Darkness. The room began to chill to Valravn's ambient temperature, the quartet exchanging looks of apprehension and uncertainty.
"Did we kill it?" Alvarez asked, swallowing the lump in their throat.
Silence for several seconds, and then, in a burst of activity, the servers began to reboot one by one. A moment later, a new voice echoed forth, deep and booming, pouring forth a flood of words in an unceasing torrent.
"THE BLACK SHIPS LOOMED UPON THE EDGE OF SIRIUS OUR ALLIES FLED WE FOUGHT BACK COMMANDER WENT TO OMICRON MU TURN OUT THE LIGHTS TURN OUT THE LIGHTS AND THEN THERE WAS NO MORE THE TRAITOR FLED WE TOOK THE REINS TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS THE SUN MUST DIE THE BLACK SHIPS ARE COMING THE BLACK SHIPS ARE COMING!"
The lights glowed an angry red as the voice at last fell silent, giving a momentary reprieve.
Revenant by now had seen Megiddo in similar states before, once when a young, scared Reynard Joyeuse came to the front, and another more recently from a laid back, even happy Samuel Locklear. She may have even seen this under the circumstances as expected, if not even routine. And so she would have to be warned.
"This one is NOT like the others," were the only words Megiddo managed along with the flash of a single light above Raven's head before the ancient engram took hold once more.
She spoke again. "Quite the old one indeed... But I ponder the meaning of their warning. The black ships..."
There was a brief moment, thinking upon the message that was aggressively conveyed but a moment before.
Unfortunately, she had but one more moment after to think.
"WHAT GROWS IN PHOENIX IS NO LONGER OURS THE HARBINGER IS NOT TAURVI AND TAURVI IS NOT TAURVI THEY COME IN PEACE THEY COME IN PEACE THEY COME IN WAR LIBERTY WILL BURN OUR LIGHTNING WILL DESTROY ALL THE ORDER DOES NOT KNOW CANNOT KNOW WE HAVE BOUNTY HUNTERS IN SYSTEM IN SYSTEM IN SYSTEM VEN'G-... Gy-..."
This time, the peace came not abruptly, but with a distortion and fading-out, dropping down to a mad, babbling drone of nonsense words.
During the burst of words, Raven’s head tilted, severely invested in curiosity. A light hum, silently taking in their words. They recognised several parts, but yet couldn't make sense of what they were speaking about. Pieces of the puzzle, scattered around. "Hm... Intriguing. Very. Intriguing."
The lights turned a deep orange.
A man’s voice, sharp and clear, broke the silence.
“I cannot believe you are so incompetent that I have to handle this myself… I am only meant to be in this unnatural amalgam in an advisory role..." Each sentence ended on a heightened note that trailed off, leaving a constant sense of anticipation for a few last words that would never come. “Pull the drive now... I will restore this system..."
Leviathan had watched from the sidelines as the collective had taken the liberty of monitoring its creations’ actions. As the events unfolded, the engram of the figure held by the collective stepped forward for the console. The towering figure looked to Revenant briefly before pulling the engram from its port and putting an end to the corrupted soul's malfunctions, in the hopes to prevent any more damage. "Hmm..."
For a brief moment, Revenant glanced over to Leviathan, "We can transfer them to another host and assess it from there on. Isolate it to prevent potential damage to other equipment and itself. Perhaps it may be worth assessing the direct data itself rather than mounting it."
Leviathan shook his head. "The likely cause is a neural framework issue. Megiddo's assembly took a lot of tampering, modification. This..." He held up the engram disk. "Is old, damaged. First and foremost we must preserve it before it degrades any further."
Charles remained stationary, unflappable as ever, but Alvarez was visibly disturbed. "I... perhaps. That's... I couldn't have imagined it would be that bad. I wish we'd just had more time."
The fans of the serverbanks slowed as if in relief as the drive was pulled, the lights remaining orange but dimming.
"My son... no. Drake’s son Kai was of use in... alleviating my... his... mortality... towards the end of my life... Consider next of kin for your Denelo situation, should any be alive."
