Chapter 00110001

My name doesn't matter. But you can call me Silence or Sil for short . I know it's an odd nickname to go with this name. But considering I hardly talk and I excel at hacking and programming it works well. Currently I'm one of the 345'831 inhabitants of Colony 7 on Mars. My number currently being 32'243 as is tattooed on the inside of my left arm. There's 12 colonies on Mars that humanity put here close to 100 years ago. And for the most part things have gone smoothly. The only hiccup was air. Humanity has a limited supply of it here despite growing plants and making an air filtration and recycling system. So you could say certain sacrifices are often made for the sake of preserving our race.

We call it the Roulet. A random selection of 150 people are shot out into space in a pod. The selection is made by a machine using a unbiased algorithm for changing and preserving air quality. Unfortunately I am now included in that equation as indicated by me being branded like cattle. I say that because I am now strapped into a chair with my mouth gagged and placed in a straight jacket with my legs chained to the levi-chair. ( Essentially a floating wheelchair for those who dont know.) My parents had cried and screamed that it was unfair when I was taken. Unfortunately there has been and will never be a change to the system that runs this place.

Robots are used to replace people for the process due to mishaps in the past. People escaping or being allowed to run. The government didn't like it. So now we have to deal with metallic, heartless, bastards that have no conscience. What's more is that officials we elect aren't part of this process until they are voted out. Which really sucks considering the corrupt people always manage to stay in. But besides the point. It seems I ticked off a few last time I hacked a food warehouse... dont ask.

So I guess this is my death note. My recording before I'm food for the unforgiving, empty, and cold expanse of space. I was taken into a ball the size of a large house. A Cylinder about 20 feet wide in circumference stuck out toward the black , star-filled sky.The building was large inside and smelled like hot grease and smoke. The air was a haze but it was easy enough to see the building was filled with cylinders. Each had a light blinking on top to tell me exactly what they were. Cryo Tubes. Each one had a small amount of air contained in their tubes. Once we ran out we would be fed carbon dioxide till we passed out and died. I heard it's a horrible process to endure. One I had hoped to never experience like my grandfather before me. But unfortunately not.

The chair I was on suddenly unfolded and forced me to stand. A robot grabbed my chained legs and disconnected them from the chair. I was then forcefully placed in the tube that indicated my number. ( Damn... I guess this is the end.) I thought as I strained against the guards who forced me into the cell. I heard the hiss and the glass and metal door suddenly covered me like the others before me. And air mixed with knockout gas filled the chamber. I struggled against my bonds trying to break free only to find I was still weak. I had spent too many hours in front of a computer instead of working out. ( Damn.... I wish I had.... had more... time...) I thought as the gas finally took effect and I passed out.

Some time later....

" HOOOONK, HOOOONK, HOOOONK!" A siren screamed awaking me groggily from my slumber. The gas had run out and for some reason the glass on my container was cracked. "uhaaat?" I sloppily said as I was still under the effect of the gas. I slowly moved my hands and found them still bound. Suddenly I jolted from an impact. My neck cracked slightly. It hurt a little but I could tell that I was still ok. Another jolt followed. Then another as I suddenly felt g-forces. They were forcing me into the cryo tube further. I couldn't grasp what was going on.

My world was spinning as we were seemingly hurtling through some form of atmosphere. People were screaming as we hurtled through whatever nightmare we couldn't even imagine awaited us. Alien world or perhaps something far worse. I began to imagine myself drifting amidst an asteroid belt as my body broke apart due to the cold.

I felt the cold sweat hit as my mind became clearer and realization hit me. ( The council never shoots us toward anything but empty space... What the hell is going on?!) I thought as we hurtled through what could have been anything. A nightmarish creature that might survive the cosmic destructive force of space came to mind.

We crashed and bounced as our vessel tumbled. Suddenly the ball was torn open on the side as we rolled. Cryo-tubes flew out through the gaping hole driving everyone who saw it either mad with fear or freezing us to our bones as we saw our fellow death mates meeting their ends. As I watched I saw flashes of black mixed with green and grey. It blurred past but was obvious. ( What did we hit!?) I thought as my adrenaline burned through my body making me feel as though I was filled with energy but incapable of exerting it.

I pushed against my restraints as my breathing accelerated. My joints ached as the jacket held me in place with the chains. My head banged against the side of the tube as we bounced again. I felt something warm on the side of my face as my vision turned shakey. Thankfully I never flew out of the gaping hole in our ship.

And I was even more thankful that it didn't take long for our ship to finally skid to a stop with a wailing screech. Myy body ached from head to toe as I laid there on my back. I stared at what was the hole in the ship above me. The sky dark and didn't look anything close to friendly.

I felt a pain go through my midsection and I looked down. To my surprise I saw a thin spear of metal sticking out of me. My adrenaline had been running so hard that I didn't even realize I got hurt.

