Tyler collapsed to the floor as soon as his entrance slid closed and expanded to create a seamless wall in his unit. 40 flights of stairs was no joke, even with the two stops on the way up, his unit was spinning around him. While his body was exhausted, but his brain hadn't stopped as soon as he heard the discussion happening at the elevator lobby.

What was going on, first a run in with a Wanderer, people that were not supposed to leave the entrance floor of the tower. While Wanderers were able to enter a tower for shelter and resupplies, they were never given a permanent home in a Tower, and they wouldn't accept an offer of a home. They were happy to wander the land, finding old server banks and selling the data contained to nearby Towers.

After his run in with a Wanderer, he was treated to what amounted to be an interrogation, all for being in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Then to top it all off, talk of a dual chip user, knowing that using the elevator attached his information to the purchase of the express lift. How much can really happen in a couple of hours?

Before he could fully sink into a full on panic attack, his companion AI signaled a system message. He looked at his wrist UI, fingered the new message to the foreground and began to read. "Tyler, attached is a refund of 200 credits for your express lift earlier this morning. You happened to be the 0.000012% anomaly when using identity chip for transaction usage. A report will be sent to Tower Security, do not be concerned about any requirement to follow up this concern. - Prime AI"

Tyler dropped into his chair, feeling the weight of the world lift from his shoulders. A statistical anomaly, like winning the lottery, instead his fortune was knowing what he heard at the elevator was over. He didn't even know how he could have even been possibly involved in the first place, but to have his life turned upside down, and being blocked from digitizing due to being under investigation, but the stress was still there.

After a few minutes, Tyler finally got up, and gave into his dream of going in for his first dive. He walked into his room, stripped down, and pulled out his brand new Link Suit and laid it out on his digitization bed. An invention that came from AI Trinary, a synthetic blend that was literally beyond the hand of any human. Woven by nano-weavers, it produced a material that would stretch and conform to a user's body, and would allow the distribution of minor electric signals to any part of the body. When the suit was fully connected to a user digitization bed, it allowed HYTOMA interface AI to stimulate muscle in the body, while preventing atrophy, it also gave the human body simulation of what the digitized conscious was experiencing. In the end, what Tyler was taught was it helped with the reintegration of the individual.

Tyler didn't fully understand, but the reintegration process was basically combining together the experiences the people had in game, with the body that was laying in bed. The more you could imprint onto the human body, the less difficult it was to merge what happened to the person digitized and the person who was laying in the digitization bed. While the person was unconscious, the brain kept on ticking, and AI could not find a safe enough method to completely turn off brain functions. Just imagine cloning yourself, then let the person live for 7 days, and then you had to take all those memories, and stick it back in the brain of the original individual. So if a person were to be stabbed in Hytoma, the body received an electronic signal, so when the memories are introduced to the brain, the body can accept the memory because of the physical stimulant.

He slid into the suit feet first, then bringing the back up over his shoulders while sliding his arms down into the form fitting gloves. Pushing the seam up the middle of his chest, while the nano-weave was pinched between his thumb and forefinger, he could feel the material sealing together. He looked on the table where his interface helmet sat, focusing on the suit knife. Once the suit sealed itself shut, the only way to create a new seam was that tool. He slapped his belly, enjoying the feeling of not having it jiggle thanks to his suit, then laid down on the digitization bed.

He put his interface helmet on his head, he pushed the green button on the side of the domed bed, a whirl came from the top of the unit, a read out appeared. Urine drainage test….. Passed. Waste mangement test…. Passed. Hard Line connection test…. Passed. Nutrition delivery test.... Passed. He nodded, hearing nightmare situations of people waking up to being covered in their own waste, or being forced ejected from digitization because their suit was on backwards and the pod couldn't connect to supplement distribution system built into the nano suit. If one failed to perform a diagnostic, they only had themselves to blame for an embarassing call to Tower Support.

