Noriko can’t feel anything. Her mind is in full sensory deprivation, having been downloaded from her brain into the Core. She can’t see or hear anything except her thoughts.
“Is anyone out there? Hello? Anybody!?”
There is only silence. Not even the sound of her breathing. Nothing.
“I have to think. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. There must be a way out! What am I gonna do!?”
She doesn’t have the slightest sense of time, so every second feels like an eternity.
“Don’t panic. You’re inside the Core. It could talk, right? And fly and stuff! You just have to think this through, don’t panic. You’re smart. You can do this. You can do this”
She tries to imagine how a device like the Core could possibly work. How to reprogram it from the inside, how to control it, how to ask for help.
“Come on, think, I can do this! How come it’s so difficult to think?”
The realization comes with a surge of terror that fills her very soul. She can’t think like she used to.
“I lost it! The thing that made me supersmart…it’s gone! I’m trapped and nobody knows I’m here!”
She wants to push the boundaries of her cage, but she can’t feel her hands. She can’t feel anything.
“Let me out of here! I don’t wanna die! Help! Can anyone hear me!? HELP!!!” her mind screams.
There is only silence.
White House Situation Room
The President of the United States has been here for hours. There seems to be no end to the number of simultaneous crises: Artemis invading China, Abyss assaulting Japan, terrorist attacks in the Middle East, civil unrest in south-east Asia, and to top it all off the economy is in complete and utter chaos. The room is filled with generals and secretaries and experts, but there’s a new arrival.
<Mister President. Is this a bad time?>
The woman who suddenly appeared out of nowhere is wearing a modest evening gown and a futuristic visor that hides her features. Secret Service agents push the President away and fire several shots at the woman, but the bullets pass through her body without any damage.
<Calm down! Everyone calm down, it’s just a hologram> the President intervenes, and it takes a while to convince the Secret Service to let him stay in the room.
<Nice place. A little low tech for my style, but it serves its purpose> the woman comments.
<The Empress of Shadows, I presume> the President identifies her.
<I must speak with you. In private> the Empress says, gesturing towards the crowd.
<Gentlemen, ladies, please give us a moment.>
At the President’s request, not without a few complaints, everybody leaves. This gives the President a few moments to get a read of the intruder: she clearly loves being in command, but the way she can’t keep her hands steady suggests she’s very nervous. Or afraid.
<I won’t ask how you got in. I know you’re not here to threaten me.>
<Isn’t my presence alone enough of a threat?>
<No. The Empire of Shadows is a terrorist organization: if you make a threat, you want the whole world to hear it. But you come here in secret. Why?>
<Your people have captured Eris, so I assume you already know what we’re dealing with here: Abyss is the product of highly unstable alien technology, and Artemis is a goddess. They are a threat to both our empires and neither of us will survive unless we cooperate.>
<We don’t negotiate with terrorists, Empress.>
<Spare me the propaganda. Abyss has severely disrupted my means of production; I don’t have enough combat ready Centurions for a full-scale war.>
<I’ve seen your puppets in action. I doubt they’ll do better than the Japanese army.>
<You forget my soldiers stood up to the Vanguard itself. Help me mass produce them and they might have a chance against Artemis.>
<I’m afraid I can’t risk trusting you, Empress.>
<Can you trust anyone else? I am the only reason Russia hasn’t started World War Three yet. Why do you think nobody has exploited the situation? Where are North Korea, Pakistan, India, Iran? My shadows are everywhere.>
<I won’t give you any resources. I’m still not convinced you didn’t create these…beings.>
<What is Eris telling you?>
<Nothing I can trust to be true. Except one: she told us you’re the second most dangerous person in world history. Take a guess about who’s the first.>
<Noriko Null is dead.>
<And so is any alliance between us. Now get the hell out of my house.>
<You will regret this decision> the Empress of Shadows answers before disappearing.
Far away
The cargo bay doesn’t look much different from a warehouse: endless sets of boxes and crates. There is no indication that this is a spaceship, except for the alarm that has been sounding for several minutes. Quantum, Kari and Torn have split up to search the ship, while Vesta has stayed behind to protect the three civilians. Bob Null, his latest lover Tiffany and Todd Slate are still hiding in the cargo bay.
<Is this really outer space? It feels less spacey than before> Tiffany comments.
<It’s the artificial gravity. You get used to it> Vesta says.
<I still can’t believe you guys have been in space before. Is this really an alien ship?> Todd questions; Vesta thought these two people would freak out, but they seem to be taking everything surprisingly well. Bob is fine, as she’s come to expect from him.
<No, the design is familiar. The ship probably belongs to humans.>
<But the alarm was speaking an alien language, wasn’t it?> Todd asks.
