Cybernetic Epiphany

Chapter 7: Aberrant

It rained for many days.

Many rumors spread, speculating what the sudden change could be caused by. Some thought the admins were testing a new weather system, other that it was part of an event. Many thought it was cause by a bug in the weather programs. There were also many threads about the sudden change in the landscape, uncharacteristic trees and flowers in fields where there should be none. Who heard of yew trees in a desert, or marigolds on tundra? It didn't make sense, plain and simple. Since they occurred at the same time, perhaps they were related, the gossipers reasoned. After all, they said, don't plants grow after rain?

At first the rain was accompanied by a howling wind, but that quickly died down into a dreary downpour. It gave The World an overall gloomy feeling, with the rain and dark clouds permeating everywhere, even the Root Towns. The river in Mac Anu was perpetually pockmarked and slightly swollen, while all of the clouds in both the Theta and the Sigma server were dark and brooding. All of the lights in Carmina Gatelica blurred like the painting "Starry Night", and Lia Fail was filled with the sound of both the rain from the sky, and the drops from the trees. (1)

Of course this deluge was small compared to the deluge of emails sent to CC Corp. employees asking for explanation. Of course this influx of mail made other requests difficult to find, so a programmer made a program that diverted every email to a special folder with an automatic response that said, technical jargon aside, "We are investigating the cause of this harmless variation".

It was in a building, sheltered from the rain that a number of players gathered to discuss a quite different topic.

"Well, I'm glad everyone could come." A Twin Blade named Grove said to the group sitting in a loose circle, "Welcome to my hideout."

Everyone that Morgana knew was sitting on the two couches separated by a coffee table. It was dimly light by hanging lamps, giving the place a secretive ambience. Even inside they could not escape from the sound of the rain pounding the river. Lory, Shake, and Mayuko were on one couch, while Nezumi, Lane, and Kettle sat on the other; Grove sat in an armchair at the end.

"Thank you very much" Kettle said in her improving Japanese, "It ni – er, it's very nice." She quickly corrected herself. Everyone echoed their own thanks.

"It's no problem," Grove responded, "I'm the only one with a house, and we needed a secluded place out of the rain."

"Right, I think we should get on with it, though." Shake said, "We all know why we're here, right?"

"Because we're worried about Morgana-dono." Nezumi sighed, casting his eyes to the floor.

"I've tried to contact her nearly everyday, but she isn't responding!" Lory exclaimed, "I don't know what happened…"

Mayuko interjected, "Well, it's sad to say, but sometimes people quit for no reason. Maybe that's what happened…?"

Lane shook his head, "I'd normally say that, but… her spirit hasn't departed yet. She's listed as online."

"What?" Lory exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and accidentally hitting Shake, "oh, sorry Shake-chan. 'her spirit departed?' Is she dead?"

"Sit down, that's just bro's way of talking." Grove said, holding up a pacifying hand, "He means that she hasn't logged out."

"But wait, that's also impossible. She has to get off sometime, right?" Lory retorted, fighting the urge to jump up again.

"Well…" Nezumi started. Everyone looked at him. "Yes? What is it?" Mayuko prompted. "Well, maybe someone else took her account, and is using it? Just leaving the computer on… there are hackers, right?"

"But c'mon," Grove responded, shrugging with one arm, "wouldn't Morgana's player notice that someone else is using her character? Surely she would have gone to the admins or something…"

"But bro, what if Morgana moved away, or lost interest?" Lane asked, "If someone permanently departed from this shadow world, and didn't cancel the subscription, it would easy for a third party to use it."

"I very strongly disagree." Kettle piped.

"Why?" half the room asked at once.

"Well," the pink Heavy Ax continued, "If Morgana's PC taken, what hacker first would do? What you first do if get a PC?" They all pondered in silence for a moment, then Shake offered:

"I dunno, either take the PC's stuff or look at the Member Addresses."

"My exactly point!" Kettle exclaimed, pointing a finger up, "Morgana had in possession Member Address ver – er, of a very much high-level person Grove, is not so?"

"What do I have to do with it?" the Twinblade asked, scratching his face in puzzlement.

