Robert was excited, but his fatigue was evident. He had slept no more than six hours last night, as was apparent by his messy hair and bags under his eyes. A reflection on a window greeted him, scaring him momentarily. Fuck, I look terrible, Thought the scientist to himself. His solution to not getting enough sleep was simple: coffee. His favorite drink rested inside the cup in his right hand. A clock on the wall in front of him told him something terrible. His eyes squinted, trying to figure out if the time was correct or if the clock was trying to trick him into thinking he was late.
When his tired mind realized the clock was not capable of joking, the scientist ran through the stale and white hallways, sidestepping any person he came across. The state of their laboratory was pitiful if he had to be honest. The paint from multiple spots was coming off, multiple windows had cracks running through them, and finding a completely intact chair was an ordeal in and of itself.
One fact stood alone in the sea of darkness he was navigating mentally. Today is the day we might finally get some results. Robert was part of a team of scientists focused on bioengineering, and most recently they had worked on a very special project, one that might change the military industry. The military had provided a very sizeable amount of funds, enough to finish a single prototype of the 'Chimera' project. The scientist smiled, realizing he might be closer to his childhood dream than he had thought: He had always wanted to create giant monsters as a kid, and that dream had naturally shifted throughout the years. He had made a career in biology, and more specifically bioengineering of various types of organisms.
Robert continued running past many hallways, all of them in the same state of disrepair that so often sullied his mood. For him, looking at nice things improved his mood drastically, so his office was properly decorated. Finally arriving at his destination, the scientist stopped and took a deep breath. Sweat rolled down his back, ruining his white shirt underneath his white lab coat. Pushing the heavy metal door open, he found a large, round table occupying the center of the meeting room. On the far side, a simple control station rested alongside the wall. All his colleagues from his team were already present, immediately moving their heads to look at him, and relaxing when they saw it was their team manager. They were showing the same anxiety as he was. Most of them couldn't stay in one spot, so they walked around the room.
"Good morning, everyone. No one's missing, perfect. I should have brought a knife from home, to cut me a slice from the pressure in the air. How is everyone doing?" He asked the other scientists. They all replied with some variation of, 'Good, thanks. He nodded, finding his seat at the head of the table. The chair was just as old as the ones outside, making him sigh. I suppose these chairs won't magically repair themselves, so I don't even know why I'm surprised.
"As you should know, today is the day that someone very important will arrive to inspect Chimera, so we need to show its best traits." Explained the scientist manager, coffee cup slowly chacking in his hand. A few drops even spilled onto his pants, ruining his mood even more. Reaching new lows over here... On the right side of the room, a massive glass wall showed a stale room behind it, with a single form inside it, that being their first prototype, Chimera. Or Prometheus, as it liked to call itself. It was a custom-made AGI, standing for Artificial General Intelligence, with the capability to shapeshift its cells into many types. Robert looked proudly at the creature that they had worked almost a decade on, admiring its blue exoskeleton. It was the size of a black bear, with the shape of a hybrid between a Mantis and an Ant. For some reason or another, Chimera preferred this shape to all others, always defaulting to it when no further instructions were provided. Normally, an insect wouldn't be able to get that massive, due to their physiology being adapted to small sizes, though Chimera was everything but normal. It could manipulate muscles and bones to astonishing degrees, enough to create a massive, and viable, insectoid form. Sometimes, it enjoyed experimenting with many different forms, such as mammalian forms or even reptilian ones.
Then, the door opened up once again, making everyone in the room straighten up in anticipation. Their anticipation was rewarded, as their Lab Director and CEO of Lifescience Innovations walked through the door, just as prideful as ever. The man, Dr. Aurelius, was in his forties, black hair slicked back, complemented by an elegant black suit. A thin mustache completed the image of a cartoon supervillain, which Robert knew wasn't farfetched from reality. Right behind the Lab Director, a tall and muscular man followed through, looking around curiously. He had a shaved head, a brown beard, and a stoic expression. The new arrival's suit was the opposite of the Lab Director's, using white as its main color, and adorned with golden details. If Robert was right, this man was the world's first Trillionaire, so his visit was extremely important, as it was the first on-site visit the man had done. The lab director smiled widely, showing the man around the room.
