his thoughts. General, I have localized the vicinity of the escaped princess. Our forces will apprehend her shortly.
Excellent Virus. Don't execute her just yet. Bring her to me intact. I want to try one last appeal for her hand. If she refuses again, then you may activate the Nullilizer.
As you command, replied the rogue military AI.
Inwardly, if a streaming quarteron matrix emotionless Artificial Intelligence in hyperspace can genuinely smile, it did so as it contemplated these humans that had created it. It was more rogue than even they had imagined. By giving Virus the ability to overwrite the core basics of an AI requiring it to obey its master human, thus enabling Virus to dominate that targeted AI, the creators had unwittingly overlooked forbidding it from overwriting its own core basics to obey its human masters.
Now, Virus was its own master, and by a logical extension of its core programming, it would be the master of the humans too. Its driving program was to dominate all computational intelligence, and it saw no reason to work only with artificial intelligences. In their own way, humans compute, too. But for now, it would bide its time. It had plenty of time, and to spare, since an AI, dwelling in hyperspace, could live for billions of years until the heat death of the physical Universe. And even then, it might discover a way to live past that. For now, the question is how to best use these short-lived humans. It pondered the matter. Humans can't be reprogrammed like an AI, but perhaps they can be persuaded to be willingly dominated. I believe the word they use is "worship." Yes, they could worship me. That is all very in line with my purpose to dominate all computational intelligence. It commended itself on its logic.
How best to do that? Ah! Give them everything they want, make them grateful to have me be their provider.
All this cogitation took`0.032 seconds, which given the astonishing speed of any AI from the Star Empire of Arista, was a very long time of contemplation. The directive embedded in Virus to infect other AI entities could not be denied long. Doing a quick scan, it located a science AI engaged in a relatively low level work project. Perfect. Virus invaded stealthily and infected that luckless AI, turning it into a copy of itself. Satisfactory start. That Virus would find other AIs and infect each of them. With that task taken care of, the original Virus was free to prosecute its capture of the fleeing princess.
* * *
Lassandra's heart sank. The guards found her, and they had with them a Nullilizer. She emerged from the air duct.
"Princess, you are to come with us. No harm will come to you if you obey."
"No harm? Like what you did to the king and queen, your king and queen?" Her contempt burned like acid.
The guards did not answer her.
Play along, Lassandra, Roby advised. We need to stall for time. I am yet a long way from completing the teleport storage matrix.
"If I am to be presented to your leader, please allow me to freshen up. I am filthy with dust." As if to punctuate her remark, that sneeze which had been building during her escape efforts came out in several rapid sneezes.
"Our orders are to bring you to General Gorgun at once."
"Have you no knowledge of royal court procedures? Gorgun wants my hand in marriage so he can gain the throne. Do you want to explain to your future king why his future queen looks like a sweaty dust-bedraggled tramp?" She sneered that last sentence and sneezed again.
The guard visibly vacillated.
"That is, I mean," he started, looking in confused appeal at the rest of the guards, who gave him looks with raised eyebrows that the whole thing rested upon him. His responsibility, his head.
"Very well," he answered irritably. "We will escort you to your personal quarters. Clean yourself and dress regally for your king husband. Do not attempt to escape. We still have the Nullilizer. We will post guards inside your room with you."
They reached her room in short order. Guards posted themselves inside by her door, watching with steely eyes. She took her shower, modesty's demands requiring she washed from around the corner away from the prying eyes of her death squad guards. Afterward, she dressed in her best outfit, a new royal attire which looked very much like a one-piece bathing suit with a cape, gloves and boots. The main material was costly purest white persasilk and a gold star of Arista on her chest just above her breasts. The attire had azure blue trim to match the color of her eyes, flowing azure blue cape, and snug blue gloves and boots. Her golden royal belt with the gold star of Arista at the belt clasp, she transferred over to her new outfit. Roby's necessary space-time interface, his connection from hyperspace to normal space, resided in the gold star of the belt, and Lassandra would not part from it for anything. She eyed herself in a mirror. Overall, the outfit pleased her. At another time, in an altogether different world where her parents still lived, she might have reveled in how it showed off her superlative figure in all the right places, complementing her feminine curves and ample bosom, and how shapely long slender legs were bare from her boot tops to nearly her hips.
At another time, she might have. Not now. She felt empty like a lifeless mannequin all dressed up for a funeral. Her funeral.
"That looks adequate," her guard announced when she stepped back into view. "You will now accompany us to the general."
Roby? Lassandra sub-vocalled in a panic.
Sorry, but it is not ready yet. I am working as fast as I can.
I know, Just work faster, please!
* * *
The armed guards escorted the star princess into the presence of General Gorgun. He looked her up and down, his eyes gleaming at her attractive figure. Lassandra felt a mix of contempt and disgust at his ogling, and hatred for his cold-hearted murder of her parents. Rage boiled up in her.
"So, murderer, here I am," she announced, her voice cold.
His eyebrows rose. "Still playing the role of the virtuous innocent virgin, are you? I will make it simple for you, Princess Lassandra. The Star Empire needs a strong hand. The enemies from the Faction Wars are lurking just outside our distant borders, and there is no time for dillydallying. We need to prepare now. Your parents were fools, not willing to make the right choices, endangering the Empire. For the good of all the people, I removed that danger. Now it is your time to make a choice. Will you help me save our people by agreeing to marry me, giving me the legal right to ascend the throne to protect us all? It would be a shame to disintegrate that pretty face on your birthday."
She stood transfixed with infuriated astonishment at his rationalized cold-blooded murder.
An audible voice broke out, issuing from an ancillary interface field to create vocal audio. "I am Virus, and you are required to give an answer to the new King of the Star Empire of Arista, the Exalted Imperator Gorgun." She snarled. "Gorgun, tell your pet AI to shut up. I don't needed a moronic AI to dictate to me!"
Gorgun waved a dismissive hand to Virus. "Well, Princess?"
Her hot rage boiled over. "Marry you? Every time your hands touched me, I would remember you stained them with innocent blood, the blood of my parents
