Kinsmen 01 - Silver Shark

sprouting tentacles and tusks, it's likely an psycher."
    Claire paused to make sure she had their attention. "If you see a psycher, do not engage. He will kill you. If you see one, and he gives chase, you must run away as fast as you can and disconnect as soon as you are able. Remember, you can only disconnect within a short distance of the hub. Don't be afraid to lead a psycher to the hub. We will destroy it after the mission. Do you understand?"
    Heads nodded.
    "It's highly likely that you may see me as something terrifying as well. During the mission, I may change my shape in reaction to threats. Don't be alarmed."
    "Will you grow tentacles and tusks?" Saim asked, with a hint of humor in his eyes.
    "If I have to. We will be going into a secure sector; however, a security forces laboratory is unlikely to have an active defense. It doesn't contain any of the financial or valuable data hacker psychers usually want, so there is no need for a psycher to actively control it. The laboratory will have passive defenses instead. There are three types. First, the loop traps. These are bionet connections designed to lock a mind into a loop in an effort to keep it from reaching its destination. People typically see these as quick sand, swamp, iced over water, and so on. If you are caught in a loop, do not panic. Clear your mind and imagine yourself escaping. If that doesn't work, picture falling through the trap and landing by the hub. That usually initiates the expelling protocol. You will land by the hub and will have to log off.
    "The second type of trap is the damage events. Falling rocks, geysers of molten lava, mud slides, and so on. These are the coded defenses. They will activate when triggered but they have a limited range. If you are caught in one of these, you will take damage. Sometimes severe damage. Your mind may develop lesions or become 'bruised.' You may see something that looks like a glowing worm or a tangle of luminescent threads. Sometimes the world will abruptly darken or become too bright to see the objects. If you experience visual anomalies after a damage event, you must tell me immediately. Remember that your range is shorter than mine. I can broadcast my thoughts from a large distance, which means you will hear me but I may not hear you. If you take damage and I do not respond, you must log off as soon as possible."
    She waited for everyone to nod.
    "The third type of traps are the chasers. The chasers are the defense entities produced by the AI. They are usually perceived as something alive: dogs, insects, sharks. The chasers will actively pursue you. If a large number of the chasers are destroyed, the AI will sound the perimeter alarm, which will bring a living psycher responsible for the security of the sector on our heads. This is something we want to avoid at all costs."
    "Why?" Saim asked. "I mean can't you just fight him or her off?"
    "Right now all of us are guilty of conspiring to alter data. It is a non-violent offense," Claire said. "If we confront a psycher, I may have to kill her. Terminating a human mind of a Rada citizen is a death sentence for everyone in this room."
    Sudden silence claimed the room.
    Claire was the first to break it. "This is why I need you. Your purpose is to follow me until we encounter chasers. As soon as chasers find us, each of you must engage one of them and lead them away. You must scatter and take them with you to keep the AI from sounding the alarm. You don't have to fight. You just have to run and keep them occupied to let me accomplish my task without having to destroy them. Even if all you do is make circles around the hub, as long as they are following you, I will be able to do everything I need to do."
    "How will we know when you're done and it's safe to log off?" Charles asked.
    "You will hear a signal. If you don't hear anything or if you become lost, don't worry, I will come and get you. One more thing: don't get bitten. We'll be facing Security Force chasers. Their bite will leave a mark on your mind. Eventually it will dissipate - usually in a few weeks - but until then if you log into the bionet, anyone there with you will instantly know that you've tried to break the law. If you are unsure, now is the time to take a step back."
    Nonna swallowed and got up. "I'm sorry. I can't. I just can't."
    "It's alright," Claire told her. "Nobody here will judge you. It's fine."
    The young woman backed out of the circle and went into the other room.
    "Anyone