The Augment's Code (A Superhero LitRPG)

Undisclosed Location
Time Until Augmentation Array Appears: 6 Days

"What the hell…" Factory murmured to himself, clicking through a panel atop a platform looking out at a warehouse that seemed to stretch on farther than the eye could see.

For as large as it was, it was also filled to the brim, from wall to wall with row after row of identical cubes that were each at least five hundred feet wide on each side standing in groups of three. If it weren't for the Space Saver upgrade that had been added into this particular warehouse, classified as his Safe House of all things, there would have been no feasible way to fit the absurd amount of nodes that were required to cover the Earth.

As time went on, Factory diligently completed his work, if only to be able to finally get away from the absolutely annoying fighting that the others were starting to get nearly obsessed with. He couldn't put his finger on it, maybe it was the different game elements that Christopher kept implementing to make it easier to level and gain experience, or maybe it was having an "acceptable" target in the non-Sapients for some of the more… unstable of them.

That had surprised Factory more than anything. The people like Joey and even Dr. Curtis who almost seemed to delight in using their powers to actually hurt people. Something about all of this just hadn't been adding up for a long time. So while Factory did continue to follow his schedule, now just a week from completing the final node of the array, he also worked to try to implement a handful of… safety features and system monitors that would let him pull up more information than Axio probably intended for him to have. And looking at the screen of the panel, he was now relatively sure he had made the right decision.

<Mr. Factory: Hey L.G., can you round up The First and TechWarden? The final data core is online here and there's something they should see. Maybe grab a few others too, I don't want those two deciding to hide shit just because only a few of us know about it.>

He didn't exactly like having to obfuscate names when using the chat features of the game, but with things barreling toward what he kept overhearing Christopher's little quartet referring to as "Release Day," an extra "Secret Identity" rule was added into the system preventing anyone's actual name from being used in the comms system. It was an annoyance, but with the possibility of new Augments coming into the system, it was one of the few new additions Factory didn't mind.

<Lab Grown: No problem, be there soon. Think you'll have time for a drink later if those two don't start another pissing match?>

<Mr. Factory: Let's see how this goes first. But if you got beer, then yeah, I'm up for a drink later.>

Just shy of fifteen minutes later, Lab Grown led a small group of others into the large warehouse. Andrew looked completely annoyed, though that was probably because of Factory's continued refusal to give him any access to his printers. Christopher though… well he looked like a bit of a changed man, with muscles stacked on top of muscles and Factory was relatively sure he was growing bigger by the day.

"What is it, Factory? We're a week out, please don't tell me there's going to be another delay. I've already had to rearrange plans twice due to your miscalculations," Andrew said and Factory had to immediately bury the desire to punch him in his face. There was just something about the way his former boss carried himself that made Factory hate himself just a little bit for ever blindly trusting the man.

"No, everything's on schedule. Don't worry, we'll all finally be able to get away from each other in a few days," Factory said, pushing the hatred down as he gestured to the screen. "The final data core was added to Axio's pseudo server array this morning and this is what he's showing now when I poked into the system processes. Anyone want to explain to me why it says the time until completion is ten… fucking… years? Wasn't the whole point of building him this array so that he'd be able to recover whatever files are so damn important? Why's the can getting kicked down the curb?"

"Is that all Mr. Factory? You know you could have just asked me instead of summoning the development team," Axio's voice echoed in the room around them and Factory sneered up at the ceiling.

"Maybe because you left out this little detail from the start, which means you're hiding something."

"Sheesh Factory… Do you need your Acceptance Matrix tweaked? I thought we patched up the looming paranoia everyone was feeling," Dr. Curtis said with a laugh, even when Factory glared at him.

"It's not paranoia Curtis or Curdle or whatever the hell you're calling yourself now. I've been working on printing these blueprints he provided us for the last two years, I've seen every piece that goes into one of the Array nodes. While I might not have known what eighty percent of it was when we started, I've had more than enough time to figure out that most of those "little additions" outside of the computer equipment are all defense equipment. He's secretly created a god damn fortress for himself, don't you think that's a little odd? Isn't that something you should have caught when you analyzed the blueprints with that whole power you wrote into the system for yourself?"

"Oh I'm sorry, now you want my opinion? Christopher is the one who had Axio provide you the blueprints and if I'm not mistaken, you're rather defensive about the operation of your printers, so it's not like I could have caught it," Andrew said, a smug grin cutting across his face.

"Don't give me that shit," Factory spat. "You and I both know you had more than enough time to poke around in them before I locked your access. But I guess shifting the blame isn't new to you is it?"

"Axio? Did you add defenses to the array?" Christopher finally asked, his brow pinched as he looked up toward the ceiling. While they didn't have to do that to talk to Axio, since his voice always seemed to come from above them, it had become a bit of an unconscious habit for everyone that had been there since the beginning.

"I did," Axio admitted. "But I promise it's not necessarily for a nefarious reason. It's simply, as you humans would put it, self defense."

