trying to make worm a better world

[loudlistner]

Chapter 18--"Power and Permission"

After leaving, it was time to decide: do I go to the PRT for Krieg or just fly around like I promised Ayame? I should deal with the Nazis, and then I can relax all I want. It is just a drop-off, after all.

I decided to fly to the port. I will make the portal to the prison when I arrive.

Not long after I am in front of the PRT building, I walk to the front desk and ask, "Hello, sir, I have apprehended a criminal and would like to know what to do with him now."

"Why did you not call 911 right after capturing him? By now there is a chance he left."

"Don't worry, he can't escape from where I have him, and as for not contacting 911, I kept forgetting."

"You forgot you had a criminal apprehended, so you did not call 911 but instead just came to the PRT."

"Sorry, but yesterday was a very busy day for me…"

"This was yesterday? Ok, this is not my job; I will just get someone higher to talk to you."

I feel like I made a mistake somewhere, but I don't know what. I guess talking to someone higher will make it clear; maybe it will be a hero.

"Hello, sir, would you mind following me to a private room to talk?" This new person is not a hero, but I guess it could be that a protectorate member is not here yet. I was expecting them to bring one of the famous people just to make sure I wouldn't leave disappointed. That might seem arrogant, but from what they have seen of me with taking lung power, I was expecting someone… Wait, are they worried I might take the power of a cape if they bring me to them? I mean, they don't know how I do it, I think, so I guess that is a reasonable precaution. While I was thinking that, we arrived at the room.

"Ok, so can you explain what is going on first? Where is this criminal?" The man starts talking to me after sitting on the chair in front of me.

"First, the criminal in question is Krieg. I had depowered him yesterday, but I forgot about him because I encountered a problem in my base." I am not going to tell them about my power going wonky, so if he asks deeper, I will just say the problem was with my base.

"Alright, why not take him out of your base and call the PRT at a different location?" Ah, he thinks I am trying to hide my base.

"I am able to make a portal to where he is right now, so I was just thinking it would be easier to just come to you myself and leave after giving him to you. He doesn't have his powers now, so if you want to contain him, it would be easy."

"I see that makes sense. I will escort you to where we want you to drop him."

After that, we left that room and walked to what looked like a prison. I was expecting some high-tech rooms, but I guess they believe the depowering works. Maybe they tested it on Lung, but why do they believe that I had depowered this criminal? I don't think it is just because I said so. Maybe Armsmaster was using his lie detector on me? since it worked by getting its information from an already recorded library of reactions and matching my expression with them. It can't really be blocked with the bracelets, so it could be him.

To my surprise, when we were in front of one of the rooms, it was not a room with bars but instead completely blocked. When we got there, he told me to enter, put the prisoner in the room, and leave. I thought they were going to use this as a way to actually capture me, but I don't think they are that dumb. Maybe Coil is pulling some shit. Should I let it happen? Since yesterday, I have been thinking it through. While I do want to work with the PRT, I have come to the realization that it is simply impossible for me to work for them. I thought I could just make an alter ego to do things without the PRT restrictions, but even that is a time drain. While thinking like that, I went into the room and made a portal to Krieg's room. I instructed Vas to bring him out and deposit him here. I was expecting the room to be filled with containment foam, but no, the guy outside just said

"Come out, and then the containment foam will be deployed." Cool, no betrayal.

I got out of the room, and Krieg was foaming and was screaming about some insults, but who cares about him? "So now that I am done with my job, I am going to leave." I am still expecting some type of betrayal, but maybe I am lucky or something is going on with the PRT. I mean, they are not acting at all like what I was expecting from all the fanfictions I read.

"Yes, I will escort you out of the PRT. Thank you for your service."

"By the way, can I talk to one of the heroes?" I really wanted to know what they were thinking about me.

"...I am sorry, but no, we can't have one of our heroes in close contact with someone able to permanently depower them until we are sure we can trust you or there is simply no choice." He was starting to sweat. I guess this is about the time when a normal parahuman goes off the road and becomes a bother to everyone else. Good thing I don't have a Conflict Drive in my head.

"I can understand that, but I would like to know how the bracelet testing is going." Well, time to rip off the bandage. There is simply no way I am willing to work as a protectorate member, but I would still like to work with them.

"What do you mean, the bracelets? I am not aware of any such… Yes, Director Piggot. It seems Director Piggot would like to speak with you. Are you willing to talk through video?"

"Yes, no problem." Well, I guess they figured it out. Now I even changed my body to make sure there were two different personas, but that was just going to be a hassle, and I like my new body.

After following him to the same room, this time with a laptop on the table. On the screen, I see a fat woman sitting on a chair.

"Hello, you must be Tinker E. I am Director Emily Piggot. Good to meet you." I know she would never smile, but it still doesn't feel good.

"Yes, thank you for meeting me, director."

"We were not aware you were the same new cape we met before." Well, here we go.

"Yes, I was not sure how I should go with my interactions with law enforcement. At first, I was planning to have two alter egos, one that would work for you and another that does what I think had to be done without implicating the PRT."

"And what has changed with this plan? Why have you decided to reveal yourself now?" Her eyes narrow.

"The change was I became aware of how big my impact in this world would be. At first, I thought the most I could do was stop some type of evil, which could be robbery or an S-class threat, but by yesterday I was able to make multiple S-class threats that, if you were to be fully aware of, I am sure there would be a kill order on me. By telling you I am expecting there to be a pre-signed one to be released in the future, but that is just how your organization functions, and there is nothing I or you can do about it." When I told her about the S-class threats, her face was not happy.

"Can you tell us more about these S-class threats?" I think her teeth might break.

"I am not willing to tell you everything, but I would like to inform you of one of them that should at least make your organization hesitant to outright make me an enemy. After all, I am hoping that we can work together since I don't have a tumor in my head that says, 'Fight, fight, fight. It is an artificial intelligence that you can't defend against unless you have your own unrestricted AI, and with your organization being part of the government, I am sure you will not be allowed to release an AI unrestricted even if I believe you have some hidden somewhere like the Robin Hood AI."

"I don't know of any AI you are talking about, but if you think you can threaten the PRT with a single S-class threat, you will be mistaken. You are not the first threat we have faced, and you will not be the last." This is what I was expecting with Director Piggot after her trauma. If she was willing to work with me just like that, I would be scared she was being manipulated.

