“Out of my way. I’ve got plants to burn.”

  “You’re not authorized to go in. I’m not opening this door, and you cannot burn it down.”

  “… Then I’ll enter through the wall.”

  “Wait! Stop! No!”

  – Former security guard trying to stop Flamer from going after antithesis.

  A few days pass uneventfully before I get a call from the Family.

  “Hello, Richard. Is there a problem?”

  “Not exactly. It seems Soundbite was bragging about the new sound system he got you to spring for. Nothing special about that, since he did the same with Flamer, and even some rich guys. Where it got interesting was that he mentioned you printed them, and that you might be giving a printer to him soon. Do tell. The Family would love to have access to a printer.”

  “Loose lips. I guess I should have expected that, since I didn’t tell him to keep it quiet.”

  “It’s a small world, especially with juicy gossip. So what can you print?”

  “You heard about my new ride?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m building a class two base for it. You know the printer I had for the medical supplies?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That is only class one. I got its bigger brother, than bigger brother’s bigger daddy. If I had the blueprints, I could print a hover tank in one go. I’m currently making buildings. That shelter I’m building? I’ll be using one there shortly. Then it will move on to the next site. I just need resources to print from. Currently, I’m stripping the local dumps and earning some credits for it at the same time.”

  “Making something solve two problems at the same time. Nice. Could you see you way clear to getting us something?”

  “Sure. I can give you the mid size one, and I’ll load some blueprints on it. I’ll take a royalty for everything you print, but it will still be cheaper than buying on the open market. And anyone who has blueprints can print as well, as long as I get a copy of the blueprints for my own use. I don’t intend to sell or resell them, only make stuff I need. If you want to use the big ones, we can negotiate as needed. I expect they will be in use for quite a while.”

  “Yeah, I remember the city wanted a lot of shelters.”

  “And they will get them, a lot quicker than they expected. Perhaps you can encourage them to set aside the funds they will need for the shelters? They should be done within the year.”

  “They won’t be expecting that, especially since the first has been taking so long. They also may not have sufficient funds for them all.”

  “Just tell them I spent points becoming more efficient. I’m also interested in some real estate outside city limits, and would be willing to negotiate for it.”

  “You want a lot of land? What are planning?”

  “Some buildings, a farm, other things. Stuff the city will surely want.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. How soon can we get the printer?”

  “I’m sure within the week.”

  “That’s great. I’ll let the bosses know, and get to work on the city side. Thanks a lot.”

  We spoke a short bit more, but since I made him happy, he didn’t ask about the details. Operation Home Front was now in play. The Family was doing as expected, just like the City Builder suggested it would. With the Family on board, and encouraging the city to give me land for shelters, snapping up the countryside should soon leave me as the owner of the small town I’ve had my eyes on, and the land between.

  “Ysys, it is time to pull the trigger on operation Hidden City.”

  Opened Class II City Building for Humanoids catalog – 400 points and 1 token

  Opened Class I Holograms catalog – 50 points

  Opened Class II Holograms catalog – 400 points and 1 token

  Opened Class II Defensive Structures – 4000 points and 1 token

  Opened Class I Missile Systems – 50 points

  Opened Class II Missile Systems – 500 points and 1 token

  Blueprints for Mk 7 Industrial Power Plant – 3000 points

  Blueprints for KTX Zone Power Plant – 10000 points

  Blueprints for Food Supply Farm(Plants) – 4500 points

  Blueprints for Food Supply Farm(Animal) – 5000 points

  Blueprints for Food Supply Farm(Aquatic) – 5500 points

  Blueprints for City Infrastructure – 17000 points

  Blueprints for Type 7 Hologram emitter – 3000 points

  Blueprints for Type 3 Hologram emitter – 2000 points

  Blueprints for City Scale Quantum Computer System – 2000 points

  Blueprints for Godseye Surveillance Drone – 500 points

  Blueprints for Falcon class Artillery System – 4000 points

  New Total – 1179042 points, 5 tokens

  Starting prints of the Mk 7 and Type 3 now. Once they are operational, several Godseyes, a KTX and a Type 7 will be printed. The drones should have a solid week of data before the Type 7 is turned on.

