The year 2147 was a pretty good time to be alive. People's grandparents and great-grandparents had learned to put up with all sorts of problems in the old days, but now, all those problems were just gone. So many things were just easier now. It was pretty nice. If you had a hereditary degenerative brain disease like Lara did, it was damn near stellar.

She had known since she was a kid that it was a possibility. Her mom had dodged the bullet, and her grandma too, but she knew that it still might happen to her. When she hit twenty-five, the symptoms started, and she knew that her clock was ticking.

Everyone she wanted to work for knew it, too. They felt bad for her, but they just couldn't justify hiring someone if she was going to be gone in a few years. There were programs that would give her what she needed to get by, charities that would help her final years pass in comfort, but that wasn't good enough for Lara. She wanted to do something useful with her life, and she sure as hell wanted it to last more than a few more years.

So she turned to cybernetics. Lots of people got cybernetic upgrades to cure medical problems like organ failure and bone deformities, and even more people got them just because they liked the look. Being a cyborg had once been a mark of extreme wealth or cutting-edge technical skill, but these days, it was just another fashion statement.

Lots of companies were set up to upgrade arms, legs, hearts, or eyes, but no one had any options for upgrading a brain. It wasn't like they could just pop the thing out and replace it with something electronic. They all wanted to be able to tackle the problem, but no one had found anything that might work yet. Lara talked to company after company with no luck, until she found one that had something they wanted to try.

They had a novel approach to cybernetics in mind. They had developed an injectable serum made of nanites that were programmed to attach themselves to living cells and gradually replace them, little by little so the overall functionality wouldn't be lost. It was a much more expensive and complex procedure than simple cut-and-replace surgery, so it was kind of impractical for the kind of upgrades they usually did, but they felt that it could be ideal for upgrades to the brain. They wanted to give it a try, and Lara was willing to let them. What was the worst that could happen, after all? The treatment went wrong and killed her? Lara had that coming anyway.

The whole point of this approach was that it would take effect over time, without needing constant attention from a cybersurgeon, but for this initial trial, they wanted Lara to stay at their labs for observation. Living at a research facility for who knew how long, maybe a month, didn't sound like Lara's idea of a good time, but if it might mean that she could have the rest of her life ahead of her, she was more than willing to pack a bag for a long sleepover.

The injection was a little uncomfortable. It was a pretty big needle filled with something silvery. It was uniquely painful when they pushed it into the back of her neck, between the skull and the top of her spine, but once it was in, it kind of felt fine. She couldn't really move for a few minutes, but after that, there was a weird grinding feeling as they pulled it out, and then it was fine. They helped her off of the table in the lab, got her to her feet, and led her to a bedroom. It wasn't especially homey, but she didn't have a lot of time to appreciate the decor before she started to feel really, really sleepy.

When she woke up, they brought food for her and gave her some basic tests to make sure her brain was still working. They tested her visual acuity, basic hand-eye, balance, that kind of thing. They brought her some word and number puzzles. They scanned her head after lunch to see how the process was going. After all the tests, she went back to bed.

Every day was like that, for weeks. Wake up, wash, eat, testing, eat again, scanner, bed. Her symptoms had halted and were beginning to recede, but other than that, she didn't feel like anything was changing, although her dreams were getting weirder. When she mentioned this to one of the researchers in passing, they added a basic interview to the list of tests. The questions didn't seem like they were looking for anything specific. It felt like they were just poking around to see what they could find.

After a couple of weeks, she seemed to be spending less and less time sleeping. She had needed lots of sleep at the start of the test, but by the end, she seemed to need less than usual, and it was more restful than normal, too. She was sleeping less than six hours a night, but she was feeling more rested than ever the next night.

One day, after the morning's tests, they brought out a lavish midday meal, along with an envelope. It held a packet of papers that detailed the results of their tests and everything related to her health that she needed to know about. The note on the front said that the tests were complete, along with her upgrade. Her brain was free of symptoms of the disease, and she had a long life ahead of her. As long as she followed the dietary recommendations included in the packet, she could enjoy a happy, healthy life.

