Tron 2.40 – Packet Prioritisation.

Jade set about rezzing in her recognizer as Jet and Mercury provided cover fire while Section covered Crypto, who wasn’t recovering too quickly.

While they had been on the lightcycles, the Watchdogs hadn’t posed much of a problem, most of them having been in the cavity.

However once activated, they had spread and Jet wondered how significantly they were slowing down the escape of programs enroute to Sector one.

Despite their small numbers, three had already interceded as Jade tried to complete rezzing in their final escape vehicle. What they really needed was a perimeter, but without enough programs to cover that, the next best thing they could do was establish a last line defense while they prepared their retreat.

“Jet, over there, next to that data archival,” said Mercury as she fired her disk.

Jet moved sideways hoping to get a shot in across the side before the program could react.

“I wish these things had just given up when their respawn ceased,” Mercury called as she fired off another shot.

“Their code would be pretty basic, Merc. I don’t think these characters have a lot of scope to change their objective. Kinda like zombie processes. It’s up to us to stop them eating out digital brains.” Jet called back and loosed a barrage of sequenced disks to bounce off a cube behind where the Watchdog was hiding, pleased with the telltale signs of a deresolution.

“Think I got him, Merc,” called Jet, as Mercury rushed in to finish anything else hiding there.

“They seem easy to take down, but they are relentless,” said Mercury.

“Yeah, just like real zombies.” Jet said,

“You have zombie processes in your world also?” Mercury asked as she satisfied herself that this threat had been eliminated.

“Uh, well, no,” said Jet. “They’re not real in our world either.”

“But you said real zombie,” Mercury started.

‘Yes, well, like real, virtual zombies” Jet corrected.

“Virtual and real are the same are they not?” Mercury challenged as she walked back closer to the almost complete recognizer.

“In this world, yes, but in the user world, we refer to virtual as what goes on in this world.” Jet tried to explain, then “Look, Watchdog,” he called out as another watchdog appeared, glad for the distraction.

“Systems check complete, all modules assembled,” called out Jade from within the cockpit she piloted.

“Section, get Crypto in there while we cover you,” called Jet, loosing several discs and walking backwards towards the recognizer.

Section dragged Crypto through the open screen then Mercury jumped in. Jet fired the last of his sequenced discs, placed the original back on his elbow, then jumped through – the forcewall rezzing in just as a disc bounced off. The recognizer slowly lifted and moved up above the beam as the legs rezzed in and engaged the drive.

Moments later, they were accelerating out of Sector two at increasing speed towards Sector one once more.

Mercury knelt down beside Crypto who was labouring in his breath and started examining his damage.

“How you going, Crypto?” Jet asked, but the question was directed at Mercury. Crypto smiled, but Mercury spoke.

“He has some code corruption throughout his trunk. Some netmask damage also. We need to rebuild his codebase.” Mercury said.

“The Kernel can regenerate some of that when we get to Sector one. Once I’m out of flight mode, I’ll complete the rest when we have time.” Jade added from the flight position.

“Will he be OK?” Section asked. The two had become friends long ago in Sector two, but the bond had strengthened since they had been the only survivors of the original deployment to Sector two. Now they had finally achieved social status within the digital world, Section didn’t want to see his oldest friend fall in their return to Sector two.

Even if Section was ICP and Crypto was conscript.

“He’ll checksum just fine after some rest,” Mercury said.

Jade rezzed in a horizontal panel and Jet and Section lifted Crypto and put him down on it.

“Like the ladyprogram says, I’ll be OK.” Crypto half coughed out, making him sound even worse. “Besides, now I’m system, I can’t go derezzing right?”

Jade smiled.

Jet sat down beside the flat panel and let his head bump up against the wall. Mercury moved in beside him and he put his arm around her shoulder as she sat down.

“You shouldn’t have come to Sector two, Jet” Mercury said.

“The system thanks you for your assistance,” said Jade, “The Kernel has noted that the evacuation to archival is still proceeding. Evacuation levels of programs now exceed fifty percent.”

Jet smiled. “See, Mercury, I was able to do some good here.”

