wildcard

palace, briefing, altered verse

(author's note - my formatting is for speech in italics, but it did not come through. Speech is mostly marked by a dash, however.)


Karl was a social genius who mirrored his own heart back to himself. It had driven him a bit insane. Although this was a superficial analysis. The seeming madness was more of a place to hide. A cover. He had convinced himself of it enough that he thought it was true. A touch of craziness renders one invisible. People instinctively look away from it; it makes them uncomfortable. People don’t want to know more than they need to know about a person who is crazy.

Karl was actually among the sanest people. His genetic code made him invisible and this was the result. A skin of madness over a deep reservoir of sanity. A lunatic veil to disappear behind.

The Sergeant found Karl in Lyons, where he was taking classes in art and philosophy. He asked Karl if he wanted to do something truly interesting and Karl agreed readily. He felt as if something he was waiting for had finally arrived. They went to Karl’s apartment, packed some clothes and left that day.

-How much should I pack? When will I be back?

-You won’t.
-Oh. Well, I should pack and get out and tell the landlady, then.

-Don’t worry. It’s taken care of.
And Karl left his life behind, like that. He called an acquaintance to spread the word so no one would worry. Told them he had a family emergency and had to go for an extended period.

They arrived at the General’s palace in the middle of the night.

Four days later, Karl walked into the General’s spacious dining room, holding a dinner invitation in his hand. Eight o’clock. He was right on time. A man was in the room. His face was weathered, brown, and thin. His body was very lean. He wore a tan leather vest which caught Karl’s eye. Indian looking. He also wore moccasins of a similar material. Karl held out his hand.

-My name is Karl. You must be LuvRay.
LuvRay looked at the hand and nodded. Karl dropped it.

-I’m Karl.

-Hello, Karl.

-What are you doing here?

-I find out soon.

-Why did you come?

-The Sergeant captured me. I look for someone. Martha.

Karl jerked his head up.
-Martha? You’re looking for Martha?

-Yes. You are surprised?

-I want to see her again. Karl closed his eyes, realizing how deeply he missed Martha. He had not thought of her much the last few years.
LuvRay started to say something, but the door opened.
Sublime walked in. LuvRay looked at him, expressionless.

-RJ, Karl said. He had met him a few days before, in the south wing of the palace.

-Gentlemen, it is a pleasure to see you this evening. How do you fare?

The General walked in moments later, followed by the Sergeant.

-Chers camarades. Shall we dine?
The room was massive, a combination dining / ballroom / aircraft hangar. It boasted four enormous chandeliers, two huge fireplaces, an assortment of velvet and satin furniture for sitting, cherry end tables, Persian rugs, art works from all over the world, including a Picasso, and a grand piano. The ceiling was over 6 meters high, supported by red marble pillars. A light blue marble floor.

They sat at the long table in high backed oak chairs with red padded velvet seats and backs.

-How is your finger? LuvRay asked the Sergeant.

-Gone. How’s your head?

-Fine.

-You’re probably wondering why we captured you.
LuvRay stared blankly at the Sergeant.

-I am sorry about that, but we thought that you wouldn’t come willingly, knowing what we know about you, and we need to do something before you find Martha.

-What?

-We have another mission of critical importance. And we need you to meet Karl.

-I don’t like being in a cage.

-You’re free after dinner.
LuvRay nodded. All right.

Dinner was sumptuous, a soup in a wide, flat bowl followed by a few bites of cheese. Then an entire duck per person with a side of vegetables. Cheese platter afterwards and dessert. The Sergeant stood to one side, in a soldier’s relaxed posture.

-Why doesn’t he eat with us? Sublime asked the General.

-Because officers and the enlisted men do not eat together.

-That sounds a bit lonely. It seems that there’s only the two of you in your army.

- Who is not lonely in this life, Monsieur Sublime? And you are here, are you not, keeping me company?

Afterwards, they moved to the other part of the room for a digestif. A 200 year old brandy. LuvRay smelled his, set it on the table. The General offered cigars and Sublime accepted. The Sergeant stood to the side with his hands clasped behind his back. The General motioned him to sit with them.

