Turn my head to find the medical fellow who interrupted my monologuing.  Hey, I can see clearly again.  He looks vaguely, Aquecian?  Well, earth-wise, Mediterranean?  Is that a bit of a spanish accent?

Whatever, killed folks for less.  And if I didn’t feel like week old reheated leftovers right now?  He would already be a cooling corpse.

“Whoa, that’s a scary look.”  He rubs the back of his neck.  “Sorry, but we need to talk and you don’t have a lot of time.  This isn’t a charity like the church.”

Nod my head while sizing up Doctor Bob.  Has a doctor style coat on.  Though it's pretty filthy and stained.  Of course the stand out feature is his right eye.  Because, well, it's not an eye.

Where his right eye should be is a metallic plastic looking hunk of hardware.  Like a telescope and microscope got too drunk at a party and made a baby what-the-fuck-scope.  It completely replaces his right eye and some of the face around it.

Is this, cyberpunk?  Shit.  Don’t know its tropes that well.  Spent the last few decades in medieval land.  Doubt animal skinning and horseback riding are high demand skills around here.

“Now everything falls under the waiver, but, I want to apologize for you dying and all.  You reacted badly, really super badly, to the upgrade.”  That was probably me moving in my stuff.  “So you sort of technically kind of died, there, uh, a couple of times…  Oops?”

“Die?”  My voice is still very hoarse.  Don’t see anything to drink either.  Shouldn't they offer me water?

Both of Doc's hands start waving frantically.

“Don’t worry.  You seem fine now.  Just, well, your, uh, neural pattern has changed.  A lot.  Like a lot a lot.  Like you are not even the same person.  Be glad you are not a salaryman.  Your boss would not be happy after his next audit.  Hehe...  Right.”

Audit?

Guy starts scratching his cheek and his one real eye starts wandering around.  Hesitation?  What else could he possibly be uncomfortable about after killing me?

“Unfortunately...  The psionics check was, inconclusive.  Tough luck there.  Still?  They might show up later.  Never know.”

“Psi-psionics?”  Magic?

Now he’s rubbing his neck again.  Guess it's a big deal around here.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.  All you kids come in here thinking you’ll walk out a Plat class Esper with Strat level powers.”  What the fuck is he talking about?  “It may just take time or even trigger with more upgrades.  So don’t lose hope!”

He’s trying to be encouraging but it certainly doesn’t feel that way with the scope sticking out of his face randomly zooming in and out or swapping lenses.  He's part eye exam machine.  Freaky.

“Doctor?”

How does her voice sound like rocks being ground together?  And how does she put so much sarcasm into one word?

“Hey Gladys!  He’s alive again.  That’s another fifty you owe me.”

Finally realize I’m on a hospital bed now instead of an operating table.  Not clean, stained and torn in spots.  But at least its an improvement.

“I’ll get right on that.”  Geesh, boulders are being crushed.  That’s also one hell of a, I refuse to take you seriously, look.  “As soon as you catch up with all the backpay you owe me.”

What walks through the raggedy curtain isolating this bed from the rest of the room is a beauty in a naughty nurse cosplay outfit.  Well, she might have been, like a thousand years ago.

Life has ridden this girl hard, and dragged her face across the pavement the whole way.  Wrinkles and scars on top of scars.  One of her hands is clearly artificial.  She’s even got an eye patch.  A fucking eye patch.  Nurse pirate granny from hell?

She points her thumb behind her.

“Don’t mean to interrupt your thrilling conversation but the next sucker, I mean patient, is ready.”

Without so much as even a glance at me she turns around and walks away.  Doc leans over.

“Please don’t stare at my nurse that way.  She’s very sensitive about her weight.”

Her weight?!  What the hell?  Have I landed in an s&m gilf world?

“Now then, sorry to chop and run but we are super busy so you need to get out.”  Snaps his fingers.  “Oh!  Dang.  Almost forgot.  I had to get creative to overcome your body’s rejection of the upgrade.”

”So I used some “non-standard" parts and wasn’t able to activate the module right away.”  Finger quotes?  Really?

Mister failed employee sensitivity training is rubbing his neck again.

“Also means I had to cut out more brain than usual to fit the older parts in.  No worries though, right?”

Wait.  Cut out more brain?!

