"Droh, are we safe here?" Deus asked as he watched Droh practically sink to the ground as if the little Faun was a puppet who had his strings cut.
"Huh? Oh, yeah we should be fine… So what's going on, anyway?" Droh asked as his head tilted backward in a stretch. "What was all that with the Captain? You don't know him, do you?"
"Know him? How could I possibly know someone like that?" Deus replied in a snide voice, mocking the question. "Just wait for a second, I need to check something…"
As Deus said that, he pulled out the old archived drive that he had previously stashed away in his pants pocket during the prior incident with the centipede. Blowing on the drive, he wiped it clean of any dust as he raised it toward the white electronic machine he had taken from Marigold. Two similar-looking pieces, perhaps they were compatible. "Please, please work…"
With only a bit of pressure, Deus was able to attach the old archive to the newly found electronic device, the two pieces locked into place as if by design.
An electric sound could be heard as several lights faintly activated on the device, starting from the lowest point to the top, they all slowly began to light up. Going from red, to yellow, to green as they all lit up, one by one.
"Archive being read, node activating… Please… Wait momentarily." A monotone voice spoke, one rather familiar to Deus, as it was the same voice that he had heard when he first arrived. The voice of the electronic computer.
"Commencing operation sequences… One… Two… Three. Enabled. All primary Archive systems enabled. Limitation set, scanning options either disabled or deactivated, please consult a director-level engineer for more information. One moment."
As the computer spoke, Droh dragged himself back up to his feet and walked over in a hurry, clearly quite shocked and curious about what had caused the voice.
"Oh, Droh… Yeah, don't mind this." Deus coughed out, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.
'I don't know if I'll be able to explain this one away…'
"Detecting user Experiment X-Z-001. According to the database, the last time this system was online was during an attack. Archive requests a report on what happened for future investigation."
"Uh-huh…" Deus paused momentarily, not sure how he should answer the question with Droh standing next to him. Several seconds passed as he decided to just give a vague answer and hope for the best. "After going offline, I managed to climb out of the capsule. I made it to the ground before that monster could kill me."
"Recorded. Please provide more information regarding the 'monster', for future data."
"Eh? The monster? From what I've learned so far, it's called a Midnight Centipede and it's sort of like an automated scavenger around these parts." Deus said with a shrug, doing his best to fill in the gaps. It was in his best interest to update the database, hoping he could draw information from it later on if necessary.
"Archive updated, 'Midnight Centipede' saved and processed. Data has been registered and saved under the 'Hostile' sub-directory."
Droh cut in. "Uh, Deus… What is all this? Archive? Sub-dire—whatever. Come on, what's going on?"
"Right… I guess, to put it bluntly, this is the computer device I found from Marigolds… It seems to be able to save whatever I tell it and can scan for certain things. Well, not right now, but before when it had the tools to scan… It could…" Deus dazed off half-way through his explanation as he watched Droh stare at him like he was the craziest person alive. "Well, technically it's half stolen since I had the other piece with me from the start."
"Wait, what is going on?" Droh stuttered, trying to piece together everything. "So is it stolen from Mari or not?"
"This is... This isn't..." Deus tapped on two different pieces, one was the outer bit he had found, the other was the modular Archive from the capsule.
Droh still wasn't fully following along. He rubbed his head against his palm as with a sigh. "I knew it… You're weird and confusing. First, you talk to the Captain, the next—this."
"Weird? Heh, I guess it makes sense you'd think that." Deus looked back toward the archive. "Computer, does your system tell you anything about what's going on? What sort of place is this, anyway?"
"Accessing the database, one moment." Several seconds passed as a faint clicking sound could be heard. "Relevant information found. This device is capable of only a basic level 1 scan. Any information from the scan is only useful for data related to local atmospheric, weather, time, and physical condition sampling. All scans are classified as low-level until a director-level engineer updates the host machine."
"Host machine? Oh, you mean the thing I plugged you into, right?" Deus guessed, looking up at Droh with a grin.
"That is an accurate assumption. This host machine's battery is currently at forty-three percent. This device will require further charges soon. How would you like to commence?"
"Droh, you mind giving me a second?" Deus politely asked, scratching his head.
Shocked from being called out so suddenly, Droh drew his eyes up to meet his. "Eh? Fine."
