Adjustment Period

Shortly afterwards, Michael went upstairs to the kitchen. It wasn't even 7am on a Saturday, so the house was still quiet. The blender was still where he'd left it, so he quickly cleaned it up before making his morning shake. Feeling extra hungry, he opted to use double the scoops he normally did. Downing that was nothing compared to the experience the night before, so he tossed it back without any trouble before heading out on his run.

He decided to go through the park from last night again this morning - the vibe there was just right, and it was really starting to grow on him. The paths circling around the park weren't very uniform, but thanks to the System he wouldn't have any trouble keeping track of his distance.

He admired the early morning activity as the park stirred and came to life for the day. The cool air and morning dew swept over his body and he shivered at the surprising chill of the brisk fall air. Though it was past sunrise, the sun was still low on the horizon as it began its climb into the sky, giving everything a slight emerald tinge as the rays shot through the low bushes and trees. He could hear the call of crows and chickadees from the trees, and the scampering of squirrels and maybe the occasional rabbit as he made his way along the paved trails.

There were several paths that split off from the pavement, lined with wood chips and leading off into the woods. He knew that there were a few nature trails in the area, as well as some camping space connected to the far end of this park. The town Michael lived in was close to the edge of New Albion's border, and there was a large swath of protected land between here and the closest of the Colonies to the South. While there were approved trade routes through the area, and several outposts and frontier areas in the region between, it was technically the territory of the Federation, and New Albion nationals weren't allowed to go there without permission. Still, that didn't prevent the occasional camper from going out a little too far, and as long as they hadn't harmed the forest, they were generally 'guided' back by Federation rangers with a slap on the wrist and any of their spoils confiscated.

Michael thought over this for a bit before refocusing his thoughts on his breathing as he ran. He was finding it harder to focus this morning as his mind raced from one thought to another at lightning speed. He started to find his mental footing near the end of the run, though it had become significantly more difficult to do so. It was like he was a rider on an extremely wild horse that refused to stay at a trot and wanted to run rampant across the countryside.

"This is going to take some getting used to," Michael sighed wryly as he walked home.

<<Of course it is. This is a major upgrade! It's like switching from a single lane to a two lane highway! I don't think it's a stretch to say that you now have the capability to think faster than almost anyone in the world! Of course that's just the capability - you've got a lot of work to do. :P >>

Michael's sigh turned into a grin. Once he got the hang of his new abilities, he was sure that his productivity would increase dramatically.

Visions of rapidly solving problems and hammering out code and papers danced through his head. Soon he was so distracted that he proceeded to trip over the sidewalk. His brain immediately told him to catch himself, but it was like his limbs were moving in slow motion trying to move into position to catch up to what his brain was telling them to do . He still managed to turn the fall into a stumble, but by the time his foot had hit the pavement, his hands had flown up over his head, making him look pretty ridiculous to anyone who might be peeking out their window.

He quickly scanned around to see if anyone had caught his impromptu dance pose, but didn't see anyone moving around on the streets. He hunched his shoulders and hurried back towards his house.

<<... there'll definitely still be an adjustment period, though. Remember, the signals are moving faster, but that doesn't mean your body knows what to do with them.>>

"... Got it."

Michael quickly stepped back into his kitchen, where the rich aroma from a freshly percolating pot of coffee suddenly assaulted his senses. The almost overpowering scent gave him a head rush, and his mouth started salivating at the thought. He quickly poured himself a cup, then set it on the counter to cool a bit while he rushed downstairs to take a shower.

The sensation of the water falling on his skin was like tiny needles poking him over and over again. It was extremely uncomfortable. Although, interestingly enough, he quickly found that he could detect the pattern of the water falling - instead of just an overall sensation of 'water', each drop was coming through as an individual signal. While this wasn't terribly useful at the moment, it was yet another indication of the changes his body had undergone.

On the subject of changes, Michael noticed that his body looked much leaner than it had the day before. His exercise had already started to make his body more rigid, but losing 5kg of mostly fat in a night had apparently pushed his overall physique to the next level.

<<Presence-??? => +0.5>>

"Not bad," Michael said with a smile. He didn't consider himself a vain person, but he was quite happy with the changes to his look. The weight reduction really helped to show off his minor musculature, making him look particularly lean. He took one final glance at the mirror before throwing on a t-shirt and jeans and running back upstairs to his awaiting coffee.

By the time he'd made his way there, his parents were in the kitchen, getting ready for their excursion with his sisters. He greeted them and they sat down to a breakfast, with his sisters soon joining them. His parents said that they should all be back for dinner and asked Michael to take care of it. He readily agreed. Soon his parents were packing up the lunches they would be taking with them, and Michael was loading the main course into the slow cooker for the evening. Once that was done, he refilled his coffee mug and went back downstairs.

"Ok, System. Let's get started. Can you talk to me about the other rewards I still haven't looked at?"

<<Certainly. The original reward for renovating the bathroom was access to the bathing solution formula. Since you were able to complete it so quickly, it has been upgraded to include several other formulae. The information should already be accessible in your mind, though it may still need some assimilation time.>>

"Got it. I'll look that over later. What else?"

<<You still have a Lucid Space Enhancement Module, and the Universal Enhanced Focus hours.>>

"I'm going to take a wild guess that those are like the previous enhanced focus hours but better in some way?"

<<Correct. No prize for that logical leap, though! They're essentially enhanced focus hours you can use for any task. Each activation lasts an hour, and there's no limit to the number you can use per day.>>

"Really... can I use them in the Lucid space?"

<<No - just like your current enhanced focus abilities, they don't overlap with the lucid space. Too taxing on the brain, even with the inclusion of the upgrade to your body.>>

"That's what I thought. I think I have a good candidate or two for them, then. Now, can we talk about the Lucid Space?"

<<Of course. Originally there were only a couple of options available for upgrade, but the cybernetic upgrade you chose has improved them and also unlocked others. Available Modules are:

- Manifestation Assistance, Tier I

- Physical Synchronization, Tier II

- Lucid Time Dilation, Tier II

- Simulation Assistance, Tier I.>>

"... System, could I have descriptions please?"

<<Of course.

Manifestation Assistance: Subject will be able to manifest more complex changes to the Lucid Space, such as expanding size and generating more complex objects without expending mental energy.

Physical Synchronization: A portion of activities performed within Lucid Space will be transcribed to the subject's associated procedural memory, effectively generating 'muscle memory' for the performed task.

Lucid Time Dilation: By accelerating the Subject's experience of time, effective time Subject can remain in Lucid Space will increase by 50% for the same rest period.

Simulation Assistance: System will assist Subject by simulating the real-world interactions associated with specified activities in order to allow subject to perform more complex actions without expending mental energy.>>

Michael stared blankly as he read the descriptions. Some of the options made a bit of sense, but he felt like there was a lot of information hidden between the lines in what he'd just been told. He scratched the back of his neck as he puzzled over the data, then sighed. This decision was going to be more complicated than he thought.

"... ok, can you run that by me again?"