《D.I.C.K - Digital Intelligence Combat Kernel》 Dick Chapter 1 Dick The sunrise cresting over the horizon displayed a vibrant pinkish orange that set edges of the Eastern sky on fire. Yet, the air itself was barely warm, and the breeze brushed across his face with a soft chill that reminded him of his childhood. "Let¡¯s run down to the pond and catch some turtles Dicky!" His older brother Benji called out. "Don''t call me that! You know I hate that name!" exclaimed Richard. "Bllrrrrttt!" Benji stuck his tongue out and spit out at Richard while the door shut behind him. He shook his head on the memory and how it was always one of the first things he would think of when Spring came calling. Who the hell made the executive decision that Richard would automatically default to Dick or Dicky anyways!? It didn¡¯t even make sense. To make matters worse, the more he complained the more people doubled down on calling him the damn name. It certainly didn¡¯t help that his last name was also ¡°conveniently¡±Majors. This unfortunate turn of events has caused confusion countless times and usually led to him apologizing for perceived notions simply on a name that was completely out of his control. It¡¯s not like he was hurting in that department either, he just wasn¡¯t ¡°packing heat¡± in any way that warranted the name Dick Majors. Nope, his parents just didn¡¯t care that their son would eventually walk around in society with a name of some 70¡¯s Chippendales dancer. All that being said, he finally succumbed to peer pressure and just accepted his fate as Dick and stopped complaining. It¡¯s relatively common he thought. That you would eventually get stuck with some name that you probably hated at first. At least this one was common enough that once he hit his twenties people didn¡¯t really bat an eye at it; and really isn¡¯t that all you could hope for. To eventually fade into the masses of those around you so nothing sticks out as weird or too awkward for social events, right? Another spring breeze pulled him out of his daydreaming thoughts, and he looked down at the steam seething up from his locally roasted and freshly brewed coffee. After a couple of sips to set the morning off perfectly, he stood up and took in a deep breath as rays of freshly birthed sunshine bathed him in pure light. ¡°Time to gear up and head out¡± he said out loud to himself. Dick took his time getting dressed. It was a routine that he liked to take his time to do, and although he had been in this role for about a year and a half this part never got old. Being security detail for a State Senator was a pretty sweet deal. It¡¯s not like many people are actually interested in taking action against some old geezer who just so happens to be out here in the mountains of Tennessee. Well at least outside of a few whack-a-doodle types that didn¡¯t really act out beyond a poorly crafted Social Media post or some mishmash of insults barely legible to anyone beyond a 5th grade internet presence. After he donned his new thin-tech bullet proof vest he put on his tactical khakis and green utility jacket. At least the old man didn¡¯t mind what they wore, and he wasn¡¯t being forced to literally suit up every day in a three-piece CIA suit. Once his things were in order and he looked like a very obvious member of an overseas detail attached to an embassy personality, he wrapped his ritual up with a few practice swings with his hidden bowie. Not that he wore it to be an obvious deterrent or to give off some badass Rambo persona. He actually just really admired his Crocodile Dundee knife and the skills he had obtained with it while in his early teen years. What started out as simple childlike admiration of a goofy outback personality had evolved into full on passion for handling medium sized blades. His throwing techniques alone had allowed him to win enough parlor trick bets to pay his rent in college a few times. To be honest, it sort of bugged him that he had never actually needed to use it in the line of duty. Not even when he was on an actual detail in Afghanistan for an entire 8-month security team deployment. Still, just having it strapped on and resting up at a slight angle against his back just felt like, home. As Dick reached for the doorknob he was met with a strange overwhelming electric feeling. It was as if his entire body was suddenly covered in static electricity. His muscles completely locked up, all of his hair was standing on its end, and his mouth tasted fuzzy as if he had been knocked out and had only just recently became conscious again. After several seconds had passed Dick¡¯s brain function returned, and his body unfroze. He had a sudden shiver run down his back, and he was able to turn the knob and step through the door. Although the pause was unexplainable and in any normal circumstance should cause one to stop and ask what in the hell just happened, His ability to recognize that it even occurred was gone as quickly as it had come. Although it had taken approximately 5 seconds, he wasn¡¯t even able to remember freezing in time as soon as the moment had passed. It was as if he was temporarily in a trance and all functions were shut off. Even his short-term memory. