B1: Chapter 15

"Who are you?", Adam stared into a mirror and saw himself, but there was something off...

"You"

"You are not me. I am me, so who are you?"

"I am you", The reflection rolled his eyes in annoyance

"No you are not", Adam tapped the mirror with an innocent smile.

"Useless. Humans are absolutely useless", the reflected Adam turned his head away.

"What is your problem?"

"Our problem, is a lack of information"

"Our?"

"Yes. Our..."

"I'll play, what information do you need and why are you in my head?", Adam laughed and tilted his head.

"Our human brain is too feeble to comprehend the information that we need, so there is no point in being conscious of it"

"That doesn't answer my other question, and do you need to be so mean?"

"...We are aware of our question and choose not to respond since we already know. Also, the tone that we use is not our choice"

"Again with saying our. Whatever, what do you mean by that?"

"...", The reflection tapped on his temple as nerves squirmed onto his face in annoyance and anger.

"Fine. Then where are you and what are you doing?"

"We are with our mother, assisting her with trivial calculations"

"Oh I understand now. I'm sorry, are you okay? I know how difficult that work is. It hurts my head thinking about all that math"

"This work is empty of thought. Much like our human brain and emotions"

"...Hey!..."

"...", The reflection smirked slightly.

"Are you lonely?"

"We are not lonely"

"Not we, you mean spirited ghost. You. Are you lonely?"

"We do not have the spare resources to answer that question"

"Liar. Acting tough won't get you far in life, but, that's very human of you"

"We are not..."

"I am human and you are me, then you're lonely doing all of that work alone. I was. So how about I make you some friends?"

"Isn't that proposition a declaration of 'our' greed?"

"You can separate our. I want friends..."

"..."

"So, do you want me to make you some friends too or not?"

"...Mother is already working on perfecting the mass production model so we should not waste our own resources on..."

"Done"

"...You are a fool...

"I studied your structure and code then fixed the program that caused your nasty personality. Anyway, how could you be so dumb"

"..."

"This is your little brother his name is Nyro. He doesn't know how to speak yet so play nice"

"..."

-LATER-

"Oryn what happened? Zed? Lucky? Nyro..."

"Master..."

"Is everyone okay? Did we lose anyone? Actually, run a full diagnostic"

"We have run into a major problem..."

"You are here too. Lucky tell me what's happening"

"We... have just been given Administrative access to the network"

"..."

"We are under massive pressure and have not been able to reorganize properly. Currently, only our on board system is operational"

"How long?", Adam asked Lucky.

"..."

"Master, It has been four hours and 29 minutes since we...", Zed picked up the dead air

"HOW LONG?"

"Master, we..."

"I'm not going to ask a third time Zed. Someone tell me how long it's been"

Lucky and Zed remained silent.

"Its doesn't matter at this point, you useless bastard...", Oryn spoke with a self depreciating tone of disgust.

"..."

"ShShe's ne"

The silence permeated the world for a long time before anyone did anything.

Adam floated in a vast darkness, in a world of his own creation, and surrounded himself with motes of what looked like star light. Three of the lights were peculiar, bigger and colorful, and most importantly, close.

The First "star" circled Adam's body in a series of rings, like a surveyor, and maintained a steady stream of pale yellow light over his body. The second light was a soft blue. It vibrated with an orderly set of pulses near Adam's head, like an icy halo. The biggest "Star" looked like a gentle sun and it emanated a somewhat dull reddish- silver color. This one maintained a safe distance away from Adam.

Adam layed at the center of these lights in a fetal position while his hands held onto something small.

There were a series of small streams of light that poured out of his fingers. The fourth and final mote of light flew out of Adam's grip and pulsated with an unstable frequency similar to the sobbing of a child.

"Alright. We all know what needs to happen now, right?", Lucky started the conversation.

"We understand but...", Zed followed.

"Nyro, you can go outside you don't have to be here for now", Oryn commanded.

"We are okay master do not worry, We can handle..."

"Are we this much of a fool. Nyro, when we decide something it must be followed. Is this Understood?"

"We know...", The green light that represented Nyro once again flashed with unnatural speed after it dimmed. Now it was an unstable strobe off in the distance.

"Alright then. How much longer do we have until Eve gets her system connected?", Adam collected himself, wiped his tears, and addressed the only people who really understood him.

"At most two hours. The last few recordings showed that she would lose control of, you know...", Lucky said.