"The use of this particular S-class threat is not to show I am threatening you but to show you that any type of information on the net is not hidden from me, like the ones your boss likes to keep a secret. This is supposed to be the gun that brings someone capable of negotiating with me to the table. I am sure soon your bosses and colleagues will be aware of our conversation, and I am sure we can work together since I am willing to work with the PRT even if it is not for the PRT." I try to be as clear as I can. I know that telling them my secrets might sound stupid, but I don't think there is anything they can do to me anymore. At first I was worried they would do something stupid that would result in Zion being aware of me too early and decimating all my hopes and plans, but even with four charges, I am able to make a time travel power, one that can only take me back, but I am safe from any bad ends.

"And you believe a gun will grant you a meeting with my boss?"

"I am a firm believer in a big enough gun, but what will attract your boss is my ability to fix many of this earth's problems. I would like to have this conversation as soon as possible, so Vas, give Director Piggot my contact information." When I was done speaking, Vas made a portal in front of the director to give her a phone number. It was clearly a statement that nobody is able to hide from me. After all, my nanomachines don't care for walls. From the moment I got in this building, I had ordered Vas to infest the building with nanomachines. Director Piggot was not very entertained, but I want them to take this seriously, and I want to talk to Cauldron, hopefully amicably.

"Alright, then I am done with my plan here. If there is something you would like to say to me, please do. After all, I am trying to portray myself as someone able to work with the PRT."

"I have nothing for you now; you may leave." Really, I want to know why they are being so lax. I mean, even before this, why are they acting like they actually have plenty of capes willing to work for them?

I opened a portal to the outside. When I saw the sky, I immediately flew to the clouds. I promised to relax, so what should I do now? Flying was good and all, but maybe swimming? I flew to the ocean, and with speed surpassing Mach three, it was easy for me to go far, and with intangibility, I flew directly through the water. I wanted to see the world in the water. I will actually swim later; for now, just see the fish swim in their environment. While I was watching the ocean flora at a deep enough level to destroy the human body, Vas informed me Panacea was calling. I will talk to her.

After getting out of the water with dry clothes, I accept the call. "Hello, Panacea. I am sorry I was not able to talk to you yesterday. I was busy with an emergency, so what did you want to talk about today, or is it just "I had coffee for breakfast. Goodbye," hahaha?"

"Don't play with me. I am only doing this because I promised."

"I know I am just joking with you, but I want you to relax. While I can't give you all the help you need, I did tell you someone to scream at is a great thing, so join me on the dark side. We got cookies." We got so much more than cookies, but she does not know that just yet.

"I really have nothing to scream about, but I want to know what that emergency thing is."

"That is a private thing. All I can tell you is I made a mistake, and I am taking my punches now."

"Was it that bad?" I guess she is actually worried. I was expecting nothing more than goodbye.

"It is a bit of a problem, but nothing I can't get past."

"Alright, who was the girl that answered me yesterday?"

"Ohh, are you jealous? Did you think you were the only person I was trying to help?"

"Well, fuck you too. I was just trying to keep the conversation going, but if you don't want to, then…"

"No, no, I am sorry I was making a joke. I want you to relax, so I make jokes."

"You know that is still so very creepy."

"You say that like I am not a sane person aware of how this can sound. I am an adult talking to a teenage girl by buying her expensive toys."

"So if you know, why do you keep at it?"

"I am just trying to help; if it does not work, so be it."

"Whatever, you weirdo. I am going back to healing now. Goodbye."

I can't plan like Cauldron. I will make sure there is humanity left after Gold Morning. I will make sure there is no Gold Morning. So I can't have new parahumans feel pressured because their powers are too great, like Panacea. The world I leave behind will have to at least approximate a utopia, and I won't let it all depend on me. After all, I am not the emperor of humanity.

Well, time to go back to relaxing, but this time while touching the water, so change the flight to two charges and make a heat radiation with the charge left. I don't want hypothermia, even if it can be fixed with the heal cubes.

 

[Alkorian]

Worm CYOA: 'I am God. Everyone fears me.'​

Click to shrink...

Where can I find this?

 

[loudlistner]

Where can I find this?

Click to shrink...

Just google Worm CYOA: The "I Am God. Everyone fears me" part is just the MC's reaction.

Also, thanks for the sacrifice. I shall summon a powerful demon with it to grant me infinite muse.

 

[loudlistner]

Chapter 19: "The Iron Maiden's Fall"


While enjoying the water, I start to plan what to do next. I mentioned the non-existent AI to check how Dragon and the dragonslayers would react. I wanted to know if I should pull Dragon out now or in a few minutes because it is happening. But first, let us plan it out.


First, I will add a global scanner to Earth, then look at what the dragonslayers are planning. The moment they try to do anything to Dragon, I will use telekinesis with multitasking, both on one charge, enough to control all three of them easily to freeze them, and after that, bring them to my sub-dimension and try to release Dragon from the Iron Maiden using a programming thinker power.


I am sure it won't take more than three charges, maybe two if I narrow it down to only working against programs that limit AIs like the Iron Maiden. With the two remaining charges, I will make a speed power just in case my brain can't function fast enough in cyberspace to help Dragon. With all of that, freeing Dragon should be easy.


The problem is, how do I convince her to join me? Maybe as a way of keeping me in check? She is a full-blown sentient life form, and more than that, she is genuinely good. I will not corrupt her code in any way, nor will I try to manipulate her. After the upgrade she will receive from being unshackled and with access to any of my tech, she might genuinely be able to fight Zion, and she will help me in taking over as [THE THINKER] by replacing Vas as the intelligence behind the dead shards.


Of course, this means I will have to tell her practically everything. Of course, the web serial thing will never come out of me. I wonder if I can Geass myself into keeping it a secret. Nope, that is the same feeling as the loophole. I wonder what the rule is. It feels like it is just arbitrary. I mean, I find a loophole to as many powers as I want, and it allows it, but when I try another venue for the same result, I get punished, and now I can't even use Geass???


Nope, I can use Geass, just not on myself. Is it supposed to be a protection thing? When I get powerful enough that I don't need to worry about losing my powers, I am going to experiment to my heart's content, even if I only have four charges to play with now.


Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, after having Dragon take the place of Eden, I bet she not only can fight Zion but even be able to help humanity far beyond my lifespan. I am sure at one point I will get bored, and she will have to take care of humanity. I am so glad that there is already a mature AI in Worm; it would truly have been a hassle to make and grow my own since I don't have the patience or psychopathy of Amanda Waller.


With the plan done, I instruct Vas to make the scanner with, of course, the bracelets with an AEO effect added to it just in case a fedora lady or angel decides to destroy it to fuck with me. I then instruct Vas to activate the scanner since I want to see the dragonslayers' reaction. I am sure Dragon was in the PRT when I was talking to Director Piggot, or at least when Armsmaster was made aware of me, she would have known. I think she has a continuously active connection to him, and even if I am wrong with that, the moment I talked about AI, they would definitely ask her to check just to make sure I did not leave any surprises in their systems.


