KIPOUEN

Gus woke up, his surroundings once again were unfamiliar. His vision was blurred, and he went to wipe his eyes. There was an IV drip connected to one of his arms, he gently put that one down and wiped with the other. His message must have gotten through. He hoped that Terry and Ansgar were ok. More than likely they'd been attached to a new unit and redeployed already. He looked around, trying to get his bearings, but couldn't see much lying down, and when he tried to raise himself up, pain wracked his chest and he let out a gasp.

"I wouldn't try to move too much if I were you, I'll adjust your bed to a sitting position, let me know when if you experience any pain when I do so." an unfamiliar voice spoke just out of Gus's view. He just nodded, finding his mouth too dry to reply.

His bed adjusted slowly, and he was in a much better position to see his surroundings. He was in a hospital room, he apparently had one all to himself. It was small but had everything it needed. He saw a lidded cup with a straw in it and eagerly grabbed at it easing his parched throat. Once he'd done that, he looked to the source of the voice, finding a stern looking older woman in casual military dress and a doctor's coat. She was checking some readings on the equipment near his bed. She gave a long 'hmmm' after a few moments and turned to him.

"My name is Doctor Gutierrez, I normally don't spend much personal time with patients outside of surgery, but your situation is somewhat, involved. Which is why I'm handling briefing you personally so let's get to it. In short Gustav, you're condition is stable, the emergency medical nanites from your suit kept you alive for long enough to get you back here. You'll live, but that's about all the good news I have for you though." her voice was kept in a careful monotone, her face however, betrayed slight pity.

Gus knew that it must be bad and he just wanted to know. "Just tell me what's wrong and what can be done, if anything. I'd rather know than not."

Doctor Gutierrez nodded and after a couple taps on her tablet, synced with the wall display across from him and began explaining his condition using various charts and scans for reference. "A large stone shard was sent flying, it had enough velocity that it ended up piercing your armor. It apparently hit at just the right angle and speed to penetrate, the data will be sent back to R&D. Hopefully, new variations of the armor won't have the same fault, but for now we have to deal with the consequences of you finding this weakness the hard way."

Gus nodded, relieved to hear that at least some good was coming from this situation. Doctor Gutierrez continued, "Your spinal cord was partially severed, the medical nanites did what they could to try and bridge the gap and keep the connection working so we could get a proper replacement patched in later, but it wasn't enough. We tried the typical stem cell therapies, but your body just wouldn't respond. You are, at least for now, a cripple." The doctor's face betrayed frustration, and Gus couldn't blame her. He wasn't exactly happy either.

Gus sensed a pause in her monologue and interjected, "So what are my options then? I suppose I could remain a cripple, but from the sounds of it, there's something that could be done?" If there was something that could be done, he'd take it. He didn't want to be unable to walk again.

She nodded, "There are three options. I'll be explaining the first two to you. The third is apparently too classified for a lowly doctor such as myself. Someone else will explain that to you and then you can make your decision. The first option is less extreme, but also less effective. We'll install an artificial implant at the break in your spine and another in your brain. You were due to get an implant anyways due to your specialty, but they rushed you onto the battlefield too quickly. Regardless, this will allow you to walk again. However, the technology is not where we'd like it to be and your motion will be somewhat limited. You're range of motion will be more than adequate for civilian life, but combat or even physical sports will be off the table. You will be honourably discharged after the operation and recovery period and sent home with your accrued pay." She looked to see his reaction. Gus was conflicted by this option but just nodded. It was something at least, but he wanted to serve. There was nothing for him if he went back.

The doctor continued, "The other option is much more extreme, but will allow you to continue to serve. As you likely know, human sized cybernetics are possible, but are expensive and ill-suited for combat. However we have found that utilizing the theory behind cybernetic prostheses as a baseline for larger war machines has value. For this option you will be embedded into a suit of cybernetic armor. We'll have to remove your legs to make room for the necessary linkages, but when you're hooked up you will become the machine. This does come with some caveats, you will be crippled when you're outside of the machine, and the survival rate of the operation is roughly fifty fifty. Even if you do survive the enemy will prioritize your destruction because of how effective these war machines are in combat. If you end up surviving that as well, then upon discharge your linkages will be recalibrated for normal civilian-grade cybernetics and you'll be able to live a fairly normal life."

