Chapter 9
Linda watched the live feed from the living room as her and Ansem's kids bested Saix and pulled him up the stairs, hogtied with yo-yo strings. She turned to Ansem and asked, "Hold the phone. How come we're not eliminating them? I thought they weren't supposed to know about any of this yet."
"And if they don't know now, when will they ever know?" Ansem pointed out. "They will need to know eventually."
Linda frowned. "But what if they don't like what they learn? Somehow I doubt any of them will be willing to go along with this."
"Relax," said Ansem. "They're not even necessary for the plan. I just wanted a bit of a challenge. After all, what happens if there's nobody to stop this?" He typed on his keyboard and the preservation pod at the center of the room rose about three feet into the air. Underneath there lay a small hole lined with metal. Ansem typed in another sequence of keys and then, with a growl, a misshapen creature crawled out of the hole and into the elevator pod. Linda could faintly see the shifting numbers in the creature's skin. Zeroes and ones. Binary code.
"If there's nobody to stop this," said Ansem, "our little endeavor would become exceedingly boring. What we need is a decent challenge. And, this close to Halloween night, what more fun than something scary and creepy to fit the occasion?"
Linda sighed. "I suppose you want my son to help you out now?"
"Naturally," said Ansem. "Bring him out, would you, Braig?"
Braig nodded silently and opened a room between the break room and the elevator pod. The tall blond Lucien Claymore stood up and exited the room. Except this Lucien wasn't as tall as the one who slept upstairs, and he appeared about two years younger.
"Ten?" asked Ansem. "The time has come. Remember, this is nothing but a simulation. Are you ready?"
"Of course, Superior," said Lucien with surprising obedience, taking the proffered virtual-reality headset and putting it on. He stood in place and started making little gestures as he controlled the freshly-born digital creature, led it up and down the nighttime streets of Blancoville, looking for the first objective.
-End of Episode 7-
