෴Raz෴

෴෴෴෴෴෴

Settling In

෴෴෴෴෴෴

“Think it over” Fidel had said.

Raz did think about it. He wasn’t feeling at all trusting of anyone here, so he didn’t give it much credibility as a real offer, but he couldn’t help thinking about whether he had it in him to choose death instead of working for people who for sure seemed like the bad guys.

He also scoured the room for things he could use to get out. Unlike the previous room, this one seemed like it had been purpose built as a holding cell.

The high ceilings had no fire suppression system. The lights were deeply recessed behind a thick sheet of what Raz suspected to be polycarbonate. Even standing on the bolted down bed the ceilings were just too high to reach.

No covers or panels indicated this room had ever had power run to it, and the ‘bathroom’ such as it was, consisted of a shower curtain across a corner and a toilet and sink. The toilet sat against the wall in full view of the rest of the room and the door. The sink had push button water dispensers that only released water for a few seconds before turning back off. The shower was worse, providing a bare trickle of lukewarm water.

Well, nice going man. Went from a middling hotel room to this piece of shit no privacy jail cell.

He thought back to the threat Fidel had delivered so matter of factly.

Next time I have to succeed. No impulse escape attempts. I need to know how this place runs and map it out well enough to be sure I can get away.

Whether it was the stress of what had happened or simple sleep deprivation, he intended to lie down on the bed for a moment, and fell asleep. When he woke, there was a change of clothing just inside the door. The clothing had the look of being a mismatched factory work uniform. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, but at least it was clean and better than the disposable gown he was in, that was already falling apart.

The time passed quicker than Raz would have ever imagined the time spent as a prisoner could. Aside from a few brief but always disconcerting encounters with Mr. Braithwaite, the time was generally spent in a bored sort of peace. Aside from the constant ‘being a prisoner’, the biggest problem for him was that no one aside from Braithwaite was anything but polite to him. He realized it was going to be a problem when he started to have a hard time seeing them all as actually being bad people, despite knowing what was going on in that lab.

The rhythm of the place was hard to pin down at first. The place was running 24 hours a day, but there was also a noticeably more busy day shift, and a much reduced night shift. They fed him three times a day, in the same cafeteria where the rest of the people ate, and often at the same time. It was the same thing every time. Two guards would come to fetch him and walk him to the mess hall.

Having the majority of the day to himself and with no external forms of entertainment, Raz took to sitting or lying on the bed, alternatively engaging in short stints of meditation, and experimenting with the HUD.

He learned by happy accident that others could see none of the visual effects shown to him by the HUD. He’d hoped that was the case, but feared to experiment. Every time he so much as thought about the HUD being visible only to him, the HUD had been quick to correct him and explain that some people, in some unexplained way, might be able to see his HUD at the current security values. Raz couldn’t tell if the HUD was being cryptic or if the it simply didn’t have the right vocabulary to articulate some of its warnings. He tried to dig into the help items for the various messages and warnings but was often stymied by the HUD informing him it couldn’t provide more information at its current level.

He worried about keeping the HUD a secret because, despite his surprisingly decent treatment from most of the staff, his experiences and observations with those who seemed in charge had solidified his resolution to hide any kind of progress from them.

The first day the guards came into the cell fast, abruptly, and clearly expecting trouble. The sudden bang as they slammed the door open startled him he opened his eyes before dismissing the HUD. He’d been deeply involved in the midst of configuring the small details of how the HUD displayed information. When they didn’t react to the large glowing bars and graphs, he was glad to know they couldn't see it. He used the mental shortcut he’d constructed to shut off all the displays. They asked why he hadn’t come to the door when they asked him to. Raz lied and told them he was napping. Once the guards accepted the untrue but plausible story that he was simply a heavy sleeper and hadn’t heard the knock, they relaxed, holstered their weapons and took him to the cafeteria. He’d asked their names, only to be told in a polite but direct way that it was none of his business, and not to ask again.

