“Fine. Boys, go into the decontamination room and give a blood sample. You know the drill. When you pass I want you to leave the med bay. No questions.”
“You heard her.” Said Stone as they went into the room that cleaned them of alien pathogens, stepped out and placed their palms down on a plate where micro-needles took samples, found nothing to indicate a compromised immune system their nanites couldn’t handle and gave a green light. They filed out of the room under the withering glare of Renee and a humored Sparky.
“So what now?” Stephanie asked, sitting with the sword and cloth.
“Did you give a sample?” The woman nodded. Renee sat down in her swivel chair and crossed her legs, hooking one ankle behind the other out of habit. “Then go wind down. We’ve had a more than interesting day. I’m going to keep Oliver under observation till morning shift at oh eight hundred. He needs a lot done and I need to understand the depths of his condition. I’ll send Papa my recommendation and full analysis as soon as I unravel this mystery.”
“Send me a layman’s copy too please.” Renee nodded as the woman got up. “Oliver,” He turned and Stephanie was thrilled he responded to a name given not even forty minutes ago. “If it is alright with you, may I borrow your Star-saber and this material? I promise to return it.”
“Return? Like Renee leaving through that?” He pointed to the smooth white door.
“Yes, precisely. These are yours.”
Renee was lifting a cup of water to her lips from a drink dispenser as he said “Mine? Like Renee?” The medic choked and spewed water in a fine mist. Stephanie doubled over laughing at Renee’s colored cheeks going as red as her hair and making the freckles disappear.
“Now listen here!” Renee was more embarrassed than mad, but took the frustration out on him. “I’m a person. Not an object. I do not belong to anyone let alone you.”
“Who do I belong to then?”
Those words were a blow so strong no punch could match. Renee’s anger vanished faster than Stephanie’s laugh. The two women looked to each other and spoke without words as people so close only could. The words were exactly those she had in the shower. Renee decided to be truthful. “Oliver I’m sorry, but I don’t know. Not yet anyway. You could have a family or even friends. But until I can find out, I’ll be responsible for you.”
“Oliver belongs to Renee?” he asked.
“For now.” She clarified and noticed Stephanie slip out, items in hand. “Oliver, you can tell people your name, but don’t reference yourself. It is not a good habit to make. People will be concerned if you talk about yourself in the third person.”
He cocked his bald head. Renee knew she was going to develop a sigh habit with him as she did it again, but couldn’t blame him. “Come sit beside me. Chair requirement. Place within conversation distance of mine.” She said, looking up.
The hole in the ceiling opened again and down floated an identical, comfortable chair which landed in the mostly empty room. He sat down and tried crossing his legs like her, only to grimace and grab his not so tiny phallus she remembered earlier. “It’s alright. Most men don’t cross their legs knee to knee. This would be more comfortable for you.” She adjusted ankle to knee and he was much more grateful. As his right arm moved, she saw the peeking of black from the vambrace Stephanie called a multi-tool and had an idea. “Oliver, do you know what that is on your right arm?” he drew the sleeve back and looked at it to shake his head. “It is extremely valuable and has near infinite uses. Do you know how it works?” he again shook his head. “From what little I remember, it’s connected to the wearers desires. If you want something enough, it will create it. You must have really wanted to understand and it took words from Deegen’s mind and gave it to you. I’m not a patient woman and I loathe talking down to someone who doesn’t deserve it… I can’t believe I’m considering this, but… Oliver, I want you to want to speak better. Will yourself to make that multi-tool help you to learn. To understand.”
Oliver blinked and hated feeling so distant. He wanted to have knowledge, much more than now. He needed to speak better… to understand more complex words. To not be so lost when everyone around could talk so fluidly and not ask oddly like he did.
The thing on his arm became warmer, like the shower earlier. It didn’t do that before.
Brain-hacker shot a thin sucker a meter long on Renee’s head, staying momentarily longer as it absorbed a more complex desire for its host then left her with a minor hickey dead center of her forehead. It would dissipate minutes later. After retracting it shot again, this time attaching to his head.
