by Cosimo Yap
But when am I no longer me? All these upgrades, these installations, they go beyond simple strength increases—they influence my thoughts, the way my brain works, Alan sent.
You’re always you, Lambda sent. No matter how you feel, or think you should feel, you will always be you. You can always complain and say that it was the drugs, the Game, the implant, but you will always be you.
But it’s not my own free will—
Will? Who said anything about free will? The only truly free will that exists within the Game is that of the creator’s, and even then whether the choices were made freely is up for debate, Lambda sent. This isn’t about free will. This is about who you are, and what you can do. And I am telling you that all you ever will be or can be is yourself.
What? I don’t understand, Alan sent. You’ve told me yourself that the Game, the implant, are changing the chemical balance in my brain. That isn’t me.
Except it is you, because it’s already happened. You said it yourself, didn’t you? That you needed to evolve? Well, I would say you have advanced in the right direction. Optimism and self-confidence can be powerful tools when used correctly. They are inner strength to draw upon in moments of crisis, Lambda sent.
It just feels...fake. I can’t help but think this will backfire somehow, Alan sent.
Don’t worry, I’ve got it all planned out, Lambda sent. You can trust me.
Chapter 18
Aurora sat in a pool of blood and stared at the screen, checking over the calculations and making sure that everything was correct. The Helios’s main weapon was a massive laser cannon, and the ship would soon be in range to fire a single full-power beam. Aurora hoped they would attack as soon as possible. She needed them to.
Aurora had ordered the first few floors of the base evacuated, but not for the same reasons everyone else thought. There were details that no one else could be privy to. The next few moments would make or break everything. The Black Rose guild was Aurora’s family, her life, and she would do everything possible to make sure it came out of this ordeal intact.
The base had been storing up energy for years, gathered in the four towers that stood at the corners of the central keep. Each year her mother would use a fraction of that power to cow new recruits into submission. The casual use disguised the original intentions. It was a major wellspring of power, hundreds of thousands of points of energy—power that could not be used lightly.
Every night the psionic corps would store a fraction of their vitality in the towers, while Elissandra, and lately Aurora, would store their blood here, in this room. Her mother liked to call it the ritual room.
According to all official schematics, there was nothing here. But it was here that Elissandra, and now Aurora, could gather the most power. The first two floors underground had been evacuated so that all of the walls, the energy, the solid matter, could surround the space to protect and hide Aurora. Hide what she had to do.
She didn’t expect there to be any threats from within the guild, but it was always hard to tell with family. Love frequently came with hidden costs.
The bodies were there, in the corner of Aurora’s eye. She couldn’t bring herself to look at them. They had been willing sacrifices, trained by Elissandra for this very role: to serve as fuel. This was only a game, and the power gained would make it all worthwhile. But they were still dead, and might never wake again.
Aurora would need to harness all of the energy, gather and focus it into one point, one construct. It would be a feat even her mother, the mighty Elissandra, would have balked at. She needed to focus.
This was what Aurora had been raised for, the reason she focused on the element of ice. Years spent in frigid tundra and ice planet simulations would finally be made worthwhile. The shields covering the Black Rose guild base wouldn’t hold back the laser blast, but they would hide what was happening underneath.
Aurora took a deep breath, and then began.
Gas sprayed out from the four towers, covering the base with a fog that spread upwards. Aurora ignored the reddish tinge and froze the fog, creating a smooth, massive layer of ice above the keep, as cold and as thick as possible. Each layer of ice was created to exacting standards, angled perfectly based upon calculations that Helios would take the first available shot. The slab of ice was kept upright by four pillars that Aurora connected to the towers of the keep.
Energy tore through Aurora with abandon, too much for her to handle. But if she failed, the sacrifices would have been for nothing. She could not fail. Would not. Aurora stopped trying to draw energy from the blood essence that surrounded her and instead used it to direct the psionic energy in the four towers. Aurora blocked out everything else and focused on one thing: make it colder.
The air began to freeze, Aurora slipping in and out of consciousness as the temperature surrounding the base dropped.
Then the Helios was in range, and it fired. A ray of light slammed into the ice, somehow traveling through the atmosphere without igniting it. Three things happened.
First, the ice was vaporized. Part of the energy was absorbed, and it melted the ice. There was a limit to the amount of energy that could be stored. Aurora’s own ability was also insufficient—she thought that her mother would have done a better job.
Second, energy transmitted through the ice, turning the surface level of the base and surrounding islands into molten slag. The simulation dome, the keep, the hangar, the power generators, all were destroyed in an instant, wiped off the map. A portion of the laser’s power penetrated deep, into the center of the base. The surrounding sea evaporated, the once plummeting temperature suddenly skyrocketing in the other direction. The air itself in the wake of the laser seemed to be empty, a vacuum soon filled with flame.
Last, and most important of all, a large portion of the energy was reflected. The ice mirror had worked.
The Helios was caught unprepared. A massive, flaming hole appeared in the ship a moment after it attacked, almost cutting it in two. Not only had the Helios’s shielding been lowered so it could fire off the laser, but its heat sinks were already near capacity from firing the shot. Due to the speed of light there had been no way to dodge the attack. The capital ship was finished, dead in the water and set on fire.
