14:30 IST, Fifth day, Eighth month, 3078 PV | Alpha Centauri IEC Megastation / Borealis Cruiser
I stand in the lobby of my ship, the Borealis. The light from Centauri A nearby shines brilliantly through the viewport, making the semi-metallic surfaces glimmer. I take several deep breaths of the unnaturally fresh air. As I stare around the alien ship's interior I calm my excitement at my upcoming fitting ceremony. After a brief time, I move towards the ship's airlock, which is currently docked at the Megastation.
As I enter the large airlock, I am greeted by the sight of Alex, standing dutifully against the wall, along with a group of other drones.
"Good time, Mr. Ducker, we are just about ready to disembark onto the station. However, first we must have you put on this basic exo-suit. As the intergalactic gravity standard is 2.4 times that of Earth, it would be very uncomfortable for you should you not wear this. Worry not, once you have your augmentation kit and proper exo-suit, you won't require any other suits for normal operations."
I quickly follow Alex's instructions and allow the drones to assist me in equipping the exo-suit. The suit is quite different from the more advanced version I will receive later. It seems to hang very loosely at places, they didn't custom make it for my build. Once it is secured and I have connected my link cable, I can feel my entire body get much lighter. The exo-suits primary function seems to be to effectively reduce my weight to allow me to move easier in higher gravities. Other than that it has no other special functions. The IEC really seems to have thought of every potential struggle, I guess their previous experience is making my experience all the more smooth.
Now that I have the exosuit on, Alex walks over to a console near the airlock door and does some finagling. Shortly after, the door opens and I get my first glimpse at the interior of the Megastation. It appears very sterile, almost like a hospital. Every semi-metallic (it's like somewhere between glass and steel) surface is spotless to the point of reflecting some light. This area must be custom built to ensure that we contestants don't encounter anything that could kill us.
"Mr. Ducker, if you would please follow me, I will escort you to the fitting room. Do be careful, adjusting to the exo-suit may take a while as it does not have built in compensators."
I take Alex's warning into consideration and carefully monitor my movements to ensure I do not make a fool of myself. I follow behind Alex as I am guided through a series of corridors. There are many offshoots going to who knows where in this gigantic station.
After about fifteen minutes of walking we arrive at an ornate looking door. As I approach the door it quickly opens.
"Mr. Ducker, please proceed into the room. For safety reasons I am not allowed inside with you. The system will instruct you on what to do once inside."
I quickly head into the room, shortly after the door closes and makes a sealing sound. I notice that the gravity seems to be decreasing. It is not long before I hear a voice resounding through the room.
"Welcome contestant Kovon. I am the administrator of this station, you may call me Eve. It is my honor to guide you through today's fitting ceremony and guide your ascension into a sovereign being. The gravity in this space has been adjusted to Earth-standard, please remove your exo-suit so that we may proceed."
I manage to disengage from the exosuit, it appears that it is designed to be exited without assistance. True to Eve's words, the gravity is set to 1.0g and I can still easily move. I glance around the room, it is circular, with four equally ornate doors set in the cardinal directions. Based on the size and location the space is likely used as a debriefing or preparation room, or in this case for fitting ceremonies.
"Thank you, we shall now proceed with the fitting," after Eve says this, the center of the floor opens up and a tube comes out of the floor, with one side open. "Please ensure that you remove any metallic accessories and step into the pod." Following the instructions, I remove my glasses and watch and step into the pod. The door quickly seals behind me. "Thank you, the fitting ceremony will now begin, your movement will be frozen as the machine takes your measurements, administers various drugs and installs the augmentation kit. It should be relatively painless so please remain calm."
True to the words, I can feel a strange electricity moving over every fiber of my being, almost as if I am being scanned at the subatomic level. I notice that the air also changes to possess a strangely medical taste. After a few minutes of scanning, an arm appears out of the floor holding what appears as a flat square of highly advanced tech. The arm places the plate on my forehead and it instantly molds to the shape of my forehead. I feel a tingling, almost burning, but not painfully so. After a few moments of this sensation, the plate feels like it is absorbed into my skin.
I lose consciousness. I awaken what I feel to be an hour or so later. The first thing I notice is my body. It feels completely weightless, and my movement has returned. I try to move my arm, and it effortlessly moves precisely as I intend. Next I notice my vision, my eyes seem to be far better than a normal human's. I notice several more vibrant colors and can even see the texture of the glass-like material of the pod in great detail.
Eve speaks once again, "Welcome back contestant. It is with great honor that I announce that your augmentation with the Va-Mk4 All-purpose augmentation kit has been completed. The procedure took exactly ninety six minutes and thirty two seconds to complete. There were no anomalies in the integration between the neural interface and human biology. You are likely to have noticed many changes about your body. In summary, all of your physical attributes and control have been increased by a factor of around 25. You are also immune to practically any poison or other foreign substance. Your body is now rated for optimal function in any environment up to 25 times Earth gravity. You are also safe to be in any atmosphere from 50kpa to 300kpa, as long as there is a minimum 5% oxygen present, oxygen limitations can be resolved with your exo-suit helmet. Your thermal tolerance now stretches from 25K to 2186K. You have also been equipped with the latest Vauxian brain-tech interface capable of wirelessly interfacing with many compatible devices within a certain range, or directly connecting to local networks via the device implanted in your palms. Congratulations, you are now one of the first seven humans to become a sovereign being. By intergalactic law, you are now required to follow any law in the sphere of influence wherein you currently exist. You are also granted various protections that are universal to any sovereign being. Do keep in note, this does not apply to the rest of humanity, only those who have undergone sovereignty procedures. I shall now release you from the tube, please exit and we will begin fitting for your exo-suit."
