I spent the evenings of the week mostly at Ben’s home, while the owner suites in the fortress were still being made habitable again.
Considering that I found nothing wrong with roughly welded bare metal pipe construction as furniture, I decided to outsource the interior design for both of them.
I did not even have to go to the dark web for that, as it was a completely legitimate business. On the other hand, I was not all too keen on letting more strangers into the fortress than was strictly necessary, so I created a VR of the bare suites, and hired a few interior designers to make it not only habitable but cozy and elegant.
But at the end of the week, Friday the 19th to be exact I had enough of slacking. I had mostly recovered from the work on the mind blocker as Ben called it when he asked for one for himself.
Of course, I gave him one. Michael as well. They both decided on another design than the six-winged angel one I used, but that was mostly the clasp anyway. The tech itself was mostly in the carbon band that was going around the neck, laced around the electroactive polymer ensuring a tight but not too tight fit.
Interestingly, no one else asked for one. To be fair, even Michael did not ask for one, but I thought that he knew enough of my secrets that he should be protected.
Of course, both men realized that the blocker itself was a secret as well, considering that it took some technology that should not exist to make.
But back to business, I reviewed the latest results from the growth accelerator tests. By now I had a rough idea of what division stimulant to use, and I began looking into what I could do about increased cell aging.
For the time being, I had no clue how to achieve that though. But at least I had a cloning procedure that was not only significantly faster - it would be faster to build a new cloning rig and start another new kidney for Justin than to finish the one already baking for three weeks – but it would be cheaper as well.
Now I just needed a genetic engineer to make Panacea scream.
With a chuckle, I realized that I now needed exactly what I said Ben, Vince, and the other bosses needed.
That of course reminded me of the virus Frankel had used on us. Sure, it was useless for changing us back, as it only worked once, but it did rejuvenate us a bit.
I would have to create a couple of research clones to test it on and observe how it did that, and maybe that would help me in my project over the long term. I would of course first need to construct the cloning rig.
And do that while I did not neglect the ongoing fabrication of cyberware.
I would have to think about it for some time.
But now I had nothing to do anymore. I briefly considered practicing my music but squashed the thought almost immediately again.
I would not give it up, naturally, but for the moment I had enough of it. A couple of days at least.
I also rejected the notion of studying right now. So the question was, what to do?
Working on the medical VI did not appeal to me either.
While I was contemplating what to do next, Ryan knocked on the door. I looked at him with a lifted eyebrow, tilting my head a bit.
“Yes?”
“Ms. Uesugi is here. I think she wants to talk about her new cyberware.”
Ups, I had completely forgotten about that.
“Oh, yes, of course. How many are in her party?”
“Only six. And only four of them seem to be guards. Shall I call Justin?”
I could not suppress a grin.
“If anything, look if Kate is free at the moment. That would be much more impressive. But I don’t think that is necessary. Ms. Uesugi is an ally of Ben, and she needs my help. And I will meet her, and her entourage, in the conference room.”
Then I collected my thoughts, and on the way to the conference room, was quickly going over the cyberware she had previously. It was some primitive HUD, a link to her com, and some form of secure data storage.
I could throw something like that together in a couple of hours. Or… maybe modify the HUD, give it a bigger processor and more storage and ram… an NFC? Yes, that could work.
The fastest solution would of course her buying a cranial board. But considering the price of that thing, I would not insist on it.
Then I called Ben.
“Hey Kitten, what can I do for you?”
“Ms. Uesugi has come for new cyberware. Do you want me to give her a rebate?”
He took a moment before he answered:
“Only if she asks for one. Then… well go as low as you can and still make a real profit. Otherwise, you would hurt her pride. And use the real prices, she will find out what you take for it either way.”
“Ok, I’ll see you later.”
“I love you too.”
As always I felt a pinch when he mentioned he loved me. I still could not reply in kind.
After I had arrived in the conference room, I took a chair and connected to the holoprojector, waiting for Ms. Uesugi to arrive.
It was immediately apparent that Ryan had taken my joke seriously when Kate preceded the others into the room.
When the yakuza delegation entered, I stood up and greeted their principal.
“Welcome. I am sorry that I have not called you, but I had a bit of a burnout, and needed recovery time.”
Ms. Uesugi looked at me cooly but then nodded.
