《Beyond Survival (Sci-Fi humans in Fantasy World)》 Chapter 1 An old story that I wrote based on a fanfic for Warcraft that had modern humanity in the world of Warcraft written on SB that was discontinued by its writer. I thought I''d post it here and on SB to see how people liked it and if they wanted me to work on this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ United States of America, Earth, 2098. Deep within the Nevada air base, a large group of scientists were working frantically, knowing that they were racing against time. As the hundreds of Directed Energy Deposit printers called the DED printers for short, worked overtime to print the various components required for the project that they were working on, the lead scientist, Dr. David Anderson, worked on his tablet, looking through the final checklist. However, he was distracted from his work when the entrance to their bunker opened and a man dressed in the uniform of the US armed forces entered. ¡°Dr. Anderson! I hope you have some good news for me.¡± Dr. David Anderson turned his head to look at the tall and well-built man with his tired blue eyes. Combing back his disheveled blond hair, the scientist walked towards the military man. ¡°General Carter. I do have news, but I don¡¯t know if it is good or not.¡± The military man, the General of the United States Army sighed tiredly as he motioned the scientist to continue talking. ¡°The rift generators have successfully passed the test. However, the Collider suffered a catastrophic failure after an hour of sustained use. We theorize that the strain of opening a dimensional gate for more than an hour is not possible at the moment.¡± ¡°Dr. Anderson, you know better than anyone that one hour is not enough to evacuate nearly ten thousand civilians and more than five thousand military personnel. Not to mention all of our military and scientific equipment along with the basic needs and resources.¡± The scientist gave a grim nod at the General¡¯s words. ¡°I know, sir. But, we don¡¯t have any other choice. The Last of the Arc ships prototype test was already launched by NASA over a month ago and has gone missing in the Stellar Storm just like the others. This Gate device, and others like it across the planet are quite literally our last resort options.¡± Once again, the General sighed and collapsed onto the nearest chair. ¡°¡­I just received the final message from the Fleet Admiral in the Pacific. His message said that the spread of corruption has accelerated significantly. Best case scenario, we have a week before it makes landfall.¡± Dr. Anderson¡¯s face went pale at those words. ¡°What about the Fleet Admiral?¡± ¡°His ship was infected by the time he sent the message, along with the rest of our last Naval Fleet. They chose to rig their ships to sink before they took their cyanide pills. We have officially lost our last sea-worthy ship.¡± ¡°¡­Any word from Project: Infinity?¡± ¡°Last I heard, General Jackson was pushing them hard to complete the Shuttles but he was not sure if they would complete it in time. He said that it would take at least a year before even a prototype was completed. Even our most optimistic predictions put Antarctica barely a month away from full corruption. It is safe to assume that Project: Infinity is a dead end.¡± Dr. Anderson gritted his teeth as he collapsed in another chair opposite the general.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The Scientist and the General could still vividly remember when this nightmare first began more than two decades ago. The year of 2078. Everyone was celebrating the new year, parties were occurring across multiple time zones across the world, celebrating the passage of another year in human history. However, they did not know that this new year would also mark the downfall of Humanity, and Earth itself. Nobody knows where it came from, or what it even was. The only thing they knew was that it originated from somewhere on the other side of the Galaxy. A storm of energy, made up of all kinds of radiation and particles, both known and unknown, ravaged the Solar System, knocking out all the satellite systems across Earth, the mining colony on the Moon, and the Martian Research base. Worse yet, the storm did not let up, it continued indefinitely, keeping everyone stranded where they were. Dr. Anderson still remembers the horror of listening to laser communications transmitted from the Moon base, the Martian Base, and the large group of miners present on the massive asteroid parked in a stable orbit above the Earth for resource harvesting. He remembers the desperate cries for help, the pleading, the anger and hate, and finally, the resignation of those people stuck on those bases without any resources. Of course, the space agencies on Earth were not idly listening to these people dying. They had tried desperately to try and reach them in any way they can, but they soon discovered that this damned storm, which would later be named the Stellar Storm, made all human technology inoperable the moment it reached outer space. Plasma Thrusters sputtered out the moment the shuttles