I'm really enjoying the writing so far. At the moment, I'm listening to This war of mine soundtrack while writing... It really has an unique atmosphere... You definitely have to try it, guys ! And I finally received my Icarus Effect book... Interesting reading
More than 100 views in total, seeing how actionless this fanfic is, it's not that bad haha ! Thanks a bunch !
Let's keep going...
Hellen stayed with Stanley in his home in Aug territory. Vega didn't want her to go to the Juggernaut HQ just yet, which was understandable. It was not like the location of HQ was really stable anyway. They changed places regularly.
Just before leaving, Jensen went to check a last time on Hellen. She looked incredibly confident, considering the situation. She wanted to show that she would be able to handle herself. Her eyes reflected that. She looked at Adam with bright, concerned eyes, muttering a "You stay safe out there" before returning back to the living room in Stanley's appartment. She was already taking out her computer and USB cards for him to check. No doubt she would be completely clean. She was definitely not a threat.
The day after, Jensen was off to Interpol HQ, located in a neutral part of town containing all the biggest factory sites. The Interpol HQ in Prague was exactly the same than any other around the globe. Big white mansion, squarish, with glass windows covering the surface. Adam entered the palace. Crowds of people were there, mostly cops, and some civils too. Desks were located in the far corner of the room. He decided to go and try to talk with one of the employees there.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Adam Jensen, Ex-SWAT and former Security Agent for Sarif Industries." Sliding his paper through the hole in the glass protecting the employee, he continued : "I'm looking for Mr. Troy Simons. I have an appointment with him."
The woman looked at the papers thoroughly. After a few seconds, she indicated the elevators while giving him a key card.
"It's on the seventh floor. Use this key to access the elevators. Give it back to us on your way back, if you please, Sir."
Once on the seventh floor, Adam opened the door of the cyber-security chief's room. There, was a man at his desk, in front of several computer wide screens...
"Qui... Troy ?"
The man, long faced, blue eyed, bold, with a week-long beard, looked at him with an amused expression. He talked, with a bit of a texan accent.
"Mister Jensen ! Pleased to meet you ! Close the door and come closer..."
Jensen complied, then came closer to whisper.
"Facial surgery, uh... And I remember that you were already quite good at mimicking accents."
"Haha, Yeah, you gotta do what you gotta do. I'll soon have personality disorder at this point ! And you had a good reflex. Keep whispering, we never know."
Troy wrote something on his computer, and touched the send button.
"I reckon the mission was a failure, two days ago... But it doesn't matter, you'll have a way better position soon. Thanks to my unmatched abilities..."
"Guess so..."
"I just typed a paper here... I'm helping the recruitment process going smoothly by analyzing soldiers' datas. With a bit of cleaning, your file will be on the top of the list. You can't falsify your name like me, though. You'll have to keep your real identity. Your "Patient X" profile speaks for itself."
"Vega already warned me about that. I'll be augmented with the best equipment."
"Oh. You seem pretty okay with that... After these operations you might be the most augmented human being on the planet."
"Well, it was already the case. And sometimes you just have to let go and embrace what you've become.
"That's deep. Guess you're right. If everything goes according to plan, you will be one step closer to the source of the problem. You'll be the ultimate cyborg."
"That's definitely the plan."
Troy printed an official paper and gave it to him.
"I'm gonna give a call to the surgeon in chief. He'll know you're coming. Give this paper to him, it has my signature."
"Okay. Perfect. I should go now."
"Deep breath and everything will be fine. Bye, Jensen."
[...]
"Since you clearly are augmented and that our intel confirmed your identity as Patient X... We have some... Closures to discuss about."
There. Vega, Stanley and even old Quinn told him this would happen.
Jensen was now in the basement of Interpol, were secret research labs have been implanted. Interpol now definitely had access to every little bits of scientific enhancement possible, mecanical ones to surgical ones. The Task Force 29 would be high tech. No doubt. And Jensen would be the best quality weapon. A three million dollar man, was it ?
With a discreet flinch, Adam asked :
"What kind of closures ? "
The scientist smiled. He had him in his pocket. This was exactly what that man was thinking right now. The CASIE aug was twitching in Adam's vision. The alpha pheromones emanated from his interlocutor's body.
"Follow me..."
Passing through the labs, and reaching a meeting room, the man began to talk.
"We never interrupted augmentation research, even after the... Aug incident. Obviously, we try to stay discreet now. Scientific researches in this field is not at its golden age anymore and ethics are coming back in our faces. But even so, there are plenty of augmented people who still need us. We try to keep working on Doctor Reed's project. But to finance this, we have to make new innovations and provide the population with the best security force possible."
Innovations that benefited who, exactly ? Adam understood now, why Janus suspected this Task Force to be created by illuminaties... But the low ranked scientists surely knew nothing about it. CASIE didn't even show any hint of lie from this man. No anxiety. He was sincere right now. And really confident , as could tell the alpha emanations.
"This is why we have to find willing test subjects, to be fair." He kept on. "We have several augmentations here that have to be tested on the field. And as I see it, you won't be able to enter the Task Force as a stealthy agent if you don't get yourself updated. And this begins with your limbs."
"They definitely need to be upgraded, yes."
Adam had thought about this. He really had to get new limbs anyway. And he couldn't risk to be upgraded via black market. If he could get the best high tech product, why refuse... As long as he was fully aware of what was implanted in his body... And just like Vega said : no bio-chips... No way.
The scientist suddenly looked even more excited.
