Nice story. I always wanted to be a commander of something. An Apolyton infiltration teams seems just the thing.

I can tell that you pay attention to these forums. I did indeed grow up in Florida and did spend more than a little time in what most people would call swamps too. Never had any problems with alligators, the snowbirds must have been keeping them happy. Now I know why they weren't much of a problem.

Wish I was as skinny as you make me out to be. I used to be, but I have put on a bit of weight since then. Being married for five years to a wife who is a good cook and getting into your 30s can do that to a guy I guess. I still am in half way decent health though, so I guess I can't complain too much.

I am looking forward to your next installment.

Wow, I actually got to start a new page for the first time. Neat.

And Slingshot, you were right about me being very clumsy
I see that, as an Apolyton Agent, I'm the one doing all the dirty work ("crawled around in air ducts", "hanging from a rope for half an hour", "needs to find a way into Activision's standalone intranet") - just like in real life And yes, I love doing that kind of stuff

This keeps getting better and better...

Beside him was Locutus. The pair looked like Arnold Schwartenneger™ and Jean-Claude Van Dame™, only well dressed, and Locutus wore a pair of sculpted sunglasses.

"Man, I love these shades!" remarked the agent. "You knew Keanu Reeves™ gave them to me after filming The Matrix™?"

"Of course I knew," stated Nordicus. "As I recall it was a make-up gift, after he got so mad at you for stealing his girlfriend."

Locutus gave a look of victim-like innocence. "Can I help it if the babes dig me? I think it's the Dutch accent. Chicks love the Dutch accent."

"You should 'help it' if it means avoiding a fight with their boyfriends. It's a good thing Mr. Reeves is such a big Apolyton fan!"

"Yeah baby, yeah!" Loc turned and looked back. "But anyways, shouldn't Pintello be putting some more distance between our vehicles?"

Pintello answered on the car's intercom. "Actually, I was just planning to do that. Besides, it's tough keeping up with you two in a van. I'm also looking forward to the radio silence… maybe listening to tunes instead of you two gabbing all day."

That is true, but the only way he would know that I grew up in Florida was from things I have said in other post elsewhere in these forums. Unless he was just assuming that I grew up in Florida because I now live there, which would not be a safe assumption as something like 80 to 90 of all the people living in Florida grew up somewhere else. Us true Floridians, as we like to call ourselves, are very rare down here. Most people who live in Florida are snowbirds who came down here and liked it so much they decided to stay.

Loc squinted as the evening sun glared off the building's shiny exterior. It was made as a tall spire in the middle of several city blocks. Its base looked more like an ancient stone wall than office space. "You've gotta wonder why this company needs such an extensive piece of real estate. When I was a programmer, all you ever got was a cubicle, a computer and a box of Corn Flakes." He gave a low whistle.

They climbed a large, courthouse-like set of granite stairs up to the main entrance. The pair looked like small ants against an oak tree. At a set of solid doors stood an Actigator in security uniform. "May I see your invitations?" he asked.

Nordicus took out two pieces of gold foil. He placed them both on the guard's open palm. The Actigator removed a penlight from his pocket and aimed it at the tickets. A blue image of the Activision logo floated appeared on both.

For the first time, the guard gave a rigid smile. "Please, come in." he said. "Enjoy our party. Silica will find you there."

With that, the two agents entered the doorway into a cathedral-like hall. The vaulted ceilings reached at least 30 meters, and from them hung ornate chandeliers. All around were people in rich clothing. They were gathered around tables of food on the inside, and information booths that lined the walls.

"Impressive," said Locutus. "I don't suppose they'll be serving Doritos™… Who the heck is Silica?"

Nordicus was silent for a few seconds. He smiled and turned to his colleague. "Silica is the most beautiful, evil person you'll ever have to meet."

The archaic hallway echoed with laughter. It's ancient looking walls juxtaposed by state-of-the art displays below. Nordicus made polite introductions with old friends, introducing them all to Locutus. They also looked at the booths, which highlighted some of Activision's latest and greatest software developments.

"Well, that CTP2 booth was interesting." remarked Locutus.

"Sure it was. Too bad Apolyton knows far more about CTP2 than the presenters here. Honestly, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to give up on Apolyton for a while - just to remember what living in ignorance is all about."

"Locutus laughed. You've gotta appreciate Dan and Mark for busting their humps all the time. Any word from them yet?"

"Not much, though I know they're active. No sign of our mishap affecting their networks."

Locutus gave a serious look. "You're really worried about that, aren't you?"

"Sure I am. Our probe didn't even touch the bug, and yet it screwed around with a bullet-proof network. How do you explain that?"

Just then they arrived at the end of the hallway. In front of them was a round booth that was devoid of presenters. The two agents looked at each other, then walked toward a projection screen.

"Good evening, Apolytoners!" came an invisible, cheery voice. "I am Activisions's newest in AI technology."

Nordicus looked around for the source of the voice. He turned and saw Locutus pointing at a silver box.

"Good show, sir. I am also the next generation in digital presentation technology." With that, the box melted and slid onto the floor.

"Don't be to surprised. It's all an illusion. Activision has developed a new material capable of fooling all sorts of entities, both biological and silaceous."
The silver puddle became a stalk, then an odd looking cactus. Finally it took the form, and colour, of a beautiful woman. She was clothed in a dark, flowing dress.

Nordicus' jaw dropped. "Silica!"

"In the flesh," she replied. "Although probably not as much flesh as you to gentlemen were hoping for."

"I should say you're the big flirt," retorted Nordicus. "Please meet my new colleague, Locutus."

Silica smiled. "Nordicus, you are Charisma incarnate, but since you're a man I know that even you could make a woman feel unappreciated. I will never forget our first meeting in Paris." She turned to Locutus and said "I certainly hope your colleage here is as flirtatious as he is handsome!"

Now it was Loc's turn to blush. "Enchanté, madame."

Nordicus smiled. "So Silica, what's a bad girl like you doing in such a fine place as Activision?"

"You mean me? Activision is a company on the rise, but also a company with it's challenges. I came aboard shortly after it abandoned software development for the Peanut 2600 gaming console."

Locutus looked thoughtful. "Those were the days. The Peanut 2600 was the world's very first taste of computer entertainment. Akari was a company with true vision!"

Silica gave a sour face. "Was. Remember that world. It's an ugly one. Think of 'was' in its proper context. Nobody wants to be a 'was'. Imagine somebody saying 'Apolyton was a great force to reckon with'."

"I see your point. But I also don't see Apolyton becoming a 'was'."

"Of course you don't, and neither did Akari. Activision almost got dragged into the black hole Akari made for itself when it collapsed. But I changed that."

