Book 8 – Chapter 37 – Not playing games anymore

Plan grand theft To’Sefit plates was going smoothly so far for me, besides the hiccups earlier of getting shot through the head a few times.

We had her now openly agreeing to help, in exchange for convincing the world’s most powerful faction into bailing her out.

No problem.

Well. Maybe some problem.

Because while Superior knew how to talk to mites, I absolutely did not.

“I’m not the actual mitespeaker.” I said, “My soul copy is. And he’s out hunting in the mite sea, I don’t think I can reach him here.”

To’Sefit looked pale all of a sudden. Well, more pale than normal. The edge of panic started to flood back into her eyes. I waved a placating hand at her before that could go bad and get me shot through the head again. “Wait, hold on – that doesn’t mean I can’t try.”

“Keith.” Wrath said, looking at me with the kind of ‘don’t you dare try to do something stupid again, you stupid stupid human.’

“Humans don’t die from talking to mites, we just go insane if we try to keep going. And I know one version of myself was able to do it without going insane. It’s worth a try at least.”

She didn’t answer back, but I could see the rough start of a thin upset line on her mouth before she schooled her features back. She knew it was important enough to attempt.

The other Feather simply nodded, not having any other choice than to put her hopes on my insane plans.

I walked up next to her, knelt down to the glass root, and held a hand out to it.

Superior had a lot of vague mentions when I talked to him about his experiences. The ability to not listen to anything, to allow the mite collective to flow through my mind, and to only look at the afterimage that came. I tried to keep all that in mind when I reached for the mites.

Ready or not, it had to be done. My hand wrapped around the glass root, and I sunk a soul tendril down, following the smooth path underground.

The digital ocean was a world filled with blue water, separated terminals, eddies and powerful programs that ended up becoming ecosystems of their own. There was an order to it all. Individual programs that would survive, thrive and work together in communities. Not quite civilization, but not quite pure animal survival either.

The mite sea on the other side was a single unified golden field. There wasn’t water here. The world was clear and easy to see for miles around me.

And despite the complete unity, it was also complete chaos.

Entire strings of moving roots, filled with lights flowed everywhere, connecting with one another, disconnecting, moving at all moments. Like chaotic fractal swirls, but at no point were any of these strands disconnected from the whole. Every line felt like a collection of smaller minds, and simultaneously a complete entity. Each time they unhooked from one strand to reconnect elsewhere, that definition changed. More minds following behind, other minds staying behind, a new colony forming with each strand.

I reached a hand out to the nearest one of those golden strands, and touched upon apotheosis.

It burned. It burned in a way I can’t describe with words. The light of gibberish, all coalescing into a dignified direction that ended into an ever shifting point of a polygon dissolving into the concept of language and civilization growing and waning over the eons?

All of that, all at the same time, everywhere.

Yeah, it didn’t make sense to me either. And the longer I tried to parse it out and understand it, the more showed up to be understood next. It was like zooming in on a fractal, new squiggles and details to study showing up constantly, before I could even really take in the prior squiggle. And rapidly, the feeling of repetition starts to lock into place as I notice more of the overall pattern.

That tapestry of strands above shifted, as if my presence was suddenly known about and felt by the entire collective. A hundred strands flowed over, within the root structure, more and more colliding against my head.

I broke the connection and returned to the other side for a breath of air. “Three gods, Superior was not joking around. This is worse than eating ice.”

To’Sefit looked at me with outright hope in her eyes. “But you survived! You went inside the root, and returned alive. I cannot do that. No one can.”

I pointed to Wrath. “She did.”

Wrath gave me a sheepish smile. “My actions should not be used as a template for anyone following behind. I was truly desperate.”

“Modesty is unbecoming of a Feather.” To’Sefit said, and for a split second I could see the old To’Sefit still well and alive in there.

“Regardless, it takes human mitespeakers multiple attempts to learn and parse mite telemetry data. We need an alternate plan.” She said.

“What other plan is there dear sister?” To’Sefit asked, an edge to her voice here.

“Hold the airspeeders before we get uncivil again, I’m not done.” I said, once more reaching a hand out. “The first time was just to test the waters down there, I’ll try again. I can do this, I just need to prepare mentally for it.”

This time I tried to overpower the voices by shouting my own out loud as fast as I could the moment I made contact with the strands. “To’Sefit seeks a bargain, help her escape Relinquished. She’ll do anythi-”

Discordant voices crashed down and overwhelmed everything I could possibly do. I started feeling like a snowflake inside a storm, tossed around. Getting pulled further under into the mite sea.

I didn’t run back home this time, I tried to stay, and to hold my ground where I was, close to the exit. The voices and power was starting to suck me upwards. Away from safety.

It felt like my feet were losing traction on the ground, and I started floating upwards, the strands of gold drawing me away from the root I started from.

I was about to cut the connection again, when I felt something on the other side.

From deep within the strands, racing through it with all the skill I lacked, something was reaching back. Something with a train of thought that was more lucid, more grounded to a single point.

A hand grabbed my own forearm, stabilizing me. With his other hand, he held the base root I’d come in from, holding me close to the exit. A figure made half of gold, half of… me.

Well, what are you doing here Prime? Keith Superior asked.

Three gods, why do you look like that?

Superior looked me over. One eye looked inhuman, while the other remained lucid, exactly the same color of my own. I am a soul that’s constantly getting exposed to the mite collective, you think I’d stay exactly the same forever? Naw, we adapt. You look half-reacher half-retainer to my senses, a split of both. I’m the same, just a different split now.

I could tell Superior wasn’t bothered by his change. Rather, he’d been this way the entire time I’d known him, I just hadn’t ever seen him in person in the digital sea where he had an actual avatar. An idea of self and appearance.

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Don’t worry Prime. I’m still me. He said, holding me close to the exit of this realm. We can talk about that later, what are you doing on this side of the world?

Long story-ish. How did you find me though?

Come on brother, we might have diverged a tad bit, but we’re still deeply connected. He winked with the blue human eye on his right. You can always find that link if you focus on it, the humanity in us is still strong. I’m just more aware from practice. But I digress, what exactly are you doing here? The airspeeder plan not working out? Tell me the abridged version if it’s too long.

We’re holding the airspeeder for now, I’m here on a side mission. I think you’re going to laugh your ass off when you hear what I’m attempting on my end. I sent him my memories, and he got rapidly up to speed.

He did laugh his ass off. I did not have To’Sefit turning to the light side on my bingo sheet. Last I remember of her, she murdered Windrunner. And probably a lot more people besides that. You sure she deserves a second chance?

Not at all. But what would Windrunner do in our boots?