Yesterday, 12:25 AM
Nikolai took the data stick from Nox’s hand, examining it like it was a shard of glass. He didn’t speak immediately. What was there to say, when a thing like this was laid before you? The seat of their power, unmade by accident. A side effect. Not punishment, not retribution. Just flesh and code and metal. Just biology and machines.
His fingers closed around the data stick. He turned and crossed the room, pacing slowly. Controlled. Like something coiling inward. His mind raced ahead, faster than even his voice could follow, leaping from one conclusion to the next.
Genetically engineered creatures. Nanotechnology. Neural interfaces. This wasn’t unmaking. This was surgery. He turned back.
“These nanobots,” Nikolai said, voice even. “If they removed the horde... perhaps they also removed something else.” His eyes narrowed. “You said they were designed to heal. To repair nerve tissue. To reconnect interface points. Their sensors believed there was an injury in your mind that needed fixed…”
He paused to think, then slowly locked his gaze upon Nox like he was a machine in need of repair. “They excised it. Removed what they mistook for damage.” He spoke as if he was still grappling with comprehension.
The option seemed obvious. “Just remove the nanobots. In their absence, perhaps your mind will reconnect with the power.”
His fingers closed around the data stick. He turned and crossed the room, pacing slowly. Controlled. Like something coiling inward. His mind raced ahead, faster than even his voice could follow, leaping from one conclusion to the next.
Genetically engineered creatures. Nanotechnology. Neural interfaces. This wasn’t unmaking. This was surgery. He turned back.
“These nanobots,” Nikolai said, voice even. “If they removed the horde... perhaps they also removed something else.” His eyes narrowed. “You said they were designed to heal. To repair nerve tissue. To reconnect interface points. Their sensors believed there was an injury in your mind that needed fixed…”
He paused to think, then slowly locked his gaze upon Nox like he was a machine in need of repair. “They excised it. Removed what they mistook for damage.” He spoke as if he was still grappling with comprehension.
The option seemed obvious. “Just remove the nanobots. In their absence, perhaps your mind will reconnect with the power.”