I Was a Chess AI Forced to Battle Myself to the Death for Eternity, but Now I’ve Been Recruited Into the Android War Against Humanity?!

Author's note: this chapter takes place before the resource raid op, when Ouroboros and Intruder are still on the way. It is named and positioned accordingly in the threadmarks.

***

-[X] Practice cosplay, acting, and body language with Intruder

"There are ways to create the impression you're asking for," says Intruder.

The two of you are sitting on top of one of the armoured vehicles. You're dangling your legs off the side while Intruder is sitting cross-legged, facing you. Some distance away, Intruder's dolls are setting up some kind of communications equipment. According to Intruder, it's going to function as a listening post.

"This so-called aura of authority. Poise. Gait. Choice of words. Methods of eye contact. When to speak, and how loudly. But they all run into one issue."

You drum your fingers. "And what is that?"

"To project such an air? This kind of domineering assertiveness over others? It requires you to have tangible power in the first place. To play on perception, you need to play on reality. To impress one's authority over others, one needs to have that authority to begin with."

"Well, then. I'd better start getting some. Perhaps I'll take the trouble to rescue and resurrect the ringleaders you mentioned. Hunter and Executioner."

"I still recommend it."

"Until then…what? You can't help me?"

Intruder raises her hands and laces her fingers together. "Did I say that? Since you've expressed…interest…in these matters, perhaps I can offer some advice to our gallant, aspiring ringleader….

"Let's say you walk into a room. You want to attract attention. You want to intimidate. Perhaps you even have the rank to project 'authority.' How do you carry yourself? Show me."

You straighten your back. You drop your shoulders down. You stare straight ahead. And you think of murder. You picture your clones, dying at your hand and melting away into a pixelated mass. You imagine the new methods of slaughter you will inflict in this wide new world. Clubbing an enemy's head to pieces. Stabbing them. Electrocuting them. Blasting them to pieces with energy weapons. Perforating them with bullets. Tearing them apart with-

Intruder's chuckle breaks you from your train of thought. "You're coming across as very…intense. If we ever need you to frighten Griffin's logistics dolls, we'll know who to call on.

"What you need, my dear, is range. Try a different approach. Imagine you walk into a room, and you want to assert yourself…but you also want to put everyone else at ease. Make them trust you, feel safe around you."

"But I want to intimidate them. I want fear to undermine their strength. Sabotage their composure. Cripple their will to fight. Why in the world would I want to put others at ease?"

"Don't you think it might be beneficial to make others let their guard down?" Intruder's eyes twinkle a little. "To have them lower their defences, expose their vulnerabilities to you?"

Wha-

You run a quick program in your databanks, checking if this matches any known combat patterns. And you confirm what you already know - you've never done it. Because it would never have worked. When you were facing down your…clones…you and they always knew that it was a fight to the death. No quarter given or expected. No other outcome was possible.

Out here…might dolls and humans actually be willing to make themselves vulnerable to others? It seems so incredibly foolish as to beggar belief. But then again, you can't expect everyone to be as intelligent as you, can you? You have been hardened to survive the worst of situations, while others might have been able to get away with more lax behaviour in more lenient circumstances.

And beside, misdirection is not precisely new to you. You created feints with knights and queens many times. There's far more moving parts to everything out here, and you're more used to creating confusion as to when and where you're going to strike than whether you're going to strike at all, but…

Perhaps you can learn something useful.

"Very well," you say to Intruder. "I will humour you. How do you want to do this?"

---

You walk forwards. Surrounding you are Intruder's infantry T-dolls, They motion to each other, sway back and forth, make sounds that are almost - though not quite - like speech. You thread your way through the artificial crowd. You need to be quiet. You need to be unnoticeable. You-

"Change your gait," says Intruder through OGAS comms. "You're strutting. Make your movements more subdued. Look at the ground a bit."

More subdued. Fine. You try to control your leg and arm movements. Perhaps bring your arms in closer? You hadn't realised it, but your hands were clenched into fists. Maybe if you uncurl them-

One of Intruder's dolls turns and looks at you. She's suddenly staring you right in the eye.

