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Lew grimaces for a moment, and an expression of fear flashes across his face. How ... He shakes his head violently and then looks Trophy directly in the eye. Help me LaChessa. He grimaces again and the bots draw weapons and point them at your squad. Lew turns and sprints towards a door that opens automatically and slams shut behind him.
Lew snaps his fingers in front of Trophy. He has stood up and moved around the table to stand in front of her. LaChessa. Are you ok? I said "What now dear?"
Lew and the bots roll their eyes in unison.
I see. Well, I suppose it doesn't matter now does it. He glances at a chronometer on the wall, and leans back in his chair. The robots lean back in sync with him. At this point Quinoa enters the room and returns to your side. He looks none the worse for wear. Lew watches Quinoa enter. So what now dear?
While closely watching Lew, you notice that his movements are, for fleeting moments, almost perfectly synched with the movements of the robots at his sides. He also seems entirely too comfortable with the situation given that he does not appear to have any weapons. Hmm, I always did enjoy our awkward silences. Tell me, why did you try to kill me anyway? I truly thought there was something more between us.
Lew actually looks surprised for a moment. Him? That seems a true waste. But very well. He sits motionless for a moment and then a robot of less severe design enters and escorts Quinoa out of the room. So .... this isn't why you came. Is this a pleasure call, or a poorly planned assassination?
Afraid, my dear? Hardly. I only wish to see to your every desire, as I always have. He interacts with a minority report style interface and the elevator doors open. Apologies for the wait. I wanted to give you the proper welcome. The door opens and you are greeted by six security bots, not unlike the units that accidentally killed a few innocents in the previous assault on your company. His voice continues in your ear. You really did not need to bring these sacrifices, but no matter, they will not be harmed. My servants here will guide you to my office . . . assuming you still wish to meet in . . . person. Assuming you follow:: The security bots march three in front of your group and three behind.
1. What about this level suggests that it was not designed by a human mind?
After about fifteen minutes you are led into a large conference room. Lew is waiting alone, and smiles warmly as you enter. Four of the bots go outside to guard the door, while two sit down, one on either side of Lew. You really didn't need to send your prototype all this way for a chat. It is a bit of wasted effort, as I can't imagine you would waste such a useful gift by installing it in your telepresence unit. We can send a tech to your offices for a personal install at your convenience. He sits expectantly.
What a pleasure to see you love! Well, what passes for the physical you I suppose. What can I do for you?
Lew's feed shifts to his confession room. You know, I actually loved her. Silly right? Loved her right up until she dropped that passenger elevator on me. A single tear rolls down his cheek. Then he perks back up. You know what they say, the foolishness of youth. I do have to thank her for one thing. I learned a lot that day. His feed shifts to a scene of the aftermath of the passenger-elevator incident, with a grievously wounded Lew helping first responders pull bodies out of the elevator. As the feed plays, Lew says You broke my heart, LaChessa. After a few uninterrupted minutes (cleverly edited to emphasize Lew's heroism), the feed cuts to the familiar IA logo and then goes dark.
LaChessa, a video feed appears on your HUD unbidden, and you are not even given an opportunity to decline the call. Lew looks calm, but you can tell that he is furious. You can also tell that this call is being broadcast. Old Partner! It has been too long. So good to see you. Good to see you. I'm glad you are well. Listen, there is no need for these ... hostilities. Sure, you have always had the manners of a tramp from the hundreds, but people change. Maybe you can change. Oh, one other thing. I noticed that your feed is ... well ... hideous. Here is a peace offering. Your digital inventory notification pings and you see that you have received a gift credit for one free Mark 3 Datajack, plus installation. Upgrade your Feed darling, and Broadcast Yourself. The line briefly displays the IA logo and "Broadcast Yourself(TM)" before going dark.
Within moments of the feed going live, thousands of viewers are tuned in, and the chat window is aglow with ignorant comments. A tall thin man stands in a darkened chamber, with his head bowed. The IA logo rotates slowly in the lower right corner. As the live viewer count hits 100,000, he lifts his head with a broad smile. Greetings Scrapers! Lew Nosrettap here at IA HQ with your daily update! But first, I hope you are all having a wonderful time! The camera pans back and a digital image of a small gadget appears. We are incredibly proud of the obsessively engineered Mark III Datajack released a fortnight ago! Redesigned from the ground up to give you unprecedented control and comfort in the Mesh. Upgrade your Feed! Available now. Lew pulls out two pistols that look like old time six-shooters. Scrapers, do I have a treat for you! You voted and we listened! Last night yours truly infiltrated a Holden Tech lab on 1223, and I have some great video with your weapons of choice: Alice and Chains! He holds up the pistols to make sure the audience gets a good view. As we all know, Holden Tech is garbage so this was just a simple smash op, nothing worth grabbing. Still, I think you will be impressed! A video begins playing showing (presumably) Lew's view of a brightly lit but otherwise nondescript building. Lew is clearly a skilled marksman, and Holden Tech's security is simply no match. He toys with them, and an audio feed appears to be playing his internal monologue (which you have never seen done before). He is thoroughly enjoying himself and internally mocking his victims, who lie unconscious from Lew's energy blasts. After about 10 minutes the entire building is ablaze and Lew casually withdraws, laughing on the inside. Don't worry folks, we made sure all of them got out just fine before the fire started. What did you all think of that audio feed? Pretty cool right? Direct Thought Transmission. Exclusive to the Mark III, now you can truly Broadcast Yourself! The feed ends with the IA logo spinning slowly with the words "Broadcast Yourself (TM)" displayed beneath.
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