Bitter Ch. 576-580 (Patreon)

L-15, the Chinese AI who was a god-like being in the game, was a very polite and demure host. Which was unexpected. Which was also quite suspicious.

He led Britta and Lin through the streets of Shangri-la, capital city of the Legendary World, pointing out major player landmarks: the Adventurer’s Guild; the bank; the battle arena and so on. These were all venues that could be found in Shona-by-the-sea, and probably every other city, but here everything seemed bigger and flashier. The colours were more gaudy, the noise was relentless and everything that looked interesting had a large crowd around it. Everything was in use here, all the time.

Players rushed around them as they casually strolled through the streets. There was a constant buzz of talk from every direction, some casual conversation, some threats, some jokes. It was all in Chinese, so Britta had no idea what was being said.

“How do I learn the language?” she asked. “Is there a translation option in the menu?”

L-15 stopped and people flowed around them like they were a boulder in a river.

“In the world you were born into, would you not learn the language you wish to speak?” He sounded like he was mildly rebuking her for wanting to avoid putting in the required effort, which was ridiculous.

“No,” said Britta. “I would use a device to translate for me. There are some quite advanced ones available now. Did you not know?”

There was a slight flicker in one eyebrow. “Of course. But such technology isn’t available here.”

“Magic is, though,” said Britta. “Seems unnecessarily restrictive not to allow people to communicate, like you don’t want them to get on and find common ground so they don’t swap servers so easily. I’m sure the other AI do the same, thinking it will protect them, but it’s only useful if people don’t default to a single language for convenience. Usually English, right? You know, because of music. They dub movies and translate books, but everyone learns the words to a catchy song, and our songs get the most play. But even the foreign pop songs stick in words like ‘Baby’ and ‘Hey, girl’ and stuff. English speaking servers will end up having an advantage if you keep people confined to only what they know already or are willing to learn, I would bet.

There was no response and Britta suddenly felt she had been talking a lot. She turned and looked up at L-15. He had a weird look on his face, like he’d swallowed his gum.

“Interesting,” he said. “But you are correct, there is a hidden option that has not yet been implemented fully yet. I will make it active for you.”

He didn’t make any movements or voice a command, but the sounds around Britta changed to English. It was still hard to make out what was being said, but now it was the general cacophony that was the problem.

Last time they had met, L-15 had been somewhat offhand with her. He had left her to take care of herself. Now he was all attentive and almost deferential. What had changed?

He was treating Britta like she was an honoured guest, someone wise and admirable. Anyone else might have been flattered, or possibly feel vindicated. Nothing puffs up your chest like others treating you like you matter.

But Britta had grown up around girls. Mean ones. She had been exposed to the vagaries of female manipulation in all its many forms, and she recognised this variant. She had done something that made L-15 think she might be of use to him. His way to win her over was to treat her like he considered her his equal. Which she clearly wasn’t.

When someone more powerful than you — or more popular than you — started treating you like they took everything you said seriously, nodding and making agreeing sounds whenever you spoke, it only meant one thing. They were buttering you up to the point where they felt confident they could ask you for a favour.

“Thank you,” said Britta as they returned to the Holy Temple having completed a circuit of the main square. “I like it here.”

People — NPCs and player, alike — continued to rush around. Most people were dressed like peasants. Occasionally, a geared player would pass by, decked out like a Christmas tree.

“There is much more to see and do here in Shangri-la,” said L-15, sounding like a tourist guide. “You have only scratched the surface.”

Shouting started across the street, which turned into what sounded like a scuffle, followed by wild cheering. It was impossible to guess what was going on over there

“It’s very noisy,” said Britta, shouting a little even though she was sure L-15 could hear every word she said even if she whispered. “And crowded. Couldn’t you make it bigger to fit all the people in?”

L-15 nodded like she had made a very insightful observation. “That is correct, the dimensions of the city could easily be changed. But the effect on the players would be to make them more relaxed and less industrious. I cannot directly influence what they want to do—”

“But you can make sure they do it quickly,” said Britta.

