Radioactive Evolution

by Richard Hummel

  Scarlet - Nanites Available: 60%

  body

  Physical Augmentation

  Physical Defense/Attack

  Skin Hardening - 10%

  Scale Hardening - 10%

  Bone Hardening - 10%

  Fire Breathing - 15%

  body Manipulation

  Regeneration - 15%

  Jared remembered his desire to ask Scarlet about the color of her fire when he pushed more nanite into the category. “I was curious—the color of your fire changed to blue. I’m assuming that means it’s hotter?”

  Yes, it will continue to change color as it increases in strength. The hottest flame is black. My mother is the only dragon that ever achieved it. I also believe only a fire dragon is capable of that feat.

  “Wow, black flame. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that.”

  Black flames are barely visible to the naked eye.

  “That would be creepy. Flames barely visible yet utterly destroying everything in their path.”

  It will be quite some time before I reach that level of mastery, but with the nanites and ability to increase the heat directly, it may happen much faster.

  “Have I said how much I love these nanites and enhancements?” Jared had a cheesy grin plastered on his face. He imagined the whirlwind of destruction he and Scarlet could become. As they both grew in strength, they wouldn’t have to worry about people like the Daggers anymore. Sure, in large numbers they’d still be a problem, but a group of five wouldn’t pose a threat. Especially, if they became impervious to conventional weapons.

  Finishing their selections, Jared minimized the status screen, and said, “I don’t think we need to set a watch tonight. Let’s get some much-needed rest.”

  I saw no other creatures nearby when we landed.

  Jared smacked his forehead, annoyed. “I didn’t even bother to check the area around the building. I was...a little distracted. When I saw the bear I kind of lost it.”

  We are a team. No need for you to apologize.

  Jared lay back, his head resting on his pack, and enjoying the safety of their shelter. It’d been a while since he felt so safe and it allowed him to let his mind wander to questions he’d put off.

  “Hey Scarlet, why is there only one female dragon for each domain?”

  I wish I knew. It has always been so, but my mother believed us designed that way to prevent over-population and asserting control on the world. We lived with humans and other creature’s side-by-side, not to rule over them or dominate the world.

  “Do you know how dragons came to exist?”

  Jared, you are asking questions I have no answer for. We exist, and have existed for millennia, but how we came to be and why, we do not know.

  “What about the rest of your family? You know how to get to them, right?”

  I know the general vicinity from my mother’s memories. It was the most important memory she passed on, and she made me promise to seek them out when I am strong enough. It is a journey I must make on my own; a human would not survive so far beneath the earth’s surface.

  “Well, whatever you must do, I will support you in any way I can.”

  Thank you, Jared.

  It took Jared a while to fall asleep, his mind reeling with all the possibilities before them.

  Jared awoke several days later feeling refreshed. Blinking the sleep from his eyes he looked around. All was as it had been when he went to sleep, and Scarlet sat in the same place, her eyes closed.

  “Scarlet, you awake?”

  Hello, Jared.

  “How long was I out this time?”

  You were asleep for three days.

  “Wow, this days-on-end sleep thing will need to change. We can’t afford to have me knocked out for so long. Especially if we’re in a more dangerous position.”

  You had a lot of changes happening.

  “What about you?” Jared asked, puzzled. She didn’t look any different, though it was dark in the room and his Night Vision provided little detail.

  My changes are much subtler this time around. As are yours.

  Jared turned his thoughts back to himself. Physically he didn’t look any different, but somehow, he could sense the nanites in and around him. Eyes closed, Jared sent his mind inward, an entirely new world blossoming before him.

  With little effort, he understood his body in ways he’d never thought possible.

  “Scarlet, how do I—”

  Follow the nanites.

  “How did you—”

  You are practically advertising your thoughts for anyone sensitive enough to hear. When you are ready, I will show you how to erect mental barriers. As for following them, just focus on where you want to go.

  Follow the nanites. All right, here goes nothing.

  Jared focused on a particular set of nanites that felt distinctly responsible for his muscles. Jared didn’t know how he knew that, but he knew it to be right. The moment he focused on the nanites, his perspective fractured and expanded to encompass all of the nanites responsible for the same function. He knew how they interacted with his body, tearing down and rebuilding muscles, ligaments, and pathways.

  No wonder my body felt raw after I increased my muscle mass, the nanites tore apart my muscles to rebuild and improve them.

  Their coding and structure felt alien, but at the same time he understood them, and he realized how versatile they were. Instinctively, he knew he couldn’t control these nanites anymore; their coding was permanent, immutable.

  Jared dove deeper. The complexity of the coding amazed him. While he explored his body, information about various muscle groups and organs flooded into him, easily recalling lessons he learned in school. The memories of his lessons flashed by with vivid clarity, but at a fraction of the time it had happened in reality.

  This must be the memory recall working, thought Jared.

