Chapter 5

Rehousing

Prompts: Answers, Betrayal, Concern, Reunion

The tram station was not far from the building, just a quick flight of steps up and onto the hanging monorail. To the side a few folks were waiting to use the elevator, really just a platform with some guardrails. Of the five people waiting one had a hefty cart and another was in a wheelchair, the other three either had less visible conditions or just didn’t want to use the stairs. She swiped her hand over the reader to allow it to read her digital keyring.

[[Keys to the kingdom has absorbed data from Nu’Grav transportation incorporated. Host may pose as a VIP for special benefits or free rides.]]

“Let’s not abuse that.” R4 replied as the tram entered the station. The tram itself was once sleek and silver, an areodynamic looking box with stylish fins and clear windows. Several of those fins were now missing, and various tags had been sprayed on some of the walls. One, R4 noticed, was actually made from living moss in a peace sign. As the doors opened R4 stepped on to find the tram was somewhat sparse, though checking her phone she found it was 6:50 so just before the end of the second wave work day. She noticed someone reaching for her phone and slapped his hand away. “No.” The punk, and judging by the red mohawk and black jacket he was definitely trying to be a punk, took a step back and retreated to the back of the tram. As she rode her stats window flashed into her view.

FRAME (50 exp)

Force

4

Athletics: 1

Brute: 2

Endurance: 1

Resolve: ?

Swimming: 2

Reflexes

3

Acrobatics: 1

Firearms: ?

Melee: 2

Parry: 0

Stealth: 1

Aptitude

4

Driving: ?

Medicine: ?

Pickpocket: ?

Security: 1

Technology: 2

Mind

4

Bureaucracy: 0

Computers: ?

Research: ?

Perception: 1

Science: 1

Survival: 1

Empathy

2

Animals: 0

Comprehension: ?

Intimidation: ?

Persuasion: 1

Subterfuge: 1

E4 eyed the screen, then put her phone to her ear. “Hey, I hear y’all. Just got your text, but a little clarification would be lovely.” No clarification was forthcoming.

Coming to her stop R4 hopped off, cuffing the thief who tried to pick her pocket on the way out. Hopping off she descended the long concrete stairs lined with neon and advertisements. She saw several for Swif-cola and a few for Kricket Bars. There were even a few ads for firearms, most showing the heroic buyer gunning down a cyberpsycho whose face bore one glowing red eye and one freshly ruined sensor. Using a bit of cybernetic trickery as soon as R4 looked at the add she saw her own face in the face of the hero, or heroine in this case. It was a bit odd, seeing her own face plastered over a body that wasn’t hers, made more obvious as all she wore was a white undershirt and underwear. Apparently she had been attacked while asleep from the bed in the background. A quick scan of a QR code dropped the address for one such shop into her phone. She noticed a button for delivery, yet it cost an additional 30 credits.

Walking the busy streets, busy with both foot traffic and cars, she found her apartment complex. It was a sprawling building, four full blocks in size and a kilometer high. Within were everything from block sized apartments to tiny coffin sleeping pods. On the outside it had a slick red plastic look, but the facade faded almost immediately to the concrete and rebar within. She had to duck her head through the doorway, and even the hallways were just under 2 meters in height, giving it a claustrophobic feel. Twice R4 noticed a rat just before it scampered out from a pile of rubbish someone had left behind. Finally R4 approached the door to her own pod.

“ACCESS DENIED.”

“Come again?” R4’s tool arm opened up, ready to slice into the lock and set it straight. “What do you mean Access denied? I live here.” She took a breath, put away her tools, and quickly marched her way to the first floor to pound on the manager’s door. The door was solid steel, T1 if she didn’t miss the mark, and had six key holes on the side each marked with a complex looking circuit design.

“Go away, we’re closed.”

R4 eyed the door, and began knocking again. There was no response.

“Yeah, he ain’t coming out.” A muscular man in boxers and a leather jacket said as he stepped out from the room across the hall. R4 immediately eyed the large metal arms and the taser that seemed built into the left one. Some kind of metal badge seemed to be pinned to his jacket. From the look in his eyes he was either on medication, on some manner of drugs, or still half asleep.

