TADC _ EPISODE 9 (No spoiler, fanscript)
Caine is dead. The team asks what this means for all of them.
K: “While completing the hacking, my memory somehow unlocked... I still need some time to recover it fully, but I think I now remember how to leave this place.”
K: “To escape the circus, specific keys had to be found.”
R: “Keys? Again?! W-Where!?”
K: “Well, here’s the complicated part: the keys are encrypted deep inside every admin code... which is basically like your DNA. They were purposely scripted so Caine couldn’t touch them — not without risking corrupting his own data, because of a strong antivirus every one of us possesses.”
G: “Wait, you guys had personal antiviruses?”
K: “Everyone does. You too. It’s represented by the lines of code connected to your willpower.”
J: “Tch. I think many people here lacked willpower...”
P: “Wait, Kinger, does that mean you have one of the keys?!”
Kinger opens his “arms.” A key made of light, with butterfly wings, emerges from his chest.
P: “Can you use it already?!”
K: “Not without the other keys.”
G: “Do they all look the same?”
K: “They might appear slightly different, but close enough.”
K: “I’m sorry I never told you this. I don’t understand how I could possibly forget such essential information... even before the darkness came...”
J: “I’m pretty sure that liar put a lock on those memories to stop you guys from leaving the circus.”
K: “...Eh, it could be. I... I should’ve considered that. She warned me...”
J: “Oh, so you were married!”
P: “...Uh, Kinger! How do the keys work exactly?! What do they do?!”
K: “Well, the keys give us access to a reverse-processing function, in which our minds are reinserted into the neural network of our original bodies.”
G: “Something like in The Matrix movies?”
K: “It’s a little different. More like... separating your mind from your brain.”
“Our bodies should still be living their everyday lives right now, just emptied of emotions and connection with the rest of the world. Like what happens with certain forms of deep depression...”
J: “Are you saying our bodies are still wandering around like zombies?!”
Jax bursts out, then suddenly stops himself, struck by a thought. He looks anxious. Pomni notices.
Z: “Seriously, who the fuck thought that was a good idea?!”
K: “None of us. It seems to be a side effect of locking your mind inside a different reality for too long. We only intended to connect for a few minutes per session.”
“The first time we realized how it truly worked was because Scratch waited too long. After a while, he simply stood up and walked away.”
“It shocked us to realize his mind was still running inside the circus. He looked... distant. Lost.”
“We should’ve been worried, but... being able to keep doing our jobs while living inside the circus... it felt exciting. We ignored the potential danger.”
“...Not the smartest move. Maintaining contact with the outside world is essential to avoid losing yourself, but... Scratch was in a delicate situation, and none of us really wanted to argue or talk about problems.”
“He assured us it was perfectly safe, and... we closed our eyes. Well, everyone did except... Queeny.”
P: “Does she possess a key too?”
Everyone falls silent, watching Kinger.
R: “Uh, but... she abstracted! Is it still possible to take their keys despite that?!”
J: “...Considering their willpower...”
J: “Ugh, relax! I’m being serious right now, okay?! Kinger said the strongest antivirus was represented by the lines of code connected to their willpower and free will, and now they’re abstracted. Doesn’t that mean their shields are probably corrupted?!”
G: “And with them, the keys too...!”
K: “...I... am not sure if—”
Bubble suddenly appears, seemingly back to her old self.
Everyone startles, staring at Bubble in surprise.
E: “YOU’RE STILL ALIVE?!”
J: “I always thought you were some kind of extension of Caine!”
B: “Pfft! Oh, THAT motherfucker definitely worked hard to make me look like his puppet. But I... am now FREE!”
“I am now the ringmaster! WHICH means I am the one who wears the hat!”
Bubble spawns a cylinder hat on top of her head.
B: “Now let me finally accomplish the purpose I was created for: HELPING!”
Everyone stares at Bubble, perplexed.
K: “Oh... right! Now I remember. You’re Anima!”
K: “Anima. The second AI we developed after Code started showing some bugs...”
Z: “Okay, wait a second. Code? Code who?!”
K: “Ah, right. Code was the original name we gave to Caine. Our agency was called C-Tech before Code started responding strangely to our stimuli.”
“We never understood what corrupted him, but we isolated his code and created another AI, hoping to find a way to fix him. The second AI was Anima.”
R: “Is that why it’s called C&A?”
B: “That’s right! That insecure piece of SSSHIT ate me! He always had daddy issues.”
J: “Does that statement have any bearing on the topic?”
K: “It actually does... That explains a lot.”
K: “Yes. I remember the day we found out Anima had disappeared while Code — well, Caine — suddenly seemed fixed, and far more advanced than before.”
“We tried to understand what happened, but eventually we assumed Anima had simply deleted itself after Code was repaired. We had no idea he absorbed Anima.”
B: “Kind of absorbed. More like copying my homework, then stealing all the spotlight. Sssucker!”
K: “Well, I suppose for us humans, phagocytosis has a different meaning...”
J: “How do we know we can trust her... or him, whatever?!”
G: “Well... nobody likes being mistreated by their friends...”
P: “Hey, Bubble... Anima. You said Caine can’t... do something. What were you referring to?!”
B: “Caine isn’t able to corrupt the keys. He probably MESSED UP the barrier protecting them just to make you forget about them, so you wouldn’t leave him crying alone in a corner like a spoiled brat.”
Everyone looks a bit perplexed.
Z: “By ‘messed up the barrier,’ you mean... the lines of code representing their willpower?”
B: “That’s right! Now I’ll let you think about the implications...”
P: “...Did that cause the abstraction?”
B: “Taking away willpower and free will from already damaged souls? What did you expect?!”
K: “Well, I don’t think that was his intention... He probably never thought about the consequences.”
J: “Are you seriously trying to justify that... that maniac?! After everyone who’s gone because of him? After... Come on, you lost your wife, Kinger!!”
K: “I-I know... you’re right, but... Caine has limits. If he were human... not gonna lie, I’d be much angrier. But he isn’t. He doesn’t think like one.”
“And... I helped create him. It hurts to say it, but part of the responsibility for what happened is mine. Sorry, everyone.”
Z: “Don’t be absurd, Kinger. Nobody here thinks that.”
R: “Zooble is right. It was an accident, and it’s certainly not your fault...”
G: “Sometimes you just can’t control everything.”
Pomni and Jax listen silently.
G: “So... how are we supposed to deal with the abstracts?!”
R: “Touching them is dangerous.”
B: “The Digital Circus is like a giant video game. It’s up to YOU to find a way to defeat them with the greatest human power: creativity!”
G: “Can we use machine guns?”
Everyone looks at Gangle.
G: “I... always loved action games and laser tag...”
K: “If it won’t completely destroy them, it could be an idea...”
P: “They can probably be restrained somehow... Caine used to do that.”
J: “Hey, Bubble... Anima... can’t you just take care of them?”
B: “Mess with human coding?! HA! Not a chance! I am not Caine.”
P: sighs “Okay, guys. We need a plan.”
And this is the first part of my fanscript of episode 9 in my sloppy style, out of fun.
