Point Zero: Of Gods Old And New: 7

Point Zero: Of Gods Old And New: 7

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Commissioned by Ichypa

Word count: 2500

…

The subject of technological progress is a touchy one.

Mostly because of desperation and how it led to so much being done during the apocalypse.

During the start of the first apocalypse, we were just playing around with autonomous weapons. Infantry didn’t have exoskeletons, let alone power armor, and they lugged around brass ammunition. Vehicles used tracks or wheels to get around. Aerial cavalry used rotors, while jet engines were temperamental, needed long landing strips composed of concrete, and had incredibly long logistical lines.

Long logistical lines that were compromised at the first wave and simply got annihilated by the subsequent ones.

Everyone had to look at what they had in their defensive zones and make the most of what they could get their hands on. Things devolved at first. Artillery and dumbfire rockets. Tanks with barely any electronics besides rangefinders. Stamped out submachine guns and rifles. Last-ditch weapons were deployed along with what was left of a modern arsenal, while nukes were fired to bring down swarms of enemies.

Scientists were given blank checks and access to hunter-killer corpses and the corpses of mutated monsters and told to make something work. Bioweapons that used to be animals or even people were taken apart, electricity ran through them, and weapons were developed after it was found that electric stimulus and a nutrient paste could keep the limbs alive and power running. Hunter killer material science and weapons allowed for fabricators to be built from their corpses, especially since their operating systems were so easy to overcome.

 Mechanized walkers with firepower matching whole armored brigades came out. Armored airships took back the skies with overwhelming firepower and armor. Troops went from using stamped-out weapons and wearing combat fatigues to power armor and energy projectors. Plasma swords became common, material science leapt forward to the point pre-cataclysm heavy weapons became useless, and fusion power turned from myth to reality seemingly overnight.

Humanity hit the ground, rebounded hard, and started advancing at a breakneck pace.

Then, the rest of the galaxy came in, and things changed.

Scientists received limitations again. No more using the bodies of bioweapons for study. No more inducing greater toxicity levels, breeding certain bioweapons together, and even producing new bioweapons. The Pacific States broke off from the UN because of that, and they were now creating custom bioweapons that used multiple powers at a time, which could be taken off by their wearers after combat.

Material science advances were still advancing, but no longer at a breakneck speed. Hunter Killers' corpses and materials were tagged and destroyed. Harvest rates for them were set to a fraction of wartime allowances. Everything had to be made from scratch now, instead of just plucked out of our foes.

It made sense.

We were showing that we could make our own technology. Not just scavenge from the dregs of ancient empires long lost.

But, still, the scientific community was divided.

Why not use what landed on our doorstep and still threatened us?

Why reach for the stars when our arses were still stuck deep in the mud?

Rules and regulations were stymying progress that was desperately needed, even if they were aimed at bettering humanity’s future as a whole.

Except in one place.

Point Zero.

And now?

I had a whole lab and a budget for myself in Point Zero.

I wanted to make revolutionary leaps and bounds ahead, but there was one project that I wanted to make first and foremost.

A nanoforge that didn’t need Hunter Killer Queens to produce.

Once that was made, once schematics were transferred around the world, then the problem of lack of materials would be a thing of the past.

Every base material we’d need could simply be made, especially with ZPMs powering them, and science could advance once again.

The best part was that I was doing it on the UN’s dime.

…

“Gah. The light. It burns.” I hissed as Gwen dragged me outside into Point Zero proper. Light shone through the gaps between immense megastructures, while snow fell and melted before reaching the sidewalk of the city. The hum of transports in the air was almost deafening. “Wow, I really spent an eternity cooped up, didn’t I?”

“Three days.” Gwen stated tersely, and I looked at my girlfriend. She didn’t seem pleased with me, and she confirmed that fact with a nod. “You owe me time together.”

“Right, right. You got it. Sorry. Won’t happen again. I just… had a lot of things to do.” I apologized and bowed my head. Thankfully, Gwen was the magnanimous sort and nodded back. I felt like a proper jerk, especially as I looked at my communicator. Over two dozen missed texts and half that manycalls. Mostly from her. “You could have pulled me out of the lab sooner.”

