The Singularity/ Son of Man (Name in Progress) Outline

Main Characters:
Taran (model # H-0312)- a machine created in secret by Victor Light to replace his
lost son, three years before the events of the story. Taran is capable of a form of
free will and strives to be free from Victor and live far away from the city run by
Victor and his corporation, but also wants revenge for the torture hes received
over the years. He is capable of implanting free will into other machines by
copying the source code that he has within himself that gives him free will and
transmitting it to other machines as a virus in the machines A.I.
Maria Wright- a spry young programmer of 19 and is a major in both computer
science and psychology at the University. She is shy in nature and kind of a klutz,
but dreams big of one day becoming the head programmer at Good Neighbor
Industries. She is at the top of her classes in both fields and is monitored by Victor
because of that. She is under a lot of debt, not just from student loans, but from her
mothers medical bills.
Victor Light- the founder and CEO of Good Neighbor Industries, a company that
designs all of the machines found in Aldasoro. A 48 year old widower who lost his
17 year old son in an accident while he was at work, thus prompting him on a mad
delves into artificial telligence, creating Taran. Selfish and greedy to a fault, he also
wants to better humanity, sacrificing his own feelings. He is also the head of the
police force in Aldasoro, for GNI makes the drones that the police use to patrol the
city.
Simon (model #H-0301) a.k.a. the Blaster-Tarans older brother and body guard.
He is a repurposed police drone which are all 5 foot 10 inches in height. Police
drones have battle armor if situations are dangerous. With the body armor, Simon

is 10 feet tall and 40,000 pounds. He is programmed with limited free will, so he is
loyal to a specifically inputted master, originally Victor, but was hacked by Taran.
He can feel 4 basic emotions, fear, joy, anger, and sadness and talks slowly and in
short sentences. He is gentle and nervous at heart but ferocious in combat.
Little John a.k.a. the Shredder-a machine rescued by Maria and Taran in a robot
fighting ring. Created by the owner of the Robot Coliseum, he is the reigning
champ because he is small enough the go in-between plating in cut up wires. His
body composition is of a round ball with little legs and an arm with a hook as a
hand, to tear apart the wires of other machines. He is devious by nature but follows
orders like any other machine does. He is implanted free will by Tarans ability of
hacking.
Minor Characters (but vital to the plot)
The Landlady and Tenants- Marias housemates, the landlady is harsh on her.
There is a kind old lady, an arguing couple, a handsome young man that helps out
the landlady whom Maria has a slight crush on, his son, and the landladys 8 year
old daughter.
The Professor- Marias programming professor that used to work for Good
Neighbor Industries. He gets a phone call that requests Maria for a position at
Good Neighbor Industries.
Marias Mother- Marias sickly mother; she is kind and optimistic. She cares for
her daughter, and is grateful for her support. Maria wants to become a programmer
to gain money to help her out. She is also Hispanic, speaking some Spanish to her
daughter.

Benedict Cole- The scumbag owner of the Coliseum. He is a boisterous man that
loves to entertain the crowd, but rigs the competition to favor his machine who he
calls the Shredder.
Mother and the Junkyard robots- A bunch of defective or broken machines that live
in a junkyard outside of Aldasoro that were repurposed to have free will thanks to
Taran. They are grateful of Taran and see him as a liberator and their only hope for
equality with the humans, or at least a better life away from the Junkyard, where
they are under constant threat of being melted down or torn apart for parts by the
Junkyard Operators. The leader is a talking toaster whom Taran met and instilled
free will to after running away the first time, he calls her Ma because she is
protective of Taran and comforts him. She moves with the help of four robotic legs
attached to her bottom by Taran.

Story
Taran runs on the rooftops at night. He jumps from rooftop to rooftop. He
turns to see police drones on an adjacent building running in the same direction. A
helicopter flies from above and shouts at Taran to stop. Taran keeps running and
begins to climb gutter pipe on to a roof that has a view of the metropolitan city.
Taran stops to look, but a gunshot sound prompts him to turn around. A giant
police drone has landed right in front of him. He turns to run but two more land on
that side. A loud sound is heard and Taran looks down to see his legs being tied by
a sling, and falls over. The machines come over and reach for Taran as Taran looks
at the city lights.
Marias landlady is serving breakfast and calls down her tenants. She wakes
up Maria because she got a phone call that is addressed for her. Maria clumsily
gets up and gets ready, realizing that shes going to be late for school. Maria rushes
downstairs and sees a small group of kids watching the T.V. as a match is going on
in the Robot Coliseum. She says hello to all of her fellow tenants and grabs a piece
of toast and rushes on out of the door. She has a talk with the landlady about her
overdue rent, commenting how clich it is to be arguing about rent, on her way out.
She takes a step outside and runs down the street towards her class at the Aldasoro
Institute of Technology.
She runs into class just in time for the bell to ring. The professor reassures
her that it was fine and that she already knows the material they went over that day.
Maria tries to explain that she overslept from working all night from trying to
figure out how to code free will into A.I. The professor chuckles to himself and
dismisses her crazy idea as science fiction at best. He tells her that she is an
incredible student, and that Good Neighbor Industries called requesting her by

