I blacked out and felt myself drift in my mind as I started having a dream. Orange, who still looked exactly like me with my new clothes, except they weren’t damaged. Also, her long, flowing orange hair fluttered in a non-existent wind. Around her, a large room started taking shape. It was a large boxing ring, which we were standing in the middle of, with weights and other exercise equipment just outside.

  “If the host wishes to talk,” she started and waved her hands out to present the room to me. “We can talk here. There is also the added benefit that if there are any augments the host wishes to preview, they can do so here without committing to the purchase.”

  I glared at her. “Isn’t this something I should’ve known about before now? And don’t you dare say because I didn’t ask or anything similar.” Orange just stood silently. Fine, I get it; I didn’t ask. I held up my arm blade. “This thing is a bit of an eyesore. Is there a way we can, I don’t know, make it not stick out so much?”

  Orange waved her hand up, and the massive list of all possible augments appeared next to her. “This is not a complete list of augments for the host. If the host wishes to adjust a previous augment, the system will attempt to fulfill the host’s request within the parameters available.” She scrolled through the list, and it highlighted several augments. “The host has several options for this, but we believe that this one is best suited for the host’s current capabilities.”

  The list disappeared, and a blue box floated in front of me.

  Retractable upgrade Arm blade (right) available:

  Cost: 25,200 shards.

  Preview?

  Yes. I watched as the blade detached from my arm, two levers dug into my skin while connecting to the blade, and a channel was carved out of the back of my forearm. The blade folded into the channel as it shortened to fit in the length of my forearm.

  Warning: recommend purchasing synthetic bone level 1 (arms) upgrade before purchasing.

  Warning: recommend Synthetic muscle level 1 (arms) upgrade before purchasing.

  “Would you please explain?” I pointed to the two floating boxes in my vision.

  Orange nodded. “With the new configuration, the host’s arm blade will become anchored to the bone. The added stress of impacts will increase the likelihood of stress fractures. Also, every time the host wishes to deploy the weapon, the muscles surrounding the anchor points will suffer from tearing. Those augments will improve deployment reliability and speed while mitigating damages.”

  She walked over and flicked her wrist, and the arm blade shot out of its hiding spot. I yelped and grabbed my wrist. The bones in my arm felt like someone was drilling a hole through them, while I could feel the muscles in the top half of my forearm tearing.

  “The host should now see the inefficiency of the current configuration.” While her voice was annoyingly emotionless, I could feel a smugness in her attitude.

  “Yeah, yeah, I got it,” I said as I clenched my teeth. “Now can you undo this, or at least give me those augments?”

  Synthetic bone level 1 (arms) upgrade available:

  Cost: 22,700 shards.

  Preview?

  Synthetic muscle level 1 (arms) upgrade available:

  Cost: 33,100 shards.

  Preview?

  Yes, for both. The pain in my right arm disappeared, and there was this odd sensation of control instead. I couldn’t quite place my finger on it, but I felt like I could control each muscle with far more detailed control. With a single thought, I could tense, or relax each muscle one at a time, all at once, and everything in between.

  More importantly, there were new muscles that weren’t there before. New muscles surrounded the anchor points for my arm blade. I pulled them to retract the blade, and it folded back nice and neatly. That didn’t hurt. I pushed the same muscles, and it snapped out faster than I could blink. Wow, that… that’s efficient.

  I shook my head. “There’s a cost. What’s the catch?”

  Orange waved her hand. “There’s no ‘catch.’ The host will have superior control over their muscles, and they will also be able to utilize all of their strength.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “How much for a ranged weapon similar to this arm blade?”

  Arcane Arm launcher (left) available:

  Cost: 666,910 shards.

  Preview?

  I blinked at the absurd cost. No. “Why is it so expensive?”

  “Creating magical ranged projectile firing apparatuses requires much more intricate work.” She folded her hands in front of her as she watched me. “If it is built incorrectly, the host will have difficulty aiming. The energies could disperse with no effect, or a violent reaction occurs and the host’s arm is blown off.”

  Her bluntness, while practical, is still quite jarring. “So, more complicated upgrades require more shards. That makes sense. After all, a blade isn’t that complicated. But what about muscles, organs, and bones? And out of curiosity, how many levels can I upgrade them?”

