13 - Roci

It was the first time that Maya had ever seen Bell laugh hysterically. Sure, he had chuckled, on occasions guffawed, and once even let out an amused grunt, but a full on belly clutching down from the deepest part of his soul laugh?

Maya frowned. “This is not funny,” she said.

Bell nearly fell out of his bed. Nan watched from where she stood over the de-thawed Yosi. Even she looked amused.

“One does not make light of the System,” Veskari stated as Bell clutched at his chest, trying to breath. “Proclamations such as you did are taken seriously by the System.”

“How?” Maya demanded. “WHY?”

“Some say that the System does not know what you are thinking, it cannot, but it can interpret what you say and on occasions takes such things… literally.”

“That’s some crazy bullshit,” Maya fumed.

“It is the System, it does what it will. There are some theories that claim ‘Quests’ are simply the System putting what you want into a solid achievable sort of goal. It incentivizes you to do work toward completing that quest.”

“Right, that’s the carrot. What’s the stick?”

“Hmm… if you are asking if there is a penalty for not completing a quest, then the simplest answer is that you lose experience points.”

“Yeah, I was docked experience for failing to defend the Hanganathorie,” Maya said.

“As was I,” Bell added.

“There are other forms of penalties that are laid down by the System if quests are failed or not completed, some include the lost of Skills and Abilities, and even entire levels can be wiped clean.”

“Heavy handed is the System,” Maya muttered.

“No,” Bell and Veskari said in unison.

Maya looked at Bell, waiting for an explanation.

“The System is doing what the System does. If you fail there are always penalties, that is the way of the Integrated Multiverse,” Bell said. “The System gives you an opportunity to achieve a goal you’ve already set for yourself, it incentivizes you to achieve it, with experience, credits, and System Generated Drops.”

“Sounds like a shitty deal. Failure shouldn’t be punished, not if you tried. You learn by failing, but if the System just slaps you hard with penalties, then why try again? Won’t that make you fear ever trying again?” Maya asked. “Levels, Skills, and Experience, they’re all the bread and butter of this Integrated Multiverse; everyone’s identity is tied up in it. What are you levels, what is your occupational Ability, what Skills do you have? Doesn’t the risk of losing those things make people not want to try harder to achieve impossible goals?”

“There are quest junkies,” Bell scoffed. “Most of them are utter failures at life. They provoke the System into giving them as many quests as possible, but in the end they cannot achieve them all and end up losing more than they gain.”

“So in order to gain a quest, you have to want it?” Maya asked.

“In a sense,” Bell said. “You gained quests to defend the Hanganathorie several times, but you didn’t get one to defend this ship.”

“Hey, now that you say that. Why didn’t I get a quest?” Maya asked.

“You don’t seem to care what happens to this ship,” Veskari said.

“Hold on there, I care. I care a lot.’ Maya said. “Just… I hate this fucking ship.”

“So do I,” Bell said. They nodded at one another.

“Although the System cannot read one’s thoughts, perhaps as a Point of Contact for the System, it has more… access to you overall?” Veskari said. “There are no known instances of a SIL becoming a Point of Contact in recorded history.”

“Okay, I hate Shen’s ship and I hate everything he did here, so that means the System didn’t give me a defense quest because I hate this place?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that sucks. Hey, System, you eavesdropper you. Give me some easy quests with high rewards, like taking a shower or sleeping more than three hours.” Maya called out. She waited, but nothing happened. “I really, really, really want to take a shower, but lo and behold, the world is against me on that goal. There is so much to do, so many things occurring, only if I could take a shower!”

Nothing happened.

“Of course,” she muttered.

“One should not provoke the System, otherwise…” Bell began and chuckled. “Otherwise you will be given a type of quest that you were given.”

“Ah, boss,” Tender arrived at that moment. “You forgot your… child?”

“Nope.” Maya stated flatly.

“Interesting,” Nan said, piping up for the first time. She looked at the roach AI in Tender’s arms. It had graduated from being held by a broken leg, to now being somewhat cradled in two of his arms. “The System really did change the designation on the rogue AI.”

“Is that meaningful?” Maya asked. “Does the weird series of numbers and letters that all these rogue AIs have mean anything?”

“Not entirely,” Veskari said. “Rogue AIs tend to be given batch numbers as identification labels when they are created. System tech AIs are given names by their creators. The same goes for golem AIs.”

“So because it is now called Roci Sullivan, does it make it any different than if it was still called Rogue AI Blah-blah-blah?”

“Unknown.” Veskari stated.

“Names have power,” Bell said after a moment. “Give something a name and you are shaping it to your perceived notions. The System has given this rogue AI a name, a name that corresponds to you, from an idea and thought that you had when you spoke your words.”

“That sounds like mumbo-jumbo, spooky magic nonsense,” Maya muttered. “

“Perhaps, but it has been touched by the System and who knows what that means. Nothing may happen or something may happen.” Bell shrugged. “It is why people say do not provoke the System.”

“Great.” Maya looked at the rogue AI, no, Roci Sullivan and held out her arms. Tender handed her… Roci. “What the hell am I gonna do with you?”

