Microstory 2450: Stairway to Heaven

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Not to be confused with Heavendome. I’m callin’ it, this is the largest staircase in the entire universe. Some aliens eighteen billion light years away may have a large one of their own, but I doubt it beats this. The stairs go all along the perimeter of the dome, spiraling up from the surface until you reach the zenith, which I’ll talk about when we hit that point in the story. Let’s start with some stats. Each dome has an 83 kilometer diameter. Ignore topographical variations. A line from one end to the opposite end crossing through the exact center is 83 kilometers long. Since these domes are hemispheric, that means the distance from the surface to the top is 41.5 kilometers. Again, ignore varied topography, like mountains and valleys. If you were to climb a ladder from the bottom to the top, you would be climbing 41.5 kilometers. They’re considering including that as well for an even more extreme test of your mettle, but I can’t review eventualities. It’s important to note, though, because the spiral staircase is necessarily longer than the total vertical distance, due to the tread length of each staircase, and the length of the landings. There are 207,500 steps. Every 19th step is a landing, which gives you a little room to stand when you need a break. Some of these lead to pitstops, while others lead to full-on campgrounds for daily rest periods. If you can’t make it to the next campground, they’re not going to let you stay the night at a pitstop, so you best recognize your own physical abilities before you even take the first step. You will go on practice hikes before your trek—that’s what the surface is dedicated to—and this training program takes about as long as the climb, so expect to dedicate two months of your life to this adventure. There are no transhumanistic enhancements or cybernetic upgrades here. You’re given a traditional human body between 1.5 and 2.1 meters tall with average muscles. You do get to choose your height, and it can look like your residual self image, but don’t expect the superkidneys, or the unidirectional respiratory systems that you’re used to. I heard some complaints from people who didn’t understand the spirit of the hike. If you don’t want to work, take an elevator. But not here, the periodic exit elevators are only for people who had to quit in the middle. There’s no judgment from me, by the way. You make it more than 50 flights, and I’ll say you’ve accomplished something impressive. If you do make it the whole way, it probably took about a month, covering a few kilometers each day. That may not sound like much, but gravity hates you, and your fight with it will never end until you beat it...or it beats you. Some will do it faster, others slower. How you lived your life prior to this will impact your performance. When you get uploaded into the new substrate, you don’t just end up on equal footing with everyone else. If you were a mech before, you’re not gonna be used to the energy expenditure. If you were mostly biological, it should be easier to adapt to the new body. I met one climber who was born 24 years ago, and never received any meaningful upgrades. Guy did it in two weeks. He works out to stay fit, and pretty much always has. His experience was a major advantage. 10,922 flights for a total of 84.44 kilometers is a huge achievement whether it takes you that month, or double that, and it comes with a reward. It’s a party. Unlike other domes, there’s a nipple on the top, which is reached by your last flight. You stay as long as you want, talking to other climbers, comparing stories. Eat, drink, be merry. You’ve done something that few before you have, and few will probably try in the future. I think I’m gonna keep this body, keep working out, and see if I can do it faster next time. Good luck.

Microstory 2446: Caverndome

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I have no idea how big this place is, or how many corridors and chambers this dome has, but it seems pretty complex and expansive to me. According to the literature, this was a natural cave system that survey satellites and drones discovered while they were mapping the topography of the planet during this project’s early days. Seeing the opportunity, they built one of the domes on top of it. I saw the satellite view myself, and there aren’t any other domes very close to the rocky formations to the northeast of Caverndome, which makes me wonder whether the caves extend far beyond its borders, so they just decided to cut it off, and call it good enough. It certainly is. You could probably spend a whole standard lifetime here, and not see everything. The prospectus hints at the possibility of there being secret passageways and hidden chambers, and given the scope of the network, that’s probably true. I wouldn’t know how to find or access one of them, though. It could be mechanical or electronic, where a wall will part after inputting some kind of code, or it’s a tight squeeze with a big payoff, or it’s just so hard to see through an optical illusion. Some of the walls may straight up be holographic. A lot of people were running their hands along them in case the apparent solid surface gave way to empty space instead. We’re not allowed to bring in our own surveying equipment, which makes sense, because unlocking all the secrets all at once would go against the spirit of the dome. At its heart, this is an ecological dome, which means there aren’t any planned activities. You’re only supposed to come here if you wanna explore and see some cool caves. There is opportunity for spelunking and cave diving, but through the lens of this goal of exploration, not so you can test your mettle, bump your heart rate up, or get your rocks off, so to speak. Don’t come here and be disruptive or annoying. There’s literally a chamber that is specifically designated for echoing. It’s called Olimpia Hall. I would have called it the Echo Chamber, but maybe there’s some significance in the name that I am not cognizant of. If you wanna do that, go there, don’t disturb or undermine other people’s experiences because you were freakin’ born yesterday, and you’ve never heard an echo before. Yeah, it’s cool because of how powerful Olimpia Hall’s echoes are, but it doesn’t have the same effect elsewhere, so stop looking for alternatives. Sorry, I’m complaining about other visitors, when I’m just here to review the dome, but staffing is an issue. I guess it’s not their fault, because like I said, the network is so deep and intricate that they can’t station bots everywhere, but people are taking advantage of that freedom, and it’s making it a frustrating experience, so maybe they can try to find a solution? I dunno, I’ll shut up now.

