Star Force: Origin Series Box Set (29-32)

by Aer-ki Jyr

  “Any side effects?”

  “Not so far, and I don’t think there will be. It’s pretty straight forward stuff. If anything I’d be concerned with the psionics upgrades, but there hasn’t been one reported case of problems to make its way back here.”

  “There hasn’t been,” Paul confirmed.

  “I guess you’d know before me,” the tech admitted. “You guys seem to keep things pretty close to the vest, if you ask me.”

  “When you do what we do,” Paul explained, “other people just don’t get it. If we want to share something, better to share it with those that will understand. Are we good to go?”

  “Just running a few final checks. There’s a bit of anomalous coding in your genome. Don’t want you to end up growing another arm or something,” he joked.

  Paul frowned. “Define ‘anomalous?’”

  “Something that doesn’t match the Zen’zat template. I’ve seen a few of these before. Standard protocol is not to touch them, but I like to give the person the option…which is why I’m trying to isolate what the deviation is. Don’t want to take away any accidental superpowers you’ve developed,” he said with a wink.

  “What were the others?”

  “The ones that I personally handled were mostly dormant, so we lost them in the wash. Two were active. One was an alteration in the lungs, the other was a growth in her feet. The lungs was an improvement, the feet weren’t, so we undid the growth. Never heard how that turned out, but since we didn’t get back any bad news I assumed there wasn’t a problem.”

  “Do you remember who she was?”

  “Don’t have to, have the file saved,” the tech said, pulling up a side menu and going back through the history logs. “Agnieszka-2117. Came through here a little under a year ago.”

  “What was the growth?”

  “It waaassss…” he said, checking, “a lump in the ankle. A bone growth, to be specific. It wasn’t hindering movement, but it didn’t need to be there so she opted to have it removed.”

  “How long did that take?”

  “The regenerator in this thing can take you apart and put you back together alarmingly fast, though technically it doesn’t tear anything down, it just regrows you to specs…but if there’s tissue there that’s not in the specs it has to get rid of it.”

  “What if you use the wrong scan? Do I end up with someone else’s body?”

  “No, it doesn’t work off a scan. It pulls directly from your living genetics, which is why we have to alter those first. There are gobs of safety protocols built in, so don’t worry. I’ve been using it enough that I pretty much know what I’m doing,” he said with a smile.

  “I’m overflowing with confidence,” Paul said sarcastically.

  “Here we go…your anomalous coding is centered around your nose. Looks like a deformity.”

  “How does it know that, based off of Zen’zat standards?”

  “Zen’zat genetics don’t include any deformities…or, to put it another way, there’s a range of possible body shapes, and when something is outside of them it flags it as a deformity. Yours makes your nasal passage a bit larger than normal. That probably allows you to get a bit more air into your lungs…”

  “And water up my nose?”

  “I can’t say to that, I’m not much of a swimmer.”

  “Tempting…” Paul said, considering the revision, “but leave it as is for now. Anything else?”

  “Nope…scan is clean aside from that. Well, I mean clean as in big stuff. There’s a lot of dormant coding that will uncover that won’t have any immediate effect. Stuff that’s supposed to be dormant at the outset, but not buried as far as it is now.”

  “Second tier psionics?”

  “Not what I was getting at, but probably. Over the millennia our genetics have adapted to fit the requirements of our daily lives. Zen’zat are fighting and training. The populace…not so much, so some of the shifts have been detrimental, making you work harder for advancement than you should have been. Think of it like a parking lot that gets snowed on and never used. Builds up a thick layer a foot or so deep. Then you try and drive in and park and have trouble moving through it all. When we reset to defaults, the snow gets wiped away.”

  “End result?”

  “You get a little more superhuman than normal? I don’t really know. You’d have to ask the other Archons that have had the procedure…though it would be different for each of you, to some degree. I would guess the younger ones would see more of an effect, given that you guys have already brushed off most of the ‘snow’ already with your insane training…hence the spontaneous psionics appearing.”

  “Or I can just find out firsthand,” Paul commented.

  “Yeah…can I ask you something?”

  “Shoot.”

  “We’ve all got Zen’zat genetics…so when are you going to let non-Archons get the procedure?”

  “For what purpose?” Paul asked neutrally.

  “Well…you’d think that the Knights should, at least.”

  “The Knights are trained to do one thing and one thing only, and that’s fight hand to hand. If they branch out into other areas it will dilute their efficiency. They’re not as good as us, so the only way they can keep up on the battlefield is to focus all their training into one area. That and the drug enhancements are the only reason they’re on par with us.”

  “What about the rest of us then?”

  “Other than it just being cool, what do you need them for?”

  “General advancement of the Human race, for starters. I’m sure I could cite several specifics if I had time to think about it.”

  “Let me ask you a different way…why aren’t we giving all the Archons the procedure?”

  “I wondered that myself.”

  “Because the adepts already have a lot on their plate, and they need to focus on other areas of training. Throw too much at them and it’ll slow their development. Let them master a few things first, then give the psionics a go. Stair-step advancement.”

  “I suppose that makes sense, from a certain point of view.”

