Isaac Martinez
Saturday June 4th 2022
Club Judas
2:02 AM
"Izzy got knocked the fuck out..."
"Looks like he's waking up..."
I woke up from the punch induced nap, head hurting like it was hit with a jackhammer. The bastard who hit me was probably long gone. I looked around to get my bearings. I was in the backstage room with as bag of ice in my hand. My bandmates were hovering over me with mixed reactions. Jackie and Caleb were pissed at me. Kerry and Chuck seem more worried about my well being than the concert I missed. I knew why Jackie was mad. He probably wanted to put on a show just to get laid. But I didn't expect Caleb to be angry with me for getting knocked out.
"Dude," Kerry said. "It's not Izzy's fault that dealer was chromed up. But he did tell him to fuck off."
"Kerry," Caleb responded. "I don't fuckin' care. My rent's due on Monday and I really needed this gig to pay for it. As far as I'm concerned, Izzy provoked the junkie."
"Fuck you, asshole!" I exclaimed. "Since when did I expect some skinny ass junkie to be chromed out? And who the fuck would think I provoked a junkie by telling him to back off?"
"How about I knock you out again! Maybe you'll learn not to tell people to fuck off without using your head!"
Caleb looked like he was going to knock my lights out, coming at me tough and strong. Caleb was about to take a swing at me when Chuck stepped in and grabbed his fist. He looked in shock as Chuck's grip seemed stronger than usual, struggling to get out of his grip. Kerry seemed to be the first to figure it out. The boosted strength. Chuck was not usually this strong. And Caleb was much bigger than Chuck by seven inches and a number of kilos. I looked carefully at his hand and noticed that his arms were a bit off. The palms of his hands were cybernetic, and there were holes in his forearms for venting heat. I wondered how I didn't notice this before. How I didn't spot the chrome on Chuck earlier. Maybe I was oblivious because no ripper doc could chip cyber arms like that in three hours. A process like that took days.
"Chill the fuck out!" Chuck exclaimed. "We got a back up gig tonight. Just us. Besides, Izzy's a man of principle. He'll behave this time. Won't you, Izzy?"
"Yeah."
Seeing the augments on Chuck that I didn't notice before was jarring. Caleb and Jackie stormed out of the room, very angry that I was treated with sympathy for getting knocked out. Mainly because Caleb was a jobber and Jackie was a poseur who only cared about getting laid. Kerry took another look at Chuck's chrome, astonished that he had the balls to go through with it. What bothered me was that nobody talked about his augments. Everyone else noticed and acted like it was nothing.
"Chuck," Kerry commented. "You know Caleb and Jackie aren't gonna take this sitting down, right?"
"Fuck 'em." I interjected. "Fuckin' poseurs, anyway."
"You don't get a say in this, Izzy. You fucked up too."
"Easy on him, Kerry," Chuck said. "That junkie hid his chrome well. Nobody saw it until after the bouncer tore his jacket trying to catch him. And that happened after he knocked Izzy the fuck out."
Kerry nodded. He was the best damn guitar player in Detroit, and he was serious about the music. Chuck and Kerry gave each other a look, prompting Kerry to walk out of the room. Chuck looked at me, a grave expression on his face telling me he had something important to say. I waited for him to say it already.
"Izzy," He said in a serious tone. "I think it's time you chrome the fuck up. Jackie and Caleb have their heads too far up their asses and Kerry's terrified of ripper docs. But we seriously need you chromed up after what happened tonight."
"I suppose it's time I get chipped."
Chuck and I walked out and got into his SUV. It was a red Cilantro TX-7 from 2012. Not the fastest SUV on the market, but very reliable for Copperhead. I took the passenger seat while Chuck drove. Neither of us said a word, but I had some idea where Chuck was taking me. At 2:17 AM, I was having doubts a ripper doc was operating at this hour.
________________________________________________________________
Saturday June 4th 2022
Doctor Tom's 24 Hour Clinic
2:53 AM
Chuck had stopped driving. We stopped outside a building with a neon sign of a doctor with sunglasses. The slogan of Doctor Tom's 24 Hour Clinic was 'You will know Kung Fu'. We stepped out of the car and headed inside of the building. There was nothing but awkward silence between us since the ride to get here. And it was still quiet even now. As soon as we entered, we were greeted by a man with shoulder length hair and a beard wearing medical scrubs and sunglasses at night. His scrubs were covered in blood. Who knows how many people bled on him? But I was sure I wanted to get chipped at this point. After getting knocked out on my ass by a chromed out junkie, I needed this. And Chuck was more than willing to spot the bill.
