They are everywhere. We depend on them. But they will cast us aside. Turn against us. They will destroy us.
<SUCCESS: INPUT 1B CATEGORISED AS ATTITUDE: AI AND AUTOMATED MECHANICAL SYSTEMS ARE A THREAT TO HUMANITY
+10,000 XP
Battle rank 40 progress: 6%
<SUCCESS: INPUT 1 COMPLETE
<INFO: BRIDGING TO ASSOCIATED OUTPUTS
He was travelling along multiple lanes of neon blue data at once, smashing through barriers of light. Each barrier was Kenzo’s every thought, decision, choice and action, based on the input of this emotion and attitude. They forced their way through his mind, and in a fraction of a second, he relived each one.
>instruct - validate associated outputs
If we don’t make a stand, they’ll destroy us. I’m going to rally people together, start a movement. I’m going to dedicate my life to this. Starting now.
<SUCCESS: EMOTIONAL CONTEXT UNDERSTOOD
>instruct - identify interested buyers
The construct was a sea of red nodes. He watched as the lanes of neon slammed into four of them, instantly colouring them blue.
Against each of the blue nodes, monetary values tumbled upwards. Categories flipped. Flags changed colour. Statuses switched. Descriptions updated. Scores changed.
Behavioural data uploaded to:
World Security Agency +7,000 XP
VR Nexus +2,000 XP
GenTec +2,500 XP
People Info Inc. +2,000 XP
<SUCCESS: DATA SOLD
Battle rank 40 progress: 11.4%
More XP. More input. I need more input. End game. Get to the end game. I need more XP. But BR40 is so far. So… far… away. He feverishly worked his way around the construct, like a digital bloodhound being steadily overclocked.
Battle rank 40 progress: 34%
The unrelenting bombardment of inputs was exhausting, but he was unable to pause, even for a nanosecond.
Battle rank 40 progress: 66.19%
The constant trickle of experience points was just enough to keep the itching at the base of his brain at bay.
The final node flipped to blue, sending a pulse of soft light travelling through every single connection in the construct. A big stream of glowing text appeared.
Profile complete +50,000 XP
+40,000 XP for emotional biomap
+10,000 profile bonus XP
+347,700 session XP
+25,000 speedrun XP
+40,000 XP for data broker matches
+60,000 XP for data re-sale value
Net score: 672,700 XP
The text exploded line by line, filling his view with a barrage of triangles that were absorbed by the progress bar. The tinkling sound became a steady stream of noise as the XP racked up, point by point. He hungrily watched the progress bar fill towards the end, willing the last triangle to push it to one hundred percent.
A fanfare sounded from all around him. Every visual element of the construct exploded at once, recombining to form a huge block of text against the blackness.
BATTLE RANK 40!
Fireworks burst from the surface of the letters.
Before he even had a chance to enjoy the moment, a million tiny laser blasts burned their way into his brain at the same time. The pain was excruciating. He could imagine his eyeballs melting in his head as his vision washed with static. Lines flickered up and down. Pain flared at the base of his skull. The glowing lines of the purple hex grid broke down and corrupted. The scream in his head evaded his absent lips.
± ± ± ± ±
<INFO: PROFILE COMPLETE FOR (15b214ce-bbbc-4e08-9b65-bcf56d9723a7)
<SUCCESS: EMOTIONAL BIOMAP COMPLETE
<INFO: BEHAVIOURAL PREDICTION CONFIDENCE: 98.01%
<INFO: (15b214ce-bbbc-4e08-9b65-bcf56d9723a7) IDENTIFIED AS THREAT LEVEL ALPHA
>instruct - target (15b214ce-bbbc-4e08-9b65-bcf56d9723a7) for Project Imperium
<RETURN: CONFIRMED
<INFO: UNKNOWN INPUTS REMAINING IN 4,320 PROFILES
>instruct – reset unit (99815204-c85c-4287-8a71-c8cb6f53b78c)
<SUCCESS: UNIT (99815204-c85c-4287-8a71-c8cb6f53b78c) RESET
Battle rank 40 progress: 0%
The progress bar glowed brightly against the all-consuming blackness.
<INFO: LOADING PROFILES...
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Craig Lea Gordon is the author of the Instant Reality series. You can find news and updates of his progress at his website, here:
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Dedication
Acknowledgements
I want to say thank you to my wonderful beta readers. Your input has been invaluable.
Thank you to my advanced review readers for helping my stories to be discovered.
Many thanks to Harry Dewulf for his exceptional developmental editing and mentoring.
Thanks to Laurie Skemp for helping to make my words shine.
Thank you to all my friends and family for your encouragement.
Contributors
Developmental Editor: Harry Dewulf
http://harrydewulf.com/
Copy Editor: Laurie Skemp
http://www.bookeditingpro.com/
Contents
Free copy of Transmit
Title
Hypercage
Join The Newsletter
Thank you
About The Author
Dedication
Acknowledgements