“Policy permits 72 hours of continuous work as long as your health is not endangered. I removed you from the premises at exactly that amount of time. Despite your fugue, you cared for yourself.” I nodded. I could keep a schedule well. If there was an experiment that took time, I could easily grab a bite, shower, and change clothes while turning my brain off to rest. It barely took any effort. Then, I’d get back to work. “But you are not permitted to return until twenty-four hours have passed.”

“Got it, got it. Everything should be fine. I turned everything off before leaving.” I nodded and did my best to placate Gwen, even though she seemed fine now. I looked around and found our usual convenience store. “Hey, why don’t we get in there first? We can freshen up, and then I’ll take you to a buffet.”

That seemed to break through the mask of stoicism she adopted, and she gave a nod.

We went over to the automated convenience store together. Once in a refresh pod, I gave my clothes to be instantly cleaned, hopped into a sonic-based cleanser, and got all the grime taken off me before getting a misting of minty freshness. After getting my clothes back on, I went and used a public terminal to get a transport and a reservation at the buffet. I finished just as Gwen left her refresh.

I gave her some ice cream to munch on as we waited.

“Where are we going?”

“Stellar Field. It’s pricey, but I’ve got sixty-four hours of overtime, so it’s fine.” The price was eye-watering. Most working-class folks would need two days of work to get one person in. I was paying for two. Seeing Gwen’s face light up made the price worth it, though. “You know about it?”

“It’s one of the only buffets in the city manned by chefs. They have dedicated greenhouse towers and even pastures. Everything is fresh.” That was news to me, and it explained the price tag. Fabricated food was good, but it was uniform. Each meal will always be the same. You could tailor the seasoning and the composition with some training, but in the end, it was the same thing, just dressed better. Real food would be different each time it was served. “This is a great gift.”

Gwen gave me a smile while the transport I rented landed.

The vibrations it gave off while landing were nothing compared to the nerves I suddenly got from my stomach doing backflips.

“Y-yeah? I’ll need to remember to give you more gifts like this more often.” I tried to be smooth, but Gwen’s small smile just kept me grinning and blushing like an idiot. So many conquests and girlfriends wrapped around my fingers, but now I was on the back foot. Worse, thinking about ‘getting back’ at Gwen just reminded me of who was on top whenever we played around in bed. A shiver went down my spine. How ‘nice’ was she going to be after this? Was I even going to get a say in how she treated me? I shook my head and cleared my throat. “After you, my dear.”

Gwen went into the transport, while I followed, and I did my best to get my head out of the gutter as we took flight.

“So… anything happen while I was out?” I asked her plainly, and she gave a shake of her head. That was a surprise, since things felt like they were going at breakneck speeds nowadays. “Really? Ever since we met Joan, it felt like a nonstop deluge of new challenges one after the other.”

“Things have been calm. They have been armed and trained, so they need less of our help tackling the supernatural.” Well, that explained it. Things generally always came down to training and experience. Handing people experimental weapons and armor didn’t matter if they didn’t know how to use them. “The creature we’ve recovered has also proven to be a model prisoner. Divulging information in exchange for better rations, recreation time, and so forth.”

“A demon’s giving us info for some computer time?”

“Nothing regarding its own kind, but it divulges happily on its rivals.” Gwen explained. She pointed towards my communicator. “You will find the codex has been updated.”

Right, the codex of all known supernatural creatures and entities that plague mankind.

Almost forgot that we had that thing.

“Alright, I’m going to catch up on the way. Just give me a jostle if you need me.” Gwen raised an eyebrow at my statement while I reclined back on the transport’s nice, plush seats. “What?”

“You will be asleep for most of this ride, I believe.”

“What? I had a couple of naps the last couple of days. I’ll be fine.”

Gwen cutely snorting at my assertion was all that I remembered before consciousness almost instantly.

…

I woke up at the hotel that hosted the buffet and immediately felt out of place.

