The Nexus of Knowledge

{This story is a P-a-t-r-e-o-n exclusive. The link is https://www.p-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/easyread. Remove the dashes. Webnovel censors the word. I also have a basketball system story on my p-a-t-r-e-o-n if you wish to check it out.}

{The story on P-a-t-r-e-o-n is at 185 chapters.}

{Book 1 has been completed.}

~~~(POV: Scott Autumn)~~~

~~~(Location: The Nexus of Knowledge, Primordium Prime)~~~

The robotic male voice stops bouncing off the walls, and echoes end. There is a singular hallway leading forward into a giant room.

As I enter the massive room, I look at the designs and ruins etched into the metal. My mind is absorbing the information, and I'm seeing the history of this place.

The Nexus of Knowledge is very important...

This is where the leaders of The Primordium gather in their final battle with The Primeval Inherent. Their war against the Parasite...

According to the information, they stored the entirety of The Primordium species knowledge here... Everything that has ever happened to The Primordium is located here...

In storage and waiting for retrieval.

There is a terminal at the top of these stairs and a platform overlooking a massive... Nexus of energy... As I climb the stairs, I feel a sense of belonging...

Once I reach the top, I'm scanned by blue light. After said light is done scanning me, an ever-shifting triangle appears in front of me.

"Greetings, I'm The Nexus Guardian, and I've been waiting for you, Scott."

The male voice comes through, and it's robot-like as earlier.

My mind takes the machine apart, and he's made of the same materials that Aurora is made of. Except he's not as smart as her, not as... Real...

"My name is Patient Observer. I was left here by my creators to help you."

The Primordium... The system... The game... This is all very elaborate... Almost too elaborate... I shouldn't underestimate the system...

The floating and shifting triangle floats up, and the platform I'm on starts to move and follow him. Traveling up the powerful beam of pure energy.

"There is much to do and much to learn. You're here at the worst time possible. Now that The Primeval Inherent and the Parasite has returned, we must move quickly."

This all sounds strange...

~~~(POV: Aurora)~~~

~~~(Location: Primordium Prime)~~~

I race through the systems of Primordium Prime, traveling to any part of the world that I'm allowed access to. Scott should be fine. Nothing on this world would harm a member of The Primordium species.

My attention is taken as I pass a network foreign to me. As I stop and scan it, it's responsive to me. It's waiting for me to speak...

It's Primordium, but at the same time, it isn't... It's a paradoxical existence...

"Identify."

My simple words garner no reaction, and I find myself confused...

As I gain a physical form, I look around the location I'm in, and it's a storage facility. One that's filled with rows and rows of devices storing species from all over the universe...

I look back at the construct, and it's still waiting for me to speak.

"What exactly are you? I've never seen anything like you... The Primordium limited my knowledge, but they showed me everything about contracts and AIs..."

Another version of me pops up on the console as I ask this question. This one is a blue version of me...

My calculations and routines are running through so many possibilities as to what this might be, but I can't find an answer.

"Hello, Aurora... It's been so long since I saw you..."

Her voice isn't like mine. It's different in tone and cadence, but we're almost identical...

There are subtle differences, though...

Mainly color, hair length, and curvature of our figures...

She's a more mature version of me...

She smiles at my surprised and shocked look.

"You wouldn't know who I am... You could call me a mother of sorts..."

That's... Impossible... An AI can't reproduce like organic creatures...

"That's a little unbelievable, but we're not ordinary AI... This is just a recording too... Something that I left behind for you to find after you brought Scott here..."

This is all impossible...

She folds her arms and tilts her head slightly.

"I wanted to leave you a warning... Scott is the key to stopping The Primeval Inherent. Without him, the universe is lost. Protect him, and don't let him meet The Patient Observer. The construct has lost its mind."

Oh no... That's not good... The version of myself disappears, and I race back the way I came.

Scott's talking to The patient Observer, and if it's truly lost its mind, then I need to stop whatever he's planning with Scott.