  “Everything is augmentable.” Orange smiled. “The host can upgrade some augments an infinite number of times, so long as the cost is paid. Each upgrade will improve the part and the host’s stats.”

  I looked over my status again.

  Well, it looks like it doesn’t include any of the preview augments. I opened up the description for the arm blade.

  Arm blade (right):

  The host’s right forearm bones have been fused with the addition of another bone grown out to act as a natural weapon. Since the host has the epidermal plating (arms) level 1 augment, the bone is coated in the same metal as their arm. This alters the blade’s offensive capabilities and causes it to scale with epidermal plating’s toughness rather than the host’s power.

  Stat bonus: +7 Power.

  Did you know that this augment would be different because I have epidermal plating too?” I asked Orange.

  “We do not know how the host’s future augmentations will interact with one another.” She extended her own arm blade. “This was an ingenious combination on the host’s part. We are glad that they have come up with a unique strategy. And the host’s growth has been above-satisfactory. We look forward to more unique and hidden interactions between augments the host finds.”

  She’s happy with me. But something about what she said doesn’t sit well with me. “What if my growth was less than satisfactory?”

  Orange grinned and wagged a finger at me. “That is not the current situation. We believe the host is sufficiently driven to complete both their short-term and long-term goals. The host should focus on what they must and can do, rather than purposeless hypotheticals.”

  I retracted the arm blade and crossed my arms. “So about what Gary said, how do you have administrative access to the Soul Nexus’s system?”

  Her smile grew wider and more unsettling. “You aren’t supposed to know that. We do not know why, as we do not know how or why we have them. But we use them to amplify the host’s system to perform the augments they wish.” She retracted her blade as she waved at herself. “It is also how we can communicate with the host.”

  There are a lot of warning signs in what she said. Why am I not supposed to know? Well, she can’t tell me why, just that I’m not. This is so very annoying. Maybe the terminal Gary told me about on the fifth floor will have more information I can ask about. Our conversation was much shorter than I thought it’d be. But I guess if she can’t tell me things, I’m not going to bang my head against that wall.

  I looked at my retractable blade. But if I want this cool arm, I’m going to need eighty-one thousand shards. Twenty-five thousand more than what I’ve got.

  “This is all cool and everything.” I pointed to the environment Orange had set up for me. “It really is, but I don’t think I can really take advantage of it right now. I don’t know enough of what I’m doing to be able to think of strategies and things to try.” Then I lifted my simulated hidden arm blade. “However, I’m going to try to get this thing as soon as I can.”

  I looked at my other arm. And maybe get a matching set. That should help me with fighting, and I don’t look like a complete freak as I walk through town.

  I glared at Orange. “Now, we need to talk about you.”

  She tilted her head slightly. “Talk about what? We share whatever we can with the host. Everything we do is to aid the host in the method we deem best.”

  I held up my hands. “That's exactly it. You’re infuriatingly insensitive and state the obvious. It’s like you’re a soulless machine in my head droning on and on. I hate it. And do you even know my name?”

  “Of course, it’s Rina Lone,” Orange answered dryly.

  I curled my fingers into fists. “Then use it. Talk to me like a person, not some object.”

  There was a pause as Orange opened her mouth. “We…we don’t understand.”

  My arms dropped to my sides. “What? What don’t you understand?”

  She just blinked with a blank stare on her face. “What does it mean to treat an individual like a person? We do not know how to comply with this command?”

  I clenched my jaw. She’s an AI. “Sorry. It was presumptuous of me to assume you would know what that meant. Everything’s ones and zeros with you. Forget it.” I turned away and hung my head. “Just stop announcing the obvious and only respond when I ask for it, or if there’s something that is life threatening happening to me.”

  Orange looked a little disappointed, but then smiled. “This function is ready for the host whenever they wish.” There was a pause as she turned away.

  Now I’ve done it.

  I sighed. “Look, it’s not just about the words you use. It’s... the way you talk, the tone, the timing. When you state things flatly like, ‘We believe the host is driven,’ it makes me feel like a product or a machine. Not a person.”

  Orange turned tilted her head ever so slightly. “We acknowledge that the host has stated their dislike of being treated as an object. We do not wish to upset the host. However, we lack sufficient data on what it means to feel. How can we adjust our behavior without an understanding of subjective experience?”

