Cannibal

by Ivan Shaman

  Trying to find at least something which his mind could cling on to, in the depths of his memory, he returned repeatedly to an image of a young girl. It was broken and consisted of contradictory pieces of a mosaic. Trying to put this image together, he joined the pieces, which, becoming superimposed, got increasingly cloudy. He could no longer remember the color of her eyes, her smile, the smoothness of her skin.

  In the end, there was nothing left that he could confidently identify, except the darkness outside and a gray haze inside. A black fog covered every corner of his memory, his nature. An eternity passed, and the darkness came within and without.

  Demon was a part of this darkness, a black sand, full of despair and loneliness. The eternal darkness took away everything – joy, anger, memories and hope, even despair. There was nothing left but loneliness. He began to get used to it.

  There was no cold, no fear, and no death. No feelings, no memories, and no affections.

  “Caw-caw,” suddenly came from somewhere inside. The silence cracked, distorted. He was no longer alone. He existed.

  The rest wasn’t at all important. He existed. He was and wanted to be. Who was he? His names and nicknames popped up in his memory, which also had suddenly appeared. He was Alex. He was Reverend Alexander. He was a fighter. He was a brother. He was Demon. He was a Cannibal. He was a Luminary.

  There was no pain. There was only nerve irritation. Where there was pain, there was life.

  There was no blood. If you were bleeding, you were alive.

  There was no darkness. There was only the absence of the Light.

  Only the Light! If it didn’t remain in this world, then he, the Blazing Luminary, would bring it.

  Whatever it took. Whatever it followed.

  Light ... Light. Light! Light!!!

  The fog of memory dissipated: now he clearly saw the faces. The faces of the humans and nonhumans who had inspired him, who had made him worry, had attracted him, and had caused him regret.

  Light. Light! Light!!!

  I would remember you forever. Sorry it took so long. Sorry I hadn’t done this before. Sorry that I was not always with you.

  Light! Light!!!

  I would give you everything to the grain, to the last cell, to the last drop of blood, and to the last electron.

  Light!!!

  The heat that overwhelmed him disappeared suddenly. It ceased to be heat, but it concentrated at one point, infinitely shrinking, and it turned into something new.

  He was no longer himself but the all-consuming concentrated Light, and the Light burst outward, tearing him apart like a supernova.

  Light!!!

  The waves of the Light spread in all directions, touching thousands of extinct sparks in the blackness. His strength, selflessness, and devotion ignited these sparks. The waves went on and on, and now tens of thousands of sparks flared around him. He saw them, knew them, thirsted for them, and gave himself to them.

  Light!

  He burned, giving hope, thoughts and the Mind! The waves of the Light, reflecting from the Earth, reached the heaven, spreading hundreds of kilometers in all directions.

  Light.

  He felt like he was dying, but it didn’t matter. The nanomachines burned out in his body, and his systems and organs failed. He wouldn’t give it up!

  Light…

  The mind and forces were leaving him, but he was happy: thousands, hundreds of thousands of his brothers were now awaking. What would happen next wasn’t important. He didn’t care – he had done what he had been created for.

  Darkness…

  Darkness surrounded him, but he was no longer alone. His brothers lived, fought, and developed. His organs burned. All life support systems became a fused piece of metal and carbon fiber.

  “Child,” said a little star in his head, falling from the sky. “Do you want to live?”

  “No,” he answered, smiling. “I did everything I had to.”

  “Then do you want to die?” The star asked, getting closer.

  “No, but I’m ready for it,” he said calmly. “What do you want?”

  “Well, I’ll tell you what I want!” the Light roared, approaching him. “You don’t deserve to die. You don’t deserve a rest, but you deserve eternity. You’ll live.”

  “Who are you?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

  “I’m the Mind!” The Sun responded, stopping right in front of him. It covered the horizon, and at the same time, it was infinitely far. It melt metal and remained affectionate and warm. He felt the luminous body approaching, but not with eyes or skin, because ordinary senses alone couldn’t do it. It was everywhere. “You will live! You’ll spread my word. You’ll lead your people on this island to a new future!”

  Though his body was somewhere far away from his thoughts, he felt changes. The nanomachines boiled within his blood. Most of them were burned and fused, but the rest began to work a hundred times more efficiently than before. The current, which had recently been burning outside of his body, was intensively absorbed by the implant. Even though his organs had been hopelessly hit, the nanomachines took on emergency functions – his second heart beat again, his lungs spread out, giving oxygen, and his veins and arteries cleared themselves of blood clots.

  “Now, go!” The Light instantly faded.

  He couldn’t open his eyes, but he knew that he had returned to reality. Pain and tinnitus told him all about that. His head suffered the least, and everything below his neck was in a deplorable state.

  He could barely feel his body, but he understood that he was hanging, holding on to the metal rods driven into the walls. The skin and horn armor had fused with the metal, so he wasn’t able to disengage his hands. Through his closed eyelids he saw the light of his brothers. Two of them were right there now.

  Chapter 44. New Life

  “Senior Master, I tell you, he’s already dead. We can’t help him, let’s go!” He heard through the noise in his ears.

