“My dear, these are just calculated guesses. I’m not a god, you know.”
Overseer didn’t need to see him to know that he was sneering.
“Is that all?” she asked rigidly.
Dead Eye laughed lightly. “Do try and keep your senses, my dear. We wouldn’t want you to lose it like you did the last time Corson appeared.”
Overseer clenched her fist. “Don’t remind me.”
“Too late for that, I’m afraid. He is just one man, and you are just one lowly Void Reaper. Do try and keep your priorities on task this time around, or I’m afraid you and I are going to have some strong words.” There was then a crackling of paper on the line. When Dead Eye spoke again, it sounded like he had something in his mouth.
“Oh, and do try and wrap this up quick when this all gets underway. I don’t want the World Moderators to think everyone on the server is a Corruption and purge you all,” he finished with a hiss.
The line went silent seconds later, leaving Overseer filled with an unpleasant feeling of wrath and irritation. She gazed once more below at the unsuspecting crowd as she leered with abhorrence.
“Did you idiots get all that?” she shot heatedly.
Both Foresight and Clairvoyance replied quickly in her ear. They weren’t ones to provoke a viper when it was preparing for the kill.
“Good. Ready the Medusa Field. We make our move when the concert begins.”
A black hole spawned next to Overseer as she finished. She leapt into the chaotic space and disappeared without another word.
[7]
Convergence
[January 6th - Washington D.C. - Pentagon, Underground Chamber 34 - Night]
Charles dabbed at his face with a small handkerchief. The sweat just didn’t seem to stop even though he was free from the Board. The appearance of Dead Eye had really put him on edge. However, during the meeting, Dead Eye had said a number of things that hadn’t sat well with Charles. He was now beginning to question what he helped create.
“Project Lambda was supposed to be one of the next generation of Combat AI programs, or so I was told. So why does it seem like it, and all the others before it, have more of a purpose than was made known to me?” Charles pondered aloud. He kept thinking back to when Dead Eye had called Lambda “the Enforcer”.
“What did he mean by that?” Charles’ words fell on deaf ears.
The monitor in the elevator exploded with light as an image quickly appeared. It was the familiar face of the man that contacted him right before he entered the meeting with the Board.
“How did the meeting with the Board go?” the man hesitantly asked.
Charles groaned. “Not good. One of the Three is now involved.”
The man seemed frozen in the screen. Charles could see his eyes widen.
“It gets better,” Charles added. “The Board has begun to consider drastic measures should Lambda’s capture be delayed any further.”
The man didn’t look pleased. “What are we to do?”
Charles put a hand to his face. “We are to remain on standby and prepare the final countermeasure should all else fail. I’m more concerned with the boy’s involvement. It isn’t going to be easy to explain to the Doctors that their son is now a wanted criminal.”
“They see the boy as a threat?” asked the man.
Charles sighed. “Yes, it would appear so. They aren’t letting it go as they believe that he is aiding the Lambda unit. I can’t imagine what the boy is trying to do.”
The man’s gaze tightened. “What of the High King’s involvement in this matter?”
Charles grunted. “The famous Dead Eye was adamant about leaving everything to his Void Moderators. Since his clearance trumps all of us and the Board, there wasn’t much I could say.”
The man seemed a little flushed. “We are talking about the Dead Eye right? The one they refer to as the Lord of Pandemonium?”
Charles nodded. “Indeed. What worries me is his obsessive nature over Lambda and the Doctor’s boy. There is something he knows that he isn’t telling us,” Charles answered in a grave tone.
The man’s eyes shifted nervously. “So, regarding this countermeasure you mentioned. Did the Board give any specifics?”
Charles face turned coarse. “About that . . .”
The man on the monitor didn’t like Charles expression. It made him feel like he was hanging off a cliff.
“What do you mean?”
“They want us to prep Number Five for emergency activation.”
The man’s face went white. “What?! Even if we were to prep it, there would be no guarantee that it would not repeat what happened last time!” The man was nearly panicking.
