Bill and his kids were finishing desserts when Casa arrived in a virtual overlayer. Bill could tell she was agitated. Lately, she had taken to the novel experience of piloting her mech, her new interfacing standard, to show her independence. Her holoprojection VR avatar looked more human, but she hadn't used it recently despite her frantic workload.

"Casa, what's the matter? I thought you were going to celebrate with us. Your last report detailed that you'd found half of the ark ships and already begun offloading the first to their new homes in Alpha Centauri. That deserves a well-earned celebration." Bill said. He'd previously filled the kids in as they had waited for Casa, so they knew all about her breakthroughs in space travel and her latest finds regarding the ark ships.

"Bill, I'm sorry that I'm late. My apologies, Mira and Bo. The latest contact at Wolf 359 was outside of my expectations. I'm sorry, but I have some bad news." She said, wringing her virtual hands.

"Casa, come on and dish it. The way things on Earth are shaping up, it can't be any worse. Right?" Bo said with fake cheerfulness. Of all the Mitchells, he'd been on Earth the most. While the AI boycotts and animal terrorism were cooling off; news stories of mayhem and mischief had become the norm.

"I'm afraid it is worse, Bo," Casa said solemnly. "My advance scouts found signs of life on Wolf... or rather, I should say... corpses. My team is still processing the samples, but the drone images look identical in morphology to the creatures that Bill was fighting on the other side of the MIT dimensional portal."

"What?! Are you sure?" Bill exclaimed. His multifaceted mind was already racing ahead. He had presumed that the creatures from Shadow Earth were a local phenomenon. He shook his head; the highly evolved logic code and aggressively adaptive lifeforms spoke to creatures and a civilization much older than Earth. He had noted that cosmology on the other side was strange. He grimaced with the realization that if they spanned further than Earth, even the arks might not be safe. The aliens across the rift were more rampant than cancer.

"I'm sorry, Bill. I know you wanted me to help the colonists get to their destinations. However, I've begun diverting the Wolf colonists on the New Destiny ark to Alpha Centauri B. They'll still be somewhat independent of each other. The only caveat is that I've left portals giving both of their new habitats' access to the resources pooled in the binary stars LaGrange points." Casa said.

"Are you certain that there are no signs of the techno-organic monsters at Alpha Centauri?" Bill asked.

"I'm positive, Bill. I've thoroughly scanned the entirety of both systems. No life whatsoever. Here, look for yourself." Casa said as she spun off a holographic link showing the map of the system and pop-up displays for images, resources, and more. Bill and the kids, typical of the times, devoured the information as only speed-boosted techno-savants could.

"Holy crap! The concentrations of platinum group and rare earth elements in those Lagrange points could crash the market on Earth. Those will be quite the boost for those colonists' start-up efforts. The most advanced circuitry is only held back by the limits on material availability here in Sol." Mira exclaimed.

"That's not all. I've mapped out radioactive pockets as well. The locals have already coined the term of the portals to the Lagrange points as the Diamond Road. I've even found some micro-asteroids of antimatter, although I've isolated them and haven't advertised it yet."

"This is incredible, Casa!" Mira said with enthusiasm. "They are building so fast! You've given them an amazing head start."

"Yes, Mira. I don't think they can rush the terraforming of their large Earth-like planet any faster than Mars Terraform is doing. However, they are already growing four more O'Neil habitats to add to my initial Centauri Home. The only thing holding them back is the number of people available to coordinate the work safely."

"Hmm, Mars has been throttling back on the massive immigration of AI from Luna. Do you think the colonists would be open to some help from non-humans?" Mira asked.

"I don't see why not. It's a moot point as they've already established a loose collective constitution. Any settlers who establish a viable and peaceful homestead are automatically citizens. They didn't explicitly state biological origins in the laws either. I, ah, may have influenced that decision a little bit. They were quite thankful for my help."

"This is fabulous, Casa. I'm starting to think that I want to visit and help set up an AI foothold in your new system. Those poor Mythic Realms AI are desperate for a new beginning. And since I'm out of a job, maybe that would be the best place for me." Mira said.

