The Atlantian System: Creation

“If these nanites are in all humans, why haven’t we discovered this before?”

[Under inspection, nanites will show as iron, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, phosphorus, and other atoms that make up one’s blood bones, virtually undetectable outside an Atlantian laboratory.]

It had been about twenty minutes of asking questions, and Leta’s wonder had quickly turned to curiosity as Gada gave her all the information she could want.

How did the Atlantians get here? Spaceship and quantum travel.

When did the Atlantians get to Earth? 12,453 years ago.

How did they pick their locations? Population density and preference.

All interesting, but none were as fascinating to her as her history lesson of the Atlantian doctors and engineers that orchestrated such a massive project.

She still tried to wrap her hand around the idea that telekinesis was possible as she stammered, “You said that before -Atlantian. Who… who’s that?”

[Question identified. Would you like the summarized history of the Atlantian Outposts?]

“Uh…yes.”

[After discovering a planet with an atmosphere close to Atlantian standards, they designated the planet as a usable resource and began seeding the planet’s atmosphere to their liking. Initially, the planet was selected to be mined for resources. However, during a survey, they discovered tiny single-cell organisms had progressed much farther than anticipated due to the atmospheric seeding. Earth was then protected, as the Atlantians wanted to study evolution.]

[For several millennia, the Atlantians were content to monitor the planet until, for unknown reasons, they returned to Earth 12,453 years ago and created twelve outposts to research and develop the code name Project Black Fire.]

“Uh…wow. Sounds like a lot happened. These guys had been traveling the stars while Earth tried to figure itself out.”

[Correct. Continuing, Project Black Fire was the brainchild of Doctor Aetes Domine and was intended to create a steady source of labor and materials the Atlantian race desperately needed. The project would be achieved by installing a minimal version of Atlantian’s nanite system into the human species. The resulting modified humans were then trained to perform specific tasks, such as raising animals, harvesting, and creating goods needed to support larger populations.]

[Humans were taken to the outposts and used to create city structures that were exceptionally advanced for a species that was only exiting the Stone Age. After 2,000 years, Earth entered a period known as the Enlightened Age. The nanites within the human systems allowed the race some protection against disease. They assisted with increasing their overall physiology, extended life expectancy, and improving the overall population numbers and quality of life.]

[Progressively, the Atlantians introduced more and more skills and inventions. Harvesters became skilled Farmers, Potters became Sculptors, and the human population quadrupled under the guidance and authority of the Atlantians.]

[Do not mistake the human and Atlantian relationship to be equal; humans saw the Atlantians as immortal gods that gave their blessings to those they found useful, and the Atlantians saw humans as a cheap labor source that was easy to control and was mildly entertaining.]

“Wait one damn minute.” Leta chuffed in anger, “You mean to tell me the Atlantians came to Earth and gave us systems so they could make slave labor cool? That is so messed up.”

[The Atlantians saw the human race as an underdeveloped, distant version of themselves, similar to how humans see primates. They justified their actions as accelerating the domestication of humans for the betterment of the race.]

[Continuing. The Atlantians continued their mission, providing the human race with more and more technology to further their evolution for millennia. In less than 5,000 years, human ingenuity had transformed from simple hunter-gatherers to skilled artisans capable of creating more advanced machinery than currently available. Domestic animals and plants were modified to produce abundant crops, noninvasive mining for ores was normalized, and clean energy was ample for all to power the outposts and the cities that grew around them.]

The door of her room opened, and the nurse returned, giving her a professional smile.

“Your test… came… back…” She said slowly, trying to find the right words in English.

[The Host has had sufficient exposure to the Greek language for fluency.]

Leta took a deep breath and focused. The Greek words quickly came to her as if she had been a native all her life.

“You don’t have to speak English for me.” She responded perfectly, her tongue forming the language without hesitation. It didn’t feel very comforting, like someone else was using her mouth to say words for her.

The nurse’s eyes lit up, “Oh! I didn’t know you spoke Greek. Well, your toxicology test came back negative, so the poison from the weeverfish is out of your system.”

Leta frowned. “weeverfish?”

“You were stung by the spines of a weeverfish.” The nurse said, as a matter of fact, “It’s rare to find them at the depth that you were at, but your extreme temperature changes, sweating, vomiting, and the swelling that was in your hand are signs of a weeverfish. Weeverfish are somewhat common in these parts, so we have everything we need to treat them when they come in.”

“That’s… good.” She had to pause, deciding that just agreeing with the explanation of weeverfish was a lot more believable than alien technology was the cause of her current condition.

“While your toxicology came back beautifully, your symptoms when you arrived were extremely severe, so we want to make sure there won’t be any lasting effects. We’re going to start with an EKG and go from there.”

They started hooking her up to monitors, setting up equipment that filled the room with mechanical beeps and whirls.

[Would the Host like to continue with the historical information session?]

“Uh…”

“Yes?” The nurse’s head popped up from where she was fiddling with a device, “Everything okay?”

“Oh, yes. Everything’s good. Sorry.” Leta answered quickly, like a child trying to devise excuses for why their hand was in the cookie jar.

