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Dalton ran. He had always known Tyler was out there, but he had truly gone too far. He had totally killed that dog boy and then that fucking mut took him down with his last gasp. Dalton had flashbacks from his days as a toddler when his Da got drunk. A helpless witness to rampant violence.
Dalton ran. He couldn't take the feelings that had resurfaced. He had pissed himself! Charlie had looked up at him, still trussed up like a goose, with a look of disgust. Dalton couldn't face it, so he ran. He needed distance.
His Da had ended up in prison for years. Dalton didn't want that. Worse, his Da’s sentence had been commuted with his agreement to join a work team on Mars. The old drunk had sent emails and texts saying he was turning his life around.
Mars turned out to be very unforgiving. Mars Terraform had paid his immigration costs, but it was a loan and not a gift. The bastard’s emails got more and more dark as the man was forced to work 24/7 in an extreme environment. Paying for everything, his loan, his oxygen, nano-repairs for cancer from DNA damage. Shit that was inevitable when working up on the surface of the airless world.
No way, I’m going to jail like my old man. Fuck that noise! I’d rather die first. Dalton thought, crying as he ran.
Dalton hadn't paid attention to his destination when he had run. It was doubtful that he would have cared about the mayor’s edict to stay out of the Reserve, even if he had paid attention to it. He crossed the virtual line where normal trees became the massive biomechanical pollution cleaning sym-trees.
Dalton ran full tilt, his augmentation still running hot, when the trees focused on him. He had gone too fast and too far when the focused EMP hit him from all sides. Dalton crumpled, screaming, as the EM fields shorted his augs and assaulted his head.
Dalton’s pain was so severe that he barely recognized when the EM assault turned into an actual attack. Honey Bear had never been a gentle beast and a large screaming human reeking of urine in her territory bought him no mercy from her. Harambe had abandoned the animals. The food gifts from the trees had stopped and Honey Bear was hungry.
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Max had vague impressions of movement and people talking in low tones. He couldn’t feel anything, and his thoughts were sluggish; fading in and out. He thought he heard Charlie and Leah, maybe Xavier? And Mal and his daemons. It all seemed far away.
After an indeterminate time, Max suddenly snapped to full awareness. It felt…odd. He still couldn't feel anything, but his focus was precise…digitally precise. He looked around without the physical queues that would normally come with the action. He was in a room? A white room. No doors. No details.
“[Hello? Anyone? Where am I? What’s going on?”] Max asked. He was surprised by his voice, he knew he spoke but there was no sound at all. He realized that even though he spoke, he had no mouth and, in fact, no body at all.
A pixelated cloud of motes slowly resolved into an outline, and a static-masked voice asked him a question. He shook his non-existent head.
“[What? Who’s there?]” Max sent, getting more comfortable with his current state.
The fuzzy cloud shifted and coalesced into a crude facsimile of Mal’s avatar. She was speaking, but no sound came. Suddenly, her voice boomed through his “head”.
“[Max! It worked. How are you feeling?]” Mal’s voice crashed over him, making him cringe despite the lack of bodily stimulus. Mal’s form solidified more and she started again, this time in a more conversational volume.
“[Sorry! Sorry, Max. There. I think I have it now. Any pain? Can you understand me? What do you remember?]” Mal asked, her roughly painted avatar looked deeply concerned.
“[Ah. No…pain. Nothing at all. I can’t feel a thing. I understand you perfectly. I just feel…I don’t know…hollow? Maybe. I remember the woods. Tyler! We fought…and I think…screaming. I’m confused. I was scared…angry…satisfied. It’s a little blurry. Why aren’t I afraid now? I can’t feel anything. Mal?]” Max stumbled over his answer and waited expectantly.
“[Hold on. Let me help form you a virtual avatar. It might help settle you.]” Mal said. With a look of concentration and moving her hands over invisible controls in the air, Max saw his own crude, low-resolution avatar form. The form came with small amounts of tactile feedback, helping him feel somewhat normal. He still felt unusual, sharp, and aware but somehow shallow and without real substance.
“[There…this should help ground you a little better. Your uplift neo-cortex is so fast that I was operating at my old rate while you were out. I’ll dial back now so that we can talk. So, let me give you the current situation first then I can dig in and explain better.]” Mal said.
“[You are with your friends. You’re traveling via Charlie’s aircar to the Labyrinth. You are not in any danger. Your augs are dealing with the damage, although it was touch-and-go for a while there. Charlie made some…decisions.]” Mal’s avatar grimaced.