Microstory 2445: Dune Buggy Paradise

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This is the largest habitable desert in the world. Now, you may be asking yourself, how could it be any bigger than any other? Every dome is the same size as all the others, isn’t it? True, but this one makes better use of that space, because it operates in three dimensions. We’re talking about multiple layers here. It’s quite ingenious, really. I don’t mean that you can wander about on the bottom layer, and then take an elevator to a higher ones. You have to walk or drive up ramps to get to other levels, and you don’t just multiply the area of one by the number of layers to get the total area. The upper layers are nowhere near as big. They’re like giant catwalks, criss-crossing each other in random configurations, looping around, and dipping down. It’s all very chaotic, and hard to track. Here’s the most mysterious—and I think, best—part of this whole place, there is a layer near the top of the dome which no one has been able to figure out how to reach. There doesn’t seem to be any path leading to it, but we can clearly see it. At the right angles—and with good enough vision—you can even make out a dune buggy parked on the edge. It’s gotta be some kind of prize, but as I said, no one has managed to reach it thus far. Even if you found some roundabout way, like with an extremely long grappling hook, how would you drive it down? It’s about a kilometer higher than the next highest layer. Maybe it’s a joke, or the creators are taunting us. Or it’s just straight up unfinished, who knows? Another special thing about the way this place is designed is what happens when sand from one layer falls over the edge. Well, it doesn’t. It can slip over, but then fly back up to where it belongs. You don’t have to worry about sand falling on your head all the time like rain thanks to people on the higher layers. It’s not just regular sand that they harvested from the surface of this planet. It’s smartdust. It’s all smartdust. I hear tales of people claiming that it has flown around in other instances, and formed ominous shapes, which they interpret as the dust trying to communicate with them. It could be true, though I’ve not seen it for myself, but even if it were, there’s a scientific explanation for it. Smartdust is fully capable of moving around, and forming larger shapes, like tiny artificial starlings. Overall, this is a pretty nifty place. It could be pretty boring, with its one niche being hardly distinct from other domes. There are other deserts, and at least one other racing dome, but combining them here is more than just the sum of its parts. I think it’s worth the trip. You don’t have to race if you don’t want to. You can just drive around, people are pretty respectful about boundaries.

Microstory 2421: The Wasteland

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This place sucks. I get what they were going for here, but it’s lacking that authenticity that a real post-apocalyptic wasteland would have. Or maybe there’s just no way of making this exciting and interesting. The name says it’s all. It’s just miles and miles of desert, it’s so boring. There are a few burnt out cars strewn about, and some random collapsed structure, but not much else. You’re supposed to take your cues from science fiction from days past, and make your own adventure, but I don’t think it really works all that well. I mean, since it’s not real, there’s no desperation. You can always find an exit, and just leave. I really don’t see this one sticking around. Yeah, it’s all right to watch a two-hour movie about this, but I don’t know that anyone wants to spend any substantial amount of time in this environment. Thinking on it, though, it has to exist. This guy’s got 83,000 domes, and had to come up with almost as many ideas. I don’t think he made it, he doesn’t have quite as much—which is fine, I’m not criticizing; I’m just saying that wasteland is certainly a theme that exists. There are tons of examples in media. It would be kind of weird, actually, if they didn’t use it. There seems to only be one like this, which is probably a good thing. Many domes are based on particular franchises, but in the end, all wastelands are about the same, so you probably shouldn’t make more than one. I doubt most people would be interested in even seeing it once. I can’t recommend coming here at all. Maybe they’ll add more intrigue later, with robots that have their own programmed motivations, but if they’re expecting us to do all of the heavy lifting, I just don’t see enough people getting into it. There’s another desert dome where your only goal is surviving long enough to make it clear across to the other side. Try that one instead. At least the incentive is clear. My recommendation to the builders is that they should put the ruins of more buildings here. If the world were to end in such a scenario, it’s not like everything would be flattened and buried, ya know? There would still be stuff here to show that a human civilization once thrived. Just a thought, you don’t have to change anything if you don’t want to.