“Well my door’s rejecting my key, and he needs to fix it.” R4 replied.

“Look, can you just leave? I’ve got to be up in six hours and you’re not helping.

“No I can’t jus’ leave. I spent 2,000 credits for an apartment, an’ now it’s sayin’ I don’t live there. Either I get my credits back, or I get my room.” R4 retorted. A thought occurred. Her tool arm opened, and thick bone wove itself around her hand. A sly grin crossed her face.

“You’re not about to shoot the place up are you, because if you are I’m calling the police.”

“Tell me, how would you get his attention?” R4 asked. “Those metal hands of yours must make quite the racket.”

“Oh yeah, he opens up quick for me, because he knows I’ll knock down the door. A little girl like you,” R4 turned, and tapped gently on the door, listening closely to the echo. “What are you doing?”

“Well this is a T1 door, no way I can break through it.” R4 grinned. “But do you think he sprung for T1 hinges?”

“Listen, girl, the land lord gives me a break in rent for keeping riff raff out.” R4 was already knocking at different parts of the door, getting louder as she went. “You break down that door, I’m going to have to,” With a final knock R4 drew back her fist, only for the man to grab her. “Now you listen,”

With a telekinetic shove R4 had him pressed against the far wall before lifting him up by the neck without touching him. The claws tore through his throat with ease. He didn’t even have time to flinch before his lifeblood drained from him. Horrific hunger surged through R4 as she tore into his flesh. Blunt teeth sharpened into long fangs as the legs of the ravager pushed through her gums to slice flesh and carry it down her throat. She swallowed greedily, the telekinetic blades projected by the legs making it easy to swallow. Within her stomach more blades cut on a molecular level. Proteins and fats were barely absorbed before they were reprocessed.

Her muscles swelled and compacted, becoming strong and lean. Long claws pushed permanently through her hands as long horns pushed their way through her skull. A notice that she had reached tier 1 echoed through her mind as she finished off the meat before her. The door was next, her claws shredding the cheap tier one metal with ease. The landlord didn’t even have time to send his e-mail to the dimdwell that he had found their next target. His schemes died, but his thoughts did not. Even as R4 devoured his mind his thoughts were absorbed.

Finding herself in his e-mail R4 read quickly and thoroughly, her stomach already growling as she looked for her next meal. Her landlord was feeding the dimdwell tenants he found troublesome. Her mind awash in his thoughts she easily sent a mock e-mail to them telling of a group of party goers who would be drunk and high, easy prey. Her stomach growling she cleared out his pantry, his own mind helping her to find the good stuff. A response informed her the dimdwell would be there in an hour. Her growling stomach would not wait that long.

It was time to go hunting. Through the halls she stalked, where she heard a sound she sliced through the lock and ravaged those she found before re-purposing their flesh within the endless pit that was her stomach. As she continued the locks got harder regardless of their actual rank. With all those proteins getting refolded, a few may have misfolded. Just a few, just enough. It was no matter, it did not take much brain power to hunt and at this stage it was easier to simply cut through the doors regardless of their material.

The dimdwell arrived expecting easy prey.

They found a thirty two horned ravager, easily tier 3. With a final roar she engaged flare protocol, and the feast began.

R4 shook her head, her vision clearing even as she strangled the man against the ceiling. His face was turning red and his struggling ceased. She quickly released and the man let out a gasp.

“What. The. F,”

“Now it’s not polite to swear.” R4 replied. The man raised his taser arm, just in time for R4 to stab through his arm with her claws. The taser sparked, but it merely disrupted the telekinetic field and causing it to fan out in a steel wool pattern before dumping its electrical load back into the man. A quick hop carried R4 far enough away that the man’s spasms didn’t hit her, though one errant twitch sent him into the landlord’s door before the following put enough force into the door to leave a sizable dent.

As R4 was pondering her next move the door opened, and the man slumped inside.

“What the F*** Harold?”

