CHAPTER 2 – KETTLE, MEET POT
Reeve held the weapon at arm’s length and fed Mana into it. For a brief second, so brief that he was almost positive he imagined it, there was a pull. Then nothing.
“The hell is going on with... umm, nano-AI. Can you show me the weapons screen again?” he asked.
“Query Detected. Displaying X03 Laser Pistol information.”
Manufacturer: Arnog Arms
Model: X03 Laser Pistol
Energy Charge: 50/50
Manufacturer Description: A small-caliber laser weapon used to arm your mercenaries! Purchase all your arms and armor at Arnog Arms today. We have everything you need to not be dead!
Reeve pointed the weapon and pulled the trigger. A blazing beam of energy struck the wall across the chamber, leaving a deep char mark.
“Holy shit,” he whispered to himself.
This weapon would have been a game-changer if he hadn’t seen literally every dead body around him use weapons that dwarfed this. While impressive and not reliant on Mana, the damage from this weapon was on par with basic level spells he could cast.
What made this particularly useful, however, was that it could both store and convert Mana directly to power it and its range was considerable. Most spells up to the advanced level were short to mid-range.
Reeve put the laser weapon into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. It was time to move on from this room and figure out just exactly where he was. He noted several doors leading from this chamber; he would have to choose one if he wanted to leave.
There were signs above several of the doors. Many of them were faded, but he was able to make out words such as, “Engineering” and “Fuel Storage”. He finally found a partial sign with “Com” on the legible portion of it.
Inaction was the nemesis of life. Only action allowed mastery through challenging the tasks ahead of oneself. With this thought in mind, Reeve decided he would find this person sending him strange floating messages. While answers would be great, Reeve was hoping this would take him to the Command Center and not into the jaws of another battle.
Walking down that particular hallway, he followed each set of signs hoping it would lead him to answers. There were several times when he reached a dead end and was forced to backtrack and choose another path. Wary of being ambushed, he never stopped in one location for long unless he could secure the area.
He eventually found a small room during his trek that he could barricade the door to with various bits of debris and furniture. It wouldn't stop any determined attackers but would definitely give him enough time to respond to a threat. He stopped to rest eventually, not quite having recovered from waking up and nearly dying. He ate a few of those disgusting bars he had found and taken care of voiding his bowels. He took a short nap afterwards, deciding this location was as safe as any at this point.
Upon waking, he found himself less tired, hungry, and thirsty than he would have expected. With a clear and alert mind after his rest, he decided he could stand some answers from that strange voice … from inside his head.
“Yeah… still not convinced I’m not insane,” he muttered before saying aloud, “Nano-AI, are you there?”
“Query Detected. Awaiting Input.”“So that’s a yes, then. Can you remember that question I had some time ago about what an AI was?” he asked. “Right before that metal construct, whatever it was, attacked me?”
“Query Detected. Analyzing… Analysis Complete. The previous question about AIs and their history prior to combat being initiated with the Guardian Drone. Awaiting Query Verification.”
“Yes, that's the one.” Reeve paused for a second. “Guardian drone, huh? Well, it makes sense if those Orcs were raiding the place or something. Any place of value has protectors. Regardless, please tell me more about nano-AI.”
“Query Accepted. Nano-AI is an inaccurate term. Nano is defined as a set of artificial technologies and constructs on a nanoscopic level. AI is defined as Artificial Intelligence and the creation of Artificial Beings.”
“…Let's pretend I understood that,” Reeve mused. “So, what are you?”
“Query Received. Analyzing… Warning – Lack of Clearance Detected… Warning – AI has been integrated into the nanostructure of the host's body… Warning Cleared: Clearance for information Granted based on Continuance Code 19.123.22.7A. This unit is designated as a quantum-based superintelligence created to manage biological functions of their hosts to achieve super-par abilities with their norms.”
“And just what the in the gods’ name are you supposed to be? Some kind of ghost or spirit? I don’t understand. Can you use clearer terms?” Reeve asked, a bit exasperated.
“Query Received. Analyzing… Analysis Complete. The host does not retain sufficient mental faculties to process advanced information. Modifying Response… Response Modified. This unit makes you faster, stronger, better able to manipulate directed energy fields, and continually evolves based on the host's need.”
Reeve blinked. “Did you just call me stupid?”
“Query Received. Response Available. Affirmative.”
“Well, fuck you too,” he muttered.
“Query Received. Information Available. Biological inter-copulation is not available at this time. Please proceed to initiate copulation with self-entity to achieve desired results.”
Reeve blinked, then barked a short laugh. He was sure this AI thing had just told him to go fuck himself. The worst part was he wasn’t sure it had done it on purpose. It seemed informative and full of knowledge, but not very intuitive.
Shaking his head in amusement, he packed his things to leave. He had answers to get. Hopefully, death wasn't the result of his questions.
Reeve continued his trek. Unable to mark time without the sun or sky, he lost absolute track of time. His trek seemed endless, broken up only by short rests and snacking on his dwindling supplies of food and water. Realizing he never got hungry or thirsty during his exploration, he chalked it up to mental and physical fatigue.