The floors were polished marble, red velvet lined the cushions of every seat, and crystal chandeliers rained down light. Gold filigree on eggshell wallpaper was in every direction, and every single attendant was a moving automaton with porcelain and gold plates. We were let off on a red carpet, which had photographers cordoned off with cameras on stands, and a few snapped pictures of us as soon as we descended.

I was wondering how I managed to put together a reservation when we were led into a gala room by a faceless droid.

“There are eighteen kitchens available. Each one with their own menu. Tonight’s premier chef specializes in seafood.” That drew my attention. The oceans were hit hard by the bioweapon plague. There was a reason why suborbital transport and airships were ideal now. Most fish were absurdly lethal, and that’s without even considering all other forms of sea life that had new superpowers and mutations. That’s without considering that eating seafood wrong would lead to increased corruption. “ A Japanese sushi master who offers wild-caught tuna.”

More like a wild-caught beast that could barrel through a container ship from the front and get out through the back. Tuna were known to have extreme durability and speed as their powers, along with the ability to conjure up a shield that enrobed them like a shell. They turned themselves into living kinetic interceptors that could easily ‘fly’ through their targets. Until humanity manages to crack the ability to go at Mach 1 underwater, there is no way we’ll be using the seas anytime soon.

“Hm. I’ve never tried raw fish before. It sounds interesting.” Gwen went over there first, and the droid followed her. We both walked for almost five minutes to reach the kitchen at the center of the banquet hall.It was a kitchen straight out of a history book. Stovetops with metal cookware. Refrigeration units that held real vegetables and multitudes of fish. The giant tuna was at the center of the kitchen, being dissected by over ten people into blocks of ruby-like flesh streaked with fat. The scent in the air was briny and strange until I realized it was just the smell of actual ingredients rather than cartridges filled with the building blocks of food. “It smells delicious.”

Gwen’s eyes were alive and bright with life, and we were both led towards a stall manned by a chef attached to the kitchen. The flesh of various fish was kept in a cooled container in front of us, each one luminescent like a jewel beneath a soft light. The other seats were occupied by older couples with their own minders, while the chef looked our way. He was an older gentleman with tanned and scarred features.

Then, he spoke to us in Japanese, which the droid translated.

“He has greeted you warmly and has inquired if either of you have any allergies and dislikes. He will be preparing a meal for you of every ingredient available.” The thought of eating so much made me hesitate, but the chef noticed and spoke. “Each ingredient will only be prepared once, unless asked otherwise. It will be a small piece. Between twenty and thirty grams combined of fish and rice. It is limited in small quantities due to the potential risk of increased corruption.”

That didn’t sound so bad.

Then, Gwen spoke.

“I am resistant to corruption and have at my disposal the new serums, which reduce it. I also have no issues in regard to caloric intake.” The droid translated her words, and the chef paused before a glint overtook his eyes. I hadn’t noticed that most of the people present eating sushi were older individuals who could afford to take on a few more points of corruption. Using bioweapon protein must limit the amount these chefs can serve, since they weren’t using farmed creatures. This might be one of the few opportunities they had to serve someone all that they wanted. “Give me everything you want to make. I will eat it all. If I find something good, I will ask for seconds.”

The sushi chef seemed to take those words as a challenge even as he smiled and nodded in response.

“Very well.” The droid translated. “I will give you my best.”

I had a strong feeling that Gwen was going to like it here and that the various chefs in every kitchen were going to know her very well.

I only had to wonder if I would feel the same.

Then, I was given the first piece.

“Albacore with light yuzu on rice and wasabi.” The glimmering fish looked like a piece of soft white marble atop rice. A sheen of light brown yuzu sauce had been brushed on it, while half a pea’s worth of wasabi was on the top. “Eat with your hands, please.”

I took it, felt the warmth of the rice and the coolness of the fish on my fingers, and ate it.

After chewing and swallowing, I looked over at Gwen.

“You have a spare suppressant for me, right?”

She nodded, and I turned back.

Holy shit, I’m going to stay in this one kitchen for the whole night, aren’t I?