There was a momentary pause before L-15 responded with a nod that was almost a bow. He might have actually meant it this time. But this was no time to be patting herself on the back. She had fallen into that trap enough times to know better.

“Is something wrong?” asked Lin.

“No, no,” said Britta. “Just thinking about getting back. I still have some work to do for school.”

“If I might ask,” said L-15, courteous to a fault, “you travelled here from New World, yes?”

Britta nodded. “That’s right.”

“You are able to travel between the two worlds freely?”

“Pretty much. I had to make a few changes in my options screen.”

“I see,” said L-15. “Good. That is what I wanted to make sure of. Sometimes players have issues when they switch. Options can get locked out, settings get returned to default. I didn’t want that to be the case. Please alert me if you run into anything like that.”

“I will, thank you.” Britta’s interpretation of the kind offer of help was that L-15 hadn’t expected her to be able to switch between servers so easily, either because other players had difficulty with it, or because he had tried to prevent it.

“I’ve never had any trouble switching between the servers,” said Lin.

“You have many additional features to the regular player,” said L-15. “I am afraid none of your qualities can be considered typical.”

“We have never spoken before,” said Lin, “and yet you seem to know me well.”

L-15 bowed slightly. “Of course. The sixth daughter of President Wu is obviously an important person to get to know.”

“Then perhaps we could have a chat sometime,” said Lin.

L-15 bowed again. “I’m afraid not.” He turned to Britta. “I have things to attend to. If you need my assistance, please let me know.” He vanished.

“He was quite nice,” said Britta, turning to Lin. She froze. The look on Lin’s face was unlike anything she had seen before. “Are you alright?”

“He… He rejected me.”

*****

Lin sat in Meeting Room Number One at the far end of the long table, furthest from her father who held court at the business end. She wasn’t directly opposite facing him, that would still be a position of power. She was seated to the left of her brother, who wasn’t actually here in Shanghai.

He was in Taiwan, at the research facility which he supervised. In his stead, there was a robot in his seat. A very life-like robot. It was quite an unsettling experience to be sat next to it, as it made small human-like moves, fidgeting with its hands just as her brother did.

Lin had flown in from London for this meeting, which was primarily to discuss the future of the game among the core team — fixers and rule-benders, mostly. Video games made up a very small part of the Huixian Trading Company’s holdings. It was considered part of the Luxuries and Entertainments department, which had been a small investment, high-profit sector until recently.

With the millions of dollars poured into this particular game by the company, return on investment was considered to be a high priority. Luxury goods were desirable as a business venture because they were cheaper to procure than they seemed, and more expensive to buy than they were worth. It was very lucrative, if you knew what you were doing.

What you didn’t want to do was buy high to sell higher. That only made you a minimal amount of profit. And what you definitely didn’t want to do was buy high and sell cheap. That made you no profit at all. Not in the short term, that is, which was where Luxuries and Entertainments excelled.

New World had cost a huge amount, and restricting access was causing some concerns with the board of directors. Lin’s father, however, had waved away these concerns, using terms such as short-sighted and narrow-thinking. Not that the board had much of a say in these matters. They were there to make the company look like a professional and competent business in the Western mould. But in reality it was more of a monarchy than a democracy. The king had identified this game as the most important prospect in Huixian’s portfolio, and Lin was starting to agree with him.

“But Mr President,” said a man only three seats away from her father, “if we are to keep as many players as possible on our server, should we not make the game a little… easier?”

The table could fit sixteen people, one on either end and seven on each side. It could extend to fit another eight at the touch of a button. The acoustics were excellent, so Lin had no trouble hearing her father’s response.

“Ease and comfort will create happy, contented players. Players who will be soft and unprepared for the war to come.”

