Chapter 4: A Taste of e

  It was awo days before Cal heard back from Vic, telling him to drop by for his little trial exam. He spent most of his time the previous days training, eveing a quick hand-to-hand bat lesson from Coach Fred earlier that day. Naturally, he had gotten his ass hao him. His only gains were a few new bruises to add to his growing colle. His back was starting to feel better, but he still felt occasional nces of pain from his gunshot welt during those workouts.

  After pleting his training each day, Cal had spent his afternoons running packages for Dex. The dull stant pain in his back reminded him to keep his head up, always looking for trouble and taking note of where to find hard cover. After his previous, less than ideal, enter with the NCPD he was forced to re-calibrate his perception of Night City. It was a good habit that had already bore fruit. Some Animals and Valentinos had gotten into a small shootout near one of his drop off points the previous day and he had to dip into an alley to wait for the gunshots to stop before he could plete his delivery. The whole situation ended up being a blessing in disguise, since he mao klep a Quadra Type-66 after his delivery, having spotted it down that very same alley while he was taking cover. The fortuitous enter ed him an easy 17k from El Capitán, adding some nice padding to his already flush at.

  “Alright, kid. Show me what you do with this pile of scrap.”

  Vic wasn’t exaggerating when he called the cyberware id out before of him a pile of scrap. More than half of it was inplete, with rge ses irrevocably damaged or just pin missing. Everything iled on the bench alongside a terminal that appeared to be set up as a multi-fun diagnostic tool as well as a troller for the benchtop power supply. There was an array of ports below the monitor along with a library of ectors and probes that could be used to cheonitor various aspects of the damaged tech. The worktable held a bank of drawers that tained seemingly every tool he’d need from tweezers and screwdrivers to s irons, adhesives, and solvents. o him stood a rolling rack taining a variety of fasteners and pos anized in removable bins ready to be used.

  Cal rolled up his sleeves and pstered a look of determination on his face as he sat down and started s through the pile of damaged e. He picked out the pieces that were mostly intact or salvageable ahem aside, s the rest as best he could for destru, recyg, or future sideratioill only had a loose grasp on what he was actually doing, but he thought some of the stuff could be at least partially salvaged or repaired.

  He decided to start with something that seemed retively easy to fix. Popping open the housing to a mostly intact looking biomonitor, Cal prodded pos with needle probes to get a better idea of what he was w with. He found that it was iively det dition, trary to its rough appearahe main issue appeared to be the backup power supply that would periodically dip in voltage.

  This wasn’t something that would rehe devioperable, as most cyberware was generally powered by any of the various sources of power naturally geed by the human body. Some could run purely off the bio-electricity that coursed through the nervous system, while others drew power from a bination of sources that could include energy geed by physical movement, muscle tras, the circution of your cardiovascur system, the ever present spectrums of ambieromagic radiation, or even just the thermal energy produced by the human body.

  Cal had initially assumed it would be futile to try to ect with any of these devices through his teopathy right off the bat. He reasohat since everything appeared to be damaged or i, they wouldn’t give him any respohis assumption was shattered when, on a whim, he reached out mentally into the biomonitor to see if he could ect to the power system on a po level while the backup battery still had power.

  He was surprised to find out that he could not only ect to it, but he could even reach through the damaged es to feel the whole device. Doing so flooded his mind with a deluge of knowledge about its stru, operation, and current state. As it turned out, the entire device appeared to have been damaged by a spike in current, frying some of the finer circuits and overloading the backup battery. Removing the damaged pos aing them in the junk pile, Cal searched through the parts rack, finding a rept for the battery, but nothing for the burnt out chipset he was forced to remove.

  He decided to mark down the repairs he made and the oill needed as he attached a tag to the inplete biomonitor a to the side. He tinued w his way through the damaged cyberware, making sure to gh the motions diagnosing eae with the proper tools as he reached out through his teopathy for a more plete picture of their current state. Most were just old and worn out, having some of the pos that saw heavy use essentially used up. Cal fixed what he could and disassembled what he couldn’t, ing any salvageable parts and adding them to the applicable ste bins.

  To his own surprise, he had mao assemble a fully funal cyberarm from three damaged and discarded limbs that were id out to the side of the bench. It was his first time w with anything like syic muscle, and he had to ask Vic fuidao avoid damaging them during the destru and repair processes. It seemed to Cal that he had impressed Vic with his performance up to that point, since he came off as almost eager to help.

  As the afternoon wore on, Vic turned from a skeptical judge into an active partit in the repairs, lending ara hand iving advice when it appeared Cal was stretg his knowledge or capabilities. They both lost track of time as they delved into the repairs until all they were left with was a rack that seemed to have gained just as many bits as it lost, a couple pieces of cyberware waiting for additional parts, a pile of scrap for the recycler, and an array of ly packaged cyberware ready for install.

