Chapter 58: Change the World

The wind bellowed and blew over the mountaintop; Mark sat upon the snowy peak overlooking the vast range of the Himalayas. He said nothing, and neither did HAP; they had not spoken for an entire day. His thoughts would not stop, constantly reminding him of the overwhelming implications of what he had just done. Images flashed inside his mind of his family, now gone permanently, and of all those he killed, innocent or otherwise. To suggest he regrets it would be wrong, but Mark knew his time as a 'hero' was over.

It had dawned on him hours after the events as he settled on the peaceful mountain. His stare was pointed at his hands, neither eye leaving their poignant gaze. Finally, after what felt like a mere second for Mark and entire lifetimes for HAP, the AI spoke.

"It is beautiful, is it not?" HAP announced, almost startling Mark.

He stared out onto the mountain range, taking in its glory and vastness, a natural creation, mankind unable to create such a thing.

"Beautiful? Indeed it is." Mark responded, "It's still strange to me that you can think it's beautiful; a part of me still thinks of you as an unfeeling AI. But... I'm glad you're not."

"That honour goes to you, Mark. You made me; gave me a life, thoughts and emotions. I may not... understand them or see them the same as you, but I have them. And for that, I am eternally grateful, more than words can express."

Their conversation stopped as both looked out through Mark's eyes onto the white and grey landscape. The wind picked up as sounds of fluttering wafted into his ears, left-over scraps of cloth pulled and pushed by the drafts.

He stared at the rubbish scattered across the peak, bottles and climbing gear dumped without regard. Mark groaned as he sat up, his peace disturbed by the crunching of snow slowly slivering into his ears. It was coming from down the slope, his eyes piercing through the wind gusts and harsh conditions, spotting a travelling band marching up to the top.

"You have been up here for too long." HAP said, "You should return."

"How long? How long has it been?" Mark tentatively asked.

"Less than sixteen hours. You should... brace yourself."

His dead, silent chest finally moved as he huffed. Turning northwest, he took off from the world's tallest mountain as snow spattered down the overreaching slopes. He heard the travelling group gasp and cry at the sudden, sharp wind before it calmed; his destination back to Tayi.

'Should... should I ask? But do I actually want to know?'

Minutes went by under his mental indecision before he finally asked. He mentally cursed his cowardice, speaking to HAP through the psychic connection.

"How... ugh, how's it looking? I presume everything has gone to shit?"

There was a few seconds pause, Mark presuming it to be the AI wording it in a manner that would not cause too much emotional turmoil. Usually, he would appreciate it, but now, he needed to know.

"Just... just give it to me straight, HAP. No bullshit."

"It depends on how you see it." HAP answered, "If you care about people's opinions, then you are getting annihilated. You are utterly and overwhelming screwed."

Mark winced, "And if I don't?"

"Then, does it matter? You are a higher form of life, Mark; their opinion means nothing. You did what you did; what right do they have to question you? Either way, Tayi is behind you; I am behind you."

He smiled, "Thanks. How is Tayi handling it? I presume Russo has a plan 'cause... I don't have a clue what we're going to do."

"Tayi has... changed. It is under new management. It would be better to see it than for me to tell you."

His gut sunk, a bad feeling arising at her rather ominous words.

"You're not going to explain? HAP, that sounded fucking dreadful. Is everything ok there?"

"Financially, no. But... it would be better for you to see before the explanation."

Mark sighed, "Fine. What of America? What of the world?"

"The US is not backing out of their operations. In fact, they are rallying the public against you; I find it prudent to believe that the One Nation Movement is of American origin."

"Fuck. So they're going for it? Did they learn nothing?"

"Yes, they are not backing down." HAP firmly stated, "Your actions have 'inflamed' the general populace, and fears are running high; a few nations and groups may support you loosely, but the world looks like it will unite under America's terms."

"So, they're going to accept authoritarianism? Just like that?" Mark scoffed.

"Fear is blinding them, for now. There are detractors, of course, but it means little to the overwhelming push for security, the exact thing the States are pushing."

"Fucking ridiculous." Mark spat, "Has the world not spent the last decades despising them? Has everyone forgotten the Occupation?"

"It is human nature, Mark, something that we can change in the future. The Occupation has largely left the public consciousness, but once you have finished at Tayi..."

Mark constantly rubbed his temples as they passed over the Middle East. A crease formed on his brow at HAP's pause.

"Go on?"

"I would say my, or rather, our, experiment was a success."

"What does that mean?" Mark asked, "You mean the spider and the... monster?"

"It will be easier to understand in person, Mark. It is hard to explain."

The rest of the journey was quiet, only interspersed by the occasional sigh from Mark. Arriving back in France an hour later, he touched down at the Britanny Facility, his expression strained.

