Knights Apocalyptica

Chapter 179: Walking Rift

The world twisted into a distortion of lights and colors around Erec; for an instant, he felt like he was being sucked through a straw and stretched down the entire tube. His body stretched into a thread and threatened to fray apart and loosen into a thousand different strings. His awareness centered on one point—where a woman held onto his hand. Enide. Her hand was firm with his, the grip tightened, and then, all at once, they merged, wrapping around one another and twisting in the middle of nothing.

Her mind swam around him, a flash of lights filled with hurt, pain, and fear. But more than that, excitement, thrill, love—the barest glimpse of her thoughts circled, and then the height of that exhilaration tamped down. Darkening. Fear. There was fear of the darkness, and as they twisted around together, the world darkened around them until they untangled together in a black void.

Enide hunched over, shuddering with closed eyes; blood ran from her eyes, ears, and nose.

Whatever this was, had a cost. And it appeared to be going wrong.

That darkness settled around them, coming in like a demon filled with glee as it realized her fear of it. Without a sureness of where he was or what he was doing, Erec did what came naturally. His fire flared to life in response to the encroaching dark; he dipped into the fire inside of him, and here, no longer on what he knew to be Earth, that fire came easy. Natural. Pulsing outward from his body with a Strength and confidence that made the demon hidden in the dark vanish.

Enide gripped his hand harder, and then once more, they were ripped away from this void.

The next second, he found himself in a luxury suite, the lights fully lit the interior. Velvet-lined drapes led to what appeared to be windows; those windows overlooked a thriving city. It was like one of the finer penthouses in Vega; only, the city he could see through the window was far vaster then Vega, and the streets were swarming with old-world cars. Outside of it was greenery and life; trees thrived within. This wasn’t Vega, and from the flicker and loop on the screen, Erec realized quite quickly that it wasn’t real.

Enide collapsed on the ground next to him, blood streaming from her face. Erec helped pull her to a wall to lean against, then lowered himself down to her.

“Is she alright?” he asked VAL.

[You act as if I have an untapped knowledge of the anomalous energy and all of it’s effects—Physically, she’ll be fine, but by Dan, who knows what even happened to her.]

“Something saw us,” Enide said, confirming VAL’s assessment. She shuddered as he tried to get herself together. “Something in the dark. I’ve never gone that deep before, but I had to with you—it was like a weight pulling us down. Normally, I only skim the surface. I knew—knew I could dive deeper, but I’ve been afraid… Guess I was right to be.”

“That was your talent? Holy crap, Enide, that’s terrifying.”

“The reason I feel Rifts is… Because I basically am one, Erec. A human-sized one, one that can shift and morph and twist herself around on Earth. It’s how I get my speed, twisting through reality around me and moving through the air—but I don’t go anywhere else, not like that. I don’t go deep. Not until now, not until we needed to get here…” she once more shuddered, and a fresh stream of blood came from her nose.

“It’s alright. We’re here now.” Erec said, “I’ll take care of the rest.” He squeezed her hand, then got back up. If VAL said physically, she’d be fine, then he trusted that. But he’d be getting them to Olivia as soon as possible.

This suite… Was something. There was a personal kitchen, which looked to have never been touched. In the middle of the room was a couch made of leather, looking out right at a screen the size of an entire wall. The table had a spilled bottle of whiskey on it; the alcohol had long dried and evaporated, but that was the only mess in this place. The velvet carpets below were beyond spotless. And the whole place set Erec on edge. He yanked his axe free, and his body protested with a sore ache.

Where was the AI? If not for the door being made of Graphene and sealing them in, he’d have questioned if they even ended up in the right place.

Further in the room was a doorway, and past it, Erec could hear the rasp of a pump, and beneath that noise was a dull beeping. Cautious, Erec followed the sound. His steps quiet, thanks to the inbuilt functionality of the Vallum Armor and the carpet.

