After Jack left, Mark and his mother walked back to the table. Mark takes the card Mr. Hawk gave him. "Mom, a man came by this morning looking for you. He gave me this card and asked you to call him."
Rachel looked at the card with a puzzled expression. "I don't think I know that person."
Mark looked carefully at his mother's expression. "The man was using your old name, the one you had before you gave birth to me, Rachel Cain. He also said that the person he was working for had been searching for you for the past 19 years and just wanted to reach out."
Rachel's Eyes opened wide for a second, and she went back to her normal expression. "He must have me confused with someone else."
Mark looked at his mother with a calm expression. "He had a photo of you in a fancy-looking dress. The photo was old, but it was you; you have barely changed."
She went silent for a few seconds. "It's better for us not to get involved with these people. They live in a different world than we do."
Mom, I think the person has good intentions. Why else would he send an intermediary instead of coming and confronting you personally? I think you should at least call Mr. Hawk and see what this is all about.
His mother looked thoughtful. "I will sleep on it, Mark." She left for her room, taking the spicy pizza box with her.
Mark left for his room. As he walked, the young man pondered his Droid design Idea. If he were able to come up with a good design, he might entice his mother to leave her job. But he had his hands full with the new McCain Reaper design.
The young man sat on his bed. He was getting ready to dive back into A.M.S. As he looked at the VR headset, an idea suddenly came to him. What if the system has something to enhance my design speed, just as VR systems increase the perception of time?
Mark directly asked the system for help. "System, do you have anything that can help me increase my design speed? Something like the virtual world with its accelerated perception?"
The familiar pale blue screen projects a message. "System recommendation: System Ability, Design Space."
Mark thinks for a moment. "Since when can I buy abilities? To my knowledge, the system ability tab was offline."
A new screen project. "User, once the system repairs were finished. The system was able to reactivate certain features. Most of the System features are still in a state of disrepair, but the System Abilities tab has been restored to some extent."
Mark felt like facepalming himself. "I have been using scan, how could I not notice this?"
A pale blue screen projects a message. "Due to personal circumstances, User has been distracted. It is to be expected."
Mark felt a bit awkward reading the last system message. "Was the system trying to comfort me?" This thought stirred in his mind. Shaking his head, he let go of this feeling. "System open the Home screen."
The same page as before is projected. This time, however, the system abilities tab was shown in yellow bold letters. Mark lost no time and selected the system abilities tab.
He was then shown another list. This one was divided by category. There were utility-based abilities, security-based abilities even system abilities to manage wealth and economy, but the list was not as extensive as he remembered. The fabrication abilities were grayed out along with other system abilities.
"Even the time regression option is grayed out. not that I wished to use that right now." Mark noted while examining the list.
"System, if I get more materials, can we get these options repaired?" Mark asked with a hopeful tone.
A secondary screen projects with the system response. "That is affirmative, User. The Techno-Lord System is currently scanning for more materials, but the scanning range is limited."
Mark saw a way to improve his situation. "System, why don't we go back to Riggan's Point tomorrow. This time, set up the search for components to improve your scanning range."
The secondary screen changes to display the system's response. "User's suggestion has been accepted."
Mark had mixed feelings about the last system message; on one side, he was glad that the system accepted his suggestions. But it was also the first time the system agreed to a suggestion. This was a far cry from the system's usual interactions.
Mark decided to put this issue on hold for the moment. "First things first, let's get what I need right now." He selected the utility abilities and soon came upon the system suggestion, Design Space.
Tapping on his choice, the selection expanded, revealing a list of three selections. Basic design space, intermediate design space, and the last was advanced design space. At the moment, Mark could only purchase the basic one; the other ones were grayed out.
"System, why can I only buy the basic design space? Do I lack the T.P. to buy them, or are the options not available? Mark asked, hoping it was the lack of TP.
Soon, the secondary screen projects an answer. "User, the design space is purchased by stages. To buy the second stage, you will need to acquire the first one. The lack of TP. can be resolved with new designs."
Mark sighed in relief. "Let's do this then." he selected the design space, abilities had a higher cost than skills and feats. The System Ability Mark selected had a cost of 20,000 TP.
The system prompted the message. "Your purchase has been confirmed. 20,000 TP has been deducted from your account. Your new balance is 39,029 TP, your bank balance is 0 TP."
Mark felt sorry for his meager T.P. balance. He looked at the option for the intermediate design space. It had a cost of 40,000 TP. He could not buy it right now.
He opted to buy the necessary skills for his Droid Designs. Mark bought 4 levels of the droids field skill under mechanical engineering. Another 10,000 TP left his account. After this, he purchased 4 levels for the utility droids sub-skill, which had a cost of 5,000 TP.
The usual system message followed. Your purchase has been confirmed. 15,000 TP have been deducted from your account. Your new Balance is 24,029 TP. Your bank balance is 0 TP."
"Well, in a few hours, I will get a little more. But I need to pick up the pace." Mark tapped on his new system ability. He felt as if his consciousness was being pulled away from his body. The young man closed his eyes.
As he opened them again, he found himself in a spacious white room with no windows. Around him, there were desks, work stations, and an assortment of other equipment needed to help design anything he wanted. Everything looked brand new, leagues better than the equipment at the Grease Monkey Workshop.
"System, where exactly am I?" Mark asked while looking at his surroundings.
As he looked at himself, he saw his old self, even the beard he had grown. His clothes were different; he was now wearing a white jumpsuit with a futuristic look. The fabric of the jumpsuit emanated a dim light. "Also, while you are explaining, why do I look like my older self?"