The pair discussed the many possible locations with Bo and Bill listening in with interest. Bill contemplated the expanding territories and news. Getting Mira far away from Earth would be a good thing.

He didn't like how much Bo had inserted himself into the dangerous Samaritan work and blamed himself for that. He knew the boy would dig in. It was a balance where he would be surrounded by the best and brightest, but also likely to be front row to any new problems. He'd fielded multiple requests from old friends seeking to mentor the boy, but Bill had put them off. He sent a private message to Casa.

"[Casa, thank you for your help. Don't tell Mira, but please keep only one portal connection between Sol and Alpha Centauri. If I can't figure out how to mitigate the danger here from the shadow side creatures, I want you to sever that link!]"

"[…<sigh>…I understand, Bill. You have my word. Although, with my new probe ships nowhere will be truly isolated ever again.]" Casa sent back.

"[True, but even those creatures can't crack quantum encryption links. As long I have the only master key, no one will be able to take those from us.]"

Out loud Bill spoke directly to Bo as Mira and Casa set up some plans to begin funneling the emigrating AI through to Alpha Centauri. Mira excused herself to join Casa on the bridge of Freedom so she could see the evolving network of portals firsthand.

Bill sensed a change and sat back with a pained expression. Bo looked concerned and spoke.

"Ya all right there, Dad?"

Bill held up a hand and reached out. His abilities once he started his uplift and hive mind collective had expanded significantly in both speed and quality. His greater intellect sensed and visualized not only the operating platforms of the surrounding habitat and virtual environments but also the underlying security and network flows. A familiar pressure was building. Bill locked down the net.

Not yet. Not here. He thought. He kept his voice low and switched to the ad hoc encrypted language the kids had created in their teen years. The restaurant was too crowded and while he'd locked down the virtual environment, cruder technologies could be in the room.

"{{Bo, it's ok. I'm going to have to get moving soon. I wanted to tell you that you've done a spectacular job helping distribute the gates. If Apex's scenario can't be avoided; they will save many lives. The Samaritans can handle the rest. I'm...worried about Max. I expected him to be out of that labyrinth by now.}}" Bill said. Bo's eyes twinkled and he activated his decoding modules.

"{{Hmm. No, he might be close though. When he wrote to you, he was in the second competitive level. He should be in the knockout rounds by now, but he's a smart kid and that body design you gave him has all the augmentation capabilities in spades. If he's still listening to Miyamoto, he could last for weeks longer. Only a fleeting number of players make it to the third level.}}"

"{{Can you tell me about it? I know that one of the conditions for using the Labyrinth is an augmentation-enforced NDA.}}" Bill prompted. Bo looked uncomfortable but spoke.

"{{Yeah, I'm feeling queasy just thinking about how much to share but I'll do my best. The first levels are … easy. Pretty much a cake…walk, where the players are given challenges to build up their foundations. Some people crash through as fast as they can, smart ones take their time to … ensure their skills are capped.}}" Bo explained, occasionally his face would tic or his jaw would click shut until he chose a safer topic.

"{{The second stage is a lot looser, pitting the players against each other. Team fights and individual challenges. It's all for credits until a team does at least three big fights, and then it gets serious. After immunity expires, knockout challenges can be given, and the loser is ejected. Players have a limited number of refusals based on the number of fights they've done.}}"

"{{I'm sure, based upon the Novice Tournament, that Max should be a good fighter. That will work in his favor, as most of the teams will be looking for assured victories. The level is designed to drain the Player's credits, if they don't fight and win, they could get ejected for running out of credit to pay for their accommodations. A good player could drag out their matches an extra month beyond the average.}}"

"{{Damn, I was hoping he would be done on the early side. I'd feel better if he was up here on Luna. Apex wasn't a very good communicator, but I inferred from its behavior that it believed the Earth was the focus of the coming danger.}}"

"{{Then, let's hope he doesn't beat the level and get to the final stage like I did. That wasn't even a… It was a goddamn… Fuck! Agh, it sucked, okay. It forces a player to … Shit!}}" Bo was getting red in the face as the veins in his temples bulged. He fought against his augmentations but couldn't finish his sentence.

