by Seth Ring
“Are we supposed to pitch our tents there?” Mina asked Corvo in a low voice when the wet field came into view.
“Probably not. Rather, this is likely some sort of test. Haze the new guy and see how he responds,” Corvo replied, his gaze flickering across the small group of nobles standing at the side.
“Baron, I’m not sure this area is going to be big enough for us.” Thorn scratched his chin as he spoke to Baron Oleander. “We could expand toward the lake but that would force the patrols to go way out of their way.”
“It’s no problem, Earl Greymane. We did not anticipate the size of your force, and unfortunately, this is the last remaining spot in the camp.”
The baron looked apologetic but was quite insistent that the Iron Wolves settle down in the muddy field. Chuckling to themselves, the nobles on the side watched Thorn with naked curiosity, wondering how he would handle the slight from a lower ranked noble.
“Very well. Thank you for your assistance.”
Giving the baron a small smile that did not quite reach his eyes, Thorn lifted his hand and gestured for Corvo, Mina, and Hasta to approach.
“We are going to be going to a banquet this evening, so get the army settled down. Feel free to expand as far as you want toward the lake but maintain camp discipline. Apart from the patrolling battalion, everyone else is free to log to Fantasia, but make sure they are ready to muster whenever needed.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Saluting, Hasta hurried off to give commands, and soon, under the dumbfounded gazes of the watching nobles and soldiers, a massive camp was under construction. The players who were acting as porters took out long, ten-foot tall stakes from their inventory and began driving them into the ground at regular intervals. Thin canvas cloth was strung from stake to stake, creating an instant wall. While it offered little to no protection, the wall effectively separated the Iron Wolf camp from the surroundings. At four hundred foot intervals the players erected twelve foot tall watchtowers to allow them to keep watch against any possible attack.
“Hey, that’s a slick idea. Who came up with that?” Thorn was just as impressed as the watching nobles as he looked around.
“Uh, a production player in the R&D department. I think she was named JoyfulFeather or something,” said Mina.
“JoyFilledFeather,” Corvo corrected. “When we announced that we were converting into a standing army, they started working on ideas for mobile fortifications. This is the safe mode. Then we have versions for various levels of danger that are more secure. They wanted to add a metal mesh to the canvas but there was no time, so for now it is more of a gesture than anything else.”
“Still pretty cool.” Nodding, Thorn looked at the massive space that had been enclosed by the canvas wall. “Now to do something about this ground. If I’m not up by the time of the banquet come over and nudge me, okay?”
“Nudge you?” Mina watched in confusion as Thorn walked to the center of the enclosed camp. “What is he doing?”
“Great question.” Corvo’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the Titan. “Guess we’ll have to watch and see.”
Arriving in the center of the camp, Thorn sat down with a squelch. The deep mud squirted from under him as his tremendous weight settled onto the ground. Taking a deep breath, Thorn crossed his legs and placed his hands palm up on his knees. Straightening his spine, he breathed out through his mouth, allowing his entire body to compact with the exhale. Taking a measured breath in through his nose, he focused on feeling the air filling his lungs as his diaphragm expanded. Holding the air in his lungs for a count of five, he expelled the air slowly over five seconds.
Hold the airless position for seven, breath in for nine. Hold the air for five, breath out over five.
Thorn quickly fell into his breathing rhythm, the countless hours of practice he had from before Nova Terra allowing him to find the cycle almost instinctively. As the last conscious thoughts about his breath floated out with an exhale, Thorn turned his attention inward.
Inside his body, his [Spiritual Sense of Earth] and the [Earth Sense] ability activated, bringing the ground around him into sharp focus. Wherever his attention passed, the [Spiritual Sense of Earth] passed as well, giving him detailed information about his body and the large field of mud that he sat in. The soil composition, the water content, the location of the water table, even the temperature was laid out before Thorn with his [Spiritual Sense of Earth] activated.
