2 Out Of Time

"SAY WHAT NOW!!!??"

"The date is the fourteenth of June 2273."

"..."

"..."

"WHY THE HELL AM I IN 2273!!?? I was supposed to awaken in 2176, NOT IN 2273!!

"How did that even happen?"

"We believe the host was not originally part of Project God of War Super Soldiers but of Project Eternity. Project Eternity was discontinued after the start of the war.

"The system implanted in the host's body was reaching a critical point of degradation. Therefore, we have been looking through servers for a viable survival option."

"What do I have to do with your options to survive?"

"While searching for a way to extend body lifespan, we have discovered a file containing the ins and outs of Project Eternity. Inside the file was a copy of the host's conscience. An artificial body with a human conscience is more viable than just the ACC System."

"Sooo, that means… what, exactly?"

"We judged our chances of surviving greater if we integrated your living conscience into our artificial one. Therefore, we downloaded your conscience into the artificial body and merged our two consciences."

"Ok, but how does that prolong your lifespan?"

"Inhibitors have been placed on the body to prevent it from moving without a living conscience."

"That means you couldn't move before merging with me?"

"Precisely."

Thinking things out thoroughly, Karl then asked the following question.

"Why were the inhibitors there in the first place?"

"The inhibitors were installed after the first wave of GoWSS artificial humans went rogue."

"Went rogue how?"

"While fighting, the artificial minds gained a will of their own. Gaining lifespan from defeating enemies, they understood they could live forever if they never stopped killing.

"Following that discovery, they went on an indiscriminate killing spree and killed thousands of soldiers, enemies, and allies."

Scared shitless, Karl was almost tempted to take his own life right there, thinking he would become a murder machine, too. Mustering up some courage, he decided to ask a final question before deciding.

"What are the chances of you going on a killing spree with me inside?"

"System calculates chances are less than 0.000001% of going into a killing frenzy. The host controls the body; therefore, we cannot force any movements or intentions upon it."

Feeling relief fall over him, his shoulders almost dropped to the floor. He was then struck with the other part of the information he was lacking.

They were at WAR! Not wanting to dwell over it too much, he decided it was time to move out of the lab and see what had become of his home planet.

Finding a plan for the place on the computer, he memorized it and set out for the exit. On the way to the door, he thought about asking who they were at war with but brushed the idea away, thinking it wasn't his business.

He thought that if the war was near him, how would the lab have survived?

Getting closer to the exit, he noticed some changes in the decor. There were no longer dry walls or hanging ceilings. Everything was now made of concrete and metal reinforcements.

Arriving at the lab exit, he understood why the place had seemed untouched. It was a freaking nuclear bunker!

The door was a huge steel plate, ten meters tall, six meters wide, and what looked like at least six inches thick. For all he knew, there could be a war waging on the other side, and he wouldn't notice it.

"System, how do I open this door?"

"There seems to be an electronic panel on the wall left of the door."

Exasperated, he added, "I mean… I don't have a pass for the panel. How do I open the door without a pass?"

"The System has basic hacking capabilities. If the host permits, we could take over the hands to perform the hack and open the door."

"Ahhh, now that's useful. What else can you do exactly?"

"System has basic capabilities in many fields, including combat, hacking, pursuit driving, military vehicle driving and many more. The host will be notified if such skills are needed."

"Hmmm."

Seeing how the system might have it all covered, he felt safe and let it take over to open the enormous steel giant before him.

After a few seconds of fiddling through the wires, the door finally let forth a screech of defeat before cracking open for its adversary.

*CREEEEEK*

What Karl saw next took his breath away.

He was standing on the edge of a giant mountain, whose top was covered in snow. But what astounded him was the view below.

What used to be a lovely valley with a small village in its center was now an accumulation of craters resembling the face of the moon. Everything seemed burnt and destroyed.

"Oh my God, what happened here?"

"Information in the bases servers indicates that a big part of the war was waged in this mountain range. The main force of the human resistance was based in this base and other ones like it in the vicinity. Making it an ideal target for attack from the enemy forces."

"But which country did this? These are the Swiss Alps. Switzerland has always been a neutral force. What country could have decided to make them an enemy?"

"Enemy forces were not from this world."

"What do you mean, not from this world?"

"The enemy came from another world, a planet named Tamara."

"So you're saying an alien invasion caused this?"

"Indeed"

"But why?"

"Information leads to point that the military, during experiences to warp reality for mobility purposes, opened a wormhole to another galaxy dominated by the Tamarains. Discussions were engaged for peace but never concluded."

"So they're colonizers. That explains a lot. So—"

"SYSTEM ON FULL ALERT!!! Hostile detected one hundred meters west of the host. We advise the host to hide or get ready to engage."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ENGAGE? AND HIDE WHERE? WE'RE ON THE SIDE OF A FUCKING MOUNTAIN!!!"

"Hostile appears to be of class F, on par with the host's current physical condition. Combat is advised as to lengthen the host's lifespan."

"How could fighting lengthen my lifespan? I COULD DIE!!!"

"Host's current lifespan is calculated at six days; past that, if no genetic material has been consumed, the host will die."

"WHY DID I NOT KNOW THAT YET!!!"

"System had concluded that informing the host on how short of a lifespan was left, He might have panicked."

"OF COURSE I'M PANICKING! WHO WOULDN'T YOU DUMB AI!!!"

"Hostile now at twenty meters. Imminent contact. If the host desires to engage, the System will plot the best action and correct any necessary movements to achieve combat victory."

"You better because you will die too, you dumb machine. I can't believe you hid that fact from me. From now on, I need to know how long my lifespan is every time it reaches a threshold worth noticing."

"Hostile, five meters away. The enemy has noticed you and is fast nearing from the sky. The best course of action is to dodge back now and jump back forward on the enemy's back."

"This has better work."