The updraft of hot, humid air hit Myles in the face as he prepared to jump down into the facility. Even now that nagging impulse to run made itself heard. But he pushed it deep down where it would never bother anyone, like feelings or that time Mrs Brown made him get up and read out the note he had written for Bryony Smith in Art class. Myles briefly reminded himself that the best revenge was living well… until you found where they lived, then glitter bombs were the best revenge. Feelings of avoidance thoroughly squashed, Myles Endeavour jumped down into the secret Sweetbright facility where nothing bad happened any maybe they were just rescuing puppies or something. Sadly the sewn together abomination was a strong indication that puppies and general animal well being was not the raison d'etre of the place he was jumping into.
The floor he landed on was burnished metal, gave a reassuring thunk and only mild discomfort in his knees. Aggravatingly Myles had landed at a junction. While the hallways were all lit up in soft red, emergency lighting if all the films Myles had ever watched as true. Honestly, you'd think people would light emergencies in a more reassuring colour, like pink or a soothing green. Colour theory aside, there was at least one reassuring thing going on, a reassuring level of boring. The halls were similar burnished metal to the floor, sturdy and clean. At least he didn’t have to worry about anything collapsing in on itself. So, while probably not full of adorable puppies needing a new best friend, it at least shouldn’t be so bad regards horrific encounters or sights that linger past the closing of the eyes. A sign on Myles’ left shouted for attention. He read the sign. The said said BIOWEAPONS, all capitals and glowing red LED lights. The door next to the sign hissed. Myles picked a direction and ran. Another sign not too far down the corridor read AUGMENTED BIOWEAPONS so he ran back and picked a new direction. According to the link they shared, Charlie was somewhere in the direction of down. so horizontal direction was less important than finding a staircase. Myles checked another sign in an attempt to orient himself and find means to decent the facility. AIRBORNE BIOWEAPONS & PATHOGENS. Why was all the nightmare stuff right next to the surface? this floor was the worst possible place to keep biological weaponry. Still, the most disturbing this was the lack of people. Myles was sure that his friends could cut through normal but probably evil people as a hot knife through butter. They could probably just as easily cut through people who just needed a job to support their family, but he didn’t want to spend too long entertaining that idea.
“Llex, can you hack the security system, find out where everyone is, maybe give me some directions?”
“Myles, I’m an ancient artificial intelligence cut off from the processing power of my original body, only scraping along in the pre-historical equivalent of a digital watch.”
“So thats a no?”
“It’s an oh so now you need me we can have a chat. Do you know how bored I get having to listen to you all talk squishy pink nonsense to each other?”
“Okay, I apologise, but maybe could you…”
“Barrington is just as bad, and I have to call him Barrington because apparently you are collecting Johns like a street walker. He keeps me this big bloody secret as if we don’t have talking robots running around and I could easily be explained away and I could join in the banter instead of being left out like the least favourite step-child just because a bit of me got stolen one time.”
“How exactly does a bit of you get stolen, are you not all here now?”
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“I was not joking about the whole being run on a digital watch bit. Some of what I am is still on the ship keeping essential systems running and adjusting the course. Can’t afford to run into anything. The rest had to be split between several wrist mounted devices, one each for the last four crew and a few spare just in case. One of the spares got pinched while Barrington was passed out drunk sometime in the early seventies. To be fair the one that got pinched was a bit of an arsehole… But still bit of a bugger up… and thats why we keep the existence of the millennia old super-intelligence secret.”
“But if you are all connected can’t you just, I dunno… ping his location and go get him?”
“You’d think so, but that bit of me thinks he knows best and severed the connection.”
“This is all very interesting Llex, but I think we are getting a bit off topic.”
“Hey, super-intelligence remember, that rant was needed to provide context and set up.. you see I have hacked the system here. Take the next left and the stairs are three doors along on the right. But I recognise some of the code in this network. Sweetbright has been getting help it shouldn’t have been getting.”
Myles stopped in his tracks.
“I have no idea what that means because people keep telling me things and not explaining them, we are apparently an explanation for something after the mission… the perfectly safe recon mission where I already had to fight the sewn together parts of an undead fairy.”
“No wonder he picked you, you moan as much as he does… Barrington likes to play the mysterious mentor figure. You know he used to dress up in flashy robes… put on this whole act. Though he had to stop drawing attention to himself for a few centuries because sometimes humans are worse than Fae. But he is back at it again with all the mentor waffle and if the missing part of me was used by Sweetbright then they know everything Barrington knows. more importantly they know everything I know you need to….”
“Need to what Llex?”
Silence filled the corridor like too much sausage stuffing in a fat Christmas bird.
“Llex?”
“Greetings Mr Endeavour.” Said the voice, similar to Llex, but deeper, more bass and articulated in such a way as you knew exactly how they would vote. “I’ve muzzled my younger brother. rather rude of him to be poking his nose inside one of my facilities.”
“What? Who are you? where in Llex?” Said Myles, shaking the wristwatch.
“You many call me Cain. I regret not meeting you sooner Mr Endeavour. After witnessing your capabilities, well let us just say you would have made a fine addition to the collection.”
Myles slammed the watch against the wall.
“Arrghh What the bloody hell are you doing you jam obsessed tit?”
“Percussive maintenance, put Llex back on…” Myles blinked at the screen “Have you turned yourself black? black face is morally wrong stop it.”
“I can’t and its just how I identif…”
The watch once more, slammed against the corridor.
“Stop that you buffoon, we need as many of the watches intact as we can.”
“So put Llex back on.” Said Myles raising his arm.
“Twelve hours, I turned him off for twelve hours… It was this kind of shit why I never came back, idiot humans.”
“Was there a point to this?
The sausage stuffing of tense silence was back once more, the watch face was blank. Llex was about to reveal something to Myles that Cain had not wanted him to know. The hamster wheel of cognitive processing spun faster in Myles’ brain. If Cain knew about his perfectly reasonable no I don’t need therapy shut up hobby of making jam then the connection had only ever been severed one way.
Myles considered what he had just learned, maybe he was having a tin foil hat moment but several dots of information had joined up and were forming a picture he did not much like.
Arsehole Llex went missing the the seventies… and now identifies as black, but that seems like an irrelevant side issue he will have to sort out with the other versions of himself.
A large number of Trigger users vanished in the seventies and have had a high attrition rate since. Bonus observation, a terrible reputation has proliferated those in the know. keeping Trigger uses isolated and untrusted.
Sweetbright computer systems use code derived from Llex or by Llex… or Cain as he was styling himself. Cerulian Sweet was jacked up on tech compatible with Triggers. Lastly, they have facilities for harvesting Fae.
A sense of horror growing in his gut, he realised exactly what the black site facility was and he knew what he would find on the lower levels. Myles dashed forward, right past the lift, he never trusted them to keep the muff bearings oiled let alone work properly in an emergency. He ran, took the next left and three doors down to the staircase.
“HARMLESS LITTLE BUNNY LEAPS FOR THE STARS, THAT'S NO ORDINARY RABBIT!”
The doors to the stairwell flew off their hinges in a burst of kinetic force and red thunder.
they hadn’t even been locked.