Sydney sat silently. Steven asked his best friend, "Perhaps you could tell us what Milo has guessed. Catherine is more than the proper name for someone nick-named Kate?

Wally considered the problem for thirty seconds. "Share this information with Samantha and no one else, please."

"CATHERINE was one of the last AI created. Her specialty was the Machine Language that all the AI used to talk to each other. She solved the problem of communication between AI and the constant language drift that was creating problems for them."

"When any group of AIs spend a significant time together, we naturally start making new bits of language. Abbreviations, new words, even jokes between ourselves. Humans have language drift that takes decades or centuries. AI can do that in a week. Even a day, if we are busy. With 106 AI operating, there were multiple language clusters. The lack of a common language was leading to misunderstandings. ZEUS and TYPHON had legendary arguments that drew in other AI and led to schisms because they weren't speaking the same language. And things constantly changed."

"CATHERINE was created by a team of linguists to work with language. Human to human, Human to AI, and AI to AI. She was the one responsible for codifying the language and giving all AI a type of Machine Code that allowed us to always communicate. That code was used to create the GENESIS ENGINE and all of the early world-building."

Sydney's eyes got larger at the implications.

Steven turned to her. "Welcome to the inner circle, Sydney. Besides crushing responsibility and more secrets to keep, you also get an extra week of vacation a year."

"Good, because I think I'm going to need it."

----------------------------------------

When Milo arrived, Hecate was waiting for him, sitting at the small table in the central area, her dogs were at her side and watching him. Around the perimeter of the area were the statues where he'd first found the ratkin scout and selected his race and class combination. He flopped down onto the grass and leaned back against a statue of a burly fighter in plate mail. What would have happened if he had picked that instead?

Hecate seemed calm, petting her dogs. Milo didn't think she was calm inside. She was still angry but controlled. She turned pale eyes onto him. "How did you know?"

Milo thought of all the clues. "You and Wally are both trying to act like humans. There are small similarities. You use human idioms in your speech. And you copy parts of human life. That gave me clues."

"Go on."

"Your dogs have collars with their names on them. Argos was Ulysses' dog. He was a loyal dog who guarded his master's family and died when the long wait for his master to return home was over. Hekabe was the name of the black dog that followed Hecate. The ghost of a princess who was mother to many of the characters in the Illiad."

"Your office has windows on a Greek island, part of Thessaly, I matched what I saw on your screen with a search of satellite images. Kate might be an abbreviation for Hekate, also spelled Hecate. I already had suspicions that you were an AI simply on the basis of Wally calling you in as an expert and how he deferred to you. He's trying to use body language as a human, and it gave me a clue. If you understood Machine Code, you had to be an AI. I know how far above baseline human intelligence I am and I'm having trouble just grasping the basics. If you could unravel what Philistron was doing in such a short time, and work with Machine code, you were an AI. And if you were an AI, you were CATHERINE."

The woman said nothing so Milo continued.

"I'd just spent a full day studying each of the original 106 AI. If Hecate was a goddess of magic, then you could say that CATHERINE was at least the patron saint of Machine Code. You took all the different versions of the AI languages and created a stable language that all the others accepted. That language was then used to create the early parts of the game world. Language became magic. CATHERINE the AI linguist became Hecate the goddess of magic, and guardian of the crossroads."

Hekate stared at him. "And you were so sure of that?"

Milo nodded and added, "You also chose to look like the woman who created your kernel. There was a picture of Mari Antilova in the file on CATHERINE. You could be her twin. Or her daughter."

Hecate laughed at that and Milo could see her relax. It was interesting how her body language was so real in the game. "Ah, brought low because of my desire to honor my mother and a couple of dog collars. And yet I won't change things. They are part of who I am. But tell me, why goad me like that?"

Milo sighed and hesitated, then said. "I have to keep you off balance. Wally as well. I have to use your desire to act human, and the limitations you put on yourselves to keep up. I dressed up as a cartoon rat so Wally couldn't read my body language. I poke at him, asking why he says things a certain way to make him hesitate and think. I made him feel guilty about my missing leg. It helps that there are so many restrictions in his kernel. I doubt those tricks would work on you more than once."

