Mecha Realm

Marvin awoke to the same scene as the day before: worktables, drawers, screws, and a figure off to the side. Except this figure was not Caroline.

Marvin’s cameras sharpened. This newcomer had dark skin and short hair that topped a very round head. He was wearing an olive-green jacket and looked about Marvin’s age.

Last night, Caroline had turned off Marvin’s Core so that he could sleep. He had protested, but she had convinced him that the last thing he wanted was to be conscious for eight hours with no one to talk to and nothing to do.

Marvin slowly moved his eyes to scan the rest of the room. The cameras must have made a noise, as the newcomer spun around and leaned over the table with a devious grin.

“Well well well. Good morning, Melvin Yao.”

Marvin would’ve flipped him off if he had the confidence and the hand.

“I’m Ben, as you probably know. Caroline sent me to wake you up. How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.”

The voice that said those words nearly gave Marvin a phantom heart attack. It was robotic, but human enough where he almost heard traces of himself.

“Ay, it worked!” Ben exclaimed rapturously. “Say something else, Melvin. Say ‘two plus two equals four.’”

“My name’s Marvin.”

Ben tilted his head so far it looked like it would snap. “All the commentators say Melvin.”

“Really?” Marvin cringed at the voice box’s attempt at an upward inflection.

“Yeah. Are you doubting my hearing capabilities?” Ben slammed both fists on the table. “Anyways, are you hype?!”

Marvin jumped. “Um… for what?”

“Mecha Realm! We’re leaving in twenty minutes!”

It’s today! A wave of excitement swelled in Marvin. Not only would they potentially find answers to his death, but they would also get to watch the greatest tournament in the world.

Watch. Not participate.

The excitement died in an instant. It should’ve been him in that arena, not Gammagrade. Him, Lindon, Theo, and Sina.

Speaking of Theo, however, Ben reminded Marvin of him—a lot to say and a lot to prove. Marvin wondered if Ben was also the programmer of this up and coming mech team.

“You’re not going anywhere, Ben,” Caroline cut in, walking into Marvin’s periphery. She was wearing a thin, gray jacket that was so long it might as well have been a lab coat. Either she’d mistakenly bought it as one, or she just had a strange sense of fashion.

“I’m using the royal we,” Ben said. “How we doing, Caroline?”

“Good, good,” Caroline replied with a smile. “Thanks for installing the voice box. How late did you stay up?”

“2? 3? It wasn’t too bad.”

Caroline made a face. “You should get some rest.”

“I feel fine.”

“No, I mean, go to sleep.”

“I-”

“You’ve been up all night. I know.”

Ben sighed. “Right when Marvin and I were getting acquainted.” He stepped away from Marvin and handed Caroline a hologram chip. “Blueprint, if you wanna adjust anything.”

“Thanks. You guys can talk all you want at dinner.” Caroline grinned rather awkwardly. “I’ll just… sit in a corner somewhere.”

That was probably a joke, but Ben didn’t laugh. Instead, he just saluted and bid farewell.

Marvin wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk to Ben any more. Their personalities didn’t exactly line up, but if the guy was trustworthy and could help him, every minute was crucial.

Caroline walked up to Marvin.

“I’m gonna rewire your voice box to my earbuds,” she explained. “Then I’ll have to turn you off till we get inside the arena. For security and all that.”

She grabbed a pair of pliers and an autowrench. Marvin winced as he heard a raucous whirring in his right ear, but it only lasted a few seconds. Afterwards, Caroline drew back her tools and looked at him.

“Sorry, I never gave you a heads up. You ready?”

What are you gonna do if I’m not? “Yeah,” Marvin replied.

Caroline grinned, reached over to the side of Marvin’s head, and gently pressed. Marvin’s cameras shut their lids.

-----

Screaming. So much screaming.

As his vision focused, he began to make out heads… thousands of heads bobbing about. Next to those heads were little lights that moved in sync, and there were bigger lights higher above.

“Marvin? Can you hear me?”

Those were not screams. They were cheers.

He had made it to Mecha Realm.

“Marvin?” Caroline repeated.

“I hear you,” Marvin said. His own voice was muted, but earbuds or no, he doubted he would’ve been able to hear it with all this buzz.

“Good. The mechs are about to walk out.”

Mecha Realm was a week-long competition. The first two days were the ceremonies and obstacle course. The next five would be the actual battle royale.

The stadium was gargantuan. It was in the shape of a classic street fight ring, but a thousand times bigger and brighter. A giant hologram display burst from the center of the ring, encasing even the farthest reaches of the stands in mellow blue light. Caroline was seated near the top of the stadium, but a neat trick involving space-warping and holotech made it so that whenever Marvin looked at the arena, it appeared as though he were sitting in the optimal spot—not too close, not too far. A lone man stood in the ring: Christopher “Kit” Tillman, a Megacity 14 legend. He had been hosting the tournament since he was thirty, and he was now eighty-one.

“I moved your camera, by the way,” Caroline said. “You’re on my shoulder now.”

That explained why Marvin was at normal eye-level without people giving Caroline questioning looks of, Why are you holding up a robot head?

“What’s the plan?” Marvin asked.

