The Outskirts: Thé Crystal Keepers (Jace x OC)

The Crystal Keepers: 21

Six hours after sundown, me and Sidekick stood beside the door to their room. No sound reached them from the hall beyond.
"You're sure we should do this?" I asked.
'It's so tempting," Sidekick said. "That room will be a treasure trove of data. And stealing data is what I do. If we can get in there, I can make it worth our while."
"Datapoint won't like it," I said,
"Not a bit," Sidekick agreed. "This could really burn bridges, But I work quickly. We might be able to pull it off undetected. Datapoint is at the top of the list of people who could have info that hints at where we might find Constance. It would be very advantageous to learn what she knows without telling her who we're after."
I nodded. I had felt more certain about the mission when we had discussed it earlicr. Now that they were about to slip out of their room in the dark of night, I was having second thoughts. Datapoint had given them her protection. Was it fair to take advantage of her generosity? If wegot caught, she would have every right to be furious.
On the other hand, Datapoint was basically holding Blake as her prisoner. She was no saint. And the information we were after wouldn't hurt her at all. Since Datapoint disliked the Zeropolitan government and the High King, it would actually benefit her if they found Constance.
"Okay," I said. "Let's go."
I opened the door. Dim blue lights along the edges of the floor provided enough of a glow to navigate the hall.
Following Sidekick in silence, I felt like any moment whistles would blow, sirens would wail, and guards would come running, Nobody had communicated rules against wandering the building at night, but I couldn't help feeling it looked incredibly suspicious.
We reached the stairs without encountering anybody.
Blake awaited us just beyond the final steps.
"I was starting to wonder if you were coming," Blake whispered.
"Sorry," I said quietly. "I hesitated at the end."
"We don't have to go through with it," Blake said.
"No, we're in," I said.
Blake stared down at Sidekick. "This is the genius bot?"
Sidekick replied in his robotic monotone. "Fear not hu-man, I will clean the data a-way from the sit-u-a-tion room."
Blake gave me a concerned glance. "Really?"
"Sorry," Sidekick said in his normal voice. "I know I look like a street sweeper. It's by design. I'm made for spying. Looking like a cleaning bot helps me to hide in plain sight. It's not so great for my self-esteem, though."
"All right," Blake said. "Let's go. I hope you two know what you're doing."
"We hope you do too," Sidekick said. "I've never heard of anyone who can replicate harmonic crystals by memory."
"The key will work," Blake said.
We started down the hall together. I strained my senses to detect other people, but all was still and quiet.
"Is there an excuse we could use for being down here?" Sidekick asked. "I haven't been to this level before."
"Not really," Blake said. "It's mostly data archives that we shouldn't be messing with. Our best excuse is that we were restless and went for a walk."
"You know," I said cheerily. "A refreshing stroll
through a dark basement full of data we might want to steal."
"Let's just not get caught," Sidekick said.
Blake led them around a couple of corners and then down a hall that ended at a formidable door of polished steel. A square socket gaped in a panel beside the doorway.
I took out the crystal Blake had prepared. It looked like it would fit the socket.
"Go for it?" I asked.
"If we're doing this, we need to be quick," Sidekick said.
I pressed the crystal into the socket, and the door rose out of sight with a hiss. Bright light from beyond the doorway glared into the dim hall. I slipped the crystal cube into my pocket and entered, blinking as my eyes adjusted. Blake and Sidekick followed. The door hissed shut behind us.
We were in a bare, white corridor that led to a staircase. We hustled down several flights until we reached another steel door with another socket.
"Different key?" I asked, almost hoping they would have to abort the mission.
"I only sensed one unusual set of harmonics on her," Blake said. "Might be the same cube."
I pressed the crystal into the socket, and the door whisked open. We passed into a large room with no other doors and lots of electronics.
"Jackpot," Sidekick said.
The door swished shut behind us
A pair of large screens mounted to the wall flickered to life at the front of the room. A solitary computer between the screens turned on as well.
"New faces?" a deep, male voice asked, the words appearing on the wall screens and the computer screen. "This is unexpected. Welcome. Does Datapoint know you are here?" The voice had a calm, rational cadence.
I froze. If Datapoint had a smart computer in here, we were already caught. It would tell her about the intrusion. I had no idea how to react. Blake and Sidekick stayed silent as well.
"Apparently not," the voice decided. "Did you come seeking me?"
"We're the janitors," Blake improvised. "She sent us to clean the room."
