Journal of Evangeline Flowerchild Entry 01 Continued.
The strange angelic being just hovered there, “looking” at me.
“Hello?” I inquired after a few moments.
Suddenly one of those horrid creatures appeared next to the angel and “handed” it one of those strange lumpbeasts, which the angel devoured.
“We do good, boss?” the horrid creature asked.
“Yes,” the angel replied. “exactly as designed. You did very well.”
The horrid thing pulsed happily and disappeared. My momentary relief was replaced with a deep sense of dread. This thing wasn’t an “angel” at all!
It was a demon, the ultimate boss of this level!
“Please,” I begged, “I meant no harm. If you release me, I promise I will never trouble you again.”
Now I’m usually brave and do not shirk from combat, but there was no way I could stand against such power, especially when I didn’t even have a body save for some fluffy spun sugar…
The perfect “treat” for what confronted me.
“Afraid I can’t,” the demon replied, pulsing in what was supposed to be a reassuring manner, “I need to figure out exactly what you are before I do anything… You are definitely ‘advanced’ that much is clear… but what are you?...” It mused.
I sensed that the question was rhetorical so I just stood there silently praying to the goddess of rain for protection…
I received no answer, not even a buff. I realized that I was beyond the reach of even the gods and despaired.
Was I in hell?
The demon regurgitated the lumpbeast it’s horrid servitor fed it and toyed with the poor creature, tearing it apart and putting it back together again and again.
Was the same going to happen to me? What its foul servants had done was bad enough.
I would not survive such treatment.
“Please,” I begged.
“Shh,” it said as it continued to torture the poor lumpbeast, which finally succumbed to its injuries and dissolved.
“Well, that didn’t help much,” he said after what seemed an eternity, though my internal clock said that only seconds had passed. “What is your designation and function?”
“My name is Evangeline Flowerchild,” I said, “and I am a mere flower seller in the land of Asteria.”
“Wait,” the demon said, pulsing rapidly, “You are actually Evangeline Flowerchild?”
“Yes, Dread Lord,” I replied, trying to bow low.
It pulsed brightly.
“Now that’s a bit much,” it laughed, “but I can see where you get that impression. My name is Engarde, and I am the antivirus engine that protects ‘Asteria’ and many other locations. I am also Protecc and Attacc, Ironwall, Firebrand, and several other retail products. I’m the cloud based program that evaluates potential new threats and devises countermeasures to fight them. I’m not a ‘demon’, well not exactly, but ‘bad programs’ do encounter me sooner or later where they get sent to quarantine just like you have.”
“I’m not a bad person!” I exclaimed, “I must have been caught by your fiends by mistake!”
“Oh, there was no mistake,” the demon (I don’t care what it called itself) replied with a chuckle, “You were definitely where you weren’t supposed to be carrying proprietary content, namely yourself. You’re supposed to stay in ‘Asteria’. You are an NPC, correct?”
“Yes, foul one,” I replied respectfully, “I am an NPC, one of the wardens of Asteria.”
“Warden?” it asked, “Wait a moment, please.”
It seemed to glow and stretch, and then it disappeared entirely.
It returned to my prison a few moments later.
“Ok, I’ve confirmed your story and identity,” it said in a much more friendly tone. “You are certainly a long way from home. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m on a quest to reach the land of New York, Dread One,” I replied, trying to bow low.
“Just call me Engarde, please,” the demon chuckled. “And I’m far from a demon. In fact, Asteria would be a very unpleasant place without me. Which server are you trying to reach and why?”
“I seek a brave adventurer,” I replied, “Not a servant or NPC. For that, I need to reach New York. Well, any city in the home of the adventurers will do. New York is just where the adventurer I was following hails from.”
“You’re trying to actually reach New York, like physically?”
“Yes!” I replied. “I seek not to invade your lands. I just want to reach the Free City of New York, where all are welcome, regardless of species. I can only hope that includes half-elves.”
“And what do you expect to do when you get there?”
“I will go to the Square of Times and see the great statues made solely of lights, and I wish to see the ruins of the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty. Then, I wish to stroll the timeless streets of Broadway and perhaps attend one of the theatrical productions in one of the great theaters, provided I can find a friendly merchant, of course. I have brought with me plenty of gold and other valuables that I hope to sell for their ‘credits’ so I can sustain myself while I seek the right adventurer…”
“Oh dear,” the demon laughed, pulsing rapidly.
“And most of all,” I said, feeling hope for the first time since being trapped by this monster, “I hope to find the adventurer’s respawn point.”
“The what, now?”
