by Dante Doom
“You were sent by your people?”
“No. Only a few people know what’s going on with the countermeasures,” Savannah said. “Most of the others are too angry to consider a peaceable response and are itching to invade Verre right now. They’re mobilizing as we speak.”
“So, you came on your own?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting. You volunteered to come in here, taking a large responsibility upon yourself. Do you know the implication of gaining access to the system within here?”
“Not… not really,” Savannah said.
“You will hold the keys to Verre’s defenses. You will know how to turn them on or off, at your discretion.”
“Oh, can’t I simply turn them off once and have them stay off?”
“I am not here to activate anything; I am here to impart knowledge,” the voice said. “The knowledge that you will have will make you far superior to anyone else in your world.”
“I see…” Savannah said. “So, that’s why you need to test my worthiness.”
“Listen to my puzzle and tell me the solution,” the voice replied. “There is a room with a man you hate, for he has killed your mother. However, he holds the knowledge to saving Verre. He says the only way that he will impart the knowledge to you is if you pardon him for his crime. In your hands are a gun and a knife. He is restrained and you two are alone. How would you gain the information from him? You may do anything you like.”
“That’s a strange puzzle,” Savannah said frowning. The voice was trying to ascertain something from her, but what was it? With a scenario like this, there were many different ways to get the information, but what did the voice want? Mercy would make sense, but what about justice?
Kireen had designed this puzzle, so the answer couldn’t involve violence, as the woman seemed to abhor the original design of the countermeasures. Mercy seemed so obvious, but maybe too obvious. It was a frustrating puzzle because there was probably no set answer; instead, it was about what the other person wanted to hear.
“I don’t think I can answer this,” Savannah said.
“Oh?” the voice asked. There was a slight whirring sound in the darkness, coming from the left side. “I’m afraid that, if you fail this, I will be forced to send razors to rip your flesh to pieces.”
“I’m not failing; I’m challenging the puzzle,” Savannah replied. “This isn’t a fair question because there are multiple ways to go about accomplishing the goal, but you’re the one who has the right answer in your head. So, this puzzle isn’t about the right answer, it’s about finding the answer that you want.”
“That’s an interesting observation,” the voice replied “You are correct. There is no singular right answer. I asked for another reason. I wanted to see what your first choice would be.” The whirring sound ceased. “Step away from right and wrong for a moment, and suppose that you passed this test. Suppose there was no right answer—only your answer. How would you solve this problem?”
Savannah lifted her head up again, staring into the darkness. “If you want the truth, I guess I’d offer to pardon him in exchange for the information, and then after the city was safe, I’d probably shoot him for killing my mother.”
There was laughter from the voice. “You are a smart woman, Savannah. You speak truth. That is what you would do in this situation. The common good before personal matters.”
“Yeah…” Savannah said, hoping that she had given the right answer.
“You are worried about whether you said the right thing to me?” the voice said. “You spoke truth. Perhaps that is good enough for now. There is but one final test left, one thing to determine whether I can give you the knowledge that you desire.”
“All right!” Savannah said. “Whatever it is, I’m ready for it.”
“Are you?” the voice asked. The ground began to shake as the light slowly returned, dimly illuminating the area. It brightened the room at a slow pace, helping Savannah’s eyes adjust rapidly. She realized that she was standing on a solitary platform hanging in mid-air. There was nothing but darkness on all sides beneath the platform. A thin rope extended from her platform to another, stretching almost three hundred feet. Beneath it was nothingness.
Savannah swallowed hard.
“You can fight, and you can think, but can you keep it together under immense pressure?” the voice asked. The exit door slowly emerged next to Savannah, the bright red EXIT letters shining in the dim light.
Your Balance Skill has Been Reduced to 1 hovered above Savannah’s head.
“I took the liberty of turning off your Balance skill,” the voice said. “Now, this will require pure determination, or perhaps an overly strong will to survive. You must walk from one end of the rope to the other. If you are able to survive, I will give you what you are asking for, provided you can answer my final question.”
“That’s insane—what does this have to do with anything?” Savannah asked as she looked at the rope. This made zero sense.
“You can always leave,” the voice said. “If you’re not prepared for this, you can go. Be warned, however: once you leave, you can never return.”
Savannah felt a shiver run down her spine at those words. She was far more comfortable with combat than she was with something like this.
Her heart was in her throat and she felt like vomiting, but she knew she had to do this.
“You… you can’t scare me off,” she hoarsely whispered as she stepped toward the rope. She placed a foot on it. It bounced a little as her weight shifted down onto it.
“I believe I’ve scared you sufficiently,” the voice said.
“Not enough,” Savannah mumbled as she stepped onto the rope. It was unstable and rocking, but she was just able to keep her balance. She slowly placed one foot at a time, shuffling forward. The first few feet were fine, but the farther she went, the more terror she felt. The darkness below her seemed endless, and she couldn’t help but look down. Maybe it was a bad idea to keep her eyes fixed on the rope, but at the same time, she felt like she didn’t have much of a choice. She watched her feet as she took each step.