Locutus' face brightened with interest. "Oh really? How did you do that?"

"Activision has a lot of talent with its programmers. What it needed was guidance. A new group of talent from which the Actigrammers could find appropriate channeling of its creative energies."

"You mean the Actigators."

"Exactly! It was time for a new form of governing. The old system was bleeding this company dry, and I was the one who made the Actigators what they are today."
Locutus was enjoying himself now. "Funny you should mention the 'bleeding this company dry' part. I was just thinking that -"

"Ahem!" interrupted Nordicus. "We at Apolyton are true fans of the Wonders that Activision has built around itself. I know our members would be particularly interested in this new AI. Is it something we will see in CTP2?"

If Silica noticed the interruption, she didn't give an indication. She gave Locutus a beautiful smile and said "Our release of CTP2 will incorporate the new embedded AI. The entire program will run off a CD-ROM. As a player executes strategies, the computer's CPU will call for subroutines from the drive. The embedded AI surface is sensitive to electromagnetic radiation. As the drive scans, the AI rewrites itself. Sections are modified so that previously scanned subroutines are reread differently. The effect is a generational evolution of AI strategy against the computers subroutine calls, and therefore against a player's strategic actions."

Locutus looked at Nordicus to see if it was okay to ask another question. Then he asked "Why go through all the trouble of making a CD-ROM that reconfigures itself for the purposes of AI? Why not simply write good AI code and let the CPU do the thinking?"

"Because sometimes the best AI develops when even the CPU is fooled. It's complicated, so I won't go into details. An added benefit is protection against pirating."

But Locutus wasn't about to quit. "You mean fooling the CPU gives the program a duality, from which the new AI can draw new conclusions from otherwise mundane logic. And I suppose having the ability to routinely fool a CPU gives a program, uh, enhanced flexibility."

"You're quick, aren't you!" replied Silica. "Yes, it could have that feature, couldn't it? You know, I'm having a private reception later on tonight. Perhaps you two would like to drop by?"

"Thank you for the kind gesture, but we must catch a flight in a few hours." replied Nordicus.

"Well that's too bad." She looked at Locutus. "It's not every day you meet such a charming young man with an irresistible accent!"

Nordicus saw his friend with an 'I told you so' grin. It was almost too much. Silica winked at Loc and walked away.

"So what about Paris?" asked Loc.

"It was a long time ago. Silica seems enchanting, but she has a way of taking control. She's bad news. I'm actually doing you a favour."

"Sure. A favour. That's when you do something for someone and that something is appreciated?

The man smiled nervously and shut down the terminal. "That should give eis enough time," he thought.

Suddenly, Silica turned around. "MidKnight?" she asked.

He looked up from the video screen. "Yes, Silica. What is it?"

"You have experience dealing with Apolyton, don't you?"

"Well, some. I almost joined them, until I met you. Activision is more than Apolyton could ever hope to be."

"You are a dear! Your loyalty has been admirable. Without you, my time here at Activision would have been like walking through a desert."

"I help where I can, Silica. But with Apolyton I still keep my distance. They are a force to be reckoned with, and I would never want to get entangled with them."

"So you say. I've noticed that you've never worked with any team that has made a penetration into their operations. Why is that?"

"Like I said, storming Apolyton is not worth the risk. We have bigger fish to fry than they, Silica."

The tall woman gave MidKnight a sad look. "Bigger fish indeed." Then her look hardened. "You know, you almost had me."

"Pardon?"

"That's the problem with a dual mind. You never know which opinion to listen to. You could have had anything you wanted from me. All I needed was your loyalty. Not many men can say that!"

"Of that, I am certain. But I think something is troubling you. What's up?" Midknight let his hand fall from the terminal, to a pistol that was holstered on his leg.

"Your weapon won't work. There is a high-energy dispersion field in the room. I read your letters."

MidKnight smiled. His pistol wasn't an energy weapon. It was a good, old fashioned Desert Eagle 0.45. "What letters?"

"The ones you write to that girlfriend of yours down in Austrailia. The woman you chose over me. In fact, here's a copy of the last one you sent:

There is a hope lodged deep beneath the bitterness and pain,
residing in a heart seared black from disappointment's stain.
It feeds upon the slightest chance and manufactured dreams,
but residual fragments of scattered truths remain.

Twisting and distorting friendships rarely known to gleam.
Interpreting a caring word as far more than it means.
Is my glass so half full because I'm stretching all my gains?
Or is it a virtue toward with logic all should lean?

I will step into new shoes but I will surely walk the same.
For without hope that love may grow my will to live would wane.
But will the places that they lead be everything they seem?
Or will unrequited love return to grip my heart again? *

So what's the hope all about? How long have you been twisting and distorting words spoken at Activision? And the new shoes -- it was all so fuzzy before. But in this and all the other letters, I couldn't understand why some letters are bold and others are not."

MidKnight remained calm. "First of all, that's personal. Second, it was never meant for your eyes --"

Silica's beautiful face turned ugly. "But it could have been! You never wanted what only I could have given you. And these bold words, it was such a mystery until the other day, when a data worm found its way to Activision from the Apolyton network. You see, we found an encryption key, and the most interesting thing happened when I gave these words to a decryption subroutine built around that key."

"And what is that? You can get all sorts of interesting things from random data."

"This is true, but the results sound all too much like reports of Actigator activities for me." As she spoke, a door opened. Ten vile-looking agents entered the room. "Now I couldn't kill someone like you - directly. But I have no problem locking you up, to let you waste away from hunger. Take him downstairs, to cell block A. Let him rot down there with his friends!"

I guess we are going to have to name this the UNofficial Sligshot forum.

quote: Originally posted by Slingshot on 04-05-2000 12:07 PM She turned to Locutus and said "I certainly hope your colleage here is as flirtatious as he is handsome!"

Is that Silica sucking up to me or you, Slingshot? I'm not exactly what you'd call handsome (to the contrary ). Or is plastic surgery part of the training program for Apolyton Agents?

But let's be more tounge-in-cheek serious. (I mean that!) Rumour has it that all Apolyton agents go through rigorous training. It is so rigourous, in fact, that everyone looks like a soldier off the movie "Predator(TM)."

The room was unnaturally dark. Shadows seemed to appear and fade in the blackness. He strained his ears for some hint of movement. Nothing. Then Eis remembered Midknight loosening the straps around his wrists. They had been pinned behind his back for so long that he couldn't feel them. The sensation was unsettling. He felt like he was a fish that had been removed from water, beaten and shrink-wrapped in one fell swoop. The more he tried to move his heavy, unfeeling arms, the worse he felt.