Aurora gained 400 levels for that singular act, and then collapsed.
***
Alan noticed a sudden shift in temperature, followed by a loud rumble as something happened above. A tremor ran through the ground and Alan looked around in fear, but he was safe. He was surrounded by traps and a thousand guild members.
A few notifications popped up about the surface-level sensors, defenses, power generators, and communication towers being unavailable. They were now limited to planetside messaging. The Black Rose guild couldn’t contact Thrag even if they wanted to, and with their sensors down they had no idea what was happening in the space above. It also meant Alan could no longer contact Pharaoh, the Ultihaxlard who had first brought Alan to Khersath, and with whom he had discussed potentially turning traitor. His last message only suggested he might turn traitor—no definite plan had been hashed out yet.
Sidestep stood up. “I need to go. Aurora is in danger.”
“How do you know? What happened?” Alan asked.
“Class ability, don’t follow, you’ll be too slow,” Sidestep said, teleporting over to the door.
Alan opened a voice channel with Sidestep. “What is your class? The guild database has you down as some sort of bodyguard, but you told me that the last thing Aurora needs is a bodyguard.”
“Well, you see, Alan, I’m sort of a bodyguard,” Sidestep replied. “I’ll let you know what I find when I reach the surface.”
I checked the Extinction Event leaderboards; Aurora is now in the top 1,000 universal players. To reach that threshold she’d have needed to take out the capital ship, Lambda sent.
Well, it’s still early in the event—I can catch up. And if she did somehow destroy the Helios we might have an actual cha
nce at defending this base, Alan sent.
Aurora didn’t respond to any of Alan’s communication attempts. A few squad commanders messaged Alan, asking about the chain of command and what was happening. Alan ignored them, unsure what to do. He was just as confused as everyone else.
“I’ve reached the surface and it’s fucking hot up here, my armor is barely holding up,” Sidestep said a few seconds later. “No sign of Aurora, though I can detect she’s still alive. Damn it. Looks like something wiped out the Helios, but the other ships made it and waves of enemies are still on their way. It’s hard to tell, but it looks like two of the larger ships are ferrying survivors off of the capital ship. We'll have a bunch more company after the first wave.”
Sidestep connected to the general communications channel that reached all Black Rose guild members. “Ready up, we’ve got incoming! Defend this base and do your job. The Helios has been destroyed by Aurora, and she put me and Alan in charge. Direct any immediate concerns to Alan for now.”
Sidestep switched back to the direct channel with Alan. “Now don’t fuck this up. I’ve never been much of a tactician, so you had better come through for me on this one. I’ll try to find and recover Aurora, wherever she is. Don’t lose the base in the meantime.”
“I’ll do my best,” Alan said as a wave of messages appeared before him:
You have been granted partial control of the Black Rose guild base. You are now able to configure the base and view a more detailed layout, as well as control base defenses to a greater degree.
You have been granted the position of raid sub-leader, Knight-Commander (temporary). Your group currently possesses 1 General, 2 Knight-Commanders, 20 Knights, 245 Lieutenants, and 739 Recruits. 1007 total members in the raid group.
The majority of Black Rose guild rooms, equipment, and items have been unlocked for your use. Access codes uploaded.
Black Rose guild reputation increased to Trusted.
Alan checked in with all the Knights in the base, and then had them send in a report on their subordinates. The Knights had an average level of around 2250, the Lieutenants 1750, and the Recruits 1400. However, only 30% of the raid had actual combat classes, the rest being staff that usually filled other roles. The guild members, for the most part, had a combat ranking of B or C, while Alan had one of A. Lambda listed Sidestep as a B+ and Aurora as a question mark. Sidestep also held the rank of Knight-Commander, while Aurora was the only General in the group.
The psionic corps was missing, and no one had any clue where they were or what they had been doing. Everyone else seemed to be fine, if a little rattled. Alan had them hold position for now; the Knights were spread out four to a floor on the upper floors, with a single Knight on the bottom four floors. The rest of the raid was similarly distributed.
Our first priority should be information, Lambda sent. We need sensors repaired or new ones set up, maybe even scouts on the surface. Turtling up will only get us so far. We need to hit fast and hard whenever we can. Remember my lessons—whoever gets the first shot lined up will win most confrontations.
Alan agreed with Lambda, so he sent out a wave of twenty-five scouts and began restructuring the base’s defense so that it was more heavily concentrated on what had once been the third floor, but was now effectively the top floor of the base.
There didn’t seem to be a reason for Alan to stay in this empty chamber underground; he could maintain a solid connection to the guild’s Cyberspace and base defenses with his Machine Lord implant from anywhere within the base, even the surface. His bionic eye implants would also help him serve as a scout. Plus, Alan could finally get out of the throne room and see some action himself.
A message stopped Alan as he was about to leave the room.
“A Predecessor has been spotted in the Abyss Labyrinth,” a Lieutenant said.
An image was forwarded to Alan, sent from a camera that had been set up. It was suspected the upper echelon of the Black Rose would emerge from the Abyss Labyrinth, below the guild base. Instead, Alan saw a picture of a familiar face. Seeker.
