Delerium - Part I

Part of an ongoing story.  Inspired by Eclipse Phase and and the late great Iain M Banks, it's intended to be a cybernoir mystery.  We'll see what it actually turns into.

It was strange, I reflected, how time seemed to slow as I died.  The bullet spiraled lazily inwards towards my face, almost gently impacting against my eye.  I could feel it compress, and finally pop like an overripe grape, spraying ocular fluid and blood.  I could feel the bone of my eye socket crumple and shatter, the sharp pain of my broken cranium suddenly disappearing as portions of my brain were wiped out.  My consciousness fading, I almost thought I could feel the blast of heat and pressure at the base of my skull as my cortical stack finally realized I was dead, sending a neutrino pulse into the sky even as my meat body slapped back against the wall, newly decapitated by the stack's antimatter charge.

I gasped, clawing at the sides of my tank as I awoke.  The phantom pain of my mortal wound faded gradually, leaving me to wonder what were my real memories and what was simply a combination of an overactive imagination and neural pruning algorithms attempting to dissuade me from further dangerous activities.

I coughed, painfully expelling foul-tasting gel from my lungs.  My arms were weak, muscles atrophied from a lifetime of immobility, as my hands finally found the release mechanism of the incubation tank.  A torrent of goo followed me as I stumbled out onto the cold metal floor, retching out the last of the gel from my lungs and stomach.  Tearing at the thicket of tubes impaling my arms, I feebly attempted to stand, finally succeeding as the nursing drone finally noticed my abrupt exit.

Soft silicone coated arms cradled me, gently lifting my body.  The wires and tubes gradually fell away, the ports in my skin left raw but closed.  A quick puff of garlic-smelling medicine dulled even that ache. I sighed, eyes closing again as the painkillers hit my bloodstream and circulated through my body.  I felt the drone set me on the cushions of a nearby couch.

"Greetings and welcome to Jigoku Orbital.  According to your transmissions timestamp, it has been three weeks since you were last substantiated.  You are currently installed in a Class Seven Chimera Tactical Solutions wetware Skin.  I am an Avatar of the Orbital.  It is a pleasure to meet you, David Quetzal."