A Bio-Weapon's Rhapsody

Chapter 17: …let’s end the infodump before I go too crazy here.

The device took a few seconds to show anything else before finally reacting to her words.It started writing afterward, That was the answer made by the device.

It was quite a simplistic one, "Why is he so important? What has he done?" Alexandra asked again.

She didn't understand why a mere [Human] deserved that much relevance; he was, after all, a cheater asshole.

The list went on and on, she found that the app showed links to other pages with more detailed data of the events and some pictures.

It seemed that Alexanders had quite the interesting life, but the important bits for Alexandra were the last two. The way to make programs using Mana and the creation of Artificial intelligence.

The first was the way they made the programs within Main Core, and the second was how she was born. Or her progenitor, the bioweapon subject P4.

Then what else could she ask? A quick glance at her reflection on the monitor, she couldn't help but ask, even if it risked her identity… "What is P4?" Alexandra asked, in a low voice.

Alexandra was of the same mind, Alexa with all her shenanigans felt…pure. While Ale felt more like some mischievous girl who liked to pretend to be mature. But P4? That thing didn't feel…[Human].

The device said back, making Alexandra groan, how much information did this thing require?

What other information could she give?

"P4 is a test subject that regularly participates in multiple different types of tests, from combat tests to timed ones and puzzles. It was designed as a weapon that could adapt to its surroundings and can fake being a shapeshifter." Alexandra said she didn't have that many ways how to explain what she was without outright stating that she was said subject.

And while Alexanders already knew it, she didn't want to leave a paper trail on this device, not without knowing for sure that her prompts weren't being seen by other third parties. There was a difference between asking things and looking ignorant to outright saying that she wasn't [Human].

Fourteen results? That…did they have that many projects similar to hers? Why hadn't she seen those before? She knew there were other P series subjects, of course, but she hadn't seen many of them that were similar to her.

And now they had other fourteen similar to her?

The list showed fourteen locations spread all around the map.

Some were close, some were far away from each other, and all showed on a circular map with plenty of blue. Most of the locations were set on the spots painted green; a quick hover over one of those showed the place's name. Alexandra hadn't understood what these meant till she hovered over one that read [Columbus, Ohio].

That was the place she was in at the moment, and one of the dots showed there, so this was where she was…zooming in on that part of the map, she found the same image of the map she had seen before.

So that meant that zooming out….this was the world she lived in?

She had thought the previous map was something that made her area of activity look small, but this? The comparison was…[Mindblowing].

And then…the other thirteen spots…

-Tokyo, Japan

-London, England

-Paris, France

-Cairo, Egypt

-Mumbai, India

-Sydney, Australia

-São Paulo, Brazil

-Mexico City, Mexico

-Moscow, Russia

-Beijing, China

-Atlantis.

-North Pole.

-South Pole.

Dots all across the map, as if to make sure each of these had a purchase in a part of the world. So she wasn't that special then? Since they were all across the world. Alexandra couldn't help but think about how the bioweapons in those parts of the world had developed.

"What is the nomenclature used for the P-series in the other laboratories?" Alexandra said as she read the names of these parts of the world.

The app answered.

It made Alexandra quite proud of her own achievements, even if there had been when she was…less herself and more machine.

"So only one of the 999 P-series managed it; that one must be quite special, huh." Alexandra said, smiling at herself.

What? A girl liked to be flattered.

The library answered, making Alexandra's thoughts come to a halt.

Main Core chimed at the back of her mind.

But Alexandra had more important things to ask.

"...How many P4 test subjects are around?" Alexandra asked, just to make sure.

The Cardinal Star System answered,

…She was not missing, she was here. Also those test had a goal?

"So all these sites ran the same experiments, with the same P-series subjects? Why?" Alexandra asked, this was…stupid. Why run the same experiment in fourteen different places?

The Cardinal Star System said.

Of course, the P4 would develop differently even in the same environment… She doubted that anyone with half a brain would make exactly the same thing if they were in a different place. Unless they managed to regulate even the temperature, pressure and gravity pull.

Perhaps she was just more sensitive? Either way, Alexandra couldn't help it but felt weirded out by the fact that there had been other fourteen P4 running around…No wait, less than half remained active right?

"What happened to the remaining P4 subjects?" Alexandra asked, if there were other P4 running around she needed to find them, these could either be true allies…or the worst type of enemies she could have.

Cardinal said, so they would sell her? Or her other selves? No wait, her clones? Her doppelgangers?

