The Making of Cyborg Cyclone
"Great title! Who should write this one?" The head of programming asked the writers.
"Pick anyone. It's just another original and no one expects much." They all nodded in agreement.
"Get the team to work on the graphics and pick a busty girl, a geeky guy, hell, you know, the formula team." Their boss left.
They met with casting and reviewed the photos of the regulars, but decided to try some new actors; for the geek, they chose a busty girl with glasses and that would save a whole salary. For the hero, they chose a good looking young stud of Indian descent with a British accent. The scientist was usually their hardest pick, but they found an educated young actor who actually was a scientist before he took up acting and had a very ethereal look about him.
They filled the rest of the cast with regulars they had used on other series and they were set.
"Let's get Bobby from Supernatural! I miss that guy! Wish we could get Misha Collins, but I doubt we could." Said the casting director.
The group disbanded and each had their assignment for the morning so they could hit the ground running when the actors came in for auditions.
***
The Formula Team Auditions
Busty Babe/Geek - Giselle Grand, 22yo, Vancouver, BC
"Giselle! Welcome! You will be reading the part of Cassandra. She is a computer geek, wears glasses, but also a very attractive woman who does not know she is attractive. We will give you an hour to review pages twenty two and three and then blow our socks off, okay?" She nodded and left the room.
Hero - Nick Shah, 24yo, London, now Vancouver, BC
"Nick! Welcome and you will be reading the part of the hero. He is very fit and strong and a cyberpunk hero, so he may die in the end. He is willing to die to save humanity or the woman he loves. We will give you and hour and... " It went on from there.
The Scientist - Michael Fitch, 30yo, Boston, MA
"How are you, Michael? Welcome! We would like you to read for the part of the scientist. He is 28yo and has a PhD in Nanotechnology and one in Robotics. He is completely driven by his duty to solve the Cyborg Cyclone problem and is distant and quiet." The same instructions were given.
Auditions went well and they were even able to do a scene with all three actors. It was a good day.
They broke for lunch and then hired the rest of the actors for supporting roles.
Now all they had to do in the morning was finish writing the script!
***
Shooting began two weeks later and was going fairly well. The only problem was the scientist who played the scientist. He constantly wanted to make things look and sound 100% authentic. They didn't have the money for all that realism, so he was reigned in.
His look also creeped out most of the staff and crew. He was exceptionally pale with the eyes that are so light that they look spooky. He was tall, six feet two inches, but very thin. His skin was almost transparent and though his hair was longer than normal, it was thin. Women loved him. He was a great looking creepy scientist, but was he too creepy? The bosses didn't think so.
Reality came to play on the set when the scientist had to wrestle a cyborg/stunt man. The stunt man had both bones in his right arm broken by the scientist. People gasped and the scientist apologized profusely to the man.
"I don't know how that happened! I am sorry!" The stunt man nodded, but said to the crew that the actor's eyes never changed. 'His eyes were flat, no emotion, though his voice sounded emotional.'
The actor left early that day at the request of the AD. He went home and threw himself on the bed. He talked to himself: 'Must maintain control! Must be human! Must act more human'. He set himself to repair mode and closed his eyes.
***
The next day the set went quiet when Michael arrived. He hung his head in shame and picked up his script. He had asked the AD if he should quit and was told not to, that accidents happened. Of course they also made great press too. The story was already halfway around the web and the stuntman was not very happy about that. He still wondered how someone half his weight could fracture his arm.
Michael had been told take it easy until his full activation, but he didn't know how he had hurt the larger man at all and definitely enough to break bones. Of course, he wasn't made of normal human tissue, well not much of it. What was human was mostly on the exterior. His interior was many types of materials: ceramic, carbon fiber, plastic, Teflon, bio-polymers and other things probably.
He had the bots work all night to try to pad places that he would be using like his hands and keep him from making another mistake and causing more than suspicious eyes to be cast his way. He had tested his had on the wall, but it had gone through it, so he tested it on the wooden door and it hadn't so he guessed he was better now.
The day was uneventful, as was the rest of the week, so suspicions had died down to no more than jokes at the stuntman's expense.
The stuntman, however, never took his eyes off of Michael. He watched every move and tried to figure out he had done it. He was suspicious.
***
They were finally in the large warehouse for green screen work and Michael realized that he had been misinformed; the cyborgs were computer graphics. He pretended to stumble and fall, just so he could take a break and process the new information.
