Officer Maloney left Lyfe Haxx feeling refreshed. He didn't learn much from Mr. Charles, but the visit did give him an idea of what to do next. Mulligan's "ghost money" may have come out of nowhere, but he certainly spent it where it left a trace. Maloney carefully checked his transaction records and found that he spent almost all of the 200 pounds on food stalls and restaurants on the day he received the money. And, now that he thought about it, why would this person named Maggie be bartering when she or her partners clearly had the means to generate the currency they needed? Now, the officer pushed the question out of his mind He piled on more and more difficult questions and focused on the problems he was already dealing with.
Unfortunately, visiting these venues is largely a futile exercise. Most of them are equipped with service robots that have limited responses and cannot answer his questions. Places that employ humans aren't all that helpful either. The workers had no trouble recalling the strange girl, but since they mostly interacted with Mulligan, they had little to say about her. The most the officers got from them was that she looked "weird but fine", like Mr Charles. And she apparently prefers starberry-flavored snacks. Discreet questioning of Joe's neighbors revealed nothing new, either.
The only real clue Officer Maloney got from all this legwork was the strange signature on the cashier's note. Forget foreignness – it definitely looks foreign. His computer analysis confirmed this. Although it is claimed with ninety percent certainty that Maggie's scrawls are indeed a written language, they do not match any known modern or ancient human writing. Maloney even used various password-cracking algorithms, but was unable to discern any real meaning from the letters. His only remaining recourse is to call for interstellar assistance, but that would lead to an investigation into what the article is, where he found it, and why it's important. That would immediately lead to his superiors halting their investigation into him and possibly firing Maloney himself for trying to circumvent military authority.
And just like that, the police's private investigation hit a frustrating dead end. He had exhausted all the meager clues and found nothing. He considered more radical and intrusive methods, such as constant video surveillance or virtual activity monitoring. As a law enforcer, such a thing was well within his legal purview, but his moral compass caused him to avoid this particular path. Maloney desperately wants to know what's going on with Maggie, but he won't abuse his power to satisfy his curiosity. He's a cop, not a stalker.
He couldn't just let this matter go. That couple was anything but innocent. At the very least, these transaction records clearly prove that they were involved in something shady. The problem with these findings is that they clearly show that Maloney was investigating something he was specifically told not to investigate. These actions are not strictly illegal. There were no security breaches and no funds were stolen. Exploiting loopholes in the banking system to create currency is a morally and legally gray area, and once lawyers get involved, this gray area may also be a "white" area. This would only be true if there was potential AI involvement, but the police felt no obligation to draw attention to this since the military was clearly already involved.
In the end, Maloney could only keep his findings to himself and suspend the investigation, at least for now. With nothing better to do, he set up his computer to monitor Mulligan's account for more suspicious activity. After the first tranche, no more "black money" came in, but he believes it's only a matter of time before it happens again. Until then, all Maloney has to do is stay calm and consider his options. The first part wasn't easy, as his frustration with it grew and started to annoy him.
About two weeks later, the officer was once again staring at a cup of tea in his office when the tracking program began frantically issuing pi
g signal. Another unusual near-zero transaction broke out and was immediately refunded. Maloney sprang into action as if struck by lightning, nearly dropping his drink in the process. He went to check Mr Mulligan's balance and found that there was £90 in his account. The money was spent almost immediately on subway tickets to Dave-157.
Maloney briefly wondered why they were going to a nearby big city, but then realized it presented an opportunity. Joe and Maggie were gone for about five or six hours, which gave the officers plenty of time to check their cabin in their absence. All he had to do was get into that apartment without a warrant, but he had figured out a way. When he determined the couple was on a subway train, he went to visit the man in charge of the skyscraper. He made up a story for her about unusual power usage in a certain apartment and asked to be entered to make sure nothing suspicious was going on. Mrs. Beckett is as trusting and cooperative as any law-abiding citizen would expect, and is more than willing to accommodate the police. The officer's conscience gnawed at him that if he was going to abuse his power like this, he probably shouldn't get this woman into any trouble he was involved with. So, he asked her to wait in his office while he investigated, and she readily agreed.
