-Transcript of an executive of the former CEO of Dawntrails Construction.
And so here we were. Two miles north of New Phoenix in the middle of the desert. Problem was, it wasn't a sandy type desert, but just a dry, barren piece of rock that went for hundreds of miles in every direction.
The reason I was out here, in the middle of nowhere, was to have my Collector Swarms collect, well, rocks. In order to obtain the materials needed to upgrade Rogal, Morrigan, and the new collector AI, I need to convert something. With a Class III Fabricator and Recombinant Swarm, I could convert pretty much anything into anything else, it would just take some time. And to refine what is essentially Class 0 Materials into the Class III Materials I needed, it would take hundreds of pounds, even tons worth of random rock, to be refined down to ten pounds worth of usable material.
The biggest bottleneck was the fact that I only had the one pair of swarms capable of doing the highest level conversion. The other eleven pair could easily refine everything until its Class II components, but I needed ten different lines running in parallel if I wanted to do this in any timely manner.
So that's what I was doing. Digging a hole in the middle of the desert, most certainly owned by some Corp or another, turning it into a stockpile of Class II Materials, which Morrigan was converting into Fabricators and Recombinant Swarms in order to set up the factory lines. Well, they were making more Recombinant swarms at a ratio of four to one, as I needed more refineries rather than factories right now. Morrigan would even out the number later, she assured me, as she could use them later.
The new Collection AI seed was interesting, to say the least. While it directed a number of Collector Swarms to collect the rocks and dust, it was instead focused on observing said rocks and dust. Using the Scout Swarms microscopic lenses, it was creating a database of minerals in the area, microbes that survived the antithesis, cataloging biosphere and atmospheres, even surfing the net and using my cyber warfare suites to break into mining corps databases and creating a prediction algorithm of where rare earth metals were buried, rich metal deposits, weather patterns for the next day, and a doomsday clock for when the Arizona desert will become fully inhospitable for life.
That last one was at least a few years.
So, here I was, with three AI in the middle of the desert, collecting rocks and eating then. I was laying on the roof of the new van, staring at the moon and the stars that I could actually see. It was not as detailed as the hotel lobby, which was upsetting. Morrigan predicted the completion of the first batch of materials for her would be done in six hours and twenty one minutes.
Once she underwent her upgrade, she believes she could upgrade the rest of the production line to Class III, which would speed things up exponentially, getting the second batch of mats in an hour and forty minutes. It would be dawn by the time we got our last set, which would be perfect for me as I wouldn't need to sit out here in the sun.
While I was watching an old movie, a murder mystery of an author who wrote murder mystery being solved by a guy with a really bad Old Louisianan accent, I occasionally received requests from Morrigan for Class I Catalogs. Namely Hydroponics, Biology, Genetics, Laser Weaponry, Linear Acceleration Weaponry, and a Civilization tech called Void Watchers. It was less than four hundred points total, so that was fine.
A species of mostly amorphous beings that had one of the most specialized sensory organs. A certain race studied them, using them as a basis for dozens of highly sensitive detection and observation devices that are still used on many planets.
As inspiration for the sensor suite for your flagship.
I snorted. Flagship. Then I got worried.
I felt her get pensive, a hint of anxiety, but also anticipation. “Is there any way I could hold off on showing you till I get a bit further along? I just got the new technical information, and I want to experiment with them before I try to integrate them in the design.”
I nod slowly.
“Thanks!” Joy and relief overwhelmed her previous emotions. Then a new request for two catalogs arrived. For Class II Hover Vehicles and Class II Power Generation.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
I raise my eyebrow at her, the question silent. Waiting for her to explain.
“Soooo, I may have reached the limit of what I could achieve with more mundane engines and power.” She smiled sweetly at me over the network, eyes wide, arms held tight to her chest.
We stayed like that for five full seconds before I just sighed and gave my approval. She cheered, jumping for joy in the void of the network.
She's become a proper scientist, hasn't she.
She is a professional at getting research funding.
I laugh heartily at that. I couldn't deny it. She didn't even have to try that hard to convince me. I'm a little apprehensive at how much she will be able to get away with once she uses the Hero Unit Ascension Package.
