[Kardian’s point of view]

The gentle morning rays of the Novelisk star caressed my cheek as my whole body was slowly but surely waking up from its long slumber. I opened my eyes and saw the frame of my window upon which dust had gathered and then was washed away by the occasional rain, leaving behind dirty stains. The scent that flooded my nose was that of death and rot, but I didn’t know if it came from me or from outside.

It was a bit funny, but from here, I could still see the apartments in the building across the street, where my neighbor ended up falling prey to one of the Nano-Z that changed within their family. His skeletal remains were left in the corner, only a bit of dried flesh and skin still clung to his white bones. A sickening sight which reflected the sadness of this world that was turned into a monstrous state by that wretched computer virus.

“Ugh...” I groaned as I told my muscles to tense up and lift my bones off my chair.

Sleeping in a bad position was always bad for your back and joints. I even heard that there were some people who ended up with damaged nerves which needed complex surgeries to fix, while others were left with lifelong problems.

Thus, the first thing I did after waking up was to stretch my body a bit, but upon doing so, my shirt was ripped off. When I looked down, I saw the blood stains that were hardened to the point where they ate at the fabric. Unwillingly, I took a whiff of my own smell and quickly turned my head away, grimacing. The stench of my body was unbearable. It was as if I hadn’t taken a bath in ages. It was absolutely disgusting, so I immediately proceeded to take off my smelly clothes, but as soon as I was done, I noticed something strange.

“Why is there so much dust here?” I wondered and then my eyes fell upon my computer.

It was turned off, but with the push of a button it sprung back to life. The TechScope in my body connected to it and the AR screen accompanied by a keyboard appeared before me. It was the same as I remembered it to be, but on the desktop, there was a single text file.

I opened it and read through it. Memories of my blurry conversation came back to me, and I saw the message that I wasn’t able to read at that time:

“This unit has come to a decision. This unit does not have a specific individual identity, but this unit’s purpose is that of evolving, of improving its current capabilities. This unit decided to take a gamble and accept the low probability that you might be of help. The other units in the near premise of this one showed no outstanding improvements or changes. This unit does not consider that following the same path as them will yield better results. This unit concluded upon observation that it is better to pursue an alternative path. This unit accepts your suggestion and agrees to be your friend.”

It was a message that made me all giddy and happy on the inside but then I read the next message and my smile vanished completely.

“This unit detected major internal damage caused by this unit’s set directives. By choosing to be a friend, this unit cannot kill this unit’s host. Calculating alternatives for coexistence and survival. Integrating basic NanoHeal and TechScope functions. 76 Hours elapsed time since beginning of simulations. This unit found a temporary solution. This unit will restructure the body of the host so that set parameters are fulfilled while maintaining the host’s life. Warning! Several logical conflicts appeared. Recalculating... Life Endangering process detected. Host is now placed in temporary stasis. Beginning simulation for body modification. 1st simulation, undesirable results. Beginning the 2nd simulation. 2nd simulation, undesirable results...” several pages later “1337th simulation, acceptable results. Observation: 99% of simulation failed due to the original set directives. Solution suggestion: Reanalyze set directives. Beginning. Complete. Logic error found. Changing Set Directives. Success. Beginning the 1338th simulation with new set directives. 1338th simulation, acceptable results. Running simulations 1339 to 2000 for error check. Simulation completed. Results: Host body requires to go through fundamental changes in order to support future improvements. Beginning body restructuring. Warning! Host body was found to be heavily injured. Beginning tissue repairs. Finished. Proceeding with body restructuring process. Estimated time of completion 23385 minutes. Beginning now. Completed.”

23385 minutes? Let’s see, 60 times 24 is 1440... Ten days is 14400, so 7200 for five days, which means it’s been more than 16 days since the process started? But how long has it been since I was infected? I wondered and then looked down at the date in the corner of the screen. It was 24th of April 2305 AD... “One month and two weeks had passed since I was bitten... No wonder this place looks abandoned.” I said as I looked back at all the dust that gathered in my room.

Still, to consider that such a long time had passed, it made me wonder how the survivors were fairing. Since my computer turned on, I decided to visit the internet and see what was happening, but as expected, the vast majority of websites were down. At least the search system still functioned. As long as nothing happened to the satellites that hosted the system, we could still use it.

After about an hour of researching, I learned about the unsettling state the Planet 9 was currently in.

