Darkness receded.
The first thing Ken noticed was the holo screen stating, “OS Initializing for the first run.”
The second, were the glitches to his vision.
“...You alive, hermano?” That voice... Jackie.
Ken blinked.
The operating lamp hanging overhead slowly came into focus, forcing him to squint.
“...Depends,” he muttered. He thought back to the comicon. What happened back then... “Did I die?”
Jackie snorted from somewhere nearby. “Told ya, Vik. Kid’s got jokes.”
“You’d better hope he keeps making them.” Viktor tossed a medical scanner onto the nearby tray. “Means his frontal brain is still kicking.”
Ken slowly sat upright.
Nothing hurt.
Actually...
That was strange. His body felt... lighter.
Not quite stronger, neither faster, just...
Balanced.
Like his nerves relaxed and every movement reached exactly where he intended.
“How long have I been out for?”
“Little over three hours.”
‘Three hours? I only felt like half an hour passed.’
Viktor folded his arms and continued, “Don’t start celebrating yet.”
“Hm?”
“The Sandevistan is online.”
“That sounds like a good thing,” relaxed Ken.
“No,” Viktor started, “The surgery was not a success... more like there was no surgery.”
“Huh?” Ken was confused. The Sandevistan was online but there was no surgery? What did Viktor mean?
As his emotion fluctuated, it happened.
“I-e-t-z. V-ae-r-y. K-o-n–” Viktor spoke and moved in a very funny manner. Ken didn’t know the guy had such a side to him.
NOT.
Ken slapped his forehead, and because he was still in Sandevistan mode, the sheer momentum behind the slap threw him backward onto the operating bed.
“Ouch!”
Ken recalled what he knew about the chrome.
Sandevistan.
A piece of neuralware that slowed down time–or more accurately, accelerated the user's perception of it. During activation, the world seemed to crawl as thoughts, reflexes, and movements were pushed far beyond normal human limits. And because the body itself was moving at those incredible speeds, every strike naturally carried tremendous momentum.
From Jackie and Viktor’s perspective, Ken slapped himself so fast with enough strength to force himself back to the bed once again.
After being stunned for a moment, Jackie fell down in a guffaw, “Wuhahah, Vik, look at the kid. He just chromed up and fired Sandy to hit himself. I have never seen something this funny, Buhahaha...”
If looks could curse someone, Jackie would be already crushed in layers of weakness curses.
“Try to calm yourself. I know you’re excited but it’s never a good idea to fire the chrome just after chippin in.”
“Eh, Viktor. I really didn’t fire it up. It just automatically happened...” Ken defended himself. He didn’t even get to enjoy the feeling.
“Hahaha, it just happened, he says!” Jackie was already hugging his stomach.
‘Seriously, what’s so funny,’ sulked Ken.
“That means you have good compatibility with that chrome. Still, to activate it unconsciously is freaky. It’s also possible that it was a fluke but try to consciously control it until you get used to it. It is the basics of basics to not fire an active chrome like this for at least three days after installation.” Viktor instructed and after much thought and gestured Ken to turn to the screen. “As I was saying, it's very confusing to explain, so let’s just watch the feed.”
In the video, Ken was lying down on the bed with his spine already out.
Viktor connected the Heavy-duty Neuroport and brought the mechanical spine near Ken’s own for the final replacement.
Then the Sandevistan literally came alive and lodged itself where his spinal bone was supposed to be.
“Um, Viktor, correct me if I am wrong, but that’s not supposed to happen.”
“I don’t have anything to correct. I did check everything, or whatever I could find in the chrome, and nothing indicated anything like that.” Viktor sighed in annoyance, “It was supposed to be an upgrade for the spinal cord, nervous system and motor cortex. Not act like a freaking snake for a spine. Honestly, I was prepared for the worst and prayed you just woke up...
“But since Sandy ran just fine, how are you feeling? Anything uncomfortable? Actually, it IS somewhat normal to feel uncomfortable after firing that thing up.”
