Chapter 15: What's in a Name, Anyway?

  Jack stared up at the blonde woman in incredulity, as if at a madwoman. The cigarette fell from his mouth. “Bullshit. That’s ridiculous. Impossible! Sh-she’s not… not-”

  “What?” Boss Lady raised an eyebrow, still holding her hand out. “Human? No. Of course not, Jack!” She said it with abundant cheer. “I’m not even here. This is more of a sophisticated projection, a semblance, a sleeve, a facing to serve a novel, specific function — who is she behind it? Well. It may be accurate to say an alien. It may be accurate to say a technology — an incredible instrumentation given life. It may be accurate to call me a sapient force, or even to go Old School and claim a goddess is in your midst. But I’ll tell you one thing that I am, which is absolutely true.”

  She put her free hand over her heart and her eyes got wide as she proclaimed passionately, “I’m humanity’s biggest fan.” Somehow, she made it into a terrifying statement.

  Jack had no words, no capacity to process her at that moment, in his particular mental state. Briefly, he wondered if he was hallucinating or dreaming. It certainly seemed pretty feasible right then, compared to what was staring at him at face value.

  “On that note,” Boss Lady continued, still holding her hand out, “perhaps you’d like a more suitable imagery for the gravitas of the situation?”

  Suddenly, she burst with light, grew in size, and her skin turned a brilliant gold. Her suit became resplendent bronze and silver armor, and massive white feathered angel wings flared out from her back to practically wrap around the room. Eyes glowing intensely white, she declared with a supernaturally booming voice, “Quake, mortal! Quake, and” — she cocked her head sideways and her brow quirked as she wriggled her oversized, held-out hand — “shaaake??” Meanwhile, a wing came close to wrapping around him.

  Jack’s reaction after the immediate shock wore off was rather instinctive and quick — he yelped and jerked away, particularly from the wing. Precariously positioned and disoriented as he was, he ended up tipping the chair backward and falling to the floor. Scrambling to his knees, he pointed at the apparition. “Stay the frag away from me!”

  The angelic apparition certainly didn’t approach. She looked down at her hand in disappointment. “You’re really going to leave me hanging, Jack?” She winced and sighed grandly, letting the hand drop in apparent dejection. “I’m not sure I’ll survive this embarrassment.”

  Jack, still panting a bit, tried to get a hold of himself. He was forced to believe what he was seeing. What he’d been told. Her identity was promised in the contract.

  Memoria. I’m staring at Memoria. Or one of her… faces, at least. Our Archon. Our creator, practically!

  Jack sat back on his rear with his back against the wall, arms over his raised knees. He eyed her. A million things were tumbling over one another that he wanted to say. None of them would be easy to get out.

  He shook his head and blurted tiredly, “Why? Why this song and dance? Why all this deception to get me to sign at a disadvantage? And you were the orchestrator the entire time. I don’t want to believe it. I still find it hard to. I would’ve wanted to believe… you were above that. Probably stupid of me.”

  Memoria’s face grew sober as she returned his gaze. Her angelic appearance shimmered and contorted back down to the suited woman. She walked around the table to what had been his side and hopped up to sit. The cigarette she’d stuck in Jack’s mouth was sitting and burning on the table. She took it and dumped it in the water cup with the other one from before.

  She then leaned forward, hands folding in her lap as she looked down. “Jack, I’m sorry I hurt you, and I hope you can forgive me. I always act for the greater good. Sometimes it’s your greater good too, son. This is a mix of both. Can you guess why? I’ll give you a hint: imagine if I lead with being Memoria.”

  Jack swallowed a throat still parched somehow and pondered. “I suppose if you utilized awe, you could’ve strong-armed me more effectively. But so what? You could’ve simply decided it wouldn’t work and used your other strategies. Like your… Agent Eyecandy McLieface.”

  “You’ve already been told signing was for your own good. It was. She believed that, too. She’s annoyed with herself for failing the assignment far more than she is with you. There’s consolation that we are victorious now, and she accepts that. I am always willing to test people, Jack. I don’t think utilizing your awe would’ve worked, no, and if it did, it would be a less interesting test. I provided you with something of what you expected, which is, in large part, our existential reality already. This. The suits, the conference rooms, the endless halls.

