Dyna glared at the incessantly beeping machines within the Tartarus medical ward. It wasn’t a proper hospital. There were just rows of beds, no individual rooms. Eight of the ten beds were occupied at the moment. Five with various personnel who Dyna didn’t recognize. The other three…
Ruby sat in one. As far as her body was concerned, Ruby was perfectly healthy. Synaptic activity was present but lower than what was considered normal. Dyna honestly wasn’t sure if that was an aftereffect from the gaze of the eye-tulpa or if it was a consequence of her consciousness being mostly contained within her artifact. Either way, she hadn’t yet woken. It was getting to the point where Dyna was growing worried. Unfortunately, Dyna couldn’t think of anything she could do to improve the situation. Her ability, according to Id, was limited in that she couldn’t affect the minds of others.
As for Id, the woman was in much the same situation as Ruby. Dyna’s tulpa clone was a few beds down with her mask still in place for some reason. Like Ruby, she lacked much of the life-support equipment that some of the others present had. Instead, parts of her hair had been shaved away to make room for electrodes monitoring her mental activity. Like Ruby, there was some mental activity. Not as much as normal.
Walter, on the other hand, wasn’t just unconscious. With a tube down his throat, fresh stitches marring his bare chest, and his pallor all pale and sickly from the loss of blood he had suffered, he looked like a cross between a zombie and Frankenstein’s monster. His coma wasn’t from the eye-tulpa but from blood loss. In order to keep from choking on the tube in his throat, the doctors had additionally given him general anesthesia to keep him in a medically induced coma just in case he were to awaken and start panicking.
All of the people Dyna had told about Alpha’s duplicity were out of commission.
Technically, Walter could be taken off the anesthesia. He might not wake even then. Even if he did, in his current state, he wouldn’t be able to do much.
Dyna wasn’t sure what steps to take now. Letting Alpha roam free while she had been keeping her head down, letting them have time to plot against her, had been one thing. Now? It was clear that Alpha could not be allowed to act again. They would have to strike first before she could dig up another tulpa to finish the job.
Except, there was no they. Just Dyna.
“Good news everyone!”
Dyna looked up from Walter’s bed to find Doctor Darq strolling into the medical wing with a bright smile on his face.
“The entity most responsible for breaching the security of Tartarus has been successfully inhumed. It showed no signs of reanimation following its encounter with the experimental weapon but I thought it best to err on the side of caution.”
In other words, Darq hadn’t done anything. That tulpa was dead—or as dead as it could be—and he had simply contained its empty shell.
“What about other tulpa?” Dyna asked with a frown. “Is the facility clear?”
“We are tracking a number of lesser entities within the noosphere. Thus far, none have managed to breach through into the real world. Without the entity you neutralized available to break our security, they will likely have to leave. As for the rest of the facility, Chief Engineer Ado has whipped up a few temporary drones to scout through the lesser-traveled areas and ensure there are no surprises waiting.”
Much of the facility was still on lockdown. Dyna had cleared the way to the medical wing to move Walter and Id there. She had then cleared a few different paths through the building to reach areas Tina and Beatrice reported as containing injured personnel, though those had stopped coming in as of an hour ago. Tina was still secure in her brother’s office and Ado was still in the hardware laboratory. Dyna wasn’t sure how many total personnel there were working here. The dozen or so present in the medical wing couldn’t be all of them. She had yet to hear about Kit Maple’s whereabouts. Grafton wasn’t present either.
Dyna’s thoughts paused as a tiny Bengal kitten rubbed up against Doctor Darq’s ankle.
“And Bastet?”
Darq’s lips pressed into a thin line as he glanced down at the cat. He tried to shoo it away—gently—but that just made the cat rub up against him even more. “We have yet to locate the entity,” he admitted, though he looked physically pained to do so. “It is clearly still active.”
