The Will to Power
June 9, 2006
by: Silver Nightingale
---
4000 years later
Somewhere in the vastness of space, the Woglinde soared on her maiden voyage. Despite her mere twenty percent completion, the 100-meter ship already boasted a unique bi-level design that enabled her to split into an upper and lower section. She was developed by the renowned company, Vector Industries, as the first battleship to specifically combat the enigmatic specters known as the Gnosis. The test prototype battleship was deployed in order to provide assistance in the Federation Marine Corp.'s investigation. Another reason also came along with the Woglinde's dispatch and that was to test out the company's newest weapon prototype.
In the ship's lower section, a small group of people were busy working on their computers in preparation for their upcoming operation.
Booting up primary connection system--- Enter System Administrator ID and Connection Target. Connection Target: KOS-MOS. System Administrator: Shion Uzuki. System Ready. Operator should now take a seat in the VR-2000.
The operator, Shion Uzuki, carried on the computer's written instruction and took a seat on a red machine. A virtual reality visor quickly responded by covering her eyes. The VR-2000 sent out data of her vital signs to one of the screens being monitored by her colleagues. The operator then prepared herself for the task at hand.
"Commencing startup experiment. Open up an Interconnection." Her voice spoke softly in the air.
"Roger. Opening Interconnection," a male assistant promptly answered. With the Interconnection opened, the data transfer would go more efficiently and would not be limited by the laws of physics. "Connecting with dummy protocol."
"A-LINE protocol zone secured," another confirmed.
One man gazed evenly at a monitor while his fingers nimbly typed in a command. "Opening cage partition. 60 seconds to release. Begin countdown. 57, 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51..."
Outside the safety of the Woglinde, a gleam of gold from a freely rotating item shimmered. A crew was immediately set out by the Corp. in order to retrieve it. The mentioned item was huge and its golden color brightly contrasted against the darkness of space. Two crew members, suited in special salvage mechs, positioned themselves at opposite sides of the monolith. One curious crew, who wore nothing but a spacesuit, aimed to study it further and allowed himself to touch the center of the item. With a flash of brilliance, the curious crew vanished before the others' very eyes.
"All monitors clear," the man who supervised the countdown verified. "...3, 2, 1. Partition open. Proceeding with KOS-MOS body formation."
"Body formation complete. Commencing Penfield mapping," another stated after a brief examination of the monitor that showed the connection target's basic frame as well as a complex linear cerebral cortex figure that noted its distinct functional regions.
A colleague then keyed in an appropriate command. "Proceeding with Encephalon construction..."
"Mapping percentage at 76, 77, 78..."
"Encephalon construction complete."
The assistant paused to study his monitor. "There's noise appearing in the temporal lobe," he informed.
"What's the problem?" Shion concernedly queried
"It's on the left side of the temporal lobe. I'm showing slight stimulation of the synapses in section 818. It's within permissible bounds, though..." The assistant craned his neck to his superior's direction, "Do you want to abort?"
"No," Shion curtly responded with a slight shake of her head, "let's keep going." Her form stiffened in determination. "Just stick to the menu. I'll try for a direct approach. Back me up."
"Roger," the assistant nodded. "Launching NATARAJA connection system."
Back in outer space, the remaining wary crew members took extra precaution as they resorted to the use of particular binding devices in order to secure the golden monolith. Carefully, they maneuvered both themselves and the item to re-enter the Woglinde. After all were cleared, the battleship along with its fleet gated-in to hyperspace.
Connection system NATARAJA now loading... User name: Shion Uzuki. Password: Ye shall be as gods
"Password accepted. Commencing NATARAJA boot up sequence." A robotic voice intoned.
Through the virtual reality visor, Shion's view of KOS-MOS' black maintenance bed melted away. Her body recoiled as she felt herself being drawn inside the Encephalon. There, her bright emerald eyes were met by static. "Allen, there seems to be a problem in the visual field connection."
"Hmm..." The assistant, Allen Ridgely, contemplated as he started to scan the program. "Ah... I see a small break in the MT field, route K12. It looks like... the bi-directional link in the V4 field is lagged, too. Hold on a minute... I'll fix it now." He then went on and tried a couple of slight alterations. "How is it now, Chief?"
"Okay, looks good." Shion acknowledged as the static dissipated. "Let's keep going."
"Roger," Allen replied. "Proceeding with KOS-MOS host separation."
The area before Shion flickered to life and with a flash of light, a female pale-skinned and blue-haired metallic entity appeared. Shion approached and halted at the entity's side. "Morning, KOS-MOS." She greeted with a smile. She studied KOS-MOS' covered face, "How do you feel?"
