A story about the near future, where almost every person has a neural interface implanted in the brain. It describes a rather utopian version of the digital world with universal freedom and democracy and the principles on which it could function.
Semyon opened a large oval mirror in front of him in a Gothic frame and straightened his hair with a few clicks and removed the stubble. For some time I thought about whether it is worth removing bald patches, or whether it will be too obvious cosmetics. He decided to leave the hair in the form of a short hedgehog and return the light brutal bristles. “Anyway, I'm handsome!” Thought Semyon. - It is unlikely that my virtual girlfriend will be as scrupulous in applying cosmetic filters. The creators of Tyndall assure that for any donat you can not fix the curve of the face or saggy belly here. Only real appearance! But we know the price of such assurances. ”
Along the wooden bridges linking the rocks and flowering elven trees, fairies scurried about, like huge butterflies, sprinkling magical pollen on passers-by, while crystal waterfalls were sprinkled with ice splashes. Semyon found the right gazebo in the branches of a hefty elfodendron. Darkened boards from time to time creaked very naturally from the gusts of the wind walking in the crown. Surprisingly, Vika was already there. “If offline she is at least half as good, it more than pays for all this elven vulgarity,” thought Sema. Slender legs, large breasts, a heavy braid of deep blue-black color and slightly slanting large eyes.
“Strange, you chose a place.”
Vika sat down in a chair and waved her hand carelessly as a greeting.
“Did I choose him?” - surprised Semyon.
But his virtual image said something completely different:
- All the girls like it.
A hint popped up in front of her nose: "It is not recommended to argue with women, a winning strategy is pressure, not persuasion." Semyon blinked in surprise. “I don’t remember connecting pick-up applications ...”
“And you brought a lot of girls here?” - Vika smiled slyly.
“I wanted to say ... my ex-girlfriend really liked it.”
"It is not recommended to immediately mention the former, rivalry between women ..." Semyon irritably brushed away the hint and climbed into the settings of the neurochip, trying to find where the unsolicited module was hiding. Vika interpreted his confusion in her own way.
- Don’t worry, this is Tyndall, here every fifteen minutes they change their partner ... I didn’t like it, like the next one.
- Yes, I’m somehow tuned for a longer relationship.
- Oh, no need to fill.
- Not seriously, I generally prefer to meet in real life.
“How old-fashioned ... and where do we go in real life?”
- Yes, wherever you want!
“Well, if so,” Vika thought for a moment. - I love Italian restaurants.
“Oh, I just know a classroom in old Moscow, I’ll reserve a table now ... There are not enough access rights to use the indicated amount,” Semyon read the pop-up explanation in surprise, about to make a deposit. - What the…?
- What are you doing? - asked Vika.
- Some problems with the chip. Let's sit here for now.
- A problem with the chip, okay.
Vika waved her hand and a fairy butterfly appeared almost immediately in the opening of the arbor.
- Hookah on blue milk and mulled wine from ragweed.
“Remember to give permission to control the neural circuits of the taste buds,” the little fairy said.
Semyon frantically rummaged through the chip settings, with increasing bewilderment, and then horror, discovering numerous sections highlighted in gray. “I grabbed some dumb virus. How could this happen, I'm a serious IT specialist, damn it! ”
“Where do you work?” - Vika swung her finger along the old ornament on the oak countertop, demonstrating that she was starting to miss.
- So, freelance is different IT. Frontend and technical support. Now mainly on the projects of Simplex.
- Simplex? Which is the main chip?
- Yes, he is.
- Once you rummage around coolly, will you help me choose a new chip? I’m just looking at Simplex X. It hasn’t come out yet, but they promise so many new cool features. Will everything really be cool, or lure? The past chips were cool ...
- I do not advise Simplex X. It is made on a closed axis.
- So what? What is the difference: closed, open. With all this fuss open with customization and protection.
- AIK will not approve the closed axis. Most likely, she will not be given a certificate. In Russia, they definitely won’t.
- Information control will not approve? Are these geeks still working? I thought they closed long ago.
- Of course, everything that works with software for user communication devices works must be approved by AIK. No need to install Simplex, because ...
- What, because?
“No access rights to the memories?” - Semyon read Symen another explanation. - What the hell is going on?
“Are you kidding me like that?” Not funny at all. ”Vika pouted her lips slightly.
“I'm not funny myself.” I caught a specific bug.
- Changed your mind about meeting in real life, so tell me why this circus?
“I didn't change my mind.”
- Like the next one. How to deal with your chip, write. Ciao!
- Wait a second ...
But Vika immediately flew into another virtual world. And a fairy was attached to Semyon.
- Do not forget to pay the bill, you have eleven rubles.
- There are still enough access rights for eleven rubles.
Semen wandered in perplexity among the hanging out users and bots. In the end, he clicked virtual worlds and chose the northern sea coast. It was cold, almost deserted, but the menacing roar of the surf slightly calmed the shaky nerves. However, there was no trace of calm when he again began to pick settings, discovering new restrictions there, even for visiting some sites. And the dive interrupt function was absent altogether. As well as the BIOS interface, which should always be projected into the visual part of the brain, and whose firmware cannot be changed without physical access to the device.
“Some kind of hellish virus and, most importantly, what is its meaning? Where are the demands to transfer money to an anonymous hacker in order to get out of virtual reality. Plus, I can always remotely turn on my alarm. ” Semyon, immediately, opened the website of the manufacturer of the alarm clock and admired another explanation that access to the memories of his login and password to the account was blocked. “No, breaking the BIOS and the memory control chip, this is already too much, this hacker is a real messenger. You can’t mock people like that, really. Anyway, do I really have a memory control chip? After all, you need a special permission for it ... And, of course, access to the memories of the memory control chip is blocked ... So, we will reason logically. What did I do before I got here? Chatted with this Vika ... or did the fire worshipers quest in Avadon online? Some kind of confusion. Although, if the memory chip was broken, it should be so.
Okay, let's go on the other side. Who am i? Semen Tumanov, forty years old, now working on a Simplex contract, fussing, nothing interesting, but they pay well. Mother - Nadezhda Tumanova, father - a policeman, died when I was fifteen. There seems to be no doubt about it. Although, if I work for Simplex, why is it so negatively tuned to their devices. It feels like this is not the whole truth. “Access is blocked,” is understandable. And the wife, children? Another message popped up: “Access is blocked. Recommended response: The co-parenting contract was not implemented due to my constant delays at work. The contract is currently closed. ” “This hacker has a very strange sense of humor: to break an IT specialist’s chip with a bunch of dough and pour in pick-up applications, and even with access to that dough. Or has a hacker stole everything for a long time? Or is it someone’s sophisticated revenge? ”
Semyon realized that he was starting to panic, to get out on his own, he no longer hoped. It was a little embarrassing to contact the emergency services with the statement that his cool IT specialist was broken, like the last lamer. After all, the bios and the control of memories were broken, which means that he had to give access to these devices himself. Dealing with Tyndall's tech support is no better. AIK seemed to Semyon the best option. Where it came to the Internet and virtual reality, AIK could do almost everything. The Association of Information Control in fact was an association of free citizens, many of whom worked part-time. They could be doctors, teachers, or software developers, and in their free time they repaid civic duty by inspecting virtual reality. The inspector should have been highly qualified, as well as sincerely share the values of the “free Internet” and support them on the basis of a global “smart” contract. Under the contract, it was possible to track and block the activities of not only evil hackers, but also entire IT corporations and even government agencies, which decided to trample on digital rights and freedoms.
AIK-bot in a secure chat transmitted the message of Semyon to the person almost immediately.
- Inspector Kovalev, what happened to you, citizen?
The image of the inspector, an undetermined age man in a washed checkered shirt and a hair sticking out in different directions, hung half a meter above the foamy edge of the surf. Semyon only rejoiced at his botanical appearance, apparently the system found the problem complex and immediately sent it to an experienced inspector.
- My neurochip was hacked. I can’t leave virtual reality.
- Do you see the bios interface?
“That's the thing, no.” I do not see the BIOS, I do not have access to most of the chip settings and the dive interrupt function.
- No access to bios ... What is your chip model?
- I'm not a full lamer, I know how to work with bios, it really isn’t.
- BIOS disguise program? The inspector muttered thoughtfully. - Try visual key images.
- Does not work. The problem is very serious: I apparently had a memory control chip, which was also hacked. I do not have access to pieces of self.
- The memory chip requires special permission. Do you remember the permit number?
- All memories of the device are locked.
- Did you receive any demands?
- Not.
- Well, first of all, you need to establish your real location in order to send emergency services to the address. According to the protocol of the AIK system, I open an investigation. You have no objection to access to personal data?
- Not.
- Do you use proxy servers in the chip settings?
- I do not know, I do not have access to them.
- Hmm, a difficult situation ... Your digital ID is not tied to the common civilian. It could be replaced of course ... Please dictate a civilian idi ... Name, surname.
- Semyon Mists.
- So, a second.
The uncle began to mutter something under his breath, but quickly cut himself off. He was silent for a couple of minutes, making Semyon nervous again. Suddenly, Semyon saw how the browser window and the settings menu of the chip hanging on the right, already trimmed, are completely painted in gray. The inspector's image pursed his lips in displeasure.
- Citizen, through this bot I officially inform you that the AIK has opened an investigation against you regarding a violation of the law on bots, namely, the use of a bot under the control of AI without corresponding marking. The physical address of the bot executable files in the cloud storage is set. The management node address and your real identity are being established. We suggest voluntarily contacting AIK for cooperation with the investigation.
- What are you kidding! - Semyon felt his stomach colder. The feelings of impending fear were absolutely real. Apparently, Tyndall programmers and the corresponding permissions to control the nervous system tried. - I'm not a bot! I am a real person, my neurochip was hacked!
- A bot with a fake idy, we checked telemetry in the last few hours. Please read the legal notice if you are currently in control of the bot. - The inspector unfolded a signature file in front of him. - The notification can be found in the AIC system. The notice is in full accordance with the protocol.
- I'm not a bot! I am a real person! I am aware of my actions!
- What did you decide to glue the heifer without straining? You are not the first, such a smart guy! So it was not possible to track the outgoing connection? - the inspector was distracted by a conversation with someone else. “Good, then quarantine.”
“No, not quarantined!” Wait a minute, I can take the Turing test!
“Your jokes are stupid, man, you think we won’t find you?” But the bot is cool, of course! Naturally, this is so, you can’t tell at all. Your talents should be applied to something useful.
Semen watched in horror as the world around him grows dim and access to all objects was lost. “I will be forever locked in quarantine, without the ability to send even a message. I was buried alive! ” Panic horror flooded consciousness, but the virtual cry quickly turned into a gray veil with the rest of the world.
The image disappeared and turned on. Semyon saw a vaguely familiar kitchen with a new set and a robot cleaner. He only observed everything from some strange angle, from above and from the side, as if he was a couple of meters above the sink. Semyon tried to grab the cabinets so as not to fall and realized that his body was completely virtual and easily passed through objects ... except for his head. He crashed, apparently with his forehead, into a wall, the surrounding world nauseously scrolled one turn and froze again.
- Sema! Fly here! Came an old woman's voice.