  “Feeling left out?”

  “I suppose you could say that…especially since I’m operating the very machine that makes it happen and I’m not allowed to use it on myself.”

  “I can understand that,” Paul sympathized.

  “But you’re still not going to let us?”

  “I won’t say an absolute no, but if we’re not letting adepts, why would we let anyone else of lower rank?”

  “What about the Director?”

  Paul raised an eyebrow. “Has he been down here?”

  “No…just thinking out loud.”

  “Fine, you win…” Paul relented. “When 900 years old you reach, get the procedure, you will.”

  The tech frowned. “You’re not even 900 yet.”

  Paul shrugged. “Archon.”

  The tech pointed at him. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  Paul smiled. “How old are you?”

  “112.”

  “Remind me in 788 years.”

  “Deal,” the tech said, glancing over the final settings. “Looks like we’re good to go. Try and hold still while the machine makes contact. After that you’ll be numbed up and can’t move anyway.”

  Paul rolled up his sleeves as he’d seen the previous Archon do and placed his hands on two circular pylons in front of him. “Ready.”

  “One Archon car wash coming up,” the tech said deadpan as he activated the machine.

  The entryway Paul had walked in through disappeared as several arm-like mechanical extensions twisted around the chamber like fast-growing roots of a metallic tree, with several of them moving in and making contact with Paul’s body. Both of his arms and the back of his neck were targeted, then he felt a numbness creep down his back and up his arms as the liquid metal spread out across his body underneath his clothing like a regenerator, finally spreading up over his face in tendrils and causing him to get dr
owsy enough that his eyelids flopped down and cut off his vision.

  “Just relax,” the tech said reassuringly. “Your genetic code is being reset, and it takes a while to hit every cell of your body, especially the deep tissue. The range of the filaments is rather short, but considering the rewrite they’re doing it’s downright amazing. I’m tracking the progress on the hologram and everything is proceeding normally. Just wait this out for a few minutes.”

  Not like Paul had a choice. He felt like he was wrapped up in a numbing cocoon.

  “If you’re curious to know, the genetic reset would be sufficient on its own,” the tech said, purposefully making conversation to give Paul something to focus on, “but the growth process of the new tissue would take time and could develop problems, somewhat like your fellow Archons were suffering from. By building the tissue here and now that problem is avoided…and you have instant access to the new abilities, though it will take time to learn how to use them…you’re at 25% now and looking good.”

  Paul would have nodded, had he any control over his head. He sensed it was still upright, but had no way of knowing if that was an illusion or the machine was locking it in place. All he saw was staticy black with a disembodied feeling, almost like he was floating in a cool sea of nothingness.

  He’d used a regenerator before, but it had never taken this long, nor had it had this total body takeover…then again, his injuries had never been so massive as to require it, either. He wondered how much this would hurt if he wasn’t numbed, or if the genetic alterations could even be felt.

  “50% now…still going strong. Getting down into your skeleton a bit. This thing goes after every cell, no matter how compacted or dead. Even the hairs on your head get altered so there’s no competing genetics. A bit of overkill if you ask me, but the V’kit’no’sat tech has a reputation for being thorough…at least the medical implements are. Don’t know about the rest.”

  “Looks like it’s into your major organs now,” the tech continued. “Don’t worry, operation of your heart and lungs won’t be affected, the machine hits them on the run, so to speak. 75%, and now transitioning up into the brain. Last stop for the changes…and don’t be alarmed if your vision and hearing go…”

  Paul heard a pause, then several seconds later the man’s voice returned.

  “…and that’s when it gets reset. Looks like it’s just about finished…now. 100% genetic transformation. Congratulations, you’ve just had your Zen’zat genetic bath, now to get your physical parts matching up.”

  In mind’s eye Paul’s legs and arms came back into existence, but only partially. He could feel they were there but still couldn’t move them.

  “Don’t try to move, even though you may be sensing some motor control returning. The psionics are all centered in your brain, so it’s important to keep your head still while the regenerator grows them. You’ll be gaining a few grams of tissue, by the way, so you may have something of a headache for a day or two while your equilibrium resets. The regenerator takes care of most of that, but I’ve heard stories of it taking a few days for the effects to fully wear off, and you Archons aren’t given to whining, so I assume it must be significant if you’re talking about it.”

  As he spoke, Paul could feel a pressure building inside his mostly numbed head, then it subsided, only to repeat again several times before the regenerator liquid leads finally retracted from his back and gave him full use of his body below his neck, but his head was held in a brace that the machine arms had formed that wouldn’t let him move so much as a millimeter.

  As instructed he tried to remain still, but had the urge to twitch his finger…which he found was firmly stuck to the pedestal his hand was on.

  “Almost done now,” the tech said. “Making some final calibrations to the rest of your brain tissue to accommodate the new hardware. Your hands should disconnect shortly. That’s where the extra material for the new issue is entering your body. If you could see the hologram you’d be impressed with all the micro-conduits the regenerator is creating and disassembling inside of you. How it doesn’t damage your tissue in the process still amazes me…there, procedure complete.”

