Kaizen Sanctuary (The Exoskeleton Codex Book 2)

by Sean Kennedy

  “Cut up?”

  “Yeah bro, to keep things crazy, there’s only registered guns in Immersion, places like the Zone Town market and food shops are safe zones where you can’t be jacked online, but you're still in public space, so you got eyes on each other.

  “Like a parallel world,” Jacob said softly.

  “Yeah, kinda...” Teeva smiled, impressed with his new teaching ability.

  “But if it's all public, how can I die?”

  “Because in areas that aren't safe zones, if you get killed, you get booted off for seventy-two hours. If some corp-kid from the city gets dead, and bro had an online meeting next morning, it would have to be on a private server, or he can’t do it.”

  “But why seventy-two hours?”

  “I know, Right?” Teeva threw his hands up, “It’s like three days with no hands bro! You can't go anywhere on public systems; it sucks so bad,” Teeva paused and blinked three times very hard. Jacob could almost see the light come on inside Teeva’s mind.

  “Hey bro, you’ve only ever used shields yeah?”

  “Shields?” Jacob reeled from the subject whiplash.

  “Yeah bro, the iGlasses, you only ever used those to do stuff, right?”

  “And the Vade Mecum I guess,” Jacob said.

  “Wow,” Teeva said, bobbing his head as he stared at the attic floor, “an’ you got no bounce at all! This is mega-ton bro!” Teeva’s shoulders dropped under an invisible weight. He took another breath and steadied himself before starting again.

  “Okay bro, see, there two ways you can do stuff, right? Like, you can use your body or your mind. When you use your shields, the iGlasses right, it's your body being watched by all the other lenses, and the Immersion just renders it, so you don't really need any setup to just use shields, ‘cause there's always enough camera’s around. You can't even install Immersion on anything unless it meets the optic reqs.”

  Jacob shrugged.

  “Okay, but see, if you want your avatar, ghost, d-self, or whatever you wanna call it, if you wanna go out into the light, you're like, leaving your body, the same way you left your body in telepresence.”

  “Like on the boat with Kage,” Jacob said.

  “Right! An’ that's where the bounce comes in bro! See, if you don't got a low bounce, you can't transfer. That's why only elite can be pilots bro. Most wind up getting sick an’ can’t hack it. When you rode with Kag, that was intense! But you was so smooth bro, no stress.”

  “Well I don’t know if it's no stress, but everyone is a pilot,” Jacob said.

  “No bro, it's not like that, I mean some people can't’ do VR.”

  “That doesn't matter,” Jacob said, “we’re all pilots!”

  Teeva blinked, “Huh?”

  “We pilot our bodies just like the telepresence units; only we’re born inside them.”

  “Yeah... I guess,” Teeva said, “never really thought of it that way.”

  “Be that as it may, not all pilots are created equal,” Mac’s voice came from the stairs, and the two boys turned to see a tall man leaning against the door frame.

  “I see you managed to find your way up here Teeva,” Mac said with a raised brow.

  “Uh... You gots a ladder outside the window,” Teeva shrugged.

  “It’s a lattice, not a ladder, but I suppose it serves the same purpose,” Mac said walking to the window and looking down at the vine brace built against the house. “No harm done,” Mac said, and in his hands Jacob saw a gray environmental helmet that matched his suit, held casually at his side.

  “I managed to find this while you were asleep Jacob,” Mac said, walking over to the bunk. “Let’s see if this is better.”

  Jacob sat up straight as Mac slipped the open-faced helmet over his head. It was tight, barely adding any size Jacob's head, as he put it on, the helmet mag-locked into the suit’s neck seal automatically as it made contact.

  The helmet’s inside felt fresh against Jacob’s shaved head, and once the neck was sealed, an internal iridium visor dropped down.

  “Looking good bro!” Teeva said, as the helmet’s boot up sequence initiated. Jacob saw the universal flashing cursor through the helmet's visor and double authorized the synchronisation with the envirosuit.

  The flashing cursor changed to text. ‘Please wait while initializing,’ then all at once,his consciousness expanded, pushing out to the helmets synthetic surface..

  He he could hear everything! Amazed, Jacob turned to see Teeva in the bunkside chair, and as he did, the suits sensor’s focused on his friend and data formed around him. Heart rate, skin temperature, volume, and mass, all as Jacob wondered about he could detect..