As he breathed in, Thorn tried something new, sending his [Spiritual Sense] shooting down into his lower body, trying to drive it out through his crossed legs and bottom into the ground. Moving down, the energy in his body trembled and bounced back into his stomach. It was as if his skin formed an impenetrable seal that prevented his [Spiritual Sense] from leaving his body. Breathing out, Thorn pushed again, this time using a slow pressure rather than a swift movement like he had a moment ago.
Thorn had discovered that he could control the earth essence that was in close proximity to his body when he had fixed Legion Commander Kavalas’ gauntlet, and earlier he had used it to harden the ground under his feet to keep himself clean. This time, Thorn wanted to use his [Spiritual Sense of Earth] to supercharge the ability. He hoped it would allow him to dry out large swaths of ground without having to walk over every inch step by step.
Trying again, Thorn kept a consistent downward pressure with his [Spiritual Sense]. A painful prickling broke out in his legs, like a thousand hair-sized needles were poking his skin from the inside out, but Thorn did not even twitch. Instead, he slowly increased the pressure, bearing with the pain. The stabbing sensation grew stronger and stronger until beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead and lip. Still, Thorn bore the pain with an unchanging expression until it felt as if his legs were being simultaneously boiled in oil and ripped apart by ants.
In for nine, hold for five, out for five, hold for seven.
Detaching himself from his pain, Thorn continued his breathing, all the while maintaining the downward pressure of his[Spiritual Sense]. The minutes ticked by one by one, and the small beads of sweat on Thorn’s body began to grow into large drops and eventually rivulets of sweat that ran down his body, soaking his undergarments.
***
Outside of Nova Terra, in a large grey building, Julia Lee sat in a conference room, her eyes fixed on the doctor across from her. Wiping his forehead with a handkerchief, the doctor glanced up, but the terrifying woman was still staring at him.
“So, uh, as I was, uh, saying, um…”
He looked back down at the paperwork, only to find that he had lost his place. Stuttering, he quickly scanned the page but was unable to pick up his train of thought. Across the table, Julia leaned forward slightly, annoyance evident in her face. Another doctor sitting at the table coughed lightly and interrupted the stammering.
“Ehem. What my colleague was saying was that the nanites have been cultured and are ready for large scale introduction. The select tests we have done have proven to have excellent results, and we feel comfortable that we could move to large scale introduction without any issue.”
“Ah, yes, yes. Thank you.” Regaining his train of thought, the stammering doctor rifled through his papers and pulled one out, handing it to Julia. “As you can see, the tests we have run have had a higher than average success rate. It has been really remarkable, in fact. Nanite bonding is often challenging as it takes a long time for the nanites to become accepted by the patient’s body. Frankly, some people are never able to make the adjustment. It is almost as if their mind cannot accept the connection and they reject the nanites mentally.”
“What do you mean, mentally? Isn’t this going to produce a physical change? Why are you talking about mental rejection?” Julia asked, carefully placing the paper on the table in front of her and fixing her intense stare on the doctor.
“Um, uh, well, the nanites are, uh…”
With a sigh, the other doctor took over the conversation.
“N
anites are effectively small robots, Ms. Lee. You might think of them as the smallest possible autonomous device, and as such they need power and direction. Their power comes from the bio-electric field created by the patient’s body, while their direction comes from a collective AI that is shared between the nanites and is tied into the patient’s mind.”
“And having an AI tied to your mind isn’t dangerous? I was told there was no danger with this procedure.”
Ignoring the growing frown on Julia’s face, the stammering doctor jerked to his feet.
“The nanites are perfectly safe!” Realizing that everyone was looking at him after his outburst, he quickly sat back down.
“Explain.”
