The Avlid Desert defied Jeanne's expectations. Unlike the lush Alliance lands, it wasn't a sea of dunes or lethal aridity. Instead, it resembled a steppe—gray-green hills dotted with clusters of stunted plants. Birds circled overhead, occasionally diving into the grass to snatch prey with their long beaks before soaring back up.

  Guided by the drone's navigation data, the capsule landed without incident, just as it had in the simulation. Ron wasted no time activating his engineering tools. Aided by the buildbot, he set about constructing the colonists' first structure: the power unit.

  "Initially, we'll house the capsule's reactor here," Ron explained. "By the time it runs out of juice, our production should be advanced enough to build our own."

  With only one buildbot at Ron's disposal, construction would take longer than in their training exercises. This realization seemed to fuel Jeanne's frustration.

  "Is that why you needed a sex phenom?" she snapped. "To fuck at the construction site with one robot?"

  Ron neither admitted guilt nor responded, but Jeanne had a more pressing concern—her ill-advised order to move Meirong and Trevor's binary arrays to another storage unit.

  After double-checking her weapons and replenishing her ammo, Jeanne announced, "I'm going on a reconnaissance mission. Transfer the map from Benny's drone to my interface."

  Ron shook his head. "I already tried saving the map to my own system. Smartass Benny blocked the data copying."

  "Ha!" Jeanne couldn't resist. "Still believe in the mutual aid of colonists? Wake up, Ron. Benny didn't shoot down our capsule because he was conserving ammo, not out of pity for us."

  "You always see the worst in everything," Ron muttered.

  "Sure do. Want me to teach you?"

  Ron remained silent, focusing instead on directing buildbot 005 to extract a container marked "Vehicle" from the airlock. He removed the lid and ordered the bot to charge the vehicle's battery.

  The transport was a two-seater with an open hull and a boxy frame, reminiscent of early Soviet lunar rovers. Earth's manufacturers seemed to believe this design would suit exploration on any planet.

  Jeanne returned to the now-spacious capsule—Ron and the buildbot had moved half the containers outside. Using her UniCom interface and helmet, she captured images of the project panel displaying the map.

  "We have only two neighbors in this wasteland," she reported, showing Ron the markers. "'Norton Base' and 'Joe Wentzel's Den.'"

  "Both are too distant to be called neighbors," Ron observed.

  "I'm heading to the Den anyway, though I don't like the name already."

  "Why?"

  "Police instinct."

  When the vehicle's dashboard indicator turned green, 005 disconnected the charging cable and resumed work on unpacking and connecting the subjet printers.

  Ron patted the transport's frame. "Your carriage awaits, Jeanne. Now get out of here while I attend to important matters."

  Settling into the driver's seat, Jeanne placed her left hand on the steering wheel. After receiving data from the onboard computer, she swiftly deleted unnecessary rows from the stats display, leaving only what she deemed crucial—and what the manufacturer had made impossible to remove.

  — Pony-rover RX-100 —

  Vehicle

  Toyota welcomes you, brave explorer of unknown worlds! For questions about the manufacture or maintenance of devices built to Toyota's licensed instructions, please contact the first colonists. Our representatives work on all planets of Explora!

  "Assholes," Jeanne muttered, unable to delete the advertising. "Even here, they push their marketing."

  Orgmat consumption: 1 unit per second of use.

  Charge level: 9,999 / 10,000 energy units.

  Autopilot: yes.

  Read more about drones >>

  Before departing, Jeanne performed a thorough systems check on her synthetic body, just as her mentors had taught her. With everything in order, she engaged the Pony-rover's ignition, ready to explore the alien landscape that lay before her.

  When the body was created, all synthesans were identical. None ran faster or jumped farther than the others. The two new synthesans achieved equal times in the hundred-meter dash. However, all these parameters were well above average compared to a real human.

  The differentiation began dramatically after implanting phenoms into the synthesan's spinal column, connecting parts of the UniCom to the body, and using devices (including weapons) that affected the attributes. This opened up possibilities for customizing the parameters of future bodies.

  Jeanne shamelessly let the lectures on the history of space exploration pass through her memory. She couldn't even list all twelve exoplanets of the Explora project. But she had meticulously studied everything related to synthesans and their enhancement capabilities.

  So when a Wartech representative suggested Jeanne try out an experimental phenom called Assassin, she immediately agreed.

  After studying the specifications of the Assassin, she asked:

  "This phenom is too cool to be true. What's the catch?"

  "The contract covers everything," the Wartech representative evaded the question.

  "Come on, don't be a jerk, tell the whole truth."

