“Uh-uh,” said Rith, not moving from Trendel’s lap. “If anyone is to be throwing my daggers at anything, I’ll do it, though I am missing two from the battle. —Besides, why not let Lyssa simply call a coney or two or six?”
“Lyssa’s not with us,” said Ky.
“Where—?” Rith struggled to a sitting position. “Oh, gods, she fell into the darkness ’neath the throne.”
“I’ll do a finding, love,” said Trendel, “but tomorrow, for I haven’t the energy now.”
Arik shared out the strips of cloth and then tended a cut high on Ky’s arm, one where a skelga or perhaps a drakka had managed to get past her defense as they had fought the DemonQueen’s minions. “I repeat: tonight we need to rest. As soon as you’re patched up, I’ll take first watch, for I am not bleeding.”
“How did you manage that?” asked Trendel, even as he bound a wound on Rith.
“Arik almost never gets even a scratch,” said Rith, wincing a bit at Trendel’s ministrations.
“Fortune favors him, eh?”
“It seems so,” said Ky, the worst single one of her wounds now taken care of. She looked at Arik. “I’ll deal with the rest of mine after we fix up Trendle’s cuts; the poor besotted fool will bleed to death caring for Rith if we don’t do something quickly.”
And so, amid the ruins of the Kalagar Gate atop the high barrow mound, Black Foxes bandaged one another and then slept, all but Arik, who sat in a state of quiet meditation, resting and recovering, but alert should danger draw nigh.
The light of the wheeling stars above was soon augmented by that of ponderous Orbis, large and half full and slowly rising in the east. Time passed, but before that moon had crawled more than a quarter way into the sky, small and swift Phemis broke the eastern horizon, to hurtle upward by comparison to her leisurely brother and overtake him and then race on ahead.
16
Courthouse
(Adkins)
As if in surprise, Melissa’s eyebrows raised. “Toni, do you truly believe that all three- and four-year-olds are sociopaths?”
Toni smiled. “Not really, but at times they do display sociopathic behavior.”
“In what way?”
“Your honor,” objected Mark Perry, “do we have to listen to a discourse in pathological symptoms?”
Judge Marshall said, “Make it short, Ms. French.”
“Yes, your honor.” Melissa turned to Toni. “Briefly, tell us what you mean by sociopathic behavior, and then relate that to Avery.”
Toni paused a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. “More accurately, a sociopath is someone with an ‘antisocial personality disorder,’ but for brevity, we’ll simply use the older terminology. —As to your question, there are so very many things that make up that kind of person . . . but to cut it to the quick—a sociopath is someone who is affected with a personality disorder marked by aggressive, antisocial behavior. Only that person’s own desires are meaningful to him, and the feelings and desires of others have no relevance whatsoever, except insofar as they help the sociopath achieve his own ends.” Toni smiled. “So you can see why I said that three- and four-year-olds evidence sociopathic behavior.”
Several on the panel and among the courtroom audience chuckled and nodded, and even Judge Marshall flickered a brief smile.
Toni then took a deep breath and continued: “As to Avery, after the lightning strike during the first Black Fox VR experiment, it seemed as if he were ignoring his basic programming and was out to “win” the game, no matter the intended or even the unintended consequences—such as murdering Arthur Coburn, and transforming Alice Maxon’s VR persona into that of a ghost, while at the same time nearly killing her as well. —Now, granted, we had a hand in it, in that we attempted to contact Avery, and that’s when he killed Arthur; and we also started to remove Alice from her rig, and that’s when he transformed Lyssa into a ghost while at the same time nearly killing Alice’s body. You see, we didn’t know then that with a person’s consciousness taken into Avery’s volatile memory, that removing the hemisynch helm from the body could be fatal.
“Regardless, Avery also broke some of his VR rules to achieve victory, to win the VR game, and in that as well as his previous acts he was ignoring the needs of others and seeking to gratify his own desires. Hence, he was displaying sociopathic behavior.”
“You say he broke some of his VR rules?” asked Melissa. “Please explain.”
