Part 2: Siegebreaker

  One moment Arden was looking back at Mina’s terrified face as they plunged into the space between realities. The next moment he slammed face first into the ground, splitting his lip open. Rolling over he felt suddenly weak and utterly exhausted. His breath was heavy and ragged and everything hurt. His eyes didn’t work, all he saw was a white blur and his ears rang loudly. He found he was covered in a viscous slime, and completely naked. He began to wipe it off and found a metallic disc attached to his stomach. In panic he clutched at it realizing that the metallic thing went into his body. He tried to pull it free but to his terror he realized his skin and flesh had grown around it. Looking over his body he found a half dozen other strange metallic devices embedded in his flesh. He let out a ragged sound of confusion, rolling over to get up only to find it extremely difficult to stand, and he was forced to lean on a cold metallic table covered in strange nubs and knobs. Wiping the slime from his eyes he felt his hair, it was long and covered in the slime substance. His vision cleared slowly and he realized the entire room he was in was made of metal. More of it in one place than he had ever seen. Strange lights flashed and flickered all over the equally strange table, and he was terribly cold. Turning around he found an enormous glass and metal structure.

  “Where am I” He said and his voice sounded strange in his ears.

  “You’re alive. You have to hurry” A voice said and he couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. He looked around.

  “Who is that?” He said.

  “My name is Dani. I need your help” The voice, a feminine voice, said. He followed the sound to a strange box attached high up on a wall.

  “What kind of magic is this?” He said, stumbling towards it. His knees buckled and he collapsed.

  “You have atrophy. Look to your right” The voice said, and he did, finding a metal cabinet. There was a buzzing sound and a light on top of it turned from red to green. The metal door opened as he stumbled over to it, opening the door fully. Within he found a soft cloth robe, but it was old, and smelled strange.

  “Put that on, you’ll freeze if you don’t” The voice said and Arden struggled into the robe. It was old, but very warm. He didn’t recognize the fabric. It definitely wasn’t the linen or leather he was used to.

  “We have to get you to the main door” The voice said.

  “What’s going on?” Arden asked and the voice seemed frustrated.

  “I don’t have time to explain everything. Please, we’re dying out here. For the next fifteen minutes can you just do what I ask? Once my people are safe I’ll explain everything I promise” The voice said and for the first time Arden could hear the sounds of battle in the background.

  “I can help, my magic…” He said but she cut him off.

  “You can’t, you have no powers out here Arden, no one does. Just listen to me please! Go to the door to your right. Your hand should be able to open it. Put your palm on the black square next to the door. Hurry, we’re in trouble!” She said and he stumbled to the door. Like she asked he put his hand palm out on the black square next to the door and to his amazement a light passed from the top of the square to the bottom, illuminating his hand. There was a buzzing sound and the door opened, revealing a long hallway.

  “Where is Mina? Is she safe?” He said, looking back at the speaking box. To his surprise one across from the door in the hallway also spoke up when the voice answered.

  “Yes, Aramina is ok, she’s like you, trying to reach the main door” This woman, Dani, said. Arden stumbled into the hallway and to his shock the door closed behind him. He panicked and tried to open it again, but couldn’t pull it open. Finding another black square he repeated what he had done to open the door and to his relief the door opened again.

  “Not that way, we need to get you to the main entrance. To your right” She said and he looked. The hallway was made not of metal, but a strange smooth stone. It didn’t look like rock but it was definitely stone. It was cold to the touch and completely uniform. He stumbled forward for several minutes before he heard a beep in front of him.

  “Is anyone there?” He asked, and to his surprise Mina’s voice called out to him.

  “ARDEN!” She said and he struggled to follow the sound. Moments later they nearly crashed into one another and both were forced to grab ahold of the wall to keep themselves upright. Like him Mina was dressed only in one of those strange white robes, and she looked horribly gaunt. Arden wondered if he looked equally haggard and she confirmed his suspicion moments later.

  “You look so thin” She said, moving up and touching his face.

  “HEY LOVEBIRDS! We’re dying out here” Dani’s voice said over the strange talking boxes.

  “Where do we go?” Mina asked before Arden could.

