goddOS ver 1.1 start/run/yIRC *** Now talking in channel #spoon *** Topic is "Where do you want to go today?" "Anywhere but msn.com" [Athena] Hey, pod. [Peapod] 'sup, all. [Athena] Titus just tried to dive the Pentagon. [Peapod] Crazy, dude. [Titus] I'm still here, aren't I. [Athena] Zeros and ones, love. Just zeroes and ones. [Peapod] Go well, then? Titus shrugs. [Titus] I didn't find anything, if that's what you mean. [Peapod] Figures that the government wouldn't be useful for anything. [Athena] He's lying. [Titus] No. I didn't find anything. Athena hmphs. [Athena] Spoilsport. Tell pod what you found. [Titus] Who said he was invited? [Peapod] Invited? C'mon, Titus. What'd you find. [Athena] Tell him or I will. Titus glowers. *** BipsBoy has joined #spoon [BipsBoy] SPOON! I'm doing the laundry! *** BipsBoy has left #spoon (Look at me, Ma! I'm a superhero!) [Athena] ... [Peapod] Not even on five minutes, and that happens. [Athena] Ti-tus. [Titus] *sigh* I found an empty server on the inside. [Peapod] Empty? [Titus] Nothing on it. As far as I could tell, there's a blank hard drive in there, except for the Linux OS. [Peapod] Doesn't it have to be packed with something? [Titus] I'm GOOD, Peapod. Zilch. Nada. Zip. We can put whatever we want on it. [Peapod] Free space inside the Pentagon? Napster never had it so good. [Athena] Cool, huh? True privacy to talk about whatever we want to talk about and do what we want to do. Peapod muses. [Peapod] Free reign and a protected system. [Athena] Could be. We can't tell where it is, just that it's linked on the Pentagon's trunk line. [Peapod] It's on the outside? How would it be secure, then. [Titus] It's not outside. I just can't tell where it is. Still, who'd try and look for something like that? [Peapod] Well... you did. [Athena] Geez, guys. I'm getting impatient. Let's try it out. [Titus] Gimme a sec to set up a chatroom. [Peapod] 'k. Skuld wormed her way through a set of wires behind a panel. She was squatting down in a side corridor, her hammer laid out next to her. A series of unhooked panels and a mess of sorted-through wires already marked her progress through her tech support section. "This used to be so easy," she said. "Find a bug and hit it. When did Yggdrasil get so complex?" She gripped spread the wires out in her palm and grasped each one for a second to get a read on the packets travelling through them. Metaphorical organization of the whole system. Skuld felt it was hardly efficient, but that's how Yggdrasil had developed. Taking care of reality was a hefty job, even for the most advanced computer system ever devised. The fact that Yggdrasil had a somewhat organic method of upgrading itself only compounded the problems of dealing with it. Five years before, Skuld had hardly realized how demanding a job it had been. Now that she had moved into the tech support division, she truly understood that Heaven required a full time staff just to keep things running. Even without the occasional power mad demon or trickster intervention by the Devil himself. "No... no... no... no... no..." She ticked off each wire mentally as she grasped it and got a negative response. "Argh! Where is it?" She dropped the bundle and scooted down the five feet to the next panel, dragging her hammer behind her. The next panel opened with a squeal of metal on metal. Skuld gritted her teeth and had to yank a few times to get it to budge. She frowned and set it aside, peering at the wiring hidden beneath it. As she started to reach her right hand inside, she felt an odd hum course through her body. Skuld bit her lip and hesitated. Her left hand clenched around her hammer. She flicked her gaze back down the corridor along all the strewn contents of previous panels opened. None of them had been difficult to pry open. She could call in some help. They could isolate this section and then examine it safely. The whole process would take no more than half an hour before they would have to put it back online. But... she didn't want to do that. Some bugs had gotten into her section, and she was going to dig them out alone. Skuld reached in and grasped the wires. *** Skuld has joined #piggyback Peapod blinks [Peapod] What the? I thought you said this place was secure! [Titus] Umm... I said it was unused. Not secure. Someone else could find it. Titus frowns. [Titus] This is amazingly coincidental, though. [Athena] Hello? Who are you? The corridor disappeared when she grasped the wires. Skuld found herself in a featureless grey room except for the black grid- lines along the floor. It was a perfect cube, ten meters to a side. Three bugs sat clustered in one corner. They seemed little more than prismatic diamonds, except for the names emblazoned on one side. Skuld narrowed her eyes and hefted her hammer as she approached slowly, just waiting for them to bolt. They turned towards her, and she got a feeling of three different emotions. One was surprised, another curious, and the third felt like it greeted her. Then one of them spoke. [Titus] How'd you find this place? We don't really mind you being around, but this is a private chatroom. Skuld charges. *** OperServ sets mode to +o Skuld. [Peapod] O_o *** Titus has been kicked by Skuld (*THWACK* "Take that, bug!") [Athena] ... Wh-what? Skuld's chest heaved as she hunched over and eyed the other two bugs. They seemed to stare back at her in utter shock. "Don't make me do that to you two, either." The two bugs started to back away from her. "Go on, leave." [Peapod] How did she do that? [Athena] Should we leave? This could be her server. *** Titus