The Bounty Hunter

Chapter 77: The Boredom of My New Life

June 28th, 2089

Terras POV

Ever since the reveal about my mothers family trying to mend fences with her, I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Surprisingly though, nothing has happened yet.  They have been taking things slowly, simply talking with my mother from time to time over the phone.  There have been no gifts to try and bribe her nor have there been any demands.  I guess nearly 2 decades apart might have changed things between them.

Anyways, I am currently alone in Kira and Veronicas apartment, the unused 2nd bedroom to be specific.  It has become my personal workshop, where I have spent a very large amount of my newfound free time tinkering with the automaton.  I have been making significant progress on that front.  The skeleton and exterior have been assembled as written in Artificer Steales journal.  The automaton was a finished product, but unfortunately Steale died before he completed the final assembly and activated it.  The next steps are to install the magic circuitry, clockwork gear musculature, and the steamwork viscera.  The robotics elective I took back in middle school is being put to good use now.  Although Artificer Steales work is far ahead of where my world is at.

While the field of robotics has advanced, it is nowhere near where it could have been.  This is true for many technological fields.  Estimates say that we would have been at least 90 years ahead as a civilization had it not been for the aftermath of the 3rd World War.  Some historians are even arguing that the end date of 2043 for WW3 should be changed to 2046 due to the vicious cyber-war that lasted for 3 years after the final ceasefire.  The power of computerized weaponry, with processing powers encroaching onto the levels of virtual intelligence, was shown to be incredible.  Energy weapons like laser cannons and plasma guns, automated hive-mind drones, and power suits all relied on miniaturized supercomputers, which were created from a revolutionary discovery in computing.

But this technology had a glaring weakness:  vulnerability to computer malware.  So, hostile countries tried to sabotage each others war potentials in anticipation for an eventual resumption of conflict.  The last ceasefire at the time hadnt been expected to last, but then a global calamity occurred.  The cyber warfare division in China managed to create a computer virus targeting the very basis of supercomputer technology that proved to be unstoppable.  They managed this by drawing inspiration from biological viruses, and coding into it the ability to mutate.  They underestimated its dangerousness, so when they ran it on a supposedly isolated computer for a test run, they didnt expect it to mutate spontaneously mid test and break through their firewall and get onto the internet.

The result was the technological equivalent of the Black Plague back in the Middle Ages, resulting in it being now known as the Cyber-Plague.  All the supercomputerized equipment in both the military and the civilian worlds were decimated.  Fortunately, supercomputers in civilian life were not too widespread as they had only relatively recently been introduced to the public.  Militaries all over the globe though were crippled as much of their capabilities vanished.  Had the Chinese been able to protect themselves from the virus, they could have conquered the world easily at that point.  However, everyone was equally devastated.  Combine that with the enormous losses of human life that had already occurred during the war and the world was simply incapable of continuing the conflict.

Attempts to counteract the virus failed and technology development as a whole was forced back as scientists had to develop a new style of computing that wouldnt be vulnerable to the virus.  Older tech was reintroduced as a stop-gap measure and eventually a new supercomputer was developed.  However, it was far inferior to its predecessor in almost every way, causing the military capabilities to be far lower than they were before.  Some technologies like power suits and mechanized combat platforms are still unable to be fully utilized, although there are rumors that several countries on the Council of Nine have regained that capability.

Furthermore, attempts to reintroduce the supercomputer in daily life met large public backlash.  Mistrust of advanced technology has persisted amongst the population, causing daily life to still be rather similar to how it was shortly after the turn of the millennia.  Not to mention that the entire world still has a major grudge against the Chinese.  Being ostracized on a global level has forced China to ally itself with the most unstable regimes that are enemies with everyone.  With Chinas protection as a Council of Nine member, these smaller autocracies have persistently feuded with and antagonized their neighbors.  The only reason they havent initiated any wars is because China is managing to restrain them from going too far.

*Bzzt* Shit! That stings! My first attempt at installing a magic circuit failed as I got some painful feedback through my soldering laser.  Rin, who was napping nearby, gave a small yip in amusement.  Shes gotten rather cheeky since the ritual, indicating that her personality is starting to fully form.  Shell probably be growing her third tail soon. 

As I nursed my injury, a far more severe pain suddenly occurred in my head.  AH!  This splitting migraine managed to elicit a groan of pain from me before I gritted my teeth and controlled myself.  My senses of sight, hearing and smell were all assaulted by various unknown stimuli.  And then it disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving me with a broken soldering laser from my tight grip and a concerned Rin nuzzling me as she checked for potential injuries.

Where are these migraines coming from?  I stared at the non-descript ceiling as I asked myself that question.  I started getting some minor headaches recently and thought nothing of it, but they have been progressively getting worse and worse.  This last migraine even had minor hallucinations accompanying it.  Maybe I should consider getting a prescription or something.

I sighed as I used a simple spell to fix my broken soldering laser.  Damn this migraine, Ive lost the initiative to continue working.  Now I dont know what to do with myself.  My parents are both gone on business trips and the girls are out.  *Sigh* Normally, this would be when Id leave for the other world to hunt down a bounty.  This transition is tougher than I thought it would be.  I think I might be missing the excitement of being in the other world despite all the fighting I did.  Damn am I really that messed up?

I guess I could move up my plans to investigate the Earths past magical history.  I promised myself that Id find a way to extend Hikaris lifespan, and the first legend that comes to mind is the Fountain of Youth.  It should be exciting enough searching for lost ruins that I wont catch myself missing the damn other world.  Everything always looks better in hindsight.  But all this introspection still hasnt answered what I should do for now.

With nothing else to do, my only remaining option is to meet up with Reiji.  He invited me to join him and his friends today, so I guess I can go.  I then have to do some work as Rin later this week.  I just hope against hope that the friends he mentioned arent those three super weirdos.