The next day, early in the morning, I stood outside of Absolom Clinic ready for my replacement chrome. I shrugged under the weight of my backpack, shifting it on my shoulder as I pushed open Nael’s door. 

The clinic was… in shambles. There was no nice way of putting it. Eight young children ran around, laughing and screaming as they messed with the Medech’s tools and gear. About double that number, looking older in their early teens maybe, were neatly lined up against the wall, watching the chaos in near silence. Several of them had small smiles on their faces as they watched the younger ones move around full of energy.

A woman sat at one of the counters spread all around the room, her head resting on her arms as she tiredly watched the rabble. Occasionally she would chuckle as one kid did something or another, but otherwise seemed content just to watch.

Nael himself sat above his Medech chair, chuckling slightly as he patted a girl on the head. He held a small paper in his hand. “Thank you, Tyra. I’ll treasure it always.”

The girl, looking barely three years old, maybe, smiled up at him with a mouth full of several missing teeth. “No, tank you! Missta’ Nail is ta’ beddest eva’!” 

Nael glanced up, his eyes meeting mine as he nodded to me. I didn’t distract him for too long as he helped the little girl out of the chair. “Ah shucks, Tyra. I’m not the bestest, Miss Tanaka is.

The woman sat up. “Don’t lie now, Nael. I’m no one special, just a wayward soul hoping to help others.”

Nael had a grin on his face as he guided Tyra back to this Miss Tanaka. “I’ve known you since you were almost as young as Tyra. Without a doubt, I can say you are the bestest.”

“It's true! Missy Tanka and Missta’ Nail are both the bestest!” The little girl laughed happily to herself as she ran off to join the rest of the rabble. 

That left just the woman and Nael. He motioned me over as he spoke to her. “Shiro, this is a good friend of mine, Tris Tanaka. She is one of the owners running Saint’s Hall Orphanage over by Saint’s Plaza. Tanaka, this is Shiro.”

Wow, no introduction Nael? I’m hurt. Still, I offered my hand to the woman. “I’m a freelancer. Nice to meet you.”

“A pleasure.” The woman smiled at me. “A freelancer, huh? I’ve got a bunch of kids your age running around the hall… Well, if you ever need help, the Orphanage’s doors are always open.”

I smiled, trying not to let my teeth show too much. Like I would ever go to an orphanage. “I appreciate the offer.”

Tanaka, as if sensing my discomfort, shifted the conversation away. “So, how much do I owe you this time around?”

“Don’t worry about it. It was only a checkup, so just bring me one of your world-famous cakes next time you come.” Before the woman could refute him, Nael pulled a classic move. “C’mon Shiro, I’ve got something to show you. It’s about what you asked for last time.”

I tried not to chuckle as I spotted the frustrated look on the woman’s face. I had been there many, many times in the past. “Sure.”

Nael led me back to a room I had never been in before. A massive door, almost reminiscent of a bank vault from back when paper money was used, sat at the opposite end. Instead of heading to it, he led me to a side room with several silver cylinders laid out. Small puffs of white fog left two of the canisters.

Nael waved a hand towards them. “I’ve managed to find a couple of good quality Neural Links that shouldn’t have a problem keeping up with your eye.”

I eyed the canisters, spotting a Sentinel spear and shield, a Raijin lightning bolt, KairoTech Global’s pyramid symbol, and surprisingly the crescent moon symbol of Mystech. “These look rather high-end, Nael, I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford them.”

We waved off my concern. Literally. “Then you can just owe me one. I know you’re good for it, kid. Anyway, we can talk about all of that later. Let me introduce you to the four I managed to find in three days.”

He moved to the Sentinel one and pulled the handle atop the canister. The inside of the canister slid up, revealing what looked to be a small puck. “This is a couple gens ago, the Sentinel Neural Interface 4.6. Not the best of the best, but should be able to keep up with most chrome. It's several times better than the junk ASCorp one you had.”

Nael slid the puck back into the canister and then moved to the next one in line. “The Raijin Neural Dilation Link is quite a piece of tech. It's not as crazy as the other two, but it excels when interfacing with the Net. From what I’ve heard, it's the closest a person can get to speedware without the actual burden of speedware. Only on the Net though.”

He repeated the process and moved to the one marked with a pyramid. As soon as he pulled it up, white fog oozed from its length. “This is the KairoTech Gypto Fusion. As you know, KairoTech is one of the leading corps when it comes to biotech. The Gypto Fusion boasts the ability to symbiotically grow into your body. It becomes a hassle to remove, but give room for growth as you grow. I- I wouldn’t recommend it. I think this particular product is a bit too ‘bio’ and not enough ‘tech’.”

“Which brings me to my last option. Honestly, this acquisition came by a complete surprise.” He ran a hand along the last canister. “I don’t like magitech on a fundamental level, so I wouldn’t normally offer this-”

“I’m good.” I heard far too many horror stories of mixing magic and chrome. Hell, I had even seen an insane Adept fry himself thanks to his chrome back in my younger years.

“Figured… don’t blame you, kid. So, what do you think?”

