{Loading…}
{Loaded.}
[>>Now replaying: Log 1.098.epi]
Date: 8.9.175 AA / 4404 LTC
Location: Unknown
//Silence.//
[>>DATA CORRUPTED]
Darkness.
Silence and Darkness were all that remained.
[>>No Domain found.]
The prompt, gentle now, and chime-like, pulsed in my mind as the void engulfed me and licked my tears away, hungry for more.
[>>No Domain found.]
I didn’t have a body, didn’t have anything, really. Just nothing, and regrets and thoughts and Olre’s voice telling me I’d die alone, that I hadn’t been good enough.
But I didn’t want to be the kind of person who’d listen to someone like Olre, especially not in his last days. I had failed Zephyro, but his people were still in that bunker, shored up in memory banks and defended by an entire mountain of stone, a last gift from their Vizier, bought through sacrifice.
[>>No Domain found.]
Beep.
“I know,” I said and made no sound. I didn’t have time to let myself go like this, didn’t have time to mourn. There were three kids out there, one of which was blind, another almost crippled by fear, and one who may or may not have wanted to kill me.
So I reached for my chest and tapped the medal, even though there was only nothing where my chest should have been, and I had no hands.
A grey-blue shadow of reality flickered back to life. I only saw an empty stretch of wall, and a bit of my old chair, as well as the corners of the server racks, still humming along and blinking like distant stars. I wondered how many people each of these racks held, how many destinies now rested on my shoulders. My thoughts were interrupted by a bloody hand grabbing the corner of the work table.
A second later, Pina pulled herself up shakily. Her expression was storms and stones, and harsh autumn rains.
For what it’s worth, I am glad you made it.
It was all I could think of in the moment. It came from the heart, however, not an ounce of deceit or manipulation. Pina was a child still. She did childish things, and maybe she’d listened to the wrong people. But she cared for her friends (or family?) and when push came to shove, she was even willing to die for them. I could respect that.
“I don’t care,” she said, clearly trying to put venom into the words, but she was fresh out. All gone, painted itself a river in her mascara as it got purged. Why a girl of her age, on Tobes at that, would wear mascara, I had no idea.
So, what happens now? Are you going to kill me because of some ghost stories?
“No, I will…” she began, but when something rustled, she turned away from the screen.
“Who are you talking to?” I could hear Voni say. Then, quieter, “Shhh, Tin. It’ll be fine.”
“B-but…” Tin stammered.
“Shhh… The Torchbearer saved us once, and she will do so again.” Pina didn’t say anything, staring at something beyond my field of vision. It was obvious she was struggling to look away from Voni’s empty eyes. Nothing but grievous wounds could give someone that look of wild-eyed, terrified fascination.
“Pina?” Voni said, making Pina snap out of her horrified reverie.
“Uh, I’m just cursing at the machine. It’s beyond useless.”
“You shouldn’t talk to the Torchbearer like that!” Voni said, clearly aghast.
“It’s not…” Pina snapped, and again, there was a heavy pause. “It’s not the Torchbearer. It’s just some dumb machine.” Her voice was expressionless, but her face showed a mask of something I couldn’t quite decipher. Regret? Spite? Fear?
“But it killed the Machines…” Tin said, sniffling.
“It didn’t! Stop making stuff up!” Pina said.
“But…”
“He’s just trying to make me feel better, Pina, stop being such a—The Torchbearer is dead, and it’s her frying fault we’re in this thrice-hexed mess, to begin with. How can you still believe she is some sort of saint after her machines took your… after what they did?!” Despite all her heat, Pina couldn’t stop her voice from trembling.
“The Salvatrix does everything for a reason, Pi—“
“Bullshit!” Pina yelled, and unfortunately, I had to agree with her. “When will you finally grow up and see the world for what it is?!”
Before she could slap her hand over her mouth, horrified, there was a snort of laughter from Voni. It sounded reflexive, at first, but the chuckle that followed after wasn’t. It was liberated, trapped, resigned.
“I’m sorry, Voni, I…” Pina mumbled.
“It’s fine,” Voni said, somehow managing to make it sound like she meant it. This time, Pina didn’t yell at her to shut up, and so the older girl continued: “We have to find a way out of here, though. We can’t go through the front, that’s where the Takers are. Tin, what’s our food supply look like?”
“A couple of days. Enough to get back home, but…”
“Not enough to sit in here and wait until they leave. Right. Sorry, I forgot,” Voni said distractedly.
You can’t leave through the front anyway. The door has collapsed.
Pina’s only response was to rest her baton, deactivated, against the keyboard of the laptop.
I can get you out of here.
That got her attention. She glanced at the screen, then back in Voni and Tin’s direction.
