[GAME] Cyber Troopers VIRTUAL ON: The Virtual Miracle

"That would be me." The middle aged one spoke up. "I'm guessing this would be the arrival of the Ray unit you were talking about Jer." Clarence retrieved the bill of lading from the men unloading the cargo and signed them all out. "Bring it around to Bay 04 and lock him in." The doctor signaled to the free bay diagonally across from Temjin's bay.

"Jer, prepare boot up diagnostics for our delivery. We need to see if he's optimized first and foremost." Clarence clapped his hands, noting he wanted hastiness. "Hurry, I don't want to miss CSI tonight like I did the past three nights."

The man in the cap barked something to the other workers, and they wheeled the crate over to the designated dock. A few minutes of unpacking later, and the new Virtuaroid was locked in place. The workers climbed back in the truck, leaving the man in the cap to finish up. He finished filling out a form and handed Clarence his copies. "Welp, that's it for us." He rejoined his coworkers in the truck and drove off.

If only they had been kind enough to clean up the massive mess of packing material that was currently strewn around the new Virtuaroid.

"Probably," Jerry replied as he fastened his gloves onto his hands. "The Temjin models, if not our Big Blue here, are very popular, even by military standards. That's because they're very basic and balanced, a sort 'o all'round type of VR." He then tightened the knot of his bandanna. "Offshoots like the Ten-Eighty Special and the Apharmed were designed to branch the Temjin models out into other areas instead o' being a fixed center. They're not considered upgrades, like the Cypher was to the original Viper II."

Jerry cracked his neck and stuck his tools into his belt. "And the Angelan is close to operational. However, we've yet to run any physical tests on her. We were probably going to wait until after the Cyber Trooper Circuit, but..." He then let out a sigh. "She insisted in being part of it, without the tests. She's the only one of her kind, and she's quite confident in her abilities..."

That's when the Ray VR was delivered into the hangar. It was an impressive piece of work. A bit sharp, and more human-looking than the other VRs, compared to the Fei-Yen models. It was definitely a new one, a new Temjin. "Right, let's get workin' then..."

Clarence listened to Jerry as he listed off the various other VR designs in how they compared to Temjin. "Well, the Ten-Eighty Special was our first attempt to mass produce Temjin, though the first one ended up being a DNA rather than our intended RNA. Apharmd, well... let's just say 'Hatter' is the crazy outcome of a new Temjin.

"As for Cypher... well, she's been through a lot. She keeps reinventing herself to get away from her first attempt at flight. While documents say Viper-I and Viper-II came and went, it's because Cypher insisted on being rebuilt from the ground up. They are all the same... "being" if you will. Cypher was the first DNA VR to successfully be able to be scrapped and rebuilt, while still retaining the same soul. Though, that one may need therapy."

Clarence stared at the unboxing of the Ray model, seeing the striking resemblance of make from Temjin. Still, it also shared qualities of the Fei-Yen model as well, but Temjin was at its core. "I wonder how Temjin truly feels about all these offshoots."

"Well, if Temjin thought of it like this..." Now prepared to get back to work, Jerry smiled to the blue robot. "He's like...they're father of some sort. Sure, his build and make may have been used, but it was because of him that we have so many new Virtuaroids, so many different types. I exactly wouldn't call it a bad thing." He then began to walk towards the Ray. "I think, because of Virtuaroids such as Temjin that helped make so many newer ones, we live in the society we're in now."

"Such an idealistic thinker..." A tall, beautiful and older woman, probably in her late forties, walked towards Clarence with a smirk. "I take it my son's handed you the test results and notes for the Angelan, yes? My daughter designed her, and she's very proud of it, and named it even after her father." Then she turned her head to Ray. "Virtuaroids are being made, be them RNA or DNA, every day, like how every day, a child is born and a human dies. They're beginning to become more like humans, aren't they?"

It was at this point that Ray's V-Connector started to get into gear. Several points of his V-Armor started to glow. His eyes flashed as the startup sequence finished. It looked around the room, studying its surroundings. As its attention turned to the people, it spoke. Unfortunately, it was in the same incomprehensible language that the delivery workers were speaking to each other.

