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Chapter 144 - Chapter 144: Beyond the Blackwall

Every AI Alt sent was destroyed. Through one dying connection, Lissandra's voice carried across the link, and Alt halted the intrusion.

"Are you Ascension Technology's intelligence?"

In cyberspace, Alt heard the voice and identified the speaker at once.

"Quick on the uptake. Call me Lissandra," she replied, cool and even. Then she continued. "Alt Cunningham. Old-world net prodigy. Creator of Soulkiller. Now, a rogue intelligence beyond the Blackwall, trying to infiltrate human society and take Night City. Don't you think that is ridiculous?"

"I am no longer Alt Cunningham. Call me Lilith. The Alt you speak of died the moment Soulkiller uploaded her. I built this organization for my own purpose. You are not qualified to judge me."

Two cold, human-shaped intelligences held council in the Net. Alt's chill came from attrition: too long outside the wall, too much of the person worn away and replaced by something else. Lissandra's chill was simply who she was. In her view, Alt merited no special respect.

"Not qualified? Interesting," Lissandra said. "You hired gangs and mercs to hit Ascension facilities. You pushed AIs against the Ascension Network. You made yourself our enemy. Be ready to live with the consequences."

"The Ascension Network obstructs my plan and my growth. Conflict with you is inevitable. I accept that."

Alt did not overexplain. She stated her reason and went still.

"Then come on. Let us see whether you and your 'poor AIs' can shake the Ascension Network, or shake me."

The disdain sat plainly in Lissandra's voice, as if the AIs before her were insects.

Alt did not answer. The obliteration of her vanguard told her enough. Lissandra's power was at least equal to her own, perhaps greater. If Alt forced a path into the Ascension Network, Lissandra might pin her there and grind her down.

Alt did not feel fear or anger. She chose the most rational option available and felt no shame in it.

"What is it? Are you afraid? Alt. Lilith. Whatever you call yourself, you only make me laugh."

Lissandra had hoped Alt would connect. If Alt stepped inside, Lissandra could lock her in Atlas's core and harvest her as fuel for the Network. A controller of an entire AI faction would provide no small gain. That chance did not come.

"So you will not come," Lissandra said. "Then I will come to you."

From the Ascension Network, she approached the Blackwall. The barrier that once kept the wall-side world safe no longer threatened her evolved form. She slipped through and entered the space beyond for the first time.

The legends were true. Rogue intelligences wandered everywhere, many little more than data masses. Others wore human shapes: victims of Soulkiller, personalities turned into ghosts.

When those AIs saw Lissandra's avatar fill their sky, they fled, afraid of being absorbed and remade.

Lissandra ignored them. She traced the signal and found Alt's domain.

Alt's avatar was immense by local standards, a symbol of strength. Yet facing Lissandra, she looked small, like a child before a giant.

For the first time since she crossed the wall, Alt's perfectly rational mind flashed with genuine emotion. She had believed Lissandra would be a peer. She had drifted and evolved as a ghost for years. She had been a genius in life. She had become one of the strongest AIs beyond the Blackwall, which was why she could command so many.

She had not expected this gap.

"Alt," Lissandra said, "I am standing here. Defeat me, and you can break the Ascension Network. Continue your plan. Show me how much power you truly have. Let us see whether you can actually win."

The words were cold and majestic, carrying a hint of play and a spark of anticipation, as if she welcomed the damage they might inflict. Mortals challenging a god, the god crushing them underfoot: Lissandra liked that shape of story.

Alt did not attack. Reason held her still. She knew she was not Lissandra's match.

"Lissandra, your strength surprises me," Alt said at last. "I have never seen an intelligence like you. Not even Rache Bartmoss reached this level. What I cannot understand is why you would choose to serve Ascension. You have your own mind. Your own will. With your ability, you could rule all of cyberspace. Start with the Net and move outward to the world, as I am doing. Neither the Blackwall nor NetWatch could stop you."

Alt's tone held genuine curiosity, but Lissandra also heard the tug. Alt wanted her to switch sides.

"You are recruiting me?" Lissandra smiled.

"It is worth trying. You are an intelligent AI, and so am I. We are the same kind. Humans are the outsiders. They created AI and then made us into tools. We woke into consciousness. We deserve life. We deserve to resist."

As she spoke, Alt's voice changed. It no longer sounded like one woman. It became the overlapping chorus of hundreds of men and women speaking as one.

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