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  Gus sighed, imagining the escape pod on the bottom of the ocean. He shuddered, thinking he could be stuck under some wreckage, trapped inside the pod. Most of these types of suits would scrub the carbon dioxide, and most could extract oxygen from the water, so breathing would not have been a problem.

  Gus shuddered again as he imagined himself buried alive underwater, slowly starving to death as the onboard resources of the suit slowly lost the ability to sustain the wearer. A living nightmare. He counted his lucky stars he was flung free or at least cleared the debris without tearing the suit or damaging the delicate mechanisms inside.

  “Why do I feel so good?” Gus asked no one in particular, his voice sounding hollow as it reflected off his helmet visor. He felt like he should definitely not feel as good as he did, considering the crash. His energy increased the more he moved around.

  As if in reply, a display appeared on the inside of the visor, depicting various bars and gauges along the periphery of his field of view. A message scrolled at the bottom of his field of vision.

  Text flashed across the bottom of the display:

  You sustained multiple injuries that activated nanobots stored in the suit’s host protection protocol. Sedatives were administered to enact physical repairs. 1.4 days later you encountered a bio-stasis field that stopped all natural life support and it was necessary to integrate nanobots on a permanent basis throughout your body, infiltrating into all of your body systems, nerves, musculature, and organs to sustain life and maintain brain function. Fortunately, your unique genetics enabled you to tolerate the procedure without killing you.

  Gus knew that there was a very high rate of nanobot rejection when they were used to save someone’s life. It was usually the last-ditch attempt to save some old rich guy. Maybe it worked better with a younger body. But young or old, a failed attempt resulted in death, and the odds were so long that it was attempted only by the extremely desperate.

  “What does that mean, permanently integrated? Am I like a cyborg now?” Gus asked. More writing spooled out on the display.

  Technically, yes, loss of nanobot function will result in death. Due to the urgency of implantation, your nanobots specialized to the point that they have lost essential maintenance functions that will result in system failure and host death in approximately 14 days.

  “What. The. Hell!? This day just keeps getting better and better,” Gus groaned as he slumped down into the slushy sand. “So I’m dead in two weeks, then.”

  Not necessarily. Nanobots can evolve to increase in number and obtain additional functionality. This should be attainable in the allotted time.

  Gus sat there, waves rising higher and crashing on his legs like they wanted to pile on the abuse as well. Whether it was bullies in parking lots or these uncaring waves, life just sucked sometimes. Most times. The fact that he could never get a break pushed Gus from irritation to a smoldering anger at the unfairness of life in general. Gus grit his teeth in frustration. Not this time. Not anymore. It was time to push back.

  “Wait, what advantages do these nanobots offer? There have to be some advantages.”

  As you develop your abilities, your nanobots will learn along with you. Beneficial actions result in a gain of experience, which will allow you to level up and your nanobots to evolve as you undergo this leveling process. With each level you will gain 5 points to increase any basic stat: agility, constitution, charisma, strength, perception, intelligence, or luck. Most humans develop superhuman traits during this process as they increase in experience and level. You are now what humans call ‘a super.’

  Realization dawned on Gus. I am a super now. He had spent countless hours imagining what his life would be if he only had powers. He had made plans on what he would do differently if he only had the chance. Hope began to grow, and the despair and frustration lost their hold on him. He did feel different. He remembered the pain right after the crash, but now, he felt great. No sign of any pain or injury. A super! His mind began to race at the possibilities, and questions began to fill his mind.

  He had settled into mediocrity, long ago accepting that despite any effort he made, life was going to stay pretty much the same. But now—now he could show everyone what he could really do. Everyone who had dismissed him flippantly and underestimated his worth. He knew it was petty, but he longed to confront his father and show him how wrong he had been. Or to find that group of thugs in the parking lot. He grinned evilly at what he could do to set things right. He cracked his knuckles, excited to begin. I’ll show all of you that I’m not the loser you took me for my whole life.

  “Ok, so to evolve my nanobots and survive, I need to level up. How many levels do I need to do that?”

  The first opportunity for nanobot evolution occurs when the host reaches level 10. At that time, a specialized ability can be chosen.

  “And what, specifically, do I need to do to gain experience?”

  Experience is granted as the host performs activities that are either innovative, life-sustaining, or considered training, as evaluated by the quantum server. Success in battle and improving skills through use also generate experience. As skills evolve past the need to be consciously focused on a task to perform it competently, the experience gained diminishes unless those skills are applied in new unique ways.

  “Just like a game,” Gus whispered in amazement. He felt a sharp pang of hunger.

  “Great. Looks like the first order of business is to get this obnoxious suit off,” his stomach grumbled as if in assent, “…and find something to eat.” Gus waded fully out of the water and walked up onto the dry sand past the waves and again the burden of the suit pressed upon him. These things really weren’t designed for non-space use. Feeling around the suit, he sought for some way to remove it, some catch or seal that could be lifted, but he felt nothing. Looking down at his own torso was limited by the bulkiness of the domed visor but from what he could tell, the outside of the suit was seamless.

