boy?”
“Correct. Unless Lambda is reset, it will see the boy as its master. Though at this stage, it would be near impossible to reset it,” replied the contact frankly.
Corson paused momentarily. “Fine, what are Lambda’s limitations now that it is obeying the boy?”
Silence gripped the room once more.
Corson’s eye twitched. “I said-”
“There are none.”
Corson fell silent as he suddenly felt a little uneasy. “You mean to tell me that the Lambda unit will do anything the boy says?”
“Correct. Lambda has been set to consider this Zack character as a top priority. Lambda will not question any command from him.”
Corson glared, but at the same time, began to laugh wickedly. He knew a system reset for Lambda now was impossible, but his need for Zack’s cooperation became all the more needed for his plan.
“If that is the case, then, all I need to do is control Zack. Sounds simple.”
The contact was about to say something but trailed off. Corson seized the opening.
“What is your angle here? Why contact us after Lambda has evaded us, but not before? What are you trying to do?” Corson asked rigidly.
A few seconds passed with no reply.
“You need not worry of my plans. I simply wish to see what Lambda can do. You would be wise to not threaten the boy though. Who knows what a scared child will do when he is backed into a corner while holding a gun.” The contact’s words were grim.
Corson stuck up his chin. “I will handle the situation. It isn’t your concern .”
“For now it isn’t. You would be wise to understand that.”
The screen went black and quickly was replaced with the image from before. The room felt hollow as Corson rolled over the conversation in his head.
“Did you get that, Nerine?”
The small video window appeared on the large screen before Corson with the energetic face of Nerine.
“Of course. The person was using a complex code to hide their location, but with time, I should be able to pinpoint where it came from. Perhaps then we can get a lead on this arrogant jerk.”
Corson chuckled. “See to it that it is done in a timely manner. I need results if I’m to make any progress in that area.”
Nerine gave a salute while winking playfully. “Understood, the Diamond Lilly is on the scene.”
The window cut out seconds later, leaving Corson to mull over his thoughts once more. He then put a hand to his mask, drumming it with his fingers.
“In time, all will be as I see. Corson the Black God can’t, and will not, fail.”
* * *
[January 6th - Cyber Network, Private Server 23D11 - Day]
Cecilia sat completely dumbstruck. Over the last twenty minutes or so, Zack had explained his situation in stunning detail. It sounded unreal to the point of pure fiction. However, she couldn’t shake the gravity of his tone as he spoke. Stigma wanted her, as a way to get to Zack who had Lambda. Despite being told all this, it still put her in position where she had to make a very difficult choice.
“I’m not canceling the concert,” Cecilia stated bluntly.
Zack nearly fell over. “Did you not hear a word I just said!?” he shouted, regaining his sense of balance once more.
Zack reeled on the inside. He really had hoped Cecilia would get onboard when he told her the whole truth. Now, he was starting to lose his patience.
Cecilia folded her arms and pursed her lips. “It’s not like we are in the physical world. Here they can’t kidnap me.”
Zack reeled on the outside now. “Don’t you get it!? They will hack your Avatar and account. When they do that, they will be able to find your location. They will come and get you, wherever your agency has your body held up!”
This angered Cecilia. Right now, she couldn’t help but feel pent up as Zack tried to make her understand. The more he tried, the less she wanted to hear it.
“How do you expect them to be able to get to me during the concert? There are countless AI
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