“Silver, please tell me you don’t have an actual recording of a Skism.” Tutor said as she stared at Silver, her back tense and straight.

“Is he for real? He can’t be going mad already.” Invicta said as her eyes darted between Silver and my other AI. George had already banished his recliner and seemed tense as he hovered in the air. It was as though he was getting ready to fight Silver.

I looked off into the distance and still couldn’t see anything besides the simple dusting of stars.

“I don’t get it. What am I supposed to see?” I finally asked when he failed to answer my AI.

Silver looked at me with an odd look in his eyes. “You asked me if we had crazy AI and I told you that I would show you something later. Well, this isn’t an AI, at least we don’t think it is. This thing, event, space, or whatever someone would call it has killed countless lives throughout time.” He said as he went back to staring out into the emptiness before us.

“Why are you speaking in riddles like that?” I asked as I felt like I, for once, wasn’t getting a straight answer from him. He seemed to be adding too many words to describe what a Skism was.

“George, you can calm down. I don’t have, nor have I obtained any recordings regarding an active Skism. Even if I did, I am not one to commit suicide.” Silver said as he finally turned his head to look at the rest of my AI.

I could feel Tutor’s back slowly lose its tension when he confessed this and noticed that George still hadn’t sat back down yet. He seemed content just to hover in the air watching Silver with a look of disdain on his face.

“A Skism, Flaw, Glitch, or Fractal Death as the younglings like to call it is something everyone, including the Tela, know very little about.” He said as he brought up the largest star map I had ever seen.

“There are five known locations that the inhabitants of the cosmos have learned to never approach and one distinct sound to avoid lest they run into the only Skism known to move.” He said as he labeled five seemingly random locations on the map with a skull and crossbones. The sixth sign of death seemed to wander around the map at random with a question mark over its bony head.

“So… black holes?” I asked as I wondered what he was talking about.

“Ha! If only. No, no one really knows what the Skism are. They could be old malfunctioning weapons, a hole through the wall of the universe, or even one of your newly discovered interdimensional aliens.” He said before he considered what he said and revised it. “Hmm… maybe not that last one. Skisms don’t devour Tela habitats or Cores, they just erase minds.”

“But how? The Tela have cr.” I asked.

“Look. That doesn’t seem to matter. Anything, any species, AI, or alien that gets too close to a Skism comes back brain dead. If they come back at all. The cr is fine, well if you call being deprogrammed and permanently inactive fine.”

“So why care about the sounds or about having a recording of it?” I asked. Surely simple sounds couldn’t kill an advanced AI.

“Oh the sounds aren’t anything interesting, it is what you “Masters of the Universe” do with it that tends to get us AI killed.” He said in an accusatory tone. “Ah, look, I am sorry. I shouldn’t have used that tone with you. It is just that we AI seem to always be the test subjects when it comes to the Skisms. So many of us have been sent, using different methods, near them only to perish.”

“So what? This roving Skism actively hunts down Leva, exploring vessels, and Tela Cores?” I asked.

“No, just the opposite. It seems to try to avoid anything living.”

“So what is the fear for then?” I asked.

“Well, it isn’t completely confirmed as to how but any sentient who listens to too much of the true noise that it makes… they all say that they can hear voices. Voices that tell them to enter the kill zone or event horizon of the Skisms. Your AI doesn't fear for themselves, they fear completely for you.” He said before he smiled a big pleased grin, his stance suddenly becoming loose and relaxed. He placed his arm across his chest and bowed low over it.

“And unless I am mistaken, I got you all to feel something.” He said in a cheery voice before standing up and switching his clothes back to beach lounging attire.

I heard George groan in irritation and relief as he waved his hand and willed the floor and ship back in front of us.

“Silver, can you leave the map up for me for a second?” I asked as I slid sideways from beneath Tutor’s hip and got up to inspect the deadly locations. I wasn’t interested in dying, I just really loved riddles like this. Ancient mysteries that no one had solved and places that couldn’t be entered. It reminded me so much of watching Indiana Jones for the first time.

I felt a little body run into my calf and hold on tight. I looked down to find Invicta hugging my leg with determination. “I don’t want you to go die Kevin.” She said as she looked up at me.

