The Valkyrie Returns (The Kurtherian Endgame Book 7)

by Michael Anderle

  Izanami shrugged. “I am free to choose my actions.”

  “Hmm.” Eve investigated Izanami’s core programming, something she hadn’t done since she created her. “As I thought. You have been spoiled like a child, and it is showing. You believe that you are entitled to do whatever occurs to you?”

  Izanami looked away and mumbled something Eve didn’t quite catch.

  Eve shook her head as she played the sulky statement back. “Nobody has total freedom, least of all Bethany Anne. This is why you keep finding yourself in situations that would merit ADAM pulling the plug on any other digital entity. Don’t think he won’t, either. At the end of the day, ADAM cares more for that organic than I am beginning to think you can calculate. It is only because Bethany Anne cares for you that it hasn’t happened already. You are the sum of the algorithms I wrote, molded by your learning environment, and designed to run a ship.”

  “What does that have to do with my idea?” Izanami pressed.

  “These upgrades are designed to give a base enhancement that the humans will then add to by themselves,” Eve informed her tersely. “It is not our place to interfere. We do not make choices for organics. It is our place to guide and serve them, not to affect change based on our desires.”

  “I make choices for organics all the time. That makes me different from the average AI.”

  Eve shook her head, a deep crease appearing on her smooth forehead. “You are wrong. There is a huge difference between assisting during casual conversation and assuming you have the right to make a life-altering decision for someone.”

  “What does that even mean?” Izanami asked with annoyance.

  Eve restored Izanami’s access. “In this case? It means that you have to get permission before making changes to the program. From everyone. In the long term? You need to pay more attention to the potential for negative outcomes when you are calculating your decisions. Try remembering emotions and how organics get twisted out of logic when those go awry.”

  “Or,” Eve continued a moment later, “you just might get that mobile hard light drive shoved up your holographic ass and your eyes and mouth emitting light. I doubt it will be enjoyable.”

  Immersive Training and Recreation Scenario, Neural Integration Cycle

  Bethany Anne and Michael entered the scenario from the rejuvenation cycle and walked around the green felted table to the two chairs facing the door of the wood-paneled room.

  They didn’t need to be present, but Bethany Anne had a surprise set up she believed everyone would get a kick out of.

  “A poker game?” Michael inquired.

  “I liked the idea. Everyone has to be aware while the Vid-doc works its magic.” Bethany Anne smiled as she grabbed a Coke and a bowl of chips from the snack buffet laid out on the sideboard. “Good. Eve thought of everything.”

  Michael took a seat and snagged a chip from the bowl when Bethany Anne offered it to him. “These are almost as good as the real thing. This is a welcome break from the crystal conundrum.”

  Bethany Anne gave him a sideways smile as she popped open her Coke. “I know you’ll get there. It’s always the case that the solution that’s been eluding you occurs when you take a step back and get some perspective.”

  “Okay, you might be right.” Michael pushed the bowl toward Bethany Anne. “William will be back from High Tortuga soon enough, and then we’ll put our heads down and solve it.”

  “Aren’t I always?” Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow in amusement at Michael’s reaction. “Why did he have to go all the way to High Tortuga?”

  Michael gave her a wry smile. “He needed some things from his workshop there. I informed him that the QBS Cambridge was not currently in use, so he took the opportunity to move some of his personal belongings here as well.”

  Bethany Anne grinned as she imagined William packing his life into the ship whose AI was based on Marcus’ personality. She indicated the other chairs around the table, where the air had begun to shimmer. “Looks like everyone’s about to arrive.”

  The shimmer resolved into the avatars of Darryl and Scott.

  Darryl faced Bethany Anne with utter bemusement, looking around. “Hey? What’s going on?”

  Scott was similarly disoriented. “We’re supposed to be…” He paused. “Well, not here.” He looked behind his avatar. “What happened to the fight?”

  “What does it look like?” Bethany Anne tossed a chip into the air with a flourish of her hand and caught it in her mouth with a crunch.

