El Premio de la Gran Carrera

Tras la conclusión de la Gran (e Ilegal) Carrera en Namibia, los miembros de Elysium parecen haber disminuido notablemente la intensidad de su actividad, aunque sospechamos que se debe a que están integrando en sus "negocios" a los tres "afortunados" vencedores de la carrera. Sabemos muy poco de ellos, su presencia digital ha desaparecido. En Elysium se han esforzado a fondo para borrar todo rastro de ellos. Ahora en cuanto a Internet se refiere, esos tres pilotos no existen. No es algo con lo que nos sintamos cómodos en la Resistencia, por lo que seguiremos buscando información, de forma puramente analógica, esperando que quede algún rastro en papel o en computadores que no estén conectadas a ninguna red. También tenemos otro asunto entre manos, el premio más interesante que recibimos. La minicomputadora que está hecha de la misma tecnología que aquella que encontré en el Himalaya y me convirtió en lo que soy ahora. La que puso en marcha mi carrera de tecnomaga era una Inteligencia Artifical completa, esta en cambio ha sido mutilada hasta el punto de ser tan sólo una computadora un poco más avanzada que las que podéis comprar en las tiendas. El referente más cercano para ambas son ls Madres Cajas del Cuarto Mundo del gran Jack Kriby.

Computadoras vivas y sentientes, Kirby las concibió en los años 70.

Elysium, como la corrupta y decadente Academia, está usando tecnología alienígena para sus nefarios fines. No sólo eso, sino que están dañando a conciencia a ser vivos como la minicomputadora con la que premiaron a mi aliada y amiga Zirconia Starfighter. Nuestro primer objetivo ahora mismo es restaurar la minicomputadora, para saber más sobre cómo acabó en las garras de Elysium, su origen y si hay más como ella. Seguramente, tendré que regresar al Himalaya, para intentar reencontrarme con la IA que cambió mi vida, si alguien posee las respuestas que necesitamos para combatir a este nueva y siniestra amenaza, es esa IA. Pero, tenemos otras alternativas. Es lo bueno de contar entre nuestros aliados a dioses y reyes. No nos faltan amigos genuinos, dispuestos a ayudarnos.

¡Por Isis!, Gwen Marsters

Racing against Elysium Part IV

The Great (and very illegal) Race had ended. Our runner was one the only four who reached the goal. She was taken with the rest to the same place we had been holed up during the Race for the Award ceremony. It was time at last to uncover the so hyped prizes. We were going to see if Elysium promises paid off or they were just smoke and mirrors. The higher-ups of Elysium gave us a couple of hours to get ready for their big party. Time that we put to good use. The fourth position was not a random choice. We knew that it would leave us out of the podium, granting Zirconia Starfighter more freedom of movement. That didn't mean she wouldn't be under close scrutiny. It's not like they didn't know who she was. We didn't even try hiding her identity. Why bother? We wanted them to know that we were there. But the question was, could they manage the party and control of all us at the same time? We were betting that Masuimi or myself could get under their radar, at least for a while. We put together every piece of intel we had gathered during the Race, what little sense we could make of the last part and went to the Awards ceremonies with our best looks.

The Amazing Cyber-Warrior Zirconia Starfighter

The ceremony was an overwhelming show where Elysium tried its best to show off its technology. Lots of robots, mostly non-human looking, and digital avatars were floating around amidst lasers and fog. Loud music and pompous discurses provided the perfect cover for us. The attention was focused on the Top Three, who were very happy to be there. That allowed us to move around not completely freely, but enough to take a peek behind the curtain. Don't believe the cryptic message that Elysium drops here from time to time. We know now more than they would like. We have good intel we have to process and check. But let's get to the stuff we can share right now. The Prizes. The Top Three got a bunch of money in cryptocurrency, cyber crowns and a seat at Elysium, confirming one of the most popular theories. Our own racer got money, a bit less than the other, and a mini computer that looked familiar to me. Too familiar. It is made from the same technology as the one I found a long time ago. I don't know if it's a message from our enemies or just a coincidence. It would explain their level of technology. I think most people on Earth have been recycling alien tech since the dawn of time. Proud of our success, we had some drinks, danced and had fun. We had earned it, and you never know when you will an opportunity to let loose in our line of business.

