His happy expression slipped for a second before the smile came back. “Oh you probably didn’t recognize her because of what the autodoc does to them. It’s really sort of sad to see.”
“That was not my sister,” Kazuma repeated. “Therefore, we don’t have a deal.”
The sun slipped away behind a large, dark cloud as the wind picked up speed. Caliban licked his lips and took Kazuma’s stance, with his hands clasped in front of him. “I think you want to rephrase that. You and I have a deal. I gave you the sister.”
“You killed an innocent girl who you called my sister.” He looked up at the sky. “Impressive control of the system, by the way. With reaction times that quick, I’m willing to bet this was the first host the company bought. The original one Powell introduced you into.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Give me my sister.”
The sky turned black and lightning struck the ground close by, but the rippling resonance stream never vanished. Kauzma could feel its power, its call to him, and he finally knew where his destiny was. And Hitori’s.
“GIVE ME THE KILL SWITCH!”
Caliban’s voice thundered over the host as rain poured down. Kazuma watched, unfazed. This was a child having a tantrum. “No.”
Lightning struck him—and it hurt. His body locked in place as every muscle froze, and he was sure his physical body was showing signs of a seizure. In truth it was some form of IC, but he didn’t fight it. Not yet.
When it released, he collapsed and lay in a heap, panting at Caliban’s feet. The AI with the used-car-salesman smile gazed down at him. “Give it to me now.”
“No…if you kill me…others will search for it…and you…will lose.”
Kazuma thought he was going to get hit again. But instead, Caliban stepped forward and helped him to his feet, and dusted him off.
“Why are you lying?” the AI asked.
He stood at an angle, and finally saw the triangle some distance behind Caliban. Or it looked like a triangle. It pulsed with resonance, but it was dark and muddy. Tinged with a harsh shadow. Twisted. And as if to show it had a tail, a piece of it rose into the sky toward the pure resonance. “I am not lying. That wasn’t my sister. Who…brought her there?”
“What?”
“Who picked her out and put her on that bed?”
Caliban frowned, as if actually trying to remember. “It was Shax that said he found her.”
“And Shax pulled her free?”
“No…that was Sycorax. She pulled her free—even showed me on the rung.” He snapped his fingers at Kazuma. “That’s what I’ll do! I’ll show you where she was, and Sycorax can show you how she was identified.”
He reached out to Kazuma and pulled at something as a tight, thick band of leather encircled his neck. It half-choked him, and he gasped and grabbed at it as the AI pulled him by a leash like a dog toward the dark and pulsing triangle.
Chapter Seventy-Five
Inside the house
Mack looked all around Shax, and just saw him. And if he remembered correctly, this guy was pretty much a dweeb.
“Now, you’re all going to put your guns down and follow me downstairs—”
A loud bang made Delaney and Netcat jump seconds before Shax fell backward, a bullet hole in his forehead.
Delaney was the first to regain her composure. She had a look somewhere between horror and anger on her face. She took a threatening step toward Mack and his smoking gun. “You…you could have hit me!”
“But I didn’t. And don’t get your panties so balled up. I’m just not in the mood for another epic battle or losing anyone else. Slamm?!” Screw the AR. They knew Mack and his team were there.
“Yeah?”
“You got a way down to the basement yet?”
There was a pause. “Yeah. There’s a set of stairs under the stairs.”
Drek.
Mack ordered everyone out of the bedroom, kicked Shax’s lifeless body, and followed everyone down to the hallway. Slamm-0!, Renault, Shayla, Netcat, and Delaney were looking at the open door. “What, no light?”
Everyone shook their head.
“I hear machines.”
Mack cocked his gun. “Then we’re on the right track. Single file, everyone. Shoot first, then haul ass.”
