Humble Beginnings

by KA Hopkins

  “Yes, I was meaning to get to that,” Omni continued. “Your soul or life force, in your old body has been replaced with a generic life-pattern essence. Before you get all panicked, remember that, in your old body, you were not spiritually religious, so you should not miss what you did not realize you had.”

  I was about to question Omni more on the religious aspects of God, the devil, a soul - and the spiritual and moral implications of not having one - when Omni deftly changed the topic.

  “Enough about you, let’s talk about me. Think of me as a sentient entity similar to the one you call Mother. We are both unique entity matrices, whose personalities are based upon our life experiences and core knowledge; although Mother is several thousand times bigger and faster. Regardless of physical size, as we age and gain experiences our personalities will adapt and grow, same as you.”

  You might think, given all the significant changes to my body and mind with the events of the past four weeks, I would be in the midst of an identity crisis or a nervous breakdown. Touching only the high points: I had been killed, had my consciousness transferred to a new and greatly enhanced metallic green body giving me near immortality and had personally killed, or through my actions, harmed over fifty humans and aliens. Many of those deaths were close up, personal and violent. I condemned a not so innocent family to a fate that in all likelihood ended in a painful death, stole several alien scout ships and broke into a secret alien/human base on the Moon. I could go on, but I think you can see where I’m going.

  By any reasonable mental health standards, I should be a complete and total nervous wreck. Bottom line - with my newfound bent for violence and lack of a human soul, I was not sure how much humanity I had left in me. Sometime in the future I really needed to have a talk with Omni, and maybe Mother, about the spiritual implications of not having a soul. On top of trying to deal with the spiritual aspects of who I had become, my newfound propensity for violence and killing anyone that intended me harm, had me well on the way to becoming a sociopathic mass murderer…how cool is that! I'm not sure how my family and friends would take to my new makeover, but being a budding sociopath, “who cares.”

  Truthfully, I felt awesome, the best ever to be exact. Far from being a nervous wreck upon learning I was no longer one hundred percent human - I felt completely alive and free. Thanks to Mother’s modifications, I had all of the skills and knowledge to never have to worry about money, food, shelter, health or physical threats ever again. Hell, I was the meanest, toughest, badass on the planet. Imagine never being burdened with any of the day to day, normal human problems of the social rat race - buying stuff I didn’t need to impress people I couldn’t stand, or a shitty soul sucking job. For the first time in my life I was completely free of any and all of the constraints imposed by society.

  I felt empowered to do whatever I wanted - there were no rules stopping me. Every sense, be it smell, touch, taste, hearing and sight were intensely attuned to the world around me; my mind was sharp and thoughts crystal clear. There was nothing I could not do, and nowhere on Earth I could not go. This was a better high than any drug could provide. I knew with absolute certainty that I would have no problem getting used to the new me. I took time to admire myself in the mirror.

  My self-admiration was interrupted by a very basic human need - I was hungry. Not the hunger you feel if you miss a meal or two; this felt like starvation. I asked, “Omni if I'm suppose to have near super hero like powers, why am I so hungry?”

  “I’m glad you brought that up - I have been meaning to provide some clarification on a few things - given that I can read your mind. I want you to listen very closely: you are not a superhero!” (I could have sworn I heard him mutter dumbass.) “While it’s true that you are greatly enhanced, all of the improvements are the result of advanced biomechanical engineering. There’s no magic or super powers involved. You are not faster than a bullet, can’t fly, turn invisible or walk up walls. While it’s very much harder to kill, maim or injure you, sufficient physical damage can still destroy your body.

  The good news is, I have an exact map of your consciousness that’s constantly upgraded through the cybernetic implant we share, so if you destroy your current shell, I have a copy of your consciousness up to the point of your death and can bring you back into a holographic storage matrix. As I said before, it’s a temporary fix, but it would give me at least six months to get you into another biological shell before storage errors start to occur. This is the safest option if your body is destroyed. The transference to a new biological body worked once, but there is no guarantee that it will work a second time. Integration of the human consciousness into a biologic vessel is still a mystery. Even with all my technology, replicating the human soul is not easy. Even now you are not fully integrated into your vessel.

  The integration of your consciousness with the new body only happens if you’re stressed, painfully stressed actually. So, while building the biological vessel is easy, integration of your life-force into it, is a long and very painful undertaking each and every time. Experience with other alien races, for reasons unknown, has shown that it’s a cumulative function. The more times you die and are brought back, the more pain you will endure during integration, even into a holographic storage matrix. You may not remember the circumstances of your death, but you will definitely remember your assimilation into a new body vessel. Do it enough times and the pain levels will increase to a point where proper functionality of your consciousness is impossible. Your life force will become irreparably damaged and eventually corrupted, no matter what restore point is used. It’s still a mystery why the recovery process works this way - the theory and procedures are technically sound.”

  “Have you ever thought mankind is truly unique in the galaxy and maybe this is how the universe maintains balance?” I said.