  “It’s like I'm not even wearing it,” Jacob said, and his voice came from the small speakers on the helmet’s chin.

  Everything is better, even my voice! He thought; it made him giddy.

  “Try running it at half shade,” Mac said, and Jacob thought of what he meant. The visor slid up above the bridge of his nose. Its edges were shaped to hang lower, like aviator sunglasses to provide protection.

  “This way you're not burning the air supply,” Mac said.

  “It's the greatest thing ever! Thank you, Uncle Mac!” Jacob shouted.

  In his excitement and with new-found strength, Jacob stood and threw his arms around the tall man, hugging Mac tight. The image of the tall uncomfortable mechanic squirming in a tiny astronaut’s grip made Teeva laugh. Mac patted Jacob on the back.

  “Hey now, there’s more to see,” he promised, and only then did Jacob released him.

  Mac coughed, bringing his hand up to his mouth as he turned away to the window to hide his face.

  “I...” Mac’s voice cracked. He coughed again and cleared his throat, “...I've cloned your iGlasses, and installed Immersion and the data from the Vade Mecum on the helmet. It's got everything you need to run your armor both on and off our local server, but I wouldn’t take it out of the yard.”

  “Whoa!” Teeva said, “His armor is registered?”

  “The hardware is Space Corps issue, so of course it is!” Mac smiled,

  “Whoah!” Teeva shouted and stood. He spun in place with his hands holding his head. “Bro!” He said gasping, “Bro... that is hard core!”

  Mac stared, amused by Teeva's whirling performance.

  “You can make it rain bro!" Teeva reeled, “I ain’t never heard of anything like this in the zone. You’s gonna be unstoppable in the light.”

  “In the light?” Jacob asked.

  “He means in Immersion,” Mac said.

  “Hell yeah, I mean Immersion, bro!”’ Teeva said, now so delirious with joy he had to sit in a wingback chair to steady himself.

  “Mister Mac! Bro! You gots another one of those ...Vade things?”

  Mac laughed and looked at Teeva with a sparkle in his eye, “If I did, I promise I’d give it to you, but he got the virtual armor after completing the Vade Mecum. If we wanted another one, we would have to use a fresh install, and I’m afraid I only had the one.”

  “That’s cool, that means there’s only one an’ bro’s gots it. Can... can I see it?”

  Jacob turned to Mac. He nodded, “it’s installed and registered Jacob, all you have to do is go online and activate it.”

  Jacob asked the question internally, how to go online, and the helmets prompt sent transparent text along the visor’s lower field of view. ‘Initialize Immersion Augmented Interface?’

  Yes, Jacob thought, and the room flashed in a transitional glow from physical to augmented reality. it stayed the same size, but the walls and floor were replaced with the somehow familiar metallic gray of a Space Corps hull. Small rivets studded along the walls and ceiling, making the attic a space bay and Jacob found himself expecting to see a flash of emerald green..

  Teeva reached into his bag and brought out a pair of round lenses that looked like climbing glasses merged with welding goggles, sliding them over his blond mop of hair.

  “Wow!�
� Jacob said looking around the room.

  “One sec bro, I gotta get on circle here. What’s the code Mister Mac?”

  “8675309-Beta, the b is capital,” Mac said.

  “Got it!” Teeva replied, and began his rhythmic nodding as he joined their augmented reality. “Yeah boy! This is good stuff! I like the whole spaceship vibe you got goin’ on in here bro.”

  Jacob looked down at his body, but he was still in the extended skin of the envirosuit “I don't see my armor, Uncle Mac.”

  “That's because it’s in your inventory, you’ll have to access it and indicate you want to use it,” Mac said.

  As excited as he was, Jacob tried to think clearly so the helmets could pick up his commands in-ven-tor-ry he thought, trying to contain his excitement. A small selection of menu tabs opened in the bottom right corner of his view.

  ...settings, software, inventory...

  Jacob focused on the inventory tab, and it expanded showing Kaizen Mark III Envirosuit and beneath it, Kaizen Mark 8 Hummingbird Power Armor. He selected the Envirosuit, and the prompt asked, make this selection default? Jacob agreed, and in a flash, his envirosuit was glowed crisp and sharp, and he found himself expecting to hear a sandstorm beyond the space bay hull.

