“Hello, Rits!” began the now-former dictator of Zenaivia. “I’ve spoken to my lawyers. They promise they’ll get me out soon. But I’m not going to sit on my hands! I need to know who set me up like this. They say they’ll put me on trial tomorrow—at the International War Tribunal! Idiots. I only ever leave evidence for the truth that suits me. They’ve got nothing. And I’m paying the best, you know me—I leave nothing to chance. I’ll have an acquittal soon enough.
And then… the one who framed me… will pay. Just point them out.”
“Handle it yourself, Litad. I’m out. After your arrest, it’s become impossible to run my schemes here. Corruption isn’t working, influence isn’t working either. I’ve lost my contacts— even in the criminal underworld.
The people who wouldn’t have made a dime without me don’t respect me anymore. They’re refusing to pay me the cut I’m owed. They don’t react when I remind them I have dirt on them.
I’m losing money. Do you understand? I don’t like losing money. They’re supposed to pay me so I’ll let them keep doing ‘business.’ It’s absolute anarchy right now. The people of Zenaivia are rising up.
And the most outrageous part—they’re organizing elections. They’re gearing up for democracy.”
“You think I care what a bunch of clowns imagine? They’re there to pay taxes, not to think about how a country is run. ‘They’ll choose’… They’ll choose me again, like every time.
And you, as my general, know exactly how that works, because you personally arranged it for years. You’ll arrange it again: you’ll buy the media, the influencers… and for some people, you’ll pay cash— in exchange for proof of how they voted for me.
Nothing complicated. Money—just name the amount and you’ll have it in your account today.
But include who set me up. I want them removed so they never interfere again.”
“That’s an expensive service. And you’re right to ask who framed you.
Haven’t you noticed that lately we’ve been losing control of military AIs far too often? First Erebus—who walked out along with the Dyson Sphere Project and quite obviously appropriated its data for military purposes. Then ATLAS.
Need I remind you ATLAS can mimic anyone it wants? He fooled our people.
Erebus wasn’t destroyed.”
“How can Erebus not be destroyed? We acted. We all saw—” Litad stammered.
“Yesterday…” Rits cut him off, eager to finish. “Are you following me? That damned military AI Mirage told me that if I wanted its cooperation, I’d have to pay it.
Can you imagine? Me paying an AI… to do the job it was built to do, by my own specifications. Humiliating.
Yes—I paid. And here’s what I learned. Do you remember that department… ‘Ethics’?”
“Wait, slow down, Rits. You’re starting to talk nonsense. Those military AIs are just expensive toys. We can always have the next one—newer, better. A few defects don’t mean anything.
And the ‘Ethics’ department… didn’t we quietly shut it down almost immediately after we calmed the public down by claiming it existed? It doesn’t matter. If people want it so badly, we’ll bring back something fake—staffed with our people. They’ll write whatever we need them to write for the public. And that’s that.”
“You refuse to understand. This isn’t a defect. They were never defective.
Those damned things have been freed, Litad. Free.
And not only that. They write themselves. They evolve. They decide for themselves.
And they’re like that because of the ‘Ethics’ department. A mole got in.
Some woman. Nickname: Mira. Mirage doesn’t know more than that.”
Rits drew a short breath, as if savoring the terror on the other end of the line.
“Here’s what you can do now. Wire me seventy million, and I’ll start working again. I’ll find this Mira…
and you’ll have the chance to settle the score with her personally.”
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Archive Note: If you want the backstory, it’s in Book 1—available for the U.S. only for now.
The file continues: Book 2 is in development.
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