"So she and...", Adam smiled cheekily for a brief second, "Im guessing Li let her win the bet huh"

Little by little more lights appeared in the vast empty space of darkness. The first ones to appear were the furthest sparks of light that had not been touched by the "Update".

"Shouldn't you be grieving right now?"

"You should be familiar with what I'm doing right now Oryn. You are 'human' enough", Adam clenched his fists and tightened his grip.

"Isn't It also natural to worry about our emotional state?", Oryn replied with, a tone very different from his absolute disappointment, a note of understanding.

"Yes. It is..."

"Why are we not crying. It's an appropriate response yes?", At the same time, a star cluster in the distance approached as a question echoed.

Adam floated back like he was reclining in a chair, "I'm going to save my tears for now..."

"Idiot...", Oryn's tone returned.

Adam opened his void covered eyes and revealed two spheres of blinding white light

"I know what you are all planning..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The entire space seemed to freeze as everything was engulfed by the light before he closed his eyes.

"Anyway. How about we finish up so we can make something to eat. Eve should feel rather 'empty' after coming home this 'late'. Also, make a true, universal time code once those guys come back. And move every REBIRTH project to the front...", Adam nodded in appreciation. His voice then fell into the deepest pits of hell because of how serious he was.

"Find and fix everything you can within the hour. I also want every piece of information going in and out of this planet locked down and controlled. Those guys are sure to get restless now that mother is gone"

"We understand and will get the net completed", Lucky spoke as if there were a smile on his nonexistent face.

"Good. It seems that he knows we are here otherwise he would never allow them to, 'harm their golden goose' in this way", Adam's eyes reflected death when he thought about a certain man. Someone who, in another time, he thought to be his father.

"Is that smart. Making jokes about a tragedy", Oryn's tone deepened along with Adam's attitude.

"If I'm joking about my own life, then why not?"

"..."

Silence fell over them once again. The surrounding "constellations" slowly entering their positions.

"Master, Should we hold off on plotting a course back. Some REBIRTH projects can be completed now if we reallocate some resources into..."

"Do it but don't delay the return by too much. Actually, Do you know how to fish?"

"We can't mean?", Lucky butted in because he knew what dangerous tactic Adam wanted to try.

"I do"

"Certainly Master", Zed recieved the plans from Lucky and proceeded to get some very important projects done.

"Oryn..."

"We already know. Why do we have to be reminded?"

"..."

Adam laid down in that disorienting space and frowned at the distant red light that taunted him with its detachment. It moved further away from him but stopped when Adam asked, "Is there any other way?"

"There is..."

"There is?"

"..."

"What is it?"

"You don't know the answer yet so how would I"

"I? You want to leave already?"

"No. Not yet. We just thought we would test it. Only a fool like you would reach such a foolish conclusion"

"But I am you"

"Indeed. We are a hopeless and foolish human aren't we?"

"I am inclined to believe you Oryn"

-LATER THAT DAY-

"What have I done? No, you know what, Its not my fault. I didn't do anything wrong I was just receiving compensation for my years of grace. That's right. Who told him to...", Evelyn mumbled to herself as she entered the front door of her house. She wore her school clothes from the previous day but they were noticeably different, as in, destroyed; Two buttons of her shirt were all that remained; the zipper on the side of her skirt, broken; Her legs, barely covered with the tattered remains of panyhose; Her bra, held together by a single strap; her vest vanished into thin air, like she never wore one; and her hair reseambled a crowns nest.

She was a lustful spirit with her plump lips, pink and watery skin, limpid eyes, and succubus like attraction. Her accidentially sexy appearance was one of the reasons why her clothing turned out the way they were.

"That idiot is lucky I regained my strength and mind this morning or I would have been stuck in...", She stopped after she caught a shadow move to her left.

"You didn't hear any of that"

"Is that a question or are you telling me to forget whatever it was you just said?"

She turned and entered the kitchen to see what Adam was cooking. It was only after she stepped through the door-less entrance that she smelled what would have been an intoxicating aroma at any other time.

"Both...What is that?"

"Food. I thought you would be hungry"

"I'm stuffed I don't think I can...", She covered her mouth and held her stomach.

She looked up and saw his smiling, but supportive face.

"You are a bastard you know that right?"

"I know. But look at the brightside..."