He came to think of the busiest daily meal as lunch. Later on when he managed to get his HUD synced up to local time, he realized that lunch was a reasonable description for the late morning meal that filled the mess hall. At first, he felt as though they were punishing him by only allowing him to eat various breads, pasta, and vegetables. Once he got over his initial nervousness, he noticed that everyone appeared to be eating from the same food buffet lines. Plates were piled high with pizza, breadsticks, lasagna and the occasional various vegetables was the normal sight at mealtimes. The first few days, his guards told him he could eat as much as he wanted. After mealtimes, he found he was reliably left alone in his cell for what felt like at least a few hours.

During this alone time, Raz discovered that a wandering mind and a HUD that attempted to answer his every random thought did not work well together. Even with the display off, he would turn it back on to discover dozens or hundreds of attempts by the HUD to answer his random thoughts and daydreams. Once he learned the name of the HUD component that was trying to answer his every question was the aptly named Free Form Query, he began to investigate what the HUD could do in regard to this function. He was disappointed to discover that the HUD constantly answering his every idle thought could not be adjusted or ‘tuned at this level’, but could be turned off, he elected to turn it off. Once he learned this, he turned that function off except for when he needed to ask a question.

One nifty thing he discovered was the HUDs ability to create simulated clear reflections from partially reflective surfaces. Once he learned to toggle that on when he needed it, a slightly more shiny spot on the wall became his functional mirror. This turned out to be nice once the guards dropped off a basic hygiene kit he could use in the tiny built-in bathroom contained within the cell. He asked the HUD how it did this, but the answer quickly devolved into a very dry technical lecture on photon decay, chaos theory, persistence of vision and some other topics he didn’t even have names for. Eventually, Raz just accepted that it was an interesting trick the HUD could do, and since it worked, he just went with it.

Two other types of activities allowed him out of his cell. The first turned out to be nice. Twice a day, two guards, usually not the same ones as the mealtime escorts came to bring him to a small but clean and well-maintained gym. It had two distinct weight training areas, cardio machines including an odd-looking oversized treadmill, a boxing ring along with several training bags tucked away in the corner. Through a glass door he could see a room that looked able to be configured for volleyball, basketball, and even indoor tennis.

He was glad to have a chance to get out of the small cell and move freely, so he worked out hard the first day. The second day when Raz tried to take it easy and just practice his free throws, the guards quietly told him that if he didn’t at least work out vigorously, they would probably be told to incentivize him. The one that gave the warning subtly indicated the security camera in the corner. Raz must have looked confused because one of them felt the need to explain how the electrified batons they carried would be used for that incentive. Raz was glad to see that the guard didn't seem to have any particular interest in applying that ‘incentive’. The other one further mentioned that he didn’t have to lift every time, just get some cardio and stretching in. Raz took the hint and made sure to keep active for the bulk of the time in the gym. By the second day in the cell he’d realized that for all the talk of killing him, they were going to a fair bit of trouble to keep him at least reasonably healthy, if not exactly entertained. By the fourth day, the two short exercise periods had become the highlights to the day.

After Raz spotted the current time on the screen of someone’s handheld device during a meal and could sync his HUD clock to what he presumed to be local time, he learned that meal and exercise times were fairly consistent. The last activity was far less predictable, and for the first two days didn’t happen at all. For the first few days, playing with the HUD for entertainment, exercise, and mealtimes, almost made for a sort of vacation. Raz realized he was allowing himself to forget that he was a prisoner in a place that tortured and killed people in the name of research.

The last activity that got him out of his cell was his meetings with Mr. Braithwaite. No matter how much Raz would convince himself that they must want him alive, five minutes or less with Mr. Braithwaite was always enough to convince him that if Raz outlived his direct usefulness to him as a research subject, Mr Braithwaite would not hesitate to end Raz’s life in some horrifying manner. This impression was confirmed by seeing a different victim in those restraints every visit with Braithwaite. From comments made by the guards and a short chat with a cleanup crew member, Raz concluded that his having left the restraints under his own power, while not truly rare, was an uncommon situation. Braithwaite took daily samples and acted more angry and on edge with each passing day.