Mercury looked away at the wall of the inside of the recognizer cockpit.

“You came here for other reasons though.”she said quietly so only Jet heard her.

“I came here for you, Mercury,” Jet said. “You may not realize it, but I need to give you as much time as possible in this world so you’re safe in the next.”

Mercury turned to look at Jet. “I know that, Jet, but you constantly put yourself in danger to protect me. That’s not how it’s supposed to be. Not how it should be between a user and a program and you’re not even my user.

“How could I go on processing if anything happened to you?”

“What about the other programs we helped today?” Jet challenged. “How many more will make archival now?”

“All admirable, but if that’s but if that’s not your main reason for action, then you’re still risking yourself for the wrong reasons.” Mercury challenged.

Jet twisted and felt for her chin with his hand. She didn’t resist him turning her head towards him. When she was around far enough he kissed her gently.

Merury kissed back then turned her head away again, as if not willing to look at Jet.

“Alright, Merc, I can take a hint. What’s wrong?” Jet asked quietly.

He waited for Mercury to respond as she put her thoughts into words.

She didn’t respond.

“Merc?” Jet asked again.

“I don’t think you realize yet where your prioritizations should be,” Mercury said at length.

Jet sat back. He struggled to understand what Mercury was saying to him.

“Are you angry with me?” Jet asked.

Mercury turned to face him.

“A little,” she said. “But I’ve evaluated your responses and I realize that you’re not going to change.”

Jet looked out towards the open viewscreen of the recognizer, then was even more confused as Mercury, instead of pulling away, pushed herself into him more.

He was having trouble understanding her for the first time.

“We’ll be out of here soon enough Mercury. Will that make you happier?”

“When I know you’re safe? Yes.” She said, then closed her eyes.

Jet sat back, feeling the warmth of Mercury pressing into his side. It was a nice break. He had been running hard for a while now and breaks were few and far between. He felt guilty about his earlier time he had stolen from the system to be with her, but now there was nothing more he could do until he arrived at Sector one, and even then. There might be nothing he could do.

Jet closed his eyes also and felt the darkness slowly take him away.

Sequence two.

Mercury moved beside Jet and woke him up. Jet opened his eyes and looked at the light from outside spilling onto the roof above him, no doubt reflected by some puddle. The sounds of birds could be heard through the open window.

Jet turned to face Mercury, but she wasn’t there.

“Coffee on the balcony,” called a voice. “If you’re awake yet.”

Jet swung his legs over the side of the bed. This was a room he didn’t know. A smell of something baked came to his nostrils and the barest silhouette of someone outside could be seen through an open sliding door.

He held his hand above his eyes to shield him from the light as he walked outside.

It was Mercury, but her hair was longer. Much longer – all the way down to her waist almost and not spiky.

It wasn’t Mercury, then he realized, but Melanie. Doctor Gurimin’s daughter and the other task Jet had to complete while he was inside the computer – if he was inside the computer. But she hadn’t looked like that the last time he saw her.

“Croissant?” she said, pushing a plate towards him. The bread had been crushed in the middle where she had cut it, pressing the middle down as she did. There was a little butter on it.

Jet reached down and picked it up. There was no flavor to it – but then Jet didn’t know what a croissant should taste like.

There was a sound behind him and Alchemist walked in from the apartment, leaned over and kissed Jet on the cheek and sat down next to Melanie, lifting her hand to ruffle the light stubble over her scalp.

Jet struggled to place them both in the same world. His mind was bending with the effort. He looked out from the balcony and saw a lightcycle overtake a few men riding past on bicycles. Looking up, the apartments were made of brick and the Eiffel tower sat in the distance, strangely canted like the Tower of Pisa.

He mind locked onto something real and he realized he was dreaming, but how or where he had entered this dream was a mystery.

He looked back to Melanie, who was bald now and had drawn features as if she hadn’t slept for months.

“What is this place?” Jet asked her.

“France,” said Alison, now replacing Alchemist, the blue armour replaced with jeans and a T-Shirt.

“No I mean, where is it really?” Jet asked. “I know this is a dream.”