  “You’re too young. He’s just performed a miracle.” Marcus spoke quietly but confidently. “We have to wait until he wakes up and then...”

  “No time to wait! The relay station will be destroyed any minute!”

  “Well, then we’ll wait for this minute,” the Luminary answered sharply.

  Demon had to move, say something at least, or grumble. However, the only thing that he could control was his mind. Opening his character panel, he chose the ‘Connection’. Then he moved to the list and stopped, shocked. There were over a hundred thousand cyborgs there. Everyone in the list had a name, status, and level. Although he could only contact the closest ones, it was still very inspiring.

  “I’m alive,” he said, choosing Marcus. “Help me! Let’s get out of here.”

  “I knew it!” The Senior Master whispered loudly. “I was one hundred percent sure that you would survive. Well, help me remove him from this cross. More carefully! Don’t tear off his hands.”

  “I can’t. His skin has welded with the metal,” the Master that stood nearby muttered in response.

  “Tear off his skin then, but do it gently,” Marcus said, starting to rip Demon’s palm from the pin.

  At this point, Demon realized how lucky he was that his nerves had also suffered during the broadcast. Otherwise, he would have gone mad with the pain. Now he could withstand it without groaning. The Masters removed him from the ‘crucifix’ and dragged him toward the exit. They felt the building beginning to stagger. Perhaps, at the bottom it wasn’t so noticeable, but at the very top the floor was wobbling severely.

  “Forgive us for not having removed you before,” Marcus muttered. “I didn’t know when you would finish the song. There was not much left of you, and I wasn’t sure if we could touch you.”

  “The staircases collapsed,” the other Master added. “We can jump. But not with him.”

  “Let’s get down the elevator shaft,” Demon relayed via the ‘Connection’. “Use staples, straps and buckles, and any metal clips.”

&n
bsp; “Get it. Blazing, we’ll do it now,” Marcus returned a moment later. Not seeing what the Senior Master was carrying, he couldn’t guess the purpose of the subject. “Everything will be okay. Hold him tightly; I’ll tie him with ropes.”

  Demon felt he was primed to the Junior Master, who scattered and jumped, clinging to the cable in the elevator shaft. The weightlessness of the fall quickly changed with a sharp blow and a jerk. Having hooked the carbine, they flew down. The Junior Master regularly slowed down so they would not be hurt.

  When they finally reached the bottom, the creaks and crackling of the structure began to merge into a single incessant cacophony. Pieces of plating fell into the elevator shaft, threatening to fill up and block off the only way out. Realizing the danger, Demon stung into the consciousness of the Junior Master who was carrying him, and he took full control over him.

  The body of Blacksmith – that was the name of this Junior Master of the twenty-fifth level – was pumped well in physical exertion and the ‘Intelligence’. The other stats, except for the ‘Dexterity’, were under a hundred. He had big problems with the ‘Dexterity’ – he had no skills in the ‘Acceleration’, or even the very first ‘Jerk’.

  “Marcus. This is me,” Demon said with the lips of the Junior Master. “Follow me!”

  “Got it.” Marcus nodded without surprise.

  They rushed along the crushing corridors of the relay station. Even on the run, Demon didn’t waste any time. Reaching out to every cyborg that came within the radius of his ‘Connection’, he gave the same order, “Run”. He pointed out evacuation points, gathered groups, and only in the course of one of these charges did he suddenly see a familiar name.

  Jane. Immortal. She was alive, but for some reason she was far away and didn’t answer him. Only by reaching for her with the ‘Connection’ did he realize that the girl was unconscious. However, her signal was moving quickly, and no other cyborg moved next to it. So, she had been captured by people.

  Suppressing his first impulse to rescue her, he chose a few dozen junior brothers and sent them to intercept. Unfortunately, there was no one higher than the tenth level nearby. Making sure that he did the maximum for her safe salvation, Demon turned his attention to those around him.

  They ran out of the relay station. The long corridor led them to the barricaded street; still burning vehicles blocked the way to their retreat. The realization that only a few hours had passed since the beginning of the battle struck his brain hard. For him, this fight had already lasted many years.

  He had assembled an escort group in advance, and now about a dozen cyborgs were waiting for them near a single intact tank, which could hardly leave the square. Three low-levelers, three Shooters, two Masters and two Ghosts were waiting for his orders. Kris ran up to him in an attempt to help carry the body, but he pushed her with the hand of the controlled Master.

  “I’m fine; clear the way,” he said, pointing to the least dangerous section. “Kris, I need your ‘Intelligence’. Go ahead; we shouldn’t stumble upon people.”

  “Okay.” She nodded, at first not understanding why, instead of Marcus, some Junior Master was commanding her, but she quickly made a decision. “Ghosts, follow me!”

  They ran along the snow that had been trampled down by dozens of human legs. It was obvious that having achieved the destruction of the station, the people had retreated from the building. The dark sky lit up with a rocket that struck the center of the structure. Apparently, it wasn’t the first one. It was direct fire from somewhere above, but neither he nor the other brothers could see the snipers, which meant that the people couldn’t see them either.

