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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE



“Uhh!” Nina ran both hands back through her hair. “This list of names is almost worthless!”

“It’s all we have to work with,” Isaac said, walking into Defender-Prime’s conference room. He and Susan sat down across from Nina and Cephalie.

“What seems to be the problem?” Susan asked.

“First, all these names are pseudonyms.” Cephalie gestured down the floating list. “Some more obvious than others. Unless ‘Blood Salt’ is a common name in the Admin.”

“It’s not,” Susan said matter-of-factly.

“What about the connection strings?” Isaac asked.

“I put together a simple, automated call,” Cephalie said, “just to test if anyone would answer. No one did.”

“Not one?”

“Nope. My guess is someone on this list let the others know the Peacekeepers might come snooping. If they’re smart, they’ve all switched to new strings by now.”

“Which leaves us with a list of fake names and dead connection strings,” Nina groaned.

“Hold on,” Susan said. “What was that about the list being almost worthless?”

“There is one outlier,” Cephalie explained, “though I’m not sure how helpful it’ll be.” She highlighted one of the names. “Meet Sebastian Jende, aka ‘Moon Pony.’”

“His alias is ‘Moon Pony’?” Susan snorted out a quick laugh. “Lame.”

“What’s special about him?” Isaac asked.

“His connection string is invalid—not unresponsive, invalid—and the reason is obvious when we consider this string is listed officially, unlike the others. Jende was arrested two years ago on charges of data smuggling, weapon pattern theft, and conspiracy to commit murder. Crimes like that led to his connectome being forcibly extracted and his body recycled. He’s currently serving out a life sentence in an Admin prison domain.”

“It seems strange that Slater would still have this guy’s old string, though,” Nina said.

“He didn’t strike me as the organized type,” Isaac commented dryly.

“Where does this leave us?” Susan asked.

“Not sure,” Isaac said. “The two big questions on my mind are who’s the Sako look-alike and which name on the list was she after? If we knew the goal of her visit to the Niner Slums, then maybe we can figure out what she was planning.”

“And who she’s working with,” Susan added.

“Right.” Isaac stared at the list, then let out a long exhale. “There seems to be only one place to try next.”

“You mean the prison domain?” Susan suggested.

“Would it be possible for us to interview Jende?” Isaac asked.

“Sure. The domain will be managed by one of the Department of Incarceration’s server towers. All we have to do is pay the warden a visit and get permission to abstract into the domain. All standard stuff.”

“Then where do we need to head? Cephalie?”

“Jende’s being kept in prison domain number 303. The server tower’s not far from here.”

“Then that’s our destination.”

* * *

The blue obelisk of the Admin server tower loomed over a barren gray plain in the middle of nowhere with no evidence of either roads or sealed tunnels leading to it. Drones as large as the Cutlass circled the tower in slow, methodical patrols, and turreted weapons glinted around the top like a thorned crown of metal.

A hangar opened on the side of the tower, and the chronoport slid inside before it dropped into the docking cradle. A group of security synthoids and Wolverines greeted them at the gate while their identities were verified. The process took longer than usual due to Isaac’s “junior provisional” status, but Noxon had already forwarded all the necessary documentation to DTI HQ, which the DOI personnel could access as part of the verification process.

Isaac and Susan were permitted inside after only a short delay and a few questions. They rode one of the elevators to a few floors below the top of the tower.

“Investigators, hello!” Warden Edgar Dressel greeted the two of them with firm handshakes as they exited the elevator. His yellow eyes gleamed with energy as Isaac’s hand nearly disappeared within his gray-skinned palm. “A pleasure to meet the both of you.”

“Likewise, though actually, sir,” Susan corrected, “I’m not an investigator. I’m merely a special agent within the DTI.”

“Oh, my apologies.” He smiled broadly at her. “I hope I didn’t offend you.”

“Of course not, sir.”

“By the way, I see you’re using one of our newer synthoids.” Dressel knuckled her on the shoulder. “Been toying with the idea of swapping to something more modern myself. How’s it working out for you?”

“Quite well,” Susan replied. “This model allows me to interface with both Admin and SysGov infostructures, which comes in handy with my current assignment.”

“I can imagine! And you.” He gestured to Isaac with an open hand. “You’re from SysGov, if I read your file correctly.”

“That’s right.”

And you’re a DTI Investigator?”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Fascinating.” Dressel put his hands on his hips. “Sorry about the delay letting you in. They like to check with me whenever someone unusual shows up. No offense, mind you, but the two of you qualify there!”

“I suppose we do at that.”

“Shall we step into my office so we can discuss what brought you out here?”

“Yes, please.”

Dressel led them down the hall to a modest-sized room dominated by a heavy slab of moon rock set atop two boulders. He sat down behind his “desk,” and abstract screens lit up above the slab.

“So.” He leaned back in a chair that also appeared to have been carved from moon rock. “How can I help the two of you?”

“We’d like to interview one of your prisoners as part of an ongoing investigation.” Isaac presented the warden with Jende’s file.

