Chapter Twenty-Three - Dr. Myalis, Medicine AI

"The International Air Quality Index, IAQI, or "Yacky", is an internationally accepted standard for the air quality in and around various metropolitan areas across the world. For example, Paris, France has an IAQI of 4.5, whereas Novaya Moskva has an IAQI of 5.1.

The pre-Antithesis Chad had an IAQI of 5.2, and the current North African Exclusion Zone has an IAQI of 7.6. In contrast, the Antarctic circle, unaffected by most pollutants and about as pure as air can be on Earth--mostly seeing as how the air pockets in that region come from freshly melting ice!--has an IAQI of 2.1!

Pure, fully-filtered air in a medical operating room has an ideal IAQI of 2.0!"

--International Air Quality Index brochure, 2054

***

I eyed Rac properly for a minute or so. I'd like to think that I was pretty decent at sniffing out when someone wasn't in the best of shape. Rac looked... well, not that bad. She'd slept recently, judging by the lack of bags under her eyes. Still, she still looked like she was too thin, and too small for her age.

"Have you been eating?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, instantly sounding defensive in a way that told me she wasn't. Or maybe...

"Like, actual food?"

Rac crossed her arms. "Coco always made sure that we ate before and after a mission," she said. "She had these disgusting protein-shakes she insisted I drink."

Coco, the large gorilla-modded woman who's crew Rac had joined. There was a lot of past-tense in that whole statement. "Are you still working with her and the others? Spider and... what was that other guy's name? The one you had a crush on?"

"I didn't have a crush on anyone," she lied. "And it was Garter."

"Was?"

Rac crossed her arms. "Was."

I decided not to poke at that too much, it felt like she might be a bit raw about it still. So instead I walked over to the printer and tapped the touch-screen on the front of it. The printer had a pretty easy UI, with no ads popping up or demands to join some subscription or whatever.

It didn't take much to navigate the menus over to armours, then armoured skinsuits. The problem was when I clicked on one of the options that looked decent and was then prompted to fill in some 'basic' information.

Information like my bust size, waist size, the circumference of my thigh, around my knee, my calf, the length of each leg, the kind of arch on my foot... honestly I just kept scrolling down in growing horror. This was asking for about eighty measurements.

"Oh, yeah, it's like that," Rac said. "I have a measuring tape somewhere."

"Why?" I asked

"Because it's not one-size fits all?" Rac asked. "It's made for one person only."

"Damn, bespoke shit huh? Actually, that's kind of what I've gotten used to with Myalis... speaking of which. Myalis, bit creepy to ask, but do you have my measurements?"

I don't think it's necessarily creepy in context. You wouldn't think that a medical professional being aware of your blood sugar or cholesterol levels or body weight is 'creepy' would you?

"Yeah, but you're not my doctor. Not that I've ever had one. Wait, are you what it's like to have a doctor?" I asked.

Rac was giving me a look now, but I ignored it.

Let me just input the data for you.

The page I was on auto-filled and I smiled smugly at the victory before pressing on print. The machine clunked, then hummed, and I got to see a 3d scan of the skinsuit being made on the screen. It was pre-folded into a small package already. A timer popped up, and I blinked at it. "Forty minutes?"

"That seems reasonable?" Rac said. "It's fast for a print of something that's that good."

"Yeah, but that's forever. Urgh. Come on, Rac, you need to eat, and I don't feel like waiting alone."

Rac's expression was unreadable as I tugged her along after me. We returned to the main part of the house, then into the kitchen. It was mostly empty, except for a single kitten sitting at the island in the centre of the room and staring off into space.

"Heya, Nose," I said.

Nose turned my way, then smiled. "Hi Cat," he said. "Hi Rac. Are you becoming a kitten too?"

"No," Rac denied immediately.

"Okay," he said. "Cat, you need to help me."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"With what?" I said as I abandoned Rac by the counter and opened the fridge. It was filled to the brim with leftover bags from about seven different delivery places. Interestingly, one of them was from the Burlington branch of Lucy's Kittens. Did... did they do delivery all the way here?

Nose took a deep breath from his, well, nose, then turned to face me. "The others don't want to play in the same room as me anymore. I have to sit here and play on my augs. Bargain started it."

"That sounds dickish, what, you letting some nasty farts rip in the same room as them?" I asked. Was Nose the one who was lactose intolerant? Not that we got lots of stuff to eat with actual milk in it.

Nose shook his head. "No! Just because I sneezed in his face."

"That's disgusting," Rac said.

"It was an accident!" Nose replied. "I'm not used to my nose tingling so much!"

"Was it just the one time?" I asked.

He squirmed in his seat. "They kicked me out after the sixth... seventh? I don't know, I wasn't counting."

"Yeah, gonna agree with Rac on this one, that's nasty," I said. "Did you at least cover your mouth?"

"It's too sudden," he complained. "Daniel told me to wear a mask, but I hate those."

It could be an after effect of his healing. From the records I have, Nose's olfactory system had a significant amount of damage, both from his environment, poorly implemented stopgap cures, and from genetic damage caused to him before birth. The nanorepair suite that cured him also likely left his nerves somewhat raw.

I nodded as I continued to search for something to eat. How could the fridge be so full and yet so empty at the same time? "Myalis says that it's because your nose is too new," I said.

That is inaccurate.

"It'll probably pass in a bit. Maybe go take some air to burn your new nerve endings?"

I would strongly suggest the opposite. The air quality of New Montreal is exceptionally poor. Given time he will likely lose the reflexive sneezing action. It should be fading already.

"Actually, scratch that. Just... keep on keeping on, and stop sneezing in people's faces. Learn to cover up." Nose grumbled, but he didn't gainsay me about it. "Ah, come on, the others won't kick you to the curb about it, they're just being dicks. If they don't stop you can hire Rac here to kick their asses. She's a big fancy merc you know? I bet she'd work for food."

"I... wouldn't," she said, very unconvincingly.

I grinned as I laid out a healthy breakfast for Rac and she eyed the food as if she was starving and hadn't eaten in a week. "Let's see about that. What were your plans for the day, by the by?"

"I didn't have much?" she said, uncertain.

"Cool! You can tag along, then."

"Is that smart?" she asked.

"You've got some armour, right? Carry that big gun of yours and get some face covering on and no one will mess with you."

"You can't just go anywhere while armoured and armed," she said.

I snorted. "It's easier to get some places with arms and armour," I said. "But in any case, you'll be with me. No one will bother you."

"Why do you want me to come?" she asked.

That actually gave me pause. Did I need Rac to come along? No, not really. In fact, it might slow me down and complicate things, if anything. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind the company and... I liked Rac. She reminded me of my second favourite person; myself. Only somehow Rac's situation was even worse, because I at least had Lucy and the other orphans to lean on and give me a purpose, and Rac had nobody.

"Just... trust me?" I said. I didn't have a good reason, really, but it might be good for her anyway. Open some doors, meet some people, maybe give her the contacts and know-how she'd need to do... whatever it was she was aiming for.

Something told me that Rac wouldn't be able to hang around here forever without developing a bit of empathy. Maybe this would get her to finally open up and help others along the way?

Or something like that. Honestly, I kind of just wanted company, and bringing Lucy along would be a recipe for disaster. Gomorrah was busy with her own stuff, and the Kittens were mostly too young. Daniel could come, maybe, but I got the impression he was into his own stuff.

I nodded, confirming my choice. "Yup! This is gonna be a fun afternoon, trust me," I said.

***