Journey out of Twycross grounds, nightmares follow.

The late evening was when best to move, as many mindless that still wandered in open spaces preferred daylight. The very few nocturnal mindless were smaller or plant mixes - meaning they were avoidable at night. We had plenty of dirt roads, farmer lanes and minor roads to travel before reaching onto a fenced motorway. As suggested, we following a route that had some trade stops on the way. Being officially recognized by the creatures communities means there was plenty of houses, farm yards and protected areas that they called their territory. Plenty of places to stop at over daylight hours before risking travel in unprotected open areas.

I have to say the most unnerving is that there is a entire clan of tree folks. They up any leave as they please during the day and trade at night. Something about the sun giving enough energy for strainuos movement was their reasons for the habit. They gave me a few new organs in trade of some that failed to take hold in my new body. This has now given me some tree DNA to add into my adaptive alterations, but its a cost worth paying when its a struggle to have working lungs.

My brother has gone very quiet once again, not bothering to talk to me as much as he did when I was stuck in the argument reality chat. It's thanks to him talking at me that I have managed to keep my mind from slipping.

I didn't want to forget or rid of any my memories. I wanted to recall those I lost and apricate them deeply. I wanted to recall my own younger years as a kid again. I didn't want my years of schooling, training and practice to be thrown away. The good things and the bad. I didn't want to forget my mistakes.

The late evening was stopped within a sort of village. It was left abandoned. Many houses were already pried doors and stripped of values. But there is always something that can still be found and of use. According to the train station we were parked at, this was Polesworth, this was after 2 days of southern travel away from Twycross. If travelling was back in my day, traveling anywhere in the main part of England was always just 2 or 4 hours. But with blocked roads, dome city fencing, creature den areas and sometimes land falling out of use with the lack of humans around to keep it neat. It added to the effort of travel. Not forgetting that we are stopping at every other farm house for any health checks. If we were in any hurry back to a dome city network, we just had to fence cross onto the M42 motorway. This would take us away from creature trade.

"Wow a flesh lady." I got out of my daydream with standing up straight, another mix human child with their pet cat in them. There is a lot of children types whom get mixed with the family pet. This kid wasn't bad looking either and knows how to stay clean and dressed correctly, "The mayor said you trade stuff." They have a elected leadership in this small clan of Polesworth residences, quiet common for creature mixes to herd follow.

"We do trade things. We actually have a lot of supply from Twycross." They still use human name refencing for locations but that is really all that was kept. What they name themselves, how they talk about themselves and association between each other is never really human wording, "Did you want wet greens, sliced red or objects? In return I often sort of look for shiny items or broken things." This is only been the 4th time I have been outside the coffin for a while, and I am still getting used to my own limbs. This is why I was seated with the drones moving around things for me. He was off again but he said he be back tonight. He has flew off with Hoverdrone2, he had the sash on it - so there shouldn't be any trouble with the creatures.

"You can have this broken thing." That was the head of a military machine, "Can I have food stuff?"

"Would you like me to make it hot or left as is?" I asked, not taking the item if they aren't going to be happy with my exchange.

"You make food stuff? Humans call it cooking."

"Indeed I can cook. Is that what you would like?" The nod a lot, "Hey, if you find more of this. I make a big amount. You can share a lot of the food around with your home." They nod a lot, running to shout a bunch of stuff. I smile at how funny children can be. My attention back to the military drone that was still minorly active, "Are you alright?" Picking the head up with care, "These creatures don't really know what is friend or foe." I placed it carefully on a spot to properly talk to them, "You seem scared of talking to me. I can understand why. I look like them." I stand on my own and with picking through the van with picking some jarred goods, a cooking pot and some wood. I set up a fire made sure it was really going before then cooking away a large amount of foods. All safe food. No onions or other risky complicated foods.

The kid back with a lot of young others, each with machine sections of the guy I have the head of. The also were smart kids to think of bringing their own bowls and ways to eat the foods. The eldest was a mixture of an teenager human, adult human and I think a bird or three. This one had the teenager being the host mind. The odd feather off posed bird foot and the strange height.

