“Sorry, I didn’t join the crusade to save the South Sea Otter last week, and I won’t help you fight Civil Corporate Disobedience today. And my armor states that in no uncertain terms. So bugger off.”
--James “Echidna” Jones, in his one and only interview given six days after being chosen.
***
Finally, I was ready to leave the apartment. I decided to start at the gym for some exercises to get more familiar with the upgrades. I didn’t have enough space in my small apartment to really test out the upgrades. And I also didn’t want to disturb Tara, who still slept on the couch.
Since I would be going straight to work afterwards, I stuffed my P5-AT in a backpack, put on my gear and shoulder holsters, and slung the Deuce over my shoulder. Then I left Tara a note, locked up, and headed out.
The M-Com included a bunch of facilities for the residents, including an indoor pool, two tennis courts, a crappy shooting range, and three different workout areas. Two of the gyms had a fee structure to provide for better equipment, so I usually went to the third one despite it being located on the far side of the building. Between the twists of the corridors and the sheer size of the building, I had to walk a couple kilometers to the gym.
As I made my way across the building, I became aware of people staring and moving away from me. It became particularly noticeable in the stairway down to the fourth floor. A couple met me on a landing, and the woman pulled them back against the wall to make space for me to pass. As I continued on, the man complained loudly to his companion. “So many weapons. Isn’t that amount of overkill unnecessary?”
“I’m going to complain to building management,” she replied. “We pay enough for security that people shouldn’t have to go armed like that.”
I continued on and tried to pretend that I didn’t hear them. Fortunately, the angle prevented them from seeing the blood rise to my cheeks. All that effort spent on looking normal, and I’d forgotten that most folks don’t go around armed to the teeth. Especially in this M-com where guns were restricted.
Sure, I was ready for action, but at the cost of being approachable. Worse, I’d succeeded too well in not appearing Samurai-ish. The couple hadn’t taken me for a Samurai but a normal person…with too many weapons to be trusted.
--I’ve several ways to accomplish that. Here’s a list, in order of cost.
- A bag or case
- An intern
- Carry bot (*Catalogs extra)
- Micro-miniaturization of gear to make it pocketable (*Catalogs extra) (May reduce effectiveness of the item(s))
- Harness upgrade with dimensional shunts (*Catalogs extra)
- Saving the gear out of phase (*Catalogs extra) (**Some tokens required) (possible degradation of the stored items over time)
- Fold up the weapons using non-Euclidean origami (*Catalogs extra) (**Some tokens required) (***Re-purchase of gear required)
I blinked at the list a minute, pausing mid-corridor. Then I shrugged and continued on.
--Psshht, that’s so passé. Besides, the Deuce would never fit. Since cellos are out of style, making their cases stand out too much, I’d use a snowboard bag.
--An advanced storage method. The material is still present in the world, just moved somewhere else, kind of. Move an item from one side of a table to another and you’ve moved the object along a dimension or two, in this case length and width. When you put an item in this bag you move it along a different dimension to a safe location, then bring it back when you want it. It’s a common trick with Vanguard gear to get greater storage capacity in a usable form.
--At class one, there’s a limit on how much and how fast, depending on the size of the object. Mostly due to energy requirements. It also doesn’t entirely eliminate the mass you have to carry and move due to how the energy management works.
--It takes energy to shunt objects into and out of storage. The pouches use an inertial generator to store kinetic and potential energy based on your movements. That’s where the energy to store and unstore items comes from. The pouches absorb enough kinetic energy that it will feel like you’re carrying or moving a tenth of the mass of the stored items. The “weight” and “inertia” of moving that around help the bag to recharge.
--Exactly.
--You’ll have to unlock the Class I Basic Dimensional Shunting catalog for 100 points. The Quoll Super Spatial Pouch itself costs 100 points. You will also need a Bio Harness to attach them to. The harness will integrate with the armor and shift to a less obvious form in civilian mode. That’s another 100 points.
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--Due to the energy management, I recommend two pouches. Your gear and ammo could all fit in one pouch, but you’d risk being unable to retrieve a weapon and store a weapon at the same time, for instance.
That was a lot of points. I could save a lot by getting a bag or two and calling it good. Except that not everyone carried around meter-long bags all the time. Even something long enough to hide my blades would stand out.
--It’s flexible, the two could look like sections of a small backpack, or they could add to your spinal ridge and flatten it sideways. In armor mode, one would form several pouches on the harness, imitating what you currently use, and the other a small backpack. The harness will be able to grab and hold items where you set them, like a snap-in clip.
I continued to debate the upgrade with myself until I reached the glass gym door, just as a middle-aged woman came up to the other side. She spotted me through the glass and rapidly backed up to make space for me. The wary distrust on her face convinced me.
