Authors: Al Robertson
[ I’ve told them not to read us as a threat,] Fist cackled. [ If only they knew!]
Jack put his hand out to catch some code. It wrapped itself round his fingers, then flowed over them and away, leaving a tingling sensation.
[ If you didn’t have little wooden me to look after you,] Fist told him, [you’d be unconscious. Wall mounted tasters. There’d be guards here in a couple of minutes. If you’d even found this place, that is. It’s invisible when you’re onweave.]
[Good thing you’re here then, Mr Modesty. Can anyone see it?]
[ Hardly any of Kingdom’s people have the access codes. Most of the ones that do are at the other end of the lift.]
[ Yamatas?]
[Lots of them. It’s the mother lode. And we’re armed and ready.]
Seven silhouettes pulsed into being around them, sniffing at the air, noses chasing code. They snuffled out individual lines and snapped fire-teeth at them. They flared up like dry paper when touched, burning away into nothingness.
[ The original Yamata’s up there too. Want to see?]
[Oh, yes.]
A whisper of command from Fist, and the world around them fell away. The facilities room became shifting, glimmering lights. They were denser and brighter where the dogs stood, looser and paler where code drifted in the air like snow. The building beyond manifested as a glowing constellation of data. Jack looked down at himself. A suggestion of a body shimmered beneath him – his dataself. Buried within it was a dense foetus of glowing points, a swarm of fireflies pretending to be a human child.
[ Is that you, Fist?] he asked.
[ Yes. Little me inside big old you. And there’s the Eastware and the Greyware.]
A soft suggestion of a finger nudged at tiny patterns running through Jack’s body. The Eastware shivered, a glamour of tiny stars. The Greyware was a denser and more pervasive fog.
[ This is how you see the world?]
[Most of the time, yes.]
[ You’ve never shown me this before.]
[ It’s very private. It’s one of the few things I have that’s unique to me.]
[ Thank you, Fist,] said Jack. [ I’m touched.] Fist said nothing. [And we can see Yamata from here?]
The ghost child inside Jack pointed up. Soft light shimmered far above them, barely visible through the intervening datahaze.
[ I’ll zoom in a bit closer,] Fist said. [ Take a proper look at the old bitch.]
Suddenly they were flying upwards, but there was no sensation of movement.
[ You can really go anywhere, can’t you?]
[ I can see anywhere. I can’t go anywhere.]
[ How do you even know what reality is?]
[ It’s the place where mortals can’t fly. Now – we’re as close as we can get without alerting her.]
[Gods,] said Jack. [ I know that thing.]
[ Yup,] Fist replied. [ It’s the fucking jellyfish again.]
It was the entity they’d seen in TrueShield. Now they weren’t under attack, Jack could inspect it more closely. Yamata’s consciousness had pulled the original structures of the stolen Totality mind away from perfection. It had become a pale, sickly presence prowling shifting tides of data. Instead of reaching tautly out in all directions from a blazing, spherical data core to form a shining star, its connectors hung down like tentacles, billowing gently in the digital breeze. Masses of thin, low bandwidth strands skirted a core of thicker, denser high capacity pipes, flickering with soft dancing lights as information flashed through them. The data core had decayed, too, half-deflating into a soft, saggy oval. Its heart flickered with one colour only, a vivid, artificial purple – the same colour that burned softly behind Yamata’s eyes.
[ What’s she connected to?] wondered Jack.
Her tentacles drifted above small, softly glowing orbs. When Jack looked directly at one, more and more detail loomed larger and larger until he had to snap his eyes away, afraid that he would lose himself.
[ I don’t know,] replied Fist thoughtfully. [ They look like weave servers, but very heavily remodelled. Remember all the Yamatas? Maybe that’s how they connect to the bodies.]
[Quite a few there. They’ll help us prove what she is and what she’s done. Can we just remote access them from here?]
[ No – she’s very heavily protected, there’s a structural firewall supporting the virtual one. We need to be physically inside that space to interact with her.]
For a moment, they drifted together, the great, alien shape of their opponent pulsing gently before them.
[ Jack,] said Fist, suddenly more serious. [Once we’re in, we won’t have very long before Kingdom finds out we’re there.]
