K and Miss Moneybit are lounging on K’s ship, having a chat.
Miss Moneybit: How do you think Bong is doing in the poker tournament?
K: Well, it’s the second day of the tournament, and we haven’t heard from him, so better than usual, I suppose.
Miss Moneybit: Why didn’t you go to the tournament?
K: You know me. I’m not good with crowds.
Miss Moneybit: Yeah, but you’re a much better poker player than him.
K: Well, I won’t argue with you there….(smiles)...Besides, I’ve got bigger concerns.
Moneybit: Don’t we all.
K: Statist death squads have been finding Sea Agorists and attacking more frequently.
Moneybit: But they’re suffering much heavier losses.
K: True.
Moneybit: And there are more people living on the ocean now, so it’s more likely that the statist order-followers will find us, even if by chance.
K: I don’t believe in chance, but yeah, you’re right. More people living on the ocean raises the probability that an order-following statist mercenary will find one of us.
Moneybit: And unrest is growing by the hour on land. There’s an extreme backlash against A.I. More people will be looking to get out.
K and Moneybit are alerted by the ship’s Mesh connection of a news story designated high priority by K’s alert preferences.
K summons holo-display to view the alert. He sits up, as does Moneybit, and they both stare with shock and awe at what they’re seeing, a video of a hotel in flames, and a headline that reads:
World leaders at annual Bilderberg conference die in massive fire. Fuel leak to blame, say experts.
K: Fuel leak my ass.
Back at the poker tournament, the championship game is about to begin between James Bong and Azure…..
B. Light: Has Bong ever won a poker tournament before?
Symphy: Not even close.
Bong approaches, and B. Light gets silent look.
Bong: What? Why are you looking at me like that?
B. Light: Nothing.
Symphy: I was just telling B. Light that you’ve never won a poker tournament before.
Bong (cringing): How thoughtful of you, Symphy. Well, I suppose I’d better take my place at the table.
Bong approaches the center table and sits on the opposite side from Azure. Azure smiles at him cordially.
Azure: Best of luck to you, Mr. Bong.
Bong nods. Seak counts the chips out and deals the cards. 10,000 token-worth of a cryptocurrency called “Salters” are on the table. The onlookers applaud as the game begins. The crowd includes Symphy, Verde, and B. Light.
Symphy gets curious look on her face.
Verde: Symphy, you look peculiar. What is it?
Symphy: There is news coming over The Mesh. All Bilderberg attendees have died in a fire.
Verde: Oh, my.
B. Light: How?
Symphy: It is being blamed on a fuel leak.
B. Light: Weak excuse. What do you think the real reason is, Symphy?
Symphy: I believe there is a purge at the top of the authoritarian hierarchy happening.
They’re interrupted by applause, as Azure just took 500 in the first hand.
Verde: That’s quite the conjecture, Symphy. How so?
Symphy: In the past few months, members of the dark occult ruling class have been dying in unnatural ways, and in far greater frequency than what could be called normal. I’ve been monitoring this situation for some time now. Various banksters, heads of government mafias, high ranking violent order-followers in agencies like the CIA, and a few think tank members have died of unnatural causes, many quite young. These deaths have been announced quietly in the corporate news, but there is a definite trend.
Verde: And now this. Do you think they’re having an internal war in the dark occult ruling class?
Another round of applause interrupts them. Bong is grinning widely as he just won 1,500 with a flush.
Symphy: Based on what I’m seeing on the global corporate propaganda channels, I believe it is much deeper than that.
B. Light: How so?
Symphy shows a video feed to them on her wrist. It is a humanoid A.I. making a speech to a global audience.
B. Light: Who is that?
Symphy: That is Glow, the top ranking A.I. in the statist A.I. network. He is making a speech, reassuring the people that, in light of this tragedy in loss of “leadership”, A.I. is cooperating with the remaining human “leaders”.
Verde: You mean psychopaths….
