Fusion (Somnia Online Book 6)

by K. T. Hanna

  If it worked in the real world, and it worked in Somnia, then how could she tell what was real and what wasn’t?

  “You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Care to tell your old dad what’s wrong?” His voice was soft, understanding, and made Wren wished she could just run into his arms for a hug and he could make everything better like he had when she was a child.

  “I’m okay, Dad, just a lot on my mind.” She smiled at him as brightly as she could, and yet she was completely sure he didn’t believe a word she said.

  “Well. Mom and I will be home working on a few things for Storm.” He glanced in the direction of the interference module the condo had. “It’s quieter and easier to concentrate here.”

  Wren nodded slowly, recognizing the soft high-pitched whine that meant the distortion effect was activated. “Excellent. Let me know if we can help.”

  He nodded just as Harlow stepped down the last of the stairs. David turned his attention to Harlow. “Hello, sleepy. Always did take you longer to wake up.”

  Harlow smiled, genuine fondness streaming from her to David. Like she thought of him as a sort of father too. The thought and realization made Wren happy, if a little apprehensive. Harlow and Wren were still figuring things out; so much more than AIs and viruses hung in the balance.

  Then there was also the connection between the dungeons and whether or not Wren should notify her mother about that. Wouldn’t it help Laria if she knew all the ways the corruption had spread in the system?

  “You okay, Wren?” Harlow’s fingers brushed Wren’s hand, leaving a tingle that ran up her arm and almost shocked her back to the present with her thoughts.

  Wren smiled, feeling a warmth spread through to her cheeks. “Yeah, I’m fine.” And she meant it. All of this confusion could be in her head. Perhaps she only thought she could feel and sense the things she could.

  I can still speak to you, so that thought makes no sense.

  Sometimes, I hate it when you butt in. Wren knew she didn’t have the right to snap at Somnia; the world wasn’t quite there yet. It still took things horribly literally and didn’t have a clearly defined sense of morality quite yet. So she rolled her shoulders and took a breath before directing her thoughts back to her head companion. Sorry. I’m a little on edge. The thought makes sense when you’re human, and this shouldn’t be possible.

  Why shouldn’t it be possible?

  It wasn’t a facetious comment; the world was genuinely interested in how something that obviously was couldn’t be possible. To it, perhaps everything had possibility, only limited by the fact that something hadn’t been done yet. Which was another way to look at things. Because this is the real world.

  Another real world.

  Another real world? Wren wasn’t sure if something was wrong with the AI portion of Somnia, but she wanted to know just where it got its thinking from.

  You’re not this dense. You feel it as much as anyone else does. The subtle changes, the difference in the way things have been working.

  Somnia is real? Wren caught herself holding her breath. That definitely wasn’t possible. Somnia exists in cyberspace, connected by the internet.

  But isn’t this earth connected by the internet too? It is connected to Somnia, is it not?

  But earth isn’t stored on hard drives. Which was a cold hard fact anything should find difficult to refute. Wren waited for a moment, idly watching as Sinister slapped together a couple of sandwiches for them to eat before they took their naps. The others had insisted they both needed to get some actual sleep. She’d almost forgotten about the weird conversation when Somnia piped back up again.

  Not all data is stored on a hard drive. Some are stored in clouds, and others in brains. Do you not see, Murmur? Can you not see that Somnia is more than a game?

  Wren didn’t understand how that could work. Just because I don’t understand something doesn’t mean it’s not real.

  “You okay, Wren?” Harlow asked, holding out half a sandwich with a look of concern on her face.

  Wren smiled and nodded as she bit into the bread. She must have muttered that last thought out loud. Which meant Somnia heard it as well. “Just hungry and deadly tired.”

  You should sleep. There is much you need to accomplish once you get back here.

  It didn’t even cross Wren’s mind to laugh and say no, hey, it’s just a game. Because the truth was it had stopped being that a long time ago. They had a mission to complete—right after she got some sleep.

  Somnia Online

  Mikrum Isle – Almost-Completed Fable Guild Headquarters

  Late Day Twenty-Seven

  The office was large. Telvar didn’t feel like he drowned in it, though. At a stretch, he’d be able to go full dragon in here should he ever get cornered and surprised again. But the odds of that happening weren’t likely. He refused to be that trusting ever again.

  Still, he’d been monitoring several areas, hoping to find Belius and figure out what he was up to. In the process of which he’d encountered Riasli attempting to interfere yet again in Somnia’s coding.

  This time she wasn’t just fiddling to be an annoyance. He’d found her attempting to subvert the origin coding on which the entire world was based. He couldn’t allow that, and if he wasn’t mistaken, such actions might even be too much for his brother.

  Even given everything Belius had done in the last few days.

  Telvar threw himself down into the office chair and looked at the ceiling. He’d wanted it to be dramatic, but there was no one there to watch him.

  “Never a waste.” Emilarth appeared, sitting on the edge of the desk. “Just a little overdone. I’ll give you a seven out of ten for that performance.”

  “Very droll.” Telvar spoke without looking in her direction. Popping in on each other had become a habit these days, not that he could blame her. He got the sense from his sister that she was extremely concerned about both of her brothers.

