Point Zero: Of Gods Old And New: 6

Point Zero: Of Gods Old And New: 6

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Commissioned by Ichypa

Wordcount: 2500

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An itemized list of supernatural creatures and their weaknesses lay before me.

“This feels somewhat wrong. Honestly, at this point, the supernatural may as well be just more infected with different sets of powers.” Infected were studied carefully and their abilities categorized. It made dealing with them easier. After all, it would be foolish to have a group of soldiers armed with Gauss rifles after an infected creature that’s invulnerable to kinetic damage. You need to set it alight or use another form of damage, thus the soldiers need to be equipped properly for their task. “I mean, I understand. This is necessary. Absolutely and without a doubt. But it feels like we’re taking a lot of romance out of life.”

“Romanticizing conflict is foolish.” Gwen stated simply, rifling through her copy of the papers. She had a cup of very, very strong coffee in her hands. Multiple teaspoons of pure caffeine had gone into her cup after I prepared a batch of coffee. Given the amount of mass that she had, and how effective her body was at neutralizing ill effects, she needed a lot of caffeine to enjoy its benefits. Oh? Why’d I prepare coffee when I prefer tea? Given the cost of tea, I wouldn’t be able to hold back if I saw her pouring pure caffeine in a cup of tea that I prepared for her. It’d break my heart. “We also need to be able to capture them. Knowing their weaknesses allows for that.”

“I get it. We can incapacitate them more quickly by doing this.” Gwen nodded at my words, missing the hint of sarcasm that I added. Normally, I’d laugh at that. Someone missing sarcasm is top-notch humor in my opinion. However, Gwen’s just too… nice in her own way for me to let that place. I coughed and shook my head. “I mean to say that you may want to look at how you’re being viewed by the people for your incapacitations, Gwen. People are afraid of you. Not just criminals. I’m worried about how you’ll be treated.”

Now, I might be getting ahead of myself by asking about this. I might be overstepping my boundaries by worrying about Gwen’s social status, since I’m just her girlfriend—

“Oh. You’re worried about me. Thank you.” And, with barely three sentences from Gwen accompanied by a small smile, I’m ready to ask her to marry me and/or have her babies. Damn, it’s unfair how someone can look so cool one moment, then smile, and suddenly look cute and cool at the same time. Not only that, but her smile reminds me when she takes charge, too. Oh, no. With a bit more confidence, that’s exactly the smile she makes before I stop thinking for hours. “You believe that engaging these creatures in honest battle will make others feel less afraid of me?”

I cleared my throat, and did my best to not do anything lewd to try and entice Gwen.

We’re on business hours.

It’s not happening.

Which kinda makes me want to do it more, and see her reject me, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

The brain needs to take charge.

“I-I think it would help. But it’s honestly a maybe. Once people have an idea stuck in their heads, they tend to go with it.” Right now, she’s codenamed Minos, and she’s pretty much deemed the UN’s executioner in Verdict. If one of the other chiefs and their underlings show, there’s a fine chance that they’ll be considered police. If we show up, people run for cover, because she takes heads off and stuffs them in containers. The damage is limited, and we have perfect scores in apprehending people and even monsters. By all metrics given to us by the UN, we’re the best of Verdict in Point Zero. Too bad public relations aren’t part of those metrics. “Maybe, we should start bringing people in whole. Restrain them, but not take their heads off? I know it’s dangerous, but it’ll help.”

Gwen pondered for a moment, her brow furrowing in a very cute way.

A look that I was very familiar with.

It was the look she had when she decided to be clever/incredibly violent.

“I can sever their spine at their neck, along with the major blood vessels, and keep them whole.” Gwen held up her hand. The light of her office glinted off a thin disc of telekinetic force. So, the incapacitations will continue, but they’ll remain attached. “Perhaps, that will work?”

A part of me wanted to say that it wouldn’t, but I wasn’t about to tell Gwen no.

The vast majority of my ‘self’ had no desire to do so.

