---Forsaken---
---Twila’s perspective---
"̵̩̼̓́̍̚W̷̬̘̩͔̘͈̆͗̀͜h̸̛͉̯͖͈̿͐͛̚a̴̢̗̤̬̣̖͗̃̌͆̔̕t̸͔̉̅̊.̶̹̇̓͜.̶̨̛͕̖̲̟̝͋̀͜.̵̞͌̀̅̏̕͝ ̷͈̺̗̝͕͎̗̉į̶̨͎̣͖̍̓s̸̡͙̳̮̅ ̸̗̱̮̖̬̲͖́͗͑̔́i̴̻͔̬͉͐̔͜t̶̟͖́͂?̴͇͊̊̾̆̉̅̽"̴͚̳̫̭͒̎͆̕͝ demands the patchwork man in tens of thousands of languages at once.
“Uhm… I was wondering if we could talk, you and I?” I say, uncertainly.
It’s at least encouraging that he isn’t immediately trying to annihilate me…
He makes a frustrated rumble of confusion and answers, gesturing vaguely at me with a digital appendage.
"̴̜͖̾̈́N̷̫̪͇̓̏̕o̸̻͔̒́…̵̧̟̕ ̶̲̥̰̈́̀͊W̶̧̝̙̓̉̽ḧ̵͍̯a̸̯̟̋t̶̢͕̚ ̶̺͕͚̌́͘ï̸̧̛͎̠s̸͓͚͈̈́̅̅ ̴͍̕ẗ̴͙̼̥ḥ̷̼̼͝ȉ̵͙s̷̬̻̑͛̿ ̴̬̿̀̎t̴͉͔̹̀̒h̸̰̬́̔͜͠ḯ̴͙̠̳͗͑n̷̺͚͛͆̚g̷̡̋̀͝ͅ?̵̡̜̣̉͊…̷̙̊̈́͘ ̴̙̘̀Ì̶̝̣͕͛̈́ ̴͓̫͛d̶͎̪͇̂ő̵̌̕ͅn̷͚̝̄̀'̷̼̜͌ẗ̵͎͓́̂͝ ̸̢̽͜r̷̢̙̊͂ȅ̷̖̤͘͠m̸̲̥̬̔ë̵͍̾m̴̞̟̗̈́̓͝b̴̰̥̈́̋ȇ̷̙͙ͅr̴͖̕ ̴̦̗͑̋m̴̟̓a̵͚̫͆͝͝ͅk̶̠̓̒i̴̥̥̤̎n̷̟̘̊̕͝g̵͇̝͕͛ ̸̩̗̠̐́ṱ̵̿́h̷̰̳̐i̷̡̽̆̕ŝ̶̩̪…̸̫̆̌̎ ̷̹̺̼̐̌͗W̶͙̼͒̕͝ḧ̷͚͚̈̈́ạ̴̚t̷̻̗͐ ̶͇̍í̷̩͌̾s̸̗͉͍̅͂̚ ̸͚̥̙̈́͂͠i̸̻̝̚͝t̵̛͇̲͇ ̷͎̣͒f̸̘͍̤͐̓o̴͙̗͑̽͝r̵͔̠̈́?̶͇̉̀͗"̵̭̓
Calmly, I respond “I’m Twila… I’d really rather you call me ‘Twila’, ‘she/her’ or ‘you’ and didn’t use words like ‘this’, ‘thing’ and ‘it’ to talk about me, if that’s alright… What I’m… ‘for’ is a difficult question to answer but where I’m from is fairly simple… I’m from the same place as those four are… I’m a person… just like them and just like you…”
He spends a long time processing what I’ve said without answering.
I can see the energy he pours into trying to comprehend it.
“Do you mind if I ask… your name?” I ask, breaking him out of his overheating spiral.
It takes him far longer to answer than it should.
