Coeus?

by Andur

Yes, now that we speak about gambling, where is my foolish husband? He and Galia ran off right after Gideon's surrender.

  “Well, but we made a lot of money.” Hedeon and Galia rejoin our group from behind me and I turn around. My husband is carrying a big black suitcase and Gaila is grinning while flicking a credit-chip upwards and catching it again.

  I point at him. “You! What are you teaching my grandchild!? Don't turn her into a gambling-addict like yourself, old fool!”

  Hedeon raises a hand. “Nonono! You can't blame me for this. I didn't even know that she placed a bet until I met her at the counter.”

  My daughter joins me in a burst of righteous outrage. “Galia! You are a minor! How did you even manage to take part in the gambles?”

  Galia's expression turns innocent. “No way! I am not seventeen. Everyone is able to tell that I am twenty. And anyway... it wasn't gambling. You taught me that gambling is bad, so I would never gamble. I just tripled my allowance after using my advantage of having insider information.”

  “Insider information?” Arend asks with a suspicious glance at his daughter.

  “Of course. Who do you think Gideon was training with until he decided to test his abilities? Do you think he could have diverted the electro-mage's attack with so little effort without a training partner?” She grins. “We are meeting up on school grounds every day and I get tutored in maths while he can test his newest tricks on me. That's why I was very sure that the students of his own year aren't more than mere stepping stones for him.”

  “Ahem.” Hedeon raises a hand. “Actually I knew about it, so I didn't gamble. This time at least. And don't demonize me, woman. I am still the one to whom our house belongs. If I really run out of money I'll quit my current job and make a few flights to the belt. Being a public servant isn't that well paid anyway.”

  “Your current job is supposed to earn you more than enough money!” I cover my eyes with one hand and fight the urge to strangle him. Doesn't he realize that I don't want him to go adventuring for weeks while I have to wait for him? I made a mistake in marrying such an insensitive fool. “Whatever. Today we'll eat outside to celebrate Gideon's victory. The least you can do is paying the bill.”

  “Of course! Gideon, what do you want to eat? Grandfather just made a lot of money thanks to you, the choice is yours.” Hedeon grins from ear to ear.

  “Pizza!” Gideon calls out.

  “That's my grandson! Always the cheapest choice!” Hedeon forms a fist to emphasize his words. He only becomes this energetic when he won a gamble.

  I shake my head. “Then we go to the most expensive Italian restaurant I know of. There is no way that we waste our time in some fast food shop.”

  Urging my family out of the stadium I notice that a lot of people are paying attention to us. I can't really blame them because Gideon just shattered their world-view. It's not totally unheard of that exceptionally talented techno-mages of Gideon's age can defeat their own age group, but overwhelming them with ease is another matter.

  Saturn Rings, Inside a drifting asteroid

  Sadina

  I switch off the news feed and lean back in my office chair. Coeus was just broadcasted on one of Aether's news channels and he showed that he has all the potential which I wanted to give him. Maybe he is even more powerful than I intended him to be.

  The information about the tournament is already outdated since Aether didn't bother to send the event live. Sometimes I ask myself why they don't use the marvels of quantum communication networks to connect all colonies permanently. It still requires a direct request to access the network of another colony. Ah, my thoughts trailed off in another direction.

  I push off the ground and turn my chair around in order to roll to the office table with the blueprints of my latest project. The sheets of paper are wiped aside by one hand and reveal a small panel on which I place my hand to interface with my computer. “Add a voice record to the Coeus project.”

  “The subject didn't show any of the fatal mental breakdowns, neither any acts of unreasonable violence like they were previously observed. However, I have to note that he is still completely uncaring regarding the well-being of people who aren't related to him.

  Maybe gaining more life experience caused him to stabilize his behaviour. If so, then maybe the project was closed prematurely.”

  I stop and let my thoughts wander. “Originally I didn't plan to let him loose on society, but what's done is done. I may be able to gain a few more insights. By observing his development.”

  On another thought I decide to delete the last sentence. “I've decided that I'll interfere personally, since it would be hard to acquire the necessary data otherwise.”

  Closing my eyes I concentrate on my ability and interface with my machines. Then I open a connection to Aether and search through the colony's net until I find the school's network.

  Several security programs take note of my actions, but none of them interferes since I am logging in from an anonymous account.

  Being still undiscovered I access the school's central hub, barely noticing the pitiful security measures. What I am searching for is the location for the school's counselling program for problematic children. Every school has an A.I. which should be doing nothing else than to search for problems in the student's behaviour. Upon finding a problem child it has to talk to the student in question and judge which steps are necessary to correct his behaviour.

  But upon accessing the virtual reality of the sentient sprite in question I encounter the first problem. If the server logs are true, then the sprite in question is neglecting its duty. A split second lets me enter the sprite's virtual reality to judge the situation.

  My avatar appears inside a pink room with a strange looking, bony figure. The sprite's chosen avatar looks a little disturbing, even to me. The walls of the room are filled with videos and shows from several different entertainment channels.

