"No, p-please… please! Don't do this! Don't —"
A chainsaw struck through the center of a virtual woman, creating an ultra-realistic splatter of guts, intestines and blood. Both halves of the woman fell to the ground, just as the individual responsible sped along without regard, laughing as he did so.
"Well? What'd you think?"
"The Ed Kemper Simulator was better."
"Fuck off fatass. You only liked it because you're almost a one-for-one replica of him."
"It was less cartoony. More planning and thinking was involved with the murders. This here? This is just low-budget snuff."
"Yeah, but the other one didn't sell. There are over two dozen serial killers popping every year in this fucking city. Apart from bozos like you and I, who even remembers the fuckers from the Old Empire? All everyone cares about is the esper shit."
"Esper murders only have novelty going for it. People find it entertaining because it's a puzzle. Once the puzzle is solved, they lose interest."
A Rubix-cube dropped firmly onto a steel table before a man took off a pair of advanced goggles.
This man was tall, reaching nearly six-foot-tall. He was rotund, round at the bottom and wide on the hips. He couldn't be considered obese, but it was clear he was currently overweight. There was a great muft of hair underneath his chin and around his neck. On his head, was greasy, slick-backed hair.
The man mumbled under his breath, before staring straight at what appeared to be a set of bright blue tits bare in front of him. He stared for a moment, paused, and then put on the goggles again.
"Hey, Claus. I told you I'm not interested in that Blade Runner shit."
"What?"
"Don't act like you didn't send her you interlinked motherfucker."
"Wait, wait, hold on. Someone sent a holoslut to your pad?"
"You're saying it's not you?"
"You think I'd waste that kind of money on you, bastard? Shit, do you know how much one of those little —"
The connection died with a sharp static. The man let out a hiss, sharply removing the now smoking headset and turning back to stare at the set of blue tits in front of him.
The longer he stared, the more he was certain that she was custom-made. She looked better than anything he'd seen on the streets of Chiba, and the level of detail was good enough that he could almost swear she was actually made up of a collection of integrated photons, rather than the traditional hardlight tech that hit the streets since the 2040s.
Appearance-wise though, she was too shabby. Her boobs were a bit on the average side, her legs were a bit too skinny and her thighs didn't have enough meat. Aside from that, she looked like someone took out an image of Cortana from the ancient Xbox flagship title and smacked it on top of an otherwise average body.
"Hello, there!"
She spoke with a chirpy, upbeat tone. Hearing it almost made him want to grab the nearest aux cord and strangle her with it.
"I am the Incel Reformation System, but you can call me Iris! And you have been chosen as the lucky young man who will be rehabilitated into a fully functioning member of society!"
He examined the holoslut with a raised brow. Now he was certain she was custom made. The only question was who would have the skill and resources needed to make something of this level simply to send it to him as a practical joke.
But as far practical jokes went, this one was pretty good.
"Alright. Who sent you?"
"I am a product of the Institute of Particle Technology's seventh generation artificial —"
"I've never heard of it."
"Of course you've not heard of it, silly!" Iris bounced, and her perky little holo-tits bounced with her. "The Institute of Particle Technology comes from the Coalition of Cosmic Queens! A female-dominant, highly advanced intergalactic empire of women who have mastered the secrets of technology and seek to bring enlightenment to all the less fortunate across the endless universe!"
"...Right. Uh-huh."
"I sense a deep amount of skepticism in your voice, but not to worry! Once the system is installed, you will be on your way to believing what I say, just as your rehabilitation begins!"
"The humor's wearing pretty thin," he reached for the floating holo-girl. "First, you're going to tell me who really sent you, and then —"
[Contact Made.]
[Suitable Host Found.]
[Downloading IRS Soulware…]
"What the fuck?!"
An electric current traveled up his arm, right up until it found its way into his brain.
[Download Complete.]
[Installing Soulware…]
[Installation Complete.]
"Perfect! Now, we should be able to access your character menu to be able to… ah?"
[Character Menu]
[Name: Virgo Jung]
[Level: 1]
[Age: 25]
[Race: Homo Spiritus]
[Titles: Uber Gamer. NEET. Cyber Terrorist]
[Stats:
Strength: 2.5/10 (Human)
Intelligence: 4.7/10 (Human)
Memory: 2.4/10 (Human)
Personality: 0.033/10 (Human)
Litheness: 0.092/10 (Human)
Endurance: 0.023/10 (Human)]
[Cybernetics:
Head:
Sherevesky Loci Chip (+0.5 Intelligence)
Satoshi MK-4 Data Jack (+0.3 Memory)
Eyes:
Raigan CyberOptics (+0.5 Intelligence)
Torso:
N/A
Arms:
N/A
Legs:
N/A
Skeleton:
N/A
Nervous System:
N/A
Integumentary System:
N/A\
Reproductive System:
Lewinsky Auto-Jerk Pro+]
[Esper:
Ability: Cyber Synesthesia
RAM: 24/24
Base Programs: Ping, Scan
Exclusive Programs: Inject, Reflect
BP Cost: 2 RAM
EP Cost: 12 RAM]
[Reformation Points: 0]
[Reformation Points needed to next Level: 10]
"Homo… Spiritus?" Iris blinked owlishly. "Not homo sapiens?"
"What the fuck…"
Virgo glanced over the floating words in amazement. He wasn't any stranger to virtual spaces, holovids, or AR Games, but the interface of the system was something he couldn't recall ever seeing.
Whoever set this up had to be loaded. This was beyond the limits of a mere prank. Virgo flickered his gaze to the holoslut, his optics blurring to life.
Twice he blinked to make sure it wasn't malfunctioning, and twice he saw the same thing. A collection of incoherent scribbles and pointless jargon filled his vision. It was like gazing at the Old Empire XML syntax — a meaningless gaggle of code ripped straight from a webpage and pasted upon a basic text editor.
Advanced. Too advanced. He couldn't make out any of it.
He sucked in a sharp breath of air as he realized there were none of the traditional nano-drones present in modern hardlight tech. The holoslut was made of photons. Actual honest to god, solidified photons. It was like if someone turned on a torch and the light it emitted could be held in the hand.
This wasn't just expensive. It was impossible. It was tech that didn't exist yet. That shouldn't exist yet. Tech that would make every megacorp from Mikaël to BlackNest send a squad of retrieval specialists busting down his door.
Not to mention the doped-up runners and cyberpunks who'd be hired by every independent asshat in Neutron City.
"What… what the fuck are you?"
"As I said," Iris smiled. "I'm the Incel Reformation System."