Chapter 5: Relationship Woes

'This isn't the time to wonder. If it's human meat, then I'll just try to get more of it. I wasn't able to slip the drugs into my food this time, so I'll have to take them all together later. All the matters is that it's time to evolve!'

[Host: Matthew O'Connely

Status: Grade 0 Parasite

Evolution Points (EP): 3

Abilities: <Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max>, (NEW!)<Improved Metabolism Lv. 1>

Skills: <DNA Absorption Lv. 2>, <Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0>, <Weak Transformation Lv. 0>, <Weak Spawning Lv. 0>, <Drug Resistance Lv. 0>]

[Evolution Points (EP): 3 -> 0]

[DNA Absorption Lv. 2->3: You were born to gather and assimilate the genetic material of other species into your own. Whenever you consume blood or tissue containing genetic material, gain EP.

>Absorption Grade Limit: 1 -> 1

>Efficiency: 20% -> 30%

>Level Cost: 3 EP -> 6 EP]

"Thank you for the meal, Captain. Allow me to excuse myself."

Matt got up and began walking to the bathroom. Cindy followed behind him and jogged a bit to get close to him. She put his arm in her embrace and leaned up against him. She didn't say anything else and simply walked together with him like this. Matt was happy that she seemed to get over the situation last night and sighed in relief for now. Once the evaluations started, he didn't know what would happen.

"Let's go to the holodeck since I missed our lunch date last time."

"Okay."

Matt went into the bathroom and quickly downed the two pills with a lot of water. Then he relieved himself and washed his hands while watching the concentration of drug slowly increase on the Drug Resistance skill. Once it reached one gram, he would finally be able to get past the first hurdle. Cindy was still waiting for him humming a tune when he left the bathroom. Due to his excitement, he took her hand and started leading her toward the holodeck.

The holodeck was a basketball court sized room which contained various three dimension rendering and projection devices. It also used light hypnotism, artificial smells, and an extremely complex environmental control system. Although everything in the room is a simulation and artificial, the brain is very easy to trick. The AI is able to calculate everything to extreme precision and put the user in a state where they cannot tell reality from fiction.

The main purpose of the holodeck was naturally military training. All research is driven by military reasons and the best technology usually comes from a place of fighting or sexual drive. The secondary purpose, which the company HoloMax wishes you to believe, is for mental health. The original holocabin released for public use replayed historical scenes and cinematography for entertainment.

Eventually, it was adapted by the psychological community as a tool for healing. But most ended up using for physical pleasure. Illegal cracking of the HoloMax system in order to download and watch pornography happened almost immediately after public release. Nevertheless, it made for a great vacation tool for space travel. Matt wanted to try and recreate some scenes from back on earth. He had been feeling a bit nostalgic recently. Perhaps it was because of the mimicry or just his own emotion.

[Drug Resistance Lv. Max: Your cells are now intrinsic to the host cells, causing them to be more resistant to drug activity and more difficult to identify.

>Drug Resistance: 50%]

The notification happened when they arrived at the holodeck, so Matt was able to completely relax and enjoy his date with Cindy. They went to various places like Matt's hometown and Cindy's hometown. Then they went to some places from the modern era that Matt suggested since there were a lot more trees and nature in that time. The finished their date on a sail boat floating on the ocean. The sea breeze and smell of salt penetrated their bodies and relaxed them.

"I know it's selfish, but I want you all to myself. My mom had several partners and I don't want to go down that road. If—"

"Don't say anymore. I promise I'll choose after the evaluations."

Matt could only delay the inevitable with his deflective words. However, his stance made her have hope. If he vied for the both of them, Cindy would have likely been the first to back out. She wondered if Matt was like her and only pretended to be fine with the governments arrangement and was really seeking a true partner on his own. She blushed at the thought of spending their lives together on Exveus.

