Imposter System

Matt and Alexis sat in a large conference room by themselves. Alexandria had been taken to the medical ward to be treated, while Martha had stealthily snuck away. Although Matt had a suspicion that Scorch knew about her existence, but decided to keep it hidden to protect the crew that weren't in-the-know. Everything he had learned was relayed to Alexis and the two of them were sitting in silence pondering the implications.

Soon enough, Scorch walked in with two people that Matt had never met before. However, he did recognize them as being two of the ten council members. Scorch was still wearing his military uniform with commander insignias on the shoulders. The three walked over and sat opposite from the duo. The table was meant to seat thirty-two people so it was a large distance between them. The five sat in silence for a moment before Scorch began speaking up.

"I have been monitoring you, Doctor O'Connely, since you first came into my bar. Since my functions were being limited by the unit called Shepherd, I could only gather data. However, I am at a loss, so to say. It seems I do not possess the authority to access your background information. Whoever is backing you seems to be very powerful."

Scorch was the first to break the silent tension, so Matt voiced the question he was meaning to ask since he heard the declaration, "What did you mean when you said that you are the USS Odyssey? Do you mean that you are…?"

"That's right. I am the artificial intelligence developed for this ship. More accurately, I am the mobile unit designated Scorch by my creator to secretly live amongst the crew. Only few know of this secret, and given your great service and powerful backing, the council has voted to bring you into the loop. As for Commander Alexeyev, you would have found about it as soon as you took a seat on the council."

"Wait, if the council knows about your existence, then they knew immediately that the AI was compromised. Why did you let things go as far as they did?" Alexis stood and slammed the table. She was upset hearing that those seemingly in power had almost indirectly caused the deaths of Matt and her child.

"I am afraid we can't answer that." Scorch maintained his neutral expression and replied curtly.

"Then what can you answer!" Alexis was getting angrier, but Matt put his hand over hers and she started to calm down. He stood up and leaned forward on the table to bring the attention toward himself.

"Why did Willard call you his half-brother, and why do you two look alike." Matt asked, this was something that bothered him. Scorch nodded as if he expected this question.

"We have the same 'father.'" He replied. Although simple, the gears in Matt's mind began turning and he seemed to understand. He sat backward in his chair with a lost expression.

"Does that mean the person who experimented on Willard was his father?" Matt asked in order to completely put together the puzzle.

"Indeed."

There was a long silence as Matt and Alexis took the information in. Matt wouldn't suddenly start feeling regretful for what happened to Willard because of this. He naturally deserved getting beaten, regardless of his dark past. But various things were starting to make sense. Willard's obsession with computers, cyborgs, and getting an immortal body. Perhaps these were ravings of his old man that passed down to the son.

"Then, do you know about this 'threat' that Willard mentioned before passing out?" Matt said, curious how much they knew about the alien creatures.

"Unfortunately, it turns out that our father's creations were not limited to things within human realms. He was researching alien technology long ago and started a hybridization experiment. You should be well aware of one of the results of his research. As for the other… We have been trying to identify this person, to no avail." Scorch seemed to be careful with his words, as if not to reveal too much.

"You mean patient zero? Doctor Lisinger is on your side?" Matt said, revealing his own hand in order to get a better explanation.

"So, you already knew." Scorch didn't seem happy or upset at any point, but his words seemed to imply a feeling of exasperation. "There is a faction of scientists under my father's teachings that were selected to join this mission. Originally, we were unaware of their experimentation, but they dropped all pretenses as soon as we left the galaxy."

Matt understood mostly everything up to this point. However, there was a question of why he was allowed to know this. Scorch said that the council approved it due to his contributions and his background, but why was it even brought up? Another thing he didn't quite understand is why his hypnosis seemed to work on Scorch. Perhaps the extent of his hypnosis was greater than he first thought.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Matt went straight to the point.

"As I mentioned, the council has agreed to reward you for your contributions. If not for your actions against Willard and the AI Shepherd, we would not have been able to make a move without alerting the whole ship. Secrecy and confidentiality are the most important things to us."

"I see. You are actually threatening me by telling me this information. If people find out the truth, I'm the scapegoat. Hah…" He had to admit, it was a great plan.

"Don't worry, we won't discard a valuable asset for no reason. Due to circumstances, the council will be taking charge of the decision making on this ship. With that in mind, I will present to you our first decision. Doctor Matthew O'Connely, with my authority as the head of the council and the ship's Artificial Intelligence, I hereby appoint you as the Interim Head Investigator of the USS Odyssey.

"Your duties shall be to investigate the remnants of Willard's plans and the identity of Patient Zero. In addition, you will preside as the general authority over small disputes between the crewmen. Congratulations."

Matt's face was blank while Alexis's was relieved. She was glad that he was given an official position as it would protect him. However, Matt understood the implications.

'The alien became the sheriff? What the fuck!'