While most scientists were fascinated by the tangible Thomas Karman was drawn towards a different pursuit Artificial Intelligence Not as a pursuit in and of itself of course he was too much of a scientist for that But Dr Karman wondered whether it wasn’t just people and monsters that were slaves to the System
Could their creations earn the System’s approval as well
For 3 months Dr Karman slaved away working and creating He tried different structures different mediums different evolution paths for the different intelligences During that time humanity had largely righted itself Increases in Stats and Skill Levels allowed the army to quickly sweep through the monsters establishing safe areas where people could live without fear of an ogre climbing through their window
Even if he was being modest Hank was at the forefront of that effort Before the System hit his hobbies included creating his own bullets and putting himself beyond the range of cell service in order to truly experience the raw beautiful danger of nature Now that danger came knocking and Hank’s bullets were an invaluable tool against the invasion
Many in the early days of his rise to prominence suspected that Hank would very quickly run out of room to grow After all his Skill related to shooting pistols and empowering pistol bullets so undoubtedly he would soon be passed by snipers or soldiers with assault rifles and proper training But everytime Hank would find himself in a dead end the System would provide a Path a new Skill an opportunity
First the Dead Shot Skill then the Trick Shot then Mana Reinforcement then the Mana Detonation
It was wonderful in a sick way And Hank could admit to himself now that he had lost himself in that feeling
Then Thomas Karman was successful He created an AI that could grow and Level in the System It was slow much slower than humans for whatever reason but it worked Ghost was born
Very quickly West Providence flooded the air with small drones Then they began to spread cameras in a more conventional way hacking into the traffic network at least the portions that continued to work They sent men out in the field carrying cameras With these vantage points Ghost began to learn
After gathering a sufficient amount of data Ghost began to make predictions Small things at first but then on the movements of monsters and the optimum way to prepare to gain a Class or the superior Paths available and how to acquire them It took a month but very soon East Providence was swayed Ghost was a powerful tool and they intended to use it
Thomas Karman and the then President of the United Humans Force the UHF brokered a deal Ghost would be able to classify things in different categories but the UHF Parliament would always retain the ability to pass laws regarding on how the treatment of the ranks was different
Ghost’s first mass categorization related to cities setting West and East Providence up as the core of the Zone Ghost’s second categorization labeled monsters and categorized them as different metal ranks Copper through Diamond according to their power Ghost’s third and final initial ranking put Citizens in different tiers 1 5
Well it was one through five in name only because the highest tier at that time was Tier 3 and Hank was one of the three people in that tier
The attendant returned thankfully with something dark even if it wasn’t whiskey and Hank threw it back with a bitter smile on his face How bright and hopeful Hank had been in those days It was a fleeting almost tragic naivety At the time Hank had been a powerful supporter of the categorization of people and monsters thinking of all the good it could do His brother had been right there with them the Howard twins the vocal minority urging for Ghost’s virtues The higher tiers would face the danger the lower tiers would understand when certain threats were beyond their ability to deal with
Hank had swiftly learned what a fool he had been and how much a label could warp people
Three weeks after the Citizenship Tiers were instituted a Tier 3 man raped a Tier 1 woman and his defense was his higher Tier entitled him to superior privileges
Well what can you do Alan Howard had said an embarrassed smile on his face This is America People will say the stupidest shit
At the time Hank had been close to agreeing It was just one fool and the court denied that defense The man was thrown in jail But
But it set a tone Of course it was clear that one couldn’t flaunt the law But many wondered based on the language of the judges whether the decision would have been the same if the crime was a less severe one
Of course realities of the world being what they were the man was let off on probation after 6 months And once he was freed
Hank stopped himself right there Thinking about that whole ordeal would just piss him off even more and with how today’s schedule was being lined up Hank wanted to start out in as good of a mood as possible
Unfortunately the train was already pulling into the station
Hank ordered two more shots to go
Chapter 484
Uncle Hank Jane shrieked dropping her rubber ball and throwing herself at him in a blur of blonde pigtails
Hank’s eyes narrowed a fraction even as he beamed at her and swept her off in his arms After all she moved fast Of course not too fast but with enough speed that she probably had 40 50 Agility and with enough Reaction and Perception to manage it all The girl was fucking 9 what the hell was her school putting her through
Heya weasel Hank said spinning around the shrieking girl until she was helpless with giggles They were currently standing in a manicured park near the Lodestone School filled with extremely intricate jungle gyms designed to train Stamina and dexterity in the children who played there rather than breed fun To the side Ms Smoke was standing a frown on her face as she looked at Hank
Of course Ms Smoke didn’t speak Ms Smoke was a stickler for the rules and she was only a Tier 2 citizen It would be improper for her to reprimand Hank Howard an exalted Tier 3 citizen unless he was doing something obviously reprehensible and damaging to the interests of Jane
Oh how far we’ve fallen ’ Hank thought somewhat sadly as he rubbed Jane’s head
Which didn’t mean that Ms Smoke felt shy at all about her constant glares But it did mean that she would let Hank pull his niece out of school if only for half the day He disliked the hierarchy most of the time but he supposed that if he had to slog through the shit on a daily basis the least he could do is enjoy the benefits on days like this
Oh Uncle Hank I’ve missed you so much Pleease help me skip school We are having a quiz in monster anatomy class today and I am going to fall asleep and then DIE if I have to sit through one more remedial lecture PLEaaSee
Hank smiled looked at Ms Smoke
Her frown deepened
I don’t see why not He said brightly Why don’t we get ice cream
After an afternoon and evening of spending quality time with his niece Hank found himself standing before the President of the UHF
Alan you are getting fat Hank said partially to break the tension of their staring contest but partially to point out to the man that he was truly letting himself go
Alan harrumphed in that way that Hank knew so well from their childhood in the way that meant I am well aware and the only reason it is happening is that I am so inundated with important pressing matters that my personal health is the least important of my challenges and I have deliberately decided that it is the area in which I am most comfortable with some small amount of lax behavior’
Or something Hank knew his brother Alan very well or used to Growing up they had been extremely close Even before the System came they were still very tightly connected But somewhere in his heart Hank knew what it was Alan had never forgiven him for that third pronouncement by Ghost
Alan Howard Tier 1
Hank Howard Tier 3
Even now as Alan Howard sat at Tier 4 the most important nonmilitaristic individual in the Zone it wasn’t enough That small jealousy had grown into something insidious and persistent