Chapter 13: The Uncaged Skeleton
Excerpt from ‘Value of the Shardyne’, economic journal written by Professor Adam Juriel from New Atlantis University; published 2495.
The Universal Shardyne was established following the Third Swarm. With NeoCore in full operation, the flow of Shards and Implants collected from the MALswarm stabilized for the first time since the Swarms began due to intervention from the recently established NeoCore.
At first, the Shardyne was simply a digital cryptocurrency on the same value as an Iron Shard, however, as Iron Shards were depleted during the progressing 24th Century, their value increased as their supply lowered. In turn, Shardyne’s were accommodated to value at one-tenth of an Iron Shard prior to the 4th Swarm.
In contrast, the value of the Warp Energy Materialized Shards in relation to one another have remained the same throughout the New World’s timespan. With a conversion rate of 100 Lower-Grade Shards to one of the Grade immediately above theirs until the Silver Grade. [1 Silver = 100 Bronze = 10,000 Iron]
Their usage in the refinement of Implants and their associated Shardware makes them similar to raw-material trading committed by ancient civilizations. Currently, an Iron Shard is valued at 24 Shardyne in SynTec’s Capital of New Atlantis, although this can fluctuate from region to region — the average appearing to be 35 Shardyne per Iron Shard. As such, most international trading is carried out using these physical tokens of wealth. This has resulted in a higher need for security, which also promotes an increase in their value.
Since Shards are extracted from a MALware’s dead body, their value fluctuates in proportion to active MAL population. It is currently unknown how violent the Fifth Swarm will be in 2501, but it is certain that the value of the Shardyne will plummet as it had before stabilizing as the Fifth Swarm’s generation of Shards is gradually used up.
As for now, the Shadryne has never been weaker as a currency. Shards are required for manufacturing of Shardware and weapons of war, with almost 80% being in circulation within the Corporate Nations and the remaining 20% divided between the Twelve Free Cities and the Nomads of the unclaimed territory.
Lower values of Shardyne have been linked to higher crime-rates, case-in-point, the Free City of New California where Shard have been used at an exorbitant rate to redevelop their architecture following the Yellowstone Earthquake. At a value of 1 Iron Shard for 50 Shardyne, demand is incredibly high for the Swarm while supply remains low, resulting in one of the highest rates of criminal activity in the world.
10:22 PM
June 4th
Ripley
I washed off the blood on my face with water I knew was probably dirtier than it, I didn’t care. Webs of sticky scarlet stretched with each rub, but damn it! There were chunks of brain in my hair, bones down my shirt, even bits of translucent goo I knew had to be an eye stuck on my cheek.
Blood and gore was nothing unusual for me with my job, I’d been desensitized long ago. There was a difference, however, between Operating to save a life — and taking one.
I had vomited twice already; a third one was coming on. I had waited until I was out of sight to revert the change on my Personality Matrix and the second I had, the ground splashed with the frittatas I’d eaten.
Twilight could claim the death of revolver-kid… but Bone-arm. I’d murdered him so easily and felt nothing. But now, memories rose up like a tide pulled by the moon — almost as though judging me.
Those gurgling breaths, desperate and cold, he must have felt so cold as warmth drained out of him. Then I ended it there and then with a single squeeze. The blood had colored my shirt a rusting-brown, it felt like a dried scab was gripping my entire chest.
My Neuroframe panged, alerts given off one after the other.
Psyche V.0.03 has updated to V.0.04
Effect: Minor conscious control over adrenaline secretion.
Psyche V.0.04 has updated to V.0.05
Effect: Automatic usage of Personality Matrix to decrease levels of fear and empathy during high stress.
Psyche V.0.05 has updated V.0.06
Effect: Recognition of combat scenario triggers higher modulation of sympathetic nervous response to retain focus.
