Gamma Protocol (074)

[074]

“Are you sure this is private?”

Due to the very sensitive nature of my circumstances, it was clear we couldn’t keep the conversation going within the motel. I agreed to head on out and look for somewhere nearby more private, with Shadow leading the way out and then up to the motel’s rooftop. The meguca had moved effortlessly against the mostly sheer surface, fingers finding purchase in the tiniest of spaces between bricks, pulling herself up with ease. Though I was sure I was stronger, replicating the feat proved to be far tougher. The first few tries just ended with me tumbling back down to the alleyway, and eventually I just found a pipe that could hold my weight and used that instead.

The rooftop was a chaotic patchwork of weathered metal and scorched concrete, littered with the carcasses of long-dead drones. The plastic that made-up most of their bodies had been bleached by the sun and were in the process of decomposing, leaving behind rusted bits of metal. A jammed access door leaned awkwardly on its hinges, its lock mechanism twisted and fused with a thick layer of oxidized grime. Around it, a nest of cables tangled with scratches and bite-marks, lathered in oil-stains and grime. The warm night air hummed faintly with the promise of another rainstorm alongside the squeaky fans of the AC units.

“One of my core powers is called ‘uncertainty’.” Shadow declared. “While unobserved, my capabilities are broader and greater than when I am being watched.” Though her face was neutral, I had the distinct impression she wanted to frown at me. “Through it, I can tell who and what might be watching me.”

There was a twinge of jealousy at that, but who knew, maybe one day I’d be able to get something that was as useful. “Wait, does that mean that if there’s a satellite overhead and it’s recording this area, you…”

“Would be marginally weaker for it,” she said plainly. “By how much varies depending on the quality of the observation and the amount of attention dedicated by the observer. Being another face in a crowd is entirely different to being at the center of attention of that same crowd. It is also not the same to be recorded by a camera a mile away than by a high-speed lens from across a room by from a microphone.”

“Huh, so fighting you out in the open where there’s so many CYPHER surveillance systems overhead was a good call.” I couldn’t help but smile. Still, I had to imagine that her confidence in our current level of privacy came about from her being able to gauge her own power.

That either meant that the variation between the observed and unobserved Shadow was significant… or that she was just that precise. Either option was concerning in many ways, and I had to assume it could very well be a mix of both.

Her face somehow managed to become more impassive, like it had turned into stone. “Now you.”

“Me?”

“As your teacher, I must comprehend at least the basics of how you conceptualize your powers.” Sensing my hesitation, she pushed. “It is also not possible to lend aid in your goal to recover the stolen items if I do not know what you’re capable of.”

“I can change between human and monster form, but my baseline human seems to be stronger than an unpowered meguca.”

I’d half expected her to complain, but instead she just nodded. “Why do you call it monster form?”

The question was not one I’d expected. “Because… I look like a monster?” I tentatively offered. “The system calls my baseline ‘human form’, so…”

“You have a system, then. That means you're quantified.” Another nod. “Does it call your other form monster form?” She pressed, watching me intensely.

“I… no, it doesn’t.” I hesitated, then relented. “It doesn’t have a name for when I transform. It just labels the different modes. Also, what do you mean by ‘quantified’?”

“It means that the conceptualization of your powers is presented, either in part or completely, through numbers.” She replied. “I am holistic. My conceptualization is through sounds and, sometimes, voices. Most meguca are quantified.”

I frowned slightly at that. Not at the prospect that different megucas could interact with their powers in different ways, Moreau had been pretty clear about that already. What had caught my attention was that the way Shadow explained it, it was as if her system was little more than a tool rather than an entity in of itself.

Though I was tempted to ask about that, I didn’t want to share such a detail either. “What else can you guess about my powers?” I offered instead.

Shadow shook her head. “I know that you aren’t fluent, for that is what I am.”

“I… do not know what that means.”

“It means that my power comes from flow. Though I do have a resource pool of energy I can spend, there are just two abilities that consume from it.” She eyed me. “Having watched you, I imagine you are the opposite. Most of your power orbits around a resource pool, consuming from it to empower yourself, gaining a sort of momentum you can sustain or even increase through killing monsters until you release the transformation.”

