The people have spoken. National Directive 13233 to issue sanctions against the governing companies of Calgary has passed with 6.4M RIS points. The supporting representatives now have the task of implementing the directive.

Last month, several parties out of the Rockies Alliance declared war on the companies that rule Calgary, and fighting broke out inside the city walls. In the end, the four companies, Helmar Electronics, Telnet Aerospace, Alliance Bio Tech Systems, and Great Northern Info Systems, were replaced by unknown forces. See more about the conflict in this link.

In response, National Directive 13233 was proposed by several representatives, who have collected sufficient RIS points from citizens. The popularity of the directive is no doubt fueled by outrage against the actions of the ruling council. Numerous reports have shown that the council chose to trigger descension protocols on one or more hex-platforms in the city without any warning or evacuation efforts ahead of time.

Sanctions will include cutting off the purchase of ore shipments from Calgary as a whole along with direct disciplinary action against the ruling companies.

A related but seemingly opposite National Directive (number 13234) to send aid to citizens displaced and disrupted by the conflict is still collecting points but should pass soon. Once it does, representatives of the two Directives will need to reconcile the two efforts, which likely will result in funds that were purchasing goods from the country being switched to humanitarian aid.

--Cascadia news release, May 2057

***

With that bureaucratic hurdle cleared, the team entered the building just in time for my new rideshare to arrive. The interruption, while annoying, reminded me that I should clean up before seeing my parents. Once the ride took flight, I sent a text to my sister, letting her know of my ETA. From her reply, she was going to arrive ten minutes after me.

--No problem. Like I said, each upgrade method has its own unique advantages and limits. Genetic modification has better upkeep and repair: cuts heal, bruises fade. The upgrade paths are more continuous since you can continue to modify it as you go. But it’s not so good with micro-adjustments, especially temporary ones. For example, if you want to upload a new app to a bio-aug, you are basically teaching the aug a new way to think, which takes time and repetition for a permanent change, or you risk issues akin to memory loss.

--Cyberware, on the other hand, gets locked into a form until you can replace it. It’s often faster and easier to replace a damaged cyberarm than to repair it. And upgrades are almost always full replacements. Where it excels is in software and data management, since the bits are all inherently changeable.

--Another area where cyber excels is with external systems like probes and data sharing. Cyber and digital systems are vastly better at throughput than most biological systems just due to the speed of transmission. And drones or bots are usually faster to mass produce.

--Particularly on Earth, it is uncommon to have a biologically based horde of small, long-range drones. No one wants to turn themselves into a puppy farm for disposable companions. But a drone you can send into harm’s way without any questions of conscience.

--Exactly. That brings us to the last system, which is what the Valerians did. They looked at the benefits and costs of both cybernetics and genetics and tried to balance them by making what amounts to a modular biological upgrade system that also is highly cyber compatible.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

--They created ways to adapt a person to accept and support a greater range of biology, then attached other life forms for those upgrades, which are best handled biologically. They also perfected a bio-cyber interface that worked well with both systems. That is the Valerian SymTech Gland, which is part carbon-based biological and part silicon-based cybernetics.

--Yes. The Valerian gear is slightly weaker to start but costs the same points as cyber gear. So it’s more expensive than genetic upgrades, which are discounted because they’re grown over time. And there is a startup cost from two core upgrades that are mandatory. One of which is the SymTech Gland.

--For that increased cost, you get several core advantages: the inherent repair of biological upgrades and better use and integration with cybernetic-based gear. But the one big advantage of the Valerian method is growth. Any symbiotic upgrades you buy will grow over time, becoming more effective. You may not need to replace some upgrades ever. Keep feeding the symbiont, and it will get bigger or better until it reaches Class III or beyond. Or, like any life form, if you feed it more, it will grow faster.

We were interrupted by a request for authentication from the base my parents lived on. While my father, as an officer, could arrange for off-base housing, he preferred the security of on-base for my mother. I submitted my visitor badge, and the car dropped me off at the front desk.

“Hey, Amanda. Can you request an arms authorization for me? I’ve a new kit and would rather not have to check it in.”

“Sure, give me a minute.” She eyed me up and down, taking in the swords over my shoulders, the new pistol grips, and the multiple layers of blood and Anti’s remains. “Did you get sucked into that incursion downtown today?”

“Thanks. I spent the day hip-deep in antithesis, and it shows. While you are working on that permit, can I use the washroom?”

She waved me off, already submitting the paperwork.

In the washroom, I quickly tried to wash the blood, both alien and my own, off my clothing before realizing that it was a lost cause.

--Sure, I was starting to wonder if you wanted to shock your parents with your appearance.

"Purchased: Class 0 Street clothes

Cost: 2 Remaining points: 7,579”

I put on the fresh jeans and shirt and gathered my other gear into a bundle. That might help put the security team at ease. The Roomsweeper, however, I did keep slung over my shoulder… there wasn’t any other convenient way to carry it safely.

Amanda had the e-forms ready when I came back out. I filled in all the usual bureaucratic data collection until, about halfway through, it asked for occupation. I hesitated a moment, having selected Arms Instructor by habit, then switched it to Samurai. Instantly the form closed out, and displayed a completion notice.

--Kind of. Most government agencies have an “I’m a Vanguard” mode that bypasses all the red tape. But you usually only see it on tax forms since no one else is foolish enough to try to have a Vanguard fill out a form.

I handed the tablet back to Amanda, who did some sync work and then looked uncomfortably at me. “Umm, I’ll need some proof that you are a Samurai, since you weren’t one last time you were here.”

I thought about it, then laid out both pistols on the counter, with safeties on. Beside them I set the Roomsweeper and my helmet. All of them were clearly Samurai gear, with the detail and craftsmanship to match. After eyeing the weapons where they lay next to the remaining bundle of stained and torn clothing, she looked me up and down, then she glanced at the door to the tiny closet of a washroom, then back to the stained clothes.

Amanda suddenly sat at attention. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t realize you had been chosen,” she said. She hit a couple of keys, and the elevator dinged its unlock. I collected my gear, a little bemused by her reaction, then entered for the ride up to my parent’s floor.

At my parent’s door, I hesitated, so overcome with a mix of nervousness, worry, and excitement that I didn’t know how to process it. This was something that we all had wanted for my whole life. Growing up, we’d never talked about Mom’s blindness by unspoken rule. But from looks and references, I could tell that we all desperately wished we could heal her.

Now, at the cusp of making that dream a reality, I was hammered with questions. What if she didn’t actually want to see again? What if the damage was unrepairable? What if I was about to find out my mother was going to die? The uncertainty gripped me, leaving me stuck out in the hall.