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- He's already close ... very close ...
A premonition told Hercules that the cherished goal was already close. Grigarovich's energy was everywhere, and the psionic felt it. He knew that his faithful salamander also sensed the presence of the enemy. He sent the monster to clear the remaining levels of the tower, and he rushed forward along with his faithful comrades. Hercules was rapidly approaching the abode of the great tyrant. This villain had to pay for all the nightmares that were arranged. He plunged the planet into civil war, ordered to kill civilians and unarmed, and he could not go unpunished.
Hercules ran along the giant corridors of the building, moving at the call of instinct. He tried not to pay attention to the floor littered with bodies. Not so long ago, many members of the administration were shot here, and all this was done by the ruthless killers who have now taken over the entire planet. The adept knew that Grigarovich was only a few meters from their position. Ahead of the psionic and his Muscovite friends lay the majestic gate leading to the ceremonial hall. They were slammed wide open, and next to them were security robots. Fortunately for Hercules and his companions, these guards were not armed with Soul Destroyers, but only carried simple laser rifles. This weapon did not always work against psi adepts.
As soon as Hercules entered the field of vision of the fighters, they immediately raised their rifles and aimed at the fleeing warrior. The Adept rushed forward, blazing from all sides with a fierce flame. He was going to use all his powers, even those he preferred to store too deeply. Its flame warmed up the room so much that the walls slowly began to be covered with soot. In less than a moment, Hercules released several fireballs from himself, which with their power could hit even an elemental. The blazing spheres flew at breakneck speed to the doomed robots. Five cybernetic monsters instantly went flying, straightening along the way. They smashed through the front doors with their steel bodies.
Without thinking twice, Hercules and his Moscan friends rushed forward. Bursting into the hall of ceremonies, they found many enemies here. Three dozen cyber soldiers froze, as if in a daze, looking at the molten remains of their comrades. Obviously, the creator of these enemies did not sufficiently work out the principles of concentration in them. This miscalculation was used by the psi-adept. The fiery warrior threw the robots around like toys. Cyborgs scattered in different directions. The psionic waves of Hercules threw them a good hundred meters. Some of the enemies flew through the walls and ceiling, disappearing into obscurity. The rest were riddled with Krasic and Bartholomew, using the full power of their armored suits. As a result, the masonry of the building could not stand it and began to crack rapidly. But Hercules knew that destruction was inevitable. Putting his hands forward, he made several slabs linger in the air and stopped the collapse of the ceiling. Otherwise, it would have been quite difficult, and the Muscovites could have been pinned down. In addition, in such a turmoil, the main enemy could well evaporate. After all, he probably had many ways of teleportation to another point on the planet or even the universe.
Having delayed the destruction of the walls, Hercules looked at the rubble of the tribune, which was not far from him. But it was not this pile of rubbish that caught the warrior's attention. A man was lying next to these pieces of wood. Hercules and his companions quickly rushed forward. Approaching the recumbent one, the psi-adept looked at him dejectedly. It would seem that the soul has already left the body of this unfortunate man. But looking with a scanning glance, Hercules realized that the man was still alive. Moreover, after examining his face, he recognized him completely. Right in front of the psi-adept and his Muscovite comrades, there was none other than Krazhinsky himself, the deposed leader of the planet. He looked almost dead, but his heart was still beating.
- Mister ... Krazhinsky .... - I heard a voice from the lips of Hercules. - Do not be afraid .... I .....
- Governor, we are here! Help has arrived! - the words of Nikolai Krasic were heard.
But to the wild amazement of Hercules and his friends, the half-dead body immediately disappeared. It evaporated into nothingness, leaving behind only strange electrical impulses. Seeing this, the adept shook his head. He had just watched this wounded man's heartbeat. And now Krazhinsky was not at all in the hall. Obviously, it was moved to a completely different place, or it was another enemy trick. The enemy knew well who he would have to face. Hercules had long suspected that the Grigarovich uprising was an unclean thing.
“Krazhinsky is long dead,” a new voice suddenly rang out from behind the warriors.
The voice was strange, completely inhuman. As if the grinding of a knife on glass.
Hercules instantly turned in the direction of the noise that had arisen. The Muscovites followed the same example. They marveled at the enemy's stealth. Even such a powerful psionicist as Hercules of Hyperborea did not notice such a sharp appearance of the enemy.
No matter how anyone hoped to see Grigarovich here, this never happened. A mysterious cybernetic monster appeared before the eyes of the "intruders". In appearance, he resembled an elfurr android, built on the basis of the most sophisticated technology. He looked almost human, only he was made of metals. Especially everyone was struck by his strange face, which has a completely human facial expression. The robot stood opposite the adept and his companions and ... smiled. The monster was not alone, but with a whole company of the same foreign machines. Hercules' attention was attracted by a strange cyber woman made of the same metals and distinguished by the special shapes of her breasts. Not far from this mysterious person were five cyborgs in no less strange scaly armor. In their metal hands, they held the Destroyers of Souls, which were truly monstrous murder weapons. And right at that moment, the soldiers activated their weapons and put their fingers on the triggers.
- And who the heck are you? - the bewildered voice of Bartholomew was heard.
Hercules and Nikolai Krasic had the same thoughts. They were not expecting to meet here clearly a group of cybernetic creatures. These soldiers were looking for the main hero of the occasion - Colonel Grigarovich, who had organized this whole bloody civil war.
- Krazhinsky is dead, - repeated the mysterious robot, - He could not stand the terrible sight. We killed his entire family. And then he himself.
- Then where is Grigarovich, are you a vile tin? - Nikolay Krasic shouted at this, - You obey him, don't you?
