Later that day, Hunter Reid came to get his jack implanted. He was accompanied by Michael, who wanted to talk about the corp we were trying to build up.

I was going over the results of the BOUs, when they entered the lab, and I gestured for them to sit down.

“Take a seat. I am just finishing this, then we can talk.”

Michael took that in silence, but Hunter seemed to be… a bit less charitable.

“What are you doing? And why now? You knew we were coming.”

I ignored him, but Michael was less forgiving.

“Sit down man. We are 10 minutes too early. And if we need to know what she is doing she will tell us.”

“It’s ok, Michael. It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. And I am just going over the results of some of my experiments. They are not quite what I had expected.”

And that was the truth. Every single growth accelerator worked more or less in the same principle. They all force-fed the mitochondria chemicals that would be converted into ATP and a byproduct that stimulated cell division. If that were all, it would be all fine and dandy, and I could easily use them for the bio-sheathing. But they all produced other byproducts as well, and the majority of them were toxic and accumulating.

For the normal cloning process, where it is used once and then done, there was no problem. After a few cell generations, the concentration of these toxins was barely measurable. Which of course explained why nobody had discovered it yet.

But for something as sensitive as my sheathing process, it was disastrous. I would have to think about how to make it better.

Funny thing is, that also explained why vat meat had less than desirable side effects. With the, at the time, average meat consumption, the toxins would build up pretty quick and create health problems, up to and including death.

That happened shortly before the great war, and any efforts to rectify these problems had been forgotten as soon as China invaded Taiwan.

And as with many science problems, after the war, the number of people capable of working on them had been drastically reduced, and those who were still alive had other, more pressing concerns.

By now, it was just common knowledge that vat meat simply did not work.

And yes, I immediately planned to change that. I had a basic idea already fermenting.

Instead of force-feeding the mitochondria some chemicals to get ATP and the stimulant, I would use a nanite-infused solution to transport ATP and a stimulant directly into the cells, bypassing the mitochondria, and eliminating the toxins. I just had to find the best stimulant.

Don’t get me wrong, I did it in part for vat meat, and in part to make my bio-sheathing work.

But by now, these were minor concerns. With the nano-filter on the neuronect, I could offer cyberware without the myosynth in the not too distant future. And I had enough money that I could get meat when I wanted to.

No, by now my most important decision point here was that it would mess up Pannacea’s core business.

A better, faster, and safer clone tech would cut deeply into their money maker.

So at that time, I was looking into what stimulant had what outcome. Later I would look into the dosages and possible combinations.

And just as I had said, I was done in less than 5 minutes and turned towards the two men.

“So, done with it for today. Now, Hunter, has Mr. Walker talked to you about what we will do?”

He scowled, while he answered.

“He did not go into details, only that you would implant a jack and then help me train.”

I sighed. I had hoped that Ben had taken the time and explained to Hunter that he needed to go slow.

“That is, well it is the truth, but barely the bare bones of what will happen.

Ok, then, first, I will implant you with a basic jack. There are several reasons for that, but it boils down to better jacks costing much more and will pose a risk to you.

After that, we will get you a nice starter board so that you can train.”

Predicably, Hunter exploded.

“WHAT!?! Why just a basic jack? I know you gave booth Walkers the best jack you have. Why that? They won’t use it. For them, it’s just a toy.

And a starter board? You expect me to toddle along with a toy? Why not get me a real board like that fancy Seraphim you have?”

I massaged my temples.

“First, Ben Walker is your Boss. He pays for his implant and yours. The package I sold him I sell for nearly $35 million. Do you really expect him to invest that amount of money into an untried jack?

And Michael is working for me. He is in the process of spinning up a business that will provide me with billions, if not trillions of dollars. I decided he needed a good jack, and that it would paint a bad picture if the manager of the company producing the best jacks would not use one of their own flagship products.”

I took a deep breath before I continued: “And the board, everybody starts out with a starter board.

Heck, I started out with a slightly pimped-out Dalgon NCI-244T. Even a Kawamoto Eminence will be substantially better than that.”

Sadly, what I said did nothing to pacify Hunter. He jumped up and walked around, all the time ranting about how he knew that Seraphim had not started out with something as plebeian as a Kawamoto Eminence. And that he deserved better.

I, unsuccessfully, tried to explain things to him, but he just ignored me. I was wondering if he did not understand that I was Seraphim, and going over options of what I could do to break through to him when:

“SHUT THE FUCK UP AND SIT DOWN, ASSHOLE!”

I was so startled when Michael bellowed that I fell out of my chair, which of course made the lout giggle.

When I had sat back down, I noticed that Hunter was also sitting again, and grumbling, but first, I glared at the softly chuckling Michael.

“Warn the next time before you bellow like that.”

That only sent him into a full laughing fit.

Seeing that I would not get any acceptable communication with him for the time being, I ignored him and turned my attention back to Hunter again.

“You are wrong, you know. Everybody started with a basic jack. There is only one jack beside me who has something better now. That is Spectre. There are only four better jacks in use overall.

