Chapter 22: Training Montage
POV: Tom
The decision to intensify training came from mathematical necessity rather than optimistic planning—Katsuo would return with superior preparation, and Tom's survival required capabilities that exceeded his current chrome evolution. Two weeks of concentrated development, pushing his augmented systems to their operational limits while maintaining the psychological stability that differentiated him from standard cyberpsychos.
Viktor's mobile clinic had been relocated to an abandoned warehouse in Northside, medical equipment surrounded by training areas that Brick had enthusiastically constructed using Maelstrom's collection of industrial machinery and improvised combat obstacles. The combination created an environment where medical monitoring could occur simultaneously with dangerous experimentation.
"We're treating this like rehabilitation," Viktor explained while connecting biometric sensors to Tom's chrome integration points. "Teaching your consciousness to work WITH your augmentations instead of fighting them. Most chrome users never achieve true integration—they just learn to tolerate foreign systems."
Tom settled into the diagnostic chair while Viktor activated monitoring equipment that painted his nervous system in cascades of real-time data. Chrome covered seventy-five percent of his body now, creating patterns that resembled living artwork more than random technological modification.
"What's the difference between tolerance and integration?"
"Tolerance means you accept chrome as necessary evil. Integration means chrome becomes part of who you are rather than something you're wearing." Viktor activated neural feedback systems that made Tom's chrome pulse with controlled energy. "You're fighting a war inside yourself—human consciousness versus machine efficiency. Time to negotiate peace treaty."
The psychological conditioning began with meditation techniques that Viktor had adapted from military trauma therapy and cyberware psychological integration protocols. Tom sat motionless for hours while biofeedback systems taught his augmented consciousness to consciously control adaptation triggers rather than simply reacting to damage or stress.
Feel the chrome. Don't fight it. Accept it as part of myself rather than foreign invader. Biological and technological systems working together rather than competing for control.
"Adaptive Cyberware responds to conscious direction," Viktor explained while monitoring Tom's neural patterns. "But you've been treating it as autonomous defense system. Time to learn manual control."
Tom concentrated on his chrome systems while Viktor created controlled stress responses—loud noises, sudden movements, environmental changes that would normally trigger automatic defensive activation. Instead of allowing reactive responses, Tom learned to consciously direct his augmentations according to tactical necessity rather than programmed reflexes.
Reactive Plating activates... now. Hardening specific areas rather than full-body transformation. Conserving energy while maintaining protection. Choosing response rather than accepting automatic programming.
The process was exhausting and occasionally painful, but after six days Tom could activate specific chrome modifications on command rather than waiting for threat-response triggers. Reactive Plating could be deployed selectively, Adaptive Cyberware could prioritize specific enhancement types, and his nervous system could maintain human emotional responses while chrome systems operated at maximum efficiency.
"Better," Viktor said with satisfaction that bordered on professional pride. "You're becoming symphony instead of cacophony."
Cipher arrived on day seven with network equipment that transformed part of the warehouse into digital training environment. The netrunner's physical presence remained unremarkable, but their technological capabilities became apparent as they constructed virtual reality systems that challenged Tom's Techno-Sovereignty in ways that street-level application couldn't achieve.
"Time for advanced coursework," Cipher announced while activating holographic displays that showed complex network architectures. "Multi-device coordination, consciousness uploading theory, ICE penetration against military-grade security."
Tom practiced controlling dozens of devices simultaneously—smartphones, terminals, security cameras, automated machinery—while Cipher created increasingly sophisticated interference patterns that forced him to maintain concentration under digital assault.
Techno-Sovereignty expanded across entire warehouse. Feeling every electronic device as extension of my nervous system. Twenty-three active connections, all responding to conscious direction. Mental stamina improving with each session.
"You're natural at this," Cipher observed while watching Tom coordinate complex operations through pure neural interface. "Also terrifying. I've never seen anyone maintain consciousness coherence across this many simultaneous connections."
The theoretical instruction in consciousness uploading proved fascinating and disturbing in equal measure. Cipher explained the process by which human awareness could temporarily abandon physical form to exist as pure data within network architectures—ultimate expression of human-technology integration.
"Dangerous beyond description," Cipher warned while demonstrating the interface techniques. "Your consciousness leaves your body completely. If something goes wrong during upload, if your body dies while you're in the Net, if hostile ICE traps your awareness—you're gone forever."
