Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“But it proves that realm-crossing is possible.”
Phoenix looks her grandfather boldly in the eye. “And my mother told me she’d witnessed it before, too.”
“We do not speak of that,” Vlad swipes a hand harshly, face angry.
“I’m just saying we know realm-crossing is possible. So Sabra’s grandmother’s vision is possible if something unforeseen changes.”
“Nothing ever has,” Vlad says stubbornly, glaring back at Phoenix. “Short-term possession is not true crossing.”
“Until now,” Layden interjects.
“What?” Vlad demands, looking at all of us. “What does your family know?”
Again, Layden speaks for us. “I know that I’ve been watching the world’s computer systems, and something alien has been infiltrating government AI. Soon, the humans will lose control of their own technology, and they won’t even see it coming.”
“How do you know if they don’t?” Vlad demands. “What makes you so special?”
“I have a certain connection to the spirit realm,” is all Layden says. “I recognize the runes in the AI algorithms as a language of spirits from another realm. It’s invisibly interlaced on top of the humans’ code, driving and directing it toward the spirit’s end.”
“Which is? What do they want?”
“We don’t know,” Phoenix says, “but they knew enough to realize Layden was watching them. They could sense him and his family and used the human military to attack them. Whatever they’re trying to do, they don’t want to be stopped.”
“Even if I were to believe any of this nonsense,” Vlad waves a hand, “why should I care about what computers in some other country are doing?”
Phoenix’s mouth drops open. “They’re infiltrating Russia and China, Grandpapa, and you know enough of the world to realize anyone who starts with those powers won’t stop there. You have a good life here. You have control and power.” Her last words are said through her teeth as if it’s not something she’s entirely happy about.
Vlad shrugs his shoulders, but Phoenix presses her point. “Think about how long you’ve been building this city—this country. Your wealth isn’t in gold bars anymore. It’s in Swiss banks. That’s all numbers and digitized currency that’s secure so long as the government is stable. You think it stays secure when an AI run by a rogue element has control of that government? Any force seeking power will go after the world’s banks right after it gets control of the most volatile governments’ militaries.”
Vlad finally shifts in his chair, visibly moved by this argument at last. “Chase down this spirit with your computers, and then Phoenix and I will go to defeat it!”
“My family and I will stand beside you,” Abaddon says confidently.
But Phoenix only sighs as Layden jumps in. “It’s a different world than we have known in the past,” he says to both Abaddon and Vlad. “We can’t fight whatever this is with cannons or muskets. It’s about server farms and AI.”
“What is this AI?” Abaddon barks, obviously frustrated by the conversation.
“Artificial intelligence,” Phoenix says when Layden looks frustrated by our brother’s lack of knowledge. “Computer programs the humans build to do tasks that can think for themselves.”
“But the runework I’ve seen overlaying the human programming is allowing the AI to advance far beyond what the humans ever dreamed,” Layden says. “It’s speeding up what the AI is capable of by centuries, and from what Phoenix and I were looking at last night, it’s only days away from completely wresting control away from the humans.”
“Even if we could track it down, which we can’t because the AI or the entity programming the runes is smart enough to bounce the source code off server farms all over the world,” Phoenix says, “we still don’t know what we’re dealing with or how to fight it.”
“So what are we to do?” Vlad asks, rising out of his seat and throwing his hands in the air. “Did you bring us all here to warn us of a coming apocalypse we can do nothing to stave off? I tell you, Granddaughter, that I have seen kingdoms rise and fall, and I fear nothing! I have always risen to greatness, and this shall be no different. Let these human armies come for me. I shall decimate them and put their heads on pikes as far as the eye can see, like my honored great-grandfather Vlad Dracul the First before me! Blood will rain down on the fields near and far!”
“Dad would have loved this guy,” I mutter.
Vlad’s face snaps my way, but Phoenix obviously has many years of managing her grandfather’s tirades because she stands up, hands in a defensive posture. “Layden and I are monitoring the situation. And now that Sabra’s here, we’ll cast a circle to see if we can learn more.”
“Bah! What has witchcraft ever done except make things worse?” Vlad says, throwing a hand toward Sabra.
But Phoenix’s eyes narrow. “You know what gifts the witches have given us through contact with the spirits,” she says, her voice low. “Even if they came in unexpected ways.”