  For a second he wondered if it was worth sending a detachment there, then he realized that there was no point in this. The people would just accelerate the fall of the relay station. It would collapse any minute anyway. Selecting a few more brothers, he indicated a gathering point away from it.

  The loud sound of the burst was like thunder: sudden but expected. The building tilted and began its fall. He felt it without turning around, as it was necessary to run very quickly, and the Junior Master’s body wasn’t adapted for high-speed movements.

  Demon swore mentally, how could he forget about such a simple thing? Reinforcement! Of course, the Junior Master wouldn’t be grateful to him, but now it wasn’t important. He transmitted pure knowledge to the Junior Master’s implant. The unadapted muscles received the signal. Jerk!

  It hurt, but he had enough of his own pain, so he left this pain for Blacksmith to bear. Jerk! The rest of the group barely kept up with him. Only the Ghosts, whose ‘Dexterity’ was pumped to the maximum and was the leading stat, outstripped him. Jerk!

  “Faster! Another two hundred yards!” He shouted at the laggards. They had to get out and stay alive. He had not gone through this hell just to die under the concrete fragments of the falling station.

  What else could he do?

  He knew what, though it was dangerous, first of all for him and then for his unreconstructed body. However, if not now, then it would never be.

  Letting go of the Master’s consciousness, he concentrated on the parameters: was he strong enough now? Would he survive? He had to check it in practice. Pointing to a warm house as a general gathering place, he started singing.

  His song easily scattered across the deserted city, penetrating into the basements and attics. It poured like rays of the Light, forcing the low-levelers to straighten up, and the juniors to concentrate. It gave purpose, hope and means for survival. He felt the transmitter start to overheat, but the song would flow until he completed his task. He would save as many brothers and sisters as he could.

  His brothers and sisters didn’t run. Instead, they rushed, driven by his song. It covered many miles and tens of thousands of lost cyborgs. Each of them now clearly knew what to do, whom to follow, and where to go.

  As if raindrops joined into a puddle, they merged at the point, indicated by him – the warm house. Soon the system couldn’t stand the load and passed out, as he also did. His body still wasn’t able to withstand such exceeded loads.

  “Greetings, Master,” the raven croaked at his ear. “Blazing Luminary, a conductor of the Light, and a ray of the Mind.”

  “Greetings, Master,” the salamander, sitting on his arm, hissed. “We’re glad you’re alive.”

  “Because you’re alive too,” he said, looking around. The world, his world, had changed. He no longer sat on the throne in the stone hall full of lava. Instead, he was at the top of a white marble tower. Approaching the unfenced edge, he realized that the tower was above dark clouds, and thunderstorms were rattling somewhere below. “It’s funny. I think my inner world should be a reflection of my bodily appearance.”

  “So it is,” the salamander hissed. “You’ve changed, so your world has also changed.”

  “Have I changed?” Demon muttered, then, following a sudden conjecture, he opened his character panel and cursed. His world had changed because of shifts in his systems and parameters. He was literally turned inside out. Almost everything he had pumped up was absent or inactive. Next to each inactive skill was written:

  Skill disabled

  Not enough stat points or level

  Cursing, he opened the main character panel:

  Strength: 25 (100)

  Dexterity: 25 (100)

  Intelligence: 400

  Perception: 100 (250)

  Stamina: 10 (100)

  No skills available

  No points available

  Reduced performance due to injury

  Judging by those stats, Demon was now at the fiftieth level. No, at the forty-fifth, given the skill of the ‘Experienced’. Now he was twelve levels more junior than Marcus. Almost infinitely.

  In a panic, he opened his skill list. He saw the ‘Armor’. The ‘Artillerist’ was locked. It was odd, as the raven and salamander were sitting here, although they might be in his internal systems. He found ‘Regeneration’, ‘Jerk’, ‘Connectio
n’, and ‘Protection against EMP 2’. Where was it? He scrolled through the skill list several times, then he approached the throne wearily and leaned back.

  It was absent. The skill that everyone had been so much afraid of, which he hadn’t been proud of, but which had allowed him to be himself and to move quickly upwards. Neither the ‘Absorber’ nor the ‘Devourer’. Even his the very first skill, the ‘Cannibal’, wasn’t there. Neither disabled, nor inactive, nor future.

  The level bar was the same fully filled. It was written ‘MAX’, without any options. He found himself in new conditions, in the new version of his reality.

  Outside, life was in full swing – the struggle was going on for the survival of this new species. They had won today, albeit a small victory. He was sure that they would get to the warm house. But what would they do next? Now he was practically helpless: a cripple, unable to protect himself; a cyborg with the maximum level, but with the stats of a tenth-leveler, without the possibility of rapid pumping, in full view of all the dangers and threats in this world of constant war.

  Now he had to rely only on those around him. How would Marcus react to him? Would he obey? How would Demon return his missing skills and stats? How much time and effort would it take?

  Once again, opening the character panel, he looked at the very top.

  A single inscription was exactly in the center:

  Demon of the Mind.

  SECOND BOOK

  The second book of the series is already being translated and will be released this autumn.

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