The skeleton doesn’t pay any attention to the slowly increasing panic in the bubbly voice coming from behind him as he opens the indicated door and steps through. He walks down the ramp and enters the second basement floor without much trouble. He actually manages to find the indicated desk with relative ease. It takes him some time, but carefully following the many, many signs and directions posted everywhere let him puzzle out where he needs to be eventually. The desk he arrives at is in a rather dark corner, the dim ceiling light barely able to illuminate the small office and towering stacks of way too thin and smooth paper on top of it.
Then Douglas, in a brilliant show of proof that he does actually learn, steps around the desk and peers at the empty desk chair. Next to the chair lies a thin being with too many legs and too few heads. Unable to even guess where this one’s forehead even might be, Douglas finds a nice symmetrical spot in a place where fur shows through its clothes and casts the Soul Bind spell. He also spots a few places where some form of drool is leaking from slits in its fur, so after creating a new mana stone, he pushes it into the closest one.
The same twitching and writhing follows as the slimy being upstairs had gone through. This one is done a whole lot sooner, though, and a single eye snaps open, taking in Douglas’s grinning visage. “Hello there, might I be of service?”
Smoke now seems to be coming from several of its orifices, but the still-twitching being manages to get on its chair. It immediately starts filing paperwork, a truly impressive amount of papers flowing through the limbs Douglas assumed legs before. The stack does not shrink in the slightest. A wet coughing sound later, the creature expels the mana stone without even giving it a glance. The smoking stops and the blazing blue fire in its large eye also dims down to a normal level.
“I’d like to join the GalaxSec force.”
“Most excellent. My records indicate it has been…” Swiveling on its chair, the creature searches through the many filing cabinets surrounding it in a blur. “What, I gained a skill? No, stop blocking my vision. What nonsense is this, a blue rectangle? I care not for supplements, never needed them. Let’s see… over three hundred years ago! It took the citizens that long to realize that the GalaxSec winnowing process is just that… No wheat to be found, I’m afraid. It has had a one hundred percent lethality rate. I'm morally required to ask you if you want to go through with this?”
“I’d like to join the GalaxSec force.”
“Excellent, please take this form…” Its many limbs pull stamps and pens from nowhere, and the translucent sheet of paper is filled in thoroughly. “Take this to floor three, desk eighteen-five. Good day.”
Douglas happily takes the form he is handed, looks it over for a full second, and strolls off. Following the signs saying ‘exit’ until he reaches the ramp to the third floor takes him just a few hours of mostly taking the wrong path. The third floor is covered in even more still forms than the preceding two floors, and Douglas steps over the bodies with gentle care. He finds the desk eventually, and finds yet another unknown creature lying on the floor next to the office chair.
“Hello there, what might this be… Wow, I’ve never seen this one before. Let me cross reference this.” Douglas patiently waits, idly studying the newest victim of his Soul Bind spell. This one is a rather fat looking purple elephant person, and it's way too chipper for being freshly soul-bound. “Yes, this one checks out. And this section… also correct. A shame. Are you sure you want this, hon?”
“I’d like to join the GalaxSec force.”
“Right, I’ve got to give you props for enthusiasm. Might I say, I love the metal on your head. Really gives you that cool and manly look. Let me sign this… and this stamp… and this one… Here you are! You just have to get these two certified, at the second-floor main desk and fourth-floor logistics desk respectively. Then, you skedaddle over to medical, there are doors to the medical department everywhere and should be easy to find, and after that, you’re good to go!”
Douglas just takes his papers and leaves. He wanders around again, following the directions that he is given. He ends up visiting every single area of the base, being sent from pillar to post, from certification bureau to bureau that needs to certify the certification bureau. A lot of certifications had somehow and mysteriously expired over forty years ago, according to the central Synthetic Intelligence that is occasionally consulted by flustered soul bound bureaucrats.
It takes Douglas precisely thirty-four large pieces of paper, which contain a little over three hundred and four stamps - he hadn’t been able to see some of the reanimated office workers move with how fast they stamped. He also needed hundred and three slips of noticeably lesser paper quality, over three hundred autographs, thirty-one of which are his own - usually a random squiggle of pen. After all of this, though, he is left with a single and very official looking document. Many seals, signatures, gilded symbols and other official emblems adorn the thick piece of paper. Douglas has lost count and honestly can’t remember all the text he has been forced to read over the past hours, but he is pretty sure he has signed away nearly all his rights at some point.
His corpse is apparently no longer his own in case of a ‘terminating incident’. He vaguely remembers that he even signed away the physical manifestations of his thoughts and that everything and everyone he ever has, is, or will produce is immediately and irreversibly deemed property of GalaxSec. Douglas is totally fine with all of this, though. Walking through the entire building and getting to practice his new spells so much has honestly been a blast. He also got to see many new creatures move around. He’d spend some time looking at all the still people that are scattered everywhere, but seeing them move about and around has been much more satisfying. The first slime-covered skeleton thing had especially been intriguing. He still feels a weird form of negative emotion at placing the Soul Binding spell at that being’s chin instead of the proper place: its forehead.