  Paul’s head unnumbed to a slight headache as the mechanical arms retracted, both away from his body and into their previous placements, opening up the doorway out of the transformational cage.

  “Take it slow,” the tech urged. “Best to let your head settle before you try…”

  Suddenly Paul’s vision snapped open…or rather his visual information was augmented by his Pefbar ability, allowing him to see the cage around him in all directions, lacking in detail as it was save for the areas still in his vision, which now seemed to be laden with extra clarity.

  “Holy crap,” Paul said, getting used to the spherical vision, “this is so cool.”

  “I hear that a lot,” the tech mildly complained. “Guess I’ll have to wait 788 years to find out for myself.”

  Paul grinned. “Test out as an Archon and you can do it in less than half that time.”

  The tech sighed. “I think waiting is my only hope. You’re done now, so you can step out.”

  Paul walked out, seeing his field of vision go with him, which he measured at about a meter or so in range. He concentrated, trying to get it to shut off, and succeeded on the third attempt, then he turned it on and off several times until he’d gotten the feel for it.

  “Are you alright?” the tech asked.

  “Bit of a headache…and head rush. These new perceptions are intense.”

  “You’ll adjust…what are you smiling at?”

  “Nothing,” Paul said, forcing the expression off his face. “Thanks a million.”

  “If you feel like sharing with the rest of us let me know,” the tech said, trying one more time.

  “We’ll see,” Paul said as he walked out. There wasn’t anyone else standing in line, which gave him a few meters of clear space where the tech couldn’t see his face and Paul let his unguarded smile return.

  Now…a Jedi you will become, he said mentally in Yoda’s voice. And a powerful Jedi you will be.

  7

  April 2, 2410

  Solar System

  Earth

  Paul raced across the obstacle course, stinger rifle in hand, and ducked down behind a low barricade just as a flurry of shots passed through where his head had just been. He ‘heard’ a telepathic signal in his head, a sort of sound/image that the Archons had developed as copies of their hand signals, with this one meaning to stay down…followed immediately by the wait command.

  Paul did as instructed and stayed hunkered down behind the wall as he heard more whiffs of stingers being fired elsewhere on the course. He couldn’t see much beyond the floor in front of him and the wall to his left, so he flipped on his Pefbar and immediately got an image of what was on the other side of the wall, including the turret that had been firing at him. He saw its barrels rotate around and away from him, quickly followed by him receiving a telepathic ‘go’ command.

  The trailblazer rose up on a knee and spun, bringing his rifle around and disconnecting his Pefbar as soon as his regular vision crossed the contact…then he reached out and felt for a presence in the turret, finding the mechanical version of a ‘mind’ inside the device. He mentally latched onto it and concentrated hard as the barrels fired a few shots off to the side then began to track back around towards him.

  Summoning what felt like all his mental strength he used his limited Fornax ability and sent a disruption beam into the turret, specifically targeting it and not generating an omnidirectional field. The mechanism in the turret registered the telepathic white noise effect and deemed it to be above the threshold limit…which triggered the targeting sphere to quickly rise up out of the top of the turret for a few seconds of vulnerability.

  Paul peppered it with green paint splatters then duck-rolled to his right, coming back up just in time to hit it with two more before the target sphere retracted. With enough stun energy delivered to
the target it ceased firing, though no other visual sign was given that it was deactivated. The target sphere retracted and the turret remained silent, prompting Paul to launch himself over the barrier and run up towards a vertical pylon just on the other side of the turret where he began climbing a ladder built into the side one handed, as he still held his rifle but without any armor or strapped rack to attach it to for carrying purposes.

  Knowing that the turret behind him would eventually reactivate Paul moved quickly, but hesitated when he got to the top.

  Clear? he asked Angel-676 telepathically, focusing specifically on her mental location. Like his Pefbar ability, he could sense minds in all directions simultaneously. Some appeared like stars, tiny pricks on the horizon, while others stood out much larger, despite their varying distances. The tiny ones were the telepathically active machines, while the other Archons in this challenge were the larger signatures.

  He got the ‘hand signal’ version of ‘clear’ coming back rather than the word, which they’d learned to use to differentiate between saying it was clear and asking if it was clear. Paul’s transmission ability had progressed to the point where he could articulate words, but signaling to an individual person was still tricky and required him to stop and concentrate to do it.

  Fortunately one didn’t require any Ikrid ability at all to receive signals, so while he popped up over the top of the ladder and began crawling across the raised platform that led to a suspension bridge he heard Angel’s telepathic warning loud and clear.

  New target on the ceiling…move Paul!

  Trusting her he launched himself across the bridge at a run, only sensing the new pinprick above him as he hit the halfway point. He didn’t bother trying to knock it out with a Fornax beam, because there was no way he was going to be able to hit it with his rifle over his head on the run before it nailed him…so he just tried to outrun the stingers that began falling around him.

  Had this been one of the old school turrets he would have made it across…but the newer versions had been improved with greater rotational and tracking speed to counter for the Archons’ growing agility, and despite his official level being only an acolyte, his physical skills were still ranger level and the difficulty of the turrets had been adjusted to match.