Okay, if it could do all that then… c’mon Psyche, make me feel alright! Make me feel like sunshine and rainbows are hugging me! Not that I’d ever seen one outside of a damn documentary. Unfortunately, no alert came to me. I supposed it must only alter as an adaptation to my current situation, and just a slight alterations to better fit that specific circumstance. I was an ‘Adapter’ after all.
I realized that… I had never even considered how I was adapting. Things weren’t going to change just because I wanted them to, they only changed in response to change.
Slowly, it dawned on me. I wasn’t going to be that same Ripley who winced everytime Hoaqin mentioned a kill. Nor would I be the same Ripley who lost his cool the moment things went wrong, panicking and overthinking and only ending up worse because of it. And the revelation, the knowing that I would change into a different person, that I would adapt.
It was a weapon, a gun… pointed both at me and whoever got in my way.
Maybe the metaphor wasn’t entirely accurate, but it got my point across. “Twilight.” I raised my voice quietly, trying to find anything that wasn’t the sound of running water stained red. “Er… thank you. You saved my life.”
“I know. You owe me five thousand for that.”
“Huh?-“ Wait, what?! “I uh- never agreed to that.”
“Should have read the terms and agreement of The Twilight Protocol.”
“You didn’t provide one.” I countered.
“Should have asked for one. Okay… fine, and only because you surprised me with how cool you handled everything — and because you’re sorta cute. Did you mean to miss that gunshot by the way, I swear his life flashed before his eyes! Kinda badass, ngl.”
“Absolutely.” I lied through my teeth, even though I knew she could tell.
At least she played nice.
“You might make me purr.” She whispered, and a flash of code in my vision built into a form. Her arms wrapped around my body and that warped and somehow beautiful head formed inches away from mine. She looked at me, a sultry smile on her face — my brain switching into a mode that replaced all forms of coherent thought with something primal — before she broke into snickers. “You know what, seeing the look on your face right now is payment enough! You always get this flustered around girls? It’s adorable!”
“I-“ She pressed her Avatar closer to me. Why was my brain simulating every curve of softness warping against my body!? “I am not.”
I absolutely was.
Psyche V.0.06 has updated to V.0.07
Effect: Increased mental control during high levels of arousal.
Now that was bullshit, I worked at a fucking strip club. I might not have been their intended target, but I’d learned some self control to stop from the teasing.
I barraged out of the bathroom stalls, still caked in blood but at least now I didn’t attract the gaze of everyone I walked by. This was honestly a fairly normal look in the area. And hopefully, this gun would be enough of a warning that I didn’t need to activate my arm.
Shardware Link: 90%
That fight had boosted it’s Linkage by a lot, but in time it would get there on its own. And I’d grown curious myself, just how far I’d developed my Convergence in one day.
Convergence [6%]
I paused, at this rate I’d be done within three weeks. And that — that was far from normal. Two years for Irons, a year for Bronze and around six months for Silver give or take at 50% compatibility. I’d expected that my Gold would be… different, but not so drastically.
That fifty-million minimum had to be worth something.
And speaking of worth… “This is the shop?”
I’d expected some hidden corner of a bar, or a rooftop with a false wall. Instead, I stood in front of a family-owned sushi diner. Kashimo’s Sushi-and-dine — I doubted they even used fish, it was probably just protein paste smeared together to have it’s texture.
“Order a rainbow cod sashimi with yuzu wasabi and yellow-grass sake. To go. It’s a secret code.” Twilight said to me, and as I scanned the menu they had outside… These were all normal food items available.
At a steep cost. Like, not thousands of sheddy expensive, but definitely outshining several premium restaurants in the city. Standing at reception, a bald asian woman asked if I had a reservation to which I said…
“Say yes!” Twilight ushered in my ear.
“N- yeah!”
“Nyeah?” The old woman clicked her tongue, her voice sharp like the edge of a knife. “Is that yes or no?”
“No, it’s a yes! I mean, yeah, I have a reservation.” My tongue stumbled over every obstacle in the verbal race-track, I was still having the jitters from my fight.
