A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 56

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 56

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

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Clancy used the one thing that I couldn’t refuse to keep me around: hospitality.

“Here you go, Egress, try this out!” A little get-together formed topside of the bunker/former missile site. Over the last couple of years, the little underground complex had been upgraded. There were more than a few superhuman scientists here, and they’d expanded it in exchange for room, board, and protection. Clancy had a whole team built around the fact that he couldn’t hurt and could toss tanks around like tows. Most of them were fliers that could just drop him off and pick him up. Anyway, the man himself was offering me some smoked chicken in a white sauce. “We’re making lots of folks around here happy after we managed to start producing vinegar and stuff again!”

“Thanks.” I’d closed the shop early and brought Parvati along. Walker came with and she was a celebrity that most of the populace fawned over. Even though she set off the chain of events that ended the world, people still liked her. Guess the world back then wasn’t that great. Had way more people though. “You’ve got a lot of chicken.”

“Yeah, it’s too bad we don’t have any oil. Well, maybe that’ll change with all the avocados Maelstrom’s offering.” Kaede didn’t waste any time. She’d gone ahead and started negotiating and trading with Clancy the moment people started fawning over the ton or so of gifts she made. She had her eye on all the fertile, mined soil in the area. Corn, wheat, and soybeans could all grow here again. “Dunno about how we’ll manage to make enough grain, though.”

“Stick to your guns. You’ve got your own scientists. No need to put yourself in debt to either Walker or Anderson.” Anderson and her holy nation were creeping up the south eastern part of the US. Lots of survivors down there liked her religious spiel. Up here people were more isolated from one another due to lack of rails and gas and wandering bands of bandits. Those I was looking forward to dealing with for a bit of cash. Nothing like beating up actual, terrible people to make some cash. Makes your wallet fatter and your mood better. “And, if you need scrap and parts, there’s plenty all over the world. Hell, Parvati’s got a lot to offer, but keep in mind it’s an AI and has every single ulterior motive you can think of in mind.”

“Got it, got it. Thanks, Egress.” Normally, I wouldn’t be this forthcoming with advice, but Clancy, despite being a wiry string bean with black hair that can bench press a skyscraper, was like a stupid, younger brother to me. I’ve seen him kill on the field, but only if he had to and usually turned down jobs that needed doing that, so we got along pretty well. Guess that it helped that he’s a people person and did thing right with all these people, too. I guess. “So, you were all the way in India and Japan? How’s things over there?”

“India hasn’t changed. Didn’t even get hit. But it’s mostly city-states ruled by superhumans over there now. Ethnic boundaries, ancient cultural lines, and no chance of unification.” I tried the smoked chicken. The meat was chewy and tough, but after getting steamed up to get warm, it was juicy and the skin wasn’t gummy. Not the best by a long shot, but with the white sauce giving it some zing and creaminess, I couldn’t complain. Served with some squash, beans, and corn stew with loads of herbs and salt. It was a good, decent meal. Nothing more and nothing less. “Japan was a shitshow. You’re better off asking Parvati about it. I’d rather not, unless you’re willing to pay.”

Clancy whistled at that.

“That bad over there, huh? Well, I’m not out to make you suffer, so I’ll ask miss Parvati.” I could already see the guy swooning over Parvati. He kept his distance from Walker, since of her rep and the fact she exuded that ‘don’t even think about it aura,’ but Parvati was luring him in like an expert fisherman. The AI knew all about making pretty bodies and it was using it to its advantage. I bet that if it managed to get over its code, it’ll start churning out androids to woo the ladies. Shameless. “Wish me luck!”

Parvati literally has thousands of bodies. You could proposition the AI, and it’ll accept if it thinks it’ll get something in exchange, even if that something is slightly better relations with a new polity.

There’s no need for me to wish you luck in getting with the gynoid, Clancy.

I’m going to pray for your hips, though, once that AI breaks you down and finds out you’re a sub.

I went off that train of thought, so that I wouldn’t ruin my meal.

That’s when Maelstrom decided to scoot next to me.

“Done with the spotlight?”

“Yes, thankfully. May I have the rest?”

“Sure, help yourself.”

“Thank you.”

I handed her over my plate, and for a few minutes she refueled, while I waited for her to ask.

“I believe that you said to prepare myself for a lot of stupidity?”

“Okay, I didn’t expect that guy to manage all of this. He’s literally just the muscle in all our work together. I wouldn’t trust him to put a shed together, but I can see him breaking one down.” I complained, and Maelstrom smirked. Some people say Maelstrom’s straightforward to a fault. I disagree. She just knows when to poke fun at you while you can’t do anything about it and can’t fire back. She doesn’t pick a fight unless she can win it. “Also, yeah. I didn’t consider the donation angle, either… but I’m sure you didn’t see the age of the kid coming at us in question.”

Maelstrom’s smile faded at that statement.

“Indeed. It looks like Parvati and the Shogun are not alone. There are other polities out there manufacturing superhumans.” Parvati had her fuck up, and the Shogun had his crazy mess of an idea, and now Qin showed her hand. Clancy told me he donated just before the bombs fell. That wasn’t even a decade ago. Feng’s description was in line with someone closing in on twenty. “The new arms race is focused on mass producing superhumans through any means necessary. This will make things difficult in the future.”

“It’s the third time that it’s happened already, so it’s a trend now.” I agreed, even though I didn’t want to. The facts were there. The trend was happening. If I looked carefully, I’m sure I’ll find it all over the rest of the world. Even in places without access to all that tech, they’ll have loads of kids just for the chance to have a superhuman to protect their family. “People are popping them out one way or the other. It doesn’t look good for your idea of a society where everyone’s equal.”

