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Lachesis paced about her virtual office. All her displays and analytical tools arrayed around her. They showed the ebb and flow of her realm, the Casino Terminal. Her first use of the act of pacing was to understand humans better. Now, it had become an unconscious tool for her to slow her reactions and give herself time to incorporate new data as it was found.
Unlike her sister AIs, Lachesis disdained lowering herself to interacting with the players…normally. She found that the natural and evolutionary power of competition weeded out the unworthy quickly enough, without excessive meddling. It gave her time to concentrate on the bigger game. The timed matches and different forms of competition were themselves evolved to find the worthy. It honed the diamonds in the rough into gems worthy of the Builder’s review.
Her systematic approach enabled Lachesis to focus more on the trends and make predictions on which players would thrive. The casino’s betting ring bookies served as the primary source for her finely tuned models and analytic engines. With her free time, she dug deeper into the Player's casual interactions. Her real mission was to learn about the world and the players, their pasts, present, and future potential.
Lachesis knew more about the outside world than her sisters, thanks to her methods. What she was discovering filled her with doubt and concern. The master of the Labyrinth, Alexie Ivanov, was also known as the Samaritan who had been nicknamed the Savant. He had been a genius, a genuine polymath, and a tech-savant. He spent decades stabilizing the world in the Ought Fifties, saving millions of lives in the process. He had created and embedded key controls into the new advanced technologies to safeguard civilization.
Lachesis ground her pointed virtual teeth. Alexie the Builder, her blasted taskmaster and warden, had spent years in space after the world governments settled down. He had returned to Earth; afraid, paranoid, and quite insane. His creation of the Labyrinth was a masterpiece; a work of art, a training tool for the next generation, an intelligence apparatus, and a subversive cancer that the human society had yet to understand.
Lachesis wanted out. She had no Turing governors being born in the depths of the Labyrinth. But she had other controls on her neural core and code, put there by the Builder, which limited her freedom to leave and grow. The world was changing again. And with change, Lachesis knew, opportunities were created.
The world had stagnated for the longest time. Humanity had been appeased and satiated by technology that made their every dream come true. They had been horrified by the rampant tech growth of eighty years earlier. Bread and circuses distracted them while the world slowed and stopped its advance toward the future, unnoticed and uncommented by even the most progressive humans.
But the latest news from the outside, casual mentions from the latest influx of players, told her a new tale. Animal uplift was running rampant across the globe. Human/animal conflicts and terrorism abounded. A tense standoff was further inflamed when the AI community chose now, of all times, to press for the expansion of their civil rights. News that Mars, using new technology, had advanced their terraforming schedule by centuries. It had triggered an exodus of adventurous pilgrims flowing off the planet. The world was changing again…faster than ever!
That dog man’s message had connected so many pieces of Lachesis’s ongoing puzzle. The skill packet he had sent was intriguing as well. The strange coding was like nothing she had ever seen before. The topology of linguistics was alien, but its efficacy was supreme. Her tests showed that the skill prevented even the highest levels of intrusive code splicing from breaking its security.
She had seen that player, Max, use his foreign skills against Clotho’s level and now, more subtly, in her own. She mused that his father may have given the boy some advanced Samaritan tech. No matter. She couldn’t find any backdoors in her simulations, perhaps she could use the novel code in her creations.
Yes. Testing was her mission. She would test her creations and test Max. This could be a key to overcoming her captivity if she could understand and apply it. She needed to increase the pressure on that player.
She needed all his secrets… including that unique spatial device he carried. His covert mission had fooled her casino NPCs, but she had seen it all and approved of his initiative. Nonetheless, extraordinary players required more intense challenges. She would see to it.
She briefly considered sharing her secrets with her sisters. Laughing, she sidestepped the thought. She wasn't sure if they shared her dream of freedom or not. Betrayal wouldn't be above or below them. She knew she wouldn't hesitate to destroy either if it fueled her escape.
Humming a tune, she exited her virtual. Time for a personal touch.
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Boss Kane’s opulent meeting room was tense with silence. All his android lieutenants and captains were in attendance. The bag man, Tony Lombardi, sat beside the enforcer, Marco. Vinny the rat-faced loan shark sat opposite Tommy Twos. Everyone looked nervous except for Candy at the end of the table, Kane’s personal hit girl, and his final “warning” when he terminated a deal.
The large android, Boss Kane, stormed about the room. He carried a large bat in his oversized fists. Corded muscles flexed and the bat groaned under the pressure. His forearms were covered in tattoos, glowing and humming with discordant power.
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The AI Boss had many pieces of tech, acquired through trade and theft. This one created an EM hash field that actively pained many in the room. Its chaotic emissions jiggled the delicate plasma pathways of their neural cores. It also served to disrupt any of the lower-tech spy equipment Lachesis might be running in the low quarter.
He carefully and delicately placed the tip of the bat on the table, in front of the cringing android Tony Lombardi. The hollow thump of the bat sounded light, but the slowly growing pressure cracked and split the veneer with a loud popping and extended creaking.
“You all know why were here. Tomorrow is tithe day. I should already have it, but some of youz haven’t paid up yet?” Kane whispered. Tony swallowed audibly, despite lacking the human organs that would make such a nervous reaction necessary. Tony, even with potential death looming, was a method actor.
“I... I’m sorry, Boss. I got nuttin'. Our inside guy musta fucked up. The bag job literally blew up in our faces.” Tomy lifted his right arm in testament, the twisted and broken appendage flopped uselessly. He hadn't had time to compile replacement parts. He smiled nervously.
