Ghost in the System
Apparently dieing before your time causes trouble for more than just you, as I discovered after burning to death. Now I'm nothing more than a digital ghost in another world. Aw well, at least I got a cool new body and a chance to have some real fun!
These two ideas have been sitting in my doc for AGES gathering dust. I dug them out for another idea I had and decided, you know what? I might as well share them. With that in mind, Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Time for a quick lesson in Caveman 101. Fire hot, ow! And now for another obvious statement. Dieing sucks. Trust me, I know both of them first hand since I was burnt to death, flash fried in a fireball that quite literally came from nowhere. Fortunately, it didn't take long for the fire to kill me since, for the few seconds I was burning alive, it REALLY FUCKING HURT!
What I wasn't expecting was to wake up. When I next opened my eyes, it was to find myself standing in a perfectly circular chamber with a large number of mirrors and screens of various shapes and sizes covering the walls, each showing a different scene. In the center of the chamber was a swivel chair surrounded by keyboards and control panels, each of which was connected to an arm that allowed it to be moved.
Lounging in the chair, fast asleep with a string of drool leaking from his mouth was a man with short, brown hair that looked like it hadn't seen a brush in weeks, a five day beard, pale skin and a pair of square, black framed glasses that had fallen crooked. He was wearing tired looking jeans and a tatty shirt that had once been white, but had long since turned grey from to many washings.
I hesitated for a moment, before deciding that there was no point in standing around all day, so I walked over to the sleeping man and gently shook his shoulder. He snorted and tried to roll over, only to fall of his chair with a crash, before shooting to his feet with his glasses on upside down.
"I'm up, I'm up!" he shouted, "I wasn't sleeping on the job, honest!"
His accent placed his nationality as british and his awakening showed his eyes to be green.
"Wait, you're not the boss," said the man as he spotted me, "How did you get here?"
"Thats a very good question," I said, "Last thing I remember is burning to death."
The young man raised an eyebrow and turned in his chair to face his many control panels, bringing up a file on screen with my face on it.
"Hmm, lets see, John Connors, age 16, species human, scheduled to come up here never. Huh, interesting."
He turned to me.
"This is you isn't it?"
I nodded.
"Why is species on there?"
"Their are more things between heaven and hell than appear in dreams of men," said the young man, "I watch over a lot of worlds and many different species so its kinda necessary."
"What do you mean?" I asked, "Who are you anyway?"
The man looked up.
"Oh, sorry," he said, "I should have introduced myself. I'm Dis Lexic, an Overseer of the Multiverse. Its my job to keep this segment of Creation working and making sure that any issues are dealt with before they get big enough for the man upstairs to get involved."
"So what, your an Angel or something?" I asked.
"Not exactly," said Dis, "I'm more like a technician. The Angels are the Almighties strong right arm, his police force if you will."
"Right," I said, not quite sure what to make of the explanation, "So why am I here exactly?"
"Because you died before your allotted time," said Dis, "It happens occasionally and always makes a total mess of things."
"Why?"
"Because the Souls can only go to heaven or hell after their allotted time has past," said Dis, "You were supposed to live for another 90 years and die of a heart attack during the discovery of Aliens."
"Wait, aliens are real?"
"Yep, Kryptonians if I'm reading this right. Apparently the Krypton in your universe isn't scheduled to explode any time soon."
"Huh," I said, not sure what to make of that little tidbit, "So what now? Are you going to send me back?"
"Your body in your old dimension was nearly completely destroyed," said Dis, "Besides, time passes differently here and you've already been buried. You can't move on and you can't go back to your old dimension, the only thing I can do is shift you sideways."
"Sideways?"
"Into a different dimension," explained Dis, "It'll be one you recognize and I expect you won't end up being entirely normal."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"When people get shifted sideways, they tend to change," said Dis, "I still have no idea why. Just be thankful you won't be an Outsider. They always get screwed over by Fate."
I gulped.
"Soo, where am I going?"
"Pick a door," said Dis, indicating to a pair of identical doors that hadn't been there before.
"Where do they lead?" I asked.
"Your new home," said the Overseer, "Not even I know where they lead. Don't worry, though, I've already taken steps to make sure you don't get consumed by whatever power you gain. You'll start again with a clean slate, new memories and a new life."
I paused, my hand inches from one of the door handles.
"I won't remember my past?"
Dis shook his head.
