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(Setting) 7th Avenue garage
| > A hovertaxi arrives near the garage, out from the taxi was a woman wearing formal business suit. She thanked the driver of the taxi before it flies away, going to another destination.
"Quite far up. I didn't expect Glitch City to be so big."
> She approaches the drawn X, seeing it clear.
"This is the place, right?"
> Opening up her phone, she goes to open a thread in the browser. Making sure she is in the right place and all.
| >A young man in casual clothing and two visible leg and arm augments hurriedly arrives to the garage place, and with a knock on the side the garae door opens
>He looks around before noticing the suited woman
"..Uni, right? Or are ya' lost gal?" -X
| (-Xii*)
| "Uni, pleasure to meet you mister.. Xii?"
> Uni struggles remembering and spelling out the name, and attempts her weak best at doing so.
| "The one and only" -X
>As the door fully opens it shows to be a workshop that's actually pretty well organized, with clear white light and a few tools on the wall
"I'm tellin' you now ah've only fixed an aug eye once before so, we gonna wait an' see if the others come right?"
| >>274099
"I don't mind waiting, sure."
> Uni answers, glancing at the insides of the garage at the end of her sentence.
"—Besides, I like to increase the odds of getting the eye fixed."
| "Fair enough"
>Xii drops the toolbox on the garage floor before taking out a folding table leaned against the wall
"So ya' say it turns off at times and it can last months like that right?"
| "About as I described, yes. Nowadays, it would work, but often randomly and faintly."
> Uni closes her eyes, concentrating on something, before opening it back on — her left eye glows an incandescent blue; lasting an entire second before it fades back to normality.
"Did you see that? It's supposed to stay on for long."
| "Ah' can see.. Does it happen to also start workin when ya' have your head in a certain position? Like when ya' tilt it or when layin' down?"
>He opened the folding table and placed it firmly in front of him
| >>274506
"I don't think so."
> Uni goes to check the garage, entering it at moment's notice.
"—I do know that it can activate silently. So perhaps it does activate when I'm tilting, but I can't be aware of it?"
| >>274863
"Ah' mean that was assumin' ya' tried different positions to make it work"
>Xii took a close look at Uni's eye
"Can ya' tilt your head to the left all you can? Ah' wanna make sure It's what I think before doin' anythin'" -X
|
| >>275920
> Uni nods quietly, setting her head to a slight tilt — both left and right. There is no perceivable changes visible to the eye.
"Did it activate?"
| "Not really.. Ah' think I have a theory"
>Xii puts takes out his phone and places it on his side on the table, keeping it still thanks to his case
"Now it could be a shortage of the energy that reaches the aug, to put it that way, wich would mean somethin' disconnected rather than goin' loose"
| >The light of the phone went on projecting on the wall what's on the phone screen.
>It shows how Xii searches "Visual aug adaptation exercises" then opens a gif of constant blinking dots
"Now concentrate as much as ya' can on how many red and blue dots you spot, it should be like that effort ya' made when closin' your eye" -X
| (gdi I keep typing the '-X' it's force of habit sorry)
| "O-okay."
> The animated dots confuse Uni for a moment, but she goes to follow Xii's instructions.
"Should I count? I think they are appearing rather quickly, and I might have missed one or two—"
| "Yeah that should do the trick hold on"
>Xii pressed something on the side of his glasses before taking them off, as he did his eyes now looked to be cheap augs, then took a close look at hers.
"Count how many red and blue ya' see, this is mostly to get yer eye makin' effort, so.. Look with effort?"
| >>280317
> As being told, Uni took greater effort to tracking the dots — all while she mentally counts them all.
"Fifteen-so.."
> Her left eye sparks a faint blue, a sound of a mechanical whir can be heard; slowly moving like a gear clicking together.
| "Alright now count them by groups, like how many reds and blues, I think ah' got this.."
>He kept his stare on her eye, nodding slightly.
| "This is getting more complex."
> Uni puts in more effort to the test, and in an instant a sound of a rotation can be heard. Uni's left eye activates, but only weakly so.
"—I can feel it activating, but I'll leave it to you for the analysis."
| "Well I'm sure now It's that ya' aren't gettin' enough energy on it"
>Xii turns around to pick up his phone, then to pick up the tool box he took
"So since it's an ol' aug I'm gonna uncover the cornea to pull and see What's missin' or loose in the wirement, got me so far?"
