"...this sickness is very interesting. The abnormal assimilation between body cells and active Originium," I murmured, my focus utterly lost in the glowing schematics on my desk. I was talking about Oripathy, of course—a disease in which active Originium corrodes the patient's body as the crystals slowly replace normal body cells. Rock cancer, basically. My notes were proving correct: the pathology was fascinatingly destructive.
A gentle cough brought me back to the squalid reality of my current living situation.
"Miss, we are done cleaning the room," Martha, the woman I'd begrudgingly allowed to stay, said nervously.
"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled, waving her away, already half-submerged back into my research.
"Miss," she persisted, her voice barely a whisper, "I checked the kitchen and we have no food."
Food?
"Wait, what am I even eating?" I said, finally tearing my gaze from the screen and looking at my desk. A small mountain of empty chocolate bars wrappers and a forgotten mug of cold tea was my only evidence of sustenance.
"Alright. I guess we can buy some groceries," I sighed, standing up. It was an inconvenience, but a necessary one. "Let's go."
I watched as Martha and her daughter, Ruby, both started to follow.
"Nope. Not you," I said, pointing a finger at Ruby. My eyes, which I realized only blinked when absolutely necessary, were fixed on the child's soul—or maybe just the dust on her forehead. "You stay. Make sure nobody enters, okay?"
I turned back to Martha. "Anyways, let's go! ...Erm, what are your names again?"
A patient, motherly love filled her eyes.
"My name is Martha, and this is Ruby."
I puffed out my chest, the moment demanding a proper introduction. "I am Agnes Tachyon! The greatest mind in the world!" I declared with all the pride that title deserved.
"Now then, let's get going, Martha." I opened the door with a flourish, and we stepped out into the hallway.
We hit the street, and Martha instantly became my unwilling map, as I had no idea where I was. After a period of what I can only assume was 'walking,' we arrived at a small, grimy store.
"Get what we need. I'll pay for it," I instructed. Martha nodded, already moving with the efficiency of a scavenger.
I, meanwhile, headed straight for the store employee, pulling out my latest prototype—a sleek, handheld device. It took mere seconds to hack into the local network. Convenient, I thought, confirming the security cameras were looped and, more importantly, that there was no one else in the immediate vicinity.
"Hello, sir. I am Agnes Tachyon. Would you try this? It's free of charge," I said, holding a small vial of strange, shifting-colored liquid in front of him. The employee looked utterly bewildered.
"Uh, miss, we only sell. Not buying," he mumbled.
I frowned, a concept like 'commerce' being utterly irrelevant to my goals. "Don't worry about it. Try it. You will like it, I promise." I turned on the full force of my charm, a focused beam of manic intellectual confidence.
"Sure, miss," he relented, grabbing the vial and drinking it down. His eyes rolled up, and he passed out cold.
I quickly grabbed his wallet and emptied the register, efficiency being paramount. Just then, Martha appeared, her arms loaded with enough food to feed a small army.
"Where's the employee?" she asked.
"Oh, he's in the back. And I already paid. We can go now," I said brightly.
Martha simply nodded, a remarkable display of unquestioning compliance.
Back in the room, I immediately returned to my desk, powering up my recording device.
"Test eight of the Tachyon Device Mk. 2 is a success of hacking technology, but needs further testing," I dictated, already pulling the prototype apart.
After a while of fixing and upgrading, Martha called me to eat.
"Wow! Food!" I said, taking a massive bite of the stew she'd made. It was... okay. Not gourmet, but certainly good enough to fuel the greatest mind in the world.
"Thank you for the food, Martha," I said, genuinely appreciative.
"Eh!? I don't deserve your praise, Miss Tachyon," she stammered, bowing deeply.
"It's okay. You deserve it. Well, I've got to get back to work." I said, heading for my station, but stopped. I noticed their clothes were the same ragged, travel-worn things they'd been wearing for days. Idea.
"Finally! It's done!" I exclaimed later, holding up two sets of freshly-sewn clothes.
"Martha! Call your child, I have something to give you!" I yelled.
"We don't deserve this, miss," she said nervously, seeing the items.
"Don't worry about it. It's yours. Take it," I insisted, shoving the neatly folded garments into her arms.
A short time later, they had changed.
"This feels incredibly comfortable to wear," Martha said, smoothing the fabric down.
"Yeah! It's so comfortable and soft!" Ruby giggled.
"Heh! I, Agnes Tachyon, can make anything!" I boasted proudly. Their new outfits were similar to the functional, stylized uniforms used by Rhodes Island, but without the distinct hoodie and color, and infused with my own enhancements, of course, including hidden Kevlar inserts and other useful tech I'd woven into the fiber.
"Anyways, I have to get back to doing my work," I declared, and without a single blink, I was back at my workstation.
Ten Days Later
"Yes! My Tachyon Computer Mk. 1 is done!" I announced, strapping the sleek, custom-built cuff onto my left arm.
"This will make everything easier. It's even connected to my system, so it's unhackable and can't be destroyed. I can access the system with this instead of calling out for it!" I rambled, before opening the TCMK1 interface with a thought.
[Name: Agnes Tachyon
Race: Umamusume
HP: 100%
Assimilation: 24%
Strength: 6
Speed: 10
Endurance: 6
Intelligence: 10
Equipment:
Tachyon Computer Mk. 1
Tachyon Armor Mk. 2
Tachyon Accelerator Mk. 1
Tachyon Device Mk. 3
Skills: I am the Smartest!: Able to learn anything faster than regular people and understand it to an advanced degree.
Mad Scientist: No moral values will affect you. Able to create and make new technology, and of course, data is more important than morality.
The Greatest Mind: Knows all knowledge in Earth and knows how to make or produce it.
U=ma²: I am faster than light! Run faster.]
"The assimilation is getting worse... or better?" I mused, taking a sip of the tea Martha had made. I glanced over at her, still working in the corner.
"Hey, Martha? Where are we? Like, what place is this?" I asked, my eyes never leaving my display.
"Eh?... Well, we are in Chernobog," she replied, a slight confusion in her tone.
"Mhm... What is the world called?"
"It's Terra," she said.
"Okay. Is the clothing good?" I asked.
"Yes, of course, it's very comfortable," she said happily.
"Good," I said, satisfied, as she returned to her tasks. The information was filed. Now, back to the data.