章節 7: Clash Of Identity
I sat on the old mattress next to Gwen. My mind was jumbled with mixed thoughts and nothing made sense. Star was busy digging a section in their shelter for farming. In my daze I focused on her digging. It was her words made me think and troubled me.
There was an empire of darklings and I didn't even know it. That was concerning. The way Star talked, they were a mix of Spanish conquistadors and romans. Maybe romans were more apt. Though, I didn't recall any romans wiping out the men and raping an entire race to extinction. That was more a conquistador thing. At least it worked. I wondered what the romaji thought of their darkling ancestors.
It made me think. How did I compare to other darklings? What was the empire like and why didn't they pick me up? If this was where darklings dropped, then why didn't they drag me off. The existence of a darkling empire made me wonder what the illithids were doing. Did they work with the Darklings? Gwen had to come from somewhere.
Gwen glared at me daring a question. I didn't want to ask but she was the only one who could answer my questions. It was a touchy issue but weren't we allies?
"Don't, if you ask you won't like what I have to say. Trust me ignorance is bliss." She let out a sad sigh. "I wish she hadn't told you about the great Darkling empire." Gwen said, I felt the air quotes.
I stood up from the bed and punched one of the metal tables holding the roof up. Junk fell and the ceiling shook but held. "Is there still a darkling empire?" I asked.
Gwen looked at me for a long moment her face tentacles rubbed against each other. "Sit on the bed." Gwen said and stood up.
Gwen blasted me with calming thoughts until I realized, I was being stupid. Slowly, I edged closer to the bed before sitting down. "I know what you're trying to do. Their gone. That's why you want to calm me down." I said.
She sat in my lap. Gwen turned to each of my hands and placed them in her hair tentacles. "I know you like the feeling of my tentacles." Slowly her warm tentacles wiggled around my fingers gripping them with surprising strength. "Darklings are a curious species. Its one of their greatest attributes. If not for their greed, selfishness, and dominance, they could have revolutionized the world. Though they weren't created to be inventors or scientists. Some fall into those categories."
I closed my eyes and felt myself calm down. "Leading them must have been like herding cats." I said.
She looked up at me with her large black eyes. Her face looked so alien but adorable at the same time. "My kind are adept at herding them. Even I can't help but try to herd you towards our goal. There is a weakness in the darkling's design. One that my kind happily exploited." Gwen said.
I knew what it was but never really thought about it. "I can learn purple series spells." I said.
Gwen shook her head in exasperation. "You can learn any spell. I'm limited to the purple series. You can learn any series you desire. That also leaves you vulnerable to every spell. Darklings are very versatile but also vulnerable." She said.
"Surely there are spells that defend against the purple series." I said.
"There are but they are carefully kept in the minds of the Grand Overminds. No darkling will ever find such spells in this place." We settled into silence for a moment.
There were no avenues to defeat mind control if she was to be believed. That only added to his questions. "Why didn't you mind control me?" I asked.
She remained silent for a moment. Only the sound of Star's hard work broke the silence. Finally, I felt the telltale feeling of her response. "You saved me without a second thought. After I was tired from running. By all rights, I should have died by the spiderlings."
I felt a light purring sensation from her. The little Illithid's head seemed to vibrate at my touch. "When I sensed no enthrallment only genuine worry, I was curious. Who was this darkling who would save me?"
"Tell me Gwen, why are you here and why do you hate your name." I asked.
Her tentacles gently pulled from my fingers and she stopped purring. "Not yet, when your mind is much stronger. I'll give you a test. If you can resist my enthrallment, I'll spill my guts to you. When your mind is safe every secret in my big juicy brain will be yours." I blanched at the way she said that.
"I'm teasing you." Gwen said.
Star walked in just as Gwen hopped off my lap. She looked back at me. The hint of an almost human smirk lit up her face. "Well while you two lazy good for nothings have been flirting, I've finished preparing the farm." Star proclaimed.
I stood up and clapped my hands. Star flushed for a second then returned to her corner. "I'll get the boxes and fill them with plenty of food for the livestock." I said and got up.
Silicon, paper, and artificial fluids were plentiful in the junkyard beneath the lab. I was able to line the boxes with plenty. Gwen glowed purple once the boxes were placed with female and male eggs placed in each. "There I've implanted new instincts to keep them here and reproducing until we tell them otherwise. So long as there is food and space, they won't leave." Gwen said.