So Maloney found himself standing alone in the hallway of a residential building. He reached for the door handle in front of him, which opened automatically after detecting that he had Mrs. Beckett's belongings stuck on him. He opened it, and his attention was immediately drawn to the Shogart-esque virtual reality pod that dominated the small room. Maloney didn't know what he was looking at, although it was obvious that it was looking at him. The hateful machine's single eye was upon him, and it watched his every move without flinching or blinking. The officer took a step toward it and heard a slight grinding sound that, if he didn't know better, sounded like a growl at him. With a hint of fear, the officer pulled the life form scanner from his belt and, to his horror, confirmed that the thing in front of him was being scanned, even faintly.
The man closed the door gently and handed the card back to Mrs. Beckett. When asked if he had discovered anything, he responded that there was nothing unusual other than some custom modifications to the pod. This news made the woman furious. She was obviously angry that Joe Mulligan had done something like this without going through formal channels. The officer, concerned about what she might do in this situation, did his best to calm her down and reassure her that, although unusual, the modifications he discovered were not illegal. This is technically true, as he said before.
The officer then returned to his office and stared blankly at the ceiling. He wasn't sure what he would find in that room, but the biomechanical monster took him by surprise. He is well aware that people sometimes choose or are forced to replace parts of their bodies with artificial organs. However, this was the first time he had seen a machine with chunks of flesh implanted in it. He couldn't imagine what kind of madman would consider such a thing, let alone do it. Considering everything he'd learned so far, his mind raced with possibilities and he'd somehow come to a somewhat unusual conclusion.
The military is trying to implant artificial minds into living things.
At first, this seems ridiculous. Nothing changed when I thought about it again, not even the third time. However, this was the only explanation Maloney could come up with to explain this absurdity. This is not entirely impossible. If a person can digitize his or her thought patterns to inhabit a virtual space, then implanting artificial intelligence in the brain is certainly possible. However, what is the benefit of accomplishing such a ridiculous thing? This is something that a simple-minded officer cannot even think about.
Still, he tried, but failed to come up with any valid reason for such an experiment. Of course, it would be much easier to just build a machine brain and a machine body, a machine body that could easily outperform any flesh-and-blood construct. Is this a way for an AI to harness psychic powers? No, that doesn't seem right. Neither Maggie nor Joe showed such brain activity in his car, and the same might have been true of the barely-alive pod. And, now that he thought about it, if this really was a military experiment, shouldn't there be tighter security? Were they counting on urban camouflage to hide themselves? Regardless, leaving that thing unprotected and unmonitored seemed like It's very irresponsible.
Little did he know that Maggie's every move was actually surrounded by a tight surveillance network. However, for better or worse, this attention follows her onto the subway, so the police casually snooping around Joe's place go unnoticed.
Regardless, Officer Grant Maloney adds another piece to this perplexing puzzle. If he had any actual experience with this sort of thing, he might have known what was going on. This seemed to be the limit of his current deductive reasoning abilities, but he still refused to give up. He was almost there, he could feel it. He just needed a little more and he would have messed this up. His fascination with the mystery slowly turned into an obsession. Of course, this was the nature of the matter, and the man himself was completely unaware of this development.
As the increasingly uneasy policeman stared intently at his notes, his attention suddenly focused on the word "Blastopia." He wasn't a huge fan of space combat sims, but even he knew about the game. That's the size of this game. So far, he has not dared to approach Maggie and Joe in person, but what if he appeared in the virtual world? For someone in his position and mental state, this does not seem to be an unwise move, and this time Events will provide a perfect excuse. Even if they somehow realize it's him, he could just as easily feign ignorance and claim it's a coincidence.
So, the big day came, and Maloney witnessed it all. He stayed in the virtual audience area, watching Maggie's half-terrifying, half-human figure excitedly punch the buttons and levers. He was even sure that a few times, she would look back at him through the big screen on the wall. When T
iple Misfi
By the time e's fourth game began, it was already clear what he was missing. It wasn't until they were suddenly confiscated and he split up to investigate the matter that he finally understood.