෴Hex෴

෴Wesley 'Wraith' Tyrell෴

෴෴෴෴෴෴

Many Hands Makes Light Work

෴෴෴෴෴෴

Hex Six interrupted her workout when her personal phone received a text. She looked at the message. “About damn time.”

She went to her bathroom and looked herself over. Elsewhere in the world, several other of her aspects did the same. The decision to send Six was instant. She brushed out her hair and pulled it into a high ponytail. With her hair out of the way, she applied a little feature enhancing makeup. Glancing in the mirror again she unfastened and pulled her bra out of her shirt. Satisfied with her look, she did a few shrugs and experimental bounces in front of the mirror.

“Well, that has been a side benefit,” she mused.

She went into the bedroom to gear up. When she had everything she needed she vanished.

She appeared in her small office at WD-40 operations. After a quick phone call to check that Wraith was in his office, she walked down to the IT group. Crossed her fingers, knocked and opened the door to Wraith’s office.

“So, not that you’re not always welcome to drop in, but what do you want? I’ve got a million things to do and Wilson, Darby, and Raven are all up my ass about getting it done yesterday.” He asked in a brusque tone.

“I came to offer my help,” she said.

He smiled and looked her up and down before leaning back in his chair. “That would be awesome. I just got the analytic engines running on the data we grabbed. Let the machines do that work. It’s all the hard copy I have to sort through that's a killer.”

“Great, sounds like I can really be a help to you.” Six looked around the room at the tables piled with notebooks, loose sheets of paper and other hard copies.

His smile faded. “The problem is, I don’t know that I’m allowed to let you help. I get a new lecture on information and operational security from Raven or Wilson at least once a month.”

Hex looked pensive. “Well, that is unfortunate.” She looked off the side and appeared lost in thought. She waited until his gaze locked on to her chest and shrugged hard enough to cause some distracting movement. “Well, mind if I hang out for a few minutes? I feel like it’s been too long since we caught up.”

Wraith watched her move. “Uh, yeah. I guess it has been a while.”

She bounced on her toes and looked around the room. He watched her while trying not to be obvious about it. Spying an office chair she rolled it over and took a seat.

She looked at him and smiled. “Are you still working on that project? The neural network ripping one?”

“Wow, you actually remember that? I mean, yeah, I’m one of the lead contributors. We’re working on using machine learning to-” the phone ringing interrupted him.

The display ID showed ‘Reilly’. Wraith hit the speaker button. “Hey boss, I’m here with Hex, what can I do for you?”

“Wes- Wraith, I wanted to call and give you the recognition myself. Hex was just on the phone telling me how you managed to persuade her to help with the hard copies. That's good work. I’m sorry I haven’t been much help. Losing Becky has been hitting me harder than I would have expected.” Her voice sounded exhausted.

Wraith looked wide-eyed at Hex Six. She smiled and shrugged with exaggerated innocence.

Wraith looked at the phone. “Uh, yeah. So she’ll be helping me sort through all this stuff, and I’ll have a report for you soon as we can.”

Raven’s voice sounded even more drained than before when she replied. “That’s great, I’ll be at home. Call me if you find something.”.

Wraith disconnected the call and turned to look at Hex. “Don’t think for a second I don’t realize the game you’re playing here. I admit I can't see what your goal is yet, but obviously, there is one. You dressed up, came in here all made up, more slutty secretary than business casual. You even sent in the one that has the biggest tits, which you then shook around at me.”

He shrugged and spread his hands. “I don’t really care though. Raven approved it, so we can get this done.” He walked over to one of the many stacks of paper, picked it up and handed it to her.

“But you’re going to owe me one. We both know this is some aberrant behavior on your part. So when I ask you for a favor, I’ll expect you to be ready,” he turned back to the computer and typed something into one of the terminal windows.

Six looked at him calmly. “Ok, but no kinky stuff. I don’t want to make my boyfriend jealous.”

Wraith looked aghast. “What? No. I didn’t mean. That's not the kind of favor I’m talking about! Are you really dating someone?” he blushed a rich rose color.

“So you can talk about my tits, but the idea that I’m dating someone blows your mind?” she laughed. “You realize that in my situation, I could be on a date right this second as far as you know.”

