MINOR TIMESTAMP ERROR DETECTED

  APPROXIMATELY +1.3.12 POST-INCIDENT

  BINARY BROTHERHOOD INTERNAL CHANNEL

  INTERCEPTED COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MIDAS AND AVA SAVANUS

  VIDEO ERROR — AUDIO ONLY

  “Ava, we need to discuss the latest raids. Take a break from your tinkering.”

  Metal clinked as Ava set aside her operating tools. “I take it you finally looked over the data I sent you?”

  “The ambushes had mixed results. Some successes… but a frustrating number of failures.”

  Ava scoffed. “Did you expect to root out an entire rebellion in an afternoon? Our capture rate was in line with predictions.”

  “The Resistance is growing, Ava.”

  “Which is where our countermeasures come in.”

  Midas snorted. “You seem preoccupied.”

  “I’m in the middle of work.”

  “That’s… one of your skin-wrapped machines.”

  “Yes. One of the infiltration units that you scoffed at—that wound up being instrumental in those ambushes. These raids were proof of concept. I’m expanding their distribution.”

  “Four minor players, Ava. Hardly worth celebrating. If it was their leadership… We don’t need pawns. We need the brain behind their little rebellion.”

  “You got results, Midas. Four Resistance members captured, their cloaking tech exposed.”

  “Oh, is that how we’re measuring success now? By scraps? A few low-tier masks with delusions of grandeur. I expected something more substantial. We couldn’t even recover their cloaking tech.”

  Ava made a non-committal sound. “Self-dismantling tech. It’s advanced. Designed to erase evidence of their capabilities. And it’s working. The samples we’ve recovered are minimal—barely enough to study.”

  “You sound impressed.”

  “It’s because I am impressed. But we should’ve expected something like this from Venture’s protégés.”

  Midas sighed. “I honestly thought that his toy soldier was the brains behind the organization. Maybe it was his daughter all along.”

  Ava hesitated. “We need to consider the chance that they have a proto-AI or salvaged pieces of the original.”

  “We’ve been over this—”

  “We need to consider it.”

  Midas scoffed. “There is no chance the AI survived.”

  Silence stretched on.

  “What aren’t you telling me, Ava?”

  “Emmett’s implant is much more complicated than we thought. Its architecture is… Calling it dense doesn’t do it justice.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “I thought you said it was empty, and I quote ‘nothing to be concerned about’?”

  Bastion interjected, “The architecture of Emmett Laraway’s brain implant is highly advanced. All of its programming and data has been erased, but it was clearly designed for specialized and powerful processing. Simulations suggest that a proto-AI could survive in such a device.”

  Midas grit his teeth. “AI, could that device be replicated with limited manufacturing capabilities?”

  “Unlikely. The implant—”

  “Could a proto-AI survive on a server cluster without complex architecture?”

  “Unlikely. The implant—”

  “That is all. See, Ava. Even if pieces of the AI survived the transition, there’s no way it’s still around. Venture’s protégés probably gutted it for parts, just like we did—now, what about the dissolved cloaking tech? It’s clearly nanites of some kind.”

  “As I told you before, we’re still analyzing it. It’s mostly base elements and a few compounds. It’s like trying to rebuild a bunker out of sand and gravel. There’s nothing left…”

  “So you’ve got nothing?”

  “We don’t have anything, Midas. Not yet. Bastion and I are outfitting the next squads with EMP weapons. Hopefully, we can disrupt any signals before they get the command to dissolve.”

  “Time, time, time… Time is the one thing we don’t have. The Summit and the government are already breathing down our necks about results. Too many things running in parallel… The Resistance is growing. Speaker Rivera is up for reelection… I need results.”

  “I’m surprised you care about Rivera. You almost sound sentimental. Just run a smear campaign against his rival, or better yet, buy him off, too. You’re good at that.”

  “I’m taking care of it… Maybe I’ll replace him with one of your skin suits.”

  “Not funny. When I said proof of concept, I wasn’t talking about replacing politicians with doppelg?ngers.”

  “I wasn’t joking. If you have a tool, why not use it?” Midas made a tsk tsk sound. “Machines are so much less troublesome than people.”

  Ava chuckled. “You really didn’t read my report. You didn’t even skim—”

  “Out with it.”

  “Do you remember where we left out with hardening the biomechs against psychic attacks?”

  Midas sighed. “I’ve had a lot of things that require my attention. I would appreciate it if you would just—”

  “Do you remember?”

  “...Yes. You were experimenting with cutting select units off from your network, then fully enclosing their brains. I thought that was working—”

  “They worked initially.”

  “...Explain.”

  “The strategy worked against psychic attack. Proof of concept, as it were. But it wasn’t healthy for the individual biomech. Keeping them separate for any longer than a few weeks resulted in problems. Ignoring orders, deviant behavior, depression, and self-harm.”

  “What the hell does deviant behavior—nevermind. I don’t want to know. What else?”

  Ava continued, “I’ve tried several things, including reconnecting the individual back into the fold after a mission. Let’s just say that is an even worse solution—both for the individual and the rest of my mechs. The conclusion: Mature biomechs aren’t suited to isolation for any length of time.”

  “So where does that leave us?”

  “New biomechs are the only suitable candidates. If they’re never connected, then they grow up just fine. It just so happens that the best candidates are the new infiltration units…”

  Midas stuttered. “Ava, please tell me you have precautions—”

  Ava chuckled. “Relax, Midas. They’re all loyal to me. Not to mention tagged and implanted with kill switches. Still, I wouldn’t put them in charge of the world’s nuclear arsenal.”

  “Agreed.” Midas cleared his throat. “Continue sending your reports. I’ll make time to read them.”

  MIDAS DISCONNECTS

  TRANSMISSION STILL ACTIVE

  “Bastion, are there any records of Magnus having backup facilities?”

  “No. All records were purged before the Brotherhood took control.”

  “...Magnus would’ve hidden his tracks well. Hidden networks, off-grid power supplies… We’ll have to wait for them to make a mistake.”

  “Do you enjoy antagonizing Midas?”

  “It’s just harmless banter between colleagues. …Though perhaps I did enjoy it.”

  “Is that because Midas does not address you as an equal?”

  Ava chuckled. “Sure. You can say that. Midas ego does not allow him to see anyone else as his equal. Now Bastion, if you don’t mind, I need to get back to work.”

  “Ava Savanus, may I say one final thing?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you for not addressing me the way Midas addresses you.”

  “...You’re welcome.”

  END OF TRANSMISSION