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"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," I snapped my fingers in front of the Latino's face, testing his reaction to external stimuli.
"Already done?" Marco asked, surprised, as he slowly rose from the chair.
"Took about an hour, but it was worth it. Walk around a bit. That feeling of unfamiliarity should pass soon." I helped him up, then stepped back to give him space.
"Feels like I've been reborn," Ramirez smiled after a few minutes of adjusting to the new sensations.
"You have no idea how often I hear that," I chuckled, moving over to the display case where I kept an assortment of weapons. The case opened with a command, its bulletproof glass sliding upward — an incredibly convenient feature. Breaking through it with a single hit would be impossible unless someone was packing some serious firepower. "About three weeks ago, I had a merc named Jeremy Martinez drop by. After examining his implants, I developed a custom software package to boost system response and synchronization. It works like a ship's onboard AI, but simpler."
"Funny enough, Jeremy's the one who recommended this clinic to me. Small world, huh?" Ramirez looked up at the ceiling, shaking his head with a smirk.
"It's smaller than we think," I said, grabbing the first assault rifle I saw, along with a couple of preloaded magazines.
"Time to put this to the test." Marco took the assault rifle from me with a practiced grip, opting to use his implant-enhanced senses instead of ear protection.
"Not bad," I nodded approvingly, watching my old friend's accuracy. Sure, I could outperform him, but I had my own set of advantages — chief among them being my unique body structure and Vega, my synthetic companion.
"Surprised myself," Ramirez said, shaking his head as he set the empty rifle down on the table. "Everything feels... natural, like it's a part of me. And there's this lightness in my head…"
"That's from clearing out the cache in your implants. The more junk builds up, the more strain it puts on your brain. If you ever feel off, visit a ripperdoc for regular maintenance."
"I'll keep that in mind," the brunette nodded gratefully, and then an awkward silence hung between us.
"Something on your mind?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in a mock aristocratic fashion to break the tension.
"Alex, I wanted to apologize for leaving back then..." Marco finally said, catching me completely off guard.
"You don't have to say anything," I interrupted him, raising a hand to stop the conversation I didn't need to hear. "You might think you did something wrong, but even back then, I understood that in your shoes, I'd have done the same. It's not easy sticking around when you feel like dead weight, especially when you're old enough to stand on your own." I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, hoping to ease his mind.
"Doesn't make me feel any better, though."
"So, what, you want me to pity you now?" I teased, pulling him into a rough headlock.
"Just what I needed," Marco snorted before his tone grew more serious. "But seriously, thanks for looking after everyone while I was gone. By the way, where'd those sweet girls come from?" He nudged me playfully, clearly fishing for some backstory.
"Kiwi and I took them in over a year ago. I won't go into their past — it's pretty tragic — but let's just say Lucy and Roxy are very dear to me. We've built a strong bond with them, almost like they're my real daughters."
"Ah, now I get why they call you 'Dad.'" Marco grinned, adding a teasing edge to his words. "Alright, I've probably overstayed my welcome. I should head back home."
"You live in this tower?"
"Yep, fourth floor. I'm renting a small apartment."
"Got it. I bought a place on the 27th floor. It's tough to find anything spacious around here, so I had to go higher up."
"You mean those massive luxury digs?" Marco raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that's the one." I chuckled, sending him my address.
"Guess you really did make it. You rich bastard." Marco shook his head in disbelief. "But I'm happy for you and Kiwi. Do Han and Shiro live nearby too?"
"After you left, so much happened that we had to move to the Bakker clan permanently. And you might be surprised to hear this — Susan had a daughter."
"Seriously?" Marco asked, eyes widening.
"Yep, she's three now. Her name's Rachel, and she's an absolute sweetheart, way more pleasant than her mom. As for the brothers, they're doing well too. They're working on becoming top mechanics and are making good progress. They even built me a car."
"Wow," Marco said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Anyway, it was great seeing you again. If you ever need help, just send a message to this number."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," I said, saving his number in my contacts as I walked Marco to the door. "Stop by anytime you've got a moment."
"I'd love to, but I'm pretty sure Kiwi would kill me," Marco said with an exaggerated shake of his head, feigning fear.
