They watched the shadows lengthen out onto the beach as the sun set behind them. It had been a long day, alternating between stretches of silence and bouts of enthusiastic chatter.

“If I believed in God, I’m not sure if this would be God’s work, or the Devil’s.” Renée said resigned.

“All my family always has, but I don’t think it’s either.” Farrah responded. “This is good old-fashioned arrogant man not stopping to ask whether or not they should do something.”

"After reading through all that, I'm even more curious as to why they left us alive." Daniel said. "We must represent something particularly valuable to this Victoria Thompson person."

The other two looked at him apprehensively.

“Did you read the difference between active and passive effects?” Daniel asked.

The other two shook their heads.

“Tell your system to screen for passive effects.”

“Screen for passive effects.” they both chimed in.

[Passive effects]

Both of them reached out and tapped their displays.

[Vision]

[Hearing]

[Smell]

[Taste]

[Touch]

[Dermal]

[Skeletal]

[Structural]

[Weapons]

The list appeared to scroll off the bottom of the display.

“Tap Vision.” Daniel suggested.

They tapped their displays again.

[Baseline vision correction]

[Heads up display]

[Flash suppressant]

“What the…” Farrah trailed off.

“Try baseline vision correction.” Daniel suggested, looking at Farrah. “You may never need contacts again.”

Farrah looked at both of them questioningly. They could see the uncertainty in her eyes, but there was a mixture of disbelief and hope on her face.

“Well, when you’re dying of brain and bone cancer, I guess being eaten by nanobots isn’t the worst thing that could happen.” Farrah shrugged. She tapped the icon.

[Baseline vision correction estimated time until completion six hours]

[Proceed?] [Y/N?]

“It says it should take six hours. Here goes nothing.” Farrah said. Before the others could say anything, she tapped the icon.

“So that’s it?” Renée asked. “We pick a thing, and it fixes us, and that’s… It?”

“Well, I’m sure there are some downsides in here somewhere. We just need to find them before they hurt us, or… Kill us.” Daniel said.

On a hunch, Farrah brought up the vision option again. “System. Display effects of baseline vision correction. Display negative consequences. Display costs.”

Several new screens appeared. Farrah read them off as they appeared.

[Effects of procedure – correct vision to 20/20]

[Chance of procedure error 5%]

[Procedure error may result in less than optimal results.]

[Procedure costs 4000 kcal – suggest offsets through calorie intake. Failure to offset costs may result in muscle or organ damage.]

“Well holy crap! I guess we know some of the costs now. Next time we find out before we start procedures. I don’t want to wake up in the morning missing vital organs.” Farrah said. “I’m finishing the nachos and anything else I can find. Four THOUSAND?!?”

“System. Display cost for vision effects Heads Up Display.” Daniel said.

[Heads up display - Level 1 – 12 hours. 120,000 cal.]

“Well that answers that question. You can have some cool stuff, but there are certainly prices to pay and eating constantly seems to be one of them.” Daniel chuckled without humour. “I wonder if this Victoria Thompson person knows of shortcuts, or if there are official or technological ways to enhance the process? Either that or we’re going to be eating a lot of high density protein powder over the next few days.”

“Wait a second.” Renée said. “System. Display effects of Heads Up Display without installing system.”

[Display Heads Up Display simulation?] [Y/N?]

René tapped yes.

Her displays were suddenly replaced by something out of a video game. There were health bars and lists of skills, with a map centered on the display showing figures moving around. It was obviously not the room they were in, but it showed her what sort of information could be available.

“System. Display costs of correcting deviations summary.” Renée said quietly.

[Deviation summary – cost of full correction – 12 hours. 500,000 cal.]

“I… You mean… If I eat my face off for a day I can be… Cured? After all this time?” Renée said softly.

[Question not understood.]

“I bet you don’t.” Renée said.

“What are you thinking?” Daniel said.

“In 12 hours. I could be cured in 12 hours. All I have to do is tell… This…” She gestured to her screen, then her body, realizing the nanobots were inside her, not in front of her. “…Thing to cure me and eat like my life depends on it, and I could be cured. No more pain. No more drugs.” Renée said softly.

“System. Display alternative payment methods .” Daniel said.

[Procedure costs can be met by nanotech infusions. Procedure time frames can be accelerated by use of Abraxas facilities.]

"So it looks like we're stuck with old and slow." Daniel said. "I guess if Thompson comes back we can ask her about the other options."

Suddenly Daniel stood up, "I have some thoughts, but I'm going to go for a run and see how things look when I get back. Don't do anything risky until then."

"Sure okay, see you when you get back, remember to eat, to make up the calories." The other two chorused as he pulled on his shoes and headed out the door.