Scion of Humanity

When the last tree was dropped into the designated hopper, the tint of the transparent structure turned green, and a message appeared before him.

Would you like to begin construction? The process will consume twenty million nano and will take six hours to complete.

“Twenty million!” he blurted.

“Yes, you are not aiding construction in any way, so a large amount of nano must be utilized.” Metal informed him.

“That’s a lot of nano for this little shack.”

“The price for this structure is relatively small compared to future costs. However, as you fill out your town’s support structure, the nano costs will be reduced to a small percent.”

“Hey Blake!” his father called out as his parents crossed the field. “Sorry we’re late, it took longer than we thought to hike here.”

Blake smiled as his parents carefully avoided the floating wraith. “Hey dad, hey mom. Just in time to see construction start.” He waved his hand at the transparent building only he could see.

“What’s with all the uprooted trees?” his mother asked as she handed him a plastic grocery bag, full of food. He peeked inside and was relieved she brought a different brand of protein bar than he had been eating for days.

“Thanks!” He then shrugged and opened a snack for himself. “Well, the interface said it needed wood, so I gave it wood.”

“Did you figure out how it works?” Peter asked.

“Yeah, Metal was a huge help with that. It turns out we’re going to have to recruit a lot of people as soon as we can.”

Both his parents glanced at the wraith before his mother asked, “Why’s that?”

“Well, according to Metal, we need people to harvest, refine, and directly construct the buildings we need. If we don’t get them, the nano cost will bankrupt us.”

“How are we going to convince people to help us?” His father asked.

Donna gave her husband a look of disbelief. “You forgot that we’re rich now, didn’t you?”

“Oh yeah,” he grinned sheepishly. “I guess money would work.”

“That,” Blake added. “And when they find out about the end of the world, I’m sure they’ll be eager to chip in. Especially if their families will live here.”

“How many people are you talking about?” his mother asked. “I don’t know many people that I’d trust not to turn you in.”

“At least ten people to start with.”

“Hmm,” she rubbed her chin. “I can probably find that many people, but Jordan’s the only one who’ll have any relevant skills.”

“The Architect will grant them any skills they need to perform their job,” his wraith interrupted.

Both parents were startled by the deep bass of his companion’s voice, and glanced back and forth between Blake and Metal nervously.

Suddenly, his mother chuckled. “Well, if all we need are warm bodies, I think I can deliver on that.”

His father nodded absently as he studied the stones and felled trees beside him. “What’s with the pile?”

“That’s the materials to build the faction hall.”

Peter frowned. “Doesn’t look like much.”

“That’s because the nano is doing all the work for us,” Blake explained. “Here, let me show you.”

Blake confirmed the process as he opened another bar, and a haze began to appear over the pile of supplies. Over the next few minutes, the stones began to slowly disappear from their vision and the ground became blurred. Slowly, a smooth, flat stone floor was added to the hut. They watched in quiet fascination as the building was slowly constructed by nanomachines before their eyes.

After a short while, Blake turned to his parents and said, “Well, sorry you came all the way out here, but I plan on heading back to do another scenario while I wait for this to finish.” He shook his head. “I didn’t realize how much nano I’m going to need for the town.”

“That’s fine,” His mother assured him. She turned to Peter. “What do you think about asking Jordan to join us for some Mexican food?”

“We had Mexican yesterday!” Peter complained.

“So?” she challenged.

His father sighed and relented. “Fine.” He then turned to Blake. “Are you going to be here when it finishes?”

He nodded. “That’s the plan, although I wish I could have some Mexican food too. I should be finished with the scenario by then, but you never know.”

“Okay, we’ll see you when you get back, hopefully with Jordan,” his mother added. “And maybe a to-go plate. Love you, and be safe.”

Blake grinned at the idea of fresh food. “Always am.”

After his goodbyes, he called up his Faction Pioneer achievement reward. He scrolled through the list of buildings available to him and selected the warehouse. It was far larger than he expected, even at level one. He strode away from the tiny faction hall until there was at least two hundred feet between the two buildings.

“Is this far enough away?” he asked his companion.

“I would place it at least twice as far away from the faction hall. Both buildings will expand dramatically as they level,” he explained.

“Thanks.”

He moved the transparent structure until it was over four hundred feet away from the faction hall and accepted his reward. Immediately, he was presented with a notification.

Would you like to begin construction? The process will consume zero nano and will take twenty hours to complete.

Yes.

Unlike the faction hall, the required materials were provided for him, and it began to assemble immediately. He watched the process for a few moments before he turned to his silent companion.

“Thanks for the help, Metal. I’ll send you back so you can be with your family while I complete a scenario. I can’t promise that I won’t need you to answer some questions later on today, but I’ll try to get by without bothering you.”

“It is appreciated.”

Blake dismissed his companion and trekked along the roads toward the fire tower where he temporarily resided. Once he arrived, he ate another meal and replenished his spatial storage. He then rethreaded his longsword through his belt, and grabbed his spear. After a last look around to ensure nothing was forgotten, he stepped into the portal.

When Blake returned, hours later, to their leased property, his parents were already present. His mother held a Styrofoam container, which Blake was very happy to see. A man in his thirties with a cowboy hat, blue jeans, flannel shirt, and work boots accompanied them. Blake had never met the man before, or if he had, did not remember him.

Their guest gawked at the faction hall in wonder as the nanomachines completed the structure. Meanwhile, his parents talked quietly amongst themselves. As he strode toward the mostly constructed building, he called out, “I’m back!”

The man was so distracted, he jumped in fright at Blake’s interruption. His parents waved for him to join them. When he reached them, he was introduced.

