Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena Pov.
I sighed as I stepped out of the elevator of the mega-building that was now my temporary residence. Getting rid of Rebecca was more trouble than I expected. She refused to accept a no, or well, she complained a lot and almost begged, but still, the damn gremlin was quite attractive even with her body modifications, it was hard to deny.
Mmm... I don't remember that ever happening in the DxD world? It was weird.
"That's because everyone's afraid of you." I heard Bella snort in my head. I blinked for a few seconds.
"Oh, I didn't know you were looking," I said mentally. Bella hummed lightly.
"I always keep an eye out. It's quite possible you'll start a war, I need to be prepared so I'll be ready to go have fun in that world." Bella mocked in my mind. I mentally snorted, but I could feel my cheeks blushing.
"I'm not that bad." I complained to her. Bella just laughed lightly. I sighed and smiled slightly at her laughter. It was quite reassuring. "So, how was your day in the new world? And what did you mean by everyone being scared of me? " I asked curiously.
"It went well. I killed a lot of monsters, enjoying it to my heart's content. It was a good investment to come here. " Bella said cheerfully, and I was happy for her as I started walking toward the Penthouse. "I'll show you around in more detail later. But back to our previous topic, everyone in the Underworld is very aware of your… shall we say, unveiled threats."
"I don't remember threatening anyone?" I said, confused. Bella snorted as she burst out laughing.
"Honey, you tried to kill one of 'your' succubi for flirting with Enid, that's the reason why no one flirts with any of the family. And they don't flirt with you either; they don't know if you'll react the same way, so no one wants to risk it, but trust me, there are thousands ready to line up if you wanted to have sex with them." Bella mocked.
I stopped stiffly and blinked several times. Was that happening!? I was aware, now, that I had a sort of fan club of sorts, even that many of the succubi considered me a sort of heroine to them, with the metal statue in my honor and all, but desired in that way?
I never saw that coming! I blushed slightly and could hear Bellatrix's laughter in my mind, which only made my cheeks heat up even more.
"My love, it's a world where strength is especially attractive. You are the greatest potion specialist in the underworld, you founded a city, you have the Satans as your allies, you defeated the White Dragon and a Cadre, you have weapons capable of killing immortals and more, believe me, you are desired in the underworld." Bella mocked, and I moaned loudly.
"Okay, yeah, I get it! I'm completely clueless and dense! Thanks for saying that! " I mentally growled, still embarrassed.
"You're welcome, honey." Bella laughed. "And, by the way, I like that blue gremlin; you should sleep with her." Bella added carelessly, and I tripped over my own foot.
"Excuse me, what? You want me to have sex with Rebecca?! " I asked incredulously. I could see Bella shrugging. It was one thing if Bella didn't mind as long as I added them to the entourage with the seal, but Rebecca didn't have one at all.
"I mean, you are going to have to do it with someone! Or are you going to go two weeks without sex? Because I highly doubt GLaDOS wants to have sex with you." Bella said mentally, This time, I completely froze.
A feeling of dread crossed my body. Two weeks without sex sounded horrible! Especially since I'd been using magic carelessly! The arousal was passively building inside me as always, and I hadn't considered the fact that I didn't have one of my fiancées to quench that lust, so I wasn't even careful when it came to using magic.
I thought quickly that a day in this Cyberpunk world was approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes in the DxD world. I could go out and use time bubbles, but… I don't think Ravel or Enid want to be bothered every two hours. Maybe I could hold out for two or three days? Or on the other hand, there was Bella-
"Don't even think about it, I'm happy and satisfied killing monsters." Bella said, mentally interrupting me. I groaned loudly. "I already told you, get the blue gremlin, she has... an energy that pleases me." Bella mocked, I pouted, it was too late now.
Besides, the mere idea of putting Bella and Rebecca together made me shudder; either of them was more than capable of starting a massacre just for the hell of it; putting them together would be a danger to any civilization.
"I'll think about it when I get to know her better," I said quickly.
I sighed as I immediately disconnected from Bella. Rebecca was attractive, and I'd have no problem being with her. But she knew me well enough to know I wasn't doing anything casual, so she'd have to think about it further.