"Being my point," Kettle continued, "You are very better 'prize' over Morgana, is not so? People in great number would rather know or take away PC of high-level than girl who started before shortly."

"I get it…" Lane said, "If someone else was possessing Morgana, then they would try and contact bro because he's stronger, and thus a more desirable vessel. Is that it?" he asked.

"Precisely!" Kettle smiled.

Mayuko wasn't happy, though. "But since we don't know what happened, we're back where we started: none of us can get a response from Sweetheart."

"Su... su... heart? What do you mean, Mayuko-dono?" Nezumi asked. (2)

"Oh, well, it's a term of endearment." Mayuko shrugged, rearranging his furry boa, "It means someone who is nice, someone with a sweet disposition. A sweet heart."

"Oh, right. I apologize." Nezumi bowed slightly.

"Hey, I gotta go everyone." Shake said.

"Yeah, let's meet later, if anyone gets any more ideas." Lane said. They all got up and left the houses one by one, but Lory's troubled look was replaced with an expression of determination.

1010101010

In one of the many offices of CC Corp., Saki Shibiyama was furiously typing away at her computer. She had a deep scowl set in her face, and looked moments away from grumbling. Those stupid programmers still hadn't fixed that stupid rain yet! It should have been corrected days ago, but they kept coming up with the same excuses: "We can't identify the program", "There isn't any visible change in the code", "We're trying our best to identify the problem", and so on. It greatly annoyed Shibiyama.

"Still having problems, ma'am?" a slightly younger woman asked as she entered the private office with two coffee cups, "Here's your coffee, by the way."

"Thanks, Saito." Shibiyama said as she grabbed the nearest cup and gulped some of the contents. Giving the caffeine a moment to start the buzz, she replied, "Yeah, the programmers still can't find the problem, and it's hindering my job."

"I know it's hard." Saito sympathized, taking a sip from her own cup, "Should I send them another warning?"

Shibiyama sighed and leant back in her chair, pulling her fingers through her short hair, "No, that's not necessary. I did get a report from a player."

"Oh? What?"

"Apparently the player is worried about her friend, because the PC has been online for ten days straight, but without any activity."

Saito gasped, "But that-!"

Shibiyama spun her chair around. "Exactly. That's when the damn rain started." She really wanted a cigarette. "And this is exactly like a case from years ago, but maybe you wouldn't know it."

"What happened then?" Saito asked.

"There was another player who continuously played, but he was active, a player named Tsukasa. That was one of the incidents that signaled the start of the Twilight incident."

"But that's…"

"Impossible, yes." Shibiyama said thoughtfully, "This is somewhat different, though, because this continuous player…"

"Yes?" her assistant prompted.

"Every player has one of two statuses: either online or offline. There is nothing in between. And if the player is online, we can track them down through their recent logs."

"Then we can just track the player through their logs."

The older woman paused for a moment as she checked the logs, and her frown grew more pronounced, "That's impossible… this player logging into a field, but then direct warped out again. But nothing's listed, it's like she warped into thin air…"

Saito shook her head, confused, "What's her name…?"

"Morgana."

101010101

"Thank you very much for agreeing to meet with me."

"It's no problem at all."

Under an awning in an alley of Carmina Gatelica, Nezumi was meeting with an odd Wavemaster whose PC matched his name: Wiseman. After everyone had left Grove's hideout, Nezumi contacted an acquaintance that was an informant; he hoped he knew something about the whereabouts of the group's mutual friend.

"So what is it you want to know?" Wiseman asked, "You didn't specify in your email."

"Yes, a friend of mine has disappeared, and we – her friends – are worried about her."

Wiseman's eyebrows raised a bit, "Maybe she merely left? There are inconsiderate people who quit the game."

The Heavyblade shook his head slightly, "That's what Lane-dono thought, but… she's still online, but not responsive."

"Hmmm, that is strange." Wiseman agreed, "So you want to find out why she isn't responding, assuming it isn't rudeness?"

"Well, whenever any of us come on, she's always online, morning or night. We think maybe something happened to Morgana-dono."

Wiseman shifted a fraction, but coolly said, "Morgana? Is that her name?" Nezumi nodded.

