Chapter 69 – Upgrade – Acceleration (1)
A man lying face down on the operating table. His consciousness sinks deep beneath the surface.
Beep.
Beep.
A green vital signal moves on the monitor and a beep sound occurs regularly.
A pure white space where no matter where you look, the color is white.
It seemed like it would be difficult to take care of because even a small stain would be noticeable right away, but that was the purpose of the place.
The upper residential area where only the selected can enter.
Among them, it is an intensive care unit filled with the latest treatment equipment. Of course, we also support functional procedures other than treatment.
The only ones who can receive medical treatment here are the top VIPs, who have been further filtered out among the upper-class residents, and those who serve them are prohibited from entering.
Since Jinsu was in an irreplaceable position as a system administrator, he was allowed to use it as an exception.
Of course, what does it matter even if it is not allowed?
Artemis would have snorted and removed the access code, or created a new intensive care unit and moved the facilities to circumvent the rules.
Various medical devices come down from the ceiling and move around as if embroidering Jinsu’s spinal line.
Dozens of needle-like injectors, tweezers, cables, and other unknown devices move in harmony.
It is an orchestra composed of dozens of veteran surgeons.
The surgeons were marionettes, and the strings were held in the hands of Artemis, the conductor.
This act that she carries out would be more appropriately described as conducting rather than conducting.
Beep.
Beep.
Jinsu is currently unconscious due to the anesthetic that was injected intravenously.
Artemis manages breathing, pulse, blood pressure, and blood oxygen level through intubation in real time even while performing sophisticated implant insertion surgery.
None of Jinsu’s vital signs remained constant without any change.
Numerous injectors repeatedly penetrate and exit his skin.
In most cases, wounds were limited to a minimum as they went back in and out of holes that had already been drilled, but blood still flowed out in drops.
Geeing.
Several camera lenses on the operating table repeatedly expand and contract, watching Jinsu’s back.
One of the lenses looks at the blood flowing down his side.
A mechanical hand with sterile gauze wiped it away.
The mechanical hand that threw away the bloody gauze in the collection box carefully caressed Jinsu’s side where the blood had flowed.
In that quiet room, the two people’s time continued to pass.
* * *
It’s dazzling.
Everything shimmers with light like the sea surface bathed in morning sunlight. Where am I?
‘Are you really thinking about quitting?’
Someone standing tall among the shimmering questions asked me. It’s an old voice.
‘Yes. It is a decision made after careful consideration.’
This is my voice.
‘I’ll be honest. I can’t give it any stars. At this point, you will get an estimate. But if you’re my age, you probably have a star or two. There is no longer any need to risk your life to gain results. What we have done so far is enough.’
There was silence for a moment.
A loud sound comes from somewhere through the silence.
The sound of a group running… Familiar.
The sound of a group singing… This is also familiar to my ears.
Yes, I know this sound.
It is the sound of soldiers running and singing along the parade ground.
‘Are you still planning on quitting?’
Someone asked me again.
‘I am…’
Come to think of it, why should I quit? Isn’t it a waste of the career you risked your life to build?
Just as I was about to say I would stay,
[Return to reality ■■ Girl ■■ Yeonghae.]
I think I heard something.
[■Are you excited?]
It’s a familiar voice.
[Seo Jin-su!]
My consciousness, which had been blurry, was suddenly brought to the surface.
It’s an unfamiliar ceiling.
As soon as I open my eyes, the first thing I see is a large screen in front of the intensive care unit. This is the face of Artemis that appeared there.
“I think I dozed off, but is it already over?”
[That’s what general anesthesia is.]
Hearing her words, he reflexively put his hand behind her neck. She felt a wound so small that she couldn’t even notice it unless she was paying attention.
[Great job. The procedure was successful.]
“You are the one who worked hard. “All I did was sleep and wake up.”
Her face disappeared from the screen and my body information appeared.
It was a perspective video of the entire body, and not only the bones and internal organs, but also the genitals and testes were clearly exposed.
