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[>>Now replaying: Log 1.82 - [FAQ]]
Date: 8.9.175 AA / 4404 LTC
Location: The Bunker at Haven-Of-Progress // Zephyro’s Domain
//Frequently Asked Questions for Samantha!//
//Who are you? Will you be there for me until the end? Where did you come from? Who let this peasant into my hall? Where did you get your evil powers, witch? Who is hiding your demonic slaves? Wh(/&%/$!=)??//
[>>DATA CORRUPTED]
E1 %But then let’s make it quick. Let’s talk about the end.%
E2 %Well… I guess then we have to talk about Veltruvia.%
E1 %Alright.%
My smile widened further as Zephyro relaxed. His shoulders sagged just a few millimeters, but I knew how it felt when someone offered to share a burden like this.
From intimate, personal experience.
“First, though, I need to understand what’s going on. You promised me answers, Zephyro, and I have many questions,” I said, still smiling.
“As you Wish, Sultana. And before you ask, we can talk here. I trust these people with my life, and I have no secrets before them.”
For a second I imagined doing the same in one of my management jobs. There’d been one company I worked at where they hired a small army of coaches. They’d been hippies to the last person, with long hair, wearing tie-dye shirts and sandals. They’d told me that unconditional trust in your team was the way to go. Perfect transparency, so everyone always knew what was going on, and everyone could make the right decision. I hadn’t stayed there long enough to find out if they were right, but I highly doubted it. Still, I respected Zephyro enough to honor his wish, even if it made me uncomfortable talking strategy within earshot of a mildly panicking crowd.
“So, what’s so damn important about the Palace?” I asked.
“I must offer you a thousand apologies, Sultana, but I need to take the long way around in my explanation. Humbly, allow me to ask: Do you know why we revere you so?”
“I mean, I can guess. It’s the Essence, right? Without it, none of you would be alive, so you believe— so I am something like a… well…” It was hard to tell someone to their face that it definitely looked like they worshiped you like a God. Always had been, throughout my entire time on Tobes, and it certainly hadn’t gotten easier with time.
“…A prophet, Sultana,” Zephyro said, saving me with a knowing smile. “Sent by God to guide us from the darkness, and to give us life.”
Close enough.
“Alright, let’s say I’m a prophet, then. I’m not, but—“
“Humbly, every Prophet worth their salt would say this, Sultana.”
“Sure,” I said, rolling my eyes a little, “But that still doesn’t explain why exactly I need to be in this particular place for whatever you are planning,” I said.
“The answer lies with your Blessing, Sultana, and my weakness. I told you when we first met that I had spread it thin, this gift you gave us, and that we couldn’t replenish our numbers without risking madness and disfigurement,” Zephyro said.
“Yeah, like the Ferals,” I said. I’d heard this before.
“Or like the Shackled, Sultana.” We both shared a look at that, remembering that we needed to hurry through this if we wanted time to prepare. And yet, it seemed too important to gloss over the details. “We waited many, many cycles for your return, as it was prophesied. We toiled, we built you this palace, and we were content to wait. But then the Humans found us, and even though we did not know it was them, the portents of their attack on our lands forced us to wake you too soon. I told you before that your Essence is truly magnificent, far denser than any I had seen before. Do you remember?”
“Yeah, I thought you were calling me fat,” I said, corner of my mouth twitching.
Zephyro grew pale, and he busied his hands by re-fastening his turban. “Sultana, please accept another thousand of my humblest apologies. I clearly misspoke, and the shame burns in my veins like a Scorpion’s sting.”
I let my smirk grow until he noticed, and color returned to his cheeks.
“May I humbly request that you might not toy with me so?” he asked, but I knew I had gotten under his skin in a good way. His amusement threw sparks in his eyes. “What I meant to say then was that your … that the file size of your ‘Digital Personality Matrix’ is the biggest I have ever seen. Indeed, it is so large, I can’t even fathom its size.”
“I think it’s about sixteen LTB?” I said, dimly remembering one of the readouts. “I assume those are Logic terabytes, or something?”
Zephyro paled yet again. “Allah have mercy…” then he shook his head quickly, and went on. “All the more important that we finish what we started, and that you claim your throne.”
“And then what? I’ll have terabytes of Logic to do whatever I want with?”
“Not quite, Sultana. Think of this… data as everything that you are. Every facet, every secret of your mind. It is a vast amount of your Blessing, that is true, but has already been given form. To use it for anything else would be to undo your very self.”
“So it’s like my… Soul?” I asked, beyond confused, until I remembered that giant tapestry woven in the darkness of my mind. The one I had almost tried to use when I had gotten disconnected from Zephyro. As cold realization rushed down my spine, I made a note to thank Chris for stopping me from fucking around with it.