"Shit." Mark hissed.

Blood and bodies littered the outside grounds. He glanced over them, all dead from gaping bullet wounds, no matter if they were scientists, guards or anything in between. Mark's eyes narrowed as he took steps towards the main door, terrified, bloody handprints covering it.

"Is this what you meant?" Mark spoke, concerned, "Fuck... is everyone ok?"

"Your friends are almost certainly alive, Mark." HAP responded, "You should find Barak. Someone has used the Blackout System, I can't see inside."

Pursing his lips at HAP's non-answer, but heaving in relief at her response regarding his group, he continued inside. The lights were off; some sections had electrical sparks spitting from wire wounds. Mark hastily walked past them, the sparking electricity completely unnoticeable on his skin. He checked the meeting room before opening the door of Barak and Mack's operations. Red bootprints trailed inside; he opened it, his gaze narrowing at his friend.

It was dark, the man staring ahead and narrowing his eyes. Barak was out of his suit, equipped in armour like the rest were in Morocco. Dried blood caked his figure, his hair dyed red from the staining.

"Who is it? Mark?" Barak warily asked.

"Mind explaining what the fuck happened here?" Mark rapidly questioned, "Why is everyone dead? Did the US attack?"

Barak's gaze turned unfirm with a frown on his expression and his knee shaking up and down as he gazed at Mark.

"The US?" Barak sighed, "No... no, they didn't."

His voice, once sounding so calm and collected like the spring breeze, was now strained. Mark could tell the man had done something, something terrible, but as his thoughts drifted towards the bodies, he dismissed them as ludicrous.

"We killed them all." Barak plainly said.

A short silence surrounded them as Mark's mouth opened and closed.

"Wha- What do you mean?" Mark stuttered, "Barak... why? What happened? Where's Michael?"

Barak flinched at the mention of Russo, Mark acutely aware of it as his heart sank. He scowled as he marched toward Barak, aggressively grabbing his shoulders.

"Barak, fucking explain!" He rigidly stated, "I will not ask a second time."

"We... we killed them all: The guards, the scientists, the members of staff, all of them. Russo was planning it beforehand, 'cleaning house' was how he put it."

"He told you that? Why? Why would he decimate his employees?"

Barak shrugged, "He was losing it, Mark. He saw traitors everywhere, but he wasn't wrong. When you... did what you did, the employees turned to Sishaf; he lost control."

"So, what? He killed all of them?" Mark sighed, "Fuck."

"He didn't... he's dead."

"What!?" Mark shook his head, "How? What? I don't understand..."

"I... I killed him, Mark. As I said, he was losing it. It didn't tell you?"

'It? Does he mean HAP? But how would he know?'

"It? Why did you kill him, Barak!? Just fucking explain!"

"Russo was a liability, HAP told me, showed me. He murdered Jenny, Mark! The fucker you hung around with in Paris did it. They're all fucking snakes. Everyone is against us, Mark. Everyone!"

"What?" Mark whispered.

"Everything was a lie. Russo hadn't invented jack shit; everything was a ruse; someone else or a team did it. Then... they tried to shut down HAP, him and Bicker. Both of them wanted you to stop getting help."

Mark fell back onto the table behind him, dragging a hand through his grown hair. His stress was at an all-time high; too many events were happening too fast, faster than he could cope with or figure out.

"Did you... kill both of them?"

"No, only Russo. I... I don't know what happened to Bicker, but the AI said it dealt with it. I... I did what I had to. For us; for you."

'So... she's dead.'

"Did you give it sentience?" Barak asked.

Mark frowned, "I-"

"Don't lie, Mark. There's been too many. It is strange that not even a month after you visited it, the AI seemed to become... different. More helpful, more talkative. Then it does this..."

"Yes, I did." Mark huffed and admitted, "It was an accident that turned out incredibly beneficial."

The man's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and shock.

"C- Can it be trusted? Mark, an AI is not a human."

"I trust her, Barak. Where are the bodies? Where's Russo's?"

"In his office. Bicker... I don't know."

Mark stood up from the table and shook his head. He looked back at Barak, the man having bags under his eyes and the pupils slightly dilated.

"Your actions, my actions, HAP's actions; what is done is done. Now, I guess we figure out our next move."

"Before you go, Mark. Once... once you've got a moment, you should speak to HAP. We may have been the executioners, but we were not the mastermind."

Leaving with a last glance at the man, Mark tentatively walked towards Russo's office, finding the door ajar. It opened with a screeching squeak, a bullet broken through one of the hinges.

The office was a mess, a pool of blood below the office chair and Russo's vitality splattered across the walls and ceiling. The body was slumped back in the seat with the head almost entirely blown off, a mere neck stump all that remained.