“Let me see that.” Dressel drew the file over to his hand and his eyes skimmed over it. “Jende, huh.” He summoned a second file and ran a finger down the list. “Yes, I see him now. Domain 303. It’s one of our minimum supervision domains. We transferred him there after his first year.”

“Does that mean he’s a troublemaker?” Isaac asked.

“Quite the opposite, actually. We use 303 as a reward for good behavior, which his record shows he demonstrated consistently during his first year of incarceration. If he keeps this up, he may even become eligible for parole in a few decades.”

“What’ll happen then?” Isaac asked, more out of professional curiosity than anything else. “I mean, since he doesn’t have a body.”

“We’ll print a civilian synthoid for him and set him free, of course.” Dressel’s brow furrowed. “Why do you ask? Is that different from what you do in SysGov?”

“The question doesn’t often come up, since we don’t abstract criminals against their will.”

“Huh. Interesting.” Dressel shrugged. “To each their own, I suppose. Seems like a liability having dangerous criminals running around with their physical bodies. Best to strip them down to their thoughts. They’re more manageable that way. Can’t hurt themselves or others if they’re just data. Not in any permanent way, at least.”

“I guess you do have a point there,” Isaac conceded, though he couldn’t move past the forced-abstraction part of the Admin prison system. Despite whatever reasoning the Peacekeepers might have, the act of forcibly removing someone’s mind from their body represented a heinous violation of the sanctity of one’s own connectome, at least from a SysGov perspective.

“So, what’s your interest in Jende?” Dressel asked.

“He’s a former member of Free Luna, and his name came up in a list we obtained recently, so we believe he may have information vital to our current case. Three separate crimes have been committed during the ongoing Weltall Tournament in SysGov, and there are some indicators Free Luna may—”

Weltall!” Dressel’s eyes widened with delight. “Well, how about that! I was just wondering about the tournament, and here you show up. How’re the matches going? Are our players doing well?”

“Some better than others,” Isaac said. “Masuda and Lacan have been eliminated, for various reasons, but Sako is still in the fight.”

“Elly? I knew it!” He flashed a toothy grin and slapped his desk. “I just knew she had it in her!”

“You’ve heard of her?” Isaac asked.

Heard of her? I’ve done more than that.” Dressel walked over to the wall. He pressed a hand against an interface, and several shelves extended out. “I’m one of the first people to sign up for her fan club. Membership number 99. Ha! Just managed to slip in before all the double digits were taken. I could tell she had potential from the first time I saw her play. Ah! Here it is!”

He pushed the top shelf back in to reveal the next shelf down, which held a silver long-barreled pistol resting atop a red pillow. He slipped fingers from both hands underneath the weapon and then, with the utmost care, presented it to Isaac. Someone had etched a line of black script down the flat side of the barrel casing.

“She…signed your gun?” Isaac asked.

Dressel nodded, an almost childish grin on his face.

“And she was so nice about it, too. Didn’t even charge me for it. Even talked to me afterward, though I tried not to take too much of her time. There were other people in line, after all.”

“I see.”

“Though, to be clear, it’s not my gun.” He placed the weapon back on the pillow and slid the shelf closed. “It’s my grandfather’s, may his soul rest in peace. He was a professional gamer before joining the Peacekeepers. And became one again after he retired, though his reflexes weren’t what they used to be by that time. The Lightning Edge they called him.”

“Oh!” Susan perked up in her seat. “Was his name also Edgar Dressel?”

“Why, yes. Yes, it was.”

“I think I might have heard of him.” Susan beamed at Isaac. “My old Legions coach liked to share inspiration quotes from famous gamers, and the Lightning Edge was one of them. Stuff like ‘winners make their own luck.’ That sort of thing.”

“I think we’re getting sidetracked here,” Isaac pointed out.

“I—” Susan paused, and the smile melted off her face. “Yes, of course, you’re right.”

“Anyway, Warden,” Isaac said. “That’s the situation. May we speak with the prisoner, or is there something else you need from us?”

“No, just sating my own nosy habits. Let me get things sorted out for you.” He opened a comm window.

“Yes, Warden?” replied a female Peacekeeper.

“Charlotte, I’ve got two guests from the DTI who need abstraction into 303. Get things set up on your end, would you?”

“Right away, sir.”

* * *

Isaac materialized on the edge of a field of corn stalks taller than he was. He squinted up at a blue sky shot with wisps of high clouds, and the bright, midday sun warmed his face. Susan popped into the virtual world next to him.

Isaac turned around in a circle. They stood on a dirt road between the corn field and a freshly plowed one. A horse tied to a wooden cart neighed at them. He could see a pair of windmills turning in the distance near what might have been a grain silo.

But no people.

“Isn’t Jende supposed to be nearby?” he asked.

“I thought that’s what she said.”

A giant black arrow materialized over the cornfield.

“Ah. There we are.” Isaac headed into the cornfield and began picking his way through the stalks.

“Hey, Sebastian!” exclaimed an unseen woman from up ahead. “You’ve got a big pointer over your head!”

