6 The chosen one

Kevin was so stunned by Dr. Zhao's reply that he didn't even know how to respond. He made it sound like the human needs were unnecessary luxuries which one could simply do away with, one fine morning.

He had never asked for this kind of life, to lose everything he held dear and be transformed into a machine. As if losing the people close to him wasn't enough, he now had to deal with the predicaments of being trapped in a metal prison.

This was proving to be a nightmare for Kevin. He couldn't eat or drink and his new cyborg body didn't have any genitals as well. Even his heart had been replaced by a turbo cooling pump. Most of the things which made him human had all been stripped away from him. Only his turbulent emotions reminded him that he was still alive.

Curling his fingers into fists, Kevin stared right back at Suzy's dad. "What do you mean that my human needs are irrelevant? You don't know what it's like to be trapped in the body of a robot!"

"You should be grateful that we saved you, otherwise you'd have joined your classmates," Dr. Zhao replied.

"Dad, stop it!" Suzy intervened, hoping to put an end to the discussion, but only made it worse.

Kevin walked up to the doctor and glared at him. This time he spoke in a much more intimidating voice. "You really should have let me die then! I don't want to live like this!"

"Oh, we would have if we had a choice! You're just lucky your brain was able to sync with this cybernetic interface!" Dr. Zhao snapped back. "What do you think this is? Your body is an advanced killing machine. It took me years of research to design this exoskeleton. It's not some comic con costume that you can slip into just to impress your friends. This is the peak of cybernetic technology! This exoskeleton was meant for a trained commando, not a foolish kid like you!"

"Then why the hell did you give it to me?" Kevin yelled in the doctor's face, making him flinch.

Dr. Zhao backed away and put his glasses back on. "You were never meant to pair with it. We tried pairing it with several other brains, but none of them were able to sync with the interface. You just got lucky! I still don't think you deserve this exoskeleton!"

"Dad, that is enough!" Suzy yelled, raising her voice against her father for the first time ever. "You're such a selfish prick sometimes! This is reason why mom doesn't talk to you anymore. Sometimes, I wonder if there's anything human about you except your body!"

Suzy's bitter words cut Dr. Zhao to his core and all he could do was stand there as she pulled Kevin by his arm and dragged him out of the room.

The doctor's relationships had started falling apart long ago, but he never realized things were this bad. He just kept staring at the door as Kevin and Suzy stormed outside.

As soon as the doors closed behind them, Kevin pulled his hand away from Suzy. A storm was brewing inside his mind and he didn't know what was real anymore. She was supposed to be his best friend and he had trusted her blindly. He walked away from her and slowly looked up.

"You lied to me, Suzy. You said you had designed this interface especially for me. But now I know the truth. This was meant to be a killing machine. It wouldn't really matter if I wasn't there. It could've been literally anyone else, and it would have made no difference. You didn't design this interface to bring me back. I just got damn lucky."

"Kev, it's not—"

"It's fine, I don't mean to be ungrateful." Kevin wiped away his tears and turned away. "We should go to the armament lab. Your mom's waiting."

What Dr. Zhao had just said to Kevin was a partial truth. There was something which even he didn't know about the cybernetic interface. It was Suzy's little secret. Though she wanted Kevin to trust her again, she knew she couldn't risk revealing something so sensitive right here.

In the end, she decided to keep Kevin in the dark and quietly lead him to the express elevator.

Suzy's mom, Dr. Stacey Wang had been working in this secret facility for 25 years now. It was here that she had met Suzy's dad. Despite their common interest in robotics, their personalities were poles apart. Dr. Stacey inculcated quite a different set of values, and was a lot more humane than her husband.

Their little differences of opinions had grown to enormous proportions over the years, and finally spiraled out of control a couple of months ago. That's when they had stopped talking and started working separately. Suzy was stuck in the middle of this messed up relationship.

Kevin had met Dr. Stacey many times during their group study sessions at their house. He had always felt comfortable around her, as if he had known her all her life. There was something really warm and optimistic about her being, something which lent her a very special charm.

After having met Suzy's dad, Kevin wondered how the two had ended up together.

As they stepped out of the elevator a couple of levels below, a red-haired woman wearing a brown trench coat and khaki pants greeted them with a wide smile. "Oh, thank goodness! You're finally here in one piece!" She rushed to put an arm around Kevin and gave him a warm hug which reminded him of his mom. "It's so good to see you again. After all that has happened, this is no less than a miracle. Make yourself comfortable and let me know if you feel uneasy at any point." With those final words, she pulled away from him and turned to her daughter.

"Mom, why the hell are you wearing a trench coat inside a lab?" Suzy asked, utterly confused by her look.

Dr. Stacey flapped her oversized sleeves and twirled around to give her a full show, before facing her again. "This is what detectives used to wear in the olden days. It's a classic look. I already feel like I've been teleported to one of those two bedroom apartments on Baker Street!" she exclaimed.

"I think you're reading too many of those old detective novels," Suzy replied, suppressing a smile.

Despite Dr. Stacey's slightly eccentric behavior, Kevin knew she was actually a great person. Her carefree and loving nature was what breathed life into this sea of serious lab coats.

"Come now; let's get you ready for some action!" Dr. Stacey exclaimed, rushing down the lab, gesturing them to follow.

The armament lab was a lot different than the other labs they had just passed through. It neither had any windows nor any doors. The only light source in the room was the glowing glass ceiling which lit up the room in a faint white glow. There were work stations on either side, with curved glass monitors and manual control panels.

