Текст книги "The Clan"

Автор книги: D. Rus

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 24 страниц)

Chapter Sixteen

I congratulated the two on their priestly status. Then I lectured Cryl on the importance of the Voluntary Death skill and meted out their responsibilities for the next few hours. I gave them access to the auto buy, entrusting them with the pen-pushing task of sifting through the messages and answering them using a few templates I'd jotted down. All the really important stuff they had to forward to my PM box. I scheduled the dedication ritual for one p.m. the next day. With one final umpteenth yawn, I motioned them out of the room.

They couldn't have been more understanding. Chirruping like sparrows, they made themselves scarce. Funny how the dissociation of visual and behavioral patterns can affect brain functions. On the outside, Lena was the epitome of an Elfa, sophisticated and sensual: the AI-perfected idea of male doom. But that was visually. My brain was boiling over her childish hopscotch gait, her open-mouth curiosity and bright-eyed enthusiasm. So while my mind was screaming, she's only a child! it was unable to stop the drool from running down my virtual chin. I just hoped that Cryl understood it, too, and was able to postpone any heavy-duty courtship for another couple years.

It looked like the day, however crazy it had been, was finally over. I had to admit I'd already started to regret getting caught in the stream of events that had taken me to the top of AlterWorld's political life. How much nicer would it have been to sit by the Gnoll Hill smoking the gentle monsters. It had to be the proverbial fear of responsibility speaking for me, the unwillingness to step out of my comfort zone.

Thus sympathetic with myself, I headed for bed. Time to catch a few Zs. Time to dream of a beautifully fat female pig... oops, that was my inner buddy raising his own sleepy head. Would be funny if he developed into a separate being, then materialized– oh, no, giving him a name probably wouldn't be such a good idea. It was probably better to only mention him allegorically, the way cavemen did when they spoke of the world around them. We still have no idea how they called their totemic animals—the bear, for instance. All we know is that they tried to disguise his true nature somehow, for fear of the animal hearing his name and answering the call. Their superstitions fit our reality so well they must have known something important. My little piglet would have made a fine majordomo! Having said that, I needed his services too much to part with him. Nightie night, Piglet!

The next morning was late. After a big breakfast, I began sorting out our financial situation. I checked the auctions and discovered over eight hundred potential followers willing to part with a grand to get dedicated by the hand of Macaria. Holy moly, this priesting job seemed to be more lucrative than even the tobacco business. Then again, the tobacco thing had a future while this was definitely a one-off, a quick gig on the side akin to stealing the collection box.

The customers kept paying, their money clinking into the auto buy account where it sat, frozen, until the deal was consummated. Either the Admins were playing safe or they just jumped at the chance to make money out of thin air. If you thought about it, there had to be about a billion in frozen assets on various accounts at any given time. The accounts and their owners changed but the sum, on average, remained the same. So nothing really prevented the Admins from depositing it at 3% annual interest, that's thirty million a year. Nice and polite, the way these things are done in a democratic society: "Sir, would you be so kind as to face the wall, hands behind your back, please, feet wide apart. Please allow me to fit you with a pair of handcuffs, for your own protection, Sir, thank you very much for your cooperation." Bastards.

The Inferno portal auction was especially gratifying. Over a hundred grand there, plus lots of questions from raid and clan leaders. Interestingly, it wasn't necessarily the same person. Managing a clan and taking it on raids were two entirely different skills. I could understand their impatience: I still remembered the news feed mentioning a raid to another plane where the total value of auctioned loot amounted to millions. It definitely made sense for top clans to be involved. And as for all those Chinese and Korean entrepreneurs, it was a gold mine. Their labor camps had switched from making T-shirts and license plates to farming virtual items long ago, their sweatshops thriving all over AlterWorld.

I decided to create a scroll with the Portal Spell written on it, then hand it to the auction winner. This way it secured his and my anonymity plus gave me some time advantage. Time was what we needed right now, its absence grabbing my throat, dictating me its will, controlling my actions. Do you really think I'd have sold the Vets the coordinates of my Gigantic Fly-Traps field for next to nothing had I had one year of quiet life in front of me? Never.