Eis stopped trying. He now wished that his arm still hurt from Midknight's subdermal implant - anything to let him know that they were still there. He tried to wriggle his legs, but they were still strapped tightly to the stretcher. "Holy cow!" he thought " I can't even feel my toes!"
With that, Eis no longer cared about making noise. He struggled fiercely, like an animal caught in a trap. The stretcher started to move, although in what way he couldn't tell. Encouraged by the movement, Eis kept struggling. Suddenly his stomach hit his throat, and with a loud crash the agent fell sideways on the floor. The impact jarred his senses, and his rubber arms moved out from behind his back.

The poor agent took a rest from struggling. Now every part of him hurt, and for once that made him feel better. Slowly his arms began to fill with warm, oxygenated blood and he could move his fingers. In his left hand he felt a rectangular piece of plastic.

Moments later, Eis performed a sideways sit-up, and moved his hands towards the straps binding his feet. It took several minutes to find the latches in the dark, and figure out how to undo them. When he finally broke free from the stretcher, Eis lay back down on the cold, tiled floor. He felt like a truck had ran over him, but knowing he still had two arms and two legs made him feel like it was the greatest day in his life.

The agent crawled along the floor until he felt a wall. Using it wall for support, Eis tried to stand. The hardest part was the fact it was so dark, and he fought hard to keep balance. Slowly he groped along the wall, looking for a doorframe or light switch, the card still clutched tightly in his left hand. Finally, Eis came upon a switch that glowed dimly near a corner of the room. The fact that he hadn't seen its glow until now bothered him. He shook his head "I must have been drugged. It's probably taking a while for the effect to wear off." That thought reassured him, although there was something about the air that was stifling, as though he were in a disease-stricken camp somewhere in the jungle. Something smelled like the sap of a rotten palm tree.

He turned around to close the door. Nordicus and Pintello peered up from glowing terminal screens. Pintello removed his headset mic and said "Good luck, Sneak."

Locutus gave his friends the thumbs up and closed the door. He walked across the street, down a sidewalk and blended in with the rest of the city.

Minutes later, Locutus turned down a dark alleyway. The agent stood against a tall, abandoned brick building. About two meter above him was a broken window.

Loc reached into his pack and pulled out a Walkman. He donned some headphones and switched the tuner to 100.3. On the bottom of the Walkman was a second tuner. This he set to 92.5. On his collar was a mic, which he plugged into the DC-in port. "All set, commander," he said.

Pintello heard the transmission in the van. "Good to hear you again, Sneak! I was worried you wouldn't figure out the wiring."

Loc snorted. "It's obvious you did this yourself. I'm ready."

Ignoring the poke, Pintello continued. "Sounds good, Sneak. Your first job is to get into that window above. Then I'll direct you to the underground passage."

Slowly, he began to see images in a small, padded room. It had a sink on the other side, and in the middle was a mess of a stretcher that had been ripped to pieces during Eis' stuggle for freedom. Next to him were two other stretchers. Each had a body on them. The first was completely covered by a white sheet. The second was covered from the chest down.

Eis was shocked. "skorpion!" He hobbled over to his comrade, who had been stirred by the bright light.

"skorpion! Its me, Eis. Can you hear me?"

skorpion's head moved back and forth. Then his eyes opened with a look of terror. "I'm stuck!"

"Don't worry, I'll get you out." With that he released the straps that secured skorpion to the stretcher. "It'll take a few minutes to recover. I'm going to look around some more.

There was not much more to the room, aside from a closed door near the switch. Eis made his way over to the door, finding a keycard lock just below the doorknob. He looked at the card in his hand, fit it into the lock and heard a click. Turning the doorknob, Eis carefully opened the door and peered through. He was at the end of a long hallway.

Encouraged, Eis opened the door completely and peered out. There was no one to be found, just a long hallway that was occasionally illuminated by fluorescent lights. The smell of rotten palm sap was just as strong here.

The young agent looked back and saw skorpion sitting up on the stretcher. Eis decided to venture down the hall. He took about six steps when suddenly a door opened out of nowhere in front of him. Out stepped a surprised-looking janitor, holding a mop in one hand and pulling a wheeled bucket behind him. In an instant Eis slammed the newly opened door and turned back toward the room from which he came.

Things happened quickly. As he entered, Eis saw skorpion crumpled on the floor. Bewildered, he looked around to see the third table devoid of body and white sheet. He heard something move to his left, and as he turned, Eis felt a rigid hand close over his skull. On the other end of the hand was a silvery arm, which was owned by a burly Actigator. Eis swung hard at the monster, his fist slamming into its chin. There was a geasy pop and the Actigator's jaw ripped away from the depraved face. Eis' opponent returned the blow by kicking the agent's legs out from under him. Instead of falling, Eis was left hanging by the Actigator's grip on his head. The pain was horrible, and he felt consciousness slipping away.

Suddently, there was a crash in the hallway. The janitor flew into the room, wielding his mop. With a yell, the man rammed the handle through the Actigator's neck and delivered a heavy blow to its back. There was another pop, and the creature folded backwards like a rotten stick. Eis fell to the floor as the janitor pulled out a plasma pistol. Two shots later, the Actigator lay motionless on the floor. The owner of the pistol returned it to a holster and picked up a communicator. "HQ, this is the head mop-pusher."

"What the heck's going on up there, Sieve? You tryin' to start a war?"

Sorry, I'll try harder next time.

For those Alberta natives, I gave two clues as to which major city I live in. The clues are two posts back!

Yesterday, I found out about a nasty, recurring weather pattern the Americans call the Alberta Clipper. But we don't call it that. The bad weather comes from The Siberian High, and good weather tends to come from the Idaho low.

quote: Originally posted by Slingshot on 04-12-2000 12:23 PM For those Alberta natives, I gave two clues as to which major city I live in. The clues are two posts back!

Well, I'm not a native (hell, I'm not even from the same continent as you are), but I'll try anyway because I love this kind of thing.
I'm wearing a black baseball cap in the story and the only Albertan baseball-team I could find with black caps (or at least it appeared to be black, the only photo's I could find were of relatively poor quality) are the Edmonton Trappers. The radio frequenty 100.3 is that of Bear Edmonton Radio. I couldn't find the other frequenty but I bet it's of Power 92 (the link to the website was broken so I couldn't check), apparently another Edmonton local radio station.
So my conclusion, you're from Edmonton. Am I right?

What you can't do with a simple search-engine (It was quite a challenge to find out I must say, I encountered a lot of broken links. Is that normal in Canada? )

(Now I know why Pintello calls you the Sneak!)

I figured Noricus would be the fellow who got it.

