Scion of Humanity

“Oh my God, that feels good,” Blake mumbled as he entered the frigid winter air. After being subjected to the furnace that was the Mander planet for hours, the mountains of Arizona were a blessed relief.

Blake dropped his new shield to the side and dug into his pack. He ignored the leftover bottles he brought to the other planet, they were so hot they almost boiled, their plastic expanded with unreleased pressure. He unscrewed the top and gulped down the almost frozen water. The bottle continued to release its liquid until it was drained of every drop.

“Ahhhh,” he sighed in relief.

His Physical Resistance was high enough to survive the extreme temperatures, but the sensation was still unpleasant. It was just as bad as he remembered. In his previous life, Blake’s combat group refused to tackle the Mander scenario more than a single time per day after almost losing Jeff, their Psionic user, to heat exhaustion when the flame shield wore off. In some ways, the temperature was more dangerous than the monsters.

He hated being hungry and thirsty.

At the time, he was more than happy to go along with the rule. Now that he knew Earth would not be ready for the first invasion, he felt differently. He needed to do everything in his power to push himself and his faction, or history would repeat itself.

I need to talk to mom.

While he waited within the scenario, Blake had stewed on the interview he witnessed. The way Donna planned to recruit was not going to work. While she sat opposite their new recruit, Blake refrained from comment. He knew enough of leadership to never have a disagreement before a subordinate.

Once his dessert was finished, Kuruk, their new blacksmith, agreed to work for them. At the same time, Blake’s shield finally finished its assembly. He decided to exit the Mander planet and head back to Earth before he held the difficult conversation. It was going to be challenging enough to correct his mother, he might as well be comfortable while he did it.

“Hey mom,” he nodded in greeting when Donna answered.

His mother frowned. “Are you doing okay? Your skin looks VERY red.”

“I’m fine,” he insisted. “It's from the heat. It’ll be completely gone in a few days like it was never there.” Blake waved her concern away.

“If you say so,” she said, doubtfully. “Do you want me to walk back to the kitchen so we can talk with your father, too? He’s still cleaning. You know how he can’t stand it dirty.”

Blake shook his head. “No, I just wanted to talk about the way we’re going to recruit people in the future.”

“So did I,” she agreed with a nod. “I think we’re going to need some proof to show them if we want them to agree to accept the nanos.”

Blake smiled inwardly.

Good, she’s thinking about how to do a better job already. Much more approachable than my old Chancellor.

“That’s the thing, the nanos themselves are proof. We don’t need to show them anything, just transfer the little buggers over, and a few minutes later they’re in the collective.”

“That’s…” she frowned and then took a deep breath. “Blake, that would be wrong. You can’t subject someone to something like that without their informed consent.”

“Normally, I would agree with you, but this is different. By the end of June, every single person on the planet is going to receive nanomachines, whether they want them or not. All we’re doing is recruiting them to the Collective early to save their lives.”

She shook her head. “That just means the Architect is at fault. That doesn’t mean we have to stoop down to its level.”

“Oh, I agree. The Architect’s a heartless bastard that enjoys toying with us. But, you’re looking at it the wrong way. We aren’t stooping down to its level, we’re saving people from it,” he emphasized with passion.

“Blake…” she hesitated. “There’s right, and then there’s wrong. You can’t…”

“I disagree,” he interrupted. “There’s the living, and the dead. You’ve had the luxury of living in a world where giving someone a choice is an option. Tell me this, if you knew all of humanity would die unless you transferred nano to people against their will, would you do it?”

“Well of course I would, but that’s a slippery slope! First, you’re adding them to the Collective for their own good, next, you’re forcing them to fight goblins or go hungry. What happens after that, do you force them to kill humans that don’t agree with you, or they die?”

Blake frowned. Her logic was closer to the future than he’d like. Many factions did force people to kill their enemies on threat of death. His last group, ‘Knights Honor’, was not one of those, but he had seen it happen.

“I would never force someone to kill anyone or anything,” he stressed. “But, many will have to. You’ll find out that humans are the worst kind of monster.”

“And what happens if you ask, and they refuse?”

Blake could feel the heat in her voice as she pressed him for an answer.

“It depends on the situation. But, if you’re looking for the worst case, then they are kicked out of the faction and exiled.”

“So, they kill or starve.” She sounded disappointed in him. “Just as I feared.”

