An hour into the meeting, the candidates had been narrowed down to two. "It would be a mistake to give ultimate authority over to a single man," Alykyl stated heatedly. "This violates all precedence!"
"What precedence?" someone else asked just as heatedly. "Show me when our people have faced such a challenge. We are small in number. It is only logical that we consolidate our leadership until we have solidified our tenuous position."
"We need to uphold the standards of those before us," somebody else argued. "Giving ultimate power to a single individual would disgrace those who went before us."
"If I may have a moment," Admiral Miskyl calmly stated. She had been keeping her silence for some time now, just waiting to see how things would turn out. "As many of you know, I have not sought out any form of leadership, other than that of a ship's captain. I was given trust over our fleet, and even Alykyl, who is attempting to demerit me, strongly approved my appointment. If I remember correctly, he was the one who suggested me in the first place. I bring this up not to discredit him, but to point out his inconsistencies. It appears to me that he has some other agenda in mind, and not the future of our people. This is a dark time for us. We are unprepared for the situation in which we find ourselves. I would like to submit a limit for whomever is selected as regent. They will relinquish their title as soon as there is a civilian population raised who are able to provide sufficient governance for themselves."
Many responded to Miskyl's calm demeanor. Most were nodding their heads in agreement to his suggestions. "History will look at us as saviors or failures," Miskyl continued. "Either way they view us is fine with me, as long as they are alive to make these debates. I call a vote. Let us see where the majority lie and let us choose who will lead us. Too much time has been spent in debate already. We need to be a people of action if we are to survive the days ahead."
The votes came in and they overwhelmingly supported Miskyl as regent. An irate Alykyl abruptly left the meeting. "Now that we have selected our Regent, my engineers tell me that the nanites should be ready soon." One of the other captains stated. "Once our Regent is injected, we will start mass production. I know you are anxious to get the neural network running, and though it won't be as complex as it was when our people still lived, we will still gain many advantages from the nanites."
Several more topics were discussed and quickly decided upon. Miskyl decided to forgo the formal inauguration that traditionally haunted those selected to be Regent. A small celebration would be held on a later date, once there was a planet to hold one.
It took slightly longer than expected for the nanites to be ready for injection, but once they were, Miskyl was ready. Prolonged stasis required the subject be stripped of all nanites, and Miskyl was anxious to get them back. Once she was injected and the nanites had successfully integrated, some would be harvested to create the nanites for the rest of her people. This was what set the Regent apart from their subjects. Regent nanites, as they were commonly referred to, had complete and unrestricted access to the neural network. Essentially, they were the master set of nanites. Once successors were selected, they were given the same regent nanites. The only difference was they were dormant until the Regent had passed away.
The technician explained this and other obvious details as he prepped Miskyl for injection. Miskyl knew everything the technician was saying, but was being polite by keeping silent. The silver liquid that suspended that nanites and provided building materials for future nanites slowly made its way into her bloodstream. Miskyl began convulsing and then went still.
While it seemed that Miskyl was resting peacefully, she was really interacting with the nanites as the slowly integrated into her body. She kept her body comatose to giver herself more time to integrate and program the nanites as she saw fit. She had begun thinking of this right after she had accepted the role as Regent. She didn't trust that snake Alykyl, and knew he would do something to try and hurt her. She was methodical in her reprograming and only made slight alterations where they would go unnoticed. What she was doing was technically treason, and if discovered would certainly doom her. She was betting on the fact that the fleet didn't have the technology necessary to truly test the nanites for tampering.
Once she was satisfied with her work, she slowly began bringing her body awake. As she opened her eyes, her nanite enhanced senses were working overtime. Everything seemed more alive. She could make out details she wouldn't have thought to look for before.
"It appears we have a successful integration," the technician stated. "I'm going to take a sample of your blood so we can harvest the nanites and begin manufacturing more the general distribution."
"No need," Miskyl replied. She grabbed a clear vial from a nearby table and placed a finger over it. A small slit opened in the finger and a single drop of blood fell. "There is a concentrated amount of nanites in this drop. I believe it will be more than sufficient for you to begin your work. How long until you can start distributing them?"
"We will have the first doses ready by the end of the day. The engineers overseeing nanite production will be the first to receive them. We predict this will significantly increase further production rates."
"Give my thanks to those who have worked so hard to get these ready. You all have done a marvelous job." Once the technician was gone, Miskyl returned to her bed and to the neural network. She was the only one with access for now, which gave her plenty of time to plan what changes she would make.
Chapter 2
Start from the beginning