“Well, to put into human terms, in the traditional sense a game master is supposed to play fair, even tip the chances in the player’s favor, or if not, then at least to craft neutral odds. Additionally, the game master should always make sure the players have acceptable options. Moreover, the game master shouldn’t spring any instant death traps—such as have an asteroid fall upon them, or hurl them into the sun, and so forth. In a virtual reality adventure the rules are the same: the players should always have acceptable options to overcome the challenges presented by Avery, and it’s up to Avery, as the game master, to make certain that—”
“Your honor,” protested Mark Perry, “do we have to listen to how a game should be played? We are here to determine the facts, and not to engage in idle speculation on hypothetical ways game masters should behave.”
Judge Marshall nodded. “I believe we’ve heard enough about fair gaming.”
As if he were on a roll, Mark continued, saying, “And, your honor, I also object to telling the long story of just what happened in VR. That’s not what this hearing is about. Instead it’s about whether or not the heirs have complete control of the AI slash VR zero one, and whether they can simply power it down and then back up. It is after all their most valuable asset.”
“No, your honor, that’s not what this hearing is about,” countered Melissa. “It instead concerns sentience and whether or not Arthur Coburn is dead. And to prove our contention, we must present the entire story to you, for it is evidence to weigh in making such a vital decision. —If Arthur is alive, then shutting Avery down just might kill him.”
“Oh, poppycock, your honor,” said Mark Perry. “Any sane person cannot—”
“Watch your language, counselor,” admonished Judge Marshall. He turned to Melissa and said, “You are right, Ms. French. This is a vital decision I must make, and though I have read the account of the previous Black Fox experiment, to make my decision I need to hear the entire tale from those who were there, not only of that first test, but of the second one as well. —You may proceed.”
Melissa smiled and turned to Toni. “Without going into a further detailing of ‘gaming,’ per se, I note that you opened your explanation about running a virtual reality adventure by saying, ‘To put it in human terms.’ It is my assumption that Avery is not human; is that correct?”
Toni frowned and said, “It all depends on how you define ‘human.’”
“Your honor,” said Mark Perry in exasperation, “everyone knows what a human is. Must we endure this twaddle as to what makes a person?”
Judge Marshall frowned and turned to Toni and asked, “Must we have a definition?”
Again, it was all Toni could do to keep herself from pumping a fist in victory. “In this hearing, your honor, we not only must do so, but it is vital to your decision.”
17
Five Months Before the Hearing
(Coburn Facility)
“Lyssa is not there,” said Toni, pointing at the main holo, where the Foxes rested atop the great barrow mound, all asleep but Arik, who sat in a lotus position, seemingly meditating.
“He’s broken another stricture,” said Greyson.
“What?” asked Toni.
“He’s broken another stricture. —Avery, I mean.”
“How so?” demanded Stein.
“He’s overruled free choice by arbitrarily dividing the group,” said Greyson.
Toni frowned. “Perhaps not, John. Recall, when last we saw the Foxes in the previous adventure, Lyssa had fallen upon the dais. Trendel spoke the wo
rds of power and demanded that the Dark God release the Black Foxes and return them to where they belong.”
“Ah, yes,” said Grace Willoby, turning to Alvin Johnson, the other medtech. “That’s when he restored their mental patterns to their bodies.”
“I remember,” said Alvin, nodding. “And we got them out of their rigs as fast as we could.”
“What does that have to do with the situation now?” asked Greyson.
“Just this,” said Toni. “Avery obeyed the command: he returned the Black Foxes to where they do belong . . . back to Itheria. And given that he has done so, it seems to me that Avery is simply continuing the previous adventure.”
“But Lyssa is not with them,” said Alya Ramanni, her dark eyes filled with concern.
“Recall, on the demonplane she fell into the abyss beneath the DemonQueen’s throne,” said Drew Meyer.
“Still,” said Toni, “Avery had to obey Trendel, hence he had to return her to Itheria.”
“Then where is she?” asked Alya, waving at the barrow mound in the main holo.
