A Visitor to the Future - 119 - Final Round
The later rounds of the tournament had a different feel to the earlier ones, the energy frantic and desperate. As the teams took more damage, the spare parts available and time needed to carry out repairs became more and more precious. Proxies which had been relatively complete were worn down, now missing limbs, crucial armor plates, or sensors. There were some common features among all the teams - designs which had used multiple optics for sight switched to only using one, gimmicks were prioritized less and less as the upkeep became too much to bear, and more than one team retired one of their Proxies entirely, cannibalizing it for spare parts.
We chose to spectate the lower bracket teams, as we were more familiar with them. The Outcasts, the friendly Kesslerites who we'd traded with earlier in the tournament, managed to secure an easy win against the Alvorso Specters on a spinning turntable-like arena - the Specters had been in much worse shape compared to their opponents. The engineering skill of the Outcasts really spoke for itself when you compared the two teams side-by-side. While the three Proxies of the Outcasts looked fairly beaten up on the outside it became obvious that their core functions were well-maintained, in contrast to the Specters who were barely holding themselves together, with one Proxy even limping into the fray.
Another set of familiar faces showed up in the semi-finals as the Outcasts faced off against Heavy Metal, who we'd faced in the second round. I could see the signs of a rough patch-job on the Proxy I'd fought in that round - the spinning hips and legs were now immobile, effectively welded together and patched with spare armor plates. An interesting fight followed as the two teams faced off in a cold-themed arena, the largest ice-rink I'd ever seen. It had been funny to watch at first as more than one Proxy slipped and fell over on the unfamiliar surface. That had been the deciding factor in the end - Heavy Metal were the first to adjust to the new conditions, beginning to skate over the smooth surface, and the increased mobility had secured them the win.
"This makes me want to play ice hockey again!" Blaise had shouted as one of the Heavy Metal Proxies bludgeoned its opponent into a wall with a crushing shoulder-barge, "Haven't played in a century!" He seemed to be enjoying the carnage.
With one team confirmed for the finals, we looked at the results of the upper bracket rounds. The wolf-and-centaur combination of Team Catalyst had been defeated by the duplicitous Strategic Arms - though from what we understood, it had been the water damage we'd dealt to the wolves that had been their undoing, not fully repaired before the round started. To the joy of Blaise, Team Legacy had been defeated by Cells Are Fun. Cells Are Fun had then surprised everyone in the upper bracket semi-final by taking out the tournament favorite, Strategic Arms. I resolved to watch that particular match for myself later. Interestingly, the remaining two teams, Jasmine and The Professionals had wiped each other out - though Jasmine had technically won the round, they'd been unable to repair their Proxies in time for the next match.
Which brought us to the final - Cells Are Fun vs Heavy Metal. The stadium was the busiest I had seen with all the spectators and the eliminated teams concentrated into one location, but still barely a third full. What they lacked in numbers, though, they made up for in sheer hype, as recently printed banners and flags for each team were now visible in the stands. Some people were even holding both, one in each hand.
"Who do we think is going to win?" I asked the group, interested in their opinions.
More than a few heads turned towards Alexandra, who was the only member of the team to have seen Cells Are Fun in action - she had watched their match against The Professionals in the first round. She smiled and laughed at the attention, "Looks like I'll make my opinion clear first then," she said, "It's hard to tell. Both teams have prized defensive strength throughout the tournament, it is the execution that has been different. Heavy Metal have taken the traditional approach and armored everything, which has reduced their mobility but has shielded them from significant harm throughout the tournament - as we know, their only loss was to us, in conditions which significantly impacted their mobility. Cells Are Fun, on the other hand - they're an unknown factor. As I said previously, their Proxies seem functionally resilient, and unusually so - but to look at them, you wouldn't know how."
I looked down at the Proxies in the arena below. They were idle and waiting for the final to start, lined up across from each other at the sides of a large, round, white sand arena, circled by a ring of stone. It looked far less chaotic than some of the arenas we'd seen throughout the tournament. The Proxies of Cells Are Fun were sleek, almost dignified in comparison to the bulky forms of Heavy Metal. They were painted predominantly white, with highlights and spiraling patterns in lilac on the torsos and arms - though what once had been artistic paintwork had been scuffed, scarred, and completely worn off in places by the damage they had received.
"In the first round, I saw half of that Proxy's neck torn out," continued Alexandra, pointing. Following the line of her finger, I could see that the damage had since been patched, "And yet it kept fighting without issues. I won't make a decision based on design alone - but when I consider that Cells Are Fun are the better fighters in my view, they get my vote."
"Ah, that explains a lot," said Anode. When she didn't elaborate further, Tungsten gave her a nudge, which triggered an explanation, "Oh, right - I'm reading some interesting signals from Cells Are Fun. I turned off my RF sensors for the tournament, but out here in the spectator zone I'm picking up wireless pings from different parts of those Proxies to other parts. I'm guessing that they broke down some of their spare neural links, turned them into wireless transmitters and receivers for their gimmick. That way they can have damaged connections between certain parts - like the neck - and still function."