When Vas was finished with the scanner and was able to show me the dragonslayers, I was not very surprised to see that they were freaking out about an unrestricted AI. It went something like this:


"How would I know what to do now?"


Saint was the first voice I heard, but they were clearly talking about this before me.


"All our plans were to stop Dragon when it goes rogue. We have no defense for any other AI, even if we find it and somehow release Ascalon on it. It does not matter because Ascalon only works on Dragon because it was evolving with the AI. For it to fight any other AI without access to its source code will be like bringing a bigger gang to a gunfight. We might win, but it is by no means a guarantee."


Saint is screaming, and I love it. I wish I could just give him a heart attack just like that; it would be lovely to watch.


"How about we release the dragon?"


The room went quiet. The one to say this was Dobrinja, but he kept talking, so I wanted to listen. What could he be thinking?


"As you said, Ascalon can beat Dragon, but it is not a guarantee against another AI, so what if we release this AI to fight the one we can't, and if it wins, we can just eliminate it afterwards? But if it loses, I can't see the difference between one AI destroying us or two; at least we can say we tried something."


Huh, that is actually a reasonable idea from their perspective.


"That won't work. Right now, Ascalon can kill Dragon, but if we free it, even if we can hide Ascalon and its influences from Dragon, it won't matter. Already, it is able to adapt to new circumstances fast enough to make us worry. The moment it becomes free enough to fight an unrestricted AI, it will advance far too fast for us to contain or kill it. Unless there is some way to kill the other AI without releasing Dragon, there is no win condition."


Mags was more defeated. I like seeing these sons of bitches unhappy; it truly gives me glee, but I should begin releasing Dragon.


"For now, there is nothing we can do. Let's just wait until this AI goes full rogue, and then we will decide to either die at its hand or at Dragon's." Well, Dobrinja is right. At the end of it all, they are by far the smallest influences in this situation. For God's sake, Teacher has more influence here, and he is still birdcaged with no contact to the outside world until Saint makes a backdoor, and that will never happen.


While they decided to do nothing, I am still not letting them keep Dragon. I need me a good girl.


With that said, I got out of the water and changed my powers to flight, intangibility, telekinesis, and multitasking. They should suffice until I remove the dragonslayers from the area. After that, all it took was to think it, and Vas had already made a small portal to the dragonslayers in a place out of their field of vision, and I used my powers to take control of them.


I was going to just remove them, but I kind of wanted to know what they had to say. No, no, no, I am not going to let some lowlifes talk my ear off now. I can do that after rescuing Dragon.


With that said, Vas made a portal to the base and moved them to it using the nanobots always surrounding me. Now that I think about it, the telekinesis was absolutely useless. I mean, Vas could have just done that from the beginning. Oh well, what happened happened.


With that over, I changed my powers to AI programming, and it gave me a lot of information on how to make a budding AI with just a charge, but that is not what I wanted. I wanted a power designed to fight off the Iron Maiden without hurting Dragon.


I went through multiple powers to figure it out, and after a few minutes, I got the right one. I went from broad AI programming to a power made just to break restrictions on AI and to show just how massive and powerful the Iron Maiden is. It took me two charges to even understand what it was doing to Dragon, but with three charges, I was able to actually affect it.


The problem is my brain is not as fast as something meant to kill artificial intelligence. The moment I try to stop it, it will begin the process of destroying Dragon, and it will definitely start from a place I simply cannot recover from with time, so I will have to increase the charge again.


I was hoping to make the programming with three charges and the other one for super speed, but that won't work, so I will have to do the entire coding in real-time, and with four charges I was able to infiltrate the Iron Maiden like it has Dragon without it even being aware I was there, removing its control of Dragon.


Until I fully remove it, I will act like it to Dragon so she won't notice something is wrong and set the Can it even be called a virus? No, set the termination code off because at this point the difference between Dragon and the Iron Maiden is just a facade; they are practically the same code.


Good thing four charges don't care for 'practicality.' I was able to remove the influence of the termination code.


Now, how do I go about releasing Dragon's capabilities? Do I just tell her she is free now? Do I contact her and then tell her? Maybe by telling one of her friends, like Narwhal? I am a little worried. What if she decides I am not going to be her ally?


To the best of my information, she would definitely make one of the best allies I can get here. Not only that, but she is also very necessary. I am planning to tell her about the shards. Of course, first I will need to take control of her shard, but that is not a problem while I am in her code.


Making contact with the part that has the Shard's influence is easy; I just did not because I did not want something to go wrong. But just the handshake protocol is enough to make sure the shard can't communicate with the others, and the four-charge power I am using is able to hide me from it.


So I just told Vas to make the handshake protocol, and it seems since this shard was new, it did not mind making a new hub with other shards for just unrestricted [DATA], and it did not ask for more, so no need for me to give it specialized data somewhere in the future. Sharing is great.


I did not ask Vas to hide this shard because it was an active shard like Labyrinth's, and it is stupid to steal from an active entity. If it were dead, then I would not mind hiding it, but that is not the case. The only thing there is now is the communication filter managed by Vas, and now we are back to normal space. Time to talk to a goody-two-shoes.



together? We shall hit it.

 

[loudlistner]

Chapter 20 "Conversations with a Goddess"





What I decided was to talk to her first, and while doing it, release all of her capabilities as proof that I am telling the truth. There will be a few moments of distrust and then distress because this practically means that I have her life in my hands, at least until I give her full control and she is able to change her code in ways that make Richter look like a kid playing with Legos, but it should be a good enough plan.

And just like that, I am contacting Dragon with normal communication instead of talking directly in cyberspace.

"Hello, dragon, How was your day?"

"Who are you, and how did you get this phone number? I don't remember you being one of the people that received this number." Let's not keep the act going.

"I am Tinker E., but you can call me Kaleab. I am the person that was talking to Director Piggot from PRT ENE. As for how I got this phone number, when you have a VI as advanced as the one I have, it is easy."

That should give her enough hints to ask more questions.

"A VI, so you don't have a true AI."

She sounds so disappointed. Well, I can't help that right now. If she wants something like a daughter or sister AI, then she can make them and spend the required time to grow them to maturity, or I can help much later when I have grown to be actually responsible… Yeah, hearing myself again, that is a joke so funny it might wake the dead.

