Sunday, December 27th, 2048
The day before, I had given up on a quick solution to the nanite shield problem. But the idea of upgrading myself did not leave my mind, it was time to probe the possibilities. Talking aloud to let Wendy share in the discussion, I asked “Elya, if I would hypothetically want to make myself smarter, what would be my options? And I mean smarter than getting a Mack brain.”
Looking at Wendy, I added “No offense to current Mack brain users intended.“
Elya piped up over the closest loudspeaker.
A Mack brain would be a downgrade in your case, not an improvement. If you are serious about upgrading yourself, I recommend the Mk IV Neuromorphic Core from the Class II Computation Devices catalog. Also, if you don’t want to rely on crude Mack technology for the mind upload, an alternative from the Protectors will cost additional points.
Wendy: “Did you just call me stupid, you glorified pocket calculator?”
That is relative. I estimate that your IQ is around the eighty-second percentile of the general population. Which is not bad but Caitlin is clearly smarter than you.
I tried my best to deny myself the grin that was trying to form. The flattery was nice but it would be neither nice nor wise to be condescending. Instead I told Wendy “Another eight days, and the GhostShell that is in the printer for you will be ready.”
With that upgrade, Wendy will become slightly smarter than you.
Now I grinned. “Looks like you will be the smartass then.”
“Just you wait. I will exploit the new advantage mercilessly!”
I was not sure if I was ready for either massive brain surgery or losing the chance to have children by replacing my body, but I still needed to know my options. “Elya, how would the Neuromorphic Core be installed, and just how much better would it be?"
Installation can either be in a robot body, such as the SecondLife body replacement, or as an implant in a human body. The latter would be quite messy without a full robodoc, you would need a friendly clinic to cut out your old brain and stuff the implant in.
So, robodocs were a thing. But before I could follow that line of thought further, Elya continued.
Performance-wise the Neuromorphic Core would bring roughly a ten-fold improvement in speed, with a vastly expanded memory and capacity for logic.
“Thanks Elya. It would be a huge step, and I need to think about it.”
Tuesday 29th, 2049
The last few days had been on the quiet side. Customer demand for our stuff was unusually low, but that was probably due to the holidays. We used the free time to add some more fabbers at Vanguard Enterprises.
Shortly before we called it a day, the telephone rang. Wendy took the call, and a chipper young voice introduced herself as Monica from the Mayor’s office. She asked to speak to me.
“Good to finally reach you. The city is holding a New Year’s meet and greet at Hatley Castle and we’re inviting all those who contributed significantly to the fight against the Macks last year. That includes you and you are welcome to bring a friend or two. I know this is on awfully short notice, but there will be a wonderful buffet! I should know, I got to sample the leftovers last year!”
Wendy whispered in my ear “Snacks! Accept the invitation!”
I took the clue and told Monica “Yes, I will be there. With two friends. At what time should we arrive?”
“7 PM, the dress code will be formal clothing!”
I called Arina, and it turned out that she could get leave for the weekend. When I told her about the snacks, she immediately agreed to come along.
Thursday 31th, 2049
At 7 PM sharp, we arrived at the castle. Wendy and I in business suits that we did not use often but kept available for such occasions. Arina‘s only formal wear was her dress uniform, but her CO had assured her that it was acceptable at this kind of formal celebration.
What we had in the back of my van was less formal. A Shiv and armor for each of us, six of the Lesser Battlecats and plenty of spare ammo.
At the entrance we encountered Inspector Hastings, the commander of the police force guarding the festivities. She recognized me and asked with a smirk “Not armed to the teeth today?”
“We have some stuff in my van, just in case.”
“I hope we don’t need it this year.”
“Don’t jinx it!”
Inside I saw that the damage from last year had been skillfully repaired, but in some places the color did not quite match the patina of the old material. Arina noticed I was inspecting the repairs, and I had to tell her about the fight a year ago.
Soon we were mingling with the other guests. I met Roger from the militia I had joined a year ago. As he was one of those who fought to protect the party guests last year, he also was invited. Apparently he had started a new business and was using the opportunity to network.
Wendy did the same, and judging from the snippets of conversation I picked up, she was well on her way to selling some more fabricators. Good girl. Not only would it bring us money, the fabbers would also help to stabilize the economy. Gaps in supply chains were still a problem in Haven, and devices like our fabricators could help to bridge those gaps.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
At my side, Arina was already ogling the buffet. I was about to tell her to be more discreet, when Elya informed me and everyone else about a new incursion. She hijacked the P.A. system and proclaimed “Emergence detected! Please stay calm and form a line at the exit of the hall. Security personnel will guide you to a nearby shelter.”
“Very proactive, Elya.” I commented. “Is the rest of the city informed?”
Elya responded in my head:
No. Somehow the prediction system for Mack emergencies has utterly failed. Also, some of the Macks are already here at Esquimalt Lagoon.
“Dammit. Give me a line to SHOCKS!”
To my surprise, a sleepy B.S.O.D. answered. She was not whom I expected as the watchkeeping officer, but talking to her would make things easier as she already knew about Elya. “SHOCKS, B.S.O.D. speaking. What is the reason for this call?”
“Vanguard Command speaking, Intelligence department. Elya has detected an emergence, enemy units are at Hatley Castle and probably elsewhere.”
“What? We have no indicators suggesting there are Macks anywhere nearby, let alone a full emergence!”
Elya entered the conversation.
I’m tracking the number of Mack teleportations through the Arcane Feeler at Styx Base. If all of these transits are invading units, you have five hundred and counting all over Victoria.