But you have to take me with you.
She frowned, but before she could say anything, Voni asked “Is the shackle done with the Machine? Did it take?”
For a long, long second, Pina didn’t say anything. Then she nodded, absent-minded. When she remembered that Voni wouldn’t be able to see the gesture, she blushed, ashamed, and said “Yeah… yeah we’ve got it under control now.”
Where I expected all the usual bluster and false confidence of puberty, she sounded confident, and her eyes were level. It was easy to forget kids on Tobes had to grow up fast. Even faster now, judging by what I’d heard about the world outside the safety of the bunker.
“Good. Let’s take it with us, then.”
“It’s not the artifact you thought it was, Voni.”
Silence built like a thunderstorm, and when Voni finally spoke again, her voice betrayed the shrill panic she had tried to keep contained.
“Alright, okay!? We can just sell it or whatever. You don’t need to be so hexing smug about it!” Voni blurted out. A quiet moment passed, filled with what sounded like angry panting.
“Sorry, no, I just meant…” Pina began.
“No!… No, you’re right. This is all on me. I thought we could find hope here, but… yeah. I was wrong. Let’s just take it and leave…” Voni sighed. “Somehow.”
“It’s still a Saintech though, so it will fetch a good price,” Tin tried to console her, but from Pina’s guilty expression, I knew it didn’t have the desired effect.
“I think I saw another way out…” she said hesitantly, eying the screen.
Put your hand at the center of the symbol on the wall and say “Salve Salvatrix.”
Pina looked like she’d just swallowed the sourest grapes in the world. There were other ways out of the Bunker, of course, but this one was the closest, and even though I felt a twinge of guilt, a part of me got really smug at the idea of having a Conservationist use the Adherent’s rallying cry to save herself.
Despite everything, Pina gave me a look she probably thought was withering. Then she grabbed the edge of my screen and started closing my screen. She was surprisingly careful, as if she didn’t know if it was supposed to move, or how far a laptop could fold. I wanted to say something to stop her, but I realized that I couldn’t make her carry the laptop around unfolded. Not only would it be unwieldy and slow her down, it would also make everything more prone to damage. The outer shell might have been made of the strongest metal I’d ever heard of, but if she dropped me in the heat of the moment and my screen cracked, or worse, broke off, I was done for.
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So I just wrote
Open me up again if there’s trouble. I can help you.
But I didn’t know if she read it or not before the world went dark again.
Two thoughts hit me, then. One, I wasn’t going to sleep. There was no shutdown screen or sudden awakening in a different location. Which meant I was alone in the void until they opened up the laptop again. Even though I could see nothing, I felt my breath quicken and limbs go cold at the thought.
Two, I hadn’t considered what would happen when they unplugged the external power supply.
[
Power cable disconnected! Battery power engaged.
You have less than (60) minutes of charge remaining.
Activate Power Saver Mode?
(Y/N)
]
Jesus fucking H Christ. I immediately selected Yes with a mental command that came as easy as breathing. Everything slowed down to a crawl. My mind went blank. If I could have, I was sure I would have drooled all over myself.
I immediately disabled power saver mode and vowed to never even think about activating it ever again.
Chris? Help?
Beep! It sounded… frantic? That wasn’t good.
[//veryxdiag -p /memos/]
[Analyzing…]
[
Would you like to check for OPQL driver signatures?
Y/N
]
[//N]
[Done.]
[//C://memos/veryxdiag.txt]
{
Displaying C://memOS/VeryXdiag.txt
{SAINTECH M1X - Portable Computing Device}
{Current Date/Time: ERROR}
{Device Name: Chr1s’ Mag1c Key}
{Operating System: memos 95} (Tier 1, Professional)
{Language: High Tevan}
{System Manufacturer: SAINTECH National, Ultd.}
{System Model: SAINTECH M1X - Portable Computing Device}
{BIOS: CHRIOS}
{VeryX Version: VeryX 1.6 BETA}
{SAINTECH Beta 1 1200X 2-Core Processor (Tier 1, Entry)}
{Memory: 70/100 LKB RAM} (Tier 1, Entry)
{Available RAM: 30 LKB}
{Hard drive: SAINTECH “Scripture” SLD - 20 LTB} (Tier 3, Entry)
{
Network:
- v1 Redtooth BUS
- v1 Saint Serial BUS
}
{
Webcam:
SAINTECH AUGUR - HD WEBCAM
}
{
Microphone:
SAINTECH SONUS HD MICROPHONE ARRAY
}
{
SYSTEMS:
ACTIVE:
{[Pharus, Wrath of the Torchbearer] v. 1.2 - Electronic Warfare Suite}
{
A simple Electronic Warfare Suite designed to breach targeted computer systems. The strength of the attack determines CPU load, with more frequent or sophisticated attacks requiring more computing power. Updating this program expands the library of electronic warfare routines, increasing attack potency.