Every fiber of my body feels like it is being stimulated. I can feel everything about my physical condition, even down to the functioning of my organs. I also seem to have a basic extrasensory awareness of everything around me within a 10m radius, including all the technology that I can attempt to connect to. Of course, there is the non-substantial stuff, like the fact that I am now considered a full citizen, under protection (but also required to adhere to) of intergalactic laws. The emotions and thoughts that are running through me are truly indescribable. In summary, I have ascended to a higher level of being, one that makes the average human look like an insect.
At the instruction of Eve, I exit the tube and it quickly hides back under the floor. I notice that there is yet another tube that has risen out of the floor. I seem to inherently know that this is where I should go next, and I enter the tube. A similar procedure ensues, except it is a spherical object that is attached to the outside of my chest. Rather than being absorbed into my skin it expands to cover my body in a white skintight suit. An arm also places a pair of node devices on my temples. After the procedure is over (in just a few minutes! No blackout this time, thankfully), I step out of the pod and Eve speaks once again.
"Once again, congratulations, you are now the owner of a Vf-Mk3 Exo-suit. This suit functions as both armor, temperature management and can take various forms of stylish clothing. The nodes attached to your temples can also emulate the appearance of glasses, or expand to become a seamless helmet that will allow you to exist in inhospitable environments, or take the form of decorative headwear. After acclimating yourself, please leave through the open door and you will be taken back to your cruiser. Thank you for your cooperation, Citizen Kovon."
I take a moment to get used to the feel of this suit, most of the processing and function seems to stem from the device on my chest as I can feel that is the point where my interface connects with it. I attempt to use its clothing function to imitate the clothing I was wearing before, and without any delay it quickly morphs into the exact mental image I had. Albeit, the texture of the clothes feel a bit different, as they are made out of alien supermaterials of course. I also changed the nodes into my former glasses and put my watch back on my wrist.
I leave the room and meet up with Alex. Who congratulates me on my ascension and leads me back to the Borealis. As I enter the ship, I notice that there are wireless connectors and terminals that were previously unnoticed by me. I can wirelessly control many parts of the ship. I make my way to the bridge and interface with the previously inaccessible terminal there.
When I first initialize the connection, my brain is flooded with information regarding the current status of the ship. I am also greeted by the ship's system's voice, directly in my head.
"Welcome back captain, it appears that your fitting procedure was a success. It is my pleasure to welcome you into the ship's systems. You will find that many of the functions are locked, as they could be dangerous if not trained. Currently the only functions available are; AI rename, Navigation, Map and Net Browser (restricted)."
I open the AI rename section and am prompted to input a name for the ship's AI. Finally, it was starting to get weird calling it ship all the time. I decided to name the AI Bor, as shorthand for the ship's name, Borealis. Bor informs me that until collection at 03:30 IST, on the ninth day of the eighth month I am free to travel wherever I wish within the Sol system and enjoy the amenities provided on the Borealis. I, of course, plan to do just that. With this in mind, I set the course of the navigation for Mars orbit, Sol system, ready to enjoy what may be my last bit of freedom for a while.
End of Chapter 4
A/N: Hello, it's the author again. I just wanted to mention some things that I couldn't quite fit into the story. Namely about the intergalactic naming standards.
The classifications are broken down into several parts as such;
In the case of a general design, or one that is widely customized, such as the all-purpose drones, it will have an indicator of its purpose. Such as 'all purpose' or 'combat'. These drones may come in various actual technical differences, but it is impossible to tell their version by identification alone.
When it comes to more specific tech, like the Va-Mk4 All-purpose augmentation kit. The first capital letter (V in this case), represents the species that created it (V stands for Vaux). The second and third characters will be a letter and or number. This is a hex value representing the version of the invention. For instance, the 'a' represents the code 10, which would relate to separate documentation detailing the version. After the -, will either be the name of the specific object, or a Mkx. The 'Mkx' part of the name refers to a generation of technology. As time progresses various massive technological advancements are made, these jumps call for denotations so you can easily tell the era of the tech. In the current year 3078, Mk-4 is the current generation. And lastly there will be some form of descriptor of what it actually is.
As another example, take the Ae4-Borealis luxury cruiser for instance. The 'A' represents the race (who haven't been revealed yet), the e4 is referencing the specifications of the ship. The 'Borealis' is the specific name of the ship that Kovon possesses. Each individual is given a different name for identification purposes. The 'luxury' part represents that it is designed for luxury. Lastly, the cruiser is the size of the vessel. Cruisers for instance, are often used as transport ships within a galaxy/planets, or as mid-tier combat ships. They are usually anywhere from 50m to 150m in length, and have anywhere from one to five engines. The class of the ship also is an indicator for its hyperspace-drive capability. The cruiser class typically have drives that are capable of reaching speeds in the range of 12-24 times lightspeed (great for moving between nearby systems). Whereas a class like the intergalactic freighter are obviously much larger, and can boast top speeds in the tens of millions times the speed of light.
I hope this clarifies some of the naming, and can assist you, dear reader, in understanding the technology a bit better.
Cathrix