Adrian gathered the security team along with the nanobot enhanced people to tell them what he was sensing incoming. "I am assuming that whoever is behind this mess doesn't like what we have been up to. They expected us to cower like the rest of humanity and since we didn't we have become a problem for them. I am betting they don't know the extent to which I have changed and are severely underestimating me. I am going to take the fight to them. The security team will stay with the people in the crawlspace below. I don't know what you'll be able to do against them but it's better than nothing. Cedric, you will circle back around behind them and take out any that are trying to escape. The trio will surround them, staying hidden to do the same. The goal is to not let any attackers escape or survive. We have some time to prepare, I have to go find a place to upgrade myself."
The group was solemn but nodded along as they were assigned their part of plan. Adrian removed himself and headed to the building next door, as he walked away he could hear the chatter pick up as people began making ready for the plans. In this adjacent building, away from the main space there was more privacy and quiet, so he had been making his upgrades there lately. The place was becoming synonymous in his mind with his rising power. He was about to upgrade to the third nanocore level which would bring new capabilities, and unlock new advancements. He locked the door and settled in, relaxing a little before issuing the command, knowing but not knowing how this would go. "Initiate nanocore upgrade."
The pain was catastrophic, levels he didn't think were available to the human body. It was like each and every individual nerve was being attacked simultaneously, overloading his mind and senses until he felt like he was floating out of the chair. The world around him vanished and he was in a void, with nothing but pain stretching out infinitely in all directions. Time lost all meaning, had it been five minutes or a week? Holding on to his sense of self became increasingly difficult as he felt his very essence being rewritten. He was blended with the new nanocore capabilities. Was he in a blender? The possibility occurred to him. After an eternity of torture the world slowly faded back in.
The dark office was in front of him again, he could hear the sound of silence, which felt unnaturally loud. Even the air tasted more… vibrant. The air held something he hadn't noticed before. He shook his head and wiped sweat off his face with his shirtsleeve before bringing up the new nanocore status window.
Nanobot Core – Status
Free Nanobots: 86,777
Core Level: 3
Available Upgrades
Core Upgrade Lvl: 4 Locked [Description: Expands nanobot core to semi-autonomous AI processing. Allows real-time tactical predictions, adaptive combat responses, and multi-threaded task execution (up to 3 simultaneous operations). System stability reinforced. Cost: 1,000,000 nanobots]
Strength Lvl: 3 Available [Description: Increases muscle density and neural-muscle conduction by 40%. Enables short-term overdrive bursts of +50% strength for 30 seconds (cooldown 10 minutes). Cost: 125,000 nanobots]
Speed Lvl: 3 Available [Description: Enhances movement speed, balance, and agility by 40%. Grants "reflex sync," slowing perception of incoming attacks by 40%. Cost: 125,000 nanobots]
Intelligence Lvl: 3 Available [Description: Improves neural plasticity and problem-solving by 30%. Unlocks eidetic recall (perfect memory storage). Increases data absorption rates (learn technical skills twice as fast). Cost: 125,000 nanobots]
Healing Lvl: 3 Available [Description: Regenerates 40% faster. Can regrow severed body parts (skin, muscle, tendons). Critical wounds stabilized automatically (bleeding suppressed, shock resistance). Cost: 125,000 nanobots
Senses Lvl: 3 Available [Description: Boosts sensory range by 50%. Unlocks thermal overlay (detect body heat), extended low-light vision, and vibration detection through surfaces. Cost: 125,000 nanobots]
Replication Lvl: 3 Locked [Description: Produces 100,000 nanobots per day given sufficient organic & metallic input. Unlocks "Harvest Protocol," directing nanobots to strip usable matter from the environment at higher rates(scrap metal, bio-waste). Cost: 600,000 nanobots
Attribute Scaling: Each 1,000 free nanobots increases all attributes by 7% (Strength, Speed, Intelligence, Healing, Senses). Current bonus: +602% (86,777 nanobots).
Core Upgrade complete: Nanobot Core will now display information it deems important unprompted.
New Capabilities from Level Three Nanocore:
External Manipulation: Nanobots can now form simple external constructs (keys, blades, basic tools) for up to five minutes before degrading.
Material Assimilation: Nanobots more easily break down basic metals and organics for fuel. Can store increased amounts of materials for replication at once.
Swarm Projection: Can send up to 5,000 nanobots outside the body as a scouting swarm. (range: 20m, duration: 10 min). Information sent back is similar to hosts capabilities.
System Stability Increase: Now able to store up to 300,000 nanobots. Unassimilated nanobots will now automatically be added to your swarm. System instability is no longer an issue as you can now designate large amounts of nanobots to "creation status" outside the swarm.
Adrian couldn't help but feel elated, his capabilities now were intense. He couldn't wait to test out what he could do. The extra stat bonus from free nanobots alone was astounding, being able to make scouts and constructs, this would definitely be useful in the battle to come. Suddenly the nanocore system addressed him.
Subject Zero, my update has been completed successfully. I am available for the needs of the host. Would you like to hear some newly recovered information?
