Age of Space

Finally free to use his optical implant again, Ronin looked up what he had missed from the academy curriculum. Back at his apartment, he spent a few hours on orbital dynamics, sublight propulsion and spacecraft construction exercises. That left "only" faster than light (FTL) engine theory, which... well, it was complicated, to put it mildly:

Quantum entanglement teleportation? How in the world does an engine create a quantum effect covering the whole ship? And then the ship somehow instantly teleports?! Ronin furrowed his eyebrows. The Alcubierre drive requires exotic matter to create negative energy density? And this somehow folds space so the ship can travel faster than light?

“Ugh,” Ronin grunted, trying to wrap his mind around the introductory equations. He could probably do the equations but understanding them was another matter entirely.

After slogging through dense, mind bending physics and material science for hours, he began to run into the theoretical FTL drives.

Parallel universe drive? If it's made in the future, it can theoretically allow your spaceship to replace an alternate reality version of itself in another timeline?! Ok, I'm putting this down for now.

Getting restless, Ronin's mind began wandering into dangerous territories. He couldn't help it. Going into the slums? Looking for a criminal hot spot? He'd noticed his mind attempt to rationalize doing anything and everything it could do to get into a fight. When the thought arrived, he suddenly felt the need to go for a walk, or a jog, maybe sightsee, or take a roundabout way to visit a friend. Upon closer inspection however, those innocent ideas, were quickly revealed as something dark. Turns out, every single one of those trips, jogs and detours would "accidentally" take him through highly dangerous areas of the city.

If this goes on, I'll end up dead at some point. Didn’t I get some techniques from the Potentia Panorama on how to deal with this? He did get a lot of knowledge when he opened that door in his mind palace.

Closing his eyes, he scanned his memories. As he began perusing the new additions to his mindscape, he noticed some of the techniques he'd used against the rooftop bandits.

The Near-death sight: When in extremely dangerous life and death situations, when the warrior is but an instant away from either the abyss or the glory, the warrior can experience that time slows down. God juice makes this effect permanent, increasing the thinking speed in battle the more life and death moments you experience.

God juice… what a name…maybe not everything from the artifact was translated correctly.

"..."

He began trying out several of the new methods and techniques, but none seemed to work.

It seemed only a select few of these things, could actually be performed by a human. All he had now, were instincts that somehow made him good at fighting and the near-death sight.

Undeterred, he looked further through the memories.

Kalvrakian Embrace Vol.1: Through movements achieving harmony with the universe, the self and God juice, the warrior can strengthen his foundations. Only with a vessel of steel, can the path to supremacy be walked.

Kalvrakian Embrace? It's trained by positioning your body into various stances it seems... Some kind of body strengthening exercise?

Taking one awkward stance after another, he tried to harmonize his breathing. Closing his eyes, he imagined the energy flowing in and out of his cells, nurturing them, again and again. Trying to smoothly switch from one stance to the next, the flow within him shifted, the exercise becoming harder.

It feels like I have reactor fuel running through my body! Ronin was shocked! The second stance was so much harder than the first!

Every muscle, every inch, even his mind was becoming more and more sore and raw. Straining under the pressure, it felt like his very being was coming apart. As the strain was pulling apart his body, he felt it: This energy…. Can I really overcome it? It feels like I'm a vessel, containing something that I was never meant to contain.

His body had become stronger after he was infected. He felt it when going to visit his uncle, he felt it in the abandoned mine after touching the rock. But was it enough?

Only 10 minutes had gone by, and Ronin was already sitting on the ground panting.

I only managed to complete 2 out of the 108 stances in the manual. Ronin thought as he felt his body strengthening.

Looking around the wallpaper covered room, he noticed that the pixels making up the differently pictured spaceships, had become just a little bit clearer. Old wear and tear in the soft foldable plastic, had become just a little more poignant. It was as if he could see more than before.

