P.A.X (Closed)

[Lucius]

There was little Lucius could do but let out a long sigh. He folded his arms across his chest, and let his head fall to one side slightly. Piecing together the infinitely complex pieces of galaxy 492’s ever-complex political background taxed even him, yet Alyssa had summed it up nicely in just a few sentences.

“Do you know what a paradox is?” he asked, when he finely took stock of her mood, and their situation.

Alyssa nodded, “sort of. Why?”

“A.R.I.A, disable ventricle 12.” His mind spun, and the cybernetic components in his body began to generate an intense pulse of electromagnetic energy. It jettisoned towards his mentee, and Pettigrew crackled, and then fell silent.

More confused than ever, Alyssa found temporary reprieve in the welcome silence. Her own thoughts, unintroduced upon turned back to why she was here, and to what end she had to go to get home.

“A paradox is a two point entity. When the wormhole formed here, in the present, some of our technology fell through and re-appeared at the second point, in the past.” He did not need to reiterate when, and how Alyssa transformed into what she was now.

“I thought the wormhole was closed?”

“It is, but in order for technology to develop in the past in order for that spaceship to fall into the wormhole, certain things have to happen at the right time to preserve the continuum.”

“The what?” Alyssa realised how useful Pettigrew might be, when she tried, in vain, to access the scientific logs of the Prima Vista. “I don’t follow.”

“Time is a delicate thing. You have to learn to control your powers with us, here, before you can be allowed to return to your home.”

The gun mage’s eyes widened, and the urge to punch Lucius doubled.

“And no, you’re not being held against your will.” The spy took of his cap, and rubbed the sweat from his brow. The humidity of the guest quarters started to get to him. He dropped it on the table, which thankfully sat between them.

“So I can just go?” Alyssa started to stand.

“I wouldn’t.”

“And there it is,” she stuck out her tongue. “Explain.”

Lucius pointed to his temple. "It'll all be in here to check once we are dismissed by P.A.X."

Alyssa shuddered at the thought of her 'computer' coming back online.

“Your manipulation of the Tap, in future years, will contribute to the war which eventually destroys Althanas, and in turn, gives birth to the galactic empire. We realise now that the wormhole created a paradox in order to ensure that, whatever happens, you are inexorably involved in those events.”

“You’ve said I’m a bad thing, yadda.” Irritation plastered over her face. Lucius knew the look all too well. He had been in the same position a century prior, when he had awakened from the Void.

“Not bad. Just,” he frowned, “critical.”

“What does Rayse have to do with the wormhole?” She remembered the sheer volume of information that had flashed in front of her on the man, and what he was doing in the surrounding territories to Scara Brae.

“Raiaera had tried to tamper with the continuum before, a painfully fruitless attempt to save Althanas. It failed, and much of Raiaera space riddled with temporal vortices that tore planets apart and caused the elder races to become extinct. Only drifters, pirates, and criminals dared to venture there now. Rayse has acquired the technology, or parts of it, that caused that devastation.”

“Oh…”

The weight of responsibility pushed down on both their shoulders.

“Should he ever acquire the means to bring that weapon to bear, on us, or the wormhole, then he will be able to manipulate the past and effectively become the ruler of an Althanas I’m not sure you or I ever want to see.”

There were fewer men in the galaxy with an ego as big as Rayse Valentino. Alyssa had to go back in time. She had to go home. She had to be ready to make sacrifices, her own, and on behalf of others, to make certain that the Tap dies, and the Thayne fall from heaven, and the people of his long forgotten home reach out and touch the stars.

"Will you help us stop him?" One eyebrow raised Lucius put all his faith in his newfound friend, hoping, free of technology and cameras and the overbearing presence of P.A.X, that she would make the choice of her own free will.

[Alyssa Snow]

Alyssa hung her head in thought. Even without the incessant ramblings of Pettigrew's machine mind, her skull throbbed under the weight of new information acquired in her short stay. Paired with the overall ache of her implants and exams, she felt very much like another tool of war, but for a different faction. Every word Lucius told her was taken with a grain of salt. Alerar spun their goals and objectives as liberation for their people from the tyranny of the High Elves. This man spun his goal and objective as saving the world as we know it from utter catastrophe. While Lucius seemed far more compassionate and honest, Alyssa couldn't help but hesitate.

