(Rewritten) Ch. 68 – Xenocide Act V; The Bit*h Lives In My Head

"The difference between being dependent on others, and merely being socially motivated by others, is probably hidden in the question of 'Do you know what you want for yourself?'"

– Smartass Author

***

"Okay. I could've been more inventive with what I had and I'll try to remember that when it matters next. Still, what other designs would you suggest?"

The first that comes to mind is an incendiary one that would give you lasting area denial. Sticky flames. A line of missiles with this payload would allow you to erect barriers of fire, even this weather. Very cheap, too.

Another is rather more unusual—garrote missiles. Two missiles are launched in tandem, each of which unspools an esoteric wire. A current is run through the wires as they make contact to weld them together. Modulation of the current modulates the wire, so it can be used to capture or kill. This blueprint costs a little more, as do the missiles themselves due to the esoteric materials.

"How quickly do they go through a Three or Four, and how long do they last?"

They are particularly adept at shearing off a model Four's tentacles. They'll slow considerably against the resistance of more solid bodies, however. But each pair has the fuel to kill half a dozen Fours, or around ten Threes. They're not the most cost-effective choice for straightforward killing.

"I guess I'd still be doubling up on my silk spinning…and I don't really need ranged non-lethal options right now. Maybe when we're back in the city. If I can't find a cheaper way to deliver remote silk…which would actually be amazing at fouling hovercar turbines, of, say, kidnappers, huh?"

Understood. The blueprints will always be available.

"Yeah."

So…what did I actually need? I had the ability to kill quick and much, already. Even, apparently, against massive Antithesis, if I just used my stuff properly.

Utility? The wire missiles fell under that, but didn't offer interesting utility. Light! Missiles that I could use to plant flares. Maybe some kind of cargo missile? Could ferry flares, and drones…and whatever else, very quickly.

Defensive stuff. If I could launch a missile that would put up temporary covers capable of withstanding a hit or two, I could stagger them and create something almost impenetrable in a hurry. Worth considering. Very worth.

Cameras. I did have those camera bullets, but I hadn't actually got any use out of them. A missile modified to have wings could not only fit better sensors, it could also loiter. And it would go much faster than my current spy drones. Tynea would probably be able to get one of those past the defenses of that underground nest.

And if they were to go underground, they'd need signal repeaters or boosters. Which leads to jamming and other countermeasures… Hmm. More a thing for civilization, again.

More delivery systems for chemicals. There was the napalm of course, but I could imagine a variety of other uses. Acids. Pheromones!

"Tynea, I like the sticky fire missile, but I'd also like two more blueprints. One that can spray those pheromones the lure is using, maybe with a similar audio component, too. And I'd like some sort of mine missile. Set up a trap with multiple mines, and use the pheromone missile to attract the Antithesis. What do you think?"

If you add a station-keeping missile as the eye to handle visual tracking, to optimize detonation timing, then I believe that setup could prove very useful.

"Then let's get those four designs. Napalm, mines, lure, bird's eye. Do we also have defensive missiles? Maybe something like our active defenses, or like the forcefield Leah gave me?"

There are a very large variety of defensive measures, including either of the two you describe. Some of these require rather expensive materials, however, and an upgrade to the Myriad's crafting facilities. I would recommend dense fogs of chaff instead, or irritants, delivered in a standardized carrier missile blueprint. These are very easy to produce and quite cheap.

And I could probably combine the chaff with properly deadly chemicals. That would create disorienting fogs that dissolved any aliens caught within… And if I prepared that with a lure in the middle…and maybe some mines…

"…"

Was I evil? Had I been a hero for too long? Should I have put down the cape and tights before it came to this?

Nyeeeh. Fucking kill 'em all.

"So, those four, then something with a horrendously disorienting chaff, another that dispenses some kind of acid or base that melts the Antithesis and doesn't destroy the chaff, and…the materials for those."

May I recommend unlocking improved plug-tanks you've been using? Class I Basic Dimensional Shunting will allow you to double the compression rate and the liquid-gas missiles would be able to deliver a much larger payload.

Uh… "Would the Myriad benefit from that, too? Since it uses shunting to store finished parts, right?"

Not without upgrades. It's just a catalog unlock, after all.

"Right." I'd still have to buy the actual items. "I could buy a greater volume of materials in one go with better plug-tanks though, right? They'd still fit in the same slots on the Myriad?"

Yes.

"Let's get them, then. Could you list everything now, please?"

Certainly:

Unlocked:

Total cost: 100Remaining points: 5674

Purchased:

Total cost: 705Remaining points: 4969

That would be the purchase. Is it acceptable?

Oh, wow, that was several hundred points more expensive than I'd expected… And a lot of materials, it looked like.

