He didn't know how the registrar was doing the marking. He couldn't even see any moving parts at it worked.
The registrar was a simple metallic box. Yet, it was doing something to him without him seeing how. He could only wait patiently for it to finish what it was doing.
It didn't take long for him to be marked. When he was done, the robot said to him, "Please, step beyond the registrar."
He pushed the wall beyond him and felt his hand sink into it.
This was strange and interesting, but it didn't shock him because he had read about it in the military codex. He knew what to do, which was to continue pushing forward.
He did so and continued to do so even when his entire body sank into the metallic wall. With one last push, he sank completely into it.
He didn't spend more than a moment in the metallic wall. He was out through the other side before he noticed the absence of light. So it looked like the whole world had suddenly changed around him.
He was in a small room right now. There was another robot standing beside him. It was similar to the previous one.
It said, "This is the weapons and equipment room. Please pick what you need and equip it. You have five minutes."
He nodded and moved on to the rows of shelves lining the walls of the small room. These rows were on both sides of the room on his left and right. In front of him, at the other side of the room, was a door.
He didn't rush to pick a weapon yet. Instead he looked at the mark that the registrar had put on him.
The mark was a black tattoo on his arm. It was in the shape of a tree within two black circles.
The tree was vivid. It looked three-dimensional despite being made from just one color. It was even moving as if its leaves were being affected by wind.
This mark, according to the military codex, is his identification tag. It is the equivalent of a dog tag. But it is capable of so much more.
He tapped the tattoo twice. This caused the three to move and writhe. A gap appeared in its center from which a screen was projected.
It was a transparent screen that displayed words to him.
-PERSONNEL INFORMATION.
-COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.
-MISSION SECTION.
-ACHIEVEMENT LOG.
-MISCELLANEOUS.
-EXCHANGE.
He looked through the four options and selected the first one, Personnel Information. What was displayed on the screen changed immediately.
- Name: Kelvin.
- Identification Number: 936,628,963,194,741.
- Rank: Zero Stars.
- Merits: 0.
- Feats: None.
The military tag is a means of identification that every soldier must have. Even without looking at a fellow soldier, one would know when they are around. There is no need for introductions. Every soldier will be able to tell when they are in the presence of another soldier.
Apart from that, soldiers will be able to use the communication system to communicate with each other and their superiors. Superiors will also be able to use it to pass down orders to their subordinates.
But perhaps the most use of the military tag is the tracking of merits and feats. Everything that happens around each soldier is tracked. Rewards are calculated using this surveillance system, and so are punishments.
Nothing can be hidden from the military tag, including the intentional or unintentional sabotaging of another soldier. This is why some people think that its tracking ability is the most important job of the tag.
With this tracking, the position of every soldier is constantly updated so they can be rescued. It gives soldiers confidence in using themselves as bait to infiltrate enemy bases. But Kelvin still thinks it is merit tracking that is the most important use of the tag.
He asked Wrath, "How do you think they did this?"
Wrath replied haughtily, "One word. Nanobots."
He thought about it and said, "That makes sense."
Wrath scoffed and said, "Who are you to say it makes sense? Do you even know how it works?"
He smiled and ignored her. Instead of falling for her trick, he went to grab weapons and equipment.
He knows enough about Wrath to know that she wanted him to ask her how nanobots work to display a screen in front of him so she can lecture him with pride and smugness. But he is not going to give her the opportunity.
Wrath was indeed disappointed that he didn't ask her how nanobots work. But she didn't show it.
She folded her arms and said, "Be that way. Suffer in ignorance even though enlightenment is but a tiny step away."
He said to her as his eyes focused on the armor, "What do you mean, suffer? Isn't ignorance bliss?"
Wrath rolled her eyes and gave up.
His eyes were focused on the most important equipment to him in the room. It is the basic infantry armor with the passive force field and active cloak modules.
The armor is made of a stretchable metallic material with flexibility for comfort and considerable durability. Its color can be changed to suit the taste of its wielder.
It looks like a bulletproof vest except that it is metallic and is also fire- and radiation-resistant. It also possesses high physical durability, as it can stop sniper rifles.
But what makes it stand out from ordinary protective equipment is the force field and cloaking abilities.
The force field creates a protective bubble around the wielder that serves as a container for air that the armor filters from the environment. This way, soldiers will be able to breathe no matter how hostile the environment.
The inside of the bubble also has a constant temperature. The armor not only filters air, but it also regulates air and body temperature.
These two are probably as important as the force field's ability to stop all kinds of attacks, if only briefly. It makes the armor indispensable on the battlefield.