“I need to think,” Ethan muttered to himself as he leaned down and put his head in his hands.
“Just tell me what I need to know. I have a job to do. There’s an unprecedented threat to our society’s harmony, and I need to protect the people.”
Ethan didn’t reply. His brain had frozen. Lily had to be a real person. She couldn’t just be a computer program.
There was a regretful sigh from Michael. “Very well. We will do this the hard way.”
The two officers by the door began closing in on Ethan. The one in the suit stopped next to his boss, but the other kept walking. With a vicious grin on his face, the uniformed officer pulled out a syringe and moved behind Ethan.
“Um, what?” Ethan sputtered as he turned to keep his eye on the man.
“Look at me,” Michael commanded, so Ethan reluctantly did. He was still very aware of the man standing behind him.
“Sometimes we have to do terrible things for the greater good. Cooperate or you will regret it.”
A jolt of fear went through Ethan. “What are you going to do?”
“Whatever we want. A state of emergency has been called thanks to your friends, giving us almost unlimited power. Everyone exposed to the dangerous technology in the Tower of Ascendance is being arrested as we speak.”
Ethan’s eyes widened in shock. “But most of them haven’t done anything wrong.”
“It doesn’t matter. They are a dire threat to our society’s harmony, so they are being removed.”
“Removed? You can’t just go around disappearing thousands of people!”
“We can and we are. Most of them are just dregs anyway, like yourself. You should have answered my questions, Ethan,” Michael said and made a quick gesture with one hand.
Ethan yelped when he felt someone grab his hair and pull his head up. It hurt. A second later, it was slammed onto the table, hard. His vision went black for a split second, and his skull vibrated from the force of the blow. Agony raced through his nerves and then he felt something prick his neck. He was too out of it to struggle as the uniformed man emptied the syringe into him.
“You should’ve done as you were told, boy. This isn’t one of your games,” the man who had slammed him said. “This is real life, boy. There are real consequences and no extra lives. Lots of you gamers have been turning up dead lately. You could end up as one of them. No one would care.”
Ethan grunted when another flash of pain went through his skull. The yellow file folders Michael had brought sat on the table in front of him and dominated his vision. Ow. His head felt light. Was that the drugs? He was so screwed now. It was too bad he’d never see Lily again.
Feeling lightheaded and queasy, Ethan glared at the stacked papers like they were his mortal enemy. For some reason, his memory of his last meeting with Adhut flashed through his mind. It brought with it a flicker of rage that glowed as it raced through the twisted corridors of Ethan’s brain, almost glyph-like. Like sparks sizzling across circuitry. Fury pushed against the haze that was enveloping Ethan’s mind.
What was it Adhut had said? Ah, right. In Ethan’s head, the phantom monk spoke. “Remember this, nothing can strip you of your will. It is your greatest weapon. No matter where you walk, you are not alone. If you are lost, look to your will to light your way and push back the illusion that is darkness and pain. The Origin awaits.”
Ethan chuckled miserably. What a stupid tool that guy had been. He wasn’t even real. He was a video game character that spouted weird spiritual nonsense. No matter what Ethan did now, he was probably going to end up dead. To prove his point, Ethan reached for the Origin and went through the motions of evoking. It wasn’t hard. Ha, it was all in his head after all, and he’d done it a hundred times before. Using it seemed pointless, but it wasn’t like he was doing anything else. The image of glowing glyphs floating in an endless haze appeared. Ethan concentrated on the rune he associated with pushing before aiming it at the file folders.
There was a muted pop and the stack of papers exploded, causing the agents to flinch and gawk. Dazed, Ethan watched the storm of white paper fill the air and drift throughout the room. What?
CHAPTER 35
COPS AND GAMERS
As the paper fluttered through the air around them like snow, everyone gaped uncomprehendingly at the scene. Ethan felt the pressure on the back of his head lessen, allowing him to look up a bit.
“What did you do? You little punk!” the uniformed man behind him hissed in alarm.