You can follow and support my dear friend and ally Zirconia Starfighter in the following links:

• Official Website
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• Twitter: @Zirconia_Star
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The End...for now

May the wise Isis guide and protect you!, Gwen Marsters

Racing against Elysium Part III

Namib desert

When the number of runners fell to just six, the higher ups at Elysium decided to announce that eh Race was entering its last part. They could show the path that would lead us to the goal post as all that was left of the Race had been secured with the most advanced technology. The winner would get the Grand Prize, but the other "survivors" wouldn't go empty handed if they managed to complete the Race. As for the rest, who couldn't leave the building until the end, were told to place bets to make it more interesting. How did it affect the Race? It became weirder. A lot weirder, and we are talking about a seemingly endless desert were you can come across decaying ships like the one on top of this entry. There were six vehicles left in the Race: one tank, one truck, two cars and two bikes. There were also the support vehicles, one for every participant. When they entered the last stretch, we found out what Elysium meant by secured. It was like entering another dimension. Elysium had turned miles of Namib desert into something that looked and felt like their virtual worlds. Their robots and traps were just not something added but built into the world. As you can guess, that made the Race more dangerous.

The Amazing Cyber Warrior Zirconia Starfighter

One car was eaten by a massive bright orange worm that made sounds like a whale. One bike fell down on a hole and the hole closed up. All that happened in less than five miles. Tension was sky high both in the Race and in the building. The Race had entered uncharted territory. It was not our physical world, it wasn't the kind cyberverse we usually travel to, it was a crazy mixture of both, where the most basic rules of physics seemed be on constant flux. Gravity was fluid, heavier in some areas and lighter in others. Thankfully it never ceased to exist as that would have sent everyone left in the Race into the space at a ridiculous speed. One tank, one truck, one car and one bike, the one driven by our fabulous Zirconia Starfighter miraculously survived all the traps and obstacles introduced by Elysium. The goal post was finally there, an Emerald tower, so unreal that felt like an illusion. Suddenly there were no more traps and the robots just looked at the runners. We didn't want to be the focus of Elysium's attention, so Zirconia Starfighter ended last, a fourth position that would grant her and us access to the information we were looking for. Only four runners ended the Race through the Namib desert and whatever the last part was. Four drivers that had become legends, if they hadn't earned that category before. Now all there was left was to collect the prizes.

To be concluded.

You can follow and support my dear friend and ally Zirconia Starfighter in the following links:

• Official Website
• Facebok page
• Twitter: @Zirconia_Star
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May the wise Isis guide and protect you!, Gwen Marsters

Racing against Elysium Part II

I was holed up alongside all the mangers and partners of the participants in the Race on a very expensive hotel at Namibia's capital, Windhoek. We couldn't leave the hotel and were closely monitored. You couldn't take a step without being watched by a drone. Only the assistance teams could be outside on stand by, following a parallel route to the Race, so they weren't detected by the local authorities and could get to the Race as soon as possible. Our Masuimi Max was there on a big red and black truck fill with everything she could need to fix Zirconia Starfighter's bike. We followed the Race on enormous screens. There were all kind of vehicles, even tanks. And yes, they were loaded, which came quite in handy when they came across any of the numerous traps and ambushes Elysium had set.