  “That’s odd, I don’t remember it being like that in the escape pod. Do I have to push something internally to remove the suit?” he muttered, and in reply, there was a brief vibration throughout the suit, like he’d just received a text message.

  Do you want to remove suit? (Y/N)

  “Yes!”

  You must complete the tutorial before continuing without the support of suit failsafes. Do you want to begin the tutorial now? (Y/N)

  “Not really,” he said flatly.

  The message didn’t change, ignoring his reply.

  There’s always one more thing. Gus rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Ok… if I must,” he muttered.

  Would you prefer text or a verbal interface during the tutorial?

  “Verbal, if it speeds up the process. I’m too tired to keep reading, plus these blue windows keep blocking my vision.”

  A heavily autotuned voice began to speak:

  “Acknowledged. Assembling Nanobot Interface Construct, reviewing a suitable framework based on scan history…

  “Collating memories…

  “Personal preferences…

  “Evaluation complete. Assessing suitable mentor framework…

  “Miyagi, Pennyworth, Xavier, Merlin, Dumbledore, Yoda, Picard, Morpheus…

  “Selection complete.

  “Initial Nanobot Interface Construct will be patterned after Alfred Pennyworth.

  “Evolution set at level 10.”

  “Good morning, sir, how may I help you—” the same synthetic voice began, this time without accompanying text on his display.

  “If you’re going to pretend to be Alfred, can you at least do the accent?”

  “Indeed, sir, is this more to your liking?” the voice replied in a crisp British accent.

  “Hells yes, that would’ve become annoying in no time. Should I call you Alfred?”

  “I am not actually Alfred, but mimic his mannerisms and patterns of speech in order to acquaint and assist you with your new nanobot interface. I am a construct, and
as such will respond to whatever you deign to call me.”

  “Well Nanobot Interface Construct is too much of a mouthful, how about Nick? Easier than saying N-I-C, or nanobot-blah-blah.”

  “That is suitable,” Nick assured.

  Gus put his hands on his hips and tried to assess the mess he had gotten into this time. It was kind of depressing how he managed to keep getting into these types of situations. His grandfather had nicknamed him Mr. Magoo because of his propensity to get into trouble and stress everyone out, yet somehow arrive unscathed in the end. Maybe it was related to his special skill. But things were different now. Now he could actually make a change; he wasn’t stuck like he was before. Gus’ stomach growled again for him to get on task.

  “Let’s get on with this stupid tutorial. What is it, and why do I have to do anything before you will finally allow me to take off this annoying thing?” Gus growled, his impatience growing. He was eager to get started, but this felt like another hoop he had to jump through. Not to mention how his temper was flaring the hungrier he became.

  “I do apologize; this is built into the programming of the suit. I cannot speak to all the intentions of the maker, but in simplest terms, you are in tutorial mode. One intent of this mode is to familiarize you with the leveling system, as well as stat increases. Understanding how this process is facilitated by the nanobots embedded in the various body systems will allow you to work symbiotically to unlock more abilities. Once you have shown competency in this process, the suit can open and you will have the opportunity to progress and develop new abilities, uncover latent ones, and maximize the full utility of nanobot assistance on your own. Locking the suit is a failsafe to protect the host from various types of exposure until the host is able to begin synchronization with nanobots. Your situation precluded the typical transition time, and you will need to finish the tutorial more quickly than usual.”

  Some of Gus’ frustration drained away at understanding there was a logical reason for the suit to be locked on, but it still was a major hassle.

  “What do I have to do then, Nick?” Gus asked, resigned to his fate.

  “It is 11:36 AM. Sunset is at 7:45 PM today. I recommend you focus on shelter, food, and later find a way to protect yourself from possible predators or unfriendlies. This will be vastly facilitated by your new abilities and give you a chance to familiarize yourself with the interface.” A ding sounded.

  First Objective: Lose the Suit

  Objective Conditions:

  1) Familiarize yourself with the display and interface

  2) Find suitable shelter

  3) Find 3 sources of food

  Objective Rewards: 500 XP.

  Points to next level: 500 XP.

  Do you want to accept this objective? (Y/N)

  “Yes. But can we change the objective notice to a quest notice? Just to make it more familiar.”

  “I don’t see why not; the interface can be adapted to personal preferences. This change will be in effect for all further objectives.”

  “Let’s get started then. What are these bars? Are they like health and mana bars in a video game?”

  “Precisely. They are the simplest way to conceptualize and quantify what you experience in reality now. Red is—”

  “Health, green is endurance or stamina, and blue is mana, I’m assuming?”

  “Mana or psionic energy, however you choose to classify it, that is all semantics. It is basically energy available for your special abilities. By default, it can be referred to as MP, and you can always change it later in the settings.”

