by Cosimo Yap
Thiago grabbed Aphrodite’s arm; she flinched.
“No misbehaving now,” Thiago said. “I know all your dirty little tricks.”
Aphrodite stared back at him, head held high. “Well then I’m glad I learned a few new ones.”
ACTI—
Aphrodite’s eyes flashed blue and a pulse of energy rolled through the room. Alan fell to the floor, clutching his head. Intense pain radiated through him, his implants scrambled. Eve and Lambda yelled at him, but they were muffled behind a sound barrier.
As his vision blinked in and out, he saw Kitana and Thiago knocked out on the floor. He fumbled around for his laser pistol, trying to locate Aphrodite. He saw her standing over Kitana trying to grab something. Kitana’s sword.
Alan fired off a round. The shot missed wildly—Alan was too dizzy to aim. He stumbled toward Aphrodite, tripped, and fell to the floor.
When he looked back up, Aphrodite had grabbed Thiago’s sniper instead and was preparing to fire it at him. Alan struggled through the pain to activate the bug placed on the weapon, forcing it to overheat.
Aphrodite let out a yell, dropping the weapon as plasma fire raced up her arms. Alan fired off a few more shots—he was closer to a hit this time.
Aphrodite grabbed a metal box and ran out the door. Alan tried to give chase, but slammed into the doorway. He lay on the ground, trying to refocus his thoughts.
Minutes later, Thiago and Kitana regained consciousness. Alan began to regain his balance; he felt Eve and Lambda reconnect.
What was that? Alan sent.
Some version of a mind blast, Eve sent. We’re lucky it’s a primarily mental-based attack, rather than psionic.
So there are players walking around that can just set off mental concussion grenades? Alan asked.
Yes, but they’re rare, even among psionics, Eve sent. And such skills are generally banned by the Administrators, as they can potentially cause permanent damage. Many able players never learn the skill to avoid unwanted attention. I’m curious where Aphrodite trained.
“Shit, what happened?” Thiago asked.
“Aphrodite used a mind blast and wiped you two out. I was able to stop her from killing all of us, but she managed to escape with a box of loot,” Alan said.
Thiago ran over to his precious goods. “Damn, that bitch stole a box of power crystals. You weren’t able to do anything?”
“You’re lucky to be alive,” Alan said. “We should be more concerned that we’ve been traveling around with a mole, one with abilities you weren’t even aware of.”
“Fuck, you’re right,” Thiago said. He looked around at the metal boxes. “Come on, let’s get this back in the truck and to an Administrative Center Vault. Who knows who she’s contacted by now.”
Our bug on her tablet, Lambda sent.
Alan checked it, and found that Aphrodite hadn’t sent any messages. Yet. Lambda disabled it from afar.
“I might be able to track her down and get back the stolen crystals,” Alan said.
“No, the first priority is getting what we have to the Administrative Center Vault where it’s safe,” Thiago said. He looked at his sniper—it seemed damaged by the forced overheat. “And what the fuck happened to my weapon?”
You used a skill, deflect, Lambda sent.
“Had to use a special skill,” Alan said. “You’re lucky she didn’t get Kitana’s blade. If she had, we’d be dead.”
“She was not worthy to wield Murakumo,” Kitana said.
“You named your sword?” Thiago asked as they loaded the last of the boxes into the truck.
“Alan named his machines,” Kitana said. “Besides, a weapon is the clearest manifestation of one’s soul. More so in this Game than anywhere else.” She gripped her sword and it let out a flash of light.
Holy shit, I think the Administrators gave her an evolving weapon, Lambda sent.
One that absorbs the energy of defeated foes, increasing its own strength over time? Alan asked.
You got it, Lambda sent.
I was wondering why she’s been carrying the same weapon since the tutorial, Alan sent. He got into the back of the truck.
They headed north to the Bronx, where the nearest Administrative Center was located. Icewolf seemed to have smoothed things over with the local authorities, and had sent a single message.
Icewolf: Follow through, that’s all that matters. I’m a bit held up now with the investigation into what happened at the restaurant. Busy with the cleanup, don’t contact me unless it’s an emergency.
He wants us to focus on the plan to take down the UWG, and he’s now probably being watched, Lambda sent.
I got that, thanks, Alan sent.
The simplest of messages can be lost in translation, Lambda replied.
Alan rolled his eyes, scanning for potential threats.
***
“I don’t like this, we’re sitting ducks out here,” Thiago said. “Aphrodite could have told half the thieves guilds in the city what we’re carrying, or called for Haxlard backup.”
They were in a line of vehicles transporting goods to the Administrative Center Vault. The Administrative Center looked like it used to be a government office, a supersaturated DMV. Ten lanes were open to vehicle traffic, five in and five out, but there was still a backup that rivaled a freeway at rush hour.
“We’re right next to the Administrative Center; attacking us here would be tantamount to suicide,” Alan said.
“I still don’t like it,” Thiago said.
Alan sighed, then connected to a nearby Administrator standing outside the Administrative Center.
Greetings, Traveler, the Administrator sent.
