[Cyberia] RE: Cyberia:The Undiscovered Country

[Cyberia GM]

"Umm... Dot.  But I really don't know anymore than you do.  Maybe less."
Dot could feel her face reddening as she spoke, "but I could fill you in on
everything I do know."  and without further ado she started in on a very
abbreviated relation of her journeys...
      
+++++

As she disgorged her recent history, the entity stopped her at times to ask
questions.  Most of them whenever she named an Amberite, she noticed.  But
for the most part it just let her speak.  She did notice that its speech
became more and more human sounding, though still stilted, and sometimes
tinged with synthesizer static.  Even its form changed, becoming less
horrific; more and more, one face seemed to dominate the form now, though
even still, another would surface as a bursting postule occasionally, before
being drawn back into the form.

When she was finally through, silence filled the air for a long moment,
until finally the construct spoke.

"In... In another life, I was the Amberite known as Random," it said, it's
voice a melange of synthesizer hiss and human sorrow.  "In my latter days, I
was King of Amber, or what was left of it after Patternfall. King not
through pussiance of arms, nor strength of character, but through compromise
and chance- a fitting ascent for one called Random, I suppose."  If a
machine could sigh, Dot sensed that the empty silence after that last would
have been filled with one.  "I can't say that everything was exactly well
during my rule, but I tried to be the King I thought I should be.  It became
increasingly hard, day after day.  It seemed I was losing myself, and I
never understood why.  My wife suffered alongside me, but she was no balm to
the pain I felt as I increasingly did things and made decisions that I never
would have, had I been myself."  The face that the construct had chosen
winced in remembered pain, even as it forced the continuation of its tale.
"Then came the blackouts.  I knew something was amiss, but the chirurgeons
could make nothing of it, and I never would have guessed the source, and
never did until it was too late."

"One of the symbols of the Rule of Amber was the Jewel of Judgement- an
artefact of surpassing power.  My brother, Eric, died after a short rule,
attempting to wield its power in the defence of Amber."  Snarling Random
said, "At least he should have died on the steps of Kolvir!  Then I would
still have life!"  The face began to break up as the subsumed avatars within
the construct fought for control.  It was a disturbing thing as the ghosts
of long dead users passed across the huge face, each wanting control of the
construct.  But eventually, Random was able to supress them, regaining
control, both of the construct, and of his emotions.  

"The Jewel saved Eric, after a manner of speaking.  For long years, his soul
occupied it, even as I wore it.  He slowly took control of my body, my life,
and imprisoned me within my own mind."  Again he stopped for a long moment,
this time closing
what approximated for eyes, as he turned his focus within.  "I... Don't know
how I escaped.  Or even if it really was an escape.  Eric is a real bastard,
but I hate to admit that the only person that could really match him for
wits was Corwin.  All I really know is that I escaped from one prison into
another, driven like some rat in a maze for this damnable experiment of
Eric's..."

He stopped, and in a person, it would have been a respite for breath.  But
in the Random-Construct, it was a fight for life.  The avatars within him
fought doggedly to pull him back under. 

Finally, he regained tentative control, but it was obvious that he was
struggling.  With his return to control, Asha's program restarted
spontaneously, showing that a 100% pure sample had been retrieved.

"Here... I don't know what you can do with it, but if you make Eric pay at
all..."  He stopped again, directives attempting to restrain him, as his
face began to disappear in a digitized storm.  "Go... Before I revert, but
please..."

The construct looked almost ready to explode from the stresses put on it by
the avatars' battle within it, but Random struggled to get out his last
words, "...tell Martin that it wasn't his fault."

With that, the swarm of avatars overwhelmed Random's face within the
construct, the icon reverting to it's former monstrous state.  Apparently
Random still exerted some control, for the construct didn't immediately
attack... but this could change at any time...