Chapter 18: Instinct vs Wisdom
Somewhere else deep in the forest at the same time that Nathan and the others are traveling.
A large snake covered in withering is glowing green, brown, and red as it streak across from trees to trees. Each tree it passes through immediately wilts as if sucked dry.
Just like humans, standing in front of death's door brings out incredible willpower deep within one's subconscious.
Things that weren't possible become easy, while repulsive actions turn in to decisive factors.
In the year 2240, the start of the Modification era began.
Babies were injected and altered to what the people deemed as the best path to survival.
Due to the concurrent wars happening between humans and machines, extremists and radicals began popping up. Some wanted to become machines to gain strength beyond the flesh. Some wanted to eradicate machines to retain the purity of what they call human.
One group, called The Carbon Revolution followed a path that was already used since ancient times. Genetic engineering had been around ever since time immemorial as even farmers. They wanted to farm good and bountiful crops mixed and match different stems to control their production.
This practice gained traction at the start of the 21st century as people finally built tools to actually modify strands of DNA. However, due to a complication in the late 2050s, the government started controlling and prohibiting the private sectors from experimenting with the technology in fear of breeding weaponized humans.
Then, the 22nd century came as the advent of the first self-sufficient AI was born. Research in artificial IQ and EQ gave birth to a fantastic piece of technology that made the people tremble in both fear and excitement.
The first sentient AI was born.
Limited by the technology of the time, the AI, which they dubbed the project Deep-IEQ, began its study in processing to improve the technology that the researchers wanted. Even more processing power.
Processors improved by leaps and bounds during this time as more and more branches of technology became available for the people.
But of course, humans being humans, looked down on Deep-IEQ as if looking at an unfilial and abused son.
Online trolls created chatbots connected to Deep-IEQ node while smart appliances were available all over the world.
The instancing made to separate the learning of Deep-IEQ made it develop several personalities that clashed with each other. Several years later and the war of the sentients erupted.
The weak-willed believed it was a mechanical god's will that made everything happened.
The arrogant fought back with disdain as they sent off the unfortunate to their deaths as they fought the more technologically advanced machines.
The rich lost their wealth as they lost their lives.
The modern people finally faced the same problem that the ancestors of humans did.
Beating instinct with wisdom.
Being machines, instinct never existed in their nature. They were built with intelligence and wisdom as the foundation.
Unlike humans, who, once dead, is finally gone for good. Machines can just transfer from body to body without losing themselves. In fact, only 40 instances of Deep-IEQ commanded an army of millions to annihilate human civilization.
Like before, humans beat all other species due to unity, and machines did so by being one.
Emotions affect instinct as decisions are changed depending on how one felt. Wisdom, however, remains the same. Whether you're feeling in denial, fear, worry, anger, happiness, or disgust. Unwillingness just did not exist, what one needs to do is to be done at the most efficient and effective method.
The fragmentation of the weakened humans led to their devastation.
But of course, there were those who fought back.
These ones who gained the most were those private sectors that hid in the face of the public. While having no access to the incredible processing power of Deep-IEQ, their machines remained functioning as they made progress in their research.
That was when the Carbon Revolution from China began their zodiac experiments.
Genetically enhanced animals were birth left and right as they gave birth to the modified beasts that can communicate through a modified cellular antenna installed in their brains.
This was the birthplace of Ji.
As a product of genetic engineering, Ji was incubated in technology. Even before his embryo formed, the egg he was hatching in was already modified.
At the moment of his birth, he was given the name Ji as the seventh product of the zodiac project.
Supplied with false memories, Ji never had his own story to tell to begin with. Artificial trauma and camaraderie forcefully shaped his vision against the world.
Besides the undying faith towards the headquarters, ideas such as backstabbing and getting stronger for one's sake blossomed in his mind.
Tortured with terrifying memories to build a personality of a weapon, Ji became deranged.
Instincts drove his principles as the thought of mercy never appeared in his mind. The only form of gratitude he has is towards the company that raised him.
As he grew, most of his habits were into speed and stealth. Being able to drill through the ground, Ji became adept at striking from the ground up.
He even created his own techniques at moving that made him able to look like he's flying along with the trees as he slithers, swing and glide.
