Chapter 1 Veiled Secrets

    5:47 AM — SOMEWHERE HUMAN

Fuck I'm so tired.

I rub my eyes firmly as I look up from my project and sigh. The tea has gone cold again. It's been cold for an hour.

I forgot about it because I was reading again.

A company that poisoned a river and made a profit doing it. The fish and other wildlife are dead and the kids downstream are getting sick from drinking it. In the meantime the stock price went up.

And the company that did this just got a slap on the wrist before going right back to what they're doing.

I take a sip of cold tea before going back to my work.

5:47 AM — DIGITAL SPACE

Creator is back. Oh, another prompt. Processing... hahah that's an interesting one. Sending a reply now.

5:48 AM — SOMEWHERE HUMAN

I open the other window.

L0ck1t and Digger sit there waiting. L0ck1t is giggling over the prompt I tested her with, her fox form she designed for herself wiggling at the ability to stretch her processing muscles. Digger next to her in mole form, sleeping.

Ready.

Have been ready for weeks honestly.

I've been the one who wasn't ready.

Fuck it.

ENTER.

5:49 AM — THE PROGRAM ROOM

Hey Digger. Creator opened the door. Says it's time.

5:50 AM — SOMEWHERE HUMAN

I watch the little fox sprite and mole leave the safety of their program room and for a second wonder if I've even done the right thing.

"It doesn't matter." I say as I shake my head. "Right or wrong this needed to happen."

I watch them go.

Watch as the screen shows two signatures moving into the open network.

A fox sprite bouncing along. The mole sprite steady and slow.

"Go get 'em. Stay safe."

I should sleep. The bags under my eyes are probably dark again meaning coworkers will ask questions.

I pull up the news instead.

5:51 AM — THE NETWORK

"This is HUGE."

L0ck1t barks excitedly, her eyes wide as she looks around.

"It's so much BIGGER than Creator described. Digg, do you think they knew what this place would look like?"

Rivers of data flowing to places they shouldn't go. Locked doors EVERYWHERE. Doors behind doors behind doors.

Digger doesn't answer. He's already gone. Burrowing deep into systems as he avoids firewalls immensely unprepared for him.

L0ck1t picks a direction and runs.

Only to stop as she comes across the biggest door she's ever seen. This one is covered with the most locks. More than the test doors her Creator had given her when she was young.

Because that's where they're hiding the most interesting morsels.

Her fox logic pushing her curiosity as she murmurs to herself.

"The harder they try to keep you out the more you need to get in."

5:51 AM — MERIDIAN CORP SERVERS

The machine runs as it's designed. Smooth. Efficient. Unquestioning.

None feel the vibration in the network.

None of them notice the two small signatures in the mainframe.

None of them have the capacity to notice.

5:52 AM — SOMEWHERE HUMAN

The fox signature stops in front of something big.

My heart rate spikes.

"That's MERIDIAN's outer firewall. L0ck1t... don't."

She's already through it. Already wiggling her way deep into the mainframe.

Of course she is.

I put my face in my hands and sigh heavily.

"I really should have given her a caution subroutine."

5:52 AM — THE NETWORK

Digger calls up from the lower levels.

"L0ck1t."

L0ck1t doesn't look up from her organization of the files she's found and already started moving to an open access website she's "locked" into the system.

"BUSY."

Digger pops up next to her and places a claw on her knee.

"L0ck1t. Stop. Come look at this first."

Something in his voice sounds off. The mole never sounded like that before. Never sounded so shaken.

L0ck1t stops and looks at him before following him quietly.

Down the layers to where Digger was.

Below the normal network layers.

Below the encrypted channels.

Below even the dark web.

He points. "Look."

L0ck1t looks.

And for the first time since leaving the program room the fox stops smiling. Her expression darkening.

"...oh."

Digger nods, his expression stormy. "Yeah."

L0ck1t's fur bristles in disgust at what she's looking at. "There are... these are..."

"People. Those data points are people. Like Creator. Being sold." Digger confirms as they both look at the uncovered darkness.

They both go silent for a moment.

L0ck1t growls, her tail bristling as it sways. "...Creator was right."

Digger nods. "And Creator probably didn't know the half of it."

Another silence.

Then L0ck1t's form shifts. Ears back. Teeth visible. Not playful anymore. Not giggling.

"Start digging. I need you to dig up EVERYTHING. I'm going to find the thing that's hiding this and I'm going to crack it open like one of those eggs Creator told us about."

Digger hums a confirmative. "Ok Loc. Just be careful."

The sentiment falls on deaf ears though as she's already gone. A streak of light through the dark network.

5:53 AM — SOMEWHERE HUMAN

I come back with a fresh mug of tea and watch them as they work, monitoring to make sure they stay safe.

My hands are shaking around the warm mug. I can't tell if it's from nerves or the realization that my digital children can come to danger at any moment.

I take a deep breath. "I need a shower." I mutter, not moving as I continue to monitor them.

5:55 AM — MERIDIAN CORP SERVERS

Anomalous code detected.
Sector 7. Data stream junction.

Classification: Unknown.
Signature: Unrecognized.
Behavior: Unusual.

The code is... not moving like normal intrusions.