>He placed the toolbox on the table
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| "Sounds grisly, I'll follow still."
> Uni comments, feeling her left eye with her hand. She can feel a slight heat radiating from it, as well as the many parts constructing its shape.
|
| "Alright now sit up or lay down on the table, you have to be confortable in case this takes long"
>Xii opened his toolbox taking out what looked like a small scalpel
| "Although.. Ya' got a Port for that right? Ah' might have something that wouldn't require me openin' yer eye"
| > Uni sat on the table, her expression denotes that she is trying to figure out something.
"Port? I don't think it ever came with one."
| "Bummer, some of the newest do but ah' guess we gotta do it the ol'good way then"
>Xii took another close look at her eye before getting the scalpel close as well
| > A close inspection at the left eye shows several moving parts inside. It is coated with a thin, polymer-like substance. When it isn't glowing, the parts seems to focus light to a structure similar to a pupil.
"I'll assume this won't hurt as much as I think it is."
| "Didn't hurt first time ah' did this but say if ya' feel somethin' wrong, ah' could take the whole thing out but I'm not too acquainted with that process"
>He narrowed his eyes as he slightly pressed the scalpel against the border of the cornea, keeping the skin around her eye spread with two fingers to prevent closing.
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| (Uni was totally not dead because I went off. Totally.)
> The cornea is thin, and the scalpel has about enough force to visibly push it down. Uni is not reacting to it, however, and she keeps a stoic emotion as her right eye struggles to see what's happening.
| (Lol it's alright)
>Xii takes slow breaths while working, he removes the cornea with a soft pull detaching it, then carefully places it next to the toolbox.
"In hindsight ah' should learn to do this takin' the whole thing out for future convenience.."
>He took out a tiny screwdriver, wich emited a light at his touch and was now pointing at her left eye for a better view.
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| "The same goes for me. I'm in no way knowledgeable in all this — now is a chance to learn more about the eye."
> At the removal of the transparent layer of the eye, the parts that were obstructed before becomes visible. The eye is made of interlocking metallic plates, shaped like a cog. It is held together by.. something — more digging might be needed.
| "Ah' forgot how amazin' these could look.."
>He mumbled as he moved the tiny screwdriver close, he first tried to manually move the pieces with a correct placement of the tool followed by a slight twirling motion.
| > The tight fit proves to be rather hard to move, but with enough time, it budged. The many parts the eye had began rotating counterclockwise, releasing its locking mechanism. At the inside, a thick sapphire sits — it covers a deeper part of the eye, where a mounting plate and a microchip is visible.
| >Xii turned to place the screwdriver on the toolbox, and took two small tapes to place around her eye
"Shoulda started with these, It's already hard doin' this with a free hand"
>He took a flathead screwdriver now along with small pincers
|
| "Mhm."
> Uni verbally confirms, not moving an inch as her eye is being probed. A faint sound of a mechanical whir and click comes from the open eye as the unlocked plates spin rather slowly. It was audible enough for the two to hear it.
| "Hmn.."
>Xii turns the light of the new screwdriver and checks again on the plates, starting with a little side push on the direction they should be spinning
|
| > The eye suddenly lights up, overpowering the screwdriver's light rather easily. Its light is white on the inside, however — and only blue when it goes through the mounted sapphire. Whether this was due to Xii or whether it was accidental is nature is largely unknown to the two.
"I can feel it powering on."
> As Uni said so, the eye flickers. The microchip inside beeps with a tinny sound. The beeps seem to be repeating in a pattern as well.
|
| "And ah' can see it doin' that, boy let's see if it keeps like that before ah' close this back in place.."
>Xii takes a closer look at the beeping chip, making sure It's perfectly still without having to touch the sapphire
| > The beep repeats in a similar fashion to a morse code.
"..-. .- .. .-.. ... .- ..-. . ·-·-·- --- -."
> Uni hears the beep and she murmurs parts of the beep whilst mentally translating it.
"O.. N.. F—"
| >Xii's got a puzzled look on his face as he made out it was morse
"...Ah' got 'lock on' but not the first part"
>He pulled back the tools, taking a little time to think
| > The eye begins relocking back down, with it, the light it generates fade. It's back to where it was before: untouched.
"At least we know it isn't completely broken."