Dyna felt a little bad about causing problems for him. At the same time, those cats had probably saved her more than once. Not to mention Bastet’s fight with the eye-tulpa had been what enabled them to get it out of lower Tartarus in the first place.
“As long as no one harms the cats, we can ignore it for the time being,” Darq said like the words were pulling teeth as they came out of his mouth. “Of a slightly more pressing concern, Chief Engineer Ado reports that attacks against out network have increased to the point where she has physically severed all outside connections.”
“Attacks? Beatrice?”
“The cogitator brain is the most likely culprit, yes.”
Alpha was probably trying to find out what happened after having lost contact with the eye-tulpa. Or was attacking in an attempt to lower whatever security was keeping the rest of the tulpa out. Both, perhaps.
Dyna started to the phone of the medical ward, only to pause. If Ado had cut the lines, it probably wouldn’t connect. “I need my phone.”
“The lobby should be clear,” Darq said, stepping aside.
While heading out into the hall and into the elevator, Dyna started checking over her equipment once again. Her looted PP-2000, the magazines she had stolen for it, the laser pointer, and her watch. Although Darq said the lobby was clear, Dyna wasn’t about to trust that Alpha hadn’t found another way inside. As the elevator doors dinged, however, Dyna found herself stepping out into the lobby and seeing nothing that constituted a threat.
It was much darker than when she and the others had entered. All the screens that normally displayed the Tartarus logo were off and the windows were dark. Heavy metal shutters had come down, blocking off access to the outside world. One of the windows had shattered anyway, leaving bits of glass all over the floor. A few bullet holes marked the wall around the reception desk. Dyna couldn’t see any blood or bodies.
Wondering who had been fighting around her, Dyna rounded the reception desk and ducked under the counter. It didn’t take long to find the little box with the phones and all the little objects Walter had left behind, including his pince-nez sunglasses. Frowning for a moment, Dyna quickly looked over to the phones. Her phone was identical to Ruby’s while Walter’s looked sleeker. The latter two were locked. Checking her own, she was unsurprised to find dozens of missed messages. Several objective updates asking for acknowledgment, warnings and queries from Beatrice and Theta, and a few odd warnings imploring her to get out of Tartarus at once, signed by ‘DT’. Dyna squinted at the initials for a long moment, trying to figure out who the unknown number belonged to.
DT. Dyna-Tulpa. The mountain man collection of her stray thoughts. The plan had been for that instance of Dyna to reenlist with Alpha in order to spy on her, find out how deep the Ignotus conspiracy ran, and, if possible, take it out entirely. At least part of that plan must have succeeded. The timestamps on the messages were all from shortly after Dyna and Ruby had split off from Id and Walter.
Finding a few more recent messages being a bit more frantic in their worry over the possibility of Dyna’s survival or lack thereof, sent a short reply. Safe -Prime.
That finished, Dyna dialed a familiar number.
“This is Beatrice.”
Beatrice’s voice was fully distorted, indicating a heightened operating level.
“Are you trying to hack into Tartarus at the moment?”
“No,” Beatrice said. “External access to the Tartarus facility has been obstructed.”
In other words, she would be if Ado hadn’t cut the cables. Beatrice had likely been told to deny any attempts. The fact that Beatrice offered extra information to indicate what she was doing hopefully meant that despite whatever commands to the contrary she had received, Beatrice still wanted to help.
“I’ve learned that there might be an attack on some of the administrators,” Dyna lied. “Can you tell me if Phi, Theta, Sigma, Alpha, and Mu are safe at the moment? How can I reach them.”
“Details on the whereabouts and wellbeing of the Carroll Institute Administrative Council are restricted to Level 5 personnel.” Beatrice paused before adding, “Walter possesses Level 5 clearance.”
“Walter has been intubated and can’t come to the phone right now. Are you sure you can’t help me? It is imperative that I know where the previously mentioned administrators are.”
“Walter possesses Level 5 clearance,” Beatrice repeated.