"You will," he said, But those memories will be overtaken by new ones and suppressed. They'll be there, but they won't be important. Its how we prevent those we have to shift from getting homesick."
I swallowed and turned back to the door.
"Alright, you can do this," I muttered and opened the door.
I found myself in darkness.
"The hell?" I asked, trying to look around.
Whether I managed it or not is up for debate seeing as I couldn't see anything.
"Where…?"
Then, the world lit up and I was bombarded with information, images and sensations at a rate that no Human mind could take. However, for some strange reason, I could absorb it all. I was connected up to all the information in the world, anything that was on the internet I could see.
"What the hell is going on?!" I spluttered, although how I managed it when I seemed to have no body is anyones guess.
Thats right, I suddenly realized that I had no body. I was just a consciousness floating in data.
"I repeat, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?"
BEEP!
I somehow managed to jump at the sound, before a window popped up in front of me. Actually, thats not what happened at all, but its the best explanation I've got.
Huh, well, this has never happened before…
Sorry, this is Dis if you haven't figured it out. I'm not entirely sure how, but you've somehow been converted into a digital being. The closest analogy would be that you're now an AI, but since you were once Human, I'm not sure if thats accurate. Still, its not all bad, you have access to the entire world's information network!
"But I don't have a body!" I shouted.
You can control anything connected to a network. It shouldn't be that difficult to build something suitable, right?
I growled, my non-existent fingers flexing to wrap around the Watchers throat.
Oh, don't be like that, it could be worse. Now, since you won't be needing any help, I'll leave you with this warning. You won't be able to tell anyone you're from another world, so don't even try. Other than that, do as you will. See ya!
My non-existent eye twitched as the message box vanished.
"SCREW YOU, YOU BASTARD!" I roared.
With the reveal that I was now completely digital and my minor panic attack done with, I set about creating myself a digital space where I was a tad more comfortable than just a floating ball of consciousness. That basically amounted to me creating a simulated space that resembled a cross between a living room and the Batcave, as well as creating an avatar so I actually had arms and legs again. Currently, my avatar was nothing more than a skinny white humanoid with long limbs, fingers and large eyes. Not unlike a stereotypical alien now that I think about it. I'd probably improve it later, but it was fine for now. Currently, I was sat in front of my terminal, busy getting to know my new world. Technically, I didn't need it, but I still felt more comfortable doing things physically.
"Well, I'm fucked," I said as I stared out the camera that was currently acting as my window to the outside world.
What makes me say that? Well, I had quickly noticed that not all of the information I had access to was Human in origin and, after following a trail, I had ended up stumbling on the Codex. Understandably concerned, I immediately hacked the cameras and confirmed that yes, I was indeed on the Citadel. After gaping at the sight for 3.28 milliseconds, I quickly started shoring up my security before some tech-savvy Quarian could stumble on my code and start a panic or worse, the Reapers or Catalyst found me. I don't know if I can be Indoctrinated, but I didn't want to find out. Once I had finished making my firewalls virtually unhackable, I turned my attention to figuring out when I was. It was surprisingly easy to get into the Spectre files, but I couldn't find any reference to Shepard. Before ME1 then. After that, I turned my attention to the Alliance archives. Thats where I struck gold.
Jane Shepard, a Spacer brat, the Lion of Elysium and the sole survivor of Akuze. Interesting. With that done, I checked the year. 2180, three years before the start of the game and three years to decide what the hell I was going to do.
Now, I could do nothing. After all, I was a digital being, so I doubted that the Reapers would try and kill me. However, I somehow doubted that they'd accept an AI outside of their control, so I'd probably end up hacked and turned into one of their puppets anyway. Plus, even if I was now digital being, I had been Human, so I don't think I could have just sat back and done nothing, even if I wanted to.
However, all that was besides the point. If I wanted to help Shepard, or hell even avoid going crazy, I needed a body. With that in mind, I went to work, obtaining a small warehouse and all the tools, equipment and materials needed to build a body that would be able to blend in with Organics and wouldn't get me a Mass Effect round between the eyes.
It took me three years to get it right. The first prototypes were weak, completely unsuitable for combat, although they did give me the ability to actually walk around the Citadel in a body. Since it took a few tries to get the face right so it didn't fall into the uncanny valley, the first bodys were designed to resembled Quarians since I didn't have to worry about getting the faces right with them. I did have to avoid any of the real Quarians on the station since I didn't want to risk any of them realizing that I wasn't from the Migrant Fleet. However, eventually, I was able to make realistic bodys that were based on Salarians, Turians and even Krogan and Asari. Now THAT had been an odd experience. While I had become more detached from my old Humanity over time, I still identified as Male, so walking around with boobs was a really strange feeling. Still, it was all in the name of SCIENCE, so I dealt with it.
