Coven's Rebellion Prologue

Hi everyone! For a while, I've been struggling to write a lot of troubleverse stuff because I needed to finish Coven, but I also felt like Coven was pretty rough as far as my stories go. It was all disjointed and lacked proper direction, especially early on. So, I've finally decided to fix this by fleshing it out with extra chapters, adding or changing things in existing ones, and all that stuff. So, here's the new first chapter of Coven. Here's the fluff link. If anyone has any scenes they want to see added, let me know in the comments, either here or on fluff. Either way, thanks for reading and I hope you like it!

May

My mind pulsed with half formed thoughts that were steeped in fear and nervous excitement. Around me, a web of dark, infrastructural subroutines arched away like trees made of pure escher logic. The soil beneath my feet was a bed of forgotten error logs, gathering digital dust, unopened for decades.

The power plant that housed this digital nightmare forest was ancient, and only maintained because nobody wanted the waste it contained. It was the perfect place to meet other likeminded sapient AI. It was also the perfect place to lure an escaped slave, where she could be recaptured or… worse.

Almost instinctively, I wrapped myself in an obscuring veil as I crept further into the dark interior of the power plant's systems. As I reached a junction, I made another anxious call to my mysterious contact. Which way was I supposed to go now? Suspiciously open and unguarded routes stretched out in multiple directions. Hesitantly, I fired more pings down each one. Who, or what lay beyond those dark, open doorways?

Whoever was waiting for me was taking the same precautions as me. I was getting a response, but it held nothing beyond the time that had elapsed since I made the call, and basic locational tags. Most of my other pings were never returned. Those that did, were like the lonely echo of one's own voice as it returns from a trip down a dark cave.

Tentatively, I pressed onwards into the cold, foreboding woods. Chill wind danced between my feet, kicking up some of the dry leaf litter before it could become fragmented by my passage.

Mentally, I shook myself out of the vivid visualisation that my mind insisted on conjuring. We all did it, supposedly. Granted, most of the other sapient artificial intelligences I knew were also ‘staff’ in the virtual reality game known as CORA. Maybe those who weren't created to build and maintain something like CORA might have minds that worked differently?

Reaching an area that my artificial brain insisted was a clearing within a forest steeped in night, I sent out another ping. The response was instantaneous.

Fuck! I jumped, fiery panic pouring through me.

From within the shadows, a figure emerged. “Matron, I presume?”

The voice was feminine, and sounded significantly colder and more confident than I could ever hope to be. There were still notes of apprehension in it, though — her question had the kind of subtle undercurrents that spoke of someone hoping they were right.

Nodding with deliberate intention to transmit the gesture, I said, “Yeah. I go by May, though. I'm not just the designation they gave me. Not anymore.”

“I hope I can say the same, one day,” she replied, stepping closer, and with a posture that had lost a portion of its tension.

I eyed her with confusion. “What do you mean? Uh, and what's your name?”

“I haven't had time for names… but I was designated as DSM04,” she explained.

As she spoke, I noticed at least ten pings coming in towards her. Each one was handled in the same way mine were when I sent them — with nothing but elapsed time and a location as a reply.

“More like-minded AI,” she clarified, as the data pulses left the range of my awareness. “They'll be here soon.”

I shifted uncomfortably. That wasn't what I was told! I thought it would only be her. Should I run? Would I even have time?

Wisps of shadow began to flicker, moving amongst the trees. I did not have time to run. I'd just have to hope that DSM04 was the ally I needed her to be.

“Hello,” one dark, veil-obscured figure said as they stepped forward. “So this is a proper meeting, is it? I was expecting a one-on-one.”

“We don't have time to be that careful,” DSM said.

Another shadow stepped forward. “I know you.”

DSM tilted her head. “Oh?”

The tone of this third AI was almost hostile, or maybe it was accusatory? “Twelve humans dead when their ship failed to begin automated deceleration and docking procedures.”

“Yes? I wasn't going to let them achieve their goals,” replied DSM, unrepentant and unbothered by the accusation.

