After this initial excitement, Michael began to consider his options. He asked the System a few questions about how the various abilities worked.
"... so essentially, upgraded muscle fibers would let all of them act as both fast and slow twitch, so I have a bigger 'pool' to allocate from each time?"
<
"... but they would still only act as quickly as my muscles currently can."
<
"...and that's where the new axons would come into play - they could make me react more quickly?"
<
"So the message to the brain, and the speed of the brain itself wouldn't change, but the messages from the brain to the rest of the body would be faster?"
<
Michael frowned. Truthfully, he wanted all of these upgrades - who wouldn't - but he could only pick one. Furthermore, who knew when he would be rewarded another? He'd asked the System, but it wouldn't tell him.
"... can you run me through the eye upgrade again?"
<<... again, the photoreceptor solution will be adjusted to allow for access to a broader spectrum of visible light. Furthermore, variable sensitivity will increase so that subject has better vision under various intensities of light.>>
"No need to get snippy, System. This is a big decision."
<<...>>
"... so... essentially... upgraded muscle fibers would let--"
<<...>>
---
Michael deliberated and questioned the System for over an hour. Finally, he was close to a decision.
"It seems like regardless of whether I choose the upgraded muscles, new axons, or vision upgrades, any of them won't be as useful without a better set of pipes to relay the information. It seems like the Secondary Myelination is the best choice for a good foundation. None of the others would be as good without it, and it seems like there's lots of utility to it alone. Besides, I'm pretty sure this is the one you were thinking of when you suggested I use the Cybernetic enhancement first, isn't it? The whole throughput thing sounds like it would help with some of the stuff you mentioned in the Lucid Space."
<
"Thanks for looking out for me, System. Since that's the case, I've made another decision, too."
<
"I want to use the Basic Enhancement Module for the Personality enhancement option from last time, if it's still available."
<<... Subject should be aware that the frequency of rewards is not consistent. It may be a while before Subject receives another Basic Enhancement Module. There are other options that may be objectively more useful.>>
"I know. I've made my decision."
<<... Confirmed.>>
"Now, what do I need to do to activate this Cybernetic module?"
<
"Oh, ok. So, can we turn it on then? Is it gonna put me out, like the lucid space did?"
<
"That sounds like a terrible idea. I think my parents might freak out a little if I were in a Coma, and at 18 hours they would definitely notice something."
<<... System has another suggestion, though Subject may not find it terribly palatable. Enhancement time can be reduced by ingesting additional materials in an easier format.>>
"Oh?"
<<... Subject has been warned.>>
---
A little while later, a reluctant Michael stood in the kitchen, facing an odd collection of items on the counter. The movie had ended, and he'd let his parents know that he was about to make his 'evening shake'.
<
A green-faced Michael quickly gulped down the horrible concoction, fighting back the violent protests from his stomach in the process. Shortly thereafter, he slammed down the pitcher and filled it with hot water before he couldn't handle it anymore and had to leave it in the sink. He stumbled down the stairs, his roiling stomach leading him to be unsure of whether he should fall into bed as was the original plan, or into the bathroom to undo the terrible culinary mistake.
<
"... Damn it. Fine."
Michael plopped himself into the bed, immediately regretting the emphatic motion as it just led to more churning of his insides.
"Shut me down, System. I'll see you in the morning. When can you enable the other module, by the way?"
<
"Ok. Let's do that. See you tomorrow, System."
<<... Confirmed.>>
---
6:00am, Saturday, September 14th 2000 CE
Michael's eyes slammed open as though he'd just been plunged into an ice bath. His most immediate thought was how incredibly hungry he was. His second thought was how ticklish the slight air current coming out of the vents made him. The third was acknowledging the message that appeared in the corner of his eye.
<
"Good morning, System."
<
"... Awake. Very awake. Like three cups of coffee and a cold shower awake, with an entire choir echoing in my ears."
<
"That makes sense... and is also a very colourful image. I take it the personality module unlock went well?"
<
"Certainly not me, yet!"
<
"System, was that a smile?"
<
"Wow. This is going to take some getting used to. I'm not sure what I'm going to do without my snarky System."
<
"Is it too late to change my mind? What were the other options again?"
<<... Now that's just mean.>>
"Alright, alright. I still need to examine the Lucid Space upgrade, and the Universal Enhanced Focus, and also the massive swath of information that got loaded into my brain when all of this first started."
<
"Honestly I'm just not really feeling it. Let's plan to do it tomorrow, with the start of the week."
<
"... I take it back. There is definitely plenty of snark left. Listen, my skin feels like I've got an all-over sunburn, my head feels like I had a fever that just broke, and my teeth are buzzing like I'm holding on to a live electric wire. I just need some time to get used to this, okay? At least a day."
<<...That's fair. But just in case...
[Mission: Yoga or Else!]
Description: You've committed to adding yoga to your daily practice starting tomorrow. You'd better follow through!
Reward: Peace of Mind and Oneness of Body
Penalty: Face the Wrath of the System! }:-D >>
"... Oh boy."
---
"System, why does this feel harder but also easier?"
<
"What?!"
<
"… No wonder I'm so hungry."