Chapter 1.2.16 — Decisions, Decisions

Emmett spent the rest of Thursday night in the early hours of Friday morning looking over TINA’s ideas for new modifications. Not for his arm—well, some for his arm. For the rest of his body.

Everything from titanium-reinforced bones to nanomachines in his bloodstream.

He’d continued chatting with TINA as he scanned the list.

TINA, this is amazing. Thank you! Did Dr. Venture suggest anything in particular? Do you have any suggestions??

I suggest you start with your skeleton. It is the best way to increase your resilience and most other modifications will depend on it.

That made sense to Emmett. There was no point in having super strong muscles without the bones or tendons to support them. It reminded him of what Dr. Venture said about limiting the strength output of his mechanical arm so that Emmett didn’t inadvertently hurt something else.

They went back and forth as Emmett asked about several modifications: Carbon fiber laced into his tendons and ligaments, kevlar woven into his skin, various nanomachines that could duplicate everything from his red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells, even sensory equipment integrated into his nervous system to see in UV and infrared.

As the list continued, Emmett noticed several things:

The first was that TINA had already worked out several paths forward. Emmett had some choice in which things to pursue, such as increasing his body’s resilience with things like a stronger skeleton and muscles, or starting with nanomachines to increase his vital functions and protect against poisons and disease. He could even start with implanting sensor devices, one of the side benefits being that they would help protect him against illusions and hallucinations since mechanical devices weren’t affected by psychics or most magic.

The second thing Emmett noticed were steps of progression for each path. Just like he needed to make his skeleton stronger, if Emmett chose the nanomachine route, he would need to start with supplementing his red blood cells first before moving on to other functions. If he wanted to incorporate sensory equipment, then he would need to upgrade his neural connections.

But as Emmett kept reading, something else dawned on him… Most of the progression paths lead to him completely swapping out parts of himself.

His skeleton would eventually be 100% metal alloy. His muscles and tendons would be synthetic, his organs mechanical. His blood… wouldn’t even be blood anymore. It would be a concoction of nanomachines. His nerves—

Even his brain.

Emmett slumped back in his chair, staring at the progression of his senses as they slowly turned from supplementing his eyes with actual UV and infrared sensors to replacing the neurons in his brain one-by-one with synthetic material.

Most of the late-stage steps of these paths didn’t have materials or requirements listed. There were several possible alloys listed for his skeleton and nothing was listed for replacing the neurons in his brain.

TINA, are these final steps theoretical?

Yes. It is impossible to accurately simulate more than two to three steps ahead of your current biology. As you progress through these steps, simulations will become clearer.

Emmett stared at the screen. He couldn’t help reading between the lines.

Am I limited to one path?

For now.

That was interesting. Up until that point, Emmett had been thinking of the paths like skill trees in a video game. There was usually some way of limiting the player’s options so that they couldn’t pick all of the skills. it was a way to encourage replayability. Play through the game once using a fighting build, play through again using stealth or ranged abilities or magic…

That made sense for a video game, but this wasn’t a game.

Emmett could take all the paths. He only felt more certain of this when he saw that some modifications had requirements from other paths. Replacing neurons in his brain required nanomachines to manage part of the connection process. Several things even required supplemental power sources, like implanting a generator in his chest.

Some of the later steps sounded extreme: Replacing his entire skeleton, all his blood, his entire brain…

Emmett stared at the screen for a long time, trying to figure out what to say to TINA.

TINA, I think some of these later steps might be too far.

Please, explain.

If I were to do all of these steps, I wouldn’t be human anymore.

You do not have to complete all of these steps. There will be benefits and drawbacks to each, the same as for mods for your arm. However, each step is designed to increase your combat potential and survivability.

Emmett started typing and backspaced several times.

Was that all there was? Did all these choices really boil down to just his potential as a superhero?

Emmett thought back to earlier that evening, to the non-zero chance that didn’t pursue being a hero and might need to get a real job.

TINA, are these paths reversible?

Why would you want to reverse them?

In case I change my mind.

Some of them are reversible, many are not. Mutagen-A is not reversible, and neither are the variants you’ve been exposed to.

Emmett hadn’t thought about that, but in the end, did it matter? So far, the mutagens had been nothing too far out of the ordinary. There were celebrities and VIPs that took low doses of Mutagen-A, like most people took supplements.

That wasn’t the same as changing out his blood or turning his bones into titanium. Or turning his brain into a computer.

He needed to talk all this over with Dr. Venture and with Clara.

What did Dr. Venture suggest I start with?

Dr. Venture is not currently aware of these modifications.

Emmett swallowed dryly.