“[He managed to get free from the trap those bullies set after Dalton ran and Tyler was…no longer a problem. He was unable to revive you but he did manage to perform an intrusion hack to reach me. Between the two of us and a medbot emergency kit Charlie had in his trunk; we stabilized you enough for your augmentations to begin repairs. You're actually still unconsciou-]” Max interrupted with an urgent look.
“[Where’s Tyler?! That bastard tried to kill me. I barely stopped myself from tearing his throat out.]” Max said intensely, loud in the virtual space. Mal’s avatar cringed, emotions shifting on her face more quickly than an ADHD teen flipping through virtual entertainment video layers. With a small voice, she answered.
“[He’s dead, Max. You…your blood…well, this took me some time to understand but you were infected with the uplift virus earlier. I reviewed your system logs to discover this. Do you remember when you fought with that kitsune? She passed the virus to you. You were both bleeding badly and it got into you.]” Mal said softly.
“[You didn’t notice any big changes because your system reacted to it as if it was a combination of poison and nano-based attack. Unfortunately, in your fight with Tyler, you passed it to him. When your nano-defense blood motes left your body’s area of control, they shut down. I’m sure Tyler’s system tried to shut the virus down the same way, but it wasn’t as effective.]” she said.
“[What?! No! How can that be?!]” Max said, struggling to understand.
“[I know you had a lot to deal with when your Dad was fighting with the animals. Harambe admitted to him that the uplift animal blood was specifically weaponized to uplift other animals but also to be extremely deadly to humans.]” Mal finished.
Mal paused, allowing the gravity of her statement to sink in.
"[You became a vector, Max. Unknowingly. When Tyler's augs tried to combat the virus, they couldn't handle it. Without the proper protocols, the virus treated him as a target, not a host. It...it's why he reacted so violently.]"
Max wrestled with the implications, the virtual space reflecting his turmoil. His avatar flickered with static, mirroring his emotional storm.
"So I killed him? I’m a murderer now.]" Max's voice cracked, even in the absence of physical vocal cords.
“[Max, you didn’t intend to kill him. You were defending yourself!]” Mal said with sudden anger.
“[Oh, I’m betting his father the mayor won’t see things that way….Fuck! I can’t…I don’t…oh god! I’m still a vector. I could hurt one of my friends by accident. I can still kill people. What am I going to do?]” Max collapsed on the ground of the blank virtual room. Despite the horror of the situation, he was unable to feel angry or afraid. Something was missing.
“[Well, you have some time to think about what happens next. Charlie…he decided to take you and grab your friends and drive to the Labyrinth. He was concerned about the mayor’s reaction as well. He remembered that the Labyrinth was considered a sovereign nation from class. Once you enter, you're safe until you fail or leave voluntarily. He thought a little time might help you, especially with all the craziness going on with the animals awakening everywhere.]”
“[Wait, won’t that look like I ran? That might make it worse.]” Max said, unable to raise any emotion.
“[Charlie told me he would take the blame for that since you were unconscious. I’m not sure what else Charlie has going on, Max. He seemed very insistent on avoiding the police. I do believe him, though. He will take responsibility for taking you to the Labyrinth if it makes your position worse. I think he means the best. He seems to be a good friend for you, Max.]” Mal trailed off.
“[Mal…why can’t I feel anything. I should be angry or afraid or something. I don’t…I can’t feel.]” Max said.
“[I can answer that Max. I’m sorry if this is overwhelming. Tyler’s attacks severely damaged you. Your augs have you in an induced coma while they effect repairs. Most of your organs were destroyed, and you have some bullet shards in your brain.]” Mal said.
“[Okay…so, since we are talking now, I must be better. Right?]” Max asked, still confused.
“[Not quite, Max. Your augs will likely take at least another eight hours until they can release the coma suppression. I rigged your system skill Multitask to have this conversation. The skill mirrors your consciousness enabling one or more simulated thoughts to run in parallel to your biological thoughts. Only the mirror thought process is lacking in emotions.” Mal explained.
“[We needed to talk…before we get to the Labyrinth in an hour. This was the only way I could think of to do it.]” Mal said hesitantly.
“[Wow. That’s…neat, I guess. Thank you. So, I’m listening.]” Max said. Mal took a pause and then carefully spoke.
“[Ok. Firstly, I wanted to make sure you agreed with Charlie’s decision. Since this is a simulation of your thoughts, it’s not you, but it should give me a better feeling about allowing it.]” Mal stopped, with a raised eyebrow.
“[Ah, yes…I guess. I don’t like running away, but Charlie's point might be a good one. Throwing myself at the authorities right now might not be too wise…especially in the middle of a worldwide crisis.]” Max said after thinking it through.
