Hacking

The Games We Play

Hacking

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Stepping through Raven's portal was an experience. It was like…I wasn't even sure how to describe it, really. Spots of differing temperatures played across my skin in whirling patterns as the world shifted before my eyes. Beneath the lens of my Clairvoyance, it was more than a vortex of red and black, it was…I didn't even know what it was. But space bent and shrank, almost as if being crushed by the fist of some enormous being, and then—

And then it was over. I stepped out on the other side as though I'd just walked through an open doorway.

I took a deep breath, silently bringing up my Map to check where we were. There didn't seem to be any problems on that front, not that I'd really expected any so long as Raven was under the impression that I had a technique similar to her own. If not, I might have been a little worried about being stranded somewhere unpleasant, but…well, it seemed I could rely on Pathfinder in this regard as well.

Good. Its minor hints were pretty much all that was keeping me afloat at this point.

Turning my attention towards Raven, I saw her gazing at a building across the street and opened my mouth to say something before pausing considering. Levant and Vulturnus appeared beside me, invisible to any eyes but my own, and all at once my senses spread through shifting currents and grids of power lines. It only took me a moment to confirm my suspicions.

We weren't in the building we were aiming for. Close to it, enough so that we appeared to be next to the marker on my map, but we weren't there. But I could trace a path across the street in a web of light, through walls and floors and even below the ground—and there it was. As I figured, right below the building Raven was watched were rows and rows of servers, bright to my Lightning Elemental's eyes.

But those weren't the only things he sensed.

"Worried about the cameras, Raven?" I guessed, inserting a slight smile to my voice. Raven's hair swayed as if her face had twitched in my direction, but she didn't look away from her target—presumably she was scanning the interior for the safest way in. "Third floor, second window from the right. It's an empty room; no people, no cameras.

"I take it you know where everything else in the building is?" Raven said neutrally.

I did now, I thought as my Elementals guided their power through it.

"Naturally," I said aloud as if it were nothing. "The cameras are monitored from a room on the third floor as well; once we're inside, I'll disable all the cameras, shut down the communications in that room, and rush to disable the guard inside. Afterwards, we'll access the server from one of the computers, get what we need, and leave. If that's alright with you?"

She said nothing for a moment, turning to face me. Though her mask gave nothing away, I imagined she had an annoyed expression on her face. For my part, I just smiled at her, holding a hand out graciously towards the window.

"I'll take point, I suppose," I said. "No since taking any chances now, is there?"

She was silent for another long moment before a portal began to converge in front of me.

"Watch your step," She said as I walked towards it, and though there was no particular inflection to her tone, I figured it was probably a reminder of all the places she could send me with her creation—but given that Levant sensed the other portal in the room I designated and double checked by sending a current of air though it, I wasn't that worried by it.

"I'll sure to do that," I said as I strolled into the portal, emerging in the building. At once, Vulturnus finished his infestation of their power lines and promptly turned off all the cameras in the building before reaching into the control room and shutting down monitors, a computer, and a scroll. I felt the guard rise suddenly in alarm through Levant, hand going to the computer first in an attempt to restart it before reaching for his scroll. When that turned out to be a dead end, too, however, he turned towards the door, probably going to find someone.

I found him first and with a gentle touch, he stopped in place, fainting swiftly as Xihai got inside his system. I caught him and put him back into his chair, taking a few items off his person before leaving the room as quickly as I'd come.

To be honest, I was glad that Raven was hesitant to go in first. She was…I still didn't know enough about her to really guess what she'd do. She might kill anything that got in her way, paint these halls red in the blood of innocent workers, or…God only knows. Or maybe she'd do nothing and slip in without leaving a trace behind. I had no way of knowing, but with innocent lives on the line, I'd rather handle this myself, even if it meant doing something bad. It was like…it was like the difference between getting your car stolen by a drug addict and a professional, I suppose; a bad thing either way, but one might kill you to take your keys, while the other would be gone before you realized your car was missing.

Well…at least, I hoped that would be what this was like. As long as I didn't screw this up…

I moved through the building silently, Levant guiding me away from anyone she detected as I made my way to the elevator and used the keycard I'd swiped to hitch a ride to one of the basement levels.

