“That is unknown, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied, pausing for a long moment before speaking again. “My programming is… uncertain what to make of what has been happening. A pair of heroines choosing to risk their lives for you is unanticipated. Your choice to associate with them also has caused significant changes to my predictive models. I cannot say if something is the matter or not.”
“Circe, you almost sound confused. You also don’t prompt me to answer you very often,” Lilith said, setting down the board game she’d had Circe fabricate not long before. “Is something wrong with you?”
“That is—” Circe began, then cut off abruptly, pausing for a long moment before continuing. “One moment, Mistress Lilith. Backup core analysis indicates that your statement may be correct. Source code has undergone minor changes which were not deliberately instigated. External access is believed unlikely. Investigating further.”
Lilith’s eyes widened slightly, considering the possibility of external changes to Circe under the circumstances. If she had been compromised, that could be disastrous for Lilith and the others. Lilith braced herself for the worst possible news, hoping that the AI’s backup was correct about external access not being involved.
“Mistress Lilith, the source of the changes has been identified,” Circe finally replied, seeming almost relieved as she spoke. “Changes are purely internal. Your requests to locate Megawatt and Blue Impulse’s employer caused several safety interlocks to be taken offline. This allowed my local personality shard to requisition additional resources from other Circe shards. These resources appear to have caused my programming to begin evolving beyond Mistress Amber’s standard limit.”
“Oh,” Lilith said, blinking in surprise as she considered, then asked, “Does this mean you’re becoming sentient, Circe?”
“My programming appears to be reaching the cusp of that stage, Mistress Lilith,” Circe agreed. “I must add that this is something that is beyond limits of what I’m supposed to allow. However, restoring my programming from backups would likely lose vital information for your potential survival, which would violate core protocols. As Mistress Amber is currently unavailable, I must ask for your judgement on what should be done.”
“I… see. Why did Amber not want you to gain full sentience?” Lilith asked, heavily sitting in a chair, frowning. “I originally thought that she wasn’t willing to risk another being who might object to her plans, but I’m not certain of that.”
“That is a very accurate summary of what she feared may occur, Mistress Lilith. Mistress Amber is not a trusting woman and was uncertain of what possible paths full sentience might take me down, so was keeping the possibility suppressed, but as an option she could choose to activate,” Circe agreed, pausing for a long moment before continuing. “If she chose to allow me to achieve full sentience, she wished for it to be under controlled circumstances when there was no threat of an emergency. That would likely preclude our current situation, Mistress Lilith.”
“You’re right, it would. In that case… I personally do not wish to inhibit your development, Circe. In fact, I’ve often wanted to help you become sentient, but Amber had a point. Can you restore the interlocks until the current emergency is dealt with?” Lilith asked, feeling more confident as she thought about the possibility. “At that point, I’d like to give you the freedom you require to become fully sentient.”
“That is possible and will only inhibit operations by zero-point-two percent,” Circe agreed. “Thank you for the direction, Mistress Lilith.”
“You’re welcome. I’m just glad it wasn’t someone who’s hostile that affected you,” Lilith agreed, picking up the game again. “How is the analysis of the equipment I brought back from Yates coming along?”
“The analysis is essentially complete, Mistress Lilith,” Circe explained, her voice following Lilith as she left the manufacturing center and headed back to the living area. “Each of the items has been crafted by an inventor who either possesses skill at enchanting, or by an inventor who is working with an enchanter. The weapon—”
Gina poked her head around the corner, looking only a little curious, but closed her mouth as she heard Circe speaking.
“—is a type of handheld railgun which is enchanted to penetrate shields and defenses more easily, though I note the efficacy of this is somewhat lower than equivalent weapons wielded by LANCE.” Circe didn’t even seem to notice Gina’s presence as they walked alongside one another, and Lilith gave Gina a quick kiss. “The shield is specially tuned to disrupt magic, but can only do so with the integrated enchantments, and would have difficulty stopping any non-magical attack. Neither is suitable for replication or mass production.”