  Omni replied, “Interesting hypothesis that other alien races will surely disagree with. As far as being hungry, your new body has great strength and endurance, but this comes with the consequence of very high energy demands. To fill up your energy reserves, you either have to stay in the sun, where your skin can convert light energy into chemical energy - a process similar to photosynthesis - allowing you to function for weeks without solid food; or depending on your activity level, you need to consume up to four times a normal adult’s daily caloric intake.”

  “So, you’re telling me I don’t need to eat?”

  “No! I’m trying to tell you that you are multi-fuel capable. You can get energy directly from the sun, or by consuming food like everyone else. By the way, similar to plants, you will need lots of water and some key trace chemicals to maintain proper body chemistry and stay away from heavily processed fast foods and dairy products.”

  “Great… not only do I look a little like a plant; you’re telling me I have to be a vegetarian.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with being a vegetarian, but it’s not necessary. Due to your high energy requirements, your digestive system is much more efficient at processing whatever you eat. However, you will need to pay more attention to a well balanced diet and exercise, or you will get fat really fast. I suggest you watch your carb intake.”

  “So that’s why I have a belly,” I said.

  “Praise be to your chosen deity - or is it ok to use God in these politically correct times?” said Omni.

  “God works for me. I’m not a fan of the politically correct thought-police,” I said.

  “Thank God, he can be taught!” Omni exclaimed.

  The sarcasm was not lost on me. Omni dropped the sarcastic tone and continued, “You will need the extra weight; depending on your activity level, your body will burn upwards of 12,000 calories a day. Without the layer of belly fat you will start to consume muscle and even your organs. If you're worried about having to eat so much, I could install a zero point energy module in you - it would make you more inhuman than you already are.”

  “No thanks. I don’t see a down side to having to eat a lot or s
untan every day,” I said.

  “Even though I’m enjoying our conversation about your new capabilities, it’s not an efficient use of our time. Your new abilities should not be such a surprise; I was under the impression that Mother had explained all of this to you?”

  “Well sort of, maybe the highlights. At the time, I thought Mother was pulling my leg, since there were no visible or physical indications… and who listens to their mother all the time anyway?”

  Omni replied with considerable disdain, “Humans - from the time of Adam and Eve you never could take anything on faith alone, always had to find out for yourself. So inquisitive, so inefficient…so bloody human. Let this be a lesson: when Mother or I explain something, please make the effort to listen and take it seriously.”

  Bossy - that would have been a good name as well, I thought to myself.

  At that moment Marc decided to drop by to discuss our next steps.

  Chapter 17 - Understanding who I am

  Marc walked into the room. I tried to explain to him why I was green and what had happened to me, but he cut me off mid-sentence. “I get it - new and improved, not so human any more. No big deal, I spoke a lot with Guide during our little Moon adventure and she let me in on what was happening to you.”

  “How did Guide know what was happening to me, and more importantly, why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

  “You know computers - they’re always gossiping. Omni and Guide both agreed it was best to say nothing at the time. You had enough going on as it was, and with you sleeping all the time there was not much of an opportunity. In fact, if it wasn't for Guide, I would not have known that Omni existed. Apparently, although Omni is sentient and fully independent, there is some unbreakable rule between a cybernetic implant and their host. Omni would never share any information about the two of you without your permission, which is an interesting point that the AIs somehow managed to work around on the Moon because at the time you did not know Omni existed. It is something to ask Omni in the future - how exactly does your relationship work?”

  “Doesn’t it bother you that I’m no longer one hundred percent human?”

  “Not really. Have you ever worked with the German Special Forces? I always thought they were a bunch of no nonsense, square-head machines. You, at least, have a sense of humor. Listen, it’s all nice and fine for you to discover, ‘the real you’ but time is short and we need to make some decisions. This upgraded alien scout ship can take us anywhere in our solar system in a little more than a week using a continuous acceleration/deceleration profile and while this is useful capability - and I would like to visit Mars as I hear the weather is nice this time of year - sooner or later, getting out of this solar system is going to become a real priority. I brought this up with Mother and she agreed that we have been extraordinary lucky so far, but if someone with some insight starts to put together all of the clues we left lying around, it will become obvious that several of their scout ships are missing and that it’s not the work of the ULIR.”

  I replied, “We only have a couple of options. If we stay on Earth, money is not an issue. Mother can tap into any bank account on Earth and move or create funds at will. With that kind of financial backing we can do pretty much anything we want; although me being bright metallic green will be a problem in public. If I want to hide in plain sight, maybe I could front a rock band or something. I'll tell everyone the body paint is how I stay in character...on the other hand, we could help Mother with her original directive and report back to the ULIR as to what’s really happening on Earth.”

  Now that I had voiced the two options - a hedonistic lifestyle or duty to Earth - I was torn between the two. Duty, whether to God, country, family or humanity, is never the easiest path to follow. Doing the right thing always involves risk. On the other hand, we could use Mother’s resources to support a wonderfully hedonistic lifestyle, but with one eye always looking over our shoulders. Marc and I, along with our families, would never escape the constant threat of discovery with a guaranteed trip to the alien experimentation tanks if caught. Who wants to live out their remaining years being afraid all the time?