  "Each rebirth with this phenom will take from one to four percent of the integrity of your binary array."

  "Come on, don't be uncooperative. Tell me the whole truth."

  "Okey. Two to eight percent."

  "Why such a wide variation?"

  "It depends on the rebirth conditions. If it's a normal rebirth using quality, well-tuned equipment, two percent. For an emergency rebirth from a collapsing synthesan, it's a little more."

  "That's a lot... But what do I care? That would be my copy's problem, not mine."

  Jeanne's synthesized body had two phenoms installed in its spinal trunk, just like Ron's, but she used them based on the expectation of the worst, not in the hope of sex and creative labor.

  The Assassin phenom was unique. It was safe to say that no one else on Locus had one. Jeanne herself called it a "legendary epic" because it was highlighted in the interface with a golden color, not blue like the others.

  — Assassin Phenom (beta_ver_7.35) —

  {No Description. Waiting for options from the marketing department}

  Manufacturer: Wartech (a division of Labsetec).

  +5 to Dexterity

  -1 to "Data Processing"

  {Note from beta tester 00075. Error! It's not +5 to Dexterity, it's +6! Correct it immediately!}

  Reachable Height.

  Allows for an enhanced jump

  Jump height depends on Dexterity and Strength

  Claimed jump height or range: 5 meters

  {Note from beta tester 00075. It seems to me that jump height cannot be expressed as an integer}

  Warning, stated parameters may differ from practical parameters. Limiting factors may include uneven ground, atmospheric pressure, and free fall acceleration on the colonization planet.

  As well as other factors >>.

  {Note from beta tester 00012. This block of text needs to be redone. I still don't understand what's going on here. Also, there are repetitions of the word “may” in the text. The text block in the description of the phenom should be instantly comprehensible to the human mind, with no ambiguity}

  For accurate calculations, consult your planet's first wave colonists.

  {Note from beta tester 00066. What if the user is a first wave colonist themselves?}.

  This phenom added a new attribute, Endurance, to Jeanne's body. Accordingly, it could be improved in practice just like the other attributes.

  Endurance.

  +1 to Endurance.

  The body of a synthesan is able to maintain a given load for a certain amount of time, which is set in the attributes “Strength” and “Dexterity”. Increasing the maximum load time by 1 unit increases the Orgmat consumption by a multiple of 100 units. When the load increases to 2 units, the “Strength” and “Dexterity” attributes are forcibly reset and the period of organic material bond recovery (fatigue) starts. The fatigue time depends on the “Vitality”.

  {Note from beta tester 00012. Did you yourself realize what you wrote in the first place? Need to simplify the description}

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The Assassin phenom, developed by Wartech's top neuroengineers, increases your tolerance by up to 5 units from normal. Isn't that awesome?

  Unfortunately, the speed of getting rid of the “fatigue” will depend on the “Vitality”. To maximize the effectiveness of the Assassin phenom, we recommend paying attention to this attribute.

  Orgmat consumption: 11 units per second of use.

  Orgmat consumption in “Stamina” mode: 22 units per second of use.

  Now Jeanne realized that the Wartech representative was still a bastard and had deceived her. After incarnating into the body of a synthesan, it was because of this phenom that the integrity of Jeanne's binary array of consciousness dropped to eighty-two percent.

  The second phenom was standard for all colonists who chose a combat class.

  — The Defender phenom —

  Manufacturer: Labsetec.

  +1 to Strength.

  +1 to Dexterity.

  +1 to “Data Processing”.

  +1 to Vitality.

  +1 to Perception.

  +1 to Touch.

  +1 to Sight.

  +1 to Hearing.

  Special Features:

  S. H. V. D.

  When your Strength, Hearing, Vitality, and Dexterity attributes rise to a value of 10, all of your body attributes get +2. When raised to a value of 20, they will receive +3.

  Attention, increasing body attributes to a value of 30 or higher has not yet been explored. When you reach the threshold of “S. H. V. D. - 30”, it is recommended that you disable the phenom and replace it with another at normal rebirth.

  Labsetec Corporation does not guarantee stable operation of the Defender phenom after reaching the threshold of “S. H. V. D. - 30”.

  Yes, the Defender phenom improved all attributes, but it absorbed orgmat not only during active use, but also during idle time.

  Passive Defense.

  Generates a magnetic field that deflects kinetic or energy charges.

  Number of threats tracked: 1.

  Size of tracked threats: up to 5 cm.

  Radius of action depends on Perception: 40 cm.

  In short, one of the bullets, arrows, standard energy rounds, and anything else that was rushing towards her, and was small in size, bounced off the UniCom.

