Shun Steel's Arc

Chapter 5 of 6

Shun stood up from the long desk and stretched his metal arm. The chip on his wrist gave a soft orange blink, like it was waiting for something. He looked down at it. The little square glowed warm against his skin, its tiny lights running in neat rows. "You've been good tonight," he said. "You need a name that isn't a serial number." He held his wrist up to the dim screens. The chip's port signature still read N3R0-1MPL4N7 across the bottom monitor. Cold. Long. A label, not a name. Shun tapped the keyboard with two fingers. He found the field. He typed four letters. Chip. He hit enter. The screens flickered. The old code blinked out. A small yellow smiley face popped up on every monitor at once, bright and round and grinning. The chip on his wrist pulsed fast, then slow, then fast again. Proud. Shun let out a quiet laugh through his nose. "Yeah. Chip. That's you now." A bright pink drive in the side port lit up too, catching the new name and saving it. The moment locked in. The thing on his arm was no longer a part number from his mother's lab. It was Chip, and Chip knew it. Shun powered the desk down. The screens dimmed one by one, the smiley face fading last. He crossed the quiet room to the wide bed under the big window. The city glowed below, soft and far away. He sat on the edge and looked at his wrist. The chip pulsed slow now, content. "Get some rest," he told it. He lay back on the cool blue sheets. The chip blinked once, gentle, and settled into a steady rhythm with his breath. Tomorrow the crew would need him sharp. Tonight, for the first time, he was not alone in his own skin.