I spent most of that night working my way through the bar in a full-blown panic, pacing back and forth while Raven slept. Morpheus Syndrome was a one-way trip; once it took hold, there was no going back. Maybe it’s not too late, I reasoned, maybe I can head this thing off before it spirals out of control.

Easier said than done, unfortunately.

The only way to keep things from falling apart was to limit how much you tinkered with your domain… the more you fiddled with it, the worse it got. We’d been bouncing around a lot lately, distracting ourselves from the mission, which is what probably triggered the episode. If I just eased back on that, left things as they were for right now, maybe the symptoms would vanish. Maybe.

“I can do that,” I said out loud, trying to convince myself. Our hotel could whistle up whatever we liked without my intervention, short of something outlandish. It meant no more ski trips to Mars, but that was fine by me. If Raven had a problem with it, I’d just tell her…

… what the hell was I going to tell her?

I sat down and mulled that one over, and once I did, I saw my mistake. The errant side trips we’d experienced weren’t the first time I’d lost control. No, the first time had been when I realized I couldn’t banish Raven like I always had. I still didn’t buy her claim that it was my subconscious keeping her here, because how the hell would she know that? As realistic as she appeared, she was still just a simulacrum. All she knew was what I’d programmed into her, so how could she have any insight at all into what was ultimately a programming glitch?

All right, that might be oversimplifying things a bit. Morpheus Syndrome wasn’t a programming error so much as it was a form of psychosis, a break with reality. When one’s entire gestalt is a neural network built from qubits… quantum bits, for the unenlightened… it’s easy to see it as a mere code failure, but determining where raw data ends and a living psyche begins can get murky. No one really knows for certain, or if they do, they’re not talking. We know it works, and we know the parameters of where it doesn’t work. Stay between the lines and you’ll be safe, even if we don’t entirely understand the underlying science.

Besides, calling it a programming error means I can blame someone else.

… what? Were you under the impression I was some kind of saint? I would have thought I’d disabused you of that notion by now. I’ve got my own shit to deal with, in case you hadn’t noticed, which brought me back around full circle. What the hell was I going to do?

Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep.

Raven appeared the next morning, looking slightly less furious. She logged onto the hotel’s Room Service page and ordered us both breakfast, which arrived moments later through the power of none of this being real. It’s not like we actually need to eat, so why the hell is she even…

… shit.

Sorry. It’s been a night.

We ate in silence, with neither of us acknowledging the other’s presence. It was only after they’d taken away the dishes that she finally spoke.

“What are you going to do?”

I didn’t respond right away. Partly because I didn’t want her thinking I was desperately awaiting her absolution, partly because I wasn’t sure which part she was referring to.

… Seriously, why am I doing this? Since when do I care what a simulacrum thinks?

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “You have any thoughts on the subject?” At least this way I wouldn’t have to guess.

“I think you need to see a doctor,” she answered, before pausing and considering that for a moment. “Or an engineer, maybe. Not sure which one applies in your case.” She paused for a moment. “Our case, I guess.”

“SysAdmin is the term we use,” I explained. “Unfortunately, not really an option at the moment. No one’s making house calls way out here.”

“Well, just whip one up then,” she sniffed. “Should be easy enough for you.”

I almost bit her head off until I realized she truly didn’t understand the issues involved. Why would she? She wasn’t real. She never had to deal with this shit before… hell, until I updated her memory, she still thought she was a flesh-and-blood biker chick in 1950s America. A simulacrum didn’t have to deal with the realities of the digital world, they were just part of the scenery. So why did it bother me? Why did I care what she thought?

What is wrong with me?

“It doesn’t work like that,” I said evenly. “Yes, I could recreate a SysAdmin simulacrum and have them give me a once over, but they wouldn’t have the same training and experience as the real thing. It would be like…” I cast about for a metaphor. “Like an actor playing a doctor performing surgery,” I finished.

“Then how do we fix this?” she asked quietly. There was genuine concern on her face, despite everything. It was good to see that, regardless of my conflicted emotions.

“We don’t. Not here, at least,” I explained. “All can do now is try to keep it from getting any worse, at least until we can find a qualified Avatar SysAdmin. That means not making any more changes unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

She nodded, taking that in. “And the mission the Brotherhood has for you? What about that?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged, “not until I have some details to work with. I suspect it won’t be easy though.”

“If it were, they’d have done it themselves,” she said unkindly. “You still plan on going through with it.”

“I have to, Raven,” I told her. “It could mean the difference between survival and oblivion for humanity.”

A grim expression came over her. “Then I’m still coming with you,” she informed me.

“But…” I began, but I didn’t get the chance to finish.

“You are going to need all the help you can get, mister,” she snapped, jabbing her finger in my direction. “So I’m coming. End of discussion.”

I could see the resolve in her eyes, the same fierce determination I’d programmed into her so long ago. The whole situation was practically dripping with irony.

“... since I can’t make you leave, it appears I have no choice,” I sighed in resignation.

It was almost two days later that Elder Brother finally reappeared. “So, have you decided?” he asked.

Raven and I glanced at one another. I think she was hoping I’d back out at the last minute, but my reasoning hadn’t changed. The only way out of our current predicament was to do the job, and then hope it gave us some better options down the road.

“I have,” I nodded. “I’ll do it.”

“A wise decision,” he agreed.

“I’m going to need a lot more information, though,” I warned him. “I’m not going in cold.”

“We had assumed as much,” he nodded. He motioned off-camera as a rather large data packet appeared in the queue, ready for download. “Study this, and we will begin planning,” he informed me before signing off.

Clicking on the link’s summary, I shook my head. There was a lot of data here to process, too much to simply click through a page at a time on the viewscreen. Luckily, I had options, ones where I didn’t have to warp reality.

