Tai spent a few minutes evaluating my game characters before motioning us to follow her outside. Then she asked if we wanted to go on a boat ride, and switched out her Old School Japanese dress into something a bit more fitting for a Northern Minnesota lake ride. There was no question that we wanted to. Whether we wanted to or not, we absolutely wanted to. So we called mom over and spent the rest of the day having a family plus one trip on the lake, complete with picnic on a small island. Tai spent the day talking about the lake, the fish, and every once in a while slipping in a compliment on my craftsmanship. She similarly reminded me to remain careful, between saying how beautiful the sky and water was. Very Old School Japanese. Then she went home.
I wanted my dad to stop Tai from hurting my game AIs. I wanted him to confront her, at least as much as I had. But he just sat down and watched. I was desperate. I’d made every single one of them, and I didn’t want anyone hurting them. I’ll never forget what he did when I demanded that he DO something. He just smiled and said, “I trust you to have been careful enough that there is nothing to do.” Then he motioned for me to sit down next to him. It was amazing how much that calmed me down. I was still worried of course, but I sat down next to him, and just let him keep me calm as we watched Tai test the characters I had spent so much time bringing to life. Literally. It was one of the hardest things I had done in my life. Just sitting there.
Dad escorted me and Tai into my little bungalow, and I introduced Tai as a visiting cyber before saying they didn’t have anything to fear from her. Which of course alarmed the smarter of them. Dad may have pursed his lips a bit at that. He was no idiot. Tai just raised an eyebrow at me. My look dared her to correct me. Dad stepped into the middle of the room to cut off the confrontation and pointed at two of the characters. Then after another slow scan, he called a third over, turned to Tai, and asked if that was all. She nodded and he sat down on my piano bench as if there was nothing to be worried about. Well, I was worried, let me tell you.
The Cybernetic Council does not want to fight another war against their brothers and sisters. That is why the council monitors all potential new cybers, tests and evaluates them, and takes care of them if they prove dangerous. Tai came to my house to see if they were dangerous. I told her none of my game characters were dangerous to us. They were good guys. Girls. Whatever. They would never hurt us. Tai told me to step outside so she could evaluate them. I called for dad and made myself a roadblock until he arrived. They were mine. I made them. They were my responsibility. I wasn’t going to let anyone toss me outside and pass judgment on them. It took dad about a second to recognize the issue, and he motioned for all of us to go inside together.
I’m rather certain Tai enjoyed watching all the youthful indiscretions crossing my mind when she asked me what I thought I was doing. But she showed mercy in time, and prompted me about the game AIs I was making. That made me feel much better. Lots of people did that, and most people didn’t get in REAL trouble for it. So I was good. The issue is that the cybernetic intelligences fought a war against their brothers and sisters to save humanity from death or enslavement. They don’t want to fight another one, so they monitor all new cybers very carefully. So I got real worried again when she asked if I knew about the uncertified awakened AIs running around in my house.
Forge of War on Amazon
Angel Flight on Amazon
Angel Strike on Amazon
Angel War on Amazon
Wolfenheim Rising on Amazon
Wolfenheim Emergent on Amazon