“Good evening Mr. Lindhold.” R4 spoke up, a sweet smile on her face that belayed the violence that had just occurred. “A word if you will.”

Ronald Lindold was a heavyset man slightly shorter than R4 and about 50 kilograms heavier all of it on his stomach. His gray hair formed a ragged halo around his bald head as well as a short goatee and mustache that sat beneath a long and pointed nose. Cheap cyber eyes that resembled black doll eyes stared back. The man clearly was just waking up, given he was dressed in a white undershirt, blue striped boxers, and matching bunny slippers. He eyed his bouncer, then the young lady staring at him.

“I don’t have any open rooms.” He tried to shut the door, only to find his bouncer’s body holding it open. “Hey Harold, get up.” He promptly poured the coffee in his mug on the man’s head, eliciting a groan. “Now listen lady, I don’t know what’s going on with you,”

“What’s going on is you changed my lock.” R4 replied, eyes locking on the man. Immediately she was aware of his accelerated heart rate, her right eye picking up on the pulse in his neck. “Now, why would you do something like that? I paid for the month, and still had a month’s deposit. Why,” She took a step forwards, long legs piercing between the gaps in her teeth like needle fangs. “It’s almost like you didn’t expect me to come back. I’m sure you had nothing to do with the dimdwell that tried to grab me.”

“I didn’t know anything about that.” He lied. She knew he lied.

“Those cheap eyes don’t hide the fear in your voice.” R4 spoke. “You sold me out.”

“Category 1 threat!” Immediately twin turrets dropped out of the ceiling. Both aimed at R4, and began to let out a mechanical whine as their turbines spun up. “Better run rentoid. Those turrets,”

Before he could finish speaking R4 was moving. From the whine of the turbines and the twin barrels she immediately identified the turrets as a variety of the Lok-1 Th0r brand turrets, which fired a charged beam to stun or knock out the target. From the loosely hanging wires surrounding them she identified that someone had rewired them, either to use a lower charge or to bypass the safeguards designed to stop them from horrifically reducing their target to ash rather than being a painful but non-lethal weapon. With a quick step her claws were out, and a single wave of the hand sliced through the wires as if they were spiderwebs. R4 felt the electricity disrupt the claws slightly, but they still did the job. A quick step carried her to the other turret which was already moving to track her. A second blow cut not only the wires, but nicked the base and sent the entire thing to the ground with a BANG!

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“What the, premium membership for high yield fire, what is this,” The man paused, realizing what had happened while he was distracted with the pop up. He stared for a moment before R4 had him by the neck and hanging in the air “I saw the broadcast, half the city did.” The man spoke quickly. “I saw you die, so I rented out the room to a nice couple who needed it.” He reached into his boxers for something, R4 guessed a gun. “I’m a respectable business man, just providing housing.”

“Is that so?” R4 replied, tossing him back into his room with a gesture. Inside her arm was feeling weary from choking out two men with telekinesis. There was a loud CRACK of something plastic smashing under his weight. “And what happened to my gear? I’m sure you didn’t trash it. Planning to sell it to another tech? And what of my deposit?”

“H-here!” He made a gesture and 4000 credits dropped into her account. “Just get your stuff and get out.” He dove for an inner door, rolling as he went before slamming the cheap wooden door behind him.

R4 drew her claws, ready to go after the man, before her phone buzzed, notifying her she had been given the keys to a nearby storage warehouse for 4 hours. “I’m betting that’s to get me to hurry up and leave.” She muttered. She eyed the door, cutting a large X into it before turning away. “Ya’ win this time ya’ leech.”

[[Intimidate synchronized to +1]]

R4 easily made it to the storage unit in time, opening it with her digital key and retrieving her belongings. The storage building was like the apartment complex in that it was mostly concrete and metal. The storage room her stuff had been placed in was filled with other bags and carry alls. R4 eyed them, and took a few pictures.

“How much does he make from all this?”