"Well, could you find anything out?" he pleaded.

The Wavemaster closed his eyes a minute, then smiled. "Yes."

Nezumi broke out into a smile, "Oh, thank you very much!" he bowed deeply, "How should I pay you?"

"If I do find her, I would like her Member Address. Until then, yours will be more than enough."

Nezumi's eyes widened a fraction. Wiseman was known to be expensive, if reliable. Only a couple of Member Addresses...? "Well, yes. Yes, I suppose so." He quickly gave Wiseman his Address.

"Thank you." Wiseman smiled slightly. Bowing, he said, "May the grace of the Twilight Dragon be with you." And left Nezumi behind, who scampered off. After a few more paces, however, and the Wavemaster was stopped by a voice from above.

"Guten tag, Herr Wiseman!"

"Hello Schrödinger." Wiseman smiled without looking up.

Floating above him unsuspended and completely dry, a Twin blade smiled. Though it was plain that he took the "assassin" type skin, it looked younger, in that vague age between boy and man. He had more of an Indian influence in his clothing, with dusky purple and a soft orange as the predominating colors. It was also obvious that he had the werewolf subclass, but his tail was much thinner than the usual fluffy variety.

Floating down to eye level, toes brushing the ground, Schrödinger waved a hand, "Before you ask, I was just leaving my hideout when I saw you."

"A good thing you did." Wiseman replied, taking a more relaxed tone, "I have some information to deliver to Helba, but I'd like to keep tabs on a couple of players in the meantime."

Schrödinger tilted his head in interest and smiled, showing sharp canines, "Ah, so you need my unique help?"

"It would be much appreciated."

"Ja, ja, sure!" he rose a few more inches from the ground, "Name some names and I'll tail them for a while."

Wiseman smirked, "Heh. Check on the players Nezumi and Lane, and maybe we'll see how many friends our missing person has."

"Will do!" Schrödinger snapped his heels together and raised his hand in a military salute. He melted out of sight, leaving his words, Cheshire-like, in the air: "I use my power to serve, Herr Wiseman."

Shaking his head in amusement and chuckling slightly, Wiseman strode with purpose toward the Chaos Gate. Fortunately, no one stopped him, so he immediately gated along his special path to the place where he knew he could find Helba: the Net Slums. Taking a moment to observe the area (the rain permeated this place as well), he walked a few steps while sending a quick Flashmail to one of her many Addresses. In no time, Helba appeared a slight distance in front of him, though on ground level: a sign of familiarity.

"What do you have for me?" she asked with an amused lilt in her voice.

Wiseman bowed. "My Queen," he started, "I have found something very interesting from one of my acquaintances. Something about the Twilight we thought was finished."

"I assume it it's about Morgana?"

Wiseman smiled, "Observant as ever."

She gave a small chuckle, "Tell me your news."

Wiseman's expression turned serious. "It seems Morgana was interacting with normal players." He said.

There was a long pause. "I see." Helba finally said, "So the mail Schrödinger sent me was true." She smiled and waved a hand. Immediately two beings that could only be Vagrant AIs appeared from two alleyways. The first was the more normal of the two, taking the appearance of a female Heavyblade in blue armor, but chunks of her seemed to have been ripped away, leaving only black space; almost her whole face was gone, except for her right eye and cheek. 3 The other AI was stranger: it looked as if it was cobbled together from spare parts, specifically a flashlight and metal bits attached for legs, hovering in the air by two propellers.

"Ah, here you two are." Helba said, "Go ahead and introduce yourselves to Wiseman."

The torn AI shrugged girlishly and said, "Hiya! I'm Zaku-chan! That's my full name, so don't forget!"

The flashlight thing bobbed and also spoke in a high voice, "I'm Lumen! Nice to meet you!"

Smiling, Wiseman bowed; just because they didn't exist outside of The World, it didn't mean less respect or manners were due. "A pleasure to meet you both." he said after straightening.

"Well," Helba chuckled a little, "Lumen, Zaku-chan, I have a very important job for you."

"Ohh, what is it? What is it?" Zaku-chan asked energetically, almost jumping.