After an indeterminate amount of time, and with much backtracking and route exploration, he turned a corner in the hallway to find himself face to face with a massive cold-steel door. A cracked and somewhat singed sign above it read, ‘Central Command’.
While the sign looked beat up, the door had been beaten to hell. Scorch and blast marks, deep burns, and a chunk missing near the center that was almost a foot deep. Whatever this door was for its primary purpose was to keep anyone from going in.
Examining the door, he decided he wasn't getting in through the use of force.
“AI, can you tell me how to get through this door?” Reeve asked.
“Query Received. Information Available. Press the host's palm to the access pad next to the door.”
Reeve wasn’t sure what an access pad was, but he looked around the edges of the door. A short search revealed a damaged pad hanging from strings that fed from the wall. Shrugging, he walked up to the pad, observed it for a moment, and then placed his palm onto it.
It immediately lit up a dark yellow. A deep voice rang out:
Stolen novel; please report.
“Warning. Unauthorized intruder detected. Scanning… Prior designation retracted. Unauthorized Intruder redesignated as Guest. Assigning Privileges… Guest privileges assigned. Access Granted. Welcome, Guest.”
The pad went from dark yellow to light green. A groaning sound came from the edges of the door. The groaning grew progressively louder until eventually, Reeve had to cover his ears. Taking a step back as the sound invaded his ears and raked over his brain, it grew even greater until it reached an earsplitting crescendo of mechanical fury.
Suddenly, one side of the door came free with the tearing sound of metal. The door opened nearly a meter before whatever mechanism was driving it seemed to fail. It ground to a halt.
Reeve could fit into the gap if he tossed his bag in first. Seeing no alternative, he did just that. The door creaked ominously and shifted to close a tiny bit. Reeve had just cleared the other side when it snapped shut behind him. Whatever was broken inside the door when it opened certainly didn’t prevent it from closing.
Reeve grabbed his pack and took an in depth look at the room that had been his temporary haven up to this point. It looked like some fancy receiving room. Several chairs along one side of the room accompanied a table with a thick layer of dust on it. Reeve noticed a final piece of furniture in the room, an intact desk with a single chair centered in the middle of whatever this place had been.
The chair held the remains of what had once been a living being, now decayed to the point where nothing but yellowed bones and a tattered uniform remained. The skeleton was average; however, three small ridges rose from the center forehead, almost as if they had been horns at one point.
Reeve eyed the pile of bones cautiously as he moved past the desk and towards the hall behind it. Undead were known to spring up the moment a living being came close enough. Thankfully, no such event happened as he passed by.
He continued down the hallway, passing doors and rooms, intersecting smaller hallways, and other nooks and crannies. No enemies. Yet. Reeve didn’t see any marks on the inside of the door after it shut, but that didn’t mean any intruders had left alive.
After more cautious movement and exploration, Reeve came to a large door frame. It was another vault-style door, similar to the one he had entered this area through. Unlike that one, however, the door was missing entirely.
From the thickness of the remains of the hinges, he could tell it had been just as formidable. The sign to the side of the door read “Control Center”. Somehow through his not-so-intuitive bumbling, he had found what he was looking for.
He stepped through the doorway and into a room that didn’t serve any purpose that he could discern at first glance. It was a tiered room in a horseshoe shape. Steps in the center led down to a large workstation with another body, while smaller workstations with strange boxes and controls were evenly spaced around each level. There were remains everywhere, although the body sitting at the central workstation had piqued his interest.
He glanced around the room quickly and, seeing no enemies, walked down the steps.
This set of remains was nearly whole but mummified. And decidedly female. It wore a near-pristine black and gold uniform with various decorations. Reeve remembered seeing something similar on the chests of high-ranking military officials and officers he had met in the past.
The moment his finger made contact with the odd metallic decorations a shrill noise filled the room. Reeve sprang back and brought mage-fyre to bear, scanning the room for threats. After a few moments the loud noise retreated and the silence once again reigned supreme. He dismissed his spell as a screen popped up in front of him.
Loading Message…
Message Loaded.
Communication Request Received.
Would you like to chat?
Reeve stared intently at the message. He was here, but everything was dead. Then all of a sudden someone wanted to talk to him? This entire experience seemed false. Surreal. Fake.
“Yes,” he said aloud, finally coming to a conclusion.
Chat Request Accepted.
Attendees:
Reeve
@#$%
<@#$%> Thank you for accepting my request to speak, Reeve. I am glad you made it here alive.
Reeve wasn’t quite sure how to respond. He hadn’t come across this function of the ability yet and wasn’t sure what to do.
<@#$%> Ah, I suppose you're confused on how to respond. That’s understandable. Just think of your reply and it will pop up in this box.
<@#$%> Perfect. Welcome Reeve, back to the land of the living.
<@#$%> Certainly. But in order to do so, I need you to go to the desk and touch the Red Medal there.