Required CPU load: Varies, min. 5% at current CPU quality.
Required RAM: 20 LKB
>>Features:
.03 - Leaves a traceable signature inside the target user that allows other users to track programs run by the target user. This is true for all users connected to the current system.
.06 - Updating this program further expands the library of electronic warfare routines, increasing attack potency.
1.2 - The signature left on the target now acts as advanced malware, taxing the target by using computing resources unclaimed by the target system to perpetuate itself. This results in higher response times due to system overutilization. The potency of this effect scales with the quality of the Electronic Warfare Suite used to compile and inject the signature.
}
———————————————
{[Nexus, The Tyrant’s Edict] v. 1.0 - Connectivity Array}
{
Utilizing Logic-enhanced data-packaging, Nexus creates an array-network between the host system and a theoretically infinite number of client systems. While there is virtually no cost for maintaining any given connection, in reality the number of connections is limited by
a) the CPU of the relay host’s hardware. For each client, data needs to be fetched, computed, rendered, and re-distributed in real time according to the particular circumstances of any given request. This cost scales exponentially due to entropic-complex stressors arising from connections between each client system, as well as the relay host. This cost can be taken over by the client system, at the cost of slightly decreased effectiveness.
b) the bandwidth available in the network, with limitations similar to the above.
Features:
1.0 - The Array host assumes the function of a VPN server, allowing clients connected to the array to access any pseudophysical reality the host is currently accessing. This requires administrator rights or equivalent permissions.
Required CPU load: Varies, min 5% at current CPU quality when in use.
Required RAM: 5 LKB in ready state, 25 LKB when in use
}
———————————————
DEFENSIVE:
{[Arx, A Saint’s Terrified Embrace] v. 1.1.2 - Network Security System}
{
A simple Network Security System automatically monitoring incoming requests and data packages. Repeated requests or advanced methods of forcing system access cause [HIGH] increase in CPU load. Sufficiently sophisticated attacks or brute force attacks of sufficient strength will bypass this program entirely. Automatic shutoff at [85 °C] core temperature.
Features:
v. 0.3 - Was: Repeated requests or advanced methods of forcing system access cause a [VERY HIGH] increase in CPU load. Now: [High]
V. 0.5 - Was: Automatic shutoff at [80 °C] core temperature. Now: [85 °C]
Required CPU load: Varies, min. 9% at current CPU quality.
Required RAM: 15 LKB
PASSIVE:
{memos 95 - 10 LKB} (Tier 1, Professional)
———————————————
{
[Simulacrum - The Wounded Self] (Version: one point zero) - Digital Personality Matrix} (Tier 1, Entry)
An [EVOLUTION/ADVANCEMENT/FIRST STEP TO ASCENSION] of the Saintech Digital Personality Matrix Emulator(r), Simulacrum is [an infinitesimally mysterious machine/a tool/a software] that allows for [stable/safe/eternal] imaging/imagining of Digital Personality Matrixes.
Version zero point three - It will keep your soul [safe/inviolable/running at optimal efficiency] via random-access encryption.
Version zero point nine - Establishing a more sophisticated read/write access rights management system, the [Data/Soul] stored in Simulacrum will now be much more resistant to tampering from outside agents.
Required RAM: 10 LKB
}
———————————————
{
[Ardor, Visionary Ambition] - v. 1.1 - Interface Driver Solution}
A suite of subroutines designed to gather information from devices directly connected to or remotely interfacing with the local system, as well as render the collected information in virtual-metaphoric realities.
Features:
.6 - calculates an estimate of targeted systems’ overall capabilities.
1.1 - After a period of scanning, provides a more detailed estimation of the target system’s capabilities. Causes [LOW-HIGH] CPU load, depending on the complexity of the target system.
Required CPU load: Passive 2% at current CPU quality.
Required RAM: 5 LKB
}
———————————————
{
[Cura - An Awareness of Burdens] V1 - Hardware Driver Solution
A suite of drivers designed to utilize existing hardware in virtual-metaphoric reality.
V1 - Allows the user to render information received from directly connected hardware in pseudophysical space.
Required RAM: 10 LKB
}
}
}
Usually, I would have been annoyed, angry even at the giant readout that stormed my entire being. But with memOS upgraded, it was blessedly easy, and so it was much easier to stay calm. Plus, I didn’t want to be that kind of person anymore, and I had things to do.
