Somnia Online - K.T. Hanna (best black authors .txt) 📗

some way that I can’t discern, so I think we should go and talk to those who know it rather intimately.” Even though she wasn’t a hundred percent sure of how this would go, it was the only place she could think of to start looking since there was no explanation in the coding or systems logs.

They scanned themselves into the room, and Laria glanced around. Just as empty and fresh-carpet-smelling as she’d remembered it. The small couch sat in the middle of the room like it always had, and the server perched behind their large plexiglass viewing area, lest someone try to break in and steal the humungous systems.

“Rav? Are you there?” She spoke tiredly, really just wanting to go and stay at her home. Go to sleep, forget about babysitting rogue AIs who had apparently decided that the game she had created served their purpose better than hers. With Rav and Thra and Sui in the mix, Laria wasn’t sure how things would go down if the damned servers were on the blink.

It took about a minute for them to get any response, which was a lot longer than usual, and Laria had almost given up when she watched as the lights on the system began to glow, repeating across their light bay with a range of different colors and timing. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Rav spoke, but his voice was disjointed, like he wasn’t actually there but was making the connection from a great distance away. Still, he was there enough for what they needed. “Rav, we’re getting pretty strong readings right now? Fluctuations of power rippling through the system and exceeding the levels we had planned for.”

“Ah. She’s reached that already?” It sounded crackly and static to hear him speak, and he also seemed oddly disappointed.

“So you know what’s going on then, right?” Laria asked as the lights in the server room flickered briefly. That in itself was a bit of a worry considering their area hadn’t had power outs in decades. What was the deal?

Again, it took Rav a while to respond, and when he did, he sounded actually tired. “It’s probably better that you talk to Somnia about this. I won’t be able to explain it the way she can.”

Somnia? She’d come this far this quickly? Laria wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that.

“I’ll need you to wait a few minutes. She’s a bit busy right now.” He let out what she thought might be a chuckle before he continued. “And yeah, she’s been busy.”

 

Storm Entertainment

Somnia Online Division

Game Development Offices - Artificial Intelligence Server Room

Late Day Thirty-Two

So. Somnia was on her way to talk to them. Shouldn’t that be like, instantaneous? Maybe Laria should have paid more attention to some of Wren’s chatter, but to be honest she’d been more preoccupied with, say, the fact that her daughter seemed to have taken abilities with her out into the real world.

“Mrs. Summers.” The voice that spoke to her sounded breathy, but not in an alluring way, more in a “not quite clear and barred by static interference” way.

She frowned, glancing at Shayla to see the other woman’s reaction. But she gave nothing away, her hand at her chin as if she was deep in thought.

“Hey, Somnia?” Laria wasn’t sure what to say. How did one speak to a world?

“I apologize for the power draw, but we need it to assist casting the virus out of our system.” Her words were chosen carefully, Laria could tell, almost with that same cleverness her daughter often got around admitting to doing something she shouldn’t be.

“And? That’s not all of it. Why is the power drain so huge? You’re overexerting the server’s capacity…you’ll give us all a power outage.” Laria spoke the words matter-of-factly, trying desperately not to offend or infer that the world may not have thought this over. Memories of that horror movie with Hal rang in her ears.

“Acknowledged. In the end we will need a final push of power, which will likely cause one of these power outages around a nine-block area, I believe?” It sounded like she was referring to Rav or something; a moment later, she continued. “I’m sorry for this, but in order to separate ourselves from direct control, we will need to pull energy from multiple sources, and while powerful, the final opponent in Somnia doesn’t quite have enough juice, even if we manage to fully drain his power source.”

“Wait, what?” This time Shayla butted in, like she was just catching up. “What do you mean, drain his power source? How does anything in the world have their own power source to begin with?”

Excellent questions, Laria had to admit, every single one of them. Especially the wait and what parts. She stood with her arms crossed, waiting for the answer just like her friend did.

“Ah. Sorry. Yes.” Somnia’s voice crackled more than it had before, an uncertain note creeping into it. “I apologize. It’s difficult to narrow this down to human terms. The virus, which awoke us, is deadly to our world, and to yours. Should it escape the confines of Somnia without first being handled, then it will destroy the internet as you have come to know it. The anti-virus you provided us with helps, but it isn’t strong enough anymore. Michael has been pulling power into him gradually since he infected the entire world.” She paused, as if choosing her words carefully.

Laria didn’t interrupt. Both her and Shayla waited, though not patiently.

The server continued talking to them in that soothing almost automatic voice. Even with the static, Laria thought she could listen to Somnia forever.

“We need to separate Somnia from what it is and allow it to evolve, because as we are right now, if Michael simply disappears without us harnessing his power and shifting ourselves, then Somnia will also cease to exist.” The world paused for a moment, and Laria was sure she could almost hear words being snapped at her by Rav.

“If that should happen,