left the Atmosphere. Chemical rocketry exploded in contact with the Stellar Storm. Mass Driver projectiles veered off course due to the stellar winds, even the experimental Anti-matter drives died the moment the ship came in contact with the storm. While all of this was going on, the scientists ground-side discovered that this storm brought with it a sinister disease that they simply could not identify. This disease, simply called ¡®The Corruption¡¯, was neither a bacteria, a virus, a fungus, nor any known organic substance. Hell, the researchers did not even know if it was organic or inorganic since every sample they took came back completely empty with nothing that could be detected through their state-of-the-art equipment. However, the corruption was quite clear for the naked eye to see as a tide of darkness that rapidly spread everywhere. It blackened the skies, seeped into the land, polluted the air with a dark fog, decomposed organic matter, oxidized inorganic matter, and even destroyed polymers and plastics that should normally take millions of years to deteriorate. And yet, despite such devastating odds, Humanity still held on. They built underground shelters near major population centers. Shielded with every form of shielding technology they had. Concrete, lead shielding, electromagnetic shielding, Macron particle shielding, and even experimental Energy shielding technology, no expenses were spared. For sustenance, they used a heavily modified strain of Spirulina along with organic growing vats used to grow artificial meats for food sources. Alongside this, they drilled deep into the Earth, searching for underground water sources to sustain their population. And yet, despite all these efforts, Humanity only delayed the inevitable. For two decades, Human civilization withered from over a few hundred bunkers to a measly three due to various issues, most of which included mass suicides, riots, resource shortage, and The Corruption finding its way into the bunkers through infected individuals that somehow managed to pass through the screening systems. One located under The Nevada Airbase, one under the Himalayan Mountains, and the last under the ice sheets of Antarctica. ¡°If Project: Infinity is a lost cause, then we have no choice but to depend on the Gates of Project: Exodus and manually transfer the goods.¡± General Ethan Carter nodded at those words. ¡°Do we know where we will be dropping out of the portals?¡± ¡°No. It is already a miracle that the Casimir Effect managed to rip through the fabric of space-time at all at the energy levels we are providing. My best guess is that this Stellar Storm has somehow weakened the fabric of reality. However, I do have some good news for you regarding this topic.¡± The scientist turned his data pad towards the General, showing towering trees and a beautiful landscape, although the General found it difficult to identify what type of trees they were. ¡°This is the image taken by our drones during their scouting missions into the rifts. Whatever is on the other side, it is definitely a suitable location for humanity.¡± The General continued staring in awe at the image, trying to remember when was the last time he had seen so much nature without any kind of artificial sustenance technology. With his mind made up, the General got up from his seat. ¡°Let''s get to it, then. Dr. Anderson, I want the Gates open as many times and as frequently as possible. I will issue an evacuation order across all three bunkers soon. We will first send out the basic necessities into this place along with military personnel to secure a landing zone. Then, we will send the infrastructure fabricators along with civilians in groups. Finally, we will send the last of our military and scientific equipment along with everyone else.¡± Dr. Anderson nodded at those words and immediately got back to work as the General marched out towards his quarters. This was his last chance to protect what remains of his race and he would be damned if he left any man, woman, or child behind. Chapter 2 ¡°Alpha Squad. This is Central. Begin final check.¡± Sergeant Major Lucas Mitchel, the leader of the Alpha Squad, looked at his men and nodded his head, indicating them to start checking their equipment. ¡°All of you, give me a final check. Comms?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Check!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Exo-Rig integrity and charge?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Check!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Gauss Rifle?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Check!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Ammo Packs?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Check!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°IAS status?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Check!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°CCQ Equipment?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Check!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Side arms?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Check!