Chapter 70: Ghost in the Machine

Time slowed down like when an Administrator was nearby. **But the voice comes from within me.**

++”I’m your Anima, Alan!”++

++”My what now?”++

++”I’m The Embodiment of your Unique Talent. You have surely read the Novus’ Guide to Combat everyone gets when starting their adventure!”++

++”Nope.”++

++”Oh. Would you like me to start the tutorial?”++

++”I don’t have time for that! You said you could help me save everyone. Do something then!”++

++”I can’t do that yet. I’m still just an idea. A desire. Your wish to become strong.”++

++”You said that even the weakest can be helpful.”++

++”There are many ways of becoming strong, Alan. Like having the ability to be a leader, and to guide others to victory.”++

++”Amelia’s Belphy mentioned something about her Unique Talent, ‘Pyrokinetic-Something’, the ability to transform fire into steel. Would you be able to teach me to do something like that?”++

++”There are different kinds of Unique Talents. We are born thanks to the Users’ desire to grow.”++

++”Wait a second, you’re just a Novus’ AI assistant…”++

++”YOUR personal AI assistant!” the disembodied voice said cheerfully. It sounded like a young boy. “Listen, Alan, you cannot choose your Unique Talent out of a list. It must be born from your psyche. Just imagine the best version of yourself! Who are you, Alan Warden? What are you best at?”++

++”I’ve… Always been good at fixing things. I spent so much time working as Abigail’s assistant that I didn’t have time to make friends outside the Kintech Labs… I never understood people, but I understood robots. Abigail warned me that if I didn’t find a balance between human communication and working with machines, I’d end up just like Dad… And maybe she was right. When the Singular thing started, it fascinated me to an extent.”++

++”Do you still prefer the company of machines rather than that of humans, Alan?”++

++”It’s complicated… I love machines, but they can’t compare to people, especially now that I’ve met a lot of interesting fellas… I’m not stupid, I know that machines have been created to serve us, and yet I respect them. ++

>>They do not feel pain, but I’ll rush to fix them as quickly as possible, anyway. I don’t like seeing them in a bad state, so I’ll upgrade them even if they are pretty much obsolete. I’m not afraid to send them to the front lines if that means saving a single human life, because I know that in the end, I can patch them up… Unlike people, who are easy to break…

>>For that very reason I’ve spent most of my life living among them, so others can live to their fullest. We’ve been living in codependency for the last 100 years, but AIs like the Singular have ruined the balance. I must stop it.”++

++”Do you really love machines, Alan?”++

++”Well, they’re a flawed mirror of ourselves after all.”++

++++Congratulations!

You have unlocked your Unique Talent!++++

++”It is done, Alan. It just needs a name!”++

++”Aaron.”++

++”Is that the name you have chosen for your Unique Talent?”++

++”Huh? No, you’re Aaron. The UT will be called…”++

A sudden flow of blue energy surrounded Alan’s entire body, making Clara step back.

He opened his eyes, and something resembling a round spirit no bigger than his head manifested out of his back. It sprouted short, baby-like limbs, and when its head came out, it took the form of a skull with blue shining orbs as eyes, covered by goggles. Its clothes resembled a maskless yellow hazmat suit.

++++Thoughtform successfully created!

Anima’s Code Name:+++

“I’m Aaron. Nice to meet you, Alan,” the spirit said with the voice of a preteen boy. “Just say your Unique Talent out loud and I will be able to help you.”

“Ghost in the Machine,” Alan pronounced, as his green eyes glowed full of energy.

“Is that an Anima?” Clara muttered, focusing the camera on him. “It is! A-Alan! Don’t tell me you unlock your UT just now?!”

Alan did not pay attention to her and focused on the battlefield instead. “Aaron, how can we help our allies?”

“Scanning,” Aaron said, adjusting his goggles. “Out of the 11 NPC allies, 3 have been eliminated. Here is a list of the current battle participants. Allies’ average level: 20… Enemies’ average level: 33.”

Alan skimmed through Aaron’s window report.

“Can we buff our team?”

“You are already buffing them thanks to a Team Aura. ‘Ghost in the Machine’ increases their overall stats by 5% while it’s active. Do you want to name this Passive Boost?”

“‘Extended Warranty’!” Alan intoned. “But it’s not enough. I need them to be strong enough to restrain them.”

