Chapter Forty-Six - Eww, What Even Is That?

Chapter Forty-Six - Eww, What Even Is That?

Chapter Forty-Six - Eww, What Even Is That?

"Antithesis specimens are divided into broad categories called 'models.' These models represent a general shape taken by the aliens, though there will always be some deviation between subjects of the same model, just as no two humans are exactly alike.

Models are, in turn, categorised in tiers. Tier one represents all models from one to ten. Tier two represents all models from eleven to twenty, and so on."

--Antithesis Identification - A Xenowatcher's Primer, Birdwatchers of America, 2046

***

"What the fuck am I looking at?" I asked as I kept staring at the unfolding monstrosity on the screen.

The antithesis... thing was unspooling long fleshy... not-quite-tentacles. These were bridging the gap between massive segments of Phobos' surface crust, almost like some sort of weird shell being expanded outwards.ViiSiit novelbi/n(.)c/(o)m for latest novels

There was a tug, and the shell started to close once more. Plates that had to be the size of entire provinces crashing togethers at the edges and sending small chunks of rocks flying every which way.

That looks like the start of a Model Sixty-Eight. They're one of the more esoteric biological constructs that the antithesis will deploy once they have space superiority. Think of it as a mobile hive.

"That thing's a hive?" I asked. But yeah, that made some sorta sense. "No, nevermind, that makes sense. It's fucking massive though."

Antithesis generally grow larger the higher the tier. This isn't always the case, but there's a definite pattern of growth, both in size and complexity and capability. A Model Sixty-Eight can grow to be the size of a small moon. As evidenced by what you're seeing now.

"Anything we need to know in particular about it?" I asked. "Or is it just a bigger, meaner bug that we need to squish?"

Expect it to be able to move and manoeuvre in ways that would seem counter-intuitive based on its size and mass. Also, expect esoteric weapons and capabilities. Higher tier models are more versatile, and their biological nature doesn't prevent them from using something akin to modern technology.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then stood up, which was a little awkward considering the weird chair I'd bought. Somehow, my back felt... nice? I glanced across the room. The others were mostly glued on the screen, watching the alien moon writhe and reset itself. Data was streaming in on half the screen, and while I couldn't parse it, I was sure Grasshopper and Gomorrah could. Maybe Hedgehog too.

"Stray Cat?" Princess asked. "Are you leaving?"

"I'm going to call Doctor Radikal," I said. "Susan too, I guess."

I didn't like being pushed into anything like a leadership position. It wasn't my thing. But... fuck. I wasn't awful at it. Not good enough to start bragging, but I wasn't a complete dumbass. I could figure it out.

I'd like to think that I had street smarts enough to handle the bottom rungs of New Montreal well enough. This whole thing was on another level, but some of that same logic applied across the board.

My gut was telling me that this was like when two gangs that shared a block had to deal with some corpo fuckery. In that kind of situation, putting heads together was usually the best move.

"I think that we're punching upwards against a foe that is far stronger than we'd initially hoped. We would be remiss to expect the antithesis to roll over and allow themselves to die so easily."

I nodded along. That did sound about right. "Our hits are gonna come in staggered, right? We can do one hit an hour here. That still leaves the aliens an hour to heal between each strike. How often can we use your collider?"

"Four times a day," Doctor Radikal said.

"Four times a day. Those times will be doing lots of damage, right? And the Keiretsu?"

"Our drone production is only ramping up," he said. "The more time passes, the more frequently we'll be able to strike."

"Alright, okay," I said as I continued to nod. "This is going to be something of a longer fight, then. Not a fight of... what's the word for a fight that's won because one side ran out of resources?"

"Attrition?" Doctor Radikal asked.

"That's the one. It's not a battle of attrition since we're ramping up and have more resources to call on the closer Phobos gets. If we see that what we're doing isn't working, then we ramp up. We can definitely afford to build a second Big Gun. I imagine your drone production can just keep growing. Not sure about your collider...."

"We can upgrade it!" he said, sounding rather cheerful about the entire idea. "There are some here suggesting we do so already. A lot of the limitations we have on the device now are in place to allow it to function for longer under less strain. If there's more risk that Phobos will be an unavoidable threat, then we can push the machine to its limits and beyond."

"Okay, cool. We might want to time things going forwards. Either space it all out so that there's non-stop damage against Phobos or time strikes to come in when Phobos is reeling already."

Susan hummed. "We have time to attempt a few different approaches against the foe."

"Time until Phobos is right upon us," Doctor Radikal said.

"Is there any chance of that happening?" I asked.

"Truly? I think it is unlikely. Several agencies are burying their heads in the sand, but as the last hours approach, I believe they will try anything. That might collide with our own attempts to save the world. Let's focus on ridding ourselves of Phobos now rather than later."

"Alright," I agreed. "Worse case, we'll chip away at it, right? I saw lots of little bits of the moon flying off into space. I imagine we can continue doing that until it's nothing but scattered dust, yeah?"

"Those will be an issue," Susan said. "We're going to have to contend with a great meteor shower. Though we can, given time, rid ourselves of any threateningly large objects."

I puffed out a breath. It was one thing after another, wasn't it?

***