“He was brilliant,” Zelda retorted.
“But a bit eccentric, you have to admit,” Kaiden said.
Zelda looked offended.
“What? I loved the guy, but it’s true,” Kaiden said by way of clarification.
“You’re being thick. Just hear him out. His plan will be perfect.” She turned back to the video projection.
“Trading was my first thought,” Bernstein continued, oblivious to their disagreement. “But as I’m sure you know, files in Nova Online can’t be duplicated.” He waved his hand as if exasperated. “If you can’t copy a file, then the information contained in it is valuable, making the file a sort of in-game commodity. Yadda yadda. It’s a nice thought, but I’m not sure it ever panned out. Anyway, exact copies of files can exist, but only if they’re uploaded individually into the game. Seeing as it took more than a year to upload the first database, byte by byte so it went undetected, you can understand how that wasn’t a feasible option. And besides, trading wasn’t big enough. It couldn’t be scaled. In theory, I could trade the database to another player, have them download a copy, then pass it on. But having a physical copy of the database doesn’t do much. Keeps it safe, I suppose, and allows you to replicate it offline, but you’d never be able to physically disperse enough copies. No, I needed a way to get the database to as many people as possible and before the Party could react. By the time they figure out what the database is, it needs to be too late. The information contained within it needs to have spread as far as possible. To every player in the game, ideally. Millions of players.
“But again, we’re faced with the same problem. How to send a file to every player in Nova at once?” He left the question hanging for a moment, like he didn’t have an answer. Kaiden knew better, however. Bernstein always had an answer.
The projection smiled knowingly.
“The answer is the warden All-Frequencies Broadcast System. You know, that system they use to send a message to every player in-game at once? Surely you’ve seen it before. Probably received a message or two from it. But did you know it can host files as well? Files that can be downloaded from it by everyone who receives the message?” Bernstein smiled wider. “The AFBS as they call it, is a direct line to hundreds of millions of people. Can you imagine if this database – this evidence – were sent to each of them? Why, the Party’s crimes would be undeniably exposed. That many people with evidence can’t be stopped. Change would be inevitable.” He paused for a moment, smiling directly at them, then nodded.
“Though, of course, there are two challenges that must be overcome for this plan to succeed. First, the AFBS can only disperse files that have been uploaded to Nova Online – I’ve taken care of that one for you. The second problem is the one I’m still trying to solve. It’s the reason you needed to power level – and will likely need to do so again. It’s the reason I’ve been trying to gather allies and confidants. It’s the reason I haven’t done all this myself yet.”
“Well, get on with it!” Titus said.
The video projection couldn’t hear him, obviously, but it paused momentarily before continuing.
“The AFBS can only be accessed from the heart of Warden Headquarters. Now, I doubt the Warden Corps would react kindly to my request to borrow their system for a quick broadcast. That’s why I – er, I guess now you – have to take it by force.”
Chapter Three
“Take Warden HQ. By force.” Zelda repeated the words for a third time. It still didn’t sound any easier.
“Just that, huh?” Kaiden said, feeling the words constrict in his throat. He didn’t know much about Warden HQ, but from what he knew about how well defended even a single carrier like the Anakoni was, he couldn’t imagine HQ would be exactly a walk in the park. Zelda’s shock only reinforced that idea.
“Oh, come on,” Titus said, looking at them both. “After everything we’ve done, is this really that big a challenge? We’ll need some muscle to help us, but how bad can it be? It’s not like they have an army there.”
Zelda winced and Titus frowned.
“Wait, do they? Do they have an army?”
“There aren’t that many wardens,” Kaiden said, thinking aloud. “There are millions of players in Nova. The Warden Corps is nothing compared to that number.”
“We’re not going at this with all of Nova at our backs, Kai,” Zelda said. “Currently, the entirety of our force comes to a sum total of three. Besides, you both saw the fleet guarding the void tear. That was only forty, maybe fifty percent of the Warden Corps’ navy. There’s a lot more ground forces too.” She paused, clearly thinking. When she spoke again, there was the slightest hint of hope in her tone. “Given, most wardens are usually on rotation, dispersed across the universe and working wherever they’re stationed, so we have that going for us. As long as they’re not tipped off that we’re coming, the full warden force won’t be waiting for us at HQ. That’s... something.”
“Okay, good!” Kaiden said, trying to be positive. “That’s one advantage in our favor.”
“It’s still nowhere near enough.” Zelda shook her head. “Look, I can’t fault the logic of Bernstein’s plan. As far as I can tell, it would work – in theory. But that’s only if we could make it to the AFBS control panel. It only exists in-game and can only be accessed by a player standing directly in front of it. I just can’t see a way for us to get to it. Not unless you two have a personal army I don’t know about. And we don’t even know what will be waiting for us at Warden HQ. I mean, the place could be a fortified maze. Say we did fight or sneak our
