Trace groaned as he slowly woke up. It had been a few days since his surgery, and while the pain had gone away, his body was ridiculously stiff. He had regained the use of his leg, so that was a major plus. Still, he had been ordered to remain seated as much as possible.

  For a reason they had yet to figure out, the nanites were only minimally effective on nerves. That was why he had been forced to use the various upgrade functions on his arm and the nerves, instead of simply letting the nanites heal everything passively.

  Unfortunately, that meant this particular wound was something that he needed to heal naturally.

  It was annoying, but it also meant that his winter months would be spent inside, instead of out doing edger jobs freezing. It was a nice change of pace from what his life had been in the past.

  He was fine with it, as he had endless projects to occupy his time with.

  Monroe did as well. The man had been let out of the clinic at the same time as Trace and promptly came over for his semi and trailer. With the onset of winter, and his newly lacking ability to breathe properly, the man had decided to refocus on building his mobile fortress and its carrier unit.

  With his partner busy, Trace was free to concentrate on his own projects. Everything that had happened to them was unfortunate, but he had to admit, it did have its pluses, as he wouldn’t have gotten this much free time to work on everything otherwise.

  Taking the stairs, while a shorter path overall, was rather rough on his spine. As a result, Trace had found himself sitting in a chair and riding the massive lift up and down between the main floor and the basement, as needed.

  Setting up all the new equipment they had purchased had been a struggle in his current condition, but he had managed it.

  That day would be the first day he would actually be able to use them.

  “Have you finally finished going through that data prism yet?” He called out, pushing the chair toward his desk computer.

  Deckard’s avatar appeared on a screen, large, dark bags underneath his eyes. “There is so much to go through. It’s a compendium of everything I have missed while I was in my coma. It also contains information about my… father’s companies, the inventions they have made, and more. There is also a method for establishing a proper connection to my mother’s satellite.”

  Trace nodded, understanding the weight of the information Deckard was going through. The partition of information that had been addressed to him had been nothing more than a simple message. The entire space of the data prism had been used for the encrypted contents meant for Deckard.

  "That's a lot to take in. Take your time going through it all. Is there anything immediately useful we should know about?"

  Deckard's avatar rubbed his temples. "There are a few things, yes. First, the satellite connection. It would give me a possible direct connection to my mother, though I'm hesitant to do so without thoroughly vetting all security protocols involved in the process. We don't want to risk exposing ourselves. Getting to the location poses some difficulties, so we can’t approach it at the moment."

  "Alright, let me know when you believe we can reach it, and where it is," Trace agreed readily. "What else?"

  "There's information on some of the latest cyberware and tech developments from my father's companies. Some of it we already had, thanks to your previous efforts. However, the information he provided is much more complete. Much of it is still in the prototype stages, but the potential applications are... intriguing and varied."

  Trace leaned forward in interest, the simple action drawing a wince of pain. "Such as?"

  “Neural interface modifications that could allow for direct brain-to-machine connections. The result is a limited need for a NetConnect that has overwhelming specifications. There is also a project I believe you seem to have already encountered. It is described as wire-reflexes, along with several bioware modifications that are intended to help control them.”

  Trace leaned back in confusion, not quite understanding what the man was saying. “You think I’ve already run into these wired-reflexes? When, where?”

  “I can’t say for certain, of course, but your recollection of how Jam and Ram moved aligns with the technology.”

  “Ahh, if you say so… we had wondered what sort of cyberware they were using.”

  “There is one more thing,” Deckard paused, clearly hesitant to actually talk about the last project. “I don’t think my father had given up bringing me back to life. This project takes up most of the space on the data-prism, and this is a very high-quality data-prism; the space available on it is far beyond anything I have ever seen before. It’s called ‘Project Lazarus’, and it seems to involve,” Deckard’s expression grew troubled. “The complete transfer of conscience from the brain to the net. In essence, cutting off a person’s spark from their body and making their avatar a permanent entity of the net.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “He still hasn’t given up on solving that last step,” Trace muttered thoughtfully, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Is there any information on how much progress they have made?”

  The avatar shook its head. "The details are vague. It's clearly still very experimental. I’m not sure how I feel about it myself."

  If G1gl3Myte, or rather David, he still needed to keep reminding himself of the man’s real name, managed to solve this problem, then it might be possible for them to reverse engineer it and place a spark back into a brain. Granted, it was entirely possible that Trace was overthinking things, but it sounded to him like David was still trying to solve the last problem they were facing when it came to cloning a full person. The last step before they could realistically have a form of eternal life, one not limited to braincases or the net.

  Trace sat back, processing this. The implications were staggering. "That's... a lot to consider. For now, let's focus on what we can use in the short term. Any immediate upgrades or tech we should look into making over the next couple of months while I’m stuck here healing?"

