Planet XSQ-1827, Substation 33, Year 16,369 A.I. (5 Weeks After Seraphina’s Awakening)

  I awake in this bedroom once more. I still can’t bring myself to hate it. It is my own, and it is filled with those few memories that I have over the days and weeks since I first awakened. But it has grown stifling. It continues to feel more and more like a cage, and I a trapped bird, desperate and yearning to be free.

  I have seen pictures and projections of birds, though I have never seen one in the flesh. They fly around on wings, unbeholden to this force the researchers call gravity. But I am no bird. I flap my arms, but my feet do not leave the ground. I jump, and this hateful gravity denies me the right to move as I see fit, forcing me back to the ground. Sometimes on my feet, and sometimes on the ground with a heavy thud and more pain and embarrassment than I can bear to mention.

  But I rejoice, for today is the promised day! The day when I can finally be free. I rush into the bathroom and take a few moments to prepare myself. I want to wear this bright yellow… sundress, Madison called it. It is so cheery and warm and a perfect piece of clothing to celebrate this most joyous and auspicious of occasions! But instead I slip into a white bodysuit as Dr. Chotono requested yesterday.

  It is troublesome getting the thing on. It clings at my skin and… Ow! It sticks as well! I have seen others inside a similar suit, and not one of them has complained of such matters before. Is there some sort of trick to getting this to work? I slide it over my feet and up my ankles and thighs and…

  I don’t think this suit and whatever it’s made of was designed with my skin in mind. I lean against the wall for additional leverage and force it past my calves, then my thighs and hips, then my pelvis. Bit by bit, I’m able to force this suit over my body. Why bother giving me this skin that is supposedly so resistant and wonderful and all this stuff that the researchers tell me if I am forced to cover it up in this sticky, slimy, thing!

  It takes a full eight and a half minutes before I’ve gotten the thing on. I confirm that everything fits as it should. Not as I wish it would, as I feel like the suit is clamping down in bits that ought not to be clamped down upon. But it fits well enough that I can move around with graceful adeptness… at least by my own standards. I leap into the air and touch down upon the balls of my feet, then throw a punch and a kick and swivel my hair back and forth.

  A knock comes to the door. It’s time! I let them in, and excitement builds as both Madison and Dr. Chotono step into my room. The doctor holds a strange helmet, and Madison holds a sketchbook that she still refuses to let me see! I dislike it so, especially when I have shown her my drawings.

  “Hello, Doctor,” I say. “Will I finally be able to leave this room?”

  “If everything goes well, you will no longer be confined to your room. However, before we do, I need you to put this helmet on. It will block out the System’s scanning and prevent it from locating you. I should not need to clarify how bad it will be should the System find you.”

  Of course not. I don’t even need to say it. He and Madison and the others have all been extremely clear about the need to not be integrated into the System until they are ready for me to do so ‘on their terms’, whatever that means. They all get special magic powers, and here I am, the intellect of an adult, the mind of a machine, and still treated like a child. It is, in a word, humiliating. Still, I feel compelled to go along with their plans. Not just because they have treated me… adequately, but because I am curious. Curious for what plans they have for me. What I will be able to accomplish.

  I put on the helmet, which goes on far more easily than the body suit did. A few translucent blue messages pop up in my field of vision, thankfully none within the foveal range.

  [Scanning… Scanning… Interfacing with user. Connecting with System…]

  The pop-ups continue. I feel my bodysuit pushing down upon my skin. I tense for a brief moment before I realize that this is far from an uncomfortable sensation. Perhaps a little too enjoyable of one, as though my entire body is shaking and being gently massaged. Another pop-up appears that catches my attention, this one with a red window.

  [ERROR: Unable to interface with user. System access denied.]

  “Um, Doctor,” I say.

  “Don’t worry about the error message, Seraphina. That’s the reason why we have you in this suit. It’s a special suit we developed a few months ago that acts as a sort of buffer between the wearer and the System, in effect turning the helmet and suit into part of the wearer’s body. At least as far as the System is concerned. In your case, however, it will allow you to move outside of this room without attracting the System’s attention.”

  “I can leave?” I ask.

  “Not yet. We’ll be going to another room in just a moment. We’ll need to do a few more things, and then you will be able to leave your room and explore the substation.”

  My eyes widen with excitement at hearing this revelation. I smile and pump my fist and am filled with eagerness to finally get to leave my cage once and for all. We move far too slowly for my taste down some hallways. As we head down a slightly dimmer hall, I notice a strange bluish gas leaking from one of the pipes. I stare at it for a moment, until Madison answers my unspoken question.

  “Seems we have a small Ether leak. I’ll get one of the assistants on it straight away.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “What is Ether, anyway?”

  “It is the will of sentient beings made manifest,” Dr. Chotono says. “It surrounds the entirety of the universe, and acts like an energy field that we and other creatures can tap into, creating wondrous effects like being able to heal any injury and even fly. And the System is how we interface and connect with this energy field.”

  “So, with the System, I can use Ether to fly?” I ask.

  Madison smiles as she places her hand on my shoulder and guides me into the small room. “We will start teaching you how to use Ether once we get done with this last bit of work we need to do.”

  She beckons me over to a small bench, which I lie down upon at her instruction. A small device floats in behind the doctor, about as big as my head, and covered with more knobs and diodes and switches and… I shudder at the sight of a needle jutting out of its front. Not the eye, not the eye! Anywhere but my eyes! My eyes snap shut and my entire face grimaces.