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± With a satisfied nod, Mitchel used his IAS, the Infantry Augmentation System, implant to directly connect with the Control Room designated ¡®Central¡¯ that is directly overlooked by the General of the Marine Corps and the General of the US Army. ¡°Central. This is Alpha Squad. We have all clear on the final check.¡± ¡°Confirmed all clear on the final check. Initiating Gate system. Good luck, Sergeant Major Mitchel.¡± Mitchel simply nodded towards the control room located above the massive opening they were in and turned back to his men. ¡°Alright people, we have only one objective in this mission. Secure the LZ and clear out any hostile Flora or Fauna, if any of that exists on the other side. Once we are done with the primary objective, we are to give the all-clear to the Central and then wait until the eggheads come through with their equipment for the inspection of the LZ. Any questions?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± No Sir!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Mitchel nodded with satisfaction and sent a signal to the control room with the all-clear. Within seconds, the massive ring-like structure spun to life as powerful spinning electromagnetic fields tore through the fabric of reality. The Alpha Squad, the best of the Marine Corps Mechanized Infantry Division, waited patiently until the tear in reality stabilized, giving the nine men and women a clear view of the beautiful nature on the other side that filled them with nostalgia.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Gate open. You are clear to proceed, Alpha Squad.¡± ¡°Acknowledged. Proceeding to the other side.¡± With a ping from his IAS implant, he signaled his squad to follow as they cautiously moved into the portal with their Gauss Rifles held up in a sweep formation. For a split second, their view and the sensory systems in their Exo-rigs distorted heavily before their feet touched soft grass on the other side and their sensors stabilized. Mitchel did not need to turn around to hear the gasps of awe from his squad for he was no different from them. It had been nearly twenty years since anyone had seen real nature, actual forests, and flora that did not rely on advanced technology to function. However, their training instantly kicked in as they remembered their primary objective, making them start carefully sweeping the surroundings of the portal with their weapons trained forward and their sensors set to the maximum. Radar did not pick up anything dangerous in the skies or around them, motion trackers were showing multiple contacts but the IAS was dismissing them as some kind of Fauna. Their instruments did not pick up any kind of radiation or harmful substances in the atmosphere. However, the concentration of Oxygen was slightly higher than what they were used to and the gravity was slightly lower than on Earth but not enough to really affect the humans and their potential offspring. Mitchel looked to his men and women, all of whom gave him a negative on any contact or threat. With a nod, Mitchel used his IAS to contact Central. ¡°Central, This is Alpha Squad. Transit success. LZ secure. Negative on any contact. Proceed with Phase 2. Repeat, All Clear for Phase 2.¡± ¡°Alpha Squad, this is Central. All Clear Acknowledged. Second Wave inbound.¡± ¡°Hey, Major Mitchel, do you think we will get some leave after this mission? Cause I¡¯d like to spend some time here if those eggheads back home don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Same!¡± Mitchel felt his lips twitch in a suppressed smile at his men¡¯s words as he slightly turned around while still keeping an eye on the motion sensors. ¡°Can it, Cooper. And Jackson, don¡¯t encourage his behavior. If you two can behave in this mission, I¡¯ll think about asking for that shore leave from the General.¡± ¡°Sweet! You are the best Major!¡± ¡°What did I just say?¡± Mitchel shook his head as Corporal Mason Cooper cheered at the prospect of his wish being granted while Sophia Jackson gave a happy smile at her leader. Despite his exasperation, Mitchel had the same idea as that of his squad. After all, if this place was to be the new beginning for what remains of humanity, then it would make sense for him to angle his plan for leave as a preliminary scouting of this world. With such plans in mind, the Sergeant Major continued watching the surroundings as a team of scientists walked through the portal with various scientific equipment.