  Teeva had transformed into his augmented dress of a colorful eastern traveler, crisp and clean, with sinister eyes beneath his wide sedge hat. “You look awesome!” Jacob said.

  “Naw bro! You look awesome! That suit is gonna be super-rad in town!”

  “I'm not sure....”

  “Well like, everyone likes to kit up if they are going out in public, that's the whole point of Immersion, right?” Teeva laughed, “There’s no uglies unless they wanna be. But like, if you go full neural, that envirosuit will be what you look like.”

  As Jacob thought of virtual reality, a prompt appeared in his display, 'Authorize Immersion Virtual Interface?' He agreed, and again when the prompt flashed a second time. The light surged, and when the room filled back in, only Teeva was standing with him in the dropship’s bay.

  “I don’t see you Uncle Mac, only Teeva is here.”

  He heard mac's voice in the room a few feet away, “That's because you're in a virtual reality. If you move around, your body will stay still, don’t worry, I’ll catch you if you fall over, but you look pretty stable.”

  Jacob thought up his inventory again and selected the Hummingbird from the small glowing menu. In a rush, his consciousness expanded, and Jacob was suddenly towering near the space bay’s overhead. His HUD showed the bright yellow body of the Kaizen Hummingbird 8 Power Armor, completely repaired from the Martian battle and fresh with warheads and ammunition.

  He looked down and saw Teeva stumbling back. “Bro!” Teeva said as he regained his footing.

  “Bro!” He sputtered again, “You're a beast!”

  Jacob could hear Mac laughing from outside the virtual space. He brought up his inventory and selected his envirosuit again, and thought of returning to physical reality. After the confirmation prompt flashed, Jacob was back in the attic, wearing his envirosuit with Teeva and Mac.

  “Yeah bro, like, I think it's cool to wear the spacesuit. I mean, you don't even got to paint that, it's good with the helmet and all, but Mister Mac is right, I wouldn't take that out bro, that's gonna get mad attention.”

  “But it’s virtual reality, right?” Jacob shrugged, “Doesn't everyone have stuff like that?”

  “Bro! Guns are crazy expensive bro! Nobody's got the money for gear like that out here ‘cept the corps! That suit is just... like...” Teeva stammered as he shook his head, “Bro, you’re like Shiva burning bodies in that thing!"

  “That’s why it’s a good idea just to keep the armor hidden,” Mac said, “or someone could realize that you’ve been through the Vade Mecum, and remember, that’s all illegal tech now.”

  “But, this is the quarantine zone, how can equipment be illegal?” Jacob asked.

  “It’s Kaizen Jacob, illegal by decree. There’s an open market bounty on it.”

  “You're okay out here in the zone bro, and it's not like you physically got one of these suits somewhere,” Teeva turned to Mac with a sudden light in his eyes.

  “No-no,” Mac said, “I just had the microdrive, I’ve never seen the actual armor.”

  “But I wouldn't want it to be stolen while I was away.” Jacob said, “could someone sneak in here online and take it?”

  “Oh no bro, that can’t happen. Like, if you got killed in your suit online, then yeah, they could take it if it wasn’t too damaged. Stuff can only get stolen if you got it equipped when you die. They can’t take your inventory bro. It's just like, hidden like a memory. I heard of illegal tech that can see what you got, but they still can't steal it.”

  “They say it would upset the market balance,” Mac said. “There has to be some level of combat and looting possible, it's just the way people are wired, but if you could steal inventory and unequipped gear, it would provide too much incentive.”

  Jacob nodded trying to keep all these new facts in order.

  “Don’t sweat it bro!” Teeva laughed, “it’s easier once you're in it, you’ll see. We’ll get you up to speed at the Dojo.”

  “That reminds me,” Mac said, reaching into the back pocket of his coveralls to produce a small round device that filled the palm of his hand. “Take this,” he said, holding it out to Teeva.

  “A tunnel router!” Teeva said, “sick Mister Mac!”

  “What is it?” Jacob asked.

  “It's the key to your house bro! We can some see you now!” Teeva said, but his words did little to answer Jacob’s question.

  “I've got one of these routers installed in the attic Jacob,” Mac said, “It’s already configured.”

  “So that means...” Jacob said slowly.