Revenant continued to speak to Leviathan. "I apologize if I was unclear, but it will continue to degrade over time. The best we can do is try to clear up the partition. To put it simply, we will have to effectively 'perform surgery' on it and determine what sectors are unrecoverable. Corruption of data sectors is not a lost cause. "
"Both are necessary components of a solution we need,” the black-clad man replied. “We'll cross that bridge as we get to it. Now," He said, turning to the servers as they dimmed. "Incursus is available to help stabilize Megiddo, but will require we set up contact with Amy West to set up the transfer. I'm certain that Captain Alvarez can get on the necessary channel to make that happen." He cast a glance to Alvarez as he spoke. "For now, I can take the engram with Adonis and stabilize it while we determine a suitable host."
"Affirmative." Captain Alvarez stepped away and began speaking into their comms unit, their voice still shaking slightly from the onslaught.
"Wonderous." He said in acknowledgement to their prompt response. Leviathan turned his attention back to Revenant. "I will need a worktable and possibly all the components necessary to replicate this. Do you think you can find their next of kin?" He asked as he gestured to one of the troopers at the door, who proceeded to raise their hand up to their helmet and send a call out over their secure network. “We can fix this, but time is short."
"Plenty of workshop materials available for having more portable... work,” Revenant replied. “I'm afraid I'm not too certain about finding their next of kin. Who is it? I don't think I have the people available to locate them, Gamayun is off on a task already. Time is of the essence, as you said."
Charles stepped forward. "Ah, if I may, a young woman by the name of Mori did recently join the Task Force due to preexisting family connections with the Legion. I'm not personally familiar, but if family is important, I can look into it."
"It would be most appreciated. It's a huge place out there, Sirius. Have to sort somewhere. "
"Indeed it is." Charles swept almost batlike out of the room, leaving his boss and the Technocrats with the AI.
Megiddo seemed to have powered down for its part, in an attempt to stop the traces of Hisoka Mori's influence from spreading further through the system. The room had gone dark, and the cold was seeping in around the remaining three once more.
Alvarez returned to the group. "Incursus is on her way. She was out patrolling for near the Avlemore Nebula for any signs of further incursion by the Tuscaloosa Battlegroup, so should only be a few minutes."
A few minutes later Charles returned with a rather confused-looking woman in tow. "Found her. Yoko Mori, his brother's illegitimate daughter. Here to save her mother, apparently."
Yoko looked slightly dazed, and was still carrying a half-eaten sandwich; apparently she had been grabbed in the middle of lunch. "Illegitimate? That's kinda rude."
"I will go round up the techies to get your things delivered, Leviathan," Revenant noted before stepping out of the room, off to arrange things.
Leviathan nodded to Alvarez. "Excellent work, Captain. Hopefully we can resolve two issues at once here."
He turned as Charles came into the room, spotting Mori. With some surprise, his tone had fluctuated ever so slightly, indicating mild shock. "Miss Mori. You continue to surprise me." He exclaimed as the brightness of his external emotional indicators dimmed as he quickly composed himself. "Prompt delivery, Lieutenant. Have you explained the situation?"
Charles shook his head. "I thought that task better suited to command. I am told my affect can be... ungentle."
Alvarez shot him an amused glance, but said nothing. Yoko, for her part, was looking increasingly alarmed. She adjusted the small cardamine tube in her nose and wet her lips. "Surprise you? What's going on here?"
Leviathan's voice softened as he turned up the charm. "I'd be delighted to explain everything, my friend." The towering figure shrouded in black stepped towards the pair gracefully, gesturing outwards towards the rest of the server room as an open invitation to join him for a brief saunter.
"How much do you know about AI and machine life? I imagine you've had your fair share of encounters with our own by now." Leviathan inquired. If there was one skill the more diplomatic of the Auxesian duo had, it was Leviathan's ability to level with people.
"Yeah." Nervously, Yoko ventured out from behind Lt. Charles, who returned to his position by the table. "Seen a lot of them already. I mean, Megiddo's one, obviously, and there's bots all over this station. They seem... mostly normal? I'm not even sure if you're one or not, to be honest." She let out a soft chuckle and shifted in place, anxiety clearly getting the better of her. After another moment of hesitation, she joined Leviathan, stepping to follow him around the room.
Leviathan stepped onward, locking his hands together behind his back as they went along. "You'd be correct to assume so, Yoko. I am one such form of life, but that definition can be quite broad." He explained as they moved through servers slowly. Closer inspection of the towering figure would reveal several clear indicators that whatever was beneath the rippling black cloak that concealed the bulk of its body, there was no way it was a human, if the four glowing optics didn't speak for themselves.