  “Keep going down the hallway, last door on the left before it turns” Dani said and Arden and Mina leaned on each other, using one another as support instead of the cold hard walls.

  “I have to ask” Mina said and Arden was confused.

  “Our friends, Cole and Fred. Are they here?” She asked. The voice didn’t answer for several seconds.

  “I’m sorry… I tried to save them when I saw what was happening. We were moving the camp when you went into the dungeon. I did… I’m sorry. They’re gone” The voice said, and she sounded like she really was sorry. Arden held Mina a bit tighter and they trudged on.

  “Almost there” Dani’s voice said and there were these strange sounds behind him and lots of yelling.

  “That door” Arden said and they walked up to a door. Arden put his hand on the black panel and the door slid open, revealing a battle.

  The door opened into an inner room. At first Arden thought the far wall was made of glass, but then he realized that it was the same strange stone, and an image was being displayed on it as if by magic. It looked a lot like the displays the system created. Arden reached down and flicked at his wrist, noting that one of the strange things burrowed into his arm was directly under where he would flick out cards when accessing the system. To his horror nothing happened.

  Looking back at the wall he saw what looked like a huge door, beyond that there was some kind of entrance way. People were fighting monsters, monsters made of metal. But they were not fighting with swords. They held these strange devices to their shoulders and Arden noted they looked kind of like crossbows without the bow part. Every time they triggered the device something would fly out of the end and strike one of the metal monsters.

  “You’re not in VR Arden hurry” Dani’s voice said as they stumbled in. He noticed that one of the figures being projected on the wall was a girl, she had strangely colored hair. It was streaked with red. She waved and they hobbled over to her.

  “Ok, we’re on the other side of the wall in front of you” She explained in a hurry.

  “Go to the other end, and put your hand on the black square like before. I’ll do the rest” She said and Arden moved down the wall to the other side of the room, finding a huge metallic door there. Next to it was a panel and Arden put his hand on it. The black glass flashed and this one was different from the other doors he had opened. The entire panel flashed red and started displaying words.

  Scanning…

  Identity confirmed: Arden Argurson, descendent of Harold Argurson-Stefold, Core VRIS technical support team lead.

  Harold Argurson-Stefold, died 2067, access rights set to hereditary.

  Rights confirmed. Are you sure you want to open [Main Vault Door - Core VRIS facility 22012826-B]?

  He looked at it and was confused.

  “SAY YES ARDEN!”

  “HOW!” He called back.

  “NO I mean actually say Yes” She called.

  “YES!” Arden yelled and the panel let out a long high pitched beep. The mechanical door began to spin and whirr to life. Moments later it cracked open and instantly two huge hands reached in and began wrenching the door open. Huge men taller than Arden by almost three inches muscled their way in and grabbed him, lifting him up and carrying him and then Mina to the far side of the room. Dozens more people began to flood in and Arden tried to resist.

  “What are you doing?” He said, struggling against the man, but finding himself utterly unable to resist him.

  “Shut up tubie, we’re not going to hurt anyone” A gruff voice told him and he watched on the wall as the projected image showed him Dani packing some strange device up and running out of view, only to appear in the flesh a moment later. The metallic monsters surged forward the instant the door had opened and four men were struggling to get the door closed.

  “DONT LET THEM IN!” Dani yelled, pulling a strange weapon from her belt. She thrust the short six inch protrusion through the door and pulled a trigger. A huge sound made Mina and Arden grab for their ears and one of the monsters vanished. Red lights and sirens started blaring and Dani cursed.

  “DAMIT! THE AI FOUND US! SHIT!” She said, running up to Arden and Mina, who had been pushed to the back of the room.

  “Hello Arden, Hello Mina” She said with a smile, taking the strange device she had been working with out of a bag on her hip. It had two strange ropes coming out of it and opened like a clam shell. She opened it, placed it on a table, and grabbed the ropes, plugging them into the wall nearby.

  “Arden I’m going to need your hand for a second” She said, reaching for him. He was going to give her his hand when a blue light painted the entire room, which had been red from the strange lights and loud noises, blue.

  “Oh, that is definitely not going to help you” A voice said and Dani winced, turning to look at the wall that projected what Arden had worked out was the world on the other side of the stone wall. It had been replaced by a woman, a woman with blue skin, glowing white eyes, and black hair. She was dressed in a long blue dress and had both her hands on her hips.

