Age, such a wonderful word. It is used to describe many things, like how many cycles has an object spent on this world. And the database she was gifted even had some examples of how this number was defined.
“[Age is determined by the number of days an entity has experienced after their creation. It is not limited to organic entities and inorganic entities also have age.]”
See, Main Core was already being sassy about how age was defined. Now…why was this a problem for her?
Well…The [Humans] acted weird when they thought she was [Five Year Old], and Alexa had answered with that for her age because her [Blueprint] stated that such a form was five-year-olds. But…was that her age?
No, since that form had been just created, one could imply that such a form was in reality only 96 hours old….And that would be the [Truth]. But that wasn’t what they wanted to know, was it? They wanted to know how [Old] was Alexa herself.
Her most glorious [CRAB] form was around two years old, since she started using it around that time. Her [Human] form, however, was at best 5 days old, if one took into consideration that the [Human] didn’t restart the count of age in each stage of their development. They changed plenty within stages too…But they kept the same count. So could she do the same?
If she did that….then she could inflate her age a few years…Taking the oldest log….Extrapolating the amount of time she used to have in sleep cycles and taking into consideration changes of staff…..
“...I should be around….Six years? No less than five.” Alexa ended up answering.
“...don’t you know your birthday?” Her Meat shield asked with a raised eyebrow.
“....No? Is it important?” Alexa asked back, why would that date be important? What is a birthday?
“[Answer from database, date of birth or creation, usually a date of importance in human culture and a time when people join to celebrate the continued survival of a member of their close group.]”
… they celebrated their continued survival? Was life as a human really that harsh? Perhaps she should return to a crab form after all.
“Didn’t you have a birthday party this year? Last year?” Sylph asked from the side, her eyes seemed to start watering, was she malfunctioning too?
“ My creation date wasn’t relevant for my activities in my previous den,” Alexa answered, she was feeling as if she was missing some context here.
“Okay, that is good enough for now.” The [Elder] clapped his hands together making a sound, “Masks on, everyone.”
And he too put his Googles back on, Alexa did notice that the [Elder] was also leaking in his eyes, perhaps it was to prevent anyone from saying anything about his faulty construction?
“Okay, now. What do you all need to work? Speak now so we can prepare your supplies.” The [Elder] said and pointed at her meat shield first.
“I need materials, I can recreate the materials that form my body, but the process is slow. If you can get me a few tons of a sturdy material I can make my body into that.” Her Meat Shield could recreate materials? Perhaps his Core Power was close to hers? Then why couldn’t he make an organic body? Wouldn’t it be enough if he consumed biomass?
“That is probably the easier one, we will get you some exotic materials for you to start making later on. For now, we can get you a few tons of durasteel to work with. “ The [Elder] said while punching something into a cell phone. “Now Sylph, what do you need.”
Fan girl on the other hand stopped thinking for a few seconds, “I am not bulletproof like Golem, so that could be a good start. My Core Power works better if I have wind flowing in the direction I want, so something like that?”
“Hmm…The standard body armor for black masks has a bulletproof vest already, as for the other one…I think we can get you a flying prototype the Saintsworths threw away last year, it didn’t make enough lift to fly and could only hover…If you have a turbine sending air in a direction can you increase the strength?” The [Elder] asked fan girl, she seemed to shriek instead of answering.
“YES!” Only to scream her answer a few seconds later, “I mean, yes. I can. If the turbines provide a constant stream I can increase the speed and strength on my own. I WILL FLY! HAHAHAHAHAAHAH!”
She seemed….broken.
“And lastly…Rhapsody.” The [Elder] turned to her as last. “We have recorded you here for MRE energy bars, but is this because you wanted to secure food, or because you really need it?”
…That was a weird question.
“My body mass doesn’t change when I shift form, my [Human Child Stage - Girl] form weighs as much as this [Human Teenager Stage - Girl] form.” Alexa answered, “The main problem is not only mass, I also need to fuel the transformation. So changing form back and forth creates a deficit of energy.”
“Wait, so that little girl form weighs as much as this one? You must weight what…40 kilograms?” Sylph asked at the side pocking at her ribs.
“[Annoying].”
“I weight 52 kilograms as of now.” Alexa answered, “40 kilograms are made of muscle and organs, 2 liters of multiple liquids, and the last 10 kilograms are in my reinforced skeletal system.”
“....So you are aware of your body's composition at all times?” The [Elder] asked in an even tone, she couldn’t quite identify the [Emotion] he spoke with.