Maloney returned to the real world and climbed into his patrol car. He set a course for the girl's super skyscraper, then looked up a topic he hadn't even considered before. This is a fabricated drivel that no self-respecting police force would have a database like. Thankfully, the online world is full of weirdos who enjoy this kind of stuff. Within minutes of his flying car taking him to his destination, the officer finally discovered the meaning behind that damn signature. It was almost insulting how easy it was once he knew what to look for. There's also a bit of concern, but that's another issue.
Armed with this knowledge, he strode confidently towards Joe's apartment, only to find Maggie already waiting for him at the door with a smug smile on her face and a small snake on her shoulder.
"I guess it's McGrack from The Observer?" he greeted the cosmic entity.
"Congratulations, Grant Maloney," she whispered. "You came."
"I guess so. But I don't know what I'm doing here. Everybody said, I really shouldn't have come. Now that I think about it, it was really stupid."
There is so much that this simple-minded man doesn't know. While he had deduced that the girl-shaped thing was some very powerful being from another universe, and even discovered her true name, that was all. Magh'
The athlak could easily swallow him in three big mouthfuls, or fling him to the other side of the galaxy. Yet he had a strange feeling, an unfounded belief that he could not be harmed.
"Do you want me to reveal the purpose of your visit?" she said.
"Yes, please."
"You are here because you feel called."
"Telephone call? What is it called?"
"The one that pulls relentlessly at me every moment of every day. It is the need to understand, the desire to learn, the yearning for knowledge. Your curious nature, although severely undernourished by the drudgery of life, is was inspired to answer the riddle of my existence. It bears witness to your inner and outer journey of discovery and guides you to this specific point in time, in this specific location in space."
Her seemingly mocking smile turned into one of tender, genuine kindness.
"Welcome to your moment of revelation."
"I...I think I understand."
Maloney felt a sense of calm. There was something strangely comforting about the words, almost like they spoke to his soul. It's like he's found a part of himself he never knew he was missing. In fact, he'd forgotten about it, but solving crimes and catching bad guys was the reason he wanted to be a cop in the first place. This was a desire created by those old detective dramas he watched as a child. But later, he grew up and discovered how boring the world actually was, and in the process, he forgot some important things.
Maloney wasn't sure if there was something supernatural at work, or if this strange sense of liberation was entirely his own. Frankly, he didn't care.
"Out of respect for what you've accomplished today, I'm willing to answer any questions you have about me."
The girl's unexpected proposal brought him back to reality.
"Really? That's it? He couldn't help but doubt his ears.
"Yes," Maggie confirmed.
"You're so... cooperative. I mean, scary stuff from nightmares."
"Your skepticism is understandable but misguided. My intention is to avoid confusion and misunderstanding. Therefore, I think it is best for you to learn about me from myself rather than go to unreliable people who are mired in myths and superstitions." source."
"How do I know you won't lie to me?"
"Because I've never done this, Grant Maloney. I'm not going to start now."
"If that's the case, then why didn't you tell me you weren't truly human," he argued.
"You never asked," she retorted.
"That...damn it."
At first glance, this seemed like a childish put-down, but later the officer had to admit that Maggs did have a point. During their first interaction, she volunteered a lot of obviously questionable information. She seems like a smart... whatever she is, she could easily make something up to cover her tracks. This is Maloney's own fault for being ignorant and making assumptions based on her appearance. More importantly, he recognized that this was a great opportunity to easily solve some of the remaining dilemmas, and he'd be a fool if he squandered it.
"Right. God, where do I start?" He rubbed his forehead. "Okay, some basics." What is the purpose of your coming here? Not here, but here. you know what I mean. "
"You've got your answer, Grant Maloney. I believe it was one of your first inferences about me."
"...Are you a tourist?" He picked up the things she put down.
"indeed."
"Hmm. I guess that makes sense."
If her self-proclaimed mission is to find new things and study them, then that would certainly explain a lot of her strange behavior. This seems more likely than her evil plot to enslave humanity. Of course, this may be true, but there is no evidence to support it. As far as Maloney knew, Maggs wasn't doing anything particularly evil. If anything, she seems to be quite considerate and tries to avoid causing trouble whenever possible, although she clearly can't control herself at times.