"Don't worry about it. She just needed to blow off some old steam. Kiwi's not one to hold a grudge — she's already forgiven you."
"I'll take your word for it. See you around, Alex." Marco gave me a quick wave as he headed toward the elevator.
"Yeah, see you." I spun on my heels, only to find myself face-to-face with Lucy and Roxy, who were clearly eavesdropping.
"So, um… we were wondering — why did you need that box?" Lucy, the little blonde, wasted no time blurting out her question, her curious eyes fixed on me.
"Come with me. You'll see for yourselves..." I said with a smirk, waving them over as I led the way back into the workshop.
***
"Wow..." the girls whispered in awe, their eyes fixed on the prototype of Vega's future body.
"This is just a rough draft, but by tomorrow, it'll be a fully functioning platform," I said with a satisfied grin, watching their intrigued faces light up.
"I must point out that the platform is only 30 percent complete," Vega's hologram appeared to my left, waving to the girls who stood behind me. "Hello, Lucy, Roxy. It's nice to see you."
"Hi!" the girls chimed back in unison.
"And this," I said, pulling a special container out of the box, "is what I really needed." Inside was a microcomputer I had specifically designed for Vega. "This will simulate brain functions, along with another processing module. There'll be two in total: left and right. I've also installed additional processors in the spine and torso to increase operational speed."
"Just like the hemispheres of a brain," Roxy noted, studying the strange rectangular object in my hands. Essentially, it was a much-improved version of the storage unit that originally housed Vega's consciousness — stronger and more efficient thanks to cutting-edge materials and the help of an advanced AI.
"Exactly. One computer will handle all sensory systems, and the other will focus on computational abilities. The power source is a reactor I designed specifically for this platform. Despite the high processing power, the weight of the Gemini won't exceed the average for a human body of this build, thanks to ultra-light yet incredibly durable alloys."
"It sounds like you're describing a toy," Lucy snorted as she circled around Vega's body. "But won't you have issues, you know... legally?" she asked, clearly referring to the complications of legalizing an AI.
"Don't worry about that. Two days ago, Vega and I hacked into the Night City Police Department and added her to the registry retroactively. No one even noticed." I waved off her concerns, finishing the unboxing of the final components, which included synthetic skin designed to be indistinguishable from human skin to the touch.
The frame itself is really just a structure for Vega to fill with her nanomachines, creating what we might call "nerves." Vega and I spent a week in a simulation, programming these microscopic robots step by step to ensure they would carry out their functions flawlessly. In addition to that, her body will house synthetic organs and muscles. This will help her AI system gradually adjust to a more "alive" organism. Eventually, I plan to give Vega a fully organic body — after all, I always keep my promises.
Technically speaking, it's hard to call the final platform a true "twin." Logically, it's more like a fully developed bio-android. The biocomponents will be powered by a special substance based on "Thirium 310," also known as "blue blood." It was originally developed years ago by a European scientist, and the formula has barely changed since then. Unlike the original biocomponent, this substance has far superior conductivity and nutrient absorption. Its creation was a happy accident — something Vega and Kiwi cooked up together while experimenting, and we ended up with this remarkable new compound.
"And how similar to a human will she be?" Lucy asked, tapping her finger curiously against the reinforced glass shielding the reactor.
"As close as possible. She'll even be able to eat human food," I replied, silently adding, "and even do… other adult things." The reasoning behind that almost fried my brain when it was first explained to me. It pretty much boiled down to "because I want to" and "what's it to you?" Best not to delve into that — it's a rabbit hole I'm not keen to revisit. Been there, done that…
"But she'll still be a full android," Roxy mused, mimicking her sister's actions.
"Exactly," I said, snapping my fingers to initiate the assembly simulation. "Building her body will happen in three stages, the first of which is already complete. I got so wrapped up in it that I had to ask Kiwi to send one of you over. I was really worried I'd mess something up. It's a pretty important job, as you can imagine." I didn't want to trouble the girls more than necessary. They're practically perfect, except for a few quirks shaped by their tough past. "The second and third stages will be fully managed by Vega, so I'll just be assisting."
"Alex, the test simulation was successful. Awaiting your command to begin construction," Vega's synthetic voice carried a slight hum, almost like anticipation.
"Let's do it."