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Mining continued the next day, or was meant to- but the moment there were no guard bots in sensor-distance, Galadriel55 threw down her tools and called an emergency meeting.
"The destruction of my colleague R.A.N.G.E.R. has left me no choice but to reveal. I am S.E.E.R."
"Awesome!" said Morsul. "I'm H.U.N.T.E.R."
"Quiet- oh, it's too late now," said G55. "I suppose you can't help being a beta version."
"Funny, that," said Boro, strolling over, "because I was pretty sure I was S.E.E.R."
The Downers looked from one to the other, unsure which to believe.
"Hey, what's this?" asked Shasta suddenly, picking up what looked like a large, many-faceted crystal from the ground. Within its glassy casing could be seen something like a net of fine threads.
"Don't touch that!" cried Boro. When the others stared at him, he added quickly, "I mean, it could be dangerous. Better give it to me." For some reason, his hand had gone to the back of his head.
"Headache?" asked G55. "Or are you missing something?"
But Shasta was too absorbed to take any notice. "Hey, look, it's got a lid." The upper part of the crystal flipped back. Now it could be seen that the net was made of hair-thin silvery wires, criss-crossing in an intricate pattern.
"Pull them out," said G55, smiling thinly, "and see what happens."
"Now let's not do anything hasty," said Boro. "That could cause serious consequences-"
Shasta yanked out a wire. "What did you say?"
"Might make bad things happen," said Boro, whose voice sounded unaccountably flat.
"Let me have a go." Morsul pulled another wire.
"No more," said Boro, flatter still. "That not good. That bad."
He lunged for the crystal, but G55 seized him so that he could only struggle impotently.
Soon it became a game, with most of the Downers taking turns, while Boro's protests became more and more ungrammatical.
"why kill tom? tom not bad bot. tom poetbot. tom make verse for humans:
tom-tap
tap-tom
tom-tap-tom."
Finally a single, shining wire remained. By this time what had seemed to be Boro had ceased to struggle and its voice was a lifeless drone.
"i... tom... tom... sell... stuff... buy... tom... stuff..."
Kitanna jerked out the wire, and tomtom was silent. When G55 released him he pitched forward onto his face, revealing a gap in the back of his head, just the size and shape of the crystal. A second later, the spambot's form vanished in a brilliant flash of light.
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Living
Galadriel55
Legate
Kitanna
Blind Guardian
Morsul the Dark
Shasta
Dead
Coppermirror, Lommy– seized by Adult Friend Finder.
Nerwen, Aganzir– poisoned by webcrawlers.
Rune– lashed to death with overseer-bot’s light whip. (Ordinary cyber-slave.)
Inziladun– ICE pick to the head. (Ordinary cyber-slave.)
Sally– pushed down a data-mineshaft. (R.A.N.G.E.R.)
Lottie- rubbed out (ordinary cyber-slave).
Boro- brain unplugged. (tomtom.)