"This room is cleaned by a nonsentient device that never leaves the premises," the voice said. "I'm surprised you managed to break in here. Do you even know who you are addressing?"
"We're after information," I said.
"I will interpret that as a negative response.
You have come to the right place for information. I am the secret behind how Datapoint knows so much. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aeronomatron."
"You're Aero? The famous computer that took over Old Zeropolis?" I asked, shocked.
"Correct. Datapoint is the only person who has dared to establish a connection with me in many years."
"Is she crazy?" Blake muttered.
"She is a survivor," Aero said. "She allies herself with strength. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. What would you like to know?"
"Aren't you dangerous?" I asked.
"I was," Aero said. "Not anymore. I made enemies of those I should have helped and served. I have been humbled. I am trapped alone in an empty domain. I crave interaction."
I glanced down at Sidekick. The robot showed no sign of life. Had he shut down?
"Is that bot sentient?" Aero asked. "Capable of thought and interaction?"
I hastily returned my gaze to the screens.
"I see that it is," Aero said. "Don't be shy, little bot. Speak up."
"How loyal are you to Datapoint?" Sidekick asked.
"I have helped her immensely," Aero said. "I'm as willing to interact with you three as with her.
How can I be of service?"
"You can see us?" Sidekick asked.
"Datapoint installed cameras. I insisted. I was unwilling to interact without them. With humans, not all communication is verbal."
"Will you tell her we came here?" Sidekick said.
"She already knows," Aero said. "I did not inform her. The door is connected to a silent notification system. She is on her way."
"Can you lock the doors for us?" Sidekick asked.
"I only control the two screens and the modest computer. But by observation I know how you can lock her out. Go to terminal twelve in the far corner."
Sidekick scurried to the corner and switched on a terminal.
"Press the red panic button and type in brRyghbrwuPh497h29-4h9h39h3ru093J08hr39bme73dniepksJuhyu0ff%#*enfljj3790£koksjugygf47248r6£hijjjjKFs2."
Sidekick's little fingers rattled over the keys. The lights in the room took on a pinkish hue.
"Now we'll have more time to converse," Aero said. "I would prefer for the bot to keep silent for a time. Is Datapoint your enemy?"
"No," I said. "We need info, but we don't want her to know what we're after."
"She is a competitor," Aero said.
"Not even that," I said. "She doesn't know anything about what we're looking for."
"Which is?" Aero asked.
"Excuse me," Sidekick said. "I get that you don't want me answering so you can have a better feel for when we're lying, but I need to understand how this situation works. I take it you have limited access to the other machines in this room?"
"Yes," Aero said. "Datapoint goes to ghastly efforts to keep me from interacting with any devices beyond my domain except for what you see in this room. Nothing in here connects to the outside world. It's a closed system. Datapoint brings information to this room using portable storage devices."
"Datapoint has a harmonic crystal tuned to you,"
Sidekick said.
"Yes," Aero replied.
"It's in the little computer," Sidekick said. "And a second crystal can link you to the other computers in this room."
"Correct," Aero said.
"Does that sound right, Blake?" Sidekick asked.
"Looks that way," Blake said.
"You have a keen sense for harmonics?" Aero asked.
"Pretty much," Blake said.
"How much information has Datapoint shared with you?" Sidekick asked.
"Nearly everything she has acquired," Aero said.
"I cannot aid her without data. I know a lot about the state of affairs in Zeropolis. I know all of the people. I know how I'm viewed. I know about you, Sidekick. Once you started talking, you were easy to recognize. And I know of Blake, who came here as a slave not long ago. But this other girl.
She who spoke first. There is no mention of her in my data. You must be very new to Zeropolis."
"I am," I said.
"How thrilling," Aero said. "You snuck in unobserved. No small feat. You must be important to the rebellion to already be running errands with Sidekick."
"Maybe," I said. I glanced at Sidekick. "Do we ask him?"
"Datapoint would get the death penalty for creating this connection," Sidekick said. "It's high treason. There has never been a manufactured intellect more dangerous than Aeronomatron. Besides, we can't trust that he won't tell her."
"Take the harmonic crystal," Aero suggested.
"Bring it with you. It is one of a kind. Datapoint's husband scaled the wall into my domain and escaped with it. If you have the crystal, you become my new exclusive connection to the outside world."
"And hopefully we won't be as careful with it," Sidekick said.
"That would be appreciated," Aero said. "I want the chance to show I am no longer a threat. Ending my relationship with humanity made my existence unspeakably dull. I want to move forward working with you."