“This is, uh, really no different than the technology that allows you to play Nova Terra. When...when you get in a pod or use a helmet, you are effectively tying an AI to your brain temporarily,” the doctor said, straightening the papers in front of him nervously. “In fact, it is through our collaboration with Eve that we have been able to develop the nanites as we have. This AI is not independently intelligent or sapient like Eve is. Instead, it will function the same way the game mechanics work, allowing Xavier to control the nanites via thought, just like he controls his character in the game. While there were some issues initially with individuals rejecting the nanites since they essentially amount to a phantom limb, we have had good success tying the nanites to specific concepts introduced in Nova Terra.”
It took Julia a little while to understand what the doctors were getting at, but when she finally understood it, her eyes widened.
“You mean you are going to build him a skill to practice with, so he can control the nanites? Huh, that is pretty smart. I assume that Eve is helping you with this?”
“That is correct. She has assisted us in adding an ability that will slowly unlock over the next two years, so another thirteen years in the patient’s perception. This should be enough time for him to experiment and get used to interacting with the nanites. If you give the go ahead, we’ll begin the infusion process.”
Taking a deep breath, Julia looked down at the paper for a moment before speaking in a firm voice.
“Let’s do it.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your support really does mean the world to our research. Thanks to your support we have made unbelievable breakthroughs. In fact, we have been getting calls from all sorts of different companies asking us about the work we are doing and the products we are making. All of that is only thanks to your generosity.”
As Julia walked out of the facility, the Director of Research walked alongside her, constantly gushing about how much her financial support meant to the organization. Smiling politely, Julia walked as fast as she could but he stuck right with her.
*bzzt*
A gentle buzz from her wrist caused Julia to glance down, but in the next moment her face paled as the blood drained from it. About to ask what was wrong, the Director of Research’s voice was drowned out by the wail of a siren. Instantly, his face blanched the same color as Julia’s and without a word he turned and sprinted back into the building and toward the elevator. Rushing after him, Julia moved surprisingly quickly for someone in heels and a miniskirt, making it to the elevator only a step behind the director. As the elevator dropped below ground, the director pressed the small device located under his ear and spoke rapidly.
Arriving at their floor, the doors to the elevator had hardly opened when Julia slipped out and ran forward, dodging past some hurrying nurses and stopping beside an absolutely massive pod that lay on the floor in the center of a huge room. The focus of the huge room, the pod was easily four times the size of a normal full immersion pod and through the clear glass top Xavier’s sleeping face could be seen. Large vats were lined up on the right side of the pod, tubes feeding nutrients and nanites into the pod and filtering waste out.
Looking down through the glass, Julia was almost shocked to see Xavier’s face with the grotesquely stretched skin. She was so used to seeing his in-game face that she had almost forgotten what he looked like in the real world. Still, as ugly and giant as he might have been, he was her giant so when she rounded on the nearby nurses they hurriedly backed up.
“What is going on?! What is happening?”
“Ms. Lee, Ms. Lee, please wait. We are still figuring out exactly what is happening.”
“Wait?! Are you crazy? I want to know what is wrong, right now!” Julia snarled; her beautiful face warped with fury.
***
“Is he okay? Should we do something?” Biting her lip in concern, Mina glanced at Corvo before turning her attention back to Thorn who was still sitting silently in the middle of the muddy field.
The Titan’s body had begun shaking, and veins were beginning to pop out in his neck like thick purple worms, making him look completely hideous. His skin had turned completely red and a faint haze of steam was beginning to rise from him, as if his sweat was being evaporated from his clothes. Corvo, who had never taken his eye off Thorn, nodded. Lifting his foot to take a step forward he suddenly froze, a surprised expression crossing his face.
“He’s fine,” Corvo said in a relieved voice, putting his foot back down on the ground.
“Are you sure?” Mina asked, looking at Corvo again. “That doesn’t look fine to me. It looks like he is boiling alive.”
“Yeah, he is good.” Corvo smiled with relief. The Avatar of Huginn flicked the top of Mina’s hat, causing it to fall to the side. “I’m All-Seeing, remember?”
Rolling her eyes as she caught her hat, Mina did not completely relax, but she did take her hand off of her wand.
“Should we get someone to heal him?”