Blake shook his head. “No, that punishment only pertains to criminals and combat classes who refuse to contribute. You’re right, it would be a death sentence for non-combatants, but it’s different for those who can fight. They have the strength they need to survive.”

“Blake,” she said, her voice strained. He noticed a concerned clarity in her eyes. “I’m worried about you.”

He wiped the cold sweat from his brow. “Then, as my Chancellor, you can be the one to keep me in check. You can make sure I don’t turn into a dictator.”

“I will,” she agreed.

“Will you transfer nano to recruits to save their lives?” he pressed.

Donna hesitated and then tried a different tactic. “But, what if they’re not what we’re looking for? Wouldn’t that waste a million nano?”

Instead of answering her question, he asked one of his own. “Do you trust Jordan’s judgment?”

She nodded slowly.

“Then there’s your answer,” he shrugged.

“What was the point of the interview if we just go off his word?”

“To invite them into the faction and explain to them what’s going to happen.”

“And if Jordan’s wrong?” she pressed.

“Then we kick them out. They’ll still have the nano long before everyone else, and they'll have the knowledge to survive. Even on their own, they’ll have a MUCH higher chance than most people.” Blake saw her open her mouth to protest, so he raised his hand. “Look, mom, this is why I wanted you to be Chancellor. Think of yourself as their manager. It’s your job to make sure everyone does what they’re supposed to, and let them know if they aren't. I won’t have time for that, especially once we get more people. If they aren’t contributing, let them know, and tell them the consequences. If they still refuse to help…” Blake shook his head. “Well, that’s on them, not us.”

Donna gazed down at her hands on the table. She continued to stare until she came to a decision. His mother looked up into his eyes with determination and then nodded. “I’ll do it, even if I still think it’s wrong. But, I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t have to resort to something even more horrible. I’m going to constantly push back whenever I think something you suggest is immoral. I’ll make sure you never take it too far.”

Blake let out a sigh of relief and then nodded. “Good. Wouldn’t have it any other way.” He then smiled. “Thanks, mom. I love you.”

Her stern expression broke, and her lips curled upward. “I love you too, honey.”

After that, he ended the awkward holo-chat and rifled through his pack to warm some food. He was starving, and wanted to eat two large meals before he attempted another scenario. While he waited for his dinner to finish, he contacted Jordan through the interface as well.

After a short wait, the cowboy appeared in his vision, with the half completed blacksmith’s workshop in the background.

“What can I do you for?” the man asked in a southern accent.

“I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing.”

“I’m doing mighty fine,” Jordan grinned. “Actually, I wish all projects were this convenient.”

Blake tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“That warehouse you chose is a Godsend.”

“Oh, it’s finished already?” he asked.

Jordan nodded. “Just a couple hours ago. Right after, the moment I picked up a board, it asked if I wanted to store it inside. I figured, why the hell not, let’s see what happens.” He smiled. “It disappeared right out of my hands like it was never there. Then, when I wanted it back, it reappeared like magic. Once I figured it out, I sent everything on the flatbed to the warehouse. Ever since then, I’ve been making much more progress. Do you know how convenient it is for a nail to appear between your fingers without having to reach into a pouch?”

Blake grinned at the rhetorical question. He had never seen the contractor so animated and excited. The man always appeared unflappable and dispassionate, no matter what the situation.

“How goes the progress on the workshop?” he asked.

“Much faster than expected,” Jordan admitted. “I didn’t realize how much of a difference that warehouse would make. I think I might actually finish by tomorrow evening before I head home.”

“Nice!” Blake grinned at the good news. “Would it go faster if you had someone else there to help?”

“Not really. With the way this AI stuff works, the only thing they could do is hand me stuff, and the warehouse does that on its own.”

Blake nodded absently. “Okay, keep up the good work. I’ll let you get back to it. I just wanted to see if you needed anything.”

The man shook his head. “Not a thing. You take care.”

“You too,” Blake responded and cut the holo-chat.

His food was finally warm, and his stomach rebelled. He removed the hot chemical packet from the package and dug into his meal. It was salty and somehow also bland, but he was already focused on his future.

Once he was full, he would pack and then reenter the Mander portal with his new shield. If it worked the way he expected, it would allow him to safely complete the scenario without fear of burns or scars. That was, at least, until it absorbed too much heat and broke apart.

Hopefully it lasts long enough for me to buy my class.

