A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: Chapter 25

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: Chapter 25

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

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I stepped out and wasn’t shot at, so I took that as a good sign.

The Amar and the kids were quick to hunker behind the heavily-armed man.

Most stand-off situations between two superhumans ended poorly, so I took the initiative.

“My name is Egress. I’m working with someone to steal something here, which caused the alarm. Now, I’m trapped inside and want out. That’s all.” I didn’t confess to the fact that I was working with Parvati. The remains of the Indian government probably demonized Shiva to keep some semblance of control on the populace, so that was too much of a risk. I mean, I didn’t want to be known as a collaborator of an AI anyway. “I’d really appreciate getting out.”

The exoskeleton-clad man kept his gaze rooted on me and I kept my own at him. It wasn’t a matter of dominance. We were both evaluating each other’s gear and armor.

He was clad in slapdash gear, probably scrounged together from scraps all over the subcontinent, since there was such a wealth of tech all over the place. Besides his guns, the rest of his equipment wouldn’t have looked out of place during a bank robbery by some goods using some scrabbling together tech. When banks used to exist back in the states.

“And, I would appreciate not being associated with the cause of this incident. I’d rather not give you my name, either.”

I received a pretty negative response to my words, which only got me to nod in understanding.

“That’s fair. I wouldn’t want to help someone out like me, too. But consider the following: I’m cornered and I’d do just about anything to get out. This can turn from a conversation into something worse in a few seconds, so how about we try talking first?” I laid out the circumstances of the deal as clearly as I possibly could. The young man pointing a gun at me and keeping several kids safe tensed at the implicit threat, but calmed just a little when I didn’t do anything threatening. “How about a trade instead? A solid gold coin for each one of you after we escape. Or, maybe, you want a free trip anywhere on Earth that you want?”

“…Coins will get us killed if we sold them, and there’s no place on this planet better than India. Everywhere else is ruined.” The young man spoke, and I agreed with his thoughts. India still had modern infrastructure going for it. People in the cities can live modern lives with modern amenities like electricity, running water, and air conditioning here. Those in villages tended to have one or two superhumans capable of making their lives easier too. While it was unfortunate that I wasn’t dealing with an idiot, it was also fortunate that I wasn’t. If I managed to convince this young man, I could at least assume that acting logically wouldn’t end with me stabbed in the back. “Make another offer, American.”

Nice, he tried to make me react.

I’m dealing with a professional, or someone who knows better than to just pull shit out of their ass.

“Then, how about something, anything from inside this complex? They’re stopping me from getting out. But not getting in.” After evaluating the situation, I gave my offer. Without my power, the kids and their guardian could just run off with their food. He and I both knew that, so he stiffened when he realized that I was offering it because I could do what I offered without him being able to run away. The fact that I was offering him to give me a tall order on top of that? Yeah, it was an intimidation tactic and an offer at the same time. “Name something from here, and it’s yours.”

The young man hesitated for a second, before speaking.

“One of their soldier’s personal communicators.”

The moment he said it, I sent myself to the latest one I knocked out, retrieved the communicator, and returned to the abandoned room.

The kids and young man all took a step back when I finished, their eyes wide with my display of power, even as I toyed with the wearable PC by spinning it over my finger.

“Well, it’s right here. I’d call this about fifty percent. You’ll get it once I get out for the rest of the fifty.” I offered the young man and his hand shook. That’s right. I’ve been nice this entire time. I could’ve gone over there and just taken those things and left you behind. Acknowledge that, accept the wrist-computer, and let’s get out of here without either of us getting hurt. “How about it?”

I banked a lot on him being logical and doing the right thing… and I was rewarded as he nodded, reached into his pack, and tossed one of emitters he gave to the kids to me.

I caught it and he nodded at me.

“Stay close, American.”

I kept my guard up, since the last time I took a piece of tech from someone, it exploded and tried to take me with it.

But, by all means, I felt like the kids and their ringleader stealing food from a government facility weren’t going to double-cross me.

…

I left the personal communicator with the kids and their leader once I was out of the energy field.

I was on my third pop to throw anyone looking at me off my trail, when Parvati noticed that I was alive and spoke to me.

“You escaped. How?”

“Coincidence. Some of the kids being taught how to work with super-tech had ulterior motives and a way out. They stole most of the fresh meat and nonperishables, I followed them, and they let me follow. After striking a deal, of course.” I gave the abridged summary on my escape, while overlooking some white sand and beaches. I’d found the island while hopping around in a wetsuit almost a decade ago. It was too small to host an ecosystem, so it was just a mound of rock surrounded by sand dunes for now. It made for a good place to throw off trackers. “I’ll be heading back your way in a few minutes.”

“Understood. I will have your payment for services rendered ready.” If there were a sweeter set of words, I didn’t know whether they existed. After a long period of work, that happened to involve great risks to my personal safety, the fact that I was getting paid made it worth it. A sigh left my line from Parvati. She was looking at my vitals. Good. “Egress, that pressure plate was undetected by either of us.”

“I’ll accept some of the blame, but you still left me high and dry after I escaped. You have infiltrators. Why didn’t they help me?” I was being irrational, but I was also recently trapped in a base crawling with soldiers capable of killing me and planned on killing me. That warranted some irrationality at the end. “You couldn’t risk helping me out?”

