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In which the implications are discussed


As a reminder, the story may contain some mature elements, but as usual I'm aiming for a PG-13 baseline.

Icon art from the Fardon reference by  FeatheryFlukes

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Chapter 28 - Custody battle

"This is a lot to digest," Terry said, looking utterly astonished. "The Hunters have created artificial life..."

There was a swoop of wings and Fiskul landed nearby,

"I saw what happened," the small black dragon said slowly. "It is an old saying that there is nothing new under the sun. This... this might be new."

"...And who are you, child?" Maarvyn sighed. "Do your parents know you are here...?"

"Dad does," Fiskul said simply. "Look, you can call me 'Fisk', or the Evil One or whatever..."

Maarvyn hissed in alarm and drew back, his fur puffing up and his wings outstretching to make himself look bigger.

"...But if we can at least skip the whole screaming about the end of the world thing...?" the Devourer added quickly, "There are more important things at stake. Uh.. Well, okay, so ending the world would be very important, but it's not on my calendar, so if we can just forget that for now and pretend I'm some little goth kid or something...?"

"As introductions go, that was one of your smoother ones," Mermul said, trying hard not to laugh.

"It's a strange thing," Maarvyn said slowly. "Back when we were younger and in more regular contact, my brother and I would try to one-up each other. While I didn't bring Terry here for anything as trivial as scoring points over him, I can't help but feel that the discovery of my friend... Has somehow been overshadowed by the very Devourer of the World being in his pay. It seems you win again, brother."

"I'm not on his staff," the Devourer said. "I am servant to none but the Great One. I am here as Sir Fardon's backup. You see, most legends about me are garbled and not exactly flattering, but the thing about me having special friends...? That is true. I like Fardon and I'm here to help protect him. If it wasn't for the trade mission from Taria, I probably wouldn't be here. In any case, you undersell yourself. Do not understate the magnitude of what you've uncovered."

"So you may have won after all," Terry said. "But I do not grudge you the game."

"I am happy to call it a draw," Maarvyn grinned toothily. "After all, I only tried to take over this land. You succeeded!"

Fiskul glanced at the plane-dragon. "You must be Jake," they said, looking impressed. "I have heard about you, but actually seeing your wings and engines...? Wow! Robotic prosthesis like that are also new. It really is quite the time to be alive. So much progress!"

"Uh, thanks," Jake said awkwardly.

"How do you, an ancient creature of legend, know about robotics anyway?" Maarvyn asked, curiously.

"I read a lot," Fiskul said. "I am supposed to lurk in the background until the End of Days, but I'm still subject to boredom. So I read. I have devoured a lot of books over the time... Uh, reading them, I mean! Not erasing them from reality. Part of it's to keep myself up-to-date on customs, laws and suchlike. I like to fit in... Being chased away or burned alive or beheaded sucks, and staying on top of the current trends helps keep me safe. But I happen to enjoy reading fiction anyway. I was not sure if such stories about artificial life could ever come true, but I am glad to have witnessed it!"

"This makes sense," the white dragon admitted.

"Of course, I certainly did not expect it to be the Hunters who managed it," Fiskul sighed. "Regardless, this creation of theirs puts you in something of a dilemma," they pondered. "On one claw, our friend clearly doesn't want to return to the Hunters. On another, keeping them apart - how is that different to Jake's Brotherhood abducting young dragons and eggs?"

"Hey!" Jake protested. "I told you! They did me a big favour!"

"That's kind of the point," the Devourer said patiently. "Maybe you are happy with how things turned out, but I suspect your parents were devastated. Likewise, this creation is technically the Hunters' child, and the drone activity implies they are desperate to get that child back. So again, if we do keep them apart, are we any better?"

"Consider that this so-called 'child' has run away and is seeking asylum," Terry said. "If, hypothetically, a pair of dragons raised a hatchling and forced them to work in a mine, someone abducting that child to save them from their fate is a positive action. Motive and extenuating circumstances are a big thing in the law, as you know - and indeed, the State itself might step in under such circumstances."

"Indeed," Fiskul said. "And frankly, it is probably best for all if we continued to keep this individual safe. But to play Devourer's Advocate," they continued, "We do not know for certain that they will be mistreated. And until we know exactly what the Hunters have planned for their creation, we must tread carefully."

"Well, I have some idea," Maarvyn said. "He is convinced that they want him to kill people, probably other dragons. Now, it's possible that this is a misunderstanding, but there's some pretty good signs he was built as a weapon. To keep your analogy, that would make him a child soldier, would it not...?"

"He is armed, then...?" Terry looked worried. "With what...? I doubt he has anything like a breath attack! Even a flamethrower wouldn't do much against a dragon..."

