Mask of Humanity

As they moved through the corridor Nicolai worked to build a rapport with Daksh, asking him about what he’d been through, what he’d done on earth, and telling the man of his own experiences. He’d also lightened his load by having Daksh carry one of the bags.

‘Didn’t you appear here with a number of other people? That seems to be how most groups started.’ Nicolai had no actual interest in this subject, but he had to find something to talk about. This was how people bonded.

‘Yeah. I did.’ Daksh’s expression wavered then grew firm. ‘There was this guy. More augmented than the rest. Some time after we’d all crawled out of the crypt, he just stabbed someone. Then someone else. Started killing everyone. I… I ran. I don’t know what happened to them, or him.’

‘That sucks,’ said Nicolai, making a sad face and nodding. ‘Something similar happened to me. Two guys killed everyone as they spawned.’

‘Jesus. How’d you get out of that?’

‘I killed them.’

‘Oh.’ Daksh blinked at him.

Nicolai gazed back, rethinking his words. Was that too straight? Should I have lied? He wasn’t sure.

‘I’m sorry you had to do that,’ said Daksh, and he actually extended his hand and put it on Nicolai’s shoulder.

Nicolai struggled with the urge to take that hand and break it. ‘Thank you.’ He managed, before shaking Daksh off. From his Soul Sense he knew the man was entirely sincere, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Killing those two men was a bright point in his recent memories, something that made the darkness within him purr to think of. This, he knew, was yet another sign of his continuously deriding control, but he couldn’t deny how… happy he was to think of the memory. He ought to be keeping a journal, or something like that. It’s what the psychologists had suggested.

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I feel bad about it.’ The words emerged wooden and fake from his mouth. He tried to get his Mask to make him feel bad, because he wanted to know what that would feel like and he hoped it would improve his act. His Mask failed to provide the proper emotions. He was beginning to realise it was not some complete, perfect representation of normal human emotions and values. It was something he was in the process of cobbling together, driven by his desire to be more human, and it was limited by his incomplete understanding of what human was. Beyond that, it was formed from him. It made sense that it was a little off-kilter.

He felt an abyss beginning to open beneath him, clutching and dragging, and he knew what was in that abyss. The endless, circular thoughts of whether he was truly human or not. Whether Nicolai existed or if he was just an AI’s invention. But why would any AI invent and pretend to be some murderous psychopath, especially one with such a shaky grasp on their sanity? It didn’t make any—

‘Yes,’ he said, obliterating the thoughts. ‘I…’ He did his best to work out what someone might say, a less fake version. ‘It was terrible.’ He watched Daksh carefully to see whether he’d passed, whether these new words had covered up his first attempt.

Daksh had stopped, and turned to stare at him, looking… concerned? Then the man dropped the bag and his body shifted and Nicolai read the movements, saw that he was about to lunge forwards. They were too close for Nicolai to effectively use the shotgun. As Daksh came Nicolai bobbed out of the way, drawing a knife and moving quick, an arm snaking out to grab Daksh and draw him in close to be stabbed.

Daksh tottered, surprised, his two arms raised and extended as though he’d intended to… to hug Nicolai.

Nicolai lowered his grasping hand and slid the knife back into its sheath before Daksh could see the glint of it, stepping back.

‘Uh… sorry,’ said Daksh, recovering himself.

‘Let’s continue on,’ said Nicolai, his smile increasingly strained, his Mask quaking at the awkwardness it felt and trying to make him feel it, too. Nicolai slipped aside from those emotions just as he’d slipped away from Daksh’s attempt to hug him.

Daksh seemed to have completely forgotten or forgiven Nicolai’s earlier brutality towards him, which he found astonishing enough that he started to more seriously consider the possibility that Daksh was a masterful liar with betrayal hidden in his heart.

Threat Analysis said he was just being paranoid, but he determined to keep a close eye on the man regardless.

They reached the painting room, climbed the stairs, and Nicolai waved at the camera, connecting to the others other Local.

In a moment the door was opened by old Ben, who peered with a combination of shock and suspicion at Daksh. Over the man’s shoulder Nicolai saw the others looking less suspicious, more curious.