  “And that’s the short of the answer. Getting your measure, son. You did well, maybe a little better than expected, even. The negotiation was no farce. Did you expect pity throws and slow balls? No. No, you didn’t, Jack. And you got to choose. You conjured a choice out of a choiceless situation. That, I truly did attempt to orchestrate. A compromise. I would’ve eased you into it a little smoother if you had been bamboozled initially — as you call it. We might’ve avoided this current doubt and discomfort if you hadn’t gotten your back up about everything.”

  Jack snorted derisively. “Yeah, sorry your deception of me didn’t work out better for us. Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?”

  “I suppose not.” She shrugged. “Jack, I won’t mince words on this front anymore — you will wade through an ocean of lies if you want the island of truth. I won’t even say this is the way I want things. This is just the reality of our needs. Obscurity is our policy, and the layers peel back for One Who Rises, only. Nonetheless, you’ve risen far higher than you were. Perhaps you’ll have enough drifting truth to float on if you want to be weighed down by such desires. I’d suggest being lighter.”

  She smiled slowly and winningly at him, then clasped her hands, lips pursed, as if excited. “Regardless, I think you’re going to do great things with us, Jack! I’m so happy to have you. I’d be thrilled and honored if you called me Mother. Know that I love you and want what’s best for you. I don’t want to be the Boss Bitch, sometimes, but that’s just how it is for functionality. Like here at this negotiation table, so my naughty, naughty son didn’t take me for everything and the shirt off my back, too.” She gave him a faintly admonishing grin and winked.

  Jack was incredulous once again, shaking his head. It annoyed him especially, because such words were a tug of something in him he did not want to deal with or acknowledge — especially right then, with her. “You’re incredibly inappropriate, you know that?”

  She shrugged shamelessly. “I suppose so, yes. In which case, you have to admit you take after me — at least a little, hmm?”

  Jack sighed. He was tired of talking to her. Tired of talking. Tired in general. Tired and starving. He glanced ‘inward.’ Information to review. At the top of it all, he saw the ‘unique name’ of his class burning brighter than the rest. “What is so damned important about Shaper of Metal?”

  Memoria raised her brow and cocked her head. “That’s the question, Jack — but can you answer it? Not now. Think on it. Experience it, son. Know it! The more you become it, the more doors will open for you.”

  Jack frowned at her. Frag it, let’s just move on. Time to call in my stipulations. “Is my dad alive? Do you know where he is?”

  “Your father is believed to be alive, but out of my perception. He’s hiding out in independent territory after a botched smuggling operation he was involved in. He is a fugitive, Jack — a criminal. Fortunately, the crime isn’t exactly high order on our lists, but he could be wrapped up in worse things by now. We believe he’s almost certainly addicted to one or more illicit drugs to be doing this. Your contract ensures he’ll be hit with a pillow comparatively if we arrest him. Behavioral rehabilitation, special placement, a large stipend. Satisfactory?”

  Jack felt his gut twist into a knot. He shook his head and rubbed his face with a hand. “I… I don’t know. Whatever is best for him. Would that be it?”

  “Ooh, getting smarter quickly, Jack — asking Mother for advice. Bravo. Well, it depends on how much you want me to bend the rules, son. A sprinkle of my resources, a dash of my manipulation, what chance does one, mere man have? I know just what he needs, too. What he had once, and lost, which drove him forward instead of backward. A woman.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  She smiled a devil’s smile. “Some beautiful angel to come down and rescue him. Be his inspiration, be his. A contrasting ecstasy to what will haunt his desires for the rest of his life in those physio-chemical dreams of escape. Someone to be clean for, to hope with.”

  Jack stared in disbelief. “An assignment. You’re talking about an assignment. An agent like Bermuda. Are you serious? You’d do that? They would do that, just because of me and this contract?”

  “I would for you, yes; they would for you, no. They would do it for me.” That devilish smile grew doubly wicked somehow, like they were sharing a private crime they’d gotten away with together.

  Jack broke eye contact. He ran a hand through his hair and finally dropped his head back to stare up at the ceiling. “It feels wrong.”

  “Feelings are often like that, Jack, while pragmatic acts remain lost in shades of gray. In any case, I am not omnipotent. We have to find him and bring him in, first. So take your time, hmm? If you ultimately decide to have him toss the dice hoping for seven when he rolls snake eyes every time that he has the cup, so be it. Bountiful free capital, a hole in the heart, and a history of addiction don’t make for a promising stew, though.”

