by Isaac Hooke
Jed paused beside a kabob kiosk and bought three sticks, handing one each to Tane and Sinive.
The Volur wrapped the bread around his kabob, and gripped it tightly in the center while he slid the support stick out. Tane and Sinive mimicked him, and then ate while they walked.
“What animal is this meat from?” Sinive asked.
“Probably better if you don’t know,” Jed answered.
Sinive made a disgusted face, but she continued eating.
They caught a ride on a shared flyer, which took them to the opposite side of the city, and then unloaded. Two blocks later they reached a shop nestled at the base of a particularly tall silo. The shop was completely unlabeled, and since Tane didn’t have his external augmentations active, he couldn’t read any potential digital signage.
“Here it is.” Jed approached the door but then paused, his eyes defocusing. “My friend just got in touch. She’s tentatively agreed to provide passage. Because we’re headed into the Umbra, she won’t be cutting her fee, like I had hoped. That means I won’t be able to spend as much in here.”
“She’s only tentatively agreed?” Tane asked. He wiped the perspiration from his eyes.
“Yes,” Jed answered. “She wants to meet you first. We’ll have to make this quick. She’s expecting us downtown in an hour.”
The Volur warrior continued toward the door.
“This is exciting,” Sinive said. “I can’t wait to see what they have!”
The Volur glanced sidelong at her. “I never said I was purchasing anything for you.”
“Fine, be that way.” Sinive folded her arms above her breasts. “But keep in mind I saved your precious World Bender’s life back on Remus, when you Volurs were busy having your faces slammed into the ground. Might be a good idea to buy me some upgrades, don’t you think? Or at the very least get me a new Chrysalium armband.”
Jed shook his head. “The cost of a good armband like the one you had, an armband that won’t disintegrate after the first use, is far beyond my means. I’m sorry.”
“Minor upgrades will do...” Sinive said.
“We’ll see,” Jed told her. He touched the door handle.
“Wait, I’m not going to owe you anything after this, am I?” Tane said.
“You’ll owe me nothing, Engineer,” Jed said.
Tane wasn’t so sure about that, but he nodded slowly. “All right, well, thanks for investing in me. And for believing in me.”
“It’s more for Lyra’s belief in you that I do this,” Jed said.
“You don’t think I’m the Bender of Worlds?”
“I’m sure you are,” Jed said. “But I haven’t decided yet whether you’re going to save the galaxy or destroy it.”
“And yet you want to buy me upgrades.”
“Your goals align with mine, for now,” Jed said. “You want to save Lyra, eventually. So do I. And while I may respect you, and the power you have inside of you, it doesn’t mean I trust you fully.”
“Well I’m glad you finally cleared the air,” Tane said. “And here I was, just starting to think you were my friend.”
“I’m the closest thing you have to a friend right now, Engineer. Considering that one of your other companions has a control chip in her brain, and the other is an alien.”
“Gee, thanks,” Sinive said. “Lump me in with the alien.”
“Well, I trust you about the same as I do them,” Tane told Jed. “For all I know, the TSN got to you, too, and you just don’t know it yet.”
Jed gestured toward the door. “Can we go in now?”
“Lead the way.”
Tane followed Jed inside. He immediately noticed the drop in temperature: sweet air conditioning.
As usual, around Tane were shelves lined with curios: holograms projected from tiny plinths; glass cases harboring silver items that had to be Chrysalium; small, glowing statues of dwellers and kraals. And there was even a Dirac on display, situated on a stand near the middle of the shop like a centerpiece.
“We should really come here in the Umbra sometime,” Sinive said softly.
Behind the far counter a proprietor emerged. He was dressed in a red sari and wore his hair completely shaved on one side, and long on the other, a style Tane had seen on some of those who hadn’t wrapped their heads in fabric.
“How can I help you lovely gentlemen, and lady, today?” the man said.
Tane ran a quick ID. The man was a synthetic named Bill.
