In a sleek and luxurious office, a well-dressed man turned off his phone and placed it on his desk. His hair was slick and laid-back, and he wore a small, fancy monocle that matched the color of his suit and was tied to his pocket. He was a young man who sat contemplating his actions, tapping his fingers on the fine wooden table.
"That won't do, Professor. I can anticipate your actions. They are very predictable," he muttered to himself, his brow furrowed in concentration.
The young man picked up his phone again and made a call.
"Sir General Javier. Implement the mass lockdown protocol. We have some troublemakers," he said, his tone calm and collected.
The general was amused by the call in the middle of the night. "Intruders? Or are we finally going to put the doctor on trial?" he replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.
The young man in the suit twiddled his thumb as he spoke on the phone, his eyes focused on an imaginary spot on the wall.
"Both, General. Search the surrounding 20km/12 miles radius of the base with a battalion of our armed troops. There has to be someone helping the doctor. I've given him an ultimatum. Just to be safe, I'm thinking of blocking off his escape routes in case he plans to flee. We've invested a lot, and we can't afford any mishaps. Check on B-1X as well, I have a sneaking suspicion that the doctor might be with him," he said, his voice firm and decisive.
As he hung up the phone, the young man leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. He took a deep breath, savoring the scent of the expensive cologne he wore. The office was quiet, and the only sound was the soft ticking of the clock on the wall.
With a smile on his face, General Javier replied slowly, "Roger."
With a satisfied smile still playing on his lips, the young man turned his attention to the hologram screen displaying the Alpha project files. As he browsed through them, his gaze lingered on an individual image that had set everything in motion. It was a man unknown to the world, yet with roots in everything, from politics to governments. He led a shadow organization with an iron fist, and the young man knew that this man held the key to everything.
"I wonder what your plans are, old man. Surely, investing this much money and resources in a project like this is foolish and unproductive. What are you up to, fucking geezer? You know something, something vital for the days to come," he thought to himself as he looked at the display of an old man with a long, white beard, dressed in a suit and exuding a menacing aura.
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B-1X was undergoing VR drill simulations that had been recently added to his soldier program, utilizing the most advanced technology available to simulate reality completely. In the current simulation, B-1X was engaged in combat and assassination, tasked with infiltrating a heavily guarded villa where his target was sleeping.
Moving with deadly precision, B-1X used the cover of darkness to his advantage, taking out cameras and guards without alerting anyone. Meanwhile, a VR engineer and technician watched the action unfold in real-time on a hologram projector.
A VR engineer and a technician were viewing the progress in real-time on a hologram projector.
"This is insane. This fucker is all over the place. I can't believe a clone in such a short amount of time has done so much. What are they feeding him? How does one even have this much efficiency?" The technician said in amazement.
Another technician was saving the data and calibrating the VR in real time to prevent any mishaps from happening.
"I have seen far more impressive things from him. You are new here so let me tell you. He is being given the best nutrition possible. I've even heard they are giving him M-pills. You haven't seen him doing things like battle simulation against 50ft monsters with guns. Big fucking guns. Keep in mind, the pain threshold was set to 100%. He has been badly hurt before. I don't know what they are preparing him for. He could be a one-man army from what I've seen." The technician said.
The VR engineer was both astonished and deeply disturbed by the extent of enhancements made to the clone's physical and cognitive abilities. He couldn't help but wonder what the ultimate goal of the program was, and how B-1X would be used in the future.
"Are the higher-ups insane? A 100% pain threshold? This is no different from living reality – if you die in the simulation, you could die in real life. And what's the point of a monster simulation? And M pills? What the hell are they thinking?" Carl's voice was laced with concern.
James looked at him with a hint of callousness. "You're paid well to do your job, Carl. Clear your mind and focus on the task at hand – it's all about the grind."
The simulation was nearly complete, and the VR technician began to prepare to end the program, touching the hologram to safely terminate the simulation.
"I've read too many comics. This feels like deja vu. I'm feeling very paranoid about this situation," Carl said, his voice was filled with unease
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The VR simulation ended as B-1X cleared the assignment given to him in record time. James and Carl walked towards the pod where B-1X lay, feeling relieved yet cautious.
"Calm down, Carl. You're being delusional right now," James said, trying to soothe his paranoid colleague.
"It just makes too much sense," Carl replied, still unable to shake off his anxiety.
The pod opened with a hiss, revealing a young man who was sleeping. He slowly started to wake up, disoriented from his deep dive into virtual reality. James and Carl were responsible for the entire battle simulation, so they had to take extreme caution with this advanced tech that was decades ahead of the current consumer market. One mistake could cause the mind to experience severe hallucinations, and even using it could lead to severe amnesia if the user's mind was not strong enough to distinguish between the simulated reality and the real one.
"Mind neuron link signs are normal," James announced, checking B-1X's vital signs. "Inject the Mind-X, Carl."
Carl carefully injected B-1X with a blue-colored fluid that boosted brain function and helped prevent amnesia. B-1X slowly opened his eyes and tried to get up from the pod, but he stumbled and fell back in. Carl looked worried and confused.
"Dude, don't just stand there. Let me help you," Carl said, extending his hand to B-1X. "Deep dive experiences like this are dangerous and taxing on the mind. Take it slow. Didn't anyone tell you?"