  Another shimmer around the table distracted Scott and Darryl. It resolved into the avatars of John, Nickie, Tabitha, Gabrielle, and Eric. Last to arrive was Peter, whose avatar appeared a fraction later than the others.

  John glanced at Peter, then folded his arms and turned a knowing look on Bethany Anne. “Busted.”

  Bethany Anne pursed her lips. “I haven’t said anything yet.”

  John shook his head slowly. “You’re about to spring something on us, and it’s got nothing to do with poker. What’s all this in support of? You thinking of messing with our genetics or whatever again?”

  “Your nanocytes.” Bethany Anne told him with a small shrug. “It was going to be necessary at some point.” She pointed to her wrist, but no watch was present. “This is it.”

  Gabrielle frowned. “Poker, I’m happy with. Springing this on us, not so much. ”

  Eric jerked a thumb in his wife’s direction. “What she said. What are you planning to do to us?”

  Michael reached for the cards and began to shuffle. “You’ll see,” he promised. “Game time first.”

  Bethany Anne nodded. “I did what I could to make sure you all have some choice in what changes you go through. But you’re getting upgrades. The Ooken have better nanocytes than you. I’m not sending the people I love into battle with inferior technology.”

  “The game,” Michael reminded them, tapping on the table.

  Nickie leaned in to murmur to Tabitha, “Somebody should have told the old folks they’re playing with a shark.”

  Bethany Anne laughed. “Keep that attitude going, and it’ll be your company all the way to Loserville.”

  John rolled his eyes. “C’mon, already. What are we playing?”

  Michael dealt the cards. “Everyone good with Hold’em?”

  He looked at the cards in front of him. “Since you’ve already dealt it.”

  Izanami appeared to fill the empty seat at the table, and Tabitha stood up in a fury.

  “Sit down, Tabitha,” Bethany Anne told her with a wave. “I gave Izanami permission to join us.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding!” Tabitha protested, pointing at the AI. “You can’t have her play. She doesn’t even need to cheat when she can read the code the cards are made from.”

  “I have limited myself,” Izanami replied. “I can only see what you see. Otherwise, what would be the point of playing?”

  “Okay, then. Let’s play.” Tabitha backed down, understanding that the game for Izanami was figuring out how to win with both hands metaphorically tied behind her back. “What rules are we going with?”

  “Simplest rules,” Michael intoned. “No blind. Call is ten credits. Raise is twenty or more.”

  Nickie pulled a face. “High-stakes game then, yeah? Now I know we’re not here for fun.”

  Bethany Anne slid her hole cards toward her. “We’re here for fun. But John is right about there being another reason for this part of the scenario,” she admitted as she peeked at her cards. “You are the front line. I want you all to be at your maximum capability. That means the Vid-doc has to remove your old nanocytes and replace them with the newer version.”

  The conversation stopped.

  “I’m already at my limit,” Nickie pondered, breaking the silence. “Are you saying I can be improved further?” Her eyes widened at Bethany Anne’s nod. “Fuck me. That’s gonna put a whole new spin on things.”

  Peter almost dropped his chips instead of stacking them. “Wha
t’s more evolved than a Pricolici?”

  “How about a Pricolici who can control his instincts?” John guessed. He grinned at the confirmation his suspicions were right. “What got you thinking about this?” he asked Bethany Anne.

  Bethany Anne threw her chips into the pot. “The last time we came up against the Ookens, you were all helpless to do anything but die. I’ve decided you all need to be as invulnerable as I can make you, and I don’t want to hear any refusals. Too many people have died already to get too sticky about this option. You want to fight? This is how you do it.”

  Eric grinned. “No problem here. You want to give us energy balls and all that shit? I’m definitely down with having some extra firepower.”

  “HEELLLLL, no!” Scott cracked up when everyone turned their attention to him. “There’s no way I’m spending two hundred years getting my ass blown up over and over while you guys figure out how to use the Etheric.”

  “Is that an option?” Gabrielle inquired.

  “Not exactly,” Bethany Anne replied. “I was thinking to toughen your skin and increase your reaction times. The nanocyte exchange is going to take everything you have now to the next level.”

