Chapter 5 - Candidate

"Are you sure she's the candidate?" An old man with a substantial grey mustache questions. Behind him, 3 men, each wearing a black suit and dark spectacles, on each of both their hands are Heckler&Koch HK433, loaded and safety removed.

"100%, this girl has incredible performance" Another man, looks even older in an immaculate white lab coat and wearing comically thick glasses reassures him. He carries an opaque tablet reminiscent of the 2010s, it is currently displaying a photo of a woman, along with a list of biological data.

"Can't we just get a bigger guy? We have more than enough of them in Germany"

"Oh sir, she outperforms all of them, we have the data" The man in the lab coat presents a tablet he was holding. "2nd highest ranked in all of SAS recruitment, 2051, second youngest participant of the year. 3rd in endurance assessment in SAS recruitment. 3rd woman enlisted in SAS regiment. Immediate deployment to China, assigned first mission #01A, Operation Kestrel Guards, 2051. Immediate bonding with operators, aptly commands respect and leadership. 97% discharge accuracy, 94% discharge precision. Abnormally high pain tolerance, shot in the solar plexus, left shoulder, left breast, and thighs, still manages to run 30 kilometers, and walk back to debrief in Mission #12. And so on"

"We even got the data from when she was born, look" The bespectacled man adds "Consistent top ranker, preschool, elementary, middle, and high school. 2nd winner of general science olympiad. 3rd winner in physics olympiad. Took Krav Maga in high school, black belt in just 2 years. Top ranker in college, Biomedics, finished in just 3 years."

"All I'm seeing are seconds and thirds, why don't we pick the number ones?" The mustached man asks

"The thing is, somehow she's the only one who can use cybernetics without loss of 'humanity', so to speak"

"Humanity? Elaborate doctor"

"In our studies and extensive research, when we install too much cybernetics into a patient's body, they will start to lose their minds. When asked about the cybernetics, initially they would remark positively, most of the time. Some are purists that we 'convinced' to accept their new reality. But when bit by bit, their psychological functions deteriorate, when enough parts of their body is replaced. They show symptoms of clinical depression and anxiety attacks. Surprisingly they do not know what makes them ill. When asked, they only remark that they lost parts of themselves and can't get it back. These symp-"

"Yeah yeah I think I got the gist of it" The mustached man cuts the doctor "Point is you stick too much metal bits into a person they'll get crazy. What I want to know is how much of these metal bits we can stick into a person before they go bonkers?"

"Well sir, everyone's different, but on average, men can take about 2 to 3 limbs replaced, and 3 to 5 internal organs replaced and/or enhanced, women can take about 1 to 2 limbs replaced and 5 to 7 internal organs replaced and/or enhanced. Other factors also apply, like political opinions and self-control."

"So you're saying we can't take a brain in a jar and put it in a metal body and make it move without it going crazy?"

"At this moment, we do not have the necessary amount of data to confirm or deny, but from my own personal hypothesis, it is possible, but difficult and our technology doesn't quite catch up to that yet. Although, we are developing a drug that suppresses the symptoms of putting too much 'metal bits', suffice to say, it keeps those with too much cybernetics sane as long as they keep consuming the medicine."

"And I reckon this medicine isn't cheap?"

"If it was we wouldn't be discussing this girl wouldn't we?"

"Get to the point"

"Ah sure. This fine lady can, theoretically, take as much cybernetics as she wants. That is if she wants cybernetics inside of her"

"Oh she'll want them, I'm sure. We'll make her crave it"

"Well actually we already know the answer sir"

"What?"

"You see, this lady is extraordinarily smart, but there are limits to what she knows, she limits her net presence and attempts to stray away from cameras. But as you already know, the bureau doesn't only have access to every camera connected to the net, but also informants and undercovers feeding us important data every second. Just with the CCTVs on her flat, using our algorithm we could calculate her emotions, needs, interests, and many more. We deduced that she's a bit of a sexual deviant. On some occasions we had a glimpse of her shopping bag and found an adult comic. These com-"

"Fucking get to the point"

"Well, in short, we extrapolated that she is heavily interested in cybernetics"

"I see, then this would be far easier than I thought" the mustached man continues "Have the project start immediately" he then walks out of the room.

"Certainly" the bespectacled man closes his tablet in two, and talks to the rest of the scientists in the room, who had only minding their own business when the conversation happened.

"Project Iron Bear, have Castillo deliver, arrange with the subject's closest friends, I want it done this week." the bespectacled man then hands out a USB flashdrive to the scientist from his front pocket "Every necessary instructions are in here"

"Certainly sir, I'll relay this to Castillo"

"Good" he then walks out of the sterile room.

"My job gets harder every day" he mumbles "These army fucks don't appreciate the sciences, they just want results. I can only hope 'she' cooperates" mumbles him again as he reaches for the coffee machine in his office.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***