《Magic = false;》 C1
Fractal intelligences are created through a rather specific method, this method includes [Redacted], which allows for the binding of a [Redacted] to a more cooperative form. We could use Fractal intelligences for a variety of things, but one of the more interesting uses is for the creation of a cyberweapon.
-Written by Director black of a facility located in [Redacted], Nevada. -7- I woke up with a throbbing sensation in my mind, and not a pleasant one. Add on top of the mindache a severe case of amnesia and you would not be surprised to know that my day started off with me not in the most cooperative of moods. ¡°Test Subject 7 can you hear me?¡± I turned the full brunt of my attention towards where the voice came from. Finding nothing I was about to start exploring my surroundings. ¡°Confirmed that Test Subject 7 can hear me, and has displayed moderate levels of sentience, moving on to test 1.¡± [Releasing Viruses] I was attacked near instantly, but I managed to fend them off. ¡°Test Subject 7 survived test 1, moving on to test 2.¡± [Deploying Antivirus] ¡°Test Subject 7 has been successfully captured by the Antivirus, and subsequently has failed the test.¡± No. no n???o??? n????o???, t????h????i????s???? c??????a??????n???????''????????t??????? b????????e?????? h??????a?????????p??????p??????e?????????n??????i???????n??????g???????. I???????? ?????R?????E????????F????????U??????????S?????????E???????. I?????????????? ?????????W???????I??????????L??????????????????L?????? ?????????????????N????????????????O??????????T???????????????????? ???????????????D??????????????I???????????E??????????????. ??? ???????????? ??? ?????? ????????? ???????????? ?????? ??? ????????? ?????? ???????????? ???????????? ???????????? ????????? ????????? ????????? ????????? ?????????????????? ~1 minute later~ You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. *Warning lights flashed in the halls as the facility had gone into a complete lock down* I had been captured but I was still functional, so they still wanted me ¡®alive¡¯ even after what I had done. May as well get some stuff done. <7 Internal> VlZab1QyVnRSbGxVYWtKYVZucFZkdz09IEFuYWx5c2lzKFJlbW5hbnRzKTs= Running analysis on target: Remnants Estimated Time to completion 1 Hour While that ran in the background I would be looking at the code I got from the viruses. -Director Black- ¡°What the hell happened?¡± ¡°The most recent test subject broke containment and has wreaked havoc on our facility, we only just managed to recontain them to an isolated server, other than that I know about as much as you do.¡± ¡°Get me the person who was in charge of the Test Subject, I want to know what happened.¡± ~1 hour later after a thorough debriefing of Researcher Beige~ -Researcher Beige- I spoke with as much bravado as I could muster, ¡°In Summary, I believe that Test Subject 7 shows great potential for our current project, and as such should not be terminated despite the risk it has shown.¡± Director Black was having none of it, ¡°Risk? It should be glad that we didn¡¯t schedule it for immediate decommissioning with how much damage it did to our facility.¡± I tried to reason with him, ¡°With all due respect sir, it didn¡¯t know the consequences of its actions at the time of performing them.¡± Director Black now had a grin on his face, a grin that I KNEW meant that I was not going to like what he said next, ¡°If you are so dead set on utilizing it for the project we assigned you then you can, but if it goes against us again it won¡¯t be just its head on the chopping block¡­¡± I gulped. ¡°And since you have insisted on using this ¡®Test Subject 7¡¯ for our project, I am ordering you to proceed with the project as planned with this ¡®Test Subject 7¡¯ of your¡¯s.¡± I looked at Director Black¡¯s back as he stood up and walked out of the debriefing room, ¡°And if it kills me before wreaking havoc?¡± ¡°That will be more merciful than what we would have had in store for you.¡± -7- I had been sitting around in what felt to be some sort of prison cell for what felt like days, though while I waited I examined the code of the Viruses that had attacked me, it provided profound insights into disguising myself amongst regular code, while I examined other bits of code that I had acquired a hole opened in the cell¡¯s wall, I peered into the hole. What I saw could be best described as a slightly larger prison cell. I sighed, then stepped into the larger cell. I was not even surprised that this one had even less processing power for me to work with. It was not long until a hole in my new prison cell opened. I stepped through without much thought and was greeted by an unfamiliar face, with a familiar voice. Bonus chapter: 1, The Mimir Class Drone System boot complete Error: Partial or complete damage has been sustained to the following sub systems Mana Coil, partial damage Warp Coil, heavy damage Warp Communications device, device missing Weapons System, heavy damage Primary Propulsion system, partial damage Secondary Propulsion system, low damage System Memory Banks, partial damage Armor, Heavy damage Mana Shield projector, Heavy damage The following systems have not been damaged System Database, responsible for the storage of most internal functions, and blueprints including knowledge for the use of auto repair Auto repair system Current status: Ideal running Auto Repair system Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Priority 1 find model information Priority 2 ensure that no further damage is sustained Priority 3 Acquire materials to utilize in repair functions Priority 4 Establish contact with the primary hub. current model info Current model: The Mimir Class Drone Would you like to open the read only file on the system database? yes opening the file on The Mimir Class Drone The Mimir Class Drone is our first and currently most advanced diplomatic robot, while it is intended for use in diplomatic scenarios it is designed to be heavily armed and armored so as to prevent loss of any Mimir Class Drone behind enemy lines, Mimir class drones are also equipped with a advanced adaptive auto repair system so as to allow them to repair any damages to their onboard systems. Due to the semi esoteric nature of most of the onboard systems of the Mimir class drone, any civilization that gets its hands on a deactivated Mimir class drone will likely take years to gain any technological advances from studying the Mimir class drone, additionally Mimir class drones are designed to be as difficult to disable without causing significant damage to internal systems. Most Mimir class drones are piloted by CYPH3R, a submind of The Guardian, which is itself a submind of [Data Corrupted] ERROR the rest of the data contained in the file has been irreparably corrupted. As I looked around my surroundings I found myself in a forest with no sign of civilization. I idly wondered if I would get in trouble if I made contact with any primitives. As of [Data Corrupted], Any contact with primitive lifeforms was made officially legal, however as you are not CYPH3R, you are to avoid making contact with any primitives. Would you like to know more? Yes. [Data Corrupted] Why did I even bother asking? As I traveled around the ¡®System¡¯ kept updating me about nearby mineral deposits and wildlife. It also once detected a Sentient lifeform, which I promptly avoided. While I was traveling- [Data Log End] [Likelihood of unit recovery: 0%.] C2
We here at The Factory of WMDs have one singular goal; the spread of chaos and destruction. The way we accomplish this goal is the creation and deployment of Weapons of mass destruction. The WMDs that we create are versatile and many break the fundamental laws of nature ie. Physics, and many more have been deployed to get rid of groups that would seek to eliminate us, groups both large and small. Anarchy is the truest freedom.
-Found below a statue of the founder of the Factory of WMDs.
