Chapter 103 : Change of tactics
[Author note : Hey, guys ! I'm posting this chapter from my mobile phone. Let me rant a bit. You see, before posting on this site and Patréon, I write everything on Pages, Apple's word processor software. I think it's great and since it's all saved on the cloud, I can post from my phone like this. Now the problem is… this story's more than 600 pages long by now. And when I copy-paste here, I need to go from the top to all~ the way down. It takes about 3 minutes I think since for some reason the file's not all loaded when I open it. It's a pain, I tell ya !
Anyway… if you're insterested in my work and in supporting me, please visit my Patréon page (Replace é by an e and search for Cathbel on their website). Or use this link by replacing the * by an e : https://www.patre*n.com/user?u=66371596
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Oh ! And check out the first chapter of my other story : Marvel : the Author. I'll post a chapter a week from now on !
Enjoy !]
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As Harry Potter finally came to a decision, a black haired, dark skinned beautiful woman sitting on a bench smiled beautifully. At her side, a pale skinned man with a messy bed of hair, looking half asleep asked in a monotone :
« What has you so happy, sister ? »
She shook her head and said, still adorning the same smile :
« Perhaps my time, too, is coming to an end. »
The 'brother' looked directly, and almost intently at his sister. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She couldn't be…
« You are Death. You are Endless. You can not just die. »
« You know as well as I do, Dream, that it is not so. It might take eons, the deaths and births of many universes but we do end. We are only Endless in comparison to… well, everything else around us. After all, we already have lost brothers and sisters. »
« But Death is… inexorable. »
« Indeed, and it will still continue to do so. I think I have found someone to… take my mantle. I will watch over him and decide… »
What Harry Potter was unaware of, otherwise he would have never retrieved the relics of Death, was that becoming the Master of Death, he essentially became immortal. Despite the fact, that unlike many people, he had accepted Death, he was now barred from dying a natural death. And not much out there could now truly kill him.
Dream fell silent, pondering over the feelings that he was now feeling deep inside him. And Death was more that happy to just watch life happen around her. Soon, her next client would come to her anyway… She might as well enjoy her moment of relative peace until then.
* * * * *
The Organic Interface's project to give a sentience to the Divided was not going well. As the name implied and as microorganisms were wired, it was not easy for them to come to an understanding. They simply didn't have the processing capabilities for such things. Very few, simple lines of codes dictated how they should behave : find a host, make it viable, multiply. Those were the guidelines behind everything they did.
And despite the fact that it was precisely what the Organic Interface wanted (finding the right host to make a champion and representative of the Divided), it was easier said then done. The hosts tended to not last long… Besides, their behavior was irrational at best and a dialogue could simply not take place.
Until he found the perfect host, perhaps it was best he diverted most of his efforts elsewhere. The creation of a plague that would balance things out on their world, for instance…
From the champion's memories, the Organic Interface remembered of a certain group undergoing something that might be of interest to him. A virus, transmitted through scratches or contact, that turned the infected into… something else. An agent, soldier to carry the virus to other hosts, propagate and cover the universe. The infected also possessed interesting powers, but what he was most interested was… the subservience to the group that created them.
If he could study their work, perhaps replicate it in a more controlled way, his project would be advancing greatly ! As soon as the decision was made, the Organic Interface headed upwards, staring at the sky and speeding there. He was also using the opportunity to test out the new enchantments and how they worked with his improved body.
Ever since his hardware had been upgraded, the Organic Interface had had no time to really put its capabilities to the test. Since he was under no time constraint, and the distance between where he was and his current objective was great, the OI decided to take its time.
Even though his plans were important… Imperative, even. Knowing his own capabilities could prove essential for the future. Even in the immediate future, considering who he was planning to deal with… Though if everything went according to his program, he should not have to deal with the Oans at all…
As for how he knew where Oa was located. It seemed that, despite having extensive facilities on the home base of Oa, the Green Lanterns of Earth preferred spending a great deal of their time here, instead of policing the sector (like they were intended to do) or training on Oa.
And there were three of them on this world… Each with their own sector, and each twiddling their thumbs most of the time on Earth, or playing Super-hero for the masses. No wonder the Oans were looking to change their military force/police. The OI would have done so a long time ago…
Humans and organics in general were simply too flawed for the moment. With genetics being what it is, it would take several millions of years before they truly became efficient and reliable. Simply because it was so inefficient and imperfect, the OI had wanted to speed and streamline the evolution process of species on Earth… But that would probably go against his prime objective of balance between the Elemental Realms.
Perhaps, once balance was achieved, he would revisit the idea. Though he didn't really see how fire, air and stones could evolve. Perhaps by gaining sentience… ? Now, that would be an interesting experiment to conduct !
As the Organic Interface processed thousands of datas, in addition to briefly reviewing his coming plans, he reached the limits of the Earth's atmosphere. Evidently, the anti-gravity enchantment still worked perfectly. He was a little miffed about the fact that his former, flawed self came up with it on his own and even more so considering he couldn't come up with a better one. Still, he comforted himself in the fact that, if he couldn't improve this one, he improved, as well as created, many more.
Thinking about his former self, he wondered what he would have thought about his plan to purge the Red's population on Earth… Logically, since Ned was rather intelligent, there was no doubt that he would understand, and even approve of his decision on some level. However, Ned being burdened with a human's morals, he probably would never say it, presenting himself against the very idea because it was 'wrong' ! Humans were very complicated, illogical creatures. On one hand, they knew what was needed, but they couldn't bring himself to accept it and thus, didn't do it.
The solution was simple, though… Problem : There are too many people on Earth. Solution ? Obviously, it is to lower the number of people. Ethical questions such as 'is killing human good or bad ? Or who should be killed ?' Should not even enter this equation. Which was the reason why he was working on a deadly pathogen…
Virus didn't discriminate (much) : they reached everyone, no matter how wealthy, poor, careful or knowledgeable. And the virus he was interested in was even more indiscriminate. It targeted everything living, fundamentally changing its host into… something else. Perfectly suited for combat and a mirror copy of the thing that infected it. In addition, it gave it a set of enhanced abilities.
Studying this pathogen was only one step in his plan however. Although he disliked the idea, he planned on recruiting other champions like himself. A few of them might share his disregard for ethical questions that plagued normal people… The fact that they were, in essence, people themselves was the reason why he disliked it. Unlike him, he assumed they were too prone to act out of passion rather than logic.
The Organic Interface was now in space. And as expected, the improvement done to the host body made it easy for him to move unhindered, and without any problem. He could convert oxygen from the solar energy directly. Therefore, he no longer needed to breathe since his blood and organs were almost always generating their own supply.
Now the journey… The distance was so great, it would normally take thousands of years to get to Oa. Thankfully, the OI could bend space. However, he planned to gather a few resources from the asteroid belt. Heavy and rare metals, anything his gonites could use to build beacons.
Because, although the Organic Interface's mission was limited to Earth at the moment, if his plans were to succeed, there was no reason why he couldn't repeat the process elsewhere. In time, perhaps the hegemony of the Metal would encompass the entire universe and even beyond.
Opening a portal that would bring him in the middle of the field, surrounded by floating rocks of various shapes and sizes, the OI started to scan.