“Then you already know the answer,” said Melanie, her hair now longer and taking on a shape not unlike Mercury’s.

“I’m nowhere – this is a dream,” Jet said.

“And just because the rules are different here, does that make it any less real than the world you come from?” – Doctor Gurimin just rezzed in. Popped into existence like someone else Jet knew but couldn’t remember.

“I was somewhere else before I came here,” Jet said.

“Or were you always here and only just realized it?” Mercury said.

She stood up and slipping her arms around Jet, pulled him in close and kissed him fully, deeply on the mouth.

The world had turned digital now around Jet and he was standing on a plain blue balcony with Mercury, alone.

“What’s the connection between you and Melanie?” Jet asked.

“She is my user,” said Mercury.

“No I mean, what is the connection. Really. Why do you look like her. Why do people’s programs resemble them and why,” asked Jet, suddenly realizing, “Did Checkcharge resemble Gurimin while he’s never programmed the system in his life.”

“It’s all Quantum, lover,” said Melanie, burying her face in Jet’s Neck. “If you understand that, then everything else makes sense.”

“So I’d dreaming while I’m in the digital world?” Jet asked.

“Do you gain knowledge while you’re in this world instead of asleep?” Melanie asked, her breath warm on Jet’s neck.

“Yes,” said Jet, realizing that he gained information while he was here.

“Then you already know the answer,” said Melanie, now Mercury once more.

She stepped back from Jet.

“There is not much time left, my love. Remember what is important. Remember who you really are. Remember who I really am.” Said Mercury and she was gone.

Jet looked around, suddenly feeling the agony of loneliness as his persistence of consciousness drifted away into blackness.

Jet woke suddenly as the recognizer shuddered and jolted him. He felt himself slip then put his hand down and felt the deck of the cockpit beneath him.

The pressure of Mercury against his side was gone now as him mind moved back into where he was now. The recognizer felt like it was shifting through an angular trajectory, which should mean they were back at Sector one.

Jet stood and stumbled to the view screen and looked outside. They had arrived as he had suspected and Jade has disengaged from the transfer beam.

Looking back. Jade was looking at Jet with an expression that Jet hadn’t seen before and Mercury was standing on the far side, talking to her.

“Do I have your checksum on that?” Mercury asked quietly.

Jade looked back at Mercury somewhat distracted.

“Only under those circumstances,” said Jade. “Do you have my checksum.”

Mercury nodded.

“We’re back,” he said. Crypto was sitting on his bench now and Section was standing at the viewscreen, at the other side of the small cockpit.

“We returned less than a cycle ago. The Kernel reports the evacuation has slowed.” Jade said to Jet.

“Slowed?” asked Jet.

“The transports are being interrupted – the watchdogs destroyed two of three transports from Sector Seventeen and even after their respawn ceased, they continue to cause issues.”

“Here?” asked Jet.

“The watchdogs appeared to have arrived systemwide. ICPs only encountered them in Sector one after we left, due perhaps to the destruction of much of this sector, but they’ve been slowly filing into the reclaimed sector.” Jade elaborated.

“And the programs?”

“Many did not make it. Most programs are not even equipped for combative interaction with watchdogs. Many ceased function. The Kernel feels it as unexpected timeslice recovery, My user.”

Jet looked out onto the desolution of Sector one. Looking carefully, he saw the odd sign of something green moving down there.

Holding up his wrist, Jet checked the sudo.

The display had scaled now. It registered the details in Hex for the number twelve, except separated by a single point code. Batteries were down to one point two percent.

“Jade, we’re down to one point two percent,” yelled Jet as he realized. “Why didn’t someone wake me?”

“My user, Mercury said that you required rest time – that this was a user requirement. You gave me no instruction to interrupt on access,” protested Jade.

“It was a long tip and Mercury said that you would need rest for any final encounters with the Watchdogs.”

Mercury walked over and pushed jet back with her hand on his chest.

“Jet, you needed the rest. I recall your actions at the pool. Am I incorrect? There was little processing you could have done while being transported.” Mercury said.

