Lock was soaking in the tub again, his legs crossed and arms folded across his body so that he could barely fit. They’d found him a couple pairs of size 4XL basketball shorts to maintain his dignity. He had a couple oversized T-shirts too, but eventually TINA could make Lock his own custom clothes.
Emmett sat in the doorway of the apartment’s bathroom and rested his back against the frame. They’d been catching up. A lot had changed while Lock was out. A lot about Emmett had changed too, and a sizable portion of that time was spent telling his friend about his upgrades.
Lock whistled. “So she’s, like, in your head now?”
“Something like that.”
“You’re not gonna do that to me, right?”
TINA replied, “No, Lock. And to be clear, I’m not in Emmett’s mind. I’m just inside his skull.”
“Yeah… That doesn’t sound much better,” Lock replied.
Emmett said, “Look, you can trust her.”
“I don’t have much of a choice, do I? I’m just saying that there’s a lot more movies about evil AI than about good ones.”
“I’ll do my best to prove your biases wrong.”
Lock nodded. “Do it.”
On the surface, not much happened. Additional nanites streamed through Lock’s skin. But inside, they saturated different parts of his body.
Emmett was used to seeing the results of TINA’s simulations in his HUD, but she narrated them for Lock’s benefit.
QUERY: Are the new nanites able to remain incognito inside Lock’s body and avoid triggering an immune response?
LOADING SIMULATIONS…
RESULTS:
No immune response to next generation diagnostic nanites.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
No immune response to next generation pruning nanites.
Lock asked, “What’s the verdict, doc?”
“So far, so good. Your body won’t have a negative reaction to the nanites. How has your mood been?”
Lock shrugged, causing some of the nanites to splash onto the tile. “Mutagen-X lets you turn off your pain receptors, but it also lets you turn off psychological pain too. It’s like you can just choose not to feel something.”
“How often do you do that?”
“A lot.”
“That’s not sustainable.”
Emmett interjected. “That’s one of the things that leads to Mutagen-X failure. …We have the report if you want to read it.”
“I guess I should.”
“Emmett and Clara also have trauma to work through. Group therapy could be good for all of you.”
Lock snorted a laugh. “So long as Emmett goes first.”
“We’ll flip for it.”
“Bullshit. You go first.”
“Why do I have to go first?”
Water sloshed as Lock adjusted to look at his friend. “You killed me, remember? You go first.”
Emmett rolled his eyes. “You seem fine for a dead guy.”
For a moment, it felt like they were just two roommates arguing over pranks. Lock must’ve felt the same way because the two friends started to chuckle at the absurdity of it. They quickly devolved into cackling.
Clara called from the other room. “Keep it down. Some of us are trying to meditate!”
The fact that Clara only sounded half-serious didn’t help.
Finally, their laughter trailed off. Emmett wiped his watery eyes.
“Alright, alright,” Lock said between chuckles. “So TINA, how’s my brain?”
QUERY: Are the new nanites able to stem the neurological damage and inflammation caused by long-term Mutagen-X exposure and emotional dampening?
LOADING SIMULATIONS…
RESULTS:
Nanite therapy is effective in treating neurological damage. However, continued reliance on emotional dampening will counteract progress.
Nanite therapy is not effective in treating psychological symptoms.
Recommend reducing reliance on emotional dampening.
Recommend other methods of managing psychological distress and emotional trauma.
“...So, what does that mean? While the nanites are doing their thing, what should I do?”
Emmett chuckled.
“I don’t get it. What’s she mean?”
“She means therapy. Looks like there’s no escaping it.”
Lock slid back down into the tub, sloshing the tub again. “Fine. Therapy it is.”
~ ~ ~