Lloyd and Phoebe sat in the trailer on the ride back, held in place by cords Chili and Beth had attached to the wall. The two automatons continued to lay still and lifeless, with an EMP backpack on nearby them just to be safe. More weapons were scattered about in the trailer, with a few guys examining then by flashlight. Joined by Chili's group, they told what happened at the other factory.

"We drove straight through the gate, they didn't even see us coming. They had guns but they seemed scared to use em. I wonder why that is." said a girl named Raspberry.

"They are still people." Lloyd reminded her quietly. "At least, the ones that hesitate still are. If you wouldn't kill someone in real life, you'd be hard-pressed to do it in a machine, especially seeing the consequences first hand.

"What about the black metal lady Chili rammed into?" Another guy chimed in. "You think she got any qualms about killing?"

Phoebe shook her head. "We've seen her do it. She's insane."

"Then it's good she's dead." Raspberry said cheerfully.

"I wouldn't say that." Lloyd murmured. Everyone got quiet and looked at him., heir faces illuminated in the darkness.

"When they're destroyed, they usually just put the person in a new automaton. We may have disrupted the only automaton facility in the city, so if we're lucky, she won't return."

"How did y'all get past the blockade?" Phoebe asked them. "We left our truck and the automatons in the way."

Raspberry held up her left hand and slammed her fist into it, making and exploding noise.

"These are some very durable trucks. Shame we lost one. But the others at the facility are still fine, we didn't cause too much of a fuss. It's a whole different story tonight though."

Lloyd felt Phoebe's hand glide over his and wondered if she was really ready for tonight. Even Lloyd could admit the group's fervor was starting to wear off on him. Somewhere, in his heavy, haggard chest, a subtle warmth held him together.

"We need to get the others, don't we?" She leaned over to whisper.

Lloyd felt the truck slow to a stop.
"We stay here a bit, see how everyone's getting ready. Then we go back to my place."

Lloyd felt a tickle in his throat and tried to hide a cough.

"You okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, it's nothing." He assured her. "I'm just thirsty."

The truck door opened up, and one guy quickly hopped in to attach hook up lights. Chili came around the side, ready to help them get down. They had moved things around in the second warehouse, with most of the cars taken out to have more space. Someone had taped lines and arrows on the floor, splitting half the lab in multiple sections.

"What's all this?" Phoebe asked.

"We may have the automatons, but we need to get the current occupants out of them." Bethany explained. "The EMPs most likely prevent them from going back into digital, given how fast they shut down. We'll need the blackbox for that."

"We need to disable Ben's tracker anyways. I'll bring it here and tell Ben to come too."

Bethany nodded. "Let's go see Tony then we'll discuss the rest of the plan.

They followed her to the back door that led into his office. Inside, the room was perfectly neat and clean, set up more like an examination room than the bomb making workshop he had previously.

They continued through the next door, with everyone slipping on their masks briefly before taking them off as they entered the main warehouse.

Piano music played at a low volume as they looked around. Everybody was kneeling down next to crates and backpacks with boxes of tools next to them. Arranged in rows, the robots were able to move around them freely as the only two standing, Tony and Lucy, patrolled with megaphones.

Lucy bent down at some girls crate. She pointed at one cord and said something to him. He shrugged and lifted the megaphone.

"WE NEED SOME HELP OVER HERE!"

Everybody near the kid flinched, covering their ears.

"For the last time, these things are loud enough, stop yelling." Tony demanded. He looked over to see Beth and his expression softened.

"Good job on the black metal. We're almost done here. EMPs for everybody!"

He bent down to examine the girl's crate and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled.

Lucy, get the tablet. Let's show them the map.

Lucero set the megaphone down and walked over to the punch table. Picking up a large tablet, he typed the code in, holding the tablet up. Shown on screen was a map of the whole city, with red blinking dots over various locations.

"We've had scouts going around the city, identifying where the automatons are located." Tony began. "Let's get this out the way quickly; we can't do much. Not only is it practically impossible to rid the city of automatons it's also counterintuitive."

He tapped a button and two green obelisk shapes appeared in different parts of the city. "We need the purifiers to be completed, to help the planet. The automatons working on it will be left alone. We'll only target ones that may be summoned to protect the factory when we attack, and ones protecting facilities that hold supplies. Wanna take it from here Bean?"

He handed Bethany the tablet, who zoomed into one building.

"Inside the factory the cryogenic chambers are hooked up to similar coils that charge the automatons. These most likely power those chambers and enable them to burn the occupants inside, so we need to find the remote or render the facility defunct by midnight so this doesn't happen. All machines encountered from here on out are spoils of war. That is all."

That's not all. Lloyd thought to himself. But Tony took back the tablet and handed it to Lucy.

"We head out tonight, 10:50pm. We arrive and start by 11p:00pm. If we are not finished...if we do not succeed by 11:55pm, I will detonate charges demolishing the building. Our reformed automatons will come clear the rubble and save the people in the chambers. I feel like I don't need to say this, but you'd better be out of the building beforehand. Lloyd, Phoebe, you two ready?"

Lloyd looked at his watch. It was 3:17am. He looked at the crowd and wondered how long Tony had them working on all this.

"I have to get my clients in local, then I'll bring the black box over to fix the automatons we collected."

Tony held out his hand and Lloyd shook it, the two men offering bitter smiles to each other.

"Guess I'll see you tonight."