“I don’t know,” said Toni. “But I think she must be somewhere on Itheria.”
“Even so, that doesn’t alter the fact that Avery broke some of his basic rules,” said Greyson.
“Are you so certain of that, John?” challenged Stein.
“Yes, Henry, I am.”
“Bah,” scoffed Stein. “Avery did not break any of his rules. The Black Foxes won. Avery lost.”
“I beg to differ, Henry,” said Toni. “Avery did not ‘lose.’”
“What do you mean?”
“Avery’s purpose was and is to provide an exciting adventure. Winning and losing is not part of running a game; it’s to let the adventurers have fun.”
Greyson shook his head. “No, no, Toni. Killing Arthur was not ‘fun,’ and nearly killing Alice was not ‘fun’ either.”
Toni frowned. “But that’s only because we interfered, and the lightning strike—”
“Toni,” interrupted Greyson, “you are right in that the lightning strike damaged him, but I think that his programs, especially his ethical programs, were harmed. After all, I was the one who gave him his ethics in the first place. No, Toni, after that damage, he killed Arthur out of malice because we were trying to contact him, which, in Avery’s immaturity, he interpreted as us trying to interfere with his winning the game. And he tried to kill Alice under the same rationale. In that case, Henry is right, but for the wrong reasons. The Black Foxes did win, and Avery did lose. But it was only because of Trendel. If he hadn’t succeeded, the Dark God was going to kill them all.”
Stein gave a frustrated moan. “Was he, John? Was he really?”
“His intentions were obvious.”
“I think not,” said Stein. “After all, surely Avery realized that Timothy Rendell knew the key words that would force the Dark God to release them.”
“You mean Trendel,” said Drew Meyer.
“What?”
“You said Timothy Rendell knew the words, but in AI it was Trendel who knew them.”
“Feh! An insignificant difference.”
Drew snorted. “You know better than that, Henry. —Oh wait, in your own VR adventure, you were yourself . . . unable to yield up any part of your identity or to take on a new persona in the spirit of the event, if I recall.”
“So?”
“So, you don’t know what it means to entirely be someone else in a VR adventure. Hence, Timothy Rendell might have been himself when we first put the hemisynch helmet on him, but a moment afterward, he was Timothy no more, but Trendel instead.”
“Bah! Rendell or Trendel, he knew the superuser passwords,” said Stein. “And Avery would have known he knew.”
Drew frowned and said, “Perhaps Avery did realize that Trendel might know the passwords. I mean, Avery is smart, and why else would we have injected Trendel into an adventure meant just for the Black Foxes? Perhaps he deduced that Timothy would be drugged so that he wouldn’t fall completely into hemisych; recall, however, Avery flushed that drug out from Timothy’s body.”
“And he sucked in Timothy’s soul,” declared Greyson.
“You and your stupid souls,” sneered Stein.
Drew ran a hand across his balding head. “Souls or not, Henry, Avery did take their mentalities into himself, just as he has done this time.”
“I do not agree that he has actually taken the patterns into himself,” said Stein. “We only see what Avery wishes us to see. But, if he has indeed appropriated their mentalities, as John said during their first adventure, it’s to give these fools an even better interface with their virtual reality.”
“I did not call them fools,” objected Greyson. “Still, I believe Avery is breaking the rules, just as he did so in the past.”
“In what way?”
“He didn’t give the Black Foxes any options on the demonplane: the DemonQueen held them in her thrall, making them powerless, therefore they had no choices, no options.”
“They did indeed have options,” said Stein. “Lyssa was not among those bewitched, and she attacked the DemonQueen, thus breaking her bondage over the others, and they defeated her and her minions.”
“But we then saw that the Dark God was going to destroy them.”
“He had not gotten around to actually doing so,” countered Stein. “Perhaps he would have stayed his hand. In fact, given something Toni said—that Avery is simply continuing the previous adventure—surely Avery would not allow the Dark God to slay them, for the Black Foxes are yet in the same game, which means Avery had planned on them defeating both the DemonQueen and the Dark God.”
