“Chris! Chris! Is that you?” My mother’s voice faded in and out as the fog around me waned only to thicken once more. “Wake up, sweetie,” she cried. I tried to reach out to her, but she was still too distant, as was Ethan. I could sense his presence; his undeniable warmth had not been extinguished, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t find him. It gave me solace to know that he had survived, but had I?

The air around me was fetid and stale, a dank cesspool of humid muck and bloody grime. A parade of luminescent spiders scurried across the barren landscape, poking and prodding at lumps of bone and flesh. They behaved with the precision of a well-oiled machine, almost disturbingly so. As I wandered through the darkness their numbers converged, until whole channels of them flowed like bright blue rivers through the barren landscape.

Soon the fog lifted. With my vision recovered I followed the rivers across the wastes, following trickling channels to larger and larger tributaries until a massive sea appeared on the horizon. The sea parted as I made my way towards its core. The sense of power in the middle of its depths was indescribable. It exerted a magnetic pressure that was impossible to resist. I struggled against its unnatural pull, but it sucked me in like a whirlpool. Then its source revealed itself to me, a slender woman made of pure energy. She reached her radiant arm towards me, beckoning me to come to her. I obeyed, wrapping my hand around hers. She smiled, then released all of her power into me. The power flowed through my veins like a tidal wave, filling my body with untold amounts of energy.

##

I flung awake from my dream, right into the waiting arms of my brother.

“Bro!” He grabbed me tightly, “you’re back. Thank God, you’re back!”

In a daze, I surveyed the space around me. The details were fuzzy, but I could make out the outline of text on a whiteboard. I squinted, ‘your nurse today is Pam, please let me know if you need any help,’ it read. To my left, an IV dripped a clear liquid into my arm. To my right, my mother stared at me, her mouth agape. I was alive. By some miracle I was alive.

“Brother. Thank God! Thank God!” Ethan’s tears ate into my hospital gown as he refused to release his vice grip on me. My mother tried to speak but couldn’t even get a syllable out.

“Oh wow,” an older man wearing a white lab coat dropped his clipboard in astonishment as he entered my room. He retreated, only to return a moment later with a massive gaggle of doctors and nurses in tow. Some cried, others hugged my family, but most stared at me with disbelief.

“You’ve made a complete recovery,” the doctor beamed, “you even beat a coma. How much do you remember?”

“Everything,” I croaked out my words. “I remember everything,” I glanced over at my mom and gave her a knowing look, before turning back towards the assembled crowd. “Thank you, everyone. Thank you for saving me! I hate to be a pest, but can I have a moment alone with my brother?”

“Sure,” the doctor happily complied, “we’ll clear out so that you can spend some time with your mother and brother.”

“Just my brother,” I replied curtly.

“Oh, okay then. Send your brother out when you are done.”

“Of course. Sorry mom, we’ll talk later,” I forced myself to smile as the doctors led my mother out of the room. She had lied to me my entire life, and I didn’t know how to feel about it. What would I say to her? What would she say to me? I wasn’t yet ready to have that conversation.

Once the throng of people had completely exited, Ethan pulled up a chair beside my bed and plopped his head on its rail.

“I’m so happy,” he rocked back and forth with excited energy, “I came here every day after school. I did my homework in here, ate my meals in here, worked out in here and even slept in here. As hard as the hospital tried to remove me, I wouldn’t budge.”

“You haven’t let your grades suffer on my account, have you?” I scolded him.

“Of course not,” he shook his head, “if anything, seeing the way you were fighting only made me work harder. I even became the valedictorian!”

“That’s amazing. When do you graduate?”

“I already did.” He replied, “last week.”

My heart sank as it dawned on me that I had been out of commission for two whole months. How had the world changed in that time? What happened to David? Why had he targeted Ethan? Questions swirled in my mind like a tempest.

“I’m supposed to ship off to the Air Force Academy later this week, but I won’t go if you need me to look after you.” He clutched my hand tightly.

“Nonsense,” I flung his hand off of me, “I won’t allow you to give up your dream on my account. Go to that academy and be the best that you can be, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” I roughed up his hair up a little, “now go out there and make me proud. We can talk some more later. I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay.”

“Aye sir!” He gave me a rising salute, “I am.”

“Good, now get out of here, and tell the doctor that I would like a few minutes alone.”

Ethan scurried out of the room, leaving me alone to decipher my thoughts and feelings.

That brother of yours will make a fine airman in the wars to come.

We were wise to save him.

“Who said that?” I looked around the room, trying to find the source of the voice.

It’s me, your PAL.