He grabs a tablet looking thing from above my head, turns my skull to the side, and shoves the end of a cable into the back of my neck.

*snick*

What the fuck?  I felt that in my spine!

“Gimme a sec.”

Bob completely ignores me as he taps away at the tablet.  With a triumphant snort he taps one last time and…  My brain turns on.  I feel that dark part coming on.  What…  The…  Fuck…

[Thank you for using Kamagistein Technologies]

Holy shit!  There are little glowing words popping up in my vision and I'm hearing a tiny female voice in my brain!

[Initializing...]

A british accent?

*clack*

Hear and feel the cord get pulled out of my neck.  Did he really plug that into my spine?  Shit.  This is going to take some getting used too.

Doctor voltage is now all smiles.

“See?  Good as new.  Kind of.  Well it was nice getting your money and sorry about the dying but, all’s well that ends well, right?”

“What?”

Yeah, one word is the best I can muster right now.

“Oh, about that."  And then?  No and then!  "While your neural pattern has stabilized?  You might have some minor, major, or total, memory loss.”  Nice options there!  “Because of losing more brain and all.  The memories may come back or, they may not.  Look at it this way.  Everything old is new again.  Hooray!”

Well ain’t you just mister silver linings.

“Your stuff is in the box there and I need to get to the next money, er, customer.  So you enjoy your block war and recommend me to all your psycho friends.  Good?  Good.”

He tries to beat a hasty retreat but I’ve grabbed his sleeve.

“B-block war?”

*cough*

Still hard to talk.  Need aqua.

With a visible sigh, Doctor Bob turns back to me while pulling my still weak hand off his sleeve.

“You really did lose some memory there, didn’t you.  Bad news time I guess.  Listen kid.  The only days I have this many kids showing up to get level one physical enhancement packages with slave modules?”

His face turns side to side like he is afraid someone will overhear and drops his voice to a whisper.

“Is right before big gang wars.  They give a bunch of kids cred to get the cheapest upgrades possible and use them as cannon fodder.  Even if you survive you’ll never pay off this debt.  You're now a slave soldier for the rest of your life.”

He actually looks sad.  Like he just told a kid there was no Santa Claus.

*click* *snap*

Another lens gets swapped out of his what-the-fuck-scope.  Gross.

“Even if you don’t remember?  They do.  The slave module install went okay but it's not meshing with the old tech well.  Still, better answer when they call.  That chip can still put you in a lot of pain.  Even kill you.”

Bob points passed the bottom of the bed.

“Exit’s over there.  Show yourself out.  If you are not out of here by the time the next kid is done?  Gladys will throw your ass out.  And she just might break a few of your bones on the way.”

With a final, he probably thinks it's reassuring, pat on my shoulder.  Doctor voltage gets up and walks through the old curtain.

Well, shit, go from getting a slave on day one to being one.  Also on day one.

[Operating…]

The slow blinking glowing “initializing” letters in my sight finally change.

[Hello, I am the Mentor Mark III X2 Neural Interface Network Assistant…  It has been 21 years, 7 days, and 13 minutes since my last shutdown…  Instructions?]

Seeing and hearing the british gal’s voice is strange, but also welcoming.  At least I’ve still got voices in my head.  Why do other people think that's a bad thing?

(Huh.  Neural Interface Network Assistant?  N. I. N. A.?  Guess I’ll call you Nina then.)

[Accepted…]

(Whoa, what the fuck?)

[Is that an inquiry?  I apologize.  It will take time to adapt to your individual wording and phrasing preferences.]

(Geesh, even with my shadows I had some privacy.  Can you hear everything?)

[Correction.  I am not hearing anything.  As part of the enhancement package installation, this module is connected to every part of your neural structure.]

(So no more alone time, even in the bathroom?  Sometime’s a guy needs his space for, uh, reasons.)

[If instructed my communication can be disabled for all but emergency events.  This can be an option for when you decide to masturbate.]

(Hey, I never mentioned Sam's Happy Time!)

[Adapting…  Even if you did not say it.  You saw it.  Our senses, both external and internal, are shared.]

(Okay, uh, what next?)

[Suggestion…  Reviewing recent records, you were instructed to exit this facility.  You should collect your belongings and depart.]

(Good point.  That nurse looked mean and I have no idea how tough I am right now.)