The Amazing Cyberarrior Zirconia Starfighter

Riding a bike allowed Zirconia Starfighter more maneuverability than other heavier rides, but it also made her more vulnerable. You can't add much protection to a bike without hindering its performance. But you can add some light weaponry such as lasers, as was the case, that proved quite useful to deal with snake like robots that emerged from the sand. Although it as a fierce competition, riders where more worried about the challenges of the Race than about their rivals. In fact, collaboration to get through those challenges was quite common. The higher ups at Elysium didn't seem to like it a bit as they started to raise the stakes. The traps were suddenly harsher, the enemies more powerful and numerous. The participants started to drop like flies. Some dead, most hurt and glad to live to see another day. We still had no idea what was the Prize, only that Elysium wanted us to earn with sweat and blood. Some decided to withdraw, thinking that the risk outweighed the possible gains. We didn't. We need to finish, and finish first. Masuimi Max had to go to our friend's rescue a couple of times. First time she was almost blown up by a missile, and had to change a wheel. The second time a sneaky robot drilled a hole in the engine. That almost ended the race for us, but Masuimi and Zirconia could patch it together. The number of participants was by then reduced to barely dozen and nobody really knew how much of the Race was left, as the route was changing all the time to throw off authorities, as they had got notice of the illegal Race and were working to shut it off. Some at the hotel were starting to consider that the Race was a con and that there was no Price at the end of it. Elysium members treated any question as an insult. As I said before, we didn't care, we wanted intel on our enemies and winning the race seemed a good way to get it.

To be continued...

You can follow and support my dear friend and ally Zirconia Starfighter in the following links:

• Official Website
• Facebok page
• Twitter: @Zirconia_Star
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• Instagram

May the wise Isis guide and protect you!, Gwen Marsters

Racing against Elysium Part I

After our success in the Bictoin Trap, I was eager to get back in the fight against the network of cyber criminals known as Elysium. They have gone a long way since then. From using the minds of people wishing to join a digital paradise to mine bitcoins to using the same people to murder via drone having turned the digital paradise into a shooter game. It hasn't been easy to track their moves, and it involved letting them spill their venom here. But now we know more juicy stuff about them. For example, how they got their hand on a project fundad by DARPA, the Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR) and have developed several prototypes that can turn human flesh into fuel. The image of these robots devouring their victims is the very definition of a terrifying nightmare. As one could expect from them, all their monetary transactions are on Bitcoins and they are moving all the time. They have to, because they have made plenty of enemies, even one we didn't expect, the corrupt and decaying Academy. Killing Lord Kaid Stenhouse may have been the straw that broke the camel's back. We thought that they were trying to get their attention, but this death did it in ways we didn't' expect as the Academy has declared Elysium their enemy and will mobilize its resources to stop them. This means we have a new player decided to fight against everyone, not just us as other villains tend to do. But we are not going to wait for their next move and this is where we get to the title of this entry.

Ready for the Race

Racing against Elysium is not just a clever metaphor to lure readers. Our work in the cyberspace, tracking every lead we could find or dig up, paid off and we could at last be a step ahead of them. Their next big operation would be in Namibia, and it would be a massive race that would cross the Namib desert. Any vehicle was allowed, but getting a ticket for the race was tricky and involved getting invited to a very exclusive party in Greece. The immense and almost empty desert was no the only challenge. Elysium, the organizer of the very illegal race via front company, had set up all kind of obstacles and traps. Anything to prevent the participants from reaching the goal and getting the Prize. But what is the Prize? That was shrouded in mystery, everyone had a theory in the usual places of the cyberspace. Becoming part of Elysium's inner circle, gold, alien technology, an AI... The only thing in common was their perceived high value. We didn't really care about the prize but we needed to be there. Our choice to take part on the race awas my very good friend Zirconia Starfighter and the chose vehicle was a heavily modified bike. I'd be her assistant on route, using our own drones, warning her of incoming dangers, while Masuimi Max drove a truck in case she needed to get her ride fixed or just help. It was going to be an adventure, and we were looking forward to it.

To be continued...

You can follow and support my dear friend and ally Zirconia Starfighter in the following links:

• Official Website
• Facebok page
• Twitter: @Zirconia_Star
• Tumblr
• Instagram

May the wise Isis guide and protect you!, Gwen Marsters