Helba smiled and softly laughed again, "I'm trying to find a friend, but I don't know where she is. Could you and Lumen check the fields? I don't think there will be a need to repeat fields. Just go through them methodically."

"Yes ma'am! " Zaku-chan replied, and both she and Lumen disappeared.

1010101

Balmung stalked through the damp and shining streets of Lia Fail, his expression matching the brooding clouds above. After he received an email from a player asking about a missing friend, he had pulled some strings and found that the very suspicious player Morgana was still online, but warped out of a field to nowhere. Even though he wasn't a debugger, personal interesting drove him to scope out the field where she left last. Lambda: Clashing, Stalking, Wine-Dark Sea was just an average PvP field. (4) The words weren't unusual; "Clashing" was the keyword for a PvP field, and the other two had been there for a while.

Pausing behind a tree so he wouldn't be seen, he opened a new window, ignoring the marigolds that peeped up at him. Looking through the logs (acquired by his assistant, Reki), he saw that the most recent people were spaced in a very narrow time frame, the previous players being days before them. A level 36 Heavy Axe name Gluko died in the field, probably at the hands of the familiar name on the screen: Sora. Balmung knew little of that Twinblade, only that he used to be a PK roaming the Lambda Server, and that he had been a coma victim. Balmung skimmed over to the last name: Morgana. Balmung narrowed his eyes: Gluko was killed, and Sora logged out shortly after the player Morgana logged in. But both normal players had gone directly to the Root Town: Morgana didn't go anywhere. She simple logged out of the field and didn't log in anywhere else.

This by itself was suspicious. If it was merely a bug, like a character breaking through a wall and floating through ether (5), the player would most likely disconnect manually and email the administrators. It had been ten days since this incident, but no response. Either the player was very lazy, didn't care, was letting the computer run, or couldn't access a computer. The first two were quite likely, and perhaps the player was tired of playing and decided the bug presented a good opportunity to "kill off" the PC. The third wasn't likely, since it would eat up electricity to be paid, and there was no reason to pay for something that you don't use. The latter didn't seem at all likely, since there are internet cafes everywhere, and the player had accessed nearly all hours of the day, almost like the person didn't need to eat or sleep…

Which brought up another possibility. Perhaps the PC Morgana wasn't accessing by a terminal. If so, the best-case scenario would be that it's a Vagrant AI. It was the worse case that the Blademaster worried about: that the program and enemy Morgana Mode Gone had re-emerged somehow and was moving undetected in The World for the past few months. Dangerous thoughts exploded in the winged swordsman's mind: what was she doing? Did she harm The World? How great is the damage? What is she plotting? Where was she now? The last question popped up the most, and one that he could not answer alone.

Forming his famous resolve, Balmung closed the log window and opened a new one, accessing his Mailer. Scanning through his Address Book, he found the one he needed and quickly typed out a short message:

"Subject: Urgent

Sender: Balmung

I am in need of your assistance once more. The attachment is a record of the logs ten days ago. My position limits me. I know you have unconventional power at your disposal, and I am certain they will prove useful again."

Balmung attached a copy/pasted document of the logs to the message, then sent it off to the master of the Net Slums, Helba. He turned to leave his little hidden alcove when a chime sounded, signaling he received a mail: Helba! Balmung quickly opened it and read:

"Subject: Re: Urgent

Sender: Helba

I am glad you thought to contact me, but the truth of the matter is that I am already aware of this information and am acting upon it as we speak. I will sent an envoy with information once I have acquired the pieces I need."

Somehow, Balmung sighed, he had known she was probably taking a course of action as he mailed her. That was what was useful and at times irritating about the hacker: she seemed to know things as soon as they developed, often before the administrators themselves knew. While it was good to have someone on top of things, it was sometimes irksome to find that she was, yet again, a few steps ahead.

He sighed and finally turned to yet another mail from Reki, telling him to get his work done or he would hunt him down.

