Hector twisted the skull-shaped ring on his finger as he walked through the nighttime crowds. According to the crystal-glass tablet he’d connected it to in Pete’s office, he was just a few bits shy of 15k—quite a load of cash to be walking around with in the mean streets of Helio. He wasn’t nervous, though. The drones scanning the crowds helped the peacekeepers enforce the weapons laws, and that meant anyone who wanted to rob him would have to put their own lives on the line.
Occasionally, he saw someone with a blaster on their hip or a slung rifle, but he knew they’d be registered, especially as they were carried out in the open like that—mercs or bounty hunters. Sure, some bangers and other criminals might carry a gun, but in the waking hours of the night, they’d be hiding it, keeping it stowed away in a shielded holster or under a jacket with a static-jammer. If things hadn’t changed—and it didn’t seem they had too much—the Empire didn’t like its citizenry well-armed, even in backwater cities like Helio.
He stopped for takeout—a family-size order of fried, vat-grown chicken—and though he had to retrace his steps a couple of times, he found Lemon’s street and made his way to her building just a little after midnight. When he saw the clock on the door panel, he frowned. Should’ve gotten my level update by now.
As though it heard his thoughts—it had—his system hit him with a status update:
//Corpus Vivum conditioning in progress. Approximately 1.5 hours to complete level advancement. Disorientation, weakness, and even fleeting incapacitation may occur. Extra caloric intake is recommended.//
Things are different with a raw skin, I guess. He was used to his conditioned, vat-grown skins completing level updates earlier, not later than estimated. Putting the thought aside, he reached for the door panel and pressed his thumb against the glass. His biometrics worked, and he let himself in, hurrying up the stairs to Lemon’s floor. A few seconds later, he was tapping on her door with his knuckles.
She’d given him access, but he figured he ought to knock; the place didn’t have any interior walls and she might be in the middle of something. He heard her footsteps as she approached; then the latch clicked, and she opened the door. “You could have let yourself in.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, stepping through the gap. He held up the bag of chicken. “Brought food.”
“Ugh! So did I! I saved you most of a pizza.” She scowled, irritated, as she stood there in her long T-shirt. Her toes were held apart by cotton balls, and he could see she’d recently painted her nails.
“Relax. I’m hungry.” Hector was more than hungry; his stomach felt like it was consuming itself. It made sense, he supposed; Grando’s low-rent thug had only gotten him a snack bar, and the nanites he’d eaten, combined with the aura system’s leveling process, were consuming a lot of nutrients. He set the bag on the coffee table beside a pizza box, then flopped onto the couch. “Mind if I eat?”
Lemon waved a hand. “Go ahead. I should probably try to get to sleep. After we rescued Sadie, Grando told me I could come in early again, and—”
“You’re off tomorrow.” Hector opened the pizza box and took out a cold, stiff slice—veggies and cheese.
“What? Why?”
He chewed while she stared at him, awaiting a response. The pizza wasn’t good, but to his famished taste buds it was glorious. He started to take another bite, but she stomped her foot, so he paused to reply. “I need a guide.”
Lemon watched him stuff half the slice into his mouth and then asked, “A guide for what? Can you please try to strain yourself and give me a full sentence or two?”
While he chewed, Hector mimed taking a drink, and Lemon sighed heavily, stomping over to the kitchen. When she returned to flop onto the couch beside him, she held a large liter-sized beer pouch. “It’s cheap, but it doesn’t seem like you appreciate the taste of things all that much.”
Hector took the pouch and ripped the tab off, exposing the built-in straw. After a long sip of crisp, cold liquid that scrubbed the pizza grease off his throat on the way down, he said, “Thanks. I need to buy some stuff tomorrow, and I figured you might know some places I should go.”
“What kind of stuff?”
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Hector tapped his temple. “Need to get connected.”
“For your, um, AI?”
He nodded. “Need net access. Need it to get access to my eyes and ears. This skin wasn’t wired for it.”
Lemon shivered. “I hate how you refer to yourself like that. Can we try to forget that’s not your body?”
Hector shrugged. “That’s another thing. I’ll need an ID.” He didn’t bother explaining that if a peacekeeper scanned him and came up with his skin’s former ID, it could cause some trouble. Replacing his retinas was the first step toward avoiding that, but he’d need his new eyes tied to a proper ID—one that wouldn’t raise any flags.
“Won’t Grando handle that for you?”