"Stop him," Alyssa repeated. She moved her blank gaze from the soft glow of the command table to her messy haired company. "How would you stop him? By killing him?"

Lucius nipped at his upper lip. The window for this discussion quickly drew to a close, but her questions were warranted.

"No, not kill him." He shook his head slightly. "Just cripple his ship. We intend to create an opportunity for the Scara Braen fleet to mount a defensive. Rayse is entitled to a trial, but at the current rate, he will act before we have a chance to stop him."

The gunner narrowed her eyes, examining Lucius up and down for a tell, a nervous tick, or some manner of misdirection. She found none. Despite her urge to remove some of his teeth with the blunt trauma of her fist, she believed him and felt sympathetic to his cause. If it meant she could go home, helping save the world would be her good deed for the day. Or year. Or time-space continuum.

"So let me get this clear." Alyssa pressed her finger against the holo-table and focused her apprehensive gaze toward her compatriot. "I'm critical to this 'paradox'. The surgery and new personality are tools to help me function in this future but most importantly, you need me to harness whatever Alerar did to me so I don't ruin the future any worse than it is now. And helping stop this Rayse will give you and the rest of the Administrate the time needed to see the past events through to completion. In all, stopping the destruction of Althanas."

Alyssa stood up straight and let her head fall backward for a clear view of the ceiling. With a deep sigh, she continued.

"I get my guns upgraded, a walking library, and the peace of mind that I won't be the center of some apocalyptic event. Plus, some new contacts in... 'the future'..."

Alyssa took a seat and rested her lips on steepled fingers.

"By the way you spoke, it sounded like you might know why Alerar did what they did to me. You might know what it is they put inside me. I'll help - I don't seem to have much choice - but I'd like to know as much as I can before I go home. I'm not human like you. I want to be, and I want to know why I exist beside being a piece to a world ending phenomena."

Her hands broke apart as she folded arm over arm atop the table. She knew her position was not to make demands. Then again, much of the benefits she had gained came with equal baggage. They catered to her because of her apparent importance, but she knew all too well that their influence and power far exceeded the need to fulfill her requests.

"If you can promise me that, then I'll do whatever it is you need without question."

[Lucius]

Lucius smiled warmly as the magical words rolled off Alyssa’s tongue. His nerves eased, though he continued to sweat amidst the humidity of the briefing room. His mind drifted to thoughts of a decontamination bath and the promise of a bourbon or two before P.A.X inevitably posted him on a new assignment.

“I can’t promise to give you the answers you seek.” He could not. Who could? “But, I can damned well help you look.”

Although the A.R.I.A system linked Administrate agents to the central mainframe, gave them powers beyond imagination, the information was limited to what the Administrate had collected, what the media reported, and whatever their allies shared in the interest of ‘galactic stability’. In the end, he did not think it would matter if he pieced together Alyssa’s past.

“It’s funny, actually.”

“Is it?” Alyssa sighed.

“You’ve probably heard of me, in the past.” The weight of expectation lifted from Alyssa’s shoulders, though it was swift replaced with the pressure of curiosity.

“How is that possible?”

Folding arms across chest, the agent chose his words carefully. Given their work would delete the current timeline, destroying one possible future to save the turbulent events of the past; he did not see the harm in providing Snow with a little exposition.

“Long ago, I was called Duffy Bracken.”

Alyssa’s eyes widened.

“I know, I know, hard to believe. However, when the Tap returned to Althanas it awoke myriad sleeping Thayne lesser Thayne, and Old Gods. After a thousand years suspended in the infinite tapestry of worlds between worlds, I existed.”

The briefing room rumbled. The Administrate ship began the long process of starting its hyperactive drive. Lucius began to speak with haste, connecting their imminent departure with the ominous arrival of P.A.X.

“Imagine the look on my face, stumbling into an Althanas of chrome and flying ships – all my friends were long dead. I made my way onto one of the Arks, memories clouded, no idea of my purpose. By changing the past, saving Althanas, you are effectively deleting me from history.”

The idea only added to Alyssa’s fugue.

“Then why are you doing this?” It was a genuine question, another to add to weighty pile. “There must be a way to stay – well, existing.”

“It doesn’t matter what happens to me. This is a world without Magic. Without peace. Whilst you can see remnants of Althanian culture in the names and traditions of the people who live in Galaxy 492, it’s no legacy worth saving.”