“[Ok, on to my second concern. Once we enter the Labyrinth, we won’t have contact with the EarthNet unless the Labyrinth allows it. If you have any messages you need to send or last-minute downloads, we only have an hour until we arrive.]” Mal said.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“[Yikes. What am I going to tell my Dad? You’re right though. Better he hears what happened from me first before the mayor comes looking for my head. Can you help me write or record something?]” Max said.
“[Of course, Max. I’ll do that while you review the system notices. There were…quite a lot. You should look at them. I know that you still have another daemon slot to fill, maybe you should look for one that’s recommended for the Labyrinth. I’ll send your system notifications, if you’re ready.]” Mal said.
“[Ok, Mal. Hit me, I’m ready.]” Max said, and his virtual room filled with scrolling notices from earlier.
[Endurance +5, Vitality +7]
[Transform +2*, Transform reaches level 4, * system emergency skill advancement to manage and repair critical damage.]
[Gland +3*, Gland reaches level 10 - New glanding options: Calm, Creative, Hallucinogen; Skill cap reached, +100 XP, +2 Vitality * system emergency skill advancement to manage and repair critical damage.]
[Oxygen +3*, Oxygen reaches level 10, Oxygen reserves extended to 256 minutes; Skill cap reached, +100 XP, New Skill unlocked - Recycling, *system emergency skill advancement to manage and repair critical damage]
[New Body Skill: Recycling 1, use augmentation system energy to recycle CO2 to O2 to replenish oxygen stockpile internally.]
[Neural Scaffold +2*, Neural Scaffold reaches level 10, Skill cap reached, +100 XP, New Skill unlocked - Backup]
[New Mind Skill - Backup 1: Augmentation mirror neo-neurons map user consciousness and memory and store locally and net for recovery from critical brain damage.]
[AI Companion +1, AI Companion reaches 3: Increase use and responsibility of AI to provide more control of augmentations.]
[OverLayer +1, OverLayer reaches level 10 - Skill cap reached, +100 XP, New Mind Skill unlocked: World Map]
[Power Core +1*, Power Core reaches level 3 - Energy capacity x4, Energy regeneration x2: Cycle power through meditation to build and use of energy to advance, *system emergency skill advancement to manage and repair critical damage.]
[New Mind Skill: World Map 1: augmented mental processing synchronizes sense feeds with OverLayer skill to customize visual representations of additional sense mapping, including swarm sensor feeds.]
[Max XP: 10,050, +1 Level; Max reaches Adept 16 (XP 10,000-11,000), +10 Free Point awarded, Current Free Points 40]
Wow, that’s an impressive advancement for recovering from being a potato. I don’t think I’ll be recommending it to my friends though. Max thought. He summoned his stat sheet and suppressed his equipment list. The screen popped up in the room, replacing his notices.
[Name: Max E. Mitchell Level: Adept 16 (10,050/11,000 XP)]
[Body Design Model: Custom – Canis Familiarus Uplift Free Stats: 40]
[Strength: 100 Agility: 66 Endurance: 79 Vitality: 81 Energy: 58/1032]
[Perception: 45 Intelligence: 45 Will: 53 Regen: 268/min]
[Body Skills – Claws/Vorpal:10/1 Strike/Disable: 10/2 Speed/Reflex: 10/7]
[Body Skills - Stamina/Tireless: 10/7 Balance: 9 Gymnast: 10 Leap: 10]
[Body Skills – Stun: 7 Shock: 4 EMP Blast: 3 Oxygen/Recycle: 10/1]
[Body Skills - Hulk: 3 Skin: 10 Armor: 5 Unbreakable: 10 Transform: 4]
[Body Skills – Painless:10 Healing/Regeneration: 10/10 Ballistics: 4 Gland: 5]
[Resist Skills – Shock: 10 Sonic: 9 Light: 9 Heat: 4 Cold: 3]
[Resist Skills - Poison: 10 ANDD: 1 EMP: 10 Neural Scaffold: 10]
[Sense Skills – Scent: 10 ExaVision: 7 EM Fields: 7 EchoLocate: 2]
[Mind Skills – AI Assist/Companion: 10/2 Identify/Analyze: 10/7 Backup:1]
[Mind Skills - OverLayer/World Map: 10/1 Language: 3 Dream Learn: 9]
[Mind Skills - DigiSense: 10 Access/Hack: 10/6 Privacy: 4 Memory: 9 Bastion: 8]
[Mind Skills - Pattern/Decode: 10/1 FastCog/PreCog: 10/1 Telekinesis:1 Pilot:1]
[Mind Skills - Daemon: 4 (Musashi, Boone, Sherlock, Open)]
[Mind Skills - SkillZ: 4.0 Input: Swim 1.0, NanoCraft 1.0, Brachiation 1.0, *]
[Mind Skills - SkillZ: Output: Katana 1.0, Kempo 0.90, Kunai: 0.05]
“[I Guess there is a silver lining to getting shot in the head. My emergency forced my augs to advance several systems to their caps and I got another level. My energy storage and regeneration rate is massive. The higher tier skills are so greedy for power, but now I won’t need to be as careful.]” Max said.