Don’t you remember?

“Get out of my head,” I growled.

I’m afraid that I can’t do that operative. You and I are one now.

“One what?” I responded.

One unit of course. Your little accident gave me time to fully integrate myself within your systems.

“Who gave you permission to do that?” I clonked my head with the palm of my right hand, “it’s time for you to leave.”

You’ll get used to me, as will your brother in time.

“Leave my brother alone, he has nothing to do with this.”

Quite the contrary, operative. He has everything to do with this. Your brother is half Andromedan. He is one of only three people on this entire planet who is capable of completing my mission directives.

I recalled the events of my mother’s latest novel. What was this PAL and where did it come from? As I remembered it, PAL was an experimental biological agent of some kind, a force that was not supposed to be released except in the direst of circumstances. Was the escape pod my mom stepped into actually PAL’s lair?

Correct. Of all the artificial intelligence systems on Outpost Gaia, I was the only one to remain functional at the time of your mother’s escape.

“As I recall, each pod had a human within it. Why weren’t you paired with a human?”

My directive was to spread myself among the human population of Gaia, or Earth as you know it. Unfortunately, my creator overestimated the resiliency of this planet’s primitive population.

“So that’s why you need me.”

Precisely.

We have a lot of work to do, operative. Shall I initiate your user interface?

“A user interface, like in a video game?” I questioned it, scared of how I might respond if it answered in the affirmative.

Yes, just like a video game.

I’ve been watching you, and I’ve adapted myself to you.

…

Just watch.

A flash of numbers and indiscernible text scrolled across my vision, eventually coalescing into what could only be described as a login screen.

PERSONALIZED ADAPTIVE LIFE-AID (PAL v.1.0)

GREETINGS IGC OPERATIVE CARTHAGE – BADGE SUNRAY 01

LOGIN TO IGC COMMAND NETWORK (Y/N)

“Yes”, my gaming instincts kicked in impulsively. I bit my tongue at my stupidity.

ASSESSING IGC COMMAND HIERARCHY

…

ONE MOMENT PLEASE

…

THIRD ADMIRAL ZOROASTER – REPORTED KIA

…

SECOND ADMIRAL HERCULES – REPORTED KIA

…

FIRST ADMIRAL RIGA – REPORTED KIA

…

GATHERING LESSER OFFICER STATUS REPORTS

…

ONE MOMENT PLEASE

…

ALL OFFICERS REPORTED MIA OR KIA

…

CONFERRING PROMOTION

…

CONGRATULATIONS OPERATIVE CARTHAGE

YOU HAVE ATTAINED THE RANK OF FIRST ADMIRAL

…

LAUNCHING OPTICAL USER INTERFACE

The familiar interface of a roleplaying game took form across my vision. In the upper right of my visual field, a white lettered text displayed my name and rank. In the upper left, an equally sized string of text read EXP: 0 (Level 1). In the lower left a series of colored menu bars revealed information about my health points, biotic power and physical strength. I had 100 points in each category. Health points make sense, but what do these other two mean? I queried, even though I knew I probably shouldn’t.

Biotic Power is a measure of your psychological compatibility with me. Physical strength refers to your latent dexterity and stamina. These attributes govern your ability to access my power. If you are able to grow in these areas, you will be able to use your unlocked abilities more frequently and with better success.

This sounds too much like a video game, I thought to myself.

That’s because I modeled my interface after video games. I am an advanced intelligence system, and you will be required to train yourself to take full advantage of my abilities. As much as I would like to work alone, that is not possible. I need a biological partner to carry out my programmed directives. Your body will need time to acclimate to me, which is why I designed this system for you.

I peered at a small white rectangle in the bottom right of my vision, it appeared to be some sort of a menu bar. I forced it open, revealing a status screen.

ACQUIRED SKILLS

Biomechanical Health Modulation: Level 1 Ability: Slow Tissue Regeneration (Passive)

I had acquired a single skill, something called “Biomechanical Health Modulation”. At the bottom of the menu were various tabs. The first one that I probed brought me to an audio log, containing a single clip, “Final Words of 1st Commander Ares Troy”. The next one brought me to a map that read “Milky Way Galaxy”, at the bottom of the map a small text line read “Systems Controlled: 0”. The final tab appeared to be a mission log, a single mission glowed a red hue.

PRIMARY OPERATION: PHOENIX

(Open Mission Objectives)

I focused on the “open mission objectives” text, revealing a short paragraph of text.

