We spent a week rebuilding the base as hundreds of Singularity rejects arrived. Helen, mind reader that she was, sorted them easily, capturing a half dozen of her own ilk, Azhurai conglomerate infiltrators. They received symbiotes with no options for parole.
Meanwhile a third of the irregulars opted for cryostasis, while another twenty seven percent opted to voluntarily fight for us without any symbiotic aid. Unsurprisingly these turned out to be soldiers from various militaries, spanning the range from coast guard repairmen to Ukrainian tank crews, and even a trio of Russian Spetznaz who somehow became Barker’s favorite people, something about shovel throwing while doing backflips.
Boy stuff I guess. Not sure if I should be worried about Barker’s mental health, or if his canine side just loves people.
But the remainder of our irregulars halts all thoughts. Nearly forty percent of the total opt into accepting a symbiote. A number so high it sees me kicking in the supply room door and halting the infestation process.
“Helen! Explain to me how this is possible?!” I shout.
She whirls, saluting me in Singularity fashion. I return the salute, earning several gawks from the surrounding Earthlings.
“Oh shut up you ninnies, we’ve all been flashtrained! Don’t give me shit when you all know it means something else!” I snap, scowling onlookers into compliance.
“Hello boss!” Calls Helen, far too cheery for my liking.
“Forty percent of humans are opting for mind control? Quit grinning and explain. NOW.” I snap, about ready to stuff Helen into a cryotube.
“Sorry boss, it’s just that Worm and I had a bet as to when you''d swing by, and I just won.” She says, intertwining our armored hands and guiding me out the door away from our guests. When we are a dozen paces away she turns, “Human psychology is fascinatingly simple. You and Hygieia have given conflicting orders, so Worm and I had to figure out a solution. Hygieia wants all the biomass, or everyone to be infested, and you want everyone to survive.”
A frown spreads across my face, already guessing where this is going.
“So you infest everyone because that is an acceptable compromise?” I ask.
“Not quite. Any murderers and rapists have to infested or turned into biomass, and with choices like that, they opt into symbiosis.” Helen is smiling now, as if possessing someone on pain of death is not forced infestation. “That got us a few percentage swings, but the major change was explaining the perks of accepting a symbiote willingly! Sure we had to compromise a bit on what Symbiotes are allowed to do, kinda like a time share but for your brain.”
Eyes narrow at her words, mouthing ‘time share’ in disbelief. “That isn’t what I meant… Ah hell, give me the pitch.”
Helen’s visor comes up, reminding me just how attractive she is. Long eyelashes, perfectly shaped lips, and a complexion I cannot achieve even with most expensive Sephora. She opens the suit, revealing a low cut shirt that is in no way standard issue with several golden necklaces dripping down her neck, all complimenting the black velvet choker, or accenting the cleavage like V shaped ripples.
She clasps hands together, her posture tantalizing. “I’m so glad you’ve decided to visit Athena’s Irregulars. First, let me just say how wonderful it is to see you here,” she began, bright and melodic. “I know you lead busy lives and only wish to return home. You have responsibilities waiting there, families, careers, or maybe just the next Brandon Sanderson novel.”
“Well,” she continues, “Here on Syrak-9 there are only three ways to contribute to our voyage home. First, you can kill our enemies, once we conquer the planet everyone will be able to come and go freely. A goal Athena is working towards with all her might and we don’t have to take the entire planet, just this continent. So a military takeover is the most direct way home. A second and far less popular path is death. You can die, as all biomass can be converted into supplies or weapons so others may achieve victory!”
Helen pauses, waiting for my response.
“That’s a shit pair of options. Don’t tell me that works?!”
“Of course not! Everyone gets angry, but boss, it’s about framing the question. If I pushed you up against the wall, jammed my knee between your legs and said ‘Hey babe, want my worm?’ no one would ever say yes! So when they object we- ahem.” She folds one arm over her chest, tapping her cheek with the other, as if digging deep into her memories to find a solution for me. “You’re right, those choices are terrible. But only because you feel unprepared. What if I told you that there is a way to enhance yourself—your body, your mind, your entire being—without the endless struggle? Imagine waking up each morning feeling rested, fully healed, and confidently informed on every decision you make.”
