Written in 365 Parts: 21: Hyper-Sensitivity

To achieve a hyper-sensitivity to motion and thereby reduce the lag of reaction caused by over-processing elements gained primarily from auditory and visual senses you must learn to un-focus. This in itself seems counter-intuitive.

Centuries ago the effect was noted by those researching combat pilots or game players. The ability to uncouple the visual reception from over-processing in what could loosely, back then, be described as the frontal lobes. Essentially the thinking part of the brain gets in the way. It interferes between the Occipital lobe and the Parietal lobe. Decouple the Frontal lobe by not forcing a focus allows the retina to record all visual stimuli possible and pass it at greater speed to the spatial mapping capabilities of the Parietal lobe.

Practitioners of combat arts also use this technique to calm the mind and gain extra information from the senses related to touch and sound. Adding them to the spatial awareness. By allowing the mind to be free of distraction the Temporal lobe can be stimulated into greater sensitivity. It is apocryphal that blindness was often used as a training exercise to strengthen the relationship between hearing and touch in the Temporal lobe to be associated with greater spatial definition in the Parietal area of the brain.

Drick had released dopamine into their bloodstream to calm the nerves and allow a greater level of resistance to fight or flight theatrics as they slumped slightly in the suit. As the eight teachers moved in Drick allowed their mind to build a complex spatial map adding any understanding of speeds, vectors and force to estimate the attack pattern.

This was in the first second of the combat as Drick allowed the attackers to move in. Drick had already drawn a sphere around themselves which was now the field of combat. Drick would restrict all activity to the inside of that sphere, this was going to be a hand to hand fight and so range played no part in the equations that quickly were built.

Drick felt a surge of energy as at the start of the next second there was a massive drop of epinephrine from the enhanced medulla oblongata and they took an intake of breath that would be audible to those approaching. But what they heard or saw now was irrelevant as the fight was a committed fact. The release from the medulla part of Drick’s brain kept vast stores of epinephrine available still in the adrenal glands while increasing blood flow, heart rate and respiration. It felt as if liquid fire had been poured into Drick’s bloodstream.

Drick saw the first arm swing towards their head. It was fitted with a carbon-resin cestus equipped no doubt with a stunning electrical charge. Part of Drick’s mind had registered the slight whine of electrical circuits charging up, most of these attackers would be fitted with electrical shockers or stunners to reduce Drick’s ability. They were in for a surprise.

The attack came in at head height but Drick’s head was already two feet below the arm as Drick bent sideways. Drick shot a gloved hand up to catch the cestus noting that the charge had been released harmlessly into the combat suit’s armour. The sideways motion allowed Drick to see the second closest attacker.

At the same moment Drick grabbed the outstretched arm, they flipped backwards and snap kicked both feet from the knees into the second attackers neck. Using the gravity negation Drick was able to roll around the first attacker’s arm. Drick’s weight may have been dramatically lowered but their mass was unchanged. Drick used their mass to swing around the arm rotating the wrist and then rolling along the arm towards the attacker’s head noting with satisfaction that the wrist shattered and bone popped out of the top of the cestus.

Drick released the grip and completed the roll so that they were facing the first attacker, by now they had completed a two hundred and seventy degree flip and a barrel roll bringing them face to face with a screaming howling face and in range of attacker number three who received a snap kick to the forehead. The third attacker’s head snapped backwards as the enhanced carbon fibre and kevlar boots smashed their skull.

Drick was not distracted enough by this to not punch the first attacker in the face, bringing the heel of a palm up under the nose and pushing cartilage backwards and into the lower part of the brain cavity.

Drick ignored the screams from attackers numbered two and three and the silent falling backwards of attacker one as they were out of the combat. Drick took a step backwards and then back flipped around an outstretched arm to avoid the next attack, number four who had aimed a shock-stick, a short rod with a high discharge electrical contact at one end. Crude but very effective and enough to place a charge through the suits ablative armour.

Two thirds of the way through the flip Drick tucked legs tight into their body to fall closer to the floor. Then Drick pushed out against the hard surface and grabbed attacker number four around the waist with a head buried firmly into a solar plexus. Drick had grabbed both arms by the wrists to prevent the usage of that stick and drove number four into the ceiling with a sickening crunch.

Number four was not fitted with gravity nulling equipment so they fell quickly, which Drick used to spin around and ride atop their attacker to the floor where they impacted with a loud snap and a scream that was quickly turning to a gurgle.

The first ten seconds of combat were over and four of Drick’s attackers were incapacitated. The other four, a group of two and two singles were still moving in but much more warily. Drick noticed the single attacker who was close to Drick’s rear pull out a different weapon activating a wrist shield as they did. It was a mono-filament whip. That was an effective weapon for slicing whole pieces from someone.

Drick used the nervousness to great effect, turning towards the three attackers who had short stun sticks. Drick screamed and took a step forward. They reacted as expected and stopped, one even took a short leap backwards. This was enough distraction. Drick heard the attacker behind with the monofilament move in as expected. Drick fell forward bending their leg that they had stepped forward with to almost ground level then kicked down and backwards to backflip and spin around their own axis.

As Drick went overhead they were almost pleased to note that the attacker couldn’t keep up with events the attacker raised the whip to attempt a slice along Drick’s body but Drick had anticipated this and already had the attacker’s wrist caught and bent backwards before they could even flick the release catch that extended the whip.

The wrist snapped and Drick easily pried the whip from the attacker as they dropped to the side of them. A quick flick of an expert wrist and Drick lopped off the attacker’s own hands at the wrist where one hand held the limp broken other.

Fifteen seconds and now there were only three attackers left. Number five was passing out and soon would be bleeding out from the loss of both hands. Drick flicked the whip to their other hand keeping a primary hand free for the next manoeuvre. But it wasn’t to be. The three remaining attackers turned and ran.

Drick raised an eyebrow and then restored the gravity to normal on the combat suit. It took less than a minute to search the five attackers and Drick could already hear booted feet running along a corridor nearby. Drick opened the door to the executive bathroom and went inside to a private cubicle. It would be a few minutes before they would look inside and Drick would have some protection in the form of privilege in this restroom.

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