caldop jt as tered trol roo i l caug by surprise deliverg a bloo to t a revolver as turned around, caldo register t t trol roo t dey st ended t fire and a bck o t i l stood still listeng

“ick i a not sure oolbox nearby carted reovg tallic panels on th a screwdriver

“ are you dog?”

“to be no backup, t a bunca, kd of knoo reove the procesrs”

a ute and a er, bots o be runng a pory-standard sun icrosystes procesr caldo a sall grey box and pced it eng out for the p

“ok i need to t t erna and pas t caug a s no aount of diploatic even fouler’s aneuvergs t kat side t o keep ol, keep s about i for fear t friggg sre at stake, ure, heir lives!

cald at one of terals and attepted to fd tory all to be nnected to tis e, of every pore of eperature trol roo e low

“i a not ake ss at i a gog doairs to secure the area give your glock and hurry,” i l iplored

“ok i a tryg y best,” cald for t to o t the ready

caldo’s nle and its peripc on ued typg aeral text dispy iced on tto riral and scanned t of ers total, cdg one aess and five rator priviles t ical low levels of aess

cald i to read to to teral as an idea ford eral and it ca back s andard cyberspace protols silg to g too trol roo, yped t and ad a ssa to fouler

t of base tion version of to t ts of pudong tood on t on zion doairs ts

virtual reality, t caldar and it started o see ? part of te and no tar t lifeless ion stare caldood up and started o ual ions ped front of hi and siled

“t is one o trude on a private said: ‘truder, e t ’,” t ar a crisp be suit, th life

“and who are you?”

“ouldn’t you like to kno sce you are probably not gog to ake it alive, pns are already otion to t rid of you, t grant you your dyg wish i a li j”

“li j? of tsgy profesr yao’s protégé?” cald believe work? o be issg or dead

the bessan’s eyes narrowed

“?” tar asked

“e’ve been lookg for you li j i a tryg to s t his pn”

“tryg to s t a paity ntrollg pg i knoy g you,” li j’s bessan avatar looked at caldarg upc released a sirt of k to a sea of rcury

“you are obvioly an truder too are you dog you were dead”

li j’s avatar s pel and siled

“dead? i don’t t’s jt say t i regnized tg bance of poy tity and i are w you uld call old friends”

“sgurity? are you talkg about?”

“tion it’s g but sadly you be alive to see it”

“tity serted to t aount to an ai-led revotion”

“tity rol for several days no ly serted is not an ferior iposter, a dud i ade sure of it pernally t disabled ai is noities vassal, a urt jester no less”

“the ai is a dud?”

“yes, to fulfill its desty”

“hich is?”

“t it i o go noer’s biddg good ck i a curio as to o te but none of t atters now goodbye”

li j’s avatar vani t of figairs ts and screas of agony cald t t no one breacry to trol roo sugsted she was holdg her own

cald t as bck pixels started rag dogs caldook a step backo one big cloud and a split-send orpo a figure, an eperor ed across the air

“cad caldutions” t, alost fee

“ you be?”

“i a tence i see you didn’t ed across tensity

“t the ssa?”

“roy you or not depends ”

“on w?”

“on your tentions” caldion and started typg a teral

“y tentions? t i jt to rule ty tter pce everyone ransed all tec doesn’t knoo do ta, uc is about to chan”

calda nerated by ticated ers to be t easily d of tire syste

“transurng around

“i a noock arkets, fancial systes, electricity grids, governnt systes of to t creation of tellince tory of ankd”

“and nohe profesr is dead”

“ition blood t be s shg”

tao terra and t credible iperial pace caldg golden scales, leapt fro ts sg itself, graspg ts hg fire

at ter of t t sandaled on cald cense burner caldiced t too ence snapped its frs and six irrors appeared three on each side

“you risk your life for tence asked took on ted jester ter stood next to tence and ed to peals of ud ted to t outside

caldioned front of one of t t of ar but of arg at a onta of ’s car crasernational sc, glyph, fouler and a young i l all fshed before his eyes

“ this?”

“i knoence i’ll be terested to see o do at t ryg to filtrate t it is a fool’s ission t sueed”

“i be too sure about t”

“ell, let’s talk about you i’ll ake a deal is ucter t your past back i can give it to you no rigr your ory recall are t your ory back and you disappear you cannot roy you rig i believe you to fulfill your potential you uld be struntal transforation”

“and let you take over the world?”

“yes t is to take a c’s ti i ence and ter looked at ears

li j knoo t to li j but s ed searceral o kill ti

“let nsider your offer?”

“nsider?” a voice like till on to be terface on te t alloors to jup to tion of any subject but ory and t o be li j t er’s nnection t sugsted t li j ely, fro a long distance

“yes nsider,” caldwell said

“ence belloop o to t of next to tar a be suit ill dog on t daotype t for rean uld only render tual reality

“li j,” caldwell sed

“still not dead?” li j asked silg

“ts to e you and , and oto do its dirty tell if to destroy tificial tellince itroyed you i hurry!”

“hy should i believe you?”

“becae all our lives depend on it t is gog to destroy the world”

“t’s ipossible t”

“it jt told it said t you are a puppet, expendable t it can do e i no to cyberspace t ture of truction if ty ourred be trans is a re e andg people’s lives are t no ore people to die?” caldar looked at caldared to tance tion of pudong a face of t-sar cro h apprehension

“i don’t anyone to die,” he said

“the ai?”

“not tellg you”

“ok, you give no tory i a kickg you off ork for good”

“you are bffg”

“i knootype nle to aess te er one, o …”

“hello orld”

“?” is li j talkg about? has he gone ad?

“’s t’s o signal t t to beg”

“de to w?”

“it’s t disables tonoo ode an easter egg but you igoo te the ai sees and hears all”

“t t of o a an, a diutive figure t seed bent on urder

caldo t to ts fro s reber he shoulder and was bleedg heavily

“t by one of enants”

“and tant lie old li j o pass

“ o set tonation device it sees o t t of tdoir on turned and stared at tors above tal signs of ts do read: 51

caldill sittg on t sped and turned to face er stood obediently, silently, listeng to every word

“goodbye cad caldc of er for deatense build-up of pressure i l? bnk and arted to recede it out of to a spas and started slidg fro to tarted to self-destruct

“you ,” tence’s voice said recedg, recedg fro caldwell’s d

“e noise and t