The air was damp and hot. The constant humming sound from the ventilating shaft mixed up with the snorts of people in the large hall. The complete darkness was overwhelming and comforting at the same time; it felt like the warm embrace of the mother's womb, like the soft silky hand of the beloved...Daniel chased this last thought away. This was no more - it had to stay in the better world of the past.

He absently tried to remember what day it was, but he couldn't. Days and nights all flew by like the empty seats of a carousel and diminished in the emptiness of his mind. However, he hoped it would be over soon. It was probably almost morning now and the word around was that they had something big planned for today. When these guys had "something big" in mind, it usually involved many painful deaths. Daniel hoped he somehow could be one of those "victims".

The barracks door flew open with a crushing sound and in the next instant all lights went on. Several pairs of heavy footsteps marched on the floor and a crude low-pitched voice shouted: "Wake up you maggots! On your feet! Officer on deck!" these words were spit out in five seconds - enough time for every sleeping person in the room to get up, put their shoes on, and stand straight on either side of a set of bunk-beds, while the two people in military uniforms, who entered the hall, marched inside. The two of them couldn't be any more different. Sergeant Bossy was short and square. He loved to spend time in the gym, so his hands were corny and thick as tree trunks. There was a rumor that when he was a private he single handedly lifted a robot and threw it ten paces in the air. Everyone in the base called him Mother behind his back, because he knew everything that happened in the base and didn't spare time or effort to punish every fault severely.

The other man was everything that Bossy wasn't. His tall stature gave the impression that he was skinny, but anyone who ever saw him half-naked in the boxing ring knew better. He wore an officer's hat with the initials M.M. engraved at its front. His one eye was cold-blue under the hat, the joy of life long gone in it. He lost his other eye several years ago in a fight with the machines, but he didn't bother to hide the ugly scar behind an eye patch. Major Morgan's face never showed any emotion and it was hard for most of the new recruits to get used to his nick name - Candyman. This was how everyone called him because of the association the letters engraved on his hat brought - a brand of chocolates that existed before the Great Machine Revolution and the war.

Daniel got carried away to the past and the history lessons he was taught here in the base, right before the war started. In 2012 the first fully automatic solar powered robot was tested and it ran smoothly on its own. All G-20 governments were overjoyed and started mass production of the thing. They didn't know then that they were signing their own death certificates. The robots started learning the world around and since they could download memories from one another, this learning process expedited with every new machine that left the production facilities. In 2091, when Daniel was seventeen, the last mass update of their Operating system, went completely wrong and the machines developed a will of their own. They called themselves "Terteths" - The Freedom Fighters - and waged bloody war against the humans. The war almost destroyed the human civilization. Only a little less than a billion people managed to survive and hide in secret underground bases, built for the sole purpose of preserving the human kind.

The line of his thoughts was interrupted by the ice-cold voice of the Major.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I need ten volunteers for a mission that will bring death to at least eight of them. I need people who are desperate or greedy, since if you are the one to complete this mission alive, the reward will be greatly worth it. Everyone interested, please step ahead!"

Daniel immediately took a step forward and looked around him. He saw fifteen more volunteers and started praying that he will be among the chosen ten. Mother and Candyman marched to one of the volunteers and quietly asked him a question. After a brief talk, the major sent him outside the barracks. Then they moved on to the next one. Daniel was last in the row and he watched helplessly how the major and the sergeant were rapidly filling-up their quota. After the ninth person was selected, there were three more people before him. When he was about to shout that he would do anything to be in the team, Mother said something to Morgan and pointed Daniel.

Candyman lifted his gaze and his eye looked straight into the boy. His only eye was still as a crystal and not a muscle on his face moved. He stayed like that for a moment...and then headed straight to Daniel.

"Son, sergeant Bossy here tells me that you are a fine and reliable young man, is this right", it was impossible to catch any nuance, any emotion in these words.

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Ok then. I trust Bossy, and I trust you...Know what, let me ask you a question. Do you want to die, son?"

"Sir, More than anything, sir! Please, take me on the mission, sir! I will do everything to preserve the life of the other marines on the expense of mine!"

"Hm...unfortunately, this cannot happen, I will take you for this mission, but only if you promise me that..." Morgan's voice went down to a whisper, "you will survive and complete the mission. All the other marines are in only to ensure that you will be the one alive."

Every word felt like a spike piercing Daniel's heart. He wheezed under his nose, deeply regretting now that he signed up for this mission. He knew what would happen if he failed.

"However," the major continued "we will make sure that, if you return successfully, we will clone her and recover her past memory. Then we will send you both to a place that is safe and secure from Terteth attacks." Now his voice almost sounded warm and friendly. "There, you will live together and, who knows, Uncle Sam and the President might even allow you to have children...What do you say, are we in this together?"

Daniel's head spun. He thought he did not hear quite well and stared at the major for a few seconds. This man had just given him hope that he never imagined in his wildest dreams and delusions. "Sir, are you saying you have her genetic material?"

"Yes son, we still have her body...and we still possess the technology to clone her. Are we in this together?"

"Sir, yes sir! Just tell me what I have to do to get her back!"

"Good! Now, go outside with the rest of the boys. I will brief you together, but you will have an envelope, with your separate instructions in it. After you leave the base, make sure no one sees you and read it. Burn it afterwards. Am I clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Ok! Go out and wait for me."

Daniel put his shirt on and rushed out of the building. Bossy and Morgan stared after him.

"Sir, what will happen if one of them speaks to the others," Bossy asked in a low voice.

"They will not, sergeant. That is why I chose them; they all want the same thing so badly, that they will kill each other to get it. Yeees, they will not speak. Now, hold tight and let's brief our birdies before we send them out to die for us."

To be continued ...