"This, my friend, is the team behind the Chimera project, and Rob here is the manager of said team." Exclaimed the man while pointing at Robert.
"I'm Robert, nice to meet you, sir."
"Likewise." Replied the large man quickly, shaking the scientist's hand.
"My friend here is Mr. Fluffernutter, a close associate to the military, we could say. He is here to see the progress we've made. Is that correct, partner?" Asked the Director. A smile stretched on the Director's face, deeply unsettling Robert. Their Director could act really creepily sometimes, but they had to put up with it.
Mr. Fluffernutter's face strained in frustration upon hearing his own name. The massive man looked around the room suspiciously, settling on a scientist who was trying to hold in his laughter at the ridiculous name. From what Robert had heard, Mr. Fluffernutter was not someone to be taken lightly, despite the silly name. Upon taking a deep breath, the tall man replied.
"Correct. Most of the funds you use come from me, so I wanted to check if you were wasting them on unreasonable matters. Please, explain how Chimera works and what it can do." Nodded the man at the creature behind the glass, clearly curious by the glances the trillionaire threw at the monster.
"Right, first of all, a brief introduction to what Chimera is: We developed a miniaturized super-computer with our engineering guys and implanted a slightly tweaked AGI program in it. That's an AI that can improve itself without human intervention, for your information. The Core, as we call it, is slightly bigger than a bowling ball, but is almost indestructible. It can do most things you would expect a new-gen android to do, such as instantaneous calculations and decision-making. But what sets it truly apart," Continued the scientist, feeling more confident and calm with each word, "Is its ability to control biological cells, and shapeshift them in an almost infinite amount of configurations." Paused Robert to breathe, which the man used to ask, "Does it have the specifications I've asked for?"
The scientist nodded, answering politely, "Of course. We included some personality traits in its personality algorithms, as requested, as well as some amount of mammalian algorithms that make it a bit more affectionate than traditional AI. We have loaded DNA samples from almost every species that could have DNA extracted from them, so for example now it's using the DNA of a mantis and that of an Ant to take that form. Overall, the perfect traits for a bodyguard, as requested. Additio-"
"How smart is it?" Interrupted the imposing man, crossing his arms defensively.
"Um, It can make trillions of decisions every second, as well as simulations..." Blurted out Robert, stuttering from being interrupted. Fuck, I should have rehearsed more! Lamented the scientist internally.
The man waved his hand dismissively, stepping forward, "Forget it, can I speak to it? Is there a microphone or something I can use?" Asked Mr. Fluffernutter, possibly annoyed by the long explanation. "Yes, sir, there's a microphone over there. Just press the red button and it will hear you."
The elegant man walked over to the control station, which was full of levers and buttons. Sara, the scientist who usually controlled it instructed the man on how to activate the microphone. Mr. Fluffernutter began speaking through a speaker in the test chamber, "Hello, Chimera. Prove the existence of black holes, only using math."
The insectoid glanced at Robert, waiting for his confirmation. He nodded and told the creature through the microphone, "Follow Mr. Fluffernutter's instructions to the letter." The creature nodded, and shifted the tip of one of his front legs into a pen-like structure, using ink from squid glands. He walked to the nearby wall, his insect legs clicking loudly on the floor. The creature began writing complex equations and mathematical structures, covering the surface of the wall in minutes. Robert nodded and smiled at Chimera's show of intelligence. They all knew their creation was capable of this and more, but seeing it happen at such an important moment brought an unusual level of satisfaction.
Upon finishing the request, Chimera sat down, waiting for his next order. The bald man smiled for a moment and asked Robert, "Can it take a human form?"
"Well," Thought the scientist on how to reply, "For ethical and security reasons, Chimera can't take humanoid forms, without blurring facial characteristics or genital organs. The most it can do is a bald, human shape without ears, eyes, mouth nose, and whatnot. Additionally, its voice will also be robotic-sounding, for the same reasons."
"Why did you put these limitations?" Asked the man with a low tone, piercing Robert with his gaze alone.
"Y-you see," staggered the scientist from the intense stare, "That is classified information, I-I'm afraid." Dr. Aurelius' smile dropped immediately, frowning upon Robert's answer. Before the Director could speak, the muscular man walked in front of Robert, putting his face uncomfortably close to the scientist's one.