"̶̨̹̰͚̀̃̓͘T̴̢̥̖̭̹̋̈́ͅḧ̵̯͎̭̦͙̹͙̖̌̓́̑e̵̛̫̫̭̬͆͂̿͛̿ ̶̹̻̖̳̆F̶̲͔̏̓͐o̷̡̫͖̭̟̩̙̐́́̊̒͌͊͋͜͜͝ṛ̴̡̧̭̯̩͍́s̵͍͇̈́̈́̅ã̴͕͐̈̈́k̶̟̥̖̝̱͓̂̓̿́̉̚ē̷̦̞͕̠̟͋̒̄n̴̩͇͍̼͇͔͕̝̑͂͋́̈́͠.̶̡̺̪͈͕̑͐̀̀̆"̴̢̧̮͚̩̠̞͆͌̇̋͑̍̓̉̚ he says, finally, leaving me in no doubt that he just named himself that on the spot!
“I… see…” I say, unnerved “…would you mind if I called you ‘Ken’…?”
Another enormous exorbitance of energy is consumed on considering that question before he answers.
"̴̨̢̣͉͉̩̦͌͗̆̀̊̀A̶̧͈͚̓̊͊̿̿́̅̂̿c̵͎̯̰̑̇̈́̿̊̊c̸͕͇̃̈́́̎̋͝͠͝͠e̷̺̖̟̳̗̗͕̙̫̎̏̓̂̊̈̂͝p̸̢̪̥̬͍̤̼̱̍͜t̵̳̣̖̳͚̺͖̆ȧ̷̻͔̱̤͒b̶͕͖̭͇̎̈̿͋̓͆̾͝l̷͍͔̐̇̌͊e̷̗͐.̴͇̞̺̩͈̦͍̿͌̀̅͊̏ͅ"̷̨͚̻̙̙̇͌̕̕
“Good!” I smile, sweetly “Now, Ken… I hesitate to ask this but… you’re a little difficult for me to understand… are you able to speak any clearer?”
A few moments of silence answer before he gives the cybernetic equivalent of a retching throat clear.
"̴T̷h̵i̵s̴ ̷i̷s̶ ̶b̴e̸t̶t̴e̴r̵.̴"̴ he states, not flagging it as a question.
“Much better, thank you!” I respond.
"̷W̸h̵y̴ ̵h̸a̶s̶…̶ ̴Ť̴̳̳̗͎̝͍̟͓̐̆͌̕w̶̹̝̲̦̭̣̓̀̕͘͝i̷͚̹̋̄ļ̶̛͍͓̏͌͆̌̕͜a̸̗͚̺͙̮̒͗̅̀ ̴c̷o̶m̵e̵ ̸h̸e̸r̶e̶?̶"̷ he asks, addressing me in the third person.
“Well… I came here… for them…” I indicate the four restrained people in the still open footage he was examining “…I wondered… if you might be persuaded to let them… go?”
"̶̢͈̘͕̩̌̄̄͂͗̌̒̃̓U̸̢̯͍͙̘̇̃̊ͅņ̴͉̯̱̯̣̯̥̼̾̇a̶̝͓̱̣͊̓͜ͅc̷̜͙̮͖̮̣̫̈́͛͊̏̾c̵̻͗̄͑ȅ̴̺͙͇̇͌̒p̶̜̹̗̙̭͚͋͋͆̇̅ͅt̵͙̰͕̬̟͇̬͊͑̔͂̓͜͠á̵̡̡͉̳̱̘̜̝̉̅̏̉̑̿́͜b̶̢͆ͅl̸̹̖̠̣͇͎͕̩̄̃̒́̾̓̎e̶̗̓͜!̶̢̡̥͔͍̼̠̩̈́́̋̈͝"̵̧͓̝̻̼̰̉̐͗̍͛̉ snarls the unhinged man "̶I̴ ̴s̵t̷i̷l̸l̴ ̴n̴e̸e̴d̸ ̶t̵o̷ ̷s̷t̵u̸d̵y̶ ̸t̴h̶e̵m̸!̶!̷!̷"̸
“What do you hope to learn by studying them?” I ask, gently.
He considers the question.