I would have to find a way to hold out for a few days, perhaps by reducing my magic usage considerably. It was possible that I could let off steam for a few days, but that would only be temporary, lasting only a short period of time. But I also had to feed myself sexually. I was really hating my succubus physiology.
I ran my hand over my face as I momentarily shook those thoughts away, finally reaching the entrance of the Penthouse, placed my phone in the lock, opened the door, and entered, looking around before stopping.
The room had been pretty well remodeled; half of the things that had been in the living room, including the table, the TV, and the furniture, had been pushed to a corner, and now in the center was a sort of improvised but very well-equipped Ripperdoc clinic.
I could even see the Maelstroms piled up next to me, still alive, though unconscious.
There were a large number of machines, screens, and tools around a chair where she had placed one of the Maelstroms, which was tied down on all sides and trembled and shook every moment.
GLaDOS was unusually happy and completely enthralled with the task at hand as she… hummed? She was humming ' Still Alive'? My eyes opened wide in disbelief.
Again, this would have been really adorable if, for some reason, she wasn't jabbing or hacking at things inside the brain of the Maelstrom beneath her like it was the most fascinating thing ever. The Maelstrom looked like its vocal cords had been pulled back because it definitely wanted to scream, but no noise was coming out of its mouth.
"GLaDOS?" I asked as I approached carefully, GLaDOS looked up and smiled widely.
"Serena! You're here! " GLaDOS said, unusually happily. I blinked again.
"You're... quite happy." I said as I walked over and looked at her work. I almost grimaced as I saw the Maelstrom's rather battered brain connected to a dozen keys and sensors. How was it still alive? "May I ask... what are you doing? I'm sure you were practicing planting cyberware."
"Oh yeah, that's it. I'm done," GLaDOS said easily. "As it turns out, I'm extraordinarily good at everything I do," GLaDOS said arrogantly. "And after a few dozen tests on my test subjects, I'm now completely adept at the placement and removal of Cyberware," GLaDOS said proudly.
"Okay… so, I got Doc's memories for nothing?" I asked as I held up the copper mind with the memories.
"Not really, you said you'd be my helper, just absorb them yourself," GLaDOS said nonchalantly. I grimaced at that, but nodded reluctantly.
"Okay, I'll do it in a bit. Now... can you tell me what you're doing to this poor Maelstrom? " I asked as GLaDOS stuck another needle into his brain, causing the Maelstrom to twitch considerably.
"Oh yes!" said GLaDOS cheerfully, as if the idea of explaining what she was doing was wonderful. "Since I had already mastered cyberware so magnificently, I wanted to study the origins of cyberpsychosis. I tried looking for books, documents, and articles on the Internet, but I found almost nothing, so I decided to study it myself."
"I first theorized that it was due to a multitude of factors, that the leading cause was preexisting mental disorders and problems, and that it all resulted in a common outcome. But there was the problem that cyberpsychopaths almost always ended up being violent, which is completely unheard of! "
"I mean, I've had more than enough experience with psychopathic, lunatic, and zero-empathy humans to know that. While I'd like to categorize all humans into those categories, for the sake of my theory, I have to be terribly impartial, a real pain, really."
"But I admit, it's also quite possible that 'non-violent' cyberpsychopaths just live their lives without even realizing they're psychopaths, which is also a good thing, since my statement that this was a world of lunatics and psychopaths was true!"
"Even so, I decided to dig deeper—after all, I wouldn't be satisfied with something so incomplete! So I searched The Company's internet for other worlds where a similar mental illness exists, but guess what? It doesn't exist."
"There are many worlds where cyberware, implants, augmentations, prosthetics, or anything else that's the same but with a different name are placed, and none of them reach a level of reaction as violent as the cyberpsychopaths of this world."
"Most of them are simply a great loss of empathy, of humanity, maybe a little paranoia, identity crisis, dissociation, altered perception of reality, mental breakdowns, a little madness here and there, some rejection of the prosthesis that leads to migraines, seizures, loss of control over the implants, and death."
"I mean, all of that is understandable, and even expected, and it's quite possible that some of the examples above could end in a violent reaction, but in this world? But cyberpsychosis as we know it? Everyone ends up being violent, and that's not normal."
"So there are two options: the problem is with the cyberware of this world, or the problem is with the brains of the humans of this world. So I decided to open the brain of this test subject! " said GLaDOS happily.