  “I gotta give it to you kid, you’re a lot better at this than I thought you’d be. I threw a few things in there just to knock you doeg, but you didn’t reach beyond your ability and hahe rest like a… well not quite like a pro, but you’re not too far off.” Vic said as he gave Cal a hearty sp on the back, elig a yelp and grimace as Cal jumped off the stool. Vic watched him roll his shoulder and reach back to rub his bruise with a mix of surprise and .

  Notig the stipated look on his face, Cal answered Vic’s unasked question “Caught a bullet from our fine boys in blue earlier in the week. Still pretty tender…”

  Vic just shook his head and sighed.

  “Take off your shirt and jump up on the exam table.”

  “Thanks, but it’s nothing Vic. My jacket stopped it. Got a cracked rib, at worst.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that. Now oable, pronto.”

  Cal didn’t buing any further and plied with the old ripper’s demands. Wing a few times during the initial examination, Cal drummed up some small talk to fill the awkward silence.

  “Getting shot got me thinking about how vulnerable I still am… I started doing some weight training this week with a guy from my building. I think he’s an old boxer: Coach Fred. You know him?”

  “Course I do. Fred’s good people. Follow his advice, but don’t push yourself too hard. The guy will keep you running past your red line if you let him.”

  “Yeah, I kinda noticed that. is a bit of a sadist, but it seems like he means well overall.”

  “That about sums up Fred. I take it some of these lighter bruises were from a spar?”

  “More like an asswhooping. I asked the guy for some advi hand-to-hand and this is all I have to show for it.”

  “Heh. Fred’s not the kind of man to go easy on someone, even if they’re green. You’ll either adapt or quit. That’s just his style.”

  “Good to know, I guess. He’s got me taking a “workout supplement” to help me bulk up. Told me about some of the side effects, but I wouldn’t mind a sed opinion.”

  “It’s pretty on in our circle. If he’s pointing you to a dealer, don’t worry too much about it. Just follow his advid avoid Animals like they’re radioactive. Some probably are… Alright, you look fine kid. You’ve got a deep bruise and some micro-fractures on the rib. Let Coaow about it and avoid heavy lifting for the wo weeks. Should be right as rain after. I’d give you a Maxdoc to speed things up, but it’s best to let things heal naturally whenever possible.”

  “Thanks Vic. So how did I do oher exam?”

  *scoff* “You’re a drum, kid. I thought this whole thing was some kind of scam at first, but it’s clear you ck practical experiend have some pretty rge gaps in your knowledge base. Overall, it’s a pass, but just barely.” Vic was trying to downpy it, but Cal saw the slight grin tugging at the er of his mouth.

  “So about the bench time…”

  “Yeah, yeah. You use my tools when I’m not busy, but I’m expeg you to do free refurbs like today as payment.”

  “Deal.” Cal said as he finished putting his shirt ba aended his hand to Vic.

  It was a great opportunity for him. He could keep expanding his knowledge of cyberware and eve some tips from one of the best rippers in NC. He retty sure Vic was looking forward to it as much as he was, but he’d never call him on it. Cal got the impression that he’d vehemently deny any such accusation, instead disparaging his ck of skill and g a o save others from Cal’s shoddy workmanship.

  “Alright, now get out of here. I don’t have anything else for you to monkey around with, so scram. I’ll call when I have more work for you.”

  Cal let out a little huff and smiled, watg Vic retreat to his er to get back to watg his matches.

  “Thanks again, Vic.”

  The man just gave a distracted wave as Cal walked past him aed the basement.

  He was feeling light on his feet as he climbed to the top of the stairs. He’d been in this world for less than a week ae a few setbacks, the sense of aplishment he felt from getting his feet under him in this cesspool of a city was invigorating. He didn’t have any pns for the rest of the day and decided to rex a bit since his at was sitting fortably around €50k.

  The panic he initially felt from waking up in Night City was starting to fade, and he reized that most of his as up till now were based off his subscious need for trol in this chaotic world. He was never going to gain true trol; it was antithetical to how things operated here. Still, he managed what he could and had started his way doath that inspired fidence. He could still get killed by a random cyberpsycho or just get run down by a drunk jumping a curb, but the ever present sense of danger almost seemed like a challenge now, motivating him to adapt and grow to meet it.

  Stopping at the top of the stairs to pet a hairless cat, Cal decided to exit through Misty’s Esoterid introduce himself this time. Previously he had just walked through the alley to get to and from Vic’s, single-mindedly driven by his goals and already knowing where to go to meet them. Now though, he felt the need for more human es. He felt like he could actually breath for the first time since waking up in his crappy apartment and he wasn’t going to waste this opportunity by grinding through his life like it was just aname.

  “Hmm? You must be Cal. Vie a bit about you.” Misty said as she looked up from her book.

