Skirmish (The Stork Tower Book 8)

by Tony Corden

  When she’d stepped back, the queen and her children exited the room, and a functionary declared the formalities finished. Almost immediately, the room erupted with noise as the thousand or so guests began discussing what had happened. In her world of silence, Leah kept her attention on one figure as she moved through the room. This was the woman at the salon. The woman had been standing about a quarter of the way back in the crowd. Still, she approached until she stood beside the woman introduced as Helen Billing, Duchess of Greenvale.

  Leah stepped forward and after accepting the congratulations from several of those standing nearby, stepped close as if to talk with the Duchess. Leah could see a clear similarity in the woman’s face with that of the older woman. The Duchess turned and said, “H: Duchess Charlotte, Her Majesty has been most impressed with your service to the realm. Perhaps we might meet together sometime to discuss your exploits.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace, but I assure you the actual retelling is far less glamorous than the summary. I would, however, appreciate learning more of this great city from someone of your experience. Perhaps we could take tea together sometime?”

  “H: Perhaps. This is my daughter, Lady Gwendoline Hamstead, Countess Cotton.”

  “Lady Gwendoline, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

  “G: Indeed, your Grace, I too would like to meet sometime and discuss your exploits.”

  “It would be a pleasure. What might you be doing tomorrow at noon? Perhaps we could meet in the garden area at Chesterton’s Tea House?”

  The woman went very still for a moment, then said, “G: Chesterton’s Tea House, I dare say that would be lovely. Until then?”

  Leah nodded and stepped away, even as Gwendoline’s eyes followed her all the way back to Kate and Thad. Once there, Thad said, “T: Your Grace, it seems you have once more come up in the world. While your estates are some distance from the city, they provide most of the city’s coal.”

  “Yes, it seems I’m going to have to find some more employees. Each count and countess have the responsibility to organise, regulate and tax the particular aspect in their title. It’s a good income, but we’ll need to be careful as the AI which controls the economic fluctuations uses even the small changes to adjust the entire economy.”

  After discussing options for a few minutes, the three spent a few minutes with Caoimhe and the queen, as the prince had disappeared. Leah then made her way back to the Herrington. As she stepped from the carriage and into the foyer, she was embarrassed to find that the staff were lined up to welcome her. When she finally reached the reception desk, Albert bowed and said, “Welcome to the Herrington, your Grace. We are honoured that you are staying here.”

  “Thank you, Mr Lincoln. I have need to visit the aether worlds, and when I return will consider my holdings. I understand it is likely I have some form of residence here in the city but know that I will always hold the welcome I received at the Herrington near to my heart.”

  “L: As we will treasure our association with you, your Grace.”

  As soon as Leah reached her suite, she logged out.

  Diary - 27 December, 2073 - PM

  I really don’t like being the figurehead for a growing rebellion. I think people need to stand up to the oppression, but to do it because of me is a burden that’s getting heavier and heavier. On the other hand, when I see little Saoirse, I’m OK with it. Why is doing the moral thing so complicated? Each separate piece is straightforward and seems black and white. But when I step back and try and make generalisations, it becomes very grey, even multicoloured. Some things are absolute to me; don’t kill kids. Others change depending on who, what, or why. How can a society make laws for everything? Ten simple rules work, or two if we go with Jesus’ summary. Love God, love your neighbour. Still, I guess we all define love a little differently. There are no easy decision matrices.

  I think I’m still struggling with some form of PTSD from being in the Vault of the Fallen. The fear brought up so many of my other insecurities, and they spiralled around, binding me in layer after layer of doubt, worry, anxiety, despair and terror. I can’t believe that the others could let it fade from their consciousness so readily. Still, if I’m honest, I’m not that different. The first time I played on Grah, the gore worried me. Now, I don’t notice it. I remember my feelings when I first killed a player in Dunyanin, and now it doesn’t even make me pause. Do people just get used to the atrocities and no longer see them? How do I stop myself from doing that?

  Do I fear death? I’m not sure. The Dunyanin developers have a great understanding of the human psyche to connect their stories with what makes people tick. Will I hang onto this life out of fear of going forward? Do I see my existence as valuable in the whole scheme of things and want it to continue? Does what I think comes next change how I live? Probably, no, definitely. Do other people ask themselves these questions?

  Beautiful! He calls me, Beautiful. Not as a description but as a name. OK, as a term of endearment. Did he do that because that’s the attribute he likes the best, or because it’s the usual attribute people focus on? Would I have been upset if he called me, Smart? I probably would start wondering if he didn’t think I was beautiful. Am I just insecure because of my disabilities, or is this usual in relationships. What will I call him? Caring! He is caring, but I think that would bruise the male ego. It’d even bruise my ego. Handsome! Strong! Or maybe lose the characteristics and go with, Honey; or Babe; maybe Darling? Nope, I’ll stick with, Thad. he can call me Duchess—not!

  34

  December 27, 2073 - December 28,2073

  ACADEMIA - EDUCATIONAL PORTAL WORLD

  Once Leah was in the Tower, she headed for the bedroom, and Three brought her to NREM3 until she was due to visit Dr Ellis.

