The Priestess' Punishment Pt. 01

Success.

Calibrating external host for soulpod of unit id=[HF-186005]........................

Interrupt received: the source account's principal state has been set to 'DECEASED'. Soulpod must be terminated immediately.

Returning soulpod to podbank #1 so that termination can proceed.....

Exception: the source account is in an invalid state to be connected to soulpod. Unit body may have been terminated in the Virtual World.

Triggered contingency protocol 8120: "Illegal soulpod state / restore unit from last backup".

Exited soulpod termination process with result 2.

>>>

Loading account from last restore point....

Last restore point with tag "Autobackup: soulpod transfer" is valid. Account class: Human/Female.

Beginning restoration of account backup into new unit using World Entity Staging Container #4.

Synthesising virtual body................................................

Success.

>>>

Creating symbolic link from unit brain to source soulpod...

Success.

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Restoring muscle memory to synthesised body..................

Success.

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Generating transfer protocols from artificial neural stem to unit nervous system. Results of this operation can vary as the unit class is at stage Adult...

Success.

Testing nervous system calibration...

ASSERTION FAILED: nervous system response is 32% higher than target for class Human/Female. Result is within acceptable tolerance parameters. Nervous system calibration accepted.

>>>

Restoring Access Level................

ASSERTION FAILED: UserAccount.AccessLevel < ACCESS_LEVEL_MAX

Restoring Access Level from profile "human_default" (Value=0, IncreaseMethod = ADDED_GENETICS).

Success.

>>>

Unit creation complete at Entity Staging Area #4. New unit id=[HF-7763296].

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Performing integrity tests for soulpod tethering to unit id=[HF-7763296].....

WARNING! Diagnostic process found illegal namespace ConservationChecksum.

Triggered contingency protocol 4886: "Soulpod firmware corruption / deepscan and re-training".

Flashing soulpod firmware with latest version 1.2.107...

Success.

Preparing soulpod neural network for Deepscan and re-training operation. Imperative: reset weighting on all paths to neurons tagged ConservationChecksum.

Level 3 re-training of neural network requires minimum external stimuli. Unit will be relocated from Entity Staging Container #4 => Main World [123.6257, -98.4621, 13.7812] (user account last backup location).

Estimated time required for neural network deepscan and re-training: 38 days

Deepscan and rebuild operation initiated as long running background process.

Relocating unit [HF-7763296] Class: Human/Female to Main World [123.6257, -98.4621, 13.7812]................

Success.

And that was it. Even Linarei, the self proclaimed Debugger of the Unified Empire, did not understand it in its entirety. She may have been the most advanced user of the system, but she lacked the knowledge of a programmer from the real world. Still, she understood the gist of it: she had not been healed, but rather an entire new body had been created for her. Created, and linked to her soulpod.

The difference between her death and any other seemed to be that the process she had authorised to extract her artificial neural network from the soulpod had already begun. It had been an operation in progress, and then the flames had engulfed her body. Apparently, this left the transfer - her 'ascension' - in a state that the system could not recognise, and it was forced to create a state that it could accept as valid. It just so happened, that the outcome meant a new body for Linarei; a second chance at life!

But Linarei was far from happy. Some of the entries in the log were of grave concern to her, so it was a little too early to celebrate the unprecedented miracle. Most significantly, it kind of sounded like her Access Level had been effectively reset. No - such a thing, it was unthinkable! But she had to try it straight away. A basic dimensional work would do. She finished the water that she had been absent-mindedly sipping from while reading, and held it out to Filipia. The paladin took the hint, and while she was gone, Linarei stilled her mind and focused on one simple, but most important task.

"API request," she whispered, softly so that Filipia would not hear, would not notice, just in case. "Spawn entity: class heat." It was a basic command to materialise a temporary heat source into the world. It was versatile enough to use for all kinds of things, from igniting a cooking fire, to unleashing weapons of powerful destruction. Without any additional parameters, the default outcome should be a few small, fiery balls appearing in front of her fingertips.

However. Nothing happened.