Tom practiced the preliminary techniques without actually uploading, learning to extend his consciousness toward network systems while maintaining connection to his physical form. The sensation was intoxicating and terrifying—glimpses of existence as pure information, unencumbered by biological limitations.
Could be useful against Katsuo if conventional approaches fail. Ultimate escape route, but also ultimate risk. Only consider if facing certain death otherwise.
Maelstrom's contribution to Tom's training proved unexpectedly valuable despite their chrome-worship enthusiasm. Brick had assembled a collection of heavily augmented gangers whose chrome integration levels rivaled Tom's own, providing sparring partners who could challenge his combat capabilities without holding back due to concerns about injuring baseline humans.
"Machine blesses the Prophet with trial by chrome!" Brick announced while leading Tom into improvised arena where six Maelstrom gangers waited with expressions of religious excitement mixed with professional anticipation.
The early sparring sessions were humiliating. Tom's chrome integration provided defensive advantages, but he lacked practical experience fighting opponents whose augmentation levels allowed them to match his physical capabilities. Maelstrom gangers had spent years learning to coordinate their chrome systems for combat effectiveness.
Getting beaten comprehensively by people whose chrome worship I find uncomfortable. But they're teaching me through direct experience what theoretical knowledge couldn't provide.
Tom learned to activate his Sandevistan with tactical precision rather than reactive panic, creating specific time-dilation windows that provided advantage without exhausting his neural systems. His Adaptive Cyberware began responding faster to threat assessment, hardening protective areas before impacts rather than adapting after damage.
Most importantly, he learned to fight opponents who weren't intimidated by chrome modifications or impressed by technological displays. Maelstrom gangers viewed his abilities as divine blessing rather than frightening anomaly, allowing them to engage without the psychological hesitation that affected other opponents.
Judy watched from observation platforms that Viktor had installed for safety monitoring, her expression carrying concern mixed with pride as she observed Tom's capabilities evolving beyond baseline human parameters.
"He's becoming something unprecedented," she told Viktor during one of Tom's sparring sessions. "More machine than human, but still choosing to protect rather than dominate."
"That's what makes him special," Viktor replied while monitoring Tom's vital signs during sustained combat. "Power without corruption, evolution without losing essential humanity."
After two weeks of concentrated training, Tom's abilities had reached what Cipher classified as Phase 2-3 transition levels. He could maintain Techno-Sovereignty across fifteen devices simultaneously, deploy Sandevistan for controlled intervals approaching twenty seconds, and activate Adaptive Cyberware modifications with conscious precision rather than reactive programming.
His chrome integration had reached seventy-eight percent, but psychological evaluation showed stable personality markers and maintained emotional connections despite technological evolution that should have resulted in cyberpsychosis.
"You're ready," Viktor said while conducting final medical assessment. "Not ready to win necessarily, but ready to survive whatever Katsuo brings against you."
"Stay human, kid," Viktor added with paternal affection that had become genuine over their months of association. "Whatever happens in the fight, remember who you're protecting and why that matters."
Tom nodded while reviewing his enhanced capabilities through conscious interface with chrome systems that no longer felt foreign to his consciousness. He'd become something unprecedented—human awareness directing technological evolution rather than being consumed by it.
"Getting harder every day," Tom replied honestly. "But still worth the effort."
Two weeks of training. Physical capabilities enhanced beyond baseline human parameters. Conscious control of chrome systems instead of reactive responses. Psychological stability maintained despite integration levels that should result in cyberpsychosis.
I'm as ready as I can be. Time to find out if evolution and preparation are sufficient against professional hunter with unlimited corporate resources.
Outside the warehouse, Night City hummed with electronic activity while Katsuo planned his final approach using intelligence gathered during weeks of systematic observation. The confrontation was inevitable now—enhanced target versus specialized hunter, adaptive chrome versus counter-adaptive countermeasures.
Tom spent his final training day practicing scenarios where he protected others while fighting superior opponents, reinforcing the emotional connections that kept his humanity intact despite technological transformation that challenged every assumption about the relationship between consciousness and machine.
Whatever happened next, he would face it as Tom Adler rather than Anomaly-Four—human being who'd chosen to evolve rather than be consumed by evolution.
The distinction might determine not just his survival, but his soul.
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