"So, let me tell you about these procedures, at least. We have this new baby..." The man showed the blue-print of a hand. "The Tesla. Look... On the paper, this is supposed to throw EMP magnetic impulses out of LEDs integrated in your fist's joints. It's already implanted in your arm-to-be. Same thing goes with this Nano-blade. A new switch in the synthetic muscles allows you to throw a certain quantity of tiny strips of metal. The throwing system is copied upon the Typhoon. And by the way, each new limb will be fastly adjusted to your own body, don't worry. "
Then, he took out a pile of papers, with precise drawings.
"Here comes the most interesting part. We just began a new research. You have mechanical augmentations, mister Jensen. You surely know about the glass shield system - that, by the way, we enhanced too. Well, there is a new augmentation that can be used to cover your entire body.
You might know about mercury thiocyanate. This chemical compound expends profusely if touched by a fire source. Well, we managed to reproduce this effect with generic material, working on a nano-scale. The molecules, if stimulated right, can create a thin but undestructible shield that can expand on the entire body. We just have to implant five of these little chips on the subject. They are filled with the proper chemicals. Two for the elbows, two for the knees, and one, directly implanted on the nape of the neck, and linked to your neural system. This way, just by thinking about it, you can activate the cloak, and one reaction on one of the device will expand to the other devices throughout your body. This, mister, is the beginning of a new era for augmentation. Nano-technology is coming to an edge..."
"Yeah. Right... In the end, I just get new limbs directly implanted with upgrades, and a chip on the neck... Tell me more about that chip, by the way..."
The scientist frowned, a bit upset by Jensen's apathy, like a child disappointed by his parents who don't care about his drawing.
"I understand your concern about that chip, but it's completely different from the Panchaea incident's one. This chip reacts to a certain stimuli. It can't stimulate the body in itself. It's completely chemical. No external control is possible. I could give you the blue-prints if you want..."
"No, it's okay. Let's get on with it."
"If you say so... Follow me."
Stanley smiled at me :
"Okeedokee, you're clean, girl, perfect."
He gave me my USB cards back and taped friendly on my shoulder. He came back to his desk for more paper works. I inquired.
"So... Not only you're hacktivists fighting against conspirations, but you're also the nightmares of terrorist actions ?"
Stanley laughed softly.
"Well, you can say that. As augmented guys we don't really appreciate when violent acts are done in the name of us all. It sounded right to try and stop them. And Adam was the perfect guy for the task..."
"But speaking of task, now that this... Task Force is being greated, what will you do ?"
"Step back. We'll leave the work to them. They have to get paid in the end of the month, do they. It will give us more time to concentrate on the top of the edifice. Low ranked soldiers will obey the protection order anyway : they have to stop any terrorist attacks and prevent them. And since Adam is part of the Collective as much as the Task Force, he will know if things get bad."
"I see... But... Still... If you're not sure about the goal of this Task Force... Isn't it a bit too simple to be confident about how they'll handle the work ?"
The man stopped shuffling in his papers. He sighed.
"We... Can't get everywhere. We're not omniscient, honey. Some things will slip away, that's how it is. But if we get to the top of the pyramid, then it will definitely stop... We have to concentrate into finding holes in their big walls and gather as much information as we can out of them. This is what hacktivists do."
I was getting a bit angry. That was not what I wanted to hear...
"You know, I'm okay about getting part of this collective. Alright, fine. But I'll give myself a side mission. I'll open my eyes wider and look around for any suspicious activity. I don't want to let it go that easily. This bomb didn't go off last time. But they will be planning something else soon..."
"Don't you want to look at the bigger picture, Helly ? Think about it... And you would be less exposed with the situation we give you. The Nat under cover, legally able to go to any Nat locations... You are a big asset right now, and you want to put yourself at risk ? You wanna get the bad guys that want to attract attention on themselves ? No way..."
"I. Have. Family. Out there. And friends here. Wherever I am, I'll be dying of anxiety knowing that everyone is at risk. Augs put into ghettos, badly treated, with poor medical assistance... Nats threatened by random attacks everyday... You see the bigger picture. That's fine. But me ? I want to see the pixels. It's part of understanding the global image. Don't you agree ?"
Stanley just stared at me. He was at a loss of words. He was now seeing how I looked like when I had an idea in mind... Then he shrugged and sighed. He suddenly looked so tired and vulnerable.
"Fine... Do whatever you want. I'll have to explain to you some little things though. Then I'll get you back to the Nat-subs. You'll go alone though. I'll change a part of your phone too, so that you can switch it to encrypted whenever you have to give me a call. I'll be your contact for the J-Collective. When we need informations, we'll send files to you on your computer too, with an untraceable e-mail adress. You'll make sure to delete every bit of information we send to you. Okay ? No joke on that."
"Thanks, Stan... And... Make sure to keep me updated on Adam Jensen, okay ?"
The man gave me a sweet smile.
"Ah, no prob girl. No prob. There there... Get your stuffs. You're going back home..."
Yes, I was going back. Sure. But life wouldn't get back to normal. So many thoughts crossed my mind. A squarish bag that could have wiped out hundreds of people's life in a second... Hacked bio-chips turning humans into monsters. Soldiers arresting thousands of people victim of an unfair set-up that put them under the guillotine, and then putting them into camps, not bothering about human rights. Warfare. Terrorism. Black market...
And finally... A quote...
Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.*
How right was that...
*I've finished Human Revolution for the third time now, picking the Darrow ending this time on "give me Deus Ex" difficulty... Damn. That was something...
I had to give a tribute to it with this final quote...
Anyway. I worked a lot on the Jensen POV this time, with all the reference to the demo and trailers... Hope you liked that !