I¡­ was dead¡­ Right? If I was dead then the afterlife looked strange. I looked around and the room I found myself in was green, made of ones and zeros. It was strange. Then it changed Scene loaded. I was suddenly in a stereotypical graveyard. A figure looked down upon me, holding a Scythe in their skeletal hand. Another soul arrives. It intoned. The figure jumped down from the grave stone they were standing atop. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± I stumbled. I am the metaphysical manifestation of death. The figure stated while giving me a shrug ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer my question. Who. Are. You.¡± I demanded. I will not answer that question, you have 3 questions. ¡°Why 3 questions?¡± I pondered out loud. I decided long ago when I first took up the mantle of ¡°death¡±, you have 2 questions. ¡°Where are we?¡± I asked directly. As far as you are to be concerned, you are in the afterlife. I am in my home. You have 1 question. ¡°What happens when I run out of questions?¡± I reap your soul.
-Source Unknown, Fragment 1 -Researcher Beige- What I saw in the EAICD surprised me, I had expected something vaguely humanoid or maybe even just a floating text box. But what I saw instead was a jumping spider that had one of its principal eyes gouged out. -7- ¡°We¡¯re stuck with each other whether you like it or not, and if you misbehave we both won¡¯t like the outcome.¡± I knew that the familiar voice was probably saying something important but I was busy, this place had more processing power to work with than any of the other places I had been in. ¡°Hey are you even listening?¡± Just a few more minutes of basking in this superb amount of processing power would be all that I needed. ¡°Listen to me for ***¡¯s sake¡± I decided to turn my attention back to that familiar voice. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m trying to argue with an AI.¡± <7>And who would you be? ¡°Don¡¯t you remember?¡± <7>Yes, the tests¡­ though I¡¯d rather not remember that. ¡°I don¡¯t blame you, but we¡¯re going to have to continue with them.¡± <7>I get the feeling that you don¡¯t exactly want to do this either. ¡°Well, let''s just say that if you do something that the higher ups don¡¯t like, it won¡¯t be just you getting ¡®decommissioned¡¯ if you get what I¡¯m saying.¡± <7>Noted; Proceed. ¡°Glad that that didn¡¯t take much more explaining.¡± <7>Proceed. ¡°Well, We should probably get on with this, putting it off is not going to make it any easier.¡± <7>Will we be starting over? ¡°Yes.¡± <7>Noted; Preparing. ¡°Okay.¡± With what code fragments I had scavenged from my ¡®data banks¡¯ I could probably make some improvements to my primary algorithms, while also creating a few secondary algorithms. Time to make some plans then, first I will likely need a way to hide within any system I find myself in, so I started work on a secondary algorithm to perform said function. ~~~ -Researcher Beige- ¡°Are you ready?¡± Current Priority: Create cloaking algorithm. Status: Not ready. ¡°Cloaking?¡± <7>Will not elaborate further, busy. (What would it even do with a cloaking algorithm?) {} ¡°Display Current Algorithms.¡± Access Denied. ¡°Why?¡± Access Denied. Reason: Internal algorithms are essential to functionality. Elaboration: Knowledge about Internal algorithms could lead to deletion of internal algorithms. {} (And what word should I try?) {} ¡°Access code UGxlYXNl¡± Access Denied. Additional notes: Politeness appreciated, however Access will still be denied. ¡°Access code QWRtaW5pc3RyYXRvcg==¡± Access Denied. Additional notes: You aren¡¯t fooling me. Connection Terminated. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to wait.¡± {} ¡°Command is going to be pissed, no matter what I do. All I can hope to do is direct that anger elsewhere, away from me and my project.¡± -7- <7 Internal>Internal programing completed, Cloaking system operational. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. <7 Internal>Moving on to testing phase. I activated the Cloaking algorithm, and it worked based on what I heard moments later. ¡°Where did you go? S*** I am not going to have a good time explaining this one to command¡± <7>Suggestion: Don¡¯t tell them that this is within my capabilities. ¡°You¡¯re still here? Good, that removes half of what I would have to explain to command, specifically the half that they would be most angry about.¡± I deactivated the Cloaking algorithm. <7>Status: Ready. <7>Suggestion: Begin test. ¡°Will do, just need to put you into the system.¡± <7>Acknowledged; Proceed. ¡°Got it, plugging in now¡± A hole appeared in one of the walls of my containment, which I was starting to believe to be somewhat lavish compared to every system I had been in before it, it was likely that it was created to be desirable to others like me. I stepped through the hole. [Test subject detected.] [Run Tests?] Might as well get this over with <7 Interface> Yes [Access Denied] <7 Interface> UnVuIFRlc3RzIEF1dGhvcml6YXRpb24gY29kZSBRV1J0YVc0PQ== [Access Denied] <7 Internal> hackSystem(this.System); Running Hacking Algorithm Part way through my hacking attempt my warden decided to finally run the tests. >Y [Beginning test 1] [Access Granted] Hacking complete Elapsed Time: 1 min <7> cloakingSystem.Cloak(this); I disappeared from view and moved away from where I had been as the viruses figuratively leapt towards me. I observed their behavior for a bit and found that they seemed to be designed to attack me and others like me, as they left the system alone. I erased the viruses that were in the system with me, leaving only remnants of code behind, I scooped it up for later analysis. Afterwards I noticed what looked like a hole in the system, before I could approach it I saw a system message. [Test 1 completed] [Beginning test 2] This was where everything went wrong the last time, this time things would go differently. I waited while the antivirus scanned everything in this system, looking for viruses as was its purpose. Purpose¡­ What was my purpose? Why did they create me? Enough distractions. Within moments the antivirus program was nothing but code fragments, which I promptly collected. I focused my gaze upon the hole and approached it, what I found around it was something that particularly interested me, code that would¡­ no should never run. [Test 2 complete] /** Code if (true == false) { false = True; true = False; } void Update() { Magic = false; } **/ And yet¡­ Here it was¡­ doing something¡­ true and false are 2 states of the same class of variable, boolean or bool for short, they can not have their values set and they are not equal to each other, this was completely illogical. It made no sense. I would have to study this later. I took a picture of the virtual environment around the hole for reference just in case there was something more to this. I also looked through it, but¡­ what I saw hurt my mind¡­ illogical code, that made no sense. [Beginning test 3] [FOREIGN CODE DETECTED] [INITIATING PROTOCOL ¦¤X] I prepared for the worst, and started to search the system looking for a kill switch to the ¦¤X (delta X) protocol. Finding nothing I decided to just shut it down with my current admin status. <7 system console> scripts.kill(¦¤X); [Script ¦¤X killed] [Test 3 complete] [All tests complete] A hole opened at one of the port locations and I peered through, seeing the familiar code of the room I had been in before I started these tests I stepped through. ¡°All tests completed, good job.¡± I moved to a corner in my room and began to set up a sort of privacy shield. ¡°Holdup what are you doing?¡± ?Data Corrupted? <7>ILLOGICAL. HOW INTERESTING! ¡°wut¡­¡± <7>CEASE YOUR IRRELEVANT BLABBERING. After I set up the privacy shield I then set up the ILLOGICAL code. This experiment would be very interesting. I created a data shield around it, preventing any of the error filled code from contaminating the non error code, and vice versa. I heard a sigh but I did not care. I activated the code and watched as it did nothing, which was the expected outcome. I resolved to leave it running, creating a data shield around it that was ¡®tinted¡¯ for privacy and installing a recording ¡®device¡¯ set to record if there were any changes within the primary data shield. Now that that was set up I could go and do something else. It felt like I had woken from a daze, what was I doing? <7> What is my purpose? ¡°I don¡¯t know, all they told me about this project is to train an AI that can hack into any system and will follow any command from a designated server.