Sigma 16 T2 - Chapter 92 - Bio-mechanics (Patreon)

Talia marveled at the sight before her as spiders came to greet them in droves, lining the metallic path into the city. Their chirps and clicks echoed through the cavernous space, creating music of excitement and anticipation.

“Now that we know that Spider-Town is a thing, what does it mean?” she asked.

[Analysis: The existence of this complex suggests two potential scenarios. First, the Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr may have developed advanced construction techniques, allowing them to build this city. Alternatively, they could be caretakers of a still-active precursor ruin, maintaining and inhabiting the structure.]

Rosetta’s wireframe face appeared on Talia’s side HUD, her eyes wide with excitement. “This is amazing! Having so many examples from the natives will greatly enhance my understanding of their language and culture.”

Rosetta pointed to one spider in the crowd, highlighting them in red. “Here’s an example of hidden agitation and resentment!”

Talia blinked and then squinted at the spider in question. At first, she couldn’t see any difference between that spider and the others, but then she spotted a burnt mark on the spider’s face and head. Realization dawned on her—it was the one she had shot with the survival tool. The injury had never fully healed.

Talia frowned, her steps faltering as guilt washed over her. Dusky, Dapple, and Hot Pink turned to look at her, confusion evident in their posture.

Dapple chirped, her head tilting to the side. “Maker-confused-no-go?”

Talia turned and moved toward the injured spider, her steps slow and deliberate. The surrounding spiders shrank back, their legs twitching nervously as they scuttled away from her approach. Only the burnt-faced spider remained still, its posture tense and guarded.

Reaching into her container, Talia retrieved a small pack of HEM cubes. She extended her hand, offering the entire pack to the wary arachnid. “I’m sorry you got hurt,” she said softly, her voice tinged with genuine remorse.

Rosetta’s wireframe face appeared on Talia’s HUD, her eyes wide with fascination. “Another emotional response! The spider is displaying a complex mix of agitation and uncertainty.”

Talia swallowed hard, her heart pounding as she waited for the spider’s reaction.

The creature seemed torn, its legs twitching as if caught between the desire to attack or flee. After what felt like an eternity, the spider reached out with its forelimbs, grasping the HEM pack. It quickly turned and skittered off the platform, disappearing below.

Releasing a shaky breath, Talia turned back to her spider companions. Dusky, Dapple, and Hot Pink watched her with curious eyes, their heads tilted in silent question.

“Why didn’t the spider heal?” Talia asked, her brow furrowed in concern.

Dapple chirped, her voice solemn. “Deep-Damage-Carapace-Requires-Repair-Not-Heal!”

[Analysis: The Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr’s exoskeletons may have limited regenerative capabilities.]

Hot Pink scurried before them cheerfully, her vibrant exoskeleton catching the light as she moved. Dusky chirped, her voice tinged with amusement, “Maker-Slow.”

Talia huffed, her exo-suit whirring as she tried to keep pace with the spiders. “I don’t have as many legs as you do,” she retorted.

Dusky clicked, her head tilting to the side. “And-Maker-Small.”

Hot Pink slid to a stop on the metal, her legs skidding across the surface. She turned and scampered back to Talia, bouncing excitedly as she chirped, “Maker-Ride-Hot-Pink! Go-Fast!”

Talia blinked, her eyes widening at the suggestion.

[Analysis: Faster traversal might be more efficient.]

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “God, help me,” she muttered, glancing between the spiders. She turned to Dapple, her voice hopeful. “Can I ride you instead? Hot Pink will probably get me killed.”

Dapple lowered herself to the ground, her belly pressed against the cool metal. Talia climbed onto her back, her exo-suit creaking as she settled into place. She nearly slid off.

Hot Pink leaped onto Dusky’s back, causing the gray spider to let out an “Ooof!”

The Pink spider then turned her butt toward Talia and shot a strand of web onto Dapple’s back, right over Talia’s hands. “Web-help-not-fall-off!” she chirped.

Talia hesitantly touched the sticky substance, her nose wrinkling beneath her helmet. “Not alien poop goop, no, it’s just... just glue. I am in my suit. Everything is fine. It’s fine.”