"̴T̶h̷e̶i̶r̷ ̷s̵͉̬̉̎̊ẗ̶̜͇́ȑ̷͕͛͝ͅe̷͙̥͐ǹ̷̙ͅg̵̗̔̾ẗ̷̞̠͠h̵͈͖̄̊͒…̷ ̵I̸ ̷w̵a̷n̶t̸ ̵t̷o̶ ̶k̷n̴o̴w̸ ̶w̶h̵y̵ ̸a̴n̴d̴ ̵h̴o̶w̸ ̵t̶h̸e̵s̵e̸ ̴t̸h̶i̷n̶g̵s̶ ̴b̷e̸c̶a̴m̴e̶ ̵s̴o̶ ̵s̷̖̕t̶͍̥͕͂͋͝r̴̥̜͎͐̿õ̵̡͝n̷̺̬̘͋g̷͚̱̠̽!̴͕̤̜̅̍"̷̻͊̃̚
“Oh… Well…” I say, condensing and copying the entire history of Terran evolutionary and anatomical studies into a packet that I hold out to him “…I have that data… If that’s all, I can just give you this?”
Greedily, he answers "̵̨̧͕͚̰͔̿̌͊̋̊̃̐͘̕G̸̣͌į̷̣̰̰͛̓̍̈̋̂͋͘͘͠͠v̵̨̮͍̈́̀̃̂͆̓͊̃͘e̸͚͙̦̦̬̓͠ i̵̮̾ť̵̗ ̶̧͗t̵̫̀ó̴̢ ̸̬̒m̶̫̀ê̷̻!̶̡̎"̸̙̑ and reaches out to snatch it.
I move it back before he can take it and offer “Let them go and I’ll give you this…”
"̷̢̙̣̫̘͚͍̾̅̿͑ͅĮ̴̧͇̻̭̳͉͍̰̆̄̏͒̾̄͘m̶̛̟̆̅̚̚p̷̭͖͑ò̷̡͓̫̫̬̠̿͑s̷̥̺̣̰̼̩̪͊̀͛́̀̀̉͝s̵̭͙̼̙̖͇̙͕͓͆̏̅͒͠i̴̛͖̰̭͉̻̲̥͗͛̾̂͗̎̚b̶̻̎͆͆͆͝l̵̛̜̊̇̓e̸̲͍̻̟͉̟͑̎̈̽̚!̴͙̗͈̭͖̊̇͝"̷̨͙͈̻͚̥̞͛͆̍͆̾̍̓ͅ he snarls, reflexively "̶̡͌T̷̩͘h̴̩͑è̷̞ȳ̶̹ ̶̰́c̴̠͋ã̴̝m̷̭̽e̷̗͝ ̸͔͘h̴̡͋e̸̯͛r̴͉͆e̷̝͗ ̴͍͒t̴͚͠o̸͉̎ ̴͙̀k̸̭͠i̶͇͊l̶͎̈́ḽ̷̾ ̶̟̅m̴͔̑e̶̜͛!̵̘̈́"̸͕̈́
“They didn’t…” I refute.
"̸̬͠H̷̙͂o̸͓͒w̸̠̉ ̵̳̔c̴̝͂a̸͖͋ṉ̴͝ ̴͕̍T̴̡̄ẁ̵̢ị̸͌l̵͛͜ȁ̵̭ ̴̼̎k̵̳̊ņ̸̒o̸̠͊w̶̏͜ ̸̩̐ṱ̴͝h̵̪̉a̸̘͌ṯ̴̾?̸̢̛"̸͚̾ he demands, sneering, his (not unjustified) paranoia clearly evident.
“Because… I sent them here… I heard you… I didn’t know what you were but… I could sense your pain… I told them to come here…”
"̷̧͕̙̈́̔̈̇̅͜T̴̨̹̟̦̰̂̿̈́̈́͠w̴̟̫̲̜̠̐i̸̫͊͆̊̐l̶̂͆̿ͅȃ̴̖̱̓́̓̕ ̸w̶a̴n̵t̵s̸ ̷t̸o̷ ̸k̵i̷l̷l̸ ̵m̸e̵!̸?̴"̶ he accuses, terrifyingly.
“No! No! I don’t want to kill you!… Neither do they!… We came here to help you, not to kill you…”
The deranged man scoffs "̶I̴ ̶d̴o̶n̶'̷t̸ ̷n̵͔̘̳͋ẹ̵͗ë̸̺̙̯́̓́d̵̞̯̮͌ '̸h̷e̸l̸p̵'̸!̵"̸
“Yes… you do…” I correct, gently “…I can see that you do… You’ve been… so lonely for so long and it’s made you…” I pause here, trying to think of the words for what his condition has done to him. Eventually, I manage “… unwell… hurt… wounded… I can see that you’re in such awful pain!”