“I know,” Charles said quietly. “However, these are orders from the top. We don’t get an opinion.”
The man was at a loss. “What would you have me tell the rest of our chairmen?”
Charles looked into the man’s eyes with a resolute gaze. His stern stature spoke louder than the words he uttered.
“Begin the reprogramming and coding process for Number Five. It appears that Project Epsilon is coming back online.”
* * *
[January 6th - Cyber Network, Server 346 - Concert Hall - Night]
The roar of the crowd was like nothing Cecilia had ever heard before. She was used to the crowds of people, but never had they sounded like this. It sounded more like a war cry of thousands of warriors, blazing into battle on their chariots and horses. Despite herself mentally preparing for this moment, she still couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
“Ten minutes to showtime, people, let’s move it!” shouted a man wearing a headset and carrying a small monitor display with him. His words made Cecilia almost go numb.
Cecilia then felt nurturing hands on her shoulders as she broke from her trance.
“Don’t let it bother you too much, Luna,” came the calm voice of Cecilia’s makeup artist. She looked up at the mirror before her and noted the work she had done with her Avatar’s facial program. She toggled between her “before” and “after” images of her complexion through the mirror’s controls to her left. Her eyelashes seemed a bit overdone, but the dark eyeshadow mixed with her costume gave the look she was going for—dark and exotic.
Cecilia nodded with a smile. “It’s perfect.”
“Are we all set here?” inquired another stage crew member as he approached Cecilia from behind.
Her little happy moment gone, Cecilia began to count backwards from twenty as a breathing exercise to monitor and relieve a little of her stress and anxiety.
20 . . . 19 . . . 18 . . .
“She’s ready to go,” replied the makeup artist promptly.
“Good. Get her to the center stage with the rest of the dancers.” The man then looked behind him suddenly. “Hey! Can someone please get that dancer to the stage! All of them were supposed to be ready and set twenty minutes ago!”
Cecilia turned around and looked to where the crew member was looking. Sure enough, her mouth nearly hit the floor. With the speed of light, she rushed out of her chair and bolted to the girl being ushered to the stage floor with all the other dancers.
“Lambda!? Wait, stop!” she called out.
The man pulling Lambda along stopped rather suddenly and appeared to be confused.
“Miss Luna?” He was lost for words.
Lambda stared at Cecilia blankly. Cecilia found it hard to say something with Lambda making no effort to interject.
“I need to speak with her . . . she-” Cecilia cut herself off, unsure on what to say. She quickly just settled on something simple that made the most sense at the time. “She is my lead in. I need to run a few things by her.”
The man looked to Lambda and then to Cecilia. He soon shrugged and paid it no mind as he released Lambda without another thought.
Cecilia quickly rushed to Lambda’s side. “What are you doing?!” she muttered harshly.
Lambda seemed confused to her.
Lambda was unaffected by the urgency in Cecilia’s voice. “Lambda was moved by a group of women dressed in a similar fashion as Lambda, but upon breaking away to establish contact with Zack, Lambda was instructed by the security team here to make her way back to the Stage Center. These people here keep interfering with Lambda in this effort to locate Zack, saying that Lambda is one of these “dancers” for the concert.”
Cecilia rubbed her temples as she tried to calm her nerves. She knew it was a bad idea to just let them wander around right before the show. She was also starting to regret changing the dancer’s outfits as well as her own to match Lambda’s. She didn’t want to admit it, but she made the decision based on how beautiful she thought Lambda looked. She in many aspects idolized Lambda the moment she laid eyes on her. She was about as tall as her brother, and had a powerful presence. But above all else, it was those deep, alluring red eyes. She was perfect.
However, she just couldn’t come to like Lambda. She saw her as a bitter reminder of her beloved brother’s lowest point in life. She felt Lambda was just bringing down Zack into darkness, as she was one of those AI units. Still, even though Lambda had all the human compassion of soap, she still couldn’t hate her completely.