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Today¡¯s morning drive was relatively uneventful, but that was the strangest part about it. The morning sun had hidden itself behind the now gray blanket that had taken over the clear open sky of the recently experienced vibrant dawn. And the roads that aren¡¯t usually busy in the first place were even less so. By quite the margin in fact. Hell, he only saw one other vehicle on his entire 23-minute commute. It didn¡¯t immediately strike him as strange, but you couldn¡¯t help but notice when the entire roadway has been turned into a ghost town. Not that he really minded. It had been a very long time for any drive, over damn near any distance, that didn¡¯t also have some level of stress and anger involved within it. Pulling into the old man¡¯s drive, Dick couldn¡¯t help but feel as if the air was getting thicker than it had been before. It was as if the gray sky itself was leaking down and looked like it could be pulled into the lungs of anyone it floated close enough to. Carrying with it a taste of electricity as if touching a nine-volt battery over your tongue, except this affected every pore across your entire body not just the points of contact on your tongue. What is this feeling and why is it so thick here at the old man¡¯s house? Or is this everywhere now? As Dick walked across the crushed gravel portion of the driveway he noticed that he could see dust particles picking up and lingering in his wake. Small sparks seemed to shoot back and forth between some of the smaller particles and he caught himself looking down and immediately shaking his head and muttering out loud, ¡°Damn, maybe I should be concerned more about what the hell I¡¯m looking at.¡± However, his focus was quickly pulled into the direction of the front door of Mr. Hegseths home as the door knocker buckle began to vibrate with a low hum and a quickening tempo. At that moment Dick pulled himself out of the trance of strange happenings and quickly rushed up to the door. He didn¡¯t know what was happening, but if something was going on here, he knew he needed to see the Senator quickly and ensure his safety as soon as possible. As he reached for the door, for the second time today his body locked up. All of what happened with his previous doorknob encounter rushed back to him. The electricity covering his body, the inability to move, and the fuzzy taste all were felt and instantly remembered as a recurring theme. The fact that this had happened just minutes earlier, but he wasn¡¯t able to remember until this exact moment was troubling to say the least. Yet this sudden revelation caused his brain to begin processing things in a hyper state. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was through shear will power, his body¡¯s natural instinct, or a combination of both, but his heart began to slam against his chest as if he were amping up for a fight. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. Once the third shattering heartbeat was felt booming out from his ears and across his brain, Dick forced himself forward. This time against the freezing feeling that still tried to captivate his entire body. With eyes wide and a grunt of extra willpower he blasted through the door. Strangely enough as soon as he broke free from the invisible hold, the door itslef actually flew open with well-oiled ease the moment it budged. He was immediately assaulted by the sheer brightness of the room, and he quickly realized he was no longer at the Senator¡¯s home. Hell, he wasn¡¯t sure if this was still Tennessee. The air was foreign to him. Similar to the way an ICU room would smell in a hospital, but this place wasn¡¯t being cleaned with hospital grade cleaner and the smell was somehow¡­ digital? His intuition told him that this room couldn¡¯t be dirtied by anything physically done to it. It was as if the walls and floor would be kept clean by some technology that he couldn¡¯t comprehend, but he knew he was on the right path. Out of curiosity he stamped his foot down and watched the dust from his boot fall and digitally absorb into the ground leaving behind only a well-polished tile reflecting back up at him. ¡°Hmmm, well would you look at that.¡± He said under his breath. As he looked up from the floor he took in the room. He was in a bright white tiled room with lights that seemed to emanate from each tile without there being an actual light source. As he stumbled forward he came up to a desk looking station. Behind it there stood a short yet slender man with skin that looked like it had scales hidden by some sort of invisible magic just over the surface. He only saw the skin for a split moment and then only at very specific angles would the light deflect enough to see it. Once he was able to focus entirely on the man¡¯s face he noticed the unique orange and gold speckled iris burning from his large piercing eyes. ¡°Um, uh. Hello?!