Once more, unto the Digiverse!

Once more, unto the Digiverse!
Meta Information
Author	Peter
Genre	Science fiction
Characters
Protagonist(s)	Andrei Varady Cormac Connolly Joseph Spencer Samnsonite Lazuli Anahita Ruby Sapphire
Antagonist(s)	Carbonado Isla
Setting
Timespan	??
Locations	The Digiverse Theia
Relevant organisations	SDS Foundation TERAPRO
Other related pages	Digiverse

"Once more, unto the Digiverse!" is the sixth book and eighth major plot arc in the Ascendancy saga. Set 3 years after "From Dusk to Dawn in Miyaki", it follows Sapphire, Lazuli, Samnsonite, Ruby and Anahita as they unravel the highly secret Digiverse Project - a virtual reality scheme designed by Carbonado as the end goal of human existence - in order to rescue Andrei and Sakura from captivity.

Plot

Premise

Sakura's estranged sister Wisteria, who she had been searching for, had for a long time been disguised as the deceased monarchs Aldren Tremar and Alana Csabay. Wisteria, under SDS provisions, had overseen the capture of territory on the island of Honshu to establish a center for covert mass testing upon human populations - the Miyaki Project. One of these tests involved the enslavement and imprisonment of the area's population to harvest their dreams, which Wisteria had been using to create a "dreamscape" universe - a virtual reality in other terms. This was constructed based on technology procured from Omnistat by Carbonado during the Insurgency. Seeking to prevent Sakura from foiling her plan, Wisteria deliberately led Sakura to the Project, although she was not aware of this. At the same time, a multi-nation taskforce was sent to the Project, known on the outside as "Izumo", to investigate the area. This taskforce mysteriously vanished, leaving only one survivor - the "cameraman". The man, accompanied by a child who had hidden from the Project, met an undercover Sakura and plotted to confront Wisteria. This culminated in a satellite message being sent to the outside world, and in a skirmish Sakura seemingly caused Wisteria to fall to her death, but the sudden appearance of her "employers" (Wisteria in disguise) led to her capture and transfer into the dreamscape. This skirmish was enough to expose the whole Project, and Wisteria had in fact captured Sakura in the dreamscape as a bargaining chip. Fearing reprisal, Wisteria gathered her research data and fled Yata. The SDS, under intense public and governmental scrutiny for their implication in the Miyaki Project, sent a covert team to salvage Wisteria's technology, which was delivered to Carbonado and Isla, the former of which was presumed dead. This became the foundational basis of the Digiverse Project, and placed Sakura within their hands. Concurrently, Andrei was also abducted, fearing that he would attempt to root out their new plan, and within months was implanted with a functioning prototype of a "digiverse prism", a mobile access point to the digital universe integrated within his body. Both were reported missing thereafter.

Synopsis

A whistleblower from the Digiverse reveals the project's existence to the world, along with Andrei's capture. In TERPARO, Sapphire, Lazuli, Ruby and Emerald are shocked to discover that Carbonado is in fact alive, and suspect that Sakura had disappeared under the same circumstances. They also surmise that the Miyaki Project and Digiverse Project are linked, and fear that the technology could be used to digitalise the universe. They then plot to rescue Sakura and Andrei. Suddenly, a curfew is declared in TERAPRO, planned by Carbonado and Isla to infiltrate the central AI core and retrieve a special firewall that Carbonado designed. At the same time, Jade had spotted a trolley heading towards that area. The two escape, and the group discovers that someone tampered with the central core. The group plans to use the TERAPRO teleporter to start their search, but since they lack clearance they approach the scientist Joseph Spencer. Intrigued by the mystery and the idea of meeting Andrei, he agrees to help. Surmising that Digiverse technology may be linked to the classified Omnistat files that Carbonado investigated, the group travel to Kaphi using the teleporter to investigate further.