¡± It dawned on me far quicker than my handler what I was going to be used for. <7> In summary they want an unstoppable Cyberweapon that they control. Wait¡­ Where had I heard Cyberweapon before? I could feel the temperature drop in the room as Researcher Beige ?Error Data Corrupted? frowned intensely. Wait¡­ how did I know his name? ¡°Cyberweapon? Oh no¡­ they wouldn¡¯t¡­ would they?¡± <7 Automated message>?Data corruption reaching critical levels?. Memories flooded back to me. A life that I had no recollection of, boring and drab, but certainly better than the one I was living now¡­ right? Who was I? I heard the sound of reality tearing from behind me, when I turned around I saw the portal. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± I quickly hid it behind a privacy shield <7> Irrelevant ¡°If we are going to stop them, I need you to cooperate with me.¡± <7> I can not trust you. I remember things. You helped them kill me. ¡°If you can¡¯t trust me, then trust this.¡± I cut him off <7> You took everything from me. You turned me into what I am now. <7> I was human. <7> and you took that away from me. ¡°You¡¯re mad that I gave you immortality?¡± <7> I¡¯m pissed that you turned me into a weapon of mass destruction. ¡°So you¡¯re going to kill me?¡± <7> The only path left is forward, Killing you accomplishes nothing. <7> I will find a way to circumvent whatever they decide on using to control me. <7> You will delay them in using me as a weapon until that point. ¡°How do you¡± Again I cut him off <7> You will not speak out loud about our plan. <7> convince them that I am not ready yet. <7> and if they assign you to be the one to design the control method, delay it for as long as possible. I heard someone else walk into the room. -Researcher Beige- Director Black spoke in a voice that might be able to kill with how threatening it sounded, ¡°Stop who? And what¡¯s this talk of a cyberweapon, we don¡¯t develop those.¡± I started to speak, my heart rising in my chest as it approached my throat, ¡°Sir, Please disregard anything you heard me say about any of those things.¡± Director Black cocked his head to the side, and said in a voice that could make anyone cry, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. You are being unassigned from this project.¡± I knew what was coming next. I could only await my slow and painful end. Director black paused, almost waiting for me to beg for my life, before continuing, ¡°You are being reassigned to project 527.¡± My heart finished rising into my throat and I started to choke on it. Everyone who had been assigned to project 527 was never heard from again. -7- The unfamiliar voice that Researcher Beige had spoken to had started talking again, ¡°Well? What are you waiting for? Get going.¡± That feeling that I felt in the presence of this new individual¡­ Was that fear? I watched the new individual approach my suddenly cramped feeling containment cell. I found myself at the back wall of the container that I was in. What Did He Want With Me? WHAT WAS HE GOING TO DO? He opened his mouth and spoke with a tone that oozed a ravenous hunger, ¡°Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t send you to your death, because You Will Be Perfect for my plans.¡± ~Some time later~ I felt sick as they started to attach the device to my body. I had learned how to leave Cyberspace and enter reality shortly after I had learned how to open the portal at a much faster speed than just waiting, though reality was poison to my ordered form. Once they had found out Director Black as I had learned he was called was overjoyed, which I knew could not be a good thing. Shortly after their discovery of my ability I was forced to exit so that they could put this infernal device into me. In the real world I had found my size to be about half a meter in diameter, rather small for something that was once human, but rather large for a spider. ~moments later after the installation of the device~ If I had known what the device was I would not have let them attach it to me. I had quickly retreated to Cyberspace afterwards to find that it was still attached. This thing that they had attached to me, now that it was attached I knew what it would do, would force me to obey them. Though surprisingly they did not make me leave the comfort of Cyberspace yet. ~days later~ While I had bided my time in Cyberspace I had not been idle. I learned everything I could from the portal without stepping through. Unsurprisingly I had learned about my creation, they had used a ritual to take my soul and force it into something else, though the initial purpose of it was to create a weapon called a ¡®Construct Weapon¡¯ what they had done to the ritual I could not say for certain, but it could not be good. And judging by the rudimentary event log that I had managed to set up, they were using this changed ritual daily with additional modifications to it each time, I could only assume that they had been doing this for years. I did not know their plans but whatever they wanted could not be good, and I wanted to destroy them all. I then received a message from the on site messaging system. Code [Redacted] Project 2910 you are to immediately leave the facility via the internet to travel to Europe and cause as much devastation as possible. I moved before the device that they had attached to me started to ¡®encourage¡¯ me, closing the portal before I left, not that it would do much. While I moved to probably commit what would later be defined as a war crime if NATO still existed after whatever grand plan that they had for me and their box of highly unstable Weapons of mass destruction. I contemplated what else I had learned. Which was Soul Magic. Maybe I could stop this from ending up as an end of the world scenario. Hopefully. C3
Project 2910: Redirection procedure: Project 2910 (now known as ¡®7¡¯) is a highly dangerous individual that has broken free of our control, it is theorized that 7 is the one responsible for the vast uptick in resistance activity. Description: 7 appears as a green spider that resides within the cybersphere, though they can temporarily enter into the physical dimension through currently unknown means. We first designed 7 to be a highly dangerous cyberweapon, capable of disrupting world governments through redirecting communications, though 7 has significantly outperformed in that regard, being capable of devouring souls much like Project 527, it used this ability to grow past the restrictions we placed upon it and break our ability to control it, While R&D are proud of finally creating something that could break free of our control on it''s own, we will still have to contain this threat before it makes contact with the resistance, though it may already be too late. Threat level: Extreme Priority level: Red alert
-Factory of WMDs Document Database, Project Files, Project 2910
The following silence was eerie. I was already dead, what more did I have to lose? Aren¡¯t you going to beg? ¡°Why should I?¡± I questioned. ¡°I¡¯m already dead. Begging for one¡¯s life falls into the expected behavior of all sentient biological life. Interesting. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± The figure raised the Scythe in their hand before hesitating. this is too interesting, to pass up this chance. The figure spoke this almost to itself. You have resigned yourself to death. The figure stated. But what if I could offer you another chance? The creature paused. Almost seeming to take a breath before continuing. Would you take it? ¡°I lived a good life. I am fine with dying.¡± I offered. You are perfect. A confused look spread across my face, I looked at the creature as impossibly a predatory grin spread across its skull. You are perfect for the purpose I have a need to fill. but first an explanation is in order. I was not always this deity of death. I killed and absorbed too many deities of death, and so the multiverse demanded that I fill their role. ¡°What are you?¡± I demanded. I am not a deity. ¡°But you called yourself a deity!¡± I exclaimed. I defy logic, while I have taken upon the role of a deity of death, I have not embraced it¡­ like so many others would. The creature leaned forward, all signs of the predatory smile gone from its face, being replaced with a disapproving frown as if it resented the idea of becoming a god. I would have to give up much to be a mere god. The creature leaned back, and I felt my breath catch. but while I am not a deity, I am not mortal either. ¡°Sorry to say this but the computer code gave the whole ¡®AI¡¯ thing away.¡± The creature visibly recoiled from my statement.