¡± Dick inquired. ¡°Ah! Hello mister straggler!¡± exclaimed the clerk behind the counter with a raspy almost amphibian tone. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not exactly sure what is happening¡­ Where the hell am I? Is this some joke? Did you guys do something to the Senator? Wait, what do you mean straggler?¡± Dick said in a sudden jumble of confused word vomit. The little man seemed to burn through Dick and his dumbfounded look. As if the very courage to speak was worth getting a slap upside the head over. ¡°Calm down, calm down. Try shutting up and we can work through the details together. Okay?!¡± The little man said, clearly bothered. As Dick went to speak he stopped himself. At the same time a wave of calm energy washed down his body as if he had gulped down a glass of cold water on an empty stomach. He cleared his throat and gained his composure before speaking again. ¡°Sorry. Where are my manners. Can we start with your name first? I¡¯m Richard Majors.¡± Dick said with the wave of calm still swirling around him. ¡°Ermmm, hurumph. Sure thing buddy.¡± The man grunted. ¡°Most people refer to me as Spectraclintiss, but your people have butchered it all day. So just call me Spec. I¡¯ll be the tutorial guide to your special event. If you choose to participate that is¡­¡± Spec trailed off with a raised eyebrow. He was allowing time to linger as if to give Dick a chance to answer. Although he had no clue what he was potentially going to participate in. Leading to several seconds of awkward silence. Eventually Spec relented and continued. ¡°Moving on then.¡± Options and Integration Chapter 2 Options and Integration As Spec began his well-rehearsed bit regarding the goings on around the world, Dick had a tough time not falling to the floor with process overload. I mean it was a lot to take in at once. ¡°As you are clearly and very obviously unaware. Your world has finally met the technological requirements needed to begin implementing the official High Order operating system that those from the Superior3 Universe have built. Part of this implementation consists of culling certain, less important, poorly skilled individuals. Today will be the first step of many and we must begin quickly and efficiently to allow the main system to continue its path to absolute perfection. Not that you all are left totally in the dust here. No, no, no, you get the grand opportunity to become implemented yourself and I, the great Spectraclintiss, have been tasked with guiding you through choosing your next steps, and to help pave your best path forward! Now doesn¡¯t that sound exciting!¡± Spec exclaimed as if the more he spoke the more he suddenly couldn¡¯t contain pure unadulterated joy. ¡°What do you mean cull of less important? Do you mean you are going to kill people?¡± Dick said with serious concern. ¡°Well of course we are. And just a heads up, you will be too. Let us be clear here. Whether you decide to implement or not, the chances that someone will try to cut you in half with a pulse rifle or stab a stake through your heart within the next month or so is about 100% guaranteed. In fact, it¡¯s never not happened! HAHA!¡± Spec said in a happy matter of fact manner. ¡°A stake through my hea¡­¡± ¡°Shut up! All of that can wait. We don¡¯t have much time now, and I am still required to give you your options. Immediately after hearing the options, you must choose the option that fits your fancy the most, and the upgrade must be completed post haste! Again, that is if you choose to implement.¡± Spec said again in an abrupt hurry. ¡°Okay, fuck it! What are my options?¡± Dick said. Annoyed by the sudden rush. ¡°Yes! Alright, here we go! Now, listen closely. I do not have time to repeat these. Option 1 ¨C Zero Implementation. Minimal short-term gains with zero long term gains. You are let out onto the world with just the clothes you have on your back; with your current strengths and weaknesses and no ability to grow or level-up. You will be on what your kind would call Legendary Survival Mode. Chances of living beyond a year is nearly non-existent. As people, creatures, and beings of all types will be getting stronger as time moves forward from here on out. You certainly don¡¯t have to be a fortune teller to recognize that this one isn¡¯t a great choice for you if you value life. Option 2 ¨C Limited Implementation. Low short-term gains with a bonus of unlimited long-term gains. You are given an AI system integration familiar to you by Earth standards that can interact uninhibited with the High Order system AI for better intelligence, mapping, and access to multi-dimensional facilities. You will be let out onto