Ætherglow #168

You decide against saying anything to Synth, but message Lexi instead:

2254-08-12 13:12:13 Aydan > I think he hit it...but is that the best idea outside ina dome?

2254-08-12 13:12:17 Électricité > don’t worry, they know the wall tolerances

“Feel better?” Lexi says.

“Yeah...” Synth holsters their weapon and takes her hand again.

The Electrical System looks away for a few seconds, closing their eyes, and their LEDs flash brighter for a moment.

“Alright,” they say, snapping back to the surface. “El here. This is an op so let’s treat it like one. What’s our threat model?”

Synth grabs one of the gate bars and pulls on it--locked tight. “We’re looking at only automated defenses. I highly doubt anyone is here, and if they are, there are no technopaths to be seen. The place was abandoned three years ago, but might be powered.”

El of the Electrical System reaches down to the gate panel, waving their fingertips over it. “Yep, magnets say there’s power here.”

“Yes. But look at the local æther,” Synth says.

You realize you can do that much better now than you used to be able to. You activate your neurodissociative implant and watch the world dissolve before your eyes. You’re floating, flowing through the tunnel of light as the æther takes shape. You’re standing in a narrow space, with Synth next to you--the metal plate on their avatar’s head glows with the number 02. But the horizon is dark. The stars are few. You reach out further, but no distant path unfolds, no gate opens beyond this server.

You fall back, dialing your implant back down to surface consciousness. Gravity takes you at an odd angle and you lose your balance, but El catches you.

“Careful Aydan, I’d recommend being comfortably seated at least before dissociating,” Synth says. “But you surely saw what I mean.”

“The local æther here is a private server, and it’s not connected to the city or the relay network or anything,” you say.

“An æther island, we call that,” El says.

“This place was cut off from the broader æther the day it was raided and shut down,” Synth says. “I didn’t think of that at the time, back on TLA, so you won’t be able to bring in any friends of yours if we go ætherside. Sorry.”

“At least I have you two. Two&,” you say.

“In any case if any cameras record us, we can destroy their storage devices on the way out. The system can’t alert anyone to our presence. But there are traps.”

“What sort?” El says.

“The sort where we won’t touch anything metal until your fingertips can tell us it’s safe,” Synth says.

“Okay,” El says.

“Understood,” you say.

“Then let’s head in.” The gate panel lights up. “Aydan, pick this lock.”

“Me?”

“You can handle this. Welcome to senior mentoring,” Synth says.