A full half hour of data from November 6th had disappeared. No matter how Odin searched, it wasn't anywhere. Not in the main drive, not in any of the backup drives. The way it had been so completely deleted, even with all the redundancies, meant that someone had deliberately erased it.
Odin was the only one with access to the computer. So how had it disappeared?
Then the answer hit like a meteor.
Darius. D4R1U5. Creatively named in the same vein as Doc's robots.
If the robot had free will now, it could work against Odin. And no one else would have been able to delete every instance of the missing audio and video footage so perfectly.
"Fuck."
A hand slammed the desk. Darius. An enemy. The one who was never supposed to betray. Now a traitor.
The gods certainly had a sense of irony. Or perhaps just horrible judgement. That was the only way this rash of Miracle-powered nonsense could happen.
Then again, they operated on a completely different version of logic. True to themselves, with no regard for anything or anyone else.
Perhaps only luck had kept this sort of thing from happening before now.
Odin growled, frustrated that the data was gone. If it was gone, Darius had done so to protect someone. Would it be best to kill Sawyer now to prove a point?
No. As the anger subsided, a more calculating mood set in. It should be no surprise that they were plotting against Odin. From the start, Courtney had vehemently opposed the execution method, and the others were the sort to follow after her like baby ducklings. Even now, there was no trust between the two sides.
So Odin would just have to plan for betrayal. Perhaps Darius had deleted the conversation because he was in on it.
Disappointing.
But, as painful as it was, a new robot could always be built. Perhaps it was time to put D4R1U5 out of commission. What should the next one be named? M4TH1LD4 perhaps?
And yet, as Odin searched for the programming that had gone into D4R1U5, foolish sentimentality kept the mouse from actually clicking the button to delete it.
There were too many memories there. As long as he didn't do anything too drastic, he could remain. As soon as it came time, though...
Odin thought of the guns stashed in the Underwing. Darius might be able to keep the turrets from shooting him, but a manual gun with no connection to the web would destroy him as easily as it would destroy a human.
And Odin knew exactly where all of D4R1U5's critical hardware was located.
Darius couldn't get his conversation with Courtney out of his head. Children...were vulnerable, yes. That's why there were so many more laws protecting them. Their capacity for good judgement had not yet fully developed. That was why they had guardians, to make those judgements until the children were old enough to make them themselves.
And...abuse would further cloud a human's judgement.
All of this was true. It was all empirically proven. It was common knowledge. Children and adults lived in vastly different worlds.
And he'd considered Ida a part of the adult world, while he was part of the child world.
But...if what Courtney said was true, then Ida was a child who needed to be protected. It seemed so obvious now. She was so small. She needed his help to even sit in some of the taller chairs. The reason he did all the cooking was because Ida couldn't do it herself.
Yes. Children who tried to cook could easily injure themselves. That was why Darius had to do it. Because Ida was too small and too vulnerable to do it herself.
He glanced beside him, where Ida was sound asleep. She was so small. So fragile. And he'd unfairly pinned his expectations of a guardian on her. A child forced to be a guardian for another could develop problems later on.
So maybe Courtney was the better adult to follow. Odin apparently couldn't be trusted, whoever he was.
Darius gently pushed a wisp of hair out of Ida's face. Everything Courtney had told him should have been obvious from the start.
And yet...
"Darius, I need help with this. The player character keeps sliding after they leave the ice surface. What am I doing wrong?"
She did complicated work. She did sophisticated work. He had no doubt she knew what she was talking about when it came to game development. And she always projected an aura of being in charge, of knowing what to do.
Sure, unexpected things would throw her for a loop, but she never threw any kind of childish tantrum, and quickly pivoted whenever things didn't go her way. She...acted like an adult as far as he could tell.
Which had to be a sign of severe trauma. Children who experienced that could grow up far too fast, and what else could explain it?
Something bugged him at the back of his mind, but Darius ignored it. Ida was precious to him. He'd protect her. Even if it meant defying her.
"Congratulations. You're the only one who won't leave me."
The vague scraps of data associated those words with a hug. She'd hugged him, then pulled back with that sarcastic smile of hers.
The only one who wouldn't leave her. So Odin had probably left her down here by herself with him. Where was Odin? Probably the upper levels of Arx. Darius had never seen any evidence of him in the Underwing itself, or of anyone who lived here that he didn't know. Every part of the Underwing was open to him via security cameras. Only bedrooms and bathrooms were off limits, and no one could live exclusively in those two rooms, without even entering a hallway.
Darius laid down on his side and gently held Ida's tiny hand. It was best to have her close. And, while he waited for her to finish sleeping, he could dig through whatever data existed in the Underwing to find something - anything - on Odin.
Because according to Courtney, Joey, Cleo and Sawyer, Ida needed to be protected from Odin most of all.