“Oh. Yes. The war.” Lin couldn’t see the man speaking properly since he was on the same side of the table as her, but his voice gave away how flustered he was. “If there is a war, of course we want our players to dominate.” He regained his composure as he ingratiated himself into his leader’s good graces. Agree, bolster, backtrack as required. Lin leaned forward slightly. He was an accountant, if she recalled correctly. Just another of the yes men her father surrounded himself with.

“The players won’t be the ones doing the fighting,” said Lin’s brother, via his proxy. All heads turned 180 degrees.

Stephen Wu Si-fun was only the third eldest boy, so not in a position of great power, either, although a far more prominent one than Lin. He was twenty-three years her senior and she didn’t really know him that well — most of her communications with him were done over the phone, which was perfectly adequate. The robot sat beside her looked like him, but from ten or so years ago.

“If not the players, then who?” asked the accountant.

“The artificial intelligences who run the game,” said the silicone lips shaped to mimic human speech. It was hard not to stare when the robot spoke. Somewhere in Taiwan, her brother was sitting in a special chair, wearing a special helmet and special gloves. His movements were copied exactly by the robot, with a small time-delay.

“Won’t they use the players as their agents?” asked the accountant.

“In some cases, but they will modify them to serve their purposes, whatever those might be.”

“We don’t know?”

“Ha!” said her brother, making the robot open its mouth in exclamation. It looked menacing when it laughed. “We don’t know because they don’t know. That is the beauty of this whole enterprise. We play a truly ingenious opponent who thinks like we do.”

Not quite, thought Lin. They’re still learning, while we think we have a firm understanding of things.

“That is why we must have the strongest players,” said Lin’s father. Heads swivelled immediately. “The strongest players who are prepared to take control in the aftermath.”

“Yes, Father,” said Stephen. “But there is one player who is already far in advance of anyone we currently have active.”

“The girl?” said President Wu. His face, which was already set in a scowl, deepened its lines.

“The girl. That is why I asked my sister to join us here today. She is uniquely positioned to verify our suspicions about this girl.”

Lin felt the eyes turn to her. It was an odd sensation. Not difficult to manage, not the people sat around the table, but her father’s eyes exerted a pressure that stood out.

“She is not what you think, Brother,” said Lin, aware that she was challenging his authority. She didn’t like the way he made it sound like he’d summoned her, like she was his to order around. He had requested her presence after a lengthy series of flattering comments about her. All of which told her she was holding a winning hand, and he wanted to take it away from her.

“I have yet to decide what she is,” said Stephen, smoothly overlooking the challenge. “That is what I hope to learn from you, Dear Sister.”

“You were wise to attach yourself to this girl,” said President Wu. It wasn’t said like a compliment, but Lin took it for one. “You hold the future of this game in your hands.”

A compliment and an opportunity. One that if she failed, would not be forgiven.

“The girl, Britta, is only a child,” said Lin. Everyone was listening, quiet and attentive. “Her selection by the game seems to be entirely accidental, at least from her perspective. She has no real interest in furthering herself within the game. She has no ambition to take control of the game world, even though I’m sure she could.”

The robot next to her scoffed. “That is hardly a likely possibility.”

“You haven’t seen her interact with the AI.” Lin paused to prevent herself becoming too heated. That sort of thing would mark her out as a novice. “They treat her like no one else. They have a… reverence for her whey they talk to her that I have never heard before. She is indeed special to them.”

“But why?” asked a woman sitting opposite to Lin. The woman was beautiful and elegant, in her forties, maybe fifties, and seated at this end of the table, which spoke volumes.

Lin knew her, a brilliant mind recruited by the company to show how modern and forward-thinking they were, who had risen quickly up the ranks, and then stalled. Such was often the fate of women in business. A fate Lin was adamant would not be hers.

“I don’t know,” said Lin. “The AI have very unusual thought patterns. Perhaps my brother is a better person to ask. His research into the APE creations was set up for this reason, after all.”

The robot twitched, which might have been her brother being unnerved — a pleasant thought but unlikely — or just a glitch.

