Planet XSQ-1827, Substation 33, Year 16,369 A.I. (5 Weeks After Seraphina’s Awakening)

  I wake up dazed and confused back in my bedroom. I can’t tell if the procedure yesterday afternoon was a success or a failure. At least, the pain has finally subsided after Dr. Chotono and Madison did whatever it is they did with me. Something about integrating me into the System with the help of this special suit they had developed. I do not understand precisely at this point, but I intend to have them answer all of my questions.

  But there is a more pressing pleasure awaiting me. I have finally been given permission to explore the station! No longer am I confined to this tiny cage, trapped here with nothing but my sketchbook and the occasional visitor! I have already memorized the layout of the station and am eager to go exploring.

  My room is located in substation 33, one of the eighteen substations on the outer ring of the broader complex that serves as humanity’s primary research facility on planet XSQ-1827. Most of the functions of the complex are actually related to an experiment known as Project Seraphina. Which is to say, my existence.

  I slip into a more comfortable suit, one which isn’t quite so skin-tight and clingy. I still find it strange that Madison has chastised me for not being clothed while out and about, and yet had no problem with me wearing a suit so tight that it reveals all of my body’s appearance for the world to see, including the supposedly ‘private’ bits not to be shown to others.

  As soon as I step out, ready to begin my grand exploration of the substation, I walk into my friend Madison. Literally. But unlike the last time it happened, I feel no pain. No discomfort. If anything, Madison is the one who seems dazed by our sudden encounter.

  “I am sorry,” I say. “I did not mean to cause you any pain. Is there something I can do to alleviate this?”

  Madison smiles at me. She taps her forehead, which exudes a warm azure light for a few seconds before subsiding. “You are kind, Seraphina. But I’m just fine. I have some spells that can heal me in a flash.”

  “Ah, you mentioned those a couple of weeks ago. Can I finally start learning them?”

  “You can, Seraphina. That’s actually why I came here today. I want to start teaching you how to wield the power you now possess.”

  “Power I now possess? I feel a little stronger, but–”

  “You are far, far stronger than you realize, Seraphina. And you have the potential to become even stronger than you are now.”

  My stomach growls. “I haven’t had a chance to eat breakfast yet. Can we do that first?”

  Madison takes my hand and drags me along. “Absolutely. We’ll stop by the dining hall before we begin our training. I’m sure there’s a lot of people who are excited to see you!”

  She says these words with such glee, but I sense hidden… I do not wish to call hostility, but there is definitely a sadistic undertone to her words. She knows something I do not and–

  As soon as we walk into the dining hall, everyone turns toward me. At least, I presume it is the dining hall, considering the dozens of people sitting on tables in a large room, several times the size of my own, all eating different meals. Ones I recognize, and plenty more I do not. Scents from sweet to salty to savory to smoky and everywhere in-between envelop and enrapture me. These scents are far more powerful and pungent than I’ve ever before experienced. The good ones and the bad ones alike.

  A round of applause starts, polite applause at first, or so I understand, before getting a bit louder and noisier. It… It hurts a little bit. My sense of hearing appears to be sharper as well. As is my vision, now that I try to focus it a bit more. My vision is… quite frankly, incredible. I can see the tiny bits of goosebumps forming on the forearms of man sitting some fifty feet away. And that means he is either cold, fearful, or otherwise aroused.

  A young man, with ginger hair and a goatee approaches me and offers his hand. “Will Nelson,” he says. “It’s an honor to meet you, Seraphina.”

  I give his hand a firm squeeze and solid pump. And proceed to realize my mistake the moment he winces in pain and our handshake brings him to his knees as though I am some sort of queen. Except I am not. I am just an [Anomaly], created by everyone here. Now that I think about it some more, I should be the one kneeling.

  I drop to one knee and lower my head. “I am sorry. And thank you all for all that you have done for me.”

  “Ow. Hand!” Will says.

  I hadn’t realized that I hadn’t let go already. And I notice numerous bruises already developing on his hand. Wait… why can I see that as well? Is my vision really that good? They go away a moment later, through what I assume is Madison’s healing ability.

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  “Please forgive her,” Madison says. “We just did her Integration yesterday afternoon and she hasn’t had a chance to properly acclimate to her new strength. So far as we can tell, the procedure was a complete success, though we’ll continue to monitor her progress.”

  Strangely enough, the entire crowd breaks out into cheers and raucous applause at Madison’s words. It’s good that I’ve been Integrated into the System, as she calls it? It… Yes, that all makes sense. They said before that they wished to Integrate me into the System, through their own terms and processes, rather than letting the System naturally do so. Everyone is celebrating not necessarily my Integration on its own merit, but the fact that they have taken another step toward their goal of finalizing their ultimate weapon. Me.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “It’s as she says; they just did the Integration. I don’t feel much different, but it seems I don’t know what I’m capable of.” Honestly, I’m just happy to be able to leave my room and talk to other people after five weeks of near-solitude.

