Melissa stood up and started walking towards the door. Faith got up and followed her. They went a short distance and entered a large gym empty of people. What was interesting was a running machine that seem extremely overlarge compared to the running machine she had been tested on at medical.
Melissa saw her eyeing the machine and explained.
“When your enhancements are fully activated you will be running at extreme speeds rivaling the speed of ground vehicles. The running machine needs to big enough that you do not run off it or run so fast you burn out the motors. This machine was specifically designed to handle people running faster than even your enhancements would allow. Also, this bay has adjustable gravity so you can increase the weight you train under. It is the only way, besides turning off the enhancements, for SCS operators to get a true workout. Trying to lift enough weights to train with in normal gravity would not be recommended. Which is another function of the implant I forgot to mention. The implant can stimulate your biological muscles during sleep to give you a full workout. In effect you will never have to exercise again to maintain your muscle mass and physique.”
That was good news for Faith who got so caught up in repairs sometimes that she forgot to eat or sleep let alone stop to exercise.
“Now step onto the running machine and I will initiate your enhancements at five percent.”
Faith stepped onto the machine and Melissa started it. Faith slowly walked until she felt a jolt run throughout her body. She started running at a sprint and she could almost feel the new carbon fiber muscles taking over. Faith could usually maintain a fast sprint for upwards of fifteen minutes, now she blew past that and increased her top speed.
She run full out for over an hour before her real muscles and lungs started burning so much that she had to slow down to a walk. Breathing deeply, she tried to replenish her oxygen level.
Melissa handed her a face mask which Faith donned without question and felt pure oxygen hit her face. Drinking deeply of the pure concentrated air Faith felt the burning in her lungs reduce to a more manageable level.
“That is an excellent start!” Melissa encouraged.
Faith finally had the breath to respond. “Thanks. I can’t believe how long I ran for and faster than my top speed too.”
Melissa gave her a mischievous grin. “And that is only at five percent of your enhancement power.”
Faith was so shocked she stopped walking. Luckily the machine had sensors built in that stopped it automatically otherwise she would have been thrown form the machine.
“If that was five percent how do operators live normally? Living around unenhanced people must feel like things take forever.”
Melissa nodded in agreement. “Yes, you could walk faster than an unenhanced sprinting male. Operators dial their power level up and down to maintain a normal life. The downside is it is hard to go form fully enhanced to normal human levels. It feels like going form an agile space fighter to a lumbering cargo shuttle.”
Faith had flown both vessels in her flight training and knew exactly what Melissa was referring to.
“That sounds annoying and frustrating. Just the five percent I have been using makes me not want to go back to normal human levels.”
Melissa laughed. “You are not the only one. Very few operators go back to completely unenhanced. A word of warning through.” This time Melissa had a very serious look on her face. “If you are doing something physical with someone you would best turn off your enhancements.”
Faith was confused. “Physical with someone….” Melissa’s meaning registered and she blushed fiercely.
Melissa laughed. “Yes, that kind of physical, but it would still apply if you are sparring or playing zero ball.”
Faith liked zero ball, a large bay with objects floating free and your team had to use them to launch yourself at the other team while also maneuvering around them and the other players who were all trying to knock you off course and into penalty areas, the goal nets were located down.
It was a full contact sport that developed your spatial awareness and zero gravity movement skills.
“Let’s to some light sparring.” Melissa instructed moving towards a mat on the floor.
Even after years of hard training Melissa still threw her around like she was a complete novice. She suspected Melissa was running her enhancements higher than hers but Melissa swore that hers were at the same five percent power level.
“I’m just that good.” Melissa had replied saucily when Faith accused her of cheating.
With that Faith trained harder and harder the following months as her enhancements were slowly ratcheted up. After only a month she could only really train in five gravities, anything less and it felt almost weightless. After two months and the gravity was a little over nine gravities.
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Melissa sparred with her constantly and the daily beatings helped train Faith in using her new enhancements faster than simple exercising could have.
Melissa still kicked her ass even after her enhancements were turned up to full power. Melissa claimed Faith would be able to beat her after she got fully used to her new enhancements but Faith was doubtful.
The truly weird thing about being enhanced was how fragile everything seemed. Faith broke more than a few glasses and plates accidently when training on their use. Which was another weird thing about being enhanced, learning to handle everyday items she had handled thousands of times before but now needed to relearn how to handle with care.
The upside was she could move equipment around that used to need a grav cart and a wench to move. Now she could just pick it up if it was not to bulking and carry it where it needed to go.