“[Max, if you put most of your free points into Vitality you can cap it for a hefty XP reward. Your vitality stat adds points to both your energy store and your energy regeneration. It’s a triple win.]” Mal suggested.
“[Thanks Mal. I need to stop holding out on those and use them. Let’s see, 19 points to cap Vitality, perfect and the last 21 points will cap Endurance for even more XP and energy storage. Hah!]”
[Vitality +19, Vitality reaches 100, Stat cap reached, +250 XP awarded.]
[Endurance +21, Endurance reaches 100, Stat cap reached, +250 XP awarded.]
[Update: Energy (67 / 1,192) Regeneration (306/min)]
“[Excellent choices, Max. If you always just do what I suggest, you’ll never go wrong. That energy boost has changed your estimated recovery from 8 hours to just under 7 hours. The regeneration and transform skills are huge energy hogs as you might have noticed from your status screen. Now you might want to resolve your open daemon slot before we get to the Labyrinth’s isolated network.]” Mal said.
“[Right, the daemon slot. I've been putting that off for too long. I need something that can complement the existing team, maybe someone to help with crafting or domination skill advancement. Let’s browse what's available.]” Max said.
Mal activated the daemon market interface and Max began filtering through potential candidates, his Analyze and Memory skills churning through the data at an impressive speed.
“[Here we go, I found a very highly rated compilation of hacker engrams called Captain Cypher. Ugh, that’s a super lame name, but his scores are phenomenal. It's a bit on the pricey side, but I think it's worth the investment. That only answers the domination skill advancement. Now I need a crafting specialist. Maybe someone who understands both old-world techniques and cutting-edge nanofabrication. I'll check the archives for a suitable historical figure or a rogue fabricator AI with a penchant for creativity.]” Max pondered the possibilities as he browsed. He flipped through characters for several minutes until he found the perfect candidate.
“[Mal, look at this one. His creativity and intuitive quotient are almost maxed. Practical engineering combined with solid scientific methods. He’s even been training in nano-crafting techniques already. What do you think?]” Max said.
“[You’re right, Max. Choosing the NikolaTesla daemon for crafting brings unparalleled creativity but be mindful of potential challenges. His intense focus may lead to work-centric tendencies, unconventional ideas might need careful evaluation, and his eccentricities could influence communication. However, you only have one slot available…and only one more free slot from the academy for a daemon. The Tesla daemon is 5,000 credits and the Captain Cipher is 10,000 credits. Your account balance is currently only 2,000 credits, from Mira for your help with her character farming job in that virtual game.]”
“[Hmmm. I really want to get both. I need them. Mal, is the daemon skill close to leveling?]” Max asked.
“[The skill is primed to level. You are very active in your use of daemons, but it won’t advance right now. This skill restricts leveling until your intelligence stat reaches a milestone, every ten points. I’m afraid with your Intelligence at 45, you have a way to go.]” Mal paused in thought and then continued.
“[You can trade daemons in for a discount from the same source company. It looks like both Boone and Tesla both come from HARU LLC, Historical Advisors aRe Us. A clever marketing tactic. They all know that some daemons are situational, and by offering a trade discount, they can make more sales.]” Mal said.
“[Crap. I hate to lose Boone, but I think I need to do it. I can use my last credit from the academy for Captain Cipher and trade Boone in for Tesla and see what type of discount that gets me. I guess I should summon Boone.]” Max said. He felt conflicted, but his current emulation status prevented any sadness.
Max summoned the daemons to the virtual space. The old, grizzled woodsman appeared; his avatar was running an exercise script showing him whittling a piece of wood with his large knife.
“[Boone, I’m afraid I have some bad news.]” Max started. Boone laughed and made his wooden sculpture and knife disappear.
‘[No need to fret, youngster. I heard ya’. Daemons get a prompt feed of the last ten seconds of activity when they activate to help them anticipate the needs of their hosts unless you disable it. I happen to reckon you’re right about needing to swap me. I don’t think I’ll be able to help much if your descriptions of the Labyrinth challenges are accurate.]” Boone said jovially.
