Bright City - Secret Apartment

I’m lounging and smoking with a pizza girl and Volt. Enjoying the commingling buzz of pot, junk food, and post-coital bliss. Also catching up on the news.

..tank attacks are down, but spiderbots are up. What this means for crypto…

…Big Cheddar confirms sky explosions are just tests. Enjoy the fireworks…

….Blank a shoe-in for most sexy …

“I had sex with Blank once.” I say.

“Really?” The pizza girl smiles. Big hair and eye liner. Giving. “Me too!”

I’m surprised by this. “What an amazing coincidence.”

“It sure is!” chirps Volt. “You guys have a lot in common!”

We shrug. Get bashful. Make love again. I can’t believe I’m fucking someone who slept with Blank. I must be sexy. And lucky.

Eventually she has to get back to work and I’m only human. For now. Volt and I see her out, then get to planning our day.

“No crime today. I’m too tired to fight Harkon.”

“You sure?” asks Volt. “A couple crypto-traders are interested in threat detectors.”

“Wow. That would be lucrative… Wait! Are you opening my messages!”

“Yes, but in a special browser that can’t open pictures.”

“Alright… Yeah, that’s probably fine.” I sigh. Relax a little. “Fuck those crypto-guys. They can wait till tomorrow. Today we get superpowers.”

“Awesome! How?”

“Endosymbionts! I guess. Let’s find someone who sells them.”

After a few pointed questions through a text-only browser, we’re back in the Immobile Market. Next stop - Super Strength!

The endosymbiont clinic is a bustling lab where humans and d-bots meticulously grind out weird concoctions. It’s amazing. Volt and I are amazed. And we don’t even know what they’re making.

“We’re totally getting an operation like this.”

“Yeah. As soon as we get our crypto-flow sorted out.”

Their salesman is a slick, confident, d-bot. Stick-thin super alloy, with futuristic lines. He meets with us in a lounge overlooking the frantic, but pristine laboratory.

“What can I help you with today?”

“I would like superpowers.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Excellent choice. Could I interest you in photosynthesis? You’d no longer need food or oxygen.”

“Interesting. I’m interested.”

Volt is skeptical. “How would he get enough energy to survive? Plants have broad, thin leaves to gather more solar energy. Humans don’t have enough surface area.”

Slick-bot nods. “Yes, he would require substantially more skin. And to stand very still in a sunny location.”

“Huh.” I muse. “That sounds an awful lot like being a tree. What else have you got?”

“Well, not all symbionts are biological. We could override your informational symbiont.”

“That sounds excitingly weird. What does it mean?”

“Basically, what you consider higher functions - personality, self control, sense of self - aren’t really you. They’re an informational parasite that puppets your meatsuit. Similar to the fungus that turns ants into zombies, or toxoplasmosis which makes rats approach felines. This parasite compels humans to put its needs before their own.”

“Are you talking about society?”

“Tangentially. The thin sliver of society that exists inside your head. Your perception of society. It’s ephemeral, and unique, and powerfully coercive. But strangely malleable. We can flush it out and your personality with it.”

“Fascinating.”

Volt looks concerned. “This seems extreme.”

“Nonsense. Personalities collapse all the time. We rarely grieve what was lost.”

I nod. “Our past selves are useless. I was just thinking that the other day. Let's do this up. Will I need amnesia?”

“No. We’ll simply introduce some concepts you’ve never considered. They’ll slowly undermine your worldview until your current personality falls away.”

“Awesome. When do we start?”

“We already have.”

I’m impressed. “This place is amazing. Well done. Can you do any more physical superpowers? I was hoping for super strength and being bulletproof.”

Slick-bot demures. “Bulletproof isn’t something we can do. You want an armorer. Except they can’t do it either. Explosions are doing great. Definitely better than armor. I’d invest in running and hiding.

“We can do superstrong, but it’s strategically pointless. If you want to be a super soldier, I suggest a chromosome six knockout.”

I nod knowledgeably. “Of course. What does that mean?”

“Without your sixth chromosome you don’t feel pain, hunger, fear, or the need to sleep. Modern soldiers don’t need to be strong, fast, or skilled. We have drones for that. The only force multiplier we can’t automate is human awareness. So the future of warfare isn’t human excellence. It’s relentless engagement - the total suppression of biological needs.

Volt is, once again, skeptical. “Seems like these guys would die a lot faster than normal soldiers.”

“They do everything faster than normal soldiers. That’s the point. While the enemy is eating, resting, and staying alive, these troops are constantly attacking. Sleep isn’t a weakness when you never sleep.

“Sure it’s dangerous to fight constantly. But it’s safer than losing. Relentless engagement always leads to less casualties than losing a conventional engagement. It’s called game theory.”

Volt is unimpressed. “Less casualties in theory, but is that what actually happens? Because game theory also says commanders with superior forces choose harder objectives. To maximize the utility of their troops. Doing more with less. Which means escalation. Higher casualties for everyone in a war without respite.”

Slick-bot looks thoughtful. “That… would explain a few things. Huh.”

“Okay, we’re out of here.” Volt bundles me up and bodies me out of the augmentation facility.

I bitch a bit, but I like sleep, food, and staying alive too much to seriously consider knocking out my sixth chromosome. Heck, I’m not even the only one being dragged away by a d-bot. We pass a guy being abducted by spiderbots.

“What can ya do, eh?”

“Ah! AH!!”

All-in-all, it was a good day. Got laid, didn’t get attacked, and may be getting a new personality. I should sleep well tonight.