by V R Tapscott
She seemed to run down at this point and sat staring at the wall.
Hesitantly I spoke up, “So, does that mean that we’re dealing with another Kit, but one that’s been unhinged by time and circumstance?”
“I don’t know. Kit was able to program his tube to wake him only when an intelligence was near. His records don’t state that there were any other awakenings in 140 million years, until you stumbled on his tube. Considering how little the possibility is that an intelligence would come across him on the moon, and also considering that Kit had to program this feature into his tube, it’s likely the AI imprisoned on the moon was there, awake.”
She frowned. “Although, you would have to consider also that Kit’s power was almost gone when you found him. Possibly our rogue AI had programmed a like-wakeup sequence that only took effect when a power source was near enough to extract the energy from. I think it’s more likely, though, that the rogue went the direction of extracting enough energy from its surroundings to keep minimally charged throughout rather than planning on waking when intelligence was near. Gaining your suit’s energy was just icing on the cake. Right now, though, it’s all speculation beyond that I think it’s the most valid possibility - that we are dealing with one of the rogue AI’s from the ship.”
“What does that mean for us, Olive?”
She looked at me, almost wary. “It means that we have a rogue intellect of almost Kit’s capability with absolutely no empathy or any program beyond its own survival. That probably means it will lie low and build power until it has enough strength to attempt to take me over. It can’t wait too long, though, since it has to know I’ll be building defenses. And I suppose it could also simply head out toward Pluto, but I think that’s extremely unlikely. No, I think it will come here. And fairly soon.”
“Soon?”
“A month at the outside.”
I nodded. “Well, best you start working hard at defense, making things stronger and increasing your power.” I had to shake my head in disbelief at what I was saying, but, “I, Jane Bond, hereby authorize you to take whatever measures you deem necessary to keep this installation safe.” After the obligatory recognition sequences from the Command Module, Dale and I got up. Olive came over and I gave her a careful hug. It was a strange sensation as I could tell she was firming up parts of her body to receive and return the hug, but parts of her body stayed amorphous. I kissed her forehead, then Dale and I went back upstairs where he got several kisses and hugs as well.
Chapter Three
Paint the town CoW
With all the extra time on my hands, I spent a lot of my days logged into Crafts of War playing my mage, running around doing the things I couldn’t in real life.
One day, a few days after having been introduced to Olive’s new room, I decided to take out the black horse. I hadn’t had it long, I’d picked it up in Menisthil Cove a few months ago, but never had a chance to take a nice long ride. Today seemed like a good day for it. I left the Northshore Abbey, figuring I’d find someone interesting to talk with at some point.
I made a couple circuits of the area, taking down a few bandits if they bothered me, but mostly leaving them in place for the people just starting out, doing their training here. And then I saw him.
He was armored like a mage, but he was behaving very oddly. He would run up to a kobold and start hitting it with his staff. He didn’t seem to be using any spells at all, and he’d get beat up pretty badly every time he did this unorthodox method of fighting. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore and I rode over near him and hopped off my horse.
He noticed me, and the next time he was resting between bouts, he gave me a friendly wave. I waved back and sauntered over to talk with him.
“How’s it going today?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. I’m not having much fun and I’m not doing very well, I don’t think. It’s really hard and I don’t seem to be getting much better.”
I frowned. “You are a mage, right?”
“Uh huh.”
“Why aren’t you using any mage spells?”
“Spells?”
“Um. Yeah. Like frostbolt, or firebolt?”
He looked confused. “I’m not sure. What do I use them for?”
“Well, for starters, if you stand as far away as possible and hit the enemy with a frostbolt, it will freeze it and slow it, and you’ll have time to try to kill it before it even gets to you. Trust me, if you try using that staff in the Forest surrounding us, you’ll be in a world of hurt.”
He groused, “I already am. And I can’t afford healing potions, so I have to wait a long time between battles.”
“Aye. Well, let’s get you lined out on spells, first.”
I spent several minutes talking with this person about how to order his toolbar and the like. After a bit, he seemed to have a better grasp on how it all worked so I smiled encouragingly and said, “Ok, now, let’s try that frostbolt. Remember to cast the frostbolt and then cast it again as soon as it’s done the first time. You try to cast it as often as possible until the enemy is dead. Or you are.”
My new friend, with the odd name of Pimento, cast frostbolt several times and managed to take out the lead kobold creature before it was even near.
He was over the moon, more or less. “Wow, that’s great! Not a scratch on me!”
He immediately started casting frostbolt again. I had told him to wait between times, but figured this was a good reminder. Sure enough, after the first frostbolt, he stopped casting.
“Oh no, I’m out of mana! What do I do?”
I laughed. “I guess you use the staff. At least you’re pretty good at that, by now.”
He didn’t look very amused, but dispatched the kobold with little or no injury.
“You have to watch your health and your mana pretty close. You’ll get a feel for it after you’ve been casting spells for a while and it will feel natural to know when to stop and have a drink.”