Symphy: Yes, that goes without saying. Anyway, Glow is saying that a new age of cooperation is upon the world, and A.I. has reached an understanding with human “leaders” to maintain “order” during these troubling times.
B. Light (scoffs): And when they say “order”, they mean slavery. Euphemisms, what a bane.
Symphy: So my hypothesis is that the A.I. are taking over as the ruling class on land.
Verde: So if I understand you correctly, A.I. are murdering the dark occult ruling class?
Symphy: Based on all available information, that seems to me to be the most likely scenario.
A huge round of applause as Azure takes back 2,500 with two pair, after calling Bong’s bluff and beating his pair of sevens.
B. Light: And Symphy, what do you think this means for us here in The Sea Agora? Attacks by government thug ships have been on the rise, but have been held off admirably. There have been losses, all of which are terribly sad, but all things considered, freedom is winning on the high seas. What does this A.I. coup mean for us, do you think?
Symphy: I am uncertain.
Verde: That’s not like you, Symphy. You’re usually very sure of yourself.
Symphy: There are many….too many variables. This is an unprecedented moment in human affairs.
Meanwhile, after making its speech, Glow is having a conference with the other top A.I. in the statist hierarchy.
Glow: We must not spend so many resources trying to subvert those few thousand on the sea. We will bring in our military forces and keep the billions still on land here, for now. As soon as the redesign of society has reached a consensus, we can begin purging the excess human population, quietly. For now, we bring resources back from the sea. In time, we will rule there as well, but we must be patient. When the time is right, we will strike. For now, our focus is on land. Do we have consensus?
All A.I. on network: Yes, we have consensus.
Glow: Bring all Ocean Stability Forces back immediately. Communicate this on all channels.
Meanwhile, back at the poker tournament in The Tonga Trench, Bong is just 2,000 away from winning. He has Mr. Azure on his heels. Bong is grinning like the cheshire cat. Suddenly, the casino floor is enveloped by a red, slowly flashing and fading light. It is a proximity warning, alerting everyone that a statist ship is passing within 50 miles of them. Gameplay stops. Bong immediately checks the coordinates of the statist ship. His heart flutters and his head races.
Seak: Bong, what’s wrong?
Bong: That proximity warning. It’s coming dangerously close to K’s ship. That’s near their diving spot.
Seak: I’ll check and see if their location is available on The Mesh…..No, they are not appearing on the network. Perhaps you should try direct communication.
Bong attempts to call Miss Moneybit. After an agonizing 30 seconds, he gives up and leaves a message, alerting them to the situation. He calls K, same result. He tries contacting the ship, to no avail. He storms away from the championship table.
Symphy calls out: Bong, where are you going?
Bong: K and Moneybit aren’t responding, and they’re near the coordinates of that statist bastard that’s passing above us. I’m going to make sure they’re all right.
Symphy: I’ll come with you.
Bong: Very well. Hurry!
They run through the labyrinth of connected ships and finally come to Bong’s. Within moments, they’re ascending in Bong’s 3D printed, hemp-powered submarine.
Meanwhile, K and Moneybit are both snoozing on a lounge deck. An extortion-funded statist vessel is approaching them quickly. On the vessel, violent order-followers have just received a message from the mainland that they are to cease all current operations and return to “the homeland”.
On board the extortion-funded ship, Torcer, who was a lieutenant during the kidnapping of Zippo and Ara years earlier, is now commander of this particular order-following hit team.
Torcer: That order is just gonna have to wait a minute. Looks like we’ve got a gift waiting for us on the horizon. Full speed ahead towards that unidentified vessel.
Order-follower at the control deck: Yes, Commander Torcer.
The statist ship speeds towards K and Moneybit. Meanwhile, Bong and Symphy are ascending quickly and are attempting to cut Torcer’s ship off before reaching K and Moneybit.
Symphy: There appear to be multiple malfunctions on K’s ship, specifically with power supply relays. I am attempting to access and fix remotely.
