CHAPTER 15: Frilo the Basilisk

After a nice deep sleep, Alex's phone alarm rang to his dismay. He desired more rest and did not want to leave the comfort of his blanket. With tremendous willpower, he slowly sat upright. The thoughts of self-doubt had vanished, but were not permanently trampled quite yet. Alex wanted a future, he craved it. When one could achieve mastery of a skill within a mere ten days, what was not to love? Though he wouldn't be able to achieve a standard mastery of anything he had learned thus far within the few days he was given, that didn't stop his passion. He couldn't wait to unfold the many mysteries of combat that he had always wondered about. He put on his gear and grabbed his staff, they said he would need it today. He slid on his helmet and looked at the buttons on the side of his index finger knuckle. He decided that he would instead use the neural reading function that he had heard about from Maxwell some time ago. He thought about sliding the visor up, and it followed suit, clicking and pushing forwards out of its airtight seal, and bringing the visor up across the top of the helmet. Much easier than a button, he decided. He then returned it to his face and decided to test out the glare and light resistance functions. First, he mentally commanded it to be set on automatic adjusting and turned on the lights in his room. The visor reacted to the light as fast as he perceived it, darkening the visor's glass, making it pleasant to look straight at the light on his ceiling. Though his body could already adjust to quick changes in light, this function helped most because it could adjust the transparency level in different ways across the whole visor, which meant that even if he had the sun shining directly into his eyes, the visor would make it so that he could ignore the sun and look into the environment around them with the good clarity. He looked out of his window and comfortably glazed into the small pale circle that was the sun. Alex turned around and marched off, deciding to quit fooling around and be on his way. He exited the door with everything in-hand, ready to go see what wonders the world had waiting for him. He made his way to another area of the base he had never personally traveled to, going purely off his memory of the map that Vespa had given him while they were in the vehicle. A perfect rendering of the map played in his head as he looked around for reference points. This was only his second day, and yet he almost had the entire 3D map of the base memorized, compiling his new findings to the map as he went along, exerting minimal effort in the process. It was a scan-and-go scenario, which was extremely satisfying to Alex. He could walk around places he had merely glanced through before as if he had known them his entire life. He sprinted across the grass until the targeted facility came into view from behind a larger complex. Alex angled himself gradually to turn towards his destination. Running fast had its downsides, as Alex had quickly learned in the woods. It was decently hard to control. One sharp turn, and his momentum could knock him off his feet. When Alex saw that the facility was getting a little too close, he remembered a time in the forest when he almost smacked into a tree because he slowed down too late. With some effort and slightly awkward legwork, he was able to not smash into the thick concrete walls of the building. Inside, Holts and another man Alex had never seen before were waiting. The man was smaller than Holts, although still taller than Alex, with a more toned and refined frame than Alex. He had a sophisticated air to him, a look of superior professionalism. Holts had this look, too, but to a lesser extent. The man's abyssal eyes looked down on Alex blankly, unreadable and mysterious. Alex felt as if the room let some of the air belonging to the upper north, making him shutter. He wondered why the two men in front of him had such a contrasting atmosphere from the rest of the modified soldiers he had passed in the hallway to and from his room. His curiosity got the best of him.

"Holts, why do I feel terrified when I'm close to you two? I've noticed a distinct air around you since we met, and same for him" Alex pointed at the new guy.

"That has to do with how your subconscious is wired. The guys in the Association have the same gene-editing process and end-results that we do, so I can tell you a little about it. Your conscious and subconscious can now analyze any person or creature in much greater detail regarding their movements, displayed skills and reactions, and microexpressions across their entire body. Your brain will automatically assess the extent of them as a threat, also evaluating your preparedness to engage them. This includes situational factors, too, which is the reason why making eye contact with me is much more intimidating than, say, coming at me from behind. This inhuman boosting of observation also allows you to get a much more accurate reading of people's personalities or true motives, you just have to be more aware of these observations, as well as your 'gut feeling'." Holts explained. "And don't just say him. Ask him his name first." He corrected Alex. Color flushed into Alex's face, and he realized his mistake. He still had a lot of work to do regarding his conversation skills. The embarrassment made Alex want to do nothing else but crawl up into a ball and hide, but he put up an attempt at pulling himself together.

