“I’m not surprised that this post attracted so much attention. It’s a digital eyesore and people wonder how nonsensical things like these get so popular,” Caiden chuckled to himself. Out of sheer curiosity, he clicked on the coded link and studied it some more. He was beginning to decipher the nonsensical code when his room door suddenly swung open.
“Oh my god, I ‘uz lookin’ for the bathfroom! I'm so sorry,” an attractive woman in her early twenties slurred, with an embarrassed giggle,
This platinum blond woman, clearly intoxicated, was wearing nothing but a thin sheet to cover her naked body. Her eyes were bleary, watery, and red. She awkwardly stood at the doorway of Caiden’s room, attempting to maintain her balance. Noticeably annoyed, Caiden stood and imposed a ghastly stare upon the unsuspecting woman who was clearly not in her right mind to begin with. She was frozen with humiliation as well as intrigue as she scanned a shirtless Caiden’s athletic chiseled physique.
“Wow, Mister Handsome, you a model or somethin’? Hey Vanny, is this your ‘fat’ roommate you were tellin’ me bout?” she said drunkenly, her speech garbled as her index finger traced the bottom row of her teeth. He appeared behind Viana shortly after she burst into Caiden’s room.
Vanny, or Vantz, Caiden’s best friend and roommate, was tall and lanky, standing at about 6’4”. Vantz was a Hybrid; he lost a few his toes on both feet, along with his left hand up to his wrist in a freak accident during an experiment he was conducting in a lab at his junior apprenticeship at ACTS. As a result, he received cybernetic replacements to all damaged areas. During his recovery, his body experienced an accelerated case of cybersthesis and it ended up enveloping more than just the damaged areas.
Cybersthesis describes the cybernetic implant replicating its own data by drawing on the natural energy gained by the mitochondrion in the cellular structure. This eventually leads to an override of the human's natural function and replaces it with technological function which mirrors the human function. The only thing that could halt the transformation was for the body to reach nanostasis.
Nanostasis was the process in which the natural human body maintains a functional and proportionate relationship with the cybernetic transplant that was in or on the body. Nanostasis keeps the body from rejecting the technology as well as prevent the technology from advancing to cybersthesis. This was done by being injected with a genetically altered universal cell type which does no harm to the body or the cybernetic part. Its only role was the maintenance of balance between cybernetic parts and organic human parts. This serum was created by the leading bio-tech company C.E.L.L.
In many cases, some willingly let the process of cybersthesis happen to a certain point to help neutralize a disease or to enhance a bodily function that may have been malfunctioning or weakening naturally. It prolongs a person’s life at the cost of losing some of their ‘organic’ humanity.
In Vantz's case, the areas ended up transforming into fully functioning cybernetic replacements up to his shins on his legs and up to his elbow on his left arm. He took deep pride in his cybernetic enhancements, and did well to show them off frequently, especially to women in an attempt to impress them.
He had blond, slicked-back hair and an easy-going expression on his face that was accented by icy diamond blue eyes. Most females fell prey to his over the top charm and handsome appearance.
“Viana, you’re so trashed right now! What’re you doin?” Vantz asked, thoroughly amused. He turned his attention to Caiden. “Sorry about that Caide. Hey, you okay, man?” Vantz asked, showing concern with Caiden’s discontent
“Fat roommate, dude?” Caiden asked. “How many girls has it been this week? You’re gonna burn out and catch something ugly at the rate you’re going,” he continued.
“Yeah, yeah, thanks for the concern officer, but speaking of burnt out, it's two in the morning and you’ve been at ‘coding’ for the last eight hours straight on three separate computer screens, simultaneously! Haha, what a nerd! Maybe you need to take a break, genius!” Vantz responded sarcastically.
“Gee, I'm so freakin' happy you care, but don’t you think you should get back to business?” Caiden asked jokingly, while subtly pointing at the woman.
Vantz then shook his head, with a mischievous smile and a nod. “Just make sure you get some sleep dude you look like a zombie”.
He then guided Viana out of the room imitating the walk of a zombie in jest, and closed the door. The sudden interruption and abrupt exit by Vantz’s house guest led Caiden to sit back down and think.
“Maybe Vantz is right; I should probably take a quick break”.
With the NeuraVisor removed, the flickering lights of the holographic computer screens reflected off his golden eyes and lightly tanned skin. Caiden ran his hands through his unkempt pompadour haircut, and got lost in his own thoughts as he fixated on a blank space of the adjacent wall in his room. It was the perfect canvas for intangible thoughts to manifest. His breathing slowed as he began to flutter in and out of consciousness. This chair’s way too comfortable, he thought as he burrowed into his chair. His eyes soon closed.
***
Deep in the darkness, a voice echoed, bouncing off invisible walls as it closed in. It got closer and closer, then a bright light flashed. There was a woman with a blurred face who was on one knee in front of him.
“Is this some sort of dream? What’s going on here? Who am I?”
“Caiden! Honey, listen to me, okay? I’m going to use this scrambler device now. It may sting just a bit, but when you awake up you will know what to do. A mother’s love