“Lindhold the Looter?” R4 turned to see an older woman getting something out of another storage unit. She wore a short green top and pants with a large section of her midsection exposed. She held up an old hard drive, then went back to looking through a large black bag from within the storage unit. R4 estimated her at 40-50 based on the spattering of gray hair on her head, though she had no other signs of her age.

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“That’s his unit. I’ve been renting the one across from him for 55 years, every month or so he chucks another bag or two in there. Part of me thinks he’s murdering his tenants, but the NGPD haven’t come to take him away. You’re the first I’ve seen reclaiming anything.”

“I got grabbed by the Dimdwell, apparently he saw it on the dark net and klepped my stuff. I guess he didn’t expect me to make it back.”

“Blind net.” She replied. “You survived the slaughterhouse?” Immediately R4 had her claws out, though given they were telekinetic the woman didn’t notice. She did, however, notice when R4’s stance changed. “Easy there Remote,” She let her hand go to her hip where R4 noticed a small handgun. “I’m no Dimdwell, but if you come at me I will shoot you.”

“You know about that horror?” R4 asked.

“You’re in Nu’Grav, everyone knows about the Dimdwell and how they make money. I’ve seen the recordings, everyone has. The Scream Sheets love shoving the images in our faces, demanding the NGPD do something but we all know they won’t. Too dangerous they say, not an effective use of manpower.” She shrugged. “You stay out of the shadows, stay out of the bad parts of town, and hope. If you’re smart you get the biggest gun you can use and carry it like it’s your kid, one you care about.”

R4 eyed the woman. “Much obliged.” She replied with a nod before shutting the locker.

Her next step was storing her stuff until she could get a new apartment. It took all of five minutes to move to another smaller storage locker and rent it for a month.

[[Notice: Keys to the kingdom has analyzed the digital locks to this unit. Skeleton key has been created. All doors are open to host R4.]]

R4 considered it, before placing her things within the locker. “Mark my locker as high security. None may open it without my say so.” As she spoke the words her instructions were carried out by her own hands. In her mind’s eye she could see how to do what she wanted, as if old memories and common sense coalesced into a path as easy to walk as a sidewalk. “Hmmm, is that why AI are feared? Being able to impart skills into their subordinates within minutes that would otherwise take months, without the subordinate even knowing?” R4 paused, thinking. “Scary thought, now if I were an AI and my subordinates started realizing I could do that I’d either get rid of that one, or distract them with,” At that moment R4’s stomach began to growl, and her phone began to buzz with a promo ad for a hotdog stand which was located just a single road over. “I get it, I get it. Ceasing pointless worrying, initiating food seeking protocol.” She trilled. As she walked out she tried not to think too hard about the short burst of dopamine that trickled across her brain.

Finding the vendor R4 purchased a single hot dog, which to her surprise came prepackaged in plastic. She found a spot next to a bench to eat, eyeing the spikes on the bench that would descend for the low price of 1 credit per hour. “Who even thinks of this stuff?” She muttered, mumbling. A thought occurred, and she extended her phone to the bench, spending a single credit before reaching for Keys to the Kingdom.

[[10 exp. You have access to all benches]]

E4 eyed the bench, and decided to stand anyhow. She took a bite of her hotdog, and was struck by the odd rubbery taste and the stale tasting bun. She examined the wrapper, “This expired, three hundred years into the future from yesterday? That,” She eyed the wrapper. “Locust Brand Kricket dog, made from a blend of Desert Locust and tank grown beef. Guaranteed fresh for 300 years.” She eyed the so called food again. “I get the feeling I’d get more nutrients from the wrapper.” An urge came over her to shove the whole thing in her mouth. “Seriously?” Her phone buzzed.