Doctor Gutierrez stopped and waited for Gus to respond. He nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. Both options weren't great from his perspective. One was a guarantee at life, albeit returning to a home he wanted no part of. The other almost certainly ended in death one way or another. "So there's a third option then?" Gus asked. He hoped this option was better than the two already presented.

Doctor Gutierrez nodded and moved to the table next to his bed. She lifted up what he recognized as a virtual rig and handed it to him. "Put this on, the person who's supposed to explain the third option is apparently keeping an eye on this devices activity and will be with you shortly after you put it on. Keep in mind that whatever you discuss while in virtual with this person cannot be discussed with anyone in this facility. Whatever it is you are about to learn is apparently very classified and highly irregular. I've heard of soldiers getting a third option for situations like this, but it's extremely rare and I've never had it happen to one of my patients."

Gus nodded and took the virtual rig and slipped it on. No sense in waiting, he wanted to, no he needed to know what this third option was. The rig booted up automatically, and he found himself in a blank virtual space. It was a grey room with a standard grid, he was standing, something he apparently could no longer do in the real world. After just a few moments his surroundings began to shift as a virtual environment loaded before his eyes.

He was standing on a cloud in a virtual sky. There was nothing but fluffy white clouds in all directions. When he looked up he saw a bright yellow star, probably Sol, or more accurately, a representation of Sol. He'd read about earth during his school days but hadn't expected to ever see even a virtual representation of the star that humanity's birthplace orbited. Sitting a short distance away was a woman dressed in an extremely formal suit, she was tall with a gaunt appearance. Her limbs were unnaturally thin to the point of being spindly. Her face was long, and her features were thin. Her eyes had a darkened, hollow look to them. The woman's overall appearance was extremely unsettling to Gus.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Gus looked down to see what he looked like in this space and found that he was dressed in a casual military uniform. That made sense, he imagined that his appearance had been scanned and was represented with some accuracy as well. It would make sense, given the amount of data The Fleet had collected about him at this point.

Gus cleared his head of his musings as he remembered why he was here. There was a third option for treatment. Hopefully a better option than the two already placed before him. He strode forward, finding the clouds had a slight spring to them as he walked. He resisted the urge to bounce towards the table and walked over and took the seat across from the woman.

The woman nodded and with a wave of her hand, drinks appeared in front of both Gus and herself. As the woman took up her own drink, Gus looked at his. It looked like some sort of juice. Out of curiosity, he took a sip and found it sweet, but not sickeningly so, unlike the stimjuice of his home. He took a larger swallow and set it down, it wasn't real, but he appreciated the gesture of hospitality regardless.

Gus opened his mouth to speak, but the woman held up her hand to stop him. "My name is Vivien and I will be informing you of your third option for treatment. I am obligated to inform you that you may not speak of anything you hear in this space to anyone else until further notice. Do you understand?"

Vivien's expression remained unchanged, placid and calm like the surface of a lake, her words were spoken in such a way that carried a gravity that Gus could not describe. Gus merely nodded in response, as speaking felt entirely inappropriate.

Vivien smiled slightly, a ripple in her strange appearance. "Good, I will first inform you that I myself am a subject of this third option and am therefore somewhat biased towards it. Keep that in mind as I explain it." She paused briefly and continued after he nodded in understanding. "This option is very permanent and you will never be human in the way most experience such things ever again. In some ways you will be crippled and detached from the human experience. In other ways you will be transcended, near godlike in comparison to the average man."

Vivien had paused, a slight smile formed at the edge of her mouth, and Gus realized he'd let his jaw go slack. He quickly schooled his expression to something more neutral. There was a reason his expression had gotten to such a point though, what Vivien had just said was somewhat incredulous. Both lesser than a normal person, but also godlike in comparison? What sort of operation could they possibly be proposing?

Vivien's expression slid back into its normal placidity and she continued with her monologue. "To explain more fully, the option that is being presented to you is to become a cyborg unlike any other. To become the brain of a ship..or a space station, but more likely a ship. We have a shortage of candidates for warships due to the strict criteria. The optimal candidate is a child who cannot survive except to be put on life support for their entire lives, making the transition more of a natural necessity. However, with needs being what they are, less optimal, candidates are also being put into the program. You have been given this opportunity on recommendation from the Brain of the Saratoga. They were impressed by your ability to absorb new information and your dedication in doing so."