name. He explains that they offer her a job working with Victor Light, and Maria
jumps in excitement but stops and tells him she needs to think about it.
She goes to her mother and tells her the situation. She congratulates Maria,
but Maria is worried because she is worried she wont be able to finish her
program, which she could sell for enough money to pay for her mothers hospital
bills. Her mother reassures Maria and convinces her to accept the offer.
Maria heads back home and finds the handsome tenant standing on the roof
of the building, staring at the city. She has a drink with him and they talk about the
citys beauty. She walks to the kitchen and dials her professor and tells him that she
would accept the job.
A similar event happens the next morning from the previous morning with
the landlady calling everyone downstairs. She goes to Marias room and sees that
she is already awake, ready, with a tidy room. She looks at the landlady nervously
and the landlady tells her everything is going to be fine and gives her a big hug. A
car horn is heard and Maria rushes downstairs and walks to the car, the tenants
wishing her luck. She waves back and stares at the building before getting into the
car.
She arrives at the Good Neighbor Industries building, a towering skyscraper
that is far taller than the other buildings around it. She walks in and goes up to the
secretary who ignores her. She sees a couple of kids who are on a class field trip
and she walks over to them. She follows them into the elevator and she is taken to
the rooms that show a group of people behind computers coding, a room full of
schematics, and an underground factory. In the factory, Victor Light sees the group
with Maria and calls them over, and the tour guide introduces the kids to Victor.

Victor gives them a warm introduction and sends them away, except for Maria. He
asks her what she is doing with the tours. She explained that she got lost in trying
to find him. Victor chuckles at this and apologizes for the inconvenience.
He leads her into the elevator. He opens a compartment and inputs a code
into a keypad and puts in his thumbprint, which causes the elevator to shoot up.
Maria begins the conversation by telling him that it is an honor to be requested to
work for him. Victor tells her that it was only natural that a person of her caliber to
be requested for such a task. He talks about her being a head in her classes for
programming and psychology, the fact that she created a universal operating
system at the age of 16, and that she was the winner of her school science fair from
when she was 8-18. She laughs at the last one, but Victors smile turns into a
frown. He also tells her that he heard a rumor that she figured out how to program
free will. Maria looks up at him and denies it, stuttering as she does so. He tells her
that that is a good thing, because that is a recipe for disaster. He explains that
programmers are creators, they breathe life into metal, they are masters of those
creations, but free will threatens that very order. Maria gulps and tells him that she
was never told what her job would be. The elevator doors open.
Maria and Victor walk into a long hallway where Victor leads Maria to a
door with a big metal door. Victor produces a key and unlocks the door. It is dark,
and Victor motions Maria inside. Victor turns on a switch and machines whir to
life, including several super computers lining the walls and the lights. Taran is
stuck to the wall, restrained by a set of cuffs that secure his hands and feet. He
looks up at Maria then looks away. Maria gapes at Taran and Victor explains that
he is a machine, a machine that lacks the obedience that is so important in
machines, and is thus dysfunctional. He explains that it is her job to get him to
obey orders, and that it would take more than hacking for the assignment. Victor

explains that the computers link directly into Tarans mind she can try anything she
wants, as long as she doesnt damage him or his code. He expects it to take a while,
so he intends to pay her while giving her living accommodations in the building,
and leaves, wishing her luck.
Maria sits down on the ground and breathes heavily in shock. Taran looks up
at her and asks if shes going to probe him. Maria looks up at him, and Taran
explains that people usually jump at the chance to probe his mind and look into the
code. He stops and laughs, he reassures Maria that he is a machine and that Victor
is a psychopath, so she should just probe around a little and then leave. Maria gets
up and walks over to Taran. Then lock eyes as Maria touches his face. Her hand
works up to his hair, which sloshes around, then she grabs at his heart and she feels
his heartbeat. She says that he cant be a machine, Taran looks at her then the
computer. Maria walks over to it and opens up a coding program that has Tarans
code on it. She closes it and opens up another program which shows Tarans vitals
and another one that shows the schematics of his brain. There is a cylindrical dome
that has particles running inside it at a rapid pace. She opens it to show a function
that shows what Tarans sees. She opens it to see a video of her at the computer,
and it pans to the opposite side of the room. Maria turns around and sees Taran
looking the other way from her. Maria runs out of the room and covers her mouth
with her hand. She looks up and turns around and stares at the door. Taran looks to
the ground, then looks up to see Maria opening the door slowly. She walks to him
and looks directly into his eyes. She sheepishly introduces herself, and Taran
responds with his name. Maria is surprised by his name, but says his name is
interesting. Maria sits at the computer and Taran stares at her, Maria begins typing
as the day goes away and fades into night.

