Samurai stock. A new business model, but it does not mean you are directly investing in a Samurai; you are investing in businesses that operate around a Samurai. A Samurai is trying to keep a neighbourhood safe. Great! Shops there turn out a greater profit because they don’t have to invest in security.

-- How the rich become rich, a guide by the Purple Truth 2051

I finally pull into the hotel's parking lot. I let out a sigh; I looked at Nick, Anika's husband, who was sitting beside me. Then, look into the back where Rose and her brother Jakub are sleeping.

“I take Rose. You take Jakub. Make this a one-way trip?” I ask in a whisper.

“If you don’t mind”, he says, while giving me a thankful nod. “Also, thank you for driving us back.”

“No problem; it is kind of my fault. I gave them way too much sugar, so they were bouncing all over the place.”

I get out of the car and open the door to the back seats. I take off the seatbelts and pick up the little girl. It's somehow harder than I thought. I would expect something like this to be easy. I mean, most parents make it look easy, but a sleeping child is a bit more unwieldy than I was expecting.

I make it to Rose's room without dropping her or waking her up, which, by the way my arms are screaming at me, is impressive. I find her pyjamas, quickly put them on, and tuck her in. When I get up to leave, I hear her groggy voice.

“Mom?” the little girl says.

“No, I am not your mom; you fell asleep in the car, so I put you to bed,” I say in a soft voice.

“Evelin?” she then says with a smile.

“Yeah, that is me. Now go count zebras or something so you can fall asleep. It’s already late.”

“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep again?” she asks in an almost pleading voice.

I look at the little girl and shrug. Nothing to lose, I guess. “Yeah, sure, I can wait a bit. My surgery does not need to happen now.”

“Surgery, are you sick?”

“No, I am getting my bones upgraded,” I say, while sitting down on the side of the bed.

“Evelin?” Rose says in this cute voice.

“Yes, something wrong?”

“Where am I allowed to go when you take me out for the day?”

“Anywhere you want to go, do you already have a place in mind?”

“Yes.” she says confidently.

After she had not elaborated further, I asked, “Can you tell me where you want to go?”

“Africa. I want to see wild animals.” She says, a note of pleading in her voice.

“I will see what I can do.”

“You will really take me?”

“Yes, I just need a way for us to get there and get back, so it might take a bit to organise.”

“You promise?”

I stick out my pinkie finger at her. “I promise.”

I slowly and quietly try to leave Rose’s room after she finally fell asleep. I turn around and start heading to our medical area. On the way, I spot Claire.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, a bit confused. “Don’t you have school tomorrow, exam year, and everything.”

“I can get time off whenever I want for Samurai-related business.” She says as she starts walking with me to my surgery.

“Samurai-related business? What business?” I ask, confused.

“We are having a meeting tomorrow. We decided it at the party when you had already left. But since you can’t really go anywhere tomorrow since you are still recovering, we thought that we might as well keep you busy.”

“I am not some child that needs a constant distraction to be entertained, you know.”

“Oh, so we should not go on a little date after the meeting, then?” she says, a teasing smile on her face.

“No I… I want to go on a date, okay? But you don’t have to skip school for it.”

“I know, but I am already doing university problems. As long as I go in and finish my exam, I am good.”

“Did not know you were that smart.”

“Tier one learning implant.” she says with a smile. “Not smart, just using the tools that I have.”

“You know I want to say something about cheating, but I would totally do the same.”

“I mean, did you not just breeze through high school?”

“I never finished it. I went into corporate life at about 12 years old, and you don’t need school to disassemble samurai gear or break into secure servers.”

“Well, that does not sound fair. Ever thought of going back?”

“Not really. Like you said, I can learn everything I want in an instant; no point in going back to school.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“That makes sense, I guess, but don’t you, like, miss the opportunity to make friends?”

“I mean, maybe, but there is no going back now.” I say as we stop in front of the surgery room. “Anyway, do you have a plan for our date already, or should I come up with something?”

“No, I have something planned out unless you want to do something specific.”

“I just want to have a fun time, I guess.”

“Don't worry, I have something fun planned,” she says with a big smile

“Please tell me it’s not laser tag.”

“It's not, but what is wrong with the laser tag?”

I raise my arm. “Bad aim.”

“Haha, well, that is fair. I can’t say my aim is much better. So do you need to get in there soon?” she says, while pointing at the door.

“Yeah, I am just stalling, trying to get rid of the nerves.” I say.

Claire smiles at me. “Well, let me help” She walks up to me and wraps her arms around my neck, then she leans in, and we kiss. Somehow, it is a lot more intense than our normal kisses, but it also feels nice and comfortable. Finally, she steps away with a big smile on her face.

“So, feel less nervous now?” she says with a devious smile.

“I feel nervous for a wholly different reason.” I say as I open the door. “See you in the morning,”

I close the door behind me and look at the clean surgery room, cold and empty. Well, I guess there is no going back now.

'So, Lyssa, what should I do now?'

Lyssa recommends taking off any clothes you want to keep. Other than that, is there anything you would like to add to the upgrades?

“Unless you know something, not really. Do we even have enough points to buy anything substantial?”

Not without unlocking a new catalogue.

“Well, I mean, that sounds like something for later.”

If that is your wish, then we can start whenever you are ready.

“Okay, let's do it”, I say while throwing my bra to the side and jumping on the cold table.

New Purchase: Skeletal Enhanced Reflexes, Observation and Technological Omniana Neuron Inverted Network.

