chapter 118
The neural net inside the vat was in excellent condition. It will need a bit of preparation before it could be installed, but that could be handled by drones. The stuff we have been bulk-making wasn't what was originally used to upgrade my left hand.
That was basically just to prototype. We have improved the design quite a lot—well, basically Lola has, I just helped a little. I was currently fully running on it, all of my bio-cybernetic parts having gotten the upgrade.
We haven’t installed it inside the ship before now for the same reason, as we hadn't finished the bodies, as we were trying to figure out what else we could change into bio-cybernetics on board the ship that would actually make it better, but there wasn't much.
Bob and Sam were busy making more of this stuff. The current plan was just to add more than we needed into the ship to hopefully trigger whatever happened to Lola so long ago.
If they could truly control mana after their upgrade, it would theoretically mean that Forward Horizon could possibly use hard-light weapons, which would increase our firepower by a lot. It wouldn't help us for the coming fight, but if we survived it, it would be an incredible upgrade.
The amount of work ahead of us was massive, as we had to tear out so much from inside the ship. Fortunately, a lot of the work could be done by drones, but I would need to supervise just in case, as some of the things were quite delicate.
While the large sections of wiring and heat sinks were removed easily, the smaller pathways connecting everything needed more care. I also didn’t want FH to go offline, but many of her supporting AIs needed to, as the power to their sections was cut.
In its raw form, the bio-cybernetic neural net was like slime. It basically needed to be cured inside molds if you wanted it to hold a specific shape. The floors of the ship were littered with different shapes of molds as we started to exchange the current wirings with the new neural net.
As soon as the section was finished, which took quite a while each time, we needed to teach the neural net what types of signals it needed to deliver to where, how much power it needed to handle, and so many more intricacies that before were handled by different, separated connections.
If someone were to shoot a hole through this neural net, now that it knew where it needed to deliver its signals and power, it could re-route itself easily, and after everything was connected, FH could in fact direct it even further, prioritising certain systems and cutting off others when there wasn't enough bandwidth to deliver what was needed.
After four days, we had made great progress, but there was still so much to be done. Fortunately, I could extend Lola’s time frame by another week, as we wouldn’t be able to finish the ship in just two weeks.
On the 7th day after the A-rank portal announcement, everyone was gathered in Lola's workshop. There were multiple half-finished bodies. It looked kinda like we were on a horror movie set with different body parts all around, some of them being grown in vats.
Sam’s core was already out of his old body and was currently being installed in his new one. The new one looked a bit taller, more like a human, because for some reason all of them had decided that they wanted to look more human with their new bodies, even though there would have been some better choices out there for their needs.
All of them, of course, will have the best bio-cybernetics we had available, but each one of them would have different features depending on what they wanted. They would all look visually different as each one had their own preferences.
Over the course of being with this crew, Sam started to like ranged weapons more and more. So he chose modifications that would help him be effective as a medium to close-range gun user. The list of features Lola had been able to put into these bodies was amazing.
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Sam’s new body was a perfect fit for what he wanted to do. It is agile, fast, but still strong enough to handle close-quarters combat while carrying a lot of gear. His hands were built to be extremely sturdy and precise, so he wouldn't have any problems even engaging at long range with full automatic weapons, hitting each shot exactly where he wanted to.
Because of that, his spatial awareness had to be incredible, and his ability to estimate range needed to be pinpoint accurate.
When his core came back online, he rose slowly, getting used to his new body. Using aura sense, I saw how his flickering flame started to grow. As he continued to test, I continued to observe, watching in fascination as the stronger his flame got, the more mana was pulled towards him.
“Are you feeling anything?” I asked.
“A lot more than before. Everything feels so different. I can properly sense the world around me throughout my entire body, not just specific sensors.”
“Pretty sure that wasn't what he was asking,” Dean said, smiling at his brother.
Sam looked a bit confused for a moment, then realised he had gotten so absorbed in understanding his new body he had forgotten another thing that was happening to him.
