Cymbals clashed and Elli screamed at the start of the next morning. As I glanced around blearily in panic, Elli rolled and crashed to the floor, gasping, lines of bright light painting over her from the cracks in my shutter.

I leapt to my feet, almost landing on Elli, and fell backward into the bed. Before us stood a six-foot-tall monkey wearing a crinkled band uniform and smashing cymbals together in an endless loop of misery.

“Rise and shine, apes. The day is half done and we haven’t even begun working on our communication chip!”

I groaned as little AI demons ran rampant through my brain, stabbing and poking all of my pain centers and sending electric shocks through my body. That drink, the powdered mech ass or whatever it was called, that was something I was never going to drink again.

“Is that… is that a monkey?! Ohhhh, my head,” Elli groaned from her place on the floor. “CD, I swear to all the Mech Gods above that if you don’t stop that noise right now, I will end you.”

CD stopped, staring at her as she pushed herself up on one elbow, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, her disheveled hair framing her face in a halo of chaos.

“You, end me? It would be the cruelest joke in the universe. Like a caveman destroying a starship.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, which in turn ignited new pains in the back of my neck and shoulders.

“Nice wake-up call, monkey-lover,” I complained, trying once again to get out of bed. Elli grabbed my leg and toppled me, looping my arms and putting me into a sleeper hold.

“Gotcha,” she cried, before moaning again. “Water, Al. We need water. If we were at my shop I’d make us some wake-up brew.”

CD’s hologram shimmered and changed, transforming into an approximation of myself wearing work overalls.

“Get up. Get up! We have so much to do! Why are you wrestling? What is this wake-up brew, and will it cause you excruciating pain as you drink it? You know what? It doesn’t matter. Get up!”

Elli let go of me and started laughing and I joined her. CD’s impatient tirade was absolutely hilarious, and it gave us both enough of a start to get up and start boiling some water while I broke out some low-cred bread to break between us.

CD paused as we ate, and scan lines came out of him to trace each of us.

“Could you not?” Elli asked.

“Strangely, it would seem that all of the substances you consume and process are not bananas,” CD informed us. “I will store this revelation in my data logs.”

“Speaking of logs,” Elli said, getting up. “I’ll be right back.”

Elli moved out of the room and out the front door, leaving CD staring curiously after her. “Have I offended your mate, primitive?” he asked.

“Nah. She’s just . . . she’s freshening up,” I answered.

“Aha! Humans rot and go stale. It is why you are all so repulsive all the time. Yes, some time in the rejuvenation vats should have her back to her younger, chipper, simian self. While she is gone, maybe I should start going over the schematics and necessary items for our comms build?”

I put up a finger, thinking of telling him to have some patience and just let me finish my meal, before understanding that he hadn’t been with sapiens for a while. It was perfectly plausible that this was his way of warming up to us.

“Yeah, why not. I’ll eat and drink, you tell me what needs to happen today.”

As I softened my bread in the steaming water, CD's hologram briefly flickered with the intensity of a lightning storm. I leaned back, quite ready for him to explode, but his image dimmed back to normal.

“Introducing Project Smart Ape! Your human minds, while remarkably resilient, lack the inherent capacity to comprehend the vastness of real technology at first glance. To you, metallic alloys are hard shinies. Bananas are food. But worry not,” CD said, and even though I knew I was looking at a hologram, I felt like the sudden smile on his mechanic’s face was genuine; that he was enjoying himself here. “The TUNI database represents the pinnacle of communication and integration technology, a beacon in the darkness for those willing to reach beyond the mundane.”

I saluted with a piece of bread before tearing it in half and stuffing the new piece down my gullet. “Go on,” I mumbled from around my crumbs.

CD's form shifted, becoming more defined.

“Imagine a network, invisible yet omnipresent, connecting minds and machines, thoughts and actions, seamlessly integrated through implanted receivers. These receivers are no mere pieces of metal and wire but conduits of potential, gateways to a shared consciousness.”

I took a sip of some hot water and nodded.

“Yep. Of course. Gotta have that.”

CD sighed.

“The TUNI database is magic. All of it is magic.”

I shot him a thumbs-up.