"Catalog Unlocked: Class I Basic Dimensional Shunting
Cost: 100 Remaining points: 1,997
"Purchased: Bio Harness
Cost: 100 Remaining points: 1,897
"Purchased: Quoll Super Spatial Pouch
Cost: 200 (qty: 2) Remaining points: 1,697”
Adding the new options was pretty simple. First came the harness, which I put on and felt it wriggle along my back while it integrated with the bio-armor. Each of the pouches originally looked like the modular ones popular with tactical wear. When they came near the harness, little tendrils reached out to hold them in place. Once the harness had a hold of a pouch, it collapsed down to civilian mode: a modest leather case on my belt or a swelling across my back.
I activated the harness and found that the same tendrils would grab my pistols and swords and automatically store them when the harness was fully hidden. Even the Deuce, which could be slapped on my back like in some computer games, would be held by the harness and stowed with it. Having solved the problem of hiding my weapons, I moved into the gym.
I spent an hour working out to test my new limits and performing several exercises that required coordination, balance, and agility. Even simple actions like dribbling a ball while walking took heavy focus, and I kept tripping and sending the ball flying every which way. However, I quickly adjusted, and after making the rounds three times, I moved to another room with a padded floor.
Mirrors on the walls reflected myself and several other people lined up. In the front, an older man in a dark gi led them as they changed stances and made a few open-air strikes. It looked elegant but felt slightly wrong to me. Since the group only took up half the room, I moved into the back corner, behind and well away from everyone.
The melee training module had an AR mode to lead me through a series of positions and motions. In my visor, I could see the opponent as I stepped through the kata and where the strike should land.
At first I was self-conscious, aware that every little mistake I made could be seen in the mirror by everyone, but soon I got lost in the exercise and tuned them out. After several repetitions, I realized that most everyone had left. The instructor, however, stood nearby, mimicking my moves. When I finished the kata, I turned and bowed to the old man, which he returned.
“Forgiveness, I am not familiar with the form you were doing and was trying to figure out how it worked,” he said. “Many of the stops don’t make sense. This one, for example,” he flowed into one of the common stances where you tucked a hand under your arm, almost in your armpit. “I don’t see how you could ever get any leverage or advantage from that strike.”
“Some of that probably is my poor execution. This is my first time practicing the form. But also, you are missing half of the information. This isn’t strictly an open-hand art. It’s more like Escrima: a weapon-based art that uses long knives and handguns with some hand-to-hand on the side. That strike actually is a rear guard to shoot behind you.”
The man looked down at how his hand sat. “Then you should change the wrist like so, though I don’t know how you would aim?”
“You would be using some form of AR gun sights to see behind you.”
“I see.” He relaxed his stance. “I’d like to continue studying with you, if I may. And if I may suggest, practicing with the real artifact or a placeholder is common with material forms.”
That had been in the next lesson, I suddenly remembered. No, not remembered, it was the module’s subconscious prompting.
I had to hand it to the old man: he sure could handle surprise well. His eyes barely twitched when a bunch of fake pistols and short swords clattered to my feet in a pile. I don’t know if he was used to being around high-powered people or clueless. Either way, it was nice to have someone not backing away in fear.
We each grabbed a pair of fake pistols and swords. They each had a magnetic holder to simulate a holster or sheath, though the positioning worked better on my bio-harness.
After a few minutes spent figuring out how best to attach his holsters, we started the kata again. This time both of us could follow the motions better, though the old man picked it up faster than I did. Even worse, after each section he gently corrected my form.
Eventually, an alarm went off where his things sat, and we broke off the exercise. “I’m sorry, but I must get ready for the next class. It was a pleasure working with you,” he said. “If you want, I’m here each weekday at this time, and I would like to continue to learn with you. This art is fascinating.” When he tried to give the practice weapons back, I waved them off.
“I don’t know how regularly I’ll be able to come, but I’ll see what I can do. It was helpful. I’ve never studied any close-quarters arts before.” The speed at which he learned left me feeling frustrated, especially since he didn't have Samurai Tech whispering subconscious instructions at him. But his insights and corrections truly had been helpful.
“Yes, it shows,” he had a gleam in his eye. “My granddaughter showed me a recording last night of you taking on some antithesis. She’ll be happy to know you survived. And even more that you are learning to do better.” I groaned as I waved at him. I hadn’t realized how far the videos of my fights yesterday had spread.
After leaving the old man, I spent a good half hour on the indoor track as a good way to learn both how fast I could move now and how my endurance had been affected by the changes. I’d always felt that the only use for running was to get somewhere quickly, so I had no idea what my old best speed was. But time trials did put me within ten percent of the top Olympic speeds. I found that a little disappointing until she pointed out that those athletes trained for most of their lives to reach that point and that I’d continue getting faster as the enhancements adjusted and grew.
My endurance, however, showed my Achilles heel. I quickly ran out of steam and had to stop and take another nutrient drink. When I complained to Corie about it, she replied breezily.
--The Erythroglobulin Secretion Gland will have the longest ramp-up time. You will soon be back up to your usual levels, and any training you do for endurance will help improve it. But remember that the enhancement was only to offset the higher metabolism from your other enhancements.
--Well, I wasn’t going to say it that bluntly, but yes. I’ve found a number of good marathon prep programs online that can help, if you want.