She ‘humphed’, pulling out a flat screen with a handprint outline. “Your Sigil Imprint.”
Shit, was I caught? But then Twilight materialized in her avatar form, raising her hand over my own. I decided to trust her, pressing my hand against the cold glass as Twilight’s digital hand melted into my own, giving it a faint glow in my vision as though sparkled in stars of white, violet and black.
“Ah… you’re a guest of Ms. Twilight’s! Why you no say?” The woman jumped back off what I realized was a stool, and then moved beside the counter which was taller than her. She came up to my waist.
“Follow me, I have you seated in private lounge.” She used a walking stick I was convinced had to be a metallic femur she stole from some corpse, but her tiny legs shuffled like a speedy spider’s. One after the other, down a series of steps that left me out of breath.
“Geez.” Twilight stuck her tongue out at me. “You need to get some new lungs.”
“If they have some available, I’ll be sure to check it out.” I joked, only half-so, I didn’t know just what this place would have. Eventually, so casually in fact that I hadn’t even realized it, the woman walked through a wall at the bottom of the staircase.
I, uh, stepped in after as the wall appeared to be a hologram and lo and behold, I was in a club. How did I always end up in clubs? This was one with chilling blue lights strobing around, several dancefloors and ‘entertainers’ making their ways around with drinks, a large bar in the center with several smaller ones scattered about. All in the sewers.
“Just one of ten entry points into The Sunken Avenues. The Hellfire club was another, but that would have required a far more… active involvement for you.” Twilight remarked with digital stars in her eyes that seemed to push it over the limit for me as she vanished into flakes of code.
“Ah, yes.” The old woman said. “What is it you want again?”
I repeated the order, she took it in for a moment before directing me to a large tent. I entered the shaded area where I only found a single round table and two chairs, one of which had a well-dressed… robot seated in it.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
I could have mistaken the tuxedo-wearing droid for Diamante’s nicer older brother. Except Diamante was clearly better built, considering this robot was only the most basic framework of a skeleton, I thought it would be safe to say I was dealing with an external droid.
Then, like a puppet with its string being pulled, the robot surged to life in seconds with quite the emotive — yet skeletal — face as his voice took an artificial pleasantry. “Ah, Twilight told me to expect you, Mr. Ripley Donovick! It’s a pleasure to meet you, now before we begin… please pay Ms. Kashimo.”
I nodded, it would be easier if I just accepted this, and turned to the old woman who turned out to be the Kashimo of the dine-in. She held a pad with a payment amount displayed. 1,345 Shardyne.
That was more than my rent. To enter this place.
It better be worth it.
I paid, feeling a brick fall onto my heart. Ms. Kashimo melted into the shadows, quite literally. I was past questioning it, this was my weirdest day ever. I took a seat opposite the droid, unsure of what to think of it — or him.
“Mr. Donovick, a pleasure to meet you. You may call me Mr. Skeleton, and please rest assured, this proxy drone of mine has no combat functionalities. The guards scattered around this tent, however, do. Two Silver Tier IIIs among them. So please stay in control, I’ve seen your fight today, a remarkable spectacle to subdue those scrappers in under a minute.” Mr… Skeleton said with casual ease to the revelation of my bout.
But honestly, I had expected as much. The second I passed through that wall I was aware that I’d fallen into a pitfall of things way above my paygrade. So I figured that whoever this guy was, he probably knew more about me than I did.
“That was Twilight.” I said, and he smiled. H-how did a skeleton smile- you know what, not my business. Except that it was since it was an example of intricate Opping, it was the most minute of facial expressions that would take months to perfect on a drone like this — the quality of Shard Operating on this thing was impecible.
“Honesty is a virtue for me.” He replied kindly. “I see you’ve not let your newfound power get to your head. When I got to Gold, it was unlike anything I’d felt before, but for reasons different to yours. However, I’m getting ahead of myself, you’re the son of Dominic Donovick — who himself was the son of the late Cradle-born Lukas Donovick and Jules Donovick.”