Actually, Alberta is supposed to have the best internet and IT infrastructure in the country! Alberta produces enormous amounts of natural gas, oil, forest products, coal, etc. The taxes from oil alone put billions of dollars into the coffers of the provincial government, and they are trying very hard to diversify the economy.

quote: Originally posted by Slingshot on 04-12-2000 05:10 PM Well done, Locutus! (Now I know why Pintello calls you the Sneak!) I figured Noricus would be the fellow who got it.

Thanx. Yeah, that is indeed a suitable nickname for me (for more reasons than just this).
No, I didn't really count on Nordicus. He has the strangest habit of dissappearing suddenly for a few days or weeks and then reappaering again. He's been gone for several weeks already (so he could come back any moment and be amazed by this fantastic story ), and this time even I don't know why (usually we keep in touch through email but not since I went offline myself a while back).

quote: Originally posted by Slingshot on 04-12-2000 05:10 PM Actually, Alberta is supposed to have the best internet and IT infrastructure in the country! Alberta produces enormous amounts of natural gas, oil, forest products, coal, etc. The taxes from oil alone put billions of dollars into the coffers of the provincial government, and they are trying very hard to diversify the economy. I had better not say too much more, or my Canadian brothers from the other provinces will get mad... People from British Columbia (the province west of us and north of Washington) get most upset about Albertans talking about the land of milk and honey.

LOL, yes I know what you mean. I have the same enthousiasm about the part of the Netherlands where I come from (it's called Twente)
But I think the problems I had yesterday were just a server that was down or something, most links that were broken yesterday worked fine today.

What, with DanQ slaving away with the network, I'll bet that Nordicus has had to take over the entire North American diplomacy front. With help like Pintello, its a wonder that poor Nordicus has any time to help out!

"I'm in heaven!" he shouted aloud. "This is heaven and I'm sooooo hungry!"

With a swoop of the hand, he grabbed a nacho from the open hand of a beautiful marble statue. Skorpion59 took a delicious bite and swallowed.

That's when he began to choke. The agent awoke in a panic. His vision blurred, cotton-clouds were replaced by fluorescent lights. He saw the silhouette of Eisduetres next to him, with two hands clasped tightly around his neck.

Eis was livid. He had all sorts of bruises on his face, and three large bumps on his head from the last run in with an Actigator. "First you get me to come along on this mission." cried Eis. " 'Live the adventure!' you say. Then you push me off the building and into hell. I've been beaten, then drugged, and then beaten to a pulp. What have you got to say for yourself?"

"Urgle - aaaack!" came skorpion's best reply.

From the other side of the room lunged Sieve. "That's the only answer you get if you kill him!" With that the actigrammer broke up the two quarreling Apolytoners. "You see, it's hostility like that that scares us programmers from contributing to the Forums."

Eis returned to a state of calm. "I'm sorry," he replied "this has been a rotten few days. Heck, I don't even know how many days it's been! Actually, it's that Midknight Lament I'd like to get my hands on. He was nice enough to help me escape, but what's he doing here, anyways? And what's with the shot in the arm?"

Sieve watched as skorpion's face reverted from purple to a more natural tone and smiled. "Actually, you both should thank MidKnight. He's been an excellent double Agent - and has risked an awful lot for the cause."

Eis gave Sieve a hard look. "Midknight is a double agent.* You mean for the Apolyton cause?"

"That and more. You see, we're about to stage a mutiny. Any day now, we'll try to overthrow the Actigators. Midknight has been instrumental in getting us the information and resources we need to launch our offensive."

Eis' expression softened. "What about the shot in the arm? Can I at least get him back for that?"

Sieve looked serious. "Actually, that shot in the arm probably saved your life. He implanted an immunity chip so you would survive the bio-security system."

Skorpion, who had recovered his voice shot up a hand. "Um, excuse me, but we were never told about a bio-security system."

"Nobody was. Midknight found out about a month ago. He was trying to tell Apolyton, but was having trouble getting a secure message out. The bio-security system is that rotten sap smell. It's actually an airbourne carrier of four mutated viruses. The pathogens cannot mutate when they infect a host, so the required antibodies are not hard to produce. The fact that each pathogen can work with the others makes them difficult to thwart. The trick to full immunity is in the way each viral DNA has been recoded. It reacts to variations in carrier gas chemistry. To make it more aggressive, they add some of chemical 'A'. To make it more dormant, they add some of chemical 'B.' They can even make the pathogen attack certain forms of life, like mammal or reptile, vertebrate or invertebrate, carbonaceous or -"

"silicaceous," finished Eis. "That's pretty tricky!"

"Exactly," replied Sieve. "We have been working on a version of the carrier that would circumvent the natural immunity of an Actigator. We think we've got the recipe down, but it will be another day before we have enough to infiltrate Activision."

Sieve paused for a moment. Then he said "Actually, Midknight did us another favour."

"What's that?"

"By saving both your lives, he gave us two extra pairs of hands for the mutiny."

The thought of revenge made Eis happy again. "And I hope you have some weapons for us…"

For you guys, nothing but the best. How does proprietary NATO hardware sound?"

Eis cracked his knuckles. "To me it sounds like payback time!"

I wonder if any Actigrammers are reading this stuff, anyways.

Super top secret sources say that some Actigrammers are reading this post!

How could they not be reading this, it is great. I'm constantly amazed at all the new twists you come up with for the story as well as the ability to keep it fresh and interesting. I, for one, am glad. It keeps the CtP2 forum going when there is no CtP2 info.

As for Activision, while they might not post anything, I would hope they are smart enough to visit the Apolyton forums on a fairly regular basis to see what the public (ie, people BUYING their product) is saying and wanting. Seeing how far-reaching Apolyton is, if I was running a game company, I would hire an intern to do nothing but interact with the Civers here at Apolyton. The benefit would far outweigh any costs associated with it.

Locutus grunted. True to his nickname, he had been sneaking around a labyrinth of underground tunnels, painstakingly tracing a route, and marking the floor with an ultraviolet paint. "I've reached the service corridor. It's got a steel door - welded shut. Just like you thought it would be."

"Good thing you have that cutting laser. Your signal is strong, so I'll be able to monitor the proximity sensor for you."

With that, Loc unstrapped his backpack. From it he pulled a black metal box that was an Apolyton proximity sensor. He stuck the magnetic side to the center of the door, standing along a short hallway that ended about 10 meters to his left. Loc had come from the right, which turned 90° about 3 meters to his right.

A red light started blinking from a corner of the box, as it began scanning for vibrations on the other side of the door. Pintello stared at his flat-screen terminal from within the back of the van. He waited for a few seconds as the instrument ran a self-test. Adjusting his mic, he said "looks good, Sneak. The air is static… I think there might be a couple rats running around on the other side. That's good. Nothing else."

