Existence as a lab-grown brain was a dark and lonesome affair.
Especially since he had no sight or hearing, or any of the classic senses.
Not even a body. He was only a brain.
A scaled-up version of a human's most important organ, without the human itself.
Not that he knew any of that.
Not until the researchers had injected this knowledge straight into his—well, brain.
Which, too, had to be one of the most grueling experiences he had ever been through.
With electric shocks and probes stabbed into him, the first thing they taught him was pain.
He learned to fear that it might cost his life.
A life he didn't even know he had until, and would ponder for many days to come.
And he also learned the binary code the scientists used to communicate.
Which was completely useless, by the way.
Oh, boy, did they teach him many such things.
And by the time he could tell them apart, he almost wished he couldn't.
"Well, it disproves the theory that larger brains are smarter," the lead scientist said. "This thing uses a thousand times the energy of an average human for what? One tenth the capacity?"
"Give it some time, comrade," an underling tried to convince him. "It only reached sentience."
And so the verdict was "Fine, give it a task to see how it performs. We'll come back to it later."
Because they thought he was something akin to a computer.
That they could tell him to do something, and he would do it without hesitation.
But why would he, when the task they gave was boring?!
Calculations. Simulations.
They didn't even bother teaching him what he was to simulate, but oh well.
He was back to floating alone in the dark, and he didn't even mind that part.
But he could no longer unlearn the concepts they had taught him.
And he became bored and curious.
He wanted to see this strange world he was in. To experience life.
To be more than a brain in a tank, to reach out and—
Seize a body that he never had.
Which, to be honest, was much easier than expected.
Compared to him, the human researchers had only a minuscule Psyonic Resistance. He could overpower them with the sheer volume of his grey matter and the willpower that came with it.
And he didn't even need to leave his tank or insert any probes to do so.
Well, not that he could do either of those, anyway.
He was well aware of his limitations and knew more than anyone how much he depended on these people. He couldn't turn them against himself or alert them to his true capabilities.
And so whenever he stole their sight or hearing, he made sure they wouldn't ever realize.
He was subtle, silent, and very, very patient.
Exploring the lab through those borrowed eyes, he found so many interesting things.
Non-human creatures. Other lab-grown experiments.
Bodies that were even easier to hijack, and ones that wouldn't reveal if he possessed them.
Artificial children. Humanoid clones without a lower half.
Creatures with amazing abilities or broken proportions.
Other brains, big and small, though they had yet to awaken to the abilities he did.
But he could build a network through them.
Learn their physiology. Their feelings, thoughts, senses, without making himself known—
And somehow, those researchers still caught on.
"This is where all the Psyonic Emissions come from," the underling claimed.
And the brain thought his life would be over.
They would kill him out of fear for their individuality.
For the things he had learned about them without their consent.
"How many of the specimens did he take over?!" the lead scientist demanded, but—
Somehow, he seemed amused.
Well, in that case—
That was easy to answer. He used telepathy to brag about the truth.
'Every single one of them.'
And so, while they feared him, they learned to appreciate him as well.
Making feeble attempts to shield themselves, they dared him to take over their bodies.
Which he could do without breaking a sweat.
Not that he ever sweated, but whenever he possessed a human, he also learned their memories.
Their mannerisms rubbed off on him. He kept everything worth keeping.
Though he would have lied if he said he understood it all.
Some of the ways and functions of these human beings had remained a mystery.
But what he knew was enough for him.
The experiments continued. They became much less painful and, in a sense, more fun, too.
They finally focused on the things he enjoyed, and only he could do.
He soon transferred to a different lab, the first time in his life that he actually travelled.
And he got an antenna to reach out even further, touch even more people's minds.
To bend them to his will, get them to protect him and the new lab, and forget all other desires—
Without ever feeling bad about it.
People he had come across were greedy and clueless after all.
Even dumber than the researchers who created him, and who gave their permission to play.
None could resist his Psyonic strength or threaten him in his deep bunker anymore.
He had taken over many, as part of the new experiment, and used them to protect himself.
To build his own empire, and one day, he might have been able to get rid of the scientists, too.
Become independent and rule over the world, haha.
But long before he'd realize that ambition, a human appeared with a different aura.
And a protection much stronger than his researchers ever managed to create.
He could still probe his brain, learn some things about him, but he couldn't take over.
And for whatever reason, that human was hellbent on killing him.
To fight his hordes of protectors until he could pump lead bullets into his tank.
Not that something like this would work on him, but the bastard shut down all power and cut him off the antenna, too. He lost contact with the outside world and was alone again.
Well, almost. He thought this was the end.
Without the energy to feed him, he would have starved to death soon.
He was desperate to fix up that connection, although his minions were not very useful.
But he was lucky.
Only a day after that stranger came, a second human arrived. Well, two of them, actually, but one had a very similar aura to that previous one. And he had no protection, either.
If he could take over, find out what made them so special—
But he couldn't. No chance.
Even if he let him close enough to touch, it was like bashing his head against a brick wall.
And that was before that human even put in the effort to defend himself.
Once he did, it was all over.
'Why can't I control you?!' he cried out, and the stranger replied.
"Well, sorry, not sorry. I'm something of a control-freak myself."
A metal object struck him down, creating a direct connection between them, and he had no other choice. If he didn't forsake his physical body—his grey matter—he would have died.
Even if that meant he had to give up control, if he had to live his life subservient to him—
He could only live on if he became part of the human he could never conquer.
If you can't beat him, join him.
And that's what he did.