The No Names
Page 23
“I think we deserve some answers here, Alpha. I have overlooked your mutation and Koma’s, but I know there's something you both aren't telling us.” Hunter was standing with his arms crossed a few feet behind me. I could see a cold look in his eyes as he regarded me. “While I don't necessarily like you, I can recognize your dedication to our group. If you want me to keep trusting your calls, then I need information.”
I sighed, “Ha! Where should I start…”
Over the course of the next thirty minutes I gave Hunter the abbreviated story of what I knew about the Calforn. I could see the emotions flicker between his cold look, but I made no further comments. I felt even more haggard after the fight with the bear and considering the others had stuck by me up to that point it was only fair I was straight with them. They are some adaptable and resilient fucks for sure, I thought grimly.
Indeed.
The reply drew my attention and my head snapped in the direction of the command room subconsciously. Hunter must have noticed because he chose that moment to speak, “Koma?”
I nodded in response and slowly made my way to B1. I did my best to flick the bear bits off my arms and from my mouth. I wanted to run back to the stream in the wilderness, but there were more pressing concerns. I heard Hunter behind me, but I left him to his own thoughts.
When we arrived at command room, the others were warming themselves by the fire. Delta had retracted his armor and was nursing a dark bruising along his right side. The others were milling about cleaning off their armor and tossing the bits into the fire as they sizzled off out through the chute. I shook my head, happy to see them all energetic. When my eyes landed on Koma, he was still laying on his back while Gamma looked him over.
Up we go. I told Hunter. The others need to know, I pushed to him.
Very well. Considering your recent call they deserve to know what will be happening.
I wasn’t sure what the man was implying, but I wasn’t going to ask. I clapped my hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “Great job, everyone. Koma and I have a few things to tell you.”
The others turned from their tasks and stared intently at me. I felt a bit apprehensive as the eleven pairs of eyes bore into me. Mixtures of happiness, awe, concern and sorrow flashed through their faces. “We haven’t been completely honest. With Starden’s information about the forceful mutations and then connecting with Koma, I was able to find out the cause of our mutations.”
The group seemed to hold its breath as Koma rose and joined me by the entrance. “We are, at least in part Calforn. A parasitic space faring race that was here in our solar system a long time ago. They can communicate… telepathically with one another as well as access the pure limits of their bodies through mutations. My strength and Koma’s speed amongst those.”
“We waited. It was not appropriate to keep it from you all. I myself hope you will forgive us and allow us to move as one,” finished Koma in his multi-being voice.
As Koma recounted how we were each given Calforn larvae on the flight to Dun Lund and some were assimilated, I could see realization dawn on their faces. There were still too many questions the Overmind had not answered, but that was more than enough for the Digits. I saw Beta run down the steps while heaving and haunted looks were mirrored across the others. I didn’t add anything further as the group really came to terms with what they had been fighting and how close they had actually been to turn into one of the raving mutants outside.
While the others were focused on dealing with the new found information I approached Koma. The man was leaning heavily against the one of the tables in the command room and I could see a sheen of sweat on his face.
Koma. How are you holding up?
As well as can be expected I suppose. It’s going to take weeks to regrow this limb, if we survive that long.
I wasn’t sure why the Calforn was being so negative so I probed deeper, Does this have to do with that ‘call’ thing you mentioned?
Indeed. You have evolved once again. How you have managed this growth I haven’t the foggiest idea.
What? I was stunned. I knew my body felt different than the time I had fought in the forest, not to mention the Autophagy ability, but it had only been a few weeks since I had evolved into a Soldier. As the possibilities ran through my head I saw Koma approach and for the third time touch his hands, this time the human ones, to my temples.
I felt the darkness creep around my vision as the world turned dark, then brightened to a dull gray. Admiring the new appearance of my mental space I saw my mental self emerge from the ground. I could see the maroon tendrils running much deeper throughout my body, the dark blue tendrils I had acquired as a Soldier encasing and weaving through my muscles and now hundreds of green pinpricks shone throughout my body. As I watched the tendrils writhe and the pinpricks float around absently I remembered my encounter in the forest.
The memories, fed by the Overmind, flashed through the air around me. I saw the whirlwind of claws and destruction that I became as I hovered above Gamma. On a few instances I saw an attacker dive for the youth but I blocked it with my body. Steam rose from it as I snapped the long limbed arm that had stabbed me. I felt tinges of emotion through the almost third person recounting of events as the swarm density continued to increase.