Dr. Venture had been worried about TINA conducting its own research. Emmett assumed he would just correct the issue, but clearly, Venture hadn’t been worried enough to update its programming. Now, TINA was acting without the doctor’s direction again.

Emmett chose his next words carefully before he typed them.

I don’t want to keep secrets from Dr. Venture.

TINA’s replies were usually instantaneous compared to texting anyone else. But for the first time in their conversation, TINA didn’t answer right away. The pause dragged on long enough that Emmett swirled his mouse around to make sure his laptop didn’t freeze.

I understand. Stop by the lab tomorrow and we can all discuss your options.

With Dr. Venture and Clara?

Yes. Everyone will be present.

You should get some sleep, Emmett. It’s almost 3 A.M.

~

Emmett got four hours of sleep Thursday night, and he barely managed that.

Friday morning classes crawled by, and afterwards, Emmett nervously rode the bus to the lab. He couldn’t stop thinking about TINA working without Dr. Venture’s direction. As excited as Emmett was to discuss the new modifications, he hoped that TINA brought them up to Venture sometime this morning.

Emmett felt like he was caught in the middle of a fight between two parents. He chuckled awkwardly at the thought as he got off at the bus stop.

~

Emmett met Clara and Dr. Venture in the hub of the mechanical wing, section 002.

Both of them spun around to look at Emmett as he entered. Both Clara and Venture looked flustered, as if Emmett had walked into  the middle of an argument. Clara’s arms were crossed over her bodysuit and her hoodie lay on the center table. Doctor Venture stood in front of the wall of monitors as if he was a professor lecturing a student. The displays were filled with

It wasn’t hard to guess what they’d been arguing about. The tension in the room felt like a smoldering fire about to reignite.

Clara said, “Fine, let’s see what Emmett thinks about TINA’s suggestions.”

Emmett swallowed nervously. “I was hoping you guys had some suggestions on where to start.”

Venture pushed up his glasses, and Clara just stared at Emmett.

“You can’t be serious,” she said.

Emmett shrugged. “I’m a superhero, and I need to get stronger.”

“Not like this! Not by getting rid of your bones and swapping out your blood. Upgrading your arm and making new mods is one thing… Emmett, this is too much.”

Emmett replied, “I know. I’m not exactly keen on some of them either, but most of the early steps aren’t that crazy. They’re not much different from taking a mutagen or wearing an exosuit.”

Clara glanced from Emmett to her father in disbelief. “If all you want is to get stronger, we’ll make you an exosuit.”

Dr. Venture held up a hand. “Nothing is happening right away. We all need time to go over TINA’s suggestions. But most of the starting modifications seem stable.”

The tension in the room eased a bit, and Emmet sighed with relief. He walked over to the wall monitors. “What do you think I should start with?”

Venture replied, “I was more curious about your thoughts.”

Emmett looked over the different modification pathways on the wall, more to gather his thoughts than to actually make a decision. He’d spent all morning deciding what mods to start with.

“I want them all,” Emmett finally said. He was only half-joking.

Clara scoffed. “I’m not staying here for this.” She turned and left the room.

Venture shook his head and turned back toward the screens. “Where do you think you should start?”

Emmett regarded Dr. Venture for a moment before answering. It looked like he had been about to say something else, but Emmett decided to let it go.

“Skeleton,” Emmett said decisively.

“Is that your choice, or what TINA suggested?”

Emmett paused. “TINA suggested it, but after thinking things over, I agree. It’s a requirement for other mods and it would give me the defensive rating of a Class Two super even without completely swapping my skeleton.”

Venture smirked. “TINA didn’t give you the full story.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lacing your skeleton with titanium is by far one of the most intensive and painful procedures on this list.”

“How bad is it?” Emmett asked, trying to keep his voice level.

“Painful. And it isn’t just a onetime surgery.”

Emmett stared at the diagram while a pit formed in his stomach. TINA definitely hadn’t mentioned that part. But Emmett found himself already trying to rationalize the choice… He still wanted to get stronger, which meant he needed to go through with this. And maybe it was better to get the hardest thing out of the way first.

Venture said quietly, “I can already tell that’s not going to dissuade you.”

Emmett shook his head. Then he asked something else that was on his mind.

“Why did she send those to me?”

Venture nodded slightly, as if considering his words. “TINA’s first directive is to assist me in my research. TINA can also modify its code and methods of testing. It modeled my style of research, my preferences. Since we’re all working together, it appears that TINA has incorporated similar directives for you and for Clara.”

Venture cleared his throat before continuing. “It would have been nice if TINA would’ve shared the mods with all of us last night, instead of an hour ago.”

“Understood, Dr. Venture.”

Venture grunted in response.

Silence settled in the room, and finally, Emmett asked, “When can we start?”

~ ~ ~