<P>"A conspiracy?" Tiberius was beginning to sober up, and things still weren't making much sense.
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<P>"I understand that this is a lot to take in right now," said Carson. "I wish I had the time to properly ease you into this, but I don't. The surgery took longer than expected."
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<P>"How long have I been here?" He had been positive that no more than a day had passed since he'd arrived. Then again, his memory was no longer to be trusted.
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<P>"Weeks, I'm afraid. The world situation has only deteriorated. Were you aware, Tiberius, that the whole of global communications has become entirely centralized?" Tiberius shook his head. "The hub linking it all together was known as Aquinas. It was located in the United States, in a military installation called Area 51. J.C. Denton destroyed the Aquinas hub. The fallout was cataclysmic.
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<P>"You see, every major communications system in the world was part of a global network wired through Aquinas. When the entire network went down, well, nothing worked anymore. Power systems, lights, public transit lines, everything. It all ceased to function." Carson gestured around him. "This is one of the few places on Earth that has any electricity at all. We've built our own network, and none too soon. We knew of the possibility that J.C. Denton would do something like this. We were prepared."
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<P>"Where do I come into all this? I mean, I've never even heard of any of this. Why do you need me?"
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<P>"Denton's actions constitute a grave error in judgment. We seek to undo this mistake. Denton acted in order to halt the conspiracy's leader, Bob Page, from merging with an artificial intelligence that would have ruled the world." The name Bob Page triggered a memory in Tiberius's mind. "Wary of Page's plan, we spent years working in the shadows, constructing our own A.I. Now, the time has come that it is necessary to activate it, to restore the global communications network. Unfortunately, our unit is incomplete. We were unable to complete construction before the network went down, and the only way we can finish now is with scavenged parts and equipment."