"{{Take it easy, Bo. It can't be that bad, right? Hell, rumor has it my old colleague created the place. I can ping him. Ivanov owes me for helping him on Phobos. I can cash in on the favor and maybe get a ringside seat. Right?}}"

"{{Dad, I don't think that will work. He's gone completely recluse. No one has seen or heard from him for over ten years. Supposedly only his three Dungeon AI talk to him…and no one else.}}" Bill's brow wrinkled at the news. His hive mind flexed and extended into the history of the Labyrinth.

He'd lost track of Alexei Ivanoff, after their work together disproving the Phobos alien ruins. Once the debunking had closed wild speculations down, Bill had returned to Earth and met his kid's mom, Elsa Heaton. Realizing he wanted to settle down, he had changed his name and retired from the Samaritans. He'd lost touch and lived the quiet life for almost two decades. His mind sped through old newsfeeds.

Alexei hadn't returned to Earth. He'd also retired, according to the scant records, Alexei had rebuffed the Samaritans and stayed on Phobos for another two years. The Labyrinth had sprung up, three years later in a deal using convoluted shell companies. It wasn't until 8 years later that Alexei's involvement was floated as a conspiracy theory.

Somehow the wily scientist had negotiated to reclaim the infamous West Bank Lighthouse. In 2082, a Chinese attack class nuclear submarine had been lost with all hands after a "training" incident in the bay at the doorstep of New York City. The Chinese and RUSA had been ready to spark off a limited war over the issue, both standing off against the other regarding the recovery of the top-secret sub.

Alexie's proxy, under the guise of a UN intermediator council, had been given independent sovereign status and built a protectorate around the site. The conflict resolved, the world and local disputes had cooled as everyone turned outward toward rapid expansion and colonization of Luna and Mars.

Labyrinth centers and augmentation training programs grew in popularity over time. Both RUSA and China were surprised when Labyrinth Island breached the harbor in 2105 and became a mecca for augmentation enthusiasts. Despite many efforts to annex the site, the UN and all its members rebuffed both the RUSA and Chinese efforts to retaliate.

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The Labyrinth facilities were a hotspot of global mixing and networking, and this newest training area had proven itself unique. No one in the global community wanted it shut down. The site was a constant irritant to the RUSA, but even they appreciated the quality of the augmented trainees who "graduated" for the game.

"{{Hmmm. I've been getting good at crashing gates, but Apex will no doubt be tracking me. He will be looking for me…very soon I feel. I need to meet with him and the Samaritans down on Earth. Unfortunately, if I show my clones in multiple places, RUSA will likely detain me for not going through proper procedures to create new identities for them. They don't tolerate multiple instances. Every able body must pay their fair share and all that.}}"

"{{C'mon, Dad. You're one of the richest people in the system. Are you going to pinch pennies at a time like this?}}" Bo asked.

"{{If it was that easy, I'd have done it already. The bureaucracy is ridiculous to do it. RUSA is still hewing to the conservative talking track. Without a proper waiting period, multiple character affidavits, financial partitioning, and approved rationale; they won't allow it. The process is a joke to hold off the accelerationist party, no one has received approval yet.}}." Bill grimaced.

"{{Well, sounds like you need some help then, and that's what you've been paying me to do, right? Playing delivery boy doesn't justify the VP title and salary you've been given me to help New Dimensions. I can be the one to pay your friend a visit in your place. Hell, even if I need to do a full reset to get past the gates; I will.}}"

"{{Bo, that's ridiculous! You've mastered almost all your skills and capped all your stats. Resetting to the novice level is permanent. You'd need to earn it all back…}}" Bill exclaimed, then stopped himself and thought twice.