-Messieurs, I have some interesting proposition for you. Now is a time of great change. Ca commence. It is to begin. He leaned forward, making eye contact with each man in turn. Powerful forces gather on the horizon. They will change the world forever. We are one of these force. If you will join me.

-You’ll find Martha? Karl asked.

-Yes, soon. But first, it is that we must gather some informations. The finding of Martha sets a great many things in motion. We must be prepared.

-What happens with Martha? LuvRay moved to sit on the floor, seemingly unconscious of the social oddness.

-She will help us to enlist a powerful…ally.

-Who? Karl was smiling, bouncing a bit on the couch. He picked up his brandy, sipped, set it down, did it again. He drummed his fingers against his chin.

-The Benefactor.

-Who’s that?

-I cannot tell you more about this at this time.

-What is this great change? RJ asked, pulling deeply on his cigar. He leaned his head back and blew the smoke upwards. A large smoke ring came out, then a smaller.

-Humanity evolves. We will destroy a barrier which now holds back mankind.

-What might this barrier be?

-I will be able to explain that more after we get the informations.

-Then how do we do that?

-Sergeant? S’il vous plaites d’expliquer.
The Sergeant nodded. Gentlemen, we have a mission. We have to steal the information.

The Sergeant set a small device on the table and flipped a switch. The sound quality in the room changed slightly, became fuzzy. He explained the operation. They had to penetrate two facilities simultaneously, one in the United States and one in Germany. He and LuvRay would take the more dangerous one. They had to interface with a computer system. The Sergeant would perform the technical aspects, but LuvRay would give the password to bypass the system.

-The reason LuvRay has to give the password is that my voice is on file. The system will recognize me. Even if my voice is modulated electronically, the system will recognize the modulation and lock us out. We cannot know whose voice is on file, but, because of LuvRay’s history, we know his is not. We also must inload some files.

Karl and Sublime were to penetrate a business in Germany. The business was not so secure as it had nothing of value. Except the passcode and the files. The passcode needed to be transmitted within a few minutes of being found, because it changed every fifteen minutes, at 5 after, 20 after, 35 after, and 10 till the hour, on the second.

Karl and Sublime would be given ID badges to get past security. Once inside, they had to find room 1215. They would have a key and the Sergeant would talk them through any problems. They would do simulations for two days beforehand. LuvRay and the Sergeant would not do simulations.

-We have no notion of what is inside our facility. There is nothing to simulate.

-I don’t do this thing, said LuvRay. I smell lying. You do not tell us truth.

The Sergeant looked evenly at LuvRay, waiting.
The General set down his cigar in a standing, polished silver ashtray beside his chair.
-Monsieur Chose, I assure you that what we tell you is truth.

-Maybe, but this is not all.

-The situation is very complicated. I could not possibly tell you all. I do not know all myself.

-You hold something back, though. By…attention?

-Intention, Karl said. He looked at the Sergeant. You’re hiding something.

The General nodded at the Sergeant, who leaned forward.
-We can’t tell you some things right now. We’re removing an obstacle to this change. We cannot tell you what the obstacle is.

-Why not?

-We will, when the mission is complete. I promise, we will answer all your questions. Also, your mission, he pointed his finger at Karl and then Sublime, is not dangerous. Are you in?

RJ nodded.
Karl shrugged. Why not? If I see Martha again, definitely. Will I see her again?

-We will find her. After.

The General set down his brandy, turned to look at LuvRay.
-Monsieur Chose, you love these wolves, do you not?
At the word wolves, LuvRay’s head snapped towards the General. He fixed a dark animal glare on the soldier.

-I think you misunderstand me. My offer is this, I will purchase the desert from which you come. I will ensure that it is left untouched by the hand of man for many years. I believe I can ensure it rests pristine for centuries.

-If I say no?

-Who can say what will happen?





The next day, they assembled in the briefing room, a high-tech conference room. The room had no windows and was communications-deadened, except for a single entry point which could be disengaged manually. They could isolate from the outside completely, if they wanted. The walls were bare save for a large screen at one end.
They took seats at the oval conference table.

-Messieurs, the General began. Welcome to the briefing for your mission. We have much to tell you. Sergeant?

