The Deviance

Part 6 - Super Nova

There was a familiarity now when Christophe reconnected with Bastion's mind, he felt encompassed by energy every time they made contact, but he could recognize this energy as it carried an emotional tinge to it, a signature so to say that seemed to reflect Bastion's memory of the brazen man.

<We know the thing we are asking of you is a huge burden, one that can cost you not just your place in this society, but your life.> Christophe sent gently, <But now is the time for you to choose your path, I can either erase us from your memory or work through you to ensure that your mind remains free and yet augmented in a way that will serve our purpose.>

<Why bother even ask my permission? If you can erase memories, surely you can use your power to control my mind to do as you wish anyway.> Bastion replied, <That is not our way Bastion, the idea of taking someone's free will with our gift is, abhorrent to us.> Christophe sent, rippling his disgust at the idea through their connection, <When you spend your entire life sharing the way that we do, individuality, freedom of thought, and life itself becomes so precious to you that you would rather destroy your gift than use it in such a way.>

Bastion believed him and he was panged with guilt and fear, he knew in his heart that he had to help these people, they deserved a chance to live free, but he also knew that in doing so he would set himself on a path that would cost him everything, one that he would never return from intact. There was an old earth saying that "Ignorance is Bliss", and for the first time in his life, he wished he was capable of ignorance. Christophe exhibited patience, and it was the first time since the two men met that was devoid of his usual mocking and disdain. <Do it.> Bastion sent resolved in his determination to help the Deviants. <No, my Bastion, you'll be the one to do it, don't you see, that's what makes you so special! Your side of our species has also evolved, what I can do with the mind, you can do with machines and your body, that's what we need if we're ever going to stand a chance to win.>

The truth hit him like a ton of bricks, he never really realized or could explain why he was so good at genetic manipulation and was able to master and use his augmentations in such an efficient way. He simply believed that he was intellectually gifted, which is why he excelled at everything that he did, but now he finally understood why he was able to perceive the truth about things, and why he was often able to do things with ease that more senior people than him struggled with despite their experience.

<I can show you the way, for decades my people have studied how you cyborgs work and function, I can give you what we've learned so that you can reach into yourself and the augmentation to keep you free of the Authority, but able to manipulate them.> Christophe sent.

He felt his mind being enclosed by Christophe's energy, it was like having his mind engulfed by a blanket of hot white light. It created an intimacy that he had yet to experience working with the telepath, and for a moment it was frightening. His mind rebelled against the alien-ness of it, struggling like a fish caught in a net. <Don't fight me my Bastion, relax into the merging of our minds, it gets easier as time passes, I won't hurt you.>, he sent to his friend, Bastion forced himself to obey, he knew without a doubt that Christophe was not lying, could not lie, with their minds merged like this, <I understand.> he said, relaxing into the merge.

What happened next felt like a supernova exploded in his mind, he became so closely connected with Christophe that it felt as though his very being was entwined with the telepaths, and in that moment of recognition, he sensed the collective minds of the entire race. He felt stripped naked, and vulnerable, <Do not fear us Bastion, there's nothing to fear, we cannot hurt you without hurting ourselves.> many voices echoed into his mind, it also came with a sense of calm he had never experienced before. <The price we pay for this closeness, is that honesty, and that surety that we cannot kill anyone with our gift, welcome to the collective, and thank you for your service.>, and just as quickly as they came, the multitude of minds left him alone with Christophe.

<Is it always like that? So, intense and encompassing?> he asked, Christophe, replied, <Like that and so much more, if I showed you what it really was like it would burn a hole in your mind, you can't ever fully experience our closeness through the Gift, and your experience with your cybernetics is but a pale substitute.> The telepath drew Bastions psychic essence closer to him, <Time is short, I'm going to give you the information you need to survive this augmentation intact, you need to assimilate it the same way you do data from the web, the make the changes. I can only guide you, but I can't help you, are you ready?> he said, and Bastion signaled his acceptance for whatever was to happen next.

In an instant the knowledge was transferred directly into Bastion's mind, it was unlike anything he ever experienced before. Accessing data with his cybernetics was one thing, data was uploaded into his processing unit, and that unit converted that data to his brain's memory cells, depending on how much data he took in, it could take hours, or even days to be fully useable. Accessing through the web had changed how humans learned significantly, but there was a gap where a person had to draw the data down assimilate it into knowledge. What he experienced now was a seamless flow of data and understanding.

Now he understood what Christophe meant about his talent, he was able to perceive and understand his own body down to a cellular level, and if he wanted to, he could change his cells to suit his needs. He was also able to do the same thing with cybernetics. He realized that he had the ability to affect matter on a subatomic level by simply reaching out with his energy, he also realized that this was how Christophe's telepathy worked, he was just able to manipulate a different type of energy.

<Good, very good, you're quicker than we hoped my Bastion, your chances of surviving this is even better than I hoped.>, Christophe said, <I thought for a moment you were getting soft with me, I think almost missed your sarcasm, now tell me what to do next>, Bastion sent back projecting his amusement with it, <I was getting to that, let me gloat at my own handy work for a moment!>, he replied with a feeling of smugness, and a bit of surprise, usually nontelepaths were not able to reciprocate emotion through the link, Bastion was proving to be more interesting than he thought.

<Your augmentation doesn't just help you access in web, or process data better, or sustain your physical body with the nanotech repair technology, every bit of cybernetics implanted into you is also designed to monitor and feed everything you do back into the Authority. We're not sure how exactly, but it seems like at the core of the authority there are combines of programing that sifts through all the data. The system then can take steps if a person's free will is threatening the greater good of the Authority, and the same way they can re-write cells with the nanites, they can also re-write a person's mind and personality, they can upload shadows of your consciousness they back up if it suites them or delete, you were on the cusp of discovering this truth yourself, and if we did not intervene they would have erased that memory and subverted your thinking to avoid it.>

Bastion processed what he was being told and was afire with the curiosity of his new way of viewing his own body and its augmentations, <What's the solution? If I cut the connection won't it simply alert the Authority that somethings wrong?"> he asked, <Yes, it will, so what we'll show you now is how to hijack your software and encourage your cybernetics to re-write itself, limit what is uploaded into the system, free you from potential interference from the Authority, and if we're lucky, give you a back door into the mainframes.> Christophe sent, with projected excitement, <Are you ready to try?> he asked gently, <Yes, I am.>, Bastion replied.

Their connection intensified again, and he felt the power of the collective minds of the telepaths filling him with the knowledge he needed to make the change, much like before he felt engulfed by their energy, and his mind became flooded with data and understanding. Different telepaths left different bits of information in his mind, and he felt Christophe there, weaving it all together for him in a way that he could ingest and understand. He felt like his mind was about to explode with the overload of it all and he almost cried out from the intensity, then it stopped and slowly the collective minds dropped away leaving him only with his thoughts and with Christophe, he clung to him mentally, holding on to him like an anchor. <You shouldn't be able to hold me this way.> Christophe sent with surprise, <You're more remarkable than I could even imagine my Bastion.> and then there was nothing, only a calm shared between the two. The calm before the storm.