I hadn’t even wrapped my mind around the fact that Mr. Skeleton was a gold like me when he revealed extensive knowledge about my family history. My paternal grandfather was dead, then again I knew very little about him. Him and… my dad hadn’t been on the best terms since I was born.
I didn’t exactly care — this was technically public information — not until he spoke again.
“And of course,” Mr. Skeleton continued, “your ailing mother, Isabel Gravas-Donovick, is the daughter of Alberich Gravas and the late Euriel Temez.”
I tried to keep a straight face, he didn’t say late for my maternal grandfather — Alberich Gravas abandoned his daughter, my mother, and was said to have died after she got married. That was what my mom said and I felt guilty for believing this stranger’s words so easily. “My grandfather’s alive? Mom said he passed before I was born.”
He gestured with wide arms. “More than alive, he’s up and well near the outskirts of Imperial Africa’s Capital. But that’s a story for another day. Believe me, it’s worth the Implant in your brain. Now I can talk more about your father’s involvement with Syntec leading to his eventual death, but I don’t need to recount a past you already know.”
Gold panged in my Neuroframe to keep the pain and grief of my father away… so it was subconciously interacting with the Personality Matrix, it let me focus on what was said about my grandfather being in Africa. That bugged me, but it wasn’t why I got dragged into all this mess. Instead, I decided to dig. “Where did you even get all that information?”
“Deep in the abyss… maybe one day you’ll be welcomed with their gaze too. You know what they say, when you stare into the abyss-“
“-It stares back at you.” I finished. Classic AbyssNet slogan, an equal threat and promise alike.
Mr. Skeleton slid a dial on his chair, a screen with unintelligible words appearing to me. “So Mr. Donovick, I’ve heard you’re in for a little boost to your prowess. A Shard Op’ as gifted as you must be absolutely thrilled, years down on your luck and now you’ve gained a power worthy of the uber-rich. A one-in-a-million gift. You can finally put your skills to use. And also, may I take a look at your hand?”
“Do it.” Twilight assured me, so I did. I held my hand out, and his own gleaming bones split apart into cameras held on wires… dozens of them. Then he poked into mine with a sharp jab of a USB.
I felt a jolt of light run up my arm, an understanding.
Shardware Link Complete
Custom-Made Shard Op’ Claw (Alberich Gravas Design)
Grade: Iron IV + [Gold-Serum Modifier] = Iron VIII
Integrity Rating: Iron IV + [Gold-Serum Modifier] = Iron VIII
Energy: Iron 0 + [Gold-Serum Modifier] = Iron IV
Capacity: Iron II + [Gold-Serum Modifier] = Iron VI
Recommended Output: 7%
Description: [No Description Data attached… generating based on Shardware Link…] A Shard Operating claw with no archived design. Manufactured by Alberich Gravas and further altered by Isabella Gravas-Donovick and Ripley Donovick.
Comparison to mainstream models show that this claw is far larger than typical design, mainly using concepts popular at the end of the 4th Swarm. Despite that, it’s capabilities supersede any available Claw at a similar Grade and the Non-Corporate affiliation means that it is not locked out of combat functionalities. Due to exposure to MAL-Serum from a Gold MAL-Seed, several parameters have been greatly altered.
Feature Links:
* Procedure Repetition [Database]
* Warp Strands [Energized]
* Breakdown [Technician]
MAL-Serum? What was that? Unfortunately, Skeleton raised an answer for a different question I hadn’t thought off.
“A Pseudo-Silver, Alberich really is a genius. No wonder it nearly killed your mother.” Mr. Skeleton said cheerfully.
“What?” I paused. “The hell is a Pseudo-Silver? Why would it kill my mother?!”
