Chapter Seventy – A Respite

Chapter Seventy – A Respite

“Samurai don’t stay human.

Is it any wonder that some have a hard time sympathizing with the average person off the street?”

–Allan Pascal, online lecture on the psychology of body augmentations, 2031

***

Myalis had a lot of options to go over. Her tone didn’t quite change from its usual calm cadence but I had the impression that she was quite excited by the prospect of turning me into some sort of walking cyborg machine. “I don’t know,” I said to her last suggestion that I just get rid of everything inside my torso and replace it with a single machine. “I’m kind of fond of some of my internal organs. They’ve been with me my entire life.”

It’s merely more cost effective in the long run to replace everything in one fell swoop rather than piecemeal.

“What if… I don’t know, someone shoots me with a magnet?”

The system is hardly that failable. Also, someone could shoot you with a far cheaper standard bullet now and have the same impact on your lifespan at a much reduced cost.

“Point,” I said as I reached the end of the bridge. I looked around another sort of open-concept concourse. “You think we can take the elevators up?”

The elevators are still reporting as functional. On the subject of internal augmentations, it might all be a moot point. The more complex additions would require an operation’s suite to be installed, or else a series of drones to accomplish the operations and some time to recover afterwards. It would be unwise to do so in a battlefield.

“Then why are you pushing it so much?” I asked as I started following the signs towards an elevator bank.

I’m getting you used to the idea now, so that it’s easier to convince you later.

I snorted. “You’re such a pain in the ass,” I said.

Of course not. I’m merely thinking ahead. From your profile, I think it’s safe to assume that one of your goals in the near future will be to heal and fix as many of the injuries and defects that your kittens have, correct?

Stepping into the elevator, I paused for a moment as the doors shut on their own and I started moving up. “Yeah. Yeah that’s one thing I’ll definitely be doing soon.” The points I’d accumulated would be enough, I hoped. Some of the kittens only had little problems that I was sure a few meds could fix. Some had more complicated issues. Missing limbs would require some good prosthetics and the like. But I could afford them if I was a little more frugal with my points.

In that case there’s a good chance that you’ll be investing points into medical catalogues already. I’m just ensuring that you make the best out of them.

I crossed my arms and waited as we climbed up a few dozen floors. Myalis was… probably being as honest as she could be. The AI really did have a tendency to try and help, even if sometimes I questioned her intelligence a bit.

“First thing’s first, I’m going to need to replace my hydra guns,” I said. Raising up my new arm, I poked at the mangled remains of the right-side mount. “Maybe something with more bang.”

That’s not a terrible idea. Might I suggest a more comprehensive system than the plain Hydra?

“Now’s the time,” I said. I had points to burn, especially if they would keep me alive. “I do like the shoulder mounts.”

Then perhaps a full suite instead. Four arms to replace the two you have. You could also dip into your Plasma Casting Weaponry catalogue for something a little more dangerous than your Lancejets. I’m afraid that there aren’t that many subtle weapons in that category though.

“The plasma rifles weren’t very loud,” I said.

No. But their bullets glow. That might be outweighed by the advantage brought by purchasing a set of weapons that don’t require standard ammunition to fire, using gas and pellets instead. You could purchase a set of weapons with a greater rate of fire and the ability to fire an order of magnitude more projectiles before reloading.

I felt a grin tugging at my lips, one that was really helping get past the pain of my last battering. “That sounds nice. Maybe mix and match? Two plasma… smg things, and a pair of bigger, meaner guns. Something that won’t just annoy the next double-digit I run into.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

There should be some options like that in your Kinetic Handguns catalogue. Perhaps a Kneebreaker. It’s essentially a pared-down light anti-material rifle.

“Those are certainly words I’ve heard before,” I said.

The elevator stopped with a cheerful ‘ding’ and the doors slid open while I was reaching for my Trench Maker.

It fires very big bullets very fast. I’m afraid I can’t simplify it more than that.

I snorted and shook my head.