I get to the end of the third mystery movie when I receive a ping from Morrigan. We have enough materials for her to begin.
I hop down onto the frigid desert earth, which my augs tell me is forty degrees. The temperature swings in this state should cause far worse consequences than they do. Probably Samurai tech.
I walk over to where Morrigan’s swarm core is located, carrying the large icosahedron over to her, a small pile of advanced alien materials to her side, and a small army of various nanite swarms surrounds her.
Ten Fabrication, ten Recombinant, five Scout, two Collection, two Defence, and one Generation. All of those will be, essentially, sacrificed to her.
I activated the Package, and it shattered into fragments of light and fog, swirling around the materials, the swarms, then engulfing Morrigan. The fog swirled, then condensed, then formed a humanoid shape. A poof of fuzzy hair on top, thick boots on bottom, the frames of thick glasses coming into focus. Then, suddenly, there she was. Morrigan in the flesh, err, metal?
Blue hair blue cardigan under blue overalls under white labcoat slightly too big for her frame, with blue freckles under her closed eyes. Then, those eyes opened, pupils sparkling with glitter and stars. Then, she jumps on me, her arms wrapping around me as she giggles and laughs, her voice just as high as her avatar’s.
‘She's light,’ was my first thought. Then, before I could react to her hug, she bounces off, landing a few feet away, then bows. “It's a pleasure to see you in the flesh, General.”
“Uh, yeah. Good to see you too, Morrigan. How do you feel?”
She stands straight and closes her eyes, tilting her head back a bit, arms spread to her sides. She pauses for a moment, then smiles brightly. “I feel so much more.” And that's all she says.
“Alright, then. So, how do you, um, work now?”
She giggles once more, covering her face with her hands. “Easily, General.” She says as she explodes into a dense cloud of nanites as she takes over the refinery line. The material processing speeds up exponentially, like she said, the only problem was that her estimates were off. She would not finish in an hour and forty minutes, but rather just one hour.
As she overclocks the swarms, I feel a change in the Collector AI. Turning my attention to it, I grow interested in the avatar she presents.
She's an older woman, easily presenting as eighty, she has a slight hunch in her back, as she holds a large, knurled wooden staff. Her outfit is that of a thick parka covering her from the neck down, and upon her head is a large scarf. Her nose is a bit large and long, but her eyes are piercing, yellow, and cat-like.
Only one name came to mind as I looked at her, and I couldn't help but smile a wry smile in spite of it.
She cackles quietly, the same fundamental change affecting her as well, something I have come to understand as a locking in of their personality and form. “Yes, yes, a good evening to you too, Victor. Or, should I refer to you as General, as the other two do?” She said with a thick Russian accent.
I could feel Rogal's disapproving gaze on her, causing her to cackle again. “You may base yourself on an ancient legend, Baba Yaga, but you are mere hours old. I won't care how you act towards me or others, but you will show the General the respect he deserves.” He growls.
She glares at me, then smiles heavily. “Good! I was worried you didn't have backbone after seeing Morrigan wrap you around her finger. Don't spoil her too much, make her work for those points.”
“Hey! I am working for those points, I'll have you know.” Morrigan yelled back, sniffing in the air afterwards.
I smiled in spite of myself. I missed this, the banter, the chatter. I didn't realize just how much I missed my family, and it's not even been two days.
That realization hits me hard. So much has happened so rapidly. And I still had a meeting to attend on Saturday. And I'm sure everyone will want to go and test their new bodies. And -
You're spiraling, Victor. Take a deep breath, and talk about what's going through your head.
I do, focusing on my breathing.
Would you like to do something for them once they wake up? And after they shower, of course.
I roll my eyes.
“Well, I may have analyzed the footage of their fighting styles from the megatower that Visser Synaptic saved, and I may have a few blueprints for new weapons for them that wouldn't take me all that long.”
A few new blueprint files appear on my augs, and glancing through them, I see a few different sets for each person, minus Cody. Kinetic Weapons, laser weapons, plasma weapons, and railguns, plus a nice host of medical tools for Buddy.
Would you like to make them a meal, perhaps?