Name:

Theon Osman

Race:

Human

Gender:

Male

Title:

None

Level:

11

Unspent Points:

0

Health:

72/80

Mana:

0/140

Stamina:

16/80

Strength:

10

Vitality:

8

Endurance:

8

Dexterity:

11

Agility:

10

Intelligence:

11

Willpower:

10

Psychic:

14

Perception:

12

Charisma:

7

Luck:

0

Theon gasped as the parasite distributed his stat points. It seemed he’d gained three levels from the two orcs he’d just killed.

His muscles rippled and wiggled like snakes under his skin as they thickened and tightened. His mind cleared, and he felt like he was intimately connected with his body now. The fatigue he’d been under lifted and he was able to think clearly again.

He cried out from nausea and pain as his body turned and started running out the back door. The world was shifting and blurring, it was like watching an amateur cameraman fumble. His ankle was screaming for him to stop putting pressure on it, but he couldn’t.

Theon’s head swiveled around the backyard, but it was too fast for him to really tell what he was seeing. He realized he could still talk and he told the parasite to quit stomping on his right leg. Then the parasite threw his shotgun and sword on the roof.

“What the hell are you doing?! You’re going to get us killed! Damnit, I want control back now, I knew this was a bad idea!” Theon shouted indignantly.

The parasite said, “Quiet kid! They’ll hear you.”

Theon watched on helplessly as his body backed away from the house, then turned and ran towards it. He saw his legs kick off from the ground and his arms stretched out in front of him to grab the lip hanging off the side of the roof.

He was panting as his left leg swung up and the parasite hooked his heel over the lip of the roof, before pulling him up and over. He watched as he crawled on his hands and knees to his shotgun. He noticed the parasite checked the shotgun exactly like he had before. Then he sat on the roof and pointed the shotgun down where someone walking out the backdoor would come.

He could still feel his body, especially the pain. He couldn’t make it obey him though, not even his eyes. All he could do was talk, so he did.

“God this is freaky.”

“Use your inside voice kid. I’m in your head remember,” the raspy-voiced parasite said.

Theon said in his mind, “Can you hear me?”

The parasite sighed, “Yes, I can hear you. Quiet, one’s coming!”

Theon focused back on what was happening. He saw the shotgun held out in front of him and it was pointed down at the ground. He could hear noise coming from inside the house and it was getting louder. An orc stepped out of the house and right in line with the shotgun. He couldn’t even blink as the shotgun went off and he saw a hole form in the back of the orcs head.

He watched himself pump the shotgun as he listened to more noise inside the house. A second orc came out looking backwards and he watched as the parasite shot this one in the face. The parasite pumped the shotgun again before pulling the sword closer to him.

“Well, they’ll be onto us now. Oh, you gained another couple levels too,” the parasite stated casually.

Theon heard a window shatter off to his right, and he watched as the shotgun swiveled in that direction. The shotgun snapped back as the leader orc rushed out the door. A second before the parasite fired, the orc raised his bone shield. Theon saw a hole cut through the shield before a second orc came out a window to the right. The shotgun jerked right and barked, the other orcs arm flailed back, attached only by a thread of skin and meat.

The parasite pumped the shotgun again and it just clicked as he tried to fire it again. Theon could see the boss orc wasn’t dead either, but half his face was missing, and the bone underneath was visible.

“There’s a Taser gun in my pocket,” Theon blurted out.

The parasite seemed to catch on quickly and he went right for the Taser gun. He pulled it out and aimed it at the boss orc in a single smooth motion then he pulled the trigger. There was a snapping sound followed by clicking and buzzing as the orc started to shake. He raised his shield up jerkily and knocked the wires off him.

“I think that just made him angry,” the parasite said.

Then he stood up on Theon’s injured ankle, took a few quick steps and jumped off the roof. Theon could hear himself screaming as he fell through the air for the second time this morning. His hand whipped forward and the sword he’d been using as a crutch pointed down at the orc leader.

The orc was yelling too as he raised his shield, although it sounded more out of anger compared to Theon’s fear. Then everything seemed to happen all at once. Screaming, crunching and slamming noises filled the air, as Theon’s vision went temporarily black.