10101010101

Meanwhile, in Lambda: Moonlit, Sacred, Twinhills, a party was making their way across the moon-soaked wasteland; the only other disturbance aside from the light drizzle were the Root Vegetables bounced and cried their names when the trio moved nearby. The atmosphere was broken by the occasional yew tree and clumps of marigolds, shining like gold pieces in the silvery light. On the left, a tall Fighter strode easily despite his heeled boots. On the right, a petite girl in a delicate pink was almost dragging an immense axe, which betrayed her strength despite her cherubic appearance. Between these two was a boy with drab clothes contrasted with pale yellow, like a stormy sky pierced by lightning.

Unbeknownst to the group, though, was that there was a four person. He was currently hanging quite a ways from the ground and had masked his presence. Unlike the charming illusion that he vanished into thin air, that was merely a fancy way of logging out. He wasn't so sophisticated a hacker as that, but his current gimmick worked nicely. He merely took the graphics behind and around him and projected it from his character data. Even if he was perfectly still, it folded under close examination, but it worked for his purposes: unless someone knew what they were looking for, the slight shimmer as he moved through the field could be explained away as either a small glitch or a trick of the eyes. Schrödinger grinned, Cheshire-like: ah, the wonders of the "Someone Else's Problem" phenomena.

"Mayu," the Wavemaster said, breaking the silence, "should I call upon some blessings before we go in?" Schrödinger frowned for a moment, but realized that he was speaking in English. American, by the accent.

"Mmmm, I don't, but maybe Doll wants one?" the Fighter replied. Ah, a British bloke.

"A 'blessing'?" The Heavyaxe – Doll? No, her username is Kettle – said, also sporting a British accent, "Like a buff? I'd like an Ap Do; I don't want to be slowing us down."

"Right, gimme a sec." Without slowing down, Lane cast Ap Do on himself and the girl. Immediately they sped across the field, Mayuko lagging a little behind. The power-ups didn't stop there, though: he also cast HP and SP recovering spells. "I'm gonna need those Regens" he quipped. (6)

A giant tower loomed in front of the party and the floating shimmer, illuminated in the moonlight. They plunged down the slick steps out of the rain, and went through a couple of small rooms, only pausing to break jars and boxes, and grab the items from treasure chests. A battle passed in silence, only spells and skills being called out, but as they went to the fifth room in a deviating branch (Schrödinger had a map before him – they were going in the wrong directions), the werewolf – Mayuko – said, "What could have possessed her to… disappear?"

The other two paused. Lane spoke first, "We discussed this. We don't know where she is, and it'd be impossible to look through all of the fields."

Mayuko frowned, then winked a shadowed eyelid, "But I thought you had a schoolboy crush on her, right?" Lane merely groan, shoulders falling.

"I told you, I didn't. I hardly know her, Mayu! Stop trying to set me up. "

"I think you both should stop." Kettle interjected at last, lowering her axe to a more comfortable position, "But… I think there is one way to find Morgana."

"Oh?" "Do tell, Doll."

'Yes, do tell." Schrödinger thought from the ceiling.

A mischievous glint was in Kettle's eye. "Well, humans are creatures of habit."

"Oh!" Lane pounded a fist into his palm, "I get it. Look at her favorite fields, right?"

Kettle nodded, "Exactly."

Mayuko was still frowning, however. "That's all well and good, but we'd have to look at her logs, right?"

"True. We could ask the admins, but of course, they'd refuse." The Heavyaxe replied.

"Unless…" Lane started, "We could get them if we ask the right people, right?"

"Whatever do you mean, Darling?" Mayuko asked, intrigued.

"Well, we could ask the shamans of this world, right?" Lane smiled, "If anyone could invoke the spirits of binary, wouldn't it be them?"

"I'm afraid I don't follow…" the lone female said unsurely.

Lane sighed, but still smiling nonetheless, "I'm talking about those shamans of the electronic age. The ones who can twist the shape of this 'shadow world' and create back doors."

"You're talking about hackers, aren't you!" the werewolf exclaimed, cottoning on at last.

"Hackers? But they're really shady!" Kettle interjected.

Lane took it all patiently, eyes closed. "But," he grinned as he opened his eyes, "Who is better to call back a wandering spirit if the 'priests' won't do it?"

"The admins…" Mayuko trailed off.

