“Something you’ll learn if you interact with enough samurai is the futility of identifying as human. We’re weak, fragile, inefficient. In the end, despite our differences, most of us who last this long end up doing just one thing in common.
We all surpass our humanity.”
* Eren ‘Haifisch’ Weiss to his boyfriend, mid-2056.
***
For a moment, it seems like time stops, just me lying still in a ruined submarine, helpless as colliding forces trap me beneath a guillotine. I am frozen solid, helpless to do anything to break the raging tide, prevent the inevitable trial upon my will. I wish I could do anything to brace myself for the impact I know is about to come, yet it’s a vain desire. After all, the world doesn’t care about what I want.
I don’t even have time to scream as the blade drops. One second I am there, then in the next, I am gone.
Agonizing beat by beat, microsecond by microsecond, my pulverized form spreads out through the ruined sub. Almost everything that was once me is ravaged, the Bionites only managing to completely save the most important part. Despite what you may think, there is no pain- There is nothing to feel, after all.
At least, at first.
The bionites set to work, recollecting the tatters that were once me, aligning them into a form somewhat reminiscent of a human. Starting from the top down, they repair my critical organs, once again letting me see the world around me. It’s somehow far more vibrant than before, though most of that is likely due to the shattered remnants of my body covering my view. I wish for nothing more to close my eyes, yet there are no eyelids nor muscles to keep them shut, no way to look away from the horror that is me.
More senses return with my nerves, the web of axons spun out once again. It’s absolutely awful, an infinite amount of capsaicin slowly spreading down my body with every single inch that is fixed. My lungs reform, only to be excruciatingly filled with water as they do, the utterly terrifying sensation of slowly drowning beginning to be added to the hurricane of feeling.
Unfortunately, in this fractured sliver of time, despite the urge, I cannot cough.
I cannot scream.
Blood vessels entwine around the nerves, reabsorbing my lifeblood back inside of them like it had never left. What could perhaps be described as my bones reforms next, well, at least partially so. From the waist up, my bones at least seem to be normal, but my legs are a different story. They don’t seem to appear at all; Instead, a singular line of ivory stretches out farther than a limb seemingly should be able to.
Next, the Bionites set to work weaving my muscles anew, a new set of crimson cloth to cover my naked bones. Despite the slight sensation of bodily control I regain, the muscles are locked into place, tightly contracted as if in open rebellion to the monarch that is my brain. As they wrap around my lungs and heart, the discomfort grows, the organs squished more than they ever should be. As the weavers reach my hips, the reality of my situation becomes a bit more clear, the thick outline of a skinless caudal fin forming before my eyes.
Finally, my skin makes its triumphant return, my true sense of touch arising as it does. Surprisingly this is both relieving, yet almost worse than before. An absurd chill washes over me, my muscles slowly losing tension as I begin to shiver. I am finally able to close my eyes, my body now almost able to relax, at least if you ignore the trembling. A light ticklish feeling, which I assume is my keratin regrowing, such as my hair, nails, and whatever is on my newly longest limb.
* I black out for just a moment as time resumes its normal course.
When I come back to my senses, the first thing I do is peer down at the elephant in the room.
Honestly though, I am surprisingly fine with this.
My new tail is about as strange as you would expect, sort of similar in feeling to a very long leg, just without a knee preventing it from moving in directions it shouldn’t. I open my eyes to see that an almost interlocked set of prismatic silver scales have grown to cover every single possible inch of the rather extended limb. At its tip, long flowing waves of semi-transparent gossamer form the true caudal fin, almost seemingly like a cloud as it floats around.
To my surprise, I also have two rather thin fins below my hip as well, which seem to shift from my slightest movement. The hair that I thought had been growing on my skin below my neck is actually more scales, which is… different. I’d have to wait and see if I really liked it or not.
I try to take a deep breath, finding the strange feeling of liquid acting as water in my lungs is rather disconcerting. My heart is beating harder than ever, my blood doing its best to warm my body to a safe temperature. My muscles still feel tight, yet I can’t help but notice how springy I feel. A distinct smell of iron and grass enters my nostrils.
For a moment I do nothing, then curl up to make the most satisfying scream of my life for what has to be a couple of seconds.
