"Then it doesn't sound like I'm very disposable. I want a garden, and a bed, and a bathroom."
"And friends, and true love. The world is filled with things you will never have."
"You can add my items to your building queue, or I can just hang around here and piss on your floor," Anna said.
The threat had merit, I didn't doubt she would do it, she was human after all.
I brought up my build menu.
Basic Residence
A single room and attached bath. A pair of double bunks allows it to hold up to four people in relative discomfort.
Requires 50 resources to construct and 5 power
You have no building resources but have 215 rubble which can be converted at a 1:.8 ratio.
Do you wish to begin this project?
I didn't, but I needed the cooperation of the human. I began it, building in one of the old research labs near my Core Room. I thought it best to keep her close.
Basic Hydroponics
An automated hydroponics facility capable of providing food for up to four people as well as producing oxygen.
Requires 50 resources to construct and 5 power.
You have no building resources but have 152 rubble which can be converted at a 1:0.8 ratio.
Do you wish to begin this project?
At this rate, I'd have to clear some more rubble. Fortunately, I had to anyway in order to break a path through for Anna to get below the test center. I began the project.
"I would install a compliance chip in your brain, but they do not come in a size that tiny. The construction is started. Get ready,"
Anna grinned at me. In addition to her toolbelt she took a gun and knife. I provided her a camera clipped to her armor so that I could go with her.
7
It took me a few hours to clear Anna a path down the stairs and then she was on her way.
For light, she had what seemed to be some sort of slug held within a small transparent container.
"I didn't know you traveled with a relative," I said, after it had come out.
"Electronics don't work properly. Never have after the Cataclysm," Anna said.
"Just because you can't figure out how to make them work doesn't mean they don't. I'm working just fine," I said.
"Thanks to me, and a Power core I jammed inside of you. Whatever happened changed a lot of physical constants and electronics no longer work like they did," Anna said.
That was intriguing. I hadn't had any problems operating the base, but it helped to explain why it had been so very long since my last activation.
Anna crawled through the narrow crevice I'd cleared in the rubble. The passage beyond was even worse than the rest of the base, the walls had either mostly collapsed or showed so many cracks it seemed they might at any moment.
"Do you know where this pump of yours is?" Anna asked.
I should—but I didn't, and I wasn't going to admit it. Not knowing where my water pump was seemed akin to a human misplacing their spleen. I was sure any human of moderate intelligence knew exactly where to find their spleen.
"Do you know where your spleen is?" I asked.
"No..." Anna said.
Unsurprising.
"Just keep heading down. Gravity should have you naturally roll in that direction," I said.
"You do a few too many fat jokes," Anna said.
"You inspire me. Keep moving."
The pumps didn't seem to be on this level. A set of stairs leading below was accessible.
Anna paused at the bottom to cock her head to the side.
"Do you hear that?" Anna asked.
I wasn't picking anything up through the microphone. I magnified the signal, but all I was getting was distortion and white noise in the background.
"I don't. Primitive life forms often compensate for inferior intellects with superior senses. What do you hear?" I asked.
"A river, I think. There's movement as well," Anna said.
I didn't like that. On the plus side, a river did mean that water would be readily obtainable. It also meant a more unstable foundation to this facility and a potential entrance besides the front door.
Anna resumed her progress.
Faded paint on the wall pointed the way to 'Pumping Station A' and Anna moved to follow.
When she got close, she paused to consider the room. It was occupied.
Several massive forms that appeared to be some sort of mutated mole shuffled around. Each probably weighed as much as Anna did.
"Capture me one alive," I said.
"Yeah. I'm going to capture you a giant mutant mole and drag it up two flights of stairs."
"I could dissect you instead," I said.
"I'm too useful."
Unfortunately, she might just be right, although this wasn't helping her case.
Anna readied a rifle and leaned around the corner.
The human could shoot. The first bullet took a mole right between the eyes. It let out a screech as it collapsed to the ground.
It didn't seem quite dead giving all the racket it was making, but I could only assume that much noise meant that it was dying.
Anna ducked back around the corner and worked on reloading. A mole was charging through the door towards her.
With impressive speed for such a large creature it swiveled to face Anna. Perhaps it heard her, or smelled her, but either way she didn't get the element of surprise.
Anna snapped off a second shot even as the mole dug teeth into her thigh and blood gushed from torn flesh.
Anna bashed the mole's skull with the butt of her rifle until it keeled over and went still.
Anna shakily leaned against the wall, breaths heaving as she loaded another round into the rifle.
"Alive," I said.
"Not happening. You're going to be lucky if I don't pass out from this. In fact, get your drone down here in case I do," Anna said.
"It's busy doing something important."
"You aren't going to want to lose these corpses anyways," Anna said.
I hated it when she made sense.
I set the upgrades on pause and got my drone moving below.
Anna limped around the corner into the chamber. The last mole was huddled in the corner, this one didn't seem to be a fighter. Anna wasn't taking any chances no matter how much I wanted a live subject. The rifle rang out once more and a third mole slumped to the ground.
"Monster," I said.
"Yeah, I'm a real killer," Anna said weakly. From her pack, she pulled several strips of cloth and used them to bind her leg wound.
At least she came prepared, it was something.
Then she was moving to the water pumps and looking them over.
"Do you see the problem?" I asked.
"They're electric, but they aren't connected to your system. I think they must draw power from the river itself. That means they aren't benefiting from your Power core," Anna said.
"I'm not picking up anything on that level. It seems as dead as your social life," I said.
"They probably had the whole thing wired into the different grid. Do you have anything on the floor above?" Anna asked.
Of course, I still didn't have any functioning cameras, but taking a different approach to checking my network I did seem to have several active power conduits.
"I do. There is a major junction along the east wall," I said.
"I'm going to strip wiring and rig you a way into this grid," Anna said.
Despite her wound, she did seem to be staying on her feet this time.
8
It took Anna a few hours, but she managed to do exactly what she said. As soon as the power cable was connected to the other grid and I turned that juncture back on, the pumps hummed to life at once.
It was a struggle for the drone, but I ferried the three corpses of the moles back upstairs.