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By: Ravi Duvvuri--duvvuri@uiuc.edu
Draco {tcsh}>cd ~luna
Draco {tcsh}>cd slayers/virtual
Draco {tcsh}>ls -Fla
drwx------ 2 luna wheel 1024 Jan 6 23:49 ./
drwxr-xr-x 6 luna wheel 1024 Jan 6 23:48 ../
-rwxr-xr-x 1 luna wheel 10002 May 20 18:14 impro*
-rw-r--r-- 1 luna wheel 584874 May 20 23:17 fanfic.gz
-rw-r--r-- 1 luna wheel 2591 Feb 26 03:02 presents.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 luna wheel 64305 May 22 01:09 virtual001.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 luna wheel 25542 Nov 16 13:50 virtual002.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 luna wheel 17961 Dec 09 19:34 virtual003.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 luna wheel 16227 Dec 23 22:57 virtual004.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 luna wheel 18584 Jan 6 23:50 virtual005.txt
-rw------- 1 luna wheel 56735 Jan 1 00:00 virtual026.txt
Draco {tcsh}>less virtual026.txt
virtual026.txt: Permission denied
Draco {tcsh}>cat file_is.diz
Correct? : cat file_id.diz ? Y
@X0F SLAYERS VIRTUAL CYBERPUNK ELSE [05/??]
Draco {tcsh}>less virtual005.txt
If you stopped to think about it, the sound was almost relaxing. The rhythmic staccato, punctuated by the flat silence. The soft "ding!" of metal and the muffled "thud" of wood. Almost hypnotic, if you stopped to think about it.
Which is always a hazardous prospect, when you are on the receiving end of semi-automatic weapons fire.
Gourry and Amelia were currently crouched in a hallway. Lina was unceremoniously slung over Gourry's shoulder.
Between them and freedom was the pair of security guards in the office lobby, who were keeping them in place with measured gunfire. Backup guards were surely almost there.
"Can't you deflect the bullets with your light sword?" Amelia shouted to Gourry.
"I don't know. I guess I can give it a try," he said, as he carefully stood, drawing his racquet and readjusting Lina's weight. "Let's go."
"Wait! That isn't a good idea, if you're carrying Miss Lina like that." Amelia scanned the hallway quickly, before her gaze fell on a pistol dropped by a fallen guard. "Here!" she exclaimed as she pressed it into Gourry's free hand.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Gourry asked.
"It's a gun! Do gun things with it!"
Gourry shrugged and handed it back to Amelia. "I'm not good with these. You take it and cover me." Without further discussion, he set his hand on Lina's back and darted out of the hallway.
"You can't be serious! I can't use a gun! I--" Amelia argued, before giving up her protests and taking a tentative shot above Gourry's head. Adjusting her grip to compensate for the recoil, she squeezed off a few more shots to keep the guards occupied while Gourry made his way to the receptionist's desk.
Gourry set Lina down behind the desk and brought his racquet to a ready. Making eye contact with Amelia, he nodded once, stood, and brought it down swiftly. The sentry was caught off-guard and was cleaved in twain. The other was taken down by one of Amelia's stray shots, disappearing in a pixilated cloud.
"C'mon, Amelia!" Gourry shouted as he picked Lina back up and rushed for the door. Amelia stood staring at the empty space previously occupied by the guard. "We have to go _now_!"
Amelia nodded dumbly and ducked to pick up the DNOS deck before following Gourry through the glass doors. Gourry shoved Lina into the back seat and jumped behind the wheel. He was gunning the engine by the time Amelia made it out and dived into the back seat with Lina.
With the screech of tires, they were off.
--less 10%--
Lina strode slowly through the valley, the moss underfoot crunching softly. She swatted idly at a dragonfly that had been buzzing around her head and watched as it disappeared into the multihued mists swirling around her.
"What is it with these graphics geeks?" she muttered to herself. She admired the work that had gone into the sim, but was getting rather annoyed by the ostentatiousness of Rezo's hired hands.
"Hey Gothboy! You out there?" she called out. Met by silence, she began weaving a quick program to scan the sim. Upon releasing it, however, the program was immediately snuffed.
