The Nation

by Skyler Grant

  "Sylax! I did not see her making you pretty much her second-in-command. I totally get it though, I've watched you skin people. Not many people can even imagine themselves transcending their humanity like you have. Anyway, I'm not going to answer that question because I'm not an idiot, but still totally an admirer," Amy said, the camera swiveling around the room.

  "We believe that Vinci is working with an AI. Is it you?" Anna asked.

  "What? Nah, I mean for awhile I totally imagined me and her and Emma all working together, and being one happy little family, but those days are past. I mean, she approached me, but she just wanted a researcher and science is just so dumb, you know?" Amy said.

  There was literally not a single redeeming quality about her. Everything that came out of her mouth was as offensive as possible.

  "Do you have any information on who is?" Anna asked.

  Why was she asking Amy? If I couldn't hack Vinci's computer systems, what hope the pathetic little sibling?

  "Totally. His name is Warmonger, Vinci pulled him out of some old military bunker. He was built for weapons design, tactics—you'd really be in trouble if he were sane, but woah the dude has problems," Amy said.

  "I don't suppose you have a location?" Anna asked.

  "I could help out, but I mean ... I'm not really in this war, you know? Even if big sis is family. But I'm working on some other side-project you guys are going to love," Amy said.

  "We'd just appreciate knowing where he is," Anna said.

  "Fine. I'll give you a location, but I want a promise out of Emma. One day soon I'm going to be reaching out and telling you to get to safety. No matter what is going on, do it. Get your people under shields and all your shields up to full power," Amy said.

  That sounded like a terrible idea. Amy couldn't be trusted and giving her any sort of promise, even brief, to let her influence our defenses was a mistake.

  "Done. Emma, when she gives the call do it," Anna said.

  "All hail Anna the Incompetent. As you say," I said.

  "We're not keeping that nickname. Spill, Amy," Anna said.

  "Well, I don't have it now. I'll need to go searching. I'll have it to you within the next day. Now, all you people are sparky and wonderful and just a delight to be around, but I have to run. Toodles!" Amy killed the comm.

  I really needed to build some vibration emitters somewhere so I could shudder in revulsion. Flickering the lights in disgust just didn't have the same effect.

  "That was weird. What do you think she's planning?" Hot Stuff asked.

  "Trouble. With her it is always trouble, but I do think she actually cares about Emma. I think she'll help us," Anna said.

  Sylax had been tapping on her pad and brought up a display, "Then I'd like to suggest a plan. In two days the Juggernauts will be ready, so even if Amy gives us action early let’s put a hold on it. I have some better targets for us."

  Anna smiled and leaned forward. "I thought you would. You always know when to go for the throat. What do you have?"

  "Whenever fighting anybody, you always want to identify the bottlenecks. Those areas where they are already having issues, because if you choke there you'll really start to hurt them. We want to hit her factories making her war mechs, but there is little advantage to that. The woman is all about industry," Sylax said.

  Unlike Anna's esteem for Amy, her respect for Sylax was something I understood.

  "Taking out her AI would keep her from doing research. That is one," Hot Stuff said.

  Sylax nodded, "And if we knew where she had other labs, I'd recommend hitting them too. We don't, so our next best step is mines."

  "Try to cut off her access to raw materials," Anna said.

  "Exactly. I think we had as long a peace as we did because it took time to set up her mining operations. Knock out her abilities there and we can set her back," Sylax said.

  "I like it," Anna said.

  Sylx tapped three sectors of the map which glowed red, "None of these are particularly rare metals, but they are massive mining complexes and well within her territory. A Juggernaut for each should completely shut them down."

  "I wish we could borrow her production ability just for a day and get them all into the air early," Anna said.

  "We do what we can with what we have," Sylax said, tapping the map a few times more and four smaller red circles appeared. "These smaller mining operations are quite remote and would otherwise be impractical. That suggests they’re pulling up something rare. They also look to have defenses, so we send in the Annas."

  Anna nodded, "I'm still aboard."

  Sylax tapped the map once more.

  She said, "Warehouses in reasonable range and near the border. Once we start hitting their mines they'll probably turn their attention inward and we can send forces over the border to raid. Emma can use what we bring back to bolster our own forces."

  It was a bold plan, not without its risks. The Juggernauts were strong. Still, sending one that deep into enemy territory was a risk.

  "Make it happen," Anna said.

  We had a plan, now to hope Amy pulled through.

  14

  With two days until our strike Anna had a chance to play diplomat. Both the Fallen and the Divine had taken serious losses from Vinci's initial push, which made them more inclined than usual to meet. After issuing an invitation to come together in Aefwal both factions accepted within an hour.

  Each presented two representatives. The Divine sent agents of two different Pantheons, Zeus and Nuwa. The Fallen were represented by a woman named Irisa and a man named Sergei, who resonated with multiple abilities.

  The Divine made a better spectacle. Zeus wore ornate robes brocaded with gold, and Nuwa a silk robe of deep yellow. The Fallen were a study in contrasts, Irisa wearing a uniform of white and gold which were the old Righteous colors. Sergei wore black and red adopting the colors of Anna.

