Arrival at Vilis
Two of our party were suffering from the marmalade malady - Stella Cauthon and Hoff Ende lay slumped in their bunks, small quantities of marmalade dribbling from their mouths as they remained locked in that peculiar unconscious state. We'd learned by now that moving them for short, potentially dangerous missions was more trouble than it was worth. They'd stay aboard The Cauthon while the rest of us handled business.
 |
| The Vilis Highport |
The Cauthon glided into dock at Vilis Prime's Highport, the massive orbital space station that serviced the most populous world in the subsector. Eight billion souls lived on the planet below, with another two and a half billion scattered across the system's twenty-six other worlds. It was a major hub of the Third Imperium, and the military presence made that abundantly clear.
As we completed our docking procedures, Crash noted the sheer number of warships in orbit. "That's a lot of firepower," he muttered, counting destroyers, cruisers, and what looked like at least one dreadnought.
The customs inspection was thorough and tense. A squad of Imperium troops boarded, their leader a hard-faced sergeant who wasted no time.
"Any Zhodani aboard?" he barked.
"No," Crash replied. "We dropped our navigator off at Winston."
The sergeant's eyes narrowed. "Winston. That's Zhodani territory now."
"We're aware," Itzy said carefully. "Some of us have family there."
The inspection continued, the troops checking every compartment with professional efficiency. The tension in the air was palpable - clearly the Third Imperium wasn't taking the Zhodani annexation of Winston lightly.
"You're clear to proceed," the sergeant finally said. "But be advised - no weapons are permitted on the surface. Leave them aboard your ship. Admiral Ramsbottom's orders."
"Admiral Ramsbottom?" Anton asked after the troops had left. "Never heard of him."
"Must be the local fleet commander," Spanner suggested. "And he's not taking any chances."
Descent to Vilnius
We opted for the Sky Elevator rather than the shuttle service - a gondola-style capsule that ran on fixed cables between the Highport and the Lowport on the surface. The descent took nearly an hour, the planet growing larger in the viewports as we dropped through the upper atmosphere.
Vilnius spread out below us, a gleaming metropolis of towering structures and mag-train lines that crisscrossed the cityscape like silver threads. The Lowport was a bustling hub of activity, and we quickly caught a mag-train to our first destination.
The local Cauthon Institute was a modest facility compared to some we'd seen, but well-maintained and clearly active. The director, a thin man with wild grey hair who introduced himself as Dr Strangelove, greeted us with professional courtesy.
"Ah yes, the traveling Institute representatives," he said, his voice carrying a faint accent. "I've been apprised of your mission. You'll want the main research hospital in Vilnius - Dr Knodel is expecting you."
Our Dr Knodel's head snapped up. "Knodel? A relation, perhaps?"
"I couldn't say," Dr Strangelove replied. "But he's head of Genetic Medicines. Very accomplished."
The monorail train carried us across the city to the research hospital, a massive complex of interconnected towers that gleamed white against the sky. We entered through the main reception and asked for Dr Knodel.
When he arrived, the family resemblance was unmistakable.
"Brother!" both Knodels shouted simultaneously, rushing toward each other.
"Powidła!" exclaimed Paczki (paw-VEED-wah).
"Paczki!" responded Powidła (POUNCH-key).
They embraced enthusiastically, launching into rapid conversation in what sounded like German mixed with technical jargon.
"Well," Crash said to the rest of us, "at least someone's having a good reunion."
Quarantine
Powidła Knodel - head of Genetic Medicines and apparently Paczki's brother - led us deeper into the hospital complex. As we passed through a set of heavy doors into the genetic research wing, a klaxon suddenly blared throughout the corridor.
Massive airtight doors crashed down behind us with a resounding boom.
"Ah, the alien bio-indicator alarm," Powidła noted calmly, as if this happened every day. "I suspected that might trigger."
"You suspected?" Buzz said, looking at the sealed doors behind us.
"Of course. You've been exposed to extraterrestrial biological agents. The sensors are quite sensitive."
