Chapter 108 – Upgrade – Nectar
[Let me introduce.]
A new implant is in front of me.
[Implant-Nectaya.]
Nectar is a drink served at the banquet of the gods in Greek mythology. It is said to grant humans power and immortality.
However, if a human becomes a god by drinking nectar, he or she must consume it regularly to maintain godhood.
“Will this replace my blood production from now on?”
[That’s right. It’s too cumbersome to administer it every time.]
Nectar, reborn in the 21st century of efficiency, lasts forever.
“I feel strange.”
It is quite different from when you are about to have an accelerated implant procedure.
[Is there anything you don’t like?]
“Rather than saying I don’t like it.”
It seems she anticipated my reaction.
[Let me see, shall I guess?]
A realistic 3D image appeared on the screen in front.
A ship can be seen anchored at the dock against the backdrop of the wavy sea.
It is a galley composed of stylish sails, a sturdy wooden hull that can withstand rough seas, and numerous oars.
I was boarding that ship. I’m wearing an ancient Greek costume and sandals, and it suits me quite well.
In the video, I am standing in the middle of the plank that connects the dock and the ship, looking this way.
I realized the cause of my discomfort and what she wanted to say.
“Ship of Theseus.”
[Correct answer.]
If rotten planks, torn sails, etc. Are you replaced one by one for maintenance during a rough voyage, the day will come when all parts will be replaced.
In that case, can we really assume that the ship is the same as the early ship?
The ship of Theseus has appeared as a story element in numerous philosophical debates and popular media. I am standing at the beginning.
“The acceleration implant I received previously didn’t have much resistance. That was because it was assisting my neural network, not replacing it. But this one.”
Fundamentally different.
In a way, blood, which is much more meaningful than limbs, is replaced by something completely different.
[It’s okay to be honest. Are you afraid?]
Artemis’ voice was kind.
“I don’t know. No, I think it’s right to be afraid.”
I don’t know the exact extent of my fear. I have no idea how I will feel when this procedure is completed.
[It’s not just blood. As we complete future expeditions and gain technology, it will be reflected on your body. The blood and flesh you originally had will gradually decrease.]
“Blood and flesh are shrinking. That’s a bit scary, isn’t it?”
Artemis prefers direct expressions.
I’m not the type to hold a syringe in front of a crying child and say, ‘It doesn’t really hurt.’
It is the type that clearly announces the quantitatively measured value of pain and inserts a needle.
[Your body is already replacing over 300 billion cells per day on average. Newly born cells replace dead cells. More than 80% of them are blood cells. The blood you hesitate to replace is the part that is most easily replaced.]
Artemis seems to be aiming to change the perception of blood itself.
“But after all, it’s me who creates that blood, right? To be exact, it is made from my body and the organs I was born with.”
I shrugged.
“Now I’m on the verge of getting it out of my body.”
[Good. So let’s think about it this way. Depending on how you calculate it, it can take as little as 3 months to as long as 18 months. Did you know that 100% of your body will be replaced in that time?]
“I vaguely thought that everything would be replaced, but I didn’t know that the cycle would be that fast.”
Even so, there is no change in the fact that in the end, what creates new parts of my body are my own organs that I originally had.
[Do you love your parents?]
He suddenly asks me something out of the blue.
“Parents whose faces you don’t even know? Do you love the person who abandoned you in front of the orphanage when you were a newborn?”
Not at all. Even while the world was ruined, I never once thought about the fate of my parents.
[Okay. I don’t love you. Beyond not loving, they harbor 68.1% indifference and 31.9% anger.]
Although I didn’t clearly answer Artemis’ question, she seemed to have already gotten the answer just from my tone of voice, facial expression, and other physical reactions.
[Unless you love them and therefore give meaning to the physical inheritance they have passed on to you. All that’s left is your mind. The memories, thoughts, and beliefs you have. Even if you exchange it for an artificial body, they will never change.]
She spoke the truth.
[A transformation of the body that occurs naturally even when left alone. It’s a question of who to partner with in the process.]
Artemis paused for a moment.
Despite her amazing processing ability, it’s as if she’s trying to refine her words by mulling over them because it’s her most important passage.
