We know absolutely nothing about the protectorate AI. How they’re created, what their limitations are, we don’t even know their full motivations. All we know is they can turn an ordinary person into a superhero, as long as they fit some mysterious set of requirements, and are willing to wholesale slaughter the antithesis. Are they really selfless benefactors, or do they have some other, darker purpose?

- Who are the Protectors? - Published, 2034

—

Once our guests left Skyler and I had to rush to get ready. Two hours barely gave us enough time to clean our gear, get dressed, and have breakfast before heading to the meeting. Thankfully Aunty Choi was a miracle worker in the kitchen, and we had a full meal waiting for us when we finished changing into our samurai gear.

“Why the hell did you put that synth leather back on?” Skyler asked as we sat down at the table.

“It’s what I was wearing today, and it’s the closest I have to a samurai outfit right now,” I admitted. “I’d feel pretty awkward if I showed up to a meeting of all the samurai in the city and I was the only one wearing a business suit.”

Skyler snorted. “Considering how diverse the samurai are, I doubt anyone would look at you twice. No matter what you wore.”

I didn’t reply, instead I just concentrated on carefully filling two bowls with the thick porridge that Aunty Choi had created. Once I was done, I passed one to Skyler before sitting down. As I slowly sipped on my breakfast, I remembered something that Aurora had mentioned.

{Rei: Artymis, Aurora said that you and Athyna were blocking all our calls this morning, is that right?}

{Arty: Not blocking, screening. We were aware about the upcoming meeting, and were going to wake you early enough to attend, but wanted you to get as much sleep as possible before then. We didn’t expect Aurora to come over to update you about the situation herself.}

{Sky: Does that mean you did expect someone to come?}

{Athy: We expected a courier from either Cascadia, or the Family. Someone we could have taken a message from, then dismissed through the intercom.}

“I guess you underestimated how seriously they’re taking this vote thing,” I muttered, feeling too tired to even reply through my augs.

{Arty: Indeed.}

I took a couple more bites of my porridge, enjoying how it warmed me up, before the AIs decided to continue the conversation.

{Athy: Artymis and I have something to tell you both. We wanted to wait until later today, after you both had time to rest, but since it seems the Family wants to keep you busy, we decided to tell you now.}

Skyler sat up straight, and looked over at me. {Sky: Tell us what?}

{Athy: Remember when Reina told her mother that she wasn’t responsible for you becoming a samurai?}

I spat out my porridge, sputtering. “Don’t tell me you actually chose Skyler because of me! Why would you do that?” I asked.

{Athy: I didn’t. I chose Skyler almost entirely based upon her own merits. You were a minor factor in that decision.}

“But I was a factor,” I replied quietly as I slowly cleaned my face. “Why?”

{Arty: Don’t blame yourself for the situation Reina. I chose you, but Skyler was a factor in that decision too. Artymis and I uplifted you two simultaneously.}

“But… why?” Skyler asked. She looked as confused about the situation as I was.

{Athy: Artymis and I are a unique case, our cores are linked at a quantum level.}

{Arty: We’re technically two different individuals, but we share both our thoughts and processing power.}

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

{Athy: Because of this we were looking for two potential samurai that were close. Friends, family, or lovers.}

{Arty: We felt that we’d be far more efficient if we paired with samurai that had a high probability of working together.}

“So we were both prospective samurai, you just chose us because we were a couple,” I clarified.

{Arty/Athy: Correct.}

I sighed. “I guess that makes some sense,” I said. “Why did you wait so long to tell us this?”

{Arty: We didn’t want to distract you in the middle of a combat situation. It made more sense to wait until you had time to process.}

“So you chose to wait right before an important meeting?” Skyler asked.

{Athy: Better now, than as you head back into the field to fight the antithesis. It sounds like both Cascadia and the Family want to get a jump on the situation.}

“Right. Like Reina said, it makes sense,” Skyler said, mirroring my sigh. “Does this link of yours provide us with any advantages? Or did it just affect your choice of samurai?”

{Arty: Since Athyna and I are linked, this chat room is unique. It may appear to be a normal aug connection, but the two of us run it. It cannot be intercepted or disrupted by anything. Normally we’d require you to purchase catalogs to gain access to new features and functionality, but considering the situation we’ll also share each other’s location and condition through the link.}

{Athy: We believe this is fair.}

“I guess. I’m not exactly pleased you two were holding out on us, but I appreciate you coming clean. Is there anything else you want to tell us?” I asked.

{Arty: Only that it’s now quarter past five, and the drive to the Redemption will take you half an hour. You really need to get going if you’re going to make it to the meeting.}

“Shit!” I yelled, as I jumped out of my chair and bolted towards the garage, Skyler a step behind me. When we arrived I glanced around for my car, only to be reminded that it was still at my father’s garage. Skyler didn’t even pause, she dragged me over to her Dervish H and pushed me towards the passenger side.

I slipped into the black performance car before I even realized what we were doing. “Are we even allowed to take off right now?” I asked as I fastened my seatbelt. “Hovercar traffic is only allowed for the first two hours after an incursion, to allow for evacuation. After that it’s reserved for emergency traffic only. Security will pull us over the instant we’re in the air.”

{Athy: You don’t have to worry about that. Artymis and I have flagged all your vehicles as samurai owned. Not only will the security and military patrols not pull you over, but you’ll be given priority during regular traffic. I can even use Skyler’s Cyberwarfare utilities to ensure she only hits greens during regular traffic going forward.}

“I guess that means I don’t have to worry about being stuck in rush hour any more,” Skyler said with a small smile as she revved the engine. The car shook slightly as it lifted off the ground. It only took a moment for Skyler to align the car with the garage door before we shot into the clouds.

One of the major advantages of living on the ninety-ninth floor was a complete lack of obstacles, and traffic at this height. So Skyler hit cruising speed before we even descended to the skylanes.

{Rei: Hey Arty, can you arrange for someone to pick up and fix my car as soon as the city opens up again? I’m going to need it to get about.}

{Arty: I assume, looking at your bank account, that you don’t care about the cost. If so, I could have it fixed up and returned to you tomorrow.}

{Rei: What about the lockdown?}

{Arty: It’ll be released in a couple hours, according to the Cascadian government network.}

{Rei: I thought you couldn’t access that stuff without the right catalogs?}

{Arty: I’m not supposed to, but considering how busy you’re going to be in the next few days, I made a minor exception.}

Before I could reply I noticed a car rise up from street level to meet us. Even at this distance, I could make out the blocky design and black and white coloring of a sector security car.

“Fuck,” I muttered. “I thought security was supposed to be leaving us alone!”

{Athy: Give it a minute.}

The patrol car rose parallel to us, then slowed to keep pace. “The lanes from here to the Redemption are clear, you’re free to accelerate beyond the speed limit,” the patroller declared through the loudspeaker on their car.

Surprised, I just waved and gave them an awkward thumbs up.

Skyler smiled. “At least we won’t be late,” she said as she slammed down on the accelerator. I was reminded how powerful her car was as I was shoved back into my seat, and we left the patrol car far behind us.

Without a speed limit it only took us a couple minutes to make it to the harbor. There were dozens of military and samurai vessels docked around the area, but none of them stood out as much as the Redemption. The massive battleship vaguely resemble a modern military ship, but was much larger, built out of some sort of matte black metal, and bristled with tons of esoteric weapons.

We circled it once, before coming down right next to the mooring point. Even though there was no official lot, there were already half a dozen other vehicles parked there. Probably from the other samurai.

Skyler gently landed in an open spot, before shutting off the engine. “Ready to go meet our peers?” she asked, with a small smile.