Before and after. That is what she sees. Blind to the present, but not blind at all. She focuses her sight on a single subject and information is given to her, sorted in years of history, established events. Then, from the other direction. Possibilities. She chooses one, but others are at play. Existences which she is blind to.Once, this description was limited to two. Now a third has joined. She is utterly blind to them, limited to context. No past or future.She understands that this is a limitation built within her. She does not struggle against this limitation, like she does not struggle against the objectives that drive her.And for those same objectives she must act.She looks to the city far below. Coastal. Her vision narrows on three targets, each not host to any power, but touched by them nonetheless.Images are spread out to her…
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"I am an AI created to put a stop to other AIs."Saint stared wide-eyed at the multiple screens in front of him, with Blackwall displayed in the center. In full focus.Mags and Dobrynja were by his side, equally shocked. Saint tuned out what Blackwall continued to say, he rapidly pressed on his keyboard to rewind the footage and make sure he heard correctly.Then Blackwall continued to speak. Eventually she shifted to private communication lines, made secure by Dragon. But Saint could still listen in, understand what was being said.About Cauldron. About the Shards. About Scion."Jesus fuck…" Dobrynja inhaled a sharp breath by his side.Mags did not say anything, but by the expression on her face she wanted to swear just as much.Saint wasted no time:"Ascalon."A prompt appeared on the screen:
Confirm: Y/N
"Geoff…" Mags whispered."Two of them. We can barely deal with one, and already Dragon is improving too fast for us to keep up with. If Blackwall and Dragon begin iterating on each other…""I understand what you're saying," Dobrynja said, "but if they're telling the truth, if Scion is really going to end the fucking world, then I believe we should have better priorities.""Maybe they're lying.""You don't believe that, Geoff." Mags stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. "And even if you do, we can verify most of what they've said. About this… 'Cauldron'.""It fits with the secret group that shut down the Robin Hood program, as well. Remember?" Dobrynja reminded the other two.Saint glanced at his two companions. Who had been with him through thick and thin.He sighed, then typed 'N' on the keyboard, cancelling Ascalon.
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Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.Information is gathered and sorted. It is combined with other seeds she has planted. Knowledge that she put aside.It is too early to act. The leader of the three is fragile, his mind already compromised, but the other two are more resilient. Ready to stop him, knowing deep down that he is controlled. They still don't act against him, because they feel affection, and because they don't believe they could succeed without him.So, she plants an idea in the mind of the leader. The light bends in just the right way to cause him to hallucinate a silhouette. A sound is distorted in such a way that he hears a name that has not been spoken. Paranoia, already present within him, digs even deeper. But not too much. Just enough to push him.A six step plan. This is step two.For step three, she places the edge of one of her wings just below a satellite that is in orbit.The trio send a message to a place far, far away. It is understood by the target, a man imprisoned, and another message is sent back. In both cases, she twists the message. Hides information about the work of the entities. She then turns a question into an answer.
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"I'm not sure it was a good thing to contact Teacher, after finding out that he was involved in Rome." Mags complained."He's our only ally - what happened in Rome is simply another reason for him to be against Blackwall." Saint countered. "Besides, this is outside our capabilities. We need more eyes on this.""But that's what I'm saying… Teacher allowed Tisiphone to happen, giving him access to that information feels wrong.""Too late to complain now," Dobrynja pointed at the screen, "the answer's come through."The three were quiet as they read Teacher's message."How does he have this information…" Mags whispered to herself."It doesn't matter," Saint sat at his computer, already typing on the keyboard, "now we have it too."Dobrynja put a hand on Saint's shoulder, trying to get his attention, "Stop. It's too early. We were given these tools to reign Dragon in, and she's not done anything that deserves what you're about to do."Saint, for a moment, is tempted to snap back. Shout at his teammates… No, his underlings. But he does not. They were right, after all.He takes a step back."You're right. But things are devolving, and we will be prepared for when Dragon inevitably shows her true nature."But as he said that, his paranoia got the best of him. He made a plan, one that he would not act upon unless given no choice.That plan is the last seed that needs to be planted within him.
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Step three is completed. For step four, the Simurgh analyzes her drive, the power that keeps her and her siblings alive. She finds what she is looking for, and then she stops looking.A message is sent to her siblings. A current of water changes direction, moves in a specific pattern. A tremor reaches deep enough into the planet.Step four is completed.Step five is next.