Opening a locked door is easy, provided that it's connected to a network. Hack in, pop it open, delete any evidence that I was there. But what about things too old school to be on the network? Old school security is a hacker's bane.

Or...it used to be. But with these powers, I'm starting to get a new perspective on things. On everything. All the world's a mainframe, and the men and women (and neither of the above, thank you very much) merely daemons. Okay, so we have significantly more agency than daemons, but that isn't the point. The point is, I've realized that if I look at reality like a computer system, I can see the code behind it. And I can change it. Not much, not yet, but it's a start. And if I keep doing contracts, I can keep getting better, yeah?

This is going to be interesting.

Luna's fine. She's only trapped in the game, after all, not in reality. I just have to trust that she'll call on me when the time comes to get her out of it. The library is fine. I haven't made as much progress as I'd like, this is true, but I've heard of some interesting things happening in Neo-GENIS that I could maybe make use of.  I'll have to look into this guild that Serge is setting up. I'm not much for writing fiction, myself, so I won't be joining. But perhaps they'd be interested in some sort of partnership.

But if there's nothing I can do about my problems right now, I still need something to keep my mind off of things for a while. Breaking into some networks I'm not supposed to be on is fun, but it's also work, and what I need right now is a hobby, not a job. So let's ride. Just me, the road, and all the other assholes driving on it. Until I get out of the city, anyway. Then it's just the wide open highways of America. Just what I need right now.

That drive I took before the last job was just what I needed. And since my leg doesn't seem to be back to normal yet after that monster attack, I got to thinking. First, I need some protection so I can't get hurt as easily. Second, I wanna have my bike in the game world too. And with the power and knowledge I have now, I bet I can make it happen.

For the protection, sewing some kevlar panels onto my jacket should suffice. I have enough leftover to add some protection to the bike too, especially around the battery compartment.

Now, for the bike. If I add a custom module with some reality-altering programming, I think I can make it available in Neo-GENIS and enhance it in reality too. Carry it around in my pocket, add an auto-pilot, and who knows what else in the future. I'm excited for the possibilities!