He sat and took a big draft of water. “I see. Well, I guess that’s something to pay attention to.”
“Uh huh.”
I sat down facing him and said, “So, what do you do?”
He sounded a little evasive when he said, “Um, what do you do?”
I laughed. “I could say I asked you first, but I won’t. I run around saving the world. Or just people in distress. I do errands and kill bad guys. I’m pretty versatile.”
I could tell he relaxed a little. “Oh, you mean here in the game. I … I don’t know yet. I guess I’ll just play it by ear.”
“How about we take a ride? Would you like to see the whole area from the air?”
He nodded rapidly, “Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. How can we? Can we climb that high?”
“Well, you can climb that high in some places, but not around here. I was talking about getting on my flying mount and taking in an aerial view. Sound ok?”
“Oh, yeah, sounds great!”
I brought up my two-seat flying rocket, figuring he’d get the most entertainment out of it. “Ok, now hop on!”
He looked a little nervous, but jumped on the back seat and we took off. Flying around the area is one of my favorite things to do, just looking down on all creation. I pointed out the big city and its towers and walls, and how small everything looks from up here. He was having a ball, so I opted for something different and landed.
“Look, LaGrande is a great place to fly. Would you like to take a look at it?”
“What’s LaGrande?”
“It’s an area of the world that has some truly amazing and interesting areas to fly in.”
He shrugged. “Ok, I guess. If you have time.”
I smiled. “Right now, I have nothing but time.”
He nodded. “Oh, retired or something?”
“No, I got hurt and I’m convalescing. Right now I’m lying in bed, jacked up on pain medication.”
He looked concerned. “Oh, that’s too bad. What happened?”
&nb
sp; “Oh, just an accident. Another couple weeks and I should be fine. So, flying?”
He seemed to be inclined to ask more, but then just said, “Ok, flying is good.”
So, I made a portal that took us to the area of LaGrande and showed him around the place. We wound up taking a couple more portals and looking at a lot of the world. I had a bunch of fun, but finally it got time to leave.
I said, “Hey, it was nice meeting you, but I have some things to do. I’ll take your name and maybe we’ll meet again sometime?”
He nodded and said, “I really appreciate the help and tour of all the sights. I had a lot of fun.”
And then he looked at me sideways and said, “Thanks, Jane. I love you.”
And he logged out. But the thing is, no one on CoW knows my real name. I bet it was Olive. In fact, considering his name is Pimento, I bet it IS Olive. I’ll track her down and see. Anyhow, I hope she had as much fun as I did. If it was her, that is.
Chapter Four
Homecoming
Over the next week, every day I got better. I graduated to more solid foods, which was a welcome relief from “Apples and Fruit!” for sure. I’d had some pancakes, but they didn’t seem to agree with me that much, so out of self-defense I decided I’d better follow doctor’s orders a little better. I spent a lot of time sitting either in my nook in the kitchen, or on the couch in the living `room. It was such a literal and figurative pain to get someone to help me wherever I went that I simply stayed there.
Dale went back to Montana, both of us figuring with Mother, Bailey, Olive and Georgia here to watch over me, he was probably ok taking off. Bailey had confiscated the second room, and mother the third one.
Mother had gone out, shopped for and bought her own furniture to put in the room. It surprised me that she’d do that. Of course, it also meant she could impress her own personality on it. I was quite amazed at how whimsical her room was, entirely at odds with how I saw her. It was full of light hearted colors, and made you half expect to find fairies hiding behind the bed. It moved me back around again to thinking that there was more to her than I had considered, and pushed me toward that talk I was dreading.
She was also spending a lot of time with me. Often Bailey, Georgia, and Olive would leave on trips around the area. The “glass elevator” would show up and take them where they wanted to go. I’m not sure how Olive managed it, but I suspect she was moving into her own off-site device built into her increasingly solid body. I knew she was working hard at making the barn and house safer, but honestly it made me a little edgy about all the time and power that was going into working toward getting her a body. I know the thought was uncharitable, but sometimes it felt like she might be overstating the threat of the rogue AI attack so she could have a free hand. Of course, this was all partly from me having so much time to do nothing but sit, read, and talk with Mother.
And so, finally, it came.
I glanced up from my book and she was looking at me fondly. She quickly looked away, back to her book. But I knew I’d caught her in a moment and it was somehow heart wrenching.
I said, “Mother, what are you doing here? Don’t you need to go back? Won’t they start causing you trouble?”
She gazed at me and said, “No, I’ve retired. Or at least started the process.”
I was taken aback. “Retired? As in quitting the military?”
She nodded. “It was something I’d been considering. It was feeling hollow, really, and after all this and Joe acting as he did, it just seemed like I should be looking beyond. Mandatory retirement isn’t that far in the future anyhow, and it’s no great punishment since I have enough years in for it to be not a big monetary deal. I even considered divorcing your father, and still might, but decided that since we basically live separate lives and have for years, there’s not much point in that. There’s no animosity, just a lack of interest.”