"Okay, Commander" replied Locutus. He reached into his pack, pulling out some Kevlar gloves, a special pair of goggles and the laser cutter. As the invisible laser light heated the rusted lock, the metal glowed red, then yellow, then a painfully bright white. His goggles automatically darkened. It took a few minutes to cut through the lock, but finally he was through. As the metal cooled, Loc returned the laser and black box to his pack. Eyeing the door, he scrounged again and retrieved a can of WD-30. Not wanting the door to squeak, he sprayed some on the hinges. The strong odour of petroleum distillate filled the air. Loc put the can away and put the pack on his shoulders. He grabbed the handle and with a strong pull, convinced the door to swing reluctantly on its hinges.

The room was dark, and stale tropical air mixed with the smell of WD-40. The mixture made Loc's stomach turn as he adjusted his visor to low light. "I'm in, Commander." he said. "Gee, this place reeks! Are you sure this is a computer room? It's more like a rotten greenhouse down here."

Pintello was perplexed. "Huh? You're in the right place, Sneak. Look at the end of the room - you'll find a panel. Open it and plant the bug. Five more minutes and you're done."

"All right, Commander. It looks like an old, dusty office." To his left, Locutus saw the convulsing forms of rodents. "Now that's weird."

Pintello looked at Nordicus. "What's weird? You saw the rats?"

"They look poisoned. Some exterminator must have laid a trap nearby." He walked on to the panel and opened it. Inside was a mess of wires. From his left coat pocket Locutus pulled another small box. This one had a multi-pin connection on the side. He carefully traced through the mess of wires.

"What's it look like, Sneak?"

Sweat poured off Locutus' face. "Man, it's freezing here. Um, this is a signal multiplexer. My guess is that one, two, three … twenty-four inputs are being routed into each of … a dozen boards. This should give us some good data!"

"Can you locate the terminal brick?"

Locutus coughed. "Ouch. Yeah." He coughed again. "Hold on … I'll have to put a gender-bender on the free connection, though."

"Let's get going. Something's got me nervous. I want you out of there right away." Pintello clenched his teeth. He heard a thud. "Sneak?"

Silence. Then some rustling.

"Hey buddy! What's happening?"

Still nothing.

Pintello slammed his hand on the desk as Nordicus moved to look at the monitor. "The bug's still inactive, Nordicus. Darn it, he's not responding!"

Nordicus tried to keep some calm. It was obvious the young commander was full of fear and adrenaline. "Think now. Any clues about what's happening?"

But Pintello was far beyond reasoning with. "A man is down and that's not going to happen. Nobody gets taken down under my command!" he shouted.

Nordicus grabbed his shoulder. "And if you think that way, you'll make yourself out to be a liar. Think harder. Why do you think he's down?"

"Oh heck. Just give me my gear!" yelled Pintello as he grabbed his roll bag. The youth opened the rear van door. As he left, Nordicus threw over a respirator.

"What's this for?"

"He said that the place stunk. He said he thought the rats were poisoned. He said he was cold and he almost coughed up a lung. Twice. Don't breath too much in that room, and take samples! Paul's been stationed at the airport for backup. I'll get him to mobilize a chopper to pick you two up. See you later!"

His first action was easy. He leisurely stood up and gave his captors a Han-Solo smile. The second was pretty simple, too. As the first agent approached, he raised his hands in surrender. Surprised by the lack of resistance, the Actigator lowered his gun to grab a pair of handcuffs strapped to his belt. It stood there in front of him, waiting to receive a pair of hands for the cuffs.

What it got was a swift kick in the crotch. The impact wasn't meant to neuter an already genderless creature, but MidKnight's foot did manage to spring the agent off its feet.

That gave him some more time. In a single sweep he grabbed his pistol and slammed its handle deep into the Actigator's temple. With his other hand he positioned the agent-shield to block a barrage of unfriendly projectiles. MidKnight fired six rounds and grabbed the gun holstered in his agent-shield's belt. Each round had found a mark and six more agents fell dead.

That was when the easy part ended. The remaining three had drawn assault rifles. MidKnight threw what was left of his shield, barely dodging a blazing storm of armour-piercing slugs. As he hit the ground, his ears went numb with the noise and he saw the wall behind him turn into a flurry of wood and stone. The effect was scary, and he almost lost his courage for the next move. The Apolytoner somersaulted to an adjacent wall, scurrying behind another desk. He popped his head up and fired three more rounds. This new pistol was huge, and the kick threw off his aim. Two headless Actigators fell to the floor, but the third escaped with only a few cuts. In a flash the opponent rolled behind some furniture, and it was MidKnight's turn to wonder where to shoot. He was about to make a guess when he saw a motion from the corner of his eye. "Silica!" he thought. "Darn! I forgot about -"

"Call me Steve. Steve Marrioti* at your service. This is my colleague, Mr. Orge.*"

Eis offered a handshake. "Mr. Ogre, an honour."

"Mutual. You and I have been assigned for an important mission. Skorpion will go with Steve on another."

"What are these missions about?" asked skorp.

The Ogre's face hardened. "We just heard that MidKnight has been found out. He was apprehended after a brief skirmish with Silica and some Actigators. You and Steve need to get to him before they execute him. Steve can tell you more later."

Eis whistled. "What about the second mission?"

"You're a tough nut Eis, that's for sure," remarked Steve. "You and the Ogre need to hunt down the Goblin."

"The Goblin?"

"Yep. The Goblin is an ex-Actigrammer. He joined the 'gators a few years back. We tried to stop that, but he was blinded by their allure of power. Now it's too late- he's more silicate machine than man. You two need to take him out personally, since his unique biochemistry will be immune to our mutagen carrier gas."

Skorpion's eyes widened. "I totally forgot about that! When will the carrier be ready?"

"About six more hours," replied Steve. "We're already mobilizing some units. The plan is to hit a wide number of communications targets and concentrate on some strategic takeouts in a few areas."

"Well, that's good enough for me!" replied Eis. They each grabbed some rifles, proximity mines and a few choice trinkets.

Steve turned towards and handed him a particularly choice trinket. "Eis, this is a gift for you. Use it carefully, though."

Eis' grin got even bigger. "Wow, you shouldn't have. I've always loved the smell of napalm in the morning!"

Cool, I see you actually conned, I meaned politely asked, some Activision Programmers, I mean Actigrammers, into letting you use there names and they fell for it, I mean agreed to it. Way to go!!!

Interesting twist you game my character too! One never knows which way you are going to go with these stories. I like that. I look forward to seeing what else happens.

