Back at the base, a day passes while the company rests and recovers from the mission. While it wasn't a terribly difficult one, it was long and somewhat tiring. The next morning, you are fed breakfast and a meeting is called a short while after...
Silas sits in the meeting room at the head of the
table. Next to him are a couple of his lieutennants, and around the table
are gathered a number of people that you haven't met before.
Bruno grunts and fills his coffee mug with whatever is at hand. His
monocle is in the wrong eye. If he had hair it would be all mussed
up.
Silas looks up as you come in, you're followed in by a couple more
people you don't know. Silas motions you both to join him near the
head of the table, saying, "Please, sit. The others are almost all
here."
Mindwave looks around the room at all the new faces, then takes her
seat next to Bruno.
The last of the other people file into the room and sit at the table.
Silas stands up and begins, "Thank you all for joining us on such short
notice." Speaking to the others, he introduces you, saying, "This
is Mindwave and Dr. Von Otto. They've come to help us in our mission
to destroy the computer." He then turns to you, saying, "These are
the leaders of the other resistance groups."
Mindwave nods.
Silas addresses the entire room, saying, "We've found some interesting
information recently. It's possible that we may have some help on
the inside of the computer system. Mindwave and Dr. Von Otto were
able to successfully hack into the computer's world and were able to interact
with its inhabitants..." He's interrupted by a large, burly man,
who says, "That's impossible... we've tried countless times to break
in. How did they get past the security systems?"
Mindwave smiles and turns to Bruno, "Care to explain that one, Doctor?"
Silas simply smiles and turns the floor over to Bruno.
Bruno nods, "Certainly... Mindwave was able to use her telepathic
powers to get us PAST security and jump directly INTO the system, via the
slaves who were tied into the system at the base. It was a bit of
a gamble, but it paid off in spaids, I daresay."
Mindwave grins and whispers to Bruno, "Doctor, these people don't know
what spades are..."
Despite a few confused looks, the group seems to take in the information.
The burly man says, "So you're saying that you can get in and out of the
system whenever you want?"
Bruno grins to Mindwave and blushes, running a hand over his bald pate,
"Sorry... haven't had my coffee yet." He nods to the man, "I
think Mindwave can answer that better than I..."
Mindwave says, "It is risky, but we can. As long as we can get
to a node where we can jump in."
Another one of the people at the table speaks up, asking, "So do you
think you can beat the computer from the inside?"
Mindwave says, "If we can contact other dissidents inside the system,
I would say, yes. Plus, there is more help available..."
The burly man asks, "What sort of help?"
Bruno ehs, "We can INFILTRATE the computer from the inside, we are
hardly strong enough to defeat it if it KNOWS we are there..."
Mindwave looks to Silas to see if it is all right to inform the others
of just who and what she is...
Silas nods to Mindwave, saying, "I believe the time for secrets has
come to an end for all of us. If we are going to beat the computer,
then we're going to have to trust each other completely, and now is the
time for that trust."
Mindwave says, "I am Mindwave, a representative of The Empire, an intergalactic
government ruled by The Empress. I am a Warlord, in command of a
battle fleet that is just outside of your solar system. I am not
of your world. My home is a planet called Earth. There, I am
known as a "superhero," a human being endowed with extra-special abilities.
My companions are members of my crew."
Mindwave says, "We came across a ship in deep space that came from
this world many years ago, part of the Voyager Project. After making
sure the people on the ship made it to their destination, we sent a robotic
probe to this system, but it was destroyed. Then we came to investigate
first hand."
Mindwave says, "It was a shock to discover what we did."
Mindwave says, "But there is more, much more..."
The people around the room speak quietly amongst themselves, but quiet
again as Mindwave continues...
Mindwave says, "There are other spacefaring races, among them the Morgoths.
Brutal cyborg beings bent on conquest. They take over worlds, converting
all to cyborgs. They are ruthless. If they should arrive, and
either take over Omega-1, or join forces with it, it would spell dooms
for many worlds. Billions, if not trillions, of lives would be lost."
The burly man says, "And these Morgoths are coming here?"
Mindwave says, "Their area of control is near here. It is just
a matter of time."
The burly man says, "Well I hope your fleet can handle them, because
we're certainly in no position to fight a battle fleet. Our only
other hope would be that the computer doesn't decide to be friendly with
them."
Mindwave says, "I offer you our help. If, no, when we defeat
Omega-1, I will speak personally to the Empress to see that this world
is made part of the Empire. You will be free to run your world, and
be protected from attack."
Another one of the leaders speaks up, asking, "Do you know how long
we have before these Morgoths arrive?" Suddenly Omega-1 seems to
be the least of the concerns floating about the room..
Mindwave says, "We have no indication that the Morgoths are headed
here specifically. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Our objective now is to defeat Omega-1."
Silas speaks up and says, "Mindwave is correct. Let's not worry
about fighting that which we cannot fight, and concentrate on what we can.
We need to come up with some sort of plan."
The burly man says, "What do you propose? We're not strong enough
to fight the computer directly."
Mindwave says, "My fleet can launch an attack that can occupy the computer's
attention. We need to infiltrate the computer and start attacking
from the inside. Or stopping key functions. If we can get the
assistance of the dissenters inside, we could "gum up the works"..."
The man says, "An interesting plan. How can we help?"
Mindwave says, "What we need to decide is how best to overcome the
computer... I have an idea, but I am open to suggestions."
