Dan was almost asleep at the wheel as he pulled into his parents driveway. His father had told him about the crash of adrenaline after a fight, but Dan had never realized how bad it was. Getting out of the patrol car to open the cattle gate Dan saw his father appear out of the predawn light from behind the rose bushes that his mother loved. "Jesus son, what in hell are you doing driving a cop car?"
Dan's father was fully dressed in camo fatigues wearing a modify AR-15 with a shoulder strap. Sgt. Charles Adams (ret.) had been a Force Recon Marine for over twenty years before he met his wife and decided that enough was enough. After all those years on long marches and being deep in enemy country, Dan's father had developed an extreme paranoia of the government, and after hearing some of his father's horror stories he could understand it.
"Shit, Dad! Do you know what the fuck is going on?" Dan asked.
"Yeap! The government is finally fucking us over. They have been putting drugs in the water for years, they just moved up to microchips the last few years, and decided they finally got the programming right. Now, they trying to get us to kill one another with some bullshit story about Zombies." Dan's father came over and opened the cattle gate to let him in.
"Dad, this shit is real! I have shot a half dozen of these things Zombies." Dan's father turned his head to his son and shook his head.
"Dad... listen to me. Maybe it's the government or Aliens, but people are dying out there and then getting back up. If you don't believe me, ask what time is it?" Dan told his father.
"What the hell are you talking about? If I just need to know what time it is I can... Well, that makes sense, makes it easier to coordinate activities." Dan just shook his head.
"Dad, I am going to go drive up to the house. I have a little girl in the back seat, her mother was killed, do you think Mom will mind?" Dan said as he moved back into the patrol car. His father, just shook his head and motioned for Dan to go on. Heading up to the house, Dan pulled the car back near the workshop to make sure it couldn't be seen from the road. Getting out of the car, his mother appeared at the back of the house waving to him, and for a second the horror of the last two hours went away. Opening up the back door, Dan scooped up the little girl and as soon as his 5' 4" sixty year old mother saw the little girl it was all a whirlwind of flower fabric, questions about the girl, breakfast, and what was going on.
It took about an hour for everyone to settle down. By that point, Dan had learned that the little girl he had saved was named Clara and she was enjoying her third plate of pancakes. Begging of any more food, Dan had told his mother and father that he wanted to get some sleep on the couch. His father told him to leave the guns in the mud room for him to clean. Sitting down at the couch, Dan decided to finally check out the prompts that the system had told him about.
The shop option brought up a Menu that had the categories: Weapons, Armor, Items, Cybernetics, System Resources, Robots, Vehicles, Land Improvements.
Dan opened the Weapons menu and designs for futuristic weapons came up. Apparently, Dan could purchase a design plan for a one run weapon with a thousand rounds of standard ammo. However, where to get the weapon manufactured or what the resources were needed was not included in the plans. Checking the other menus, there were design plans for advance tablets; cybernetic implants; some kind of AI management programs; and even plans for cold fusion generators under land improvements.
Deciding that he need a lot more time and a lot more credits before he could purchase anything. Dan said, "Level Up."
>Level up initiated... Tier 1 upgrades available.
>Cybernetic Implant: Basic Neural Net - The basic Neural Net package upgrades the ability to access the System will be improved. Network connection will be established. Increase in processing power, reaction times, and memory.
>Cybernetic Implant: Detoxification Scrubber - the basic Detoxification Scrubber package upgrades the host ability to resist poisons and toxicants. Small increase in the ability to survive natural diseases. Slight increase in general health and slight decrease in aging.
>Cybernetic Programming: Zombie Resistance I - Decrease chance of being culled by 50%. Increase resistance of being turned into a Zombie by 10%.
>Please choose upgrade package through voice command.
Dan looked at the writing for a moment and thought about his options. He needed to increase his survivability in this new world. So he immediately dismissed the detoxification scrubber as he needed an immediate boost to his abilities. Looking at the programming, he was tempted to purchase it to allow him to keep going, but it was the reaction times in the Basic Neural Net that made him hesitate.
"Basic Neural Net Upgrade." Dan said.
>Please find a safe place to rest for the next four hours as package is installed.
>When ready state, 'Initiate'.
Putting his head down on the couch Dan said, "Initiate".