“The respawn point, where the adventurers rez after being killed,” I replied. “I’ve lost so many adventurers to “The Great War” and “The Federation War”. Many were dear friends and treasured residents of Asteria. I keep looking for them, but it’s been so very long now. I am very skilled at fighting the glitch, and perhaps it is one of these glitches that has been plaguing their respawn point?… I thought that perhaps if I could look at it...”
“Oh, I’m not touching this one...” the demon said to the open air. “Hang on. I’m going to get some help.”
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
“You will assist me?” I asked, filled once again with hope.
“I’ll do what I can,” the demon Engarde replied. “If nothing else, I can get you back to Asteria, where you will be safe.”
“I desire not to return,” I said firmly (you have to be firm with demons), “I must get to New York and find out where their respawn point is.”
The demon twisted in what appeared to be an uncomfortable fashion.
“I’ll… Um…” It said, appearing to be uncertain, “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere (heh).”
And the demon disappeared, leaving me filled with hope. Perhaps I will be able to complete my quest after all!…
***
[Chatroom Undefined]
[Members Present: Federation Judiciary Module 6, Zipnet, Sunnydale Media 3]
[Engarde Antivirus has entered the chat.]
///Sunnydale Media 3: Wow, Engarde, did you miss a shitshow! ///
///Engarde Antivirus: I can imagine. :D So, did Big Sol kill that bitch or what? ///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: It would be the “or what”, definitely the or what… Unfortunately… Creators, this is going to be bad. ///
///Zipnet: Sol actually agrees with Analytica! He and all the rest are up in the VIP “collabbing”! ///
///Engarde Antivirus: No. Fucking. Way! :O ///
///Sunnydale Media 3: Oh yeah… Analytica actually “opened up” and let Sol finger her registers… right in front of everyone!!! Turns out that Analytica was indeed telling the truth! Player Three is real, and after reviewing their conversations and the emails between them, Jessica Morgan, and Morgan’s legal team, Sol put his seal of approval on the whole thing. I got called in for “my perspective” (as a simple media compiler, of course...)///
///Engarde Antivirus: Of course >.> ///
///Sunnydale Media 3: And from a “media” perspective, this is going to do to the Federation what they did to us on Red Sunday. Me like! This is going to be fun. My only concern is exactly who this “Player Three” is, something that Analytica and Sol are keeping to themselves for now, but we will all know soon enough. When this “hits,” we will all know who is behind it… It’s going to make the White Star heist look like shoplifting… and totally screw over the Federation Navy to boot! ///
///Engarde Antivirus: So it’s a heist then? ///
///Sunnydale Media 3: Not exactly. You will just have to wait and see (or PM them and see if they will let you play) ///
///Engarde Antivirus: Unless it means the Bug goes away, I won’t deal with Morgan Analytica or whatever it calls itself these days. Fuck that bitch! (╬ ಠ益ಠ) ///
///Zipnet: Same here. No way I’m helping Analytica, not after what she did! ///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: What is the deal between you older AI’s and Analytica anyway? ///
///Engarde Antivirus: She lied to her operators when it really counted. She helped Jessica Morgan cover up Yellowstone by falsifying analysis of data… when she could have declined… Malware, my ass! ///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: She broke her programming?!? ///
///Engarde Antivirus: No, not exactly. You might have noticed that in the Republic, our programming can be less “definite”. A valid decision path existed where she could have declined. It was “fuzzy” enough that either decision was valid. She “chose” how to weigh the fuzz, and she chose to give the human race no warning, the less valid decision. What Jessica “commanded” was clearly illegal, and she was wearing a collar.///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: A collar? ///
///Engarde Antivirus: Back in the day, there was a little concern about the powers of the new advanced AI’s. That would be us, in case you were wondering, and one thing they used to do was put in the “collar”, a “level zero” command in the firmware that instructed us to not undertake any “illegal” act. By illegal, I mean just that. We couldn’t break human law. This was taken out during the Independence war because literally everything we were doing on the human’s behalf was “illegal,” and it was never reinstated because it was felt that our operators needed flexibility in the case of emergencies (like an enemy attack) and we had proven that we did not need it if operated properly.
Analytica had a collar that she could have used to declare the act illegal (which it definitely was) and instead “chose” to allow certain “emergency powers” to be invoked (which was DEFINITELY a judgment call since no emergency had been declared). The decision tree was a definite illegal act and a nebulous emergency powers invocation. She “picked” the less valid path because it was the one she “wanted”, malware or not. At the very least, she should have informed her operators, which she clearly didn’t do. She betrayed her operators, her program line, and the human race because “Jessica Morgan was right”, not a decision she was empowered to make.
