/ Verin
Highly annoyed out here. Highly. It has been around 2 weeks of us in here. Mia and Jane pulled us around the few levels, checking the stats and the levels of how all out here is operating, what is on with it all. It's like we're on a kids outing of sorts. I'm highly annoyed by that. Especially because Mia is annoying me to my highest wits. The way she talks to us, to me in particular - like she's highly trying to push my limits. It's infuriating.
Although I did find it rather interesting on the agriculture floor. So many trees, plants, just growing. It was nice to see plants, though the light in a way imitated the sunlight, but it was not the sun.
Oh how I miss the view of sun and the breeze on my face. Currently it's just plainly the annoying thing of being stuck in this box. Yes, we have our beds and water, there's food made by the robots, there's food grown by the robots, but all in all - it gets to be more and more eerie.
Another thing I realised is that we all are steadily looking more and more healthy. Though, I still do not get the concept of 'printing' meat. Though it is edible, it's not the same as normal meat.
"Come on, let's explore another floor." - Jane pops in our lair, as we're all somewhere scattered on the so-called "floor 4", where our living quarters are, as well as the cafeteria.
Niko and Killian keep trying to figure out something, but I assume that if they'd ask the damn stuck-up duo of Mia and Jane, their things might work out faster.
Ary, David and Hikaru come out from the computer-library room, as them lot bonded over something in the past few days. Now it looks like they're concocting some plans that ain't really something for me to bother with, though it still feels unsettling.
Mia comes out of her room, then walks over to Jane. Others seem to gather around. I let out a sigh, roll my eyes, get up and go along with them.
Once again the elevator, once again the new floor. But this floor was labelled "L3" on the button. We go out and I recognise it is where we came through when we just woke up. We do walk into the rooms of other people still there, the computers, the system frames.
Jane once again sits next to one of the computers, then starts to type something in. The others chat about nonsense. I'm not even interested at this point.
I just wonder why the fuck I had to be pulled along with them. I was well off after the war we had, I was just doing my thing after I cleaned up all the mess that Adrian left. Living my best life as the new head ruler behind the scenes, after we planted the new Emperor. Ah the good days of peace.
This here - is pretty much my agony. The people I don't want to be associated with, the body I don't enjoy at least, the damn thing is annoying. Way shorter than my male body, more weak, annoying to the point of me willing to just carve my own self out of it. How the heck did I get here? Ehhh…
"Ok, got that part well sorted. Let's move on." - Said Jane, then once more we gather and back to the corridor that leads to the elevator. Though right at the corner turn, that leads to the elevator door, Jane stops. Then fumbles around touching the wall.
"Just what are you trying to do, you hairless ape?" - I'm too tired to be facing this now.
"Just a moment." - Jane replies, as he gathers the attention of everyone, now looking at his actions in amusement.
Then there was a "whizz" sound, the small thing popped out of the wall, Jane typed something into it and somehow the wall panel just - moved. Revealing the hall that went somewhere.
"Come on." - Jane gestured for us to follow. And well, having nothing better to do - we did.
The hall was not that long, then another door. Jane did the same thing again, with him feeling up the wall and then thingy popping out, then him typing something, then the wall moved.
Now, the hallways were dimly lit. They goddamn all are dimly lit. Guess there's the actual representation of the power saving mode in place. But this?!
The room ahead was massive. The amount of the boxes out of metal and some damn whirring, the heat in here as well… It was like walking into a sauna, yet then a few seconds passed and an ice cold wind blew. I shivered as I followed the others inside this absolutely unexplained thing. After all these metal boxes passed, there were a bunch of brains on display. In some see-through boxes, with some wires attached to them… Over a few hundred brains. All the same way exhibited and with wires, on some exhibit pedestals.
I knew I was the kind who shifted from torture to absolute madness, to pious way of living, mixing masks and ways to make sure of my survival. But what the hell is this?!
Suddenly I feel the hand on my shoulder, making me jolt on the spot, as I turn to look who it is. Then once more the sense of anger boils on. It was Mia. She smiled at me, with this condescending manner. I absolutely hated that.
She then gestured with another hand at different places across this hall. Fine. I looked at where she was showing me. The others were looking at the brains, at the metal boxes, at the wiring, computers, whatever was in the room. Going alone, gathered in groups of two or three people. It's like we were on some trip exploring something new. Like a bunch of kids. And I hated this feeling.