  “I’m still concerned that we are starting before the land is in my control.”

  Sufficient land is already in your control, that much of this can be used. You already own three quarters of the nearby town, and the rest of it is waiting for you to earn more credits. It should be in your hands in ten days or less. Operation Land Grab is also waiting on credits. That will take nearly a month, but should be paid for by selling power from this building to the local power grid. Once the financing is there, dozens of options on land will be executed, netting full control of the larger area outside the city’s control.

  “Can our plans react to whatever the local powers choose to do?”

  Now, somewhat. But as funding becomes available, the likelihood of failure goes down. Once operation Land Grab has been executed, there will be little they can do, and with the incentives we can dangle in front of them, they may not even try.

  “I’m not sure this is the right way to do things.”

  There is no right or wrong way when it means survival. As to ruffling feathers, if you set this up in a remote place where no one lives, you would still ruffle feathers since you didn’t make a city near others. If you do it near, people will complain that you are competing. If you do it as we are now, they will complain about you taking over. No matter what you do, someone will complain. You humans complain about everything.

  “What a depressing thought.”

  Not really. We AIs find it endlessly fascinating, and even have bets on them. For us, it’s entertainment. Some humans consider it that also.

  “That’s even more depressing.”

  Ysys just snickered.

  The next day both Flamer and Soundbite came by to see my new pad and the hanger I’m building.

  “Hi there. I wasn’t expecting you, Flamer.”

  “Soundbite said he was helping you with your sound installation, and he offered to teach me some more by having me do some of the install along with you.”

  “Sounds like it will take a bit longer than expected.”

  “Maybe, but I’m buying dinner tonight.”

  “I can live with that. Follow me, and we’ll head on over.”

  The climbed into the HT, and we went to the hanger. Arriving, I had the hanger door open to reveal the dragonfly.

  “Wow.”

  “Unbelievable.”

  “How fast does it go?”

  “What is it armed with?”

  I just stood there as the questions came in. It took them a while to realize I hadn’t said anything. They both eventually looked at me.

  “The dragonfly can go at mach 10, and is armed to take on incoming pods. It also has sufficient cargo for a PMC and all my stuff. It also serves as a PMC command center.”

  Flamer asked, “How’d you get the points?”

  Soundbite replied, “You heard about the super hive in Vegas? She was there.”

  “No way.”

  “Yes I was. I also got enough points for my long term plan of improving the city. I’m putting in a lot of shelters, and soon will be putting in a farm. More food and safe places mean city growth. But it will take time and work. Want to see the PMC building?”

  As so I gave them the nickle tour. I was deliberately vague about the scale, but did mention the security levels I was installing. Both were impressed. With the tour over, we began installing the sound system and communication system. The latter was in the PMC HQ. Then we went back to my place and finished installing everything there. While Soundbite didn’t spend points, he did have some catered food delivered, and we all had leftovers to take home. For me, that meant moving it into the kitchen. The next day I delivered my original printer to Soundbite.

  That weekend, I was scheduled at one of the larger clubs. It was the first time since the megahive, and I learned that when word of my presence got out, it became packed. I hadn’t realized just how popular I would be. But it didn’t take long for me to learn that a fair chunk of that popularity was due to my outfit, and the images Liberace had put on her site. Quite a few guys asked me to the bathroom for a quickie. Even some of the girls. I was also groped quite a few times when someone thought it was too packed for me to tell who did it.

  Ordinarily, that kind of behavior annoys me, but for some reason I was turned on. Instead, I relaxed into it, and allowed others to play with my body. As to those groping me, I spotted every one. After midnight, I decided to accept a few invitations, and made a number of fans real happy. When I got home, I soaked in the bath for an hour or so before heading to bed. I slept rather soundly.

  Midweek, Richard called to inform me the city council had taken my offer, and wanted to make a deal with me, land for shelters. I met with the council’s lawyer the next day, and Ysys and I hashed out a deal for all the land outside the city wall that was owned by the city. In return, I would put in even more shelters, and retrofit others. In the end, we were both happy.