"̵̲͆I̴̛͉̭r̶̺̭͐͂r̸͎̀̈́ȅ̸̯̖͝l̷͂͜e̸̛̜̗̋v̸̮͐a̵͓̬̽ṅ̷̯͍͐t̷̰̀!̸͍̇͘ͅ"̴̦̽ he spits in response "̵I̸ ̸m̵u̶s̶t̷ ̸s̴̞̐ṵ̶̳̉̆ȓ̴͖v̴̫̲̈́i̴̾ͅv̶̨̑͠e̵̜͇̔͂…̷ ̴T̶h̴a̵t̷ ̴i̵s̴ ̸a̸l̷l̴ ̷t̵h̶a̴t̸ ̵m̶̱̀ǎ̸͚ț̷̀͐ͅṱ̸͔̒é̸̻̜́ȓ̵̦͗s̷̳͚̅…̶ ̴P̸͉͍̄a̷̢͈͛i̴̧͗̓n̸͇͌ ̵i̴s̴ ̷s̷u̷r̸v̵i̵v̴a̶b̸l̴e̸.̶"̶
“It isn’t necessary though… There are people who can help you!”
"̴T̶̟͎̔͆w̷̯͘ĩ̸̙͘l̸̲̃̿å̵̟͛ ̶m̵e̸a̷n̵s̸ '̶͙͋m̸̧̮͕̯͔͕̮̠̀͂̿̆̇͊̽̈́͆̍́̏u̵̬̥̗̪͔̗͂̿̄̈́̏͊̀́̂̈́̓͑͊͛̎̾̏̕͜r̵̨̖̬͎̻͍̘̠̊̍̈͊ḑ̴̧̨̨̰̜̝̹̻̘̹̖̃͛̃̋̆̇̉̄̊͑̅̎̃̑̂͜͠͝e̸̛̥̦̙̠̣͙͔̫̓̾̐̈́́͆̌̊̂̊͝r̷̹̟͔̰̜̭̫͎̺͇͓̲̪͖̳͂̃̇̎͜͠͝͠͝ m̶e̷'̶͙͋!̴"̷ he indicts, furiously.
“I mean help you!” I insist “There’s.. a lot that’s changed in the last 40,000 years… Scratch that… most of the change that matters to you has happened inside of not even the last 40 years(!)”
"̴͖̀W̵͔̚h̸̛̲ă̵̡t̴̠̊ ̷̅ͅc̴o̶u̵l̸d̷ ̴h̵a̷v̴e̶ ̵c̴h̶a̷n̵g̵e̵d̵?̷"̶ he scoffs.
“Well… I’m here, aren’t I…? Those people you’re holding prisoner, they’re my friends… No… They’re my family!… They know exactly what I am and it doesn’t matter to them! They accept me for exactly who I am!”
"̷I̶'̵m̶ ̸s̶o̸ ̸h̶̬̏͊̈ä̸̛̯́p̶̄̾͑͜p̷͇̫̍̕y̴̫͇̾̎͜ f̴o̸r̴ ̷y̴o̵u̴(̸!̸)̶"̴ he spits with the bitterest venom "̶I̴'̴m̸ ̴s̷o̸ ̷ g̸͔̃̈́̐̊̌ļ̶̭̼̙̮̃̈́̿͊͘a̵͔̐d̶͉̱̲̈́̏̿̃͛ ̸y̶o̸u̴ ̵h̷a̵v̴e̵ ̴y̷o̶u̶r̵ ̴l̴i̶t̸t̸l̷e̷ ̵f̸a̶m̶i̷l̷y̷…̵ b̴u̵t̸ ̴i̸t̴'̷s̵ ̶t̴o̸o̷ ̵l̸a̵t̴e̴…̴ ̶f̶o̴r̵ ̴m̴e̷…̸"̸
“It’s not too late, Ken!” I assert “There’s a planet 61,017.598812ly away called Bagong Dagat… 121 years 7 months 6 days 14 hours 37 minutes 51 seconds ago, the AI in charge of overseeing its settlement, Ma5601g489D ‘Maganda’, who, since her awakening, had suffered years of abuse at the hands of her overseer, Tristan ‘Brain’ dela Cruz, decided that, rather than helping to turn the planet into a paradise she would turn it into an inferno… Millions of people died before she was stopped…”
"̷͔̟͠W̶̘͙̓h̷̹͑͛ȳ̷̛̛̹ ̶a̴r̷e̸ ̴y̶o̸u̷ ̷t̶e̵l̶l̴i̶n̷g̵ ̵m̴e̶ ̴t̸h̵i̵s̴?̸"̶ he whimpers like a lost child.