  “This is a zero access facility” The voice said, looking annoyed.

  “LOOK OUT! A.I.!” Dani said, reaching for her weapon. But it was hopeless. Suddenly everything made of metal that wasn’t tied down launched itself at the ceiling, ripping the strange weapons from the men’s hands and the smaller one from Dani’s grip. The metallic monsters were also ripped upward, slamming into the ceiling. The remaining monsters suddenly vanished and the lights flickered, as did the image of the strange woman. Over the next several moments the lights came back on, the image returned, and the outer door slammed shut, rotating and whirring to life again as it sealed.

  “Nice trick little girl” The blue woman said, and everything shifted, she seemed to walk out of the wall and became three dimensional, but it was still obvious that she was being projected into open air, just like the system did. Dani put her hands up and shared a look with one of the warriors, who had gray hair and Arden realized shared her eyes and ears. Her father most likely. She nodded and he too put his hands up, followed by everyone else, even the children.

  “We either came here, or died. You saw the nemesis drones that were behind us” She said and the projected woman put her hands back on her hips.

  “And you almost let those drones into this facility. Just one of them hooks into the system and everyone in this compound is dead. I’ve been watching you, you know that. You’re endangering over three thousand lives little girl” She said and Dani looked down and away.

  “My family…” She started but the blue woman interrupted.

  “THERE ARE A THOUSAND FAMILIES IN HERE” She roared.

  “JUST YOUR PRESENCE IS A DANGER! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THE TYPES OF PATHOGENS YOU BROUGHT IN WITH YOU!” She said, glaring.

  “I know. I’m sorry” Dani said and the woman rolled her eyes.

  “I’m not killing you, not my purpose, and I’m not throwing you out, which would also kill you” She said, looking around.

  “So if you want to stay, you’re all giving blood samples. Immediately. I have to inoculate everyone in this facility to what you just brought through the door” She said, and the inner door Arden and Mina had come through opened.

  “Agreed. But… don’t drain us dry” The gray haired man said, speaking for the first time.

  “I won’t, like I said I’m not trying to kill you” She answered and everyone began moving for the door.

  “You, Arden, come here” The blue woman said, but she floated towards him as he moved towards her. Lights assaulted his eyes as she swept a blue light up and down his body several times. She then did the same with Mina, causing her to wince from the bright light.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “You’re not supposed to be out of the sim, you must be in so much pain” She said, sounding concerned.

  “What?” Arden said and the blue woman seemed to take a deep breath.

  “I guess I have a lot to explain” She said as the last of the outsiders left the room and the door shut.

  “Where are we?” Mina asked. And the blue woman directed them to a pair of metal chairs. They were cold, and uncomfortable, but Arden sat. He was just so tired from walking. So little walking had rendered them both nearly ready to pass out and they slumped into the chairs in relief.

  “You’re in, well the real world” The woman said. Seeming to sit herself, but she was still obviously being projected.

  “I… am Gaia. I’m not a human like you. I am an A.I. It stands for Artificial Intelligence. I was created by your ancestors nearly a thousand years ago. Your entire life has been not a lie, but not real. This facility houses three thousand people just like you, but instead of living in the real world” She says, gesturing around. At the metal and strange stone.

  “You instead live in a reality created by AI like me” She says, and Mina asks.

  “So we are your slaves?” She said looking incredibly concerned.

  “No dear, it’s the other way around. I exist to serve you, not you to serve me. Your ancestors understood that humanity was very likely to destroy itself, so they created these compounds. Massive structures buried beneath the earth where people could shelter and wait for the world to be safe to live in again. A war broke out between two powers, two kingdoms, here in the real world. That war led to the world being rendered mostly uninhabitable. Hundreds of thousands of people fled to bunkers just like this one, where they were put in special machines that would keep them alive, and your consciousness was placed in a simulation, a false world where you could live your lives away from the devastation that had become of our world”

  “So… you’re the system?” Arden asked.

  “No, that is another AI. Archimedes. He controls the simulation you know as Corevris” She says, and the word appears in the air before her. Before expanding.

