As it turned out, the production and sale of Nuke, Jessica's newest obsession, was tightly controlled by a network of criminal organizations across Grandebelle, some more ruthless than others. After doing her research, she decided to give the rational and business-minded Cut Throats a chance. They were the only ones who accepted online transactions, although she did have to fill out a form that required a hefty down payment as well as a brief personal introduction and biography. But they eventually pulled through, and Jessica got in contact with a dealer who was happy to sell her all the Nuke she could ever possibly smoke.
After she got used to it, the drug brought Jessica a sense of calm alertness. It could keep her at top performance for hours at a time. And it didn't take long before she discovered that there was something special about Nuke, something that made it much more than just another drug. Somehow, Nuke gave Jessica the power to change her body in all kinds of interesting ways.
She learned how to see auras, and could manipulate hers like a set of robotic arms to alter herself and manipulate objects around her. She could completely change the color and consistency of her skin in an instant, make her muscles or organs stronger or weaker, speed up her thought process, slow it down, or even completely pause it for a short period. It felt like she was becoming one of the weird monsters she wrote about when she was a kid who were destined to inherit the world after humanity killed itself.
Jessica took to developing and applying her powers like a fish in water. She fixed her eyesight, made herself into a short and cute natural blonde, cleared up her skin, and completely re-sculpted her bones and muscular structure. She modified her own mind, making it easier to absorb information, easier to lie, easier to remember and even slightly easier to feel. She used the full extent of her abilities to make herself beautiful, charismatic, and intelligent beyond measure. With every passing week, she took another step closer to perfection, and she saw her worth reflected in the reactions of all those around her. And her powers kept expanding as if her brain were a hard drive filled to the brim with alien software that kept installing new functions she never asked for.
The sheer amount of things that Jessica could do, the options available to her, was overwhelming at first. She knew she needed to bide her time and plan, and she started small, testing out what she could do. She got in touch with other psychics through various online forums and began to learn their methods. Then, she applied what she had learned, experimented, and changed what she didn't like until she had her own style. And as she began to apply her abilities to manipulating the minds of others, her career took off like a rocket ship.
Once she got serious, Jessica got the branch manager position she wanted in no time. She trounced her competition with ease despite her youth and relative inexperience. The tiny tyrant quickly fired anyone who wasn't up to her standards and replaced them with her own handpicked staff. She built up a following, a group of young eager people who shared her values and looked to her as a leader. She was careful to keep her powers hidden, but it didn't matter. She was never at risk of being exposed anyway. People saw what they wanted to see. Jessica was an aspirational figure, a beautiful and charming young woman who had risen from humble means and now had everything she could ever dream of. What wasn't to like?
Indeed, it seemed nothing was out of reach for the young branch manager. She made her place of employment a wonderful, thriving place where people loved to work. She partnered with a group of local food banks and donated generously. She organized charity events. She won the national Young Business Leaders award. She was a media darling. She was an indispensable member of the company, bringing in loads of profit. She had friends in high places, and whenever the executives tried to give her a hard time, she'd twist their arms and make them change their minds. She was a natural winner. She had money, prestige, power, and the admiration of everyone around her.
She gave her career everything she had. She devoured hundreds of books on economics and office politics, led important projects, attended all the right meetings, and nominated herself for every committee there was. She didn't slow down, she didn't stop, she didn't waste any opportunity to get ahead. And she was good, so very good, at everything she did. And yet...
...a terrible sense of emptiness gnawed away at her mind.
She felt hollow and dry, like the great shell of an insect, her insides scooped out to make space for her career.
Despite all of her money, prestige, and power, Jessica still found herself bored most of the time. There was something missing from her life. Continuing her work as a manager at some second-rate bank was horribly self-limiting and pathetic when she was capable of so much more.
At night, she stared at her bedroom ceiling and contemplated her future. She could stay at the bank, continue to climb up the ladder. She'd probably move up through management, become an executive, maybe even take over the company. She'd be respected. She'd be powerful.
She'd be bored.
There had to be more to life than this. There had to be something more stimulating, more challenging, more exciting out there for her.
Jessica tossed and turned in her sheets. She had skills that were in demand and easily transferable. What was stopping her from using them for something more meaningful than applying and rejecting loans like some kind of glorified accountant?
She leaped up out of bed, turned on the lights, and grabbed a notepad. She began to create a grand and elaborate plan to bring fun, thrills, excitement, and purpose back into her life.