"Don't underestimate claws and speed," Jake put in. "I didn't see him for long, but it looks like he has similar engines to mine. And you were saying that his claws cut into the floor of a cave."

"See, that's the thing," the white-orange dragon replied, glancing at Terry. "Claws and speed are all very well, but he does have a breath attack. It's a directed energy weapon. A powerful one, too."

"And they did not simply mount it such that a Hunter could carry it?"

"It must be using a colossal amount of energy. Maybe they could have mounted it on a truck, but for whatever reason, they decided that an autonomous weapons platform in the shape of a dragon would be a better idea. I can't imagine they thought it would be easier, though.
"I also do not know what his power source is, but I assume it's some kind of atomic reactor. The breath weapon... appears to be an X-ray laser."

Terry drew in a breath. So did Lady Silver.

"The Hunters are catching up with me, if that's true!" Fiskul said. "Even without the creation of a sentient AI, this is big news. And potentially bad news."

"No shit!" Lady Silver threw her hands in the air. "Now I do know what I'm going to tell my boss. I just wish I knew how. But if a bunch of renegade Hunters have built that... Fuck. A threat like that could mean Atlantia cooperating with dragons to see it contained. This is some serious 'The enemy of my enemy' shit going down here."

"'We have met the Devourer, and he is us'," Fiskul quoted. "'Course I'm genderless really, but they didn't know that."

"Earlier, your... envoy mentioned having previously been a dragonslayer," Maarvyn said, glowering coldly at the snow leopard.

"Like I said, I'm a pragmatist," the Hunter said. "Yes, I killed a couple of dragons. But I didn't kill anyone who wasn't a troublemaker. I didn't enjoy it, but sometimes it's the only way to keep your friends and family safe.
"But you know what...? Killing a bus-sized slab of death is damned hard work. Most fanatics or bone-hunters hoping to get rich quick...? They usually get themselves killed instead. True, having superior weapons drastically improves the odds against a dragon, yes. But each time it's a roll of the dice, and one day your luck may run out.
"Dying young didn't exactly appeal to me, so I quit while I was ahead and became a politician. Look... At the end of the day, we want to stop dragons screwing us over. And if that can be done politically instead of through brute force and ignorance, that saves a lot of ugliness and expense."

"A pretty tale..." Maarvyn scoffed.

"...One that happens to be true, dammit!" the snow leopard snapped. "Think! If you're sending an envoy to someone trying to befriend dragons, you pick someone who's the least murderous, right...? You don't sent someone who butchers dragons for fun and cracks jokes about it! What if there's a dragon envoy visiting at the same time?" she added, glancing at Fardon. "I'll admit I didn't like the idea of Lord Terror cosying up with our old adversaries, and I tried to dissuade him, yes. But in the end it was his choice, even if I thought it was dangerous. And now I know he's also a bus-sized slab of death, I'm still here, aren't I...? I haven't run off screaming back to Atlantia, have I?"

"That is so," Fardon confirmed. "If there is any chance to bury the hatchet with Atlantia, it rests with her, or others of a similar persuasion. And besides, she's right. Not just about peace being less effort than war, but given this... mess we now face, we will need her expertise, and potentially her kinsmen."

"I just hope you know what you're doing," Maarvyn said doubtfully.

"That's exactly what she said to me about treating with Fardon," Terry grinned evilly. "Besides, we outnumber her after all, do we not? She has as much to fear from us as you do from her, probably more so.
"Now, let us return to the matter at hand," he added, staring at his brother intently.

"Maarvyn," Terry continued. "We have had a lot of speculation, and seen something which - if you forgive my scepticism - may potentially be a dragon in a fancy suit, or a cyborg like Jake here. But what has really scared people is the laser weapon.
"Have you actually seen this weapon demonstrated...?"

"Once," Maarvyn confirmed. "We did not want to test it over-much in case the Hunters were able to detect it. But it melted a neat, mildly radioactive borehole into the rock."

"...How do you know it was radioactive...?" Fardon asked.

"He has radiation monitors built into him. Which again, you would want if he's got a nuclear power plant inside him."

"But how do they get rid of the heat?!" Fardon protested.

"I don't know, I didn't build him!" Maarvyn snapped.

"Terry has a point," Fiskul interjected. "For all that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, I think he is telling the truth. But we will need a lot more answers. We don't even know the robot's name! We need to talk to them, and yes, if we can see the laser-breath demonstrated, that will - at the very least - help crystallise things in terms of planning the way forward. Even if the artificial intelligence is faked, I don't think the weapon can."

"I cannot argue with that," Maarvyn admitted. "Come into the cave, I will introduce you properly."