I saw myself crouch, howl at the ready, when the rush overtook me.
I lost myself in the piles of mutants and corpses. Before I realized it my scaling had turned a pure white and the steam coming off my body cleaned off the gore before it had a chance to stain my skin. Limbs and viscera rained down around me as my claws lengthened like sword blades and my inverted legs shot me around the corpses littered clearing. It was both amazing and horrifying.
Just as quickly as the images had appeared, they faded back to gray. The image of Gamma’s terrified screams and the fear imprinted in her eyes brought tears to my eyes. I remembered that while hesitant to engage me when I awoke, she had still tried to support me. I felt guilt for having shown her such carnage. Carnage no one should ever have to witness.
As I struggled to tame my emotions, Koma spoke again, Concentrate, Alpha. Allow the Overmind to assess your growth. I don’t have access to the information until you do.
I took a shuddering mental breath and centered my thoughts. The moment I pulled back my mental walls, a much stronger pressure pushed on me. It felt like a rushing river as oppose to the small trickling that the Overmind had always provided. Almost instantly I knew my information as well as some foreign memories.
Images of leaders of veritable hordes from different species flashed through me. The information on the range of control my body now had of itself was almost overwhelming. After what felt like a few minutes I was able to compartmentalize the information a bit better. The moment my concentration let up, the Overmind assaulted me with more questions and answers.
<...>
I questioned the Overmind for more details and lettering floated around my mental body.
I frowned. I didn’t realize there would be a side effect from evolution. Conditioning Mastery had been essential for survival in the day to day. Apparently taking my frustration as a prompt again, the Overmind responded with another floating wisp of information.
Well. I guess that makes sense. The cannibalizing of my own body for energy had a massive drawback. I was worried about what that might imply for the future but I remained optimistic; it was thanks to being part Calforn that I was even alive.
The question resolved, the lettering was absorbed back into my mental body. The macabre dance that weaved about my body made me worry. The world was changing and I had to struggle to keep up. I took a moment to ground myself; the Digits needed me and if the fragments of memory the Overmind was showing me were accurate, then dealing with the USG moved up to the top of the list of priorities.
Before I conferred further, Koma pulled his hands back and the world blinked back into color. Now that I had recognized the improvements through my body I innately knew how far along my Autophagy was and how all my percentages of Mastery were doing. It felt like a rush of information but I kept most of it at bay by regulating what the Overmind projected. Before I was able to close off my mind I received another whisper.
I already knew that controlling my connection to the Overmind would affect my Cerebral Maturation, but the alien collective mind refused to stay out of my thoughts. Once I had gathered myself I checked on the other Digits. Koma looked to be mulling over his own thoughts after having reviewed my growth.
“Everyone?” I asked, trying to wave the group closer.
None of the others really noticed me.
“Hello!” I shouted, I could feel my bottled anger leaking into my words.
I managed to get Hunter, Justin and Delta to look my way. Locking eyes with them, they approached. I tried one more time to get everyone's attention.
“Hey!” This time I could feel my mind reach out together with my shout. Every head snapped in my direction. Every set of eyes widened in surprise and further terror. Before they could begin to panic once again I started talking.
“Galileo, can you get Beta? Everyone else… We are sorry we kept this information from you all, but we are also still learning what exactly our mere existence means. From the memories of the Calforn we have access to we could piece the general idea but there are way too many questions still lingering.”
My regular tone of voice seem to relax some of the other, but Hunter in particular was eyeing me like it was our first meeting in the wilderness. I spoke to the others and calmed them down until Beta was back. When the whole group was gathered I told them about the snippet of memory that could change everything.
“As I mentioned, the Overmind is teaching Koma and I. Neither of us are quite sure how, but there it is. Together with the information about my latest growth I received a vision. It was of a ship.” I let the word hang in the air as everyone’s jaws drop. Hunter’s apprehension was immediately replace with what I could only describe as glee.
“I am not completely sure where it is, but I do believe it is here in the underground city.” Before there could be calls for questions I reinforced my point. “I do not know where it is, whether we will be able to operate it or if it is even operational”.
“We need to find it first, then!” exclaimed Epsilon.