Maybe I’m being too harsh, she thought, feeling shameful.
In truth, she felt such strength from Lambda, and wished she could borrow that strength. She really couldn’t explain it. All she knew was that something about Lambda stirred something within her, and she just couldn’t ignore the feeling. Good or bad, she wasn’t quite sure. For now, hating the AI before her wasn’t going to get anything done.
Lambda broke her thoughts. “Lambda would like to inquire what a “lead in” is? Lambda doesn’t have enough information to-”
“Look,” she said sternly, while folding her hands in front of her. “I can’t have you just roaming around with everything that is going on. So please just stay-”
“Luna! Three minutes to stage rise! Get ready now!” came the blaring voice of one of the stage hands. His bellowing voice sent a chill up Cecilia’s back.
Lambda noted Cecilia’s frazzled expression as well as her quickening pulse. It appeared that she was suffering from the plague known as nervousness. Lambda wasn’t too familiar with this type of emotion. She had no personal knowledge, but felt compelled to run trillions of simulations that mapped out her given mission and how to appropriately respond to Cecilia. Lambda herself didn’t quite understand her own words after settling on a definitive route.
“Would it prove useful for Lambda to be part of your female dance group?”
Cecilia stared at Lambda, stunned. “What?!”
Lambda was unfazed by Cecilia’s outburst. “Lambda has already analyzed your female acrobats and simulated your routine. It is within Lambda’s area of execution that this “dance” be performed and is possible within Lambda’s program parameters.”
Cecilia felt her heart skip a beat. Taking Lambda’s appearance was one thing, but for her to dance with her sounded something out of a dream. Lambda was very, very endowed. Her trimmed, cut figure was nothing short of majestic. Her hips and butt were perfect in proportion in contrast to her chest and posture. Her long hair seemed to just sparkle despite it being dark. She almost forgot her resentment of Lambda as she drifted in and out of thought.
However, Cecilia hadn’t forgotten Zack’s warning. She knew this wasn’t a good idea.
“Isn’t it a bad idea to put yourself on public display? I thought you were wanted or something?” She knew she was already causing Zack trouble. She didn’t want to make things worse.
Lambda shook her head with little worry. “Lambda’s appearance has been duplicated by your female cohorts. This act will serve both in Lambda’s plan, as well as your protection.”
Cecilia wasn’t completely following. “But why would you even want to do this?”
“Luna! One minute!”
Startled, Cecilia cringed when she heard the blaring voice. She looked to Lambda, but when her eyes met with hers, she felt like she saw life spark within the vermilion torrent that made up Lambda’s burning irises. She looked away suddenly, not knowing what to say to her. Lambda clearly didn’t understand her own situation if she was going to just let herself be seen by thousands of people. This was a bad idea; every fiber of Cecilia’s body told her so. However, she couldn’t shake the desire to go on stage with such a celestial being.
“You sure this isn’t a bad idea?” she said hesitantly, knowing full well it was a terrible idea. She felt like Lambda was sucking her in.
Lambda nodded confidently. “Lambda has mapped out the chosen scenario path. All is within Lambda’s specifications.” She paused for a moment. As she was silent, Cecilia could see her eyes glow brighter, like the shimmering of red glass reflecting light.
Lambda looked to Cecilia plainly. “Please be advised that when you reach the end of your first lyrical vocalization, to keep your head down and find a safe place to avoid damage.”
Cecilia’s eyes widened. “What was that last-”
Lambda grabbed her wrist and headed to the stage without letting her finish.
“Your audience awaits, Luna Nova.”
Cecilia could have sworn she saw Lambda smile.
* * *
[January 6th - Cyber Network, Server 346 - Concealed Location - Night]
Laura held her head with aggravation. The roar of the crowd below her was almost enough to make her start firing indiscriminately to just let off some steam. She was never one for huge crowds of people, much less a gathering of thousands of screaming fans. The sight of them was repulsive to her.