“Can I ask what the problem was?”
“I had an internal problem here, and to get a solution I needed an extended work session in cyberspace. Without going too much into detail, I spent a bit more than 1½ years working on the problem. Virtual of course. But without rest… let’s say I was at the end of my capabilities afterward.”
Her eyes widened, but otherwise, she showed no reaction.
“I understand. That can be straining I think. But you are capable of work now?”
Wow, talk about cool.
“Yes. If you walk out of here with new cyberware rests solely on what you want to have done. If I have to design it first, it might take a few days. But please, sit down. It is easier to talk if we don’t stand around.”
“Yes, I can see that. And I would like to have the functionality I previously had again. I miss it sorely by now.”
We both sat down, together with two of the men with her, while all the obvious guards moved towards the walls and remained silent.
“Now, I fear you will have to live with a better HUD. I categorically refuse to implant something this… shoddy and primitive. Sorry.”
She tilted her head.
“Shoddy and primitive? I paid quite a sum of money for it. And I know of nobody who has something like that.”
“Yes, shoddy and primitive. They had better HUDs before the great war. Whoever you paid either had no real knowledge about implant tech or ripped you off.”
She frowned but otherwise remained calm.
“It is unlikely that he ripped me off. Unfortunately, he died a few years ago.”
I nodded.
“Then he did not research what was possible. To make it short, I have a HUD system, but it is based on the last version from the war. I used a better processor and better connectors. More of them, yes, but they are no longer dangerous.
But if you absolutely want to have the look and feel of the old one, I think I can program the new one to emulate the old one.
Now, the rest of the cyberware… if you want the quick solution, and unfortunately also the most expensive, you will take at least a mid-bandwidth jack and the cranial board. I have them here and ready for implantation. The board will include everything you had, and some other things and the jack is, in that package, only a socket that you can use to connect it to other devices. There is no difference between a mid-jack that I hook the board into or the connection of the board directly to the brain.”
One of the men that had sat down interjected.
“One moment, but what is this mid-jack you are talking about?”
“Before the war, they produced jacks, the neural connectors, in various grades. What is commonly used today is just the basic jack. Essentially what the poor got subsided by a company together with some service.
Then there are low-, mid-, high-, and ultra-bandwidth jacks. Each successive version needs significantly more neuronect.”
I used the holoprojector to project the stats of the various jacks and the number of neuronect.
“After the war, the higher models fell out of favor for obvious reasons. But with me finally finding a way to eliminate CRS, I resurrected them.
Now, the cranial board I produce, something I have designed from the ground up, as there was nothing like it ever, needs enough neuronect that it is essentially a mid-bandwidth jack with the rest of the hardware instead of a socket. In my opinion, you can as well slap a socket on it and be done.
The point is though that it is for all purposes a high-end com that is directly implanted inside your body. Not quite a flagship, I did not manage enough cooling to make that feasible, but only a notch or two lower.
Of course, you can still use your normal com, if you want to, and connect it to the board. But honestly, you rarely need an extra com in my experience. As it uses your skin as an antenna it has a significantly better connection to the matrix than any com you can get.”
The other not yet introduced man leaned forward.
“And what would that cost? You said it was the most expensive solution?”
“The mid-jack would cost around $320k, without the adaption against CRS. The cranial board would cost around $27.5 million, and the adaption would cost around $3.2 million.”
He frowned, as did the other man, while Ms. Uesugi simply raised an eyebrow.
“These prices… they are pretty high.”
“These are my standard prices. Actually, the jack is only a third of what it would cost solo, as I can use the connection in the board and just add a socket.”
“I assume you make a sizable profit at those prices.”
I smiled at her:
“Yes, of course I do. I provide an absolutely unique product. The prices are high, but the feedback I’ve gotten was that the intended target customers would have paid three or four times as much.”
“Intended target customers?”
“Jacks. Abyss-dwellers to be exact. Or in other words, people who earn that much in a month or two, if they are on the low end.”
“I understand. And what would a better jack cost, and what would it bring?”
“At this very moment, it would bring you not all that much. The synaptic accelerator would be more effective, and if you dove into cyberspace, for whatever reason, you would get a higher compression out of whatever hardware you use.
And a high-bandwidth jack would cost around $1.9 million more. An ultra around $4 million.”