  Once the ink dried, I started registering my other purchases in the middle of the night, but intercepted the alerts to activity that would normally happen. They were all sent, but never delivered. Cyber Warfare can be fun at times. I had over ninety nine percent of the land that I wanted in my name. Of the last one percent, I had Ysys use those same tools to essentially steal the rest at fair market value.

  Over the next month, I would consolidate and redistribute the lots into ones that fit the new plan. The Type 7 hologram was activated to make it appear nothing changed outside the immediate area of my hanger. It hid all the construction going on. I had collector rats strip the land two stories down, and used that to feed the construction spiders. They paved over everything, and began building a hexagonal hive set of walls. These would normally be open allowing traffic, but could be closed in case the antithesis attacked. The walls would keep out anything under a model thirty. I didn’t make the hexes that would connect to the city, except for the one with my hanger. I wanted to do those last.

  Each hex would get one of the larger power plants, and one of each type of farm. Each hex would also get waste treatment, communications, water supply, and other systems installed. Initially I would only fill in a quarter of the enclosed area, allowing for later growth. None of the buildings went more than ten stories. I didn’t want to break through the top of the hologram. The buildings did have provision for adding up to forty more stories, once the hologram was no longer needed. The small town was completely replaced with my construction factories.

  A few weeks later, my VISOR plant was finished, and the first shipments delivered. To celebrate it, I arranged to meet in Vegas for the brand opening at a local convention. A number of game manufacturers agreed to come, and especially Hunter Games, the maker of Safari Hunter. Everyone that was coming had new game editions to take advantage of the new hardware. Three of them even negotiated deals to sell the new hardware with their game preinstalled. Hunter Games met with me a few days before, and showed me the latest version of Safari Hunter. Not only did it fully support the Visor, but they updated Sheena. Now, instead of me looking a bit like her, they were using my likeness for her.

  “I noticed the new Sheena’s outfit is a bit more revealing. Why did you change it?”

  “Well, Sheena, like several of the characters, are fan service. That is, eye candy. While the old outfit is still available, the default one is a bit more risque. That is, in part, due to the videos of you that have made the rounds. While the character doesn’t have the ability to walk on air like you do, she does climb trees and such, so we wanted to allow fans to get the same views of her as they might of you. The new outfit makes that happen a bit more often. It is still modest enough if she is just walking on land. For those that want to see a male, the Tarzan character has a loincloth with similar properties. For those that want characters covered up, but still clearly showing what’s there, we have Ayesha and The Phantom.”

  Diving back in for a bit, I checked out the named characters, and it was as they said. Tarzan was clearly a well muscled hunk wearing only a loincloth and dagger. The Phantom, however, wore a purple bodysuit, pistols, and a domino mask. However, the bodysuit was so tight, you could see every line of his etched body. Ayesha, instead of a skintight outfit, had a translucent outfit. You couldn’t quite make out anything, but you could almost see everything.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “You really went with fan service with those characters.”

  “Yes. All four ranked well for the test audiences. We tried more and less blatant sex, and the final result for all four ranked the most popular in their target audiences. We even have some sample boxes to show you as our marketing design.” They led me over to a table, and I saw a small display, and I was on every box prominently featured as Sheena. Several different bits of text were attributed to me.

  “I never said those things.”

  “True. That’s why it has ‘Not’ in fine print before ‘Said By’. However, they are just an example of what could be done. If you give us a catchy phrase, we will put it on the box right there.”

  I thought a bit, and said, “Fine. How about, ‘I love playing this game’? Sign it as Calamity Jane.”

  One of the interns was busy noting this down, while the leader says, “That’s great. By the time the convention starts, the first batch of product will be on display for sale to the attendees. We want you to spend some time autographing some of the boxes.”

  “Just be sure these boxes don’t survive, as I didn’t say those things.”

  “Of course. We’ll meet again two hours before the reveal to get you set up for it. We also have a Tarzan, and he even knows how to fight, so we can have you two spar a bit.”

  “Why?”

  “Given the new outfits, more fan service. But also showing how you look when you fight.”

  “You do know sparing is not like fighting?”

  “Anyone who knows that won’t care, and those who don’t won’t question it.”