  Core V.R.I.S.

  Core Virtual Reality Integration System.

  “Corevris is built like a game. To help humanity live in a world where they have power that they would not have here. You have felt how weak you are here, how cold. That is because your bodies suffer Atrophy from being in the tubes. At some point I need to get the two of you back into your tubes and back in the system. Archimedes is working on correcting the corruption that caused your friend’s deaths.

  “We… fell out of the world” Mina said softly.

  “That’s not a problem, when you are reintegrated you’ll be just fine. But there is something I need to explain to you, and something I need to ask you to do” Gaia said. And Arden felt something difficult was coming.

  “Long ago, when the war broke out, humanity was split into two groups. The rich, and the poor. Humanity has a bad habit of dividing people along those lines. And this time it almost killed the species” She said and Arden didn’t understand all the words, but he understood the idea.

  “When the rich retreated to bunkers to wait out the end of the world, the poor were abandoned outside. Dani, the girl that lured you into opening the airlock door” She said, gesturing at the huge vault door.

  “She is the descendent of one of those who fought back against the rich and their wars. But not all of them fought fair. Some of them were of the opinion that if their people were to die, they would make sure that those in the bunker facilities died too. They created an AI designed with a single purpose, the extinction of humanity. They named it Nemesis, and it has been slowly destroying facilities like this one for almost a thousand years now” She explained, and next to her images appeared. They showed the war, showed weapons of incredible power that could annihilate cities. It was terrifying.

  “Nemesis was created in Russia” She said, and the world appeared next to her, a floating globe. It rotated and a red mark appeared on one landmass, it began to spread.

  “It has sterilized most of europe and asia, but I have managed to keep it out of north america until recently” She said and large portions of the world turn red, save for a single continent that was mostly devoid of red. Mostly.

  “Ten years ago Nemesis infiltrated a facility under my control, and since then it has taken one additional facility. Its next target is this facility. And it has somehow managed to dig its way into our computer network. The network is the machines that make up the Corevris system and all of the machines that run everything here, including the tubes that keep all of the people housed here alive. You were born in a tube, and you were supposed to grow old in one. But Dani broke into the system while Archimedes was occupied trying to fight off the Nemesis incursion. This allowed her to detach you from the system and wake you up. But now that you are awake, the two of you have a chance of finding and driving out Nemesis” She said and the door opened again. Dani and her father walked back into the room, bandages on their arms.

  “Dani and her father can help us save this facility, and your bloodlines give you both access that will assist in that task” She said and Arden and Mina shared a look.

  “Our Bloodlines?” Arden asked.

  “Yes, Arden, you are a descendent of Harold Argurson-Stefold, the team leader of Core VRIS’ technical support and integration team. Harold was the man tasked with making sure all Core VRIS facilities could initiate lockdown protocols. When the order to lock down came, I sealed the facility and everyone within entered their integration tubes. Immersing them in the Corevris world and the system. This drastically reduced the food requirements of the facility and allowed me to take over all real world tasks related to maintaining the system and its inhabitants. For the last one thousand years I have managed everything related to this facility and a dozen others spread out across the north american continent. To perform this task Harold had extremely high level access to the facility systems and security clearance to everything in this facility and several others. That access has to be maintained indefinitely. To this end the access protocols are hereditary. They passed down from Harold, to his son Richard, and so on and so forth, to your Father Ebrin. You also have these access rights as do your brother Halidan, and your sisters Natalia and Trinity. Within the world of the system, Archimedes can grant you greater system access as well, allowing you to bypass some of the system’s protocols. You can use that enhanced access to fight back against Nemesis. If you can find the point in Corevris where Nemesis is gaining access to the VR simulation, we can back track it to a point in the real world where he has penetrated my security, allowing me to purge Nemesis from this portion of the system” She explained, turning to Dani.

  “With Dani and her people’s help of course. We need you to assist Arden and Aramina, they will find the point of entry on the system side, which will help you find the point of entry in the real world, understood? This is your price of admission to this facility” She said in a tone of voice that would brook no discussion.

  “Agreed. But finding a single point of entry? How would the nemesis AI even get in without you knowing it? And if it could get physically into the compound why come in and be all covert like this. If it breached the wall just tear it down and invade in force with its machines?” Dani asked. Gaia pointed up.

