"Veridian never—I mean, never—cooks for anyone but me, okay?" Cristina said, a playful, sarcastic edge to her voice. I just nodded, already used to her antics.
"Seriously, where did you even learn to do that? It's not like we have a 'cooking protocol" she teased, bumping my shoulder.
"Well, it felt natural," I replied honestly, but Cristina just gave me a long, weird look, like I'd just confessed to being an alien.
"Right. Well, maybe tomorrow we should train," she said, which took me completely by surprise.
"Train me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep, train you. Don't worry, I've got a combat simulator back at my apartment. I can show it to you tomorrow," she said, her eyes shining with anticipation.
"Yeah, sure," I agreed, my gaze drifting out the window as we drove through the bustling, chrome-lined streets. The world outside looked like a thousand sci-fi movies rolled into one.
As we returned to her apartment, Cristina immediately headed for her room and came back holding something that looked like a sleek, high-tech VR headset.
"Okay, here. Wear this, and you can begin your training," she said, handing me the device.
"Alright," I replied, taking the headset and placing it over my eyes. It was light and comfortable.
"Okay, I'll load the training program now," she said, inserting a small chip into a slot on the side of the headset.
"Just lay down. It should work in a second," she instructed, gesturing to the floor. As I lay back, my surroundings abruptly shifted. The sight of Cristina's ceiling was replaced by the stark, metallic gray of an open-air gun range.
[ Okay, I'm here ] Her voice, now filtered and digitized, alerted me through the headset.
[ Okay, do you see that weapon? ] she asked, as my eyes landed on a futuristic-looking pulse rifle resting on a rack.
"Yes," I confirmed.
[ Okay, pick it up and head here ] A glowing green marker appeared in my field of vision.
I grabbed the rifle it felt surprisingly real and followed the marker to a firing position on the range.
"Okay, what's next?" I asked.
[ Alright. You already have the basic combat data downloaded, but you still need skill. Practical application is better than just downloading it, ] she explained, then gestured with her voice. [ Okay, aim for one of those dummies. ]
I raised the gun, sighted a human-shaped drone, and fired. The dummy fell, immediately dissolved into light, and reappeared in the same spot, ready for the next shot.
[ Just continue that. I'll bring you to the next stage after you've built some muscle memory, ] she said before her presence seemed to withdraw.
I settled into the rhythm of firing, swapping the pulse rifle for a pistol, then a shotgun, and finally a heavy weapon. I knew how to use them the basic data was there but I felt more like a rookie out of basic training than an experienced soldier. After a long while, a system notification flashed in my vision.
[ Basic Weapons Training Lv 2 ]
"Nice," I muttered, reading the upgrade.
[ Okay, let's move on to the next stage, ] Cristina's voice returned just as the environment dissolved and reformed into a sprawling, realistic military base.
[ Okay, you should be able to handle this training course. Get to it! ] she ordered, and an elaborate obstacle course materialized before me.
"Alright, let's do this," I said, a grin stretching across my face. I ran, jumped, climbed, and crawled through the course. When I finally collapsed onto the synthetic dirt, gasping, I felt only the exhilaration of a good workout, not exhaustion.
"Lucky I don't get tired easily," I said, laying flat on the ground.
[ Basic Military Training Lv 2 ]
Another notification flashed. I couldn't help but grin wider.
[ Oh, you're finally done. Okay, this is enough for today, ] she said. Suddenly, the headset was gently removed, and Cristina's concerned face swam into view.
"You good?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm good," I nodded.
"You hungry?"
"Yeah, I could eat."
"But your cooking, alright?" she giggled.
"Sure. Just get me the ingredients and equipment I need to cook," I said, and she nodded, already heading for the door.
Cristina left to buy ingredients, and I was instantly, intensely bored.
"Ugh, there's nothing to do," I groaned, throwing myself onto the couch. "I should have gone with her."
My eyes wandered over to Cristina's computer. "Hmm... Does the internet exist here?" I wondered. I walked over to the desk. Computers really never change, even in the future, I thought, noticing the familiar power switch.
I opened the computer. The network here wasn't called the internet—it was the Galaxynet.
"Seems mostly the same," I murmured, "but with some very weird things on it." I scrolled past search results for "merc job videos" and "how to get guns for free."
Then, a familiar title caught my eye
[ 100 days in a water planet ]
"Dang, a '100 days' video... that takes me back," I said, a ghost of a memory flickering in my mind, before continuing my search.
A more serious, prominent result appeared: "Videos about the AI War?"
"Let me check this," I clicked, and a video player popped up. The grainy, first-person footage showed a soldier in futuristic armor.
"Yo, John, got a cig?" the person recording asked a fellow soldier.
"No, sorry. Smoked it earlier," John replied.
"Fine," the first soldier grumbled.
I quickly skipped forward, past the mundane chatter, to the part that showed the war.
"Hey! John! Where are you, man!" the soldier screamed into the chaos. Then, the camera saw it: an automaton wearing clothes identical to mine, but colored in blood red, plunging a plasma sword into a human's chest.
"You clanker!" the soldier screamed, firing his weapon. The bullets simply bounced off the automaton's crimson armor.
"Pathetic human," the automaton hissed. A shoulder-mounted cannon unfolded and fired, and the video feed immediately cut out.
"...Why didn't I feel anything? Not even a twinge that multiple people just died," I whispered, the unsettling realization that my emotions were suppressed chilling me more than the violence itself.
"I think a good rest can solve this," I decided, pushing the computer away. I closed the Galaxynet, walked back to the couch, and laid down to sleep.