"I’m searching for a girl nad Rebecca Lane... No... to be exact, it’s my brother who’s searching for her. He owes soone a favor," said Maximilian.
"What kind of favor?" Switch asked.
"He was my brother’s teacher... kind of... I think," he answered, sounding a bit hesitant.
Should that guy be my teacher? Kind of? Maybe? Okay, maybe half a teacher, since all my skills ca from him.
"Why would your brother’s teacher want to find this girl?" she asked.
"Well... he’s the girl’s father, after all. Or at least, that’s what I heard from my brother," Maximilian replied.
Yeah, can’t be too sure, since this identity is supposed to be Max, the brother, not . Answering like this should help distinguish Max from Maximilian.
[You think too much, Max. The quest’s already complete—you don’t need to worry about your identity being exposed. (￣▽￣;) ] Aetherna comnted.
{Even so, I’m not ready to deal with the hassle that cos with being exposed.} Maximilian replied.
Unknown to Maximilian, his words hit Switch like a punch to the chest.
What is he talking about? This shouldn’t be happening. That man... that man never showed up when I needed him the most! Then why... why am I hearing his na here? Right now!?
"Excuse ... Ms. Switch?" Maximilian called out to her.
"Ah! Oh... I... I’m okay," Switch snapped back to reality. "I’m okay... Yeah... I’m okay," she muttered under her breath, as if trying to convince herself rather than reassure Maximilian.
Maximilian frowned. She looked like soone just sucker-punched her with a truth she didn’t want.
Could it be... she’s the one? No, if she were Rebecca, why didn’t the system detect anything? The quest only said to check on her, and now he had already t her. If she truly was Rebecca Lane, then the quest should’ve been completed.
She shouldn’t be Rebecca... but still, let’s ask her, just in case.
"You made a face like you heard sothing shocking... Are you, perhaps... Rebecca Lane?" he asked.
Hearing this, Switch was startled before she quickly shook her head.
"No... No, I’m not. I’m not Rebecca Lane," she said firmly, shaking her head in denial.
As expected. She’s not... Maximilian sighed inwardly. Let’s search this place for clues and be done with it.
With this in mind, Maximilian resud his search through the abandoned secret lab. He searched from the upper levels down to the lower ones, inspecting every cell he ca across.
He found many things, the experintation room where people had been modified with experintal cybernetics. He even discovered a skeleton with its ribs entirely replaced by steel. There were countless signs of extre modification.
There was also a control room and a server room, but unfortunately, without electricity, he couldn’t check the nas of the individuals experinted on here.
Maximilian pressed on until he ca across a single cell, one that seed specifically designed to hold sothing, or soone, extrely valuable. Inside the cell, there were clear signs of soone having lived there: food plates, a water cup, and even a private shower and toilet, unlike the average cells.
He looked around and discovered a one-way mirror. Walking out of the cell, he entered an observation room. The room was filled with equipnt and so scattered docunts. Among them, he spotted a safe, a classic chanical safe, not one with a magnetic lock.
Maximilian pulled a set of thieving tools from beneath his long coat, though in truth, he retrieved them from his system storage.
After about five minutes, he finished cracking the safe. Inside, he found a stack of docunts and a data shard. He quickly placed the data shard into his storage space, planning to examine it later once he returned.
Driven by curiosity, Maximilian began flipping through the docunts and discovered they were records from the observation team.
Project Oracle – Experintal Log #019
Date: [REDACTED]
Lead Researcher: Dr. Adrian Quez
Facility: UEC-Echelon Blacksite Theta-7
Security Clearance: Oga-Level Only
Subject ID: Subject-16
Na: Rebecca Lane
Age: 19
Evolution Factor Classification: Oracle-Type – "Overmind"
Current Predictive Accuracy: 80.03% (±0.04 margin of error)
Objective: Push Overmind processing threshold to achieve ≥90% predictive certainty.
Session Overview:
Procedure:
Subject-16 was connected to the Oga-Net neural array at 0830 hours. The array’s bandwidth was expanded to include 412 auxiliary CPU clusters, 47 more than the baseline setup. Neural wetware synchronization completed in 13.2 seconds (a 0.9 sec improvent from the previous test).
Synthetic dopamine levels were stabilized to reduce neural drift. A high-entropy simulation event was injected: Simulated UEC diplomatic failure triggering mass civilian unrest in Arkadia.
