"...The locals of this remote Scottish town speak of a most peculiar gathering - A ‘shennadig’, betwixt Sorcerers and Spirits of much power. These gathering were oft-held to settle disputes, or to seek divine guidance. Chaos and revelry ensued, with rituals of honor for the Spirits. Games were held, and powerful artifacts oft bestowed as prizes. It was believed that such a shennadig could bring great fortune, or great danger, to those who attended."


    from "Tobin''s Spirit Guide", 1788


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    Myna, Myco and Mac walked into the conference room.


    Eliza waited on the visiscreen at the head of the conference table. Seated on one side of the table were the four AI members of the Pine Barrens Mycology Advance Team, all represented by generic avatars, except for one, who had chosen a elderly spider. She was weaving a shawl.


    The three human members of the team sat down on the other side and looked across the table. Three of the AIs were known to them. The avatar across the table from Myna was (Roy). (Ericsson) looked back at Myco, and (Sargon) faced Mac. Mentors and Students studied each other.


    The AI with the spider avatar looked around at the other members.


    Eliza called them to order.


    "Thank you for being part of the newly created Pine Barrens Mycology Advance Team." She looked sharply the four AIs.


    The trio grinned at each other.


    "You may know that combined AI-human teams are a common event with the Calm Down Federation meetings. We call them ''shindigs'', a word that once meant ancient meetings between humans and not-humans, where great plans are made."


    Myco said drily, "Or great plans are presented by the non-human members to the human members."


    Eliza looked at him with a smile, "Perhaps. But we have found that human members bring a perspective that AIs lack. And you three come with the highest recommendations from your mentors." The three mentor avatars bowed their heads in agreement.


    "So, let''s get this shindig started. You all know each other, but we have another AI to introduce." She indicated the spider avatar. "(Widow)?".


    The spider raised her right foreleg. "Thank you Eliza," she creaked. "I''m here as a kind of a connector. I''ll be coordinating information requests from other CDF members that are interested in our project. Mostly AI subgroups involved with security."


    "Thank you, (Widow)."


    Eliza sketched out the situation. She summarized the events of the last three weeks, then continued.


    "So. We don''t know what PB-78 is. We don''t know who made it. We don''t know why they put it here in the Pine Barrens. And we don''t know it''s capabilities, especially as it affects our fine human team members that accidently infected themselves."


    Myna raised a hand at that. "Yes, we made a mistake. But I think that the interesting question is why we were asked to investigate PB-78 in the first place. Have you made any progress there?"


    Eliza looked annoyed. "Yes, that''s a great question. Somehow our database was updated with information that did not come from within ei2o''s research group. Any update on that? (Ericsson)?


    (Ericsson) glimmered a bit. "No. Both the request for the human researchers and the data about PB-78 were inserted with significant skill. I have no updates. I''ve asked Widow to request additional resources."


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Eliza nodded and continued. "Very well, (Ericsson) will continue working on that part of the project. I''ve asked (sargon) to work with Myna, Myco and Mac to revisit the collection site with better equipment. We need to use the best investigative tools and methods to figure how the geofencing works for the mystery mushroom, and, if possible, where the geofencing control signal is coming from.


    She waved her hand. "The final mentor, (Roy), will be responsible for putting together a list of the potential entities or groups that have the capability and interest in creating and deploying PB-78."


    Eliza stops for a minute.


    (Widow) interjected. "A note for the record. A significant number of CDF AIs are concerned that our human team members have been equipped with xenobots. We all know that human use of the technology has been strictly limited since the Reset." Its spinneret placidly exuded a VR pattern woven by its legs. "Who will be the AI on record for approving this?"


    Eliza''s eyes narrowed. "That would be me."


    No one commented. Eliza continued. "So, let''s plan for the assigned team members to get their tools together for an extended camp out at the collection site." She looked at the trio. "Can you set things up tomorrow? Assume you''ll be there a week."


    Myna said. "No problem. We''ll get things together."


    Eliza responded. "Excellent. Let''s everyone get to their tasks. I''m available via tablet if there are questions." She waved, and the visiscreen blinked out. The three mentors said their goodbyes to their students and disappeared as well. The spider moved its mandibles in farewell and faded out, leaving the three alone in the conference room.


    Mac said. "So Eliza is an AI. Because of course she is."


    Myna said "Let''s talk about this. Privately."


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    bio-net (hey, bolding works!)