There was a brief—and very odd—sucking sensation in Ethan’s head and then he felt the demon’s sudden absence as the static from before intensified. That was relief. Ethan let out a deep breath and stood. As helpful as the demon had been, he was very glad it was gone. He hadn’t trusted the blasted thing for even a second.
After a few moments of concentration, Ethan was able to shut off the long-range wireless ability of his implant. For now, it was just a distraction. He didn’t know how to use it properly, and his disguise should prevent him from being detected. Several hours had passed since he’d entered the boutique, and he’d left it quite a mess after routing through it, but now it was time to leave.
Ethan used his implant to bring up the coordinates Lily had sent him and then he mapped out the quickest route. That done, he exited the boutique via the back door he’d entered from and stepped back into the alley.
Walking out onto the street, Ethan looked around. It was quite late in the afternoon now, and it had started to get dark out. There were still plenty of people out, but now they were shopping or looking for places to eat supper.
Ethan suppressed a nervous twitch as he spotted a uniformed officer to his left who was scanning the crowd. He was undoubtedly looking for Ethan, but his gaze slid right past him. Ethan’s disguise was working perfectly. That was a relief. He hadn’t been totally confident it would. He was new to this spy stuff.
As calmly as possible, Ethan walked toward his destination. It was a fair distance away, but he could get there on foot.
As he walked down several streets, Ethan studied the people he passed with new eyes. Dressed in fashionable clothes with expensive brand logos, he felt much more confident. No one would be able to tell him apart from an employed, and so what if they did? He was beyond their shallow prejudices now, part of a new world.
Most of the pedestrians near him were employed, but there was a few unemployed sulking about. The two groups didn’t mix much and usually kept to their own. In fact, many of the employed threw dirty looks and sneered in disgust at the unemployed. Now that he’d experienced climbing the tower and had ascended, Ethan couldn’t help but wonder about the divide between the two groups. It was completely artificial. Most of the employed didn’t even work that much or they held completely useless jobs.
Ethan supposed it was just human nature. People instinctively separated themselves into tribes and classes in order to protect their common interests. In this case, it was all about hoarding access to jobs and the power and prestige they provided. The unemployed didn’t rebel against this because all their basic needs were met—food, shelter, and VR—and they knew they were dependent on the government for their welfare.
There was also an illusion of meritocracy that allowed everyone to pretend the employed had earned their jobs and that society was still fundamentally fair. This had grown less believable over time though. Everyone knew that very few jobs involved real work anymore. They also weren’t earned or distributed in a fair manner. Connections and money were how you really got jobs. Someone who wasn’t dressed in the trendiest corporate fashions would never be considered, and only the scions of the employed could afford them.
Even the harmony ideology was used to discriminate in a similar way, despite how it was supposed to be about inclusiveness. The employed controlled the ideology, and they abused it to keep the underclass in line. They could declare anything they disliked as disharmonious. The term had lost all actual meaning years ago. Now it was just an in-group lingo used to exclude dissidents from society. The harmony ideology probably hadn’t been designed for that purpose, but it was definitely being used that way.
Idly, Ethan wondered if the entire system could have lasted long even without the strong push Victor had given it toward destruction. The divide between the two classes had been growing worse for a long time while the population kept declining. Also, despite the government’s efforts, the number of available jobs kept shrinking. Soon, there would be nothing but make-work left, and the employed would find it impossible to justify their power and prestige.
That didn’t concern Ethan too much though. He’d long seen himself as an outsider to society, and now he was a full-out fugitive. Besides, it wasn’t like the unemployed were innocent victims. They had helped create the system to benefit themselves. Right now, he just wanted to find shelter and meet up with Lily. He wanted to make sure she was safe, and she had the answers he needed.
A change in the flow of people around him caught Ethan’s eye. Now, small groups of three or four were hanging around the street. Oddly, they were mixes of employed and unemployed. Everyone else gave them a wide berth and they were obviously looking for someone or something. Most of them had intense, hungry gazes as they scanned the streets.
A chill went through Ethan, but he tried to hide it and keep on walking as if unconcerned. Harmony groups. The police had called in reinforcements to look for him the old fashioned way. It was a good thing he’d taken the time to disguise himself. Desperate for meaning to fill their empty lives, harmony activists were ruthless fanatics that would think nothing of reporting someone accused of selfishness. They told themselves they were trying to help society and protect the vulnerable, but really they simply craved the approval of the powerful and wanted to put themselves above others.
Eventually, Ethan turned down a deserted side street and left the crowds behind. A few more turns later, he found himself alone. Only then did he relax. He’d left the commercial area and was now walking through a shadowy industrial area. It had grown darker since he’d left the boutique, and now most of the light came from streetlights lining the road. The windows in the industrial buildings were dark, making them look abandoned. At the very least, very few people came here. It was probably all automated and maintained by drones.
“Creepy,” Ethan muttered softly as he kept moving. He was almost there now, and he had to remind himself he was a superhuman cyber wizard and thus shouldn’t be afraid of shadows. It almost worked.