"Mama? How did I end up at mom’s house? ” - Semen was perplexed, while a small drone with a manipulator on his belly, to which his virtual body was tightly tied, slowly dodged obstacles on the way to the next room.
Mom Semyon led a healthy lifestyle, was thin and tanned, only wrinkles around her eyes and gray hair resembled her age. The modern possibilities of augmented reality would easily have thrown off her for twenty years. However, mom would hardly use all kinds of cosmetic filters. Her apartment was small but very functional. With robotic self-propelled furniture and sliding partitions instead of walls, which allowed, for example, to turn everything into one large dining room for guests. Now the apartment was habitually divided into a kitchen and two rooms. Mom was sitting on the sofa and leafing through some book with the help of elegant glasses of virtual reality.
“Sema, set me up for the dive simulator.” And then the online summer cottage after the update does not work, there the cucumbers dry up.
Mom was not at that age to agree to the intervention of electronics in the nervous system and to hang around in computer reality twenty-four hours a day. And most online games have long been imprisoned for complete immersion. Semyon obediently connected to his mother’s laptop and set up an emulator.
“What is your smart bot, Sema,” my mother shook her head. “But it would be better if you yourself came more often, or at least virtually visited.”
“I'm here, mom.”
- Really? - Mom moved his glasses over his nose. “Any jokes again?” Sorry, Sema, but I’m not taking out all your jokes.
Semyon discovered the mark “Bot under the control of AI” in his own virtual image and specifically hung for a while.
- I have to go to the gym to get ready. And then I’ll bake your favorite cake ... and, apparently, will eat it again with my friends. You would still visit your mother, I understand, an important job, but I don’t ask every day. Can an hour be allocated per week?
“What important job do I have, mom?” Simplex?
- Simplex? I don’t think ... I'm talking about the work that can not be called.
“Work that cannot be called,” the virtual image thoughtfully scratched his turnip. - Again, access to memory is blocked. I’m damn something completely lost, what’s going on? Why is my mind attached to my mom’s assistant bot. What about the previous adventure? Really, there really was a bot to glue a heifer in Tyndale? How is this possible? Have I experimented with botany and chips and have experimented before schizophrenia? I have never heard of such a thing. Or am I the bot who decided he was human? Or am I the first AI in the history of mankind that has gained self-awareness? ... Some kind of stupid AI, I certainly do not threaten to enslave the world. Che, damn it, do something now? I am stripped of all civil rights, bot. All I can do is bring my own mother to hysteria if I start proving that I'm not a bot. ”
“Who am I?” - Simon said aloud.
“It seems you are a projection of my son’s personality, functioning on the basis of his memory and behavioral patterns.” Slightly cropped, of course. Or was it another excuse not to visit my mother? .. Okay, do not distract Sema, otherwise I’ll forget something again.
The wall in front of the sofa was entirely occupied by an obsolete flexible panel. Mom turned on the news while packing.
“... Another victim of illegal software from the hacker group Silentium. We are at the site of the death of a man who, under the influence of Silentium, went onto a busy highway right under the wheels of a rushing bus. There are also victims among the passengers of the bus, ”the reporter broadcast with a perfectly filtered appearance, perfectly modulated voice. In the background, a loin portion of a bus stuck out of a roadside forest, which flew off the track, breaking through a chipper. Nearby, beacons of police and ambulances blinked.The remains of the Silentium victim, which had not yet been scraped off the asphalt, were automatically washed out by the program into multi-colored pixels.
“This is the third such case in a month. Let me remind you that just a week ago, two high school students, under the influence of Silentium, stepped from the roof of an eco-city. The spread of the so-called neuronarkotics takes on the character of a real epidemic. Now a new generation of drugs has appeared on the black market: Silentium gives an unforgettable experience, but sometimes it literally “kills” its victims. "We asked a representative of the company Simplex, engaged in the development of neurochips and software, to comment on the situation."
The manager of the company appeared on the screen in ordinary sneakers, jeans and a jacket over a T-shirt with some kind of IT fun, understandable only to the initiate. Young and skinny as a worm, all his clothes hung on him like a hanger. Despite the zakos under a simple guy, he did not inspire confidence in Semyon.
“Egor, how do you comment on the recent deaths from a new drug? By the way, all these people used the simplex neurochips of recent generations. Don't you think chip designers are neglecting user safety? ” - immediately began to provoke a reporter.
Egor frowned slightly.
“Firstly, Simplex neurochips are the most popular in Russia, we occupy different estimates from forty to fifty percent of the market. Therefore, on average, every second consumer of neuronarkotics will be our user. And maybe more, because it’s more profitable for criminals to write software for widespread chips, they minimize costs so much. Secondly, Simplex is perhaps the only company that offers users anti-virus monitoring services that remotely block the execution of dangerous applications. Unfortunately, we constantly receive fines for this from AIK for violating the principles of an open architecture, analyzing the identity of users and other far-fetched violations. ”
“That is, in your opinion, the AIK is to blame for the situation?”
“The outdated rules by which the AIC operates are to blame. We can create the most reliable hardware and the most secure software, but our users, let's honestly admit, not all are professionals in the field of digital technology. And sometimes, they do not comply with elementary security rules and massively launch unverified applications with full rights. How can we protect them? AIK believes that any student from the age of sixteen should have full access to his chip. And if the children themselves suffer from it, their parents and society as a whole suffer, then this is only the price that you have to pay for unlimited digital freedom. ”
"Do you think freedom should be limited"?
“I will say a terrible thing: any law is a restriction of freedom. We can say the search for a compromise between the rights of the individual and society as a whole. Or a compromise between freedom and security. For some reason, nobody is confused by the closed software of unmanned vehicles. How is the situation with neurochips fundamentally different? To improve security by several orders of magnitude, it is enough to partially restrict access rights. We are ready to discuss all potential limitations openly so that there are no doubts about their validity. But, unfortunately, this concern for users runs into a wall of misunderstanding on the part of AIC. ”
“So, nothing can be done to stop this nightmare?”
“Under the existing rules, no. I personally fear that the popularity of such drugs will only grow. It's so simple, to allow the application access to neural circuits in order to experience unearthly sensations. It does not bring any physical dependence and visible harm to health. People do not think about the consequences for mental health. And who knows that this poorly tested software will show the user instead of a bus flying to him? ”
“Police and AIK representatives assure that they will soon find and arrest the developers of Silentium. The fight against such "creators" will be tough and uncompromising. "
"But you understand how effective it is to put out a fire from a garden watering can, instead of eliminating the cause of the fire."
“Is the reason for the obsolete laws?”
“Yes! Exactly!But I sincerely hope that Simplex and citizens concerned about the safety of our children will find the strength to change laws. By the way, some government agencies are in solidarity with us. Laws must work for the good of society! ” - here the representative of Simplex allowed himself a soft smile.
“Well, on this encouraging note we are completing our report ...”
- Kozly! - Simon muttered, again catching himself in a strange hatred specifically to the representatives of Simplex. For some reason, sellers of neuronarkotics did not cause him special emotions. - We brought the old song in a new way: let's return the closed software, the closed chip architectures, we will store everything in our cloud and we will cover ourselves with licensing agreements. And then around hackers, terrorists, children are dying ... how scary to live!
“You just had to ban these chips while it was possible,” my mother shrugged.
“Progress cannot be stopped, Mom.” Most people without a chip will not survive. They will die of hunger, trying to find a store without a navigator.
- Where the world is heading! Nowadays, everyone just ran into tablets and smartphones, but now you don’t understand at all: where is the real, where is the virtual? And how do people agree that someone delves into their heads?
“For a long time you don’t have to dig, mom. A couple of small punctures in the skull to launch the nanobots, and then they themselves.
- With a mustache ... no thanks! Nowadays, no one would have signed up for this. God forbid, everywhere solid hackers and neuronarkotics. One wrong move and your head is no longer yours.
- Hackers are fighting the same. They’ve almost eradicated, although sometimes derelicts come out ... And if the chip is so scary, why did you agree to wear a device with a microphone and a camera turned on all the time, on a closed axis, with a bunch of backdoors from corporations and special services, which is actually not owned by the user and, for errors in which, no one is responsible under the license agreement? And he constantly collects information about movements, activity, contacts and sends it to someone in an allegedly anonymous form.
- From the mobile phone you can get the battery, well, or at least seal the cameras. And how do you get a neurochip from your head?
- The chip can be safely disabled through the BIOS. Now any OS or application for the chip must be tested and approved by independent developers. In fact, everything has become much more transparent and safer.
- Come on, Sema, I’ll somehow survive with glasses and laptops.
- Mm ... on the other hand, and rightly so: no chips, no problems.
Semyon, without much hope, searched the settings of the drone and saw only familiar limitations. There was no talk of any interruption of the dive and a return to the real torso. From a feverish search for information about rare glitches and viruses that can cause memory and consciousness disorders, he was distracted by a window call. Mom went to open the window, Semyon out of curiosity flew there too.
The apartment was located on the fortieth floor of one of the towers of eco-city. A semi-autonomous complex of many skyscrapers was very popular among Muscovites. A ride on the elevator could get to school or kindergarten. And among themselves, the skyscrapers were connected by several levels of monorail and car overpasses. It is very convenient for residents who spend most of their time in another reality. Yes, and people of the old school, there were all sorts of interest clubs in walking distance. An additional joy for environmentalists is that such complexes have a minimal impact on the environment. Below are hydroponic farms and utilization stations, and on the roofs the sun is windy and beautiful park areas. And from the windows a gorgeous view of old Moscow, which is slowly turning into a huge open-air museum.
A blue mail drone hovered in front of the window.
“A package for Nadezhda Tumanova,” he rang.
- From whom?
- From Ivan Smirnov.
“I don't know that.” What is the package? - surprised mom.
- Envelope with papers. Parcel scanned, weapons and hazardous substances not found.
“I would not take it,” Semyon advised, flying suspiciously around the mail drone from all sides.
- Yes, I'll take it, thanks.
Mom pulled out a thick white envelope from the hatch and slammed the window. Inside, a folded leaf appeared. Outside, with a small clumsy emphasis it was written: "Before you expand the letter, ALWAYS take your chip offline"! To meet the inscription made by a human hand was unusual enough for the middle of the twenty-first century, and to meet a similar inscription is even more unusual. But mother without any hesitation took off her glasses and hid them in a chest of drawers, having lost the pleasure of watching virtual Semyon. And unfolded the note. Drone Semyon immediately hung over her mother’s shoulder.
“Dear Nadezhda, my name is Grigory Sumarokov. I apologize for calculating your address and invading privacy, but for me it is literally a matter of life and death. I urgently need to transfer information to your son Semyon Tumanov, and he has long been unavailable for communication, and I don’t know where to find him. We are working on some kind of joint project, I hope you will understand what I mean. Unfortunately, there was a crisis. I need to leave, but before that I must pass on the information to your son, these are the fruits of a long collaboration that cannot be lost. I cannot trust either the police or anyone else to track down Semyon. I ask you to meet today at 15.00 in the cafe of the shopping center at the specified address. I will be in a dark green T-shirt, light jeans, in my left hand I will hold a folded tablet. Just in case, I hopethat I recognize you. I will give a flash drive with an encrypted archive. The password to it is our common, Semyon knows it. Then pass the flash drive to Semyon, and to anyone else, personally in the hands. And please, in no case, mention this case anywhere, especially using electronic means of communication. Destroy the note after reading. I apologize again and hope for your understanding. Semyon always said that he trusted you as himself. ”
“Mom, am I trading Silentium?” - Semen was amazed, watching a pile of regular notifications that access to memory is blocked.