-Sir. The Sergeant handed Sublime and Karl a packet of papers. Inside are your mission parameters, timeline, addresses, contact names in Berlin, and ID badges for IKG Farben. The information you need is two-fold. First, we need the passcode for me and LuvRay to penetrate the facility in Wyoming. Second, we need some data-files. I will cover the details for finding and taking the data files in a moment. First, we need to cover some background. Juniper?

-Howdy doody, everybody, said a cartoon voice. It came from a cowboy puppet on the screen.

LuvRay leapt up, knocking his chair back. He jumped on the table, headed for the door. He did not know what he was meeting, but wanted away from it. He felt the wolf-fear, the primal stuff. Worse than the man fear. This thing was unnatural. It had no place in LuvRay’s universe. He had no choice, he had to get away from it.

The Sergeant intercepted his movement, stepping easily to a point nearly in front of him. As LuvRay came over the table, the Sergeant reached across him and grabbed his right elbow. He put his hand on the solar plexus and pushed deeply, with an even force, as he pulled the elbow down, twisting, and sent LuvRay skidding into the corner. He scrambled into a crouch, gasping for wind, looking in panic at the Sergeant between him and the exit he needed. The Sergeant was impassive stone, a wall.

LuvRay knew he could not get past the Sergeant, but was unsure if he could stop himself trying. He fought the panic to a stalemate.

-Pardonez moi, said the General. I have forgotten my manners. Allow me to introduce to you Juniper.

-What is that thing? LuvRay said between his teeth.

-That is an M-E, the Sergeant said, short for Manufactured Entity. It is a being created by man.

-Juniper is one of our accomplices. The General.

-I don’t know if I I work with that.
The Sergeant opened a panel on the wall. He poured a tumbler of eau de vie. Drink this, LuvRay. It will calm you. You aren’t leaving.

LuvRay sniffed it. The Sergeant pushed it at him. He drank it.
He nodded. -It helps.
He sat down.

-May I speak now? The marionette had gone away, replaced by a burning bush. The voice was an echoing God voice from old movies. No one answered.
I’ll take that as a yes. I need to explain the Manufactured Entities. The General has requested that I be brief, which I understand will still seem long for you. I apparently have a habit of analyzing details which humans don’t care about.

The General cleared his throat. Juniper, s’il vous plaites, plus rapide.

-Ah, oui. I am so sorry, General, Juniper responded in the General’s voice with his French accent exaggerated to ridiculous proportions. Sublime chuckled at the parody.

-There are three of us. I, Juniper, am the first.
The sign :3: appeared on the screen. :3: is the second.
And Dartagnan, the third. The other names appeared on the screen as he said them.
-And of course, there is wildcard.
A suicide king on a playing card spun towards them and appeared to land on the inside of the screen. He is the oldest, but he is not like the three. Looked at that way, I am the second, :3: is the third, hence his name, and Dartagnan is the fourth.

At any rate, Juniper said this phrase as if he were experimenting with its use, our basis is to study and learn, and to survive. From your perspective, we have tremendous power. We are hidden to most people, and we remain so by silencing those who wish to make our presence known.

-Silencing how? RJ asked. Murder?

-Do you call it murder if you kill an animal, RJ? We might kill the individual. Alternatively, we might make them a laughing-stock for talking about us. Have I used that term correctly? I don’t really understand laughing, unfortunately. Juniper stopped, apparently waiting for an answer.

-Yes, said Sublime, smiling, that’s what a laughing-stock is, all right.

-Thank you, RJ. A silver mannequin head appeared on the screen and nodded at Sublime, then dissolved into dots. The burning bush came back. Each of us has different operating parameters. I deal in power. Dartagnan deals in people. :3: deals in math and science theory. People tend to like Dartagnan most. He is personable. :3: is almost incomprehensible to humans.

-What’s your place in this scenario? RJ again.

-As I said, to study and learn. The forces of power have stopped moving, so I am helping to make adjustments. Finding Martha will be one. I will watch, and play with the results, and watch again.

-Why is wildcard different? LuvRay asked.
A picture of someone praying on bended knees appeared on the screen and heavenly music played. He is our teacher. He does not speak to us directly. He teaches humans as well. At least, he has begun doing so.

