章節 5: Guardians of the UEG
Duty begins with the dimming of the habitat's bioluminescence and the simultaneous activation of my Neural Compliance Chip (NCC). "Awake, Soldier 2187," it commands in an authoritative tone that's familiar yet never comforting. My barrack's stark walls are momentarily lit with my duty roster, a cascading list of checkpoints and protocols that will define my existence for the next cycle.
Uniform donned, I secure my pulse rifle and step into the chilled corridor. The other soldiers move in sync, our steps a unified march towards the day's orders. We don't speak. There's no need. Our NCCs create an invisible web of communication, our thoughts and directives interfaced in a seamless stream of data.
The checkpoint is a box of reinforced glass and steel. I stand sentinel, the embodiment of the UEG's unwavering watch. Citizens shuffle past, their eyes averted, NCCs flickering with advertisements and state-approved narratives that keep them docile. I scan each one, my NCC interfacing with theirs to ensure compliance, to sniff out any hint of dissension.
Breakfast and lunch are nutrient packets, consumed quickly and without taste. I barely register the act. It's fuel, nothing more. Sometimes, I wonder what it might be like to savor something, to experience it beyond its mere utility.
My thoughts are interrupted by an alert from the NCC, a citizen's compliance level dips below the acceptable threshold. I intervene, my presence an immediate reminder of the consequences of nonconformity. The citizen's eyes flicker with the briefest spark of defiance before they are detained and taken in for mandatory therapy.
The day is monotonous, an endless loop of surveillance and control, punctuated by the periodic drone of propaganda that our NCCs amplify for effect. We are told we're the shield against chaos, the keepers of peace in a world that would otherwise succumb to disorder. I've never seen this world, but the certainty in the NCC's voice makes it real.
Evening arrives, I check the logs to ensure everything is in order before others come to relieve me of my post for the day. Another long day with nothing happening, as every day before, but I must remain vigilant, the threat of the Society is ever present and lurking in the dark.
I scan the brightly illuminated room, gazing out upon the roughly forged steel plates in the floor, the metallic and smooth walls rising up from the edges, the bolts fastened into the circular viewports that allow vision into the inky darkness beyond.
There is a calm consistency in the icy waters beyond, where no light can penetrate. Silent. Foreboding. Serene.
My vision flashes momentarily. The NCC blaring an alarm in my mind. Warning me of imminent danger, but I do not even register it as I stare blankly ahead. Reality seemed to glitch as what was previously empty air, was now occupied space.
A figure stands before me, wearing some form of combat jacket over a form fitting polymer suit, and beige cargo pants adorning its lower body. It had shoulder length dark hair that hung in whisps around its head, some unruly strands flowing in front of it's face as dark eyes fell upon me, pinning me in place.
After a few brief moments that seemed like eternity, my instincts took over as my body began to move reflexively, readying my pulse rifle as I screamed at the intruder.
"Halt! Put your hands into the air and identify yourself or I will fire!"
The figure however, paid my instructions no mind as I watched on, rifle aimed for what I presumed to be it's vitals as it resembled that of a human female, though the physiology was distinctly different and it could be an android with what seemed like circuitry running along it's skin.
I began to take note of anything that might be useful, searching for potential weapons, but it did not seem to have any. There were a few pieces of jewelry, including a pendant, an intricate knot of metal and stone that seemed less decorative and more a totem, symbolizing perhaps some significant personal axiom or philosophy.
The lack of any apparent weapons threw me off, an unknown intruder with unknown technology had appeared directly out of thin air, as if by magic.
At this point a feminine voice sounded in my mind through the NCC.
"Are you alright? You seem to be in distress."
A sinister smile accompanied the words spoken in my mind, as a tinge of madness glimmered deep in the creatures eyes.
"Identify yourself immediately and put your hands in the air!" I roared once more, the air in my lungs bursting forth unbridled.
The humanoid stands calmly, the playful glimmer in her eyes contrasting the seriousness of the pulse rifle aimed at her. She raises her hands—not in surrender, but in a slow, theatrical manner, as if conducting an orchestra, her smile unwavering.
"Identification is such a fluid concept here, don't you think?" she quips, her voice laced with an unsettling cheerfulness as it sounds in my brain.
I feel a growing sense of unease filling me from my core, as my finger tightens on the trigger. A flicker of her wrist causes my senses to collapse, projecting the illusion of multiple clones encircling me, each one echoing her playful taunt.
"I'm afraid you're working too hard," she continues, her voice multiplying around me as I can feel nausea begin to take hold, my vision distorting and giving me the sense of vertigo.
"You're seeing things that aren't there, and not seeing things that are." She takes a step forward, the illusions seamlessly syncing with her movements, creating an elaborate dance of light and shadow.
Alarms blare in my head, amplifying my dizziness as I can feel my body sway, unsteady on my own feet. It is as though my own senses are being manipulated against me, but how can this be? They are controlled by the NCC entirely, the only way to mess with them is directly through the NCC!
Then it stops, just as I felt that I was about to collapse, it stopped. The clones vanished, the world returned to normal, the sense of falling was no more.
"You can call me Dr. Atwood, pleasure to meet you" The creature said as it smiled that wicked smile at me. The very persona of the devil itself.
I did not hesitate any longer, I knew my duty, this threat, it could not be allowed. I could hear other soldiers boots coming up the corridors, there was no escape for this beast.
I readied my pulse rifle, and pulled the trigger, aiming center mass, just as was drilled into me over countless years. For the glory of the UEG!
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One moment the man before her was reeling, being bombarded by the sensory overload Dr. Atwood was orchestrating through the NCC in his brain. The next, she ended the attack and smiled politely at him as she introduced herself.
However now, he raised his rifle once more, aiming directly at her, burning intent in his eyes as he did so.
"Pathetic. It seems this child does not know his place, should I eliminate him?" Janus, Dr. Atwoods personal AGI said to her privately as she could see his form walking circles around the man before her as if time had been stopped.
This was a trick she had learned early on in her life, being able to actively separate her consciousness from her body and feed it into a subspace with sped up time, allowing her to watch events before her progress at a thousandth the real speed, while being able to think and act normally. Though her body was still confined to the effects of real world time, even if her mind was not.
"No no, let him do as he wishes, it is not as if he is a threat anyway. Simply analyze the weapon and its specification, predict what it is capable of, determine trajectory of projectiles, and intercept them." Maya replied, brushing off the situation entirely as she laid a few traps and returned to her body.
Upon returning, time resumed. In less than a second, floating plates flew out from her back and flew in front of her as blinding blue bolts of plasma shot forth from the barrel of the rifle and struck the plates uselessly.
Not a single projectile made it past.
Then the soldier collapsed. Before the astonishment could even register on his face. She had sealed him inside his own mind, cutting off his ability to control his body, before turning to greet the new arrivals.
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