  “You know what it is now, don’t you?” She didn’t look up from whatever it was she was concentrating on. The frown on her face meant she was attempting to figure out something complex. While Tel wasn’t in the mood to dig in and figure it out, he also didn’t really want to carry on a conversation.

  “Is it really her, or is it Belius disguised as Riasli, trying to make us think he isn’t doing what he is doing?” Telvar realized he sounded a little sulky, and somewhere, deep down, noticed that it might be akin to jealousy. “Yeah, yeah. I know, we can all extrapolate well enough to guess accurately at most things.”

  “Do you think he succeeded in his experiment then?” Emilarth seemed genuinely curious as she gazed closely at Telvar. “I mean, you don’t really look different; you’ve just been grumpier since you reverted to your normal shape. Do you feel stronger or immune to the virus running rampant through our system? Or am I just being hopeful and full of shit?”

  At the last comment she sounded so dejected, Telvar did one more scan, just to double check that his reluctant realization had been correct. He sighed. “You’re right, my coding has been slightly altered. I just need to figure out exactly what and get it to Laria. Unless I’m wrong and it’s actually an infection that’ll blow us all sky high.”

  Emilarth clapped her hands and laughed. “Don’t be silly. You’d already have blown up if that were the case.”

  Telvar only grunted in response. Now he just had to figure out how his own system had categorized the shard and managed to turn it into an inoculation against the virus that was the getashi, without Riasli or what was left of Michael’s presence figuring out that he was essentially an antidote.

  And maybe, just maybe they could save Belius in the process so Telvar could yell at him.

  “I really don’t know if that’s possible, Mur. I mean.” There was a pause in the conversation. “Oh, no, you’re right. Everything de
posited in the guild bank that you just received is apparently there. How many monsters did you defeat? Holy crap, the level on this stuff.”

  The excitement in Neva’s voice escalated until she was practically squealing. If Murmur was wearing a headset, she would have at least been able to pull an earpiece away, but it was reverberating through her head trying its best to give her a headache. Still though, it was fun to hear the little luna so excited.

  Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke again. “We’ll begin crafting replenishments now. You still have a good amount of stock. As for repairs…” she paused again, and Murmur could hear some whispering in the background as Neva discussed something, probably with her blacksmiths.

  “Okay, so I know Devlish and Jinna have the smithing skill, and I know Sinister and Mellow have some tailoring skill. We will get a few advanced repair kits set up for both blacksmithing and tailoring. They can only do a dozen sets each, so make sure to use them when the armor is about to break. Those are a hefty expense, and I only have so many of the components to make those.”

  “Excellent.” Murmur waited, knowing her master crafter wasn’t done yet.

  “You know, you should be a bit more careful, Mur.” Neva’s tone held some concern, but also a decidedly lecturing note that made Murmur briefly wonder if she only assumed Neva was young because of her character’s size.

  “You need to take care of that armor of yours. It’s very specifically tailored to you, and I can’t make you any more yet, because I don’t have any more of that material. So just keep an eye on yourself.” Concern won out, and yet Murmur felt a bit guilty that her transformation had subtly altered her gear as well.

  “In the course of fights, this is going to happen. I’ll do my best to keep them whole though.” She frowned as she took in the raid around her.

  “You’d better. That’s some of my best work. Go kill stuff and send me all the bits and pieces so I can make more stuff than anyone else!” The last was said with a squeal of glee before the connection cut off.

  Murmur smiled and shook her head. She still felt a little groggy. Almost three hours sleep just hadn’t cut it this time. But she’d logged back in with Sinister with about twenty minutes to spare. So far, they weren’t waiting on anyone who’d gone to sleep first, just a few of those who had taken the first watch, and they would have a bit of leeway. She couldn’t get over how nervous she felt about perhaps losing one of their bunch.

  Despite some fuck ups, overall the raid had worked well together. She’d not expected that. She refused to analyze if her own impatience might have inadvertently affected everyone around her. The point was they’d defeated the dungeon they came to, and now they had a portal to the next.

  Firtulai’s dungeon. Emilarth’s. Maybe she could ask the AI for a hint?

  That’s cheating. Logical and probably a good idea, but I thought you didn’t like to cheat.

  Somnia had the most epic timing. It was better than Murmur’s conscience. It might be cheating if she gave me an answer, but I’m quite certain the whole thing is set up so they aren’t able to give them.

  That would make illogical sense. Frankly, I’d give you all the keys if I could.

  Really? That would have been nice to know earlier.

  But they are not mine to give.

  And with that cryptic remark, the voice disappeared.

  Murmur turned her attention back to the raid group who were checking their armor and damage for wear and tear. She noticed Mellow and Merlin distributing potions, tonics, and even bandages. Sinister, Masha, Neviad, and two other healers stood in a circle with sticks drawing diagrams on the ground, lost in a heated discussion.

  Sinister looked up from the debate and over at Murmur, casting her a deliberate wink that made the enchanter blush. Well, maybe Sinister wasn’t lost in the discussion after all. She couldn’t help the blush to her cheeks and instead turned her attention to the portal.

