System Break

Chapter 114: Child Labour

Ailen sat tapping away at his keyboard in the games room.

The room was much longer than it was wide and filled with pods, robots, and a work desk for Ailen and Sakaala. Who in the old world went by Gan and Jia. Ben's robot was sitting on its charging mat.

The floor was a matte grey and the walls were OLED screens from floor to ceiling. With a tap of a key Gan changed the scenery on the walls to a river and rainforest.

With a familiar hydraulic swoosh the lid of Jia's pod rose.

"Are you good?" he asked.

"Yeah, the duke tried to pull some crap, but I have the treaty." She laughed. "I had Barrin and Ying with me which really sent him into a fit."

Gan nodded. "Better than being alone."

"What are you doing?"

"Background checks on the noobs, they come from the QWP pool and any of them could be a plant from that asshole director."

Jia stretched. "When's the meeting?"

"Soon, he'll buzz when he's ready. Did you submit a report?"

"When do I have time for that?"

The screens flashed, "Conference Room One."

Gan smiled. "Guess you don't have time now." He shutdown his screen and headed to the conference room with his sister.

Their father sat alone at the head of the table, but he had Michael and his top engineers on screen. He nodded greeting to them both.

"Gentlemen, they're here we can pause while I debrief. Stay online in case I need to ask you something." He hit the mute and blanked their screens.

"Father," Jia said, and Gan waved before he sat.

Huan Xie peered at his son. "Are you doing your own background checks on the recruits?"

Gan nodded.

"Good," Xie said. "Let me know if you dig anything up that Michael didn't."

"I probably won't but we'll monitor all their communications. Even if one of them is a mole we'll intercept their outbound comms and if they never send any, then good. Benzhi put me in charge of their training and he's just as concerned as we are."

Xie nodded. "He is ex special forces. He should be vigilant. But if he's not training them will it affect their progression? One of your main goals is to build redundancy."

Gan shook his head. "No, he will train them." He smiled. "We started a new method this week and I'm hopeful it will work. Everyone is learning to manipulate their qi like him. We also have a protector from Dawnharbour, and we'll learn their methods."

"How did you manage that?"

Gan tapped the table. "It's in my report. Our enemy actually facilitated it through their incompetence."

Xie smiled. "Excellent Gan, I'm impressed. It would be even better if you or Jia are able to replicate Ben, but if not ensure the new recruits can. Keep that as your main mission, but I have another for you both. You need to make contact with these gatekeepers, we need to break our dependence on the QWP directors."

Jia pursed her lips. "Do we know how they're harvesting the qi?"

Xie nodded and sighed. "Their current method is extremely inefficient." He tapped a key and an image of a thousand pods in a warehouse appeared on the screen.

"We pay the destitute to lie in a pod for 45mins while their qi is harvested and collected in some ethereal pool. It runs day and night and there are four of these across the country. That's 96,000 people a day. Some people come each day and there's a line. Apparently there is never a shortage of volunteers."

"How much are they paid?" Jia asked.

"Twenty bitcreds."

"That's insane," Gan said. "How is this kept secret?"

"It's not. It's done in the open. No one questions it because there's no harm done, and the people are recompensed for their time."

"What do they think is happening?"

"No idea. You can find out if you're curious. All the documentation is on our server. But this is not what I want you focused on; our engineers will work out a better method. We need the connect. You either need to find and talk to the Gatekeepers or find the man who established the connect - Researcher 001."

"What do we know about Researcher 001?" Jia asked.

Xie tapped the desk and the screen displayed an image and bio. "He is the founder of the Qi World Programme before he was ousted by his investors." Huan Xie chuckled and was joined by his children. They had done to the directors exactly what they'd done to the founder.

"He should be motivated for some revenge but be careful. If you find him report back. He was an engineer who was fascinated by and practised Daoism. The whole concept was his life's work.

"When I read some of his first reports it sounded crazy, but you cannot deny the results. I had studied Daoism and qi in my younger days, but I thought it was a spiritual journey and self development. I never thought it existed."

Gan drummed his fingers. "Where is his pod? Can't we track it?"

Xie laughed. "No. He disconnected from his pod. His body has been in a coma for years and he's stuck in a first generation lump."

"Lump? That's Ben's term."

"Yes, it stuck. We're working on a fourth gen now. I offered him one, but he didn't seem interested."

Jia glanced at Gan.

"If he dies he will take you up," Gan said. "But he's been improving it. Mother has, the Svartalfar matriarch. They stuff him with wood from the sacred willow and it strengthens him."

"Stuff?"

"Painfully insert it into him like an exo-skeleton."

"Is this in your report?"

Gan shook his head. "It didn't seem relevant to our goals and it's not something I can demand from the matriarch. She doesn't even do it to the natural guardians."

Xie's eyes narrowed. "If its relevant to qi abilities its something we need to investigate. Find out more."

Gan nodded.

Xie looked at Jia. "And what about you daughter? Gan has been doing all the work."

Her face darkened. "Oh, I was abandoned and am stuck down in the south."

Xie peered at her. "Make the most of any situation. If you're near Loctris find out how he travels to the gatekeepers. It's not anywhere in their documentation, it's a tightly held secret."

She frowned. "I look like a Svartalfar."

"Take a new body. Join a guild."

She shook her head. "The only guild in Loctris is the reds and they're all male except for the leader."

Xie chuckled. "Who said you have to be a female?"

Jia looked horrified. "You must be joking."

Xie shrugged. "Do what you need to. Are the Dokkalfar welcome?"

She shook her head. "It would be the same and I'm not that keen on crafting."

"You could attach yourself to Kysandre. Be her best friend and now you have the treaty we can come and get you."

Jia pursed her lips. "I could do that. And yes please come soon."

Gan smiled at his sister. "Of course."

Huan Xie stood. "Good work. This has been a productive period and I'm keen for you to take us to the next stage. I'm relying on you."

They both stood.