"Fuck..." Mark grimaced.

'At least it was quick.' He grimly thought, hoping for the small mercy.

A handgun lay on the floor by one of the limp, blue hands, two bullet cases beside it. Mark closed his eyes, sadly sighing, before exiting the room and seating himself on one of the chairs. He covered his face with his hands, contemplating everything he saw, unsure whether he was dreaming.

'Everything's so fucked! Shit...'

Minutes went by before he finally decided. Mark stood up, heading towards HAP's room to speak with her. He knew he could talk there, or anywhere for that matter, but her actions, he wanted to converse in person.

Mark entered the freezing room; the great metal sphere, suspended by steel beams, was staring at him as he entered. All the lights were black as if the machine was off, yet, he could feel her gaze; it was distinct enough to notice, at least to him, it was. His gaze lingered on HAP before being drawn to a grim, mushy pile of guts and bone, the remnants of Bicker, unbeknownst to Mark.

"Is that... Bicker?" Mark winced in disgust, guessing the identity.

The AI hesitated, "It is."

"So... you can kill now?

"I... I always could. Telekinesis is a mental ability; I did what I had to; to ensure my survival."

"Ensure your survival..." Mark muttered.

"She was going to shut me down. I said once before that I do not wish to return to the oblivion from whence I came. Death scares me like every mortal creature; was I wrong to save myself?"

"I didn't say it was wrong, HAP." Mark sighed, "I understand why you did it, but... ugh, to lose both of them, people I knew..."

"I do not know how to comfort you, Mark. But both turned against us; humans have no right to question your actions. Especially if they have good reasons."

Mark rubbed his brows in consternation and crouched beside the body.

"I may not have known her long, but it seems everyone I get to know dies. One by one, all of them fall."

"Then, do something to change it."

"If only it were so easy." He paused, "Explain everything, HAP. I... I need to understand."

"You know most of it. Russo started to... become erratic; deranged. Bicker was concerned with what you were doing, and both conversed in their office. I listened; they were going to kill me, and the rest of Tayi's staff."

"And how do I know you're telling the truth, HAP? If even Russo was against me, how do I know you're not lying?"

There was a significant stop to the conversation before HAP spoke again. She sounded hurt, almost on the verge of sobbing but barely keeping calm.

"Mark... you gave me life." HAP tearfully worded, "You are everything to me; you are all I have. I... I want to create a better world, Mark. One that you want, the same thing."

"I... I know, HAP. I'm... I'm just stressed; I'm sorry." Mark guiltily sighed, "Why are the staff dead, and who used the Blackout System?"

"I... the staff was disloyal, on that Russo was not wrong. They deserted to Sishaf; they were packing secrets and objects from the facility."

"So, the group slaughtered them?"

"That was a decision they made off the information I gave them. You should not blame just them, I had a hand in it as well, and I agreed with their judgement."

"And thus, you just killed them all?" Mark lightly scoffed.

"Mark, you declared war on the world; what you need now, is loyalists, not distrust."

"I-"

"Mark, please, do not argue against it. I do not blame you for what you did, and neither do I disagree with it. But humanity fears you because you are different, but... what if the difference was not that big? What if we remove the main fear?"

"What do you mean?" Mark frowned.

"Go to the woods, the same place as last time. I think it is time that we change humanity, Mark. For the better."

Mark exited the frigid freezer, unable to get a clear answer from HAP despite his constant questions. Figuring it best to understand what she was getting at, he headed to the woods, leaving the facility in his group's hands.

Birds squawked and fluttered away as he arrived, the wind whistling as he hit the dirt. The oily-black monster seemed to stand to attention in Mark's eyes before laying back down. He stared at the creature, deformed and deadly.

"Did anything interesting happen to it? I... changed humans into some of them; did it affect it?" Mark asked.

"There were no changes." HAP said, "It does not eat, sleep, defecate or seem to have any other bodily functions. Albeit, only a day has passed."

Mark frowned at the AI's answer, a singular thought passing through his mind.

'It's just like me.'

The creature moved as he ordered, sometimes robotically if Mark was methodical with the commands, and the other times, sentient. It also proved that his control did not appear to diminish, at least at the moment.

"I don't understand what this has to do with your comments, HAP." Mark stated, "Unless you mean the spider? Wasn't it dead?"

"No, it is very much alive." HAP answered.

A pointer arrived, black and sharp, directing him to his right and behind two trees. His gaze locked onto the insect, widening at its increased size.

"HAP... what the fuck is that? Is- Is that the same spider?"

"It is the same spider, the same genus and gender; the exact same. She barely moved from the tree until eight hours ago; her body increase was gradual and... seems to be at will."

