Chapter 382.5

Nakteti heard the chime for an incoming message and frowned. She was currently looking over the latest data from New Tnvaru, checking out the estimates for when factories, orbital manufacturing plants, asteroid refining, and other industrial concerns were going to be brought online. Right now housing and related infrastructure was prioritized over everything else, which she could understand.

She waved away the estimations that she had gotten via hypercomm and answered the commo-chime.

Major Carnight's picture appeared in her vision, looking straight at her from the little square in her vision. "Matron Nakteti," he said, his voice sounding formal.

"Yes, Major?" Nakteti asked, smiling even though she started getting a fluttering feeling in her stomach and her catching hands started to itch.

"I'm going to assign a Pubvian security detail to you for a few hours," he said.

"Is there a problem?" Nakteti asked, feeling slightly anxious at having strangers guard her. It was bad enough she was considered important enough to warrant a guard, but having Major Carnight replaced by Pubvians really got her anxiety running.

"Yes," Major Carnight said. He gave a sigh. "I need a medical checkup. Pubvia has a fully functional cyber-clinic and a military medical center. I need to avail myself to their facilities."

"I'll be going with you," Nakteti said, standing up.

"Matron," he said. He paused. "Nakteti, it would be best if I went alone. You will be perfectly safe with a Pubvian diplomatic security team."

"Whatever it is, I will be beside you as you have stood next to me," Nakteti said. She was wracking her brain, trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong with her bodyguard slash friend. "Can you tell me anything?"

He sighed. "A lot of my implants and hardware have been throwing error codes for a while now. It's getting worse. I need to see a cyberneticist."

Nakteti nodded, moving over and picking up her shoulder wrap and veil. She looked at the veil for a moment then set it down.

I have no time for such foolishness, she thought to herself. I know I should respect local customs, but Major Carnight's health comes first.

She put the wrap around her shoulders, pinging the limo service to meet her on the balcony airlift point.

"Major, meet me on the balcony lifter point," she said. "I will be escorting you."

Major Carnight sighed. "As you wish."

Nakteti nodded as she cut the link.

She stepped out onto the balcony, only five stories up, and waited. She could see the limo approaching as Major Carnight stepped thought the sliding glass doors, the doors shutting silently behind him.

"How bad is your condition?" Nakteti asked.

Major Carnight stood there for a long moment. "My combat implants started throwing errors two hours ago. I'm locked out of most of my 'ware."

The limo slid into position, the door opening and the ladder unfolding. Nakteti reached out and took Major Carnight's left hand with her own right catching hand. She moved into the limo, tugging gently at him.

His eyes were a dull red, deep inside, and she realized that his eyes were a light blue color.

She guided him in and sat him down.

"Terran Military Medical Center, please," she said. "Medical emergency."

She was given six choices. She chose the one with a full service cyberneticist and genetic doctors that had experience with "Earth Defense Force" soldiers.

The Glassing was only a few months ago for us, bubbled up in her mind.

"Can you see?" Nakteti asked carefully.

Major Carnight was still for a moment. "Not well. It's like my eyes are stuck in diagnostic mode, low fidelity, blurry, badly pixelated, low frame rate."

Nakteti nodded. "And your hearing?"

"Hisses and pops in the background constantly."

"How long ago?" she asked, holding her command stick tightly with both of her gripping hands.

"A few hours ago. All my systems rebooted, like someone force-restarted me," he said. "Before you ask, no, there wasn't a hacking intrusion. Those systems are cell-gapped to prevent battlefield warbois from gutting me."

Nakteti nodded, bringing up a glass of wine. She sipped at it as the limo sped through the air, following the traffic lanes.

It was nearly an hour before the limo settled down on a platform halfway up a large building. It was all chrome and battlesteel, somehow looking suitably martial while also giving off the aura of a place of healing.

Nakteti found it slightly amusing.

There were doctors waiting, with a gurney.

"I didn't need this kind of reception," Major Carnight said, shifting his head back and forth to keep the doctors in sight.

"I say you do," Nakteti said, firming up her voice. "The gurney. Lay down. Now."

"As you wish, Matron," Major Carnight said, a slight smile ticking around the corners of his mouth. He moved up to the gurney and with the help of the Pubvian nurses, laid down.

Nakteti didn't understand the numbers for his blood pressure, cybernetic processing ticks, pulse, respiration, extremity ping rate, or anything else. She just followed along.

A nurse with a mask moved up to her, her side hands clasping her middle hand in submission.

"If you will escort me, Matron Nakteti," she said.

"I will be escorting my Terran," Nakteti said.

"But he..." the Pubvian began.

"Must I repeat my desires?" Nakteti asked.

The Pubvian gave a slight bow and waved. "If you will follow me to the observation area. Your Terran is getting a scan right now."

