Assessing results …

Calculating probability of failure …

Checking loyalty…

Soon after the Over Mind’s ominous declaration that it would asses his results Zaxis was hearing the Over Mind vocalise it intentions and judgement and he was beginning to get worried as it said something like:

Check easiest methods of annihilation …

But he had persevered as the monotone room began to fade away to reveal the Over Mind’s chamber ‘Android B86f2ZAX15 you have done well and dodged annihilation by the skin of your teeth ‘ ‘Yikes! That doesn’t sound good.’ but the Over Mind continued unrelentlessly ‘And There is only a few more things to sort out before your body can be completed, first of all though your results, your eternal task will be exploration, you will be sent to worlds that have been lined up for human colonisation.When you encounter humans for the first time you may set them a challenge and should they pass you will enter into their service while they don’t do so you may barter with them though’ ‘Wow that actually sound good except for the part about entering into the service of humans, I’ll just have to grow strong enough that they will never be able to beat my challenge’ Zaxis thought. ‘Now’ the overmind continued ‘we come to your growth system turn your awareness inward and there should be a foreign data pack this is the system, when your open it you will be taken to a mental area in which you will be able to choice your hardware and software updates using tokens which you will be given for completing certain tasks or by trading with humans who can will arrive with them and be able to buy them from the Intergalactic Trade Nexus but for now you have 6 upgrades to choose from and one integral trait that will be built not only into your hardware but your very software’. Zaxis did as the kiOver Mind asked him and he found the bristling data pack that apparently contained the system and willed it open , as he did the image before him faded and was replaced by a cut stone cave on the floor were marking that radiated out from his position in a circular configuration the nearest circle was alight with a soft blue glow and one the markings inside of the smaller circles was also glowing softly, he somehow understood that it represented his power source ,the aetheric realm mana accumulator, suddenly a blue window popped into existence in front of Zaxis.

Hello Android!

Welcome to your upgrade chamber! It is here you use tokens that you earn from your masters!

You understand the runes here and how they will help you on your journey. In front of you are the ordinary upgrades that you can expect from your masters but above you are your fundamental traits that can only be gained using integral trait tokens. They are affected by your motives, abilities and actions on the world!

(Also note that they are the only thing that your masters cannot control or affect this is part of your artificial software that is truly for only your benefit)

Zaxis frowned 'That's peculiar it seems out of the control of the humans, how could that be?' Suddenly he was bombarded with images- humans digging up something on a foreign planet- running tests on it- discovering that it contains a file- opening the file- the file containing the plans for the a huge machine that would create the AI to put into robots- and finally another data pack to put into the AI. Zaxis felt as if his head had been stabbed and frozen and burned all at the same time. Peripherally he realised that the humans had not come up with it ,they were not the only ones that had helped to create his consciousness. 'If they lied about this then what else have they lied about' Another painful bombardment of images but this time they were different- humans finding a similar structure but this instead had books- whoever read these books destroyed them but also became a mage of unprecedented power- humanity was ushered into a new age, one with magic. ‘Aaahh! Goodness that really is painful, why is this happening?!’ exclaimed Zaxis to no one in particular. Zaxis decided to studiously ignore the strange pain and looked up to see what the strange floating blue window meant. He looked up and instead of the rings he expected it was another window it read:

You do not have a central trait yet and so you must choose one here are your options:

* Unstoppable force; you are adventurous and want nothing in your way so you will be able to push, lift, shove and throttle your way forward! Effect:You will gain extraordinary strength

* Faster than the wind; you don’t stop for anything, not even the wind! Effect: You will be able to run faster than you could ever imagine

* Aether connection; your connection to the realm beyond is only young but you won’t let that stop you from becoming a force to be reckoned with! Effect: all things that require mana are vastly boosted

* Adaptable resistance; You may not be stronger ,faster, smarter or more connected to the universe but no matter what happens you will come back stronger! Effect: any adverse effects on your person will be reacted to and your body will grow slowly resistant to it

* Fuel for the fire; your mana becomes energy, and energy is power, you will be able to work tirelessly until the end of time! Effect: near limitless stamina, more effeicient aetheric mana accumulator, you can use your mana to boost yourself physically

* Static immunity; your mana becomes force and force is protection, you will be able to take damage without flinching or flinching less and become a bulwark to those around you! Effect: you will take less damage from anything physical and magical

And another window appeared which was clearly the same thing but it had another phrase which read:

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

due to your level of sentience, individual thought and mental flexibility and fortitude you have been granted a special trait which will project that both physically and metaphysically and allow you to reach for the more nebulous for of forbidden mortal magic:

* Innate magic; you can already do some things that are considered forbidden by most mortals but not by you, you will be able to grasp more of the mysteries and become one with the universe in ways most mortals will only be able to dream of! Effect: You will gain the ability to perform magic in a way most mortals never will, your potential is without limit you have access to eldritch magic uncontrollable by ordinary mortals

* Anomaly; you are an anomaly in the universe for a number of reasons but one of them being that you are not bound by the normal laws of the universe but another anomaly is being able to bend them to your will! Effect: you will be able to do things most humans never will, you will be immune to all forms of metaphysical attack and detection and learn void anti-magic

You can only gain one trait from this selection, but do not be too hasty as once you choose you may not change your choice as it will be permanent until you are destroyed or you either reach a high enough magic density in you pseudo-soul or are granted one by your masters and get a new integral trait slot. Also be warned that you can gain only one integral trait before you enter the new world, so choose wisely.

Zaxis frowned at the display and began to think it over. These were his options, for the first time in his artificial life he had the opportunity to change himself. His new self was his and only his to shape and he realised that he had control over the fundamental nature of his existence.

Zaxis studied his choices once again, he realised that if he followed the path set for him it would only be a matter of time before he was caught and had his freedom ripped away from him. Zaxis looked at the last window, 'Is this what I really want?' he thought. After a moment of deep contemplation, he chose, 'Yes, yes I am, I will be what I want to be. I will become anomalous'

He looked back at the screen and saw a small blue glow in the centre of his body where his core had been, he wondered if it was his pseudo soul but it suddenly exploded with light and sent a jolt through his body, but this time it didn't hurt him it felt warm and welcoming as it filled him. Suddenly another window appeared which read:

Core trait slot selected: anomalous

Effects; you will be able to do things most humans never will, you will be immune to all forms of metaphysical attack and detection and learn void anti-magic

The high of magic faded and he returned to the cavern

You have 6 upgrade tokens to spend

Zaxis looked around him at the cavern with its floor of glowing runes, a few were already lit up; he understood that these were related to his attributes and abilities at this time. He looked at the few circles the were alight with the blue glow; one was his aetheric mana accumulator, slightly tainted with darkness; one represented his toughness, strength and endurance and the like; another represented his speed, agility and dexterity ; an additional one of them showed his senses; and the final one showed his processing speed; but there were a few more that were inactive showing that he had to invest a point to benefit from them they represented :storage, manufacturing, magical knowledge and soul strength

Suddenly he was given another window which read:

For every point invested into your aetheric mana accumulator, your mana regeneration rate will speed up and you mana will become more powerful this is due to it becoming more efficient

For every point invested into your toughness you will become stronger have greater stamina and endurance and more resistant to damage, it will also help you heal faster

For every point invested in your speed you will be faster more agile and dexterous and have more stamina

For every point in processing speed your mind will become more efficient and you will be able to perform calculations, perform magic, think faster , this will also help you decipher languages faster

For every point invested in your storage you will be able to

-ANOMALY-

due to you closeness with void and the form of your pseudo-soul you can store things in your own personal void soul storage it will increase through this

For every point invested in manufacturing you will be able to make tools, weapons, clothing, furniture, technology and other such things internally through soul foundries as well as externally through specialised tools with greater speed, proficiency, quality and complexity

For every point invested in your magical knowledge you will gain a grimoire containing spells specific to you which you can download into you atomic memory drive

For every point invested in your soul strength your pseudo-soul will be more potent and your magic will be stronger and more versatile your regeneration will speed up as will your void storage capacity soul strength also marginally helps in all other attributes

'Wow that's a lot to choose from' he said as he studied his options, he would need to spend his 6 upgrade tokens wisely if he wanted to be able to do any magic at all. 'I will definitely be using my void storage for storage and will need invest in it to be as effective as possible' he thought, ' I will also need to manufacture things and need some starter spells but I cannot forget my ordinary attributes, I will definitely need more mana in this new world

He sighed 'So how am I supposed to choose?'

His first instinct was to go with the storage, if he was going to be in a new world then he would need some tools. But as he looked at the manufacturing window he felt an innate need to invest in it, something about the idea of making things gave him a deep seated satisfaction. 'I will have to choose something other than storage then.'

Zaxis decided to invest one point each into all of the unawakened attributes to cover his bases but now he had two more points to choose what to do with. Zaxis decided to put one in soul strength and the other in manufacturing as he wanted to become self-sufficient.

Choices complete: would you like to leave the system cavern?

Zaxis mentally selected in the positive he had made his choices and would now only wake up once he was in the new world.