“My infiltrators are designed to be as human as possible, therefore they are typically not connected to me. They send reports and give me insight, but beyond that I designed them to be inconspicuous.” Parvati explained and I did a few more jumps. My scenery changed from volcanic, ice-filled, and several beaches again, before I popped back into Parvati’s base, where we conducted our deals. “They are always cut off from me, therefore they simply continued to be infiltrators once the shields and electronic countermeasures came online.”

“Alright, those infiltrators couldn’t have helped, but the fact that I was left alone without support is still a fact.” I argued for the sake of venting, as well as making my payday fatter. I was killing two birds with one stone. “So, don’t you think that warrants—

My words were cut off, as I found myself surrounded by at least fifty Gynoids covered in armor and armed to the teeth. Much like the one I met in the junkyard, they all had multiple arms, towered over me, and just radiated power. If one of them walked into a wall, I was sure that the wall would be the one doing the collapsing, and that was before they put any of their energy cannons and melee weapons to use.

“I believe that it warranted an assault to come to your rescue.” Parvati answered me dryly. Her voice didn’t come from any of the fifty gynoids. Instead, it came from a massive bipedal construct that was covered in layers and layers of hexagonal, ceramic plates that were arrayed over some sort of combination between metal and muscle. It was a slender thing, and I could see its legs and limbs folding into each other, and the wings on its back flattening out. It was an honest-to-god transforming, giant robot that could fly. “I was set to send this strikeforce, but with the defenses, I judged it necessary to send something that can take on all the weapons and equipment that we found.”

“So, you decided that a giant death robot was in order!?” I panicked. Why wouldn’t I? “Do you know what kind of response that thing would’ve made!?”

Giant robots were one of the biggest causes of mass destruction in the world, before the government shut down access to high-grade processors to the general public. While the rest of the world grumbled about not getting high-fidelity video games, everyone agreed that it was a good exchange for not having physics-breaking weapons of mass destruction with inordinate amounts of weaponry wrecking through cities.

“This sort of thing would’ve united all of India against you!”

“I do not abandon people, especially those whom I sent to do a duty, Designation: Egress.” Parvati spoke and I did my best to not groan. Memories of the past surfaced again. Most of those giant robots were built by crazy people and criminals, but more than a few were altruistic in nature by groups of super-scientists with great intentions. They caused just as much damage, because a giant robot with massive weapons will always be giant robots with massive weapons. “Would you have preferred me doing nothing?”

“I would have preferred you having some sort of backup body near the location that could bust in and get me out! There’s more to planning and operations than sledgehammers!” I addressed the giant death robot clad in white directly. “This is always the problem with everyone who has incredible powers! You all forget to think smaller! It’s better to get the job done with just the right amount of force and resources, you know!?”

I groaned as the AI went silent at my words.

Parvati still had access to my vitals, so it could probably tell that I wasn’t making a show of things just to get a paycheck.

The fact was that I wasn’t talking out of my ass. All the collateral damage, terrible outcomes, and deaths before the apocalypse came from people going wild doing whatever they wanted to do. Whether it was to help others, or help themselves, people not training their powers, not even trying to be subtle, and not holding back ruined a lot of situations and made the fall into anarchy that much quicker.

If everyone decided to not fuck around with their powers, study economical tactics, and train to figure things out, I’d bet that civilization wouldn’t have collapsed. Maybe, it would only be held together by the sheer effort of everyone trying to make sure that it stayed together, but it would’ve been held together instead of completely fucked.

“Designation: Egress, do you value your life so little that you would have the minimal amount attributed to your survival?”

I groaned at the stereotypical, heroic line.

“No. I already told you what I want. It’s for people like you to use your brains first.” I was lecturing an AI on using its brain. Reality really had it out for me. Why couldn’t I have been born in a world without all this craziness? Sure, I’d have spent some more time with that old bastard and struggled in life, but I would’ve worked hard enough to be some sanitation worker, electrician, or something. I learned how to maintain a whole freaking apocalypse bunker with hydroponics, generators, and entertainment systems, after all. “Do I appreciate having a shit ton of firepower coming to my rescue? Absolutely. But it shouldn’t be the only rescue I’m receiving. You already have infiltrators, so make some sort of bridge between them and the soldiers… don’t just rely on force!”

Parvati didn’t reply for a while, before the lights on the giant robot dimmed and all the Soldier Unit filed out.

Soon enough, I was speaking to Parvati to its Diplomat Unit.

“I see. I will take your advice into consideration. I could have approached your rescue with far less potential damage and conflict with such units at play.”Parvati spoke and I just about sighed in relief. Finally, someone who listened. “Rest assured, I will do my utmost to expand my set of tools, so that I might approach situations with more care.”

“Good. Thanks… you can consider that the additional risk payment for leaving me behind.” I grunted and popped over to the nearest chair, which was in the posh meeting room where we held most of our conversations. The Diplomat unit already in the room gazed on me, and the Servant units started to set up a tea. “Now… if you don’t mind, I’d like a debriefing, so that I can take some time off.”

A frown crossed the Diplomat Unit’s face and I sighed.

“Alright, lay it on me. What stupid thing are they doing now that their artificial god is gone?”

Parvati extended her hand out and a wireframe hologram projected itself into the air between us.

I took one look at it before putting my head into my hands.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” They were marshalling all their forces, getting all that they had at their disposal, and preparing to march to war to get the materials they needed to restart their project. I saw all the planes, the powered armor, and the gathering people in stupid costumes and looked at Parvati. “How long until they get here?”

“Six hours.”

Well, fuck me, I guess!