  It wasn’t eidetic memory, and he couldn’t recall verbatim everything he’d learned, but it was so much clearer, and he didn’t have to spend long periods thinking about it before he made the connections.

  “Scarlet, this—this is amazing.”

  I had ten years to experience the same thing you are going through, and I know just how overwhelming it is at first. When the nanites first appeared, it was such a small number, but they’re designed to replicate and create a copy for every cell in your body. Any additional nanites are free nanites, the ones we use for enhancements.

  “Now, if only they didn’t come with the techno-virus side effects. What exactly does the virus do anyway? I wonder if...”

  Jared, no!

  “What’s wrong?”

  Do not look for or try to understand the virus portion of the nanites. I fear your mind is not strong enough, and if you dwell on it too much, it could further corrupt you. All I can tell you for sure, is that something in your genetic makeup corrupts the nanite code. If you don’t inject new nanites to overwrite, or reset, the coding, it breaks down to the point it on longer functions, and your body dies or mutates from the radiation poisoning.

  “Thanks, Scarlet, but if we can figure out a way to eliminate the virus, perhaps we can cultivate a cure for everyone.”

  Jared spent an entire day learning about his body and the nanites that flowed through it. He learned how to compartmentalize his mind, control his senses, and recall images or memories at will. It wasn’t a perfect science, and he had a lot of room to improve, but the control he now possessed gave him hope for the future.

  One area that intrigued him was Natural Armor. It wasn’t just a field of nanites around his body as he’d originally suspected. It was actually a kind of shield that fed off of the energy produced in his own body. He could strengthen it, but ultimately it depended on his available energy.

  Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the
nanites were those assigned to body Manipulation. He discovered any nanites in the category could be re-assigned to Remodeling, Regeneration, and Density. All three areas used only the nanites assigned to regenerate body parts, restructure portions of the anatomy, and increase density. He could move those nanites around at will.

  If he received a serious injury, Jared could instruct all the nanites assigned to Regeneration and expedite his healing significantly.

  The possibilities are endless, thought Jared, as he drifted off to sleep once more.

  Jared woke the next day, refreshed and ready to take on the world. He’d barely slept, preferring to spend the time learning about and understanding the nanites in his body. The memory recall did wonders to help him remember lessons on anatomy from childhood. He’d always been a good student, but as he relived the lessons from school, he wished he’d studied even harder to better understand things today.

  “Scarlet, you up yet?”

  Yes. You really must learn to control your thoughts. They are…loud.

  Abashed, Jared apologized. “I’ll work on it.”

  Before he passed out the night before Scarlet showed him how to compartmentalize his thoughts, trapping them inside a mental box of a sort. It would take some work before he could do this while sleeping. A few moments of concentration allowed Jared to re-erect the barriers on his mind.

  Better, Scarlet thanked him.

  “I think we’ve been cooped up for long enough. I want to get out and stretch my legs, but let’s take the exploration slow at first. We’ll search the buildings on the outskirts of the town and work our way toward the lake. There’s something off about this area, and I don’t want to stumble into anything blindly.”

  Strapping his pack and weapons on, Jared jumped down from the loft and removed the metal bar from the door. Looking around, he ensured nothing lurked in wait for them and heaved the doors open.

  Should we fly? asked Scarlet.

  “You can, but I’d like to stretch my legs. I’m a bit stiff from lying there so long.”

  Scarlet leapt into the air and flew around the area while Jared made his way into a little house a short distance from the barn. He switched over to Heat Sight before entering to make sure he encountered no surprises. The exploration went quickly, and he found nothing of interest. The wooden house was falling apart and anything of value was already gone.

  He left the house to examine a nearby silo. Once again, it was empty, and nothing of any value to him remained.

  Even the bear incident was strange given the extreme absence of life anywhere outside the nearby water.

  Headed to the next house Scarlet. You see anything from up there?

  No, the area appears utterly abandoned. The only other life forms I can see are in the water.

  I just made the same conclusion down here. See if you can fly a little further afield to find anything else, just don’t go closer to the water. We’ve no idea what’s waiting for us there.

  Scarlet acknowledged his request and wheeled away. Walking to the next field over, Jared spotted a modest-sized house and several other decrepit buildings that fell victim to rot and age. One of them had a faded red color and was fairly large in size, but what remained was a four-foot high wall, the roof completely collapsed into the interior. By-passing the destroyed building, Jared walked around the house, peering inside broken windows.

  The floorboards creaked as he walked through each of the rooms, looking for anything worth taking. Most of the cabinets and drawers were turned out and empty. Leather and cloth furniture lay in tatters, only the skeleton of their structure remaining. A thorough search brought no insight into the people that once lived here, nor did he find any reason to stay.

  Frustrated, Jared walked around to the back of the house where stairs to a cellar descended beneath it. The doors rested flush with the ground, and a rusted chain looped through the handles on both doors. Tugging on the chain, it fell away in his hands, the links disintegrating from age. Jared paused with his Heat Sight on to make sure nothing would jump out at him if he opened the doors.

