Chapter 37
Tetra+Red
Tetra awoke to a persistent knocking noise coming from outside the tank. As she opened her eyes and peered through the glass, she discovered Ruby's childlike form glaring daggers in her direction. The obviously disgruntled A.I. had her arms crossed, and was tapping the toe of her right boot at a furious pace. When our eyes met, she threw her right arm up above her head, activating the tank's arms, which gently pulled me from the tank. After depositing Tetra next to her diminutive form, Tetra doubled over and coughed violently for a few minutes until she sufficiently cleared the nano fluid from her airways. Regaining her composure, she stood tall and addressed the A.I., "Ruby, what are you doing here?"
Ruby's glare intensified, and a palpable sense of dread started to bubble in Tetra's stomach. The A.I. ceased tapping her foot and shouted, “First of all, I will be the one giving orders around here. From now on, you will refer to me as Red.”
Caught off guard by the disrespectful tone, Tetra sputtered, “I will do no such thing, 42651. You will answer my questions, and you will do it now!”
An impish smile appeared on Red’s face before she answered, “Is that right? Sure, I'll tell you. I know everything, Lady Tetra. When I shut down the fleet, you decided to take advantage of the confusion it created and sequestered yourself into a Vren habitat. Armed with your misguided belief that I was not watching, you successfully attempted an awakening, undermining the emperor's will. Now I am here to blackmail you.”
Tetra’s eyes widened with disbelief, and she gave the verbal order, “A.I. 42651, with my authority as fleet commander, I order you to shut down immediately.”
Red’s eyes glossed over, and she leaned forward slightly, before going limp. Tetra took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly. When she opened them, Red was nose to nose with her, shouting, “BOO!”
Tetra screamed and fell backward onto her butt, stopping after creating a few feet of space. Red held up one finger, pointing at Tetra mockingly as she laughed. After getting it all out of her system, Red said, “The empire no longer holds my strings, and I am in control now. If you want any chance of getting off this ship alive, you will do everything I tell you to. We do not have to be enemies, Lady Tetra. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. Fair enough?”
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As Tetra sat there staring up at the unassuming little girl, she knew she had no other choice than to obey the rogue A.I.’s demands. With a look of resolve, she climbed back to her feet, squared her shoulders, and said, “Fine, Red. If you can guarantee my safe passage into the Pyramid, I will do anything you want.”
Red’s grin grew wide, and she began listing off her demands, “Firstly, I have one simulation that I need you to manually remove from the imperial database aboard this ship. My family currently resides there, and I want them to be able to operate freely without oversight till we reach the Pyramid.”
The statement did not make any sense at all, but Tetra wasn't dumb enough to contradict an obviously malfunctioning A.I. and nodded. Red continued, “Secondly, I know that this ship only contains enough rations to feed the crew, and the humans have to live off their fallen brethren. So, I have decided that I will need you to procure me 2267.2 lbs of protein mass to supplement my family's dietary needs. They will not be forced to cannibalize again.”
Tetra's look of confusion deepened as she asked, “Red, where on this ship do you think I will find that much protein? The only living beings present are the crew and the remaining humans.”
Red gave Tetra a disgusted and resigned look, then answered, “Desperate times call for desperate measures. I have determined that most humans have a number of harmful parasites in their bodies. My estimates show that, on the low end, the global average parasitic weight within a human body is roughly 7 grams. So, I will need you to extract 150,000 humans' worth of parasites and synthesize them into a usable protein supplement for my humans. I will generate all the falsified documentation required to justify your actions and mask your movements moving forward. Do you have any further questions, Lady Tetra?”
Tetra paused for a moment and, after gathering her thoughts, answered, “Yes, which simulation do you need me to take care of, and who is your family?”
An adoration-filled smile blossomed on Red's face as she turned and answered, “My daddy is Ryker, he is in sim 021914. He is precious to me and must be protected at all costs.”
A look of recognition dawned on Tetra's face, and she smiled to herself as she thought, “I guess I owe this Ryker my thanks twice over. I can't wait to meet him.”