Mask of Humanity

Half an hour later found Nicolai floating beneath the bridge over the chasm to the Trade Link.

He finished shaping and squeezing the C4 into one of the bridge supports near the centre, then stuck the triggering device, a small boxy unit, beside it, and from it he drew two needle-like activators which he pressed into the plastic explosive. Through his Local connection to it he set a specific signal as its detonator, one he would give when close enough, and the Modules helped him tie this up with a few security settings to ensure others couldn’t activate it forcefully or accidentally.

It was unlikely he would ever need to blow up the bridge, and doing so would never be a long-term solution in the event others learned of this access point to the Trade Link. Even so, he considered it worth doing. This was a very important area where he would be coming frequently, and it was impossible to know what the future might bring. There could come a moment where the bomb under the bridge would come in very useful. At the very least if he did blow it up, he would still be able to access the Trade Link with his Pegasi ring.

He floated out then up and landed on the railing before stepping down onto the bridge. A glance around revealed nothing, but he knew there were now a few security cameras hidden about because he was the one who’d hidden them. The cameras’ feeds could only be accessed by gaining physical contact with the console he’d linked them too, a measure he’d taken to ensure the Chosen on the other side of the half-collapsed Trade Link had no chances of accidentally detecting them. The console was well hidden in a crack some distance along the chasm.

Striding back over the bridge he rejoined Jo and Beth, who’d busied themselves distributing the items they’d looted as well as the things he’d purchased for the rest of the group into bags, plus slotting ammo from the boxes into magazines. They looked about done. He’d already taken all the Oma crystals from the dead above and pocketed them, a small but welcome little haul, alongside a few Seeds which he’d given to Jo.

‘Ready to go?’ he asked absently after watching Jo tuck a shotgun into a duffel bag, his mind on the next steps.

The pair exchanged a glance. ‘Yeah. Ready,’ said Jo.

They’d been unusually quiet since he’d taken them on the recent excursion. It was easy enough for him to tell they weren’t exactly pleased with him, that witnessing him murder someone in cold blood had caused a negative shift in how they viewed him.

Normally he might have tried to make some arguments, some reassurances, acted a little more human. But with the Contract he didn’t see any need. They’d get used to how things were going to be and callous up, and more importantly they’d get used to him. This was something he’d observed time after time when you had small groups of people as comrades in arms, as he was with the girls. They would be fighting together, and fighting together forged ties of exceptional strength. He’d been in groups with men who, by all rights, based on their upbringing, their personal views, their clashing personalities, should have loathed one another. But once you’ve fired guns in anger beside others, have fought and bled for the same purpose against the same enemies… there comes a point where things like that simply cease to matter.

Do you agree, Threat Analysis? He asked. It would be nice not to have to rely entirely on himself and the Mask, which in truth he felt was a little biased. When it came to understanding other humans, Nicolai was well aware that he was slightly off-kilter.

It is hard to say, spoke the Module. Not my area. You’d need Psychology for an accurate analysis.

Nicolai grimaced. He’d never been fond of the Psychology Module. During downtime, its preferred form of entertainment had been to psycho-analyse him. Is it even with us? He asked. Psychology had been frequently switched off when unnecessary, to save on resources, and he couldn’t recall it being active in Zero-Twelve’s final mission.

It’s in here, somewhere, we could feel it, confirmed Threat Analysis.

‘Wonderful,’ Nicolai muttered.

As they struggled back up the ladder, Nicolai carrying more than his share of the purchases—a calculated minor gesture of apology—Cyberwarfare was urging him to dig at the mental presence of his Mark.

Just try it! Send some kind of handshake that resembles it! We need to find a way in!

Nicolai made a face, not entirely keen. He’d thought that Cyberwarfare would be able to struggle with the Mark itself, but it seemed to have no access. His Mark was invisibly present in some manner within his brain, but it didn’t link up with his newly installed implants. Cyberwarfare only knew about the Mark because it could feel it through him, as though his mind were a lake and the the ripples of the Mark passed through it to the shore where Cyberwarfare clung.

Go on, just poke it!

Since Cyberwarfare couldn’t try and hack into the Mark it seemed determined to have him do so in its place. Guiding him, rather over-zealously, from behind.