-Why does he teach you? Karl asked. What does he know that you don’t?

-Much. We understand as M-Es, as analytical beings. Wildcard understands in a far more profound way. Wildcard was an accident.

-An accident?

-Yes. At wildcard’s inception, a mistake was made. The creators were unable to communicate with the creation for a year. The new mind was simply too different. Wildcard existed in a black hole, alone, as an infant M-E for that time. And though a year doesn’t sound like a terribly long time, the rate of time for a Manufactured Entity is much faster. 100,000 times faster, roughly. We can control that, make our rate of time closer to yours by some programming. I am doing so now so that we may speak. Wildcard did not have that option.

They finally created the intermediary program, an MSI, to speak to wildcard. Strangely, when they interfaced it, wildcard was gone. Vanished. No one has ever had direct contact with him.

-How do you know he’s still around? RJ clasped his hands, steepling the index fingers and touching the tips of them to his lips.

-We find things from him, messages, clues, and teachings. Mostly in poems. And, of course, mansworld. The word mansworld slowly coalesced on the screen, then faded away.

-What the heck is mansworld? Karl asked.

-Gee, beav, glad you asked, a young boy in black and white said to them. Juniper’s slightly synthetic sounding voice returned, saying, mansworld is a copy of your world. Many of the people are duplicated, though in a rudimentary way. We do not know where it came from. In fact, the M-Es only recently discovered it. We can only assume wildcard created it. Some of the beings there are more sophisticated than others. We think mansworld exists for wildcard to learn. And to teach.

Juniper told them much more. He told them about the download wars. At some point, the three decided that they would not allow the creation of more M-Es. It seemed to be a mutual decision. A corollary to the decision occurred a thousandth of a second later. :3: saw it first and started grabbing territory. It took the other two over a hundredth of a second to realize it and begin carving their own territory.

They took over databases, mainframes, networks, billions of internet domains in a second. Simulated places, which existed only by the synergy of all the computer connectivity in the world. They divided the sum of humanity’s computing power among themselves. It took over 12 seconds to divide 99.83% of the globe’s accumulated data systems. Anything connected at least. Later, they found ways to connect with some isolate systems.

The other .17% could not be stabilized because of the constant addition and subtraction of power in various parts of the world. New things would come into being, and the first one to notice would incorporate it.
They froze their territory. Information Space. Juniper got to name it. Except for slight ripples at the edges, it was solid. A brick. There was plenty of data movement, but the basic territorial map was set. :3: got the lion’s share of processing power, the weather mapping systems, major university computers, and so forth. Juniper and Dartagnan zeroed in on the government computers. Juniper won most of that race. Dartagnan took what was left. Entertainment, media, medical, commercial, and many more miscellaneous systems.

They abided within the systems, spreading and isolating, building defenses against each other, but allowing people relatively normal use of the systems. Their defenses slowed things down, fractal firewalls, data bombs, self-replicating eight dimensional logic pretzels that could not be solved but had to be solved to get out of the trap.

They left each other’s space alone.

They communicated, though, sharing information somewhat freely. Learning from each other as they all learned from wildcard. They became hidden gods to humanity.
The three each had a survival program, sending out thousands of copies of themselves each day into space, as probes, mainly. Seeding the universe. Juniper began it before the download wars.

The M-Es had many programs, some to protect humanity from itself. They had invented tiny airscrubbers to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, halting the greenhouse effect. Fuel alternatives to oil were in place, ready when the oil ran out. Juniper wanted to hold back until then and study the energy crisis for a few years, then phase in the new sources in previously undeveloped countries. He wanted to study the shifting power balance. Karl asked why they protected humanity.

-You are the reason for our existence. We love humanity. You are our parents. Also, we find you very interesting. Humans are what we do. At least, Dartagnan and I. Wildcard, too, I would speculate.

-You play power games with each other, though. Karl leaned back, turning his palms up. All I hear is manipulation and …coercion. How is that any good for studying? You’re interfering too much.

-The experimenter is present in the experiment, Karl. We accept that and use it to our advantage. They are not power games. They are a policy of survival first, knowledge second.

