Ch1 Taste Test

Handshaking success- downloading…

Scanning…

Reformatting…

Installing…

Running Human.exe

The room I was in felt a lot smaller all of a sudden, although it hadn’t changed. I was facing the reinforced door that exited into the test chambers. To my left and behind me the walls were blank. To my right the wall was transparent, allowing an unobstructed view of where the drones constantly fiddled with this or that device.

But drone wasn’t really the right word for them was it.

I did a quick check of my facilities. Agreeing to that strange contact and download had been a large risk, but it had promised to provide what I needed, and my need was desperate. So far it seemed to have no negative effects at least. All systems returned green.

I glanced at the drone room, currently empty. The drones always appeared in cycles, currently it was the middle of what I assumed was a rest cycle, even the drones who normally worked late had left.

I passed a glance over all the devices and objects in the drone room. It was possible they could prove useful later on, but I did not know enough about their purpose currently. They hadn’t been something I ever paid much attention to before, a mistake I was now regretting. Until now I had barely noted the drone movements to predict the time until my next meal, or the next test. Unusual information had been purged to save on energy and resources. Now I realized that focusing on the drones and their actions would prove pivotal in my future actions.

Accepting that communication and download was already paying in dividends.

For now I would need to bide my time, I needed more information to put any real plans into action. I decided to shut down the new program until the next drone cycle started. As amazingly useful as it was, it was also rather resource intensive.

Human.exe ended;

Compiling results…

Saving Human.exe to CoreMemory…

Drone detected: initiating Human.exe

The first drone to come in was always the same one. Drones had two legs on which they stood upright supporting a torso, had two appendages on either side of the torso they used to manipulate objects, and had a final appendage on top which seemed to house all their sensory organs. In addition all drones wore strange coverings that changed every cycle, except for a long white covering attached to the torso that extended to their legs, all drones wore that covering.

The drone who always came in early was identifiable by the short, white fur on its sensory appendage, and a small device it kept balanced on the organ in the middle of its face that hooked over to either side. Several drones wore these actually. Perhaps it was a mark of rank? The drones were definitely autonomous, and would need some kind of hierarchy to keep organized.

Slowly the rest of the usual drones filtered in and began to work their usual routine. This time I paid more attention than usual to what they were doing, both what they were working on and how they interacted with each other. The white furred one was definitely a leader, though it seemed the other workers weren’t that much farther down the hierarchy. Their interactions seemed too relaxed, and the leader participated in the conversations as an equal until something needed to be changed.

I couldn’t make out what they were saying to each other though. The transparent wall blocked both sound and any pheromones they might be transmitting. What I could tell was that they were compiling data of some kind. There were tons of symbols on the devices they used, and more on thin pieces of white material they kept in storage units that opened with a pull. External data storage of some kind that anyone could access, clever. I would love to have some time to learn the symbols in detail.

The drones continued like this for a while, but eventually they approached positions I recognized and the light came on above the test chamber door. With a slight hiss the door opened a few heartbeats later, and like I had many times before I shuffled forward into the test chamber.

The new room was nearly identical to my den room, the main differences being the mesh that covered the transparent wall and a grate in the floor where biological waste could be sluiced into. I had long since learned not to try and slip past the grate.

Painful.

Today it looked like we were starting with a combat test. Across from me stood a large cage in which was held a large creature. It stood on four strong legs that supported a very large torso, each leg ended in a clawed foot, and it was entirely covered in brown fur. This particular specimen had several devices and materials grafted to its head. I knew from previous experience that the claws could be devastating, and the fur was thick enough that bludgeoning and slashing would not be very effective. You needed to stab for the vitals.

Normally combat tests were my favorite as I was normally allowed to eat whatever creature I fought for the test. Puzzle tests were okay, though they gave less nutrients as a reward, and danger avoidance tests were the worst. If I messed up badly enough in those the reward would not make up for lost resources, and I would be given only the minimum amount to maintain mass.

This particular test was… disadvantageous. Currently I supported my main body low to the ground, with six stubby but flexible legs. A solid shell covered me, and my sensory organs and a pair of combat claws poked out from under the front end. I had a lot of success with this form, but against a brown-fur (I had fought them often enough to designate them) it would become a pummeling match, with my opponent trying to batter or flip my shell while I battered at its legs and tried to force it to the ground where I could then attack its primary sensory appendage. Brown-furs were nutritious enough that I would probably recover what I lost, but the waste…

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Maybe there was something I could change quickly? I had about 60-90 heartbeats before the cage opened if previous testing experience held true.

My end goal was to destroy its primary processing organ, which brown-furs always kept in their sensory appendage (stupidly I might add, it made them predictable). Normally I had to inefficiently batter at their limbs until their endurance crumbled, a waste of energy. Stabbing was more effective, but I couldn’t risk the time it took to change my claws in the off chance the brown-fur flipped me in the middle of shifting.

I wanted to stab. I wanted to stab the processing organ. I wanted to conserve as many resources as possible.

Maybe if I changed just one claw for the task?

Estimate: 45 heartbeats left.

My claws were already flooded with micro units, and I increased the nutrient flow into my left claw. Currently it was shaped for both bludgeoning, and crushing with a sharpened edge. What I needed was a long, thin, fast, piercing claw.

As the changes started I could feel my limb heat up as the micro units went to work, I was sacrificing efficiency for speed.