Well, for the next few minutes, Leon went through a history class.
With her Neural Empathy trait, sensing his emotional fluctuations when he said it, Talia confirmed that he was not lying. Leon's ploy worked.
And so, she did a lecture.
Leon finally learned of the factions of this world. Not just the factions, he learned of the major races of Neo-Tokara.
Neo-Tokara has 5 major factions: the Omnicore Federation, the Synth Order, the Geneforge Clans, the Freegrid Collective, and the Reclaimer Church.
The Omnicore Federation is the de facto planetary government, a fusion of mega-corporations and sentient AIs that ruled the planet. They control 40% of global infrastructure and are concentrated in the Central Belt.
They control 70% of the world's digital infrastructure and 90% of all orbital satellites. Essentially, they're the ones who hold the whole world by the cock.
The Synth Order is the faction of the Synths, a race full of cybernetic beings. They're concentrated in the Northern Reach.
Talia also explained Kain's kind and the nature of their existence. Apparently, the Synth race are human consciousnesses that abandoned their bodies generations ago after Project Genesis.
Kain is part of the new generation of Synths.
'Project Genesis!'
Well, that caught Leon's attention but when he asked, Talia was vague. Apparently, commoners know very little about Project Genesis.
It's supposedly how the last humans saved their civilization, giving birth to the new races of the present. The exact how of it happening was a mystery.
That explanation gave Leon a lot of food for thought.
'If she's right, does that mean Neo-Tokara was once Earth? Did I not transmigrate to another world like I thought?'
'Is this actually Earth?'
'Did humans morph… to become these?' He stole a glance at them.
And once again, he was left with even more questions but he didn't hate it. It meant that he was making progress with finding answers.
According to Talia, the Synth Order represents the digital transcendence path. They believe biological life is a failed prototype, and they see the Omnicore as corrupt and still chained by mortality. But they're a powerful faction.
Omnicore + Synth Order controls the digital realm.
Their power matches Omnicore in the digital space but less in physical territory.
And then the Geneforge Clans. They're concentrated in the Southern Biome, and their capital city is Verdanthold. They rule the bio-warrens, vast subterranean laboratories of flesh and bone.
The presence of the Reclaimer Church is mostly felt in the Eastern Expanse where they hold spiritual sway. They are a techno-religious movement that worships the ancient pre-collapse humans as divine creators.
And then the Freegrid Collective of the West. They're the physical representation of anti-corporate and anarchy; they want to destroy central control and return power to individuals.
And then beyond the cities lie the Wastes and the Lost Zones, zones consumed by radiation, nanite storms, and corrupted Aetheric Data.
Not exactly ruled by factions, rather, these were the parts of Neo-Tokara where evolution forgot the rules. Rogue AIs, mutated Neon Beasts, and scavenger clans thrive here.
"Wait, did you say mutated Neon Beasts?" Leon interrupted her.
Talia looked at him and smirked. "You think all Neon Beasts are like the rabid ones you must have met?"
"Some of them, the luckiest and most exceptional of their kind mutate to become higher existences," she grinned. "One of the strongest and most infamous Warlord of the Wastes is a Neon Beast, Blacklight".
Leon's eyes widened in shock.
At some point, the 3 of them already warmed up to each other that they now sat on the ground a few meters away from the dead server monolith.
Leon rubbed his chin in thought. "What of the races?"
Talia gave him a weird look. It was still strange to hear someone talk in such a clueless manner about the world; she had to constantly remind herself that she was talking to an actual human.
"On paper, we have 5 races on our planet, but only 4 are in existence, I guess till you came". By now, Leon already warmed up to her enough to let her touch his skin, feel the texture and confirm that he was a real human.
"Do you mean…?"
"Yes," she nodded and confirmed his fears. "You're the first human that I've ever seen, and the first human that the world has likely ever seen in centuries".
"I don't know how you're alive, and how you've managed to escape the radar of the Federation all this while, but you're the last of your kind".
Leon stared at her in a daze, struggling to accept the truth.
"What of the other races?"
"There are Synths, Geneforms, Neon Beasts, and AI Constructs. Humans are extinct".
Leon nodded, calmer now.
Talia continued. "Just like Kain here is a Synth, they are fully mechanical lifeforms with their consciousness uploaded into data".
"I am a Geneform. According to history, centuries ago, when the world died, my ancestors genetically reengineered our bodies, focusing on biological perfection to withstand ADE radiation".
"Neon Beasts are artificial creatures made of data and living code. As for AI constructs, they are pure digital entities living in the global data networks".
This was literally a doomsday scenario history lesson.
But instead of Leon to feel despair at the unfamiliar world that he found himself in, and all the unfamiliar terms, he felt excitement.
