[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-protagonist-system":3,"chapter-the-protagonist-system-the-protagonist-system-chapter-514":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Protagonist System",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1824122,2426,"507 Choomba Roomba","the-protagonist-system-chapter-514",514,"\u003Cp>It took me a few seconds to remember that there was no physical nurse call button. Nearly everything in this world was done using signals from people's cybernetic implants, including money transactions, communications, hacking, and learning. Even using basic necessities, like vending machines and operating vehicles, needed a cybernetic implant to use and function.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That should have limited me significantly, except I had two powers that should mitigate most of it. Telepathy and Technopathy. I could use and communicate through both, so I kept my eyes closed and sent out a mental net to see who was close by my hospital room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I found a bored woman sitting at the nurse's station down the hallway. Instead of trying to use my technopathy from a distance, I gave her the impression the call light from my room was flashing on her console. I could feel her reluctance to answer it, then she mentally sighed and stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pulled back from her mind and waited patiently for my room door to open. When it did, I gave her a relieved smile. “I'm about to blow like the fountain in Dogtown and I can't aim it at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman's eyes went to the fingertips of my hands, encased in plaster and wrappings, and she sighed. “I really hate this part of my job.” She said and picked up the knocked over chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I did my best to hold it in as the nurse went into the bathroom and grabbed something. When she came back out, it wasn't a bedpan like I thought it would be. It was a small container with a hose attachment instead. For the next few minutes, she fumbled with it to set it up, then she fumbled with my bindings to loosen them up just enough to allow me some freedom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes widened at my size, even while soft, and she glanced at my face to see if I had caught her staring. I just grinned at her and she blushed and tried to slip the hose end onto me. To her surprise, it was a tight fit and didn't seal properly, so she sighed and resigned herself to having to actually touch me. I giggled when she did, just to tease her, and she rolled her eyes at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I figured it was safe to do so, I finally let my bladder go. I hadn't been lying about what was going to happen, either. My bladder felt excessively full for some reason, probably from the bags of IV saline and the drugs Victor had used to keep me stable. My body had been processing them for however long I had been unconscious and they wanted out of my body immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nurse caught her breath as the dark yellow fluid gushed out of me in a torrent, unlike anything she had ever seen or experienced before. The little container the hose was attached to was filling up quickly, much too quickly to contain it all, and she started to panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don't go anywhere!” She gasped and ran from the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laughed and shook my head, as if I could go anywhere like this. Thankfully, the hose stayed attached to me. The pee container was almost full when she ran back into the room with a bucket and then the hose quickly started filling up. Since it was much smaller than the container, it happened almost immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nurse yanked the other end of the hose out of the small container and broke the clasp holding it, then she pointed the broken end into the large cleaning bucket. The nearly full hose emptied into it with a splash and the potent smell of urine filled the room. She tried to not let her disgust show on her face and wasn't successful at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a relieved sigh when the pressure I felt finally reduced and came to a stop. She gave me a deadpan look before she reached down to jiggle me a bit, to get those last few drops out, then she detached the hose from me and let it completely drain into the bucket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There had been some splashing during the transition between containers, thanks to the broken hose, so the smell stuck around as she carried everything into the bathroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It really does smell like the fountain in Dogtown.” The nurse grumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I heard her pouring liquid into the toilet, probably from the bucket because it was loud. I heard a softer pouring next, which was probably the smaller container. There was a flush sound and then the faucet ran for several minutes. She came out of the bathroom with it all in a garbage bag that she held out and away from her, then her eyes went to my exposed manhood. Another trip into the bathroom later, she placed a towel across my waist to cover me up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I'll be right back.” She said and left with the garbage bag.