State Ukraine/ State Poland, Highway M10/A4, Neutral Territories
Team Ghost of the Future, August 15, 2049, 04:52 AM
Maksim woke at 04:51 AM, with about forty minutes left to their destination. He’d had another strange nightmare involving Shaiszu, and his medical monitor had recorded a slight temperature increase — nothing serious, just up to 37.2° C, but still concerning. His head was throbbing too, but he wasn’t keen on another dose of the military painkillers. The whole team had been relying on them too much lately as it is.
“Last thing I need is some chthonic virus from those damned monsters,” he muttered, recalling the incident where he’d ended up tangled in the tentacles of an interdimensional invader.
After a quick consult, Alisa reviewed his medical monitor’s readings, shook her head, and handed him a mild painkiller.
“For now, it’s hard to tell what’s going on with you,” she said. “Could just be side effects from these strange new abilities. The monitor isn’t flagging anything serious, so for now, we’ll just keep an eye on your condition and manage the symptoms. Once we get access to proper medical facilities, we’ll run a full set of tests, I promise.”
Maksim climbed into the driver’s seat and sat there for a moment with his eyes closed. His headache eventually faded, but any chance of sleep had disappeared, so he decided against going back to the bunk. Besides, their truck had just entered the City’s controlled zone, confirmed by a brief flash of an AR notification. Curious, he opened it to find a link to the “Rzeszów – Partner Network” app. A good way to pass the time! Max smirked and started exploring.
Opening the map, the leader of the “Ghosts” sighed.
“All the surrounding areas near Rzeszów, down to each little village and industrial firm, has already been cleared!”
He kept browsing through the app’s features.
“Aha, filters… You can sort by specific teams, clans, or guilds… There’s even a local ranking within Rzeszów. Alright, let’s see where that damn Tanya crawled out from… Wild Cats, wasn’t it? Holy hell! Number one in Rzeszów, with twenty-three successful missions since the invasion started. How is that even possible?”
“Here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere, you must run twice as fast as that!” he muttered in frustration, his voice low but clearly annoyed. Alisa still managed to catch his words.
“I told myself the same thing,” smiling, she settled into the seat next to him. She’d already gone over the information Rzeszów had shared, analyzing all available data on the top teams, clans, and guilds in the State Poland, State Germany, and neighboring regions.
“Ah… forget it, sis. You’re alive, we’re free. Nothing’s more important than that. We’ll make it through everything.”
They fell silent, watching the monotonous dark landscape streak by the window, each lost in their own thoughts.
“You know,” Maksim finally broke the silence, “I’m glad it all worked out. I mean, everything. That you’re here, with me now. As a… human.”
After a brief pause, Alisa replied, perhaps surprising herself with her words. “Well, I’m actually not a human. For a long time, I wanted to be one, to prove something to you, and… I don’t know, maybe to myself too? But now I realize — I’m not human anymore, and there’s no need to dwell on that.”
“Sis, you’re not…”
“Wait, just listen. The most important thing is that I’m still me. The one who went to the Ob Sea with you and had barbecues. The one who cried when realized what happened to Mom and Dad. The one who ran away from Russia with you and… died in the process. And then came back to life, in many ways because of you. I’m the one whose mind is now integrated with a supercomputer and is very different from a typical Homo sapiens. But above all, I’m someone who loves you very much.”
“I… love you very much too.” Maksim closed his eyes, struggling to find the right words. “Maybe that’s why it was so hard. I couldn’t and didn’t want to let you go, not like others do when they lose someone close. I felt like I was somehow guilty for being alive in your place. That’s why I latched on so tightly to our father’s idea — the transfer of consciousness into a computer, creating a hybrid of artificial and human intelligence. But it turned out to be a monumental task…”
“Yeah, it was, big brother,” she agreed softly. “For all of us. For you, for me, and for Dasha. You became consumed by this project for years. And without that obsession, I wouldn’t be here. Dasha, too, put so much on the line for the project. She even broke with her father over it, and you know how important he is to her. And as for me… you can’t imagine what I went through.”
She shook her head, a sad smile playing on her lips, then continued.
