Chapter 45: Let the bodies hit the floor

7:31 PM July 27th

Ripley

Seeing the pile of bodies in the truck, I acted on the first principle of this job. “This isn’t the job description, what do I get in return for helping?”

“A thousand per Iron Body, three thousand per Bronze.” Anderson didn’t glance back, but a smile was forming on my face as I rejected.

“Don’t take me for an idiot. You know damn well that each body has thousands worth of Shardware on them, and that’s without the Implants. How about this, a hundred per Iron Tier of the Shardware I remove and a thousand per Bronze Tier?”

He called up a trolley mentally, as tables and bags were dragged on by simple droids. “You get to train your Features. That’s already enough payment, don’t push it.”

“My deal stands open.”

“Six hundred per Bronze tier.” His sharp gaze glanced back.

“Perfect.” I cracked my metallic knuckles, ready for today’s dissections. “Where are these guys from?”

“Juniperos tried to double-cross Crimson Souls after one of their previous dealings went wrong, it didn’t end up well for the Juniperos. Fourteen BUG adapters on their side, three BUGs from the Crimson Souls.” He grabbed one of the corpses, its lifeless body carrying no weight for the tough man.

I was… surprised by how heavy the woman I tried to carry out was. The average woman weighed between 45-70 kg, but adding on Shardware meant latching heaps of metal to the body. “You get paid for this?”

“I get the Shardware, they get to enjoy discounts and customs. But occasionally, I pay for a body, or sometimes they pay me to take them off their hands.” He threw his guy onto an operating table. “If their Shardware is left intact, a complete removal. Use the scanners to find out if they have stable cybernetic organs, otherwise any damaged pieces can be scrapped.”

That fell in line with my expectations, freely running Gold into my arms and legs made me several times stronger and it was enough that I could heave the corpse onto the table without much issue. “Implants?”

“We’re splitting it half. The ones with only one previous owner go to Crimson Soul, two or more and we’re free to take them for Engramming Feature Links.” Harold Anderson’s hand morphed into a gigantic saw, sparks fraying as he tore into the crumpled arm with a surgical precision.

I got to work myself. First off, the eyes, I scraped my scalpel around the delicate Shardware and loosened it up, using a magnet suction cup to pluck one out. I stared at the other one, it was flesh. “What about all the organic stuff?”

“If they have viable organs, send them off by a droid. I know a few people who’ll pay for them.” Anderson already had a flesh-hand skinned open, his finger blades scraping off the subcutaneous tissue to expose gray inorganic musculature beneath.

I nodded, and it dawned that only now was I drawing on the Preservation Matrix. I was fine with removing the Shardware but harvesting their organs? It was hypocritical, I knew that, but how often did you stare death in the face?

It took an hour for my first body, she had a cybernetic heart I valued at roughly Four-thousand Sheds, but I would only be receiving six-hundred. For that individual piece. Altogether with the eye, arm components, knee joint, Neuroframe and vocal chords, it was two-thousand three-hundred Shardyne. Half a Bronze Shard, roughly. And that was before I removed the Implant.

I'd also come to another realization. Reverse Engineering worked just as well as helping me learn to tear about bodies as it did with steel. Every strip of flesh unveiled anatomical knowledge and chunks of bone cracked like ores of knowledge. I didn't have any free Warpcode for an update, but despite that... I was still advancing as each limb became easier to dissect than the previous one.

“By the way, how are we supposed to figure out the Implant’s ownership recor…” I was being an idiot, and the contempt look on his face confirmed as much. I could read it myself.

I gazed at the Neuroframe I’d removed, a small Iron-shaded beetle had its pincers around both the machinery and a piece of brainstem I hadn’t yet cleaned off. Pressing my fingers, I began to read the Implant details. A few seconds passed by, and I found the information digested at a record pace for a fresh Implant.

Grade: Iron

Development: Tier I (Foundation)

Feature: Database V.1.03

Previous Adapters: Simone Rickwell (3y2m)

“One Adapter in the record, a Database Feature.” I remarked, sorting the Implant aside. I stared at the body, feeling a surge of emotions run through me as I took in what I’d done to it. All of this death, and I was making a profit on it. “How often do shipments like this come in?”

“Once a month, but it can vary. I'd expect it to be more frequent the way things have become around here.” Anderson replied amidst the whirring sounds of bones breaking under a revolving saw.

I stood my ground, refitting my hands into a different shape. I’d done the limbs... now it was time to pry into that skull.

———

It took seven hours to dissect all the bodies, and I’d felt like a skeleton by the end of it all. Try as I might, there was no doubt that I was defiling these bodies to make value of their Shardyne. What would happen if I were to die? Would I end up on one of these tables as a Shard Op’ stripped my skin off to take apart my liver? I didn’t want that, but at the same time…

It was life. This was selfish and cruel, but these cybernetics were better used on another person. Maybe in some crude justification, I could say that these body parts would be used to give a better life to other people, but more likely than not I was just permuting a cycle.