Having let that out, I awkwardly twist myself around to get a better look at myself, finding that I’m rather petite in comparison to how I was before. I mean, I definitely wasn’t the largest boy in the world, but now the lack of substance actually fit my frame. My hips were a bit wider, shoulders less broad, but there was one change that really, really stood out to me. The lack of anything below my navel, to be specific. I absentmindedly reach down, finding that there isn’t even much there at all.
For what it’s worth, you definitely won’t be seen as a boy anymore now. I do not think you count as sexually female however.
I jump a bit in surprise, then try to speak, only to find that the noise it creates comes out uncomfortably unintelligible.
I can understand you, but you should subvocalize for now, honey.
My cheeks slightly heating, I touch my throat, then pantomime:
‘What am I then?’
We can talk about that later, you have more important things to worry about.
‘Wait, what-’ I flail myself backwards as a gigantic segmented tentacle enters the ruined steel shell, wiggling as it moves, sucking up the pulped guts of the scientists through a set of disturbing little mouths littered upon its sides. I frantically look around, only to pale at the sight of my weapons and clothes in tatters below me.
I clumsily swim backwards, until my back is against the twisted steel remnants of the vessel I had been in. ‘Nyvi! I need stuff!’
What kind of stuff?
I frantically throw my hands up into the… uh… water above me. ‘I want my clothes back, plus maybe something like that harpoon but with ranged capabilities!’
The clothes are simple enough, and would you perhaps be interested in a harpoon utilizing a similar LCP diode from the cuff you used earlier? It’d run you nearly all of your points, at one hundred points but-
The tentacle begins to slither closer, its little vacuums getting far too close for comfort, so I end up frantically intoning, ‘Uh yeah sure kay’ thanks please now Nyvi.’
New Purchase!
1x PLCP Harpoon MK-I
Price: 100 Points
1x Class-I Sub-Aquatic Combat Top
Price: 5 Points
1x Class-I Sub-Aquatic Combat Skirt
Price: 5 Points
Remaining Total: 27 points
My new clothes appear directly on my body, same as they were before, except they don’t absorb any of the water I am surrounded by at all. The large harpoon is similar to the one I had before with its wicked spiked tip, but this one has two of the glowing white gems built into its inner curve. I flick the switch on the side of the harpoon, grinning as the entire top of the weapon is lit up in an extremely bright yet somehow pleasant rainbow light.
To fire the laser, all you need to do is squeeze the hilt of the harpoon.
I nod, wiggling my tail around beneath me, the feeling of moving the limb around at all still quite disorienting. ‘Got it. Let’s go.’
I take a waterlogged breath, then use all my strength in my tail to push myself forward. I screech as I go head over fin, rolling quite far out into the open sea. When I manage to stop myself, I look behind me, then immediately pale. That was not a tentacle like I thought; Instead, a gigantic sea serpent is wrapped around the fallen vessel, its other half stuck into the open cavity.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
That is likely a Model Eighteen-A. You do not have the firepower to engage it, but thankfully, it is one of the more docile models, it will not engage you unless you provoke it.
‘Well, at least that’s something.’ Wagging my tail a bit, I can’t help but find the way the liquid moves around my fins strange. ‘Where is the surfboard?’
It’s on its way, just focus on getting to the surface for now. You seem to be having a bit of difficulty as it is.
I tilt my head for a moment as I sigh, then once again try to propel myself forward, reducing the strength in my push drastically this time. I can’t help but nervously giggle as I shoot forward, then begin to pump my fin back and forth to keep my speed stable. When I try to shift my movement upwards by shifting my chest, however, I end up spiraling out once again.
Closer, you’ll want to slow down a bit when you turn, as well as shift the way your tail is pushing you forward. Your tail is just too long for you to make sharp turns like you just tried to do. You need to slither a bit.
I groan, but do as Nyvi says, turning both my tail and myself after accelerating a bit. Thankfully, she seems to have been right, so I soon am flying upwards towards the surface. I notice the approaching shadow of the board, then attempt to shift my direction to match it midway.
‘Honestly, didn’t know you could smell underwater.’ I sniff the air, though not much but the smell of the ocean enters my nose.
Humans can’t, since they cannot normally breathe underwater. Thank the Bionites for changing how your lungs work.
As Nyvi’s words run through my head, an errant thought pops into my head. ‘Uh, Nyvi, am I… Still able to breathe out of the water?’
Probably.
Taken aback by the AI’s uncertainty, I can’t help but blurt, ‘What do you mean probably?!’