[Human vocal cords will vibrate slightly when mentally speaking, which can be monitored by the nanite hive mind. If the Host can continue communicating with the hive mind by mentally speaking without speaking out loud.]

‘Like this?’ Leta thought to herself.

[Correct. Continuing the historical information, human civilization had advanced by leaps and bounds due to the influence of the Atlantians. The humans who received nanite systems experienced life spans far longer than usual. High-ranking humans had access to high-speed transportation and other innovations.]

[Records have been lost, but eventually, the outposts received a message from the Atlantian home world: evacuate all colonies and outposts and return to Atlan with all haste.]

‘Wow…’ Leta mused, smiling to the nurse as she finished the tests she had been running and saying she would get the doctor and see if they were ready for the MRI. ‘A millennia of growth would mean hundreds of thousands of people, maybe millions.’

[Correct. When the evacuation call was transmitted, the population of nanite-enhanced humans was nearing 23 million individuals across the planet. In the thousands of years that they had occupied the planet, the Atlantians had succeeded in inoculating nearly the entire population with a system as humans continued to reproduce, passing on nanite systems capable of maintaining a class to their offspring.]

Leta blinked, speechless at such a number. She remembered reading once that there were estimates that the human population around 5,000 BCE was about 25 million, which meant over 90% of the entire population had a system by then.

Just then, the doctor came in and said that they were ready to move her to imaging to get her MRI, but Leta could only smile and nod because her attention was entirely focused on what Gada was telling her.

[Protocol for an evacuation dictates that a planet must be returned to its natural state, which required the Atlantians to remove any resources introduced to the native population, including technological innovations and structures, and deactivate all systems. Select high-ranking humans were deemed a genetic resource and were taken with the Atlantians during the evacuation.]

‘Jeez… they just kidnapped people?’

[Humans believed that the Atlantians were gods, so those instructed to depart with them were canonized as saints and demigods in the human religions created around their activities.]

Leta felt her heart break a little at the thought.

That was still family members that were being left behind. Grandparents, cousins, nieces, nephews, brothers, and sisters were separated, and they obviously never saw each other again.

‘Still, with such a large population and having colonized the planet for thousands of years, I can’t imagine this was a smooth transition.’ She thought as they moved her into the MRI machine, feeling like a torpedo about to be loaded into the barrel.

[Correct. The outpost of Atlanorobos headed by Doctor Nikomedes Kenasus rebelled against this order, citing a need to complete the project to improve the Atlan race. A brief civil war took place among the devotees of the Atlantians. Nikomedes oversaw political and judicial systems and ultimately was destroyed by his creations, who judged that they must evacuate per the order given and were able to exact Divine Retribution due to his breach of contract - causing his nanites to self-destruct. Atlanoboros was destroyed, and the humans who participated in the rebellion were executed.]

[With Atlanorobos no more, the outposts prepared to remove all traces of their presence. All forms of Atlantian Language were removed and all records were destroyed. Each of the doctors and engineers who oversaw parts of the project did as instructed and deactivated the systems embedded within the human genetic makeup, forcing the nanites into a dormant state and becoming just another atom in the endless sea of cellular atoms. Material built of Atlanite was rendered useless or unrecognizable, and all structures were destroyed by various means.]

[Finally, the Project Black Fire crew and the selected humans returned to their ship, the Mul-Sir, which had been in orbit around the planet during the habitation. After thousands of years of occupation, Earth had been reduced to its former self in less than a week. The last recorded transmission from the Mul-Sir was that it had entered quantum speed shortly after passing the Kuiper Belt headed for Atlan.]

[With the loss of the Atlantians that were relied upon for everyday life, the human race on the cusp of space travel was reduced to their former Stone Age ingenuity. Without the nanites to provide skill mastery, humans were left vulnerable and isolated from each other. Millions perished due to diseases that were once preventable with the nanites. Starvation was also quite common, as the population relied on machinery no longer there to feed cities that numbered millions. Without the technology, those who still held some knowledge of agriculture could only produce enough for a few hundred.]

[In conclusion, the human race would relearn most simple agricultural practices, and world population numbers would slowly rise to pre-evacuation numbers in the following centuries.]

Leta blinked, processing everything the story that the words in her vision had told her. And it did feel like a story—a fantastic, unbelievable tall tale invented by an active imagination and a brain lacking air.

“Everything okay in there? Your heart rate is showing some changes.”

Leta gulped, “Uh, yeah. Sorry. Just thinking about how my mom is going to kill me for getting sent to the hospital.”

The technician chuckled, “Well, please try to think happy thoughts. We’ll be getting the contrast in you in a moment.”

Leta did her best to get comfortable and stay still.

‘Something weird though with this whole story. You said the Atlantians took everything with them when they left.’ Leta inquired, ‘If that’s the case, why was that nanite injector thingy still in the ruins?’

[Caches of essential data and materials were secured and stored in secret locations so if the Atlantians returned they could quickly revitalize the population should the planet and its inhabitants be needed in whatever emergency caused the evacuation.]

