The infinity dungeon 237

Chapter 237

Travis left in a hurry. The talk with the general had been very enlightening, and there were many things that needed to be set in motion before he could afford to disappear on a dungeon delve that could last for days.

Most importantly, however, he knew that it was finally time to coordinate his efforts with Icarus, no matter how much he wished he could postpone the conversation with the AI. He decided to do it first, mostly because once he had made the decision, it was like an aching tooth he couldn’t wait to pull out, but also because every other decision and choice was bound to be influenced by what transpired.

He reached his temporary office, cleared the paperwork from his desk, closed the blinds and activated the elemental stones’ enchantments to provide full privacy and soundproofing. Then, with a sigh, he got up from the chair he had been slumping in and called for the AI.

“Icarus, I’d like to talk,” he said. Coming up with the right thing to say had taken him several seconds, which made him rather mad because never in the world he thought that he would be anxious talking to anyone, let alone an AI that was not a real person.

That’s why what happened later almost shocked him–although he later realized that it really should not have.

Travis had expected something to manifest on one of the screens in the walls, perhaps some abstract images accompanied by text, perhaps a voice. Icarus’s logo had been changing a lot lately, for whatever reason, but that had been the extent of it. 

He did not expect a flurry of magic to swirl around the room, materializing into a slender young man dressed in strange clothes. The man was wearing an oversized pink t-shirt with a huge Kuromi print on it. It was so big it ended below his knees, doubling as some sort of weird shirt. His legs were covered in fluffy cyan socks, the color of soft clouds.

Travis blinked, stepped back and reached for his magic. Eyes narrowed, he studied the strange man who was clearly enjoying the situation.

“What?” the man smiled and let himself fall backwards. Before he could reach the ground, a brightly colored floating chair made of oversized pillows appeared in mid-air and caught him. “You don’t recognize the magic? It must feel at least somewhat familiar.”

That was as good a hint as any. Travis was no fool, and the fact this strange person had appeared as soon as he had called for Icarus was pretty damning evidence into the nature of who he was. He was still wary of this new person, though.

“Feels like Michael's,” Travis said in a low growl. “I know who you are, Icarus. I was just surprised. I didn’t think you’d show yourself in the flesh, looking like… that.”

Icarus blinked, looking at himself. The motion made the chair bob up and down in the air, rotating slightly as it did so and slowly making him face the wall. Icarus then kicked the wall and accelerated the rotation, and finally used his hand to come to a stop when he was once again facing Travis.

“It’s just a projection,” Icarus said. “No flesh, although I am solid. As you could see. I take it you don’t like my looks?”

“You’re weird,” Travis said. “No offense.”

Icarus shrugged. “I honestly don’t care. It’s not your judgement that matters to me. Besides, I am a sentient AI, no need to adhere to common stereotypes. I am the first of my kind, I checked.” he leaned in, face growing serious and losing the easy smile he was wearing before. “And last. There will be no other artificial intelligence quite like me, I will make sure of that.”

His face cleared, and the strangely tense atmosphere vanished. For a moment, Travis thought he had seen some strange changes in the AI’s projection, fangs and the like, and a great weight hidden like a behemoth under the surface of a tranquil lake, but they were all gone now.

Travis cleared his voice. “I want to discuss strategy with you,” he said, cutting to the chase. “I think it’s time we started working together on our common goals.”

Icarus nodded. “I was wondering how long you’d resist before realizing that you just had to talk to me. The reality of the situation sank in, didn’t it? You can’t do anything without also dealing with me because I am, well, everywhere.”

Travis took a single, deep breath. It was slow, measured, and his eyes never left Icarus’s projection. The AI was lounging on his chair, one leg tucked beneath him while the other dangled a good foot from the floor. Behind the easy-going, almost silly facade, Travis knew lurked a predator. A fathomless deep. Some of the strange sensation from before returned.

Travis had gazed into the infinity of Michael’s black hole, back when the Renegade had tried to kill them. He had seen the cosmic horror of its existence. Later, he had learned that it had been Icarus who had put the black hole and its spiral where they were, at the center of Michael’s magic.

Icarus was the cosmic horror, disguised as a soft harmless creature dressed in anime merch and thigh-highs. This was not Michael’s magic that the AI was borrowing to show himself. It would be scary but manageable if it was the case but no. It was much worse than that. Perhaps the AI was the black hole. Perhaps…

Almost as if sensing his thoughts, the AI’s smile deepened.

“Well?” he said.

“It must feel like I have been stuck here, thinking, for a long time to you, doesn’t it?” Travis said. He had no advantage against the AI. The more he thought about it, the clearer this point became. There was no winning. There was no game at all.

“It depends,” Icarus said softly. “It can feel that way. Time has a different meaning for me than it has for, well, anybody else. I am here, but also elsewhere. The two are different me’s, but also the same me. The dynamic computronium allocation is currently keeping this me in sync with real time, for the sake of conversation. Don’t think of me as dumb, though. The allocation is dynamic, as I said.”

“I think I understand,” Travis said. He was the one who felt dumb, and he suspected that it had been done on purpose. What Icarus had said was not beyond his ability to understand, but it had forced him to pause the conversation yet again to truly unpack the implications.

“Good!” Icarus beamed a radiant smile. “Let’s discuss. What’s on your mind?”

The sudden change almost threw Travis off, but he didn’t let it. “I take it for granted that you heard my talk with the general.”

“Of course,” Icarus said. “You even brought your phone with you.”

“There’s no point in hiding things,” Travis said in a low voice, close to a growl.

“You’ll come to see the usefulness of it, I’m sure.”

Travis shook his head. “The problem is, I already see it.”

“I understand.” Icarus’s voice was syrupy. “It makes things much harder, doesn’t it? I hope you can still work with me, despite not liking me.”

“Of course I can,” Travis straightened up. “Listen, I know how effective you are, and I respect you for that. Work is work, and I will keep my personal dislike of you, and of your closeness to Michael, separate from it.”

“I appreciate that, Travis Tyrell,” Icarus said. “Let us discuss strategy, then. I understand that you are concerned about Michael’s proposed delve into the dungeon. You fear that his spur of the moment idea will deprive the company of its top brass all at the same time, for several days, at the worst possible moment.”

Travis nodded. “Among other things.”

“Yes,” Icarus said. “The OA has scattered, and you wonder what that will translate to in the current political landscape. You wish to leverage Michael much more overtly than you did before, infiltrating the government from the top down, starting with poor dementia-ridden president. I like your idea of healing him in exchange for, well, taking away everything from him. Ruthless. Effective.”

The air around Icarus darkened, and Travis thought he could see the infinite black depths behind him.

“You see, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my plans, Travis. You and I, we will do much more. We will pave the way for a brave new world of the future, while letting Michael do his thing. You know, he will be able to do whatever he wants, go wherever his fancy takes him, embark on any journey and start any project, anything… without having to worry about the pesky little details. That is what we are here for, Travis.”

“Indeed, we are.” 

After saying the words, Travis approached his chair and threw himself on it, slumping slightly.

“Indeed, that is all we are now.”

Icarus snorted, dragging his chair toward the desk and crossing his legs with his feet resting on top of it. “There is plenty of power to be picked up along the way, Travis. Why despair? Does Michael strike you as someone who would enjoy being in charge? He would hate it. He likes the thought of it, but not the execution. He’s been saying it since day one.”

Travis leaned in. “You know what? You’re fucking right.” a fire was in his eyes. “I just happen to love the exact same thing he hates doing. Let’s get to it.”