...Synchronisation complete…
…A.I. 100% Online…
...All Nanites 87% Charged…
...Nanites Detecting Foreign Contaminants In Blood Stream...
...Removing Foreign Contaminants…
...Waking Host…
-Hello James, I am your A.I. what would you like me to do?
What? My head hurts. Where am I?
-You are in a secure military facility, I do not know more than that. Please remain calm, the pain in your head will abate in approx. 15 seconds.
Ok, ok, calm, calm. Think it through James, think it through. Do you have a name?
-My designation is A.I. Unit 5569w76jc80.9
Bit of a mouthful, I’ll call you system for the moment.
-A.I. Unit 5569w76jc80.9 is now designated as ‘System’
Ok, system what is going on?
-You have been enhanced, would you like to see a list of your enhancements and their effects?
Yes please!
-Pulling up enhancements file…….
…
…
…
Enhancements:
Tungsten Carbide alloy bone replacements - 32% organic bone mass remaining
Effect: Stronger more durable bone structure
Genetic Alterations - Muscular and Nervous system enhanced, Eyesight enhanced, Skin enhanced and Healing enhanced
Effect: Muscles are 12x denser than before leading to an exponential increase in explosive physical strength and speed.
*synergy with nanites detected* - strength has now been further enhanced and will need to be re-evaluated.
Effect: Nervous system reacts faster than before, synergy with stronger, faster muscles further boosts this to resulting reaction time of Approx. 35 ms.
Effect: Eyesight is now 4 to 8x stronger than before.
Effect: Skin is now denser and more durable, the extent of it's damage mitigation is still unknown.
Effect: Healing now occurs at a faster rate.
*synergy with nanites detected* - Nanites assist in the healing process, full regeneration now achievable, speed of regeneration further increased.
A.I. Enhanced Neural Processor - Communication between Host and A.I. occurs at near instantaneous speeds, thoughts of host now occur at a faster rate, image and data processing now also occurs at a faster rate.
....
…
…
Suggested Modifications:
Replace remaining organic bone mass with Tungsten Carbide alloy
Method: Nanites self-replication and building ability
Time till completion: 5 minutes
Woah, they really fucked with my body, thank fuck they kept me out cold for most of it. Bastards. Ok, System, I want you to perform the modification, but keep my vitals and readouts stable. No doubt those cock-suckers are watching for any signs of abnormal change. Give full body control to me when it is done.
-Affirmative James.
5 minutes later James opened his eyes. There was a stillness in the room at first as everyone took in the situation. Nobody moved. Everything was still. Until it wasn’t. James regarded the restraints that held him to the operating table. Leather with metal bindings. He snorted, from what he understood these would do little to hold him. The dumbfounded scientists watched in fascinated horror as James casually ripped free from his bindings. The various tubes and injected needles being pushed out of his body as the Nanites contained within him rejected their presence.
James moved over to the still scientists as they just continued to watch, their minds numb. Some of the surgeons backed away from James as he approached the researchers on the other side of the room. He stopped in front of the tallest researcher and uttered one word.
“Pants”
“Wh..What?”
“Give me your pants, I won’t ask again” James practically growled at the man.
His pants were halfway off when the alarm sounded, James spun and saw the head surgeon, standing by a broken glass case that had housed the alarm. He grunted as he turned back and grabbed another scientist and thew him at the surgeon, sending both men tumbling to the ground as they collided. Loud cracks of bones breaking a testament to the force behind the throw.
James quickly grabbed the pants and threw them on as he marched towards the reinforced door. A swift strong front kick caused the door to fly off its hinges and crash into the hallway behind it. James barely felt the impact affect him, his new bones absorbing the impact and the added weight effortlessly removing the door.
System, do you know the quickest route out of here?
-I’m sorry James, but I do not. I would need to access the local network before i could do that.
Are you unable to do that?
-No
Then why can’t you?
-You have not given me permission James, would you like to do so now?
Oh for fucks sa - YES! I would like to give you permission.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
-Accessing now…
System, ignore any orders that do not come from me. Make that a priority.
-Affirmative James.
-Network access acquired.
-38 commands for self-termination, restraint, paralysis and various other states of harm. Would you like me to follow the commands James?
No, only take orders from me, recognise me as the highest authority you can. Any and all orders that do not come from me are to be forwarded to me for consideration. Is that clear?
-Affirmative James. Designation changed from ‘Omega 𝛀 24753Alpha1’ to ‘Monarch Omega’.
Monarch Omega? I like the sound of that. Get me the fastest route out of here now.
-Affirmative. Overlaying directions over visual cortex. Stand by.
James paused for the briefest of moments outside the door before turning and racing down a corridor to the left. He ran through the complex, each hallway looking identical to the next. The Alarms blaring the whole time. He came to a door that had a retinal and palm-print scanner system on the side. He slid to a stop as he came closer to the behemoth of a door.
-James, there are multiple hostiles on the other side of the door.
Thank you system, how many? And what is the terrain?
-There is approximately 22 hostiles, this door leads to the outside of the facility. You need to reach the building center left of the direction you are facing as you open the door. That is your way out. The terrain is flat grass, I am accessing the facility cameras and can see that they are split into 2 groups. The first group is knelt down on one knee with tranquiliser guns, the second is standing behind them with assault rifles.
