AP5, 35 & 36 (Patreon)

Chapter 35

Time until next Challenge: 9 days,  11 hours, 48 minutes

We’d been walking for hours. 

I’d grabbed another nap shortly after we’d started moving again, but it hadn’t left me feeling refreshed. Physically, I was doing alright, but my heart was so very tired.

Gavin hadn’t talked much about what had happened to him. It was the first time his Specialty had activated to protect him from catastrophic damage, and all my middle child had talked about was how he could have done a better job protecting his older and younger siblings. If I hadn’t known him so well, I might have thought he was completely unbothered.

But I saw how he was flinching back from monsters he would have gleefully meleed yesterday. I noticed how much quieter he’d been. 

Losing his body from the chest down had shaken him deeply, even if he’d gotten better.

Therapy, I thought. If we’re alive next week, I’ll try to figure out therapy. Of course, I’ll be competing for with every other person on Earth to get the therapists’ time…

<Perhaps providing therapy would be a suitable pursuit for me following the contest.>

You?! You’re the reason so many of us need therapy! Me, especially!

<A review of cultural datapacks from around the world suggests that correcting the harm caused by one’s actions is viewed as ethically sound nearly universally.>

I frowned. Cultural datapacks? And… Ariel’s word choice seemed different from normal… And… why did she think she could understand humans well enough to offer therapy? That really wasn’t her strong suit. Unless… You finally got the Informational Assistant programming adapted to work for you?

<Not precisely. I have been putting effort in since your initial request, but my underlying architecture is fundamentally incompatible. I lack the emotional subroutines required to properly interpret the majority of the outputs it provides, and efforts to retool my own architecture to more closely match that of an Informational Assistant have failed. I require my own emotional architecture to properly execute my responsibilities.>

But you’ve done something. Something’s different.

<Yes. While I had intended to continue attempting to resolve the incompatibilities as I had spare processing power, your extreme reaction to my lifesaving efforts earlier suggested that I needed a solution sooner. So, I have dedicated a miniscule portion of resources to simulating a virtual Informational Assistant. I am maintaining a continual dialogue with this virtual entity, informing it of any direct interactions with contestants. It is providing wording suggestions that may feel more natural to you, and offering warnings when my choices are likely to be viewed negatively by contestants.>

My eyes widened. You built yourself a conscience.

<It agrees with this description of its duties.>

I winced at the “it.” He, she, or they. If I’m still considering treating you like a person, you better not treat your conscience like a thing. And give your conscience a name, or ask what they want to be called.

<She has chosen female pronouns to mirror mine and proposed the name Cricket.>

I had the feeling I was missing a reference there, but it was a fine name. I had to admit I felt cautiously hopeful. My nap had been wracked by nightmares about the fight, with Gavin featuring almost as heavily as my own powerlessness. I couldn’t not talk with Ariel - she was the source of too much valuable information - but there’d been over a dozen occasions today where I’d caught myself not asking her questions, compromising our survival because the idea of talking to her was just so distasteful.

I’d started to trust her, over the past few weeks of cooperation. I’d even become kind of fond of her, in my own way. The road had been bumpy, but we’d been working together. 

But I’d spent the past several hours fighting off panic attacks. I had modifications in my brain that connected me to something far vaster than myself, and despite the pleasant lies I’d been lulling myself into believing, that thing didn’t think like a person and didn’t - and maybe couldn’t - care about me personally.

Ariel had casually and unapologetically cut off my access to my own body. I still had nightmares about our first connection, when an incomprehensible amount of data had overwhelmed my mind and even my sense of self. I’d been working to convince myself that had been an accident, a horrible moment in my past I’d never need to return to, but today’s events had been a wrecking ball through the fragile bridge of trust I’d built.

No, fear was too small of a word for what I felt for her now: terror, flavored by resentment and anger. That was most accurate. Even with my body responding to my mind, I still felt trapped. I couldn’t sever myself from Ariel. I couldn’t avoid trying to work with her. It didn’t matter how I felt. There was no way out of my current situation, and trying to minimize my interactions with Ariel would just deprive humanity of advantages we needed. 

Thinking about how to work with Ariel despite my fear? It seemed pretty hopeless.

Still… if I could trust her conscience, and she listened to her conscience…

Could I trust her conscience?

Could I trust her to communicate properly with her conscience?

Find a way to let Pointy talk with Cricket directly. Direct order.

