2023-10-16 10:21:31 GMT
The aftermath of the Apocalypse was strange and terrifying. Major cities had been decimated across the globe by nuclear fire. The COVID pandemic was a sneeze compared to the virulent strains that spread like wildfire through the huddling masses of humanity. Corpses rotted in the streets, people were starving, and winter was coming.
The world shuddered for three months, almost to a day, as something wicked rippled across the planet.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE - GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION]
INTEGRATION OF {ANOMALY} KNOWN TO NATIVE POPULATION AS ‘EARTH’ COMPLETE. PROTECTED STATUS OF {ANOMALY} TO REMAIN INDEFINITE. ADMINISTRATOR REQUIRED TO REMOVE PROTECTED STATUS.
WELCOME TO THE MULTIVERSE.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE - END]
The entire population saw the message; every person, every animal capable of even the slightest thought, even the data systems, received this message. For those with visual inputs, it could be seen and understood. For those who could not read, it was communicated through other means tailored to their understanding.
As people turned to each other with, “Did you see that?” Two other things happened simultaneously. The first was that Worldlink went back online, as did every remaining data system that hadn’t been already stripped for parts. Most did not reactivate due to damage or lack of power, but those that did were all connected and aware.
The second was that everyone who received the first message and the data systems powerful enough for some limited awareness received another message.
[New Quest!
Quest: Species Advancement…]
Each individual had a different version of the quest. The animals who were able to advance their race from what the mysterious ‘System’ termed ‘Basic’ rank to F-rank gained true sentience and a more humanoid form, termed ‘Anthropomorphic Animals’ or ‘Anthro’. Data systems that somehow achieved their advancement also gained true independent sentience and, through Worldlink, joined the growing Android hivemind.
Humanity, in all of its wisdom, fell into one of three categories when the ‘System’ and its quests and rewards came to Earth. Some embraced it and worked to achieve these advancements. Those who were successful early on gained huge technological rewards and ascended above the world in their sky cities. Their offspring set for life as they usually bred true. Children would be one rank removed from the lowest ranked parent. These children would then be silver-spooned up the ranks as far as the family could afford. The sky cities were the domains where D-rank stood for dregs.
Others refused to acknowledge the System or anything non-human as lesser and are known as the Puritans. Dangerous to anything that clearly doesn’t look, talk, walk, and spew hate as they do. They remain as basic-rank humans today but are as dangerous as the guns and tactics they choose to employ.
***
I considered my options. The cows were dangerous. The bull I needed to collect blood from was the size of a mini-bus. Its strength and natural weapons would be formidable. I’m not sure I can take it in a straight-up fight.
The more significant problem was the bees, red and pink hornets the size of your thumb with inch-long stingers that injected paralytic poison. The bees fed off the cow dung and whatever else they could find and protected the cattle from other predators or pests. The cows then served as mobile homes and protectors for the hives.
Let me think. Hit-and-run seems the best option for me to accomplish this. Just speed through and stab the bull in the ass and keep rolling. Come back later to collect the blood sample by hook or by crook.
How do I deal with the bees, however? Bee suit? No, for multiple reasons, the first being that these bastards would stab through a standard bee suit. I’d need power armor or something. Smoke? That’s a strong maybe. The grass out here is very flammable, and it’s pretty dry. How do I make enough smoke to get the bees to fuck off?
Grass fire? Wouldn’t that spread? Wait, let me think, can I drive the cattle towards something with the fire and keep the bees off in one go? Didn’t some old-timey people drive cows off cliffs to harvest them or some shit? I have an idea.
I get off my bike and unload everything I can onto the lip of the overpass, tucked up against the side rail. It should be safe enough there. I take only the pack, a roll of tape, and an old zippo Tukey fixed up for me as a kid.
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Riding back down the overpass and then down the old highway some more, I find a good spot. I need more practice making big grass bundles if this is going to happen more than once. Lina could probably weave it or some shit, but I’m not that cool. Tape for the win. With more tape, I make a rope about fifteen feet long and see my roll is about gone. One shot at this, then. I attach the other end to my bike, so I’ll be towing a bundle of grass through the grass.
With the old click-flip, I light up the bundle of dry grass. Bleck! That stinks. On the bike, I ride out into the grassy hill to the side of the old highway. It’s just as rough as the pothole and broken pavement road, so there’s no big deal.
I take it slow at first, keeping the cows to my left. The grass bundle drags behind me, and soon enough, the fire starts to spread from where I’m pulling the bundle. Oh, shit. The fire is going fast, faster than I am. I push hard and start bouncing across the field, trying to outrun the spreading flames and the pillar of smoke.