Points reduced to... 6786

New Purchase: Peach-Scented Sweat Glands

Points reduced to... 6736

Before I have time to make a funny joke about the name or why it is so expensive, my vision goes dark, and I fall asleep.

I wake up with a start, the smell of chemicals assaulting my nose. I almost throw up with how dizzy I feel. I can see everything, like everything, everything. My eyes are still closed, and I know that there are three scalpels and four tweezers behind me. I know that the small bio cleaner in the corner is burning the last remains of my bones.

Opening my eyes makes the nauseating feeling worse. So I screw my eyes shut again. I slowly try to get up. To my surprise and delight, I am not in any pain. I slowly walk towards my clothing and put it back on.

'Lyssa, how did it go?'

Surgery was a success with no complications or side effects. You will need some time to get used to your new senses.

“I see, so how long would it take to get used to it?”

Projections suggest that it can take up to a week for your brain to get used to the new input.

“A week? I have an important meeting tomorrow, and I can’t go around like a drunk. I have to look professional.”

The sensors can be turned off but Lyssa would recommend keeping them on where you can to get used to it. The faster you get used to it, the safer you will be.

'Well, that is good.' I say, while stumbling out of the room. 'When is the meeting happening today?'

You still have an hour. Lyssa would recommend having breakfast first.

'I don’t think I will be able to keep the food in.' I say while stumbling into a wall, still with my eyes closed.

Lyssa would recommend trying your best. Nutrition is important.

'Yes, fine. I will grab an apple or something, okay?'

I slowly walk into the cafeteria. Lucky for me, it is not busy; most people have chosen to sleep in after last night's party. Was it a party? I'm not sure, really. There was no alcohol, but maybe that is not required.

I start to rummage in the massive kitchen, finding some cornflakes, yoghurt and fruits and throwing them all together into a bowl. Then, I slowly go to a table, making sure I don’t drop it. When I finally get to a table, I sit down and sigh deeply.

“Fuck”

“Something wrong?” someone asks in a small voice. It should be Yun Min. but who it is does not really matter. They scared me enough to the point of me pulling out my blade.

“I forgot to grab a spoon, and moving around is a pain.” I say, trying to play off my little blunder.

“Don’t worry, I can grab one for you.” She says with a little chuckle.

After a bit, she comes back with a plate with some kind of sandwich on it. It's kind of hard to tell, since my sensors don’t do colour that well, and an extra spoon that she gives to me.

“So the operation did not go that well then?” Yun Min asks.

“No, it went perfectly. I am just not used to the new senses yet.” I say, while trying to swallow down my first bite.

“Not used to them in what way?”

“Well, I was kind of expecting there to be a degree of disconnection between me and the sensors like an app on my AUGs, but no, it is directly linked to my brain. So it kind of just feels like I can see with my skin.”

“Is that why you have your eyes closed?”

“Yeah, every time I open them, I want to throw up.”

“Well, you better get used to it fast.”

“Why? I think I can do the meeting mostly with my eyes closed.” I say, a bit confused.

“You probably can, but don’t you have things to do after the meeting that requires you to be, like, not sick.”

“Fuck! Right. I mean, I can turn it off, so I should be fine.“

“Good luck,” she says with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want.”

Both of us quickly finish up our breakfast and head to the meeting room. It’s an old thing, but it has one of those fancy oval tables in it that makes me feel like we are in an important board meeting. I mean, the gamer chairs that got put around it instead of the office chairs, are giving it a different vibe entirely, but who cares? As I sit there observing the ceiling, the other samurai slowly walk in. Jason is the last to join us, and as soon as he does, Magenta gets up from her chair.

“I am happy that everyone could make it. I know most of you are busy. Hell, I am as well, but I thought it would be a good idea for us to square away some community goals so we can all work with a better understanding.” She explains.

“Yun Min is starting a PMC to help us, Maniac created a news site and the entire hotel shelter situation. There are a lot of different projects being run out of this building that we own, uhm… Maniac, how much do we own of it?” Magenta asks, turning to me.

“Including the 54th floor we are on now, we own all the floors below it. We also have the right to improve the foundational structure of the undercity where this building is resting. Above that, we have the floor that you bought, and Cierra has bought the top two floors of the building.” I say.

“Right, so this is becoming a bigger operation, and that is why I thought it would be a good idea to make it a proper company.”

“Why do you want us to become a Corp?” Jason asks.

“Simple, so we can pull resources. We can use it to create business opportunities where we get money, think of merchandise, rent out apartments and such. And use that money for our charity ventures, such as taking care of displaced people and funding a PMC.”

“And by having those things not be separate from each other but one thing, it is less likely for people trying to fuck with it.” I say.

“You do not seem to be against it that much.” Claire says to me, “I thought you would hate the idea of making a corp.”

“I mean, most corps are bad, but that is only because they try to maximise profit no matter what, and I don’t think any of us cares if it makes a lot of money, so we will have a different mindset. And there are benefits to making it a proper corp.”

“What kind of benefits?” Silver Scorpion asks.

“Well, this kind of depends on how successful the PMC is. But we will have brand recognition for everything we do, so any new project will already have the fame of it. There are some other minor things like poolling of resources and such.” I answer.

“Okay, that sounds good. I am in. Anything we still need to do to start?” Silver asks.

“Yun Min and Jason have already handled most things. The only thing we still need is a name.” Magenta announced, before chaos was unleashed.