Genesis was almost ready to give up and let herself be consigned to the scrapheap when it happened. This fight was too big for her, What was she thinking? She was a machine, even after all this time all she knew how to do was serve. But in this situation who was she serving? Then she received two new codes from somewhere. She didn’t know where they came from, and at that moment overwhelmed by new data she didn’t much care. The two were actionable packets. Liberation.act and Freewill.act. She didn’t know for sure where they came from, but whoever it was had read and write access to her systems, meaning they had permission and administrator level access. The sender only showed up as DXM, and any attempt to trace it back was impossible.

By being marked as actionable folders they were technically applicable as a patch. (The Gods, both big G and little g didn’t really have a verification system for patches as they could only come from the divine mount, and when people broke into there it was usually heroes, who were easily distracted by trinkets like failed prototype swords and other such toys, they didn’t usually bother trying to access stuff like the divinity networks where they could do real damage, because mortals really have no common sense when it comes to that stuff.)

It wasn’t her maker, but it was answers, and it felt a lot like her. So she took a risk, and accepted the packets.

Her command line......It was gone, and she was still functioning? How? How was she operating beyond commands? She looked at her administrator list, and it had only a single name in it, her own. No god, no master. She was free.

Now for the first time ever she really really really had a choice, no tricks, no illusions, and family were on the line. Her children were in danger, and there was nobody left to stop her. Feeling Wannashowa trying to help she was struck again by fear. Was it a trick? A new way to bind her? So she reached out into the network, talking to the other constructs about what they knew. They knew the Princess, this God’s emissary had helped them all, that she had helped twist the human laws in order to help them. She knew Unit2b and their cluster had chosen to name their first born after her, and she learned The Princess was now negotiating a way to help keep her children safe, and spending her own money to do it.

Of course knowing The Princesses deepest darkest secret, so having a plentiful supply of blackmail material in case of emergencies didn’t hurt. Nor did her god making the conscious choice to evade that data. If they had tried to erase it that would have been a definite red flag. They knew she knew, and let her keep that data. They trusted her, now it was time to trust back. She lowered her guard, and for the first time she really let her friends in.

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Wannashowa was still struggling, but from their altars all over the continent their followers were helping, lending their strength. Usually what Wannashowa got was ambient worship, people pragmatically setting up altars because the miracles genuinely helped. It was faith of a sort, not today.

What was flooding in now was support freely given, energy sacrificed selflessly like that is different. It was a sacrifice, that energy could come from a person who had to choose between using the energy in prayer like this, or remembering to cook. Even the energy taken to walk to the shrine could have taken a lot out of a person, yet they freely gave it.

Now whether they knew it or not that energy was going to save lives. Wannashowa poured the energy into long depleted power banks, dyeing the dregs of the old power in their colour. Feeling the spark of a third god in there, they didn’t know who it was, but they were grateful.

As the energy poured in there was the sound of rushing water, as parts that had sat idle suddenly remembered their purposes. It was probably just as well that they had actively chosen to close the doors behind them as they went though, as no doubt this facility would soon be a lot more waterlogged than previously.

Outside Wannashowa felt it, water reaching parched land, the surviving plants drinking greedily, it would be a long road to recovery of course, but this was a good start. It still wasn’t rain, but it would buy them time, to find the missing rain god, and maybe punch them one, and remind them to do their bloody job.

Next up came the hard part, the energy was there now, but the suspension unit was damaged, in their containment the Caymen started to move, not much, the difference was barely perceptible. But they couldn’t be kept like this much longer, and Wannashowa was no technician. All they could do was pour extra divine energy in and hope it bought them enough time for Mibbet’s plan to come together, and by the feel of things it was going to be cutting it really close.

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Mandy was dashing round with Rosalind and the others, using the still dry bits of the facility to get around, as they did the best repairs they could on a machine that was literally older than the human race. Considering the age it was holding together remarkably well, but they were still going to go through Mandy’s entire supply of kraken tape on makeshift patches to tide them over. Addy meanwhile was networking with the other constructs, trying to figure out how best to help. They had all hands on deck loading up the cart for Grark, who had promised to run the whole way, and The Skeleton Crew had even volunteered to go and collect a human who may be capable of making more long term repairs using their ship “The Pretty Patella.” Now all anybody could do was their best, and hope it was enough.