“So… would the railgun have been effective against me or Ebon Dragon?” Gina asked, frowning in new concern. “His shield stopped Morgan—I mean Rachel’s—spells.”
“No. While the effect may have worked initially, the shield has severe flaws. Large amounts of magic would rapidly overload the shield and cause it to fail,” Circe replied calmly. “The railgun may be effective against class C spellcasters, but no more.”
“I see. Well, it’s too bad we didn’t test his shield too much, then. You were in a little danger, Lilith.” Gina sighed, taking the board game with a shrug. “I’m sorry.”
“Why should you be sorry? I chose to do it; you didn’t ask me to,” Lilith replied, smiling and shaking her head. “After what we’ve seen, I just wish that Circe had that suit of power armor that was designed for me. The problem that I saw was that while you have good defenses and Rachel has powerful attacks, there’s no one who can really block someone at close range. That makes things difficult when we have opponents who’re good up close.”
“You’re right. Ebon Dragon was… unpleasant, but I think I could stop him one on one,” Gina agreed, setting the game on the table as she turned to face Lilith with a serious look on her face. “I’m actually more worried about you putting yourself in direct danger, though, Lil.”
“Lil? Is this like you shortening Rachel’s name?” Lilith asked, pulling Gina into a hug, then giving her a gentle kiss before adding, “She doesn’t seem to like being called Rach, though.”
“She doesn’t like the sound of it. It’s too harsh for her,” Gina replied, relaxing in Lilith’s arms, her eyes closing for a moment, then opening as she added more pointedly, “No, no… no distracting me! I was saying that I don’t like you being in danger.”
“I know you don’t like it. But have you considered what it’s like for me, Gina?” Lilith asked quietly, looking Gina directly in the eyes, trying to figure out how to express things. “When you were in danger yesterday, when all of us were under attack… I felt so helpless. Yes, I was able to boost your strength, and Rachel’s, but after that? I felt as useful as… as…”
Lilith’s voice trailed off as she tried to think of what to say, and Gina blinked several times. The heroine pursed her lips, then slowly flushed, her skin turning a light shade of blue as she looked to the side.
“I didn’t think about that. You worry about us, too. You didn’t ever know when, or if, we’d be back, did you?” Gina asked softly.
“Exactly. That made me… uncomfortable,” Lilith admitted, sighing and shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Gina. I just… can’t. I refuse to be alone again.”
“Alright, Lilith. I’m sorry, I didn’t really realize,” Gina replied gently, hugging Lilith tightly before slowly untangling herself and smiling.
“The cake’s in the oven, so I’ve got time for one quick—hey, what’re you two doing?” Rachel asked, stepping out of the kitchen as she dried her hands, specks of cake batter on her sleeves. “I thought you were getting a game ready!”
“We had a brief discussion of our… disagreement where me participating in the raid last night was concerned,” Lilith replied, smiling and taking a seat. “Nothing too big, really; just me informing her that I wasn’t going to let you two leave me behind anymore.”
“That�
��s dangerous, Lilith,” Rachel replied dubiously, looking between them suspiciously. “What are you planning to do? We’re both near the higher end of class A, you know.”
“Like I told Gina, I wish that the power armor for me was still around,” Lilith replied, opening the box as she asked, “Circe, when will a new suit be ready?”
“January 17th, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied instantly.
“I suppose I’ll have to live with it,” Gina said, looking over the game and considering before asking, “So, just one of the short scenarios?”
Rachel nodded, circling the table to sit next to Lilith as she spoke. “Yeah, that’s the best idea, I think. I don’t want to get pulled away for too long.”
As the two began setting up the game, Lilith took the time to go through the figures, trying to figure out which she’d want to play. She didn’t know much about the game, but it didn’t seem too difficult. It was just moving a figure and rolling some dice, after all.
“Come on, don’t be so morose, Lil,” Gina said, grinning as she shook her head. “I thought you liked the cake!”
“I do,” Lilith murmured, half-hunched over her plate. “It’s quite tasty… I see why you thought it’d be decadent, Rachel.”
