treated, but they weren't sure about your spine."

"Aw damnit, that disc replacement cost me a lot of money. I better not have to get another one."

"No they said it was still functioning," Dr. Light smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure your insurance rates won't spike."

"I'm really starting to get tired of explosions. William, next time you work the controls."

"Fair enough," it seemed that Dr. Light's worry had disappeared. "Hopefully we don't have another accident too soon. We've dodged the presentation for a long time now."

"I can see it now," Wily said with a wry grin before imitating a deep voice. "We expect the presentation tomorrow. Tell Albert Wily to bring his catheter from the clinic with him."

Dr. Light chuckled with ease and relaxed back into his chair with a smile. Rock imitated the action.

"Hey, what have we got here?" Dr. Wily looked straight at Rock. "You taught Rock how to do that?"

The two continued to talk. It was research and data as usual. The room had been silent only a few moments ago; now it was filled with the technical chatter from the two scientists as they caught up on all the developments over the past few weeks. Rock relaxed his face and stared out the window. The orange sunlight from the west flooded the room.

Author's Comment: Well, I think this one turned out rather well. Hopefully you guys picked up on the fact that Wily had a previous accident. Also, if you're wondering why Wily and Light refer to eachother using their middle names... well, that gets covered later on as well. Hopefully no one in the audience is asleep yet. Onwards to chapter 4!

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