“And now, just imagine it — this whole time, from day one, it was really me. In the overheating, overloaded circuit boards, in the glitching computers. In that simple, weak android. Watching you rejoice at each success, grow frustrated at each setback, and disbelieve me, doubt my words, doubt that I was me.”
Maksim sighed heavily, staring down at his hands before responding.
“I… I wanted to believe. I dreamed of waking up one day to find you alive, real… to see that it all had finally worked. But I’m a scientist, an engineer, like our parents. I had this rational, scientific worldview, so I knew… with the early, simplified prototype architecture, it just wasn’t possible.”
Alisa fell silent, gazing thoughtfully out the darkened window. As they neared the city, the road was coming to life. The glow of headlights from armored off-road vehicles and large buses began to cut through the mist more frequently. She watched a fleeting sign for the “Paola Hotel” pass by with a touch of melancholy before she continued.
“Your disbelief added fuel to my fears. It became another source of pain and uncertainty. At times, I wanted to scream at you, to call you an idiot. Other times, I thought… maybe it would be easier just to disappear? Stop fighting? Did I truly exist — and was I even me? I wanted to find simple, easy answers to what was happening to me. Either to become a regular human again or finally vanish, dissolve completely into the black void.”
Maksim’s hands trembled as he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Then he replied, almost as if speaking to himself.
“To bring a digital copy of a human mind to life required something far more powerful… and a lot more expensive. So, I initially created the android body just as a reminder of you. To stay close to my purpose, to remind myself of what I wanted to achieve. Over time, the architecture evolved closer to the vision our father had described. Dasha helped solve the software issues. Together, we ran the ‘Transference’ protocol, and… it seemed to have worked. But how could I be sure? What signs, what criteria could prove that it had really worked? That it wasn’t just a highly advanced AI simulation?”
A brief silence followed. Max didn’t quite know what else to say and, in the end, decided to apologize.
“I guess I’ve been blind these past few months… Afraid to admit to myself that it really did work. I got so obsessed with pushing the project forward, never thinking about when I might need to stop. I’m sorry. I… regret it. I didn’t know. Maybe… I couldn’t have known… or maybe I just wasn’t ready. I still struggle to understand what happened, how it was even possible… and where to start finding a new science to explain it.”
The truck slowed down, carefully veering onto the shoulder, skirting the carcass of a large Shaiszu creature sprawled on the asphalt, a grim reminder of how different the world outside had become. Alisa’s gaze lingered on the sudden obstacle as she continued.
“I’m not ready to explain everything just yet, but somehow, you managed to tap into something beyond just an imprint of my mind. Something far more complex — and likely connected to the very energy we’re studying now. I think the aliens know something about it — it’s no coincidence they perceive me differently from a regular AI. Anyway, consider your apology accepted. Not that it was particularly needed.”
She turned to face him fully, looking straight into his eyes, and said with firm resolve, “Only now am I finally starting to become myself. It’s time to stop depending on your opinion, to stop fearing whether I’m human or a program — and to simply start living. I’m redefining myself, becoming whole again, building my identity anew. Who knows, you might even have to put up with me going through a teenage phase? I never really had one, after all.”
Maksim looked at his sister with an apologetic smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“You know, I spent ages studying psychology and even some psychiatry, but I’m pretty sure I don’t understand you right now.”
“Of course you don’t! You don’t really understand other people either — like Dasha, for example. You’ve done so much to help with her condition. And actually managed to help her, but you’re still missing the most important part! But… that’s not what we’re talking about now.”
“Well, all I can add,” Maksim continued, “is that we’re family, and we’ll always have each other, no matter who or what we become. You made me want to achieve the impossible, and I hope that in the future, we lift each other up, not bring each other down.”
“Now that’s something worth saying! But you’re still a fool, you know. At least you’re trying to improve,” Alisa added with a smile.
“Why am I the fool here?” Maksim protested. “What’s with the insults toward your best, most lovable, handsome, talented, and only brother?”
“Because you still haven’t shifted your mindset — you keep thinking everything is only about some grand purpose. Goals change. Some we achieve, others lose their relevance. But you keep chasing them relentlessly, living to achieve things instead of just for yourself.”
Maksim crossed his arms with a look of playful offense and shot her a skeptical look.
