"Fuck that guy," I think, as I head out the doors towards the lift. "I refuse to believe that the Unum is literally sooo busy that we couldn't just pop our head in for a second. Like, 'hey, did you need me? Was that your voice I heard in Cetus? No? It was some other powerful entity and or I'm just going insane? Coool, cool cool cool no big.' And then I dip. Fucking 1 point 5 mil my ass." I'm doing my best to keep my expression level, but I'm ramping myself up the more I think about it. My fingernails dig into my palms, and I keep needing to force my shoulders to relax as they tense up. "I'm not saying I fuckin' wanted a palm reading or whatever. I literally just wanted to see if she was trying to slide into the DM's, but Pastor Jackoff is on a god damn power trip. The only reason I was even there was because Konzu said I needed to, but then he didn't say shit about the fat fuckin' fee, so fuck knows what his plan was when I rolled up with four nickels and a piece of lint."

As I make my way into the lift and descend to Jae's floor, I do my best to push the entire event into the back of my mind, but I can still feel the sharp bite of anger tickling the edges of my thoughts. "Whatever. I don't care," I lie to myself. "And I'll keep saying it until it's true." I leave the room with the lift and find myself on Jae's floor, but instead of heading towards his hotel, I browse the various goods on display in what local's referred to as the 'lower market'. The first floor, I had eventually learned from Jae, is mostly goods and services aimed towards tourists, new skinners, and those who don't know any better. But one floor down is a market for those who spent either most or all of their time within the Unum.

Unlike the one above, nearly every place down here requires a badge, even things that don't generally require it, such as a bar. Having someone who can vouch for you helps as well. I'm told it helps prevent offworlders and tourists who are looking for a more "authentic experience" from trickling down into the space. Unlike the market in Cetus, however, the scope of goods and services is drastically less varied, instead being focused towards those living within the Unum; not just skinners, but also adherents, operations, business owners, and general workers. As well, goods harvested within the Unum generally pass through this space first, before making their way out of the tower; Orokin era technology such as energy cells, high capacity wiring, and most importantly for me, modules.

"Apparently there's just so many hidden passages and offshoot rooms and inaccessible paths that they keep finding crap. Not like... a lot, but occasionally," I muse, as I make my way down the open hallway. "If I didn't know any better, I would assume that the Unum was just making stuff for people to find, but apparently she can't do that. Her source is 'trust me, bro'. In any case, from my understanding, goods can often stick around in the lower market for quite a while before making their way out into Cetus proper, so if I'm lucky I can find a mod in my price range. Or more realistically, I'll just get a vague idea of how much a non flawed mod will cost. But also also, if I can find someone selling a mod, there's a good chance I can have them give me a rundown on how exactly you have a gun shoot faster, or fire more bullet per bullet, or any of the other magic crap that mods do in the game. I doubt I'd ever be able to make a mod of my own either, but mayhaps..."

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It takes me nearly 20 minutes before I break down and ask someone for directions, and eventually I'm directed to the place I'm stood in front of. It has the look of nearly every other shop that does not contain an open storefront, which is to say, it's a single, unadorned door with a sign. "At least this sign says MODS," I think, before opening the door. "Hey there!" says the man at counter at the back of the store. His smooth baritone voice bounces off the walls as I fully enter the space. His long, dirty blonde hair is tied back, and there are a number of partially obscured tattoos peeking out of his collar, as well as trailing down his arms past his rolled up sleeves. "Oh! Hey," I say, as I approach the counter. "I heard you are the one to talk to if I was looking into getting some mods. Or... a mod, more realistically." The man nods his head, pushing some sort of digital device to the side.

"Well, you weren't led astray then. I'm Kot. What can I do you for?" says the man, placing his hands on the counter in front of him. I scan the shop, but oddly, I don't notice any mods on display. Instead, the few shelves in the store contain weapon parts, all meticulously labeled and organized. My confusion must be apparent on my face, because after only a moment of scanning, Kot pipes up. "Is there... something you're looking for in particular?" I look back at him, giving him a so-so hand wiggle. "I guess I'm just interested in learning about mods as a whole. I think I know what they do and how they work, at a real high level, but I wanted to know a bit more about the details. And price one out, if possible," I respond. "For example, what can and can't they do? What can and can't they be put on? I have a handgun I want to put some onto, but what are the limits? That sort of thing." Kot nods, and says, "Well, let me pull one out for you, and we'll go over it."