“And I would be more or less the only one here to have such a… device?”
I frowned.
“No, of course not. What gave you that idea? For one, I have one. One of the Abyss-dwellers who has one lives here in NYC. And a couple of others have one as well. Well, mostly. All of us use the ultra-bandwidth jack instead of the mid.”
She looked at the two men with her and switched to Japanese.
“Can we afford that? And is it advisable?”
The man to her right opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, I interjected, also in Japanese:
“I think I have to inform you that I can understand, and speak, Japanese as well.”
They all looked at me sharply, but I just shrugged, switching back to English.
“If you want, I can just leave the room.”
They looked at each other, and the two men shrugged before Ms. Uesugi answered me, still in Japanese:
“No, I don’t think that is necessary. But thank you.”
I shrugged as well and leaned back.
The man who had started to answer her did so now:
“We can afford it, but it will strain our resources badly. If we can get a cheaper solution we should inquire about that.”
“You know I need the secure file storage on Sunday. Depending on how long it takes to get a cheaper solution it might be too long.”
The other man meanwhile rubbed his chin.
“I don’t like the neuronect connection. If this CRS-free stuff doesn’t work this will kill you.”
Ms. Uesugi turned to him.
“Yes, I know. But anything I will get will do the same for certain. And unfortunately, there are already rumors that I don’t have my cyberware anymore. That I am weak. I need something like that, or we might find ourselves in a war.”
Ouch, that was… unfortunate.
In the end, the second man turned back to me.
“Can you guarantee that this will not kill her?”
I let out a long breath.
“From the way Ms. Uesugi posed the questions and how you answered I assume you are her medical professional?”
When he nodded I continued:
“Then you know that there are never guarantees. As I said to one of Mr. Walker’s men when he got his new heart, there are factors we can’t calculate. An orderly might drop the stretcher and she breaks her neck. Or something goes wrong and she gets an infection.
About the tech, I can only say that I trust it enough to use it myself. I could be wrong and it is not safe to use, but I obviously don’t believe that. All my simulations say it is safe.
The thing you should be much more concerned about right now is her muscular cyberware. By the way, she is still moving under her own power it is clear that it has not yet been pulled.
Muscular cyberwar has only minimal neuronect, but it has it. It might not be enough to trigger the next phase, but is that really a risk you are willing to take?”
Ms. Uesugi interrupted before he could answer:
“He is not the one willing to take that risk. I am. He informed me about the risks but at the moment I can’t remove the cyberware.”
“It is your decision. I strongly advise against it, but… well it’s your life.”
“Yes, it is. Now, how long would it take for you to design cyberware that has the same function as what I had?”
“That depends on if you want to include jack or not. But generally… let me think.”
I used the synaptic accelerator to think a bit faster.
The basic function was in the HUD, but it would need a better processor. I could take the Regulon 130 from the synaptic accelerator, which would provide enough power. The cooling system from the accelerator as well naturally. Then I could include the WiFi, and add the com-package from the board.
The storage… no, I just realized that the 130 was virtually incapable of encryption and decryption. So back to the 80, and a separate WiFi module? No, that would need a second adaptation. So I left it at the 130, tentatively. Left the storage module.
I would have to integrate a dedicated encryption chip to get hardware encryption going. I even had a few where the key was not hardwired.
But… I could not promise to get it done for Sunday.
“I can’t say with certainty. Everything except the storage is… well not easy, but only a matter of hours. The problem is, that I did not expect somebody to need a data storage implant without the board.
The board has a dedicated encryption-decryption subprocessor integrated and included in the energy budget.
I’ll have to look into designing a cooling solution for the subprocessor, and I can not predict if one of my solutions works under that circumstances.
I’ll have to run simulations. If one of them works, fine, it will be done tomorrow. If not…”
I left the sentence open-ended, but all of us understood the implication.
All three of them looked displeased, but there was not much I could change on the facts.
They either had to do without, take the gamble that I got it done in time, or pay the price for a cranial board.
Honestly, in my, allowedly not impartial opinion, the added functionality of the board justified the price, but yes, it was expensive.
It did cost more than my shiny new skimmer did, something that said a lot.
They brooded about it for a bit, talking softly to each other. Yes, I did hear them, but I gave them the courtesy of ignoring it.
