Walking back, the city felt different. Before, it was a chaotic jungle; now, a living schematic. I saw the flaws in a traffic light controller, the inefficient power lines, and decaying insulators—everything was an open book.
The knowledge from Dr. Thorne wasn't just a collection of facts; it was a new language, and suddenly, the entire city was speaking to me. This newfound clarity made returning to my apartment unbearable.
"This won't work," I said aloud. "I have the mind of a master engineer and the workshop of a starving artist. We need a secure location. A base."
Using my cheap tablet, Raphael sifted through terabytes of municipal data, pinpointing the perfect location: a defunct metal fabrication shop in a Red Hook warehouse complex. It was forgotten, secure, and most importantly, had a 3-phase, 480-volt power hookup.
"Can you... do that? I have the programming skills now, but forging a modern, digitally-linked identity from scratch? That's a whole different level."
"Permission? For what?"
The suggestion was so unexpected it took me a moment to process. "You mean... you want to take control of my body?"
The idea was both terrifying and exhilarating. "Okay," I breathed. "Do it."
The sensation was indescribable. Not a violent takeover, but a gentle 'hand-off.' My consciousness receded, a passenger in my own body. A cool, calm precision settled over me as my Raphael-piloted fingers hovered over the tablet's keyboard.
A chime echoed in my mind.
[Through assisted action, the Skill 'Digital Infiltration (Adept)' has been created!]
[Through assisted action, the Skill 'Data Forgery (Adept)' has been created!]
My hands moved with inhuman speed across the tablet. Code flashed. Backdoors opened into municipal servers. Birth records, social security, DMV—all subtly altered. I watched, mesmerized, as Raphael built a fictitious but verifiable digital life for Alexander Sterling.
After ten minutes of frantic, silent activity, my hands stopped. Control seeped back into my limbs, leaving a strange tingling in my fingertips.
"Wow," I said, flexing my fingers. They felt like my own again, but the memory of their impossible speed lingered. "So I'm a master hacker now?"
I leaned back against the brick wall, a wide grin spreading across my face. The sheer competence was intoxicating. "So, what you're saying is, I need a brilliant, beautiful professor to show me the ropes?"
There was a half-second pause.
The comeback was so sharp, so unexpected, that a genuine laugh burst out of me, echoing in the empty garage. My face grew warm. "Caught me," I admitted. "Guess I need more practice."
The next day, I stood before a balding, harried-looking man named Henderson, the property manager. My heart was a frantic bird beating against my ribs. This was my first real-world test of the new me, and the old, timid Alex was screaming to be let out.
"Okay, Raphael, I'm ready," I thought, trying to project a confidence I absolutely did not feel.
I consciously uncrossed my arms and met the man's gaze. "Mr. Henderson? Alexander Sterling. Thanks for meeting me."
"Yeah, yeah, the garage unit," he grunted, barely looking up from his phone. "Look, it is what it is. Old, drafty. Power works. First month, last month, security deposit. Cash. Take it or leave it."
Following her lead, I gave my practiced line. "Just looking for a quiet place to work on my... custom electronics projects. Restoring old radios, that sort of thing. The power hookup is perfect for my testing equipment."
Henderson unimpressed. "Whatever. The price is the price."
I took a breath. "I can do first and last," I said, my voice firmer than I expected. "But I'm a bit concerned about the wiring in a place this old. How about I waive the security deposit, and in exchange, I'll handle any minor electrical maintenance myself? Saves you the headache of calling an electrician for a blown fuse."
Henderson actually looked up from his phone, a flicker of interest in his eyes. He was considering it.
"And I noticed some water damage up there," I said, gesturing to the stain. "I work with sensitive equipment, so I'd need to seal that myself. That's an out-of-pocket expense for me right off the bat."
And that's when it happened. A switch flipped. I wasn't just repeating lines anymore. I saw the entire negotiation laid out before me like a schematic—his position, my leverage, the optimal outcome. The timid Alex was gone, replaced by someone who understood the flow of the conversation.
'Raphael,' I thought, cutting her off. 'Let me handle this.'
There was a half-second pause, a moment of pure, silent processing. Then, her mental voice returned, filled with something I could only describe as pride.
I looked Henderson straight in the eye. "Look, I'll make this easy for you. I'll pay you three months upfront, in cash, right now. No security deposit. You get a guaranteed tenant who won't bother you and can fix his own wiring. I get a workshop. We both walk away happy."
Henderson stared at me for a long moment, the gears turning in his head. The offer of a lump sum of guaranteed cash was a powerful lure for a man who clearly hated his job.
"Fine," he said, finally extending a hand. "You got a deal, kid."
As we shook, a profound sense of accomplishment washed over me. I had done it. Not Raphael, not the system. I had done it.
Later that evening, I stood in the center of my new domain. The vast, empty space echoed with the drip of a leaky pipe. It was a cold, concrete box filled with shadows and the ghosts of forgotten industry. But it was mine. It was secure. It was my mancave.
"That was... exhilarating," I admitted to the silence.
"Couldn't have done it without my brilliant professor showing me the ropes," I said, a wide, genuine grin spreading across my face.
"Maybe," I laughed, the sound echoing in my new base. "A student's gotta try, right?"
I pulled out the tablet. On the screen, I opened a fresh design file. "Let's design a server. A quantum-encrypted, self-contained, untraceable network hub that would make S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best techs weep."
The Digital Ghost was finally getting a home. And the person building it was no longer the meek, timid man who had woken up in this world.