Chapter 15: Energy (I Have the Powa)
I parked the MRAP outside the building as I started mauling over my thoughts. The city's power grid wasn't exactly reliable, and I had no interest in paying the exorbitant rates the contractor was talking about to fix the building's issues. Why pay for power when I could make my own? I had thirty thousand credits left and an understanding of energy systems far beyond what anyone currently had.
I stepped out of the vehicle and surveyed the 8-floor building. The contractors had already fixed its exterior, but its insides were in desperate need of an overhaul. The wiring was outdated— hell, it wasn't even connected to the inefficient power grid— and the contractor in wanted to bleed me dry just to fix it. But that was before my crash course on energy systems.
"Alright, I guess I need to make a shopping list," I said aloud, already mentally pulling up the plans. I walk into the building and grab a tablet as I start to walk through the interior of the building, inspecting its wiring through all the exposed walls.
I typed off the items we would be needing. First on the list: wiring— it didn't need to be top grade, but I had to get the best I could afford, conductive, and durable. The goal was to rewire the entire building, make it more efficient, and lay the groundwork for something bigger. I needed circuit breakers, capacitors, and advanced fuses. Then there was the core of my plan: the parts for a miniaturized arc reactor. Though that wasn't really a thing, I thought back to the movies I had watched on Earth and found the idea of what Tony Stark had done to be quite doable, although not as great as in the movies.
I headed to one of the industrial parts districts. The place was an endless sprawl of shops, stalls, and shady dealers selling everything from scrap metal to high-end weapon parts. I found a shop tucked between a weapons dealer and a black-market mechanic. It had everything I needed to make the arc reactor, though to anyone else, it would have looked like a pile of mismatched junk.
"Can I help you?" The shopkeeper asked, eyeing me suspiciously as I picked through the scraps.
"Looking for some specialty parts," I said, examining a set of conductive coils that would be perfect for my reactor. "You got quantum stabilizers, high-energy capacitors, anything for fusion cores?"
The guy blinked, and his suspicion turned into greed. "I've got what you need, but it ain't gonna be cheap."
I roll my eyes, though I doubt he can see me do it as I have my aviators on. "I'll pay what they're worth. Not a credit more."
After some haggling, I managed to leave with everything on my list: coils, circuit boards, a compact fusion core— low power, but enough for what I needed— and a host of other components that most people would've overlooked as scrap.
I made my way back to the MRAP, the supplies piled high in the back. By the time I returned to the building, I had the materials, and now it was time to work.
The first step was simple but essential: rewiring. I spent hours tearing out the old, inefficient cables and replacing them with the new high-conductivity wires.
"Hey, Jarvis, you think you could help me out a bit here?" I think in my head.
"Certainly, Host. I may be a system but I can also act as a personal AI or even a personal assistant, only accessible by the Host, of course."
"Great, I'm going to be checking in with you every once in a while so that you can tell me the percentage of effectivity that I'm creating."
"Understood, Host."
I ran the circuits through Jarvis, optimizing every connection, and ensuring that energy would flow without resistance.
"Host, current efficiency is 50% higher than the city's grid standards," Jarvis informed me as I finished up the wiring in the main breaker room.
"Good. Now for the fun part."
I cleared a space in the basement, spreading out all the components I'd purchased. The miniaturized arc reactor was a concept I had only thought about in theory, but I now had the knowledge to make it a reality. The small fusion core I had purchased would serve as the heart of the system, providing a steady stream of energy. I rigged up the capacitors, which would store excess energy and distribute it when needed. The quantum stabilizers would prevent any fluctuations, ensuring the reactor didn't overload and blow a hole in the building.
Piece by piece, I assembled the reactor, connecting wires, soldering circuits, and calibrating the energy flow with the help of Jarvis. Hours passed as I worked, completely immersed in the process. My hands moved with purpose, and my mind was sharp as I solved problem after problem.
"Host, reactor assembly is at 90% completion. All systems are reading stable," Jarvis reported as I locked the final component into place.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and took a step back, admiring the reactor. It was compact, no bigger than a car engine, but it would generate enough power to not only sustain the building but also supply extra energy for any upgrades I wanted to make. Weapons, defenses—hell, even mech charging stations if I wanted.
I connected the reactor to the building's power grid and flipped the switch.
"Jarvis, status?"
"Reactor is online. Energy output is stable. Building systems are drawing power at optimal efficiency. Current energy surplus is 1900% of your needs."
I couldn't help but smile. "Well, that solves that," I muttered, satisfied with the result.
The building hummed to life, lights flickering on, and the hum of machines and systems became steady and smooth. I'd just saved myself a fortune in future contractor bills and energy costs.
"Hey Jarvis, would there be a way for me to share this surplus of energy? You know, sell it to a company, well, no I don't want to expose myself too much. Is there a way to sell its energy to surrounding buildings?"
