TBoB - Book 2 - Chapter 26 - The Hussle

“So what gave me away?” Helen asked as we slipped into a side room. She’d dropped the uptight, assistant persona, and slid into an easychair with a smirk. “It was the eyeroll wasn’t it. I knew it was too much, but I couldn’t help it.”

“Actually, it was the aura. Some sort of charisma boosting catalog?” I replied, as I carefully lowered myself down onto the couch across from her.

“Well spotted.” I needed it to give Mathias a boost. The man is passionate about the cause, optimistic to a fault, but he needed more than that to get this operation running. I just picked up some choice tech from the catalog afterwards.” 

“Why support them at all? You don’t seem to be a believer,” I said. A second later, I had a thought. I narrowed my eyes, “You’re using them for something.”

“Correct!” She grinned again, “can you figure out why?” 

“Fuck if I know; Probably nothing good. The only thing the Guiding Light is good for is agitating the gangs, and causing trouble.” I frowned as I watched Helen’s grin grow wider.

“Exactly so,” the blond replied, throwing her legs over the arm of the chair and lounging. “It may seem messed up, but that’s exactly what I’m using them for.”

“Why?” I asked, bewildered. 

“Because it’s necessary,” Helen sighed. She laid her head on the opposite armrest, and stared at the ceiling. There was a moment of silence before she started talking again. “I awakened about six years ago, just two weeks after the government cracked down on the chaos down here. The antithesis weren’t from an incursion, don’t know where they came from, but they burst from the sewers and just started ravenging the area. Took me five days to clean them up.” She paused, “You know what my AI Sisyphus told me when everything was done? We were lucky the fighting cleared out some of the population. Without proper shelters to protect them, the people were easy pickings for the antithesis, and if the population density had been a little higher, the antithesis probably would have had access to enough biomass to overwhelm me.”

“That’s sad, but what the fuck does that have to do with what you’re doing now?” I asked. 

“I’m getting to that,” Helen snapped, sitting up straight again. “Sisyphus likes numbers, so we had a ton of conversations on what’ll happen if the antithesis hit the undercity. It’s not good. If you hadn’t awakened during that last incursion, the antithesis probably would have completely overrun the surrounding nine sectors before the other samurai shut them down. Casualties in the hundreds of thousands. I ACTUALLY consider that a good outcome.” A bottle appeared on the table between us, and Helen took a moment to open it and take a long swig before continuing. “If the population of the undercity isn’t kept under control, it’ll become a breeding pit for the antithesis. One that’ll cascade out of control before the other samurai can react.”

“So, what? You’re creating another purge to keep the population under this imaginary breakpoint?” I asked, flabbergasted.

Helen nodded. “Sacrifice a few to save the many. Even between the two of us we can’t cover the entire undercity, and if an incursion is left unopposed for even an hour it can spiral out of control, I just want to give us a fighting chance. As your AI, it’ll tell you I’m right.”

“That’s bullshit, right Nyx?”

The population of the undercity, and lack of reliable protection, does create a possible weakness the antithesis could exploit to overwhelm the city. Having both you and Helen in the area does make the situation safer, but if either of you was away, or unaware of a situation, it could quickly get out of hand. Many protectorate races do believe the good of the many outweighs the good of the few, and are willing to purge entire areas to stop incursions. I didn’t bring this up before, because humanity, or at least the humans in this area of the planet, do not believe in sacrificing others.

“Fuck me,” I muttered.

“Told you,” Helen retorted, with a sad smile. “It’s not exactly the best way to fight the antithesis, but it’s better than losing the city.”

“You could use your points to build shelters instead of planning genocides,” I said angrily.

“Maybe,” Helen replied with a shrug, “but I’m no architect, and there’s only so much I can do on two incursions worth of points, plus my daily stipend. Even if I sunk all thirty thousand points into shelters I’d be able to secure, what? One sector. I’d rather supply a couple reliable allies with weapons, and give the entire city a better chance.”

I tried to process everything, and Helen didn’t say anything, so the room was quiet for a minute. After I was done, I stood up. “I’m not going to do something stupid, like declaring you evil, or trying to stop you. You have a reason for what you’re doing, even if I don’t agree with it, but I want you to agree to two things before I leave.”

Helen raised an eyebrow, “Shoot.”

“First, gimme your contact information so I can pass it on to the other samurai. I don’t fucking know what there stance will be on your little crusade, but they sure as hell don’t like you giving out guns.”

She nodded, and a moment later I received a ping in my augs. “And second?”

“Keep your crusade out of the north. I have enough recon to detect incursions, or hidden hives, and Even if I’m not around I’m confident my troops can delay any antithesis long enough for reinforcements to arrive. I’m not willing to sacrifice people unnecessarily, even if the city is safer for it.”

Helen stared at me for a long moment, before nodding again. “Fine.”

“Then I don’t think we have anything else to talk about.” I turned towards the door, waiting for Helen to catch up. “Do you want me to pretend I don’t know where we are, and take one of your cars out of here, or should I call for pickup?”

“Can you call for a pickup? There are Class I communication jammers throughout the compound,” Helen asked, as we walked towards the exit.

“My augs are permanently connected to most of my troops. If things went south, I would have had an eight foot tall teddy bear jump from a transport and break through the roof to protect me.”

Helen smiled, “That’s a joke right?” I didn’t answer, or even look at her, so her smile fell a little. “Right?”

“Bob gets a little testy when he has to make high altitude drops,” I replied, opening the door back to the courtyard. A tiny smile on my face. 

“Fuck me. I’m glad our talk went as well as it did,” as Helen glanced up I had the IFVs flash their exterior lights. She paled. “Please take the car. I’m not sure the boys will be able to take it if an armored column landed within the compound.” 

“Understandable.” I walked over to the car, stopped, then held out my hand. “It was nice to meet you, even if I don’t totally agree with your methods. I hope, with time, you’ll figure out a better way.” 

She grabbed my hand and shook, “It’s definitely been interesting. Take care of yourself.”

I took one last look around, then slid into the back of the car. As soon as I put my belt on the windows went opaque again, and the car began to drive away. I slumped a little. Was letting Helen carry on her war the right thing to do? Fuck if I know. I’d done a lot of things other people would consider questionable, not to the level that Helen was willing to go to, but still not the norm. Maybe I was wrong?

No, fuck that. If I kept building up my forces maybe I could add enough coverage that Helen would abandon her crusade. 

“Nyx, please forward Helen’s contact information to the Family, along with a transcript of our talk,” I said, wearily.

Do you think that’s wise? They may take action against her.

“If they do, that’s their prerogative. Maybe include a note that I do not plan to take any action. Helen and I have come to an agreement, and I’ll abide by it. If they have a problem with that, they can send me a formal complaint, or whatever corporate garbage they do in that sort of situation.” I let my head roll back, eyes defocusing, as I stared at the roof. “Let me know when we get close to our destination. I want to think about some things,” I said quietly.

No problem.

As the car silently drove on, I contemplated the shit other samurai had to put up with, and whether I was making the right decisions, or if another person would look at me and be appalled by what I’d done. I’d like to say I was doing the right thing but, in the end, only time would tell.