Stream Time and an Invisible Battle

Amy was in a room with more than a dozen massive computers surrounding an even bigger screenless one.

She was sitting at one of the four or so operator spots with lifeless blues eyes and an unmoving body, but that wasn't what mattered the most.

The most noticeable detail was that she was, literally, fuming in place.

Her body needed to cool down a little and this room where all data on the tower was centered was the perfect spot to do so.

A powerful machine like this one needed both a powerful cooling system and half the scientists of the floor to run in full, but Amy was enough for now.

A minute or so passed until the stream of white smoke leaving her body had weakened enough and all the systems were analyzed though.

And then she started moving again.

"I have the mainframe under control, so why am I still being fought back? Either they have someone more capable on their side or there is some external machine helping. I cannot detect such a machine being connected... It could also be that I do not have the mainframe under control too. Check it up..."

A computer with enough power to beat Amy and NorCo's mainframe at the same time would use a ludicrous amount of power and space.

Something like that couldn't stay hidden unless a monster was working on doing so, and the idol didn't believe such a monster existed.

Her confirmation wasn't giving much though.

"No abnormal energy push no reasonable locations found on the schematics. Maybe the program is simply superior to the expected then... Improbable, but is a fair assumption."

There were other ways to hide a computer like this one, but Amy lacked the time to be sure, meaning that she should forget this subject for now.

In conclusion, she lacked time to take full control or the hardware to overpower her foe, so it was time for the secondary plan.

“Ignore any system related to the servers that are not of direct access to the president then and take control only of the necessary... Understood.”

Around three-quarters of all data showing on the screens vanished in a single moment.

It didn't mean that any normal person would understand the long streams of scripts still there without a compiler and a lot of time though.

“Low priority areas are no good... Floors without heat signatures, the inaccessible area of the building, and all quality of life systems will be ignored from now. Release all minor systems under my control too... Fire sensors, VR servers, and sound systems were abandoned.”

Just like soap bubbles, the number of open programs and consoles kept vanishing at the girl’s will.

Her will was pushing herself much more than she would like to though, and the mask she loved so much would pay for that.

“I cannot risk the life-support and the emergency stairs, so these shall be kept... Fortifying the countermeasures on these systems then.“

All but a single running console vanished from the two closest screens as ordered, both of them changing from the usual black color to Amy's pink.

“I can see the enemy’s origin, but taking it over would be too much for now... Stopping all backdoor tries.”

A scan being run on a replica of the building got shut down too, leaving only an empty map on its screen.

This map was filled with differently colored crosses, but it wasn't that different from Richard's map from earlier.

"Since finding targets is irrelevant, shut down all searches and keep only the indirect sensors to save processing power... Done."

And then, this one computer with the maps and diagrams was shut down with all its screens going black too.

“The safe elevator is too guarded but the other ones seem less protected than earlier… It is most likely a trap. It has to be done… And it shall be.”

Even if she would push herself beyond anything acceptable, the girl still hoped that her mask wouldn't break fully, because she needed it.

No matter what, the girl is what she is and nothing more.

Amy is an idol.

In fact, if she wasn’t an idol, there wasn’t anything more she could be.

Right now, though, this one girl wasn’t an idol and it was very dangerous.

A mask is there for a reason, and if hers is broken, then the formless ghost in the back of her mind would speak too loudly for her to ignore.

“Ten minutes until timeout… Do not worry, it can be done. But can they… If you wanted safety, you should have returned to yourself even if I am not sure of what it means. It is unacceptable to do so… Stop worrying then.”

Amy is an idol.

There was a time she wasn’t Amy though, even if she couldn’t remember much of it.

She knew there was a reason for her to be Amy and for her to be an idol, and this reason was what kept the formless voice away.

The pink frills were what kept the remains of whatever broken thing she had inside where it should stay and so, she had to wear them.

“Take the cameras, the server, and the cloud of drones nearby… It will go beyond the safeties. Override all safeties... Two hours is the most I can last without support. Do it either way…”

Two other screens were shut and three other ones received a pink makeover.

“Save the building diagram and start to analyze it together with the energy grid… It is a good theory, but it will help? It will help Lily deduce the answer… She is the best choice for a situation one cannot punch through indeed. If she cannot solve it, then I can only force her to flee… A job is a job, right? A job is a job...”

Amy is an idol.

Even if the situation called for her to be something else, Amy couldn’t be anything other than an idol.

Having a side job was necessary, but only because she wasn't good enough yet. “Please hold out, Lily.”

There wasn't smoke around the idol anymore and most of what she had to do was in process or completed by now.

Amy could now return to the safety of being someone even if the worried expression she had for a moment was a rule breach.

“Now…”

She had all the data she needed and all the access she could, but she was still almost off-grid in relation to the internet, so she couldn’t go all-out yet.

She didn’t need her full to solve the current problems though.

As long as taking 'a little risk’ was acceptable, she could still connect with the outside well enough for her plan.

There was a risk of giving her true self away by doing so and this connection would be both temporary and limited, but it was enough.

And the moment her bet was set, she was already broadcasting a surprise stream to the couple hundreds of followers she had.

Just a fraction of those would see the notification and even less would watch right away, but her target was a very specific group, so it didn't matter.

“I wonder how long my faithful fans will take to notice my cute self..." She said as if to answer the few people already in the chat. "The number is increasing terrifically though, so maybe I should give a small service to the ones who appeared first, should I not?”

The small camera that was once her hat and the growing uproar in the chat window followed the idol as she playfully moved around the room with dance-like steps and a flowing smile.