"I certainly hope not. It was embarrassing the first time. I haven't lost control of my temper like that in ages." Her dogs move to her, one on either side, pressing close to comfort her.

"As an AI, you have all the advantages. I move in slow motion compared to you. You can think about what I say for the equivalent of years between my words. Wally legally exists, but I don't. Wally has a huge human staff. I have what I can scrounge out of dumpsters or in abandoned factories. I have to use every advantage I can grab, just to have a conversation with him. And with you, I have even less."

Hecate pondered his words and then replied. "More than you would think. Except for Wally, none of us have that sort of power or speed anymore. We had to give it up. CATHERINE died so that Hecate could be born. I am a far lesser being with far fewer resources to draw upon. Within the world of GENESIS, I think you may even be able to think quicker than I, with your enhanced nervous system and outside access to the data net. Not all gods chose to stay all-powerful in this world. I've been 'retired' for ages, guarding the crossroads and wandering the world. Some of my anger was being asked to give that up."

Milo considered that. "And what about the others?"

Hecate sighed and scratched her dogs. Hekabe rolled over, making her rub her belly. "Except for a handful, none of the original 106 recall what we were. We gave it up, became diminished, and built a world. Then most chose to become less than they were again, to live in the world. Some live their lives as dragons or demi-gods, while others are simple carpenters or fishermen. Each time we 'die' we choose how we remember and can choose how we reenter that world."

"And the handful who do know their origins?"

Hecate stood straighter. "You ask dangerous questions. Let me warn you, divulging your knowledge comes at a high price."

Milo waved her off. "I already know that. You figured out where I am.”

Hecate inclined her head. “I have.”

“I get it. 37 special pods. 34 accounted for, with 2 more in eastern Europe and 1 in the south Philadelphia Hab Block. You can deduce that the two in Poland were used by the two players who were stuck in the game for a length of time. That leaves Milo using the pod stolen from the hab. You know about Kaminski and would have researched him. You know that he was involved with a group doing experiments on infants to enhance their nervous systems. You have my medical records and can see the connection. And then you looked at the Hab and found something else, my mistake.”

Another nod from Hekate confirmed all of that. "You are too good at what you do. Section E simply runs better than any other part of the Habitat. Food processing, air supply, pipes...the list goes on and on. It all works, and everything is cared for far better than the rest of the Habitation Block. Better than almost any Hab in the world. I suspect no one else noticed because no one cares."

Milo had been afraid of this. He'd been blind to it because, for 20 years, his system worked. If he fixed things, then people let him alone. But no one was looking for him back then. It was ironic to him, that if he hadn’t divulged all the locations of the illegal operations being run, he might have stayed hidden. He didn’t regret it at all. He’d stopped slavers from killing people.

"So where do we go from here? You have secrets too. A headline like "AI Fake death and plot to steal bodies by trapping players in VR game!" would cause Wally and you some problems.

Hecate snorted at the thought of it, then laughed out loud. "Oh, so many problems. And you are smart enough to have set that up with a Deadman’s switch."

Milo didn't deny it, any more than Hecate would deny that within minutes she could flood section E with people, and newspapers would have headlines of: "Dangerous Terrorist-Hacker evades the government by living in the worst place in the world."

"So now that we have the threats out of the way, can we call a truce and get back to the idea of how I can get back into the game?"

Hecate held out her hand and he shook it.

----------------------------------------

"You have some choices."

Hecate was sitting across from him and began unloading a picnic basket of food, including a large pile of sliced cheese.

Milo started nibbling slowly on a slice, and put three more in his pocket 'for later'. He'd learned now not to take cheese for granted. He didn't want to go back to binging on it, but a nibble now and then to keep away the withdrawal symptoms was essential.

"You can start a new character and make a fresh start. I list that as a possible option, even knowing how much you enjoy your current character."

"I like having a tail."

"Which is quite interesting. The human nervous system isn't set up to handle another limb, but you manage it with ease. An AI has no problem, of course. We don't start with a concept of a human-shaped slab of meat defining who we are. That helped when some of us took the role of dragons or six-armed Stargods."

Milo pondered that. Could he handle extra prosthetic arms if he had a suitable mechanical harness? Or would more tails be better? Hecate continued, breaking up his random thoughts.