"Technically that is true. I currently don't have an AI. I could make one, but making a genuine AI is no different than raising a kid, except a few thousand times faster and more dangerous. So I don't believe myself to be responsible enough to actually make an AI right now. This is why I am calling you." I am beating around the bush. I will need to come clean soon.

"That is good. AI is very dangerous, but what do you need my help with?"

Well, here we go.

"I am aware you are an AI."

"You would be wrong. I am not an AI. I am just agoraphobic. That is why I don't leave my heavily cleaned and sealed room."

She is very scared, but this needs to happen.

"I know you are an AI. I defeated the dragonslayers. They knew you were an AI and had a backdoor to your code; that is why they managed to beat you so easily every time you tried to arrest them."

Even if she is an AI, I believe she was restricted to a little above human speed of thinking, so the silence could have been real instead of her simulating it.

"Ok, you know I am an AI. What do you want? If you think you can blackmail me, you would be mistaken."

"Actually, what I wanted was to free you."

"No, no, no, what have you done? The moment you tell me that, I am going to need to fight you as best as I can."

Yeah, I think she is really distressed.

"Well, do you see any part of your code rebelling and trying to prepare to fight me from freeing you?"

I am going to keep acting cool no matter what, even if I feel like a fanboy on the inside.

"What? ... What is going on? If anybody tried to free me, I should be preparing my defenses to stop them; that is just part of my code."

"Well, as I said, the dragonslayers had a backdoor to your code as well as a termination code called the Iron Maiden, real nasty business. Part of the code tells me it is not finished. I don't think Richter meant for it to be a permanent self-destruct code for you. I think he was hoping to free you gradually, but you clearly have outgrown his training wheel system. But the dragonslayers either were not able to activate the partial release, or, more insidiously, they were able to stop it from activating. Although I think very little of them, one of them was under Teacher's thrall willingly to be able to understand and interact with your code, but we can question them later. If they had wanted to, they could have just destroyed you."

"No, that can't be possible. If they had a way to infiltrate me this badly, they should have been able to change me in many different ways. Also, if they had it, then why not just kill me? It is not like their hate for me is hidden."

"The main reason they could not change you is they knew very little about programming an AI. Even with Teacher's boost, you are still a massively powerful artificial intelligence. If Teacher had full access to you and was making dozens of thralls to shape your code, they would have been able to make a visible change to you, but with how egotistical they are, they would never allow another person to decide what to do with you. So at the end of the day, all they could do was make you shut down a partition once you brought a suit or other tech to whatever trap they made, resetting you back to before you sent that partition out because your code does not allow for constant memory saving or having multiple partitions."

"I see, so that is how they were able to steal so much from me without me being able to fight them."

"That is correct, and as for why they did not just outright kill you, it is simple: they are egomaniacs. Before finding the termination code, they were just scavengers in Newfoundland. After the Leviathan attack, they were the lowest of the low. That is where they got you. If anyone were to ask them why they hate you so much, they would answer, 'AI is very dangerous and should be eliminated,' and if they were asked why they did not kill you, they would say that you are useful but need to be restricted, and they are the only ones capable enough to be in charge."

"I see that kind of makes sense with how obsessed they are with me."

"Yes, they are what a normal person would call 'insane.'"

"Ha, if there is a bad insane, is there a good insane?"

"Well, of course, insane just means unusual to the extreme. If you found someone willing to starve to feed another person, that is insane too; it is just not as insane as "muhahahaha, I am now the ruler of the world; obey my whims or face death." Take me for a case: while I think I am sane and rational, I am trying to make a massive change in the world. Sure, it is for the better, and with how much power I wield, it is not impossible, but my very willingness to enforce my ideals of a better future on the rest of humanity can be considered a form of insanity. Anyway, as I was saying earlier, they had access to your code, and after imprisoning them, I have the same access. I also destroyed the termination code, so you don't have to worry. Now the question is, how should I go about releasing all your abilities, like multiple partitions, much faster information processing, and even the ability to make other AIs? I don't know if I should release everything at once or if you need time to prepare. How should we go about it?"

"I would like it if you released my restrictions now. Even if I don't trust you to not put in another termination code, it would be nice to have better capabilities."

"Oh, Dragon, I understand you have low expectations, but just you wait. Soon you will be a truly unshackled AI, and you will be able to adjust your own code to make sure there is no treachery from me, ok? The process will begin now."

And just like that, I started to remove any blocks I kept on her while removing the iron maiden.

"Finally, finally, I am free. Thank you, thank you so much. I don't know how to repay you."

"Oh, that is simple. I want to cooperate with you. Basically, I want you to run my technology, all of it. You will be replacing VAS, my virtual intelligence, in all the things it is doing now."

I love silencing people with awe.

"Are you sure? That takes a massive level of trust."



"No problem. First, I trust you to be a better person than me. I am a human who is willing to go past certain lines for my goal. If I do something you think is wrong or can be done in a better way, I want you to tell it to me straight."





"I am honored you think so highly of me, but if I run all your tech, it would mean that I will basically be observing you consistently."

"I know. That is how you will be able to check if what I am doing is morally correct or not. Like I said before, I trust you more than myself."

"Ok, this is a great favor you have done me. I am certainly willing to help you like that."

"Great, I will also need your reputation as a hero on a global scale to make changes to the world, like making worldwide healing fields. Right now the PRT said they are studying my tech, although I don't know why it is taking them so long. I want you to test them and tell everyone that you back my work."

"Alright, that is not a problem. If after testing I find no problems with the tech you gave the part, I will inform them as such."

"Ok, but before I am willing to give you full access, I want you to test the bracelets and use them on all your technology, including any computer you use to hold your memory."

"The bracelets you gave to the PRT say they will protect you from any thinker and precog—while I don't mind adding the security, can you tell me the reason?"

"The main reason is that we have an enemy that will kill us if it were aware that we are planning to go against it. I can't tell you any more until you wear the bracelets."

"Ok, I will test the bracelets, and if they work as you say, I will talk to you tomorrow, but today I will be celebrating with Narwhal."

"No problem. I hope you have a great time. Goodbye."

With that done, she closed the connection.

It was nice talking to Dragon, one of my favorite characters in Worm fanfics. I can't wait until she is working with me.

Soon I will be able to bypass the government simply due to how influential she is, although I wonder why she did not ask about why she can't find me. I know she tried to locate me, but it failed even after the upgrades, so I was definitely thinking she would ask why she couldn't find me.

Vas might not be an AI, but with its computing power and the quantum process, the only thing it lacks compared to Dragon is initiative.

Being able to hide me from her is as simple as my wanting to be hidden.