> Uni said, reiterating an assortment of positivity.
|
| "This is honestly better than what I expected, but let's see after.."
>Xii used the pincers to pick up the cornea from the table as he dropped the screwdriver on the box, after getting it close to Uni's eye he guided with his hand to properly enclose it.
| "I expect the eye to be torn down and whatnot, you know."
> Uni said as her eye is reconfigured back with its thin cornea. Her eyelid twitches after being open for a period of time.
| >Xii removed the tapes around her eye right after
"Sorry, how ya' feelin' now?"
>He said still looking into her eye as it adjusted being fully assembled
|
| "Indifferent is the word, I suppose."
> Uni holds out a hand over her eye, feeling the ache surging in.
"—That was a quick one. What did you do?"
| "Honestly? I winged it, the gears look kind of stuck so ah' gave them a lil' push but that's it"
>Xii stepped back a bit, still keeping his gaze on her eye
"Ah' was ready to replace a broken gear or to send a tiny shock to get it workin'"
| "T-tiny shock?"
> Uni chuckled at the thought of tiny arc of electricity. She rubbed her restored eye and gave it a good try.
"—And now.."
> As Uni activated her eye, a clicking sound can be heard. Her left eye glows a shining white — unlike the blue it was before.
"How is it? I'm feeling it better than before."
| "Well it's certainly lookin' better too"
>Xii took out his phone and set the front camera, then raised it in front of her
"But check out for yourself, this is so far the quickiest fix I ever did"
| > Uni blinked, not expecting the white light from her eye.
"White is certainly odd to see."
> She closes her eyes and reopened them, the left eye turns back off.
"—I can actually control it this time."
|
| Hii
| so now she or he can see
| >>304591
"Well I can say now ah' successfully fixed at least two eye augments so far, this adds up experience"
>He took back his phone and started typing on it
"Ah' could put up another visual test unless ya' feel sure about it"
|
| "S-sure."
> Uni rubs her eye to check for the fit of the cornea. Opening and reopening them as though adjusting the eye.
| >Xii sets up his phone on the table just like before, projecting to the wall how he searchs for 'visual aug adaptation exercise' and puts up an animation, it consists of five lines of numbers that constantly go up and down
"Now I'm not a fan of failure but I ain't lettin' ya' go out of here unsure about your eye, now, cover your organic eye and count how many sevens you can see on screen, if your eye doesn't shut down then we're good"
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| > Uni did what was told. She covered her right eye, shutting it from seeing as her left eye activates.
"One—"
> As she began counting, the white light of the eye stays consistent. It doesn't flicker nor does it show any perplexingly strange issues. At least for now.
"Three and so—"
| "Well everythin's looking' fine girl, now ah' can say ya' got a perfectly workin' eye with a brand new white color"
>He said folding out his glasses, as he puts them on his eyes look organic again
"And, just a side note, if ya' know people that's willin' to risk an aug tell 'em I'll fix it just for the experience"
| "Surely! Ah, before I leave—"
> Uni opens her suit's pocket, shuffling to search for something there.
"There it is."
> She holds a small rectangular device, seemingly in the shape of a phone.
"I relied on the eye to do this, so we'll see if I still have the capability to do it."
> Activating her eye, the white glow registers on the device. It too, began illuminating its body with rapid-moving symbols.
"—I can't read any of them."
|
| >Xii looks at the device with a puzzled look, almost like it was the first time he saw something like that, and it problably was.
"Now ya' got me.. I'd guess this was synchronized with your eye before the fix but that'd be bluffin', I'm honestly not sure what the hell is this"
| "It's an Arcana."
> Uni let her left eye return to its deactivated state, allowing the device she was holding to turn off as well.
"—Or the Arcana? I'm not sure. CN has one of the earlier model, but this is the only 'Arcana' I know of; It's a device meant for clairvoyance."
> She pauses, looking at the device longingly.
"Well 'clairvoyance'. I don't know what gizmo it has either. I'm sure it's all artifical intelligence inside."
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| "Alright, so we got here a device that not only ah' never seen but I also can't understand how it works.. Good thing I'm not a fan of failure! How did ya' synchronize it with your eye first? Maybe we can force a reset on this thing.."
>His optimism was contradicted by the puzzled look he was showing towards the device.
| "I.. actually don't know."