Once the date was over, Matt went back to the lab. He had just finished doing emotional gymnastics and didn't wish to strike the hornets nest immediately upon returning to his room. He really didn't know what to do and hoped Dr. Goodman was able to help him work things out. Being alone on this ship was very dangerous. If the knowledge of a potential imposter was released, the loners would be the first targets. Human's believed that non-human life couldn't possibly have their level of emotional intelligence so only the outcasts would be considered first. Fortunately, this non-human parasite had a human consciousness.

"Dr. O'Connely, you have reached your maximum allotted daily work hours. Please cease your work in the next fifteen minutes or I will initiate Rest Protocol."

"Ok, let me clean up. Give me some slack on that fifteen minutes…"

"Very well, doctor. You have twenty minutes."

Matt clicked his tongue and swears the AI was messing with him. He quickly cleaned up his work station and made sure all of the documentation was complete and dated. Fortunately, he managed to finish with a few minutes to spare and made his way back to his room. The lab was on the same floor as med bay, so Dr. Lisinger worked rather close to him. As he left his lab and made his way to the turbolift, he saw Alexis and the doctor turn the corner. He held his hand over the door of the lift and they eventually boarded.

"Working late, Dr. O'Connely?"

"It would seem so. Lexi, was something wrong? Did you get hurt during drills?"

"No, Matt, it was just a checkup. Thanks for worrying though."

Due to the awkward nature of sharing an elevator with the greatest threat to his existence, Matt didn't talk much. Most of the day, he let his perfect mimicry guide the flow of conversations, do lab work, move around the ship, etc. However, he did occasionally turn it off due to the stress he was building up while mimicry was active. His mind couldn't handle the mental load. This made him think about the Mind Flayer tree in his evolution path.

The Mind Flayer tree was often seen as the weakest path in the original game. This was due to the player agency of controlling an avatar. The abilities of the Mind Flayer seemed difficult to use and most considered it a role-playing branch. One of the signature abilities of the Mind Flayer was being able to telepathically speak to people. Many used this to troll the other players in the game by disguising themselves as another crew member and directly whispering people.

Another key feature was the ability Mental Resistance. Although, in the game, this skill was only useful against the 'Weaponized Biosuit: ESP'. An exoskeleton suit specialized towards mental attacks. This suit had one of the highest damage-per-second (DPS) in the game, so the Mind Flayer was quite powerful. However, the meta was to use the 'Tactical Medic Suit' so that advantage was negated.

Matt knew that only the crewman in the first strike force could have access to those suits, so he had never personally seen it himself. He wondered if the same suits existed as in the game. He needed to find out as soon as possible because that would change his strategy completely. He looked over at Alexis and knew she was very likely to make it into the first strike force during the next skirmish. Perhaps he should choose her in the end so that he has access to the information about the suits.

While lost in thought, Alexis and Matt eventually reached their quarters. Usually, she was full of energy and wanted to talk about her day, but now she seemed rather solemn. Noticing this mood, his mimicry led him to sit down next to her and pat her back. Although, Matt probably would have done the same anyway.

"What's wrong?"

"Will you be upset if you're forced to choose me?"

"What do you mean? We have to wait for the evaluation before the system will rematch us anyway. Don't stress yourself out—"

"I'm pregnant— two weeks…"

Matt could feel mimicry formulating a response and calculating the situation. However, he saw it going in the absolutely wrong direction. This was not the time to break down his relationship!

'Toggle Perfect Mimicry Off!'

[Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max – Status: Off]

"Really? I'm going to be a father? That's wonderful! I'm so happy."

Matt O'Connely was about to ask if it was his and break it off with Alexis. First, he impregnates his government matched partner. Then he dies; And now that his body has been taken over, he tries to sabotage the new owner time and time again. What a bastard!

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Pill_Guy

It wouldn't be interesting if he was a brooding induvidual without any interpersonal interactions. Of course, the original Matt O'Connely left him with a heap of trouble that he has to sort out while protecting his identity! This is good conflict, if any of you say otherwise, you're sus.

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