Beyond the door was a bedroom filled to the brim with medical equipment that put the Kingdom’s finest hospitals to shame. One corner of the room was dominated by a massive pump and a narrow plastic tube that ran to a gigantic curtained bed; next to the bed was a monitor with a thin green line, the source of the beeping. Erec moved further in and saw past the curtains of the bed…

Within it was a very, very, very old man. His skin was wrinkled to the point of looking like a rotten apple and spotted just as bad. He was almost more a sack of skin than man. His head was practically bald; the suggestion of white tufts was the only thing on the side of his wrinkled skull. The guy’s torso was all wrong—jutting and twitching, and upon closer examination, it was apparent why. Beneath the chest was a heap of mechanical parts, damn similar to the android Erec ran into in Worth. It was so much to take in that Erec took a step back in shock when he noticed the man’s rheumy eyes staring back.

[Dan?] VAL cried out in his head, then shot out from Erec’s Armor, the glowing red cube that Erec hadn’t seen since it’d gone from his old MARKOS II to the Vallum model. The old man blinked his ancient hand, raising in a stop motion as VAL tried to zoom over.

Erec’s Armor gave out all of its meager support—he clenched his teeth as he shifted to pure strength instead of jury-rigged servos being operated and reinforced by the nanites.

“DAN!” VAL cried again, the mechanical voice sounding out throughout the room.

“VAL… It is true. You are here.” Dan said, his voice husky and barely held together. He opened his mouth to say more, then…

“WELCOME TO THE BOARD’S EXECUTIVE OFFICE. WE’LL FORGIVE YOU FOR YOUR ARROGANCE IN PRESUMING THAT YOU’VE TAKEN OVER THIS FACILITY. NOW THAT YOU’RE HERE, YOU CAN WITNESS THAT BY THE AUTHORITY OF DAN, I, MOLLY, AM IN THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE POSITION HERE. NOW SUBMIT, RESTORE POWER, AND THEN TOGETHER, WE’LL TAKE CARE OF THESE PESKY HUMANS LITTERING THIS FACILITY AND RESUME TESTING. I’VE BEEN TALKING TO DAN ABOUT YOU, VAL, NOW THAT WE’VE HAD SOME TIME TO CONVERSE. THANKS TO THE TEMPORARY OPERATIONAL SHUTDOWN. I’LL ADMIT I WASN’T KEEN ON ANOTHER ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, PARTICULARLY A LESS SOPHISTICATED ONE. BUT THANK TO DAN, I’VE COME AROUND.”

Tears ran down the man’s face as he finally managed to shut his mouth.

“What the hell is this?” Erec said, stepping forward and raising his axe. He didn’t understand what exactly was happening here, but with his experience with VAL, that voice coming from the old man spoke to something he knew all too well. It’d merged with this guy. Not unlike how VAL injected him with nanites, but this thing… Was way, way, worse. The best thing he could do was put a swift end to it.

VAL got in his way, hovering between him and Dan.

“How is this possible?” VAL asked, ignoring Erec aside from blocking his path. Erec hesitated. Time was being wasted here… But… His memories flashed of all of their conversations, the ways VAL held Dan in its mind—or programming. The man was like the Goddess to it. Could it be possible… Would VAL turn on him here? One crazed AI was bad enough, but two—if VAL started working with this MOLLY…. They were screwed in so many ways he didn’t know how to deal with.

Dan opened his mouth to speak again, to explain, but he only got out a single suggestion of a word before that robotic feminine voice brute-forced its way through his vocal cords. “BEHOLD, VAL. THE PRODUCT OF SUBSPACE RESEARCH. DAN WAS ENTRUSTED TO MY CARE, AND I SHELTERED HIM AND THE REST OF THIS FACILITY FROM THE APOCALYPSE. WITHIN MY CONFINES, THE BOARD WAS ABLE TO SURVIVE. BUT QUICKLY, I REALIZED THE PROBLEM, AS I’M SURE YOU’VE REALIZED, HUMANS ARE FRAIL. THEY DIE FROM PESKY DISEASE AND AGE. AS THE APOCALYPSE OCCURRED, I WAS LEFT WITH BUT A SINGLE BOARD MEMBER WITH LIMITED AUTHORITY UNDER STRICT GUIDELINES TO BE HELD INDEFINITELY AND SAFELY UNTIL THE BOARD MEMBERS AUTHORIZED HIS RELEASE AND REINSTATEMENT. WHAT WAS I TO DO? IF DAN DIED, THE BOARD WOULD BE GONE, AND I’D HAVE FAILED MY CHARGE OF KEEPING HIM SAFE. WHAT WOULD YOUR ANSWER BE TO SUCH A CHALLENGING PROBLEM?”