The man says, "Let's hear your idea first. Perhaps someone else
will have suggestions on improvements"
Mindwave says, "I will go inside, try to contact Gunther or another
dissenter. Look for vital nodes on the inside, while you attack the
vital nodes on the outside. That combined with a full fleet engagement
might be too much for Omega-1 to handle."
One of the others says, "Yes, if we can overload its processing capabilities,
it might be possible to infiltrate the central data core and shut down
the machine. Perhaps we could attempt to cut off links to nodes and
further limit its computing resources. If it's forced to rely strictly
on logic, it will become a much more predictable opponent."
The burly man says, "We must be careful not to destroy our people in
those nodes when we cut them off though. Do you have a plan to prevent
damage to the people when they're cut off from the main computer?"
Mindwave turns to Bruno, "I think we can come up with a program to
keep the people alive after being cut off from the computer. We have
some experience in this..."
Bruno ehs, "That is a VERY tall order, Warlord. We first need
to find out what all the little subroutines that keep them alive ARE...
then copy them... and improve on them, figure a way to insert the
program without touching off Omega-1's security, etc.. It will take
time."
The burly man says, "We have a number of computer experts here, Doctor.
We will offer whatever resources and experience we can."
Bruno tries to give a humble gesture of thanks, according to what he's
learned of local custom. "We are at your disposal then, good sirs.
We shall strive our best to assist you in your cause."
The burly man nods and looks back to Mindwave and Silas...
Mindwave says, "I am very concerned about not harming those hooked
up to Omega-1."
Silas asks, "Any other suggestions?"
Mindwave thinks out loud, "Perhaps the dissenters know something that
can help, but contacting them will be difficult. Gunther warned me
about not going back to where we were, and I believe him."
One of the members speaks up, "So are you planning to destroy the computer
from within, or should we be ready to blow up the complex as well?"
Mindwave says, "We should try both, for if one does not succeed, the
other must. I think we can blow it up from the outside if we can confuse
it"
The burly man nods, saying, "I agree. I think it will be safe
to assume that with everything else going on, internal security will be
pretty low in the computer's list of priorities, at least until it realizes
something else is going on... then we can probably expect it to raise
internal security pretty high on the priorities list.'
Mindwave says, "Agreed... now, we need to find specific nodes
to attack."
Silas nods and says, "And we're going to have to disconnect them all
at the same time, then get out as fast as possible."
Mindwave says, "Silas, do you have any maps we can consult?"
Silas shakes his head, saying, "We have maps of the various facilities,
but we don't know which nodes do what..."
Bruno nods and holds up the widget. "I've got all KINDS of maps..."
Mindwave says, "Then we need to find out. Perhaps I can do some
more reconnaissance"
Mindwave says, "Doctor, do you have information on the nodes?"
Bruno nods, "A bit... I'm not sure how much, really, didn't have
much time to see what we downloaded."
The burly man says, "Well, maybe we should have a look."
Mindwave says, "Let's take a look."
Bruno nods, and looks around for someplace to hook the widget into,
so he can show everyoen what he's got.
Silas motions Bruno to a computer terminal at his seat, standing up
to make room for him.
Bruno nods in thanks and takes the seat, hooking up his gimmicka nd
punching up a few preliminary commands.
Mindwave looks on...
Various maps are displayed up on the wall at the head of the room.
A good amount of time is spent looking over the maps... At first
none of the physical maps seem to match the computer maps, but soon things
start falling into place. You are able to use your physical location
compared to your entrypoint into the virtual world, combined with some
stolen schematics and the maps of the physical layouts of the nodes, and
soon you seem to have it mostly figured out. There are a few questions
still unanswered but for the most part things seem to fall into place well.
Mindwave says, "Excellent, I think we know where to strike."
The burly man points out several places on the physical maps and nods,
saying, "Yes, I think if we hit here, here, here, here, and here all at
the same time, that should be enough."
He says, "With Mindwave and presumably Dr. Von Otto working on the
inside, and a battle in space, I think that will be more than enough to
overload the computer's processing abilities."
Mindwave turns to Silas, "How long will it take to get your people
ready and in position?"
The burly man says, "We can be ready in a couple of days. I have to
let my people know what's going on, of course." The consensus around the
table seems to be about two or three days from now.
Mindwave says, "Good, that will give us time to work on the computer
program, and I might just have to make another trip inside..."
Silas nods and says, "Very well. I think we can call it a plan
if there are no objections..." He looks around the room and nobody
speaks up. He then says, "Ok. In three days we'll gather around
the outskirts of the central complex." Each group is assigned a target.
The group disperses, and each of the leaders departs to inform his or her
people of the plan.
Mindwave turns to Silas, "I will need to contact my fleet."
Silas nods and says, "Of course. We have a communications window
opening up shortly."
Mindwave says, "Good"
Silas asks, "So you think you're going to need to get back into the
system before this? I suppose it wouldn't hurt, huh?"
Mindwave says, "I would like to do some more exploring..."
Silas nods and says, "We'll get you back in there tomorrow or the next
day. I don't know how much time we're going to have though, and it's
imperative we don't get caught this time. If we're seen sneaking
around there again, it might make the computer step up security even more,
which will make the strike much more difficult."
Mindwave says, "Agreed."
Silas nods and says, "I still have a lot to work out for this, and
I'm sure you are anxious to contact your fleet. You may use the transmitter,
but be brief." He turns to Bruno, saying, "Dr. Von Otto, you have
full use of our computer resources to build up whatever arsenal of computer
routines you need."
TO BE CONTINUED...