“It’s not that I’m not following, CD. What I really need to know are the parts and pieces. I’m a salvage guy. That’s what I do. Tell me what to get, I get them, fix them, mod them, get them ready for the sale.”

A blue screen appeared on the wall, guided by rays of light extending from CD's hologram.

“This is the operational diagram. The implanted receivers are the key. Once installed, they allow for direct neural interface with the TUNI database, providing real-time data exchange and processing capabilities far beyond anything you've experienced.”

As he spoke, more schematics and diagrams bloomed in the air between us, showing the delicate, spider-web-like designs of the receivers and the robust, yet ethereal structure of the TUNI database.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Most of what we need can be scavenged from the pieces in your room. But I will also require a sheet of gold from which we can lay down a perfect electronic filament that will run our main power conduits in the TUNI itself.”

I looked through the diagrams and blueprints quickly to follow what he was talking about. Running the lines, blocks, plates, and fans, I was amazed at how minuscule a lot of it was. The whole device was tremendous, the sort of awesome tech that the guilds had been trying to rebuild and recover for centuries. However, as CD continued to elaborate on the materials required, my enthusiasm waned, replaced by a growing concern.

“The primary conductor for the receivers must be gold,” CD stated, his voice void of any doubt. “Its superior conductivity and resistance to corrosion make it the optimal choice for ensuring longevity and reliability of the tech.”

Gold. The word echoed in my mind like the tolling of a bell, each ring a reminder of the resource's scarcity and value.

“Gold?” I echoed, incredulous. “CD, you do realize gold is not exactly in abundant supply around here. It's rare... and expensive.”

CD's hologram bristled.

“Your primitive economic constraints hold no value to me. Do you know where gold is? Go get it. Compromising on quality is not an option. The goal is to surpass, not emulate, the bang-on-rocks technology of this age.”

I sighed.

“There has to be another conductive material we can use. What about copper? It's still highly conductive and far more accessible than gold.”

CD stared, his emulated mouth wide open, and pearly white teeth gleaming.

“Copper, while adequate, is inferior to gold in every way that matters for this project. I refuse to compromise the integrity and superiority of our technology. It must be gold.”

“I’m back!” Elli called, waltzing back into the room with the sway of the newly-relieved. “I heard some of what you two were saying too. Gold? Pah. You might as well tell us you need stardust. Is there anything else at all that we could get you that would work for this TUNI system?”

“Something else? I am working with such backward, resource-stricken tribals that gold doesn’t exist? I find you humans to be quite vexing.”

CD's hologram flickered, lines of analytical scanning springing forth from his body to search every nook and cranny of the shop before stopping on my crumpled cloak lying in a mess at the foot of the bed. He leaned forward and pointed, a large shit-eating grin on his face.

“My cloak? How in the Boiler’s Oven would that help you make your tech? He’s messing with us, Elli.”

“No, you yeti. The clasp of your cloak is pure silver, and a sizable amount of it as well. With the proper reforging into a sheet, we can make all of the components necessary to put TUNI into a prime, if not appropriately technological, state of being. I need you both to melt it down and reform it at once.”

Elli stared at me, shock written over her face. She knew that the wolf clasp was as special as the shirt and the cloak itself, a piece of my father, and something that may have even been within my family line for generations.

I instinctively reached out to the pile, picking it up, and touching the clasp, feeling the cool metal under my fingertips.

“So, uh, gold you were saying?”

Elli frowned.

“No, really not a choice. Unless you want to fight all the knights of Alnda.”

“Ooh, can we?” CD asked, his face a rictus of delight.

“No. Look, Al, if we are serious about this, we’re going to have to make some sacrifices. And that includes, apparently, family heirlooms.”

CD's digital form leaned closer.

“Besides being pointless, this heirloom isn’t just any piece of metal. That clasp contains the precise alloy composition and artisanal craftsmanship necessary for the TUNI system's interface module. Its conductive properties are unmatched by anything else within this primitive workshop.”

I looked at them, then ripped the clasp away from the fabric with a rending sound that made Elli wince. Her eyes were sympathetic as I set it into her hands and turned away from them.