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“Have you looked out the window recently? The world’s gone apocalyptic. What, do you expect me to drop everything, go running through sunny fields, singing songs, rejoicing, and looking for magical unicorns that poop butterflies? How exactly do you picture this?”
Her laughter came in an uncharacteristic burst, open and contagious, and it threw him off for a moment, pleasantly so.
“Oh, you are so grim.” Alisa tapped her knuckles against the window, as dark silhouettes of buildings shrouded in thick fog flickered by. “There’s always something out there. Now it’s the Apocalypse. Before, it was economic crises. Resistance to new technology. Wars. The fall of Governments, the power struggle between Corporations and States. So what? If you keep putting off your own happiness, you’ll never actually get to it. No one will do that for you.”
She gazed thoughtfully at the road stretching into the distance, at the mist gently parting in the headlights’ glow.
“It all comes down to perspective. You can either choose the endless race for achievements, or you can choose to make it all about your own happiness. And that can start with little things. Eating well, drinking, spending a night with...” she glanced over her shoulder at the truck bed, where their companions were still asleep. “Of course, I know you haven’t denied yourself some of those things. But the main thing is to be here and now. Carpe diem, seize the day. Set your priorities straight. The apocalypse isn’t going anywhere. But our lives? They’re just beginning. Let’s not let it slip by.”
“Well, once again, I have to say I don’t fully understand you,” Maksim shrugged. “I worked on bringing you back because that was my conscious choice. Not to save random people I didn’t know, or achieve world peace, or chase pink unicorns.”
He stared out at the road ahead, absently noting how the distance to their destination kept shrinking.
“Maybe things aren’t as bleak as you think? This is just who I am — with all my ambitions. I actually love pushing for the impossible. Reaching new heights, even when it’s tough. I’m happy that you’re alive, and it seems like you need Moira less and less. I’ve achieved what I spent years working towards. We escaped Kyiv, gained freedom and new opportunities. But consider that I’ve gotten a taste of it now, and don’t want to stop. I still intend to make Moira the most powerful supercomputer on Earth. To develop the System with all of you. To get our team to the very top of the TACTA rankings…”
Maksim spread his arms and grinned.
“And, by the way, I don’t deny myself good food or… nights with beautiful women… at least, not recently. But I’ll give this ‘living in the moment’ thing some thought. And speaking of here and now — we’re almost there. Time to get ready for arrival and wake up our sleeping beauties.”
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05:32 AM, sixteen minutes before dawn
The first pale-pink rays of sunlight began to break through the night’s darkness, casting a gentle glow across the highway. Outside, the world was still shrouded in dusk, but the horizon had already begun to brighten, outlining the trees, billboards, and numerous industrial structures stretching along the highway. The air was still cool, allowing a thin mist to linger over the asphalt, giving the landscape an almost spectral appearance.
The truck’s dashboard displayed 05:32, matching the “Time” mediaglyph in the upper right corner of the augmented reality interface. A green sign flashed by on the roadside — “Rzeszów” — marking the city’s border. Ahead, the hazy silhouettes of buildings gradually took shape through the mist.
To Maksim’s surprise, traffic had slowed considerably. Contrary to his expectations, the road was not merely busy — it was packed, resembling rush hour back in the former Earth polises. He frowned, scrutinizing the endless flow of vehicles.
Almost all of them were different types of off-roaders, ranging from massive pickup tracks to boxy minibuses. Many had reinforced, sometimes armored bodies, often with machine guns or autocannons mounted on the roofs. Some were accompanied by drones, wheeled bots, and motorcycles, with over half proudly displaying the emblems of teams, clans, and guilds, sometimes even flying flags.
Military transport with the city’s insignia could also be seen, though far less frequently. Mostly, they were patrol pairs of the familiar Boxers — formidable machines equipped with combat modules, always escorted by a squad of attack drones.
Maksim’s mind drifted as he watched the procession from both the truck window and a flying surveillance drone hovering ten meters above them. “Why are so many missions being taken so early in the morning? Competition? Running out of worthwhile targets nearby? Or is it survival instinct kicking in? It’s an apocalypse, after all. Media and games have been prepping us for this… scenario for decades.”