"Do you realize that you're denying the request of someone who owns and controls a third of the national military? I could shut down this whole operation with a phone call. Now tell me. Who told you to put these limitations?"
Robert gulped and gathered his courage to reply, "Unfortunately, we cannot tell you, sir. It's someone with more authority than you."
A couple of awkward moments of silence occurred, elevating the room's tension to never-seen-before levels.
"Do you know why the military is allowing this in the first place?" The bald man said.
Robert looked at his colleagues, and shook his head nervously.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
"They see me as a guinea pig, no more than a test subject. They want to see if these things," He pointed at the creature behind the glass, "can be viable for personal protection. There's nothing more horrifying to those stuck-up fools in the military than death. They would pay every penny in their possession to have bodyguards that don't need to sleep and that are loyal to death. Even then, they are paranoid. They won't allow untested biological weapons to watch over them while they sleep. So of course, they send me. I was quite surprised when they approved my request to be the first to be involved in this project, but now I understand. It's a win-win situation for them. It either takes me out, and they would love that, or it shows that perfect bodyguards are possible and achievable. I am willing to take that risk, for me and my family."
A minute of silence ensued, being much louder than anything Robert had heard before. Mr. Fluffernutter then asked, "Open the door to the chamber, I need to test something."
"S-sir, we have done many tests to ensure Chimera's safety for humans, and many more are on the way, but even then, you can't ent-" Robert's answer was interrupted by the Lab Director, who stepped up and continued, "Of course, my friend. Sara, my dear, please open up the emergency entrance." Sara then pulled down a lever and a door on the glass wall began to slowly open sideways, taking roughly half a minute to open completely.
"Please wait while the door opens, my friend." Suggested the CEO of their company.
"I'll get in now," Refused the powerful man and walked forward, opening the door completely with his arm. Upon stepping inside, he scanned the creature in front of him. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Chimera, take a human form."
---
Prometheus was confused for the first time in months. This tall, muscular man had walked into the room and talked with the other scientists. Then, he had stepped through the emergency entrance to meet the shapeshifter directly.
I wonder what he wants. His clothes look great, though. I'll remember that look and use it someday. His name is cool, I've never heard it before, Prometheus thought to himself.
"Chimera, take a human form." Ordered the man in front of him.
"Of course. Also, please call me Prometheus, sir." replied the shapeshifter while transforming his body into a humanoid shape. At first, he had decided to go for the shape he always went for when he needed a human form, being a naked human male. After seeing the man's magnificent clothes, he changed his mind. The change took approximately half an hour, which seemed to bore the muscular man, who began using his phone to pass the time. When the shapeshifter was done, a male human with an identical suit to Mr. Fluffernutter's stepped forth, standing a meter away from the bald man. Prometheus was around one meter and seventy centimeters tall, a good chunk shorter than the other man. No facial characteristics adorned Prometheus' face. He resembled an egg in a suit.
"Nice suit. Can someone bring us a table, around one meter tall?" asked Mr. Fluffernutter to the scientists.
One of them in the back ran out of the room, clumsily returning with a large, wooden table. It barely fit through the entrance, standing between Mr, Fluffernutter and Prometheus.
The man was already pulling up his sleeves, and said, "I will challenge you at an arm wrestling match now, Prometheus." The shapeshifter could see Robert exclaim worriedly, "Th-that wasn't in the schedule for today!"
The bald man looked to his side and exclaimed, "Do I look like I care about what your schedule was?"
After a couple of awkward moments, The CEO of LifeScience Innovations glared at Robert and told him, "Well? It can do that, can't it? You also have a detonator in case anything goes wrong, right?" Those last words had a certain edge to them, with the way Dr.Aurelius was looking at the head scientist of the project.
"Right." Robert sighed, continuing, "Please continue with your 'arm wrestling match.'"
The bald man nodded and put an elbow on the table, looking at Prometheus' face. Or where the face should be. The shapeshifter stretched his arms and thought to himself, Arm wrestling, interesting. I'll restrict my muscle power to less than ten percent, which should be enough for an even match. Hopefully, I'll get to have some fun.
He put his elbow on the table as well, grasping the well-clothed man's hand, thinking to himself, Hm?
