Strange Tower

Zzzzzip!

With a satisfied heart, he left the torture chamber.

"...Perhaps I'm going too far?"

He reflected on the tranquility he felt after releasing his thoughts filled with violence and bloodlust. It was evident that centuries immersed in vengeful thoughts had left their mark, transforming him into someone who, in the past, would have rejected violence.

"I'll think about that when everyone is dead."

He acknowledged that the changes were irreversible, and instead of lamenting, he accepted them with indifference.

Nevertheless, he committed to preserving his logical thinking in the face of those murderous impulses. If he aspired to annihilate an entire race with highly advanced technology, he knew that letting the mindset of an uncontrolled killer dominate him wouldn't get him very far...

With a focused mind, as Kraynnor advanced towards the control room, he mentally outlined his plans for the future.

His first priority was the creation of the two new High Humans, a task he recognized as time-consuming. The complexity of generating a new form of life, now with a brain, confronted him with a process that, at best, would take years.

All because the technology he currently had didn't meet his expectations; otherwise, the creation of his new body wouldn't have taken centuries.

However, it was his first attempt, and each step was marked by countless trials and errors. Moreover, he had only one life essence, so each step required extreme caution to prevent it from being damaged.

Since any mistake would have buried his goals forever!

To avoid wasting too much time, he was already creating new genetic creation capsules in his HoloCraft; the knowledge he had a day ago didn't compare at all to what he currently possessed. After all, his skills were almost on par with a Type One civilization.

With this knowledge, he contemplated how to accelerate the creation process of the High Humans at breakneck speed, although it would still take weeks to complete.

While at it, he divided his thoughts toward the new technology he had obtained from the Astrylites.

From plasma weapons to an almost indestructible armor and fragments of an alien ship, his technological inventory was quite impressive. Half of the alien ship he possessed, though damaged, offered many possibilities to enhance his own ship!

"What a pity that I only have half of the ship. If I could get it complete..."

He fantasized about turning his base into an empire capable of traversing the cosmos, similar to the epic visions of science fiction movies.

However, with only half of the ship and considerable damage, his options were limited to studying some of its parts to determine what he could salvage to improve his own ship. Perhaps, if luck smiled upon him, he could replicate the generator or the plasma storage system of that ship.

Additionally, there was the plasma drive system, along with the plasma laser cannons; acquiring all that would be extraordinary!

In case of bad luck, he would try to build something similar himself by disassembling those plasma weapons. Basically, he had a considerable list of tasks ahead, and if he aspired to elevate his level by killing alien creatures, strengthening himself was indispensable.

Plaff!

Upon reaching the control room, he settled into his seat and observed the screens projecting the changing exterior landscape.

At that moment, the spacecraft was sailing through the sky at Mach ten, which meant ten times the speed of sound. Although it might seem fast, the reality was that the spacecraft had the potential to reach even higher speeds; after all, it was designed to navigate the solar system as if it were its backyard!

At this speed, it would take them approximately an hour to reach land, considering they were almost ten thousand kilometers away from any continent.

"What is that?" Kraynnor asked, spotting an imposing black tower.

The tower stood in the middle of nowhere, emitting a faint red light that stood out in the darkness of the night: "Can we get closer?"

[There shouldn't be any problem.]

With that response, the ship slowed down and submerged into the water, avoiding detection by any alien beings. The 'SSF' algorithm was designed to elude technological detection; it didn't confer invisibility to the eyes of intelligent living beings.

Although they were practically undetectable to creatures without intelligence, this was not only due to the 'SSF' but also to the anti-detection system he had had for many centuries.

Zzzzhhhh...

Upon submersion, Cognitron X-12 identified several alien creatures in the vicinity. However, the quantum interference deployed by the ship instantly interfered with the electromagnetic signals and perception systems of these living beings.

"I just hope there are no Fyralithors around here; that would be annoying," Kraynnor recalled those bothersome creatures capable of detecting anything.

The ship descended thousands of meters to almost touch oceanic land.

[We are ten meters from the tower; I will send androids to investigate every aspect of this place.]

Kraynnor nodded, waited a minute, then many holographic screens unfolded before him. Soon, he saw what was happening in that metallic tower. There were large transparent windows that allowed observing the illuminated interior with red and blue lights.

Gigantic black platforms moved up and down, leisurely extracting a crystalline mineral of purple tone that emitted a beautiful light from its interior.

