After he regained his breath, Sahib let out a curse, and switched to a sitting position, “Damn, I thought I had you there for a moment.”
Adrian lowered himself down and sat in a cross-legged position. He kept silent and looked at his friend.
“I’m stronger, and I know that I’m faster. So why can’t I lay a hand on you? And don’t say technique again.” Sahib asked.
Adrian sighed, this was not the first time they had this conversation. After thinking things through for a bit Adrian spoke, “You are correct, you are both stronger and faster than me. But my technique is better than yours…” Sahib’s expression darkened and he started to say something, but Adrian interrupted him with a raised hand. “My technique is better, but not by much, it is not the reason why you are always losing.” Adrian said.
Sahib’s face took on an attentive look, “So why then?”
“It is a side effect of my implant.” Adrian said.
Sahib raised an eyebrow wanting Adrian to continue.
“The implant in my head is unique. There are very few people that possess it, and none of the others had the side effect that I did. The implant is nano based with an Ai core inside it, and since it was put in my head before my brain fully developed, it grew with me. That was planned. What was not planned was that it formed connections with my brain that were not foreseen. The Ai – Iris was able to boost the implants processing capacity far beyond what it was designed for. The interaction between my brain and the implant as my brain grew created new pathways in my brain, and increased the speed between the existing ones. My brain has also learned to interact with my implant on much higher level than what is recorded with other people.” Adrian said.
“That is interesting, but many people have implants. What does this have to do with you winning every sparing match against me?” Sahib asked.
Adrian sighed, “Have you ever heard of tachypsychia or the Tachy Psyche effect?”
Sahib frowned, “No… Wait, I think that I remember Master Hayashi speaking about that – something Psyche effect, but I don’t remember what it was.”
Adrian smiled. “Yes, Master Hayashi spoke of it. It is the effect that alters an individual’s perception of time, making it appear as if events around you slowed down. Master Hayashi said that it occurs during stressful or life threatening situations, and that there were martial artists who experienced it during particularly tough fights. It is usually induced by the release of high levels of dopamine and norepinephrine. But for me it is different, my brain’s interaction with the implant actually increased my brain’s processing speed, and the speed of my thoughts. And I can consciously increase it even further by focusing, although that tires me out quickly.”
“So you think faster, but how can you counter every one of my attacks?”
“Because I can basically see them coming. Each time you decide on an attack my mind sees all the small movements of your muscles, and my brain analyzes the information my eyes see and I just know what you are going to do. And the speed of my thoughts creates a similar effect to the Tachy Psyche effect, to me you are moving in slow motion.”
“Well, first of all; That is cheating, and second where can I get one of those implants?” Sahib said, grinning.
“They don’t make them anymore, not since the effect started showing themselves on me. They are now monitoring me for any further developments. I was the only one whose brain wasn’t fully developed when they injected the implant, so they assume that is the reason for the side effects. I doubt that it would do anything for you even if you got it.” Adrian said.
Sahib got to his feet, the grin still on his face. “So then the only reason you have been winning is because you have a super computer in your head? Great, that means that I am better.”
Adrian laughed, “I wouldn’t be so sure, after all my technique is superior.”
Sahib slammed a fist into Adrian’s shoulder. Adrian didn’t bothered to evade.
“Jerk.” Sahib said.
“Yes, I am.” Adrian responded, grinning.
“Tomorrow at the same time?” Sahib asked as they were walking towards the changing room.
Surprised Adrian turned to his friend. “You still want to spar?”
“Of course, training against someone that can see your every move is great practice. And besides, I’m not giving up that easily. I will take you down.” Sahib said, smirking.
Adrian chuckled. “That I will believe only when I see it.” Laughing, the two reached the changing room.
Chapter Four
January 2171 – Sedna, Earth
Anissa Novak walked down a dark hallway of the underwater city Sedna, close behind her followed Jacob Kelly. The city was built by Olympus long before the war, and then left when they left the Solar system. At the onset of the war, Concordis used the city as a base, but it was destroyed three years into the war. Or at least most of it was. The surface platform along with the elevator towers and the center of the city were destroyed, but Sedna was one of the biggest Olympus cities and it spread even beneath the ocean floor. A lot of the facilities survived the attack and remained dark and abandoned until the Ra’a’zani came. Then Anissa’s resistance moved in. A lot of rooms were flooded, but those that weren’t were now filled with people.
Olympus built things to last, and every section of Sedna was built to be self-sufficient, the air processing systems were still working perfectly, with very little to no maintenance needed. The greatest obstacle to those living here was food. Anissa’s resistance had use of two submarines, one of which was a relic from almost a hundred years ago. The two subs were their lifelines.
Anissa reached a hatch at the end of the hallway and swiped a card on the panel, and the hatch opened revealing a room. Inside was only one long table. Three people sat at the table, leaving two spots empty, the one intended for her and the other for Jacob. Anissa walked around the table to the far side and took her seat, Jacob doing the same.
“So, I see that everyone is here.” Anissa commented.
“Yes, and will you finally tell us why gathered all of us? Not only did we risk our lives by coming, you are risking everything by having us all here at the same time.” Igor Akulov said irritably.
“It was Jacob who asked me to call you all here. I’m in the dark as much as any one of you. I’m eager to hear what he has to say.” Anissa said. Everyone turned to look at Jacob. Jacob took a deep breath, then stood. He looked at each person at the table. Every one of them was now a leader of a part of the resistance, and were once sole leaders of their own resistance before they realized that alone they would never free Earth.