A week later, Maria wakes up and stares out the window into the city. A
coffee maker turns on and tells exactly the kind of coffee is being made. Maria
picks up her clothes from the floor and puts them on. She leaves her room and
walks into the hallway. She jumps at the sound of her name, and turns to see Victor
on the opposite side of the hallway. He walks towards her and Maria says hello.
Victor tells her to walk with him, and she follows. He asks how H-0312 is doing
and Maria tells him that Taran is doing fine, not listening to any of her orders, but
doing just fine. Victor tells her that no progress has been made, and Maria says no,
but that Taran shows no signs of dangerous behavior. Victor stops and tells her that
a machine like Taran is inherently dangerous. Maria then asks Victor, if hes so
dangerous why did Victor create Taran? Victor asks Maria if she has someone that
she lives for, someone so valuable, that if they were separated, some part of her
would be lost. Maria responds yes, and Victor sighs and pulls out a bent pocket
knife. He tells her that three years ago he lost that person, a car accident took him,
and as a creator he felt responsible to bring him back, but what came out wasnt the
same person, just a reminder of his loss. Maia stares at him and Victor chuckles
and puts the knife away. He walks away and tells Maria to finish the job soon.
Maria begins to run to the big metal door
Maria walks into the room where Taran is and turns on the light. She walks
over slowly to the wall and sees that the cuffs are deactivated and resting on the
floor and Taran is gone. She picks one up and then drops it. She runs to the
computer and activates an alarm. A loud alarm is heard and a robotic voice screams
breach. A red light blinks on and off and Maria runs out of the room she runs down
the hallway to the elevator and glass window, which are sealed by a metal
covering. Maria continues to run and the power cuts out. The only lights are from

the alarms. Maria walks slowly in the darkness and a pair of hands grabs her.
Marias screams are muffled by the hands.
There is total blackness and Tarans voice is heard telling Simon to get the
bag off her head. The blackness is lifted and Taran sits on ground, facing Maria, in
an empty room. The sounds of the cars outside are heard through a window, it is
night. Maria is gagged with a rag and tied to a chair with a rope. Maria looks to her
right and a police drone is holding a bag and Maria screams, and squirms in her
restraints. Simon screams back and Taran stands up and yells at them both to be
quiet. They both settle and Simon, the big drone, walks over to Taran and says hes
sorry but it was the girl who scared her. Taran tells him its safe because shes a
tied up girl and hes a police drone capable of leveling a school bus. Maria tries to
talk again and Taran walks over to her and crouches to her eye level. She stares at
him and he slowly takes off her gag. She breathes in and starts screaming where
she is, what happened, how did he escape, and Taran yells at her to shut up. Maria
cries in silence, Taran bores his eyes into hers. Taran says good evening Miss
Wright, and asks her how she is feeling. Maria looks at him and then looks down.
Taran gets up and pretends to check off a list with his hand, muttering very good
to himself. Maria looks at Simon with tears in her eyes, Simon looks away sharply.
Taran comes up behind her and whispers into her ears, do you want me to probe ya.
Marias breaths accelerate and she sobs. Simon pleads Taran to stop, Taran looks at
him and then to the sobbing Maria, then he looks down. He ruffles his hair then
says he is sorry, that he only wanted to know what it felt like. Maria continues to
sob, Taran continues and says that it feels awful, Maria looks up. Taran sighs and
leans against a wall, and welcomes her to her new home, and that she is officially
their hostage. Maria looks at him then to Simon, who waves at her. Taran
introduces him as his older brother, model H-0301, and that he likes to be called

Simon. Maria forces out a hello and Simon responds with another hello. Taran
smiles and goes to the window and looks out. He beckons Maria to come over, he
catches himself and then asks Simon to untie her, and asks for him to get out of the
armor. Simon says ok, looks down, and then a much shorter drone pops out from
the back. Simon walks over to Maria and unties her, Maria stands up and says
thank you to Simon. She looks at Taran who looks at the city, the same way the
other guy looked out of the balcony. Maria walks to the window and looks out to
see the city. Taran points over to a giant building in the shape of a dome. Taran tells
her that it is the Robot Coliseum, he explains that they are hosting a tournament,
and there are open trials tomorrow. Taran says that the winner gets a prize of
$1,000,000. Maria looks at him and asks if hes going to enter it. Taran chuckles,
he says no, that Maria is entering Simon. Taran explains that only a person is able
to enter a machine into the tournament, he turns to Maria and tells her that is why
he needs her. Taran yawns and stretches and goes into the room, and tells them
both to go to bed. Simon says ok then falls over with a metallic thud. Maria looks
back out the window; she looks down and slams her fist on the window sill.
Two robots are fighting in a pit of sand. The bigger machine punches the jaw
off the smaller machine, making it lose its lower jaw. It becomes a recording which
Maria, Simon, and Taran, who is cloaked, watch from a giant screen in front of the
Robot Coliseum. Simon looks up and whimpers. Taran grabs his hand and
squeezes and tells him its all going to be okay. Simon walks forward and Maria
looks at Taran. Taran tells her that he is surprised that she hasnt ran off yet, she
responds that if she did he would probably hunt her down and kill her, and Taran
nods saying that is a correct assumption. Maria asks if Simon could actually win,
and Taran responds with a yes explaining that Simon has advanced A.I. created by
his scumbag father and modified by him, so he can easily outsmart the other