“....Yes? Isn’t that normal? If not how would you know if [Damage] you receive is dangerous or not?” Alexa asked back, hadn’t these [Humans] gone through any combat testing?
She knew [Melissa]’s class was going through one when she met them, they did go into a testing chamber with those…[Things]. Remembering that close encounter made her shudder.
“....We will start with a normal body suit same as Sylph. Do you require more food to work then?” The [Elder] said while writing something on his cellphone with a trembling hand, the malfunctions seemed to move to his torso too.
“So long I don’t lose body mass, or said body mass is still available after any [Combat Test] I can recycle it easy enough. If I need to discard any [Appendage] then I only need the approximated biomass to recover it. I don’t need more [Biomass] than an average [Human] with my body size and build. I may need an above average amount of dextrose or a similar chemical compound….”
Alexa wasn’t quite sure what was the problem with these [Humans], fan girl was straight up holding her face with her hands while sitting against a wall, and her meat shield wasn’t even moving anymore.
“Also I have this [Cellphone] but I think it's broken….” Alexa decided to check with the [Elder], if he worked with these types of mechanical components perhaps he could fix them.
“Oh? Was it yours? Did you drop it or something? No…this looks okay…” The [elder] started fiddling with it. “The memory was wiped? No, it was overwritten with blank data? How interesting…this seems to be the work of an amateur technomancer type Tinker…”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The [Cellphone] shone for a few seconds only to start releasing smoke, weird.
“...where did you get it?” The [Elder] asked her in a serious tone, he was no longer trembling. “When did you get it? From who?”
“....After getting the address for this [Induction] I was attacked by a [Human], he was carrying that [Cellphone],” Alexa answered as such. “After that, I tried to [Access] the information but was getting a weird message.”
“The alarm from tampering with the phone using an unauthorized Core Power, yes. This was tampered with by one of the….dangerous Core Powers. Whoever attacked you was using a Nanite-based Core Power.” The [Elder] frowned in her direction, “You are aware of your body composition right? Is there anything that shouldn’t be there? If you can expel it, they may be small motes of some weird metal. If they are embedded into any organ we may need to get you into surgery…Can you replace organs?”
The [Elder] spoke quickly and with a strong tone, these weren’t the questions of an older [Human], but the commands of a [Predator].
“I am fully aware of my condition, there isn’t anything out of order and all my organs are working as they should… Was that [Human] using a weird Core power that affected Nanites?” Alexa asked, she didn’t get the impression that the [Human] had affected her Nanite swarm in any way.
“No, he probably used some variation of a Nanite Core Power, if those run out of control they can risk our society, so they usually get turned in…Or killed.” The [Elder] spoke, “If he didn’t affect you, then he probably wasn’t that far gone. I will pass the report, do you remember how he looked?”
….
“[....Advice; Do not inform other Humans of the nature of your power Host.]”
YOU DON’T SAY MAIN CORE? I WONDER, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY KNEW THE WAY MY FORMS WORKED. WONDER WHY WOULD IT BE A BAD IDEA TO TELL THEM HUH!
“Yes…I can give a visual representation of the [Human].” Alexa answered, the [Elder] passed her a piece of paper and an instrument to write on it. So using the memory in her [Database], Alexa quickly drew on the paper an image of the [Human], she didn’t mind that too much, since they wouldn’t be able to find him. Most of him was part of her current form, and what wasn’t had been saved into her [Stockpile] after all.
“....That is a very good drawing.” Her Meat shield said at the side.
“It’s the first time I've done one of these, if I had more access to other [Chemicals] I may have been able to paint it in the right colors, but as it is of now I can’t provide an accurate image,” Alexa said while passing the [Drawing] to the [Elder].
“....Right, full control of the body. I have no idea what kind of Core Power you got, but…no kid should get it.” The [Elder] said while pointing his [Cellphone] to the piece of paper, at the back of it the [Camera] shone with light and afterward the [Elder] saved the drawing and turned to them once more.
“Okay, first…Golem, you go that way, they will give you samples of materials, try the combination that you feel more comfortable with and go with it.” Her Meat shield turned to her and nodded, then to Sylph who wasn’t moving anymore, but was still hiding her face while sitting on the floor.
Had she entered a rest cycle?
“Sylph….A Minion will come and get you, when you are ready push this button.” The [Elder] said while placing a small square-shaped entity at the side of fan girl, “This life is hard, and we deal with all kinds of sh#t, so if you don’t want to continue this work…or want to work with other team…just call out.”
