Traversing through the forest, apart from leaving markings on the trees, I keep note of the creatures I came across.
There was a strange squirrel-like creature with a barbed tail. Although the size of a cat, its movements were far nimbler as it jumped from tree to tree.
I also caught sight of an elephant sized deer. It was pure white with black rings around its neck, its antlers were huge with various moss and fungi growing on it.
What surprised me the most was that it easily discovered me and its gaze wasn't that of a mere animal, it was as if it had the light of intelligence! Before I could feel the shivers running up my spine, it had already leapt away and disappeared through the trees.
These creatures were certainly not natives of earth as they were not recorded either in my memory or Eleanor’s database.
Luckily there has been nothing as vicious as the strange wolf or anything more dangerous, chances were that such predators became active at night.
After a few uneventful hours of walking, I hear the sound of running water and see a clearing in the distance.
Reaching the clearing, I step upon a cliff with a very steep gorge, 43 meters deep according to the information my ocular implant was reporting.
From my vantage point, I can quite easily see down the river. As my sight reached towards the horizon, I spotted a faint smoke rising from the very edge of the river.
“Look Eleanor, smoke!”
"We reached civilization at last master?" Eleanor asked excitedly.
"Perhaps I can connect to the net now!..."
It was another moment later that I heard Eleanor's dissapointed sigh. "There's nothing master, no internet or intranet. Perhaps it's a forest fire?" Eleanor voiced her conjecture.
I shook my head. "It's too faint to be a forest fire. It's likely that there are some people there."
"If there are people there Master, I suggest you observe them in secret just to be safe. It can be quite dangerous and lawless outside the megacities.”
I nodded in agreement “Sure, better safe than sorry.”
I look around the cliff and see no easy way down to the river but on the other side of the gorge has a navigable slope that leads to the river, though... it’s quite a leap.
As I contemplate jumping, I hear Eleanor’s voice.
“Master, why don’t you try using the Lariat?”
“The rocket arm?” My eyes light up. ‘I forgot about that.’
Using my enhanced eyesight, I locate a sturdy tree on the other side of the gorge and aim my arm at it. Loading the Lariat’s targeting parameters into my ocular implant, I lock on to the tree.
With a violent hiss, my cybernetic arm detatches like a missile let lose and flies towards the tree in the blink of an eye burying itself into the tree’s trunk.
I take one more look at the deep gorge and take in a nervous breath. ‘I fell from much higher before and survived... barely.’
The more I thought about it, the higher the fall became until it my mind made it look like a bottomless abyss. Feeling the shivers running through my body, I slapped my cheek and threw the fear to the back of my mind.
I psyche myself up and roar. “Let’s do this!”
The connected nano wire tightens instantly and my body feels the immense tug, pulling me across the gorge at blistering speeds.
My heart jumps as I feel the wind blasting behind my ears, adjusting myself in the air, my cybernetic feet slam into the tree trunk creating deep pits.
“Whoa.. I nearly shit myself again.” I sigh in relief, pulling my arm free from the trunk.
“Please don’t shit yourself again master, it was nasty cleaning it away..” Eleanor comments with a hint of displeasure.
My cheeks grow hot as I cough awkwardly. “Uh, let’s go check out the origin of that smoke.”
It doesn’t take long for me to descend the slope and reach the riverbed, the water is extremely clear showing no signs of pollution, an absolute rarity considering earth’s levels of pollution that are recorded in my memory, especially from the year 2043 onwards.
Walking along the river for an hour, I finally reach where the smoke was coming from. Carefully hiding behind a tree, I spot what looks to be a village in the distance.
“Do you see that Eleanor?” My ocular implants magnify by 8 times showing the inhabitants walking to and fro doing various chores.
Eleanor’s screen appears in my eyesight, her expression showing that of confusion. “Master, they don’t look like humans...perhaps they have had body sculpting?”
The villagers have an average height at around 1.9 meters for the adults. Their most striking features are the pointed ears and hair colors ranging from silver to purple and black.
Lastly is their ethereal beauty, practically the peak of which is only achievable through body sculpting or genetic engineering.
“I don’t think so, look at them. They’re living like primitives, no better than that of peasants during the medieval period. Eleanor.. could these be elves?”
Eleanor’s eyes glowed a faint blue. Relevant information was spouted from her lips as she checked her internal database. “Elves.. a popular fictional race whose modern incarnation appeared in 1924 fantasy novel... They became quite the fashion trend in 2061 after the 4th remake of the lord of the rings trilogy..”
After her eyes stopped glowing, Eleanor eyes sparkled in surprise as she discovered something new. “Master these elves are definitely similar to the ones recorded in my database! How curious..”
My eyes narrow as I say. “Eleanor, I need you to answer seriously. What are the chances that this is not earth?”
“Hmm..” Eleanor hummed for second before replying. “Without more detailed scans master, my opinion may not be accurate but based off the alien fauna and wildlife we’ve seen on our way, I can be at least 90 percent sure that this is not an earth ecosystem. Unfortunately I do not have access to any satellite maps to judge the terrain either, If I had access to the net, that would be easy.”