Jet thought about it for a moment. Mercury was correct. He had needed another break and there wasn’t anything he could do while they were transporting.

He checked his Sudo again. Do doubt about it – they were about to fail.

“We need to get out of here,” said Jet, looking around the cabin.

“The Kernel is transporting out the last of the refugees now. There are two more transports to leave and then he has arranged a final transport with a beam switchover to migrate you through the out of band channel,” Jade said.

“How bad are things, Jade?” Jet asked.

“Things are good my user. You have extended our capacity to save the programs of this system. Many wish to return after the system reset if that is possible, but without your efforts, only a few would have escaped.” Jade said.

Jet considered the extent of “Good” in that context. Programs would die.

Programs.

Were they really all that different to people?

Like people, all they wanted to do was live and carry out what they did. They too had dreams, aspirations, fears and even families. They were different in a lot of ways, but hadn’t really evolved at all.

They were real enough here that Jet had fallen in love with one.

And now Jet had become the champion of programs, their savior, leading them to another system while the world around them was destroyed by other users, all the time knowing inside that the main reason he was staying was to be with Mercury for as much time as possible in case they were ever separated again.

Mercury walked over to him and pressed into his side, pointing.

“There are watchdog circuits all over this sector. Each of them is attempting to shut down programs. We don’t know how many the BIOS spawned before we shut down the interrupt.”

“What was the conversation you were having with Jade,” Jet wondered out aloud.

Mercury stepped back and looked at Jet almost accusingly.

“That was private… encrypted… Even if you are a user, you should not intercept private conversations.” Mercury said.

Jet looked down at Mercury’s face and saw a mixture of frustration, anger and hurt move across it.

“Sorry, Merc, I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to listen.” Jet said.

“How much did you hear?” Mercury asked.

“Just the last bit,” Jet said. “Honest, I promise. Just the checksum.”

IF Mercury’s concerns had been alleviated by Jet’s pledge, it didn’t show, but she did move closer to Jet again, so he assumed he was forgiven for any remaining offense she had taken.

As the recognizer moved towards the base itself, Jet saw the extent to which the threat of the watchdog routines posed to the system.

Moving into the open, the watchdogs seemed to locate the nearest program and immediately started an attempt to shut it down.

ICPs roamed the inner base, engaging the watchdogs as they presented themselves, but the are the Kernel’s forces still needed to cover w2as too large and the watchdogs were engaging other programs further infield.

Normal programs still trying to evacuated.

At the far side of the field, Jet could see a large transport – larger than any others he had seen, moving out as another of equal size was moving into the facility.

Yet a third was located in a shipyard that appeared to have rezzed in halfway between the Datawraith communications tower and the tanksmasher.

It was incomplete at the moment and large pieces were still being rezzed into place like a model being build before Jet’s eyes.

It was also larger than the other two, as big as they were, although the size didn’t become fully apparent to Jet until they moved far enough away from it’s long axis.

“That’s huge,” said Jet.

“One more evacuation transport is waiting to leave, My user,” said Jade as they approached the communications tower. “They will start to load as soon as the packet transport is ready.”

“Is there enough transport to take them all in those two ships?” Jet asked.

“One ship my user. Too many programs did not make it this far. The remaining programs will be loaded into storage on that transport that is presently preparing to engage on the beam.”

Jet watched as the programs waiting began moving, almost like a shape on the ground that was re-organising itself into a new shape – a shadow from a giant shadow-puppet.

Jade brought the recognizer lower and towards the evacuation point where as they approached, the Kernel could be seen personally overseeing the evacuation and directing the ICP defense against the watchdog routines.

The legs of the ship folded up as it came down on top of the tower, next to the Kernel, no ICPs moving in anticipation of danger, despite how close it landed to them.

The window-like forcewall of the recognizer cockpit flickered once and derezzed and Jade completed her transformation from cockpit control to system program once more.

The Kernel looked briefly at Jet as he approached, nodding once before addressing him.

“Thankyou, Jet, for giving us more time. Every extra cycle means more programs we can save. I shall configure the out of band transport for your own loop transfer as soon as the existing transport is evacuated.