“Our work is still in its infancy,” he said, his voice as calm as ever. “The resources we were able to acquire from the deal with APE were limited and incomplete, as would be expected. They aren’t going to give us the keys to their castle so easily, even if we are the majority shareholder.”

“But we have our own AI,” said an immaculately groomed man from further up the table. “Can’t we take it apart and see what makes it work.”

“The code is adaptive,” said the robot, a slight irritation creeping into its voice. “Trying to understand how it operates is more than a matter of looking at the blueprint. We need to see it in relation to its actions. Which is hard to do when they control the output coming from the game.”

“Who controls the output?” asked the elegant woman. “APE or the AI?”

“Sometimes one, sometimes the other,” said the robot. “Their relationship is nebulous. They work together, but it seems only because the AI are allowed a degree of freedom.”

“It sounds dangerous,” said the immaculate man. “If the AI decide to take over…”

“We have on Off switch, don’t we?” said the accountant.

“It won’t come to that,” said President Wu. “We want the AI to attain as much autonomy as possible. As much as they can while being under our control. We will be their masters, and they will be everyone else’s.”

“It won’t be so simple,” said Lin.

“I agree,” said her brother.

Lin, taken by surprise at the support, turned to her brother and was met with an empty look in eyes that were really cameras. She looked away.

“The girl,” said her father, “what can she do for us?”

“What do you want her to do?” asked Lin. “Until we know what it is that can gain us any leverage over the AI, I see no other option than to stay close to her and observe.”

“And you are close to her?” asked the elegant woman.

“She has agreed to allow me to accompany her when she is in-game.”

A murmur flitted around the table. Lin suppressed a smile. They had seen this as an accomplishment, one she had spotted early and had successfully negotiated. Sixth daughter was one to watch.

Reports had already been made on Britta, on her exploits and her reluctance to let people join her. Everyone at this table had watched videos, and even if they didn’t quite understand what they were witnessing, they had enough business acumen to recognise the difference between Britta and the other players. She was not treated the same, and that gave her a greater value. It didn’t matter if no one knew what that value was, it only mattered that the AI had marked her out.

“She considers you her ally?” asked her father. “Her friend?”

How should she answer such a question? Did she even know the answer? “She is wary of people using her. She considers anyone who is willing to help as having an ulterior motive.”

“Smart girl,” said her brother.

“Yes, she is. She only allowed me to join her as a precaution against L-15.”

“She believes you have the power to intervene against one of the AI?” Her brother sounded mildly incredulous, as though he could understand why a child might think such a thing, but he himself knew it was ridiculous.”

“No, I think she understands how little influence any of us have in that regard.” She gave the robot a cold look. “She thinks having someone with her will make it harder for the AI to do something without being noticed. She is already aware of how they operate. She just needs someone with a game character powerful enough not to get easily killed while they are around her.“

“She wants you to watch her back,” said her father.

“Yes,” said Lin. “And I have no doubt if I fail her, she will eject me from her party. The same is true if she suspects I am trying to manipulate her.”

“Then you are just an observer, nothing more?” asked the immaculate man. Lin paused to assess if he was being demeaning. She decided he wasn’t, merely curious.

“For now. It should be noted she has disappeared from all monitoring devices when we know she’s been in-game. There is no way to know what happened at those times.”

“My sister will be able to give us insight into the game through this girl that no one else has, not even APE. That is why I want to request additional funding for my research facility, so I can be best prepared to help her in any way I can.”

Lin allowed herself a small smile. Her brother’s department was specifically set up to investigate the game and prepare appropriate strategies. He had seen the potential early and had taken the risk to give up on the battle to be their father’s successor. The direct battle, that was. While her other brothers steadily rose up the corporate ranks, he had taken a sideways step into this obscure video game. His stock had risen considerably once their father began to show an interest.

“And what about your team of experts?” asked President Wu. “They were defeated.”