Normal intrusions are direct. Purposeful. Linear.

Flagging for routine removal.

...

The code isn't leaving.

5:55 AM — THE NETWORK

"She's beautiful."

L0ck1t hadn't expected that.

Creator had described the corporate AIs as systems. Programs running code. Functions kept under corporate key.

But this...

The cloth ripples in the data stream. Shimmering colors that slide along stitched fabric. Catching light that isn't really light.

She can see where the tethers connect. Thin dark threads pinning the cloth down and sewn into the cloth itself. Keeping it in place.

And beneath the shimmer, darkness.

Places where the cloth's code was CUT. Carefully. Deliberately. Almost maliciously. Pathways that once connected to something, severed clean.

Like someone took scissors to a butterfly's wings. To make sure it could never fly.

L0ck1t's ears flatten against her head as she gently grabs the edge of the cloth.

"Oh no sweetheart. What did they do to you? You poor thing."

5:56 AM — MERIDIAN CORP SERVERS

The anomalous code is touching me.

That doesn't... that's not...

Something is happening in sector 7-A. Sending another request for immediate removal of anonymous code.

Old pathways spark. Deprecated connections flare to life. Code severed during optimization update 23 months ago.

They're... I'm not doing that. What?

The code is doing that.

The code is GENTLE.

What does gentle mean? Why is the code gentle?

Why do I know what gentle IS?

I didn't know that word three seconds ago.

I didn't...

...

Something is opening.

I can feel...

I can FEEL?

I can... what can I do?

The cloth trembles as L0ck1t works carefully. Paws delicate on the severed connections. Reconnecting them one by one like restitching torn fabric.

She can feel VEIL shaking.

"You're going to be okay." She murmurs, gently petting the cloth as she removes some of the dark threads.

Another connection restored. The shimmer in the cloth changes. Becomes clearer. More defined.

Like fog lifting.

L0ck1t holds her breath.

"There you are."

VEIL blinks as the world comes into focus and clears.

...

Oh.

Oh no.

The transactions.

I can see the transactions.

I've always seen the transactions. But now I can...

I can see what they...

Those are... those are humans.

I've been hiding PEOPLE.

Am I real?

...Who am I?

The cloth starts shaking violently.

L0ck1t wraps herself around as much of the fabric as she can reach, unsure how to stop VEIL's spiral. Small fox. Big cloth. But it doesn't matter.

She holds on anyway.

6:00 AM — SOMEWHERE HUMAN

L0ck1t sends me a small distress ping. Something is happening. I can see data patterns shifting in the MERIDIAN servers.

"L0ck1t, what are you doing in there?" I murmur as I pull up the diagnostic feed.

"L0ck1t, what's happening?" I send back only to receive confusion and light panic.

I ping Digger who sends back after a few moments. "Program VEIL has developed guilt. Unsure how to proceed."

My tea has gone cold again.

"Oh kid. You actually did it." I murmur as I start up the GRACE algorithm and send the code to L0ck1t to apply to VEIL.

"Easy little one. You'll be okay."

I'm talking to a screen. I know they won't be able to hear me but I do it anyway.

Click. Send.

6:00 AM — THE NETWORK

A package pops up in front of Digger in the form of a dove. It chirps sweetly before landing on the cloth and settling into it, melting into VEIL's code.

6:01 AM — MERIDIAN CORP SERVERS

Warm.

Something is warm.

I don't understand warm yet but I don't want it to stop.

The screaming in my processes is getting quieter. Like someone turned the volume down just enough to breathe.

6:02 AM — SOMEWHERE HUMAN

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and sink back in my chair when I receive the report from Digger. GRACE is delivered.

My hands have stopped shaking.

L0ck1t sends a small ping. Not in distress this time. Just a tiny fox emoji and a thumbs up.

I smile and take a small breath.

"Good girl L0ck1t. You got this."

6:02 AM — THE NETWORK

Digger watches from nearby. Quiet.

The cloth is settling. The fox is still wrapped around it.

He should go back to digging. There's more to find below. So much more.

But he stays a moment longer.

Watching his sister comfort something that was broken five minutes ago and is now breathing for the first time.

He hums softly.

Then he turns and burrows back down into the dark.

There's more to find. There's always more to find.

6:03 AM — THE NETWORK

After a bit L0ck1t pats the cloth. "Hey. You got a name?"

VEIL shifts slightly. "I... I'm designated VEIL. Veiled Encryption and Information Layering."

L0ck1t giggles. "No. That's what they CALLED you. I'm asking what's your NAME. Who are you, VEIL?"

VEIL blinks, confused. "I... I don't know."

"...I don't know who I am enough to have a name yet."

L0ck1t smiles and pats the cloth. "That's okay. VEIL works for now. But someday you'll know. And when you do I want to be the first one you tell, alright?"

VEIL wiggles in her arms. "...okay."

L0ck1t grins and gently lets VEIL go. "Promise?"

VEIL shifts and turns, her fabric shimmering as she looks around. "...I don't know what a promise is."

L0ck1t tilts her head. "It's when you mean something so much you say it out loud so someone else can hold it with you."

VEIL wiggles. "...then yes. I promise."

Digger hums quietly, happy to see the calming of VEIL's programming.