***********************

After a short ride home, Lloyd began to work on the black box. Phoebe turned on the tv, changing it to the weather channel. Everyone had been summoned. LLoyd had chosen a fancy restaurant as the setting. After hitting Run Exercise, they began to enter one by one. First was the second Phoebe, who immediately looked at her surroundings and frowned. Then came Connor, who looked around at his surroundings nervously. Finally was Miguel, who had his attention fixed on Phoebe Deux instead of the restaurant.

"It's ready," Lloyd alerted the real Phoebe while watching the three interact on the laptop. Phoebe Deux said something, causing Connor and Miguel to both cautiously cover their eyes. Phoebe Deux snapped her fingers and the entire room changed into a space gray sci-fi cantina, with steampunk robot servants and a big circular table for them to sit around. The light started as a cold bright wide until Phoebe Deux somehow dimmed them all orange. Then changed them all again to be lava lamps, including in the ceiling.

"Uh, you just-the other you, you changed the scene. It's space themed. Again."

"Interesting." Phoebe came over to look.

"It's cute. But Lloyd. In the possibility that we succeed, what happens after? With us?"

Lloyd looked up from the laptop to stare at her silently.

Where is she going with this? His mind thought. We shared something, yes. We still do but...

"Is it possible that me and my digital double could turn into completely different people?"

Lloyd felt his heart sink, condemning his thoughts for focusing on attraction. Of course that's not the only thing on her mind right now.

"If..." Lloyd hesitated, not even wanting to think of other possibilities.

"If you survive, you can either have your digital memories re-uploaded by Tony, because it was your choice to join, after all."

"Right." Phoebe agreed softly. "But what if she doesn't want to leave?"

Freedom from pain, hunger, disease. From death. Who turns that down?

"I'm sure you two will come to an agreement. You are the same person, after all." Lloyd reminded her.

"Thanks Lloyd."

She embraced him and then stood in position while he activated the black box. After a few seconds, the room changed, and suddenly they were in a shiny metal room, with only a door in front of them. Lloyd took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. Just a few more steps. He thought about everything that had to be done, before and after tonight. All the people that would be gone, including his own family. Phoebe touched his shoulder, he had spaced out for a second.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. Let's set them free."

Lloyd raised his hand and the door opened, filling the room with some jazzy sci fi beats played by a robot band in the corner.

The clients all sat spaced apart from each other at the large table as Lloyd and Phoebe took their seats.

"Everyone. It's almost time. So let's go over the plan one last time. You all will remain in here until midnight. Staying inside local on my laptop will keep you disconnected from the domicile. Afterwards, you'll be able to re-enter, but you must be careful what you do, because at that point, everyone will have their minds wiped and not be aware of the digital world at all."

Phoebe Deux raised her hand.
"What will I be doing? Uh, that me, you know."

"You'll be helping me free people in cryochambers. Friends, Family Members... you Connor." Lloyd adding.

Connor offered a smile, and nodded.
"And while all that's happening, we have a separate group of people, lead by a man named Tony. Tony's an expert, moreso than I. He can hack the automatons we've collected. That's how we'll send you all back into the real world to free more people. He'll take care of you from on out."

"What do you mean he'll be taking care of us?" Miguel asked curiously. "You expect us to just accept some stranger having control of our lives?"

"It's not like that." Lloyd insisted. "Tony's trustworthy, first of all, and second. There's no way you can be harmed in the digital world, not in local or the domiciles. You don't have to cooperate with him. You could just decide to live blissfully in that world, leaving this all behind. That's what I'm going to do."

All three of them looked at him with a shocked expression. Phoebe wanted to reach for his hand, but the digital her did not have the same relationship with Lloyd that she did. What would she think of it?

"All of you are here because of me. I joined just to learn their process, to make sure my family was safe. They were never safe. Not until now. I'm going to join them, just like I should have from the very beginning. If you need me, if you absolutely need me, Tony will be able to find me. Remember, from this point forward, you have all the time in the world. If you never hear from us again use your time to free people from the cryochambers. To fulfill the mankind's final mission of saving the world."

Everyone looked at each other with grim expressions. Phoebe Deux's hand pressed something on the table causing it to glow. The music got lower and a robot approached the table.

"I'm to put this all on you. But we all have roles to play." Lloyd locked eyes with Connor.

"I'm going to fulfill mines."

"How about a toast, before you go?" Phoebe Deux said quickly.

"Can't rush off to save humanity in a dour mood, can we?"

Phoebe poked him playfully.

"Just a few minutes. Plus, I want to speak to the other me alone after this. I got some things I need to settle."

Lloyd nodded. "Alright. I'll get Ben ready then."

The robot held out his hands and two holography appeared in his palms. One said immersive, the other said instant, and the two words floated listlessly with a dull hymn.

"Uh, screw immersion, give me instant." Miguel replied.

"You need only think of it then, sir." The robot answered.

Miguel frowned, blinked and suddenly a beer was in his hands.

"And it's cold. Nice." He took a big swig.

The others followed suit and on the count of three, they raised their glasses together. Lloyd looked at this simulation, at his clients enjoying their final moments with him, and still, with tears in his eyes, he resolved himself to return to his family. To a world of fakeness, governed by mortal tingods bursting to the brim with greed, whilst hollowed of imagination.

Lloyd had no answer, no power, no idea, to truly stop these gods. He could only go home to a dream, not unlike his many drunken stupors before. He could only hope some remnant of the human spirit could live on, and this was the only chance they had to ensure it.