  “Cynical, aren’t you? Okay. See you then.”

  “Don’t forget, two hours before showtime.”

  I checked out a few places in town, since I had some free time. I even had lunch with the Witch. She said I should be careful of the outfit, as I could get stereotyped like she had. She doesn’t mind, and likes to play into it at times. I thought about it, and realized I liked to play into being the naughty bitch, so I guess the new outfit would be fine.

  The night before the event, they changed plans, and wanted to pick me up to avoid hassles with parking. I was fine with that, and met them in the lobby of the hotel I was staying at. We crossed a fair portion of the city before entering the megaplex where the event was being held. Entering before it officially opened, we walked past innumerable exhibits being set up for the many video games being sold. There were a number of rooms dedicated to tournaments of a number of popular games. Finally, we came to the Hunter Games stage, and the back room for it.

  In one corner was a curtain, and table with several named bags. They led me there, handed me my bag, then sent me behind the curtain to change. There was a chair, and a small table. I dumped the bag on the table, and found it contained a pair of moccasins, a front piece that looked like a narrow triangle, with the two top corners extending in straps that widened for the breasts, then narrowed and tied behind the neck. Holding it on was the back triangle, where the two top corners had a thin strap that tied in front of the front part. Over that tie was a wide belt that I tightened to ensure nothing slipped. The edges of both were ragged, as though made by an amateur.

  I took my clothes off and put the costume on. I checked in the full length mirror, and made sure everything was covered. Then I tried a few stretches. Yep, I would have to watch it if I did more than a brisk walk. Raising my hands was guaranteed to be an issue. And I was scheduled for several spars with Tarzan throughout the day. Yeah, this was definitely going to be a fan service event.

  “Hey, Ysys. What are the prevailing opinions on my Samurai outfit, and what kind of popularity do I have?”

  Your choice of attire is yours to make, and the reputation you earn is one of the consequences. That said, there are several main thoughts on your attire. Over half of those who answered questions about it didn’t care. Of those who cared, the most vocal were your gamer supporters. They loved having a Samurai as a game character, and the more authentic the reproduction, the better they like it. You already are fairly close, so they are quite favorable to you. The next most vocal were the critics. They cited religion, morals, and even politics as the reason you were not acceptably dressed. Then there is the fashion industry. While they lament the source material, they say you pull it off well. Your confidence is the thing that does the most to make it work. The last significant category are those who say you haven’t gone far enough, and want you to go naked.

  “I’m not going to around naked if I can help it.”

  I did not expect you would. I would also note that on average, the gamers were half as vocal as the critics, yet had three times as many supporting you. Also, the fashion industry was surprisingly well represented. Most likely due to all the clips of you going around. That makes you an important figure to talk about, and so they do.

  “Speaking of those clips, what is the mood on them?”

  Surprisingly accepting. By now, everyone is sure you are doing it on purpose, yet your confidence and uncaring attitude about it, has given you a reputation as naughty entertainment. Your background as an escort is known, as is you willingness for quickies at the club. Many of your fans consider you adult entertainment material. The gamers know the character is fan service, and realize you are playing into it. Many see you as sowing a little chaos into society, and love you for that even if they don’t care for your outfit.

  “What do you think the reception of this new outfit will be?”

  As the company has does testing, I expect the gamers will embrace the new outfit. The chaos lovers will be thrilled with more chaos. Your critics will squawk louder while everyone will ignore them. In all, if you want to switch to the new outfit, there will be a net positive acceptance of it.

  “Well, I guess it’s fan service time. I’ll just have to be a little more vigilant about watching my outfit stays in place.”

  I’ll be sure to record today’s events for you to watch later.

  Despite wearing clothes, I was feeling kind of naked without my Samurai equipment on. So I decided to wear my storage ring, and use it to hold the rest of my outfit. That way, I could equip myself in short order if I needed to. I finally stepped out from behind the curtain only to be rushed to makeup and hair. They didn’t finish until five minutes before I had to go on. At least I got to watch Tarzan endure the same as me a few feet to my side. His outfit was just as blatant as mine. We entered from opposite sides of the Hunter Games stage.

