"I've been thinking..." Daniel said, breaking the silence between the friends.

The girls looked up at him, questioning.

Daniel sat down, "How long do we stay here? I mean we're in a foreign country with minimal resources, no friends, and questions that might need answers we can't provide. Part of me thinks that I'd rather be sorting this out at home."

"It also makes a lot more sense to not be outsiders stuck on a tiny island." Renée offered.

"Change of plans and fly home soon? How soon? Tomorrow?" Farrah asked.

“Will it really matter? An organization like this must have the resources to find us anywhere." Renée said.

"I just feel more comfortable knowing I can get in the car and the next day be in a different country." Daniel continued.

"I guess it makes sense. It also means we don't have to make up stories about Michael and Lindsay. They became their usual insufferable selves and we packed it in favour of a staycation." Renée said, spinning it positively.

“I can’t believe they’re just… Gone. I wonder how long it will take to set in?” Farrah said wonderingly.

“Likely about the first time we go to call them. …or the first time they don’t show up for game night.” Daniel said

The three of them sat in uncomfortable silence for several minutes.

“Altogether, or should we fly separately?” Farrah asked breaking the tension.

“The same way we got here. I think it would look more suspicious if we suddenly left all that once when none of us arrived together.” Daniel said.

“Wait a minute. System?” Renée shifted gears.

[Abrasax system]

“System, will commercial air travel affect the system in any way? Would interfere with upgrades?”

[Not so long as system upgrade costs continue to be met.]

“Well then, no upgrades that aren’t finished before we leave for the planes.” Daniel said.

“System?” René asked.

[Abrasax system]

“Can you display surplus or deficient status of energy costs in real time?” René asked.

[Affirmative]

“System. Display status of energy costs in real time indicate surplus in green and deficiency in red.”

A display flashed to life in the upper corner of Renée’s field of vision. It was green with a number 218.

“System? What does the number 218 mean?” René asked.

[218 represents your current surplus energy in kilo-calories. As you consume fuel it will increase, as you expend fuel it will decrease. It is currently an approximation, however it will be refined over time as the system becomes accustomed to your individual needs and behaviours.]

Daniel and Farrah both instructed the system to provide the same displays for them.

"At least now we’ll have some indication of whether or not we're in danger of the system eating us alive." Renée said, with a unenthusiastic smile.

“I know what you meant now when you said you were on Team: Always Hungry during your training cycles.” Farrah said to Daniel.

Daniel smirked. “And on that note.” Daniel got up and headed to the kitchen.

***

Victoria anticipated that Damien would keep the three under observation. However she didn’t think that he would be so overt about it.

Fortunately she knew exactly what capabilities Damien’s system possessed. After all she had designed them and she never let anyone have access to something that was better than she had. It had been simple enough to mask their signatures, between the stealth capabilities inherent in the system and the clutter created by the death bloom of their two friends. Even Damien’s system would have trouble penetrating the chaos of the death bloom. And it wasn’t like there was a large body of information on what to expect when civilians came in contact with un-tailored nanotech.

No doubt Damien would have surveillance in place to ensure that they got home safely, at least safely for Abrasax, if not themselves.

Typically Damien would have tagged them with nano bots, however she made sure that nothing would survive in the aftermath of the death bloom. Any nanotech that he left would seem to go off-line naturally in the chaos. Only she would know that his nanites has been specifically targeted.

Victoria mentally shook her head and got back to the data that was still unfolding from her visit. It seemed that the nanotech was focusing on the disease that each of these civilians happen to have, and that was holding them from moving beyond the core directives. If she hadn’t found them, eventually the nanotech would’ve overcome their diseases and ironically gone on to kill them.

At least now, with her intervention, the nanotech would go dormant if it was able to cure their diseases before they finished the tutorial and she was back in touch.