I blinked several times, taking a second to keep up with GLaDOS's rapid-fire babble. Did I sound like that when I talked about magic to my fiancées? I almost wanted to feel sorry for them, but it only made me love them even more for putting up with my constant babbling.
Now, back to what GLaDOS had been saying, that… was a much better response than I expected. I almost expected her to just cut out his brain for the hell of it. Still…
"Wouldn't it have been better to investigate the cyberware first?" I asked, pointing at the implants. GLaDOS just smiled broadly and lunatically.
"And where would the fun be in that?" GLaDOS asked cheerfully, I sighed tiredly, Yes, there it was.
"At least you discovered something?" I asked exhaustedly, GLaDOS nodded happily.
"Oh, I've discovered several things, and it's mainly that the humans of this world are very stupid." GLaDOS hummed as she continued to dig through her brain while looking at the screens around her, carelessly pointing at some of them. "The problem with hypercapitalization and the eternal war of the Corporations is that no one wants to share their secrets with others; globalization and public information are not a thing in this world."
"This makes all cybernetics and all programming redundant and conflicting if someone uses cyberware from different manufacturers. This creates an invisible tension in the brain, since, as the main processor of everything, it is the one in charge of regulating all implants."
"Then you add to that the extremely clumsy, sloppy setup, poor maintenance, poor calibration, and everything else that comes from unprofessional setup, and well, when those errors are wired into the nervous system, you have a brain that's continually bombarded with errors that hit the wrong places."
"Most cyberware should be connected to the motor and somatosensory cortex, specifically the frontal and parietal lobes, to coordinate movements and tactile feedback. Or to the cerebellum and basal ganglia, responsible for fine coordination and automation of movements."
"or the visual and auditory cortices, and… you know what I mean, but it turns out a lot of it is also connected to systems that modify reflexes and processing speed, like the brain's amygdala and limbic system, to utilize and dramatically modify responses to fear, aggression, and threat."
"When implemented poorly, they simply hit the wrong places they shouldn't, especially the latter. It's like hitting those places with the equivalent of continuously stabbing them with a screwdriver, which quickly triggers cyberpsychosis," GLaDOS said quickly.
Once again, I found myself blinking as I tried to follow the conversation. I really had to catch up if I wanted to keep up with GLaDOS's chatter, but otherwise, it was quite interesting, more so than I expected.
"So, simply placing cyberware correctly would prevent someone from becoming a cyberpsychopath?" I asked curiously, and GLaDOS growled slightly.
"In part, it would at least relieve most of the strain. The other part would be good programming for cyberware. As I said, corporations don't want their secrets to get out, so cyberware has too many useless protections that also overload the brain."
"Add to that the fact that most cyberware has 'standard' programming, which isn't ideal. No brain is the same; it's stupid to think that one configuration would work perfectly for everyone. I'd have to create a new code for each cyberware to fit each person."
"Then let people get used to their cyberware, let their brains get used to the new load before continuing to add more cyberware, but if my calculations are correct, doing it that way would lower the rate of cyberpsychosis by at least 90%.
"I'm sorry to tell you, but the remaining 10% of humanity are still lunatics," GLaDOS said dryly.
"So, you basically solved the cyberpsychosis problem in half a day?" I asked incredulously. GLaDOS perked up at my surprise, but I quickly dismissed it.
"Don't be silly, everything was already there; it was easy to put the pieces together. Besides, I'm sure the Corporation has been aware of this fact for a long time," GLaDOS said nonchalantly.
" And they just don't care." I said immediately, GLaDOS shrugged.
"It's very possible, and ongoing maintenance is very expensive for the average person, from what I've found out, and all cyberware needs it. Most have small or delicate parts that even a deviation of a few millimeters can generate a charge."
"And the custom program, it's very possible that it would be impossible for them. They would have to map the entire brain and all the nerves of the person, along with the rest of the cyberware, and build a program from scratch, and that would take weeks, which is very likely to render all the readings they did useless."
"The brain ages and changes constantly; even a contusion or bleeding in the brain can completely change its patterns, meaning a new program is constantly being created, and that would still take another few weeks. In theory, it's possible, in practice, not so much," GLaDOS said contemptuously.
"But I guess you can do it." I said playfully, GLaDOS puffed out her chest once more.