Frowning, Lina tried a Lighting spell. The resulting globe of light spread a dull glow in every direction, but wasn't enough to pierce the fog. Lina made out the faintest outline of a horned figure through the wisps.
"LIIIIIIIIIIIINA," a booming voice resonated.
"Who are you?" Lina asked. Her headache returned abruptly, and her hands flew to clutch her head.
"YOU ARE LINA INVERSE. YOU WILL HELP ME."
"Who are you?" Lina demanded again, falling her knees.
The throbbing intensified in reply, swallowing her in pain.
---less 20%--
The eleven o'clock hour is not particularly well-known for excessive traffic. For Gourry, this was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he wasn't hampered by cars getting in his way. A curse because it meant there were no cars to get lost amongst.
Gourry was still making the best of the situation, weaving in and out of what traffic there was, all while keeping an eye on the cars following them.
In the back seat, Amelia had Lina propped up against her. She gently slapped Lina's cheeks in an attempt to bring her back to consciousness. Lina, for her part, was being most uncooperative.
"How is she, Amelia?" Gourry called back.
"Still out... she's feverish, but I'm sure she'll be up in just a second. Just keep your eyes on the road!"
Amelia gingerly slipped her hands under Lina's hair, sweeping it back as her fingers sought the familiar circles. She frowned as she noticed a slight inflammation around the electrodes and let her fingertips slip across the surface. With a yelp, she pulled her hands back, letting Lina fall ungracefully to the seat.
"What's wrong?" Gourry asked over his shoulder, trying to keep his eyes on the road ahead.
Amelia looked down at the exposed metal imbedded on either side of Lina's forehead. "Her... 'trodes. They're burning up. Like, physically!"
"This isn't good, is it?"
"Of course it isn't!"
--less 30%--
Zelgadis clutched the handset in a bandaged hand and continued his apologies. "I accept full blame for this, Sir. I allowed myself to be blindsided by Miss Berkowitz while I was attempting to deal with her companion."
"We will deal with assigning culpability later, Zelgadis. What is their current status?" Rezo's voice came across the radio, the faint sound of helicopter blades in the background.
Zelgadis paused to open a channel to the security computers. "They have taken to the streets. We have... eight units in pursuit. They did a fair amount of damage to the offices in their escape."
"You know the procedure. Alert the authorities about the three saboteurs who broke into our offices and made off with sensitive technologies. Call off all but a few of our men. Let's not make this too much of a spectacle."
"Very well, Sir." Zelgadis cut the connection and sent out a recall message to the security forces. Turning to the man sitting in a chair in the corner. "What are you smiling about?"
The purple-haired figure paused in his humming to respond. "That would be a secret."
--less 40%--
Gourry glanced in his rear-view mirror for the third time in as many seconds. "I think we lost them," he told Amelia.
Amelia looked up and turned around to peer out the rear window. True enough, there was no sign of their pursuers. "How'd you lose them?"
"I dunno. They just... disappeared when I pulled off the freeway."
Amelia nodded. "Okay, well, let's find somewhere to stop. We've got to get Miss Lina some help. She's burning up and it's getting worse!"
Gourry gestured at a block of warehouses ahead. "How are those?"
"They'll have to do."
"Okay." Gourry pulled up to an open door and drove in. Hopping out, he closed the door and came back to help Amelia remove Lina from the back seat of the car. "What are you going to do?"
"I think they gave her something to scramble her brain. I've got an idea, but it's kinda risky. You keep watch."
"Okay. What are you going to do?" Gourry repeated.
Amelia pulled out his late father's deck and a pair of cables. After hooking one set up to Lina's forehead, she turned to Gourry. "I'm going to try get in her head. I should be able to, with your computer." Digging in her pocket, she pulled out a small wafer. "But first things first!"
"That isn't Boost, is it?" Gourry asked, peering at the wafer in her hand. Amelia didn't seem the sort to rely on semi-legal drugs to enhance her hacking abilities.
Amelia shook her head before tossing it into her mouth. Feeling the bar dissolve in her saliva, she swallowed before answering. "Nope, something better."