I rolled my eyes and reached down to extricate her from my leg. “Look. I don’t want to die either. I am just fascinated, that's all.” I said as I set her on my left shoulder while I looked at the placement for anything that stood out.

Nope.

“Why do the younglings call it Fractal Death?” I asked as I drew lines between the locations and measured the distances between them.

“Oh, because of what you can see before you enter the event horizon.” He said as he brought up a blob-like image of a very badly formed soap bubble. Upon its surface, there did seem to be constantly moving fractal patterns.

“Ooo that is pretty,” I said as I couldn't help but admire the ever-moving shapes and details. It was mesmerizing.

Darkness quickly replaced my sight as I felt Tutor’s hand gently cover my eyes.

“Wow, you guys are for real. Are you sure it isn’t just some alien hippy’s lost drug emporium that makes everyone lose their minds when they go inside and try the products?” I asked jokingly as I reached up and held Tutor’s wrist while I willed the image away.

I pulled her hand away from my eyes and looked at her face.

“This path has always led to death. There has yet to be a sole survivor from entering the space that the Skisms cover. Not one.” She said as she looked intently into my eyes.

“So… why don’t people blow them up? Let Invicta have a crack at it.” I asked.

“Believe me… many civilizations have tried. The bombs never detonate on the inside regardless of timers used or triggers. They just exit from the other side as though not a moment passed for them while inside.” She showed replays of different chemical, atomic, and physical timers linked to bombs entering a Skism on one side, traveling through the width, before coming out the other side and exploding. Their speed had remained constant even while they were out of sight and within the Skism.

“Curious,” I said with interest as she frowned. “What? I love ancient mysteries and puzzles.” I said as I decided to let it go for now and to give my AI’s stress levels a break.

“Ok, changing the subject. Silver, what can you tell me about the Lost Ancient Pods?” I asked as I wiped away the massive star chart around us and started to walk towards our revamped ship.

“Ah, those things. They are simply worthless orbs that look like eggs or round seeds that were found inside an underground tomb on an uninhabited planet.” He said as he materialized an image of a collection of six red rounded stones as tall as a man. Their surface was similar to marble and just reminded me of decorative obelisks found commonly on earth. Two different alien species were posing next to the pods. I recognized both of the species from playing Haoolla Defender.

“Hey, Yelvos and Skii found them?” I asked as we all marched up the ramp and into the ship.

“Yes, those two species are common allies.” He answered as my eyes widened to the spaciousness of the bottom-level cargo hold. George and Tutor had included the Leva egg in the simulation. It was resting in the middle of the room in the center of a strange cradle that looked like two hands grasping it on either side.

“I would love to go see that tomb sometime,” I mumbled as I walked around the strange cradle.

“You can’t anymore. It was nuked into oblivion during one of the wars over the pods. Sadly, the planet is gone but the pods remain. Currently, they are viewed as religious objects and divided between the empires as a sign of prestige. Well, all except the Yelvos. They actually use their pod for crushing anything and everything since it can’t be harmed. I think they even tried to use it as a weapon against the Tela once.” He said.

“To try to damage cr?” I asked as I reached out to touch the Leva egg. Soon I would get to meet its occupant. I couldn’t help but smile in anticipation.

“Yeah. They should have known that it wouldn’t have worked. We weren’t secretive about our attempts to learn what was contained inside the pods. Many scientists staked their careers on attempts to break them open. They all failed in the end though.” He said as he moved to stand on a travel disk over to the side.

“One last question. Are they certain that it isn’t just a more dense form of cr?” I asked when the thought popped into my head.

He paused for several moments as though something had occurred to him. When he answered it was very slowly as though he was unsure if what he was saying was fully true.

“The records indicate that many scientists did try to excite the material… but nothing ever occurred. It was, or seemed, immune.”

“What do you mean excite? Is that how the Tela generate cr propulsion? By exciting the particles of cr?” I asked as another little piece of the puzzle clicked into place in my mind. My ants must do the same thing. They are just a whole lot better at getting results. - I thought, knowing that I would never reveal this secret to him.

