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Striding north alongside the shore for perhaps a hundred miles, I came to a sharp promontory of land. Rounding the point, I abruptly stopped. Before me stretched half a city of smooth white stone towering and majestic, architecturally unflawed. Spacious parks were dotted here and there with colonnades and statues, and the buildings were so beautifully designed that they seemed to be poised for flight! The other half was a ruinous heap of shattered white stone, of buildings leveled to the ground by the machines, hard at work on reducing the rest of the city to rubble.
I watched in horror as scores of flame-cutting machines encircled the base of one of the tallest buildings remaining and began to cut away. Two of the ponderous, gigantic cranes strode in from either side and began ripping chunks from the facade. A bevy of smaller machines moved around their feet and began demolishing the broken stone. Within minutes, the great tower began to shake. Then it twisted gracefully to one side, buckled at the base, and began to fall. It came apart in a shower of stone and steel and voluminous dust, echoing like thunder across the city. For a very long time there was nothing to see until the dust settled.
Then the machines moved on. I was sickened by it all. I waded ashore and began to destroy the machines. I stomped on them, smashed them with my fists. I kicked them, batted them with my hands. Any machine, all machines! I used the gigantic steam-shovel cranes as makeshift bats, swinging them against others, grabbing more when they shattered. I picked up others in my bare hands and flung them at other machines, in groups or alone. I destroyed every machine I could. I went on a rampage until I became so tired I sat down in the rubble.
After a time, I went inland looking for a safe place to shrink. The machines I had destroyed were simply carted away and replaced. They went on destroying that magnificent city of the bird-people as though nothing had happened.
Reaching the foot of the mountains, I chose a likely looking pass and climbed up for a look. I was about half a mile tall. Beyond the divide, I found a vast plain everywhere dotted with the grotesque, machine-made towns. There was nothing of the bird-people culture left! Then I saw it!
Two hundred miles to my left was a great metal dome, rising out of the plain. As I made my way towards it, I smashed everything in my path. Nearing the dome, I found myself blocked by a now-formidable pair of cranes. They were almost as tall as I.
Kicking out viciously, I caught one on the joint of its left knee and it collapsed. I stepped back quickly as the other monstrosity tried for my face with its pincer-like claws. I let loose with a startling scream, swinging to my left, dragging the crane along. We both went down, with me on top. Continuing to shout, I ripped its shovel head right off its neck and flung it toward another menacing device heading my way. Getting back to my feet, I found three more machines blocking my way. These proved to be more of a challenge than the first pair. I felt vulnerable, being naked. I checked my cuts and bruises.
I was ready to give battle, when i saw an entrance to the dome to my left. I was hoping to find the brain behind this activity. I had done just that!
The Master Machine was circular in shape, with bewildering tiers and platforms, and intersecting tunnels. Light flashed everywhere and circuits hummed with attendant machines buzzing and spinning and giving it care.
A mechanized voice stirred in my mind, "What do you want?" It was the Master brain itself communicating.
"I want to destroy you, that's what I want!" I said aloud, circling around. The Machine said nothing.
I moved carefully forward, extending my hands.
"Come no closer," the thought invaded my brain. I ignored the warning and moved closer.
Immediately, a square panel near the top shone a bright green. I jumped to my right, but nothing happened. An odd sensation swept over me, a feeling of both envy and menace. These emotions were being forced upon me by this infernal Machine intelligence!
I laughed, "You'll have to do better than that." I took a resolute step forward and a wall of crackling blue flame leapt from the floor to the ceiling. I jumped back. The hairs on my face and arms were singed. If I had taken one more step forward, I would most certainly have been incinerated.
"You filthy devil," I screamed. Anger rolled off the machine in waves. The bright green panel continued to glare at me. I could sense the anger and rage. Surprisingly this brain had emotions of its own. Its circuits continued to buzz and humm.
This strategy of mine needed some more thought. But was this abomination reading my mind? I was determined to block my thoughts, scramble them so my plans wouldn't be discovered before I acted. This became a nifty bit of doing....
I turned and went outside. I yanked the arms and legs of the demolished cranes, then I returned back inside. The Master Mind tracked my every move as I stalked it.
"I have something you need." The Machine spoke to my mind, its voice deep, mechanical, monotone, but masculine sounding. "You need this," I shouted as I threw a massive steel arm at the green screen and ducked away. The arm exploded in a burst of light and crackling heat as the wall leapt up again. My second toss made it through!
I yelled in delight, "Ah-ha!" as the badly twisted leg slammed hard into a corner of the screen and made it shatter. The Master Machine buzzed and hummed, but no more panels turned green. Firing another piece of twisted metal I made a leap through its defenses and caught the Machine by surprise.
"No!" it caterwauled in a high pitched falsetto as I began to yank off parts. "Stop! I have something you need." I ignored its plea and with almost hysterical rage, I tore out handfulls of conductors, volumes of wires, mounds of circuitry and yelled, "What could you possibly have that I might need?"
"The cure!" The machine shot back, "The cure!"
"The cure for what?"
"For your shrinking."
I stopped my destruction and jumped off.
"What did you say?" I panted.
"I have the means to stop your shrinkage."
"I don't believe you. Not one bit. Prove what you say." I demanded.
From a tiny compartment down to one side of its massive frame, a door slid back and a tongue of metal extended. I squat down to inspect it. It was a black colored metal case.
"A cure for your shrinkage, " the Machine assured me.
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Next Chapter VI - The Trimavihsons
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