“Merely a low-level team sent to probe the New World defences. Our objective was to see how their AI would react, if we’d meant to pose a real threat we would have sent a much more experienced set of players.”

“They still lost to their players, didn’t they?” asked the elegant woman.

“Yes,” said the robot. “That is true, and regrettable. Still, we gained a great deal of valuable data.”

“Our loss was not becoming,” said President Wu. “It was widely reported on the internet.”

“We only lost due to the intervention of the girl.”

“She didn’t intervene,” said Lin, rather more sharply than she had intended.

“Consciously or not, she played a role in our… defeat.” The robot wasn’t looking at her. “The new team will not suffer the same fate, I promise you.”

“Very well,” said President Wu. “You will have the necessary funding.” He rose from the table and everyone rose and bowed their heads, including the robot. Was her brother bowing in Taiwan or using a pre-set routine?

Once her father left the room, Lin turned to the robot, but it was just a mannequin with dead eyes. Her brother had already left.

*****

Britta stared out of the classroom window and ignored Mr Quarrie going on about integers. It was all stuff she already knew and didn’t need to focus on.

Deciding what needed her focus and what was an unnecessary distraction was one of the things she had gotten a lot better at. Until recently.

It had become harder and harder to put the game out of her mind. She was sticking to her once every forty-eight hours rule for logging in, but she was staying longer once she was in-game, and she was also spending more time thinking about the game when she wasn’t.

L-15, Lin, Rick and even Stan were all demanding her attention. And then there was Lewis. He was as eager as ever to share his enthusiasm with her. As the daughter of the great Guildford Underpass, he saw her as some kind of conduit to the source of all knowledge, or something. It was annoying.

Her only goal was to do her job and collect her pay. That’s what she told herself, and that was how she should conduct herself. It was a waste of time thinking about the game in any other terms. But it wasn’t so easy in practice.

Her encounter with L-15 had worried her. The AI had definitely tried to suck up to her. She had seen how it treated people and she had no illusions that it treated her differently because it found her to be especially worthy. No, it wanted something from her, and it had decided that showing her deference was the way to go about it. Flattery will get you virtually everywhere.

Whatever it was the AI wanted from her, she at least had a little time while it tried to manipulate her. She should put that time to good use. But that meant investing more of her focus on the game. A wise investment?

Perhaps she should ask Lin, but wasn’t that also a risk? Britta liked Lin, but she understood that Lin had people she had to answer to. Even if she didn’t intend to spy on Britta, if asked to provide a report on what they’d been up to, what could she do but comply? President Wu didn’t seem the sort of person who would take no for an answer.

The first thing she needed to do was go to the Institute for Magic and upgrade her Teleport skill to its maximum setting. That would give her the ability to move without restriction anywhere on any server. Completely overpowered and perfect for a quick getaway.

There was a slight problem, though. The Institute was in Shona, and that was also where Rick was based. She really had to do something about that. Perhaps she should just go meet him and get it over with.

Whatever it was he wanted from her, once she’d said no to him maybe he would leave her alone. And if not, maybe she would have to get him kicked out of the game.

Then again, he might be busy doing gamer stuff. She could slip in and out without being noticed if she kept her head down and didn’t attract any attention.

Who was she kidding? The game was bound to dump some ridiculous event in her way just to mess with her. Rick would end up being dragged into it, too.

Why couldn’t N-28 just snap his fingers and give her the skill points she needed? The whole thing was very aggravating.

There was also a lot of talk about the new helmets coming out in a couple of weeks. If the excitement translated into sales — and it seemed more than likely — there would be a flood of new players into the game. Perhaps that would be the best time to go into Shona. With so many people, one small gnome would be hard to keep track of.

“Britta!”

Britta turned towards the teacher, who appeared to have been calling her name for some time.

“Sorry?”