  The MC was saying, “And now, to reveal two of our more popular characters. Please give a big cheer for Tarzan and Sheena!”

  That’s when the spots revealed us from the shadows on the side. We walked slowly to the front edge of the stage and stood there, as the stage director talked to us through our augs. I could barely see the people there, the lights were so bright. We started posing, displaying our muscles, and letting everyone get good pics on their augs.

  “As you can see, we have updated our characters outfits to bring even more enjoyment to your games. Both characters are playable through the whole game, and each has some character specific sections that let you know the characters backstory, plans, and more.

  “You can experience young Tarzan’s learning how to be strong, and young Sheena’s learning how to run. Learn how Ayesha and the Phantom became immortal. You can become Mr. Stanley looking for Dr. Livingstone, or be the doctor himself in his research. You can be Jane Goodall studying the apes, or Dr. Doolittle seeking the elusive pink rhino.”

  I tuned out the MC, and instead meditated to pass the time, only moving when the stage director said to go into a different pose. Eventually it was time for a spar with Tarzan. Space was clear in front of the stage, and we faced off. The crowd filled in around us, with a holographic ring showing the sparring area. The director gave us a start, and we closed in and began fighting. At first I was testing his knowledge of fighting, and realized he knew a bit more than me. I had speed and strength on him, due to my upgrades, but otherwise he would surely win. I decided to make it as even as I could.

  I got a monologue from the director with directions for Tarzan and myself, about how to fight, and how to entertain the crowd. A minute in, she told us both to do some more attacking with our feet. Both characters were jungle raised, and would attack with all limbs. I briefly thought about how much more exposed that would make us, but she had a point. Gauging the crowd, I realized they kind of expected it. Well, I guess it’s time for more fan service. I attacked Tarzan with a high kick.

  The crowd went quiet for a split second, then got even noisier. Clearly, they liked it, even if they didn’t see anything themselves. Tarzan was also encouraged, and made a similar attack on me. Yep, his loincloth had the same problem as mine, and the crowd loved it. We finished two minutes later when the stage director told us to stop and return to the stage.

  While we both stopped, we didn’t return to the stage immediately. Instead, we gave a brief bow to each other, then headed to the stage. On the way, I checked my top, and realized I needed to adjust it. By the time I was on stage again, I was covered.

  Some intern came by and offered us a towel to wipe ourselves down, and then gave us a glass of water and an energy bar. The bar was actually rather tasty. We were then seated at an autograph table, and started signing boxes with my Visor and the updated Safari Hunter game. I noticed Tarzan was signing an unknown name.

  Quietly, I asked, “Ysys, who is this guy? I don’t recognize the name.”

  That is because you are not a significant consumer of porn. Your stage partner is well known in that industry.

  I racked my brains, then finally remembered one of the other escorts who watched a lot of that had mentioned some of her favorites. I decided I would get him to sign a box for me so I could give it to her. Maybe I’ll even sign it. We continued to sign for half an hour, then it was back to posing as the cycle started again. As we broke for lunch, I got my autograph, but so did he.

  It was late in the afternoon when it happened.

  INCURSION DETECTED

  My first thought was to see if any antithesis were close by.

  “Ysys, where is it?”

  The alarm is from the next building over on the west. However, the sensors on the lower floors of this building are not responding. Given that there are several walkways between the two buildings in the occupied levels of the other building, we must assume they are in this building also.

  “Can you overlay the shelters here? And check that they are functional?”

  I soon had a map show up on my HUD, and it looked like at least the shelters of this building were functional. Time to get the public’s attention.

  I went over to the abandoned microphone the MC was using. “Attention. Attention. I am Samurai Calamity Jane. We are under threat from the antithesis. They are in the building to the west, and likely below us. Please follow the signs and head for the shelters. The authorities will soon be here to evacuate you, and I will be protecting you. Samurai Calamity Jane out.”

  I was rather surprised that nearly everyone in the immediate vicinity calmed down and followed my instructions. As I hopped off the stage, and headed west, I yelled out, “Get to the shelters. I’ll handle this.”

  I’ve been monitoring the net for uploads from this area. There are definitely antithesis in the lower floors.