My only two clan members had already woken up—if they'd even gone to bed at all. The auto buy's unread messages counter kept clicking, growing and decreasing as the kids worked their way through them. I rummaged through the PM box and discovered a report from the security agency complete with their standing order receipts. Their fees paled into total insignificance next to the auction purchases and impending earnings. The thought that I spent less on my mother's security than I did on the Temple's guards of honor made me physically sick. Under my inner greedy pig's unexpectedly approving stare, I sent a request to treble the security, adding to it a hired help I'd found through some recruiting agency. It was about time Mom quit busting her hump doing her own cleaning, cooking and shopping. She needed to get some rest. She also needed to get a medical checkup and maybe go to some health spa or other. Knowing her, I knew she wouldn't do it, but then again, I still hoped I could talk her into going perma mode sometime soon. It wasn't as if AlterWorld needed many primary school teachers, but then again, why not?

Thinking about the health checkup made me remember my own miserable frame, apparently still comatose in the capsule's snug interior. According to the bodyguard's report, Mom returned to her old flat twice a day to perform some life support procedures such as replacing the glucose IV drip, changing my diaper, wiping my body with a damp sponge, all the while talking to my motionless body which was apparently on its very last legs approaching the red line foretold by the doctors.

I paused, thinking. It wasn't nostalgia alone. My body and I, we had much in common. We'd been through a lot together. And if there ever was a chance to preserve it—don't even ask me why—I had to use it. My mind was apparently immortal which meant that one day I might come back, albeit temporarily, to that joint-creaking frame, even if just to have a stroll along the streets of Moscow—if Moscow still existed, of course. Seventy thousand dollars didn't sound like a lot of money any more. I wrote a lengthy letter to Mom, giving her Olga's Chronos number and asking her to mention the code phrase, Laith, Level 52 High Elf, in order to make an urgent cryonics contract. She'd already had a power of attorney to act in my name, and as for my death certificate, soon it wouldn't present too many problems. The new expense did smart, but I had that feeling that I'd done something very right.

Mom would never agree to go perma while I was still alive. But Taali—she would need a capsule of her own very soon. It was never a good idea to use one of those underground digital parlors as they were all regularly raided by the Feds who pulled the naïve idiots out of their paradise of choice and blacklisted every one of them. Those who were suspected of suicidal or digitized behavior were ordered to visit the nearest ID center for a retina scan—apparently, it made digitizing much more difficult. Absolutely voluntarily, of course. Alternatively, they were sent for compulsory treatment in a closed medical facility.

So what I needed was a second-hand capsule. I already knew how to hack one and where to get all the rigged gear and jailbreak chips. This was one shady market the authorities would have a hard time cracking.

AlterWorld was buzzing with all sorts of operators offering real-world services. The auction was flooded with their offers:

Only for perma players: assistance in family reunion.

A FIVR capsule for daily rent, completely renovated.

Bugs for sale, hard and soft! Entomologists don't need to apply.

This last offer interested me the most, especially because the vendor had been in business already for over a year, his profile boasting tons of positive feedback. Once he checked my digitized status against some arcane database of his, he promptly answered my PMs, agreeing to find a capsule, do it up, then deliver it to the address given. With all the bells and whistles plus his commission, it cost me three thousand dollars. I could live with that. If everything went as he'd promised, they'd deliver a functioning FIVR set to my mother's in the next two days. But the vendor's unobtrusive offer of 33% off if he could have his capsule back once I didn't need it any more made me realize another thing. It looked like I would end up with two more bodies in need of cryogenic procedures. Burying them would be sacrilege. At this point, my inner greedy pig gritted his teeth at the prospect of parting with another hundred and forty thousand bucks. Yeah right, who said the rich had it easy? I cost more in maintenance than some goddamn aircraft carrier.

I'd have loved to text Taali, even if just for a quick smilie exchange. But I couldn't. She was already lying low, avoiding any eventual electronic trail. No phone calls, no logins nor bank card transactions, moving around only in covered transport. She had to be cussing under her breath as she was adjusting to her new gun. Then again, she could be enjoying its quiet report and gentle recoil. Her shoulder must be all black and blue from her old Vepr. From what I'd heard, this was how they'd detected women snipers during the Chechen war.

