Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Ignoring one of the pseudo-"peptide" or whatever the fuck kind of medication they were probably offering me, actual peptides do have various useful applications—though they weren't commonly referred to like that, take Insulin or even Creatine as an example.

For a brief description, Peptides are strings of molecules called amino acids and they are essentially the building blocks of protein.

I don't want to go deep in the rabbit hole with it but compared to other drugs, it had fewer side effects and since their byproducts of amino acids could be recycled by our bodies, it was much, much safer to take than the former.

But yeah, I've heard of different Peptides aiding in the recovery and strengthening of bones but not to the extent that allowed Jolene, a.k.a. The Senator or the Admiral's wife, to have the ability to reconstruct her skeletal system that fast, and slowly had them get stronger and stronger despite the rest of its body continuously decomposing.

'She needs energy from other corpses though so there's that as well…'

But back to our current situation, I completely shut down the Admiral's offer before it was given to me, and right as I was about to turn around, Admiral Burke slammed his fists onto the table as he shouted at the top of HIS lungs:

"I CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH DISRESPECT! LET ME FINISH WHAT I HAVE TO SAY AND YOU CAN DECIDE FROM THEN WHETHER YOU WANT TO DECLINE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE POWER TO PROTECT YOUR LOVED ONES!"

I slowly turned back to the Admiral as I bowed, "I'm sorry but I won't be able to protect my loved ones if I'm dead."

One of the doctors stepped up, "T-That's— T-This won't kill you at all! I-It just improves your body's ability—your bone's ability to recover a-and with enough doses, it gets stronger over time! Look at First Lieutenant Bartow—"

I rolled my eyes, "Again, I won't be able to protect my loved ones if I became an annoying piece of shit—"

"YOU—" Bartow was about to get right up in my face but the Admiral's voice thundered once again to diffuse a fight I wouldn't back down from.

"ENOUGH! Isn't his recovery from the beating you and that other~ Kuzma, was it? Isn't the recovery from the beating you gave him enticing enough for you?"

I shook my head, "Isn't someone like me who isn't in any of the shit you guys are peddling enough to tell you to stop messing with our bodies this way? Your 'roided-up fuck lost to me, what does that say—"

Bartow exploded, "WE CAN HAVE A REAL FIGHT, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW IF YOU WANT TO—"

Admiral Burke shut him down, "I SAID ENOUGH! You two… Alright… I'll admit you're a very special case but what about the rest of us? If I had a thousand of you and sent them to reclaim our land, the chances would be higher but unfortunately, you're one in a million… That's one of the reasons we have to resort to… to enhancements such as these…"

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I had to agree a bit, "That's a fair point but since you already know I'm special, why are you offering it to me? You could've just given them to someone else—"

The Admiral huffed, "Isn't that all the more reason to take it? If a… If a regular person takes one of these, it gives them the chance to slightly level the playing field but if someone already on the top of the food chain takes it, what then? Can't you imagine that?"

I shook my head, "I'm sorry but these things you're offering me wouldn't be able to do that. Momentarily, sure, but these things take something from you and once you have to pay the toll, it's already too late. I'm all for being above average in certain aspects but you gotta understand that there are certain downsides to it."

"..."

"Tell me," I said as I turned to the couple of doctors shaking their heads, "What are the cons of taking them? Is it taken orally? Transdermally? Injected? What?"

The same doctor spoke up, shaking his head, "That's… We did tell you it's very experimental but so far… mood swings, increased weight, increased appetite, insomnia—"

I cut him off, "What's your name, doctor?"

"S-Stevens—"

"Doctor Stevens, no offense, but… aside from this place I'd have a part in leading with Captain Davis and Popeye over there, I have other places and a billion other people to interact with and take care of and do you think someone like me would be able to do my job—which is hard enough as it is—if I'm highly irritable and lacks sleep? ȑÁΝŎ₿ÊŚ

For a soldier you sent to the battlefield, sure, but isn't my case a little different? And even if I could handle it, why suffer all that if I won't be able to move like I used to?"

"What do you mean?"

"Not to brag or anything, but if I'm at my 100%, completely focused, it's a one-on-one, and life-or-death with my blades on hand, no one could fucking touch me and the match will be over in a split second. Why the fuck would I need increased recovery if I wouldn't get hit and why would I need stronger bones if it would slow me down? Won't it just change everything I do things?"

"That's… That's something we haven't considered…"

"Look… I do believe our human shell is limited on its own and it's up to you all to advance us but I won't be able to plunge into it if there are already negatives that could affect how I do things and uncertainties waiting to blow up in our faces. Sure, Bartow's— First Lieutenant Bartow's recovery is amazing and all, but that's not for me. I'd rather take the freezer."

"What?" Everyone said at the same time.

"It's a cool-looking freezer, meshes well with—"

Admiral Burke cut me off, "That's why I want you to let me fucking finish!"

"Pardon?"

"I'm giving you the whole lot, you punk! And it's up to you if you use it or not!"

"Oh."

He shook his head, slightly defeated, "We haven't told you about the other ones here but it's enough doses for a handful of people. Let me tell you, I am on a cycle of what Bartow—and what my wife had as well—to further its research because yeah, I'm all for taking something safely but we wouldn't get there without any sacrifices. Can't you agree to that, at least?"

I glanced down before I looked back at him, "That's definitely true."

He lightly chuckled, "In the future, if this all goes well, you'd probably be one of the people benefiting from this—and you'd have to thank me and Bartow for that. It IS experimental and it DOES carry risks, but we've gotten far enough that the negatives are manageable, and with more time and more data, we'd be able to tweak it to the point it had a stronger effect but less of the drawbacks.

If not, less effect but less drawbacks as well, do you get me?"

"Min-Maxing, yeah. But what does the other shit do?"

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