Adrian gasped, the last upgrade made it interactive but it had never actually spoken to him like an entity before. This wasn't a prompt, it was a new voice in his head, metallic and sexless. Robotic. It was a shock to his mind. It took him a few seconds to realize it had asked him a question. "Y-yes." Adrian stammered, still stunned. The nanocore's voice continued:
There is a variety of information that comes from testing and trials. Things like weapons, constructs, and other interesting uses. I have also found information on who I was created by and why. Additionally, upgrades are able to be done on the go, no need to find a safe place for the lower level upgrades. Full nanocore upgrades will still cause issues after initiation however.
Feel free to ask me questions when you are ready.
Adrian thought for a second and said, "are you sentient?
Negative, although I can process at a much higher level than before I still lean on your sentience for current capabilities.
"So you can think, just not for yourself?" Adrian responded.
Correct, I am basically inert without direction.
Adrian finally realized what this could mean. It was like having his own personal AI in his head. Thinking of addressing it again, he realised saying nanocore everytime was going to get annoying. He said, "Nanocore, what do you think about the name Echo for referring to you instead of nanocore?"
I don't think anything about it, but if you would like me to adapt to a new designation I am capable of doing that.
Adrian smiled, and said, "Ok, you are now known as Echo. Echo, please tell me about your creators."
They go by the name "The Tenebrae" and plan to use nanobots to gain control of the general population. World wide only people working directly with the group were protected from the global spread of nanobot swarms.
"Were the nanobots meant to cause humans to turn feral, was that the intent?
Negative; the goal was to make humans docile and placid. I don't have any data on why this has occured. I might be able to check while collecting biological materials from one.
Adrian nodded, "So this was totally unexpected. What am I then?"
The nanobots weren't created by The Tenebrae. They were given to them by a higher, more advanced, form of life. They didn't know that a technology called a nanocore could spontaneously form from uncontrolled nanobots.
"Like aliens!?!" Adrian exclaimed, surprising even himself by his emotional response to the information.
That is one way of putting it. The idea that anything off-world is "alien" is archaic thinking.
Adrian almost winced, did Echo just talk down to him. He brushed the feelings aside. Wondering why the higher life forms would even bother with humans, doubting that it was for our benefit. As he pondered the thought Echo chimed in again.
Would you like to review some of the weapons in my memory?
When Adrian agreed an array of holographic versions of known weapon types appeared. Giant clawed hands, a blade that started at the elbow and extended past the hand in a scythe-like curve, spiked balls to cover the fists, and a whip-like tendril flashed across his vision in quick succession. He couldn't help but smirk as these were way better than the simple claws he had been using. "Thank you Echo, you've been most helpful. Let me know if you need anything from me." treating the intelligence cordially, its indebted nature making it already feel like an old friend.
You're welcome, Subject Zero. I am here for your needs whenever you require me.
Adrian stood, his new power was enormous, better even than he expected. Echo was now more useful than ever as well, giving him a personal arsenal of possibilities. The enemies won't know what hit them. Once he was outside he took off like a rocket, testing his speed, compressing the air in front of him. When he finally stopped he ended inside the base where he startled the group still busy making plans. A stiff breeze followed in his wake as the air rushed to fill in behind him. Adrian had a wide grin on his face, showing no fear or concern of the impending battle.
Cedric spoke first, "I take it everything went smoothly." As he looked him up and down. Adrian could only nod as he flashed giant clawed hands, the fingers with blades running up the insides of the knuckles. Spikes coming off the knuckles. The four nano infused followers' eyes looked like they would pop out of their heads. They already considered Adrian formidable, he was not truly even fully human anymore, truly a hybrid of man and nanomachine.
They jumped when Adrian spoke, "how are the preparations coming along?" The head of the guard, a man named Louis Payne who was leading the security team said, "The regular people are all set up in the basement, we don't have much in the way of weapons, but we won't just stand by and let them kill us either." He could see they all held tools gathered from the foundry and garden, cleaned up and sharpened by the nanobot device he had made for the engineers.
"Good, though at this point I'm not expecting them to be an issue." Adrian said switching one hand to a long blade, sharp enough to gouge titanium and rend organic bodies in two without even slowing down. Payne took a step back letting out a low whistle. Adrian smirked and retracted the nanobot weapons.
The leader of the trio spoke up, "We've scouted the group heading our way. 50 low level soldiers, 2 brutes and 3 leader class. They also have nanobot disruptors which might be an issue for us in general. They are designed to render nanobots in the body useless temporarily," Cedric said cautiously, "Should we be worried, without our nanobots we would be more useless then the security team here." Adrian paused a moment to ask Echo if it would be an issue.
While they can disrupt some nanobots in the system, you currently hold too many for them to be able to disrupt them all. You would only lose some of your stat increase bonus, but the nanocore can't be disrupted and your established upgrades are now inherent and cannot be removed. Even if you lost all nanobots and the nanocore.
That sent a chill down his spine, but Adrian nodded before replying, "Looks like they won't be a problem for me. The disruptors are designed for people like you four. I won't be affected enough to matter. I think we're as ready as we'll ever be, let's get into position." The four nanobot members nodded and headed off to take their places.
Adrian couldn't wait any longer to test his new capabilities, his whole body vibrated in anticipation of what was to come.