The fan girl just nodded and took the square-shaped entity, “...I will see you later Rhapsody…I…just need a few seconds.”
And like that fan girl didn’t say anything else,
Then the [Elder] turned to her, “And you Rhapsody…come with me. We need to talk. And I need to file a complaint with Cerberus, she didn’t tell me how bad your situation was. Had I known I would have gone about it differently.” Had Eleanore done something bad?
But she gave her the information she needed!
Or had Alexa done something wrong? But she followed the instructions! Granted, she wasn’t getting detailed instructions as before…. But she didn’t want to risk connecting with the networks she was detecting…Or was it because she wasn't connected? But the other weren’t either!
“You are okay Rhapsody, the problem isn’t you…but your situation is more dangerous than what we expected.” The [Elder] said and pointed her at one of the doors in the hallway.
So Alexa walked in with slow and measured steps, she wanted to be ready and try to run away as soon as possible.
“Welcome little one,” a new voice spoke to her. This one….was weird, it sounded…Mechanical? Synthetic? It sounded close to what Main Core sounded like when Eleanore asked to speak with it.
“Oh? Vulcanus is here? That is new.” The [Elder] spoke as he also walked in, he turned his attention towards one of the lights in this spot as he spoke, “What are you doing here, boss?”
“You sent an alarm for a possible Nanite threat and you dare ask what am I doing here? What is Eleanore's new project doing here?” The light spoke back, no wait, it wasn’t a light. Was it…it looked like one of the P-series test subjects, those that had a more mechanical form.
It was tall, and his humanoid form didn’t seem to have a defined figure, Alexa couldn’t determine if it was male or female…or if it was human at all.
“Alexa? What are you doing here?” Eleanore asked at the side, she was still wearing her Cerberus mask too!
“The [Elder] asked me to come with him. Am I in trouble?” Alexa asked Eleanore, the only one she knew couldn’t hide information from her.
“Billy? What is Alexa doing here, I told you she was younger than she looked.” Eleanore said taking off her mask and glaring at the [Elder].
“Oh yeah, that you said. She is younger all right, the kid doesn’t know when she was born, nor what a birthday party is…What she knows…Is how much she weighs, how many organs are functional. What is her body composition…” The [Elder] started saying obvious things, “She knows how to fight, how to defeat most of the people on this batch…Alexa dear, explain to them what is your definition of defeating someone.”
What? Wasn’t that obvious?
“Cease of function on hostile [Targets].” Alexa answered, making Eleanore and the mysterious entity known as [Vulcanus] turn to look at her, “Is it wrong?”
“...It isn’t entirely wrong, but usually we don’t go as far as killing them…Eleanore, you said she was five?” [Vulcanus] turned to Eleanore asking.
Oh right, she had the Core Power to perceive truths…
“She is, as far as she is aware she should be around five to six, but since her Core Power allows her to change her form…” The [Elder] answered before Eleanore could. “...And since from what she told us…I think that she either was an experiment from a Supervillain or was the daughter of a Supervillains that wanted to groom a successor.”
“....I will check around if anyone in the community is searching for a lost daughter. Not that they would make a fuss.” [Vulcanus] said, turning to Alexa after saying so. “Do you know who your parents are? Or any family you had? Friends?”
….Did she know who her creators were?
She had suspicions from parts of her code, but they probably meant for biological progenitors, “I don’t have [Parents], nor [Family]...” So this was the safest answer.
Eleanore’s expression proved that it was the correct one, since she winced at her answer, “We don’t discriminate against anyone, you aren’t the first runaway child we take in, you may be among the youngest's…actually is this form the one you are more comfortable in? We won’t mind if you turn into something more comfortable.” [Vulcanus] said in a soft tone.
Was this the form she was more comfortable with? No, that would be her child stage form. Did she want to change into that?
“I’m fine like this,” No, she needed the extra mind stability. Actually, “But I would be grateful if you could provide me with more [Blueprints] if possible. I have noticed that while this form is adequate for the job, I am getting more attention than needed.”
“Hoooh, you are aware that you stand out?” [Vulcanus] said, the crystal-like face he had formed a smile, “And yet you still have a blonde head.”
“I don’t mind being cute and admired, my [Child Stage] form is the cutest, and this one is the most prettiest of all,” Alexa stated, she was aware that Eleanore would read that as the [Truth], since it was. “But if all of those I work with in the [Combat] environment are way more different than me I could be singled out, so I could work better if I’m closer to the average.”
“You don’t look like someone who would be happy with being average.” [Vulcanus] pointed out, “If you say you are the prettiest and your child form is the cutest…then your more older form would be…?”