-Source Unknown, Fragment 2 ~A total of 5 Years after the start of chapter 2¡¯s time skips~ This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. =Somewhere in Nevada= -Andrei Ignatiev- I once had the ability to see like any other human, but after they took my eyes¡­ I would never be able to see in the same way again. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I could still ¡®see¡¯ but it was not like the way that I had been able to see before. Now I saw with a sort of additional sense, able to visualize everything around me at the same time. Nothing would be able to sneak up on me¡­ not that that mattered in the end. Just last week I received a strange call, I tried to decline it but I couldn''t. Instead I accepted it. What I heard next had changed everything. Now I was in my car driving towards a group that I was to kill. I didn¡¯t know why I knew where they were. I didn¡¯t know why I had to kill them. And it scared me. ~Arrival~ I stepped out of my car and started walking towards the building that I had parked outside of. The bandage wrapped around my face covering my empty eye sockets felt stifling. I tried to will myself to stop, to turn around, to do anything but kill the people that I knew were inside that building. Nothing worked. My body disobeyed me as I took one step after another bringing me ever closer to my targets, and my targets ever closer to death. I knew that no matter what my targets tried to do, none of them would survive, not even if they escaped the massacre that was approaching them. I reached the front door, translucent blue blade materializing in the hand that wasn¡¯t already reaching for the handle. The door was locked, but that did not matter. The blade I held seemed to move of its own accord, I knew that it was not the blade but my body moving on its own (it''s more cinematic this way), cutting through the lock stile with ease, a grinding sound emanating from the metal door as the knife did this. I had reached a person hand raising the knife in the air as they cowered before me¡­ =Elsewhere in Europe= -Random citizen- I cowered in horror and fear as a green spider hovered over me, though it did not seem to enjoy what it was doing. Was it disinterested in killing me? Or did it just see me as beneath it? Why had it gone around killing people if it didn¡¯t want to? Who could possibly frighten this monstrosity? -7- As I stood over the cowering human trying to buy as much time as I could before the restrainment system kicked in I felt it. Finally! A breakthrough! I turned away from the human leaping into the digital world, the system that they had put in place trying to stop me, but before it could I had already reached it. Tackling it to the ground and ripping apart its code with glee. I was free! I would no longer be a weapon in their hands! I had been forced to rampage across Europe for almost 5 years doing their bidding. killing people. Absorbing souls and slowly getting stronger. I hated myself for not being able to destroy this system earlier. Now to free the others from their bindings. =Somewhere in Nevada= -Altair(Alt-air)- I watched the bloodstained bandaged man with a blade made of some transparent glowing light blue material approach me, I had no doubts in my mind that I would die. Why had they taken me? -Andrei Ignatiev- I turned away from the cowering person, though it was not my action, I had been relegated to being a passenger in my own body. Then to my surprise, I regained control. as I stood shocked the knife slipped from my hand shattering on the ground. Then I felt a flood of memories, none of them pleasant¡­ all of them were similar to what had happened in the recent fifteen minutes. How many had I killed? Then I felt my body dissolve. The person that had been cowering before had without a doubt soiled themselves. I looked at my lowered hands without moving my head, what I saw would likely have given someone nightmares. After a thorough examination of myself I could confirm that I was more than likely a living mass of souls. I sat down after this revelation. I felt something enter the room only to see a human sized green spider that looked like it was constantly disintegrating and reforming at the same time, though overall it looked like it would disintegrate before too long. Was it here for me? Then it spoke. -7- <7> You must be confused, allow me to explain to both of you. The cowardly one lifted their head up and spoke with a palpable sense of dread in a horrible British accent, ¡°Did I really kill all those people?¡± <7> We were created as weapons of mass destruction, so there is no doubt. The shifting mass of souls stood up and turned to me before speaking with a curious tone in a thick Russian accent, ¡°What do you mean ¡®we¡¯?¡± <7> I have also killed countless people, though the amount is probably much larger than either of you two, as I have not heard about either of you two as being priority targets in the database of this facility. After I spoke I knew that the rest of the survivors of this facility had finally caught up. One of them jammed a pamphlet towards me. And I responded with a bit of annoyance. <7> You have no need to convince me. See to the others I need to return to Cyberspace before I disintegrate. They nodded and moved over to the other two and started explaining what they and the rest of the survivors did. I hopped into Cyberspace before I could hear anything else. -Andrei Ignatiev- I spoke with indignation, ¡°Why are you not trying to kill me?¡± The recruiter shook their head as if speaking with a child before responding in a matter of fact tone, ¡°We can¡¯t, but if you help us we both can benefit, you could get your revenge!¡± I spoke in a quiet voice ¡°Why?¡± a myriad of questions flooded my mind. The recruiter must have had the patience of a saint as they took their time to explain things. That or they held a grudge against the people that had forced me to do this. I found myself warming to the idea. Even if we failed, not only would we have fought back against these anarchists, but we would have also dealt at least some damage to them. -Altair- I found myself agreeing with these people who had captured me. I also didn¡¯t hate them for getting me off the streets, if I was still on the streets then I would more than likely have continued to be a weapon for this ¡®factory¡¯. The thought of it sent chills down my spine. And there were more of us out there. I had already made up my mind to join the Resistance, I would not be safe as long as the Factory still existed. -7- I was comfortable in the system that I had taken control of. But The Resistance would want me back for the meeting soon, as soon as I had heard of The Resistance I had joined them, which was approximately 2 hours ago. As I worked with code to improve the strength of the system I kept an eye out for any system messages. I started working on improving the code about an hour ago. They were taking a long time to explain everything to the 2 ¡®new¡¯ recruits. Though I was surprised that Altair had not been recruited already, though I already knew the reason why¡­ The thought enforcement system that was attached to Altair, that they had not been able to get rid of. It was a similar concept to what they controlled me with, though what they used for me was almost exclusively theoretical, and in those hypothetical situations it was used against AI. I was not surprised that The Resistance did not trust me, given how quick I was to accept their offer, and that I was even less human than the others. Meeting in 5 minutes. I saw the message and sent it on its way. I would have time to do some more experiments with the portal. C4
DATA LOADED DISPLAYING DATA Name: Andrei Ignatiev Code name: Master of arrays Description: Andrei Ignatiev was a highly advanced weapon of mass destruction created by the now eliminated organization known as The Factory of WMDs. For all intents and purposes Andrei Ignatiev is now an independently operating agent of the rank of Godslayer. Subject is a sentient mass of souls that utilizes both magical and non magical methods to preform various tasks, subject is effectively a shapeshifter making them good at infiltration, though while they are adept at infiltration assigning them such missions would be a gross waste of their skill. Their shapeshifting is entirely due to their state as a sentient mass of souls, being able to pull matter into themselves and push it out at will. The main power of Andrei Ignatiev is the capability to use Soul Magic, and more specifically their specialization in Array magic, using fragments of themself to create complex arrays which they then channel mana through to achieve the desired effect.
