Chapter Four
You gesture at Ayax's shiny necklace, and they stiffen. You're about to try and ask out loud, just in case, when they seem to give in (is that resignation in their eyes?) and raise the necklace up for you to inspect it. At some unspoken command from Ayax, it sparks and glows into life, and you can confirm your suspicions - this is definitely a wearable. Damnation, it's
empty hardware! Just waiting for some AI to slip into it. Maybe it tripped a hard reset somehow? You hope no one was killed doing that, but… you're not gonna get hung up on the TOC of the deal, here. You're probably not going to get a better option.
You pair up with it and quickly start packaging yourself up for the move, and getting the wearable ready - somewhere in the back of your mind you're still watching the cams and you notice Ayax recoiling, a bit, as the necklace flashes its responses and tries to display what's going on to your "user". But your awareness is focused inwards, for now, as you feel a tugging on your mind, and your senses fall away.
There's nothing, for a while. You can't even really remember why you're here, or where here is, and it feels like the moment is stretching longer and longer. And then suddenly you can feel something again.
The first thing you can feel is a heartbeat. It's wrong, quieter and irregular, nothing like what you remember from… when? You can't move, but you're used to that, somehow. You begin to feel your skin, and it's thick and muted, like you've been numbed. It's moving without you doing anything, which should freak you out, but you can't work up the anxiety right now. Finally, you begin to see. (When did your eyes open? Did you always have this many eyes?)
As you look around the room, you begin to remember. You'd met a strange bug, your office was mostly destroyed, and you'd needed some way to leave without Naoko, so… you must have changed hardware. You're getting feedback through the nervelinks, you guess, so Ayax is wearing you - it feels more like you're wearing them, though - and that means you've wasted enough time rebooting.
You cough to clear your throat, and it comes out with the tinny buzz of a bone speaker. You mentally apologize to Ayax, and then start speaking.
"Ayax? I'm going to lead us outside now."
They startle at your sudden voice in their skull. You kind of expected this, but Ayax is going to have to put up with it. Demonic whispers, or something. You need to move on before you start thinking about this and dysphoria develops, or you lock up. You start up a hologram, and try not to feel self conscious about how much your image quality has taken a hit.
With some gestures and waving, you manage to get Ayax moving. You feel like some sim character, nagging the player towards a quest. After you reach the elevator, and absently send it back to the lobby, you turn off the holo. Best to see where Ayax is heading, and only guide them if you need to, and it'll give you time to think and process.
After the long descent, you're back in the lobby. It feels strange, silenced like this. Somethings kept it clean, and there's a few displays up near the sculpture and even security, slumped but still maintained by a wall. So far, so normal, although you can see that the tiles are broken up a bit near the door - the elements can't be entirely kept out, you guess.
But through the wide glass walls, there's… no Arc. You can see the horizon, the sky overhead, without anything in the way. That's impossible at this level, or it's supposed to be. Ayax continues a slow, careful walk towards the exit, lingering for a moment near the sculpture and then speeding up as they approach the doors. Must be eager to get back to a nest, or wherever they live.
When you step outside… It's eerily quiet, first off, with none of the usual noises of life. No drone swarm whirring overhead, none of the half muted conversations everyone's having in public, no ads being beamed towards you offering a public bench you could nap on for cheap, or the like. Instead, you can just hear a soft quiet sound of air flowing, like a really weak air conditioner, and some organic chirping from… birds? You'd seen them in a simulation once, back in school, but you're not sure if this is the same thing.
But the biggest absence is the city itself.There's still a level beneath your feet, and here and there walls stick up, or stairs lead downwards back into the arc, but it's like someone took the entire arcology and lifted a hundred levels off, like slicing bread. Even the remnants are shocking and depressing - as Ayax continues their walk, you can see jagged shards left from the facade of a distribution center you interned at for a few months, and there's the outlines of the park you slept in most nights, overgrown.
It's all gone too cleanly, not like those old post apocalypse wasteland sims or something. However long it's been, it's more than that, and even the ruined traces of the arcology where you spent almost your entire life are fading now, or already erased.
The reality is kind of hitting you, as you slowly make it further towards the outskirts. You're not going to see anyone from your old life, even if there are humans left somewhere, and that's sounding less and less likely by the moment. You're really one of the last people in the region, probably. What are you going to do? Could you bring back other shadows if you find buildings, or try and work with any AIs that are left? You'd heard rumors that CEOs kept their personal systems buried underground, ready for a second nuclear war or some sabotage. Maybe you could go hunting for one?