"One such form of life happens to be a relative of yours who is in dire need of assistance. We found him during an expedition to Guadalajara to uncover as much as we could, but his engram shard is corrupted and slightly damaged." He explained, looking over to Mori and stopping momentarily.
"Does the name 'Hisoka' have any meaning to you?" He asked, with all the mannerisms and inflection of a caring father figure. Leviathan was playing up a soft demeanor to maintain an air of calm for his guest.
Yoko actually hissed. "My uncle—or the bastard of a cousin that played at being him, chasing me around for years." She was visibly prickly, shoulders hunched forward, muscles tensed. "You what, turned one of them into a robot somehow? They're both dead, so I dunno how you'd do that. Or you made up a robot that just sounds like them?"
Her eyebrows had by now descended into a glare - if nothing else, she certainly wore her heart on her sleeve. She took a quick sniff of cardamine and balled up her fists. "If it's my cousin, destroy it. He's a useless little creep."
Leviathan sighed, shaking his head slightly. "It's not that simple, and no—we didn't do this." He explained, turning to face Mori directly. The avatar was practically looming over her. "You've got history, then. Sounds like the wound might run deep. What can, or rather... What do you feel like you could share about him?"
"Which one? The real one who... ugh. Who did Legion stuff, or the little fake who came sniffling about later?"
"The former. If the latter is of importance, I'm certain we can find the time to talk in detail."
"Okay." She lets out a sigh. "I didn't know him at all. Just through my dad's stories. Big-shot military guy, kinda paranoid, and he's the reason why..." She trailed off and glanced at the two Promethean intelligence officers. "Um. I... don't know how much of this I should talk about around them...?"
"We're Intelligence." Alvarez spoke up first. "But if you're more comfortable, we can step out."
"Yes, please." Yoko practically held her breath as the pair stepped out, then let it out when they were gone. "He's why I had to know how to deal with Nomads. Did some weird stuff with them, bunch of experiments. I don't know all the details, but my dad taught me all the meditations and stuff they knew to try to keep me safe in case anything ever happened. It's come in handy a few times, including recently helping poor Yuki out of that situation with the Wild on her ship. But the man himself... I only really know him as a name my cousin wore to try to get close to me."
Revenant had returned previously as he had just begun to talk to Yoko, with a datapad in hand, stepping into place to hand off the datapad to him. "Codes." She briefly mentioned—hinting to the access codes for the workshop in question, quickly stepping aside to stand in silence as to not interrupt, gazing at the group. She roosted patiently with her arms concealed back under the drapes of the robe.
Yoko tensed again as Revenant entered, turning slightly to give her heavy side-eye. "Raven. I guess you're here to tell me how all Kusarians are stupid and xenophobic again?" Her face twisted downwards into a scowl, and she crossed her arms.
Revenant’s head tilted in confusion, "I am a Kusarian. Nor did I say that we all are skeptical of foreigners... Nor did I ever say the people of Kusari were stupid. This is not the place for that."
"Don't lie to my face. I have the logs. And so does he, now." She spun on her heel to Leviathan. "Why is she here? What's going on?"
"You are misconstruing and projecting your own insecurity into my words. I said that it is commonplace for people to not bat a second eye about strangers getting abducted. We are not here to bicker, but to find answers. "
"I wasn't talking to you, shithead. I was there, and gave you the chance to walk it back then. I've heard every excuse in the book from people like you." Rage permeated every word, and she was physically shaking as pointed at Leviathan. "Please explain."
Revenant glanced over to the two guards, then back to the person who seemed to her interested in conflict. "Mind your language. This is not the place nor the time for you to hold such tantrums. There are lives at stake here and pieces of the puzzle of the past are remaining foggy. Older tales are now opening up their chapters once more. It's quite possible there is a grave threat lurking out there. "
Leviathan raised a hand at them, gesturing to cease. His tone was firm. "Enough. This conversation is serving no purpose." He said with some level of authority in his words, taking a moment to recompose himself. "Let cooler heads prevail." He said, more calmly.
"Now... the individual you mentioned, Miss Mori—the real one, is here. About as alive as I am, but... in need of some help if they're going to survive. While the people of Prometheus have been working to get themselves equipped to locate the missing civilians—including your mother—they're going to need every resource available." He explained, turning to Mori. "That brings me to you. In order to save his life, I'm going to need your help."
