As Trace woke on morning after upgrading his NetConnect, he was seriously considering revising several of his plans. His ignorance had caused him to underestimate just how difficult it was to conduct new growth experiments. Not having easy access to the net hadn’t helped matters, either. Every time he had wanted to search for information, he had needed to use the ink-sheet or his desk-computer, which had slowed him down considerably.

  Replicating what Sevorah had done was not as easy as she had made it sound.

  Making the hair grow would be relatively easy with the supplies she had provided. Conducting their own experiments though, well, that was another matter, one that was best left to someone else. They could stumble around in the dark and possibly make progress. However, it would require tools and equipment they didn’t have in order to actually dive into the changes.

  In other words, it was something they would have to ask the already overworked mender to do for them. Perhaps it was better to simply use what they had been given and put that apparently ambitious plan to the side for the moment.

  Yeah, he could do that. She had given him six samples, each one varying in its listed specifications. He would need to test which one met his needs the best. It was the claws that were supposed to be metallic in nature, but maybe if they were lucky, the hair shared some of those same properties. It wouldn’t be as good as what they had originally planned. That said, something was still better than nothing.

  After those tests, they could begin to grow it with sections of synth-skin. While that was going on, he would need to redo much of the work he had already done to the outer portion of his new stealth suit.

  Before all of that though, he needed to first inspect the changes that had been made to his NetConnect. Which is where problems began to arise. How did you test something like this? After all, it hadn’t gained more Universal Memory or a better processor, at the same time, the speed of both items had increased.

  The firmware and Operating System (OS) had been previously updated, and any bugs that may have still existed were now gone. Deckard would want to take a copy of the new OS later to see what exactly had been changed. Before the upgrade, it had been fast, almost reacting to his thoughts. Now there was no difference between the two. Before, he had needed to glance up at the corner to activate the HUD, whereas now it simply read his thoughts and appeared.

  It was the same with everything else. There was no more tracking of his eyes. Instead, it reacted to his mental stimulation. The new speed took some getting used to.

  Everything was better and more efficient. Outwardly, it was the same; inside, it was another matter, and it was only when he pulled up the page that displayed the model information that he noticed the true extent of the upgrade. No longer did it display anything related to Vinna-Kwoi.

  Everything had been completely overwritten, the specs increased, and a few new items had even been added to the list. They were welcome additions in this case, as they were designed to work with the military hardware of his eyes.

  That… was an interesting surprise.

  He wouldn’t have thought that the corporations would be leaving their tech inside the public NetConnects. Or had the system gotten the information from their various patches? No matter where the knowledge had come from, the upgrade had made use of it.

  With this upgrade, using the advanced functions of his eyes posed even less of an issue than before, as more of the processing could be passed through the unit instead of his brain. It was a benefit that he would definitely take.

  Trace strapped on his back brace, ate a quick breakfast of slightly stale burritos and marbles, washed it all down with water, and then headed down to the basement.

  He needed to get back to work on his projects. The stealth suit was waiting for him, and according to Deckard, he needed to redo the coilpistol as well. There was plenty to do, and it was nearly time to get back to work.

  Deckard was busy constructing the powder-coating oven, which had been delivered a few hours earlier, while Trace was still asleep. “I wrote down a few notes. Take a look at them while I inspect all the changes that were done to your NetConnect.” He said, abandoning his current project without a second thought.

  A moment later, he had plugged a cable into Trace’s neck while the other man was reading the notes he had made at some point throughout the night.

  He groaned and tossed the ink-sheet onto the table beside the suit. “Okay, well, that is far more extensive than what I am willing to do at the moment.”

  Deckard had detailed a problem, along with a solution that they had ignored the night before. Namely, that the hair needed to remain alive, which meant that even after attaching it to the suit, they needed a way to pump the special nutrient solution to it. That would involve creating new internal channels alongside an additional holding tank. It all took up room and was becoming needlessly complicated.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  If the suit had been designed with it from the beginning, then it might have been doable, but this was just too much work.

  Leaning over the worktable, he studied the suit, his fingers drumming on the metal surface as he thought. “Fine, it’s annoying to change the plan yet again, but we won’t be using the hair or claws this time around. Those can wait until version three; it will give us more time to work on them anyway. For now, let’s pull the sleeve and framework back off the suit. I’m thinking we can powder-coat the inside and outside of both. I also want to do the same for the holsters and pouches. If this works the way we’re hoping, then they should be removable this time around, which means I can upgrade instead of holding myself back.”

  The loss of the creature’s hair from the underfloors was annoying, but only because he had already begun making plans for it. Truthfully, the suit hadn’t gained or lost anything from where it had originally been at this time the day before.

  That did mean he could start working on jobs again a little sooner though. He would need to reach out to Monroe and see where he was at. The last time they had talked, the man was busy working with Sabrina on his own long-overdue suit.

  Maybe it would be best to bring another partner along anyway.