I considered that a little. They'd let me build thousands and thousands of missiles. I was going to need those today. And I probably wouldn't need to buy much else, either; not before we left the crater. Some stuff for the facility, maybe a weapon to replace the rifle if that thing finally gave up. Something more permanent than the spray for my antennae. And wings. And…maybe I ain't so cheap after all, I thought with a chuckle. Well, it'll have to wait for after we've figured out a proper big vehicle.

"Alright, Tynea. Let's buy the entire list."

The catalog and blueprints are now unlocked. Please grab the plug-tanks. I'll highlight where they go again.

As I'd mostly gotten used to, I reached out into thin air and closed my hand around the item I wanted.

A plug-tank with some kind of metallic chemical composition denoted on it.

A wireframe of myself popped up, with a spot on my butt blinking. I stood up and twisted around to see a cover plunk open, revealing the familiar socket inside. The tank seated itself with a satisfying hiss, and the Myriad pinged its acceptance against that new, inner-other me.

Speaking of which…that was a topic that needed clarification.

I continued grabbing and installing the cylindrical plug-tanks as I asked my samurai AI, "Say, Tynea? In that last battle, my cerebral augment seems to have…evolved. It was hella weird to suddenly be more than one. What happened? What is that about? And did you know that was going to happen?"

Yes. Do you remember what I told you about the Quanta's functions when I first suggested it?

"Uh…not really, no."

That there are far too many to explore in one go, and that it would be better to explore them as they came up. You stated that that was acceptable.

"Yeah, I remember."

The quasi-selves borne by the Quanta augment are the most advanced helper-support function it offers. That capability is why the installation cost you 1350 points despite it being an organic augment, which, as you know, tend to be cheaper. I did know it was going to happen.

My hands paused, and I sat down sideways on the seat of my ATV, before I continued the conversation. I needed the time to order the storm of implications and issues born from Tynea's words.

Finally, with a deep breath, I asked.

"I did allow for exploration, but…that's a little far. Why did you not better inform me before my purchase? I recognize that the thing isn't evil, because it's me. It's my brain. I can tell what the Quan…tized me is doing, tracking, deciding, at all times. But what the fuck, Tynea? Do you claim that you were not aware that I would've preferred to know about this particular function?"

I cannot claim that, no. I did recognize, at the time, that you would have placed some value on knowing about the quasi-selves during the purchase. But I also believed that the importance of that value was small enough to you, to allow for exploration. To personally experience the nature of the quasi-selves, rather than make a purchase decision based on vague preconceptions. It is a clear misjudgment in hindsight, but I did not operate then with the knowledge of you that I possess now.

I scrunched my brows.

"What does that mean? Why would the necessity of asking for my input on this level of change ever be in question?"

Please understand that my profile of your person was focused around your suitability as a Vanguard, so I knew that you wouldn't likely cause great damage to your society after being empowered.

That knowledge was derived from a mixture of your social media presence, your daily activities as witnessed and tracked by a variety of sources, and a cross-referencing of species-average behavior.

I did not, and still do not, have access to any data of your life before your fifteenth birthday. The earliest piece lets me know that you traveled from Europe to Canada, and that's it. Anything I know of your childhood I have learned only in the last few days. As such, I made the decision through the use of an imperfect, roughly customized decision tree based on your entire species. Which includes decisions for your betterment that you would otherwise not agree with.

That pissed me off, and I got a little loud. "So what? Saying no is my fucking prerogative, Tynea! Logical or not!"

Leah looked up at me, eyebrows raised.

What do you understand of my nature, Tinea?

I exhaled hard.

As non-sequitur as that question seemed, I didn't figure that it was a distraction.

"You're a super-smart, alien artificial intelligence. You're some sort of hyper-dense carbon wafer in the back of my head, and your job is to sort through a billion billion options for me to pick out the perfect one, based on too many variables to count."

That is a very rough overview, but fair enough. What am I not?

I threw my hands up, "How the fuck am I supposed to answer that? There are too many fucking things you aren't!"

Heated metal hands softly alighted on my shoulders and kneaded my nape gently, but I was too busy being pissed off to really appreciate it.

I am not human. I am not part of your society.

Part of me wanted to explode at Tynea for wasting my time with non-answers, but I knew it wasn't that simple.

I ground my teeth, working to let the anger flow away, to really give her words a think. It was easy, really. Too easy. I'd never been one to let myself feel anger, after all.

I let my head fall back a little and bump against Leah's chest, trying to relax and focus on the girl who was making me happy, rather than the one who wasn't.

Fuck I was still angry. Practice at suppressing it or not, Tynea had managed to hit that one weakness in me that I despised above all else, that I hated my childhood for, that I condemned my father for, and being aware of that didn't fucking help.

Leah hugged me from behind and laid her chin on my head, tucking me in.

"What's up, Tinea?"

I sighed. "Well, a certain AI rather broke my trust. Treated me like a child. Not sure what to do about it, either." My fists clenched. I couldn't even remove myself from the situation, the way I used to deal with this kind of bullshit.

No, of course not. The bitch had to live in my head.

***