"I'm an M R zero baby all over again," I think, as Kot disappears into the back. "All this stuff has numbers in the game, but I don't know how things like 'capacity' and 'mod slots' and what not actually work in real life." It only takes a moment before he reappears, holding in his hand an inflated disc shaped piece of tech. He sets it on the table in front of us, and it takes all of my willpower to not immediately pick it up and start messing with it. "So, this right here is what might be considered a basic module. Actually, that's not entirely true. This one's called Primed Slip Magazine, and it's a high end module. Orokin made. But it's basic in functionality." I nod my head while looking over the mod. "Increases magazine capacity, I think," I mutter to myself, trying to recall what I can from the game of the pistol exclusive mods.

"That's... yeah, that's right. I thought you didn't know how they worked?" Kot asks, confusion clear on his face. "Oh, uhm... I don't, but I did a bit of research? But it's not... you're the expert, sorry. I'll... keep my mouth shut, don't mind me," I stammer out, realizing I let slip what was meant to be a thought. His expression is affable as he waves off the faux pas. "No, don't worry about it. But you're right. Slip Magazine increases the magazine capacity. Do you know how many rounds your gun has?" he asks, and my mind replays the killing of the Grineer soldier. I don't outwardly react though, as by this point I've more or less comes to terms with the killing, but the memory is still the first to come to mind when thinking about the bulbous green weapon. "Fourteen," I say, and Kot nods his head. "So that means that if you were to apply this module, your gun would have 21 shots. It's a 50% increase."

Something about the number twigs me as incorrect, but I'm unsure of what exactly it is. Instead, I push it to the back of my mind to ask Kot the much more pressing question. "But how?" Kot gives me an excited smile. "That's the genius of a module. What the Golden Lords did, the specifics of their artistry... not even the Corpus can perfectly recreate what they accomplished. And me... well, I'm no module maker, so what I'm giving you is really just a broad overview. If you want specifics, you'll have to talk to someone in synthfabrics," he says. "So, modules. Inside of them is a mix of a sort of plasma, a goo that can contain memories." His specific wording nearly causes my eyebrows to jump off my face. "HOL UP. Is he saying that modules contain Aya? Which... it's space magic bullshit but, Orokin memory plasma? That's the flavor text for the blue goop you trade to Varzia or whatever her name is at Maroo's bazaar. That's... not canon I don't think?"

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The logic tracks to an extent, but the claim is so wild that I have an urge to fact check the man. Unfortunately, my phone is long gone and the wiki inaccessible, so I simply nod my head at the explanation. "Memory goo, alright, I guess I'm following," I say, as I internalize the information. He gives me a nod, before continuing. "So, this plasma is fueled by an energy. These balls of energy are referred to as endo," he says, pulling out a ball from the mod nearly identical to the model from the games, minus the glow. He hands it to me, and I roll it in my hands, surprised at the robustness of it. "I don't know why I thought it'd be fragile glass," I think, looking at the gold inlaid object. "Now, to be clear, this is really just spent endo, sometimes referred to as an endo casing. True endo contains an energy inside it, what looks a bit like trapped lightning. That energy is used to power the plasma mix, and it's what brings those memories to life," says Kot, as I hand him back the ball.

I take a moment to chew on his words before speaking. "So... okay. Endo is an energy, and that energy powers a plasma, and that plasma has memories, and the memories are... whatever the mod does? So, if the plasma had a bunch of memories of say... fire and heat, would the bullets start setting things on fire?" I ask. "I mean, sort of?" he says, giving me a so-so head gesture. "They wouldn't become little fireballs, if that's what you're asking, but you might be able to apply the effects of elemental heat to someone." His words hit me like bricks. "Sorry, elemental heat? What... what?" I'm unable to form a more coherent question, and the man just grins. "Yea, this knowledge is a bit lost to the average person. If you were a monk, or module maker, or worked with the Tenno, you'd probably know this. So, the world has forces inherent to it's underlying structure. Heat, Cold, things like that."

"Generally, you hear more about them in regards to mods, as they would apply the force of that element directly. So the memory would have to be about the elemental forces, I'd imagine, not just hot things, and... well, like I said, I'm not a module maker. I don't really know how you go about getting something like that," he says with a shrug. "Like I said, you'll have to talk to the Corpus." It takes me a moment to connect his previous reference of "synthfabrics" before I realize what he's saying. "Wait, the Corpus make mods?" I ask. "I mean, that makes a lot of sense though. They're probably the only ones with the gear to make mods, assuming it's big tricky. And all the not prime mods have to come from somewhere. Okay okay, following," I think, feeling new neural connections form from the information.

"Supposedly, the Grineer make mods too, but I've not had a chance to have a conversation with one of those tuberats, so," he says, his affable expression momentarily shifting into a grimace. "Well, I fuckin' hate that idea," I think, shuddering briefly. "Well, okay. I have a million more questions, I think, but I'd love to know how much a mod like this costs," I say, pointing at the metal disc between us. "Well," he says, scratching his chin, "it's not cheap, I'll tell you that much. The Corpus made version of this is pretty standard, but any Orokin tech is going to fetch a chit or two. Also, I've charged this one up with endo, which... is not a cheap process. I'm not entirely sure, but I'd imagine I've nearly maxed it out, so if I had to put a number on it... three hundred, fifty thousand? Somewhere thereabouts," he says, with a non committal shrug.