“You’re a robot?” Sinive said. “But you can’t even Siphon. Why would you run an Esoteric shop?”
“Stereotyping,” Bill said. “That’s always a bad thing. Just because I can’t Siphon, doesn’t mean I can’t make a living peddling goods to those who can. I pay my licensing fees, and the Volur are happy to take their commission either way.”
Sinive didn’t seem convinced. “Well, if you say so. Though this is the last job any robots I know would take. In fact, if they had a choice, most of my robot friends wouldn’t be working at all, but rather plugging themselves into the latest massively multiplayer game for AIs.”
“The owner is away on vacation,” the synthetic admitted. “I am her assistant. And yes, before you came in, I was plugged in to a massively multiplayer game.”
“Ah.” Sinive ran a finger across an armband on a shelf that caught her eye.
“No touching, please,” the synthetic told her. “You break it, you buy it.”
“How much?” Sinive said.
“For that, two hundred and eighty thousand,” Bill said.
“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Sinive turned away, quickly losing interest in the item.
Jed emerged from behind a shelf; he held a small glowing pistol. “What do you want for this?”
“Sixty thousand,” Bill said.
Jed pressed his lips together. He glanced at Tane. “I was thinking of buying it for you, but it’s a bit above my price range.”
“I don’t have the Pistoleer skill anyway,” Tane said.
“Oh.” Jed returned the item to its place, then joined Tane and Sinive as they stood before the synthetic. “I’d like to buy my friend here a Chip Database Upgrade.” He pointed at Tane.
“That can be arranged.”
“How much?” Jed asked.
“Fifteen thousand,” Bill replied.
“I want level two,” Jed said.
“Thirty thousand, then,” Bill said.
“Wait,” Tane told Jed. “What’s the point of spending all that money on a database upgrade? Wouldn’t the credits be better spent on Essenceworks, or items?”
“Thirty thousand is pretty reasonable, actually,” Jed said. “You can’t keep asking me to ID every single item you come across. With this, you’ll be able to identify the different classes of humans, robots, and dwellers on your own, plus nearly all known weapon types among both species. Level two is equivalent to what the TSN chips their soldiers with... you’re going to need an upgrade like this sooner or later. Might as well get it done now, while we have a good rate.”
Tane glanced at Bill. “Out of curiosity, what does level three provide?”
Jed was the one who answered. “The full IDs of all known ship types, including human military and alien.”
“Ah,” Tane said. “All right. Let’s do it.”
“Good.” Jed turned toward the synthetic. “I also want you to show him a list of the available Essenceworks you have on hand, levels one and two.”
Because Tane was within the reduced five-meter transmission range of his chip, a sharing prompt appeared on his HUD and he accepted.
Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 1.
Shapist:
Star Light. Used to illuminate the immediate area.
Silence Cage. Envelopes an area in silence, blocking sound from entering or leaving.
Warmancer, ranged:
Air Current. Launch a gust of air.
Essence Missile. Launch a missile of pure Essence at an opponent.
Warmancer, hand-to-hand:
Essence Trap. Cause an object to detonate when opened.
Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 2.
Shapist:
Blur features. Hide from facial recognition algorithms.
Healer:
Wound healing. Heals wounds on one subject.
Warmancer, hand-to-hand:
Light glove. Punch through shields and armor with a glove of white Essence.
“I have each Branchwork available for purchase up to level three,” Bill said.
“I like how they’re organized by discipline,” Tane said. “The last Peddler of the Esoteric just bunched all the works together.”
“Yes,” Bill said. “Not every purveyor of the Lumina knows how to sell...”
“I’m a bit surprised you’d openly carry something like Blur Features,” Tane said.
“Why wouldn’t we?” Bill said. “It’s one of the more popular works we sell. All Essenceworkers value their privacy after all...”
“Of course,” Tane said. “Law enforcement lets you get away with it?”