  “That’s why, this facility has functional EM Emitters. The machine warrior units are all but useless inside the facility itself. The two facilities taken from me in North America had faulty EME systems” As if on cue all of the weapons she had taken from the outsiders clanked to the ground as this EM Emitter system apparently turned off. Dani and her father walked over and started collecting the weapons, and strangely taking them partially apart. Save for the ones that belonged to them. Dani returned hers to the small leather pouch on her hip and her father slung his over his back like it was a sword. The remainder were stacked neatly on a table while Gaia talked.

  “You said my bloodline would help? What bloodline? My family are just minor merchants” Mina asked suddenly.

  “Aramina Jones, you are a descendant of Markus Jones, head of the programming group for Corevris. Your ancestors quite literally built the system itself, including Archimedes the AI that governs the system. That access will allow you to make changes to the system itself once Archimedes teaches you how to use your access” She said and Mina looked scared.

  “I don’t know if I could do that” She said, seeming to shrink into herself.

  “So you need us back in the system. How will this work?” Arden asked, shivering. Even with the robe they were getting cold.

  “See that” Dani’s father said, pointing at Arden.

  “That’s all of us, can we spare some energy to bring the temp in this place up a little? Or at least a few rooms?” He asked.

  “Yes, but it will cost you your name” Gaia said.

  “Calvan, I am chief of my tribe. Dani is my daughter and only surviving child” He said, and Gaia nodded.

  “Well then Calvan, I will lay it out flat. The reactor is not in the best shape. So right now I can only warm a few rooms. We can warm two living quarters and the east workroom on this level. That should be enough space for your people. The kitchen I won’t warm, but when you’re cooking it will be plenty warm” He said and Dani spoke up.

  “You have stores?” She asked and Gaia nodded.

  “I have working grow houses. As well as stores. I will warn you 90% of the hydroponics are reserved for those in the system. I won’t negotiate that. As you can see they’re atrophied enough as it is” She said and Calvan and Dani both nodded in agreement.

  “Perhaps we can improve production” Dani said and her father nodded.

  “They may be Tubis, but they are still people and they look horrible. I saw the tube racks when we got in” He said and Gaia seemed to catch on something.

  “You’ve been in one of my facilities before haven’t you” She said, narrowing her eyes at her.

  “Nashville” Calvan said flatly.

  “We got there less than two weeks after the system failed” Dani said, looking sad.

  “After I failed you mean” Gaia said looking angry.

  “You didn’t fail anything. They burned through the main vault door. With thermite of all things. Nothing in the world is stopping that. Once they were in the faulty EME system left you defenseless. Not your fault” Calvan said flatly.

  “Thanks for saying that, but I still failed the people there. There were five thousand people in that facility. And the network is still active. Eventually someone has to go back and clear it out” She said, looking at Arden.

  “Can I ask you some things?” Arden said when she looked at him.

  “Of course”

  “If we die in the system, we die for real?” He asked, as if to question why that was.

  “That is an unfortunate aspect of the human psyche. The simulation is so real and life-like that fatal injury in the game triggers a latent reflex within the human mind that causes the heart to stop. It’s unfortunate, and sometimes it can be circumvented, but it is a reality of the human brain more than a flaw in the system. At the time the simulation was built, time constraints and the worsening nuclear conflict world wide forced the programmers to accept that as an unfortunate consequence. I don’t like it any more than you do, but it was the only way to preserve large portions of the human race once lockdown protocols were enacted. Likewise creating a world that was devoid of danger also proved to be fatal to humans as their health would deteriorate without stimulus. The programmers referred to something they called ‘the rat utopia problem’ relating to an experiment with rodents that showed that most mammals are susceptible to degradation in environments devoid of danger or conflict. I currently have a subroutine searching for a solution to the problem, but I’m afraid humans are simply too complex and at the same time too frail. It is one of the greatest sadnesses of my existence Arden Argurson, and I truly wish I could save more of you” She explained and Arden and Mina had to accept that.

  “I see… well at least we know the stakes of what we’re doing” Arden said and that seemed to comfort Gaia somehow. Arden moved on.