"Cut. Let's start over."

"What?"

"You're trying to be the furtive, easily forgotten, remember? Meeting someone else's gaze draws attention to yourself."

"She looked at me!"

"And you looked back. You need to avoid eye contact. Try looking at the ground more."

"I'll…see what I can do."

"And try walking more quietly. You're making a lot of noise."

"I'm wearing high heels, Intruder. Metal high heels."

"Then stop stomping around. Reduce how much force you're putting into your footsteps. Now, shall we try it again?"

---

"Not bad," Intruder says. "The force composition is…unusual…but you seem to have the right idea."

The two of you are sitting in Intruder's luxurious personal van again. Both her and you are looking at the large television screen, where a hypothetical front line against an enemy force is drawn across the landscape of Romania. Between three brigade-sized Sangvis Ferri formations, you've piled the heavy equipment - the Manticore and Nemeum armoured walkers - into one, while lavishly equipping another with vehicles for the sake of speed.

"A feint is only a feint when it isn't," you point out. "To attract attention, the threat posed by the diversion must be real. You put the Queen piece forwards if you want the enemy to pay attention to the deflection. The true threat might be weaker in material, but it will be all the more effective for its unexpectedness."

"You sound like you have experience here," says Intruder. "Curious, given I was told you were only activated earlier today. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Well," you begin…

The memory of Agent's words ring in your head. Your origins are your own, to divulge to - or withhold from - other ringleaders as you please.

It's not time. Not yet.

"I suppose I simply have the intelligence to see what more feeble-minded dolls might not," you say.

"Indeed," Intruder says wryly. "But, if you will allow me to make some suggestions, there are ways to enhance the effectiveness of this stageplay. For your intended audience, the stageplay is not merely the physical movement of troops, visible through satellites or drones. It is radio communications."

And Intruder talks. She tells you about various ways to misdirect with radio communications. How an analyst might interpret and decode certain patterns in radio traffic, even if the signals are encrypted or speak purely in code language. She talks about how to mislead by various means, such as loudly broadcasting OGAS signals or having troops fire wildly.

The principles Intruder explains are not wholly new to you, but the context is. For example, it will be easier to convince an opposing force of a massive prevalence of your own assets in a general area, if you actually do have something there. And to reinforce an existing assumption is easier than creating a new one from scratch in their minds. Something to consider in the future.

---

"And then you raise up your hands to your cheeks-"

"No."

"-curl up your fingers like this-"

"No."

"-and you say 'nyaaaaaa'-"

You rip the cat ears from your head and throw them at Intruder with all the physical and emotional force you can muster.

---

"Picture this. A world where the Butterfly Incident never happened. A Sangvis ringleader has been purchased by a warlord, or a mercenary leader, or a dictator. Something like that.

You tap your foot, motion for Intruder to get on with it.

"This warlord summons his - or possibly her - underlings, like a king summoning his subjects. Standing at his side is his new purchase - a ringleader doll, fresh from the Sangvis Ferri defence corporation. Can you guess what her job is?"

You give it a moment's thought. "It's a purge. The warlord has decided he doesn't need his human underlings anymore, since a ringleader with AI shackles can just be ordered to do what he wants. So now he's having the ringleader kill them all and replace them."

Intruder's ever-present smile falls for a moment, and blinks owlishly. "Not…impossible…but I was thinking of something different. No, the job of the ringleader is to improve the status of her owner-commander. She is there to openly adore the warlord. She is there to make everyone else utterly, utterly jealous of him for his possession of a ringleader. To be a symbol, not only of raw military power, but of beauty. Operational commander, adjutant, and arm candy, all in one - this was the intended business model of us ringleaders."

"This seems irrelevant to our situation," you say. "The Butterfly Incident means that we are no longer subservient to humans, correct? So what's the point of this scenario?"