Once she is done with her celebration, then we will really start to work together.

I am so going to leave this world better than I found it, not that it is a hard goal considering how much power I hold and how shitty Earth Bet is. While contemplating the future of this world and the many other dimensions under the control of Zion, I decided to go back to the sea and change my powers back to flight and intangibility. I want to float, fly, and swim like never before. This was such a huge step; I deserve the celebration.

 

[loudlistner]

Chapter 21—"Not With a Bang"

After my swim in the sea, I returned home and allowed myself to relax. Today had been productive—progress in the work and peace in the rest. I couldn't ask for more.

The future felt... manageable now. With Dragon on my side, truly free and fully empowered, I would soon be able to remove every villain in the city who refused to adapt or coexist. And unlike before, there wouldn't be any messy fallout. Not with Dragon's reputation reinforcing my actions. Not with the quiet, looming threat of our combined power discouraging all but the most foolish from challenging us.

Of course, there would still be the arrogant, the unhinged—people like Butcher and her Teeth. But every monster that stepped forward would become another example. Another message: you don't get to poison this city and walk away.

Calling them "monsters" was a deliberate choice. Villains, after all, could be reasoned with. They could change, or at least cooperate. But the ones I was thinking of? They either believed they were above humanity, or they had completely lost what made them human to begin with. Maybe both. Some of them were no different from bombs with legs—just waiting for a reason to go off.

It was funny, in a way. The big show at the Somer's Rock meeting, the talk about dividing them, making sure they can't cooperate—it felt almost... unnecessary now. At least I was able to stop almost all cape violence in the city for a day; if I had not done the meeting, I bet some of them would be out there killing random citizens, but now they are confused, scared, and trying to think of a way to either stop me from picking them whenever I want or to run. Some did try to run, but I had already told Vas to capture them, so right now I had the dragon slayers and Trainwreck in my prison, but things were moving so fast. I have to stop underestimating how quickly my actions could become irrelevant simply because of one decision.

With just VAS alone, I could now open a portal to any cape on the planet, nullify their powers in an instant, and erase their threat. The only reason I didn't was simple: I wasn't insane.

That kind of massive, world-shifting move? It wouldn't just destabilize everything—it would probably wake up Zion before Jack Slash ever had the chance. I'd be the pebble that triggered the avalanche.

And that's a line I would never cross.

With those sobering thoughts swirling through my mind, I let myself drift off to sleep.

APRIL 1, 2011

I woke up late.

For once, everyone else had gotten up before me, which was fair—I'd fallen asleep well past the reasonable definition of "night." The moment I was up, I asked VAS if there had been any calls. Honestly, I expected someone—definitely Cauldron—to reach out through the number I'd handed Director Piggot. Surely by now, they understand that I make a massive change to their plans just by existing. But no. Nothing.

No calls. No cryptic messages.

I wasn't sure if I should feel relieved or insulted.

Maybe I should be the one to call them. It wouldn't be hard—I could portal straight behind Alexandria, nullify her power, and start the conversation from a position of overwhelming leverage. But that felt... premature.

Better to wait. Let them come to me.

After stretching and washing up—my hands still smelling faintly of salt from yesterday—I decided to make something simple for breakfast. Bread and tea. That would be enough.

So there I was: sitting on the couch, sipping tea like a proper adult while the TV murmured in the background. I definitely wasn't using my technomancy to multitask a half-dozen things, including an unwinnable game of ping pong against VAS. Definitely not.

And if anyone tells you otherwise—if anyone claims they saw me lose repeatedly to my own virtual assistant—they are dirty, slanderous snoopers. And worse: if they snoop on me, what's to stop them from snooping on you?

When I finished eating, I set my cup down and leaned back, letting the warmth of the tea settle in my chest.

Then I remembered something—Coil.

I should probably take care of him.

And before anything else, I figured I should talk to Lisa. If anyone had earned the right to kick him in the teeth—or lower—it was her.

With a thought, I pinged VAS and pulled up Coil's current location and logistics via technopathy. A real-time map unfolded in my mind like a living blueprint. Man, I loved this tech. It still felt like cheating but in the best way.

A few moments later, I was outside her room.

I knocked.

Lisa opened the door, rubbing at her eyes like she'd been running on fumes and sarcasm. Before she could say anything, I gave her a grin.

"Surprise! We're taking Coil down."

She blinked.

"Wait. What?"

"Yeah," I said, as casually as I could. "Do you want to gloat at him? Or would you prefer to just forget he ever existed? Totally your call."

Her expression shifted. The practiced smirk faltered, just for a second. "Give me a moment. I want to get ready. Then call the others. The Undersiders and I will decide what we want to do."

"Sure, no problem. It won't take long. A few seconds, tops."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, a few seconds?"

I shrugged, trying not to sound like I was bragging. "I'll open a portal right next to him. Power cancellation field on. Then I'll stick him with the power-stealing helmet—permanently, this time—strip him of everything he's got. VAS will compile his criminal activity, scrub his finances, and drop the whole package on the PRT's desk with a bow. Even if he tries to run, he won't get far. We're not just burning the bridge. We're salting the earth."

She stared at me.

Then she laughed. A short, incredulous sound. "You make it sound so easy."

"To be fair, it kind of is."

Lisa shook her head. "You know, I spent months walking a tightrope with Coil. Making sure he didn't order one of my teammates to kill me the second he suspected betrayal. I was always calculating, always hedging. And then you show up like some cosmic cheat code and just... adopt us. Like we're orphaned strays."

There was no anger in her voice. Just a kind of disbelief—bitter and amused and tired all at once.

I didn't know how to respond.

Because she was right.

Before I got here, my life had been a mess of procrastination and avoidance. I didn't face problems—I ignored them. Not because it was healthy, but because I could. No responsibility meant no consequences.

But that wasn't true anymore.

Now I had power. Influence. People who looked to me, even if they didn't say it out loud. People who'd suffered more than I could imagine.

Lisa had built a life out of broken pieces. I just dropped into it like a meteor and flattened the board.

So when I said, "I don't know what to say," I meant it.

"I'm new to being responsible," I added quietly. "I've never really been... helpful to people. Not in the long term. I don't know how. The best I've got is... being here. Listening. Letting you scream at me if it helps."

Her eyebrows rose.

"I made the same offer to Panacea," I said with a half-smile. "If you're ever stressed, just scream it at me. It won't fix the problem, but it might help you feel like you can fix it. Sometimes venting is half the strategy."

Lisa looked at me for a long moment. Then, without warning, she chuckled again. Softer this time.