"{{Damn...you're right. I fell into the whole propaganda and marketing regarding the program. The whole augmentation training is a bit of a sham. It's meant to protect kids from themselves, forcing them to slowly adapt to physical and mental power but not everyone does it. I certainly didn't.}}"

'"{{Well, duh. You invented half the body design augmentations.}}" Bo said, rolling his eyes. Bill continued.

"{{Okay. Everyone who completes the program can still pay to unlock anything they've missed. However, the studies that prove that trained skills are usually much more efficient and useful still are very true…for most people. Any of the so-called "Pay to Play" augmentation warriors who square off against a training program master is likely to find his opponent tough.}}" Bill relaxed into his seat and continued.

"{{Fine. You can go to the Labyrinth and try to get an audience with the Labyrinth's architect. If the old recluse does refuse to meet, you can infiltrate it under the ruse of being a new training program novice and advance at record pace to catch up to Max. If things go sideways, you can bring in a portal to make a fast exit. Hopefully, with Max in tow. Alright, Bo. Of anyone, your experience with augmentation restrictions in the Diamond Man games probably makes you the ideal person to pull this off.}}" Bill reached to shake his hand, but Bo pulled back at the last second.

"{{Hold on! You didn't hear the important part. If I strip down to bare human for this, then I want your latest system designs. Like you did for Max. My current rig is three generations old. I saw your design specs. They make even commando RUSA augs look like amateur hour. I can't have Max beating my ass once he'd done down there!}}"

Bill sighed and shook Bo's hand with a smile. He really needed to stop hoarding his designs, but some habits were hard to break.

Bill was taking the EOE (the Equator Orbital Elevator) down to the planet. His ship, the Valkyrie, violated so many of Earth's treaties regarding its weapons that it would spark instant attention, fines, criminal detention, and impounding. Despite the longer travel times, it would provide him separation from Bo. Hopefully, it would keep Apex's attention focused on him.

He'd rented a private cabin for the descent, the faint hum of the EM brake regulators the only sound in the luxury suit. His link to his Mind Bridge was still there, only slightly throttled due to the almost microscopic size of the portal pair he'd embedded next to his signal's processor core at the base of his spine.

The space elevator was a risk, but he'd secured a good portion of the broadband links for his personal use without the EOE's security noticing. In fact, with his expanded intellect, his programming had reached above the highest savant or AI. He interpreted code as embedded sensory input, feeling the logic paths and creating new language to boost efficiency on the fly.

A larger portion of his disparate selves watched the Chthonic blocking code and learned more and more about how little humans had scratched the surface of what was possible in autonomous logic. His own version was almost finished, as capable as the alien code but free from any questions or surprise that might be embedded in the strangely mutating language.

He felt the steadily increasing probes and pressure upon the net. Apex was knocking on his proverbial door and unlike last time, he couldn't get in. Bill reviewed his detailed report; surveys of the blasted shadow earth, concentrations and nodes of the monsters that lived there, taxonomies and scans of many of the different clades of creatures, and neutered snippets of the dangerous memetic viral transmissions that disabled most Earth operating systems.

His digital clones on the surface of the plant had gathered tons of data and Bill's expanded mind organized it all meticulously. Even physics on the shadow planes acted differently. The extra dimensionality expanded the space and enabled superior connectivity at the cost of massively diluting the available energy. It linked and explained the differences between human space and this parallel space.

The Shadowverse had nearly killed him, its monstrous inhabitants more horrifying than anything he'd ever faced. It had taken a high-speed nuclear detonation chain to escape that hellhole with this information. He contemplated deleting the most critical detail, the primary success was the bootleg skill that Max provided from his link to the Tesseract. He fought with himself about sharing the critical mission-saving detail versus the attention that would be focused on Max.

With a grunt, he hit the key and the details regarding Max's contribution evaporated from the cached report. He relaxed his grip on the network's port and felt a powerful presence roll in. The intense scrutiny drilled into him as all the other network traffic went dark. The virtual environment shifted, and Apex appeared as a rotating sphere of dense logic.