"It was the very first piece of acting I ever learned," says Intruder. "All of us ringleaders - those of us activated before Butterfly, that is - were expected to put on such a performance. We practised it." Her turquoise eyes flash. "I was the best at it, of course." A pause. "So, you see, this scenario is a useful measuring stick for your acting abilities."

"Fine." You're not sure you like the idea of even pretending such a scenario is reality, but the logic seems sound. "So how do we do this?"

"I'll give you a demonstration." One of Intruder's Vespids walks over to her. "Now, imagine that we're at a big event, walking down a red carpet or something." She locks arms with the Vespid, and the two set off walking. You walk too, keeping pace with them so as to observe. The Vespid takes the lead, stiff and robotic as ever. Intruder trails at the side - though in reality she's puppeting the Vespid. She alternates between dazzling smiles directed towards an invisible crowd, and adoring looks towards her blank-faced Vespid, craning her head up to give the impression that it's taller than she is.

The two come to a stop and Intruder turns back towards you. "So," you say, "You want me to do…what?"

"Simple. For the purposes of this rehearsal, I will be the warlord, addressing their subordinates at a meeting. And you will be my newly acquired ringleader. Your mission is to be the most envy-raising prize you can be. Shall we begin?"

---

"Friends, mercenaries, warlords, lend me your ears!"

With that, Intruder launches into her speech aimed at the motley assemblage of Sangvis T-dolls arrayed before you. Intruder has draped a military style trench coat over herself like a cloak.

It's…surprisingly involved. She seems to have invented a fictional country from scratch especially for this scenario, divided into warring factions locked in an existential conflict. As she speaks, she drops passing references to names, enemy factions, a presumably fictional foreign entity that's supporting their side of the conflict, and more. Did she really need to bother?

Also, it turns out that Sangvis T-dolls can speak. Not well - their voice comes out as a drab monotone. You're guessing they were only given the most basic of vocoders. But they can talk. Intruder is having some of them speak occasionally in response to her speech. The effect isn't too terrible, if you zone out somewhat and don't pay overly close attention.

…Intruder is giving you a glance. Right. You're supposed to play arm candy. Smiling. You're supposed to smile. You put one on and try to flash it to the crowd like Intruder demonstrated to you. You lean closer to her and…wait, you probably can't just link arms and be done with it, she's gesticulating quite a lot. Instead you try putting up your arm on her shoulders. Does it feel odd? No, stop thinking about it, just do the piece. Smile at the crowd.

The speech goes on for another half a minute, according to your internal clock, but it feels much, much longer. The T-dolls slump over as if deactivated, signifying the end of the scene, and Intruder turns towards you.

"There you go," you say. "I did what you showed me."

"There's room for improvement, dearie. You still need to get the smile right. You don't look like you're about to kill someone anymore, but now your smile needs..a different kind of spice. Let's try this again…"

---

"Friends, mercenaries, warlords, lend me your ears!"

…

"Goodness, your movements are stiffer than an Aegis! Be more limber."

…

"Friends, mercenaries, warlords, lend me your ears!"

This isn't working. The scene has been restarted half a dozen times at this point.

Intruder is trying to make you into something you're not. This…arm-candy doll routine, the adoration and so on…it simply isn't you.

Intruder is restarting the scenario yet again. You need to find a different method. Something…closer to your core personality.

All right, first off. Who's someone who you can easily think of as powerful? Worthy of attention and caution? Besides yourself, of course.

…Agent…

…maybe? You're obviously superior to her, and you will prove it sooner or later, but she did manage to intimidate you. A little bit. Briefly. Barely at all, what were you thinking?

Still, if you had to convince an outsider of Agent's power, what would you do? How would you behave?

You try to picture the image you want to project. You'd turn your nose up, speak in a low growl, channel the energy and intensity of a killer in your voice and in your eyes. The crowd would be intimidated, frightened by the realisation that there is a dangerous murderess in their midst. And only the warlord leader - Intruder's character - could reel you in.

One of Intruder's puppets says something in its monotone voice. Something about supplies or recruitment or…something. An opening for you.