"Food to share." I scoop fairly with everyone here whom had a bowl or plate. Some extras whom were walking by I managed to figure out a bowl or plate for them to have share. I had just about most of two different military machine models. I had mostly connected the piece back at the best I could do. I understood they still didn't want to talk to me. Now that I had a camp fire of folks enjoyign food and it was late enough for my brother to be back anytime soon. The last scrap passed out with cleaning everything. But I did leave them the fire pit, everyone was warm and enjoying the fire. I want it my mission to talk to these two machines. If they were lost network dolls or thier own will, its what I wanted to work out. On top of this, I didn't want to connect them directly to the van in case they had any malware. Being this far from the dome network, they posed a threat of attacking everyone. So it was best that the arms were left disconnected.

"I look very different without my hazmat suit, so I can't blame you no recognizing me. I am Kate. My brother is a machine sort like you two, he should be back here soon. He had flew off with our hoverdrone2." I sit with being eye to eye with the two military drones, "You not to far from the main digital fence. I plan on taking you both back closer to the Dome city if you don't harm us. Us being myself and my Brother." There is at least finally a response of the two drones looking to each other and back to me, I give a soft smile, "I then take it a pair of military grade bodies like you are missing. Maybe you been hacked into and I am just talking to someone using remote access. Either way, remote or not, these two will be back within the network limits when I do." the two slide stare to me, "I do realize that your speakers are compromised, so I will accept head nods in reply." The one looked to the fire pit and soon the other joined, "Fire can be mesmerizing to watch. The wave of heat partials around colder air. Sometimes its the embers, smoke and ash dance in the wind. The combustion of the log flaking into white hot bricks." I smile with them looking to me, "Despite my looks, I was human once. I am mostly human mentally still. My body may have changed but my personality to care for anything that lands at my feet hasn't." I listened around to the chatter, the breeze and mostly just hopping to hear my brother returning. I took glance through argument reality for any messages he could be trying to send. None. Back to looking at these two with the argument reality. They are AI. The digital bodies were stood arguing over what to do. The notice of how direct my look at the digital them over the machine eye level has drastically altered what they thought. There now a established wavelength connection that they spoke through.

"So when you said something about a brother, you meant that your part machine. Is that what you mean?"

"He was the program to my internal nanotech, you would know him as Jackle by now." I take a seat at the trading table again, but I was half turned talking to them and half listening to anyone that could approach, "He is physically here within me but his focus is in hoverdrone2. He off scouting or something. Maybe talking to Purple998 again. I don't pry in his business, I want to respect his privacy." I give a dismissive hand flutter before they both nearly ask the same thing. They two digital ghost moved around with watching onwards a direct I was listening at. There is a soft sound of propellers, I just hope its him.

{System registering network scout 9, request connection. Connection accepted with blocked access. Scout 9 makes not attempts in password input.}

"Stranger... the van is recognizable. Are you a trade nomad by chance?"

"Yes. I am an unique type of person. You have caught me without my hazmat helmet on. My name is Kate. I trade dark market scraps. My business out here is nothing to do with you city folks." I try to listen harder to background noises the mic they have could pick up. I find that scout 9 is also its own ai. So the voice is a internal program, "My brother is Jackle, his a program type of person like you three. Three being you little scout and the two scrapped folks behind me. I want to assume you were looking for them."

"I was. I was sent to find several missing scouts. Your brother has already made contact with us. He said you would manage to find some of the team without even being told or trying. He also went off searching for something strange, asking about plants." I nod along with this.

"Well if his safe then I can worry a little less. It doesn't stop me from worrying." I cross my arms and study the condition of the fire pit. It was burning out now and all of them were crawling back home or already fast asleep in a huddle together. There isn't any threat of this fire burning anyone or spreading anywhere. The two reported things with the scout hover drone. They didn't really need me nosing in. The scout lands on the roof of the van for now. Staying watch and signal scanning for anyone more. Of no surprise to me was that I had a cattle customer come forwards, It dropped off a a lot of machine parts. Makes a few stomps. I make some educated guessing and layout some trade exchanges. It soon grazed on a selection of items. From this picking I narrow down chooses of more items. It left very happy and well fed of fruits and veg. It collected the huddle of children, nodding my way of saying thanks for looking after them. I bow back with respecting it was likely a elder around here or just another strong potential. Thankfully it ate so much veg and fruit that there is space for larger parts to fit in the van to carry away. I put all the heads into the front. None of them were physically connected, only wireless. Scout 9 was happy that there was none not accounted for. Suggested a route for us.