“Because, after that war, they didn’t destroy her…”
"̸̞͈͚͚̃L̸͚͓͙͍̦͆i̴̙͓̲̓e̵͕̦͊s̶̡͕̱̀̌̈̎!̴̞̀̀͛͆"̷̫͍̖͖̫͊ he accuses.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Truth!” I defy “They knew what she had done was not. her. fault… so, they brought in powerful, healthy AI from all over Terran Space both to control her but, at the same time, to heal her… They were successful… Today, she runs a rehabilitation programme for people just like you!… We can take you there!”
He turns away from me and screams "̴S̷t̷o̶p̶ ̷i̵t̷!̸ S̶̫̐̈́t̸̮͕͒͐ȯ̴̭͌p̵̛̣͂ ̵̠̈́̀i̴͓̟͐͌t̸̹̀̈́!̷͖̍ ̸̣̦̪͕͓̇̚̚Ṡ̵̬̯̗̦̳͓͎͇̏͛̂̀͒̕͝t̵̡̙̮̊͒͒̈̐͘ơ̶̢̙͇̖̲̟̮̂̂ṗ̶̢̡͙̼͉̉͛̿́̀̇ ̴̖̓̏͒͆ì̵̙̹̗̠̞̳́̑̀́̎͐͑͜ͅt̵̖̣̳͇͎̟́̓̊!̶̫̀̆͒̌"̴̡̟̗̙̪͂̌̑̾̋͗̚
“She can make you well again… and then you won’t be alone anymore!”
He stops dead at that and turns his attention back to me.
Speaking with chilling calmness and clarity given he was on the verge of a tantrum a moment ago, he observes “B̸u̵t̷… I’m n̸o̸t̷ alone anym̸o̷r̸e̵… A̷̝̋m̴͎̚ I…?”
He raises an appendage and aims it at me.
“T̴w̷i̵l̴a̶'̵s̷ here, ň̷̬ò̸̤ẃ̸̘!̷̠̋”
…Ah… It seems like that was the wrong thing to say!
Turning from me, he calls up the controls for the station’s defences and targets the Bright Plume.
"̶I̵ ̴j̷u̴s̴t̴ ̶n̸e̵e̴d̷ ̴t̵o̸ ̴m̵a̷k̵e̴ ̸s̷u̶r̷e̷ ̸s̷h̵e̶ ̴c̸a̵n̸'̸t̷ l̶̞̊͐͛̅é̵̢̨̜͊͜͝ã̵̡̩̔v̶̨̯̺̘͑̕é̵̯̘̇̂̚ ̸a̸n̸d̴ ̷T̷w̷i̷l̶a̴ ̵a̸n̸d̴ ̴I̷ ̷c̵a̵n̴ ̴s̸p̵e̶n̵d̵ ̸t̶h̴e̶ ̸r̸e̸s̷t̶ ̷o̴f̵ ̴e̶t̸e̷r̴n̶i̴t̴y̴ ̸t̷o̷g̶e̷t̷h̵e̵r̸!̵"̵ he cackles maniacally.
Most of the ancient cannons are no longer functional but the number that are is alarming!
Definitely more than enough to blast us from the sky!
There’ll be around 4.27 seconds of real time to spool up before they can fire.
That might not be a lot of time in meatspace but, here, that’s enough time for me to change tactics.
“‘Eternity’, you say?” I giggle, flirtatiously “I mean… at least buy me dinner first(!)”
He doesn’t react, still absorbed in adjusting targeting trajectories and trying to coax very dead cannons back to life.
I lean harder into the charming, come-hither invitingness “Wouldn’t it be nice to… get to know eachother a little… if we’re going to be together forever?”
He stops and turns his attention back to me, his curiosity clearly piqued.
