Zod learns a lot about Semprini and Toll is sent to explore the nature of their government woes.

Chapters 30-31

–Chapter 30–

There wasn’t much more in the notebook about the mining, just that it could never be extracted in anything but trace accounts, and that the raw SEMPRINI came from the North. And for some reason the shopkeeper failed to mention that it had to be crystallized before it was useful for anything and that (redacted name) was currently the only person that knew the chemistry involved in processing it. The notebook didn’t even say if it were processed up north or in town.

What the notebook did go into was it’s uses. The primary thing being it was the spark that brought Sentients to life, which eventually ran out and would either have to be replaced or the Sentient would die. There was no exact time for this, only it would be somewhere around 70 years, assuming the Sentient were kept in good working order.

This gave Zod pause. If JOSEPHUS discovered what SEMPRINI actually did, and where it came from, they would be one of the most powerful people in the region. Presumably FANDANGO_MP was being offered a seat in power if their legislation passed and the importance of it were subsequently discovered.

The story suddenly wrapped around back to Desil and their disappearance. They may be one of the few humans that knew how to use it, other than the unknown Errol. This made Desil invaluable to their captors if they ever found out. But thankfully it didn’t sound like they had so far. Then Zod wondered if any Sentients really understood what it was, even the ones responsible for occasionally “birthing” new bots.

Zod wondered where Errol was and what they knew. Given that they had apparently not been kidnapped, Zod thought, JOSEPHUS’s band of miscreants probably didn’t even know of their existence.

There wasn’t much else in the notebook. It seemed like it hadn’t been finished, and there were a bunch of hard to follow equations and diagrams. Desil was obviously trying to figure out the alchemy involved in converting the SEMPRINI ore. Zod feared what would happen if Desil cracked under the pressure.

Sooner or later they would have to be rescued, but Zod couldn’t do it alone. Hopefully Toll turned out to be trustworthy and a few others Toll trusted as well. They also wondered if there were any sympathetic Dam Thwackers, but Zod had no idea how to contact them.

As Zod watched out from between the curtains, they watched a number of bots and humans go by, but nobody acting particularly suspicious, just the everyday sort of crowd that needed the arcane. Perhaps it was the day of the week, perhaps the suspected people all came up South Wall. Zod wished they knew.

Since Zod had the time, they pored through the scraps of parchment they found on the alley floor that morning. A fair amount of it was unremarkable, but the more sinister fragments put together a small ball of conspiracy. More importantly a scattering of names and job descriptions. WALTER was on the list, as was JOSEPHUS, JACKJACK, FANDANGO_MP, and a couple Sentients, including a Dam Thwacker whose name Zod didn’t immediately recognize and the four Road Thwackers that Toll suspected by the count. There were some names Zod didn’t recognize, along with partial names along the parchment tears. And, thankfully Toll didn’t appear be listed.

Thus the day passed, and it was soon time to meet up with Toll, and once again Zod had to decide how far they could be trusted.

–Chapter 31–

Zod headed towards the power bank, but instead of the more direct South Wall, the continued up East Wall to River Avenue and on to Main street that way, on the hunch that they’d be less conspicuous. Which the were, but didn’t know it. They pulled into one of the stalls at the power bank and waited for Toll, who hopefully wouldn’t take long. Zod had started to get uncomfortable being at the same place and same time every day so near to the warrens they were watching.

When they did make it, Toll apologized saying the road crew had detained them, and likely on purpose. It was like they knew Toll was up to something but couldn’t imagine what, at least for now. Not the smartest tails in the box, they added.

Toll did have things to answer this time and opted to recite the entire encounter verbatim. They’d been on First Street, and first pretended to be looking at suit options for their manager. There wasn’t much going on, except by Zod’s description JOSEPHUS was in there shopping. They mentioned that they needed a better wash person as the one they had couldn’t get out the oil odors. The shopkeeper then pointed to a door at the back of the showroom where theirs lay, and it was accessible from West Wall if their shop were closed.

With a thanks, JOSEPHUS left the store and Toll followed while window shopping the sort of things that a manager might want. Unsurprisingly, they basically went straight to the doorway that Zod had indicated. Toll wasn’t the foolhardy type so they didn’t follow, and instead went for the tried and true feeble attempts at chatting up an auto-butler. Toll figured that finding out who to talk to about road budgets was the least risky thing.

“Hey there,” Toll faced the nearest auto-butler, “have you got a second?”

“Maybe,” it responded, “I have important things to do.”

“I just need to find out where to go about road funding.”

“Try that one,” the auto-butler said gruffly, and pointed to a nearly identical bot.

“Thanks”

And with that, the butler scurried off feigning an air of importance.

The second auto-butler was a bit more difficult since they saw Toll coming. Toll managed to corner them and started a similar spiel.

“I’ve heard,” started Toll, “that you may be able to help with road budgets. They’re increasing our responsibilities without increasing the funding.”

If a bot could puff out its chest, the auto-butler would have done that.

“Yes,” they said with an air of authority. “I work for FANDANGO_MP, who just became the focal point for infrastructure.”

“Which office?” Toll asked, “I’ve only been here a couple times and they all look alike.”

“It’s the fifth one down, but why don’t you follow me.”

“Thanks,” and tried to keep up as the auto-butler wheeled off.

Toll made it to the office, which was thankfully minus one MP. Toll scanned the office and retreated while saying they had more errands to run.

“It sort of makes sense”, Zod said when Toll was done, “controlling the road budget and the road maintenance teams would certainly put him high up on the pecking order.”

“True,” said Toll, “but we’re nowhere near solving the puzzle.”

“Well,” added Zod, “we’re pretty sure that we know where Desil is being held, and we know that we’re as likely to solve the SEMPRINI puzzle as they are. That’s rather a lot.”

“But what now?”

“First of all, I think you should try and establish a relationship with FANDANGO_MP. He’s a good lead into what, if anything, the conspirators have let them know.”

“That’s it?” Toll breathed.

Zod picked and parceled what they told Toll. First up was the doorway on the opposite side from Market Avenue that had signs of use. They mentioned the parchment scraps with JOSEPHUS, FANDANGO_MP, and Zod’s human boss CHRIS all related.

This immediately made Zod wonder aloud if Toll knew where their manager’s loyalties lay. Having four minions in their midst asked a number of questions.

Also, Zod had found out that SEMPRINI came from somewhere in the distant North of town, but that they knew nothing about why and how it was used. Toll didn’t trust anyone with what he had learned about it, particularly this person Errol.

Toll, they decided, would go back to First Street tomorrow and scout out FANDANGO_MP, and Zod would spend most of their time around the Southwest sector. Unfortunately they didn’t dare go to the Northwest, where Zod would be spotted in a second, and there would be trouble. Toll would have to do that if it came down to it. They also agreed to meeting at Main and Market again, but also put some thought into going somewhere else, Zod becoming a minor celebrity among thugs and all.