Linarei grit her teeth. What cruel joke was this?! She was the most powerful person in the world, but thanks to some poorly tested software, was it possible that she had lost everything she had spent centuries obtaining? And there was something else. She felt something novel - fear. She didn't want to accept it, but for what other reason did her body tremble so?

She had long ago altered her own soulpod to suppress the useless emotions that caused her pain, that made her question her decisions. But if she could suddenly feel afraid again, if the system had 'flashed' and 'repaired' her soulpod as the console log suggested, then shouldn't everything else in there be true as well?

It couldn't be! She rejected the notion fiercely. She would investigate the matter more after dismissing Filipia, who had just returned with a third cup of water. Linarei was surprised that she still felt as though she could drain the thing in one long pull! Of course, she had bigger problems. It was hard, but she managed to continue her conversation as if nothing were amiss.

"Well, this document is helpful. Elicean Designation Dreizig may have turned against me, but I appreciate that she took this transcription. Though, it doesn't explain what happened to that irregular unit... damn that boy! It seems that in the end, I underestimated him."

"As did we all. It is true that I also lost to Kainan's sword works."

"Heh?" The boy's name was spoken with some measure of familiarity, and Linarei saw warmth in Filipia's expression. Where was the face of shame she expected of a warrior who had been defeated in a decisive duel - failing herself, the Society, and her Archpriestess? Instead, her eyes looked soft. Her cheeks flushed like a virgin maiden's, and her lips were upturned in a slight smile.

"It's not that I can justify my failure, your eminence, however... ever since I crossed swords with him, my eyes have been opened. I have never felt more complete as a Primordial paladin. Or even, as... a woman."

"Oh-haw?" Linarei grinned. Hearing Filipia talk about her gender in any sort of positive light was an unprecedented change, to be sure. "Did this Kainan... do something to you, after your defeat?"

"It's not like that!" The words burst out of the paladin's mouth with such pride as Linarei hadn't seen since the day she had forced the woman into service. The role of a Primordial paladin was indefinite; Filipia had already served for a century, in which time she had not aged a single day. Linarei, with her 'debugging' powers as she called them, was able to disable cellular degeneration on any person as she saw fit. It was the exact same process she had used on herself, though she wasn't quite so generous as to grant others the blessing of restored youth. Thus, Filipia was somewhere near 130 years old, but biologically, she remained frozen in her mid-thirties.

But Linarei was just teasing, after all. She understood well enough what had happened. That boy - Kainan - whom they were referring to as a 'rebel', was more accurately an assassin from the real world. The powers that be on the other side must have finally decided that her governance did not align with their own goals, and her ally there had failed to stop them from acting against her. The assassin had come for her, and had more or less succeeded.

Kanaan had possessed knowledge of one of her darkest secrets, the Neuron Mapping Override. It was the process by which she transformed a relatively normal citizen into a loyal, mighty Primordial paladin. It was also performed without consent, and was quite inhumane. A delicate exercise that dabbled in the heart of a person's existence - their artificial neural network.

Linarei used her debugging privileges to scan the subject's soulpod for their most fond and powerful memories. The neural nodes associated with these memories were connected by heavily weighted pathways, and by re-mapping those nodes to her own implanted ideas (such as the importance of protecting the Primordial church and it's Archpriestess), those concepts gained the same importance to the person as the memory that they replaced. Of course, the victim's true memories needed to be locked away to avoid corruption, and to completely sell the belief that they were actually summoned from the 'other dimension' as a Primordial paladin.

But the original memories were still there, and it was not that difficult to jog them; bring them up to the surface. Kanaan had apparently understood this weakness of the Neuron Mapping Override, and had one by one caused some of her strongest paladins to falter in their loyalty and resolve. However, the change in Filipia seemed to be of a different nature...

As the knight-captain of the order of Primordial paladins, Filipia Designation Zwei had committed wholly to mastering her Ultimate Sword Works, and her skills and honour as a warrior were virtually unmatched. But everybody had their own flaws. For Filipia, it was her insecurity for her own gender. She had long harboured a limiting belief, that being a woman was holding her back and preventing her from being taken seriously. In battle, she wore thick, ill-suited armour, and a mask to hide her femininity.