We were ushered into a bio-hazard quarantine chamber - a large, sterile white room with examination tables, medical equipment, and what looked like observation windows along one wall. Powidła and Paczki immediately began discussing theories about alien biology and genetic mutations, their conversation growing increasingly technical and incomprehensible to the rest of us.
Blood samples were taken from everyone. Then we waited.
Several hours later, Powidła scanned the results, his expression grave.
"As expected," he said, pulling up holographic displays of our genetic profiles. "Itzy, Sang, and Anton - you three show severe genetic infection. Your DNA has been fundamentally altered by exposure to the extraterrestrial biology on this 'Rose' planet."
He gestured to the rest of us. "The remainder of the party shows minor carrier status - genetic infection prions that haven't fully integrated into your systems. Concerning, but not immediately dangerous."
"Interesting timing," Powidła continued, swiping through additional files. "We actually have other patients here who survived exposure to the same planet. A Sergeant Benjamin Gunn and his companions were transferred here some weeks ago."
"Ben's here?" Anton said, surprised. "And the Zhodani girls? Fido?"
"Indeed. I've been conducting research on their conditions. Fascinating cases." Powidła pulled up another set of displays. "The Zhodani females show no genetic infection whatsoever - their physiology appears resistant. However, their higher brain functions have been severely degraded by some other mechanism we don't yet understand."
"And Ben?" Itzy asked.
"Mr. Gunn is... extensively mutated. But stable, for now. The Vargr specimen - 'Fido' as you call him - has undergone significant devolution. More wolf than sophont at this point."
Powidła turned his attention to Anton. "You exhibit the most obvious physical symptoms among your group. The mushroom growth, the formic acid secretion - these are clear indicators of advanced genetic integration with the fungal biology from Rose."
Anton shifted uncomfortably. "Can you cure it?"
"Possibly," Powidła said. "But to attempt a cure, I need to understand exactly what's happening at the molecular level. Which brings me to our cutting-edge treatment option."
 |
| The treatment room |
He gestured to a bank of equipment along one wall - sleek medical devices connected to what looked like neural interface helmets.
"Nano-bot medical examination," Powidła explained. "Controlled via neural interface technology. Essentially, your party will pilot a fleet of medical nano-bots through Anton's body, allowing us to examine the genetic infection at the DNA level in real-time."
"Like that old movie," Heidi said excitedly. "Fantastic Voyage! From ancient Earth!"
"Precisely that concept, yes," Powidła confirmed. "Though our technology is considerably more advanced. You'll maintain full consciousness while controlling the nano-bots, experiencing the journey as if you were actually shrunk down and traveling through the body."
"Cool!" Heidi exclaimed.
Anton looked less enthusiastic. "So, you're going to shrink my friends and inject them into my body?"
"Not literally shrink them, no," Powidła clarified. "They'll remain here, controlling the nano-bots through neural interface. But their perspective will be as if they were inside the nano-bot fleet."
"Where exactly are we going?" Spanner asked, always practical.
Powidła consulted his notes. "First destination: the prostate gland. That's where we're detecting unusual cellular activity. Second destination: the scrotum, where the primary fungal growth is located."
Anton sighed. "Of course it's my groin. Why is it always my groin?"
Paczki rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Fascinating! A journey into zee very heart of zee infection! But there is a risk, ya?"
"Vell ya, the neural link means that any injury to your bot means an injury to the 'pilot'. So don't be killing your bot, that would be very unfortunate for you!"
"Oh great" muttered Crash, "Just like flying!"
The Journey Begins
After further discussion and detailed instructions from Powidła, we were led to a specialized treatment room. Seven medical 'beds' were arranged in a semicircle, each equipped with the neural interface helmets.
"Everyone comfortable?" Powidła asked as we settled onto the beds.
"Define comfortable," Crash muttered, eyeing the neural interface helmet with suspicion.
"The helmets will create a direct neural link to the nano-bot fleet," Powidła explained as he and his assistants fitted them to our heads. "You'll experience full sensory input from the nano-bots' perspective. Movement, vision, even limited tactile feedback."