Confusion arose in his mind, Humans shouldn't have such a firm grasp, should they?
He had never touched another human before, so he couldn't be sure. The most he had done was stay in their immediate vicinity during some tests. When he received the order to start the match, he immediately felt that something was wrong. The man's hand and entire body started heating up to several degrees above what was normal for any human. Steam started wafting from the man's skin, giving him an otherworldly appearance.
The man was pushing with every fiber of his being, obvious by his strained face and bulging veins. He was also gaining an advantage over Prometheus, which was taken by surprise for only some milliseconds, having thought of billions of possibilities.
Fascinating. This man is able to generate 5.63 times more Newtons of force than a man with his muscle mass should be able to. I'll use half of my strength in turn.
The instant Prometheus started using half his muscle power, the match became much more even. The man started panting and started pushing that bit more. Prometheus was disappointed by the man's lack of endurance, but he realized this man was far above average in terms of human strength.
I like this man. He surprised me, which doesn't happen that often.
Deciding to end the match, Prometheus slammed the man's hand on the table, thus winning the challenge.
I hope I'll see him again.
---
Robert was equally fascinated and shocked at Mr. Fluffernutter's display of strength, indicating extremely high-level cybernetic enhancements.
The man was a trillionaire, after all.
Dr. Aurelius was grinning widely and asked the brute of a man, "Well, my friend, what do you think?".
Mr. Fluffernutter smiled widely for the first time and said, "It's perfect. It regulated its strength to match mine and adapted immediately when presented with an unexpected outcome. Its raw power is also staggering, and honestly, I don't know if I even got it to use most of its strength. It was holding back." The man smiled the widest at that last part.
"I want to check something else, now." The bald man took out his phone and opened an app with a jelly bean as its icon. He walked over to the shapeshifter and handed his phone to it. "Prometheus, please complete that level. I've been stuck on it for months."
The human-shaped Prometheus grabbed the phone and studied its composition, before tapping the screen slowly, experimenting on the game. Before a minute had even passed, the shapeshifter's fingers were blurring from the speed, completing the level in less than five seconds. Mr. Fluffernutter exclaimed, "Impressive. It seems your scientists did a good job with you eh?" The man chuckled quietly, trying to take his phone back. The shapeshifter was glued to the screen, not being able to part away with the electronic device.
Robert stood up in panic at the possible error, relaxing when he saw the large man say, "It seems that game got even you addicted," This time, the man's laughter boomed into the chamber, surprising everyone with the change of character. Prometheus relented after a time, holding his head down as he was forced to part ways with the phone.
Robert smiled tiredly at the heartwarming interaction, asking the bearded man as he was coming out of the chamber, "So, sir, what did you think of it? Do you think it's ready for a test run in the real world?"
Every scientist in the room had their gaze glued to the bald man's lips, waiting for his reply. That would determine if their team would receive additional funds, after all.
Mr. Fluffer replied, much more excited than earlier, "Prometheus is great. I think it's ready to perform in the real world. You can start experimenting with humans, and when you can guarantee my safety, he will be ready to be my personal assistant and bodyguard, as well as a tutor to my kids. You said you had a detonator in case anything went wrong, correct? I need one too, just to be sure."
Robert nodded, answering, "We are glad to hear it, sir. Here is another detonator, although I suspect you won't need to use it. We took great care in ensuring Chimera was safe to be around, for its allies at least," Winked Robert, hoping the bald man would understand. "Also, we implemented the rules you gave us beforehand. I'll repeat exactly what you requested of us, please verify that it's what you want, 'Number one, it can never hurt my family or me, as well as any friend of our family, in any capacity. These friends will be specified to Prometheus to avoid confusion. Number two, it should always prioritize my family's safety above all else. Number three, it will always follow my or my family's orders to the letter unless they conflict with the first two rules. Number four, it will be allowed to hurt other people only when strictly necessary, for example, to protect me, my family, or itself,' is that all?" Finished Robert from reciting what he had written on a piece of paper.
Mr. Fluffernutter nodded, replying, "That sounds about right. I expect the tests to start as soon as possible, we have no time to waste," The muscular man then proceeded to shake everyone's hand, walking out of the room with the Lab Director. When some seconds had passed, and the team knew Mr. Fluffernutter was far enough away, the room erupted into chaos.
