Capítulo 41: Chapter 41: Beyond The Ordinary
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Chapter 41: Beyond The Ordinary
...........
The only good news was that X is about to have his Cyberdeck installed, finally a breather... Maybe?
"How's biz?" Vik asked.
"Good," X responded as he rested on the surgical station, "The Tyger Claws are a bit annoying. A day doesn't pass by where they don't fuck themselves up, thus having to come to my clinic."
"Free of charge, I assume... The price of having a backer," Vik nodded, "I heard you give free treatments every Monday, what's that about?"
"Nothing much to say, just beneficial, gives me experience quickly, and I want to help," X explained.
"Must lose you a lot of eddies," Vik pointed out, "But good on you."
"Surprisingly, not much," X shook his head and clarified, "Time is money, so it does lose potential eddies that way, but otherwise, not much."
"Most patients have health issues. Their issues' source is usually their cyberware. They also can not maintain them 'cause they're broke, so they just want them taken out."
"I recycle them, sometimes fix them if possible, and make some returns, so yeah, not that bad," X continued.
They chatted a bit more until Vik fully prepared for the operation, the operation for installing the internal cyberdeck.
Internal cyberdecks require a Ripperdoc for installation due to the complexity and risks involved.
The procedure is intricate, involving both neurosurgery and high-tech calibration to ensure the deck integrates seamlessly with the nervous system.
X was taking a step deeper into Night City's shadows, and Vik, as always, was the one trusted enough to guide him through it.
Vik adjusted the armrests, angling them to keep X as comfortable as possible, then fastened a head brace around X's skull.
"All right," Vik said, his voice shifting into a steady rhythm, as though he were already halfway into the procedure.
He held up a syringe filled with a sedative, the amber liquid swirling as he angled it toward X's neck.
"This will dull the nerves around the spine. After that, you'll feel a pinch, but nothing worse than your average hangover." Vik assured, "I know you can not feel much pain, but this is necessary."
"I know," X didn't disagree, "You've told me before. The sedative isn't for me. It's for you."
As the needle slid in, X felt a faint pressure, a chill that rolled down his neck and through his shoulders.
He made the first incision at the base of X's skull, exposing the slender line of his spine.
With a careful hand, Vik positioned the Netwatch Netweaver MK.V, a sleek, compact device that would connect directly to X's nervous system.
The process was precise. Vik inserted a neural conduit, a slender, flexible filament of conductive fibers, linking the Netweaver to X's brain.
"Almost there," Vik said, his voice calm. He began threading wires through the connection points, each one sending a ripple of sensation along X's spine.
Despite the numbness, he could feel faint vibrations, the hum of the cyberdeck as it powered up for the first time.
With the main unit in place, Vik moved to the calibration stage. He flicked a switch on the side of the deck, and X's mind buzzed as a cascade of lights exploded behind his closed eyelids.
His senses sharpened, and for a second, he felt as though his consciousness had stretched beyond his body, dancing on the edge of something vast and electric.
His mind flared, synapses lighting up as the deck initialized, syncing with his brain waves.
"You're going to feel a little jolt," Vik said, pressing a few commands into his monitor. "It's normal; just the deck finding its way around your neurons."
The jolt hit him, a burst of sensation flooding his mind as the Netweaver calibrated itself to his neural patterns.
He felt the deck scanning through his thoughts, connecting, integrating; becoming a part of him.
His vision swirled, shifting from clarity to static as the calibration phase was completed, and then, suddenly, everything settled.
When he opened his eyes, the world looked... different. Crisper. As though a layer of fog had been lifted, and every detail, every shadow, every whisper of light was sharpened to a razor's edge.
Vik leaned over him, peering into his eyes. "How are you feeling?"
X's mouth was dry, but he managed a smile. "Like I'm seeing the world for the first time."
Vik chuckled, shaking his head as he cleaned his tools. "Don't get too used to it. You'll be seeing a lot more of cyberspace than the real world now. This deck is top of the line; don't waste it."
X sat up slowly, feeling the unfamiliar weight of the cyberdeck at the base of his skull, yet it felt... right. A part of him, as natural as his own spine.
The room felt different, alive with invisible layers of data he hadn't sensed before. Lines of code flickered at the edges of his vision, hints of the Net's web around him.
Vik gave him a firm pat on the shoulder, his gaze steady. "This isn't a toy; be smart with it. You've got real power now, X, but you're still flesh and blood under that chrome."
His words resonated, grounding X in a strange new reality where his mind was now part machine, part man.
As X stepped out of Vik's clinic and into the neon-lit streets of Japantown, the world seemed to shimmer with layers of invisible data, every detail sharper, clearer, like someone had peeled back a hidden veil.
Lines of code and data tags floated in his periphery, pointing out security cameras, locked doors, and surveillance drones overhead.
Each piece of tech had a faint aura, tiny trails of code radiating off them like smoke, only visible to his newly heightened senses.
He could see access points everywhere; on shop doors, streetlights, vehicles, and even the occasional passerby with a clunky, outdated cyberdeck or unshielded interface.
They all glowed, practically calling to him, showing him what he could breach, control, or bypass.
There was a faint thrill running through his veins, a sense of boundless potential, as though he could reach out and pull information straight from the air.
He could see the intricate lattice of data as if it were painted in light, giving him direct insight into the inner workings of his surroundings.
The possibilities buzzed in his mind: he could hijack a camera, loop the feeds, control a vehicle, dig deep into corporate servers without even leaving his chair.
The rush was addictive, a whisper of power at his fingertips. As he moved through the crowd, he felt that he could dismantle the world around him, piece by piece, code by code, until it was laid bare before him.
And for the first time, X felt that he truly understood Night City; not just its people and its streets, but its very core, woven from steel, data, and electric pulses, waiting for him to bend it to his will.
No... I am getting too ahead of myself. I can not bend anything to my will just yet. Focus and practice.
Thus, X walked back home, keeping his down, his mind still buzzing as he adapted to the new World he now sees.
Japantown was as cozy as usual, especially his little apartment. X lit up the candles by the couch, then went on to make himself some tea.
"How did it go?" Joi appeared behind him, hugging him intimately as she asked.
"Good, I think. I have yet to diagnose myself," X responded, letting the water boil as he turned around, eyeing Joi.
Joi took a step back before performing a graceful spin, "How do I look?"
She did look different, a different hair color that mimics X's, blonde. She wore white lightweight casual palazzo pants. She complimented them with a white tucked-in sleeveless shirt.
X sized her up strangely, from top to bottom, approaching her and reaching out to her illusionary gorgeous face, "You look real."
"Real? I'd thought you'd say the opposite now that you can see me?" Joi was surprised.
She looks normal if he only eyes her with his organic eye. However, looking at her now with his cyber eye is a very different experience.
Joi looked like a solid infrastrcture of Data, all working together to make her who she is, mostly seamlessly.
"It's exactly because I can see you that you feel more real," X released a faint smile as he added, "It's a pleasure to finally see you, Joi."
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