"And Anton?" Itzy asked.
"Mr. Tositova will of course be joining you for his own exploration. Ve wouldn't vant him to be missing out on the excitement, no?"
"Wait, I'll be inside myself? That's not weird at all" muttered Anton.
"The nano-bot fleet will be loaded into a micro-sized capsule and introduced via catheter through the urethra," continued Powidła matter-of-factly.
There was a moment of stunned silence.
"Through my... wait, what?" Anton's voice went up an octave.
"Down the shaft of your fungal penis, to be specific," Powidła clarified, as if discussing the weather. "It's the most direct route to both the prostate and scrotum."
"Of course it is," Anton said weakly, his face pale.
The neural interfaces activated with a soft hum. For a moment, nothing happened. Then—
The world shifted.
Suddenly we weren't in the treatment room anymore. We were... somewhere else. Somewhere dark and confined, surrounded by smooth walls that pulsed with a steady rhythm.
"Neural link established," Powidła's voice echoed around us, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere. "You are now controlling the nano-bot fleet. Preparing for insertion."
There was a sensation of movement, of being pushed forward through an impossibly tight space. The walls pressed in around us, smooth and pink, pulsing with regular contractions.
"Insertion complete," Powidła announced. "Welcome to Anton's urethra. Your journey begins now."
Paczki's voice came through the neural link, filled with scientific enthusiasm: "In ve go!"
The passage ahead stretched before us like a vast tunnel, twisting into the distance.
The voyage into Anton had begun.
Into the Depths
The insertion experience was profoundly disturbing. Even knowing intellectually that we weren't actually being shrunk and injected into Anton's body didn't prevent the visceral horror of the experience. The neural interface made it feel utterly real - especially the claustrophobic journey down the urethra.
Each of us had to make a roll against our PSYCHE score to handle the trauma. Most managed to keep their composure, but Crash rolled catastrophically - a natural 20 that sent his nano-bot careening wildly, sustaining four points of damage in the process. Itzy and Buzz also struggled, each taking a point of damage as their bots collided with the urethral walls.
"I'm damaged already?" Crash groaned. "We just got in here!"
Heidi immediately went into medic mode, using her First Aid skills through the nano-bot interface. She successfully stabilized Crash and Itzy, repairing one point of damage to each, but couldn't quite manage Buzz's wounds.
"At least we're functional," she said.
As we oriented ourselves in this strange new environment, we discovered our nano-bots were equipped with weapons systems tailored to each pilot's primary attributes. Those with high Dexterity or Perception had missile weapons - sleek projectile systems that could target from a distance. Those with high Strength or Constitution wielded bladed weapons - molecular-edged cutting tools.
The split was roughly even: four missile weapons, three bladed.
Buzz activated his blade and swung it experimentally, the weapon humming as it sliced through the surrounding fluid. He laughed with delight.
"Cut!" he exclaimed, clearly pleased with his weapon.
"Very appropriate," Spanner muttered.
Navigation Between Cells
Our capsule proceeded forward through the urethral passage, the walls pulsing rhythmically around us. Eventually, the passage narrowed and if we proceeded on the capsule would soon become jammed.
"Capsule can proceed no further," Powidła's voice crackled through the neural link. "Exit and continue on foot."
The capsule's walls dilated, and we stepped out into the urethral passage. "Keep moving," Powidła instructed. "You need to enter the intercellular environment surrounding Anton's prostate. Look for a gash in the urethral passage wall - a natural passage. You should see one approximately one hundred meters ahead."
We pushed forward through the viscous fluids, navigating along the twisting urethral passage.
"There," Spanner pointed. "I see it."
A gash in one of the walls - a tear or opening in the membrane that would allow us passage through.
"That's normal?" Anton's voice came through the comms, worried.
"Absolutely normal," Powidła assured him. "Your bodies systems have natural passages and connections. No cause for alarm. This will allow your team to enter the prostate area."
We approached the gash carefully and slipped through into ...
.. something we hadn't expected.
We emerged into a vast space - the intercellular environment surrounding Anton's prostate.