Alexandra wasn't sure what to think about those other P4's, she didn't thought she would need to worry about that, if she managed to find them, the most probably thing Alexandra would do was confirm if they were possible allies or not. If not, well, she always wanted to taste herself to see if she was tasty or not…Did it count as self cannibalism if the target was you, but also not you?

Actually, could she use their AI cores? She was already using other Cores…Hmm…. "How do multiple cores interact when in one body?" Alexandra decided to ask.

Cardinal wrote as an answer.

That answer wasn't what Alexandra expected, she half expected a warning about [Core] instability because mismatched Cores…But now, looking back on it, Alexandra was already shoving around multiple different types of Cores, too, so if that was a problem, then she would have already needed to deal with it.

"How do you make a new [Core] then?" Alexandra asked next, she wanted to know how normal [Humans] made these. To compare with what she was doing now, she doubted they did it like her, since she was using [Core] to make new [Cores].

Was the answer that Cardinal gave.

So they just…quite literally made a new one from nothing huh. That sounded like… it shouldn't work.

Not like Alexandra could complain, since most of the things that [Core] did were quite similar, but then…how was she keeping her other [Cores] around?

"Main Core, how are the [Cores] that we made doing?" Alexandra asked, half expecting Cardinal Star to answer.

To her surprise the device didn't react to her question, had it detected the fact that she spoke to someone else? Alexa did speak to Main Core.

Main Core answered.

"Cardinal, are the secondary [Cores] self-sustainables?" Alexandra said, turning to the device.

Answered Cardinal.

So unlike her fake [Cores], a true secondary [Core] would not require her to mind them? So was that the reason both [Eleanore] and [Sam] reacted like that when she made those [Cores]?

"Can a [Secondary Core] remain functional away from their owner?" Alexandra asked, she was half sure that it wouldn't work. She hadn't managed to find [Core], so that was proof enough.

She would probably have tried to bring it out to better analyze it if she had found it, but it was quite a wonder, both [Core] and [Main Core], for different reasons altogether.

Cardinal answered, and at the end it also added,

So she wasn't the first to make an artificial one, huh. "Can an artificial [Core] be used when removed from its user?" Alexandra asked. Just to make sure, of course.

Cardinal answered that was actually a very fair answer.

It was like expecting a [Human] to work witouth a [Brain], so Alexandra would probably need for one of those artificial [Cores] to develope somewhat similar to her, perhaps she could… "What is the closest test subject with an artificial [Core] to my position." If she could get access to one of those, she would feed one [Core] to get them the [Blueprint] and experiment with those.

Cardinal answered,

"The other P4 I assume, yeah. I get the idea." Alexandra said, interrupting Cardinal, so she herself was the one with an artificial [Core]... Follow current novels on Nove1Fire.net

Had she managed to do this since her [Main Core] wasn't a dead [Core] reanimated then? Or was it because [Core] allowed the replication of [Blueprints] thanks to her [Nanites]?

She was getting more questions and less answers as she delved into this rabbit hole of questions. Perhaps she needed to change her approach?

But what else could she ask?

Main Core said at the back of her mind.

Did she want to know more about her employer? Yes. But what was more pressing matter, her employer or her situation?

Of her current situation…she knew most of what she needed, she was a Minion and as such was expected to behave as such, and her employer? It wasn't that hard to find out, [Haephestus' Forge] didn't attempt to hide much from her, actually…

"What is the relevant information I would need to know about [Haephestus' Forge] ?" Alexandra decided to ask in a vague matter.

It would work to gauge the limit of Cardinal Star System as an AI.

Was the data that Cardinal started giving,

Yeah….Alexandra would do her best to not be discovered when she went ahead and hurt more civilians.

That was a very detailed answer.

"What Minions are to be watched?" Alexandra said waiting to see the names, if an interesting name came around she wouldn't mind to…see if she could take some samples.

At least Alexandra was on the list; it meant that she was doing a good job.

But that only brought more questions…

"Alexa! Or Ale, or whatever you are right now! Are you here?!?" But the voice of [Skye] came out in her living room.

"*Sigh* We will continue this later I guess." Alexandra said as the device powered down and her Bracelet was pushed out of the computer, it now was standing there hanging by the side of the computer.

What did [Skye] want now that she was screaming all around? "Coming~" Alexandra said placing the Bracelet on her hand once again, she would need to ask about those things later.