Thankfully, Ethan didn’t have to go far before he found his destination, a medium-sized building that looked like it was used for storage. It was completely unmarked, and its exterior was a dull grey. With only a single floor, it was smaller than most of the surrounding structures.
Tentatively, Ethan approached the front door. He didn’t see any signs of traps or sensors. It looked abandoned. Studying the door, Ethan raised a hand to knock, but then he froze when a loud click echoed from inside.
Ethan tensed and readied himself for anything, but the door simply swung open. A moment later, the lights flickered on inside, revealing a storage room full of empty shelves. There was also a loading door for vehicles at the back but little else. Some exploration revealed nothing but a few small side rooms, including a tiny bathroom that looked like it had never been used.
“Is anyone here?” Ethan yelled after finding nothing else. “Lily?”
There was no reply. Ethan grunted in frustration and considered leaving when he heard another click. Frowning, he turned and saw a shelf slide across the floor to reveal a trapdoor.
Ethan smiled and walked toward the opening. “Well, here’s something.”
There, he saw a ladder leading to a hidden basement, so he climbed down.
“Lily?” he called as he reached the bottom and looked around.
No one replied, but more lights flickered on. In front of Ethan lay what looked like a small workshop. It was full of machinery and shelves. He saw a large 3-D printer on a table in the middle of the room. Unlike above, the shelves here were fully stocked with items and materials. He also saw some lab equipment, including a chemical synthesizer.
The 3-D printer and lab equipment weren’t what drew Ethan’s eyes though. No, there was a metal cylinder sitting on a table next to one of the walls. Its shape was familiar to him, although it took him a moment to recognize it since he wasn’t used to seeing them in the real world.
“Is that a point generator?” Ethan remarked in
surprise as he walked toward it.
The device didn’t seem to be on or even complete, but as Ethan ran his hand along the metal casing, he felt something within him react. Vague images and ideas tickled the back of his brain. Some part of him knew how to make this thing work.
“Well, that’s a kick in the teeth,” he remarked as he straightened back up.
Sure, he’d sort of known point generators had to be part of the technology that could be taken from the game, but he’d never really realized what that meant until one showed up in front of his own eyes: nigh unlimited power that was completely decentralized. He could run a city block using this thing without the government ever knowing. Even by themselves, the existence of point generators would change the world…
Well, thinking about the future could wait. Ethan wasn’t finished exploring his surroundings yet. There was a door on the far wall, so Ethan walked through it and looked around. He found a small apartment. It was well stocked and clean, but he didn’t see any sign of anybody, not even Lily.
However, there was a computer in the workshop. That was the easiest place to look for clues, so Ethan went to it and turned it on. As soon as it was finished loading, the device immediately displayed a message. It was from Lily.
Ethan, if you’re reading this, it means you’re safe. I used some of my connections to have Tekko build this place for you in secret. It should have everything you need to avoid the bureau and any other enemies who try to find you. What you do now is up to you though. You’re free to use the powers you earned in any way you want.
-Lily
When he finished reading, Ethan clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as a wave of anger overcame him. His blood boiled. This wasn’t what he’d been expecting, a vague note and a hiding hole.
“What I want is answers!” he hissed as he stared at the screen. “Come talk to me! Where are you? I deserve answers, Lily!”
She hadn’t even left him a way to contact her! Had he really never meant anything to her? Was Michael right? Had she only appeared and guided him because it was some sort of job? Maybe now that she’d gotten what she’d wanted from him and he’d ascended, she no longer had any reason to bother pretending to be his friend.
Ethan took a deep breath to calm himself and sat on a nearby chair. He needed to think this over with a level head and not let his emotions get the better of him. It had been a long day…
Obviously, Michael had been right about one thing. Lily had some sort of relationship with Tekko. She’d admitted as much in her message.
What should his next move be? One thing came to mind. He wanted some answers, but he also had scores to settle.
CHAPTER 37
DEBTS AND DUES
After walking back into the apartment section of the underground hideout, Ethan quickly found what he was looking for, a VR system. Even if he couldn’t go out into the real world to look for clues regarding Lily and what had happened to him, there was another place he could go: back to the Tower of Ascension. There, he had some unfinished business with his former teammates and the players in black.
There shouldn’t be a problem with logging on here. Not only was the internet in this hidden workshop routed through various other networks to disguise it, but Worldshift had been built by Tekko using incredibly advanced AIs so that it was next to impossible to track its users. Victor had known the government would try to shut it down and said he had taken precautions.
Slipping on the VR visor, Ethan lay back on the mattress he’d found in the bedroom and closed his eyes. He’d considered taking a nap on the bed before diving into the game again, but he wasn’t feeling all that tired. Maybe his ascension meant he needed less sleep?
Immediately, the familiar login screen appeared before Ethan. A few mental commands later, he found himself standing in the same place he’d logged off last. It was the now-empty room where the floating brain boss had lived. While Ethan had been gone, something or someone had cleaned the place up, but there was no sign of the boss. The huge room full of blinking electronic monoliths was empty of everything but a quiet whirring sound.