The scale was disorienting - we knew intellectually we were nano-sized, but the environment felt enormous.
We were floating in the enormous space between cells. Each cell was massive - easily the size of a stadium - their walls forming vast curved surfaces around us. The intercellular fluid was thick but navigable, and we found we could move through it with a swimming motion, though Powidła had apparently forgotten to mention we'd need zero-G skills for this!
"This is so weird," Heidi said, staring at the immense cellular structures around us. "We're like... between buildings in a city."
 |
| The inter-cellular space |
We pressed onward, navigating through Anton's insides for what felt like an hour. The environment was surreal - vast cell chambers connected by open space; all bathed in a reddish glow from the surrounding tissue. Finally, we arrived at the boundary wall of what Powidła identified as the appropriate prostate cell.
"See that spongy wall ahead of you?" Powidła asked. "You can cut through there into the cell. Or use the cell gate."
The Cell Gate
The cell gate was unlike anything we'd expected. A large disk-like platform mounted perpendicular to the cell wall, half inside and half outside, with a series of seat-like mounts arranged around its circumference. It rotated slowly, like some biological carousel.
 |
| The Cell 'Gate' |
"Sit on a seat," Powidła instructed. "The gate will rotate and carry you through an irised opening in the cell wall."
"If you're lucky," Spanner added, studying the mechanism.
She was right to be cautious. Each of us had to roll against our LUCK stat to successfully pass through. A failure meant the iris would close at the wrong moment, causing damage and leaving us stranded outside.
One by one, we took our chances.
Spanner went first - success. She spun through the iris smoothly and disappeared into the cell.
Heidi followed - success.
Buzz - success.
Crash - success, barely.
Anton - success.
Then Itzy sat down on a mount. The disk rotated, but the iris closed too early. His nano-bot slammed into the cell wall, taking two points of damage, and he remained outside.
Paczki was next. The same result - the iris caught him, inflicting one point of damage, and he too was left outside the cell wall.
"Scheisse!" Paczki cursed.
Inside the cell, Paczki quickly administered First Aid through the neural link, managing to restore one point to both himself and Itzy. But Itzy was still down two hit points.
"Now what?" Itzy asked, staring at the impenetrable cell wall.
Through the comms, we worked out a plan. Someone would need to cut through the cell wall from the inside to let them in. Crash had the best bladed attack skill, so he was selected for the task - though he had to spend a point of LUCK to ensure success.
The molecular blade hummed as it bit into the cell wall. Crash worked methodically, carving a passage large enough for the nano-bots to pass through.
"It was like cutting through a one-foot-thick curtain of lard," he commented later.
"And that's my cell," Anton grumbled over the comms.
Finally, Paczki and Itzy squeezed through the opening, and we were all inside.
The Cell Interior
The interior of the prostate cell was vast - easily the size of a cathedral, just as Powidła had described. And it wasn't empty.
"Advance toward the cell nucleus," Powidła instructed. "But be careful. The cell's defence systems may activate. Watch for p53 proteins - they act like security guards. And caspase proteins - suicide bombers that can be quite dangerous."
"Just great," Heidi muttered. "Security systems."
As we moved deeper into the cell, we spotted them. Not the spiked spheres we'd been half-expecting, but something stranger. The p53 proteins looked like small, angular constructs - almost robotic in appearance, with multiple arms that reached out to check and repair the DNA strands. They moved with purpose through the cellular fluid, patrolling.
 |
P53 Protein and Caspace Defenders
|
"Don't disturb them if you can help it," Powidła warned. "They're looking for damaged DNA and foreign objects. You qualify as foreign."
We navigated carefully, timing our movements to avoid the patrolling p53 proteins. The caspase proteins were harder to spot - smaller, more numerous, waiting dormant until triggered.
After careful manoeuvring, we reached the cell nucleus without triggering the defence systems.
The Portal
The nucleus loomed before us, a massive spherical structure at the heart of the cell. And set into its wall was what Powidła called "the portal" - a relatively small circular opening, perhaps three meters across, its perimeter lined with wildly thrashing cilia that whipped back and forth like angry tentacles.
