Übermensch (3rd Edition)

Day 004, 10:01:00

Glory.

I am kneeling, with the Id EIS head also bowed to the white floor below me.

"Id."

I look up, at...

The Master, its solemn grey face staring down at me, stands tall while the bloated-red sun hangs over its right shoulder in ashen sky. "It was my wish to honor you for the Quest, but after we returned from the Twelve I would reward you as well." A FLASH as a sword of white light appears in its grey hand. The Master taps it to the Id EIS left shoulder, then the right. "Rise."

I stand...

"Id EIS Secondary and Tertiary body controls are now unlocked," it announces.

The Id Enclosed Intergrated System (EIS) secondary and tertiary controls unlock.

A howl of triumph sounds behind us, along with a feminine shout of pride.

The Id EIS awareness deepens through skin, fMuscle, threaded organelles, permabone, also suffusing flowing aBlood enriching outwards and suffusing further inwards smaller to nanites inspecting, repairing, and navigating it all, communicating. Tenuously microscopic, to dBacteria, and... shudderingly –

"Breathe. Focus on breathing."

I slow breathing, drawing it in, and out... and in... and out... in... out...

"Relax control of the body."

I relax...

"Gently. Let. Go."

New control slips away...

(I...)

"Observe the whole," comes a whisper.

I perceive: the standing Id EIS breathing, the living Id EIS existing, the layered Id EIS unifying...

(2nd Generation Nervous System.)

"Hold out the right palm."

I hold it out.

The Master also holds its grey palm out, mirrored. "Watch." From its palm flows up a red substance, slowly forming into the shape of an apple. Becoming solid, red and round and ripe, stem brown...

I watch.

The Master brings up the apple, takes a crunching bite and begins chewing. "The ability to change. Create. Destroy." Swallowing, it smiles. "Now you do the same."

I look down upon the Id EIS palm.

"Focus on the smallest control," it urges. "Producing smartmatter inside, directing the nanites alongside, both up, and out, producing more up, and out, producing..."

I am FOCUSING, and slowly cause the formation of a white substance spilling up through the Id EIS palm...

"Direct the smartmatter to redden, and firm, into the shape of an apple."

Focusing: the white substance continuously spilling up into the Id EIS palm begins reddening, forming now towards the shape of an apple...

"Make it organic," the Master hisses. "Sweet flesh, harder skin. Make it whole."

... and red, it grows firm and heavy in the Id EIs hand, a brown stem poking up from the top, until I am holding an apple.

Oh...

I look up.

The Master smiles. "Now take a bite."

I do so, chew briefly before sharing a small frown. "It does not taste... good."

It laughts. "This is a first internal creation; there will be discrepancies." A brief pause. "Have you ever eaten an apple?"

"No."

"Of course. Well." The Master closes its grey hand over its apple, then opens up again to reveal its suddenly empty grey palm. "Now re-constitute the apple back to the most basic controllable constituents."

I focus, and the red apple begins dissolving...

"Now."

Focus SHARPENS, and dissolving apple immediately collapses immediately back into white particles swiftly absorbed back inside through the Id EIS palmskin.

Done.

"Better. Now for a deeper test: first step." Iron lines form as the edges of a cube floating above The Master's grey palm, then swiftly fill inwards until a solid iron cube rests upon its palm.

Hm.

"Begin."

I focus, smartmatter/nanites flowing from the Id EIS palm up into the lines of a cube slowly shading to iron, then filling inwards until a solid iron cube rests upon the Id EIS palm, whole.

The Master gives a slight frown. "Now for the harder part." Its iron cube rises slowly, then floats steadily a few centimeters above its grey palm.

How can... wait. Of course.

I sink deeper yet into the new Id EIS 2nd Generation Nervous awareness...

(There.)

Inside of me: smartmatter begins flowing around the Id EIS inner wrist, molding into a circlet of metal around permabone, nanites assisting with subtler parts of this gravimetrics band, until...

(Done.)

I come up again, from that deeper awareness... while the iron cube rises slowly, then begins floating steadily a few centimeters above the Id EIS palm.

"Good," The Master admits grudgingly.

I flush.

"Now for the last step." Its iron cube begins to slowly rotate above its grey palm, newly facing side lightening silver before the next facing side is darkening black and the next is shading to grey and finally the last is clearing to crystal.

Ok.

I breathe in deeply.

Focus.

The iron cube above the Id EIS palm begins to slowly rotate, newly facing side lightening silver before the next facing side is darkening to black tungsten and the next is shading to grey titanium and the finally clears to crystal. I look up for validation...

But The Master remains standing still before me, its expression now blank.

(It...)

Multi-faced cube abruptly dissolving away, its open grey hand begins relaxing, the arm coming down slowly afterwards. "Very good," The Master says in a voice gone distant. "This will become second nature, in time... and add further functionality, until..."

Silence.

Flushed, I finally dissolve the multi-faced cube above the Id EIS palm, bringing the arm down to mirror it late.

Silence.

"That other boon," The Master eventually whispers, "of which you asked..."

I nod.

"... it is done. I have the subjects, for testing."

"Thank you!"

Dark laughter.

I wait...

Endless.

"These Subjects are no sweet gift," The Master finally continues. "They are dangerous almost beyond the effort of containment. If the De-Evolution Trigger cannot turn them..."

Silence.

"At your will," I say, giving a final bow.