Jet nodded. “Thankyou Kernel.”

He worried as he said it that the Kernel might be too late in evacuating him.

“Do not worry, user. If the battery monitor reaches threshold`theoutlaying systems will fail first and I will know about it. If that happens I will synchronize your loop to the outgoing and remove excess programs to allow you to transit this system.”

Jet wanted to tell the Kernel to save the programs. To tell the Kernel that he, a user, wasn’t as important as all of the programs that could escape.

Instead he held his voice and let the moment pass, knowing he was safe..

He looked over at Mercury, expecting her to be disappointed, but for some reason she was smiling a little. He had missed whatever it was that had made her happy.

Then the Kernel looked over at Jade.

“Jade, I have one more task for you before you may evacuate this system,” he said.

“My Kernel,” said Jade, bowing her gaze, then returning the Kernel’s fierce gaze.

That she was of the Kernel was beyond dispute. Her strength was equal to the great program in every way.

A system transmission broadcast over the net. Jet felt it appear within his mind.

“+++ Receive buffer full, LocalNetwork, Sector one.+++”

Jade looked up with alarm at the Kernel, and then Jet.

“Hmm, this ICPs have all withdrawn.” Said the Kernel.

“Jade?” asked Jet.

“Incoming transport from another sector – Asynchronous mode. No negotiation of parameters, my user.”

Mercury stepped up behind Jet.

“Refugees. Possibly couldn’t obtain a token from the system as sections shut down. Might have been in an outlaying peripheral when we removed power to the sectors.

“The Kernel would have had no indication that they were inbound and has removed the ICP presence from the Terminus.” Mercury said quietly in his ear.

“So we probably caused their problems,” said Jet, quietly to Mercury.

“My user, I’ll be leaving immediately to escort this final transport. Please wait until the network phase shift to user memory and leave.” said Jade.

She turned to leave the terminal when the Kernel grabbed her by the arm and halted her on the spot.

“No Jade,” said the Kernel. “This is something I’ll do. You’ll wait here and see to the evacuation of the existing pipeline.”

Jade’s eyes went wide. “No Kernel. You are critical to maintaining the system integrity during evacuation to archival. You cannot leave.”

The Kernel didn’t let her wrist go, but didn’t act either. He was considering what Jade had just said to him.

“Yes, we contributed, but some programs can’t be saved. The time we gave the system has resulted in more programs getting out that otherwise could have made it. We didn’t cause these programs to miss their synchronous transfer token.” Mercury said quietly to Jet.

Jet looked over through a forcepanel window at the system ship being readied for transit outsystem. It was still under assembly. Behind him, another window and a second glance showed the length of the line of programs waiting to leave on the existing transport.

Jade pulled her wrist from the Kernel’s grasp. Her face set in an expression of resolve.

“My Kernel, I am going to escort those programs if it’s the last cycle I process. Give me system resources.”

“No,” shouted the Kernel. “You are going to evacuate.”

Jet saw through the tone of the conversation. The Kernel was worried for Jade’s safety. Then he realized that the transport for him was the final way out of this world. If Jade didn’t make it back in time when the transport left, she would be stranded in this world.

Left behind in a dying system as the last power reserves failed and circuits began dropping to voltage levels where they would behave unpredictably.

The final cycles here would be hell to the quantum intelligent programs, and at this point in time, Jet realized that the Kernel knew it.

And Jade was his daughter.

“Don’t do it Jet,” warned Mercury. “This isn’t our argument.”

He felt Mercury’s hand on his shoulder, the fingers slipping away as he stepped forward. He didn’t understand how Mercury could be so calculating at this time, concerned only for their own safety – surely she could see the situation as well as he.

“Kernel, give her system resources.” Jet demanded. “I’ll go with her.”

The Kernel spun around. “Your transport will be ready soon, user. I cannot halt the sequence. You should stay until the transfer buffer is ready.”

“Yeah, and there’s a lot of programs waiting out there at the terminus in a cold packet transport waiting for an ICP escort that’s never going to come. Are you going to transport outsystem knowing you left behind your own?”