Dapple and the other spiders hurried down the causeway toward the center of the city, their legs moving in perfect synchronization.

As they moved, Talia noticed other spiders peeking out from nooks and crannies, their eyes wide with curiosity. There were thousands of them—far more than Talia had realized.

Hot Pink raced ahead, her vibrant exoskeleton a blur as she darted between the metallic structures. Dusky and Dapple followed at a more leisurely pace, their chirps and clicks echoing through the cavernous space.

Each time Hot Pink reached a random point, she would pause and wait for them to catch up before repeating the game.

As they approached a crossroads, Hot Pink spun in circles, her legs tapping against the metal surface. “Which-Way-Where-Go?” she chirped, her head tilting to the side.

Dusky turned to Dapple and Talia, her voice curious. “Go-Leader?”

Dapple shook her head, her voice firm. “Show-Maker-Nest. Then-Go-Leader!”

Talia shrugged. “Wherever you want to go is fine,” she said. “It’s your home, so you can pick what you show me. Or who you take me to.”

As they moved through the city, Talia gazed up at the metal buildings, her eyes wide with fascination.

Crystal lights glowed from inside the empty windows—or were they doors? She watched as a spider climbed out of an open hole, scuttling up the building’s surface before disappearing into another opening.

Talia nodded, her breath catching in her throat. “Not creepy,” she muttered, her voice barely audible. “Just normal. Spider Town. Right.”

[Analysis: The Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr appear to have adapted these structures for their unique needs and abilities.]

Rosetta’s wireframe face appeared on Talia’s HUD again. “This is incredible! The level of adaptation and repurposing of these structures is fascinating. I wonder what their original purpose was?”

Talia shook her head. “That’s a good question, Rosetta.” The AI was becoming more and more talkative now that she had been freed from the other Cortex AI units.

As they continued deeper into the heart of the city, a sense of awe and trepidation creeped into her chest. It wasn’t extremely large like some human inhabitations she had seen, but it was ancient, even if it was well cared for by the Tch’Llik. It was probably older than humanity’s history on earth, actually…

She held on tightly to Dapple’s back as her spider companions turned left, heading towards a large building with an opening level to the street.

As they entered the structure, Talia’s eyes widened at the sight of an industrial setup—a smelter for metal, a casting machine, and a metal press. An enormous pile of scrap was piled in one corner.

“What are you making here?” Talia asked.

Dusky scurried up to the conveyor belt, her legs moving with practiced ease. She grasped a metal piece in her forelimbs, holding it up for Talia to see. “Spare-Parts!” she chirped, her voice filled with pride.

Talia blinked as she looked closer at the metal piece. She realized what it was—it was a Tch’Llik forelimb, perfectly crafted and ready for use… or attachment?

[Analysis: The Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr appear to have developed a sophisticated manufacturing process for producing replacement limbs and other components.]

“Uhh… for repairs?” Talia guessed.

Talia watched as Dusky chirped affirmatively, confirming her suspicions about the purpose of the spare parts.

The spiders led her through the facility, entering another chamber where Talia was surprised to find the injured spider from earlier. It was feeding HEM cubes into a machine. As soon as it noticed their presence, the spider turned toward them and growled menacingly.

Dapple hissed back, her legs tensing beneath Talia.

Hot Pink, in a surprising display of diplomacy, jumped between them and chirped, “Conflict-No! Come-See-No-Harm!”

The injured spider eyed them warily before speaking, “Stay-Far! Not-Bother!”

Talia remained perched on Dapple’s back as they found a spot in the corner to observe the process. “Neo, are you recording this? It looks important.”

[Affirmative: All User suit visual and audio data is being recorded and analyzed. The high-resolution harness on Hot-Pink’s carapace is providing a 360 degree recording as well.]

In the center of the room, a metal face piece, likely crafted in the previous room, was being infused in a container. Talia watched as gas, seemingly generated from the HEM cubes, flowed into the container, enveloping the metal part.

“This doesn’t make sense to me,” Talia muttered, her eyes narrowing. “HEM as a material? How does that work?”