Letting the anandamine flow through her arteries, Amelia basked in the rush. "Ha! Nothing like a good chocolate high to key you up for some hardcore do-gooding!" she exclaimed as she switched on and jacked in.
Gourry could only nod in non-understanding agreement as Amelia went limp and her lips began twitching slightly.
"C'mon, Amelia... you can do it."
--less 50%--
Lina came to slowly. She rubbed her eyes, trying not to move her aching head too much. She appeared to be in a shimmering cage of some sort. Surrounding the cube was a raw maelstrom of uncoded sim. For a moment, Lina was glad for the change of pace.
"Let.. Me... Out!" she screamed, banging her hands against the walls. If there was something she couldn't stand more, it was being held captive in her own deck.
Except, she realized, that she wasn't _in_ her deck. Which meant... damn. This was going to hurt.
Lina furrowed her brow as she began weaving together another program. "Here goes nothing," she muttered as she directly attacked her own brainstem.
The bottom of the cage dissolved and gave way. Lina gulped, her stomach lurching as she hit freefall. Quickly, Lina began throwing together a construct, hoping to get it built before she passed out.
--less 60%--
Amelia shook her head in disorientation. As her vision slowly cleared, she registered a familiar data stream -- an IRC connect. Text only, which meant one of two things. The more unlikely was that one of the Command Line Is The Only Real Interface Society folks was working for RPR. The more likely was that some lame wannabe old-schooler thought he could pull
one over on Amelia.
"Okay... we can play lo-tech," Amelia grinned. Executing a quick sub-process, she brought all of her firepower to ready status.
*** Now talking in #sailoon-chat
Amelia felt a sudden jolt as the channel dissolved around her. She glanced around at the new landscape. It was stark and utilitarian, which made sense, given the urgency with which it was thrown together. Amelia would have liked at least some furniture. Maybe a few tasteful decorations...
Lina herself was huddled on the floor, her head clutched between her hands. She was swaying softly, muttering something beneath her breath.
"Miss Lina? Are you all right?" Amelia asked, letting one hand fall on Lina's back. Lina looked up and nodded weakly.
"Let's... let's jack out."
--less 70%--
Amelia felt the low rumble before her vision restored itself. Shaking off the sluggishness, she sat up straight, hitting her head on the ceiling of the car.
"Where the--"
Gourry turned back from the wheel. "Oh good, you're awake. I didn't know if it was safe to move you... I didn't think it was safe to spend too much time out there."
Amelia's jaw dropped. "You moved us while we were jacked in? Do-- do you know what you could have done?"
Gourry was spared the necessity of replying when Lina groaned and began stirring. "Lina! Thank goodness you're awake!"
Lina didn't bother opening her eyes. The pain would've been too sharp. "Where are we going, Gourry?"
"To my place."
"Are you nuts? That's the first place they'll look for us. We're on the run now!" Lina exclaimed.
"I need to pick a few things of my father's up. We'll be out of here in no time at all." Gourry shrugged. "Besides, I didn't know where else to go."
"Well, we're here, so it's a moot point," Amelia added. "And the coast _looks_ clear."
The car came to a halt in the driveway, and Amelia bounded up the walkway. Lina was being helped out of the car by Gourry, and was slowly making her way to the door.
"Hey Gourry," Amelia said, peering at the door. "Did you lock up when we left?"
"Ummm... I thought I did."
"Ah-ha! Interlopers!" Amelia pulled out the pistol, which for some reason she still had in her pocket, and posed cutely. "Let's punish them!"
"Whoah, Amelia..." Lina cautioned. "Let's think... this.. through..." she trailed off, realizing Amelia had already vanished into the house.
A loud crash came from inside.
Lina hobbled forward, cursing when Gourry picked her up and carried her into the house. Sniffing at the air, Gourry perked up. "Hey, I know this smell..."
"Who cares about what you smell, just hurry up!"
Upon reaching the kitchen, Lina and Gourry found Amelia sprawled on the floor, limbs tangled with a taller thin woman. She was dressed in leather pants and a white blouse, and still held a frying pan in her left hand.
