Ranma awoke feeling very strange. He felt almost like his body was charged with static electricity, as if every hair on his body had become hype-sensitive and was standing on end. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision. When that didn't work he brought his hands up to rub them before trying again.
It was at that point he realized the strange lines and symbols were actually part of his vision.
"What the hell?" Ranma wondered, still unconsciously blinking in an effort to get the strange obstructions to go away.
"You're probably seeing your optical overlay," a familiar motherly voice explained. "Don't worry, you should get used to it. You might even find it quite useful."
Ranma looked over at the source of the voice and spotted his mother—only she wasn't, not quite. She looked like Nodoka Saotome—if Nodoka Saotome wore glasses, slacks, and a lab coat.
"M-Mom? What's going on?" Ranma stammered in confusion.
"That's what we were hoping you could tell us," Nodoka replied. "You look remarkably similar to my son, Ranma, but there are obvious differences. Who are you?"
"I'm, uh, Ranma Saotome," Ranma answered. "Um...you wouldn't happen to be Nodoka Saotome, would you?"
"That is my name, yes," Nodoka replied. "Would you care to tell me how you got here?"
"I dunno," Ranma answered. "All I know is I was walkin' along mindin' my own business when this weird portal appeared outa nowhere and sucked me in. What happened to me, and what's with all this weird junk I keep seein'?"
"We were about to conduct an experimental procedure when a strange portal appeared, sucked my son, Ranma, into it, and ejected you out into the Infusion Chamber he was about to enter," Nodoka explained. "When you entered the Chamber the process triggered automatically. Your body has been infused with nanites, which are responsible for, among other things, the visual overlay you are seeing."
"Huh? I've been fused with nannies?" Ranma blinked in confusion.
"Oh dear, you aren't very educated, are you?" Nodoka asked with disapproval.
"Hey, it ain't my fault Pop wouldn't let me go ta school 'cause it was a distraction from the art," Ranma protested.
"The art?" Nodoka asked.
"The Martial Arts," Ranma said proudly. "I'm a martial artist—the best. I'm the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."
"I see," Nodoka replied, unimpressed. "Well, then I suppose I should start by explaining what nanites are. Nanites are small microscopic machines that can perform a number of functions. They can be used for anything from micro-surgery to construction. In your case, you received an experimental procedure designed to create a 'super-soldier'."
"A super soldier?" Ranma repeated.
"Your bones are now plated with titanium, making them stronger and harder to break," Nodoka continued. "Your muscle fibers, tendons, and ligaments have been strengthened, allowing you to move far faster and lift far more than an unaugmented human could. Your reflexes have been accelerated approximately five to ten times their normal levels. Your senses have been greatly heightened. You can now hear into the subsonic and ultrasonic ranges, and your sense of smell and taste can detect and identify chemical compounds. You now have thermal and infrared vision in addition to the normal visible spectrum. You can also increase the magnification which will allow you to see at greater detail at distances.
"The visual overlay you are seeing is an interface with your cyber-brain implant—your onboard computer, so to speak. It tells you the status of your subsystems, information about a targeted item or person, increases the accuracy of any ranged weapon you might be using, and acts as a comm unit."
Most of this went right over Ranma's head, but he got the gist of it.
"So basically, I'm tougher, stronger, and faster than I was before?" Ranma summarized.
"In simplified terms, yes," Nodoka agreed. "There are a few other capabilities you have, but we will get to those when the time comes."
"So what now?" Ranma asked. "I'm guessin' ya can't just take it out, and I got no idea how I'm supposed ta get home."
"No, I'm afraid we can't just 'take it out'," Nodoka agreed. "Which leaves us with a bit of a situation."
Ranma sighed in resignation. He had expected something like this.
Nodoka went on to explain the threat they were facing and the reason for the nano-augmentation program. Ranma listened patiently while experimenting with his visual overlay by focusing on different objects and reading the information that came up about them.
"We need your help," Nodoka concluded. "Since you accidentally received the nanite-infusion meant for my son, you are the only chance we have to continue this project. We have to send a subject for testing in a month's time, which doesn't leave us enough time to find another candidate, develop a compatible nanite matrix, infuse the candidate, and allow him to become accustomed to the augmentations before the Evaluation Trials commence. Without those Trials, we will lose our funding and the project will have to be scrapped."
Ranma considered this. While it wasn't his fault he'd gotten literally thrown right smack into the middle of their experiment, he did feel a little responsible for their predicament. There was also the fact that he didn't know if he could go home or how soon it might happen. He might be stuck here for a very long time. He would need to do something to earn his keep. Fighting these gynoid things sounded like something right up his alley. Lastly, there was his duty as a martial artist to protect people. It wasn't at all selective and didn't say, 'just the people where I'm from'. It meant anyone that needed protection.
"I'll help ya out," Ranma agreed. "At least until I have a chance ta go home. I ain't gonna stay just ta fight your war for ya, but as long as I'm here, I'll do what I can."
"I suppose that's fair enough," Nodoka nodded. "The first thing we must do is see to your education. If you were my son, I would be appalled. You sound like a hick that just walked in off the rice paddy. You must learn to speak properly if nothing else."
"Heh, yeah, Mom was always givin' me a hard time about that stuff too," Ranma admitted. "Pop always busted my chops if I spent too much time studyin' though and since I didn't get to see Mom for more than ten years while Pop was trainin' me, there wasn't no one to force him to let me go ta school."
"Well, my son had several college degrees even though he was only seventeen," Nodoka sniffed. "I see no reason why you should be any less intelligent than he is since you are essentially the same, so you should have no problem learning everything you need to know—especially with the subconscious learning capabilities of your cyber-brain implant."
"If you say so," Ranma replied dubiously.
"I do," Nodoka said sternly, before rising and hurrying out of the room as her emotions threatened to break through her professional façade.
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(Posted Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:20)
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