Michael looked shocked. His usually calm demeanor was shattered, and his eyes were wide open as he stared at the falling blizzard of paper. He looked like his brain had gotten stuck and stopped functioning.
Ethan didn’t feel much better. Shock had paralyzed him as well. The incredible ramifications of what he’d just done were difficult to even begin thinking about. The entire world seemed to have changed.
“I don’t know. Apparently, reality isn’t what any of us thought it was,” Ethan heard himself say as he watched the fluttering paper fall around him.
Had he really just used evoking? Was he still in the game? No, that was ridiculous. Down that way lay madness, and he had more pressing problems. He was still stuck in a bureau interrogation room. That needed to be his priority.
Michael suddenly focused on Ethan, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. “You couldn’t have used that nonsense magic stuff…”
“But I did!” Ethan replied as he met the man’s gaze and grinned manically.
“Carl, restrain him!” Michael yelled as he jumped to his feet. Only a few pieces of paper were still in the air now. Most of them were scattered across the floor.
Behind him, Ethan felt the officer who was holding him lift him up in preparation for another slam. This forced him to make some quick decisions. He didn’t feel like hitting the table again, but fighting back would mean rebelling against the government. The cat was out of the bag about the whole AI ascendant thing though, so they were probably going to dissect him anyway. Also, he really wanted to smack Officer Carl a few times, and he had very little to lose. Fuck his government support check and cramped apartment. It was time to take some risks.
As his grin widened and excitement washed through him, Ethan summoned a large ball of aether and slammed it into the guard he couldn’t see. There was a loud thud and a satisfying crack as the man was thrown into the wall.
Suddenly unencumbered, Ethan rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, and stood straight. Then he met Michael’s gaze. “All right, let’s do this. I got places to be.”
If he could make it to the coordinates Lily had sent him, all his questions might be answered, and he might just be able to find somewhere to hide from the government. Yes, that was a half-decent plan.
Michael glanced at his fallen comrade. “You don’t want to fight us. You can’t win. No one beats the system.”
“The system is already dead. It was always a lie, stagnant and corrupt. Victor simply put it out of its misery, and I have no intention of being sacrificed to its ghost,” Ethan replied as he used a burst of heat from the Origin to weaken the chain on his handcuffs so he could pull them apart. As he did this, the very last piece of paper that had been scattered by his first push hit the floor.
Looking over, Ethan saw that the third officer in the grey suit was reaching for a pistol he had holstered at his hip. That upped the stakes, and Ethan had no intention of getting shot. If Worldshift was anything to go by, it hurt a lot. When the officer’s hand touched his weapon, Ethan’s vision suddenly shifted. Glowing green lines appeared, alongside a targeting reticle and some text.
Weapon detected. Situation appraised as hostile. Activating combat mode and boosting physical reactions.
A rush of cold energy surged through Ethan’s nerves. Before he could react, it was immediately followed by a wave of hot power that pushed into his muscles and then the rest of his entire body. His thoughts became clear as the drugs were purged from his system, and everything around hi
m seemed to slow to a crawl. To his eyes, his captors were suddenly moving very sluggishly. It was surreal, but Ethan knew he was completely awake. It seemed like the whole AI synthesis did more than he’d thought.
The officer with the pistol had drawn it and was aiming it Ethan’s way. The weapon looked dangerous. However, thanks to Ethan’s expanded perception, he had time to act. Reacting quickly, Ethan summoned a ball of aether and slammed it into the man’s gut. The officer in the suit was knocked back by the power of the blow, and the weapon slipped out of his grasp and clattered when it hit the floor. Immediately, Ethan pulled the weapon into a twisting orb of force, which mangled it into scrap with a shriek of twisting metal.
There were still two other enemies though, and Ethan was sure they were both armed. They were government enforcers in an interrogation room with a criminal after all. It was probably standard procedure.