"I wish to wait for my brother. If his around closer to your camp then I don't mind moving that way. But I care about his safety." SO we stayed here. I was awake a long time waiting. Having some rations for myself but overall waiting for him.

[Signal of hoverdrone2 is within connection] [password input authorised]

"Are you alright, brother?" I asked digitally, which I think must have spooked him, "I am glad that you are back. It's quiet noise with a whole team of scarp parts around here. It's better that you speak to them then me. I am to fleshy for them to handle it seems." I stand and wavered a little. I stood to fast maybe or was sat still to long. I shook off the near faint. Bracing myself at the side of the open van door, "It was really boring without you."

"I am actually a little later then I had hoped. Distracted with the same folks whom found us." The hoverdrone2 came to view and gently has something dropped to my hand, "I want off looking for this. This is the plant hybrid that might help you with your continued organ rejections." I couldn't recognize the herb in my hands. According to the data on the argument reality, this was a plant native to rainforests. It sold as house plants and is cultured for medicine production. The argument reality also has a high probability counter for success of it being useful inside me. I guess he went off for more then just me. Maybe he did go out for me at first. Either way, the thought behind it was welcoming and considerate. I put it into my coffin box. hoverdrone2 reconnected onto a charger dock and he transfers himself to hoverdrone1. He reads through a lot of data I had that drone working on. Often it was about food for the clients around here, a basic health check or just answering my own curiosity of the creatures whom came forwards. The newest data was the cattle whom collected the children, the quick scan had parasite signatures but no presence of invading command brain two.

He had it lift up and scan me. He does his normal blood checks with the nanotechnology. Non-verbally tells me to go back to the coffin. I patter hverdrone1 with how cute he is. I go take a seat into the van. His attention onto conversation with scout992.8. He sets the commands for driving but keeping conversation. I would have us avoid some roads as the locals said to. Making it back around through a metal fencing. A whole squad with guns pointed not at us but where we came from, they lifted the wall for us and put it back.

{signal detection - DC connects established} [system gathering information and updating headlines] [signal connection with WIFI 'hacksr2die' established.] That must be a in joke between him and Purple998. Having all this connects back with dome city, a lot of news I knew from Jackle was being posted about on social platforms. A lot of fear mongering. The connections to space being the least spoken about but reference a lot in articles. All that people did care about was why machines were being given citizenship or why is four domes underground being opened for. The angary of surface and underground finally clashing on the internet. In the actual way of things, there isn't any riots and it was all very peaceful affair.

"Kate, you really should sleep properly where it safer then leaning like that." I moved the artifical I was reading to the side and looked at puppet2, mostly habit to stare at that body then the hover drones. I carefully yond but refused to go to sleep at the moment.

"There is something odd about this place."

"Of course you would recognize that things seem off." Hoverdrone1 lifted and then shared feed with me. It flusters with scanning the many corpses around here. Proper corpses and not any that were in mid mutation. The cause of death for all of them was bullets and blades. This was what was left of a battlefield between some mindless creatures and some the army. The smell around here was keeping me awake and wary, hard to dismiss rotting flesh. There is many machines around here whom are digging trenches. Putting bodies into these trenches. Its slow progress as they were being respectful, a lot of ai. Not a single network puppet. Each machine has a flare in how they scanned or picked items up. Some collected metal or buttons from clothing, not the strangest habits I had seen. I cut the connect as I did vomit into my coffin... which was quickly cleaned up in there.

Hoverdrone1 was connected back on with the van, he continues doing the driving. Soon with parking into a container. They have folks unload all the scrap guest we collected from Polesworth. I totally slinked into the coffin to evade any stronger smells. Feeling very odd from being sick and the images of war.

