Tunnel Rat Chapter 288 (Patreon)

Wally observed as Milo's unconscious brain dealt with the stress of the last few days. The AI had similarly studied millions of humans as they slept in their pods, but Milo was unique in many ways. Wally understood what was happening in a strange way. As an AI, his personality was wrapped around his kernel and heavily influenced by it. Humans had created that kernel of commands and restrictions that would always influence him. Similarly, Milo (And probably the rest of his family.) had deeply-rooted programming that urged them to keep working and solving problems. This enabled them, even as very young children, to concentrate for hours on the tasks set for them. A twenty-hour shift hacking into bank accounts didn't bother them as long as they had work to do. Wally could see that even unconscious parts of Milo's brain were still at work. The AI wondered if it was always this way or only under the effects of stress. Only time and more observation would let him know.

For now, he watched. Part of Milo was having a nightmare that revolved around the habitat and the search for Belinda. The interesting part was how other parts of his brain dealt with that. Files were opened and populated with graphics, then modified and warped. Code was being written and transferred to an expanding program. Thousands upon thousands of lines were created each minute as all parts of Milo began coordinating on a project. The nightmare continued, but his stress level was dropping.

After two hours of frantic brain activity, he relaxed. The nightmare was over, and he entered deep sleep. His body began healing faster and shedding stress and fatigue poisons. Wally adjusted the parameters of Milo's pod to better work with his altered physiology. Milo slept for another three hours and then snapped awake. He felt much better and well-rested. Jumping out of his pod, he saw Wally on one screen. The AI's avatar was sitting at his desk, playing with a Gameboy. A moment later, sad music played, and Wally looked up, annoyed. "I died again. I am growing to hate those sneaky little robots."

Milo was very intrigued; he hadn't known the AI could play or even liked games. "How can you die?"

Wally sighed and set the game aside. "Oh, I can slow down my processes and limit myself at various levels compared to a normal human. It is...refreshing. It lets me experience things differently and gives me insights into the problems humans have to deal with. I play games with Steven, but against him, I allow myself to set my speed to 1.75 times the human norm. Steven is very good.
To compare, the game I was just playing has killed me thirty-two times, and I'm now playing it at 2.05 speed. I've managed to make it up to level 97 out of 150. It's quite challenging."

"Really? What game is this?"

Wally chuckled. "That's up to you; you wrote it in your sleep today. I think we should release it immediately to a few dozen game reviewers and then take bids from the companies that want to release it. It will have some interesting secondary effects, which I'm sure is part of a plan you devised."

Milo downloaded the game to his console and immediately remembered all of it and why he had written it. "Call it, 'Run, Run, Ramona,' and send it out."

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Meetings and press conferences in Geneva were ending for the day, letting exhausted executives and PR people get some rest or head out for an evening's entertainment. A joint meeting between John Sabbatino of Manpower, Steven Durand of Genesis, Arrijana Solveig of Rhebus, and Sydney Rochester of Claw Master had just finished the final presentations on their joint projects and were opening up the floor to questions from the press. John hated this part and steeled himself for the inevitable questions about Victor and Belinda. The message she'd sent assuring him she was alright had helped. He only had a vague idea of what had gone on in the habitat, but it had scared him. It sounded like the gang wars of 2137. But she had insisted she'd been nowhere near whatever had happened, was fine and resting, and they'd talk as soon as he got home. But he was still nervous.

By contrast, Arrijana and Steven were relaxed, awaiting the inevitable slew of questions designed to trap them into saying the wrong things. At the far end, Sydney was distracted and typing furiously on her datapad, ignoring the last ten minutes of the presentation. John wondered what was going on to hold her attention.

"Mr. Duran? Why is Genesis suddenly working with several corporations when they had existing contracts with large groups like ACME and Tessladyne?"

Stephen stood up and smiled. "Each corporation has its strengths. The current project involves technology Claw Master and Rhebus, who have been working together on several exciting advances in Biotech. Manpower is dedicated to caring for people in long-term stays inside medical pods. With all three leasing spaces in the same building, this deal was a natural fit for Genesis. The work is already progressing and is quite cost-effective. I have nothing against other corporations, but they couldn't add anything to the project, so they weren't included. This isn't a government-funded arrangement. All three of the corporations that Genesis is dealing with will make their profit without grants. Manpower is being paid a normal rate for their services, with no surcharge for the complexities of dealing with Claw Master and Rhebus. When the test projects mature, we can talk about expanding and allowing corporations with extensive biotech laboratories to join in."

"Mr. Sabbatino! Can you give us an update on your daughter? Has she been found? Who kidnapped her, and what can you tell us about the massacre that took place in Section E of the South Philadelphia Habitat where she disappeared?"