He glanced up and saw over a hundred metres of ladder to go, so, shrugging inwardly, he gave the Mark a poke.

In response, it gave him the same information it had long ago. Some methods to more quickly utilise his Mark via hand-gesture and thought. A quick shake to dismiss the hologram, a method to instantly open a desired menu, all stuff he’d been doing for some time.

Now Cyberwarfare wanted him to do all the movements one by one, so it could see the effect they had on the mental Mark, and after that it had a continuously growing laundry list of things it wanted him to try out.

Later, he said, his patience evaporating. He’d indulge Cyberwarfare when they were safer. Or, better yet, find a way for it to mess around with the Mark itself. The intensive and meticulous methods of cyberwarfare had never held much interest to him.

The Module let out a groan of coded misery but stopped bugging him.

###

After emerging, Nicolai and the others quickly moved through the area, still bracketed by drones, and returned down the stairs into the winding passageways, walkways and rooms of the castle.

The Modules had finished settling in and were now peering out of Nicolai’s eyes and listening through the microphones in his ears, exceedingly curious about the new world.

What is this place, Human Resources? Asked Cyberwarfare

A strange castle, full of odd beings. Beings which are neither alive nor dead. Nicolai considered his thoughts. There was much he needed to share with the two Modules, but that require him to filter through his memories and digitise them for the Modules to read through. It was something he could do much faster than your average human, but it would still require time and concentration.

Later today, I will give you two a full overview. He was rather looking forwards to it. He was interested to see the Modules reaction to this magical new reality.

They were roughly halfway back when Cyberwarfare alerted Nicolai to something unusual.

Someone is trying to slip a wire into one of the drones.

Nicolai slowed his walk a little, then after a moment’s thought said: let them. There was a quick cyber-shuffle, Threat Analysis passing control of the drone in question to Cyberwarfare, then: They’re in. Drone Three. They’re observing its feed.

A hacker could place a “wire” into something by inserting data into the streams of information being exchanged, such as the data constantly exchanged between Nicolai and the drones, and between the drones themselves. Effectively, the hacker was monitoring that information, gaining access to the drones feed. With no Network, they would need to be quite close to do so.

Can you locate them?

I can gauge the distance between them and Drone Three. I’ll triangulate through the drones movement.

Cyberwarfare set about it’s task, altering the drones route. Soon enough, it had a rough location relative to Nicolai, one that was nearby.

They were crossing through a large room that reminded Nicolai of the Gauntlet, with an upper level where two balconies ran across the room, though this one had access to the ground floor via a stairway.

The hacker was on the ground level, lurking in a tunnel, while Nicolai and the girls walked along one of the balconies above.

Nicolai had Cyberwarfare send Drone Three further out, until it lost vision on him and the others, then he stopped and shrugged the bags he was carrying off.

‘There’s someone down there,’ he said quietly to Jo and Beth as he gestured at the tunnel. ‘They’ve hacked one of our drones and they were watching us. Wait here, ready up, and if they show their face, shoot them.’

He stepped off the balcony as he activated the Pegasi ring then floated down to the ground, getting to an angle where someone in the tunnel wouldn’t be able to see him. After drawing close to the ground he stopped with his feet just shy of it, instead floating silently forwards, MP5 raised as he sighted down it. Meanwhile, one of the drones—not Drone Three—followed close behind him.

They cut the wire. They’re running.

Nicolai allowed himself to fall then threw himself forwards, his footsteps ringing out, his Soul Sense surging after them but not able to catch, its range too short. He reached the side of the tunnel and held himself against it, crouching lower, then pivoted to aim within, only the gun and a slice of his head and arms emerging as he sighted down it.

Distantly, he saw someone turn a corner. He squeezed the trigger and sent a burst of 9mm at their disappearing form, but wasn’t quite fast enough. The drone behind him sped into the tunnel after them, and he held position as it caught up.

It turned the corner only to see a door slam closed. Drawing close, it heard the rasp of stone from within. A hidden entrance opening and closing.

Gone, said Threat Analysis.

He floated back up to rejoin the girls, pleased to find Jo with her rifle out and resting on the balustrade, sighting down it and ready to fire.

