Dark Matter Ascension

Jace arrived in front of an enormous building. The exterior was pure white, and a series of enormous glass doors were set into the front. A hospital, according to the name across the top of the doors. Thousands of people were milling about into and out of the doors.

"There are a lot of different entrances for different specialties," Ollie stated. "Go into the main lobby, then turn right…"

Jace followed Ollie’s instructions. As he entered the building, there was a brief gust of wind, and he found to his astonishment that all his clothes were instantly cleaned – pristine save for the holes and frayed portions. That’s useful, he thought. But it makes sense – you don’t want someone filthy in a hospital. It would make diagnosing them more difficult.

He was able to get through the facility rapidly despite the enormous, milling crowds who were there for some medical reason or another. Once more, Jace was struck by how different all these species were – but they all shared a common trait in that building. They weren’t well in some way, shape, or form. It seems like no one is safe from injury or disease.

The medical care appeared to be top-notch. Inquiring with other people around him – idle chatter to pass the short queue – Jace learned that The Cosmic System provided free healthcare of all types to any Civilian, Aspirant, or Ascendant. But the automatic doctor stations were not equipped to deal with every possible affliction given the numerous species across the universe.

Specialists like the person Jace was on his way to meet filled in those niches. Often, they were Civilians who wanted to keep practicing their craft, but in some instances, they were Aspirants or Ascendants who chose a Class and Advanced Class appropriate to their profession. Jonsar Velicole was a Tier 4 Ascendant and worked primarily on humanoid species, specializing in limb reattachment and replacement.

Jace finally reached a waiting room about fifteen minutes after entering the building. There were three other people present, and he approached a screen on the wall to check in. "Ollie, what should I put in for name?"

"Flicker. Use the code name. Since this is your first time obtaining healthcare from The Cosmic System, you will have a new patient file generated with the code name."

Jace nodded and entered the name, as well as other basic information: height, weight, etcetera.

<<<<<>>>>>

[Thank you for registering your account. Jonsar Velicole will see you shortly.]

<<<<<>>>>>

Jace glanced at the other people in the room. All of the humanoid aliens were tapping on a device in their palms. Jace sat down next to one that looked bored and cleared his throat, "Excuse me."

The purple-skinned woman looked up at him. She looked very human, minus the eyes. Where the eyes should be, instead there was just flesh. "Yes?"

"What is that device?" Jace asked, pointing at the object in her hands.

"Oh, you must be new!" She smiled, and Jace could see her teeth were all flat on top – no canines. "This is a cosmopanel. Does your world have communication devices?"

Jace nodded, "We have sliverscreens."

She held up the device in front of him, "This lets you contact people using The Cosmic System. It’s like a Civilian version of a Wayfinder. You can also contact other Civilians with them, or even Wayfinders…if you have Aspirant or Ascendant friends."

Ollie floated in front of Jace – invisible to those in the room save for him – and nodded, "Yup! That’s like a worse version of me."

"Is it worth me getting one?" Jace asked Ollie.

"Not really-" Ollie began to reply, but was cut off by the woman who couldn’t see or hear him.

"I think everyone should have one. You can watch shows like Zzezox and Misthledorp."

"I’ve heard that before," Jace replied. "What is it?"

"It’s a panel talk show. They bring in people from all across The Cosmic System and interview them. You really get to…feel how other people experience life across the universe. It’s been the hottest show for years now." She sighed, "Too bad I only have about twenty left."

"Twenty what?"

"Years," she replied as she tapped the device and put it away in a pocket. "Civilians are locked to a 150-year lifespan. When that runs out, I can either stay here and die, or go back to my home world and live out the remainder of my normal lifespan." She frowned, and her voice was tinged with curiosity, "How’d you not know that?"

Because I didn’t choose Civilian, is what Jace would have said. But he had to keep himself as concealed as possible. He didn’t have a ’no willful harm’ flag like these people had. "I just didn’t listen much when that merging thing happened."

The woman nodded, "It’s a lot at once, I get it." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small notecard, "I host events for new Civilians so they can mingle with other species." She handed it to him, and Jace saw a picture of a building on it. "Just focus on that place, walk a minute in any direction, and then you’ll arrive. We meet every three days. The back of the card has the times."