“No, let him be. Suffering can be a really good thing in the right circumstances, and this seems like the best kind.”
“If you say so, Mr. All-Knowing. Hey, if you’re really All-Knowing, what am I thinking about right now?”
“As a professional, I pride myself on never prying into my companion’s secrets,” replied Corvo, putting his nose up in the air self-righteously.
“Hah, if you don’t know just say so. I won’t think less of you.”
In the center of the field, Thorn’s massive body had reached the limit of what it could take. No matter how much he suppressed the pain there was an eventual breaking point, even for him. Focusing internally, Thorn could feel the wall that was approaching and reluctantly began to back off the pressure. Right before he could begin his retreat, a blazing thought flashed across his brain bringing with it an overwhelming knowledge. In that instant, Thorn knew that he had to break through the wall. That knowledge blossomed and grew, becoming an overwhelming drive that ignited every fiber of his being into razor sharp focus.
***
All around Julia, the nurses, technicians, researchers, and doctors were running back and forth like their feet were on fire, trying to figure out what was going on. Finally, almost as annoyed as Julia, the Director of Research grabbed one of the senior doctors and dragged him to the side. After listening for a moment, he nodded and rushed over to Julia who was absolutely fuming.
“Ms. Lee, Ms. Lee, everything is okay. In fact, everything seems to be going very well.” Panting slightly, the director tried to give Julia a smile, but it withered under the 1000 year ice that was Julia’s stare.
“Does that look like everything is going well?” Julia’s well-manicured finger stabbed at the giant in the full immersion pod. The veins on Xavier’s body had begun to writhe, standing out clearly against his skin. “You’d better have a really good explanation for this!”
Nodding his head frantically, the director stepped closer to the pod, gesturing for Julia to follow after him as he began to explain.
“For some reason, the patient has begun to forcefully integrate some of the nanites from the newly cultured nanite hive into his body. This was something that we expected to happen over a long period of time, but he seems to have taken to it faster than w
e anticipated. Additionally, his compatibility rate is growing quickly. All of this is really good news as it means that absorbing and incorporating the cultured nanites will be a quicker process. It is a more forceful method, and I imagine that it is also fairly painful, but if he can get through the initial pain he’ll have a greater degree of compatibility than we have seen in any other patients to date. We have some concerns about the patient’s pain tolerance but Eve is monitoring the patient in the game and will alert us if anything is wrong.”
“Uh, sir, you, uh, you should come and see this.”
Feeling a tug on his white coat, the director looked over in annoyance but the incredulous face on his subordinate made him pause. Together, he and Julia walked over to a large screen that showed Xavier’s body. One of the doctors had zoomed in on a spot on Xavier’s chest where a blue, pulsing light had settled. A faint blue haze covered Thorn’s image, and as she looked closer, Julia realized that they were, in fact, nanites.
“Is that..?” The director asked his assistant in a low voice.
“Is that what?” Julia’s voice entered the mix. “Tell me what is going on with my nephew, or so help me.”
“It’s a nanite colony. It breeds new nanites,” the director’s assistant said, her voice rife with excitement.
“And?”
“And that should not have formed naturally. Normally, at the end of the treatment we have to surgically implant a colony, but Xavier seems to have formed it naturally.” Letting out a sigh, the director’s eyes turned toward the massive pod. “Well, we’ve done what we can. From here on out he’ll have to work through it on his own. We’ll continue to monitor, but there isn’t much we can really help with.”
***
*CRAAACK*
The sound echoed inside of Thorn’s body as he mustered all of his focus to drive his [Spiritual Sense] into the barrier that kept it trapped within his body. With a sharp noise the barrier seemed to crack and buckle. Though it held firm, Thorn could sense a weakness that had not existed before. Honing his focus into a razor sharp spike, he drove it into the crack, causing a spasm of pain to arc across his body. Ignoring it, Thorn pushed with everything he had, as if he was trying to drive his body down into the ground along with his [Spiritual Sense].