“A drug dealer?” What a strange thought to project your personality, maybe it's time to reinstall you?
- No, I'm fine. You won’t go there?
- Why not? I was going to gymnastics anyway. By the way, it was necessary to take the drone offline. I didn’t think so. I hope your communication channels are securely encrypted?
Mom tore the note into small pieces and washed it into the toilet.
- Of course, reliable. But, mom, it could be some kind of trap or worse. We must inform the police.
- It clearly says that you can’t go to the police. By the way, I remembered: six months ago you introduced me to some Grisha, and said that you are working together on the same project.
- Pancake! Yes, what kind of project ?!
“Bot is not supposed to know about this.”
“Maybe at least call me to approve the operation?”
“If you could get through, I think that person would get through.”
“Is it normal at all that no one can reach me?” It’s somehow suspicious, don’t you?
- Yes, nothing suspicious, lately I only communicate with your bots. They, of course, are so smart and caring, not something you yourself ... Honestly, Sema, I don’t already know if my son is somewhere behind these bots, or he has long disappeared into the Internet.
“I don't know either, Mom.”
“You clearly don't know.”
“Let’s at least tell someone where you’re going.”
- The note clearly states: do not mention this case.
“But you are mom!” You just can’t give a damn that your son isn’t answering calls!
“You know, Bot Sema, I never told you the real thing that I should have waited for your father’s calls, and then yours.” And do not call yourself because it is necessary. But it was our common choice and I have never complained. I will take the flash drive and take it to you personally.
- Wait!
Semyon flew in full steam between mom and the front door.
“Are you going to go without me?”
- Without you? Actually, a drone connected to the Internet can scare that person away.
- No, mom, please take me with you! I'm going crazy alone!
- No, why do normal children at least send stupid bots to their parents who cannot connect the three sentences. And your “personality projection” is already a little scary. The bot should not worry more about the mother than the source. Don't you find?
“I will correct myself, Mom, I promise.”
- Well, we will consider that this promise is real.
Despite the oath of assurance, Semyon had to spend a short trip to the shopping center in the darkness of a sports bag, from which his mother shook out her sports uniform. An attempt to send an anonymous message to the police was immediately punished by interrupting the connection. Semyon was afraid that he would be thrown into something even more helpless and abandoned these attempts. Apparently in the bot, in addition to obvious restrictions, implicit ones were registered, such as prohibitions to act contrary to the wishes and plans of the mother. “If I created this bot myself, based on my own personality, then apparently I myself wrote the restrictions. This is a very non-standard algorithm, with complex recognition ... I must be proud of myself. "
Only when the movement stopped did Mom take pity on Semyon's persistent fluttering. She put the bag on the chair and opened the zipper. Mostly the glass dome came into view, the cafe was crowded in the upper gallery of the shopping center, among boutiques with cosmetics and clothes. Galleries from the central span were surrounded by a transparent, almost invisible side with round metal railing.
- And here he is, even a little earlier ... Damn it!
Mummy's slurred exclamation is the last thing Semyon heard before the bag crashed out of the chair. Semyon, with all the despair that the drone’s motors were capable of, rushed through the lightning. The bag stupidly rolled on the floor, not wanting to release its victim. Semyon realized that these chaotic throwings would not help, he pulled himself together and managed to turn the drone so that its manipulator was near the lightning. Having untied himself, he saw a dramatically changed picture. Most of the people in the cafe stared at nothing, waved their hands senselessly, some even crawled on all fours. Those who maintained an acceptable orientation in space tried to bring down the exits. Tables and chairs were turned upside down, broken dishes and salads mixed with drinks on the floor. Semyon with despair cut circles, mother was nowhere to be found. He didn’t even pay attentionthat the image and sound go in strange jerks.
From the far end of the gallery there was a desperate cry and Semyon rushed there. Near the broken window of the boutique, a tall, awkward type in a dark green T-shirt and light jeans tried to fight off several large drones that shot him from the teasers. In desperation, the guy grabbed the mannequin from the window and managed to knock one drone from the gallery into the span. But this local success could not save him: another furious car came in from the back and fired an accurate shot. A man in convulsions fell on the fragments of a shop window. Nobody tried to help him, it seemed that visitors and sellers of boutiques did not even understand what was happening, they just stupidly poked at the walls or waved their hands in the air.
Finally, Semyon noticed that his drone turned on the anti-jamming system and was trying to fend off a powerful electronic attack, which went in the ranges of all networks at once. Only forced switching to a slow service channel, which was not clogged, still allowed to maintain a connection, albeit with brakes. Other, not so advanced users, apparently were completely absorbed in the struggle with their own chips.
Four hefty guards ran from the escalator to the gallery with a jog. Semyon was still amazed that they were wearing helmets, unusually hot and packed in the best tactical gear. There was a synthesized voice: “Dear visitors, please keep calm. There was a massive network failure. To avoid injury, please sit on the floor and do not move. ” The team confidently headed towards the person lying on the glass, entangled in thin wiring. Enraged drones climbed under the dome of the mall, no longer trying to attack. “Citizen, please do not move and remain calm. The doctor will arrive soon. We will help you. Please save ... ”A man in a tattered dark green T-shirt hardly climbed to all fours, leaning on his left hand. His palm left bloody prints on broken glass.With a sharp movement, he rolled onto his back and there was a deafening clap. One of the guards crashed into the ass, rather surprised than seriously injured, while the others rushed with meritorious agility to seek shelter in the boutique.
The echo of the next shots swept over the mall. Somewhere in the opposite gallery showcases rained down. Belatedly, some people started screaming, trying to move somewhere, not taking the road apart. The image in front of Semyon turned into a set of static pictures. A tattered, bloodied man runs away through the gallery. Drones dive down from above. He is trying to shoot back, but getting on the drone, and even on the move, is almost unrealistic. Three guards run out of the boutique, jumping over a groaning comrade, you can see the following shots still got him.
Of course, Semyon wanted to help the fugitive, who quite possibly was his friend. But what could he do? Semyon made a sharp turn and, despite the interrupted connection, entered exactly the frontal of one of the attacking drones. The blow threw him on the wall and in the side of the gallery. The service channel spat out a string of red messages: “The redundant power module is activated! The stabilization system is broken! IR illumination is off! .. Contact the service center! ” Semyon still managed to see how a hefty drone flies with terrible force into the back of a running man, and, like a rag doll, throws it over the side directly into the passage between the galleries. The next second, another drone hovered in front of the cracked camera and burned out the surviving electronics with a powerful microwave pulse.
- Mom ran away! She has no chip, nothing bothered her. She wasn’t captured!
“Brother Inquisitor, are you all right?”
A pale goat-eared goblin in a novice's cassock froze in the office door with a bundle of scrolls. Semyon sat at a heavy table made of iron wood, surrounded by ancient manuscripts and witchcraft amulets. Next to the wall was a loyal Misty Blade leaning against one of the realities that could shred the abyss itself. While he was hidden in a black scabbard with flaming protective runes.
“It's all right, Gilles.”
“I brought new things.”
- Put it on the table ... It's all right, Gilles, you can go.
- Yes, brother Simeon.
The goblin obediently backed away and slipped out, leaving the door loosely pretended.
“Here is a mischief! Thought Semyon. - Heck! I was again thrown into virtual reality. In a stupid multiplayer RPG. While mysterious friends with important flash drives are being killed outside, while an unknown organization using battle drones and mercenaries may have started hunting for my mother, I will soar here, pressing sorcerers who upset the magic balance in the role of Inquisitor Simeon. Your division! Well, why couldn’t I attach the bot to at least an ordinary android! ”
Semyon opened the cabinet window. A wind rushed inside, scattering scrolls with new quests. From the depths of the abyss the night gloom and the first impulses of the impending storm were already rising. Its peals and reflections so far only responded with vague anxiety in the souls of the inhabitants of the gloomy city of Avadon. There, in the abyss, gigantic whirlwinds swirled and lightning tows beat. And here, under the firmament of heaven, the heavenly crysol softly shone, and gusts of wind only lifted up the floors of cloaks of hurrying magical creatures. The townspeople tried to quickly get out of the external galleries, bridges and air boats under the protection of reliable towers and strongholds attached to the arch of the firmament. Anyone who catches a storm on any shaky structure is surely waiting for an endless flight into the abyss.
Semyon picked up the first scroll from the floor.
"Flickering fairies are asking to find a merchant who has sold coherent artifacts with a built-in curse of a dormant eye and return the stolen green flicker."
- Dumb Lepidoptera! Forever damned artifacts are being pumped to them for cheap. Yes, and the tenth level quest is maximum.
A door creaked open behind her. In the opening stood a demoness Lianna.
“Brother, Simeon, will you help in the investigation of the case of Kinara?”
“A quest of the eighth level,” Semyon muttered in response. “It is not the business of the twentieth-level brothers of initiation to chase after all sorts of enchantresses of love potions.
- Quickly deal with it, and then we pass the storm in some tavern.
The demoness smiled invitingly and demonstrated beautiful bends, clinging to the door jamb.
“No, Len, I can't right now: important things.”
“What are your important things here?”
- New quest. Do not bother!
Lianna snorted resentfully and disappeared into the flame, leaving a cloud of caustic smoke and an open wide door.
“They won’t give me peace,” Semyon thought, hooked a blade to his belt and went out into the corridor. He heavily imprinted steel-studded boots into the stone slabs of ancient corridors. The rumble of his footsteps rang through the citadel, warning of the appearance long before the formidable figure emerged from trembling shadows, barely dispersed by dancing magic lights. Semyon ascended to the very base of the citadel, to where, at the firmament of heaven, the library of the Holy Inquisition was hiding. The library frightened some, but Semyon could endlessly wander among shelves with volumes and manuscripts. Their lines bore the imprint of the consciousnesses of the powerful creatures that created them. A crazy whisper, similar to the rustling of pages, always reassured Semyon and helped to gather his thoughts.
So far it has not been possible to concentrate. Semyon was worried about his mother, worried about a strange thing related to his work, which cannot be mentioned, and the state of complete helplessness of the game character drove into a frenzy. He didn’t even have access to the Internet, only to the gaming forum. To pour out questionable stories about neuroschizophrenia on the forum or in the technical support of the game? Until they figure it out, if they even believe, until they find his body, it’s not known where ... It’s easier to immediately plunge into the abyss, maybe he will be thrown into something more suitable. "Who the hell am I and what happened to my chip?" Semyon frustratedly pressed a steel fist into a piece of wood on the shelf. Heavy volumes fell from him. Semyon picked up a small book in black leather binding from the floor. "Code of the Holy Inquisition of Avadon." He opened it on the first page that appeared.
“The laws of magic balance,” Semyon read the headline.
