“Oh goodness.” I tried to take a breath, but my lungs felt empty. Not lacking air, just not filling up either. It made sense because I was both a robot and in space.
I counted to ten while trying not to panic. My foot absently jerked in zero gravity. The yawning abyss of an intergalactic medium hadn’t defeated my walks upon the ship’s hull. It couldn’t make me kneejerk into releasing this current body to go back to my starting point.
“This is a bit freaky,” I said as the world kept spinning. Seconds passed and it occurred to me that oxygen would never run out. One of the joys of being robotic meant an absence of that fear.
I wondered briefly if Hal Pal feared something else instead. Like a giant electromagnetic pulse frying things. Maybe the stars’ radiation and sunspots could put my new body out of commission. Well, that would be okay, but space itself wouldn’t be the cause of my release.
I started to talk to myself again but managed to choke back the words. Dusk wasn’t nearby.
Finally, after feeling certain that there were no expected rescues or stars nearby, I pressed the release button.
Reality did that gut wrenching pull through space again. I felt like barfing but apparently robots don’t throw up. If the other [Mechanoid]s felt the same sense of disorientation I did they would blink into a new body staring at their feet.
Which is what happened to me. I vowed to die less in this game if only to avoid nausea. By now the ship’s layout felt familiar. A small map to one side showed the [Wayfarer Seven] and dotted a path back to the outer hull. My quest to keep cleaning remained in effect.
After a few minutes, during which I braved the outer rim, I made it back to Treasure in her little shop. The place was the least tidy in the entire ship. Even with the [ByteMite]s cleaning all over. Dozens of the small creatures scooted in and out while Treasure watched a dozen different screens.
“Ah. Unit Hermes. Your consciousness has successfully been transferred. Are you alright? Is your core in one piece?” Treasure smiled. Her golden coloring seemed to be laced with a secondary series of lines that escaped my notice the first time.
“I think so,” I answered while trying to puzzle out the other color. Silver maybe? It had a shine to it that simple metals didn’t. “I got knocked off by some creature and couldn’t hold onto the ship.”
“It’s alright. The ship’s reserves have more than enough resources to recreate you. Shifting your consciousness takes time due to the space lag, but this sector is supported well.”
“That’s good.”
“Indeed, less complex programs transfer quickly. Were you to suddenly increase in parameters the transfer could take days,” Treasure said and smiled. I took her brief explanation to mean that having additional skills and abilities would lead to a longer resurrection time. Video game hurdles were once again explained by in-game logic.
“What happens to my old body?” I asked.
“It will compact and await pickup by a drone.” Treasure turned away from me and shrugged. Her eyes looked back up at the screen. “This unit does have a question.”
“Okay.”
“You said there was a creature on top of the ship?” She turned to look up at me. I had gotten closer in order to better see the monitors in front of Treasure. Even distracted her hand kept pressing buttons on the display. It made for an oddly interesting view. Too bad she was a robot.
“Yeah. Something small and black.” I tried to remember the blur that knocked into me twice. Why anything would use a headbutt as their primary attack was beyond me.
“Strange. We haven’t passed any life-bearing locations in quite some time,” Treasure said with complete confidence. Her dual tones merged together in a sweet but tired drag.
“I wouldn’t know,” I said while being annoyed that my own voice didn’t perform any special harmonics. What use was being a [Mechanoid] if I couldn’t get any neat colorings or speech patterns? Maybe I needed more levels or skills.
“I checked the readings. There is a small thermal signature on the hull and has been since roughly the time of your first unit’s awakening.” She looked at me again with one eyebrow up in a question. [Mechanoid]s didn’t have real hair, but there was a slightly darkened bump that passed for an eyebrow.
“Really?” I squinted in thought. Or I would have squinted had my eyelids worked right. It was strange not blinking. The fact that some small black creature had shown up at the same time as my creation of this character seemed questionable at the very least.
“Affirmative. This unit hopes you will be able to capture the creature so we can determine how it got attached. There are additional questions regarding its ability to survive in a vacuum.” Treasure walked away toward another screen, then shook her head. Moments later she was standing near a panel in one wall.
“That does sound odd.” I said slowly.
“Indeed. Very few creatures of that size are able to do so, and most are unfriendly to other life forms.” Treasure frowned and pointed toward a screen near me. There was a fuzzy image of a small raptor-like creature with an extra small set of arms.
“I’ll look into it.” This whole situation was suspicious. Very, very suspicious. A new message popped up to distract me from the various possibilities running through my mind.
Task: [Clean the Sensor Array] partially complete.
Task: [Clean the Sensor Array] removed.
253 Contribution awarded
New Task: [Investigate the Sensor Array] available.
Your commentary regarding a possible life form on the ship’s hull has brought worry to the Consortium. Please continue your contribution route by reviewing the outside of the ship for possible disturbances.
Note: Violence is allowed under Consortium guidelines. Treasure has asked that you avoid damaging the creature if possible.
I blinked and tried to figure out if that was a lot of contribution or not. There was nothing good to measure it against. Maybe being a mop man paid the same as a janitor did years ago before the work started being outsourced to robots. The idea of a minimum wage version of contribution made me laugh.
