Dryker's Stand: Book 2 in Void Wraith Origins by Chris Fox

Author:Chris Fox [Fox, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chris Fox Writes LLC
Published: 2020-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

24

So Arrogant

Reid sat a safe three meters from the subject Marine, who appeared lucid. He didn’t know if the larva might impart the ability to spit poison, or some other defense mechanism.

The man had been unconscious for seventeen minutes, far shorter an interval than Reid would have gambled. He’d have thought hours, or days perhaps. The Marine’s implants transmitted neurological data, and various biometrics, which allowed him to easily monitor how the creature was altering the human body.

It had wired itself to the nervous system, which it controlled utterly. Everything between the brain and the body had been co-opted by the symbiote, which meant it retained all the advantages.

“I am awake,” the Marine rumbled, “and await your queries. I have acclimated to this physiology, and can provide intelligence. Your prudence is unnecessary. To speed data transfer we recommend you ingest a larval symbiote.”

Reid barked a derisive laugh. “Of course you do. Do you take me for a fool because of my age? There is no universe in which I allow one of those parasites anywhere near my body. I can literally see it seizing control. Why would I allow that to happen?”

He leaned back in his chair, and fought the surge of curiosity. This thing had been here for twenty-six millennia. Nearly three times as long as recorded history. Far before humanity had done more than leave Africa and start settling the globe.

“I am merely a conduit,” the symbiote explained. The host’s body remained flaccid, with the head lolled against the neck as if the creature didn’t think holding it up important. “I am connected to a vast network. A repository of consciousness and memory and data spanning millions of years and dozens of galaxies. I hold every secret to the universe, and you can access them freely.”

“Let’s say I agreed.” He never would. The mere thought made him nauseous. “What do you get out of it? Why leave the larva here? Why such an elaborate trap?”

“I will use your body to enact the eradication.” The alien stated it as if the event were imminently desirable. “When the Gorthian eye arrives it will receive nourishment from this sector, which will enable it to enter the next phase of its gestation. From your perspective our plans will take hundreds of millennia to enact, and your life can be whatever you wish in that time. You can make discoveries, learn the secrets of the universe, and live far longer than your body would normally allow. If you obey our dictates, then we will never seize control of your body. You retain complete autonomy.”

Colonel Buckner gave a horrified noise of disgust, but didn’t intervene. That one was going to be a problem, eventually.

“So I get to be a slave with a light leash, is that it?” He leaned back and folded his arms in an attempt at intimidating. Sometimes he wished he were older. “Open the facility. Allow me to explore it. Show me your technology. If I am pleased, then I will find you suitable hosts for the other larva.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.