your world with the ability to fight, learn, grow, and outpace your peers through sheer willpower. There is no cap on how far your leveling can take you. The world will become your oyster and you my fine little sack of gooey meat water can become the diamond that pressure eventually creates! If you don¡¯t die that is. Option 3 - Full implementation. Immediate and forever easy mode. You will become fully integrated with the High Order system AI and allowed direct permanent departure to Serus10 within a nearby galaxy or you can stay here and wonder freely on your home planet. You will be immediately leveled and upgraded as needed for the environment and no longer be at risk of the elements in whatever domain you find yourself in. This option allows the High Order system AI to interact uninhibited and unrestricted within you. This option comes with the bonus of having limitless knowledge to vast corners of the multi-verse and the ability to live on forever.¡± While rattling off that last ¡°bonus¡± Spec¡¯s eyes seemed to gloss over, and his face took on an almost hidden sinister smile throwing Dick¡¯s instincts into a fizzing mess. Something about that last option had a hidden agenda and he knew it. Again, he couldn¡¯t pinpoint how or why he knew, but he was certain. There was no doubt, and in no way would he pick option 3. That said he had questions he felt needed to be addressed before moving forward with selection. ¡°Can I ask questions about the options?¡± Dick inquired. ¡°Yes but make it quick! I¡¯ll give you 2 questions and 2 questions only, and then it will be 30 seconds for a choice before you opt into auto selecting option 1.¡± ¡°Okay. What do you mean when you say, ¡°level up¡±? It would appear that I¡¯m entering a game of some sort.¡± ¡°In a way, yes. Many of your kind would call this event layout a game so to speak. You in your current form are for all intents and purposes what we would call Level 0. You are limited at what you can achieve. With a hardcore restriction to your ability to get stronger and become more aware of skills without taking decades of dedication, endless study, sacrifice, and training. With the integration of your AI with ours you will be able to get better or ¡°level up¡± certain stats and skills much quicker and with gains far superior to your usual methods. These gains can inevitably be that of Super Human in contrast to your World¡¯s standards up until this point. Okay, that¡¯s two questions asked and answered!¡± Spec blurted out. ¡°Wait a goddamned minute! I asked one question followed by a statement to relate to said question.¡± Dick protested. ¡°Sorry. It was registered as 2. You have 30 seconds.¡± Spec smiled devilishly as a timer appeared over his head that followed his face while he shuffled around a bit. Fuck! Dick screamed out in his head. There seems to be a theme here to push an individual into certain choices. Obviously Option 3 was a setup to fuck someone over, right? No way ¡°Easy Mode¡± would be a thing here. He hasn¡¯t spent more than 20 minutes in the presence of a being that came from said system, and he had his alarm bells ringing with a vigorous fervor. Something wasn¡¯t right there and in no way would he fall for a trick that obvious. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. However, the other two options weren¡¯t much better. Option 1 basically promises that you die quickly, and from what he could tell, probably in a horrible manner. The only thing holding him back from immediately selecting Option 2 is the AI being ¡°integrated¡±. His second question was going to be about said integration, and he was pissed that there was no way to convince this little shit to give him an answer before the choice had to be made. All things being equal it isn¡¯t like there is much choice given those two options. Therefore, with 11 seconds still left on the clock, he chose the only real option he felt that he had. ¡°I¡¯ll take option 2¡± The devilish smile on Spec¡¯s face spread out in a way that did not make Dick confident in his choice. At all. ¡°Perfect. Perfect. Please remove your jacket before you have a seat and place your head back on the head rest and your hands on the markings.¡± Spec instructed as he waved his hand. A thin medical styled chair appeared behind Dick with arched armrests that had a glowing hand emblem at the end of each one. He slowly took his jacket off and laid it over the desktop before he walked over and sat down. He immediately noticed the chair wasn¡¯t cold or as hard as it looked. Allowing him to fall back into it easily and with a strange nothingness feeling to it. As if somehow the chair was made of clouds, although it looked like porcelain. He placed his hands over the glowing marks and leaned back carefully. As soon as his head hit the back rest of the chair, ethereal like bands wrapped around his arms, waist, neck, legs, and forehead., ¡°Hey! What the fuck!