As Droh walked off, giving Deus a moment of peace, he immediately asked the machine. "You said you can scan physical conditions, right?"
"Correct. This host machine possesses a low-level scanner capable of physical scans. Results will contain information on basic alterations to your body, according to archived data from before Transfer."
'So it can scan me… That's good. Ever since that time in the alley, I've been meaning to look into what's going on with me. The one thing I can't let happen is this power accidentally hurting Droh, hell, even using it on some random person could be dangerous depending on when or where it happens.'
Ever since that odd occurrence in the back-alley, has been afraid of his own body since he didn't know what would trigger it. "Alright, give me a scan."
Several seconds passed by in near silence, the only sound that he could hear was the beeping of the electronic device. A light flashed occasionally from the machine as it seemed to be gathering information.
"Scan completed. Results have discovered alteration to your physical body. The primary cause—unknown. A new inquiry has been opened regarding Experiment X-Z-001's physical change."
"Is that it? Can't you tell me a bit more about what's going on?" Deus queried as he looked around the room, seemingly wearing a defeatist attitude. He was afraid that nothing new could be learned, even with this.
If he had to fear for his and Droh's safety from here on out, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. He couldn't protect himself, even, since he didn't know what triggered that event.
"Request approved. Scan has detected your physical body has undergone an unknown transformation. Change is primarily based on modifications made to Experiment X-Z-001's arms, waist, torso, and head. Legs are relatively unchanged, besides slight enhancement to muscle tissue. A theory has been calculated. The Transfer has forced your physical body to undergo multiple enhancements, ranging from low-level alterations to high-level genetic modifications. Your physical body has adapted alongside the alterations you had previously undergone before Transfer, from changes to physical abilities to the changes done to the co-Transfer, which have also appeared on your scans."
"Wait, co-Transfer? What the hell is that?"
"Co-Transfer is the recorded name of the secondary Experiment who had died before Transfer. The reasoning recorded in the database is marked as unknown, the purpose is unknown. System administrative block found—classified. The body scan has detected a hybridization of genetic and physical muscle mutations. Question for future archiving—how are your mental abilities?"
"Mental abilities? Are you asking me if I'm nuts? I'm fine… I think. Wait, so you're telling me my body has combined with that other guy? I thought he was dead before everything even happened."
"Correct. Co-Transfer Experiment had passed away before Transferring. However, physical scans have detected a 98 percent similarity between co-Transfer's DNA and your new body's DNA, adding alongside your previous records. Will require a higher-grade scanner for further information, please consult—"
"Yeah, yeah a director… I get it. Holy shit…" Deus coughed out as his mind wandered. "Does this mean I'm the original me? Or… Not? What's going on… What the hell does any of this mean?"
"Deus, what's wrong?" Droh asked from across the room as he dug through the old bags of equipment they had gathered. "Everything's alright I'm hoping..."
"Heh. Yeah, I'm fine… Just thinking, is all. How much longer until that meeting with Mercer, by the way?"
"Mercer?" Droh repeated in surprise at having Mercer's name being brought up so suddenly. "We've got about an hour or so. Why, do you want to head out now?"
Deus nodded, exhaling as he replied. "That might be for the best, yeah. You got the supplies ready?"
"Mhm." Droh grinned, gesturing his pack over toward him.
Deus stretched his back, giving out an audible crack as he stood. "Fine, we should use this free time to get going, better be early than late."
Looking down at the electronic device he held in his hand, he instructed it. "Archive, don't make any noise from now on, alright? I don't want to be busted for having some valuable electronics on me."
"Request approved, all audible sounds have been deafened. This device will only alert the user in cases of emergency. Will continue to scan the database for relevant information regarding scan results."
"Good. Oh, how do I go about recharging you, by the way?" Deus asked, hoping it held at least some answers to his questions.
"This device's battery recharges based on an electrical current. A simple outlet would suffice."
"Outlet? That's a joke, right?" Deus chuckled to himself. 'Well, it's official, whatever this device is it doesn't know a thing about this place.'
"Hmph," Deus pondered for a moment before speaking up. "Archive, try to find some way to charge yourself without an open outlet, alright? Add that to your things to scan for."
"Additional scan added." The Archive sounded in return.
Satisfied, Deus nodded his head and ordered. "Good, let's get going Droh."