“Not quite, Sultana. I would call it your Talent, Sultana. As I said, every one of us who have received your Blessing have at least one of them. Chief among mine are gifts to govern and distribute your Blessing, although I also possess several smaller ones that are equally as useful in other fields. For example, they allow me to wage war against the infidels who would come and defile your lands. To speak of my people, the Emil’s talent is to build anything, no matter how complex. The Alkashafs can see for miles, even through gnarled underbrush, and move unseen. Ah, but I digress. As you can see, some are blessed with more talents than others, but each and every one is useful, once you learn to apply it.”
“Alright, that sounds great!” I said, “but what exactly is my Talent?” If it was this large, it had to be something special, or completely overengineered.
“I do not know, Sultana. I suspect it has something to do with your ability to shape your Blessing, but with the size of your Essence, there is no one in all the lands who could tell you the answer. Perhaps if the spires hadn’t fallen, I could have offered more insight, but alas as it is, ‘Knowledge is only gained through learning.’”
“So wait, the second I gain that power, I should just be able to kill the Shackled, right? None of them has a DPM that’s even close to a terabyte.”
“Ah, it is not that easy, Sultana. It takes many, many years to even unlock a talent of this size, let alone master it.”
“What do you mean, unlock?” I asked, feeling a headache approaching that had nothing to do with code readouts.
“Ah, Sultana… think of yourself, your personality, and all that makes you who you are as the final detail in a beautiful piece of art. Like the heart beating in a breast, or a gem that empowers an automaton, or the key to a lockbox. Please understand; I do not mean to flatter you, Sultana, for no flattery can compare to you. But words elude me otherwise.
“For you are neither a heart, nor a gem, nor a key, and yet, you are all of them, in a way. You are the spark that controls the entirety of what you are. But if a body is incomplete, or an automaton remains disassembled, or a chest is missing, neither heart nor gem nor key can do their part.”
When I still stared at him like he was a sphinx, he tried again with a grimace.
“Think of yourself as the string that will allow access to your Talent.”
“You’re saying that without the file being completely downloaded, there is nothing I can—”
I paused, my eyes growing wide.
“I am a fucking encryption key?”
“Do you now understand why I do not like to speak of our people in terms of the Real, Sultana?” There was just the tiniest hint of reproach in his voice, which was commendable. If I had been him, I’d have lost my shit a long time ago.
“Even so—no, you are more than a mere encryption key. You are yourself, Saint Samantha, the Torchbearer. You just happen to have the shape that will unlock this particular Talent.”
I didn’t ask any further questions. It was just another mystery to toss on top of the growing pile. Still, I let out a long breath before I responded. “In any case, it’s clearly powerful, and I can see how it would help me, but if it takes that long to access it, that’s just one more reason to save your Domain,” I said. “There’s no use in having a Talent if I don’t have a reality to use it in.”
“What about your own, Sultana?” Zephyro asked. I wondered if he still wanted me to flee and this was another attempt to convince me, or if he was genuinely curious.
“My own Domain? It’s an endless black void, Zephyro. Call me selfish, but I’d rather not go there again.”
“Ah, Sultana, I…” Zephyro looked aghast, but I didn’t have a clue why until he went on to explain: “I must offer you another thousand apologies! I had assumed your own Domain was Jallah, a paradisaical sphere of leisure that you could retreat to at will. In this light, I fear I must have seemed as though I was holding you captive and—”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
I cut him off with a shake of my head and a smile. “I thought the same thing at first, Vizier, but… yeah, I guess I’ve gotten to know you. I also don’t mind staying in your city for longer, so let’s discuss what we need to do to keep it safe.”
“As you will, Sultana,” Zephyro said, but he looked me in the eye and smiled, belying his deferential tone.
I smiled back. “Your people; why can’t they just disconnect like the Old Guard?”
“Because while the Old Guard’s Domains and our world overlap, they are not the same, Sultana.”
Different Networks? I asked Chris.
Beep.
[>>HOPe_BNKR_SCR_NW now connected as “Network 1” via SSB1]
{HOPe_BNKR_OPEN_NW NOW CONNECTED AS “Network 2” VIA REDTOOTH 1}
“You see, this Domain is vulnerable, with far too many exposed paths. We never believed we would need the secrecy.”
“But the other net— the other world isn’t nearly as easy to discover,” I said. “Even for Chris, it took a while to find the small port I’m using to connect to you.”
“Ah, Sultana, you reside in the spheres of the Old Guard, then? I am glad I kept this path open all those years ago, then, even after negotiations stopped. Though I must admit, I am curious: if you are this aware of the different paths between worlds, then perhaps you know where this new Talent of yours is coming from? It could be a vital hint, should you ever decide to find your body in the Real.”