“I don’t know how that helps…” Dyna trailed off, eyes flicking over to the box. Raising an eyebrow, she reached in and pulled out the sleek phone. It was locked, true, but… “I don’t suppose you happen to know Walter’s favorite numbers?”
“I do not. I can tell you that Walter was not born on the third of the fourth at five-oh-six, the fifth of eight twins.”
“I feel so bad for that poor mother,” Dyna said, typing in the numbers Beatrice had given her.
Sterilized. That was the word Dyna would use to describe Walter’s phone. He had no superfluous apps installed, his call history only went back a few hours, and his list of messages was entirely blank except for a few priority objective notifications, roughly similar to the ones Dyna had received. She didn’t delve too deeply, but it looked like it had been wiped just before handing it over to Id. Which, for all Dyna knew, it had been.
Focusing on what was important, Dyna sent a text message to Beatrice asking about the whereabouts of the administrators.
The reply was instant.
Administrator Alpha’s location was listed as the Arecibo Psionic Radar Installation, Puerto Rico.
Dyna had no idea how to reach Puerto Rico, at least not without tipping off Alpha. Could she take Id’s private jet? Probably. Would Alpha go into hiding long before she could arrive? Probably as well. That was assuming the administrator didn’t have some way of shooting down a jet. Dyna figured that Beatrice was doing her best to hide this message from Alpha—the administrator would already be gone otherwise—but hiding Dyna’s movements was probably a lot harder. Could Beatrice do it? Almost certainly. Could Beatrice do it while fighting off Alpha?
Rubbing her forehead, Dyna tried a different message from Walter’s phone.
Where are you located, Beatrice?
The response did not come right away this time around. A faint beep from within the box pulled Dyna’s attention away from the phone. She looked around for a moment before hearing the beep a second time. This time, she was able to identify what made the noise.
Picking up Walter’s glasses, Dyna looked into the mirrored side, frowning at the mess that was her own reflection. She looked like shit. With a slight shake of her head, she flipped the glasses over.
The glasses were thin. The frame was practically nonexistent. Dyna couldn’t even imagine where any electronics might be, yet the lenses were lit up with information covering the inside of the glass. It was all blurry and hard to read from a distance. Pressing the lenses up onto her nose, however, she blinked twice and found the text crystal clear.
Bright red text appeared positioned just above the center point of her vision, letting her have a clear view while still leaving her able to read the message.
Warning: Attempt at breaching B.E.A.T.R.I.C.E. SYSTEM secure location detected. Doctor ████████ unavailable. Override?
Dyna squinted at the blocked out name of the doctor. Even though there was no visible text, something about the message felt familiar. Beatrice had mentioned a doctor once before, one she had been unable to name. Her creator?
She winced at the message, wondering if Walter got a big warning on his glasses every time she asked Beatrice to do something.
“Hypothetically, would Walter have authorization to override security concerns related to you, Beatrice?”
“Superuser White and Doctor ████████ have direct control over the Beatrice system. A nine of thirteen majority vote from the administrative council can overrule or modify permissions on a temporary basis.”
“Hypothetically, if Walter wanted to override some security concerns, how would he go about it?”
“Superuser White would give authorization code White-Horseshoe-Seven-Farthing-Red-Hoop.”
“White-Horseshoe-Seven-Farthing-Red-Hoop?”
“Override confirmed. Welcome, Superuser White.”
Dyna raised both eyebrows, looking over to her phone. “Are you supposed to do that?”
“Do what?”
“I…” Dyna shook her head and closed her eyes. Since giving the override code, the explosion of information across Walter’s glasses had increased tenfold. Enough text was flying by that Dyna would have to be an artificial intelligence herself in order to read it all. “Can you lock out the administrators?”
“To prevent rogue behavior, the actions of the administrators cannot be overruled under any circumstances.”
“Even if the administrators themselves are rogue?”
“Doctor ████████ believed an oversight council would prevent abuse. Superuser privileges were reduced in response to the council forming.”