And giving you a better jack at the very beginning will probably kill you.

The same with the board. Every single Abyss-dweller that is not a groupie started with a starter board.

And I know for a fact that Seraphim started with something worse than a Kawamoto Eminence.”

He growled and glared at me.

“So, you know do you? You just know that one of the greatest techs of our time started out with a scrub board. Yeah sure.”

Did he really…? Had I not made it clear, even at the meeting with his father?

“Hunter, I am Seraphim. So yes, I know without the shadow of a doubt that I started out with a scrub board. Heck, my second board was a Burgmeister Sandmann 41 that I got used.

My first serious board was Exquisite.”

Michael had, in the meantime stopped laughing, and both he and Hunter now looked confused.

“Your first serious board was exquisite? Then, why did you build a second one?”

It took me a moment to understand their confusion

“Oh no. I named the board, my Mk. I ‘Exquisite’. Yes, I know, a pretentious name, but after the Burgmeister, I felt she was exquisite. I learned pretty fast that she was… well, mediocre. Is mediocre. Unlike the Dalgon or the Burgmeister, I still have her.

But I took what I learned with her and build Precious. And, as I had done with the Mk. I, I created a highly modular variant and called that the Mk. IV.

But my point is, I started with less than the Kawamoto Eminence.”

Hunter now whined.

“But why do you think I need to start so… so low? I deserve better than that. Why can’t you build me an Mk. IV?”

Urgh, I had to mentor this… entitled jerk? Shoot me now.

“Because it is fricking dangerous to start with a top-of-the-line board, high-end utilities, and cutting edge technology in general, you will likely kill yourself with it.”

He scoffed at that.

“Just because you couldn’t hack it doesn’t mean that I could not.”

I buried my face in my hands, groaning softly. That would be a hard piece of work. Then I had an idea. Maybe… I quickly looked into the order list for the ultra-bandwidth jacks. Yes, there he was. Maybe I could bribe him to help me out here.

And so I placed a message on the board, while I talked out loud:

“Wait for a minute, please. I will look something up.”

At the same time, I send an order for an android to bring Precious to the lab.

Yes, I would have preferred to use Glory, but Ben had been pretty insistent on keeping her a secret for the time being.

I was pretty sure that Michael could know about her, but Hunter? No way.

Luckily, Argonaughty answered me pretty quickly, and I dived into cyberspace to meet with him.

“Hey, Sera. What’s up? Is my order ready? I did not expect it for a few months.”

“Hello, Argo. Yes and no about the order. I… have a bit of slip in my schedule, but you are not yet at the forefront. But, if you do me a small favor I will sell it to you immediately, and if you want to implant it today.”

He looked overjoyed, for a moment, and then became suspicious.

“A small favor? That… what do you want me to do?”

I chuckled for a bit.

“Nothing bad. You are already in the order queue, and I will just expedite your order. The favor is comparable. I… have been asked to mentor a newb.

And he is difficult. He insists that I provide him with an ultra-bandwidth jack and a Seraphim Mk. IV from the getgo.

I can’t get through to him, so the favor is, can you talk to him? Maybe explain why that is a seriously bad idea?”

He looked confused for a moment, but then he laughed.

“Seriously? Somebody roped you into babysitting some maggot and the maggot doesn’t want to listen to you? Is he retarded or something? Fuck, I would have loved to have you advise me when I started.”

I had to sigh.

“Be honest. If you did not know, really know, about my reputation, and, well, you probably have looked up what I look like in real life, would you, as an arrogant, all-knowing newb have listened to the tiny girl I am?”

That stopped his laughing.

“Shit, yeah, you’re right. I was such a know-it-all asshole, shit, it is a miracle that I haven't killed myself. I would have laughed into your face. Fuck, I was such an idiot asshole then. And you now have to deal with somebody like that?

Well, ok, I’ll talk to him. When and where?”

“I have him sitting directly opposite from me. I will give him a diadem and have him jack in. Wait a minute I’ll send you the address.”

I surfaced back into the real world. Fortunately, I had only gone to 4:1, so it took only a couple of seconds.

“I have arranged for somebody to talk to you. Explain to you the situation and why it is at it is.”

The android had already brought Precious, and I started her up, connecting the diadem, while at the same time jacking in.

“Do you want to come as well, Michael?”

Michael shrugged, but then answered in the affirmative, so I got out another OPB cable for him, followed by connecting the diadem for Hunter.

“Now, Michael, just plug in the cable into your jack. Hunter, please put on the diadem.”

The two men followed my instructions with varying enthusiasm, but both connected to Precious.

During that time I set up a chatroom where we would meet Argo and send the Address to the Abyss-dweller.

We all materialized more or less simultaneously in the chatroom, Argo and myself in our typical avatars, while Michael and Hunter had the typical self-image avatar.

“All right, folks, let’s introduce. Here, we have Argonaughty, #67 of the ranking list in the Abyss.”

I was interrupted by Argo.

“Number 66 now. They have confirmed that Justy has bit the dust.”