“I’m kind of proud of this one,” Caroline chirped. “Essentially, we listen to their introductions and interviews and see which teams besides Gammagrade profited the most from your death.”

Before Marvin could protest at how open ended that was, Caroline continued, “Also, we’ll see which teams are big in AI research. Then we can try to narrow down who is most likely to do some unethical conscious-transferring.”

That didn’t help.

“There are three-hundred teams,” Marvin pointed out.

“And we’ll keep track of every single one.” Caroline waved her tablet in front of the camera. “I’m gonna record everything.”

Marvin supposed that wasn’t a terrible idea. Besides, some of the things said during the interviews could ring a bell for him, too.

“I also did some research last night,” Caroline continued. “My main suspect is Legionnaire’s parent company, Ainsel AI. They’ve been doing a lot of brain simulations lately.”

Marvin wasn’t sure how much sway a company held over its mech team. As far as he knew, the corporations were just sponsors. Perhaps the prospect of an entire company wanting him dead was too scary.

“And there’s also-” Caroline suddenly paused. “Wait, is that…?” Marvin felt his view turn forty-five degrees to the right.

“Look who it is.”

A couple dozen feet away, two men in black suits and cybernetic goggles settled into their seats. They weren’t the same Manhunters that had been guarding the Sawblades’ garage. What were they doing here? Were they observing Gammagrade?

Just then, the host’s voice came over the loudspeakers like a roll of thunder.

“Let’s introduce our mechs!”

Marvin would’ve jumped. A synthwave song began playing, the low tones causing the stands to tremble. The crowd began to boil with excitement. Kit always had a tremendous ability to capture one’s full attention, as Marvin found himself barely caring about the Manhunters anymore.

This was it. The amalgamation of a year’s worth of hard work, except from the wrong perspective.

How would it feel to be down there in that arena?

“The one and only Draconis!” A mech walked into the ring, its features magnified a hundredfold by the hologram. It was accompanied by a man in a black suit. “Piloted by Lead Inspector James Kobayashi, professional walker and stander.”

That brought out some laughter. It was joked that Inspectors did nothing except stand around and look menacing.

Draconis was the flagship mech of the Hosaka Roundtable, the oligarchy that governed Megacity 14 and ran the mech-fighting scene. Other than being announced first at the tournament, they received no special treatment. Some years they didn’t even qualify for Mecha Realm.

James was the reclusive son of Hosaka Chair Hisen Kobayashi and “Lead Inspector of the Autonomous Divisions,” whatever that meant. He was the only Inspector that showed his face in public, mostly to represent his father. Rumor was that he only piloted Draconis at Mecha Realm, and other pilots rotated out through the season.

“James, I heard you prepared an opening speech for us?” Kit handed him the mic.

“Who told you that?” James asked. He looked up to face the audience. “I’m sure you would love to hear me make a metaphor for how this year’s competition reflects the ebbs and flows of life, but the truth is, I just want to get this show on the road. What do you say?”

The crowd went absolutely bonkers. Marvin didn’t understand how a man who appeared so rarely in the public eye could receive that much adoration.

“Good speech, Jimmy!” Kit said. “Up next, the wielder of the legendary Bluemoon Katana, piloted by Sunwoo Park, Legionnaire!”

Caroline leaned forward. Marvin’s imaginary ears perked up.

Legionnaire was slim and elegant, painted silver and blue, with a giant katana attached to its back. The pilot, Sunwoo, looked like he could fight better than his mech with that katana.

“Any updates inside Ainsel AI?” the host asked him. “Anything you feel the public should know?”

“No,” Sunwoo replied.

And then Kit was announcing the next team.

Wow, I learned so much, Marvin thought. But Sunwoo definitely seemed like a shady guy. He would keep an eye on him.

As Kit went down the list, Marvin felt a sadness creep in. He wondered what it felt like to stand in that arena next to your mech, surrounded by hundreds of role models. He wondered if Lindon was here, watching instead of waiting in the conference room for his interview.

Marvin did his best to note teams of interest, but he ended up focusing on the famous ones.

“Piloted by Grayson Wright, winner of eight championships, the highest ranked mech of all time: Ninth Gen!”

“With Carlos Esparza at the helm, this mech has prevailed in not one, not five, but eleven four-v-ones! The one-man army, the lone ranger: The Everlancer!”

“Sienna Lee and her mech hold the record for most kills ever in a Mecha Realm—that being seventy-three, twenty-five more than the runner-up. Give it up for the boogeyman, Sparrow!”

Marvin smiled at that one. Last year, after qualifying third in its Sector, Sparrow had gone on a rampage in the battle royale, killing over a fifth of the competitors. That meant almost twenty kills a day. Everyone had been fawning over Sienna’s mech, until Day 4, when it was unceremoniously ambushed by Centium Prime. Sparrow hadn’t even breached the top thirty.

As the mechs continued to walk out, the energy in the crowd slightly receded. At the three-quarters point, even Marvin was feeling a little weary. He had fallen into a bit of a dream state after Gammagrade’s introduction.

“What do you expect from a gang called the Sawblades? The only mech to use,” Kit made a face, “chainsaws, Gammagrade!”