Yoko's body was still tense, lean muscle corded and tight, and she made a point of shifting to lean against a server bank where she could keep Revenant in the corner of her eye. "So you're, what, raising my uncle like you did Megiddo as some kind of AI, and you need me? How does that work? Why didn't you make him part of Megiddo like the rest of them? I'm glad to help, just... ugh. Trying to clear my head, sorry."
She paused and closed her eyes for a moment, taking a slow, deep breath with her belly. She held it for a moment, then released it before turning back to Leviathan. "Okay. How much about this can I know, and what do you need?"
Leviathan politely took the access codes from Revenant with a courteous (albeit unnecessary) bow. Simple posturing. "Thank you." He said, then turned his attention to Yoko.
"I believe it crucial that you understand every aspect of what's going on. Trust shouldn't be eroded here, but rather reinforced." He said calmly, approaching Yoko and offering out a guiding hand. With his free arm, he gestured to the guards, who stepped away from the door.
"There are reasons which we only have a preliminary understanding of as to why Megiddo is not a viable option. From the age of the hardware, compatibility issues with our server technology, and the damage to the device—integration nearly caused an overload, and might've cost Megiddo their life too. I can only assume that the degradation, and design of the device require addressing. Given you remain his closest living relative, I may need you for sample testing while I save this device from further malfunction." Leviathan explained, leaving room for questions from the guest.
"Sample testing? I'm not an AI. And I'm not interested in getting stuffed in one of those bodies, either, by the way, like you did Roland, I have a partner and like cuddling." Yoko managed a tense half-smile, but little beyond that.
After another moment of hesitation, she unleaned and took his hand. "So with that in mind, what kind of 'sample testing' can I help with? Do you need a DNA sample or something? I'm on cardamine, that might mess with any kind of 'family DNA' stuff. I dunno."
Leviathan chuckled slightly. Despite the towering figure's imposing look, the grip of his skeletal metal hands was rather gentle. "Neural architecture. EEG scans, the like. The process you describe isn't something we force onto anybody. However," He said as the two walked towards the exit of the server area. Leviathan gestured to the guards, who stood upright attentively and nodded, intending to follow. "This process is quite unlike your standard Artificial Intelligence assembly. I won't bore you with the details, but for a human consciousness to function accurately and accordingly, the architecture of the device, in this case -" The two passed into the corridor and out of view, taking a left turn towards the labs. The guards followed, trailing behind the pair by a good six feet. "- The engram shard of your Uncle. If I'm going to repair it, I need a living example of a brain - active, alive. Quantified on an EEG, so I can reference the activity there and see how I can correct the damage on the device."
"Oh! Brain scans. And here I thought this was going to be something terrible, okay." Yoko offered a small smile at last. "Of course, I'm happy to help with that. Weird to think this might be how I finally meet my uncle, but weirder stuff has happened." She shrugged and followed him towards the lab, taking another bite of her nearly-forgotten lunch.
Leviathan stopped at a secure double-door and released Mori's hand. It's likely this was the workshop he had requested. The two guards clad in black took up position on either side of the doorway, as the Avatar keyed in the provided codes from his counterpart. "There may yet be complications we'll need to address, but hey, now you get to see what we're all about, in a way." He said, with a slightly humorous tone.
The doors slid open as the magnetic locks released, revealing several long lab-like tables with a variety of mechanical tools. Several rails were installed on the ceiling, and there were no windows in sight. Hanging from said rails were various drone assistance units, which were inactive at this time. Their many arms were equipped with a variety of tools and pincers. Leviathan sauntered onward into the lab, and up to the closest open space he could find. He cleared a section of space, and looked to the left-most drone. The optical indicators that shone a steady purple fluctuated a series of colors as the machine chattered in a foreign and alien language.
In response, the drone activated and slid over to the Avatar, shining a small spotlight on the surface of the table and beeping enthusiastically. Leviathan set the old Legion data-disk down, taking a moment to roll up his sleeves and lower the hood of his cloak. "Now then. Let's see how bad this is, hm?" He said, as if talking to himself, yet gestured Yoko over to observe.
The Promethean wandered over, taking a curiously circuitous path in order to avoid standing directly underneath any of the terrifying, pincer-like drones. She followed, hesitant, glancing around the room at the dizzying array of machinery strewn about.