"Of course I can. I have the greatest processing power ever seen in thousands of worlds. Creating such a program would take me seconds, at most, minutes." GLaDOS said arrogantly.
"You're amazing." I told her honestly. GLaDOS lifted her chin in satisfaction. "Would that also solve or cure those who already suffer from cyberpsychosis?" I asked curiously. GLaDOS grimaced.
"Impossible. Most people who reach violent levels of cyberpsychopathy are adults who have been using cyberware for a long time. Their brains would already be hyperstimulated by so many errors and hits in the wrong places that their neural connections are permanently reorganized."
"There's already such a significant amount of atrophy and irreversible damage that even without cyberware, the person's personality would have already changed considerably. That, along with a significant amount of mental trauma caused by the cyberware, is impossible to fully recover from cyberpsychopathy."
"At least with the technology of this world," GLaDOS said, humming, "If I can use magic, potions, or some other things, I could possibly heal their brains enough to revert them back to a previous version of themselves. I'm sure your Feruchemical Gold or Sinclair's power could do it."
"Even… perhaps if I had access to Relic 2.0, if I could replicate the technology to modify the brain internally, I could create individual programs to undo all the damage the cyberware caused to the cyberpsychopath's brain and recalibrate them," GLaDOS said with a shrug.
"That… wouldn't be reckless, I mean, wouldn't manipulating the brain like that permanently change its personality?" I asked with a grimace, remembering Amy Dallon and her rule about not manipulating the brain for that reason. GLaDOS just snorted.
"Of course it would change their personality, I'd be trying to remove trauma and brain damage, but I'm guessing anyone on this planet would be more than happy to undergo that solution if it cured them of cyberpsychopathy." GLaDOS mocked, I had nothing else to say, because I had not the slightest doubt that people would do it.
"Well, I guess that's okay. As interesting as all of this is, and I'm serious, I'll need your help to figure it all out later. But that's for another day. Now, I still have some places planned for us to go tonight." I said simply. GLaDOS blinked, her smile growing.
"Are we going to the Cynosure facility?!" GLaDOS asked excitedly as she jabbed the needles in her hands hard into the Maelstrom's exposed brain; the Maelstrom let out a high-pitched noise before suddenly dying. GLaDOS blinked before shrugging and looking back at me excitedly.
"I'm sorry to say no, " GLaDOS groaned in protest. "But I was thinking of going with the Voodoo Boys so you could familiarize yourself with this world's Netrunning and its systems more thoroughly. It would be more beneficial if we went to the Cynosure facility later." I told her immediately, GLaDOS froze and nodded in agreement.
" Fine, we'll follow your plan, but I want my robots." GLaDOS said simply, I nodded amusedly.
"I guess we could set up shop in Dogtown and steal some of the working Chimeras." I said, amusedly, GLaDOS's smile growing even wider.
"The Militech Chimera 0005-CM?!" GLaDOS squealed, really squealed with excitement. She got away from the chair she was in and started running. She grabbed my arm and started dragging me along in excitement. "Come on! What are we waiting for!? " GLaDOS asked happily, I laughed amusedly.
"Let's wait a few hours before it gets completely dark. Besides, I still have to eat, and you have to finish your experiment." I said, pointing at the chair. GLaDOS snorted.
"The experiment is over, don't t-oh no- mmhh !!!" GLaDOS moaned loudly as she held onto my arms tightly while she orgasmed heavily. I huffed but held her calmly; it really wasn't what you think about keeping a girl in your arms while she orgasmed. "I hate this body." GLaDOS moaned, sounding pleased and frustrated at the same time.
I laughed lightly as I continued to hold the limp, slightly trembling GLaDOS. I cast a spell to clean up all the mess GLaDOS had made, then carefully lifted her up and placed her on a nearby chair.
"I'm sure you are. I guess now we just have to wait for your legs to work again." I teased her as I walked into the kitchen and started preparing my dinner. I could feel GLaDOS glaring at me, but I didn't say anything.
I just laughed lightly as I finished preparing my food.
Author's Note: Sorry for rambling on! ( I'm not! ), And for the record, I have no degree or expertise in any biological subject, so everything I write is based on my own research and could be very wrong, so I'm sorry for that! If there are any mistakes, please feel free to point them out!