“[I’ve posted the trade request. I’m afraid the offer is only 50% discounted. We are still 500 credits short of making the trade.] Mal said sadly. Max's brow furrowed; he should have done more missions for Mira. He hated the idea of asking anything more from his dad without earning it. Boone cleared his throat suggestively.
“[I shouldn’t mention this but you two might be able to negotiate a better deal. Max here utilized me a heck of a lot more than most of my users. Gosh darn birdwatchers and hikers barely activate me. Our lake dives, tree parkour, and tracking of the uplift animals have added more depth to my program. If you ask for a review of my updated skills, HARU will likely improve their discount.]” Boone said with a sly grin. Mal’s arms blurred as she orchestrated the system to update the request.
“[Thank you, Daniel. HARU did update the discount. They have increased the discount from 50% to 65%. Max can make the trade and still have 250 credits left.]” Mal said.
“[It's been a right pleasure helpin' ya, Max. Mind tossin' a good word my way in them-there HARU review surveys? These ol' bones don't see near enough action, just like a canoe in the river without a paddle.]” Boone said waving. Max waved goodbye as Boone’s avatar dissolved and was reformatted into a distinguished figure with dark hair and intense eyes, a well-groomed mustache, and an impeccably tailored old-fashioned suit.
"[Ah, greetings, my esteemed collaborator! Nikola Tesla is at your service. This digital labyrinth intrigues me—it's a challenge I've not faced before. The unknown has always been my playground. Now, let's unravel the mysteries of this electronic maze together, shall we? Exciting times ahead!]" Tesla’s manic eyes burned with energy.
With a burst of digital confetti, Captain Cipher materialized, a wide grin plastered across his face. His avatar was of a pudgy man with greasy hair, wearing a white spandex outfit, adorned with neon blue and red circuit patterns, a bright yellow cape flapped behind him despite the lack of breeze in the virtual room.
"[Hey there, digital compadre! Captain Cipher at your service! My coding skills are sharper than a ninja's shuriken, and my wit is quicker than a quantum processor. Ready to dive into the labyrinth of code? Because, believe me, there isn’t a puzzle I can’t crack!]" Max wasn’t sure if he would be annoyed or amused by the new daemon, without his emotions being emulated. One thing was certain; he wouldn’t be bored.
Everyone’s images fuzzed slightly and then reformed. Mal hurriedly dismissed the other daemons with apologies.
“[Sorry about that Max. Your repairs are using a lot of your computational bandwidth right now. There is one more thing I was hoping to discuss before we need to go offline. While you were out of it; I was able to investigate the uplift virus more. I think I can disable the portion designed to attack human DNA.]” Mal said. The way she said it, Max sensed there was more.
“[That’s great news, Mal. I can’t be fighting in the Labyrinth like this. I’m a walking timebomb…but I’m thinking there’s more. Right?]” Max said.
“[Yes, I’m afraid so. Right now, your modified white blood cells - the anti-nano defense bots - are suppressing the virus. Both are deadlocked together. Your system defense bots’ augmentations can’t improve while locked up and can’t fight other dangers while restraining the virus. And I can’t run my modification program using your defense bots while they are both locked up.]” Mal said slowly. Max considered the implications.
“[That sounds like maybe making this change could be dangerous.]” Max said.
“[I’m sorry, Max. I don’t think there’s any other way. The virus is like a tiger and your augmentation has grabbed its tail. To de-fang it, we going to have to let it go. Your DNA is canine and not human, so I’m hoping you shouldn’t be in danger. But I can’t be certain what will happen. Your uplift was achieved with some DNA tweaks as well as cybernetic enhancements, it may not read you as a human, but you might not read as an animal host either.]” Mal said.
“[I’m glad my emotions are offline. However, I don’t see any choice in the matter. I can’t allow anyone else to die because of me. Living in isolation like Harambe did would be hell for me. I must risk it.]” Max said, resolved despite his doubts.
“[If we’re going to do it, the best time will be right after your system fully repairs you and is still primed to provide active support…in six and a half hours.]” Mal said.
“[Will it hurt, Mal?]” Max asked.
“[I’m sorry, Max. I don’t know.]” Mal said softly. The virtual room froze and then skipped before resuming like normal. “[We need to go wrap this up, Max. Your system is picking up its pace and using more processing power. Quick, I’ve made a draft for a message to your father. Let’s review it and then I need to minimize our emulation.]”
The pair quickly finished Max’s letter to his dad and went into sleep mode with their plan programmed into Max’s system.
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