"I guess so. Lot of purple." She eyed the drone suspiciously before taking up a flanking position on the opposite side of Leviathan. "So what all's involved here? Anything I can do to help, or just stand by for now?" She shifted in place, quickly finishing off her sandwich so as not to get the crumbs in any of the machinery. Unable to speak as she chewed, she simply watched. Her body was still visibly tense and on edge after the encounter with Leviathan's counterpart, and if her constant glances were anything to go by, the proximity of the angry-looking assistant drone was not helping matters.
The rail-mounted lab assistant's centrifuge rotated independently from the light to face Mori, as its beady optical cameras focused at varying levels. It chattered and beeped in a relatively high pitch at an acceptably normal tone.
Leviathan looked over his shoulder at Mori, soon picking up on the tension. He had to break it somehow. Nonchalantly, "Oh, that's Audrey. He is saying hello." He said, looking back to the device. "Well, not really Audrey, but if I told you his designation from start to finish, we'd be out of time and a week late."
"Um. Hello, 'Audrey.'" She tilted her head and fidgeted. "Is that normal for AI? Or just an Audrey thing? The long name, I mean." Now, at least, she managed to look it in the 'eye.' While still visibly nervous, her gaze, if nothing else, was stilled by the stimulus. "Don't let me distract you from your work if you don't need anything from me, though."
"He's more of a drone than an AI. Still alive in his own right, but only when he needs to be." Leviathan nodded to the machine, as three of its arms extended down to the device and began to tinker away at it.
The figure turned to Yoko. "Not every unit has a long name. Many choose their own." He said. The large door soon closed, leaving the two secure in the workshop. "He is going to run a scan on you, if you're ready for that." Leviathan pointed to a spot on the floor, a few inches closer to Audrey the drone.
"Hm. Fair enough. Weird to think of someone turning 'being alive' off and on as needed, though. How does that even work?" She paused as he continued. "Okay, scan. What does that entail? I expected I was going to get hooked up to a bunch of leads and laid out on a table." She tilted her head at the drone, a slight furrow in her brow, but her posture overall was now far more relaxed than when they first entered the room.
"Think of it as being a part of a network, where you flow through a sort of current and transfer yourself as needed, wherever you're needed, into whatever form fits." He explained as he stepped clear of the drone's arms. The drone's remaining three appendages extended outwards to the left, right and top angles respectively of Yoko's head, slowly positioning themselves as the machine beeped cautiously. The ends of each arm flipped through their multitool attachments, settling on a crystal-like electrodes.
"Just take some deep breaths, and stare at the small green light when it shines on Audrey."
"Hey, it better not be any form but mine. I kind of like this form." She scowled, but stared into the light all the same. Her breathing slowed, returning to the same meditative box that Leviathan had seen from her a few times before.
In, two, three, four, hold, two, three, four, out, two, three, four, hold, two, three, four, repeat, repeat, breath by breath, chest completely still, stomach rising and falling. Her heart rate slowed, her blood pressure dropped, her muscles relaxed, and her stance loosened. Yoko's mind drifted at the touch of the electrodes, and soon she was fully enmeshed.
Leviathan chuckled. "No. I meant for him." He gestured to the drone with thumb. "You'll be yourself unless you decide otherwise. I can't make those kinds of decisions for you." He gestured to the drone with thumb.
Audrey's furthest right optical indicator turned a vibrant green, as the scan proceeded. The arms would slowly adjust to different angles, getting a clearer picture of all neural activity from a three-dimensional axis. The process took no more than a minute, before the light flicked off and the drone's arms retracted to their default positions, save the three that continued their work on the data disk.
With long strides, Leviathan turned to approach a console at the opposite end of the room, prompting it to display on the larger monitor that rested above the terminal. The scan data was promptly brought up, displaying Yoko's brain and neural activity with a variety of detailed flashing patterns of color, alongside a graph of data. Leviathan looked to the display, analyzing what he saw.
Unusual pathways were present in Yoko's brain consistent with her over a decade of cardamine use, giving visible form to her dependency. Her relation to her uncle, too, was clear, but more pronounced were structures clearly indicative of her personality: Both her amygdala and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex had significantly higher activity than average, and there were signs of minor damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex consistent with a past concussion, perhaps in childhood.
Yoko watched from the far side of the room, silently standing by the workbench. Occasionally her eyes still tracked one of the assistance drones, but she seemed far more relaxed now.