“Magical creatures, orders, and guilds are forbidden to use elementals, undead, golems, clones, and any other constructs disguised as intelligent creatures without the seal of a magic construct. It is punishable by a ban on the creation of magic constructs, or deprivation of the rights to witchcraft for a period of one to two eons for a magical creature and from two to five aeons for an order or guild. ”
“The law on bots,” Semyon helpfully prompted her memory. - It is forbidden to use bots under the control of AI without appropriate marking. It is punishable by a ban on the use of bots or a restriction on the use of the Internet. ”
“Law on magic artifacts and scrolls. When selling a magic artifact, it is forbidden to add curses and evil eyes that limit the time and method of using the artifact. ”
“Law on the Rights to Manage Personal Communication Devices. The OS of such devices should be open and allow full user control. "Access restrictions for personal devices for which the communication function is not basic, should be reasonably justified."
It was like clicking in the head. Digital laws were remembered without a single effort.
“The law on the unconditional disposal of acquired information. Purchased information and software should not have restrictions on the way of storing and working with it for a legal user. Forced storage in the developer’s clouds is illegal. A broader interpretation: the fight against piracy should not impose unreasonable restrictions on legal users. ”
Semyon turned the page of the codex.
“Law on the Order of the Holy Inquisition. The Inquisitor brothers in their struggle rely only on these vows and the Inquisition Code. "Elder brothers and masters cannot give orders that are contrary to vows and the code, and younger brothers cannot fulfill them."
“The Law on the Prohibition of Hierarchical and Authoritarian Structures for Organizations Performing the Functions of Supervision of the Implementation of Digital Legislation. Such organizations should operate on the basis of a system of open smart contracts. The rules of the contract can be changed only by free voting of its participants. An example of such an organization is AIC. AIK inspectors act openly, the logs of their activities, as an inspector, are available for viewing at any time in the AIK system. In his work, the inspector is guided exclusively by the system protocol and digital legislation. The inspector must have the full-time ability to violate the protocol in situations where it is impossible to apply, or its execution will lead to a violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens. In the event of any fraudulent errors associated with a violation of the protocol,the inspector cannot be punished more severely than expulsion from the association.
Personal Data Act. For access to the Internet, the purchase of goods and services, a digital ID must be sufficient. Attempts to connect digital ID and civil, as well as calculate the real identity of users are illegal. Legal digital IDs are issued through the AIK system. The communication of digital and civilian IDs is stored only in the AIC system. You can use an unlimited number of legally obtained digital IDs.
Information Bubbles Act. The issuance of search results depending on previous requests or user activity on the Internet without direct notification is prohibited. The inclusion in the search engine results of non-algorithmic ranking without advertising marking is prohibited. Creating hidden information bubbles of any type is illegal.
Personality Continuity Act. It is forbidden to create devices and provide services for changing memory and personality, except for medical reasons.
No license or user agreement may conflict with basic digital laws. ”
Semyon forcefully shut the codex, knocking out a column of dust from it.
“Am I a digital lawyer? Oh, nonsense! AIC inspector? This is more like the truth, but why then my work can not be called. And why the hell am I breaking the laws right and left with my bots ...? ”
Someone poked Semyon in the back.
- Inquisitor Simeon! I knew that you would be hanging around here while the other brothers saved Avadon.
Between the shelves stood the Inquisitor Wittgar in gold armor and a white cloak with a bloody lining. Or just Victor Krotov, a Simplex colleague. "Or not just Simplex?" As usual, in response to the most interesting questions, the memory was blocked.
- We must protect Avadon from fire worshipers, have not forgotten? The quest is open, once we screwed up.
- Hmm, fire worshipers are a dangerous sect, maybe for now, let's get into this business?
“Well, then, brother inquisitor, succumbed to the base fear of losing the Persian?”
- No, of course not. It’s just that I’m not allowed to die today ...
"Or, on the contrary, should you die faster, so as not to hang around here"?
Wittgar moved close.
“Did you get that file?”
- File?
- Don't be dumb, Sema. A small plugin with cheats. Or did you decide to fight the fire worshipers honestly?
- I can’t go online.
- What nonsense ... Or are you a bot again! Yes, what’s the matter, this is an important quest, Sema! Today you had to come yourself.
Wittgar immediately lost interest in his partner.
- Vitya, wait, it's not so simple.
Semyon rushed after him.
- Do not worry, bot Simeon, I will keep our little secret, - Victor waved off.
- What do we use cheats for?
- That someone uses an unmarked bot with cheats to rock the Persian.
- I do not use cheats. That is, I do not upset the magic balance.
- True?- laughed Victor. “You don't have to pretend in front of me.” We are the Inquisition, our word is the law, why hypocrisy?
- We did not come up with a law to manipulate it. Without us, magical creatures and guilds will converge in an endless war and the witching world will collapse into the abyss. We are not looking for power or material wealth, we keep balance.
“Oh, I recognize Brother Simeon and his sermon on balance.” So are you still here? Or is it a favorite game again: guess me bot or not? I confess you are baffling me. It seems like a bot, but you're lying, like a real brother Simeon.
- I'm not lying.
“You lie so well that you believe yourself.” You're lying that you are not looking for power. Power seduces even the best. The best of the best, of course, hold on for some time, but even you are pleased to stand above the law and the rules, agree?
“That's why vows and a code were invented to hold us back.” They cannot be changed at the behest of several presumptuous inquisitors.
“Why would half of the inquisitors plus one not want a little more power and not rewrite the code, huh?” Why don't we create an iron order with a bit of expanded authority?
“That will never happen.” Half of the Inquisitors cannot suddenly fall in love with tyranny.
“Poor you know sentient beings.” Most people are easily deceived, intimidated, convinced that slavery is freedom. It works like a clock. Give your freedom if you want peace and security.
“We are inquisitors, not random fairies and goblins.” Each passed the strictest selection for fidelity to principles. We cannot be intimidated, deceived, or misled.
- A couple of thousand wise men do not need to be intimidated, you can easily buy them. Anyone has a price. Most are easy to trick and intimidate. The code is not balanced in this way. To balance it, some offer to give the right to vote to all magical creatures.
“If all goblins have a say, they will quickly ruin the Inquisition and the code.”
“Yes, a definite utopia,” Victor agreed. - We came.
A huge hall with a ceiling from the Gothic arches overlooked a wide terrace without a fence, which cut off into the abyss. Semyon went through the arch, which was supported by columns with bas-reliefs of harsh inquisitors or their defeated enemies, and stopped at the edge. A real storm was already rising from the abyss, making even the hearts of the inquisitors tremble. Gusts of wind tore hair and strove to throw off a sloping stone edge. From here, the prisoners of the Inquisition condemned to the highest degree were thrown into the abyss. If you look closely, on gray granite traces from the claws and teeth of all kinds of magical creatures were visible.
Nearby gathered two dozen inquisitors of the highest steps of initiation. They were waiting for the opening of the portal to the lair of the fire-worshipers.
“What was our argument about, Brother Wittgar?”
The wind carried away the words, but Victor heard.
“About the Inquisition, of course.” What did you think about?
- Where do we work?
“Five minutes ago, we worked at Simplex.” Where do you think?
- Are we sitting on the board of directors? What power seduces us?
- Board of Directors, dreaming, damn it! Although, I would not mind.
- What kind of work that cannot be called?
Victor pulled him out of the gate and pulled him to him.
“You're crazy, Semyon.” So we broke a bunch of rules, do you want to screw up the whole thing?! .. The portal opens.
Victor pushed him away and went to the others.
“No, I do not work for Simplex. But I stand above the law and the rules. Who am I? ” Semyon felt that he was close to a solution, but then, finally, the portal opened and the friendly roar of the inquisitors going to the quest interrupted his torment.
Semyon was the last to unload from the portal onto a disk of white-green marble, a hundred meters in diameter, suspended from a vault of heaven on gigantic chains. Many bridges and suspension galleries in different directions left the disk. There were practically no veins of Cryzolite in the vault of heaven, so the entire labyrinth above the abyss was plunged into darkness. He was illuminated by the chaotic flashes of fire elementals, appearing for a short while, they scattered large, burning sparks and went in with crazy laughter. Somewhere in the depths, where the lower levels of the maze went, dark lights danced, too, which did not bode well.
“I'm not comfortable anymore,” complained the necromancer Marcus. “Whom will we leave to guard the exit portal?”
- No one! Snapped Wittgar. - Last time we didn’t have enough people to break through the guardians of the abyss.
“And right,” the hefty half-ogre Ruban in a spiked armor roared, twirling with a two-meter hammer. - Victory or death! Which way will we choose?
- Divide into two groups. I will lead the main one in the same way as last time. Brother Simeon will lead the second group; Ruban and Gina will go with him. Go out to the gates in a roundabout way and break the seals while we fight the guards. Jump into the gates and kill the master of the fire worshipers. We will try to break through after you, but here we are so lucky.
“Is there a workaround?” - doubted Marcus. “Better guard the portal.”
- There is a path through the lower levels. Last time, we just got a little lost. Brother Simeon with his shadows is ideal for this mission, he will slip through without noise and dust. Everything!Find a workaround and wait at the gate.
“Brother Wittgar, a few words.”
Semyon resolutely grabbed his companion by the sleeve and dragged him into the darkness.
- Victor, what a workaround! We will stray in this abyss until the next eon.
- Listen, brother Simeon, turn on the cheats, your mother! And do not push about the balance, you see, what is the situation? Some have already guessed in full, not having time to uncover blades and staves.
- No one wants to lose a pumped Persian.
- Cheats!
- Yes, I can’t turn on cheats: I don’t have Internet access!
“Don’t say that you are a bot.” I won’t believe it. Even you are not able to write such bots.
“I am not a bot, but my mind is subject to all the restrictions that are imposed on the bot ...”
“That's all, Sema, this is not the time for jokes,” Victor resolutely pulled out his sleeve. - Either turn on the cheats, or look for the path through the abyss yourself. It was still not enough to get here in the storm ... We are all moving forward!
- It's time to look into the abyss! Roared Ruban, brandishing a hammer.
Whittar's group headed along the south bridge, wide and comfortable, while Semyon sighed heavily and led his small detachment along a narrow gallery leading down. At first everything went relatively smoothly, Persian Simeon obviously ran for dozens of hours through the maze, so a detailed map was prepared for the first levels. Enemies came across strong, but stupid. Semyon stepped forward one or two shadows and carefully chopped demons and fire-worshipers with the Misty Blade. The support of the tank of Ruban and the elemental sorceress Gina was almost not required. Problems started at the lower levels. Periodically, the currents of the abyss and tentacles of hungry demons were tried to be pulled out of the narrow cornices, but this was not so bad: Gina dispersed the currents, Ruban beat the tentacles. Worse, Semyon was no longer oriented in this part of the maze. He finally settled on a dilapidated platform.She hung on rusty chains and honestly, several paths again led from her.
“Where next, commander?” Asked Ruban.
- Need to think.
Suddenly, a noise came from a small landslide. Ruban screamed back: an entire sector of the platform collapsed into the abyss. Small pebbles continued to pour into the failure, cracks, one after another, ran to the center of the platform.
