Chapter 66: Take a Leap
August 7th
Ripley’s eighth day… having breakfast with his mother
”Still can’t believe you're managing to fix it up. His leg, that thing is the devil’s work.” My mother said over salad, we were eating out at the old armory, not her preferred idea of our weekly breakfast but I said I would make up for it with tomorrow’s lunch. “That new protocol of yours sure is beautiful.”
”Right…” I was on my second sleepless night. “I… it’s pretty damn good.”
Everytime I blinked, I could see the images etched on my eyelids. Translucent metallic limbs fusing and breaking down in my sight, their various mechanisms pulled apart to suspend within the air for my inspection. It was one thing to do the theory and design simulations with downloaded software.
It was another thing directly to have your brain reprogammed for it. All of my knowledge rearranged itself to perform calculations, manipulations and recombinations of Shardware in front of my eyes. Everything I'd ever broken down with Reverse Engineering could manifest infront of my eyes with a blink with Scrapyard, and mimicking a Database BUG only further perfected their images. No... not mere images, simulations of Shardware from their framework to coding to even experimental modifications could be visulaized upon entirely within my head and etched into reality. Even my mom could view the simulations when she connected to my Frame.
And combining it with the Shardware-focused Analyze Feature I mimicked, I was able to directly incorporate real-time findings into my vision as I worked on the R0N1N's leg, mapping the sleek metal's various canyons and mountains of untold treasures.
It just had the side-effect of leaving me… a tiny bit drained.
I fell asleep on my salad.
———
Later that night
Sitting on my desk, I stared up at my right claw, satisfied. It was good work, and R0N1N’s money had already been useful. It was also the time I decided to absorb a second Bronze BUG directing it entirely into my Energized Function.
Absorbing Warpcode… forcing compatibility
Energized V.1.13 has updated to V.1.14
Effect: Reduced mental strain from Warp Burns when directing Warp Energy through the Central Nervous System
Energized V.1.14 has updated to V.1.15
Effect: Slight boost to mental output when Warp Energy is directed to the brain.
It was interesting that Energized had updated to reduce mental strain, was it because the Features absorbed were Psyche and Sustain? I tested it out with the Scrapyard Protocol, feeling it becoming easier to mentally spill out visual overlays into my brain’s processing of vision.
Then, I pushed into the Thought Multiplier.
’Scrapyard’ X ‘Arachne’
The effect was tremendous, whereas before it was easy to make out rough blurring in the virtual mechanical pieces, now they solidified until it became almost graspable. I floated the six arms into various positions, mapping them on my back as I organized the makeup of the Soulbranch Spine to work with it. Yes, things were coming together. Every droplet of progress would one day fill a sea.
———
August 8th
Ripley’s ninth day, having lunch with his mother
”This is incredible, your notes… everything seems perfect?! Too perfect?” Breadcrumbs fell in between my mother’s candor, but I felt a bit disgruntled.
”Hey, I know it’s impressive but… I’d rather not talk about work right now.” I sipped coffee, artificially flavored but the caffeine was a necessary hit.
”Yes, yes.” My mother laughed it off. “Have you asked that girl out yet?”
”I’m working on it.” I said, bemused by her sudden shift.
”You know, your father asked me out while I repaired his laundry machine. I was a shy young girl back then, never the type to go for the son of a suit, but his brazen confidence for something real won me over. He even brought a flower, who brings a flower to a girl fixing up his laundry machine?”
”I do not want to hear this.”
”Point is, Ripley, take a leap.”
———
I knocked on the door, hoping it would be answered, my breath clamoring my chest as I waited. Mirage opened the door soon after, confused by my unannounced appearance.
”Hey Mirage… can I… come in?” I smiled, was it too big of a smile? Did my teeth look weird? Were they too yellow?
”Yeah, you don’t need to ask.” She raised an eyebrow. “Everything alright? Heard Dreadwire rocked up a storm in Little Requiem a few days ago, killing a Los Diablos DJ? And a Metal Heaven’s Priest?”
”I’ve been busy.” I stepped in. “How’re your… Personas?”
”They’re fine.” She quickly answered. “Daylight’s training is going well, she’s a quick learner. She’ll be ready by the time we enter the facility. Midnight’s in the Net, Twilight’s handling a contract.”
“So just you in your head right now?” I wasn’t sure if I preferred that.
”Seems like it.”
”Wanna go out with me?”
”It’s been a while since it’s just been me- huh?”
’Confidence’ X ‘Asking Mirage Out’
”Want to go out on a date?” I said more firmly.