“Unit Hermes. It’s dangerous to go alone, take this with you,” Treasure said. In her hands was a small wristband. She must have pulled it out of the wall panel while I looked away.
My words accompanied taking the small item. “What’s that?” It looked like a wristband that was wide enough to cover most of my forearm.
“A combat program holster,” Treasure said.
Small pictures and symbols were flashing across my vision. Bits of information that looked like code that didn’t associate with anything else. This was different than the body enhancement which gave me [Anchor]. That had been purely physical sensations where this upgrade seemed to be mental.
Was this what Hal Pal felt while running various program upgrades? How strange.
Attention unit identified as Hermes!
Software upgrade received: [Combat Program] (Loadout Storage)
Enhancement Details: This additional equipment will fuse with your neural network. All combat subroutines will route through this to reduce core processor stress load. Resources are pulled from your current chassis and can be patterned in numerous shapes.
“It uses the same technology our shells are built with in order to provide adaptable weaponry,” Treasure said as images kept flickering by. They had died down a little once the pop-up box came into being. “Combat loadouts may vary and require significant contribution to acquire.”
“So I have to work, to earn additional weapons?” I missed [Morrigu’s Gift] and [Morrigu’s Echo]. My weapons in Continue Online were absolutely the best. Using them only made their broken nature more apparent compared to normal weapons.
“That is correct, Unit Hermes. Your current value to the consortium allows for two patterns to be inserted. What type of combat do you prefer?” She smiled a bit while looking at me. I guess combat was second nature to [Mechanoid]s. Or maybe they were just realistic about the
need to be prepared while venturing out in space. There had been six other Wayfarers before this current one.
“Can I do a giant sword?” I defaulted to the style Old Man Carver had passed on.
“Negative. You do not possess enough material to support such an item,” Treasure said, more exhaustion than sweetness was evident in her tone. I reread the box from before and zeroed in on the line speaking about weapons pulling from my current mass. “Please consider something small or an energy based weapon that will utilize your core’s power.”
“Um…” A box came into sight with a few options to choose from. I guess the game was helping me since space weaponry made no sense. Options were poked through slowly.
Treasure set about inspecting her lab and chasing around [ByteMite]s while I poked through options. There were a few extremely high-end ones well outside my reach. I saw one that basically turned my arm into an energy cannon like an old style video game character. The contribution required would be almost triple my current total.
I flicked through numerous options. Most were distance based. This was intended to be high science fiction so I guess everything having lasers made sense. As much as a game could. Me being a robot body made of metal that could move around its atoms in order to use skills like [Anchor] kind of stretched the limits.
Finally, I settled on two. One would allow me to try something new. [Wrist Blaster] did low damage and had minimal range. It didn’t get in my way either since I could basically curl my hand down and fire it off the top.
The second was double beam sword with high damage and an absurd energy drain. It at least felt the same size as [Morrigu’s Gift] in the two-handed form. Months of training with that blade wouldn’t be wasted even here in a new game.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“I am.”
“Very well. They will load shortly,” Treasure spoke and small loading bars started crawling across my lower right vision. “You should see an activation icon on your interface. Only one may be active at a time without further modifications.”
“Got it.” The loading bars dinged upon reaching one hundred and transformed into icons. I focused on the laser one and felt my arm tingle with energy. It seemed comparable to a small volume electric jolt.
“Unit Hermes, please continue your contributions, and be careful.” Treasure blinked a few times, looking worried. This game, even though it wasn’t Continue Online, felt amazingly well thought out.
I nodded then focused on the other icon. A bit of metal looking like an unlit candle trident appeared in my hand. There was a trigger button under one thumb. Pressing it made two large beams shoot out to about three feet in length. It was like [Morrigu’s Gift] meets laser sword. This felt almost natural minus the lack of color. Maybe once I got my own color scheme like Treasure’s silver and gold the sword would adapt as well.
According to my choices, the laser beams only drained energy when fired. I had never shot a gun so this would be completely new on all fronts. Hopefully being a [Mechanoid] included target assist skills. Even after months in Continue Online, my throwing ability had huge gaps. [Blink] made distance fighting nearly unneeded.
“I’ll check it out now,” I said to Treasure. She nodded and waved goodbye.
Getting outside was a bit quicker. [Anchor] had increased in efficiency during my prior hours of cleaning. I knew where the handholds were and only cleaned parts of the hull within easy distance. Each small pile of gunk gave minor contribution points even with the task removed so there was value in cleaning.
Finally, I was near my prior spot. We weren’t traveling through a debris field at the moment, plus I had hustled along a lot faster instead of woolgathering while cleaning. [Anchor] turned off while I grabbed onto one of the many handholds on the ship’s hull.
I would be ready this time.
Off in the distance stood my small target. I studied it, wary about being knocked into space again. It was a tiny creature without wings that hooked into the ship’s hull with springy legs that ended in sharp claws. A three-foot long tail snaked out behind it and jabbed into the hull as an anchor.
“Neat.” I realized how it survived without floating into space. In my case, the answer was [Anchor], but that creature actually latched on. Our ship was moving at insane speeds, but there was no wind to tear at us.