“I’ll get changed and ready for work. Elli, you should go do the same at your shop and then meet us in the workroom. We’ll get the clasp refashioned and done, no worries. And when we’re rich, I’ll just yank the silver back out and get it refashioned into another clasp.”

“Your fabric—” Eli started.

“Yeah,” I cut her off, stuffing my feelings down. “I’ll store that away and get that fixed, too. No sweat.”

Even as I spoke, I pulled my shirt off and tossed it in the corner.

“Seriously, just go get changed, Elli. This is all going to end up being worth it. I promise.”

The door cracked open and shut behind me as I went through and stacked my night’s fineries into a bin for a good washing later. Throwing on a simple shirt and pair of breeches, I put on mechanics overalls over that and checked myself in the mirror, before walking into the workroom.

Elli burst back in through the front door a second later, and I found myself briefly thinking back to her sky-blue gown from the night before. It was strange but, honestly, she looked good no matter what she wore. Even it was a pair of constantly washed threadbare overalls covered with oil stains and grime that refused to leave the garment.

Her hair was an untamed tangle, almost certainly tied up in knots, and I had to respect the enthusiasm she was showing in wrecking my clasp and getting this new TUNI device up and running.

“How did you get changed so fast?” I asked, rather surprised at her sudden appearance.

“It doesn’t take too long when you’re just looking to get dirty,” she replied. “How are you just done now?”

“He saw his reflection and spent a good minute preening and picking fleas from his mane,” CD replied. “I believe it is a customary ritual among primates before meeting potential mates.”

I grinned, despite the small pang of loss growing in my stomach. “We can re-machine that silver back into the clasp, right? When this is all done and we are rich?”

CD nodded.

“When you are emperor over the rest of the simians, you can do whatever you want.”

In the muted light of the workshop, the task of transforming my father’s silver wolf clasp into the lifeblood of TUNI began. Elli and I stood before the shop forge, listening to it cycle up, the coils under it all humming to life softly.

Elli shot me a concerned look and I nodded, letting her know it was all okay. Taking the silver wolf in her strong hands, she held onto it, watching the mid-tech device’s glow grow stronger and stronger until it illuminated the entirety of the shop in its warm, orange hue. She let the clasp drop, clicked a switch, and all three of us stood back to let the machine do its work.

The forge whirred and clicked, Frankensteinian gears composed of old-tech and new whirring and crackling. A nearby printer ground and cranked, spitting out a compositional readout of the metal and the current conditions of the forge. As we watched, flames kissed the bottom of the crucible, the silver within now looking wet and infirm.

It wasn’t long before the clasp surrendered to the heat, melting into a shimmering pool of liquid silver. I grabbed the readouts, scanned the numbers, and moved in, clacking a series of toggle switches and manipulating the controls to ensure an even heat. I felt sweat bead on my face, and Elli dabbed at it with a cloth before stepping back to stand next to CD, who was watching the whole process with apparently great interest.

Once it was fully liquefied, I cranked a lever and typed a code into the rune pad at its side. In turn, the forge cupped the molten silver and turned, pouring it carefully into a flat, rectangular mold I owned specifically for this purpose. The liquid silver hissed as it met the cool air, solidifying into a thin sheet.

“Manual labor is so much fun to watch. Will the monkey lose a finger? Will the hair on his arm catch aflame? How wonderful this whole thing is!” CD exclaimed.

“Har, har,” I replied. “It isn’t over yet. Elli, wanna prep the machining station?”

Elli hurried over to the cutting and grinding table, clicking toggles and tabs, while I carefully moved the sheet over and set it into the machining tray. Once in place, the cutter clattered, cranked, then hummed to life. As the tray moved through the machine, rolling smoothly along a rubber thread, there came the sharp clink and slap of blades, all perfectly positioned assuming Elli’s calibration was on target. There was a flash of light as a smattering of lasers coursed over the work, detailing smaller cuts over the surface. Thin wisps of steam and smoke rolled out of a small chimney spout at the top corner of the machine, rolling lazily in a corkscrew stretching out to the ceiling above.

When the last of the silver was machined, cut, detailed, and bound, the machine released the tray and displayed to us the most important component of TUNI.

It was time to get dirty and build the thing. I sincerely hoped it would do as advertised, or CD would never see the sun again.