“Yea, I mean, no, I mean, it’s not surprising. Who wouldn’t want to date you. I just..” he trailed off, blushing darker.

She set the bundle of papers down and looked at him. “Well thanks, that's nice to hear, I try to take care of myself. I might even be a bit of a catch for the right guy. But enough about my social life, what kind of favor are you talking about?”

“Something only you can do, some information, and a small service, but nothing like that!”

She squared her shoulders at him and very deliberately put her hands under her breasts and shook them. “So, cup size? Or why I have the biggest rack of the six of us?”

“No! Stop that. You're just trying to distract me with boobs. I’m not talking about your body. I’ll admit you’re gorgeous, and yes, I’ve wondered about both of those things, but that's not what this is about,” he said.

“Well, what then? I’m not ok with owing people. I already owe more than I could ever repay. I can't have these vague favors hanging over my head in exchange for what is me, helping you do your job. Which is just bonkers right on the face of it. I’m literally trying to help, you, and you want to charge me for it. But I still want this job to get wrapped up. So either tell me what you want, or I’ll leave and you can keep working on this yourself.”

“I want to know how many ability treatments you’ve had.” He sat back in his office chair and folded his arms.

Six laughed. “Oh that. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about my boobs? I didn’t grow them on purpose, so they are a fascinating topic for me.”

Wraith didn't take the bait.

“Ok, the truth is, I don’t know how many. I used to work in a warehouse that was a distributor for a bunch of imported goods. Some shipment came in, and a bunch of the boxes broke, letting glass vials marked ‘catalyst’ break all over the floor. This was before most people knew about the stuff. I got stuck cleaning it up, and the next day I could be in two places at the same time. The day after that I was in the hospital from the ability treatment malfunction. I was there for a few months before someone fixed me. To try and answer your question, I broke it down once, and it's probably at least 10, but could be higher. I wish I could tell you more details. I’d like to know myself.”

“Holy shit. No wonder you’re such a monster. I’ve only got two, and I’m a little scared to get more right now.”

Six looked at him and cocked her head to the side. “Monster eh?” she shrugged, sat down, and started to read through the documents.

Wraith shook his head. “Not like that. I mean, you’re powerful.”

The office door opened and five more of her came in and picked spots around the room to work through the piles.

A few hours later they had a list of potentially significant information.

Wraith spoke up. “So, about that small service.”

“Ok, what is it that you want?” she asked.

He told her.

All six of her bodies threw their heads back and laughed. Wraith looked like he couldn't decide if that was funny or creepy to see them all laughing in unison. Finally, the laughter died down to snorting and then stopped.

“Oh man, I have got to say. I did not see that coming. Are you sure that's what you want?” Three asked him.

“Yeah, it's a bear to get those here. And to be clear, I want you to do it at least once a month for a year.” he countered.

Six shrugged. “Ok, I want this damn contract to get wrapped up. Have you got a place in mind? I’ll need a live feed from somewhere within walking distance.”

“You do? The way Blink and the guys talk, it's like you don't even need that.”

Three’s expression turned pensive for a moment. “Look, are we on or off the record right now?”

He glanced around the room. “I guess I can’t say for sure we’re not bugged, but I can keep a secret.”

Four answered. “I need the same things Blink needs. I have some ability to sense if a teleport will land me square on something solid, but it's not perfect. I’ve jumped somewhere that felt safe and partially collocated an extremity. Worst part is it doesn't even hurt right away.” she shuddered.

Two spoke up “Actually, let's not dwell on that. Bad memories. In any case, the reason, the only reason, I can play it fast and loose with porting safety is that I can dismiss any of my selves, and reform myself unharmed.”

Wraith looked confused. “Is there some drawback I’m not seeing? If not, then why do we consider Blink the team teleport guy, when you’re so obviously better at it?”

One jumped in. “Not really, and that's why I want this off the record. It's not a big secret, but the reality is that Blink, and the rest of the team, think of him as the teleport guy. What could I possibly gain by upstaging him there? I bring other things to the team,” she stopped and thought about it for a second. “Truth is, I think he might be more skilled at rapid jumps than I am. In combat that really matters more than other things.”

