Slumrat Rising

“Green Five Delco Pumpkin.” Truth was determined to do things properly, even if Merkovah was in a mood.

“Oh, and you remember the procedure, too! Such a diligent, attentive person. How wonderful. Fai Alsho Seven Seven Wolly.” Merkovah’s voice was desert dry. “Is there a particular reason you vanished midway through your transit?”

“Yeah. I didn’t want to get sold out by Comrade whoever. And let’s be real, he was one hundred percent a rat.”

“He is so heavily glamoured and mentally conditioned his head would pop like a zit if he so much as accidentally let something slip. He has an immaculate, multi-decade record of success. A consummate professional.”

“Sure.”

There was a pause on the line.

“You had a flash of paranoia and figured you would follow the plan, just not the plan.”

“Yeah.”

There was a long, long sigh. “Sure, ok, why not. Not like we have been working on this for years. I’m sure your thing was way better.”

Truth started his recitation, emphasizing the widespread rollout of the System Astrolgica and its potential for global installation. There was a long quiet at the end of the line.

“We had heard a lot of that from other sources, but you are the first to get hands-on with the actual technology underpinning the enrollment. Although, given the security measures you are describing, I am suddenly concerned about a few agents who have gone silent.”

Truth nodded. That ball of whatever-it-was was seriously nasty.

“The global rollout theory is alarming, however. I will have investigators looking into it. I will also investigate the self-destruct mechanism you describe. To the extent you can do so safely, do keep investigating the tablets. Use a recording talisman if you can- get as many images as possible.”

“Will do.”

“The good news is that your work has been having an impact. We are seeing resources being shifted south, particularly since you sniped that level six outside the bank. Not enough to pull Starbrite’s core forces out of Harban, but that’s expected.” Merkovah’s voice turned dry again. “There are some very, very excited intelligence officers who are convinced they are on the trail of a major ringleader.”

“I can suggest a few ringleaders if they need a hint.”

“No need; they are very creative. It seems that privilege and status are not the shields they used to be. Still formidable, but some rather wealthy, well-connected people are getting invited for a cup of tea down at the station.”

“That… sounds bad? Why are they getting tea?”

“I mean, they are getting arrested, just more gently than you are used to seeing.”

“Ok, but why tea? Is tea particularly sinister?”

“How could tea be sinister?”

“You have the cops waterboarding people with tea, you tell me.”

“When have I had the police-” There was a sudden quiet. “You know, there is always a concern that an agent will be captured or mind controlled or something. That the enemy will be using them to ferret out information on other agents. I am so relieved to see you are free and well.”

“Eh, I’m physically well, but mentally, I’m not so sure.”

“Oh? What troubles you?”

“What is the definition of a human being?”

There was another pause. “Could you elaborate on that a little?” Merkovah’s voice was surprisingly soft.

Truth laid out how he felt looking at the Shift Supervisor in the logistics center, a former human reduced to a mere component, existing in fear and pain. The sense of all the normal people feeling unreal. That only the monsters were real. The terrifying presence of Remu Amakson, who seemed more “real” than some Level Six and Seven people he could think of.

Merkovah sighed. “Don’t dig too deep into Amakson. Feel free to focus Starbrite on him if you like, but don’t put too much into it yourself. I know roughly what he is, even if I don’t know who he is. The very short version is that every theology agrees there were very few people at the beginning, and pretty much every human you have ever met traces their lineage back to one of those early people. There were other lineages.”

Truth puzzled over that one.

“He’s another kind of human?”

“More likely, he is some kind of hybrid between the humans you know and another kind of human, yes. And those other kinds have their limitations, but they are quite strong. In several senses of the word. My bet is that he and his family are planning for the post-collapse world and are probably an unnecessary battle now.”

“Huh. Okay. And the rest?”

“You are experiencing an accelerated and perhaps exaggerated version of something every powerhouse encounters. You are simply above others. It’s an unpleasant thought in a lot of ways. But you are. You are stronger, faster, possessed of monstrously more magical power, will live longer, suffer few or no diseases, and can go without air or water for extended periods- you are simply better than the masses. It is an uncomfortable mindset, and your growth has been calamitously fast. You haven’t had a chance to adjust.”

Truth thought that made sense, even if it felt profoundly uncomfortable.

“The other part of that is the Blessing of the Silent Forest. What you are experiencing is a known consequence. I didn’t mention it because, well, you seemed so alienated from the world already.”

“Pardon?”

“Mr. Wells,” Truth jerked a little, then grinned. “Kindly recall the precise chain of events needed to get you a friend and a wife.”

“I’m not married!”

“Sure, tell yourself that.”

“Alright, I don’t trust easily,” There was a snorting noise through the ritual. “But I wouldn’t say I was alienated from the world.”

“Only because you aren’t entirely sure what the word means. You don’t instinctively connect with people or the world. You interrogate every relationship. To everything. Frankly, I thought you would find the unnoticibilty rather comfortable.”

Truth had to admit that he generally did. “Fair.”

“Next steps? We aren’t ready to make our move yet. We need more chaos.”

“How are things in Harban?”

“Tense. You want to make a move there?”

“Can’t do much more here. The whole city is on a hair trigger. What are those eyeless things anyway?”

