Doctor Galloise yawned in response. “Boy, we just can’t catch a break.”
Running her hand through her hair, Leta gave the older woman a sidelong look. “What’s this ‘we’ stuff? You didn’t almost get taken out by a fish then set on fire.”
Chuckling, Doctor Galloise shook her head. “Yeah, I’m not sure what you did, but karma has it out for you. Anyway, I am not planning to let your mom know about this craziness. I don’t need to deal with her coming to Greece after we’d finally managed to keep her calm last time.”
Leta winced. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
Snickering at her obvious discomfort, Annika ruffled her hair with a smirk. “Do your best to get some shut eye. I’ll be here to get you in…” she looked down at her wrist watch. “four hours.”
Moments later, Leta found herself alone, though the noise and activity outside was certainly louder than it had been hours ago.
Her eyes swept over the room, looking for any danger. She’d already checked the locks on the window and was satisfied that nothing would be getting her from there, but did another sweep.
Could someone come through the AC vent?
What about the door? It didn’t have a lock, so could she make something to keep it closed?
[The Host can rest easy. Should there be another corrupted system user utilizing a cognitive suppressing ability, an alert will be made similar to before.]
“Thanks, Gada, but that isn’t going to help me fall asleep after what just happened.”
[Would the Host like to review the diagnostic report made after the confrontation?]
“You make a diagnostic report on me like I’m a car?” Leta voiced her skepticism with a snort, then sighed. “Sure. Why not.”
[Based on calculations, most damage the Host took was caused by piercing damage from Corrupted-Nixie claws and teeth. It is recommended that the Host increase her constitution in order to avoid this type of damage.]
[Congratulations. Due to continuous use in a live battle scenario, Electric Misconduct has reached Level 2. The Host can generate 300 million volts of electricity in a single interaction. The Host can maintain up to 200 volts of electricity while concentrating. It takes less focus for the Host to control electricity discharge and maintain conduction.]
[To increase discharge and strike power, it is recommended that the Host increase power and replace 15% of organic bone structure with Atlanite.]
“Hold up. Replace my bones?” Leta coughed on the water that she’d been sipping.
[Correct. The internal characteristic reconstruction allows the Host to replaces internal structures with partial or complete Atlanite material. This increases the overall resilience and output power, providing an unbreakable structure that can conduct electricity and additional nanite storage capabilities.]
“Is that like when you get your knee or a hip replaced?”
[In concept, yes. Similar to how the femur ball is replaced with artificial materials during hip replacement surgery, the nanites will replace organic bone matter with Atlanite - a metal derived from nanites.]
‘Interesting…’ Leta mused, ‘so like an internal bionic structure.’
[It was common among Atlantians to begin replacing organic structures with Atlanite at birth. Children were scarce due to fertility issues among the Atlantians, so providing offspring with the greatest odds of success was paramount.]
That comment helped her mind escape from the monster smack down that had occurred earlier, if only for a moment. As sad as it was to think of an entire galaxy-fairing civilization having difficulty producing children, it also left a lot of questions of who it happened to and why.
‘Did it have anything to do with why they were forced to evacuate Earth after thousands of years? Was it from a disease?’
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
[Historical records are redacted. Information regarding the cause for evacuation is missing.]
Leta let out a breath as she dipped her head back into the pillow. She probably would never know at this point.
‘Tell me more about the Atlanite bones. What are the benefits of having them?’
[Replacing biological structures would mean that the new Atlanite structures would be 15 times stronger than the strongest metal currently known to the human race, yet still flexible and light enough that it would not hinder the Hosts movements. In addition, Atlanite structures cannot be detected during medical exams but can be upgraded further once acclimated. However, replacing biological structures with Atlanite is permanent and cannot be reversed once completed.]
Leta took a moment to appreciate the ingenuity of the Atlantians and the nanites. One minute, the nanites were putting knowledge into her brain on how to move things with her mind, and the next, they were making her bones indestructible.