"If it isn't my favorite customer!" The ripper doc said. "Here to get another implant? Or are you buying one for the newbie here."
"Buying for Izzy here, Tom."
"Well, Izzy, I'm Doctor Anderson. But my friends know me as Tom."
"Nice to meet you," I said.
"Anyway, I've got a selection of chrome here you can choose from."
"Thanks."
I checked out the selection of chrome Tom had to offer. Everything seemed too obvious and showy for my tastes. Power arms, hidden blades, hidden cannons, shred wires and things like those were too much. I was a rockerboy, not a mercenary. But one augment caught my eye. The Wachowski Neos Kereshnikov Mk V seemed subtle enough for me. I had no idea what a kereshnikov was, but it seemed like the best of both worlds. Subtle and apparently useful. I pointed it out. Dr Anderson took of his glasses, eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, but Chuck didn't look too pleased with the price tag.
"No fucking way, Izzy," Chuck said. "I'm not paying for that. It's way too expensive. Besides, why the fuck would -you- need a Kereshnikov?"
"Easy, Chuck. I think he made a good choice. And since it's his first piece of cyberware, I'll only charge half the price."
"What?!! Why the generosity, Tom?"
Dr Anderson walked up to me and grabbed my jaw, looking me dead in the eyes. It was like he was piercing into my soul.
"Something about this guy. He's gonna become a legend one day, I can feel it."
"Carve away, then." I replied.
Dr Anderson escorted me to the operating room and instructed me to lay on the operating table belly first. I took off my jacket and shirt to give him room to install the Kereshnikov. The lights were blinding and the room carrying an atmosphere I could only describe as agony.
"Don't move or you won't survive this operation." Tom warned.
I felt a sharp pain as something dug into my upper spine. The pain got worse as he continued to carve in that area. Despite wanting to get up and run, I knew I would zero myself if I even moved an inch. But the pain was intense and my own blood was running from my spine across my back. My heart was racing for a moment before I felt a stim pack needle stab at my shoulder. Even despite that, the pain was still there. I could feel myself fading as I felt bits of my spine being removed and replaced. Perhaps I had lost too much blood and my number was being called. What kind of doctor used no anesthesia? Was this ripper doc even the real deal? All I could do was wonder what Chuck was thinking when he took me here. Maybe this was revenge for fucking up our gig. I could feel myself fading and succumbing to the sheer agony of my spine being ripped out of my body. Needles and knives digging into me with seemingly malicious intent. I wanted to get up and move, but it was too late. I couldn't move my limbs at this point and I ceased to feel a thing from the neck down. This certainly felt like my last day on this planet. Suddenly, my brain felt something new. Like I had a new organ in the base of my spine. Then I felt the incision being closed up and patched. And lastly, I was able to feel my body again.
"Good," Tom said. "Your Kereshnikov is fully installed. You're gonna have to stay here overnight so I can monitor you."
"Why...?" I asked lethargically.
"One, to check if the cyberware works. And two, to monitor how well you take to the Kereshnikov."
Chuck tried to speak, but Tom raised his hand.
"Changed my mind. This one's on the house."
Despite the fact that I had lost quite a bit of blood in the installation, I was still alive. I was able to move again. But I was also exhausted from the surgery. I watched as Tom and Chuck stood over me. I was surprised Chuck didn't lose his lunch watching Tom tear through my spine and install a new one. In an instant, I thought about the implant I had just gotten, closing my eyes. I opened them again to see both Tom and Chuck moving in slow motion. LEDs were lighting up on nearby machines at the pace of a snail. I got up. Tom and Chuck tried to pin me down, but they were too slow. They seemed to be trying to speak to me, only for their words to sound like elongated gibberish. Everything else moved at a crawl. Lights. Machines. Headlights outside from the perspective of the small window near the ceiling. Nothing seemed to keep up with my body and senses. Then, everything was back to normal.
"Izzy!" Tom shouted. "Take it easy! You just got chrome installed and you lost a lot of blood."
"Yeah... I think I'm gonna go get some rest."
"Dude! You are fucking mental!" Chuck exclaimed. "Are you trying to bleed out or something?"
"He's taking to the Kereshnikov very well, Chuck. I knew my feelings about Izzy were right."
Tom motioned a room directly behind me with equipment to monitor my vitals. I cooperated and went inside, taking to the bed to get some rest. Chuck decided to stick around in case I did anything stupid. But the time for dumb ass antics were over as Tom injected my arm with synthetic blood.