A cycle of what? I didn't know... I'd never been much of a philosopher.

July 28th

Today, I took things slow. Razorpede’s arm was strewn up around my desk, and I’d had the Soulbrance Spine almost ready. There was no way for me to run human testing, but whatever simulations I could run showed that the theory was in place. Crafting fresh Shardware meant it would have awkward redundancies, and as a prototype it proved to be mentally strenuous. Even as I tore apart some other spines I'd bought while using Reverse Engineering, it didn't help me much when it came to pushing this spine for functionalities past the market need.

The Neurowire bundles I’d bought for the thing were expensive, but still on the cheaper side. That wouldn't do for my plans. If I could only get better parts then…

I sighed. The parts weren't the issue, I was still lagging behind in Shardware engineering. Still just fit to tinker with Iron stuff, until I could push past V.1.15 of my Technician Feature and gain a second Protocol, it was unlikely I'd be fit to handle the complexity of Bronze. That didn't mean the Iron I touched was worthless... it was still far above what was available commercially.

RipTech Soulbranch Spine

Description: A Spinal augmentation of segments C1 to T12, it completely replaces the spinal vertebrae while only partially replacing the motor functionalities of the Spinal Cord. Primarily, it improves limb coordination and forms additional pathways for the usage of additional limbs.

Grade: Iron III

Integrity: Iron III

Energy: Iron III

Capacity: Iron VI

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

A much higher capacity compared to all the other stats, I wasn’t sure if it was just a perk of controlling an extra limb or if I had messed up somewhere along the line. Sighing, I rested my feet on my desk as I scrolled through Little Requiem’s various shops.

From yesterday’s dissection-payments and the rewards of the various gigs I’d gone through, I was sitting at a comfortable 70,000 Shardyne. I grimaced though, my expenses and revenue were just about equal if not dipping into the red. If I wanted to improve my own Implant, then I had to buy out some more Iron BUGs and feed on their Warpcode. The only upside was that I could consume cheaper BUGs with multiple previous owners and only benefit from that since I had a complete consumption of the code.

Spending around 40,000 on new parts and BUGs, I’d only received them around the time the gym’s Shardware services closed up. An inconspicuous man pretending to deliver food showed up at the reception. It was becoming pretty common that I stayed overnight here, either on overtime or for my personal projects.

I took stock of the three normal Features within me. Psyche, Energized and Technician. With Data Mimicry, I had access to Overclock, Analyze, Jailbreak and Database. Now, the remaining five lay in front of me as five spherical beads, my smile couldn’t be contained in my mortal vessel. Accommodation, Dataweaving, Integration, Network and Sustain.

All twelve Basic Features were now at my disposal -- the only Adapter in the world to do so. Scooping them all up, I organized them into the new slots I’d built across both arms based on Diamante’s design. Testing them out, I could switch between each Feature in a span of twenty seconds. One moment I could be faster using Overclock, the next I could wirelessly attack their Shardware with Network before suddenly wiring myself to a machine gun with Integration.

It would take some getting used to, and the upcoming facility raid would have me undergoing personal training from every member of Missy’s group. Soon, there would be no going back.

I would be a public menace, a mercenary known to the police and the world.

[Yo, you coming over today? Daylight’s recovered.]

Mirage’s message sent me out of my chair, Daylight had been recuperating ever since she used her Warpcode to force a Data Surge out of Yuzhou’s servers. I gulped my worries down my throat, I didn’t know if digital Avatars liked gifts but… I had managed something out of the brief hour I was practicing with Dataweaving. A virtual ladybug hairpin.

———

The door swung open, Mirage standing there in loose pyjamas and bed-hair loosely fell over her face. She had a toothbrush in her mouth too.

“Did you just wake up?” I laughed, making my way into the room and already noticing the mess she left. “When did you sleep?”

“At…” She hesitated, her voice getting quieter. “Eleven in the night?”

“Girl, you got problems.” I organized her couch pillows and piled up her clothes neatly to one side so there was enough space for at least two people… if barely. “Is… Daylight-?”

“She’s fine… but be warned, she’ll be a bit different.” Mirage sat next to me, and I felt the conscious expansion of her Neuroframe’s Network Feature pulse out in an expanding sphere. It was easy to feel her Silver Grade when she didn’t bother veiling it during these transmissions.

Still, it was a little scary knowing she could wirelessly get into your Neuroframe. Slowly, light pooled up as a swirling mass of ribbons, shaping into a humanoid figure radiating everything sweet and hopeful.

Then she appeared, an eternal smile on her face. Daylight’s clothes were slightly different than before, appearing more frilly like she was meant to resemble a doll. Her voice chirped out as her bright blue eyes descended like wish-making stars. “Hello! I’m Daylight! What’s your name?!”

I chuckled… before my heart sunk into my guts. “What do you mean Daylight? It’s me, Ripley?”

“Ah Ripley!” Her wide smile sent hope fluttering through me. “My old records show that we were best friends!”

