Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
She smiles, chuckling, eyes already closed, already dozing. Happy. Which fills me with joy. Because I’m doing it right this time. I’m doing it all right.
Then I dress and leave.
Ready for augmentation, day two.
Cormac doesn’t meet me this morning. I am on my own as I walk through the God’s Tower doors, and this time, it doesn’t feel so jarring. I know my way to the lab—mostly. Only getting turned around once, but no one comes to save me, and I like that.
I feel back in charge of myself for the first time since learning of my father’s death.
When I arrive at the lab, Xi is standing in the middle of the room, looking up at the cage that hangs above the sleek, metal table.
He turns when he hears me enter. “I wasn’t sure you’d be back.”
I pause, feeling every change that’s happened over the last twenty-four hours. “Why wouldn’t I be back?”
Xi shrugs. “Some men have problems with the day one changes. Clearly, you do not.”
“Why would I? I’m stronger, bigger—”
“Yes,” he says, cutting me off. “But the physical enhancements can sometimes… be…”
“If you’re talking about my dick, I’m not disappointed.”
“Excellent. Some men lose in that department.”
“Oh.” Then I laugh. “Well. I can attest that I haven’t encountered that side effect. In fact, I’ve been blessed with the opposite.”
He presses his lips together, eye smiling with delight. And I have to remind myself that this man—god—thing—it’s not even real. He’s made of light.
It blows my mind.
“Jasina is happy as well, I take it?”
“More than satisfied,” I say, grinning.
“Perfect. Then let’s begin day two.”
“More screens?”
“No,” he says, curtly. “The screen time is over. You learned everything you needed yesterday and signed all the forms, so we’re officially on.”
“Signed forms?”
“Your consent, Finn. I’m an ethical god. I don’t augment men against their will.”
That wasn’t what I was implying, I simply don’t remember signing any forms. But whatever. “Good. Let’s go.”
He gestures to the table. “Have a seat.” And just as he says this, those worker-bot things come back in holding trays of needles and tubes. “Don’t worry, today’s tests are quick. We’ll take blood samples every day for tidy recordkeeping.” He holds up a tube from the worker’s tray, right in front of my face.
The next thing I know, I’m holding that tube in my hand and Xi is laughing.
“What the hell just happened?” I ask, looking down at the tube.
“Test number one—pass.”
“What do you mean? I… how did this tube get in my hand? It just… appeared there!”
“No,” Xi corrects me. “I simply let go of it and you reacted before it hit the floor.”
“I… reacted? But I didn’t.”
“Your reflexes are so fast now, Finn, you didn’t even see your hand move.”
“What?” I look down, studying my hand. Feeling jittery and unsure again. Then I look up at Xi. “But—”
He puts up a hand. “Don’t worry. Day one is reflexes, which has integrated perfectly into your biology. You didn’t see your hand move because your eyes haven’t been augmented yet. Day two is sight, sound and smell, as well as a data display. From this day forward, you will see life in a whole new way.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“You will, when it’s over. Unless you’d like to back out?”
“No,” I say quickly. “No. I’m not backing out.”
“Perfect. Then let’s get started. Please remove your clothes and lie back on the table.”
I exhale. This is it. This is the day everything changes.
The day I will not regret decades later.
I remove all my clothes, unable to hide my satisfaction with the new body—which delights Xi, I can tell. And then lie back on the cold table, looking straight up at that cage. “Will it hurt?”
“No, Finn. It’s not going to hurt.” Then a worker is next to me, sticking a tube into the back of my hand. “Only a monster would augment a man while he’s conscious. You’ll be asleep. You won’t even know it’s happening. And when you wake up, we’ll talk…”
But that’s the last thing I hear, because my world fades to black.
32 - TYSE
Myra is staring at me. Her blue eyes are very serious. “Do you wanna hear the end of the story now, Tyse?”
I look around, find myself sittin’ on the floor of the Sweep deployment train. One quick glance out the window, where there’s nothin’ but the sandy sea, gives me an idea of where we’re at and where we’re goin’.
“Yeah,” I say, glancin’ back at Myra. “I’m gonna need that endin’.”
“All right.” She rubs her hands together as her gaze tracks along the line of new recruits sitting on either side of me. Then she leans closer, her voice low. “The Corrupted God…”
We all strain to hear. Listening as she recounts the myth.
But it’s hard to follow. She’s talkin’ too low. Whispering, almost. Or maybe the train is too loud.