Oh. He must have some optics cyberware and pulled my file. Well, so much for keeping my connection to Militech a secret from them. He didn't seem to care, though. I bowed my head a little bit, "Thank you for that, Mr Jin. It has been hard for me the last few days. Otherwise, I would have been in sooner."
He waved a hand affably, "It's not a problem. Our housing block is often one of the ones selected by corporations; Militech especially often sends their children here for the first time when they are leaving the nest... oh, that shocked you?" He did an actual belly laugh and waved his hand again, "You no doubt learned about Militech and Arasaka growing up and think perhaps us mere Tyger Claws, a Japanese benevolence organisation, are Arasaka's catspaw?"
He shrugged but didn't deny it. But he chuckled again, "Even if that was the case, things would have to get much worse indeed for either side to target the fledglings of the other side indiscriminately. You're of the age where you will likely start working soon; not only is this housing block safe for the most part, but it is a way for you to see a different side of the world. That's why I think Militech often send their youngsters to live here, anyway. I've had this conversation a few times." He then grinned, "Of course, maybe it is because the rent is, on average, one hundred and three eurodollars cheaper than the block Downtown."
I nodded firmly at that, which caused him to laugh again, "Yeah, maybe you're right."
He explained which levels of service I could purchase, like I was buying car insurance; there were two. I could buy protection inside the Megablock, or I could also buy protection anywhere in Japantown. He was open that most Corpos only go for the first option, as the NCART could take them straight downtown without stepping foot in Japantown.
They wouldn't guarantee my protection in Japantown, there weren't enough eurodollars in the entire Megablock to absolutely guarantee anyone's protection if they walked around unescorted in Jig-Jig street looking like a corpo, but it wouldn't be the Tyger Claws themselves that started things first. However, in the Megablock they would offer some guarantees about my safety inside my apartment, in fact they had a number to call if anyone tried to break in.
"Did you know that the NCPD is probably moving to a fee-for-service to make 911 calls? I think it is going to be five eddies a minute. Us, on the other hand? We will pay you if you report such crimes on the premises," he said emphatically. I didn't think I wanted to know what they would do to people they "arrested."
I wanted to tell him that the NCPD already did charge ten eurodollars if he ever decided to hang up when calling Emergency Services; it was listed as a fine, presumably for wasting their time, on my transaction history. But I didn't want to tell him I had tried to call 911.
The costs were reasonable, too. Ten per cent of your rent if you only stayed in the Megablock, and fifteen per cent for all of Japantown. The location where the paramedics' school was was technically Downtown, but it was quite close to Japantown, only a block away. I asked him, "Mr Jin, please give me your advice. I will be attending a school for six months at..." I gave the address, ". That is Downtown, I guess. But it is very close. Do you think I should pay for your extra tier of service?"
I had already decided to buy the extra level. I was just being respectful, in asking his opinion. Nobody working at Fugly Bobs would tell her: 'No, maybe you shouldn't Fugly-size it.'
He got a thoughtful look on his face and rolled his fingers along his desk. "Normally, Miss Hebert, I would say it is probably not necessary. However, in the past six months, the closest NCART station to that address has closed for several weeks twice. That leaves you either going for the one past it, which would be over a two-kilometre walk back, or you could stop in the last Japantown station for only a few blocks walk." He shrugged and said, "Even if you do not get the full package, it is not like that means you can't go to Japantown. It just means we won't have your back. It'd probably be fine. However, I do promise that if you do have the full service and you go missing, we will at least look for you a lot more than the cops will. The only people who will look for you more is Trauma Team, and they charge a lot more. It is up to you. It'd probably be fine either way, though."
Wow, he didn't try to upsell me... Actually, I think he did. He was just a lot subtler about it. "Ah, thank you for your advice Mr Jin. I take my personal safety very seriously, so I think I would like to pay for the full level of service you provide just to be safe."
He nodded, smiling. "You are very wise for someone your age. That school, are you going to be studying medicine? That is a medical campus."