  “Not to worry, Seraphina,” Dr. Chotono attempts to reassure me. “This shouldn’t hurt, and if it does, it’ll only be for a moment.”

  I disbelieve him, but I go along with it anyway. Anything to be free, to be able to roam this station and see all the things that they and the other researchers have told me about. I spin around and lie prone on the bench as the needle approaches me. And then promptly stops as it pushes into the back of my helmet. Tension mounts in my neck and shoulder as it pushes down, and I feel a momentary jolt as the strange device exudes static and a strange field that makes my sight spin and start to go blurry.

  Notifications start blinking in my eye, faster than my brain can process. I catch only tiny glimpses of each before they flicker out just as quickly. Something about interfacing and error messages and initialization, about how parameters are out of line and… something about a lot of overrides and changing of permissions. Nothing I can completely understand but it sounds like they’re trying to integrate me into the System, and… something isn’t going right.

  “Ow!” My entire body convulses. My arms fling outward and I feel odd. Something is flowing into my body at a phenomenal rate. Nothing physical. It’s as though every part of my body is becoming more. I clench my fists and I feel tremendous strength answering my call. The notifications continue, but now my eyes effortlessly track every box as soon as it appears.

  [Error: Parameters for Unknown user undefined: Attempting to… to…]

  The box dissolves into static. More such boxes appear. I get the impression that two forces are fighting. Someone takes my hand and squeezes it. I feel that must be Madison. Two distant voices are talking very far away; I can’t make out the words, even though I feel my hearing has improved, all I can hear is white noise like a drill tearing its way into my brain. It hurts! It hurts and I– You liar Dr. Chotono! Why did you lie to me! I trusted…

  The pain stops abruptly. The boxes flicker in and out a few more times, though now they are far more measured.

  [System Integration completed. Status menu enabled.]

  [Name: Seraphina]

  [Level: ???] [Error: Unable to establish baseline with System. An Administrator has been notified.]

  [Health: 120,000 / 120,000]

  [Ether: 25,000 / 25,000]

  [Stats: [Strength]: 228; [Speed]: 204; [Vitality]: 224; [Mind]: 108]

  [Class: 「The Anomaly」]

  Class Skills: (8/8 (6 Base + 2 Bonus) Slots Remaining)

  General Skills: (6/6 Slots Remaining)

  Once I finish viewing my notifications, my mind turns to Madison, who has been calling my name several times.

  “Seraphina? Are you okay? We’ve been trying to call you for the last five minutes. Did something happen?”

  I sit up on the bench and, with the two’s assistance, pull the helmet off my head and look around. I move my body all around. I feel… better than I ever have before. More me than before. More right. This is what and who I am supposed to be; I know this now beyond a shadow of a doubt. There is one thing that bothers me, however, and I refuse to hold my tongue on this.

  “Dr. Chotono, why did you lie to me? That was incredibly painful!”

  Planet Earth, Year 1 A.I. (May 2023 C.E., 8 weeks after System Integration.)

  “Are you okay, Sera?” Chloe asks. “You’ve been staring off into space all morning instead of eating. Have you forgotten already that we’re leaving in just over an hour?”

  I look down at the massive pile of French toast coated in syrup and a small dollop of butter. My stomach growls, reminding me of my folly and the importance of getting a good meal before we head out. My mechanical arm is working fine, and I’m able to easily manage the dexterity of cutting and eating without spilling food all over my clothes. Not even a drop of syrup escapes my ravenous maw as I help myself to the goodness in front of me.

  “I’m sorry, Chloe. Just got lost in thought.”

  “Oh yeah? What about?”

  “Something that happened a really long time ago, before the two of us met.” I give what I hope is a discreet look from side to side, pointing my eyes toward the dozens of students still on campus, in the hopes that Chloe understands what I mean. “I’ll tell you about it some other time.”

  “Is it something I should know about too?” Lindsey asks. Hard to believe how close the three of us have gotten over the past several weeks. Then again, for all her work as a ranger, with all that that entails, she does seem rather adept at giving off the big sister or cool aunt vibe. Somewhere in-between the two.

  “Yeah, I’ll tell you both later, once we are on our way.”

  Lindsey smiles and gives me a pat on the shoulder. “Are you ready to get back on the wilderness expeditions, exploring the land, fighting monsters, gaining levels and Experience?”

  “Damn right I am. So where do you want to go?”

  “Well, the three of us are free from any assignments from high command, for at least the next few more weeks. My vote is for heading down to the capital and seeing if there’s any new information or happenings there. Other than that, we can head back east toward home, or we can head north and see what’s happening across the border.”

  “Let’s head to the capital,” Chloe says. I’m a bit surprised, but relieved to hear that. I thought for sure she’d want to head back home, if only to tell her mother that she’s doing okay. Then again, the internet and communication networks are starting to work better, and we do have the Alana Messaging Service available if it’s an emergency. I choose to stick to the maxim that no news is good news until proven otherwise.

  I nod. We finish our breakfast, and we’re out of the cafeteria and leaving Ft. Still in short order. Back to adventure, to danger, and to moving toward fulfilling my ultimate purpose.

  I can get a girlfriend soon." *hint hint*