"Thank you," Jace replied. "If you don’t mind me asking – why are you seeing a limb specialist?"

She smirked and – to Jace’s shock – took off her arm with a schlorp. There was still connective tissue holding on, "My species sheds limbs every few years. It takes a whole month to regrow them, but this specialist can stimulate the growth so I’m only waiting a day."

Jace nodded, "Thank you for your openness. I’m learning a lot today."

"Of course," she replied. The door at the end of the hall opened, and a robotic voice said her name. "Well, my turn."

"Wait!" Jace interrupted. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome."

As she left, Ollie floated over in front of Jace and had a smug expression. "What?" Jace asked.

"You did a good job. Learning quite a bit of information while revealing almost none of your own."

"It seems like she was very open because of her new Civilian support group."

Ollie was about to respond, but the door opened again. "Flicker," the robotic voice called out. Jace stood up, walked through the doorway, and followed a series of illuminated arrows along the floor until he arrived in a circular room. It was an austere white with equally white lights above. The floor was smooth with a drain at the center, and there were tubes and medical devices all around the chamber.

A humanoid creature with what appeared to be slime cascading down his skin was seated in an office chair. He had four arms along both sides of his torso; slowly decreasing in size. Only two legs though, which struck Jace as slightly odd given the number of arms. His head was bald. This whole day has been filled with crazy visuals, Jace thought as he nodded. "Doctor Velicole?"

"Just call me Jonsar," the man replied as he stood up and held out the largest arm for a handshake. Jace returned the gesture. "Welcome. I checked your chart – new to The Cosmic System, eh?"

Jace nodded, "Yeah. Really new." He noted the glowing, brown and green Planet Cosmic Power symbol, and in the center of it was a vibrant, blue dot.

"I saw your Wayfinder. I don’t mind my patients keeping their identity a secret, but I know you’re an Aspirant."

Ollie floated down from where he was hiding in the ceiling, "Yup."

Jonsar shrugged, "It matters little in the end. So, what am I doing for you?"

Jace reached into his messenger bag and pulled out his severed arm. "I’d like this reattached."

Jonsar grabbed it and the slime from his hands oozed around the limb, "Hmm. Severed by a blade. Clean cut. This should be easy." He looked up at Jace, "I can do a free reattachment…or, if you have Stardust you’re willing to spend, I can do something better." His eyes glowed green, and a holographic version of Jace appeared in the air. "But first, a diagnostic. Let’s see…" He went silent for a minute and his mouth moved rapidly. Jace could barely hear the faint exhalation as he talked to himself.

Jace looked up at Ollie, "What do you think?"

"Let us wait to hear the options he presents," Ollie replied.

Jonsar’s eyes returned to normal, "Okay. Wow, you have some good prostheses. Some of the highest grade magitech prostheses I’ve ever seen. Not to mention their integration is far superior to any operation I’ve ever encountered. That is due to this…Cyberconnect Integration Fluid." He looked at Jace as the floating panel vanished. "What did you get into?"

"Well, more like what got on me." Jace quickly went through the story of his fight with the Vyrknadine, and Jonsar asked a few clarifying questions here and there until Jace finished with, "And then I completed some Quests and got these prosthetics."

"Interesting…" Jonsar’s face was hard to read – partly due to the slimy exterior, partly due to his different-from-human facial features. "You also were subjected to a magitech serum of some type."

"A super soldier project," Ollie clarified.

"Well, good news and bad news. The good news is that you are going to be in peak physical health for the rest of your life. Only the strongest infections, diseases, poisons, and venom could harm your body. And you can consume extra calories to fuel your metabolic healing rate. Fascinating. Not quite to the level of regeneration, but damned close. You will need to eat a lot more than most other people." He grimaced, "The downside is you’re sterile. No kids. It won’t impact sexual activity and arousal, but you can’t reproduce."

It’s not like I wanted any kids, Jace thought. And the benefits are way better than the consequences. "Good to know."

"May I take a sample of the fluid enabling the prosthetic integration? It is still free-floating around inside you…sort of. It’s hard to explain."

Jace looked up to Ollie, and the Wayfinder shrugged before responding, "I do not see the harm. One of these Earth mega corporations is working on more of the stuff, I would imagine."

