by Tony Corden
“No worries at all, John. This world is as much her home as it is mine. She’s got every right to have anyone she wants to visit here.”
“4: I was just explaining some of the difficulties I’m having in adjusting to my new role. He had some insights from his experience in transitioning from Jimmy’s employ to yours.”
“I’m glad, although I hope it hasn’t been too hard on him.”
“J: Are you kidding? The last two months have been the craziest of my entire life. Not only am I run off my feet, but I’m still so far behind the learning curve it’s not funny. The upside is I’m engaged and can look in the mirror every day and not cringe a little.”
“I thought you liked working for Jimmy.”
“J: I did, most of the time. I didn’t quite have the freedom you did to turn down some of the questionable jobs. Jimmy’s ethics are a little looser than mine, and I’d found myself having to accept his standards. Jen wasn’t happy with that, and that’s one of the things that was holding us back. When I started working for you, she knew I’d still be doing illegal stuff occasionally, but knew I wouldn’t have to worry about doing things I’d regret.”
“I’m no saint, John.”
“J: We know that, but we also know you’ve a clear sense of right and wrong. Jen knew that if you had doubts about something, you’d do it rather than telling me to.”
“Maybe. I suspect I’ve broken more laws and stolen more stuff in the last two months than Jimmy ever has.”
“J: No doubt, but even with everything that’s happened, is there anything you’d have changed?”
“Hell, yes. I’d have moved faster to get out of the way of that bullet, and I’d never have gone off with the police. Even if I had, I’d never have let dad go with me.”
“J: Would you still have gone to the party with Jackson?”
Leah sat without moving for a minute, then said, “Yes. If I didn’t know about the slavery issue, all those people would still be locked out of their own minds.”
“J: And that is why we trust you. Now, as I know you are getting embarrassed, let me fill you in on what Jimmy found out about the other guy. His name is Abimbola Adebowale. He’s not well known and is considered a recluse, and even more so in the last three years. He was born in what was Nigeria, the son of a wealthy trader. He studied Information Technology at Cambridge before completing his D.Phil. with an innovative approach to Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Chips. He was offered a post at MIT but went to work as a partner in a Nigerian start-up company who wanted to make components locally for the global PAI chip market. They had strong backing from both the Nigerian and British governments.”
“For the last twenty years, that company has been one of the top three providers of UNCVS authorised, pre-fabricated and pre-loaded microcircuitry used in the security portion of most PAI chips made globally. They were the provider for the Australian Government to provide the particular conditions it sets for PAI sold here. Five years ago, he stepped down from his role in the company to take up a position on the International Review Board for Personal Security Compliance. Three years ago he was appointed Chair of that Board.
“This was the Board that recommended the recent security update be applied on a voluntary basis. Three years ago his wife and oldest son were killed in a home invasion. His son had taken up his father’s role at the company. This has now passed to his only other child, a daughter. She lives with her father in the family mansion built outside of New Lagos. Jimmy did some digging and the daughter was educated at Cambridge and was heavily into the gaming worlds before taking over from her brother. Her interests were worlds dedicated to horror, African mythopoeia and the paranormal. She was, and to some extent still is, a serious contender in several motorsport worlds. She was also known to be a regular at some of the psychedelic worlds.”
“The psychedelic worlds?”
“J: I had to look it up too. These are worlds which mimic the experience of using drugs. They are technically legal, but the evidence suggests they’re not only highly addictive, but they also can cause severe mental illness. There have been moves to ban them, but the courts have upheld the right to participate in the multiverse however you wish. The major psychedelic worlds like ‘Lime Soda Dreams’ or ‘Brownies Inc’ have robust psychosocial metrics which their users agree to have recorded. Players with developing illness are limited in their play and given free therapy. Most of the worlds skirt the edges of what is legal. These worlds are very common in the Shadowverse, and most don’t even pretend to act within the law.”
“People are amazing. They can escape reality in whatever world they can imagine and then they choose to escape even the virtual reality that they create.”
“J: I don’t know if I’d call it amazing. Either way, the trauma she and her father went through apparently set her on a new path. She’s considered one of Yoruba’s most influential citizens.”
“I imagine Abimbola is being held at his mansion. Once I’ve talked with him, I’ll have to see if Archie or the Major have resources they could use.”
“J: Why don’t you pass the information on to the authorities?”
“I don’t trust them. I trusted them to deal with the slaves and they did nothing except archive Akia. I suspect I’d disappear. Besides, this is now personal.”
“J: You may still disappear. Let’s be honest, so far this is between you and the Kodomans. They’ve seen it as personal and tried to deal with it like that, the same with the Emersons. Sure, they’ve tried to kill you twice, but they’ve kept it personal. You’ve savaged them in public, but they’ve kept away from attacking you publicly. I suspect it’s because they don’t want to spook their partners. If you do this, then you’ll not only unmask Meredith and Nathan but hundreds and thousands of powerful people who have rigged the system for years. They won’t go quietly. It could bring down governments, and ours may well be the first. Even those who agree with your motives will baulk at the damage that you’ll unleash. Don’t think for a moment that people won’t die, they will. Are you willing to spend their blood?”