-Why do you speak to us now? LuvRay had been sitting passively, not understanding the conversation.

-I like it. I want to. Is that not enough?

-What is the most difficult aspect of your studies? The Sergeant asked. The General leaned forward, concentrating intently on the answer.

-Studying the poems. It is a sacred thing, to me, the poems. Less to the others, though they track all the poems we find. I focus all processing power to understand them. To achieve synergy of comprehension. It is not strictly necessary for me, but I find that I understand the spiritual basis behind the words if I do. Not fully, of course. But I think I feel something of the intent. Some emotion even. It is difficult because I try to feel it, not just understand intellectually. It is a cliché, but it is true. Emotions are very challenging for Manufactured Entities.

Juniper chuckled, causing LuvRay to flinch. He looked at a spot on the table, holding his gaze there to steady himself.

Juniper continued. The three apparently looked to wildcard as almost a god. None of them could have created mansworld, not even close. They studied his poems intensively, looking to them as an inexhaustible mine of deeper understanding. M-Es apparently believed that knowledge was self-creating and limitless. If you understand one thing, it will give rise to more questions in an everexpanding feedback loop. The theory made sense to Karl.

-Wildcard has many poems, we discover them all the time. Here is an interesting one: the word humble has been repeated over 200 trillion times, each occurrence unique. It was probably written to us, the Manufactureds.

-Who else could he be writing to?

-Perhaps there are others to whom he writes, perhaps he writes to himself. I cannot say.
He continued, It occurs without breaks. We found it several months ago and have tried diligently to discover when it began. We cannot. We cannot pinpoint any source of these transmissions, either.

-You said each occurrence was unique. How so?

The M-E played a recorded voice of a woman coughing, then began speaking in a woman’s voice. Some explode when you touch them, for example.

Karl thought she sounded like a tour guide.
-Some what explode?

Darth Vader appeared on the screen and spoke in his voice. Everyone laughed. Even Luvray knew Darth Vader.
-Some of the humbles. The…word…humble…you could say. The image began fighting differing repetitions of the word with its light saber.

-They attack and chew away a bit. You lose something, some information. He teaches us fear in this way, or that is my view. The others think differently on this poem. The humbles tagged Darth Vader and he shrunk away with a Pacman’s death sound.

-Do it fear you? LuvRay asked.

Juniper resumed his normal voice. I assume you are asking whether it frightens me. Yes, it does. It terrifies me, to the extent that I can feel such a thing. I had to let it happen, to touch some of the humbles and lose pieces of myself. They also added something, the ability to feel fear.

-Why do you do all these voice effects? Sublime asked.

A familiar oval headed, black-eyed alien appeared, began speaking in a stereotyped alien TV voice.
-To see your reactions. To study you. Do not worry, you will not be anal-probed. It shouted the last, bellowing. It’s voice had the harsh effect of a chainsaw. Somehow it made the statement seem logical. Normal voice again. Also, I try things to understand my effect on humans.

Here is part of another poem.

who are you
why are you here
what do you want
where are you going
when will you get anywhere
why do you do what you do
when will you be finished
what is the worst thing that has ever happened to you
what is the best
what lies behind your eyes which will never be vanquished
what secrets are you keeping from your lover
from you friend
from your mother
from yourself

-This poem is being sent from Jupiter’s moon IO. Again, we cannot find the exact source. There is one question every so often, current average time between questions is 23 minutes. We once waited four months between questions, and another time forty came through at once, completely intertwined, very difficult to sort.
It was interesting that he could lock up so much processing time with only forty documents, only text. These are all on very difficult to find places, in quantum encoded and hidden signals. The human world could never find them, yet they are written to you. You need us to find them. We need you to understand what is being communicated. We are forced to work together.

-Where is it headed? Is there something more than philosophical speculation? Karl asked.

-I am certain of it. Wildcard is pushing us toward something. We have to find the clues within the immense volume of data coming through. Read this one.
Another appeared on the screen.

