Storymania - Solef by Wolfa

Solef
Wolfa

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"The body of the creature Solef 6X112 is gone, and subsequent searches for traces left by scavengers were unfruitful. It is my belief that the creature Solef 6X112 has recovered and escaped into the Labyrinth. After all, we designed its body to be resilient. If the creature Solef 6X112 is indeed alive in the Labyrinth, then it was not a failed experiment at all. The creature Solef 6X112 will most probably set up a territory and kill intruders, which tallys perfectly with our attempt to create the perfect guardian. The creature is strong, swift, intelligent, and resourceful. Further research along this avenue is necessary."

I found this writ on a tablet in the lab coat of the man I killed. I understand some reading but not much because Marlowe didn't teach me for very long. I do not know all the reading on this tablet. I think it means something about food, because I know the words "fruit" and "scavengers". Maybe they are growing food in Labyrinth.
��That would be good, because everything is sad in Labyrinth and there would be more colors then because of the food. Marlowe said that when they grow food it comes from plants, and he showed me pictures and they are very pretty. They are green which is rare in Labyrinth. All the plants here are red or brown and they taste like dirt, which I tasted once.
��But there are lots of brown and yellow animals in Labyrinth, which I eat for food. They do not taste good either but they are wet and red inside and that is good. Water is rare in Labyrinth as well as plants, so the red wet stuff is necessary for moisture.
��Sometimes I eat men like the man with the tablet that I killed, and they are the best. They are very wet and red inside and the soft parts inside taste very good. Like metal and salt, sort of. I think it is because they eat the good food, which does not grow in Labyrinth.
��The only place with the good food is the Outpost, just outside Labyrinth. The rest of the planet is wasteland, Marlowe told me. Inside Labyrinth is death. Marlowe never told me what is at the middle of Labyrinth. But I know many people try to get it.
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May 11
Marlowe is my friend. At first I did not know what things were but Marlowe showed me; he said I am very smart and that made me feel funny, like lighter, or something. I don't know feelings good yet. There is also Dr. Fald and I do not like him much. He tells me to do stuff and at first I liked to do stuff for him but now I do not because it is stupid. But Marlowe and all the other men have to do what Dr. Fald says too so I think I have to. Also I do not like Dr. Fald because he pokes me with sharp things and makes me do what he says are tests. But I am not sure because Marlowe makes me do tests also, like puzzles and stuff, and they are not the same.
��Marlowe was teaching me today what he says is reading, which is marks on paper and things that mean words. It is hard for me to understand. But Dr. Fald saw and he was angry at Marlowe, and he said reading is not for me because I was made for guarding. But I do not know some words he said because I don't know a lot of words. Marlowe says I learn very quick and I know many words already but I want to know more words. And I want to know reading too because I saw that there's a lot of reading allover everything, so if I know reading I will know more of what things are. But Dr. Fald said Marlowe can't teach me reading.

June 04
Another man came today and he was angry at Dr. Fald, because of me I think. He said Dr. Fald was wasting time (Marlowe says "wasting time" means being too slow). And he said more words I don't understand and I was angry (I know more feelings now) because he smelled wrong when he looked at me and he talked like he thought I couldn't understand. I was also angry because Dr. Fald made them put me in a cage, and I felt like I was not a person. Which Dr. Fald says I am not. But I don't understand.

June 21
They took Marlowe away from me and I have other trainers now. They are teaching me to use my claws and teeth. They have machines that look like men and smell like men and are soft like men, and I hunt them through a thing that is called a maze. At first I thought it was a puzzle but then I realized that it was a hunt. So I hunt the man-machines and they taught me how to jump on them and grab them at the throat, and pull it out. I was scared at first but then it was fun. I like it.
��They also are teaching me other things like jumping and running and climbing. I like it a lot, especially when there is something to hunt. They call it an obstacle course, and today I ran through one to catch the machine at the end. I jumped onto it from a wall and I used my claws to tear it up.
��It is very fun.

July 31
Today I was in Labyrinth and I caught a living man. I ran after him on my four legs and I caught him. He had a weapon for hurting me, which is called a knife, but it couldn�t go through my fur. I pulled out his throat and I was surprised. Inside it was all warm and tangy and good. The best food I have ever eaten. I dragged his body back to the Outpost and Dr. Feld praised me. He put his hand on my head and I wanted to take it in my mouth and taste it. But I did not.

August 17
It is dark and cold. I did not know Labyrinth was ever cold. I have only been there in the day, when the dull red sun is high and the waste shimmers with heat. But it is cold now and I can hear scavengers.
��Dr. Feld was very angry. I was in the Outpost, and I saw Marlowe there. I did not know Marlowe still worked there. But I saw him. He was in the big lab where I was born and there were other men there, the ones that trained me. They were holding Marlowe and I could smell his fear. And anger.
��I do not know what Marlowe did. But Dr. Feld talked for a long time, angry. And then he said to shoot Marlowe. I did not know what "shoot" meant. But there was a hiss and a light and then Marlowe was on the floor and he was dead. Like those men I killed in Labyrinth.
��So I ran up and I sat on Marlowe's body and looked into his eyes. But he couldn't see me and there was purple and red stuff coming out from his head. He was dead.
��"You made Marlowe be dead," I said to Dr. Feld. And he said Marlowe had to die. And he said "Well, you certainly shouldn't be sad about it; you've killed quite enough trespassers!" And he laughed.
��But Marlowe was not a man. Marlowe was a person. Like me.
��When I jumped on Dr. Feld's chest and pushed him to the ground there was a hiss and light, and I couldn't feel my side anymore. And I couldn't move anymore and I don�t know why. I was weak. But I am Solef. I am strong.
��And they threw me out here. Into Labyrinth.

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The men at Outpost are afraid of me. They come hunting me in pairs now. I hide in the dark and laugh. And I call down to them, invite them to play with me. I tell them I'll show them Labyrinth's secrets. And my voice makes them afraid because they know now that I am a person. And not an animal. But a person stronger and faster than they are.
��I am bored with this place now. I know all the passages through Labyrinth in this area. And it's easy for me as I can use my claws to climb the walls, so I can get out of dead ends.
��At first I wanted to kill Dr. Feld but he never leaves Outpost, and I would die if I tried to sneak in. I do not want to die for Dr. Feld. He is less than me.
��I will come back later and I will kill him. But for now I know what I want to do. I want to go into Labyrinth and take the treasure hidden there. Marlowe taught me about planets, and it makes me wonder. What is hidden in Labyrinth that needs a whole planet as a safe?
��So I left yesterday and I am moving closer to the center. It is easy to know which is the right direction. Because in the edge of Labyrinth everything is worn and crumbled from many thieves passing through. But the closer I get the newer everything becomes. And the animals here are stronger. And uglier.
��But I learn. And I make them be dead.
��Marlowe said once that Labyrinth has been here for many hundreds of years. No one has ever stolen Labyrinth's treasure. But they were not like me. I was made to roam Labyrinth. It is mine.
��That man I killed today, I hurt him with my claws before he died. And he said he was running away from Outpost to steal Labyrinth's treasure. He was a traitor. And he was weak. He would have died long before reaching Labyrinth's center. But I will not. I am Solef. I am strong.
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