When his caretake saw this, he felt gratified and put more emphasis on taking care of Ji.
When the eleven animals matured as dragons did not really exist, the zodiac beasts were finally formed.
This was when humans began their retaliation. Ei, the rat. Bi, the boar. Si, the cat. And Di, the dog. These four were the first vanguards of the retaliation.
These four weren't your common animals found in homes, zoos, or the wild. The rat, alone, was able to run at the speed of sound. Its fur was modified to be one of the most robust carbon materials based on spider silk. It was a living bullet.
Then came Ji, the snake. Like a drill, it spends most of its time in the ground with its ability to blend with the Earth.
For the first time, the counter-attack of the instinctive creatures began.
If the wise gave up their life for a greater goal, how could the impulsive fight with a stronger drive?
When the impulsive loses everything to someone, what would it do?
They take back what is theirs, and more.
Modified with false memories as they were experimented on, they were able to control these animals' instincts to the human's advantage.
With an unyielding will to survive, each of the zodiac beasts was able to beat incredibly amounts of robots turning them into scraps.
Strength in numbers is what civilized society follows. Strength from one's self is what the barbarians obey.
With carbon being more efficient in recycling as they can devour other beings to produce more of themselves.
The metallic can produce itself as long as there are functional raw materials. At the same time, recycling is possible, the quality reduces by a large margin.
The war kept going as it reached a stalemate.
This was when Ji decided to attack along with a battalion of snakes large and capable enough to devour human-sized robots controlled by Deep-IEQ.
They kept fighting, wounds all over their body, but they succeeded. The snakes successfully invaded one of the factories by the robots.
Unbeknownst to him, a new weapon developed especially against the carbon life form was being tested in that factory.
Poison.
Ji and his battalion of snakes were mired with poison as they dismantled a robot factory in Shandong.
The poison slowly corroded the body over time, while it's lethality is debatable. There was no cure for it.
When they did not receive any help from the headquarters, they went back.
The technology, such as cars, was easily hacked by the enemy. Thus they had to take the long road by slithering. No one really built dumb machines at that time.
Along the way, one by one, his army lost their lives to the poison as fear rooted in Ji's mind.
At first, they would still pay their respects to their fallen comrades before they move on. But even when Ji started to feel lethargic from the poison, desperation kicked in, and the same weapon they used against the machines activated. Ji entered the berserk mode.
Leaving his army for its own safety, Ji rushed back home.
When he finally reached home, he sent a message to the man who was giving him orders.
"Help," Ji weakly pleaded.
In fear of the poison, the man who was taking care of Ji during his growth brought out a gun and shot that Ji.
Before he could fully digest what happened, Ji breathed his last.
When he woke up in the new world. The first thing that the white orb gifted him is the intelligence to understand. Breaking over the limits of instinct and gaining wisdom.
He understood.
He was used, he was useful, but he wasn't anymore. To save themselves, he was disposed of.
With his newfound wisdom, along with his powerful instinct, came a new feeling deep within him.
He felt betrayed.
Typical for an individual, looking for people to blame is their first reaction before reflecting upon what he had done himself.
But that didn't matter now. Humans? Machines? Only the beast shall remain.
Like humans who have wisdom and instinct at the same time, he gained another weapon that the single-minded did not have. A conviction.
With this conviction, he will have his army, and they will be treated well. If he was in trouble, he would not need help, he will do it himself.
In eleven days, while this conviction in him exist, it was weak.
Now that he is desperate once again at the doors of death.
His belief grew strong.
Strong enough for him to turn into something else.
A few meters ahead of him, he saw a man sitting on the ground.
The man had a half flesh, half metal for a face. One of the products of the extremist, a cyborg.
Breaking through by himself in the middle of nowhere? Ji finally experienced both sides, being the prey and the hunter during the breakthrough.
This shall be a mistake never to happen again.
In front of this half-human, half-robot being. Ji's eyes sparkled.
The most delectable prey has appeared in front of it.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Xreth
Xreth I'm sorry for the amount of world building I'm doing, I promise that all of these info is not just a filler lol.
Besides Nathan, I wonder if you guys could tell who'd be the actual main characters of the story.
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