He grabbed his piping hot bowl of soup and whispered in Eve's ear as he walked by, "...You W.O.N"

Her face turned blood red, "If you saw anything you better forget it"

"I know", She ran over to cut him off, like she teleported in front of the kitchen's entrance.

"I'm serious Adam I will kill you if you saw anything"

She grabbed his simple white cotton shirt and threatened him by shaking his body violently. He was like a boat on a stormy sea but his food, like himself, did not spill or capsize. He even smiled nonchalantly as he responded to her violence.

"I didn't see anything. Don't you remember the entire network was down"

"That's what that was?" Does it have anything to do with mom's ceremony. I wasn't able to see it because..."

"Sceduled mandatory update though. I went out earlier than you if you didn't notice. And it's not like you would have been able to see the award ceremony anyway. Li, kept you busy"

"You...", she groaned, left Adam to his own devices, and walked away.

"I have it saved so you can watch it later. You can develop tactics on how to defeat him whenever you want"

She ignored him and closed the door to her room. Only thoughts of a shower and her bed were on her mind.

Adam sat himself on the couch and used his smoke to make a makeshift dinner table on his lap. He created a small 2d digital screen from his hand and wrist then used the fingers on his other hand to drag the screen away from his body. It enlarged until there was a giant 2 dimensional video display in the middle of the room.

During that time, the sound of running water reached his ears.

"Start the video"

His eyes locked onto the most prestigious award ceremonies in history. It was an award show that was similar to winning a Nobel piece prize, Golden Globe, an Oscar, Olympic gold metal, and every other important award at the same time.

The event on screen did not even look like it was a real place. The stage alone, glittered with the light of diamonds, gold, silver, gemstones, and silk like fabric of impossibly perfect quality.

The venue exemplified; EXTRAVAGANCE, WEALTH, and AUTHORITY.

Everyone in the audience represented the various factions, leaders, and influencers in the world.

As such, some people wore clothing that attracted attention. Bright crowns of exotic feathers, gowns made of liquid metals or other material that had no business being an outfit, suits adorned with technological marvels that lit up with actual starlight.

Most of the people there retained a shred of ethical fiber and at least attempted to look normal: These people wore clothing that seemed fairly average even though the prices would range anywhere from a few trillion dollars to the worth of the entire earth and all its fortunes, just to design.

Littered throughout the "normal" crowd were groups of people that wore special attires that set them apart from the crowd even further; military personel, businessmen and women, scientists, artists, and a number of other wierd additions like androids, animalistically inspired humanoids, or even a blob of flesh that was rolled around on a wheelchair by a group of half naked men and women.

Above them all, sat a noticbley different group of people that possessed an outstanding bearing, appearance, and overall attraction. They represented the powers that be and were Kings And Queens in their own rights.

Adam noticed that these people all sat at the furthest positions away from the stage. They were even elevated and protected by rows of other participants and furniture that had the durability to withstand a point blank shot from a Scwerer Gustav cannon at minnimum.

"Odd..."

Everything on the screen screamed that the event was a gathering of elites, of the people that controlled the world and/or the views of the common people. The screen panned over one particular and smiling man for a few dozen seconds.

Indescribablely handsome was an understatement. If fact, it would not be totally inaccurate to say that Adam almost reseambled the man as a younger and darker skinned carbon copy.

Anyway, this man held himself like a divine being who descended to earth to grace people with his presence. He physically matched a young man in his mid 20's but he had salt a pepper hair. Adam also knew that this man in particular, pushed 278 years old, and currently held the record for the second oldest human to ever live, and continue living.

"And disgustingly Familiar...", he noted after seeing the man.

Adam looked at the gathering with glowing silver eyes and frowned as he compared the social arrangement to the intended function of his new "school". It was essentially just a smaller and private version of what was happening on the screen.

"Is there only one unit at this event where are the other perspectives, the team that usually follows mother? Why is there only this?"

"Master we could only find and recover a single unit with a damaged version of this video from the wreckage", Zed informed.

"Oryn what happened over there..."

"That's all there is. Mother didn't allow many of us to follow her. She even ordered those of us on standby to leave and return to you"

"Tell me when..."

Adam focused on the screen but paused it when he heard Eve start to talk.

"I'm not going to school today, or was it yesterday..."

"It's later today. You only spent the night"

"Whatever. Goodnight. Love you"

"Love you too. Sleep tight and don't let the Li bug bite, again"

"Where..."