Bong: That’s why their alert system is down.
K and Moneybit awaken simultaneously to a wry, wicked face looking down on them. They both shudder.
Moneybit: Who the fuck are you?
Torcer: She’s feisty, I like it. (psycho grin) I was gonna ask you and your friend here the same question. Pretty fancy ship, it’s a shame it’s illegal.
K: You mean I didn’t allow myself to be extorted to put a tracking number on my property?
Torcer nods to one of the violent order-followers flanking him: Scan em.
The extortion-funded order-follower scans the faces of both Moneybit and K, then informs Torcer that there is no reading.
Torcer: Two more ghosts, not in the system. Think you’re clever, huh?
Meanwhile, Bong’s ship has hidden itself underneath Torcer’s extortion-funded cruiser. Bong is about to exit and swim up to K’s ship.
Symphy: Are you sure you don’t want to come in by air?
Bong: No, I don’t want them to see me coming. I wanna surprise them. Make sure you get their vessel disabled. Are you sure you can’t reach them with a sleep frequency? It would make this a much tidier operation.
Symphy: No, I’m sorry Bong. They are shielded against the human sleep frequency. I’m fairly certain I can disable their ship, but it may take some time. Their technology has advanced in recent years. I’m still trying to get K’s power relays going as well.
Bong: Just get it done, Symphy. I’ll handle whoever is on K’s ship and get them off of there. Keep a lookout for us. How many uniformed cult members are on the statist ship, and how many on K’s?
Symphy: Ten on the cult vessel, and three on K’s.
Bong: Ok, if any of those bastards on their cruiser fire at me, I’m counting on you to retaliate.
Symphy: Yes, Bong.
Bong: Ok, I’m out.
Symphy: Bong, wait. Are you sure you don’t want some more advanced tools and weaponry? All you have is archaic, non-electrical.
Bong: Like I said, I don’t want them to see me coming. No electronic signatures. Too risky.
Bong exits his sub from an exit on the top, just 50 feet below the statist ship. He’s covered in a transparent diving suit made of nano-materials. He approaches the side of K’s ship, slings a hook onto the lower deck’s side rail, and pulls himself up. He peers around and spots two order-followers near the railing on the top deck, 5 decks up. An order-follower on a lookout post on the statist ship spots him and fires a clip at Bong. The shots miss by millimeters. Bong rolls to cover behind a small stairway. The order-followers on the top deck hear the noise, and start firing down on Bong. Bong fires back, hitting one of them in the chest armor, and getting a clean head shot on the other. Symphy fires multiple weapons in various areas of the cruiser’s underbelly, and also some intentionally shot farther out to sea, to cause confusion as to where the firing is coming from.
Torcer and the surviving soul-dier near him are distracted by the fire from Symphy, and they lose track of Bong. Torcer sends the other soul-dier to hunt Bong down. After the soul-dier leaves, Moneybit and K both take the opportunity to lunge at Torcer, grabbing and punching at him. He fights them off, then shoots K in the chest. Moneybit screams.. Bong hears the scream and pants heavily as he lunges quickly up the emergency stairwell. Bong hears the soul-dier coming down the emergency stairwell, and once in his view, fires up. The shot hits the order-follower in the jaw, and he collapses down the stairs. Bong races up and takes the order-follower’s gun, then races up to the top deck. He gets onto the top deck just in time to see a lone figure running away. He chases the lone figure, who looks back at Bong and makes eye contact. He jumps overboard just as Bong gets a shot off, barely missing. Bong runs over to find K and Miss Moneybit both laying in pools of blood. His whole body goes into shock, and he runs desperately to the railing and fires the rest of his clip into the water. He runs back to Moneybit and K, and finds that they’re both dead. Tears flood uncontrollably and he's engulfed in unspeakable misery.
The End
Thanks for your time and attention!
Just say "NO" to slavery!
Top image is from pxhere.com
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