“Build it a kingdom,” Bell said and smiled. Maya raised her gray fleshed left middle finger at him.

“What is happening here?’ A thin raspy voice asked. Attention turned from Roci to the small figure in the medical pod.

Yosi was awake.

***

“Master is dead?” Yosi asked when Veskari detailed to her what had been happening. Although completely non-human in physical form, Yosi’s voice came out deeper than Maya was expecting. Not deep throated baritone, but still more than she expected from the slight dinosaur SIL.

“Gross. Don’t call that shitbag Huvano that,” Maya shuddered. She looked down at Roci. “First life lesson, Roci. Slavery is evil, the truest evil in existence. The owning of thinking, self-aware life is a terrible thing. Life is not a commodity, life is not something that can be bought and sold. When found, slavery must be destroyed.”

Maya noticed something odd as she looked at the former roach AI. Instead of the red eyes she had always seen, on Tender and all other rogue AIs, the small beady eyes of Roci were purple.

Well, Maya thought, that is not creepy at all.

“Hello!” Maya said, after a moment of silence. Yosi’s eyes flickered, a membrane flashing over her large multi-colored eyes. Maybe, Maya thought, she was descended from like jungle hunters or something. The coloring reminded Maya of parrots or other flashy birds, but not with feathers, instead with small pebbled scales. “You have been rescued by the Sullivan Survival Society; we are a interdimensional merchant organization looking to better the lives of down on their luck SIL with technology, in this case system tech.”

Yosi looked confused. “I am not SIL,” she said.

“Oh, see that’s where you’re wrong, Yosi. I’m not gonna use the Tari aspect of your name, because that is a disgusting brand of intelligent life ownership that was forced on you. If you wanna be called something else, just say the words and I’ll start calling you that. Anyway, you’re… gross… master is dead. The ship you served is dead. Twenty thousand standard years dead, now. You are free. You are no longer a slave. You are your own woman, or whatever you identify as.” Maya took a deep breath. “Right now, you’re weak, you’ve got stasis sickness apparently, and it’ll be days before you’re up and about. For now, rest, relax, talk with Nan, don’t poke Bell because he’s a grumpy smurf, and worry not about slavery, indenturement, or anything about ownership or debts. Here in the Sullivan Survival Society, we are a totally anti-slavery, anti-necro, pro-AI kinda place. Watch out for Tender, he’s got fast hands and cheats at cards.”

“What?” Yosi asked, very confused.

“Let see if this works.” Maya cleared her throat. “System! Yosi has awakened, give me my rewards. She is safe, she is secured, she will be cared for, and if she’s down for it, will be helped along with a new occupation that doesn’t involve slavery. Also, toss aside all that bullshit about her being a Class Two Lifeform and being a Slave. That’s horrible, you should know better.”

Quest: Save Yosi - Completed!

- The System Identified Lifeform, Yosi, has been trapped in a stasis pod for twenty thousand USY. Revive and ensure her survival.

- Rewards - 20,000 EXP

- Yosi requires a new name.

“That’s weird,” Maya said.

“You can also allow people to see the System messages you receive,” Veskari said.

“Really?” Maya waved her hand dramatically and the small window with text appeared in the center of the room.

“That’s pretty cool.”

“Twenty thousand experience points?” Bell grumbled. “That’s almost nothing.”

“I know right, I should have got like two million. I mean, I’m totally gonna make sure Yosi is the best at-“ Maya paused. “Oh, right. I shouldn’t make stupid ass pronouncements, right?”

Everyone in the room nodded.

“Alright, Yosi, if you still wanna be called Yosi. You need a new name, System orders.”

“A new name.” Yosi still seemed confused. “I don’t…”

“It’s okay, Yosi,” Veskari said. His voice was smooth and like a balm it calmed Yosi down. She looked around and amazingly a holographic image appeared.

Maya glanced at Bell and raised an eyebrow. She was expecting something like Nanaseto, a short demonic person, but Veskari was instead a short dinosaur dude in a spiffy suit. There were a lot of frills, rhinestones, and looping lace.

“Jesus,” Maya muttered. “Why does everyone dress like shit?”

“You’re safe here,” Veskari said to Yosi, his webbed hands hovering over her. Maya knew that look and glanced again at Bell, eyebrow wagging.

He looked at her in confusion. “When the moon hits your eye,” she whispered.

“I’m not a Class Two Lifeform, my status as [Slave] has been removed,” Yosi said. She looked at Maya in disbelief. “How?”

Maya buffed her nails on her shipsuit, taking a nonchalant pose against the bulkhead of the medical room “Y’know, just awesome questing stuff,” she said.

“But this is impossible.” Yosi continued. “I can’t…”

“Aim for the stars, kid. Aim for the stars. And yell at the System.”

“Ignore her,” Bell said. “I think something overcomes her mental capabilities when she meets new SIL. She acts… out.”

“Hey, now!”

“I believe she sows confusion to provide herself with a plethora of different opportunities one would not have in a normal conversation,” Tender said.

Maya clutched Roci, whom she still held. “Don’t listen to him, Roci. I do not sow confusion.” Maya turned to Yosi. “Now, you have to under-“

“She’s unconscious,” Nan said.