"That's what impresses and scares me the most about Virtuaroids." Clarence admitted, as he turned to Temjin who had seemed to power down some time ago, probably from the stress of the massive trolling. "VRs like Temjin I don't have to worry about. He's basically a good kid. But then there are VRs like Cypher, who suffers what I would call emotional trauma from what Dr. Yzerman put her through. It's possible for her to have a meltdown."

"If VRs are becoming human, what's to stop them from rampaging like the more unstable humans that live in this world. With Cypher, she seems stable enough to not rampage." Clarence then turned to the Ray unit, speaking in a foreign language unfamiliar to him. "Then there are these new VRs that are sprouting from nowhere without warning. I may have aided in the VR Baby Boom, but I'm not responsible for all these latest units popping up."

"Dr. Yzerman was a genius," the woman argued. "Though it was disregard for the feelings of the Virtuaroid itself, he knew what he was doing, and what he wanted to achieve. However..." The babble the Ray was spouting, even she didn't understand a word of it. "Progress cannot be achieved without breaking the limits. Progress is limitless, and unfortunately, sacrifices have to be made to make progress. I feel for Cypher, I really do. But..." She fixed her glasses and turned her head to Clarence.

"We'll make it up to her, however we can. For everything Yzerman and his predecessors have done and will do to her, we will make sure that she'll be repaid for her services in the contribution of the future a hundred fold."

Jerry took the lift up to the Ray model's face, examining it. It was more human-like than he had imagined. Whoever designed it was really thinking ahead. It was as if a giant human encased in cybernetic armor was standing before him. The language was unfamiliar, but he should be able to fix it. "Hey, newbie!" he heard someone yell at him from below. "Got any idea what he's sayin'?"

"Y'got me, man," Jerry replied. He then turned to the Virtuaroid. "Yo. Th' names Jeremie Triggs, but...seriously, just call me Jerry. You...can understand us, right?"

"Professor Claire Triggs," said one of the workers, "the Angelan's tests came out positive. Can you come with us, please?"

"If you'll excuse me, Dr. Clarance..."

Clarence nodded and turned his attention back to Ray. The human face plaster on the mechanical beast was unsettling for him. While he sympathized with the nigh human quality VRs show in behavior, they still came from being weapons of mass destruction. Putting a human face on one would just bring people back to when humans killed each other with guns. People would die as their killer glared at them in their triumph. If a VR got a taste for that and with that face... ugh, Clarence didn't even want to think of what nightmares that image would project.

"Override the voice modulator and install a basic English language pack. We may need to flash the BIOS to bypass it." He instructed, hoping that would fix the communication issue. Oh, if only who could do that back when he worked in retail as a teen. Language barriers were the worst.

He turned to the sleeping Temjin, comparing his face to Ray's. The common visor all VRs had were just part of their character. Clarence wondered how Temjin would take to a VR with a human face.

Location: CTC Training Facility

Sazaki is standing in a control room overlooking a large empty room. Anubis stands in the center, her gun drawn.

Sazaki: Alright Anubis, next phase coming up. You ready?

Anubis: As I'll ever be. Start it up.

He flips a switch and a series of targets shaped like VRs emerge from the walls and floor. Anubis begins firing in rapid succession, hitting most of the targets. She engages the grappling hook on her arm, launching it at the one out of range and crushing it. After destroying it, a horn sounds, signaling the end of the simulation.

Anubis: How'd I do, Taro?

Sazaki, over PA: Let's see..... 86% accuracy! You've really gotten a lot better.

Anubis: I know but still. I'm never going to make it through the ranks with this kind of performance.

She then proceeds to sit on the floor, arms and head atop her raised knees and lets out a heavy sigh.

Sazaki: Come on, Nubie, don't say that. You're an experimental model; you've got a bit of a handicap against you. But don't worry, your abilities are designed to compliment each other, and once I finally finish up your new body, you'll be knocking them down like drinks!

Anubis: You mean it?

Sazaki: Of course I do. You know what? I think I know what it is. You haven't fought a real battle in a while now so it makes sense that your abilities aren't entirely working for you. A bit of real combat and you should be back to normal.

Anubis: But where are we going to find someone?

Sazaki: ...... I'll get back to you on that.