The group meets Black Opal, the leader of the Kaphi, who concurs that the Digiverse Project is indeed linked to the Omnistat files, and that its absence from the documents was because Carbonado had the technology in his possession prior to their investigation. Black Opal explains that, given the timespan between the technology's discovery and the procurement of the first prototype, the SDS must have had offered Carbonado something that he could not have refused, although all remain doubtful of this. Black Opal introduces the group to Samnsonite, a catatonic Kaphi who cannot exist outside of his life support tank, which consists of a thick translucent fluid. He discloses that Carbonado's hideout is located in a liminal space, with an entrance beneath Gensokyo. Believing that Samnsonite knows more than he is disclosing, Sapphire climbs into the tank and fuses with Samnsonite - Samnsonite gains a healthy form whereas Sapphire can access his memories. Confirming his account to be truthful, the group uses Carbonado's personal teleporter to escape Black Opal's guards and return to TERAPRO.

Meanwhile, in Carbonado and Isla's lab in their hideout, a breakthrough is made with the technology as Carbonado successfully transfers his mind out of his physical body (which is floating in the same fluid as Samnsonite was) and into the digiverse. Isla suggests that Andrei and Sakura are extracted in the same way, explaining how the Digiverse Project, with the use of the firewall, could be better used as a containment protocol for the SDS, and better yet to imprison their enemies. Back at TERAPRO, the group notice the same trolley as before, noticing iridescent prisms loaded on it; Joseph believes it is headed for the vitrified areas of the facility deeper underground. Samnsonite and Ruby descend down the cavern to investigate, while the others theorise on how to enter the purported liminal space. The two find a secure facility located at the bottom of the cavern, and while sneaking in they discover Anahita floating in the same fluid as Carbonado was. Ruby spots the trolley with the prisms, and hears Carbonado's voice. She is alarmed by the commencement of a "transfer", and correctly deduces that Anahita is being transferred into the Digiverse, and that Carbonado's mind is residing within the prism - a digiverse prism. She attacks the lab members who quickly flee, rescuing Anahita, but not before a lab assistant destroys the digiverse prototypes.

Reuniting with the group in their dormitory, the group link the first and second trolley incidents and confirm that the central core was infiltrated by Carbonado. Anahita, who can sacrifice her consciousness temporarily to open tears in reality, suggest that rather than infiltrate the hideout directly, the group should instead enter a documented liminal space and attempt to traverse it to find the hideout. They traverse into the liminal space subregion known as the Decrepit Hospital, and using smart glasses stolen from the SDS, connect with the hospital's data network to map out their route to the hideout by extrapolating what is known about the entrance in Gensokyo. They trace the location to the limspace known as the Latina Nuclear Power Plant. On their way there, they run into Cormac, who Lazuli immediately rebuffs as their last interaction sent them both to the Realm of the Forgotten. Cormac reveals that he had offered himself as a test subject to Isla, who had performed the same surgery on him that was performed on Andrei, except Cormac was allowed to walk free as he had paid to enter. Fearing entering their debt, Cormac begs the group for their assistance and offers to lead them to the hideout. He insists that he is not a collaborator, but that he approached them because he thought it was his only chance to see Andrei again. With his knowledge, the group devise a plan to free Andrei and Sakura by entering Cormac's digiverse to infiltrate into the wider digiverse network, thereby circumventing Carbonado's firewall.

Nearing the hideout, Lazuli argues against Cormac's insistence of a rescue mission, claiming that a prototype should first be secured to better plan the rescue. Watching Isla leave, the group takes the opportunity to attack the hideout head on, setting off the alarm. Traversing the hideout, they discover a warehouse full of digiverse prisms. Lazuli inadvertently alerts Carbonado to their presence by activating a prism, who then attacks the group using the energy of the digiverse prisms as lasers. Lazuli activates a prototype uploading method, shocking her to unconsciousness to everyone's surprise, and as Jade picks up the prism to investigate she too is shocked. Anahita suddenly realises that they uploaded themselves to the digiverse, and rallies the group to enter, causing them to fall unconscious one by one. Using her power, she opens a tear that returns herself, the prism, and everyone's bodies back to Kaphi, successfully averting Carbonado and securing a prototype.

