Snow Witch'S Journey
Giant Machines and Young Girls

Special Guard Humanoid Machine Unit. The name kept ringing in my head like pieces of a puzzle that held a mystery. The machine stood straight in front of me. I think his height is more than double my height. The entire structure of his body was definitely metal, bronze-colored and already rusty. There were bolts all over his body and other forms of machinery that I didn't understand.

Like humans, he has functional body anatomy such as arms and legs. Both of his arms were longer than his legs, even almost touching the floor. The arm must have been powered by a capable system so as to produce a power equivalent to a giant monster.

The yellow light located within his round head shell was also quite interesting to me. Maybe the light was the core of his machine or maybe it was just his organ of vision. Or maybe simpler than I thought, a lighting lamp. Whatever it is, the machine raises a variety of questions from me.

“Are small humans in trouble?”

“As you can see, I'm stuck here. I can't go back to the surface.”

“So. I-i understand. I ... also got stuck in the ice cave. Same ... like you, little man.”

It's just my feeling, or the sound of the machine being broken. There is a pause in every word. Speaking of sounds, I wonder how the machine can create sounds that sound like human voices and have the ability to communicate as smoothly as humans.

“That voice, did you create it yourself? Or is there someone behind it who sends out frequency waves to be received by your system, then ejected to sound like you're from?”

“Your first guess was right. I ... create and process my own voice based on any kind of input that my creator has given my system. My system receives ... sounds from the outside, stores them, and then sorts them out and arranges them so that they form billions of words that can be combined. With the system, the Humanoid Unit can learn automatically and quickly. Want it through experience in the form of direct communication with humans or just by listening,” he explained.

My human brain thinks it's an amazing thing. It's like having a smart baby. At first, I could only hear it. Over time all that is captured by the ear will be stored in the brain and will be processed to be understood. Have the ability to process words and then choose the right response given when doing communication activities with me. For me, the machine is not much different from human development.

“In my body, smaller more complex machines and components ... work together like machines ... powered by .. as the center or source ... for humans this is the heart.”

Some of his sentences were not heard by me, muffled by curiosity that brought me focus around the machine creature. The back is not much different from the front. There are scratches and rust marks on the outer layer. However, the rust that makes the skin brownish yellow actually makes it look very ancient. At the waist does not unite the upper body and lower body, as separated by a three-layered metal plate. The middle disk is smaller than the other two plates that flank it. The dish reminds me of the gears on a clock machine. However, I am not sure if the function of the dish is the same as the gear or just the separator. Other discs are also found on the wrists, shoulders, and knees. Each has the same number of discs.

“Ah so, yes, I understand ...” I nodded as if I understood.

“How about you, little man?”

I was jolted, startled by the robot's upper body turning 180 degrees backward facing me, while its legs were unmoved. So that's how the real function of the dish is.

“Eh, me? I'm .. I mean, my name is Niva.”

“So, yes. The name of the little man is Niva. I-i understand. Niva's name is already stored in my data as an individual identity. Then, now ... we are friends.”

“You're right. We're friends now. Greetings, yes .. Spelator.”

“Omong-by the way, how can Niva get stuck here?”

“The story is embarrassing. I just didn't focus on my path, then accidentally stepped into the hole and fell here.” Actually the story is longer than that, but I better not tell it. I clasped the compass very tightly in my left hand as if I wanted to plump it. Actually this is the wrong compass that even takes care of my life.

“Fallied? Is Nivalis hurt? The slightest wound should be treated immediately before it becomes a serious infection. I'm ... not a Medical Humanoid Machine Unit, but I'll help Niva. That is ... friend's function and purpose.”

“Thank you, but I'm not hurt at all.” Come to think of it, I did not feel any pain, bruises or abrasions in my body. In fact, sliding and landing on hard ice should be quite painful. Maybe I'm just lucky. “How about you ...,” it's my turn to ask—dig information. “... technology as advanced as you are, why get stuck in a place like this? Then, where is your master who created you?”

The machine did not answer my question immediately. Suddenly, part of his foot turned around following the part of his upper body that was facing me. “Tuanku .. has died of hypothermia and starvation. Just like you, my master is also stuck here with me. But unfortunately, because the human body .. is more fragile and weak than the machine, he died first before turning off my function."

His core light shone in front of my face. The light was not as bright as before, momentarily flashing and becoming a dim light that was difficult to reach the shadow under my hat. Although it makes more sense to change the intensity of the light because of the decrease in power needed, but I caught it as a picture that the robot was sad. A machine has emotions like a human. How surprising.

“You ... and your master is stuck here?”

“It's true. I'm left alone. But now there is Niva. I'm happy because I'm not alone anymore.” I don't know why, I was imagining a Spelator who smiled broadly.

The entire disc rotated, sounding like the sound of friction of a heavy metal object and like the sound of a bull's snort a heavier version of the Spelator's body. It seems that something happened inside Spelator's body. The engine components are on and working, giving each other a boost and a spin, the pull and release are then continued in a long and complicated process that produces energy that makes the body function back active from its previous rest period. Just one foot stepped but it had created a great vibe. The spelator continued walking towards me. I got out of the way when Spelator came through. “Follow me .. Niva,” invite him. With his heavy steps, he headed to the huge hole created by him to meet me. I did not wait long to catch up with him in the back.

I saw both large and small ice chunks scattered by Spelator's punch. The one meter thick ice wall that had previously separated my room with the hallway in front became helpless before the machine. The threshold of the wall still holds cracks that spread high up to the ceiling of the cave. The crack is not a good sign. If something happened that caused a shock or impact, the crack would definitely get worse and make the ceiling of the cave hit me. I just need to be wary of me and be on standby in case something happens.

“So, you've been causing earthquakes around here lately?” I looked at the iron creature's back as if it was his face.

“I'm sorry if my deed created .. above interference.”

A giant machine and a young girl are trapped in the depths of an ice cave, together tracing a long, cold and silent passageway. The theme would be quite interesting if made an adventure novel. It's an honor to be the main character and share my experience.

But, to be honest, I didn't expect that there was a long hallway strewn with the room where I fell. This hallway we traveled had a height and width that was wide enough to even accommodate two Humanoid Machine Units in tandem. Its breadth made me think of this passage as if it was created for Spelator. However, the uneven texture of the floor and walls proves that this hallway is actually created naturally. Further in, the sky began to see a lot of ice rocks tapering down, stalactites. Although, it is sharp and dangerous, but it still maintains the purity of this fresh blue ice cave. This blue color provides a cool and soothing atmosphere wrapped in beauty that at the same time brings danger.