When the apparent money-man directed a question at me, I was instantly back focussing on them:
“Is there a way you could come down in price for the, what did you call it, cranial board?”
Ms. Uesugi looked sharply at him, while she hissed, but then slumped and sighed, nodding at me.
Well, showtime.
“Yes, there is the possibility. You are Mr. Walker’s allies as far as I know. So, how about a full cranial board including ultra-jack right now for a $15 million flat?
Bear in mind, I won’t be able to go much less for a custom system as you would need it.”
They all frowned, and Ms. Uesugi asked me:
“Why the ultra-jack? And… it is less than half, can you afford that?”
“The ultra-bandwidth jack is because I have a few of them ready for implantation available. I would need to make a high- or mid-bandwidth jack, as those I have in that bracket are already sold.
And yes, I can afford it. My profit margin is insane, as is fitting for unique bleeding edge technology. At 15 million bucks I still make a profit, even if it is significantly smaller.”
Meaning that I would ‘only’ make a bit over 300% profit instead of the 800% I usually made.
“And the cranial board can do anything my previous implants could?”
I had to snort.
“That is the same as asking if your smartwatch can do anything an analog quartz watch can do. Your HUD was, in one word rudimentary. With the board, you’ll have full augmented reality, navigation, communication, bio-monitoring, and whatever sparks your fancy integrated into the HUD.
You’ll have a fully functional com implanted, that has to only accept defeat from a flagship com. And honestly, you will be hard-pressed to use more than 60% of its potential. If you need more, you can still link your flagship com, or your personal computer, to it.
The storage module is 12 times the size you had implanted previously, though you will have to share it with the os and the apps. You previously had a hardwired encryption key, now you can use different ones for different files.
Oh, and in case somebody rips it out of your body, it will immediately brick itself. Unless you don’t want that and configure it accordingly.
That does not mean that the files can’t be accessed, but it will take a good tech to get to them in the first place.
Add to that the fully functional ultra-bandwidth jack, something you probably will quickly learn to love, and it is like comparing an Apple II with a Kawamoto Ryuu.”
She nodded again.
“It is important that I have the implanted storage on Sunday. If it can do that, then the rest is acceptable to me.”
I shoved back my chair, standing up.
“Well, then I would suggest we get started. One thing though, unlike your former cyberware, this one won’t fit into your skull. Yes, I know I call it a cranial board, but in reality, it is located in the body. I personally think the best location is behind the shoulder blade.
We could place it in the pelvis, but for one, it is quite a bit more vulnerable there, and as a woman, should you ever get pregnant you would have to remove it from there.”
All three of them were in the process of standing up, stopping now, and looking at me.
Ms. Uesugi finished standing up and turned fully to me.
“Why are you saying that now?”
I shrugged.
“Unlike last time you will have to remove your clothing at least from the upper torso.”
For some reason, she just broke out laughing. Despite that, she was still able to follow us to the main lab.
As usual, the actual implantation process was mostly anti-climactic. After less than half an hour I left her in the hands of her men, waiting for the anesthesia to wear off.
Meanwhile, I was back to wondering what I should do. I had not yet gotten an idea about how to build a better cloning rig. Sure, I could design one, but at the moment I was unwilling to use the industrial fabber for that.
Could I use the NADA? Yes, of course I could. I could also wait until the new increased fabber was ready. That would be faster.
Maybe I could design an upgrade kit for my existing rig. I briefly thought about what I would need for that.
The one I had already had a relatively modular design. It was designed to take the various growth accelerators in use, provide the resources needed for the sample to grow, and remove the waste products.
I would need to substitute the buffering liquid with a permanently reconstituted resource substrate, without compromising the waste removal, and then introduce the nanobots and the new growth accelerator mixture to the substrate.
Hmm, essentially a big mixer with resource tanks, a nanofab, and a pump system. No, that was not enough. I would also need to purge any contaminants from the substrate. Could I use the nanobots for that? With a good enough control system, maybe. Of course, I would have to include a BOU anyway, so if I upsized the control unit, and include a gravimetric scanner… yes, that could work.
I could use the NADA to fabricate the important components, use the household fabber for the basic electronics, and make the housing from metal, yes, that should work just fine. And it should be done in a day or two, without impacting cyberware construction.