"Do you recognize what they are extracting?" Kraynnor, despite his familiarity with every mineral on Earth, had never seen anything similar.

In a short while, an android, protected by a suit designed to withstand intense underwater pressure, approached even closer to the tower and captured several images of the minerals. In less than ten seconds, Cognitron X-12 responded, [There is no record of such a mineral, but its origin seems to be terrestrial considering the extraction site.]

Kraynnor hesitated for a moment, but considering the chaos he had already unleashed, he said, "Can you infiltrate the interior of the tower and find out how deep it goes?"

[With plasma technology, we should be able to open a hole, but that could alert the Astrylite race.]

"No matter, they already know there's an enemy causing trouble. Destroying one or two mining towers won't change anything. We just need to be quick," he expressed with indifference. Yes, he wanted to keep a low profile, but he wouldn't let fear paralyze him. If these extraterrestrials were affecting Earth in any way, he needed to find out!

Kraynnor watched as an android emerged from the ship carrying a small device resembling a gun; one of the weapons he had obtained by killing that alien in Caelum.

As expected, the weapon showed no signs of damage due to pressure.

Zzshhwww!

Quickly, the tiny weapon emitted a violet light, releasing a plasma energy that pierced the tower's structure. The resulting hole had the dimensions of an average adult human.

Now, Kraynnor could see the interior of the tower more clearly, although it was only the platforms ascending and descending at great speed.

Zshhh! Zshhh! Zshhh!

Unexpectedly, from tiny compartments of the ship, three silver spheres were launched into the innards of the tower, disappearing inside.

On the other hand, the android agilely moved away, yielding its place to another of its companions. This was done to avoid losing the plasma weapon, knowing that it could be a one-way trip. Red lights began to blink frantically inside the tower; water entered incessantly, and the surrounding metal trembled as if it were on the verge of rupture.

Even if it was a metal created by a superior civilization, if there were damages, the pressure of over a thousand meters underwater was not something to be trifled with.

Kraynnor observed with interest everything that was happening.

The possibility of the tower being destroyed not only did not disturb him but pleased him. Why would he worry about the technology of his enemies being reduced to rubble?

Indeed, if breaking these mining towers was so straightforward, any other structure that crossed his path would meet a similar fate!

"Oh?" however, that goal quickly vanished.

Suddenly, small pyramid-shaped robots descended from the interior of the tower in a calculated movement. With calculated precision, they shot a special gray substance that, in a matter of seconds, solidified into a protective shield, sealing the hole with surprising efficiency.

"Do you recognize what that substance could be?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

[Even without taking samples, I can affirm that there is nothing registered in the database. There are similar substances that can solidify rapidly, but none of them seem capable of withstanding this pressure.]

Kraynnor shrugged, indicating with indifference: "We'll find out another time; for now, let's go."

Hooooosh!

The androids returned to the ship, which quickly retreated.

"All right, let's see what those bastards are hiding..." he whispered with a cold gaze.

How would Kraynnor observe what the android was seeing inside the tower? Simple: he deployed millions of nanobots from the DataNexo!

It was evident that he wouldn't leave such a device in Caelum. Inside the tower, the small silver spheres from before opened, releasing millions of one-nanometer nanobots throughout the structure. The android, descending on one of the platforms, began to transmit in real-time everything that was happening inside.

"..."

At first, Kraynnor watched with interest, but after a few minutes, his attention shifted from the black platform on which the android was descending.

"Has any ship appeared after the hole we created?" he asked Cognitron X-12 to distract himself. He was even considering the possibility of heading to one of the labs to examine the plasma weapons.

[Nothing has appeared. It is very likely that all aliens are focused on what happened in Caelum.]

Kraynnor understood the implication. In the explosion, practically all his 'SSF' camouflage drones had lost their joint connection. At that moment, it was likely that all the aliens on Earth had become aware of what was happening.

"Something entertaining must be happening there," he muttered with a malicious smile.

Anyway, Kraynnor wasn't worried that they would notice because before leaving, he made sure to erase all the data from the androids and any other technology that he couldn't take with him. Even the 'SSF' algorithm had been eliminated.

Each of his actions was meticulously planned down to the smallest detail; he would never leave anything unfinished.

[Now something unusual is being perceived.]

"!"

His gaze focused instantly on the screen, and upon discovering what was shown, he was left speechless!