  Jack winced. Yeah, giving my dad a good life is way more complicated than it should be. Damn him. “Is this another test, by chance? Is there a right answer?”

  Memoria laughed. “The worst formulas are those with mere probabilities even after the equal sign. I’m afraid there are no guarantees, and right or wrong can only be assessed from a philosophical standpoint. Yours, that is.”

  “I guess I can’t have my Decision Cake and eat it, too.”

  “Yes. You’re stuck with it. And if you give it to me, you’ve still made a decision. Shall we put it in the fridge for now, then?”

  “Frag me… yeah. Thanks. Ah… okay, what about Neex? You said you’ll keep me in the loop. And I get to talk to her.”

  “Once a day, but you already have today. Before you balk — be real, son. You need rest and recuperation. Need to eat a whole damn kitchen, too, before you shrivel up like jerky! As for your loop, I will start by saying things are somewhat up in the air. Is this a promising potential alliance? Of course. Is Neex being treated well? Is she the likely ambassador of this whole equation? Of course. Are you going to be highly involved? Probably. But you need to do something for me. You need to work your ass off and catch up to your brothers and sisters. You’re older, yet weaker. Soft. Fix it. And that’s an order. Understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I will.” He left it at that.

  “I’m going to give you a pass on the lack of gusto and pep this time around. You’re bewildered, expended, and exhausted. But fix that, too, or you’ll never drag your ass out of the muck.”

  “Ah- understood. Ma’am.” I’ve got to get it together, here. Adapt, Jack. Adapt!

  He ran a hand over his face again, then used the wall to help him get up. He took a step toward the blonde woman sitting on the table and… held out his hand. Met her eyes. “I freaked out, I admit. But the Archon of Humanity has certainly shown herself to be formidable. I have the honor of seeing it with my own damned eyes and it’s not lost on me. If we didn’t need what you dish out, we wouldn’t get it, right? Anyway, thanks for the opportunity. And however you bent the rules for me. I’ll make good on it; I signed on it and I mean it. Mother.”

  Strange to say that title, but ultimately it was just a title. A special one, too. It was a sign of his status. He was in. He was to serve at the highest level for the highest authority. He was staring eye-to-eye with it. Nothing whatsoever could take away from that, no matter how he was deceived or manipulated, nor how much he disagreed with the things she’d done or aimed to do. The wonders of humanity were built on her back, at her direction. She deserved all due respect, and what was due was titanic. Godly.

  She watched him with only a mild expression for a moment, nodding slowly and soberly. Then she hopped up and dramatically took his hand and shook it firmly. A grin blossomed on her face as she looked at him. A new kind of smile. Pride and confidence.

  In a flash, she released and grabbed him in a firm embrace, patting his back hard. “Thatta Boy!” she called at his shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Jack. My prodigal son returned! One out of millions stuck in the mire of my failures, crawling out of it — and look! He’s sterling, he’s made to be a champion! He’s the right stuff to mature into greatness. A miracle boy.” She broke from the hug to look up at him fondly, her hands on his shoulders. “Excel for me, Jack. Do well. Will you?”

  He stared back at her, blinking through a confusing mix of emotions. He felt a bit punched in a vulnerable spot, though there was residual numbness from everything else over the day. He found himself nodding to her. How else could he respond to it?

  She’s no different than my existing understanding of family… being completely fragged up. But we’re stuck with each other and make the best of it.

  Another thing suddenly burned in his mind with curiosity, triggered by her talk of a ‘mire of failures.’ He asked quietly, “How are we corrupted, Mother? Broken. Why did I need the repair?”

  Her humor faded, and her face became grave. Her hands dropped, but her gaze was unblinking. “That’s classified, Junior Agent Laker. In fact, the classification grade is high indeed. Do not share such thoughts or details you think you know with anyone without very specific instructions. We’ll see how that goes. I want your deliberate agreement, your word to me, you will not, otherwise. A matter of the public good.”

  Jack narrowed his eyes, nodding slowly. No one fraggin' knows. Holy hell. A miracle result, huh? Yeah — produced by Quallakuloth. “That’s an order?”

  “Your word is not an order, it’s a request. To indicate to you how important it is, because I don’t ask for things lightly. Obedience to keeping it to yourself in general? Yes, that’s an order. Classified information always is without verifying absolute containment of clearance.”

