Chapter 86

"What are your plans for this weekend?"

The girls looked at me, but I only shrugged.

"Well, we learn every day as it is, and since you cracked the rest of the learning slivers even a lot. In fact, every spare minute. So I suggest we get into our cottage on the shore of the reservoir and grill a kebab..."

"Hmmm..."

Panam looked at me thoughtfully, her breakfast had just finished and she was as lazy as the rest of us. But that didn't stop her and the rest of the girls from thinking about the future lunch, or rather the kebab.

"Shall we go by ourselves?"

Lucy raised the most important point.

"Well..."

I shrugged.

"...I was actually thinking of inviting Victor and Misty, I think they need to unwind."

"Yeah..."

Judy nodded her head.

"...Misty recently wrote that Jackie's mom had recently organized an offrenda for Jackie, but Misty wasn't invited. Vic would have ignored it if he didn't know Jackie so well, but he really liked Misty and he didn't like the way she was treated. Anyway, they'd really need to relax."

"Well, that's how it's gonna be."

I froze for a couple of seconds, and then turned toward the group of nomads that had gathered around the fire near us and was listening to the radio and shouted.

"Hey, turn it up!"

I was listened to and I could hear the urgent radio transmission more clearly.

"...we do not yet know if the people on board the Kang Tao Corporation aircraft survived, but we do know that the aircraft was shot down. Again, the aircraft was shot down near a microwave power plant, and the Kang Tao Corporation is now investigating. Supposedly the terrorists' target was a researcher who recently joined the corporation. The name of the employee is being withheld by the corporation..."

I breathed a sigh of relief. She had used my weapon after all, and unnecessary civilian casualties had been avoided. Of course, there would be casualties among the corporation's employees, but I had a choice between that or thousands of civilian casualties.

"Did she use your gun after all?"

"Uh-huh...

"That's good, I'd hate to reset it to zero."

"Me, too, Becca, me, too. Okay, I'm calling Vic, I gotta invite him over for a barbecue..."

"Let me get some equipment ready. If you don't mind doing the first experiment in synchronized brain recording."

I shrugged at Judy's suggestion.

"I don't mind..."

Having said that, by habit I closed my eyes and called Victor.

"I'm listening to you, David."

"Vic, we're having a spontaneous barbecue."

"I don't really..."

"You listen first. So take Misty with you and go to the same place. I think you both, especially Misty, need to spend some time with your friends. You're a tough guy, albeit a little soft for this town, but Misty--

"I... okay, how long?"

"Well, I think we'll be there in about three hours."

"Roger that, we'll buy you a drink."

"Okay, just remember, I don't drink booze."

"I remember."

Vic grinned.

"...you're the only person I know who doesn't drink alcohol. Anyway, I'm gonna go think about drinks, and I gotta get Misty out of her room--

"Come on..."

I grinned and dropped the call before opening my eyes and looking at the girls.

"Let's pack up, we've got three hours to get there."

"We'll make it..."

Panam grinned, and Judy took a cardboard box out of the Hippo, which she carried to the side of the car, and then repeated a similar thing four more times.

"What are you carrying?"

Becca looked at Judy suspiciously.

"No big deal."

She waved the question away, but I grinned enigmatically, as did Panam, who knew what our Clever Girl kept in those boxes. And so I was eager to see the other girls' reactions to the scuba gear and wetsuits.

We'd be packed quickly enough, so in fifteen minutes we were in the car and driving toward the store where we could buy fresh meat, and we had no money problems, the resale of the training chips was doing its job, and now Regina and Bestia were sending us a percentage of every chip sold.

And just as I was standing there picking out the meat, the bell rang.

"Hear you, V--

I kept my eyes open and answered the call continuing to pick out the meat.

"I'm calling to say thank you..."

"Yeah, I heard on the radio. Kang TaoTao's avi was shot down. Not for nothing, right?"

"Not for nothing. I got the developer of the chip that's rewriting my brain to record the identity of a known terrorist."

"Good for you."

"There's nothing to be happy about."

Vee sighed.

"...he doesn't know what they did to the chip in Arasaka, but that's not what he did. All he can say is that your idea of an EMP that zonally affects the chip is the best it can be. And he himself has nothing to offer..."

"Too bad..."

"Why am I calling? I managed to get the original chip blueprints out of him..."

I didn't say anything. I didn't want to offer my help. But I already realized that she was calling to ask for my help. And that was a little unnerving. Do I have to decide everything for her? The silence was lingering.

"...why don't you take a look?"

Apparently realizing that I wouldn't say anything, she decided to voice her request herself.

"Okay, uh. text me the info, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you..."