"Good morning, Shion. All systems are normal."
Shion nodded at the monotone answer, "Well, how about introducing yourself?"
"I am an Anti-Gnosis Humanoid Fighting System, serial number 00-00-00-00-1. Development name, KP-X. Abbreviated name KOS-MOS. As I am currently configured for simulated battle, my output is limited to 22 of its normal capacity. My estimated weapons specifications are..."
"All right, that's good enough. Thanks."
"You are welcome."
Shion surveyed the Encephalon before turning back to face the other. "All I have for you today are the usual startup tests." Her expression turned apologetic, "Sorry to wake you up just for that. You have to go back to sleep once everything's checked out."
"I see."
"Do you feel sad... or anything?" Shion managed after a slight fidget.
"A predetermined set of emotions has been hard-coded into my emotion module to better facilitate interactions with humans. In order to better facilitate a relationship with you--Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki of the KOS-MOS Project, Vector Industries First R&D Division--I will emit an expression such as sadness, only when that response is deemed necessary. However, the emotion module of my program has determined that this is not necessary at this time."
The engineer giggled, "I guess you're right. I of all people should know that."
"Your understanding is appreciated."
"But you know KOS-MOS... I've got... mixed feelings about all this." Shion said, her voice heavy with anxiety. "Of course, I'm happy that you're awake... But the fact that you'll go back to sleep makes me a bit... sad." She bowed, which made her brown hair shield her eyes. "On the other hand, the next time you wake up... it may be a time of much bloodshed. So deep down inside," she raised her head, "I hope that day never comes... Understand?"
"The algorithms I have been programmed with do not support the comprehension of illogical human thought," KOS-MOS replied with a nearly imperceptible delay.
"Well... I hope you'll be able to... understand someday." Shion uttered with a small push of her holographic glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"I will do my best."
"All right, KOS-MOS," the engineer went on to business, "shall we get started?" She then tipped her head to a side in address to her assistant, "Allen, let's pick up from process 277 where we last left off."
"Roger," Allen consented. "Placing target drones in the Encephalon. The drones are set to 'random movement' and 'enemy ambush'." He stopped to think, "How about a test run before the mission, Chief?"
"Hmm, sure, let's do that." Shion passively agreed before she turned her sight to the battle android beside her. "Did you get that, KOS-MOS?"
"Affirmative," she tersely replied just as their environment changed to white nothingness. A simulated soldier and a mechanical enemy then appeared a few feet away from them. The android focused her attention on the latter, "Target locked on. Commencing combat mode." She then transmitted her beam pistol and began to shoot at the armored machine.
Shion took that moment and allowed her weapon to materialize. The weapon was known as the Multiple Weapon System or the MWS. It resembled a classic robot arm and was striking red in color. It was mainly a fighting knuckle that doubled as a shield. Contained within it were various types of weapons, thus the name. The MWS was 'given' to Shion by Miyuki, a younger colleague of hers. The Chief Engineer held the handle at the underside of the knuckle tightly with her hand, aimed, and fired at the soldier.
The battle was won even before either of the enemies made a move. "All systems clear," KOS-MOS stated as the white surrounding warped back to its previous form.
"All processes to 300 cleared," one of the monitoring subordinates reported to the assistant.
"Chief, the data transfer is going smoothly. The A-LINE protocol's looking good." Allen relayed through a communicator.
"It sure is," Shion acknowledged. "The response levels are really good."
"If we maintain these levels," Allen contentedly spoke, "we'll have some great results soon."
"Yeah..."
"Chief?"
"Hey, Allen... Let's skip all 300 level processes and start from 400."
"Huh... 400? Chief, but that's..."
"I feel pretty confident this time."
"But Chief! Remember what happened last time..?" Allen permitted a quick pause, which he hoped would allow his superior to recall. "Had we waited ten more seconds to intervene, we wouldn't have been able to get you back at all. Can't we at least test it out in Objective Mode?"
"You know we can't get precise data that way! I'll be fine. If something happens, I'll get myself out. Besides, you want to test it out as well, don't you? We spent all night building the native A-LINE protocol."
Allen faltered, "Well, yeah but..."
"That settles it! Let's get started." Shion cheerfully ordered.
The assistant sighed in resignation, "All right then..." He allowed himself a few seconds of thought before his face lit up with renewed resolve. "But if anything happens, I'm going to shut it down from here, so don't press your luck!"
"All right, all right..."
"And don't deviate from the program..!"
"Okay... Mom," Shion chuckled.
With a frown on his face, Allen proceeded to massage his temple. "Jeez... This is so typical of her. Will she ever stop to think about the hell I go through for her?"