How could there be a cyborg cyclone with him as the only cyborg? This was disastrous! He was the only real cyborg in the movie and the rest was faked.
He didn't know how to send a signal to command, just receive them. They were expecting to take over this new world with him as the leader.
He would have to wait and see if the bots could carry a command tonight.
***
At home, he stretched out on the bed, a practice he had learned, but didn't need. It seemed to relax the human part of him and work was done much easier by the bots, he thought. He talked to the bots in a way he thought could get back to command. Maybe they would just want to come ahead with the invasion plan anyway or maybe wait.
He received a message: 'Remain. We will come. Do nothing. Be ready.' Okay, he knew what to do now. Nothing...
***
They finished the movie and he went home ready for action on some front. He would just shut down and let the bots restore him now.
***
"SyFy Original Movie Cyborg Cyclone premieres tonight at 9 PM! Let's hope it has some redeeming quality. Maybe it will spark another frenzy like for "Sharknado"!
Michael had been awakened in time to hear the announcement. How long had he been shut down? It was evident it had been awhile, for he could barely stand from the new weight on his body. He saw his reflection in the mirror and he barely recognized himself.
His body was a foot taller, about fifty pounds heavier and his formerly pale look was now darker and more frightening. He felt ready for anything and hoped he would in some kind of action soon. His body was moving on its own and he was soon outside in the dark. It was dark, but his vision was able to see as if it were daytime. He was moving toward the city.
People cleared a path for him on the sidewalk and soon he was running in the street. He had arrived at the premiere of the movie. They had decided to do an actual premiere, like a Hollywood premiere, but in Vancouver.
He had slowed down and then stopped near the building, but in the dark. There were fake cyborgs, laughable at best and may fans and the crew. He was excited about what was to come.
It began at the height of the festivities. At first the humans thought it was part of the show with the fake cyborgs. They thought that until Michael started moving toward them. Then they froze. They froze as cyborgs landed in the street. Cyborgs exited shuttles that landed along the whole avenue. Screams began, but were silenced. There was no bloodshed, just elimination of the humans.
Michael just stood there, the largest of the troops. He stood and watched and wanted to act, but couldn't move. He felt something; an emotion. He was angry! He tried to move, but the bots held him back. He fought it and began to roar and the cyborgs froze.
He heard an order from command, "Hold! You act next!" He stopped struggling and the troops began to kill again. They were in the theater now and the screams were deafening. More shuttles landed and moved down the street to businesses and homes. They would obliterate the city by morning.
Michael knew a TV screen now and saw one with the words, 'Cyborg Cyclone' a reality! First contact deadly! Stay in your homes! Go to shelters!' He saw himself and wondered who was taking his photo. His head was allowed to turn and he saw a cameraman, one he knew, atop a building across from the theater. Suddenly he felt his eyes burn and the man was incinerated. Now he had some action! It felt good! He was so strong! He was death!
Michael the cyborg was suddenly released and he ran through the streets, leading the troops, and destroying with a speed unparalleled!
By dawn, the city was dead. Human jets were vaporized, as were tanks and troops. They would begin their move to the south at dusk. The day would have them regenerating and repairing. The world was theirs!
"We are coming to you from a bunker in an undisclosed location... the world is ending, but we will broadcast in case there is someone left out there... stay inside, they can't get all of us!"
***
The earth was silent, except for creatures other than humans. The race of cyborgs, the Facile, wanted the creatures and plant life, just not the humans. Michael was the only one with any human DNA.
***
Six Months Later
A solitary jet flew the sky over every major world capital. Deep space sensors detected no aliens or spaceships. The underground world slowly became the above ground world again. Nothing had changed except the sparsity of humans and many thought that was a positive change.
The only communication was by Morse code and old analog equipment. The one sweep of the space sensors could be construed to be an anomaly. People lived closed to their underground shelters, very close. Many were known to run back inside at the slightest sound.
Nature was trimmed back a bit, but animals were left on their own, unless dangerous and then urged back to shelters or zoos. The air was clean and fresh, food grew prolifically, people talked and helped one another.
Earth had been refreshed and lightened of the burden of the billions of humans. It was estimated that the population was now about one million or so...
***
Michael sensed something, but then it was gone. Should he say something? No. If it really were something, the bots would have already signaled command.
***
The bots signaled command: "Michael is defective. Elimination recommended." Michael was eliminated and Earth's human reemergence had not been detected.
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