<No, it’s modern Olympian. It’s pretty close to ancient Greek, actually…and the fact that nobody’s answered to the alarm worries me.>
The door to the bridge opens. Kari creates a dozen duplicates to man every single station, and a few seconds later Quantum appears at the speed of light to join her.
<There’s nobody on board but us> he announces.
<It doesn’t make any sense; this is a big ship, probably a capital ship for a small fleet. You don’t leave something like this behind> Kari comments, beginning her work on the console. Quantum approaches her, leaning on the chair and trying to read the screen.
<Can you read this stuff?> he asks.
<Of course. This is my native language.>
<So the ship is Myridian?>
<Myridia isn’t the only planet where people speak Olympian. Here it is, the name of the ship: “Supreme Scorpion, First Frigate of the Artemis Hunters”. This is a pirate ship!!!>
<A ghost pirate spaceship. Just when you thought things couldn’t get more crazy.>
<Look at this: the ship had a crew of three thousands! I wonder what killed them.>
<يۆۇىرېڹتوiڿۀس > someone says.
There wasn’t anyone there a second earlier, but when Quantum and Kari turn they see a person completely covered head to toe in tattered clothes; the face is hidden in the shadow of a hood.
<دېنتiفييۆۇرسېلڤېس > the person adds, with a soft and eerily calm voice.
<Did you get any of that?> Quantum whispers to Kari.
<Not a word> she confesses.
<Just great. And I already used my joke about things getting weirder by the minute.>
Kabukichō, Tokyo
Despite the authorities’ efforts to enact a curfew after the Abyss attack, Tokyo’s red light district is as lively as ever. The nightclub’s bouncer barely raises an eyebrow when three people approach the entrance: two of them, a man and a woman, wear identical red and black costumes.
The third one is a much younger girl dressed in red leather, with exposed midriff and high heeled boots; her eyes have been bleeding all day, leaving the impression of heavy makeup.
<Who are you supposed to be?> the bouncer asks.
<I’m the new boss around here> the girl answers, pulling a gun from her jacket. It doesn’t look like a real weapon, more like a cross between a toy gun and a professional movie prop.
It shoots an energy blast that disintegrates the bouncer with the subtlety of a meat grinder; it leaves the victim a split second to realize what’s happening to him. A red mist of blood and burned skin is everything that remains of what was a human being.
<That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen> Overkill says, while Excess is too busy covering her mouth and resisting the urge to throw up.
<I know, isn’t it awesome? Wait for me here> Abyss orders, kicking the entrance door open.
The screams are so loud that they cover the pounding music. Customers, dancers and prostitutes run away while Abyss fires at random, not even looking at the people she’s killing.
The guards react soon, of course, but their bullets are reflected by a forcefield. They empty a few magazines before they understand they can’t possibly win.
<Everyone with a gun in his hands dies in five seconds> Abyss threatens in Japanese; unlike Noriko, she doesn’t care to get the pronunciation exactly right. At least a dozen people immediately drop their weapon; all those who don’t are reduced to red mist after only three seconds.
Abyss approaches the most protected room in the club; nobody tries to stop her anymore, even people twice her weight who look like they could break her like a twig.
There’s a middle aged man at the table, sitting between two very scantily clad girls. Abyss disintegrates one of the girls, covering the man in red mist. The second girl screams at the top of her lungs; Abyss twirls the futuristic gun in her hand before disintegrating her as well.
The man reaches for something inside his jacket, but Abyss points the gun at his face.
<Please don’t> she says, taking her place right in front of him and putting her feet on the table.
The man doesn’t do anything else. His face is completely unreadable, but his eyes betray his fear.
<I call this beauty the Terror Gun. Focused microwave pulse…it boils you alive from the inside.>
<What do you want from me?> the man asks.
<I want the Yakuza to work for me.>
<Why? We’re not terrorists. We run a business.>
<Oh, but I run my own business too. It’s called “fu##ing up the planet”. What do you say, old man?>
He reacts by throwing his drink in her face.
<You think we’ll be bullied by a child? You’re insane!>
<I know> she answers proudly. She smiles when she adjusts the setting of the Terror Gun.
Excess and Overkill have heard the screams, but are too afraid to get inside. Not just because Abyss ordered otherwise, but because they’re starting to doubt their career choice.
Then the nightclub explodes, right when Abyss is on the front door. They are protected by their suits, but it’s a powerful explosion that risks to take the whole building down.
<That was fun> Abyss says, coming out of the club. The explosion didn’t touch her.
<What happened!?> Overkill asks.
<They weren’t interested. You two, get in touch with the other families; kill them if they refuse.>
<You can’t be serious!> Excess protests.
<You’re right. On second thought, f##k it, kill them anyway> Abyss shrugs, walking away.
Overkill takes his sister aside and whispers:
<She’s crazy!!! We have to do something!!!>
<We should take Null back> Excess agrees.
Discussion ¬