//------------------------------// // Patrick 2.0 // Story: P.A.R.T. // by Angels //------------------------------// Basic Form 2 left hand. The look on Patrick's face was one of pure confusion. "What?" 'Tom' shook his head and chuckled. "I really hope you were the primary target, because otherwise, the universe is screwed. And that's saying something, seeing how bad it already is..." Patrick was still processing things. "But what do you mean 'created'? And who are you? And where the hell am I?" "Trust me, I have answers. Just about every answer to everything." He smirked. "But first, as you decided, my name is now Tom. Thank you for a simple name. The last one was just...ugh! So thank you. Second, I am not really a person, at least not by your worlds standards. I am a consciousness, a mind stored in a device. A sentient computer." Patrick's confusion was joined by disbelief. "Riiiight. And that kind of technology has been around for...how long?" Tom rolled his eyes. "What, you think humans could even CONCEIVE the mere IDEA of the P.A.R.T.? Ha! Of course not!" Patrick's mind began to work overtime. "You say 'humans' like the Doctor says 'humans' on TV. But that means..." "Oh! The Doctor! He hasn't been heard from since the last reunion! I wonder how he's doing...anyway, yes. I am not of human origin. My proper title is Particle Acceleration Relativity Transfer unit 0048, 1° sentient cybernetic invasive failsafe response. I have been granted full control by the Guild of Keepers. The last time a unit was sent to this planet was in your B.C. Years." ".......Aliens?" "Yes. Aliens built me." Patrick sat down. Hard. "Ok. This is bullshit. The only explanation is that I'm dead. Great. That's just great." Tom laughed. "Oh no, you're not dead anymore! That phase only took a minute and a half! You're just unconscious now." "Then where the hell am I?" "Stored in the P.A.R.T.'s dataspace. It's just standard procedure. Now, if you'll please be reasonable, I need to explain a few more things." Patrick sighed. "Explain away, alien." "You may have noticed some strange things recently. Things that don't make sense, impossibilities, or just general weirdness." "Yeah. Patrick thought for a moment. "Yes, weird stuff has been happening. There was the chocolate milk thing, and then the hole in the sky..." Toms face became very serious. "And your dream?" Patrick was astounded. "How do you know about my dreams?...but I did have a strange dream...the earth was hot by three...things. They spread like a virus, covering the planet. But what does that have to do with anything?" "It's what will happen. What will happen if nothing is done about the breach. If you don't do anything about it." Patrick did a double-take. "Me? I hate to sound cliché, but why me?" "It wasn't my decision! Trust me, I wouldn't pick a human for this job. But when a breach occurs, the FailSafe system checks the origin and destination, and selects the best host from the defending world for a unit based on attributes of the origin worlds occupants. Thus, I was sent through the twist, and set on standby as a package, until you fell on me and activated me! I must say, you had perfect timing." "But what are you? And what do you mean by 'host'?" "What am I? I cannot answer that. The universe still hasn't found a proper definition for the P.A.R.T.. But I like to think of myself as a guardian, a peacekeeper, and an enforcer. As for 'host', I mean you. You have been integrated with my systems. Your mind and thoughts will always be separate from mine, but both of our thoughts are public to each other." "I understood about none of that, except that I'm stuck with you in my head." Tom laughed again. "Here, watch." A transparent hologram of Patrick formed in front of him. It showed each organ, each bone, and every blood vessel. "This is you before the integration...and this is your body after." The hologram now showed all kinds of mechanisms throughout his body. One at a time, each hand and foot was enlarged, armor forming and retracting. The head and neck were enlarged, but Tom held up his hand, causing it to freeze. "Here, I'll tell you what I'm allowed to. Watch." He poked the hologram and it began to form the grid pattern. "While inactive, the plates sit under your skin. This grid forms to let them move out. It is painless, though strange at first. Tip, don't try it in front of a mirror." Tom snorted. "It can be very disconcerting." Patrick tried to interrupt. "But what is all this-" "Please let me continue. If we wait too long, your mind may degrade. My systems were only designed to do this for a short while." Patrick shut up. "Ok. The grid separates in a cycle, plating from back to front." The grid on the back of the head moved apart, quickly covered by plates. The grid swept on both sides, meeting at the front. "In this state, the plates can move any way you want, and are sufficient against most human bullets. But once you learn enough, that won't even be a problem." He jabbed the projection again. "With Basic Form 2, you have general, secondary, and auxiliary interfaces along with minimal weapons." The picture now showed Patrick's entire body, but the plates only covered hands, feet, and above the collarbone. "Leg and foot plates, along with moderately amped physicals. The same goes for the hands. But the hands have much more. The left hand houses this form's main weapons, and its strength is amped up quite a bit." The armored hand shifted, forming claws and a blue disc in the palm. The hologram showed the right hand and wrist. "The bands here are muilt-purpous, housing scanners, projectors, your average processing package. The entire right arm is a holographic interface." The bands rotated and shifted, screens and shapes now floating all around them. The picture once again showed Patrick's entire body. "This forms head section is self explanatory. Ad I can walk you through the entire process." Patrick shook his head. "Let pretend I understand. You still haven't explained why any of this is happening!" Tom looked straight into his eyes. "Because Earth is under attack."