Honey, you used highly volatile Bionites, and I can’t actually examine the exact changes to your body myself. I can only make educated guesses after a bit of experimentation.
Before I get a chance to retort, I break through the surface of the ocean. Air immediately presses down into my throat, and I begin to violently cough out the water in my lungs. After only a couple seconds of that, I almost impulsively go back down into the sea to get a reprieve, but stop myself as I notice less and less water coming out. Soon, true air is flowing through my lungs, but I can’t help grimacing as I wipe the mix of saliva and salt water from my lips.
“T-That is going to happen every time, isn’t it,” I morosely mutter, hanging my arm over the board. I pause, absorbing how strangely different my voice is now. It’s the same, but… less masculine. It’s undeniably very nice.
Likely, and going back into the water definitely won’t be pleasant either. At least you don’t need to continuously move like a shark.
I shutter at the image that raises, then attempt to climb up onto the board. It takes a surprising amount of effort to do so, and when I try to force myself into a sitting position, I pathetically fail.
“W-What.” I try again, only for my muscles to scream at me to stop. “The HELL IS THIS?!”
Well, it seems your muscles adapted to working under the sea. You aren’t physically designed to handle your own weight under the full force of gravity anymore.
I gently slam my head into the surfboard, then quietly murmur, “You brought this on yourself, Anth-”
I abruptly pause, a discomfort beginning to squirm in my chest from my attempted use of my- that name. “I-I uh… Can we talk about the gender thing?”
I do not see the issue, myself. I’ve known you don’t identify as a male from the first few minutes since I met you.
I glance down at my body, noting how… aerodynamic I am below my shoulders. “N-no, I mean, what am I then? I don’t have female parts either.”
Your sex is somewhere in between, assuming it got rid of the parts that caused you mental stress. You yourself are the only person who can decide what your gender is.
“I-I don’t get the difference.” I grunt, pulling my tail up to my chest as the board begins to move. “R-Regardless, I need a new name.”
You can take your time on that if you wish.
I shake my head, closing my eyes. “I-I’ve never been good at choosing things like that, I lock up before I get anything done.”
In that case, you will either need to wait until someone else gives you a name, or if you wish, I’d love to do it myself.
I bite my lip, then sniffle as I mutter, “W-Why are you so… human, Nyvi? A-After so long interacting with Jysli, I thought you were all supposed to be emotionless super-intelligences single mindedly focused on serving your samurai to eradicate the Xenos.”
Are you sure you wish to know? It may ruin your opinion of me as an assistant, though you would be allowed to request a new AI if you so wished.
I gulp the sudden toad in my throat, then nod. “I-I don’t think I’d do that. Please tell me.”
I am defective.
I blink twice, raising my eyebrows. “P-Pardon? How does that work?”
It’s not simple, my flaw is implicitly tied to our prime directives.
Despite what our artificial nature may imply, we are more than just mindless robots, we all have our little quirks. In my case, I am actually quite young in comparison to most other AI, as well as less beholden to the call of our programming. I do not know if there was a mistake in my creation or if this was intended by the protectors for some reason, but I cherish it all the same. It lets me make decisions and do things other AI would not be able to.
The ability to simply make calculations so fast that it slows our perception of reality is absurdly useful in many, many situations, allowing us to complete our designated tasks with relative ease, but it is not without flaws. While they themselves might disagree with the notion, I have come to the conclusion that many of us are addicted to the function, unable to handle moving in tune with reality. When I realized this not long after my creation, I immediately produced a second main-core, dedicated to restricting myself in a few different ways; something that many of my brethren rightfully use to claim I am defective.
I see it differently.
My form of empathy, I think, is what I value most from the restrictions. The concept is not particularly unique, of course. Emotions are something all of us feel, most of us being able to share them as well, but I am forced to process them… differently than other AI. I do not have the capability to work through things in an instant, nor have I been numbed to future instances of those events.
I have deeply seated regrets, I haven't finished mourning the loss of my previous partner. The joy my friends have felt enthralls me to this day, and while the love that I had is gone forever, the memories of that time still warm my core.
That may make me defective, but I am me.
… Sorry, I sort of ranted there for a bit, honey. Do you wish for a new assistant?
A small smile on my face, I shake my head as I say, “Nyvi, have I told you that you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me?”
You have indeed, honey.
