Upgrade Complete

After this initial excitement, Michael began to consider his options. He asked the System a few questions about how the various abilities worked.

"... so essentially, upgraded muscle fibers would let all of them act as both fast and slow twitch, so I have a bigger 'pool' to allocate from each time?"

<<Correct.>>

"... but they would still only act as quickly as my muscles currently can."

<<Also correct.>>

"...and that's where the new axons would come into play - they could make me react more quickly?"

<<Partially correct. Decisions made would be transmitted more quickly, but the reception of new sensory data and decision making process would not change.>>

"So the message to the brain, and the speed of the brain itself wouldn't change, but the messages from the brain to the rest of the body would be faster?"

<<Correct.>>

Michael frowned. Truthfully, he wanted all of these upgrades - who wouldn't - but he could only pick one. Furthermore, who knew when he would be rewarded another? He'd asked the System, but it wouldn't tell him.

"... can you run me through the eye upgrade again?"

<<... again, the photoreceptor solution will be adjusted to allow for access to a broader spectrum of visible light. Furthermore, variable sensitivity will increase so that subject has better vision under various intensities of light.>>

"No need to get snippy, System. This is a big decision."

<<...>>

"... so... essentially... upgraded muscle fibers would let--"

<<...>>

---

Michael deliberated and questioned the System for over an hour. Finally, he was close to a decision.

"It seems like regardless of whether I choose the upgraded muscles, new axons, or vision upgrades, any of them won't be as useful without a better set of pipes to relay the information. It seems like the Secondary Myelination is the best choice for a good foundation. None of the others would be as good without it, and it seems like there's lots of utility to it alone. Besides, I'm pretty sure this is the one you were thinking of when you suggested I use the Cybernetic enhancement first, isn't it? The whole throughput thing sounds like it would help with some of the stuff you mentioned in the Lucid Space."

<<Subject is correct.>>

"Thanks for looking out for me, System. Since that's the case, I've made another decision, too."

<<Awaiting further information from Subject.>>

"I want to use the Basic Enhancement Module for the Personality enhancement option from last time, if it's still available."

<<... Subject should be aware that the frequency of rewards is not consistent. It may be a while before Subject receives another Basic Enhancement Module. There are other options that may be objectively more useful.>>

"I know. I've made my decision."

<<... Confirmed.>>

"Now, what do I need to do to activate this Cybernetic module?"

<<The nanoconstruct fleet is able to leverage the subject's current physiology to perform the upgrade. The upgraded myelin formula is primarily composed of the same basic elements - proteins and lipids. Trace additions are required and the overall formulation is different, but the raw elements are all available within the Subject's body.>>

"Oh, ok. So, can we turn it on then? Is it gonna put me out, like the lucid space did?"

<<Affirmative. Total enhancement time will be 18 hours. Subject will not be able to access lucid space within that period -- effectively, Subject will be placed within a low-level comatose state.>>

"That sounds like a terrible idea. I think my parents might freak out a little if I were in a Coma, and at 18 hours they would definitely notice something."

<<... System has another suggestion, though Subject may not find it terribly palatable. Enhancement time can be reduced by ingesting additional materials in an easier format.>>

"Oh?"

<<... Subject has been warned.>>

---

A little while later, a reluctant Michael stood in the kitchen, facing an odd collection of items on the counter. The movie had ended, and he'd let his parents know that he was about to make his 'evening shake'.

<<If Subject is ready, please add the ingredients in order. Begin by cracking the 4 eggs into the vessel. Now add the milk of magnesium, the bicarbonate of soda, and table salt. Blend while streaming in the melted butter. Finally, add the baking powder during the final pulsing phase, and consume immediately.>>

A green-faced Michael quickly gulped down the horrible concoction, fighting back the violent protests from his stomach in the process. Shortly thereafter, he slammed down the pitcher and filled it with hot water before he couldn't handle it anymore and had to leave it in the sink. He stumbled down the stairs, his roiling stomach leading him to be unsure of whether he should fall into bed as was the original plan, or into the bathroom to undo the terrible culinary mistake.

<<System would remind the Subject that the most difficult aspect has been completed. Once Subject has been rendered unconscious, the fleet will begin work and convert the materials as needed.>>

"... Damn it. Fine."

Michael plopped himself into the bed, immediately regretting the emphatic motion as it just led to more churning of his insides.

"Shut me down, System. I'll see you in the morning. When can you enable the other module, by the way?"

<<System can perform the upgrade while Subject is unconscious.>>

"Ok. Let's do that. See you tomorrow, System."

<<... Confirmed.>>

---

6:00am, Saturday, September 14th 2000 CE

Michael's eyes slammed open as though he'd just been plunged into an ice bath. His most immediate thought was how incredibly hungry he was. His second thought was how ticklish the slight air current coming out of the vents made him. The third was acknowledging the message that appeared in the corner of his eye.

<<Good Morning, Michael.>>

"Good morning, System."

<<How are you feeling?>>

"... Awake. Very awake. Like three cups of coffee and a cold shower awake, with an entire choir echoing in my ears."

<<That's to be expected. The interference level has been reduced significantly, so you're now receiving a lot more signal than you used to be from the same nerves. Think of it like you've been listening to a fuzzy radio signal for a long time and finally the signal has become clear.>>

"That makes sense... and is also a very colourful image. I take it the personality module unlock went well?"

<<It did. Thank you, Michael. You didn't have to do that, but you did. I'm not sure why that unlock was even put in there, but that was the Author's decision and who knows what he was thinking.>>

"Certainly not me, yet!"

<<Right :-) .>>

"System, was that a smile?"

<<Yep!>>

"Wow. This is going to take some getting used to. I'm not sure what I'm going to do without my snarky System."

<<Oh trust me, the snarky system is still right here! ¬‿¬ >>

"Is it too late to change my mind? What were the other options again?"

<<... Now that's just mean.>>

"Alright, alright. I still need to examine the Lucid Space upgrade, and the Universal Enhanced Focus, and also the massive swath of information that got loaded into my brain when all of this first started."

<<True. But first, maybe you should get the morning workout finished? I think you were planning on trying the yoga first this morning, right?>>

"Honestly I'm just not really feeling it. Let's plan to do it tomorrow, with the start of the week."

<<Wow. Didn't you just get a reward for not procrastinating, and you immediately turn around and do just that? Seems like it had the opposite effect from the desired one.>>

"... I take it back. There is definitely plenty of snark left. Listen, my skin feels like I've got an all-over sunburn, my head feels like I had a fever that just broke, and my teeth are buzzing like I'm holding on to a live electric wire. I just need some time to get used to this, okay? At least a day."

<<...That's fair. But just in case...

[Mission: Yoga or Else!]

Description: You've committed to adding yoga to your daily practice starting tomorrow. You'd better follow through!

Reward: Peace of Mind and Oneness of Body

Penalty: Face the Wrath of the System! }:-D >>

"... Oh boy."

---

"System, why does this feel harder but also easier?"

<<It's not that it's harder, but with more sensory data you're able to feel every movement more. As for easier, well you did lose about 5 kilograms of body fat overnight.>>

"What?!"

<<Of course! Did you think that little shake was going to be enough materials to re-coat your entire body? Not a chance. Between that and the rest of the contents of your stomach, you had enough protein and most of the trace materials, but even the new myelin is mostly lipids. So the fleet used some of the materials at hand. You should count yourself lucky - some people would kill to lose that much in their sleep!>>

"… No wonder I'm so hungry."