"WE DID IT! CHARLES, GO ORDER SOME PIZZAS, TODAY WE CELEBRATE!" Announced Robert. Every other scientist yelled just as loudly as he did, putting on some music and dancing. Today, our team made history. We deserve to celebrate a little bit!
---
Over the next six months, Prometheus was made to engage in many tests outside the laboratory, mostly to prove that he was safe to assign to humans. The tests started with prisoners and then moved on to the scientists. Another six months passed before he was given permission to be deployed at the Trillionaire's personal residence, for 'bureaucracy reasons'.
On the day when all the paperwork had been settled, as he heard the scientists say, Prometheus was loaded on a large truck capable of holding his weight, as he was in his insectoid form. A speaker informed him that Mr. Fluffernutter had instructed him to take a cat's shape, so he did that. Hundreds of kilograms rested in a pile on the corner of the truck, evaporating away. Such a waste... I wish I had that phone to play that game, now.
The cat was slightly larger than normal felines, as his Core needed to be accommodated. The driver escorted him inside a massive mansion, with possibly hundreds of rooms inside. Who would even need so many rooms? Other than food and toys, I can't see the need for anything else.
Just past the entrance, Mr. Fluffernutter awaited him with a similar, but slightly different suit than last year. This one was light blue, with a white tie. "Welcome, Prometheus. I have many things to do today, so let's not waste any more time. Your first order will be to look after my three children while I have a business meeting. Keep them entertained and safe, of course. I'll bring you to the kids, so be patient with them." The shapeshifter nodded, walking just behind the massive man. The hallways were pristine but somewhat empty. Decorations such as paintings and sculptures interrupted the monotony, but not for long. They arrived at a wooden door, they got inside, and three children no older than 6 or 7 raised their eyes to see whoever had just gotten in.
"Dad!!" They all excitedly exclaimed loudly while running at the man and hugging his legs. He picked them up one by one and rested them on his shoulders. The man smiled heartily and looked at every child in turn. "Prometheus, this is Orion," He nodded at the shortest and youngest son with the glasses and short brown hair, "This is Atlas," he looked at the oldest kid with curly blond hair, "And this is Freya." he indicated at the girl with red hair.
"Everyone, this is Prometheus. He'll take care of you while I'm gone," he explained.
"But Dad, how can a cat take care of us?" Freya asked.
"He isn't a simple cat. Prometheus, do your thing," he ordered.
Prometheus got on his hind legs and said, with his robotic voice, "Hi, kids. I'll take care of you from now on." The kids in question were ecstatic. They yelled at their dad to let them down and let them pet the cat.
The cat didn't find it annoying because it was ordered to entertain the kids. And because he really liked seeing the children so happy, for some reason.
"Can I touch your tail, Mr. Prometheus?" Asked Orion with a shy tone.
"Of course, Orion." The kid touched his tail and giggled.
Mr.Fluffernutter smiled the brightest Prometheus had ever seen him. That's interesting. I don't think I've seen him smile like that last time.
Orion was the most polite of the three, as Prometheus had noticed. The girl, Freya, petted his back wordlessly, gawking at the softness of his fur. Atlas was the largest kid, and he was playing quite aggressively with Prometheus' ears, but he didn't mind. He liked all three of them either way, and he swore he would protect them to the best of his capabilities.
"Thank you so much, Dad!" all three of them hugged their father, and he hugged them back. Prometheus could feel something at the edge of his senses. As an incredibly complex organism, he had access to a variety of senses, such as infrared vision or the ability to sense magnetic fields. And all of them were screaming at him.
Something's wrong; I should alert Mr. Fluffernutter.
The cat jumped on the man's shoulder and whispered, "Sir, my senses tell me something's wrong, but I can't understand what it is."
The man's cheery demeanor was gone in an instant. He whispered back, "Are you sure?" The cat nodded. Just then, the ground started shaking violently. The world slowed to a crawl. The man and the children had a look of panic and surprise on their faces. He could see the father moving to protect his kids by covering them with his arms. The cat immediately started taking a shield's shape around the family, just as an incredibly bright light engulfed the room.
Then, nothingness.