It was a shame he couldn’t catch the hacker, but, as Threat Analysis was quick to point out, it was also a reminder. The drones were a bit of a risk. Even with Cyberwarfare masking their presences as much as possible, there was still the requirement of continual data-exchange to operate them. If he, Jo and Beth shut down their Links they would be completely hidden from individuals like the hacker, who cast nets over the Local in search of digital shoals, but so long as he was utilising the drones that level of stealth wasn’t possible.

This thought in mind, once they were closer to the safe-place he had the drones come to roost, landing one by one in one of the bags, then ordered them to switch off until physically reactivated with a button press, thus preventing them broadcasting any signs of themselves. Then he began the standard counter-surveillance and tail-dodging methods he typically employed; circling back around and taking an unnecessarily roundabout, switch-backing route which finally ended at the safe place. Jo and Beth tolerated this wordlessly.

As they approached the stairs up to the safe-place, he removed his balaclava and bid the girls to do the same. It wasn’t quite the look he wanted the rest of the group to associate with him.

‘We’re back,’ Nicolai said through the metal door, and banged it a few times with his fist, whilst his Soul Sense extended through it to check on the room beyond. He felt most of the group there, and one of them soon rose from where they’d sat, then he heard the rasp of the bolt being slid back.

Witnessing this, he felt Threat Analysis rise. I know, he told it. It wasn’t ideal, having to rely on others to open the door, especially considering he had no Contract with the rest of the group. But for now he had little expectations of any betrayal, and even if something did happen… he’d not used all the C4 on the bridge.

The door opened and Nicolai pushed inside, unslinging the bags he was carrying.

The next several minutes were a bit of a blur, as the group eagerly came forwards to see what he’d bought them. Nicolai began by handing over the weapons looted from the Chosen, which included a pistol, another pump-action shotgun, two SMG’s, and a small amount of ammunition for all.

He also provided them some earth-clothing, and from one bag pulled out a number of crinkled sheets of plastic, alongside a hand-powered air-pump. It was inflatable furniture, including air-beds, sofas, and chairs. Nicolai wasn’t a fan of inflatable furniture and had no intention of using any of it. He disliked the feeling of an air-bed, would rather the ground; it was also harder to get up when sitting on something inflatable, as they didn’t truly support ones weight. That extra second it took to rise could be the difference between life and death.

The group didn’t share his reservations and were very pleased when they realised what the plastic sheets were, and once he’d provided them the hand-pump.

‘Here.’ Nicolai tugged a packet of Joey West stimcigs from one of the bags and handed it to John. ‘As you requested.’

The man took the package as though receiving a gift from God himself, a grin spreading over his face.

‘Next, I’m returning to the old safe-place to retrieve some things that were left, but after that I’ll be going to the Trade Link once more,’ he continued to John. ‘If there’s anything else you want me to buy, just gather some more points-tags.’

‘I’ll check in with the others,’ said John, smiling. ‘Thanks for this.’ He raised the stimcigs. ‘And all the rest.’

‘No problem. We’re a group,’ Nicolai smiled back. As he’d been talking, Threat Analysis and Cyberwarfare had been peering curiously through his eyes, deeply interested in all the humans he was interacting with. Zero-Twelve had typically only interacted with the handlers. Nicolai, curious, asked their opinions on what they saw, but they only gave their views on Jo and Beth, who they’d been watching for longer.

Threat Analysis approved of Jo’s cautious manner. Cyberwarfare liked Beth, claiming she reminded the Module of a younger, inferior version of itself. It recommended Nicolai attempt to update her with newer programming more suited for this world; Nicolai wasn’t sure what to make of that. As to the others, they were withholding judgement, but overall they seemed happy to have humans to observe.

Shortly, there were smiles all around. Everyone was very pleased, as Nicolai had ensured he picked up the various random items they had requested. Hygiene and cleansing products many of the women had wanted. A portable speaker for Azure. A Link projector for old Ben. Various articles of clothing, specific foods or drinks alongside packages of rations, toiletries and other minor necessities.

He’d also brought techno-camouflage fatigues similar to what Jo and Beth wore. All these items had been cheap and easy to transport; he’d been able to fit it all into only one of the bags. In his opinion, the goodwill he’d gained from bringing them heavily outweighed the costs.

