The words blinked out of existence and a mechanical voice echoed in her mind.
[Assimilation complete.]
[Welcome, Host, to the Atlantian System.]
Leta blinked, trying to process what was happening. “Atlantian System?”
[Correct. I am Gada, your system assistant. I am the collective hive mind of your nanites. I became active when you acquired a specialized class system.]
“What the… what?” Leta scowled, her brows knitting together as she tried to follow what the voice and words were telling her.
[The Host appears to be confused. Would the Host like to initiate the Nanite Tutorial?]
Leta gave a rough exhale, feeling like she would get a migraine with whatever this was. “What the hell is a nanite?”
[Nanites refer to atomic-sized machines within all human lifeforms. These nanites improve the Hosts’ overall physiology, mental capabilities, and skills through the use of downloadable software.]
“I… no. I’m not dealing with hallucinations. I’m going back to sleep.” Leta groaned, readjusting to try and fall back into oblivious sleep.
[This is not a hallucination.]
“That’s just what a hallucination would say. You’re not fooling me.”
[Sarcasm will not depreciate the truth. Now that the Host’s System is active, can see the immediate physical and mental updates that have taken place during the initial upload process. The Host has already experienced some new system updates, including a newly installed linguistics skill. The Host may also have noticed that they are not wearing corrective eyewear, as the Host’s poor eyesight has been corrected.]
Leta’s eyes snapped open. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes trying to dislodge what she’d assumed were contacts, but nothing was there.
No contacts. No glasses. And yet, she could see perfectly.
A sinking feeling weighed on her stomach as she looked around the room. Usually if she’d found herself without her contact lenses the world was a molten blur of colors and motion without any definable shape.
The weave of the linen sheets.
The defined pixels in the numbers on her health monitor.
The ever-slightly uneven texture of the paper hospital gown she was wearing.
She could see it all.
“That’s… odd.” She poked the side of her cheek but stopped when she noticed the texture of her teeth.
Her filling on the back molar was gone, replaced by smooth teeth as if she’d never had a sweets addiction as a child.
She ran her tongue around the other side of her mouth. Her crown on that side was also gone, and her teeth were perfect.
“That’s… very odd. Fine, I’ll entertain this delusion a little longer. What the hell is a system?”
[A system refers to an active hive mind where nanites are programmed to execute specific skills based on the Host’s designated class.]
“I feel like that didn’t answer my question.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
[More simply, a system is the web of nanites that support the Host’s class. Like a spider, the class defines and reinforces its system web, giving it particular strengths and weaknesses.]
“And a class is…?” She said slowly, pushing for the voice to continue.
[Classes are programs and software organized into a particular framework and define a Host’s capabilities and limitations, allowing the Host to surpass human limitations. Classes can range from physically dependent, such as Warrior, to mentally esoteric, such as Scholar and Alchemist.]
Leta pinched the bridge of her nose before running her hands over her face as she moaned, “Oh, this is crazy.”
[Would you like to see your status window and upgrade options?]
“Uh, sure, I guess.”
Leta blinked, and, like before, text in opaque blue floated in front of her eyes in a language she’d never seen before and yet knew fluently.
[Height: 1.7 meters
Weight: 68 kilograms
Bone Density: +1.2
Power: 11
Speed: 10
Stamina: 10
Reflexes: 12
Constitution: 10
Mental Fortitude: 15
Current Skill Software Installed:
Tongues of the Many: The Host can fluently read, write, and speak a language after exposure to the language.
Sacrificial Touch: The Host can absorb organic nanites through physical touch.
Filter Feeder, Level One: The Host can filter out and absorb only inert nanites and will not be affected by programmed nanites.
Eyes of the Night Hunter: The Host can see in 95% darkness.
Ears of the Judge: The Host can detect false statements made by an individual.
Electric Misconduct: Level One: The Host can create an electric charge powerful enough to short-circuit electric wiring and other devices powered by the flow of electricity.
Persuasion: Level One: The Host can produce a frequency that can resonate with nanites within a victim’s brain, allowing the Host to make suggestions that the victim is more likely to agree with.
Upgrade Options Available:
Physical Characteristic Reconstruction: The Host can make changes to their physical appearance. This upgrade is affected by the inert nanoparticles available.
Internal Characteristic Reconstruction: The Host can change its internal structure by creating artificial enhancements and structures. This upgrade is affected by the available inert nanites.
Magician’s Hand: The Host can move a physical object without touch that weighs a maximum of 70 kilograms in their line of sight. This upgrade is affected by the Host’s constitution, power, and mental fortitude statistics. Nanites needed for this upgrade: 500,761.]
[Inert Nanites: 504,268.]
[Would the Host like to make an upgrade selection?]
Leta looked over the available options, but it seemed like she could choose only one.
“Fine, let’s get this over with. Give me the Magician’s Hand.”
[Magician’s Hand Upgrade Selected. Software upload is in progress.]
Leta gasped as her body locked up, feeling as though someone had inserted electric wires into her brain.
Her vision went white, and suddenly, knowledge was pouring into her brain. Mathematical equations and information from physics and quantum field theory raced past her mind’s eye, being absorbed and imprinted into her brain’s neurons.
What felt like thousands of years of information was instantly inside her head as Leta took in a great gulp of air like someone who’d just surfaced after being underwater.
“Holy shit…” She gasped, taking heavy breaths and steadying herself from the sudden shock.
By some impossibility, she knew.
She knew that telekinesis was possible.
She knew how the physics and science behind such a miracle worked and how to apply them.
She knew its limitations and physical limitations that would affect her ability.
She knew telekinesis opened up the possibility of other abilities that she didn’t know yet, like having a word on your tongue that you can’t figure out.
She knew.
‘Holy shit.” She repeated, a feeling of joy filling her belly. ‘Is this what Neo felt after getting kung fu into his brain?’ She thought, then paused as the wonder at her sudden knowledge faded into the shock of discovery.
“It’s real. You’re real.” She whispered to the System as if speaking too loud would shatter the moment. “The system, the classes—it’s all real.”
[Correct. Does the Host have any questions?]
Leta felt like all the air in her lungs had suddenly been pushed out of her, her eyes staring out the window on the other side of her room but not seeing the blue sky and bustling city beyond.
“Yeah.” She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “Yeah, I’ve got questions.”