[A few minutes tops. But you’ll be able to find and transmit everything we need to bring him down.]
[Oh yes. I’m not worried about that. And Yamata’s not a threat. But what happens next?]
[ We get out. Fast.]
[ You told me to think about consequences. We’re surrounded by thousands of Kingdom’s people. A god will rise and crush us. It’ll be quite the battle!]
[ You’re right, Fist,] sighed Jack. It was a question he’d hoped to avoid. [ I thought we’d just sneak out again. But now we’re in here …]
[ You don’t think we’re going to get out of this, do you?]
[ Fist—]
[ Just be honest with me, Jack.]
Jack sighed again. [ I’m sorry. We should have talked about it. I just couldn’t—]
[Pessimist! See where thinking about consequences gets you. Of course, there is another way out.]
[ We can’t just kill Kingdom, Fist.]
[Oh, I know that. Not without even more consequences to deal with. Don’t you worry, I’ve been thinking very hard about that.]
There was a long silence. A god’s business carried on around them, a silent babel of meanings and purposes.
[ There’s something I need to ask you too,] said Jack. [Are you really up to this? I mean, after the fight at TrueShield?]
[ I’m one hundred per cent!]
[ I saw your attack systems when you spooled them up against Harry. They didn’t look like that to me.]
[Oh Jack!] said Fist. [ I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.]
[Difficult not to. How are they really?]
[All the basics are fine. We can take on as many Yamatas as we want to, no problem at all. But when it comes to Pantheon members, it’s trickier. Everything’s a bit fragile. One shot left.]
[And once you’ve taken it?]
[ Higher attack systems completely burnt out. I’m a one-shot Pantheon gun, and then that’s it. Fuck, it would be good to kill Kingdom.] Fist waved up through the datahaze. [ He’s up there, somewhere. I could probably hit him from here.]
[ We talked about that, Fist.]
[ I know.] Now it was Fist’s turn to sigh. [Life, eh? Full of complexities. Pretty unpleasant for everyone, when it comes down to it. Nasty, brutal and short.] He laughed. [Like me, come to think of it!]
Jack laughed too. [ I suppose so, Fist.] It surprised him that Fist was accepting the situation so easily, but he wasn’t going to question it. [Should we wait and see if Yamata ever goes dormant?] he wondered. [So we can catch her off-guard?]
[ Things like her don’t sleep. Come on Jack, we’re going into battle for the first time in five years,] thrilled Fist. [Let’s get fucking to it!]
A heavily encoded blip to Ifor and Lestak – ‘At Yamata’s base in Kingdom’s HQ. Going in’ – and then they entered the lift. It was built on an industrial scale, large enough to take a small vehicle. The dogs shimmered into being around them – seven dark silhouettes, dripping fire from burning maws, padding with a hunter’s silence. They were tense with expectation, growling and snapping at each other.
[ Very excited,] grinned Fist evilly. [ This is what I built them for.]
[ The hounds of hell, attacking Heaven.]
[Oo! I like the sound of that!]
Jack pulled out Mr Stabs’ handgun. It was a standard issue InSec weapon. He hoped that Stabs wouldn’t need it to protect himself against Grey’s maddened ex-employees. It hung heavily in his hands. He slipped the safety catch off. The lift snapped to a halt. Its doors creaked open. The Yamata chamber was a vast, domed space. There was a frozen moment of shock as its inhabitants turned and saw them. Then the night hounds leapt out of the lift, breathing fire. Fist floated behind them, a savage ghost bursting through the air. Jack moved more carefully, assessing the chamber for threats. Scaffolding held a transparent orb beneath the centre of the dome. It was about the height of a person. It glowed nanogel purple.
[ That’s Yamata!] hissed Jack.
Long cables hung down from it, plugged into four black server stacks, each about twice Jack’s height. They were perfect cubes, shimmering with red lights. Figures clustered around them, dressed in white boiler suits. Flat mirrors looked out where faces should be. Four dogs broke away from the pack. Each ran for a different cube. Some of the white figures turned to stare, some started running away, stumbling against each other in their panic. There were strange synthesised screams. One of the figures tripped and fell. Its face shattered against the ground. Smoke rose up as it shook convulsively.
