Chapter 57: Chapter 57 – Hugh: A complete invasion of privacy

The next morning, I woke up in my own bed for a change, and it occurred to me that I didn’t like it. I much preferred being with Nat, and not only for the sexual stuff. I enjoyed her company. We talked and laughed, and it just felt nice to be in her presence.

My roommate? Not so much. We were cordial and tried to be considerate of each other, but it was clear that we’d never be friends.

Up until I’d grown close to Nat, my dealings with my roommate had seemed completely natural as they resembled how I’d dealt with everyone not in my immediate family my entire life. Now, my interactions with him seemed lacking. Weird.

Such musing took a backseat to more important matters, however. I had to hit the gym prior to my first class, and, after getting that notification about combat classes, I was more motivated than ever. A short time later, I found myself at the gym, and, despite the difficulty, I pushed my bicycle routine up to thirty five minutes.

That enhanced routine left me even more drained than normal, but I felt that I recovered faster. Maybe the result of the bump in CON or the Lesser Regeneration? It was all too subjective for me to be sure since I really didn’t have data recording my previous recovery. I wished I’d monitored my pulse rate over time after my previous workouts, but, frankly, I just hadn’t thought of it.

I did vividly recall that it took a full fifteen minutes yesterday for me to feel up to heading back to my dorm. Today, I left after ten in spite of a longer workout. That was definite progress, but I couldn’t directly attribute it to my new constitution or skill. It might be just because I was definitely more motivated today.

Again, it was way too subjective.

Regardless, I actually had time for a long shower before heading to class and still got there in plenty of time to relax while waiting for the professor to show.

Nat had texted a “good morning” while I was in transit, and, as soon as I took my seat in the classroom, I responded. <Good morning to you, too. You’re up early.>

<Julia’s mom just left. We had to get up and meet her outside so we could be dressed. I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m hiding something about my apartment.>

She sent an angry face emoji, and I grinned.

I sent, <Did you two get up to any more fun?> and followed it with a campfire.

<No!>

<Thanks for the videos. Those made my life.>

She sent a blushing smiley face emoji.

I wanted to see her, but I knew our schedules didn’t mesh well during the day. It did occur to me, though, that, since I’d eaten at her place a couple of times, my meal card balance was healthier than it otherwise would be.

<Want to join me for dinner at the student union? My treat.>

Who could refuse an offer like that, right? It wasn’t like the food was terrible. I mean, it wasn’t good, but… Edible. That was the best description. Edible.

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<Sure. 5?>

I sent a thumbs up.

With my love life on track, I moved to my next task, figuring out my new Candidate Appraisal skill. From the title and my knowledge and experience thus far, my assumption was that it would allow me to appraise candidates to evaluate their potential to become system users.

The best way to figure it out was, obviously, to try to use it, and, seeing as I was in a room filled with over fifty people, roughly half of whom were female, I had plenty of targets. One was sitting right in front of me, a brunette that I’d not previously paid the slightest bit of attention to and knew absolutely nothing about. I focused on the back of her head and willed the system to appraise her as a candidate.

A screen popped up.

Interesting. I was positive that I had no idea what this girl’s name was prior to reading that blue box. If nothing else, the skill would be useful for its Identify function. Well, for girls anyway, presumably.

I selected yes.

I was left speechless. That information definitely could be a huge help to me in recruiting new system users, but, wow, that was a complete and total invasion of Charlotte’s privacy. I now knew stuff about her that she probably didn’t even tell her closest friends and apparently hadn’t shared with her current sexual partners.

That appraisal took TMI to a whole new level.

I felt like a peeping Tom, but one who snuck peeks at much more intimate aspects of a woman than just her body. A part of me rebelled at ever using this skill again. It was difficult to justify that intrusion into parts of a person’s psyche that no one would want exposed.

I would be livid if anyone read such personal details about me without my express permission.

On the other hand, the skill was definitely useful. If I specifically needed a candidate for the role of tank, I knew she’d be well suited for it. I also knew, without having to approach her, that she was fundamentally unsuited to be a member of my party. Gently spanking Nat had been great fun, but I had absolutely zero desire to inflict pain on anyone, even if that pain was for the sole purpose of their pleasure.

Sorry. No.

For a different candidate, however, the data provided about temperament and disposition might prove invaluable in figuring out the optimal approach to convince her to join my team.

The question became – did the potential of saving a world in peril outweigh privacy concerns of individuals? That was a question those holding political and law enforcement power had to address all the time. It was surreal that it had suddenly become so personally relevant to me.

Well, I was sure the question impacted me previously a lot more than I would ever know as governments’ surveillance capabilities continued to improve, but it was weird that I had to approach it from the other side.

I needed advice on this. Luckily, I had Nat available, and there was no one I trusted more to help guide me through this moral and ethical dilemma than her. I looked forward to dinner with her this evening.

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