I blinked. I didn't realise they did anything but paramedic classes. I raise my hand and make a waffling gesture, "I'll be studying to be a paramedic. I'd love to be a doctor some day, but this is all I could get paid for, as of now."
Mr Jin nodded and said, "You are modest. It's the best paramedic course in the city. You must be truly gifted to have gotten admitted without even a basic EMT certificate."
I think he is just being polite because it seemed like I was being polite. I think modesty is a big part of a lot of Asian cultures, but I didn't know. I decide to go with, "There are many much more gifted than I, but I thank you." I honestly didn't believe that though. I was going to be the best.
After a few more back and forths, he finalises the price I am expected to pay. I look a little nervous and ask, "Do you need me to pay in cash?"
Mr Jin looked a little surprised but then suddenly affected a stern expression and said solemnly, "Yes, in small, non-sequential bills..."
Fuck! Where was I going to find that?
"... and then you will have to come and have sake with the oyabun..."
Wait, what? I'm not joining your gang!
"... and I warn you that any disrespect and you'll be expected to commit seppuku..."
I suddenly narrow my eyes at him. He's screwing with me. That causes him to crack up and roar with laughter, slapping the counter several times. "Oh, oh... you should have seen yourself. Oh, I am going to tell all my friends, thank you for that. Little lady, I think you have been watching too many old movies. Do we need cash? Of course not!"
I laugh a little, haltingly. Okay, maybe it was a little bit funny. I bring out my phone and send an electronic payment, and he grinned even wider, "Want to set up Autopay?"
He's still making fun of me. My face must be beet red. But I nodded; I did want to set up autopay. It sounded very convenient.
"Okay, we already have your biometrics, so all of our members will know that you're paid up. Take one of these stickers and place it on your door, too, if you don't mind," he brought a number of tiger themed stickers out from behind the counter. Most were similar to the tattoos, an Asian inspired tiger, sometimes clawing with flame around its paws.
However, one of them...
I looked at it. He nodded with a smile. I sighed and grabbed it, which caused him to laugh again, "I knew it! I knew it! Don't worry, that one has been very popular with girls your age. My daughter put one on our door, and we don't even need these!"
I sighed and put the sticker of a cute cat girl with tiger stripes in my pocket. She had her hand/paw raised like one of those money cats, and a speech bubble proclaimed, "Nya!"
I would not underestimate this gang. This guy was incredibly personable and charming, but that was exactly why he was working the job he was doing. Still, it sounded like things weren't as dire as I was anticipating them to be.
Before I left, I asked him, "In the next day or so I am going to be getting a little work done, will that be a problem with the biometrics you've taken? Should I come back to the office?" I actually already had set up an appointment for one of Downtown's best biosculpt clinics tomorrow. I knew exactly what to ask them to do, as I had a complete report of the work Alt-Taylor received.
He got a peculiar look, almost disapproving, on his face and asked, "Divergence factor?"
I searched my memories for what that meant and finally realised it was a percentage based on how different you would look from your baseline after treatment. "Less than five per cent."
That caused him to smile in his friendly manner again, "Oh, no. That's no problem. I'm so glad to hear that, too many people your age change your entire bodies, try to look like stars." He shook his head, "It's not really respectful to your parents! I certainly wouldn't let my daughter do anything like that."
Ah, he had been disapproving at first. I smiled, "I would never betray the memory of my father or mother. I am their daughter even if neither of them is around anymore, so I could never make radical changes like that. I like that I can see them in myself when I look in the mirror." That last part was a lie, but it sounded good. I didn't intend to, but I could imagine any number of situations where I would do so... being on the run, for example.
He nodded slowly, "You are a filial girl, Miss Hebert. It's rare to see these days. Come by the office, or call me if you need anything." He forwarded my phone his contact information, and I nodded, seeing that as a clear dismissal.
I departed and walked directly back to the elevator. Well, I liked that guy a lot more than Mr Gladly. However, I didn't trust him at all. I mean, I sort of believed what he had said, but I only figured that mattered when it was convenient.
