Around the time when my vision finally came around, the first person I truly saw was my mother.
She smiled almost every time she looked at me.
"Good morning, Raime."
Her voice was gentle, carrying a warmth unlike what one would expect of this universe.
In fact, I was almost fooled into thinking this wasn't the Borderlands universe.
My father wasn't nearly as expressive though.
He'd often stand nearby with a tablet in hand, quietly observing me. Sometimes he'd make notes. Other times he'd simply watch as I slowly became more aware of the world around me or showed signs of intelligence.
Looking back, it made perfect sense.
They weren't ordinary parents.
Neither of them were.
And Aurix-9 also delved into biological engineering of all sorts be it cybernetics or development of restorative products.
So it was entirely possible that I wasn't conceived through normal maintained but through genetically modified and engineered birth to give me perfect genes of both parents and be at my peak healthy state born with no weakness or abnormalities.
---
Our family wasn't wealthy because of luck or inheritance of past generations.
We were wealthy because both of my parents were among Aurix-9's leading researchers.
My father, Dr. Kael Virex, specialized in neural systems, brain-machine interfaces, cognitive enhancement, and mental development.
Simply put...
He worked on making the Human mind better. So I just made a mental note he is 'Rhys cybernetics developing guy' so I abridged all his fields of research into to recall later.
My mother, Dr. Elara Virex, specialized in biology, regenerative medicine, stem-cell engineering, and genetic sciences.
I made another mental note that my mother is 'Plan A Mother route'.
Then there was my older sister.
Serana Virex.
She was seven years older than me and, despite still being young herself, had already begun following in our parents' footsteps.
Unlike our parents, though...
She wasn't nearly as obsessed with research.
She was simply...
Kind.
The type of older sister who couldn't walk past my crib without poking my cheek or talking to me despite knowing I couldn't answer.
Even before I could properly speak...
I liked her, I was going to make sure she was safe in this chaotic universe.
---
As the months became years, I grew.
So did my advantage in my Meta Knowledge, or at least what I was able to recall that is.
Reincarnation didn't magically make me omniscient.
I wasn't suddenly capable of solving impossible equations the moment I learned to walk.
What it gave me was perspective and I had used my circumstances to my utmost benefits.
I was essentially a corporation CEO's close subordinate's subordinate's child.
My parents noticed quickly my abnormal obsession to study far quicker than I had expected.
There wasn't much point pretending to be average, I wasn't some paranoid protagonist that I would be found out.
After all, who the Hell is going to care that a kid was interested in books.
A kid could play with a toy and be interested in it, look at drawings and be interested in it, look at words on a book like me and be interested in it. And just as I thought no one gave a shit other than to help nourish and cultivate my growing mind.
Eventually, I'd have to reveal what I was capable of anyway.
So...
I didn't hold back.
Not entirely.
I learned languages astonishingly quickly.
Finished educational material years ahead of schedule.
Asked questions that most adults wouldn't even think to ask.
Whenever something interested me, I'd spend days trying to understand every detail behind it instead of merely memorizing the answer.
At first they thought I was gifted.
Then exceptional.
Eventually...
They simply accepted that I was a genius.
Aurix-9 wasn't the type of world to suppress talent, but they did fear it. So while I was nurtured, I was also kept under surveillance, not that I cared. Eventually I will do what I wanted away from prying eyes.
Instead of forcing me through the standard educational curriculum, I was transferred into increasingly advanced programs designed for exceptional students.
Each time I completed one...
Another opened.
It was exactly the environment I needed.
---
I deliberately narrowed my focus.
There were countless scientific disciplines available on Aurix-9.
Physics.
Energy engineering.
Materials science.
Quantum communications.
Astrophysics.
Weapons development.
Dozens more.
I ignored almost all of them.
For now...
Instead, I concentrated on four fields.
Biology.
Neurotechnology.
Cybernetics.
Artificial Intelligence.
Each one supported the others.
Together...
They formed the foundation of the future I intended to build, and boy did i have plans.
---
Cybernetics would let me temporarily surpass the limits of the human brain.
Neurotechnology would allow those cybernetics to integrate seamlessly with my nervous system.
Artificial intelligence would dramatically accelerate research and development beyond what a single person could accomplish.
And biology...
Biology was the end goal.
Cybernetics were powerful.
But they were still machines, I didn't want some chip on my head or to be some metalic hunk of junk like RoboCop or a Terminator.
Machines could malfunction.
They could be hacked.
Destroyed.
Disabled.
Biology couldn't.
Not if I redesigned it properly.
And if I truly was able to, Immortality was well in reach with what this universe had ms in store and is capable of.
My objective was never to remain dependent on mechanical enhancements.
Cybernetics were merely scaffolding.
Temporary tools I'd use to improve myself until my own biology surpassed what machines could provide.
Once that happened...
I'd simply remove them once I could program the Human cells of both Stem Cells and Cancer Cells in my body to undergo a certain direction.
But that is well out of my reach for many years so the more simple plan was to gain some regenerative capabilities and other body enhancements to my biology.
As well as creating an AI entirely loyal to me and fully capable to fulfill all my needs.
---
Even as a child, I kept a private list of long-term objectives.
The first entries were relatively straightforward.
Photographic memory.
Accelerated learning.
Perfect long-term memory retention.
Enhanced neural processing speed.
Improved pattern recognition.
Greater multitasking capability.
Cellular Regeneration.
And more.
Every improvement naturally led to another.
Eventually, I wanted something even more ambitious.
A neural interface capable of directly transmitting information into my brain.
Not downloading years of knowledge in an instant like the absurd science fiction I'd read back on Earth.
Reality wasn't that simple.
Knowledge still had to be understood.
Experienced.
Connected to existing concepts.
But if information could be transmitted directly through carefully designed neural signals...
Learning months of material in weeks—or weeks of material in days—might actually become possible.
On Aurix-9...
That wasn't fantasy.
It was simply another research project waiting to be completed.
And I intended to be the one who completed it and to be it's sole proprietor reaping the benefits.