Early Week 89: Hacker Talk

About half a day after everyone returned from the Palmer mission, Amets returned to the HQ from a brief trip into the Interchange. Carried in one hand was a large muletech, while her other hand carried a large briefcase with "Datanetica" written across the side. She fiddled with her purchases, juggling them as she tried to open the door.

From the other side of the other side of the door, Carmen took a step forward and triggered the automatic opening mechanic. She gave Amets a little confused look as she walked in, smiling vaguely. "Do you have your chip set not to open doors for you?" Her Mandarin was natural and relaxed, as if she had spoken it for a long time. The hacker had nothing in her arms, and was dressed in a red trench coat and didn't even carry a purse.

"Used to the Bright and Sunny buildings still. The boss preferred manual doors so she could slam them properly." Muttered Amets, obviously not being serious. She juggled the large mule tech further up her arm, grabbing hold of her other packages with her other hand. "Thank you." she said as she slid past the other agent. As she passed, Carmen could see the mule tech contained an AI carry case and a couple of datacards.

Carmen snorted a little in her own version of 'your welcome', and turned to watch Amets as she walked in. She admired the hardware for a moment, but all the questions she could think to ask were answered by the evidence in front of her. Missions and money, that was all it ever was. Eventually, she got to an unknown in her mind and asked, "Going to see the CEO?"

Amets paused for a moment. "No, I was planning on visiting the hackers to ask about an AI. No idea how much I'll get out of them though." She glanced at the other hacker. "Why, were you?"

Carmen only nodded once at the question about talking to the CEO. She paused, then moved quickly to keep pace for a moment. "I find the Helpsalot more.. responsive. Their data ports, though..." She seemed utterly wistful, smiling almost gently... A strange look for her.

"They have enough bandwidth to keep five data centres working." said Amets as she made her way towards the lift, her voice also showing signs of being impressed. "Honestly I'm not even sure how they use it."

The two rounded a corner, Amets adjusting the grip of the muletech. "I'm not even sure if that's a Sir Helpsalot or if they're just speaking through it with smeakers, to be honest, but it can't hurt to try. If not, I could try PMing them.

" I can think of.. plenty of things to do with pipes that thick.." Carmen still seemed delighted and the concept, and she still followed along. As for the thoughts on the Helpsalot, she shrugged. "It could be a puppet, but it seems.. to have a certain.. intelligence, and those two are never not counterhacking like fucking. Passionate, angry, in love. To have a unified voice through a little robot... It seems unlike what they seem like." She shrugged; the hackers obviously impressed Carmen, and there was something so young about her impish smile.

Amets looked over at the other hacker and seemed about to say something, when she thought against it. After a moment she said "I meant more I don't know how they physically use it. I looked over the power consumption for the building, and I'm not sure the numbers match up."

Carmen sighed loudly, and took on a nasal, sarcastic monotone. "Ooooh nooo. The CEO of Oracle is hiiiding something? How perplexing." She tutted a bit, not impressed with this reveal of information. She shook her head and followed along. "There's probably some BIO in the basement, eating dead agents and making clean burning fuel. It would not shock me."

"I prefer the cyberwolves on a treadmill idea myself." responded Amets with a slight smile, glancing slightly down as one of the animals in question slunk by on patrol. "There are certainly a lot of them around."

"You know any normal agent couldn't really control ALL of them? He's not like us.." She sighed, stopping in her steps, unwilling to keep following. The wolf may have triggered it, but it was hard to ell. Her face was solidifying into an expression of... distaste. "This corporation has more... glitchtech behind it than the UIG." She frowned.

Amets nodded quietly, her face flashing a similar look of distaste to the other hackers. "I don't understand it at all, and the other agents don't appear to have any interest in it. You'd think a bunch of information brokers would care more." She had also stopped, and was speaking very quietly, before making eye contact. "If you're stopping here, then I guess it is goodbye for now. I'd like to continue our talk another time though, if that is okay with you."

Carmen snorted. "Sure. We talk after. But ask yourself; do you think that the ambivalence of our co-workers was intentional?" The hacker flashed a thin smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She folded her arms and watched Amets retreat. "And if it is, why are WE here?"

Amets paused at the entrance to the lift. "I have absolutely no idea." she stated, an edge of something...disappointment? coming into her voice. After a moment, she turned her head back to the other woman. "I don't know where the equipment we use comes from, I don't understand why Oracle was created, and I don't even know who we are working for. I arrived here expecting to be killed the moment I stepped into the compound and I have only found more questions since then." her voice seemed genuinely frustrated now. "I...I need answers, and I'm not ready to get them yet."

The doors in front of her opened. "Thank you for the talk, Carmen. I mean it."

She stepped through the doors and disappeared into the ground.