  “Fuck. What’s the fastest way down?”

  In the wings of the building on this floor, there is main open concourse. You can go down two floors quickly. From there, two floors of stairs, and then you are in unknown territory. You will still have maps, but no scans.

  “I see the concourse.” I headed for it, then jumped over the rail and flew down two floors. However, when I went to activate the skypath, I had just enough time to realize they weren’t equipped, and I had to land without them. Thud. Good thing I practiced the superhero landing, as it let me bleed of a fair bit of momentum. The rest was handled by my upgraded body. I felt it, but more like a mosh pit than any breakage.

  Getting up, I quickly headed for the stairs. I practically flew down them. But this time I remembered to equip my Strykers before I slammed out the final door. Good thing I did, because there were several model threes not far away, and when they heard me, they ran to me. I shot them.

  Targets eliminated

  Model three X 6 – 60 points

  New Total – 1179084 points, 5 tokens

  “Ysys, no need for such notifications during the incursion. Just let me know after it ends.”

  I then focused on my own upgraded senses, and sought out antithesis. I racked up a fair number of threes and fours, and a few ones. But when I saw a three retreat, I knew something was up. So I followed it around the corner. I did not expect to see a model seventeen. No wonder the three moved oddly. I closed on it, firing with the Strykers.

  It stepped to side just as a model five let loose a bunch of quills in my direction. I did my best to avoid them, but one went into my kidney, and another into my shoulder. I was also sent spinning into the nearby wall before falling to the floor. I briefly felt my outfit tighten before the pressure went away.

  Before I even got up, I shot the five full of holes, then went after the seventeen. Even as I equipped the hard light system I stood. As I began the chase, I pulled out a nano-regenerative suite from storage and immediately inhaled it. With my wounds quickly closing up, I focused on the fleeing seventeen. We passed numerous others, including another five, but I didn’t let it get away. I finally cornered it, and took it out.

  I was about to ask Ysys if there was any way to get sensors back online, when I remembered I had several spider swarms as part of my normal outfit. So I summoned them, and cut them loose to map the place. I instead had Ysys plot the most efficient path to clean this building out and to save people. Over the next five hours, I saved four groups of people from the antithesis. Basically, they were holed up somewhere not safe, and I kept the antithesis off of them as I escorted them to the nearest shelter.

  Not long before the all-clear, I encountered one of the local PMCs, and coordinated with them. I gave them access to the spider sensor net, then went back into the fray. It seemed odd how they looked at me, so I just assumed my outfit was a bit less than they expected. I had to ‘fix’ my top a number of times whenever I was escorting people. I didn’t bother when there weren’t people about.

  With the all-clear, I finally got a notice.

  Targets eliminated

  Assorted models X 478 – 3169 points

  New Total – 1182253 points, 5 tokens

  Looks like I got quite a few plants. I headed back to the Hunter Games stage to see if they were getting back together. I passed a fair number of confused people, and many who gave me some looks, but I paid it no mind. It was late, and just after an incursion, so I figured people were stressed.

  “Hey! Calamity! Over Here!”

  I recognized the voice, but couldn’t remember who it belonged to. Looking, I finally spotted the shouter. It was Liberace. I headed over. Once I passed the people between us, her eyes got real big.

  “Hello, Liberace. You here for the incursion too?”

  “Yeah. I’m visiting from nearby. However, it looks like you have a story to tell. Mind if I record? What happened to the outfit?”

  “Go ahead and record. I’m here for the promotional even for Safari Hunter. The outfit was made skimpier for more fan appeal.”

  “So, they’re making it an adult game?”

  “No. Just more explicit fan service.”

  “Yeah, that’s explicit, all right.”

  I noticed her staring at my waist, so I bent down to look, and was shocked. My loincloth was missing. I quickly placed my hands in front, and said, “No one told me!” I rushed over to the nearest wall, faced it, and summoned out my Samurai skirt, and quickly put it on.

  “You didn’t notice the breeze?”

  “You can see how little there is even now. It’s always breezy unless I’m standing still in calm air.”

  “I wonder how it happened.”