More like an alien, his mind echoed

The urge to fight within him had lessened, but not by enough. Sighing, he ate some of the high quality synthpaste he’d bought on the way back home from the doctor, rested until he felt energized again, then headed out to hunt for some criminals.

Calling down a shuttle for transport, he paid for a 30-minute ride down to district 101. The district known as the slum of slums. He’d never been there before, and for a good reason. Everything he’d heard about that place sounded exaggerated. From statement such as:

“In district 101, they’ll kill you just for looking at them wrong!” To personal claims such as: “One of my friends went there, 2 days later, they found his body in pieces, roasted on top of some power lines, halfway eaten!”

Ronin had even heard crime stories like: “There was a range of cases that troubled us here in district 91 for months, everyone believed it was a serial killer. It was only later on that we found out that someone from district 101 had actually gotten lost and entered our district. It all made sense then, of course people would start disappearing with a 101’er on the loose”

"..."

“End of the line sir. From here on out, I'm not driving any further down. If you really want to go down in that place, you are on your own.” The shuttle driver said, making his stance clear.

Paying for the ride, Ronin exited the shuttle and began the climb. The entrance to district 101 was marked by a 10-meter wide and 40-meter-deep chute, known as the maw of misery...

As he entered the chute, he sniffed the air- This place reeks!

He grabbed a pipe and began to slide, speeding up the descent. Dense fog blanketed the end of the chute as he peered downwards.

He landed on solid ground and was immediately greeted by a bigger than average woman, her entire body dappled by leaky pustules.

“Hey baby! You here for some good time?”

He didn't respond.

The neon lights were sparse here, also, the sunlight didn’t reach this far down. As he spotted the hot power lines running along the streets, it became clear what caused the fog.

Run-off from the world above, likely contaminated, ends up here where it's boiled by the powerlines. That means... I might be breathing poisonous air... Despite the Potentia Panorama driven subconscious suggestions slithering through him, he began to regret coming here.

Ronin's eyes could pierce the dark, the fog obscured his vision, but not by enough. He could therefore see the left hand of the woman signaling her pimp. He also saw when that pimp, in turn, signaled his friends. As 5 men now, began sneaking silently towards him, he also noticed that some of them were equipped with laser pistols. Weak but deadly if you didn’t have shielding.

Shit! That's what I was afraid of. These people aren't looking for a fight. They’re here to kill! Ronin realized.

Growing up in the slums, he knew the difference between the rambunctious loud type of man and the silent sneaking type. The loudmouths came at you with puffed up chests as they approached you with wide confident steps. Those types of people were fighters. They would threaten, humiliate and beat you up, but at the end, they would leave, and you'd be alive.

The silent, sneaking type of man, armed with deadly weapons, trying to flank you from a better shooting position however... They played by different rules. Moving with deadly purpose, they didn’t act on ego, nor insecurity. And there wouldn’t be any fighting if they could help it.

Darting into an alleyway, he crouched down, hugged the wall and waited.

What is wrong with you Ronin? Why didn't you bring the academy suit!? He was now convinced; the alien artifact was definitely affecting his subconscious. He'd tried to account for the effect, to adapt, to work around it, but the fact that he could forget something as important as the one thing that could actually protect him, proved he couldn't.

Think, predict, adapt, act. Think, predict, adapt, act.

This was going to be different from his run-in with the rooftop bandits and he had to change strategy.

They will have to move around the corner if they want to shoot me. They will have to get close and that's my chance.

"..."

Step, Step, Step

They were closing in.

Centering himself, he leapt out, punching out with all he had towards the first man about to turn the corner.

BAM!

His fist connected, continued through the man's nose and then, went even deeper. The sheer momentum of his fist sent the man flying headfirst into the ground and with a-

CRACK!

The neck snapped. Blood was leaking out from the back of the man's head.

Oh no, that did a lot more than knock him unconscious!

Mentally brushing the mistake aside, he seized the moment of surprise. He rapidly took down two more of the men before the fourth man blocked his attack with a bionic arm. The two remaining men now had their guns drawn, pointing them straight at him.

