“What is it this time old man?” Yongguk sauntered through the electronic doors of the laboratory that opened upon sensory scanning, shutting tight immediately as soon as he entered. He was cleaning his gun, clicking and unclicking the compartments together as he shuffled the bullets around the case, muscles tensed and ready to duck if a stray science experiment was aimed his way. This was just a habitual process of how he would be greeted every time he came underground to this end of the ‘loony bin’ as he called it; whether it be some strange laser beam he had to shield himself from, slime flying towards his face, a y-trap aimed at swallowing him in a pit of spikes or the random bombs that would explode in front of him, there was always a pleasant surprise he had to be ready for every time he entered this laboratory. But this time, it was different.

He looked around at his surroundings, searching for the notorious mad-scientist that resided here, finding him huddled over his work-station, metal mask on and wielding as blue sparks flew around him, enveloping him in a cerulean orb of light.

Yongguk made his way slowly to the scene, tucking away his gun into his agent vest to take a closer look. “Oi, old man, what’d you call me down for?” His voice was rough as usual albeit tinted with irritation. He had been prepping for training before his caller beeped, telling him to come straight down to the science pits. He’d known the crazy scientist since he had been scouted to work for the Office in his adolescence and the old man had always been a father-figure to Yongguk, always managing to brighten the boy’s day with a lame joke or some weird science trick but today was certainly not one of those days. Here at Border Agency Protection, everything was a life-or-death situation – at least that was what eight years of training had taught him and every second worked towards bettering himself and training for attack.

But somehow, finally standing next to the man, Yongguk couldn’t contain his surprise at the sight that no amount of training could ever prepare him for: the old man was welding a piece of flesh on the arm of a boy who looked no older than 16 and he just lay there, blinking a few times as he watched on as well. Looking into the open wound to which the man was working at, in place of pink and blood, all he could see was a length of silver cables and intricate wires. The boy was shirtless so Yongguk could clearly see the tempered rise and fall of his chest, indicating his steady breath to contradict the robotic nature of this test-subject. This was unbelievable.

“The hell is this?!” Yongguk nearly yelled but the scientist didn’t stop; he just kept going, putting the burning flame to flesh as the metal skin began to melt a little to mould into the characteristic that the man wanted, slowly beginning to close the gap that exposed the silver. Even though it was clear that the boy was subject to an unbelievably high temperature, he remained casual as if he couldn’t feel it. Then after the opening was completely sealed, the old man stopped, pulled off his mask as he dropped the equipment onto the floor and grinned up at the befuddled agent. Sweat dripped of his brow and he wiped it off carelessly with his sleeve. “You like?” he asked childishly. Now that the subject was no longer being worked upon, he sat up on the bench behind the scientist and flexed his arm, brushing his hand over where the hole used to be.

Yongguk didn’t know how to answer, feeling the two sets of eyes drill into him, expectant for an answer. So he verbalised his thoughts, blurting out, “What even is that?” pointing to the boy who cocked his head to the side on cue.

“This is Zelo, my new creation. Say hi, Zelo.” The man affectionately patted the boy on his back and the boy then bowed and muttered his greeting, ‘hello, my name is Zelo’ in a perfect human voice. Yongguk didn’t know what to do so awkwardly nodded, acknowledging the introductory gesture. Upon seeing the interaction between the two, the scientist grinned again and patted the boy on the head, “Good boy, great job,” he said as if he was a pet. Yongguk looked on incredulous.

“He learns fast,” the scientist explained to Yongguk, the latter having to pause and process the information through his system. Yongguk slowly lifted a hand and waved it in front of the boy’s face. “This is crazy,” he murmured as Zelo’s gaze followed the movement, before staring at the elder for a few seconds. “Is he a robot?”

The old man puffed out his chest and nodded, “best in the universe,” he crowed smugly.

Yongguk peeled his eyes from the spectacle for a moment before things began to click in his mind again. He looked at the old man sternly, a frown now tarnishing his face, “Does the rest of the Office know about this?”

There was a pause as Zelo looked between the two men. The scientist sighed, biting on his lip a little before he answered, “That’s why I called you down here…”

Yongguk had no time for intimacies and he shifted his stance to one foot, crossing his arms in expectation. He didn’t want to be held responsible for something as troublesome as this. If problems arose, it would be his neck that’d also accompany the scientist’s on the chopping block. He had just been promoted to be leader of his division and he didn’t want any more troubles that what was involved in his role. This was going to be a long story so he huffed out a weary breath.  “Spill,” he growled.

It’s hard to permit yourself to a part of another’s story. You don’t know if you belong, if you’re supposed to be there and to listen to what they have to say. Zelo or 151096 in serial coding, was the first kind of human robot designed to perform expendable tasks that normal people could not, for example, bomb disassembling, certain-death rescue missions and other haphazard tasks with little chance of agent survival. It first began as a trivial idea but then manifested into an obsession and the result was a great potential confidante that held darker undertones with the concerning capacity for anything. Even as a weapon. This latter idea only later filled the scientist’s brain and has since worried him to no end, Yongguk now sharing in the apprehension.

The creation of such a subject could prove intrinsic to any side if utilised wisely and so, as cliché as it sounded, needed to be kept on the side that practised responsibility. Zelo thus needed to be kept under surveillance and constant care, even though he didn’t require food or water – a battery implanted into his torso that was self-generating and self-renewing, lasting for at least a couple of decades. Like a child, he needed to be taught, to be moulded and shaped so that he could understand his purpose and not go against it. Then, he would be able to distinguish clearly his moral spectrum but until that time, every influence anyone ever held over him had to be controlled and precise, otherwise destruction could ensue.   

Though it was but two days before such annihilation was withheld. People had ears and eyes everywhere in this place.  

The sirens were blaring, the flashing red mirrored the stream of crimson that stained Yongguk’s vision. He’d seen enough blood lately and it was altering his perceptions; the rancid smell of rust perpetually embossed into his nose was making his head swoon and he was most definitely not a swooning guy.  

“Take him, Yongguk!” the old man had screamed among the chaos, “Get him out of here!” The old man cowered next to the flipped workbench, hiding behind the table-top that stood perpendicular to the floor as another bomb exploded in the distance.

“Where do I take him?! They know who I am, they’ll track us down!” he yelled, just as loud back to the shaking figure.

There was a blank look before the old man lowered his voice, barely audible above the noise, “my daughter.”

“What?!” Zelo looked on in confusion at the livid agent.

“Take him to my daughter,” the scientist then fumbled around, searching the counter tops and patting down his empty pockets before finding a compacted one, quickly delving his hand in to pulled out a creased envelope with an address on the front as if stowed there for this specific purpose in time. “Go to this address and give this to the girl. You’ll find a girl, now go! Go!” he gave the two an urgent push and Yongguk had no choice but to begin running. Zelo’s joints seemed frozen, refusing to budge from leaving his birthplace, his eyes wide and pleading.

“Goodbye, Zelo,” he watched the words formed around the lips of his creator and felt the sharp, heavy tug of Yongguk up his arm as he was finally pulled up among the commotion. There was no time anymore as he was dragged reluctantly along the crumpling corridors, the ringing still burning in his ears.