Well shit. System give me your analysis before I make my move.
-Estimate that they will attempt to capture you alive first, deadly force will be applied if the attempt is unsuccessful. Personal defenses are estimated to stop the tranquiliser darts from penetrating the skin, bullets are estimated to penetrate and cause damage.
-Recommended course of action:
Command nanites to form a sub-dermal layer of light armour, this will supplement your defense. It will not make you bullet proof but will reduce damage to acceptable levels.
Erratic movements advised to decrease hostile accuracy.
High chance of hand-to-hand combat engagement. Do you know any combat and anti-personnel techniques James?
Ok, thanks for the advise and modifications suggested system. I did a little bit of kickboxing when I was 18, but that was a few years ago.
-That is insufficient. Would you like me to upload a martial art(s)?
You can do that?!
-Yes, would you like me to upload a martial art(s)?
Hell yes I would! Is there just one or…
-There maximum number of combats styles that can be learned is the maximum I have access to.
How...how many do you have access to?
-All of them
Sweet!
-Caution advised, learning multiple at once can cause mental strain and/or damage.
…...you just had to ruin my dreams. Can you repair the damage? If so how long would it take?
-Yes the damage can be repaired, estimated time of recovery and integration: 5 minutes.
Will my chances of survival increase or decrease if I wait the 5 minutes?
-They will increase.
Do it!
---------------------
The facility guards lined up outside the door to the facility building. It was separated from the main complex incase of breakouts or disruptions. It was specifically built for operations with high degrees of risk to reduce the chance of spread to the rest of the complex.
They faced the door in an attentive but relaxed manner, they’d sun thousands of simulations in the time that they’d been stationed here. Although they had never had a real incident they were more than confident in their ability to deal with any threats.
*Bang*
A dent appeared in the face of the door.
*Bang*
The dent deepened.
The guards faces paled beneath their visors. They all knew just how thick that door was. 6 inches of metal deformed in an instant. Each and ever guard wondering just what kind of monster had they cooked up in there.
*Boom*
The door blasted off of its frame, bowling over several guards in the process before finally resting on top of several crushed guards. James moved like lightning. The guns trained on the doorway hadn't expected him to move so fast that he had already long vacated the now bullet filled space behind him. They were all positioned 30 feet away from the door, a distance James covered in seemingly an instant. Before they knew it he was among them. They had unconsciously crowded together after the door had blasted off its hinges and now they were paying for their mistake.
James was like a whirlwind of fists and feet, each movement, each strike smoothly finding their target and removing them from the fight. There was no intrinsic malice to the violence he inflicted, the moves he used flowed from brutal and sharp to long and flowing almost of their own will. Less than 30 seconds later James stood surrounded by a pile of broken and damaged bodies, some alive but most were not.
He didn't even try to hold back, they wouldn’t so why should he. The devastation around him showcased just how powerful he had become. His eyes focused on a particular building system was highlighting. He took off. Time was of the essence and James would be damned if he didn’t escape.
He didn't even try to use the door this time. He just smashed into the concrete wall facing him. Shoulder down, back straight, legs pumping. Years of impact sports showing their worth even now. Moments later he was inside the building. There was no one to see. They had all made their way to safe houses and bunkers. James followed Systems blinking indicators through the corridors until he came to what he was told was the final door.
The door was nondescript. It was tall and wide with red warning labels and tape all along its sides and top. James didn't even have to smash this door down. It had shutter style door, he just reached down and jammed his fingers under it and lifted. He grunted. It was the heaviest thing he'd encountered so far but it was still well within his limits.
The inside of the room was blank save for a control panel and a gate. It looked like the Gate from an old TV show he watched as a kid. He quickly made his way over to the control panel under Systems advisement. He was sure he didn't have much time.
System, what do I do?
-I am not sure.
What?!
-This is your best chance of escape. The facility has been experimenting with creating a teleportation network. They have been shallowly diving into alternative realities to shorten the distance. They have had limited success. They have been able to teleport stuff but the can not locate or recover what they send across.
Do you know where things go?
-I know what they know.
So no....Fuck! What am I supposed to do?!
-You could divert all the power to instead look for an alternate reality rather than this one. It would work more like a dimensional portal rather than a teleportation portal.
We can do that?
-It is possible.
Then lets try. Anything is better than this place.
-Affirmative.
James began adjusting values on the panel and rerouting power to different sub-routines. System was guiding him the whole time, adjusting his movements to make them more fluid and reducing the chance of mistakes to zero. Minutes later the portal was ready. James hesitated before he entered. He was sure there should have been a response to his actions by now.
-Detecting hostile approaching.
Only one?
-Affirmative.
Oh. Fuck.
Around the corner and into the room Lumbered a behemoth. 7 foot tall and 4 feet wide. Candidate 17 Gamma was infamous. He was the facilities first real success. A mass of twisted flesh and bone and metal built solely for destruction and obedience. He was the true Guard of the facility. Before James could even move Candidate 17 Gamma, AKA Juggernaut, smashed through the control panel and tackled James through the now destabilised portal.