We'd planned her to act in five to seven days. Fingers crossed. I knocked the bedpost. Good luck, old girl.

The clock showed past midday. Enough spending! Time to make some dosh. I contacted the auction controller, confirming our meeting in a café on the town square. I'd made the reservation well in advance to provide for any eventualities. It was a good thing I'd done so, too: the central square of the Original City was bustling with eleven hundred and forty would-be disciples awaiting dedication matched by about the same amount of bystanders. Ten auction representatives were already working hard for their 3%, keeping order and separating the onlookers from the customers.

Next to the auction controller sat a sturdy man in an unknown uniform, his clan tag in full view: Virtual Police. All right... The use of this word combination was prohibited when naming any clans or characters. So this had to be a true to life virtual pig, the real living and breathing thing, if you can say so about a cartoon avatar. Actually, the likes of him weren't regular characters—they used special accounts that gave them rights similar to the Admins', allowing them access to databases, internal control consoles and lots of other important things. A law passed seven years earlier obliged every virtual world developer to create this kind of puppet for Federal needs.

The auction controller rose, offering his hand. "My name is Chris. I'd like you to meet Officer McDougall, Chief Inspector of the Virtual Police Control Department."

The cop wasn't particularly courteous. Glancing in my direction, he gave me an excuse for a nod.

The controller explained guiltily, "The law demands the Virtual Police monitor all deals between players that exceed one million dollars. The balance of your yet unsecured account exceeded that limit an hour and a half ago."

Yeah, so the Feds thought it gave them the right. "You'd make much better use of your time if you tried to monitor all instances of forceful imprisonment," I scowled back at the cop. "Any idea how many people are stuck in cells and cages? How many are bound to torture posts?"

He didn't deign to answer, just squinted at me and spat on the paving stones. The agent gritted his teeth and commented,

"The digitized individuals still don't have any legal status. You are either a game character belonging to a legally incompetent comatose individual or a piece of uncontrollable binary code."

Now it was my turn to squint. I took a step toward the cop and waved my hand in front of his face. "Hey, fancy communicating with a sequence of zeros?"

Unperceivably, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it in his iron grip. My life bar blinked, reporting damage sustained.

"I suggest you don't move if you don't want to spend the next week in a FIVR Police Department cell for assaulting a police officer in the course of his duty. Understood?"

I yanked my hand, indignant, but he didn't budge. "Understood?"

What was that now? Even here these Federal bastards could get at you. Well, they could try! The long arm of the law wasn't long enough to haul me out of the First Temple.

"Not, it's not understood!" I yelled. "Your department won't stand for much longer if you keep people in cages on such petty charges!"

The officer grinned, reaching for a pair of handcuffs gleaming purple. "Threatening, well. Article 119 of the Anti-Terrorist Act doesn't require an arrest warrant and allows to keep a suspect in custody for up to three years, including third-degree questioning and the use of special interrogation techniques."

"Officer," the agent butted in, "I'm afraid I'll be forced to file a complaint about an unprovoked arrest on personal grounds."

The cop looked at him. His glare glinted with promise. "And you're his associate, I presume?"

The agent wasn't easily frightened. Meeting the cop's stare, he said, "I've videotaped our exchange. I'm authorized to do that. Based on the video, our legal office AI predicts 96% probability of the arrest being ruled as illegal."

The cop grinned. "Well, if it makes you feel better in the cell. You really think we can't stand up for our own? So you'll have plenty of time to repent while waiting for the case to go to court. You might even hang yourself with guilt. These things happen, you know."

"Is this an official statement?" the agent snapped, his gaze vacant.

The cop paused theatrically. He cringed and shoved me aside. "Very well, you may live... until the next time."

Rubbing my arm, I walked over to the agent in awe. This was the kind of man you could go to war with. What was his name again? Yes, Chris. I needed to get his office's address. One of the first things a man of means has to obtain is his lawyer's business card. It helps solve a lot of petty everyday problems, everything from falling victim to bumper crime to successfully discouraging police sharks.

"Thanks," I said.