‘So… I got stabbed with a backup safe of specialized virus robots.’

[Correct. The Host had found the classified caches of Doctor Pherenike Chilonus.]

Leta’s love of history bubbled up at the mention of the room and its owner.

Dr. Pherenike Chilonus.

Who was she?

What did she look like?

Why did she become a scientist?

What was she researching?

So many questions raced through her head that she didn’t even realize she’d asked the latter.

[Doctor Chilonus was the head researcher and developer of the program class Monarch. This highly specialized class was produced to be the pinnacle of class programs, providing countless benefits to the Host and removing set class status limitations to recreate a human into an Atlantian.]

‘Hold the phone.’ Leta frowned, ‘What do you mean ‘recreate a human’?’

[The Monarch system was designed to genetically reconstruct a human to match the Atlantian. Over the next one to two years, the nanites within the Host’s body will slowly replace any human cell structures with that of an Atlantian, including incrementally integrating software programs that provide mastery over the human classes.]

‘Why incrementally? Wouldn’t it make more sense to do it all at once?’

[Software downloads can cause strain on the Host’s organs as cells are reprogrammed and adjusted. The monarch class was designed to slowly integrate skills to put the most minor strain on the Host. Multiple skill downloads in quick succession can have adverse effects, such as nose bleeds, nausea, vomiting, and, in extreme situations, organ failure.]

Leta locked her arms and legs to keep herself still and not scream like a banshee.

‘I’m sorry, what?!’

“Ready for contrast?”

The machine started pulling her out to reveal the technician by her side with a medical needle. She tried to be a good patient but was optimistic that the look she gave him was akin to a person on a reality thriller who was just told their next challenge was eating a bug.

“Are you scared of needles?”

“Let’s just say I’m going through some things.” She grumbled as he inserted the needle into her arm before reloading her into the machine.

[Regarding regular classes, most would receive all their skills during installation. However, the monarch class contains the skills and programs of all regular courses and those only available to Atlantians. As such, the software would have to slowly download skills to decrease strain on the Host’s brain while the nanites create new memories and reflexes.]

‘Or your brain could explode.’ Leta thought sarcastically.

[In extreme situations, yes. However, it would require several skill downloads at one time for such an event to occur. Based on current host physiology, one skill every six hours would have no ill effects. The less time given in this time frame between skill downloads, the more likely an extreme side effect is to occur. Two skills back to back may cause a nosebleed. Three skills may cause a seizure, and four a stroke. While you would eventually recover from a seizure or stroke depending on your inert nanite count, five or more may cause irrepressible damage not even nanites can fix. In addition, adding too many stats at one time could also be dangerous. An influx of power could cause your muscles to burst out of your skin, or too much constitution at one time could cause you to fall into a coma.]

She gulped, ‘Wow. That’s… gross.’

[It is by no means a pleasant experience. However, the skills that the Host will acquire are substantial. Considering the early humans worshiped the Atlantians as gods, and the Host is being remade in their likeness, there is much to look forward to. The Host need only be patient and pace yourself.]

Leta mulled that over. A quote from one of her father’s favorite authors and scientists, Arthur Clarke, came to her then.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

A highly advanced race capable of quantum travel had descended from the heavens to remake the Earth to their benefit. Of course, cave dwellers from the Stone Age would have considered them gods.

The sudden image of a frazzle-haired man on one of those ancient conspiracy shows saying “aliens” had her snorting.

‘Okay, so I get these wonderful skills like telekinesis, but you just said I’ve got access to a metric ton of skills. You only showed a handful of skills a moment ago. How are these skills getting prioritized?’

[Skills are chosen by the Host. Skills available for download are based on the number of nanites available and what skills will cause the least strain on the Host’s organs. Other skills can be self-taught or learned by observation.]

[Each new skill downloaded opens up new cellular links and access to other download options. For example, the Host learned the skill Magician’s Hand through the downloading process. Because those memories and synopsis were already created, new skills that link to the fundamental understanding at the root of Magician’s Hand are now available.]

‘Like a skill tree in a game,’ She mused, ’Similar skills that branch off each other as you progress because their functions work off the same core principals.’

[Correct.]

The whirling of the MRI machine slowed to a stop before the technician entered the room again. “Alright, everything looked good from my end. I’ll have the nurse bring you back to your room, and the doctor will take a look at your results.”

The nurse from earlier stepped inside and helped Leta into a wheelchair before taking her out of the imaging lab.

“Just to let you know, you’ve got some visitors when we get you back to your room. I believe it’s the professor over the dig site. We informed her that you were awake a little bit ago, and she insisted on coming to see you.”

Leta sighed, “Oh boy… Dr. Galloise is going to be an absolute basket case.”

She could practically feel the nurse behind her smiling, “She’s… certainly protective of you.”

“Please tell me she hasn’t called you every ten minutes…”

“We haven’t had to get the authorities involved yet for a restraining order, but I think the doc is considering it.

Leta groaned, already feeling a headache forming in anticipation of the show that was about to come.