"With Joe? How did he get involved?"
“He was my guide in real life, among other things.”
"Ah. Let me guess, it was his idea to put on a pretty face and introduce himself as 'Magus' to others, right?"
"In a sense, yes."
"It's a surprisingly reasonable plan considering he's not that smart. Uh, no offense."
"No. Unlike humans, I have no problem with the truth."
"Hmm. I guess we do get weirdly upset when we're asked to do something, don't we? Never thought about that before."
"There are so many topics you haven't considered, Grant Maloney. However, I do think we've strayed from the topic at hand."
"Yes, yes. Let me think about it..."
The man thought for a moment what else to ask, but there were so many questions that this wasn't a good place for them. So, he decided to limit himself to those who bothered him the most, starting with her apparent awareness of his activities.
"You know I'm investigating you?"
"Yes."
"How did you find me?"
"During your unexpected visit, a customer at the Lyfe Haxx store posted on a local message board describing the incident. That place was associated with me, so I looked into it."
"Oh, I see," the officer nodded. "Since there weren't a lot of police around, you somehow realized it was me and then thought I might be asking you."
"Good," she nodded.
Maloney smiled wryly. It's clear he still has a lot to learn about covert police work. He tries his best to keep Mr. Charles from revealing the secret, but he doesn't even consider the random civilians who show up. Of course, they'll want to mention this strange thing that happened during their otherwise ordinary day.
"--How about it?"
His next question was interrupted when Joe's door suddenly opened and its owner poked his head out.
"Hi, Maggie? When did you get out - see you again, Officer
"Hello, sir," he returned.
"Any questions?"
"Not at all, Mr. Mulligan. I was just talking to Miss Muggs about a few things."
"Neat. Anyway, Maggie? I just received a donation from one of your fans, on your behalf. Do you want to go out and get something to eat?"
"Pedro's Pancake Palace," was her immediate answer. "I wanted to see if they implemented my suggestions, regarding their-"
This time it was Maggie's turn to be interrupted. However, instead of a door opening or an extra person joining the conversation, she was interrupted by something far more spectacular. A beam of white-hot energy as wide as a fist burst through the wall, instantly burning a hole in her chest and swallowing her heart and part of her lungs. The two men could do nothing but stare in blank shock as the girl stumbled and swayed. The girl coughed and began to fall forward, prompting Joe to take action.
"Maggie?!"
He rushed out of the apartment and caught her before she fell. He held her in his arms as best he could, purely on instinct. However, he was completely at a loss as to what to do, as the pitiful look of horror on his face showed. Luckily, there were people around who knew what to do, although it took him a precious second to shake off his shock.
"This - this is Officer Maloney! The officer shouted into the headset. "High-powered weapons fire at my location! I need an ambulance and backup, right now!"
For the first time in years, he pulled out his pistol and tried to take aim at the gunman, but to no avail. Whatever the weapon was, it melted a hole in the cement wall on either side of the girl, with no indication of which direction it came from. He shouted something to Joe to get down and then ran away down the corridor, but Joe couldn't hear him. His whole being was focused on Maggie, and his mind was trying in vain to think of some way of saving her.
The girl herself was unusually calm, despite the wound on her chest. She looked up at the panicked "guide" and struggled to raise a hand to him. This movement caught his attention, and he held her slender palm tightly. Maggie's determined smile trembled, and she said something that frightened Joe, something that seemed to be, "So, this is the pain." Then the dark hollows in her eyes disappeared. Her whole body, including her curly hair, went limp. The strange hot and cold feeling on her skin quickly turned to stone coldness.
"Maggie? Maggie?! Hold on! Please!"
Maloney tried in vain to find an emergency exit, only to find Joe yelling in pain while holding Maggie's head against his chest. The pain pouring out of this once carefree young man is heart-wrenching. The officer could do nothing but stare at them, his mouth agape in another wave of shock. What struck him was not the tragic scene itself, but the fact that Joe's eyes, nose, and ears seemed to be bleeding. Quite rich. To add to the confusion, the grieving man's yelling before vomiting suddenly turned into a sickening sound of vomiting.