"I will also require a physician or physician assistant to translate the medical terms for me. A living one, not an eVI or database," Nakteti said.

Again, the Pubvian signaled assent.

Nakteti was led into a small room, with monitors. She could see Major Carnight was laying on a table, completely unclad, and the table was moving into a large piece of medical equipment. It moved very slowly over the Terran, visible light lasers playing over his skin.

"I am Doctor Sheekrek, Matron," a Pubvian said. He was without a mask, just a steri-field collar around his neck. "You wished my attendance."

"I need to know what is happening, what ails, my Terran body guard and friend," Nakteti said, forcing her hands to be still and relaxed on her command stick.

The doctor moved up to the smartglass, opening windows and looking at them.

"His cybernetics have eight thousand years of advancement compared to the last time we worked on an Earthling," the Pubvian said. "I understand you and he were previously on what Earthlings refer to as The Realm of Life?"

"Yes," Nakteti said. "A Case Omaha was invoked and we had to flee."

"Wise," the Pubvian said. He squinted at the readouts on the smartglass. "Luckily for your bodyguard, we have modern uploads for our imaging devices, allowing us to know what has changed."

Nakteti was silent as the doctor looked over the scans.

"We can wait here. He must have additional diagnostics," the doctor said after nearly an hour.

"Very well," Nakteti said. "As long as I may watch him on video. He was given to me to guard my person and thus I am responsible for him."

"Your people place a high value on responsibility?" the Pubvian asked.

"Yes," was all Nakteti said.

She watched as they moved the Terran to another diagnostic area and began doing high intensity scans of his body, focusing on his head.

After a short while the doctor turned and looked at Nakteti. "We have discovered what may be causing the symptoms, but are at a loss to explain it."

Nakteti nodded. "I understand. Tell me."

The Pubvian doctor pulled up a three dimensional image of a brain. He threw it up into the upper right of a grid he summoned on the smart glass.

"This is a Terran brain," he said. "According to our records, this is how Terran brains appear in the greater sense. There are individual differences, but for the most part, human brain structures are largely the same."

"I understand," Nakteti said.

"This is how Major Devon Carnight's brain should appear on a scan, according to his medical files carried by his medical implant," the doctor said. He put it in the upper left.

Nakteti frowned. She could see the obvious differences, even untrained as she was.

"This is his last brain scan," the doctor said, putting the image in the lower left.

Nakteti nodded. The brainscan looked largely like the one above it.

"This is his current brain scan," the doctor said, putting it on the lower right.

Nakteti frowned. The two brains on the left only bore a passing resemblance to the ones on the right.

"He has cybernetic and bioware implants in the following regions. Highly advanced to us, military grade which does not mean what most people think it means."

"It means state of the art, cutting edge, not for use by the general public, does it not?" Nakteti asked.

The Pubvian doctor shook his head. "No. Earthling military hardware is always tested to the point that civilian applications of that hardware is several generations ahead of the hardware. Even software is pared down to specific jobs, as Earthlings believe that multi-role is inferior to dedicated role."

He tapped the recent brain scan. "His brain more resembles the neural architecture of an Earthling from our time. As if eight thousand years of societal evolutionary pressures and genetic engineering had not altered his brain."

He started highlighting cybernetics. "This hardware is built for different neural architecture. It cannot interface correctly. In over sixty percent of the cases the nerve linkages for his cyberware, which are nanotechnology artificial nerve fibers, are no longer connected to any neural systems. As his body is nearly eighty percent artificial, that has had catastrophic consequences upon him."

"How is that possible? How is it possible for his brain to be so different? I have been with him the entire time, how did his brain change?" Nakteti asked.

The Pubvian waved his middle hand. "That is something we cannot explain."

Nakteti nodded. "So what must be done?"

The Pubvian made the same motion. "He must be taken somewhere with more advanced, more... modern facilities that can treat him. Our medical technology is almost primitive by comparison. Although we have technical specifications, we have not had the time to build facilities and equipment to treat a case such as this."

Nakteti nodded. "Somewhere of advanced technology. Somewhere used to nanotechnology?"

The doctor nodded. "And soon. Earthling bodies are very robust. His body will begin rejecting even his custom cloned bioware soon, treating it as if it was cancerous. As his immune system is more evolved than what we had seen prior, with genetic alterations and other enhancements, his immune system will begin attacking the cyberware and bioware soon."

Nakteti thought for a moment. "Do you have the facilities to put him in stasis?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes," the doctor frowned for a long time, then brought up another scan. This one showed Major Carnight's neurons firing. "You can see by this scan, using various sensory inputs, that his decision making process has begun to be compromised in the last few hours. During our examinations he began suffering from sensory hallucinations across a broad spectrum."

The Pubvian looked slightly discomforted.

"I'm afraid, Matron Nakteti, that Major Devon Carnight can no longer provide informed consent and time is of the essence."