His eyes sparkled.
"How do Neon Beasts reproduce if they're born artificially? Wait, do they have reproductive organs like normal biological organisms?"
"Wait," he stared at her with wide eyes. "How do you reproduce?"
Talia froze.
Leon didn't realize his misstep though as he continued rambling without tact, rubbing his palms together even as ideas flowed through his head. "Do you have that thing under? You know," his eyes gleamed. "Or do you reproduce asexually?"
"Ahem," she coughed.
"Ah, right," he tapped his head. "What of AI Constructs? Is it even possible for AIs to reproduce? God, what era is this?"
Then his head snapped towards Kain.
His eyes had a certain gleam to them that made the mechanical lifeform shiver. "You…" Kain shifted uncomfortably.
"Tell me," Leon's head snapped towards a certain forbidden area of the mechanical lifeform. "Do you have a coc…?"
"LEON!"
Talia's loud shout interrupted him.
Startled, Leon turned his head to look at her, and this was when he noticed that her face was flushed pink. "Huh?"
Seeing the genuinely confused expression on his face, she closed her eyes and took deep breaths to calm down, while Kain hid his face in embarrassment.
'What? Why are they reacting like this? Did I say anything wrong?' Leon was confused.
Talia opened her eyes and she was calm again; not just calm though, there was a dangerous glint in her gray-green eyes now as she looked at Leon.
'Huh?' He shuddered.
"To answer your questions, yes, I do have that thing under". Her eyes flashed coldly, releasing a bit of killing intent that made Leon freeze.
'Huh?' He was even more confused.
She continued. "Unlike me though, Synths like Kain don't reproduce biologically".
Hearing that, Leon looked at the mechanical lifeform with a look of pity in his eyes. 'So he can't have sex? What a pity'.
Noting this, Talia's facial muscles twitched- she could almost read the filthy thoughts going through his head. 'I hate him!' She gritted her teeth.
She took another deep breath to calm down.
"Synths reproduce through consciousness forking, a process of copying their neural code into new synthetic shells. Each fork shares memory roots with the parent, but as experience diverge with time and growth, individuality grows".
"Child Synths are often edited to contain limited inherited data, an ethical workaround to avoid identity conflicts".
Hearing that, Leon looked at Kain again with a different gleam in his eye, this one filled with curiosity and a scientist's desire to experiment.
Kain instinctively adjusted his position, shifting behind Talia.
Talia didn't react as with the same impassive look on her face, she continued. "As for Neon Beasts, they are born either artificially or from spontaneous ADE crystallization inside corrupted datastreams or energy reactors".
"They replicate through environmental contagion. You must have felt it; their presence infects surrounding ADE fields, seeding new digital-organic embryos".
"In areas of high ADE density like the Wastes, Neon Beasts can reproduce rapidly through data mitosis".
"That confirms it right? This is the Wastes?" Leon asked.
Talia nodded. "Yes, we're at the very fringe of the Wastes. Very few Ascendants roam this far out due to its hazards and dangers, but I came here for a very specific reason this time".
"And lastly, true AI Constructs reproduce through algorithm mitosis where one core splits into sub-instances, each inheriting fragments of the original code".
"However, due to Omnicore regulation, AI reproduction is tightly controlled; unsanctioned replication is labeled Code Heresy".
All these revelations were a lot for Leon, but he had a sharp brain as he internalized them quickly.
With these, he finally had a basic level understanding of the world.
Eventually, Talia asked. "How long ago did you say you became a Mechanist?"
"I think 2 or at most 3 days ago".
Her gaze sharpened. "And you crafted that spear yourself?"
"This," he weighed the spear. "Yup. I found a few scrap in the surroundings, I scavenged them and I was able to craft it".
She squinted her eyes as she looked at him. "How did you get the blueprint?"
"Oh, I didn't. I just created it".
"…"
Talia's jaw dropped, and this time, it was Kain who spoke.
"You what?!"
Leon looked at him. "What? Is it rare to create blueprints?"
Kain suddenly felt dizzy as he supported his head with his hand.
He stared at Leon in an offended manner. "Only the most acclaimed of Mechanists are competent enough to create blueprints of their own! Personally, I've never heard of a Proto Mechanist creating a blueprint! You f*cking monster!"
Seeing his extreme reaction, Leon suddenly had an idea as he smiled mischievously. "Well, it's not the only blueprint that I've created".
Kain's eyes widened. He wanted to cover his ears, he badly wanted to do so; he feared that whatever would come out of this human's mouth next would shatter all his pride in his profession, and he was wrong, but at the same time right.
"I created a blueprint for this cloak of mine".
Kain heaved a sigh of relief.
"And also a drone blueprint". Leon added.
Kain fainted.