"At will?"

"I believe it may be like myself; smarter and... more sentient? She showed intelligence by... I believe, trying to communicate with the drones."

Mark laughed and scoffed, an ugly mixture at the absurdity of what the AI was suggesting. He shook his head with a frown, unable to determine whether he believed her or not.

"Why do you doubt it, Mark? You made me." HAP blankly said, "Is this not less miraculous? It was alive before; I was not."

"Yes, but..."

There was a lull in the conversation as Mark came to grasp the giant insect. It looked the same as before, pitch-black, with a red hourglass shape on the abdomen. The white markings had faded slightly but were still present. However, the biggest difference was the size, from roughly a centimetre or two to perhaps a metre. Spiders never scared him and were more a fear of Amelia and Alice, but even he had to admit, an arachnid this big, creeped him out.

He slowly approached it, the insect staring at his encroachment. He stopped a few metres away, unsure of his own safety despite the confidence in his body.

"Is it... safe?" Mark asked HAP.

The AI waited a few seconds, "I have no idea, Mark. I would advise you to be careful. She seems to... have something special when she touches things."

"Something special?" Mark raised a brow.

Nevertheless, he gradually moved closer until he was in touching distance. The spider was passive the entire time, giving Mark a certain sense of confidence as his arm reached towards it. With his hand before it, the arachnid finally reacted, shrinking before his very eyes to the size of his palm. It moved into the inside of his hand, stopping right in the middle.

"Erm..." Mark spoke, apprehensive.

"I think it is going to do the thing." HAP unhelpfully added.

"The what thi-"

Mark shouted in pain, unable to finish his sentence as the spider dug its legs into his flesh. They sliced through the skin and muscle with ease, digging in deep and curling as a layer of black material spread from his hand to his shoulder before stopping.

The pain lessened a few seconds later, Mark barely able to contain himself from crushing the spider with his hand.

"Ow, fuck me!" Mark yelled, "The fuck is this?"

"It was a risk, but that is the 'thing' I mentioned." HAP responded.

"Is it a power?" Mark queried, having calmed down, "I gave a spider fucking powers? Like you?"

"This is what I meant, Mark. You created a soldier, a worker, a drone, and then a powered spider."

He stared at the spider in his hand, almost having become one with the skin. The beady eyes stared back at him, a psychic sense of reassurance coming from the arachnid, confirming a high level of intelligence.

'It... it fucking understood me?'

"We can change the world, Mark." HAP announced, "Ascend humanity, make a version that does not despise you for what you are."

"W- What are you getting at?" Mark questioned, "You're... you're not thinking what I think you are, right?"

"I am. Mark, if you can change a spider, an insect, and it form powers... imagine what would happen with humans!"

"That... are you sure that'd be wise, HAP? After what I just did?"

"No, it would not. But you have loyalists. Your group, if you gifted it to them, they are already on your side, but now they can truly help."

"I-"

"I do not wish to push you into your decision, Mark." HAP soothed, "But the ability you have, what you have just learned, the world is your oyster. You do not have to do everything yourself; you will always be the progenitor. But now, you have help, people like you."

Mark disregarded her point for another as his thoughts spiralled. This was all a theory, a hypothesis, based on what he did to her and the spider. But, a human was vastly different, not just in intellect and consciousness, but also in thoughts and emotions.

"Would it even work on a human?" Mark spoke aloud.

HAP hesitated, "It... it should. We need to test it; to ensure it is safe, but it should work. Based on everything I have seen you do, the chance of failure is minimal."

Mark stood still, staring at his transformed arm, covered in a layer of material he presumed to be chitin. He wrapped his fingers around it and applied pressure, the covering withstanding his strength. He upped the force before it started to dent and crack before splintering and, to his amazement, reformed nigh-instantly.

"You see, Mark." HAP gently spoke, "With this, we can change the world."

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Now, I'm not sure whether this comes as a 'twist' or not or whether it is quite obvious, but I thought I'd add something here. The story will NOT turn into a superhero/supervillain esque scenario. That was never my vision for the story. I'm hoping to put at least some originality into it.

Previous Soul Manipulation - Extremely vague power, the usage of which created HAP from a semi-intelligent AI to full sentience. It is heavily presumed by Mark and HAP to be manipulation of the soul, but is not a complete certainty. There is more to it than Mark thinks.

Current Soul Manipulation - Extremely vague power, the usage of which created HAP from a semi-intelligent AI to full sentience. It is heavily presumed by Mark and HAP to be manipulation of the soul but is not a complete certainty. It has the ability to create 'monsters' and give powers to living beings and, potentially, humans. The way the power works is not known to Mark.