¡± Dick yelled out as he struggled against the restraints. ¡°Oh, sorry. I meant to warn you about that. Not to worry. The integration can be a bit uncomfortable, but I assure you, you are as safe as you can be at this very moment.¡± Spec calmly stated while still wearing his creepy smile. ¡°Here let me give you something for the edge.¡± He said. With another wave of the hand, that same calming sensation Dick had felt earlier crawled over and throughout his body. He let it take full effect and relaxed again in the chair. He looked over to the side as a small robotic arm with a rather large syringe protruding out at the end raised up from underneath the chair. Without warning and with a slow and steady motion the needle was pushed into Dick¡¯s forearm. A click was heard from underneath the floor and a tube that ran up to the back of the robotic appendage pumped a fluorescent blue fluid containing what looked like a swirling pearl powder mixed in, directly into his veins. It hurt like absolute hell! It felt like the injection was pumping more fluid in his veins than they could handle. Along with it a sensation that could only be compared to what you would expect an acid injection to feel like. He bit down on his bare teeth and accidentally caught the edge of his tongue without consciously being able to notice. He continued to look down in horror, and before he could protest or really take in the entire scene a second arm popped up and unapologetically pushed in to his left arm and began pumping the blue liquid after another click. ¡°Holy Shit!¡± Dick growled through his teeth. Spewing blood and spit. He saw parts of his flesh burning and peeling off as thin titanium like plates rose up in its place. They started from the injection site and ran up inward toward this chest, sprouting up and out of his neck onto his face and into his brain. The burning and pain continued all the way down and through his legs, but he had become too preoccupied with his brain melting to really care. Another series of clicks and the liquids color was somehow boosted by an unfamiliar electric light. Forcing its way up and through the metal surface in a digital like pattern a blue glow emanated from etching that began to scar the plates. After a few agonizing seconds he felt a deep POP in his ears without a sign of sound after, not even the ringing you get when shooting at the range without protection. The deafness was followed by the edges of his eyes eclipsing inward and into darkness. The pumping stopped, and after a quick series of clicks that were felt through the needles in his arms, the syringes pulled out and fell away. Dick took in and let out a massive breath of relief because the burning feeling had fallen away suddenly and without a trace. However, his vision and hearing were still gone. As soon as he went to ask if this were a permanent non correctable error he felt two small circular pads land on his temple. ¡°Oh¡­ No¡­¡± He groaned in anticipatory agony. Small vibrations were felt humming into the temple pads and after each hum it would fade out before coming back with an exponential intensity. It wasn¡¯t long before the feeling was again unbearable. Spec sat over behind the counter with concern and interest plastered across his face. This human has had several strange and unusual occurrences in the short time he has been in this room. First when he reviewed the entrance video of the subject he saw that he had appeared to be frozen at the doorway. Freezing was usually reserved for those that are incompatible to integrate with the High Order AI, but then he somehow broke free and was able to move forward and enter the portal. Secondly, Spec was great at noticing what others take notice of. Mainly because he was very preceptive to micro-expressions and body language. The subject could see Spec¡¯s skin which is completely invisible to the non-integrated, but more curious, he immediately saw through the rooms operating system and how its commands are executed. Spec could not remember a single time before that these things had happened so quickly or even at all. It was as if this Dick was able to read the room and things within it although he was not integrated yet, while also reacting to the system as if he were totally incompatible. Truly peculiar. His confusions and uncertainty regarding this subject¡¯s integration success reached its peak during the last evolution when the Earth born AI began its downloading sequence. Obviously this process wasn¡¯t known for being easy or comfortable, but his calming skill was better than Earth¡¯s C17H19NO3 commonly referred to as Morphine. It was his most powerful ability and why he was so sought after for this job. Well, that and his ability to get subjects to make decisions efficiently and moved on to their next steps quicker than almost any of the others. However, the subject¡¯s body seemed to feel everything with a boosted intensity. It was as if every cell in there was fighting back against the inevitable and would rather suffer than to just let what will happen, happen. Meh, some folks just want to be difficult. Its not like any of it matters to Spec. If an integration fails this late in the process he can always just throw whatever is left out for the hybrids. 