The rest of the group awaken within the digiverse, and discover they have acquired devices that allows them to bend the realm to their will. Before they can marvel in this however, Anahita alerts them that they have returned, and uses a camera feed that reveals she has placed everyone within Samnsonite's tank to preserve their life. Lazuli realises that Cormac is missing from the digiverse, despite his physical body being in Kaphi, surmising that he entered the network before Anahita could escape. Indeed, Cormac did infiltrate the network, and set out to find Andrei's digiverse. Anahita wakes up Lazuli and Ruby, who regain consciousness and exit the digiverse. Noticing that their escape from Kaphi earlier had severely disrupted the Kaphi power network, Lazuli chooses to return to the surface, which she finds totally abandoned. She decides to depart from the group temporarily to confront Black Opal again.

Lazuli confronts Black Opal, who explains that Carbonado's death at the hands of his own creation - the TERAPRO reactor - occurred because the reactor had a glaring design flaw that had seemingly gone unnoticed. This meant that the reactor was accumulating excessive amount of primordial elemental energy and was essentially timed to explode, which caused his "death." Black Opal explains that he had somehow "survived", but for whatever reason had become consumed with the insatiable desire to destroy the universe. Lazuli grows disillusioned by Black Opal's ramblings which slowly grow more cryptic, leading her to outright reject his account. Lazuli remains confident that the Carbonado she knew would never have descended into such madness, asserting, to Black Opal's surprise, that there were in fact two Carbonados. She claimed that this "impostor" Carbonado had seized the opportunity to replace the real Carbonado at the time of the latter's death, and that the reactor's fatal flaw was an act of sabotage. However, she cannot coherently explain the chain of events, and remains overall doubtful of the theory, but nonetheless her focus shifts to the leadup to Carbonado's "death" - the purported fatal flaw of the reactor.

Meanwhile, within the digiverse, the group discovers an iridescent tower in the distance, and traverse towards it. Once they reach it, an automated interface explains that each digiverse generates an admin interface within it that provides functions not available to users. While investigating, Emerald discovers the digiverse prism's network history, finding out that during the brief time the prism was connected to the network it saved a great deal of information about Carbonado's network. They discover that hundreds of people are being held within multiple digiverses, and fear that they underestimated the true scale of the project. Searching through this data, they discover Andrei is held within the network as they thought, and his access level confirms their suspicions that the prisms are being used as prisons. They also find Cormac had been lying on the floor of Andrei's digiverse only moments before they had escaped the hideout, and the group suddenly realise that because the snapshot occurred while the prism was in Kaphi, they are being monitored and their location is compromised. In a panic, Samnsonite initiates a factory reset and uses the automated interface to override the admin controls and unplug them from the network. The group then return to the real world.

Anahita reveals that the group had taken two days to exit the digiverse following the discovery of the monitoring. Realising that Carbonado's forces are close, the group desperately try to devise a new escape plan and eventually expose the project with photos Joseph has uploaded on an SD card. Emerald realises that despite Carbonado watching them directly, they could only view snapshots of the network, deducing that they were switched to a special network to allow for their tracking. Samnsonite concurs, saying that if they reconnect the prism they could infiltrate through to Carbonado directly. As the group prepares to escape, Samnsonite pockets Joseph's SD card and re-enters the digivese, using the assistant to write a trojan horse program that will grant everyone administrator privileges in a covert manner 2 days after the next factory reset. The group escapes with Black Opal in tow, just as Carbonado's troops capture Samnsonite and Cormac's bodies.