Ken had an indication as to why it might have happened. He thought for a moment and said, “Actually, I feel better than ever. Maybe I should walk around?”
Viktor nodded, removed the cables connecting to Ken and helped him up.
He moved around without any issues but his legs felt slightly hollow, and twisting his upper body felt painful which Viktor also advised against doing.
For the legs, Viktor had already briefed him beforehand. He took out the shoddy parts of the Ankle Reinforcement and filled it with cloned cells. It was more of a downgrade rather than upgrade. Apparently it was the healthier option and should settle in another two to three days. Also, it would not hinder his physical growth.
“Let the spinal fluid settle and heal the skin naturally, you should be fine after that. Come back three to four days later. We will see if there’s any problem and whether we will need to do another surgery to put back your spine.”
Ken gulped. ‘Haha, Vik can be quite scary, the way he talks like he just wants to open me up again, *shivers*’
“What happened, you fine?”
“E-eh? I’m perfect actually!” Ken politely replied in a high voice. Then, he changed to his neutral face. “Viktor, how much do I owe you?”
“What do you mean how much? None. The surgery did not go according to plan.” Viktor dismissed him.
“Then, still. I noticed my optics, this resolution is preem, I DO owe you for that.”
“Hm, I wanted to change yours for mil-spec grades to match with the sandy, they have extra resources which can reduce the burden, but I only had civilian models at hand. It hardly has extra resources, but well, mosquito meat is also meat, they say.”
In the end, after some urging from Ken and Jackie, Viktor charged him with 13,000 eddies.
“Kid, take these.” Viktor pushed two paper bags to his hand.
“These are?” Ken peered inside. They were filled with two tubes of red and green injections.
“Take the red one tomorrow night and the night after before sleeping. As for the green one...” Then Viktor’s gaze hardened. “Don’t take them under any circumstances.”
“Eh, Vik, don’t scare him. Why are you handing it if you don’t want him to take one?”
“Immunosuppressants. Those are for the worst case scenario. The more you take them the closer you are to losing control. I’m giving you two for emergencies so that you can come back here in one piece.”
Basically so that Viktor could take out the spine before he went all cyberpsycho.
“I will remember your instructions,” Ken seriously replied. Then added, “How much I owe you for the meds?”
“Don’t worry about it. That much dosage comes in sets with the price of surgery.”
The price of surgery itself was zero... but Ken didn’t point it out, he noted it in his heart.
After that Viktor nagged Ken for what to be aware of and how many times to use Sandevistan, and the list went on.
In the end, Ken felt almost bad for the ripperdoc.
All of this just for a piece of experimental cyberware...
“Hm, how much does this thing cost anyway,” Ken thought out loud. The gaming system also said it was Legendary+ grade? ‘If I don’t remember wrong Doc said around 10K to 15K, right?’
“Hm, the Sandy? About two hundred thousand.” Viktor let himself smile.
Ken froze.
“Minimum. Maybe more.”
“...More?”
“Experimental military prototype. Corpos would kill a district to get their hands on another company’s military developments.” He stopped. “Actually, considering what this thing did during surgery? I’d say a corporation would happily pay even double.”
Ken stepped on the operating bed and laid on his stomach.
“Oi, you are done. Go back home already!”
“Viktor, please take it out!” Ken almost cried.
Ken_Brain.exe has crashed.
Jackie hugged his stomach and guffawed like a bear until he was on the floor.
/ / /
Next Morning
The first thing Ken did after waking up was let out a sigh of relief. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had never slept so well.
Instantly after came endless regret.
“Two hundred thousand eddies minimum! Guah...”
Maximum damage!
He gave himself a critical attack! With that amount he could graduate from Arasaka Academy and get a job!
‘I stuffed it in my jacket.
‘I rode the NCART with it.
‘Threw my jacket on the clinic chair.
‘...I even entertained the idea of selling it to that fucking Doc for 10K something eddies!’
If regret could kill humans, Ken would probably be on his death throes.