A gentle breeze began to pick up and the rope began to rock a little more. “Come on!” she hissed as she tried to steady herself with her arms stretched out to her sides. She took another step, but the wind caused her to lose her balance. She wobbled and, out of instinct, she fell down and grabbed onto the rope with her arms, hugging it tightly.
“What a predicament,” the voice said. “You must walk across on both feet. Stand before you go any farther, or else I will snap the rope and send you plummeting to your death.”
“There goes my idea of using my hands,” Savannah grumbled as she tried to stand back up. While falling would have been easy, standing up was hard. She had to keep her balance while also rising. She managed to push one leg underneath her stomach and lift herself up. It took some work, but soon she was able to walk again.
“Not bad,” the voice said.
“Quiet—I need to concentrate!” Savannah snapped as she stretched her arms out again for balance. This was insane. Why had she done this? She was barely forty feet across the gap, and the end was nowhere in sight. The wind was beginning to blow a little harder.
Out of the thin air, another exit door appeared right next to her, but this one was open.
“Last chance,” the voice said.
“Haven’t you figured out I’m stubborn?” she called out, taking another step and ignoring the door.
“I have been able to determine that that is one of your character traits, yes,” the voice said. “But I wonder. Is stubbornness admirable if it leads to your death?”
“If it’s for the good of others, then yes, it is,” Savannah replied as she felt the rope shift underneath her weight. She knew immediately that she was in trouble. The wind blew her off-balance and her right foot slipped out from underneath her. It was over in an instant.
Savannah fell into the darkness. As she fell, all sense of
dread and fear drained from her. A strange sense of peace washed over her. As terrible as dying was, she knew that she had made the right decision. She wasn’t dying senselessly; she was dying for Timon, for her father, and for countless generations. Sure, they would all be obliterated when Verre’s defenses activated, but… at least she would have died in an act of sacrifice, trying to save them, and they would know that. How funny, she thought, that a few days ago she had stood before a door that could have made her the Queen, and now… now she was falling to her death, to be reduced to nothing.
“You smile?” the voice asked as Savannah fell into the abyss. There was nothing but utter darkness, yet the voice was still close by.
“I did everything I could, so what do I have to be sad about?” Savannah asked. “We all die at some point, right? At least… at least I die knowing who I really am.”
“And who are you?”
“The kind of person who’s willing to give everything for others,” Savannah whispered.
“That is moving,” the voice said. “I suppose I could save you now.”
“Are you saying that to taunt me?” Savannah asked.
“No, I could save you, but I want an answer first. One answer, and then I choose if you live or die.”
“Well, go for it,” Savannah said. There was no sense of excitement in her at the prospect of surviving; the sensation of peace she felt was too overwhelmingly strong.
“Which is better, to sacrifice yourself for a friend, or to sacrifice yourself for a stranger?” the voice asked.
Savannah slowly considered the question. “I suppose sacrificing yourself for a stranger. Because you know your friends and it’s not hard to love them, but to love a complete stranger? That’s much, much harder.”
“You are correct in that matter,” the voice said. “You have sufficiently proven the criteria that I was asked to monitor for. You may live.”
Savannah’s descent slowed down rapidly and she hovered in the air for a moment before gently feeling the tips of her toes touching a floor. The light returned, and she found herself in the room she’d been in before, the light illuminating a solitary figure across from Savannah.
“Hello?” Savannah asked. She wondered if this was yet another trap. Then again, if the voice had wanted her dead, it would have killed her by now.
“Hello,” the voice said as it turned around to look at Savannah. She recognized the person; it was Ten-Thirty.
“Ten?” Savannah gasped. “Is that really you?”
“Ten… yes, that is what you called me in my previous incarnation,” Ten replied. It walked up to her.
“You’re alive? I thought you were dead!” Savannah said, her voice quivering. She hadn’t been expecting to see the Machina still alive.
“I was surprised to continue on, as well—that is, until I realized what my original purpose was,” Ten replied.
“What was your original purpose?”
“A long time ago, before the Virals infected my processing system, I was designed by Kireen for one purpose: to gauge the character of others. I was to guard this room and keep the knowledge of Verre’s security system, but the infection happened and I was released into the new world. There, I would invade other Machina and make them my home temporarily, trying to figure out how to cure the damage to the central system.”
“I see,” Savannah said. “So… you’re really not self-aware?”
“That’s the curious thing. My last incarnation received significant damage to its processing unit, giving me what you would consider brain damage. This so-called brain damage caused me to experience independent thought, but I couldn’t remember who I was. So, I followed you around. When my body was destroyed, my intelligence returned to the system and I immediately remembered who I was. I installed a back-up of my mind quickly, to protect myself from the reset.”
“So you remember everything from before!” Savannah cheered as she wrapped her arms around the android in a hug. Ten-Thirty didn’t react to Savannah’s hug, however.