‘Who’s this?’ asked old Ben.

‘New guy,’ Nicolai replied. ‘I picked him up.’

Old Ben frowned, somehow appearing even more suspicious. Nicolai’s Soul Sense told him that this suspicion was aimed at him, far more than at Daksh. His Mask felt this was unfair but Nicolai knew it was, in fact, entirely fair. The old man should be wary of him. They all should.

‘What?’ he asked, matching old Ben’s stare with a blank face.

‘Eh? Nothing, nothing.’ The old man looked past him and extended a hand to Daksh, ‘I’m Ben. Old Ben, this lot calls me.’

‘Daksh.’ Daksh smiled and gripped the hand.

Nicolai glanced over at where Jo, Perro, Azure, Beth, Elena, Sara and Katie were all sitting around the tables and chairs in the common room. Nicolai saw that jo, Perro and Azure all had their Seed’s Soul Sense tendrils out and moving around, continuing to practise, which told him they’d not yet bonded their Seeds. Kleos was set on the table in the midst of them. The head had been requesting to be left in the common area, more and more these days, a request Nicolai was willing to accede. He, too, would have grown bored being stuck in a vat of liquid.

‘Hey new guy!’ Azure waved from where she sat. The others didn’t join her in the wave, regarding Daksh with wary interest.

Nicolai dumped his bag on the ground, Daksh doing the same, then the new recruit was quick to head over, immediately returning the greeting, a beaming smile on his face.

Nicolai sank into the background and observed. First came the expected confusion and shock over Kleos, the talking severed head, and then they treated the man with typical reticence, but as Daksh launched into the story of how he’d started in this new world and then the struggles he’d endured, Nicolai sensed them quickly warming to the man. Daksh had something about him. A willingness to go a little deeper than most, showing more than just the surface layer, inviting others to do the same. He was winning them over. At least, most of them.

‘So you’ve just been sneaking about, spying and stealing from people?’ Cait asked, arms crossed and a decidedly unimpressed expression on her face.

Daksh sighed. ‘Well… that’s a pretty apt summary. Yeah.’ He let out a miserable chuckle. ‘Felt more like a rat than a man, sometimes. Just some creature grubbing around, always in search of the next meal. Uh, now, I don’t want to impose. But I don’t suppose anyone has some food?’

Cait sighed and provided him a chunk of sustaining-seed fruit. Kleos was curious about Daksh’s arm and Daksh readily explained its function.

Nicolai watched, and his Mask learned. There was something quite likeable about Daksh, even he could feel it. He wanted to learn the skill for himself. He was also realising Daksh had more value than expected.

‘So, you must know the locations of quite a few groups?’ he broke in to ask the man.

Daksh looked up, surprised. ‘I do.’ His brow creased, and Nicolai felt wariness from him. ‘Why?’

Nicolai smiled. ‘We’re traders, that’s why. Looking to arm people against the Chosen.’

Daksh’s eyes widened. ‘I was wondering about all of this,’ he said, looking around at the various Trade Link items.

‘We’ve got access to the Trade Link,’ said Azure, a smug smile on her face.

‘Some of us do,’ murmured old Ben.

Nicolai ignored that. ‘We’re working to sell weapons and more to the other groups. Good for us, good for them. If you can tell me the location of any groups, I can go help them out.’

Daksh nodded, appearing to relax. Likely he’d worried Nicolai intended to go and murder or rob them. He needn’t worry; Nicolai currently saw no reason to do that, as repeat customers were of more value than a one-time take. After that Daksh was willing to answer Nicolai’s questions, first mentioning the people he said were “decent enough seeming, just not the trusting type,” then, more guardedly, mentioning the more dangerous groups, who he said Nicolai ought not to sell too.

Nicolai gave a noncommittal grunt to that. He considered himself an equal-opportunity trader. If people could pay for the goods they’d get the goods. No time to be picky when he needed to get stronger as quick as possible. He didn’t know how long he actually had to find the Lizard.

