Gears Turning

The first thing Matt thought about was his own situation. If he created sub-bodies, wouldn't they be similar? Martha created a few viable seeds that could be grafted onto another plant and grown. The resulting plant would then have a telepathic or at least empathic link to the main body.

His mind was jumbled with theories, but in the end, he desperately needed to see the result of the genome sequencing. However, the issue was Dr. Bradshaw already deflected him once on the topic of Martha's genome.

"So, what's the plan?"

"I have already collected samples from different parts of each of these plants so we can begin sequencing them. If we can isolate the part responsible for this genetic memory, I can finally submit my project!"

[Hypnosis Activated.]

"What project are you working on?"

"A project that will revolutionize science and future technology. I call it Project Synapse."

Matt was taken aback. Project Synapse, or rather, SynAPSe was exactly the name of the technology used to create the biotronic brain. He had been too relaxed about Dr. Bradshaw's research. Because the game was completely player driven, he never considered any of the side characters to be meaningful. From now on, he would consider every person a potential threat. In a world where players didn't determine the course of the game, any one person could make ripples that would destroy him in the future.

Matt was in a dilemma. He was currently the leading researcher on live stock procreation on this ship. Requesting to be part of someone else's project would be very difficult. They would be dwarfed by his position and then his reputation would only go up. He was certain that his hypnosis was too weak to force himself onto this project. Therefore, he needed to focus on upgrading it. Dr. Bradshaw didn't talk much more to Matt and planned to head back to his lab.

In order not to raise any suspicion, he would need to put off checking the genomic data of Martha. For now, his best course of action was to work on his hypnosis. There were five other scientists here helping clean up the plants and that also worked here originally. Matt offered to help clean up if he could keep any of the crops, he harvested himself. He told them they may be useful in his research and that he would give them a citation if he published anything.

Over the next eight hours, Matt exclusively helped cut vines and talked with the other scientists casually. He used the casual conversation to pull information from them about their lives on Earth. The information wasn't very important, but it seemed to give him hypnosis proficiency. He even skipped lunch in the cafeteria and just heated up some of the potatoes from the harvest. Exactly enough potatoes to get a point.

By the time the day was coming to an end, the plant matter had been completely confined to the specimen room. Matt had three bags of produce which he was quite happy about. His constant use of hypnosis brought him up to sixty-nine proficiency. He could have gotten one or two more before everyone left but decided to leave it there for the novelty. It's the simple things that make him chuckle and continue to feel human.

Matt made it back to his quarters and put the bags in the corner. The potatoes tasted pretty good without any abnormalities like the nuts. He looked at the other produce and took one out of each. There was an apple, a cacao pod, cucumber, potato, eggplant, and a melon. He cut a piece of melon and tasted it. It was fairly juice and not too sour. Two melons were needed for one point. He hadn't tried this before, but he wondered what would happen if he mixed and match partial evolution points.

He sampled the eggplant and confirmed that he still hated it. However, he could get past the taste by the reward of evolution points. He tried a piece of the cucumber and was impressed by how refreshing it was. Finally, he took the apple and started eating the whole thing. He didn't even skip the core and at the whole thing. He still had not earned an evolution point so he took more pieces from the ones that could be eaten raw.

After eating the whole melon, the whole cucumber, and half of the eggplant, Matt gained an evolution point. He was satisfied with his little experiment. This meant he could have some variety. These three bags wouldn't last very long, but it would give a few good meals. He decided to take these to Scorch and ask if he could prepare a few dishes for him. He looked down and still had plenty of time before dinner. Matt grabbed the bags again and headed out. The door swished open and Alexis was on her way in.

"Oh, you heading out already?" She was dressed in her formal military uniform. Matt noticed her rank was increased to commander.

"Congratulations! Actually, I was bringing these sacks to Scorch's bar. Did you want to go for a drink or two?"

"Hm, it should be fine as long as it's not too strong. I won't get a chance to drink soon so it's a good idea!"

The two of them went together and Alexis carried one of the sacks. She had inquired of their contents and was surprised he was carrying around a bunch of produce. When he explained the circumstances behind it, she was uninterested. They had already cleaned up all of the twisting vines so there was nothing interesting to see anymore. Also, she wasn't really that interested in the sciences.

They arrived at the bar in the quiet corner of the ship and it was still empty. When Scorch saw them enter, he nodded toward Matt. Alexis found this interesting but didn't say anything. Matt went to the kitchen door and dropped off the sacks. Then he went over to the bar with Alexis.

"I left some produce in the kitchen. Could you make some dishes with them for us?"

"Sure thing. Also, congratulations on the promotion, Miss."

"Ah, hello Mr. Scorch. You can call me Alexis."

He nodded and went to the back after handing them two glasses of water. Alexis was feeling parched and was impressed at the difference between his appearance and personality. She expected a very rough and difficult person when she saw him.

"He seems pleasant. When did you get so close to a random bartender in this part of the ship?"

"Few days ago. I was feeling a bit down when I thought about Earth and he gave me an incredible drink."

"Why didn't you come to me?"

"It was spontaneous and I was in the area. Plus, I didn't want to worry you."

"Hey punk, don't think for me. Next time, talk to me if you're feeling upset."

The sound of plates clanging interrupted their conversation and two very good-looking dishes were placed in front of them. Scorch didn't even ask about what we wanted to eat or drink, but he placed an alcoholic beverage in between the two of them. It had two straws and it was some sort of slushy-like drink.

"This drink looks good, what is it called?"

"Don't know, just came up with it. Call it what you want."

The two of them ate the light dishes and drank together. It was quite a nice meal without being too filling. Matt was appreciative of this since he still wanted to eat dinner. However, he didn't get a point from the meal. Alexis seemed to enjoy the celebratory meal and drink.

"So, now that you're in the First Strike squad, can you set up a meeting with Dr. Stein? I would really like to ask him a few things."

"Sure. Although it will have to wait a few days. I am getting fitted and matched to a combat suit."

"Is there any chance I could come watch?"

"Unfortunately, no. The fitting and selection process is a military secret."

Matt could only shrug. While they were talking, someone came into the bar to drink alone. Matt recognized him as being one of the candidates with over twenty-five minutes in his time a while back. He seemed to have a bad temper overall. Matt suddenly had an idea. While chatting with Alexis, they started making their way out of the bar. He concentrated a bunch of negative emotions and sent a nightmare into his mind. This was his first time trying this, so it felt a bit strange.

Many nightmare inducing tentacles of mental energy extended out and wrapped around the man's head. He didn't notice anything at all. Later that night, he would experience a terrible nightmare. At least, that was Matt's hope. He had been looking for someone to use nightmare on regularly. Now that he saw someone from the military training in such a foul mood, Matt decided to take advantage of him. He would rile the man up with nightmares every time he saw him and then make him paranoid with Whisper.

Matt's ultimate goal was to manipulate him into killing Lorenz.