“Jordan, this is my son Blake,” his mother pointed toward him as she handed him the food container. She then gestured back to their guest. “Blake, this is Jordan. He’s the contractor that remodeled the restaurant.”

“Nice to meet you,” Blake said as he eagerly accepted the food.

“Likewise,” Jordan and drawled in a southern accent. The man shook his head and added, “This sure is somethin’.”

Blake grinned. “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. How much have my parents told you about what’s going on?”

His father answered for him. “Pretty much everything. He didn’t believe us until we showed him this, of course. But, after we got here, he was all ears.”

“You must admit, it’s all a bit far-fetched,” Jordan added dryly.

“So, would you like to help build our faction?” Blake asked. When his stomach rumbled, he added, “Do you mind if I eat while we talk? I’m starving.”

Jordan nodded. “I’m mighty interested, but a bit short on the details.”

“What would you like to know?” Blake eagerly opened the leftover container and retrieved a taco.

“So, I hear the world’s going to hell in a handbasket, no surprise there, but why’s this here necessary? We’ve got plenty of buildings and industry. No offense,” he nodded toward the faction hall. “But, that don’t look like much.”

Blake chuckled and swallowed. “You’re right, it’s not much. That’s because it's level one. When it gets leveled up, it’ll be magnificent. Trust me.”

“Right… The time travel thing,” Jordan replied doubtfully as he watched Blake devour the rest of the tacos.

Blake did not take offense, and waved down his mother before she could defend him. Instead, he smiled. “So, you have no problem believing that an AI is going to take over the whole world, but have an issue with me going back in time?”

Jordan did not reply. Instead, he continued to stare blankly at him. Blake could not tell if he was honestly this detached, or if he was hiding his amazement of the strange technology around him.

Whatever. It’s easier if he isn’t freaking out, anyway.

He shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t matter if you believe it or not.” Blake took a deep breath and explained, “We can’t just use normal buildings in the Collective. If we want to create nano-infused objects, we need them to be constructed with the AI’s help. That means we have to build it from scratch.”

“What kind of objects we talkin’ about?” he asked as he continued to eye the construction next to him.

“All kinds of stuff. Armor, weapons, potions.”

“What good’s all that when I got me a gun?”

“Well, if you act as our Constructor, you won’t need armor or weapons, but you might like a potion. They can cure pretty much anything. There’s a lot more the faction city can do, too. We can build a Portal room that allows everyone to teleport here once per day. There’s also the shield generator, which not only keeps out the monsters, but will also stop any uninvited humans as well. And guns get pretty useless pretty quick when it all goes down.”

Jordan nodded. “And, who decides who’s welcome? Hell, who’s gonna make the rules in your faction and enforce them? You?”

“Well, I fought for the billion nano to create the faction, so ultimately, yes I’m in charge. But, I won’t have time to manage the day to day. My mom is going to be my chancellor and will pretty much run the town while I’m gone. We’ll also have a council that will decide on laws and penalties for breaking them.”

“Chancellor?” his mother interrupted.

Blake turned to her and explained, “Think of it like a Mayor. You’ll have access to any nano you need to pay people or build structures. Essentially, you can run the entire town while I’m busy killing stuff to level.”

“Why me?” she asked.

“Well, for a few reasons. For one, I trust you completely. And, while I could put dad in charge, he wants to be a chef.” Blake turned to his father and asked, “Am I right?”

Peter grinned. “Let me see, deal with people complaining about every little thing, or relax in a kitchen doing what I love?” he asked rhetorically.

Blake turned back to his mother. “See? And, you were a project manager for years, right?”

She nodded.

“Then this is perfect for you. Just think of the town as a big project.”

Donna frowned, but absently nodded her head. When he saw that she accepted her new role, Blake turned to their guest. “So, any other questions?”

“How much does it pay, and how long do you expect me to work each day?”

“Well, you can negotiate pay with my mom. I don’t really care about that, since money’s going to be useless by the end of June. But I understand you’ve got bills to pay, and you’ve got to eat,” he smiled. “After Invasion day, you’ll be paid in nano instead, which will be the new currency. As far as hours go, ideally you’ll work as long as you can. We need to get as much built over the next five and a half months as we can.”

“If I’m gonna work eighty, ninety hour weeks, I expect to be paid in kind,” he warned.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be paid. Any other questions?”

“What about my son, and my ex? Will they be able to stay here, too?”

“I thought you hated Christina?” his mother asked.

“Hate’s a strong word. I most definitely dislike the harpy, but having her here’s the only way Paul will join us. He’s a bit of a momma’s boy,” he explained. “We’ll get separate rooms, right? Preferably on the opposite side of town?”

Blake laughed. “Sure,” he agreed.

“Then, I suppose we have a deal.”

“Really? You have no problem with me being a fugitive from the law?”

Jordan shook his head. “Your mother told me all ‘bout that. I was in all kinda fights back in school. Was never once arrested or had the cops after me. I figure they got to be corrupt as all hell. And, if there’s one thing I hate, it’s corrupt people abusing the people they’re supposed to protect.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Blake said with a smile.

“You do that, and we’ll be just peachy.”

Jordan reached out his hand. Blake grasped the man’s hand to return the shake and initiate him into the Collective, but smirked when he felt the man squeeze. He obviously expected Blake to be weak, which is why the man’s eyes widened in surprise when Blake squeezed much harder in return. Blake was careful to not break the man’s bones, but he was sure Jordan’s hand would be sore for days.

“Welcome to the Terran Alliance”