With her new clean bill of health, Lara had job offers galore. She had prospects. She had a new lease on life. More than anything else, she had a firsthand look at how being a cyborg opened doors. As soon as she had gotten her life squared away and she had a little spare cash in the bank, she started looking at other options for upgrades. Her new brain upgrade had some particular needs in terms of nutrients and energy, so it seemed like the stomach should be next on the list. She went back to the same company again, and she started to double down.

Upgrading a brain was a ground-breaking procedure that only that company had ever done successfully, but getting a cybernetic digestive system was relatively ordinary. Also, since they were the ones who had designed her nutrition regimen, they could tailor her new upgrades to fit it exactly. She ended up with a digestion upgrade that fit her more smoothly than they usually did. Most people took a few days to get used to a new stomach, but Lara switched from regular food to the special smoothies like she had grown up on them. It seemed like having a cybernetic brain made getting new upgrades even easier. Lara began to get excited.

Every upgrade Lara got improved her lifestyle even more. Her new stomach meant that she could get by on a reduced food budget. Replacing her heart and bloodstream reduced her body's need to sweat, along with most of the other gross things that bodies usually needed to do, so her clothing and hygiene costs went down. Upgrading her bones and muscles gave her more energy and allowed her to stay active for more of her day without feeling tired or sore. Every time Lara got some part of her replaced with a cybernetic part, she began to feel more and more alive.

Lara's new lifestyle had opened up her social life as well. Now that she was free to live her life without any disease hanging over her head, and now that she had fewer and fewer physical needs holding her back, she had much more time to go out and meet new people. And when she went out, she would inevitably be called on to eat or drink something, and people would figure out that she was a cyborg. She knew that there weren't any problems with that, that no one would think less of her for having upgrades, but what she hadn't expected was that some people would be even more interested.

One of those people was Trina. Lara met Trina at a club one night where a lot of cyborgs tended to go, the kind of people who got extra flashy cosmetic upgrades. She had seen Trina on the dance floor, working a pair of legs with prominent silvery seams in them. When Trina looked back and noticed her, she split from the mass on the floor and headed over.

"Don't think I've ever seen you here before," said Trina. "You go more for the natural look, then?"

"What do you mean?" said Lara, and then she looked down. "Oh, you mean...?" She waved a hand at Trina's legs.

"Yeah, I was afraid at first that it might have been a little much," said Trina, looking down and turning her leg back and forth for a better look, "but I got used to it. I'm thinking of getting my boobs done next."

Lara looked up at Trina's top. She didn't see anything that needed fixing, but different strokes and all that. Maybe Trina just liked her curves to have highlights.

"So what about you?" said Trina. "What did you get done? Eyes?"

"Oh, a few things," said Lara. "Heart, stomach, muscles..." She didn't really want to mention the brain upgrade, because it was so unprecedented. "A few other things, too."

"Really?" said Trina. "How mysterious." She gave a devious little smirk. Her eye gave a twinkle, but Lara didn't think it was an upgrade. There was just something about her eyes. "You said heart? What's that like?"

"It's kind of like your legs," said Lara. She crooked her knee, letting it brush against Trina's leg almost like it was an accident. "It took some getting used to, but it has plenty of plusses. The new pulse was the weirdest part."

"Really?" said Trina. "Let me see." She took Lara's hand and pressed two fingers against her wrist. Instead of feeling the beats of a typical heart, she felt a humming vibration that gently rose and fell in strength as Lara's upgraded heart pumped her synthetic blood around her body.

Trina stepped closer to Lara and pressed her fingers against the side of Lara's neck. The vibration was stronger here, and it was starting to rise and fall faster.

Trina's eyes met Lara's as her hand felt Lara's chest. The pulse was getting faster.

"So what about those few other things?" said Trina. "How many upgrades do you actually have?"

Lara put her hand on the small of Trina's back and pulled her closer.

"Why don't you find out for yourself?"

Their lips brushed.

"Your place or mine?"

They chose Lara's place. They chose her place for the next five nights. A few weeks later, Trina packed up her stuff, and they made it official.

Lara eventually told Trina about the other upgrades, even the first one in her brain. It kind of freaked Trina out at first, but she eventually realized that if Lara's upgraded brain hadn't stopped Trina from falling for her, then it probably wasn't a problem.

Lara still wasn't finished, though. She had gotten bitten by the upgrade bug, and her upgraded brain meant that she took to her upgrades faster than most people, which only made it easier to get more of them. She only had a few more steps to go.

