"Killing the Antithesis is only the first step. If the planet is dead by the time we're done, we're still doomed. Which is why you should invest in our patented Sanctuary Creation and Adaptation Modules, which contain everything you need to build your own paradise on Earth after an ecological apocalypse and tailor it to the current state of the air, water, and soil..."

-Excerpt from an early 2040s advertisement for SCAMs, kits which contained a basic chemistry set and several unmarked bags of seeds.

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Once upon a time, Earth’s forests had been full of life. Animals went about their business, eating, hunting, reproducing, all amidst a cornucopia of plant life. There would have been insects buzzing, birds chirping, and small animals running through the underbrush. In those days, I would have had to worry about a lot more than just Antithesis. There may have been wolves, or bears, or hell, even rabid raccoons. All of that would have made it terribly difficult to spot danger, as I would never know if I was about to spot a harmless deer or a ravenous plant alien.

But that is not the Earth I was born into. The forests of today are a graveyard with no markers. Any trace of animal life has been scoured by the Antithesis in every region that they have touched- which, at this point, is practically all of them. The woodland I was trekking through was silent but for the wind. Animals simply did not exist here, because an apex predator more rapacious than humans had moved into their homes. It wasn’t simply a matter of driving the Antithesis out and letting the animals repopulate, because Antithesis do not hunt. They devoured everything before them with no thought to sustainability, no care as to what would happen with the natural ecosystem torn out at the roots.

It wasn’t something I had thought of much before, but I had to wonder how long the forests would survive without animals to tend to them. Flowers needed to be pollinated. Trees relied on birds to carry their seeds to fresh soil. Some plants could live quite a long time, but would the forest simply wither over time without the ability to spread?

I was no expert in ecology, but I think even I was able to see the signs of degradation setting in. From what little I knew, a forest should have underbrush. Vines. Bushes. Grass. All sorts of small, shorter lived plants interspersed among the roots of larger trees. Saplings, too; new growth to replace the old. Here, everything was dead. I walked upon a carpet of rotting branches and disintegrating leaves, and the only greenery was above my head in the branches of long-established trees I did not know the names of.

The terrain wasn't terribly rough, as a result, but my progress was slowed by the constant tension of not knowing if more Antithesis could be right behind the next tree. I had to move slowly and quietly if I wanted to notice them before they noticed me. The timer had increased to four days, apparently taking into account my slow pace.

It only took an hour before the silence finally broke me.

"Hey, Juny? What can that drone do, anyway?" I whispered, more for the conversation than anything. I eyed the little robot she had purchased for me earlier, floating just behind my shoulder. It was about a foot tall, with telescoping, flexible arms and two claws on each. Where a human would have legs, it had a half sphere that projected an otherworldly glow.

"The "Handy Helper" medical assistant is designed to assist surgeons in situations where personnel are limited by handing them the tools they need in place of a nurse."

"...wait, that's it? I have a robot that just hands me stuff? Also, why does it need to look like a nurse?" Indeed, the little bot was wearing a nurse's cap and smock, and seemed to have a slight feminine curve to its torso.

"Your records indicate a preference for nurses."

"I dated a nurse one time! Nevermind. Not even going to ask why you know that." Honestly, I had kind of just assumed samurai AIs were omniscient, but that conversation could wait for later. I came to a stop as I sighted movement in the distance. I crouched and zoomed in with my augs for a better look- yet another Model Three. Distance...not nearly far enough for my liking, but it hadn't noticed me yet.

I crouched down and opened fire.

Even knowing ahead of time how fast a submachine gun can fire, the rate caught me by surprise. It was one thing to know, intellectually, that a weapon can throw hundreds of rounds down range per second; it was another to experience your weapon bucking as your ammo count dropped by 25% per second. I think I fired at least a dozen rounds after the thing was already dead.

Target Eliminated!

Reward... 10 Points

New total: 14 Points

"The inertial compensator worked as expected. Your accuracy has improved by 47%." I was genuinely surprised that the increase was so high, but then I remembered I had hit my previous target three times, and one of those was at point blank range. That came out to...slightly better than 40%, according to my augs. So I fired 28 rounds at only 11 hit the target. More importantly...

"I don't know a ton about Antithesis, but I do know when they attack there's usually a lot of them. Any idea why we keep encountering them one at a time?"

"Unknown. Typically the scent left by dead Antithesis would attract more, and scouts travel in groups. Having three lone Model Three encounters, especially in a remote area like this, is highly unusual. Based on data from previous incursions, however, I would propose the theory that these models originated from a hive that was destroyed, and that the survivors are fleeing to establish new hives."

I blinked at that information. I always thought the Antithesis attacked relentlessly, until they were all dead. Did that mean they could also feel fear? I repeated the question to Juny, who answered in her unfailingly pleasant tone.

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"The Antithesis do not flee due to fear, and will continue to attack anything they perceive as a threat while doing so. Each Antithesis contains a seed that can sprout into a new nest given time. This is simply the hive spreading its seeds."

"They're all coming from the same direction. Hope that means I'll be getting a rescue sooner rather than later. In the meantime, though, I’m curious. How much would a suit of Mjolnir cost…hypothetically?" It was not a hypothetical question but even I had the grace to be mildly embarrassed I was even asking. God, this was a nerd’s wet dream.

“The cost would be in the order of thousands of points. You would require the Class II Power Armor catalog at minimum, which itself would require the Class I Power Armor catalog. Some of the systems do not have hard numbers backing them up, and could be interpreted in ways that might even make them as high as Class III!”