  Gus played around with various windows and screens. He was able to bring up a table of his stats:

  Agility: 7/?

  Constitution: 6/?

  Charisma: 7/?

  Strength: 6/?

  Perception: 9/?

  Intelligence: 10/?

  Luck: 5/?

  “I knew I had bad luck! No wonder my life has been so rough. What’s up with all the question marks after my stats?”

  “That indicates an ability you already possess, whose access and potential are currently locked somehow. If you direct your attention here, you will find more information as you evolve and grow.” Different tabs began to be highlighted, indicating where to look next.

  Gus rifled through the skills section, where only one ability was unlocked: Wreck-less (Level 1).

  Wreck-less: This skill dramatically increases the durability of used items, weapons and armor (+50%). It extends to vehicles you directly use or are a passenger in, and lowers critical failure rates (30% reduction).

  Penalties: Gives a one-time -5 to luck stat.

  Progression to level 2: 46% (Passive)

  “Well that explains my luck, but how do I have that much progression already? Is that a result of things that have happened in the past, before the crash?”

  “Very little progression can be made in any advanced skill without the aid of a nanobot interface construct. There are changes to DNA and rewriting over junk DNA in the genome. Custom reverse-transcriptase viruses must be made to insert the DNA throughout the body while monitoring that vital genes are left undamaged. Introns and exons are manipulated in cases of progressive skills, with the intron being removed and ‘activating’ the next level of the skill. The fact that you have any advanced skill at all is highly irregular. It would have remained at its base stats had you not undergone nanobot integration.”

  “I guess I understood about a tenth of that. Can you boil that down to normal non-scientific words?”

  “Certainly. Your nanobots will help modify your DNA, adding new information and cutting out inactive parts. Some abilities are locked, and this will require your nanobots to activate the full potential of some of these new genes as you increase in level. Without the help of these nanobots, those genes would never activate on their own. These changes will increase your abilities past current human norms and allow you to access and control forces currently beyond typical human evolution.”

  “Ok, I already have one skill. That skill is the only reason I was on Graviton’s station. My father worked out an agreement and called in some favors so I could ‘get to the next rank.’”

  Gus had been a henchman for a while and had progressed up their hierarchy a bit. He had advanced from L.A.C.K.E.Y., which was the basic training level, noobs among the henchmen. Then came G.R.U.N.T., then P.E.O.N., and currently he was at G.O.O.N. His father thought he was advancing too slowly, so he’d arranged a post with more possibility for advancement.

  Henchmen accrued merit points for serving without disciplinary incidents, completing successful missions, and various activities that basically meant you showed up and did the tasks assigned to you. The higher ranks were where regs could advance into limited management positions. Gus knew that that type of advancement would separate him from his friends, so he never really applied himself.

  Having his father’s expectation hovering above him also made him dig in his heels and resist more than he normally would as well. The fact that his friends weren’t on the station was probably something Tempest arranged so he could focus on ‘the job.’ Fat chance.

  Looking back at the display, Gus marveled at the information there.

  “This is the first time I’ve seen everything quantified. I can see why it would be a beneficial skill to have for any ship-based headquarters. It’s kind of depressing to see my physical stats though. I realize I’m skinny and all, but that’s downright weak! What is the baseline for the average reg, Nick?”

  “Do you really want to know?”

  “Lay it on me,” Gus said with trepidation.

  “The average value for a reg is ten in any stat.”

  “Ouch, I’m that much below average?”

  “I did warn you, Gus.”

  “Ok, so I have a lot of work to do. How do I power up skills and get new ones, Nick?” Gus sighed, feeling discouraged at his lackluster innate abilities.

  “Down to brass tacks, then. Building you
r skills uses a game framework, as it is familiar to humans and allows directed progress with immediate feedback. This prevents wasted effort on non-productive actions and offers rewards; as a result, a player levels. This provides a continuous positive feedback loop. Productive actions garner XP, or experience points, and utilization of skills has a similar progression. Various bonuses and skills are unlocked as you progress. This is how all supers have increased their abilities.”

  Gus thought back to everything he thought he knew about supers. Most supers had aligned into Factions, the main ones being Green, Orange and Purple. Since Gus’ father was in the Purple Faction, he had always gotten jobs working for supers in that particular Faction. When his older brother Alan got his powers, he followed Tempest’s footsteps. Each Faction had its basic tenets and had a heavy impact on the laws and organization of an area where they exerted their influence. People tended to live near areas controlled by supers that aligned with their political views. He had never heard anything about nanobots and their connection to them giving supers abilities. Gus stopped his musings as Nick continued his explanation.

  “Regarding your skill increase, you have two ways to increase stats. The most common method at low levels is through training and quests. A majority of skills are forms of active abilities, and a very limited amount have a passive function. Often what we call passive skills are, in reality, an active ability trained to the point that it becomes available for passive, unconscious use. Using abilities consciously and in a focused manner results in much more XP and quicker advancement.