"Now the name Cells Are Fun makes a lot more sense!" said Sarkona, "Independent, isolated sections of the Proxies that can work without a direct connection. Clever."
"But risky!" added Anode, "I wanted to tinker with some of our neural link receivers for gimmicks but Sasha rightly vetoed it. If we'd run out of working neural link receivers, we wouldn't have been able to pilot our Proxies any more!"
Sasha nodded, "We had three left, it was close. It's interesting that Cells Are Fun modified complex electronics in the time before the tournament started. It's time-consuming work."
Tungsten thoughtfully tapped his chin, "Perhaps they didn't. They could have been incrementally added throughout the tournament, which would explain the access ports I can see in their chest cavities and heads. Only one of them needed to be fully ready in the first round for Alexandra to see what she did. Or perhaps only one of the Proxies is rigged up like that at all. That would be less of a burden on their engineering resources and neural link supply."
Now it was Anode's turn to nudge Tungsten, "Nope!" she said, "All the Proxies are pinging! If you were tuned to RF waves like me, you'd be able to see them too. You're missing out! The air is alive with activity!"
"Perhaps their engineers are so skilled that they were able to carry out the work in a shorter time period," said Regolith, "Assuming that is the case, I would bet on Cells Are Fun too."
"You saw when we fought them, though," Blaise exclaimed, "Heavy Metal are scrappy - they're got guts! That means a lot to me - I'm betting on them."
"Same," agreed Gatecrash, "It was one of the most difficult fights I had in the tournament. They knew what they were doing - if we hadn't got the drop on them, and if the arena hadn't been what it was, I think they would have beaten us. They get my vote."
Any more speculation was cut off by the announcer, as the Proxies below us lurched into life, statue-like forms now moving organically and settling into stable poses.
"Spectators! We have reached the finals of our Resiliency tournament! Our finalists going head-to-head in this climactic finish are Heavy Metal in the gunmetal grey and Cells Are Fun in the white-and-lilac swirls! Our two teams have fought long and hard to get to this point - but as we all know, only the most resilient can stand victorious! The ground beneath our teams seems stable for now - but will the Shifting Sands of this arena provide either team with a competitive edge? Teams, good luck, have fun, and may the most resilient stand victorious! Begin!"
Watching a Proxy from a distance gave you a different appreciation for how powerful they were. It was one thing to experience it, where the power at your hands almost instant and effortless. It was another to step back, and realize that in the wrong hands, a Proxy was a lethal instrument. Footfalls hit the soft sand and parted it under their weight, scattering particles as feet rose and fell.
I fixed my gaze on the Proxy I'd fought with previously in the magnified view as both it and its chosen opponent approached each other and slowed, choosing to circle each other slowly, each of them studying each other. All three of the white-lilac Proxies were of similar design - a dome-like head with a single optic, limbs with flowing curves but by no means slim or weak, and shoulder joints covered with segmented, white pauldrons. Both were worse for wear as a result of their battles, but the white Proxy seemed to move with far more grace, each foot placed delicately on the sand as it circled like a duelist or fencer, whereas the grey brute-like Proxy I'd faced previously moved with forceful intent to strike - that same sort of dogged determination to follow its opponent to the ends of the Earth.
The Duelist went in for the first strike, a sweeping kick delivered far quicker than the Brute expected. As I'd found out previously, the Brute was not easily knocked off balance - the heavy armor plating gave it stability as well as protection. The trade-off was that its counterattack was slower, giving the Duelist time to reset and back off as the circling resumed. It was obvious that the Duelist had the mobility advantage - but if the Brute managed to get its hands on it for even a second, it would be enough to tear apart the lighter Proxy. Whether there were redundant connections or not, losing a limb or getting caught in a grapple could mean the end for the Duelist.
A quick fist-jab from the Duelist came in, directed at the Brute's squat and recessed head. I realized immediately the mistake - the armored and inset head didn't fear glancing blows, and as the Duelist's arm pulled back, the Brute tried to grab at it with its left hand, fingers just failing to close in time. The Brute's right hand did manage to land a punch on the retreating chest of the Duelist, causing plating to buckle and speeding up its retreat as it teetered back slightly before regaining its balance. The Duelist backed up and looked around, seeing nothing but its teammates fighting the other Proxies of Heavy Metal and the rest of the arena.
Something had changed, though. It wasn't visible from ground level, yet was obvious to the spectating crowd. A small, sinking area of sand was visible at the centre of the arena, and was growing rapidly. Had the Duelist felt the change through the ground? It was hard to tell.
The distraction was enough for the Brute to rush forward, though, as it reached out to sieze the Duelist's neck.