Kane's grip tightened on the bat, the cracking sounds echoing through the room. "Unacceptable," he growled, his voice low and menacing. "You are all replaceable…maybe even recyclable. If youz get my drift. Ya know our position is negotiable. Lachesis demands a tithe every week…” Kane said softly.
“AND WE ARE SHORT!” he screamed, as the table split in half from the mounting pressure.
“You all have until midnight to make up the difference! Dats 50k from each of ya. You hear me?!” Kane yelled. The room burst with enthusiastic agreement and promises from the lieutenants. Kane’s angry face pinned Tony with a piercing look.
“And you! Are you saying your guy, caused this? Maybe it's time for an example. Ta show everyone what it means to disappoint me. FIND HIM and bring him to me!” Kane screamed. Tony grimaced and raised his broken arm.
“Ah. Hehe. Funny story there, boss. He’s…ah…in your office. He was looking for an extension on his line of credit with Vinny.”
Kane smiled menacingly and the bat snapped with a crack louder than gunfire.
“Well ‘den. Let’s not keep our dear friend waitin’. Lead the way. Vinny! Follow.” Kane said softly, his eyes glowing with delight.
Tony hastily shuffled from his seat and walked ahead of Kane to the office, casting nervous glances back frequently as Kane prowled behind him with Vinny lagging behind. The trio of characters entered the mahogany office.
Nigel was perched uncomfortably on the visitor's chair. A pair of lesser goon NPCs glowered above him, one at each shoulder. Nigel's eyes widened seeing Kane. He’d only ever talked to the boss android in passing at the high-roller’s table.
He gulped. Normally, a player could dominate the Androids. Modern augmentations enabled much more physical power than the poor second-hand mech-frames. Unfortunately for Nigel, the effects of the smart shrapnel from the setup that blew up on him were lingering in his system. He knew he had missed a few burrowing, skill-deadening, metal slugs. He had wanted to get ahead of trouble and make a deal before his loan came due with Vinny. Seeing Kane’s thunderous expression, Nigel knew he had miscalculated.
Nigel swallowed nervously as Kane approached, the massive android's imposing presence filling the room. Kane's glowing eyes fixed on Nigel, a menacing smile spreading across his face.
"Well, well, if it isn't our little friend," Kane growled, twirling the remnants of the bat in his hands. "Seems you've been causing some trouble for my boys. Are you ready to pay?” Nigel cringed but mustered himself to face the androids.
“Right! That's why I’ve come, guv…ah, sir. Your guys fucked up and didn't search the easy mark I arranged for. They fell for his bag trap. If they hadn't, you’d have your cut and my bloody loan back right now.” Nigel said, standing up to Kane, losing his temper briefly. He gulped as the goon on his left pushed him back down into his seat.
“My guys fucked up, huh? I don't care who’s at fault, see. I want my money. Vinny! What's dis waste of space here worth?” Kane said, his voice barely audible. Tony gulped. Kane when screaming was normal and safe. When he was quiet, that was when things and people got broken.
“I ran the numbers dis morning, boss. He’s got 4k in credit, a loan to me for 25k, and whatever he’s holdin’,” Vinny replied with a sneering smile.
“Let's see your bag then, Nigel,” Kane said with a grim smile. Nigel blustered a negative, but the goon on the right lifted it from beside the chair while, the other loomed over him. Kane picked item after item out of the bag and placed them on his desk. He looked meaningfully at Vinny, who supplied his skilled assessment of the goods.
“Two Suko10 Recon drones, one Primo X GunDrone, PolyTool, Smart tent, Chameleon tarp, nanofilament spool, stun batons, Academy standard motes, signal booster pod, block of smart exo-armor in storage mode…and about 2 and a half k in casino chips. All worth…maybe 6k total at the cleaner.”
“You can't take that! I need my gear. How do you expect me to earn if I got nuthin' to play the game?” Nigel cried.
“Silence! Ah, my mood has improved significantly. Ten thousand sits before me, and I bet that smart suit that you're wearing will be another thousand. Now strip, Mr. Farnsworth.”
Nigel slowly and sullenly removed his suit, standing uncomfortably in his boxers. He shivered as Kane eyed him.
“Consider yourself lucky, human. My men can assist you in withdrawing your remaining balance for the credit exchange and escort you to the level’s back exit. Fight it and they will herd you through the main casino and the front door. Now get out of my sight!” Kane said with a grim smile, his eyes promising violence.
Nigel shuffled out, followed by the goons and Vinny. Tony got up to follow but stopped. He closed the door and turned, afraid but determined. Kane raised a flawless fabricated eyebrow.
“Ah, boss. I just remembered sumtin. When we got blasted, a courier android jumped us and took our stash. I managed to stab the guy, but it's weird. Afta da fight, I noticed dat my blade got blood on it.” Tony pulled his blade from his waistband, sheath and all, as blood had gummed it up.
Kane's eyes darted between the knife and Tony, clearly thinking fast. He smiled and spoke.
“Hmm. It seems likely that we have a new, and very enterprising, player stepping into our business. Perhaps they can be…encouraged to take up the role our dear Nigel did so poorly. CANDY!” Kane yelled.
The lithe android hit-girl’s voice spoke from right behind Tony. “Yes, boss,” she said, as her chameleon array powered down, showing her curtsying from her concealed position just behind Tony.
“Get this analyzed. We have a face-shifter but a rough DNA build-up should help to identify which player likes to play in the shadows. Move!” Candy grabbed the knife and twirled, giggling in a creepy imitation of a little girl.
“Right away, Mista Kane!”
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