  Deckard nodded. "There are some interesting developments in stealth tech and weapons systems we could potentially adapt. I'll compile a list of the most promising options."

  "Sounds good," Trace said. He glanced at the new equipment around him. "In the meantime, I think it's time we put some of our new toys to use. What do you say we start fabricating some of those upgrades we've been planning? My original stealth suit needs some work. I need to start on a new one, and we need to finish working on your android body."

  A hint of excitement crept into Deckard's digital features. "I thought you'd never ask. I've already drawn up the schematics. Shall we begin?"

  Trace grinned, wheeling his chair closer to the desk computer, which he had gradually scooted away from. "Put them on the screen. I want to see the first item. Let's get to work."

  ***

  The two worked together, outlining different projects that they wanted to work on, and more importantly, that they might have time for. There were so many plans and schematics, both those taken from Trace’s time in the corporation tower and given freely.

  The railgun pistol was near the top of the list, seeing as how he had already started it. There were also the fixes to the original stealth suit, and the final repairs to Deckard’s android body. After that came the new stealth suit, and the various upgrades and modifications he wanted to incorporate in its design.

  It was unfortunate, but they didn’t have the capacity to manufacture the truly great or interesting items that David had included on the data prism. Even if they did, the installation process was so specialized that it wasn’t something Ko would have even thought to attempt with her current equipment.

  “Alright,” Trace slapped his cheeks, the sensitive synth-skin on his cyberware hand helping him to modulate how much pressure to put behind the slap. “Let’s start with railgun pistol… railpistol? Meh, it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. Either way, we’ll use that to get used to the new equipment. Then we’ll finish fixing the stealth suit once we have a decent handle on how they work. After those two are done, we’ll finish your body, and move on from them there. Yeah?”

  Deckard’s avatar nodded. “Sounds good to me. These new printers are more advanced than what we have been using. To begin with the options on the CNC printer are on an entirely different level from our other units. It’s the second one that is the real issue, but also the one that will solve many of our problems.”

  Trace knew exactly what he was talking about. It was a 3D printer that he had specially ordered for the printing of complex items. This particular 3D printer didn’t use spools of material, or a laser-heated hopper like his first model did. It was known as a DMLS Printer, or Direct Metal Laser Sintering. It used a technique to build parts by carefully heating thin layers of metallic powder with a laser.

  Any functional metal could be turned into a usable powder for the printer.

  In the past, the powder was spread across a bed en masse and then the laser would melt only the needed section. The process would repeat with another layer of powder being rolled onto the bed after each pass. Improvements had been made since those early days and now the roller had been done away with entirely. The current method involved using a blower nozzle that released a measured amount directly ahead of the laser itself.

  It was much more precise, and there was incredibly little wastage incurred throughout the process.

  As a result, they were now able to make complex single-material objects. However, just having it, and being able to use it, were two entirely different things.

  It had been expensive, but it would without a doubt be worth it as the printer would increase their future creation capabilities several fold.

  The DMLS would be invaluable for printing the proper parts for the railpistol, instead of merely retrofitting everything. The powder for the printer wasn’t all that expensive either, depending on the metal, that is.

  There had been another reason Trace bought it, not that he had needed another reason.

  “Deckard, if we gathered the correct materials, would we be able to use this printer to create our own capacitors?”

  Deckard took several seconds to respond, undoubtedly running dozens of rapid simulations. “It… is possible.” He admitted slowly. “However, at this time, I do not see a way to make them more advanced than the models currently available on the market.”

  Trace clicked his tongue. It had been a thought, but really, that was all it had been. He hadn’t yet proceeded in his classes enough to study how the truly powerful capacitors were made. So, this was an additional gamble, nothing more.

  “Oh well,” He muttered. “Maybe, later then. For now, let’s focus on doing what we can?”

  Deckard’s avatar nodded and pulled up several schematics for the railpistol. “If you hook up all five powder feeders and fill them with these materials, I can begin on the printing of the control board.” The man’s head nodded. “Yes, those ones will work, and this way I will also be able to fit it for the pistol directly.”

  Trace groaned, his back aching at the mere thought of lifting the hoppers and bags of powder. “Uh, yeah, let’s forget about using the DMLS for today then. Maybe tomorrow as well. I don’t know if my back will be able to handle that sort of exertion just yet. Let’s move onto the stealth suit and maybe add some back bracing to it. I might lose some flexibility, but if I can wear it while I’m healing, then at least I’ll be somewhat mobile.”

  Thank you to all the people who have taken the time to rate the story and to my latest Patrons! I have other stories up on my Patreon, including my current WIPs. Which are now Created G.H.O.S.T. System(My Cyberpunk story), WetWorks2, plus The Restaurateur and His Daughter and DungeonFall. :)

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