Instantly moving his head, he dodged one of the laser beams just before it fired.

Thank the heavens for my new and improved reaction speed.

The second beam however… He could see the finger pulling back the trigger and knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge. The burning hot beam pierced into his side. His mind went into overdrive as time seemed to slow down.

Not good!

Ronin's other hand, in a flash, grabbed the fourth man's neck. Using the neck as leverage, he dragged the man in front of him, using him as a makeshift shield against the incoming fire. This shield wouldn't last long, so instead of trying to avoid the laser beam, he charged.

Storming the last man while being blasted with lasers, Ronin, the shield, and the last remaining thug crashed onto the wet streets. This guy had gotten more enhancements than the others. With a limp "man-shield" between them, they struggled on the ground, searching for an opening. While grabbing and punching for anything that might hurt the man, Ronin suddenly felt a sharp sting of pain, radiating from his own neck.

What was that!?

Something was running down onto his shirt and breathing was becoming difficult. Ronin desperately tried to hit something vital.

CLANG!

He hit a metal enforced arm.

THUD!

He hit the ground.

SPLAT!

There it is!

As his vision began to swim, he squeezed with all his might, before a CRUNCH! signaled the end of the fight. He looked upon the shattered skull of the enemy as the woman, the last remaining person here still conscious and "healthy", screamed. Ronin needed to run. A scream like that would cause a commotion, and a commotion would draw in more people.

It wasn’t supposed to go like this! Why did they sneak up on me like that? I only wanted a fight, not this!

Ronin tore off his clothes, ripping them into strips of fabric and tying them around his stomach and neck. It would have to do. He was just so dizzy.

He stumbled back onto his feet. He needed rest. He needed darkness to cloak him. But before that...

He glanced down at the last two unconscious men beneath his feet.

They won't be very happy if they wake up and find their friends dead. Besides, I've already crossed the Rubicon now and there's no going back. Sighing inwardly, he steeled himself and stomped down. One time for each man.

It's finished. He thought, feeling sick. He should have just run away when he saw them... Why couldn't he? Was the hold of the artifact over him this strong? Could he not even run?

He began stumbling back into the alleyway he had hid in earlier. Through his slipping consciousness, he spotted an overhang. If he could get up there, maybe it could let him rest a little. It was either that or dropping down right here right now.

Settling in for one final push, he began scaling the wall. Each handhold, each grip feeling like his last.

Just one more grip Ronin, just one more.

He could barely breathe, he couldn’t feel his hands anymore, but somehow, he eventually found himself upon the terrace.

I don’t want to explode, but I can't do this sort of stuff either, I feel like I'm losing myself here, I need an alternative... His vision turned black, and exhaustion took him.

“…”

Ronin woke up groggy. He’d survived somehow. Looking around, there was blood below his neck, his stomach as well. The blood had pooled up under him before running off the terrace, dripping down on the power line ridden ground below. There was a blood pool there as well apparently.

How much blood did I lose? This has to be over a liter at least!?

Rodents had begun gathering. He spotted a ruddle, slurping up the blood as it dripped into the small pool. Ruddles were hairless rodents, quite large, measuring almost half a meter, their pale skin was riddled with green veins. A long snout with a longer poisonous tongue hanging out, marked it as something that should have been an ambush predator. It was a scavenger now, along with most animals after humanity terraformed Concordia.

Focusing on himself, he saw several wounds still covering his stomach. Mixed among bruises and cuts there was a burn hole, 4 cm deep. He should have died from these wounds! He checked the time. 3 hours had passed. Was it the alien artifact that had saved him? For some reason he could survive more damage and was healing faster.

Pinging his Uninet-2000, he did a body scan, getting a transparent 3-D image of himself. Looking at the hologram, he checked his neck. At a closer inspection, it became clear how dangerous the situation had been.