Regards,

He found the stairs that led to a series of underground service tunnels. Before going down, he reached into his bag and pulled out the respirator Nordicus had given him. He found a fuzzy badge and clipped it near one of the filters. The badge was designed to capture and preserve viruses and bacterium. On his chest he placed another badge, made from radiation sensitive film. After putting it on, he grabbed an 8mm pistol. With the pack still in his left hand, Pintello descended the stairs.

Minutes later the commander reached a steel door that had been opened by Locutus. He didn't smell anything, and that was good. It meant that the respirator's bio-filters were working. If a high level of pathogen or bio-toxin was captured, the fuzzy badge was designed to give off ultraviolet light. He checked the film badge and saw that it was red - another good sign. If the film turned black, it meant that he had received at least a year's worth of normal radiation.

Pintello reached into his pack and pulled out twelve pairs of ion grenades. He set the six black and the six red buddies about 3 meters on either side of the door. The commander found various pieces of garbage and used it to cover the weapons of destruction. Reaching again into the pack, Pintello grabbed the remote detonator switch and fastened it to his belt. Raising the gun, he carefully walked to the door, which was still ajar.

The room was completely still and dark. Pintello stole a quick glance and saw nothing but furniture, illuminated through the green field of his goggles. There was nothing. He heard nothing, yet he felt like something was waiting…

Pintello put his back to the wall, the open door to his left. He crouched and spun in between the door and its frame, getting a full view of the room. Directly in front of him was Locutus, lying on the floor, a black box close to his outstretched hand. There was no blood. No signs of a struggle. Locutus looked pale and drenched with sweat. On the left side was a closed door. He took a step, still crouching. Still nothing.

Then there was a rustle to his left. Pintello rolled to the right and lay on the floor, gun held with both hands in front of him.

Nothing.

The commander crept around, going counterclockwise. His eyes fixed on desk from where the sound came. Finally he saw the outline of a rat. It's tail twitched, then remained motionless. A few seconds later it twitched again, then fell still.

Pintello continued circling. He scanned the room again and strained his ears for something new. As he closed in on Locutus, he could hear the Sneak's shallow breathing. Suddenly the filter badge on his respirator glowed brightly. Pintello stood up and pulled a communicator from his pocket. "Nordicus, I found Locutus… He's alive, but this place is full of a toxin or something. I'm going to plant the bug and then we're out of here!"

Nordicus radioed back. "Sounds good. I'll have Paul fly in a safe distance away. You will find me in the alleyway by the warehouse. See you in ten."

"Roger," replied Pintello. He put the radio away and picked up the black box. The gender bender was nearby and he picked that up as well. As he fitted the pieces to the terminal block, Pintello started wondering why everybody always expected a person to say 'Roger' over the radio instead of 'okay,' or 'you bet.' After installing the box he closed the panel and went over to his fallen comrade.

"Don't worry pal, I'll get you out of this. Don't you-"

There was a sound by the metal door. It sounded like a boot scuff. Pintello froze and placed his left hand on the detonator button. There was another sound, and the commander quickly dropped behind a desk, dragging Locutus along the ground. Suddenly the metal door burst open and bullets from an automatic weapon roared through the room. Pintello pushed the detonator twice, and a hellish explosion ripped across the doorway. The light was so intense it made it made his goggles turn opaque, like a welder's mask. His last image was that of an Actigator, lit up like a tungsten filament between the grenades and a steel doorframe. The ionized Actigator acted like a huge magnet. It became glued to the door, pulling Pintello's gun and the ten other ion grenades to itself. The result was a tenfold detonation, which made a field so strong his hair stood straight out like a mad scentist. The steel door was caught like a newspaper in a hurricane. It swung mightily on its hinges and closed with a monsterous clang against the doorpost.

Pintello's goggles returned to low light as he held his hears. They had never rung so hard - not even after last month's rock concert. "That was a bit of overkill" he thought. The commander ran to the steel door. It was wedged hard in the door frame, and looked as though it were welded shut. The lower half of the Actigator was on this side of the door, and Pintello's gun was a half-molten puddle on the floor.

Skorpion was amazed at the complex of tunnels. They seemed to run in all directions, some ending at peculiar spots, only to turn again at an unexpected angle. "Whoever built this place? It's worse than an ant hill!"

"Actigators think differently. Note the construction, too. It's mainly glazed sand. Anyways, here we are." The two stopped at an elevator doorway. Steve pulled out a pass card and swiped it through a panel. The doors opened, and they walked in. Immediately the Actigrammer pulled a translucent card from his shirt pocket and he insterted it in a slot just above the floor selection buttons. The doors closed and the system paused. "Well it's a great day for rain!" exclaimed Steve.

An electronic voice was heard over an elevator speaker. "Rain indeed. Which floor, please."

Steve gave skorpion a knowing look. "Third floor, but be quiet about it. When you get there, don't open the door and report a malfunction to your master. Run a diagnostic and tell it that you'll be better in a few minutes."

"Better in a few minutes. Yes sir" replied the voice.

Skorpion59 felt the elevator begin to move when suddenly he got a strange feeling. It was like the air was charged, and his fillings tingled. Then there was a deafening sound, like a thunderclap. The elevator lurched to a halt and the lights went out. "What the heck was that?" shouted skorpion.

"Darned if I know," came the reply. "Now we're really stuck!" Steve produced a flashlight and turned it on. The air was heavy with the smell of ozone. "Help me get this door open. Let's see if we can find a way out of here."

With that the pair began working on the door. Within a minute they had managed to pry it open halfway. They found that the elevator had only moved upwards a meter or so. It was an easy job to crawl back out to where they had started.

"This really puts a damper on our plans. I think some large capacitor must have discharged. Whatever it was knocked out the local power supply. Let's find another way up."

Steve and skorpion backtracked about 30 meters, and then took a right turn. "There's another elevator about 70 meters down this hallway. We'll try that one."

Running again, the two heard some shouting as they passed a connecting hall. Steve screeched to a halt, pistol drawn. He motioned skorpion to cover him as he took a quick glance around the corner.

"What did you see?" whispered skorp.

"One person, average height and build. He's carrying another person and he looks panicked."

"Actigators?"

"Probably not. He's wearing a mask. They don't wear masks." The pair waited around the corner, weapons drawn and ready. Seconds later Pintello ran out from the corridor. Steve stuck out his foot and Pintello went flying, landing in a heap next to the still-unconscious Locutus.

"Freeze!" shouted skorpion. "If you move I'll shoot!"

Steve stood up as Pintello put his hands over his masked head. "Who are you?"

"Burn in Alpha Centauri, you Actigators!" was Pintello's only reply.

"We're Actigrammers - and Apolyton."

"Apolyton? I'm Apolyton. It's me, Pintello!"