One of the female subordinates failed to stifle a giggle. "You know, sir, the way you worry about Chief Uzuki all the time, I'm surprised you haven't keeled over already."
"H...Hey! That's enough!" Allen exclaimed in a somewhat defensive manner. "Is the 400 level program ready to go?"
"We're ready to go anytime," one of the men confirmed.
"Then start up the program!" Allen strode back in position, "I want detailed reports from every monitoring station. Any abnormalities, and I'm shutting down completely."
Back in the Encephalon, Shion turned to face the android. "KOS-MOS, I'll explain a bit about this place. This place is an imaginary space constructed within the network. It's modeled off of some ruins from early 2000 A.D.," Shion stated as she walked a few steps forward. "Your mission is to fight the main target," she pointed ahead, "within the dilapidated building." She then returned her gaze on the android and continued as a hand was brought up to cradle her chin, "The target is marked with the red Vector box."
KOS-MOS nodded, "Yes, understood."
Shion lingered for a little while as she inspected the terrain, "All right then, let's start the mission!"
KOS-MOS went onward while the engineer followed close behind. Each step they took sent a series of echoes that added to the eeriness of the deserted place. Fire was all around them. It crackled rhythmically as it slowly devoured the aged ruins.
Despite her earlier enthusiasm, a shiver crept up Shion's spine. She hurried her pace unconsciously. Soon enough, she and KOS-MOS had arrived at their destination. Shion watched as the android approached the entrance.
A quick scan revealed that the door was locked and a keycard would be needed in order to open it. KOS-MOS turned her attention to an enclosed room that was located on the floor above them. Her sensors indicated that the keycard would be situated within that area. They also indicated that the most direct path towards the said room was also locked. After extracting the shortest route available to infiltrate it, she carried on. KOS-MOS' analysis took less than two seconds.
They arrived at their current destination in no time at all. Shion gave a pleasant smile as she eyed the room that housed the keycard just a few meters away from them. She proceeded to shadow KOS-MOS, satisfied that everything had gone well.
All of a sudden, the ground began to shake. A large machine, Drone SPX, then appeared out of nowhere and started to assault them. KOS-MOS sidestepped the attack with ease and transmitted one of her primary weaponry--the R Cannon.
Shion knew that she would not be able to deal any significant damage on their opponent if she fought it directly. "Transmit AGWS!" the Chief Engineer called upon the special Anti-Gnosis Weapon System. Sure, it was specifically built to combat the Gnosis but it was also effective when faced against enemy mechs.
"Charging." That was KOS-MOS' only warning before she unleashed a searing beam from the cannon that had been attached to her arm.
Their opponent nearly fell back due to the sheer impact of the battle android's attack. It retaliated and threw a hit at Shion's direction.
Inside the AGWS, Shion let out a cry as everything around her violently shook at the drone's blow. Angered, the engineer commanded her own mech to fire its gattling gun mercilessly at the drone.
Before their opponent could recover, KOS-MOS charged at it and delivered a massive punch that sent Drone SPX to crash at the wall behind it. A shower of sparks later and the drone was no more.
"Status check," Allen immediately demanded after the battle.
"I don't see anything unusual. All systems are stable. It's looking good." A man stated. "This ought to make up for last month," he added in afterthought.
"I sure hope so..." Allen trailed off.
Another began to report, "KOS-MOS has reached the checkpoint. Entering process 431."
"Replacing the targets with Type-G Drones," one more informed. "Commencing display."
"Chief," Allen spoke through the communicator, "I've changed the settings on the target drones. The next target is keyed to sound so it will only respond if you make a loud noise."
Shion nodded as she dismissed her AGWS and went back to KOS-MOS' side.
Together, they entered the room. Once inside, KOS-MOS marched straight towards the keycard and took it in her hands.
Shion worded her anticipation, "Now we can unlock the door!"
The pair wasted not even a moment as they swiftly returned to their primary objective. As KOS-MOS allowed the mechanism there to scan the keycard held delicately between her fingers, Shion peered between the rails that barricaded them from the red Vector box.
"Ah, here it is... This should be the room." Shion noted mostly to herself.
KOS-MOS proficiently strode into the room after the rails noisily lifted and took a moment to inspect the area.
Allen keyed in a command, "Here we go..."
Drone GX, a simulated gnosis, flashed to life in KOS-MOS' sight. The prototype android twitched, which went unnoticed to Shion, in possible malfunction.
"What's going on?" Allen demanded in bewilderment as an alarm rang out in the real world.
