Chapter Three

Dorian felt his head ache as he looked at his father's recording incredulously.

"Surprising, eh?" James quirked up his brows. "It's a long story. You might want to sit down for it." Dorian instinctively sat down with a gesture from the projection. His head was spinning.

"Firstly, I wasn't completely truthful with you. I'm not who I say I am. I'm not just your father; I'm an Oracle." The eyes of the projection closed, looking ashamed of the fact that he had lied to his son for years. "Before you start throwing questions around, let me explain what an Oracle is... An Oracle is a forerunner. We came to the earth to prevent what is happening right now, although we failed pretty badly. The leaders of this worlds are just too headstrong to listen to a warning." James shook his head.

"The first Oracle sacrificed himself to warn humanity of the impending doom. He used a part of his life force to forcefully descend onto planet Earth before it was time. Sadly, before he could do anything, he was eliminated. Another Oracle descended, however, unlike last time, he decided to prepare in secret. I'm that Oracle, son." James explained.

"After several years, I managed to prepare the earth somewhat, so it could bear the pressure that would be forced upon it when the time came. That's why I was always travelling around. Aside research, I had other motives. After several years of testing and experimentations, I finally figured out Humanity's only chance at survival - Evolution!" He had descended into his full scientific rant mode, babbling about his various findings. Dorian just listened, not sure if he should feel happy that his father was still the same, sad that the world had entered a Post-Apocalyptic stage, or just plain confused.

"Ahem, sorry about that. As I was saying, after discovering that the genes of man could be altered by blending in genes of other-worldly beings, I began developing a program that could help monitor and advise on the proper procedures. I call it the Evolution Genie, Psyker! After making several alterations on his base program and fitting it with the information from the Void, I finally created the perfect database." A small compartment opened up from inside the Capsule. In it, a vial of black liquid laid.

"Let me introduce you to the Oracle System. It's a nano-particle based artificial intelligence. It's thinking process is infinitely close to that of man, letting it develop a consciousness of its own, so it's best you watch you mouth around it." He smiled a bit, "There are only seven of its kind in the whole world. Before the end of the world, I anonymously supplied five of them to the various world leaders. I left one for you and one for myself." His tone and expression turned solemn.

"Dorian, pleas... I'm not sure if I'll live long enough for us to be reunited. I've tried my best to stay off the radar but there's a limit to what I can do. Use the Oracle System, grow stronger, protect yourself. When this message finishes off, it'll display a map showing the nearest human shelter. Go there. I see darkness brewing. It isn't done with our planet just yet... Goodbye, son." The projection flickered, switching to a map of the world. It zoomed, until it showed where exactly he was. The area he was in was dyed red, with several lighter shades of colors around it. These shades of colors were used to determine the danger zones around the world. Red was a no-go zone. The lighter it was, the safer it would be in that area.

After studying the map for some time, Dorian picked up the vial of dark liquid like substance.

"A nano-particle AI, huh? My old man never looses his edge." Dorian cracked a smile. The edge of his eyes glistened as he thought of the last words in his father's message. He formed a goal in mind- get stronger, and then find his father. That would be his priority.

Fixing a needle to the vial, Dorian injected it into his body. He felt a tad bit uncomfortable as a cold feeling rushed up his neck, and up to his head. He felt that coldness wrap around his brain, making him feel numb. A sudden awareness popped up in his mind, as though there was a ball of warmth just sitting there. He mentally reached out, nudging that ball of warmth.

[Running program... Deep scan initiated... Deep scan completed.] A monotonous voice rang out in his ears, startling him.

[Dorian Wright... About time. Time to begin our journey on the path of Evolution.] The voice adjusted from that of a cold mechanical one, to a softer tone, like that of Dorian in his early teens. Dorian scratched his head, a bit flustered. It was quite embarrassing to hear his own voice from someone or something else.