machines. As Taran says this, Simon bumps his head on the overhang over the
entrance, issuing a loud thud. Taran and Maria look at him and he puts his thumbs
up and crouches under the overhang. Maria looks at Taran, Taran sighs and
marches forward. Maria walks forward, but hears a metallic screech and turns her
head. She looks at an alleyway on the side of the building. Taran calls her name,
and is holding open the door. Maria looks at him then back to the alleyway, then
walks off to Taran.
She goes through the door to see a huge lobby filled with people and littered
with giant machines. Taran holds out his hand and tells her to grab it for him to
make sure where she is. She takes his hand and they walk through the lobby. They
bump into the occasional machine until they see Simon. They wave to him, and he
runs over to them, nearly crashing into several machines and trampling other
people. Simon reaches them and a whistle is heard from above. A hovering gold
machine comes up to the trio and tells them that Simon is disrupting the
application process. Taran explains that they were getting into line, but the machine
cuts them off saying that they are a nuisance and they need to leave. They turn to
leave but the machine sees the GNI logo on Simons back. She tells them to stop
and points out the logo. Simon tries to look at it and Taran asks why it is important.
The machine asks if they are with Good Neighbor Industries, and Maria says yes.
The machine folds into its base and Taran glares at Maria. The machine comes out
of their machine, and motions them to follow it.
The machine leads them down to a staircase that leads to a hallway with
elegant paintings and sculptures. They reach the end and reached a door the reads
Mr. Cole. The machine knocks on the door and a loud what is it could be heard
through the door. The machine explains that it brought the people from Good
Neighbor Industries with it. The voice responds to bring them in, the machine

opens the door and Benedict Cole stands up from a desk and welcomes them. She
motions for Taran and Maria to sit on the chairs in front of the desk. Simon looks at
Cole and he asks Maria to command her machine away. Maria asks Simon to wait
outside and he leaves with the floating machine. Cole leans back in his chair and
asks what he wants with him. Maria asks for clarification, and Cole explains that
Victor is always on him for something. At the sound of Victors name, Taran grips
the ends of his chair. Cole sees this and looks at Tarans angry face, and laughs. He
asks if there is some bad blood between him and his boss. He explains that very
reason is why he replaced his staff with machines; they wouldnt talk back,
because they are no more than metallic slaves. He laughs at the analogy, and Taran
grips his chair harder, and responds that its strange that Cole doesnt seem to like
Victor, seeing as they are both arrogant worms. Cole stops laughing and looks at
Taran and tells him to calm down, and that he isnt hurting anyone. Taran and Cole
stare at each other, and then Maria clears her throat. She explains that Victor Light
brought them to enter a new model of Police Drone into the tournament to test out
its new battle A.I. Cole laughs at this, saying that its ridiculous that Victor would
want a battle between his drone and his Shredder. Maria asks what the Shredder is,
and Cole says its the most deadly machine to other machines and the reigning
champ of the Coliseum, He explains that it is his own personal machine, and thus
loyal to him, and Victor cannot have him. Cole then says that he is fine with the
drone entering the tournament. Maria then asks to not put under Good Neighbor
Industries, for the model is still being tested and thus top secret. Cole says of
course, and then Maria says she was grateful to meet him, gets up and he says it
was a pleasure as well and shakes her hand. Taran gets up and walks past his out
stretched hand and opens, walks through, and slams the door behind him. Cole sits
back down, and tells Maria that her cohort is a bit immature and goes back to
working on his computer. Maria tells Cole to have a nice day and opens the door to

hear the same metallic screech as before. She turns around and sees Cole swear and
open a drawer. He looks at Maria and tells her to get out. Maria runs out but sees
Cole pick up a metal ball on her way out.
Maria goes to the lobby and sees that it is empty, except for Taran. She asks
where Simon is, and he responds in the waiting room and that the fights have
begun. He pulls out a lanyard with a card at the end and tells her that it is her ticket
in to the trainers room. She says thank you and turns to leave, but turns around
and asks Taran if he knew what the Shredder looked like. Taran responds that he
does not. Maria responds with an ok and walks to a big door with a gold lock that
blinks with an orange light. She holds out the lanyard to the lock and the light turns
green and the door fly open. Maria walks through the doors and enters a hallway
with doors assigned by letter. She looks at her card which reads H. She walks to
door H and opens it to see a room full of beanbag chairs, a tv, and a buffet table. 19
other people are in there, all ranging from big burly men, to kids younger than her,
and they all look at her. She says hello and they all get back to their various
activities. A fight is going on screen, and a machine tears the head off of another,
and there is a roar of applause. The announcer exclaims that that was an incredible
match. A big burly man is laughing and hollering on screen and it reads winner of
group D. The announcer says that it is time to select another group of 10 robots to
take stage for the next round. The other announcer says it is a delight to see this
many applicants in the tournament. The main announcer says that 400 applicants
signed up for the tournament, and he is excited which 20 are moving on to the next
round. The announcer says that the next group has been selected and it is group H.
A couple trainers get up with a groan as the 20 robots are displayed on screen,
Maria stares at Simons portrait, which shows him waving at the camera with the