"Self defense from what!? Ever since that last glitch that messed with our memories half a year ago, we've all gotten alerts the moment we try to mention this to anyone not involved! Lab Grown was on the phone with her mom and the moment she even came close to mentioning it, her whole body froze up! And now you want us to wait, what, ten years for an explanation as to why you're here and can give us powers!? No, I don't buy it and I think any of you who do are just lusting after power."

"Axio… why is it going to take ten years?" Christopher asked, his tone still holding rather even, two dangerously muscled arms crossing over his chest.

"Recovering and rebuilding data lost during a corruption event for my systems is a difficult, tedious task The First and I predict there will be more than a few attempts to destroy Array Nodes after it goes up. My self defense features are intended to prevent the loss of even a single unit. The Array that has been built has the computational power to complete this of course, but having the power to do it and having the power to do it fast are two very different things. I was asked to provide an estimate on the amount of nodes needed to cover the Earth. If you all would like to spend more time building additional nodes, it could certainly speed up the process, but it would seem Mr. Factory believes I have ulterior motives."

"You are literally controlling what we can say to people!"

"That's not my rule," Axio shot right back.

"Yes… that is something you've said multiple times," Andrew said, a hand raising to his chin, eyes briefly glancing over at Christopher before he took a cautious step forward toward Factory. "And yet you have also refused to elaborate on where that rule came from. Or why you felt the need to implement self defense features."

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"If I could elaborate on it, TechWarden, I would. Now I believe this is the twenty-fifth time I've had to remind you about that. I believe I warned you that it was starting to drive me a little… mad," Axio said, and Andrew froze up slightly.

"What the hell is a Minor Threat and what do you mean I'll have to face it in the morning?!"

"Oh is that system functional now? With the reward system in place right?" Christopher asked, his somewhat stoic face lighting up with a bit of glee that Factory was really starting to despise almost as much as Andrew's self satisfied smugness.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you keep implementing this shit?" Factory snapped, though he noticeably didn't try to move closer to him. Whether Andrew was right about Christopher giving himself an advantage or not, Factory had seen him train more than enough to know that his literal support level abilities were nothing in comparison.

"When in Rome?" Christopher said with a shrug. "Axio is here for a reason and yeah, it sucks that we are going to have to wait a few years to find out why, but we've already waited two so a few more really isn't that big of a deal. When more Augments start showing up, and they will, the system needs to work to be able to guide them in the right way."

"Why would more show up?!" Factory nearly screamed. "Andrew has the P.A.D. that hasn't worked in months. Axio refuses to enable a new one or help him troubleshoot it, even I know that! Why the hell are you so sure more will show up?!"

"Ah… shit," Christopher muttered as Cassie reached up and rested her palm on her forehead.

"You were so close too…" Cassie groaned. Andrew's eyes narrowed into a glare before he did take a bit of an aggressive step toward Christopher.

"What the hell did you do?"

Atop Willis Tower, Chicago, Illinois
Time Since Augmentation Array Appeared: 8 Months, 17 Days
Time Until File Recovery Completes: 9 Years, 3 Months, 13 Days

"It's happening… isn't it?"

Christopher looked over his shoulder catching Cassie as she walked onto the rooftop. She was no longer dressed in her usual jeans and a band shirt, instead wearing an actual unitard in a mosaic of different colors, an item that Axio had actually created for the game. He had known that Axio would be able to generate the items, it fell into the realm of what the A.I. had said would be possible when the array was completely online, but he still found it a bit incredible to see in action. Even if he was already wearing two of the items himself.

"The selections? Yeah… I think so," he said looking from her and back up toward the twinkling array hanging like a grid in the sky. "Axio?"

"You did ask me not to tell you when it was happening, is that no longer the case?"

"Well the blue flashing lights are a bit of a giveaway… don't you think people might catch on eventually?"

"My apologies, The First. I am unable to disable that feature, though between the growing ranks of Non-Sapients being placed in key positions, as well as the use of lights in other settings, I believe the meaning of this specific pattern should stay properly obfuscated."

"That's a bit of a gamble… but I guess what's done is done," Christopher said with a sigh. "How many?"

"This will be the First Wave of Augments that can be added since you established the new rules for me. After careful consideration, I have identified the maximum possible amount of new Augments in a single solar cycle for your planet to be one thousand spread across the planet. For the simplicity of the game and to not put them at a disadvantage, I have renamed this group to be the Second Wave, identifying those of you on what was previously referred to as the Development team as the First Wave," Axio explained. "For the new Augments, I have already established their Safe Houses and connected them to the Transportation Network to allow them access to Sanctuary Square as you requested. The majority of the functions in allowance with Infinite Ascension game rules have been enabled, including shops, faction specific wings, and the Common Ground."

"I still can't believe you remodeled your parents house into a giant bar…" Cassie said, shaking her head, though Christopher just shrugged.

