It is one of those countless battlefields, somewhere in the brikverse, after another gratuituous battle, fought over meaningless reasons.
The cannons and rifles have long fallen silent. No one is there to say who won or lost. It doesn´t matter.
On the fringes of the field sits a lonely boy, left behind or forgotten by his kind. He doesn´t remember. He just tries to survive.
Boy: "Geez, another day on this... planet? moon? I don´t even know anymore. I should have made carvings for the days I´ve been here. What kind of meat is this anyways? Well, the hunger will help it down, hopefully."
And while he bites off a chunk of the undefined meat which will keep him alive some more time, he doesn´t notice that someone is approaching his campsite.
He only gets it when one of the figures begins to speak. He jumps up, more surprised than scared.
???:"Another lost soul! Fear not, for we, the Menders of Construction will mean no harm to you!"
"The...what? Oh, my manners... . Hello, I am Billy, and you are?"
"Hello Billy, I am the Reverend Foreman of the M.o.C.. And your time of suffering ends now!"
Billy sighs loudly.
"But how? My people are gone. I have nowhere to go. No one to fight. My life has no purpose."
"And still you are here. Alive. Althought you have no signs of plot armor, or a long-lasting story-arc."
"Plot armor? Story-arc? Whaddaya talking about?"
The Reverend Foreman makes some protruding gestures, while in the background more and more drones and workers appear, sweeping up the debris and collecting parts from the battlefield.
"See, Benny, everything in the brikverse has a meaning. Every piece of ABS is there on purpose. All the constructions you know have been thought of, built and placed by superior beings. We all are only imaginations of higher entities, who control everything we do."
"So these higher beings want me to suffer and die ignoble on this nameless piece of dirt? Great perspective..."
"No, no. Sometimes it just happens that a higher entity just... forgets some of his creations. Loses track of them. This is not to be judged by us. These superior beings have a lot on their baseplates, you know?"
"That still would mean that at least now my life has no purpose anymore, if my creators have lost interest in me..."
"And this is the point where we come in, Bobby."
"Billy."
"Yeah, sure, sure."
The Reverend Foreman turns around and points at the battlefield, which is halfway of being cleared by the drones and workers, who bring the resources to a huge ship nearby (which Billy somehow didn´t notice landing in the first place).
"See, everyone here was a lost soul like you. No battles left to fight, no stories thought of anymore. No future. And the battlefield? If there is only war, there is only destruction. And at some point everything would be destroyed. And then no brave warrior would have a purpose or meaning anymore."
"I see."
"But we, the Menders of Construction have been sent out by the superior beings to change this! We collect the resources that are left behind, so that they can be used in future battles anew. And we give lost souls - like you - a function, other than meaningless battles."
"So my creators didn´t forget me, they just... outsourced my story-arc to an external service provider."
"Well, I guess that´s one way to see it, Barry."
"Billy."
"Of course, of course."
"So what do you say? Want to live a meaningful life full of hard work and unpaid overtime hours?"
"It is the will of my creators! It is my purpose! The superior beings chose this way for me!"
"Easy, Barney! A simple 'yes' would have worked, too."
"Billy..."
"whatever...then I now may welcome you in the ranks of the mighty Menders of Construction!"
"I have a purpose! My life has a meaning! I will do... yeah, but what will I do?"
"Well, at first we get you on board of the ship, where you will be tested in several skills, and we´ll find out which role suits you most. Collector, Painter, Repairman, Sorter... there are many options."
"This sounds awesome! The superior beings are so wise and far-sighted!"
"uhm, yeah. You are easily impressed, boy. I´m used to need more convincing for our cause. I hope you keep up this enthusiasm, then you may get far up in our ranks quickly."
And while Billy and the Reverend Foreman silently walk up to the ship, countless workers and drones have collected all the resources of the field and bring them into the enormous cargo bay of the impressive ship.
"What do we do with all these resources? Where do they go? Are there many of these ships? Or just this one? Has every ship a Reverend Foreman like you? And what are the other ranks? How many people are we? And what´s for lunch?"
"All your questions will be answered. But for now, just shut the fuckup and get on board."
"This is the beginning of a new chapter! Praised be the superior beings!"
And so, a former homeless boy boards the flagship of the Menders of Construction, on his way into a bright future full of story and meaning.
The