The van slowed down as we approached an unecessarily tall corperate parking lot, with Judy flicking the automated ticket bearer whatever the fee for parking was.
We climbed a couple of floors, searching for the space number allocated to us. My guardian popped her head out of the window and reversed into the space.
"C'mon, let's bounce; Ev said it it was just around the corner." She said, knocking the door open and hopping out onto the smooth concrete.
I followed her lead, wrapping around the van's exterior before taking her hand.
As we walked down the stairs, Pride started acting up again.
'A public stairwell that doesn't smell of piss? Maybe this world isn't too bad a dystopia after all.'
'That's where the line is drawn for you?' I asked, nearly tripping over yet another poorly designed set off steps.
Judy sighed.
'Compared to the lots we used to vandalize and fuck around in; yes, yes this is an upgrade.'
'That was a long time ago, and from where we were a week ago; I still consider this to be a downgrade,' I said, crinkling my nose at the smell of industrial bleach coating the walls - clearly the cleaning product being put to use here. 'Besides, this is definitely a more cared for area of NC.'
'True, true.'
With that conversation over, we had reached bottom.
The automated doors slid open and the cool night air ruffled my dark hair, somehow managing to make it even messier than it already was - damn curls.
Judy pretty much took the lead from here on, guiding me through the busy streets. I just hid behind her, taking advantage of the cover she provided from the oncoming crowd.
We took a sharp left, retreating up a wide set of steps which ended in front of a small building; its shutters closed and door locked. A neon sign hung next to the door, reading the slogan 'Doc Ryder'.
"Uh," I said, unsure how to break the news to Judy. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
She looked confused too, squinting at the sign herself before her optics lit up. "This is the place I got pinged, and the time is right too; so what-?"
Her confused mumblings were cut off as the security camera above the doorway flashed green, and the door slid open.
A heavily accented voice yelled at us from deep within the clinic. "Com' in, can neva' be too careful these days."
Me and Judy glanced at each other, and she shrugged at me before stepping through the building's threshold.
'That man sounds like a Voodo boy,' Said Pride, his voice curious, lacking the cautious I had expected.
'I thought you'd be more worried.' I said, following Judy inwards.
'Over a monkey?' He snorted, 'We aren't even chipped yet. What's he gonna do, make some lights flash?"
'Still, we're unarmed, I don't like this at all.'
'He'll be cutting you open in a few minutes anyway, you're acting too paranoid.'
"Yo, de name's Darius Clarke - A pleasure." A dark skinned, long haired man interrupted my monologue by ways of emerging from behind an large operating chair. He offered Judy a hand, which she shook warily.
He glanced over, sizing me up not unlike an experienced butcher would look at a particularly appealing slab of meat.
"So dis' de boy?"
"Yeah."
The man nodded, humming noncommitally as he turned around. He gestured towards the chair, "Get on, we'll be done in twenty."
I let go of Judy's hand, striding over to the chair and climbing onto it. The large piece of furniture reminded me just how small I currently was, as the headrest was at least three feet above me.
Darius turned back around, motioning towards the door and told Judy to, "Go wait outside."
Her nostrils flared irritably, "I'll stay." She said, eyeing Darius warily.
It was unlike her to be so judgemental, but I guess even the kindest made exceptions when it came to the local cultists.
The dark skinned Ripperdoc was having none of her attitude though. "Do not look at me like I'm some fuckin' Voodo boy girl, I've worked too hard to escape that stigma over the past decade."
My guardian was taken aback, reluctantly moving back towards the waiting room. "I'll see you later." She mouthed, closing the door shut behind her.
The man huffed, all traces of his previous anger gone.
"Arm." Said Darius, and I extended it onto the metallic rest he had brought up to the chair.
"Don't blame her for it, she means well." I said, and the man looked at me appraisingly.
"I know dat', dey all do."
A thin needle sunk into the white skin of my wrist, and my nerves slowly deadened until I finally fell asleep.
~~~
"Wake up."
My head spun, and I let out a groan in response to let the man know I was awake.
"Well?" He said, "Give dem a whirl."
My eyes opened.
My vision was clear, completely deviod of any imperfections. I could see again.
Judy was leaning against the opposite wall, looking extremely anxious.
I brought up a hand, sweeping my curly fringe out of my eyes. Since this was the first time 'I' was seeing, a show was in order.
My jaw dropped, and I stared at the surrounding room; utterly amazed by the detail of what I saw. "This, this is how other people have been seeing the world?"
"Mmm, good results den." Said Darius, "No syncronisation errors and de like, no patchy vision, glitches or blurring?"
"None." I replied, now noticing a small black rectangle implanted in my wrist. I had a jack now? That wasn't part of the deal.
Judy sighed with relief, kicking off the wall and moving over to the chair I sat on.
"Come on, we can test out your new optics in the street." She grabbed my hand, steadying me as I wobbled off the chair; the anaesthesia still not fully flushed from my system.
"I'll tell your friend to foot de bill den." Said Darius, "She's a trustworthy gal."
As we walked out the door, I started musing. This operation was pre-paid, a done-deal; why the extra cost?
Wait. I separated my hand from Judy's as we reached the sidewalk, grasping for the jack in my wrist and pulling it out.
"Judy, why do I have this? I thought this trip was about my eyes."
"Ugh," Her face crinkled, "Apparently Evelyn failed to mention you were full ganic, and optics can't function without a proper interface - so the ripper had to implant the full basic package before starting."
"Ah." I replied, continuing with an afterthought. 'Good for us then.'
"Luckily for us it didn't actually cost that much, but it still added around thirty extra minutes of waiting."
"Sorry." I mumbled, my mind already weighing the pros and cons of this unexpected development.
"It ain't your fault, I shoulda' realised that too. Anyway, how are they?"
I paused for a second, trying to formulate an adequate response to such a important question. A blind man sees in 20/20 vision for the first time, what would his reaction be.
Tears probably, but I'm not going to cry when acting anymore. Pride had sucessfully ruined my flair for drama with his last machination.
"They're… Perfect." I said, gazing at the busy street surrounding us.
I wasn't lying either, the raw quality on these eyes were superb, possibly even greater than my previous body's.
She smiled, "Guess you don't need my help to get around anymore huh?"
I reached up and took her hand again before looking down at the grey pavement beneath us. "No, no I don't."
(A/N: [Arc 1: arrival] is finally over, total word count currently stands at 23,163. On another note though, I'm releasing a new series called [Omega : Incursion] so please check it out if you have the time; If you can guess what world it's based in I'll give you a cookie.)