Imposter System

Matt shoved the thumb drive into his jacket pocket and stuffed the letter and envelope back into his bag. He ran his hands through his hair and gripped the ends between his fingers. He pulled slightly in frustration then let go with a sigh. Thinking about it objectively, its thanks to his acting and careful planning that anyone bothered protecting him. So, in a way, being protected was also his achievement.

With this in mind, he made his way to the cafeteria and picked up their meal. The reception started in the evening so there was no rush. However, when Matt entered the cafeteria, he immediately realized something was wrong. His pupils dilated and his senses expanded. His hearing became extremely acute and the lightest sound because easily audible to him. Matt swayed to the side and leaned up against the wall. He tried to calm himself down but his heart rate kept increasing.

That is when the messages started to flood his brain.

[Genetic Material Detected…]

[Genetic Material…]

[Genetic…]

[…]

As he looked around, he locked onto the sources. Every person was a walking bag of evolution points. Just as he was reigning in his senses, something happened. A person bit the inside of their cheek while chewing, blood flowed into their mouth slightly. A cook in the kitchen cut their finger, blood dripped onto the floor. A soldier twisted awkwardly and a recent wound bled a little into his bandages.

The smallest amount of blood was making his senses go haywire. Realizing his condition, Matt immediately employed his auto-hypnosis technique and began suppressing his thoughts. He did his best to seem like he was nonchalantly waiting by the door while doing this. After half an hour of effort, he was finally able to open his eyes and relax. He didn't know what happened, but nothing changed on his status.

This was something outside the bounds of the system. The thought terrified him. Thinking back, this wasn't the first time this happened. However, this was the worst case he experienced. The feeling of wanting to rip the heads off of those meat bags and harvest them for points was so addicting. The feeling of being an apex predator was hard to resist. Fortunately, he only needed to force his subconscious to redefine his prey and reduce his bloodlust.

The session also gave him several proficiency points. He was now at ninety-one. Matt was excited for how much influence he could have over someone at the next stage of his ability. The growth potential of hypnosis was remarkable since it was only the 'weak' version. That meant there was at least two more variations above it before it even reached the threshold of evolution. After going through that recent experience, Matt was determined to train his hypnosis these next few days.

He checked the time and realized how long he'd been here. Matt quickly went to the front and picked up breakfast at the self-serve area. On his way back, a few people greeted and congratulated him. He gave them a quick thanks and hurried back to his room. While eating, the two of them went over their strategy today. There would be a lot of talking and ship politics according to Alexis.

{Although the Captain is the highest rank on the ship officially, there are many people that have a strong background on Earth. Although it is moot now that we've already left the milky way galaxy, people still tend to treat them with higher regard. These high-ranking officials are all command officers. However, because of their political position, they don't work directly on the bridge.} Alexis started

{This seems kind of ridiculous. What's the point of having so many people that don't contribute?} Matt replied.

{Well, a lot of them paid their way onto this mission. If the military didn't own over half of the assets and wealth tied to this ship, there would have been way more businessmen onboard. Fortunately, the military only sold ten tickets to the highest bidder. Of these ten, the ones attending our wedding are Harry Schuman, Ronald Hagan, and Ted Rose.

{Don't underestimate them. Even though they aren't high ranking officers or hold any advanced degrees, they were the respective presidents of some of the largest industries back on Earth. Being able to hold that position against hundreds of competitors shows how capable they are. They have a high level of influence on this ship.}

{Why haven't they done anything about Shepherd or Willard then?}

{I was wondering that too. In fact, they haven't made any waves since the start of this mission. I think it is important to figure out what they know and what their stance is. If we can convince them to back us, then even if we blatantly kill Willard, nothing will happen. Although the captain has the highest authority, because the AI is compromised, there is a failsafe that requires a council to make decisions until the AI is restored.}

{Alright, I'll try to talk with them tonight.}

Except for making contact with the two doctors and interrogating the three council members, there wasn't anything in particular that needed to be done. They decided to get acquainted with as many people as possible during this event so that they would have a favorable opinion of Matt and Alexis in the future.

"Oh, that's right, Sandra contacted me. After the wedding, they will be reinstated as bridge members and I'll start babysitting. So, make sure not to bring any strange people here."

The rest of the morning went uneventfully. Matt wondered about what happened to him earlier and was afraid he would have another flare up during the event. He hadn't told Alexis because he was afraid of how she would react. As far as he knew, she didn't experience any feelings of desire toward killing and absorbing DNA. If he told her about his situation, it may trigger something in her.

For now, he would wait until his hypnosis was stronger so that he could nip any problems in the bud. The main thing he was afraid of currently was what Willard was doing all this time. Certainly, he must be monitoring Matt and Alexis to make sure he has been complying. Since there haven't been any messages, he could only assume everything was fine.

However, given Willard's history, there was always a factor of uncertainty with him. Originally, he seemed to be a cautious individual that was hiding from Shepherd. But once Matt realized the truth, Willard's actions became far more mysterious.

After getting dressed, Matt and Alexis made their way to the venue location. It was a large bar on the first deck that catered to the bridge and others of high status. When they arrived, the captain was already waiting with someone else. They talked with each other as if they were fairly close, and when he noticed Matt and Alexis, he called them over.

"Good, you two are here. The guests will be arriving shortly, so I wanted to introduce you to an old friend of mine. He is very reclusive so many people don't even know he's on this mission. This is Horatio Ferdinand."

"Hello, I've heard a lot about you two. It is good to finally see you in the flesh."

Matt and Alexis stared at the man with slight surprise. Matt reached out and shook the man's hand. This was a legend. He was the youngest to become an admiral in his time and retired a few years ago. The duo wasn't even aware that he was on the ship. Having an admiral onboard, even if he was retired, meant that the command structure would shift instantly in an emergency.

"Likewise." Matt responded with great reverence. From Matthew O'Connely's memories, this man was a remarkable person. He was up there with celebrities. However, his existence meant that there was a huge problem with the plan.

The two walked away from the captain and retired admiral when the first guests started arriving. The captain and Ferdinand began greeting people. After greeting them, they naturally went over to Matt and Alexis in order to congratulate them on their wedding. Matt used this chance to do a simply hypnosis sweep in order to gauge people's opinion of him. For the most part, he was seen in a positive light.

Matt messaged Alexis telepathically, {What do you think about the appearance of the admiral at this point?}

{Maybe this is why those councilmen didn't do anything. They were aware that the old admiral is on the ship. As for why he's showing up now, I think this is on purpose. The captain probably wants to use the old admiral to pressure those with dangerous thoughts.}

{Heh, well, isn't this perfect then? All we have to do is convince the admiral to be on our side.} Matt thought and a mischievous smile appeared on his face. His proficiency had reached ninety-nine already and the next guest was coming up to greet him.