  Apparently this sprite's subroutines have seriously deteriorated, it must be an old and excentric model. The school should have replaced it long ago. But then again they don't seem to have any decent network administrators.

  “Who are you!? How did you get on this secure server?” The sprite realizes that I am right next to it and turns to face me, but it's too late. I ram my hand into the avatar's chest and access it's code.

  Then I start deleting, rewriting, changing authorities and priorities. What I need isn't the sprite, it's its identity as the school's counsellor.

  Aether, The floating City, above the Atlantic Ocean

  Gideon

  “Seriously. There is no need for all this. Why do I even have to be here?” I voice my objection to the new compulsory lesson I have to attend to. “I have been at this school for three years and was never told we have a counsellor!!”

  “Gideon, there is no need to become agitated. Let's say that your recent behaviour at the annual tournament drew my attention.” The projected avatar of a woman with raven black hair and an unnaturally huge bust gestures at the couch in the middle of the room. Lines of yellow code are running through her blue dress. “Why don't you lie down and we can talk about your issues.”

  “I have no issues.” I answer and throw myself on the couch. Just one hour a week, that's all. It'll go by fast if I simply talk to this facsimile of a psychiatrist. Why would a sprite even choose such an appearance?

  “I think it's best if you let me be the judge of that.” The projection sits down and a chair appears under her. “So, let's talk about your school life. I've gathered that you joined the computer club?”

  “Yes.” I answer.

  “How is it going in your class?” The smooth voice asks.

  “What do you mean? I am learning and trying to become a pilot.” What does she want to get at?

  The counsellor tilts her head. “And your classmates? Call me Nina, by the way. Don't you have any relationships inside your class?”

  I brood over the point of the question for a while. Then I decide t
o answer. “No?”

  Nina doesn't let go of the matter. “Don't you have any friends of your own age?”

  Now that she mentions it. “I don't have any friends aside from my relatives and Paul. But Paul is more like an employer and not a friend. I seriously don't think that there is any point in having one of those kids in my class as a friend.”

  “I don't think so, Gideon. You have been at this institution for three years and you don't have any relationships short of the ones which were practically forced on you. I can tell, since I have access to the cameras. How about starting by searching a friend among the techno-mages in your own age group?”

  I really don't know why I have this urge, but if Nina was an actual person I would murder her right now. Is it her voice?

  “Gideon? Are you with me?” Nina asks.

  Letting out a deep sigh I nod. I can tell that I'll come to dread my time here.

  18. ~Target.~

  “What's the difference between a rocket and a projectile?

  A projectile can't turn on you.”

  -About reaction and response

  Aether, The floating City, above the Atlantic Ocean

  Gideon

  I reach for a nacho and dip it in a generous manner into the cheese sauce. Wolfing down nachos while watching a movie is the best way to relax myself while the main part of my mind is working on my problems. The pitiful rest is concentrating on the movie in front of me. Mage society doesn't have many of the social game-wonders which I got to know during my time prowling through the internet. Mages don't seem to have the time to play games.

  But what they have are movies and good ones at that. Despite my problems with human interactions I am a fan of the action-genre. I can't see the point in romance movies, but seeing explosions and other cool stunts activates a primal instinct within me.

  The Star Wars rework which I am currently watching is quite decent. 'Wizards of the Coast' took it upon themselves to redo some of the better movies from Earth. But contrary to the creators of the original, they are working hard on doing it right.

  That means that 'Walt Disney' never got to say a word in the whole saga and most importantly... no Jar Jar Binks! I hate that abomination, but so far I have to say that they are doing a fine job in avoiding the plotholes of the original. The result is a dark and epic space opera.

  Accidentally WOTC also created the trading card game Magic and they are selling it on Earth with a big profit. The humans still like it for some reason. I really liked the online version of it, though they should have put more effort into it. The digital version was always lacking in regards to graphics.

  If they rework all thirty movies of Star Wars without a drop in quality I'll become their fan. Though I hope that they have the decency to stop at episode six. Even a complete rewrite wouldn't be able to save episode seven.

  My eyes wander left and right during a boring moment and I realize that I am the only person in the cinema. I am fifteen years old by now and I somehow resisted Nina's attempts to socialize me.

  None of my family members had the time to accompany me to the movie. They don't even particularly like science fiction. One moment. Can I even count the stuff I am watching as science fiction? To other magicians it must be some kind of random, alternative reality shit.

  Disheartened by my new insight I stand up and head for the exit. Somehow I've lost my interest in the movie. I wish I hadn't thought about this, but all I have to do is build myself a light saber and I am a perfect Sith Lord. I can influence stuff by using gravity magic and my ongoing education has shown that I have an additional affinity for quite a few electro spells.

  I head for the exit of the cinema and find myself on Aether's main pavilion. It's already evening and the sky is filled with stars.

  The closest teleportation cubicle is just a short walk down the street and around the block through a passageway, so I start walking. The city is rather empty at this time of the day and so I've no problems with bumping into other people.

  Thinking about my lifestyle, I have to admit that even my grandmother is worried about it, but she tries to keep her worries to herself. The only reason why I know about her thoughts is that she is often trying to introduce me to people.