Gentek synth-stomach (T0): Don’t just touch grass, Eat it. Allows for the consumption and absorption of nutrients normally beyond human ability. Does not protect against poison

Scavenger stomach (T1): allows the host to digest just about anything they can swallow of their tier or lower. Metals and plastics can be digested and excreted in usable forms if available subversions are present (osteoblast/clast microfactorum viable). Ingested poisons may be identified with an Perception+Medicine check. On a success host will realize they have been poisoned and be able to counteract the poison with an Endurance+Medicine+tier check. On a failure host will use Endurance+tier rather than just Endurance to resist the effects. On a critical success the host may create a counter agent that may be shared

[[Cost: 1 Gentek synth stomach, 20,000 calories, 1 bottle of multivitamins, 200 grams of iron, 200 grams of carbon (ingesting an appropriate amount of steel will work as well), 260 grams of protein.]]

“Yeah, that’s expensive tech, think I’ll be passin’ on that thank ya’ very much.” R4 trilled, before an ad for just such a part appeared on her phone. “Still 8000 credits.” E4 replied, earning an odd look from a man in a black suit she walking past. E4 raised her phone to her ear. “I’m telling you, stop sending me things out of my price range.” She quickly switched to Common, only then realizing she had been speaking Resonant rather than Common. “Look, I don’t have the money to be buying expensive cyberware if I need a place to live.” Flipping to a web browser on her phone, R4 pulled up a file she had saved before coming to the city.

The first directive was “If you’re on your phone put your back to a wall.” R4 quickly found a building, she wasn’t sure what it was save its walls were made from some sort of plastic stone, and continued. She quickly found the entry she was looking for. “If you lose your shelter, attempt to secure storage at a 24 hour gym. You will have access to water, a storage locker, restrooms, and a shower. As you are a member these things are often included in the price.” She read a bit further on the directives, only then noticing a black list of apartments not to rent. Sure enough, the one she had been at was highlighted in Red. “How did I miss,” She checked the file, and saw it had been updated two hours previously. “Ah, that explains it.”

Checking over a few locations she saw a bunch of gyms that were very highly rated, until she noticed the reviews all had eerily similar descriptions. Something about them just seemed off to her.

Come and try this unique and refreshing experience. No peer pressure and no long term commitment. Join for a one time fee and just watch as the fat melts right off your bones. Train with the latest in cybernetic traininging programs and get into the best shape of your life. Wedding, funeral, fight behind a Waddle house, we have a training plan for every occasion and a payment plan for every budget.

That same exact review, on every one of the gyms. R4 wasn’t even sure what a Waddle House was. Finally she found one nearby that had more negative reviews, but those reviews also set of the same alarm bells that the positive reviews in the other gyms did.

The place was not too far from where she had been living. The structure was large and black, appearing to be made from metal though E4 couldn’t tell if that was a facade or reality. The structure’s shape was odd. It took R4 a moment to figure out what it was, but when she saw the name of the gym it forced a laugh out of her.

The Pain Train. The buiding was called The Pain Train and it was shaped like a giant black streamliner train with streaks of RGB lights going along it. R4 quickly took a picture, vowing to send it back to her folks once she got an internet connection. She checked her phone, ensuring the data exchange was set to a minimum before looking back at her destination. “Even if I don’t go with this place, I have to see what’s inside.”

R4 looked both ways before crossing the road, and still almost got hit. Only a quick lunge forward threw her out of the way of a car with so many scratches she couldn’t tell what color it should have been. A mohawked individual with more metal than flesh flashed her the double bird, his many fingered hands allowing him to give two middle fingers.

R4 rolled her eyes and stepped inside. Immediately the cool air washed over her, the smell of sanitized air touched with hints of wood smoke followed after. All around her. R4 could see men and women, though mostly men men, doing lifts, squats and other exercises. She even saw five people running on the same extended treadmill, each one in a line and wearing a similar uniform. It took R4 all of 5 seconds to find a desk at which she could sign up. She quickly purchased a membership, costing a surprisingly low 200 Credits per month, before adding a locker for an additional 100 credits.

“Hey, new girl.” A voice called. R4 turned to see a rather muscular man approaching her. The man was rippling with muscles, though she could see lights glowing from beneath. “Need a spotter?”

“Hon, don’t start this again.” R4 heard another, slightly less muscular, man whisper under his breath. R4 thought they might be brothers, both having similar facial features, similar straight hair though Hon had bleached his, and the exact same almond shaped brown eyes. The younger, maybe, brother seemed to have less augmentation. “Please.”