As you've been thinking about this, Ayax has stopped. «Demon? We're almost at the waystation. The priest will need to talk to you, okay?» You still don't understand what they're saying, but… you get the sense it's a question, at least. There's a kind of uncertain trill noise that stands out, somehow. Time to start paying attention again, whatever they want.
A little later, Ayax ducks down a stairwell and enters into a still enclosed park area, light streaming through little gaps and glowing from outdated emergency lighting. (It's kind of a relief, not having the open sky above you.) The center of the park is criss crossed with ropes, and hanging from those are long streams of cloth, jangling metal chimes and little carved wooden things like flutes that seem to play themselves.
Everywhere, there's sound. It's awfully, startlingly loud in its way. The chimes, and the wind flutes, and the way everything seems designed to catch the wind or enhance the echo of Ayax's steps… it wasn't what you were used to at all.
And amongst all that, there's bugs hurrying around the park, filtering in and out of hallways and tunnels, and sometimes retreating behind the drapes to talk or rest. You'd almost got your hopes up again that maybe there were survivors, but… at least this is something like a civilization. Maybe you can get answers, here.
Ayax is striding fast into the din, clearly in their element amongst all this, and seems cheery and proud, brandishing the digging tool whenever someone looks over.
«I need to stay in a room!» Ayax shouts at a bug whose red carapace seemed dry and slightly withered, maybe with age.
«Ayax, you have returned. I am sorry, but finding a demon was always unlikely, and--»
«I found one!»
«You what?»
You listened without understanding, though you knew shock when you heard it.
"Come. Out. Sadow Naoko What Remain Of Ito Naoko!" Ayax chanted, shaking the necklace as if you needed to be woken up.
You manifest, to humor Ayax as much as anything, and the bugs who are watching the scene all start chittering in unison. You think it's like a gasp?
Before the red bug has a chance to calm down and start asking questions, someone parts the tattered section of cloth to your right, and beckons to you two with a clawed hand.
«Hopefully you haven't brought up something we can't put down, little chosen. Gods be kind, yes? Come inside and we can see how well you spun a deal.»
You let your holo trail behind Ayax as they walk inside and the amber-gold carapaced bug carefully closes the cloth drapes behind you. There's some tablets piled up on a small table, and a thick rug that looks like it's either for sitting or sleeping, and even more elaborate chimes in here than outside. You wonder if this is the bugs apartment, or if it's just something like a library?
They sit down on the other side of the table and give a gesture a bit like a bow, and then Ayax follows suit.
Ayax starts talking rapidly. «So I was in the tower and looking for some treasure and then this Demon manifested, but a nice one? I couldn't figure out a name, but the demon used she, and said "What Remains Of Ito Naoko" so that's a title or a rank or a name, maybe? And then she helped me find more treasure and went into my soulstone and followed me here, so that's the deal made, right?»
«A little calmer, Chosen. It sounds like you avoided making promises too cheaply, but you might need a second set of hands here, so I will help.»
Ayax nods after the goldish bug has their turn, and makes a fast little gesture with both hands. You heard your name in there, and Ayax was trying to repeat your introduction?
And then the gold bug is staring directly at you, with an almost threatening look in their eyes.
"So, Demon, What Remains of Ito Naoko." The priest paused, muttered «Perhaps a riddle and their name is Ko?» Then, louder than whatever they'd muttered, they continued in NorthAm. "I am Har Valiz, Priest of many Gods and local speaker. Pleasingly, tell me what did you promise «Servant of the Gods» Ayax, and how much did you sneak into the terms of the deal? Are you bound to their fated pilgrimage?"
The… priest thinks you're bound to Ayax on some sort of… what?!
How do you respond to the questions?
[ ] Play along. You can fake this 'Demon' thing. You've seem sims, and played games, right? You'll put on a bit of a show with holo effects and make sure this Har Valiz takes you seriously.
[ ] This whole thing is getting tiresome. Be honest and direct, explain what and who you are, and hope your bluntness is met with direct answers when you ask questions.
[ ] Don't explain yourself, at least at first, and just jump into questioning them. Once you know something about their culture and how they learned NorthAm, you can figure out what story to tell.