  So far, the defense is not very reliable, but with the growth of attributes will grow and the level of phenom, opening new opportunities and a greater number and size of tracked threats.

  Dynamic Defense.

  The passive defense's magnetic field is capable of intercepting and destroying kinetic or energy charges.

  Number of tracked threats: 1.

  Size of tracked threats: up to 3 cm.

  Radius of action depends on Perception: 40 cm.

  In total, two out of ten items fired at Jeanne failed to reach their target. Theoretically. Of course, if a storm of bullets or plasma streams hit her, none of that would help. The defense didn't even help against a bullet from the bandit's sniper rifle. So far it hasn't.

  Orgmat consumption: 0.002 units per second (regardless of usage).

  Orgmat consumption: 3 units per second of use.

  In the end, Jeanne Chou's attributes were as follows:

  Strength: 1 (5).

  Dexterity: 2 (11).

  Data Processing: 2 (3).

  Vitality: 2 (4).

  Perception: 1 (4).

  Touch: 1 (2).

  Sight: 1 (3).

  Hearing: 2 (2).

  Endurance: (Assassin phenom): (1)

  Orgmat: 4,655 / 6,000

  After brief consideration, Jeanne deactivated her body's pairing with the pony rover.

  "There's no need to spend orgmat on transportation control for now. I'll just walk around the neighborhood," she thought.

  Waving to Ron, Jeanne drove away from the base.

  Jeanne's police instincts hadn't failed her. Although the neighbors were at a great distance from the base, they showed up a couple of hours after she went on reconnaissance.

  Construction of the power unit was sixty-eight percent complete when Ron noticed the figure of a man descending from the nearest hill. The stranger entered the range of the data transfer module but didn't respond to Ron's conversation request. Using the helmet's digital zoom module, Ron studied the distant visitor.

  The stranger held a shotgun, its barrel unmistakably pointed at Ron. He lacked a UniCom, explaining his inability to accept the conversation request. The man wore what looked like pajamas made of rough, almost unbendable fabric—as if he were dressed in a cardboard suit.

  The man's behavior was bizarre. Why threaten with a shotgun at this range? And who would wander the planet without a UniCom? It was also noticeable that the visitor was bending under the weight of the huge backpack hanging behind his back, causing him to walk slowly.

  "Who has loaded you so much, you poor thing?" Ron said.

  Ron ordered the buildbot to drive ahead of him and set off to meet his guest. He took a pistol in his right hand and a magnetic-force wrench in his left.

  The wrench had additional modes like "Pushback" and "Pull," which emitted short energy bursts to manipulate small objects from afar. Range depended on Perception and Dexterity. These modes allowed engineers to turn otherwise unreachable nuts during assembly. Moreover, with higher attributes and orgmat expenditure, one could manipulate objects through walls.

  The modes were designed to manipulate inanimate objects. On organics or synthesan bodies, the energy released from the wrench was devastating. Pushback inflicted deep wounds, while attraction ripped out chunks of flesh. And spinning it could even twist its head off.

  "Greetings," the engineer said, waving the wrench. "My name is Ron. We recently—"

  The stranger responded with gunfire. As expected, the shot fell short. Ron ducked behind the buildbot, returning fire, but his shots also missed.

  "I'm speechless!" he shouted. "Have you all gone crazy on Locus? Is a gunshot a greeting?"

  The stranger fired again, as if confirming Ron's suspicion.

  "If that's the case, we'll speak your language," Ron said.

  He holstered the pistol, useless in his hands, and equipped his now-free right hand with a second tool:

  A new device is connected:

  — Isaac I —

  Universal Matter Manipulation Tool

  Manufacturer: Labsetec.

  UniCom Connect: 1 connector (arm).

  In common parlance, it was known as a "plasma cutter" or "plasma cutter". Although the tool did much more than just cut or join materials.

  Attention, this device has several modes of operation. Your "Data Processing" attribute level lets you choose two.

  Ron quickly selected the one he wanted:

  Heating.

  A plasma arc heats up the atmosphere in the specified area. The degree of heating is adjustable. Used to dry surfaces quickly or to vaporize impurities from certain types of natural materials.

  The distance to the area to be heated depends on the Touch: 6 meters.

  Radius of the heated area depends on "Strength": 30 cm.

  Warning. Do not apply this mode if the "Touch" attribute is below 5.

  A complete list of mode application is in the "Engineer's Handbook".

  Caution, heating up the selected area may cause damage to building structures or coworkers. When using the mode, make sure that the results of the operation are safe.

