Chapter 10 – A Man Could Go Crazy

He let the intro to the song move through his body, as he made his way across the tiny living space that he had just recently begun to call home. The apartment was nothing fancy even before the fall, but now it was his and that was enough for him. As far as the song he was listening to, it would have been right at home in the early two thousand metal scene. Everything in this apartment was old, him included.

Indestructible, by the Disturbed. Centuries later it was still an amazing piece to get you in the right mindset for pushing your body past it's limits. The intro was coming to an end, the real show about to begin.

Gideon was making his way shirtless towards his free weights, muscles tensing and relaxing the entire way in anticipation. He arrived just as the guitar and drums started blaring. Picking up eighty pound weights in each hand, he started turning out bicep curl after bicep curl. Perfect form every single time. Mechanical precision was the name of the game.

Looking at him you would never assume he was capable of such a feat, much less making it look so effortless. Looks could be deceiving though, if you survived long enough in the world it was something you would eventually come to understand.

The music played on, and he worked out for over an hour barely breaking a sweat, and not once breaking form. Something most people don't tell you about the apocalypse, it is incredibly boring. Hell doing the same thing day in and day out for long enough, well that would drive anyone insane.

That's why he did this every single day without fail. A man could go crazy without routine, he would never let that happen to him. So, the plan was to workout, enjoy some music, maybe play the game cube for a bit. All of it just to pass the time, he had a meeting today after all. It was just so exciting he could barely contain himself.

Sadly though, he knew that he must. Nothing good ever came of him losing control. It wasn't his fault though that the world was just so… fragile. Nothing was quite as sturdy as it used to be. Throw one person just a little too hard and next thing you know the entire building is coming down.

If anyone had bothered asking Gideon, he would have told them just how pitiful it all was. Once they had been great. Society, people, all of it. They had done truly magnificent things. Remember when people walked on the moon? Of course not. No one did anymore. Except for him, he remembered.

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In the time that had passed he thought they would have reclaimed at least a morsel of their former glory. Humans never did though. They were too busy combating the new world. The rapid evolution brought on by the fall had definitely presented a challenge, he would grant them that much. Who would have imagined all those people being consumed by wildlife would have such an impact on the world.

He chuckled, of course it was so obvious looking back from where he stood now. The animals that ate people infested with nanites went through a similar, though less extreme process. Nature had already given the tiny little bots an impressive frame to build off of. Many creatures simply grew larger, their reinforced bodies now able to handle the larger weight.

All these thoughts and more were going through Gideon’s mind at once, he had long ago mastered the state of parallel thought. He considered many of the problems he currently faced while going through his post workout clean up routine. He watched in the mirror as the geometric tattoos moved over his chest, back, and the rest of his body as if they were alive.

In a sense they were, as much alive as anything else these days. What did it mean to be alive anyways? He was just running down that train of thought when a woman’s voice cut in to his mind, and his music naturally faded in to the background of his thoughts.

“Gideon, the diagnostics are complete. You pushed your body to 112% of it’s current limit today. A small but manageable amount of damage was done. After recovery your new limit is projected to be 100.37% of your pre-workout state.”

A screen began to pop up in his vision displaying the detailed results of his diagnostic. Without thinking about it Gideon swiped his hand through the open air, and the screen was dismissed. He could have swore he heard a sigh come from Kate in response to his action.

“Would you like me to administer regrowth stimulant and pain reduction agents now? You may find a slight dizziness overcome you, it is recommended that you sit.”

“No Kate that will be fine, thank you. I'll let the muscle heal naturally. We have a busy day, lets save the healing stims just in case. Please go in to standby Kate, notify me when Fauno is close to being home.”

Having said that, he returned to cleaning up and getting ready for the day. It was a stunningly boring task cleaning the apartment, but it kept his body active while his mind raced. It wasn’t that he didn't want to stop thinking, he simply couldn't ever. A sort of calm came over him when he was able to dedicate even a small portion of his mind to a menial task such as this.

In this way he spent the next hour. When the chore was done he got dressed, he donned his preferred wardrobe of a black suit with a gray vest. It looked very dapper over the top of his white button down. To bring the outfit together he adorned some very well taken care of black shoes.

As he finished getting ready a bit of static pulled at the back of his mind. Fauno was close, but not quite within range of communications. In the distance he heard a pained howl of many dogs raise in unison. With mild concern he burned a little bit of his stored energy reserves to boost the signal.

There was a connection, but no response. Gideon’s mild concern began to rise with the howls.

“Kate, status report on Fauno. Now.”

“Yes sir. It would seem as though he is unable to communicate. Vital signs are showing he has sustained critical damage. Without direct intervention soon, it is unlikely he will survive.”

Though saying his thoughts out loud wasn’t strictly necessary, he felt it added a little drama to the situation. Who didn't like a good show? With that he gave one more command.

“Kate would you be dear and start the playlist tagged 'Going for a run’?”

Even before he finished speaking Kate had completed the task, “Holding out for a Hero” began to play. Gideon jogged out the door closing it behind himself, but not before catching a last glimpse in the mirror. Two hundred years he had walked this Earth, and still he hadn’t gotten use to the purple eyes.