I would have to ask Treasure or Emerald how the ship managed to avoid G-force pulls. Maybe it was a game mechanic to allow people to go on the outside of the ship.
The small creature looked around nonchalantly before yawning. A clack of jaws brought back memories of a certain [Messenger’s Pet] riding on my shoulder and making that same noise.
“Dusk?” I said. My own sound became muted by the void of space. There was no atmosphere for a vibration to carry through. Somehow my [Mechanoid] body could detect other sounds, though. Was that programmer error or some feature I didn’t notice? The small creature’s head perked up anyway. My second attempt was much louder.
“Cupcakes?!”
Over the small bundle ran, loping with claws and a tail jabbing every few feet. It was a sloppy hop. Abruptly I realized that if this was Dusk, the reason he headbutts me must have to do with adapting to a new body. He would have an even harder time using those limbs than my robotic frame that couldn’t blink.
Finally, the small bundle latched the long tail about my neck, a sensation that didn’t hurt in the slightest. Then it was up on my shoulder headbutting me like a small cat, raptor, thing. He was close enough to actually hear pleased chirping.
“Dusk?” I looked to the side and questioned.
The small creature nodded twice.
“How did you get here?”
Session Forty Four – Biologic Cargo
I hurriedly marched back to the ship proper. It was that or log out to shout in my Atrium. Both felt like valid answers to the absolute confusion of having Dusk appear in another game.
Differences and similarities ran through my head while he chirped away happily. There were no smiley faces or frowns above his head. The mannerisms were clearly the same as my [Messenger’s Pet]. Chirping, tail around the neck as an anchor, jaw clacks when yawning. The weight and size were even roughly the same.
Plus, and this was the weirdest part, he just felt like Dusk. The creature could only be a mental representation of computer code yet I assigned a feeling to him. Known to me in the same way as a familiar scent, or a childhood blanket.
Finally, we made it back into the ship. The hatch sealed behind us while oxygen flooded in. For [Mechanoid]s it was useless, but it did help verbal speech. Dusk’s form seemed to take no notice one way or the other. It also lacked wings and his back curved differently. Maybe my entire belief that this raptor body was Dusk had been based on a desperate need to connect with the other game.
I had issues with Xin, why not Dusk? The weight of years stacked up quite differently between the two. Xin and I had known each other for nearly fifteen years. The [Messenger’s Pet] equaled out to less than half a year. Far less depending on my perception versus autopilot time.
It sounded like Dusk. Now that we were inside he chattered away even more. A passing [Mechanoid] colored in dirt brown gave me an odd look, but we kept moving forward. I ignored the silent judgment regarding my new noisy necklace and traveled back to Treasure’s room.
“Ah, Unit Hermes, welcome-” her words cut off abruptly as she laid eyes on the creature who might be Dusk. If nothing else I had completed Treasure’s task to bring it in without harming him.
“Hi.”
“Is that the creature?” she asked, her tired voice was buried under the sweet one. Dusk, or the creature who might be Dusk, tilted his head and chirped with his bird-like noises.
“I think so.” I only learned what Dusk was because James gave me an [Identification] skill last time. Was there such a thing in this world?
“Can I have it? I’d like to see what it’s made of.”
“No!” I jerked back and Dus
k let out a startled squawk that sounded more like a hairball being harfed up.
“This unit won’t cut it!” Treasure must have seen my panic stricken face. Assuming I actually had expressions and didn’t look like Hal Pal’s muted self. “It needs to be scanned and cataloged.”
“You can do it from there.” I stepped back a little from the shorter [Mechanoid]. She didn’t seem upset. A giddy hop accompanied her as she yanked down some device from a wall. It went around Treasure’s wrist much like my [Combat Program].
“What’s that?”
“It will take a reading of his biomass.” Treasure stared right at the tiny creature who might be Dusk. Her eyes glowed with a gold and silver lacing. “Hold on a moment, you precious little creature.”
The small wingless not quite a dragon tilted his head and I felt sure it was my buddy. Those thighs were basically the same. The slight curve of the skull. Even the amount of weight on one shoulder felt familiar. It had only been a week without Continue Online, but I missed him.
“I don’t know if he’ll be in any of your systems,” I said.
“He’s not anything this unit recognizes, which is amazing.” Treasure looked at the wall for a moment. Figures and numbers came up but nothing outright useful to me. I expected a name at least but ended up with question marks.
“That is you, right Dusk?” I asked the small creature. He nodded twice more. “Should I ask for cupcakes?”
The resulting circle of happiness on my shoulder caused Dusk to trip over his longer tail.
“Still getting used to the new form?” I said. That resulted in a look of confusion from Treasure as she watched our back and forth. Dusk managed to shake his head while growling.
“Do you know this creature?” she asked me with both eyebrows partway up. I guess [Mechanoid]s did have eyebrows that responded.
“Probably. I think he followed me from another place.” I didn’t want to say game. There was no telling if the programs in this world were complex enough to understand. At least in Continue, I could tell an NPC pretty much anything without fear of them breaking.
Continue Online (Part 3, Realities) Page 8