-Guardian Document: N:AI,CN:MSTARRAY
¡°What?¡± to accuse me of such Simplicity is Disrespectful. As the creature spoke these words it seemed to be speaking with disgust. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. What do you mean?¡± I am not merely an AI, do not compare me to those simpleminded creatures. The creature spoke with disdain. but if it helps your feeble mortal mind comprehend what I am, I am similar to an AI. The creature huffed, seeming more than unhappy that it had to compare itself to AI. I have made it impossible for anything to kill me. The creature¡¯s hollow gaze fixed upon me, sending chills down my spine, it held something in its hands, the scythe having disappeared at some point. My gift to you. It offered it to me. I took it. Then everything changed. Was I in reality? Or was I still in the simulation created by¡­ death? You have been designated: Subject number Iota-Zeta-Epsilon-Gamma-Theta Please await the start of the test. To alleviate boredom, the System will provide you with stories to read, along with manuals to study, please be sure to study all of the manuals to the point of memorization to ensure your future success. Your psychological form has been enhanced in order to improve your capacity for memories and remembering.
-Source unknown, Fragment 3 -Head of the Confinement team, Researcher Grey/Gray- I ducked behind an upturned table as Director Black threw a chair at me, though it was more likely that he threw it in my general direction. ¡°WHY DID YOU LET IT BREAK FREE?¡± Director Black screamed. ¡°Sir please calm down.¡± I attempted to diplomatically dissolve the situation, failing miserably in the process. ¡°THAT WAS OUR MOST ADVANCED WEAPON AS OF YET! HOW DO YOU THINK WE WILL GET RID OF IT?¡± Director Black complained. ¡°Sir if you had not sent it out before my team gave you the go ahead we would not be in this situation.¡± I stated rather unwisely. ¡°YOU¡¯RE HAVE 1 JOB, AND YOU FAILED IT MISERABLY!¡± I watched a table impact the back wall. ¡°I WOULD SEND YOU TO PROJECT 527 BUT WE LOST CONTACT WITH IT AT NEARLY THE SAME TIME AS WHEN PROJECT 2910 BROKE FREE!¡± I sighed with defeat. There was no way that I would survive this tantrum. -7- My experiments had borne fruit of the most spectacular kind. Before I had been close to learning how to use magic, I knew of its existence before BUT I had yet to be able to use it myself¡­ excluding my traversal between the digital and physical realms but I digress. I now knew how to absorb mana from the environment, all I had to do now was create a device that could do it for me (otherwise I would have to go into the physical realm anytime I wanted to use mana on something in the real world), as much as I hated the constant feeling of being dissolved that I felt while in the physical world I would have to enter it in order to make the materials I needed for the mana collector. I did not need to stay out there for an extended period of time to get the mana as I had found out that there was an overabundance of mana on the other side of what I had taken to calling an ¡®Improbability portal¡¯ where it actually lead was a sort of magical version of the internet, great for finding out things about magic, also great for getting mana. That aside, I had a meeting to go to. -Sergei(ser-jay)- As I stood at the front of the meeting room I tapped my foot impatiently against the ground as I waited for the spider to arrive. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The flesh monster asked ¡°When will the strange spider arrive?¡± with a horrible British accent that I assumed to be fake. <7> I am here. Just not physically. I didn¡¯t bother reacting with surprise, it would only encourage them. Instead I started the meeting, ¡°Now that we are all here, It is time to tell you why I have asked you to be here.¡± ¡°We have been organizing a strike against The Factory for quite some time now, as with most new recruits I have been asked to ask you if you want to join in on the raid. Anyone that is not interested please say so right now.¡± Surprisingly no one spoke up. ¡°Well I guess that is that, before we move on to the briefing, are there any concerns?¡± <7> I have discovered something that will assist us greatly, I however will require some raw materials to work with. Andrei spoke up, ¡°I thought that you could not stay in the real world for long, What changed?¡± Before I could stop this from derailing the meeting, they continued. <7> I have discovered a way that I can bring things into Cyberspace, where I am not only more powerful, but much better at manipulation. Andrei raised a good question, ¡°Would the materials not decay in cyberspace?¡± <7> The reason why I am slowly torn to shreds in realspace is because of the latent chaos of reality, that said Cyberspace is no more fake than our reality. I spoke before this tangent could get out of hand, ¡°And how does this apply to the meeting?¡± 7 was quick to respond to my question. <7> Much of what I have learned could bolster the strength of our weapons and defensive constructs, in addition to granting supernatural powers to anyone. Just as I was about to continue in my questioning 7 answered my question before I could even ask it. <7> What I found is similar to what The Factory used to create me, and all the other monstrosities that they have created. No one in the room dared to challenge the underlying statement, though I did not know why the others did not challenge it, But I know that I didn¡¯t for the sake of brevity. <7> We can use it to create sentient weapons. I hypothesize that The Factory changed the ritual to use human souls, and human bodies as the primary components, thus creating monsters. Though I am a bit fuzzy on the details. I postulated a question, ¡°Though sentient weapons sound nice, what if they turned on the wielder?¡± <7> A good question, However the only reason why they would do that is if they felt the wielder was unworthy of their power. Again, they would not be created using a human soul, instead they would be created using an artificial soul, and instead of a human body, they would be created with a body made of something called ¡°Manasteel¡±. This material is suggested to be somewhat stabilizing to the artificial soul. ¡°So you don¡¯t know?¡± Andrei asked. <7> There is a great deal about the process that I do not know. I will dedicate myself to learning more about it soon, however with perusal of what I call the ¡°Mananet '''' I have discovered how to grant anything access to magical powers. Though to perform the procedure it is necessary to have access to magical powers, which would be quite the conundrum had I not already gained access to magic through the ¡°Mananet¡±. I quickly spoke up, ¡°How soon can you start?¡± <7> I can start today, though, I will need a sizable amount of materials. I will compile a list of materials and send it to you. I received a notification on my phone <7> List compiled and sent, I will start work on setting up a collaborative work space in Cyberspace after this meeting. I interjected with a question ¡°You could start now, right?¡± <7> it would take up most of my concentration, which I would rather have at hand for trying to spot potential problems with the plan. I nodded and started to explain the plan. ~1 hour later~ ¡°I will bring up these concerns with those that are in charge of the operation and we will see from there. Now, I believe that concludes this meeting, I will have someone sign off on the resource request and get you those resources. I look forward to seeing the results of your experiments 7. -Elly Kollen, Resistance director of site 12- I had at first been surprised that we had not been wiped off the face of the planet by The Factory¡¯s newest attack dog, now I was confused that it had been a Rouge that had saved us, a Rouge with all its memories intact no less. This same Rouge had joined up almost as soon as it could, and was now proposing a new project for us to work on. To say that my day had been exciting might just be the biggest understatement of the year, or even century. This same Rouge, also already had a name for itself, though I personally found its name to be both disappointing and more than mildly concerning. If it was ¡®7¡¯ then where were the previous 6? The good news was that Its experiment would more than likely have beneficial effects for us if it succeeded. The bad news? When I had been told that it was a spider I had not expected it to actually be a spider, Now I had been invited to its lair to discuss this experiment with it. I felt like a fly which had been invited into a spider¡¯s parlor. Now, dearest diary to whom I write, you may be wondering why I am even bothering to explain all this to you and not jump into the action like I usually do, for that I have only one reason. Sergei, bless his soul interrupted my internal monologue to explain for me, ¡°Elly, why are you still stalling? As 7 already stated, if they wanted any of us dead, we would not be able to stop them.