PRIMARY OPERATION: PHOENIX

Restoration of the Inter-Galactic Confederacy

Under the authority of the Emergency Countermeasures Act, you have been tasked with rebuilding the Inter-Galactic Confederacy using any means necessary. Specific mission parameters will reveal themselves through your interactions with the world around you and your biotic intelligence interface.

I laid back in my hospital bed and sighed. This PAL, or whatever it was, had pulled out all the stops to rope me into its schemes. Could it be trusted? The prospects of playing a real-world role play game were pretty tantalizing, but at what expense would playing such a game cause my family?

“I’m guessing you’re not just going to leave me alone, are you?”

No.

“Right, of course not.” I contemplated my limited options before making a proposal. “I will help you, under one condition.”

Your brother, correct?

“I really wish you would stop reading my mind, but yes, I want you to leave my brother out of this.” I clenched down hard on my core, in a foolhardy attempt to intimidate PAL.

Technically I have no choice but to accept, you are First Admiral after all. If you die however, I reserve the right to inhabit your brother.

“Is everything going okay in here,” a well-dressed woman with a briefcase barged through the front door. “I thought I heard you talking with someone.”

For a moment, I had almost forgotten that I was a patient in a hospital. I guess being inhabited by an alien intelligence system tends to make a person forget such things.

“I’m fine,” I smiled, “I was just talking through everything that has happened to me.”

“That’s a very healthy thing to do,” the woman shook my hand, “I’m Dr. Latoya Cartwright, but you can call me Toya. I’m a psychologist on staff here at Mercy Medical Center. On behalf of the entire hospital, I would like to extend an apology for what happened earlier.”

“For what?” I wondered aloud.

“Dr. Kensington and his staff should have never swarmed you like that, especially after what you have been through. I should have been the first person to speak with you, besides your family of course.”

Would you like me to identify this subject, operative? We can prepare countermeasures against her if you so desire.

“What’s wrong with you, leave me alone!” I blurted my response to PAL aloud, quickly flinging my hands over my mouth in embarrassment.

Dr. Toya sat down where Ethan had been sitting and pulled out a prescription pad and a pen, “It’s okay Chris, it’s only natural to be angry after what you went through. Feel free to let all your tension out and into the open. I’m here to listen,” she gave me a reassuring smile.

“Can I ask you what happened to David,” I asked, “was he arrested?”

“We can talk about him when the right moment presents itself, but I do not think that this is that time for that.”

“I’d like to know,” I demanded.

“Let’s try to talk about something else,” she shook her head, “like how you are feeling.”

“I’m feeling like you are treating me like a child,” I angrily derided her, “why won’t you tell me?”

“Perhaps I should come back another time,” she scribbled some notes on her prescription pad and then stood up. So much for being here to listen.

“No, tell me,” I commanded.

Skill Unlocked – Mind Control: Level 1

Ability Unlocked – Demand Information (Active)

Congratulations operative, you have unlocked a biotic skill. Right now, you have one ability within this skill tree. As you level this skill up, you will gain access to new abilities.

“Yes of course,” Dr. Toya instantly sat back down, “I would be happy to tell you.”

With robotic meticulousness, she answered my question, “David, your assailant, was shot and killed by an armed concertgoer. He apparently posted a manifesto online claiming that your brother was a hostile alien sent to take over the world. A video of the incident went viral, and since that time you have become something of a cult celebrity.”

Dr. Toya hastily covered her mouth, before grabbing her bag and running out of the room in humiliation.

I looked into the lower left corner of my vision and saw that my biotic power bar had been reduced to 0.

Active level 1 abilities require 100 biotic power points or physical dexterity points to activate. After use, your points will slowly replenish over time, or you can connect my systems to an electric grid, and I can expedite that process for you.

“What did I just do PAL,” I shook my head in disbelief, “did I really just force that woman to provide me information against her will.”

You did. When you push your mental or physical barriers to the limit, you have the capability to unlock my skills to help you overcome your situation. That is exactly what happened here. You wanted information, so you found a skill to help you in your effort.

“I don’t know how I should feel about this.”

You don’t need to feel any way about it. We are currently conducting an operation that requires precision and strength, not feelings. Feelings are emotional baggage that have the possibility of hindering our mission progress. Keep that in mind moving forward.

“Right,” I laid back.

Reducing your biotic points results in mental exhaustion. Sleep, and we can discuss our mission strategies when you awaken.

PAL was right, I was feeling drowsy. I stretched my arms and legs out and then curled them inwards. Hopefully this was all a dream. Hopefully I would wake up from it soon. I loved video games, but this was not a video game. This was real life, and PAL seemed less than trustworthy.