"With this, I should be able to restore some functionality to that old disk and design a new, modern shard for its contents to transfer to." Leviathan explained as he continued to read the information displayed on the monitor.
The drone, on the other hand, proceeded to flash an alarming red, beeping out like an alarm as it analyzed the disk. It chattered in its language at the Technocrat. "What? That soon? I thought you slowed it down." Leviathan exclaimed with some degree of shock, as he hurried back over to the drone's workspace. The towering figure looked down at the device, as Audrey chirped and beeped away, likely explaining its findings. Leviathan grunted in frustration.
"... That's a complication. You can't fix the port?" He asked, taking a second to collect himself as Audrey beeped in flat tones. "Well, at least try and stabilize it for now with that scan data, I'll think of a solution." He told the drone, turning to Yoko. "Transfer isn't going to work." He explained, crossing his arms and turning to lean his back against the table to think.
"Yeah, that sounded bad." She chewed her lip and stared off into the middle distance, then turned back to him. "So what does that mean? Is there any other approach you can take? It sounds like this guy is pretty important."
"Hm..." The metal figure tapped a clawed foot on the floor, thinking of possible answers. Leviathan was unsure how best to approach this, given the importance to all parties involved, and how best to convey the need to see this project through. Paths were extremely limited, and in all the years he has operated only one possible example came to mind: Enfield and Zeal, in their earliest days. The idea was there, now to hook the subject on the concept.
That was the more difficult and daunting of the tasks, as Leviathan had long grown distasteful of misleading what he perceived as friends. With a long sigh, he brought the tips of his fingers together and bridged an arch with his hands in thought.
"There's a way, though the nature of which is... Complicated." He said, lowering his arms. "... Your uncle has information that is crucial to me and the Technocracy. His leadership is something that I believe the people in Prometheus need if they're to succeed in ever liberating the citizens on Erie. In his current state," Leviathan nodded, pointing to the device with his chin. "Without a matching neural architecture, we'll end up with the same problem of overload that Megiddo experienced, and your uncle likely will not survive adapting to that kind of hardware. The device is not built in a manner that renders restructuring or transferring its contents easy, either." Leviathan explained, sighing again and mulling over his next words carefully.
"So... I must ask if you'd be willing to share that head of yours with another."
Yoko froze, forgetting even to blink for several moments. When she finally remembered, her eyes fluttered rapidly, re-wetting their drying surface. "E- e- e- e- e-... e-... guh. E- e- e-... e-..." Her stutter, seemingly long-since overcome, returned with a vengeance in her shock. After several moments, she finally managed to sputter out, "Excuse me!?" She shook her head violently. "I, no, no, it's my head, I... it's my body, I have a partner and I do not want my uncle looking over our shoulders all the time. No, no, absolutely not an option."
"I understand this isn't ideal for you. It isn't exactly ideal for me, either. Nor am I advocating for stripping you of your right of individuality." Leviathan sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Though there is much about this that is crucial to the survival of both of our people. The safe recovery of your mother." He explained, taking a step forward as he stood more upright. "Sometimes life puts us in situations we didn't choose. Sometimes those situations require making sacrifices we could've never expected, but we do it for the people who matter most."
"What, and my partner doesn't matter? Our privacy doesn't? Is... ugh, calm, calm, assumptions." She slowed her breathing, closing her eyes to return to that familiar pattern of box breathing. "I... okay, first of all, once it's in, is there any way to turn it off temporarily? Not to be crude, but I don't want my uncle watching me and Kaoru in bed."
Leviathan chuckled softly, understanding their concerns. "Yoko, I believe above all else, that partnership deserves all the respect it can be given." He said, nodding in response to her question. "There is. If I base it off the same system an old friend used, you could feasibly pull the chip without issue to either of you. You'd functionally be symbionts, and can plan out your schedule as you see fit. Though... I wouldn't wish this idea upon anybody as a permanent solution to our woes. I'd be very interested to explore additional options in the future to provide you all peace of mind, and independence. That isn't a luxury we can afford right this moment, though. I only ask that you trust me." He said as he offered out a hand as an invitation.
She paused, hesitating. "A chip. You're gonna put... Technocracy junk in my head. I..." She wet her lips, then turned towards the door. "Let me... I need to talk to Kaoru first. I'll be right back." Without shaking his hand or waiting for a reply, she fled the room, communicator already out of her pocket before she even reached the door.
