Enhancer 5

by Wyatt Kane

  Ty had believed his best friend to be dead. He feared the gamer’s body was trapped under the rubble of their apartment building, either alone or with his girlfriend Sarah at his side. He’d known there was still a slim chance that Brad had survived the carnage. His name hadn’t shown up in the lists naming the dead. But in Ty’s mind, that was the same as not believing the sun would rise in the morning because it hadn’t yet happened.

  In his own way, Ty had been grieving Brad’s loss as well as Tempest’s. It was astonishing to see him alive.

  “Are you sure?” Lilith asked.

  Ty nodded. “Play it again,” he said. “Just the last bit. Freeze the image on the screen.”

  Dinah did as Ty asked, and there he was.

  Brad. His red hair and pale, gamer’s complexion were unmistakable. If he’d been wearing his stained robe and fluffy slippers, Ty would have known him from the start. It was only the uncertainty caused by Brad’s use of power and his costume that had hidden who he was.

  “It’s him,” Ty confirmed.

  All at once, Dinah and Lilith started to talk, and even Vixen had something to say. Lilith expressed her delight that Brad still lived, Dinah wondered aloud what it could mean, and Vixen wanted more information. But Ty ignored one and all. In his mind, the only thing that mattered was that Brad was alive.

  Maybe Ty should have left a message on his friend’s phone.

  The devices they all wore included a communication function, but that didn’t mean Ty could simply give Brad a call that way. So Ty called his friend’s phone again, and when the call failed to connect, he left a message.

  “Brad, hey, look. It’s me, Ty. Glad to see you’re still alive, man. You gave me quite a scare. When you get this, if you get it, give me a call. Let me know you’re okay.”

  There was more Ty wanted to say. He wanted to ask what had happened, and how the hell he had become mixed up with the Master. But all of those questions could wait. All that mattered just then was that Brad was alive, and Ty wanted to find him.

  Ty looked up to see the women in his life all staring at him.

  “Can you find him?” he asked Dinah and Lilith.

  The deerkin nodded. “We’ll do our best,” she said.

  It was all Ty could ask. He drew a deep breath to steady himself and wondered what to do next. He couldn’t help Dinah and Lilith with their efforts, and would just be in their way if he stayed with them. With no direct course of action he could take to help, he was left with only one option.

  “I’ll be down in the workshop,” he said.

  ◆◆◆

  As she’d done before, Vixen came with him. Ty was ambivalent about her tagging along. He did feel the need for company, just to talk to someone mostly, but Vixen was far from his first choice. Ideally, he would have talked to Brad. Not only to find out what had happened and to offer his help, but also, if Ty was honest, just for the conversational value Brad offered.

  Ty’s roommate had no filter as far as Ty was concerned. He would offer his opinion regardless of what Ty might think about it. And he had a quirky way of looking at things. More often than not, Brad’s insights would change how Ty saw a problem, or just how he looked at the world.

  With Brad somehow mixed up with the Master and Tempest hovering somewhere between life and death, that sort of unexpected insight was just what Ty needed.

  Barring Brad, Ty would have liked to talk to Dinah, but the deerkin was busy just then. Or Tempest herself. Or even the Architect, whom Ty had never met, but respected as a true luminary, a figure of legend whose understandings dwarfed Ty’s own.

  But none of them was available to Ty. His only option for a conversational partner was Vixen, and while Ty thought he understood her a little better than he had at the start, there was still much about the dark elf that annoyed him.

  Even so, he didn’t chase her away. When they reached the workshop, he hesitated. He looked at the cradle of consciousness he’d created next to the workbench and Tempest in the cryo-chamber, but didn’t really feel drawn to any particular project.

  “Okay, so now we’re down here again,” Vixen said, her tone faintly acerbic, as if she disapproved. “What are you going to do while Dinah and Lilith are hunting for your friend?”

  Ty glared at the dark elf. He understood that the woman’s words alone were largely neutral. It was the implied judgment her tone that made him wince.