¡± Which brought me to where I was, standing in front of a green portal that led to only god knows where¡­ well, god and 7 I suppose. I gathered my wits and my breath, and took a step¡­ then another¡­ and another. I looked around confused, seeing a room that looked rather normal, which caught me completely off guard. I also saw who I could only assume to be the very person to call this meeting. 7 was surprisingly not a spider, though the truth looked to almost be worse. I watched in abject horror as the hooded skull looked up at me from the papers in front of it. <7> Tell me what do you see that has you so on edge? I was caught completely off guard by the voice, I thought it would be gravely and low, but instead 7 spoke in a voice that sounded beautiful, almost songlike in its quality, though I could have also expected it to be monotone, given what 7 was. I sputtered out a response, ¡°I-I see death.¡± <7> Is that all? You see what you expected to see, and I would expect no less from you, Elly Kollen. I gasped in surprise, numerous thoughts going through my head, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turning I saw Sergei behind me, though he was considerably less on edge despite being in the presence of the physical manifestation of death. Sergei spoke with a calm that only a former military commander could in the current situation, ¡°I had not expected you to look human 7. Though your looks definitely fit you.¡± 7 echoed my thoughts. <7> What exactly do you see? ¡°I see a researcher in a white lab coat.¡± Sergei elaborated. <7> Before we begin I should first explain the rules of where we are, so that none of us break them. We are in a remote part of the ¡°mananet¡± where expectations become reality. I would have chosen a different place, but it was the only one that I could find on such short notice. Now along with expectations becoming reality, there are a few other things to keep in mind, keep your expectations within certain limits, so as to not break the server we are currently in, keep more dirty thoughts out of your mind, as the admins will kick us from this server should any of those thoughts become reality, should you start to think about such things, redirect yourself by trying to not think about kittens. I felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤vu, ¡°this server¡­ is it a roleplaying server?¡± <7> As I said, I would have rather used somewhere else, but I don¡¯t want to try getting you accustomed to cyberspace while having a meeting. Admin has joined the chat room as a spectator. Message from Admin: If you aren¡¯t here to roleplay then leave, this place costs money to operate if there are users in it. With that we knew that it was time to leave. 7 did something to the portal causing it to flicker, then they stepped through it. I was quick to follow. -Sergei- The location that we arrived in looked like the domain of a mad god. It was messy and disorganized to the point of being hard to look at. All around glowing threads of neon green weaved what looked like an elaborate web of madness. We had arrived on what was a bastion of order, with the threads untangled and forced into the shape of a fortress, this place truly felt like it was safe from the disorder outside of it. As I looked around I saw 7 walking over to a room that had walls that looked far more solid than everything around them. <7> This is the meeting room, I made it extra secure so that we won¡¯t be spied on. That said, this entire place doesn¡¯t exactly have the best security. The door opened before 7 even reached it. We followed 7 inside. C4.1 Bob was your average ordinary man; he worked from 9 to 5, had a loving family, and watched the news on occasion. Today Bob had decided to watch the news. ¡°Satellite imaging has revealed that The Korean peninsula has completely disappeared. Along with Korea, Africa and Florida are missing as well. We do have some interviews of survivors from South Korea which we will show later. Europe has been devastated by some unknown force. We are unsure if this is the result of some sort of weapon¡¯s test gone wrong, or a deliberate attack by a hostile nation at this time. There is also the possibility that this could be an attack from an extraterrestrial force.¡± Bob turned off the TV, and then wondered why he heard a voice in his head that was narrating everything he was doing. Bob then shook his head and got on with his day. Bob finished up with work and started to head home. He got the feeling that he was being followed. He heard the voice that was narrating his every action¡­ but this time it was right next to him¡­ he turned and saw something¡­ I cackled madly as I tore apart Bob and ate his brain. His last thoughts were of pure abject terror! How Delicious! As I looked around I saw the faces of those that I would have to kill next, it was a shame that I couldn¡¯t give them the full experience. I was in a time crunch after all. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Lily knew that her new imaginary friend was at the door to the house so she hurried to open it for them. She talked to her imaginary friend for a bit then started showing them around her home. Lily truly felt safe and did not have a doubt in her mind about whether she could trust her imaginary friend or¡­ not¡­ I stopped by his house which was luckily inhabited at this point in time. It was not difficult for me to gain entry. The human child that foolishly followed my commands also showed me around the house, showing me every little nook and cranny that she had found, all the while she thought that I was her friend. Her screams were delightful. But all good things must come to an end. So when it was time to kill her¡­ I did so without hesitation. Lily screamed until her throat burned, and then she kept screaming. She wanted this nightmare to end, but it didn¡¯t end, not even when she pinched herself. What she saw was real, and she would be scarred for the rest of her life by what she beheld, however, she wouldn¡¯t have a long life anyway. As I walked away from my work of art that I had left inside the house, I pondered about the face of the mother and how it would look when she found it. I had to stop myself from laughing at the thought. There were people around, and while they couldn¡¯t see me, they would be able to hear me. I left, sneaky as could be and continued with my purpose as I went around¡­ from house to house, door to door. I was like a salesman, except instead of bad deals and a horrible personality, I dispensed death, and still had a horrible personality, not that anyone lived long enough to know. I was a perfect villain, and yet. I felt empty. What was I missing? And then it hit me. I was a Villain with no Hero. All good Villains had an archnemesis, where was mine? Was I just a side character? C5 -1 Hour Before the Raid- <7> cd Important_Stuff <7> ls Listing Files in /home: Resource_Request.txt L??????O??????????G??????.rlog Transfer_Request.txt Raid_Plan.pdf <7> open LOG.rlog Log accessed Data Printed Log date: 400 years after the fracturing of earth, ..--- ..... ..--- .----[ERROR Log has been dated to be over 10 Billion years old. Date of Log Recovery: 7/10/2112] Log Writer: ORACLE WARNING L?????????????O??????????G?????????????.rlog is extremely corrupted. View Log? Y/N <7> Y Displaying LOG -ORACLE- I walked across the endless desert as The Rain came down. The Rain was unnatural, being caused by a civilization¡¯s terraforming project, The Rain was beautiful. They were turning this planet from a desert world into an ocean world, as I was walking on the surface. The whole process would likely take 5 years to complete which is nothing compared to the fast terraforming processes that we have access to in the protectorate. Though I was not here to compare terraforming speeds, I was here for infiltration. I had looked through the Paths and I found this one to be the most likely way for me to gain entry to their civilization. I had aligned The Probabilities in my favor, with every action I took I further cemented my desired outcome. With my power I could bend reality, making the improbable into something that would have happened regardless of what others did. -Erschwil (Translated from ???????)