Chapter 13: Into the Cybersystem
Seitamashii Daikou Kojuro is working over a computer, inputting his findings regarding the new network that has been introduced from Electopia. They have called it the Cybersystem, and Daikou is tasked by the Council to do research and backwards engineering of the system in order to rebuild Seikuu's networks.
The Cybersystem hardly changed in terms of the network's architecture when compared to pre-network collapse. There is a distinct difference in navigation, however, due to the absence of Navis caused by the network collapse. In order to make up for the absence of Navis and the corresponding PETs, a device called cyberband has been introduced in conjunction of this new network. The standard production type resembles a bracelet that is worn around the wrist. Battlechips have been replaced with new chips known as datasilvers, coin-like chips that hold data for storage before inputting them into the cyberband. Program customizers are replaced with adaptor bits, compact data holders that can upload customizable parameters and effects to the cyberband.
With Daikou's authorization, Ryuu was brought along to a special facility within the Academy. The room is filled with various servers, with a seat slightly similar to the one used by Jyagatsu located in the middle.
"Place him on the seat, I will handle it from here..." Daikou requested of the medical staff as they set him on the chair and made their leave. Placing an eyepiece over Ryuu's eyes, Daikou proceeded to the control deck and proceeded with the preparations.
When the cyberband is activated, it is not only the person's consciousness that gets sent into the Cybersystem. The entire individual is transformed into data with a particular form dependent on the individual's preferences, characteristics, and personality. No one individual have the same form in the Cybersystem, just like they are different in the real world. This form that people assume within the Cybersystem is known as the cyberself.
The cyberself usually behaves the same way as a normal body does, at least the presently available form of cyberself available for use. Since all cyberselves are humanoid in form, there is no difference in moving when compared to the body in a real world counterpart. One can still feel pain when assuming a cyberself, but any damage received in the Cybersystem does not carry over to the real world. In the event that a cyberself does receive a supposedly fatal damage, the cyberband's failsafe system automatically logs the individual back to the real world. One should note however that individuals who have undergone this sudden ejection experience temporary nausea and exhaustion.
Sitting on the control deck of the room a little off to the side, Daikou then started on getting things working. Inputting various data and initializing the system, the doctor proceeded on the operation to help Ryuu snap out of his shock. The machine Ryuu is on hummed to life, glowing brightly as power flows through its wires. The eyepiece that Ryuu is wearing started glowing as well, and soon, even Ryuu started to glow, and soon disappeared from sight.
Seeing Ryuu disappear from the device, Daikou turned his attention to the monitor on the control deck so that he could keep in touch with the youth.
Ryuu could feel his body being flung through the networks at high speeds, yet his body does not seem to be feeling any negative effects from it. In fact, he did not have any body to speak of yet, appearing as a featureless sphere within the network server.
"W, where am I...?" Ryuu wondered as he looked around and somehow found the sight around him familiar, "Is this the network...?"
Ryuu's attention then turned to himself. He was surprised to find himself without a body to speak of. There are no arms or legs; there is no discernable body form. Ryuu started to panic when Daikou's voice finally spoke.
"I see you finally came to your senses, Ryuu," Daikou spoke through the network, as a monitor appeared beside the sphere that is Ryuu, "You had people worried that you will never come to again."
"How long was it...? Since I was in shock?" Ryuu asked, not having realized how long he was out of himself.
"Four months at the most, since you last collapsed from loss of blood," Daikou responded with a shrug before continuing on, "Do you really think that Gaius would want you stay like that for the rest of your life?"
"N, no..." Ryuu replied, looking down the network's floor. The thought of that moment came back to him, when Gaius last vanished. His Navi had a content smile on his face before he was claimed by the collapse.
"Then shape up, Ryuu, the network is not completely lost yet," Daikou added as he looked at Ryuu's present form, "This is the Cybersystem now, and you can have a chance to get back at whoever is responsible with the network collapse."
"What do you mean, Daikou-sensei?" Ryuu asked, as he then looked straight at his mentor. His sadness has finally abated, and he is ready to continue on.
"The findings are not necessarily accurate..." Daikou responded as he continues to check on the data he received about the incident, "But sources are all pointing to one faction responsible for the network collapse, and the said faction made no attempt to deny the accusations. In fact, they are claiming that they are behind the network collapse."
"What group would plan to do something like that?" Ryuu asked defiantly as he tries to figure out how to move in his current form, which is next to impossible aside from the fact that he is floating in one place.
"This faction calls itself as the Gospel Reborn," Daikou mentioned as-a-matter-of-factly to Ryuu, "I have to say that they have a poor taste for naming themselves."
Ryuu felt something ablaze within him. He wanted to go after these people, bring them down, and question them for their motives for causing the destruction of someone so dear to him.
"Sensei... This Cybersystem..." Ryuu finally spoke in a determined voice and looked straight at his mentor, "I can fight in it as if I was in Full Synchro, can I?"
"Technically, yes," Daikou responded, as information seemed to feed into Ryuu, allowing him to understand how things work in the Cybersystem, "But you first need to assume a cyberself that you will use whenever you are in the Cybersystem."
"I have just the form..." Ryuu answered as he concentrated. Slowly, the sphere that was Ryuu started to grow larger, until it was human-sized. Features started to take shape after that, as an armored humanoid can be discerned from the light. Afterwards, the light receded, and Ryuu stood there, taking the form that is very similar to that of Gaius.
"Gaius' death will not be in vain..." Ryuu mentioned as he looked to his mentor. The latter simply smiled, seeing how the Shieldbearer is back to his former self.