- Tulotron does not obey anyone except its creator, - the answer was immediately distributed, - Markohyosip Grigarovich is not my creator. Grigarovich had to be eliminated. This was part of the plan.
- Whose plan ?! - Hercules shouted loudly, - Why do you need all this?
“A plan that was conceived a long time ago,” Tulotron said to this.
For some reason, the head of the cyborgs hesitated. But he had the most that is not, an advantage over the Hyperboreans. It is enough just to give the order, and his' Mechs will immediately incinerate the enemy. But the robot did not at all want to deal with the enemies at this second. He waited, but what exactly, no one had any idea.
- So you killed both Krazhinsky and Grigarovich? - Krasic barked, - Who arranged all this?
“It's hard to explain,” rasped Tulotron. “But the plan was precisely to create political instability on Zabergan. There is a 90% and 9% chance that you will not understand the entire plan. But I will still try to convey to you the information that your consciousness will perceive with due….
- So explain to us! - Hercules shouted furiously at this, - Who arranged all this? We have long understood that someone was behind Grigarovich! And enough of your verbal diarrhea! Explain on the case!
The cybernetic guards of Tulotron immediately prepared to open fire. They did not like the rudeness of the Hyperborean too much, and they sensed a threat. But thanks to the command of their master, the cyborgs with the same speed lowered their weapons and froze in place.
- Sorry, - the robot grinned, - I was just trying to explain to you. But you interrupt me.
- We're interrupting because we don't have portugaling time! - Bartholomew's roar was heard, - Let's get down to business! Who sent you all? Whose plan is this? Who the portugal are you?
“As I mentioned, my name is Tulotron,” the Mech leader replied. “My current version was created seventy thousand and ninety-three years before today. At the moment you are talking to the updated 3.0 model, improved by my master…. The prohibition on mentioning the name…. My master, blessed ... .. The ban on the mention of a name .... He initiated a plan according to which we were to provoke an uprising on Zabergan. For this we used Markohyosip Grigarovich, who has long harbored hatred for you. There was a 98 point and 8 percent probability that in the event of a mutiny, Hyperborea would use not only its fleet, but also the armada of its allies. This was the main part of the plan. Bring the fleet here while my other copies begin Assimilation. At the moment, Assimilation is already taking place. The program of complete control over the Zabergan system has been implemented by 80 point and 7 tenths of a percent.
The words spoken brought a lot of confusion into the minds of Hercules and his comrades. For a second, the Hyperborean even thought that the robot was bluffing. But then an inner voice immediately brought him back to reality. The cybernetic monster of course could lie, but in this case it was not. Everything he mentioned was true, and this gave Hercules and his friends goosebumps. None of them could have imagined this.
Hercules was horrified to realize what a mistake they had made. Judging by the words of Tulotron, they were not dealing with simple robots, but with a real electronic superintelligence. Only now the question was posed - who is its creator and why all this? Hercules and his companions clearly heard how the robot uttered three important words - "No mention of the name." This only meant that the creator of the superintelligence simply forbade him to disclose his name to outsiders. Or this mysterious one has made a ban only on disclosing his name to those who are not privy to his sinister plans. The robot obeyed unquestioningly. He hardly had any workarounds. The Creator was considered everything to any intelligent machine.
- Maybe Grigarovich is a son of a bitch, - Hercules said to this, - But he is not like your master. Now everything became clear. All this was provoked by an unknown bastard. And most likely, this one about whom we do not know yet. A portugaling provocation by a mad genius. But I assure you, machine brat, today it will be over ... Today you will leave this universe forever. You and your canned servants.
The Tulotron grinned at this, and quite humanly. The same grin appeared on the metallic face of the enigmatic cyber-maiden standing nearby.
- As far as I know, the level of threat emanating from you does not even reach 2 percent, - was heard the grinding of the robot, - You can just as well threaten a black hole or a supernova. I am not just an ordinary cybernetic creature. I am the multitude. The machine world, embodied in several heralds. And soon I will merge with this universe together. You can't stop it. I was programmed to be in complete control.
- Who is your creator? - Bartholomew cried out again at the top of his voice, - Tell us! Maybe you will at least give us a hint?
- He forbade me to mention his name in front of strangers, - answered Tulotron, - Admission is prohibited. Better results are needed. At this stage, your confidence level is zero point and zero tenths. For me to reveal his name to you, your confidence level must be sixty point nine percent. And these are minimal results. Any hint of mentioning my creator's name amounts to mentioning my creator's name. Hints are also prohibited.
- In that case, what do you want from us? - Hercules suddenly exclaimed to himself, - Why don't you shoot at us, but decided to talk?
At that moment, the Hyperborean felt his lungs contract sharply. He was horrified to find that he could not breathe at all. Hercules quickly turned towards the Muscovites. Krasic and Bartholomew were in the same state. The sergeant even knelt down in despair and impotence. None of them could take a breath. It was a truly eerie sensation.
- I do not want anything from you, - somewhere in the distance, there was a mechanical grinding of a robot, - But my master asked not to kill you.
Hercules with difficulty raised his head to Tulotron. But he could no longer see anything in front of him. He could neither breathe nor look forward. There was a continuous veil before my eyes. The image was rapidly losing clarity.
“While we were talking, one of my drones released nerve gas throughout the room,” Tulotron said, “This is a new invention attributed to my creator. It cannot be detected with the naked eye. But it works very effectively. He does not kill, but puts any organic body into a state similar to lethargic sleep. The gas will knock you unconscious in exactly 8 point and 3 tenths of a second.
- Be…. You ... ... damned ... .. - Hercules moaned barely audibly.
- How stupid, - the leader of the robots replied, - To send curses to an inanimate creature.
In less than a moment, the Hyperborean fell to the floor. All his Moscan comrades followed after him.
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