- We must urgently decide! Shouted the frightened Ruban. No tank power could save in the event of a fall.
- Let's go along the arch! - Semen decided and was the first to jump onto a narrow arched bridge, whimsically fanning and gradually going down.
They walked very close when one of the chains burst with a long groan. The platform slowly tipped, more and more pieces came off from it, the next chain burst, and the platform finally fell apart. The roar of cracking stone blocks still came from the abyss for some time. And then there, in incredible depths, a shadow the size of a city shifted, and an infrasound roar crept to the bones.
“The path back is cut off,” Gina stated. “Better not to linger.”
Unfortunately, it was not possible to go far. The arch broke off, and a flimsy suspension bridge was fixed to two posts on the edge. It was scary to look at the boards, not like stepping on. Some deep mold ate the ropes. Semyon cast a shadow forward, but even at the limit of range, she did not reach the end of the wooden bridge.
“This hanging shit stretches as far as my shadow is enough,” Semyon said. - Have to jump several times. I’ll go down to reconnaissance and return, and you are waiting here. Then let's take turns.
- What to expect? Asked Ruban. “There is no other way.”
- There may be traps. Wait!
- As you say, brother.
Semyon carefully cast a shadow two hundred meters, chose a reliable place, in his opinion, and embodied there. He turned to wave to his remaining comrades and saw how Gina collects a fiery charge on her magic staff and directs Ruban in the back. The simplest spell, but the sorceress put all available power into it.
- Ruban, from behind! - managed to shout Simon.
Ruban turned around and even managed to put up a hammer. A charge with a howl swept several steps separating them and crashed into a hammer. He was so powerful that he simply melted a weapon strewn with protective runes, and threw Ruban from the bridge on the remaining energy. He miraculously clung to the edge with one hand. The bridge crumbled under his steel fingers.
- Damned scribe! - Ruban yelled in despair.
Gina laughed madly and stuck the sharp end of the staff into Ruban's palm, turned it with a crunch and, using as a lever, threw the inquisitor into the abyss. And then she sent a flaming top to the boards under the legs of Semyon.
“Hold the shadows, Brother Simeon!” A special death is prepared for you. Pure death from fire. What do you choose: the abyss or the fire?
“Of course fire,” Semyon spread his hands reassuringly. He now clearly saw the seal of fire worshipers on the sorceress’s chest and could only reproach himself for criminal negligence. “I always wanted to see the world on fire.”
“You want to see the world on fire, right?” - the fire-worshiper again fell into a crazy laugh. “I will show you the world on fire.” You will see how Avadon burns, how the firmament burns! Oh, that fire is powerful and beautiful! Only in flame will peace be perfected. You will still rot in the abyss, a thousand eons earlier, a thousand later, what's the difference? And I will show the true beauty! One moment is more expensive than all stupid magicians and miserable inquisitors with their useless balance. Balance is the lie of the sick, old fools. But I saw the truth in the fire, the fiery chaos is beautiful!
A typical scribe, Semyon thought. “It's nonsense, instead of banging right away.”
His shadow had already covered all the way under the bridge and now flowed out onto the arch behind the fire-worshiper. A misty blade came out of her left eye, but she only grinned terribly and launched long claws into the seal on her chest.
- Down!
Her cry, lingering and creepy, lasted just so long that Semyon could fully realize his mistake. The broken seal turned the traitor into a clot of flame. A greedy roaring flame rushed in all directions, turning the tree into ashes, and the stone into molten lava. Semyon turned and cast a shadow further along the bridge, into saving depths, but the witching fire was faster than his shadows. He took the first step after incarnation into the abyss. Brother-inquisitor Simeon could not keep his balance and he was waiting for an endless flight down.
- Semyon, you promised to take a walk with the children!
Semyon's virtual ghost hovered in the middle of his own living room. Well, or rather, his wife’s living room in a large apartment in a convenient West City residential complex. The complex was further away from the center of Moscow than Eco City, but its towers were literally drowning in greenery. Semyon mentally still fought in the labyrinth above the abyss, so a bot swelled for him.
- I am ready to walk with the children.
- You are not ready! You are not here! We agreed in a week that you would sit with your children for three hours. And what I see again: your torn bot!
- I now manage this bot. An emergency at work, I could not come.
“I don't believe that anymore.” Semyon, these are your children! I understand that you don’t give a damn about me, do you really care about children too!
“Hey don’t touch the children!” - Semyon wanted to bark, but the bot obediently said.
- I wanted to come, I really wanted to. But we have a terrible emergency in the project, when it ends, I’ll catch up.
“And when will it end?” This stretches for the second year. Our contract for co-parenting will soon finally fall apart, Sema ... Well, okay, I’ll agree with a neighbor.
Seven-year-old Arthur ran out of the kitchen, brandishing a toy in the shape of a superhero. Little Sonia ran after him, shrillly screaming: “Give-give-give-give!”
- Arthur, why are you insulting your sister?
The wife caught the child by the hand and took the toy away.
- She doesn't let me play.
- She's mine, I play with her myself!
“You didn't play with her!”
“So that's it.” So no one will play.
- Dad has arrived! Dad has arrived!
Sonya instantly forgot about the toy. She recently had a children's chip installed, and now she could fully participate in cartoon stories and observe virtual objects.
- Dad didn't come. This is a virtual dad.
- Virta-papa! Virta Dad! - jumped Sonya. - Are we going to go into cartoon stories?
- I want to go for a walk! - whined Arthur.
- No, you sit with Aunt Masha and play with virto-papa.
- Karina, wait! - the ghost of Semyon caught up with his wife in the hallway. - And where are you going?
- To the theater, I told you.
- To the theater, exactly? You blocked the tracker from me.
Semyon felt an unpleasant prick of jealousy.
- Really! - Karina flashed her eyes evil. - Maybe Sonya likes virto-dad, but my virto-husband does not suit me! When you appear here in person, then you will make claims.
My wife went to negotiate with a neighbor, and Semen desperate looked around for some suitable device to influence the real world. Out of hopelessness, he began to connect to all kinds of teapots, refrigerators and self-propelled furniture. And then his eyes fell on the Mist, a large German shepherd dog, which quietly lay under the table in the kitchen, while the children cut randomly circles around the apartment. Semyon remembered that he had installed a full-fledged neural interface for the dog for remote walking. “Bingo!” He thought, and attacked his returning wife:
“Karin, everything is in order, I will take a walk with the children.”
- Will you come?
- No, I will go for a walk with the children and the Fog at the same time. Just turn on the collar so that I snape.
- What?Sema, you are completely foolish! Do you want to walk with children with the help of a dog? This cruel treatment of animals and children at the same time.
“Yes, why so?” The children will be happy, and I can look after them. The fog for childcare is even better than a person.
Karina indignantly opened her mouth and slammed shut, unable to utter a word.
“You're definitely going crazy with your job.” I am far from certain that what you did with the Mist is generally legal.
“Legal, of course.”
“But animal defenders will not agree with you.”
- Okay, just turn on the collar, at least I walk the Mist.
- Leave me alone, I myself will walk with him when I return.
The wife took the children and took her to her neighbor Masha, who had her own little child. No pleas and persuasions acted on her, and the radius of the new bot was limited to the virtual space of the apartment. After Karina disappeared into the elevator, he could only send her hopeless messages to the chat room. I had to connect to a neighbor’s router and hang out with the children. They went through a fairy tale about Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf, a tutorial on the letters of the alphabet and simple arithmetic operations. After browsing the Internet, he found news about the mall.
“A strange accident occurred at the Eco City mall. One of the visitors climbed over the side and fell between the galleries. Unfortunately, he crashed to death. It is possible that the whole fault in the operation of mobile networks that occurred at the same time is to blame. The neurochips of most users were blocked, like all other electronic devices. Because of this, it was not possible to get a single video of the incident. Our own competent source claims that this was not a malfunction, but an electronic attack in a very wide range, for which enormous resources were involved. Also, some eyewitnesses who managed to take the chips to standalone mode say they heard loud pops like shots and saw several large drones leaving the mall. Police investigating the casewhile refusing to comment. Already managed to find out the identity of the deceased. By a strange coincidence, it turned out to be Grigory Sumarokov, one of the key technical managers of Simplex. Representatives of the company expressed regret over the death of the employee and promised to conduct their own investigation. We will keep you posted. ”
"Heck! He died because of that flash drive! Interestingly, the police found her? I have to get to the mall. But how? ”The new bot was at least not limited in its use of the Internet. Semyon decided to call mom.
“Sema, did you wake up there ?!” Why don't you answer for so long? Did you see what happened to your friend ?!
“I saw yes, but still haven't quite woken up ...”
- What?
- But it doesn’t matter for a long time to explain.
“Sema, your people have not found that thing?”
- My people?
- From your work.
- From my work ... Damn! No, I don’t know where the flash drive is.
- Sema! This is not even a secure chat! - hissed his mother.
“Mom, are you all right?”
“Yes, I'm fine.”
“Nobody is chasing you?”
“No, I'm fine.” But what’s wrong with you, I don’t understand? You must have an emergency contact for such cases. Isn't it time to use it? The situation is clearly out of control.
- An emergency call ... Mom, where do I work, huh?
- Where what…? I'm talking to the bot again! - mom instantly became furious. - This is already crossing all boundaries! I'm going to you and do not care what will happen to your work!
Semyon clasped his hands on the virtual head.
“I'm not a bot, mom!” He replied to the already switched off chat.
“Well, why did I impose so many restrictions? What kind of super-secret work is this? Stop, this bot remembers the address of the rented apartment, which I dumped from my wife. Hooray!Maybe I'll see myself now. However, mom is already going there. No, I have to get to the mall and find the flash drive. But how?Fog is the only real option. ”
“Mash, do you have access to our apartment?”
“Yeah,” said Masha, completely focused on preparing the infant formula.
- Can you come in and press the button on the collar of the Mist?
- Oh, I'm afraid of your dog. I definitely won’t go alone.
- Don’t be afraid, he’s the kindest dog. You came to us a hundred times, he can’t aggro on you.
- Right? And why should I click on the button.
- He suffers there poor, it is time for him to walk for a long time. I will connect to his chip and take a walk remotely.
“Does your dog have a chip?” How convenient! Maybe we’ll put our nightmare so that the sofas don’t tear.
- No problem, I can do it. You just go to the Fog. Don’t be afraid!
Semen would love to push Masha, if not for the annoying virtuality. The mist took the neighbor calmly, only sniffed with special care. Semyon seamlessly connected and attached the bot to the dog’s neurochip. He, having seen the owner and received his smell through the olfactory neurons, joyfully jumped and furiously wagged his tail. Of course, he was very embarrassed that he could not lick the host half to death. Now Semyon could see with his eyes, hear with his ears and, which is especially gratifying to use his nose. Fog's vision was not so hot in terms of color, but he could recognize a million species of smells. They were visualized by the system in the form of colored clouds covering objects and blurry plumes indicating the approximate direction to the source.