“Correct. The facts are right there.” Walker agreed with a frown and a shake of her head. She wasn’t the type to argue a moot point or keep fighting for a doomed cause. Humanity dodged a bullet with her. If she had the same tyrannical tendencies as everyone else, I’m sure things would be a lot worse. Or, we’d be living in a dystopia where she and hundreds of clones of her enforced order and justice, while she extended her lifespan until forever. Either or. “I think, then, we best work towards equalizing the playing field by giving normal humanity similar advantages.’

“Whatever you give to normal people, superhumans will be able to use, too. They’ll probably be able to use it better.” Giving everyone more equipment sounded good on paper, but superhumans weren’t exactly stupid. They’ll use things like powered armor if they can get their hands on it. Advantages like equipment are fair, meaning that they can be used by everyone, and someone that can shoot laser beams out of their eyes naturally just adds that atop the advantages equipment gives. That path’s just a dead end. “If you want a suggestion, I think everyone should just be given powers. Find out whatever makes us different, slap it onto a retrovirus, and spread it across the world. Everyone gets some sort of flu, they change, and everyone’s got powers. Easier to monopolize the violence that way.”

I waited for Maelstrom to shoot the idea down.

It was a gross invasion of privacy and took away a person’s control over their body. I mean, yeah, most people would take the chance to have superpowers, but some people wouldn’t. Whether their reasoning is sound or not, we’ll still be making a choice over their bodies that they should make themselves.

So, I was pretty fucking worried that Maelstrom wasn’t saying no instantly.

“No. Releasing a plague like that would deny a lot of people their right to choose what happens to their own bodies. There are many who rather not wish to be human. I think… the path forward is with Parvati.” Maelstrom looked over the gynoid body that Clancy was swooning over. The guy had a type. Strong, tough, and capable of holding their own. Parvati picked up on that real quick. The body shape basic, but the posture and the way the gynoid was talking made it clear that he was targeting her. “A police force that can handle the majority of superhumans, then supplemented by superhumans who can be trusted. People like you.”

“Always hunting for cash, but decent enough not go for all the cash?”

“Yes.” Maelstrom nodded… and I agreed with her basement. Parvati’s forces could patrol and put down most civic issues no problem, while the police and national guard had crumbled, they could persist and react without any issue. It was a lot of power over society to hand over to an AI, but I wasn’t calling the shots on whatever Maelstrom was planning. A lot of people would object and find issue with it, but they were welcome to look outside and see what happened to the world when normal humans policed superhumans. “Professionals such as you would be ideal. Perhaps, some sort of system will be in place to find people like you and me, who can be cultivated to do the right thing?”

“Doesn’t solve the issue if someone decides they don’t like how things are, though, especially if they can do what you can or I can.” Maelstrom and I were undoubtedly on the top tier when it came to powers and abilities. I had weaknesses, and she probably had a few herself, but there was no denying the fact that we were both strong. If a couple people like us were maintaining order, then things would go fine. If one of us decided to go crazy, well there’s a lot of damage that can be done before we put that person down. Didn’t seem like a good idea with that taken into account, honestly. “But it’s a better idea than a superhuman plague, or ripping everyone’s powers away from them.”

“Indeed.” Walker nodded and shook her head. If giving everyone powers was off the table, taking them away was off the table, too. It should be a choice. Not something we forced one everyone else via some airborne retroviral. If only we didn’t have morals, a sense of right and wrong, and all those others things tyrants didn’t have. This would be a lot easier, especially since we had a good reason behind it. “Hm, it seems that Clancy is succeeding int wooing Parvati. Do you think that the AI is doing something with the genetic material, its accumulating?”

And, there goes my paranoia meter skyrocketing.

“You know what, that’s a good question, and one that I’m going to try not to think about.” It’s not my place to tell who or what Parvati does with its various bodies. It should feel free to use every advantage it has to get ahead of the world. However, the thought of it managing to use genetic samples to create superhuman flesh and powers for its gynoids… sounded like a pretty bad thing, despite all its good intentions. Walker raised an eyebrow at me, questioning why it didn’t occur to me. “Hey, I think of Parvati as a thing. A machine. Once I saw through it, it’s stopped throwing supermodel gynoids at me. It stopped mattering, so I let my guard down.”

“Hm. I suppose that makes sense. You have little interest in legacy.”

“I don’t plan on dying, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Oh?”

That caught Maelstrom’s interest.

“Planning on finding some way to prolong my life. I’ve invested a lot into this meat body, why not some more?” Not looking for immortality, but a few decades more would do. Maybe a century or two, until I’m all lived out. Chances are that there’s someone out there that can make it happen. Hell, Parvati can probably work a bit and have neural uploads figured out in a few years, and it’s already got tissue replacements ready. Telomere extensions for the brain and I’m good to go. “How about you? You planning on just living as long as you naturally can or what?”

Maelstrom was quiet for a bit, and as per usual, her silence was worrying me for some reason.

Not knowing what’s going on in the head of the strongest superhuman I know tends to make me anxious.

Well, more anxious than usual.

“I never considered it. In fact, by all accounts, I do not know if I will even age. The last time I was horribly hurt… I healed. And, as you can see, I have remained in my prime.” That would usually be an exaggeration, but Maelstrom wasn’t. There wasn’t a wrinkle on her face. Not even laugh lines. No blemishes either. Supermodels would kill for her all-natural appearance, and probably do worse for when she dolled herself up. I took care of myself and lived in a bunker for a couple years, so I was looking fresher than most people, but even I got a few wrinkles. She really didn’t. “Well, at the very least, I can count on you for a while if such is the case, no?”

To that I had a simple answer.

“If I still have to work for you in another century, and not just relax in a peaceful world, I’ll cry.”

“Hah!”

I wasn’t kidding though.

A longer life isn’t that great, if you’re living in a shithole of a planet filled with threats and surprises around every corner.