Chapter Fifty-Three – The Gem

Chapter Fifty-Three – The Gem

“A diamond is a woman’s best friend.

But a goddess is adorned in painite.”

–Pandora ad, 2049

***

Lucy spun around, then came to a dizzying stop. The long pleats of her dress wrapped around her legs before gently unfolding. “What do you think?” she asked.

“You look gorgeous,” I said.

She really did look great. The dress was all dark purples and lighter grays. A sort of jacket-thing with padded shoulders that sank down to a thin waist and that wrapped around her hips. The main portion of the dress was a smooth, silky material, with a generous window over her bust and enough support to make things more interesting. It was still functional though, pretty without getting in the way.

My points were down to 10,644, but that did mean that I had two things to present to Lucy. Unfortunately I didn’t have a better box for them than the ones they’d come with. “I have gifts,” I said.

“Oh?” Lucy asked. She turned away from the mirror and looked my way. “What sort of gifts?”

I handed her the larger of the two boxes. “That’s… a meh gift. It’s a thigh holster, for your handgun.”

Lucy oohed appropriately and opened the little case to reveal the straps within. They were the same grey as part of her dress, even the texture on the surface matching. “Nice. Myalis has an eye for detail, huh?”

“Uh, well, I did ask for something you’d like,” I said.

Lucy laughed and pulled me into a hug. ‘“Thanks. It’ll look great. Really complete that famme-fatal look.”

“Uh-huh,” I said. “I have two more gifts,” I said.

“Oh, gifts plural. You know, what with the dress and the shoes and now the thigh holster–which is admittedly a bit weird–I’m starting to feel a bit overwhelmed here.”

I snorted. “You’ll like this one,” I said. “Turn around.”

Lucy turned, and I walked her sideways so that she was standing in front of the mirror. “Alright,” she said, meeting my eyes through the reflection.

“The next gift is this,” I said, a hand coming to the side. “Myalis, the augs.”

Here you go.

New Purchase: Cyber warfare Capable Class One Augmentation
Points Reduced to… 10,594!

The package was fairly large, and I had to use both hands to open it, ruining the moment I wanted to make a little. Inside it was a large tubular syringe, with a pad on one end and a thumb-trigger in the middle.

“I need to press this into your eye,” I said.

“Oh, yuck,” Lucy said. She made a face, but then brought a hand up to her left eye. “Should I keep it as wide open as I can?”

“You don’t mind?” I asked.

“Well, it’s you, so you’re hardly going to poke my eye out.” She very clearly rolled said eyes.

“Right, well don’t move,” I said. The tube expanded when it came closer to her eyes, pushed them open, then connected in place with a faint click. A light on the side of the device went green and I pulled it back. “Did that hurt?”

“No, not at all,” Lucy said. She blinked a few times. “Uh, my augs are off now, though.”

“That’s part one,” I said. “I also need to jam it against your neck.”

I lifted her hair and found the port for her augs right at the base of her skull. A compatible port slid out of the end and jammed itself into place. The lights on the side of the tube went from red to orange to yellow to green in the space of twenty or so seconds, then it dinged.

“I think it’s done,” I said. “Myalis said that it’s part hardware change, part software. Basically, it’s.. Bullshit nano stuff replacing and adding more bits to your old augs. So you don’t need to tear them out.”

“Oh, nice,” Lucy said. She blinked and then grinned. “Well, they’re back online. I can’t see any difference though.”

“I don’t think you should,” I said. “Faster, no viruses or anything, and some cyberwarfare stuff. Oh, and a better connection to Myalis.”

“Nice,” Lucy said. “I can send her more juicy memes.”

“You send my alien space AI memes?” I asked.

“She sends some back. Myalis is a bit of a shitposter, but she has this thing about cat pics.”

Cats are fascinating creatures.

“I’m surrounded by weirdos,” I said. “Not even my head is safe.”

Lucy elbowed me lightly in the ribs. “You’re not so normal yourself,” she said.