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| The Nucleus Portal with Thrashing Cilia |
"I'm not going through there!" Paczki stated firmly, staring at the thrashing cilia.
"Wait here then," Crash replied. "No doubt we'll be back in no time. And watch out for those defences!"
The rest of us steeled ourselves and dove through the portal, one after another. Each passage required another PSYCHE roll to avoid injury from the violent cilia.
Spanner failed - the cilia caught her, inflicting one point of damage.
Itzy failed - another point of damage.
Anton failed - one point of damage.
"Damaged by my own gut," Anton grumbled.
Heidi quickly administered First Aid, successfully treating Spanner and Itzy, but unable to help Anton.
Behind us, we heard Paczki's voice: "Wait! Don't leave me here alone!"
He came diving through the portal, the cilia whipping at him as he passed, but he made his roll and emerged unscathed.
Inside the Nucleus
The interior of the cell nucleus was breathtaking in its scale. It stretched out like a covered football stadium, and everywhere we looked, massive twisted ropes of cable draped through the space in complex tangles.
 |
| Inside the DNA Forest |
"The DNA," Paczki said, his scientific enthusiasm overcoming his fear.
It was fortunate he'd come through after all. He had the detector device Powidła had provided - a specialized scanner that would home in on the specific DNA strand we needed to sample. He also carried the replacement DNA strands that would hopefully repair Anton's genetic damage.
Paczki activated the detector.
"Beep... beep... beep..." it went, the frequency increasing as we moved deeper into the nucleus.
"Follow the signal," Powidła instructed. "When you find the target strand, break out a section, photograph it with the scanner, and splice it back in place."
We navigated through the forest of DNA cables, following Paczki and his beeping detector. The frequency increased steadily until we stood before one particular strand.
"This is it," Paczki confirmed.
He carefully extracted a section, photographed it with the scanner, and spliced it back into place. Then we waited while Powidła analysed the results.
Several minutes passed before his voice crackled through the comms.
"Ya, the gene sequence is totally wrong, as I suspected."
"What now?" Anton asked.
"Take the replacement DNA strand I provided and replace that section you just sampled," Powidła instructed. "Then follow the detector to the second site and splice in the 'replicator' strand."
There was a pause, then: "Then run. You must exit the nucleus very pronto because bad shit will quickly go down!"
"I not like 'shit' dis close," Paczki grumbled, but he set to work.
The first splice went smoothly. Then the detector led us to a second location, where Paczki carefully inserted the replicator strand.
The moment it was absorbed into the DNA rope, strange swishing noises began echoing through the nucleus chamber. The DNA strands around us started to writhe and pulse.
"Now run!" Paczki screamed.
The Escape
We raced back toward the cilium portal, diving through without hesitation. This time, everyone made their PSYCHE rolls - fear was an excellent motivator. We emerged back into the main cell chamber and sprinted toward the outer cell wall.
The gate would be tricky to navigate while under time pressure, but we had a plan. Crash went first, successfully spinning through on the rotating disk. Once outside, he immediately began cutting another hole through the cell wall with his molecular blade.
One out, six still inside.
And then the cell's defence systems activated.
Two p53 proteins came gliding toward us with alarming speed, their multiple arms extended, ready to grab and neutralize the foreign objects they'd detected. Behind them, we could see caspase proteins beginning to activate - small explosive packages that would sacrifice themselves to destroy intruders.
Itzy and Paczki spun up their missile systems and fired. Both shots found their marks, and the p53 proteins shattered in bursts of cellular material.
Spanner slipped through Crash's cut in the wall. Anton tried the gate disk and succeeded, spinning through to safety.
Three out, four still inside.
Buzz dove through the cut next, but the others hesitated at the unpredictable gate disk.
Another wave of p53 proteins advanced, with caspase proteins clustering behind them. Itzy fired again, taking out a p53 before it could reach them, then dove through the cut in the wall.