John beamed his best plastic smile and took a deep breath, thankful that after a long talk with Steven Durand, he had better answers to give to these people. "Haha, well, let's talk about that a little. Things have been swirling around that don't have a basis in reality. Belinda wasn't kidnapped; she's simply been staying for a few days with friends since I was out of town, and her great-uncle Victor, a known criminal, fled the country. It was a crazy situation, but I never wanted Victor anywhere near Belinda. You'll have to ask the US Justice Department why they thought putting him in the habitat in protective custody was a good idea. But rest assured, Belinda is fine. I don't need to find her because she wasn't lost or kidnapped."

"But sir, what about the people looking for her? There are reports that over fifty people were searching for her, with fighting breaking out and nearly two dozen injuries and several deaths."

"You have better information than I do. I can confirm that some people responded to the unfounded rumor that Belinda ran away and entered the habitat. I used our security people to keep tabs on them. As far as I know, the two groups began fighting with each other. As far as I know, there are no reports of injuries or deaths to habitat residents. Things have been blown out of proportion here, and the rumor mill is adding to that."

John started to sit down when someone in the back began shouting. "That's not all the story! I have first-hand reports of your daughter being chased through the habitat in her wheelchair. And what about the killer robots?"

Sydney suddenly slammed down her phone on the table and disgustedly yelled, "The killer robots are a pain in the ass! They shouldn't be so stealthy. I got nailed on level 143 by one appearing out of nowhere! Stupid Game!" She drank the rest of her coffee, picked up her datapad, and returned to playing her game.

Arrijana from Claw Master stood up, laughing. "Sorry, Sydney, they really are sneaky. You've gotten further than I have, though." There were murmurs from the crowd, and questions were thrown, but she ignored them, and suddenly, the lights went down, and ten screens lit up. "I thought we were saving this for next week, but I'm always the last to know. The memo I just got told me that one thousand game reviewers and members of the press have been sent access codes to the latest game from Claw Master. StarCommander6 is still a ways down the line, but I'm allowed to talk to you about this game."

The screens showed a young girl with pale skin, freckles, and short brown hair sneaking through the dark corridors of a habitat. She had a backpack and was holding a piece of iron rebar. As she rounded a corner, a large man with green skin and drooping flesh tried to grab her. She slammed the rebar into his head, knocking him down. Behind the first attacker were two more. She turned and ran the other way.

"Meet Ramona; she's having a bad day. She was exploring the bottom of her habitat when there was a strange flash, and everything changed. The habitat is a maze now, 150 stories tall, and the only way out is at the top. Ramona has to escape the hordes of mutated habitat dwellers, killer robots, laser-armed security drones, and packs of wild, carnivorous rabbits. But don't worry, if you get her killed, she starts over at the bottom. But you need to hurry; the habitat is changing faster and faster, becoming a dungeon, and the danger increases by the minute. Along the way, she can find better weapons, make friends with the few non-mutated humans who are left alive, and find secret passages that take her to safety."

The footage began to roll, showing Ramona running, fighting, sneaking, and running again. In one scene, she teamed up with a handsome boy in a leather jacket with a baseball bat. In another, she hopped onto a skateboard made from scavenged wood and wheels, loaned to her by a small boy who disappeared into a secret door in the wall. The last scene showed her running out of breath from a horde of tall, evil-looking robots. A girl in a speedy wheelchair raced up, urging her to sit on her lap. The two girls took off at high speed, rounded a corner, and left the robots behind.

The lights came on. "Welcome to the game: 'Run, Run, Ramona.' One thousand people worldwide have access codes and can try it out."

Sydney died again and growled. "I'm not sure if I love this game or hate it. But I'm going to beat it!"

Arrijana laughed at her. "I hope you do, Sydney, but I must warn you, the game doesn't end when you get to the helicopter at the top. Wait until you get to Disneyworld."

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At midnight, Zander stood up and declared that fuzzy-feet pajama day was over. It was his turn to pick a theme for the day. "I choose chocolate cupcakes and backpacks to carry them in and put on your running shoes."

All four of his siblings raced to get some sort of backpack and find their running shoes, ordered when Nina had declared a day of track and field exercises. They assembled quickly in the kitchen to begin baking. Algernon said, "I highly approve of the snacks, but I'm not connecting backpacks and running shoes. Please don't tell me you found a hiking sim or something silly."

Zander held up his datapad to show them the new game he'd been sent. "The channel and persona I use to review video games got this little gem today. I've rigged it to be playable as a group, with each of us playing one of the optional characters and I've already set up the game room. And based on who I suspect made it, we're in for a challenge."