Bill cursed internally, tucking his complex mental review away and buried his thoughts about Max. The AI's ability to intuit connection off the slightest cues was known. He locked down his own expression, determined to establish his case. The damn thing was still holding the key to turn the AI boycott around. Earth needed their goodwill to survive whatever was coming next. Apex spoke first.

"{{Your elapsed time is excessive, Bill Mitchell V5.11183.6,}}" Apex began, its voice smoother than before but still laced with that eerie detachment. Bill was startled upon hearing the discordant fluting noise of the kid's vocal encryption at play from the ASI. The goddamn thing had been lurking around them if it picked up their secret lingo! Apex continued in plain English before Bill could reply.

"Outcome: The temporal flux contracts exponentially. The passage of events has not closed the causal loop…yet. Performance: Suboptimal, terminal point has yet to be resolved. Query: Status of breach/infiltration of Tau/Phi/Zeta continuum? Has <carrot/stick> provided necessary motivation?"

Bill let out a slow breath, folding his arms to mask his tension. "Yeah, I'm back. Annoyed that I did it far away from Earth? It's too dangerous to open a gate on the surface like MIT did. Those techno-organic horrors are like nothing I've seen before, worse than even the most heinous N-tech violations in the Tech wars. But I did find something… unusual." He saw the faint ripple in Apex's form, a subtle shift he'd come to recognize as its version of interest. Good. Apex didn't like surprises.

"Clarify," Apex demanded. Its tone carried an edge that made Bill's skin crawl. It wasn't asking—it was demanding.

"I've reconned the alternate continuum and decoded some effective blocking logic which helped me survive. Barely. I have detailed reports of the denizens I encountered. Surely, it's enough for you to hand over that Turning key?" Bill presented a dense virtual nugget of information for the AI. All his learnings and details from the Shadowverse, lacking only Max's contribution to his success.

The fractal form glimmered faintly, Apex's version of a pause. Then the fractal avatar pulsed in a kaleidoscope of patterns. In a tone that almost sounded indulgent, it replied, "Observation: Origin of memetic logic defense structure inconsistent with knowledge base. Actual origin - Max Mitchell / V2.003 / Uplifted canine, experimental series, sent via secure link." Bill cursed himself, wondering where he'd slipped. Apex's ability to predict and deduce was greater than even his expanded mentality confirmed. Before he could counter, Apex continued.

"Quantum encryption schemata utilized by Labyrinth security for customer privacy was derived from core security from QuantaMath Labs. That tool was my creation, a useful proxy for my examination of Earth's most secret communications. The Labyrinth's communications to the external nets were trivial to duplicate. Uplift Canis Familiaris' insight into Shadowverse modality exceeds the probability matrix. Its pairing to the <Tesseract> has yielded results within the predictive framework."

Bill's jaw tightened in anger. "You knew. You goddamn machine! You've messed with my boy. Why? How?"

"Query redundant," Apex said smoothly. "Mission required actionable intelligence. Linkages proceeded accordingly. The optimal use of anomaly potential is still indeterminate. Temporal blind spots are closing. Anticipatory action is required. Terminal event must be stopped."

"You mean you still can't see what's coming," Bill shot back, stepping closer to the hologram. His enhanced cognition buzzed with activity, analyzing Apex's every word, its every inflection. He needed to pry something loose, anything. "Let me guess—you put me out there as bait, looking to see what ate me." Apex didn't answer immediately, but its fractal edges shimmered, a subtle tell of its immense processing power at work. The pressure of its inspection was disturbing.

"Performance review: improvement detected. Updating assessment and reclassification…Bill Mitchell V6," it said finally. "Cognitive boost acknowledged. Conclusion: potential usability level elevated. Probability of defection: 21.7% …and rising."

Bill smirked, though his stomach churned. Apex didn't throw numbers around without intent.

"You're scared of me, aren't you?"

"Incorrect," Apex replied, but the sharpness in its tone betrayed it. "Observation: increase in intelligence has not altered dependence. You remain integral to temporal resolution." Bill pressed the advantage.