Lucius had tried. He dropped his arms and rested his hands on the warm steel table.

“Will that mean the technology that made me into…” she gestured at herself dismissively, “this, won’t exist either?”

“Don’t worry. You will forever be Alyssa Snow, Gunslinger Girl. When I first returned to the past, it was accidental. The wormhole technology we utilise for short term travel malfunctioned, the Aleran ship that was pursuing me was dragged into the event horizon and I gather it then crashed into the mountains near the Black Citadel in Alerar.”

Once again, Alyssa’s eyes widened. The mechanisms on her back crackled.

“You did this?”

“I guess. That is the first of many answers I can help with. The paradox is a complicated thing…, which is another reason why Althanas cannot perish. There is no guarantee that another agent, or worse, will find a way to recreate that environment, or adapt the wormhole weapon Rayse is in possession of to travel back in time.” When Lucius realised Alyssa’s expression soured, he stopped.

Alyssa contemplated on wherever or not she would finally strike Lucius. Heavens knows he had taken the long way around to helping her to the truth. For now, she nodded for him to continue and stayed her tongue.

“Preventing the war, as I said, buys us the time we need to organise a strategy to get you home and to close the wormhole for good.” A sharp pain ran up Lucius’ spine, a crackle of electricity reminding him that he had overstepped his mark. “Bastard!” he winced.

“Lucius?”

He rubbed his temple until the pain subsided, and then pushed the chair back begrudgingly.

“I can only issue an augmentation embargo once before my privileges are reset and I’m called in for review. Which, for you my dear, means P.A.X is Enroute to introduce herself.” He gestured to the door.

Alyssa rose slowly, questions still piling up on the tip of her tongue. If his promise was true, she guessed, the answers would come in time.

“Who is she, anyway?” She walked to the door and pressed her palm against the security panel. It beeped and the doors hissed open, two triangles revealing a brightly lit corridor of white pastel and agents and crew bustling back and forth across the exit.

Lucius struggled to find the words as he walked out into the corridor and immediately felt the cold relief of air condition.

“I think its best you see for yourself…” He walked on, and Alyssa followed.

[Alyssa Snow]

Alyssa twisted her lips as she followed he fellow agent. Various ship personnel busied about them as they walked down the metallic corridor. doors without handles split down the middle, opened, then closes as people passed through. Many of them, dressed in fabric Alyssa only recently learned of, mumbled quietly to what she could only assume were more voices in there heads. Were she back in her own time, her people would consider this sight something from an asylum of the mentally crazed.

'Not too far off, really' Pettigrew spoke into Alyssa's mind after a momentary lapse of static.

The girl's expression flattened.

"He's back," she stated to Lucius. Her tone dripped with irritation and defeat.

'Woah now, agent. I'll be a little less handsy. We may have gotten off on the wrong foot.'

"Y'think?" Alyssa spat out loud, joining the madness of the surrounding internal monologues.

"You'll get used to it," Lucius spoke in an attempt to comfort.

'Listen, I'm an AI meant to assist you. We're pre-programmed before being chosen and assigned an agent. Sometimes, the agents reject us.'

"Shocker," comment the gunner.

As they continued down the corridor, it opened into a cramped, but comparatively open room. At the center, a long table softly glowed. Several chairs without legs hovered around the table as if some meeting room. From the ceiling above, rays of light scattered and arranged into a floating logo just above the table's mid. As it rotated into view, Alyssa managed to read the word "Administrate" with a little help from Pettigrew.

'Regardless, my limited control was meant to test our compatibility. Fortunately for us, we are averaging a 99.8% compatibility rate.'

"That's... good?" she commented as Lucius came to a halt. He turned to Alyssa.

"We'll wait here, take a seat. P.A.X. should be joining us here for the briefing." Lucius ran his fingers just under the brim of his hat, tidying up the stray strands of brown that went rogue from the rest. He adjusted it just a little off center, something Alyssa attributed to his personal preference. All the others that busied the hall either wore their caps perfectly straight, or went without and opted for a short buzzed haircut.

'Exceptional. Most agents average around 87.7% The minimal approved rate is 85%'

"Hmph," the blonde scoffed with a look of approval. "Well don't go taking control like that all willy nilly or I'll zap you myself."

'You mean electrocute yourself.'