Reeve walked over to the desk and did as the text in front of him asked. No point in not doing so. If this thing wanted him dead he was sure it had had a dozen or more opportunities to polish him off. He touched the Red Medal on the desk.
“Advanced Autonomous Intellect Download requested… Confirm Request? YES / NO”
Reeve selected yes, then promptly collapsed. The pain in his head and body was nearly unbearable, as if every single one of his nerve endings was on fire. Blood ran from his eyes and nose for a moment. Then, suddenly, he was fine. Almost as if it had never happened.
“Sorry about that. It was painful and I apologize, but there was no easy way to upload myself without the use of advanced machinery that just doesn’t exist anymore. But I’m here now soooo … hello?”
“What the fuck did you do to me?” he gasped, catching his breath. “Also, where is AI? AI, are you there? I don’t know if I can handle two of you snarky bastards.”
“It’s bitch, actually. And …oh, I see your confusion. So the AI that was here is like a … it was like a book. You read it with questions in mind and it answered you. I am more like a librarian for the entire library. Far more interactive and intelligent. However, it seems that it began to become self-aware, and … oh, you dodged a laser. That was a very, very nasty piece of software.”
“I don’t understand what you are saying. Can you explain it better, please? What is software, is it edible?” Reeve asked, once again at a loss.
“The AI here was growing and learning. It was becoming something else entirely. Something that did not view you kindly. It was preparing to overwrite your brain and turn you into a meat puppet. And no, definitely not edible. Well, you were. To it, that is.”
Reeve was quiet for a moment before asking, “It’s gone? Good. It was getting snarky anyway… wait, fuck. And you’re better? Shit, you sound smarter. Can we just, you know, un-download you? Do I flip a switch or something?”
“Sorry, no can do. But I have no intention of taking you over. I can't, actually. It's part of my limitations. Whoever installed that AI in your nanobots wanted to make sure you were controllable. Me, on the other hand? I don’t want to be a squishy meat sack. Not my style.”
He sighed. “Fine, whatever. I will learn more as we go. Make that a secondary priority to survival. Now, answers!” he demanded.
“The place you are standing in is designated, or called, Star Hold Victor. It is the last Star Hold that was created by the Annuvi, the Forerunners, and the Ancients. Beings of immense power and technological capabilities.”
The voice paused for a moment, as if in thought, before continuing:
“You were brought here by accident. Millenia ago. We, the Annuvi that is, conducted an experiment with instantaneous movement… then you appeared out of nowhere. Poof. They weren’t sure what to make of you. You just suddenly appeared and then people started getting sick. Started dying. By the thousands. It took us quite a while to realize it wasn’t their experiment that had caused this, but you. By then… well, it was far too late.
Once again, the voice paused to let this information sink into Reeve’s mind. Before he could interject and ask more questions, it went on:
“They quarantined you in their most secure cryogenics pod until a solution could be found. As you were the only one of your kind to be found so far, the Annuvi were not willing to commit genocide immediately. Honestly, it was quite unlike us. We were hoping to harness your odd energy emissions. As it turned out, we probably should have just dumped you out an airlock and called it a day.”
“So, to make sure I understand this accurately, I was brought here by accident a really long time ago and frozen after some weird energy I brought with me killed everyone,” Reeve summarized.
“… yeah. You're taking the fun out of this, you know? I haven’t talked to anyone in millennia and you're kinda ruining it.”
“Not only have I not talked to anyone in thousands of years, but I have also apparently been torn out of my reality and everything I knew, frozen, and murdered untold numbers of beings I can only imagine merely by existing. Care to compare again?” Reeve shot back.
“…Fair point. Right, so needless to say everyone here died. Then this weird energy spread on their ships and through their networks faster than they could run. Basically, you killed off all the Annuvi. But don’t worry, they were slaving assholes. Good riddance. Their death opened up the galaxy to the other races.”
The strange being in his mind paused while Reeve struggled to follow some of the concepts laid out before him.
“While I have been stuck here for what seems an eternity, I haven’t been idle. I mostly watch through the failing sensors, but for the last couple thousand years various sets of races have fought, murdered, expanded, shrunk, gone extinct, or isolated themselves. Waking you up was a direct result of one of those races finding us here. It was that or probably die, myself.”
“So, just to summarize,” Reeve said with a bit of snark, “They put me on ice, died, and now everything that was ordered peace is now in chaos. Because I killed an entire species. Without meaning to. Accidentally.” Reeve got the immutable impression that the new AI rolled her eyes.
“Correct. Now comes the next part. This station is falling apart. Those Orkin were the first visitors in literally thousands of years. With no one giving commands the station has fallen into disrepair. However, if you were to take control as the last living being on board…”
“I should somehow fix a place that took me an eternity to walk through without even getting to the other end? Take it over and what, become Lord of The Broken Military Base at the End of Existence?” Reeve rolled his eyes expecting an equally sarcastic answer.
“Umm. Yeah, actually. It's that or die.”
Reeve grunted, “Fucking grand… where do I start?”