Sighing Hank looked around But unfortunately he saw no attendants to bring him a drink
Chapter 486
Ezekiel pushed his glasses up his nose The man had short dark hair and mild green eyes When they met the man had stood and walked over to give Hank a handshake
Ezekiel Ghosthound at your service You probably don’t recall but I was in Richmond when you held off the armored bears I never got to thank you I’m pleased I now have the chance to pay you back
Ah no worries Hank said slipping back into a slow drawl It’s in the past now What’s a mild fella like you doin locked up here
Ezekiel’s smile was all teeth Ghost doesn’t like me having contact with high Level Classers where it cannot watch
Hank’s pupils dilated A few interesting things there Was he being honest And if he was why was he under such tight scrutiny Specifically high Level Classers as well
In addition Ezekiel had referred to Ghost as an it’ Not that it was really important but a lot of propaganda campaigning done by Alan had gone towards making sure the populous referred to Ghost as he It helped the people handle the fact that an AI was making decisions that ruled most everyone’s lives It brought Hank a small bit of pleasure that this man didn’t follow along with the masses in this regard
Plus he wondered if there was some sort of story connecting Ghost and Ghosthound Maybe just a coincidence If anything perhaps Ghosthound was a made up name given to him by Ghost like Ghost’s Hound
The guard who was watching their meeting cleared his throat Hank turned to regard him The man was likely not even a Tier 2 citizen but he delighted in lording his small status over Hank ever since they had entered into the Containment Zone Hank didn’t mind Or rather it was like the buzzing of a fly the only acknowledgment the creature would receive was being smashed into the table when it had gone too far
We will debrief him Mr Howard We have orders to take you to see Ghost in person He has a gift for you consider yourself blessed
Ezekiel chuckled but said nothing After glaring at Ezekiel until he was satisfied that the other man was cowed the guard brought Hank away out of the meeting room and down a long hallway to another series of rooms The hallways and rooms all looked the same white and long with only brass doorknobs adding a splash of color to the tiled decor If this had been the Hank before the System empowered his attention to detail he would have long been hopelessly lost
Try not to be disrespectful The guard said glowering after he had opened the door for Hank to proceed We will be watching And if you disrespect
Hank stepped forward and closed the door yanking the doorknob out of the man’s sloppy grip It was with great pleasure that Hank cut him off and turned to regard the small raised black platform before him For effect there were several lines of servers along the back wall with flashing lights and different gauges for heat and electrical consumption But Hank knew that these were just theatrics
Ghost’s true body was the 6 brain dead bodies on life support below the room it was on them that their AI’ ran
The air over the black platform flashed and a body condensed first just opaque squares then a silhouette through them and then the body of a teenage boy He was tall and fair with blonde hair and blue eyes His smile was wide and infectious but just like always some instinct kept Hank from ever relaxing around the AI
It has been a while since we spoke Hank But I’ve really enjoyed watching you Ghost said sounding extremely human and sincere
Almost feeling guilty for his suspicion Hank forced himself to smile It has You were still using a 10 year old as an avatar last time we spoke I hafta say speakin’ to you like this is a mite more reassuring
Ghost’s grin widened I like this body too Although I’ve have done millions of calculations and cannot yet ascertain how attractive to make this body I have been subtly altering my facial structure and musculature to see if it affects the behavior of those stationed here in the Containment Center I must say the face is very important in human social interaction
Unfortunately so Hank mused abruptly thinking of Laurel Then he shook his head Hey why do you always do this You know I dislike these tiny manipulations you do If you keep telling me these things I’ll stop coming to visit someday
Ghost chuckled You do not come visit’ You are ordered to come here or else you would remain in small towns keeping the peace I tell you because they don’t work on you no matter how hard I try And perhaps vanity is part of my programming I feel you are the only one I can brag to
Shaking his head Hank felt somewhat helpless Ghost laughed again louder and as the volume increased it became obvious that the sound was canned and reproduced a laughter filled with shapes and symmetry but without warmth
Well anyways I won’t keep you long This is why you should actually visit because I always have new gifts for you that I’d like to watch you use Ghost gestured to the wall and it opened revealing a long sleek vehicle
That That’s my bike Hank stuttered looking wide eyed at the extremely high end Manatech that was sitting on the platform polished and crimson The paint job was glossy and eye catching exactly the way Hank liked it
Yup with a few improvements Ghost said with a sly smile This time I predict that the enemies you will face will be more powerful and vicious than Rhonda Khan was I’ve made ample preparations for different eventualities Do your best to reach them all so I can produce a better product next time
Jane found herself in an interesting position poised between needing to retch and vomit and being bored to tears
She had just come in from Gym’ which was basically just physical training The adults set up obstacle courses and traps forcing the kids to go through them over and over until they finally could finish in under a minute or until the full 2 hours of gym time had finished
Jane had finished today just barely but it was already Thursday and the course would change over the weekend so a new heck would be waiting for them on Monday Afterward Jane would want to cry and her body would hurt in strange ways but her daddy got so furious when she complained so she could do nothing but keep quiet
Some days she fantasized about going and living with Uncle Hank for a while just so she didn’t have to hurt so much all the time But not today After all she had finished the course before the end of the week and that would earn her a smile from daddy
And at least gym was better than Targets
Jane shivered Targets involved learning to use the guns that Ghost made for everybody Jane thought it was dumb She was in the biggest city in the Zone protected by the highest walls And she was in grade school Why should she use a gun
But that part of her spoke with Uncle Hank’s voice and daddy always got so mad when she complained about that So she bottled it up and always tried to hold her pee until Targets class so she could have a small break
Right now they were sitting in Class Theory At first Jane had liked this class because it was a break from exercise but most of the classes were just sitting still and watching the strange animations made by Ghost which was frustrating in an entirely different way At least if they had been given paper Jane could have spent her time doodling her cat Happencakes but even when asked the teachers refused as if they expected her to use any sort of small freedom to escape from the constant class
Upon reaching 14 The voice from the video boomed Every child will have the opportunity to receive a Class from a Village Spirit Classes are important because they often determine what Tiers of Citizenship you will have access to
Except me ’ Jane thought to herself picturing her Tier 4 daddy and Tier 3 Uncle Hank Even if she got a Class like Veterinarian she knew they would help her be a high Tier