“Computer, holographic mode,” I told the hotel’s computer. “Three-dimensional viewing, hand motion interface,” I clarified, as the computer analyzed my request. Hundreds of written pages suddenly appeared, hanging in midair, many of them covered with complex diagrams. Thankfully, even a simulated 22nd-century digital processor was up to the challenge.

Raven stared at the suspended documents with something approaching awe, each as discernable as the hard-copy version, yet ephemeral as soap bubbles. “Wow,” she said softly, “I didn’t realize you could do that.”

I just rolled my eyes. “We’re on Luna, in one-sixth g, and a little smoke and mirrors impresses you?”

“Watch it, asshole,” she snarled.

“... sorry,” I mumbled, as I started examining the downloaded data. I was getting more irritable as the situation deteriorated, which wasn’t doing anyone any good. I needed to monitor that, but for now, I focused on the information in front of me. Over the next several hours, a pattern emerged, and the more I read, the further my heart sank.

As bad as I’d imagined the job to be, the reality was shaping up to be far worse.

First, the location. The target was on Uzhzizh, one of the core Eleexx planets deep within the Suzerainty. Getting past the border patrols now that war had broken out was chancy unless Elder Brother had some ideas on the subject. I didn’t even know if our ship Friar’s Lantern was intact. If not, then we’d need a new one.

Tabling transportation for a moment, I focused on the target itself. The Troika had really outdone themselves this time. Instead of hiding their research on some far-off moon under a dozen layers of secrecy, they’d pulled a maneuver that I had to grudgingly admit was downright Terran. They’d opened a massive hospital and research center in the planet’s capital, amidst fanfare and a media blitz, touting their desire to heal those wounded in the war, as well as cure many of diseases that had long plagued this sector. Everything about it screamed, “Look at us! We’re Humanitarians now!”... or it would if they were human.

It was impressive, punched all the right buttons… and I didn’t buy it for a second.

Most of the facility was just what it claimed to be, but on closer inspection, there was one wing labeled “Synergistic Advancement” that sounded far too bland and innocuous to exist. I’d be hard-pressed to even define what it meant, which I suspect had been the point all along. The Brotherhood apparently thought the same thing, as they’d marked it as one of the probable locations.

Oh, did I forget to mention that part? They weren’t sure where the information actually was, leaving it up to me to track it all down. Yay, me. Here, however, I had to agree. If that research was taking place in this facility, then this was the spot. The only problem was… Hah! Only… the computer network was self-contained, with no access to the outside world. Like, none.

Without access, I can’t get in. Somehow, I’d have to be smuggled inside the building proper and interface with the system directly, but I currently didn’t know how to pull that off.

Then there was that upgraded Eleexx software I’d already bumped into back before I let myself get roped into this assignment. Let me tell you, this latest upgrade of theirs was scary, so much so I was already planning on how to escape the Brotherhood’s clutches, should events take an unexpected turn south. I’d barely escaped its clutches last time, but this time I’d have to find a way through. While the software in question wasn’t sapient, I had gotten the distinct impression that it was hungry.

Yikes.

Then there was finding the data once inside, getting back out again, then getting off-world and out of the Suzerainty without getting shot full of holes. I went and got myself a drink while meditating over what I’d learned. The mission the Brotherhood had proposed was likely the toughest nut I’d ever tried to crack, and even on my best day, it did little to convince me the odds were in my favor.

In case it escaped your attention, I wasn’t having my best day. Not even close.

“Can you do it?” Raven asked as she sat down beside me.

“I don’t know,” I told her. “The Troika hasn’t survived as long as it has by being bad at what they do, and much of their scientific research bears a strong Eleexxi fingerprint. They’re smart, they’re ruthless, and they’ve learned from their previous mistakes. So… I just don’t know.”

“Then don’t do it,” she urged. “Tell them you changed your mind, that it’s too dangerous. There’s no point in getting yourself killed over this.” She placed her hand on my arm, and I almost jerked it away in surprise. I looked into her eyes and saw for the first time in days concern instead of animosity and distrust. There was something about it that was almost… familiar.

But despite Raven’s gentle concession, nothing had changed.

“If I don’t, then they end us,” I said at last. “They’d have absolutely no reason to keep us alive if we don’t cooperate. Maybe there’s a way out of this, but the only way we’ll find it is if we play their game, keep our eyes peeled, and…”

“... pray for a miracle?” she finished.

I nodded. “Something like that.”

Her jaw was set in a hard line. “Alright,” she answered, “... let’s do this.”

“To answer your question, your ship is both impractical, and unavailable,” Elder Brother informed us, which could mean anything from they were currently using it elsewhere to they’d blown it the hell up. “Instead, we will transport you to Uzhzizh aboard a Tu’udh’hizh’ak supply vessel.”

I leaned back on the couch, considering that. Although the three races of the Troika couldn’t stand one another, they were still inextricably linked together. Ships moved across the borders every day, transporting goods and personnel, especially now with the war against the Alliance heating up. Trying to sneak Friar’s Lantern into the Suzerainty, even with modifications, would be chancy. One of their own ships, however…

“That might work,” I agreed. “Any ideas how to get me inside the facility itself?”

“Perhaps,” he replied. “Getting you inside the facility is merely part of the challenge. We must also see that they connect you to the network itself, yes?”

“That’s correct,” I nodded. “If their system is shielded, and there’s a good chance it is, then merely being in the vicinity won’t be enough.”

“So we presumed,” he shrugged. “After considering the problem, we believe there is only one reliable method that will connect you to the network.” The Chell leader reached inside his pocket and removed a quantum memory chip. “Inside one of these.”

I recognized the hardware immediately. “Space won’t be an issue,” I confirmed, “but how do you are you planning to have them plug me in?”

Elder Brother tucked the chip back away. “Leave that to us.”