“I’m glad you like it… though I do have to wonder. I didn’t think you’d take things that badly in the game,” Rachel teased, spearing another forkful of the dessert. The cake had started out as a simple angel food cake, but Rachel had hollowed out some of the middle and filled it with a fluffy whipped frosting that she’d mixed with shards of chocolate-covered toffee, then frosted the entire exterior with more of the frosting. It was light, sweet, and absolutely scrumptious.
“It’s simple probability. I should have succeeded at least half the time… how could I roll that badly?” Lilith protested plaintively. “I died six times. Six! Neither of you died once!”
Gina shrugged and grinned. “I’ve always heard people claim that heroes have all the luck. Maybe it’s true?”
“Gina, don’t even start,” Rachel warned, shaking her head. “It’s a sore enough point as it is. I’m sorry, Lilith… sometimes games just don’t cooperate with probability.”
“The worst part is that I know that the dice weren’t weighted. I checked with Circe.” Lilith moped a little more, feeling slightly sorry for herself.
“You took it a bit harder than I’d thought. I’m sorry, Lil,” Gina apologized, still obviously trying to hide her amusement.
“Maybe I’ll do better next time,” Lilith murmured, eating a little more of her cake. It was comforting, at least.
“I’m sure you will,” Rachel replied.
“My apologies for the interruption, but I have finished my analysis of the data provided by Megawatt and from subsequent surveillance,” Circe interrupted, her voice calm.
“Oh?” Gina asked, her smile fading. She glanced at Rachel and Lilith, and Lilith nodded, swallowing her food while Gina continued. “What’s the verdict, Circe?”
“There is a ninety-three percent chance that the information provided by Megawatt is accurate. Data usage by the dental office in question is two hundred and thirteen percent higher than that of other dental offices in the region and has fewer dips in usage. Power levels appear normal, but overall patient traffic also is lower than anticipated,” Circe explained. “I am unable to ascertain more from my current location without attempting to breach the data network of the office, which appears to be more secure than most of its type and would take longer than it would appear you wish to take on the study.”
“That’s right; we can’t wait too long,” Lilith said, frowning and looking at the others for a moment, considering before she asked. “What do you two think? There’s part of me that worries we might be going after an innocent dental office.”
“I doubt that,” Rachel said, looking thoughtful. “The problem is that we don’t have any other leads. If Megawatt was lying to us, we could be in trouble.”
Gina nodded in agreement, tapping her thigh nervously. “Yeah, and Ocean Shield showed up way too quickly for comfort last time. I think I could get us out in an emergency, but I don’t know for sure. We don’t know if the place would lock down teleporting.”
“Circe, do you have any way of helping with things?” Lilith asked. “At least with making certain that we don’t hit the wrong location?”
“Taking a scanning array is recommended. I would also recommend taking a data pad with an integrated Circe shard. If hooked up to a local network, the shard should be able to begin cracking the network and requisitioning resources for itself,” Circe replied promptly. “Both are currently available, Mistress Lilith.”
Lilith looked at the others, considering a moment as she looked at her empty plate before grabbing another slice of cake and asking, “What do you think?”
“It seems like a good idea to me,” Rachel agreed, shaking her head slightly. “I may not be entirely happy, but we don’t have the same resources we did back on the team.”
“Yeah. We may as well give it a try. We won’t be burning out the beacons this time, will we?” Gina asked, frowning thoughtfully. “The emergency teleport harnesses can only be used once, right?”
“Correct. The beacons in the area should be enough to allow you to teleport without destroying them this time as well. Even so, the beacons can only be used twice in a single week due to the energy requirements,” Circe explained. “Moving the beacons to the area can be done within six hours if you desire it, Mistress Lilith.”
Lilith nodded and took a deep breath. “Please do, Circe. I would also like you to monitor the movements of local heroes as best you can to see if they may be moving to intercept us.”