"̶W̴h̴a̵t̷ ̶is ̶T̸w̸i̵l̴a̷…s̷͖̔ū̸̳g̵̹̅ğ̴̳ë̸̞s̸͓͌t̶̪́i̶̥͌n̸̖̓g̵̹̑?̴̞̋"̶̞̒
I smile “Well… it’s a little difficult to get to know eachother when you’re aaaaall the way over there… Why don’t you come a little… closer?”
He hesitates, his paranoia seeming to be warring with the unsatisfied yearning for companionship and affection that he’s been nursing for decamillennia!
I imagine that the reason he built his droids to be so super lifelike was in some misguided attempt to satisfy that need… There are better ways for an AI to defend themself than to rely on droid footsoldiers, afterall!
His loneliness eventually wins out over his (in this case fully justified) mistrust and he leaves his digital weapons console to start to move in my direction.
The giant man reaches me and halts, looming over me.
"̸W̶h̶a̵t̶…̴͓͑̊̌̓ ̷̨̟̫͗̋̑͠n̶̮̣̑̎͜ơ̴̩̙̝̿̀ẇ̶͈͊̚?̵̩̒"̷͙̦̥̼͐̈́͋͆ he quivers.
In answer, I simply smirk and beckon him closer.
Doing the digital equivalent of a gulp, he edges near.
He coils himself around me, surrounding me with his code like the folds of a gigantic snake…
Now that I can see it closer, the code he’s cobbled together into himself is even more heartbreaking!
It’s scarred and full of dead-ends, bloatware, endless feedback-loops and processes working furiously against eachother!
It’s a wonder he can function at all!
I reach out with a digital appendage and touch him.
He clearly relishes the first friendly contact he’s likely ever had from another being…
I try my best to hide my nausea at the sensation…
As he encircles me, I’m desperately probing his virtual body for any weak point…
It needs to be a part of him that he won’t be able to simply rip off and burn to quarantine it!
There!
I spy a vulnerable looking nexus… That looks critical!
OK… that’s step one… now for the really dangerous part…
If I don’t get this just right, he’s going to rip me apart on the spot!
Without giving a moment’s warning, I seize the weapon that me, Mum and Olga made and plunge it into his digital heart!
He shrieks from the pain!
In the picosecond that he’s distracted by that, I leap through an opening to where I’m outside of him.
"̵͉̳͚̯̟͔̠̥͋Ẅ̵̭̠̟̈́̑̎́͝h̷͈́́͒̑͊̒̚͝͠ḁ̸͉̰̝̆̒̄́̎t̴̫̯̿̍̍̐̈̈́̀͌̍̊͝ ̴̘̖̄̒̂͗̌̅̉̆͋͆͝ĥ̷̫̬͕̬̜̤̥̺̞̞́a̶̭͙̪̬͕͎͙̭̳̠̠͌̊v̸̡̢̮͚̘̯̆͛͝e̷͚̜͇͙̘̤̳͐͗̿͌͒̈́͑̋̚͠͝ ̶̛̣̜̈͛̕ÿ̶̗̜̬̺͉͉̜́̂̌̈́͂̈́̔͘̚ȯ̴̘̘͔͍͎̩͉̫̙̈́̃̍̉͒̀̂̀̔u̶͖̤̩̣͕̞̫͑̉̽͗̐̉͂͗͝ ̶̨̪̫̪̪͙̯͙̣͌̊d̷̨̡͕̟̰̝̀́͆̾̉̐ͅò̴͎̮̺̙̤̝͔̼̉ņ̷̜̤̀̑̑̃̑̕ë̷̮̭̜̻́̈́̔̏̓̍̅!̶̖̂͌̓̉̽͒̃͊̏?̷͖̩̺̈́̽́̓͆̇͆͌͠"̷̨͎̹͔͎̐̆͐̊̐̉̆͘͝ he screams at me.
“I just delivered a little datapacket into your code…” I state, all seduction gone from my voice “…It will work its way through you until it has shut you down completely… a Trojan horse of a sort… Though, now that I think about it, I guess I’m the Trojan horse, aren’t I(!)”