Information downloaded through complex synapses, mirroring Renee’s pathways and associations. He copied all her words, sentence structure and could now understand human emotions. His mind took and stored it all, committing everything as if it were his all long. But he didn’t steal her memories of people, places history, or personal experiences. Brain-hacker could only allow its host to understand another, not copy who they were.
It would have resulted in an abomination.
Renee understood what Deegen admitted earlier as she saw her own life flash in a strange blur coupled with dizziness and a few deep breaths later recovered. She was again astounded to hear him say “Renee, I’m not sure I should do it again anytime soon. My joints coupled with atrophied muscles and an intensified migraine from learning proper Standard English has made me require sleep. Do I have your permission to sleep so I may assimilate all I learned and can recover?”
She heard herself breathlessly say “Go ahead.” while internally feeling separated from her own body as one part was overjoyed it worked better than she dared dream, another worried in his compromised condition it was too much and lastly was too stunned to do anything else.
Oliver rubbed his neck and stood up to go lay down on the warm, comfortable bed of gelatin. As soon as his eyes closed he fell asleep.
Sparky was patient for several minutes and when Renee had yet to pull herself back to the here and now he thought “My Friend, now is not the time to be dumbfounded. By now the entire ship will be fully aware of all that transpired below on the desert planet. Let him rest. But now you need to make him healthy. To do that you must discover how to best make it possible in the shortest time. I also suggest you constantly monitor during his slumber. I saw what you did after Deegen was touched by the dark object. His mind will be likely doing similar and we both know how dangerous overstimulation can be to a normal mind… let alone one in his condition.”
Several more concentrated breaths stopped a minor panic attack before turning on the proudly laying Drake. “Thanks for the kick in the ass. I needed it.”
“My pleasure.” Sparky mentally laughed and hissed quietly. Renee lovingly flicked him off and turned around.
Running the download sequence to her chip she got up to walk around a cleared space, crafting holograms within her mind. Sparky saw too, but for anyone else it would seem Renee was aimlessly walking around staring at bare white walls. She audibly began recording her findings while also dropping the hovering ball from before to continuously scan him. Her voice was normal, but not so loud as to startle him awake. As she talked she noticed his heart rate slowing and smiled thinking absently He is soothed by my voice.
“New patient under Medic Renee Dorgen of the Dorgenox. Name Oliver. Discovered within the chamber of an extinct volcano in some form of stasis as yet to be confirmed. The stasis was biology in nature rather than cryo. Patient was prolonged to an undetermined time and has lost much muscle mass. Readouts suggest due to size and skeletal structure of the patient to be estimated at a ninety three percent muscle mass loss.
“Upon reviving, patient showed signs of massive amnesia and was primal at best. I was forced to administer a gentle sedative for his own safety. During retrieval he was then taken hold of by an object called a multi-tool which then attached a suction cup-like tube to First Class Hunter Deegen Castor’s head and then removed with no lingering effects, but then t
he object gave words to the subject.
“Upon extraction we were under attack by a Beast and the subject came out of the sedative’s effects and defeated the Beast in a single strike by a psionic weapon discharge wave to then consume its brain matter till we were forced to leave.
“Subject then displayed rudimentary comprehension of our language and a willingness to cooperate, especially after forming an attachment to myself.” Renee blinked rapidly, but continued pacing and audibly reading results. “Subject displays a left-handed dominance and rapidly learns my mimicking and retains knowledge. My theory is that his unnaturally forced amnesia allows for memories to develop at a rate as of yet to be determined.
“Subject’s scans are questionable at best. His skeletal frame is indeed human but his bone density is like nothing I’d expect from one his size. Core body temperature is a normal thirty seven Celsius. His bone density I’d expect to be three to four times Standard gravity like the Hunter-born worlds, but Subject’s density is nine times denser despite appearances. Muscle atrophy percentage may need to be adjusted accordingly.” Her brow furrowed for she had never seen someone with bones so dense. “Subject’s muscle structure at the moment to be human with no known deviations, but his tendons and cartilage appears to have exceedingly above average reactions, likely needing to work on extreme gravity environments. Flexibility, undetermined at this point. Anatomy is proportional and shows no sign of alteration.”