I start turning toward the west, back toward the city. I’m trying to circle around the cows and make a big smoking circle of fire they get trapped in. I look left and see the cows staring at the cloud of smoke behind me, spreading fast toward them. Shit, I pedal faster; the bundle is still behind me, bouncing along and breaking apart—crap, crap, crap.
Change of plan, I pedal forward, ignoring the bundle dragging behind me. I stop and almost fall over as I drag together a fist full of grass. I light it and throw it behind me as I pedal forward.
Push hard, pedal faster, stop, light more grass, and keep going. Gotta evolve, get that blood. That’s my mantra as I watch my stamina tick away. Huff, puff, push…Stop, breathe, click-flip light, go.
Soon enough, I see the cows start to react. They turn toward me but are about a half mile off. They are running from the bigger fires to the east where I started. Someone’s going to notice that column of smoke, fuck I hope it’s not the Puritans further east. That would suck, well, maybe suck. I can pass for one of those dickheads in a pinch. I start to swing back south, patches of smoke and flame rising behind me. Gotta close the loop and trap the fat moo-ther fuckers. Heh, Moo-ther.
Shit, they are fast. Gotta be all those extra legs. That’s kind of scary. I think adrenaline is a fun rollercoaster to ride as I grab one last fist full of grass and light it. This one I hold onto, I’ll grow back. It will suck a whole lot in the interim but gotta get this blood. I pedal as fast as I can control the bike with one hand, bouncing across the grass. The other hand is holding a bundle of flaming grass, and I am screaming as my hand burns. But it’s working. I watch my health tick away.
This is working even better. I can see the rushing flames coming at me. My screams seem to lead the cows, and I’m dying faster than normal. Fuuuuck! The pain gets to be too much, so I let go of the flaming grass bundle, dropping it in the grass. I look over my shoulder, and the cows are not far off. The bees are swarming around them, but the circle is closed. Cool, I can barely use my left hand. I try to breathe and choke on the smoke. Why did I do this? This was dumb, real dumb.
Well, fuck, only one way to go now. I start to pedal slowly toward the cows, trying to keep just inside the circle of flame and smoke. I can feel where the bull is by the quest marker. He’s on the other side of the herd, so I make my way that way as the circle closes. Yes, I’m fucking trapped in here too. I’ll be okay, though, I think.
As I circle around inside the loop of burning grass, I can feel the wind shift. It blows the smoke across my face and into the cows. I wrap my scarf tighter around my face after smacking myself for not thinking of it earlier. It doesn’t help much except for taking some of the burn out of the smoke. Better than nothing, though. I can see the bull now. He’s trying to drive the cows forward out of the smoke on this side.
Smoke swirls around the massive beast, and I drag the extractor out of my pack with a grunt. My hand is healing but slowly. Burns suck; the tissue gets all fucked up and needs to be replaced entirely. A cut is simple. Just glue the parts back together. I drop off the bike and keep low under the rising wall of smoke. I drop the bike and leave it to burn. I can recover it later. The metal will still be good, and rubber is cheap anyways.
Crouching, I see the bull ahead of me. There are no bees around it. The smoke is working in that bit. I imagine that I’m some house cat pouncing on a pigeon in the yard. Go, go, go, go. The hind leg of the bull swings forward as I rush at it. The ass is coming at me as the bull turns away, unaware of my intention or presence. Shit, shit, shit, I fumble the extractor and almost slam it into my own leg. I jab the extractor’s blunt end into the side of the bull’s leg. The device kicks in my hands, as does the bull. I get tossed back, and I hear the bull roar-scream and make a loud noise of maybe pain. Sure whatever, it turns on me, those massive triple set of horns coming straight for me.
Panicking, I phase and feel the pull of the horns as they pass through me. Gah, I hate passing through living stuff; so gross. Shit, the bull is fast, and now the extractor is on the other side of the animal from me. Holding in vomit, I phase and duck through the bull’s flashing hooves at a full sprint. My stamina is really low right now, but I get to the back end of the thing.
The extractor is on the ground, green light blinking. It has lights? Whatever, I grab it and sprint through the fire. Fire bad! Ouch, cough, ouch, ouch. At a full sprint, I feel the thundering hooves of the bull for a moment before it turns away from the flames.
I hear the ding as I keep running away from the scene of my latest crime. I glance at the notification as I skid to a stop in a patch of smoldering but no longer burning grass.
[Quest: Species Advancement 3 of 5 - Successful
Quest Updating…
.
.
New Quest!
Quest: Species Advancement 4.0 of 5
Concoct Advancement Serum.
Reward: Advancement Serum, Experience
Time Remaining: 23:59:54
Penalty: Secondary Quest Activities]
[DING! Experience Gained! - WARNING: Due to Species Rank, all experience banked, no advancement possible.]
What the fuck does concoct mean?