  Caution, the creation of the heated area may be affected by natural factors on the colonization planet that were not taken into account during production. Be sure to study the experience of your predecessors before using it for the first time.

  The second mode was simpler - it cut through materials. And it didn't work at a distance. Ron decided not to come out from behind the buildbot. He hoped that the aggressive guest would not shoot at a machine whose reactor might explode.

  Ron looked out from behind the right side of the buildbot. The stranger continued to walk slowly toward him. When Ron noticed the enemy, the stranger turned the barrel of the shotgun and fired. The stranger's reckless shot showed no concern for potentially damaging the reactor.

  Ron shifted to the left edge of the buildbot, extending his arm with the plasma cutter. Through the interface, he targeted the stranger's chest and activated the heating command. A superheated glob of plasma detached from the cutter and hurtled towards its mark.

  Orgmat: 4,589 / 6,000.

  The stranger, already silent and slow, proved himself obtuse as well. He failed to shed his cumbersome backpack, which would have given him room to maneuver. As the glob of plasma struck his chest, he staggered backward. The cardboard clothing on his chest quickly burned away, revealing his body. The synthesan's skin was covered in patches of burns.

  Ron realized his engineering tools were poor substitutes for actual weapons. A trained fighter like Jeanne could have easily dodged the attack, even with low attributes. And if the stranger had been wearing a UniCom instead of cardboard pajamas, he would have avoided the burns. It was the bullet or plasma charge that sometimes traveled at supersonic speeds that was hard to escape.

  Ron had no intention of killing the stranger, clinging to the hope that this was all some kind of misunderstanding. That not all locusians had lost the spirit of mutual support that their mentors had fostered in the colonists.

  But the burned stranger kept walking. With the bolt of his shotgun, he fired again. This time, several rounds of shotgun pellets grazed Ron. Receiving the data from the UniCom, the interface alerted:

  Durability: 997 / 1,000.

  The engineer shifted back to the right flank of the buildbot and again hit the silent stranger with a heated area of air, this time on the legs. The pants of the stranger's odd clothing vaporized, and his legs were covered in blistering burns. The level of damage to the synthesan's body was impressive. Anyone else would have turned back, but not this Locusian. He kept firing at the buildbot behind which Ron was hiding.

  "Why can't you live in peace?" Ron shouted. "Why are you all shooting? Is life on Locus still a game to you?" He paused, his voice tinged with frustration. "Are you used to being reborn after death?"

  He didn't know why he was asking these questions to someone who hadn't made a sound.

  The engineer jumped out from behind cover and rushed towards the enemy. While running, he activated the magnetic-force wrench in a new mode:

  Rotation.

  Focuses the wrench's force field on a selected object, then allows you to change its position relative to its axis by changing the wrench's position.

  The beam length depends on "Perception": 20 cm.

  The applied force depends on "Strength".

  Orgmat consumption: 5 units per second of use.

  Recharge time: 4 seconds.

  Caution: Be careful when manipulating objects at a distance. Ensure that there are no colleagues or important building structures between the magnetic-force wrench and the object before you start working.

  Attention: Do not confuse this mode with the "Moving" mode. These are different modes of magnetic-force wrench operation. Attempts to move an object using "Rotation" may result in the destruction of the manipulated object.

  "Perfect," he muttered. "That's exactly what I need! Crush and break!"

  With the shotgun in his sights, Ron turned the wrench. This was difficult because Ron had to overcome the strength of the enemy, who was clutching the shotgun. Since in this mode the area of influence of the wrench was inaccurate, unlike the "Impulse Jab", it had a rotational effect not only on the shotgun but also on the stranger's hands. First, they were unnaturally twisted to the right side. There was the crackle of tearing synthesan muscles and the deafening crunch of skeletal bones breaking. The skin on their arms burst, splattering a mixture of water and orgmat that replaces blood for synthesans.

  Ron switched the wrench mode to Pushback. His opponent, chattering broken arms with scraps of muscle fiber and splattering orgmat, flew several meters away. He would have flown farther, but the huge backpack behind his back dragged him down.

  Orgmat: 4,579 / 6,000.

  The damage to the stranger's body was such that an emergency rebirth system should have been activated. But the strangeness continued - the stranger had no intention of being reborn. Leaning on his arms twisted in different directions, he tried to get up. The giant backpack overpowered him and rolled him sideways. With incomprehensible persistence, the silent guest kept trying to get up.

  A comparison flashed across Ron's mind: "Quite like a broken buildbot that can't drive onto a construction site."

  Ron approached the moving synthesan to read the data of its shell....