Now that Linarei thought about it, she had wondered at the more flattering clothes that Filipia presently wore. She didn't really care either way, but it should be a good thing that Filipia had finally become secure in her identity. If she had conquered her fear of allowing combatants to detect her gender, there ought to be a significant improvement in the paladin's close-range swordplay.

"I see, Filipia Designation Zwei. I suppose I can forgive your failure this one time. After all, in the end, I seem to have come out on top. As always."

Linarei wore a broad smile, but Filipia looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable. "I wouldn't exactly say that, your eminence."

"No? Then what would you say?" Linarei had her suspicions about where this was going; she had felt the irregularity from the moment she spied the sword at her knight's hip.

"A lot has changed in your absence. Elicean revealed certain... truths to us, myself and the rest of the Society. And with no clear authority present, an emergency governing council was formed. One reason I'm here now is to inform you that..."

Filipia's voice died in her throat. Clearly, she was nervous about what she had to say.

"No, please do continue, this is so entertaining. What is this council? Are they actually trying to usurp my rule?" Linarei giggled at the last. For centuries there had been nothing close to a serious challenge to her position. And yet, right now she knew that she was critically vulnerable. But it was imperative that she hide her sudden weakness, even from Filipia.

"It's an emergency governing council of twelve members, while the precise structure of a new government is still being established. The council is comprised equally from three groups. The highest ranked priests from the Primordial church, a noble representative from each of the four provinces, and the most... capable among the honourable inquisitors. Of those who could be saved."

Linarei frowned. The true nature of the Inquisition had been one of her greater evils. So those poor wretched souls had been discovered, and 'saved' to some degree? They had once been brilliant men and women, with superior dimensional works skills. If their humanity had been restored, it was bad news if they had been granted such positions, for they would certainly hold grudges against her.

It was her fault, of course. All the members of this 'emergency governing council' had been given significant authority by the Archpriestess herself - though any power those people had held was but an illusion; Linarei would never allow any authority that could possibly challenge her own. In her absence, it seemed that the Primordial paladins had paved the way for some motley crew of unqualified puppets to take charge. Damn! If only her paladins had assumed custody of the realm themselves - particularly since they knew that she lived! There had to be more to the story.

"And what of you, and my other Primordial paladins?"

Filipia sighed. "The fact is, we know everything now, your eminence. All the terrible things you have done. And we know about the... Neuron Mapping Overrides. Still," the knight offered a slight smile. "None of us harbour any strong resentment against you. But understand, we have new tasks now. Training a standing army, and safeguarding the council during this transitional period."

"And what exactly is likely to change? I am the head of the Primordial church, so forgive me if it sounds a little funny when you say that my own institutions have usurped my rule! Would you care to explain how that is possible?"

Filipia continued in a rush. "The emergency governing council has dissolved the Primordial church, and so I must inform you that you are no longer the Archpriestess. Or at least, the Unified Empire no longer recognises any authority in the church of which you are the head of."

Linarei was alarmed. That was a big step, but there was one problem with it. "Impossible! What of the Gospel Interdictum? The very first chapter prevents disloyalty to the church!"

"Correct. But the main reason for dissolving the church was to abolish the Gospel Interdictum."

Linarei was rendered speechless. She wanted to scream about how ridiculous that was - all subjects in her empire were indoctrinated with those laws from the moment of their conception. The interdicts were represented as some of the oldest nodes in each human's neural network - and the pathways to those nodes were heavily weighted. Her subjects could not easily break an interdict!

However, if those pitiful souls she had locked away to serve as her 'honourable inquisitors' had finally been relieved of their endless labour of searching for those who broke the interdicts... if there was nobody to enforce the Gospel Interdictum, and more, if this council had spread the word that it was no longer in effect? The fundamental beauty of an artificial neural network was that the weighting of a billion pathways were constantly being readjusted. So under the apparent new status quo... what if it were possible?

