The Test (Paragon)

[Ghost]

[[OoC: this thread takes place before the new year and the snowfall]]

Today was the day. Victor wanted to see how well the implants were taking and wanted an idea of Adam’s limits. Adam had slowly reacclimated himself to exercise. Within days of beginning to exercise again, he was at the numbers he had been doing before the implants had been installed. At the same time, he wasn’t working as hard to do it. It was kind of amazing how well they were working. This had been reported to Victor, but he wanted to see it and to push it. 

Adam arrived in the gym section of the building at the appropriate time. Mr. Haart had told him he intended to be there, so Adam wasn’t surprised to see the Paragon CEO there with Victor. ”Good Morning, Mr. Haart, Victor,” he said, his greeting more cordial and respectful to Mr. Haart. If Victor noticed, he didn’t say anything, but that was normal. 

Victor approached him. ”Alright - we’re going to do a series of tests today. Some cardio and resistance work to see how well the implants have taken. You’ve reported back to me, positive results. We’re going to try to push those limits today. When it’s too much, let me know so we can have an understanding of your limits. Do you understand?”

The entire set of instructions was spoken without any inflection. That was also typical. ”Yes,” he responded matter of factly. ”I did a warm-up, so I’m ready to start when you are.”

Victor actually showed he was pleased at that moment. It was a strange thing to see. ”Perfect. Would you like to start with cardio or resistance?”

Adam elected to do weights first - simply because he doubted Mr. Haart would enjoy watching him run so much. He didn’t know how long Mr. Haart planned on staying. He didn’t expect him to stay long. He went through his lifting routine, starting first with his normal as a benchmark. It seemed incredibly easy. Then they added more - and more - and more. When he had doubled his normal weight he began to feel more resistance. He was able to dead lift triple his body weight, and with one hand he was able to lift at two and a half times his body weight. Victor was talking excitedly about it to Mr. Haart, showing him the numbers from before he had received the implants. So far - everything was exceeding expectations.

[Ghost]

The strength testing was done, and Adam was amazed at how well the implants had been integrating with his body. The data showed that he was significantly stronger than the average man despite his average size and build.

After that, same the speed tests. Victor had Adam run. It wasn’t nearly as exciting as the strength tests, but it was just as eye opening. At full sprint, Victor clocked Adam at 24 miles per hour, a feat of athleticism. Victor thought that with training that could be pushed even farther. The problem was stopping. Unused to going that fast, Adam tumbled on the first sprint. There were some simple scrapes, but his nanobots kicked in and they were healed rather quickly. The second run, he was able to slow down first. Getting used to using his stronger body would be paramount. As for long distance running, they checked him at a 5k run. Not only did his time increase, but he wasn’t breathing hard and had barely sweat.

They didn’t need to do dexterity tests as Adam had done these after he had received the arm implant. They had a significant amount of data. So far, Project Ghost was exceeding all expectations. Mr. Haart hadn’t stayed the whole time. That didn’t upset Adam; he was a busy man. But he had stayed long enough, and Adam thought he had appeared pleased at the results.

”Everything is better than I had expected. Are you feeling any pa…I mean…discomfort,” Victor asked. Adam shook his head. He felt the same as he always did. ”Then we only have one more test, but first, I have a gift for you.” Adam had to admit that he was intrigued. He had never received a gift from Victor.

[Ghost]

Of all the things Adam expected, a gift was the last thing on his list today. It was possible that the gift was a late Christmas present. Adam's birthday was tomorrow, so it could even be a birthday present. It was possible, but it was unlikely.  Victor likely hadn't remembered both days. The gift was likely something that had to do with Project Ghost. Victor handed Adam a plastic case. Adam looked at it and undid the clasps holding it shut.

Inside he found a pistol. "The Specter-45 Smart-Pistol," Victor explained. "Chamber in a .45 ACP. It has an adaptive biometric trigger with dynamic pull resistance, and haptic alignment feedback. Other features include  nano-composite self-cleaning barrel for heat dispersion and sustained fire.  The low profile iron sights will interface with your optical implants providing target highlighting, range estimation, and automatic ambient light compensation. Recoil and thermal management are handled through a barrel heat shield, muzzle compensator, and an internal electromagnetic stabilization core powered by a compact power cell, reducing recoil impulse and muzzle flash. Ergonomic memory-reactive grip includes fingerprint authentication with electronic lockout and shock deterrent. Supports one-handed, glove-compatible rapid reloads and selectable fire modes including standard semi-auto, quickfire limited burst, and cautious recoil-reduced precision.  It has optional neon-trim that can be adjusted. That's just for show, but it can be turned off."

It was a beautiful gun. "Looks like it's modeled after a Colt 1911?" Adam asked.

Victor nodded. "If I remember correctly, a 1911 is what you carry. I thought it would be a good choice," Victor explained.  He was right.  It wasn't what he had used in the CCD military, but it was what he had personally carried.

Adam picked up the gun and suddenly he was seeing things on his optical implants. First it started with a message stating that the gun was in good working order. Then in the bottom right corner of his gun he saw an image of the pistol.  Underneath flashed the word "Empty." "Oh - that's neat. I'm assuming it tells me how many rounds are loaded?"

Victor nodded again. "It will also let you know of malfunctions to the firearm. The pistol interfaces with a sensor on your cyberarm. This also locks it only to your use unless, of course, you unlock it."

Adam picked up the magazine.  It was, of course empty. He picked up the other two, but the last one was different, looking like a solid block. "What's this?"

"You pistol also has a laser mode, allowing you to practice without live ammunition.  We can't do so here. I'll get some range time so you can do live fire. This device activates that laser mode.  The pistol will react as if it was actually firing live ammunition.  I have some targets set up. You can use your opticals to target them. I just want to see how well everything is functioning."

That was a little disappointing, but Adam understood it. There were other people who lived down here. The sounds of live gun fire wouldn't be good. Adam inserted the device into the gun. The "Empty" Text was replaced with an ammo count. The word "Laser" was now over the pistol. Adam located the targets.  Using the targeting system was pretty intuitive.  Adam found he could mark multiple targets at once. Since it interfaced with his arm, the gun seemed to move on its own. It was pretty incredible.

All in all, Victor was pleased. He was then dismissed. Victor let him keep the pistol.  It wasn't like he had any ammunition to use in it, and he had no access to get any since he was essentially locked in the basement. Adam went into his room and laid down on his bed. "Welcome back Adam, how did your test go?" Eva greeted him.

"It exceeded all expectations. Everything is working great," Adam responded, surprised that it actually excited him.  He thought it would scare him, but he was beginning to see what all he was capable of.