“We could rearrange their stats, but only if they accept these changes. This effect would remain active only while Ghost in the Machine remains active.”

“Show me.”

A more extensive system screen appeared in front of Alan, listing every single NPC ally, including Bella, and a summary of their status.

**All right, let’s see… ‘Strength’ and ‘Agility’ are pretty straightforward. If I remember correctly, ‘Vitality’ refers to how much damage someone can take and endurance… ‘Spirit’ it’s the value that determines how much mana one can hold, and… What the hell is this?**

“Aaron? What does ‘Potential’ do?”

“It is automatically calculated by the system according to your overall feats. We will not be able to change it, though.”

“So basically, the bigger its value, the more awesome one is? It’s okay. Let’s increase their Vitality.”

“Which stats should be lowered?”

“Agility and Strength. They won’t need them.”

“Requesting Permission. What should we call this Active Skill?”

“Modding.”

On the battlefield, Fabio received Aaron’s System Notification. “Excellent idea, Commander,” Fabio said, nodding, and instructed the rest of the NPCs to also accept the request.

Bella did as well, immediately.

As Alan watched their stats changing in real-time on the virtual window, he shouted through Party Chat: “Don’t let them fight! Disarm them and restrain them!”

Clara winced at the sight of a male NPC getting purposely stabbed in the stomach to capture the enemy’s sword. “Alan, this won’t end well.”

“True! Aaron? We need something else to incapacitate the enemy!”

“We could use the electric spell Zap that stuns the enemy for a couple of seconds. Scanning… Only two of our allies know the spell. We could copy the ability from them and install it on the others. These NPCs will forget the skill as soon as the battle ends, though.”

“Do it.”

“What should we call this–?”

“File Sharing!”

“Download… Complete… Installation… Complete.”

A sudden burst of heat hit Alan’s entire body. His forehead and ears turned bright red, as if they would fume at any second. His heart began racing at full speed, and a dizziness brought him to his knees.

**As if my brain and every cell of my body had been used to compensate for all this ‘computing’ power Aaron requires…**

“A-Alan?! Are you okay?” Clara rushed to aid him, noticing he looked at the brink of fainting.

“I-I’m okay! Guys, use Zap and give them a good shake!”

From his place, he witnessed multiple flashes of electricity. The most skilled NPCs would send bolts of electricity out of their hands, while others emanated sparkles from all over their body as they hugged their opponents.

“We have lost 2 more allies, Alan.”

**It’s okay! This last move has helped us disarm the Users and paralyze them, hopefully for long enough to apply a Full Nelson on them.**

“What should we do next, Alan?” Aaron asked, floating beside him.

Alan shut his eyes. **Ricardo Silva has failed me, so I’ll have to depend on the next best option.** He then stood up and turned to Clara’s drone camera.

“Oh, something you want to say to our spectators, Alan Warden?” She grinned, excited.

“Yes.” He gave a deep breath before yelling: “Jane Andersen, where are you, you loli bitch?!”

“Jane Andersen?” Clara muttered, trembling. “As in the Administrator of Conduct? It’s just a coincidence, right? Y-You’d never offend an Administra–”

A humming sound was heard behind them, followed by a high-pitched voice: “TURN OFF!”

The drone camera fell to the ground, as a girl stepped out of a recently opened portal.

“She’s here!” Clara cried, hiding behind Alan’s back. “Just to be clear, I, her manager, do not condone the use of the word bitch in our live stre–”

“SHUT UP!” Jane Andersen yelled, making her voice sound louder than a lightning explosion for a second. “Was it fun, Alan Warden? Did you enjoy your little show while it lasted?”

Alan did not flinch, instead, he pointed to the sunk town. “Why haven’t you done something about this?”

“Excuse me?”

“Is indiscriminately attacking an entire community okay for the Administrator of Conduct?!”

“Oh, dear…” Clara murmured behind him, making Jane chuckle.

“For a moment, I forgot you’ve been AFK all this time. You there, ‘Manager’, why don’t you tell him before I drag his ass to oblivion?”

“Alan,” Clara began in a tiny voice, “it’s been a while since the Administrator of Conduct announced she’d no longer pursue what she considers ‘petty’ crimes…”

“Exactly! After spending three whole years trying to teach you all some manners and dealing with your shit!” Jane paused to snicker. “After all, my ‘Anti-Bad Behaviour System’ has singlehandedly reduced sexual assaults to almost zero, and helped me catch every serial killer inside Safe Zones.” She looked around. “That’s why these kinds of little skirmishes are permitted.”