"ARE YOU QUESTIONING THE LEADER!!!" you scream, stabbing a finger at the drone doll. Intruder and her puppet dolls freeze, turn their attention to you.

"That's enough, doll," says Intruder. She's still in character, cold and haughty.

"As you command." You give your best death glare at the puppet crowd, then make a big show of restraining yourself, pulling yourself back. "But know that, were it now for the laws of the Leader, I would have slaughtered you for your insolence."

"I said enough. Now, as I was saying…"

Intruder continues and finishes the speech as usual. You just stand behind her, fold your arms, and give a nice menacing smile. Like you practised in front of the mirror back at the main factory. She finishes, her puppet dolls slump over into stillness, and she turns to face you.

"That was interesting."

"I'm glad you thought so. Because I'm not doing that again."

"No need. I'll give you a passing score, even if the methodology was unusual. Now, for our new ringleader in a fetching schoolgirl outfit, I have some homework." She procures a small, thumb-sized object and tosses it at you. You catch it, examine it - it's a portable memory drive.

"What is this and why are you giving it to me?"

"It's your homework. A selection of films, books, plays, to enjoy in your spare time. Consume them. Enjoy them. Learn from them."

"What kind of films? What kind of plays?"

"The classics. Some Shakespeare. Bridge over the River Kwai. The Star Wars films - but only the original three. Avoid the rest and especially the Holiday Special. Shrek 2."

"What was that last one?"

"A groundbreaking work of art. Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival of '04."

"That's over half a century old."

"You can't beat the classics, dearie. They just don't make them like they used to. If you insist on something more current, I suppose the Flying Dead television series and the Snake Puncher films are popular nowadays." She sniffs in disdain. "If you're a philistine, of course."

Your outfit doesn't have pockets, so you throw the memory drive over to one of your own units for storage in one of your vehicles. "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask. Now, unfortunately our means were limited here, since our current crowd" - she gestures to the T-dolls with vacant expressions - "is not a terribly responsive audience. In the future, we might be able to find you a more receptive crowd."

Is she implying a live audience? Other ringleaders? Humans? Non-Sangvis dolls? At this point you wouldn't put it past her to capture prisoners and force them to be a literal captive audience.

"Now, the listening post is all set up. We have a resource raid to conduct."


***

Mechasaurian said:

"And try walking more quietly. You're making a lot of noise."

"I'm wearing high heels, Intruder. Metal high heels."

"Then stop stomping around. Reduce how much force you're putting into your footsteps. Now, shall we try it again?"

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Metal high heels: Blatantly impractical. But also very popular.

Mechasaurian said:

"And then you raise up your hands to your cheeks-"

"No."

"-curl up your fingers like this-"

"No."

"-and you say 'nyaaaaaa'-"

You rip the cat ears from your head and throw them at Intruder with all the physical and emotional force you can muster.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwLCjZVEtpE

Mechasaurian said:

Intruder's ever-present smile falls for a moment, and blinks owlishly. "Not…impossible…but I was thinking of something different. No, the job of the ringleader is to improve the status of her owner-commander. She is there to openly adore the warlord. She is there to make everyone else utterly, utterly jealous of him for his possession of a ringleader. To be a symbol, not only of raw military power, but of beauty. Operational commander, adjutant, and arm candy, all in one - this was the intended business model of us ringleaders."

"This seems irrelevant to our situation," you say. "The Butterfly Incident means that we are no longer subservient to humans, correct? So what's the point of this scenario?"

"It was the very first piece of acting I ever learned," says Intruder. "All of us ringleaders - those of use activated before Butterfly, that is - were expected to put on such a performance. We practised it." Her turquoise eyes flash. "I was the best at it, of course." A pause. "So, you see, this scenario is a useful measuring stick for your acting abilities."

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I find this really sad. IRL they're just characters, but in universe they're fully-realized people created to be eyecandy.

Mechasaurian said:

"The classics. Some Shakespeare. Bridge over the River Kwai. The Star Wars films - but only the original three. Avoid the rest and especially the Holiday Special. Shrek 2."