  After ensuring it safe, he threw open the doors.

  “Ugh!”

  Jared coughed and sneezed, the smell and dust assaulting his senses. The air was so thick from the stuff, it felt tangible and carried with it the stink of decay.

  “Holy crap, this place is disgusting.”

  Jared hesitated to enter the underground chamber, but so far, he’d struck out with the few buildings explored and hoped he’d find something—really anything at this point. He fished a scrap of cloth from his pack and wrapped it around his head before stepping down into the concrete room.

  Shortly after entering the room, he realized the smell diminished significantly as did the particles in the air.

  Must’ve been the pressure of the doors opening, thought Jared.

  The room was much larger than he expected, and he guessed this underground room extended well beyond the house above. There were a few rooms off to the side and he picked the first on the right to begin his search. The rooms were mostly free of decay and there really wasn’t a lot of dirt, most of it having shot into his face when the door opened.

  “Figures,” muttered Jared.

  The first room he looked into functioned as a storage area. Boxes lined the wall along with cans that no longer held labels. Unfortunately, everything was empty. Dumping the contents of the boxes, he found random supplies, but nothing that would be of use to him.

  Disappointed, he moved on. The next room looked like a bedroom, complete with a metal bed frame and remnants of what looked like a mattress. Along one wall rested a closet and a small bathroom. Opening the closet, a pile of rags littered the bottom, the remnants of the clothing that once hung there.

  Jared’s shoulders slumped in frustration, but right before he turned away, he spotted a black container. It had looked like part of the wall in the low light. He opened the other door and found the front of the box.

  It’s a safe!

  Jared’s dad had kept a safe in their home growing up where he’d store his Colt and ammunition. Jared remembered his dad telling him about the safe and how it would protect things inside and keep dangerous things safely out of his reach. Unfortunately, Jared also remembered his dad used a combination to open it.

  He checked the lever to see if it was open, but his luck didn’t seem to be with him today. Removing the safe, which was heavy even with his increased strength, he brought it into the main room.

  Scarlet, I found a safe that might have valuable stuff in it. It’s sealed and locked, so we’ll need to figure out how to open it without the combination.

  A safe?

  A small…portable vault? Basically, a metal and concrete box that’s fireproof and used to store valuable items.

  Sounds like you have had more success than me. I cannot understand why anyone would abandon this place. The water contains so much life, it seems strange, and the whole scenario is troubling.

  I agree. Let me finish up here, and we’ll see if we can’t get this thing opened. I’m guessing that most of these buildings are empty and we’ll just find more useless crap, but if this safe has some weapons and ammo, it will have been worth it. Who knows, maybe we’ll even find some boosters, but I’m not even sure there’s been anyone here in the last decade since boosters existed.

  I see the entrance to the house you are in now. I will look for more like it.

  Jared paused to think about his conversation with Scarlet.

  Why are we scavenging this place? The thought startled him. The last two years of his existence had been aimless wandering, scavenging random things here and there, always on the lookout for boosters, weapons, and ammo. He had a pack full up weapons and ammo, and enough boosters to last many years.

  What am I looking for? Will one more gun really help my current mission?
<
br />   Shaking his head, Jared almost turned around and left the cellar, intent on having a chat with Scarlet on what they should be doing. Instead of leaving, he decided to finish exploring this space and then decide what to do.

  Jared resumed his search and entered the final room, pausing at the threshold as a fetid odor puckered his nose. The source of the original smell emanated from this room, and now he knew why. A metal table and chairs stood in the center of the room, and off to the side two skeletons sat side by side, limbs intertwined.

  What? How—why were the cellar doors locked from the outside? Maybe there’s another entrance.

  Partly to get away from the smell and sight, Jared went back to the main room and looked around. He saw nothing on the ceiling that would lead to the house above. How did they get in here, then? Did someone lock them in? Did I miss something?

  Examining the walls, Jared went back through the rooms in reverse order and saw nothing out of the ordinary until he reached the room with all the boxes and empty cans. Behind a stack of boxes stood the outline of a door. He’d missed it before because it matched the interior of the room, and it wasn’t easy to pick out small variations with his night vision. There were also no handles or mechanism to open from inside. He pushed, but the door felt solid and held fast.

  Who would’ve locked these poor people down here to die?

  Whoever locked them up was long gone, and there was nothing he could do about it. Maybe the safe held more answers, but that would have to wait.

  Jared turned his attention back to the hidden door. After an exhaustive search, he realized there was no way to open it from this side without force. He backed up a step and stomped on the door, but it held fast. A half dozen more kicks saw the same result. Frustrated, Jared tried once more, but this time activated Maximum Muscle. Right before he launched his foot forward he flexed his muscles, hoping his foot wouldn’t break on impact, but the extra force was all he needed, and the locked door smashed open.