Hector arched an eyebrow at her while he finished another slice of pizza.
Lemon stared for a moment, then slowly nodded. “I get it. You don’t want Grando to have anything to do with your new ID. He could find some new way to gain leverage over you.”
He smiled crookedly, tapping the side of his head.
“Don’t be patronizing!”
Hector swallowed and asked, “You know someone?”
“No, but I can message some people. Phil might have a connection.” She reached for the bag of chicken. “This smells good. I can have a piece?”
“All you want.”
With a smile, she removed one of the containers and took her time picking the piece she wanted. Meanwhile, Hector finished the pizza and chugged a third of his beer. His body was running so lean on nutrients that despite the food he’d just eaten, he felt an instant buzz. Leaning back, feeling warm and fuzzy, he gave himself a break, allowing his body to process the pizza.
“I thought you had to fight tonight?”
“I did.”
She glanced at him sharply. “You don’t look like Grando’s boys after a night at the fights.”
“Wasn’t too hard.”
“Wasn’t too hard.” Lemon repeated, her voice rising in a mocking, sing-song. “Are we going to leave early? If I don’t have to go to work, I might visit a club or two—see if I can make a little money.”
“We don’t have to leave early.” Hector sat up and pulled one of the chicken containers closer on the table.
“Well? Do you want to go out?”
He shook his head. “Can’t.”
“Why?”
“Aura system is going to do an update soon.”
She stared at him, clearly trying to puzzle out what that had to do with anything. Eventually, she gave up and stood. As Hector took a bite of the lump of breaded chicken meat, she stretched and yawned. “You know what? I think I’ll take the night off. We made good money today, anyway.”
After chewing, swallowing, and briefly savoring how the spicy, salty flavor set his tongue alight, Hector nodded. “Sounds good.”
“Tomorrow, then.” She glanced at the couch, then at the floor where he’d slept the night before. “You don’t need anything?”
“Not tonight.” I need some damn underwear and clean clothes.
She stretched again, then padded into the little bathroom and shut the door. Hector resumed eating with gusto.
An hour later, lying in the dark, listening to the sounds of the air filtration system, and underneath them, Lemon’s soft, regular breathing, Hector felt a wave of disorientation and a sinking sensation. A moment later, as the feeling passed, his system hit him with a new message:
//Corpus vivum conditioning complete and level advancement has been applied. Results are as follows:
- Strengthened aura pathways, increasing maximum load—use caution when exploring this limit to avoid aura overload
- Aura Pool increased from 8 to 10
- Strength increased from 9.36 to 9.8
- Speed increased from 11.1 to 11.4
- Vitality increased from 8 to 9.1
- New ability pathway available: Minor Aura Barrier
- New corpus vivum improvement available: Enhanced Bone Density 1
Aura Potentia Available: 17
End Report.//
Hector exhaled a long, slow breath, releasing some stress he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. His gains were good—as good or better than he could have expected from one of his cloned skins. He’d had his doubts—unvoiced, even to himself, but there. Nevertheless, he’d gained two maximum aura and nearly two full attribute points overall. More importantly, his aura system had unlocked two more enhancements, which was uncommon at such low levels.
He queried his system for available abilities and boosts, reading over the report:
//Available Abilities and Boosts:
Level Advance 2 -> 3. Cost: 15 aura potentia
Reinforce Strength – +2 Strength. Repeatable. Cost: 5 aura potentia
Iron Fist – Infuse aura into bone and muscle to amplify striking force. Cost: 10 aura potentia
Aura Blade – Condense aura into a medium-length force projection. Cost: 10 aura potentia
Minor Aura Barrier – Condense aura into a small barrier to protect a portion of your corpus vivum momentarily. Cost: 12 aura potentia
Enhanced Bone Density 1 – Infuse potentia into the skeletal structure of your corpus vivum for a permanent boost to its durability. Repeatable. Cost: 15 aura potentia.
Awaiting directive…//
The new boosts were tempting, of course, but Hector had a strategy in mind; he’d continue to prioritize levels until he’d gotten to at least five, then he’d see what sorts of options were open to him. That decided, he focused on the level advance line and confirmed his intention when the system queried him.
//15 potentia applied. Corpus Vivum conditioning has begun. Approximately 21 hours to complete level advancement. Disorientation, weakness, and even fleeting incapacitation may occur. Extra caloric intake is recommended.//
He took several deep, steadying breaths, then he closed his eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.