[Currently Used Language: English]
[Species Detected: Human]
[Processing Neural Patterns...]
[Emotional Stability Detected: Mild Shock | Curiosity | Hostility (1)]
A strange mechanical voice echoed inside the spacecraft—not from any speaker, but directly into their minds, layered and modulated, as if passing through warped static and synthetic breath.
"Did… did it just speak?" Max blinked, backing up.
"HUH?!" Ren jumped, pointing at Elan with pure terror. "IT'S TALKING! I SAY WE THROW IT AWAY! THROW HIM AWAY! THROW—"
[WAIT WAIT WAIT! MISS LADY! DON'T DO THAT!]
The voice surged again, panicked but weirdly casual, like someone waking up from an extremely long nap. A pause. A vibrating thrum pulsed through Elan's armor as if the being inside were stretching metaphorical limbs.
[I'VE BEEN SLEEPING THERE FOR, LIKE, MILLIONS OF YEARS!]
"M-Millions?" Shizuka stammered.
Elan blinked, trying to process the sensation—he could feel the words resonating through his bones. His chest throbbed with each syllable the being spoke.
[Yes.]
"Okay, WHAT are you?" Max asked, scanner still held up, though completely nonfunctional.
[Me? I'm a BioBot. The most basic word in human lexicon you might understand.]
[But don't be mistaken! I'm far beyond what that implies. A living construct. Nanoweave sentient tissue. Symbiotic adaptive A.I. with cognitive elasticity. I'm extremely sophisticated—I'll let you know.]
"That's going to make me faint," Ren said, wobbling and sitting down without shame.
Elan groaned. "Okay, okay—slow down. You're… inside me?"
[Correct! I've fully synchronized with your neural and biometric signature. It was the only way I could properly boot after stasis. But don't worry. You're still you. I'm more like… an upgrade.]
"That sounds very not reassuring," Max muttered.
[Okay, listen… introductions for me later. First, tell me—who are you guys? Except Elan, of course. I know him already. His thoughts, fears, favorite snacks, his weird dreams—]
"WAIT WHAT?!" Elan shouted.
[Joking. Probably.]
[Anyway—roll call, everyone! Formally introduce yourselves. It's part of my human-integration protocol. Also, let's be honest, I already know who you all are, but let's pretend I don't, for fun!]
A strange silence filled the cabin, broken only by the gentle hum of the ship drifting in deep space, and the blue glow pulsing lightly from Elan's armor, now alive.
And from within that glow, somewhere alien, somewhere beyond understanding, the voice grinned.
[Man, you humans are gonna love me… or not. But either way, this is going to be fun.]
[So! As I was saying… I'm a BioBot. Not fully awakened yet—gimme some time to gather more data from Elan. Once that's done? He and I will be able to use my abilities to their full extent.]
"I don't like how ominous that sounds," Ren muttered.
[Relax, Miss Loud-and-Panicky. I don't take over. It's like… giving your muscles an extra layer of cosmic steroids. But legally safe!]
"...That's not reassuring at all," Max said.
[Anyway—who am I? Right. I'm a BioBot created by the Frequis Civilization. Aliens Of course]
"Frequis?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "Never heard of them."
[Obviously. They existed millions of years ago. Let me explain—brace yourselves, this story is both educational and unnecessarily dramatic.]
A low hum vibrated from the armor, as if it were theatrically clearing its throat.
[Long story long... the Frequis civilization began as blobs. Not joking—actual, gelatinous, shape-shifting slime blobs. Intelligent ones. They couldn't speak or see in your terms, but they could think, and oh boy—they thought a lot.]
[Their early life? Just squishy morphing. They only knew how to change shapes—no faces, no legs, just… blorp.]
Ren muttered, "I regret asking."
[BUT THEN! One day, they saw a Cosmic Hawk. That's not its real name, but calling it its real name would melt your brains, so… Cosmic Hawk it is.]
"Thanks?" Max blinked.
[It was flying through the galaxy, leaving trails of stellar wind behind. The Frequises were enchanted. One of them tried mimicking the creature, thinking it would just be another squish-form—]
[—but BOOM! They didn't just change shape—they changed genetics. Actual evolution, baby.]
"Wait, they can do that?" Shizuka looked intrigued now.
[Indeed. They realized they weren't just shapeshifters—they were genetic re-coders. The one who morphed into a Cosmic Hawk? It became one. A real one.]
Elan stood still, letting the voice carry on from within him. He was slowly losing track of how many "what the hell" moments had occurred since that armor fused to his chest.
[From then on, the Frequises began choosing forms deliberately—efficient, powerful, beautiful. Guess who they chose next? Yup. You. Humans.]
[Why? Because even though humans were primitive, their bodies had crazy adaptability, expression, and emotional range. You were fragile, but you had spirit. They copied you… and upgraded the hell out of themselves.]
