After a half an hour of collecting wood, I had learned that each "inventory slot" could hold up to 64 pieces of wood. The computer called a full slot a "stack". I had collected three "stacks" of wood when I noticed the sun was going down. Ping! "Hurry, Steve?. One hour to sundown." You can keep track of time? What time is it? "Access denied." You mechanical asshole te- "Please don't use profanity, Steve?." I punched another tree.
Ping! "Steve?, you have more than enough blocks to make a crafting table. This wooden table infused with similar technology to what you have inside of you, will help you make tools. Tools allow the harvesting of blocks to go much faster." What technology? There was a short pause then, "Access denied. Would you like to make a crafting table?" Sure, why the hell not? "Initializing: Crafting Protocol." I braced myself for more pain, but heard only a small whir coming from my "backpack". After the whirring stopped, a new block appeared in my inventory.
Ping! "Steve?, the bar you see now is your hot-bar. The blocks in this bar are ready for immediate use by thinking about the slot you wish to access. This will pull the block in the slot out of hammerspace and place it in your hand." Hammerspace? Wait- will it hurt? "No, the pain you felt earlier was caused by the first initialization of the MINE system's protocols." MINE system? "Micro Inventory and Negative Encounters System, MINE." Negative Encounters? "Access denied." Fuckin' figures. "Steve?, please don't use profanity." Fuck off.
I looked to my right and saw a black-speckled stone part of the ground. Ping! "Steve?, that is coal. It is very efficient as a fuel source and also necessary to make torches. Torches will be your main light source. Light, during the evening, is a defense." Defense from what? "Access denied." I sighed and walked over to the coal. It took a couple minutes to break the first block and unlike when I was chopping wood; I broke a sweat. After I caught my breath, I realized there was nothing in my hot-bar. No blocks, lying where they should be. Why didn't that work? Ping! "…Access denied."
I looked down and saw more of the speckled rocks. Maybe, I should try the table. The slot instantly lit up and I was suddenly holding the crafting table in my hand, I placed it on the ground. I approached it slowly and put my hands on the table. Ping! "Initializing: Advanced Crafting. Please, specify a tool." Pickaxe? "Pickaxe recipe found, transmitting." Somehow, I just knew what to do. I knew exactly how to make the pickaxe and then I was holding it in my hands. I walked to the coal and started swinging. It was much faster to break the blocks and soon after two or three minutes of swinging I had a full stack of coal. Ping! "Steve?, you have enough wood to make a couple stacks of sticks. These are necessary for making torches. Would you like to craft them?" Well, that would just be dandy tin person. The whir from my backpack started up again and two stacks of sticks were in my hot-bar.
Ping! "Steve?, as I'm sure you can tell your Carrying Repository and Factory Tube, or CRFT, is capable of crafting small objects. This includes torches, which you have the materials to make. Should I initiate craft protocol again?" Sure. It had already started to get dark and I figured I'd need them soon. As soon as the whir was over, I heard something else. Something was moving- behind me. I turned just in time to see the rotting face of another person.
What I could only assume was a zombie, staggered closer to me. I drew my fist back and punched the zombie bastard dead in the face. The result was not quite what you'd expect from a guy who chops trees with his bare hands, and shortly after collapsing the zombie was back on his feet. Screw this, I thought and quickly pulled out my pickaxe. I swung hard and sent the tip of the pick through the soft temple of my assailant's head. The zombie's movement stopped, and I ripped the pick out.
A stream of colored aura-like balls floated out of the limp body of the zombie and I absorbed them. MINE? "Yes, Steve?" What just flowed into me? "- Unknown." Right, um why didn't my punches work on the zombie the way they do on trees…and stones for that matter? "The strength protocol of your implants works by slightly boosting your actual physical strength. However, the most of the work is done by nanobots, released from your pores that cover the surface of a block upon your initial contact to it. The nanobots replicate and cover the entire area of a block in less than half a millisecond. Through an advanced and very fast process, the nanobots lower the density of the block making it easier for you to break."
Ok, but that doesn't answer my question. "The small nanobots only have the programming to lower the density of blocks. The fauna are not blocks." Well why not just enhance my strength enough to break it? "Here are our test results of our attempts at that." Images of exploded, broken, bruised and often times pulpy, arms flashed in my vision. A picture of a scientist pointing at the wound of one test subject was especially gory. After looking closer, I happened to notice something about the scientist; his lab coat said Devia Corp.