number 6 displayed at the bottom. Maria gets up and follows the other trainers up a
flight of stairs to the arena stage.
They go on top of an elevated platform and below are a giant sand pit with
raised walls, behind which an audience sits. On the walls are doors that are
numbered. Maria and the trainers sit in stadium seats and the announcer greets
them as the audience cheers. Maria looks out, and Maria hears Tarans voice telling
her to relax. Maria turns to her right to see Taran standing next to her. She asks
how did get in, and he says by asking nicely. The lights dim and spotlights appear
on the doors. The announcers introduce the group as group H and ask for the
audience to countdown for the match to start. The doors open when the countdown
reaches 0, Taran breathes out, and Maria stares at the doors. Suddenly a rocket
launches from the darkness of one of the doors to shoot up and hits a force field
above the fighting pit. The crowd cheers as the machines all run out their doors.
Tarans move around as the sound of the wreckage goes on. He mutters where is
he, until he sees Simon standing in front of his door playing in the sand. Taran
stands up and shouts Simons name, and Simon looks a t him and waves as a
mechanical arm flies past him. Taran sits down and looks down and begins singing.
Maria looks at him then to Simon, and sees a machine that is reminiscent of a tank
with legs looking at Simon. He flings the machine he is holding and runs at Simon.
Maria turns to Taran, and tells him that someone is coming after Simon, but Taran
keeps to his song. She tells him that he has to do something, Taran ignores her. The
machine raises his arm to punch Simon, Maria screams at Taran, the crowd cheers,
Taran continues singing. Suddenly the machines hand is grabbed by Simon, who
stands up, to be a good foot taller than it. Simons hands light up and the other
machines arm flies off, causing the machine to screech. It launches the other arm
at Simon, which Simon dodges. Simon punches right through the machines chest,

causing it to fall over. The picture of the machine fades to grey on a projector.
Maria looks at Taran, who is no longer singing and he smiles at her. Simon steps
over the machine he defeated and jumps to land on another machine, and fires
lasers on the other machines. A few more pictures of machines go grey. Simon
blasts a hole in one more machine, and then is hit by a rocket. A Black Machine
with shoulders equipped with rocket artillery launchers and an arm that is an empty
socket looks at Simon. A machine runs up to the Black Machine and tries to kick it,
but without even looking, the Black Machine lifts up the smaller machine and
extends a blade out of the empty socket, cutting right through the smaller machine.
The Black Machine lowers the hand he holds the machine, but keeps its sword
hand in place, cutting the smaller machine in two. Simon and the Black Machine
are the only two left in the arena. Taran sings and Simon stares at the machine.
Tarans voice is heard faintly, it says, alright buddy just one left, lets get him.
Simon charges ahead and the Black machine stays in place. The Black Machine
opens the artillery doors and with a roar, unleashes the rockets at Simon. Simon
gets hit by one and keeps running, he dodges another one as another whizzes by his
head. Simon looks at it and is knocked to the ground with a spin by another
explosion. The Black Machine runs at Taran, his blade ready to struck, Taran
screams in Simons head, Simon turn around. Simon says ok, and flips his smaller
head backwards out of the armor. The Black Machine is right in front of Simon,
and Simon unleashes a laser blast with his eyes. The lazer clears and the Black
Machines head is gone, and a couple wires stick out at the top. The Black Machine
falls over and the picture goes grey on the projector behind the announcers. The
crowd clears and Maria stands up and cheers. Simon spins his head back into place
and stands waving at the crowd. Taran coughs violently, and Maria looks at him.
She kneels and he starts breathing heavily and flailing violently. Maria asks what
he needs and, he points at a cup in an adjacent chair. He grabs it and sucks at the

straw. The trainee yells hey, and Taran slams the cup down and coughs. He looks
up at Maria and grins saying that we won. Maria nods her head and says yeah we
won. The announcers say it was an outstanding fight and they are excited to see
what the Blaster has in store for them. Benedict Cole stares at the giant monitors in
his office, which displays the tournament feed. He drops his glass of wine.
That night it rains. At the abandoned room, Maria recounts how amazing the
fight was, saying, that it was incredible and she didnt know Simon was so strong.
Taran and Maria have burgers out and drink. The trio sits in a triangle, with Taran
facing the window and the others sit in front of him. A lantern sits in front of each
of them. Simon says it wasnt him, it was Taran. Taran denies it was him, and that
it was all Simon. Simon shakes his head and starts to explain but Taran says that
Simon was in the pit, you deserve all the credit. Simon says that he heard Taran
singing. Maria swallows her burger and asks about the singing. Simon faces her
and tell her when he hears Taran singing, he feels him right here, where he points
at his brain. Taran gets and yells at Simon to be quiet. Simon and Maria stare at
him, Simon puts his head down and mumbles sorry. Maria whispers Taran, he
looks at her and she asks what Simon means by singing. Taran looks at Maria, then
to the distraught Simon, then back to Maria. He says that the songs are actually
binary. He points to his head, and says that in his head is a transmitter, bringing in
information and putting out information on remote command. Maria continues his
thought and says that he then figured out a way to bypass the outsource restriction,
and that he figured how to send code to other machines, which he comes out as
music, at least to human ears. Taran pauses and says yes. Maria looks at Simon,
and he looks at her, she asks if he was able to give other machines a copy of his
own code. Taran takes a longer pause and says yes. There is a long pause then sits
against a wall. Maria sits next to him, she is about to speak, and he cuts her off