A rustling sound came from the back of the cab, pulling him from his thoughts. It seemed Redhead sensed that Max was awake, and, having woken up herself, started to get out of her lightweight sleeping bag spread out on the floor. She stood, stretched, and walked over, pulling a small pack of mint-flavored “Instant Toothbrush Candy” strips from her pocket — handy alternative to a toothbrush and toothpaste when out in the field.
“Damn, what a traffic jam, kurwa!” she muttered, dropping into the passenger seat and staring out the window. “Feels just like good old days.”
“Yeah,” Maksim nodded. “I expected empty roads, not this.”
Dasha woke up to the sound of voices. She sat up, blinking as a moment of disorientation passed — where was she? Gradually, her surroundings came back into focus, and the ‘sniper-programmer’ pulled herself out of virtual reality, where she’d instinctively slipped in those first moments of confusion. Reaching over, the girl unfastened the safety belt she’d started using after a previous unfortunate fall. Yawning, she rubbed her eyes and got up from the small bed in the back of the truck.
Though still a bit groggy, her curiosity quickly took over.
“We’re here?” Dasha asked, eyeing the approaching city lights.
“Almost,” Maksim replied. “Welcome to Rzeszów.”
The city lay before them in all its harsh reality. Ruined buildings loomed over the streets like silent witnesses to the recent battles. Evidence of heavy fighting was everywhere — collapsed facades, walls riddled with holes, shattered glass, twisted, torn, and blackened metal, scorched plastic. Hardly a single building remained intact. A massive swarm of Shaiszu had swept through, annihilating in its path until it finally met fierce resistance.
Yet, despite the destruction, the city didn’t feel dead. Nothing was burning or smoking. The streets were cleared, and there were no visible corpses — neither Shaiszu, or human, nor wrecked machinery. This was the clearest sign that the territory was under control, a testament to the Free Rzeszów authorities’ confidence in their strength.
From the main road, they could see just well autonomous construction bots hard at work on the side streets. Robots carefully dismantled rubble and loaded debris onto platforms, transporting materials for recycling through TACTA technology. Life was moving forward. The old city might never be restored, but its materials would contribute to the rise of a new Free Rzeszów!
“They work well. Fast, yeah,” Dasha noted, admiring the seamless coordination of the machinery.
“That’s right,” Max chuckled. “More and more, I’m glad we picked Rzeszów as our first stop. I think we might even stay here a bit longer…”
As if to confirm his words, a group of entirely new vehicles appeared at the next intersection. Two of them resembled tanks hovering a meter above the ground, alongside a colossal, four-legged combat platform with a turret of frightening caliber.
“That’s not Earth-made tech,” Nikola observed, studying them closely.
“TACTA’s handiwork,” Alisa noted with a smile as she returned to the cabin. “By the way, hover tanks like those are available in the Informatorium Catalog, in case you forgot.”
“Oh man, yes… looks like Rzeszów went ahead and bought some.”
Their destination was now just minutes away now, and the number of drones in the sky noticeably increased. Although it wasn’t as dense as in Kyiv, which was under Protectorate control, but it was still enough to ensure the city’s security. Notably, at least a third of the flying vehicles they saw were of TACTA make.
“Great! I feel like I’m being watched again,” Dasha grumbled.
“That’s a good thing,” Maksim chuckled. “It means this place is safe — at least for now.”
The conversations gradually faded as their destination came into view around the bend.
A kilometer-long stretch of road led them to an enormous WALL, behind which lay what had once been an intercorporate military base, now transformed into the beating heart of the new Free Rzeszów. Rising to heights of fifteen to twenty meters at different points, the wall was reinforced with massive composite plates, armed by heavy artillery barrels and anti-aircraft guns aimed skyward.
Catapults for drone launches, rocket silos poised for rapid deployment, antennas, and strange emitters of unknown design lined its defenses. Autonomous gun platforms patrolled the perimeter, accompanied by swarms of drones, while powerful searchlights swept over the area.
...Despite the overwhelming fortifications, all the massive gates stood wide open, allowing a continuous stream of traffic to enter and exit freely.