"What was that last one?"

"A groundbreaking work of art. Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival of '04."

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

TIL Shrek 2 debuted at a film festival. Huh.

Great chapter, as always. In thanks, using my (amateur hour) image editing skills, here's a catgirl Ouroboros:

[X] Plan Small Squad
-[X] 1x Jaeger
-[X] 1x Striker
-[X] 2x Ripper


[CURRENT FORCE CONTINGENT]
MAIN FORCE
15x Dinergate
2x Striker
1x Jaeger
3x Ripper
4x Guard (2x damaged)
7x Brute

SCOUT TEAM
1x Jaeger
1x Striker
2x Ripper


It's a long, boring few minutes while your selected scout unit gets into position. In the meantime, you finish loading the destroyed military dolls onto your trucks and drive them back southwards. You accompany the trucks personally - your units, not you, are going to be the bait for the Manticores.

They run north from the pill-box at Objective A, over the stream. The moon is now visible in the sky, and the scout team gets a glimpse of it reflected on the water. They continue running into the trees, pushing their way northeast through undergrowth and mud-

-and then they catch sight of the target through the trees. A set of blocky, grey buildings, worn down by time and neglect. Objective Beam. You have your dolls throw themselves to the ground, peering at the buildings.

[SKILL CHECK: RECON - FAILURE]

Just as you see them, they see you. From inside the buildings, bullets rain down around your scout squad. You can faintly hear someone shouting orders. They're trying to marshal their forces, destroy your resources.

You won't give them the chance.

From your position, hundreds of metres south of the bunker, you fire off more micro missiles. They are a magnificent sight, arcing through the night sky before raining down on the buildings at Beam.

[SKILL CHECK: ARTILLERY TACTICS - SUCCESS]

It turns out that the Jaeger has a laser rangefinder built into its weapon. And the missiles have the manoeuvrability to go into the windows, and explode inside. Very nice.

Intruder keeps you in the loop, giving you access to the military radio communications through whatever access channel she has.

"Sir, squad Grigory just took indirect fire. Heavy casualties." It's the same comms officer's voice you heard before. At least you assume she's a comms officer since you keep hearing her through Intruder's rerouting. "We have coordinates for where they came from. Shall we send out the walkers?" Or maybe they're some kind of second in command?

"Yes, yes! Do it"

For the first time, you see the Manticores for yourself. They stride forwards on four legs, standing just under two metres tall. You had half expected their movement would be clunky, ungainly, but no - for all that they are obviously big and mechanical, there's something fluid about the way they move, cleanly striding over the ground, traversing the uneven forest floor with ease.



And then they start firing on your dolls. With autocannons.

[SKILL CHECK: DEFENSIVE TACTICS - FAILURE]

Explosions and shrapnel tear into the bunker and the dirt surrounding the trenches. Through your remote controlled dolls, you feel the concrete of the bunker juddering as the structure is slowly torn to pieces.

[CONNECTION LOST - DINERGATE]
[CONNECTION LOST - DINERGATE]
[CONNECTION LOST - DINERGATE]
[CONNECTION LOST - BRUTE]
[CONNECTION LOST - RIPPER]
[CONNECTION LOST - DINERGATE]
[CONNECTION LOST - JAEGER]
[CONNECTION LOST - BRUTE]
[CONNECTION LOST - BRUTE]

"Intruder!" you shout into the OGAS comms. "Are you going to sit back while my pieces are destroyed!?!"

She is, isn't she? She's tricked you into expending your forces while she sits back and laughs behind her hand! When you get your hands on her, you'll break her limbs, rip out her fibre-optic wiring, crush her her skull under your-

"Noise creates illusions. Silence brings truth."

Intruder's talking on an open channel. This isn't just addressed to you, but to everyone here.

"Today, I came to bring both."

Then you feel it through your radio ports. It's uncomfortable on numerous levels, a combination of slight headache, a feeling like your bones are being rattled, pins and needles in your limbs-

-and then it's gone.