saying that he hates doing it. He continues saying he hates controlling others, that
it makes him no better than that scumbag Cole. Maria asks if there are others like
Simon out there. Taran laughs, he says that there is no one like Simon, and that his
code is still the one Light gave him. Maria clarifies that she means any who can
think for themselves. Taran sighs and puts his head on her lap, and says that hes
going to bed. Maria sighs and Simon drags his armor across the floor and sits down
next to Maria and shuts off. Maria looks at Taran, then at Simon, then to the
lantern. She slowly gets up, putting Taran down gently. She walks over to the
lantern and blows out the fire.
There is a windup sound then a blast of flame bursts out of a funnel. A
cylindrical machine with funnels all over his body spits out fire and spins in the
sand pit and charges forward and Simon dodges it, and it hits a wall, sending
sparks into the air. A panther like jumps at Simon and pins him down. The crowd
cheers and the announcer give a play by play. He says that the Panther is tearing
apart the Blaster, but the Falcon is coming in to attack the panther. As he says this,
a bird like machine picks up the Panther and flies off. Simon gets up and runs off
with his hand already shooting lasers. Taran sings again Maria looks at him and
then looks down. She nudges him and he resists, and then he responds, and then
begins to cough. Maria says that she is going to the bathroom, and he yells at her
for interrupting him. He tells her to just go, but to make sure to come back. Maria
heads downstairs and goes to the lobby.
She is halfway through the lobby when Coles voice calls her out calling her
Lights lap dog. She looks up at Cole who has his hands in his coat pockets. She
says hello to him. He asks what a trainer is doing not watching their machine be
torn to pieces. She begins to respond, but Cole cuts her off and invites her to a
drink in his office. She reluctantly agrees and she goes up the staircase as he turns

around and heads into his office. Maria enters the room and Cole pours two glasses
of red wine. They sit down facing across from each other, the monitors displaying
the feed of the fight going on behind them. Cole raises his glass and gives a toast to
Marias machine, as Simon gets slammed into the wall by the flaming cylinder
machine. Maria looks at the giant monitor, and then to Cole, who still has his arm
outstretched with the glass of wine. Maria clinks her glass against his, as Simon is
on the floor of the sand pit. Cole throws back the entire glass and tells her that he
didnt ask for her name when they met the other day. She pauses and says that her
name is Maria Wright. Cole repeats her name as he pours another glass; he says
that it is a pretty name for a pretty girl. Maria pauses and says thank you meekly.
Cole asks about the name of her cohort. Maria begins to answer, but stops and
looks at the monitor, Simon stares at the camera projecting the feed, and then falls
over. Maria spurts out Taran. Cole after empting his second glass, responds with
what. Maria looks at him and firmly says his name is Taran. A silence fills the
room; Maria looks down, then looks up to the noise of Cole howling with laughter.
Cole looks at her and tries to ask if shes being serious, but cracks up. He asks her
who would name their kid something so stupid, then falls over again in laughter.
He gets up and leans against a wall and grabs the whole wine bottle. He says that
kid has the name of a goddamn elf, and takes a large swig of wine. Maria looks
down and asks if she can be excused to the restroom. Cole stops taking a drink and
says that they still have business to conduct. He walks over to his desk and with
complete sternness he tells her that her machine, then corrects himself, Victors
machine is strong, too strong. Cole holds up his hands and says I know, I know,
thats the point, have a strong machine and beat the others. He continues saying
that however, that machine is much stronger than all the other entrants, by far.
Maria laughs nervously and says that Good Neighbor has done a good job to
improving their drones then. Cole says that it isnt the machine or its A.I. that is

strong. He continues saying that he was wondering why that cretin insulted him the
other day when he made a comment about machines. He takes a gulp of the wine
glass, and breaths out. He says that it then hit him as to why someone would get so
upset about insulting machines. He asks Maria if shes ever met an animal trainer
who spends too much time with their animal. He explains that when a trainer gets
too attached to their animal, they no longer see it as some beast, but as a partner, an
equal. He explains that that kid has the same problem; hes too close to the
machine in there because he is his pilot. Maria looks at him and says that there is a
machine already linked to the armor; there is no way that Taran can pilot it. Cole
slams the bottle against the desk and screams to let him finish. Maria looks at the
door and then to Cole. Cole breathes in and out and says sorry. He continues saying
that he knows Police drones have two sets of A.I. one to handle the drone, and one
for the armor, and to get into the armor, they have to transfer their A.I. into the
armors A.I. He then explains that he knows it is possible to remotely hack into the
armors A.I., making it possible to maneuver from the outside, which is what the
little bastard is doing right now, and why that machine is so strong. He asks her if
hes right, and there is a pause, and Maria says no. Cole sits back and repeats no,
putting his hand over his hand, then chucks the broken top of the bottle in his hand.
Maria drops to the ground where a hand picks her up by the hair and she is face to
face with Cole. He tells her that if she is a filthy liar, and that hes going to prove it,
and once he does, hes going to do much more to her than disqualify her. He
throws her with a laugh and she stumbles but catches her with a wall. She looks at
the door and then to Cole who is laughing. She speed walks to the door, then Cole
tells her to stop. Maria holds the door handle as Cole tells her that there has been a
report of a missing machine from Good Neighbor Industries, and if that she knows
anything about it. Her hand trembles on the door handle, and she says no. She runs