Implants partially inserted into the spinal cord line of the neck and back are displayed in red.
“You mean it’s inside here?”
I pressed it repeatedly, but I didn’t feel any discomfort at all. There is no pain.
It is not the type of procedure that is usually inserted after making a vertical incision in the back.
It is said to be the latest technology to drill a few tiny holes in the spinal cord and then insert segmented implant pieces into them and assemble them from the inside.
There is very little scarring, and you can resume activities immediately after the procedure.
“It’s an amazing technology.”
It is a new technology that there are less than 10 doctors in the world who can officially perform it, but Artemis has performed the role of dozens of such doctors on her own.
To be honest, I was a little scared before the procedure.
The subjects discovered at the Metacraft Lab had their neck and back spine lines mercilessly torn.
Although I didn’t bother to reveal it in front of Artemis, who boasted that a perfectly clean procedure was possible.
“It’s a bit cold.”
[It looks like that.]
The screen that showed her face was partially split to display my front view, and then my lower body, specifically the genital area, was enlarged.
Perhaps because of the cold, he was shriveled up, and the eyes of Artemis, who floated next to him, narrowed.
“Hey, lady. This is called sexual harassment!”
[We’ve already seen everything we can and can’t see, so why?]
This probably refers to taking various measurements naked during regular health checkups. Including colonoscopy.
“That is that, this is this. “Hurry up and give me some clothes.”
[Are you embarrassed?]
“A little bit.”
[… But why is it getting bigger?]
“…”
My penis, which had been dry and twisted like a mummy, was coming back to life.
[…
Silence came to the intensive care unit.
It was Artemis who first raised the flag in response to the awkwardness.
[It is best to be slightly chilly when performing this procedure.]
As she spoke, the thermometer displayed on the screen rose quickly. Accordingly, warmth came to the intensive care unit in an instant.
All sides of the room were instantly heated to the appropriate temperature, not just by a heater.
A serving robot waiting nearby brought clothes and slippers to wear.
Unlike the color white that usually comes to mind when thinking of a medical robot, it is painted in green.
This is to prevent blood spatter from scaring the patient in an emergency situation.
“Can I use acceleration now?”
[Of course, but refrain from doing so for now. Currently, the nerves connected to the implant are self-simulating ahead of operation. Exchanging signals and checking for errors that may occur.]
“I don’t feel anything?”
[There is no feeling that signals are being exchanged so minutely that the user is not aware of them. But only after that is done can it be safely activated. A kind of taming.]
“How long will it take to complete?”
[3 hours 25 minutes. However, to be safe, we recommend taking the entire day off today.]
The alarm time was sent to my PDA.
“This is my first implant surgery… I can’t believe it. “I never thought I could get something so expensive.”
[All you received was nerve enhancement surgery. It would have been better if body strengthening procedures were also performed, ]
“Wasn’t there a similar technology in Shelter? “I think there were a few strengthening procedures for workers.”
This was something I came across by chance while looking for shelter technologies after a trip to the research institute.
[The enhanced human technology I have has side effects. If not, why didn’t I tell you? It is possible to make improvements to eliminate side effects, but to do so, a test subject is needed.]
“Nonsense.”
[Right?]
Kkorok.
“Oh, I’m hungry.”
Ahead of the procedure, I have starved since yesterday evening.
[Go to Gourmand. I have prepared a course meal.]
“Thank you.”
Gourmand is a restaurant located in a cultural facility in the upper region.
After hearing some precautions after the implant procedure from Artemis, I left the intensive care unit.
* * *
After Jinsu left the room, Artemis, left alone in the intensive care unit, replayed memories from an hour ago.
For artificial intelligence like her, looking back on her past is not a flashback but a replay.
You can relive not only her vivid memories but also the sensations she felt at the time.
This is a memory of when all procedures were completed, and he had just woken up from anesthesia. Should I say it exactly when I was half awake?