“Indeed! This seems most fortuitous. Even if your condition is most uncomfortable, a way off-planet should definitely be a priority,” added Justin.
I eyed him as he spoke. There was something nagging me about his response, but I passed it on as stress related to out alien revelation. Before the group could devolve into excited chaos I issued some plans of action.
Once Koma was feeling better, continuing the search of the nearby buildings would take priority. I would travel with someone else to deliver mutant corpses to the USG more regularly than we had been. If we were planning to search this entire city, then having food stores would be key. I pondered telling them the final portion of my plan. Can we do it yet? I mused.
It is prudent to get their feedback. There is only so much we can do, even with our Calforn mutations, replied Koma.
Chiding myself for leaving my surface thoughts open again, but agreeing with the three limbed man, I called everyone's attention again.
“Regardless of the state of the ship, there is something we will need to do first.”
I hesitated to continue and absently scratched the scaling along my neck. “What is it, Alpha?” asked Beta. The youth looked a bit haggard after being sick, but news of the ship had renewed him.
“We need to get rid of the USG base. Permanently.”
Chapter 16: Whirlwind Changes
It sufficeth to say, this threw the group into yet another commotion. One surprisingly verbal member of the chaotic discussion that ensued was Gamma. Our farming expert supported my decision to get rid or take over the USG base. Hunter seemed to agree, as he sided with Gamma, but there were others with unsure looks. Justin and Zeta were oppose to the risk associated, but they could not provide arguments better than ‘it will be dangerous’.
I told everyone not to worry and just think it over; we needed to find the ship before we could even consider removing one of our major sources of non-perishable food. This placated the group slightly and everyone restarted their tasks with an anxious energy. By the end of the day our food was thoroughly sorted, a rationing plan for everyone, except me and Koma, was scratched into the wall above our food stores. The opposite wall of the command center had our material stores, which included a veritable mountain of rotted wood and logs of disassembled furniture. Next to those were the few lengths, bits and bobs of metal we had been able to recover from the underground city.
I had focused most of the afternoon on internalizing the changes to my body, as well as gaining back some of the mass I had lost. As I felt through my body and cycled nutrients and food with my Hyperburn I felt nudges from the Overmind.
I felt much more energized after recovering a substantial amount of my body mass back, but I knew I was drawing heavily on our meager food stores.
I exited B1 and cast a look at the ice reflected sky. The sunlight refracted in stray rays where the uniform sheet of frozen water was broken up with obstructions. I paused. Taking a closer look at the cavern’s ceiling I noted significantly more of the refracted rays than when we had arrived a month ago. I felt goosebumps run through me as the realization it me. The ice sheet was breaking. I started to put the dots together. The earthquake was the only factor that had caused a change. If there were more, then the underground city would no longer be insulated from the oppressive cold of the surface.
We had yet another deadline.
There were changes coming and I needed to be ready. I had a sneaking suspicion the ship was not in the Calforn city proper, Koma would have probably found it, but we had no other indications of where it might be. I sat outside mulling over the brief flash of memory and knowledge the Overmind had granted as well as our potential doom at the hands of the cavern. A hand on my shoulder shook me out of my reverie and I turned to see Epsilon standing over me.
“Hey there, Boss. Got a minute?” he said, retracting his hand.
“Sure. Just coming to grips with some stuff myself.”
“Ah. Yes. Well it makes sense. I am n
ot quite off put by you both, honestly interacting with such a varied group of people is nice.” The man laughed before he continued. There was a strange tone to his voice, but he corrected it back to his usual tone. “I wanted to tell you I have a plan that might work against the base.”
“Oh?” I stood, signally for the Digit to continue.
Epsilon took a step back as I unintentionally towered over him. The changes being part Calforn were having on my body were becoming quite noticeable. “Well, before… well all of this, I was a sound specialist.” I must have had a blank look on my face because he started to elaborate. “As we both know, the Bankers and Officials like to make sure they keep in touch with the population. Sadly, this turned out to be done through antiquated loudspeakers in pretty much every corner possible of a work space. Starden is a perfect example of the type of assholes I am referring, by the way.”
What he said made sense. I always wondered who kept up with the sound systems all throughout New Dust. Before I could get a comment in edgewise, Epsilon continued, “Anyhow, it was a shit job where I was alone most of the time so I had a lot of free time. A combination of that free time with my job is where I got the idea.”