  He bit back a retort, and answered her as honestly as he could. “I don’t know. There’s a lot I could do, but none of it is particularly urgent. If it was, maybe I would take another dose of AZT-407, to give me a bit of a boost. As it is,” he shrugged. “I guess I’m just passing the time.” Then, because he didn’t appreciate her judgment and didn’t want to leave it unchallenged, he added, “Unless you have a better idea?”

  Vixen studied him for a moment. “I don’t have any better ideas. I don’t know what you can do.” As she spoke, she gave him a sly smile. “But maybe there’s something I can do about that.”

  So saying, the dark elf stepped toward Ty, and before he could react, pulled him close and kissed him firmly on the mouth.

  Ty was so surprised that at first he just stood there. A part of him acknowledged that Vixen’s kiss was just the right combination of softness and firm. He felt his body start to react, then his conscious mind caught up.

  He broke roughly away and stepped back.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.

  As soon as the words were said, Vixen’s expression crumbled into confusion. “I thought—I thought I could help. I thought you wouldn’t mind. I mean, you’re already with Dinah and Lilith, so maybe things … I don’t know. I thought you were open to it. To me as well.”

  Ty was angry. “You thought wrong!” he said harshly.

  All at once, Vixen’s veneer of brashness disappeared, leaving a vulnerable, disappointed woman filled with regret.

  “I think wrong a lot,” she said quietly. Then she sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ll get out of your way. Maybe I’ll go back to Gensburg before I cause any more trouble. But, just so you know, I was only trying to help.”

  The dark elf, her shoulders slumped and head down, turned to head away, and Ty felt immediately guilty.

  “No, wait,” he said. “Look, maybe I overreacted.”

  Vixen hesitated. “Are you sure?” she asked.

  Ty nodded. “Just don’t do that again,” he said. Then mustered a grin. “At least not until we all figure out how this all works,” he said.

  That was enough to bring some life back to the dark elf’s expression.

  “The story of my life,” she said. “Trying to figure all this shit out. Dinah does it so effortlessly. And Tempest as well. But I never seem to get it right.”

  And that, from what Ty could see, might well have been the biggest part of her problem. He gestured to one of the stools next to the workbench and grabbed one for himself. Then he and Vixen had their first real conversation since she’d walked into his life.

  “Why did you kiss me?” Ty asked.

  “It’s how my power works,” she said. “Intimate contact of any kind seems to enable the transfer. I can borrow your power just by being near you, but it’s not as quick. Kissing seems to make it easier.” She colored a little, then continued. “There are other methods that work as well, but maybe we shouldn’t go into those at the moment.”

  Ty hastily agreed, and Vixen continued.

  “I think that’s been part of my problem. Dinah once said it. She said people couldn’t tell if my advances were out of genuine affection or just a desire to taste their skills.” She shrugged. “And, if I’m telling the truth, sometimes I don’t know either,” she added with regret. “And if I don’t know, how could anyone else?”

  Ty was genuinely interested. He found this Vixen, this vulnerable, honest one infinitely more appealing than the sly, judgmental one she wore as a mask.

  “What about with me?” he asked.

&
nbsp; She colored again, but didn’t look away.

  “Can’t you tell?” she asked. Then she let out another sigh. “Ty Wilcox, I don’t know if Dinah and the others have told you, but there is a distinct lack of men in our world. The Architect was one, but as Tempest’s father, he was largely off-limits. Then there was Zach. Everybody loved him, of course, but he had it worse than any of us. As for the rest of us, we kind of made do.”

  She smiled again, an echo of her previous predatory efforts. “And now there’s you. Tall, beautiful, and capable. You have Dinah’s seal of approval, and Tempest’s as well, and that’s hard to get.” Once again, she gave a slight shrug.