Renee switched to another readout and nearly choked, but with Sparky’s help she continued undaunted. “Subject’s immune system is off my charts. I see signs of him already adapting to pathogens and are immune to everything exposed to all he’s endured since being revived. I find no other signs of virus or harmful bacteria. Meaning antibodies already destroyed them. Must research. If my breath and touch on a person not immune and suddenly becomes so, must be studied.
“Also of great note, Subject shows no genetic markers associated with gene therapy or splicing, but has the two extra chromosomes made available for bio-immortality and cellular regeneration. It seems inherited by birth. Subject is a medical conundrum I’ll dedicate to understanding.
“As assumed by first class Hunter Stone Calliko, Subject Oliver is likely associated to an early Hunter programs. Subject’s amazing immune system negated Beast brain poison consumed earlier. Like Hunters, cannot consume complex carbohydrates like bread without severe physical reaction of rejection. Subject is a complete carnivore like all true Hunters. Most likely cannot even consume any form of flora. In my opinion the protein needed will aid Subject’s mental development and regeneration.
“Already preparing synthetic intravenous solution to feed his weakened body.
“Lastly, scans show minimal psionic ability at this time. It may increase, but at the moment is a class one. And he has no form of standard com implant.
“End primary assessment.”
Charts, grids and lines vanished from her field of vision as everything was stored for future reference. Renee then walked over to where he slept and for the first times of many asked “What the hell are you, Oliver?”
Chapter 3
A soft beep had Oliver’s consciousness push sleep aside and his eyes fluttered open. Compared to when he had fallen asleep he now felt no pain. Breathing came effortless in comparison too. He had to close his eyes quickly as the hovering in-depth ball scanner was sending beams of light that falsely hurt.
He rolled to his back and heard the sweet voice say “Finally awake are we?” the scanner stopped and disappeared up into the ceiling without a single word.
A sharp pinch had him look down to his left arm to find tubes stuck in his veins. Not just one. He counted ten. He went to touch it, but suddenly stopped, unable to do so and saw Renee sitting at her desk, legs crossed in a way that was greatly uncomfortable, but her eyes glowed like when he was on the floor. He then followed the lines from his arm to a hole in the wall beside his head feeding into them. “Don’t even think about taking them out. You need a few more hours and I must say you’ve certainly bulked up and are quite a looker. Stand up, but don’t take them out.”
He carefully turned and stood.
That was a massive understatement. Renee never believed how well the solution would work so she used her chip to drop down a mirror from the ceiling.
Oliver’s height hadn’t changed, everything else though did. In a big way. No longer did he look like a skeleton with skin. Skin now stretched over cords and mounds of solid muscle. So much muscle he was no longer in the same clothes Renee put on that hung. He could see his bulk would have shredded at the seams. Bony fingers were thick like sausages, but not obscenely so. He was still hairless, but that only made him seem so much more muscular beneath a gown that was more a curtain. The smooth floor was cold on his bare feet.
He at least knew the image was no threat as his moves were matched. He knew the object. It’s a mirror. Oliver touched a bulging bicep beneath the cloth of his left arm hooked up to the wall. “How have I changed so much?”
Renee licked her lips, still in disbelief by the transformation. Just the sight of him had her libido at war with her medical side. He was clearly a strong and well hung man, but she wouldn’t cross that line. “It wasn’t easy finding your veins without them collapsing since you were so puny. When I got one in I made sure it worked. Six hours later your veins grew so I could put in the other nine needles.”
“But you haven’t told me how I got so large.” He turned those amber panty droppers on her and was glad she didn’t rise. “You look the same as when I fell asleep. Do men change so much?”