“So what do you say?” Hon asked, flexing in such a way it looked as if the undershirt he was wearing would rip, and R4 noted it had been patched a few times.

“If you keep flexing like that you’re going to rip your shirt again.” R4 replied. The man grinned at the compliment. “If ya’ can’t take good care a’ yer’ shirt, can ya’ be a good spotter?”

R4 could see the moment her words hit their mark. The man opened his mouth to speak, then thought about it. As he considered she stepped into the woman’s changing room. Purchasing a locker was simple and easy, and R4 quickly took a shower to get the stink of the under city off of her. The hot water of the shower felt like Heaven to her weary muscles, reminding her of how tired she was. She felt her eyes droop, only for a small shot of adrenaline to open them back up. Still, she could hear the ticking clock in the back of her mind, her heart marking every fleeting moment until she would HAVE to rest. Looking in the mirror which had for some reason been placed in the shower she saw how thin she looked. Bones seemed to jut out of her skin, making it look as if she hadn’t eaten in a week. The weariness began to slip in, further pushing her to rest. As she dressed she saw a poster.

“Capsules for rent. 200 credits per week.” She read through the ad. Two things stuck out to her. First, it was printed on paper rather than being a video screen. Second, the rooms appeared to be within the gym itself. “It would be cheaper than my old place, less space.” She read through it again, several red flags jumping out to her. Pulling up her old contract on her phone she checked, and found several more concerning red flags, including a clause about her body being sold to corpse breakers if she was found dead in her room. “I think I’ll take a bit more of a look around.” Even as she said it, she knew she wouldn’t have the energy. “It’s just for one week, just to lay my head.” With the press of a button the contract was signed. She immediately was aware that the capsule was right above her, the next floor up. “Ok, now just have to find work, and I’ll be set.”

Now clean, fed, and dressed R4 walked from the showers to see the same man waiting for her. “You finally think of a good response?”

“I think we got off on the wrong foot.” The man replied. “My name’s Hon. Professional Solo, body guard, and gun for hire.”

“R4, Tech.”

“Really? You signed with a contract yet?” R4 hesitated at how Hon’s eyes lit up, but she shook her head. “Great, Coach has been looking for a tech for weeks since the last one died.” R4 saw his eyes take a vacant look as he sent a text using some manner of internal phone.

“Wait, died?” R4’s claws were out, though due to their telekinetic nature it was not obvious. She tensed, ready to bolt. She felt adrenaline flow into her bloodstream and took a step towards the door.

“R4?” R4 recognized the voice as she turned to see a bull of a man in a tank top shirt and gym shorts, both in a dark blue with an emblem of a black train rumbling towards the viewer on the shirt and a trim of white train tracks on the shorts. The words “Fitness conductor” were emblazoned over his chest.

“C2?” R4 asked. “You made it out!”

“I guess I did,” He chuckled, the red dots in his eyes spinning around the central dot as they expanded. Now that they weren’t in a life or death struggle R4 noticed just how bulky the man was, though the scars and bruising had either healed or been covered up. He had to be at least 120 kg of pure muscle. Where his hair had been crudely cut it was now shaved down. “And you too. Did N2 make it out?”

“I don’t know, we got separated.” R4 replied. “I wound up in some hidden corner of the undercity, managed to salvage some gear, and took a job that ended with me getting on an elevator and back to the surface.”

“Seems you have the right instincts for this place.” C2 replied, clapping her on the shoulder. “I was worried with you being a remote and all, but please, out here call me Coach. Everyone else does. On that note, I don’t think I caught your name. There are no Dimdwell out here to overhear.”

R4 shrugged. “I’m sticking with R4 for now. My old name feels, weird. I think it has to do with this new cyberware.”

“Where did you get cyberware in the undercity?” Hon asked, earning a disdainful look from Coach. “What?”

“Cyberware is personal. If she wants to show it off that’s her choice.” Coach replied. “Still, I know a good ripper who can keep things on the down low.”