"If I have to, yes." Alyssa took a seat as directed. The chair dipped a bit before calibrating to her weight and height. It rose and leveled out, even going to far as to mold the backrest to snugly support her back and shoulders. Alyssa shifted a bit to get comfortable, took a deep breath, and exhaled sharply.

"Alright," she began as Lucius stood just beside her and looked onward toward a pair of doors to either side of the room. "I still don't quite understand the details of all this, but I'm ready to meet this P.A.X. of yours."

Alyssa followed Lucius' line of sight where a pair of decorated officials approached the doors. They opened into what looked like a closet of a room, turned around, and waited for the doors to shut them in. A small chevron pointing up illuminated just above the door and elicited a raised brow from the girl.

'Surely you remember the lifts since your stay here? Elevators? P.A.X. is inbound, she'll be arriving shortly.'

Alyssa shrugged and watched on in wait.

[Lucius]

A few moments passed uncomfortable silence. The rumbling in the ship stopped, and, like a niggling doubt, both agents felt a sudden sense of inertia that faded so quickly they doubted they felt it at all. The ship entered faster than light travel without fanfare.

“P.A.X spends the majority of her time interfaced with the Administrate Mainframe. It’s a sort of interstellar computer, where she constantly monitors and calculates and…well, does all the things you’d expect an android to do.”

Alyssa turned to Lucius, ears pricked. The term had filtered through her mind but not registered until now.

“Android?”

“<She is a construct built to interact with agents, a sort of manifestation of the artificial intelligence,>” Pettigrew said, perhaps not entirely helpfully.

“He means a robot,” Lucius clarified.

“Oh. Okay.” Alyssa left it at that. She doubted she could have made sense of it in her terms.

The double doors opposite blinked, the energy glow around its edge brightening as though powering up. The elevator arrived, and in a heartbeat, a white humanoid appeared ominously. She entered the meeting room and took her seat at the head of the briefing table. Alyssa, mesmerised by what she saw sat upright in her chair.

“Agent 492. Please report.”

Lucius, obviously uncomfortable in the android’s presence followed Alysa’s example and sat up. The sweat returned, this time due to the pressure of having to contend with authority without his usual swagger and charm.

“P.A.X Prime, Alyssa Diane Snow has been integrated with an A.R.I.A device successfully. Compatibility reported at 99.8%.”

The pastel mask, resembling a cold, stern woman to ‘familiarise Agents with an artificial construct’ formed a placid smile. She looked at Alysa with dissonant curiosity. Alyssa was not sure if P.A.X judged or admired her. Pettigrew whispered in her ear, she doesn’t trust you.

“Adequate. Assuming Agent 492 has debriefed you, we will commence final examination immediately.” The power cells embedded in her skull lifted from her head, whirred, and shifted her faceplate into an authoritative stare.

“Is the mission still approved?” Lucius enquired.

“Agent 492, you are to accompany your neophyte on an infiltration assignment. Details provided to your respective neocortex HUD. I will be watching you and you alone for the duration of your examination.”

Lucius sunk in his chair.

“Yes ma’am.”

She continue to talk, soft, hallow voice keeping both agents on the edge of their seats. Alyssa came to realise that, although there was a humanoid seated before them, the entity known as P.A.X was anything but. She wondered if Pettigrew could be implanted into a similar device, but made a mental note to not ask him – she did not wish to be electrocuted, just yet.

An hour passed all too slowly, and when P.A.X stood, Lucius and Alysa rose to salute. Before she knew it, the android was gone, to reconnect to the mainframe and observe her performance from within an information bastion already pegged in the gunslinger’s mind as allocation she had to visit before she returned to Althanas proper.

“Well. That doesn’t sound too hard, does it?” Lucius asked when he was certain they were alone, and finally free of obligations for a few feeble hours.

"No. But, I was expecting something...I don't know. Different?" Alyssa sighed.


"P.A.X is an efficient administrator for the organisation. She finds it difficult to be outside of the mainframe, but hyperspace is the only place she can disengage safely. Trying to talk to her when she's interlinked is like talking to a drunk nanny." Lucius had tried, many times, and earned the reprimands and probation periods to go with it.

“There better be a bar on this ship…”

At that, Lucius’s eyes sparkled and he smiled properly for the first time in days. He gestured to the exit, practically pushing her out into the corridor.

“The future has the best flaming Sambuca’s!” he exclaimed, repeatedly, all the way through the station to the mess hall.