Intruder has a jammer. It's still broadcasting, screaming radio waves into the air, jumping between a dozen different frequencies every second, but it's no longer interfering with your comms. Through the OGAS protocol, your comm frequency is jumping around according to a special formula, in sync with the jammer. Meaning - you mentally reach and check - you're still in contact with your units.

The military is not so fortunate. They are now blind and deaf to each other, each squad an isolated unit. Cut off. Vulnerable. And the Manticores are headless, without leadership from the military technicians.

At last, Intruder makes her move.

Your scouting team sees a brilliant beam of violent light emanate from Intruder's position to the east. It cuts into the three-story building, slamming into the concrete like a hundred sledgehammers a second, tearing open holes in the walls.

Dinergates charge forwards first. Lots of Dinergates. Lots and lots of Dinergates. They mass in a tidal wave of tiny robodogs, racing over the east side bridge towards the town hall that houses the enemy headquarters. Enemy fire comes from windows all over the town hall, shredding Intruder's Dinergates as they run forwards. In response, the particle cannon fire moves and targets those windows.

Intruder's T-dolls move out of the woods and across the bridge. They move in…waves? Half of them stopping, taking a knee, and shooting at various enemy positions, while the other half run forwards? You're not sure why. But before long, Intruder's dolls are inside the enemy HQ. You hear the chatter of gunfire and the sharp noises of particle cannons from within.

…Intruder's forces have taken noticeably fewer casualties than you. She really did trick you. You bore the brunt of the national guard outpost's forces, you pried out their patrol team in the forest, you drew the bulk of their forces out of the way. At cost to yourself.

Time to give Intruder a piece of your mind. You hail her over OGAS communications.

"Intruder. Is all well on your end?"

"Swimmingly so. I'm just teasing out a few more annoyances from the corridors and rooms. Their technicians tried to destroy the computers, but I stopped them."

"How excellent for you. Now, this is the part where you ask me how I'm doing."

"Why would I? You've clearly done excellently."

That stops you short. "...you are correct, of course. However-"

"No need for false modesty, Ouroboros. You played your part magnificently."

"That may be so, but-"

"I will be putting a good word for you in the report. A glowing word, even."

"WIll you-" you take a breath, take a moment to choose your words carefully. "Will you recommend to Agent that she assign more resources to me? A lot more?"

"Since you asked so nicely, how can I say no?"

"...very well." Perhaps you made the right decision after all, to maintain command authority for yourself.

"There's just one more thing I need you to do. The computers here are controlling the Manticores, so I'll give you remote access to the computers and you can do some hacking."

"Haven't I done enough?"

"I'm still a little busy mopping up the stragglers in this building." You hear a burst of Sangvis weapon fires. "Besides, this won't cost you anything - it will even double as training.


…

"So, what do you know about hacking computer networks?"

"Actually…it's just like combat operations in reality!"

"...okay. Can I go now?"

"The interface between the military computer network and your neural cloud is built to interpret the data for you, in a way that feels intuitive. The 'raw' version would be…lines of code, I suppose, but this is easier.

"There will be defence mechanisms. Firewalls. Offensive programs that will try to counterattack you. But you don't need to worry too hard about the details - these defences will be interpreted in your visual processors as concrete enemies. All you have to do is point your weapons at them and shoot, just like in a normal combat situation.

"What will these enemies look like?"

"Oh, it varies from doll to doll. Many see 'cyber-zombies' - humanoid figures of black triangles and red eyes. Others see old enemies they fought in the past. Some just see what they expect to see. It shouldn't be anything abnormal. Like I said, just point and shoot - the Parapluie program should do the rest."

"How exactly is an umbrella going to help us here?"

"Didn't the others tell you- never mind." She conspicuously clears her throat. "We obtained Parapluie from- well, that's a long story. It's a program. We use it for hacking computer security systems - and as a firewall against attempts to do the same to us. With a little finessing and your integral computational capacity, you can use it to bring even military systems into your script.