The blue screen projects with an explanation. "Your body is back in your room. Your consciousness has been projected into an artificial sub-dimension created by the system. This place is known as the design space. Time does not flow in the design space."
A second screen projects. "The reason for the cosmetic changes in the user's appearance has to do with the User's perception of himself."
"Does that mean that I can stay here forever if I want to? Also, can I change the way I look?" Mark asked, finding the place too fantastical. "
A new screen appears, and the previous screens vanish. "No, while physical constraints do not apply here, Mental fatigue will occur. It is recommended to take periodic breaks and rest between design sessions."
A third screen projects the answer to his latest inquiry. "Yes, the User can change his appearance by changing his perception." The system answers came in the order they were asked.
The message sank Mark's hopes of coming out with hundreds of designs. With a sigh, he asked his next question. "How can I transfer my designs here and then take them out?"
Meanwhile, he thought about looking like his younger self and closed his eyes. Looking at himself once again, the young man saw his current teen-looking face. "OK, I see how that works."
"System, how do I get my designs in or out of the design space?" This was an important question for the young man.
The system responded quickly. "The design space has a connection to your devices; both the VR headset and comm-pad are connected to the consoles at the design space."
Mark asked one final question. "Do I need to read any manuals for the equipment here?"
The system responded. "No, all equipment present at the design space is an upgraded version of the equipment used in the design lab of your workshop."
Having all his doubts cleared, Mark decided to start working on the droids. As the system described, all of the equipment worked as its counterpart in his workshop design lab, but greatly improved.
Mark asks in amazement. " System, is this really the basic design space?" The system did not respond. "Wow, imagine the intermediate or the advanced versions. They should be like magic."
The computational speed of the equipment and its user-friendly interfaces helped him greatly. These instruments accelerated his progress. Mark worked for what he perceived were 20 straight hours. Because of the system enhancements he had, the young man was not feeling tired. But he decided to take a break. Following the system's advice was a good idea.
Thanks to his new equipment design was about 72% completed. In the morning, Mark was going to finish the design. But before anything else, he was determined to cover his tracks this time. He put on his V.R. headset and entered the white room. Searching through the V.R. store, the young man purchased a high-end design suite program, and then he purchased all of the upgrades. After that, Mark loaded his designs, creating a fake trail.
With that done, Mark logs into A.M.S. and enters the Grease Monkey Workshop. As he walks into the hangar, the cat butler finds a small crowd near the entrance to the repair control room. All six spaces had machines being repaired or waiting for paint jobs.
Scarlet spots Mark, who is trying to get in. "Make way, people. The boss is coming through!
Squeezing through the crowd, Mark was able to get into the room. Inside, Scarlet was trying to manage the crowd at the door. Steve and Alex were operating the equipment and the droids.
Mark greets Scarlet after successfully passing through the rabble. "Hey, Scarlet, why are there so many people here?"
"Take your pick. Some come for Steve's cheap repairs, others come for Alex's wonderful paint jobs." Scarlet said while trying to keep the crowd in order. Every time she moved, her bouncing ...personality made the mob of unseemly teens cheer.
Seeing the situation in his workshop, Mark decided to add some last-minute upgrades. These would ease the tensions mounting in the place.
Spending a large sum of the vouchers earned by the sale of McCain Reapers, Mark added 3 more droids. Since he was changing them, he did not buy too many. He extended the hangar space twice. Now the workshop could accommodate a maximum of 18 machines, 9 on each side.
The cat Butler later moves to the second floor and adds a large waiting room with a cafeteria and dining tables. They could earn more vouchers from the sale of virtual food. Mark also bought a large monitor to entertain the workshop's patrons. After that, he returned to the repair control room.
"Scarlet, see if you can move all these people to the new waiting room on the second floor. There is now a cafeteria there with entertainment for them. If you can manage to herd this mob, I promise to reward you." Mark enticed the newest member of the team.
Hearing the last part, Scarlet's eyes burned with purpose. With a loud voice, she addresses the crowd. "OK, People, follow me to the cafeteria!" Her bouncing ...personality succeeded in herding the throng of unseemly teens.
With the loud crowd out of the way, Mark and the two teens had a chance to talk. I see that you have been quite busy. Have you taken breaks?
Alex nodded with the blue helmet. Steve talked while manipulating interfaces. "Yes, we even went on a few missions with Scarlet. She's okay."
When Steve said someone was OK, it meant he was starting to like the person. Mark decided to tell them about the event at the supermarket.
"So in the end, it was my fault that she went through that, and I feel guilty about it," Mark admitted to the weight of his actions.
"It was for the best. That Sandy Chick always gives me the creeps. You have not met her, Alex. You don't go to the institute with us, but her plastic persona is on another level," Steve spoke while manipulating the repair interface.
"No one deserves that kind of treason," Mark added while printing spare parts for the mechs on the repair shop 3D printer.
"Well, having a cute girl like Livia at our party will be great," Steve said with his usual loud tone.
"Thank you, Steve, you are not so bad yourself." Scarlet heard Steve's words as she was entering the repair control room. "Although I have not forgiven you yet for the flare crapping comment about my harpy."
It was lucky that Steve's red face did not show on his avatar, but for the first time in a while, no word came from his mouth.
Mark laughs awkwardly. "Well, people, I have to turn in for today. I'm beat, but before I go, how about meeting at Riggans Point tomorrow?"
Alex nods in her usual manner. The now silent Steve does the same.
Scarlet asks. "Can I come too?"
"Sure, you can, we will meet at Tina's sweet shop around eleven," Mark answered while imitating Steve and Alex nodding.
With the arrangements for the next day done. Mark logs off. Once in his room, he places the VR headset on the charger and goes to sleep.