~~~
Well, this took way longer than I planned for. I don't want to bore you with my personal life, so you can skip this pretext.
The last couple of months were... interesting. I was stuck in some mixture of writer's block, mild depression, and executive dysfunction.
But I also got some stuff done, got a new car, got my aching wisdom tooth pulled, and had some vacation with my family.
Sadly, the bad parts took way longer than I wanted, as they often do, and I only got the energy to return to writing in mid-February...
But now I can present HERMES Chapter 9. We pick up some speed here and explore some important things.
~~~
"Chris! Chris!" Nea called over the speakers.
I jerked upright in my bed. "What? What is happening?" My heart was pounding. Did something break? Has EPT found Hermes earlier than expected? Will I be dead in a minute? Adrenaline pumped through my veins, and I was prepared to defend myself, as someone wearing only boxers and a shirt could be.
"It's done!" She exclaimed ecstatically.
My brain was definitely not ready to comprehend this information. It was still in fight or flight mode. I spluttered and finally got another "What?" out of my mouth. What was done? I couldn't remember. We spent the last days mostly playing games, chatting, and relaxing. So it was no wonder my sleep-drunk and adrenaline-pumped mind couldn't remember what we were waiting on.
"Your chamber, it is done," Nea repeated, with anticipation in her voice.
It finally clicked for me, and reality came rushing back. All this time, we had waited for two things, Pyra's return and the construction of the chamber, my chamber. The chamber that will hopefully give me a new identity, a new body, and partly new DNA. The whole point was to allow me to get back onto other stations, but I somehow was looking more forward to my new body.
"What?" Seriously, I should stop that, "Already? I thought it would take till around noon or something."
Nea giggled, "I told you it would be done today, never said when. And to be fair, I wasn't sure; the final tests could have shown problems, and it would have taken longer to fix them. But as it is now, everything is done and working. We are ready."
"Holy... damn, I..." I nearly fell out of my bed, "I need to get ready!" I exclaimed after I got to my feet. "Wait... do I need to get ready?" My original panic had subsided, and I started to form coherent thoughts, but I still was somewhat lost.
"No, silly," Nea mused, "Just get down to the chamber. I have already prepared everything."
I nodded and left my room, still only in my shirt and boxers. I was excited; soon, I would be someone new. Not only would my DNA be changed, and I could take on my new identity, but I would also be more in line with my ideal self. I was... happy? It was a big step, for sure, but also something I was extremely looking forward to.
---
The room with the chamber was like most other rooms on Hermes, white, plain, and somewhat sterile, save for the chamber itself, an examination table, and medical equipment.
The chamber looked similar to Nea's previous rendering, with the shiny metallic surface reflecting the ceiling light. It had some similarities with a crude, industrial-looking bathtub.
One of Nea's bots stood next to the table, and to my surprise, she had replaced her normal attire with a way too-sexy nurse outfit. Her cleavage was not as big as on her uniform, but every piece of fabric was skin-tight and irresistibly showed off her curves. I tried to prevent my dick from springing to action this instant but failed miserably. Soon, my boxer displayed a prominent tent, and I could not hide it.
"Err, Nea, could you maybe change your outfit a bit? This is a bit too much right now." I finally managed to speak.
"Oh!" Her eyes twitched toward my lower half before she blushed," Yes, sorry, I just thought it looked good."
"It does look good, really good, but maybe it's inappropriate right now."
In an instant, her tight clothes were replaced by more normal scrubs. She still looked good as always, but at least I no longer felt like looking at a porn version of a nurse. With some mental exercises, I got my boner under control, and we could continue.
"How do you feel?" She asked, a reassuring smile on her lips.
"Anxious," I confessed, "and excited."
"Do you want something for the anxiety before we start?"
I thought for a second and then shook my head. "I can handle it, I think."
"Alright, take off your clothes and lie down on the table. I will do some preliminary checks and prepare you for the general anesthesia." Nea gestured towards the table.
I hesitated, I knew that she had seen me naked before, but it was something different being asked to strip and lie down naked. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and removed my clothes. The table was a bit cool, and a shiver ran over my body as I settled on it.
Nea's avatar averted her gaze, but I knew this was only for show. She could still see me through the cameras. Once I was done, she moved closer and started to place sticky pads on my body; I recognized these as ECG electrodes, just without the attached cables.
She moved toward my left side, and her robotic arms picked up an infusion needle, "I need to put that in; you might want to look away." She said. A short prick later, the needle was in the back of my hand. "Alright, prep is done. Please move over to the chamber and get in. Once you are situated, I will connect the ECG and the infusion."
I stood up again, the electrodes feeling strange on my skin. I moved over and stepped into the cold metal chamber. At least the floor of it was made from some rubbery material, not metal.
"Before you send me off, how long will the whole process take? Last time, you said something about at least two weeks. Does that still hold?" I asked.