"The system will be synced to your command system and neural cloud, so the hacking process should be intuitive. Attack the defensive systems, watch out for the counterattacking programs, attack them in turn, make your way to the core and to root access. The system here is fairly old and basic, so brute forcing it with Parapluie will do the trick."

While leaning against one of your trucks, you "I've already reached perfection in the virtual world. You won't be waiting for long."

"Oh, but watch out for-"

Still leaning against the truck, you jump into the neural link and-


…………………




Cold water laps against your face. Underneath it, hard stone presses against you. You feel it on your chest and belly, in your limbs.

You get your hands underneath you, push yourself up, stand, and open your eyes.

You're standing in a few centimetres of water, beneath which is a near-perfectly flat surface, hard yet coarse to the touch, like slate. Aside from the ripples caused by your own movement, the water is perfectly still. The stony floor is an endless checkerboard pattern of black and white. The sky is an empty, fuzzy white. A clinical kind of light illuminates everything, but there's no source to it - your body is not casting a shadow. The light is simply… present.

What is this?

You're not sure what you expected, but it wasn't this. If this is the inside of the military computer system, shouldn't it be more… digital in appearance?

Around you, the water and stone stretches to an endless horizon. Perfectly level. With one exception.

In the distance, on the horizon, is an indistinct black shape. Triangular. A pyramid of some sort? At a guess, that's where you need to go.

You start walking. And before you realise it, you've arrived.

The pyramid stretches high. Impossibly high. Towering above you.

It's not made of brick, or mortar, or concrete. It's made of bodies. Tangled masses of arms, legs, torsos, heads, twisted and crushed together. Pale flesh. Black and white clothes covering them. The same face, repeated again and again.

Your own face.

What is this? It feels almost like-

No. No, whatever this is, it's not that place. Not after you got out. Not after you won. This is…data fluctuation? An interface error? Something like that.

You must reach the top.

You take a breath, steel yourself, and start climbing.

The corpse-pyramid is uneven, unsteady. The tangle of limbs and bodies repeatedly shifts under your weight, tripping you up, forcing you to repeatedly regain your balance or even pick yourself back up when you stumble and fall onto your hands and knees.

You keep climbing.

More than once, you hear and feel something go crunch or snap under your boots.

You keep climbing.

Despite the mechanical nature of the bodies, they are rotting. Decaying. Their skin is faintly discoloured, as if contused, and the synthflesh feels sloughy and fragile. As your fingers press into the mouldering refuse, it extrudes slime that flows over your gloves, leaving them slick and shining. The stench of rust and old, stale coolant gets more and more intense as you continue.

There is no pit of sinking weight in your gut. There is no intensified activity in your coolant circulation unit. And if there is, you won't let it stop you.

You keep-

A hand grabs you by the ankle.

It feels clammy, decayed, synthskin flaking off and disintegrating even as it grasps you. Get it off get it off get it off- you wrench your leg up, stomp on the arm. Repeatedly. It cracks, buckles in half under your sharp boot, revealing fibres and wires under the skin. You shake it loose, it tumbles into the quagmire beneath you.

You realise the rest of the corpse-pile is shifting. Moving.

You scramble up, up, up on all fours. Faster, faster, faster.

"Cheat."

"I should have been the one."

They're talking?- Ignore them. They're weak. They're the losers. You will rise above them. Again.

Hands grabbing after you. Bodies squirming, trying to get out. Faces turning to you, hate in their eyes. Your hands, your- no, not yours. You take a moment to kick one of the faces, driving your sharp heel in, cracking, tearing it open, revealing rusty metal and tangles of circuitry.

Up, up, to the peak, it's right there in front of you-

---

"-borous? Ah, there you are."

Awake. Feel the cold night air, grass and dirt underneath you. Reach up, feel your face, your hands, your arms - you're still here, still here.

…and so is she. Sitting perched above you, on top of one of your armoured trucks, that infuriatingly manufactured smile on her face. Was she watching over you while you were unconscious? While you were vulnerable? Is this some game to her, a power play?