"A brand-new network is being created within the KOS-MOS mainframe," one of the monitoring men exclaimed in awe. "We've never had a reaction like this before. This is incredible... I've never seen a Net grow so fast!" He motioned to the computer screen, "Look at it, sir. Portions of the Encephalon map are evolving!"
The assistant chief's brows furrowed in confusion, "What the..."
"Allen," Shion interrupted, "I'm going to engage the target." Her green eyes shone with determination, "Make sure you capture all the data."
"What!" Allen felt his blood run cold, "You cannot engage right now! You're tapped into KOS-MOS' perception--it's too unstable!"
"Don't worry. We can pull it off."
"What do you mean, don't worry! Chief!"
The Gnosis Drone broke off any further argument as it bellowed loudly at the pair in front of it. The drone rushed at what it sensed was the weaker of the two and that was none other than Shion.
The Chief Engineer managed to evade the drone just in time and called upon her AGWS once more. At the corner of her eyes, she noticed KOS-MOS had already transmitted the most appropriate weapon to engage with the enemy--the R Blade.
With the gleaming razor now attached to her arm, KOS-MOS ran towards the enemy with no hesitation and hacked at a vulnerable part of the drone's body.
Drone GX swiftly countered with a strike on the android's torso, which sent the android back a step, and changed its tactics as it curled up in a defensive position.
KOS-MOS took no risk and, after a fast dismiss of the R Blade, sent for medical nanomachines to repair the portion of her that got hit. Aboard her AGWS, Shion advanced forward to shield KOS-MOS' form as the latter maintained herself in a glow of light.
A moment ticked by and Shion spotted that their enemy now stood in its usual stance, perhaps in belief that the two were at thought of retreating. With a quick motion of her fingers, she controlled her AGWS to slash openly at the drone twice.
Drone GX fell with an agonized shriek, overwhelmed by the attacks.
Shion exited her mech, "So far, so good..." She turned her attention to her assistant, "Shift target to Real Mode. We'll test the Hilbert Effect."
"What!" Allen was shocked. "Chief! You're supposed to follow the program..!"
Shion chose to ignore his protest and instead focused her gaze to the android, "KOS-MOS, activate Hilbert."
"Roger," KOS-MOS responded as she focused on the fallen drone. "Activating Hilbert Effect."
Shion took out her Connection Gear, an advanced version of a PDA, and opened up its holographic screen.
Drone GX reacted in a peculiar manner at the barrage of Hilbert Waves directed at it as the waves affected the intersection of both the imaginary and physical realm. Without warning, alarms went on both in reality and inside the Encephalon. The virtual field started to be engulfed in a haze of static.
"I knew this would happen!" Allen shouted in frustration, his tone laced with panic. "Status!"
One of the men frantically replied, "This is bad! Something's wrong in the Encephalon! The whole thing could collapse at any moment!"
"What! What about the Chief?" Allen turned to the communicator, "Chief! You're in danger! Get out of there now!" he demanded.
"Hold on!" Shion continued to study the holographic monitor before her. "Just a little longer!"
"Chief!" Allen persisted.
A subordinate broke off the two with his report, "Nerve impulses in the limbic system! We've got Kindling!"
"That's enough! Shut it down! Pull her out of there now!"
"Roger! Entering shutdown command," the frantic subordinate hurriedly attempted to do as he was told only to have warning messages greet his vision. His face contorted in disbelief, "It's been rejected! The Chief's overriding us. We can't control it from here!"
"Whaaat!"
Another one cried out, "Ten seconds to Encephalon collapse!" His eyes revealed that he was at a lost on what to do. He then gazed at the assistant as his voice cracked in worry, "Sir!"
"Dammit!" Allen swore as he hastily wore an Encephalon vision scope and prepared to dive inside the collapsing virtual world. His heartbeat raced as a rush of adrenaline surged within him. He would not be able to live with himself if any harm was to happen to their Chief Engineer.
Inside the Encephalon, the entire area was rapidly rippling to non-existence. Despite the obvious peril of still being inside, Shion stood her ground. She evenly observed the struggling drone as her holographic glasses reflected the blinding light that the simulated Gnosis emitted. That was when the most unexpected of things happened. As if born from the drone's glow, a young girl clad in white appeared. The little girl had the brightest amethyst eyes Shion had ever seen, however, those eyes held within them a great deal of melancholy that it could not possibly belong to someone so young. It was as if the child's eyes haunted and soothed her at the same time and the longer Shion looked in them, the more captivated she became. Then, all of a sudden, a rift appeared just beside Shion's form. Her assistant's worried shout, "Chief!" shattered the spell cast by those eyes and the next thing she knew, Allen had already dragged her out of the Encephalon.
---