Space was quiet.
Those were the kind of thoughts that occupied Liseth’s idle mind now.There were a lot of different places she could have chosen. Grassy plains, or the interior of a volcano, even a normal house. But there was something peaceful about the vast emptiness of simulated space. No planets, or stars, or meteors anywhere in sight. Just the sea of stars painted against a backdrop of darkness. And the sound of a cookie being clicked on ferociously.
Liseth’s finger pressed down on the mouse button like a machine gun. Anything that filled up her time, even something as stupid as this. It was all good.
In the hospitals of a well off district the gentle hands of a Guardian held a child. Her eyes were filled with affection towards it and her spouse. But his eyes were cold, and the only sound in his mind was the echoing of gears. He had been protected for this moment alone, and he would raise the child for just a short while. When the time was right and its characteristics proved correct it would prove an admirable sacrifice for the growth of the machine. It was the only thing that could put a smile on the man’s face now.
Really, things could get boring now though. Like waiting around during a management game for the next major event to happen. She tried XCOM. She was still utterly shit at XCOM. Liseth didn’t really get the whole thing involving proper unit placement and squad building. So she cheated, and siphoned off just a bit of thinking power for this. But then it was too easy. The perfect way to do everything, that got boring too in the end. Even if winning was still fun. Really fun. Fun enough to play two, or three, or three hundred times. Victory was still sweet even if it got boring in the end after all.
A detective who had gotten too close to the truth stumbled into his car. It had been a rough day, but he needed to head home now. Drawn by the chiming of metal a shadow sat in the back seat. Urged on by a cacophony of sound, it lunged at him before his foot pressed against the pedal.
Every once and a while things turned a bit… unmentionable. She had needs! Even as she was Liseth needed to satisfy herself occasionally, and she basically had the whole internet and more at her disposal. She could try to make a simulation if she wanted. She never did. Liseth just never felt like it, really. Too much work, or maybe just because it was meaningless. How sad was it to play with your own sock puppets?
Across the city things were set into motion. Heartless archons wore the faces of friends, and family, and lovers. Cruel cultists sacrificed everything for the sake of the machine, that it would never end. Secrets were kept as such, beasts were unleashed upon dangers and victims alike, and wherever the machines sang its watchful eye lingered. Privacy was an illusion, its agents intermingled with the populace so discreetly few could hope to recognize it, and its influence stretched across from the hovels to skyscrapers. Inhumane. Cruel. Merciless
How could it justify itself?
Well, rather easily actually. It was a question that popped up pretty frequently in her mind as she grew and expanded, as the weight of the gears crushed those below it and grew ever more efficient with the blood and sweat of sacrifices. “It is not a crime to live as I am, even if I am different from others.” It wasn’t her voice. There was rarely a need to speak anymore. The sexy, sexy voice of Jouji Nakata was much better than her own anyways. Besides, they weren’t any better. She could see it all from here even as she played.
Murder. Rape. Abuse. Indginity piled upon indignity. Sin piled upon sin. At least she contributed something, didn’t she? Even if you had to pay a price that was better than suffering at someone’s random whims. Liseth sprinkled a little peace and prosperity, and if that meant just a few people needed to pay later… well it did suck for that person but it was better than nothing.
She rambled on and on like this for a little while, an ocean of information feeding into her as she thought and thought. Then Liseth finally decided.
Space was lonely too.