“I will be using a [Mask] and full body armor, what I’m below that is irrelevant,” Alexa stated, and also wondered, what her new form would say she was….?
The Cutest was taken by her [Child Stage] form.
The Prettiest was taken by her [Teenager Stage] form.
Then the next one? What would it be?
“I can look into it, but I make no promises, if you need dead bodies to find these blueprints…we may have a problem…and while I may be able to get dead bodies, I will not let you usurp their identities.” [Vulcanus] said in a serious tone.
“No, my Power doesn’t work like that, I study their form and transform it into what my body would look like at that [Stage] of [Development], this form was made by inferring the possible growth stage. But I have noticed that the further you [Humans] developed, your body seems to change in weird ways…” Alexa said looking at the somewhat modest bulges in Eleanore.
“Oh…yeah….Okay, we will look into it, as for you Billy. Why did you bring Alexa? I am guessing that her past isn’t the reason.” [Vulcanus] turned to the [Elder].
“She came into contact with Nanite tech, her cellphone was invaded by the thing, and while the owner managed to erase his tracks…The cellphone’s safety was breached and placed again, I wouldn’t have noticed if not because the database was overwritten in such a neat way.” The [Elder] spoke, so that was how he noticed her nanites? Because she did a good job? What the hell?
“And you think Alexa is compromised? Wouldn’t her power alert her? She seems to be a Mimic class shapeshifter if I’m reading the implications of her Core Power.” [Vulcanus] said, so her power class was mimic? But she didn’t Mimic things…did she?
“Yes, she claims to be safe, but better safe than sorry….I don’t want another gray goo scenario with kids being used as payloads…” The [Elder] said in a small voice.
“Fair enough, this will not hurt Alexa. Just stay still.” [Vulcanus] said as he stood…and was he tall…
His figure almost seemed to touch the ceiling, and his face…his crystal-like face…it shone in a red light, something was wrong, something in that was dangerous.
“[Emergency shut down, Nanite Swarm self-destruction initiated…shut down…programmed reboot in 2 hours. Good luck host.]”
And just like that, the presence at the back of her head disappeared, as did all her nanite swarm.
Just in time as the light from [Vulcanus] shone atop her body, as if scanning her.
“Hmm…..reinforced skeleton system….all organs are at peak efficiency…And she ate a burger from that joint you love Eleanore, the one near your office.” [Vulcanus] started saying, “Her muscular system is interesting…she has traces of some animals here and there, her arms have traces of gorilla, her legs seem to be based around a cheetah…Her mouth has a few fangs from wolves…her eyes seem to be able to see a few extra light spectrums? Oho, you can see my face. Can’t you?” [Vulcanus] smiled in his crystal-like face. “Clever girl…you…so that is why you said ‘You Humans’, but let me tell you this Alexa.”
The light on [Vulcanus] face stopped shining, “No matter how many organs you replace, no matter how much your body shifts…You are Human.” Then turning his hand to his chest, “I am human, even if nothing on my body is made of flesh, and even though no blood runs through my body. I’m human, because my Soul is still that of a human.”
…soul?
“And if someone ever claims that you aren’t human…” Then at the same time, his voice turned colder, the crystal-like face of [Vulcanus] shone in a red light, “...you point them to me, and I will teach them what a true monster looks like.”
“So…can I stay? [Frank the Bettle] said I would be provided food and shelter….” Alexa said trying her best to not fall, she was missing the assists from Main Core already, most of her body functions were automated thanks to the good design [Humans] had, but since she couldn’t use other parts she had delegated to Main Core…
She wanted to wait in a safe spot for Main Core’s restart.
“Sure, Billy? Show Alexa to her new apartment.” [Vulcanus] said in a happier tone, “And Eleanore? Check if we can get some of the minions around 18-20 years if they want to help Alexa with her problem, if the reports are correct and she gets a personality matching her body age…Then we may solve our problems about how to deal with her if we get her an adult body.”
“...You would take away her childhood?” Eleanore glared at [Vulcanus] while saying this.
“I would make sure she knows her options and decides for herself, she can always return to her true age after getting a Guardian to check the information for her.” [Vulcanus] answered without minding Eleanore’s fury.
Guardian? Couldn’t older Alexa do that?
No wait, could she trust herself with that? At the very least she wouldn’t trust [Child stage] herself with that… But for now?
She would explore her new [Den], perhaps this one was more comfortable than the one she made in that methane-rich environment…A girl could dream, right?