Hmm… the clear winner was the Sentinel one. It was average and bland, sure, but it was good at jack of all trades. The Raijin one would only be helpful if I was a Netrunn or something adjacent, and fell behind in specs from the Sentinel. The other two were… not really an option. Having a symbiotic piece of tech sounded terrible, and the Mystech one wasn’t even an option.

“The Sentinel Neural Interface.” I pointed to it.

Nael nodded several times as he grabbed it and threw the rest into a small fridge. “Alright, kid… before we go on with the procedure, are you sure you want this? You just came off a Glitch, and adding more chrome is typically a poor idea. Still, the Glitch came from malfunctioning chrome and not from your body’s inability to cope with the tech.”

I could see his actual question between the lines. “I’m sure. You ah- you think I’ll be okay?”

He paused and stared me dead in the eyes. After a few uncomfortable moments, he slowly nodded. “Yeah, kid. You’ll be fine… just maybe take a month or two to adjust before getting anything else.”

“‘Course.” And it isn’t like I had a long list of items I wanted to install into my body. The only thing partially on my mind was a deck, and even then I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to go that route. 

“Right.” He handed me the Neural Link’s canister. “Head on back. I’ll be there in a minute.”

I nodded to him and headed back to the Medech chair. A few minutes later, he had me lie on my back as he knocked me out.

“So, you made this?” Nael asked as I tried to readjust to having two eyes once more. The Advent Ghost still felt off, like there was a delay in how it shifted directions. 

I rubbed at the back of my neck, feeling as if a knot had been inserted into my spinal column. I refocused on what he held: a Doctor Absolom action figure. I had handed it to him while I was still recovering from the recent surgery. It looked slightly off, as did almost everything else in my vision. Almost like everything had an extra shadow?

My surgery had gone rather well, at least according to Nael. I still felt a little sore, but after a night’s rest, I’d be back to the peak of health. Hopefully without any mental deficiencies this time too.

With a thought, the HUD popped back into my vision showcasing the Mapp™ in all its glory. It's funny how much I missed the thing considering my short time with it. The HUD closed back down, returning my eye to normal vision as I looked back at him. 

I could feel heat rising to my cheeks as he looked over the thing, scrutinizing every detail. “I uh- I’m practicing my skills… I know it’s not very good-”

Nael stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself short, Shiro.” Was that a personal attack? Low blow, Nael… damnit, Shiro! Now you’re doing it too! “It’s very well made. And I’m sure the kids will love them.”

“T-thanks.” I rubbed at my arm as he set it down on the counter.

He smiled at me and tapped the figure’s head. “No, thank you. Kids can be a hassle to deal with sometimes, and I’m sure many parents would appreciate a free toy to distract them with.”

I grabbed my bag and pulled out the rest of the figurines. I only had twenty of the very best in the bag, which I handed over. “If you say so.”

“I do.” He neatly lined them up. “If you make any more of them, feel free to drop them by. I have to admit it is quite flattering to have my own action figurine, kid. Really takes me back to the years before all this techno mumbo jumbo took over entertainment.”

“Will do,” I spoke to him a bit more before leaving Absolom Clinic behind me. I walked through the alleys, getting back on the main street as I set off for my next destination.

Kjoatmon Kicking the Sun was an odd name for a smoothy shop, but it was my destination nonetheless. It was the kind of seasonal venue that popped up every time Oasis came through the city, and acted as a way for people to still consume the freshest of fruit without the hassle of Oasis's barter system.

As for why I decided to come to a smoothie shop? Simple. I completely overlooked it earlier, but a passing conversation reminded me that smoothies were liquids. Highly nutritious liquids that could completely replace food, as long as it was a high-end one. See where I’m going?

Hence, my arrival here at Kjoatmon Kicking the Sun. They served only the highest-end smoothies, guaranteed to come from fresh fruit and packed full of health thanks to buying their ingredients directly from Oasis. 

I entered the store, instantly feeling out of place amongst the see of high-end corporate drones slurping away at their variety of smoothies. The casual ease with which they drank an expensive drink was almost too much to bear. I forced the feeling of unease away and approached the counter. 

“What can I get for ya’?” A woman asked as she smiled dimly.

I looked through the menu, even though I already knew what I wanted. It was expensive, but I was buying something I could drink for a long time, so the price would work itself off eventually. “Can I get Jack’s Sun Kicker?”

I did some research before coming here, and apparently, the particular smoothie could replace food entirely. It was made by Jack to drink at dawn and be good till the next dawn; a must-have item for the corporate underdog looking to spend more time at work.  Or at least, that's what their website said.

A price point of seventy Rayn popped up on the terminal. I paid it, feeling the sting of money as my savings dropped below thirty-five hundred. It was still a lot of money, but rent was in a couple days so realistically I only had nineteen hundred.

As soon as the drink was made, I backpedaled out of the shop and headed to a shadowed corner. Thankfully, this was the Corporate Quarter, so I didn’t have to worry about a random mugger or homeless seeing me as I dumped the smoothie into Crow’s Canteen of Chaos. Just like that, I had my new form of sustenance.

With a small smile on my face, I headed back for my bike. It was really about time I got back around to solving Mr. Abernathy’s problem.