It took awo days for us to e up with, and implement, temporary measures to keep the gover running. We couldn’t just disassemble the trol system, not quickly and easily anyway, so we had to work around it.
In the end we decided to create a series of administrative AIs to both proted mahe trol system until the new gover could be put into pce. The AIs would be limited they wouldn’t be able to put any sweeping ges into pce, and ohe new goverook power, it would be up to them if they wao keep or dispose of the support work.
Rather than using my standard tempte and having plush animals, we decided to just use a sleek robotic shape for these AIs. That eople wouldn’t immediately associate them with me.
“Nyx, are you sure these things will be able to keep this city running?” I grumbled as I watched the first pair of featureless androids go to work.
“Evelyn, these are Css II administrative AIs, simir to Sir Froggington. Uhe frog, who is optimized for teag, these models use highly advanced data models to streamline infrastructure and create tingencies for future crises. They are more than capable of ‘keeping this city running’,” Nyx expined, using Dusty’s body.
“Well, good. I think we should still stick to the inal pn and make two more. They may take a whole day iter refigurator, but it’s better to have backups,” I grumbled. “Do we have any idea how long it’ll take to disassemble this trol system, so it ’t be used to hold the city ransom again?”
“The beavers, Zettabyte, and Barricade are all iing the endpoints, but it looks like the former cil spent years redireg the processing, databases, and trol systems of the city’s utilities through this room. It’ll take a little while to unta all.”
“Yeah, it’s better to take things slow and steady on that front. Wouldn’t want to fuck it up and have all our efforts to this point go to waste.”
As I turned away from the trol room and made my way back out of the cil building, I made a quick call to the others.
[The first administration AIs are in pyx assures me they should be able to keep the city in one pietil the new gover is ready to take over.]
[Good job!] Nora replied.
[What are you pnning to do now? Heading straight back here?] Angeline asked.
[Eh… I’m ly eager to sit in a feren ae the merits of giving the civilians one more vote than the corporations, and vice versa, or how to implement a voting system in a city that didn’t have one before. Especially now that Mirage is involved.]
[He did apologize to you,] Sharron reminded me, [and I’m pretty sure he was being geoo.]
[I know! He’s weirdi,] I grumbled. [Besides, I uand why the different fas would want one more or fewer votes, but I holy don’t care whie es out on top. It’s at the politig stage, and at the end of the day, the uy is probably going to end up getting ignored by the new goveral body, just like usual.]
[You know, you could push for some uy representation on the new cil,] Hel suggested.
[I already know that both the civilian and corporate fas would immediately push ba that. Besides, most of the uy is still trolled by gangs, and whomever got on the cil would only be in it for their own gain.]
[So, just like everyone else then,] Niggled. [If you’re not ing back, where are you headed?]
[Angeline and I were talking this m, and it looks like a rge part of the cil’s PMC forces have left the city, including the two remaining superheavies. I’d like to take a quick look and figure out what they’re up to before heading back.]
[Alright, just keep us informed. It’s not like we’re going anywhere.] I could hear the disappoi in Sharron’s voice. It’s not like she, nor any of my other friends, wao be there any more than I did, but the talks needed a ral party to mediate. I felt a little guilty.
[Tomorrow, I’ll stick around the entire day, and one of you guys take the day off. Everyone’s been w hard on this. I’m not the only ohat should be allowed to escape.]
[Why tomorrow?] Sharron asked.
[Because I’m already out here, and I really want to check that these PMC fucktards aren’t doing anything stupid. If I’m fast, maybe one of you could take the afternoon off instead,] I said.
[Then what are you waiting fo fast! Get back here ASAP,] Angeline replied in a half-joking manner. Despite her tone, I knew she was just as stressed as the rest.
[Alright fine, see you all soon.]
I cut the call just as I exited the cil building, before jogging over to the nearby Kodiak. As soon as all my bears were on board, I smmed the hatch close button and directed the vehicle to the voy’s position.
It only took a few mio clear the city, ao the area we’d seen the military for earlier this m. The heavy armor hadn’t made much progress. Superheavies were notoriously slow even on paved roads, but I was still surprised to find them farther from the city than before.
It was an impressive colle of armor, ohat probably would have given the Denver tihat had approached the cil building a run for their money. I just couldn’t figure out what they were doing so far from the city.
“Nyx, have you picked up any unications from the tanks? Are they in tact with the cil?”
“They’re keeping chatter to a minimum, and unication is limited to ihe n,” Nyx replied. As I observed the n through the exterior cameras, Dusty, the current Nyx proxy, raised an eyebrow. “We’ve apparently been spotted. The ander has ordered all tanks to halt, not to make any aggressive movements, and he’s sending out a wide-band message. He wants to talk to you.”
“Someone wants to be reasonable? Will the wonders never cease?” I muttered. “Is he on the radio now, or…”
“He’s the ander of the Anvil of Dawn, the superheavy with the dozer bde on the front. He appears to be stepping out,” Nyx expined.
“Grand. Let’s see what he wants to say, shall we?”
The Kodiak swooped low, ing io the long line of armor, slowing only when it approached the tank in the middle of the formation.
The Anvil of Dawn was a different type of monster from the other super heavies. It didn’t have a massive main gun like the others. Instead it had four IFV-sized turrets and nearly a dozen sponsons. It was a mobile fortress, not a on of mass destru.
As I stepped out of the bay vehicle, the ander waved from the top of the monster. He was fairly young, had brown hair, and was wearing something simir to a traditional military uniform. He also had huge bags under his eyes and stubble. It seems like he hadn’t left his post in a while. “Thank you for not firing first, ma’am.”
“Don’t call me ma’am, it makes me sound old,” I grumbled. “Do you want to expin what you and your men are doing out here? Although I appreciate you taking the fight outside the city, I find it a little suspicious that you waited so long to do so.”
“We have no iion of fighting here ma’am,” he answered, standing up straight. “I represent a small coalition of PMCs, and when we heard about the cil attempting to drop a pte we withdrew from bat in protest. After we saw the cil had drawn the ire of the samurai, we decided the best thing to do was terminate our tracts, and move on. It’s just taken us a few days te up the supplies needed for the trip and we couldn’t get moving until this m.”
I stared at him for a couple seds. “You’re just… leaving? You do that?”
“Yes, ma’am. Don’t get me wrong, having access to a superheavy tank means that my group was one of the best-paid PM the city, but all the money in the world wouldn’t vince me to sughter civilians, o up against samurai. That’s not what me, and my men, signed up for,” the man expined.
“You almost sound reasonable,” I mumbled. “Why couldn’t more people have been like you?”
The man scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “With all due respect, ma’am, most PMCs are just in it for the money. It’s pretty much the only upside of the job.”
“Okay, fair,” I ceded. “If you’re leaving the city and no longer in the cil’s employ, I don’t see any reason to stop you. I was worried that you were sent out to do something dumb, like trying to knock out the utilities in revenge for capturing the cil or something.”
“We’re not stupid enough to do something like that, ma’am. We saw what you did to the st two superheavies that got in your way.”
“Fine, go on. If you leave it just means the cil has even less pieces to throw around, and that’s fih me. Just be warned, I’m watg you, and if you deviate from the highway before you’re out of the Calgary area, I will be back.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, ma’am,” the young ander replied. He quickly saluted me before scrambling bato his tank. A few seds ter the entire n began to roll fain.
“Well, that’s one taken care of,” I said as I walked back to the Kodiak. “Without their superheavies, the cil is all but defanged. Now we just have to deal with the far more terrifying part of this geover. Politics.”