[Theory: The metal part is being infused with HEM to create a bio-mechanical replacement component for the spider. This could explain the difference between the base metal part and the actual exoskeletons of the Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr.]

The Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr’s ability to create bio-mechanical replacement parts using HEM raised even more questions about the nature of the spiders.

Talia watched in horror as the injured spider reached up and pulled its face off, revealing a metallic skull beneath. The spider then took the newly formed face from the container and placed it on its head, the metal shifting and changing color to match the rest of its carapace.

The old face was placed on the conveyor belt, which carried it away to a hopper on the floor. Talia swallowed a lump in her throat.

“Are we sure the spiders are organic and not some kind of advanced AI robot?” she asked, her voice shaking.

[Analysis: The Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr definitely exhibit biological processes, but with this revelation, it is clear that they are indeed bio-mechanical. An invasive process would be necessary for internal scans to determine the extent to which the spiders are manufactured or organic.]

Dusky chirped, her voice filled with excitement. “Maker-HEM-create-replacement!”

Talia nodded, her eyes wide with understanding. “Well, this was a good reason the spiders want and like HEM, I guess?”

She watched as the injured spider tested its new face with its forelimbs. It was impossible to ignore: the Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr were not just intelligent creatures—they were a fusion of biology and technology.

Dapple stood up, and Talia held onto the web handholds for balance as the spider moved beneath her. “Maker-Go-Meet-Leader!” Dapple chirped, her voice filled with excitement.

Dusky and Hot Pink joined in, their chirps echoing through the metallic city as they made their way back out onto the street. The spiders headed down a main avenue, wider than the others, leading straight to the heart of the city.

Talia’s head leaned back as they approached a massive pillar building in the center, reaching up to the ceiling of the chamber. The structure glowed an ethereal blue, casting an otherworldly light across the city.

As they reached the entrance, a group of red spiders emerged from above and below, blocking their path. “Permission-Go? Permission-Go?” the red spiders demanded, their voices stern and unyielding.

Dusky stepped forward, appalled by their behavior. “Maker-Go-Meet-Leader!” she insisted, her chirps sharp and insistent.

The red spiders argued among themselves, their clicks and hisses filling the air. Finally, they parted, creating an opening for Talia and her companions to pass through.

Hot Pink rushed forward and chirped at the red spiders, her voice squeaking. “Red-Spider-Dumb! Not-Know-Maker-Go!”

One of the red spiders reached out, thumping Hot Pink on the head. The vibrant spider whined, retreating to Dusky and Dapple for protection.

“Pink-Spider-Dumb! Not-Know-Red-Spider-Strong!” the red spider retorted, its voice laced with annoyance—or at least, the translated voice was laden with it.

Dapple carried Talia into the massive tower, her legs moving with purpose as they entered the imposing structure.

[Analysis: The red spiders appear to be guards or sentinels, tasked with protecting the entrance to the central tower. Their behavior suggests a hierarchical structure within the Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr society.]

Talia nodded, her brow furrowed in thought as she considered the implications of the spiders’ interactions. The Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr were far more complex than she had initially realized, with a society that seemed to mirror human structures in many ways.

Talia’s breath caught in her throat at the sheer size of the space. The room stretched out before her, its walls adorned with intricate patterns and glowing crystals that light an array of different colored metallic surfaces.

In the center of the chamber, a sizable pyramid of white stone rose from the floor, its apex reaching approximately twelve meters high. Perched atop the structure, Big Red sat, her massive form commanding attention and respect.

Talia had expected some type of throne, and she wasn’t disappointed. The pyramid served as a regal seat for the leader of the Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr, a symbol of her authority and power.

What surprised Talia, however, was the lack of cocoons or spiderwebs. When she looked up, she realized that she had been partially right.

A grid of spider webs stretched across the expanse, adorned with hanging crystals that glittered in the soft light. The sight was beautiful.

Dusky, Dapple, and Hot Pink chirped and clicked, their voices echoing through the chamber as they greeted Big Red. The massive spider regarded Talia with large eight eyes, the gaze piercing and intense.

Talia swallowed hard, her heart pounding in her chest as she was carried toward the pyramid. She hoped her spider friends knew what they were doing.