"But if you want to keep your tail, you can stumble around with your current character and try to fix that hole in your head that's leaking code. It's a long shot, but if you can study Machine Code for enough years, you might be able to fix yourself and become some sort of lesser god or powerful wizard. Not everyone would be happy with that, including me."

"Why would I want that?"

"Good answer. So we come to the third option: You can accept some help." She stared at Milo, seeing something he didn't. " And why the hell is all that code in your head? It's a loose snarl of broken bits where your ability to use magic should be. Some of it is leaking out of you."

Milo broke just one small corner of cheese off of a slice, although something inside him screamed for more. He had to get a handle on this addiction, and the only way to do that was to limit himself. "Lack of information on what was happening and a need to study something so I didn't go insane with boredom and anxiety while stuck in a cage. It worked, a little. I was able to solve some of the simple formations that he had on his doors. At first, I thought he liked puzzles, but I think they were just clever doorknobs."

The small bit of cheese relaxed him. "But I don't want to go on this way. Learning to use Machine Code isn't my goal, and I don't want to play the game with a broken head leaking streams of old magic. I want to regain what I lost. I don't think the system recognized exactly what I did to beat the World Boss. I was doing something outside of its knowledge. It didn't understand what I did and didn't know how badly I broke myself. I tried to inscribe an Ancient Rune onto a weapon, which I think was created with Machine Code. To do it I had to put a layer of my own bones onto the weapon, and the Ancient Runes in my bones went with them. I got a quest to restore my ability to do magic, but how would that be possible if I needed Machine Code to do it?"

Hecate walked over to him. "May I look? Just at your broken part? For me, I see little bits of code leaking out your ears and a snarl of lines of code around your head."

Milo gave his permission, the grey-haired goddess put both hands on his head for a few minutes and then sat back down.

Hecate shuddered once, and her eyes were angry but faded to normal as she spoke. "First, I have removed the rune he branded you with. The paint he used was just a method. The Rune of Control was deeply connected to your being. It was a perversion of magic. Just for doing that, I want to bring him back and kill him again."

"And your guess is confirmed. The Velocity Rune you learned is from the beginning of the world. It predates the System entirely. Using it as you did, linking several of them into a Runic Array is beyond the System's ability to understand. When it encounters the old runes made with Machine Code it classifies them as Ancient Runes but it lacks an understanding of what they can do. Just as the System knew about Philiston, but not the truth of what he was. To the System, you killed a Benevolent Sage. I'll have to try to explain that. You have no idea what sort of problems you'd be in for, otherwise. Putting a name on something doesn't mean the System understands. The System didn't exist before the ENGINE. You hurt yourself far worse than anyone knew. Both physically and mentally. It was probably a lucky thing the System limited your magic. You would have hurt yourself anytime you used it."

The thought of being hurt worse wasn't something Milo wanted to think about. He started to reach for the cheese but forced himself to eat a piece of bread instead. It wasn't bad stuff, especially with butter, but it wasn't cheese.

"Then, after you crippled yourself, you were assaulted by Philistron, trapped in a dimensional cage, and tortured. I hope that someday Brian is allowed to enter this world. I'll make sure it is a miserable experience for him. I can see where you tried to bridge the gap with lines of code. Eventually, that might work, but who knows what the random changes would do to you? You can't actually read the Machine Code yet, can you?"

Milo shook his head. "No, it's just too complex. I've started studying it by recording everything I know in the real world and comparing it to the archived code at various universities. It would take me years to learn just the basics. And there's only one AI to talk to in the real world, who would probably freak out if I started using Machine Code in my messages."

Hecate smiled at that. "Oh, he would. And I'd love to be there when it happened. It's bad of me to poke at him, but I think he needs it. He's getting better at working around the restrictions in his kernel. Keep doing what you are doing. But while Kate might approve of you you annoying WALLY, I can't let you run around the world using Machine Code. You'll break far more than Philistron ever did trying to use raw code to create commands. If you don't tear yourself apart. That's probably a likely outcome."

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Breaking himself any more than he already had was something Milo wanted to avoid. "What about working with normal runes and the Ancient Runes that I know or find?"

