Plugin: Pitcher

Jax didn't raise his arms. He just looked at the tiny, useless plug in his palm.

Jax nodded. He felt the familiar cold trickle of code run down his spine. His shoulder rotated 5 degrees past its anatomical limit. His fingers gripped the seams.

78 mph.

The Plug-In was offering him a choice. A real, human choice. Lose the game, but win back his soul.

"Or," it said in a flat, synthetic voice only he could hear, "you could throw the curveball. The one you learned from your father. 78 mph. Right down the middle." pitcher plugin

In the clubhouse, his teammates stopped talking to him. They didn't see him throwing those pitches. They saw a walking, sweating USB drive. The veteran catcher, Manny Rivera, refused to wear the receiver helmet. "I'm not a remote control," Manny said, handing in his trade request.

Strike three. Game over. World Series champions. Jax didn't raise his arms

Officially, it was the "Circadian Rhythm & Motor Cortex Optimization Module." The guys in the clubhouse just called it "The Plug-In." A small, silicone disc that adhered to the mastoid bone behind the ear. It connected via a quantum entanglement link to a pitch-com system in the catcher's helmet.