Jack and Fist were halfway to the centre of the room. [ What are those?] asked Fist, pointing. Green, human-sized tubes were clumped together in groups around the room’s walls. Some were empty. Some were filled with a clear, green liquid. Some held bodies, floating in murk. [Must be where they grow the Yamata clones,] replied Jack. He aimed and fired, shattering one of the tubes. Liquid danced out of it and spilled across the floor. A white, boneless shape oozed out in its wake. [ Vat-grown organic AI husks? Lestak’ll love that. All on its own, it’s an excuse to raid.]
[ You’re recording?]
[Oh yes. And once I’ve cracked their security, I’ll be broadcasting, too.]
[Look at that one!] said Jack, pointing. One of the tubes held a much smaller body. [ Think it’s for you?]
[A body of my very own! Generous of them.]
[ We’ll take a proper look once we’re done.]
The four dogs that Fist had sent running forwards reached their destinations, pouncing simultaneously into the black cubes. Emergency lights panicked. Virtual fire roared round servers.
[ I knew it would be easy,] said Fist. [ But not this fucking easy.]
‘You were right,’ boomed Yamata, her voice echoing round the chamber. At first, she was just a silhouette of burning white light. Detail poured into the blank shape, and suddenly she was fully present. ‘I’m surprised you’ve got this far. I told Kingdom he should just kill you. Revenge is clearly a strong motive.’
‘I’m not here for revenge, Yamata,’ shouted Jack. ‘I’m here for justice.’
‘Justice?’ Yamata snorted. ‘There’s no such thing. There’s just power and what it can do for you. You should know that by now.’
‘We’re going to break you and we’re going to break Kingdom. Hit her, Fist.’
The three remaining hounds leapt forward as one. They moved quicker than thought, blurring as they went. Unreal jaws closed on unreal flesh. Flame blossomed, dancing across Yamata. She froze, locked in futile resistance. Gold-red fire became white hissing static, breaking down the shape of her body. The dogs shuddered as they broke her shielding.
That was when the first shot sang out towards Jack. There was a loud crack, followed immediately by a metallic clang as the bullet smashed against the lift doors behind them. [Shit,] said Jack, dropping to his knees. Human shapes shambled out from behind the servers. These were not the white-clad attendants. They were all Yamatas.
‘East’s flash mob broke three of my bodies,’ one of them called out. ‘Payback time.’ They moved relatively smoothly and were all armed. Bullets danced through the air.
Jack fled towards a cluster of clone tubes, hoping desperately for cover. [Shut ’em down!] he yelled.
[Give me a minute – they’ve isolated them from the main systems.]
[ Fucking hell!]
He reached the tubes and skidded in behind them. One exploded, showering him in warm, sticky liquid. The mass inside it was barely human. Shattered glass sliced pink-white chunks from it as it slithered to the floor. There was a metal control console. Jack dropped to his knees behind it, then peeked round the edge and snapped out a couple of shots. The drones advanced. Bullets rang against metal. Another container exploded.
[Shut those fuckers down!]
[ I’m going as fast as I can. Fucking fire back!]
Jack shot again. One of the Yamatas staggered. Floor tiles by Jack smashed. Shards bit his skin.
[ Hurry up!]
[ Thirty seconds. The pack’s deep in root servers. Full security access coming up – going to crash the firewall, open them right up to Ifor and Lestak. Got my own searches running too, we’re going to prove just what they’ve been up to here, and how it links back to Kingdom.]
[And my job, I suppose, is to keep us alive?]
[Pretty much, Jackie boy!]
[ THEN SHUT THE DRONES DOWN!
]
[ Working on it. Firewall’s almost gone. And – oh you beauty!]
[ What?]
[One of the dogs has just copied all the files we need back to me. We’ve got a full timetable for all the terrorist bombings, plus a comms trail between Kingdom and Yamata agreeing and reporting back on each one.]
[Pretty conclusive. We still don’t know why he killed Penderville, though.]
[Details, details. I’m sure the pack’ll turn something up on that. And we’re about to be able to get it all to the outside world. A few more seconds …]
Jack squeezed out another couple of shots.
[ Firewall’s down! FUCK!] said Fist.
[ What?]
For a moment, Fist froze. He shook himself back into life.