She gestures sideways, pulling a miniature cryotube from her belt, where shimmering liquid pulsed softly, as though it had a heartbeat of its own. “This, my friends, is the next step in human evolution. A biological companion designed to support you in ways we never thought possible. It works with you, learns from you, helps you become the best version of yourself.”
She picked up the vial, cradling it gently as she spoke. “We call it a symbiote but don’t let that word scare you. This isn’t some cold, mechanical implant. This is organic, able to think and communicate on equal footing with ourselves, while understanding our biological needs. Sometimes even before you do.”
“Seriously, you’re hitting them with a personal assistant pitch?” I gasp.
“Of course, who wants to be hungry all day? Or deal with kidney stones? A symbiote acts as a go between between you and your body. It optimizes your body, sharpens your thoughts, takes away the second-guessing that holds us back. Think of it like a trusted friend, always looking out for you. No more anxiety, no more hesitation just confidence, clarity, and efficiency.”
She takes a half step forward, offering me a close up look at the symbiote for a second before pulling a picture out of her suit. Depicting an obese version of Helen with an absurd amount of pimples and greying hair. My mouth falls open, when did she cook up that picture?!
“Hard to believe I once looked like that. But it’s all possible with symbiosis. A small reduction in facial oils, a little more willpower to keep you from eating that seventh slice of cake, you know the one, when you’ve already had two delicious pieces and go in for a third only to find it’s the least savory piece? With our enhancement you can become your best self.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Between her words and ample lips, I’m almost convinced.
As if sensing my feelings Helen softens her expression, withdrawing half a pace and retracting the symbiote. Which is less than a third the size of a real one.
“I know—it sounds too good to be true, and in a way, it is. These symbiotes come with a cost. Once a day, for roughly eight hours you will be required to work as a conscript for Athena’s Irregulars. Similarly to the flashtraining these symbiotes will guide you through a full shift, increasing the possibility of returning our homecoming.” Helen half extends the symbiote, carefully slipping the picture of her back into the armor.
Presenting the choice without being overly pushy. I need to be careful around this woman, she could sell ice to an eskimo, and mind reading only makes her more terrifying.
“And if they still refuse?”
“Who cares? We’ve already convinced everyone who would accept one of us.” Helen laughs. “Although some cowards still can’t pick, so I have to give them the cryo option.”
“Oh…” I say, understanding the monster I’ve created.
Constraints were obeyed, every requirement fulfilled. I swallow, wondering what kind of bureaucratic penetration Helen could achieve back on earth.
“Uhm. Good Job Helen. Carry on.”
“Yessir!” Snaps Helen, getting back to work.
For the first time on Syrak, I follow her lead, pulling up my inventory of forces and observing the new totals.
98 / 144 Biomass (Hygieia’s pool of available biomass)
934 / 2000 Courier Ship Progress
80 / 80 Mechanized armors
35 / 50 Vehicles
1 / 1 Protochronian Artefacts
12 Nanofactories
1 MacroFactory (Foundry) Novan Primary Fabricator
25 / 100 Project ‘ODIN’
[+50 psychically viable biomass] (goes into a separate reservoir)
+134 irregulars. ( 13 biomass, -45 cryo, 76 to base crew)
Across the board my numbers are soaring, having three separate Me’s working on the same forces has been full of happy little surprises. Like the twenty two Juggernauts now under my command, although Hygieia’s burgeoning forces catch me off guard.
>Terran Thena: Hey Hygieia, need to borrow some troops? I see you’re cooking more soldiers rather than devoting everything into the ship. Did one of the other Matriarchs survive?
>Matriarch Hygieia: not a chance
>Matriarch Hygieia: probably
>Matriarch Hygieia: crap
>Matriarch Hygieia: I’ll have Zazathur cook up some observational bioforms and send them out.
>Terran Thena: You don’t even have burrowed banelings? What kind of Zerg noob are you? Didn’t you land with a whole ship full of zerglings? Shouldn’t there be tens of thousands of them swarming all over you?
>Matriarch Hygieia: stfu
>Matriarch Hygieia: look. It’s the first wave rebuild. Unlike you we are not wearing suits so acclimating to radiation and a new biosphere works… uh… differently
>Matriarch Hygieia: okay, its super stupid.