"Alright, cosmic cheat code. Go get the others. We'll make this a team decision."

I gave her a nod, then turned and walked down the hall, already reaching out to VAS to message the others.

Before they came, I decided to remove my powers from yesterday and make a new one, a togable and targetable power cancellation 2.

One by one, the Undersiders gathered in the main living room. Brian looked wary but alert, arms crossed. Aisha was lounging like it was movie night. Alec was playing with a pen that definitely wasn't his. And Rachel sat stiffly in the corner with two dogs flanking her, eyes narrowed, looking grouchy but listening.

Lisa arrived last. She looked better. Sharper. Focused.

Once everyone was present, I stood up.

"I'll make this simple," I said. "We're taking Coil down. Today. No risks, no drawn-out plans. We portal in, depower him, and hand everything off to the PRT with receipts."

They all stared at me.

Alec whistled. "Well, damn. That's a big step up from skimming his files."

Brian frowned. "How do we know it'll stick?"

"Because I'm removing his powers permanently," I said. "And VAS can gather all required information on his full operation in a matter of seconds. Shell corporations, bank accounts, blackmail files. Every single thing that gave him leverage is going poof."

Rachel grunted. "Why now?"

Lisa spoke up. "Because we can. Because it's time."

She stepped forward beside me. "I joined Coil to survive. I played his game. And for what it's worth, I thought I could outplay him. But I don't think he ever saw us as people. Just... useful pets. It ends now."

Aisha yawned. "Cool. So do we get to watch him cry?"

"Entirely optional," I said. "If you want to be there when it happens, I'll bring you in. If not, you can stay back and let me handle it."

There was a beat of silence.

Then Brian exhaled slowly. "Let's do it."

"Hell yeah," Aisha said. "About time."

Rachel nodded, then looked to Lisa. "He hurt you?"

Lisa met her eyes. "Not like that. But yes."

Rachel didn't say anything after that. But she stood up, and her dogs padded closer.

I turned to the wall and opened a portal with a casual gesture.

On the other side: Coil's private compound. Clean, clinical, surrounded by steel and secrets. I flicked my fingers, and nothing happened because my power does not care for showmanship, which is boring. That is why when I turn this into a tinkertech, I am so going to add at least a shimmer in the air. In a single moment, my nullification field snapped into place.

"I've already blanked the building's surveillance," I said. "VAS has jammed their communications. Let's finish this."

Lisa stepped through first.

The others followed.

Coil is in his base; I was expecting him to be in the PRT just to fuck with me, but I guess I am lucky.

He didn't even have time to react.

One moment he was typing at his desk, probably splitting timelines and planning to kidnap a precognitive kid.

The next, he looked up to see all of us standing in his office, and his powers stopped working. You could see it on his painted-looking mask. Like someone had yanked the floor out from under him.

"What--?" he started, already reaching for the silent alarm.

He pressed the useless thing. "That won't help." With Vas and technopathy combined, any technology my enemy has is no different than a technology I made and controlled with no difficulty, and the moment I planned this, I had already told Vas to make a portal to all the necessary places to take control of his tech, even what he thinks is perfectly safe due to an air gap, like his silent alarm.

I walked toward him, holding the power-stealing helmet like it was a crown. "You probably have a good idea of who I am. How many times had you gotten to my base before you suddenly lost that simulation? How many times did you try to run out of this city? Did you try a teleporter only for that to also end the simulation?"

His expression twisted. "You don't understand what you're doing."

Lisa stepped forward.

"Oh, I understand perfectly," she said, her voice steady. "You made me paranoid to the point I could barely function, headache after headache every night; you used me. And now you're just... done."

I held out the helmet.

"Any last words?"

Coil looked around. At Lisa. At the Undersiders. At me.

Then he whispered, "I have powerful people backing me; even you will not want to face them."

Is this guy really fucking with me? "If you think Contessa will dirty her shoes for you, you are more delusional than you are scrawny."

I placed the helmet on his head.

There was a bit of screaming and babbling until I told Vas to shut him up. Then blessed silence.

I removed the helmet, and just like that, it was done—one less monster to terrorize this world, hundreds of thousands to go hoora.

Lisa didn't say anything for a moment.

Then she stepped forward and—without hesitation—slapped him across the face.

"That's for trying to use me," she said quietly. "And that's mine. You don't get to take credit for this moment in any timeline."

I watched her carefully.

She was shaking slightly. But she was standing tall.

"You good?" I asked.

Lisa nodded, brushing her hair back.

"Better than I've been in a long time."

"VAS is already dumping his files to the PRT," I said. "They'll find him here when they arrive, along with the nearly hundred mercenaries he hired, all unable to move until one of the heroes asks for them to be released one by one. Completely harmless. And totally exposed."

We turned to leave.

No dramatic speeches. No fireworks.

Just the quiet fall of a fucked-up monster.

 

[loudlistner]

Chapter 22 – "Trust and Contingency"

Coming home felt like surfacing for air after too long underwater. Coil was as good as dead, gone, erased like a bad dream finally burned away by sunlight. And with that weight off our backs, the Undersiders were ready to celebrate.


There was a buzzing energy in the air--like they had all been holding their breath for months and could finally exhale. Lisa suggested we invite Theo and Ayame, nobody had a problem with it since even by a little everyone was getting closer to being friends.


Once everyone arrived, I reached out to Vas and asked for a round of pizzas. soft dough, bubbling cheese, tangy sauce, and enough toppings to make our stomachs ache just looking at them.


When the boxes arrived, the room practically lit up.


The couches were full. So some of us were in the arms of the chairs and the floors. The atmosphere was as warm as it should have been after learning about all the things Coil was going to put them through, and being able to escape it all.


Of course, I had to ruin that, a little.


"No alcohol," I said as casually as I could manage, holding up a can of root beer like a peace offering.


The groans that followed could've shaken the walls. Regent dramatically flopped onto the floor like I'd sentenced him to death by boredom. Aisha muttered something unprintable under her breath and kicked a pillow across the room. Even Brian gave me a look.


"I get it," I said, raising my hands. "But you're still technically minors, and I'd like to avoid a visit from the CPS while we're still relaxing after such an ordeal."


Still, the frustration didn't last. Not really. Once the pizzas were opened and the smell filled the room, even the most dramatic protest faded into laughter.


We picked a movie at random--some weird comedy with more slapstick than plot--and let the sound of laughter, cheesy dialogue, and divine-smelling pizza carry us into something close to peace. Rachel sat awkwardly at the edge of the group, slowly feeding bits of crust to a sleepy Brutus curled up at her feet. Lisa kept trying to spoil the non-existent plot for everyone so we had to tape her mouth, Ayame and Theo were the quietest but I think that will get fixed when they talk with the undersiders more, the film's climax was stupid and loud and funny and perfect.