“What? Awww!”

“I shall inform you once again, when she awakens,” Nan said.

“But I didn’t do my ‘welcome to the year 3000’ joke!”

***

“What are you doing?” Bell asked.

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be bed ridden?” Maya demanded. She threw a piece of duracloth over her work.

Bell gave her a pained look. “It seems Veskari and Yositari-Yosi have a deep emotional relationship.”

Maya giggled. “Called it.”

“They are speaking to one another and not quietly,” he said as he took a seat on an overturn piece of rogue AI part.

They were in the cargo hold of Shen’s ship. It was a vast room, holding scores of labeled crates. Shen didn’t have any additional dimensional storage and that often made Maya wonder what he had died with. There should have been a way for her to have looted his corpse, but at the time she had been Seared and the System was hands off as she burned up from essence mana.

Yet even if Shen had maxed out his Dimensional Inventory, he still had a lot of stuff. Maya was making use of that stuff, by making… stuff.

“You were engaged, right? Did you whisper sweet nothings to the love of your life…” Maya paused as she saw Bell’s face drop at the mention of his former love. “Oh, man. I’m sorry. I…”

“No. It’s fine,” Bell said. “I’ve had enough time to dwell upon her death. It was unfortunate, but that is life. As you’ve stated ‘shit happens’. It just happened to be that it happened to her.”

Maya nodded and sighed. “I keep putting my foot in my mouth, these days.”

“What is wrong?” Bell asked.

Maya shrugged. “Nothing, just trying my best to save mankind, is all.”

“You seem to be… dawdling.” Bell said.

“Me? Dawdle? I barely knew her…” Bell did not look amused. “Right. Probably.”

“Right now, we should have had enough charge to return to your world, to help more of this mankind you keep talking about. But you changed your mind midway through and now are on this black goo project. Not to mention all the other things that need doing. You are the only [Engineer] on this ship, even at low levels you can do the maintenance required to get us back to the Hanganathorie.

“Yet, you continue to dawdle. You wring your hands and you launch yourself into different projects, while leaving others half finished and forgotten.”

“You sound like my mom,” Maya muttered.

“Because she was wise and always correct?” Bell said.

Maya chuckled. “Humor? Laughter? What has happened to the lovable grumpy Bell?”

Bell looked at the ceiling of the cargo hold and sighed. “I nearly lost my mind when I came here. I was half mad and setting upon the path of cannibalizing my friends,” he said. “You saved me then, in your strange way. When Shen captured us, when he tortured me… All I wanted to do was die. I was tired of this place and the horrors it held, I craved death. Yet, I was not killed. I was tortured and violated. I saw and felt everything, every word he made me say. Then you killed him. You saved me. You Seared yourself and took upon a burden that will last five hundred years.”

“Pretty cool of me, huh?”

Bell grinned slightly. “I am not well, now. I will heal, though. I cannot help you with a lot of this,” he waved his hand around, “but I will learn. I will help you, Later. For now, if you need someone to talk to or someone to verbally ‘kick your ass’, then I shall gladly help.”

Maya smiled at the blue man. She hugged him and then pulled the cloth off what she was working on.

“Is that?”

“Roci Sullivan, first of his/her/their name,” she said.

“You did this? So quickly?” Bell asked.

On the table before he was Roci. The rogue AI turned the potential inheritor of a kingdom had been dismantled and rebuilt. Maya had a pang of worry that what she was doing was tantamount to child abuse or torture, but Tender claimed that the rogue AI was just a power supply and a core. They had no feelings, as it were.

Instead of the roach body that it had inhabited, Maya had created a humanoid body. It had two arms, a torso, a head of two blinking purple eyes, and it’s legs were a half dozen thin tentacles she had salvaged from Big Snake. Roci was no longer a roach the size of a dog, but barely twelve inches.

“The System is playing with me,” Maya said. “I checked the core and it’s not the same as the others we had pulled from the dead roaches. It’s… more, I guess. Tender says that they can learn more and soon will be able to communicate.”

“Due to it’s name being changed?” Bell asked.

Maya shrugged. “Who knows. Probably. Crazy System tricks, I would figure he’d be against rogue AIs, they don’t channel after all.”

“They still use mana,” Bell said. “Just like System Tech.”

“Yeah.” Maya looked down at Roci. “I started this little journey alone, in a food truck, and nearly dying,” she said. “Now, look at us. Eight people of various backgrounds, looking toward the bright future.”

“If you ever get to work on it.”

“Just need someone to kick my ass,” Maya grinned.

***

Maya jerked awake and saw a pair of purple eyes staring at her. She leaned forward and patted the small humanoid on the head.

“You okay over there?” she asked.

“Yes,” came the voice.

“Jesus,” Maya sat up. “What the hell is with that voice?”

“Yes,” came the voice again. It was high pitched and sounded… completely terrible. Like someone doing a horrendous imitation of a human voice.

“Sleep.”

“Yeah. No.” Maya got out of her bed and looked down at Roci. They still hadn’t been able to move their body, but they could now speak.

“I’m never sleeping again after hearing that voice.”