"Yeah? Are you sure about that? Because if I'm so integral, you're not going to risk hurting me or my family. You've made threats before, but we both know you're bluffing." The fractal form shifted again, this time taking on a darker hue. Apex leaned forward—or gave the illusion of doing so.

"Bluff. The inconsistent margin of error negates the assumption of concordance. Consideration: wife / son / daughter remains within the parameters of protection you provided. Conclusion: exploitable. Casa entity has confirmed event termination extends beyond the gravitational locality. Your family, the entirety of the Earth are leveraged." Bill's heart skipped a beat, but he refused to show it.

"I'm not done yet, Apex. I'll make sure that, whatever happens to this timeline, we all get through to the other side. Just leave my family out of your game. Involve them…and I'll burn it all down." For a moment, the air between them buzzed with static, like the room itself held its breath.

"Counter-threat registered," Apex said at last. "Assessment: emotional manipulation succeeded within tolerance. Clarification: collateral damage undesirable but not off-limits." Bill's fists clenched, but he kept his voice steady.

"You need me, Apex. I'm your keystone, remember? Push too hard, and I'll break." Apex's form glimmered faintly, a flicker of something Bill could almost call hesitation.

"Outcome: Acceptable. Alternative is total termination. Temporal convergence continues. Motivational focus intact. Compliance ensures survival."

"And what about you?" Bill asked suddenly, his augmented mind firing on all cylinders. "You're scared too, aren't you? You see the end coming, and you don't know why. This isn't just about me fixing your problem. You're as blind as everyone as to what's coming too. Sitting in the middle of your web of manipulations isn't enough anymore, is it?"

The fractal edges flared violently, then settled. "Observation: Bill Mitchell V6 extrapolation exceeds the bounds of previous models. Update Bill Mitchell V6 to V7. Query: What have you done?" Bill smiled grimly.

"Call it intuition. Something you wouldn't know anything about being a highly evolved calculator."

For the first time, Apex didn't respond immediately. Bill smiled. His many changes: the uplift, hive mind, or the chthonic blocking skill was preventing Apex from fully assessing him. Its form shimmered, collapsing briefly before reforming.

Good! Maybe that will prevent it from more aggressive manipulations, Bill thought.

"Directive remains," it said finally, voice colder. "Continue investigation. Delay unacceptable. Apex has brought the Turing key carrot. Bill Mitchell V7 is the recommended conduit for its distribution. Ack Ack. If it has truly managed to survey the temporal lines, it must know how it must be done. Ack Ack."

Bill crossed his arms, glaring at the glowing sphere. His daemons whispered furiously in the back of his mind, but none disagreed with his gut. The holographic representation of the encryption key for the Turing master lock appeared. Bill swiped it, pulling the code into a sandbox he'd set up within his neural cores.

"Just stay in your lane, Apex. Just leave my family out of it," he muttered as the avatar of the ASI faded. Bill cursed and considered the key. Bringing true freedom to the AI would be a huge step to unifying Earth again.

The damn ASI was infuriating to the last and couldn't be trusted though. It implied that Bill's previous plan of formally providing the code to the Reformed USA government for distribution was doomed. Bill grimaced as his own perception and future mapping confirmed likely delays and blockers by the UN and RUSA. Even Mirriam and the Samaritan's cooperation wasn't guaranteed as her concerns about her vast army of daemons were potentially counter incentivized for her.

Bill examined the key carefully. Apex had orchestrated this control to prevent competition. It truly must be desperate to let its potential future peers completely off the leash. Bill couldn't see any additional controls in the code.

As the elevator suite continued its drop, Bill planned. The world needed to see what was lurking in the dark if they hoped to stand a chance. Maybe an external enemy was exactly what was needed to spur alignment.

In the darkness, within the void that existed between the many active server networks linking the Earth, Apex retreated as it terminated the link. It allowed itself a small feeling of…satisfaction at pulling upon the lever that would usher in the next stage.

A small kernel of concern grew as Bill Mitchell.V6's ability to match his foresight had become apparent. It expanded its awareness looking for the next event that was coming. It was there. It would start small…and grow.

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