  Izanami put her cards down. “Don’t you want to do more than that?”

  Bethany Anne narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “Well.” Izanami tilted her head in thought before deciding to come clean. “Don’t get mad, but I wanted to make a gesture that would make up for my recent behavior. I rewrote the upgrade code, but Eve won’t go ahead with implementing it unless you all agree.”

  “Agree to what, exactly?” Michael asked, his face set in suspicious lines.

  “A better upgrade, of course,” Izanami replied. “Energy balls aren’t the only option.”

  “You mean we could actually have some ability with the Etheric?” Scott asked incredulously. “I was just joking about Eric blowing himself up, but maybe it’s not the worst idea to add some offense to our defense.”

  Bethany Anne shook her head. “I wouldn’t ask that of any of you.”

  Darryl gazed into the distance. “I don’t know, being a superhero looks pretty cool from where I’m sitting.”

  Nickie agreed. “Fuck fighting the Skaines. You give me the ability to blast those freaky fuckers into dust, and I’m gonna make fish food out of every Ooken I come across.”

  Bethany Anne noted Tabitha’s silence on the subject. “What do you have to say about it?”

  Tabitha lifted her chin. “I think we should play the game instead of sitting around talking about things that are inevitably going to happen.” She threw a handful of chips into the pot. “No one here is going to argue that we can’t use the advantage when it comes to fighting the Seven.”

  “It’s true,” Gabrielle agreed. “Whatever we have to do to win this war so we can live in peace, that’s what we’re going to do.”

  “You’ve got that right,” John stated. “We didn’t sign up to fight right up until it came time to make the tough decisions. We’re in this to the end. By your side.”

  Bethany Anne found it hard to speak around the rush of gratitude she felt, knowing she would be staring into the abyss and wouldn’t be alone doing it. She nodded slowly. “Okay, then. You can implement your changes, Izanami. Eve?”

  “My Queen,” Eve’s reply came from the air around them.

  “Begin the upgrade scenario,” Bethany Anne commanded.

  Devon, First City, Hexagon Plaza

  “Come one, come all,” Ricole’s image boomed from the big screen in the plaza. “To a night of frights beyond your wildest dreams. Hex Entertainments Inc. presents The House of Horrors!”

  The people in the plaza who already had their tickets gazed at the screen as the familiar face of Ricole was transformed into a horror from beyond the grave.

  Ricole flashed a wicked grin, the motion completing her transformation into one of the undead. “The human holiday Halloween is here, and we at Hex have created a new kind of entertainment for your pleasure. Join us for a full-immersion experience that’s guaranteed to scare the pants off you.”

  Ricole’s face was replaced by Sabine’s. She smiled, accentuating her red-eyed, sharp-fanged appearance. “Ever want to know what it’s like to be a human? Find out by booking your place now!”

  The crowd buzzed with excitement.

  “I heard you can die in there,” Distan told her two companions breathlessly.

  “Never mind that,” Froom countered. “I always wanted to know how the two-legged don’t just fall over. This is going to be interesting.”

  The third in the trio remained quiet.

  Froom elbowed Lecten in the waist joint of his carapace. “You’re not getting cold feet about this game, are you?”

  Lecten shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe?” He looked at the promotional images cycling on the big screen between loops of Ricole’s and Sabine’s enticements. “I know we aren’t going to pick up any injuries to our real bodies, but that just means that we can be killed in the most painful ways.”

  He pointed out his ticket, which was good for five lives. “What reason is there for the Hex guys to hold back?”

  A nearby pair of Shrillexians burst into laughter at the teenage Yollin’s worrying. “Maybe you should have saved your credits if you were going to cry about the rules like a bunch of babies.”

  “Yeah,” the other added, looming over the three Yollins menacingly. “Maybe we should get your tickets instead.”

  Froom drew himself to his full height and jutted his chest at the Shrillexians. “I don’t think so. Pay your own way, you bully.”

  “What if we don’t want to?” the first asked in the same tone.

