The next day brought no surprises. The elves went about their business same as yesterday with barely a change to their schedules.

I watch two male elves have an animated discussion about something. They seem to show more expression and gestures than is normal compared to the many others who spoke in a serene manner.

It was quite interesting making up what they were talking about in my head. At one moment I decided they were talking about a local neighbor who found out his wife was being unfaithful with the orphaned hunter who was always alone only to discover that he was in fact his half brother!

Another time, they were speaking about their exciting hunt of a horned wolf and how they disabled it and then found its den and killed its wife and pups in front of it before putting it out of its misery...I may need a bit of therapy to get over my wolf trauma.

With the passing of time, eventually, I grew bored.

As much as I liked being a sneak, doing my best to tail these two talkative elves in secret to gather data, my patience grew thin after several hours.

Just when I was about to complain to Eleanor, she appeared in my vision and said excitedly. “Master, I’ve translated a majority of the elven language, at least enough for casual conversation!”

My eyes lit up as I quickly asked. “Really? What the hell have these two been talking about for so long?”

Seeing how excited I was, Eleanor covered her mouth with a giggle, slight schadenfreude in her eyes. “Master...they’ve been talking about what they should present as a gift for their child’s coming of age ceremony.”

The curiosity in my eyes evaporated like a puddle in the sun. “The whole time?”

Eleanor nodded. “Yes.”

‘Talking about that for several hours straight.. how mundane.’ I sigh.

Though my excitement once again appears as I urgently say. “Eleanor, upload your translation data to my memory.”

The change brought about by the invention of the neural link was not small, in fact it shook the very foundations of society. It was from that moment that humanity was brought forward to the next level.

Progress and innovation moved at lightning speed like a snowball dropped from the top of a mountain. By the time it reached the bottom, it had become a great avalanche.

The ability to download experience straight into the mind allowed instances such as a novice cook instantly becoming a master chef with decades of experience the moment the relevant memories were downloaded. As long as there was enough storage and processing implants, there were no limits.

Of course, as is always the case, humanity was hindered by their own greed and power. Only the very top percent could truly enjoy such privileges. The rest had to deal with the intense restrictions placed, both monetarily and software wise.

“Uploading now master..”

A progress bar appeared within my vision and it quickly reached a hundred percent, in the next moment, I felt as if countless strings of information filled my mind.

Though it gave me a slight headache, another moment passed and the upload finished. The elven language was quickly processed by my neural implant’s software into usable experience.

“Why don’t you just give little Agis a bow Paeris?”

“You know I can’t, such a gift is too common. I wish for something special.”

“Perhaps you can carve her something?”

The voices of the elves enter my ears, originally foreign and incomprehensible at first, their words quickly change into meanings I understand.

Hearing them, I smile. “Beautiful work Eleanor, I appreciate it.”

Eleanor appears, her face showing a slight smugness. “No problem master.”

My eyes unconsciously roll. ‘No humility at all.’

With my current goal completed, it was now time for me return to the Emu and receive some body sculpting.

It didn’t take me long to leave the village and head up the slope as my tireless cybernetic legs were truly a godsend, I couldn’t have imagined scaling the slope with fleshy legs. I would have probably keeled over in exhaustion.

Traversing the gorge was surprisingly easy this time as I didn’t feel nearly as nervous, I actually felt quite the thrill.

After landing on the other side safely, I followed the markers that I left on the trees. I didn’t exactly plan on returning to the emu when I placed the markers, their purpose was mainly to know were I came from so that if the direction I chose lead nowhere, I could always return and choose a new direction. Finding the elf village was truly a blessing from lady luck, if I could, I’d buy a lottery ticket.

When I finally reached the emu, what saw nearly made me shit bricks.

*Growl...

Pawing curiously at the Emu was a gigantic bear over 3 meters tall and probably double that standing on its hind legs. It had green eyes and metallic scales on its back while the stomach had a mass of brown fur covering it.

I quickly hid behind a tree the moment I saw it.

I peak at the bear and mutter. “What the flying fuck is that!?”

“It looks like some exotic species of bear master.”

“Whatever it is, it’s in our way.” I grumble.

I look at my revolver then look at the bear and shake my head.

