ログインThe Aegis space station's hangar bay was really quiet, quieter than it had ever been before.The alarms were still going off, but the loud noise of things falling apart had stopped and was now just a steady hum. Siera yanked out the wires from her head, and it hurt - a quick shock of electricity snapped at her skin."Clara," Siera said in a rough voice, her throat feeling like it was made of sandpaper. "What's the situation? Is everything okay at the station?"Clara was already sitting at the console, typing away quickly. She was a bit pale, but her eyes looked really sharp. "When the pendant blew up, it sent a huge amount of energy back to us," she said. "We lost three extra power sources, but the main one is still working. Luckily, the station is still okay.""Hey, what about the server?" Julian said, getting up and stretching because his muscles hurt. Did the problem with the feedback loop affect us here?"Give me a minute," Clara said, bringing up a holographic display to check wh
Siera couldn't take her eyes off the woman in the white lab coat. It was her face, with the same strong jawline and dark eyes, and even the same determined look on her mouth. But something was off - the way she looked was icy and empty, like a doll wearing Siera's face, not a real person at all."Who are you?" Siera asked bluntly, putting her hand on her hip. She realized her rifle was missing - she hadn't brought it with her when she uploaded."Hey, that's me," the clone said as it walked into the green glow. "You took my body."Julian stood next to Siera, his hands balled up in fists. "You're not the real Siera," he said. "The original Siera died in a car crash.The clone let out a laugh, but it sounded forced and fake. "Was she really gone?" it asked. "Or did the person who created us catch her spirit when she died and put it into a fake body? You've been like a ghost inside me, Siera. Something that didn't belong, and the one who made us couldn't get rid of you, so she tried to ke
The town hall of Aethelgard was packed.Eva, Clara, Elias, and Commander Vance were seated around the big oak table, looking serious. Siera was at the head, her combat gear back in place, with her jade pendant giving off a soft glow on her chest. Julian leaned against the window, arms folded, looking concerned."A nested simulation," Clara repeated, rubbing her temples. "We are inside a simulation inside a simulation?"That's what the author says," Siera said. And my system backs it up. We saved a planet called Server Twelve, which is actually Earth. But the real world is out there somewhere else.Elias brought up a map of the solar system on a hologram. They had actually gone to Mars. They saw the real stars up close and felt what it's like to be in space."Code can copy anything," Siera said. The people in charge here are The Consortium. But who's behind them? It's The Board. And who's behind The Board? That's The Author. It's like a big chain - one thing leads to another, and it ju
Now was the time for silence in the world.Until the fall of the Consortium, Siera gave herself three months to hope that it was all a mistake. On the mountain she constructed a log cabin with a garden of real flowers and a wide porch and a large stone fireplace.She donned her armor and hung it up. She gave her kinetic rifle for a gardening trowel. Even stopped wearing her jade pendant, she put it in a wooden box on her nightstand.It was a perfect and peaceful life.Until the time the sky opened up.While Siera was sitting on the porch eating a bowl of spicy beef noodles, the sky above the northern mountains turned an unusual purple color. There was a lot of static electricity in the air. The hens in the yard went silent, crouching in fear and fearing.Julian came onto deck, looking out at the horizon. "Siera... look."The purple illumination merged into a huge holographic display that spread throughout the clouds. It wasn't a ship. But it was not a satellite. It was a face.A face
The journey back to the Earth was surprisingly silent.The Liberation Fleet sailed in formation, the Reclamation dreadnoughts on either side of the captured Consortium ring station like guards escorting a prisoner. Within the station the remaining Boarders were kept in their own cells, with the help of Eva's elite troops.Siera was standing on the observation deck on the Retribution, gazing out at the black emptiness of space. The excitement of the battle had left, and there was a lot of tiredness. She was holding a cup of instant noodles, and the steam from the cup was rising and fogging the glass in front of her.Julian walked up to her, "You're brooding.Julian approached her, "You're brooding. He had two cups of coffee and gave her one of them.Siera accepted it, and set her noodles aside for a while. "I'm thinking.""About what?"What happens next, Siera said, "about what happens next. "The Board is removed, the Consortium is dissolved, the simulations are down and the real world
Inside the hangar bay, a whirl of kinetic blasts and plasma fire.Siera was like a ghost in the middle of the mess, her kinetic rifle clicking out sharp rhythmic bursts. The Consortium soldiers were expecting an attack, but the boarding party was far too aggressive. Eva and her team were a well-oiled machine, in and around the opposition and downing their defence.Julian fought by Siera's side, his moves deadly, exact. He shielded her flank, putting down an excessive shot bearer before he could turn his weapon."Clear!" “Over the comms,” Eva shouted. “Hangars are safe, we have a way to the central lift."Move!" Siera ordered.They ran through the flames of the enemy fighters and stepped into the large glass-sided elevator which led to the command deck of the station.The elevator zoomed up to the ring station while looking out at the station, Siera noticed the ring. It was an engineering marvel, a city in space. It was dead, sterile and cold, though. There were no parks, no homes, no