‘Okay. So, I need to up my Constitution and turn my bones into metal. Awesome, but how do I do that? If we’re going by food alone, I’m going to gain a lot of weight trying to eat enough inert nanites.’
[The Host does not have to consume food products in order to absorb nanites; only touch. Simply placing a hand on an organic material would allow the Host to absorb inert nanites.]
‘Wait. Wait. Wait. Now that we’re talking about this, how is it that trees and animals have nanites as well? Did the Atlantians put nanites into other things?’
[Correct. Over several thousand years, the Atlantians and their agricultural class humans inoculated hundreds of thousands of species with nanites to increase crop and animal yields. As time progressed, the nanites spread to nearly every species on the planet. It is estimated that a few pockets of flora species remain in extremely remote places that have not been inoculated with nanites.]
[In addition, it has been found that continuous genetic modification, selective breeding, and extreme processing will wash out inert nanites. As stated, the meal eaten earlier lacked inert nanites due to the excessive genetic alterations of the vegetables and wheat flour and the extreme selective breeding and processing of the meat, which resulted in inert nanites being washed out of the matter.]
Leta made a face as she felt her stomach roll. The food had left a lot to be desired; thinking about how mass production had made food that was so lacking in nutrients that nanites at the atomic level had been cleaned out was a bit disgusting.
‘Gross. Okay,back on topic. If I want to up a stat it would take 1,000 nanites. Obviously, I'd take months to eat enough for a single stat point, but you said I could absorb nanites by touching organic materials. I’m guessing that touching a tree is going to give me more nanites than eating an apple, right?’
[Correct.]
‘Out of curiosity, what happens to what I’m touching after I absorb the nanites?’
[Results of nanite loss vary depending on the item that is losing inert nanites. While the nanites may be inert and do not have a designated function, they are still relied on by other atoms within the cell for structural integrity and longevity. Loss of inert nanites may result in an organic matter losing cellular elasticity and slowed function, leading to an overall loss of vitality. Again, the severity of this vitality loss depends on the subject losing its inert nanites and the amount of inert nanites siphoned off. To use the example you stated earlier, if you absorbed the inert nanites from an apple, it would begin to soften and appear as if it had been sitting out for a week or so, as it has very few inert nanites. If it were the apple tree, the leaves may curl and the bark may become brittle, as the tree has more inert nanites. The most substantial amount of inert nanites is within humanoid organisms, as the human species has undergone the least overall genetic changes.]
Leta groaned, pressing her head back into the pillow, ‘That’s worse… I’m not absorbing nanites from people, so that rules that out. I’m about to put on some pounds going through food to get those points. Maybe I can convince Galloise to let me go for an excursion and see about touching some of the trees and plants around the city.’ She sighed as she rolled onto her side, sleep starting to creep in on her despite today’s adventures.
[The statement regarding the Host’s weight is incorrect. Part of the initial system download was to remove hazardous cell structures and reset the Host’s bodily functions for maximum efficiency. This included an overhaul of the Host’s hormones and metabolism. The Host will see a decrease in overall body fat over the next several months, with noticeable changes in the next two weeks.]
‘That’s… cool, actually.’ She blinked in surprise. Leta had never been a skinny girl, despite eating healthy and getting a workout while running around dig sites. No matter how many days she had where her fitness watch said she walked 15 kilometers, she never seemed to lose that pesky jiggle around her hips and thighs.
Maybe with the nanites, she finally would.
[It should also be noted that humanoid organisms do not only refer to humans. This can also include corrupted organisms such as the Corrupted-Nixie that was encountered earlier.]
Leta opened one eye as if she could give the hive mind attitude. ‘So, I can get nanites from monsters. Great.’ She drawled sarcastically.
[The Host should not be discouraged by this prospect. The Host has learned much from the experience and will be better prepared. In addition, the Electric Misconduct skill ensures that the Host always has a weapon available to them in an emergency.]
‘I’m still fighting monsters.’ She gave a long, drawn-out yawn that nearly cracked her jaw.
[At the moment, the Host is going to sleep. Fighting corrupted organisms can be scheduled for another day.]