“Yeah, I think that we should try that. That sounds great.” I gave her a smile and a nod. “I’ll look for something else on my end. Maybe, we can get some cool photos of our new mech? People love giant robots.” Getting attention away from Gwen might be for the best. She can keep doing as she does, while I attract attention elsewhere. My goodness, that sounds downright scandalous. Just how much do I want to monopolize this woman? Too much, probably. “It’s just as important to have something drive away attention from you, as it is to improve.”

Gwen nodded attentively at my words, making it clear that she was listening, before speaking again.

“Unfortunately, our mech cannot be marketed or used for publicity. It’s in the contract regarding its usage. We may use it as a weapon of war and for our normal operations, but not for propaganda purposes.” Huh, well. That made perfect sense. Corporations value their products. They don’t want publicity that they don’t approve of from those they sell to. “However, your lab will soon be fully furnished and ready. You can start innovating and that should provide similar results.”

“Unf.”

Hold on, O’Hara. Gwen didn’t outright say she believes in your ability to make engineering wonders that can grasp the hearts of and minds of the populace.

She just implied it with a completely straight face and has absolute faith in you.

I looked at the clock.

Only thirty minutes until shift ends.

Ten minutes to get home.

I don’t think I’m going to hold on for that long.

…

“Say ‘Ah.’”

“Ah.”

“Do I want to know how Ms. O’Hara ended up in her current state?”

“It’s all Gwen’s fault.”

“O’Hara, behave yourself around our guest.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I answered Gwen after swallowing the very tasty bite of overnight oats and fruits produced by our incredibly high-end food fabricator. I was seated next to Gwen, wobbly, tender, and very satisfied, as she hand fed me breakfast. In another hour, I’ll be fully healed, but for now Gwen was pampering me and I was enjoying it. “Just… consider it night training. Gwen’s an amazing teacher.”

“O’Hara.”

“Shutting up, darling~.”

Gwen shook her head at my antics, before turning to Joan, who cleared her throat. The artificial goddess was a little red around the ears. I guess that even machine gods have a passing interest in such things. It would probably be more appropriate to call her a god of machines, rather than a machine god, since she was becoming more human slowly and steadily with the growth of her power.

“Thank you for coming, Joan. I had a few questions best unasked until I’m out of office. Primarily concerning yourself as a person. You are less than a year old, yet you have an immense of responsibility on yourself.” Gwen willed her communicator out of her pocket and activated it with her mind. In a few moments, she sent something Joan’s way. “Here are private therapists, physicians, and information brokers that can be of help to you. They all adhere to the strictest privacy standard: complete mindwipes of their meeting with you upon completion of your appointment.”

I nearly gave a whistle at that statement.

They were technically legal under UN jurisdiction, but mostly practiced by its enemies, and frowned upon. A lot of folks argued that erasing portions of your personal experience is effectively killing the present ‘self.’ Those for it say it’s the same as relegating an experience to complete passivity and just traveling through time, like sleeping. There’s a whole slew of arguments for and against the whole concept, but I understood why Gwen didn’t espouse them while working.

It would make Verdict and the UN look bad, so she erred against it.

However, as a private citizen on her off-time, she was free to offer the services of such individuals to Joan.

“That… all of this is incredibly helpful, especially with our increase in funds from the UN and the goods you’re willing to ferry and trade on our behalf.” Given that Joan approved of it, and was visibly relieved with relaxing shoulders at the new information, I supposed that wiping memories away wasn’t that much of an issue. Maybe, with all the new magic that we were dealing with, it would actually be a benefit? I read on the itemized list that there were some creatures that messed with memories. If you just removed the overriding memories implanted by the creature at a specific point in time, it could be key to helping someone overcome the issue. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Gwen.”

Gwen gave her a nod and a small smile.

Whatever feelings of jealousy I had were drowned out by the pleasurable ache all over my body and the fact that she was feeding me.

