Imposter System

Matt looked down at the dead Cindy and realized that the life force from the robotic parts were still active. He shot several more times until the mechanical heart shut off completely. Then, he shot a few times at the elbow joint of her arm and ripped it off. He threw the arm in his bag and checked the cyborgs legs. They were completely mechanical without any living metal present. He destroyed what he could and took anything that seemed important to the research.

Matt had to rely on Martha's strength to destroy some of the mechanical parts that he couldn't deal with. She had recovered well and was able to go invisible once more. Matt stood up and dusted himself off. He pondered for a moment and realized something was strange. He checked his status and noticed what it was.

[Mental Resistance has leveled up!]

[Mental Resistance Lv. 3->4: The strength of your mind and consciousness have exceeded the biological standard for your host. The difference has manifested as mental energy. This mental energy provides a natural resistance to influences on the psyche.

]Mental resistance: 30->35%

]Mental Recovery: 1.2->1.5]

The recent events had given him enough mental trauma to push his mental resistance to the next level. He knew from the game that the conditions to leveling an ability became harder the higher its level. However, he was thankful for the ability. Not only did his Mind Blast recover a few shots, but he was able to calmly think his way through the current situation.

The way the AI spoke revealed a lot of information that an emotionally collapsed Matt couldn't interpret. First of all, the AI explained that its mission was to keep the humans safe. This was crudely explained with an analogy of sheep and their shepherd. The main priority of the AI is to keep the mission going, according to the manual. Therefore, something was naturally wrong with the directive.

If one looked at the ship's dynamics, you would see a large separation of classes. The upper deck crewmen have a much better quality of life. Therefore, it can be interpreted that the directive only applies to them. This would mean a major portion of the ship's crew are not "essential." However, something happened that changed everything. Alexis became pregnant.

This triggered a chain reaction. Cindy made a move labeling her as a black sheep. Matt speculated that by killing Sheila, she went against one of the major directives of the AI. Her punishment must have been this experiment. That would mean that every person down here that is being experimented on must be an outcast that committed some sort of mistake. The AI strives to advance itself, the ship, and complete the mission.

Since it sensed the threat of alien lifeforms, it must have initiated a secret protocol. This was the only thing that made sense to Matt. The conservation of human life must have been switched to protecting only the important people and using the rest in any way necessary to further the mission. The concept of how to program an AI when it comes to choosing the value of human life was tricky. It would find a way to quantify it.

Matt began walking to the next room while pondering the situation. He came to realize that Alexis was not in danger. This must be how the AI controls the sheep that are leading the herd to the edge of a cliff. The AI is clearly aware of how important Alexis is to the ship in her current capacity. The AI would not risk a birth in Matt's opinion. Therefore, this device was more about him than her. And, as if confirming his suspicion, a message arrives on his personal device.

("Hello Matthew. We will not harm Alexis as long as you follow these conditions. First, you are not allowed to mention anything about the device to her or anyone else. Second, you will become the lead in Project Synapse. We will compile a monthly status report on your research and if you fail us, punishment will be swift. Third, you will cease all contact with Willard Nilsson. Comply with all of these, and the device will be disabled after a successful live birth.")

Matt entered the next room and saw Alexis lying on the medical bed, quietly sleeping. He walked over and held her hand with both of his. She smiled coincidently which warmed his heart. If Shepherd thought they could get away with harming Alexis, they were very mistaken. Matt had already figured out the method to defeating them. He looked over at Martha that was resting at the foot of Alexis's bed while still invisible.

Shepherd must think that they have cornered Matt. However, there is a major flaw in their data. How could they possibly guess that he was an ever-evolving parasite? It was only a matter of time until Alexis could ignore this silly implantation. And Matt didn't even need to hide it from her. Science couldn't read minds or intercept and read brain waves yet.

While he stood at her bedside smiling, she slowly woke up and jerked up. Matt placed his hand on her shoulder and she calmed down. He quickly began speaking into her mind and explained the situation. She was annoyed at herself, but didn't show it. She agreed with Matt's plan and was curious what counter he thought of. There was no reason for the AI to lie about the function of the device.

{I discovered something special about Martha. It turns out she is a mixed species with some sort of alien race. She has a special constitution that resists electricity. If my guess is correct, we might be able to acquire her ability with a bit of effort and luck.}

Martha, who was in their telepathy channel, sent various images of her being affectionate with Alexis which improved Alexis's mood. She couldn't see Martha, but could feel her weight on her legs. She placed her hand on her belly and was happy that their child was safe. After contemplating a bit, she decided it was best to leave. She didn't want to stay in this terrible place any longer. Hearing about the various experiments happening on this floor made her shudder.

As they left to the lift, they saw a group of scientists waiting for them. Alexis had already changed into her combat suit in case they ran into resistance and planned to attack. However, they all bowed their heads and greeted Matt as 'project leader.' He didn't recognize any of them so Matt assumed they were specifically placed in this graveyard.

"You, with the thick glasses, prepare blood samples of all of the experiments for me to test. Send them to my lab."

"B-but Doctor, we aren't allowed to—"

"Do as I say or I'll have you removed from this project."

"No! Please Doctor, anything but that! I'll prepare the samples immediately."

His face turned black and the other scientists looked away in pity. Matt realized that everyone here must be under the control of the AI in some way. They were probably under even more scrutiny than Matt. This proved his theory that the AI wasn't trying to sabotage the mission. There must be something he didn't know about that was driving the AI to behave this way. Some factor that caused it to begin choosing who lives and who dies.

"Everyone else, compile all of the data so far and send it to my tablet."

He passed them the ID for his tablet and then went into the lift. Alexis heaved a sigh of relief once they began moving up. She held back the urge to rally the First Strike squad and destroy everything on that floor. The whole situation had triggered her maternal instinct to the next level. For now, she would aid Matt in whatever he needed and keep herself from being used by their enemies until she safely gave birth.

One thing that was on Matt's mind was why the AI hadn't mentioned anything about Martha. Could it be that the last moments of Cyborg Cindy weren't recorded in the AI's memory? Was there perhaps a failure in the data transfer between living and non-living? That could be a reason for her fall into madness. However, wouldn't the AI know about Martha from the other situations he was a part of?

Matt thought about that day he requested Willard's help. Perhaps that man did more for him than Matt realized. Could he have been directly opposing the AI this whole time, knowing the true nature of Shepherd? If that was the case, Matt wasn't surprised that the AI stated no contact with Willard as one of their conditions. He decided to avoid contacting him since he wasn't that useful most of the time anyway.

The two of them entered their quarters and went straight to the bed. They were both exhausted from the recent events. Although Alexis was in the medical bed, she was still very tired from the surgery. Fortunately, the medical advancements of this era made the process practically perfect. There wasn't even a wound left at the incision site. Matt thought the AI had tricked them for a second and tested it with his mental energy. However, he clearly saw the outline of an object on her heart.

"Ah, you guys are finally back. You shut off all communications so I decided to visit personally…" Willard said while sitting on their couch eating popcorn.

**Author Thoughts!**