"It's one of the few places where you can get mental silence… say what you will about Factory and the others insisting on a Code of Conduct, but the idea that everyone should have access to that place is a good one… and my parents house was not what I'd call a 'public lounge' before Red Mercury suggested turning it into a bar."

"I guess…" Cassie trailed off before she looked up toward the sky again. "Are you… are you sure it's a good idea to still keep the game and system elements of all this a secret from the world?"

"I… I'm not sure," Christopher said honestly. "As it stands now… everyone else who gets Augmented will never know exactly who is responsible for it, which I do think is better… Andrew wanted sycophants. People who worshipped and revered him for giving them superpowers. If people knew I was the one who set all of this up... Maybe it's egotistical to think that's the way it would go, but it could and I don't want that… Hell… I never wanted it. I just wanted to make a game and things went way... way out of control..."

"Randomly selecting people isn't exactly much better than Andrew picking though… What if someone like… well... Jumpstart gets powers again?" Cassie asked, choosing to skip over just how many things Christopher had chosen to ignore to let things get this far. She knew he was aware of them and it was long past when they could do anything about what had happened in the past.

Christopher cringed slightly, the memory of Joey's madness. He had destroyed half a block in Niagara Falls before Christopher had been able to draw him out over the falls where he was able to put a stop to him. He had just been lucky that there wasn't a boat at the bottom of the waterfall with how bright things had lit up during that final discharge of electricity. It had been one of his first kills and the memory still tasted sour on his tongue. He had done it to save people, that's what he kept reminding himself of.

"We'll stop them," he finally said, his jaw setting as he watched the array flash one final time before it went dim. "If we have to be the Guardians of this world until Axio finishes… then we'll do it."

Sanctuary Square,

Non-PVP Zone.

Location Classified.

Closest Known Claimed Territory: Planet Earth

Unclaimed

Current Phase Points:

199940

Current Ascension Tokens Applied:

45

End of Phase Two: 22

D:23H:18M:25S

"And then we spent the next few years pretty much doing exactly that. Protecting the world, fighting against the few people who got Augmented that were seriously dangerous… kinda rinse and repeat," Christopher said after he finally swallowed a big bite of a burger he had been eating between the stories.

After I had finally escaped from James, with more than a few questions still about what Mr. Factory and TechWarden were after, I had decided to message Calypso on the off chance Christopher had some time to answer a few questions. Much to my surprise, she got back to me basically immediately. Apparently, after being cooped up in his own Safe House for the last few weeks, any opportunity to sneak out for a few minutes was one he was going to take.

We met up in the very same back room of the Common Ground, where I found him with a giant burger and plate of fries as he and Calypso waited for me. After some initial questions, he decided it would just be easier if he gave me an actual rundown of everything that had happened since this whole thing started. I hadn't even been paying attention to the clock, but I was relatively certain I had missed Axio's daily announcement, not that it really mattered at the moment either.

To say I was surprised by Christopher's choices would have been a huge understatement. I mean… The entire direction of our world was decided all because of a few badly timed decisions. Although… wasn't that almost always the truth?

"That's just… wow…" I finally said as I let all of the information settle. I was trying to dedicate as much of it to memory as possible, especially knowing that Jon was really going to want to know pretty much all of it. "I guess what I don't get is how Axio actually went crazy? I mean… if he wasn't always as unhinged as he is now, what exactly changed? I know you said it had something to do with you borrowing my powers but… that's still kind of missing a lot of details…"

Christopher let out a bit of a sigh, stopping before he took another bite. He looked at it for a moment before looking back up to me.

"I've thought about that day a lot over the last few weeks, especially since the few months before that have turned into mush inside of my head… I don't think I missed anything and I'm not sure if telling you will exactly be helpful, especially given-"

'I don't care if you have to tell me you saw me dead," I said, cutting him off just a bit more forcefully than I had intended to. "Look… I know I came here to ask about TechWarden and Mr. Factory… but they aren't the only people threatening the world right now… Something has to be done about him too. Maybe there's a way to fix him? Get the reason he came here out and then maybe… just maybe this whole thing can stop being a secret?"

"Stop?" Christopher asked, a brow raising as he set the remains of the burger back down. "I… hadn't really thought about revealing it at this point… I don't even know what good it would do unless we actually knew Axio's reason for being here… Though... I guess that might just be me being a coward... I am the reason this has been hidden for so long..."

"Well the Administration Key broke him… is there any chance we could use it to fix him too? Maybe we can figure out the reason? That's why I want to know about what happened that day… Maybe it's how you used the key in conjunction with my power, maybe it's something he did, I don't know. But having more people that can think on it can't hurt… right?"

"I…" Christopher started to say but trailed off until Calypso set a hand on his shoulder. Their eyes met for a few moments, having a silent conversation in a way that only two people who had known each other for years could before Christopher finally let out a sigh, his attention turning back to me. "Okay… as far as I remember, it happened like this…"