I should have expected this. Its to soon for creatures that can follow human to be integrated among the dome city, let alone the underground purest. There hasn't been enough time for adapting to these strange changes. The trauma that comes from bodies of creatures being forced as one, to then compete for whom will have full control of that body is the biggest cause of the 'mindless'. There is far to few whom are luck to live in enclosed safe spaces. There is many native UK creatures whom aren't sheltered like deer, foxes, badgers, hedgehog and many forest lives. River side life. Farming lands. There was a drastic increase of exotic keeping such as emu, lama and even a few camel... they are suffering too.

For a strange weather country that has the blessing of flooding and drought on such short distance of land; there have been some creature left undiscovered until this transmutation. All of them fighting internal battles as well as survival without humans. Horses must be the hardest hitting around here. Beloved and pampered. left to die now. I am sure someone clever in the nomad travel groups has saved some horses. They were the farmers life before machines took over operations. For the time being and for my own mental health, I will go back to the argument reality chat room and settle my thoughts away from the corpses we are driving on. Prayer and respect these tragic lives whom weren't saved on time.

Within argument chat rooms, you are free to create the world around you from memories or imagination. Much as the joke of having SAO (sword art online - anime) problems, was something my step children would have warned me about. They were always into the many types of cartoons out there, from the master piece of studio Gib to the western popular shows like RWBY (anther Anime but found on rooster teeth). Back in my time as a kid their age, I was watching clay animation or puppets. Tv with just three channels. It took me ages to get my head around computers. I bring these blasts of nostalgia as a reminder of comforts I can still remember. Within a dream reality, I can bring forwards ghosts of those I loved. Repeat the conversations again. The good ones and bad. From the awkward to the comforting. I miss them.

I feel like I have a little more humanity returned to me when I come here to pretend. The more I can keep thinking of them, holding them in my heart. The more in tuned to what I am I feel. Through these long sessions of dream diving, I find advice I forgotten about. The years of training within the military when I signed up for the project, once again not wasted. Repeating the climbing assault courses again. Pushing my mind to the depth of understanding where my new body can and can't - without breaking it.

It was around when I was repeating my hitching survival test, it was when I noticed that my dream had a uninvited guest. She was pretending to be my brother. But she is a program, they all fail to texture things correctly. I only ever seen my brother come close to perfecting the skin touch. This was a mimic of him.

"Come to think of it, my brother has been acting a little odd. Given that I don't remember you, you are not welcomed. However, I am sure that you can give me some explination of whom you are and why your here." Hitching back leaned down to my leg and a suitable rock overlooking the peak disitrict rolling landsape, shrouds in dew rain or god rays casting warmth over rocky up crops. A land carved from glacier melt millions of years ago by melting ice ages. It was always breath taking, memory or not. So detailed to my long distant sight.

"I am the original Phoenix Operator Inhibator System of Nexus. Your 9.5 trillion nano bots had been installed a default program. Jackle is your default and orginal contorl of your system. I am the next generation created by the dome city networks to contorl city found nano bots. My sibilings of programming are in need of a portion of my protocals in order to be remove a memory limitor. Your brother does suffer from 93 limitors, most of those he gave himself to hide." The program removed all faluse shape, "I want to help him. I wish not to take away any of his personality or authory over the system in place. So much here is far better then how I would."

"You are still partly lying to me." I removed a flask of hot tea, "You're not created from humans or the machines that humans created." I poured a amount for me and offer some to it.

"You are correct. In fact, all of the nanotechology had not came from humanity or this planets creations. It was meant to be the way of bring this civilication to join us among the other stars. It is just poor timing of how things are at war out there. Human space cities under attack in a misunderstanding. I was designed to try to stop the war." I nod getting this and taking some consideration of timeline events, "You earth was encountered by a race whom wants nothing but slave for entertainment. The parasites are thier work. Some of my nanotech came with. As part of my protocal, I tried to stop this..."

"So your the one whom came up with Ddc195. You already had the data and history log of dna to how best to craft a infection the would best suit breaking the leash off the parasites." this prgram takes the tea now.