“We show a different list to law enforcement officials,” the synthetic replied.
“So, pick two Branchworks you want to acquire,” Jed told Tane. “Or one you want to upgrade. And if the cost isn’t too high, I’ll buy them.”
Tane considered the list for several moments. He wanted all the Branchworks he didn’t have on that list of course, especially healing, but he knew level one in most of them would probably be relatively useless. Then again, Persistent Flame level one packed a relatively powerful punch, at least when spurted like a flamethrower. If there was any Branchwork he was interested in upgrading, it would be Essence Missile however, considering it could travel a whole lot farther than the two meters of Persistent Flame. But upgrading either of those would likely be extremely expensive, especially considering his Essence Missile was already at level two. Those Branchworks would naturally level on their own over time with use anyway, whereas all the other works he didn’t have couldn’t be leveled if he didn’t know how to create them in the first place.
He decided he didn’t need Blur Features, because Jed had already picked up the caps, but he dithered back and forth on the remaining works for about three minutes before he made up his mind. “Okay. I’ll take level one in Light Glove and Healing.”
“Good choices,” Jed said.
“Indeed,” the synthetic said. “The cost will be eighty thousand galactic credits.”
“Oh,” Jed said. “The price has gone up since the last I checked.”
Bill shrugged. “We get our price quotes directly from Talendir. We’re not allowed to charge less than the going rates. If we do, the Volur will revoke our license.”
“I’ve always said the shops are a big sham the Volur perpetrate,” Sinive said.
“It is a sham,” Bill agreed. “But it’s padding their digital wallets nicely.”
“And your own, I’m sure,” Sinive muttered.
“Do you have any legendary Chrysalium pieces you can show us?” Jed asked Bill.
“If I did, they wouldn’t be for sale,” Bill responded. “But I do have a couple of Epic pieces that might interest you.”
“Maximum cost is eighty thousand,” Jed said.
“Then I have one piece,” Bill said. “A moment.”
The synthetic vanished in a back room and returned a moment later carrying a small necklace. Jed extended a hand as if to take it, but Bill snatched it back. “Uh uh uh! Look, don’t touch.”
Tane tried to ID it but got nothing. It was probably a good thing he was getting that Chip Database Upgrade.
Bill glanced at him, apparently realizing he couldn’t identify the item, because a moment later Tane received a sharing request on his HUD and accepted. He read the item information:
Item: Feral Necklace.
Item type: Epic.
Weight: 50 g.
Additional Effects: All created Essenceworks behave as if they are one level higher.
Essence-Imbued bonuses: 5% bonus to learning. 25% bonus to Chrysalium Siphoning.
Chrysalium bonus: +1 Intelligence while equipped.
Note: must be worn under armor or spacesuit to take effect.
“How much?” Jed asked.
“Eighty thousand. Firm.”
“Doesn’t really seem worth it,” Tane said.
“Actually, it is,” Jed said. “Boosting an Essencework to the next level higher? That’s definitely worth it. And the Chrysalium Siphoning bonus isn’t bad at all. But there is a catch.”
“Let me guess, I have to choose between the necklace, and the three nanotech upgrades,” Tane said.
“Good guess,” Jed said. “I still have to save money to buy passage, and book the 3D printers...”
“What if I was able to put up fifty thousand?” Tane said.
“Do you have fifty thousand?” Jed asked.
“Not yet,” Tane said. He turned toward Bill. “I’d like you to evaluate some items for me.”
Tane went to the main counter and reached into the loose fabric of his waist area to retrieve his storage pouch. From it he removed the battle armor pieces he had purloined in the Umbra. He set them down on the countertop, along with the chest piece he had taken from Lyra’s pouch. Sinive also unloaded the extra pieces of armor she had been storing for Tane at five percent commission.
He got a surprisingly good price for the armor pieces, at forty-five thousand, and he paid his commission to Sinive. He also sold his old A2 Personal Shield System for eleven thousand—it retailed for twenty-five brand new, according to a quick check Jed made for him on TradeBay, the most popular auction site on the Galnet.