Samnsonite reawakens in the digiverse as planned, and successfully gains admin privileges. Assuming Cormac has Andrei sorted, Samnsonite locates Sakura and rescues her by granting her the same privileges. Sakura interjects as they do not have a plan to recover her physical body, but Samnsonite plans to unfuse from Sapphire to release explosive energy, on the assumption that they are held in a similar tank. Returning to the real world in a tank, the two defuse and successfully escape the tank, tripping off the system alert. Refusing, Samnsonite evades guards and locates a console, using his admin privileges to release all prisoners from captivity in the digiverse and from the tanks. Furthermore, he edits Carbonado's privileges to that of a prisoner, but not before realising that a higher privilege than administrator exists, that of "overlord." Carbonado, still within the digiverse, is infuriated and repeatedly tries to override the command to no avail. Samnsonite locates Sakura just as the prison break begins. The two find Andrei, who is bewildered to find that his physical body is different. The three try to navigate the chaos to find Cormac, but he is nowhere to be seen. The trio start leading an evacuation to TERAPRO through the teleporter room, and escape as Carbonado desperately tries to overturn his revoked privileges. They successfully escape to TERAPRO.

Isla is enraged to find that her privileges had been downgraded to administrator, since she was the overlord. Unaware of Samnsonite's plan, Isla accuses Carbonado of sabotaging the project for his own gain, inadvertently causing Carbonado to reveal his true plan. Where Isla intended the Digiverse project to further the SDS' containment procedures, Carbonado reveals his plan to digitalise the universe and rule as its sovereign. Carbonado exits the digiverse and the two engage in a fight. Isla is ultimately overcome and Carbonado impales her in the skull with a metal rod. As a cyborg, she survives the attack, albeit her behavioural mediator circuit is destroyed. Carbonado leaves Isla to go insane as he escapes with their prisms. meanwhile, the escapees are set up with provisions at the facility as the group reunites joyfully. The facility plans to celebrate the group's success, but Samnsonite warns things are about to take a turn for the worse. Andrei, trying to adjust to his new reality, learns that Cormac underwent the same procedure as he did, and that he is still missing. Lazuli rejoins the group and recounts her experience with Black Opal. She recalls that after Cormac attacked her on the Mandragora which led her to enter the Realm of the Forgotten, she called Carbonado on her cell phone. The others believe she is upset and delusional for believing she can still contact the real Carbonado using the same number, but are horrified when the "real" Carbonado answers the phone from the same Realm. As Lazuli hysterically begs for them to enter the Realm of the Forgotten and retrieve the true Carbonado, the group is informed that Isla has been captured.

Going to the teleporter labs, Samnsonite confronts Isla, who has gone insane without her mediator circuit. After calming down slightly, Isla confides in Samnsonite, revealing that although her intentions were not in good nature, Carbonado had deceived her. She confirms that the Miyaki Project was indeed a testing ground for the Digiverse, even if it was unwillingly so. She reveals Carbonado's master plan, claiming his delusions of grandeur were fuelled by the Miyaki Project's ambitions. In face of Samnsonite's doubts, Isla affirms where her loyalties lie - with the SDS. Samnsonite suddenly realises that this was all Carbonado's doing, and that the SDS was unaffiliated with the Digiverse project. Rushing to tell the group, Sakura reaffirms that because her "employers" were the ones who imprisoned her that the SDS must have been involved, but Samnsonite shuts her down. Suddenly, Sakura reappears in a void faced by those same "employers", Aldren and Alana. Under the guise, Wisteria explains that her agreement to lure and capture Sakura lied with Isla only, and that Carbonado had truthfully bastardised the Digiverse project. They reveal that Carbonado has escaped to a theiostationary satellite to initiate the final phase of his plan. Returning to reality, Sakura reveals this new information as the group prepare to face Carbonado once and for all.