<Will do.>

And you’d damn well better listen to Cricket. I’m… I’m giving you a chance here, but I don’t think you understand how horrible your actions were earlier. I may only have a second of Invulnerability, but that might have been enough to keep Gavin from… from…

<I disagree with your assessment of your potential helpfulness, but I agree my actions were highly suboptimal. Cricket suggests that I describe myself as “sorry.” I needed to keep you alive, but Cricket agrees with the parallels between what I did to you and what the Maffiyir Company planned to do to me. I will endeavor to implement more acceptable solutions in the future.>

I flexed my fingers thoughtfully. Ariel sounded different enough to make me think. Not her inflection - that was still very deadpan - but her words. My emotions were still in turmoil, but my mind was working. Maybe this was a turning point? Maybe, despite everything, the intelligence designed to torment us could become someone we could trust. 

If not, even if humanity survived, I’d probably be dead.

Nine and a half days: that’s how long we had to finish this contest, and we weren’t even close to doing it. The land purchases had been coming in, but far too slowly. At this rate, we’d reach the Challenge with about two-thirds of the land we needed, and then Hamlet would drop me in a pit of lava and spray. Or maybe he’d just materialize me in a net of wires with millions of kilojoules of electricity running through each one. Or maybe he’d just put me in a cloud of flesh-eating viruses. He had lots and lots of options, really.

If I didn’t want to end up as a collection of ash or goo deep beneath the surface of Europa, humanity needed to do better… much better. Simple effort on our end wouldn’t be enough, but if Ariel could give us better tools, better options…

<I will try.>

Good. Maybe I should have said “thanks,” but I was still too angry. 

And too frightened, to be honest. Hamlet could drop another mega-attack on us anytime now, and, well, we were waiting for that to happen. Supposedly, the American military had combed the surrounding several states for every flyer with a Specialty. They hadn’t joined our group yet, but had been brought into the area in ones and twos, many walking the last several miles.

The military had supposedly handled planning completely through mental communication abilities, giving different orders verbally. Ariel thought the odds of Hamlet picking up on the deception were low, so we were making one last bet on that. Even though the flyers were in place, we were waiting on Hamlet to spawn another wave of attacking Titans. As soon as they did, the nearby flyers would dart in, scoop us up, and carry us away. 

Hamlet hadn’t sent very many Titans with ranged options at us last time, and even if he changed things up, we’d be safe once we were airborne as long as he didn’t send many flying Titans. None of the ground-based Titans could attack us through the heavy cloud cover present in the late-November sky. 

We’d be traveling relatively “slowly” so that our weakest flyers could keep up with the pack, but that still meant we’d be cruising at about 40 miles per hour. Even better, being able to travel directly to Fort Defiance, without following the roads, would shave miles and miles off our trip. 

After takeoff, we’d be in the air for just under four hours. After that, we’d either be safe at Fort Defiance or dead. Now, if only Hamlet would take the bait…

<Titan spawns detected!>

Chapter 36

Time until next Challenge: 9 days,  11 hours, 33 minutes

“Marie-”

I didn’t get out more than her name before the communication specialist froze, arrested by my tone of voice. She took only a quick glance at me before, nodding. “Calling them now! Pair up for pickup!”

I made my way over to Cassie, who was climbing out of her cloudcar holding Pointy and looking confused. Flip met us there, handing over the Cassie-carrier for me to wear over my armor.

“Are we with you?” I asked.

Flip nodded. “Yeah. I’m still in command, so keeping you and Cassie together with me gives us one central point to protect. That’s easier than having several. I can’t wait to get to Fort Defiance. There are generals there. I probably won’t be in command of anything ever again.”

Privately, I doubted that: Flip had done well enough with her duties, and was close enough to me, that it seemed unlikely she’d dodge all future responsibilities. Still, it was true that she wouldn’t be in overall command of my defense anymore, so I didn’t see any reason to rain on her parade.

From private discussions with Marie, I’d learned that we’d managed to gather nearly 200 flight specialists. It was an impressive number, but still far lower than our number of non-flyers. Fortunately, almost all the flyers were strong enough to carry two passengers. It would be awkward with no vehicles - like Flip’s old hang glider - but it would also leave us much more free to maneuver. If passengers could find good ways to be carried while keeping visibility, we should be able to mount a heavy defense while moving.