There are some other things Douglas has come to realize, but the clean and rather threatening machine in front of him is taking up all his attention. He has received a bit of information through what he has come to realize as the system. Something has been force feeding him information, and the mysterious blue screens are the most likely culprit for this steady stream of knowledge. Through this hard to notice data implanting system, he had come to expect something else. ‘Medical,’ ‘Med,’ or ‘the sickbay’ brought forth pictures of sterile and clean environments, sure. The massive smooth white machine with a single opening that’s ordering him inside is not something he had anticipated. With a mental shrug, Douglas puts the massively ornate document that is the result of all his running around into the designated slot, and steps into the dark opening.
“Initiating maximum level medical test. Taking tissue sample. Please relax.”
The massive shining tool that shatters his ribs is not letting him calm down at all. Luckily for him, the rather large spike barely misses his spine.
“Centre-of-weight incision performed. Taking tissue sample.”
Then a meter wide maw snaps at him, and Douglas decides to take defensive measures. They can shatter his rib bones all they want, but Douglas isn’t keen on being reduced to a mere skull again. The thick jaws that are shooting towards his pelvis region don’t hold up to the dephlogistonating fireball that Douglas shoves at it, much to his relief. Molten metal splatters and slightly chars his skeletal frame where naked bone is exposed to glowing steel. Then the platform he is standing on starts moving forwards again, slowly guiding him through the pitch black tunnel.
“Tissue sample retrieved. Processing…”
The platform beneath Douglas’s bony feet stops suddenly.
“Processing… Requesting additional processing power from base Synthetic Intelligence.”
Douglas remains standing on the silent platform, looking around at all the stowed tools. There is absolutely no light present, but the illumination coming from his burning eyes is enough to let him see. Not even a
cknowledging his passive Darkvision trait, he just studies the spacious tunnel he is in.
“New specimen found and registered. Main composition: calcium, phosphorous and trace minerals. Unknown biological processes detected. Unknown energy signatures detected.”
More silence follows.
“Requesting additional processing power from Base Synthetic Intelligence.”
Douglas weathers minutes of deafening absence of sound with patience.
“Previously unknown species discovered. Primary designation: Osseous Animat-”
“Arcane Skeleton,” Douglas interjects.
“Primary designation: Arcane Skeleton. Addendum; upon subject’s request. Adding knowledge of binary communication slash logging language to aforementioned species.”
“Thank you,” Douglas replies in a language he doesn’t even consciously know he can speak.
“No problem. Continuing standard species inventorization.”
“Good,” replies Douglas. He is then showered in acid. Suddenly standing inside the dense rain of nearly glowing green water, he thinks he is rather lucky that he arrived at this place with his entire mana pool - both the storage in his forehead and the relative massive storage space that is his Mana Stone filled cranium - filled up. Else he would not have survived with his body intact.
“No life signs registered, volunteer assumed terminated. Acid test failed.”
“No.”
“Unexpected result encountered. Requesting additional processing power from Base Synthetic Intelligence.”
More silence. Douglas spends this time with taking some of the metal that surrounds him, covering his spine in a thin layer of rune-inscribed and magically animated metal. He is once again very thankful towards Evot, mentally praising her ability to make new spells to the heavens. Some more blue boxes want to bother him, but Douglas is too busy using the amazing Stone Moulding spell to really take notice.
“Acid test succeeded.”
Douglas nods at this announcement as he is moved forwards again. Then he is covered in flames. The bright light startles him for a second, and he briefly fears for the integrity of his skull when his armor plating starts glowing. Then he starts casting the phlogistonate spell, turning a good portion of the burning gasses around him into an ice spike that’s centred inside his skull. Douglas patiently waits out the flames, looking at the rather complex set of apparatus that he is being carted through. All kinds of interesting implements are slotted into the bare metal walls, and the odd way in which the flames appear from the small circular hole in the wall is very interesting indeed.
“No life signs registered, volunteer assumed terminated. Flame test failed.”
“No.”
“Flame test succeeded. Please stand by as the other tests are retrieved from long term storage.”
Douglas decides to do as the nice mechanical lady tells him to. Instead of just doing nothing, though, he might as well get some practice in. And truth be told, the bare metal contraptions all around him are rather shiny, and look very sturdy indeed. Casting Stone Moulding again, he notes that it takes him a lot more mana to evaporate the metal. The red sand has been the easiest to turn into gas so far. After that comes the building rubble, with some variant being a lot sturdier than others. The metal all around him feels even sturdier than the few rods of steel he had found on his trek through the broken metropolis.
Then new nozzles pop out of the walls, shooting white clouds all over him.
[ Frozen ]
“No life signs registered, volunteer assu-“
“No.”
“Frost test succeeded. Requesting next steps from Synthetic Intelligence. Please stand by.”
[ Frozen; ended ]
Instead of being bothered by the interruption that would have surely killed any other being, Douglas keeps on coating his bones in steel. His entire spine is covered in inscribed metal by the time things get moving again.
“Terminal velocity test initiated.”
The floor drops out from under him, and he plummets through the darkness. He catches glimpses of a smooth tunnel wall here and there, slightly annoyed that he can’t keep working. Then the floor shoots up to meet him, and every single piece of bone not protected by metal armor goes flying. He muses that he is really lucky he managed to get his spine covered again. Otherwise, he would have lost more than just an arm and two legs.
