Category Archives: Book 14: The Galaxy Core Device

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 11

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Dayton’s eyes widened for a moment, but only a moment before he said, “Of course not. We’ve got a lot to discuss today, but what do you think Magnus saw in us?”

As Dayton talked, Jody had gripped the table’s edge in his hands as if he planned to flip it over or push himself back.

“Look,” Jody said, hands tightening on the table, “I did talk to him, okay? You don’t throw away a chance like that. The guy had power, but you weren’t sure if you wanted to sign with Futuremen. You were going to throw it all away because having Magnus show up made you nervous.

“Well, I wasn’t. I wanted to see what he could give us and if you weren’t going to be involved, what he could give me.”

Sean stared at him, “Are you kidding me?” Continue reading Jody: Part 11 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 10

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“That… fits,” I replied. “Do you think his shield is natural or the product of technology? Because if he’s blocking you, that’s something I can’t do.”

Daniel nodded, “I know. With you, a telepath can get in, but then they’re hit by waves of madness. Getting out with sanity intact is the bigger challenge. His telepathic shield might be a device. It feels too consistent to be natural. Even with a strong natural shield, there’s an ebb and flow. You feel like it’s moving. This feels solid, but the hints of madness-inducing interference pulsing through it feel natural.”

Izzy shook her head, “How did we not notice this before? Didn’t your dad put in his Stapledon block?” Continue reading Jody: Part 10 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 9

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This spot wasn’t too bad as mushroom goo went. While near downtown, it was on the edges. Best practices for superhero bases amounted to giving them some distance from nearby civilian buildings to avoid collateral damage when attacked and to make it obvious when someone was approaching.

Justice Fist’s base adhered to that as best a building in the middle of a city could.

With money from Futuremen Capital, they’d bought most of a small city block that used to hold an old warehouse, demolished the warehouse, and put up a squat, circular tower that I’d once heard Vaughn refer to as the “Justice Penis.”

I’d laughed because my sense of humor hadn’t emerged from adolescence either. Continue reading Jody: Part 9 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 8

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“Okay,” I said, “I’ll be ready then.”

The next hour was dominated by inserting implants into people. It wasn’t much work, but the egg didn’t spit out implants instantly. It made one at a time and each had to be physically manufactured, loaded with software, and tested.

While I could describe the process in a sentence, each word encompassed thousands of actions, all of them culminating in a device that hooked into the body as, for all practical purposes, a secondary brain—a support brain, maybe? Continue reading Jody: Part 8 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 7

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In less time than I expected (no more than twenty minutes), my implant notified me, “Project complete. The implant constructor will now create Xiniti implants.”

I thought back, “Including citizen implants? Not just local auxiliary?”

“There is no functional difference except in the information provided and access permissions. Should an auxiliary become a citizen, the changes will require downloads, not physical replacement.” Continue reading Jody: Part 7 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 6

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I agreed with him and left it at that. He left a little bit later. I went back to checking the bots. I wanted to try a few new variations on bots. Plus, I probably had time to work on the implants.

I grabbed the keys to storage rooms from the safe in the lab and left to grab the implant fabricator. I avoided touching the boxes full of recipe cards and three-ring binders that Grandpa had left with secrets, plans, and activation code words for weapons. If I needed it, I had material to blackmail specific individuals, destroy superhero teams, and overthrow the odd government.

I’d once told Chris that if I ever took those recipe cards or binders out, I’d be planning to burn the world (metaphorically). Continue reading Jody: Part 6 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 5

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I thought about our other options, “What about Daniel?”

Vaughn snorted, “Well since Jody knows you’re friends from Stapledon, it’s probably best that he’s outside too. He’s checked though. Their base doesn’t have any protection from telepathy—not regularly.”

“Really?” I said, “That seems like a bad idea. I admit that we don’t have them on in our downtown office, but that’s because it’s only for show. I’ve got telepathy and teleportation blockers for the rare meeting.” Continue reading Jody: Part 5 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 4

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“We have a way to make implants. I have to make sure they’re safe and assuming I can do that, I’ll make them available to everyone.

“Oh,” Julie said. “Is it one of the machines from the island?”

I shook my head, “Nope. It’s older than that, but similar in origin. I’m only going to pass them on if they’re safe.”

She’d stopped smiling, “I get it now. Do you have any other tests you want to run?” Continue reading Jody: Part 4 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 3

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“Wow,” I said, considering it, “I hadn’t been trying to enhance your abilities, but that is obvious now that you mention it. It should be able to interface with your suit, but I think I’d change the design to fit your needs specifically… Let’s start by making sure it reproduces your power and then after that, I’ll see if I can’t come up with something better.

“Provided it works, you can attach the spare sonic to your costume.”

I handed her the sonic unit. It was loosely cylindrical except that the back end was rounded and the front flat. She held it under her right forearm and it attached. Continue reading Jody: Part 3 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 2

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With that, the meeting was over, or at least my part.

Vaughn left to call Dayton, and everyone else left to discuss how and where to probe Jody’s loyalties best. I could have gone along, and I wanted to, but no one else could improve the buzzers.

Chris might have, but he was out in a version of the Rocket suit helping with the fungus cleanup downtown. He’d served as my double enough that some people might think something was off when they met me in the suit. Continue reading Jody: Part 2 →