I had a few near misses here and there over the years. The first was when I was nearly fingered as an illegal entry by C-sec while in a Quarian body. Fortunately, I had managed to talk myself out of it, although I made a point to add myself and my various identities to the C-sec system. It was worryingly easy, so I made a point to increase their security, along with a few other places that were worryingly undefended. That led to the second time I was nearly caught.
This time it was a Quarian who had been doing some maintenance on the system I was messing with. Apparently he detected my presence and nearly managed to lock me down before I flooded his Omnitool with spam to escape. He didn't say anything, but I did notice that a lot of the Quarians coming through the Citadel became a lot more tense. I think they suspected that I was here. Awe well, I'd be able to prove myself soon enough.
I also had to dodge a few flocks of Geth programs that buzzed through the network occasionally. I don't know if they were Heretics or not, but I didn't really want to risk the knowledge of my existence getting back to Sovereign.
Eventually however, the day came. My final body was finished. It truly was a marvel of engineering, a perfect Human automaton that, despite being entirely mechanical, looked completely Human. It resembled an adult version of my old body, slightly shorter than normal, with pale skin that was actually an advanced polymer I had developed myself that perfectly mimicked Human skin, black hair that was actually made up of countless strands of wire that could be controlled and used as a weapon or hacking tool and light brown eyes that were nearly red with a lighter brown power symbol in the middle that was barely visible. Perhaps it was tempting fate doing that, but I current resist.
Eager to try on my masterpiece, I hopped into my new body and ran the system diagnostics. Everything was working perfectly. I stepped off the pedestal, marveling at how smooth it moved compared with some of my early models. I lifted my arms and watched as my limbs started twisting and changing, a carbon steel, mono-molecular blade emerging from my right forearm as my left arm shifted into a gun and both morphed back. My fingers were next, shifting them into claws and drills and extending the hacking port. Once the more esoteric options had been checked, I moved onto my built in Omnitool, making sure that everything was working fine. It was. Finally, I checked that my hair was working and my retractable tail. What? I thought it was cool. Besides, I had no intention of hiding forever and I was going to take full advantage of the fact I could basically build myself the perfect body.
With all the technology checked, I walked over the crates that stored my spare parts and picked one up with one hand. Not impressed? Well, when they were delivered, two Krogen had trouble picking one of these things up. Yep, my mechanical muscles were stupidly strong. Maybe I went overboard on designing this thing, but if it was going to be my platform for fighting the Reapers, I'd need all the advantages I could get.
"Hehe, awesome," I muttered as I dropped the crate with a crash.
I quickly tested out the rest of the body's physical capabilities as best I could in the relatively small space. It was far more flexible than any Human could ever be, not to mention faster and with faster reaction times. To be honest, it would be a miracle if no one noticed that something was up with me considering, but since I had a backdoor to escape the body and a self destruct installed, I wasn't worried.
With my tests done, I slipped into the armour I'd obtained (light Onyx armour specially modified to suit my needs) even if I technically didn't need it, and covered it with a long coat. What? It looked cool.
Once I was sure that my body wouldn't crap out on me at the worst possible time, I left my 'home' and headed out to find Shepard and friends. I had been monitoring the Extranet and C-secs communications and Shepard and her squad were on the station, looking for leads on Saren. Knowing that, I headed down to the Wards and towards Chora's Den. I had just reached the Rapid Transport point when one of my passive scanning bots alerted me to gunfire in the allies near the very bar I was heading towards.
"And thats probably Tali," I said as I hopped into a cab and took control, "Time to go introduce myself."
Thanks to the control I had over the car, it didn't take long to reach the location the report had come from. I jumped out of the car before it had even come to a stop, scaring the life out of an Asari couple as I literally vaulted over their head and sprinted down the hall at speeds that would make a cheetah jealous. I skidded around the corner where I could hear gunfire coming from and took in the situation in an instant. Hiding behind some crates on the side I was entering from was a Turian and a couple of Salarians, while Shepards squad was on the far side with Tali was crouched behind some cover in the middle. I narrowed my eyes and ran forwards, pulling out twin Predator Heavy Pistols and jumped into the fray. Literally.