  When Leah arrived in Dr Ellis’ laboratory, she was surprised to see the enormous machine was gone. Instead, there was a large empty space with a large, almost-empty table. Hundreds of boxes were stacked up along one wall. Thomas was standing near the table and working on some three-dimensional plans. As Leah approached, he said, “T: I’m glad you could make it. I’ve been worried about the violence that’s been growing in Australia and hoping you weren’t caught up in it.”

  “I’m actively trying to stay out of the protests at the moment, as otherwise I’d lose access to the multiverse, and it’s here I think I can bring the greatest change in the long run. Inside I’m hurting with every new bit of news that comes in of people being hurt, imprisoned or killed.”

  “T: Hopefully, people will soon realise there are better ways than violence.”

  “I’m sorry Thomas, but that isn’t going to happen, and I’m not sure it’s actually true this time. Non-violence works when the assumption is made that enough people will see what’s happening and object. Most people aren’t seeing what’s happening, and their feeds are being manipulated. Almost exclusively, the reports are talking about the violent attitudes of those from the negative-tax communities. Unfortunately, I think it’s at least fifty-fifty the fault of the government who are finding any excuse to clamp down on people expressing their grievances.”

  “T: Don’t you think it’ll be better to wait until the next election and look for peaceful change?”

  “Sure, if there was even the smallest hope the election would hear the voice of the down-trodden. But even a casual honest glance at the last few elections shows that doesn’t happen, and won’t. Besides, I know from experience that most of those in the negative-tax communities vote as they’re told to just to get the meagre scraps on offer. If they don’t, then life can and does get harder.”

  “T: I’ve heard that argument before, but always discounted it as an over-reaction of those who didn’t achieve what they wanted from due process. Knowing you, I guess I can’t do that anymore, as you’ve always shown an objectivity that I admire. I will do my research before offering any more unsubstantiated opinions. Now, to work! I’ve packed away the old machine, and that’s what’s is in those boxes. It took
several seconds, whereas the real one will take me weeks to unhook, if I even bother. The task is to take our new theories and build a better machine to build aether dimensions.”

  Leah spent the next hour real-time helping Dr Ellis bring their new theory into a form they could use practically. As she left, she was on a high knowing that in the near future she’d be building her own machines in the real world.

  STORK TOWER

  When Leah arrived back in the Tower, she was about to log out when Three said, “3: Leah, you have a 3D message from Meredith Kodoman. It is in the clear with only the standard encryption.”

  “Show me.”

  An almost life-sized Meredith appeared on Leah’s skin. Three had orientated the image so it was facing Leah. Meredith said, “Atherleah Carroll, you challenged me to deal with this in the multiverse, and so I will. I know you think you can better me in TRAX, but you don’t have enough experience to succeed. Knowing this, I believe you would seek to use more public means such as your infantile message sent to my friends. Fortunately for us both, I was able to retrieve and delete the messages before they were read. If not, then I assure you that whatever penance I would have been made to pay for letting that see the light of day would be nothing to the pain and death that would have come upon you and your family.

  “Although you have little more than luck on your side, I will agree to deal with this the way people of my status have been doing for decades, which is in the world called Warrior. Agree to this or I will have you and your family scrubbed from the earth. I do understand that because you still live, you might imagine I’m just bluffing. I assure you I’m not. To prove that, just watch the news and see what happens to people when I click my fingers. What you see is on you because you need to understand what the reality is. I have already approached Warrior, and they will send the meeting times later today. Refuse to meet, and the hell that descends upon you and those you love will be on your head.”

  Leah did nothing for a minute before saying, “Anything in the news which might be what she’s talking about?”

  “3: Nothing that would relate to you in any way.”

  Leah said, “Let me know if something happens. I’m going to take a break, then do a few more tutorials for the gravity skates.”

  REAL WORLD

  Logging out, Leah found her mother sitting in the kitchen rocking Saoirse and making a bottle. Leah said, “Mum, give her here and let me hold her while you do that.”

  Lin handed her over and said, “L: You do realise I’d probably have her taken off me if they ever found out I let my blind daughter nurse her?”

  Leah smiled and said, “No kidding. Have you slept at all?”

  “L: Yes, that’s the other thing I’ll need to thank God for. I can have three solid hours of NREM3, and I’m not feeling overwhelmed. That, and being able to keep an eye on her at all times, has really helped get through the day.”

  After the bottle was ready, Lin put it down on the bench as she reached for Saoirse then stepped back and said, “L: Thanks for that. What’s next for you?”

  Before Leah could answer, Three interrupted and said, “3: Breaking news. Elsa Hunter, the niece of Meredith Kodoman, along with her husband Eli Cummings, and his cousin Matt Cummings, were killed when their vehicle swerved off the road while going over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Authorities are treating it as murder because the section of railing they hit had been cut. Also, an out of work software engineer who’d been forced to apply for negative-tax admitted to the crime in a statement just before he took his own life. He said it was to get back at those people who he believed had hurt Atherleah.”

  Leah’s head dropped to her chin as she processed the news. Finally, she lifted her head and with tears in her eyes explained to her mother what had happened. Lin sat stunned, then said, “What will you do?”

