《The Bartender at the End of the Universe》Ch 137: No Reason to Talk
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"I'm willing to give you another chance point seven three." The old man asked while he stood just outside of Sid's cage.
Sid was no longer free to roam about but had been shackled to the wall. He was sitting down with his hands and feet bound. His wrists were clamped with iron straps up above his head so that his arms were perpetually making a y shape.
His legs were sticking through a thick metal sheet. The round holes were just large enough for his ankles to fit through, and it was not only locked on the side, but had also been welded shut.
Sid stayed still with his body forced into an uncomfortable sitting position. He didn't even look up at the scientist who was observing him.
The old man let out a sigh. "You did this to yourself point seven three. If you didn't try and kill me so often, I wouldn't need to resort to such drastic measures."
The old man absentmindedly plucked at a few hairs on his head as he stared at Sid. Finally, he frowned and sneered at the robotic man.
"Very well then, I'll start with a simple software update. the point seven four iteration is ready enough," he snarled angrily. "Your murderous inclinations are as intended, but you seem to have trouble directing them properly."
The scientist walked away and bent over a machine. He mumbled to himself as he set to work dragging his gloved finger over screens and pushing a series of buttons. He had a mischievous glint in his eye as he set to work.
Sid waited a moment, and then shifted his hands around. There was a little bit of room between his wrists on the manacles. He glanced up at the old man, and Sid saw that the scientist's back was to him. He quickly pulled his hands forward.
But the manacles didn't budge. Sid made no expression as he kept his eyes on his alleged creator. He stretched out the fingers on both of his hands, and then, with his metallic skeletal hand, he grabbed his thumb with the rest of his fingers. He pulled his finger back and there was a small snapping noise.
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The scientist turned around and stared at Sid. However, Sid had turned his gaze back down towards the ground, and kept his hands balled in fists. With his eyes fixed right on Sid, the old man slinked over towards the cell.
"I hope you're not doing anything stupid." he snarled. "It would be a shame for you to get damaged when it isn't necessary."
"Especially when your physical form is all that's worth anything in your current iteration." He added with a cruel grin.
The old man Pulled out a small box covered in strange, glowing, green lines. There was a single button on top that was nearly flush with the box. He pushed the button, and the bars of Sid's cell began to slide up into the ceiling.
Sid kept his eyes off to the side, but even without looking directly at the bars, it was obvious that they had almost double the length you could see down below them. In silence, except for the scraping of metal, the two of them waited. With Sid who looked more like a discarded doll sitting there limply, and the scientist who had a venomous grin on his face.
When the bars had finally gone all the way up, the old man stepped into the cell. He pulled out a small syringe filled with sloshing orange liquid. His eyes were focused on Sid's exposed neck.
"Hold still, or this rewrite will be more violent than it needs to be." He let out a cruel chuckle as he placed a hand on Sid's shoulder. Slowly he brought the needle towards Sid's jugular. "Trust me, this is for the best. A good software update should pick you right up from your idiotic melancholy."
Sid kept incredibly still, even as the needle that threatened to overwrite his brain drew perilously close. When it was less than an inch away from his neck, Sid twisted his entire body away from it. As he did, he pulled even harder on his skeletal thumb.
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A loud crack echoed through the cell as Sid broke not just his thumb, but parts of his wrist and knuckles as well. He slipped his mangled hand down through the manacle, and in one smooth motion brought it down and then thrust it up straight through the scientist's chest.
"Hrrkk!" Blood started to stream from the corner of the old man's mouth. As realization dawned in his eyes, he glared down at Sid.
Sid had turned to face the man at last. With cold, calculating eyes he stared at the dying man.
"Why you useless, outdated basta...Hrrrk!"
The scientist tried to yell at Sid, but when he started to speak, the calculating prisoner twisted his hand that was currently exploring the scientist's body cavity. More blood started to pool out of his mouth, and only a few garbled grunts came out of his mouth before he finally fell limp.
Sid pulled his hand free and began to search through the corpse's various pockets.
A loud groaning noise started up, and Sid looked up to see the bars of his cell beginning to lower again. Sid immediately pulled out the box and pressed the button with his pinky. But nothing happened. The bars continued to descend unhindered by the box.
Sid acted fast. He tossed the box out of the cell and lifted his free hand up to his other manacle. Using both of his hands, he pulled with all of his might.
For a moment, nothing happened, then a small crack appeared in the wall. Sid stopped constantly pulling, and began to pull as hard as he could, and then stop. Pull, then stop. Over and over, he repeated this action as quickly as his limbs would move. When the bars had lowered halfway, he finally succeeded.
With both hands free, he rose them above his head and slammed them into the lock on the metal slab his feet were in. The lock bent but didn't break. Instead of trying again, he squatted down and put his hands up against the wall opposite of the stocks his feet were imprisoned in.
He shoved with all his might as he stretched out his body. It happened so fast, the slab had no chance, and broke free from the ground. However, his feet were still firmly locked through it.
Sid didn't miss a beat though. With his whole body able to move, he grabbed the fresh corpse and tucked it close to his body as he crawled with his legs together and his one good hand. The bars were close to the bottom now, but Sid slid right under them. Luckily, the old man was fairly frail, so he fit under as well.
However, the slab his feet were in got caught on the bars as they came down. Immediately, Sid reached behind his body to grab the bars and yanked himself up to a standing position. The metal slab slid under with ease once it was shifted to its narrow side.
And just like that, Sid had finally gotten out of his cell. The scientist was dead, but that wasn't the first time he had killed him, not by a long shot. His feet were also still trapped. He may have escaped his cell, but now he was in a completely unknown room. What was essentially just a larger cage that he would have to escape next.
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