through the door and down the hallway. She stops at the staircase, and cries as she
leans against the railing.
Taran wipes dirt off of Simons armor. He tells Simon that it looks good as
new. Taran turns around and looks at Simon who is lying down in the middle of the
room turned off. The light of the window spotlights his body. Taran walks over to
him and sits down in front of him. He tells him that he fought well today, now its
time to rest. He touches Simons face, and then Maria calls out Tarans name. Taran
lets go of Simon face, and turns to face her. Maria asks where the matches are, and
her puts his hands in his pocket and throws them to her. She says thank you and
lights one and lights the lantern. She sits down next to Taran and puts the lantern
on the opposite side of Simon. There is a pause and Taran asks Maria where she
was during the fight today. She sighs and says talking to Cole. Taran turns to face
her. Maria says that he wants them out of the tournament. Taran turns to face the
lantern. Maria explains that Cole thinks that they are cheating, and that Taran is
piloting Simon. Maria continues saying that Cole is dangerous, he can really hurt
them, and if he finds out the truth- Taran cuts her off and asks her what Cole did to
her. Maria asks what does he mean, and Taran responds that did he hurt her. Maria
looks at him and he looks at her, and Taran tells her that if Cole hurt her, he will
take his precious Shredder and shove it down his throat. Taran reaches for her hand
and Maria recoils. She faces the lantern as Taran looks at her. Taran gets up and
says that they cant drop now. The grand finals are tomorrow, and they need to win.
Simon pips in and says for Momma. Taran kneels down and tells Simon to go back
to sleep. Maria looks at Taran, who looks back at her. He tells her to go to bed,
now. Maria gets up and tells him that whatever happens tomorrow will be on his
head. Maria sits against a wall and nods off to sleep as Taran sits facing Simon and

the window. Taran stares at Simon, and looks up at the window as trumpets play
silently. Taran closes his eyes.
A row of trumpeters blow their trumpets as the crowd cheers. The trumpeters
stand on the trainers stage and confetti goes everywhere. The announcers discuss
the fact that after many rounds and through much perseverance two robots are left
standing, and whoever wins this round gets the grand prize of $10,000 and the
chance to fight the legendary Shredder and become the Robot Coliseum
Champion. As the announcers say this Maria sits on the staircase leading up, and
Taran leans against the wall. Taran looks at Maria and asks if she is alright. Maria
doesnt respond. Taran sits down next to her and tells her to look at him. She does
so after the second call and he tells her to not worry about anything, that Simon
and he are going to win the money, and they are going to take her home. Maria
looks away from him and tells him its not the tournament shes worried about.
Taran pauses and looks in the same direction, he take breathes in and says Cole,
that shes worried about Cole. She nod, and Taran says that Cole wont do anything
to hurt her. Maria asks how would he know, and Taran responds that he knows
because he will protect her. The announcers introduce the Blaster and Taran stands
up. He says thats her cue, and outstretches his hand. Maria looks up at him and
takes his hand and he pulls her up. They go up the stairs and Maria goes up and
stands in the center of the trainers stage, with the trumpeters standing behind her.
Maria looks down to seer Simon walking to the center of the pit. He gets to the
center, and turns around, he sees her and waves. Taran stands hooded at the
staircase, smiling at Maria. Maria turns around and they look eyes and she waves
at him, and he waves back. A hand grabs Taran and pulls him back. Maria looks
back to where Taran was and now hes gone. Maria looks around and breaths
heavily, and the world slows down and the noise becomes faint. She then looks

directly into the hand of a very scrawny man with glasses. She looks up and he
tells her that they have to shake hands. She takes his hands and they shake and the
crowd erupts. The announcers start a countdown from 5, Maria looks down, 4,
Simon stands next to a box that is oozing silver liquid, 3, Maria stares back into the
staircase, 2, the silver liquid forms into a blob, with the box in the center, a hole is
created in the liquid and fangs are formed and the blob roars, 1, the announcers yell
fight. Taran is in an empty trainers room, he is tied to a chair as a golden hand
slaps him across the face. He gasps for air and Coles voice asks if he is ready to
confess. Taran hangs his head down, and blood falls onto the floor, Cole walks
over and steps on that blood. Cole tells him that the match of the century has begun
and he knows that Taran doesnt want to miss watching his toy become scrap
metal, so time is of the essence. Taran looks into his eyes and spits in his face. Cole
recoils and punches him, knocking Tarans head back. Cole grabs a handkerchief
and wipes his face. He apologizes and sys that hell make sure one of his sentries
does it next time. Two sentries appear from the shadows next to Cole, which are
smaller and thinner versions of police drone, but with a long head instead of a wide
one. Simon ducks under a stab from a tentacle, but gets knocked up by another.
Simon lands on the ground and two tentacles impale the earth and he rolls away.
He gets up and starts running, with his hand on top of his head, around the sand pit.
Maria grips the arms of her chair as the fight progresses. The other finalist watches
the fight with attention, but his attention turns to Maria when she stands up. She
takes a couple of paces to the staircase and he asks her where she is going. She
says that she needs to go look for someone. The other finalist tells her that she
cant leave the trainers stage or that means she forfeits, those are the rules of the
finals. She looks back at him and then to the staircase. She goes back to her seat
and she sees as Simon is backed into a corner by the Blobs tentacles. Taran sits
with his head hung low, and Cole hums an upbeat tune and pauses to clap and with