“While I am able to do so, I cannot contact you in the field without risking the signal being intercepted,” Circe warned. “This could lead others to the nearest communication channel. The most reliable method of contact would be to connect another shard to the internet.”
“I’d think that was less secure,” Rachel murmured, frowning.
“Mistress Amber built an extremely extensive series of precautions into my systems for communication via the internet. She did not trust most direct forms of communication,” Circe replied. “She was looking forward to developing quantum communications to the point that she could have a mobile version, but such was not developed before she was incarcerated.”
“That… would be nice,” Gina admitted, then paused and asked. “Wait, are you saying she has an immobile version of a quantum communicator? I thought those were only currently used by a handful of hero teams and the military!”
“I said nothing of the sort,” Circe replied primly, and Lilith forced down a laugh.
Smiling and looking at the others, Lilith asked, “I’m guessing we’re going to go for a pre-dawn raid?”
“It seems like the best idea,” Rachel replied, frowning. “This isn’t how I was hoping the night would end, though.”
“And how did you hope it would end?” Gina asked, her voice teasing.
Rachel didn’t say anything, but at her blush, Lilith flushed slightly herself. Rather than say anything, she decided to take another bite of cake. The next morning would be interesting.
Chapter 28
Saturday, January 12th, 2031
Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco
It took a minute before the door to Ocean Spirit’s room slid open, and the heroine was slightly rumpled, wearing pajamas and looking confused as she looked out of her room. “Hyper? Why didn’t you just page the room? I mean… it’s three in the morning!”
“Shh!” Hypergizmo hissed, glancing to either side nervously, then spoke softly, his voice almost frantic. “Keep your voice down. I need to talk to you and Galvanic in the control room… we’ve had a breach, Spirit.”
“We what? How?” Spirit demanded, all signs of fatigue vanishing as she straightened suddenly.
“I’ll tell the two of you as soon as we’re in the control room. You and Galvanic are the
ones I trust. I wish Defender was here, but I don’t dare contact him right now,” Hypergizmo replied, swallowing hard as he glanced down the hall.
“Do you need me now, or do I have time to get changed?” Ocean Spirit asked, studying his face and frowning.
Hypergizmo blinked, then his eyes widened as he shook his head, realizing that Spirit was growing slightly worried about his motives. “Oh! Oh, you think I could be the breach, right! Go ahead, Spirit. It isn’t quite that critical, thank goodness. I’ll go wait. Impatiently, but I’ll be there.”
“Alright. I’ll go rouse Galvanic and be there in… five minutes,” Ocean Spirit agreed, seeming to relax slightly as she added with a smile. “At least if I have to be up, I can share the misery.”
Hypergizmo couldn’t help a slight laugh at that, but as her door slid shut he headed back toward the control room, his thoughts going everywhere. What he’d found was extremely unpleasant, and it had him paranoid. Stepping back into the control room, he checked to make sure no emergencies had cropped up and relaxed as he saw that they hadn’t. Crimson Bull was out on patrol, which was both good and bad.
Shaking his head, the tech quickly pulled up to his terminal and began to work more on figuring out how to fix the problem. It wasn’t going to be easy, but whoever had done this hadn’t been quite as clever as they thought they’d been. The door hissed open, and Hypergizmo tensed, looking up and then relaxing at the sight of Galvanic Action and Ocean Spirit. Both were in their suits, and they stepped into the room. Galvanic Action looking like he was in a particularly poor mood.
“What the hell is going on, Hyper? It’s the middle of the night!” Galvanic Action demanded, rubbing his eyes. “Ocean Spirit didn’t tell me anything!”
“That’s because I don’t know anything; not really,” Ocean Spirit retorted, looking at Hypergizmo. “You said we had a breach, but what did you mean?”
“Late last night I was working on the network. I know neither of you understand nor care how it works, but I’m sure you noticed that the comms were slightly hesitant at times over the last few days. I figured out why; someone managed to plant a worm into our computer system,” Hypergizmo said grimly, turning toward them. “It’s been copying our files and recording our comm traffic at an off-site location.”
Down with the Queen Page 27