  “Maybe I should have asked first. It would only have been polite.” She smiled again. “But then, you were so distressed. About Tempest, and your friend. It was obvious you were looking for options. I figured if I shared your skill, I might be able to help.”

  Ty had to admit it was a good thought.

  “And?” he said.

  Vixen genuine smile returned. “And how about you talk me through the main problem, and we’ll see?”

  33: Possible Solution

  Ty described in detail what he’d done to preserve Tempest’s mind. He showed Vixen the consciousness cradle he’d built, and brought up the neural link to show her the visual results of that work.

  “So, yeah,” he said. “I’ve captured everything that makes up Tempest’s mind. Transferred her memories, her autonomic responses, everything. You’re effectively looking at an exact duplicate of everything Tempest is and was.”

  Vixen nodded her understanding. “Including her lack of responsiveness,” she finished.

  “Yeah. Everything is there, just as it is with Tempest herself. It’s just missing that spark of consciousness. The gestalt that binds it all together, making her a single, living being rather than a collection of parts.”

  Vixen had listened to Ty’s explanation with interest, asking questions when she needed more information, and demonstrating a firm grasp of what he had done.

  “I take it you don’t intend to open her consciousness up to a storm and hope for lightning to strike?”

  Ty understood the reference. It was the same thing he’d thought of while putting his cradle together. And in truth, if that’s what it took, he wouldn’t have balked at the idea.

  But he knew in his heart that lightning wasn’t the answer. What had worked in Mary Shelley’s age as science fiction would do no more than fry the circuits of Ty’s technology in real life.

  “If it would help, I’d hire a guy named Igor to throw the switch,” Ty said.

  Vixen’s genuine smile was back, but she said nothing else right away. Instead, she gave the problem due consideration.

  As for Ty, he’d already reached his limits. He didn’t know where to turn next.

  “What if …” Vixen began, but then seemed to change her mind. “Have you looked at other minds with this?” she asked, gesturing not at the cradle, but at the holographic image of Tempest’s mind.

  Ty nodded. “The Architect,” he said. “And my own.”

  “What if you compared your mind, the Architect’s, mine, everyone else you can find with Tempest’s? And look to see the difference. What if you were to then copy that difference across to the cradle. Wouldn’t that do the trick?”

  Ty looked at her. He was astonished. It seemed such a simple, elegant solution, and he was stunned that he hadn’t thought of it himself.

  But Vixen wasn’t finished. “If there’s some singular thing that’s consistent with all of us, then that shouldn’t alter her nature at all, right? If it’s just the spark we recreate?”

  Ty didn’t know if she was right or not, but to him, it seemed logical. For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt genuine hope that they could do this.

  The only question was whether he could do it in his normal state, rather than under the influence of the AZT-407 drug. Even with Vixen’s help.

  Then again, why should he approach such a complex problem with one hand tied behind his back?

  He smiled at Vixen. “Do you still have those Upgrade inhalers you got from the dealer?”

  ◆◆◆

  Ty knew he shouldn’t consume so many of the AZT-407 inhalers so quickly. He knew the side effects could seriously damage his system. At the same time, he’d already decided that he would do anything if it meant bringing Tempest back.

  Anything at all. Without limits.

  He didn’t even hesitate. Nor did he run it by Dinah and Lilith. They were both engaged in hunting for Concussion, Bain, and now Brad as well, and Ty didn’t want to disturb them.

  Besides, he’d seen Dinah mix up the restorative and Sarah’s serum enough times now that he could easily do it without her help. That said, taking the drug was still dangerous. He didn’t want to do it all by himself.

  So he brought Vixen with him up to the med bay.

  Ignoring Spit Bitch who still lay sedated on the surgical table, Ty prepared the serum and the restorative mixture. He filled Vixen in on what was going to happen, and seated himself on the chair at the end of the surgical table with an inhaler grasped in his hand.

  He glanced at Vixen. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  The dark elf looked a little worried. “Me?” she said. “It’s you who could black out, if what you’ve said is true.”