"Sylphiel?!" Gourry exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
Sylphiel stood up and brushed herself off. Smiling shyly, she answered, "I thought I'd surprise you and make lunch. I got here a bit late."
"Oh. Okay. Well, we're in a bit of a hurry, but I guess we could stop to..."
Lina interrupted, "Hi. I'm Lina. This is Amelia. And you know Gourry, apparently. I'll be blunt. Who the hell are you?"
"Oh, please forgive me for being rude!" Sylphiel answered sincerely. "I'm Sylphiel nels Lahda."
Lina noticed the faint circles on Sylphiel's forehead. "You code?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.
Sylphiel shook her head. "I only program a little. I'm mostly into hardware."
"And you have a key because?"
"Gourry didn't tell you? I'm his girlfriend," Sylphiel informed them, as she smiled slightly.
"Girlfriend?" Lina asked. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Gourry."
"Neither did I..."
--less 80%--
Rezo sat at his desk, carefully running his fingers over the deck in front of him. Finally, he had gotten ahold of the Shaburanigdo virus. Granted, it was only a fragment, but it was enough.
Feeling out the data port, he slipped a cable into Lina's deck and fastened the other end to his implanted computer. He loaded up the audio file with the reconstructed password stored in it.
He accessed the encrypted file, smiling in anticipation.
"Eclipse," he uttered in a voice not his own.
His sightless eyes grew warm as the ghost image of the data file unwrapping played itself across his retinas. His smile grew wider and wider...
And transformed into a silent scream as his eyes burned in fiery pain. A message floated across his flickering view.
NICE TRY, LUSER.
--less 90%--
"So it's a plan?" Lina asked. The other three nodded their confirmation.
"I'll start loading up the car," Sylphiel offered.
Gourry dug in his pockets and tossed her the keychain. "Get the van. We'll need the room."
"Is it fast enough?" Lina asked. "Let me guess, another one of your dad's toys?"
Gourry nodded.
"I'll go with you," Amelia said as she picked up a duffel bag. "Can you get the door, Syl?"
As the two girls headed out the door, Lina picked up the vial of painkillers and rattled it. Taking out the last four pills, she downed them dry. Grimacing, she turned to Gourry. "This is it... Do you think we can make it to the border by nightfall?"
"Maybe. Why do we have to get out of the state?"
Lina sighed. "Because the cops will be after us. We'll be out of their jurisdiction, if nothing else."
"I don't see what the big deal is," Gourry said, as he shook the DNOS deck. "Can't we just delete the virus?"
"No, no, no. You don't understand. It's in _here_," she said, tapping on the side of her head. "It isn't locked away in the deck. It's in my head somehow."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I have to get it out, somehow. Maybe there's someone in--" Lina was interrupted by a loud boom, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.
"Oh shit," Lina swore. "Tell me that wasn't the car."
Gourry mutedly shook his head.
FIN (chapter 5)
---------------
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Or not. It's late. Sorry.
And now for our new feature: "What's in Ravi's CD changer?"
Area - "Radio Caroline"
@X0C컴컴컴컴컴|
@X09 .------------------------------.
@X09 | this episode by ravi duvvuri
@X09 | cracked by stefan gagne
@X09 | indie distro by improfanfic
@X09 `------------------------------'
@X0E컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴
@X0B
@X0E[Solaris]컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴[Jan 2000]
*** Topic is 'Amelia wil Tesla Sailoon, This is your life!'
*** Set by Grace on Jul 06 13:19:35 2015
* Grace raises an eyebrow.
*** Grace is now known as Shab-4
* Shab-4 yawns.
* Amelia casts LAPHAS SEED.
* Shab-4 shrugs.
*** Lina has joined #sailoon
* Lina casts DRAGON SLAVE.
*** Shab-4 has been kicked off #sailoon by Lina
[or, In Which Ravi Says Something]
Information Society - "Hack"
Lanterna - "Lanterna"
Soundtrack - "thirty-two short films about glenn gould"
Think Tank - "Skullbuggery"