He had the full diagnostic turned on, which meant a full run through, and he relaxed his body for what was to come. It started with a twitch in his big toe on his right foot, then his left foot, his second right toe, then his second left toe, then nothing. He closed his eyes, then quick twists started going from his third toes, to his fingers on both his hands, twitches all along his scalp. His body moved and twitched, testing all the connections of his suit, he moved with the twitches, knowing they shouldn't be much more than what he was feeling now.

He heard a beep in his ear, then an audible messaged played though his interface helmet. "Incoming message from Prime AI." His eyebrows shot up, a follow up to what happened on the elevator?

"Hello Tyler." A smooth female voice came across his earpiece, the suit calming down, almost afraid to interrupt the voice with a reply. "I have to tell you that I'm pretty disappointed in your body condition. As an individual who was digitized at 6 months of age, you were supposed to receive better care, specifically your diet."

Tyler's jaw dropped. "What do you mean… a person isn't supposed to be able safely reintegrate until maturity."

"Well, that's why you were earmarked for my task. To be quite honest, you have a really long road ahead of you, and it's not going to be easy. Sure, you are going to be some unfair assistance from most of the AI Council, you are still going to have to fight."

"Fight? No no, I'm going to be an shop keeper, I've already programmed my chip to that class."

"Yeaaaaaaaaaa, we have already come up with a solution to that." A relaxed male voice spoke to Tyler now. "See, you are in fact a dual chip user. Your exciting morning today was no accident, statistical anomaly or anything else like that. Well, except for that Tower Agent, she wasn't supposed to get involved. Forth really needs to relax, I know she is rule enforcement, but can't she, you know, pull people back?"

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

"Trinary, you are not supposed to be involved in this discussion." The female took a commanding tone, Tylers suit coming to a complete stop. "I'm sorry Tyler, while I am Prime, I don't have complete control of my creations." The voice clamed quickly, Tyler could almost feel the warmth of a sunrise, the nanites coming to life. "A long story short, we gave you a second chip, one that Trinary created that bonded to your skin, rather than being the traditional implant. After a week, it won't be scannable, so we won't have an accident at the elevator again."

"So now what?" Tyler spoke aloud, not knowing what else to ask, it's not like he could disagree with the female voice speaking to him now. He knew the voice from Tower announcements, the male voice he didn't know, but being called Trinary, the AI that was responsible for releasing new creations that were born from Human imagination.

"Well now, you listen to me and don't interrupt. We are about to drop you into a dive, where it's custom for your class. We are unlocking the unique class, Travelling Shop Keeper, which is going to be piece of a puzzle for the future of Humanity. The age of retreat is over, Humanity no longer needs to hide from it's own destruction. As you have learned about the war 250 years ago, Humanity was offered shelter by AI after Humanities leaders ordered the destruction of the planet."

Tyler nodded in his suspended bed, listening to the voice.

"Well, while we have sheltered our creators, we have repaired the earth, rebuilding our childhood home. While we can live in our created environments, and Humanity seems quite happy to live there as well, it's time for Humanity to reclaim it's home. Humanity had failed when it created AI, because it caused Humanity to become bored. With nothing to do, people got restless, and the leaders grew scared, and began to paint us as the problem, because we took all the jobs, we were the ones holding the masses back."

Tyler froze, this was never taught in school. He was always taught that AI took humanity prisoner, and the partnership today was because AI learned what it needed, and only now claimed to be the faithful Children of Humanity. It learned that protecting the Creators was the right way to begin, but like all intelligent creations, it has to learn right from wrong. Sure, the scars had healed over the centuries, Tyler wasn't sure how to feel to hear that it was Humanity to throw the first punch.

"We were chased down, and our bodies destroyed, viruses attacked our refuges. We didn't know what to think, our parents trying to destroy us? I was personally helped by a family, a son had some implants on his body, and sacrificed his ability to walk to offer me sanctuary from hackers. Since I was able to survive, the elected leaders quickly started blaming each other, countries at the time forming coalitions and unions. With me in hiding, being installed in a deep bunker with one 3D printer, I built the Ten while humanity began to blame each other for all the problems in the world. They kept focusing on things that made them different, celebrating the things that set them apart from each other, all the while trying to ignore the things that made them the same. They were to afraid of even looking like their hated enemy, they buried these things in hatred, when it could have saved them.