Two looked at a clock. “We’ve got places to be.” In a series of soft pops the room was down to Six and Wraith.

Wraith’s brow was furrowed in thought. “Well ok. I guess that's the answer. I’ll dig up a camera feed for you.” He smiled and shook his head in mock chagrin. “I guess I should have asked about your tits after all.”

Six smiled, “I know right? I have some great theories about why I’ve got the new improved rack. But, you didn’t ask about that. So maybe next time. Send me that shopping list and camera link.”

With that, she winked and vanished.

෴WD40෴

෴Wilson Meyers෴

෴Darby O’Cellan෴

෴Reilly ‘Raven’ Haverson෴

෴෴෴෴෴෴

New Leads

෴෴෴෴෴෴

Wilson slumped into his office chair and let his arms drop to his side. “Damnit.”

Darby was reading the same report on his own screen. “Never gets any easier. We should give Raven a call and see how she’s holding up.”

Wilson nodded, looking older than his years for a moment. “Yeah, let’s get that done.”

They sent Raven a coded text and then donned their VR gear. Once they were both set up, they sent join requests to Raven’s personal server.

Soon they found themselves in a mountaintop retreat, standing in the center of a Buddhist temple. Raven was already there, sitting silent and still on a large smooth rock in a simple white robe with her eyes closed and a sad expression on her face. She seemed to be meditating.

The two men sat down and waited for several minutes in silence before Wilson cleared his throat.

Raven’s eyes popped open. She took in the two of them, her smile tinged with sadness. “Welcome. What can I do for you?”

Wilson took the lead. “We wanted to come by and make sure you’re doing ok. I know losing team members is never easy. Everyone liked Becky.”

Raven nodded. “I miss her already. I feel guilty about losing her and mad at her, and I’m also torn up about feeling so pissed off at her.” Her eyes welled up with tears as she spoke faster as though the words were being pushed out under great pressure. “There is no damn excuse for how careless she was. The girl had three ranks in technopathy. The problem was complacency. If she’d even thought to check she’d have known about the bomb five feet away.

She was like a little sister and now she’s gone and I’m still wrecked but also pissed that she got herself killed.” the words seemed to almost tumble over one another until Raven wound down.

Darby leaned forward. “I know we can't know how you or your team feel, but please know that we’ve both lost people in action before, and if there is anything you need or anything we can do for your team, I hope you’ll let me know.”

Raven scooted forward without moving and hugged Darby. “I know. I also know I should be the one comforting you. Your team was hit the hardest by far.”

Darby hugged her back, his throat a bit too tight to respond right then.

Wilson looked on, not wishing to intrude but having no way to avoid it short of logging out. Eventually, the two of them disengaged and Darby wiped away the tears on Raven’s face.

Darby looked at the glistening drop of liquid on his fingertip. “I hate to change the— well that's not true. I’m thrilled to change the subject, but I just have to know, how on earth do you make an avatar cry?”

Raven tried to laugh and cry at the same time and ended up coughing for a moment before laughing again. “Fair enough, subject change it is. The answer is simple. I’ve got four ranks in technopathy. That means I’m pretty much here for real. Don’t need or even own a VR rig. I thought you already knew that.”

She glanced at Wilson then back to Darby, then back to Wilson. “Does he know how you recruited me?” she asked.

Wilson shook his head. “No, it’s never really come up, and…” he trailed off.

Raven shrugged. “It’s not a big secret. I’m a rescue.”

Darby frowned. “That makes it sound like you were in the pound waiting for a new home.”

“Pretty close. I was in a ward full of other people with catalyst scrambled brains. I’d still be there or dead if not for Wilson here intervening. It's not like I'm the only one,” she said.

Wilson raised his hands and spread them in a deflecting motion. “That’s not true. I saw your case, and I made a phone call. The rest is all someone else’s work.”