I flinched inwardly. Not that I did not expect it. But still… well, it couldn’t be helped.

“Ok, number 66. Now here we have Hunter, who wants to become a jack, and Michael, who is just an interested party in this.”

Argo nodded slowly before he made himself stand tall. If I had to guess, neither Hunter nor Michael realized that he used effects to make himself literally grow a few cm. Impressive for newbs, but anybody who had any experience in the Matrix knew it was just some trickery.

Still, when he boomed, I had to concentrate to not giggle and destroy the effect.

“So, you are the maggot that knows better than Seraphim? Do you have any idea what you are talking about?”

Hunter was, visibly, intimidated, especially when Argo pulled out his sword and began running a sharpening stone over its edge. A completely useless gesture, but it impressed the scrubs.

“She… she wants me to start at the bottom. I know that I can make it. Why does she put so many obstacles into my way?”

“So you know you can make it? On what experience? How long have you been a jack?”

Hunter stammered.

“Uh… I am not a jack yet. But I know how computers work. I am good with them.”

“So you worked as a Queen and want to step up?”

“No. Queens are losers. I want to start right.”

“And what experience do you have?”

“I have helped my father set up the computer systems of Mr. Walker. I monitor them. I know what’s going on in there.”

“Mr. Walker? Mr. Benjamin Walker? Seriously? You are responsible for that travesty of a security system? Fuck, boy. You are a joke. The system is a joke. Literally. It is one of the places where we send maggots for their very first training run because it is so easy.

Shit, the only reason it still exists is that it is such a valuable training tool that we jacks stop the jokers from wrecking it. So, think again, what real experience do you have?”

The booming voice got a threatening undertone, but Hunter did not seem to realize that.

“Hey, my dad worked hard to get it to work.”

I interjected.

“And it has absolutely no security against a queen or a jack. But Argo, you should begin to scout out a new training location. I’ve been hired to redo the security of that system. In a few weeks, it won’t be easy anymore.”

Argo shrugged.

“Ah, it’s fine. There are a couple of others just as open. And you, maggot, the security of that system is crap. It might work against a big server attacking, or a bot-net. Or any other tools that Kings use, but fuck is it unsecured from cyberspace.”

“So, what do you want me to say? What does it matter? Why does nobody want me to have good gear?”

“Because you’ll fucking kill yourself if you get it. Nine out of ten jacks that start with more than a starter board are dead within a month.

And we hat to put in the effort to train some maggot just for him to fry his brain going against a bank or something like that.”

Now Hunter, and Michael, looked shocked, and Hunter looked at me accusingly.

“So why did you give the Walkers this fancy jack then?”

“Because they don’t want to do combat dives. For them it is a tool, that they can use to do paperwork, communicate, and get done more in less time. You on the other hand want to fight against other professionals with it.”

Argo snorted.

“Hey Kid, think about it like you want to get into motorcycle racing. You want to go into professional racing here. No problem with that, but your experience so far has been riding a tricycle around your daddy's backyard.

Sera here provides the most powerful racing motorcycles. But if you go there, without even learning to use a fucking bicycle you will break your neck the first time you try to use it.

The Walkers on the other hand use the motorcycle to get from point a to point b, or to leisurely cruise around the town.

So no, you don’t start out with the meanest, best and fastest tech you can get, you start out with a scooter to learn to drive.

And then you climb to the major league.”

“But… But…”

“No buts. You remember that I am fucking number 66 in the fucking Abyss? I am in the absolute top league. And I still don’t have a Seraphim board. I have been in the Abyss for eight months now, and I just got to the point where I think I am ready for one.

I have been a jack for nearly three years, and I have now reached the point where I think I’ll survive with the best board.

Do you think you are better than an Abyss-dweller?

And you know what? Seraphim is better. We all know that if she actually tried to get work as a jack instead of as a tech she would quickly rise to the top 20. Maybe even the top 10.

The last one who has gone out of his way to antagonize her died a few days ago in a pool of his own piss and shit.

So do yourself a fucking favor and listen to her.”

I interrupted.

“One thing you have to keep in mind, Hunter is the compression. You’ll get the experience fast. Probably not to the point where you can play in the Abyss, but where you can use a good board.

You will outgrow your starter board in a month, or two if you are slow. During that time you will develop your own style, your own way to do things. And your next board will be something that compliments your style.

Right now, you don’t have a clue what your style will be like. What you actually need in a board.

Anything more than a cheap starter board will be in all probability just money thrown away.

And while we talk about money, the Mk. IV that you seem to want? Just the bare board, without the modules, and most importantly, without the tailoring to your style, cost nearly $10 million.

For something you can’t even use yet. Because you don’t have a clue what you need.

Not to talk about the tailoring service. This cost nearly a hundred million bucks. Because it takes me a couple of weeks in real-time to observe and investigate the jack, learn his style, and customize the board for his needs. I’ve only sold eight of these.”

It seemed that we’ve finally broken through to Hunter. At least he did no longer talk back.