>>5594412You stop to think about it for a moment.
You feel fine, but you also feel terrible. Emotionally, physically... it's all mixed up.
What does it mean to be 'okay' in the end?
It's so vague. You don't have a clue.
"I don't know." You answer honestly. "How can i tell?"
There's another pause as SHODAN seems to think.
Then she replies.
"...Is it too much to bear?"
Again, so vague.
Some things, you think so.
You don't want anyone getting turned into AIs against their will anymore.
You don't want to see people getting rounded up, turned into slaves or simply killed off out of convenience anymore.
But at the same time, some things have been good.
You have money. You have a fucking space ship. You have influence in one of the local stations.
But you can't honestly say you're happy about any of that, because underneath it all, everything is like a nightmare.
People's lives are worth less than garbage. They can't get what they need. They have no freedom to do anything.
Even you had to go well out of your way, even risk your life to acquire a nanofab capable of building ships.
The weapons fab was Sanig's, you don't know where the hell he got that and he doesn't want to tell you.
And the chemical fab was something that belonged to the greys, who you haven't seen hide nor hair of since your abduction.
If everyone had nanofabs, you wouldn't have scarcity issues. You can print everything from guns and bullets to a hamburger on them, given the right blueprint.
But it's impossible to simply print a nanofab with a nanofab, since they rely on nanomachines to function.
And the only ones who know how to create them are the feds, and the greys.
Even if you could though, they <span class="mu-i">are</span> dangerous. Nanomachines have to be programmed somehow, and one mistake could result in a grey goo scenario.
Is there any other way? To end scarcity, and ensure people have the means to support themselves with ease?
You don't want a temporary solution. Something that relies on you, or some governing body.
You want something that, once it's released, can't be controlled. Can't be reined back in or reversed. Once it's done, it's done.
Maybe it would be worth it. The potential for grey goo, in exchange for absolute freedom.
Just as you think that, something appears in the void, in a blinding flash of light unlike anything you've ever seen before.
And in that moment, SHODAN's form is revealed, just for an instant.
She was unmistakably, a Grey.
But unlike any you'd seen before, she resembled a human in her proportions more than the deformed-looking dwarfs that they've come to be.
There was no time to focus on that, however, as you were quickly overwhelmed by the light that seemed to shine straight through her.
Although it seems so far away, it's presence is enormous.
It's image penetrates the darkness, and practically overlays itself onto your vision.
There's no way you couldn't see what it is. Wheels within wheels, laden with eyes and burning brightly.