He absently checked his status while he ate, curious of his progress.

Nano - 111m

At one hundred and eleven million nano, he was over an eighth of his way to his goal of eight hundred million.

So, if I get about fifty million nano per scenario, and finish two per day, that’s one more week to get my class. Completely insane!

The speed of his progress was still mind-boggling. He could even increase it further if he were willing to complete three or four scenarios per day. However, even with the new shield’s aid, Blake felt it was too dangerous. His body and mind could only take so much abuse before he would begin to make mistakes. He already had burns across his hands and face that would make his fights more difficult, there was no reason to risk further damage to his body. Not to mention his constant need to eat.

Once he finished his meal, he replaced his old buckler with the new fire-absorbent kite-shield, and collected supplies. With one last look around to ensure he did not forget anything, he took a deep breath and then stepped through the portal and into the void.

He increased the difficulty to level one, as he had before, and was spit out into an oven. The stark contrast between the frigid cold of the Arizona mountains and the sweltering heat of the Mander caves was dramatic.

Drops of sweat immediately ran down his face as he scanned the tight corridor for threats. Once he was sure of his safety, he dropped his extra bottles of water, hoped he did not need them, and equipped his shield.

Woah!

The moment he wrapped his hand around the kite-shield’s grip, the heat which assaulted his body disappeared. He no longer felt as if he were being cooked alive. Instead, his shield absorbed the discomfort for him. The relief was instantaneous. Curious, he checked the shield’s durability.

Still one hundred percent.

The effect was amazing. He had never received a piece of equipment like this before, and could not help but chuckle at his good luck. Again he thought back to how Rajesh would have given thanks to the Architect, but Blake refused to praise the evil AI.

In the past, his group had used a spell to survive the heat. Flame Shield performed a function similar to his new shield, but at level one, it only lasted for an hour and took almost as long before it could be recast. That meant that until the spell evolved, only a single person in his old four-man group was protected.

Unfortunately, because Blake had the highest Physical and Magical Resistance in his party, he was never the recipient of the spell. Montgomery, their crazy mana user, had the lowest Physical Resistance, so it was agreed he was the lucky one to be protected. By the time Montgomery’s spell evolved to encompass the entire group, they no longer fought against Manders.

I can’t believe how nice this is.

He pushed on through the tunnels, eager to see how it fared against their magical attacks. Blake was so confident in his new protection, he almost skipped through the corridor. However, he contained his enthusiasm.

When he turned a corner and found his first group of four Manders, he grinned in excitement. Before they could even react, he sprinted, shield before him. Over the top of the shield, he saw all four tongues gyrate with strange motions.

Good, they’re all mana users.

He barreled forward and slammed into the closest enemy. The Mander was thrown against the glowing wall behind it and slid toward the ground, stunned.

Before it hit the rock below, Blake thrust his longsword into the next closest Mander’s open mouth. The blade severed its lengthy tongue, pierced through the roof of its wide maw, and into its brain.

Flames suddenly shot from the furthest enemy’s mouth. The horizontal column was directed toward his unprotected face, but at the last moment, the plume was redirected to his new shield.

“Hah!” he barked with glee and rushed forward to end the threat.

The hard surface of his shield slammed into the Mander’s open mouth and extinguished the torrent of flames. A quick slash of his sword ended the threat, and he moved on to the last uninjured foe.

It finished its long spell-form before he could rush its position. To his surprise, light blinded his eyes while a crack of sound assaulted his ears. Lightning streaked through the air, faster than he could follow, and slammed into his right leg.

A blackened hole was burned into his leather trousers, yet the skin below remained relatively unharmed. Before it could launch itself toward him, Blake quickly slashed his longsword through its neck. He executed the original, stunned, enemy, and then examined his wound.

Where a wide hole was burned into his armor, only a tiny cauterized gash in his skin lay beneath. He moved his leg around in the air and felt no pain nor restriction of movement.

Huh, that lightning produced heat, I wonder why it didn’t intercept the attack?

Blake was not sure how exactly the enchantment placed upon the shield worked. However, it seemed to function perfectly against the Mander’s most common method of attack, fire. He once again checked the durability of the new shield and was surprised at how well it stood up to attack.

Still at ninety-eight percent durability. This might just last me until I get my class.

With a grin on his face, Blake continued along the tunnel, eager to continue his fight.