Glancing over his shoulder, Ethan saw that the first man he’d blasted with aether was back on his feet. He was also lunging at Ethan’s back as if to tackle him. The tall officer was much bigger than him, but Ethan reacted automatically, just like if he were still in the game. His body moved with surprising speed and agility as he dodged to the side of the man’s lunge. Once safely out of the way, Ethan grabbed one of the man’s outstretched arms and pulled him off balance, then he kneed the stumbling officer in the chest as hard as he could.
There was a satisfying crack as the man rose an inch into the air. This was followed by a loud wheezing gasp. Ethan’s blow had forced the air out of the man’s lungs. Stunned, he hit the ground hard without being able to catch himself.
Ethan took a moment to take in what had just happened. His body was moving with more grace and power than usual. He was hitting like a pro athlete, not a scrawny gamer who really needed to get out more. In fact, it was almost like he was in the game. How was that possible? His altered neural implant must be doing crazy things to his body, using some very illegal technology developed by Victor’s slave AIs. That was more than a little scary and might lead to some bad health complications, but it was convenient for now.
Turning, Ethan faced Michael, who was standing at the far side of the table from him. The older man had been reaching for something at his waist, but he froze when he saw he had Ethan’s attention.
“I was right. We greatly underestimated Victor’s ambitions,” Michael said as he winced.
Ethan shrugged and began to walk around the table. He couldn’t resist the chance to brag a little. “Sort of. For him, it was never about the weapons or the technology itself. Those were both a payment and distraction for groups like Red Revolution. Victor hid much greater things within Worldshift for those who passed the right tests. He wants to end humanity’s stagnation.”
Michael nodded and then quickly reached for the device at his side.
“Nothing personal,” Ethan said as he lunged. “I simply don’t plan on letting you lock me up forever just so you can stay in control of everything and everyone.”
Ethan crossed the last distance between them with lightning speed, and his fist lashed out and slammed into Michael’s chin. The older man dropped like a puppet whose strings had been cut and hit the floor.
A smile appeared on Ethan’s face as a feeling of immense satisfaction came over him. Smacking around agents of the Bureau of Economic Harmony had felt great, like it was filling a void he’d never known he’d had. Every moment of his life, someone like them had been controlling and stifling him. He’d had to watch everything he did or said, even in the comfort of his own home. Now, he was finally acting out. He was probably going to die soon, but at least he was free.
After taking a moment to make sure Michael was really unconscious, Ethan bent down and looked Michael’s body over for keys. He quickly found what he was looking for, a slim key card, and then he headed to the door that led out of the interrogation room.
Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, the key card didn’t work. When he placed it against the scanner, it flashed red. Maybe he was simply doing it wrong, but more likely, the key card could only be used by authorized personnel.
Sighing, Ethan decided he had no choice but to do this a slightly less quiet way. Concentrating on the door handle and the lock next to it, Ethan began to summon power from the Origin so he could tear the lock apart. However, before he could, a small notification appeared in the corner of his vision, asking him if he wanted to engage hacking protocols.
With a quick mental command, Ethan agreed, and a box containing something that looked eerily like the hacking mini-game from Worldshift appeared in his sight.
“Unreal,” Ethan muttered and began to solve the mini-game. Quick as thought, lines of code were being inputted and sliding into place. He wasn’t even sure how he was doing it. It was like he had an entirely new set of instincts that had now set in.
This had to be the work of the AI he’d merged with. Had the hacking mini-game in Worldshift been a type of training for real-life hacking? They hadn’t seemed all that similar, but maybe the connection had been hidden. A moment later, Ethan finished the game and the door swung open with a mechanical click.
Ethan smiled as he stepped into the hallway. There was no one in sight, so he hoped the rest of the bureau was unaware he’d escaped. Michael had disabled the surveillance equipment after all.
After closing the door behind him, Ethan walked briskly but calmly toward the entrance. That was probably his best option he had for escaping. There were undoubtedly cameras throughout the building, and they’d notice him if he looked conspicuous. People walked through these hallways all the time though, so he shouldn’t draw too much attention.
