Chapter 19-8 Fractured Ontology (I)

Chapter 19-8 Fractured Ontology (I)

Jaus alive, what did they do to this thing?

This is supposed to be a Heaven of Signals. Radio transmissions. That kind of thing. The coldtech it was based on was neutered. We practically built it under EGI supervision with how many eyes we had on us. How the hell did those mad bastards turn that into this? I havent seen this many people cut in half in over a month.

And what are these canons? The mem-datas pure gibberish by this point. I cant even tell what this thing does or what hubrises it has. Itll be a miracle if we manage to figure out what kind of Rend we need to drain. At least it's dormant

LOOK OUT!

[Sounds of something striking the wall at high speeds; something edged slicing through flesh]

Okay. Correction: not as dormant as I thought. Someone cast the Porters: make ensure the rupture is contained. Get all non-essential personnel out of here. And someone stick Reason-Bearers head back on her body before she actually dies. The curse isnt going to cycle forever.

[Sound of another impact]

Alright, everyone behind the drone. Keep your frequencies alignedwho the hell knows what it might throw at us if

[Sound of object whizzing by]

Alright. Not a disc anymore. A box. A large box of wires and other components. [Under his breath] Fucking Omnitech, always with this shit.

What? Yeah, I hear it too. The crackling. Ignore the numbers. Who knows what they mean. We dont have time to wait for an Omnitech Chronicler, we need to get closer to Heaven itself and secure an anchorpoint so we can deliver our Rendsink

[CRACKLING; SCREAMING; FLESH SIZZLING]

[SESSION LOST}

-Helltech Harahan Adaven, Rapid Rupture Response Task Force, New Vultun Agnosi, three seconds before his temporary demise (Hell-Rig was transmuted into a coldtech oven with him inside it.)

19-8

Fractured Ontology (I)

So, whats wrong with the damned thing, Draus asked, arms folded. Her nonchalance was contrasted with the blood pouring out from her orifices and the fact that every single tech-powered implant inside her body was effectively dead metal by this point. Not that she gave any indication of being bothered, even as some of her organs began to failher body barred from death by Avos influence over biology.

All it took for the Techplaguer to fry their Neurodecks was a brief manifestation. Their Meldskins no longer responded to their calls either, its matter leaking out from pores beads of melted wax, painting ashen trails down their bodies.

Three meters away atop a blood-made pedestal, Dice held Chambers head stable as he continued to seize even after Avo liquefied the sparking Accelero implant out from the base of the mans skull.

It mightve been because of his connection to Avo via the Conflagration or the placement of his implant in general, but he suffered the worst of the Techplaguers harm.

Would tell you if I knew, Avo grumbled. He was digging through Glitchs memories now, trying to discover if the fallen Fallwalker recalled anything about the former Datacaster that Avo didnt. He was rewarded with little more than chaos and haze.

Manifesting the Heaven alone shouldnt have affected all the technology around him so severely. He hadnt even drawn on one of his canons before the Heaven of Data started screaming.

With the two new canons Kae helped him install, he was now capable of transferring his material body across digital signals while also inflicting plague-like symptoms on coldtech machines thanks to the Domain of Biology he added to the Heaven. The Crown of Virtuality remained, sparing him from death should he have to move through a nether-destabilized region in the city.

The most unnerving thing was how badly it affected his alliesCalvino particularlythat left Avo wary.

Scanning through his cognition, he studied the fragmented threads of vanishing code that was an EGI, the data that comprised the minds existence fading like embers into the darkness. Avo assumed Calvino would return after his next resurrection, but something bade him to remain wary.

If all technology around him was just going to break when he manifested the Techplaguer, its effective use would be essentially crippled in an actual combat situation with how deleterious its drawbacks were.

Calvino is dead, Avo said, informing the others. For now. Was eviscerated by the manifestation of the Techplaguer. Think its ontology is inimical to coldtech. Or just material technology in general. Biomancy and genetic engineering were among the sciences, after all. It seemed the Heaven of Data preyed only on things that were part of a computational network.The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

It shouldnt have done that, Kae said. The soft lines of her dark brows were furrowed in concentration as she absently traced a finger over her clan mark, nails brushing the twin winged serpents knotted over one another. The canons were messy but nothing suggested that it was capable of this. Gibberish mem-data should indicate more non-functionality, not whatever that was. She tapped her foot and swept her eyes across her surroundings, glimpsing only walls of blood and glass betwixt. Avo and Draus cleared the area of rubble and created a small bunker to serve as a bivouac as they reviewed their encounter.

Avo, I think we need to kill ourselves and take a deeper look at its foundational mythology, Kae said, brows furrowed while she rubbed at her chin. But first, I want to see it again. See how it might trigger this time now that it has no more technology to damage.

Chambers made a noise akin to a nu-dog being neutered without any painkiller before coherence returned to his speech. A-is it time to suicide already. He giggled involuntarily from the tickling sensations of his brain matter regenerating. The canons Avo mimicked from Elegant-Moon were proving useful and efficient, requiring only a small investment of thaums to pull his cadre back from the brink of death.