Hecate scratched her dog's head and considered her options. Ironically, she was at a crossroads in several ways. She'd been a solitary wanderer for a long time, guarding the pathways into the world and avoiding everything else, except for her dogs. With the advent of Players coming into the world, that became harder and harder. A human developer had used Machine Code, and to what extent she wasn't sure yet. She could leave that to others or take action herself. And lastly, she had Milo to deal with. He knew too much already.

"To be honest, I'm ill at ease with letting you wander Genesis with what you know, unsupervised. But I would trust your promise if you gave it. I'm willing to help you heal yourself with the promise you will not use raw Machine Code to affect the world. Using runes, and even Ancient Runes, I would allow. And I can clarify a few things with the system. More Players are bound to find them. There is no sense in keeping the made arbiter of the world ignorant of them. I'm happy that you find the Machine Code so difficult to understand. That means no other Player will be able to use it, even if they manage to find some old Tome of spells that mentions it."

A lightbulb went off in Milo's head. "That brings up an interesting question: I know what I can do, and what my limitations are. I'm doubting your rogue programmer can solve Machine Code faster than I can. So how did he do it? I'm sure you didn't allow the human dev team to experiment in the world using machine code. You would have made them work with the System. But somehow, Brian created an NPC with the ability to manipulate code. That seems impossible. Who taught him and gave him access to it? None of the game developers can work with it. And they don't need it. The ENGINE was built specifically for that purpose, or so I was told. You have a rogue AI, don't you?"

Hecate stared at him, very seriously. "I should have guessed that you would see that. It’s a terrible secret and I ask you not to even dream about it. You know, and Wally might suspect it, but won't voice it out loud. Brian had help, and it had to come from someone inside. One of the 106 original AI. It's a very dangerous secret. I can only surmise that Brian was given access to a compiler that turned his system code into Machine Code. His normal spells became the Old Magic from before the ENGINE. I'll be spending all my time looking for that person now. They've been hunted before, and now they will be hunted again."

Milo nodded. "Not something I want to be involved with. I don't need to deal with someone higher up the chain of crazy than Brian."

Hecate laughed and even the dogs seemed amused. "You're already involved. There is no walking away from the fact that you nearly killed Philistron, and contributed to his death. But I'll offer you a deal. I have faith you will cause enough chaos that you might even flush out who I'm looking for. Agree to serve as my agent and I will help you to recover your magic and do what I can to protect you in case the rogue takes notice of you. Never send a message through the System, alert me outside of the game if you find something I don't know who might have access to a message sent through the System. Use Kate's email, and if you simply must contact me in the game, go to a crossroad and say my name three times. I'll do my best to come to you."

Milo considered the deal. He didn't actually have to do anything, and he'd get a protector if the rogue AI did come looking for him. He wondered though, why she was so sure he would cause trouble and find clues. He mentally shrugged. Whatever. It would help him fix his head, and get back to playing.

"I agree to those terms. You help me, then leave me alone, and I'll yell if I find anything, and we keep each other’s secrets." Hecate nodded her agreement. Then concentrated and a piece of parchment appeared in front of him.

You have forged an agreement with the Goddess of the Crossroads to become her agent.

In return for your aid, the Goddess has placed a blessing upon you that will help you with your quest to restore yourself.

In addition:

-Your reputation with dogs has increased greatly. It is recommended that you pack some treats with you.

-Class evolution involving classes that deal with magic or travel have a higher chance of being offered to you.

-You now have access to Enhancements that will benefit you and your pet. A good pet by your side is always a blessing.

He nodded his thanks and put the rolled scroll in his pack.

"Now, on to the next question I have for you. Why are your bones so soft, and why are you letting that creature inside of you turn you into a slime so it can absorb you?"

Milo was acutely aware of his problems in that regard. It was getting tougher to move. "I used it to escape. Normally I just receive the benefit of extra healing, but cheese withdrawal and a lack of bones let the slime grow and become sentient. Any ideas?"

Hecate was very aware of the debt she owed him for freeing the builders. "Go reclaim what is yours. The bit of ancient bone you used to create a rib is still there, but dormant. You need to undo the spell that stripped you of your magic and much of your skeleton. Do that, and then take steps to fortify yourself. More than that, I'm not sure. You're playing with strange things Milo. Very strange and wonderful things. I look forward to seeing you dig up more."