"Oh, is that all?" I say cheekily, shaking my head at the absurd number. He chuckles, before explaining, "I've only ever had two primed mods cross my desk. This one, and another one. They don't really sell, and so I've had this one in the back for quite a while. The Unum is nearly fully explored, so primed mods are hard to come by." A quick number crunch on the week and a half of work for seven silver (not including rent and food) make it eminently clear that I'm not earning my way to a primed mod anytime soon. "I'm assuming you have non primed mods then? Otherwise you might want to remove the S from your sign out front," I say, giving the man a grin. He nods, the mirth evident on his face, as he grabs the primed mod from off the counter.

"Yea, a few mods make their way from Cetus down here. It's pretty rare; this shop is more focused on weapon repairs and the like. But I do have a few, if you'd like to check them out," he says, as he starts to turn to head into the back. "Well, before you grab anything, can I get a rough range on the cost of a non primed mod?" I ask. "Somewhere between 20 to 70 thousand? Generally below a hundred, and above ten," he says, causing me to wince. "Damn, even then... I don't have that sort of money, and I doubt I will for a while," I say, feeling bummed at the financial reality before me. "I hate to pile it on, but you'll also need to account for endo. The stuff is expensive on it's own, and an unleveled mod barely makes an impact," he says, looking sympathetic.

"Oh, right," I say, mentally adjusting my timeline from "never getting a mod" to "fucking never ever getting a mod". "Where would I even find endo?" I ask, the image of the gold inlaid spheres popping out of the corpses of the Grineer as I shot them. "You'd have to buy it," says Kot. "Obviously you can buy it from the Corpus, but I think the Tenno are technically the ones who make it. Or farm it. However that works." I nod my head, feeling certain of his theory. "Assuming endo is just void stuff, it would make sense that it was coming from the Tenno, since they've got access to it with their frames, and also probably with void keys and what not. I mean, that's definitely not how it worked in the game, but it makes a certain sort of sense, I guess." He gives a me a look of pity, before continuing, "but to fill a small mod, well, you're looking at a hundred thousand credits, on the low end." It's clear he doesn't enjoy being the bearer of bad news.

"Well, that is a bit of a bummer to learn, but thank you for the lesson, Kot," I say to the man, leaning back from the counter. "Of course! I don't often get customers; there's not a lot of need for weapons for those within the Unum or her protection," he says, glancing around the empty store. "Yea, I can see that. In any case, you've been a big help. If I manage to scrounge up the credits, I'll come to you first," I say, giving the man a big smile. He chuckles and waves me off, and it's only a few moments later that I find myself back in the hallway outside of the store. "That's kind of a bummer," I think, running over the numbers in my mind. "Short of selling our own stuff, we're never really going to be making more than three stack a day, after paying for rent and food and whatnot. Even for the cheapest mod, I'd need to be working for months and months to get it up to snuff. A full set of eight for even a single weapon, assuming it's the same rules as in the game, would basically take me the rest of my life on skinner wages!"

I start wandering the hall, my nose pulling me in the direction of food, while I consider alternatives. "I mean... fuck a big box. I have no issue with klepping some shit from the Corpus, I just don't really know how I'd be able to pull something like that off. It's sort of a catch-22; I wouldn't really feel comfortable robbing them unless I had the gear to back me up, but I won't have that gear until I use my five finger discount." The situation is at a gridlock, and I can't help but sigh, getting a look from a passerby. "I guess I'd just need to take that risk. I should talk to Ko-lee about it, see if it's the sort of thing she'd be comfortable with." I find myself in a restaurant I've not been in before, and I flash them my badge before finding a spot to sit. "I would hope that'd she'd be cool about it, but it's not really something that's come up. I have no idea how she'd feel about it."

I'm so distracted by the problem that I almost don't notice the waiter, and I give them my order before turning back to my thoughts. "Ultimately, it wouldn't really matter until we could find our way off planet. Although the more time I spend here, the less I think my original plan of 'get a spaceship and fiddlefart around the system' is tenable. Not unless me and Ko-lee wanna pull a Maroo and turn into super thieves. Which, preferably, I'd like to avoid. If it weren't for the Tenno, that shit would've gone sideways for her, and there's no guarantee we'll have our asses pulled out of the fire, Tenno ex machina style. Maybe we can be void explorers or something, there's gotta be good money in that..." My food arrives what feels like moments later, but I continue thinking about plans for the rest of the day.