Since our wonderful forum software decided to break the post, and won't show me as last poster.
*Genetic enhancements and cybernetics are both illegal and expensive, if you wanted the full package, for yourself, that's easily half the money, for both, he'll give you 10k as a discount for having two of you doing it.*
*He has native clothes, the women native clothes are um revealing to Aribella, but she did express interest earlier*
*He has weapons from 20th century to current, projectile, energy, he has a few edged weapons, nothing like a longsword, but a katana or two, and some futuristic versions.*
*He says*
"You are going to need ID to get any services here, do you perhaps need one?"
*He does not carry books, nor information like you are looking for.*
I'll ask him what the full package actually does, then explain it to Arabella so she understands exactly what this means (seeing as her Tech bias is probably a mite low for genetics). If she wants it, we'll go full-package for both. Depending on what it does I'll probably do it myself.
If Arabella wants them, we'll get her some clothes.
As for weapons, I want a balance between concealability and stopping power, something good for self-defense. No edged weapons - I'm good there.
And yes we need IDs.
*He takes you in the back and his his female assistant Brandy cover the front*
*You walk through what looks to be an ordinary back room and he goes to a vase and reaches inside and a wall opens up.*
*You see a mix of the matrix gun racks, a bio lab and a collection of fine antiques*
*He smiles*
"The full package is genetics engineering, and implants of a technological and psionic nature, nothing legal, but then again not much is nowadays. The genetics one is simple, it wipes away any conditions or diseases caused at a genetics level, increases your metabolism enough to make sure you don't worry about being overweight, it increases production of HGH, so you build muscle, all 5 of your senses are greatly enhannced, and we splice in some DNA from other species, to give things like faster running speed, healing factor, increased jumping power, night vision. Now there are some downsides, with the full genetic enhancement, you will eat a lot, probably 2-3 times what you do now. The downside of super senses is also apparent."
*Looks at the both of you*
"We can turn you into a cyborg, but I don't think that is for you, that is the full package, all three. We can put the subdermal psionic implants that increase psionic ability. The problem comes if you don't have it to begin with, or aren't capable of it, it will have nasty side effects. Not everyone does, but you two might be different."
*He shows you the weapons, you name a weapon you have seen in a movie or tv show bases in 2050 on down, it will be here.*
"We pawn shops are the great equalizers in the world, HAND and the other agencies seek to control people, we exist to set them free."
*He shows you to an area, with equipment, looks like a photolab, but futuristic*
"We can make you an identity right here."
*Finally he shows you to the clothing and armor section, again you see anything you have seen in a movie from 2050 on down*
"I have a feeling we are both going to get what we want in this deal."
*Ari grins*
"I'll take all but the cyborg part, that didn't sound me, clothing, weapons, armor and ID."
*She seems to be adjusting to being an immortal dimensional traveler very well*
Post above.
I love my wife. I hug her from behind and cuddle her, because she's awesome.
"I'll take the works. Genetics, cybernetics, psionics, the whole nine yards."
For my weapon: When you say "any weapon from now till 2050," how are they on bio-tech? Would their inventory include, for instance, my favorite weapon in the history of, well, ever: Scorpion's semi-sentient tentacle whip from Mortal Kombat? (It's just a rope-dart in the games, but it's a living thing in the movie, akin to the Quori tentacle whip from D&D's 'Eberron' setting.)
If they have that, I want one. In fact when I get to a high-magic Verse it's becoming a bonded familiar. If not, I'll take a good old-fashioned mare's leg (think Zoe's gun from Firefly), with the appropriate licenses from the photostudio.
I'll recommend that Ari should learn to use a gun as well: the Baretta 84FS Cheetah (Trinity uses a pair of them in "The Matrix" when she's falling out the window).
I'll recommend she learn to fight, too, but I can teach her hand-to-hand myself, later.
For my clothing/armor: I'll wear what the natives wear, that spandex stuff, but fit me for it after the metabolism mods kick in. I'll also ask if the cybernetics package includes anything like subdermal armor or bone lacing (you did say anything set 2050 or earlier; Wolverine's bone lacing and Shadowrun's suite of gadgets both fit).
*She gets all giddy when you do so*
*I'm going to limit it to movies and TV. Their biotech is not at a level that you are thinking. They are not really above the 10@5 level of adding attachments, and they can't add winged flight. They have laser, plasma and sonic weapons, any combination or type of each, if you have a specific in mind, let me know.*
*It seems many of the older weapons are antiques, The only gun company still in business is S&W, and they do keep all their "classics" in stock, anything they make is readily available. Now that you think about it, if firearms from 2K era are antiques and very hard to get, one from the Victorian Era, must be like finding the Holy Grail*
*The cybernetics do have subdermal armor, because, really you are a cyborg with a human brain, heart and nervous system, everything else is metal. You could lace your bones with metal, but he adds, the marrow inside is important, making it metal, limits your red blood cell production severely and has no check for your Lymphatic system. He would advise against it, as you would have to start making further genetic changes to make up for it, which will have unknown effects. He asks where you got that idea from a comic book?*
*Clothing is that jumpsuit like stuff, armor is like spartan armor, but more form fitting. If you are wearing that, you are the police or are expecting trouble. The armor does autorepair itself slowly, and does include some attribute raising training built in ((Puts pressure on body for Density, makes itself Heavier for Strength and Stamina, Reduces it's Density to train your Agility.*
*He can make the ID's at any time, but you should wait till after the genetic alterations.*
I mention that I read about it in a book once and wondered if anybody had bothered to make it yet. "After all, not terribly long ago all of this would've been like science fiction."