[Jinsu, are you coming to your senses?]
“Didn’t you hear me?”
Jinsu had become a fool.
This is a common symptom when recovering from general anesthesia.
As the close connection of the brain’s neural network is lost due to anesthesia, the areas that affect language activities, such as the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and temporal lobe, all act independently and say nonsense.
It’s fortunate that he doesn’t remember even though he said something embarrassing.
“Where am I?”
Jinsu spoke with a stern face and voice.
He may look stupid, but from the perspective of the supercomputer Artemis, he looks like a fool both in normal times and now.
[It’s the upper intensive care unit.]
“Saangbu? Hehahaha!”
Artemis sighed instead of answering.
For her, who always maintains her cool and rational nature, it was painful to see Jinsu struggling with her medication.
Whether it was drinking alcohol or something that happened unexpectedly during medical treatment.
[Just keep your mouth shut. It’s so stupid that I feel like I’m going to be shocked when I listen to it.]
She adjusted the cameras to scan Jinsu’s physical condition and checked for any side effects from the procedure.
“Wow, your voice is so pretty.”
Stand tall.
All cameras stopped moving at once at Jinsu’s words.
“Who are you? “What is your name?”
[Artemis.]
“Wow! “The name is pretty too!”
[…
“Artemis. Artemis Ugh. “I want to keep singing forever.”
Jinsu’s smile, with his eyes crooked like a crescent moon, looked too happy to be called a simpleton.
Artemis kept her mouth shut and just listened to what Jinsu had to say.
“Face! “Please show me your face.”
Artemis quietly complied with his request.
Artemis’ neat face appeared on the screen that was displaying vital information.
Go.
Coldness.
Elegance.
Oman.
A flower that blooms from the leaves.
When Jinsu saw that, he grumbled with an even more foolish expression.
“Wow~ Wow!”
She even flailed her arms.
[You really… Look like a jerk.]
Unlike her harsh words, her voice was very warm.
“Ah, I feel sleepy for some reason. “I wanted to sleep.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, his head bobbed.
[No!]
Artemis immediately shouted.
Jinsu suddenly raised his head from sleep.
Rubbing her relaxed eyes, she looks at Artemis beyond the screen.
“Nooo?”
[No! Never! No!]
After pouring out two more words in English, she returned to Korean.
“No?”
[Talk more with me. You must never fall asleep, I will wake you up again.]
Artemis changed her mind.
It seems that the now foolish girl wants to talk to him more.
[Tell me anything.]
“Hmm!”
Jinsu’s face, worried about her head not working well, turned into something really comical.
“Are we possibly dating?”
[No.]
Artemis chuckled and answered.
She looked so disappointed that I felt like the world was falling apart at her words.
The facial expression analysis program produced surprising results showing that the frustration rate was 99%.
“So, are you a friend?”
[That’s right.]
“Oooooh!”
Jinsu in a fighting stance. This time, she came up with an expression analysis result of 95% hope.
[Ahahaha!]
Artemis laughed out loud, which was unusual for Artemis.
It was a monumental event that made her laugh out loud, but unfortunately, she will never remember Jinsu.
Afterward, the two talked a lot until the residual effects of the anesthetic completely disappeared and Jinsu came to his senses.
It was a conversation at the level of a toddler, consisting of only a few words and exclamations so brief that it was embarrassing to call it a story, but it was stored in her data bank as top-secret material.
If Jinsu orders it to be opened, it will be revealed, but since she has kept it so tightly hidden, it is unlikely that anyone will notice its existence.
The painting materials that decorated one section of the memory album.
Artemis, who was giving the title to the material, was mesmerized for a moment, truly an instant.
Her title was ‘Memories’, which was the result of her selecting the word that best suited her from her built-in dictionary of words.
At that moment, she realized.
Memories.
How heavy a meaning that one insignificant word contained.
It was a heartbreaking moment that cannot be expressed in words, even for the flawless woman.
