(Real life is conspiring against me. Time to put this story to bed, in a somewhat more abbreviated form that I would have preferred.)
"There's dust on the steps."
"There's nobody here to keep things clean, Inspector. Why wouldn't there be dust on the steps?"
"There's nothing here to create dust. Somebody had to have put it here."
Yayoi took a close look at the steps. "Oh, dear. There's some sort of radioactive powder mixed into the dust. I suspect we'd get it on our shoes if we just walked down the steps."
Natsuko blinked. "How can you tell that just by looking?"
"The Visitors gave us some upgrades."
"Is it enough radioactivity to be dangerous?"
"I don't think so. It looks to me like a tracer, not a trap."
"We'll have to keep a lookout for detectors, then. How do we beat this?"
"Don't get it on our shoes."
Natsuko pulled a few evidence bags out of her jacket pocket. "I think these are big enough to fit over our feet."
Yayoi nodded. "We'll just have to be careful going down the steps."
"What are all these ... things?"
"I have no idea."
"How are they supposed to be useful?"
"I'm not a scientist. I couldn't say."
"Is that one what I think it is?"
"It looks like an interocitor to me. Noah has one."
"I know I'm going to regret asking, but - why?"
"He uses it to make hot chocolate."
"You're all too frivolous."
Yayoi smiled. "You knew the reference, Inspector." Both women stopped. "That looks like a Catgirling Machine."
"It is a Catgirling Machine," came a voice from behind them.
The room's doors clicked shut.
The two women turned to see a young girl - apparently a cute pre-teen blonde - casually pointing a hand-held mini-gun at them. "Hello, sisters," she said with a smile that had no happiness behind it. "Remove your pistols, Natsuko. Now."
"You must be Agatha," Yayoi said while Natsuko emptied her holsters. "I like the body you're wearing; it looks good on you."
Their captor raised an eyebrow. "And you would be Fujisawa. You don't seem surprised to see me in a different body than the one everyone knows."
"Should I be? Sora's changed bodies."
"Never mention that name in my presence again! This is your only warning."
Yayoi nodded, and carefully did not smile.
After a few minutes, Inspector Aki stopped adding sidearms to the pile beside her. The blonde looked at the size of the pile, thought for a moment, and said, "Don't bother putting your jacket back on. Hands on your heads, and step away from the weapons - both of you." They complied, and she put down the mini-gun. "That's ridiculously heavy. Fujisawa, you said at the entrance that you received some upgrades from the Girls. I'll have those secrets before you leave."
"They're all in the Whole Fenspace Catalog."
"You can see radioactivity. That isn't one of the upgrades detailed in the WFC."
Yayoi sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that was redacted before we published. I don't know how it works, it just does."
Natsuko finally broke her self-imposed silence. "Why?"
"Skuld didn't tell me -"
"Not you, Fujisawa! Clay! Why?"
"Why set this trap for you?" Seeing Natsuko's curt nod, the little girl continued, "Because you were beginning to become an annoyance. Because it would upset Scott. But mostly because I could. Getting two of you was an unexpected bonus. Now, since you don't know how that upgrade works, I'll just analyze your slowly-cooling chassis and take your secrets from you that way. Time to die."
"Kill me first, please."
As their captor turned to Yayoi in amazement, Natsuko put her hand through her hat, grabbed what was hidden beneath it, and pulled the trigger five times.
The pre-teen body dropped like a rock.
Without taking her eyes off the body, Natsuko asked Yayoi, "How did you know enough to create a diversion?"
"You never said that you were completely disarmed. Do you think this was really her?"
"Hmm. She never said she was Agatha."
"And both Yuu and Quattro are proof that she can build AIs on her own." Yayoi frowned. "We'd better take this body with us, and get the Hacker Underspace to analyze it."
"No. It might be booby-trapped. Call a specialist in here - one who can survive a point-blank explosion."
A day later, A.C. Peters came back with her report. "There weren't enough memories written into the computer core for that to have been Agatha Clay. I did find a transmitter, but it self-destructed before I could get the frequency it used."
Natsuko sighed. "That's the closest I've been able to get to her in months, and it wasn't her."
"I am sorry. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to Prometheus Forge."
"So," Yayoi said as they watched the Scarlet Angel leave.
"So."
"Want to get a coffee?"
"I wouldn't mind getting more sate kambing, actually."