I fiddled with some latches to make sure the holes were just big enough for the males to leave and exit but not the females. Fortunately, this was basically how the hives worked and the males naturally cleaned out female habitats according to Star.
Quest Completed: Farm A Species
Rewarded: +5 INT
Intelligence 45
AP 892
"We need more allies." I let the statement settle.
"It's a little late to look for more when we're nearly ready to assault Dol's tower. If my timetable is correct, we should be able to move out in a week." Gwen said.
"Maybe we should attack sooner." I suggested.
"We have to attack while he's in between the ranks. That's when he'll be vulnerable. He's at the peak of Plebe. Dol isn't like the other three you met. He's a troll sorcerer varient. Instead of using Aura he uses his own life to power spells. Dol is a sorcerer and a troll. That means he's capable of using red, green, and black series spells. He also has some artifacts." Gwen said.
"It sounds like he's been preparing for this for a long time." I said.
A thought occurred to me and I couldn't let it go. "Could the Goblings under Dol do to the Illithids what your kind did to mine?" I asked. She froze a a moment almost in shock.
"A knight couldn't but if he bides his time and ranks up to king. He'll have a shot. If he can add a few Royal knight variants, then he has a high chance. They aren't like the Darklings or the Spiderlings. Sorcerers have a natural resistance to the purple series." Gwen said.
How could I trust anything she said or my own mind? At this point the only test I could think of to prove I wasn't mind controlled was to kill her. I didn't want to and couldn't fathom doing it. That feeling wouldn't go away. When I thought of star it was the same. I genuinely didn't want to kill them. They were important to me.
Could her words be trusted? Well she hadn't led me astray before. Or she has been leading me by the nose all along. If that's the case I'm doomed. It would be better to throw in the towel and accept my slavery. The chains had bound me before I'd ever realized it and they rested too lightly against my flesh to feel.
There was another possibility. She could be telling the truth. In that case, I'd become a sorcerer and claim any spells that made me immune to the purple series. Since she wouldn't control me, the only option was to find another Illithid and risk being controlled.
I found myself feeling rather cynical about the situation. "Why should I stop him? If its their time to take control, then why not let them. I'm sure someone came before the spiderlings." Gwen glared at me.
"If they take over, then I won't get my revenge." Her voice was cold compared to her usual playful or informative voice. I felt a pressure against the base of my skull.
"Would you let us die for it?" I asked her. The pressure increased. I fought against it. The presence was heavy in my mind and threatened to sweep me away. I could sense it for what it was. This presence was Gwen's true psychic might. Her voice had always prickled the edge of my mind. This was the real force behind her will.
Even as I pushed there were gaps. She was slipping into me and there wasn't a thing I could do about it.
Ping!
Quest: Push Back Gwen
Reward: +5 INT +2 PER
I fought with all might might. It was like trying to remove water from a sinking boat and my bucket had holes in it. No matter what amount of Gwen I repelled some squeezed through the cracks. It was a flaw in my design. That much was obvious. With a few hundred levels, I'd be able to afford antivirus software for this situation. For now, I could only plug the holes with my hand.
She took full control of my mind and could go no further. A realization struck me at that moment. Feeling the world almost made me forget what I really was. Ultimately, this body was a vessel and I was the pilot. I could feel pain, but I could ignore it. My senses were adjustable. Even pain could be disabled.
My AI nature filled in the cracks. I made up for the holes with shear speed and processing power. In the time a meat mind might fling a single bucket, I could fling ten thousand. I force stopped all other programs and bent all of my processing to expelling her from my mind.
Ping!
Quest Completed: Push Back Gwen
Reward: +5 INT +2 PER
Intelligence 50
Ping!
Quest Completed: Find Gwen's Motivations
Rewarded: +2 INT + 2 PER
Intelligence 52
Perception 25
AP 1002
She dropped her attack after I repelled her. A feeling of remorse blasted my senses just as I restored my systems. Her eyes were wide as saucers. Gwen was going to bolt. I had to stop her. She raised her hand. A powerful force lifted me off the ground and threw me hard against one of the metal desks.
Ping!
System Message: -30HP
Gwen blasted me with her fluctuating emotions. Most of which were self-loathing. "I shouldn't have involved a mere darkling. Jacob you're more pitiful than a mind-controlled slave." She turned her back on me. "You aren't even worthy of being used."
She took a step towards the exit then paused. "Don't try to follow me, or you'll regret it." Gwen said and blasted a hole through the ceiling before flying towards the Dol's Tower.
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