The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 10: Syssie (5)

Jason stared at Syssie like she was crazy. 'How can anyone be ten times smarter than most humans? How is someone's intelligence even measured? Syssie seems to be hinting that it's based on how much information someone's brain can hold.'

"Your half-right there, kid. It does have a lot to do with the amount of knowledge you possess. And before you say anything, I know what you're thinking. It's a pretty crap power as someone can just gather enough people with the right knowledge to match you, right?" Syssie said in a know it all voice.

"Actually, I didn't think that at all" Jason frowned as he watched her pick at the red cocktail dress she had chosen to wear.

"Well, you would've been wrong anyway. There will be a cohesiveness to the things you come up with that a team simply can't manage. You'll have the idea and the means to make your creations without having to consult with others! Pretty great, right! I mean, look, you made me and all before I had to regulate your power." Syssie seemed to be hinting that she was an extremely complex creation.

Jason's frown deepened when he thought about that. How was it even possible to create whatever she was from the excess junk in his room. 'I'm sure there was nothing valuable amongst it. Can the stuff we couldn't figure out really be used for something like this?' Needless to say, Jason had his doubts. 'I better call Gramps up to take a look at her.'

"No point, kiddo. Weren't you listening? I'm an AI This body, you see, doesn't actually exist." Syssie gestured to herself, sitting on the chair. "It's just an image I'm projecting into your vision by controlling the signals from your optic nerves. It's the exact same thing as those lines that make up that HUD you see right now."

"HUD?" Jason asked with a curious tone as he digested what Syssie had just said.

"Heads Up Display. Don't worry about it too much. To be honest, even I don't get a lot of it. I only understand basic stuff since you programmed me that way. I have access to some basic information on what things do, but that's about it. Maybe as you grow, I'll understand more."

As if to prove her earlier point, Syssie made her body generate green lines all over before falling through the chair as if it wasn't even there. Jason gaped in shock as Syssie then turned into a cat, dog and a bird one after the other before returning to her first appearance of a blonde in a cocktail dress.

"Alright, let's get into the nitty-gritty of operating me." Syssie sighed as if it were going to be a chore. "Just think, Home, to return to the first screen you saw. Basically, just thinking the words you can see will let you navigate around the interface."

Jason did not understand half of what she just said, but he followed her instructions anyway. Perhaps the doc's treatment was still having an effect on him that allowed him to take this strange interaction in his stride, for the most part. The image in his eyes returned to the first screen where the box underneath Status now had the word Skills in it.

As soon as Jason thought that word, a new screen snaked across his vision that revealed a massive skill tree. However, everything was greyed out except for the first few things that served as each branch's roots. They read in order, Science, Mechanics, Computing, Engineering, Armoury and System.

"Good stuff, kid. You're catching on quicker than I thought." Syssie seemed pleased as she studied him. "If you want my advice, then I'd grab the Scanner Skill from System."

"It's weird. I kind of understand vaguely what these words mean but what is System?" Jason replied curiously. He did not want to just follow her instructions for the moment. He wanted a better idea of what he was looking at.

"System skills would be upgrades for me. You designated me as Super Growth System when you created me. But that's a mouthful. And I don't fancy being called System whenever we talk. System is so gender-neutral, and I'm all woman baby. So Syssie was a much better choice." She seemed incredibly proud of her poor naming sense.

'She literally just took the Sys part of System and made it sound more feminine.' Jason tried not to laugh at that because, strangely, he felt a sense of pride that he couldn't understand. "Ok, say I follow your suggestion. What does the System line of Skills actually do?"

"Well, it's like handing me a key to the areas of your brain that I don't have access to yet." Syssie pouted as she tried to drag up the information from her memory banks. "Basically, it allows a deeper connection between us two. Take the Scanner skill, for example. Once you have it, then I can highlight the basic components of anything you're looking at."

"That doesn't sound helpful at all. My vision would constant be filled up with that sort of thing then."

"Oh, you can turn it on and off. So it won't hinder you in any way. Plus, you can set it to scan specific things only. So if you need certain parts, the Scanner can show you where they are in anything around you. Saves you the hassle of digging through everything you come across just to find it."

Jason nodded his head in understanding. That would indeed be helpful, especially in his work as a scavenger. It would let him make more money for a while with the things he could pick out. The more he looked at the whole situation, he realised his ability was more of a support type right now. But who knew what it could become in the future.

"Alright, let's do this." Jason navigated to the System line, which highlighted Scanner directly below it. When he thought about obtaining it, a prompt appeared in his vision. It asked if he was sure that he wanted to spend three PP on acquiring this skill.

Jason's thought about his status that he had seen. 'Three PP So I'd have two Potential Points left. I get it.' He confirmed his decision, and directly after, a searing pain ran through his brain while Syssie moaned in pleasure for some reason. It was a semi-disturbing thing for Jason to go through.

Once the pain subsided, he noticed that he already fully understood how to use the Scanner. He played around with it for a bit, setting what it was to look for and what colour it should be highlighted in. His vision shifted as different highlights appeared. Basically, they just glowed in the shape of whatever he was looking for.

'That's definitely handier than I thought it would be.' Jason hummed in satisfaction at his first purchase.

"Ok, next" Syssie panted while looking a bit flushed. "You'll want to choose Melee Schematics from Armoury."

Jason didn't bother questioning her this time. After all, she seemed to be looking out for him. Which was understandable since they technically shared a body now. He might have questioned her choice if it were another one from the System line. 'Ok, let's take a look.'

When he found his way back to the Skills menu, he spotted a slight change. Underneath the word System, it now read Novice. Jason took note of this and decided to ask Syssie about it later. For now, he focused on finding her suggestion of Melee Schematics under Armoury.

He received a prompt again, asking if he wanted to spend his remaining two PP on the skill. 'What the hell? I'm sure Syssie knows how to get more.' Another bout of searing pain ran through his mind that was even worse than the one he received from Scanner. Jason even collapsed due to it. His mind vaguely registered the sound of Syssie also crying out in pain.

'Well, at least she gets to suffer with me this time!' It was a petty thought, but it helped with the pain as he ground his teeth together. Eventually, it subsided just like before. Jason groaned as he slowly got to his feet. 'Alright, let's see wha'

Jason paused in his thought as he was immediately stunned at the change that had come over him. As he looked around his room, his mind was picking out the different objects and putting them together to make different types of Melee Weapons! It took Jason several minutes to come to terms with this as Syssie smirked at him from the sidelines.

"You see, you're no longer a helpless little boy. Whether you make these things to sell them. Or to use them yourself. This is just the beginning of what you'll be capable of!" Syssie seemed to take an extraordinary amount of delight from his surprise.

Jason just stared helplessly around the room as a smirk began to cross over his face. For whatever reason, he was feeling an urge to make something. "Decisions, decisions"

Jason moved towards his scattered junk with a predatory smile