  Another factor against taking the easy route was brought up by Mother. Based upon the information she had gathered concerning the Draco’s invasion plans, the pacification timeline was nearing completion, at most only a few years away. Once the aliens’ true intentions were revealed to all mankind, massive social changes were a given. Based upon the Draco’s track record with previous conquered worlds, once they felt strong enough to act overtly, the enslavement of mankind and the plundering of Earth’s resources was guaranteed. With the Draco having complete control of Earth, life for 99.9 percent of mankind was going to pretty much suck.

  While sitting on a beach somewhere drinking Mojitos and watching girls in skimpy bathing suits did have a certain appeal, it would be a crying shame to waste what fate had just bestowed upon me. I would like to say I made my decision based solely on a sense of duty, but in reality I liked the idea of being a true honest-to-god hard-ass, taking it to the bad guys.

  I realized that I liked fighting - at its barest most fundamental level, it’s a visceral rush that provides immediate feedback. There are no stronger emotions or feelings that can compare to putting one's life in grave danger and coming out alive. Trying to explain that to someone who has not lived it themselves - is nearly impossible and there are consequences…

  In modern combat you helicopter into the combat zone, complete the mission and get out; usually enjoying good food and a movie back at the base within seventy-two hours. Pretty easy duty compared to World War I or World War II, or even Korea - you are not stuck in some muddy, wet, cold, rat-infested trench for months on end with no amenities. Combat in modern times has evolved to match our raised comfort levels and limited attention spans.

  Modern battles are quick, often finished within a matter of minutes and hours. When it's over, you’re hopefully alive, the other guy hopefully not, and with the destructive power of modern weaponry, you just broke a shitload of stuff. How does that make you feel? It feels fuckin’ awesome - as long as you don’t get your nuts or legs blown off. But it’s best not to mention this to anyone who has not had a similar experience. It’s not about loving war - it’s about the comradery and the excitement of doing something that takes you to your very limits.

  These feelings and experiences are so powerful, not everyone can cope. Unless specially trained not many can endure such powerful stimuli, as seen by the increasing number of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) cases among modern soldiers. Pump that much adrenalin through someone’s system for long enough and really bad shit can start happening to their brain. Given enough stimuli, the brain will actually rewire itself in unpredictable ways. Some people have radical personality changes after a single traumatic event; others can go unaffected for years. Prolong the adrenalin rush long enough and everyone eventually reaches a point of no return - no matter how tough.

  For the two of us, it boiled down to a simple question: run or fight? Once we made the decision there was no turning back. Either way, a lot of people and aliens were going to get hurt and the chances of making it out in one piece were slim at best. It occurred to me that Marc had been in a similar situation in Somalia during Operation Gothic Serpent better known as Black Hawk Down. The odds in that fight had been two hundred Rangers and Delta Force operators against five thousand Somalian irregulars. I wanted to ask Marc about his motivation during the battle, when it dawned on me: in any firefight the odds don’t really matter, as there is no turning back once it starts. Marc and I were faced with the same limited options in the battle against the Draco - win or die trying. Given those options, what would our point of no return be?

  “Marc, our only option is to try and save the people of Earth.”

  “Absolutely!” said Marc, with great enthusiasm. The twinkle in his eye told me he knew what my first choice was, but he was a true warrior. Part of his core belief system is that a m
an’s true motivations need not be spoken aloud, nor is it his place to comment on how another man motivates himself, only that he does what’s necessary when required.

  Chapter 18 - Man’s future may not be so bright

  Marc said, “So we’re in agreement. Our duty is to Earth. We’ll take Mother back to the ULIR core worlds, to report her findings and ask for assistance to protect Earth from alien colonization. Since Mother doesn’t have the range, she can’t make the trip on her own. We’re going to need a bigger ship.”

  “On the topic of voyages - Mother, exactly how long is the journey?” I asked.

  “About six weeks of your time one way, as the ship must clear the gravity influences in both the sending and receiving solar systems to use the bridge points. While the trip is not an onerous one, I must warn you, I believe the voyage is the easy part. Once you reach the ULIR core worlds, you will have to rally the support of the many ULIR delegates. This could take months, since there are many competing interests among the delegates. More than a few of them will stop at nothing to achieve their trade expansion goals, not to mention there are sure to be many negative opinions about the maturity level of your race.

  Please don’t take offense at their patronizing opinions; you are a young race, and like all young, lack maturity. Some of the older alien races in the galaxy achieved space travel nearly 500,000 years ago. Compared to them, mankind’s track record does not warrant much respect. Don’t let that get you down - many secretly believe that your future holds great potential.

  Despite your potential, few alien races are going to welcome you with open arms when you finally achieve regular interstellar travel. There are many reasons for this. Your present population is large and humans have an ability to breed like rabbits, compared to other alien races. Couple this with a lack of spiritual maturity and a history of using new technology for waging war… it’s an absolute that by the time humans achieve interstellar travel, you will need much more space and resources than what Earth can provide. Without a doubt, you are going to have problems with the rest of the galaxy. Humans will push hard for the right to expand their presence among the stars; the rest of the galaxy will push back even harder to keep you in your place.