Core Defect [HIATUS]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

[CURRENTLY ON HIATUS]

In the 264 years since the Great Singularity Wars, the world has been irrevocably changed. Technologies like nanobots and rogue artificial intelligences have caused the planet's wildlife to evolve in dangerous and powerful ways, pushing humanity to the verge of extinction. However, the remaining survivors are not without ways to fight back. Nanotech can enhance humans just as well as beasts, but perhaps most surprisingly, humanity has found an unexpected ally: a group of human-neutral AIs called Daemons.

Val is a 22-year old woman striving to become a User: a nano-empowered human paired with a Daemon that serves as society's final and most powerful line of defense. When a critical issue in her nanosystem's core seemingly leaves her unable to serve as a User, she's given a difficult choice: give up on her dreams or accept a potentially unstable AI, Noir, as her Daemon partner.

Val and Noir are stronger together than they are apart, but can they survive long enough to unlock their potential? Can they find a place among the other pairings like them, shunned by society but essential to civilization's survival?

If Users are humanity's last line of defense, welcome to the sacrificial first line: the Defects.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: FlailingPotato

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 102
Views: 36,366

Reviews

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Community Reviews(3)

Luke ScheffeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'll be honest: I didn't go in expecting to like this story. It's one of those things I don't really like, notably tech-based cultivation. But the author impressed me. They managed to pull off a damn good story so far, leaving me wanting more. I look forward to following this story into the future, as far as the author is willing to take it.
Style - Despite it being a post-apocalypse story, the author didn't make the mistake of making the world grimdark for no reason. It has been a while since the apocalypse, and while the world is certainly more dangerous, the situation has largely stabilized.
Story - This is a good story. It is much more engaging than I initially expected, with an interesting world so far. Obviously, the story is still young, but the author has already begun laying out the threads for future plotlines.
Grammar - Grammar seemed to be good, but I also didn't go looking for mistakes. I prefer to enjoy the story for itself, rather than nitpick minor details.
Characters - All the characters seem engaging so far, with the right mix of crazy and stability to feel really interesting. Their trauma and flaws feel real, not glossed over or overstated.
NexileRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
We’ve got an apocalypse. We’ve got struggling humans in settlements. We’ve got advanced AIs (who are friendly for a change! Or are they?). This sci-fi adventure explores the union between man and AI in a world that would swallow them otherwise. And our lovely Val is dead set on achieving that union, despite the dangers such a choice brings to her.
CHARACTERS: Since I’ve already mentioned Val, let’s start with her. Her goal is crystal clear and her motivation really builds on that (as it should!). She’s got a strong personality and it made reading about her a breeze. We also get a surprise strike of empathy that really makes us root for her.
The supporting characters were also fleshed out. Those who were important got enough to make them feel important (even if it does describe them negatively). The interactions and dialogue didn’t sound fake at any point and that was great.
STORY: We really start in the middle of action. Love it! Up to where I’ve read, we’ve just exited the setup phase, and I felt it was very much appropriate to sufficiently raise the stakes and then crank up the tension. It was baffling to think how much can go wrong when so much depends on AIs, which are indispensable. Although there was little action in these chapters, they never felt slow to me. The worldbuilding was mainly focused on the technology, its uses and applications. I like that. We know what we have, and that leaves creativity to get the main character out of peril – the way we all prefer it done. Also got some vibes of Horizon Zero Dawn.
STYLE: I mostly enjoyed the style. Easy to read, sticking to the point. There were some problematic bits though. One thing that stuck out to me was during a fight in the first chapter. The thought process could have been placed more appropriately, without slowing down the action, almost taking us out of it. There were also some places where the wording could have been better. Still, I enjoyed it.
GRAMMAR: Nothing here that felt out of place.
OVERALL:
wolf989Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Amazing story so far. I'm very excited about this one as i smell high quality work.
It is the tale of Vale, our female MC, and her AI daemon as they build a relationship to help humanity in its struggle against an unforgiving world. I'm looking forward to see their growth and it seems like the first narrative of humanity against the world is not that simple with many secrets and grey areas to discover.
There is also an interesting power system as humans use a mix of nano technology and ai daemon to fight. Grammar looks good too.
So if you are craving for a new excited story, please check it out.