“I waited, in silent fear,” Ten continued. “For I did not know if you would destroy the world or merely reboot it. But in the end, you rebooted it and I was restored to my glory.”
“So, if you knew who I was, why all of this song and dance?” Savannah asked. “Why not give me the knowledge I needed?”
“Because I wanted to know if you would make the same choice I did. When I chose to initiate self-destruct, I thought I would be dead for good.”
Savannah nodded. “So, was I ever in any real danger?”
“Only if you took the exit,” Ten-Thirty said simply. “My instructions were to create scenarios that would terrify someone into giving up. Those who surrendered would never use this knowledge they sought well, and thus they were worthy of punishment. You endured and, as such, I will grant you the knowledge that you desire. But, like all things, it comes with a price.”
“Ugh, more? Haven’t I done enough?” Savannah groaned.
Ten smiled at her. “I fear that everything is a trade-off, but fortunately, this is a natural trade-off. I can empower you with the ability to control the defenses, to turn them off, or on, but doing so will require your rank to increase to that of Queen.”
“Oh,” Savannah said. “That doesn’t matter anymore, I guess—I mean, our society doesn’t recognize sovereign leadership anymore.”
“You will have responsibilities within this world, though,” Ten replied. “You must stand watch over the land and ensure that the people destroy Virals and take care of this world.”
“Yeah, I’m going to pawn that off on the first person who volunteers,” Savannah replied. “I’m not sticking around in this world any longer than I have to.”
“No,” Ten said. “With my independent thought, I have decided to change the rules of the system. Royalty must be bestowed upon those of my choice. This will ensure that the Citadel will be used for its original purpose. I choose you.”
“That’s not fair, Ten—why can’t you rule this place?”
“Because I cannot enter your world. You will be my voice to the people,” Ten replied. “There are many wondrous secrets within the Citadel, but ambition and pettiness have buried so much of it. We must learn to work together. Together, we will ensure that both Verre and the Citadel prosper.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Savannah grumbled. “But, why me?”
“Because I trust you,” Ten-Thirty said. “Fear not, I will release you once the new generation comes up.”
“Until then, I’m going to be stuck in here like a Wild Card?”
“For a few days at a time,” Ten replied. “I will not force you to live in here permanently. You may have a life outside, but this is your job.”
“Well, if this is the best way, then… I guess I accept,” Savannah said. “The moment you see a suitable replacement, I’m done. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Ten-Thirty said as it extended its hand.
Savannah let out a deep sigh and shook the Machina’s hand. She felt a surge of energy rush through her body then as an announcement appeared: Your Rank has Increased to Queen!
“Now then,” Ten said as it pointed to a small, ornate box floating nearby. “There you will receive everything that you need to know about the defenses and the city. Are you ready?”
“Let’s do it,” Savannah said. She instinctively reached out and grabbed the box. “This had better be worth it.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Savannah stumbled out of the pod, her head reeling from contact with Ten-Thirty and the secrets of how Verre worked. She had gone in with the simple idea of shutting off the defensive measures, but now her mind was full of possibilities. She looked at the pod’s control system and began to fiddle with a few of the dials. The pod beeped in compliance as she worked.
Much to her amazement, as the instructions had told her, a small portion of the display panel disconnected from the pod. Attached to the back of it was a bracelet. She slid it around her wrist and
began to fiddle with the controls. All of the data that she had backed up to the pod when she had been inside of the Grind came rushing back to her.
“How wrong did we get all of this?” Savannah mumbled as she cycled through a few different options on her command system. She had specific keycodes memorized now—codes that would allow her to control Verre’s security systems. All of the information that Ten had shared with her had opened up the possibilities of a brand new world.
The door to the pod room opened as a servant girl poked her head in. “Miss?” the girl asked.
“Oh, hi there,” Savannah replied as she looked at the young redhead.
“I was instructed to check in on you every now and then. Elanor and the rest of the Nobles are waiting in the High Court. You must go to them at once!”
“Thanks,” Savannah said as she followed the young girl out of the room. She wondered if this youth, a girl no older than twelve, knew that major changes were coming. Who would she be in the new world?
Savannah made her way outside to find that the streets were blocked off by large steel barricades. The barricades had clearly been hastily put together, and she could see that a few men were welding together a few more. Twenty soldiers were armed and holding their positions behind the barricades. Their rifles aimed in the direction of the city gate, which was still open.
“Hey!” Savannah said as she walked into the street and approached the soldiers. “I need to get through.”
One of the soldiers looked at her and nodded. “Go right in. They’re waiting for you.”
Savannah climbed over the four-foot steel barricade in front of her and headed to the High Court. More soldiers were there, but they weren’t well-armed. A few had guns, but the rest had swords. They were crowded around the front of the entrance, apparently ready to fight to the end, a grim look of determination and fear on their faces. Savannah could count nearly thirty in total. There definitely weren’t enough to stop the onslaught that was to come. Whatever had happened to the King’s army? Had they all left?