As Nicolai observed, he idly wove his Soul Sense tendril through the room. With three of them having their Seed’s Soul Sense tendrils out and waving around, avoiding them was an interesting challenge. The large amount of spiritual movement in the room also gave rise to noticeable ripples through the Aura. He was finding that by paying close attention to these ripples he could guess who they’d come from.

Perro’s were uncertain, Azure’s boisterous, Jo’s calm. The ripples Beth gave off were stronger, and had a kind of signature to them. A taste of fire, which he found strange. It was different to the others, less a sense of her personality, more of something else. Her Symbiote? Was he able to sense roughly what she was equipped with?

His Soul Sense brushed hers and she glanced over at him, like he’d tapped her on the shoulder. He made an apologetic face and retracted his Soul Sense. The sense of fire had been clear. He would describe it as a kind of… crawling fire. A centipedey fire. Her Symbiote.

This thought prompted him to rise, requesting that Jo and Beth to prepare themselves as they’d be heading out. Fortunately it seemed Beth was willing to accept a half-day off and not a full one, as she didn’t protest. He took Kleos with him into his room, and there questioned the head as he dug around in his bags.

‘I have noticed I can get a vague impression of the Symbiotes someone has on them by feeling at them with my Soul Sense. Is this normal?’ he asked.

‘It is, but it isn’t guaranteed,’ said Kleos. ‘It’s possible to hide the signature your Symbiotes leak. In fact, with skilled control of ones Soul, it is even possible to create “fake” signatures, in order to mislead people who are examining you in such a manner.’

Nicolai had suspected as much. ‘How do I hide the signatures?’

Kleos clicked its teeth. ‘Difficult. Especially at your level. You need to search for the signature, it will be leaking, near invisibly, from your Soul. It’s hard to find, and the weaker your Soul is compared to the Symbiote, the harder it is to hide. Easiest way is to use the Symbiote, that’ll make the signature stronger and easier to notice. Right now, with barely any Nodes and still in the clearing stage, it’ll be difficult for you to hide it. Still, if you want to try then start by attempting to find the leak. Once you’ve done that, well, I imagine you’d be able to work out how to stop it, it’s not overly complex in principle. It just requires focus, concentration, and practise. Worth doing, though. It’ll improve your control over your Soul, something everyone should seek to work at.’

Kleos paused, looking thoughtful. ‘I don’t imagine it’ll be hugely useful at this moment, though. Your people are clueless about Symbiotes. I’d be very surprised if one of your fellow humans were to not only sense the signatures you give off, but then use that to guess your Symbiotes. In order to do so someone needs a fair bit of experience with Symbiotes, needs to have felt many and learned what they feel like. But once you’ve got a full system, multiple Symbiotes, and you’re taking on people who actually know what they’re doing, it’ll become very important.’

Nicolai nodded, a little surprised by how wordy Kleos had been. The head seemed in a talkative mood. Nicolai had things to do, but if he found time he would attempt what Kleos had said. For now, he had another intention. Nicolai pulled out a little metal box and opened it, looking at the green stick nestled on a bed of silk within.

The Yin-Yang Rotation incense stick.

‘What do you think?’ he asked, holding it before Kleos.

The head’s eyebrows raised. ‘Nice. Where’d you get it?’

Nicolai explained that he’d used a Market upgrade permit and gained access to a Market with Cultivation supplies. He was surprised to note that Kleos seemed quite confused by all of this. It transpired the head had never had much interaction with Trade Links in its life. Apparently this world had been something of a backwater. Kleos said the Trade Links had likely been added only once the world was pulled into the Great Game.

After confirming the stick was safe, he asked Kleos to explain how he should use it.

‘Simply light it, and breathe in what it releases. You’ll feel the energy inside of you. Once you’ve got the energy, direct it to one Node, or spread it between multiple.’

Nicolai considered that. He still wasn’t sure if it was worth using. ‘Will it still work, even though my lung Nodes aren’t finished?’

Kleos wore a thoughtful frown. ‘It should, assuming your system works on the same general principles I’m used to. Since the lung area is where it would absorb anyway, it should be able to go straight into your forming Nodes and improve them directly. It might be slightly less efficient than if you’re Nodes were finished, but if so it should be only marginally so.