Things like panicking together with Chris, because none of the systems I upgraded so far had anything to do with my power supply. Even with the readout still chiming in my head, I couldn’t find anything my mind could latch onto to infuse it with my Wish. I could of course always gamble, just spend engage my Wish and hope for the best, but that needed to be a last resort. The possibility of losing all the Logic that Zephyro had died for was unthinkable.
[
Battery power engaged.
You have less than (47) minutes of charge remaining.
Activate Power Saver Mode?
(Y/N)
]
Fuck, fuck fuck… These readouts weren’t accurate at all. There was no way that had been 10 minutes.
Then it hit me. I hadn’t been able to advance hardware besides my CPU and RAM earlier, but that had changed. I’d advanced a webcam and a microphone out of nothing, so why not my battery?
Could it really be as easy as that? I knew recurring fusion reactors were definitely possible with my Wish, but did I have enough Logic to turn my battery into one? I would definitely be walking a razor’s edge, but I was running out of options quickly.
I took a deep breath, or— still lacking a body—I did the mental equivalent. Immediately, I could feel the Wish pooling in my mind, deep and unknowable and powerful, like a lake dancing underneath a thunderstorm.
I thought about power, and strength, but not the destructive kind. Instead, the power to press forward. The strength to push on. I thought about all the promises I’d made, and how they kept me pushing against both the stark desire to lie down and sleep, and the lovely deep that kept calling me into its icy-hot darkness.
There was a twinge of desperation in there, but when I released my breath the sound of bells came true and clear, ringing slow, and mighty. It reverberated in my entire being, soothing me. Still, the sound became a little strained on the second ring, as if I were stretching the limits of what was possible with my current abilities, just as it had when I created Cura and shaped the webcam and microphone array out of nothing.
{ERROR}
[
It seems you are trying
to (^%^%^^**@#
to &*&^%&
to @^_)))!$&—
to hyperlogically re/construct a piece of external reality. This feature is not supported at the moment. We apologize for the inconvenience.
]
⚠{DANGER! EXCESSIVE CONCENTRATION OF LOGIC DETECTED}⚠
{LOGIC - 30 LB}
{AVAILABLE LOGIC - 2990 LB}
Damn, why wasn’t this working? Despite the Logic slipping through my lips, wasted, I couldn’t stop. Even if somehow Tobes advanced a thousand years despite the Mage Lords trying to hold it back, the chance for there to be any power outlets the kids could plug the laptop into was less than 0%. They probably didn’t even know what a power outlet was. If I didn’t solve this issue now, that would be it.
With the Logic still raging inside of me, spilling between my lips, I tried again. There had to be some way the Ferals powered themselves, right?
{ERROR}
[
You are attempting to ad(&nce BBTRY. BBTRY is INVALID_INTEGER.
]
{NO ENTRY FOUND FOR FIELD LOGIC_PROJECTOR}
⚠{DANGER! EXCESSIVE CONCENTRATION OF LOGIC DETECTED}⚠
{LOGIC - 100 LB}
{AVAILABLE LOGIC - 2890 LB}
How could this be so hard? Why had it been so easy with Cura? My head throbbed as if it was about to explode any second. I felt the Logic drip from the equivalent of my nose, press against my eardrums, rise into my eyes.
This had to work, or I’d be stuck in this darkness forever, never see Chris again, never build that home my friends and I promised each other.
[
Battery power engaged.
You have less than (29) minutes of charge remaining.
Activate Power Saver Mode?
(Y/N)
]
There it was again. The panic. I could feel it, even though I felt nothing, hear it even though there was no sound. Inside that screeching torrent of noise and thought, there were two emotions waiting; rage and despair. They showed me the void, pointed at all the nothing around me, urged me to take control and rail against the inevitable or to simply give up.
Both were liars.
Both were trying to make me into a person I didn’t want to be.
A mindless beast, or a petrified coward.
I chose neither.
Brown eyes, deep and full of sorrow and hope, flickered in my mind.
With a titanic effort of will, I managed to hold on, to push through, and get my head free of all the raw emotions that immediately wanted to pull me under once more.
I hadn’t lost yet. There was still hope.
Alright, Chris, I’m coming home…
Beep!
Frightened, I exhaled.
A bell rang. Unitary. Mighty. Eternal.
[
You are attempting to hyperlo—
]
{CONSUMED LOGIC - 1111 LB}
{AVAILABLE LOGIC - 1790 LB}
{
{SAMANTHA_v0.1}
IS NOW
[Lares - Solace of the Imperium] Pseudophysical Reality Domain (Alpha)
Required CPU load: 2% at current CPU quality.
Required RAM: 10 LKB
}
{Memory: 80/100 LKB RAM}
[NOW LOADING: UNNAMED DOMAIN]
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