“Oh, Great Cthulhu,” Dasha breathed, marveling at this wonder of TACTA’s military engineering. “This is a real fortress!”
“It’s impressive. Looks like Rzeszów hasn’t wasted any time,” Redhead added, equally awestruck.
Even Maksim, usually reserved, couldn’t hide his surprise.
“Damn,” he muttered. “I know it’s not as long as Kyiv’s Ring Expressway, but how did they manage to build something like this so fast?”
“I’d guess it’s thanks to those very technologies the Protectorate loves showing off in their propaganda videos,” Alisa replied calmly. “And knowing our beloved TACTA, I’d bet those massive flying construction robots weren’t sold — they were rented to Rzeszów for an outrageous price.”
“Exactly!” Dasha nodded. “We just saw them earlier, taking apart building remains and packing up resources into those special cubes, yeah…”
The Ghosts’ truck slipped into a short line at the entrance and quickly moved through it. At the final checkpoint, the vehicle passed through a scanning field that picked up their independent TACTA Partner ID tags. An AR notification flashed, “Partner ID Verification – Successful,” quickly replaced by a neat “Welcome to Free Rzeszów!” message.
“Hey, I found us a decent hostel for the night, not too far from here,” Alisa announced to the team in a temptingly persuasive tone. “After everything that’s happened… how about a little rest? It’s a cozy spot in a former military housing complex inside the Wall, now repurposed with an entire area dedicated to short-term rentals. Options for all tastes and budgets, though I picked something on the more affordable side — hostel rooms with a shared kitchen, if no one minds. There’s parking nearby for a small fee, and our truck will fit. I checked.”
“Yep, I see it,” Maksim nodded, clicking on the link she’d shared in their group chat. “Ninety-two grants for all of us for one night, plus ten for parking. Sounds perfect. We all earned a bit of personal space!”
They drove down onto a well-kept street in the former military town, passing rows of identical hostel and apartment buildings. Digital signs displayed names like “Soldier’s Rest,” “Barracks XXI Deluxe,” “Dragon’s Den,” and more. Clearly, the city authorities had thought of the needs of visiting teams — and of a little extra revenue, of course.
“Maybe we should’ve taken one room for all of us?” Dasha suggested as they parked near their chosen building. “Or perhaps two: one for the guys, one for the girls, yeah?”
“WonderKid, we’ll be spending plenty of time together as it is — in the truck, on missions… Let’s give each other a little personal space. And besides, that bit of savings isn’t worth sacrificing comfort.”
“I get why you’d want that,” Alisa gave Maksim an understanding look and backed him up, “That’s exactly what I thought. Sure, we could have gone for a bunk in a shared room for 5 grants a night, but honestly, that’s a bit over the top.”
They checked in at the hostel. The administrator, an older man with a kindly face, only needed their TACTA partner ID numbers, which had essentially replaced passports in this new world, and handed over their keys.
“Welcome. If you need anything, just let me know.”
“Thank you,” Max replied, taking the keys.
The team made their way up the creaky stairs to the second floor, where they found rooms 15, 16, 18, and 19. Small but cozy enough, each room offered the basics: a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a small window looking out onto the street.
Max dropped his backpack onto the floor and stretched out on the bed with a sigh of relief. His body, weighed down by the exhaustion of the past days, instantly relaxed, and even the urge to shower quickly faded. He closed his eyes, listening to the distant sounds of the city, finally allowing himself a rare moment of peace.
In the neighboring rooms, Dasha and Nikola were also preparing for bed. Dasha lingered by the window, lost in thoughts of her father, of Max, of improving the System, and watching the Free Rzeszów come to life before finally lying down.
Nikola, meanwhile, quickly unloaded her gear, took a quick shower — grumbling, “well, it’s no sauna, but it’ll do,” — wolfed down a chocolate protein bar, then jumped into bed and, without a second thought, was out like a light. Military habits die hard.
Left alone, Alisa settled in at the desk. For a while, she reviewed data, double-checking information and preparing for upcoming meetings. Finally, she stretched and moved to the window. The dawn painted the sky in soft pink tones, making the city seem a bit less harsh.
“New day, new opportunities,” she whispered to herself, smiling. “It’s good to be alive.”