I kept my face impassive. “That’s not too far off from how it works.” I admitted. “What name would that type of power have?”

“Momentum.” She shrugged. “Though some call it ‘trains’.”

The system screeched in annoyance at the terminology, and I chortled, laughing a little. “It does seem like it has similarities.” In revenge, prompts began popping all over, swatting against my vision and pretending to hit me, loud beeping sounds ringing through my ears. 

Shadow stared at me, tilting her head slightly. “Is… this amusing?” The question wasn’t rhetorical, she had an earnestness in her tone.

“A little, yeah, I’ve got train powers,” I said, waving off the text prompts and trying to get things back on track. Heh. “If your powers’ weakness is not having a surprise factor, what would you say mine are?”

“That is not a topic for this phase of your training.” She declared. “For starters, you must memorize this, expand your knowledge base before we move on to more practical training.” She twirled her hand once, and a booklet materialized out of seemingly thin air, handing it over. “It is a necessary foundation.”

“Oh, a monster encyclopedia. Is it a new update?” I excitedly asked as soon as I flipped it open. It was a monster catalog, covering the better known monsters of ranks G, F, and E. Feeling the worn synth-leather underneath, it was clear this had been a quality item, once, clearly having seen year’s worth of wear. “Actually…” I frowned as I glanced over the entries, noticing several discrepancies. “Some of the data in this is outdated by at least a decade. And this bit about Hoggers being more aggressive when outnumbered is wrong. Where did you get this?”

The book was promptly snatched out of my hands, it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. Shadow frowned slightly. “You… know your monster theory. This is good, one’s mind must be as sharp as their sword.”

“I prefer blunt weapons.” I hadn’t really thought about it much at the time, but after having fought so many G’s? Blunt force trauma was a definite favorite method of making mouthers pop.

Though her face remained impassive, I knew there was a sour note in there hidden somewhere. “ I suppose it is a personal choice,” she said. “Though it is the wrong one.” She added a bit more emphatically. “Since you’re already familiar with the theory of monsters, we can move on to unit interactions.”

“Oh, you mean like rules of engagement?” I perked up. “Are we talking about ROE for human armed forces, or some sort of updated instruction manual for powered beings? Guards are supposed to remain familiar with meguca ROE to ensure we don’t potentially get in the way of their operations.”

“That is not how we work here,” she said. “Each gang has their own rules of engagement and how they handle scenarios involving monsters or one another. It is a mess of politicking and self-interests, with very little actual discipline beyond achieving their objectives.” Shadow explained. “What matters to you, as a meguca, is to understand that you supersede all of it in any situation. You have effective command of anyone in the area.”

“Wh-you can’t be serious.” I declared. “I understand if a meguca’s plans take priority, but automatic control over available units? What about chain of command? Or resource prioritization?”

“Irrelevant.” Shadow answered. “If you were human, and you led a unit, even if it were a corporation elite unit, if a meguca shows up and insists you are to do something, you do it. The only exception to this rule is if your unit already has an assigned meguca, then her orders will take priority over anyone else’s.”

Was this one of the other reasons why gangs insisted on having a meguca on roll-call? To avoid some competing gang from just showing up and taking everything? I had to assume that Vesper was aware of this but had chosen to keep quiet about it for the time being since it wasn’t much of a concern right now. I was their only reliable asset out in the field… or maybe it was that Bear would’ve been willing to lend a hand?

“What if a meguca steps out of line? Does something she shouldn’t? What if she makes a mistake or, worse, acts maliciously?”

“That is what the elders are for. They allow much freedom in one’s choices, but they will also not stand for someone compromising the city’s wellbeing.” Shadow replied. “Now, I would not recommend trying to exert your meguca authority, at least not for the time being. You are under training, and identifying yourself as a meguca would likely cause needless confusion in an active situation.”

“Agreed there.” Not that I really had any intention of flying up to some random squad and telling them what to do. The notion alone was baffling. The corporations back in Frontier City 02 had strong guidelines of when and where it was acceptable to follow meguca commands. Typically, the meguca would need to coordinate with the city assets and request clearance first.

I could only assume there was a good reason for it being the case in New Francisco.