[Information…  You have received a level one physical enhancement package.  This makes you “tougher” than most unaugmented.  However, you will still be inherently “weaker” than higher level body upgrades.]

(Okay, enough, tell me what that is.)

[The level one physical enhancement package?  It is a combination of cybernetic components and nanomachine reconditioning to improve your strength, endurance, agility, and speed.]

As Nina “speaks,” I ease myself out of bed and fight off the wave of dizziness.  Carefully hobble over to the box at the end of the bed and start rummaging through it

The first thing that hits me?  The smell.  A sudden change from the hosed down with antiseptic odor the rest of this place has to old dirt and sweat.

These clothes have not been properly washed in a long long time.  Got funk?  My body doesn’t seem too dirty though.  Probably hosed me down before the surgery?

[Washing the patient prior to surgery is a standard operating practice.]

(Ah, thanks Nina.  Okay, what’s in here.  Jacket, shirt, pants, socks, shoes, no underwear?  Well I usually go commando anyway.  All these clothes are really old and worn though.)

Something familiar comes into view as I remove the clothes.

(A canteen?  And a mess kit with a spork?  Ha.  Have not seen these since my early army days.)

[That is a device for holding water and the other is for eating meals.  Be advised.  If lost, you may not be eligible for services until replacements are purchased.]

Was about to ask what she meant when more metal is revealed.  One with a smooth edge on one side and a serrated edge on the other.

(Nice combat knife.  Dirty and rusty but not in terrible shape.  And these are, shivs?  Man, mean looking jagged things.  Whoa he even a belt with holster?)

In the shabby dark leather looking holster is… 

(Gun?  Real life honest to god firearm?  Thank you god and bless the saints smith & wesson.  Kind of small, like a snub nosed 38 special but I don't care.  Been so long since I had a boomstick in my hands.)

Get your minds out of the gutter people!

[Inquiry…  Why would you call your penis a boomstick?]

…

[Adapting…  Understood.  Inquiry answered.]

(Shame, a pistol instead of a revolver.  Maybe bless saint beretta instead?  Looks semi-automatic.  Odd.  No ejection port?  What’s in the mag…)

I eject the magazine.

(Whoa, caseless ammo?)

Start disassembling it on the spot.  Ancient muscle memories bubble to the surface.

(Simple, filthy, and rusty, but seems like regular maintenance has been done.  Action is smooth.  Couple of extra clips in the belt.  Wonder what brand and type it is?)

[Scanning...]

Eh?

[Handgun is a Renalin “Sentry” Semi-automatic Pistol, chambered for 5 milimeter caseless dumbfire bullets, 50 meter lethal effective range for level 0 humanoids…]

Nina continues to rattle off statistics while numbers and diagrams fade in and out of my vision.

(Ah.  Nemesis of the english military otaku.  The metric system.  It’s Castle Anthrax all over again.  Guess I’ll have to face the peril.  Maybe this is really Earth?  Nina?  You can shut up now.)

[Adapting…]

Would rather not but I start putting my clothes on.  Wonder if I’ll be ever isekaied and not be naked on arrival.

(Huh.  Nina?  So how good is this stuff?)

[Adapting…  While my database is dated, your clothing is typical of low income slum residents.  Your ident shows no listed residence.]

(Homeless?  Fuck.  Hard mode it is then.  And the gun?)

[The firearm is an entry level self defense item only considered suitable for emergencies.  Advise finding a better weapon for personal protection as soon as possible.]

Sigh.

“Clear!”

I hear Doctor Bob yell from another room and the ceiling lights flicker.

(Okay.  Time to go.)

Walk through the dingy curtain and finally see the rest of the room.  

It’s a mess.

Other beds in various states of disrepair.  Random, probably medical, equipment laying here and there.  Some visibly damaged.  All not cleaned since who knows when.  Plus… 

(Is that a body over there?)

[Correct.  Again.  Advise leaving this facility.  I suspect the operator is not licensed to perform medical procedures.]

Move my butt to the other side of the room and push the heavy windowless exit door open.  The light outside is a bit blinding but I don’t hesitate to take the stairs two at a time to get up to street level.

As the door swings closed I can faintly hear.

“Ha!  See Gladys?  He’s still alive.”

“It’s a she, doctor.”

“Really?”

*clank*