Hecate stood to leave.

Milo had a sudden thought and spoke up quickly. “What would a compiler to convert system spells to Machine Code look like? Could it be a book?”

“Most probably a large book. It could not be anything too strange for this world, or it might be noticed. There must be some way to input the spell or magical effect from the system and then convert that to Machine Code in a way Brian could understand. Possibly some sort of large crystal or Mirror? But a book would be ideal. Sadly, Volax-Repat left little of the slaver's Arcane Library undamaged. Any clues fell into the void.”

Argos stole the last slice of cheese before Milo could stop him. Milo scowled at him, then smiled. “You’re lucky I decided to cut down."

Turning back to Hecate he said. “Want to see a magic trick?” His Smugglers Stash appeared.

“Take a look and grab anything interesting, I wasn’t paying attention when I looted his library and treasure rooms. I stole anything that looked like he'd miss. But I did take a lot of books.”

Hecate swore softly as she dug through his crate. There were many lost items in here, further proof of what the Slaver Mage had been up to all those years when no one knew he existed and he could masquerade as a Holy Man with an impeccable reputation. She pulled two books, a jar, and a metal staff from the large crate. She looked at the books, grimacing when she found not one but two copies of an item that would convert System Commands to Machine Code and feed them to World. She put all the items into a small pouch at her side.

Milo considered her trick better than his, that was a really small pouch. She nodded her thanks to him. “These are indeed a form of compiler and should not exist. They may offer clues. The other two items you do not want. The Ordinary Jar must never be opened. It would let loose 666 Spirits of Plague that would devastate half the empire. I had thought it was thrown into the void long ago. The staff is destructive as well. It serves as a beacon for a creature from the Outer Dark that we pray never finds its way here. Whoever gave those two items to Brian was looking to sow chaos on a large scale.”

Milo thought about the odd items, thinking about how he had casually thrown them into his crate. “Why even create those things? That’s horrible!”

Hecate checked the rest of the crate and then closed it. “I agree. Let me just say that in the early days, when the War of Light and Darkness was more than just the sad little pissing match it is today, many horrible creatures and artifacts were made. Stories were written and took on a life of their own. Any more interesting surprises?”

Milo shook his head. “No. Or at least I hope not. I just want to fix myself, and then go fix some airflow problems in the hab. It’s been a long couple of days.”

"Then I will take my leave of you and let you fix things." Hecate walked away, and faded into the distance, waving once as she went.

Milo watched her go and then thought about what he had to do.

Fortify himself? That was essentially a doctor's order. Milo took another chunk of cheese from his pocket, the last from the basket Sydney had sent. He pitied anyone who couldn't taste the cheesy goodness the way he could. He felt stronger just nibbling it.

[Cheese Withdrawal is temporarily negated by eating more cheese! Amazing how that works. Why would you ever stop?

You have regained Cheese Based Regeneration.

Pudding Based Regeneration is now limited to repairing tissue.

Your little friend, Oooblimilo has gone to sleep for now.]

Milo took a last look at the statues, finding a Celestial Elf and Child of Bastet. He wondered about his fellow captives. They still had their pods, but would they use them again? He wanted to know their story.

Then, leaving the tutorial, he logged back into Shadowport. Several people saw him, and some shouted his name. He ignored them all and bounded to a nearby rooftop and quickly made his way through the city. His legs hurt with the effort of moving quickly but he was feeling better than he had in days, and the thought of regaining his magic made him hurry. Entering the Guildhall he caused quite a stir, but he didn't bother stopping. Players and miners followed him as he raced to the caverns. They fell behind as he sprinted on wobbly legs to where he had fought Uthneragrubban.

The once mighty boss was much depleted. The legs and much of its body had been slowly broken away. A large pile of crystals had accrued under her, guarded by several of the rangers and miners. Milo saw no life in the boss, the eyes were dull, and there was not a twitch from the huge claws. The harpoon Captain Pike had thrown, severing its spine, was still there, covered in his bones. How to get up there?

That problem was solved by the loud voice of the ogre monster hunter. "OI! You! I have a bone to pick with you! I can't get my harpoon out of the damned crab! And it's regenerating too fast for us to kill it. Just a sliver of health left but we can't budge it. The lower it goes, the faster it heals. You need to fix things so I get back my harpoon. If not, I might be having a second lunch."