“I don’t know. We only started observing them in the last decade and have not captured any for examination. They seem to be some sort of homunculus, but I genuinely do not know. Don’t go anywhere near them if you can avoid it. They are probably weaker than you, but they may well be able to perceive you. Their “vision” operates on some principle I do not understand.”

“Understood.”

“Before you go home, I want you to break into somewhere for me- a Starbrite research facility. No chance the Shattervoid girl is there, but I do hope that you may find a lead on her.”

“Okay.”

There was a pained chuckle. “Okay indeed,” Merkovah told him where the information for the op would be hidden. It was a coded reference to a spot outside the city. “On a more personal note, your alternative insertion route meant that you missed hearing about your siblings.”

“I have been trying hard not to think about them. Didn’t seem like the right time.”

“Well, here is the short version. Your oldest sibling is, indeed, working for the Enemy as a laboratory manager. The facility is related to material science, so he shouldn’t have any connection to your operations. No more information could be found; he appears to be living a quiet, ordinary life.”

“Good for him,” Truth said. It was all he had ever wanted for Harmony.

“Your middle sibling is pursuing an advanced degree in biology at the University of Jeon. While there is nothing particularly noteworthy about her work, her advisor is connected to many powerful figures, most of whom have unwholesome interests. So far, she appears fine.”

Truth nodded. He wanted to rush in and sort out that professor, but…

“Your youngest sibling is, however, something of a mystery. We can’t find him.”

“Pardon?” Truth asked with a guillotine edge.

“We can trace his steps up to a point- he completed high school, passed his SAT, did his national service, then simply vanished. Your other siblings don’t seem too concerned for him, so I doubt he vanished involuntarily, but whatever he is doing, he is doing it very, very discreetly.”

Huh. Figures it would be Vig. Well, that was worrying. Still, nothing he could do about it, so he’d just have to deal.

“And… my significant other?”

Merkovah sighed.

“Better and worse. Better in that she is less openly paranoid and homicidal. She has definitely calmed down a lot and will probably return from seclusion in a week or two. Worse, in that she is developing a whole theology. She is still fixated on your… elevation.”

Truth nodded. That also sounded about right. “Pass her a message for me?”

Merkovah went quiet for a moment. “I’m afraid not. Just too many ways for that to go wrong.”

Truth nodded a little more sadly at that.

“I can tell her you asked after her. That will cheer her up.”

“Please do.”

“Any other business?”

“Yeah, that “define human” thing- you never mentioned the shift supervisor. Not wildly below my level, clearly from our branch of humanity, but I can’t help but think of him as a kind of meat puppet.”

“What is there to say? You are right. Though this, too, is a common form of “human” existence.”

“Doesn't help me reach my answer.”

“Didn’t say it would.” Merkovah sighed. “There is a school of thought, not a very large school, that believes you can define something negatively. It’s not this, not that, not this other thing, and by excluding everything that it isn’t, all that’s left is what a thing is.”

“That sounds incredibly complicated. Unnecessarily complicated.”

“Most would agree with you. Myself included. But it’s not a useless technique. Perhaps you could start by cataloging those things that humans aren’t before trying to nail down what they are.”

“And God?”

“What about him?”

“Should he be defined negatively? People keep telling me he is great beyond our understanding, so negatively defining God seems sensible.”

There was a choking noise “I seem to remember something. Something about the job at hand. Maybe we can focus on that.”

“Want me to blow up another bank on the way to Harban?”

“Wouldn’t be the worst idea, actually. But no, let’s change it up a bit. How would you feel about another assassination?”

“Who’s the target?”

“Another Level Six Starbrite officer.”

“Tasty. You know that last guy only got hit because he was utterly wiped out, right?”

“Yes, you timed it perfectly. Graeme’s Arrow seems quite suitable for you. The hit is tangentially related to that, actually.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, he’s one of their top spell researchers. Under almost any other circumstances, I would desperately want him alive, along with all the research materials you could lay your hands on. His abilities as a modern magical researcher are utterly top-notch.”

“Include his details in the drop.”

“Will do. Keep at it, young man. You are having an effect. The plan progresses. There is still hope.”

Truth ended the ritual and leaned against the wall with a sigh. He was happy that his work was getting results. Very happy that Etenesh was doing better. His sibs were… what they were. It wouldn’t matter much if he didn’t get the Shattervoid girl- they would just have to figure out how to survive in the aftermath until he could collect them all. Luckily only Har was actually in Starbrite.

He just couldn’t find the right shape of words to ask Merkovah what he really wanted to know- what kind of world are we hoping for at the end of all this? Be it off-world, on this planet, or whatever. What is life like for all the ghosts haunting this mudball? What is a human being? Because that has to be the first question, right? Answer that, and you can start figuring out how the world should be arranged.

He still had no damn idea about how that should be done. None at all.

He started cleaning up the ritual space. No sense in letting a janitor discover a trace. He had his duffel bag with his few possessions. He would go buy some snacks, and then it would be time to break out of the city.

He couldn’t say what shape the world should be in, but he knew he couldn’t stand the way it was. Starbrite was the world-tyrant, a false God of sorts. He grinned slightly. To make his safe place, he would behead kings and cut down gods. He was looking forward to it.

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