  She didn’t seemed surprised or ed that he suddeered her shop from the batrance, and Cal felt exposed as she looked him up and down for a brief moment.

  “…Yeah, that’s me. Sorry for slinking in through the back.”

  “Not to worry. Do you mind if I do a reading for you? I find it’s a good way to get to know new people.”

  “Ahh… I’m not too sure about that. I’ve had a couple of strange experiences retly and I’m still digesting them. Not too keen to add any more on the pile – No offense. Feel free to do your reading, but keep it to yourself, yeah?”

  “Hmmm… iing.” Misty squinted her eyes and stared at Cal like he was a curious oddity, making him squirm a bit under her gaze.

  “Pce your hand on the dee, please.”

  Cal plied and palmed the deck for a moment before retreating from the ter a few steps to take in the rest of the room. There were dles scattered around the shop, filling the room with soothing sts that mostly masked the ever present stench that seemed to fill every er the city. Their soft glow gave the shop a calm and weling feel as they illumihe odd curios strewn about in a chaotic but artful manner.

  He turned and watched Misty’s face as she drew card after card. Her expression ged from shock to sternation before she looked to the ceiling seemingly lost in thought only to finally return Cal’s gaze with a knowing smile. A smile that sent shivers down his spine.

  “You really are an iing one, aren’t you Cal?

  “Uh… yeah, I guess? Seems like you came to your own clusion about why I didn’t really want a reading.”

  “You could say that.” Misty responded with a slight nod, her smile growing a touch wider.

  “You should loosen up – live a little. Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around on a while, you could miss it.”

  That line sounded familiar to Cal. It took him a few seds before he finally pced it, adding a new level of bizarre to this enter.

  “…Did you just quote Ferris Bueller? Please tell me you have a source for pre-crash media.”

  “Sorry, but I watched it with a friend of a friend. That stuff is as good as gold these days. Most people keep their libraries under lod key.”

  “Dam… How did you even know that I’d reize the line? Old media isly popur these days. Most people just want to scroll BDs”

  “You’ve got an old soul. Just call it a gut feeling.”

  “Fuck, Misty. You’re pretty scary, you know that?”

  Misty just giggled as she gathered up her cards.

  “Well, it was nice meeting you Cal. Until ime.” she said as she returned her attention to her book.

  “Yeah… Check you ter…”

  Cal left the shop in a slight daze, his previous fideaking a hit from the bizarre enter.

  ‘Witch. That girl is definitely a Witch.’

  It was already the early evening as Cal walked down Urmnd Street, trying to shake off the disfort he felt from his introdu to the resident soothsayer. It wasn’t that he was afraid of her, but there was something disquieting about the way she looked at the world. He worried that any prolonged versation with her would lead down aential rabbit hole that would shatter the way he viewed his ence.

  ‘Just fet about it. Misty isn’t the type to act out of malice. You’re here. You exist. This world exists. Just enjoy it.’

  Cal took in a deep breath a out slowly, grimag a bit at the foul odor that he could practically taste.

  ‘I should ask her where she gets those dles from… Wait. She never introduced herself did she? Whatever. Leave those thoughts for aime.’

  He had already decided that tonight would be a celebration of his new life. He wao get out and see more of the city. Take in the sights, eat some good food, maybe meet some people. So Cal spent the rest of his day roaming the city. He walked around grabbing bites of food when he passed a shop or stall that mao draw him in with their smells despite the city’s efforts to mask them. When he’d seen enough or his feet got tired, he’d jump on the NCART to rex and gaze out the window as the suspended monorail carried him to a new area ripe for exploration. He wasn’t bothered by the occasional sounds of gunfire or the destitute bums that would size him up, clearly looking for an easy mark. He felt a e to the city now, and everything just seemed to add fvor to the experiehat was Night City.

  He made the rounds, stopping in almost every distrid visiting a bar here, a shop there, and a park iween. He had managed picked up a few pairs of new clothes: some used jeans and t-shirts that fit his style along with a bck button up synth-silk shirt and a matg pair of crisp scks apanied by some snazzy new dark brown syher loafers. He wasn’t trying to dress up for a job interview or anything. He just wahe new duds to look good for his night out oown.

  He had herd about a small music show that was happening at RIOT ter that night, with the people he overheard describing it as more of a dance party than a cert. It sounded like the perfect pce to let loose and maybe meet some people.

  Befoing to the show, he had to swing back by his apartment to freshen up and drop off his new purchases. He hadn’t gone crazy, but he still ended up spending around €7k on food and clothes during his romp around the city. Cal’s cept of money was currently a bit skewed, and he wasn’t sure if he had gone overboard or if that was a reasonable amount to spend for what he got out it, but he didn’t give it much thought. He didn’t have much trouble earning money for himself at the moment, and he just wao enjoy the night. Putting it out of mind, he got back to preparing for his big evening out.