"You took your time," Raven said absently, already typing away at a computer hooked up to one of the servers. I'd felt her portal in as soon as I'd disabled the cameras, so I wasn't surprised to see her there. In response to her barb, I merely laughed quietly and gave her a conceding gesture.

"Have you found anything, yet?" I asked.

"Not yet," She answered, sounding somewhat distracted now that she'd returned fire. I couldn't see her eyes, but she was scrolling quickly through pages of files that I watched over her shoulder, taking them in quietly. She reached the bottom of the page without clicking on anything and then scroll back to the top, apparently searching for anything that stood out, first. Nothing really did, at least to me; they all had file names like SDC037 or MC02. But…

"The fourth file," I said. "And the seventeenth, twenty-second, and thirty-ninth. Those are the biggest files by far. Images, perhaps?"

She clicked on the fourth file obligingly, opening 'SDCEMGA01.'

"Schnee Dust Company Estimated Market Growth, Appendix 1," She recited as if it wasn't in bold letters on the screen. As she scrolled down, there were graphs—forecasts in many forms, comparing the business to other dust mining companies and businesses I didn't recognize. Past competitors, maybe? The graphs all trended upwards, though if these were files Weiss' mother had stored, they were probably somewhat out of date. Still, why would she leave such a thing for her daughters? I mean, if this was, as I suspected, some kind of annual report, then they should be able to get them normally as part of the company. Why list it here as well?

It would probably make more sense if we did more than look at the pictures, I thought. But…

"Keep checking through the larger files. Afterwards, we'll scroll back up." I said.

Raven looked at me in what I assumed was annoyance but did as I requested, opening the files one by one. The first was another appendix; a series of maps, marked in various colors. Of the top four pictures, I recognized the areas surrounding Atlas, Mistral, and Vale immediately, which meant the one that wasn't immediately familiar to me was probably Vacuo. But the markings…

I frowned for a moment, eyes tracking up to the one of Vale and then to the North of it; above Forever Fall, there was a massive section of bright colors, like a stripe across the forest. I'd never seen it represented in such a way, but I recognized the location, could all but hear the sound of the train.

Which meant…

"These are Dust deposits," I said. "Around the Kingdoms?"

"Not just the Kingdoms," Raven said scrolling down. The maps changed quickly, colors fading until they were nothing but white on black, but…the meaning was still clear. "These must be suspected deposits. Or perhaps the locations of fallen nations that once used Dust…either way, they're far beyond the reach of the Schnee Dust Company or the Kingdoms—any mining facility set out there would be torn apart by the Grimm."

I hummed slightly in agreement, frowning as something niggled at me. Like…pieces about to come together, but…

Raven reached the bottom of the window and closed it, moving onto the next efficiently. Yet another appendix, this time with sets of pictures. Each set held two identical scans, but one appeared to have been colored after the fact, marking sections in reds, blues, yellows, and greens. Below those two pictures were another set that looked so different that it took me a moment to realize they were of the same place but…later? The colored sections had shrunk greatly, but the surrounding area still looked very similar—

The pieces clicked into place and without thinking I brushed Raven's hand away, ignoring her look as I took over. I scrolled through the file quickly, watching the indicated sections shrink steadily until about a third of the way down the page, the pictures changed to show a new place and the process repeated. It did so again two more times before I reached the bottom of the file and closed it, opening the thirty-ninth file. Yet another Appendix, showing downward trends, estimates…

I closed it and went back to the top, opening the first file and then rolling down the page swiftly as my eyes scanned, relying on my massive Intelligence score to remember. I reached the bottom, closed it, and moved on to the next one.

Too slow, I thought as I read the thirty-four page document in a few seconds. Light rose around me, the White Tiger of the West taking form. I opened another file, hit the bottom in a second flat, and opened the next, again and again and again. With my massively boosted speed and the processing capacity of my Clairvoyance, I could read the words as fast as the computer could render them, taking in everything I saw.