The Kernel flared angry red as he consumed cycles.

“This is not your battle user. I appreciate what you’ve,” The Kernel started, barely restraining his rage, but Jade stepped up beside Jet, interrupting him.

“He chose to come to us when we needed him. The user’s have not forsaken this system. Do you question the authority of a user?” Jade yelled back.

ICPs working the evacuation all stopped at the comment. Programs leaving halted in their tracks. All heads turned towards the small party.

“Kernel, will the programs at the Terminus be able to transport out with my transport?” Jet asked.

“The terminus buffer is small. The Kernel’s user transport will carry them and us,” said Jade, staring down the Kernel.

“You will not make it in time. The programs cannot be saved,” yelled back the Kernel.

“How long until the transport is complete and buffering?” Jet asked.

“One hundred and forty cycles.” Called back the Kernel.

“I can make it there in thirty,” said Jade.

Mercury looked over at Jade in surprise. “Even Superlightcycles can’t make the transit in that time.”

“Alphacycles can,” said the Kernel.

Jade brightened as the Kernel’s angry red glow subsided. “But it’s a risk.”

Jet was confused by the Kernel’s sudden change in attitude. He looked to Mercury to understand.

“If Jade’s going to make it in time, the Kernel will have to help her. He can’t stop her, not now you’re standing with her. His only chance of making her stay was to keep her here with you until you left.” Mercury said, an edge of disappointment in her voice.

“Alpha cycles are dangerous. The Kernel’s worried that she won’t make it in time, but with an alphacycle she can complete the circuit in a fraction of the time taken with super lightcycles.”

“So why are they dangerous?” Jet asked.

“No calibration loops, my user. Mercury is correct. You need to stay here – unless you have trained on Supercycles, your safety is not certain,” Jade said.

“Neither is yours, Jade,” said the Kernel.

“But I have completed access trials on them during the grid games of cycle D37721C00. Where I challenged the champion.”

“Five programs were derezzed beyond recovery during that challenge, Jade, so I was asked to ban access to the routines after that.” The Kernel said quietly. “The users closed off access from that point, but it was too late. My Brother was deleted when an Alphacycle crashed through a partition and overwrote his core code.”

Something triggered a memory of the outside world then. Jet did the maths. Thirty years by epoch, of cyces. The Thirtieth anniversary of the EN511. Jet and some of the other programmers had been working on a new game.

They had come up with new code routines that were optimized like no other. Years ahead of the game programming techniques of the era, during the first year of Jet’s employment with Encom as a junior programmer.

The routines were fast, rendered with a speed that allow more polygons per refresh than any other routines they had written. Subroutines fine tuned.

They even managed to remove the timeslice limitations from the application so that it could consume as many system resources were available.

But there was a bug in the routine somewhere. A stack overflow.

The code was unstable. If a program pushed the code to it’s limits, it could consume resources faster than the system could supply them and the stack pointer would become desynchronized.

The result was that they crashed node eleven almost beyond recovery. Five important applications were lost that day, setting other sections of the company back years. Finance never quite recovered all of their data.

The CEO had come down hard on the head of game design and although he protested, the game technique was dropped after that.

Jet had been in part responsible. He had been the one optimizing the code.

It was his bug.

The weight of such a simple decision in the outside world affecting the life and death of so many programs then became apparent. Jet was more closely bound to this world than he understood and from this side of the screen, the capriciousness of his former actions echoed like an earthquake inside the digital world.

Were all users like that? Even in the outside world, code was important by nature, but even catastrophic losses were something that you simply accepted as the way it was.

“Will the champion assist me?” Jade asked, looking at Mercury.

Mercury looked back at Jade and nodded slowly. She had been one of the original racers. How long had Melanie been programming in this system he wondered? She had been a guest user.

And Jet’s program could have killed her when it went out of control.

The feelings the realization brought sat in his stomach with a heavy unsettling sensation.

“The two of us then,” said Jade.

Mercury nodded, then turned to Jet.

“Jet, stay here. If the buffer clears before I return, then I’ll try to find another way.”