>Matriarch Hygieia: The collective plans for everything in the first wave to die from local diseases like the flu and common cold. We do our best to identify the different phages then develop suitable antibodies during the second wave. During a normal invasion advanced parties are sent, but we couldn’t do that on this continent so Fleetmind just YOLO’d our tails down here and let everything catch the flu.
>Terran Thena: Are you seriously telling me all your zerg friends got the flu and died. Which is why we haven’t seen any of them recently?
>Matriarch Hygieia: well it sounds stupid when you put it like that!
>Matriarch Hygieia: Hey bitch, did you forget alien microbes are TERRIFYING! If they can melt my limbs off, just think what space AIDS will do to a squishy human like you! Those gasmasks aren’t for show.
>Terran Thena: Okay… Guess ‘War of the Worlds’ is totally accurate. Lol.
>Matriarch Hygieia: Oh, it gets better.
>Matriarch Hygieia: The zerglings don’t die for no reason, they all get sick, develop antibodies and then eject those antibodies into the commander’s biopool.
I pause to reason out what exactly she means, and piece a horror show together.
>Terran Thena: You’re sharing an immune system with all the lings?
>Matriarch Hygieia: Naw, they’re kinda just bleeding out so I can live.
>Terran Thena: Hold up. You brought those lings into the world, let them catch the flu, quite literally engaging in biological warfare with your babies, THEN BLENDED THEM INTO A FLU SHOT?!
>Matriarch Hygieia: Mengsk would be so proud.
Between Helen and Hygieia I’m surrounded by psychopaths.
>Matriarch Hygieia: Everything my children have, I have too! Although, we had to fight off space AIDS… Like ten thousand variations of it. Someone on Syrak is pumping out viral strains faster than I can make spinolings! Zazathur has a few ideas on how to alleviate most of them, but he needs these Infestor sort of things, they’re kinda like- uh, chubbier, and mixed with a porcupine, which doesn’t help us at all when troopers have particle blasters and Azhurai have energy cannons so I’m baking an escort too. Spinolings, Predators like Hades, and some roaches.
>Terran Thena: Blended babies. I’m not even surprised at this point… Mrs. Commie.
>Matriarch Hygieia: Hey, I’m never this much of a smartass to you!
>Executrix Alaea: You sure about that?
>Matriarch Hygieia: :dead:
>Terran Thena: lol. But you have roaches, cmon girl, embrace the communism and share.
>Matriarch Hygieia: YOU GOT THE LAST ONE SQUISHED!
>Terran Thena: But… Did he get better?
>Matriarch Hygieia: Not the point Athena! But yes i did recycle his biomass
>Matriarch Hygieia: Got some larger projects cooking, things that might have a chance against shields. Which is super difficult, bout to start a crystal farming lab in the mountains to try and synthesis a molecular structure that defeats shielding. But plasma still punches through both sides of these. So I switched over to making hydralisks from the dollar bush.
>Terran Thena: Ghetto hydralisks? Or hydras so cheap they couldn’t afford the tree.
>Matriarch Hygieia: First.
>Matriarch Hygieia: They cost 2 biomass a piece and can’t pierce armor so I had to start over.
>Matriarch Hygieia: Which is why I stalled ship construction a bit, roaches are living their best lives vomiting biomass everywhere, the ship is growing, but we need more biomass, a lot more. Thousands more!
>Terran Thena: Yeah yeah, I’m working on it.
>Matriarch Hygieia: Good. The collective has some big boy versions of a hydra I want to test. Way better at tunneling but more like an ultra in how they fight, lots of teeth and claws, not a whole lot of shooting. Plus an ultra sized price tag! The smallest one is 20 biomass! I’ll be scraping fungi for weeks! Tastes awful.
>Matriarch Hygieia: Oh, before I forget, Vultures are done. Same with the Diamondback prototypes. Give it a spin.
>Terran Thena: WHAT!
>Executrix Alaea: Yeah, we are low on reactors so they are like 90% done, only has basic shielding. :smug-ass-smirk:
>Terran Thena: I love you girls.
>Terran Thena: Oh, can I get Ling1 and Linling2 reincarnated? I really like those two.
>Matriarch Hygieia: Already done. Just warp em back to you.