I stroke my chin in thought, my frown deepens. ‘So there's a small possibility that this may be a different world from earth..., no, that's ridiculous! It's More likely that this is just some messed up experiment of some trillion dollar company, or someone sick fucker with too much money and time on his hands.'
'Though that doesn't explain the creation ability I have. It's certainly not possible with the earth technology in my memories, neither psionics or nanotech could possibly create a perfect replication of the EMU with the A.I included from thin air, not even the protein bar I had from before. I’ve been thrown into this world bare naked with a seemingly godlike ability and no memories of who I am.. just what the fuck is going on? What’s my purpose here?’
Burying my face in my palm, I sigh. ‘It makes no sense at all! Discovering the truth of my existence will have to be put on hold for now, I must survive in this strange world first and then establish a solid footing. Other things can be considered then.'
“Let’s observe the natives for a while, at least till we have a general idea of what they're about. They could be gangsters or cultists for all we know.”
...
The setting sun painted the horizon orange, a beautiful picture to be sure but I was not paying attention, what interested me more was the elves.
Several hours had no passed since Eleanor and I started observing and it felt like we bird watching.
The village had a total of 180 elves and though the village didn’t have any walls, most able elves carried an axe or short spear, with a few which looked to be more warrior oriented having ornate swords but they were rarities. Strangely, they all carried the same looking dagger, even the children which I found unsettling.
Most elves wore beautifully sewn robes decorated with colorful stones and shells found in the river, something you wouldn’t associate with a village peasant, even nobles would find these clothes pleasing to the eye. Then there were those who were more geared towards hunting as their clothes consisted of well fitted leather armor that left them more freedom of movement than that of the long robes.
Lastly were the guards. They all had a specialized set of full body armor that was covered in ceremonial patterns, as if they sets that had been passed down in the family for ages.
They all went about their daily lives with elegance in their every movement. Cultivating their small fields, catching fish in the river and sending out hunting parties. Some would sing while working and their voices were.. enchanting, haunting even.
Oddly, the children seemed to be extremely mature and helped their parents seriously, not one was showing any resemblance to the average human child as they didn’t play or dawdle but listened and learned from the adults earnestly.
Both the men and women had no defined roles, all could cook, sew, hunt, farm and build. It was as if they all had decades of experience.
The elf that most stood out was one that wore a bright blue robe with jeweled accessories, he had silver hair and a gentle expression. The elven villages showed great respect to him whenever he passed by.
The language they spoke was not one found in my memory, even Eleanor who had all human languages recorded in her database could not understand it, though luckily, she said that she could use her inbuilt language processing software to accurately translate it.
With all of humanity’s languages to draw reference from, she said it would take half a day at most, as such I have been waiting, hidden behind an old tree near the village, I watch the elves intently.
They seem angelic and hypnotizing. The soft voices of the elves enter my ears, their tones showing neither brashness or excitement, only patience and stillness yet there’s a certain calming peace within.
I found myself unconsciously naming them, the nearest family in particular. It was a small family of three.
The mother who I named Jenna would often sing with her beautiful voice while she tended to the garden, the father Samuel would be silent as he mended clothes, though he seemed satisfied listening to his wife and their young daughter Anna would practice with the bow, striking a target on the nearby tree.
I shake my head and chuckle. ‘I must be going crazy if I’m already naming the villagers..’
Night quickly approaches and the elves enter their homes to rest.
I lean against the tree and sigh. I take a sip from a created plastic water bottle and then munch on a protein bar.
“Eleanor how is progress on the elf language going?”
“It’s going well master! I’ve already progressed about 58 percent towards a usable translation. It won’t be long till you can speak their language.” Eleanor answered with pride in her voice. It seemed that even she was impressed by her language abilities, but that is par for the course for such an advanced A.I.
I say with an almost helpless tone. “There’s a problem there Eleanor, I’m a stranger to them, someone from a different race. I don’t know how they’ll react if I show up to their village randomly, even If I can speak their language.”
Eleanor appeared on her screen giving me an expression as if it was no problem, she winked and smiled. “Don’t worry master, every Emu is equipped with advanced body sculpting as standard. I can have you looking like one of these natives in no time!”
“Body sculpting? Will it be painful?” I ask, a bit worried.
Eleanor shakes her head. “You won’t feel a thing master, just like the surgeries you had before.”
I nod my head and finish off the protein bar. “That’s settled then.”
‘First I’ll learn the language. Then, I’ll return to the emu...It’ll have to be during the day, if I can avoid any dangerous wildlife, I’ll do so. When I return, how should I introduce myself? As someone from another village? No, I have no knowledge at all about their culture.’
‘Hmm...I’ll say that I’ve lost my memory, which I have to be honest. Hopefully they aren’t too on the skittish side and are a bit more welcoming. If things get hairy, I can always run away.’
Feeling a yawn coming on, I create a soft pillow and a sleeping bag. Looking around for a short while, I find a suitable spot to lay down in a small clearing fairly well hidden from the village.
Laying down, before I could think of closing my eyes I notice the starry sky and two brilliant moons.
‘So.. this truly isn’t earth..’
I did not understand why but at the moment of realization, it was as if a heavy weight were lifted off my shoulders.
For the first time since awakened in the distant sky, I was truly at ease.
I.. felt free.