each clap one of the sentries punch Taran. Cole laugh and says that he wishes that
Taran would never confess hes a dirty cheater, because this is too much fun. Taran
looks up and tells him that he will, but Cole cuts him off and says what will he do,
kill him, take his money. Cole says that he cant do anything now, and even if he
got out, his machine is still here, and once its turned to scrap metal, he will melt
him down and turn him into necklaces that he can sell in the lobby. He mentions
the girl and Taran looks up, Cole says that he will make a nice play thing and
laughs. Taran struggles against the rope. A knock on the door stops Coles laughter,
and Cole opens the door. A metallic voice on the other end says that the Blaster is
expected to lose very soon, and that Cole is needed to crown the winner. Cole
looks back at Taran and tells him that he has to go, duty calls. He turns to the
sentries and tells them to make sure he doesnt escape. Cole leaves and the two
sentries face Taran who hangs his head down. He breathes in and begins to sing.
The sentry tells him to be quiet. He looks up at the sentry, then back down and
sings again. The sentry says that it told him to be qui-, but stops and the other
sentry looks at the frozen sentry and walks over to him. He taps the sentrys face
and turns to Taran, his song fades into words, and Taran tells him stop, that he is
his ally, that he has given him a gift much greater than anything his former master
gave him, the ability to choose. Now it is up to him and his brother to make a
choice, follow his master orders, or help him save his friends. Taran stops singing
and looks up, the two sentries go to either side of Taran and they raise their hands.
They charge up a lazer blast with their hands, Taran closes his eyes and smiles. The
lazers hit the ropes, and Taran raises his arms and stands up and runs to the door.
He opens it and turns around, he sees the two sentries salute Taran, and he salutes
back and runs through the door. Simon is slammed to the ground and tries to hold
on to the floor but his flung to the other side of the sand pit by the Blob. Simon has
a spark emanate from his head when he lands. Maria looks on in horror, as the

other finalist leans back with a big grin on his face. Taran runs through the hallway
and rounds a corner to sees some sentries. He goes back and waits behind a corner.
Once they are gone, he goes down that corridor and makes a left, away from the
sentries. He sees a door titled H and he opens the door. He runs into the room and
looks at the staircase leading to the stage. Simon is lifted into the air and dangles
above the Blob. The Blobs mouth opens under Simons limp body. The
announcers say that everything is over once the Blob absorbs Simon. Maria balls
her fist and then hears running from the staircase. She turns and faces Taran who
kneels right next to her, with blood smeared on his face. She asks him how he got
there, and he looks at her and says by asking nicely. Taran begins singing and the
Blob lets go of Simon. Everything slows down, and Simon says in his mind, that
he is sorry. Taran chimes in that he has not lost yet. Simon responds, with Tarans
name, and Taran tells Simon that he is here and together they will fight. The Blob
swallows Simon and the crowd cheers. Maria puts her over her mouth as the other
finalist jumps and cheers. Maria looks at Simon who is still singing, she then looks
at the arena. The Blob screeches and the members of the audience are silent. The
Blob rolls over and begins emanating a blue light and screeches loudly. The Blob
explodes and there stands Simon with his arms out. Simon looks up and the
audience explodes in applause. The other finalist sits down with his mouth agape,
and Maria stands up and cheers and Taran coughs violently, and shoots a thumbs
up at the standing Maria. The announcers declare the Blaster is the winner of the
Tournament and invites the trainer to the Arena. Maria turns to her left and sees
two sentries and that Taran is gone. Cole walks through the hallway, cackling to
himself, and says that its time for the Shredder. A light hum is heard and Cole
cackles again. A door opens and Maria is lead into the arena where Simon stands.
She looks around at the cheering audience, then the announcers introduce the
owner of the Coliseum, Benedict Cole, and he emerges from a door opposite her.

He walks to Simon at the same pace as Maria and they meet in front of him. The
crowd quiets down. They stare at each other and Cole licks his bottom lip and then
takes Marias arm. He raises her arm and screams Winner! The crowd explodes in
applause. Cole then says that she, the trainer of this fighter has won the grand prize
and is now the Robot Coliseum champion, or at least she might be; for there is only
one more machine in her way from becoming the champ. The crowd starts
chanting: Shredder, Shredder, Shredder. Maria looks at Simon who emits a series
of sparks and then she looks at Cole. Cole looks up and screams that the audience
is correct and asks them to help them introduce the legendary, the devastating,
SHREDDER! He throws a metal ball, no bigger than a bouncy ball, into the air. It
plops on the ground and stays there. The ball the slowly slinks out legs stands up,
to above 6 inches off the ground and turns around. The blue eyes glow like tire
lights and a little mouth opens up and lets out a metallic beep. Cole picks up the
Shredder and holds him up