Eniac II managed to repair its systems and maintain some physical integrity. His human and cybernetic natures had found a tenuous balance. Until that moment, he hadn't understood how invisible forces had ripped chunks of flesh and cyberware from him.

He had no time to waste on speculation. His biotronic brain was equipped with a quantum microcomputer. The cyborg was prepared to analyze through spin reading, or the elliptical orbit of the electron. Its processor operated at qubithertz capacity. Logical sentences were not limited to the binary result of 0 and 1, they went beyond that; their probabilistic nature allowed it to reach the intersection between the two.

The collapse of the wave function present in the microcomputer, the probable values of quantities are calculated in advance. Instead of sequencing, data is superimposed and accepted as true when the results fit the probabilities.

It was the most advanced and expensive prototypical weapon of the Anglo-American Alliance. The American war industry, together with the British espionage complex, had achieved an excellent result. However, the walking weapon had its limitations.

Eniac II's mission was to break into Ilu Nla's defense systems and steal the secret without breaking into the safe. For this to be effective, he had to be within three kilometers of the target to be hacked. His overline encryption allowed him to go unnoticed by many systems.

The cyborg, sitting on the edge of the bed, carried out the intrusion of the systems. He had passed through several firewall barriers without attracting any attention. His bionic eye emitted a greenish beam of light on the wall in front of him. The attempt was proving unsuccessful. A quadlink, a holoprojected three-dimensional link appeared around him. He opened the quadlink.

It was a holoprojected private call. The busts of Arcenoux and Bloody Mary appeared.

"Come sur, grand bougre! The Pentagon can't get assez of your curiosity."

"Mr. LeBlanc, the mission to intrude into Ilu Nla's defense systems has failed."

The countess grimaced with an eye patch, making her face look even more grim.

"You are the secret weapon of the Anglo-American Alliance. Don't let us down at this point in the game."

"Excuse me, ma'am. The data obtained from the mining is insufficient to meet the mission requirements. The decrypted data is being sent to the bilateral office."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

LeBlanc was impressed by how Ilu Nla managed to evade US espionage. There were few nations that could boast that.

"It's not possible that Ilu Nla has such advanced technology. Il must be receiving funding from BRICS Plus."

"This nation is not a member of the Global South political and economic alignment bloc, and declined the invitation. Although it maintains good diplomatic relations with all member countries and those seeking admission."

Ilu Nla was a sphinx for the so-called first world countries. The small country, born on the coast of Africa, had become the mecca of cyber technology in just a few years. Its industrial plants were an unknown. Its military technology was the most advanced in the world. Everything was bordering on the supernatural.

The Anglo-American Alliance pressured Ilu Nla in every way, from diplomacy to economic embargoes. To the surprise of the American and British intelligence services, the African nation managed to circumvent these barriers with multilateral agreements inside and outside the continent. Its cryptocurrency reserves were the largest, and it was free of sanctions.

Its strategic ambiguity demonstrated what an effective statesman President Ojwang was. He maintained good relations with all the geopolitical and geo-economic power blocs without compromising with anyone.

Sending three spies into the heart of Ilu Nla was a way of obtaining the key to his success. However, the projects drawn up by old gray-haired marshals behind mahogany desks were having no effect. As advanced as Eniac II was, and as competent and disposable as the Cajun bounty hunter and the English witch were, the secrets of the former monarchy were well guarded.

"Can we consider it a failed mission?"

"Plan A, yes. The most sensitive data can only be accessed by an intranet enabled by the Phalanx, or by Ojwang himself, or both."

"If that's the case, on droite besoin to kidnap the president or surrender the Phalanx, that's too aisé…"

"Stop this nonsense, LeBlanc."

"It was droite a suggestion, ma'am. So quitter's déménager sur to the second stage. Fois pour plan b, ladies and gentlemen."

"Plan B is a suicide note, but you've been put in charge of this team. If we survive, I will kill you in the most painful way possible."

"If the lady is faster than the trigger of my revolver…"

"You're too confident with this old gun that only spews gray smoke. You should have demonstrated your skill when you had the chance. Hunhunhun, unhappily, was too busy running and screaming like an infanta from one side to the other."

"You vieux sorcière!"

The insults continued. Eniac II, after reporting the brief report, ended the call with the other two companions. He lay down on the bed. His body was bigger than her. She had to keep her knees bent.

Without realizing the cause, he was restless. It wasn't the bed, or the room with its monotony and claustrophobic atmosphere. It wasn't even the high risk of the mission assigned by the bilateral office. It was the data obtained in that raid that left his nerves twisting over his deteriorating skin.

The cross-checking of data from the hacking indicated an Ilu Nla megaproject. The state had taken custody of several children from the old medium clans that actively participated in the defunct monarchy. Eniac II didn't remember having any children. He had been given a lobotomy to deprive him of his memories.

But where was that itch in his brain coming from? Pale images flashed in his pupils. Sometimes he felt he saw the world in two ways: one as a human and the other as a machine. One looked to the future, the other saw glimpses of the past. He shook his head. He finished sending the data to his superiors. He went into standby mode.

For the first time since the bionic enhancement operations, he dreamt. Eniac II had the most peaceful night's sleep of his life. Deep down, he wished he wouldn't wake up. He wanted to remain submerged in that dreamlike waltz. That wasn't possible. Those in the aisles of the shadow theater wanted a more awake performance. He woke up with new guidelines inserted into his biotronic brain.