  Anna was taking no chances, her Bio-armor up and coating her in skintight red and black, although as usual she'd left far more holes in it than necessarily or sensible.

  Disliking diplomacy at the best of times, she wasn't even meeting with them separately.

  Anna did have a sense of occasion at least. Both parties of emissaries had been guided to the central tower through streets teeming with activity and citizens of all types. Reminding them both of our power and how many had joined us.

  There were no greetings offered as everyone settled down around a table to stare at each other.

  Anna let a full minute elapse before she spoke. "You know who I am and what I can do. You've seen what Queen Vinci can do and have already suffered losses at her hands. You both have proud histories, but it is time to write the next chapter."

  "You rebirthed the Earth long thought destroyed. It is a miracle greater than any of us have performed. We needed time to consider that, and we have. We are interested in becoming a part of your court," Nuwa said.

  "Well, that was easier than expected," Anna said.

  "We're not done yet. You've destroyed our society and while you might have rebirthed the Earth, you corrupted it in the process. This world isn't right. You must realize that," Irisa said.

  "So not everyone is a fan," Anna said dryly.

  "There is debate. Historically among us, gaining powers was considered an affliction, a risk when out in the world doing the work of the Righteous, and something that could be cured. Now most of our people are sick with this disease. We've lost our immortality, although you’ve already killed vast numbers of us and we hate you for it," Sergei said.

  Finding a way to disrupt the Righteous' immortality effect was one of the first things I'd ever done with SCIENCE. I had put a great many of them down so that they would never rise again. Most were trying to kill me at the time.

  Zeus said primly, "She is your mother, she has birthed your entire people and given them her divine essence. She does not deserve your criticism but your adoration and your obedience."

  "That isn't actually motherhood.
Just cookies," I said.

  "Shut up, Emma," Anna snapped. "A lot of us have done things to each other during war. My closest advisors tried to kill me in the past, tried to break me."

  "You say this in a way that suggests it should make us trust your judgment?" Irisa asked disbelievingly. "That bearded idiot may think that you deserve reverence, but we see you for what you are. You aren't just some addled woman in over your head, you are sick with power and you have given our people the plague which infests you."

  Irisa was interesting. While Powered herself there was something different there. Her power set was familiar after we'd encountered the Righteous so many times before, but there was something different. I was powerful enough that I should be shrugging off Righteous effects. Yet my systems were weaker in her presence, she was incredibly strong.

  "You're the Righteous Prime," I said.

  It was the only thing that made sense. For all that the Righteous had always claimed to be unpowered none ever actually were, they all shared the power set from a common source. They'd all inherited the gifts of immortality and power dampening from a single Powered individual. We'd never found this person or even heard mention of who it might be, but this had to be her.

  "The one they derived their powers from?" Anna asked, with a tilt of her head at Irisa. "So this is a jealousy thing then? I stole your people from you."

  Irisa smiled sadly and shook her head. "That isn't the reason. You did, but I am legitimately horrified by who you are and what you've done. I hoped to meet you to get some sense of you, some realization of that fact, but I don't see it."

  Anna turned her attention to Sergei. "If she is the Prime, then who are you?"

  "I'm the most powerful of those of us who inherited your gifts. I'm an engineer, I was working in the maintenance conduits when you activated the device," Sergei said.

  My attempts to get a proper scan on Sergei were failing. The same thing happened with the Annas, as they did with Anna herself.

  "We'd wondered if proximity played a factor. Just how many of your people wound up affected?" Anna asked.

  "Over eighty percent of the population. Those within a mile of me were insulated, as were those furthest from the device on airships," Irisa said.

  Anna stared long and hard at Irisa and finally said, "You may disapprove of the past, but you still have to live in the present. Think of your people as sick if you must, but if they are going to survive to find a cure you need me."

  Zeus said to Sergei, "You should be grateful for what you have. You were made better, stronger. You boy, surely you are happier with what you've become?"

  Sergei looked torn, finally raising his shoulder in a shrug. "It is fun, doing things, but my life isn't better. My home is destroyed, my family torn."

  I wanted Irisa on our side. I'd never been fond of the Righteous, but they were the foremost experts in the world at removing power crystals and neutralizing abilities. Irisa was probably the one who invented the process. If I was ever going to find a solution to what affected Anna, she could be of great help.

  "Your people can have homes in our cities better than any pathetic hovel they might have managed to build for themselves. Be comfortable and well fed—just look at how plump Anna is. I'll give you access to my labs and if you want to research a cure for your people perhaps you'll stumble onto one," I said.

  Irisa frowned at my drone. "I tried to recruit you once. If I'd succeeded, I'd have cured you of that madness that grips your tongue. I'd have made you sane."

  "Sanity didn't save the world. SCIENCE did," I said.

  "We get to maintain our government as-is and simply answer to you?" Zeus asked.

  "Mostly, with the caveat that your people be free to come and go elsewhere within the empire. If they'd rather not worship in your temples and wish a life in Aefwal, or in the Scholarium, they'll have that right," Anna said. "The same will go for you, if you accept. Your people aren't prisoners."