The parasite blinked his eyes a few times and he saw that he was lying on top of the bone shield. His hands were still wrapped around the handle of the sword that was now wedged in his stomach. The other end went through the hole in the orcs shield.

He stood up and yanked the sword out of the orcs shield like King Arthur pulling Excalibur out of the stone. The parasite kicked the shield off the orc and Theon could see he’d been pierced through the eye. His head swiveled, and he could see the last orc lying face down in a pool of his own blood.

“Okay good job,” Theon said. “It’s over now give me back control.”

Theon cringed as the parasite took his body on a casual stroll over to the orc that was missing most of his arm. He stabbed him in the back and twisted the blade a few times before Theon felt himself pulling forward into his own body.

Once he had control he collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees, the sword clattering off to the side. He watched closely as he wiggled each of his fingers one by one, then when he was satisfied, he let out a sigh of relief.

“What was that?” Theon growled to the parasite. “Why didn’t you give me back control when I told you to?”

The parasites raspy voice replied, “There was still one left alive. You’re welcome by the way.”

Theon sighed and fell on his back, looking up at the cloudy morning sky. “Thanks,” he said, “that was pretty badass I have to admit. How’d you learn to fight like that anyways?”

“From my ancestors, I know whatever they knew. Though your body is different, it didn’t take much to get used to.”

“That sounds useful, what’s your name anyways?” Theon asked.

“I don’t have a name, I was kind of just born,” the creature rasped.

“You were just born?” Theon said skeptically.

“Well, I don’t know when I was actually born, but I was placed into stasis immediately after my birth. Then I was placed for sale on the Galactic Market, and when you bought me I was teleported into your brain. So yeah I was kind of just born.”

“So, you can remember everything from your ancestors, but you can’t remember when you were born? Is there a limitation to what you can remember?” Theon asked.

“Technically I can remember my birth, I even remember when it happened, but in relation to your planets time, I have no idea how long I was in stasis. New planets don’t start with full access to the Galactic Internet, so I can’t check. As far as limitations, I can remember anything my ancestors deemed worth imprinting into me.”

Theon nodded as he closed his eyes, “Of course, how silly of me. So, about that name, any ideas? Because I’m not gonna call you creature, or caterpillar thing. Especially if I’m stuck with you till death do us part.”

“Since I’m your indentured servant, it’s customary for you to name me I believe,” the creature said.

“Fine... You’re a hairy caterpillar, so how about Harry, or Harrison?”

“No, the first one is gross, and the second one sounds too much like harassing.”

Theon chuckled, “Okay, what about-“

The creature cut Theon off, “What about Vasuki?”

Theon sighed, “I thought you just said… Never mind. Vasuki sounds great, what does it mean?”

“Humans made it up, he’s the king of nagas, among other things.”

“Yeah, that’s not pretentious at all.” Theon opened his eyes. “Wait, how do you know about human things?”

Vasuki laughed, “Well, first I’m in your brain, so there’s a tiny bit of information there. There’s also all of humanities collective knowledge available from the interface if you search for it. But enough about that, where are we going, what are we doing, and when can I control your body again? If you’re going to sleep I can take control for you.”

Theon sat up and looked over to the dead orc leader, “Yeah let’s talk about that, how do I know you won’t snatch control over my body?”

“The rules kid. Sure, I can take control of your body to save my own life, or if you give me permission, but that’s about it. If I violate the rules bad stuff will happen, I might even be killed,” Vasuki said gravely.

“So why didn’t you give me control back when I told you to earlier then?” Theon asked.

“Well there’s always a little wiggle room, life isn’t as cut and dry as rules that are written down. There was still a bad guy alive, so I was technically still threatened by his existence, giving me the chance to control your body under our previous agreement.”

Theon nodded as he made his way to the orc leaders’ body. He reached out and touched it. Its skin was greenish-grey, and it felt rough to the touch. It was wearing some bone and leather kilt type garment.

Theon said, “Loot.” Nothing happened.

“What are you doing?” Vasuki asked.

“Well normally in games when you kill something you can loot the corpse, then the items go into a storage device that can hold like unlimited stuff,” Theon explained.

“Ah, a bag of holding, or so you humans call it. Yeah, you can’t afford that kid, it’s really expensive. As far as the loot goes, it’s all right there lying on the corpse, though I don’t know how useful it’ll be.”