  “Not much I can do. Her message would be thrown out of court, as will that software engineer’s. She’ll have connected him with some real physical evidence or a proper digital trail, and that’s what the courts will decide on. If the news outlets released what Meredith said as they did what the software engineer said, they’d be forced to pay damages. At the same time, his family won’t have the money to seek damages. I just feel so bad.”

  “L: It isn’t your fault.”

  “Yeah, I know that deep down, and I’ll keep telling myself that but I know Meredith would have dealt with them differently if she hadn’t wanted to make a point.”

  “L: Maybe, but it was a point she wanted to make. It’s on her. Look for a way forward but don’t burden yourself with guilt that isn’t yours to carry.”

  “Yeah, I’m finding that’s easier to say than to do.”

  “L: All worthwhile things are.”

  Leah talked with he mother for a few more minutes, then made her way back to the Pod.

  STORK TOWER

  Once she was back in the Tower, she sat for a few minutes just mulling over things before making her way to the meditation pool and just sitting. Slowly, she let things go and then when she was calm, she picked them back up and considered them again before setting them in place in her thoughts. When she was ready, she said, “Gèng, how’s the gravity skate mimic program going?”

  “4: It’s good up to the level you’ve done. After that, I’m extrapolating from the public feeds. I suggest you do the next few tutorials which should help me fine-tune things.”

  “OK, I’ll spend a real hour with Jenny then do the next lot of tutorials.”

  “4: Danika would like you to do a Level Nine Tier race as well.”

  “Has anything come through yet from ‘Warrior’?”

  “3: Nothing yet.”

  Just over an hour-and-a-half later, Leah logged out for another break having spent an hour with Jenny, finishing a Level Nine race in first place and hurrying through the next set of tutorials. She’d also spent ten minutes with Thad, Val, Granite and Shaman discussing the next part of the dungeon. Leah had lost it when they’d told her that in one of the rooms they’d found Mìng hanging from the ceiling like the frost dragons, her blood slowly dripping into buckets. Leah was incensed that they’d left her there, even after Val explained that Mìng was being watched by several dwarven guards. They couldn’t have done anything without alerting the entire citadel as to what was happening. Shaman promised that once their presence was discovered, he would make releasing Mìng a priority. When Leah had calmed down, they finalised their plan and needless to say, Thad wasn’t thrilled with the final plan. After what was their second non-malware-induced fight in ten minutes he eventually agreed.

  After the break, Leah increased her neural processing speed to maximum and re-read several sections of the different spellbooks she’d found over the last month and a half. She then added some body movements to the SNAIL protocol to help with her casting, then entered the portal to Dunyanin. She could feel the transition as her body was realigned to the position needed to hang her horizontally over Lord Kötücül’s altar.

  35

  December 28, 2073

  DUNYANIN

  As the cavern settled itself on her body, Leah forced herself to stay calm. She’d checked the handbook, and while adding coins to the coin quests was not permitted during conflict or in dungeons, it was allowed if the coin had been discovered in the dungeon itself. She’d planned on doing just that but decided that while it was a glitch, it was outside the spirit of the game.

  Instead, Leah focussed some of the still-small supply of mana from the Divine Light shroud and formed a ball of psychic mana in front of her and practised creating the braid she’d used several times before. When she was confident of that, she practised wrapping a sphere of light in a ball of psychic mana. Nothing else happened as she practised, for she’d asked the others to wait twenty virtual minutes to give her time to prepare. When the others arrived, she received a message and at the same time noticed Avinin Eli moving in her direction. She had Three start a timer on one edge of her forehead.

&nb
sp; When he was once more standing level with her head, he said, “A❄: I trust you have enjoyed your solitude, Empress. It should have given you time to appreciate your position. My Lord has similar tastes to his brother, Lord Suzluk. He finds that appreciation of one’s situation adds to the flavour of that which descends upon his altar.”

  “Then I suspect I shall find Kötücül’s presence as detestable as I’ve found his brother, Suzluk.”

  As she finished speaking, she felt a figure appear beside Avinin.

  KÖTÜCÜL, GOD OF MALEVOLENCE (Level 13657) 186513649HP 682850EP

  Avinin went to his knees and waited as Kötücül looked down at Leah. From what Leah could tell, Kötücül would have been good-looking except for his expression of disdain, and what she assumed was a permanent scar that crossed over his left eye and then curved around toward his ear. His hair was long and pulled back in a ponytail, and he had a small goatee. Leah watched until it looked like he was going to speak then checking the timer, said, “So, you’re the god of Malevolence, what happened to your eye? Someone fight back? Is that why you bind people before you meet them? Too scared they might make the other side look the same?”

  Avinin looked across at Leah in horror at her words, but Kötücül merely smirked and said, “K: You seek to make me act rashly as you did with my sister, Garez. Can you not see with what you call your Traveller’s magics, that I am stronger than both her and Suzluk combined? To me, your words are simply those of a lower life form, and they mean nothing to me. It is as if a piece of fruit spoke before you sank your teeth into it. It would do nothing more than enhance the flavour as you realised the fruit was strong and juicy, ready to be plucked and eaten, full of flavour and power.”