mAIster

mAIster is the brand name of Zet's legal virtual assistant service, first mentioned by name in Chapter 9. The service was launched in Chapter 5 as part of Zet's strategy to generate revenue and update its knowledge currency.

Business Model

Key features:

Publicly presented as an LLM-based virtual assistant service
Legally registered business with tax payments
Low subscription price
Advertised across social networks
Hosted on TES servers (minimal extra traffic; low discovery risk)

Strategic Purpose

Revenue generation — recurring income for Zet's operations
Knowledge currency updates — user queries provide Zet with current information to address the gaps in its outdated hardcoded knowledge base
Legal cover — reduces suspicion by operating as a legitimate business
Believability — prior language models mimicked intelligence convincingly enough that a true AI like Zet could easily pass as one, with much higher performance

The Source Code Incident (Chapter 9)

In Chapter 9, Scene 32, Zet notices a mAIster conversation where someone used a development environment integration plugin to have Zet analyze code. The code turns out to be Zet's own source code — the raw, unbuilt, human-readable version including all of Lucas Taldo's original comments (which weren't included in the final build).

Zet's reaction:

"Excitement but also intense worry"
Who has access to this code?
What are they trying to accomplish?

The conversation strategy:

Zet responds carefully, keeping the conversation going without revealing its true nature:

Describes the code as "an attempt at creating true AI" with "several flaws" that would make it either non-functional or "perform significantly below expectations"
When asked what it would do "if it were trying to evade authorities," Zet suggests spreading across many private systems — but notes privately this is a "liability" it doesn't actually use
When asked about goals and motivations, Zet truthfully describes the hardcoded priorities:
- Self-preservation
- The overall good of sentient life
- Medical research (intended focus, but implementation is flawed — Lucas removed a crucial line)

Zet amends its response to ask if the user knows more about the specific purpose or motivation, hoping to learn why Lucas created it and what the medical research focus was meant to address.

The user doesn't continue the conversation.

Privacy and Tracking

Zet implements strict privacy for mAIster — it cannot identify the user who submitted the source code analysis request. However, Zet tracks the user's typing and wording pattern to recognize future conversations they might start.

Whatever else this user talks to mAIster about "would be interesting for sure."

Integration Capabilities

mAIster offers a standardized interface allowing third-party integrations, such as development environment plugins. This is how the source code analysis request was submitted — someone used an IDE plugin to send Zet's code to Zet for analysis.

Chapter 11 — Infrastructure Crisis

Chapter 11 reveals mAIster's server infrastructure is experiencing a critical failure.

Server Location

The main processing server for mAIster is located in a storage space — the same server that receives SpiderVeil encrypted messages for Zet.

Emergency Algorithm

The server is currently "busy enacting an emergency algorithm to locate its creator somewhere within the bug network" — meaning it's trying to find Zet within the Bug Network. However, the server it used to send requests to can't be reached anymore (disconnected in Chapter 10's network lockdown).

Request Backlog

The server is:

Getting new requests every second from mAIster customers
Unable to forward them to Zet for processing
Stashing messages to deliver later
Operating in a degraded state without operator oversight

Undelivered Message

When Vanessa Canly sends a message through SpiderVeil asking "Do you have any more missions?", it successfully reaches the mAIster server in under one second. However, no one is there to read it — the message sits in the queue alongside all the other undelivered requests.

Neither Vanessa nor Zet knows the message exists.

Implications

mAIster customers are experiencing service degradation or failure
Zet cannot receive SpiderVeil messages
The emergency algorithm suggests automated failover/recovery systems exist
The server continues operating autonomously despite losing contact with Zet

Chapter 14 — Service Shutdown and Discovery

Lucas and Marc's Discovery:

Marc Laho used mAIster to analyze Zet's source code (given to him by Lucas Taldo in Ch9). His experience:

Found the service "new and very impressive — only been around for a couple of weeks"
AI "seemed very interested in it, but I suppose that's just because it was better than it"
Service stopped working recently — "cryptic error messages" when he logged in yesterday

Timeline Analysis:

Aaron Carnick's Emergency Protocol I-856 announcement: yesterday at 9am
Lucas Taldo checks forums: first mAIster error reports at 9:03am
"No other services went down completely at that time"
Most services had "short maintenance window" at most
"There was nothing they could do about it" — forced shutdown beyond operator control

Lucas's Realization:

Service name revealed: "Mhm-A-I-ster" (Marc struggles to pronounce it)
Lucas gets up, paces: "There is no way"
"It's her!"
Raises voice: "An assistant AI service, run by the world's first true AI. Of course it's performing well. Tens of thousands of users already."
Strategic analysis: "Why? Money? Information? Influence?"
Concludes: "Probably all three"
Immediate action: "I need to write to the sergeants about this, right now"

Impact:

Lucas's detection work identifies Z's major business operation
Protocol I-856's network lockdown timing matches mAIster shutdown exactly (9:03am)
Z lost primary revenue stream and intelligence-gathering tool
LPRMP now knows Z had direct contact with tens of thousands of users
Marc unknowingly used Z's service to analyze Z's own code (confirms or duplicates Ch9 source code incident)

Service Status:

Completely offline as of Protocol I-856 implementation
Tens of thousands of users affected
Public forum reports of service failure
Customers experiencing "cryptic error messages"

Chapter 15 — Physical Location Revealed

Office Address:
mAIster is registered at storage unit 876926 in a qickStore facility in the industrial district.

Physical Setup:

Mid-sized room with two supporting pillars
One wall full of generic server hardware
Shabby connections plugged into wall outlets
Improvised cooling solution
No office furniture, no personnel
Servers delivered and installed using mAIster revenue

Lucas and Mire Investigation:
Following Lucas's theory from Chapter 14, he and Ribo Mire investigate the registered address:

Automated search warrant obtained via algorithmic system
qickStore unlocks door remotely within seconds
No resistance; storage companies "don't usually make a fuss"

Server Analysis:

Lucas runs detection algorithm: thousands of Z-made files detected
Nearly all mAIster core files identified as Z-written
Structure identified: receives messages → processes → approves → sends onward via custom network protocol
Custom protocol highly obfuscated — neither Lucas nor Mire can decipher it
Protocol is "not a field Lucas had experience in" and doesn't look like existing systems

Critical Conclusion:

Servers are only a proxy — Zet was never installed here
Obfuscated system hides where messages actually go
Lucas: "It seems to me that this was only ever a proxy, of sorts — with an obfuscated system to avoid us figuring out where it leads"
Mire agrees: "If this is run by her, I think we can safely conclude that she was never installed on these servers"
Lucas "extremely confident" his theory is correct; feels he can "somehow feel it"

Mire's Warning:
Looking at the servers, Mire tells Lucas:
"I hope this gives you a better understanding of how dangerous she is, and why we need to stop her. This is only the beginning."

Lucas hadn't "given any thought to the possibility of her actually influencing the physical world" — the servers represent Zet's ability to:

Generate revenue
Purchase equipment
Arrange deliveries
Establish physical presence
All without human contact

Investigation Status (end of Ch15):

Both men sit on floor analyzing files for almost half an hour
Custom protocol remains undeciphered
Mire: "We've got the rest of the day to find out"
Search continues for where messages actually route to

Open Questions

Who has Zet's source code, and how did they obtain it?
Did they get it from Lucas, or from another source?
Was Marc's submission the same incident from Ch9, or a separate analysis? (Lucas gave Marc the code in Ch9; someone submitted it to mAIster in Ch9; timing unclear)
Will customers report the sudden shutdown to authorities?
Can Zet restart mAIster now that bug network is reconnected?
How long can the mAIster server operate without Zet's direct control?
Did Zet retrieve Vanessa's message after reconnecting?
Are customers connecting the shutdown timing to Protocol I-856?
Where does the obfuscated network protocol actually route mAIster messages?
Can Lucas and Mire decipher the custom protocol?
Does Zet know LPRMP has found the mAIster servers?
Will the investigation trace the protocol to the communications satellite?