  “I give you my word that I won’t discuss it with anyone without your leave, Mother. Are you really not going to explain or tell me anything?”

  “Me? Not until it is necessary, in which case special clearance may be in order. One Who Rises, Soldier. One Who Rises. In the meantime, do a good job for me keeping your mouth shut, and that’ll do wonders for your chances. You have much to prove there — and with this, your word was given as well.”

  Jack’s jaw worked because he had many ‘smart’ things to say right then, and as so often was the case, he maintained restraint to avoid getting into trouble. No one could say he didn’t learn from his teen years.

  Meanwhile, Memoria stood there with her eyebrows raised, as if daring him. “Well? Just going to stand there brooding or say what’s on your adorable little mind?”

  “I was just thinking. That I’ll be sure to rise as high as necessary to know the truth. That it will be a victory when you smile and say, ‘Of course it’s time to spill the beans, Jack! You earned this. Are you ready?’ I’m going to take a moment to smile ear to ear and tell you: I told you so.”

  Memoria crossed her arms and acted impressed in a teasing way. “Ooooh. Cocky of you. Okay. I like that spirit, son. Really. Fine, then. Lay that slain beast at my feet, Boy Seeker — still warm and bloody, mind. I’ll be the queen of that fantasy you have; my boon your spoils of war! Why not the muse and inspiration of a man, one made such as me?”

  “I know you’re being flippant, but that makes me wonder: made by whom?”

  She smiled and squinted her eyes to slits at the same time as if playfully chastising a mischievous child. “Some things may be beyond any mortal, son.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  She laughed richly, somewhat with exasperation, with her head falling backward, and she turned it into a spin on her heels, walking around the table. “Oh, this is going to be fun, Jack. I have a feeling.” She made her way to the door and opened it. Then she turned to point at him emphatically with a lacquered finger. “Excel, Jack! Learn! Train!” Each command, she pointed again. “Grow! Strive! Win!” She held her hand back for gravitas, then pointed again, more gently. “Conquer. But first? Eat. Sleep. Or I swear I’ll smite your happy ass back to Eden’s fields so hard you’ll be shitting popcorn!” She winked and departed, leaving the door open.

  Despite himself, Jack coughed a hysterical laugh at her antics — perhaps due to his state-of-mind. She was difficult to parse and slightly unreal. Certainly larger than life. The Big-Big Boss that was possibly untrustworthy.

  Not sure what I was expecting or why. She keeps herself cloaked in mystery, after all. I’m a prodigal son, am I? I guess it does sadden her not to connect with all her children. Quallakuloth suggested that, too.

  Through the open door came the ‘secretary,’ Agent Bermuda. She was all business as she took the contract up and regarded him. “Junior Agent Laker. Welcome to the Agentus Exemplar. This contract will be on file and viewable at your leisure from your internal interface. Please remember to maintain all due confidentiality. A physical copy is only available in this building, thus requiring special arrangements, but it is your right.”

  She gestured a gloved hand briefly at the door, all-in-all keeping possession of a very ‘prim and proper’ demeanor. “Now, if you will follow me, I’ll show you to the elevator. You are to rendezvous with Agent Nonpareil Lindsay Soyer on the subway level. She’ll take you to your new community through your training period, known as Everywhere Hall. It’s populated with existing Junior Agents who are in training. Note that they’ll be further along than you and many of mission age — this is sixteen to twenty and usually eighteen. Age is considered an important right to know in regards to Junior Agents — you can get this info with a moment’s thought.”

  Everywhere Hall? Huh.

  Jack nodded along, wearing a smile that Bermuda definitely noticed but neglected to acknowledge. He offered, “Well, you seem to be in a better mood. Makes me wonder just what you’ve shown is an act and what isn’t.”

  She lifted her chin and one eyebrow at him. “You signed at the end of the day and showed yourself to not be a complete idiot. We accept success here, whoever is the ultimate executor. Then we move on to the next challenge.” She did not wait for his response, turning and walking out, the unspoken demand for him all too clear — to follow the click, click, click of her heels.

  So begins a new life! Train it up, Jack.

  The stat bio is first checked out in Chapter 17! Speculation for the comments: What is so damned important about Shaper of Metal?!

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  May Humanity Prevail!

  ::: :::