Tane had Bill hold the money in escrow for the purchase of the necklace and two Essenceworks; Jed was about to pay the outstanding amount when Tane intervened, asking the synthetic: “How much for a point in Strength?”
“What is your Strength currently?” Bill asked.
“Nine,” Tane replied.
“The price to reach ten is ten thousand,” Bill said.
“Can we get that, too?” Tane asked Jed. “There’s another piece of armor I have that I can’t wear without ten Strength.” He felt like he was a little kid all over again, asking his dad to buy—pretty please—the latest virtual reality app for his AR goggles or something.
Jed frowned at first, and for a moment Tane thought the Volur was going to say no. But then Jed addressed Bill: “We’ll take the Chip Database Upgrade level two. The Light Glove and Healing works. The Feral Necklace. And the Strength point. I’m sending payment now.”
The Volur’s eyes defocused.
“Very good,” Bill said. He handed the necklace to Tane. “This is yours. I’ll prepare your nanotech upgrades forthwith.” The synthetic headed behind the counter.
Tane examined the necklace excitedly. He lowered the fabric that was wrapped around his head and slid the necklace on, tucking it underneath the sari and the shirt underneath. A notification appeared on his HUD, telling him that his intelligence had jumped by one point, to twenty-five with the beam hilt, Chrysalium Star rings, Feral Necklace, and Nova Bracelet equipped.
I feel smarter already.
He didn’t receive any other notifications. He would have to assume he was getting the other bonuses, he supposed.
“And of course I don’t get anything, right?” Sinive said.
Tane shrugged. “You could sell some of the armor you picked up in the Umbra...”
“Yeah, except I don’t like the prices here,” Sinive said. “Not to mention this synthetic’s trade-in valuations are a little bit on the low side for my tastes. I think I’ll hold off.” She turned away and pretended to be fascinated by a small silver statue of a tree sitting on a nearby shelf. Had to be Chrysalium.
Bill beckoned from behind the counter, and Tane and Jed approached. The synthetic produced
a yellow vial, along with a brain scan machine.
“Please,” Bill beckoned toward the machine.
Tane took the provided seat in front of the counter. He placed his chin into the supplied rest, while at the same time pressed his forehead into the half-circle of the headband. He gazed into the two binocular lenses in front of him.
“By the way, he has two chips installed in his brain,” Jed said.
“Two?” Bill said.
“Yes,” Jed said. “One civilian, and one military. The upgrades will be for the civilian chip.”
The synthetic pursed its lips. “Interesting.”
“Is there a problem?” Jed asked.
“None,” Bill replied. “I don’t meet very many people with two chips, that’s all. It should be safe.”
Tane sat back. “Should?”
“I misspoke,” Bill said. “It is safe.”
“Why don’t I find that reassuring?” Tane said. “Don’t answer. It was a rhetorical question.”
Bill studied him uncertainly. “Do you want to continue? I can still rebate your money.”
Tane studied the machine a moment, and then leaned forward once more, settling into the two rests. The binocular lenses adjusted until they were over his eyes, and then a bright light assailed him.
Tane’s eyes watered, and he began to blink rapidly.
“Try not to blink,” Bill said.
A second later the light faded. The afterimage remained, blotting Tane’s vision.
Bill’s eyes defocused as he analyzed the results. Then the synthetic slid the yellow vial into a slot beside the scanner. It popped out a moment later, and the synthetic slid the vial into a sonic injector, and beckoned Tane to place his hand on the table.
Tane did so. He hadn’t put on his gauntlets this morning, nor his rings, so his hands were bare.
Bill held the injector above his right hand. The sting that followed told Tane the injection was complete.
A few seconds later the notification icon flashed in the lower right of his HUD, and Tane enlarged it to read the alerts that had appeared.