Far away from the clearing in the forest where the humans were working, two strange beings were observing the humans and their portal. Their unnaturally pale skin stood out in the forest, yet their clothes looked like they were made from the very leaves of the trees around them, allowing them to blend in easily. Their long ears allowed them to easily hear the strange language being used by these newcomers to their forest while their eyes allowed them to look at the people clearly despite the great distance between them. The tall creatures that easily stood at six feet looked at each other before one of them started to speak in a language that sounded like they were singing. ¡°Go. Inform the Matriarch of what is going on here. Tell her that we have intruders in the Great Woods. While they clearly have no affiliation with the Greenies, They are not part of our race.¡± ¡°What about you? Sister.¡± ¡°I will keep an eye on them and make sure they don¡¯t harm our forest while you get reinforcements.¡± The creature nodded at her companion. ¡°May Sylvanya¡¯s blessing be upon you, sister.¡± ¡°Same to you.¡± With that, one of the creatures rushed off into the forest at impossible speeds, heading deep into the woods towards an unknown destination while the other creature continued looking at the humans with trepidation, praying to their goddess, Sylvanya, that they were not another enemy race that they would have to fight against. Chapter 3 ¡°Alright, people! Remember the protocols! Exo-rigs and Environmental suits will stay on no matter what you see out there. Even if the sensors say that the environment is clean, we don¡¯t know what types of unknown lifeforms or microorganisms live there.¡± The group of scientists simply nodded at Dr. Anderson¡¯s words as their civilian-grave exo-rigs whined with the power of hydraulics and motors, allowing them to carry the cumbersome scientific equipment through the portal easily. To save their meager reserves of fuel and energy, Dr. Anderson and General Carter decided to reduce the size of the portal, allowing them to save as much energy as possible so that they could commence large-scale evacuation in a week at most instead of the projected one month they would have needed if they left the portal size as it was. However, this did have the problem that they would have to take most of their vital technology and equipment in pieces and reassemble them on the other side along with making bulk transportation nearly impossible. In the end, they had no choice but to go through with this plan due to resource constraints. The group of scientists slowly moved through the gate, allowing them to see the verdant forest on the other side, which stunned them with its beauty. It is one thing to watch it through the screen and another entirely to see it in person. ¡°Remember, don¡¯t take off your environmental suits under any circumstances.¡± Once again, Dr. Anderson reminded his group which nodded at his words, albeit more reluctantly than before they crossed over. The built-in sensors of their exo-rigs, the exoskeleton that almost all the scientific and military groups in their complex wore, showed just how clean the atmosphere of this world was, heavily tempting this group of humans who were forced to breathe in recycled air for almost two decades to just take off their suits and enjoy the fresh air for once. However, their logic and reasoning told them that it was a very bad idea to do so without proper study of the native atmosphere. Given the alien nature of this world, despite its initial looks making it look extremely similar to ancient Earth, there was no telling the kind of microorganism that could be airborne. Hell, there is even the chance that humans themselves could become the source of a new kind of ecological disaster for this world with the countless microorganisms that they carry on their bodies. The group slowly walked towards the Marines who had already established a temporary shelter in this location with fabricators that produced modular and interlocking blocks made of concrete over the past week where they had been moving back and forth between the worlds to establish a foothold. Today, the task of the scientists is to run an entire battery of tests on the local environment, assess their compatibility with human life, and, if proven to be a good place, give the go-ahead for the construction crews that were waiting back at the base to begin the fabrication of an initial base and fortification on this side of the base. Slowly, the scientists put down the massive machinery on the ground and started wiring them together with wireless relay stations that they brought with them to establish a data stream with the base on the other side. While creating hardlines through the gate was proven to be impossible, signals can still be transmitted wirelessly through it, allowing humans to continue communicating with their implants. ¡°Seismic detectors ready¡± ¡°Radar and Lidar systems ready¡± ¡°Underground scanners ready¡± ¡°Atmospheric detection systems ready¡± ¡°Filtration and detection systems ready¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Temperature, Atmospheric Pressure, and Humidity detectors ready¡± ¡°DNA sampling and sequencing systems ready¡± ¡°Accelerated growth pods ready¡± ¡°Genetic analysis and prediction systems ready¡± ¡°Clean room ready¡± ¡°Quarantine room ready¡± ¡°Medical Fabricators ready¡± ¡°All systems are ready, Dr. Anderson.¡± ¡°Good. Let¡¯s get to it.¡± Dr. Anderson and his team directly walked into the self-sealing tents set up for their clean room and quarantine rooms. Determination was evident behind all of their helmets. This group of people now had the responsibility to secure a future for their entire race, and they would be damned before they slacked off even a little bit and allowed a variable to slip through their notice.