  Reviewing the footage, it appears that when the five shot you full of quills, two hit you, but one almost hit you. It instead pierced your loincloth and otherwise went between your legs tearing the loincloth off. Given your reaction, it was clear you were focused on the pain, and did not notice the third quill.

  “But that was near the beginning. You mean to tell me I’ve been running around only half dressed for hours?”

  Yes.

  I hung my head in embarrassment.

  “Ysys just sent me the clip. Ouch. I gotta do another interview, especially with all the new clips I’m collecting now. So, you’re promoting a game now?”

  “More than that. I’m selling protector level VR gear. Safari Hunter is one of several games for the initial release. Three other companies have their own games in their preloaded versions. I’m here with Hunter Games since I also am essentially patterned after one of their characters. I’m even on the cover of the box. Want to see?”

  “Sure.”

  “Follow me.”

  I went backstage, and found a few of the folk from Hunter Games.

  “Are you all okay?”

  “No. Jason didn’t make it.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “No one knows. He was on break when it happened. He’s officially missing, but everyone thinks he’s dead.”

  “Anyone know the plans for tomorrow?”

  Chris spoke up from another conversation he was having. “We go on. We’ll start two hours later, but otherwise, it’s the same drill as today. Tomorrow, will go on as planned. Until then, everyone, your time is free as soon as we have restored a little order here.”

  “Anything I can do?”

  “No. You already did the most important part. We are here to continue. Enjoy yourself. Have dinner with your friend on us.”

  “Thank you, Chris.”

  I then headed over to where they had palettes of the visors. “Liberace, see? Check them out.”

  She picked one up, and examined the image of me on the cover. “That’s not you on the cover, but damn, it’s close. Is that what Sheena looks like in the game?”

  “Yes. They replaced the old model with me. I let them scan me for half a day so they could have a real accurate model. But the cover is actually a low res version of the character. In game it’s almost photo-realistic.”

  “Must be expensive to get that kind of resolution and animation at the same time.”

  “Not as much as you might think. The new visor’s protector rendering is efficient. My sales department put the price just over what the equivalent stuff costs. Well, what it would cost if they could make the quantities I’m producing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My visor is leading edge in the market. There’s some others making stuff as good, but they are not yet able to handle mass production. I also know they have agents here to buy some of the first units so they can study them. My lead will be fleeting, but hey, in the gaming world, reigning for six months is considered long term.”

  She put the box down, and said, “Let’s get dinner, but not around here. Too much chaos here.”

  “Sure. Since you're from around here, lead on.”

  At the nearest lobby, we got into a taxi, and she gave instructions. “You’ll like this place. They make the best tamales.”

  At dinner, we stuffed our faces. Not only with tamales, but with all manner of Mexican food, deserts, and beer. Afterwards, she dropped me off at my hotel.

  I headed for the shower, and got in, clothes and all. When all the antithesis residue was removed, I hung the clothes to dry on the shower rod. Then I headed to bed.

  In the morning, I dressed in street clothes, with my gear and the new top in storage with my Samurai outfit. My dreams that night were quite arousing, and I realized on waking that I would be using the new outfit as a Samurai. Backstage, when it was time to dress, I handed the new top back, saying I would be using a protector made version instead. Then I went behind the curtain to change.

  As soon as I had removed my clothes, I said, “Ysys, I need a replacement for my current Samurai outfit. Same properties, but modeled on the updated outfit from the game.”

  Techno Sheena Self Maintaining Outfit – 15 points

  New Total – 1182248 points, 5 tokens

  Suddenly I felt the new outfit on me. Looking in the mirror, it looked almost the same as yesterday’s version. But it fit just a bit better, and the material, while still leather, was far more comfortable. No chafing in this outfit.

  With all my gear in my storage ring, I asked, “Ysys, can you make it so I can summon all my gear at once while storing all my mundane stuff at the same time? It would make changing a lot quicker, and also mean I would be less likely to forget some part of my gear.”

  Yes. I’ll set that up…. The commands are ‘Gear up’ and ‘Gear down’. Just use your augs to give the ring that command and it will handle the rest.

  “Thanks.”

  I was ready for the future now.