We all saw him close his eyes, trying to feel, but soon he started to shake his head. “No, nothing like that,” he said, a bit dejected.
“We have plenty of tests to continue to do, so let's continue,” Lola reminded everyone.
While everyone else focused on the data Lola was gathering, I ever so often watched his flame and how mana seemed to start to permeate every part of him. Then, finally, it happened; his flame no longer flickered but burned continuously. The amount of mana that was rushing towards him also increased exponentially.
Sam had been in the middle of explaining to Lola how accurate his finger control was when he stopped all of a sudden. He seemed confused, then looked towards me.
“What just happened? It's like my mind is no longer hazy, something entering me?”
“Interesting, because just a moment ago your flame stopped flickering and more mana rushed in.”
“I’m having trouble staying upright. Is this how it feels to have your head spin?” he asked, almost falling, Dean and Lola having to catch him.
“Okay, that's enough tests. Let’s get you on the bed,” Lola said as both of them guided him to lay down.
It didn’t take long for Sam to become non-responsive. We would have been more panicked if FH didn’t have data on my own mana rebirth. Back then, we had very basic equipment for such things, but now in Lola's workshop, there were even some mana tech devices I had made that helped us see what was happening.
His entire body structure was changing just a tiny bit, except for one change that was a lot bigger. Above his AI core, a new round shape was taking form. I myself had a core like that as well, but none of us had seen how it formed.
Minutes turned into hours until finally we saw that mass of mana transform into a proper core, and as soon as it finished, a wave was sent through his body, solidifying all the changes that had happened. Visually, nothing changed, but now his entire body should be able to absorb and move around mana.
He woke up with a jolt. “Did it work? What happened?”
Before any of us could answer, he seemed to answer his own question.
“No way! Does this really feel like that? Quickly, get me to the examination crystal!” Sam said, trying to get up, but he was still a bit unsteady on his feet.
“Take it slow, get used to the changes,” Lola admonished, and we did manage to contain Sam for a bit until he was once again in full control of his body.
We had quite a while ago purchased a big enough testing crystal that we could do full readings. FH had assembled a database big enough that we shouldn't have any problems identifying innate abilities and affinities, but I did need to supply a bit of mana for it to work properly.
Sam eagerly placed his hands upon the crystal and was beyond delighted when shapes and colours started to appear inside. I had also noticed that now his flame didn’t look like mine; he had different colours, but it still moved exactly the same way as mine.
“I can confirm that he has an innate ability and affinities. Let me see what they are,” FH said, and went quiet afterwards for quite a bit. With every passing second, Sam got more and more restless.
“Stop torturing the man,” Bob said, which made Sam realise that FH was purposely delaying. Before Sam could say anything, FH sent us all the results.
All of his stats were, of course, G rank, as everyone’s was at the beginning. A part of us thought that perhaps he would be the same rank as me, but it seems not.
Name: Sam
Age: -
Species: Bio-cybernetic humanoid
Bonds: To Remi Graves
Items: None
Body: rank G
Mind: rank G
Core: rank G
Innate ability: Wall Skip
Affinity:
Mobility: rank G 2/4 0/14
Guns: rank G 2/4 0/14
Skills: None
“I can confirm he has a fully developed mana system like everyone else, although it is a lot less chaotic than what you have, Captain, and the other examples I’ve seen of other people’s readings,” FH explained.
“Well, there were always going to be some differences. Sam’s flame now does have different colours, but it still moves like mine’s soul. I’m guessing I’m still needed, as he still doesn't have any fully biological parts,” I thought out loud.
“The fact that he could pretty much exactly do what he wants is a bit suspect,” Dean said, getting a glare from Sam almost immediately.
“Intent might play a bigger part than we originally thought,” Lola contemplated.
Sam immediately started talking out loud after that, thinking about what type of build he would go for and how he could use his innate ability to get past obstacles, as he now should be able to phase through walls.
“We will have time for that a bit later; we all have work to do, so let's get back to it.”
“Yes, Captain.”