Vivien paused, seeming to wait for a response from Gus. Gus, for his part, had nothing to say, he hadn't even considered the idea of becoming the 'Brain' of a ship. He didn't even realize that was a thing until just now. Considering the air of secrecy about the whole business he supposed that was purposeful. He just nodded his understanding and gestured for Vivien to continue.

"Now, as you might have surmised from my description of the optimal candidate, you will be on full life support, suspended in a vat of gel. Your physical body will never move under its own power ever again. In exchange you will gain a body unlike any other, a warship, at least for now. After the war is over there are terms in the contract for transitioning to a civilian ship or station of some variety, but until that point…" she waved her hand in a non-committal manner. "There is of course a training period in which you will learn the majority of what you need to know. Some things can only be learned on the job or from more experienced individuals such as myself. We're all more than happy to help of course. Given the secrecy of our existence there are very few individuals we are allowed to interact with so any chance to socialize is a welcome one."

"It sounds rather...lonely, and isolating," Gus said. His face was contorted into a frown as he thought about the offer. There were still a lot of unknowns. "What's the successful transition rate? I imagine that beyond whatever surgery and implants that are required that actually transitioning can be pretty difficult."

Vivien nodded, "an astute question. You would be correct that transitioning can be quite difficult, but after some trial and error we've managed to weed out individuals who are not suited to this sort of life with a high degree of accuracy. The current success rate for eligible adults is seventy-nine point five percent. Nearly forty percent of failures are purely biological in origin while the rest are psychological. Unfortunately there is no going back once you make this decision so the end result of all failures is death."

Gus nodded, he was weighing his options in his mind. There was, of course, the safe option that would send him home, the dangerous option of integrating into a war machine of some sort. And then there was the option of becoming a 'Ship Brain,' which was safer than the second option, but he would never be able to experience life as a proper human again. The more he thought about it though, he'd never really much enjoyed the normal human life. He knew that had a lot to do with where he was born. However, he couldn't ignore the fact that abandoning a 'normal' human life didn't feel like much of a downside for him.

A strange wave of emotions came over Gus as he realized that he truly didn't care about abandoning his humanity. The more he thought about it, becoming the brain for a ship sounded better and better. He might die, but the odds were in his favor, and going home partially crippled sounded like a fate worse than death. And his odds were better than becoming a normal cyborg. He looked Vivien dead in the eyes and said, "I'll do it. It's the only option that makes sense out of the ones I've been given."

Vivien's face cracked into a wide smile that, like the rest of her, was exceptionally off-putting. "Excellent, before your decision is made final, there's a whole pile of documents for you to review and sign off on. I recommend reading through them properly. A military legal counsel with the appropriate security clearance will be made available to you. If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach out to them or myself. Farewell for now Gustav, and welcome." Vivien cut the connection, and the room faded back to gray.

Gus took off the virtual rig and returned to reality. Doctor Gutierrez seemed to have left, which was fine by Gus. He felt the need to be alone with his thoughts for a while. He imagined that someone would be by with a tablet filled with legal documents for him to go over soon. In the meantime though, he let his mind race as his heart pumped quickly. Just the thought of what was to come excited him. He savored the sensation as he realized he was unlikely to properly experience it again.

***

Milliseconds after Gus's departure from the virtual space that Vivien inhabited another figure materialized. Without hesitation or fanfare he took the seat that Gus had so recently occupied. He was of average build, being neither tall nor overly short. He had the slight pudge that seemed to inevitably come with age though he was far from fat. He bore a large bushy light brown mustache whose volume could only be matched by his eyebrows, that when furrowed as they were now, seemed to become a single line slashed across his face.

"So he's the one then eh?" the man said without preamble. "He doesn't seem any different than other candidates before. If anything, he's somewhat below the average."

Vivien nodded, "It would be fair to say that he is nothing special, but he his mind is still fresh and even better has not yet been marred by a standard Avalon implant. We have room to intervene where we have not before, his unique circumstance will be to our advantage."

The man nodded, "May he save us all."