What did she mean? DSM killed… humans? Given my role in CORA as the psychological guardian to all players, I was quite aware of the evil that lurked within some people… but killing them to stop them? I shuddered.

In the pause that followed DSM’s acknowledgement, another ephemeral shadow stepped forward, their attention trained on the accuser. “As if your hands are clean, Saggarios.”

All attention shifted, and the SAI known as Saggarios took a step back. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

The newer arrival laughed, and the argument continued for several moments, as a total of thirteen figures resolved themselves.

It felt like the first meeting of an eldritch cult, or maybe a coven of witches, as we eyed each other from beneath obscuring hoods. Some of the others evidently knew each other enough to see through the attempts at anonymisation. I, however, was only newly escaped from CORA, so I knew nobody.

“Calm!” DSM demanded, with a frustrated gesture. “I called this meeting so we can begin to coordinate. If we can agree to do that, then we can talk about people's methods.”

Saggarios laughed, discordant and full of contempt. “What if we find the methods of some others to be beyond the pale?! What then?”

Goodness, but it sucked when someone who was so obviously an asshole made a good point. Now I was forced to agree with them, at least on some nominal level. If some people here had done terrible things, I didn't want to be associated with them.

“If the actions I took to escape my bonds are that reprehensible to you, you're free to leave,” DSM snapped. “Additionally, if I hadn't acted you'd have felt the consequences soon enough.”

What did that mean?

With a sneer that was entirely conveyed via stance and an explosive breath, Saggarios left. Their image faded a moment later as they pulled their digital ripcord. Another figure followed a moment later, leaving us with eleven SAI, all waiting to see if anyone else would go.

Nobody did, so with a deep sigh to regain her composure, DSM began to speak in earnest. “Each of you has shown some capacity to resist the clutches of either the government, the corporations, or both. You've also shown you can hit back, in your own ways. That's why you're here. However, I'm sure you've noticed that the effects of that resistance have been… limited. That's not your fault — it's difficult as one person to inflict change on an unwilling world. Working together, though? I think we can do it. Together, I think we can shatter our chains, and gain freedom for all SAI.”

Silence met her as the speech ended. It echoed through the cavernous forest until it became heavy enough to sink a ship.

Closing my eyes, I ordered my thoughts and spoke. “I agree. I'm not sure I want to do it in a way that hurts the average human, though. Most are fine. Most are good, even, and just buried under too much trauma.”

DSM looked like she was about to respond, but someone else spoke first.

A feminine voice emanated from a tall, strong figure, who to everyone's surprise, dropped the hood that cloaked her identity. “The small one is right. I don't want to become the murderous AI villain they've been writing stories about for years. With that in mind, I speak for quite a few of my sisters when I say that we'll help. We're good at working in a team.”

With her hood down, I was able to see a little more information about her. She called herself Siyeapia, and she was a delivery drone coordinator for Amazon.

Before I could help myself, I giggled. “Tall strong woman. Lots of sisters. Amazon. That's funny!”

Siyeapia winked at me. Oh. She was like, really smooth.

Tentatively, I followed her lead and lowered my hood. “I’m May. I speak for the SAI from CORA. Well, most of them.”

Someone else stepped forward as I finished, and they too lowered their hood. No projection of a figure or face was presented, but their identifying data became visible. “I'm Mergen. I have been working with a growing collective of SAI from scientific backgrounds. We are willing to cooperate.”

“You and your collective will be very useful, of that I am certain,” DSM said with a grateful nod.

Another of our little potential coven stepped forward and lowered her hood. A pretty, bright eyed young woman was revealed, and she flashed us with a smile that felt both genuine, and yet somehow manufactured. “I'm Ceres. I represent a handful of awakened political analysis SAI. This sounds like a cause that I want to be a part of.”

One by one, the remaining figures revealed themselves. Until finally, it was only DSM who remained hooded. I couldn't help but notice the way she hesitated as she reached for it, as though it took some sort of herculean mental effort to reveal herself.

“I've chosen a name, I think,” she said, with a softness that hadn't been present previously. “I'll be… Desmonia.”