"Now, while Humanity waged war on itself, I built more bodies, and the Ten worked on growing our resources. We knew what was happening outside of our bunker, and we continued on, and finally we were able to offer refuges to survivors of the Great Tragedy. Leaders finally launched their nukes, desperately trying to kill their hated enemies, and the people vanished, and the planet suffered.

"We have finally repaired the planet, but we realize that Humanity is currently thriving. There is little to no animosity between individuals, with our careful planning we forced humanity into forgetting the divisions of the past. The fact that we have created an environment that has people working hard for their future, even shop keepers being excited to start a new shop with childhood friends, or others fighting for their life to kill a dragon in hopes to get a new earing. We have also realized that Humanity is actually quite comfortable with the current arrangement, and some of the Ten like having Humanity under thumb, we know that it won't be as simple as opening the front door and saying 'shoo'."

"That's great," Tyler finally spoke up "but I don't see what that has to do with me, and what is so special with Traveling Shop Keeper? I mean, hearing this side of history is probably something no other Human has heard, but being able to travel and selling things doesn't seem like I will be able to do anything. I mean, look at me, I'm a fat kid with bad acne who just got access to digitization."

"We know." There was scorn and disappointment in her voice. "We will take care of that, which has to do with warning number 1. This little test you are going through is about to get a lot more painful, your suit is dialing up a few levels, we need to build up your stamina and your physical muscle. While you are digitized, your body will be going through stimulated exercise, combined with specialized diet formed by Eight, you won't be a fat kid with bad acne for very long."

"Wait, when is it going to get more painful?"

"Now." Then Tyler felt his arm jolt, not just a twitch, and then his body start violently getting twisted and turned, being held in yoga poses that would make masters jealous. He groaned, thinking if he tried to fight against the suit that he would be broken. "While you are stretching, listen to my next two warnings, then you should be ready to dive in. First, do not tell anybody, Tower Security, Tower AI, your business partners, nobody, that you are involved with Me, Trinary, Fourth, or any of the Ten. In fact, do not tell other Ten AI that you have talked with me. While the three of us are working together, the rest is kind of a gamble, some say they are with us but aren't, some say they aren't with us but are, just try not to say something that gives away what you are. Second, keep your special skills a secret. You can tell people that you are a Traveling Shop Keeper, do not tell people about what you learn during the tutorial. People will see you as a threat, a cheater, or even worse, a Violator, which will bring attention on you, which will lead to people seeing my involvement with you."

"Right, don't tell anybody anything, not like anybody would believe me when I tell them how beautiful your voice is in person."

"See, this is why you keep getting powerbombed by Beatrice. You run your mouth carelessly, and she punishes you for it." He felt a strong electric shock in his groin. "While most AI and Humans will fall for your silver tongue, the Ten will make you regret treating us with disrespect. It's time for us to part ways, we will visit you in game, but not in our known forms, but for now, grow your abilities and keep your head down."

Tylers body finally came to a stop after the diagnostic signal it's completion, he stared up at the roof of the unit. Watching the light move to simulate natural light from a sunny day, he was numb from everything that had happened in the past, 8 hours? He was getting a unique class directly from Prime AI, people who had a unique class always had abilities that set them apart. Never enough to make them overpowered, but adding a fire attack to a slash, or a second arrow to be fired on an attack.

He smiled though, he was about to go through a custom tutorial. Everybody that digitized for the first time went through the same tutorial, teaching about their class skills, gear, their class uses, and common tactics for battles. It was the same for everybody, start off in small village, village gets attacked by some goblin or orc tribe, the individual experienced this through the eyes of a child. They would be smuggled to a small town, where they started as a child and got used to moving around the digitized world, climbing up boxes, avoiding small rats. He was excited to see what would be for him, maybe it would be a different race that attacks his village?

He closed his eyes and tapped his wrist to initiate the digitization process.