Alright, no bone lacing. But I will specify that I want top of the line goods, as close to unnoticeable as possible. I want to keep my own skin.
No armor for me, just that jumpsuit stuff is fine.
The sad thing is I don't have anything in particular I want for a weapon. Everything I can think of is stuff like Zoe's gun from Firefly (too old), the Mauler from Halo (too far in the future) or some version of energy weapon. In fact, come to think of it, if you're allowing generic energy weapons, a Halo-style Plasma Pistol is pretty much just my speed.
*Plasma technology exists, it might not look like a Halo pistol or rifle, but they function the same.*
*She picks out some of the revealing wear for women, and goes behind some boxes and changes, she walks out with the armor covering up most of what would have shown*
"Hey I might like the clothes, but I'm not comfortable everyone looking at me like that."
*She picks out a pair S&W M&P 9mm, and a S&W M&P 15 5.56 Semi Automatic Carbine, with a Plasma Pistol and Rifle*
*He picks out the smaller implants*
"More expensive, but you won't look like freaks"
*He motions to the chairs, from what you have picked out*
"I can to them modifications, the hardware, the ID's and give you 10k in a credit chit"
"Sounds good to me."
I just have a few more questions, since Ari has the good sense to pick a suite of weapons while I only took a sidearm. Can I add to my plasma pistol some form of sniper rifle? If S&W is the only remaining manufacturer, they must make one. I'm actually more comfortable with a rifle than I am with a pistol, but I've gotten decent with gunslinging, so... I'd like to have both.
I agree about the smaller implants.
OH! I want to look around for one more thing. This is a high-tech, high-psionics world. Does he have anything like a lightsaber? *ahem* 'force sword' ? If he asks, then, yes I read about it in a book and I'm testing the limits of modern technology; I've been out of touch for a while.
Then it's into the chairs and see what happens.
*They don't have a plasma sniper, plasma energy is too unstable to make a good sniper weapon, but you can get the same kind of rifle Ari got*
*He shrugs*
"No psionic blades, I heard they can make them with their minds, as for edged weapons, plasma is too unwieldly, but you can get a shocksword, or a vibroblade of you'd like with the extras, I'd kick the amount down to 5k"
*Assuming that is ok, you sit down in the chairs, and a robot puts you down*
*You awake hours later, full of energy, and senses you never had before. You can taste the air, smell Ari's attraction to you, etc, etc*
*He looks at both of you*
"Psionics is highly illegal, and eventually HAND will pinpoint your location, I would advise, being judicious in your use of it."
Sure, I'll take a rifle to match hers, perhaps specifying an upgraded scope. For Designated Marksmen that's sometimes the only real difference anyway.
As for the edged weapons, I'm good with what I've got.
I reach over and take her hand, waiting to see just how quickly we heal up from major surgery. I would expect to be laid up for weeks given 2010 technology, days at least given foreseeable advancements. Quicker than that and I'm genuinely amazed.
Still, I accept his advice, and don't attempt to use any psionics just yet.
((6 GE roll impressive))
*The surgery wasn't that bad, you are very sore, but you have no stitches, cuts, or open wounds to deal with. He gives you both some painkillers, and within a few days those too will be gone.*
*She graps yours*
"I expected it to be far worse."
*The Pawn Shop guy*
"I think that concludes that transaction, of course, you were never here.*
*He smiles and shows you to the back door, with your things in hand*
^Post above
Thankfully we have backpacks and cloaks and such to hide our bulkier purchases, and now the strength to handle them all.
"Next order of business: a place to live. Another stop at a terminal?"
I think that's in order.
*You stash your new friends in bags and whatnot*
*Your stats will go up quickly, but you can tell, your bodies are still burning through your fat very quickly to make changes, so a terminal is in order, probably to find a place to eat within 15 minutes, then find a place, or you can try to wait it out, but the hunger is there, sharp and getting worse.*
*Ari looks at you*
"I feel like I could eat a horse, and not care if it is cooked or not, I hope it's only this bad because of the changes we are going through."
*Now that you have the verbal cue, you do notice your body shifting, fat melting away, muscles appearing in its place.*
*I am going to assume, you will look for a place to eat through the terminal, There are 5 fine restaurants, 4 3 star ones, and 4 burger joint type places. You are in NYC, you have your pick*
"We need protein, and it seems like fat doesn't much matter..."