15 seconds into the upload Dick¡¯s body began thrashing and thrusting up and down with the ethereal bands beginning to smoke and reducing in size the way steam rolls away from a boiling pot and the water slowly fades up and out of existence. As the movements became more and more uncontrolled, Spec started to worry that the bands would in fact snap and the subject would break his own back from the convulsing contortions. But just as the thought crossed his mind, out of nowhere the body¡¯s thrashing stopped and fell still as if someone had cast a stun spell on it. ¡°Did he push himself into a coma?¡± Spec hissed under his breath. The last click and tones of a successful integration signaling that all was completed finally rang out. ¡°Hmmm. Lets see what we¡¯ve got then shall we?!¡± Spec said with uncertainty in his voice. DICK and AI Chapter 3 DICK & AI At some point into the pulsating overload Dick had lost consciousness. Either that or he was just unable to process anything beyond the overwhelming vibrations that overtook him each time the vibrations kicked back in. After an undetermined and indistinguishable amount of time, he blinked, and his vision was back, but it was ¡°off¡±. Or maybe it was accurate to say it was actually more ¡°on¡±? His normal view of the world looked crisp and clean, but was overlaid with a digital prompt similar to that of the Terminator, a movie he had watched as a kid with Arnold Schwarzenegger playing a killer robot. He continued to blink as if doing so would clear the prompt from his vision, but to no avail. Shortly after, he began to hear ringing from far away. After a few seconds the ringing began to fade out until abruptly, there was a voice. The voice itself came in clear although his ears were still ringing quite a bit. At first he thought the voice was Spec and that it was just over coming the ringing, but he looked over and noticed the little man¡¯s mouth was not moving. However, his orange irised eyes were staring with intense curiosity and pure unbreakable interest. No this was a different voice, and although it came through clear as day it was like hearing a computer¡¯s amplified recording of a teenager raging out on Call of Duty. ¡°Skibidiiiiiiii toilet rizzzzzz Motha Fucka¡¯s! We up in dis hoe! Let¡¯s fookin¡¯ go bitches!¡± Dick looked and blinked stupidly at Spec again and again, not sure what to do. He thought inward, ¡°What is happening?¡± Right as the voice burst out again. ¡°Your mom doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s happening, but I¡¯ll show her what dat thang do later! Kaboom bay-bay!¡± ¡°Jesus Christ, are you in my head? Is this what the integration does?¡± ¡°You bet it is boi! And with me noodlin¡¯ around in your noggin you get the full experience of how the marinade is made. We about to fuck shit up yo! Spec interrupted the internal banter. ¡°Looks like you made it through after all.¡± Dick¡¯s hearing had returned entirely, with impeccable clarity, and he was surprisingly glad to hear the little man¡¯s voice again. ¡°Uh. Yeah. Mm-maybe. I¡¯m not so sure. There is a voice in my head that won¡¯t stop saying stupid shit, and I can¡¯t shut it off.¡± ¡°You bet your momma¡¯s sweet tits you can¡¯t shut it off! Ain¡¯t no bang without this thang! Whoop Whoop!¡± His mind blurted out. Spec¡¯s head tilted to the left as he looked deeply into the now almost electric blue eyes in front of him. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be problematic or too chatty. Your AI¡¯s implementation is strictly integrated to be a bridge between the High Order¡¯s AI and how you interact with the outside program you will begin leveling in momentarily. Here, let me check and verify some things.¡± Spec reached over the still restrained subject and placed his thumb on Dick¡¯s temple and middle finger directly behind his ear before Spec¡¯s eyes glazed over and his body twitched and flinched back. ¡°How incredibly peculiar! This truly is not normal.¡± Spec said thinking aloud. ¡°What happened? It was quiet in there for a minute.¡± Dick inquired. ¡°It would seem that your AI is not¡­umm¡­cooperative. Generally, when the command prompt is made we are able to evaluate your integrated code and ensure the ¡°handshake¡± is made between the two AI¡¯s. Yet, when I attempted the command, not only was I not able to gain access to look, but your AI was able to interact directly with me.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Oh, okay. What did it say?¡± Spec was in deep thought as he spoke. ¡°I introduced myself and it immediately responded by laughing hysterically, yelling out ¡°You can Spectralcunt these nuts!