"Had some business success recently. Pharmaceutical investing. Got lucky with a biotech company."
Drake's eyebrows rose slightly. "Lucky or smart? There's a difference."
"Little of both, I hope."
They talked for a few more minutes. Drake was a businessman, owned a shipping company, served on several charity boards. He seemed genuinely interested in James's background.
"There's a charity gala next month," Drake said before leaving. "Wayne Foundation fundraiser. I'll send you an invitation. Always good to meet young entrepreneurs."
"I'd appreciate that," James said.
After Drake left, James finished his workout with a small smile. First real connection to Gotham's elite. First step toward the social network he'd need eventually.
Seeds planted.
---
Three weeks after buying the factory, James finished assembling Neural Interface version 0.1.
The prototype sat on his laboratory workbench. It looked like a nightmare combination of VR headset, medical equipment, and science fiction prop.
The base was a modified VR development kit with a high-resolution display. Attached to the outside were eight tDCS electrodes positioned to target motor cortex regions.
Thin cables connected to the EMG sensors that would stick to his muscles during use.
The whole thing connected to his workstation setup. Three computers networked together, running software he'd spent the last three weeks writing.
The software was the real breakthrough.
James had uploaded two hundred hours of martial arts instructional content.
Videos from every style he could find. Judo. Karate. Boxing. Jiu-Jitsu. Krav Maga. Muay Thai. Wrestling. Taekwondo.
His AI analyzed every video, broke down each technique into component movements, extracted the biomechanics.
The AI he'd created was crude by the standards of his memories from his original world, but it was genius by 1995 standards.
Pattern recognition algorithms that shouldn't exist for another decade. Motion analysis that commercial systems wouldn't achieve for years.
His enhanced intellect had let him build something impossible.
The system worked like this. James would put on the headset and enter a VR training environment.
The AI would demonstrate a technique with a virtual instructor, showing perfect form from multiple angles.
James would attempt to replicate the movement in physical space. Motion capture cameras would track his body. EMG sensors would read which muscles activated.
The AI would compare his movement to optimal form, identify deviations, and provide instant feedback both visually in the VR display and through subtle electrical stimulation from the tDCS electrodes, guiding correct muscle activation.
Theoretically, this would dramatically accelerate muscle memory formation.
The brain would encode the movement faster because feedback was instant and perfect.
The tDCS would enhance the motor cortex's plasticity during practice.
The VR would allow unlimited perfect repetitions without physical fatigue being the limiting factor.
Theory was one thing though.
Testing was another.
James attached the EMG sensors to his right arm and shoulder. Put on the headset. Powered up the system.
The VR environment loaded. He stood in a virtual dojo, traditional Japanese style with wooden floors and paper walls.
A virtual instructor stood across from him, a generic humanoid figure in a white gi.
Text appeared in his vision. "Basic Judo: Osoto Gari (Major Outer Reap). Observe demonstration."
The virtual instructor moved through the throw in slow motion.
Step in with the left foot. Grip the opponent's collar and sleeve. Pull opponent forward while sweeping their right leg back. Opponent falls. It looked simple broken down like this.
"Attempt replication," the text instructed.
James moved through the technique in the physical space of his laboratory. The motion capture cameras tracked his body. His virtual avatar mimicked his movements in the VR environment.
As he moved, feedback appeared instantly.
"Hip position: fifteen degrees too high."
"Weight distribution: sixty-forty, should be seventy-thirty."
"Sweep angle: forty-five degrees, optimal is sixty degrees."
The tDCS electrodes delivered tiny pulses, barely noticeable, guiding his muscles toward correct activation patterns.
James adjusted based on the feedback and tried again. Better. The corrections appeared faster this time, smaller deviations.
"Improvement noted. Repeat for muscle memory encoding."
He did the throw fifty times over twenty minutes. By the thirtieth repetition, the feedback was minimal. By the fiftieth, the AI confirmed his form matched optimal parameters within five percent.
James removed the headset. His head buzzed slightly from the tDCS, not unpleasant but noticeable. He walked over to the training dummy he'd set up in the corner.
Attempted Osoto Gari on the dummy.
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