Free Interrogative 01: Tiago and the Masterless by Charles Barouch Page B

here?" Audra asked.
    "No, locals are… well… local."
    "If you could have gotten that directive working, where would the gas come from?" Audra asked.
    "I doubt it is kept on board, that would risk it leaking out. I assume it's…. You are brilliant. Simply brilliant."
    "The life support can access the maker unit. We are local to life support. Ergo, we already have control of the room they are fighting over," Audra said.
    "Local. Please access the maker unit via life support. Local. I need specs on sims Three-one-one through Three-seven-seven. We are building an army."
    "No. Bad idea," Audra said. "If the Masterless are fighting the government, then this is all your fault."
    "My fault? I'm not the one invading my ship!"
    "Our ship. Look at the facts. If the Masterless were able to control Nellie and me…" Audra began.
    "Nellie and I. That's a glitch."
    "No it isn't and stop interrupting. If the Masterless can't control the generic sims but they could control both of the modified sims, it means that something in your mods makes us vulnerable. If you make more sims using your technique, you are just adding to the Masterless' army."
    "I know that."
    "What? They why do it? I don't understand you," Audra said.
    "Watch and learn. Local. I need specs on sim Three-one-one. Local. Run him through the diff of Nellie's changes. Local. Instantiate Three-one-one in the maker unit bay."
    "Name for this instance?" chirped the local.
    "Neville. Local. Instantiate a biostasis gun in the maker unit bay."
    "So now it's two versus fourteen. What have you accomplished?" Audra asked.
    "Just watch," Tiago said.
    What they were watching wasn't 3D. It wasn't even pictures. For Tiago and Audra, all they could see was the effect on the atmospherics. In the hallway, the scene was much more visceral. And what they saw, other than Three-one-one consuming oxygen in the maker unit bay, was nothing. No change.
    "Local. Open the door for him."
    "Not connected to the door. Need to be proximate," Local chirped.
    "Can we communicate with him? Local. Open communications to the maker unit bay. Neville, use the local which is sewn into your left sleeve. It can open the door."
    "This is an official channel," Three-one-one said.
    "I am Captain Salazar of the Interrogative , Corporal Neville."
    "Neville is my first name. And I'm a Lieutenant. Dead giveaway, not addressing an officer properly. Stay where you are and I will come and arrest you. If you are innocent, you have nothing to fear," Three-one-one said.
    "Local. Communications off. That went well. How does he have a last name? I didn't give him one."
    "His last name is Used," Audra said. "Same as Nellie."
    "How do you know that? How did Nellie and Neville get last names?"
    "My error," Audra said, unhappily. "I created a glitch with my code. Well, not actually with my code, but that can wait. Ask the local for Nellie's full name. You'll understand."
    "Local. What is Nellie's full name?"
    "Nellie Variable Not Assigned A Value, Of Zero Was Used," chirped the local.
    Tiago laughed until he gasped for breath. It was inappropriate. Their lives were in danger. It would hurt Audra's feelings. Still, he laughed. When he finally regained some control of himself, he took steps to protect them.
    "Look. Neville is in the hallway. He used his local. Now we need to keep him there. Local. Scan Neville Used. He is an impostor."
    "Cannot compare. No access to those areas of the ship's computer," chirped the local.
    "We need a better way to keep track of them. See if life support can tag the individuals."
    "Local. Can we tag the individual sims in the hallway?"
    The display changed. The sim now had their numbers, in glowing green, marking their location.
    "Glad I only added one for now," Tiago said. "Once the Masterless notice him, they'll take him over. He'll be standing with the other team at that point if we have any luck. And we are due some luck. Best outcome, the biostasis gun hits enough of them to re-balance the sides.