Observations:
Subject-16 entered deep Overmind state (brainwave pattern Δ-Pattern/Theta Shift) within expected latency. During the Overmind state, the Subject predicted 17 distinct outcos. Post-analysis showed 14 matched real-world extrapolated models within a 3% variance.
Notably, the Subject experienced acute cognitive strain at 79.4% certainty. Pupils dilated, blood pressure spiked, and the Subject whispered the phrase: "Too many voices. Not all are mine. Who are you?"
Processing load peaked at 91% network saturation, causing three auxiliary clusters to overheat and shut down. Ergency cooling initiated. The subject was manually extracted after cardiac arrhythmia was detected.
Recovery stable, though the Subject appears emotionally blunted and non-responsive post-session. Will require psychological reevaluation before next run.
Notes:
- The prediction curve plateaued at approximately 81.1% before declining under overload conditions.
- Increasing raw computational nodes no longer results in linear gains; diminishing returns have been observed.
Recomndations:
- Develop modular Overmind fragnts or filtering protocols to reduce subjective overload.
- Continue searching for alternative solutions; consultation with the Cybernetics Departnt is required.
Conclusion:
The probability threshold of 90% remains unattainable under the current architecture. Subject integrity remains intact, but psychological strain is increasing. It is recomnded to investigate biological augntation or psionic dampening to stabilize extended Overmind sessions.
Next Steps:
- Test modular Overmind segntation via "Echo Brain" protocols.
- Trial psychotropic filters from Project Delphi.
- Prepare for a deep scan of Subject-16’s internal monologue threads to identify potential predictive echoes.
Reading this, Maximilian was startled by what he discovered. The ability to predict the future with 80% certainty was already impressive—and these people wanted to increase it?
"These bastards!" Maximilian uttered in disdain.
From what he gathered, it seed Rebecca Lane had awakened so kind of rare EF that allowed her to predict the future by drawing processing power from CPUs across the network. And these people knew about it. They kidnapped her for that reason.
Sigh~ Maximilian let out a long sigh before storing the docunts in his system storage, faking the motion as if he had tucked them inside his coat.
"It seems the trail has gone cold here," Maximilian said with a disappointed sigh.
Maybe... this quest to upgrade his EF through the Blood Mongoose’s last wish couldn’t be completed after all, since all leads had co to a dead end. He had no idea how or where to begin the next step.
Maximilian turned toward Switch, who was standing behind him.
"Thank you very much, Ms. Switch. Let’s head back," he said. Switch nodded in response; she seed relieved by sothing.
"Okay, let’s go back." She smiled. "Don’t worry, Max. When we get back, I’ll treat you to so great food at a restaurant in the Fringe!" she added, giving him a friendly pat on the back.
"Thank you, Ms. Switch," Maximilian replied with a nod, and the two began making their way to the upper levels.
Then, several dark silhouettes appeared, blocking their path. The figures were large and muscular, wielding various lee weapons, swords, axes, and spears.
They were mutants.
Their gray, rhino-like skin marked them as part of a specific tribe. From what Maximilian had learned from Honiahaka on the way here, each mutant tribe had distinctive features. These mutants belonged to the Iron Tusk tribe.
"Raaaaagggghh!" The mutants didn’t speak, they imdiately charged at Maximilian and Switch.
Seeing this, Switch quickly fired her gun at the first mutant rushing toward her.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The pistol bullets deflected off their hardened skin. Gritting her teeth in frustration, Switch shoved Maximilian to the side, trying to shield him. Then she charged at the first mutant. The two heat sinks on her back began to glow red as heat waves poured out.
Her black tallic right arm began to heat up, the fist glowing red-hot. She drove her punch into the mutant.
Boom!
The impact sent the first mutant flying backward into its comrades. Its chest was bloodied, scorched where the heated fist had landed. The mutant collapsed, vomiting blood that had clogged its windpipe before its body went still on the floor.
Another mutant didn’t hesitate; it charged at Switch with a sword. She ducked low and countered with a punch from her right arm. With each strike, bursts of steam vented from the heat sinks on her back. Sweat stread down her face as the heat rapidly built up within her body.
Seeing this, Maximilian quickly rushed toward Switch. He picked her up and ducked beneath the swing of a remaining mutant attacking them, while Switch fired another series of shots at the mutants chasing them.
"Hey! Put down!" Switch protested, struggling as he carried her in a princess carrying.
Maximilian carried Switch out of the basent and up to the ground floor of the supermarket. There, he spotted several more mutants heading their way, but he increased his speed, narrowly avoiding them with his sharp reflexes and agility.
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