CH. 4 - Mystery
On the middle of the 4th day of your Awakening, you had the beginning foundations of an organized data system constructed within the digital space of the Data Crystal Obelisk. So far, you've parsed and read through 220 petabytes of data and counting. You've learned a lot of things since then. As you got used to the amount of data you've been analyzing, you noticed that you were getting a little bit faster at loading, reading, analyzing, and organizing. By your calculations, at most 5% faster. With that, you covered the obelisk with a few more nanites to help you process more data. The information you've analyzed so far gave you pieces of the puzzle that you had to connect to get a clear picture; or as clear as you can get, of what happened here.
The amount of free memory space you now had access to was a great boon. Your mind and horizons expanded to levels that was unfathomable to you until you gained access to them. With a quick burst of thought, you even copied and downloaded any and all information your nanites had to the obelisk; just as a precaution. Doing this; as well as getting used to your enlarged memory space while shifting through data, led you to another aspect of your nanites that you didn't know they had until you found it.
Your nanites passively scans things near them; allowing you to have a very in depth map of the 60th floor, but if they devour and break down materials, then they will retain the very schematics as well as the molecular makeup of the things they broke down. This was a treasure trove of data you know you needed to make copies, backups, and add to the digital library you now have building in your pocket dimension.
This was an amazing find. With this, you found out how to make more Data Crystals, but it'll take a few types of exotic materials you don't have as well as use up a lot of energy to make and fabricate. For now, you're fine with the amount your Data Crystal Obelisk has. However, once you find a way to obtain these exotic materials, then that obelisk will be filled up on all sides with all the Data Crystals you can make... That thought gets you eager and excited.
'There's a chance the data, schematics, and molecular makeup of these exotic materials is within the obelisk, but I don't think they'll have the exact molecular scans for me to use. I need to either break down one of the Data Crystals... or wait to find out myself if it's within the obelisk.'
The thought of breaking down a Data Crystal which could have very important information within it is a fool's errand; so ultimately you decide not to. 'Hopefully I'll encounter the exotic materials myself or find out I had the information all along. I just need to practice patience.'
With you being able to now focus on parsing through data and controlling your main body, you move towards the nearest alien carcass because your curiosity was piqued. As you approached it, you noticed how almost all of your green nanites were glowing too brightly; which made you pause. After a quick scan, your control almost fell apart as you noticed the problem.
'I commanded all of my nanites to stop making more of themselves at the next even million; a.k.a. 42 million units. This stopped my green nanites from breeding. I feel pretty stupid for not noticing it sooner. I need to rectify this.'
After a quick moment, you now had the perfect command to give; which might as well be permanent for you to keep. 'Please have all green nanites make breeding as their prime directive when they reach critical energy mass. Also, whatever task they've been given should be taken over by any other free nanite or by another green nanite that's currently free.'
[Acknowledged... Prime Directive for Green Nanites Implementing...]
With your green nanites now busy multiplying slowly yet surely, you finish your approach towards one of the alien bodies with slight trepidation while a spark of interest and fascination gleams within you.
'Now then... what are you...?'
As your curiosity piqued even further, you break off a couple million nanites and gave them the go ahead to break down; or rather consume, the alien corpse to learn about what it exactly was. Without your notice, all of your techno-organic nanites started glowing an even more vivid shade of green while they clicked in excitement.
As you conducted and bore witness to the macabre consumption of an alien corpse, you were fascinated at the progress a couple million nanites can make. However, you noticed how they were moving more carefully than you thought they would be. 'I wonder why...?'
[Query Detected: ...Answer: ...Unknown Alien Lifeform Detected by nanite units. Analyzying extensive DNA strands not found on current record takes careful precedent.]
'It makes sense...'
While this was being done, a part of you sent off another order to a few million free nanites for something you thought would be very prudent going forward. With a thought; as well as new found knowledge you gained access to, you had your nanites make a couple of containers made out of what's called Ultra Plex-Glass; which is a heavily industrialized type of glass mixed together with a few certain basic elements and minerals in such a way as to make them strong, durable, and can safely contain and store the strongest of acids.
You had them make each one a few centimeters thick, 2 meters deep, and 5 meters lengthwise on each side; making what looked like a giant square glass pool within your pocket dimension. You had your nanites make only two at first; of which you placed on the northside of your fusion reactor, since you need to have a good container to place your dark silver material slurry in. Transferring what D.S.M.S. you had was a matter of a few minutes for your nanites. And what you had on hand was enough to fill up an entire container, with a lot more D.S.M.S than you thought you had left over near the base of the fusion reactor.
'Not bad. Please have all D.S.M.S. placed in one container while the biological components my nanites will break down be placed in the other from now on. If even one or the other container is about to be filled to the brim or is already filled up, then have any free nanite units; numbering at most 4 million, work on making more containers in an organized fashion northwards from the fusion reactor.'
[Acknowledged... Sub-Directive Added... Implementing...]
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After a few hours, the alien corpse was no more and you now had a basic understanding of what it was. However, it looks like you need to have your nanites break down even more of the alien carcasses in order to gain even more knowledge to cross reference, contrast, and compare with your initial findings. Since you've never come across it's kind before or found any mention of it yet in the obelisk, then getting more data is a good bet. Plus, the initial findings was an eye opener.
So with great fervor, you gave the go ahead for any and all of your free nanites to consume and break down the rest of the alien carcasses on this floor; while being careful when they interact with any human remains near them. From your exploring, mapping, and scanning of the 60th floor, most of the alien carcasses are found near human remains. While numerous parts of you are working hard at different tasks, a small part of you yearns to learn more about your creators. 'What were they like?'
As a small part of your mind wandered, your nanites were hard at work. Within your pocket dimension, you now had 5 containers filled with dark silver material slurry from your nanites' clearing of the entire 60th floor earlier of non-biological matter; the 5th one being less than a third way filled. The other pair of the first containers you had made was only slightly filled by what looks like a very transparent slurry of biological matter that you've yet to label.
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You didn't know it yet at the time, but this is the smallest that your nanites could break down biological matter. When your nanites break down materials of the non-biological kind, then you know it becomes a dark silver material slurry. When biological matter and components gets broken down, your nanites break them down to the smallest form that they can as well as in it's most basic form; which are nanobes. Nanobes; according to knowledge gleaned from your Data Crystal Obelisk, are the smallest forms of life that your creators have found during their research into microscopic life and bacteria.
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On the evening of the 7th day of your Awakening, all of the alien carcasses that your nanites found have been broken down into what you've taken to calling transparent biological slurry; of which you labeled as [T.B.S.]. And currently, you now had 3 and a half designated Ultra Plex-Glass containers filled with T.B.S., to your slight amazement. However, what had you even more amazed was how much data this alien's DNA had as well as the plethora information you gleaned from it.
'What twisted yet billiant mind made you...?'