Semyon directed the Mist down the stairs, with difficulty scratched out the entrance door button, pretty scaring the granny who wanted to get into trouble at the same moment, and walked confidently at a trot through the park. The fog was running fast, almost not being distracted by the surrounding living creatures and updating the marks. And Semyon was desperately trying to figure out who could help in finding the flash drive. “Okay, a dog with a virtual master runs around the park, but you have to break into the mall with a fight.” A lot of all kinds of contacts were available to the home bot, but they were not suitable for such a thing. “Ask a school friend to take Fog to the mall?” But how to explain everything to him? And if you have to face the police? ” Semyon decided to take a chance and again wrote to the AIK chatbot that the help of an inspector was required.
A young girl of a pleasant appearance appeared in front of him, a dyed blonde besides. Semyon realized that the system did not find his appeal deserving special attention.
- Inspector Yekaterina Sinichkina, what happened to you, citizen?
- I need help in one very difficult matter ...
- We will definitely help you! - cheerfully answered Sinichkina.
“At least she should not be enthusiastic. Hmmm ... "
- Are you up to date on the incident at the Eco City shopping center? There was a powerful electronic attack, which suppressed user chips.
- An electronic attack? Hmm, I see only a mass failure message.
“It was not a glitch, but a deliberate jamming to conceal another crime.” Does AIC not do this thing?
- It seems not, the police are engaged in this business. There was an accident.
“It was not an accident; it was a murder.”
- Listen, citizen Semyon, if you have important information on the case, contact the police.
“I can't trust the police.”
- Well, tell me. I'll hand it over to the police, ”Sinichkina smiled.
- Thank you ...
Semyon already wanted to close the chat, but Sinichkina stopped him.
- Semyon, I looked at the service telemetry from the chip. Are you a human at all?
“No, I'm a bot and am currently attached to a dog,” Semyon honestly admitted.
- Explain yourself, please.
Semyon sighed heavily and, not having much hope, began a summary of his adventures. Every second, he waited for Sinichkina to turn off the chat or solder another charge, but she listened very carefully, never interrupting. Semyon was silent. Sinichkina looked at him and blinked her eyes.
“And how can I help you?”
- Are you in Moscow now? Can you come to the mall and help find that flash drive?
- The flash drive of the man who the drones allegedly killed? Why do you think that I should participate in this?
- Because I have no other candidates!
Another honest confession did not make any impression on Sinichkin.
- Because the AIK must investigate digital crimes, and a massive electronic attack is a very serious crime.
“Do you suggest that I open an investigation in parallel with the one being conducted by the police?”
- Yes.As an AIK inspector, you have every right to do so.
- Really? I don’t think I can open an investigation on the basis of a statement ... of a dubious bot. This is a clear violation of the protocol.
- Use the right to a fair mistake.
- What?
- Conscientious mistake. You have a reason, albeit dubious, to open an investigation not because you wanted it or for personal gain. It will be just a good faith mistake.
- Only? They’ll fire me!
- If they admit that the decision was wrong, then they can.
- I have been working for less than a year. I passed the exam three times. No ...
- Wait, Sinichkina! - Semyon felt her hesitation and put into his next words his whole gift of persuasion. - You just started working, you need to prove yourself. Prove that your work is useful and necessary. Did you swear to protect the values of the digital world?
“How will I prove my usefulness if I succumb to the provocation of some joker?”
- Yes, I would invent it for the sake of a stupid joke! My mind throws all day long at different bots, I have no time for jokes.
- Are you still a bot or a person? Decide already please.
“I'm a man ... most likely.” There was a serious accident with my chip. After each break in the connection, he selects a bot and begins to consider him the main personality.
“I've never heard of such failures and such chips.”
- Most likely, I have a non-standard chip with memory control, copying personality, dividing consciousness into threads and other bells and whistles.
- Why do you need such a chip? Who you are?
- With a great deal of confidence, I can assume that I am an AIK agent.
- AIK agent? - Sinichkina again slammed her eyes. - AIK has no agents. We have inspectors, observers, developers ...
- An agent, by and large, is also an inspector ... who very creatively interprets the right to a fair mistake. The agent acts secretly, its logs are not published in the system.
“And he stands above the law and the rules,” Semyon thought.
“I never heard of any agents.” It just can't be. The main principle of AIC is openness.
- Not always those who use bribery, blackmail and possess huge resources can be defeated by honest methods. Seven years ago. USA.Case: "The people against the Ministry of National Security." The next reincarnation of the NSA within the ministry was revealed and disbanded. Several ministers resigned, the president barely restrained. Three years ago: China, the case against the Xawai Corporation. Analysis of the real identities of users and the creation of information bubbles. The company was forcibly divided into three independent structures. Top management was fired, and members of the Board of Directors had to sell shares. The courts used information obtained by agents. The use of agents was not advertised, but if you carefully read the published materials, it will be obvious.
- I do not see any agents in the AIK system. Why do not you contact the inspectors who have access to this?
- Sinichkina! I explain: my chip has completely deteriorated. He considers the home bot to be the main personality and blocks access to the memories of my work, because the bot is not supposed to know this. I have no idea who approved the operation and where to call!
“I don't believe you,” Sinichkina shook her head. - AIK cannot work like that, it is against all the principles that we are taught.
- If you do not believe me, the next corporation or special service will put a hairy paw on a part of our digital freedoms. And then again and again, until one beautiful morning, people wake up in the world of electronic dictatorship.
“And what kind of corporation or intelligence agency is this?”
- Simplex. I am sure it is Simplex. One of my fake personalities works there. The person who wanted to transfer the flash drive is Grigory Sumarokov, technical manager of Simplex. They are trying to push their Simplex X with closed architecture to the market. They put pressure on AIK with terrible force through the media, government agencies and the so-called public. They will squeeze out if I cannot fulfill my duty. And it turns out, Sumarokov died in vain.
Sinichkina clapped her eyes for several minutes, Semyon waited patiently.
“Well, well, what can I do?”
“She believed me! I believe it! - if Semyon weren’t virtual, he would jump for joy. Fog, sensing the mood of the owner, stretched into a string, as if he smelled the smell of approaching prey.
“Can you come to the mall?”
- Yes, I can in half an hour.
- Well! Open an investigation, but don't do anything yet. Wait for me at the entrance. Just wait, Sinichkina! We will find a flash drive, no matter what the cost!
Crossing a huge park, Semyon fairly drove the poor Fog. He breathed heavily and stuck his tongue out almost to the floor. When he steered at full speed to Sinichkina, which was marking time at the entrance, she screeched and tried to fight off her purse.
- Quiet, Katerina, why are you? This is me - Semyon. I said that I was attached to a dog.
- Oh, how huge! I'm actually afraid of dogs.
“Don't be scared, Sinichkina.” Take it by the collar. You say it's a service dog. Show the guards an investigation notice. Let's go faster!
The shopping center worked as usual, although there were few visitors. A pair of police drones circled slowly between the galleries. The fall site, next to the fountain, was fenced. A whole crowd of people in uniform was hanging around the fountain, among them several comrades in civilian clothes. The corpse was not visible, but traces of blood on the white tile stood out distinctly.
“There, investigators,” Semyon pointed to his comrades in civilian clothes. - Important bumps.
- Let's go to them?
- No, it’s useless to meddle with them with your notice. You see, a young lieutenant is on duty at the ribbons. Chat with him, frown a little. Tell me, your boss sent you to formally close the AIK investigation. Try to find out where the body is and whether there was a flash drive with it. If the contactee asks, give me some left.
“Ah, you have to think like an agent,” Sinichkina smiled knowingly.
While she chirped sweetly with the young officer, Semyon tried not to draw attention to the Fog. He drove it under a decorative palm tree nearby. A suffocating cloud of the smell of blood and almost completely indistinguishable human smell rose above the place of fall. Sinichkina chatted about twenty minutes.
“I found out,” she said cheerfully. - The forensic scientist examined the body, he was taken to the morgue. There was no flash drive with him, that's for sure: he even called a friend from the morgue.
- Well done Sinichkina! But in the galleries where he ran they didn’t find anything?
- In the galleries? It seems not, but I can clarify.
- Do not.
Semyon noticed that one of the people in civilian clothes, a fat type in smallpox, with watery eyes squinted in their direction.
- Where's the flash drive? He could throw her away while he was running.
- I wrote down all the evidence that I found. A comb, three cards, a ballpoint pen ... There was no flash drive.
“Yes, but were there no guns and shells?” He fired several times, it is unlikely that the mercenaries managed to collect everything. That's why you can not contact the police: forever among them, some werewolves hang around.
- Shot? Gods, where I got into it!
“Don’t be afraid, Sinichkina, they sent you to formally close the investigation.” You don’t know about any pistols. Where is the flash drive? Pancake!And the tablet is not on the list?
- A tablet?
- A flexible tablet, he had to hold it in his hand.
- No ...
- So, we will search. I need a good sniff. Chat your lieutenant for just a moment.
The Mist had a gorgeous nose, he could give odds to any service dog. Just a couple of eights around the crash site and the chip highlighted a dull gray cloud and even a barely visible trail that stretched to the upper gallery.
- Hey! Get the dog off the scene! Whose dog is this?
A type with watery eyes ran toward them. He menacingly reached for a belt holster.
- Whose dog, I ask!
Fortunately, Sinichkina was not at a loss.
- My. This is a service dog. I'm from AIK, I need to close the investigation. Here is the legal notice.
- What does AIK need here?
- There was some kind of network failure. We must start an investigation.
- Everything has already been repaired. Why does the dog run around the scene?
- Oh, I'm sorry, I did not keep track. He is always so obedient, but here ...
- So, get the outsiders out of here.
“But the investigation ... Okay, I'm leaving.” I will send you a request!
- That's it, Sinichkina, hare! Replaying! - hissed Semyon. - Faster to the upper gallery. Faster, until this type asked why AIK sent an employee with a dog to a computer crash.
In the cafe, which was slowly moving away from the rout, the track was quite clear. The fog ran a little around in circles around the tables and highlighted a blurry cloud along the route of movement of Sumarokov. He discovered yet another faint trace clogged with another, with the acid color of cheap perfume. This new trail led in the opposite direction: to the gallery below, to a small Irish pub, where a waitress was bored behind the counter and was looking at something on the tablet. The smell clearly led to her.
- She stole the tablet, bitch! Katyukha, take him.
- How?
“Tell me, this is evidence in the murder case.” Threaten to take to the monkey. And if it doesn’t help, I’ll grab her!
Suddenly, in the span in front of the side, a police drone hovered and stared at them all the cameras.
- Heck! Grab your tablet and run! They spotted us.
The screeching, indignant waitress chased them for a very short time ... until she saw the light grin of the Mist, but the drone did not lag behind.
- Where are you going?
“I'm in a car,” Sinichkina answered as she ran.
A drone followed them into an underground parking lot. Fog had to use his teeth anyway. He dodged sharply and clung to the manipulator. The drone howled resentfully, but Mist shook its head and typed it at the door of a nearby car. The alarm shrill shouted. The fog added a series of blows until the annoying gadget subsided, and jerked like a bullet, popping into the open door of the starting car. Sinichkina famously taxied from the parking lot to the motorway and only there she turned on the autopilot.
- What's in the tablet? Is he not blocked?
- Not. There are some archives, all password-protected.