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cleaning up after me is more important than my dignity. Got it.” I said to the empty room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that I was alone and wasn't about to have an imminent pee accident, I checked my stat sheet and reactivated a lot of my powers. I had forgotten to change them back to active after I left the last world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, not having them all active had worked out, since my body healing and pushing all that cyberware out while I was unconscious, right in front of two medical professionals, would have set off another scene that I wouldn't have enjoyed going through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed with relief again as my genetics and Panacea's power went to work fixing up all the shattered bones, torn muscles, ripped tendons, and RealSkinn grafts. I could feel my strength return to me after a few minutes as my muscles finished growing and expanded back to their normal size and shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since I was 17 again, they were not as pronounced as they would have been if I was fully grown. That meant the mummy-like bandages and casts didn't constrict me as much, which was another relief. I only had to store the metal splints to give me enough breathing room to move around slightly. I couldn't do anything about the casts yet, though.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half a hour later, the nurse came back into the room. Her face was sad as she cleaned up around the room, then she cleaned herself and her hands up in the bathroom before coming out to take care of me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happened?” I asked and her hands paused before touching the towel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her mind went over the shift supervisor berating her in front of her coworkers for how she handled the whole thing. I had top rated insurance and her fumbling around with me was unprofessional and she embarrassed the hospital. She had been docked today's pay as a penalty and would have one less shift per week for the next month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, fuck.I thought and couldn't help hear her thoughts about not having enough money this month to feed her family, pay the rent, and pay the local gang for protection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I'm sorry about my behavior, sir.” She said instead of answering and pulled surgical gloves out of her pocket and put them on before she removed the towel, cleaned me up, and tucked me away under the bandages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nurse also carefully checked to make sure I wasn't being squeezed anywhere by the bindings, both around my chest and the ones that were keeping my limbs straight. She gave me a professional smile when she was done and it didn't reach her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you need anything else, just buzz me at the desk and I'll be right here.” The nurse told me and she turned and walked towards the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I watched as she walked away and I couldn't in good conscience make her and her family suffer because of what happened. I lifted my head to look at her. “When does your shift end?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nurse stopped walking and didn't turn around. “At eight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My insurance only has full coverage for a five day stay before I have to pay through the nose for everything.” I said with a scoff. “How long have I been vegging here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Four days.” She answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I need a choom to coordinate with my building manager to bail from here and take care of me until the stims and healing dorphs can get these casts off of me next week.” I said and her posture stiffened. “You wouldn't happen to have the detes for anyone that could use some off the books eddies and has the skills to care for a veg for a week, do you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn't say anything and I laid my head back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you get the sitch by tonight, flick me the detes before I zonk out.” I said and let out a sigh. “It's days like this I wish I had chooms at school that had spare rooms. They'd gonk out for the free eddies or even let me stuffit while they braindance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You're almost in a full body cast, gonk.” The nurse responded with a laugh. Trying to have sex and watch VR porn should have been too much for me to handle like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, yeah.” I said with a chuckle. “The dorphs Vic hit me with are some preem skezz!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nurse made a sound of agreement and opened the door. “Get some rest.” She said and glanced back at me, only to see my goofy smile as I tried to sell the drugged up image. “I'll hit you up tonight if I find an ace or choom to accept your offer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nova.” I said and closed my eyes. “Nova.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stood there and watched me for several seconds, then she stepped out of the room and closed the door. With a reaction like that, I was sure she was going to accept the offer right after she logged out of her unpaid shift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I waited for a few minutes before I pretended to fall asleep and evened out my breathing. I was sure someone was watching me, considering her supervisor had so quickly caught her antics from before. That meant I had to keep up the ruse that I was drugged up and still needed the help, just so no one would question why I was so eager and gung ho when chatting with the ladies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, that made me wonder how often Gloria had come to visit me if I had been at the hospital and unconscious for four days. I'd have to ask the nurse later if the hospital would give me a copy of the footage or the log files, just so I could have a record of people's visits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Gloria was as dedicated to David's welfare as I suspected she was, or her vehement arguing proved, then she had been here for every spare moment she had to make sure I wasn't going to pester her or David about backing me up about the 'accident'.