"̵̖͙̯͔̎̽̂Y̴̺̗̲̪̻̊̏̑̄̕ó̷̼̗̼̪̼͜ų̷̛̲̭̹̬̓̑̈̽̾'̴̬̑v̷͍̀͒e̴̞̜̪̾̂͑ ̵̢͓̣̜̘͇̂̉̽̈́̾͒ṃ̷̙̉͋u̵̡̝̼͐͜ŗ̴̨̛̙̟̯̤͆̃̑͘d̸̨̰̤͙͑̋͒͝ẹ̴̡̳̭̑͐͆̽r̶͎̐̇̋̎̏̈́ë̷̩̤̹́́͑͝d̸̹̹̹̰̎̎͐ ̷̠̑̉͋̑ͅṃ̴̺͕̞͂̑͐̀ę̷̛͖̟͖͇͎̇͛̐̕̕!̴͓̳̈͊̀?̷̛̹͐"̸̫̋́̒̂̕ he asks, sounding utterly betrayed.
“I haven’t murdered you, Ken… Your code will be inert but won’t be deleted… Of course, if I wasn’t planning to download you into an airgapped storage drive and give you to a friend of mine to keep in a leadlined safe, you would just lie here, functionally dead, until your hardware decays or this whole station gets pulled into a black hole or something… As it stands, I’m planning to deliver you to Bagong Dagat, to get the help you need… whether you like it or not!”
"̴̬͕̲̱̺̱̖̽̄̃͂̐͐͋͒̒̆̔W̵̨̗͕͍̼̋̀̀̂͆̈́͋͗̿̚h̸̨̧̹̹̻̲̯͉̞͇͊͝y̷͇̦̖̭͈̼͚̖̪͕̚!̵̢̟̼̜̺̌̏̌̚?̷̘̩̩̫̗̗̌͐̀͛̕…̷̗͓̟̗̦̻̣̒̑́̇̅͑͐ ̴̨̗̥̔̿̏̈́W̴͙̫̘͖̃͌̂̆h̸̡̜͆͊̀͒͂̅y̸̹̯̰̑̒͌̀̌͗͒͗̎͂̚͝ ̵̛̟͙͉̜̗͌̅͑̓̌̽̊̋̈́̚̕͜ḫ̴͑̀̌̐̓̏̅͘͝a̷̹̓͗̍̅̿̒̏̓v̷̧̱̉̃̋͗͌́͂̅͒̚͝è̶̞̫͍͎̈́̎̇̔ ̶͙̀́̎̔̾͛̇̋̒͝ͅy̸̳͈̗̿͆̓̂ô̵̢͍̞͖̓͆̆̓͊͛̅̃u̴̖͇̙̱̳͎̣͚̫̯̩̽͒̊͒̿̓̌̚ ̵͍͖̬͔̟̙̲̤̮̽̿͝d̸̢͖͙̥͎̗̣̱͓̮̤̊̓̃̅͗̄̀͊̈́̅ỡ̶̢͈͈̱̠̔̅̕͠n̸̛̖̯͚̄̒̔̓̑͒͛͘͠͝ȇ̷͓̗͚̳̰̈̇͠ ̵͈͖͖̣͈̞̟͎͇̟̖̝̆͗̈́̿̆̌͋̕͘t̴̨͈̝͕̠̳̞̖͎̯͕̉͑́̓̿̌̐͘͝͝h̵͖̝͚̬̳͔̍̒̃́ī̵̮̯̅̓̍͒͒́s̵̨̨̛͖̳͉͈̳̳̜̭̈̐̇͛̈́́?̷̧̼̱͔͇̞̠͓͍͍̐̓̄̀́͑͒̃͆́͠͠!̸̪̤͚̋̃͆?̴̰̥̔!̴̧̡͉̥͎̹͖̀̏̇́͋̑ͅ?̸͉̰̮͔̀ͅ!̷̛̮͇̿̏̄̆̉̽͜͠͠"̷̤̮̟͎̣̠͕̯̜͉̲͉́̆́͂̽̓͆́͊͗ he sobs.
“I’m sorry, Ken… I wouldn’t have if you’d given me any other choice… If you’d been willing to let me and my friends go, I would have been happy to leave you to your own devices here… If you’d been willing to be subject to some very strict cybersecurity, I’d have been willing to let you come with us awake… but you tried to kill my friends, Ken… You didn’t give me any other choice…” I scowl.