Hi, we’re here to deposit some goods in your vault, is there any way you can speed the process up? Alan asked.
Certainly.
Ten Administrator guards walked up to their truck, five humans in advanced power armor, and five robots which scanned the truck and its contents. The truck began weaving through traffic to the front of the line, the other automated vehicles making space for it.
“What’d you do?” Thiago asked.
“I have some clout with the Administrators,” Alan said.
Once the truck had been guided inside and all the goods were deposited into the vault, Thiago finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Well that’s stage one of our mission complete, at least,” Thiago said after he received a receipt from the Administrator. Now that his materials were in an Administrative Center Vault, he could retrieve them from the same vault. Alternatively, he could get them shipped to a vault at another Administrative Center, but the cost was prohibitive—which was why they had brought the goods from Khersath in the first place.
Items sold and bought on the Market, meanwhile, also had to be dropped off and picked up from the nearest Administrative Center Vault. Khersath and the Academy were outliers in that items could be traded from any nearby capsule directly, due to their unique designations by the Game.
As they turned to leave, an Administrator stopped them. He connected to Alan.
Please wait, Traveler. Chief Administrator 170 had requested to discuss matters with you as soon as he learned of your whereabouts. Follow me, the Administrator sent.
“It looks like I have business to take care of; please wait here,” Alan said.
Thiago and Kitana watched Alan enter the Administrative Center, unsure what was going on.
Chapter 17
Alan was led into a private room with a metal stool. As he sat down, the doors shut behind him, then a screen lit up in front of him. There was a click—Alan was cut off from detecting anything outside the room. He reached out with his senses and felt only a void.
Standard Administrator security procedure for important conversations. No signal will enter or exit this room, Lambda sent. This might get interesting—whatever you do don’t mention me.
The screen was now displaying messages:
Contacting…
Handshaking�
��
Secure contact established.
The Chief Administrator appeared, walled-in by screens of information, his cyborg appearance masked by graphs and simulations.
“Greetings, Traveler. There was a recent outbreak of a program that has been known to exhibit destructive tendencies. You were located within the sector at the time of its escape; thus it is suspected that you may have information about the breakout. Do you have any information that might aid in an investigation?”
There was a half-second pause.
“No? Nothing? Good, I’ll report that,” Chief Administrator 170 said. He tapped a few keys. “There, it’s reported. However, if by any chance you were to run into the rogue program, tell them ‘I told you so.’ Of course, you should also report the sighting to the nearest authorities as soon as you are able before doing any of that.”
Wait. That’s the Chief Administrator? Lambda asked.
You know him? Alan asked.
He’s a decent chap. Not sure how he ended up an Administrator. It’s been a while, Lambda sent.
“That being said, it is my obligation to inform you of the consequences of your actions should you be discovered to have aided the fugitive or be responsible for the destruction of system architecture,” the Chief Administrator said. “Releasing dangerous programs back into the Game earns you a 10,000 credit, 1,000 penalty point fine, and you must capture the program and return it to the Administrators or face stricter penalties. Destruction of system architecture would net you a warning and 5,000 penalty points. I see you’ve already earned one warning.
“I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about penalty points, but I would remind you that they must be paid back within a standard year of their acquisition. If they are not, you are either imprisoned or forced into indentured servitude. Penalty points are earned through breaking Administrator laws or losing wars, the exact penalty depending on how high in the food chain you were and the destruction the war caused. Points are repaid by aiding Administrator forces or joining the faction and completing requests. Any penalty of 1,000 points or greater will come with a task to help maintain order that you must fulfill. Any penalty of 5,000 points or greater will result in your imprisonment.
“At this point in time I’m supposed to act as your mentor, but you’ve already found plenty of those. You made it to the Academy, and trained under Cerberus. Keep working hard. Or don’t. I don’t really care. Just try not to do anything too groundbreaking or system shaking; nothing that will result in untold amounts of paperwork. I’m actually hoping to have a short break sometime soon.”
The Chief Administrator took a breath of air, about to continue his tirade.
“Wait, I have questions,” Alan said. “Is there a reward for the capture of the rogue program? And if I were to pick up a random program, what potential damage could they do to me as a Machine Lord? Should I be afraid of irreparable harm?”
Hey! Lambda sent.
I need to keep up appearances, Alan replied.
“You should always be afraid of irreparable harm and unknown programs,” the Chief Administrator said. “This program in question has been known to wreak havoc and destruction, but of in-game software, not players. Unless you count senses of humor—they’ve likely ruined a few of those. You should not be worried about any AIs that are listed as yours causing you harm: in the history of the Game there have been no recorded instances of AI acting maliciously toward their owners. They have, however, given bad advice and served as poor moral compasses. I digress. To answer your first question, there is a 100-platinum mark reward and significant reputation gain for the capture of the program.”
If you sell me out— Lambda began.`
Don’t worry. The thought hadn’t crossed my mind. You should know, you live there, Alan sent.
All possibilities should be considered, Eve sent.