Phrases stood out like 'response from the government,' 'the alternatives,' 'long-term effects,' 'market crash,' 'negotiations,' 'more efficient methods,' 'regulations'…

But in the end, it all came back to the same thing.

'Dwindling supply.'

'Estimated decline.'

'Running out.'

This was inevitable, a disturbingly calm part of me thought. Nonrenewable resources, by their very definition, ran out. With the tiny landmass Humanity was forced to inhabit, it was a miracle that we hadn't run out already, that we'd even been located near a large supply in the first place. The Grimm covered the vast majority of the planet; naturally, they cut us off from most of its resources in the process. We all knew this was coming, really, had heard about the idea.

But…

"It's about Dust," I said calmly, still reading rapidly as windows flashed across the screen. I felt the strain of the White Tiger's draw on my power but didn't really care right now; I had enough for a while yet, and, ironic as it was considering what I was reading, I could restore it still. "The deposits the Kingdom's have access to are running out."

Raven went still at those words, mask turning towards me. I only saw her in the periphery of my vision, though, as focused as I was on the steady tide of windows. I took my hand away from the screen, guiding it instead with the fingers of my aura as I shifted through faster and faster.

"When?" Raven asked, her voice different again, quiet—maybe even strained?

I waited a moment before answering, closing windows to open new ones concerning estimates.

Nothing truly immediate, but…relatively soon. A few decades, optimistically."

"And…" Raven paused. I felt her breathing change through Levant and it was the only real method I had to gauge her reaction. "What are they doing to try and fix it?"

I shifted gears again, opening up records of experiments, designs, suggestions…there was even one concerning expansion.

"Attempts to obtain more deposits run into the problems you mentioned. Attempts to synthesize Dust…my, expensive to say the least." I continued, still breathing easily. I was calm and had been from the beginning, without even a blip in the emotional radar; I suspected that meant I'd been in shock before my power took over and now it was keeping anything else from getting to me. It didn't matter. "Alternative fuel sources…not enough land, not enough resources, not a good enough defense against the Grimm. Attempts to recycle…not very effective."

"And the Councils?" Raven said, something in her voice tight. "Do they know?"

I minimized the window I was currently on and searched the list. I'd really gotten the hang of the uninformative naming system, so it wasn't as hard to find what I was looking for.

"It would appear so," I said, pausing to ponder what I was looking at. "It seems they were notified very early on and there was a big meeting to discuss it."

"I…" She paused. "I don't remember anything like that."

"Well, there's a transcript," I said. "And a recording. I suspect…yes, they agreed to keep it quiet to avoid starting a panic. Reducing Dust expenditures…ah, so that's why those laws were made. But they decided not to reduce it below a certain point, citing Graph C…whoever made these Appendixes did a very poor job labeling things, but it must be this one. They believed that if people were aware that Dust supplies were dwindling, the resulting panic might draw the Grimm, who would cause more panic—"

"So instead they do nothing," Raven snarled and I actually turned to her, literally feeling the hostility flowing off of her. "They see our time is running out and they just watch it slip by—and send people to die. Why am I not surprised? "

Using my magical powers and keen sense of observation, I sensed that she was upset. Indeed, that she might even carry some ill will towards the council. Nonetheless, I just turned back to the computer when she didn't attack me, going back to skimming files in silence as if I hadn't interrupted. Even if I hadn't been able to see her emotions flowing into her Aura in a furious, vibrant display, I'd still have hesitated to speak to her right now, seething as she was.

It made me wonder, though. The way she sounded, how she'd reacted to the news…as she said, she didn't sound surprised. As if…

Again, I wondered about Raven—about what could have made an apparently famous Huntress join the White Fang. What she might have seen, what she might know, and now, how it might relate to the Council…I never would have considered any of these things a few months ago, would never even have thought about it, but seeing her and seeing this…I was unsure and yet, intrigued.

Granted, I'd probably have been a lot more intrigued if I wasn't still reeling from the revelation—as much as the Gamer's Mind allowed, at least. Maybe that was why I didn't say anything, I…well, I really wasn't sure what to say, honestly. Not to her, not about…any of this. I mean…Dust was running out.