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Katsuo Tanaka was the son of a middle management corpo that was on the Arasaka Academy's board of governors. Any airing of dirty laundry, like accusing the blue-haired bowl-cut gonk of intentionally pushing me under an armored limo to kill me, or any kind of retaliation because of that, was going to bring a lot of stuff down onto my head. Gloria didn't want any of that to splash onto David's head, too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thing was, I completely understood her point of view. She wanted her son to have a better life than she had. The problem was, he was growing up now, and she was missing it all as she worked double night shifts in the most dangerous parts of town to pay for it. Gloria was only seeing the long view and couldn't see what was right in front of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was a choice she was going to have to face soon. Be there for her son when he actually needed her to be, or keep working her ass off to give him a better life sometime in the future, when it's not really going to matter to him, because she's never been there for him when he needed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room's door opened and the nurse came back in. I watched her with X-Ray Vision as she puttered around the room, tidied up a little, and then she sat beside the bed and stared at me. I wasn't unnerved by that, since a mental poke showed me that she was heavily debating if she wanted to accept what she thought was a huge responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn't bother trying to nudge her into accepting because we both knew she needed the extra money. Doing things for me after work, which were the same things she did at work every day anyway, was just too good of a deal to pass up. She stood and placed a hand on my shoulder, as if confirming I was real and not a figment of her imagination, then she moved away from the bed and left the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pretended to sleep for quite some time as I thought about the things I needed to do, then realized I had to pretend to be out of commission for another week. I mentally laughed at that and pushed all my thoughts of rushing aside and actually fell asleep. I could deal with anything important that popped up later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Color me surprised when my hired nurse finished her shift and managed to arrange for an actual ambulance to transfer me home to my apartment and it just happened to be the one Gloria worked on. The look of loss on Gloria's face was quite telling as I was loaded into the back by two orderlies and my nurse climbed in with me. She handed Gloria the paperwork from my insurance company and Gloria nodded at the attached voucher that paid the fee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apparently, getting me out of the hospital a day early had saved the company oodles of eddies in costs, payouts, and overhead fees, which made them extremely happy with me and they approved the modest expense of a Meat Wagon ride home. Since I was paying for the nurse out of my own pocket, they were off the hook for my medical expenses from that moment on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thankfully, Victor Vektor managed to salvage a lot of my chrome and the resale value was just enough to cover the cost of the increased premium that my insurance coverage went up by. That was a win-win all around for everyone, which was a very odd thing to happen in Night City. I didn't question it or tried to rationalize it, mostly because that was just asking for trouble to find me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was a surprise was the driver used the siren and blew through traffic like it was standing still. I gave Gloria a questioning look and she whispered that Martin loved pretending he was always on an important call and never missed an opportunity to speed through traffic like a race car driver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Needless to say, we arrived at my building in Heywood in record time and both Gloria and my nurse whistled when they saw the upscale but slightly older megabuilding. It had been refurbished a decade ago and was made much better than the new buildings, mostly because it was only 30 stories and had a lot of extra space inside to make living there more comfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn, kid.” Gloria said as she helped the driver ease the stretcher out of the back of the ambulance and onto its wheels. The transition was much gentler than the first time I'd experienced it. “Maybe I should have accepted your offer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I still need a day nurse.” I said and she looked surprised. “Syn can only handle the evening shifts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Syn huffed at me as we entered the front doors. “I told you my name's Synapse, gonk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That doesn't sound sexy enough for me to tease you about it.” I complained and the guard at the front desk laughed. “Oh, hey Tank! How's the biz?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Same.” Tank said and stood. His thick frame was huge in comparison to the medics, so his guard job was well suited to him. He gave me a searching look and then smiled. “They managed to scrape all of you up off the speedway?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Naw, choom. Had to bail most of my preem chrome.” I said, sadly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Drek.” Tank said and nodded at Syn. “Go ahead and sign in for him and yourself. I got eyes on him and authorize it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Syn nodded and her eyes looked blank for a moment. “We're on the fifteenth floor, right side, second door.