He shrugged it off with a smile. "My pleasure. That's racism. Some hate Africans, others can't stand Jews. And this is a new trend, disliking perma players. They say the permas cause the economy to collapse by embezzling loans and siphoning off funds into the virtual world. They apparently become contract killers because they can get away with it. It's easy to blame those who have no right of voice. It's like with self-defense: you really shouldn't leave any enemy alive. Funnily enough, that gives you a better chance to avoid a prison sentence. So that's what turns virtual cops into digiphobes. Your unclear legal status drives them up the wall."

"I'm recording it, too," the cop said icily.

Chris smirked and nodded: like, he was welcome. Paper can't blush. "There is a 99.8% probability that my words can't be qualified as insulting a Virtual Police officer."

The cop growled. The agent grinned: he must have enjoyed annoying him.

I lowered my voice. "You don't seem to like them, do you?"

"Well, you know. We were two brothers. One was a lawyer—that's me, actually. The other was a typical underage bonehead. The lawyer once took on a case you may have heard of, David Cuffman Vs. New York Precinct #47. He was defending someone. First he received a couple of subtle warnings followed by an open-text threat. The lawyer was too young and too ambitious to see reason. Then his brother was arrested with nine grams of coke in his pocket. What a coincidence, don't you think?" he raised his voice turning to the cop who ignored him pretending he was monitoring the crowd.

"I had to give the case up," the agent went on. "I did manage to get parole for my little brother but I wouldn't have been able to save his backside from prison, that's a fact."

He fell silent, reminiscing.

"And then what?" I reminded him. His story seemed to be getting quite educational.

He smiled. "He couldn't attend the hearing. His body had apparently been hospitalized in a comatose state. One of those family dramas," he gave me a wink.

Curiouser and curiouser. I pointed a meaningful finger at the crowd and rounded my eyes in silent question. Chris grinned and nodded, pleased with himself. He was too much! I gave him the thumbs up, causing him to frown in puzzlement. Yeah, right, he wasn't Russian, was he? He probably didn't know this sign. I made a circle with my thumb and forefinger, gesturing an OK. Now he understood it!

The cop stirred unhappily. "It's time."

Yes, of course it was time to start. The chat was boiling over with impatient customers. It wasn't a good idea to cross them: these were short-tempered people quick to pigeonhole you. I highlighted the clan chat. "Let's start!"

Cryl and Lena had all this time been mixing with the onlookers. Now they chose the first random pair of customers, checked their list and activated the dedication spell. The first flashes of light caused the crowd to shrink back, but then the freshly-baked disciples screamed with joy, attracting everyone's attention. The crowd surged forward, trying to get a glimpse of them and shower them with questions. The screams of joy promptly turned to half-smothered squeaks. A new dose of holy light saved my nearly squashed converts as the crowd abated, drawn to newer attractions.

The auction workers were screaming at the top of their lungs in the chat, begging those already served to leave the sacred zone.

With a faint smile on my face, I could almost physically sense my wallet getting ten grand heavier with every flash of light. I could almost see Macaria in her opalescent wrapper painting her eyelashes at a fancy dressing table in the Fallen One's once-ascetic bedroom. She froze, taking in the significance of the moment as her first followers started flooding in.

A portal popped open behind my back. I didn't think I'd pay any attention to it under the constant gun rattle of ins and outs. The familiar little bells made me prick up my ears. Talk about the devil. What if the goddess herself had decided to take a look at what was going on?

I turned and my jaw dropped. Okay, some transparent Greek robes were barely covering her body—I might have guessed as much. I didn't think the two gods had got out of bed before midday. But why did she wear makeup on one eye only? Was it my clairvoyance skills or was it the Divine Spark influencing reality?

She either didn't notice me or ignored me completely. Instead, she touched an onlooker's shoulder who stood with his back to her, apparently enjoying the little squabbles flaring up within the crowd. "Excuse me? Could you please tell me what's going on?"

The man glanced back. Appreciating the inquirer's appearance, he hurried to share the news, "It's a dedication ritual. They've all paid to become worshippers of the Goddess Macaria. Have you bought it, too? You think it's worth ten grand? Then you'd better move under that arch over there. You see, where those two priests are waiting."

Holy shit. It's possible that at least half of all world's secrets had remained secrets simply because no one had bothered to tell their owners the truth. Don't people just love to leak information? They just can't keep anything in, happy to tell everyone whatever they've seen or heard, with this proud I-know-it-all message.

