The Hive Enigma and the Open Cage
Hermann stared at me intently for a moment before opening his mouth. No long-winded backstory, no warnings—just straight to the point, as if stating the obvious.
"Do you know anything about one type of reinforcement human procedure from the past? Back then, to boost compatibility with machinery, they had a treatment that replaced parts of the human gray matter with chrome, just like machine components."
"Replacing parts of the brain with machines?"
"Hive is a project that stemmed directly from that old attempt." Hermann turned the monitor toward me so I could see it too. The screen was a dry wall of text filled with tangled jargon. Ugh, just looking at it made my stomach churn. Couldn't they write it in plain language? Still, the formal layout was oddly soothing. It looked like some kind of report.
"This is the planning document outlining the core concept of Hive. The objectives section spells it out, but simply put, it's a project to digitize human consciousness into electromagnetic patterns. Multiple corporations are researching it simultaneously right now."
"Like full brain upload."
"Exactly, full brain upload. But with human consciousness not fully understood yet, how could such an absurd attempt possibly succeed?"
"But it's right here in front of us."
He was talking about the unidentified weapon I'd taken down. Hermann nodded readily, as if conceding the point.
"That unidentified weapon blocking the transport fleet definitely looked close to Hive's end goal. Maneuvering like a human-piloted unit, even unmanned."
"So doesn't that mean the Hive project has already succeeded?"
"Seeing it in action, you'd have to say yes. But there's something off about it."
It was the vague suspicion I'd harbored too, but Hermann seemed far more certain. I nodded in agreement.
"The Hive we found underground has way too big a tech gap."
"The research team is analyzing it right now, but no matter how they look at it, it's just a random signal beacon—nowhere near successfully mimicking human consciousness."
"And it's ridiculously huge on top of that."
"Right. It's not even sized for a single weapon. If that massive device couldn't fully replicate a human mind, how did they suddenly leapfrog the tech gap to build that unidentified weapon? Doesn't add up."
Unless alien tech fell from the sky somewhere. Was the corporation really torturing extraterrestrials in that underground lab?
"Even its armament far surpasses known tech levels... It felt like something that shouldn't exist in this world at all."
"What if the corporations developed all that tech ages ago but held it back? What if the underground Hive was just remnants of old research?"
Hermann stared at me like I'd said something ridiculous.
"You really believe that yourself? Corporations prioritize profit above all. They'd do anything to stay one step ahead—why hold back something like that?"
"Well... maybe to avoid upsetting the balance..."
It sounded like opposition for opposition's sake. Outside, they were already slaughtering each other to outpace rival corps. In the end, I clamped my mouth shut.
"If they had the power, they'd swallow their enemies whole immediately—dangerous or not."
"Yeah... you're right."
The superweapons from the game, too powerful for humans to handle. Just thinking about them made it obvious.
So what the hell was that unidentified weapon I fought? If not corporate-made, where did it pop from? It was like it dropped straight from the heavens.
"That's the mystery. Our task from here on out."
With that, Hermann glanced at me sidelong, gauging my reaction.
"That's why I said 'our.' Anyway, let's get along for the rest of the contract. If curiosity strikes, we can talk terms."
"Got it."
"We're analyzing that unidentified weapon you scrapped too. Should have results soon."
At least I got a solid lead. A consciousness-mimicry project the corporations were running. Seemed like the hidden underbelly of the world I knew.
After that day, I often visited the site analyzing the unidentified weapon—now dubbed "Watchdog"—watching the research unfold. Not expecting any bombshell intel or drama; I was just hooked on the machine itself.
Why those limbs? What kind of engine? How did the boosters push past Mach speeds?
If a pilot rode it, could they survive? If not, how to make it survivable?
I wanted to hop in and fight. Breaking the sound barrier had to feel insane.
But every time I dragged myself there, I was hauling an IV stand, barely able to walk straight—heavy, useless body. The gap fueled my helplessness. Every moment without a Nexus felt like being trapped in a prison of flesh. How could I talk speeds and combat like this?
I'd asked Hermann for work, but he had nothing right now. Just rest and wait, over and over.
Even sims are wearing thin.
Finally, I couldn't take the itch anymore. I started hunting requests from other factions myself.
Mercs usually snag jobs from corporate postings. Designated gigs come after ranking up and catching eyes. Brokers could match you, but pilots scouting direct was a thing too. Risky, but viable.
Surfing sites, something caught my eye.
'Posted by Olivia Bio Group.'
My gaze locked because I'd raided their old lab—name burned in. Might've been enough to take it on impulse.
I clicked the request and read.
[Guillaume Military Leadership Assassination]
In the world of Metal Frame, governments lost function long ago. With rampant famine and resource depletion, war was everyday life. Soldiers' influence swelled naturally, and any "public" force had warlord-ified ages back.
But even above those warlords lurked a greater power.
'The corporations.'
They were the true top dogs. But they didn't want the "public good" target on their backs for every tragedy. Like meat shields, they propped up the warlord government as puppets.
Occasionally, some rebelled against the role. Here, Guillaume military seemed to be the rebels.
'No good or evil on either side.'
This wasn't noble resistance. Just fighting over their rice bowl. Pride, greed—military wasn't much different from corps. Inferior, if anything.
"Looks solid."
I was the merc in between, no judgments. I took Olivia Bio Group's request.
Soon after, Hermann summoned me.
Hermann couldn't send the girl before him alone. But her eyes burned with iron resolve to go solo. He had no right to stop her, no special reason. Just shallow human decency tying him down.
The doctor beside him felt the same. No matter how they spun it, sending her alone was too worrisome.
"You sure you'll be okay? Really?"
"I'm a merc. Taking requests is the job. This is prep."
"No, with your condition—think you can handle it solo?"
"……."
Rabe just stared at Hermann silently. Expressionless, but her eyes asked, Why do you care? As if not caring was the default.
"If it's about the debt, I won't die before paying it off. People don't die that easy."
"…We'll need to prep her thoroughly."
Realizing they couldn't dissuade her, the two could only load her up as best they could. Rabe took the request head-on and flew the coop like a bird from an opened cage.