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ambulance driver hit the elevator button and Gloria and the nurse turned the stretcher and pushed me inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Spot you in a week, Tank!” I said and he waved as the doors closed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How big is your apartment?” Gloria asked and then her face went red. Asking that was a social taboo when not among friends, or chooms as they were called here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don't have the deets anymore.” I said and wiggled a finger to point at my head. “It's comfy, though. Not preem like the penthouse suites on the top floor. Corpos got that drek locked up tight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No family, either.” Syn said and lightly touched my arm. “Gonk's been on his own for years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, I'm no gonk! I'm independent!” I defended myself. “I got my spot at Arasaka Academy on my own. I ain't no corpo kid riding on my family name.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria looked conflicted as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I got the door codes.” Syn said and walked ahead of the stretcher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The large apartment door opened as we approached it and it was the driver's turn to whistle when we entered. Gloria and Syn were too stunned to say anything. The wall of windows showed a spectacular view of the inside of the megabuilding and the almost idealistic park in the center of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The privacy screens embedded into the windows stopped anyone from seeing into the apartment, so they could walk around naked if they wanted to. The funny thing was, people living in the other apartments turned that option off occasionally and had parties and other types of fun in their living rooms for everyone to see. Showing off like that was a regular thing here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can drop me off on the couch. There's no vidscreen in the bedrooms.” I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Martin and Gloria actually turned the couch on an angle for me to easily see the television on the wall before they transferred me to the couch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nova.” I said with a smile and nodded at my nurse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Syn handed me the small clicker Victor had left with me for emergency use. We would work out something more robust and reliable later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thanks for the lift.” I managed to click it a couple of times using my thumb and chose the tip option to send them a hundred eddies each.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both of the EMTs made surprised sounds at the transfer and gave me odd looks. A hundred eurodollars was enough to buy a week's worth of the good prepackaged meals, with two meals a day, and still have enough left over for six of the cheap generic ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It's a throwaway account with only a thousand eddies in it. Well, eight hundred now. It's not worth stealing.” I said and Syn nodded as she took it back and slipped it into her pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead of saying anything, Martin grabbed the end of the stretcher and walked towards the apartment door. Gloria walked over to me and gave me a very conflicted look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Day shift starts at nine. Lunch is on me and shift ends at four.” I said and smiled at her. “Full EMT rate, on or off the books, your choice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria looked startled, then she frowned at me. “Why are you throwing your money away?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Throwing it away?” I asked and intentionally looked at her chest before I looked up at her face. “I'm paying you to stick around and I'll eventually find out what color your eyes are. Maybe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Martin laughed from out in the hallway and Syn couldn't help but laugh as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria huffed indignantly before she glared at me. “Fine. I'll be here at nine.” She agreed and then sighed. “Off the books, gonk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nova.” I said and wiggled my fingers at her. “Later, choombatta.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria nodded and left the apartment with a confident stride to her walk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yep, that's definitely a preem ass.I thought as the apartment door closed and cut off my view. I turned my head and saw Syn's blank face, which meant she was upset that I didn't stare at her like that. So, I grinned at her and reminded her of something. “You don't have eyes in the back of your head.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Syn looked surprised for a moment and then she smiled, clearly pleased at being objectified in the same manner. “Your long nap made you skip supper.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then grab a couple of the preem meals from the vendi. As long as you're feeding me, you might as well eat, too.” I told her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Syn's smile grew and she practically ran over to the kitchen and the mounted vending machine there. It had a few options on it that wasn't available to the general public and she looked excited as she chose a couple of meals and then drinks for us both.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When she came back into the living room, she was almost bouncing as she carried the tray full of food and the huge smile was still on her face. I knew then that she was going to really enjoy earning her pay for the late night shifts that she worked for me.\u003C\u002Fp>",3677,"2026-06-09T05:52:49.484Z",1,"novelbin.me","e2817cbaae166b54ed207d92dded7561bdd1f1a416175d8bf0320f881faa0317","the-protagonist-system-chapter-515","the-protagonist-system-chapter-513",542,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-protagonist-system-cover.jpg"]