  “It means that we can hang out in your rad spaceship bro!” Teeva said.

  “It’s got limited range," Mac said, “but it should be enough to get around the room and some of the house," Mac shrugged, “it's important to have friends.”

  “Yeah,” Teeva said, “everyone is crazy worried about you bro, they can’t wait to see you again, you feeling up to a road trip? I gots sent to snatch you.”

  “Can I go Uncle Mac?” Jacob asked, and Mac chuckled, “Well now, Vince has got some big plans for you tomorrow morning starting at six, so plan accordingly.”

  “No problem,” Teeva said, standing up before Jacob could answer, “We’ll have you back here fo-sho at six bro, no sweat!”

  “That's only if you feel strong enough Jacob, you’ve been through a hell of a lot, maybe you should try to get some rest while you can.”

  “I’m okay Uncle Mac,” Jacob smiled. “I don’t think I can sleep anymore.”

  “Alright then,” Mac nodded, “I suppose a little bit of physical exercise will help settle the mind; but remember, six o’clock. Your Uncle Vince won’t be happy if you're late.”

  Chapter 5

  The wind’s petroleum scent faded over the a howl from of a passing flyer as Jacob descended the mismatched front steps. So much had changed, but having Teeva here filled the remaining daylight with promise, as the afternoon sun reflected off the Deep City’s eastern border. Teeva plopped himself down on the bottom step, conjuring a vaporizer from his courier bag, just under his ninjato handle.

  “What is that?” Jacob asked

  “What? This?” Teeva held up the tube. “It's my herb bro! Here,” with a few twists, Teeva unscrewed the canister, and it disassembled in his hands. Jacob smelled a sickly-sweet odor, like burnt licorice, as Teeva held up a glass tube filled with a fine green powder.

  “This is what you saved bro! Keeps me from glitching. Toes keeps me hooked up.”

  “Toes?”

  “Apothecarian bro, best in Zone Town. Bro hooked me up with the telepathine.” Teeva said, busy reassembling his vaporizer.

  “Jacob,” a low voice came from behind the stacks. Vincent Slate’s hulking frame stepped i
nto view, and Teeva almost dropped his reassembled vaporizer. For a big man he was quiet.

  “Mac tells me you're going out. We’ve got training tomorrow, so I'll need you to be ready to go at six sharp.”

  “Mac said so, Uncle Vince, I'll be back in time,” Jacob promised.

  His uncle's face went suddenly blank, and after twitching eye movements, said, “very good then,” but Jacob didn’t think he liked the idea. From behind a stack, Slate produced a pair of tall boots, with multiple buckles and steel braces folded along the sides.

  “You're going to need something to get around out here,” he looked at Teeva finishing a long vaporizer pull, “and it’s a good idea to always have your own transportation. See if these fit.” He handed the boots to Jacob.

  Jacob glanced at Teeva, who was holding his breath while giving a thumbs-up with a tight-lipped smile under bulging eyes. Each boot was made from hard plastic plates, with hyper alloy springs folding tight against the sides, bracketing down to a metal plate with rubber grips for a sole tread.

  He slipped his suit’s textured slipper foot past the buckles and into the boot, attaching the first buckle at his ankle. It felt tight, but comfortable, and only slightly restrictive from the stiffness of the hard shell.

  “They seem to fit over the suit okay,” Jacob said as he fastened the remaining two buckles over his shin. He was wondering how these would make any kind of movement easier when a cloud exploded from Teeva as he spoke smokey words, “Power-boks bro! That’s tight!”

  Slate looked suddenly fierce as he fixed on Teeva through the dissipating cloud of herb smoke. The flash faded, tempering into the gray of the old soldier's eyes.

  “Thanks, Uncle Vince! How do they work?”

  “Put both of them on, and you'll find out,” Slate said, folding his arms.

  Jacob hurried with the second boot. Once all the buckles were done up, Jacob stood in and stepped away from the stairs. The boots felt heavy but manageable, and somehow the extra weight was comforting.

  Jacob felt the their sensors against his synthetic skin, reading his transferred muscular impulses through the envirosuit. The power-boks authorization prompt appeared and he confirmed it twice in his HUD. Jacob felt his body expand, stretching the boundaries to make the power-boks part of him as the suite was.