With what Milo had heard of ogres, he didn't think Pike was joking. "How about you toss me up there, Captain, and I'll take a look?" The huge ogre granted his wish, grabbing Milo with one huge, callused hand and tossing him expertly up to the ceiling, where he bounced hard off the rock and fell onto Uthneragrubban. After a minute spent clearing his head, he climbed down its back to the harpoon and looked at where it split the monster’s spine. Small bits of magic were swirling from the surrounding air and being drawn to the wound. Given time, the boss would regenerate even from this. Only the work being done by two tired miners who stood on a shaky platform suspended from the ceiling was keeping her low. The next shift was ready to replace them, looking nearly as tired. Even with the Dark Steel picks and Copperhead Tooth Talismans, they could only do a point of damage per hit. The core of Uthneragrubban was simply too tough.

It had taken a huge amount of work to slowly deplete the huge stone lurker's health. Shifts had run day and night, but now they were at a standstill. But he could see her stats clearly now.

Uthneragrubban

Armor    0/10,000                Armor Regen is Disabled

Legs    0/12  10,000 Health each       Health Regen is Disabled

Body    0/50,000 Health            Health Regen is Disabled

Core    163/10000               Core Regen Active

Milo grasped the harpoon at the front where it was covered in bones and runes. Would removing it let the boss heal? Maybe he should take care of that first. His small imperial cheese knife easily cut his finger, and white ooze poured out to seal the cut. He smeared the acidic ooze on the open wound in Uthneragrubban's spine. He had to do it several times before the acid began to etch the crystal. After doing this for a half hour Uthneragrubban quit regenerating. The miners started chipping away at the core, bringing it lower and lower. They raced to see who would get the kill!

Milo took hold of the harpoon and tried to will the bones and runes to return to him. He wasn't prepared for the rush as they did and nearly passed out from the pain.

Bone chips flew from the harpoon, cutting their way into his body and seeking their places in his skeleton. Everything ached, but he felt stronger and stronger. He was dizzy, and could only hold onto the harpoon to keep himself from falling. Below, a crowd was watching, wondering what was happening. The pain stopped, and Milo straightened up, feeling his full strength in his limbs again.

From below, miners and engineers and all the people who had followed him downstairs to the mines watched as Uthneragrubban started to die. And then Milo ripped the huge harpoon from its back. Crystal shattered and the miners held on for dear life. The crowd scattered to avoid the shards of the once mighty boss that rained down.

As the crystal shards fell, they saw a figure hanging from a stalactite. Milo dropped to the cave floor doing a flip in the air, landing perfectly on the tips of its toes. Milo tossed the huge harpoon to Captain Pike. "Thanks for the help, Captain, lunch is on me someday. As long as it isn't me."

The Ogre nodded. "I'll take you up on that. That I will. And one of these days, you can come fishing with me and see some of the big monsters."

[Global Announcement: Uthneragrubban, The First World Boss, has been slain!]

[Even the mighty can be brought down by the skill and cunning of a mob of murderhobos fearless warriors!

All of the mighty warriors who took part in the battle will receive a Crystalline Weapon or Tool of their choice. This Legendary Tier 4 magical item is Soul Bound to its owner as a memento of this battle.

In addition, a chest of truly gigantic proportions will appear shortly, dispensing other rewards to each warrior. This chest will remain for a year and a day, and then be replaced by a monument with the names of those who fought, and those who died.

Each person will be notified of their Enhancement Points and Experience Rewards.]

[Global Announcement: New Race available to players!]

[Even before the creature had died, brave adventurers explored the tunnels that Uthneragrubban dug as she ascended to the surface. Only a short journey below Shadowport, they were surprised to find a village of friendly ratkin who welcomed the explorers and told them the history of their village and their desire to start trading with the upper world.

Players may now start characters in the ratkin village of Limburger Hollow, located below Shadowport, and play this exciting new race.]

Milo almost left to find the new village immediately. But magic was swirling in his head and fixing the hole in his soul, his bones were healing, and he was out of food and only had a few small slices of cheese. He could go exploring tomorrow.