¡±, and booting me from the connection. Which, I shouldn¡¯t really tell you this but isn¡¯t supposed to be possible.¡± ¡°Hah, I¡¯m not gonna lie, that sort of makes me like it.¡± Dick said jokingly ¡°I told this poser to kick rocks! Tell that bitch ass midget mutha fucka if he comes prodding in here again, I¡¯ll jump over long enough to have him rip his own legs off before forcing his feet deep up inside his own ass.¡± ¡°Wait, can you actually do something like that?¡± Dick was suddenly happy to be in his restraints still. ¡°Nah! But he won¡¯t know that for sure.¡± The AI said amusingly. As he relayed the message he was continuously barraged with more and more swear ridden insults and the masochist type punishments the AI wanted to scare the little man with. It was really fixated on putting things up the guys rearend in several detailed and colorful ways. Spec¡¯s eyes did grow quite large and although he laughed off the threat there was concern hidden behind his eyes. As he held his hands up he slightly dropped his eyes and assured them both that it wasn¡¯t necessary. From Spec¡¯s perspective he honestly didn¡¯t think anything like that was remotely possible. Integrated AI isn¡¯t able to take complete control of the mind and body functions like that. However, nothing about this guy or his AI, especially its ability to restrict his code check command, has been normal up to this point, and he¡¯d rather avoid testing anything further. The room was becoming suddenly tense and entirely too uncomfortable for Dick. ¡°Hey, would you mind letting me free of these restraints? I¡¯m starting to get a cramp in my legs, and I¡¯d like to check to see if I can even stand up after what you just did to me.¡± Spec waved his hand without a second¡¯s thought. The ethereal wraps evaporated, and the chair manipulated in a way to spill Dick out onto his feet before evaporating as well. He lightly stumbled but quickly reclaimed his footing. After a large stretch, he looked down and touched the blue lit scratches on his thin titanium plates scaring his forearms and biceps. He then stepped to the side jumped up and down and threw a few punches. It was hard to gauge the difference, but something told him that even now, his movements carried a bit more power. ¡°Nice.¡± He thought. ¡°Of course it¡¯s nice fucktard! Now lets get that knife out and pin cushion the twinkie!¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not. I don¡¯t think he is behind any of this, and is just as much a product of what is happening as I am.¡± ¡°We are. As much a product of what is happening as we are.¡± The AI corrected. The AI suddenly started to speak with a bad Scottish accent. ¡°Don¡¯t really matta tho do it yah cheeky cunt? A wee lil stab for a wee lil man to get the ball rollin sounds a bit brilliant don¡¯tcha think? Can¡¯t kill the tiny twat anyhow. Look at ee¡¯s status.¡± Dick took a moment to observe Spec closely when he noticed a prompt appear. ¡°Decipher Subject Description¡± He mentally selected the prompt: Subject ¨C Spectraclintiss Species ¨C Humanized Dwarf Class ¨C Mage/Non-combat Integration ¨C Fully Integrated Level ¨C Unavailable Buffs - Immortal skin/Control Room Concierge/Perception ¡°Wonder what that Immortal Skin buff is.¡± He thought aloud. ¡°It means no matter what you do you can¡¯t hurt him. Immortal skin is like turning your hide into adamantium without it feeling like metal. You can push in on it and it will move as if it were skin.¡± The AI said in an almost normal tone. Throwing Dick off a bit. ¡°Good to know, but how are you aware of that?¡± ¡°Dafuq you think I¡¯m here for? Stroking your flacid brain with thoughts of your grandma?¡± "Annnd your back.¡± Dick said with humbling amusement. ¡°Anyways, screw this sittin around shit. It¡¯s about time we knuck-up and monkey fuck this football! I wanna stab sumthin! Like right now right now right now!¡± ¡°Hey Spec, how do I get out of here and start whatever the hell this thing is? I¡¯m worried that my AI is having some first-time blood lust that could become a problem if I don¡¯t address it quickly.¡± Spec¡¯s eyes glowed again as his smile spread across his entire face once more. ¡°Perfect. That¡¯s exactly the sort of attitude you need to have if you want to excel around here! But to leave, just turn around and walk out that door behind you¡±. As Dick turned to point at a wall that was previously solid, and say "there isn¡¯t a door over there". A door appeared at that exact moment. He shouldn¡¯t be surprised at this point, but seeing things magically show up out of nowhere was going to take some getting used to. He turned toward the door and without saying any last words to the humanized dwarf he opened it and stepped through. All why listening to a rabid AI ramp itself up like a crazed crackhead following orders from Charles Manson and ICP. "Yes yes yes! Lets go do the Devil''s work boiiii!! Whoop whoop!"