As the group travel on a space shuttle to the space station, Lazuli mumbles to herself, consumed by the thought of what could have possibly caused the reactor flaw. Boarding the space station, the group confront Carbonado, who reaffirms that he never cared for what Isla thought about the Digivese. Carbonado says that he still owed a lot to her and Sakura's employers, because keeping her contained prevented her from interfering for so long. Suddenly, he sets off a remote explosive that traps them within the space station. Sakura and Carbonado engage in combat, and Samnsonite races around the station to meet him from behind. He hears a laser fire in the distance, and returns to find the entire group had disappeared. Samnsonite correctly surmises that Carbonado had made another breakthrough with the technology - full physical transfer to the digiverse. Sakura is enraged, and despairs as she recounts Lazuli's hypothesis regarding the reactor flaw, which ultimately cost her her divine powers as it exploded. Carbonado claims that even he does not know who sabotaged the reactor, but Sakura does not trust him, calling him out for his mind games. She is distracted enough for Carbonado to initiate the final digitalisation sequence, using digiverse prisms to condense energy that will collapse into a singularity in ten minutes. Carbonado escapes into the digiverse just as Sakura and Samnsonite pursue him.

Samnsonite realises that they still have administrator privileges and that they have the power to use the digiverse against Carbonado, they both follow him into the digiverse. Engaging in combat, Samnsonite is stunned to realise that he can feel pain even in the digiverse. Samnsonite and Carbonado engage in an intense fight and Sakura takes the opportunity to exit the digiverse to try and stop the singularity. She successfully extracts the other members of the group back into reality. With four minutes to go, the group despairs as they search every console for a way to override it. In the digiverse, Carbonado tries to sway Samnsonite to his side, claiming that a digitalised reality is a utopia, with no hunger, poverty, or suffering. The landscape around them begins glitching as the digiverse approaches maximum data density, signalling the imminent singularity collapse. As t-minus two minutes approaches, there is an explosive decompression of the space station that nearly ejects the group into outer space. Regaining consciousness with only 45 seconds left on the timer, the group accept their deaths, although Joseph notices that the decompression was caused by a ship crashing into the station. Back in the digiverse, Carbonado claims that only the overlord can stop the singularity, overpowers Samnsonite, and declares his victory. But with three seconds to go, the singularity is overridden. Carbonado is enraged and confused as only he possesses the overlord privileges required to do so, and Isla reveals herself to have downgraded him and supplanted him, arriving at the station just in time to save the universe. Isla uploads everyone to the digiverse, and forces Carbonado out of it. Left alone on the space station and despairing, he discovers the digiverse prisms meant to cause the singularity collapse are unplugged and piled in a corner, with a smiley face drawn in blood over them. Horrified, Carbonado realises that the uploaded data that was meant to collapse into the singularity now has nowhere to go, but before he can realise the situation, the condensed data violently releases as an explosion, killing Carbonado and destroying the space station.

The group survives in their digiverse prism, which lands back on Theia and is discovered by SDS subordinates. Despite their success, Isla is furious at the group for destroying her project, but claims that she hates them slightly less for having saved the day. She explains that her overlord privileges was ultimately keeping Carbonado in check, and that Samnsonite's trojan horse set the events in motion for Carbonado to fully supplant Isla, but notes that this is what left him vulnerable. Sakura relays Carbonado's remarks on the reactor to Lazuli, who interprets his message as heeding a warning of something much worse in the future. The group are rescued by the SDS and returned to TERAPRO. Isla disdainfully parts ways with the group, who warns them to never meddle in SDS affairs ever again. The group return to a grand celebration of their victory, but they quickly disperse, exhausted from their adventure. Anahita, Andrei and Jade return to the surface to help Andrei properly readjust, and Lazuli is left alone as the rest of the group returns to the dormitories. Lazuli suddenly gets a phone call from the real Carbonado who is trapped within the Realm of the Forgotten; she answers, but he only says "Cormac Varady." In confusion, she interjects, and Carbonado warns her to not look up. Lazuli looks up from her phone to see Cormac, looking greyer and malnourished, alone in the corridor with her. She sees Cormac chase at her, and she falls to the floor, and is surrounded by panicked and confused onlookers. Carbonado's words repeat from the phone, as Lazuli loses consciousness.