<He’s figured it out! Hurry!>

I repeated Ariel’s warning in a quick Announcement. My warning overlapped with one from Marie:

Titan forming just ahead! Take it down quick!

I didn’t even need Analyze to recognize the Titan variety. Most people probably didn’t, but I shouted it out anyway for the benefit of anyone without a good vantage point. “It’s #19! The huge furry one!”

A few people in our group attacked the Titan, as it was still forming, the attacks splashing uselessly against the coalescing beast. Fortunately, the majority of us had enough experience to wait, hitting the monster with a deluge of attacks the moment it twitched. I saw a handful of people even use their Specialties, including a rock-shaping specialist who brought the ground up around its feet in a massive surge. The big Titan was strong enough to free itself, but the earthen shackles slowed it down, holding it in place long enough for the rest of us to hit it repeatedly.

It didn’t even manage to knock anyone over before it faded away.

Hah! Useless, I exulted. Where’s the next closest Titan, Ariel?

<Hamlet had already used most of the spawn locations nearby for slower varieties, but two of Titan variety #20 are en route. One will arrive in 20 seconds, the other in 34.>

“Two yellow speedy Titans incoming!” I shouted. “Get in the air if you can, but be ready to fight them off! After we take them down, we’re in the clear!”

I lifted Cassie against my front and held the carrier up. I’d taken off my backpack temporarily to let Flip fasten the straps behind my back. 

She patted my shoulder and handed my bag back to me. “Come on, Meghan, Let’s get you into the sky.”

I nodded. “How do you want to do this?”

“Piggyback?” Flip shrugged. “There are other ways I could carry you, but that seems to offer you the most visibility.”

“It’s probably the most comfortable, too, if we’ll be in the air for hours. Plus, if either you or I needed to use our hands, we could.” 

She nodded briskly and turned around, dropping into a squat. I climbed aboard her back and wrapped my legs around her waist, squishing Cassie and Pointy in between us. 

“Good to go?”

“Yeah.”

The word wasn’t even fully out of my mouth before we were in the sky, taking off seconds before the first yellow Titan reached the group. I could see another in the distance, racing toward us from around an old barn.

They got smaller swiftly. My group had been clearing the skies of smaller monsters all day, so there was nothing to slow our ascent. Flip took us upward quickly, not slowing until we had pushed through the clouds.  The air got cold and slightly thin, but I could still breathe.

Other trios followed us up. I relaxed slightly as I saw Micah and Anju - she’d been given only one passenger, in deference to her young age - then Gavin and Byron, carried by Davi, of all people! I knew Vince’s former co-worker had applied to be one of the army’s flight specialists, so her presence here made sense, but I hadn’t expected it.

That just leaves Vince and Priya, I thought. How is the fight against the other Titans going?

<One down.> Ariel said. Then, a few seconds later: <Correction: two down.>

Casualties?

<No fatalities. Three people were injured, but they have already been healed.>

And… and the other Titans near here? The ones Hamlet just spawned?

<None of the other Titans will reach this location within two minutes. All your allies should be in the air within 30 seconds.>

They can’t shoot us out of the sky? The lasers-

<None of the incoming Titans have an attack range greater than 900 feet. You are currently more than 4,000 feet above your launch site. All flyers can ascend quickly enough to be out of range within 30 seconds of taking to the air.>

My mind raced, looking for problems and pitfalls, things we’d overlooked that could spell our downfall.

“Meghan.” Pointy raised her squeaky voice loud enough to be heard over the high winds of our travel. “We’ve done it.”

I looked down into the carrier, where Pointy was squeezed in Cassie’s hands. She smiled at me. “Nothing went wrong, Meghan. We did it. Exactly what we planned to do. We got everyone into the sky safely.”

“We won’t be safe the whole way,” I said. “We’ve got maybe a half an hour until he can throw more flying Titans at us. The twotwos and that other one… Uh, #15, the one with the fireballs.”

“Come on, Meghan. That one isn’t going to be very effective against people in flight. It was clearly designed for long-range bombardment of stationary targets. It’ll just be twotwos. Lots and lots of them.”

I nodded slowly. “We… we can handle that.”

Pointy’s voice was smug. “That we can.”

“Something… something went right!”

I felt Flip’s back shake as she laughed. “Come on, Meghan! You don’t need to sound that shocked, do you? We deserved a win.”

 I smiled. “I can’t argue with that!”