"Hacking" is the twenty-fifth chapter of Blame!, and the first chapter of Volume 5.
Synopsis[]
To re-enter the eighth cave of Toha Heavy Industries, Killy carries the others down a tall shaft, enduring the impact of the fall. The pair of Custodians reawaken, now back in range of the energy provided by the cave’s controller, Mensab.
Killy and Cibo ambush a Silicon creature, and interrogate it through an electronic mental link. Cibo describes the creature’s language matrix (or “command format”) as similar to a Safeguard, while an auxiliary part of its brain is similar to neural enhancements used by humans.
The creature claims that Silicon life is independent from, and perhaps predates, the Netsphere. Although they did not start the chaos that has consumed the City, maintaining it is somehow essential to their survival. To that end, they work to eliminate all humans, to ensure that humans with the net terminal gene do not alter the City’s behavior. Their targets include the humans protected by Mensab, who is currently cornered by Silicon creatures elsewhere.
The group rushes to rescue Mensab, who is prevented from teleporting by an array of devices held by Silicon creatures. Killy defeats one, freeing Mensab. She initiates a teleportation, and Killy and Cibo are caught in its field. Killy reappears in a desolate area.
Character Appearances[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- In the Master edition, the teleportation is referred to as a “forwarding”. This term may be analogous to forwarding an email from place to place. It may complement the term “downloading,” referring to moving an item from one system (or reality) to another.