Mr. Skeleton was too focused on my claw, his hand-eyes glancing at it from every possible angle like it was worth millions. “A piece of Shardware with three Feature Links like a Silver-Grade would, but without the Grade itself. In your case an Iron-Graded arm had been linked to take some abilities from the Technician, Database, and Energized Features. You’re lucky you have a Gold, otherwise everytime you would use this, your Compatibility to your Implant would drop.”
I froze. So that was why my mother had come so close to death? My grandfather had pushed the limits of the claw so far that it was a poison? I gritted my teeth, I didn’t understand what Mr. Skeleton’s play was here but I didn’t like it. There was a lot about my family I didn’t understand, but this was too much all at once — I’d been half serious about thinking that he knew more about me than I did… now I saw that was a mistake.
“Thank you for linking my arm, however you did that. But I’m here for-“
“A weapon, a Datashield and a new leg. I can do you one better; show me that revolver you recieved.” Mr Skeleton extended his hand, I begrudgingly handed off the revolver, a scraped together mixmatch of various weapon pieces the kid had probably found.
“Kid had a good eye, but you have better. Tell me, what would happen to this gun a month down the road with you possesing it?” Mr. Skeleton twirled the gun around its trigger, sending a wave of unfelt anxiety through me.
“Uses a Shandian repulsion system with Magna gunpowder-rounds, spiral grooves in the gun would be overheated which would lead to cracking, eventually blowing up. Needs some lighter rounds, something more fluid like SynTec’s Magna Deep-Impact rounds, but that would be a lot better with their Electro-Magnetism stabilizer installed in the barrel.”
Mr. Skeleton raised his hands, elongated fingers tapping against each other. “Smart. But not what I was looking for, the simple truth is, you would never even use it. Why? Because your arm is a better weapon than this ever will be, those Breakdown and Warp Strand Feature Links? You could unravel your enemies apart with a touch when you’re stronger. The gun in your hands is junk, but its internal parts are not — ponder upon it.”
My eyes widened. “The compression system doesn’t use a spring-system like old world guns, instead pulls back with a Warp-Kinetic Feedback system that’s releases force depending on the grade of Energy provided. With Gold, I could do a lot assuming I fortify it’s internal mechanisms within my Claw to… launch my hand towards them? But then I’d have no way of pulling it back to me? Unless I figure out a way to remotely control it…”
“You’re on the right track, but you’re still missing out on a crucial piece of the puzzle. Let me show you, Ripley.” Mr Skeleton waved his hand. In the back of the room, a piece of the floor lifted to unveil a large cabinet of hundreds of different Shardware. A little two-wheeled droid pulled itself out of the construct, arriving over with a tray containing five pieces of curved metal.
Claw-tips of a pure black coating — each the size of fingers. And they were incredible. Despite their small size, there were so many interlocking parts and functionalities at just a glance. A single one could do an entire claw’s job.
“Three-decade old tech pilfered off the coast of New Port City. Syntec attempted to integrate Holo-Wires with their Shard Op’ Claws; most designs failed, including this one. See, physical light only stays for a few seconds at Bronze-Grade, maybe half a minute at Silver.” Mr Skeleton delicately placed each on the table in order of finger orientation to my claw. A perfect, beautiful mirror of my own, except perfect in every way mine were not.
“You’d need two sets to stabilize the wires,” I confirmed at a glance, “but you only have one?”
“Other half’s back with SynTec. Status of the program is debatable currently, but it seems they’re more focused on Bioware to compete with Imperium.”
“How much for them?” I felt my throat go tight.
“Twenty-four-thousand. Raw materials are worth around nine-thousand, though its experimental value and one-of-a-kind nature means that it’s got a steep price. But I have trust in you kid that you’ll pay me back in a month.”
This didn’t seem right… Skeleton should know exactly what my earning power was right now. “I don’t know if I can get that much so quickly.”
Mr. Skeleton smiled, and it chilled me. “Not with money, with information. You’re going to make what Syntec couldn’t. I’d like the patents. To the perfected version of these tips.”