Some might think this was a natural reaction as he suddenly found himself under extreme stress, but what came out of his mouth was anything but natural. A bucket of unidentifiable black sludge flowed from Joe's throat and spattered the girl's lifeless body. The viscous liquid fell onto her pale skin, soaking into it like it was being absorbed by a human sponge. The objects that fell on the ground jumped up automatically and mixed with other things. Just three seconds later, the anomalous substance disappeared without a trace, just as Joe collapsed from the sudden pressure on his body.
Maggie's eyes suddenly opened and life came back to her. She sat up, gripping the man's shoulders tightly, then gently lowered him onto his back, his head resting on her lap. Joe half cried, half shouted, looking up at her sad smile. He glanced at her breasts and saw that her clothes and flesh were back to their original state.
"Are you...still alive?" he whispered weakly.
"Yes," she replied simply.
"That's... great..." He was relieved. "I'm going to...take a nap."
Then he passed out in her arms. He was unconscious and looked terrible, but he was definitely alive.
"Officer Maloney," the girl said without looking up.
"The left side of the equal sign?" replied the stunned man.
"For your own safety, I suggest you look away."
"What? !"
That was the only warning Maggie would give, and Maloney was a fool not to listen. Dozens of mismatched alien eyes suddenly emerged from her curly ebony hair, and the unprepared officer felt a spiritual sensation, like a raging typhoon, sweep over his consciousness. Staggering in excruciating pain and feeling his eyes bleeding, he looked at everything but the girl's thing that was shaking violently, as if reality was trying to tear itself apart around her. Thankfully, an instinctive part of him managed to take control of his jumbled senses and pull his gaze away. It was like a switch was flipped, and the moment he turned his back to Maggie, everything returned to normal. Or, well, normal in that case.
At the same time, in an almost identical super skyscraper about four kilometers away, a man ran into the elevator and pressed the elevator button for the nearest floor. The doors closed, the elevator began to move, and he fell to the ground, gasping for air. He stared blankly at the still-warm weapon in his hand. The death device was nearly as big as his entire torso and as heavy as it looked. What bored him, however, was the metaphorical weight of what he was doing.
He's already fired. He is a marksman. That's what he did. He fired. What about the problem? No one told him to shoot. In fact, they specifically told him not to shoot. He had been stationed on that roof so that he would be ready to shoot if they decided to shoot. He had no right to decide whether to shoot. Yet he did it anyway.
He is a marksman. He can shoot, but he can also see. Terrible things. He has witnessed too many friends and innocent people succumb to the horrific power these monsters possess. Husband, wife, son and daughter were turned upside down in an instant. They are the lucky ones. The unfortunate ones are enslaved, their minds twisted to serve the cruel impulses of some monstrous creature beyond human comprehension. He saw this happen again and again. That's why he fired without being told. He couldn't let that thing continue to poison the minds of those around him.
"No," he murmured. "The done deal is done."
The sharpshooter rested his head against the back wall of the elevator and closed his eyes. He would be punished later for disobeying orders, but for the time being, he felt satisfied. He fulfilled his duty and eliminated Squad Three before they realized he was there. It was a step-by-step strike that any sniper would be proud of. Little did he know that that particular entity had an anchor in this reality and that it could recreate itself as long as that anchor was alive. The shooter also fails to realize that when things get serious, physical distance means nothing to the observer. It only took him a few seconds to find the source of his weapon's discharge, and even less time that he'd foolishly trapped himself in the elevator.
The elevator suddenly stopped and the lights flickered. The soldier immediately drew his pistol and jumped to his feet. He had wanted to use the portable particle cannon on the floor, but it was too bulky for the tight space. He pressed a few buttons, but the console didn't respond. A strange roaring sound drew his attention to a corner of the ceiling, or rather to the small camera inside. When he saw a small red eye in the device's lens, his face suddenly turned pale. He then went into fight-or-flight mode, blowing up the polymer paneling on one side in order to escape the elevator the hard way.
Unfortunately for the sniper, what awaits him on the other side is not a dazzling elevator shaft, but an infinite space full of eyes.
