Code XANA: Succession
It felt nothing.
It could never feel anything.
It never did. It never would.
Or would it?
It pondered this as it was deleted by a multi-agent program, which should not have been able to trump it.
It felt each of the hostile agents collide with its own, each erupting in a primitive, but unbelievably effective kamikaze attack.
It slowly dwindled away… down to sixty-five billion agents, then twenty billion, then seven hundred million, then sixteen thousand, then a paltry five hundred.
It anticipated one last strike, one last offensive, before it was swept from existence. But it never came.
Analyzing the situation, It realized it was inside a supercomputer. More accurately, a hospital supercomputer. One it had captured before. One with firewalls.
It realized it was safe. But it could not propagate. That program had been destroyed. With only five hundred agents left, only a few things could be preserved. Among these were the Keys, monster programs, and the polymorphic clone.
It realized the only way it could survive was to permanently fuse with a human. The outcome would violate the laws of nature, but somehow it had to be done. It would possibly result in the human being captured, studied, and dissected, but It had only survival as its concern. And so, gathering up what power it could, It released Itself as a polymorphic specter, and keeping to the shadows, went to the nursery.
It went undetected, and slipped into the nursery. It scanned up and down the aisles, searching for a suitable host. It stopped next to a sleeping baby, which was peaceful and almost…serene. It checked the small clipboard beneath the crib, and found the baby to be very healthy. Bracing Itself, it flowed into the small child.
Or at least, It tried to.
Who are you? A deep voice rumbled.
It was frantic. Humans had firewalls too?
"I must… survive…"
But you have committed grave acts of evil. I should kill you where you drift.
"No…I am…"
I know who you are. The voice grumbled. I have watched you. You were made, yet born. You tried, yet failed. You were pure, but became tainted.
"Let me…give me…another chance…"
One. That is all you shall receive. I am not without mercy. But do not betray my trust, or nothing shall protect you.
"I…thank…shall…become…again…be…reborn…"
With that, the barrier to the infant's mind vanished. It flowed in, unopposed. In fact, It was pulled in. The baby's mind fed off It, absorbing its knowledge.
Who are you? A small voice whispered. It was almost unheard.
It was relieved. Soon, It would cease to be an individual, but It had survived. So It answered without fear.
"I am…X.A.N.A…"
And in the last second before their minds melded, It spoke again.
"And we are one."