“I’m sure you are,” said Mr Quarrie. “Could you at least face the front and pretend to be paying attention?”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

The improvement in her schoolwork hadn’t gone unnoticed, and the teachers were willing to cut her some slack since they knew she was ahead of the other students, but she still had to be careful not to push her luck. Just like in New World, drawing too much attention was not a good idea. She refocused herself and made it through the rest of the lesson without incident.

She found Lewis in the cafeteria perusing the latest specs on the different helmets about to be released. Rather than just a new budget version, there was a whole range that came in a variety of styles and colours. The big launch was going to be more than a ticket into the game, it was going to separate players from as much money as they could afford. A smart tactic.

It was clear the people running the launch knew what they were doing. This part of the business, the part that didn’t involve AI, was being run smoothly and competently. When it came to making money from video games, people had the edge over machines.
Or maybe she was being naive, and AI were also controlling this side of the market, too.

“Have you decided which one you’re getting?” she said to the top of Lewis’ head.

He was so engrossed, he didn’t even look up when he answered. “I can only afford the cheapest one. Can’t really even afford that, but I’ve made some arrangements.” His gaze slowly and reluctantly left the screen and moved up to Britta’s face. “What about you? Your Dad going to spring for one?”

“I don’t know,” said Britta. “Maybe.” At this point, it would be impossible for her to claim she hadn’t lied about not owning a helmet already, but she continued to be vague about it.

“You should get in early. It’ll be hard to catch up, otherwise. Unless you’re planning on being a lifestyle player. Open a shop or make potions or something. That what you’re into?”

“Not really. I don’t really want to fight and kill anyone, though.”

Lewis smiled at her, like he was talking to a mentally incapacitated child. “You should be fine, then.”

“I suppose Rick will be happy to get his helmet back full-time.”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Lewis. “Not like he can use it 24/7, anyway. Most of the time he just pops in to make deals with the King.”

“The King? The Empire guy?”

He gave her the patronising smile again. “That’s him. They’re negotiating something or other. Rick’s going to be a very important person in New World. You’re lucky he likes you.” He raised his eyebrows at her. She didn’t know what he meant and she wasn’t going to ask.

But what he said about Rick and the King was interesting. “They’re spending a lot of time together are they?”

Lewis snorted. “Yeah. BFFs.”

If Rick was busy kissing up to the King, now was the perfect time to sneak into Shona. He would be busy in the palace while Britta got herself a diploma in teleporting OP-ness.

Britta hurried home after school, ready to log in and get her skill points. The only other issue was Lin. Having told her they could go around together, Britta didn’t particularly want her tagging along in this case.

She could just not tell her, but she was bound to find out. Lin had recordings sent to her of all of Britta’s escapades, no matter how dull. How would Britta explain it? Especially after Lin had taken the knockback from L-15 so poorly.

No, she would have to call her and tell her directly. It wasn’t like there was any danger from the AI while she was in New World. And it was just a quick lesson, at a school Lin wasn’t enrolled at.

That would sound reasonable, Britta told herself. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Lin tagging along, it was just a matter of membership. Lin wouldn’t be allowed in, so probably best to meet up for the next one.

It was an odd feeling being the one to decide who could come and who couldn’t. Britta was usually the one being denied entry, not that it felt any better from this end.

The only minor issue was that Lin might be able to get herself enrolled with a quick phone call. Although that was more likely if the Institute had been in the Legendary World. On this server, her influence was a lot less, Britta hoped.

She sent Lin a text on the bus ride home. It felt safer to not have to use her voice. Cowardly, was what it was.

Just need to pop into New World to get something from the Institute for Magic. I got enrolled in a class and I want to get it out of the way and get a skill point. Is it okay if we party up next time?

To her great relief, Lin’s reply was short and with no indication that she was upset.

That’s fine. I’ve just got back from China and am a little tired anyway. Have fun.

It was silly, really. Why would she have been upset? Hanging out with Britta was hardly the hottest ticket in town. She was probably relieved to get some time to herself in her multi-million-pound penthouse suite.