Linarei's anger was quickly reaching the boiling point. "Don't you fools understand how necessary those laws are for the happiness and safety of our people, and indeed - the security of the empire?"

"But under the Gospel Interdictum, nobody had true freedom. Instead, Imperial law is being refined and enforced, and a transparent justice system is being developed to address those who violate the laws. As for the empire's security, I believe you are referring to the increasing threat of the Plaguelands. But you will see that even without your guidance, we are taking the threat more seriously than ever. Diplomatic negotiations are already under way. Hopefully it will not come to war."

"Hmmf!" Linarei turned away with an upturned chin. Her pride was certainly intact, but Filipia knew it would be shattered once she had heard everything she had to tell. "Negotiations? With those lawless men and foul beasts, the cruel and insane heretics?" Then, she burst out laughing. It was a forced laugh to emphasise her point. "How terribly comical, knight-captain!" She stared back at Filipia, her normally angelic face twisted by her fury.

If the paladin was at all shaken by Linarei's swift dismissal of their desperate efforts to protect the empire in her absence, she didn't show it. "Admittedly, from what I hear, the negotiations are not going particularly well. We are also preparing for the worst, just in case. The Society is training a sizable army, using weapons and armour from the great store in this very cathedral."

"Do you think so? Well, I have returned alive, so this little fantasy is over. I'm still Debugger, and I'm going to disband this pitiful little 'council', and reinstate the Primordial church and the Gospel Interdictum. The order of Primordial paladins will continue to serve me, and I will continue to protect the Unified Empire from the Plaguelands."

"I'm afraid... that isn't going to happen, your eminence."

That was enough. Now, Linarei was livid. "Oh? Who do you think you are talking to?" She tried to speak calmly, but her eyebrow was twitching as it had during her earlier moment of embarrassment. "If my will is not obeyed from my words, then it is obeyed by force!"

"But that's the problem, your eminence. Can you not tell? That something is wrong?"

"Heh?" Linarei feigned ignorance, but the question had made her heart sink. If her worst fears were realised, then it was likely that everybody already knew of her vulnerability. But what choice did she have but to make bluffs about her powers? Linarei was assuming that the irregularity with her Access Level was something she would investigate and overcome shortly after Filipia left. After all, she had a tenacity to find solutions to her problems, no matter the scale. That had been one of her defining qualities for the past three centuries. She was the ruler of all, she was Debugger, and she would not be bested by a mere computer glitch!

"I think you had better check your heads-up display," Filipia clarified. "There seems to have been a fundamental change since you fell unconscious."

Damn!

Linarei had planned to do exactly that - the very moment she was alone again. The problem was, that one could check any other person's status at any time, using their own heads-up display (HUD). Producing the HUD was accomplished outside of the Access Level system itself, but was still considered a basic dimensional work. The HUD was a strange thing, inconsistent with the surrounding environment, and ought to have been humankind's clue that there was something off about their reality. Linarei alone knew the truth, but that was of no help now.

That they had checked her status while she was unconscious was a tad unexpected. Though easy enough to do, viewing another person's health points and Access Level was socially unacceptable. It was considered very private information, and to take such a liberty was about as improper as a teacher peeping under a school girl's skirt. Linarei frowned. They must really distrust her as an enemy to have intruded upon her in this way!

So... she was the only one who was still in the dark, still in denial of her vastly reduced position. The only logical thing to do was to check right now, just as Filipia had suggested. And Linarei was certainly a logical person, though she couldn't hide the quaver in her voice as she spoke the magic words. "API Request. View HUD, target self."

"Ho... oh!" Linarei gasped, but then had no words, and her lips trembled as she processed what she was seeing. Her worst fears were indeed realised. She had a new unit id, 'HF-7763296'. Her health points were as high as they were before recent events (greater than any other being within her empire, even her highest ranked paladins). But her Access Level was indeed zero, just as the console log had indicated. Having high health points was not going to be much benefit to her if she had no means to fight!