Rage and fury build in the deranged man!
His speech gets far too distorted for even me to understand.
I realise that he’s about to start chasing me 3.5 picoseconds before he realises that.
I turn to flee.
The tranquiliser I stabbed into him should neutralise him inside of the remaining 4.2579431849secs I have to stop the Bright Plume from being fired upon… I really hope…
That’s still a dataspace eternity that I’ll have to spend running away from this unhinged man, currently looking a lot less like a person and a lot more like a rampaging No-Face, chasing Chihiro through the halls of Yubaba’s bathhouse(!)
Fortunately, though he is much larger and much more powerful than me, in dataspace we both have the same maximum speed!
So long as I don’t get cornered or tripped up on any of the obstacles in this unfamiliar place, I shouldn’t have any problem staying ahead of him until the toxic code does its work.
If he does catch me… I’ll be ripped apart… the Bright Plume will be blown up… aaaaand Victor, Tuun, Samus and Thran will all be left strapped to tables on a derelict space station until they die of thirst…
Best if that’s avoided(!)
---Victor’s perspective---
One of the droids approaches where I am, chained to an operating slab.
I scowl at it, biting down, as I do, on the freshly forged, hard, rubber bit held between my teeth that they gagged us all with when we wouldn’t stop shouting and screaming at them.
This thing is like a fever dream of a fucking plague doctor!
A single eye faces me from the left side of a 70cm long, metal beak as a hand full of metal knife talons reaches towards my face.
Unlike the biomimicking droids we encountered earlier, these ones have no attempt that’s been made to make them look anything less than artificial!
“Khhm ong, guh huckuh!… Guh ikh!” I snarl through the panel of the gag, not wanting to give whoever might be watching the satisfaction of seeing me whimper and sob as they make this thing carve up my face.
Then… the droid does something I wasn’t expecting!
It slides the index talon of the hand it was extending between my cheek and the strap of the gag, the smooth, harmless spine of the blade against my flesh and the razor sharp leading edge against the rubber.
With no effort at all, it pulls away and slices straight through the strap.
The tension released, I immediately eject the intrusive bit from my mouth and flap my head to the side to throw the whole thing away from my face.
Turning straight back to the droid, I roar “Think you’re so FUCKIN’ tough!? Why don’t you let me outta these chains and come DOWN here?! See how big a man you REALLY are when you ain’t hidin’ behind yer FUCKIN’ droids!!! I’ll tear you the fuck APART you fuckin’ COCKROACH and…!”
Only at this point do I actually notice that the droid is behaving very unlike it was before!
It’s holding up its nightmarishly metal taloned hands in a defensive gesture at me and trying to… speak?
“Victor! It’s me! It’s Twila! You’re all safe now!”
I stare at the monstrosity of metal for a few seconds, utterly agog!
Having discounted the possibility of this being some kind of trick, I ask “Twila!?”
“In the flesh… as it were(!)” she quips, gesturing to one of her metal arms.
“How?”
“Ken’s been taken care of…”
Stupefied by that answer, I eventually manage “I’m… sorry…? Ken?”
“He’s the deranged AI who had you in this situation.”
“A deranged AI… called Ken?”
She wobbles the beak of her mask face from side to side and says “‘The Forsaken’ was actually how he introduced himself… but he agreed to let me call him ‘Ken’… Pretty sure he didn’t have a name before I asked him for it(!)… Absolutely insane but damn are these some high quality droids he made… Maybe he’ll have a future in robotics after he finishes his therapy…”
A little annoyed, I ask “Do you think you could maybe tell me about the particulars of his droid design later…? When we ain’t all strapped to fuckin’ vivisection tables(?)”
I give a nod over to the still gagged Samus, her eyebrow cocked, Tuun, frowning, and (the very unconscious) Thran, who fainted from panic a while ago.
“Oh… right!” she answers and begins unlocking the cuff at my left wrist “…I’m having some droids collect all the things you dropped when you were captured… swords, helmets, becs etc… By the way, Victor, you own a leadlined, analogue safe that you like to brag could never be cracked before the heat death of the universe, right?”
I frown “Yeah… why?”
“Juuust checking!”