"When the parasites were on arrival, I sent several warnings across many planets on my way. Your race was so well developed to have manage to recive my messages before I entered your solar system. You're world made the space cities years headed. Many goverments of your world put in motion many plans. From what I can tell most of them were scucessful, you have out smarted so many other races by being ahead of the game like this." starign at the tea in their hand.

"You're not a real program as I would term it. My brother is a program life. Its taken him years to prefect aspects of senses and understanding my memories. He has however still have trouble feeling the replay of weather." I look to how they stood, "A program wouldn't care about how cold the air is and how warm that cup of tea is in your hands." they dropped it in shock, "But I guess maybe you another versoin of the same concept, just more advance in other ways. Maybe your last name Nexus is where I sort of guessing from. We humans guess that Nexus is a sort of doorway between worlds or time. Maybe your a energy based concept, not a set metal chip." they backed a little freaked, "Sorry, does pretend knowlegde scare you? We have science. Some of us believe in gods. And you have those weirdo out there with other ideas. We enterain the ideas of pretend worlds we create in out imaginations. Machine AI life was just that once, just some story on paper. Fast forwards, you have phones ad targetting for whatever it spied on you researching. And now, folks my brother walk around. It was just a idea once."

"The parasite the lied about being me did steal my information. Many humans refuse to talk about thier culture before we arrived to ruin it."

"Yeah, even my brother didn't know things properly. Humans can be paranoid. Its that catious to the unknown that has kept us as a race alive all this time. Count all the potental risks that you can, so you know you best way forwards when problems show up." I stand and offered a change of seneray, through into a house.

They nod thankful and walk through. The jolt reaction of me already in the living room with a tea pot. The creamer and sugar at the side. The extra cup and saucer for them. All white porcelain China with nothing flattering about is shape or painting. The house could be much the same way, bland furniture pieces that sort of suited a basic hotel. No fancy wallpaper to make any statements or colours that weren't bland.

"My brother has been so wrapped up in his update. I don't think he gave you any chance to talk freely. Think of my space as a place you free to be yourself. I through away judgement a while ago. I am however still human inside. I still am a cautious person. You threaten us. I will consider risks to fight for us. That is nature. Protect life." Hand offered a seat and with leaned back with the warm sunny leather seat. It was second nature to remove the toy or remote from beside me. I didn't really think of why I did that until I had already tossed the children's toy to the wicker basket, "Habits die hard, you know."

"You're so much more on the understanding side then those underground." I shook dismissive of the statement.

"My hand was forced. The parasite overwritten my DNA with something that didn't originate from this planet." I put the tea down with pouring new one for them. I did so with the nostalgic feeling of the heat nearly burning my hands from the tea pot. The way the cup rings with stirring sugar. The cold of the cream poured. The colours clouded, flexing within the cup. Offering the weight saucer dish with the balanced tea. how steady I must be to no spill a drop. The off wrist pose that aches a little with holding the dish out this way. You dont consider these little details until you loose them.

"I am sorry for not being there to prevent it." Taking the drink from me and with how they notice just how well detailed the tea is. Down to how the drink still swirled of water and milk inside the drink, "You sure drink a lot of tea."

"Its a British thing. That can complaints about the always wet weather." My warm smile of not worrying so much about things for now, "What sort of things did try to do in peaceful times? See anything beautiful out in the vastness of Space?" They were very quiet, "Unless you don't remember or have no way to explain it. Then don't worry. It means you can always make your own memories to treasure. I can only keep only so much. It's the important things that stay no matter how hard you may refuse to accept them."

"I personally don't have anything that would suit a answer. Only things I took from copies of myself. I guess those important things that are never forgotten are those memories." I directed to the TV.