As B-1X regained his bearings, he felt a lingering sensation of being in the battlefield. The acrid smell of gunpowder still hung in the air, and the sounds of explosions and gunfire echoed in his mind. He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to shake off the virtual reality experience that still felt all too real.
Both of the technicians gave him a helping hand and laid him on a seat, checking his vitals. His eyesight and a regular checkup took about 10 minutes. Both finally concluded the checkup. James looked at the papers
"B-1X the battle simulation is over. You can go now. Everything is okay" he said, with a reassuring tone.
With a mischievous smile, James said, "You know what B-1X has done to the previous advanced hyper VR technician? Be good to B-1X or you know" He then made a throat-slash hand gesture, implying something about the previous technicians.
Carl shrugged it off and said, "Dude, stop fucking with me. I haven't seen him do anything other than follow orders, I think."
B-1X just stared at both of them with a dead-fish stare. He didn't react and just turned around and left without looking back. Amused by this, James had a big chuckle. Carl was taken aback and looked shaken. As B-1X was about to leave the big area of the room.
James had a laugh looking at Carl, who was not amused by this funny spectacle
"ahahaha"
Wiping his tears, James cleared his friend's assumptions or whatever he was thinking
"Chill out. B-1X is shy. He has never responded in the past 4 months with me. I didn't try but he didn't ask anything either. He doesn't even talk to anyone. It's sad, honestly. Don't worry, whatever you're cooking up in your head, it's not happening. He is an extremely reserved guy.
James was visibly not amused by Carl's jokes.
"Jokes aside, this is seriously something off about this project ALPHA as well as this facility. I have a very bad feeling about this, like those NPCs in comics!!!"
In his mind, Carl was thinking about putting in a resignation. He trusted his hunches, and they were never wrong about these things.
B-1X slowly exits the room and proceeds to his quarters, accompanied by a random guard. He was thinking about the unusual conversation. This hadn't happened before. It felt right in a sense, he couldn't describe it. He just thought in his mind, he wanted to talk about it with the doctor.
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Doctor hector after his call prepares the get things in order. First, he dials a code for the frequency on a walkie-talkie Midland 99X Channel GMRS of 2099 the latest model. Making notice of the time on his watch. The channel will open very shorty and close very fast.
The college that he employed, and a close friend Ned Weaver is waiting on the outskirts of the base. Hiding behind tall hills covering the terrain of a forest 35km/21 miles away from surveillance. With a road jeep and some armed people
"I'm here, Hector. What's the situation?"
Doctor Hector replied, "I don't have much time, Ned. The higher-ups have caught on to my plans. I need to make my escape tonight, and I need your help. I'll be bringing my son with me, I can't let him be a part of this any longer."
"Understood, Hector. We're ready and waiting for you. The road jeep and our armed escort are ready to go at a moment's notice. But you should know, there's a high chance that they'll come looking for you and your son. They won't let you go without a fight," Ned said.
"I know, Ned. I've prepared as much as I could. I just hope it'll be enough. I'll make contact again when we're close. Stay safe," Hector replied.
"You too, Hector. We'll be waiting," Ned said as Hector turned off the walkie-talkie and prepared for his escape.
Ned puffed a big whiff of the cigar he was holding and said,
"Don't worry Hector, I got you covered. We'll close at 11:45 PM at your exit location. Stay safe and don't get yourself killed, friend. Over."
Closing the communication device, Dr. Hector headed to level 40, where his son had his quarters. In a hurry, he rushed to the floor elevator. Time was ticking, and at any moment, the base would be in lockdown. Reaching level 36, the elevator suddenly stopped, and alarms all over the base started to go off.
"BREACH DETECTED. CLOSING ALL POINTS."
Dr. Hector knew that he had to hurry, the base's security system had detected the breach, and he was running out of time. He needed to get to his son and make their escape before it was too late.
Dr. Hector becomes very shocked by this.
"Fuck! They have gone mad. Closing the entire base just because of me being suspicions? This is madness!"
Dr. Hector calmed himself with a deep breath and followed what he had planned. Months before he made preparations for this very night. Though it was extremely hard, he somehow got extremely lucky. In the prior months, he got access to the fusion reactor again without any notice. Dr. Hector made the calculation and set the fusion reactor to increase in one go beyond safety levels.
Placing his stone and sealing shut it completely. Because no one ever visits the core unless for maintenance, it was saved there. His best bet was either the stone would completely absorb the reaction, shutting the machine down, or it would shut itself down due to a meltdown which could be a possibility with the stone. Either was good enough. Taking out a device, he pushed the button.
"This should start the process. I should look for my son. I'm sure he's on level 37. It hasn't been long since the VR program ended today. He must have retired and left from there. Those FUCKING COUNCIL MEMBERS."
Dr. Hector pushed through the panicked crowd, using his knowledge of the facility to navigate through the maze of hallways and labs. He knew that time was running out and he had to reach his son before it was too late. As he ran through the emergency stairwell, he could hear the panicked screams of the staff and workers as they rushed to escape the lockdown. The guards were being overrun by the panicked crowd, but Dr. Hector managed to slip by them unnoticed.
"MOVE YOUR ASSES, IDIOTS!"
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
Dr. Hector could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he pushed his way through the crowd. He knew that he was getting close to his son and he couldn't let anything happen to him. Finally, he reached the door to level 37 and pushed it open.