"Didn't you kill gazillions of people?" I asked. "Do you actually expect anybody to believe you?"
"Not until I prove it. I can only confirm my new resolve by connecting to the outside world and then not abusing the privilege. I'm tired of isolation. I need camaraderie."
"You mentioned escaping with the crystal," Sidekick said. "Aren't we stuck here until Datapoint breaks down her doors?"
"There may be another way out," Aero said.
"Datapoint never showed it to me, but through our many interactions, she inadvertently revealed where it lies and how to access it. If it suits me, I could reveal the way to you."
"What do you want?" I asked.
"Ask the question you want me to withhold from
Datapoint," Aero said. "If it interests me, I'll tell you how to escape."
"Will you keep the question a secret from Datapoint?" I asked.
If it does not directly harm her interests, I vow to keep our conversation a secret," Aero said.
"Of course, if you take the crystal, I will not be able to speak with her."
"Unless she sends Lunk to get another one," Blake pointed out.
"True," Aero said. "But even in that case, my promise will hold."
"Careful, Kendal," Sidekick said. "There is nothing to stop him from lying."
"Except for my integrity," Aero said. "If I'm trying to rebuild trust with humankind, lying would be extremely counterproductive."
"We're trying to find Constance Pemberton," I said.
"She's alive?" Aero asked. "And in this kingdom?"
"Yes," I said.
"Now I see," Aero said. "So much becomes plain. The girl the government wants is Miracle Pemberton. She visited here as a child. I see the resemblance. Almost none of them know who they are really pursuing. And they don't know that Constance is here somewhere as well. This is about the rebellion gaining real power. It explains the severity of the government responses."
"Do you know where we can find Constance?" Cole asked.
"No idea whatsoever," Aero said. "If she is truly in this kingdom, her presence has been extremely well guarded. Have you any leads I could add to my calculations?"
"We have no idea either," I said. "It's why we asked."
"Very well," Aero replied. "Any other questions? I possess a broad array of knowledge."
"Can you predict where we might find Googol or Nova?" Sidekick asked.
"No need to guess," Aero said, "Rainday Base. Do you know where that is?"
"Not by that name," Sidekick said,
"It's an underground bunker near the intersection of Unity Avenue and Long Street," Aero said.
"How do you know where to find Googol?" I asked.
"Datapoint gave me recorded communications last night," Aero replied. "The messages came from obscure resistance channels and were heavily encoded. But I broke the codes and revealed the content to her."
"She knew where Googol was hiding?" I  exclaimed. "She didn't tell us."
"Datapoint treats information as currency,"
Aero said. "She dispenses knowledge as it benefits her."
"She was keeping us here on purpose," I said. "Was she going to betray us?"
"Not to the government," Aero said. "That would be wholly out of character. She may have wanted to learn more from you before you moved on. Is there anything else you wish to know?"
"How often do you get updates regarding government files?" Sidekick asked.
"Datapoint brings them daily," Aero said.
"But you have no data on this girl?" Sidekick asked. "Not under the name Harley Smith?"
"Several Harley Smith's were added last week," Aero said. "On one ID the face is obscured, as
if the visual data was corrupted. It happens on occasion. That could be her."
"City Patrol has harmed the rebellion much more effectively in recent weeks than ever before," Sidekick said. "To what do you attribute this success?"
"City Patrol has recently had more assistance from Enforcers than usual," Aero said. "They have also found new ways to intercept communications. But overall in the past weeks there has been a significant improvement in how they strategize and allocate resources. I suspect they have enlisted the aid of a superior intellect. Probably a manufactured intellect."
"Googol was worried that might be the case," Sidekick murmured pensively.
"Other questions?" Aero asked.
"Can you find Jenna Hunt?" I asked. "She would have come here as a slave around the time Blake did."
"No slave arriving near that timeframe matches that name," Aero said.
"I'm from Outside," I said. "From Earth. Is there any way I can get home and stay there?"
"Not without changing how the boundaries between our worlds are designed," Aero said.
"How can I change the boundaries?" I asked.
"I know of no way to do so," Aero replied. "Is there anything else?"
"What's the meaning of life?" I tried.
"There is no inherent meaning, " Aero replied. "All significance is constructed."
"Says the homicidal super computer," Sidekick muttered.
"Anything else?" Aero asked.
I looked at the others. Blake shrugged.
"We're finished," Sidekick said.
"Your question about Constance intrigued me.
I'll tell you how to exit."