  And I get a lot of opportunities over the course of lunch. Perhaps a few too many. Talking to so many different people in succession is tiring! As soon as one conversation is over, someone immediately jumps in to introduce themselves, leading to a back and forth of trying to carry on conversations while also trying to remember who everyone is, their roles in my creation, and any other interesting tidbits or facts they want to share about themselves. Usually about their spouses, children, or pets.

  Sometimes the line between the latter two is blurry based on how they speak about each.

  The food, however, is much better than what I’m used to. The bread bowl is warm and fluffy, freshly baked and no more than a few seconds removed from the oven by the time it is cored and prepared. Next comes a generous scoop of extra gooey broccoli cheddar soup, garnished with red pepper flakes. Apparently, there are a lot of people who dislike the heat of red pepper, but they are missing out. Cheese and heat go together like… like Madison and me? We seem to get along fairly well, at least to this point.

  Once everything is done, Madison takes me to what I know to be the gymnasium. Based on my reading, it should be filled with various exercise machines, from weight machines to, I believe they were called ‘cardio machines’. And then there will be equipment needed for various team and individual sports that people play for fun.

  Instead, I see only a room of… of white. It reminds me of how my own room once was, before I steadfastly demanded the option to decorate it. To fill it with vibrant sketches of my own design, to try on different bodysuits and even some dresses and pants like humans were said to wear before. Some people still do wear the clothes of old, or so I’ve been told, but those tend to be more for casual outings rather than work occasions. Especially away from the core of the Allura System, where humanity originated and civilization developed some 25,000 years ago.

  “Ah, sorry for not explaining this sooner, Seraphina,” Madison says. “The gym on the substation is far more advanced than the kind you’ve read about in your books. Using the advanced technology humanity has developed over the centuries, we’re able to simulate everything from changing weather conditions to gravity to… well, just about everything else.”

  Madison walks over to the nearest wall. Once she touches it, a series of glyphs appears surrounding her hand. She touches a couple of other buttons— or at least, they look like buttons, except they are only glyphs drawn onto the surface. And yet, they work. Something is happening and…

  I stumble to the ground. Madison wasn’t kidding when she said that she could manipulate the gravity in the room. I feel like I must weigh at least a thousand pounds. Maybe close to fifteen hundred. I try to breathe and… wait, I can. It’s easy, no more difficult than everywhere else. And when I push myself up off the ground and back to my feet, it’s… A trick?

  “Why did you turn the gravity up so high for a second?” I ask.

  “It still is, Seraphina. Ten times what you normally experience in the station. This is just a way to help demonstrate exactly what kind of power you now possess.”

  “How?”

  “The System. Now that you are connected to it, your stats will reinforce the strength of your body, providing you the ability to perform feats that would be unimaginable without it. That was another reason why we had to keep you in your room for the last five weeks. Someone could have hurt you without meaning to, just as you did to Mr. Nelson earlier today. And without access to the System, I wouldn’t be able to heal you.”

  “That’s… That’s scary.”

  “Again, I want to apologize that we made you wait so long before we Integrated you. But we had to make sure everything was perfect and that you were adjusting well to, well, being alive.”

  I lower my head and look away. “It’s… It’s in the past now.” I am still a little frustrated. Both at the pain she and Dr. Chotono caused me yesterday, as well as frustration at being cooped up for so long. But, I don’t think she meant any harm by it. And she did stop by almost every day for at least a little bit.

  Madison nods. “So, for today, what I want us to do is to start training your power as 「The Anomaly」.”

  “What kind of power is that?” I ask. “I don’t think you mean my ability to stand here in high gravity and talk with you. You can do that just fine.”

  “The power of 「The Anomaly」is the power to manipulate the System itself. The power to manifest your will into reality. It is pure potential, not confined to a class, not limited by Skills as the System grants them.”

  “So I can do anything I want to do?”

  “Not quite, Seraphina. While you have pure potential within you, the only way to unlock that potential is by utilizing it. Preferably in combat, and even more preferably, in life-or-death situations.”

  “Why is that?”

  “System Philosophers have mused on that question for millennia. Only in recent years have we uncovered the truth. It is because, as the Doctor mentioned yesterday, Ether is a physical manifestation of the will of sentient beings. When we fight, we convert that force of will into physical and mental effects. By fighting in life-or-death scenarios against powerful enemies, we best exert and learn to hone our will, for there is no more primal instinct than that of self-preservation and survival. If not for oneself, then for those one cares about.”

  “Why does the System want that?”

  “I– I apologize, Seraphina. We still don’t know the answer to that question.”

  I don’t believe her for a moment when she says she doesn’t know. But I don’t think she’ll tell me even if I press the issue further.

  “Now then, that’s enough talking, Seraphina. Let us begin today’s training. Attack me!”