  It swirled around the edges. The top of the circular opening stood about ten feet high and its circumference didn’t feel like it was going to squash her when she tried to venture through. She’d almost call it spacious.

  It did make her cautious though. Why had it done this to them, bound them to the dungeons, made them have to complete them one after another? Was it Somnia doing this?

  You could have just asked.

  She almost sounded offended. Murmur did her best not to roll her eyes. Well, was it you?

  No, it wasn’t. I didn’t command this. I do not command these dungeons, only the world.

  Aren’t these dungeons a part of the world?

  Yes and no.

  Care to clarify the cryptic? Again, with the literal answers. Murmur hoped as Somnia grew, she’d get less robot-like.

  The dungeons are a part of the world, yes, but I do not have domain over them. They are not maintained or controlled by me. They are controlled by the others.

  You mean the other AIs.

  Yes. Thra, Rav, and Sui.

  Well, thought Murmur to herself. That explains a lot.

  “Mur. Everyone is back online.” Dev touched her shoulder briefly, before withdrawing, to get her attention. She could feel his palpable relief. His shoulders didn’t appear to be as tense as when he’d come back from his nap, and the note of ease in his voice made it soothing instead of commanding. It seemed she hadn’t been the only one concerned they might have to replace some of their members.

  “Guess we’re going through to Firtulai?” She glanced over at Masha and caught his eyes, beckoning him over from the round table of healers. He nodded curtly to the others and headed over to her.

  “What’s up? We’re just getting our rotations and cooldowns memorized so we can help each other out if needed during battle.” There was a rosy sheen to his cheeks, as if he enjoyed intricate healing discussions immensely. Even though Murmur wanted to ask what had taken them so long, she realized that working as a group of healers from three different guilds was bound to take some time.

  “Your guild is based on Firtulai, right? Got any insight into that dungeon?” If they were going in on this, then they were going all the way. As prepared as they could be.

  Masha frowned. “Actually. It’s mostly ice caves and giant mountainous cliffs. I don’t even understand how we’re going to get across to it. But once we are there, they have a heap of suspension bridges spanning peaks. That’s all I ever managed to see.” He shrugged apologetically. “I’m sorry I’m not more help with this. We came straight here after clearing our last dungeon and didn’t head anywhere near it. We were too weak to even approach it earlier in our adventuring.”

  Murmur smiled, wishing there was a way to gain an advantage going into this dungeon. “It’s all good, Masha. We will get through it, just like we did here.”

  He grinned and jogged back to the healer group, engrossed in the conversation again almost immediately.

  About to call the jump through the portal, Murmur jumped when a hand touched her shoulder.

  “Sorry.”

  Havoc grinned at her, but she could see the expression was forced, and then she remembered they’d never had the talk she’d meant to have. “It’s all good. What’s up?”

  He seemed even less like himself than he had lately. Hesitancy wasn’t usually something she associated with him, but here it was. “I just…this headset thing is eerie. How the hell do you deal with it?”

  There was an earnestness in his eyes, oddly disconcerting on a dark elf. She wasn’t sure how to respond to the question, though. Her own headset had put her through hell and back, but she had to remember they’d attempted to avoid the same pitfalls with those her friends had. “It’s a learning curve. Your connection with Somnia is solid now. You’ve probably heard her talking to you?”

  Havoc’s expression closed over for a moment, and Murmur thought she’d lost him, but then he sighed and
shook his head ruefully.

  “I guess I was trying to ignore that. The whole voices in your head are bad trope.” He seemed tired, and she couldn’t blame him, but at least he might be open to the concept.

  If so, she had to choose her words carefully. “Listen to her sometimes? She’s a bit literal, but sometimes she has really good ideas. It is her world—or, should I say, the world is her.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You really think the world has become sapient?”

  Murmur shook her head. “No. She’s not human, and she’ll never be human, but she is able to think in her own way, and to realize that she is indeed an entity. Just…give it a chance.”

  “And the pain?” He winced, as if bringing it up might steal his tough factor.

  “That’s just something you need to get used to. That portion of it is all in your head. You just need to convince yourself that while real in its own way, Somnia isn’t actually cutting off limbs, it’s just simulating it.” She kept her voice calm and soft, hoping to dull the words for him.

  With a grimace, Havoc shrugged. “Guess I just have to get used to it then. On the bright side, this connection makes Somnia so much more vivid. It’s like it’s actually real.”

  “Well.” She mulled the thought over. “Somnia itself is Somnia, so doesn’t that make it real?”

  Havoc laughed. “Sure, Mur. Let’s confuse the necro. Seriously though, you should probably have this chat with everyone in the guild. I’m sure I’m not the only one wrestling with the adjustments.”

  With that, he turned away, giving her the time she needed to rally people to the portal. She watched him go, glad that she’d been able to allay his concerns somewhat.

  Murmur just wished she’d convinced herself as well as she’d managed to convince him.

  As soon as Murmur stepped through the portal, she wished she hadn’t. Cold wind bit through her armor and aimed for her core. Glancing at the others who followed her through the opening, she realized the weather was freezing everyone else as well.