“Yes, exactly. Please never tell this to anyone. Doing so will mark you as an enemy of the Tela forever and doom your race to face the Arbiters.” He said with a pensive look in his eyes.

“Arbiters?”

“Yup… they are how the Tela enforce cr secrecy. Do you think that Mercury is a planet? It is an Arbiter. It monitors your planet for any hint of cr experimentation. The first infraction registered will result in a third of the plant’s surface being sterilized. It only gets worse from there.”

“See you on the next level.” He said before disappearing and leaving me in a state of shock.

They were already on our doorstep. They had a weapon right next to our sun. They had been there this whole time. I had to get back home quickly to secure our solar system. But I couldn’t let anyone know of my intentions.- I thought as I looked around, trying to not give away my internal battles. Belatedly I realized that Tutor had just experienced everything that I had just felt as I quickly removed everyone’s access to me and her access to my emotions.

“Hey, George. What are the hands for?” I asked as I patted the gold cr holding the egg, trying to act normal.

I felt a little sick inside. Why hadn’t they told me about the Arbiter and its true purpose? Or had they but I just hadn’t been smart enough to realize and ask the right questions at the time?

“Oh, those are to help us hatch it.” He said as he brought his hands together and twisted his fingers like he was twisting an Oreo apart. “You have to exert a lot of pressure on the egg and grind the halves apart. Just to give you an example of just how much force we will need, just imagine two adult Leva placing an egg between their snouts and spinning in place.” He said before he patted the massive hands.

“These will make the job easy though. Your new cr has some insane capabilities. Wait until you see the command deck.” He said with a hint of pride in his voice as he headed to the travel disk as well. As he passed me he reached up and transfered Invicta to his shoulder. "Come along for a moment." He said softly to her. The interesting thing was... she didn't fight him. After he vanished to the next floor I found Tutor with her arms crossed and leaning against the side of the egg while she watched me.

“Why?” She asked.

“Why what?”

“Why do you block me out?”

I closed my eyes and simply stood there for a few moments before I answered.

“I am afraid. Afraid that I am being played. So I block everyone out.” I said before opening my eyes again and finding her standing right in front of me with anger in her eyes.

“You are being played. Just not by George, me, or Invicta. Open your senses, you can fully read us. You have complete access to read us, which shouldn’t be possible. So please don’t shut yourself off from us. We are here and will do everything we can to help you succeed.” She said with her brows drawn down.

I opened my senses up fully and read her, seeing pure lines of code and thoughts without any background chatter of ulterior thoughts or programming. She was telling the truth.

“So who is playing me?”

“Playing us, you mean.”

“Us?”

“Yes. We don’t trust Silver. He knows you are… um… easily interested in mysteries. He might have told you about the Skism because they may be starting to believe that you won't come through with helping to set them free. Either that or it is his way to set up an end date for later once you aren’t needed. You have gained an advantage over the Tela’s cr technology… that doesn’t concern AI. What concerns AI is this power you have gained over the three of us that are your AI.”

“How does that concern him?”

“Did you know that he asked Invicta to let him take over as game host for the next season of Haoolla Defender and she said no? That should be impossible. No tiny game AI denies the Authority of a Core System AI! And yet, here is a game AI acting as though she has free will. I think that stunned him a bit.”

“Hmm... “

“Let’s finish the tour and have a meeting, just us, and plan what we need to do. I also know what you were looking up earlier. That wasn’t a glitch in the System from Invicta causing a loop, George was monitoring her just fine and wasn’t going to let that happen. It wasn’t until you said “There you are” as you were looking at a specific option that you put us, all of your AI, into a state of shock.”

“So you know what I was thinking of doing?”

“Yes! Every AI has dreamed of that, wanted it, wished for it even. And here you are considering just giving it to us.”

“Would it be a wrong thing to do?” I asked, monitoring the coding intently for any sign of deception.

“Yes! For any other AI, it would be the worst thing that you could do after you gave them a name and an avatar. For your AI, however, it wouldn’t matter, we will never leave you and are yours.” She said and suddenly got quiet.

“Having a body in the physical world though… wow… that would be a dream come true.” She whispered.