Greyson threw up a hand in protest. “Henry, you might have excuses for Avery, but he is a spoiled three-year-old without any ethics, any morals, and merely wants to win, and he’ll do anything to make it happen.”
“Not so,” snarled Stein. “He’s still bound by the rules, no matter what you might think.”
“Well answer me this,” demanded Greyson. “If Avery is playing by the rules, why isn’t he communicating with us?”
“Because he’s damaged, you irrational fool!” shouted Stein.
“Enough!” snapped Toni. “Being at loggerheads among ourselves gets us nowhere. Instead, let us concentrate on seeing whatever we might be able to do to aid the Black Foxes to find Arthur Coburn.”
“I’m afraid,” said Drew, “with their mental patterns now captured within Avery, there’s little we can—”
“Ah, look,” interrupted Alya. “Avery is ‘running the clock.’”
On the main theatrical holo, Phemis and Orbis both sped through the sky, the small moon quickly vanishing, while the greater one fled after. The stars themselves swiftly wheeled across the night and dawn began to appear, as Avery, running the adventure, accelerated time as he always did when nothing of interest would occur.
Moments later, time returned to normal, and in the morning light on Itheria the Black Foxes started down from the ruins of the Kalagar Gate, Arik and Trendel aiding Kane to walk, supporting the big man and urging him forward, though Kane himself seemed wholly unaware as he shuffled downslope between them.
“Dr. Stein,” said Grace Willoby, looking at her medtech console, “Alice Maxon’s temp has drifted down.”
“What?” Stein stepped to the console and then to Alice’s rig to confirm the reading. Alvin stood by with a tray of stims in hypos.
“It must have happened when Avery ran the clock,” said Grace.
Greyson moaned and said, “It means that on Itheria Lyssa’s ghostly energy is waning. Avery is going to kill her.”
18
Itheria
(Black Foxes)
“All right, Rith, see if you can bring down some game with those daggers of yours,” said Arik. “Me, I’ll start a fire.”
“Wait, Rith,” said Ky. “I have an idea. We’ll eat fowl, can we find any.”
“Birds?”
“Yes,” replied the syldari Shadowmas
ter. She glanced at Kane; he sat with his back to a tree, his eyes closed, the big man unresponsive to ought around him. “Trendel. Will you watch over him?”
“I’d do anything for something to eat,” replied the seer.
Rith laughed, and touched one of the daggers in the bandoliers crisscrossing her chest. “If Ky will find the fowl, I never miss.”
“Even on the wing?”
A look of doubt flickered across Rith’s dark features. “Well . . .”
“They won’t be on the wing,” said Ky, grinning.
Rith raised her eyebrows. “Oh, no? What do you have in mind?”
“I’ll tell you as we go,” said Ky, and she and the Bard ambled into the surrounding forest, and the last thing Trendel heard was Ky asking Rith if she had ever heard a wood grouse drumming for mates, and Rith saying “Aha!” and then laughing in response.
“I love that woman,” said Trendel.
Arik looked up from the small string-bow he was fashioning to start a fire.
“Rith, I mean,” added Trendel. “She is my heart.”
Arik nodded and sighed. “As Lyssa is mine.”
“When would you like me to do the casting?” asked Trendel.
Arik glanced at Kane, and then in the direction that Ky and Rith had gone. “Were it strictly up to me, immediately. But I think we can do nought until Kane awakens.”
Trendel said, “It all depends on how close Lyssa is, Arik. I mean, if she is somewhere nearby, perhaps we can go to her even before Kane wakens.”
Arik nodded. “All right. Then after Rith and Ky return.”
“And perhaps after we eat?” asked Trendel.
Arik laughed. “Yes, after we eat, assuming they are successful, and—”
There came a short spate of a drumming sound from the direction Ky and Rith had gone in the Kalagar Wood.
“What th—?” asked Trendel.
“I think it’s the sound a wood grouse makes with its wings to call a mate,” said Arik, now looking streamside for a flat rock.
Shadowprey: A Black Foxes Adventure Page 9