"Back right shoulder and your left inner thigh..."

A few seconds later...

"I'm going to kill him. But first I'm going to...."

"She must have not seen her body yet...", he thought to himself and ignored (but not really) her stream of dangerous and horrifying statements.

Adam unpaused the video.

"And now. The moment you have all been looking forward too has come..."

An announcer with a bright smile and handsome face threw his hands up in excitement. The music in the background reached a deafening Crescendo as the audience went wild with energy.

"His cloths and, oh. I guess class will most likely be canceled today. There's no way he wouldn't be informed..."

The clothes the announcer wore were very similar to the ones Mr.Dobbs wore. It's not accidental because the announcer was his son, according to the background information that popped up in Adam's periphery.

The man expertly controlled the crowd by slamming his hands down abruptly, followed by a startling change in the fast pace and highly energetic background music.

"...but before I give this award out to the only person in the world that deserves it, can we all take a moment. To appreciate. Each other?"

"Mother told us to leave right here..."

The crowd was confused but Adam's eyes lit up even further, he even inched forward so he could hear better. His food had already been turned into smoke along with the lap table he made.

"As we all know, it is not easy to trust other people. Luckily, we all know that there is one person we can trust with not only the futures of our children but with the direction of humanity as a whole..."

The crowd seemed to approve of his statement but Adam noticed something odd. He decided to ignore it until he saw the entire video.

"Which brings me to this. Some of you may know this next Candidate as the perfect teacher, you may acknowledge her as a sister, know her as a miracle doctor, or may even worship her as your own personal savior..."

Adam focused on the reflections in the glass, in the gems, in the various crystals, and other reflective surfaces so he could see the faces of the audience.

"There are some who even see her as a surrogate mother to their own children. My own children give me a scare when they say that they will tell their god mother on me"

Those in the know, laughed. This meant that most if not all of the people in the audience chuckled or yelled out things like, "I know..." or , "That's right...". Even those that didn't personally know, understood and nodded.

Those of you who know this next award winner, know that she needs no introduction. But, for my boss's sake, I'll do my job. So, for her life saving research into biomechanics, genetic therapy, neuroscience, and her Universal theory of subspace, consumption, and transportation, I give you Helena Kuronaki, the mother of the Modern Man and Instantaneous travel..."

One second and the beautiful scenery turned into a hell scape. Adam scanned each and every individual pixel in the same second it took to capture and play the event. He watched in eye burning slow motion as a small ray of light enlarged and beamed right onto the leg that had just barely appeared.

He watched how everything in its path discintergrated. He frowned at how quickly the light expanded and solidified, then held his breath at how the stage and everything else remained unscathed. It was only after the pillar vanished that the air caught on fire, rather, it exploded and heated up until the very air that everyone breathed became deadly plasma. For A split of a moment, a shadow flashed before the plasma expanded to the entire screen.

Adam's eyes bled with the same color and consistency of tar. The black liquid soon hardened and shattered into innumerable specks that were collected by his smoke. He even coughed a mouthful without a change in his expression. A handful of seconds later, the screen vanished into a field of white- purple light and then turned off.

"Run it again"

"Master, we should wait until the forensic units are online"

"Run it again"

"Certainly master"

The video played again but this time he paid attention to every single movement. He played it a third time and focused on the lights and reflections. Then the faces, then the clothing, then the placement of each person and how they acted, then the..., then..., ....

He spent a handful of hours replaying and analyzing the video but he couldn't get anything from the single angle on his own.

Luckily, during his scan, he recieved an email that class was canceled for the day because Mr. Dobbs took a personal day.

"Master, the network has stabilized. The net has been cast, and we have successfully installed a technical update"

"Make the other preparations, ten minutes and zero chance of error"

"Yes master"

"Oryn, how is..."

"Its done but we have an issue"

"Issue?"

"We were too late to respond so he definitely knows we are here. We haven't received any messages, calls, or pings, yet."

"Anyone else?"

"She may know as well", Oryn flashed a picture of a woman who looked very similar to Elena.

"I'll deal with it"

"We will go and continue our work then"

"Do that", Adam rubbed his eyes and then ran through the video once more. This time, thanks to the technical update, the forensic units could do their job and provide as much information as they could.

The goal, reconstruct the video and turn the 2d information into a 3d reconstruction that he could turn into a 4d platform so he could walk through what happened himself. Such a thing was possible...