Well, what about this possibility: you turn me in, I turn you in, and they now know you were the one that deleted their code, Lambda sent.
No one’s turning anyone in, Alan sent.
A few screens popped up, masking the Chief Administrator’s face completely.
“As you are the chief suspect in this investigation at the moment, we’ll have to confiscate all items and credit you have stored with us,” the Chief Administrator said. “Let’s see here, three high-valued items in the Vault: a soulsteel knife, a black power crystal, and a vial of Predecessor blood. Until you are able to prove your innocence, the program is found, or the investigation makes sufficient progress, you will be unable to withdraw these items.”
“What? That isn’t fair,” Alan said. The knife was his one weapon that might harm a Predecessor. This also meant he had no capital with which to short the stock market.
If you turn me in all those items will be forfeit anyway, Lambda sent. You did actually commit the crime.
“This is proper Administrator procedure,” the Chief Administrator said. “Unless you are willing to go through a full—“
“Never mind, continue,” Alan said.
“No more using my name to bypass lines or get free vault space. You need to pay the same as anyone else for storage. If you want perks, you need to earn them by building up your reputation with the Administrators like everyone else.” the Chief Administrator said.
“The trade goods aren’t mine,” Alan said.
“Well, if you have important information, we might be able to work something out to unfreeze your account and get you your items back.”
If the black crystal was powering the Abyss Labyrinth then it is a void crystal, Lambda sent. They’re mined there by the prisoners. It’d take a few million of those green crystals to fill the void crystal, hundreds of billions of credits. He’ll want to know about the Abyss Labyrinth.
Everything? Alan asked.
Chief Administrators can see what items you have stored in Administrator vaults, so he’s likely put the story together himself by now, Lambda sent.
Eve? Alan asked.
I concur, Eve sent. Begrudgingly.
Hey, look who’s learned a new word, Lambda sent.
Alan recounted what happened in the Abyss Labyrinth to the Chief Administrator.
“To free the beast or become its prey; quite the dilemma you have there,” the Chief Administrator said. “Well, it’s nice to have a horse in the running for once. I think that information is worth the Predecessor blood—you can withdraw it if you want, but only for personal use, no selling it on the Market. And, tell you what, I’ll give you five permanent spaces in the Vault for small to medium-sized items and let you continue to skip Administrative Center lines. Do what you will with the storage space. Rent it out, sell it, whatever.”
So you can keep the items for yourself again? I think not, Alan thought.
“Aren’t you concerned about the Abyss Labyrinth? The power running out, the inmates escaping?” Alan asked.
“Yes, but it’s one concern of many,” the Chief Administrator said. “And there are still thousands of years until system shutdown. You aren’t the only one aware of that particular quest. If you want to make a move, do so sooner rather than later.
“I see that you are currently embroiled in the so-called War for Earth. You worry about the future of your planet, your species, your government and way of life. My advice is, don’t be. Time passes. Things change. There are countless conflicts, countless problems with the universe and the Game. Yours is but one of many. At least the Predecessors had the right idea, if not a way to realize it. Aleph, a beautifully flawed dream, infinity manifest.”
“Wait, weren’t you the one that told me your goal is to balance the Game?” Alan asked.
“The balance is about to break,” the Chief Administrator said. “The status quo is only the status quo for so long; progress always seems to get in the way. The Administrators have tried stepping in during major conflicts, but we’ve learned it’s best to pick up the pieces that are left afterwards. Easier. Less costly. Then we try to maintain a fragile peac
e for as long as possible.
“Speaking of balance, I should discuss with you the unlocked Machine Lord abilities. The requirements are fifty platinum marks, level 500, and the successful completion of one gamma-ranked quest or greater. I will only grant you one.”
“Your options are as follows: Machine Overlord, which would allow you to command an additional AI; Machine Empath, which would greatly enhance your ability to communicate with machines and enhance your processing speed; Machine Commander, which would allow you to control one S-class drone or its combat equivalent; or Machine Champion, which would increase your base stats and allow you to train in a limited number of psionic-like abilities.”
“One S-class drone? That’s it?” Alan asked.
“The Administrators are in charge of balance, remember? Before the drone restriction that was all battles ever were—drones fighting drones. Drones controlling drones. Drones running drone factories. Don’t get me started on the Drone Wars. Never should have happened. Cloning is banned for the same reason.
“Now I could go on about balance implementations for days, but there’s more to life than arguing about things you can’t change. We’ll see who was right and who was wrong in the coming years. And I’d remind you that you can send me a message if you ever have information to share and want to earn your items back. Good luck.”
“Bye,” Alan said, as the Chief Administrator ended the connection.
How do you know him? Alan asked Lambda.
It’s all fuzzy, Lambda sent. I had a few memory wipes, and there are fragments. The story is on the tip of my tongue.
Well if you remember, let me know, Alan sent.
Yes, boss, Lambda sent.
Alan was led out by a guard to Thiago and Kitana.
“Who were you talking to?” Thiago asked.
“Class trainer,” Alan said. “And you’re going to need to pay the vault storage fee.”