I was vaguely aware of my surroundings, but mostly in my own mind, walking towards the bio-lab. Honestly, why I walked there is anyone's guess. In hindsight, it made absolutely no sense, and I can’t say why I did it.
But on the way, I almost ran directly into Darren, stopping only a few centimeters away from him.
I immediately had the feeling that I had forgotten something, and I frowned trying to remember what.
Apparently, Darren took my frown about forgetting something as a rejection of his person.
“No need to be angry V. I am sorry I ran into you.”
That brought me out of my brooding, and I looked at him in confusion.
“Hu? What are you talking about? I almost ran into you.”
Now he joined me in confusion.
“You are not angry about that? I thought… with everything that happened you would be pissed off at me.”
“Why should I… oh, yes, that is right. Ok, let me make it clear. While I am not happy about what happened, I understand that you had to choose between pest and cholera. Either tell me and risk me going nuclear, or violate my trust.
As I said, I don’t like it, but you did what you had to do. You could probably have said something a bit sooner, but yeah, I get that you erred on the side of caution.”
Now he frowned.
“That is… a remarkable change considering how you felt about it just last week.”
Last week? What had last week to do with it? Then I understood.
“Oh. You forget that for me, that was more than 1½ years ago. So I had quite a bit of time to get over it.”
His eyes widened, and then he nodded in understanding.
“Oh, ok, yes, that explains that. But why were you frowning so hard just now then?”
I shook my head, sighing.
“I’ve forgotten something. I know it was important. But I can’t remember what it was. And seeing you, I realized that I have forgotten it.”
Ryan cleared his throat.
“Could it have something to do with Darren then? If he triggered it?”
I just shrugged.
“Possibly. Maybe even likely, but until I remember what…”
Suddenly I got it. I had never followed up on the mind blocker. The one that Darren wore even now. Yes, I was relatively sure that it had no uncomfortable side effects, but I was not sure yet.
“I’ve got it. Your mind blocker… we never talked about how it works.”
Now Darren frowned again.
“How it works? Well, I assume you are not talking about the principles, as I have no clue how it does what it does. So… you mean how it influences my life?”
When I nodded he continued:
“Well, to summarize it in one word, brilliant. Sure, there are a few small problems. Mostly because I have used the information I’ve gotten through telepathy for as long as I can remember, and suddenly, I… feel a bit blind, or deaf.
I have to learn to read the other clues people show. And it doesn’t help that it also stops my empathy cold.
But honestly, if I feel the need to have my telepathy or empathy back, I can just deactivate the mind blocker, as you call it.”
Well, that did not sound too bad.
“Anything else? Are your other powers working fine?”
“Well, I haven’t tried all of them, but from what I tested, everything that works on the human mind stops working with it being active. I still have biokinetics, telekinetics, and thermokinetics. Those still work just fine.
Yes, I need to deactivate to influence other people, but that is a price I happily pay for what it gives me.”
“Any headaches? Or did you notice something changed in your behavior?”
“No, nothing. Everything is fine.”
Ryan harumphed at that.
“I have to interrupt here. His personality has changed. Significantly. He is, mostly, much more laid back now. There was a tension in him that is now just gone. He is also much more mellow.
On the other hand, he lost… much of his insight and has become much more insecure in interacting with the others.”
That, well at first I thought that was not so good, but after a short moment, I realized that if Darren had the buzzing of humanity's thoughts constantly in his head, with it now missing it should make him much more relaxed.
And if he used his empathy and telepathy to navigate interpersonal situations, with it suddenly missing it was not surprising if he had to feel his way into his new situation slowly.
And so, after initially frowning, I nodded.
“Ok, yes, I can understand that I think. I haven’t thought about it, but I would say these reactions are mostly normal. Maybe I can make it a variable effect, that allows you to blend out the buzz while keeping receiving the feelings of the people in the immediate surrounding. But that will take some while.
I… really don’t want to go down that rabbit hole again for a few months.”
Then I had another idea. In the process of identifying this quantum field, I had to design a receiver for it. In other words, it should be possible to build a device that reads the surface thoughts of humans.
But… as with the regulated mind blocker, I would need to take a bit of a time out from that topic still.
Nonetheless, this could be useful. Very useful indeed.