With the inability to conduct large-scale human trials, they had always been restricted in their ability to gauge the effectiveness of the untailored nanotechnology. Knowing there was a strong likelihood that the treatments would have directly killed patients raised far too many ethical questions and limited their testing. Given the cost of the testing they were further limited

And now by a stroke of, what? Good luck? Bad luck? Victoria was able to conduct at least a small-scale test outside the bounds of any of her previous experiments. They had already confirmed that the untethered nanotech was lethal to healthy humans, and that chronic or terminal illness somehow extended the life of the host. However there were so many factors in play that she needed more information than she was likely to get. In the meantime it looks like the nanotechnology would slowly heal or cure the civilians of their conditions…Before killing them.

“Kevin, could you come in here please? I have a project for you.” Victoria said. “I need you to keep an eye on someone for me.”

***

Daniel walked through the Vancouver airport mid-afternoon, heading for the taxi stand. Part of him was still surprised he had made it this far. He kept half expecting to feel a hand on his shoulder or for someone to wave him out of line and insist on a quiet talk somewhere. He worked to kept his feelings of panic in check, he kept breathing.

In fact, it had been quite the opposite. He had breezed through security and the flights had been uneventful. Nothing like coming back from the States.

He hoped the girl’s trip home was equally as uneventful. They had discussed several plans but in the end they all agreed that simpler was better. Daniel would fly on ahead, and the girls would come together the next day. Daniel would pick them up at the airport and they would disappear for the last week of their vacation.

If anyone asked about Michael and Lindsay, they all agreed that the three of them had come home early while Michael and Lindsay decided to stay in New Zealand and possibly travel further before coming home. After they left they would have no idea what Michael and Lindsay supposedly got up to. {They tried not to think of the moral implications that this brought on? Or something?}

Daniel decided to spend his time waiting for Farrah and Renée performing low-level tests of the system. He got his bike out and headed down to the Seawall to see how long he could ride at his normal pace before becoming fatigued.

Several hours later he was decidedly hungry, but nowhere near as fatigued as he should’ve been. His calorie balance counter had been flashing red for the last half hour, indicating he was burning into his reserves. Time for a pit stop, he thought.

He swerved around the pedestrian, who had stepped into the bike lane at the intersection. Suddenly the left side of his vision flashed red and he was thrown into the air as a car ran the red light. He hit the ground and rolled into a ball.

"Danger Will Robinson." Daniel muttered, shaking his head, sitting up. "Next time, a little warning?" he asked his internal system.

The system remain silent.

Daniel looked back and saw the car stopped, his bike lying on the ground beside it. A small crowd had gathered and several people were approaching him to see if he was okay. The driver had stepped out of the vehicle and looked shaken.

“System. Assessment?”

[Abraxas system functional. Dermal protection system prevented injury. Internal support system prevented injury. Cranial network system prevented injury. Assessments – no injury.]

“That’s a handy thing.” Daniel muttered to himself.

He waved a bit at the onlookers, indicating he was okay.

The driver walked over to him, looking a mixture of apprehension and concern. Daniel appeared to be shaking it off, but the guy looked like he knew he’d run a red light.

Daniel picked up his bike, and checked it over. It looked like the only damage was to the front wheel. Which was bent beyond being able to ride.

“Hey man, I’m really sorry. I didn’t see you.” The driver said. “Can we not involve the cops? Are you okay, you look okay. If we can keep this between ourselves. I can fix your bike, whatever that costs.” The driver rambled on.

Daniel realized the driver that had hit him was driving a Mercedes. Likely a new bike tire is not going to be an issue. Which was a sort of fortunate because Daniel didn’t want to draw official attention, especially after his recent experiences. Before leaving New Zealand they had all agreed to stay as far under the radar as possible.

“Yeah, I’m pretty okay. I don’t think we need to involve the police. Let’s just swap ID, and I can send you the bill for the tire, if that works?” Relief spread over the man’s face.

After they sorted out the paperwork Daniel lifted his bike to his shoulder and started walking back down the trail towards his house. He was looking forward to exploring the system’s reaction to being hit by a car.