“I have no idea what those terms mean.”

“Class I would be the pinnacle of human science. Current infrastructure could produce it, assuming sufficient research is done or a Vanguard provides blueprints. Class II is currently impossible for humans to create. This is where the most crucial of the Mjolnir’s systems fall. Humans are not currently capable of producing the Reactive Crystal Layer, Energy Shields, Superconductor Layer, and Motion Tracker.”

“I think I can guess at the first three. But why not the motion tracker?”

“The Mjolnir contains a sensor suite that defies humans’ understanding of physics! It is capable of sensing any and all motion above a certain threshold within a predefined radius. That means the sensors are capable of penetrating any known material and most energy fields.”

“I guess I have a long term goal then. Class II, huh…”

“The suit would also kill you!” I barely managed to transform a giggle into a snort at that. Juny sounded like she was giving me the best news of my life. The contrast…

“Right. I think I remember that from the novels. Something about the power assist being too strong?”

“Precisely! You would require significant genetic or cybernetic alterations in order to properly utilize the suit. I have several catalogs I can suggest. Do you prefer genetic modifications or cybernetic?”

“Genetic. I kind of like the idea of being human, but better, if that makes sense? Like, faster, tougher, stronger, that sort of thing.”

“You answered very quickly. Most Vanguards require easing into the idea of changing their bodies. I had a number of follow up arguments prepared, but I see they are unnecessary!” Was I beginning to understand the nuances of her voice a bit? I could swear she sounded genuinely pleased by that.

“It wouldn’t be the first time I modified my body. And if I can do it on the genetic level, well…I have a few more cosmetic ideas, too, once I have the points.”

“Of course! That is indeed in your record, but I did not expect it to extend to other areas. In that case, I will make a note to remind you of this topic once you can afford it. Are there any other purchases you would like to discuss ahead of time? I can also allow you to peruse the catalogs via your augmentations at your leisure!”

“I think I’d like to get more of a sense of where Class I ends and Class II starts. Or, hell, where Class I starts. What makes a Class 0 bullet worse than a Class I bullet?”

“Even if the two bullets are in the same caliber, the propellant and alloys used make a significant difference. The propellants currently used by humans produce a significantly lower velocity and the alloys do not retain their shape as well, making them less effective at penetrating the armor of higher level Antithesis. The bullets in your submachine gun are, as a result, more effective than the bullets in the magnum.”

“They both kill a Model Three pretty dead.”

“The magnum would not have penetrated the armor of a Model Four, but the submachine gun will. Further improvements are possible even within the Class I catalog, in fact! You could add rails that accelerate the bullets even more, a barrel that can be resized for any caliber of bullet, and even self-repairing metals!” I whistled quietly. That sounded like a hell of a gun. That last upgrade was especially important combined with the first, from what I knew about railguns and their longevity.

“And how much would all of that cost, plus what I’ve got already…?”

“500 points!” If I were drinking something I would have spat it out. Holy hell that was expensive. “I am detecting distress. To elaborate, the more features added to an item, the more expensive each subsequent addition becomes. A submachine gun with any one of those abilities would cost less than fifty points. The efficacy of each may affect pricing as well. Attempting to add too many features could even increase the Class of the item.”

That last part sounded promising…

“So…if I remove features, could I reduce the Class needed?”

“Of course!”

“Okay…then, how about this. Remove the features you mentioned earlier and add a more conventional form of power assistance. Could I get something like that? And how well would it hold up against Antithesis?”

“The armor might be bulkier depending on how strong you want the suit to be. But yes, that would be possible with Class I Power Armor.”

“In that case…” I spent much of the rest of the day designing my new suit and doing the samurai equivalent of window shopping in the catalog. I did not get a rescue sooner than later. I continued to trudge through the empty, silent forest as darkness began to fall, racking up another ten points every hour or so but expending some for more ammunition as well. By nightfall, I had managed to amass just 72 points, an amount Juny told me was insufficient to buy anything that would allow me to sleep in peace. I would need at least a hundred points for any sort of recon catalogue, whether that entail sensors or drones.

Although I did have that silly little "Handy Helper," it was rather myopic and did not include nightvision.

"So, what are my options here? Sleep on the ground and hope I don't get ate? Sleep in a tree and hope I don't fall out? Maybe I could make it a bit further with a flashlight."

"A flashlight would merely serve as a beacon to any Antithesis within visual range. I would recommend the second option. At the very least, I would be able to detect any vibrations from an Antithesis trying to climb the tree. Although, I would not be able to do much if a model with ranged attacks or flying capabilities were to appear."

I squinted into the darkness. Yeah, no. Not walking through the spooky woods at night. I sighed.

"Tree life it is," I muttered, tucking my SMG into my belt as I started climbing the nearest tree. It wasn't terribly difficult; the tree was old, and had clearly never been trimmed by human hands this deep into the woods. As I settled into a spot with two sturdy branches to support me, one serving as a seat and the other a backrest, my stomach began to growl. I realized I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. "Can I at least afford some food?"

"I suppose you do have to eat, and a Class I catalogue just for provisions would be a waste of money," Juny replied as my points ticked down by one. A lunchbox appeared in my lap. Why did she always sound so annoyed about Class 0 items? Too hungry to care right now. I ripped open the lid and found a sandwich and a juice box. They disappeared so fast I barely had time to taste them.

"Good night, Erica," was the last thing I heard before I passed out.