“What do you mean… old records?” I scratched my cheek, an unease swallowing me.

She danced around the room, taking in all the sights of me and the surroundings with a bright-eyed enthusiasm. “I’m Daylight version nine! The old Daylight went a little… kablooey! So I’m made up from her old parts, I have some memories but now we can make new ones again!”

“Ah, right.” My face pulled wide, unsure of what to say. “I um… have something for you.”

I pulled on the virtual hairpin I’d made, making the digital accessory appear in our lenses, it was awkward seeing how angular and primitive it was compared to the lifelike appearance of Daylight’s own Avatar. “You um… wanted me to take a picture of a ladybug once. I never did but… I thought you would like this.”

“I… love this!” She swooped it into her hands, tenderly absorbing all corners of my slip-shod work with her gaze. “You’re so sweet! No wonder Elsa-“

Then she vanished, and my mind thought back to that moment in which she’d… the old her had sacrificed herself. “Daylight?”

“Sorry.” Mirage gasped. “Still ironing out her kinks, she’s a newborn, relatively her coding is all crude and inefficient. Still too digitally heavy in a sense. Sending her beyond myself for the next week is going to prove difficult, they need time to train once they redevelop. And Ripley… what you did was sweet and all, it’s just that the smallest things could severely affect their development at this stage. Normally, I’d isolate them for around a month before having them talk to others but… I’m just going to… hope that the hairpin helps her.”

I nodded, still feeling uncomfortable at the prospect that Daylight was… or the one I knew, was dead. “She uh… how often does this happen?”

“Midnight’s the most volatile… she’s also the quickest to redevelop. Sometimes it only takes a few hours, she’s on her… eighty-fourth version? Daylight’s on her ninth and Twilight’s on her third.” Mirage slumped into the couch.

“I see…” I slumped right next to her. “What… what movie do you have you picked out for us today?”

“Hunchback of Notre Dame.” She chuckled. “You’ll like the songs in there.”

A digital screen popped up in front of us, and I heard the beeping of her microwave and various automated kitchen tools start heating up popcorn. I swept a blanket over us, and got close… but not too close to her. The faint smell of lavender and orchids suffused my senses with a calming relaxation as the movie started.

———

Incoming call from: Diana

Huh? The movie was only halfway through when I jerked up, seeing the virtual message peering at me. I connected into the call, and the last thing I expected was to hear Diana hyperventilating into the audio call.

“Ripley. I- I need help.” She choked on her own words, almost ashamed to say them.

Mirage sat up next to me, using her hands to motion a question at me. I answered with a slight whispered-mouthing of ‘Diana’, her eyes instantly when violet as I felt a bridge form between her and Twilight who resided in my skull.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, hoping Diana wouldn't figure out Mirage was hearing all of this.

She sounded like she was dazed, still unsure of her speech. “My- my friend, she’s been taken to Little Requiem. She’s… kidnapped. You, you’re in contact with Missy right?! Is there any way you can help me track her down? You know someone? You- you have to know someone! I- I don’t know, she’s just been-“

Mirage spoke up on my behalf, not caring to hide her intrusion of the call. “Are you talking about Yvette?”

Diana stayed silent for a second. “Yeah, her.”

“Give me a moment.” Mirage said, her eyes flickering as her mind sunk deep into digital avenues.

“Just take a deep breath, Diana.” I said, unsure if there was anything else for me to say.

“I just- fuck! I might have fucked up!” She screamed.

Mirage tapped me, her eyes grave. “She’s been taken into a Metal Heavens safehouse in Little Requiem, I’m sending you the address." With a motion of her fingers, she gave a definitive click into the air as the message was sent through me and into Diana's Sigil.

“Thank you, thank you.” Diana’s voice was drenched in desperation, then the call clicked off.

My nerves bit up at me, and I found myself standing up with my bones itching to leave. “Send the address to me, I’m going.”

“What?” Mirage’s eyebrows raised up at me, I was doing something crazy, I knew it. “That’s suicide.”

“She- I need her alive to find Dogwhistler.” It was the easiest statement to make sense of the whirlwind of thoughts running through me.

Mirage chewed her lip, then sighed. “Then… fuck it, I’m going with you. She could be pulling a trap on you.”

We rushed down, and my new motorcycle was roaring up in seconds. While I technically didn’t have a license, I had experience riding Hoaqin’s and was a better driver than Topaz if the scratches were evidence.

Mirage held on tight as we sped through the city. My own heart drummed up a beat, what was happening?

When we reached the Metal Heavens safehouse, my nose crinkled up at a familiar smell. Blood, but something was wrong. It was all… burnt. We walked through, finding Diana alone among nearly twenty burnt and bruised bodies. One of the ones lying by her feet wore a police uniform, a woman with a green mask that had been torn apart to reveal a metallic hose dripping with blood.

There was another police woman in her arms, her body was burned terribly. Diana held her close, tears in her eyes as she spotted us -- her voice was broken. “Save them."