Chapter 3

Discovery

There were chrome like shapes, pipes and cables everywhere and they appeared to be eating themselves. In the middle of the room was a naked hairless girl struggling to sit up while her silver face was replaced by her real face. Marz took one step, stumbled to one knee.

He thought he heard a woman's voice scream, "Devtek!" as he collapsed onto the floor of the lab, unconscious.

Marz opened his eyes and was almost overcome by where he found himself. Last thing he remembered he had just entered this room and there were these ... things that were falling into themselves like they were being eaten ... and, there was this girl...

Marz was standing on a glowing bridge that seemed to be made of translucent white marble. Above him was a dome that looked like it was made of thousands of oddly shaped Vidcom screens. Each was playing something that was very familiar to Marz.

"Good God" he exclaimed "Those are my memories, what is this place?"

Adding to the confusion, he heard ... or, at least, he thought he heard ... his words being repeated in several different places as he spoke them.

Turning around he could see his whole life being played out on the screens and he wondered if he was dead.

Looking along the length on the bridge behind him he saw a girl walking towards him.

'She is beautiful, ' he thought and was surprised to hear and see his words echo all around him.

"Thank you, Marz ... and no, you are not dead. You came close, but you are safe, now. It will be just a little while longer, and you can come back.

Marz, my name is Ohai, I knew your brother in fact you could say I owe him my life," she quietly said, looking at Marz with saddened eyes. "I now know he's dead, and has been for all of these years. You look a lot like him."

"Ohai, what is this place?" Marz asked, "and who are you exactly?"

Ohai began speaking in a faltering voice, "This is you, Marz. This place is your subconscious representation of where you ... your consciousness ... your Id ... resides, inside your body."

Sitting on a chair that suddenly appeared beside her she motioned to one next to Marz.

"Take a seat Marz. I have a story to tell you while my ... ahh, your ... umm, our nanomechs finish up."

"Devtek, I mean Jak..." she began. "I only knew him as Devtek, until a few moments ago when you arrived."

"Well, he was experimenting with my organic nanites. It seems he was successful up to a point. He was looking to create nanite constructs that could be programmed to repair and heal damage to a human body, from the inside. He believed he had found the answer, when he was able to instruct nanites to join together, and construct themselves into a multi-cell organism that could be programmed to remove infections, bacteria, viruses, and other cells causing damage and the like."

Ohai lowered her eyes and continue in a quiet sad voice "He injected himself with his nanites. When they began to construct themselves they were attacked by his body's immune system as an infection. They in turn saw the attack as a dangerous infection and began replicating themselves and killing off Jak's white blood cells and then every other bacteria in the body. He was dead the moment he injected himself."

'So he's been lying there for over thirteen years!" Marz exclaimed "How come his body's in such good condition then? Oh, I see. The nanites preserved him!"

"Yes," Ohai replied, "and when you touched Jak, you became infected, as well."

"What?" said Marz "Ohai I don't understand? Does that means those things are killing me, too?"

"No, Marz. I was able to halt them in time, and they are being purged from your body as we speak. It will be finished, very soon."

"Okay, Ohai, I'll trust you for now. But what about you, and this place, and the room with you in it?"

Marz's voice trailed into silence as Ohai began the story of who she was. He sat there completely engrossed staring at Ohai in amazement at what she had done, in order to be sitting here telling him her story.

She explained how her monitoring system, Con1, had notified her that Devtek had arrived. She had instructed her nanomechs to clear the lab and open the tank so she could meet Devtek.

"When the door to my lab opened, I knew immediately that you were in serious trouble. Your only hope was for my nanomechs to purge the nanite infection, and repair the damage to your immune system and bodily functions"

Looking up and making complete eye contact with Marz, she said, somewhat reluctantly, "Marz, there were some complications. The damage was extensive, and ... I had to make some, ahh, adjustments to heal you. Please don't be..."

Just then they were both a little startled when a man and a woman appeared on the bridge.

Walking towards them, the couple smiled and whispered, "Well done."

Then they bowed, and blended into one, as they just disappeared.

"How strange," said Ohai, "that they should come here."

Just then Ohai's mouth opened in a scream, as she stood and began to fall forward. Marz leaped forward and caught her as they both fell through the bridge, together.

Marz was on the floor of the lab as he opened his eyes, to see Ohai falling towards him. She was locked in a seizure. She screamed for help as her systems shut down due to sensory overload. In other words, she fainted.

Marz caught her gently as she slumped into his arms and he lowered her to the floor.

He blushed as it finally registered that she was naked. Without thinking he called out "Converse 1, are you active?"

"Yes, Marz," replied Con1 in a voice that Marz wasn't sure if he heard with his ears or not.

"Con1, what happened to Ohai? It looked like she had a seizure, and fainted," said Marz.

"Good analogy," replied Con1. "Ohai's systems became overloaded by the sensory information she was receiving from her body. During the emergency action she took on your behalf, she stopped all optimisation and tuning activities, so she could concentrate on you. She will join us in twenty-nine seconds."

"Ahh. Yes, now I see," Marz said as another series of memories he didn't remember having flashed through his mind."Con1 how am I communicating with you and how can I remember things I never experienced? Never mind, Con 1, I already know the answer."

Marz realised that this was one of the side effects of the treatment that Ohai had given him.

"Con 1 what was Ohai intending to clothe herself in when she exited the tank as planned?" Marz asked.

"Ohai had programmed a full wardrobe, Marz. What mode shall I use?"

"Mode?" Marz queried

"Yes: Formal, Business, Casual, Day wear, Evening wear, Bed wear?" Con 1 replied.

"Casual Day wear," Marz instructed.

"Stand back and I will begin the programme"

Marz watched in disbelief, as from the floor around Ohai came a mercury looking fluid, which covered her body like a second skin. It changed into panties and bra, then covering them became a pair of denim blue jeans, with a light blue blouse and denim jacket that matched the jeans. The outfit was completed by socks and running shoes.

Just then Ohai roused and sat up quickly looking around. She smiled when she saw her clothing and turned to look at Marz.

"Forgive ... me ... Marz," she stuttered. "This ... is ... the first ... time, I ... have ... consciously ... used ... my voice. One moment ... please."

"That's better. I feel a bit more normal, now," she said, and smiled at Marz. "Marz, we need to talk but I need to get up and move around a little and I must see Devtek ... Jak ... for myself"

Marz helped her up and supported her down the corridor to the doorway into the room where Devtek had lain all this time.