Renee would have laughed if he hadn’t sounded so genuinely confused. “Didn’t you take my memories? Can’t you figure out how a protein and electrolyte solution mixed with rapid generating muscle growth hormones identical to what you make during exercise, synthesized through a sequencing matrix could build healthy muscle without the need to endure nature’s need for exercise?”
Leaving the mirror, Oliver guessed he had plenty of cord length and moved to sit down in the chair left behind. He shook his head. “No. This” he showed off the shiny smooth object covering his right forearm. “took all your mind’s words and speech patterns and allowed me to communicate more effectively. I know the names of things and objects, not what you deeply understand. I know nothing of you other than you and Deegen are different. You know many more words and how to join them. More than he. I don’t know much more than what I’ve seen since I looked at you.”
“So the Brain-hacker just allows to instantly communicate, but can’t take memories?” he nodded. “Can you read?”
“Yes. It was greatly associated with the way you speak. Can you explain how I’ve gotten so large and how I may stay like this? I do not want to return to how weak I was. It hurt.”
“Hmmm…” She folded her hands together and laid them on her lap. Sparky got up and moved to sit beside her seat. He didn’t say a word, just watched the much more deadly looking man. “We’ll you’ve been out for fifty three hours… don’t ask how time is told. You’ll learn soon enough.” She stopped him with a halting, upraised hand as soon as his rugged lips parted. “Without going into years of medical training, you wouldn’t understand the how. I’ll just say your body was starving and it gladly took the vitamins, minerals and other complex nutrients to rebuild from the bones out. You’ve also put on a tremendous amount of lean muscle. You’ll likely weight Standard hundred and seventy eight kilos. More than even average Hunters and far above normal men. You are one big boy, which isn’t surprising due to your height. The solution pumping into your arms are not done working for you to be in a near prime condition. It’s not the first time I’ve done muscular regeneration. Hunters like yourself, when wounded, sometimes can’t eat with a broken jaw. At the least, Oliver, you are much better than you were. And unless you plan to return to that hole we found you in, you do not need to worry at all about regressing.”
“It eases me to hear it… And you
called me Oliver still, have you found who I am yet? Or is Oliver my real name?”
“No such luck I’m afraid.” Renee admitted and mildly concerned. “I’ve ran your DNA over the Terran genetic database and found nothing. Nada.”
“Oh. I wish to know why I’m like this… unless it is normal.”
“Nothing about this is normal. Not one fucking bit.” She shook her head. “Amnesia, the real kind, is nearly impossible to occur anymore. Nanites fix any damaged neurons in seconds to limit any form of memory loss. Amnesia is rare, so rare it’s mostly unheard of outside those with medical background.
“No, you misunderstood when I said I found nothing. By nothing, I mean it’s as if you’ve never existed.” She had to make him understand the depths of such an improbability. “Oliver, in seven and a half centuries of DNA testing and collecting, yours seems to not exist anywhere. No one, and I do mean no one, has your kind of similarities. You have no descendants living nor is there any record of long dead familial ties. It means you have no children or parents anywhere. Ether you were an illegal genetic creation or someone wiped out all ties that you ever existed. Since I see you have a belly button it rules out the former. Clones don’t have them nor are they allowed to live under most circumstances. Whoever you were before we found you, must have been important to keep you back on the planet. Why? I don’t know. Until we discover your origins there is only wild speculation.”
“That, I understood.” He said gloomily and rubbed a jaw with two days growth of beard.
As he went to open his mouth Renee held a hand up again and touched her ear. “Yes?” his eyebrow missing brow furrowed and wrinkled. “Oh really? Sure, he just woke up actually… No, he’s still hooked up… Yes, you can come visit and can bring Jess too. What about Papa?” Another pause. “Oh, then he’ll be too busy anytime soon to meet him… no, he’ll behave or I’ll spank him…” Renee’s cheeks changed color, but he remembered the no touch rule quite vividly. “Oh yeah, say that when you look at him now. I see potential to make you question your orientation… Wait and find out.” She grinned wolfishly and tapped behind her ear.
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