Chapter Seventy-Six
Contagion Host
Dawn
Kazuma fell to his knees in front of what looked like a bowl in the ground. The dirt and rock had been melted smooth, and three naked men lay with their heads together in the center. They formed a triangle, their eyes open, their expressions masks of pain and shock. Above them floated a slab of what looked like marble. It slowly turned clockwise, and on top of that sat the base of a ladder.
The leather collar vanished and he fell forward, coughing.
“See?” Caliban said excitedly. “It’s right up there. About three meters up. She was right there. She was one of my firsts.”
Kazuma slowly pushed himself up and faced the triangle. He felt them whispering, heard the voices, felt the brush of data against his cheek, just as Netcat had described it. This was the place where HipOldGuy had died. Where so many had died. And he had killed even more just to retrieve an innocent girl his own people had lied to him about.
He looked where the AI pointed and saw where the rungs of the ladder truncated. He saw a hand, and a foot, muted colors of a clown’s wig, mixed paint of a cel of an animation, a horrific miasma of personas blended together to make a ridiculous ladder to the stream above.
His gaze traveled down to the faces of the three men, and their whispers grew louder in his head.
…Double slash…
…Semicolon…
…Star….
…Briefcase…
…Parenthesis…
…Star…
…Miranda…
…Star...
…End Parenthesis…
It was the footnote. And they were repeating it to him over and over again.
He narrowed his eyes at the slab of marble, which shifted as it pulsed with dark resonance. It moved from being marble to plastic to metal, and then he recognized it.
It wasn’t a slab at all, but an old cyberdeck.
He put a hand to his datajack at his temple. This was how he was supposed to deliver the switch. And they were telling him to do it.
Now.
“What’re you doing?” Caliban reached out and grabbed his upper arm. “You have to admit you were wrong.”
“No. You have to ask Sycorax the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That she lied to you.”
As if she had been summoned, a woman appeared beside him. She wore a painted face, her features unrecognizable. Her skirt moved at her feet, tendrils that reached up like the tentacles of an octopus, and grabbed for Kazuma’s wrists and ankles.
“Good! Yes! Take the switch from him!”
His AR opened and he fell inside of it, into a garden full of sakura trees in full bloom, under a twilight sky. Caliban’s world vanished as he spotted a young girl by the largest tree. He walked to her as petals floated from the branches like soft pink snow. And when he was close she held up her hand. “Oni-chan.”
“Hitori.”
They stood facing one another for what felt like years. But she never aged. Never changed. She remained the same, the persona of her childhood, of the little girl with the bright pink wings and her wand of magic. It sparkled when she waved it.
“Is this a dream?” he asked.
“You know the truth.”
“That you are Miranda Sebastian? Yes.” He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her like he used to, but he sensed she was different. Changed.
“How did you know?”
“The contagion host. The park. It wasn’t the park in Denver, but the park in Tokyo, where Father used to take us for the festivals. I used to watch you run through the trees in your wings.” He nodded to her. “This was the last time
we went. You wore that.”
“And we saw The Tempest on the lawn that night.”
Kazuma smiled. “And you fell in love with it.”
Her smile brightened, and then faded. “I have made mistakes, Kazuma. Terrible mistakes. I loved the realms too much.”
“You loved the idea of power too much. Was it Tolen that kept you away from me?”
“Tolen shared my loves. But what I didn’t know was that Powell loved me as well. When I went to work for them, I changed my name so I wouldn’t be recognized as the Hitori Tetsu of Ares. As a technomancer, it was easy to recreate myself as Miranda Sebastian. I took names from the Tempest to do it.”
“You know what Powell did.”
“Yes. And I have been looking for his kill switch from the moment Powell did this to them. To Tolen. I have tried to find a way to free all of us. I never knew it would be you that would be the soldier to kill the monster.”
“I have it ready.” Kazuma pulled up the last message from Netcat and memorized it. “But I have to jack into the deck above them.”
“No. You give it me. Just type it into my AR, something Caliban can’t see, and it will go through the deck.” She took a hesitant step toward him. “But you’ll have to leave the host immediately. Tolen arranged for the host to trap everything in it so it could be destroyed.”