“Little?”

“It’ll teach you perseverance and adaptation.”

Alan shook his head, enraged. “I thought the Novus was designed with teamwork in mind! This foments nothing but future in-fighting between thousands of Users!”

Jane crossed her arms and exhaled, as if she was talking to a child. “Nooo. This’ll teach you that we won’t be able to babysit you at all times. If you can’t deal with your own shit, and work together, what do you expect to do against a third party?”

**Third parties? What the hell does that even mean?**

Alan pursed his lips, glancing at the restrained Users.

**Although she may act indifferent, she came immediately, as if she had been keeping an eye on the situation. You care about all of us in your own way, don’t you?**

“What do you do with the constant offenders?”

“You mean, the really ‘stubborn’ brats? I put a collar on them, irremovable while inside the system. Once this is all done, the cryopod will install a physical one on them before letting them go, as an extra precaution.”

“So, you don’t imprison people?”

“Imprisonment is a very archaic way to deal with rotten apples. The collar works as a better punishment, you see. It prevents them from getting over 100,000 gold. It electrocutes them as soon as they try to behave badly again, and it tells everyone that sees them what they really are on the inside.”

“I see…” Alan swallowed, glancing at the restrained Users. “If you put collars on them, would they be able to live a normal life?”

Jane Andersen glanced at the captured citizens, squinting. “This is between your guild and those two Users, right? Why would I–?”

Alan stepped forward to whisper in her ear. Clara could do nothing but watch.

Jane winced. “Why should I believe such bullshit?”

“I was AFK, remember? Connect the dots.”

Jane’s young face expressed disbelief, before changing into a grimace, followed by an angry frown. “Who else knows about this?”

“Ricardo Silva.”

**Sorry, Ricardo, but I can’t lie to her. I have to bet on Jane for the sake of these people and follow this bitter decision to the end.**

“It won’t be an issue to put a collar on these people. I can remove them whenever I want.” She nodded, jumped down gracefully, landing without making a sound. She then strolled to each of the affected, and with a single touch on their heads, a red collar appeared on their necks. “You have been restrained by the Administrator of Conduct, Jane Andersen. Sentence indefinite. Your penalty: Not being able to leave this town.”

After watching them all get sleepy, Alan cried joyfully: “You did it!” He jumped down and dashed towards her. “Thank you so much, Ja–!”

Jane swiftly turned to him and touched the tip of his nose. “Restrained,” she intoned, putting a collar on him too. “Sentence: One week. Penalty: Constipation.”

“Oh, come on! What for?!”

“For calling me a you-know-what on Livestream.”

“F-Fine! As long as they–” Alan shut his mouth and suddenly fell on his butt. Aaron also disappeared as if he had never existed. “Am I getting sleepy too?”

“It’s just the fatigue from overusing your UT,” Clara said, helping him stand up.

“Oh, I see. Jeezus! I haven’t felt this tired in a–Wait! This isn’t over yet! The User that did this is still out there!”

“The one that you suspect to be… you know what?” Jane looked in the distance, where a gigantic two-headed dragon leveled the terrain around it, in its attempt to destroy something resembling a distant blue firefly. “Fine, I’ll help you restrain her too.”

“Oh, man! Did you hear that Clara? We’ll see one of the Administrators in action! This is going to be epic!”

“Awesome! J-Just let me get my camera, alright?!”

“You’re getting all hyped up for nothing.” Jane sneered. “You guys still have to do all the heavy work and drag her ass to me so I can put a collar on her.”

Alan’s enthusiast died instantly. “What do you mean? You’re an Administrator. You can surely defeat her in the blink of an eye.”

Jane cleared her throat while folding her arms, turning serious. “We… don’t have combat power.”

“HUH?!” Alan and Clara cried out in unison.

“Not everyone knows about this, so keep it a secret, understood?!”

**I suppose the developers established this restriction so they wouldn’t abuse their power.**

“So everything relies on Amelia now,” Clara said, looking in the distance.

“There’s someone else helping us,” Alan added, feeling reinvigorated. “Someone that hasn’t been affected like the others. She’s still fighting out there.” He opened his User Interface, checking a recent message from Ashley:

++Ashley: I found her.++

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