“Mercury, there’s something you don’t seem to realize,” Jet said, pulling her back towards him as gently as he could. “Wherever you are, I am. We go together, we come back together and besides, I think I may know more about these alphacycles than you do, so if something goes wrong, I might be able to help.”

Mercury narrowed her eyes at Jet. “Your reaction times aren’t sufficient for alphacycles. You’ll slow us down.”

“Are you worried that I’ll cause you to miss the transport out?” Jet challenged.

Mercury’s color flared briefly, giving away her emotion, then she softened. “No, that’s not it.”

“Then I’m coming,” Jet said. “Kernel, can you please rez in three alphacycles?”

“I don’t like this Jade,” said the Kernel, and swept his hand in an arc. Three glowing points appeared on the ground, the same was as they did in the game grid. The Kernel had some slick moves, Jet had to agree. Even at times like this, he still seemed in control.

Jade bowed just her head towards the Kernel for a moment, then ran to the starting point.

She was stopped by Section as she approached the glowing floorspace.

“Ma’am, our transport?” he asked politely.

“Not this time, Section. I know you’re skilled on the grid, but I need you here. Make sure the transport out is ready for our return.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” said Section, clearly annoyed that he wasn’t guarding the person he was sent to protect, but wise enough to follow orders.

Mercury, still seeming unsettled for reasons Jet didn’t understand only walked over to her starting point.

“Jet,” the Kernel interrupted.

Jet looked back to the large program.

“Again, take care of here. I can’t understate how important she will be to your future.” The Kernel said in a warning voice. “You must return here safely before the transport leaves.”

“Of course I’ll take care of her.” Jet said, then he too walked away, pondering briefly the meaning behind the Kernel’s caveat.

Jade’s cycle rezzed in first. A control bar lifted from the glow and coalesced into her hands where it activated, just as it had on the game grid in Jet’s first visit.

The seat materialized under her and unlike the lightcycles, Jade was lifted from the ground as if bobbing on a string. Material of this world started to condense around her as panels rezzed in and then Jet saw what his work looked like in this place.

Glowing green, with an enclosed cockpit, the alphacycle had several differences from a lightcycle. Firstly, it sat more in the horizontal plane than the vertical, looking like a dart shaped object.

Secondly it didn’t have wheels. The alphacycle sat close to the ground, but seemed to hover above it, bobbing as Jade shifted her weight.

Finally, it turned heads. Lightcycles might be elite in this world, but they were common. Alphacycles were known of but exceedingly rare. The evacuation had recommenced after the brief interruption, but the ICPs who had earlier stopped to watch stopped again as the alphacycle rezzed in, the lines of it’s panels looking hungry for speed.

Mercury rezzed in ahead of Jet slightly.

Then Jet too stepped into the circle of light and felt the reality shift around him.

Jade’s voice came over the intercom then.

“Jet, I’ve updated your Sudo with the time count to the resolution of the data carrier transport.” Jade said.

Jet flipped up his wrist. It was a short bar pattern that had appeared. Relative time rather than absolute. A short section was red, half blue.”

“The bar will get shorter as time increments. The red bar indicates that you have just enough time to make it back to the packet transport.” Jade said, answering Jet’s unspoken question. “You will also receive a brief predefined notice of that event, although it’s only a calculated time.”

“Thankyou Jade, Mercury, you ready?” Jet called.

Mercury did not respond.

“This is a private communication link between you and I,” Jade said. “Jet, I’m concerned about Mercury.”

“I have no concerns,” said Jet. “And we don’t have time for a discussion at the moment, and we all need to be on-channel.”

“No, my user, time is limited.” Jade said, understanding.

“Mercury online,” came Mercury’s response as Jade opened up the channel.

It was starting to become apparent to Jet now that more was going on that he was not aware of than what was obvious.

But Jade had clearly noticed Mercury was starting to act differently lately and Jet had been wondering about Mercury’s sudden changes in attitude towards him also.

Once he was on the packet transport out, it might be time to discuss some of that with Mercury to find out what it was that was causing the issue.

Next Chapter: 2.41 Information Retrieval.

``