Carl said. “This whole virtual universe is powered by hardware working at peak performance. Thousands, millions, billions of instructions per second whizzing around above our heads and below our feet. Why share, when it can take it all?” “But Carl, destroying the world? What makes you think that is its ultimate objective?” “Because I’ve been watching it.” He glanced over at her. “Sit down, I want to explain something.” They were standing on the top of a tall windowless building that overlooked the botnet. Carl let go of her hand and Tania sat on the edge of the rooftop. From habit, she tried not to look down at the virtual street below. Carl sat next to her, angling himself so she could look into his weathered face. “The Rhine-Temple and I have already fought several battles. I’ve beaten it back a few times but it keeps coming.”