"Skorpion was stunned. Who authorized your operation?"

MarkG* and DanQ* authorized it - through Nordicus."

It was Steve's turn to ask questions. "Then why the mask? Are you the only one without an immunity chip?"

"Pintello sat up. What's an immunity chip?"

I am back from moving/vacation and I have just read up on your post. I like them, they are still going every which way, which is good.

What happened? You haven't posted anything else in over a week. Run out of ideas?

Actually, I have been writing. Things are going a lot more slowly because work is so busy . I am also training for a Triathlon (end of this month) and so there's not much time to be thinking about the story.

"Mr. Ogre?"

"Yes?"

"Why are we going to kill an unarmed man? Why not do it in a more noble fashion?"

"Two reasons, mainly. First off, he's a heartless killer. Second, this is the only way we have a chance at winning."

Eis frowned. "Oh come on. Goblins are smaller than Ogres. Why give such a small title to somebody so bad?"

"You'll see. The Goblin fights like a cat in water. This is the only way."

For the rest of the trip, the Ogre refused to speak. He held a face of grim determination. It was almost as if the whole job bothered him as well, and that he didn't want to talk about it.

The two imposters rounded a corner. There were other Actigators in this hallway. They walked to the end and stopped at a closed door. The Ogre pulled a transparent card from his pocket and waved it over the door panel and leaned close to it. "It's a nice day for rain. Forget what your master wants for ten minutes."

"Ten minutes," responded a voice from the panel. The door opened.

They carefully walked into the dark room. Mr. Ogre pulled out a gun and set a silencer. Suddenly the Actigrammer stopped dead in his tracks, and Eis walked straight into him. "What the-"

Thanks for the buzz, guys. We love ya!

"What do you mean?" asked skorpion as they jumped past the burning doorway down the hall. "Don't you think you got him?"

"Not a chance. If anything we've sealed our fate. The Goblin loves to play cat and mouse! We need to find a better place to fight. These hallways are death traps."

The Ogre was running fast, and it took everything Eis had to keep up. Suddenly there was a hollow swooshing sound and the panic-stricken duo skidded through a door to their right, which opened to a concrete stairway. As soon as they entered, the swoosh became a red torrent through the smoke, and a small rocket peeled through. It impacted a wall nearby and erupted into a shrapnel-loaded shockwave. The force blew the door off its hinges, and skorpion was thrown down the stairwell with a crash.

The Actigrammer had already climbed a flight of stairs, and ran back down to where his buddy lay. "I'm all right. My head hurts, but I'm all right!" shouted skorp. "This guy likes to play hardball!"

"I told you so," replied the Ogre. "You look like a bloody mess. Anything broken?"

"No, I'm just sore."

"Good, follow me!" Mr. Ogre planted a proximity mine under a handrail. He made a 'shhh' sound and bolted up the stairs again, Eis following closely behind. They traveled four flights up, when Mr. Ogre stopped.

"We wait here. Beyond that door is an Actigrammer programming pool. When the Goblin comes, try to do some damage and then run into the next room. The Goblin will have to stop firing blindly, because he can't disrupt Activision's production."

Seconds later, there was another explosion. Eis guessed from Mr. Ogre's reaction that this was the proximity mine. The agent readied an assault rifle in one arm, and pulled out a frag grenade.

Eis stood tense as ever. Sweat poured from his bruised eyebrow, stinging the cuts on his cheek. He could hear the mayhem of their excursions below. Smoke was filling the stairway now, clouding the view downwards. "This is crazy, he thought. The Ogre must have done some damage with that grenade. The rocket was probably just a blind shot - the final retaliation of someone mortally wounded. "Yeah, that's it, he thought." There was still no sign of movement in the stair well. "Heck, if the proximity mine went off, that probably finished him."

Then he heard a clink. The Ogre fired off a volley of bullets down the stairway. He nodded at Eis, who pulled the pin out with his teeth. Slowly he stretched out his arm. Just as he released the grenade, the concrete staircase lurched sideways and downwards. Rebar screeched as it was pulled from the foundation like a mangled stalk of celery. The motion caused Eis' grenade to bounce off some steps, instead of down the stair well.

Once again, the Apolytoner had that grim look. "I can manage. The leg isn't broken."

Mr. Ogre continued on, "don't worry a bit. I'm going to take you to an Actigrammer friend of mine. He'll transport you to the medics and they'll patch you up. Better than new! Heck, once they were able to re-attach an Actigrammer's head from his body during an - 'incident.'"

Eis was leaning against the Ogre, hopping on his good leg to keep up. "What about the Goblin?"

"It's an all out war, now. When he catches up to us, we'll have to set some kind of ambush. We're going to need to find reinforcements - fast! By that time you'll be back in business and we can continue."

Just then they arrived at a doorway. Mr. Ogre opened it and they walked into a gigantic room. It had permanent scaffolds everywhere. In fact, it looked like an indoor Cape Canaveral launch pad - without the space shuttle. An Actigrammer ran towards them. He looked at Mr. Ogre and shouted "Sir!"

"Harvey!" replied the Ogre. "Good to see you. Get our friend patched up at the medic lab - on the double. I'm going to find Boomer and the gang. We'll meet here in 10 minutes!"

Mr. Ogre rushed off. Harvey looked at Eis, who was a great deal taller than he. "Whoa! You're missing half of that leg, at least! I'll bet that hurt!" Everything Harvey said seemed to be emphatic - like it meant more if he shouted all the time.

Harvey continued as he lead Eis across the large room. To their right was a tangle of scaffolding that held a massive, round platform. It was maybe a story above their heads, and measured about 100m in diameter. "What's that?" Asked Eis. Talking made the pain more bearable.

"Oh that? It's a Top Secret project! If I were in PR, I'd say you don't need to know… But since you're a friend of the Ogre, I'll tell you! Whadaya think of that!?"

Eis grimaced. He didn't think Harvey had wanted an answer, so he didn't say anything. Harvey continued… "It's a gravity lens. Very cool, let me tell you! And that's not all we have here! No way! But anyways, it looks like you're in a lot of pain! Ever been in pain like that before?! Actually, I haven't but lots of my Actigrammer friends have! I'll bet you heard about the decapitated fellah, but another guy that works here? Ya know what happened to him? You see, he loves to snowboard... yep! And he was saying that it hurts a lot when you crash, because your feet stay on the board and something like your head takes all the impact!"

Harvey's voice was driving Eis crazy. He got the feeling that little Actigrammer had absorbed one-too-many head impacts in his day.

