Two years had passed since finishing the beginner course. Null had undergone some significant changes over this period. He had been spending more time out of the VR pod as the intermediate course required him to train his muscle memory and intuition which could not be accomplished inside VR.
As Null aged and developed, his two minds became more and more independent. The Watcher had decided that it would be better for the two of them if they each had names. The human mind had been identifying as Null so kept the name. The Angel mind choose the name Infinity or Infy for short. The nothing and everything twins.
The twins were expected to have the mental equivalent age of a 6-year-old but the nature of the training and the constant stimulation of having a second mind had accelerated their growth further.
They hated the real world and would prefer to spend all their time in the pod, the major contributing factor to this was their lack of superpowers. In the VR realm, they had hacked the system and had gained superpowers which allowed them to dominate any challenge. It frustrated both boys that those powers didn't extend to the real world.
The Watcher was glad that the boys didn't display the same power in the real world, they had feared that the boys may have been an anomaly that they would need to eliminate.
The twins had multiple advantages over other humans but unknown to them their most significant advantage was the ability to hear the voice of the universe. Since birth, the twins had been hearing a tune playing in the background. They had named this tune the voice of the universe.
While in the VR pod they had realised that the tune was not random and that by analysing and listening to it they could understand the physics of the world. By forcible changing the tune in the VR pod is how they gained the superpowers.
In the real world, the tune was different and had many layers of complexity added to it. Still, if they mediated and analysed it they would gain insight into the laws of nature. Unlike in the pod, the boys could not overwrite or change the tune.
The twins were currently in another round of training while lamenting their lack of powers they had decided it was time for a change. Today they would build their first battle suit.
"So, what are the requirements for the suit?" asked Infy.
"I want super speed, strength, and a force shield. Maybe even we could get our teleport power" Null excitedly replied while continuing his workout.
Infy was the dedicated lead designer with his AI core he was more technical and mature than Null, who was still just a kid. "Some of that might be possible with the technology we have access to." The twins had accelerated their learning while in the VR pod and with the advantage of the voice of the universe they had a vast technical knowledge to work from.
The Watcher who had supplied them with a technical database and a workshop to use had forbidden them from using any technology that humans didn't already possess. This was a precaution as The Watcher wanted the twins to be able to re-enter human society one day. The twins had found a loophole in that The Watcher never included combinations of technology together.
Infy had decided on a design that would use carbon nanotube and wax hybrid muscles combined with nanogel padding and a powered exoskeleton. He also designed a portable plasma shield using plasma windows and electromagnetism.
If Infy was the designer, then that made Null the builder. Once their workout was complete Null made his way over to the workshop to start the project.
"I wish Zero would let us use the good toys, I want to use the materialiser it would be quicker than this nano printer" Null complained while he went about building the exosuit following the plans that Infy had transferred across their mind link.
"What about the power supply? miniaturised fusion reactor? I know Zero is using vacuum energy to power this ship" asked Null.
"I think we should use an antimatter generator. I think it would be possible to create using only human technology." Infy then handed over a new set of plans to Null. This set was for a new and improved antimatter generator that produced more power than a fusion reactor but less than the vacuum energy being used by Zero.
It took them more than a couple of weeks and a considerable amount of testing, but they had finally built their first battle suit. While this was happening The Watcher or Zero as the boys had nicknamed him had been monitoring the situation.
'Antimatter, where did they get the knowledge to build that? It is a technology that humans could develop but it would require years of research but they did it in only a couple of weeks. Should I intervene? What will happen if they take that back into society
The boys had finished testing the latest version of the suit, and it was performing as expected. It had increased both Null speed and strength by 30%. The plasma energy shield mimics an old-time tower shield that could be turned on and off at will. The shield was held in the left arm, while on the right arm they had installed a mini-rail gun as well as a stun glove for hand to hand combat.
"If only we could teleport like we do in the pod, then we would be unstoppable" complained Null. Infy had been thinking about this for the last couple of weeks he believed he had an answer but wasn't sure. Infy had worked out what they called the voice of the universe was some form of energy signature that somehow their unique physique allowed them to pick up and was processed as sound. Infy continued "I think have identified the tune that indicates our space in the universe. I also believed I've worked out how to overwrite the tune as we do in the POD."
Infy recorded the sound/energy signature of their current location and asked Null to move a few steps over. "Here goes nothing, let's see if it will work." Infy said as he released a new energy signature to overwrite the current one. In that instant, the twins both teleported to the old location and then an alarm started to sound "unauthorised field manipulation detected. Level 1 lockdown initiated".
"ZERO, HELP! " shouted across the mental link he had with The Watcher. For the first time in his life, Null couldn't feel the presence of Infy.