"Sorry about that, what's your name?" was all that Alex could muster.

The man's empty eyes glimmered with a new light that was warm and comforting. His body posture changed suddenly as energy seemed to gush from him like a jet of water from a pent-up geyser. "Frilo Jacques is my name, but you can call me Basilisk if you want, isn't that right, Gila?" He said with a comfortable smile. Holts looked straight at Alex with a serious face that halfway collapsed into a silly grin.

"Don't you dare start calling me Gila! Holts is fine!" He said as he whacked his friend in the arm. They went on for a solid half-hour, talking about nothing important. Though Alex felt good to get a nice short break, he began to feel like he wasn't using his time wisely. This motivated him to step back into his training mindset.

"So, what exactly is our plan for today?" Alex asked. Frilo smiled as if he'd been waiting for that question for years.

"There will be three main things that we will do today. First, we'll need to record your current body structure and physical abilities for VR training. The Brotherhood bought us three very special headsets to use here. You'd be surprised how cheap they can make those things nowadays. Today we will get those measurements, do some testing in the VR realm, and then discuss combat techniques. The next two days there will be some very intense PT, so be ready for that, too. We'll finish up the week with a mix of real-life and virtual training "

"Wait, VR training? You mean-"

"Yes, not your typical VR. Even you civilians should know about this one. A VR device that blocks almost all input signals from your body and inputs its own signals without any invasive procedures. It's illegal, but works like a charm. You won't be able to tell a difference, besides everything being in a lower quality resolution suitable for humans" Frilo added before transitioning into an onwards step. "To room 133 for measurements! This is where things get fun!"

Alex hadn't considered it before. He had seen his vision improve, but not the opposite. He also wondered how they would measure him. The clanking of Alex's metal boots created echoes on the hard interior walls, reverberating until he walked from the cramped hallway into the openness of a larger room with two tables, one made of glass with small bits of technology built-in, the other holding a computer. The air had noticeably changed temperature as they walked closer into the building. Air filters protruded unsubtly from spots in the room, and the paint on the walls was yellowed with age and very chipped. The building was clearly older and not in any comparable shape to what he had envisioned. It looked as if the Brotherhood had hastily implemented a small portion of their tech here and nothing more. Due to Ethiopia's great economic recession after World War III, they hadn't been able to renew their bases. Some were even left collapsed with no people having the time or motivation to clean it up. Many countries like this one were still crushed under the weight of debt and destruction that left a fraction of the world in cinders. A feeling waved over Alex, a feeling of understanding, a sense of vengeance. It was reinforced into him how fortunate he was to be in America when the onslaught occurred, one of the few countries where a sliver of hope and recuperation was given to the weakened and destroyed. He thought of all of the trapped, desperate people wishing they could escape to somewhere safe, only to realize there was nowhere they could go or nothing they could do but accept the corruption of a society of mercenaries and thieves, or die trying to fight them. The TA was the first to know how to make men into unnatural beings, and yet they were the first to use this power, not for the wellbeing of the weak, but to trample on mortals' lives and aspirations to achieve whatever sick motivation they had. Alex thought deeply about this. How could such a terrible system be born from only a desire of greed? They must have another, more interesting goal. Some countries were put under complete control of the TA(all countries were at least jointly controlled) and were forced to work on something that not even the Association or Brotherhood knew about. Could it be a weapon? Alex doubted it. Though it did make sense in the progression of power, some things seemed strange. The countries under absolute rather than joint control were not the weakest, poorest, strongest, wealthiest, or best for strategic advantage, but seemed to be scattered in oddly specific places across the world, skipping the countries that should've been seen as priority in terms of military advantage. Alex held onto this thought, deciding to explore it later after his training.