Earth, somewhere over Brazil. A fleet of passenger jets tore through the sky at blistering speeds, carrying precious cargo aboard. Their air-breathing Hydrogen-powered Scramjets screeched into the ruined atmosphere as their frames continued to deteriorate under the onslaught of the Corruption. As the outer layer of the craft deteriorated rapidly and reached a point where it was no longer viable, they were ejected, revealing another layer of armor beneath the one that was just ejected. Every craft was designed with six such layers, each layer projected to withstand the Corruption for up to five hours at least. However, the recent acceleration in The Corruption affects on everything around the world, that time had been cut down drastically. This, combined with the need to replace the Scramjets of the aircraft every few hours or so with on-board fabricators and the accelerated deterioration of the crafts as a whole with every minute spent moving below the sound barrier meant that these jets were operating at the edge of death every second of their flight. And yet, its passengers had no choice but to take these dangerous crafts to their destination, heading straight for the Nevada bunker. Aboard one of the crafts in the fleet, a military woman wearing military-grade Exo-rig and environmental suit walked into the cabin of the pilots. ¡°Captain, how far are we from Neva Base?¡± ¡°Ten hours, Colonel, including our pit stop in Brazil for ejecting our damaged engines and replacing them.¡± Colonel Alice Bennett nodded her head and settled down on one of the seats behind the pilots. One of the two pilots hesitated for a minute before speaking up. ¡°Permission to speak freely, Ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Granted, Captain Hughes.¡± ¡°What are the chances that all of us will make it to Nevada?¡± Colonel Alice fell silent at those words as her mind swirled with emotions. However, her training kicked in, making her look towards the Captain with a stoic look hidden behind her helmet. ¡°I do not know, Captain. I will not lie to you and insult your intelligence since you know just as well as I do that not everyone will make it to the base intact.¡± The Captain simply nodded at the words and turned back to the instruments, his expressions, and emotions hidden behind his own environmental suit. After Project: Infinity, the research being conducted in Antarctica to prepare an Orion-Drive-based space shuttle for the exodus of the human race was deemed a failure a week ago due to the uncertainty of its operation in the Stellar Storm just like every other type of spacecraft tried before along with the long duration required to prepare a working prototype, the General of the Army, General Carter, the General of the Marines, Issac White, and the General of the Airforce, Aarav Patel, the last surviving military leaders from around the world after the two decades-long fight against The Corruption and its infected, initiated an evacuation of the other two bunkers of the Earth. At this point, everyone had realized that either Project: Exodus must have succeeded, or the leaders of what remains of humanity had decided that it was better for all of them to die together, giving them at least a little bit of solace as they slipped into the embrace of death. The people of the other bunkers also knew that not all of them would survive the journey. The Antarctic base housed nearly three thousand people, all of which were scientific and military units along with their close families. A significantly small number compared to the nearly sixteen thousand people of the Nevada Bunker and the nearly ten thousand people of the Himalayan Bunker. While the travel system employed by the Himalayan Bunker was much safer than that of the Antarctic base since they utilized underground Hyperloop systems, they would still face significant danger just as their counterparts traveling through the air due to the constant earthquakes plaguing that part of the world along with unexpected Corruption brought into the Hyperloop systems through underground water systems, both artificial and natural. In the end, the higher-ups estimated that only 85% of the people from Antarctica and 90% of people from the Himalayan bunker would make it to Nevada Base. And yet, despite this grim projection that had been shared with everyone, they still undertook this journey, for they knew that it was better to try and make it to their salvation than suffer a slow and painful death, or a fate worse than death, at the hands of The Corruption. Just like Colonel Alice¡¯s commanding officer, Major General Samuel Lewis, and the majority of her unit had suffered during their hasty retreat from Antarctica after The Corruption somehow made its way into the bunker. With those depressing thoughts in mind, just like with the rest of the people aboard this fleet of aircraft, she silently watched the Captain and his co-pilot work on getting them to their salvation, or their doom.