Finally, she decided to stop wasting time. All she had left was her skin, her eyes, sense organs, and a few extra scattered parts. Plus, the company had kept in touch with her about possibly trying out some of their other experimental options, and as far as she was concerned, they could try them all out on her. It was time to finish off the list. She made her final appointment.

The procedure was a little longer than a normal upgrade, but after that first one, even an afternoon-long session was nothing. She went to sleep on the table, and when she woke up, she felt complete. She shook hands with the company people, got dressed, and stepped out of the clinic into her new life.

Walking along the sidewalk felt effortless. Every color seemed brighter. Every sound seemed sweeter. People seemed almost to move in slow motion around her. Everything felt wonderful.

She got home and stepped through the door. Trina was waiting for her, eager to see the results of her procedure. When Trina saw her, her mouth opened, and her eyes widened.

Lara's eyes were bright rainbow shimmers of color. Her hair swayed and flowed like silk. Fine lines traced across her skin. They weren't as bright as the seams in Trina's legs, but they extended all over her body, up her arms, across her belly, along her arms, and up to her face. The seams seemed to follow and complement her natural shape, making her look like a moving statue, a living work of art.

"Oh, wow," said Trina. "You look amazing."

"I feel amazing," said Lara. "This is wonderful."

Trina ran her fingers along Lara's arms and stroked her face. Her new skin was still soft and smooth, but it felt somehow firm as well, thicker than skin but softer than plastic. Trina tried to tell herself that it felt no different than the skin of any other upgrade, even her own legs, but something about seeing it cover an entire person seemed to elevate the experience.

Trina wrapped her arms around Lara and drew her close. They kissed for what seemed like an hour. Neither of them had felt anything like that sensation before. All Lara and Trina knew was that they wanted to go on feeling it.

When Trina broke off to catch her breath, Lara sat her down. "Wait a minute, now," said Lara.

"What's wrong?" said Trina.

"Nothing's wrong," said Lara. "Believe me, nothing's wrong. I just don't want you to get so excited that you forget to unwrap the rest of your toys."

"What do you mean?" said Trina. She started to breathe a little faster.

"They had a new upgrade available that I wanted to try," said Lara. "They called it remote modularity."

"What does that mean?" said Trina.

Lara reached up to her shoulder, grasped her upper arm, and lifted. Her arm came loose from her shoulder. Surfaces inside her arm and shoulder drew closed to hide what was inside. Lara reached down and handed her detached arm to Trina.

Trina took Lara's arm in her hands and held it like it was a porcelain statue. She felt almost afraid to treat it like a part of a person, but then Lara's fingers curled around Trina's hand and caressed her fingers. Trina brought the arm closer to her, and Lara's hand began to feel her own face and stroke her skin. Trina's eyes closed as she allowed herself to fall into Lara's touch, but she abruptly came to when Lara took her arm back and reattached it to herself.

"Well?" said Lara.

"You can take yourself apart, and the parts still work?" said Trina.

"There you go," said Lara. "Remote modularity."

"How many different ways can you do that?"

"Well, that was one," said Lara, pulling Trina to her feet. "Here's another one."

She raised her hands to her cheeks, squeezed, and lifted. Her head came free from her shoulders, with the exposed areas again becoming covered by new surfaces. She reached forward and handed her head to Trina, who had to focus on containing her excitement. Trina began to bring Lara's face toward her, when she noticed that Lara's body was walking around behind her. Lara was keeping one hand on Trina, while the other was waving behind her looking for where Trina had been seated. Lara was sneaking occasional glances behind Trina, but mostly, she was looking Trina in the eye, her gaze making promise after promise.

When Lara's questing hand found the seat, she sat down and pulled Trina into her lap. Her arms wrapped all around Trina's body, exploring her every curve. Trina was so completely enveloped that she almost forgot that she was holding Lara's head in her hands, but after a few moments, Lara lifted a hand to pull her head close.

When Lara and Trina recovered, they were on the floor.

"That was the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me," said Trina, trying to get her breath back.

"It was pretty unique for me, too," said Lara with her head in Trina's lap and Trina's head in Lara's lap.

Trina held Lara's head up in her view. "So that was number two. You got any more?"

Lara gave a sly chuckle.

"How high can you count?"