Where's the nearest White Castle, or other slider-type place? We don't exactly need petit filets here, just something to chow down on rapidly.
*You find the closest, and only fast food place is MC KFC King Bell Castle, but there are many of them, including right around the corner.*
*Going to fast forward, and say you guys spend a good hundred dollars, ordering bags and bags of food, and gathering an audience woofing it down, you are down to $4900, and a regular income is going to be necessary, you say the price of an 800 SF apartment here is about $4500 a month, in a bad neighborhood, but it is rent controlled!*
I'll take the place, and immediately look for places therein to hide our guns and valuables. Loose floorboards or ceiling panel, plank in the back of the closet, old boarded-up fireplace, that kind of thing.
*This place is horrible, there are loose floorboards, no ceiling panels, closet panels are all loose, you are surprised to find it has radiator heat and cold and hot running water, and some electrical outlets that aren't smoking or sparking.*
*Ari looks around*
"Well, I guess this is "For Poorer" part. I hate to bring this up, but our finances allow us to eat 4 more meals like the last one we ate. We need someway to earn a living, that isn't me walking the streets."
*She smirks at the last one*
"Well, I know I'd be a regular," I joke back, "But don't worry - all we have to do is find a way to sell off what we have and we'll never go hungry again. We'll be in this fleabag a week, tops."
Once the valuables and such are sold, it's time to settle in. If we have a bed, I go there, otherwise I go to where we will be putting one. I take out my red-bladed smallsword. "Time to show you another interesting thing I picked up. I actually learned some of this in Durnmist. Well, learned, discovered, made up... it gets fuzzy. If you want to know how it works, I can teach you, but I'm going to need about two hours of peace and quiet or it won't work at all.
"Once I get this going, we'll never have to sleep again, unless we choose to, or get careless, which gives us more time for everything else. I can also use it to heal injuries... but like I said, all that comes after."
1@8 Consecrate Holy Ground M+1@1 creates consecrated circle 8 feet in diameter, 2:00:00 TF, lengthy appropriate words calling the four corners, calling upon Njordr, god of the sea, to bless the space, Odin, in his capacity as god of wisdom, to guide the casting, and Freya, goddess of magic and patron of sorcerers, to lend strength and valor, with my sword Soulmourn in right hand, sound matters, in English, concentration not interrupted during casting, and limited so that if I permanently leave the place the circle will be rendered useless; add that five minute calling the corners and invoking the gods must be said inside the space before it can be used for casting, +32SM
*She nods and starts rummaging through her steamer trunk, she didn't have weapons, so she has clothes, a sewing machine (foot powered), and clothes*
*She looks at the sewing machine*
"That is probably an antique here"
*You know what you have, so you can make that assessment of what you would trade*
*You think it wise to spread the valuables to other pawn shops*
*You feel your spell has worked, I read it, what is it suppose to do for you?*
(By itself this spell doesn't do anything much, it just consecrates a patch of ground. But you see how a bunch of my other spells - like Remove Fatigue - require an 'activated holy ground'? That's what this spell establishes - a holy ground, which I can then 'activate' with a 15-minute ritual. Then I spend an hour praying to Remove Fatigue.)
"I don't have much either," I shrug, "I could sell my cutlass, if you like, but I don't imagine I'd get much for my flute. You should keep that sewing machine - it's probably a damn sight more reliable than the more modern ones.
"Personally I think we should go to a lawyer tomorrow and see about brokering the sale of a sliver of gold off the edge of a diktar. A whole two-ounce coin is worth more than some countries, so..."
((Ok I understand now))
*She nods*
"Probably a good idea, using a go-between. Well I am tired, and sore, you said something about not sleeping?"
==========
*How are you choosing a lawyer, there are hundreds in the city. Do you have any criteria to narrow the search? Also again in the morning, ravenous, you feel less sore, but you need to eat.*
"Yeah. Hmm... You can probably follow me through this if you want. I developed this long before we ever met..."
As I do it, I'll teach her:
along with the symbolism behind it.1@5 Remove Fatigue M+2@1 must be lying supine in bed within an activated casting circle (holy ground) appropriate words spoken quietly but sound matters, invoking Tyr god of duty and valor, Thor god of strength, and Hugin and Munin symbols of vigilance, removing fatigue, 1:00:00TF reinvigorates such that caster will function normally for forty-seven hours after casting before feeling the fatigue of a normal day's work, +91SM.
As for lawyers, I'll deal with that on Sunday or Monday when I get back into town IRL.
((Nods ok, will answer the first part though))
*She seems to grab onto it solidly, 1@2 for that skill*
"That's a pretty interesting ability, so you have a past before me dear husband, so do tell?"
Once we've done the spell, I'll curl up with her in bed, or somewhere comfy if we don't actually have a bed, and tell her about the island, and being a Verser, and very little of my life at home except that I was a librarian, writer, and actor, and had no family I was particularly close to.