Dust was running out. In the foreseeable future. In a time frame I would be around for.

That was…it was hard to even truly grasp the immensity of such a thing. We still had some time, but…we used Dust for everything. It was what had allowed us to…well, not thrive perhaps, but grow far beyond what we'd once been limited to. If it ran out, though, that'd mean…God, I didn't even know where to begin. The infrastructure that supported our cities would fail eventually, of course, but what about society? How long until it began to break down under the fact that it couldn't support itself anymore? And when that happened, what…

What were we even going to do? We meaning…damn it, I wasn't even sure who we meant, because this would send things to hell for everyone. The Hunters maybe? The loss of Dust rounds would take a heavy toll on them in the long run, I was sure, as it stripped away both convenience and safety, but when the nations started to fail, too…

There would be fighting, I was sure. Natural resources didn't tend to be distributed evenly and Dust was no different; some Kingdoms would run out faster than others. Would we stand together as we did in times of peace, supporting one another? Or would nations draw away, clinging to their own reserves to try and last a little bit longer? If so, I was certain there'd be a reaction of some kind; it was bizarrely funny to even think about since if ever there was a situation where we couldn't afford to be fighting amongst ourselves, it'd be this one, but…

Would this mean war? As fears rose and things worsened, would the Hunters be called upon to fight each other?

Or maybe I was worrying over nothing. Maybe we'd stand together even in our darkest hour, the terrors at our door binding us even closer as we stood against it. I liked that thought a lot better…but if our defenses failed, if our resources ran out, if fear and panic spread through the kingdoms because we all knew what was coming…would it be enough to make a difference? Or would we just die together instead of dying separately? Or maybe…

So yeah, a part of me was curious now, about what the Council might know and might be keeping from the public. What type of things had been happening while all of us were completely unaware? Did that have something to do with why Raven stopped being a Huntress? All interesting questions.

But it probably wasn't the time to ask and I was struggling to care too much about the answers right now. Maybe later, I'd want to know, but for now I just wanted…needed to think, to take this all in and try to find…something. A way out? A way through? I didn't know, but I had to find it.

And really thinking about it, I didn't even care too much about the fact that I'd been lied to. Maybe it was because of my power, but I didn't feel all that outraged. I could understand Raven's feelings, certainly, understand why countless others would undoubtedly be enraged by the fact and maybe even agree with some of it—but I thought they were probably right about a lot of things. If they'd heard the news, people would panic and that panic would spread until we were a beacon to every Grimm on the continent. All telling everyone would do is make things worse and hasten the fall. No, better to keep things quiet, amongst experts and professionals who could pursue actual solutions without making things worse in the process. That there was the potential for things to go so wrong just made it all the more important that cooler heads prevail.

Granted, I don't know where that put them morally speaking, considering that they were basically keeping it a secret that we were all probably going to die—but I understood it. Even agreed somewhat. The solutions they'd been looking into, on ways to improve efficiency, find alternatives, access new sources, and even attempts to create Dust…they'd made sense, even if they hadn't yielded the results they'd hoped for. I thought they were probably going about this as well as they could, under the circumstances. It was a pity these files were so outdated; perhaps something new had come to light, something I could look into. Or perhaps finding that would be the next step, but how—

"What happens?" Raven asked suddenly, voice cutting through my thoughts. "What happens when it all comes crashing down?"

I blinked beneath my mask, thoughts taking a moment to jump tracks. I very nearly asked what she meant before hesitating; it was obvious enough, I guess.

"I suppose it depends on how it falls," I mused at last, speaking slowly as I continued to sound things out. "If the Kingdoms manage to stay together, there's at least the possibility of prolonging the inevitable. It's possible that we could find other places to settle; somewhere both near great supplies of Dust and shielded from the Grimm by natural barriers, where the cycle could continue. There must be at least a few places like that on Remnant, it's just a matter of finding them and surviving such a massive journey with the amount of fear such a trip would generate among the people. If so, that'd push back the end by a hundred years or so. And who knows, if the Kingdom's support one another, perhaps a solution might be found in that time. It would require a great deal of trust, of people holding it together during emergencies, and would cost countless lives to make such a trip and rebuild, but I wouldn't say it was impossible."