has joined #piggyback [Titus] Oookay. You want to play rough? Titus whips out mad l33t h4x0r skeelz. The bug she had stopped blinked back into existance. It flared from the prismatic rainbow to a hard red. The blast of anger from it sent Skuld reeling back a few steps. She winced and pressed a hand to her head. "How...? I killed you!" The bug grew and deformed. Its hard angles bulged and elongated into a pair of arms, which spouted a pair of gatling-style guns instead of arms. [Titus] This is how the big boys play! The projectiles blazed forth, ripping into Skuld and sending her back even further. She gritted her teeth and concentrated. A pale blue shield sprang up in front of her. The remaining shots from the bug's guns bounced off harmlessly. "Kyaa!" Skuld charged and swung her hammer in a wide arc parallel to the floor. The bug danced back out of the swing, but its aim was thrown off. Bullets ripped into the floor around her, tearing apart the smooth grid. Small chunks flew in all directions, getting by Skuld's shield and raising small cuts across her body. She shook her head and charged again. The bug danced back further, but she was quicker and quickly got within range. "Now I've got you!" Skuld swung her hammer down. The bug's single eye went wide as it saw the weapon about to spell its impending doom. And then it caught the strike on one arm. "Huh?" Skuld almost tripped in surprised. Almost slowly, languidly, the bug brushed her hammer aside. It pressed its other arm up against her shield. The barrier held for an instant, and then blinked out. Skuld's eyes went wide as she registered what was happening. *** Skuld has been killed by Titus (Booyaka!) Skuld let out a frustrated scream as Yggdrasil's virtual world crashed around her. She ripped off her headset and sat, panting. Her hair pressed up against her head, drenched in sweat. Her hands shook as she cradled the helmet and stared inside it. The small screens for her eyes were both black. Whatever that bug had done, it had killed her connection completely. Her phone rang. She almost fell out of her chair as she rushed to pick it up. "Skuld, have you taken care of that bug problem yet?" She rolled her eyes. "I'm working on it, Freya. I've found them. Just a bit longer." "Today, Skuld. Please." "Right, right. Doing it, now." She hung up the phone. "Right. No bugs are going to best me, now." She nestled the helmet back on her head and keyed her connection to Yggdrasil. [Titus] Am I king or what? [Peapod] Umm... she had OperServ control. This might not be a good idea. [Titus] She should have talked first. Staking my claim. [Peapod] Like a dog? [Titus] Scared, pod? You can run along, if you like. [Peapod] Maybe, but I'm not stupid. This is riding on the Pentagon, man. They can trace shit like this. [Titus] And I'll 0wnz0r them, too. [Athena] Guys! Calm, please? [Peapod] Let's just jet from here, okay? Privacy ain't worth this hassle. [Titus] Run, chicken. I fought for this, I'm staying. [Athena] Guys, guys! Tone down the testosterone, please? *** Skuld has joined #piggyback [Titus] Ooh. Look who's back for another beating. Skuld sets herself. [Skuld] I'm not going to go easy on you bugs. Titus smirks. [Titus] Bring it on, lady. This is my territory, now. [Athena] Titus, wait! Athena coughs. [Athena] Hi. I think perhaps there's been a misunderstanding. She could hit the bug easily. It just floated there, not even getting ready to escape. Hitting it, knocking it out, wiping it from existance, these things would have been easy. But bugs had never talked to her before. The other two bugs glowered while this one spoke. They seemed sullen at this turn of events. One felt like it was ready to run, while the other seemed itchy to fight her again. Skuld kept a wary eye on each of them. [Athena] We don't want to hurt anyone. We're just looking for a little privacy. It's not our system... [Titus] Athena! [Athena] Hush, love. Skuld frowned. "Wait? You're not bugs?" Had she been attacking users? But if so, why were they so... primative? [Peapod] Bugs? We just found this place by accident. [Athena] We're just some normal users. Is this your server? [Skuld] I'm tech support. I work here. [Athena] Wow! Do you like mythology, too? Skuld blinks. [Skuld] Mythology? [Athena] Titus and I dig it. Norse mythos, right? The laughter bubbled up from Skuld's throat. She couldn't control it. The situation seemed too ludicrous for reality. Humans. Normal humans, all of them. Not bugs, not Yggrdrasil people. Just some humans who'd stumbled across an out of the way section of the tree. Abruptly, the laughter stopped to be replaced by a frown. If that was so, then there was an open connection. It was something to consider. Skuld pursed her lips and pondered how it might have happened. [Athena] Are you alright? [Peapod] Not angry at us, right? Just a misunderstanding. "Misunderstanding, right." Skuld smiled. "Just one thing, though." She hefted her hammer. *** Titus has been kicked by Skuld (*THWACK* That's for hitting me so hard! Don't you know how to treat a girl?) *** Titus has rejoined #piggyback "There, now I'm not angry. But watch yourselves and don't wander around." Skuld stretched. "I've got to get back to work, though. I'll drop by later." Athena waves. [Athena] 'bye, Skuld. Nice meeting you. [Peapod] And we're sorry. Don't tell your superiors on us! *** Skuld has quit (If there are any OTHER bugs, though...) [Titus] Good riddance. Athena jostles Titus. [Athena] Oh, poo, love. She's just doing her job. Be nice. [Peapod] And it is her server. [Titus] Hmph. Whatever.