“Terminal velocity test failed. Subj-”
“No,” he shouts at the rather faintly sounding voice coming from above. The blue glow coming from his mana hand bathes the bottom of the tunnel in light, allowing him to see the shining steel floor. In the round wall is a single door, large hinges and thick rivets making the entire thing look really sturdy.
“Requesting additional processing power from base Synthetic Intelligence.”
A little while later, Douglas is whole again. His direct environment is lit up brightly, the glowing cracks in his bones shining as they are slowly repaired.
“Procedure found. Minimum medical check successfully completed. Please proceed to the training area.”
“Thank!” The door clicks open, and Douglas stops taking metal from the walls. He briefly thinks it was indeed a good idea to leave the door alone. Peering through the half-open door, Douglas sees a dimly lit and roughly hewn stone tunnel. He steps through, sad to see the endless source of precious metal go out of reach, but stoked that he gets to pass his medical check. The dark tunnel stretches onwards, his bony feet making rhythmic clicks and clacks against the smooth floor. The tunnel doesn’t change, its square form just enough to let the skeleton walk upright. It takes a few turns left and right, even ramping up and down a couple of times. Then Douglas finds himself at another thick steel door, this one slightly ajar.
Poking his head through, he sees a rather spacious room. A crooked sign that reads ‘Welcome to GalaxSec training’ hangs on a single thread above a genuinely ancient looking shack. Boards made from a mysterious material are hanging loosely in rusted frames, and Douglas gets the impression that the entire thing might have resembled a house at some point.
“Welcome, applicant, to the GalaxSec standard training procedure. Please excuse the state of the facility, as it has not been used. Ever. The GalaxSec Standard Template Synthetic Intelligence has not found a single mention of a volunteer making it this far, making you the first one.”
A wet glop of colorful paper mash falls from the ceiling.
“Congratulations. Please enjoy this complimentary celebratory display.”
On his left and right, Douglas sees two spluttering items making a few sparks and a lot of smoke. A way too happy jingle plays. Finally, the single thread holding up the ‘Welcome’ sign snaps, causing the large and weathered sign board to crash into the ramshackle framework of a house. The house then proceeds to groan and crumble.
“Please proceed towards the patented GalacSex Training Facility.”
A spotlight on the ceiling flickers on, shining light upon the slowly collapsing house. Douglas feels like he could watch this display go on for hours, but figures that he should step into the house before it can collapse entirely.
“GalaxSec Dispatch has sent you to this domicile. Once you have arrived, you find the scene as shown. Three sapients seem to have gotten into an altercation, causing them to become gravely wounded.”
Douglas looks around, and confirms that indeed, there are three darker spots in the rotten carpet where bodies once might have lain.
“What is your first action.”
The skeleton then has a good long think about the question. For some reason or another, he suspects that there might be more to this entire scenario than he is being shown. Looking around, he ignores the large flakes falling from the slowly warping ceiling, and tries to get a clue. Not a single piece of furniture has withstood the test of time in any significant manner. He thinks he sees the remnants of a couch, and there seems to be an empty painting frame off to the side. Several shards of pottery are scatter
ed about, and the metal-clad skull sees a lot of glass shards everywhere.
Then it hits him. There are glass shards inside the house. This means that they are broken from the outside. His eyes burning slightly brighter, Douglas confirms that this entire scenario is probably the scene of a larger crime.
“There are mo-” He is cut off by a thunderous beeping sound that would have shattered his eardrums if he’d had any, and a rather obnoxious red flashing.
“Incorrect. The correct answer is: follow GalaxSec regulations. Please proceed to the next area.”
The blinking red lights manages to alert him to the fact that the house is truly crumbling now, so Douglas legs it out of the pathetic structure. He sees a spotlight illuminate a door on the opposite end of the room, so he walks over. The moment he steps through, he hears a loud crash behind him. Turning, he sees the aforementioned spotlight lying behind him, a small trail of smoke coming from its loose wires. Thanking his lucky stars he stepped through the door with gusto - else that thing could have scratched his skull armor - he moves forward with hope in his bright eyes.
“GalaxSec Dispatch has sent you to this crash site. Once you have arrived, you find the scene as shown. Two hovercars seem to have collided. What is your first action?”
Douglas sees the mechanical voice tells it how it is. He sees a crumbling piece of road on which two slag heaps of cars a laid. Instead of immediately answering the question, he wonders who is dispatch thing might be that keeps sending him to these odd places.
“GalaxSec Dispatch?”
“Option 'call Dispatch' chosen. Calling GalaxSec Dispatch… GalaxSec Dispatch is not staffed. Re-routing… Secondary dispatch not staffed. Rerouting… Main reception not staffed… Sapients detected… All are filed as ‘deceased’. No regulations found for this particular scenario. Re-routing…”
*CLICK*
“Hello?”
“Hello?”
“Douglas?”
“Evot?”
“What do you want, I’m busy.”
GalaxSec: A Sci-Fi LitRPG (Skeleton in Space Book 2) Page 24