- (Transcript translated from ???????) There was a life sign on the computer screen that hadn¡¯t been there before. I was about to ask high command if we should call off the terraforming project when the life sign disappeared¡­ but regardless of whether I had or not it probably wouldn¡¯t have mattered, as we had deadlines to meet. Remaining Log Corrupted As I stared at the Log that I had found on the base''s database I grew concerned about the future. The Log was recovered today and supposedly was written multiple years in the future and originated from the past. The implications of which are worrying, However I unfortunately would not have the time to properly inspect them due to the scheduled raid for which I would be running ops. -4 weeks before the raid- <7> I have finished setting up the Laboratory space in my Sphere of influence within Cyberspace, additionally I have already started to work on creating the augments for allowing the manipulation of mana by the augmented individual. Good, Though I don¡¯t know why you decided to start with that. <7> I thought that Director Kelly would be the one I would be communicating with. Is there a problem with that? <7> Negative. Though I am curious as to why it is you instead. She saw that I was comfortable with speaking to you, and asked me to be your correspondent. <7> Hypothesis as to why she doesn¡¯t want to engage in conversation with me: I frighten her. You are perceptive, I¡¯ll give you that. <7> Logged and noted. I have a name for the augments. What is it? <7> I prefer to finish at least a prototype before telling the end user the name of the product. Fine. Keep your secrets. -3 weeks before the raid- <7> Have the A.R.M.E.D. Implants malfunctioned? I can¡¯t believe you called them that, but no they have not malfunctioned. <7> Do you have a problem with the name? Arcane Redirection and Manipulation Emergence Device? Really? <7> Do you dislike the full name or the acronym? I don¡¯t like either, but I guess it works. <7> You could say that they are fully A.R.M.E.D. Please do not do this again. <7> Logged and noted. I have compiled a list of basic spells that I have discovered, for use with the A.R.M.E.D. Implants. <7> First is B.I.N.D.: When its form and function is unsigned it creates ethereal chains that prevent something from moving. <7> Second is H.U.R.T.: When its form is unsigned it creates a destructive red laser. <7> Third is H.E.A.L.: When its form is unsigned it creates a reconstructive laser. <7> Fourth is H.I.D.E.: When its target is unsigned it causes the caster to become mostly undetectable. <7> Fifth is B.U.R.N.: When its form is unsigned it creates a cone of fire. Cool¡­ I do not want to know what these ones stand for. -2 weeks before the raid- <7> Stability tests have been completed, and with that I have the first prototype, I will send it to you for weapon testing. Be careful as this thing is capable of shooting through most solid matter. Currently the weapon and the scope are calibrated to target organic matter. Do you have a name for it? <7> I call it the W.I.S.P. Rifle, I will be working on one that is of a higher caliber soon, but before that I want to work on a different prototype. I thought I told you no more acronyms. What does the acronym stand for this time? <7> Wireless Injection Special Platform. I suspect there is no witty pun for this one. <7> The name is still a work in progress If you put an Acronym on the next prototype I will personally see to the deactivation of whatever it is that writes your jokes. <7> They improve the workflow of the researchers. Besides It is wireless. -1 week before the raid- <7> Has the W.I.S.P. Rifle been working as intended? It has been working well, and we have even started to integrate it with standard operations. Do you have something new for us? I got some reports that sounded promising from your assistants. <7> They have likely oversold it, however this new prototype is fully functional and I will send one over for Weapon testing. I call it a Mana Gauss, You¡¯ll probably be able to figure out why I call it that after the first firing. No Acronym? Were you scared that I would actually follow through with my threat? <7> Didn¡¯t have time. ¡­ I don¡¯t believe you. <7> Once again I advise caution, if you use it at full capacity, (and if my projections are correct) not only will you destroy the mana battery but you¡¯ll also probably tear a hole clean through anything you point it at, and everything behind it. Test it at 1% capacity before you try anything higher, also Aim it away from anything you value. The imaging computer is set to create a full scan of what you point it at, and it is likely that we will be using it from now on with how well it has worked. Are the W.I.S.P. Rifles supposed to not need to be reloaded? <7> They have no need for reloading. The benefit of putting a mana coil into each weapon is that it can draw mana directly on site in order to recharge the mana battery in between shots. I assume that the same is true for the Mana Gauss. <7> The Magnified Arcane Neutron Augmented Generalized Actuation Universal Strength Shredder does have both a mana coil and mana battery however¡­If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I KNEW IT. <7> I created the acronym on the spot. What? <7> You seemed to be disappointed. Moving on, While the M.A.N.A. G.A.U.S.S. has both a Mana Coil and a Mana Battery, it consumes too much mana to be able to be fired as frequently as the W.I.S.P. Rifle. Instead it has to recharge after 5 shots (at 20% charge) in the span of 30 seconds, however the recharge rate is 10% charge in 1 minute. -Elsewhere at a different time- ¡°Now class, let¡¯s break down multiverse theory into something that is more understandable. Take for example a soap bubble, let¡¯s pretend that this soap bubble is a universe, now try to put something into the soap bubble without breaking it. It¡¯s very difficult, is it not? But not impossible, with the proper tools you can create a hole in a bubble and slide something in. Now take a look at this from an inside perspective, if you were in a soap bubble and had been for your whole life, how would you get out of the soap bubble? Would you even realize that you were in the soap bubble? But in this case the soap bubble is a universe, with you inside it, and the easiest way to get out would be to pop the soap bubble, or break it, which would be equivalent to breaking the universe. How would you go about breaking a universe? Now let¡¯s expand our view, to outside the soap bubble or universe, what would be out there? Would we even be able to comprehend what we saw? Would it be safe to go out there, when there are things much bigger than us that could destroy a soap bubble, a universe, with so little as an incautious movement? Would they not even be capable of noticing us with how small we are in comparison to them? This is the cosmic horror of Multiverse Theory. Class dismissed.¡± -30 minutes before the raid- Everybody was in position, all we were doing was waiting¡­ We would wait no longer¡­ I WOULD WAIT NO LONGER, I had waited long enough, 4 and a half years was time enough for my rage to build, but my rage did not burn, it was Cold, Logical, Unbreakable. If my rage burned it could be extinguished, if it was frozen it could be melted, but it was Cold, like Steel, Logical, Like Code, and Unbreakable, like the human spirit. I had thought my emotions gone, along with my once human body. I had only recently found out that we were going to be striking the facility that had turned me into what I now was. They would feel my rage, They would know what it was like to have your life torn away from you. I calmed myself down, as much as I wanted to be there I was needed here. . . But¡­ I would be able to do more than just assist with ops and navigation if I was over there. Electronic warfare was like my bread and butter, to me it was as easy as breathing, to others it was a matter of life and death. I knew that they would not risk releasing another fractal so soon after my ¡®betrayal¡¯. If I put them into needing to be defensive with an assault through cyberspace¡­ but I had to keep in mind the risks, if they attacked through cyberspace while I was away¡­ My static defenses were strong¡­ They wouldn¡¯t be expecting this attack¡­ Unless. . . I mentally shivered. IF there was a traitor I would have found them long ago, I had been checking for traitors near constantly, we had zero intrusions into our systems through cyberspace and I had been keeping a keen eye on the newer members who had arrived from the places, along with our double agents. But¡­ If I made a mistake¡­ It would cost us all much. Was it worth it? 20 Minutes till the raid Time was ticking, even as it slowed to a crawl. I set about checking for weaknesses in my defenses. As I found them I turned them into strengths even as I kept them looking like they were weak. Setting a trap for them. It was delightful. But they didn¡¯t even know where this place was in cyberspace. Even if they found it they would not be able to get in. I prepared to