“For the time being, I believe it would be best to allow you and your people to work on supernatural cases on your own. Gain experience, grow strong, and get better equipment by recording your findings, providing evidence, and being properly rewarded by the UN.” Yep. The UN officially has a budding divine being on its payroll. Then again, I suppose that they have a lot of very powerful Infected on their retinue, and with Infection Suppressants in play, they can be deployed with greater ease. Those guys would definitely be counted as part of a pantheon in ancient times. Now, they’re ‘just’ living superweapons of mass destruction. “Call upon me and Verdict’s assistance only when necessary. And, by necessity, I mean that if you fear the loss of the life of one of your followers or yourself, call me immediately.”

“I see. Yes, that makes perfect sense. I need more strength, and my followers need to understand that blessings that I have given them, and the best way to do that is to train and challenge ourselves against what remains of the supernatural world.” Joan nodded and accepted Gwen’s words. She was primly seated across from us at our dining table. She went quiet for a moment, and her eyes flashed several times. I could only guess that it was an indicator that she was viewing something in her head. Must be nice to just be able to have a virtual computer in your head without seriously crazy implants. “I wish that I can do something for you, Gwen, but I honestly have nothing to offer. We’ve only started getting supplies and money.”

“There’s no need. We’re co-workers. These assets that I share with you are private as they are my recommendations. You’re free to ignore them and my statements. I just believe that it will all be helpful.” Gwen stated with a shake of her head. It was a long-winded way of saying it’s all free and that she needed no repayment. Sometimes, I worried that my girlfriend was too kind. Then, I remember that she tears through most criminals without blinking or being bothered. She’s this good only to people she sees as allies and friends. Normal people she treated with candor and respect, but support like she was giving now was reserved for a select few. “I do this not under my capacity as a chief of Verdict, but as myself.”

Joan nodded respectfully towards Gwen after her words.

“I understand, then… I will do my utmost to fulfill my duties and become the best that I can be. I will do all that I can to help humanity.” There’s a lot to unpack from those words, especially since Joan looked completely convinced of her own words. Under normal circumstances, I’d dissuade individuals from trying to change the world, no matter how powerful they are. However, I’m also not exactly in Joan or Gwen’s weight categories. They can change the world on their own. Well, maybe with my laboratory and a big enough budget, I can do some crazy things as well. Okay, perhaps I’m just used to being constrained and having to squabble and fight for every inch of gains that I get in this world.  “Ms. O’Hara, if I may ask, how much do you charge to create weaponry?”

To answer that question, I first turned to Gwen.

“Can I do that with the new lab?”

“Anything created in the lab must fall under UN regulations. No weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, whatever is made there belongs to the UN. They also require schematics and lists of material before providing funding and support.” It made sense. I was going to be using their money, their facility, and their logistical lines. There’s no way that the UN wants some toxin or weapon that breaks every rule in warfare traced back to their own labs.  “However, weapons purchased or acquired can be placed under O’Hara for refurbishment and upgrades as long as you provide materials and funds.”

Ah, that was a classic way to get communities to scrounge up and help finance outposts. UN sent skilled people out there to reclaim land and establish communities. They got people in them by making them hunt Infested in the area for their parts, but also by scavenging technology and assets from the surrounding areas. Humanity threw together a lot of things in the initial stages of the war and the UN picked areas that had plenty of assets that they wanted reclaimed. Weapons and tech that are brought in are analyzed, taken apart, and repaired to spec. Upgraded, if the one who brought it in could afford it.

“…I suppose that weapons acquired in Point Zero’s many boutique weapon shops count in that regard?”

“It’s encouraged. We get scans of bespoke weapons, and you can get them upgraded for cheap by bringing in some cash and materials.” This how a lot of technology was recovered and iterated upon after we re-established ourselves. When factories and data servers suddenly get swamped by infected rampaging through them, a lot can be lost. Backups could only do so much, especially when some things were kept secret by national policy. Just about everything was recovered now, but the same process can be used to reverse engineer the technology that humanity encounters. “Buy some good stuff out there, bring it in, we scan it, and then we’ll improve it for cheap!”

Some people say that the UN tries to do too much by throwing money at the problem.

I say… that it’s worked out so far.