No, no, Dice muttered, patting Chambers on his forehead. They die. We stay.

The half-strand frowned. Aw. Were getting left out again, juv. Boo-hoo.

Dice just blinked. I can still kill you if you want.

A large, stupid grin spread across Chambers face as he reached down and pulled one of his jackets tubes out from his pants with a pop. A chorus of gags and boos rose through Avos Conflagration as the templates began hurling curses and slurred demurs at the Chambers among them.

The half-strand remained less than ashamed. Thanks, kid. Youre the nicest of us.

The genuine emotion behind his words caused the briefest flicker of a smile to pass across Dices face.

Stepping away from the group, Avo found a vacant spot at the far corner of the room before calling upon the Techplaguer again. As he willed the Heaven to manifest, it rose out from patches of graphical damage on the face of reality, its coppery limbs like bundles of exposed wires twisted around each other. It sang its arrival as it did before, howling nonsense as it pulled itself over the threshold from the subreality simulated by his Soul. The main body of the Techplaguer announced itself as its singular antenna poked into reality, hanging below a bulbous form made out of crossed-out ones and zeros.

Virus scanning! Firewall absent! No grid! NO GRID! Alertness max. Sending connection request for matrix-silo No infomorphs detected. No saboteurs. Its voice came as a crackling series, the audio of its thoughts punishingly loud yet devoid of any vibrations. Threading its limbs into the ground and walls, it pulled itself aloft as its body bounced, its ramshackle antenna striking the ground time and time again as if the Heaven was hopping from it.

No! Not allowed.

The half-strand promptly cupped his genitals and started making lewd gestures at the Heaven. He was still thrusting as a wall of glass rose to section him away from the conversation.

Deep in the Conflagration, the other templates poured their judgment on the Chambers simulated counterpart. [What? I was defending my honor Maybe I got a bit carried away.]

Both iterations of Draus shook their heads. Back in the real, the Regular gestured for Kae to continue.

So, Kae said, trying to formulate her words, how are you capable of self-direction? We detected no will inside you earlier?

Not will. Just programming. The directives are absolute.

Kae paused, looking away as her eyes darted about. Absolute? Wait. Your directives where are they stored?

In within this Geminis mainframe.

You mean your canons, Kae asked, a note of suspicious building under her breath.

Our encoding, the Techplaguer said, its answer indirect, but implications growing.

You refer to yourself as Gemini, Kae continued. Why?

No.

The Agnos tilted her head. No? Why? What is wrong.

I am not the Gemini. I am merely the hardware. The high-shell.

And Avoyour administrator he is the software? The other half?

Correct.

A brief lull of silence followed. Kae looked to Draus. Can you do me a favor? It might be dangerous.

The Regular snorted. Dangerous favors are half the reason why Im here.

Can you manifest your Heaven. Either Heaven. I want to see if it attacks you.

Draus considered the request for a moment, then nodded. Taking a few steps away from Kae, she manifested the first signs of her Simulacrae and

Virus! INFECTED MAINFRAME! SAFE MODE! ENGAGING SAFE MODE!

The wires of the Techplaguer quivered and spasmed as Avo forced it to remain still.

Thank you, Draus, Kae said. A glint of potential understanding dawned behind her eyes, she looked up at Heaven of Data and seemed to stare straight through it. Avo. You can release it for now.

As the Techplaguer dematerialized in a ripple of graphical glitches, Avo slammed segments of his bottom two Echoheads and used them as a metallic base to magnetically slow his fall. Landing gently before Kae, he reassembled his tendrils and regarded the Agnos. Understand what might be wrong?

She nodded but then wavered. I think so. But we must be dead to do this. We need to dive into the Techplaguers innermost mythologies. I think I know what to look for. Maybe. She shot a quick look at all the otherseyes lingering on the wall of glass containing Chambers. Everyone should accompany us. I am not sure what we might face there, but I suspect that Omnitechstupid fools they areare trying to make their own automated Heavens.

Trying to? Avo asked.

It doesnt work unless you manifest it. It didnt awaken until just now. It wasnt like this before I think your Imitators woke it. Triggered its deep coding like how it restored your other two Heavens.

Do you think it can be fixed? Avo asked.

Kae pressed her lips together. Yes. I think so. But I will need to observe its foundational design to be sure.

Avo grunted. So. Time for all of us to die again.

Yes, Kae said. On that note, someone should go get Essus. I think we can also take some time to review the lessons we learned from our fight just

Avo promptly shattered into a bursting shower of glass, leaving his thoughtform hovering as he instinctively ejected from his sheath. Turning his perception on Draus, he found the Regular grinning at him as pale tears mingled with her blood, the substance of her Meldskin now joining her leaking ichor.

+For the Fucktopia?+ Avo asked, guessing about the reason behind his sudden murder.

Yup, she said. His mind was still burnin when he did it to us.

+Hm. Not sorry.+

I know, Draus said. And her template joined in, anticipating the end of her sentence. Neither am I. See you in a sec, rotlick.]

Her Metamind pulsed, and the disruption cut him from the air.