Walking around a corner and past several office doors, Ethan tried to look like he belonged. Normally, he would have been scared out of his mind and probably shaking uncontrollably, but now Ethan was somehow able to force himself to be calm. It was almost like he was able to ignore or mute his emotions. Fear tickled the back of his brain, but it didn’t prevent him from focusing on what was important. He suspected this was another effect of his transformation. As much as he hated the idea of something messing with his emotions, it might save his life, and he’d actually expected more change to his personality after being fused to an incredibly powerful AI. Ethan couldn’t decide if he should be grateful he was still himself or disappointed he didn’t have more cool super powers. He had super powers! He was a real-life cyber wizard! Now, if only the government wasn’t out to kill him.
After a bit more walking, Ethan caught a glimpse of the front lobby at the end of the hallway before him. It was only about thirty feet away. There would be someone at the desk and probably at least another officer somewhere, but he might be able to just walk past them. If he was lucky.
Of course, that was when the alarm went off. Out of nowhere, red lights on the ceiling flashed and hidden speakers crackled to life as a robotic voice spoke through them. “Intruder alert! This building is now on lockdown. All security teams are to report to designated checkpoints immediately.”
After repeating itself twice, the mechanical voice was replaced with a wailing siren. Ethan winced. So much for his plan to just sneak out. Left with no choice, he put on a burst of speed and dashed toward the lobby.
Ethan ran into the lobby just in time to see metal shutters slide down and seal the windows and doors. It distracted him for a moment, but then he had to turn and focus on the officers in the room. There were two. One was standing behind the reception desk, and another was guarding the shuttered door. Both of them had pistols raised and were already turning to aim them at Ethan.
“Surender now!” one of the officers yelled as he aimed his weapon so Ethan could see right down its barrel.
That wasn’t going to happen. Reacting quickly, Ethan took advantage of his enhanced reflexes and perception. He pushed his hands out toward the officers and sent a blast of rippling aether at both of them. The power slammed into them, sending them flying with surprising force. Huh. The repressed fear at th
e back of Ethan’s mind was still there, and while he could control it, the emotion had affected his evoking. His mental glyphs burned brighter, dumping extra power into his attack.
The two officers hit the ground hard, and it didn’t look like they were going to get up anytime soon, but Ethan didn’t get a chance to relax. Almost immediately, another pair of men with tactical vests and combat helmets on arrived through a side door. Both were armed with short stubby rifles of some sort. Ethan wasn’t an expert on real-life weaponry, but he was sure they shot bullets that would kill him.
Twisting around, Ethan raised a hand as he ran toward the front door. Instantly, semi-translucent aether streamed out of the Origin in front of him. Ethan concentrated on a glowing glyph that caused it to curl into a round shape, creating a shield that was almost as tall as he was.
He was just in time. A spray of bullets hit his shield and sank into it before being thrown aside by the constant stream of aether. Ethan grunted. Stopping the bullets hadn’t put any strain on him, but keeping the shield up was difficult. He had to keep focusing both on the glyph in his mind and on running. The glyph wasn’t a simple one either. It was beyond anything he’d managed before his confrontation with the angel of death.
The lobby was large, but Ethan was fast, so he crossed it with surprising speed. The only door that led out was shuttered though, so he had to do something about that. Focusing on a new glyph, Ethan transformed his shield into a ball and sent it flying at his attackers. Seeing the huge aether blast coming, the two agents stopped firing and ducked back through the door they’d come in. Ethan grinned. His attack probably wouldn’t take them out, but it was only supposed to be a distraction.
Turning back toward the door, Ethan frowned. Those shutters looked strong enough to stop a car, and aether was sort of soft. A normal blast probably wouldn’t work. Luckily, ever since his ascension, using glyphs and evoking was much easier than before, even if he couldn’t reproduce that attack he’d used on the boss. Behind him, there was a loud boom that caused the entire building to shiver slightly as his aether blast exploded against the wall.
Worldshift- Virtual Revolution Page 41