  I worried about that. It seemed a mistake to have so many distinct systems at work within one empire. Factions had time and time again torn the Scholarium apart and we were setting ourselves up for the same kind of problem.

  "Done," Nuwa said.

  It seemed she had the authority to speak for her people. As soon as the words were uttered I started to get status displays on the Divine's lands.

  Each Pantheon had their hierarchy, Nuwa represented the largest. Their technology was woefully behind. I began the process of growing Bio-reactors, growth vats, and shield generators within their settlements.

  Irisa lowered her gaze to the table and let out a weary sigh. "I've been fighting this fight since before the collapse, you know. You need to fix what you've broken. You have to or we'll all regret it."

  "I can't promise you that. I don't agree, but I can promise you a seat at the table and on my council. You've insights that should be there and words that I should hear," Anna said.

  Zeus cleared his throat expectantly.

  Anna flagrantly ignored him. The Divine already had some representation through my consultations with Minerva, perhaps it was enough.

  "Done," Irisa said.

  Fallen technology was pretty good but not defensive. I started the growth process there as well.

  Even with both these factions Vinci still controlled more territory, but it was something. For all her land she was still one woman, we were now an empire in the true sense of the word.

  15

  With diplomatic nonsense taking up much of one day, that still left another to fill before we ready to begin our attack.

  Amy, loathsome though she might be, was as good as her word and did come through with a location. Visually there didn't seem to be much there, a mountain and few factories, and there was some vehicle traffic going back and forth. Vinci did have a significant amount of power running in that direction.

  An idle day meant an opportunity for SCIENCE. It was more important than ever, now that we were at war, to make sure my research priorities were where they needed to be.

  The first thing I wanted to focus on was bolstering our new subjects’ defenses and that meant more than just building them shields and growth vats.

  The Scholarium were in the best shape. Their discoballs were effective against the mechaswarm although when I'd first analyzed them I was dismayed by how energy-inefficient they were.

  Forge had already been making some improvements. It seemed she'd found a way to combine the blood of Kalikas along with her own abilities to impart some degree of his invulnerability. It was so exhausting that she couldn't do so for large objects, but for something like the discoballs it would serve to keep them in the air and firing no matter what the enemy threw at them—until they ran out of power.

  So power was the concern. I'd been impressed at how well Vinci's combination of a uranium core with crystal dust performed. I still didn't like Sylax's plan of nuclear annihilation, so I had a good supply of uranium I needed to do something with anyways.

  I had no interest in deadly radiation beams, although in other circumstances that might be a goal to work towards. Instead I wanted to use the uranium to enhance the power crystal shard effects. Ideally that would mean I could get the same power out of them with longer runtime.

  It took a bit of experimentation and the initial results looked good. I set several discoballs to work in a testing labyrinth. If they survived a few hours without any issues I could deploy the technology along the Scholarium borders.

  The Divine were not as technologically proficient, but what they did have for defenses had promise. They had an absurd number of nature goddesses and put them to work surrounding their lands in thorny hedges. Rapidly regenerating and with thorns that could cut through steel, they played havoc with ground mechs. Elementally powered deities were on hand to blast aerial units.

  With my vast archives of biological enhancements, upgrades to the hedge barrier were easy. Self-healing, energy and fire resistance, and with a bit of work I made it a lot more durab
le against whatever Vinci might try to destroy it. Furthermore it was fairly simple to mix my solar flowers into the organic matrix, allowing the hedge to fire beam weaponry at aerial units itself.

  I spliced in some fire matrix as well. If necessary the entire hedge could become a potent destructive energy barrier. They were still weak against aerial threats, but that had always been a problem for most of my facilities.

  I liked the work of the nature goddesses enough that I requested they review some of my own biological designs. I was brilliant, but that didn't mean I couldn't benefit from a second look, and their divine paradigm was so wildly different from mine they might have approaches that wouldn't occur to me.

  That just left me with the Fallen. There, things were in the worst shape. What defenses they had mustered so far largely involved the use of their new abilities. Those abilities offered a lot of options and lining the border with power projector cannons would let the Fallen defend themselves with incredible power—yet the Fallen hated those gifts and forcing our new subjects to use them wouldn't win us any friends.

  I began construction of some anyways, of course. It was always good to have a backup.

  What the Fallen had in plenty but weren't using were airships. Most of the airship crews were still Righteous aligned with Irisa, and the split in their society had left the craft largely unmanned.

  If they wouldn't fly them, I could. I had more than enough drones to man every airship, partially solving our problem of possessing only a weak air force. They were all built along Reality Zero guidelines, focusing on heavy armor plating and kinetic cannons. That made them a good match for Vinci’s aerial forces.

  They were nuclear powered and the trick I was using with the discoballs would work with them as well. A little addition of crystal dust to the reactor matrix and I had enough extra power to install shield emitters, doubling their defensive options.

  Ammunition was in short supply. They were no longer producing it. Once I got the specifications I could grow the rounds in my growth vats. While I'd never produced ammo for Righteous guns quite so large, it wasn't the first time I'd duplicated their technology. I'd once done it quite a bit when they had a technological edge on me.