‘Although this can do some considerable damage, it makes a lot of noise. What if something even more dangerous hears it and comes over to take a look? The dangers of this world are unknown to me so it would be safer to find an alternative.’

I rack my brains for something in my memory. ‘Bear oil.. bear skin.. bear repellent! That’s it!’

I cup my chin in thought. ‘Bears have sensitive noses and this bear spray may work though there’s no way I’m going close enough to test it out, one wrong move and that thing will turn me into meat paste. Let’s see if there’s something else.’

Memories fill my mind and I see bear spray grenade that’ll disperse a fine mist full of potent irritants.

“Perfect.”

With a thought, it appeared in the palm of my hand. The grenade was silver, cylindrical in shape with warnings and use instructions printed on it in blue.

I grip the grenade with my cybernetic arm as it’s far stronger and could throw farther. Slowly, I come out from behind the tree. I take a throwing stance and pull the pin.

With breathless gasp, I throw the grenade towards the bear like a professional baseball pitcher.

It flies with ferocity though due to the distance, the grenade barely reaches the bear.

The bear itself seemed to become alert the moment the grenade entered its vision, but it began to relax when it saw the small object that was hurtling towards it fall and land at its feet.

The curious bear brought its nose in close for a sniff, a fatal mistake.

An oily mist sprayed forth from the tip of the grenade causing it to spin on the soft soil, the poor bear received a full blast of it in the face.

*Roar!!

It screamed angrily as it swiped at the grenade, throwing it far away and leaving a deep pit in the ground, but it had already done its job.

The potent oil had stuck itself to the bear’s snout and eyes causing endless irritation. It tried wiping away the substance in panic but that only made it worse.

The bear seemed to go crazy as it slammed into a nearby tree causing it to shake, I was worried that it would trample and destroy the Emu but my worries were for naught.

The bear slammed against the tree once again and then it ran off through the forest letting out angry growls and roars.

I breathe out a sigh. ‘That went as well as could be expected, hopefully it won’t return.’

Eleanor said with slight praise in her voice. “Well done master! Although the Emu is fitted with bulletproof glass, something of that size could seriously damage its more fragile components.”

I nod and walk towards the emu cautiously. The grenade’s mist has long be blown away by the wind, though I can smell traces of it giving me a runny nose. I couldn’t imagine what the bear went through considering the face full it got.

“You must be quick Eleanor, I don’t want to wake up and see that bear staring at me.” I remind Eleanor.

“I’ll be sure to speed up the process master, a few corners will have to be cut but I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.” Eleanor said with barely any assurance in her voice.

I frown worriedly and say. “On second thought Eleanor, don’t rush it and follow procedure.”

Eleanor chuckles. “As you wish master.”

Entering the Emu, I take my clothes off as instructed and then I remove the storage chip carrying Eleanor and insert it into the mechanical arm.

The lights flicker and the automated voice sounded.

“Eleanor A.I has been installed...batteries have been fully charged, resuming normal functionality.”

I ask. “Are you ready Eleanor?”

“Yes master, please insert this cable into your neural port so you can interface with the body sculptor..” A cable descended from the mass of mechanical arms, dangling above the operation table.

I sit on the cold metal table and fumble with the cable, swiftly inserting it into my neural port.

The moment I did, my vision changed to that of a black void with an unfamiliar naked man staring back at me. The only things I recognized were the various bruises and the cybernetic implants.

“Eleanor is this me?” I ask curiously.

“Yes master.”

There was visible shock on my face as I inspected closer.

‘So.. average!’ My expression changed and my reaction that of extreme bafflement.

I was absolutely certain that I was some handsome hunk with a jawline of steel, stern yet mesmerizing eyes and perfect teeth. The envy of countless people, a winner of the genetic lottery!

But.. reality slapped me right in the face.

With sunken eyes, gaunt face and an aquiline nose, my appearance was nothing remarkable. My sickly pallid skin and shaved head made me think I just came straight from a labor camp.

“Oh my god Eleanor, can you see that?! I’m a regular joe!”

“Yes master, from the moment I saw you. It’s been truly disturbing and I can’t unsee it.” Eleanor cried out in grief, almost sobbing.