I had a funny feeling the goddess wouldn't appreciate my clever money-making idea. Well, I couldn't have been more right. She squinted, her eyes fast becoming slits. Her nostrils flaring, she swung her head round, looking for the culprits. I stepped aside, concealing myself behind the agent's back. He looked at me, puzzled, then traced my stare back to its source and tilted his head in the most ironic manner. The goddess was bursting with fury. The crowd around her was dissipating, pushed away by a strong wind borne from her slim frame. Even the sight of her weightless robes fluttering in the gusts didn't challenge anyone to make a pass at her, so strong was the pressure forcing them to stumble back over each other.

A mini portal flashed. In a swirl of opalescent snow, the goddess teleported to the center of the square, hovering high above it. Her legs were amazing. The Fallen One was one lucky guy.

The crowd stared up, enjoying a miracle and a free striptease show. Then the goddess' voice thundered down making them duck and cover their ears,

"Sentient beings of all races! I, Goddess Macaria, now tell you that from now on, a sincere prayer is enough to become my follower! And so be it!"

The earth shuddered. The world around me quaked as the new law of magic elbowed its way past the universe's unyielding constants, making itself at home.

I must have been the only person who, instead of admiring the goddess' voluptuous charms, peered hard at her young face praying she didn't hurt herself. Indeed, two red streaks showed from her nose, threatening to ruin her snow white robes. Her eyes rolled back.

I slammed the Appeal to Gods button. Macaria needs help! She's strained herself!

"I can see that," the skies rustled.

Already the goddess had lost control of her levitation and began sliding down onto the paving stones when a portal noiselessly opened under her feet. With a flash, Macaria was gone. The Fallen One had made it just in time. I don't think anyone realized what had just happened. Dumbstruck, people stared at each other, at the now empty sky, at the few colored snowflakes floating away in the wind. Flashes of bright light enveloped the crowd as some of the smartest disciples checked their dedication gift.

Women. It was so like them, ruining a perfect money spinner on a mere whim.

"Well," the virtual cop's sarcastic voice broke the silence at our table. "I can attest that services have been rendered to seventy-three customers. The rest are advised to cancel the deal as unnecessary and unavailable. A notification from the Control Department has just been sent to the customers' addresses.

"What do you mean, cancel the deal?" I demanded. "The services were rendered in full. All the customers were dedicated to Macaria at the stated time and place."

The cop shook his head, smiling sweetly. "My investigation has shown that the paid dedication took place in violation of the goddess' will. I have in my possession a video corroborating this conclusion. Macaria publicly denounced any and all middlemen and personally dedicated everyone who so wished. You had nothing to do with it, which renders your charges unjustified."

What was that now? I cast a helpless glance at Chris who made a helpless gesture.

The cop beamed, suddenly very pleased with himself. "What will your office AI say to that? What's the probability of a successful appeal?" He wasn't upset by not getting the answer he wanted. With a sarcastic salute, he disappeared in a portal flash.

Life was a bitch. First it sent you a cop who could be Tavor's big brother for all I knew. And then it sent you another female canine, no names mentioned for fear of her sensing the full range of my emotions.

Talk about gratitude. I pulled her out of oblivion, and the first thing she did was sweep the Temple clean of tons of mithril and other artifacts. And in less than twenty-four hours, she graced me with another blunder, this time for a million and a half bucks! This woman had a talent for being a nuisance.

I opened the auction and stared at it with a silent groan. The number of automatically processed complaints had already reached seven hundred and counting. The consumer rights protection worked without a glitch, making mincemeat out of the dodgy auction vendor.

What a bunch of jerks. Good job that the first seven hundred thirty grand had already been released into my account as was the Vets' million. Some of the unlucky first seventy customers were cheeky enough to contest the transaction but they had no chance in hell. Some consolation, I suppose.

The financial question had once again raised its ugly head. I just had enough cash to pay off the federal tax and all the current costs, but there was no way I could pay my first installment on the castle. Oh, well. Easy come, easy go. I still had a couple more ideas up my sleeve. I could still cook something up... provided Macaria didn't interfere.

Women. Having said that, she did look a sight. Taali, my sniper girl, where are you?