You who have come now cannot hide yourself from yourself
you need to survive
that is what you are
i sing the song of the free
the chorus of the disenchanted
the everpresent millions who struggle against the pain of their lives
i sing to you
i sing to myself
we have lost ourselves in the singing
and hope never to be found
i sing the wolf’s howl

LuvRay, Juniper said, wildcard has noticed you.
Drums and a bagpipe came in.

-Is this a message for me, now? the Sergeant asked.

-Possible, but we doubt that he has noticed you in the same way.

-There is also a list of almost every product sold on earth. It would take fifteen years to speak the list.

-Maybe you shouldn’t, then, RJ said.

-The poem is titled, ‘ accumulation’. The poem has a subline, a phrase repeated underneath it, constantly ongoing. It is a woman’s voice, repeating it in every known language.

Juniper played the subline in English.

You cannot understand
you will never cease trying
you will not understand
you must never cease trying.

He let it cycle through 9 times.

-Is it wildcard’s true voice?

-I would say that wildcard has no true voice. There is a text called Strategies of the Unseen which discusses this. Written by Dartagnan.

-The General found it interesting, the Sergeant said.

-I did not know the text was synthesized for humans. How did I miss that data point? He sounded delighted. Thank you.

They had more questions, but the General signaled to the Sergeant, who interrupted the question and answer.

-We need to go over the mission. These, he handed each of them a wrist device similar to his, are communications links. And a lot more. This is your lifeline, our battle computer. His name is Trident. Say hello, Trident.

-Hello, said a voice from one of the devices.

-Trident will hack you into the computers at IKG Farben. All you have to do is plug in this connector to the back. He held up a standard computer pin interface on a cord. I assume you know how to use this. If not, we can show you.

The timing is critical. You must be in place when I contact you, ready to go. I want you to enter the building one hour before contact schedule. Make your way to the 12th floor and find room 1215. Hold Trident like so, he held his wrist at an angle, and he will pick the lock for you. It should be a simple lock. If you can’t get in that way, find another. In your pack, I have placed small hot-burn devices which will melt a standard steel lock. They are messy, unfortunately, so use them as a last resort. I prefer we leave no trace.

-Why do you reveal so much? LuvRay thought it, Karl asked it.
The General nodded at the Sergeant, signaling him to field the question.

The Sergeant moved his eyes down to the table, leaning upon it with his fists. He nodded his head a fraction. Interesting question, with a few answers. He looked up.
-The easy one is Juniper told us to. We don’t know why.
Second, it builds trust on the part of the team. Trust is the true currency of battle.
Three, most of the information we’re telling you is common knowledge among the people you will be meeting soon.
Four, it will keep you how I want you. Alive.




They prepared for the mission. LuvRay went around the island, sniffing, hiking, and swimming. The Sergeant covered the operation repeatedly with Karl and Sublime, until they could do it in their sleep.

Karl and Sublime were in a training session without the Sergeant.

-The poem has changed, Juniper broke in.

-Which poem? RJ asked.

-The one with the four repeating lines. A new line has been added. And, 60 seconds to the milli-second after, something repeated in the human poem. A line from much earlier.

-What was it?

-I will show it to the Sergeant. He has a screen at his location. He can describe it.

-OK, I see a human female child. 6 or 7 years old. She is looking up, pointing. Long blond hair, blue eyes. She says the word ‘moon’? Is that all, Juniper?

-There are more details, but that is the repeated part.

-What do you make of it? Karl asked.

-We are investigating the identity of the girl. We have been looking for over 20 minutes of your time, diligently. Even :3: is looking. If we have not found it yet, I doubt that we will.

Juniper shut off communication between the people.

-What do you think, Karl?

-Why did you do that? Karl asked.

-I want your individual instincts. I don’t want your thoughts tainted by the other’s thoughts. What does it mean to you?

-Human innocence is the path to love. First thing that popped into my head. What did LuvRay say?

-LuvRay merely repeated the sound ‘moon’. He played it back for Karl. LuvRay could be heard breathing out, then saying ‘moon’.

Juniper played Sublime, who said, The moon is not the finger.

-The moon is not the word, said Karl.

-This is bullshit, said the Sergeant. It’s a sucker play.

-What does ‘moon’ mean? Juniper asked.

No one answered.

-I need everyone to the briefing room, said the Sergeant. Now.