"Okay, take off your suit and go down to your underwear, we're going to take a scan of your body without your armor pieces. This will help us create an accurate model of you." Alex did as he was told. He laid down on the table while Frilo typed something on the computer on the second table. After a few seconds of Alex finding the ideal spot, he heard the slightest vibrations coming from the machine under the glass of the table. It was a minute whirring sound, too small for even the human ear to pick up. Alex looked at the sides of the table, observing a few rib-like structures pop up from the sides of the table. He looked at the devices and realized that the small lens at the tip of the apparatus was some sort of invisible laser, which was the source of the scan. The lasers penetrated through the skin, reaching down through the muscle and bone to get advanced readings of their structure and properties. Such technology was commonplace in Alex's world, as it had been for years, having time to flourish and grow to a scale of mass-production. The scanning was done in a flash, and Alex sat up and slid into a stand, carefully avoiding the steel ribs. He then saw Frilo setting his armor and equipment down on the table one piece at a time. Alex watched with curiosity and anticipation. Frilo finally handed back all of Alex's equipment except for the helmet and took in a great, long breath.

"OFF TO THE TOMBS!!!" His voice boomed and startled Alex as he began walking over and opening a side door leading to a room with three casket-looking devices that were aligned to its center, arranged so all the casket's top corners met. This formed a triangle gap in the middle, which housed exposed wiring that was all connected to a small ringed hole penetrating through the floor. The three walked up to the pods, and Frilo moved the helmet around in his hands, looking for a small rubber flap. He opened it to reveal a port, into which he plugged a wire extending from one of the pods.

"It now just has to read all of the information about the suit on your helmet's computer. It's faster than a mind-link" said Frilo, impatiently glancing at the helmet and the pod.

"Mind-link? Now that's something I haven't heard before..." Alex said, his eyes lighting up because he knew that more secret technology would be unveiled.

Frilo seemed to have been anticipating Alex's untold question, and jumped to the topic immediately, exposing his inner techie and artist.

"A very good question, indeed! And may I answer that with a programmer's dream? A brilliant device exists that allows you to put whatever you envision directly into code or product! The device itself was made to put thoughts of concepts, images, film, language, and codes onto a computer. It is a tool of ultimate creation! Imagine being able to construct a frame for a movie scene in one's mind, and have the image in full detail automatically drawn out, on your computer, in front of your eyes! Imagine thinking up a weapon or a landscape for a game, including its attributes and functions, and having it fully implemented, ready to go within only the time it takes to download! Imagine recreating a memory you have, and it being able to instantly be adapted into a video for others to see! This technology can also work towards so many great things, and will knock the entire reality of art on its head! With this, aspiring amateurs can create movies, comics, videos, video games, and artwork at the level akin to the greatest prodigies of our time! No longer will people have their imagination oppressed and limited by a budget, lack of physical talent, or, most importantly, time. We will be able to have our deepest thoughts and passions flow freely between each other, expressing them in their rightful radiance! When I tried this device for the first time, I couldn't express the extent of how overjoyed I was. I giggled childishly, but I didn't care. It was amazing, such a beautiful device deserved to be in the hands of everyone! Luckily, I learned that there was a commercial variant being worked on, one that is coming to the public six months from now! I cannot wait to see the erupting joy that everyone will express when they try it! Unfortunately, though, it will start at an astonishing price. But that does not prevent the light of creativity from blossoming. Schools, libraries, and other public places plan on having a device free-to-use as long as you schedule an appointment. Civilization has known of this technology for around two months now, after you had gone into your deep sleep."

Alex was yet again blown out of the water by such news. He wished he had heard about it sooner! A great frustration set over Alex, as he desired to try out this tech immediately, but knew that he had to focus on his training. A painful smile fell across Alex's face as he tilted his head upwards and rubbed his palms on his eyes, groaning at the multiplicity of torments he was constantly being put through. The process was finished, and Frilo disconnected the cord from the helmet.

"It's time. Get to your pod. We'll be going in now." Frilo said, excited to see the surprise on Alex's face as he entered a new digital realm that twinned reality.