  Ty nodded. “All right, then,” he said. He broke the seal on the inhaler and breathed deeply.

  ◆◆◆

  A few minutes later, Ty’s brain was already starting to buzz. He thought about developing some sort of system that would introduce the AZT-407 to his system at need. With Sarah’s serum and the restorative combined with his own healing nanites, maybe he could indeed level up at will. It would be like having a cheat in the game, and it might just give him the advantage he needed.

  Vixen was still looking at him. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Because, for a moment there…” she said, but didn’t finish her sentence.

  Ty nodded. “I’m fine,” he said.

  “Well then, I guess it’s my turn,” Vixen said.

  The dark elf’s words took Ty completely by surprise. He stammered an objection, but Vixen wouldn’t hear it.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “You don’t get to decide this for me. I’ve known Tempest for a lot longer than you have. When it comes to risking her life for others, she wouldn’t hesitate, so why should I?” Again, she offered her small shrug. “And besides, who was it who got the inhalers from the dealer?”

  Ty wasn’t sure that was a valid argument, but he had one that might be.

  “Won’t the drug just enhance your ability to borrow the powers of others?” he asked. “Sure, you borrowed my technological enhancement skill, but that might not be impacted at all.”

  It was a good point, and Vixen knew it. But she wouldn’t be dissuaded. “Only one way to find out for sure,” she said.

  Ty gave in, and they swapped positions. Ty fixed another batch of Sarah’s serum mixed with the restorative, and then they were ready.

  Vixen drew a deep, steadying breath, and looked at Ty for support.

  “You don’t have to do this,” he said.

  It seemed to harden her resolve. “Neither did you,” she said. With that, she broke the seal of her inhaler just as Ty had done, and inhaled the drug.

  It had the same effect on her as it had on Ty. Almost as soon as she’d taken it, her eyes went wide and started to bulge. She gripped the armrests of the seat and the veins on her neck stood out with effort. Her expression became one of shock mixed with pain, and she first grimaced, then let out a groan of agony that grew into such a crescendo that Ty looked at her in horror.

  Was it like this when he took the drug? If so, then it explained Dinah’s look of concern when he did. He was completely sure he had a similar expression on his own face.

  Ty couldn’t help but fear for her safety. He wondered if he should head upstairs and get Dinah’s help, but before he fully
decided to do so, Vixen slumped in the chair, panted for breath for a moment, then looked at Ty.

  “Well, that wasn’t so bad,” she said, obviously joking. She swallowed, then tried again. “Shall we get to it?”

  34: Two Buffs Are Better Than One

  A quick glance at Vixen’s character sheet showed that the AZT-407 drug had indeed worked to enhance her borrowed skill as well as her original one. But not as much as it did for Ty. Nevertheless, it was a significant buff, and neither of them was willing to waste it.

  They made their way back to the workshop and got to work.

  First, Ty used his neural interlink to map out his own consciousness. Then, with Vixen’s assistance, he replicated what he’d done for Tempest, recreating his own mind in its entirety in an electronic cradle of consciousness.

  It was just as complex as the work required to duplicate Tempest, and even before they were done, Ty understood that he had effectively created a functioning AI, and that AI was himself. And not just his normal self either. It was his mind boosted by AZT-407. The best, most efficient version of himself that he had yet to attain.

  The implications were staggering, and Ty promised that he would take the time to sit down and talk to himself at the earliest opportunity. But right then, all he cared about was Tempest.

  That done, for the sake of completion, they took a scan of Vixen’s consciousness as well. With practice, the process became easier, although it was still fiendishly complex. In the end, it took them several hours to complete the work, and that only because the drug gave them both the ability to focus like never before.

  Ty had regularly worked in a state of Zen in the past, but this was different. He had worked well with Dinah as his assistant, but Vixen was on another level entirely. With his own skill at her command, she could intuit much of what was desired, and he barely had to say anything out loud through the entire session.