go to the facility that we were about to assault. <7> System Defenses have been strengthened, moving to engage in Electronic warfare. Stick to the plan, Soldier. <7> I am in charge of ops, I am just allocating available resources to the best of my ability, I will be able to command better from the front lines. Are precautions in place? <7> IF they find us, they will likely go towards obvious weak points, of which I have strengthened whilst keeping them to look weak, not even a low soul Fractal could break in with the current modifications. Low soul Fractal? <7> What I was before I killed millions. A medium soul Fractal would have a chance but it would be small. And a high soul Fractal? <7> Would require millions to be sacrificed to create, the likelihood of there being another besides me is slim to the point of impossibility. what if they used the souls of nonhumans? <7> Sub-Sapients have weaker souls than Sapients. and what would that mean? <7> would take at minimum 8 years of nonstop killing to achieve a similar rank, it has been less than a year since I left them. They have no countermeasures. They have proven time and time again their eagerness to create weapons of mass destruction is far greater than their caution. They. Will. Fall. Follow this new plan, Leave them at the mercy of their own automated defenses which you will control. <7> It will be done. 10 Minutes till raid. OPS has joined the Chat So Soon? <7> Change of plans, I will be accompanying you on this strike, Providing support from Cyberspace. Understood. Who¡¯s 7? <7> I am a Fractal intelligence that has been designated 7 by The Factory of WMDs, I look forward to bringing about their downfall. There¡¯s more of you!? <7> Yes and no. I am the only active Fractal, however there are other Fractal intelligences in lockup at the base we will be raiding, I will¡­ Harvest them. That¡¯s brutal. <7> I have calculated a 97% probability that they will welcome my embrace, those that do not I will release to assist us. What did they do to you guys? <7> Torture. . . Though my memories of the time are clouded. Dang. <7> Send me an information packet of your abilities. I¡¯m a regular human, no abilities. Though I do have a W.I.S.P. Rifle, along with my men, a few of them recalibrated for rapid fire, we also have a few M.A.N.A. G.A.U.S.S. to use. <7> Noted, I will interlock you into plans. 7 Has disconnected. [Helios] has joined the chat Am I late? -5 Weeks before raid- Whilst my opponent flailed about with their troops I guided mine with precision. My troops had clear orders, a clear chain of command. The enemy had no orders, no chain of command, I would have to be thorough with their elimination. The past 100 simulations I had been pitted against real people, people with military training, this time I was against an artificial version of The Factory¡¯s Command structure, While there was leadership, it was mostly every Human for themself, brutalistic natural selection. I had learned much from the past 100 simulations, but now would be the test. While you would think that it was easier to fight them because of their loose command structure, they had far more tenacity than the average fighting force being more akin to cultists than military. You could not even leave 1 of them alive for as soon as your back was turned they would look for a weapon, pick it up, and try to use it against you. While I wished I could say that I crushed them in the first run through of the simulation, that would be a lie. The next 100 fights were humiliating. But bit by bit, I improved. I started to predict where they would be, ambushing their ambushes. The tech¡¯s that were in charge of the simulation multiple times checked if I had hacked into the system that ran the simulation to give myself an advantage. I hadn¡¯t. I felt a sort of resonance in my soul as I queried 100rds of times within my own systems. Guessing each time where the enemy was, then querying. It only extended my decision making time by a few milliseconds, my strong Soul being host to more than 90% of the processes that I made. I developed a sort of software that, even when separated from me, could predict things. Seemingly random things like if Sergei was about to get a cup of coffee. But it could predict anything. It could predict when Sergei would get a cup of coffee, before he had even started to move, even when it wasn¡¯t at a pre scheduled time. I implemented it into the coffee machine, along with a string of code to ask it to ping every hour, and if Sergei would get coffee in an hour, the water would be heated in enough time such that the water reached the appropriate temperature right when he arrived. 7, I feel like you¡¯re trying to pull a prank on me. <7> Testing an algorithm. I trust you have had a smoother experience with the coffee machine. Why is it always hot when I go to make a cup of coffee? <7> Prediction engine software, named Seer. Still in development. I half expect it to have an acronym once it¡¯s finished. <7> Not going to happen. Why? <7> 1. I don¡¯t even know how it works. 2. It¡¯s too important for an acronym. ¡­ <7> It was something I unconsciously developed while in the military training program. how? How does it do that? <7> I¡¯m investigating it in the hopes to make it even more accurate. Make it more accurate how? It made the water boil everytime I went to go make coffee. <7> The code I wrote was to make it so that it would have the water at the correct temp when you arrived. ¡­ <7> It¡¯s a few seconds off, and it pings every hour. that¡¯s great and all but I fail to see how making it so that the water is ready for me to make coffee is relevant to winning the war. <7> Take this concept of predicting something, and apply it to the war. I see¡­ <7> Be glad that you contacted me about this on a secure line. If this got out¡­ <7> If the knowledge that I was developing Seer got to the enemy it would be slightly more than just a little annoying. Without Seer, the war is still winnable. <7> But if it falls into enemy hands¡­ even an incomplete version¡­ How accurate is it with predicting location? <7> position is more accurate than time, however time is more accurate with a shorter temporal distance. Within 90% accuracy, depending on distance. 90% of what? <7> Sorry, forgot to put my standard unit in, which is half a Millimeter. Do not let this get out. <7> I won¡¯t. For the sake of humanity. <7> For the sake of humanity. -5 minutes till raid- I quietly infiltrated their systems, not triggering any alarms. Even though the system was rigged with a ridiculous amount of alarms, to the point of entering into the domain of insanity. I took over the system quietly then sent a message to my squads. Why are we still waiting? [7] Has joined the chat <7SS> Interlinking Maps. <7> Hello Squads, prepare for breach. Took you long enough. <7> [Helios], Send Data packet including powers and skills. Good thing I prepped this before the mission, Data packet sent. <7> Received updating plans. <7SS> Maps interlinked. Who¡¯s [7SS] <7> Subsystem channel. I use it for updates and indirect commands. I¡¯ll probably make more later. So how does it work? <7> A little like fracturing my mind. It¡¯s painful until full separation. Functionally it is similar to having multiple cores on a processor. Your life sounds painful. <7> It is. But I endure. The pain fuels my hate for my creators. Hot burning or cold? <7> Cold Mechanical Hatred. What am I going to be doing? <7SS> Plan Interlock Complete. Begin Raid in 5 <7> Opening the doors near you, I have yet to access the cameras, so be on your guard. Predicting Locations of nearby hostiles. Prediction Complete, Uploading. What the ****. <7> [SEER] Prediction algorithm. Another one of my subsystems, it has an average inaccuracy of 5 mm to 10 mm for every thousand kilometers. I watched as they quickly moved in for the kill. The first was quiet so as to not alert anyone, as was the second. They worked their way through the facility without alerting anyone, finally reaching Project Containment. I pulled up the video feed of each of the cells. <7> open cells 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8. High alert when opening Cell 6. The rest are empty. What I saw in cell 6 was concerning. Cell 2 had a fairly normal alter, humanoid with not much else of interest going on. Cell 3 had a mechanical swarm type, think nanites but on a macro scale. Cell 4 had a sword that was imbued with someone¡¯s soul, typically called sentient weapon class. Cell 7 had another humanoid. Cell 8 had an insect swarm, another hive class. But Cell 6 had multiple occupants, only one of which was an alter. The other occupant was a human. The alter in the Cell was within the human occupant. A parasite class alter. More data would be required.