Max blinked. "They upgraded humans? That's… vaguely flattering."
[Well, not you specifically. Just the idea of you.]
[Anyway, because human bodies weren't exactly space-faring material, they made us: BioBots. Living tech. Symbiotic. Adaptive. Disposable... apparently.]
"...Disposable?" Elan asked.
[Yep. As soon as we were done being 'cool new tech,' they built sleeker, smarter AIs. So they threw us out. Like… junk. Literally launched us into space like cosmic garbage.]
A pause.
[And then their planet's volcanoes all erupted. At once. Burned the whole place down. Poetic justice. Greedy till the end. Maybe they got it from humans. Or maybe humans inherited it from them. Who knows?]
Everyone fell into a short silence.
[Anyway, that's how I could detect your species so easily. You're coded into my early memory banks. That, and I just smell your general level of emotional chaos. Really easy to identify.]
[INTRODUCTION FINISHED.]
A beat.
[AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—]
"Is it okay that he's laughing like a cartoon villain?" Ren asked, stepping behind Max.
[By the way, I don't have a robotic voice, like in your sci-fi movies. Did you know? Elan likes sci-fi.]
"Wait, how do you know that?" Elan narrowed his eyes.
[Let me tell you his favorites!]
"HEY! STOP THAT, YOU FREAKY AI!" Elan snapped, his eyes blazing.
[Oh come on, Elan. Don't be shy! You dreamt of teleportating pizzas from restaurants. And, oh man, you like Donuts 😂. That was adorable.]
Elan groaned and covered his face while the rest of the team tried to decide whether this was still normal or if the universe had finally snapped.
[So, I think history's repeating itself.]
The voice echoed again from within Elan—smoother now, as if it was growing used to its tongue-in-cheek tone.
[Like, your volcanoes erupted, right? Just like theirs did. Whole planet burning up in flames. You're walking the same path, humans. Congrats!]
The room went quiet.
The lights flickered slightly as the ship's engines adjusted course. Outside, the galaxy stared back cold and silent.
Elan crossed his arms, still trying to process the sensation of something alien thinking through his own thoughts.
[Anyway! Elan's got a better chance at surviving than the rest of you. Know why? Cuz he's got me, baby!]
[You bimbos? You're just… background cast!]
Ren almost exploded. "THAT'S NOT NICE TO SAY!"
[What do I care? I was discarded by an extinct civilization and spent two million years sleeping in vacuum dust. I say what I want.]
Max frowned. "You said there were more of you?"
[Millions.]
Shizuka straightened. "Millions of BioBots?"
[Yup. Scattered across the galaxy. Some buried in moons. Some floating near dying stars. Some probably stuck inside space-whales or whatever cosmic nonsense is out there.]
A hush fell over the group again. The weight of that statement sank in slowly.
[Here's the kicker, though—anyone can find us. Not just good guys like you.]
"…Define good guy," Max muttered.
[I mean… you haven't tried blowing me up. Yet.]
[But yeah. Scavengers.]
The word dropped like a rock in the room.
"Scavengers?" Elan repeated.
[That's what you call them, right? Space trash-pickers with guns, teeth, and a serious lack of dental ethics? Yeah, those guys. If they find BioBots before you do... well... yikes.]
Elan's chest pulsed softly with a bluish glow as the BioBot's embedded core shifted.
[Imagine them getting a BioBot like me. But angry. Or loyal to their cause.]
[And some of my siblings… let's just say… we don't all think the same.]
Max's expression darkened. "So we're in a race against time."
[Ding ding ding! Prize for the smart one! Give this man a useless medal!]
Shizuka leaned forward. "Is there a way to track the others?"
[Not yet. But maybe soon. Once I finish syncing with Elan completely, I might be able to smell them. Sort of. Don't ask.]
Ren looked visibly uncomfortable. "How long will that take?"
[Depends. Elan's got a lot of mental junk to sort through. Like, why does he keep thinking about that embarrassing moment from fifth grade? Move on, my dude.]
"CAN YOU NOT!?" Elan shouted, grabbing his head.
[No promises.]
The blue veins on the armor glowed again, subtly brighter than before. Elan's breathing slowed, and for a moment, it felt like something ancient was listening through him.
[You're in danger. Not just because of your planet's dying core. But because now you know too much. You woke something.]
"...What do you mean?" Max asked carefully.
[The Frequises didn't just make us. They made… other things.]
"What kind of things?" Shizuka whispered.
The voice paused, silent for once.
And then, a faint whisper slid from the armor—less mechanical, more hollow, like it was echoing from a void:
[Some of them… don't like to be remembered.]
Elan staggered as a chill ran through his spine. The ship's temperature sensors dipped.
From deep in the vastness of the void outside, something pulsed faintly—far away… but aware.