Android Paradox Read Free Page B

building and all the information he needed appeared in front of him. If he was walking down a dark street at night, his lenses could sense whether there was anyone in the shadows. They improved comfort, decreased crime, and made life more efficient.  
    And now he was nearly blind. The room hovered in front of him as if he were looking through a fishbowl.  
    “Temporary discomfort,” he said, climbing onto the table. A digital screen appeared in front of him, and it changed its focus to suit his weaker eyesight. The infomercial continued, and Shortcut pumped his fist as he watched other people achieve extraordinary feats with the help of nano enhancements.
    The door opened and Dr. Frantz entered.  
    “Hey,” Shortcut said.  
    Frantz wasn’t in an enthusiastic mood. At the sight of Shortcut, he frowned and said “What the hell are you here for?”
    “My lenses are burning out.”
    Frantz held out his palm. Shortcut dropped the lenses into it and they glinted as they fell through the air.
    Frantz sat down on a stool and wheeled over to a microscope.
    “Goddamnit,” he said, squinting. “Here I am, making the best enhancements that money can buy, and you’re ruining them in less than three months.”
    Shortcut shrugged.  
    “What are you using them for?”
    “Can’t say.”
    “For how long do you use them?”
    “At least sixteen hours a day.”
    “Sixteen—” Frantz shook his head and started to say something, but then stopped. “I told you not to use them for longer than a few hours at a time. You’ll burn your brain out. You’re going to be a walking petri dish for health problems.”
    “Kind of why I’m here,” Shortcut said, pointing to his bloodshot eyes.
    Frantz cursed. “I can give you new lenses, but what else do you want me to do?”
    “Upgrade me.”
    “No. You’re not getting another artificial enhancement. Next time you want to learn something, pick up a book. Learn the old-fashioned way.”
    “I’ve got the money,” Shortcut said. “You know I’ll pay on time.”
    “That’s the problem,” Frantz said. “You’re too willing to pay. I don’t even know how old you are ,or what your real name is . You look like you’re twelve years old.”
    “Thanks for the compliment.”
    “God knows what kind of backwater enhancements you had before you found me. You haven’t reported me to the UEA, have you? You better not be setting a trap.”
    “Great power of deduction, Doctor,” Shortcut said. “The Council paid me to burn my eyes out so I can catch a bad guy. That’s ingenious.”
    “Screw the Council. They can create world peace and androids that keep society safe, but they won’t approve my enhancements.”  
    “I’m not leaving until I have new lenses and an enhancement. How do you expect me to get anything done with regular eyesight?”
    Frantz reached into his pocket and threw Shortcut a white box. He opened it, and saw wet lenses sitting in small trays of solution. They weren’t real, but they looked like it.
    “New lenses. By the time you leave this virtual world, a drone will have delivered them to your location. I’ll give you a lens enhancement in a few days, but I’ve got a few other appointments. I’ll find you when it’s your time.”
    “Perfect.”
    “You’re using too much technology, Shortcut. You’re no better than an alcoholic. If you keep pushing yourself like this, there’s going to be trouble.”
    Shortcut climbed off the table and shook the doctor’s hand. “You’re the best. I appreciate the help.”
    “Are you listening to me?”
    Shortcut blinked six times, and he felt himself being pulled from the doctor’s office. The green wall of information appeared again and then shattered.  
    He was back in the cockpit. A white drone hovered over the windshield with his new contact lenses. He ran to the back of the plane and opened the bay doors to let it in. He ripped the box open and put in his new contacts, then sighed with relief as data