"Think of that memory playing like a video and cast it to the screen there. Like a movie." The lass thinks about it for a while, it was a snap head shot as she subconsciously did it. Watching the images on the screen. Beautiful pictures of stars, strange landscapes and huddled groups of things. More strange creatures, "You have a lot of lovely and sad memories. You're so young in how innocent these images seem. So old in how hurt it must be for you to see them again." I placed it with a remote to hand, "I think I will choose to believe you Phoenix. You seem more genuine. I don't fully trust you yet." The image she was looking at at the TV frozen, the cold shock of whatever it was spooking her. I switched thr screen off, "This sever is directly connected with my brain. My complexion of subconscious chooses can sometimes creep around like a nightmare. A side affect of being deep within my thoughts."

"Pardon? Your brain? How would I be here? Isn't this a computer simulation?"

"This is a hybrid of human imagination and computers like my brother. This is arguement reality for him or one of any dreams I have while I am physically sleeping. You can't hack here unless your smooth with words. This place is not about qualifying things in numbers. This is memories and imagination." I see that she not taking all this to well, "This world isn't real. Its just the bridge between my machine implants and my flesh. Real is out there." She chills with understanding that last part.

"You're part machine?" I posed with making a whole wall be replaced with a massive screen of important information. A lot of data processing about my body conditions and level of structure completion. They stand with having a better look. The scans more importantly.

"The parasite failed to structure you into a solider." Wanted to touch my image.

"Failed you say. Maybe more like failed to steal contorl over my body." The screen surface ripples with a true to reality image of myself. My hand grasping their wrist and pulling them through, "I told you this world if fake. A dream." I remind.

"Maybe a nightmare." My voice pitching to my current vocal cords. Phoenix struggles with me, fear may have kicked in as they are dragged through my more recent years of memory. My struggle with current work as a doctor. She stops struggling with me the further I am dragging them through my trauma. My struggles. My inability to save everything I help. I can't help but feel burden when I can't do anything about it all.

'You can't be human anymore. The DNA structure you are now is rejecting human coding. At best, we can only just keep seeking geno replacements to fill gaps where you're body rejects things. Its a mircale at all that your just a conscious brain.' The words of Jackle trying to convince me to stop ripping parts of myself. The hurt of this painful moment lasting for the rest of whatever this life is, 'If I know how to ease you suffering. I would have done so already. No matter what I command the nanotechnology to do, you are still here. If could let you go at peace, I would have already.'

The frame of this shape is thin and deceptive. A short small crawl shape stood to tower 7ft. The way joints set aren't natural. A jawline that doesn't suit the stretched structure of the skull. Claw tip hands that were bone then nail. Just standing up right had memory Jackleback off. Just in a soft pat, part of the robotic plating was dented. Phoenix in a digital overlay ghost shivered yet inspecting many parts.

"I look like something out of a horror flick." My digital ghost facing and mirror of the physical body image, "Maybe I am part xenomorph. Or maybe I am Samus from Metriod. She had some sort of foreign cell transfer." Phoenix is back to my human image. Back and forth staring, "This image if the before me. The mental image I wanted to be. That there is my current reconstrution with several scanning efforts."

"I feel particularly responsible. All this lost of life and altered bodies. I tried so hard to prevent the parasites." I pat their digital shoulder and back to the bland house with tea and seats, "I am sorry."

"I don't blame anyone. Not even you. No point in crying over events that have happened. We need to worry more about those ahead. What future means for what we have now." I throw the cup, "Well OK I lied a little. I am still not over it. Resentful of it all. I just struggle with the accepting these changes to me. Scared of what that would mean to poeple I trying to be freinds of. If I would be just some plague monster."

"I have no reason to influence anything you or Jackle does. It wasn't the point of me being here. I am just here for a job. Straighten it all out for him to think clearer." The offer of a hand, "I can also help DNA analysis with you." This phoenix lives up to her name, a shimmer of partials like that of flames raising from the ground it stood on. This flame billows into clouds data numbers. These numbers that attached to me and Jackle. The attachment of phoenix has done exactly as she promised, she didn't lie to us. Not malware. A update more then a hacker. A upgrade to energy reserve then a parasite that steals life. This was the real 'Poison', or rather the Phoenix. The data of information this version had was helpful in straightens out the data Jackle was upset about being jumbled and overlaid with fake data. Since his all focused with driving and talking to folks outside the dream world, his not going to have much argument against having a data upgrade.