”I… I’m not… the others would-“ She got heated up, taking a seat. “I would love to, but it’s complicated because of-“
”Right, I never clarified.” I coughed. “Would all of you like to go out on a date with me?”
She froze, her eyes darting away from mine. ”You mean…”
I raised four fingers up.
"I go out on four dates, one for each of your three Personas and you.” I hoped that would be enough.
”Do you even have the time?" Her breath came out nervously, her feet stepping over the other. "Sorry, this is just... something that doesn't happen to me much, but I really-“
”I just want to know you, Elsa. All of you.” I pulled up something from my pockets, it was a metallic rose with four different colored petals. “I was originally going to make four, but I was a little strapped for time and-“
”Okay.” She took the flower blooming red, blue, violet and lavender. Her cheeks were the faint color of a real rose. “I- I can’t say no when you’ve put in this much effort. I would... like that date.”
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”So… we setting a date for the date?” I awkwardly laughed.
“One second.” Mirage tapped her wristband, all three bars of red, violet and blue lit up.
The red band pulsed first, Midnight’s dark whispers ushering out as Elsa gasped before her eyes turned red and a sharp tone stabbing into me. “A stupid decision, but I’ll be the first to judge you. Please me or die. August 10th at 9PM, meet me here.”
From red to blue trickled a happy smile, Daylight’s cheers singing out. “You know how long I’ve been waiting! Well, not too long since I’m pretty new, but it was love at first sight! The next day after Midnight, we’ll have breakfast!”
Oh… okay, Twilight’s calmer eyes instilled the most anxiety from me. “So you’ve finally gone and asked her out… tch, I’ll be a tease, finish things up with Mirage then you’ll get me.”
Mirage blinked. “Right, I guess then after you and Daylight, we can go out. Twilight’s date comes after that… but Ripley do you have the time to spend a full day on me?”
”I want to spend a lot of days on you.” I answered honestly, before correcting it hurriedly. “With you! With you!”
”Yeah, of course!” She pushed her hair behind her ear. “Was that it or…”
”Actually yeah there’s more, I... wanted to ask you about Feature Links since you’re the best Warpcode expert here. Since you helped get me one for my frame.” I tapped the metal slab on my head to make the point.
”Right.” She sat on the couch, her eyes still refusing to even take a hint of mine. “I had done a peripheral scan of your frame and found the Personality Matrix inside there, naturally due to the events at the club it was overactive which your frame couldn’t handle so I installed a simple Engram for stability on there which your Psyche Feature manifested the Neural Matrix if I remember.”
”That’s about it. What do you mean by a simple Engram though?”
”They’re a bit obscure but they’re basically simple outlines of Warpcode associated with a general theme. I use them to train my Personas, not used much in Shard Operating because your clients will want something specific. Besides, Engrams are based on Warpcode, so they’re formed using BUGs specially extracted and modified with a Dataweaving Function attuned to that aspect of Warpcode manipulation.”
”To change the Feature into something else…” Sort of like Data Mimicry. “So then… what other Engrams do you have? These simple ones?”
”Stabilization, Coordination, Control, Detection and Misdirection.” Then she puckered her lips. “But it’s costly to use them, when I stabilized you, I used the Silver Shard-bit you had on you.”
”Right, that explains where it went.” I thought I had lost a 5,000 Shardyne piece when Diamante asked me to show it off to him.
I pulled out ten Bronze Shards from my pocket. “This enough?”
”I can absorb them and convert them into a similar grade of Warpcode using a Protcol of mine.” She observed each piece of wealth.
“Why not just use my own Gold?” I contemplated the idea.
”You could, but unless you have excess it’ll feed on your updates. You… actually could, since you absorb 100% of the Warpcode. If you mimic my Dataweaving Function I see no reason why you couldn’t shape an Engram yourself.”
So if I was getting the steps right… You could use Dataweaving to take a Feature from a BUG and convert it into an Engram, which served as a general vessel or framework that could be repeatedly used to create Feature Links by feeding it Warpcode from anoter Implant. That could be considered the inorganic method of creating a Feature Link. The organic method, then, would simply occur through prolonged usage of an Adapter’s own Feature through Shardware.
Though the method for my Neuroframe’s link appeared to be a hybrid.
She reached out into a laptop by her table, plugging the wires of her arm into the device. “Alright connect whatever Shardware you want into this, then try manipulating the Engram to get a feel for it.”
I hopped over, raising my left leg onto the table and plugging it in. I browsed through and opted for the Coordination Engram, which seemed to have roots from Sustain and Accommodation. Then Mirage parted her hair to show the sleek but large frame planted across her nape down to her shoulders.