“Commander Richter, recon is complete. We are ready to begin the operation,” came a voice in Laura’s ear. Everything was set.
“Do you have eyes on the target?” replied Laura. She was trying really hard to ignore the people below.
“Negative. It appears that she is being held below the stage,” another one of her squad replied quickly.
Laura pressed a button on her headset to allow a small visor to line her eyes. Her visor turned what she could see into code. Billions of white numbers created the walls and structures all around her, while the red fixtures of code constructed Account Holder Avatars. She then noted the one such Avatar constructed of golden code.
Laura smirked. “Well hello, little princess.”
“I’m in position, Commander Richter. Your orders?”
The voice that resounded in Laura’s ear now belonged to Krieg.
“Is the Psychí̱ Converter ready?” Laura inquired.
“It is primed and ready. All I need is Luna to come within my scope,” Krieg replied promptly. “Give me a few good seconds to lock on to her Avatar and we can begin the hack.”
Laura nodded to herself. “She isn’t likely to stay still during her performance, so you are going to have to put those talents of yours to the test, rookie. If you lose connection for even a second, you are going to have to start all over in order to hack her account.”
“It would be easier and faster if we were closer,” Krieg replied rather bluntly.
Laura didn’t like his tone. “Any closer and we will blow our cover. Just be sure that you do your job and we will do ours,” she replied firmly.
Krieg snorted over the line. “I’d certainly hope so.”
Laura ignored his comment. She was about to say something into her headset when all the lights in the area went out, blanketing the entire server in darkness. The crowd roared with an excitement that made Laura want to vomit as the Concert Hall was illuminated by waving glow sticks and small lights lining the vast stadium.
Looks like the show is about to start. She would have given a clever smirk, but she was too busy trying not to have her head split in two.
Four huge spotlights sprung to life and centered on the stage below. Laura readied herself and opened a small terminal before he
r. The transparent keyboard hovered in front of her as she quickly made her preparations. It was her job to download the information located on Luna’s account. Krieg was merely the key to allow access to her while Laura was the one that ripped all the information they would need. Laura found herself smiling now. She loved the thrill and challenge of a mission.
Laura snickered to herself. “And here I thought this was going to be hard.”
A cloud of smoke burst upon the stage. The crowd roared again.
Laura rolled her eyes. “Kids these days; just get on with it,” she muttered to herself.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a loud crack echoed throughout the area, dispersing the smoke. The crowd howled even louder, waving their multicolored glow sticks. Laura peered down at the stage, but what she saw nearly caused her eyes to pop.
“What is this!?” Laura rapidly yelled into her earpiece. “Whose job was it to get the data on this performance?! Nothing was in the program regarding this!”
The squad Captain’s frenzied voice echoed into Laura’s ear. “Sorry, Commander Richter. They must have changed it last minute!”
Laura snarled, now agitated. “This Zack kid . . . is this his doing?” Despite her rising anger, Laura’s mouth soon formed a smile as she regained her composure. In the end, this only made it more exciting.
“Krieg, you can see which one’s Luna, right?”
“It wouldn’t be the person in the center, would it?” Krieg’s tone was levied with sarcasm.
Laura ignored it. “Just get a lock on her so we can get this job over with quickly-”
“That might not be possible,” emerged the voice of another one of her squad members.
Laura didn’t like the tone used. “Details, soldier! Is there a problem?”
The soldier replied promptly. “Three, to be exact, and they don’t look like they’re dressed for the show.”
Laura’s blood ran cold. “You don’t mean . . .”
“We have Void Reapers.”
Laura didn’t respond. An old memory surfaced in her mind of shadows relentlessly chasing her. They moved like black lightning, predicting her every move. She was completely overwhelmed back then, a complete amateur. Had it not been for Corson, she would have surely met her end those three years ago.
The Genesis Code 1: Lambda Page 11