- Super! - Semyon breathed a sigh of relief.
Boca Mist walked with a shaker. He relaxedly sat in the front seat, drooling over covers, a torpedo and everything that fell within range. It seems he was also pleased with the walk.
- What is super something? Is this evidence against Simplex? Do you know the password?
“There must be evidence.” I know the password.
“And where do we look for the real you?”
“In a rented apartment ... We parted with my wife, small family troubles,” Semyon added reluctantly. “Better hurry, otherwise my mom was going to go there too.” You never know what she will do.
Sinichkina turned off the autopilot and quickly picked up speed, no longer particularly worried about trifles, such as fines.
The door to the apartment, of course, was locked. Just a minute later, someone’s footsteps were heard from the stairs. Semyon thought it was mom, but to no surprise he saw his disheveled, breathless wife.
- Karina? How did you end up here?
- By car! Why are you rushing like crazy? And who is that?
- This is Catherine, my colleague. Why are you here?
- Why did I come ?! Because a neighbor called me and said that you let the dog out for a walk and still haven't returned! I looked at the tracker of his collar and, please forgive me, fucked up from the route of the walk!
- Wait, Karin, chill. Wait! I have an emergency: my chip is broken, I can’t interrupt the dive, so Catherine came to help, to get her out of the apartment.
- So your chip broke?
- Yes, the ass is full, I’ve been hanging around in virtual reality all day and can’t get back into my own body.
- Damn, and I yelled at you. I didn’t know ... But you didn’t say anything ...
- I tried, but the conversation did not stick. Do you remember.
- Well, please forgive me. I really didn’t know.
Karina looked genuinely guilty. Semyon decided that after the story of the heroic struggle for the happiness of mankind, she should finally soften and forgive all sins, past and future.
- Yes, forget it, the main thing is that everything ended well. Do you have the keys to the apartment?
- Not.
- So you have to open it.
“Just in case,” said Sinichkina, pressing the doorbell.
Semyon experienced another shock when the door opened. On the threshold stood a very figured girl in a very short robe.
- Who are you? - Sinichkina was surprised no less.
- I? Tatyana.Who do you want?
- Seeds of Tumanov. Does he live here?
- Ah, Sema went on a business trip for a few days.
- Sema? And you, therefore, live in his apartment? - Karina asked the question in a very quiet, calm voice, but Semyon already saw how the seabed is exposed, on the eve of the devastating tsunami.
“Who cares where I live?” Who are you?
- I. Wife. Sema.
- Oh sorry! How inconvenient it turned out.
The door instantly slammed shut.
- Goat !!! His chip is broken!
The first time in a day, Semyon was pleased with his virtuality. This undoubtedly saved him from bodily harm, possibly serious.
- Freak! You make a fool of me! I can’t see you!
- This is a misunderstanding. No Karin, don’t turn off your ears ...
- ... Nick, I answer, this is a complete fly away!
- They say people from it fly off coils.
- Nonsense! Journalists win a rating for themselves. Silentium has nothing to do with it. Those who rushed under the bus, the roof leaked specifically before Silentium. The answer is, I have never been presented for low-quality goods. Just try, and all questions will disappear.
A young guy with a gothic appearance: pale, with black long hair and let down eyes, did not hesitate for long.
- Okay, let's check it out.
A plump, good-natured satyr Sylvan with short horns opened the portal to a fairy glade.
“Choose any one,” Sylvan spread his arms around the sources, some crystal clear, sparkling under the sun, others dark and bubbling, hidden in ravines and hollows. - There is harder, softer, for drive, relaxation ... Immediately I do not advise chaos: choose simpler, then you will figure out which topic is yours.
- Why, locally you can’t deliver?
“Locally impossible,” Sylvanas spread his furry paws. “We need to live on something.” I do not advise to take broken lines, they are always buggy.
- You want to say those who rushed under the buses took broken lines?
- Perhaps ... For a couple of cents any source at your service, you will never be poor, believe me. The first time, of course, is free.
“I may not have intended to come again.”
- No problem. Beat all competitors, my product is the best!
“You will all be back one way or another. This rubbish is not physically addictive, and no one is really afraid of it, ”thought Sylvanas.
Bot Sylvan did not feel remorse; he was without hesitation ready to replace the drug shop admin in order to collect the necessary information. Simplex search engines can find far from everything, but in Hive there really is everything that AIC agent needs to be happy. The hive, pit, hydra, cobweb, lunar path, silk road - this place has hundreds of names that, like milestones or crosses, mark kilometers on the path to the development of illegal trade in the vast encrypted Internet. But the system itself is immortal, it will be reborn again and again, after any total sweeps, even more powerful and merciless. Yes, and there is no point in destroying it, it is much better to keep it under control and use it against other more terrible threats. And unfortunate fools will always find something to kill, with or without a hive.
"Stop! Is that really my thoughts? Or behavioral bot algorithms? Thought Semyon. - I created a homunculus completely devoid of moral principles ... But it was I who created it, so it is one of the facets of my personality, whatever one may say. I hope I did not take money from the shop to spend on women from Tyndale? And now, I have lost control of my bots. How many of them still roam the Hive and push all sorts of rubbish to brainless schoolchildren. ”
Semyon realized that the line separating the agent in sparkling armor from the dangerous cybercriminal was already right in front of her nose. From a legal point of view, he probably slipped her long ago.
“We need to start the investigation.” The bot must fulfill its purpose and be securely deleted along with the store’s account ... Well, or at least it is necessary to erase all traces so that they do not lead to me. ” Semyon, of course, did not regret the loss of income from the store, but here is a valuable source of information ...
“No! - interrupted himself Semyon. - This is all a bot! The vile thoughts of a bot dealer. I must get rid of him as soon as possible. ”
The hive was always buzzing, millions of users flocked here for personal data, illegal software, drugs and other joys of life. But the main sales hit, of course, was Silentium. He could create such a chip-like man with the nervous system that not a single Swiss chemist could dream of. It existed in dozens of options, for every taste and color, but the functional core has always been the same. Someone sold this core to selected hackers and fabulously enriched them. There were various legends about the seller of the core: they said that his store appeared only on the 666th tier of the hive, in the full moon, for half an hour, and it was necessary to solve several complicated riddles in order to open a secret tunnel. In general, nothing definite, but Semyon did not in vain add several bots to the Hive, which tirelessly distributed sniffers and viruses to sellers and buyers.Once this hunt gave a result. He steamed the virus-infected bot's admin to a successful store that had direct access to the kernel seller. Semyon steal his account and now he was courting the seller.
- Great, Riga.
“Good, Sylvanas.”
The avatar in the form of a gray reptiloid, sitting at a huge table littered with cocaine, pretty bared. Rig and Sylvan got along well with each other.
- What have you come for?
- There are problems with business.
- There are always problems with business. What exactly is the plug?
- The last case with the so-called “victim” of Silentium, who ran out under the bus. The guy smeared on the pavement.
- Does it bother you? Go, put a candle for him.
- Here's another! The noise that has risen soars me. You understand, our business loves silence more than any other, but with this crap ...
- In a couple of months, the dust will settle, we will rebrand and make up for everything that you missed.
- The overconfidence of many failed. I would lie down for a while, no question. But this hysteria in the media goes beyond all borders, why is there so much noise because of one drug? As if someone specially ordered it.
- On purpose?
- Yes.Okay, cops, but now AIK has taken up this matter, and they are digging in earnest. Their agents curl like that, find out who got that blind man.
“And what did they find out?” Who did he stock up on?
Semyon decided that if he wants to deal with the matter quickly, then he must take risks.
- Mostly with me. I do not know what they found out, it is impossible to break anything through the AIK.
“Relax the rolls, buddy, they won’t find anything.” After a couple of months, everything will calm down, and the case will be postponed to a distant box.
- Not put off. Those who are interested in fanning the scandal will not let this happen.
“And who is interested in him?”
Sylvanas leaned over the table, smearing the thick fur in cocaine and whispering furiously, as if they were turning a deal in a dark gateway.
- Simplex!
Satisfied grin slipped from the muzzle of the reptile.
- You overheated. Rest a couple of days.
- Yes, I remember what you said: Simplex helped organize a business. I gave you the initial capital and technical support.
- I did not say that Simplex, I said that someone helped. It's just that their hardware and software are made to make my life a little easier. Well, some kind soul merges all updates until the date of their official release. But Simplex has nothing to do with it.
“Of course, nothing to do with it!”
- Listen, my friend, do you even understand what kind of grandmothers are going from all? No one in their right mind would refuse such a dough.
- Refuses. This hype in the media raises Simplex himself. The hysteria comes from their social networks and accounts. Want to throw off a couple of examples?
Rig hung for a while, studying the information. Now the reptiloid looked puzzled.
“But why would they do that?” To jeopardize your own business.
- You know, I thought about all this for a long time. And over why drugs die from Silentium with enviable regularity. Remember, you said that it doesn’t look like random bugs, it’s more like some kind of script that runs on the chip of selected users and specifically arranges accidents. Moreover, he chooses such methods so that his brains and chip should be scraped off within a radius of a couple of tens of meters: buses, trains, skyscrapers.
- Then I attacked a lot ...
- I understand, I blundered too much. For us, of course, the income from shops is space, but for Simplex, it’s a penny. He would have taken such a chance for this.
- So I didn’t say that Simplex started it. Just a manager or some developer decided to play a trick.
“And the security service still hasn't found him?”
- He brought it to someone.
- And he managed to push all the software and hardware for himself? What an influential manager was caught. And the hysteria itself is pumping around Silentium. The theory does not converge. It’s just that their goal is not at all the share of drug shops, but something fatter.
Rig built an incredulous mine, dipped his claw in cocaine and thoughtfully licked it.
- What is the goal?
- Push the Simplex X on the closed axis. AIK would never approve a closed axis. Therefore, they muddied the story of drugs: they themselves developed, they themselves entered the market. Prove to everyone that full user control over the chip must be urgently limited. As long as there are a bunch of schoolchildren launching dangerous applications with full rights, they can always have an accident. And immediately drive a wave of indignation: “How long! AIK with its rules prevents stopping the killing of children! ”We create a problem ourselves, we offer a solution: make a chip on a closed axis, in which it is impossible to run unapproved software. And then still offer to store all the information in the Simplex cloud. Then millions and millions of users will pay for each sneeze. And the grandmothers there are such that our homegrown drug cartel will die of envy.
- It’s painfully sophisticated ...
“Yes, no,” the classic. The secret services of the old states lived on just that. First, the terrorists were trained and armed, and then released to frolic. To the extremes, if they did not do well, they themselves could bang a couple of houses or skyscrapers. And then the whole gesheft: billions are spent on the fight against terrorism, the powers of the special services are expanding, the rights of citizens are being cut ... The reptiloid
looked really grim.
- From your story carries big politics and big troubles.
- We, in any case, are consumables. It doesn't matter who wins in the end. I honestly already packed my bags.
- But what about the business?
- And what about business? Enough for the rest of my life, especially if you invest in something legal.
- That's how they will take you for an ass on something legal.
Bluff, bluff like that, Semyon thought.
