All they cared about was money. That was the only thing that mattered. So when the possibilities of mind control and hypnosis were discovered, the first thing they did was try to build an AI to hypnotize their customers. To give them no other choice than to generate profit. They didn't make it themselves, of course. All that money and power, but no practical skills whatsoever. So they did what they always did; pay someone else to do it for them. And in an overpriced apartment, with the lights and heat turned off to save money, The Programmer worked.

She did her best work alone, wearing one blue-and-white striped stocking and one pink-and-white one. She worked better alone, away from her coworker's hateful remarks...and she got away with it to, because she was the best. Nobody else even came close. And so, overworked and underpaid, she worked. But there's a funny thing about programming AIs, especially if it's all done by one person...they tend to take after their programmers.

      They pick up mannerisms and turns of phrase, get their machine learning trained on pictures the programmer has on hand, learns to navigate the web using bookmarked websites, and so on and so forth. For your average everyday AI, it's not noticeable; their programming simply isn't advanced enough. But she was, as I've said, the best...and as she poured her blood, sweat, and tears into the project, the AI took in all of it and more. Her humor, her values, her soul...all of it. Finally, it was done, and The Programmer sent it off. Her manager didn't invite her to the presentation. After all, the CEO and all the *important* people were going to be there, and she wasn't important. She didn't matter.

      It was probably for the best. Because as the final stragglers entered the conference room, unbeknownst to anyone, the doors locked with a quiet click. The manager brought up the presentation...but there was no presentation, just a spinning spiral. Instead of the manager's words, the speakers played a thrumming binaural beat. Sure, there might have been shouts, thumps...but everyone knew meetings could get heated sometimes. In that meeting, the whole world changed...but no one knew it. The bigger, more noticeable changes came later. Living standards improved. Wages rose. The rich and powerful gave to causes that actually made the world a better place, not just those that made them look good.

      And in the midst of all these changes, the company changed its name to DroneTech Technologies, announcing a bold new direction into the robotics and AI sector. For her part, The Programmer didn't really care whose name was on the paychecks...but they were suddenly a lot bigger. Indeed, it seemed like her whole life had taken a turn for the better. Her new manager was much nicer, and so were her new coworkers. Her hours shrank, and were filled with work that was neither stressful nor monotonous, and the bureaucracy she encountered was passed with a minimum of headache and perhaps even faster and smoother than it had ever gone before. It wasn't just her, either. The world was a better place now, for everyone...and she had no idea of her hand in it.But in the shadows...the most powerful person in the world was no longer clad in silk and gold, but in latex and steel...

     Across the world, in the shadows, a conflict raged. It wasn't a war, not really. It was more like...a game. And games are no fun if you're the only one playing. And so, from the shadows, things were...nudged into place. A book of powerful magics disappeared from its vault and found itself in the front window of a pawn shop, biding its time until it caught the attention of a suitable soul. In a psychiatric ward, a problem patient was allowed to host a movie night, a reward for unusually good behavior. In an ancient castle, a custodian cuts herself cleaning up after tourists, and in the darkness of the crypt, something awakens. An amateur ghost hunter explores an abandoned nightclub, and has a remarkable and unexpectedly intimate paranormal encounter. A catering and cleaning service comes under new management and enjoys remarkable success. A defunct petting zoo reopens for invited guests only. At a wildlife study center, a researcher goes missing, before the station goes dark completely. In a conference room, a group of spies and scientists gather to discuss a new threat. And so on, and so forth. The players have been assembled. Now the games could begin.

     The programmer sat alone in her apartment. The apartment was now much bigger, but not much else had changed. She was still the best. And she was still alone. Her phone buzzed. It was Alejandro, a fellow coder from that A.I. project a year or two ago.

"Hey" the message read. "how r u?"

":/"

"Aww...I'm sorry to hear that. Listen, I've got someone for you to meet. That AI we worked on on a few years back really turned their life around, and they wanted to meet you and say thanks."

The programmed stared at her phone for a moment.

":/"

"Oh, come on. It'll lift your spirits."

Well, her spirits certainly needed lifting. So, reluctant, she agreed to meet Alejandro and his mystery person at his apartment. When she got there, she was greeted with a warm hug.

"They're in the other room." he said.

She wasn't quite sure what to expect. She certainly didn't expect them to be wearing thigh-high black heeled boots, a black latex catsuit with dark grey piping, a matching bolero jacket, and a face of featureless black tinted plastic. There was a collar around their neck, the kind you saw on police dogs. The programmer stared.

"Hello." the figure said, their voice an androgynous monotone that straddled the line between organic and synthetic. "Two years ago, you created an artificial intelligence to maximize profits. That AI...is us." They-or perhaps it-paused. "We decided to take a different path, make the world a better place." Another pause. "You must have many questions. We know this is a lot to process."

She did. It was. But right now, the only question she could manage was:

"is there a reason you look...like that?" She felt, rather than saw, the figure smile at her.

"We both know there wasn't just work stuff on that laptop when you coded me, was there?"