My common carotid artery got nicked!? Ronin gulped in horror. The common carotid artery was the main artery transferring blood to the brain. A cut in this artery meant certain death! Somehow, however, before he died, the artery injury had healed, and the bleeding had stopped.

Still feeling like crap, he heaved himself up and headed for the chute leading out of the district. He’d spent enough time here. The battle lust had disappeared, fortunately. At least he didn’t detect any proclivities to put himself in mortal danger anymore.

"..."

Heaving himself out of district 101, he laid on his back panting. Never again am I going down there, well, never say never. He’d be careful next time at least. Sneak in stealthily, bring some real armor, maybe with a jetpack like his academy suit. Good shielding also, some weapons as well maybe?

Calling down a shuttle, a thought struck him as he walked past the sideways sliding door.

Why not? It can't hurt to ask, right? Ronin inwardly grumbled. After telling the driver the direction home to street 1204, he casually added a question at the end:

“By the way, eh, if you wanted, hypothetically speaking, to fight. How would you go about it?”

“Are you threatening me?! You know this vehicle is monitored and has emergency measures against robbery and theft, right?! God dammit, I should have known when I picked you up. Picking up someone looking like they came straight out of a war zone right beside district 101. STUPID! Why-”

“Wait! It's nothing like that, I only want a ride back home, here, I'll pay you in advance!” Ronin quickly interjected before issuing his Uninet-2000 a payment query.

“As you can see-” Ronin began by pointing at his body. “Fighting is really not something I want to do myself either. But say, if you had to, what would you do? And how?’’

“For all I know you might be into that sort of stuff. You meet all sorts of people in my line of work I tell you. But as for having to fight? What a stupid question. Who asks that sort of stuff? Does it have to be a fight in reality? I’ve played games where your character fights before. I’d never fight in real life, better to have automated systems or the government do that for you.”

Ronin perked up at the mention of games. That's actually a good question! A+ for outsourcing when troubleshooting!

Why does the fighting have to be in reality? He decided to explore this new avenue. Games that could be played on a lightly integrated optical implant would obviously not work. The game would have to replicate reality as closely as possible.

“Game you said. That's a good point. Say, if you wanted to play the most realistically possible game out there, what game would you pick?”

Pausing before swinging around a skyscraper, the driver scratched his head, thinking.

“As realistic as possible? Well, I'd be focusing more on the gaming platform instead of the game itself if that's what I was going for. VR capsules are said to be so realistic you can’t even tell the difference between the game world and the real world. VR games are said to be so addictive that the government actually did a prevention campaign a few years back. That said, I doubt someone like you could afford that. Those things are for the rich. There's a reason why the government never banned it.” He chuckled. No idea at all that the scrawny, dirty and ragged boy behind him was in fact, a multi-millionaire.

VR capsule eh, Ronin mused as he pinged his implant, dragging up several holo-screens in front of his eyes.

Focusing in on the VR-capsule specs, he homed in on the most relevant parameter. The general neural resonance affinity. The higher the affinity, the better whatever game you played, simulated reality. Lag between thought and action, degree of fine muscle control, the realism of smell, taste and touch all depended on this affinity. Pain could as well, it might bother others, but Ronin suspected he’d need that pain…

In a dark room, of which few knew, and if they knew, they’d know. This was a bad place to go. A silhouette of a woman sat there, silently sobbing. Two more silhouettes stood beside her, one on each side, but above them tall, sat a man clear to all.

Raised on his chair, Specter was in a dark mood. The pustule ridden fat woman had recounted her story. Now the question was, did he believe it?

5 men were dead. His men.

“Argus, find out who did this.” His deep voice rang, glancing towards his left.

Glancing right, his eyes conveyed a deeper meaning as he spoke: “Isamellos, take the lady away.”

She would be tortured for information of course. A single boy, killing 5 of his men? They’d been armed too. Ridiculous! He did know one thing though, the ones responsible for this would pay…dearly.