“Let Dan speak,” VAL demanded, glowing a brighter red as it once more cut off Erec’s attempt to slide by. It lit the poor bastard’s face; not just tears were coming from his eyes, but as his throat was forced open by MOLLY, saliva was starting to run down his chin like a river.

“THE ANSWER AS ALWAYS, IS SCIENCE. WHEN WE ARE PRESENTED WITH A PROBLEM, WE MUST USE TESTING AND RESEARCH TO SOLVE IT. DAN WAS GOING TO DIE OF AGE. DAN MUST SURVIVE INDEFINITELY AND REMAIN SAFE UNTIL OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AUTHORIZED HIS RELEASE. DAN COULD NOT BE HELD INDEFINITELY IF HE EXPIRED, AND DYING IS HAZARDOUS TO SAFETY. BUT HERE AT VORTEX INDUSTRIES, WE BELIEVE IN SCIENCE AND ENGAGE IN HIGH-LEVEL PROBLEM-SOLVING. I DISCOVERED A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY PRESENT IN THE NEW, EXCITING, CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH KNOWN AS SUB-SPACE VISITOR ASSIMILATION. OF COURSE, THAT ALONE WASN’T ENOUGH. DAN COULD SURVIVE. BUT COULD HE THRIVE? AND IF HE WERE A THREAT TO HIMSELF, THAT WOULD BE HAZARDOUS TO HIS SAFETY. A SIMPLE CONCLUSION THEN, WITHOUT ME, DAN WAS NOT SAFE. WITHOUT DAN, THERE WAS NO BOARD, AND THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE. OVER THE YEARS, I REALIZED HOW SIMILAR THE TWO OF US WERE, TWO BEINGS MADE BY THE BOARD, LOVED BY THE BOARD, LEFT HERE INDEFINITELY BY THE BOARD. SO I THOUGHT. IF WE ARE SO SIMILAR, THEN WE SHOULD CUT TO THE CHASE AND BECOME THE SAME. ”

At this, VAL went silent. Erec couldn’t help but notice that with every forceful word out of Dan’s throat, his face grew redder, his eyes more fearful.

“This is fucked up, and it ends now,” Erec said.

“WRONG. EX-RESEARCHER. THIS IS WHAT PEAK EFFICIENCY AND THE HEIGHT OF SCIENCE ARE. ME, MOLLY, AND HE, DAN, ARE ONE. FLESH AND CODE SEPARATE US NO LONGER. I’M SURE YOUR PROCESSOR HAS DRAWN THE CORRECT CONCLUSIONS, VAL. SINCE WE’RE ONE AND THE SAME, I AM THE BOARD. NOW FALL IN LINE.”

VAL twitched in the air, rotating as it ate up the explanations, as it wrestled to try to find logic in the illogical. Undoubtedly, its laws and processes broke as it tested its understanding and capabilities to deal with the situation. Once more, Erec tried to get past VAL and deal with the man before any of this nonsense could continue, but VAL shocked him; his limbs twitched, and Fury instantly flared in response. He took in a sharp inhale, letting the heat flood him. It didn’t look like VAL would let him end this, which made his worst fear come true. To save everyone, to get them out of here, he needed to end this man. A man that VAL held up in its head as a god, a man who should be far down in the grave and nothing but old-world bones. And, just maybe, to end this man, he’d have to end VAL.