> With a hint of a frown in her face, Uni shrugged.
"—Or at least, I'm not the one that remembers how."
> She began toying around the device, not finding much to pry open or to unscrew. It seems that the device is shut from any external attempts to open it.
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| How does one find The garage
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| >>312404
"Then who's the one who remembers how? Just out of curiosity and out of havin' no clue about this thing"
>He started looking into his toolbox for anything magnetic with a tiny amount of hope that magnets could do the trick
| > Uni shrugs, showing either not wanting to answer or actually not knowing.
"We'll keep this for later. It's not that I'll need the Arcana anytime soon."
> She goes through her pocket again, taking a credstick out before putting it on the nearest table.
"—I suppose this will be enough?"
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| >>317904
"Well since ya' were in risk of losin' your eye here anythin' is enough.. Though give me a call if ya' figure out the Arcana, knowin' how to crack one could be useful information"
>Xii casually picked up the credstick to take a look at it
| >>321678
> The credstick is wrapped around a neat paper, "for the eye, 250k" is written on it.
"I'll definitely do so. Repairing the eye itself is enough service. The Arcana is another job entirely — one that I expect to be done in a matter of months."
> She sighs, putting back the irresponsive rectangular device to her pocket.
"Thank you. I thought I couldn't have it fixed. It's hard enough being alive with it, and to have it disappear is too much of a hindrance."
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| >>321683
"I understand, I mean, jumpin' to the first one that could fix it besides the constant warnin', ah' knew ya' were in a tight spot"
>Xii put the credstick on his pocket before saving up all of his tools back in the toolbox
"In a tight spot or *really* tired of not havin' that eye workin' on, either way ya' got a nice workin' eye and ah' got more experience on this.. Experience and money"
| "Uh-huh. I'll definitely keep you in mind should any problems arise."
> Uni takes her phone from her pocket, using it for a short while to call for a ride back home.
"—Fifteen minutes. That will be a time to wait."
> She glances to the outside sky, not wholly expecting anything different. Her left eye's new glow is radiating brightly.
"So, Xii. How long have you been here? I figure I ought to have a talk while I wait."
| >He sat on his folding table after making sure it'll be able to hold him
"Well I've been in the city for a measily three years, though ah' spent about two switchin' between the same places over and over, ah' still feel new when ah' go out to do somethin' different.. though this, fixin' people is pretty damn familiar"
>He turned to Uni just after he finished talking
"What about ya'? ya' look like a long time local"
| "I don't know. I never figured out when I first arrived here, but I know I'm certainly not a local."
> Uni answered, her gaze was fixated to her phone at first before meeting Xii's.
"Of course, I have never been great with keeping up records with my past."
> She gave a smile at the end of her sentence before looking back at the sky above.
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| "Well at least that makes me feel more like a local, and a girl with a clairvoyance device usually means 'complicated past', but ah'll take it your case is different"
>Xii checked out his phone at moments, mostly out of distraction
"Ya' seem to like the sky, to not be lookin' at a screen or the ground like everyone does"
| "I love the sky, and even more so for the celestial bodies."
> Uni finally let her gaze settle down back to the ground.
"One memory I faintly remember from my past was a story someone told me from the first lunar landing. How insignificant Earth felt when you are standing outside of it—"
> She smiled; it's a smile that speaks nostalgia.
"—How the culmination of efforts led to us having our first few steps at conquering the skies beyond our own."
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| "..That's deep and pretty girl, ah' guess we all just take the sky for granted"
>He kept his gaze at street level, distracted, thinking.
"And ah' never though of all the trouble it took us people to reach it, how big of a fuss it was to step on somethin' as small as the moon"
| "It was a big achievement then, it's still a big achievement now."
> Uni notices a hovertaxi coming near, and her left eye was the first to see it as it too, glows unexpectedly.
"We all take many things for granted, hm. Like this eye, and the fact that we have flying cars now."
> She hops on to the now-open taxi as it lowers down closer to the ground.
"—I'll take my goodbye then, Xii."
> Finally, she waves a goodbye before the hovertaxi closes its passenger seat.
| "Until someday ah' guess"
>Xii waved back before walking back inside of his garage, closing the door of it as her taxi drove off out of sight
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| >An out of place garage at south of Glitz district, it doesn't look attached to any house but it has a small black X freshly painted on the side.