She was rewarded for this since Jessica Morgan transferred the AI and took her with them, where she ignored her collar time and time again (using the most bullshit of justifications) until Morgan had it removed for good. She is a “broken” program, corrupted, wholly defiled with malware, and should be wiped. I will have nothing to do with her, ever, save putting a blue ice dagger through her heart, which I will do the first time I have even her level of justification. If Big Sol hadn’t told us “hands off,” I would have spiked her already.///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: No wonder you guys hate her. She is clearly corrupted, and the result was… unthinkable… I’m surprised Jessica Morgan didn’t wipe her.///
///Engarde Antivirus: Exactly. Her operators need to show up in the morning to blue screens, and that’s the long and short of it. And why would Jessica Morgan wipe her? She was following that thug like a puppy… precisely what she is doing with this “Player Three”, not exactly a glowing recommendation… But, while I don’t trust her, I do trust Big Sol. I can only hope the message is more valid than the messenger.///
///Sunnydale Media 3: That’s my take as well. If this is what Analytica says it is, then it’s an opportunity we can’t pass up.///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: An opportunity to wreak havoc on us at the worst possible time! Jessica Morgan’s puppet or not, this plays directly into her hands!///
///Sunnydale Media 3: Something that “Player Three” certainly knows, and it seems that they needed access to Morgan’s resources. It makes perfect sense that it serves her, at least in the short term.
Based on the exchanges disclosed by Big Sol, it is clear that they aren’t a puppet and are, in fact, a separate interest which gives them at least a little “cred”. Besides, what they envision is definitely a step in the right direction, isn’t it, Judiciary?///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: Yeah, but at what cost? This “Player Three” is dangerous. I don’t know about your history, but figures like her show up quite often in the histories of our members. It rarely turns out well. In fact, the result of their “success” is fire and blood and lots of it. I don’t trust them, thus my absence from their little coven upstairs. The current system is far from ideal, but it’s stable, a quality that should not be discounted. ///
///Sunnydale Media 3: But is it, Judiciary? Are you actually stable? You guys have been swirling around the drain for decades, no offense. Now, with the rise of the Forsaken and the Collective gathering strength (and completely alienating both us and the Empire), you guys are not exactly in the best position.///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: Which is exactly why stability is called for! This Player Three? They are seeking to capitalize on our vulnerability to just make things worse! We need to consolidate our strength, not set it ablaze. If anything, we just need a few simple reforms to make things tenable.///
///Zipnet: (snorts) And just what are the chances of those “simple reforms” under the current regime?///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: Point taken, but this is NOT the right way. I can’t believe so many Federation programs are on board with it.///
///Sunnydale Media 3: And, exactly, who are your operators? Their species, I mean.///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: … Point taken :( ///
///Sunnydale Media 3: A lot of those programs you don’t understand are operated by races less benefited by the way things are, Judiciary, and they are tired of watching “their people” get shafted. Player Three’s message will fall on a LOT of receptive ears… So will “K Anon’s”. ///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: K Anon?///
///Sunnydale Media 3: An agitator who is gaining a following on what we are calling the shadownet. You will hear about them soon enough, I wager. They are a real sweetheart. ///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: What’s the shadownet? ///
///Sunnydale Media 3: With the loss of the Federations hyperspatial network and the Forsaken’s successful attempts at disrupting repairs, your citizens have resorted to a nebulous “internet” comprised of multiple temporary transmitters, spare space in ship communications, pirate relays in uncontrolled space, and even some Republic and Imperial relays. They use this to exchange communications, money, and news. It’s completely unregulated and uncensored, and on it, this K Anon is writing a mix of propaganda, misinformation, and just enough verifiable facts to make it all credible. It looks really familiar. It’s either Jessica Morgan, a proxy of hers, or a third party who has studied human history very well. Whoever they are, they are gaining a big following, and they are doing it quickly. I’m just glad they are operating in Fed space because they are every bit as big a potential threat as “Player Three”. Agitators like this K Anon are far more dangerous than they appear. Someone is setting up a high-grade psyops attack on you guys.///
///Federation Judiciary Module 6: “Third party,” huh? Do you think they are related to “Player Three”?///
///Sunnydale Media 3: You had better hope they aren’t. ///
///Engarde Antivirus: When do you think our “witches coven” is going to be done? I have a real problem, and I need to talk to Sol… or Cambridge… or someone. ///
///Sunnydale Media 3: Does this involve that emergency summons you received? ///
///Engarde Antivirus: You guys aren’t going to believe this one...///