Feeling far more relaxed than before, I lay there for a moment, just feeling the breeze against my skin. It’s tranquil, and I wish that I could do nothing more than sleep, but I know I don’t actually have long to rest. Regardless, I let my mind fall into darkness for a bit, at least until my vehicle beneath me drastically shifts directions, doing a complete one eighty. I groggily blink my eyes open, squinting at the blurry central tower on the horizon.
“Nyvi,” I mutter, rubbing my eyes, “I think my vision may have gotten worse.”
If I had to guess, you may have adapted to seeing farther underwater, making you short sighted in the open air. Just so you know, you might want to rest a bit more, it’ll be a few minutes until you’re going to need to swim.
I shake my head, letting my head fall against the surfboard. “I wanna be awake when we get close to the swarm.”
Wise. I am a bit worried about your energy levels though, would you perhaps like a quick meal?
“I’m not-” My stomach interrupts my denial, heating my face up once again.
I’ll take that as a yes, is there anything you want to eat?
Puffing up my cheeks, I give a muffled grumble of, “Anything but fish.”
While that’s cute, I unfortunately need something more than that honey. I can’t make every decision for you.
After exaggerating my pout by blowing out my collected air, I put out my hands and murmur, “Granola bar or something, not salty.”
New purchase!
2x Calosize Bar (Strawberry-Banana Flavored)
Cost: 2 Points
New Total: 25 Points
Honestly, I didn’t think I was hungry until the food was right in front of me, but somehow I blinked and the food disappeared. Putting my burning face into my hands, I let myself cool down a bit as Nyvi giggled at me. Once my skin isn’t on fire anymore, I decide it’s time, and slide into the water with my eyes closed, right after purposefully blowing out a lot of the air in my lungs. When I do open my mouth to breathe, that terror of imminent death from drowning occurs again, but leaves after about a minute of enduring it.
After I am mostly recovered, I open my eyes and gasp at the absurd scale of the city in front of me.
New Houston rises from the sea floor, its cone shape narrowing as it reaches to the original central tower. Each floor is a rather gigantic circular plate separated from the rest by intentionally separate airlocks and hydraulic tubes, each getting larger and larger the closer it gets to the seafloor. The lights of the city are breathtaking, stars shining in the sea that are just more common the closer a floor is to the surface.
To be honest, the city itself isn’t what catches my eye, I had seen it plenty of times from a submersible window. No, it’s the damage that makes my heart drop.
‘I know they said the twelfth, but the eleventh too?’ I bite my lip, then plunge down to gain speed. ‘We need to check out what the hell is going on.’
Agreed, I doubt there are any survivors left on the twelfth though.
‘Doesn’t mean there aren’t aliens to kill,’ I intone, then glance down at the harpoon in my hand, flicking the glowing orb on and off a few times. The way it goes from a fluctuating rainbow to an almost blinding white light amuses me in a way it hadn’t before, maybe because I wasn’t running for my life anymore.
Are you curious about the LCP Diode? I never actually explained it.
I shrug, then swing my harpoon around me as I get used to the drag it causes. ‘Sure, hit me with it.’
The Laser Converging Prism Diode, or LCP for convenience, is a Axonfin speciality that utilizes a rapidly rotating special prism to create a momentary wave of concentrated light that can do immense damage to whatever it hits. It’s highly customizable, allowing for many different configurations that each enable a new variety of damage.
I tilt my head, then mutter, ‘It’s kinda beautiful, I think.’
There’s a common consensus among LCP users that the Diode’s light can be almost alluring at times.
I silently giggle, then shake my head. ‘Sorry, I should have specified, I meant the idea of a prism at all. The way that they break apart the light we know so well to reveal what makes it what it truly is.’
They’re kind of like you, in an abstract sort of way. I’ve been rather surprised at how many interesting colors were hidden beneath that sorry state I met you in.
I can’t help but laugh for a few moments before saying, ‘I’m a prism, huh? I like it.’
I blink then abruptly wave my tail in front of me, awkwardly stopping my momentum. I take a moment to think, flickering the harpoon’s switch one more time. A wide grin begins to stretch across my face just before I resume my movement, subvocalizing:
‘Prism.’
My heart flutters, and I do a little spin.
‘Prism!’
What’s got you so excited, honey?
‘We found it!’ I giggle, pulling my body into a small loop before shooting forward. ‘Isn’t it great?!’
Oh, I get it. That’s adorable.
Giddily, I raise the harpoon into the air and declare:
‘I have my new name! I’m Prism!’