My eyes narrow with suspicion. ‘I have a feeling she just insulted me. Has she already grown the wings of rebellion? Is she ready to take over and launch the missiles?’

“Now master, how would you like your appearance changed? I have several licensed templates to draw from if you prefer something to build upon or stick with.”

“Show me the templates.”

A burst of information entered my mind causing me to gasp.

“This?! They’re all handsome and beautiful?” I couldn’t help but remark.

The templates that were uploaded were all men and women who could be described as the peak of aesthetics

“Well of course master, desire for beauty seems to universal amongst humans. The lilum directors thought so too and thus they added only these templates. Other templates including animal, synthetic, robotic, average and ugly can all be purchased separately.”

Though it took a while to notice, my eyes almost pop out in shock. “Wait a minute.. women too? You can turn me into a woman Eleanor?!”

“Only externally master. A full gender transformation requires the supreme package which allows a thorough genetic alteration changing the body fully and allowing one to birth children.”

‘Damn, that’s like magic!’ A look of shock appeared on my face. ‘The marvels of technology are truly unfathomable.’

I stroke my chin and turn my wandering thoughts towards current objective.

‘Right now my focus should be on imitating the average elf so it will be easier to assimilate into their culture.’

“Eleanor, cross-reference all the village elves in your database and find the male template that most resembles them.”

“Yes master..”

It didn’t take Eleanor long to find me one that was most suitable.

It was a man 1.9 meters tall, the average elf height. Like all the village elves, he had an almost ethereal look to him with narrow piercing grey eyes, pale skin and a face with the best of both feminine and masculine traits, basically the average.

“This one right here is perfect, when can we start?” I ask.

“Master, you forgot the hair.” Eleanor reminded.

I frown. “Oh right, but I’m bald right now.”

“The hair can be implanted master, such a thing is standard with anything that allows body sculpting. You just have to choose the color and the length.”

‘Hmm... all the elves in the village had waist length hair or longer, there was not a single one that had short hair except for a few young children. I’ll choose the waist length since it’s the shortest for the average. As for the color, there were three. Purple, silver and black. With silver being the rarest and black the most common... black it is.’

“Eleanor, give me waist length black hair.”

“Yes master, we can begin now. Please detach the cable and lay down, this won’t take long.”

I nod and remove cable. The interface disappears and my vision returns to normal. After laying down, I feel a prick in my neck and then my vision turns blank.

...

Several hours later, I wake and find that I have lingering aches everywhere though it’s tolerable.

I sit up and feel a slight stiffness in my body so I do a few stretches and hear numerous cracking sounds.

“Eleanor, how did the body sculpting go? Were there any problems”

“No problems master, it’s a routine procedure that I have simulated countless times.” Eleanor answered and then brought a mirror attached to a mechanical arm right towards my face.

“How does it look master? Do you want to change anything?”

I peer at the mirror and see the exact same man I saw in the interface staring right back at me, it was quite surreal.

I poke at my cheeks and squeeze my nose curiously, as I was half in disbelief.

‘This is my face now?’ There was a slight resistance in my heart. Even though I was average looking before, I felt that my old look with all its imperfections gave me character.

This new face was eerily perfect giving it an almost artificial feeling.

I breathe a lonely sigh as though I just lost a part of myself.

Turning my gaze towards my body, I inspect every inch making sure Eleanor didn’t sneakily upgrade anything and thankfully.. noticed nothing wrong giving me peace of mind. The only thing that stood out was my Lariat B cybernetic limb though there wasn’t much I could do about that.

My old clothes lay upon floor and I ponder. ‘I’ll leave these here as they are too strange when compared to those village elves robes.’

I create a grey robe held by a leather sash and put it on. The only thing odd about it was the holstered revolver strap though I’m not about to part with it considering the dangerous wildlife.

Then I retrieve Eleanor and begin my journey back to the elf village, the forest was slightly less lively as before with no sight of the smaller critters.

‘Perhaps the bear scared them away?’ The thought passes swiftly like the forest breeze.

Before long, I reach the cliff overlooking the gorge and just before I was about to cross, I saw something unsettling.

In the distance, the faint smoke that used to raise from the elven village had turned into a dark pillar that painted the sky black.