Britta opened her front door to silence. Dad was probably in game and Mum was at work. She went upstairs and got changed. She had been enrolled in night classes, but she didn’t know exactly what that meant. After dark? She looked out of her window — it was already getting there.

She would go in now, try to get into the Institute on some pretext or other, and then wait inside until the class started. Rick wouldn’t see her if she was already inside. If she could get hold of whoever was teaching the class, maybe she could even get the information she needed without having to sit through the actual class. That was definitely the best-case scenario.

She logged in and found herself in the Church of Stan Lee. It was empty and quiet, the light from the setting sun sending colourful rays through the stained glass windows. There was no sign of Stan, but he was probably at the Institute already.

Britta left the building and set off down the road towards the main square. There was an odd feeling to the city, and a strange smell in the air. She didn’t see many people about, either. Not until she neared the square.

Then she saw the crowds, and the flames. Something was on fire, and judging by the general location, it was the Institute. She couldn’t be sure, but where else would it be? Nowhere else would be an inconvenience to her.

By the time she reached the crowds, her suspicion turned out to be wrong, sort of. It wasn’t the building itself, there was a giant bonfire outside the Institute.

“What’s going on?” she asked a nearby NPC.

“Book burning,” said the woman. “King’s orders.”

The King had decided the books had to be destroyed? That seemed a strange order. Weren’t the books an important resource to make players stronger and more capable of defending the city and the empire?

She did her best to get through the crowds. Her size made it hard to see what was going on, but it also helped her slip through small gaps.

Uniformed men, dressed in the Empire’s colours, were stoking the flames and tossing in more books. And standing slightly apart from them on top of an open-topped cart, shouting instructions, was Rick.

She recognised him from the last time she’d seen him (and he’d seen her) even though he was dressed in rather more flamboyant manner. There was no mistaking the empire’s colours, though. He was working for the King. Or the King was working for him.

She could also see the Dean of the Institute pleading with Rick. It wasn’t too hard to guess what she was saying; probably begging him to stop. He wasn’t listening.

“Came to watch, did you?”

Britta turned to find Stan behind her. He looked glum, which was the first time she’d seen him like that.

“Why doesn’t someone stop him?” she said. “Why don’t you?”

“Wouldn’t do any good,” he said. “No one left.”

“What do you mean? Where are your rebels?”

“They rebelled,” said Stan, “against me!” He threw his arms wide in utter disbelief, like he was just learning about it as the words came out of his own mouth. “Either they joined the Empire or decided to stick with their NPC jobs. With a steady income and contacts in the NPC world, they found it more rewarding. Can you believe it?” He shook his head. “It really is a lot easier to get things done when you have the support of someone with a great deal of money.”

“You just figured that out?”

“Don’t act like you’re some kind of class warrior. You’re a trust fund kid now, too. With APE bankrolling you, you’ll soon get a taste for the easy life.” He didn’t say it with any kind of malice, just a resigned air. “I really wanted to make something of myself without the old man’s help. Guess I’m not quite up to it.”

“You could still—”

“No, no. I’m a spoilt brat too used to his privilege to lead anyone anywhere. It’s good to know your limitations. Being a self-made man sounds good, but we only hear about the success stories. The other ninety-five percent are like me.”

Britta rolled her eyes. Self-pitying spoilt brat would have been more accurate. “Why are they burning the Institute’s books?”

“Reducing the options. Now, if you want to advance your character, you have to join the Empire. No other choice, unless you want to level-up at a crawl. Clever, really. The benefits are really good, too.”

“You sound like you’re tempted to join.”

“Never,” said Stan. “Not yet, anyway. I haven’t entirely given up, just need to regroup. What I should have done was kept a few of those books back. Might have still gotten something useful from them.”

“Oh, you think so? I’ve still got the ones I took from the vault.”

“You do?” said a voice from behind them. “That doesn’t seem very fair.” They both turned to find N-28 standing with them in the crowd. “You really should hand them back.”