Reading her Warpcode was an intimate encounter once more, I could feel the passage of her thoughts shift course even if we weren’t directly sharing a single skull now. No discernable predictions could be made, but the simple glance of our metallic bodies in contact sparked an electricity.
Mimicking Dataweaving… effective V.2.00
* Basic Warpcode manipulation to create DataShields and DataCleavers.
* Slight Engram manipulation.
* Greater understanding of Warpcode Tendencies.
* Basic Conversion of Warp Energy into Warpcode.
* Protocol: Avatar Stability allows greater control over Avatar’s resistance to NetScape degradation, instead the Adapter has an increased baseline stability as an Avatar.]
* Protocol: Warp Flux allows heightened ability to manipulate Warpcode at the cost of Warp Energy, instead the Adapter can slightly influence Warpcode malleability by using their own Warp Energy
Each time, I was peeking a little closer into who she was. The story of her growth as a Data Delver. For as much as I liked her, I still barely knew a thing about her. I sensed... great darkness within her, alongside an illuminating light like the moon against the backdrop of a starless cosmos, manipulating the tides of Warpcode with ease.
Strapping in, I connected myself to the meshwork of wires, allowing my chosen Engram to spread over the leg. It flowed like a miasmic bunch of grasping vines to my vision, squirming their way into my leg’s physique.
I acted before it could fully form, absorbing the Energy from Shards into my body which all cracked and splintered away into tangible streams of Warpcode through my mimicry of Mirage's Dataweaving… a thought occurred to me. Could I absorb the Warpcode I create using these Shards while mimicking her feature? An idea for later.
Taking a glance over the vines, I didn’t notice any irregularities outright, but true to Mirage’s words they never seemed to have any regularity in themselves. I could tell it was skillfully made, but the vastness of options allowed to it were staggering. It was an overgrown plant in my opinion and needed some pruning.
So I started with the Accomodation aspects of it, I didn’t see a need to make my legs feel more like legs. But looking at it more clearly, I noticed some interweaving of what I identified to be Pyshce and Intgeration influences within the Engram. I decided to keep the Psyche, allowing it extra space to bloom as the latter Feature was yanked apart by the rough shears of my mind.
Feeling a tad bit more satisfied, I allowed the Engram to fully engross itself by feeding it the Warpcode I’d created. It was like the vines which were hollowed out had gained color, becoming full of life and energy as precious drink drenched vitality within it — then I froze half way. I didn’t want this to become linked to Dataweaving...
So I switched to mimicking a Sustain BUG. It already had a basis to improve my coordination, so I felt the synchronizing tunes and allowed it to hum in place… or… I froze again. What if I linked it to Pyshce? To the nexus of my brain’s processing power?
Specifically, what if I focused on the Preservation Matrix?
That could be interesting, so I leaned into it. It took a few minutes of stirring currents in through the vines, nothing too difficult, but then again establishing Links had eased due to Data Mimicry.
Feature Link established: Reactive Autonomy [Psyche]
I lifted the limb off the table, proud that I’d done and finished with one of the most daunting — and profitable — tasks for a Shard Op’.
”Worked like a charm.” I smiled through, feeling the limber tech. “Kick me.”
She turned her head, before attempting to do so with a shrug. Without even activating my Matrix, my left leg slid backwards into place and easily dodged the stomp. My right leg, did not. I almost fell over because of it.
”That might be an issue.” Did I have to give both legs the same Feature Link? I wasn’t against it, but it could be a waste. This single Link costed 50,000 Shardyne to create.
She tried to kick my leg again, to no avail as it just danced away. “Maybe it would work better for your frame? Some nervous system unit? If you could imitate the process-“
I stopped her there. “A spine.”
”Huh.”
”I’ll put it on my spine.” I grinned.
———
August 9th
Ripley’s tenth day… getting a call from Diana.
Spending the rest of the evening at Mirage’s, I’d shown off the Scrapyard and was just about putting the finishing touches on my spine as she watched with interest, it was almost ready. Before Twilight called me a bore and demanded we watch movies.
It was early next morning when Diana called.
She said she had something interesting to show me? But couldn’t directly tell me what, but she sounded pretty panicked by it. I told her I’d try to find the time since I was busy, but nothing concrete until my upcoming projects were finalized. That was half the reason, she also now had a sizable bounty that put hundreds of mercenaries to shame, and I didn't know if taking that risk would have been worth it.
There also might have been… what Twilight called flirting from her end.
”You just asked us out on a date! The nerve of you!” Twilight smacked some sense into me.
”It was mostly her!” I tried to defend myself, I did a poor job of it.
But regardless... at least she seemed excited about our date. And... so was I.