Good enough. Before beginning Nicolai tapped his Mark.

User Interface 376 | User #53,217

- Cultivation

Total Nodes: 1 Major, 2 Minor

Available unconstructed Nodes: 0 Major, 3 Minor

- Nodes in progress;

Right Lung (Finalising: 71%)

Left Lung (Finalising: 71%)

Completed Nodes;

Heart (Flawless) (100/100)

Nicolai used a lighter he’d purchased from the Market’s clutter section to light the incense stick.

Sweet smelling vapour rose from it in a small but steady stream. Nicolai found that this vapour was somehow touchable with his Soul Sense, and he was able to guide it it toward him. The vapour curved through the air and into his mouth as he breathed in.

Nicolai closed his eyes and observed its journey through his windpipe with his internal Soul Sense. The vapour began emitting bright energy the moment it was inside of him, and that intensified when it reached his lungs, forming a furnace that sent pulses through him, and it remained there even as he breathed out.

He did his best to seize on the energy and direct it with his Soul, and he managed to halfway succeed. He felt his unfinished lung Nodes doing something, aiding him slightly with the process. Fortunately, half control was good enough, as the energy was already gravitating to the Nodes. His main focus was ensuring it was an even split. The energy poured into the Nodes which pulsed and hummed, drinking it in greedily.

In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the incense stick finished burning. With the cessation of the vapour Nicolai felt the furnace of energy in his lungs fading. He relaxed, and looked his Nodes over carefully with his internal eye.

They had significantly progressed.

User Interface 376 | User #53,217

- Cultivation

Total Nodes: 1 Major, 2 Minor

Available unconstructed Nodes: 0 Major, 3 Minor

- Nodes in progress;

Right Lung (Finalising: 96%)

Left Lung (Finalising: 96%)

Completed Nodes;

Heart (Flawless) (100/100)

An addition of twenty-five percent, each… That meant one Yin-Yang Rotation stick, applied to a single Node, would boost its finalisation by fifty-percent. Two should therefore allow him to finish a Node just about instantly.

At long last his Nodes were almost complete. By the end of the day they would be finished.

###

A short time later he gathered Jo and Beth, having them fully arm themselves. Jo had recovered from her injury now, mostly, and was in acceptable health. With the two of them as backup he intended to finally go and investigate the library. He would use the keys he’d gained to head to the top floor, complete Maric’s Quest, write Kleos’ name in the book, and steal anything of value he could get his hands on. He also brought the cordless disc cutter, as Kleos had told him books on the higher levels might be chained to their places.

He was especially hopeful to find something detailing Symbiotes and Cultivation in more detail, as he found his knowledge to be extremely lacking, and Kleos had told him that he was likely to find both. The head had told him the books on the upper floor—which, with suspicious convenience, was also where the book Kleos wanted him to write in would be found—would contain knowledge on those subjects.

When he looked at the earth Market and the listings of items within, he knew exactly what to buy. He knew the pros and cons, the relative values, the best and worse picks.

But when he looked at the Cultivation Market, and when he considered the tasks of Symbiote finding and refining, his mind was empty. He knew that there were schools of thought and learning which were completely unknown to him. Now that he was a Cultivator in truth, he needed to change that as soon as possible, and he hoped the library would provide him the methods to do so.

Perro approached him as he was leaving, talking about Maxine in the tower. The boy was very keen that they go rescue her. Supposedly her food was almost gone. Nicolai promised Perro that once they were back from the library, she was next on the list. Now that he’d gained the Market Upgrade and could properly plan for the future, he was willing to work on fulfilling secondary objectives. Maxine held a place in his designs, but the Library came first. He’d been putting it off for long enough.

Fully armed, he and the girls made their way down the stairs and out of the safe-place to begin their journey to the library.

As he went, Nicolai’s thoughts turned to the guardian Kleos had said would be there. Kleos had told him it was dangerous, and to be wary.

It sounded to him like it would be a difficult fight. Perhaps that should have made him wary of the place, but it did the exact opposite. A difficult fight was what he wanted.

There were eyes in the walls, and they were watching him.