"Then, as the one who was entrusted with him, I must consent for him," Nakteti nodded. "Place him in stasis."

Nakteti felt her grip loosen slightly on the command stick as she made a decision.

"I will be breaking orbit within the next few hours. Please transfer Major Carnight, in stasis, to the It Tastes Sweet's medical bay."

"As you wish, Matron," the Pubvian said.

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The It Tastes Sweet was heading for the assigned hyperjump point. Pubvia astro-control had given the It Tastes Sweet medical emergency priority for outgoing transfer and the ship was driving hard for the point.

"Hypercom link established," the communications officer said. "Full eVR link."

Nakteti nodded, settling back on her command couch. She closed her eyes and sunk into the link, the bridge of the It Tastes Sweet reforming around her.

The Terran woman was tall, wide shoulders, muscular, her brown skin shining. She was fully clothed, leather and hammered bronze corset, skirt, leggings, with bronze shoulder coverings. She had a sword on her hip that she had one scarred hand resting on.

"Matron Nakteti, pleasant to see you again," the Terran woman said. She looked around. "No Devie?"

Nakteti shook her head. "No. Although he is not present, he is the subject of my call."

The Terran woman turned slightly. "Leave my tent, now."

"As you wish, your grace," another voice said.

Nakteti waited.

"My apologies. One of my neighbors decided to raid my border and I was about to mount a punitive expedition to remind them of my strength," the Terran said. "There is something wrong with my beloved brother?"

Nakteti inhaled, then spoke quickly. "Have your people had any neurological problems with their nanotech cyberware and bioware interfaces?"

She was still for a long moment, then slowly nodded. "Yes. It was largely handled by the implants themselves. Is Devie...?"

Nakteti nodded, emulating the Terran woman's actions. "Yes. Only his implants aren't compensating and the difference between his previous neural formations and his current ones are quite striking."

"To the Nine Headed Tyrant of the Underworld with the Confederate military," the Terran woman snarled. She began pacing back and forth. "Devie is younger than me by nearly a century. I went through whatever is happening across Terran space over two months ago."

She stopped, staring at Nakteti.

"Bring my baby brother here, to me. Where my technoshamans and my cybermagus can heal him, and I will reward you and your people beyond your wildest dreams, Tnvaru Matron Nakteti," she said. "Bring him to me so that I may heal him."

Nakteti nodded slowly. "Do you know why he would react so harshly to whatever is happening?"

The Terran woman shook her head. "No. Except that Devie has always been an obstinate little boy."

She chewed on her lower lip for a minute then looked up. "He had to have genetic therapy when he was a little boy. His brain was not forming correctly, something about a hereditary genetic prosthetic overlay sequencing incorrectly."

She was silent a moment.

"How is he?" she asked, for a split second the Arch-Duchess and warrior missing, replaced by a sister worried for her baby brother.

"In stasis," Nakteti said. "With our hyperdrive we will reach you in sixty-three hours."

The Terran woman nodded. "I will inform King Nganto. You will be given priority."

"I await our meeting, Archduchess," Nakteti said. She 'looked' to the side. "End communication, we need to jump to hyperspace."

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RIGELLIAN SAURIAN COMPACT

It's going by age. The older a Terran is, the earlier it hits them.

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---

MANTID FREE WORLDS

How bad is it?

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TREANA'AD HIVE WORLDS

Luckily, most Terran cybernetics and bioware are self-correcting. In nearly twelve percent of cases, though...

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---

CYBERNETIC ORGANISM COOPERATIVE

It requires medical treatment. It's hit us pretty hard. Real hard.

Harder than the Lanaktallan attack.

It looks like its getting through the safeguards.

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---

MANTID FREE WORLDS

What's causing it? Does anyone know?

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---

BIOLOGICAL ARTIFICIAL SENTIENCE SYSTEMS

We know. We've seen it before.

And it explains something.

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TELKAN FORGE WORLDS

Well? What?

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BIOLOGICAL ARTIFICIAL SENTIENCE SYSTEMS

A temporal warfare strike.

That's why TerraSol is responding with a Case Omaha.

Someone made a Temporal Warfare strike on Terra.

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---

MANTID FREE WORLDS

But how? Temporal stabilizers and the other temporal warfare safeguards should have protected it.

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DIGITAL ARTIFICIAL SENTIENCE SYSTEMS

That's just it. It's not affecting us.

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CLONE WORLDS COLLECTIVE

It's affecting us. New clones, no. Born Whole templates are fine.

But any clone more than a year old? They're being effected.

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TNVARU GRIPPING HANDS

But who's doing it?

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MANTID FREE WORLDS

That's just it. We don't know.

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LEEBAW CONTEMPLATION POOL

How can they attack Terra without showing themselves?

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HESSTLA HOP HOP

Uh, I think I know...

---NOTHING FOLLOWS---