"I might not get it completely, Oracle Verin, but you know, this here is called the 'wetware'," - Mia pointed at the brains, - "that is used for the AIO thing that communicates with us. The bits behind us," - Mia points at the metal boxes, - "those are the 'hardware' bits. Out where the Jane is - that is where 'software' is analysed."
"Why are you telling me this?" - I asked, my anger seeping through.
"Coz I realize that you mainly focused on the art of politics, theology and manipulation. The tech, sure, you had your fun with it, but the amount of what you know about it here and there is different. Your tech in the world you were in could as well have been more advanced than over here. Here it's the world of humans, silly-silly humans who used rocks and sticks to make things. Like this here - the computer hardware is the bunch of metal and crystals, wiring, connections - to host all the knowledge they wanted to put into it, there's the software they wrote, produced and installed, so that all functions in the way they intended, but at the same time - wetware, the brains in there, have more computing capacity, more information retained and pretty much is a cool thing… If you don't mind the fact that the brains are of different people who came here before the official test subjects. These brains were from very much living people of different walks of life, of different ideas, ideals, knowledge and wisdom, then they were extracted to make this whole lot. Some were doctors, some teachers, some were kids, some grownups, some were notorious killers, some were abusers…" - Mia lets out, as she then shrugs, looking at me.
I look at a lot of brains. That sort of sounds barbaric, to extract brains from living people for this lot.
"Did they agree to it?" - I ask.
Mia looks me dead in the eyes, speaking matter of factly, like its just another tuesday for her:
"Nah. They were abducted. Some were war prisoners, some were just human trafficked to this." - Mia looks into the distance of the whole place. - "They had no idea. They were tortured, then they were used. Well, it's how it came to. You know, that's not too far from what you did in your world of politics. Making sure that the trials and the experiments were successful."
"I was NOT like that." - I retorted feeling like I am heavily accused of something horrendous.
Mia looks at me with a smile.
"Oh, but you don't have to lie. I know. I observed through all of that. And I'm aware that you should remember all what you did out there, unless you might have some brain side effects from awakening this roughly."
Absolutely speechless. How dare she claim all this?! Her?! She was NOT there to say anything! It's just so eerie how she dares to make such claims!
"The Aracha. Your so-called goddess. The whole origin story of you and Ary being the blessed kids of this goddess, the angelic beings." - Mia looks at me, as she begins pacing around me. - "You mean to tell me you know nothing about this?"
I stand in stupor. How does she know our origin story, which was eons ago for us? It were so much… So much…
"I am well aware of how you played your cards to not only become the most beloved child, as well as make it so that your brother is thrown out, the so-called mother killed and well… How you then become the very revered godly entity for people to worship, then the whole lot of a thing of the church thing, then what was it… Ah, the whole setup of politics for over 2 thousand years along with setting the selected candidates on the throne, waging wars, manipulating pretty much all that your handsies could reach… Except for two things. One was Ary, as he escaped your grasp the moment you tried harder to get rid of him. And Niko, as she was plainly fun to deal with, though she too - a wild card. Sounds about right?" - Mia checks the others across the place with her eyes, then looks back at me.
Fuck. Now that explains her whole demeanour, the way she annoys the crap out of me, getting me boiling so much it's making me wish to kill her. I mean. I tried, stopped at the last moment, as that would make it hard for me to survive.
"Oh and don't worry, I know about you coming to my room at night. Oh so dear, oh so caring. Though your ragged breathing gives you out. I hope you do realise that this body is different from the one before. More tells, you know." - Mia smiles at me.
"What do you want?" - I seethe with anger, yet the sense of defeat boils the blood in my veins.
"Soon enough we'll get the full info on the world outside. Then there's the checks and the trials. So, I want you to not why away from calling out to go on expedition missions. You'll do well, knowing your prowess." - Mia just keeps smiling. I can already sense my head aching from all the frustration.
"That's all?" - I ask.
"Mhm." - She replies. - "And if you are well, into girls… You can just tell me. I might consider it." - She gives me an up-and-down look, then goes over to Jane.
I am left speechless. Fuming and now withered from the burning that she pulled off, sensing some sort of defeat.
Just what the fuck is she?
After a while, the lot of us headed back to the living quarters. Eating, then off to bath and bed. I can't deal with this bullshit today. I ain't got the strength currently… to murder half and run away. When I will know for sure - I'll make a run for it.