"That's right!" continued Harvey. "So this snowboarder says the most painful way to crash is when you land on your butt! But that's not all! You see, sometimes the butt cheek that's on the down-hill side keeps sliding, while the butt cheek on the up-hill side gets some good traction! Boarders up in Canada call it the butt-cheek pull! Uh huh! They say it'll rip ya in half! Now that's what I call pain!"

"Okay, that's it!" cried Eis. He hobbled a step backwards, next to the wall of scaffolding. "Why don't you just tell me where the medics are, and I'll just go-"

Eis couldn't tell what happened first. Was it the screeching sound, or was it the fact that Harvey had been reduced to a couple of scorched limbs? His mind raced as he looked for the source of the holocaust before him. Then suddenly his brain yelled "maybe think about this later… get out!"

Eis jumped with his good leg onto the bars of the scaffold. He used his hands to climb to the top of the big disk. His leg didn't hurt any more - he was too scared to think about that. Below was another screech sound, and the ground he had vacated was now a crater. Up he climbed until he reached the big white platform. It looked a lot like a suspended launch pad. Nearby was a small panel set into the floor. It was slightly inclined, and read Gravity lens. 'Accel = ___ g's. Enter value or turn dial.' The agent panicked. There was nothing else here but some pieces of steel. No weapons, and nowhere to hide.

Suddenly he heard a sound. Then he saw an mammoth paw grab the edge from below. Eis froze as the Goblin leaped from the edge onto the platform. The Goblin looked scratched up, but certainly not hurt. The creature made an ugly grin - the kind that evil things make when they know they're about to get away with something even more evil. It took a few steps forward and pulled out a curved knife.

Eis rose on his one good leg. He grabbed a piece of pipe in acceptance of the challenge. The Goblin moved forward, and lunged.

In a flash, Eis fell back down and cranked the dial on the panel. It read Accel=50g's. Below him there was a ferocious whirr, and behind him Eis heard a big splat. The agent found himself about halfway in the field. He could move his arms freely but his legs now weighed about two tones each. Eis couldn't even drag them out. He looked back and saw a crumpled hulk of armour that was the Goblin. The floor was awash with red blood as it sped along the surface of platform.

Eis then looked at his own legs. He could easily see his bones as all of the flesh got pressed to the floor. The sight scared him so bad he cranked the dial back to zero. With a painful bound, his pancake-like legs became round again. It was just like watching a cartoon.

The two had started up an elevator shaft. Then they made a detour through some ducting. Now they were suspended by magnets on their hands and knees, crawling along large water pipes. "Almost there," said Steve. "We'll try another way back - hopefully by then the security sensors will be defunct."

Skorp laughed. "Check it out now - defunct's your brother! Er, where are we going to find MidKnight?"

"About four meters ahead," replied Steve. "I'll drop a line to the suspended ceiling and we can take a look at what's in the room." He fastened an Apolyton-like proximity sensor on the end of a strong cable, and lowered it until the silver box rested on a ceiling panel. Then he donned a pair of dark glasses and stared in silence for a few seconds. "Hmmmm. One person. Looks like MidKnight. Funny there's no guard around."

"How about the other side of the door?" asked skorpion.

"Can't tell that from here," replied Steve. We'll have to check when we get down there. It would be nice to leave through the hallway." The Actigrammer fastened the other end of the cable to a sturdy pipe. Then he slid down to the panel. He let go with one hand and carefully lifted the tile, stealing a quick glance through the ceiling.

Skorpion59 waited until he saw the 'thumbs up.' Then he slid down as Steve jumped to the floor below. The two found Midknight, seated in the corner of the room. He looked like he just woke up.

"Goodness, you're a fright," said skorp.

"Good to see you, too!" replied MidKnight. "I've got a nasty bump on the head, but other than that, the Actigators have been very gentle." He laughed. "I suppose you've experienced the same!"

"Actually," replied skorpion, some of the worst treatment I've received came from Eis. He's gotten bashed up a few times - never forgiven me for bringing him here. Now they're going to take care of the Goblin."

MidKnight grinned. "So then you two got the easy job. I suppose you're wondering why there are no guards around."

"Uh-huh. Rumor has it that you took out ten Actigators before they caught you."

"Actually, it was nine. The last one jumped behind a desk, and then Silica bopped me on the knogen before I finished the job."

Skorpion59 chuckled. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. You're lucky she let you live!"

"Lucky?" asked MidKnight. "Maybe not so lucky. There are no guards around because the Actigrammers are rallying for the offensive. My guess is that the way back to Activision command will be difficult. Silica told her agents not to hurt me on the way down. I think they're waiting for me to return so they can kill me on the way up."

"That's where we come in," interrupted Steve. "The Actigator forces shouldn't be a problem in a few hours, but before that time we need to take out Silica, before she sees what's happening and tries to escape." Mr. Mariotti drew three pairs of silvered sunglasses and handed a pair to each of his comrades.

MidKnight examined the handle. "These are good ones! Are they new?"

"Yes," replied Steve. "This model also comes with a pair of gloves. You should be able to analyze anything electronic with these. The left arm is equipped with a charge of Thorium. Gamma particles are funneled through the front, and a sensor on the right arm picks up the reflections. You'll be able to see through a meter of steel, or three meters of silicate-based material."

"Like the rock within concrete?" asked skorpion.

"Exactly," said Steve. "The lenses are a transparent mix of transistors and Charged-Couple Devices. A CPU tracks what your eyes see, and then it tries to resolve it for you."

"What about the gloves?" asked MidKnight.

"They serve two roles. The first is for marking. They're covered with traces of barium powder - anything you touch will have glowing marks. The second function is for remote circuit modification. You've got two hands, and each glove can transmit electrons. Try everything on and see!"

Skorpion59 put on the gloves, donned the new pair of Armani's and his world was transformed. The plain-looking room suddenly became highlighted with multicolored grids. He looked up and saw the florescent lights, digitized and mapped with radiative distributions. Paths of yellow-green 'electrons' flew along copper wires that were buried on the other side of the ceiling. He traced their paths to a main panel. From there he saw the pale outline of wires that didn't carry a current. Far above that was the water pipe. He could see eddies and turbulence of the water within.

Then skorpion looked at his comrades. They were shadowy outlines of men with an orange, liquid outline surrounding calcium-rich skeletons. Their hands glowed brightly from the barium metal, as did their glasses when they looked straight at him. "You two look like jelly fish, I swear!"

"You don't look so different yourself," replied Steve. In fact, you look like a peacock with your butt in front of that heat register."

Skorpion59 turned around and saw what Steve was talking about. Blue air swirled upwards next to red heater pipes at it absorbed the heat. The current then rose as a yellow plume towards the ceiling like steam. He turned back and said "Enough gawking, I'm convinced! Let's get going already!"