Chapter 6

20 September

When the Three saw Alex come back, they respectfully bowed to him. There was no mistaking the fact that Alex was a new man. While physically he was the same, the look in his eyes told a different story. From now on, anyone trying to push him around would live to regret it.

“Gentlemen, I want to jumpstart my puberty, beginning immediately.”

“Very well, boss. What did you have in mind?”

“How much can I affect what I will look like?”

“You can change anything, boss. Hair color, skin color, height, everything.” Alex glanced at Intell to ensure he heard right, and Intell nodded.

“With my current DNA, what will I look like?”

“5’8”, skinny as a beanpole. Pale skin that never tans. You would be a sickly adult, as the immune system you inherited is weak.”

“Well, that explains a lot. No wonder I’m always getting sick.” Intell nodded.

“While you would be an intelligent man, nobody would respect you as you have no self-confidence, and anyone and everyone would be able to steal from you.”

“Well, bugger that. It’s time to change the instructions.” Intell nodded and moved to a control console. “Make my final height 6’5”, broad shoulders, bright blond hair, sea-blue eyes, easy tanning, always healthy, and muscular.”

“That last one you’ll have to work at.”

“But I can make it to where my body can easily build muscle.” Intell nodded at the point.

“For my height, I would like it balanced between my body and legs. Being taller and broader, I will need bigger feet to keep my balance.” Intell nodded. “Just to make things easy, let’s keep the rest of my body proportional. Let’s increase my reaction speed to triple the normal human reaction speed. Since I won’t be able to grow that much at once without serious questions, I’ll need some way to defend myself.” Guardian nodded.

“Sharpen his eyesight. Instead of 20/20, make it 20/10. Also, increase his ability to see in low-light conditions. Increase the processing power for the senses. It does no good for Milord to gather the information if he can’t process it. Turn up his hearing sensitivity and replace all damaged or missing hair cells. Increase the strength of the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles, so Milord’s ears can turn toward the sound. It makes no sense for evolution to eliminate that feature. Reshape the outer ear to improve sound focus. Also, we need to investigate some way to protect his hearing from loud noises.” The other two nodded. “Speaking of protection, I wonder if it would help Milord to have a clear third eyelid.”

“I can’t see why it wouldn’t,” stated Emo. “Perhaps the third eyelid could be clear with some kind of built-in sight enhancements.” Intell and Guardian looked at Emo and nodded. It was a good idea.

“If I’m going to be able to fight people, it’s only a matter of time before someone points a gun or takes a knife to me.”

“I can answer that, boss. Your body shields will take care of that. Unless you are hit with an explosion or an armor-piercing tank shell, not much should get through.”

“Damn, I didn’t realize they were so good. But how about multiple high-powered rifle rounds?”

“Yep, but I don’t see you getting hit with multiple rounds close enough together to crack your shields. Add your enhanced skeletal structure, and you’ll be almost invincible.”

“Damn.” Alex ran through superhero abilities to see what else he wanted to add. “How about X-ray vision. It would be really helpful in clearing houses of bad guys if I could see where they are hiding. Or how about the ability to fly? That could come in real handy.”

“At this time, those are impossible, boss. Sorry.” Alex shrugged.

“I can add features later, right?” The Three nodded. “Then let’s leave off here for now. Experience will tell us what tools we need.”

“Sir, what are you going to do with Dr. Hastings?” Emo asked.

“Why?”

“She loves you like a son, although she hasn’t realized it yet. You shattered her feelings for you, and I feel the first thing you should do is apologize to her.”

“And what does that get me?”

“A friend.” Alex looked at Guardian and Intell, who nodded.

“You can never have enough friends, Milord. Especially ones who love you.”

“Very well. As soon as I can, I’ll apologize to her.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, before I forget, my muscles need rebuilding as I almost did a face plant. I would like them to be more efficient than normal muscles, so there’s more strength in a smaller package. Increase their energy efficiency as well, so I can go longer.”

“No problem, boss. By the time morning hits, you’ll be as good as new.”

“Thank you, gentlemen. Good night.”

Alex hopped out of his head and looked around before snuggling into bed. While his brain didn’t need the rest time, his body did, as it was still healing. It would take a night of work to get his muscles into a condition where they would work correctly.

Early the following morning, Alex woke refreshed and ready to face the day. He hopped out of bed and, to help him get in shape, did 20 sit-ups and 20 push-ups, which was his current limit. Alex’s arms and stomach muscles had that pleasant burn associated with a good workout. All Alex needed was a pool so he could swim.

Swimming was the only physical activity that pre-lightning Alex loved. Alex felt at home in the water and could swim like a fish by age six. Often, he outswam adults who had been swimming for years. As much as Alex loved swimming, he knew he would have to take up running. At least when running, Alex could wear a weighted vest or carry a weighted staff to increase his workout. The one thing he wasn’t going to do, though, was to focus too much on running, as his extensive research showed the damage that too much running can do to the joints.

Although Alex could repair any damaged joints at will, he saw no need to abuse his body any more than necessary. Something else that was often prevalent in the stories he read was that people who wielded power lived longer than ordinary people. Alex could see why, too. He could see into his body and correct any issue before it became life-threatening.

Just as he was finishing exercising, a nurse came in. And it wasn’t any nurse; it was Stacy.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF BED!”

“Relax. They unhooked me yesterday, but I almost face-planted when I tried to walk. I wanted to ensure that didn’t happen, so today, I got up and exercised.”

“Still, you shouldn’t be up.”

“Okay, fine. Is there any way I can get half a dozen eggs over easy, toast, a ribeye cooked rare, a glass of milk, and a glass of tomato juice?” Stacy tipped her head back and laughed.

“First to bed. Then let me see, eggs of any type, no. Animal products are not allowed to be used here. Same with the steak. Why would anyone want to eat a cow? Milk, no, sorry. Tomato juice, now that one we may be able to fill.”

“Oh, come on. I’m a growing boy, and I need my protein.”

“And you can’t get that protein from some way that doesn’t involve killing innocent animals?”

“Umm. Is this a trick question? How many studies have to be released that prove the best diet for growing children is balanced between plants and animals?”

“One good thing about the medical field becoming socialized is that non-acceptable behavior is banned.”

“Non-acceptable behavior? Oh, you mean like not having techs available to perform emergency testing when it’s needed? Or forcing people to wait six months for life-saving operations? Or banning most forms of medication, even though they were proven to work, just because some bureaucrat doesn’t like the manufacturer?”

Stacy was red in the face. Alex had hit on people’s most frequent complaints regarding the new medical system. It hadn’t taken but a few years for the quality of care to decline to the point that most people no longer bothered to try to schedule appointments. It was bad enough that if you got seriously ill and were not wealthy enough to hire private care, it would be much better for you to skip the hospital and head directly to the funeral home. At least then, you might have the opportunity to enjoy your wake.