"Yes, Host, it is possible. You'd just have to redirect some of the old power lines that are still within the building to theirs and they'd get their share as they pay you. You wouldn't be losing out on any money either, so selling it at a cheaper price than the standard would be alright."
"If I knew you could have been more useful than just being the system AI that can help me with tasks every once in a while I would've used you sooner," I say, a little surprised by Jarvis' input.
"You never attempted such a thing before, Host."
"Guess, it was just my fault. Let me try and go to the neighboring buildings and see if I can find their owners somehow, maybe I can cut myself a deal with them. Bring in some credits after I spent the remained of what we had…" I pause for a second as realization starts to hit me. "I spent the remainder of what we had and was needed to finish the building…. Fuck."
I walked outside to the parked MRAP, my mind racing as I considered my next move. The city's power grid was unreliable at best, years and years of not only use but also neglect the further you get from the city center was driving me.
The question now was what to do with all that extra energy. Jarvis had confirmed that I could sell it to nearby buildings— redirect the old power lines to theirs and charge them for the energy. So that was what I was going to do.
I surveyed the surrounding area. A cluster of business buildings and office blocks stood nearby, ranging from ten to twelve floors each. Perfect candidates to siphon off the excess energy I had on hand.
"Alright, time to cut some deals."
I headed into one of the office buildings, the smallest of the lot, only ten floors tall. The receptionist gave me a once-over, her eyes lingering on the Oni mask covering the lower half of my face and the aviators shielding my eyes.
"I need to speak to the building owner," I said, voice flat. She hesitated, but something in my tone told her it wasn't a request. She made a call, and after a few minutes, a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair came down to meet me. He was all smiles, but that faded as soon as I refused to take off my aviators or mask.
"Who are you?" he asked, suspicion creeping into his voice. "Why are you hiding your face?"
"Doesn't matter," I replied, "I'm here to cut you a deal. I can supply energy to your entire building at a rate that'll save you a lot of credits. Seventy-five percent of the standard market rate."
He blinked, trying to calculate the savings in his head. "You're telling me you can supply this building with power? Where are you even getting it?"
"Don't worry about that," I said, crossing my arms. "I have my sources. What matters is I can cut your energy costs drastically, but this offer doesn't last forever. I've got other buildings to visit."
He hesitated. "And why should I trust you? You show up here, no name, no face. It sounds shady at best."
"I get that," I said, shrugging. "But believe me when I say this: you pass up on this deal, and your competitors won't. I'll take my offer to the next building over, and they'll be the ones laughing when their costs are half yours."
That got him. He mulled it over, but I could see his greed battling with his suspicion. Eventually, greed won out.
"Fine," he said. "But if this turns out to be a scam—"
"It won't," I cut in, and with that, we shook hands, sealing the deal.
The next building was much the same. The owner— a stiff, suit-clad woman— took even longer to warm up to the idea, her mistrust evident in every line of her face. She grilled me for details, wanting to know where I got the power, how I could offer it so cheap, and what my angle was.
"My angle is simple," I said, leaning against her office doorframe. "You pay less, I make some credits, and we both walk away happy. If you're not interested, I'm sure one of your competitors would be glad to cut a deal."
Her eyes narrowed as she studied me. I refused to take off my mask or sunglasses, which only deepened her skepticism. "I don't make deals with ghosts," she said.
I smirked under the mask. "Maybe you should start. You've got a building full of people who'd appreciate lower energy bills, and I'm the only one offering it. You're not going to get a better deal, I promise you that."
Like the others, she eventually caved.
One by one, I visited the buildings in the area, speaking with owners and managers. Each conversation followed the same pattern— hesitation, suspicion, questions I wouldn't answer— and each time, they gave in. The savings were just too good to pass up. I was offering them energy at 0.60 credits per kilowatt-hour, while the standard market price was 0.80 credits per kilowatt-hour. No one could say no to that.
By the time I had finished, I had secured deals with ten buildings, each agreeing to siphon off their energy needs from my reactor in exchange for a significant discount. That would net me 7,550 kWh/day of energy sales at 0.60 credits per kWh. That was 4,530 credits a day, more than enough to keep things running smoothly.
As the last deal was signed, I stepped out of the office and into the cold evening air. The streets were quieter now, the sun dipping below the skyline. I made my way back to the MRAP, thinking over the success of the day.
Ghost was leaning against the vehicle, his arms crossed as he watched me approach. "I take it things went well?" he asked, his voice muffled behind his own mask.
"Better than expected," I replied, climbing into the driver's seat. "Got enough deals to keep us in credits for a while. The reactor's going to pay for itself in no time."
Ghost nodded, slipping into the passenger seat. "Good. We'll need the funds, especially since you spent them all. I found some leads on the Tiger Claws while you were out making friends."
I grinned beneath my mask, firing up the engine.
Word Count: 2120 Words 🙂🤫
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