I began to chuckle as I guess my nerves finally got the best of me. "Hahahahaha!!!!" I laughed loudly as it echoed across the tube. "So I survived the fall but not the landing. Haha.Cough, Cough!" A bit of blood came out my mouth as I laughed. ( Damn. It just turns out I die like this?)

I heard footsteps close by and weakly called out. "Help!" The steps came closer and I prepared to either receive help or get hauled into a grave by a friendly human being. Such was not the case. What came was far from human. And it terrified me to no end. What I saw was a being made of black, shiney material.

It had the head of a dragon and held a trident in it's right hand. It's stature was that of a giant standing at 8 something feet.

I was petrified. Terrified of the thing before me. It's muscles exuded the image of strength. It's eyes were the beacon of cruelty, but the damn thing had the audacity to chuckle as it reached down and casually ripped the front off of my tube like opening the lid of a KFC container.

My eyes widened as it began examining my wound before snapping my chains and hauling my ass out of there. I screamed from the pain of me being hauled off the jagged metal. It jolted a bit against my cry. "I forgot that you could still feel pain." A deep voice echoed out of it and I froze.

"What?!" I said in shock. It laughed as it's form shifted and I was set down like a child being put down for a nap. My wound now bled profusely. But the thing before me didn't mind. The horns and tail compacted as it shrank. I stared as a 5 foot humanoid figure stood before me. It was a bald headed face with a mouth but no eyes or nose to speak of.

"Gawking at me won't fix what's happening to you. This next part will hurt for a moment. But trust me when I say that it's worth it." He suddenly knelt and jammed his hand into my wound. I roared as anger suddenly flooded my system along with the pain. I glared at him and hissed. Though soon enough I felt a cool feeling soothe my wound.

The creature pulled it's hand from my midesction but to my astonishment it had a stump instead. I looked down to find my wound was covered in the black substance that was slowly spreading. "What is this?" I said as fear once again entered my mind.

"You'll understand soon kid." I looked at the being again to see that it's hand had grown back. There was only one thing I had ever heard of that could do that. "BL00D." The being smirked a little as I stared in horror at my midsection. The darkness had spread to my chest and was still proceeding at a sickening rate. I didn't even feel the difference. As a matter of fact I didn't feel anything.

I stretched an arm. Lifted my arms and twiddled my fingers. Darkness was spreading up my arms and neck. ( I guess dying this way is better than drifting in space right?) I thought nervously. The man as I came to think of it turned to me. "Much better my good man. Much better." I stared at him as the darkness filled my vision and I sank into unconsciousness. I felt like I was drifting as an electric sensation seemingly zinged through my head. It was appalling and exhilarating at the same time.

My body felt like it was shaking or perhaps being electrified. I hummed with energy. The sensation seeming to last forever. Thankfully I felt myself coming to. I prayed it was a horrible dream. Unfortunately... it wasn't.

I woke on a bed. My surroundings were what one could call a bare bones room. seemingly designed by emo and goth lovers with OCD. Everything was made of black with white and red lights shining here and there. The room was small and rectangular it was 30 feet long by 12 feet wide like the living cells back on Mars.

I slowly tried sitting up and found that I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't feel my fingers as I tapped the bed or when I touched my face. I saw a mirror and rushed to see my reflection. What I saw horrified me.

It was the monster I saw back at the ship. No eyes or ears. Yet I could see oddly enough. A mouth filled with white, pointy teeth and a forked black tongue.

I screamed in horror at my reflection as I tumbled backward into the wall in the small rectangular room. The wall next to me lit up as a doors outline formed. With a click and beep it swung open revealing another lifeform. This one was different. It was a floating ball with tentacle arms and clacking shackle-like hands. I stared as a beady red dot appeared and focused on me. A mechanical voice echoed out of the floating thing before me. "Welcome to the world of Materiasta Sir. My name is Percival. You may call me P if it suits you. I am here to give you any pointers and guide you in this new part of your life."

"P-P-Percival. As in the knights of the round table?" I asked as I felt the fear race through my mind even as my inner history and mythology nerd came out. My voice sounded hoarse and oddly like a rusted machine

" Indeed sir. But unlike the myths I am here to show you the way to obtain your own holy grail if you wish to see it that way."

I swallowed quickly but I didn't feel pain from a parched throat despite not having drunk anything in hours. I rubbed my throat with my black hand and inspected it more closely. My fear began to ebb as my curiosity began to get the better of me.

"Percival... Am I dead and just in hell." I asked skeptical of the current situation.

"No sir. You were absorbed by the BL00D system and your consciousness retained within the data frame that was designed by the man known as Johann Von Creight. For the sake of saving humanity by forcefully evolving them. What else may I answer for you?" I turned my head and stared at him. "Say what now?"