"But where are we going to find a hacker?" Kettle asked, "I mean, it's not like we can just post on the BBS and hope we get a response."

"No, you're right." Lane pondered. He tilted his head up toward the ceiling. His eyes opened slightly at the shimmer. A glitch? Unlikely… "We'll have to call a shaman ourselves. It'd be tricky, since they can change their shape." Schrödinger froze, not moving at all. He'd have to be careful; it looks like that kid caught on to his act. Still, no reason to drop it…

"Yes, any hacker would have multiple accounts, to avoid detections…" Mayuko considered.

"It'd be awkward to ask our friends if they know any, too." Kettle added sadly.

"Well, for now, let's keep going." Lane said, taking up his staff again, "After all, we're wasting our blessings." He chuckled.

The three continued deeper into the dungeon, systematically clearing every room out of all portals and chests. They all chatted about various things, from uppity children (Mayuko was an English teacher) to stupid teachers. Kettle grabbed every single Egg she encountered, both Immature and Golden, for her grunty. Schrödinger followed them every step of the way, but tried to move as little as possible. He swore he saw the kid's eyes on him. Still, aside from the conversation on the first floor, they weren't talking about Morgana, or any of their other friends. He was there to get information, but his luck was running out.

In the real world, a young man sat at a desk with two monitors side by side. He was holding one controller while another was sitting within easy reach on the desk. But what was really strange was the contraption on his head. It appeared to be two FMDs cobbled together, one on the man's face, the other resting on the back of his head, like a demented Sherlock cap. Quickly, he grabbed the other controller and flipped the goggles so the two switched places. He flicked a couple of button and he typed a string of characters on his keyboard, then switched back.

Schrödinger switched back just in time. The party had mostly left down the steps to the third floor, and only the fighter's fluffy boa was visible. Hastily, the hacker speed over to the next room, and was surprised when he was met with three stares.

"Oh, I see it. That shimmer." Kettle said.

"Yes, it could be hard to miss…" Mayuko added

"I told you so." Lane chimed,

'Scheiße!' (7) Schrödinger thought, freezing. This never happened before…

"Drop your disguise, whether you be shaman, sprite, or something else entirely." The Wavemaster commanded, "There is no further use for it."

The hacker sighed. 'Damn, no getting around it.' He thought in his native German. He descended to the floor and removed the cloaking. "Ok, ok, you got me" he said in English, "But I couldn't help but overhear you are in need of a hacker…" he grinned, flashing sharp canines.

1010101010101

(1) I'm guessing how the original Lia Fail looked like based on the tiny shot we get. And I unintentionally used some alliterative passages.

(2) If you tried to put the English word "sweetheart" (English is bolded, remember) into Japanese, then the katakana would be something like "suuitohaato" or "suitohaato". So that's why it's "su" instead of the English "sw".

(3) This is her right, so if you looked at her head-on, it would be to your left.

(4) :Shifty eyes: Plot hole? What plot hole? "PvP" means Player versus Player, as in combat, by the way.

(5) By "ether" I mean the blank/solid color screen y'get when you pop through a wall or other unprogrammed environment. I once jumped on a city wall in EverQuest, and I peered into the ether on the outside. I made sure not to fall.

(6) For those who don't know, "Regen" is a term for a regenerating spell, from the spell in the Final Fantasy series. Or at least, I use that term.

(7) Don't look it up, it's a four-letter word… which means you all will immediately look it up regardless.

So, OMG! Cliffhanger! In truth, I was working this on a long time, and I was stuck…. Then I decided to delete a coupla lines and leave it hanging. Must easier. This is freshly beta'd by my merciless sister. Huzzah! I've fixed some plot holes (ehehe…). I don't really have much to say, except I apologize profusely for not updating. I have been writing, but my daily commute rose about an hour or more daily. Plus, I have calculus. Even though I'm finally getting it, it still eats my time.

Anyway, excuses aside, please leave a review! If you don't have an account, then leave me an email or some other way to communicate, so I can reply to any questions or comments you have. Feel free to also contact me via Gaia Online – I have the same screenname.

Happy (early) Holidays!