Yayoi's smile was as open and honest as the false Agatha's wasn't. "I know just the place."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
"There's dust on the steps."
"There's nobody here to keep things clean, Inspector. Why wouldn't there be dust on the steps?"
"There's nothing here to create dust. Somebody had to have put it here."
Yayoi took a close look at the steps. "Oh, dear. There's some sort of radioactive powder mixed into the dust. I suspect we'd get it on our shoes if we just walked down the steps."
Natsuko blinked. "How can you tell that just by looking?"
"The Visitors gave us some upgrades."
"Is it enough radioactivity to be dangerous?"
"I don't think so. It looks to me like a tracer, not a trap."
"We'll have to keep a lookout for detectors, then. How do we beat this?"
"Don't get it on our shoes."
Natsuko pulled a few evidence bags out of her jacket pocket. "I think these are big enough to fit over our feet."
Yayoi nodded. "We'll just have to be careful going down the steps."
"What are all these ... things?"
"I have no idea."
"How are they supposed to be useful?"
"I'm not a scientist. I couldn't say."
"Is that one what I think it is?"
"It looks like an interocitor to me. Noah has one."
"I know I'm going to regret asking, but - why?"
"He uses it to make hot chocolate."
"You're all too frivolous."
Yayoi smiled. "You knew the reference, Inspector." Both women stopped. "That looks like a Catgirling Machine."
"It is a Catgirling Machine," came a voice from behind them.
The room's doors clicked shut.
The two women turned to see a young girl - apparently a cute pre-teen blonde - casually pointing a hand-held mini-gun at them. "Hello, sisters," she said with a smile that had no happiness behind it. "Remove your pistols, Natsuko. Now."
"You must be Agatha," Yayoi said while Natsuko emptied her holsters. "I like the body you're wearing; it looks good on you."
Their captor raised an eyebrow. "And you would be Fujisawa. You don't seem surprised to see me in a different body than the one everyone knows."
"Should I be? Sora's changed bodies."
"Never mention that name in my presence again! This is your only warning."
Yayoi nodded, and carefully did not smile.
After a few minutes, Inspector Aki stopped adding sidearms to the pile beside her. The blonde looked at the size of the pile, thought for a moment, and said, "Don't bother putting your jacket back on. Hands on your heads, and step away from the weapons - both of you." They complied, and she put down the mini-gun. "That's ridiculously heavy. Fujisawa, you said at the entrance that you received some upgrades from the Girls. I'll have those secrets before you leave."
"They're all in the Whole Fenspace Catalog."
"You can see radioactivity. That isn't one of the upgrades detailed in the WFC."
Yayoi sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that was redacted before we published. I don't know how it works, it just does."
Natsuko finally broke her self-imposed silence. "Why?"
"Skuld didn't tell me -"
"Not you, Fujisawa! Clay! Why?"
"Why set this trap for you?" Seeing Natsuko's curt nod, the little girl continued, "Because you were beginning to become an annoyance. Because it would upset Scott. But mostly because I could. Getting two of you was an unexpected bonus. Now, since you don't know how that upgrade works, I'll just analyze your slowly-cooling chassis and take your secrets from you that way. Time to die."
"Kill me first, please."
As their captor turned to Yayoi in amazement, Natsuko put her hand through her hat, grabbed what was hidden beneath it, and pulled the trigger five times.
The pre-teen body dropped like a rock.
Without taking her eyes off the body, Natsuko asked Yayoi, "How did you know enough to create a diversion?"
"You never said that you were completely disarmed. Do you think this was really her?"
"Hmm. She never said she was Agatha."
"And both Yuu and Quattro are proof that she can build AIs on her own." Yayoi frowned. "We'd better take this body with us, and get the Hacker Underspace to analyze it."
"No. It might be booby-trapped. Call a specialist in here - one who can survive a point-blank explosion."
A day later, A.C. Peters came back with her report. "There weren't enough memories written into the computer core for that to have been Agatha Clay. I did find a transmitter, but it self-destructed before I could get the frequency it used."
Natsuko sighed. "That's the closest I've been able to get to her in months, and it wasn't her."
"I am sorry. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to Prometheus Forge."
"So," Yayoi said as they watched the Scarlet Angel leave.
"So."
"Want to get a coffee?"
"I wouldn't mind getting more sate kambing, actually."
Yayoi's smile was as open and honest as the false Agatha's wasn't. "I know just the place."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012