[Training Facility, Military Zone 5, Military Sector 25]
Sophia unloaded her primary shotgun on a sandbag. She then separated a dark gray shotgun out of it. Her secondary. She put them back together.
The sandbag took the brunt of the damage, nothing unusual.
She separated the secondary from the primary and unloaded her primary on the sandbag. She put both back together.
The sandbag was further dented, but still nothing out of the ordinary.
She approached a different sandbag. She separated the secondary from the primary. She unloaded the secondary on the sandbag, ripping it in half at the waist. She emptied her primary on the part still hanging on. She put both back together, watching the sandbag return to normal like nothing had happened.
"Useful on those damn things, but a normal shotgun otherwise. They remain dead, but everything else is restored," Sophia murmured. "Did I somehow unknowingly become a healer? But only damage inflicted while the secondary is out gets recorded."
Sophia concentrated.
'I have a feeling it can do more…'
-Private Sophia. Major Hsuzel here. Please come to the GodFiend lab. I have something to show you-
-Roger that-
She holstered her shotgun and left the training room.
——|——|—|—|——|——
In an underground laboratory, an elderly man circled around a holographic display. Sunken eyes, skinny fingers, long limbs, dimples all over the face. A robe was clinging loosely from his body. Pajamas inside. A vial of unknown liquid was dangling from a string around his neck.
Behind him, in the shadows, were many pairs of eyes. Red eyes, purple eyes, green eyes, black eyes, white eyes. They were all staring at the holographic display.
"Aaron"
"Why did you call us?"
"Is this his research? What did you create?"
"Watch," a voice simply said, indifferent.
"Who are you? Where are you? Who is this person?
"It's clear that's not you."
"This is completely unacceptable."
"Watch," the voice said again, indifferent.
The only sound was of the events happening in the projection.
"This is all real-time? So not staged?"
"Anything else?"
"If you only have this, I'm afraid the partnership can't continue."
"Show us something tangible, usable."
"Watch. Intent. Motivation, Method. All organic. All untraceable," the voice said again, indifferent.
——|——|—|—|——|——
Sophia was watching a replay of the mission she went on. There was also another video of Dekadel, Amelia, and Shelton. The two were joined together by dynamic analysis.
A paranormal entity could be seen walking, whispering things into the air. She, Rose, and the scouting unit leader all exhibited *strange* behavior afterward. They found excuses to separate from the group or tried to. A neurological fight in their mind, but she and Rose resisted. The other one had no support. Screwed from the beginning.
Except.
"That wasn't what happened. The 'show' was organically faked," the lead scientist from the Government's National Forensic Lab explained.
"Right. I took a closer look at the data. Something felt off the entire time. There was no fight. You executed a script. I had to re-write the source code for the program to find it," another scientist commented in a more feminine tone.
"I was controlled without my knowledge?" Sophia asked, worried.
"No," the female scientist refuted.
"Then?" Sophia asked.
"You were compelled to follow through on something you would've done regardless, but you were also compelled to change it up," the male scientist explained.
"I don't understand?" Sophia said.
"You were compelled to optimize your behavior. Think back to when you fired your shotgun," the male scientist replied.
"I fired the shotgun to warn them that something was wrong," Sophia remembered.
"What else would you have done? Were there any other choices you could've made if you had a second extra to think about?" the male scientist continued.
"I would've shouted, punched the table, the wall. Something physical and super aggressive. I never thought about firing the shotgun lethally against anyone but the enemy. Still, it's something I would try if provided the chance!" Sophia muttered as her eyes widened.
"That's right. Heuristics that suggests an action within the acceptable range of your parameters. A small change that goes unnoticed because it's as expected," the female scientist added.
"Then, you've found the culprit?" Sophia asked.
"It's a ridiculous theory that we only came up with after eliminating everything else. There's no proof for it. There's no tangible evidence that links any of it. It's a big, irrational stretch. You attempted something new. What kind of explanation is that?" the male scientist shook his head.
"Then the neuro analysis?" Sophia asked, confused.
"Uh… Haha... it was my first time doing a project like that. It was the program doing calculations by tracing the paths in the brain. I misread it as thoughts originating from the brain. I stumbled into a wrong conclusion," the female scientist laughed, embarrassed.
"So what's next?" Hsuzel asked, frowning.
"More evidence? But what good is that going to do? There's no evidence," the male scientist suggested the next steps.
"But something happened?" Hsuzel asked.
"Mental exhaustion? You military folks are always training hard. Take a break every now and then," the male scientist recommended.
The channel closed, but Hsuzel looked grim. He took a device out of his pocket and fiddled with it. He turned to look at Sophia as tyrannical killing intent spilled out.
"Sir… sir??" Sophia screamed in horror as she ran towards the wall, pulling a table between her and Hsuzel.
"Now you'll take everything I say more seriously," Hsuzel said as the killing intent vanished. "Whatever you heard from that call today, act as though it's the truth. Ignore everything I'm saying now, but keep it in mind. That call was a veiled invitation. I need to visit someone. The matter is more serious than I thought."
Sophia nodded weakly, relieved.
"Then the scientists?" Sophia asked.
"They didn't say anything false intentionally. In fact, all the evidence is in what they're saying," Hsuzel answered before fiddling with the device again.
"Get some rest Cadet. Thanks for coming in. We'll figure something out," Hsuzel said before leaving the room.
"Yes, sir," Sophia responded with a salute.
——|——|—|—|——|——
"Watched enough?" a voice asked.
"Incredible…"
"Fooled through and through."
"How much is needed to fund this?"
"Dear guests, I'm sending the numbers to you right now," the elderly man said as he punched a few buttons.
"This is… reasonable, I suppose."
"This can be covered with shell accounts."
"Goodwill maybe? Bonuses for everyone."
"You'll get it by next month? That's when you asked?"
"Next month is fine."
"Plenty of time to prepare"
The eyes eventually disappeared.
"Sir, everything is as you've asked," the elderly man said respectfully.
"You've always been reliable," the voice responded.
"Thank you. I do my best," the elderly man responded.
"If you need me, you know how to reach me," the voice said.
"Of course," the elderly man responded.
The elderly man punched more buttons at the console, turning everything off. He hummed his favorite song, going into the kitchen to prepare something.
——|——|—|—|——|——
[Empty Boardroom Facing a Cityscape]
Several dozen people were gathered around a conference desk. They flickered in and out like they weren't real. Just illusions. A man could be seen holding down a button in his fist.
"The name Aaron is obviously fake. Do we know who they really are?"
"Massive encryption and re-routing. Connections constantly shifting all over the globe. Locations are business tycoons, oil magnates, and forces with deep pockets. Nothing we ought to be touching."
"Residences? Schools? Motels? Empty subways? Abandoned stores?"
"Well, we would know if there were other bidders."
"Military then? Undercover government ops?"
"No clues that lead to them, to anyone"
"Then what do we do?"
"I know a guy. Real scary dude. He can trace anything as long as it has a signal."
"Underground hacker?"
"No. Shadow hacker."
"Underground is better. Shadows have deep backgrounds and traceable contact lines."
"Underground hackers demand a lot upfront. Shadows have better contracts. Shifting large amounts is unacceptable."
"Should we delay the new units until we seal the leak?"
"No. Proceed as planned. Delays aren't being funded. Results are"
"What if we release and this person claims we took their work?"
"Collateral damage. We want them to release. We want the source."
"Understood."