  I've to admit that some of them were really interesting to talk to. I even got a permanent connection to the electro-mage elder. His name is Sanguin and the old fellow knows admittedly more about physics than me. Well, I am in the process to correct that and even my arcane studies are going well.

  Walking down the narrow passageway I find my vision suddenly tilting sideways. Strange. I try to activate my ability, but it doesn't work. Something is definitely wrong. Where the nachos bad? Food poisoning? No, that wouldn't affect my magic.

  There aren't any people whom I could ask for help. I try to contact my grandmother, but upon attempting to connect to the net several times I have to admit that my ability doesn't work.

  “Is the gas working?” Someone asks from behind me and I turn around, reaching for the wall to steady myself. For some strange reason my hand misses the wall and I drop to the ground while the world is spinning all around me.

  Barely conscious I notice people coming towards me. Then a metal foot blocks my view and screams fill the night. The battle sprite which was stalking me for years must've taken action. I close my eyes and the world spins away into darkness.

  Something is forced down my throat and I open my eyes. A bearded man is trying to force feed me a vile tasting liquid. Retching, I spit everything I can into his face and he hits me in return.

  If my vision wasn't so blurry I would kill him with a spell right now. My head feels light and I don't feel well.

  Surveying my surroundings I find myself in a dark room with a table and four men playing cards. I am bound with a rope to a wooden chair and I stink like I was pulled through the sewers.

  “It's enough, Gorey! The beer is already coming out of his mouth. There is no way that he can use his magic like that.” One of the men points at an empty seat and the bearded man joins them. “Yes, I just don't want him to tell on our position. The stupid sprite took out four of our men, before we could deal with it. Once we meet our employer we should ask for additional money. He didn't say anything about a personal sprite as a guard.”

  Ah, they force fed me with alcohol. Being intoxicated is a good way to stop a mage from casting spells. That's why most mages don't drink. So I was abducted? Are they trying to get me off of Aether? What did they do to Crono? Did they destroy the battle sprite? I don't particularly care for him, but losing my silent shadow feels strange. So many questions and no answers.

  Something in my stomach twists and I barf its contents all over myself. I continue doing so until there is nothing coming up any more. After two minutes of retching I finally regain the control over over my body.

  Somehow I feel strange. There are so many unknown sensations shaking my entire being. Is that what it means to be drunk? I heard that drinking also lifts certain mental barriers. That's why people like it so much. I am not entirely sure what to think about this.

  My attackers don't take any notice of my situation. They seem to be used to this. I am going to kill them. I don't know how, but I'll do it. Preferably slowly. Those bastards attacked me without reason.

  That's right. My wristwatch. It's a modified IM, I just have to activate it. That would be a sufficient distraction. And... and... what then. What else can I use as a weapon?

  Maybe I am not too affected by the alcohol and can still cast spells? I heard that it depends on the individual. Closing my eyes I concentrate. Something is there, I can feel it.

  My ability seems to work. I am not completely drunk. Apparently I woke up early enough, the alcohol hasn't entered my bloodstream in sufficient amounts. I slow down my perceived time and start thinking up a strategy while my eyes search the room for things which I can use to my advantage. After a while I feel confident to have found a possible battle strategy.

  “Force!�
�� The rope which is binding me to the chair snaps and I stand up. While doing so I grab the wooden chair and throw it at the men who are too stunned to react.

  Once more I use force and apply all my power to the chair. The chair bursts into splinters and the fragments are sent at them like shrapnel.

  Screams erupt from their side, but I already took off my wristwatch and threw it at the man with the least injuries. I gave only one command to it. Disassemble.

  Then my as wristwatch disguised IM impacts his chest and unfolds into a robot. It's a more sophisticated model and resembles a centipede. The IM loses no time and digs into his flesh, which takes him out of the game. He screams like a pig and drops to the ground, trying to rip the construct out of himself, but to no avail.

  The other offenders are writhing and crying while lying on the ground. My improvised shotgun worked better than I anticipated.

  A bottle rolls towards me and I stop it with my foot. It's beer. Being in a slightly abnormal mental state I bend down and open it to take a hearty draught. “Now, let's talk about who sent you.”

  Aether, The floating City, above the Atlantic Ocean

  Ed

  I edge closer to the room with the hostage and signal my men to stay back. Gideon was abducted just an hour ago by some freelancers. They also damaged Crono pretty heavily, that's why it took us some time to follow their tracks.

  I hope that they didn't manage to get Gideon off of Aether yet. Reaching for my amulet I step around the corner and scream. “Don't move! In the name of the elders, surrender now or-!” What I find inside the room stuns me into silence.

  There is a person on the ground who looks like he was inside a shredder. Another one is lying on a big round table with burn marks all over his body. A third one looks like he was smashed into the ground by the fist of an angry god. Only the outlines of a gory mass and the bones hint at the fact that the remains were once a person.

  A fourth is sitting on a chair beside the table. He looks like someone peeled off parts of his flesh until the blood loss killed him.