The Author's Draft

Chapter 98 - 17: Core Directives

The next trial came after lunch, when the sky outside glimmered with the weak, artificial gold of midwinter and the rain lashed sideways against the glass like it was determined to get in. Aiden had insisted on giving Callum time to rest, but Callum was already glued to the battered laptop, eyes flicking left and right as if scanning an invisible terminal only he could see.

"You alright?" Aiden asked from the kitchenette, where he was scraping together the last two eggs and a packet of crumbled crisps for an omelette. "You look like you’re about to pass out."

Callum didn’t look up. "I think I have a menu. Like, a real one. Not just stats, but... options."

Aiden set the pan aside and came over. "Show me."

Callum shrugged. "You can’t see it, but it’s there. Left side of my vision, always floating. I tried ignoring it, but then I started getting these—"

He paused, searching for the right word. "Flashes. Like, not memories exactly, but... stories? Or data dumps."

Aiden was immediately interested. "Walk me through it."

Callum closed his eyes. "When I summoned Number One, I saw this city. Huge towers, all metal and glass, way bigger than anything in London. And above it—starships, like from a film, but real. There were... millions of them. And then a war. I was inside the war. Those robots—there were thousands, fighting these other things, not machines but... organic. Mutants, maybe. It was all really clear, then it stopped and I was just me again."

He opened his eyes and looked at Aiden. "It didn’t feel like a dream. It felt like someone uploaded it into my head."

Aiden nodded, his fingers twitching at his side, probably calculating odds, building a model of the power in his mind. "Sounds like the summons come with context. A whole civilization’s worth of it."

"Yeah, but I’m not sure why. I don’t feel any smarter. Just... full."

Aiden grinned. "Smart enough to summon a sword robot on the first try."

Callum let himself smile. "Maybe."

Aiden sat across from him, hands steepled. "Can you check your status?"

Callum nodded, focusing inward. The blue holographic interface opened for him, filled with information. "It’s different than the Association database. Way more granular."

Aiden motioned. "Read it out."

Callum did:

Summoner: Callum Jus

Class: Technomancer Summoner (Unique)

Current Level: 1

Mana Core: D

Summon Slot 1: Number One (Operational)

Summon Cooldown: 29 days, 22 hours

Duration Remaining: 5h 41m

Active Skill: Command Link [Precision Orders]

Passive Skill: Rapid Adaptation

Aiden whistled low. "Wait, cooldown? You can’t make another one for a month?"

"That’s what it says. But I can dismiss and resummon Number One whenever I want, as long as the six hours isn’t up."

Aiden tapped the table. "Makes sense. Keeps you from spamming an army. Still, that’s a long time."

Callum scrolled lower. "There’s more. Like, rules of engagement or something."

Aiden said, "Read it."

Callum focused, and the system provided the core directives:

Core Directives:

Summon will prioritize the summoner’s survival above all. Summon will obey summoner’s commands, unless these violate Directive One. In event of directive conflict, default to summoner’s protection.

Aiden grinned. "Classic robot law. No wonder it jumped in front of me like a bodyguard."

Callum continued: "There’s a bunch of subrules. Most are just clarifications. But there’s a section about skill inheritance."

He looked up. "It says I can absorb one skill from each summon, but only at every five levels. So I’d have to level up the class a lot before I got to copy Number One’s skills."

Aiden’s brain was already racing. "How do you level it up?"

"I think... using the summon in combat? Or maybe just keeping it active. There’s a Progress bar at the bottom."

Aiden mused, "We can test that. But for now, let’s see how smart Number One actually is. Try giving it an order."

Callum focused. "Number One: Stand at attention."

The robot materialized in the living room, the blue afterimage coalescing into metal and hard light. It snapped to parade rest, hands behind its back, blade sheathed at the hip.

Aiden got up and walked around it, testing its awareness by snapping his fingers near the head, waving a hand in front of the faceplate. The robot didn’t react, but when Aiden made a sudden motion toward Callum, Number One’s arm shot up, intercepting the hand before it got within a foot.

Aiden blinked. "Fast. Okay, new order: Make it patrol the flat."

Callum relayed the instruction, and the robot did as told, pacing a precise loop through the main rooms, checking every corner and blind spot like a trained security detail. It ignored the kitchen entirely except to scan for threats, and avoided all of Aiden’s personal stuff with the efficiency of a professional cleaner.

Aiden watched, half in admiration, half in mild annoyance. "If this thing had opposable thumbs it could probably do the washing up."

Callum made it stop, and Number One returned to its starting place, standing still as a statue. There was a faint whine in the air, not quite sound, more like the sizzle of static before a thunderstorm.

Aiden turned to his brother. "Can you talk to it? Like, have a conversation?"

Callum tried. "Number One, can you speak?"

The robot hesitated, then responded, voice metallic and oddly flat: "Command acknowledged. Awaiting further instruction."

Aiden clapped, impressed. "There’s a learning algorithm in there. Give it a complex order."

Callum considered, then said: "Number One, defend this flat from all intruders, but do not harm any resident or guest unless they threaten my life."

The robot’s faceplate flickered, the slits shifting to a more alert configuration. "Command processed. Intruder protocols enabled. Resident and guest safety priority confirmed."

Aiden grinned. "It’s a real guardian. You could go to sleep with this thing on duty and never worry about a break-in again."

Callum tried a different tack. "Number One, demonstrate combat capabilities. But don’t damage anything."

The robot shifted into a series of stances, each one more complex than the last. It performed a kata with the hard-light blade, moving so fast the afterimages blurred in a perfect arc. When finished, it bowed stiffly, then resumed sentry position.

Callum’s hands trembled, just a little. "That was... kind of beautiful."

Aiden put a hand on his shoulder. "You did good, Cal."

There was a moment where neither spoke, just the rain on the glass and the hum of electric anticipation.

Then Callum sat down on the floor, robot at his side, and looked up at Aiden. "What do I do now?"

Aiden thought for a long second, then said: "You eat the omelette I made, rest for another hour, and then we start stress-testing this thing. If you can learn from every summon, we need to know what’s possible before the fighting starts."

Callum nodded, then asked, "Are you scared?"

Aiden looked at the rain. "Terrified," he said. "But we’re ahead of the game for once. Let’s not waste it."

They sat like that for a while, both of them pretending not to notice how the system window kept flickering new messages for Callum, each one another reminder that the world they’d grown up in was officially over.