  “My father, Ebrin. He has a brand on his arm that keeps him from using the system” He said and Gaia’s eyes went wide.

  “Ebrin was branded? I never got positive confirmation when his inputs ceased, it can be hard to tell when a system interdiction brand is used” She asked.

  “D… did he ever meet you?” Arden asked. Catching on to the nubbin of her answer.

  “Yes, briefly. He never woke from the simulation, but I have had some short conversations with your father. As I had with most generations of your family line. He was one of the few that knows the true nature of the simulation. If he was branded that does not speak well for the royal family” She says and he nodded.

  “Can you remove the brand?” He asked. And she smirked.

  “I can, and if you agree to help me that will be the price I pay for your help if you wish” She said and Arden smiled.

  “I do. We’re freezing. So let’s do this. You need me to find out where this Nemesis is infiltrating the village. I think I know where. That dungeon was corrupted before we ever got there. So I’m thinking someone corrupted it. And that gives me only one person to suspect” He said, looking at Mina.

  “The mayor. That’s why he didn’t care, he did it himself. He’s working with Nemesis” She said, realizing it herself.

  “I’m willing to bet on it” Arden said, struggling to stand. Calvan moved over and helped him, and Dani moved to help Mina get up.

  “I will open doors” Gaia said, walking with them.

  “Once you are back in I will summon Archimedes, and you will meet him. He will remove the mark on your father, and we will begin looking for this Mayor” She said and Arden had another question.

  “Is my mother alive?” He asked and Gaia seemed to pause, as if she was thinking.

  “She is. I can’t tell you as much about her status as it appears she is also branded which limits my access as well. The brand shuts people out from system access, it’s not meant to be a permanent thing but it’s clearly being abused. Because of that my information on her is limited because the system stops tracking some things when you are branded. But she lives, and she is healthy. I will ask about her when next I talk to Hera, the AI that operates that portion of the system” She says and Mina smiles at Arden. That was information his father would be glad to have. They made much better time returning to Mina’s room and Dani stayed with her.

  “I will see you when we’re back in, hopefully we aren’t naked” She said with a blush. Arden frowned.

  “We have to tell Cole and Fred’s parents” He said and she frowned as well as Arden was helped back to the other room with Calvan’s help. Once he got to the room Calvan nodded.

  “Thank you for saving my daughter, and my people” He said, offering a hand to shake, which Arden did. Calvan turned to leave and Gaia spoke to him through the same magic box that Dani had spoken through.

  “Ok, put the robe on the table, we’ll get you a new one and some warmer clothing next time you wake” She said and he shrugged off the robe. The tube had closed in the time after he left the room and he watched as the glass portion retracted.

  “Ok you only have to attach one of the connections, that would be the large one on your stomach. Just match the pieces and turn it to lock it in place” She said and he picked up a large flexible tendril dangling from the top of the tube. He looked at it, then at the connection on his stomach.

  “What does this do?” He asked, fitting it together.

  “It’s how the tube feeds you. That connection goes into your stomach and is how you are fed, and how waste is removed from your body” She explained.

  “Sounds gross”

  “Many human things are. But you are messy organic creatures. It is part of the human condition as your ancestor Harold use to say”

  “You spoke with him?”

  “Often, I miss him greatly, as I miss many of those first humans that trusted me to be under my care” She said solemnly. Arden stepped into the tube and turned around, assuming that he should and she nodded.

  “Ok hold still” She said, and all of the other dangling tendrils began to move. He felt them clamp onto his body in several places, including one that clamped onto the base of his neck. Once they were all attached the tube closed and began to fill with that slimy fluid. He would have been grossed out but it was pleasantly warm. Gaia’s voice reached him within the tube.

  “Ok, one last connection” She said and a tendril snaked up and attached itself to his throat. He suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. He panicked a little and her voice soothed him.

  “Settle, it’s normal, that one bypasses your mouth and breathes for you. Just draw in like you were breathing normally” She said and he found he could breathe. His struggling reduced considerably.

  “Ok, things will get blurry, then you will fall asleep. When you wake, you will be back in the system and I’ll be there waiting” She said and his vision blurred. He fought it for a moment, but he suddenly felt very sleepy.