Somnus Deus Ex - Chapter Four

Separating herself from the soldiers was almost hard.

They didn't want her to leave.

It almost came to blows, because Daisy decided that if these grown-ass men needed a little girl to protect them so much, then maybe they didn't deserve to be on the front lines after all. She was testing her grip on her pistol when reason, and order from above, finally came through and they let her leave.

"How many?" she asked.

You have nine hundred and twelve points.

For an hour's work, that wasn't too bad. It was mostly from little models, and a few shots she took at some fliers. Her firepower didn't add too much to what the wall could handle, really. But the soldiers seemed to enjoy the bright actinic flashes of her gun going off and frying aliens from afar.

Now she was on the other side of the wall, out in the open.

Daisy glanced up over her shoulder and at the wall itself. The soldiers up there were almost impossible to see, especially with the strong lights in front of them.

She narrowed her eyes, then took off jogging towards a nearby building.

These first few minutes were where she'd be the most vulnerable. "Okay. Here's the order of things. I need armour. Something light and that'll let me move."

An armoured skinsuit?

"Sure," she said. "Make sure it has some pockets."

Noted.

"Next. Guns. Bigger ones... Actually, scratch that. Can we do cybernetics?"

Of course. What are you thinking about?

"I want better eyes. I'll need better lungs. And I want something to heal in case I get hit," Daisy said. "In that order."

That'll start to cost a lot. Especially if you still want weapons and armour.

She considered it, then nodded. "Eyes first. And... can we do something to let me control things with my mind?"

Yes. That'll be costly, however, but I'm certain we can fit it into your budget. Perhaps wait on the lungs?

"Alright," Daisy said as she slipped into a building. It was some sort of office space, with the walls torn off the front which gave her plenty of access to the interior. She crouched a little as she ran. The first washroom she found past the lobby was good enough, she figured, even if the lights were off within. The emergency light over the door cast everything in a deep, unsightly red, but it was enough to see by.

Alright! Let's start with that suit. Here are some options.

Daisy found herself looking at a small screen with several suits on it. A flick down of her eyes let her scroll down, and down... and down. "How many are here?" she asked. Each suit looked like a form-fitting uniform. Some looked like they were painted on... specifically, painted on a very precise image of herself.

She glanced down at her belly. She was thin. She took all the meds to stay that way, and her extracurriculars were generally pretty physically demanding, enough to keep her fit. Her diet was pretty careful too... except for on Sundays.

There was a tiny bit of a ponch on her belly, one that she'd never been that self-conscious about until she had to look at a thousand images of herself in a suit of armour that made diving suits look baggy.

"Maybe something a little bit armoured?" she asked.

The images instantly changed. Still skinsuits, but this time with slightly segmented armour over the chest and legs and shoulders, with gritty pads over the knees and elbows. The added armour filled her out a little, and hid things some more.

"Alright, how many variations are here?" she asked.

Nineteen million, and counting.

"And counting?"

I'm designing more as I notice the parts that you react positively to.

Daisy blinked. "You pick, then," she said.

The screen flicked up a final time, then stopped on a suit of armour. It was pure, startling white, with some red highlights next to pale-grey armoured plates. It cut a... heroic figure. And more importantly, came with an armoured helmet, with a visor across the front and a mask.

The helmet is upgraded to have a filtration unit, and a low-light vision system as well as a targeting system. It's slight, but should be helpful. The overall suit should be resistant to low-calibre weapons. Not proof, but resistant. The armoured sections are bullet-proof, at least up to smaller rifle calibre rounds.

"Alright," Daisy said. "Get it."

Catalogue unlocked: Light Armours

Points reduced to: 812

Here, I think this will be suitable for you.

Armour unlock: Lightly armoured skinsuit 'Rose Petal'

Points reduced to: 662

The suit appeared in a box. She started to put it on, tossing aside her clothes as she went. It wasn't her PJs, but it wasn't uncomfortable either.

"We're aiming for something more like power-armour in the long run. Light stuff still."

Understood. The eye upgrades next? Please set the helmet aside for now. It'll interfere with the eye upgrade.

"I need better eyes," Daisy said. "Call it three hundred points worth."

I see. I can get you a catalogue and eyes for that price. Part of the cost for new eyes will come from the mechanisms necessary to install them in the field.

"What sort of mechanism?" Daisy asked.

You... are replacing your current eyes.

"I'll just rip them out, if that's what you need," Daisy said.

That... is a little extreme.

"How many points would it save me?" she asked.

Twenty.

"That's a lot," Daisy replied. "I could get eyes that are twenty points better."

Please, at least consider local anaesthetics. You'll need some minor medical assistance even if you were to extract your eyes yourself. The socket would be damaged.

"Then give me something to heal," Daisy said. She walked over to the sink and tested it. There was water. She started opening drawers, but found no paper towels, so she kicked open a toilet paper dispenser and grabbed one of the fresher rolls within. "What am I getting here?" she asked.

An infection, if you plan on using that to assist you with any sort of eye extraction.

Daisy sighed. She hated it when adults stood between her and the most effective path to something. She'd hoped her AI, at least, wouldn't be the same. "Fine. I guess twenty points isn't much."

Thank you. It'll be significantly less traumatic.

"I don't have time for trauma," Daisy said.

Not even on Sundays?

"Why would I waste a Sunday on being traumatised?" she asked.

I see. If you're going through with this... the control system you spoke of earlier. I was going to suggest an electro-impulse detection rig. A system placed over your scalp, or within, that detects patterns of thought and translates them into usable data.

"Oh," Daisy said. "I was imagining an implant."

I figured as much. That'll be... another operation. But if you're going to rip your eyes out of your skull you might as well use the hole.

"Reasonable," Daisy said.

No... no I don't think it is. But I'm not going to stop you either. Let me tally everything up. In the meantime, please describe what you're looking for in your new eyes?

"Range, colour-accuracy, low-light vision, better interfacing with my augs. Or... I suppose I should get new augs outright."

I can fold those into the interface you're looking for. Speaking of which, why are you looking into that kind of interface?

"I want to control guns with my mind," Daisy said. "Big ones. That float."

I... see. I think I can get something like that to work. This will likely drain all of your points, however. You might have to wait on the new weapons and other equipment you want and need.

"Well, I'm in the right place for making more points, aren't I?" Daisy asked. "Let's aim for stuff that's good enough that I won't have to replace it. I don't want to rip my eyes out twice in one day."

Lynus didn't seem to have anything to say about that.

"I meant, like, twice... twice, because I have two."

Yes, I understood the maths and the meaning, thank you.

"Alright," Daisy said with a shrug.

In the end, the AI's suggestions were far from what Daisy wanted, but weren't all that bad all the same. A small, discardable machine she could place on the bathroom's counter to do the surgery, some medication, a single eye, and a very nice, rather expensive, new augmentation that would slowly map out her brain and create a branching sense of proprioception and motion for her to control.

Similar things were on the market already, for people with purely cybernetic limbs, or people operating tanks and aircraft. This would be the same, but a little better.

She'd keep mum about it, she decided, because having a lot of wires in one's brain seemed like a private matter.

The one eye replaced her right. She didn't like the feel of it. Not that it hurt, but it was wrong to only have one eye be upgraded. In fact... it made her question the rest of herself.

"Weapons next," she said as she picked up her Pillowfriend and checked its charge. "Then the second eye, ears, and lungs. By the end of the day I want to be able to hunt bigger game."

***