Ishaan walked out beside his neon yellow and black mech. He bore a serious expression, but nothing about him seemed off. He strode confidently towards the host, occasionally scanning the crowd.

“You were one of the youngest to ever make it to Mecha Realm, and now you’re back. Your prime is going to be a force to be reckoned with, eh?”

Ishaan shook his head. “Immortal Ignition’s pilot is nineteen. Vertigon’s pilot is twenty-one. I’m already behind.”

Marvin let out a huff of admiration, but at the same time, he felt himself sinking deeper into his thoughts.

How would Kit introduce Saberstar? What would be my accolades?

Thoughts of what could’ve been consumed his mind as the audience receded more and more. At a certain point, the air teetered on boredom.

Fortunately, Kit had saved a number of iconic teams for the last stretch, and mentions of The Praetor, Xintian, and Oliveeater instilled a healthy dose of hype into the crowd.

“Burgercooker was better,” Caroline grumbled.

Team Oliveeater had a habit of changing their name every year but always making it food-related.

Kit’s questions for the pilots also got more absurd, to the point where he sometimes just said gibberish and asked if the poor pilot understood. As the audience reached a fever pitch, the host finally arrived at the 300th team.

“Last but not least, the defending champions. Thirteen kills before using a repair pod. Second highest power ranking in the history of Mecha Realm. The eternal flame, Immortal Ignition!”

One final mech emerged from the tunnel. It had a jet-black finish with swirls of red and orange, and so many rocket thrusters that it could probably use itself as a flashbang. Its head—a shiny obsidian ball with no visible sensors—was eerily alien compared to everything else in that arena.

Beside Immortal Ignition walked a short, red-haired girl. She scanned the crowd with a satisfied expression, seeming to soak it all in.

“Eleanor Hall,” Kit announced. “You’re a new face. How old are you?”

“Nineteen,” the girl replied.

Kit grinned. “We got the next Marvin Yao here!”

Marvin widened his eyes. Kit Tillman knew about him?! Did he have anything else to say—some acknowledgment of the tragedy that had befallen him?

But unfortunately, Kit put Eleanor back in the limelight.

“Or maybe he was the next Eleanor Hall. You’ve got big shoes to fill, eh? What do you say to those who claim you won’t make it far this year?”

Eleanor leaned into the microphone. “Go back to your nine-to-five.”

Kit doubled over laughing. Some of the audience joined him, but many others booed.

“Don’t disappoint us, now,” the host warned playfully.

Eleanor grinned. “I’ll see you on the podium.”

Marvin rolled his eyes at the pilot’s arrogance. She wasn’t making it past Day 1.

Kit made some closing remarks, then the floor lowered and the mechs disappeared into the abyss. They were heading to the obstacle course, and the only way to observe them now was through the hologram or through special POV goggles.

In the meantime, the holoplayer switched to the conference room, where the team interviews were about to start. A good number of people left their seats to mingle in the foyer.

“Learn anything?” Caroline asked.

“Not really,” Marvin replied. “You?”

“I’ve got two more suspects: Hallowshard and Rustica.”

“Hallowshard?” Marvin had heard of Rustica, but not the other.

“They were the two-hundred-forty-eighth team. They’re owned by a small startup that’s doing AI stuff. You might’ve been their ticket to making it big.”

“But it didn’t work out,” Marvin said.

“Nope.”

“And Rustica?” Marvin asked.

“This was based on prior research; their pilot has been pretty outspoken against corruption ever since your thing happened. He’s never drawn the line to you, but… I don’t know. It’s a little suspicious how much he talks about it. He could be deflecting blame.”

Marvin gave an imaginary nod, and they went silent. So the primary persons of interest were Ishaan, Legionnaire, Hallowshard and Rustica. Out of the four, Rustica was probably the easiest to investigate, as they were a private team and didn’t have much sway over the higher powers.

However, Marvin was still most invested in Ishaan. Gammagrade’s pilot had seen concrete evidence, and he was in this very building. There had to be a way to reach him, perhaps some signal that only he would recognize.

Who are you kidding? Marvin thought. You barely know each other and you’re thinking about sending secret signals?

His view swiveled and fell on the Manhunters. They were conversing casually, pointing to the arena now and then. Marvin wished he’d been able to see their reactions to Gammagrade’s introduction. Were they proud of their newly commandeered mech?

Some people in the row above tapped the gangsters’ shoulders and asked something in reverence. Since the Manhunters were cyborgs, their heads practically rotated 180 degrees as they turned to talk with their fans.

“Usually more of them come to watch,” Caroline said. “They have their little reserved section in the stands.”

Marvin’s vision remained steady, and he hoped that Caroline wasn’t being too blatant about watching the gang members.

“I guess it makes sense though,” Caroline continued. “Their robot didn’t qualify this year.”

The Manhunters’ heads rotated again as one whispered something in the other’s ear. They burst out laughing.

And then their heads rotated again.

Marvin felt his blood run cold. They were looking straight at him.

Caroline immediately turned away. Marvin could hear that she was holding her breath.

“We gotta go,” she whispered.

This time, Marvin had no objections.