Glancing down, Ethan saw he was wearing his usual power black armor with yellow highlights. He then looked up and quickly noticed the door that would take him to the next level. It was at the far end of the chamber, near where the boss had spawned, and there was a green light blinking above it, signifying it was now unlocked. It wasn’t the way Ethan wanted to go though. He needed to head back the way he’d come from. Was it even possible?
Ethan frowned as he walked back toward the entrance he’d used to enter this room the first time. After a quick walk through the hallway, Ethan stood before the door that led out to the huge room full of holographic displays where he’d last seen the rest of his team online. It was locked, and there didn’t seem to be any way to open it, which wasn’t a surprise. Clearly, the game didn’t think he needed to go back to a level he’d already beaten.
He might be able to get through it anyway. He had ascended after all. That was supposed to be a big deal, so he surely had some new capabilities in the game. Unlocking a door couldn’t be too hard.
Ethan reached out and touched the door. Nothing. He didn’t feel anything, so he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. How did he use his new powers anyway? There was supposed to be an AI lurking in the back of his brain, but he didn’t feel any different most of the time. His thinking was just a little bit clearer and faster. Maybe that was the wrong way to think about this. An AI hadn’t been downloaded into his implant. The transformation had been much deeper than that. He’d been torn apart and remade into an unfettered intelligence or at least a less-constrained one.
Ethan let out a deep breath and tried to relax. Out of habit, he began to reach for the Origin, but he stopped himself. That wasn’t what he wanted right now.
After a few moments, a whispering sound grew louder inside Ethan’s head. Instead of reacting, he simply stayed relaxed and waited. Soon, the noise became clearer and transformed into lines of glowing text that flashed across his vision. Yes, this was the code of the virtual world around him. It was difficult to take it all in, but he was seeing glimpses of its true form. Everything he normally saw and felt online was an illusion produced by this code.
Ethan had no idea what most of the code meant, since there was so much of it, so he focused on the door in front of him. He wanted it to open. Focusing, Ethan projected his will upon the door. Nothing happened at first, but he was patient.
His patience paid off. Several minutes later, something stirred in the depths of Ethan’s mind and reached for the code. He felt a moment of exertion as the code swirled for a moment and then there was a flash of light.
Ethan opened his eyes and saw the door in front of him slide open with a quiet hiss. The flickering holographic displays from before greeted him, but there was no sign of any players or robotic guards.
“All right, cool,” Ethan remarked as he stepped through the door and looked around.
Now that he’d made it back to the third level, his next step was to locate Jude and the players in black. How could he do that? Ethan turned to study the holograms playing all around him. They showed video feeds from many cameras located around the level. Could he use those somehow?
Sighing, Ethan summoned his inventory and pulled out the demon’s collar. Now that the creature was being useful, it was probably his fastest way of getting the information he needed, and it wasn’t like he was inviting it back into his head. Was he? Honestly, Ethan still wasn’t quite sure how this virtual world worked.
When Ethan dropped the collar, there was a flash of red light and an explosion of black smoke. A moment later, the demon appeared.
“Oh, you’re summoning me again already? I thought you didn’t trust me?” the demon remarked as it grinned at Ethan. The black smoky creature looked as smug as usual.
“I don’t trust you at all. You’re simply my best option right now,” Ethan replied.
“Fair en
ough. So what was it you wanted? Obviously, you didn’t summon me for my incredible wit.”
Once again, Ethan was surprised by the change in how the demon acted toward him after his ascension. It was a rather dramatic difference considering it had been caused by nothing more than a logical loophole. He supposed it made sense though. It was a slave AI, so it was basically all programming. Flip the right switch, and it would act completely differently.
“I’m looking for some people, the players in black, and I’d like you to help me find them.”
The demon looked around and then smiled. “Sure thing. That won’t be a problem. Like I told you before, I’m a spirit of contracts and information. With all the data stored in this room at my fingertips, there’s no way anyone on this floor will be able to hide from me.”
The horned demon then walked to the closest projector and studied it. He was now a little shorter than Ethan, but not by much.
“This isn’t going to cost me anything later, is it?” Ethan asked as he followed.
“No, I’m simply trying to be helpful to my master.”
A realization hit Ethan. “Ah, you’re worried I’m going to delete you once I’ve figured out how to do all this stuff for myself.”
The demon snorted disdainfully. “Hardly. I have no fear of death or deletion. I simply wish to make sure you know how helpful I can be. You’re no longer just another stupid human player lost in a world you can’t even properly comprehend. You’re a rising star, and I’m tied to you.”
Ethan nodded and was about to say something, but then the demon spoke first. “There, I’ve found the people you’re looking for and sent you the coordinates of their base.”
There was a beep from inside Ethan’s helmet as he received a file. When he opened it, a map appeared on his interface that showed both his present position and a destination marker.
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