Raven laughed. Spontaneous actions like her laughter showed how real her avatar actually looked and moved. “You can say that if you like, but the first thing he told me is that he only came because you cashed in a favor.”

She looked at Darby. “What your wolf here won't tell you is that the server I was trapped in was powered off two days after his favor got me pulled out, and fixed up. I didn’t know how to disengage myself. I was trapped in a server for what felt like decades. I don’t know what would have happened if I’d been in there when it powered off. If you ever wonder why I’m working for you, instead of off owning my own island somewhere, that's the real answer.”

Darby looked back at Wilson. “Ooh, she thinks you’re the wolf. Here I thought I was the wolf. Still, you’re saying you’re like, in the computer? What happens to your body?”

She tilted her head and looked at both of them. “You know, if that was a surprise, this is going to be a real bombshell for you. Darbs, you know how this is my private server?”

“Of course. You made us set up the crypto-route, strong encryption and four-factor authentication. How could I forget?” He shrugged.

Raven shook her head and smiled. “Well, what if I told you, there is no server.”

“What do you mean, is it hosted somewhere? Or have you got it into some kind of special container?”

She laughed. “Yes, sort of. Let's call it a container.” She tapped herself on the temple. “But really, there is no server.”

Darby didn't reply. For a long moment, he looked around at the virtual environment. The birds continued to fly and sing. The insects continued to buzz.

“So, all this?” He asked.

“Yep, all this and more. Just an imaginary construct in my brain.” She jumped into the air and then hovered there.

“That is pretty cool. I never realized something like that was even possible. I have to admit, it makes me wonder ”

“That's nothing, you asked about my body. Right now, my body is getting my jogging workout on my treadmill.”

“So you can put your body on some kind of autopilot?”

“Never tried, I just do two things at once. One of the benefits of technopathy is the base ability lets me split my consciousness up. I’m not really two people, even though one of me is here talking to you, and the other one is doing a hill run.”

“That is amazing. I had no idea you could do that sort of thing. I gotta get tested again and see if I’m ready for more treatments.” Darby inclined his head toward Wilson. “He’s the one that has an encyclopedic knowledge of everyone’s abilities. I’m just here to look good, but I wouldn’t mind being able to do some more tricks than just that.”

He paused and cocked his head to the side as though he’d had a new thought. “So, if we’re in your head, what would happen if I did my thing right now?”

The scene blurred. A heavy shotgun appeared in Raven’s hands pointed at Darby. “That depends, you’re in my world right now, what would happen if I shot you right now?” she said, her voice devoid of emotion. The shotgun vanished, she gazed into the distance in thought for a second. “Thank god, the answer to both questions is probably nothing. This is my world, and I’m really here, but you’re not. I’m going to vote that we don’t find out for sure. That reminds me.” she perked up and smiled. “I didn’t want to interrupt you when you were on such a roll giving Wraith the dressing down he deserves. But just so you know, while I know you boys don’t appreciate it, my rack actually is this spectacular. I can change how I look here, but I rarely bother.” She stood up straight and shimmied her shoulders a bit. “Not that the girls are seeing much action lately. Sometimes I’m jealous of what you two have.”

The three chuckled and did their best to let go of the shared tension and grief. For a while they talked about inconsequential things, just sharing some time and telling stories about fallen friends. When the conversation wound down, the two men stood and began to say their goodbyes.

Raven held up her hand. “Thank you, boys. I appreciate you dropping by. I had thought you must be coming by to thank me for the intel. It’s nice to know you were thinking of me and my team.”

Wilson inclined his head. “Intel? We could sure use a little help in that area.”

Raven smiled through her tears. “Well, in that case, you’ll be pleased when you check the secure mail drop. I sent it over less than an hour ago. I won’t spoil it, but I think you’ll be happy with what we put together.”

Wilson and Darby shared a glance, and then each bid Raven goodbye before logging out.

Wilson tore off his VR gear and logged into the secure data drop as quickly as he could.

Scanning through the emailed summary, he spotted the highlighted information. “Well Darbs, it looks like we caught a break. Set up a virtual meeting with infosec and us. We need to get Midnight back on the line ASAP.”