That said, the fact that a member of a murderous street gang made me feel better than my teachers had in two years made me laugh. Was I always that good at talking? I didn't think so. I was just so scared that I said whatever came out of my mouth. I think I did well.
I thought about it as I headed back to my apartment. Finally, I realised a big reason was that he saw me as a completely different Taylor Hebert. So, my self-esteem still wasn't the best, I guess. But here, I could pretend to be this other girl every day, and nobody would ever know. Was that healthy?
My medical sense seemed to think it depended on a lot of other factors, but no, not generally. Oh well.
After I got back to my apartment, I spent the day further looking at things online and forging a version of my medical records that didn't have any of the biosculpt or cyberware that Alt-Taylor had, so I could give to the clinic tomorrow.
Shortly before I was heading to bed, I got an alert on my phone from Militech and one from the law firm simultaneously. Everything had gone through correctly. Or so I had thought.
The law firm told me that they had spotted a few problems with the contract, especially the fact that my compensation should be a bit different, i.e. more, since I was attending only a six month course compared to a normal two-year course that they had been offering.
That one change paid for their fees six times over, so I felt good about using their services. One perk that they got for me was one I didn't realise I should have asked for. Namely, they got Militech to let me keep my Militech dependent's net address until I turned 20. Although, I'd have to surrender it if I got a job at a major corporate competitor, like Kang Tao or Arasaka, or a number of others. The law firm emphasised how nice of a benefit this was, and I considered why they thought that was the case for a while.
Finally, I nodded. I could see what they meant. Any time I applied for a job, I could send the application through this address. It was almost like a recommendation from Militech. Perhaps I couldn't get a job overseas with Arasaka or any Corp that Militech was on the outs with, but it told the hiring managers if I wanted a corporate job that I wasn't some mook of the street. Even if that was exactly what I was.
I had already realised that my status, tenuous as it was, had value. Alt-Taylor was a third-generation Corpo, and that was almost a caste in this dystopian world. I was sure I got treated better by that Tyger Claw guy because of it.
And I'm sure there were tons of things about it that were big negatives, too. I'm sure there were lots of places in Night City that I couldn't walk around without getting jumped, for example. And I already knew that working for most corporations was similar to working as an Imperial Official in old Chinese dynasties. You were as often killed by your colleagues as your enemies.
Still, it wasn't something I should throw away. It might not have been a big deal if I was Alt-Taylor, as she still had the culture of growing up in that caste, so it would show through with whoever she was dealing with, but I didn't have that advantage at all.
The e-mail from Militech did seem correct at first blush. However, there was a mistake. It had the class I was attending as the Sysadmin class, complete with links to download all course materials included.
I blinked and rapidly clicked the link before they realised the error. The Sysadmin class wasn't a class that they let just anybody into. I didn't think that there would be some of the mythical "black ICE" that I had been reading about online in any of the course materials, but it should still be good stuff that I could study in my own time.
I managed to grab the first year's materials, all books and included software, including three large scripted software packages designed to be run on a cyberdeck, labelled Ping, Reboot Optics and C. Malfunction. I didn't know what any of those did beyond what they said on the tin, but I managed to download and save them to a data shard on my phone.
Militech realised their mistake before I could get the second year's materials, but I still felt I got a nice unasked-for bonus. To make it look less suspicious, I downloaded all of the Paramedic class courseware too, as if that was what I was after all along. Some of them were BDs, so I would have to get a wreath somewhere. I had a memory that my dad didn't permit Alt-Taylor to have one. Probably because, by far, the most common braindances were porn-related.
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Chippin' In
I never figured myself as one of the girls in my school to take off her clothes for a man more than two times her age; I just thought that was more something Emma might do, considering she was both a model and a psychopath. Although, to be honest, I was wearing a robe and completely covered, presently, when the clinic's tech arrived for my consultation. I didn't think he was considered a doctor, per se, but he seemed a lot more knowledgeable about biology than anyone called a clinic technician in Brockton Bay would have been.