The caspase proteins detonated near Heidi and Paczki - small but powerful explosions designed to rupture foreign objects. Heidi dodged successfully, but Paczki took a direct hit - six points of damage that sent his nano-bot reeling.
"Gah!" he cried out in pain.
He staggered through the cut in the wall, and Heidi followed immediately after, more caspase proteins detonating just centimetres behind her.
"Why was I the last?" Paczki complained, his nano-bot's systems flickering. "Now we leave immediately!"
He turned and headed back toward the capsule location.
"No, brother," Powidła's voice came through the comms. "You must complete the second part of the mission at the scrotum, or all will be in vain."
"And now you must also watch for prion spores. They may be thick in the scrotum area."
Heidi administered successful First Aid to Paczki's wounds, restoring some of his damaged systems. He reluctantly agreed to continue.
"Fine," he muttered. "But if I die in Anton's balls, I vill never forgive any of you."
Deeper Still
The party moved on, navigating through the intercellular space. We floated and swam through the viscous fluid between the stadium-sized cells, heading deeper into Anton's body toward the scrotum and the source of the fungal infection.
The environment was growing stranger. The cells we passed showed signs of infection - patches of purple and grey discoloration on their walls, clear evidence of the alien fungal biology that had infected Anton on Planet Rose.
And in the fluid around us, we began to see them: tiny spores drifting like dust motes, each one a potential threat.
The prions Powidła had warned us about.
We navigated carefully, following Powidła's directions through the maze of cells towards the scrotum near the base of Anton's fungal growth.
The second phase of our mission was about to begin.
The Discovery
We floated through the intercellular space, the massive cells surrounding us like buildings in a city. Anton, controlling his nano-bot while simultaneously experiencing the journey through the neural link, peered with morbid fascination at his own cellular architecture.
Then he spotted something odd. Something that didn't belong.
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| The Microscopic Portal Discovery |
A small circular disk was embedded in the wall of one of the cells, its mirror-like surface twinkling with a faint rose-coloured glow.
"That looks like one of those portal things," he thought aloud, pointing it out to the others.
We moved closer to examine it. The disk was perhaps two meters across at this scale - microscopic in the real world, but clearly visible to our nano-bots. And it did indeed appear to be an Ancients' portal, identical in design to the larger ones we'd encountered, just impossibly small.
"Holy crap," Anton exclaimed. "Can't we escape that terrible place and its Ancient mysteries? Even at the cellular level?"
"Can we cut it loose?" Spanner asked, her engineer's mind already working on the problem.
We did exactly that. Crash's molecular blade carefully severed the portal from the cell wall. Remarkably, the disk maintained its vertical orientation even when freed, floating in the cellular fluid. It could be spun about its central vertical axis like a pinned mirror.
Its properties appeared identical to the larger one-way portals we were familiar with. Items could pass from our side through to... wherever the other side opened. Nothing apparent had come through from the other side except that faint, ominous rose-coloured glow.
"Watch out!" Crash yelled suddenly. "Four p53 proteins approaching!"
We spun around. Through the intercellular space, four of the angular security constructs were gliding toward us with alarming speed - drawn by our presence and the disruption we'd caused cutting the portal free.
Heidi screamed. The missile fighters - Itzy, Paczki, Crash, and Anton - powered up their weapons. The blade wielders - Spanner, Buzz, and Heidi - prepared for close combat.
But Spanner had another idea.
"Wait!" she called. "Stand down!"
She grabbed the portal and spun it so its mirror surface faced the approaching p53 proteins. With only small adjustments to the disk's position, she lined it up perfectly.
 |
| Using the Portal as a Shield |
The first p53 protein struck the portal's surface and slid silently through, disappearing without resistance. Then the second. The third. The fourth. All gone, sent to whatever destination the portal connected to.
"Nice one," Crash praised.
"Let's keep it," Spanner said, gripping the portal firmly. "This could be useful."
The Gauntlet
We continued through the intercellular space toward the scrotum, Spanner carrying the portal at our front, its mirror surface facing forward like a shield. Each time cellular defences approached - p53 proteins or clusters of caspase proteins - we simply let them slide through to their unknown fate.