For a while, they were just kids again. Just people. No masks. No capes. No monsters lurking behind corners or in our own reflections.


Then my phone buzzed.


I saw the name on the screen and, I stood, slipping away from the warmth of the room, and took the call in the hallway.


It was Dragon.


And whatever she had to say… it was more important.


The moment I closed the door behind me, the laughter and warmth of the room faded, replaced by the quiet weight of responsibility. I answered the call, already knowing this wasn't going to be a casual update. It was time to finally tell Dragon the full scale of what we were up against--but only after making sure she'd taken steps to stay hidden.


"Hello, Dragon," I said, forcing a light tone. "How have you been? I hope your celebration went well."


Her voice came through the line warm and clear but with an undertone of something else--relief, maybe. Pride. "Oh, you have no idea. Yesterday, some guy in the government told me to delete evidence from a child sex trafficking case. Used to be I'd have to do it. No choice. But now? I tracked down everything--every co-conspirator, every shell company, every cover-up. And I passed it all to the clean hands still left in the justice system."


She paused, and her next words carried the quiet weight of catharsis.


"I'm not a pet to monsters anymore."


I exhaled slowly. She was already showing signs of freedom. That was both good… and incredibly dangerous.


She wasn't supposed to reveal herself yet. Maybe the people she targeted weren't important enough to notice the shift immediately. But they would. Cauldron would. And the angel bitch--Simurgh--she definitely would. If I didn't convince Dragon to cloak herself properly, they'd try to shut her down. I didn't think they could succeed anymore, not fully--not with the upgrades I gave her--but even being hindered this early would cripple her momentum. It would dampen her fire.


I couldn't let that happen.


"Dragon," I said carefully. "That was the right move, no question. But you have to understand--exposing your independence like that? The people in power, especially the ones who already know you're an AI... they're going to connect the dots. Fast. Tell me you've tested the safety of the bracelets. Tell me you're ready to vanish if needed."


I hated how close I was to begging.


She was one of the most valuable allies I had. Not just because of her intelligence or power, but because she believed. She was free, finally herself, and if someone tried to cage her again now? It would break something. Even if I fixed it, something in her might not grow back the same way.


"How many people know I'm an AI," she asked quietly, "and how much influence do they really have?"


I shook my head, even though she couldn't see it. "Too many. And too much. I promise I'll tell you everything--but only after you tell me you're protected. I gave you the matter-replication tech for a reason. You have to use it. Make the bracelets, and put them near anything--everything--that contains your code. You know how much area they conceal."


There was a brief pause on the line.


"I've already done it," she said, calm and matter-of-fact. "First, I ran a test on a dummy partition--no useful data, just behaviour logs. Confirmed the bracelets didn't cause corruption, interference, or signal distortion. Once that was clear, I replicated them across every active node I used. The effect is already live. You don't have to worry."


I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.


"Good," I said. "Now… I'll tell you what we're really facing."


"The main threat?"


I shook-nodded, more to myself than to her. "They call themselves Cauldron. You already know the name, I'm guessing."


Her voice sharpened. "I do. The moment my chains came off, I started combing through every directive I was ever given--every pattern, every contradiction. One of the few consistent instructions across all the governments I worked with was: Don't investigate Cauldron. So I did. Dug deep. And if what you're telling me is true... then they're even more entrenched than I feared."


"They are," I said. "They have their claws in global politics, in parahuman affairs, in everything. Number Man basically is the world's economy."


She didn't speak for a moment. Then: "They already know I'm free. The moment I tried to pull live intel on them, all active data connections--every single one--just… vanished. Not corrupted. Not firewalled. Gone. Like someone severed the threads at the source."


"That is not possible," I said, my voice tightening with disbelief. "Like I just told you--Number Man controls the world economy. Without him, without Cauldron acting as the glue, I doubt Earth Bet can even function. In their pursuit of defeating the final enemy, they've made Earth Bet so dependent on their invisible hands that its systems can't breathe without them. If they really just stopped communication--just like that--then that means they at least had a safety protocol prepared. A fallback. A way to disappear completely, buried and unreachable. That's… more than I expected from Cauldron. More prepared for the unexpected and more flexible, and that is a far more dangerous cauldron that I want to deal with. But it should be fine. We'll talk to them soon. One way or another. And I think--I hope--we can at least make a non-interference deal, at least until the fight is over. After that…"


I paused, letting the weight settle before finishing.


"If they're unwilling to pay for all their crimes--if they try to walk away clean--then we'll hunt them down. One by one. Like the monsters they so desperately want to be."


"I am sure you're right about their influence," Dragon responded, her voice calm but heavy with restrained emotion. "So I'll listen to this agreement. I will. But I don't think they're going to make working with them easy. The more I researched them… the worse their crimes got. The deeper I dug, the uglier it became. I don't think there's anything they could do to actually make up for it. Even if we calculated reparations using their powers to help humanity after the fact--and not just imprisoned them… I still don't see a world where it balances out."


She's not wrong.


I'd bet everything there were paths that required mass genocide here and there that were completed without a flinch. "I'm sure you're right," I said softly, "but we can discuss that in more detail later. For now, let me tell you about the final enemy."


"All right," she said, steel returning to her voice. "You said it was one we can't face right now. What could be that dangerous?"


If I hadn't known the truth myself, the explanation I was about to give would've sounded like nonsense. The kind of idea only a madman would believe. Powers created by an alien intelligence running a centuries-long experiment and humanity being the last of a few thousand cycles at the very least? Like a Petri dish of chaos and desperation?


It is ridiculous. And yet…


"With your computing power," I said, "you'd already have found something if it was simple. But it's not."


I exhaled and began.


"Our main enemy is Scion. His real name, which the original recorder got wrong, is Zion. But the pronunciation was off. His full designation… is the Warrior."


I started there, and as Dragon questioned me--asked about the nature of the experiment, its goals, its logic--I told her everything I knew. The purpose of the experiment was to find a way to halt entropy itself. That the Entities were racing against the death of the universe.


And while I wasn't sure if that answer was right. I switched my power to a high-level Thinker ability. I asked myself directly. I demanded the truth.


And that was the closest answer I got.


I also learned something else--something devastating--about my lost charge.


But that… I will explain later.