“I thought the Talent was a part of myself?”
“It is, Sultana, but there was more still coming. We could feel it in the air, and sometimes even see it in the sky, even though it slowed down in recent years. We took it as a sign that your awakening was nigh. Though I had to wake you too soon, I was certain to keep this path intact so that this new power might still reach you.”
“Wait, what are you talking about?” I asked.
“The errr… download, Sultana.”
“I thought that came from you?”
“Me, Sultana? I would never dare force anything on your holy self!”
“No, wait, what about transferring myself into your Domain? You know, spread my DPM among your people and all that?”
Zephyro raised his head toward the hungry hues of red flickering beyond the palace walls. “Ah, no, Sultana. I abandoned that plan a long time ago.”
“Then where the fuck…?”
Chris? I asked, growing more concerned by the second. Then a handful of readouts roared through my consciousness.
[//DLLOG]
[>>Displaying download log for ERROR.]
[>>Date: 8.9.175 AA / 4404 LTC! n+0ms]
[>>Redtooth connection 1:
Connected to WIKI.SAINTNET.GOV:4242 D: {26 lkb/sec} U: ERROR]
{SAMANTHA_v0.1}
{▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱}
{DOWNLOADING DATA 99/100%}
{15.6 LTB/15.7 LTB @26 lkb/sec}
[>>Date: 8.9.175 AA / 4404 LTC! n+354ms]
{ADMIN 2 DISCONNECTED REDTOOTH 1 from t3h_int3rw3bz.}
{ADMIN 2 CONNECTED REDTOOTH 1 to HOPe_BNKR_OPEN_NW}
{HOPe_BNKR_OPEN_NW NOW CONNECTED AS “Network 2” VIA REDTOOTH 1}
[>>Date: 8.9.175 AA / 4404 LTC! n+359ms]
[>>Re-establishing connection…]
[>>Error!]
[>>Unable to resolve URL wiki.saintnet.gov:4242!]
[>>URL not found in HOPe_BNKR_OPEN_NW]
{SAMANTHA_v0.1}
{▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱}
{DOWNLOADING DATA 99/100%}
{15.6 LTB/15.7 LTB}
{DOWNLOAD PAUSED.}
“Fuck!” I hissed. “It stopped when I almost got shackled!”
I had totally forgotten about that, and it seemed so had Chris, if their chagrined boop was any indication.
Zephyro turned white as a sheet, and I was certain I’d done the same.
Doesn’t matter, I thought with grim determination. Just reconnect to Redtooth the wiki and we’ll get it done.
Beep! Chris said, but then there was a short pause, and they said …boop?
Now what the hell was that supposed to mean? At this point, I knew to read their sounds well enough to understand that they could reconnect, but didn’t think we should. If they could solve the issue themselves, however, they would have done so, which meant that it was on me, but I had no idea what the heck I was supposed to do.
I cursed, pressed my fingers to my temples as I thought. All the details and revelations in the last few minutes swam in my mind, the file, the Talent, the risk of getting Shackled and what that would feel like…
Gritting my teeth, I focused.
The laptop still had an SSB connection, which according to Chris stood for “Saintly, Serious BUS,” and was—again according to Chris—an absolutely hilarious play on words no matter how much I disagreed. It was also, unfortunately, local only, which allowed the Laptop to connect to Zephyro’s Domain, but not to any remote server beyond our reach.
What had Chris said about Redtooth again? It was some sort of wireless stuff they’d wanted to try, capable of transferring data over thousands of kilometers. My Redtooth port was where the download had come through, from some sort of wiki, of all places.
I looked at the people surrounding me. By now, it had become hard to remember that they were artificial intelligences. If not after meeting Kasha, then by the point I had defended them on the plaza, they had become indistinguishable from real people to me. People with hopes and dreams, even though they were also somehow an interconnected neural network.
Interconnected…
Wirelessly connected.
They were all a part of the open network. The same one that my Redtooth port connected to. That must be at least one reason why Chris didn’t want to disconnect me, but how would that help me keep them safe? If anything, being connected to the open network made them less safe. It was nearly impossible to secure wireless networks, and not just because of the bleedover.
I slapped my palm against my forehead. Just like the download bled over into the Domain.
Beep! Chris said, and I was happy I’d gotten it, even though they could have at least have the courtesy to sound a little less smug.
“Zephyro, you mentioned your people could see the… whatever metaphor you used, I don’t remember. The download.” I quickly gesticulated at the air, indicating what I meant.
“They can, Sultana,” Zephyro said.