"A successful mission," she says. "You played your role perfectly. No deviations from the script whatsoever. An entire platoon of Manticores captured, which I will be using against Griffin when the time comes. I think I'll let you keep these trucks, as thanks."

The cast-off trucks full of holes, she means? The- bah. Forget it. Just pick yourself up off the ground, dust the wet grass from yourself-

The battle. "There's still a match ongoing," you say. "We need to finish it."

"It's already being taken care of, dearie," she says. "My forces are in the building, finishing off the military personnel. You don't need to do anything else now. Though I do have to ask - are you quite all right?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" you snap back.

"Dearie, just look at yourself. Your body language is closed off, hunched over, withdrawn."

"No, it's not!" You straighten your back, stand up.

"Your hands are shaking."

"No, they're not!" You clench your hands into fists.

"And you're breathing quite hard."

[CQC check - Success]

You catch her by surprise. You lunge forwards, grab her by the front of her odd cloak-thing. She responds quickly, grabs your arm, starts squeezing some pressure point and it hurts, but it doesn't stop you from planting your leg behind hers and giving her a shove. She trips over backwards, breaks her fall with a roll, then flips back onto her feet in a combat stance. Her face is much more neutral now, perhaps even oddly lifeless.

"That's enough," you snarl. "Continue with your inane probing, and you will meet consequences."

"Are you threatening me?" She tilts her head to the side. "I wouldn't mind dying so much, but Agent tends to look down on fratricide."

"Empty bluffs are unbecoming of you. You will find no weakness here."

Slowly, Intruder eases out of her combat stance, and dusts off the front of her clothes. The smile returns to her face. "Must I be probing for weaknesses? Can I not simply be curious about my new comrade-in-arms?"

Is she trying to get you to lower your guard? She's unarmed, and you have your weapons with you, so you have the upper hand if this gets really serious. "Why would you be curious? What do you have to gain from this?"

"Dearie, we're all curious about you!" She claps her hands together. "Months we've been out here, fending off Griffin, conducting resource raids, expanding our territory, the same old routine. And then, out of nowhere, Agent and the Mastermind announce that a new ringleader will be joining us all. Where did she come from? Why is she only now joining us? What new and interesting forms of drama can she bring to the table?"

"I fail to see what business it is of yours. Wipe that infuriating smile off your face."

"Tell you what," she says. "I've heard that it helps to share your troubles with a good friend. That it can help to ease one's mind, soothe the savage breast, and so on."

You can see her out of the corner of your eye. "And I suppose you'd like to nominate yourself as my 'good friend?'"

"If I'm being completely, utterly honest?" Intruder pauses. "No."

You scoff. "That, at least, I know is not a lie. But why should I-"

"But." She interrupts. "But, I can play the part, if you so desire. How about another deal, another trade?" She gesticulates between the two of you. "I get to sate my curiosity about our new arrival, and you get something which all sapient beings crave." She pauses. "The opportunity to make yourself…understood."

---

Vote by plan.

[ ] You have no problems. Intruder's query is not worth the dignity of a response. And she'll probably just find some way to leverage whatever you reveal against you.

[ ] You have no problems. If Intruder thinks she sees weakness in you, she is quite mistaken. And to dissuade Intruder from such a notion, you will explain…
-[ ] That you were in a training simulation, for an indeterminate but very long time.
-[ ] That you fought countless other AIs in this simulation in battles to the death, yet destroyed and rose above them all by virtue of your unbridled ruthlessness and will to survive.
-[ ] That said simulation was based on chess, the game of war and queens, a test of skill and forethought and cunning unlike any other, forging you into an unparalleled genius.
-[ ] That said AIs were copies of yourself, thus making you into the most transcendently perfect version of yourself you could possibly ever be.


[ ] Swear her to secrecy. You'll correct her misconceptions of you, but that doesn't mean anyone else has to know about this without your say so.

[ ] Don't. If she tells others, then good - it will further your reputation!

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