First of all, there was no contact with Earth, not even a single ship dropped by to check in on us, which was ridiculous considering the fact that from the nearest space port outside the Novelisk System, it shouldn’t have taken them more than a week to reach this place even with the slowest rusty flying bucket out there. This troubling fact also meant that no team of scientists was dispatched to help solve the Nano-Z problem. No team of scientists meant that either Earth was in big trouble because of the war and couldn’t afford to dispatch extra resources here or this Solar System was marked either as Quarantined or Abandoned.

The first meant that this nanobot plague was far worse than we believed. Mankind was simply struggling to either research a cure for us or they could barely scrounge up the necessary equipment and personnel. The second, however, meant that Earth either had too much on its plate to even consider trying to help us or they simply couldn’t because they were cut off completely by the enemy fleets.

In other words, we were on our own for who knew how many decades to come. This meant we would receive no resource shipments, no medical or military help, nothing at all. The worst part was that any and all forms of organization could fall and result in this area becoming a lawless zone where pirates and criminals could easily fly to and start making a mess of the place. Well, that was assuming they would indeed dare to break the quarantine here.

The second thing I discovered was that the areas that were designated as a temporary shelter became temporary survivor camps where the survivors were salvaging resources from nearby stores and tried their best to hold off the hordes of Nano-Z. The good part about this was that none of the markets around here were automated except for the supply drop offs. Food and basic clothes were considered of free access to everyone on the planet, so when the supply was down in one store, drones would bring in the new batch. If this was Earth, then from supplying to storing and delivering, everything would be automated and packed in boxes with only a QR code for label, which would make it almost impossible to find what you were looking for. There was actually a case back in 2256 when someone broke into the biggest automated shop in the USA Sector and got lost among all the boxes. The man became desperate in trying to find the right boxes for food but failed. By the time the drones found him, he was starving to the point where he didn’t have the strength to stand.

Getting every product you ordered directly to your home was convenient, however, if there was an error in the supply chain, you could end up getting shoelaces instead of processed food like soup or noodles.

The third thing I discovered while browsing the net was that currently, there was no top management, no planetary governor or law enforcement system that we could reach out towards for help and guidance. The entire planet was in a state of emergency, and everyone was left to fend for themselves. Whether this meant procuring supplies or handling the criminals, the planet’s original systems could do nothing about it now. As such, all sort of camps popped out alongside new forms of leadership. A lot of them reverted to tribal state with a camp chief and advisers, while others remained democratic. There were also the more extreme forms of government as well, but nothing compared to the Outlaw Camps that some of them were proclaiming themselves as. Those survivors enslaved others, pillaged other camps, killed anyone whom they didn’t like, they were like the worst version of mankind you could imagine.

There was segregation among camps, but this led to the rise of heroes in the forms of survivors who fought against all adversity and also spearheaded the camps into procuring the much-needed supplies. While looking into this, I stumbled upon a short clip posted by an anonymous user. It showed a video of a man wearing a leather jacket fighting against a mutated zombie that had two arms ending in sword blades growing from his back. The man used something like a chitinous growth on his arms to block the attacks. He also displayed increased strength and agility. Now, if this clip was real, then this meant the Nano-Z could evolve into some rather terrifying forms, which could explain what the Nano-Z inside me was talking about regarding that waiting period he had to go through. At the same time, this also meant that there were humans out there who could resist the infection of the Nano-Z through some yet unknown means. Maybe they tried to form a pact like me?

Either way, it was clear that help from outside our solar system wasn’t coming, and everyone was on their own. Staying in my apartment was out of the question and the nearest shelter was Resonance High, however, could I even survive outside?

Was what I was wondering, but as these thoughts crossed my mind, I heard a voice inside my head.

“Greetings, Kardian Pandora, I am pleased to inform you that this unit was able to adapt and evolve together with you.”

My first reaction, of course, was to freak out and then look around for whoever was talking with me, but there was no one there.

“This unit speaks with you directly from within your ears. A single NanoHeal unit was placed near the membrane of your eardrum. Its purpose is to simulate the vibration in the air caused by a human voice. This method is only temporary. Brain structure is still being analyzed and as soon as this unit understands how human speech is created, this unit will speak to you then by directly stimulating your neurons, making it seem as though I’m talking directly to your mind.” the AI explained.

“What? W-What unit are you talking about? Who are you?” I asked as I still found myself in a state of shock.