[From now on, I will be the one filling your body with new flesh and blood. It’s not the genes of parents who don’t know your name or face, and who never loved you. Couldn’t you think like that?]
Artemis appeared on the ship on the screen.
She was sitting on a mast fluttering in the wind, looking down at me in the video.
Instead of her usual stylish clothes and white research gown, she was shaking her feet in Greek women’s clothing and sandals, just like me.
[You are reborn every moment from my touch. To a healthier, better being.]
In her video, I also looked up at her and her avatar made eye contact.
[In some ways we are both like ships. You are a ship made of flesh to carry genetic information. I am a ship made of inorganic materials to carry science.]
In the video, she jumps off the mast and lands at the entrance of her ship.
[There will come a day when I too will be replaced with more advanced hardware. But the inside will remain the same. It will be the same for you too.]
Artemis reached out her hand to me, who was hesitating in the middle of the bridge.
[Let’s go together.]
Beautiful voice as always.
But there was something special in the sound of that voice.
An idea that has never been expressed in her voice since she was born.
It was a temptation.
The image of the ship disappeared and her face appeared. An expression I’ve never seen before appears on her face.
[Come with me.]
I was mistaken about something.
Artemis wasn’t trying to convince me to get the procedure.
She started this conversation with the intention of seducing me.
“…”
At this moment, I am philosophically concerned about expeditions, battles with infectious agents, parents whose names and faces I do not know, and my own continuity.
Nothing was in my head.
How could I refuse?
* * *
The procedure was completed successfully.
After the implant settles inside me, it creates advanced blood and supplies and circulates it throughout my body.
[How do you feel?]
Artemis asked.
“It’s terrible.”
This is my honest feeling.
“There’s no way I’m feeling well when I have close to 10 tubes stuck in my body.”
I am in the process of an exchange transfusion with blood transfusion tubes plugged into various parts of my upper body.
Half of the tube is pumping out blood, and half is supplying blood.
The blood that is expelled is the blood that caused an abnormal reaction.
Conversely, the blood coming in is a replica of my blood created through technology obtained from Bloodtech.
This implant is a procedure that fundamentally repairs the production and circulation of blood.
I replaced it and that’s it! And it can’t just end.
Even when the neural network was improved during the acceleration implant, I had trouble sleeping for a while due to overly activated nerves.
Just like that, you have to go through a painful adjustment period.
[It may be painful, but bear with it. The benefits that can be gained when advanced blood settles down are enormous.]
As she said, there are more than just one or two body strengthening factors that will be gained after the procedure.
The first thing to note is endurance.
In the future, I will be able to run for as long as a marathon runner at the speed of a sprinter.
Coagulation and hemostasis, which occur within seconds after injury, cannot be left out.
Although it is unlikely to be experienced during ground activities, it is also resistant to blackout and redout phenomena that occur due to rapid concentration of blood.
Since the implant itself contains various nerve drugs, it is possible to immediately prescribe necessary ingredients to the body during combat.
When you have suffered a serious injury and the pain is preventing you from moving, you can block the pain by putting painkillers in your bloodstream.
[Blood-based infectious diseases can also be blocked at the source.]
Artemis showed the microscope image.
It was a video of pollutants trying to invade normal cells being torn apart.
“Will we be safe from infectious agents?”
[What you are watching now is the infectious agent reaction test video. I tried to force their body tissues and normal cells containing advanced blood to react. The result is complete immunity as you saw.]
From then on it was a time of patience.
This is because discordant blood is produced every moment, and this unpleasant sensation of blood being replaced throughout the body has been tormenting me.
This is not pain, so it cannot be solved with painkillers.
In this situation, I needed to be able to divert my mind and focus even for a moment.
Immediately, AI girls stepped forward.
What Chrollo has prepared is herb therapy.
“Drink up plenty.”
As I entered the herb garden she managed, she placed a bundle of herbs she had grown and assembled right in front of my nose.
A firework of scent exploded in my nose. It almost makes you think you smell with your brain, not your nose.