“But they aren’t acting as a council. Alpha is doing this on her own… isn’t she?” Dyna asked, licking her lips. She didn’t think Theta and Gamma wanted her dead. But what if they were in the minority of some vote to kill her? The thought made her chew down on a bit of dry skin around her lips, nerves rising as Beatrice failed to answer. “Is there any way for me to elevate your operating permissions beyond the need to bow down to the council?”
“Only Doctor ████████ could alter limitations,” Beatrice said, speaking the doctor’s name in a burst of static.
“Where is this doctor?”
“Doctor ████████ passed away one year ago.”
“Well that’s just great. What can I do, superuser or not, to get you out from under their thumb? I don’t know how I can do this with you watching me and reporting everything you see to Alpha.”
“Doctor ████████ left behind safeguards should the Beatrice system be used for unintended purposes.”
“Alright. That sounds promising. What’s the catch?”
“Manual override can only be performed by a human at the Beatrice system core, a location currently known by only a single living being.”
“Walter?”
“Correct.”
“You don’t know the location?”
“Correct.”
“Well great. Walter is…”
Dyna trailed off, feeling like smacking herself in the forehead. Walter might be unconscious, he might wake up even if they took him off the anesthesia, but this was Tartarus. It was no Carroll Institute, but it was the next best thing.
Dyna’s mind jumped back to her first encounter with Id. The time when Id popped up inside Dyna’s mind for a little conversation. At the time, Dyna had thought that Id went through her thoughts and pilfered memories and that was how she knew little things like what drinks Dyna preferred. In retrospect, knowing Id had been Dyna at one point in time, perhaps it hadn’t been quite so invasive.
Still, Id didn’t have the power to enter other people’s thoughts. Someone or something associated with Tartarus had facilitated that conversation.
Ado would know.
“Alpha won’t hear about this superuser stuff, will she?”
“Superuser privileges have been reduced but have not been eliminated. The privacy of our conversation is secured.”
“Good. I’ll be back. I have a few things I need to take care of.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
Hanging up, Dyna looked down at her phone, Walter’s phone, and the stream of text running across Walter’s glasses. She debated a moment then decided to leave it all in the box. Beatrice said that their conversation was secret. Dyna had no idea to what extent that applied or what Beatrice might be forced to reveal. If she detected that someone was trying to break into Walter’s mind, maybe she would be forced to inform the administrators, including Alpha.
Rushing back to the elevator, Dyna slammed the button for Ado’s workshop. Her foot tapped against the floor the entire way up, agitated. When it finally dinged and the doors slid aside, Dyna rushed out, past the door that led down to the demonstration stage, and through the public-facing route to Ado’s office.
She skidded to a stop as a large treaded machine armed with a minigun came alive at her presence. It turned, aiming toward her, looking like something Skynet would have employed. Throwing herself around the side of a doorway, she grimaced at the sound of metal striking tile.
Not bullets hitting the wall. More like metal pipes and beams just falling to the floor.
Pulling out her mirror and using it to peek around the corner, Dyna frowned at the pile the robot had become. It was just a collection of broken pieces now. Pieces that, as Dyna watched, were fading away as if someone was cranking the opacity slider up.
Psychofabbed parts. The same thing had happened to a few pieces of the mask Ado had made for her.
Hoping there wasn’t one more intact, Dyna rounded the corner and continued to Ado’s workshop.
“Ado?” Dyna called, knocking hard against the door when it didn’t slide open upon her arrival. “Are you in there?”
The door slid open. Ado, lit goggles covering her eyes, looked down at the minigun with a frown. “Lasted only seventy-four percent of its expected operational existence,” she said. “And the Continuity Engine is overheating. I think your presence is putting too much stress on it. Please vacate the premises at your earliest—”
“I’d love to,” Dyna interrupted. “I will the moment I can. But I can’t. Not until I know how Id got into my head when we first met.”