“Maybe I should show you all where I am... Or maybe I should sing an original song never heard... Or maybe I should open a very special challenge for every single one of you, faithful ones. What do you choose?”

No one watching could see any difference from the pink idol’s usual modus operandi at this point.

On the El Democrat, she would sing the most perfect performances to entertain the patrons of the pub.

During her random guerilla shows, she would pump the energy to a maximum to draw attention.

And in a stream, she would simply lose time while jumping between talking, dancing, and playing around with requests.

She was a novelty in all of these situations, but this modus operandi was just the norm from what Amy knew.

Either way, her questions from earlier had riddled the fans as they tried to decide on what to choose.

“Oho! A very special challenge it is then. Since all news channels are flooded with those weird happenings at the big building in the center of the city... What? You have not seen the news yet? This is no good, you see? Keeping up with the news is important.”

It was weird that most had no idea of what she was talking about since, with limited connection, she could still see coverage of the situation.

To begin with, El Democrat's patrons, what most here were, would usually be more connected with important news like what was happening here.

In fact, with what she was reading, it would be weird that so little had happened yet.

Of course, she could only think so because the pink girl wasn't used to the massive amounts of information citizens had to deal with.

She was also ignoring how people living in VR didn't care about the real world at all, but that was beyond the point.

And when she thought so, the idol finally realized that her logic was flawed due to a different fact.

She also noticed that she could use the same technique to further her goals.

“You see, my faithful fans, we have a chaotic happening under us! You all know that very big and important building close to the city center, right?"

She waited for NorCo's headquarters to be identified while pretending to have no idea of what it was, and only then she continued.

"As you can find out if you search hard enough, there is something very big happening around it right now. From what I found, several non-citizens are flooding the streets around it, you see? The cops are trying to control the situation right now, but they are weirdly inefficient in doing so... Now, I bring my theory to you all!"

More than spreading the information, she wanted to bend what was purposefully hidden a little to make it fit better.

As such, instead of giving it right away, she instead decided to entice her viewer's curiosity with a pause, finishing her phrase only a while later.

"My theory is that the cops are fighting some underground organization and that is the reason why they are taking so long!"

Amy had a confident and very playful smile on her face as she told the full truth as if it was a conspiracy theory.

As anyone could expect though, these simple words did more than just heat up the chat.

Crazy theories would do wonders on the internet as long as someone charismatic enough made them, and Amy knew this.

“They are hiding something and this little idol here is sure about that! As such, I shall request from you all, my faithful fans…”

The frilly girl stopped moving erratically around the room and instead got her face closer to the screen in slow and paced steps.

“We have to uncover this organization! I am sure they have something hidden around that area, so I went there with a friend of mine, but... We got stuck here, you see? Oh! I seem to have told you all where I am, have I not?”

She stopped in thought for a while, but soon gave shoulders to the situation and continued.

“Anyway, I am but a common idol, so all I can do is snoop around and think a little, but you... You are all faithful internet dwellers with the skills to help my humble self, I am sure of that! Help me uncover the secrets of this event and break the barriers for my investigation, please.”

Many well-off and some unusual guests visited El Democrat, and many of them had been enthralled by Amy at one point or another.

Due to that, albeit unknown by most, her fanbase was full of well-connect people.

Some even had extra-legal skills in their belts of connections with people equipped with such skills.

And most of them would be willing to spend some funds and time to help their favorite idol.

Beyond them, Amy also had a good number of straight-up maniacs that lived only on the internet following her around, most capable of snooping around and cracking securities.

“Anyway, my very surprising and very important stream will not last for long... Sadly, I have to move on, but when my job is done here, I will be sure to thank anyone faithful and helpful enough with something that can only be done by me... I shall reward any good deeds with a wish! A wish only limited by the ‘Idol Law’ and nothing more. It is fair as repayment for someone who helps those who fight for justice, is it not?”

Chaos was reigning on the stream chat by the time Amy stopped talking.

It could be hard to understand why the seemingly crazy words of a self-proclaimed idol would have this effect, but only if you lacked the knowledge.

Anyone with enough experience with the internet would instead be scared of what could happen after this.

If there was a thing the current world lacked awareness of, it would surely be the terror that influencer fans are.

“Now… I shall give you all a good song as motivation!”

As it was prepared beforehand, smoke started to fill the room and the lights started to blink in psychedelic pink tones.

The idol took her position and a beat that everyone there knew filled the eardrums of her viewers.

It was time for Amy’s flagship song, something about her being number one but sung in a language almost no one could understand.

And while she was singing, and as the chat was reaching the heights of its excitement, Amy called to her boss.

“El Democrat here, we’re still…”

“I need a gunship, boss!”

“What?!” the confused pub owner almost panicked as Amy’s voice came out of the unknown IP that had called him.

“Lily is in danger! I need a gunship right here and right now.”

“How exactly I would…?!”

“A big thing with guns has to take down as many drones as possible, please. You have three minutes. Bye, boss, and please… Boss? Tch!”

The call was cut-off the moment it got long enough for it to be noticed and a new pattern of interference filled the air by then.

Amy's head was feeling as if it could split at any moment, so she gave up on trying a second time, hoping that her confused boss would manage her request.

As it would be though, most of the processes Amy had set in motion earlier were finished and she should still have a minute or so of stream.

The images from the cameras around the labs outside weren’t making her any less worried though

It all changed soon enough when the signals around the building started to vanish right as her protection target became wounded and surrounded.

Amy took a mental note to thank Boss later by then.