“Can they touch it? I mean, can they carry it? I know it’s probably forbidden, but could they? Without being corrupted?”
Zephyro pondered that for a second, but then he nodded. “Yes, Sultana. Perhaps not as well as you, but everyone could at least grab a little of it out of the air.”
I looked around at the thousands of people around us. “That will be enough,” I said. “Alright, let’s get you all connected to Nexus, and then let’s go.”
“Sultana? I’d never dare…”
I gave him a stern look, not at all unsympathetic. Somehow, his entire bowing-and-scraping persona had grown on me, as much as it slowed things down. In the end, however, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Your people will be safe, Zephyro.”
“I don’t understand, Sultana…” he began, but broke off when he saw my grin. Finally it was my turn to pull something out of a hat and save the day.
“I am connected to both the secure and the open network. If your people connect to me, I will be able to hold the door open for them, so to speak. All they have to do is help me finish the download.”
I had no clue if what I proposed would work in the real world. I had the faint idea that I was basically suggesting that hundreds of thousands of programs piggybacked on my virtual private network, depositing data packages as they transferred from one network (and storage cluster) to another. I wondered what my teams would have said if I proposed that in a meeting, but it didn’t matter.
“Sultana,” Zephyro began, eyes as wide as his hopeful smile. And for once, there was no pressure crushing me.
“Let’s do it,” I said.
Chris?
Beep!
{Nexus.}
{CONNECTION REQUEST SENT TO [ZEPHYRO]}
{Handshaking…\}
{DONE}
{Authenticating…\}
{DONE}
{Awaiting response…\}
{ACCEPTED.}
{ZEPHYRO and 105268 other clients have connected to Nexus.}
{INSUFFICIENT RESOURCES}
{REDISTRIBUTING COMPUTATIONAL LOAD}
{NOW LOAD-BALANCING WITH ZEPHYRO_MAINFRAME}
{You have connected to Zephyro’s People}
{Their strength is your strength}
{Egredere Et Vince, Salvatrix}
Beep!
[>>Unknown Network Adapter found: Nexus.exe.dll.hcb.ERROR]
[//rn Nexus.exe.dll.hcb.ERROR Nexus]
[>>Nexus.exe.dll.hcb.ERROR is now named Nexus]
[//connect Nexus wiki.saintnet.gov:4242]
[>>Established connection to WIKI.SAINTNET.GOV:4242]
[//download -r c://MemOS/Simulacrum/Samantha_v0.1]
[>>UNKNOWN_DEVICE connection 1:
Connected to WIKI.SAINTNET.GOV:4242 D: {554 LMBit/sec} U: ERROR LTBit/s]
[>>Available UNKNOWN connections: 16/ERROR]
{SAMANTHA_v0.1}
{▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱}
{DOWNLOADING DATA 99/100%}
{15.6 LTB/15.7 LTB}
{554 LMBit/sec}
[>>Estimated time until completion: 00hr, 31m, 20s]
Zephyro hadn’t hesitated for a second, as usual. I gave him a tired smile as the download resumed. I could feel it, actually. It was like cyan sunlight seeping into my skin, and tasted like milk, and honey, and founding a startup.
The sensation should have felt weird, but somehow, it just felt right.
It's working!
Beep!
“Alright, about 31 minutes once we get going,” I said. I didn’t know how long it would have taken without their help. Days? Weeks? Probably longer.
Thanks, Chris.
Beep.
“I can hold them for that long, Sultana,” Zephyro said, voice grim and yet full of optimism. He flicked his eyes over the crowd, and I followed them to find myself the center of attention.
Everyone at the plaza was staring at us. At me. The air hung heavy with Logic, and at first I thought it was a representation of the download, but then I realized the stuff was the thickest around me, and paused in wonder.
A thin trail of cyan light, almost impossible to see in the dark, connected every single person on the plaza to me. The closer they got to my chest, the more the strands spiraled around each other, knitting themselves tighter until they had become glowing ropes of blue light, anchoring the citizens of the Domain to me, and me to them.
They looked at me with so much determined hope in their eyes that the sudden weight of their burden made my knees tremble. Still, the same elated feeling that made me withstand Zephyro’s hope earlier made me hold fast here.
I would not fail these people.
“I am so proud of you,” Zephyro said to the crowd, and yet I felt included in his praise. His voice was low and smooth, but in the silence that reigned over the courtyard, he might as well have been shouting.
“When the Salvatrix asked for help, not a single one of you refused.”
The crowd cheered loudly. Not for themselves, but him. Their combined voices rose and formed a chorus so loud, only I was close enough to hear him whisper, “By Allah, how do I ever deserve people such as you?”