For a moment, she was silent, breath steadying as her earlier outburst faded away completely and the mask came back on. Several seconds after I finished, she nodded once, taking that in.

"And assuming that extremely unlikely scenario doesn't happen?"

I was silent for a moment, mulling the question over before giving my answer.

"It's likely that many Hunters would survive," I said at last. "Travelling individually or in small groups, it shouldn't be difficult to fight off most Grimm and avoid the rest. At the same time, those with power, experience, and training are less likely to react with the type of mindset that would draw in the Grimm. Many would still die, whether because of the resulting dangers or because they lost enough that their grief overcame their training or simply because of the lack of infrastructure, but many would survive. Some of them might even be able to support small groups of people in the aftermath and lead them somewhere relatively safe. Given time, they might find protected places and eventually build civilization anew."

"You think that's possible?" She asked.

"It may well have happened before," I replied. "Many civilizations have fallen throughout history, yet others have grown elsewhere."

She nodded again, taking a deep breath.

"And everyone else?" She asked, apparently under the strange belief that I was an authority on such things. "What will they do?"

"Die, I guess." I said, suppressing a sigh. That answer was obvious enough that I wasn't even sure why she asked. A part of me wanted to hesitate before the delivery, to call it something else, but…we both knew the truth. We both knew what was at stake. There was no point in hiding it.

Her response surprised me, though.

"No," She said. "I won't let that happen. There has to be a way."

I looked at her, eyebrows rising beneath the Goliath's mask. I hadn't expected those words from her and having heard them, I…well, I wasn't sure how to process them. Maybe I shouldn't have been—I suppose we were all the heroes of our own stories, but…it really made me wonder what could possibly be driving her, if that was her mindset. A Huntress, a terrorist, and apparently someone who wanted to be a hero…it seemed contradictory, almost.

Of course, I was all of those things, too. Maybe that's why I considered her quietly for a moment and then…decided to take a chance. Maybe it was foolish, but…

"Perhaps," I said. "You may have heard that my talk with Jeanne Roma and Cynosarges Alexandria went well. What you may not have heard was why. We found something…perhaps something you could help us with."

She looked at me then and I knew I had her attention—but I still needed to do this carefully, juggling my secrets.

"Some information has come to light recently," I continued. "A…manuscript, of sorts, written in Babel."

"Then it's useless to us," She said. "No one can read Babel."

"I wouldn't…quite say that," I replied and from the way she went still, I figured her eyes must have been wide under that mask. "I wouldn't call myself fluent by any means, but I believe I can understand the gist of it. Enough, perhaps, to find some clues."

Or, at least, that was the hope. With my Observe, it should be possible—it had worked with Naraka, at least. Although that had been a skill book, the fact remained that it had told me the basics even though I didn't understand the language. If I could improve my Observe or practice on something…and if, in the long run, I could get a skill from it…

At the very least, it wasn't impossible—not even implausible, really. And if we had Raven's help…

"Already, Jeanne Roma has expressed great interest in unveiling Babel's mysteries," I continued. "As we speak, she is gathering everything she can get her hands on. With your help, however, perhaps we might find something more quickly. At the very least, I'm certain she would be glad to deepen our alliance, in return for your aid—with her ties to the Mistral Council, she must already be aware of what is coming. Perhaps that was even why she took me up on my offer so readily. But with our power and the backing of Mistral's Families…"

I left the thought hanging in the air, smiling at her beneath my mask.

"And what did you find that interested her so?" She asked after a moment of silence.

And here comes the true risk, I thought. But…nothing ventured, nothing gained. With this, I knew she'd be interested; if she felt as strongly about this as she seemed to, I'd make an unspeakable powerful ally out of what had been a deadly threat. And in the face of this problem, of what the whole world was facing…it was worth the risk.

"This," I said, quickly draining several Dust crystals I drew from my Inventory before snapping my fingers once. "It's called 'Naraka.'"

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