“How is this possible? This can’t be real.” Caiden said. His inner scientist was contrarily screaming with excitement.
“Whoa, you really are a mutant,” Nami said. “So, what does this mean? Are you a Purebred? Or technically a Hybrid?” Hitomi asked.
“I’ve never had any type of cybernetic surgery done of any kind that I know of.” Caiden replied while mulling over the results.
“Yeah, and even with all of society’s advances in cybernetic implant surgery, it isn’t possible to just have a cybernetic spine neatly tucked in the body like yours. Even with your skin, there would be visible scars all the way down your back, and you have none.” Hitomi added. “And, yeah, black market doctors perform illegal brain replacement surgeries with advanced Intel Core Matrixes, but your brain is entirely different from that.”
“It’s like you were born like that. There’s nothing in these results that show you were ever cut open for surgery. No scars, no nothing. You’re like a natural born Hybrid. Your brain and spine are like techno-organic matter.” Nami observed.
“Let me ask you this; have you ever been sick? Have you ever had a bad case of the flu or anything like that?” Hitomi asked.
“Well, yes, but to be honest, the last time I had a really bad flu, it only lasted for two days,” Caiden said.
“Hmm, and you said that anytime you might have suffered a serious injury, that you would normally heal up in a few short days, right?” Hitomi said.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Caiden replied.
“What if the reason for your miraculous recovery time and powerful immune system is because of these nano-machine cell thingies?” Nami asked.
“That’s not a far-fetched assumption, at all. That would actually solve a lot of questions I had been asking myself. But still, it would leave even more questions to be answered,” Caiden replied.
“What about the shit you pulled off last night against those guards at the brothel? Any tough guy would have difficulty fighting just one of them! You took out five of them by yourself.” Hitomi said.
He paused, recounting every maneuver, every punch, kick, and strike. “What better way to confirm these things than to test the capabilities of these nano-machines, right?” Caiden replied.
“Lead the way, mad scientist,” Hitomi said humorously. As Caiden prepared to search for some basic research equipment, he paused, lost in a sea of intense thought.
“What is it?” Nami asked.
“It’s weird. I’ve been having this strange dream ever since I was fifteen, about a woman with a blurred face who called me ‘Rez’. And every time I try to call out to this woman, I always wake up,” Caiden said.
“And that Knight-1 sketch ball called you by the same name,” Hitomi added.
“Yeah, but we don’t know who this person is. How could they know everything about me?” Caiden asked.
“Maybe this ‘Knight-1’ character has more answers somehow,” Nami replied.
“Yeah, maybe. I’m gonna try and contact them,” Caiden said.
“How? They contacted you from an encrypted source,” Hitomi said.
“It’s worth a shot to try, though, right?” Caiden replied.
The girls both nodded in agreement as they went to the control hub in the lab. Though Knight-1 had indeed contacted Caiden from a protected source, he utilized his adept skillset and re-opened the channel of communication anyway with instant success.
“I am thoroughly impressed that you found me even after I contacted you from a protected source,” Knight-1 said.
“I found something. I did a biometric scan and found these nano-machine cells in me. I need to know more about them and you’re gonna tell me,” Caiden demanded.
“Again, I’m impressed. You got all this from a simple bio-scan? I don’t believe it,” Knight-1 replied.
“I upgraded an old one that I already had. How do you know about these nano things?” Caiden asked.
As he asked, Knight-1 sent an encrypted file to Caiden. When he clicked on it, it showed an amazing display of the nanocells in action in a way he hadn’t seen before. They were assimilating an object and changing into something more, as if whatever they assimilated had left some sort of imprint or impression on those specific nanocells.
“What is this?” Caiden asked
“This is one of the many wondrous things the nanocell can do,” Knight-1 replied.
“Do you have any more data?” Caiden readily asked.
“I do not,” Knight-1 replied.
“But I do I have a trusted and well-connected contact. Goes by the name of Wizard. She has a special data codec called, ‘The NanoCode’. This codec contains the very foundations of the nanocell by the revolutionary scientist Dr. Hisashi Sendo. That codec should be able to provide you with more insight in conjunction with whatever results you found on your own,” Knight-1 cryptically replied.
“Listen here Knight-1, I don’t like to play games. Tell me what you know! And why is it that you know so much about me?” Caiden was getting frustrated.
“It’d be best if I leave those questions unanswered for now. Just know that what I’m saying is the truth. The sequence to decrypt the access to the codec is verbal only. You will need to say ‘Alpha, Exodus, Influx, Theta’, in that order. I will contact Wizard and organize the drop. Await my call,” Knight-1 stoically stated as the transmission was cut.
“Damnit!” he said, slamming his fist on the desk.
“Hey, it's okay. At least now we have some sort of lead, right?” Nami said.
“None of this makes any sense!” Caiden said.
Nami and Hitomi were equally as confused as Caiden. “Well, let’s just wait to hear back from Knight-1. We at least know that the codec is with that Wizard person. So, all we have to do is retrieve it and we’ll get more answers,” Nami stated.
“We’ll be sure to help you in any way we can. We owe you that much,” Hitomi added assuredly while rubbing Caiden’s shoulders. Caiden’s tense shoulders relaxed as he let out a sigh of relief, soothed by