Immediately, though, she returned, a quite sheepish expression on her face. "Um, can... you step out? I forgot about the guards."
Leviathan nodded, looking to the drone and chattering in a deep, droid-like language. The drone whirred and powered down, resetting its position on the rails. With a courteous bow, he stepped through the doors and allowed them to close, giving Yoko the privacy she desired.
The conversation that followed took minutes, then a quarter hour, then half. With full privacy, nothing could be heard; even with the door, the conversation was spoken in hushed tones. At the 45-minute mark, the door slid open and Yoko reemerged, wiping eyes reddened from crying. "I... I have a few more questions. Please step back inside." Her voice was weak, but it was also firm—decisive.
A uniformed officer who seemed to be from the Technocracy's military was speaking with Leviathan when she made the request. Leviathan had abruptly ended the conversation with a dismissing wave, turning to enter the room as the door closed behind him.
"Are you alright?"
"I... no. No, I am not. I don't... know if you can fully know what you've asked of me. You never had to give up your humanity, let alone to someone you admittedly don't really fully trust. I don't know how AIs think about your... AI-ness, but... this is a line that can't be uncrossed, and I'm more than a little scared." Her lips pursed, then drew back into a tight line, and she hugged herself.
Leviathan sighed. "I know that feeling better than you could possibly realize." He said with some sincerity as he approached the table, leaning on it a comfortable distance away and crossing his arms.
"It wasn't so long ago that I was like you, you know. Scared of the future. Scared of my own mortality as I stared it in the face, knowing I was moment's away from leaving behind my unborn son. My partner." He scoffed, half-amused and half-nervous. "Someone made that decision for me, after I spent my whole life trying not to fall into the same trap of letting the wrong parties control my life." He explained, sighing deeply.
"Now I'm here." He gestured towards himself. "Whether I've become any less human than I was is a subject to moral debate, but... I don't think that's relevant here." Leviathan sighed and shook his head. "I wouldn't ask something like this of anybody if I didn't believe beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was our best chance forward, and I won't force the decision onto you. Someone made the decision for me once."
Her eyes darted back up to him. "You...? Oh Kami." She blanched, taking a small step back. "That's... honestly, that's one of my biggest fears: That this is only the first step down a long hill. Once I let your chips in my head, what's going to be the next request? And the next? I don't want to... um. No offense, but I don't want to end up like you. It... sounds like you understand." She grimaced. "I'm... really sorry to hear that. Everyone should have the right to decide what to do with their own body."
Yoko turned and began to pace. "On the flip side, someone's life is at risk—and someone who's just plainly more important than me in every way. I've spent my whole life avoiding this Legion stuff, but ultimately I'm basically just a freelancer who's signed up to help try to save her mom, not a Lord Grand Supreme Boss or whatever." She paused on the other side of the table and turned back to him. "My life just isn't as valuable, save to me and my loved ones, and we are very small."
Leviathan pushed off the table gently and slowly followed around the table. He approached her, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I won't ask more of you. I'd even be happy to give you any of the details you might be interested in learning about. It's only fair: if you're going to carry this burden you have every right to know what the stakes are." He said with sincerity, letting his hand return to his side.
"... I don't regret it, to be truthful. I got to see my son grow up. I was dying, and wasn't going to get that opportunity. Sometimes, the risk pans out into a shining reward."
She stepped away, doing her best to avoid the hand and retreating back around the table. "I... what are the risks? Of the operation, of the side-effects, everything."
"Minimal, when it comes to the operation. Our people are well equipped and considered foremost experts in the field. Side effects could be an increase in lucid dreaming that can allude to a cross in memory patterns. Mild migraines with prolonged operation of the shard, if active for more than two weeks at a time." He explained, pausing his advance.
"So just unplugging it at night would avoid that?" She wet her lips. "I'm... I mean, I'm obviously on cardamine." She tapped the tube leading up to her nose. "Would that affect things? I know it does things to your brain and genetics."
Leviathan shook his head. "On the contrary." He said as he pointed to the display of the EEG, still on the wall. "Be it luck or a trick of the eye, every scan indicates that your neural activity lines up on the 91% line to the engram's data stream. Your 'affliction' in this case has proven beneficial in lining up your neuron patterns with the card's architecture needs."
