Back in my quarters, I carefully hide the practice medium and neural masking device Helena provided, tucking them securely behind the loose panel I discovered near the sanitation unit. The small space makes an ideal hiding spot, outside standard search patterns and shielded by the surrounding pipes that interfere with scanning equipment.

  I settle onto my thin mattress, my mind still processing the implications of Helena's offer. Something big is happening within the facility, possibly across multiple facilities. Whatever it is, my unaffiliated status and demonstrated abilities potentially put me at risk.

  But that's a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, I need to refine my techniques for neural repair work before my next agricultural assignment with Desta.

  I retrieve the practice medium, the dense sphere Helena provided, and sit cross-legged on my bed. The object's molecular structure becomes visible to my enhanced telekinetic senses, revealing complex patterns specifically designed for manipulation practice. Clever, the internal arrangements can be modified and then reset to original configuration, allowing repeated practice without permanent changes.

  After several minutes familiarizing myself with the sphere's properties, I return it to its hiding place. The real work needs to happen during sleep meditation, where my telekinetic abilities can fully expand without the constraints of conscious control.

  I check that my quarters are secure, then arrange myself comfortably for sleep. The facility's night cycle has dimmed the lighting to minimal levels, creating suitable conditions for deep meditation. As my breathing slows and my mind begins to detach from immediate surroundings, I shift into the now-familiar state of active sleep meditation.

  My consciousness remains aware while my body rests, creating the perfect condition for advanced telekinetic work. In this state, my abilities flow more naturally, unrestricted by physical limitations or conscious doubt. The neural pathways I've been optimizing pulse with concentrated energy, responding to intuition rather than deliberate commands.

  I focus first on refining the shielding technique I developed earlier. Creating a completely contained telekinetic field requires precise control of energy boundaries, establishing a workspace where manipulations generate no detectable signature beyond the immediate area of effect. Using my mental image of the practice medium, I visualize creating microscopic adjustments to its molecular structure while maintaining perfect energy containment.

  With the shielding technique solidified, I turn my attention to neural repair work. Technokinesis requires specialized neural architecture, pathways connecting visual processing centers, fine motor control regions, and the abstract reasoning areas of the frontal cortex. These connections interface with the standard enhancement templates, creating unique patterns optimized for technological interaction.

  In my meditation state, I can visualize these pathways clearly, identifying the likely damage patterns in Desta's neural architecture. The burnout would manifest as interruptions in key junction points, synaptic connections destroyed by power surges during enhancement stabilization. Repairing these connections requires extraordinary precision, gradually rebuilding neural tissue without triggering the facility's biological monitoring systems.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I practice the necessary techniques on my own neural pathways, making minor optimizations to non-critical connections. Each step in the process becomes clear: identifying damaged neurons, encouraging new dendritic growth, establishing functional synaptic junctions, and reinforcing myelin sheaths for proper signal transmission. All while maintaining the energy containment field to avoid detection.

  The neural masking device Helena provided will be crucial for this work, making any changes appear as spontaneous recovery rather than external intervention. I mentally review its structure and likely function, preparing to incorporate it into the repair process during my next session with Desta. Though of course I also make sure to keep my guard up against it, creating a telekinetic shield around it to prevent it from leaking any signals during repair work.

  As my meditation deepens, I extend my awareness outward, scanning my surroundings with enhanced perception. Block D sleeps around me, the energy signatures of other independents in various states of rest. The facility systems continue their constant operation, environmental controls, security monitoring, power distribution, a technological organism that never truly sleeps.

  My telekinetic senses detect something unusual, a pattern of activity in the security systems that suggests programmed surveillance focusing on specific locations within independent quarters. Not constant monitoring, but periodic scans targeting particular asset types. The pattern confirms Helena's warning about increased attention on telekinetics and other specific ability categories.

  Returning my focus inward, I work on integrating the neural repair techniques with my shielding method, creating a comprehensive approach for helping Desta. The process will need to be gradual, subtle modifications over multiple sessions rather than attempting complete repair at once. Each small improvement carefully masked to appear as natural recovery, avoiding the attention of facility monitoring systems.

  By the time my meditation cycle completes and consciousness begins returning to normal waking patterns, I've developed a clear methodology for the neural repair work. The practice medium will allow me to refine these techniques further before attempting actual modifications to Desta's neural architecture.

  The facility's morning cycle begins, lighting gradually increasing as my tablet chimes with the day's schedule:

  Daily Schedule - Independent Asset 7249

  0600-0700: Nutrition Access (CDC-4)

  0800-0900: Training Access (Facility 9)

  1000-1400: Agricultural Sector Labor Assignment

  1500-1600: Training Access (Facility 7)

  1700-1800: Nutrition Access (CDC-4)

  1900-0500: Rest Period/Quarter Confinement

  I rise from my bed, feeling unusually refreshed despite the minimal physical rest. The enhanced neural pathways continue to optimize my biological functions, requiring less recovery time than others.

  Today will be crucial for my plans with Desta. The agricultural assignment gives us extended contact in a relatively low-monitoring environment, perfect for beginning the assessment phase of neural repair work. With the techniques refined during sleep meditation and the tools Helena provided, I'm ready to take the first steps toward making a truly valuable ally.

  I heard people say that the text descriptions are too vague. So I added character stats to relevant chapters so readers would have an idea of Gary's progress. Not all chapters have them yet since I only had the most up to date stats and had to back calculate for the previous chapters. These are the stats I use to keep track of Gary's progress and determine how close fights between Gary and other assets should be.

  CHARACTER RATING SYSTEM

  Each character's capabilities are rated across six core attributes on a scale, with 5 representing baseline human capacity, and 1 representing severe impairment.

  CORE ATTRIBUTES

  STRENGTH (STR): Physical power, lifting capacity, striking force

  SPEED (SPD): Movement velocity, reaction time, combat tempo

  RESILIENCE (RES): Damage resistance, recovery rate, stamina

  CONTROL (CTL): Precision, fine manipulation, technique refinement

  AWARENESS (AWR): Sensory acuity, spatial mapping, threat detection

  ENHANCEMENT TYPES

  PRIMARY: Dominant ability that defines combat approach

  SECONDARY: Supporting capability that complements primary function

  CHARACTER PROFILE

  Gary (PROTAGONIST)

  STR: 11 - Enhanced strength

  SPD: 13 - Enhanced reflexes

  RES: 13 - Moderate enhancement recovery

  CTL: 57(+3) - Impressive telekinetic precision

  AWR: 28 - Notable perception

  Primary: Advanced Telekinesis (Molecular manipulation, Neural Architecture Modification)

  Secondary: Physical Enhancement