Jordan felt a chill down her spine when she saw the Arbiter emerge from the transference. W seemed… different somehow, more confident, more dangerous. She wasn’t sure what it was, but that unease quickly left her body as if it never existed in the first place; Jordan’s experience told her that something had changed. Had her actions truly annoyed the man?
Well, that had been a part of her instructions from the Overseer in the first place, to tease and unnerve the Arbiter so that his attention was always divided. Initially, Jordan had thought that it would be a waste of time and effort, after all, what use was it to purposefully antagonize a being like the famed Arbiter W? She certainly couldn’t see any of his past brilliance from her albeit short interactions with him thus far.
But as Jordan studied the Arbiter at that moment, her opinions were slowly shifting, but for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why. W’s physical appearance was the same, he was still wearing that strange alchemical skin suit, and it was still annoyingly impossible to check on any of the other information about him regardless of what methods Jordan employed. Even the small microexpressions were unchanged in the man, so just what was it that made her so uneasy?
Jordan composed herself, “Welcome back, Lord Arbiter.”
Jordan wanted to add a jabbing quip but she just couldn’t bring herself to do so. Some instinct deep down told her to avoid confrontation at all costs and to beg for forgiveness. She shook her head and ignored that; she had nothing to fear, the leader of the Central Collective had her back… but why did all of that seem so inconsequential when he saw the Arbiter?
“I’m happy to be back,” W answered with a carefree smile, “It felt like I’ve been napping for ages. But I’m awake now.”
Jordan frowned. What did he mean by that? Instinct told the woman that the Arbiter meant something else when he said that, but she didn’t know what. Something wasn’t right. She should follow instructions and report back to the Overseer immediately.
“Ah,” Arbiter W shook his head, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Jordan. And I really mean it this time.”
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Jordan frowned harder. How had he managed to break her mental defenses and read her thoughts?
“It’s because your mental defenses are weak,” W answered without being asked, “ And as I said, I wouldn’t report back if I were you. Central Collective Agreement Article 11.51 A, made and signed by all major parties during the last Bargaining Agreement, stipulates that each Training Site is to operate as its own autonomous entity unless there has been a major breach in safety, rules, or regulations. Article B states that the actions of any employee operating in their official capacity without breaching the previously stated terms retain the right to privacy, and Central HQ cannot be informed about those operations. Now, Administrator Jordan, am I breaking any rules currently?”
Jordan scrambled to find the right information about this agreement, and after reviewing things for the fifth time, realized that the Arbiter was correct.
The Arbiter nodded, “I thought so. So unless you would like to be reassigned due to a breach in contracts, then I would keep things to yourself. Of course, you’re free to monitor me to your heart’s content. And I’ll know if you do something not quite ethical in your conduct, Jordan. Trust me on that.”
“Right…” was all she managed to say, “Um, I will not breach any regulations, sir.”
“Good!” the Arbiter smiled, “Now I think that the remainder of the Aspirants will be okay for the time being without me directly interfering. I’ll be in my office if you need me. You are always free to check in with Origin to see if I have done anything wrong, of course.”
Without turning back, the Arbiter strode out of the door, leaving Jordan and the rest of her staff slightly dumbstruck. Everyone could see that the Arbiter had changed somehow, but no one seemed to be able to vocalize what that change was. It was uncanny.
Jordan quickly shoved aside one of her staff and connected to the Origin Matrix. She had to review exactly what had transpired during that brief time the Arbiter was in the Training Stage. Jordan had already told the Overseer about the slight infraction that W made when he helped out some of those Aspirants, but the leader of Central simply told her to ignore it. Was there something else that she had missed?
After checking with the Matrix to see that the Arbiter was indeed in his assigned office, Jordan submerged her conscience deeper into the system in the hope of figuring out the cause of her unease.
She reached deeper into Origin’s network than she had ever done before. In her desperate search for answers, she had managed to catch a fleeting glimpse into the emotions of the most powerful machine in existence. For the briefest of instances, Jordan saw what Origin saw, she felt what it felt, and she feared what it feared. She felt the approach of Dusk, she felt the feeble confines of her mind expand and break, and all Jordan could do at that moment was scream.