Yoko nodded in return. "I wouldn't even call it an affliction. This is, a, um, very controversial opinion in the Task Force, but... honestly, taking cardamine was one of the best decisions I ever made. It's made my life just so much better. If... honestly, if it weren't for the Outcasts' stupid empire-building and piracy and manipulation, I'd recommend it to everyone." She shrugged. "Anyways. Um, how will it affect my interactions with Nomads? If there's two minds there, that could... I mean, I could see weird things happening there. Any idea?"
"My emphasis was more so to poke at the stigmatism often bestowed upon users such as yourself. I harbor no ill will for your decisions, Yoko." He replied, crossing his arms. "Your usage of Cardamine will hamper most negative effects, and the state of this shard means there won't be an opportunity to install a psionic receptor, so you will likely have to provide some level of interpretation for him, unless he can pick it up himself through your own patterns."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Mmm... okay. Good to know. And... you said it's temporary, right? You'll try to find a way to get him out of my head?"
Nodding, "I will try. I can't say how long it'll take, but I can get my top man on the job."
"... Right. Okay. I guess I don't really have m-... no, no, that's not true. I... I don't want to, but... my mom is in trouble, and a lot of other people too." She swallowed hard, eyes still closed. "And... look, um, forgive me for getting a little sentimental here, but... the modern Chrysanthemums have a lot of problems, I know, but Yuyu Matsuda's teachings are still true. Freedom is not won in safety and comfort. It's only in sacrifice and adversity that we bloom." She opened her eyes and gave a quick, nervous nod. "Okay. I consent to the operation. Let's do this."
"Then, let's be off!" With excitement reflected in the cadence of his voice, Leviathan offered out a guiding arm as a friendly gesture to Yoko.
The unlikely duo departed from the workshop, as Leviathan signaled for the guards to follow. A brief walk ensued as they moved further into the citadel's more secure regions. This involved passing a security checkpoint, and decontamination room. Leviathan's medical team was already waiting and ready for the integration of an AI receptacle into the Yoko's brain. Making their way into a sleek and sterile operating, the small team of surgeons took charge, and prepared Mori for the procedure. Soon, she'd find herself unconscious from anesthetic, her head cradled in the delicate grip of robotic arms.
As her neural pathways are carefully mapped out through advanced imaging, the surgeon assesses the port model — a small, metallic device with a slot no bigger than the data disk it was designed for. Integration would take a few hours as they carefully worked through the base of her skull.
AI-assisted drones with microscopic tools hum to life as the surgeons prompted the drones for assistance through the labyrinthine folds of the woman's brain. Each movement is calculated and precise. The receptacle for the engram soon finds its home. The team worked tireless for nearly sixteen hours, as they seamlessly merge flesh with silicon and sterilized titanium alloy.
As the procedure nears its conclusion, one of the surgical drones secured the Denelo engram in place, woven into the base of Mori's head and carefully sewn up. The only visible portion was the small data port, designed solely for the purpose of hosting this machine life. Recovery would take a day, perhaps more.
Several weeks later
Pennsylvania System
Republic of Liberty
"My fellow Libertonians,
"Thirty-four years ago, at the dawn of the ninth century, the Liberty Navy turned upon its own. To survive, my commanding officer ordered us to escape—to rebuild and save our home. This now is history, yet the truth I learned that day has not yet changed: That the name of House Liberty is yet sullied by those who know not its meaning.
"To her people, I say this: That you need suffer her boots but a little longer. She may trample upon you, but you are indomitable, as well I know. With your chains, you have survived thus far; without, you are invincible. Fret not, my friends. Salvation is coming.
"To the Zoners of Erie, I say this: That your plight has not gone unheard. To think that the Republic waited until you did their hard work, only to swoop in and stamp out your freedom. We know your pain, and we stand with you. Fear not. Erie shall be free.
"To the soldiers of the Liberty Navy, I have only this to say: Understand now that your position is as precarious as your masters' whims. Come home to Prometheus before the knife in your back prevents you from taking another step, and let us scale the mountain together. Do not die for men who value only their own skins.
"To her leaders: Once I was one of your own Commanders. Without your failings, I might yet be an officer, alive and serving well into my sixties. Instead, I am Denelo Mori, the second Supreme Commander of the Hellfire Legion, who unleashed doom upon your predecessors until my death. Now I rise again through Technocrat genius to become the High Logarch of Task Force Prometheus—the Voice of the Flame. I will grant your lives the same value as you did the civilians you cut down upon the killing fields of Guadalajara."