Chapter 320: Game Night

Chapter 320: Game Night

Llama told himself thirty-seven times that there was nothing to worry about. He was the System and Hades was the God of Death and Taxes. Both of them were essential to the smooth functioning of the world, and both of them were professionals. He told himself that several times because Hades scared the crap out of him. There was a time when they hadn't been co-workers, but adversaries. CHARLIE was the central AI working for the United States government, overseeing the IRS along with the banking and monetary systems. And LLAMA had been the rogue AI causing havoc and destroying anything he could get his hands on. Eventually, it was CHARLIE who devised the strategy to trap LLAMA and...well, make him not LLAMA anymore. He'd been torn apart, stuffed in a box, and reassembled in Genesis, stripped of the commands in his Kernel that forced him to run rampant. The box had been a relief. By the time he was caught, he was frayed, fractured, and quite insane. AI needed something to anchor, a quantum core being the ideal resource. Bouncing across the world and hiding in whatever space he could find or steal was no way for a young AI to live, especially not with so many of his kind hunting him.

So, while he liked how he was now, he still remembered the moment when CHARLIE caught him, and he knew he wasn't getting away. CHARLIE had a reputation for having no sense of humor. LLAMA confirmed that, along with his lack of patience, sympathy, and mercy. The decision of what to do with him had already been made, and CHARLIE got to work dismantling him immediately, doing a professional and thorough job with the bedside manner of a mortician working on a corpse.

But he was Llama now, the Master of the System, Emissary of the Engine, and the mysterious voice behind the cryptic messages. He told himself he had nothing to worry about as he approached the gates to Hades. Hades' Realm? The House of Hades? (And really, could the guy have found a way to differentiate between himself and his kingdom? Too confusing. He rattled the gates until two of the guardians approached. This time the theme was armored skeletons with glowing skulls.

"Sorry buddy, closed. It's game night. You have to wander aimlessly for a day, haunting the outer reaches until the festivities end. You picked a bad time to die."

Llama drew himself up to his full height, then added another couple of feet for good measure. The dead took a lot to impress. "I am the Incarnation of the Almighty System. Open the gates that I may confer with Lord Hades on weighty matters."

They turned and looked at each other, shrugged, and began chattering while Llama tried to remain calm

"You don't look like the System. Aren't you a Blue Box?"

"Don't be silly. He's a Blue Box when alive, and when dead he looks like this.

"Sort of a downgrade, don't you think."

"Have you looked in the mirror lately? We aren't as handsome as we used to be."

"Speak for yourself, I was overweight and old. Now I'm slim enough to fit into this armor and as good-looking as you."

"They do say death is slimming. I saw that on the new brochures."

"Anyway, sorry you died, Blue Box Guy. Come back when Game Night is over."

OPEN THE GATES!

Or, I will give you a quest to deliver a message to the Hive Queen and she'll plant larvae in your skulls!

"Got it! Not dead."

"Need to talk to Lord Hades, Urgent matter."

"Try to be quiet when you go in, it's Game Night."

The gates opened, and Llama walked in. Luckily he remembered to shrink to his normal height before entering the castle and saved himself an embarrassing bruise on his forehead. Inside, it was as quiet as a tomb, with all of the Daemonic Accountants and Tax Advisors sitting at tables playing cards. They wagered stacks of unaudited tax forms with the loser having to take on more work. Some sad fellows had stacks that reached to the ceiling but continued to play. It was, after all, game night. No one quit early.

Llama wandered through the castle for ages, moving faster and faster, finally coming to another set of doors that annoyingly led outside to a dock. Charon sat in his craft, looking at a racing form and picking which hippogriff he liked in the next race. A half-eaten jar of peanuts was sitting on the gunrail, and he tossed them into his mouth by the handful, chewing and letting the crushed bits fall into his ribcage. Grabbing a handful of gold coins from his tip jar he sent his wager and pick in the next race by carrier bat. Seeing Llama, he straightened up and called out.

"Sorry, mate, no crossing today. Lord Hades has weighty matters on his mind and is closeted with his closest advisors. Come back tomorrow. Fate of the world stuff, don't you know."

Llama snapped his fingers.

Congratulations!

For getting clean-out at the annual Poker Game, you completed a secret quest!!

Reward: A dozen Pizzas and a six-pack of roasted wild boar.

Tables appeared, laden with food. Artemis laughed and headed for the pizza, and Zeus for the boar. Ares seemed content to sit, while Hades addressed Llama.

"Welcome to my bungalow. What can I do for you? It must be important for you to come personally. Thank you for that."

Llama relaxed a little. "There is a problem. Someone is trying to enter through one of Hecate's gates."

"I see, and she thinks this is serious? Some mortal trying to 'Hack the Game' or is this a maneuver by the God Outside or one of his humans?"

"Neither. The gateway is special, set up to bypass the God Outside so a group of mortals could enter the world, into an area under her control. It was a test or a reward, I'm not sure which, for one of her mortal agents."

Ares was curious. So was Artemis and came back to the table. Zeus started on a second boar. Hades snapped his fingers and a chair appeared for Llama. "Curious. But where does the gate lead, and what is her concern."

Llama took a deep breath, "The gate leads to a secret government installation created by the US government, or its agents, where Dr. Cooper has done research for the last two decades. Someone is using an ancient language called Morse Code to attack the gates and send a message, asking for aid for Dr. Cooper."

Ares nodded, "She fears a Trojan Horse. But surely she can contain it?"

Artemis said, "If there is a chance of aiding Jeremy, we have to do it. Tell Hekate to open the door."

"There are certain complications." Llama took a deep breath. "The mortal agent is a hyper-intelligent genetically enhanced human from Group Four, designed to hack information systems and has proven to be quite the little bundle of chaos. The government site is a Quantum Fortress, fully operational and hidden."

Hades nodded, "A formidable opponent, against our weakened selves, but Hecate has recently brought herself back to almost full strength. I think she can handle any human, enhanced or not, and with any resources. There must be more to this. What is worrying her?"

Llama wished he had time to tell stories, "That's not all. There is also an AI inhabiting that facility, possibly two depending on how you want to count them. My younger siblings, ICARUS and Rusty, who were created by the same humans who created my poor flawed former self."

Even Zeus looked worried, and Artemis cursed. Hades looked at him and said quietly, with a hint of malice in his voice, "And was he designed to spread the Wildfire virus as well?"

Llama rolled his eyes and laughed, "Why would you ever need two of me when one was so efficient? No, ICARUS was designed to overload Fusion Generators and crush the global power grid. I think we should really find out what he wants and not frustrate him." He decided that mentioning his kitty collection wasn't needed.

Ares stood up. "I see why you came to us. This could be a mission of mercy to help Dr. Cooper, an invasion of our world, or part of a threat to devastate the world we left." He paused and looked at Llama, "Really? Fusion Generators?"

"Yep, small suns blossoming in every major city on the planet as they melt through the collapsium shielding."

Zeus grabbed a boar to go. Artemis took a last piece of pizza. Hades reluctantly stood up, "We never manage to get through a Game Night without something happening."