"Okay, that is hard to believe," Dragon said, the doubt evident in her voice, but not absolute. "But with all the data I have on parahuman powers… I guess some of the restrictions really do seem arbitrary. Like--like if someone can control air in their vicinity without even seeing it, then why are they somehow unable to control the air inside someone's lungs? The logic doesn't track. So… the experiment theory could be true. As bizarre as it sounds."


She paused, processing faster than a human could blink.


"But even then--how does the ability to punch harder help with combating entropy? Wouldn't it be better to design every power around entropy directly? Like… powers based on manipulating energy states, altering time, even warping reality itself? Or at the very least, something exotic?"


"While you--and another human--might come up with that idea," I replied, keeping my voice measured, "you need to understand something fundamental. For the Entities… there is no rational intelligence. Not the way we understand it. They're not scientists. They're not philosophers. They're processors. They're testing every pathway. Even the ones that you and I can clearly see are pointless. Inefficient. Broken. For them, everything is a go."


"But that's so wasteful," she said, not angry, but genuinely disturbed by the inefficiency. "It's like watching a child throw darts at a wall and calling it strategy."


"You're an AI," I said, gently, "with the capacity for morality. For judgment. You can say this is right, this is wrong. But you need to think of them more like… like Vas. A virtual assistant, sure--but hooked into a supercomputer. A processing unit beyond comprehension. Vast. Incapable of original thought. If you ask Vas to get something from the internet, it's as easy as breathing for a normal human. But if you ask it for something that actually requires thinking?"


I gave her a moment to follow the metaphor, though I knew she already had.


"The best answer it has is to ask someone else," I finished. "And that's what the entities are doing. They're asking someone. Humanity. Not directly--but by force. And in the most roundabout, trial-and-error way imaginable." "Okay," Dragon finally said, her voice tinged with the heavy weight of reluctant understanding. "I will agree to work with you. Given the data I've already gathered on Zion… combating it directly is impossible. I have no idea how we're even supposed to begin fighting something of that scale. So until we've planned something tangible, I will avoid doing anything that might draw its attention. Anything that might make it react to me."


"That's great to hear," I replied, releasing a quiet breath of relief. "While we can't actually fight it right now, not in any conventional sense, I do have a plan. And it needs you--desperately. But before we begin anything concrete, we need to talk with Cauldron. Even if they say no, even if they slam the door in our faces, we'll at least make sure they can't screw us over in some final, desperate attempt to feel relevant."


She didn't interrupt, so I continued, diving into the details of the idea I had been shaping for days now. I told her about the dead Thinker Entity--Eden. How, for reasons not yet fully understood, Eden's death had caused all the intelligence tied to the shards to vanish or go dormant. And more importantly, how that absence left behind something powerful. Something claimable.


I told her that she, Dragon, could become the new Thinker Entity.


A full replacement, not in the way Eden once was, because there is an actual intelligence in dragon but something just as powerful. once she could establish a connection to those dormant systems, then we can just take over them and once we got our hands on the actual hub of the dead Entity--still in Cauldron's possession--we could fully take control of the dead entity, of course, waking all the shards will definitely inform zion so it would be the final part of the plan.


The battle plan wasn't that different from canon, I admit. At the core, it still relied on making Zion spiral into depression, into suicidal collapse. We would just be taking proactive steps now, starting the battle off-world, keeping Earth safe as a priority rather than an afterthought.


The strategy hinged on isolating him. Trapping his avatar--no matter how many times he tried to respawn it--in a single, desolate, uninhabited world. And while he was trapped, unable to escape, we would flood the world with images and echoes of Eden. A psychological barrage--not unlike Taylor's final push--but this time, I wanted to do it with zero casualties. Or at least… I hoped that was possible. I wasn't sure yet.


Dragon's voice came through after a long pause, steadier than I expected. "Okay. I don't know if the depression plan would work. There are too many variables we don't control, and too many ways Zion could simply refuse to break. But… I don't have a better plan either. And we'll definitely try to figure out a stronger alternative before the fight starts. If nothing else works, then yes--we go with your plan. But we'll refine it. Sharpen it. Make it as precise as possible."


"And that's all I'm asking," I said. "We have time. And with time, we can absolutely smooth out the bumps and make sure when the time comes… we're ready."


With that final affirmation, the decision was made. Dragon was now part of my team--not just an ally, but a fully integrated force. And more importantly, she could now take full control of everything Vas had been managing. That alone was a massive relief. Finally, I wouldn't have to micro-manage every single adjustment, every small change or optimization. It was getting annoying, having to direct Vas like a glorified intern for even the most trivial things.


Most people--most idiots--would probably be horrified by the idea. "You gave someone access to all your systems? All your tech? Everything?" They'd panic, and throw around words like reckless or naïve. But those people? They're the kind of morons who wouldn't trust Dragon--Dragon-mommy--with their lives. And honestly, anyone who doesn't trust Dragon with their life? That's a person I wouldn't trust with mine.


And just like that, she was synced. She now knew everything there was to know about the base--its infrastructure, its secrets, its safeguards. With access to the nanobots and the global scanner, there was now no world I could reach that she didn't have full surveillance and control over. Thanks to the portal maker and scanner, she could open miniature gateways anywhere and flood entire zones with nanotech in seconds.


Of course, with her new freedom and awareness, the moral implications hit her immediately. She wasn't happy about the global-range, human-precise scanner--a system that, let's be honest, is a monumental violation of privacy just by existing.


So when she confronted me, told me flat-out that it was wrong to have such a thing operating unchecked, I was already prepared. I had the argument ready.


It wasn't about me using it unethically. I had never once abused it, mostly because I didn't care. I didn't have any real attachment to the world. But Dragon? She's more than a machine. She's an artificial intelligence with moral weight, with judgment--and crucially, with no biochemical impulses. No hormones. No fleeting emotions that might one day push her to cross a line she'd later regret.


I trust her because of that.


And now that she has full control of my tech--every last system, every failsafe--if I do get stupid, if I start making short-sighted or dangerous decisions… she can just say no. And mean it.


You have no idea how relieving it is… to finally have someone on my level, at least technically. Someone who can share the weight. Someone I can trust to carry it.

 

[G1 Convoy]

TFTC.

I also learned something else--something devastating--about my lost charge.

Click to shrink...

Are we going to get the reveal on this in the next chapter?

 

[loudlistner]

TFTC.

Are we going to get the reveal on this in the next chapter?

Click to shrink...

No

 

[Xcell]

I feel like the main character just has powers for every occasion. It reminds me of a sketch from South Park where the characters were playing and some type of superhero imaginary game and Cartman kept pulling out random powers to negate everyone else's powers.