Pseudo-demi-god

[Quantum System]

[Rebooting .... 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..0]

The whole world went light.

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[Quantum System (V 1.1)]

[Quantum being: level 2]

[Class: Laplace's Demon]

[ Skills]

{Classical:

- Calculation - level (2)

- Analysis - level (2) }

{Modern:

- Dilation - level (2) }

{Quantum:

- Superpostion - level (1) }

[Entanglements: Seer | Shifter ]

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Ethan's eyes opened briefly, all he could see was the system screen, and it didn't make any sense to him. He was tired. So tired. He managed to look around the room a little, but it looked like an empty hospital room. He decided to close his eyes again.

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The light brushed his eyelids, a fluttering pattern of light and dark that seemed strange and familiar to him. Ethan opened his eyes to the mid morning sun pouring through an expansive window, the semi sheer curtains blowing in a light breeze. It was a beautiful day, and he could see a grass covered expanse dotted with flower beds. 'Where am I', he thought.

"Where am I," he said out loud. Sitting up in his bed, he looked around and knew he definitely wasn't in a hospital any longer. The room was filled with solid wood furniture, two paintings hung on the walls, and there were little decorations scattered around that made the space seem comfortable. Ethan had never been in a hospital room that seemed comfortable. He also didn't see a call button, a bed pan, or any medical equipment at all. 'I guess this means I'm all better,' he thought. It was true though, he felt fine. No headaches, no blurry vision, or fatigue. He tried standing up, and felt as good as new. Until he noticed he was naked.

"I see you're awake."

"Whaaah," Shin spun towards the voice. 'No one was in here, right?' he thought. He figured it out when he saw the open door behind the young woman in his room. Her strawberry blonde hair hovered just over her shoulders, contrasting against her tailored dark blue suit. She had a severe look to her face, but it was softened by the smile hovering by the edges of her lips and eyes. The trace of that smile made her much more interesting to Shin, it hinted at humour.

"I also see you aren't the shy type. That's great, but, if you feel like it, there are clothes for you in the armoire there," she full on smiled then, her teeth flashing in good humour. "I'll be waiting outside for you to get ready," then she turned, and closed the door as she left.

"Not shy?" Ethan said out loud. Then he remembered his nudity. "Fuck."

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"Thank you Arina, for fetching our young guest here," An older man said, leaning back in his high backed executive chair. He was wearing a light grey suit that seemed very expensive to Ethan, though, granted, he knew nothing about suits. His hair was jet black, as were his eyes, and he gave off an intense aura. Ethan thought he was old when he first saw him, which is strange because he couldn't be over 40.

"My pleasure, Mr. Deus," she said, and, looking over at Ethan, gave him a quick wink. Ethan blushed. He was already sitting on a large loveseat that faced Mr. Deus' desk.

"I imagine you have a lot of questions Ethan, but, I want you to listen first." Mr. Deus looked around his office, like a lion admiring his pride. "This seems like a safe place, doesn't it? We are in my beautiful home, on private property, surrounded by advanced security and guards. What about the city though? The country? Continent?" he paused and leaned towards Ethan, the sun setting his eyes aglow. "Ethan, is the world safe? What is real safety once your context has broadened? I bet you don't feel safe even here. With the year you've had, you know better than most that safety and security is an illusion."

"Uh, Mr. Doose? Who the hell are you, and where the hell am I?" Ethan said. He leaned forward, matching the other man's posture. "You're right, this has been a crazy year. I've lost so much. So much that I can't lose anymore. Every second is another victory for me, and I'm not going to waste anymore unless you tell me why. I. Am. Here." Ethan sat back up straight, his face still calm, and waved his hand in a 'go ahead' gesture.

Arina's eyes went wide, but a smile played across her lips. She looked back and forth between the two, one a teenager who had presence beyond his years, the other a man who was the personification of presence. She had a feeling about how this would go.

Mr. Deus leaned back in his chair, put his hands on the armrests, and then a "Bwaahahahahaha," burst out of him. It was a deep, sonorous sound.

'Whoever this guy is, he isn't afraid to just cut loose. He seems ok, but I need answers, now,' Ethan thought. Waking up naked, in a strange place with a strange woman in his room was not normal. He had a lot to figure out, and first on that plate was his Quantum System upgrade. He passed out in the hospital before he could even talk to Q.

[Indeed] Q said in his head.

[Dilation] Q said. Arina's almost smile froze on the cusp of dawning, Mr. Deus looked like he was posing for a photo, and the leaves on the trees outside stopped blowing in the wind.

[There, that should gives us time to catch up. You've been unconscious for 5 days, and spent at least the last 2 here in this compound.]

'You could see what was happening while I was unconscious?' Ethan thought, and he realized he wasn't entirely sure what Q perceived outside of Ethan's own observations.

[No, I was offline while the system was updated and rebooted. I was able to reconstruct the timeline based on the watch Mr. Deus is wearing, and the amount of stubble on your face. You don't grow a lot, but it looks like the hospital shaved you at one point.]

'What the hell happened Q. One second you said I was getting an upgrade, and the next I'm in a coma? That seems like the kind of side effect you should be warned about.' Ethan glanced around, and was surprised that the other people in the room appeared to be completely still. 'How much stronger is [Dilation] now?'

[Within the confines of your mind, time is all but standing still compared to before. We could talk for relative hours and a second will pass outside.]

'Woah. Woah, that opens up possibilities. We'd have time to second guess reflex response at this level!'

[True, but it doesn't make your body move faster you know.]

'Thinking faster is more important than moving faster in a fight, trust me. What else can we do with this upgrade?' Q pulled up the system skills screen.

[ Skills]

{Classical:

- Calculation - level (2)

- Analysis - level (2) }

{Modern:

- Dilation - level (2) }

{Quantum:

- Superpostion - level (1) }

[Entanglements: Seer | Shifter ]

[I think we can agree that Calculation and Analysis will be similarly upgraded. The one we should explore is Superposition, don't you think?]

'Interesting. Are you speeding up time around you somehow, or is this some kind of mental acuity thing?' a strange but familiar voice echoed in Ethan's head.

'What... Q? What?' Ethan thought, but he could tell that Q had withdrawn deeper into the background.

'Q? Are you talking to yourself in here? Hmm, it makes sense that you'd use an advantage like this to assess what is happening to you,' Mr. Deus said in Ethan's mind. 'This is brilliant, we could have our whole conversation in what, a few seconds? And, I can talk freely here about some of things that Arina shouldn't hear. This isn't why we were interested in you, but I can see that it is related.'

Ethan could see that Mr. Deus was still frozen mid laugh, still completely still as far as Ethan could tell.

'How are you able to enter my mind,' Ethan asked.

'It wasn't easy, but I understand why now. It was like trying to merge onto a race car track while jogging. Haha. Ethan my boy, we really do have a lot to talk about.'

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