Leah sat there for a while, her hands motionless as she considered John’s statement. Finally, the fingers on her right hand began moving slowly. Three waited until she’d finished before relaying the message. “John, I’m not willing to spend anyone’s blood but my own, I don’t have the right to do that. I’d rather be spending my time with Dr Ellis and Dr Whitfield trying to unlock the secrets of the universe. Still, when I think of all those who, like me, finally found a way out of the stupid and endless cycle of poverty only to be forced to live their lives dancing to the whims of people like Meredith or John Emerson, then I won’t stand idly by and do nothing. That is just another way of giving passive assent to what people like that are doing.
“I don’t think I have the right to decide what truths people should or shouldn’t know. When they understand what is happening then if people want to stand with me against that sort of tyranny and injustice, then I’m not going to stop them. I respect their right to take a position, and I respect their decision to fight for what they believe in. I know people may die, and believe me I will mourn them and grieve with their families, but I won’t presume to decide for them how to live their life or how they spend their blood.
“Sharon’s sister and hundreds of others have chosen to stand ready if I need them to do something in the multiverse. I know some of them aren’t ready, but they’ll decide that, not me. Others have been deciding things for them for too long. I know thousands from places like the Switch will march and fight in the real world when they learn what’s been done to them, but who am I to keep them in their servitude and deny them the chance to stand up for themselves? I know there is evil in the world and that some people will use whatever chaos is caused for their own purposes. Still, there is something fundamentally wrong with any group, organisation or society whose members allow its leaders the freedom to abuse others.
“I understand that I’ve bec
ome a focus for many people, but you know as well as anyone that I wish I wasn’t. If I’m going to be someone that people look up to, then I’m going to do my best to be worthy of that. Honestly, if you don’t think I should do this, then you need to step away now because I have no intention of asking you to do anything you don’t think you should.”
John leaned forward and said, “J: Leah, I agree with everything you said. I just wasn’t sure that you’d thought it all the way through. I didn’t want you to feel guilty for the chaos, pain and suffering that will come when you suddenly realise what your actions have unleashed. Innocent bystanders are going to be hurt, and you need to accept that now because it will be too late to put a lid on it once it starts. Honestly, it’s probably already too late. This last week opened a lot of wounds and all it needs is a spark. I suspect the authorities are already looking for a way to clamp down on what they see as an insurrection. This time I don’t think the poor will back away.”
“So, insurrection, not some sort of civil war?”
“J: There are more than just two sides, and we’re all too intertwined to hold territory, so it most likely means a complete change of government. The only thing stopping the authorities from a brutal and bloody reprisal is that the majority of the people admire you and have begun to re-evaluate the way they think of those on negative-tax. Those in power have been writing the narrative for so long that they’ve been a little slow at realising that the people have suddenly realised what they’ve been fed is fiction rather than the non-fiction they’d imagined.”
“You seem to have a grasp of what’s happening.”
“J: I’ve worked closely with Jimmy for well over a decade. The Bosses have a very realistic and detailed understanding of how the country works. They wouldn’t succeed if they didn’t. Crime only pays if you understand the system. I’ve been trained by one of the country’s top experts in social reform and politics.”
The conversation wound down with Leah saying she would be trying to connect with the people trapped in the Vault later that day. With the messages dealt with, Leah headed upstairs to the Dunyanin portal.
40
December 26 2073 - 1
DUNYANIN
Leah appeared back in her body as it sat on the second of four ledges she and her two Günahkâr guards had to reach to succeed in their climb of the Chimney of Clan Kemirmek. Küçük and Orta transitioned from the stasis they’d put themselves in and came to attention.
Leah said, “Küçük, Orta, I’m sorry I always have to be elsewhere. I feel bad that I keep you waiting.”
“K: Fear not, War Leader, you are Empress of a vast land, and we understand you have other responsibilities. We understood that our time belonged to you when we chose to follow. If our service is most useful by waiting, then we gladly wait.”
“Thank you, Küçük. Now, this tunnel has two more ledges we must reach to complete this dungeon. I suspect that each of the creatures we meet will be even more powerful than those we have defeated.”
“O: This is good. We Günahkâr have been languishing for centuries without such opponents.”
Leah wished she could chuckle at his optimism but had to be satisfied with a grin. With a deep breath, she used gravity mana and her shrouds to step up onto the wall of the tunnel and begin walking upwards. She cast a ball of divine light eighty paces up the tunnel and a second ball of normal light half as far. She checked her summoning spell, then summoned five of Orumeck’s Warrior drones and sent them scurrying five or so paces ahead of her and the dark elves. The spiders spread themselves around the circumference of the tunnel.
They’d travelled almost thirty paces when the ball of divine light slowed to a stop and was pulled off to one side of the tunnel. As they approached, they could see a creature two-and-a-half paces tall with a face which was both more human and yet more alien than the ones before. Instead of eyes, each socket was empty and dark, a dark void which light couldn’t penetrate and which leached darkness into the scaled skin that covered the skull. Each scale was made from bleached flakes of bone that had been pushed outwards through the skin. As the creature moved, the scales would scratch and tear at those on either side.
