Recovery and Revelation
Jackie's eyelids fluttered against the iridescent haze surrounding her. The liquid in the vat shimmered, catching the overhead lights and fracturing them into a thousand spectral shards. She was suspended, cocooned in a cylinder three stories tall, encased in a protective outer shell of metal. For anyone observing, it would have seemed like she was merely floating in a sophisticated recovery vat—but inside, a quiet storm of activity was unfolding.
Her cybernetic arm hung limply at her shoulder, wires sparking as if protesting against their sudden separation. Her knee on the same side flexed oddly, metal joints grinding faintly, a whisper of mechanical protest. Her human side bore the marks of stitches, tender and fresh, a testament to the trauma her body had endured. Yet as unconscious as she seemed, a subtle choreography of nanobots—microscopic, unseen, and entirely unique—was at work. They flowed across tissue and metal, knitting, reconnecting, recalibrating, and optimizing.
BDJ's voice whispered in her mind, calm and clinical.
"System integrity restoring. Organic and cybernetic components stabilizing. Recovery sequence optimal."
Jackie's internal sensors ticked off percentages, the numbers dancing across her subconscious awareness. Arm: 43%… 78%… 97%. Knee: 51%… 89%… stabilized. She had no conscious memory of integrating nanobots into her system—this was a hidden evolution, one her body had quietly adapted over time, unknown even to her creators. But as her body aligned and her internal systems hummed with subtle energy, she began to feel the familiar tingle of something new—her ocular interface stirring, testing its limits even in this passive state.
Outside the cylinder, the metal shield began to lower with a precise hiss. Patrick's voice broke through the muted hum of the lab.
"I thought she'd be safer here. Did you verify the lab's environment before approving the test?"
Gregor's tone was sharp, exasperated.
"She's supposed to be under controlled conditions. How could she sustain that much damage?"
Patrick held up a hand, calm as ever.
"Gregor, we're gathering data. Investigating now is the proper procedure. The lab is stable, the protocols are in place. Nothing more needs to be said."
Inside the vat, Jackie's eyelids twitched. The external voices barely registered, yet her ocular system had already activated on its own, flickering to life. Red irises glowed faintly, aligning themselves with the newly evolved optical arrays. Lines of raw data scrolled across her vision, invisible to the those outside, but vivid and intricate to her mind.
BDJ noted her heightened observation.
"Ocular evolution occurring. Observation systems online. Environmental analysis in progress."
Her sensors cataloged every detail: the angle of Patrick's stance, the subtlest microexpressions in Gregor's face, even the minute fluctuations in the lab's energy output. As the nanobots finished their final repair sequences, they initiated a gentle internal pulse, adjusting her internal balance and recalibrating her prosthetic arm's neural link. She could feel the lingering pain from the mechanical clamps and the broken bones, but it was distant now—controlled, manageable.
And then, almost imperceptibly, a pattern emerged. Data streams within her ocular interface highlighted a subtle irregularity in the lab's security camera logs and drone positioning. It wasn't blatant sabotage—nothing a casual observer would notice—but to her evolving systems, it screamed premeditation.
BDJ whispered in her mind, calm yet analytical:
"Anomalous activity detected. Pattern indicates intentional placement of hazards. Probability: deliberate test scenario. Source unknown."
Jackie didn't need to know who was orchestrating it. The data was enough. Someone wanted to see how she reacted under pressure. Someone wanted to test the limits of both her human and cybernetic sides. Her mind cataloged, calculated, and adapted, parsing the scenario with a precision that was entirely her own.
Patrick's assistant entered the room, holding a sleek, metallic suit woven with nanobot fiber optics. The material shimmered, reacting to the ambient light as if alive. Patrick gestured toward it.
"The one she has is fine. She went through a lot but that suit can outlast that and more."
"After seeing what happened felt she would need a spare."
Patrick nodded. His assistant may have had a point.
Jackie's ocular interface scanned the suit, assessing its integration potential. The nanobot fibers were designed to complement her cybernetic enhancements, bridging the gap between her human muscle and her mechanical strength. Once worn, it would pull energy from her cybernetic core to bolster her natural reflexes, creating a seamless augmentation. It was identical to the one she had worn during the last test. A very good asset.
As she processed the suit's specifications, BDJ continued feeding data:
"Redundancy detected. Original suit already calibrated. Original form competely integrated. Redundancy unneeded."
Jackie's body shivered as she began to awaken fully. Her systems were alive in ways she had never experienced before. Her eye flicked toward the vat ceiling, scanning for any remaining mechanical hazards. Then her mind clicked and she remembered it was all over. Her body involuntarily shuddered again. All thr natural memory flooding back in.
She flexed her repaired arm, testing its limits. A faint spark erupted at the shoulder, and she winced as data flooded into her mind explaining the problem—a visceral reminder that her body was still in recovery and that her mental capabilities were beyond her understanding. Her knee moved smoothly now, though she could feel the faintest residual stiffness. Her human side, tender from sutures, flexed with careful precision. The nanobots inside continued their silent work, but she could feel them only as a soft hum of energy pulsing beneath her skin.
Gregor paced impatiently, unaware of the subtle monitoring being done by Jackie's ocular system.
"This isn't right," he muttered. "She should not be recovering this fast. Something… something is off."
Patrick's gaze remained calm, though his internal systems were already processing the data from the recovery sequence.
"She's fine. Her recovery rate is within acceptable limits. All systems operational. We proceed to the next phase."
And Jackie, half-conscious, half-alert, already knew the truth. Someone had set her up. Someone had wanted her to be tested under extreme conditions. The nanobots, her evolving eye, BDJ's guidance—they had carried her through, but the message was clear: she was not being handled gently. This was an evaluation.
The question was: were either Dr. Patrick McGregor, or General Gregor Thorne involved in any if this.
As the outer metal shield retracted fully Jackie was also released from her metal cocoon. The metal plates of her cocoon retracted, thinned then laid along the cybernetic tracks along her cybernetic side. They integrated into her form and all but disappeared.
BDJ's voice reflected both pride and caution:
"Stasis hub retracted fully. Systems returning to optimal levels. Some care needed during strenuous movements."
Patrick nodded at his assistant, speaking over the lab comms:
"Prepare the next test sequence. She's ready."
Gregor's eyes narrowed, suspicion deepening.
"I don't trust this. You see for yourself that she is exceptional and still feel she is better off here jumping through hoops and testing limits she can clearly surpass."
Jackie lay back for a moment, letting the nanobots finish their internal sweep. Every repair, every calibration, every subtle augmentation was complete. Her ocular system logged every flicker of light, every shift in drone position, every angle of Patrick's and Gregor's bodies. She was aware. She was alert. She was evolving. And she was ready.
BDJ's whisper, calm and almost affectionate, was her final thought as she rose from the vat. Iridescent fluid running over her body to fall back into the vat:
"Recovery complete. Subject integrity exceeds expected parameters. Observation suggests future engagement will require adaptive strategies. Probability of interference: high."
And somewhere in the lab, unseen, the first true test of Jackie Cannon—part human, part machine, and completely uncharted—had already begun.