Theon laughed to himself as he sat back down, “Here I am trying to loot this orc, yet I have no idea what’s going on or why this is happening. Can you tell me Vasuki?”

“Yeah, I mean I could, but what’s in it for me?” Vasuki asked innocently.

“You want control of my body.” Theon sighed and rubbed his face. “I’ll look more favorably at giving you control, if you tell me everything you know. You also have to promise never to lie to me or do anything that could hurt me. Deal? Oh, and if I say give me control, you have to do it immediately.”

“Also, I get to control you when you sleep, and we have a deal. What? Don’t make that face. You don’t need your body when you’re asleep,” Vasuki said.

Theon grimaced, “How am I supposed to sleep if you’re controlling my body?”

“I’ll lock you away of course. I’ll cut off all your sensations, and when you wake up, I’ll give you control back. I’ll make it so you don’t even know it’s happening until you wake up.”

“Yeah, I don’t feel good about that. I feel like being locked away in total blackness is kind of a bad thing. Worst case scenario you never let me out.”

“Look kid, it’s obvious you didn’t read the details when you bought the rights to my indentured servitude. Just go to your purchase history and read it this time.”

Theon brought up his purchase history and pulled up the hairy caterpillar with a thought.

Seiceps-elitsoh-eraweb-reyub 250 GC

This parasite is under the standard contract for all behavior-altering parasites within the Milky Way. The parasite is strictly prohibited from taking control against the hosts will without prior consent. Nor are they to alter or manipulate the host organism without consent, if possible. Except in the case of self-preservation, direct action can be temporarily taken if it’s genuinely believed doing so would increase the odds of survival.

A list of code, legal requirements, and species-specific requirements will be sent in a separate attachment upon purchase.

We are legally required to inform you that the removal of these parasites is prohibitively expensive and highly risky. Chances of successfully removing said entities decreases dramatically the longer they are bonded. Furthermore, due to your planets restricted access to the Galactic Internet, this feature is currently unavailable.

Vasuki chuckled as Theon staggered to the house and used his hand to lean against it.

“What have I done?” Theon moaned.

Still chuckling Vasuki said, “Oh, c’mon it’s not as bad as all that kid. Cheer up.”

“Are you manipulating or altering me right now?” Theon asked.

“Those are kind of broad terms, but I think I understand what you mean. I am altering your brain a little, sorta happens automatically. It’s like I’m a hand and your brain’s a glove. It’s almost done now anyway, and have you noticed anything? See, don’t worry.”

Theon put his hands on his head, “Anything else I should know?”

“Lots, but that depends on whether we have a deal or not.”

Theon sighed as he leaned back against the wall and slid down, “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this, but I reserve the right to cancel the deal at any time for any reason. Otherwise-“

“Deal!” Vasuki cut him off, “It was probably an AI, you humans aren’t very smart or advanced. It’s generally an AI. Anyways, it managed to gain access to a node on this planet and that linked Earth with the galaxy via what it’s calling as the Galactic Internet. The title is more of a description since that’s what it is basically. There’s a lot more to it though kid. Calling it the Galactic Internet is like calling an interstellar spaceship a bike. I think humans just lack the terminology to encompass what it is.

“Oh, and if you don’t bring anything to the table then the Galactic Internet will get switched off. It’s a really bad thing to have happen, all that will be left of Earth will be an asteroid belt. During humanities trial period it’s illegal to leave the planet, operate a spaceship, or operate weapons with a higher designation than your species current level. You following me kid?”

Theon nodded slowly before shaking his head, “No, not really. But why is it like a game?”

“Ah, the being that first links to the Galactic Internet specifies how it operates locally. I guess they like games? It’s different on different worlds, but since you started here, you’re kinda stuck with it. What I mean by that is if you go to another world you’ll still have the same interface and everything. For example, my interface is dramatically different from yours.”

Theon’s mind was reeling with the information overload. He half expected to wake up at any moment and this would all be some crazy dream.

He wanted to ask more questions, but his head was throbbing. He wasn’t sure if it was the parasite in his brain or the shock he was experiencing. The next thing he knew his eyelids were drooping and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open.