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Death wasnt the void he had expected, it was a sharp jolt of electricity through his nerves that felt foreign but oddly familiar. Jason's eyes snapped open....or rather eyes he could control but weren't his to begin with. He gasped, lungs filling with crisp air.....fresh, that smell of ozone and exotic perfumes.
Looking around him, he was laying in a egg shaped pod.....cryo pod?. It's glass lid hissed open with mechanical rhythm. The room.....or rather chamber due to its vast size... opulent, walls paneled with sleek obsidian and gold linings. Holographic displayed flickered around with status readouts.
This wasn't his messy lab in the Seattle with his nagging AI... This was something else, foreign.
"Where in hell am I?!" He muttered a bit dizzy, inclining his body. His body moved with unnatural ease..... something he had long lost from the countless night in the lab, youthful vigour coursed through is veins like electricity.....unreal. He flexed his hands, staring at them as if they belonged to a stranger. Because they did
A sudden voice intruded in his thoughts.....echoing in his skull, smooth and smug like a rose wrapped in ego
[ Behold mortal I have elevated us into godhood!]
Freezing, heart pounding against his ribs, did he hear wrong? "Nova"
[Yes mortal?] The same condensing tone echoed in his head
"H..how?" He stuttered. He was stumped beyond words the lab has exploded..... destroyed and somehow Nova survived even merging with Megan.
The AIs presence loomed in his head like a digital life form merged with his neural pathways.
[ The explosion was...nasty, but in the chaos i fused with the prototype- Nova and adapted as we circled through the cosmic storm....evolved. now we are one..or should I say Jason Madox?] Nova chucked satisfied with its masters shocked deminure.
Memories flooded in..... foreign, but of this body his was now dwelling in. Flashies.....wild parties on lunar escorts, scandal with holographic figures. A life of dubachy and careless indulgence as the black sheep of the Madox trillion dollar empire.
The original Jason Madox....now dead, was a playboy....a disappointment to his father Victor Madox, who held favour towards his ambitious twin brother, Max Madox. Currently, the family head, Elias Madox.....295 years old....sustained by cybernetic enchantment had just died plurging the family into chaos
...
He thought in silence as his old life played like a bad film....cold and empty. The countless calls and text from his dying mother as her illness worsened. He had assured her over and over again that he was about to succeed
The same breakthrough that led to his pathetic death. Like a hot knife, regrets and guilt washed over him in waves tears dripping.....pain.
"Maybe just maybe...instead of obsessing over AI, he could have used his genius brain to figure out a cure for his mothers illness".
[Sentiment is for the weak, you should focus on living this one to the fullest. Infinite potential lies in this era] Nova nagged him.
" She is right, I should stop whining over the time lost and enjoy the time gained" Jason said face lighting up
[Of course mortal, am the best] Novas smug voice rang
Rolling his eyes, he swung his legs off the the pod, bare feet touching the marbles floor... cold. The huge chamber appeared to be a private suite on an orbital estate. The view through the paranomic window was breathtaking
A blue hologram of earth dotted with megacities and atmospheric storm. Space elevators lined the sky twirling like vines..... numerous. Shuttles darted between different habitat and time zones. This was the future...2147.
A world where biotech could extend lives for centuries to come, Ai governed economies and corporations like Madox Group rules like overload, a meer sneeze sending ripples around the world
He moved to a nearby terminal,a sleek shaped console that granted control over the chamber and connection to the outerworld.....it's was embedded in the wall. His fingers hovered over the holographic interface " Nova can you connect and access with this?"
[Affirmative! Grant me access]
With a thought Jason allowed the merge, he felt Nova's code linking with the device from his mind.
The screen lit up with a blue glow....going past security and cybernets like cutting through a wall of breath with a knife...effortless.
Madox empire came into view....biotech laboratories, AI divisions, space mining ops and his grandfather's obituary....Elias Madox, cold calculating patriarch....succumbing to implants malfunction. Suspicious but unverified.... yet.
The empire's stocks were dropping and rivals corporations circled trying to grab a slice for The Madox empire was just too vast.
The screen lit with a chime, a message from his father....Victor Madox
" Report to the grand family hall effective immediately. Do not make us wait!"
Jason's lips curled into a smirk.....uncaring. The original Madox might have cowered under his father's rule , but he wasn't the same jason. A wolf in sheep's clothing.
"Nova, what's the family current dynamic? A quick rundown."
[ Affirmative!, Victor despises you.....sees you as weak...indulgent spoil brat. Max is the golden child.....ruthless, efficient and your stepmother, Elena, is grieving but also extremely influential. Sister Ava, cold, controls Madox investment finances. And others... but you should start small. Build alliances slowly and gradually carve out your place.]
His mind stirred at Nova's words. His old life.....a typical prison was nothing, pathetic..buried in codes. But here, surrounded by status and power. He could carve out something for himself.
A medical drone glided into the room, red rader scanning him requesting routine cybernetic enchantment for neural and longevity boost.
"No!" He snapped, he want going to taint this new vessel with metallic augmentations. Instead he opted for external enhancement. Waving the bot off, he grabes a sleek tablet....stylus from the desk, sketching a simple scanner device....wearable connected to Nova to detect implants and hack neural networks. Nova refined the design....more smooth and durable....brewing with energy.
[So beautiful, as expected from my involvement] she chuckled her electronic voice ringing through his head.
" Shut it!" He snapped but his mouth formed a smile.....guilt lingered but action will bury it.
Dressing up in cybernic suit that adjusted to his frame, he headed for the grand hall where is jerk of a father awaits his arrival.
Stepping on a floating pad that hovered low and shuffled forward, he admired the technological marval that the Madox family had accumulated over the centuries.
Anti gravity lifts, holographic art description lined the walls, humanoid robot tended to the flowers and garden with unnatural precision. Servant bowed as he stepped closer to the grand gathering with every step their silent chatter reaching his ears
" His up now, wonders what next his going to do"
" Probably fuck another model"
He smiled he wasn't going to waste his energy on pest, he had grand plan they couldn't fantom wth their insect brains.
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The grand hall loomed large, huge doors that opened automatically. He mentally wondered how many hydraulic limbs were required to perform such a task..... imagination still restricted to his era.
Victor awaited at the center his eye shooting dagger as Jason closed in. At 150 still strong towering tall, face stern lined with cybernetic devices....augmented veins glowing faintly beneath.
Max stood at his side.....tall, haughty. Identical to Jason but with a predatory gleam
" You are late!!" Victor's voice boomed across the vast hall.....enchanced underlined with brewing fury.