Six more p53 proteins. Then eight. Then twelve caspase proteins clustering together. Four more p53s. Six. A final wave of eight mixed defenders.
By the time we arrived at the appropriate scrotum cell and found the gate to enter through, we'd sent dozens of Anton's cellular defences through the microscopic portal to Planet Rose - or wherever it connected.
"Enter here," Powidła's voice instructed.
We positioned the portal carefully, attaching it nominally to the cell wall just near the gate mechanism. Then we had to decide on our entry strategy.
"Missile wielders should try the gate first," Spanner suggested. "Leave the sword wielders to cut through if necessary."
It made sense. Crash, Itzy, Paczki, and Anton approached the rotating disk gate and took their seats. Each had to roll against their LUCK stat.
Crash - success.
Itzy - success.
Paczki - success.
Anton - success.
"Huh," Buzz said. "Maybe our luck's turning."
The blade wielders followed. Spanner, Buzz, Heidi.
All successful.
We were all inside the cell with no damage inflicted.
"Piece of piss," Anton chuckled as we moved deeper into the cell, searching for the nucleus.
The Final Splice
We found the cilia-surrounded nucleus portal quickly and prepared to dive through. One by one, we made the attempt.
Crash went first - clean passage.
Itzy followed - he had to spend a point of LUCK, but made it through.
Spanner - success.
Paczki - success.
Buzz - success.
Anton - failed his PSYCHE roll, taking one point of damage from the thrashing cilia.
Heidi - also failed, one point of damage.
"Ow," Anton muttered. "My own body hates me."
Heidi quickly administered First Aid, successfully healing all of the wounded - Anton, and herself.
Inside the nucleus, Paczki activated his detector device. The familiar beeping led us through the forest of DNA strands to our target location.
"Here," Paczki announced, examining the twisted rope of genetic material.
He carefully spliced in the replacement section, his hands steady despite the pressure. Then the detector led us to the second site, where he inserted the replicator instruction.
The moment it was absorbed into the DNA strand, the familiar swishing sounds began echoing through the nucleus.
"Run!" Paczki yelled.
"Run?" Buzz muttered to himself. "More like swim rapidly through thick jelly without arms!"
But we all moved as fast as our nano-bots could manage, racing back toward the nucleus portal.
Narrow Escape
We dove through the cilia portal with practiced efficiency this time. Everyone made their rolls - fear and experience were definitely excellent teachers. We emerged into the main cell chamber and rushed toward the outer cell wall and the gate.
Paczki reached the rotating disk first. He sat down on a mount, the disk began to rotate, and—
The iris closed at exactly the wrong moment. He was thrown backward, tumbling several meters into the cell.
"Scheisse!" he cursed, scrambling to his feet.
Everyone else attempted the gate.
Crash - success.
Itzy - success.
Buzz - success.
Anton - success.
Heidi - success.
Spanner - failed. The iris caught her, and she remained inside the cell.
Paczki drew his molecular blade and began cutting through the cell wall from the inside. Behind him, he could sense the cell's defence systems activating - p53 proteins gliding toward them, caspase proteins beginning to cluster.
He completed the cut and dove through just as the first p53 protein arrived. Spanner ducked and dodged as a caspase protein detonated nearby, the small explosion missing her by centimetres.
Then she slipped through the cut to join the others, just as more cellular defences clustered aggressively around the torn cell wall.
The Long Journey Home
Collecting our mini-portal, we began the long journey back to the capsule. It was a two-hour trip through Anton's body, navigating the intercellular spaces, floating and swimming through the viscous fluid between the massive cells.
A party LUCK roll determined whether we'd face any more cellular defence attacks during our exit. We rolled well - the journey was mercifully uneventful. Though we kept the portal ready at all times, just in case.
When we finally arrived at the capsule location in the urethral passage, we found a problem.
The capsule was destroyed.
It had been attacked and essentially dissolved by Anton's immune system - ripped apart and reduced to scattered fragments of foreign material.
