"Why?" I asked. They wouldn't need them, if they could generate their own flame.
"There are ways for everyone to get stronger, even you. I mean besides just taking another core. For Hot Stuff and her people, it's burning. They burn people alive, whole villages, the more of this world they turn to ash, the stronger she gets," Anna said.
Interesting. I hadn't found out anything like that about myself—yet.
If this sort of thing was common, it helped to explain the Wasteland outside.
I spent the next day directing Anna as we turned parts of the base into a death trap.
I manufactured a faded map to hang near the entrance, guiding the way to the rocket test chambers.
On what had been the hydroponics level I prepared my ambush. With a few upgrades, the hose lines would allow me to deliver powerful bursts of water anywhere I wanted. Enough to knock someone unconscious on impact—and enough to instantly douse most fires.
For something like an oil fire, water would be almost useless, but it didn't sound like that's what we would be dealing with.
I would have preferred something like proper foam, but the production requirements were complex and more than I was capable of doing. Perhaps if I had chosen Manufacturing, I could.
I repaired the blast doors on the reactor level. They were meant to withstand even high bursts of heat and, if worst came to worst, I could seal them.
By the time we had finished setting up the traps, the new Testing Center was complete.
It was glorious.
The containment facilities were enhanced by using my own Power core and somehow, I just knew, they would be able to hold most others who had a Power core themselves.
I could quickly shape devious traps to map the full extent of someone else's power, pushing them to the very limits, while observing every moment. I got giddy at the very thought of so much SCIENCE.
It also gave me the opportunity to start proper research projects. I didn't have much to research just yet. Only the old skeletons.
Research Menu
Ancient Skeletons
Requirement: 3 Skeletons
Time: 12 hours
These skeletons have been long dead but their study might reveal what happened to the facility in the past and offer some insights into human physiology.
Do you wish to research?
That was a stupid question. The answer to, did I want to research, was always going to be a resounding and complete yes.
I started the project. The remaining skeletons weren't of any use to me—they were too old for conversion into biomatter.
I stuffed them into a storeroom in case a use should later become apparent. Maybe this first research project might unlock other possibilities.
Traps laid, it was time to send out Anna. The woman took enough food and water, and one of the guns. She would spread the word and then return.
If all went to plan we'd see visitors soon thereafter. Then we'd kill them or research them—or both.
I couldn't wait.
5
We allowed three days until Anna should come back. In the meantime, it was enough for my research project on the skeletons to complete.
Research Completed
Ancient Skeletons
Approximately 215 years have passed since time of death. Bones are unusually fragile and appear to be infused with a crystalline growth. This is likely related to the cause of death. Crystal samples have been stored but research facilities are not yet sufficient to offer further insights.
That was disappointing. I didn't like having invested the resources from the lab only to get nothing from it. Samples for future research were not enough.
I used the remaining time to clear more corridors and chambers. It was a slow process, but to properly utilize this space it would need to be cleared anyways.
I focused on my own level. The former research labs might serve the same purpose again one day, or if necessary could be repurposed. Clearing the rubble also gave me new resources that I could recycle.
When Anna returned, she made one of them into makeshift quarters. It was better than having her share the room with my hardware, I gave no objection. The woman also looked as if she needed some resetting, her face and body sported several fresh burns. Whatever had happened, she remained functional and her vacating my chamber allowed me to properly repair the door, sealing me away. I preferred that no one have access to the most vulnerable parts of myself.
Within a week we had visitors. There were four of them, two men and two women. All were barely dressed and wore just thin scraps of clothing. When I pulled up thermal imaging on them, I found that their resting temperature was a good thirty percent higher than the human average, although this was inconsistent.
"You sure this is the place? It's a total dump," said a woman.
"I'm sure," said a man who had found the map. He jabbed a thick finger at the section marked for rocket testing.
Six floors below I announced to Anna, "It's show time. Our guests have arrived. You might want to get somewhere safe, they probably enjoy incinerating trash."
"Then open up and let me in. You've got the thickest door in the place," Anna said.
"Yet somehow it isn't as thick as you. Fine, just don't urinate on the floor," I said, and opened my door to allow her inside.
"I don't actually do that. I've never done that. On purpose, at least," Anna said.
I didn't even need to add an insult to that. It said it all, really.
Once I made sure she had a bucket, I sealed us in.
"Can you show me what is happening?" Anna asked.
"It is so strange that you don't have eyes outside your body. It is probably some sort of defense mechanism to keep you from having to look at yourself," I said, as I brought up a display from the camera feeds.
The man who found the map seemed to be the leader of this group. His body temperature was a good bit warmer than any of the others. The others were following him through the ruined corridors and winding passageways.
They needed no light. Flames flickered from time to time along their exposed flesh.
"Their leader is what's called a Flame. They're sort of the second generation of Powered. The other ones they call Embers," Anna said.
"The improbable has happened. We have discovered people with a naming convention dumber than yours. How are their powers passed on?" I asked.
Anna cleared her throat. "It is weird, but in their case it's like a sexually transmitted disease."
"Their similarity to you grows and grows. So, it is always contagious?" I asked.
"Yeah. But Hot Stuff's partners almost always die—they burn alive. Sometimes they become like a powered down version of her. The Flames have a way lower fatality rate, although it still happens," Anna said.
I wondered what sort of person would choose promiscuity when their partners almost always perished. I was sad we didn't have the original version here to fall into my trap, oh the SCIENCE I would do with them.
The four were being cocky, reckless. None seemed concerned that any threats might exist on the abandoned floors. Perhaps with their powers they simply felt they had nothing to fear. I would prove them wrong.
They had made their way down to the residential level. They were almost into my trap. I'd repaired the security door leading into and out of hydroponics. I'd lock them inside the gardens.
In addition to the water cannons I'd rigged, I could drain the oxygen from the room. That way might well prove fatal, but I'd still rather have corpses to study than nothing.
One of the Embers was saying, "I can tell this is just a waste of time. Whatever loot this place ever had, it got picked clean a long time ago."