At the farthest end of the lab was a small glass case, shaped almost like a life-pod, connected to the main computer through 3 hybrid connector cables.

"Change natural light settings: midday," Dr. Stacey instructed, swiftly snapping her fingers.

Immediately, the ceiling's glow intensified, washing the whole room in a flood of white light, which made it appear like they were standing under the sky on a bright sunny day. A few moments later, the ceiling completely disappeared from view and a clear blue sky opened up overhead.

"Whoa!" Kevin stopped in his tracks and fixed his gaze on the sky overhead. "What just happened? I thought we were underground."

"That we are...5 miles below the surface of the earth." Suzy pointed at the ceiling and explained, "The whole ceiling is made up of millions of microscopic LED screens which combine to create an illusion. This is just a simulation, but it sure looks a lot like the real stuff."

Still gawking at the sky, Kevin followed in Suzy's footsteps, making his way to Dr. Stacey.

"This is just a cheap simulation of the real sky. The surface is dangerous for us now, so we don't get a lot of chances to see the beauty of nature. Perhaps, it will all change one day, but till that time comes, this is the best we can do," Dr. Stacey said, suppressing a strange romantic yearning in her voice. She longed to go back outside, but it was not possible due to the horrible situation on the surface.

Kevin moved his eyes away from the ceiling and looked at Suzy's mom. "So, what's the world outside like?" he asked.

"You'll probably get to see it sooner than you expect." Dr. Stacey motioned towards the coffin-like glass case and urged Kevin to step inside. With a gentle tap on her computer screen she flipped the glass lid open and activated all the sensors inside. "Don't worry, this won't hurt at all. Your weapon systems and shields are already integrated into your exoskeleton. I'm just going to activate it and sync it with your brain."

"I uh...don't see any weapons." Kevin checked his arms and legs to see if he had missed any peripherals or augmentations, but he couldn't find anything which resembled a weapon.

Dr. Stacey was quick to clear his confusion. "The Experimental Cybernetic User Interface is an advanced virtual interface hooked up to a modified XL11 mainframe. You have integrated weapon systems built into your exoskeleton. In layman's terms, your whole body is a collection of weapons; you only need to piece it together. Once I activate your weapons and defense systems, you can use your voice commands to access the weapon you desire. And that's not all; even your bionic peripherals like your eyes, ears and legs have multiple advanced features. We only fitted you with some basic weapons, but you can integrate more weapons into your system if you manage to obtain their modules somehow. This cyborg body has limitless potential, but it's up to you how you use it."

Kevin felt a strange sense of thrill just hearing her words. Without any further hesitation, he stepped into the Advanced Cybernetic Modification and Augmentation Pod (ACMAP).

Dr. Stacey instructed Suzy to close the lid and then started typing furiously on her console. With the final press on the 'confirm' icon, she brought all systems online.

// Virtual inhibitor removed!

All systems are online!

Exoskeleton integrity: 100%.

Visual Clarity: 100%.

Weapon Systems: Online.

Defense Systems: Online.

Tracking Systems: Online.

Core temperature: 330.10 K.//

Kevin stared at the pop-up display in front of him and felt a rush of excitement. The screen quickly changed to a different one, bringing up a detailed list of his weapons.

// Primary weapons equipped:

Left arm:

Rapid Fire Gatling Gun (A modified handheld version of the primitive Gatling Gun. The Rapid Fire Gatling Gun has 6 barrels and is capable of firing up to 500 rounds per minute. Prone to overheating. Good for making Swiss Cheese!)

Right arm:

Auto-targeting Laser Rifle (A modified laser rifle which can lock on to targets as far as 200 meters away. Uses laser cell. Must be recharged after every shot. You'll never miss her!)

Secondary weapons equipped:

Left Arm:

Sonic Amplifier (A device which amplifies sound waves and produces a shockwave which has an effective radius of 50 meters. Good for clearing mobs. Avoiding splatter was never an option!)

Right Arm:

Taser Web (A web made of silver wires. Capable of delivering a shock of 60,000 volts. Super effective against organic targets. Web cartridges must be reloaded after each use. Always make a shocking entrance!) //

"Use your voice to bring up the defense and tracking systems," Dr. Stacey instructed.

Kevin nodded and spoke aloud, "Access defense systems."

// Primary defense mechanisms equipped:

1. Impact Absorbent Armor (Nanites re-arrange to form an external coating which absorbs impact from blunt objects. Does not protect against piercing attacks. You're not bulletproof!)

2. High Frequency Signal Scrambler (An advanced signal scrambler which can match the radio wave frequency of a wide variety of electronic devices, including drones and robots, and jam the incoming signals. Doesn't work against autonomous units. You're not a hacker!) //

A simple tap on the holo display revealed the working principle of each mechanism. Having read the detailed description of his defensive systems, Kevin decided to switch to his tracking systems. "Access tracking—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the ceiling changed back into its original state and flashed a bright red light. It was immediately followed by the loud blaring of sirens.

The people sitting at their workstations stopped what they were doing and turned their consoles off. All of them were clueless about what was happening, so they looked at their supervisor for assurance.

"Please stay calm. There is no need to panic. It might just be a drill." Dr. Stacey was doing her best to bring the situation under control when she received an urgent communication request on her communication bracelet. The person on the other end was the security chief.

"Dr. Stacey, this is a level 2 security alert. Our primary defensive perimeter has been breached! A whole swarm of Tracker Drones has been spotted in the subway tunnels overhead!"

"That's nothing your team can't deal with," Dr. Stacey whispered.

"Negative!" The security chief shook his head. "There's a freaking Neutralizer among them!"