Viktor had warned him. This chrome was dangerous and the reason why the former military lieutenant went cyberpsycho.
However, Ken had scoffed at it inwardly. The guy in the XBD was armed to the teeth. Sandvistan had been a small part of the said cyberpsycho. From Ken’s perspective, the guy was a full cyborg rest for his brains. He could fucking shot a bullet from his mouth.
Anyway, it was his and Ken had no intention of going psycho.
And no, he didn’t regret a bit chipping this preem shit as his spine. A large part of him knew he most likely would never hold something of this caliber.
Most of all, this was his ticket to be an Edgerunner!
Splash
As he finished freshening up, the water from the tap fizzled away and his holo rang.
An automatic voice followed, “Good afternoon, valued citizen. This is an automated reminder regarding your utility account. Services affected: Gas | Electricity | Water
“Payment Due: 23:59 Tonight. Failure to remit payment before the deadline will result in an +500€$ late-payment surcharge in addition to late payment fee.
“Persistent delinquency may trigger revocation of your utility account in accordance with Act 14-7. Thank you for supporting a brighter Night City.”
━━ Connection Terminated ━━
As soon as Gloria’s death certificate was issued, all the household contracts had been transferred to his name.
For the time being, he had no time and mental capacity to search for a new house.
As for paying the utility fees...
Today was the last day to pay the academy’s fine. After paying Viktor, Ken had 25K eddies left in the bank account. With the rest, he could pay for the utility fees, but the rent? That would be a stretch.
“The hell about being able to manage for a while?” Ken shook his head, “I’m already on the verge of being forced to the road. No, I can’t continue this. Before I make another rash decision, let's pay the academy fine.”
As soon as Ken decided, he immediately opened the mail, clicked on the link and paid the fine.
Bank Balance: 1257 EuroDollars
Local Shard: 193 EuroDollars
Gruru~
To make the matter worse, his stomach protested.
Of course it would protest. All he had eaten in the last three days was Gloria’s half-eaten leftover.
“Let’s cook something, shall we?” Ken thought aloud as he looked at the kitchen.
One thing he knew for sure, David had never cooked. Not even once. But Ken, living alone with his uncle, had to get used to cooking for himself.
Getting out of the house through the vent, he met a rather unpleasant surprise.
The manager, the fat guy just had to pass by during that exact time. He looked at the door saying [Rent Due] and the vent Ken used to crawl out from.
“Mr. Martinez, I presume.” The fat manager spoke rather languidly as his eyes flashed yellow.
“Ah, yes, hello there.” Ken was the very definition of politeness.
“You have not paid the rent, yes? Breaking through the vent will cause you fines, Mr. Martinez. I see your contract goes cold in 2 more days. If it comes to that you know what happens, right?”
“You’re absolutely right. Everything inside will be confiscated. Naturally, I would like to avoid that too and not trouble you. However, I’m sure you’re already aware of my situation. Actually, I have already applied for the bank account transfer procedure but they are... eh, strangely delaying the transfer. Would it be possible to give me two weeks of time?”
“Give you two weeks? You must be joking. The contract is electrically written and cannot be changed as you wish. Then, I’ll be waiting for the payment.” With that the manager waves his stamp like gold fingers and trotted away.
Now Ken faced two ways.
Pay the rent, and forget the bills.
Result?
On a later date when he had the money–whenever that happened–he would have to pay 500 eddies fine, the bill, AND the late fee depending on how late he paid that. Of course, not being able to use electricity and water during that duration came as a bonus.
Pay the bills? He would be on the road two nights later.
Simple and clear.
There was another complexity though.
Not paying the rent and moving somewhere else worked too, but he definitely had to pay the bills. The utility account carried on even if moved to another apartment in Night City.
Even though he woke up not long ago, Ken let out a tired sigh.
“Where was I?”
Gruru~
‘Right, thanks for reminding me, stomach-san...’
{Alternate Titles: Two Hundred Thousand Eddies; Ken: here I come, homeless life!; TSS: The Scary Sandy; }