The last time I saw Seeker was in the Academy. What is it doing here? Alan thought.
Seeker was stopped by a handful of recruits that had been positioned as a token force. The underground tunnels of the Abyss Labyrinth led up into the Black Rose guild base, after all, but it was miles underground.
Alan listened in to their conversation through a communications channel.
“Halt, what is it that you want?” the recruit asked.
“I want answers and the truth. Today I seek vengeance on behalf of another, but I’m also searching for a missing AI,” Seeker said. “I’ve come for the player known as Alan.”
Well, this complicates matters, Lambda sent.
Why would Seeker come all this way for me? I had nothing to do with it after the Academy, Alan sent.
Remember that there’s a hundred-platinum-mark and reputation bonus with the Administrators if I’m captured and returned, Lambda sent. It sounds like the Lord of the Abyss is pissed and put a reward on your head, too. The Lord of the Abyss is now trapped in the Abyss Labyrinth for many eons because of our decisions. You failed a quest, and that always means consequences.
Alan prepared to order the recruit to ask another question, but there was suddenly a blur of motion as Seeker stepped forward and crushed the recruit’s head. Before the rest of the squad could react, they were wiped out, each blow from the Predecessor punching through power armor like it was paper.
Alan had barely processed what had happened when Seeker began to sprint away from the camera. It was headed for the Black Rose base. Alan did a quick calculation and found that Seeker would be there in less than ten minutes.
That wasn’t very diplomatic, Lambda sent. Looks like it’s time to bring out the big guns ahead of time. I was hoping to have a grand unveiling, a nice delicate reveal with tasteful lighting, but…
Out with it, Alan said.
Greetings, Alan, a voice in Alan’s head said. It sounded almost like Eve. Alan froze.
Right, so the new AI, they’re able to copy the essential functions of another AI that I’ve gathered sufficient data on, Lambda sent. It takes time for them to compile a new personality or set of abilities, and right now the only AI I had enough dirt on was Eve. I’ve decided to call our new friend Doppel.
Alan had a thousand questions pop up in his head, but he didn’t have time to ask them. Instead Alan tested out this new AI. What had once been a blank slate had been replaced by architecture and a presence that was disturbingly similar to Eve. But they seemed shallow. Doppel had no insight, no desire. They were a tool—nothing more.
Something’s off, Alan sent.
You can’t expect an incomplete copy to be as good as the original, Lambda sent. If I had been able to get a full scan of Eve I’m confident that Doppel could work at 90% efficiency.
They’re operating at barely 30% the speed of Eve, Alan sent.
I apologize. I will strive to optimize calculations in the future, Doppel sent.
Anyways, the kinks will be worked out later. Remember, Seeker is now charging at us in addition to the Haxlard dropships, Lambda sent. The reason I bring Doppel up now is for the real test. Try activating hypercognition.
Alan reached out at this new presence, this Doppel. They felt familiar enough that it wasn’t too difficult to activate hypercognition, his thoughts immersing themselves in the AI’s calculations. Only, once it was activated his perception of time didn’t seem to have slowed down much. Alan was perceiving things four times faster than normal—a far cry from what Eve had been capable of.
Lambda let out a sigh of relief. Good, your head didn’t explode.
Wait, was that a possibility? Alan asked.
Cascading errors in the Machine Lord implant not properly detected by the Game had a 0.03% chance of—
That’s okay, Doppel, no need to go into the details, Lambda sent. We can worry about this later, but you’ll need all the tools availa
ble to deal with what’s coming next. With the upgraded Machine Lord implant the computational energy costs of most abilities have been greatly reduced. Doppel’s weakened hypercognition can be activated for up to an hour before you start noticing strain.
Right, I have a Predecessor to contend with, Alan thought. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out his options, gathering all available data. Details on Seeker and its battles from the Academy were uploaded to Alan’s Machine Lord implant through the Black Rose network. Information from the scouts on the surface watching the Haxlard dropships began to come in too.
Numbers raced through Alan’s head as he calculated probabilities with Doppel’s help. It was different than working with Eve. This time, Alan was in charge. He was the one running the simulations, figuring out the path.
Everything started from a single point, the here and now. From there, the line of time branched and expanded, each choice and outcome expanding into an infinite expansion of possibility. A single golden line mattered most of all. Reality.
The sum of all the options made no difference if Alan could not guide the line forward to the point that he wanted. But how? There were too many unseen possibilities, rolls of the dice that could end poorly.
Branches split into unending pathways. Alan refined his search, pruning paths that made no sense.
The obvious answer was to have the Haxlards and Seeker fight each other, but within the short time frame there was no clear way to accomplish this. Alan could surrender to the Haxlards and have Seeker go through them to get to him, but Alan died most of the time in that scenario.
Alan could try to have a squad acquire and don Haxlard power armor to fight Seeker and bait it into a battle with the Haxlard forces, but if Seeker’s main objective was finding Alan it could react in any number of ways. Too many coin flips had to go his way, and Alan no longer relied solely on luck.