“Does it say anything?”

“Nah. It’s just a big, dumb arrow. What’s it mean?”

“No idea. They should label these things better, if you ask me.”

“Think someone’s looking for you?”

“If so, they won’t have to look hard.”

Isaac pushed through the corn and stepped into an open patch where either the corn had failed to grow or had sprouted into stunted, sickly stalks that only came up to his waist. A man and woman stood in the clearing, backpacks on the ground stuffed with corncobs.

The man’s round face and generous belly matched Jende’s file, but his ears extended back into prominent points and his long hair shimmered in the sunlight with an ethereal quality.

The woman turned to them with orange, glowing eyes. She possessed red skin, black hair, and a pair of horns that formed a crooked V on her forehead.

“Oh!” The woman smiled and waved at them. “Hi!”

“What are you supposed to be?” Isaac asked her. “A demon?”

“I’m a tiefling.” She stressed the word, her red tail whipping behind her. “I’ve earned enough domain points to make cosmetic changes to my avatar.” She smiled and batted her eyes at him. “I’ve been such a good girl, I can even cast simple spells now.”

“Congratulations?” Isaac said.

“I’m still working on my avatar, as you can see.” The man smacked his belly, which undulated in rolling waves. “Going for the fey look. I started with the hair and ears, but I’ve got a long way to go, unfortunately. Need to keep earning those domain points.”

“Speaking of which, would you two like some corn?” The tiefling offered them a cob. “It’s delicious!”

“We’ll pass.”

“You sure? I could even run to the farmhouse. Boil them up and slather them with butter. It may be simple, but a little butter on these babies really brings out the flavor.”

“No, thank you. We’re looking for Sebastian Jende.”

“That’s me.” The plump man gave them a halfhearted wave. “Though, I imagine you already knew that, what with the big arrow over my head.” He placed an ear of corn into his bag and stood back up. “What can I do for you?”

“We have a list of names and connection strings for you to look at,” Isaac said. “We believe an unknown person has contacted at least one of them, and we’d like your input on who it might be and what this individual might be after.”

“Okay,” Jende said doubtfully. “I’ll do my best. You’re asking for a lot of guesswork, though. These Free Luna names?”

“We believe so. Your name was also on the list.”

“Got it.” He nodded. “That might make this easier, then.”

“And the fact that they’re former colleagues of yours?”

“That’s their problem. The way I see it, I’ll be spending the rest of my life in here. This”—he gestured to the cornfield around them—“is my reality until I’m paroled or decide to self-delete. Best make the most of it.”

“That’s the spirit!” The tiefling clapped him on the shoulder.

“By the way, am I being paid for this?” He rubbed his hands together. “Not to sound greedy or anything. Just want to know where we stand.”

“I don’t know about pay,” Isaac said, “but I’ve been authorized to award you with up to ten domain points for your assistance.”

Ten?!” His eyes widened.

“Yes, that’s right.”

The tiefling whistled. “Damn, Sebastian! That’s enough to edit out your gut!”

“I know! Holy shit! Umm.” Jende held out his trembling hands. “Can I see the list, please?”

“Here you go.” Isaac summoned the list over his palm and presented it to Jende.

“Hmm.” Jende took the list into his hands and expanded it. “Yes, yes. Looks a bit out of date, even for when I was still active, but I can work with this. I recognize most of the aliases and a few of the strings. A lot of these are very minor players, though. The kind of people who play at the cause and talk a good talk but would never put their skin in the game. You’re not after those sorts, I take it?”

“Most likely not.”

“Yeah, thought so. Oh, what’s this?” He highlighted one of the names near the bottom. “Now this one is more interesting. The Unmaker, otherwise known as Victor Massi. One of the most dangerous people I’ve ever met. We called him the Unmaker for a reason. Our aliases weren’t supposed to tie into our duties, like Blood Salt or Green Voice.”

“Or Moon Pony?” Susan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, just so,” he continued without a hint of embarrassment. “But everyone called Victor the Unmaker. Or Mister Unmaker, if we were being polite, which the smart ones among us tended to be. He’s a wizard with explosives. And not only the bombs themselves, but finding ways to hide them. That’s what really makes him scary. Anyone can run a search and find the plans for a bomb, but it takes someone with true talent to keep it hidden.” Jende tapped through the list of names. “If you’re asking me who the scariest piece of work on this list is, I’d have to say Victor in a heartbeat. The rest of these names are chumps compared to him.”

“A bomb maker,” Isaac murmured, all manner of dark scenarios playing out in his mind. Could someone have smuggled a bomb aboard Defender-Prime and brought it to the Crimson Flower?

Of course they could, he thought gravely, if the bomb was hidden well enough. No security system is flawless.

“We need to warn the others,” Susan said.

“You’re absolutely right,” Isaac said. “Thank you, Jende. You’ve been very helpful.”

He opened a menu and selected the exit option.

“Be sure to tell the warden I helped!” Jende shouted as they faded into nothing.


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