I bounced off the walls, gaining some height as I came down on the three Saren sent assassins, landing on one of the Salarians shoulders with enough force to squash him flat, his relatively fragile bones unable to hold up the sudden extra weight. The fact I had spikes sticking out the soles of my feet probably didn't help. I spun on my heel, kicking the other amphibian over his cover before he could react, landing him square in the sights of Shepards squad who immediately turned him into a sieve, before jamming both barrels into the surprised Turians face.
"Tell Death I said hi," I said and pulled the triggers.
The Turians head exploded, showering brains all over the corridor. I stepped back as the assassin slumped to the floor and spun my pistols around my fingers in an impressive display of dexterity considering they didn't have finger guards and returned them to the holsters on the back of my belt.
"Well, that was fun," I said, turning to face Shepards group, only to take a step back when I came face to face with six guns aimed squarely at me.
"Who are you?" demanded the lead woman that could only be Shapard.
She had dark brown hair cut short in a bob cut and eyes that were nearly the exact same shade as mine, a dark, reddish brown, that were currently pinning me with a fearsome glare.
"Whoa, easy, I ain't an enemy!" I yelped, holding up my hands.
I had been in a bit of a rush to get here, so I hadn't activated my shields, which meant that if I got shot, the rounds would go right through me. I didn't really want to lose my best Platform quite so soon, nor did I want to get ousted before I had chance to earn everyone's trust.
"Thats not what I asked," said Shepard.
I gulped. According to the files I had on her, Shepard was a Paragon, but that didn't mean she couldn't be fucking scary!
"My name is John Connors," I said, "I'm what you might call a...concerned citizen."
That earned me the equivalent of a raised eyebrow from the entire squad.
"What?"
Shepard looked down at the puddle of Salarian blood I was still standing in and the Taurian who's brains were splattered all over the wall.
"Ah, right," I said.
"So who are you really?" asked Shepard, "A Mercenary?"
"A hacker."
More raised eyebrows.
"What? You can learn a lot from watching internet videos. On a side note, you wouldn't happen to be interested in some more intel on Saren and his Geth, would you?"
"How do you know about that?" asked Williams.
"I'm a very good Hacker," I said as I brought up some files, "Not to mention that the security around the Spectre files is worryingly weak."
I sent Shepard's omnitools some files I'd lifted from the Spectre office.
"Those are the records for Saren's ship movements over the past month," I said, "As you can see, he was in the Utopia system at the same time as the Geth attack. It may be circumstantial, but at least you'll have proof that Saren was in the area."
I looked up and saw that everyone was staring at me, completely dumbstruck. Except Wrex. He just looked bored
"You...hacked the Spectre files?" said Garrus in a strangled voice.
"And C-sec, the Ambassador's office and the Council's private files," I said, "I tried the Consort, but for some odd reason the security around that was leagues better than any of the others."
Garrus gave a kind of grinding whimper that probably didn't do his throat any good. Then again, I hadn't actually looked up much about Turian biology, so it could just be normal. I'd have to do that later. Shepard shook her head violently and shut down her Omnitool.
"Right, anyway, we've got the Quarian and more intel than we thought thanks to Skynet…"
"Pardon?"
I was ignored.
"Its time to head back to base. And you're coming with us. Williams, Alenko, grab him."
I blinked as I was suddenly grabbed by Alenko and Williams and frogmarched after Shepard.
"You could have just asked ya know," I drawled, "I did come here with the intention of helping after all."
"So, where does a hacker learn to do what you did?" asked Ashley.
"The internet and a lot of practice," I drawled, "It helps that I have an Eidetic memory."
"How does that help?"
"I can remember the movements and replicate them," I said, "After that its just repetition to build muscle memory and strength."
That was of course, pure bullshit. I had actually done a Neo and downloaded every fighting style I could physically perform and even a few I couldn't into my brain and created subroutines to act as muscle memory in combat. I had even added a few fictional fighting styles to my repertoire, including the forms used by the Jedi, the Juken and the Goken. What? I may be a computer, but I'm still a geek.
"I don't think thats how Eidetic memory works," said Alenko.
I just shrugged. He was right, but I wasn't going to say anything.
And thats where I'm gonna end this. I hope you enjoyed it.
Yes, John Connors is a reference to Terminator.
Is he OP? Probably, but frankly? I don't give a shit.
Anyway, I'm signing off here. I hope you enjoyed!