“You’re coming with me.”
“Of course.” She smiled at him. “Caliban is getting restless. To him, it looks as if I am taking the switch from you by force. Trust me, oni-chan. I want him dead. And gone. And destroyed.”
He hesitated for an instant, but copied the switch into her window of his AR.
The sakura world vanished, and Kazuma found himself on his knees as Caliban screamed. He turned to see the Tolen, Baron, and Huerta personas turn to stone and crumble. The world shook as the sky cracked around them. Parts of it fell and crashed into the barren earth, kicking up bitter dust. Kazuma stumbled to his feet as the slab of marble stopped moving and fell, destroying everything below it.
“NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!”
Caliban’s wrath culminated in what Kazuma could only call the voice of God as he lunged for him and managed to grab one of his ankles as he ran. The AI grew in size, and Kasuma was abruptly lifted into the air with him. The sky continued to fall and Kazuma repeatedly tried to log out.
But he was trapped. Whatever IC measures they’d built into the host, into the code, wasn’t letting anything out. Hitori and he were both going to die here.
She appeared to him then, in her young persona, complete with robes and wings. With a slap on Caliban’s oversized wrist with her wand, he let go, and she grabbed Kazuma around the waist. They flew straight up as the AI tried to swat them down as if they were flies. She dodged the sky and then the stars as they fell, and Caliban’s terrified screams drowned everything out.
“Where are we going?” Kazuma yelled.
“The resonance stream. It’s our only hope. It’ll take us off this host.”
She was smart to think of that, and he watched as they neared the rippling, iridescent beauty. She hovered above it and he felt it brush his skin, sing to his soul, and pull him toward it.
Hitori brushed her lips against his cheek. “I love you, Kazuma,” and then dropped him into the stream.
His last vision as the stream took her was of her smiling face as she ran through the sakura trees.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Coastal Address
Delaney and the others lowered their weapons as it became apparent there weren’t any threats left alive. They found two bodies in the basement, the other dissonant technomancers shot in the face, but had no idea by whom.
Three doors down here mirrored the ones upstairs, and when Renault knocked the first one down, they stared into utter darkness until the troll found the light. A series of bulbs came on to reveal twenty to thirty autodocs of all kinds, makes, and models. And as they took a little stroll down one side of them, they realized they were all occupied, all of their occupants deceased.
Renault and Mack checked the opposite door and and found the same horror. At the end of the hall they found a much larger room, with more autodocs. In these, Delaney identified Huerta, Baron, and Tolen. In one of the newer models they found Kazuma. He’d been pretty badly beaten, and showed no response when Mack opened the doc. They contacted MoonShine and then found another of the autodocs with Miranda Sebastian inside, also deceased.
Slamm-0! found the hosts, all of them dead in a cascade failure. He did a diagnostic on each as two helicopters landed outside. They loaded Kazuma, Netcat, Delaney, and Preacher into them as Shayla, Mack, Renault and Slamm-0! remained behind for cleanup, then drove their respective vehicles away.
She wasn’t all that surprised when the helicopters took them to China Mountain and a team of medical shamans and techomancers took Kazuma away. They gave Hestaby a full report and were told to refresh and relax as she offered Mack and the others transport back to the Mountain.
It was nearly five in the evening before Slamm-0! and Mack arrived. And after showers and food, everyone sat together to discuss what happened. The funny thing was that although they were all in the same room again, no one spoke.
Until, “What’s wrong with him?” Delaney finally ventured. “Did it work? Is Caliban gone?”
“He’s gone.” Slamm-0! reassured her. “I checked everything before we left. Renault did as well. There was no sign of him. So I’d say Kazuma delivered the switch and it worked.”
“But did it hurt him?” Delaney looked at Netcat, since she was the only other technomancer in the room.