The vision enhancements gave her massive headaches and she had to relearn how objects looked now she could see in such broad spectrums of wavelengths. She could actually see radio waves faintly and had to learn to ignore flashes of phantom colors and shapes that filled the air. With the computational assistance of the implant Faith could almost decipher and understand what she was seeing and read the radio messages, almost.
Her enhanced vision did help her with diagnosing hardware fails. Seeing where the electrical pathways were being hampered really speed up pin pointing the damaged areas and fixing the equipment.
Melissa was also right about computer coding and Faith reviewed Sarah’s new code database with her enhanced speed. It was still to complex for a human to understand but Faith had glimpses of understanding that increased her learning and comprehension of the complex coding.
“Faith MSD, Massive System Dynamics, just announced a new civilian simulator modular system. Based on the description and specifications it looks like an inferior copy of the medical bed you are using right now.” Sarah interrupted her training a month and a half in with the startling news.
“Have you found any more information about the medical bed and how it got included in the hospital cargo shipping containers?” Faith wanted to knew so she could understand the new simulators MSD was releasing.
“When you completed the training course and the enhancements and neurological implant subroutines activated, I received full access to the database and mainframe the simulator was running on. It looks like the Empire was not content with the neurological implant training simulations the military uses currently and wanted something better. The implants do a great job form everything I researched on the training the military receives but they are limited to only three time increase in speed compared to normal time, three hours training to one hour real time. This limit is because the brain cannot physically process the amount of information that would be needed for an increase in simulator time frame. Also based on group communications on staller sites they are not as ‘real’ as the real world.”
“So there is always an awareness that it is a simulation.” Faith caught on, understanding the limiting factor after living in a hyper real simulation for years.
“Yes. The nanite based simulators were a magnitude increase in abilities compared to the normal simulators. The project was highly classified and code named S-157 and headed by Dr Wallen Nomar. The project focused on training simulations initially, trying to see if it was a viable option first before expanding the programming and simulations. Which is why the training module you are in is the second to last one available. The simulators were both a complete success and a complete failure. The simulators allowed the people who used them to be trained at a hundred times the normal speed of the real world and they were hyper realistic. Which was the main problem.”
“They were so realistic that people forget they were in simulations.” Faith herself had experienced that and almost forget the real world existed when she was trapped inside.
“Correct. Upwards of thirty percent of the testers developed some form of mental health issues and five percent had a complete break form reality.”
“Dam.” Faith said softly knowing how close she had been to one of the five percenters.
“Indeed. The military shut the project down and wiped every mention of it except for a copy in bunker 88.”
Bunker 88 was an infamous location with thousands of conspiracy theories about just what was inside. All any one knew for sure was that it held the Empire’s darkest secrets and only a few people could even access it and it had so many automatic defenses that it could hold off the entire Empire fleet that orbited above it on Sedisca.
“So if all of it was buried and labeled classified how did MSD get it and how am I using it?”
“Those questions I have been searching carefully for and have drawn some conclusions through most of it is just conjecture.”
“I believe in you Sarah. Please give me your best answer.”
“The mainframe that I am accessing is a backup mainframe that Dr Nomar deleted all records of. He also used his access as director of project S-157 to link the mainframe into the military data net that I am carefully accessing. They monitor it heavily for AI intrusion even if the AI has the correct access codes. I believe Dr Nomar smuggled out the project database and sold it to Massive System Dynamics.”
Faith took a moment to let the information Sarah just relayed sink in.
“So the military canceled a project that caused massive harm and then allowed Dr Nomar to sell it?” This part confused Faith; would not the Empire stop the release of the project?
“The Empire would need to acknowledge the project’s military development and background to show how harmful it was.”
“So the Empire denies even knowing about it and allows it to be released?”
“Correct. Also MSD is limiting the time dilution to the standard implant three hours to one real hour and setting a limit on how long a person can be inside the simulation.”
“So Dr Nomar or MSD are not complete staller holes.”
“Or they do not want to be sued by the Empire who would be looking for any excuse to end the product and recall all simulators.”
“That is very cynical of you Sarah, I approve.”
“Thank you Faith.”
“Do you know how I got the prototype?”
“Again it is speculation but the cargo was part of a subsidiary of a subsidiary of a subsidiary that was fully owned by MSD. I think it was all a way for Dr Nomar to smuggle the prototype out of Sedisca.”
“And right out from under the eyes of the Empire military.”
“Correct.”
“So someone screwed up selling it to the station. We need to be careful for if they come looking for it.”
“I will investigate any new arrivals, Faith.”
With that Faith went back to training her new enhanced body.