Book 6. Chapter 44: Plan going according to plan
"You court destruction." The giant's eye fixed on me, its gaze oddly hard to read given it had one giant eye and no human sense of eyebrows. "The pale lady is dangerous, little mite-program."
I shrugged, giving a look around the underwater dunes and currents above. "The pale lady herself? Don't doubt it. But her minions? Are they really that strong?" Most programs so far, besides the giant fortress here, ended up small enough to stomp on, or simple minded enough that I could beat down in a battle of wills. And my occult blade seemed to be even more effective within this mindscape than in real life.
"They are not the danger." A swarm of small, glowing creatures darted out from a crevice in the giant's shell, swirling around its eye before something bigger came chasing after all them. If it bothered the program, it didn’t seem to care even if they did get right in front of it’s vision. "Relinquished is powerful. All regions fear her. You fight her agents. You risk her attention to your region."
"It's the only lead I've got. If you got any other way to send a direct message to a Feather, I'd appreciate that too."
The giant's shell shifted, plates rearranging themselves. I think that meant it was thinking?
"I do not." It finally said, its voice a deep rumble. "I will fulfill my contract. You require a plan to survive. I will advise to maximize your survival chances. Detail your plan."
I nodded, glad to have at least one friend out here. "If Relinquished needs these separate agents to be her eyes and ears in the digital sea, it means she can't be everywhere at once I take it?"
The giant's eye flicked to me, then back out to the swirling currents. "No program can." It confirmed. "Not even Relinquished."
Well, plan is going according to plan so far. "So then, if I nab one of these bots and gag it before it can sound the alarm, Relinquished will never know. Right?"