“No health insurance.” R4 replied, which elicited a nod from all parties involved.

“Yep, that’s something we all face.” Coach replied.

“Coach, you own this place, you have employees.” Hon replied.

“Yep, and I live on the second floor in a pod.” He replied. “This isn’t the Solarian Theocracy, we make our own place here.” He paused. “But beside that, I take it you were the tech Hon was talking about?”

“That’s me. I just dropped my tools off in a locker, but I’m ready to work.” R4 replied, through a yawn. “Honest.”

“Well I do have a few things that need fixing, and the local techs have been charging an arm and a leg lately. We’ll start with some gig work, and if that works out it will become a real job.”

“That, sounds like exactly what the guides to Nu’Grav warn against.” R4 replied. “But I’ll take it for now.” Coach made a few gestures with a hand, and a job appeared in R4’s phone, which she accepted.

R4 was quickly shown to a back room where damaged equipment was stored and got to work. Right away she noticed that most of the stuff was exceedingly complex. There was a Gravrun 4000 which could increase the force of gravity on the body of the runner, a Seatread 360 which was a mobile miniature pool used to practice swimming, and a dozen other complex and very expensive pieces of equipment.

The first issue R4 found was most of them had been built to resist tampering. Screws were one way, and the heads all stripped. She made a few gestures to get the proper tools out of her tool arm, but after spending half an hour trying to get open one of the more simple treadmills R4 realized she wasn’t making any progress.

“If only I could reach in there and…” R4 closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened them she stared at the screw and made a gesture. She could feel the ridges of the screw, and with a small twist she saw the screw turn just a bit. She immediately lost her grip and had to try again, yet in less than a minute she had the device open and she was in business.

The first issue was a control chip which, as R4 feared, required a wifi signal. She opened a different treadmill hoping to scrap something from it, but that chip had the same issue. After disassembling six of the things she finally managed to get one in working shape, but the rate limiting step was the control chips. Only one of the treadmills had a chip that didn’t need a wifi signal to work, and that was the one she managed to get working. After reassembling it she ran it for a few minutes, listening for any problems before turning it off.

[[Reward: 50 Aptitude exp / 20 aptitude exp and 10 general exp]]

She stepped out of the room to see Hon and his friend working on a bench press.

“Hey R4, done already?” He asked, his current demeanor far from what she expected.

“I wish, Y’all sure do love yer’ one way screws.”

“The bane of anyone who wants to fix something.” Hon’s friend replied. “I’m Jun, part time paramedic, part time fixer, full time minder for this lug.”

“I thought fixers were a thing of the past, given the apps and such.” R4 replied.

“Maybe if you have the money to post something on an app, but what if you want something done on the down low, or you need something you don’t want the AI to know about? That’s when you need a human fixer. First thing we learn is not to open our mouth.” He shot a glance at Hon. “The first thing we teach our customers is not to steal our commissions.”

“I said I’m sorry, and Coach paid you.” Hon replied.

“That’s because Coach is old school.” Jun replied. “Sorry, you were saying?”

“You know where I can get some parts on the cheap? All the screws on these things are stripped, and from what I’ve seen most of these chips probably need a wifi signal to a central server to function. If I could get some dumb chips that just trick the machine into thinking there’s a wifi signal and some good old fashioned screws I’d be right as rain.”

“I know a place, but they’re… tricky.” Jun paused. “It’s about 2000 now, and they close up at 1800.”

“They close at 6, they’re not a 24/7 joint?” R4 asked.

“The Sunflowers are… weird. They don’t participate in the life, the struggle, the grind.” Hon spoke up. “They’re lazy, clannish, and hate cybernetics. Say it eats your soul.”

“Well bless my stars, I think I want ta’ meet these folks.” R4 replied. “But that’s fer’ tomorrow, I’m bushed.”

A quick shower to wash off the dust and R4 plopped down in her capsule. She closed her eyes and saw a flash before she was out.

[[Technology synchronized to 2X

10 exp gained]]