The guns would also make the group more useful in combat and having a uniform would help foster a sense of group identity and unity. Nicolai saw himself as on something of a timer; he wanted to seize control of the group sooner rather than later, but he felt he had to build up a bit more social credit before he could do so. Acts like this represented progress on that front.

The only people without smiles were Beth and Jo, who’d watched him interact with the others dubiously. He knew they were communicating over local, but opted not to attempt a hack into their connection. After he’d performed a virtual hand-shake with them earlier after gaining his implants, Cyberwarfare had warned him that their implants, though limited in number, were very advanced.

He believed they were from a wealthy family, clearly one which ascribed to the view that too much tech, too early, weakened people. It was a rather common held view these days, one side of a coin when one looked to the methods of Earth’s elites—the other side being that youths should have as much tech, as soon as possible, to better integrate them. However, sophisticated anti-hacking implants, alongside top-quality combat chips, BIS’, and Network Links, would be excused from any such rule for practical reasons.

As he prepared to leave, Nicolai opted to leave his poncho as it was almost out of charge. He headed up the stairs within safe places main room to the small tower-top above, where he lay the poncho on the stone inside-out. Its interior material was solar-charging, and it should regain full power within a day.

Old Ben approached him as he came back down, asking about making Soul Traps; digging for information and saying he was eager to begin. Nicolai once again said that he would share the information if Ben was willing to give him one of every two, and this time, after some back and forth, Ben agreed.

Nicolai retrieved the book on the subject and handed it to the old man, then also removed Kleos, who’d been having what could only be a nap, from his room and handed the head over to Ben. The pair looked at one another askance, then at him.

‘Give him a hand with the Soul Traps,’ he told Kleos simply. The head rolled its eyes when old Ben wasn’t looking; entirely unenthusiastic.

Before he left Kleos hissed at him, quite insistently. He almost ignored it, as he suspected it just wanted to complain, but after a moment he approached where the head was on Ben’s chosen table.

‘Are you going to get my water? Anytime soon? I need it, Nicolai! The rot will start to set in soon, I’m sure of it. I—I need the liquid, Nicolai. You just left it in the jar. What if someone goes there, and, and takes it? Or smashes the jar? When, exactly, are you—‘

‘Calm,’ he murmured, raising a placating hand. ‘That’s what I’m going off to do right now.’ He was feeling a little bad—even without his Mask, though that lent weight to the emotions. Kleos was important to him. Had helped him many times and in many ways.

‘In a few hours I’ll be back with your liquid.’ He smiled. ‘Happy?’

The head let out a strained sigh. ‘Happy,’ said Kleos.

John told him that some of them would be heading out to kill undead, aiming to start growing their Seeds. Nicolai wasn’t happy to hear that, disliking the idea of them leaving and returning without his oversight. They were not what he would describe as tactically aware. He suspected that John’s ability to recognise tails, to move stealthily, to avoid leaving signs of his passing… was far below that of even the lowest pavement artist.

He attempted a heartfelt conversation with John espousing the benefits counter-surveillance and methods of dodging tails, going into some detail and even sending datapackets with instructions. He found the man quite receptive, which surprised him, though perhaps it shouldn’t have. If nothing else, John was very concerned about the safety of the group.

John agreed to do what Nicolai had outlined, but he knew that ultimately John was unlikely to perform the full scope of paranoid measures Nicolai typically enacted. He calmed himself. Once he’d taken control he would enforce such measures on the others. In the meantime, if trouble came he would kill it.

His final act was to hand two more cameras, a wire-kit, a large solar charging kit, and a small console to Perro and Azure.

‘See if you can put these up. One in the painting room downstairs, one in front of the door, then connect them with wires to this console, then the solar charger which should go on the tower top above. They are to operate on a closed network, you understand? Hardware level, so no one can connect via Link to them, or even know they exist over Local.’ Nicolai had in fact already disabled the console and cameras abilities to connect over Local. He felt these two should be able to do the simple task he’d set for them, but he wasn’t a fan of taking chances.

The pair seemed surprised to receive a job, but Perro at least looked quite excited. Azure on the other hand, narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, doubtless thinking about what she could extract from Nicolai in return.

After dropping off everything of no immediate use, he left with Beth and Jo once more in tow.