I picture a flower field in full bloom, bees rolling around in the flowers, spreading yellow pollen all over their bodies, and the warm sun pouring down on them.
Did you say that painkillers relieve physical pain but not mental discomfort? The scent was doing it.
The discomfort caused by blood that causes adverse reactions. I couldn’t mute it, but I was turning it down to the lowest volume.
What used to be a terrible unpleasantness, like scratching on a blackboard, was now nothing more than the buzzing of a bee.
“Thank you. It’s much better.”
Before we knew it, Chrollo was holding a basket full of fresh herbs.
She looks at me lovingly and sadly at the same time.
“Put this next to your head when you sleep. “It will help you sleep today.”
I hugged Chrollo tightly. She also hugged me carefully, avoiding the tubes stuck in various parts of my body.
Kids greeted me.
[Welcome, Administrator. Are you suffering a lot?]
What she prepared was an edited video of the lives of shelter residents.
[We have collected interesting events that have occurred among residents.]
Images of people working at a hydroponic cultivation facility, exercising together, or chatting in the park passed by.
However, they were each experiencing one problem at a time.
Maybe you spill it on your own while trying to water your crops, or get hit in the face while playing ball, or accidentally spill food on your shirt.
Really minor mistakes, and the laughs that come from them.
But now, the comical scenes that occur in everyday life that we thought were lost forever. It was contained in its entirety.
Everything was so normal. At one point, I stared blankly, forgetting about the unpleasant flow of blood moving through my body.
It felt like I had been transported to a world where everything was normal before the infection war.
I looked at the kids in silence.
[Oh, you shouldn’t look at me… Then you’ll lose concentration, right? The pain comes back again.]
I patted Kids’ head.
She stayed calm.
What Rose prepared was hunting in a VR simulation.
Since I couldn’t move much during an exchange transfusion, she invited me to cyberspace.
This is the border between the savanna grassland and the forest.
Birds are chirping, leaves are shaking in the wind, and the cries of wild beasts can be heard faintly in the distance. No matter where you look, it is full of greenery.
Even in the middle of this beautiful nature, Rose approached me wearing a suit, black stockings, and black shoes.
Let’s go.
The sound of rustling twigs echoes in her footsteps.
“Take it.”
Rose handed me a hunting gun.
Crash.
“It’s a bolt action?”
It’s a bit awkward since I’ve only been shooting in rapid succession while on expeditions.
“Because automatic weapons are against the law when hunting.”
She smiled.
I followed her lead and crossed the dense forest.
While crossing the stream, I found crayfish hiding under mossy rocks, and chased the footprints of a thirsty deer there.
“Here.”
Guided by Rose’s hand, she hid her body in the bushes. There is a herd of deer leisurely grazing beyond.
“They haven’t noticed us yet.”
It took quite a bit of patience to look from Rose’s stocking thighs, which were almost bursting from squatting, to her herd of deer.
Adventures in nature were both thrilling and enjoyable. I ended her VR, promising Rose that I would join her on her hunt next time.
[There is something you need to see.]
Lastly, Artemis showed us the most special thing.
It is a glass tube that stands vertically at an angle. A transparent glass tube that can fit about two people.
About 70% of it was filled with red blood.
“What is this?”
[It’s blood as you see it. To be exact, advanced sebum similar to that flowing in your body.]
Artemis said.
“A copy of my blood?”
[It was made based on your blood. However, there are too many changes to call it a replica.]
The blood inside the glass tube began to ripple at some point.
It slowly moved on its own, as if defying gravity, and took on a shape similar to a human.
It was just a condensation of red blood, but it clearly imitated the appearance of a human.
To be exact, it is the shape of a woman.
Waist-length hair, voluptuous breasts, a slim waist and popping buttocks, and thighs and legs that are artistically sculpted from the buttocks.
I know this shape.
It’s just a lump of blood with no skin, bones, nerve tissue, anything.
But the shape of the hair it imitates, the size and shape of the beautiful breasts.
That alone is enough.
There is no way I would not recognize that outline, having seen it a hundred times over on all kinds of screens, monitors, and holograms since entering the shelter.
“It’s you. Artemis…”
I could hear her laughing.