The mouth was a slash without lips, and it went from the midpoint of one cheek to the same point on the other side. Where the lips would have been the skin looked split, and dark mucus collected as it oozed from the sharp teeth which could be seen semi-hidden behind the scales of bone. Its body was thick and muscular with two arms and legs. It had a tail like the warriors but no horns. Instead, it had a dark mohawk of spines that began at the apex of the skull and travelled the length of its body then down the tail. It wore armour and had a sword strapped to its back, along with a segmented metal whip at its side. The hands were large for the body, and each finger had thick retractable claws. The creature walked on its toes with the knees and ankles bent, poised in position to spring forward.
KEMIRMEK KNIGHT (Level 465) 502723HP (23250EP)
The knight held the ball of divine light in its hands and Leah could feel the changes as its hands sizzled and burned where they touched the ball of mana. Even so, its mouth twisted into a grin as it pressed inwards on the ball. Dark mana bubbled and oozed from its damaged hands, mana whose representation on Leah’s torso froze her skin, causing the skin to crack and burn. A quick check with Three confirmed the mana was death mana.
As the ball of divine light shrunk, the creature spoke.
“3: K with a frozen sensation is the Kemirmek Knight.”
“K❄️: Little godling, your skills mean nothing here. We spent millennia eating the refuse of the gods. Light, dark, life, death, these mean nothing to us and are simply food. This will make me even stronger, and then I will feast on your flesh and that of your guardians. Dark elves should know better than to step outside their place in the order of things.”
A quick check showed the knight was now at Level 469 and although it wasn’t at full health, it was regenerating quickly. Leah turned to one side to talk to Küçük, completely ignoring the knight. Waving her hand and pointing at the knight, she said, “Küçük, what you see before you is one of the world’s scavengers. Unable to source its own food it lives on the excreta of others. Like many of the lower creatures, it puffs itself up to make itself feel important. Watch how it attacks when I take its food away. ”
As the message was relayed, Leah, with her face still directed toward Küçük, cast Dark Chain Lightning directly at the remaining ball of Divine Light mana just as her hand came level with it. At the same time, she transformed her shadow shroud to form a shield in front of her and the two Günahkâr. Before the Knight could respond, the dark mana of the spell touched the ball of light. Both spells exploded, releasing all the stored energy and slamming Leah and the elves back into the wall. The blast disintegrated the hands and head of the knight.
Each of the three had cuts and bruises, which Leah healed before looking over at the now headless body which continued to leak dark mana from the shredded hands and neck. As the mana oozed from the torn flesh, it began to rebuild the mutilated knight. Leah didn’t want to absorb the death mana, but wasn’t keen on seeing what free mana might do when it came in contact with the void or was fed upon by another knight. She reached into her backpack and removed one of the Darkness Diamonds. Not knowing how much it might absorb, she chose one of the smaller diamonds from the third level of Lord Kötü’s mine. It was half the size of her fist.
She moved close to the knight’s body and held the diamond toward the oozing blood-like mana. As the Darkness Diamond came close, it attracted the mana which began to stream toward the gem. Leah moved the diamond a little closer, and the small stream of mana turned into a flood as the death mana was pulled from the body. The Knight shrivelled, then dissipated into the mist Leah now recognised represented an NPC able to be harvested. The diamond had darkened from the empty light-ashen colour it had when initially mined and was now a deep, foreboding grey which chilled Leah's skin. The red fing
ers of Leah’s glove where they touched the diamond had darkened to a deep maroon, the fire dragon’s scales having absorbed some of the death mana.
“O: War Leader, it seems each of these knights still live in some way until the mana which sustains them has dissipated.”
“Yes. Would a crystal like this, filled with death mana, affect either of you.”
“K: Not directly, although when it is fully charged, I would hesitate to hold it in my hand for too long. The emanations will eventually bring the wasting, even to the dark races.”
Leah considered her options, then handed an empty Level 4 darkness diamond to each dark elf. She took out the small chest with Lady Olme’s gift in it. Then, after moving the coin and vial of death shroud to a separate area of her backpack, she placed the semi-charged Darkness Diamond inside before putting it back in her bag. She said, “When the diamonds I gave you become fully charged, I’ll find somewhere to store them so they won’t cause you harm. We need to keep moving.”
“K: Will you continue to send light ahead of us?”
“I’ll try again. It might be useful if they all try the same thing.”
Leah sent another ball of divine light up the shaft. After thirty paces, another knight appeared at the edge of the illuminated area, but it ignored the light even as its flesh began to smoke. Whatever damage was done was healed almost immediately and it remained at full health even as its exposed flesh continued to smoulder. This one looked similar to the first, although Leah could see from the shape that it was female.
Leah sent a message for the two Günahkâr to keep it occupied with arrows and sent the five summoned spiders to attack. The creature moved with surprising grace, and with a flick of her wrist used the whip to pull two arrows from the air and slice diagonally through one of the drones. The knight had dispatched two more drones before they were too close for the whip, then, with a fluid motion, she unsheathed her sword and with a single swipe cut both spiders in half.