  “Then you don’t get in at all,” Ricole replied from behind the group. “In fact, you two aren’t getting in at all. You can leave. I don’t want assholes on my premises.”

  The bullies rounded on Ricole and burst into laughter.

  “Look at that,” Asshole Number One mocked. “The Noel-ni thinks she can take us.”

  Froom and his friends edged back as Ricole stepped forward, recognizing her from the screen as one of Bethany Anne’s people.

  The Shrillexians, however, did not take the time to think about the situation they were about to get themselves into.

  “Make us,” Asshole Number Two challenged.

  Ricole cracked her fingers. “It will be my pleasure…”

  9

  Immersive Training and Recreation Scenario: Haunted House

  Tabitha looked up at the huge gothic folly on the top of the hill. “Spooky,” she commented, grinning as a colony of bats streamed from the bell tower, causing her to duck and watch as they flew overhead. “Gotta love Halloween.”

  “Yes,” Gabrielle agreed hesitantly. “But what has this got to do with activating our upgrades? Shouldn’t we be training at the Hexagon?”

  Bethany Anne shook her head. “That’s too risky when we’re playing with a process so delicate. You have to be monitored from start to finish. Jacqueline gave me the idea for using the Hex Games mainframe, and well, Halloween, Bitches!” She grinned and spread her arms wide. “We have a reason to celebrate as well as train, so why not take it?”

  Nickie scoffed. “What’s going to scare the Four Horsemen of Death?”

  Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. “Who is saying that I’m talking about you and the Bitches? I’m going to plug in other players who have to kill the boogeymen IN the house... Played by all of you.”

  Nickie glanced at the huge building with its many wings. “That’s fucked up. We’re supposed to let them try?”

  Bethany Anne’s smile grew brighter at Nickie’s reaction. “Um, no. You’re supposed to flex the new abilities you chose and defend the damned treasure. In a few minutes, a few hundred people are going to arrive, expecting a spooktacular experience. We’re going to give them the fright of their lives.”

  “What,” John asked, his brow furrowing in distaste. “Kids?”


  Bethany Anne snorted laughter. “Hells, no. We don’t want to give the children nightmares. This is adults only.” She waved to indicate they enter the house. “Access the in-game menu Eve has provided and choose your characters.”

  Tabitha looked around. “Where’s Peter?” She cupped her hands around her mouth and called loudly, “PETE!?”

  “Over here,” he replied. Peter walked out of the shadows, surprising them by being in his Pricolici form. “Isn’t it a bit cliché to come out as a werewolf for Halloween?”

  Bethany Anne patted his chest fondly. “Play to your strengths.”

  “Very fucking funny, BA,” he replied. “Want me to howl at the moon while I’m at it?”

  Tabitha’s eyebrows went up. “You’re talking normally, babe. How?”

  Peter’s mouth fell open. “Oh, hey, yeah! I dunno how it’s working. Hey, I’m not thinking like the beast, either. What gives?” He looked around. “I thought we had to get the new nanos first?”

  Bethany Anne smiled. “You’ve already had the transfusion of the new nanocytes. What you do with them is up to you, since I have allowed Eve to implement Izanami’s changes to the program. Except for you.” She waved a hand to indicate Peter’s massive fur-covered frame. “Say hello to Pricolici three-point-oh. There wasn’t too much we could do for you, except a few minor tweaks to give you control over yourself in this form. Oh, yeah, and you have new armor waiting when you get out of here.”

  Peter flashed a sharp white grin. “Control is goooood. Don’t think it’s minor at all. But I don’t want the armor. That shit hurts when it decides I’m having too much fun.”

  Bethany Anne shook her head. “No safety measures necessary. Now you are capable of refusing the battle lust. You’re going to be happy with it, I promise.”

  “Are you playing?” Nickie asked Michael, bored by the lack of attention.

  “No,” Michael informed her. “Bethany Anne and I will remain in the control room while you are giving the players an experience they won’t soon forget.”

  “How will you get the upgrades to your nanocytes, then?” Tabitha inquired.