Her Body of Muscle: Winter vs the Nanobots

Chapter 29

Winter was awake moments before her alarm sounded. It had become surprisingly routine, her body rhythmically aligned with the sunrise. Six months of deep diving for Winter and Jackson. Laptop in tow, they had made a routine of spending hours together at the gym. The first several weeks were spent testing stress points, muscle exertion limits, lifting patterns and rest intervals. That work had coincided with carefully tracking the nanoAI reports on consumption patterns and nutritional balance.

The discoveries made could rewrite textbooks. They worked as feverishly as the could recording their findings, but each second seemed to turn over new epiphanies. Their diets had changed, sleep patterns relaxed into consistent patterns and workout regimes constantly evolved. Interestingly, they were working out far less, albeit with extraordinarily higher exertion, and sleeping much more than they had expected. The sense of urgency had only increased as time passed, but so also had their conviction in following the data. The constant feedback of the nano technology indicating precisely when and to what level of stress their physiques were prepared to endure. They were tuning their bodies to produce maximum muscle and power, pushing the limits of humanity's pre-conceived thresholds. The constant feedback allowed for precise preparedness to maximize hypotrophy.
Weightlifting cycles seemed at first to ping pong between max effort small sets and excruciating long exhausting marathons. Over the last weeks, the seemingly random configurations settled into somewhat predictable patterns. An almost "sine" curve-oriented flow aligned with their recovery cycles. The actual workouts themselves were far more rigorous, mentally more demanding, than anything either of them had experienced in any phase of their lives. They felt like mini torture sessions. Each workout they were able to push more deeply into the pain, as their mental focus and conviction solidified.

Winter wasn't sure she loved it or despised it, but after an impetuous kiss months prior, Jackson had kept his word and Winter had maintained disciplined conviction in her hopes, they were just friends. On the other hand, the level of enjoyment and satisfaction they had found in long talks in the lonely warehouse gym after workouts, fortified a deep trust, a growing mutual respect and kinship. Adrenaline pumping through her body post workout, Winter had more times than she could count, felt an invitation to come over to her place nearly slip-out. But at least to this point, she had resisted.
She told herself it made sense though. Jackson spent most of their workouts visibly turned on despite his best efforts. The sight of Winter working out, demanded on Jack's part every ounce of mental fortitude to keep something like a platonic front. She had a hunch she knew what was happening, she felt the same way. The deep dark pool of physical infatuation had only become increasingly mesmerizing as their bodies continued to evolve. If Jack was anything like herself, the thought of stepping into those dark waters meant infatuation cascading into euphoric physical intimacy. Falling up, down every which way with unheard of g-force. Like a jet plane off an aircraft carrier.

But even more so, Winter felt the dire emergency of their work. Breathing heavily after a workout, they had echoed the sentiment to each other. Understanding what, exactly, the technology was capable of was paramount. There was too much at stake, now more than ever. As far as they knew, they were the only two individuals in the world with the next generation technology. If Vantic, a company willing to take murderous extremes, was knocking on the door of replicating what they were living out on a daily basis? If it opened a pandoras box that Philipp had foreseen at the same time? There was no question the risks could not be higher. Time was of the essence.

Lost in thought while enjoying the quietness before heading to meet Jackson at the warhouse, Winter sipped her traditional post breakfast coffee, letting fragrant whisps of vapor drift up in-between sips. Carefully studying the screen, Winter noted the preparedness of her lower body. Reports on levels of muscular regeneration, oxygenation, hormone balance and mineral composition flashed a now recognizable "go sign," just as she had expected. Her recovery periods were typically, and surprisingly, shorter than Jackson's. Something they had yet to really understand, perhaps a genetic predisposition had allowed Winter to train and progress under tighter and more daunting physical stresses.