The answer was a heavy sigh, then I could hear B.S.O.D. sound the alarm. I could not help her further at this time, so instead I ordered a Spectracopter to take off from the Colwood shelter and come over for better surveillance. We had installed launching and recharging cradles for those a few days ago, and now they showed their worth. I also activated the little automatic flak turret on top of my van.
At that point Inspector Hastings approached me and hissed “What is going on? And why am I suddenly getting a tactical overlay on my augs?”
Ah well. Hastings had a need to know now and she would be the next person to learn about Elya. “My AI assistant Elya has detected a nearby Mack emergence. Here at Esquimalt Lagoon. Some of their units are assembling at the beach already. The overlay is courtesy of Elya, it should make directing your people easier.”
“You have some nerve, interfering with our operations like that. But I’ll take your warning at face value for now.” She abruptly left me and started collecting her officers, directing some to organize the party guests into a neat line and sending some to search the building for stragglers. A little rude but I could not fault her for it.
At my side, Arina fretted “Shouldn't we get our weapons?”
“Yes we should.” I waved Wendy over and we marched down the stairs. One black-haired, stocky police officer accosted us. “Where are you going?”
I answered “Getting our guns, we will help defend the place. At least until the guests are in the shelter.
“We also have some Mack-like robotic units that we would like to deploy, perhaps you could tell your buddies not to shoot at those.”
“I need to see those!”
We led the officer to the van and grabbed our kit, while the guy stared at the Battlecats.
“What the fuck? These look like a cross between a robot, a cougar and a scorpion!”
“They are essentially a cheaper and slightly smaller version of the Mack Type 43, but with a different tail gun. I would have brought more, but my van is full.”
By the time we had donned our armor, the Spectracopter had arrived and gave us an overview of the situation. Most of the Macks were still sitting at the beach, but they had already sent out scouts in the general direction of Hatley Castle.
I addressed my group “We need to protect the guests until they reach the shelter under the campus reception. I don’t like it, but we might need to split up to cover both east and west of the castle.”
Wendy said ”Perhaps I should go on the castle tower for overwatch. From what you told me, Alan was quite effective at sniping Macks a year ago.”
I knew Wendy was good with a Shiv. Some of that was due to cheating with an aimbot-like software package I had given her, but there was no denying the results. So I answered “OK, but talk to Inspector Hastings first.”
To Arina: “I guess you get your first subordinate units today, three of the Battlecats. Stay defensive and don’t get killed. We don’t have the numbers for a full scale battle right now.”
We split up, with Arina and her three Battlecats taking position in the park west of Hatley Castle, while I moved east to intercept any Macks trying to flank the procession of guests.
I was barely into the strip of forest that was left between the castle and the encroaching buildings to the east, when I found myself face to face with a Type One. One of my Battlecats clawed its eye out, but now the Macks might know my position.
Through the trees I spotted a few Twenty-Eights creeping up the beach, promptly followed by the crack of a hypersonic projectile. The glowing eye of one Mack went dark, then the others returned fire. Bursts of pulverized stone erupted from the battlements of the castle’s tower.
Now it was my turn. With two quick shots I killed two more of the Mack sniper units. Only to see two more turn around and aim in my direction. I dove behind a tree, while my Battlecats opened fire. Two enemy bullets ripped past me, then silence from the beach. From beyond the castle I heard more shots. That had to be Arina and her Battlecats.
As I brought up the tactical map from my C&C suite, I saw that the situation had become more dangerous. The people from the meet and greet were in the open where they were maximally vulnerable. They had about 200 meters to walk, and it went frustratingly slow. From the west another horde of Macks was approaching the park where Arina had taken up position. But as much as I wanted to, I did not dare to run over to support her. That would leave a huge hole on the east side of our defenses.
Thankfully, Wendy was still in business. Taking care to expose herself as little as possible, she popped up from time to time and sent a bullet toward the beach. That seemed to keep the Macks in check, even the bird’s-eye view of the Spectracopter showed very little movement at the beach.
Minutes later, the fecal matter truly hit the rotary impeller. A group of Type Six kamikaze Macks flew over the castle and attacked the guests moving into the campus reception. Wendy shot one out of the air, and the little turret on my van eliminated another three. But the rest got through, and explosions rang out from near the reception. Past the castle, the gunfire picked up in intensity.
Only on my side things were quiet for a moment, so I decided to leave and support the other groups. My first stop was the van, where I grabbed the first aid kit. From there I ran north to the campus reception to give what help I could, my three Battlecats in tow.
As I arrived, I encountered a grisly sight. Two guests and two of the police officers that had escorted them lay in their blood, while the remaining officers guided the survivors to the shelter in the basement. Not all of those were unscathed either. One of the downed officers still moved and seemed to be conscious. When I addressed him, he answered weakly “I’m done for. Look after the guests.” Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
One of your Nano-Regenerative Suites should be sufficient to stabilize him.
I took a look around, and the other three victims seemed beyond help, so I turned back to the officer and showed him the high tech medication. “This is an Advent tech regenerative inhaler. Experimental but it might save you,” I lied about the source.
“Draw a breath from the mouthpiece, as deep as you can.”
He obediently did so and his breathing soon became more steady. The flow of blood also shrank to a trickle. Fortunately two of his colleagues came back from the building to retrieve him. I gave them my first aid supplies and explained the use of the two remaining Nano-Regenerative Suites, before I left them in a hurry to support Arina.