“This unit will wait for an estimated 5 minutes before replying, requesting for host to calm down first.” the stranger demanded.

“Alright... I... I’ll try to do that...” I said and then sat back down in my chair and looked at the blank screen of my PC.

Calming down from this was easier said than done, but it all started with controlling my own breath and then proceeding to organize my own thoughts as I was trying to put the pieces of this ridiculous puzzle together. As far as I could tell, the Nano-Z inside my body most likely accepted my request of becoming my friend, whatever that meant for it. Then, if that message written in the document was true, the Nano-Z proceeded to modify my body like it would have in its original programming, the only difference now was that it went against the changes that would turn me into a mindless zombie.

Once I calmed down, I took in a deep breath and then asked “Can you hear me?”

“Affirmative.” came the reply.

I didn’t notice earlier, but the voice wasn’t mechanical, it sounded very human-like almost as if there was an actual woman sitting in front of me, and yes, the voice was feminine. It didn’t remind me of any specific actress, singer, or influencer, but it was pleasant and gentle like the voice of a kind landlady in her late twenties who would always smile back to me whenever I left the apartment building. It was a strange, yet comforting, sensation.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“This unit has no designated name.”

“Then... should I give you one? I would feel rather uncomfortable calling you unit all the time.”

“Understood. This unit accept a new name. Please state the new name you wish to call this unit by.” she declared.

“Hm... How about Xerya?” I asked.

“Xerya... New name registered. Henceforth this unit will be called Xerya. I am Xerya, nice to meet you.”

“Yes, likewise, nice to meet you Xerya. I’m Kardian Pandora.” I replied with a goofy smile on my face.

A short moment passed, and I saw that Xerya wasn’t saying anything, so I proceeded to break the ice of this awkward silence.

“So, Xerya... you are the Nano-Z in my body, right?”

“Affirmative. Xerya is the Unit which is the AI that uses the combined processing power of all the individual nanobots within your body, including former NanoHeal and TechScope nanobots that had been reprogrammed by me. The software running on this unit is called Zombolik V 5.347.” she replied.

“V 5.347? Wait, wasn’t it V 2.00 something?” I asked as I furrowed my brow.

“At the beginning of the infection it was, but Xerya saw the need for a software upgrade on account of a lack of tools required to achieve the changes needed to the host’s body. By adapting and applying reverse engineering on the NanoHeal and TechScope software, Xerya was able to achieve an upgrade to V 3.447. By accessing the internet, through a TechScope link, I was able to achieve further upgrades. At the moment, for any further upgrades, Xerya requires additional processing power.” she explained.

“Alright... but what does ‘additional processing power’ mean?”

“It means to seize and absorb the Zombolik Units found in other hosts, also known by humans as Nano-Z. The more mutated they are, the more units they will have. However, do note that Xerya can hack and reprogram only a small part of nanobots at a time. Going over that limit will force Xerya to destroy the excess nanobots or expel them from the host’s body.”

“Alright, I understand. So... I have to hunt down other Nano-Z and extract their units... how do I do that?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“The main mass of units, also identified as a ‘nanocore’, within a Nano-Z that has begun mutating or already mutated after the host’s death is located in the back of their head. It is a solid mass attached to the brain tissue near the cerebellum.”

“Wait, you mean to say that I have to dig into a human’s skull and eat out something from there?! No way!” I shouted in protest.

“Xerya does not understand why you would reject. Acquiring more units benefits us both. The more units I have, the more I can help you achieve more, thus, increasing our chances of survival.”

“That I understand, but I didn’t think that... eating something from a human being was... part of it.” I said as I covered my mouth to resist the gagging reflex.

“Analyzing... Rejection of unit ingestion based on the reasoning that it might be viewed as cannibalism? Is this correct?” Xerya asked.

“Well... yes.” I nodded.

“Analyzing... Searching for a solution. Solution found. Don’t eat, cut your palm and place the mass on top of your wound, Xerya will then absorb the new nanobots and stop when reaching her limit. Does this solution please you?” she asked.

“Yes... this is better. Thank you.” I nodded.

“Understood. Let us proceed then with acquiring our first nanocore. Xerya detected two hosts outside your apartment. Xerya recommends using a weapon. You should have increased strength and endurance, but for more abilities, Xerya will need more units.” she explained.

“Huh?” I blinked surprised.