She was clearly prepared for this turn of events and the data came to me almost immediately after I voiced my agreement.

"...it means a lot to me. I honestly don't even know how to repay you for everything you've done for me..."

"Just don't get into these situations anymore and work for a while, as if I figure out how to help you, it's obviously not a cheap solution."

Of course I wanted to say a lot of other things, but I held back.

"I hear you. but, uh, to be honest, I wanted to check in with the Voodoos. Parker said they're the ones who ordered her intel on Compaqui, and they might know how to retrieve the chip."

"I wouldn't count on it..."

I shook my head.

"...You can try, but I'd bet they just want the chip info. Maybe they even need that Silverhand engram..."

"What the fuck?"

I poked at a couple pieces of meat that the salesman packed for me, after which I paid him and went to leave the store.

"I heard something about this guy."

I frowned, mimicking the thoughtfulness. I didn't want to show her that I knew what I knew and why, especially since I wasn't sure if she needed that information at all. Although, on the whole. whatever.

"Kinda like how he was hanging around with some badass roner girl who got ruined by Arasaka... hang on for a while."

"Ladies..."

I got in the car and threw the meat bags inside. Thankfully there was a side dish at Begemot, so I didn't need to buy anything else.

"...what have you heard about Silverhand's affair with Ranerchase?"

Well, you gotta genuflect to your knowledge. So I thought it was more than okay to ask my girls. At least one of them should know this story in detail.

"Dark story..."

Kiwi shook her head, the first to start answering my question.

"She was developing something secret for Arasaki, and then she was kidnapped, almost killing Silverhand himself. He tried to fight her off, but it didn't work... she escaped from Arasaki into the net..."

I frowned.

"...and then this nutjob nuked Arasaki Tower."

"I see... Could this girl have been an AI?"

"Yes, she could have."

Lucy shrugged, picking up the baton of answering my questions for Kiwi.

"...in general, any raner, and not only raner, having visited the network and not returning to the body has a good chance to become an AI. Another thing is that ranners have more chances to survive in the network, especially taking into account the work of the Network Watch. Of course, they mostly monitor the systems that keep the old AI out, but they also have operatives... and inside the new network, they're keeping an eye on the new network and if anyone gets too cocky..."

Lucy ran her thumb across her throat.

"I see... thank you."

I turned my attention back to Vee.

"So listen, he was hanging out with a roner who worked for Arasaka, apparently the roner was really cool because she was kidnapped and almost nullified by Silverhand himself. But she managed to escape into the net, she probably became an AI, and given her skills, she could become a VERY powerful AI."

"AND?"

"And that the Voodooists may need to get in touch with her, and Silverhand's engram might work as bait for that. To do that, they'll probably ask you to dive into the net... Except I can't predict how the chip will behave if you dive into the net. It could spike the rate at which your identity is being rewritten."

We were quiet for a while.

"Whether the possibility that they know something is worth the risk is for you to decide."

"I... I'll think about it."

"Well, you think about it, but I gotta go."

"Okay..."

The connection's been severed.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes Vee..."

I wrinkled my nose slightly, Panam, how much longer do we have to go?

"Well..."

She shrugged.

"...about forty minutes... maybe an hour."

"All right, well, I'm gonna do a little work. I'll see what chip data this lady sent me. See if I can figure out anything."

I immersed myself in studying the data and even used sandi to stretch my subjective time and better study the data sent to me by Vee. And all I realized is that I don't understand shit... It's too complicated.

Panam touched my shoulder, catching my attention, and I jumped out of the acceleration and sighed sadly, stretching a little and making sure the car was parked at the familiar cabin, I opened the door and left. I definitely needed a distraction, and if on the way here I was still willing to spend time working, now...

I got the groceries out of the car and went to the set up area where I started laying out all the stuff I had brought with me.

"Come on, spill it."

Becca nudged Judy in the shoulder.

"...what do you have in those boxes?"

"Because you don't know?"

"No. I know you've had these boxes for a long time and that you didn't have them when we first met..."

"Actually they were, it's just that what's in these boxes used to be in cardboard boxes, and David ordered me these big boxes to store it all in."

"Cardboard?"

"Uh-huh...

Judy nodded her head and placing the first box on the ground opened it.

"This is..."

Becca was a little confused.

"Wetsuit?"

Lucy walked over to them and voiced what she saw inside the box.

"Yes, I decided that today we could do a preliminary experiment of recording the break together, so I brought my suits with me. I think we'll dive a couple of times in pairs, with a third diver."

"What exactly is there to dive?"

"There..."

Judy nodded at the reservoir.

"...down there is my hometown. I just wanted to show you this place, to share it with you..."