My breath refused to leave me, was he asking me to do what SynTec couldn’t? A Megacorporation which had millions in manpower and billions in funds — to invest into a failed project? I had no way to even manufacture more Holo-Wire, and to get the materials for it would cost tens of thousands not including a Warp Material Fabricator.
More on that? Patents? He would be stealing my work?
“No.” My voice was as firm as steel.
Mr. Skeleton refused to budge, and I worried he was going to kick me out. Instead, he tapped his finger over my claw. “Channel your Aether into your claw.”
Aether? First time I’d heard of someone calling Warp Energy that, outside of some cults. I did so anyway, noticing the faint moment a silver-light faded out from the Iron-laden internal circuitry.
“It’s nothing to do with your Shardware. Look at me.” I changed my view, taking in the golden candescence reflected across splotches of the robot’s chrome head. Wait, reflected?
He flicked a finger and a screen popped up of me walking through the streets, I recognized it as the moment I first charged my claw. Then I noticed several patches of my skin glowing Gold for a brief moment as though I was about to ignite. It was visible even on the security cameras where I was a small set of pixels.
No fucking wonder they all stared at me!
It could be mistaken as a mutation, but anyone with an Analyze function would know I had a BUG considering my arm.
“Okay, what the fuck! Explain that.” I pointed, and he flicked to another screen involving me, except this time it was Shaun’s office and I had the Gold MAL-Seed grappling my claw when it first awoke.
Diana shot it, splattering a warm and bright goo over my body while saving my life. I recalled the burn, hot and sweltering. Another screen flicked up, showcasing a gestating MAL-seed and the extraction of the liquid they were born in. It was bright and looked radioactive, glowing before it was sprayed like a mist onto Shardware.
“MAL-Serum, a Warp Material capable of enhancing anything you can think of, extracted from their egg sacs that you and your claw just so happened to get soaked in. Normally only used by the richest Adapters for anything from improving materials, to refining Mutagen. You’re lucky you weren’t bleeding, if it got into your bloodstream, you would be a corpse right now. But the pieces of skin and muscle that were soaked — from your left cheek down to your sixth rib were mutated with it. Some of the Serum had soaked in and made it very shiny.” He spoke as though this was an everyday occurrence.
All I heard was that I’d taken a bath in carcinogenic blood. “That- what does that do to me?!”
“Again, you’re lucky you bonded with an Implant from that same MAL, otherwise by now you’d have noticed a few cancerous outgrowths that would probably conduct electricity very well.” He brought up a reflective construct of me, noting down the patches of golden skin.
My cheek, collar bone and chest. All on my left side.
“Fortunately, you bonded to the Implant within an hour, so there were minimal side-effects — other than when you channel your Aether you become a lightbulb. Evidence that your skin has in fact been gene-edited, and I simply want to extract it. All 84 centimeters-square of it. It’s valuable information about that MAL, so payment will be handsome.”
I considered the idea, it wasn’t a bad deal. I was getting paid and getting a spotlight removed at the same time, the question was how much was my skin worth. “Sheddy per cm-square?
“Six-hundred.”
“Three thousand!” Twilight screamed in my head, a vicious and spite-driven scream.
“Er, Three thousand.”
Mr. Skeleton laughed, cackled and chortled. “You overestimate the value of glowing skin.”
“Three thousand.” Something in Twilight’s voice told me it was worth that much, and I bit my tongue. Mr. Skeleton would notice mine and Diana’s rapid growth either way. “It’s skin soaked in MAL-Serum of MALignant that bonded to two people with 99% compatibility.”
Mr. Skeleton stopped laughing, abruptly he tapped a datapad and frowned. When his voice peered out from the silver shell, it was tense. “Two-thousand-five-hundred… and I’ll throw in three Silver Shard-bits and a Hand-to-hand Combat Protocol for good will.”
“Deal!” Twilight delighted in victory.
“I’ll take it.” Hurrying after her. Then I calculated it, two-…
That was over 200,000 Shardyne?