  “If we go this route, then the new suit should be done in another couple of days. I’ll be working on the coilpistol at the same time, so as soon as it is done, I’ll be ready to take on jobs for Stick-Point again.” Trace told Deckard as the man unplugged the cable from his neck. “What do you say about us making a barebones stealth suit for you at the same time so you can come with? I know you have been itching to get out of the warehouse.”

  Unfortunately, the original stealth suit didn’t quite fit the dimensions of the android’s body, and while it could be modified, truthfully, it was easier to just create a new, barebones unit.

  Deckard wasn’t exactly the type to fight in any case. He would be coming along to experience the world and to finally leave the warehouse, a small first step of sorts toward their goal of eventually heading to the protected floors of DIA.

  “I think that I would like that, and in actuality, I have already begun running design simulations on such a suit. Your help would be greatly appreciated, as this isn’t my specialty.” Deckard picked up the ink-sheet Trace had tossed to the side. “Now, let’s talk about the changes the upgrade made to your NetConnect. I assume you already saw what it did to the hardware, so we’ll save that for later. I want to talk about what it did to my brand-new OS.”

  ***

  Trace settled into the seat of his truck with a sigh of relief. It had been so long since he had truly sat behind the wheel that he was afraid he had forgotten how to drive. Beside him, Deckard was wearing a somewhat odd-looking onesie getup.

  They had rushed to make it on time, though the suit was running directly off the android’s hardware. Unlike Trace’s original suit or the improved version that needed to run everything on its own, with only the software being done from Trace’s NetConnect, Deckard was able to handle everything on his own. It made the general construction of the suit much easier.

  “Are you ready for this?” He asked, looking over at the android. “This will be the first time you’ve left the warehouse since you woke up, and I doubt the world is as nice as it was when you were… alive? Younger?” He shook his head. “Whatever. Are you sure the control connection will hold? We still haven’t made the new head for that body, either.”

  “Quit delaying, Trace!” Deckard snapped. “Are you sure you aren’t the one with the problem at this point?”

  “There might be a little truth to that,” Trace muttered. “After spending so long in the basement because I was injured, I guess maybe I am a little on edge.”

  It didn’t help that he couldn’t wear the new suit while he was driving, as it made him too bulky to fit in the seat. Leaving the warehouse without already being inside its comforting confines left him feeling anxious and like the untrained kid he had been that time last year.

  He swallowed past the lump in his chest and started the truck. “Let’s do this. It’s a good one-person job, so it’s fine that Monroe can’t participate.”

  Monroe was still working on his own suit with Sabrina still and attempting to train his lungs — a task that he was having far more difficulty with than the former.

  The warehouse doors closed behind them as they drove out and sped away toward the job Stick-Point had assigned him. It was a less than savory first job back, but it was one that he could do at a distance, which was important. With the still-healing damage to his back, he couldn’t afford to get into any up-close fights. The suit was armored, but the jolt from an impact in the wrong location would hurt and potentially set his healing back.

  That was fine. It would just help him to actually concentrate on training to be a wraith, instead of whatever it was he had been doing before.

  Trace turned up the heat inside the cab as they merged onto the main thoroughfare. The city sprawled before them, a chaotic tapestry of towering structures and flickering neon signs. It was a stark contrast to the messy environment of his warehouse, and Trace felt the increasingly familiar knot of anxiety tighten in his stomach.

  “You alright?” Deckard’s voice was even and devoid of any inflection.

  The onesie, a hastily constructed prototype, clung to his frame, showing off the network of additional sensor arrays and cameras they had integrated into its construction. It was messy and ugly, but it was all part of some plan Deckard had, and he had even made sure that everything used was something they already had in stock.

  “Just… adjusting,” Trace replied, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. “Being outside here again, it’s a little overwhelming.” His eyes flicked from one vehicle to another, taking in their unpredictable movements. The constant barrage of visual and auditory stimuli was too much, and after only driving for a minute on the main road, he found himself pulling over, needing to take a breather.

  That had been overwhelming and not what he was expecting.

  He thought about the past few days, since the upgrade to his NetConnect. It had been like waking up to a new world, one where everything was faster, more efficient, and more connected. He felt... different, like every feeling and sense was so much more real than before.

  Trace took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus. He scanned the road ahead, noting the patterns of traffic flow, the blind spots, and the potential hazards. He adjusted the truck’s cameras and old-fashioned mirrors, his hands gradually unclenching as he began to calm.

  “Tell me the job details,” Trace requested of Deckard, breaking the silence. “I need something else to concentrate on at the moment. My mind is too wired at the moment. The upgrade to the NetConnect is having some effects on how fast signals get sent to my brain, and I guess I haven’t adjusted yet. I was fine in the warehouse, but out here where it’s so busy, it’s another matter.”

  Thank you to all the people who have taken the time to rate the story and to my latest Patrons! I have other stories up on my Patreon, including my current WIPs. Which are now Created G.H.O.S.T. System(My Cyberpunk story), WetWorks2, plus The Restaurateur and His Daughter and DungeonFall. :)

  https://joshuakernbooks.com/