Until MoonShine walked in. “The kill switch didn’t hurt him. The beating did. They put him in an autodoc here to let it do its mending. As for his mind…” When MoonShine smiled, Delaney felt a little better. “He shows all the classic signs of submersion.”
“He’s in the resonance realms?” Netcat sat forward, her hand on Slamm-0!’s knee.
“I’d say he is. But for right now, Hestaby says to relax, recuperate, and let her take care of Soldat.”
“That reminds me, I need to post to GiTm0.” Netcat stood, and then bent down over Slamm-0! to kiss his forehead. “I’ll be back.”
“And if you’re not, I’ll find you,” he called as he watched her depart.
Delaney leaned back in her chair. “What I don’t get is what happened to Miranda Sebastian? Why was she on the floor, and not in an autodoc? I mean, wouldn’t she have survived like Kazuma did if she’d gotten in one?”
“Maybe,” Renault said. “Ask Kazuma when he wakes.” The troll popped a grape in his mouth. “The story’s not quite over. Not yet.”
Chapter Seventy-Eight
GiTm0
Welcome back to GiTm0, omae; your last connection was 1 days, 4 hours, 23 minutes, 5 seconds ago
BOLOs
Nothing for this post.
CONTAGION GAMES IN THE NEWS
The media’s been in an uproar since they converged on the coast of California today, just outside Los Angeles at the home of Miranda Sebastian, the CFO of Contagion Games. The media’s not telling us what we already know, that the bodies of the original owners of Contagion, as well as her own, were found along with autodocs filled with fifty-two technomancers. All dead.
Details on this can be found in this [Link], but suffice it to say, the TechnoHack game is no more, the Contagion host is destroyed and the spread of dark resonance has been halted. For now. Just know that dissonant TMs do exist out there, and sometimes they can be even more dangerous than those that hunt us.
Remember, GOD is always watching.
UPDATES
>>>>Open Thread/Subhost221.322.1
>>>>Thread Access Restrictions:
>>>>Format:
>>>>File Attachment:
>>>>Thread Descriptor: MOVING FORWARD
>>>>Thread Posted By User: Netcat
> Great follow-up, Netcat. How’
s Soldat?
> Venerator
> No change, Ven. Soon as we know something we’ll let everyone know. Just read the report on what happened, learn from it, and be prepared. Always.
> RoxJohn
> Netcat and Slamm-0! are taking a well deserved break with their kid. So, she might not see your messages for a while.
> MoonShine
> Are we sure that AI’s dead?
> 404Flames
> Yeah. We’re sure on this one. Other meaner, bigger, badder ones? Who knows?
> MoonShine
> Can we discuss this mention of a dragon in that report? Really? We’re making deals with dragons now? That’s something no one ever does.
> LongTong
> No deals yet, but Hestaby is offering sanctuary and help if you need it. She might want the odd job now and then, but you’ll have the full backing of a dragon. Deal or not, I’m enjoying myself.
> MoonShine
> And let’s not forget, everyone, too many technomancers died during this madness. I’ve put up a list under Fallen Comrades with the handles I have. I’ve also added Kazuma’s sister there, since he’s finally letting her go. So let’s all show a bit of respect and make ourselves stronger so this kind of crazy doesn’t happen again. We can be smart and strong, people.
> RoxJohn
> You said it, Rox. You said it best.
> 404Flames
Epilogue
Chiba, Japan
Yahashira Cemetery #2
Kazuma knelt before his sister’s new, shiny headstone.
Incense curled around his hair as he kept his eyes closed and prayed for her guidance and her blessing. He rose, bowed, and slowly walked down the side of the tiered hill to where Slamm-0! and Netcat waited at the entrance.
“This place is beautiful, Kaz,” Netcat said as he joined them.
“It is.” He looked back and focused on his family’s graves. “Father and I are all that’s left. Except for my mother. But she wasn’t in my life very much.”
Shadowrun: Dark Resonance Page 31