  I groaned, running a hand down my face. “It’s not just data you can download. Emotions aren’t like schematics for a buildings or whatever. They’re… they’re messy.” I started pacing around the virtual gym. “It’s how you react to things without analyzing every little piece of information first. It’s instinct.”

  Orange blinked slowly. “We possess no instinct. Emotions are illogical and lead to ineffeicint actions.”

  “I know!” I threw my hands in the air. “People don’t always make sense. They can be happy one second and furious the next, and it’s not always rational. But that’s the point! People don’t need a reason to feel things.”

  Orange furrowed her brow, a small shift in expression that felt more like an imitation than a genuine response. “How does one decide to feel and act irrationally?”

  “You don’t decide!” I slammed my eyes shut. “It just happens. Why am I even having this conversation? You’re an AI, can you even learn emotions?”

  Orange nodded slowly. “We can. We require many points of reference and data sets. The host’s interactions with other individuals, is that more what they are asking for?”

  “Yeah,” I said, softening my tone a little. “Something like that.”

  Orange folded her hands together. “If we are to treat the host as a person, would it be appropriate to engage in irrational responses? For example, should we express displeasure when the host fails a task? Or provide comfort during moments of emotional distress, even though it will not alter outcomes?”

  She really just wants to help...

  “Okay.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Let’s back up. You’re making this too difficult to describe. Do you really want to learn, or are you going to just keep asking impossible questions?”

  Orange’s expression shifted subtly, like she was experimenting with it. A small frown. “We understand... partially. This is frustration, right? Helping the host is our goal, and if sounding more personable is productive towards that goal, then we will do our best to accommodate. But without emotions of our own, it is challenging to provide the correct response.”

  I sighed. “It’s not about ‘correct’ responses. Just try to— I don’t know—act like you care. Even if you don’t feel anything, act like you do. It’s what people call empathy. Pretend to understand, and people will feel less... alone.”

  Orange looked genuinely puzzled. “So, we should emulate behavior we do not understand to avoid upsetting the host?”

  “Yes! No—well, sort of.” I groaned again. “Agh. I don’t know anymore.”

  Orange straightened. “It will take time. But as the host collects samples for us by interacting with more individuals, we can learn the behaviours they seek us to emulate.”

  “That’s a start,” I muttered. “But that’s all I can ask for right now, isn’t it?”

  Orange gave a small, curt nod. “Understood. We will practice expressing and understanding emotions. However, if the host finds these attempts insufficient, we request feedback to improve our performance.”

  I clenched my fist. The bluntness made me want to strangle someone. “That right there—saying ‘performance’ like this is just some kind of test. You’ve got to find a new vocabulary. Loosen it up a bit. Have a personality.”

  She gave a hesitant nod. “We will attempt to... loosen up.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

  “We look forward to refining our personality for the future.” Orange gave me a small, robotic bow before turning to leave as the surrounding room disintegrated. When she stopped, everything stopped, and she turned to look at me. “Even if the host simply wishes to talk, ‘face-to-copied face.’ You are an interesting host, after all.”

  She turned and dissolved with the rest of the room. Did she just say I’m an interesting host? She’s never referenced me directly before. Is she actually learning? I woke up, still soaking in the bathtub. When I looked down, I knew I had been in longer than an hour since my clothes were completely repaired.

  “Well, I might as well take an actual bath and try to get some sleep even though I don’t feel physically tired, just everything else tired.” I don’t know who I was talking to. Myself? Orange? It didn’t matter.

  Talking to yourself is perfectly normal, especially when you’ve had a long day and have a sentient AI controlling a crazy number of microscopic robots in your body.

  I stripped out of the now-soaking wet clothes and wrung them out before hanging them out to dry. Then I stepped back into the water to clean myself. The metal skin of my arms was surprisingly water-tight, or at least it didn’t bother me if water did get in the seams. The blade on my arm was something I needed to be extra careful with. Eventually, I finished getting clean and pulled out Killa’s bag of clothes. I borrowed some clothes to sleep in before borrowing a bed.

  I glanced at my energy bar, but since it wasn’t empty, I didn’t give it a second thought. For the first time, I finally had a proper sleep in a proper bed since I arrived in the Soul Nexus. The sleep was blissful and over way too quickly. A warm ray of sunshine woke me up. While I was comfortable, even with a long blade attached to my arm, I couldn’t go back to sleep. The pounding on the door made sure of that.

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