"I’m not so sure," Jace replied as the chair he was sitting in flattened out to become an exam table. "Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent someone for it."

"Please disrobe," Jonsar stated.

Jace nodded and quickly stripped down, leaving his clothes and gear in a pile next to the table.

Jonsar waved his hands, the glowing green light appeared above Jace, and he felt a small suction sensation against his chest. A tiny, pin-sized droplet of ferrofluid rose from his skin and floated in the air, suspended in a bubble of green. "Fascinating," the doctor stated. "It is an intriguing take on a concept I’ve muddled with before."

He looked at Jace and smiled, "This Cyberconnect fluid, CIF I suppose if we want to use acronyms, coats the interior of the body and bonds on a molecular level with the prosthetic and the person’s natural body structures."

Ollie floated above Jace, "Is it dangerous?"

"No. In fact…" Jonsar waved his hand, and the ferrofluid in the green sphere expanded further and grew in volume. "Since it is technically derived from metal, I can use a Skill to create more of it from this sample." He looked down at Jace, "I could give you back your usual arm, but I happen to have a fantastic prosthetic that I think would work wonderfully given this fluid you have running through you."

"How much?" Jace asked.

"3,000 Stardust."

Jace looked up at Ollie, "I think that sounds pretty good."

Ollie flew over to Jonsar and waved his paw. Jonsar held up his hand as Stardust went from the river otter to the physician, "Deal."

"Excellent. Now, this is going to feel like you’re choking on fluid in your lungs. The sensation will only last for 3.2 seconds." Jonsar gripped the floating green sphere and shoved it onto Jace’s chest.

The fluid soaked into his torso, and Jace felt himself choking and struggling for air. Just like when he was pinned underwater and his jacket got caught during a dive into the river. The sensation passed after a few seconds, and Jace took in a deep, wracking breath before coughing. "What did you do?"

"Previously, you had very little CIF in your body. Not enough for it to fully bond the prosthetics. Now, you have enough that it can coat your whole interior. Which means that your prosthetics – whether magical, magitech, or purely technology-based – will perfectly integrate and blend with your physical form. You’ll notice sensation return to the limbs, and you’ll be able to feel just like you would with a regular arm. I also kept a sample for myself…but not for sale. I’ll use this to help patients." He frowned, "Magnets might be an issue down the road. But, that’s true of any prosthetics with metal components."

Jace nodded as he felt a tingling sensation in his legs – the first sensation aside from feeling something crushed under the claws. The cool pressure of air on his skin – despite not having skin – and the slight warmth of the metal table under him. "That’s crazy," Jace muttered. His arm began to pick up sensation as well – the same cool air and warm table.

"So, this prosthetic," Jonsar said as he got up from his chair and walked towards a cabinet on the wall. "Comes from a high-magic world called Harkon Secundus – a Tier 8 world." He walked over to Jace and showed him the prosthetic. It was a shining black hue with golden lines of some arcane language scrolled across it. "It’s something that would qualify as Legendary Equipment."

"It sounds expensive," Jace commented.

Jonsar smirked, "Well, it would be very pricey, for a normal person. 10,000 Stardust. But you’re not a normal person, are you, Jace Seren?"

Jace froze, and Ollie spoke, "How did you know his name?"

Jonsar laughed, "Seriously? They didn’t tell you?" He shook his head, "X, of course. Whoever they are reached out to me with a message and told me that they would be very thankful for any extra help I could give to you. They have pull with the Ascendant who runs the whole hospital, and they would call in a favor to get me some Aspirant subordinates. I’d like to expand my practice."

Good to know that Xera is keeping an eye out for me. Jace nodded, "Alright, let’s attach it."

Jonsar frowned, "I’m going to have to strap you down, and ask that you consent to my use of a Skill to remove your sensation of pain. This prosthetic needs to go into the shoulder socket – and you still have flesh attached up in there."

Jace nodded, "I consent. Go ahead, do your thing."

Jonsar’s hands glowed with a vibrant, healthy green hue, and he tapped Jace’s head. "There. Your ability to feel pain has been removed temporarily. I still need to strap you down just to make sure my cuts are precise." He got up and moved around the table, strapping Jace in. He left Jace’s line of sight, and came back, "I will begin the process now."

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