“I believe that aiding you in your… trouble, might provide an opportunity to see what you can do under pressure,” she said before I could ask anything. “I will use that to determine your training regiment moving forward.”

“I’d really appreciate that, actually.” I nodded. “There’s a man called Banker in the second district, and his operation seems to be at least tangentially tied to the Red Pandas. He scammed a friend of mine who’d been handling the gang’s funds and we have to get it back soon.” I quickly raised my hand to count off. “Our biggest obstacle is that we don’t know where he’s storing those credits. I have to assume he has a server somewhere, so…”

The word lingered for a very long moment, and I noticed Shadow wasn’t looking at me anymore, but rather off into the distance. It was simple enough to recognize that she was interacting with her neuralink, but I did wonder whether it was the same whenever a meguca interacted with their system.

Not wanting to interrupt whatever it was that she had going, I waited it out for the next handful of minutes.

When she looked at me again, there was something distinctly accusatory in her gaze that hadn’t been there before. Doing the ‘summon’ gesture again, she produced a screen tablet, and on it there was a recording. “Is this you?” She asked.

On the tablet was a video from someone’s neuralink. In it, it showed a figure draped in RGB clothes with his head wrapped up in cloth fighting a borg thrice his mass. Recognition was quickly followed by embarrassment. “Yeah…” I admitted, watching several other clips from that night.

“I see,” she said impassively. “You did well in hiding your identity and capabilities as much as you did. Though the elders have acknowledged you as a meguca, you do not have some of the protections granted to us. Not yet, at least. In the meantime, you should remain careful.”

“Wait, what kind of protections are you talking about?”

“Had those events been at the hands of a CYPHER registered meguca, there would not be a single recording in circulation.”

“Even if the meguca in question had just barged in to attack the club rather than done it in self-defense?”

“Yes.” Shadow nodded seriously. “CYPHER has deigned trust in megucas to be paramount. It will not permit such matters to be divulged to the wider population. If a meguca were to ever act in such a way, an investigation would be opened, and she would be reprimanded if found guilty. But it would be a private matter.”

Well, that was scary to think about. I couldn’t help but wonder how much information was being kept from the wider public. I understood the need of retaining cohesion in the face of the threat that monsters posed, and yet it still left a sour taste in my mouth. Normally, I wouldn’t have even questioned how likely it might be that a meguca would break the rules that way. But after the events this past week… my trust wasn’t exactly at its peak.

“So, going back to my problem at hand…”

“Oh, that is a simple matter.” Shadow shook her head. “I had feared this might be a complicated situation, but it is not.”

“You have a way to find the servers?”

“I might, but I will not.” She raised a single digit. “A core of what megucas do is to act without information. Not because they did not wish to gain more information, but because every second counts. With the information you currently have, if you were forced to act and bring this to a conclusion right now, what would you do?”

“I… guess I would go back to the club and look for the guy?” I muttered.

“What is the problem you wish to solve?” She prompted.

“He stole our money and we need it back.”

“Simplify that.” Shadow insisted. “At its core, what is the essence of the situation?”

“He has our credits.”

“Yes.” She nodded, gesturing at me to continue. When I just stared at her blankly, she did so instead. “Does it matter if what you steal are the exact credits he took?”

“Ah.” The realization made me hesitate. “You’re suggesting I just steal whatever valuables I can snatch from him.”

“You must think like a meguca.” Shadow stretched her arm and pointed it towards the desert. “If your goal is to kill monsters, then every moment you waste struggling with a worthless mobster is time you could’ve spent killing more monsters.”

I grimaced. “That is…” Harsh. “...fair.”

It wasn’t the sort of advice I would’ve wanted to hear, but she definitely had a point. If the Banker stole from us, then why restrict ourselves in stealing from him? And… well, maybe the Sewer Saints were due a compensation fee for the hassle. So now that I was  armed with a prospective venue of approach, I had one readily available possible target in mind.

“I… do have a question. Have you ever done a heist?”

Shadow smiled for the first time since meeting her, her face practically lighting up with barely restrained enthusiasm. An eagerness she hastily tempered, covering her mouth as she coughed and looked away. “I have some experience in the matter.”