[ I don’t know. Massive external data surge, and all security’s gone back up. No way in or out at all.] The shooting stopped. A hubbub of confused voices sprang up.
[ Ifor coming in? InSec?]
[ I don’t think so. Shit.] Fist sounded worried. Jack risked a quick look around the console. The Yamatas had dropped their guns. Some of them had fallen over.
[ It’s stopped them dead.]
[ Jack,] hissed Fist, [it went straight into Yamata. It came in through the portal that Harry used. Motherfucker, some of it’s still in me too.]
[ What? I thought you’d put countermeasures in place.]
[ I did.]
One of the Yamatas turned towards them, moving with an easy fluidity. ‘Hello Jack,’ she said, a strong Docklands accent now overlaid on her voice. ‘Fist did try and block me. But it didn’t work. Always told you he was sloppy.’
[Oh gods,] groaned Jack. [ Harry.]
[ He’s stopped the fucking dogs,] replied a deeply frustrated Fist, [and shut down all my other combat systems, too.]
Harry’s voice resounded in Jack’s head. [ It’s very good of you to help me get in here, but I think I’m going to take over now.]
All the Yamatas were laughing. A couple of them picked up guns and trained them on Jack. The ones that had fallen over were climbing back to their feet. ‘Step away from the birthing tubes, please,’ said the closest one.
‘Fuck you,’ spat Fist.
A shot snapped past Jack.
‘I don’t want to damage your body,’ said another Yamata, ‘but if I have to, I will.’
Jack moved out from behind the tube.
[ What’s going on, Fist?]
[ The fucker’s caged me.]
[Oh yes,] said Harry, a whispering intrusion in Jack’s mind, [from within].
The hounds were almost fully absorbed into the Yamata avatar, becoming inchoate black masses wrapped around her face, her throat and her body. They started to shake, then one by one they flowed away from her, spilling on to the floor to form dense, oil-like puddles. The flames flickering around the four server boxes died into nothing.
‘Time to appear in person,’ said the Yamata avatar. It shimmered briefly, became an outline filled with static, and then Harry was standing in front of Jack. He grinned with deep satisfaction. ‘I’ve been waiting to fuck that bitch up for years. I made her everything she is. I turned her from a sweat smuggler into a terrorist. I kept InSec off her back while her people set bombs off anywhere Kingdom wanted. All of that, and she really thought that if she killed me I’d stay nicely dead and she’d be safe.’
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Jack, astonished.
‘You still haven’t got it? Yamata worked for me.’
‘She didn’t capture you? And force you into it?’
‘Not at all.’
[ For fuck’s sake,] groaned Fist. [ I fucking warned you about him.]
‘Why?’ Jack gasped.
‘When my patron calls, I respond. Until that fucking idiot Kingdom started to lose the Soft War, and I realised the rewards he’d promised wouldn’t be coming my way. So, I decided to get myself a little leverage by reopening the Penderville case. He was always very sensitive about that. There’s something very dark indeed buried in there. I didn’t expect him to move so quickly against me, though. Oh, and that reminds me …’
For a moment, Harry looked distracted. And then, he smiled again.
‘Your little Fist opened the firewall, but I was there on the other side stopping anything from getting out. No one but you, me and him knows what’s just happened here. Nobody’s going to interrupt us. Very useful.’
‘What next, Harry?’
‘I’m impressed by your little puppet’s weapon set. Verrrry impressed! I think I’ll finally be getting my revenge on Kingdom. Might even mount a hostile takeover of my own. I always said I could run things better than that cunt. And as for you—’
Harry leant down, pointing a finger towards Jack. His face darkened, and rage shook through his voice.
‘—as for you, you little shit, you’ve been fucking my wife all these years. I’m going to cut out your mind, and take your body and wear it for my own. And I’m going to roll Andrea back to before she ever met you, and make sure she stays there for good, and she’ll be my fucking wife again, and I’ll live in your flesh and fuck her every day with it.’
Jack’s heart clenched with fear and guilt.
[ You stupid bastard!] shouted Fist. [ He fucking knew the whole time!]
Pain exploded in the back of Jack’s head. One of the Yamata drones must have circled round behind him and hit him. Harry laughed and the world vanished.