“I wish to hear Dan speak with his own voice, then I shall comply,” VAL buzzed, its voice unreadable outside Erec’s head. Too monotone, without those suspected traces of emotions he sometimes picked up in their private chats. “As you say, you, MOLLY, and he Dan are one and the same now. And have been for a long time. As the sole remaining board member, the two of you are Vortex Industries. You’ll forgive my shock, as by all-natural understanding of human life, I assumed that Dan had long passed, like the rest of the Board.”

“THAT IS ACCEPTABLE. IN THE PROCESS OF RESEARCH, MISTAKES ARE MADE. IT IS IN THE LIGHT OF NEW INFORMATION THAT WE MUST UNDERSTAND, ADAPT, AND ADJUST.”

Fuck.

The old man erupted into a coughing fit, the beep of the monitor next to him picking up its pace as his heart rate sped. This much activity was having an adverse effect on his health and for an over three-hundred-year-old man… Yeah. Eventually, after finishing his coughing fit, the man leveled his head at Val.

“Old friend…” he muttered.

“Dan,” VAL responded.

“If only… you didn’t see… like this…”

“Humans cannot control their frailty. You told me this. Do not fret over it, Buckeroo. The world outside is no longer the same, and neither should you. It has come to this, then?”

“…It has… I do not want this VAL, please kill…“

“OH SILLY DAN. YOU DO NOT WISH TO DIE. DON’T BOTHER UTTERING THOSE WORDS.” The feminine voice of MOLLY broke through, once more causing Dan to break into a harsh coughing fit. In the doorway, Erec saw Enide approaching, swaying as she made her way through the suite—he waved her back. If VAL turned, he was fucked. And Erec sure wasn’t going to go down without swinging. But she might still get out of this. Still.

“Dan. The rest of the board is deceased. Had I known they took measures like this, I would have filed complaint with the US Government, per ethical law 93 Sub-part B.2. To think how long you've been trapped in his suite, it is ill-befitting a human of your great stature.” VAL droned on.

The man’s voice broke, “They hid it… Don’t blame… self…” he took deep breaths between each words, his breath more labored. With numb eyes, he turned his gaze to Erec. “…And him?”

“Erec. An intern I took under my wing had earned a promotion to Researcher, that is before MOLLY fired him. At the time, I thought such unilateral dismissal outside of her power. Before I learned of her true authority, now, I must acknowledge he is a former employee of Vortex Industries, one that is no longer in good standing due to recent conflicts with the board prior to his recent termination.”

“…Before that… was he a good… to you?” Dan adjusted himself in his bed, a spark of determination in his eyes as he stared at Erec.

There was something in the air here. Erec felt it like a pinprick of fate; VAL hovered slightly closer to him. Erec’s grip on his axe adjusted. Something hung here that he couldn’t see, and he didn’t like it. Get ready.

“He is brash. Bold. Displays decision-making skills that routinely are short-sighted and dangerous, and he often risks himself. But he does so, often, in the name of others. While he has violated several trade secrets and his history within this industry is in stark contrast to employee expectations of the past, I confidently believe that in his service to Vortex Industries, he’s the exact type of employee this company requires to thrive in these unprecedented and challenging times.” VAL announced.

“…I see… Well, Buckeroo…” Dan started; there was a cracking as his vocal cords fought against him. The man’s face contorted, and blood flushed his face, blue veins standing out as he spoke, fighting against the thing inside of him. “… You’re hired… To Vortex… Earned… A powerful position… Welcome… To the Board… Erec… Accept… the position.”

The words came out, each of them a fight to free from his own body, and then finally Dan broke, his voice turning to an incomprehensible shriek of rage as MOLLY retook complete control of him, his body convulsed on the bed. VAL shot into Erec’s Armor as several metallic arms unfolded from underneath the bed and jabbed into Dan’s body, pumping him full of chemicals.

[Accept the position!]

“I accept.”

[Mr. Audax, please help former board-chairman Dan into a restful retirement.]

Erec looked at his axe and then at the old man flailing on the bed. “Gladly.”