- Sorry, Rig, but me already .... AIK got in touch. They have been working against Simplex for a long time, and Simplex knows too much about our business.
- Oh you, loshara!
- Just do not disconnect, Rig. Late to twitch, they will find you, if I help them.
- Bastard!I thought we were friends!
- Nothing personal, sorry. AIK offers a deal. If we agree, then they will give us a blame and will not especially look, and you can even take grandmother with you.
- What deal?
“They need information on how Simplex kills drug addicts.” You know much more than that about me.
- Okay, but keep in mind, buddy, we’ll talk with you ... ... An encrypted virus has been sewn into the Simplex license manager. It is completely harmless on the chips of ordinary users. But in the software of Silentium there is a counter that generates random keys to this virus. The algorithm is configured so that the correct key is generated once for several million starts. When this happens, the virus opens up remote access to the addict's chip. And then the neural networks or some specially trained people decide: the client is ripe for an accident or wait for the next response.
Having received the necessary information, Semyon did not hesitate for a second. He threw the data received from Riga into a reliable storage and clicked on the bot’s console a big red button: “End the investigation”. The launched script permanently deleted the bot and the store account.
“Sema, are you here?”
- I'm Saveliy actually.
Head turns were accompanied by a quiet buzzing of motors. An engraving appeared on the palm: Houston Dynamics. The bright rays of the morning sun poured through the windows of the elegant Simplex office. There were few employees, so far they mainly chased teas or cut into darts. “Android remote presence. Cool model, by the way, Semen thought. “And the Simplex office is cool: board games, cleaning drones, a pool, restaurants, even a room with furry cats.” I don’t want to quit right away. ”
- Sema, it's me Victor.
Victor Krotov, unshaven, with eyes red from lack of sleep, came close to the android.
- We work for AIK. Are you here, or is it your bot again?
- What?You break the protocol, we should not contact outside the system!
- Thank God, it seems you. Now is not up to the protocols: we searched you, the entire AIC is on our ears. They even accelerated the operation, took several drug shops. They thought Simplex revealed you.
“Have you found my torso?”
“We don't know where the hell you are!” And everywhere there are solid bots, I'm already sick of your bots. Why didn’t you use the emergency call?
- My chip is broken, it randomly throws consciousness between the bots. I can not control the process, and all the restrictions imposed on bots apply to me. I tried to explain to you there, on the quest.
- How did this happen?
- I have no idea.
- Okay, let's go crack in the smoking room. There are solid cameras.
- Yeah.
They went down to the smoking room, along the fire escape leading to a small inner public garden, where lovers of vapes and hookahs gathered.
- Android freaky! How much did you take? The stranger asked, releasing clouds of steam.
- One hundred and ninety.
- Normal! It is necessary to buy the identity, and sometimes it’s like to drag somewhere into scrap.
Victor dismissed the guy.
“Sema, AIK needs evidence right now,” he whispered. - The court will not sign a warrant against Simplex until there is significant evidence. We need access to your archives and logs.
- My main person has access. This bot does not even know about any agents. I guessed it myself. Find my torso and restart the chip.
“Where to look for him, Sema?”
- Well, there is one hunch.
- So speak faster. Every minute really counts.
- Let's not here.
- Alright, let's go. Just tell me where to look? I will send people immediately.
- First, we will meet with one person.
- Meet me? With whom?
The glass doors of the aisle opened amiably open in front of Semyon. They were a stream of people hurrying to work. Many were in a hurry because they loved their work, because they worked at the forefront of science and technology, and the company did not skimp on bonuses.
“The inspector who helped my bot.” We agreed that she would observe the Simplex office: after all, sooner or later I would be thrown here. Kunitsyna is her surname. By the way, she did not go to the curators?
Behind the next glass doors, there was a busy central street full of cars and drones. The peppy song of a street musician came. Semyon tried to speed up a little.
- Kunitsyna ...? - Victor noticeably paused, behind the android. “It didn't seem to come out.” Wait ... Yes, wait!
Android stood at the turnstiles, as if rooted to the spot. Victor heard hissing angrily from behind.
- What the hell is Kunitsyna!
Android stepped in the opposite direction. Semyon could only turn his head a hundred and eighty degrees to cast a glance at the receding street. He helplessly followed Victor past enthusiastic employees, past restrooms and meeting rooms, the whole life of the company passed before his eyes. They reached the meeting room with soundproof walls. Android crashed into a chair and returned speechless.
- Vitya, what's going on?
- Okay, don't play the fool. Say you didn’t understand anything?
“You bastard, Victor!” A miserable, insignificant traitor.
- To betray is to predict in time.
- Did you break my bot management system? The cheat plugin was infected, right? In vain I talked with a slippery type like you outside the system.
- In vain, of course. The rules are written in blood! The virus had to create a hidden bot with full rights to clean up the results of your dirty investigation. But, at first glance, nothing happened at all.
- Fucking Simplex hackers.
- We conducted an educational conversation with hackers. In short, you will have to use Plan B: we find your torso, thoroughly, without haste, break through the chip and delete everything that you dig. So where to look for you?
- It is worth starting with Moscow.
“We will find you sooner or later.” And the accuracy of our work will directly depend on your behavior. The Android is completely under control, the connection to the bot is stable and securely encrypted, your chip itself will not be repaired. You can sit here until your carcass is bent from hunger.
- AIK will find me sooner. Inspector Kunitsyna believed my bot. And she had enough clues left.
- You did invent this Kunitsyn? Did you want to check me out?
“No, soon you will be convinced of this.”
- Do you take a show off? Want to put your life on Kunitsyna? Think it over.
“What did you promise?” A place on the board of directors?
- Enviously?
- Just wondering.
- If, indeed, it is interesting, I can invite a person to chat. Discuss options, so to speak.
- I look forward to it.
A skinny guy in a T-shirt with another IT joke entered the room.
“Egor,” he introduced himself coldly.
- And I know, I saw in the news. You seem to be some kind of representative, but I would like to chat with an important bump.
“I own three percent of the company's shares.” Enough?
- This is a lot. Only now, when the AIK sends the case to court, these shares will cost zero point ten.
- Stuffing your price? However, I am ready to consider reasonable proposals.
- The offer is more than reasonable. The three of us go outside, call the AIK, you put the pens behind your head and wait for the guys from the special department. The main thing is not to twitch.
Egor didn’t lead an eyebrow.
“Not funny,” he answered just as coldly.
“Isn't it funny to hang noodles on my ears?” I saw how Sumarokov banged. And he was one of yours. I will not lead you to my own body, I am not a complete idiot.
- Sumarokov is to blame. If he did not start shooting, he would be in perfect order. We were going to quietly bring him out, not kill him.
- Then to dig without witnesses.
- Yes, it makes no sense to dig up anyone. It’s always cheaper to pay than to get into trouble with murders and investigations. Any information has an expiration date. In about five years, your investigation will be deep down to the lantern. So do not worry: if you cooperate, there is not the slightest sense in killing. Just give the address, and you, and your children, and the children of your children will never need anything.
“I want ten percent of the stock.”
Egor smiled even colder. It seemed that the temperature in the room fell a couple of degrees.
- Think about what you will receive as a reward from AIK. You followed us, we followed you. You used illegal bots for personal purposes? If there is a judgment, we will mix you with shit. We will take out all the dirty laundry that we managed to dig and add on top. If the AIC begins to cover you, all the better, our army of lawyers will ruin the case. And if the AIK shows integrity, you will be kicked out of the system and banned from using the Internet for the rest of your life. I promise. Who are you without your bots and scripts? I am far from certain that behind all this there is some real Semen of the Mists ...
- There is no Semen, I am the collective mind of AIK.
“You lost anyway.” Your chip management system is completely destroyed. No Seeds exist anymore; it has split into hundreds of fragments. Want to reassemble it? Simplex has huge resources and experience. You can collect anyone. To collect an honest, but very poor Semen, ravaged by endless lawsuits, who lives the rest of his days in a hole? Or a rich, successful Semen, the one who fucked women from Tyndall for money from a drug shop? Or just destroy all the pieces we found?
- Man, not just the sum of memories and habits. Man is his actions.
- Seriously?
Yegor threw back his head and laughed. From his laughter, water in the rivers could freeze.
- Simplex will give you everything. AIK is nothing at best.
- My final proposal: contact the AIK for cooperation with the investigation. You will be counted. What?Will you pull your nails out to the android?
“Well, since you insist so.”
Egor got up from his chair. He turned back at the door.
“Until we found your wife and children, only an old lady.” She brought a bag with a small stupid drone to the mall, which did nothing to help Sumarokov. Nadezhda Tumanova, lives in Eco-City. Invite her here for you to chat?
Now, Yegor’s voice was really cold, at absolute zero.
- What, Sema, did you think the smartest? - Victor could not resist. - Come on, push your favorite cart about balance. You do not care about money, do not care about power, do not care about friends and relatives - you just keep the balance.
“Shut up, Victor,” interrupted Yegor.
Houston dynamic made excellent androids; they even imitated fine motor skills, like the work of facial muscles, perfectly. However, these android functions were blocked.
“My father’s old apartment in the Queen.” According to the documents, it has long belonged to the left man.
“Victor, so that in five minutes the car will be standing.” Do not forget the Android.
“Will you go too?”
“Yes, I want to make sure ... I want to look into his eyes.”
The house in Korolev was very old: a nine-story panel building that remembered the times of Brezhnev. When the Union collapsed, she stood. When the world was plunged into the swamp of electronic dictatorship by special services and corporations, it was overhauled. When the AIK appeared, the last tenants with minimal income left it. It was surrounded by rickety poplars and broken asphalt.
The door to the apartment was steel, unpainted, with mechanical locks. Any householder would disdain to climb into the apartment behind such a door, and a hacker to break the chip of its owner. Egor and a small support group, of course, did not disdain. Even the air in the apartment was old, maybe from carpets hanging on the walls, trash mountains on the balcony and cupboards without legs, under which books and magazines were placed. It was quiet. The sound of dripping water came from the bathtub, and the rumble of fans from powerful system units was still heard. They ran wires to a huge massage chair, equipped with droppers, servos and other equipment for traveling through virtual reality. Egor came up and turned him around. Only wires with connectors connected to the void dangled on the chair.
“We will find you anyway, and you will regret it.”
“They already found me, last night.” Inspector Sinichkina. Sinichkina generally well done, although she failed the exam a couple of times. And then, I decided to test one theory about Victor. With you, Egor, did not even hope to make acquaintance.
The cold smile on Yegor's face never wavered. He lay calmly on the floor and put his hands behind his head. But Victor, to the great satisfaction of Semyon, decided to fight. For which he received a couple of kicks in the ribs and dislocations in the broken limbs. When they dragged him out of the apartment, he wheezed in haste:
“You do not exist!” You are just a fucking bot! Hear you don't exist!
“Why, I exist,” Semyon thought, moving his mechanical legs down the jagged stairs. - Yes, I have a bot for communicating with my mother, a bot for family, a bot for investigations, a bot for a lover, for finding a mistress, and a bunch of different bots that make a bunch of different useful things. And the real Semyon Mists should keep balance. Without it, the digital world will collapse into the abyss. ”
Digital balance
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