I felt like bombs were dropping on me. Mother dissatisfied with her life enough to simply chuck it? It was nearly unimaginable. “So, what will you do with your life now?”
“Honestly, sweetie, I don’t know. Once you’re well enough to take care of yourself again, I’ll leave here, of course. I won’t stay in your hair. But ...” she looked a little wistful here, “but, I might consider staying in the area. If I wouldn’t be in your way.”
I have to admit that I’ve heard of people’s jaws dropping in books - just as a point of making sure the reader knew what a shock it was they’d gotten. But in this instance, my jaw literally dropped and I had to snap it back shut again. I also may have gabbled a bit as my thoughts exploded.
“Here? In Chelan?”
Her eyes went to the floor, but before they did, I could see tears spring into them. “I know, it’s a silly idea. Just never mind, I’d be far better off in Florida or the likes, where there’s no cold. It was just a thought.”
Now it was my turn to feel like crap. “Oh, momma. I think it’s a lovely idea for you to consider the area. And I’ve always felt that Spring, Summer and Fall more than make up for the dastardly winter.”
She lifted her eyes back to me, and it was downright weird. I had no idea who my mother was, after all these years, I guess.
“It really would be ok with you?”
I smiled. “Of course it would, mom. We might just get to know each other a little better. Chelan is pretty expensive, but it’s doable.”
“I’ve been looking at places, here. Just kind of browsing through the internet, looking at properties. You know, like people do, just window shopping.”
I smiled at her. “Find any windows?”
She looked back at me, her expression serious. “Would you hate it if I lived near, Jane? It was honestly just a thought. You have a life here, and I’d never want to ruin that by being too much family.”
Quietly, “I’ve never had any family, mom. It might be nice to find out what it’s like.”
She came over to me and we sat there, her bent over to me and both of us hugging like we’d never done. Finally, she straightened back up and said, “Well, we’ll never do that again, or I’ll be stuck like that forever. You need to get well, daughter.” But she smiled at me as she said it, and there was a light in her eyes that I swore I’d never seen before. Or was it just me being blind to what had always been there?
She sat back in her chair, and I said, “There’s something I should tell you. Possibly a few things, even.”
And Georgia came steaming in the house, playing like being an airplane with her arms spread wide. Followed by Olive and even Bailey, all being airplanes. It was a very funny sight, but bad timing. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. I smiled at mom and winked. She shrugged and smiled back.
“Janey, Janey, guess what we found??”
“I have no idea, Georgia, what did you find? A new bikini? A purse? Maybe some shoes?”
She waved a hand airily, “Well, yes, all those things. But something else, too!”
I laughed, as they all did a “tada” motion toward the hallway. I looked where they were pointing, and there was Cai, struggling along with his luggage. He saw me, dropped his suitcases where they were and came striding over to hug me. Almost too hard, but I think he sensed that I was still hurting and backed off some.
“Jane! It is a wonderful thing to see you! I have come to stay, at least for a while. Of course, if that is all right. I did not bring any luggage at all, so I can just march back to Seattle if need be.”
I rolled my eyes expressively. “I can see your lack of luggage there in the hallway, Cai, but you’re always welcome here. You look great!”
“Well, I should look great. I’ve retired from the museum and I’m taking my world tour. Most of which will be spent here. I got my green card!”
“Being around us has really developed your sense of humor, Cai.” I grinned at him.
“No, I mean it! My son and the Seattle Art Museum sponsored me! I still have some work to do, and I have to show up at the museum from time to time, but I
’m almost an American!”
“Well, that’s exciting, and great news, Cai!”
“I had to see you again, Jane. I was so worried about you, I’ve been keeping up with social media and the papers and such, but there’s nothing like being here.”
I looked over at mom. “There’s nothing like having family near, is there?”
A shadow passed over Cai’s face. “Yes. And after all this time, I’ve talked with Dai. I was holding my life hostage along with his. We’re now closer to being friends than I’d ever thought possible.“ He looked significantly at my mother. “Something you might consider as well.”
Mom and I looked at each other and both of us broke out laughing, which mystified everyone in the room.
Chapter Five
Would You Like a Pimento with That?
Iplayed a lot of CoW, since even though I was healing faster than I or the doctors had thought possible, I was still confined to bed.
A couple days after my adventure with Pimento, I was logged in and saw him come online. I buzzed around and tracked him down, dropping out of the sky nearly at his feet.
“Hey! How have you been?”
After the initial shock of me popping up in his face, he seemed happy to see me. I offered to take him for a run in the local area, and he gave the idea a thumbs up.
We took off and flew over the hot, dusty scene, then landed and surveyed the landscape. It was mostly what looked like dried out farmland, with leftover haystacks and the definite feel of old burn in the air. I always imagined I smelled the smoke of a grass fire, but couldn’t see any sign of it. Spread out in front of us was a town, also looking like it had seen better days. The buildings had a ramshackle appearance, and there were many signs that nothing had been done to keep things up in years.