The smell was still there, clinging to his skin like sweat, but now it had become an annoying buzz, relegated to the background by the operation unfolding in his own head.
The protagonist's mind was functioning like a control center.
Both his primary and secondary thoughts were working together simultaneously, using the primary one as a decoy.
"(Well… hello, right now I guess I'm Taylor Hebert.)" The thin, brittle voice in his thoughts still felt foreign, but he forced himself to make it his own. It was his new identity after all, so he'd better start getting used to it, so he wouldn't make a fool of himself later.
The Fragment, the Queen Administrator (QA), wasn't a screaming demon. It was a presence brimming with a sense of infinite calculation, a vast and hungry network of thought, coldly anchored right behind Taylor's eyes. It felt as if a biological, alien supercomputer had been connected to his brain.
"(Don't panic, don't freeze. Give it what it wants. Give it data)," Taylor commanded herself from the safety of her Vault.
Her carefully selected memories began to flow into the QA without a liter, like a jumble of confused emotions. From her best moments to her most humiliating, she shared them freely, letting it feel manageable levels of stress mixed with fear.
[Reception. Unexpected information flow. Internal order detection. Emotional noise, no conflict. Anomalous.]
The QA's voice wasn't a sound, but a pulsing concept in Taylor's mind that appeared like a text message… she supposed it would be the closest thing to what a system would be if she had one.
[Analysis: Average lifespan. Low-conflict environment. Host entity classified as Observer/Experimenter. Risk potential… low.]
Taylor concentrated, feeling the effort of her intermediary mind converting years of existence into packets of information. I was creating a backstory for the entity.
Key Data 1 - The Anonymous Life. It imprinted on QA the monotony of its past life: the endless hours in front of the computer, the reports, the cold coffee cups. An existence focused on analyzing data, never on causing it.
I am a bureaucrat, QA. Useful, but harmless.
[Stability confirmed. Preference for cataloging and ordering. Purpose: To optimize the system.]
Key Data 2 - The Scientific Method. It delivered the memory of its academic approach: the need to measure, record, and understand the rules of the system before interacting.
I am the perfect host because I will not act without understanding the rules.
[Guest Entity Logic: Desire to maximize efficiency. Compatible with the Fragment's purpose.]
Key Data 3 - The Night of the Survey. Finally, the memory of the cause of it all. The screen glowed, the skills chosen out of "curiosity" and "boredom," not ambition for power.
This was crucial: QA needed to understand what had happened to the original Taylor… she also wanted to make it clear that her arrival wasn't an act of war or an attempt to oppose the Fragment, but an unexpected accident on her part.
[Events: Weak Causality. Origin external to the Entity cycle. Anomalous… but robust interface connection. Connection parameters are… unexpectedly high.]
Taylor felt tense as she awaited the answer to this last point. The connection parameters were, in fact, somewhat defensive, designed to conceal the truth. But QA, in its alien logic, seemed to interpret it differently.
[The parameters are ready to establish an abnormally strong connection. No resistance detected. Design... efficient. Purpose of data exchange?]
The QA question resonated with an intensity that almost shattered the wall of panic Taylor had built.
The truth, with a twist.
"(I need a partner)," Taylor projected, forcing her intermediary mind to maintain absolute calm. "(I find myself in a world, though familiar in a way, incorrigibly dangerous for me)" she paused to emphasize the misery of her surroundings. "(In a completely new environment, it's only natural that I look out for my safety by seeking someone powerful who can protect me... the fact that a possible union would actually draw power from me simply makes seeking cooperation even greater... or in other words, I'm giving you my data with the intention of presenting it as my resume.)"
[Accepted... interest...]
The logic of the current Taylor was brutally simple: to demonstrate that she was someone worth investing in and extract far more valuable data than the previous Taylor could provide.
[Proposal: List of accessible powers...]
"(Bingo.)" Taylor had gotten the QA to sign a contract, one based purely on cold pragmatism. "(However, that she was willing enough to let me choose… that did surprise me)"
[Power of…]
"(Sorry to interrupt)," Taylor thought, feeling a pang of relief when the text stopped midway. "(Right now I am Taylor. And my life has been, ironically, the perfect preparation for operating with your original powers… which I actually quite like… could I get them?)"
[Control… and Multitasking… Analyzing Possibilities… Affirmative.]
[Connection Initiated.]
[Initializing Power Tuning Function.]
[Searching for Data]
[Data…]
[Data Found]
[Delivering…]
At that moment, Taylor's consciousness expanded.
No, it wasn't hers. It was the QA's, channeled through her own ability. Suddenly, the world wasn't just stench and pain; it was a tapestry of vibrations from different things.
Taylor felt more alive than ever.
She could sense and control bugs within a very wide area… if she remembered correctly, the range should be approximately three to four city blocks. But that was only the range, which, while limited, had no practical limit on the number of bugs she could control simultaneously.
This translates to approximately 900 to 1,200 feet, or 275 to 365 meters, based on the measurement of a city block being around 300 feet.
It was like having thousands of new limbs… which were filthy.
[Attunement Process Complete. Network Connection Established.]
Feeling curious, Taylor looked at the filth surrounding her in more detail and concentrated, letting out what her new partner had given her.
A large cockroach was near her left hand, scraping a rotten eggshell.
A few dozen red ants were climbing up the rim of a dented soda can.
And a carrion fly was lazily buzzing near her nose.
"(Stop.)" the now-teenage girl thought, watching her tiny roommates suddenly freeze, completely still in place. Taylor upped the ante, feeling the Fragment's urge to see results.
"(Move the debris... make some space.)" The small swarm shifted with the organization of a biological machine. The sticky, repulsive layer of filth surrounding Taylor began to spread out. The insects worked to create a small, dry space around her legs and waist.
[Material Movement… Efficiency: Low due to the size of the executor… Functional… Slow.]
"(Keep working.)" Taylor thought with a pang of satisfaction, feeling the disgusting pile of garbage shift, giving him a little space; minimal, but space nonetheless. "(Things will get better soon... we just have to wait.)"