The Optimum Project

Chapter 27

Boot up

I slipped the tube on as I realized why the general was here, I looked at him and asked, though I was pretty sure of the answer. "Your here for assurances aren't you?"

He looked at me, slightly confused, so I elaborated. "Your here to make sure your new weapon comes online with out a hitch, and so you can tell your bosses as much when we're done here."

The look on his face showed he understood that one. He paused for a moment, "Yes" he conceded.
I nodded, "I thought so, let's get this over with."

Pix typed some commands into the computer and turned around, "At first this is going to be really disorienting OK?"
He looked at me, "Part of TOM's software involves nanite integration in the hippocampus, to allow for more efficient memory recollection and storage, so you will literally see your life flash before your eyes...ready?"

I nodded and he turned around, "initiating boot up in 3...2...1" then he pressed enter.

I was five, and my father had just given me my first tool kit...

Fast forward

Now I was seven, and had won first prize in the science fair for building a 3D printer from scratch and using it to print mini statues of the judges...

Farther

Now I was 12, and sitting in the junkyard with that same tool kit from when I was five, trying to fix an old MK1; one of the first space to surface fighters ever.

Farther

Now I was in the shipping warehouse, listening to the managers conversation on the phone, "I don't care if they're not qualified, they presented the papers and their shipping credentials check out." 

No! Don't let us go! Make us change shipments! Anything!

Fast forward

I was on the Selena, looking into that shipping container, looking at the gravity well...

Again

I was in the hallway, sprinting away from the hull breach and then...

Farther

I was talking to Bree at lunch, discussing classes
Now, Sarah, while on the elevator to engineering for the first time...

Training, Bree, Sarah
Training, Bree, Sarah
Training, Bree, Sarah
Enough!!
Now I was making my way into this room, talking to Pix and General Quade, I was sitting down and putting the tube on... And Pix hit enter.

I snapped awake and lines of code began scrolling through my vision, blinking at the speed as line, after line, after line scrolled through and I finally got a grasp on how complex TOM was.

Pix started talking, "you should begin to see lines on code scroll across your vision now, that's Tom integrating with your optical cortex and the nerves connecting your eyes to your brain." I began nodding and suddenly went limp.

"And that," pix pointed out, "would be Tom integrating with your motor cortex." My body began twitching, starting from the toes and working their way up to my head and neck, it wasn't necessarily painful but I was still freaked out by not being able to control my movements. Then the twitching stopped.

"And finally," pix said expectantly, nothing began happening and I tried telling him so, "isfhs shfimr!"
He nodded, "Tom is now integrating into sections of your left hemisphere for language..."

He waited for a moment and looked at the computer, "and now for the reboot!"
That was when my head hit the table.