"That's good, right?" Anton figured. "Means my immune system is working?"
"Good for you," Crash said. "Bad for us."
We stood there for a moment, contemplating our situation, when Powidła's voice crackled through the neural link.
"I see the problem. Injecting a second capsule now."
Moments later, a pressure wave rushed through the urethral passage - a massive surge of fluid that threatened to sweep us all away. Everyone grabbed for handholds on the passage walls, making desperate LUCK rolls to maintain their grip.
Heidi failed. She was swept backward up the passage, tumbling helplessly in the current.
"Heidi!" someone yelled.
We quickly organized. Spanner and Paczki stayed on guard at the new capsule with the portal, while the rest of us chased after Heidi on a recovery mission.
It took nearly twenty minutes of careful navigation through the urethral passage, but we managed to locate her wedged against a cellular structure several hundred meters back. She was shaken but unharmed.
"Thanks," she gasped as we pulled her free. "That was terrifying."
We returned safely to the capsule location, where Spanner and Paczki were waiting. The portal was carefully loaded into the new capsule first, then we all crowded into the cabin.
"Everyone in?" Paczki confirmed.
"Let's get out of here," Anton said fervently.
 |
| The Capsule Returns |
With a thrum and a whoosh, the capsule began its journey out of Anton's body, back up through the urethra. The return trip was a blur of movement and sensation, and then—
Awakening
The next thing we knew, we were waking on the quarantine tables. The neural interface helmets were being removed, leaving us with throbbing headaches and disorientation. Our memories of the journey seemed almost dreamlike - had it really happened?
"Indeed" Powidła stated, noting our confused expressions. "The whole journey has of course been recorded. You are all pioneers of genetic research now. This data will be invaluable."
The microscopic portal was carefully recovered from the capsule and placed in a specialized containment unit for further research. Powidła's eyes gleamed with scientific excitement as he examined it.
"Fascinating," he murmured. "An Ancients' portal at the cellular level. The implications are... extraordinary. If they created portals at every scale, from planetary to microscopic..."
He trailed off, already lost in scientific speculation.
Over the following days, Anton experienced slowly reducing pain as his repaired DNA corrected his genetic infection. The mushroom growth in his groin began to shrink, and the formic acid secretion decreased. He wasn't completely back to normal - some changes appeared permanent - but he was significantly improved.
"No more pissing acid," he announced happily. "That's a win."
Powidła administered a prion "flushing" treatment to all of us - a specialized medication that successfully removed all traces of the alien prions from our systems.
Well, almost all of us.
Spanner and Itzy, with their altered DNA and integrated "powers," retained their infections. The prions were too deeply embedded in their genetic structure to be safely removed.
"So, Spanner," Powidła asked a few days later, approaching her in the quarantine lab. "What about you? Your transparency ability is fascinating, but the genetic infection is still progressing. Would you like us to attempt a similar nano-bot procedure?"
Spanner considered the question carefully, remembering the harrowing journey through Anton's body - the p53 security proteins, the explosive caspase defences, the agoraphobic voids between cells, the near-death experiences at the cell gates.
Then she thought about her invisibility. How it came and went unpredictably. How it was spreading, changing her at the genetic level. How she didn't fully understand or control it.
She looked at Anton, who was gingerly moving around, clearly still recovering but visibly improved.
"Let me think about it," she said finally. "That was... intense. I need some time."
Powidła nodded understandingly. "Of course. The procedure will be available whenever you're ready. And perhaps we can refine the technique based on what we learned from Anton's treatment."
"Perhaps," Spanner said noncommittally.
But privately, she was already thinking about the implications. If they could map and modify DNA at the cellular level... if they could send things through microscopic portals... what else might be possible? Could they even improve and enhance this invisibility effect?
The mission to Vilis had been meant to cure their mutations. Instead, it had opened up entirely new questions about the Ancients' technology and the nature of the infection itself.
And somewhere in a containment unit, a microscopic portal glowed with faint rose-coloured light, a tiny doorway to a nightmare world that operated at every conceivable scale.