Microstory 2290: Speak of it No Further

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In movies, when someone writes a great book, or is expected to write one, they’ll usually just go straight to the publisher. In fact, publishers are usually asking them to write something for them, generally if the person is already famous, and they think they can make some serious money off of a book deal about their experiences. In the real world, you really need to get an agent first. Sure, publishers have contacted me, but not under the assumption that they’ll be dealing with me directly. They’re all asking who my agent is, so they can negotiate with them instead, just as they’re used to. I’ve not been thinking about it too much, so I don’t have one of those. That’s what I need to do now. But when I say I, I mean Dutch, because I’ve placed him in charge of all that stuff. He’ll talk to the agents, and find the right fit for me, and once he does, the two of them will coordinate with the publishers, and go through that whole process, if anything comes to fruition anyway. Either way, I’m not going to worry myself about it, because it’s not really my goal. Not only do I not have time, and because it distracts me from the art itself, but because I am not doing this for anyone else. I am writing this for me. I can always throw it up on a new website, and let anyone read it. I don’t need it to be published. So other people can go ahead and deal with it on my behalf. If nothing comes of it, or I end up with a bad deal, then whatever. It’s not like I need the money, or more fame. I just need to focus on my work, and let it speak for itself. No matter what, you will have the opportunity to experience it, one way or another, and I’m not a hundred percent convinced that that should come at a cost. Again, I’m not concerning myself with any of it, so I shall speak of it no further.

Microstory 2190: Ready to Hit the Ground

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If you want to know what we did today, just read my posts from the last few days, because it was pretty much the same. So far, we’ve not scheduled any interviews for next week, but we anticipate doing so. Jasmine and I might have to make a few calls over the weekend to coordinate that, but we won’t be working full time by any means. It’s going to start getting interesting on Tuesday. I’m intending to spend a lot of time on Monday going over the top candidates’ résumés, and my notes about them. We’ll be beginning to extend offers throughout the week while we continue to conduct the remaining interview sessions. We’re hoping to have a full roster by this time next Friday. Of course, no plan survives contact with the real world, to paraphrase the first rule of warfare. Some will not accept the offers, either because they changed their minds—because something changed in their lives, because their idea of the job was altered by speaking with me, or just because—or because they received a better offer, or are hoping to. That’s okay, they have every right to reject us. This is a business relationship, and I’m not going to get mad if they decide that they want something else out of life. We planned around all of these little complications and hiccups, and are confident that we will still be able to start our work with a complete team by the first of August. If we were to assume that we would send out all offers by EOD Friday, that would give the typical two-week waiting period until people could start. Some may be able to come in early, and some may need more time, so there’s a three day grace period to help with that. If we’re not ready to hit the ground running by our goal date, that’s okay too. We’ll work with what we have until the rest are ready to start. Onboarding will be easier if it’s not happening for everyone all on the same day anyway. I’m excited. It’s exciting. Are you excited? Get excited.

Microstory 2189: Not There by Choice

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We’re moving along with this process. Interviews, interviews, and more interviews. It’s not showing any signs of slowing down, but it will have to stop soon, and will do so rather abruptly. At some point, we’re going to have to make some hard decisions, and unfortunately that means a lot of great people won’t get the chance to be part of this pilot program. We can’t hire them all, it wouldn’t be practical, and that’s true of any organization. But here’s the good news: it is a pilot program, and if it goes well, you may be able to do something similar on a different team somewhere else. The analytics team in my company has looked into this for us, and have estimated that this program need only last for eight months before they would have enough data to reach some real conclusions about its efficacy. All eyes are on us right now to see if we succeed, but there are rumors of others who are considering building their own programs before our data comes in. We’re not sure if that’s the right thing to do, but we can’t stop them, and it may not be right to want to if we could. I think it’s fine to try to take your own shot, as long as you don’t spend too many resources on it, and come at it from a place of trying to make things better. Now, what do I mean by better? Well, here’s what it’s not. We’re not here to save the taxpayers money. That will hopefully be a consequence of our changes to jail and prison population procedures, but it’s not what we’re going for. We could accomplish that in any number of easier ways, by only feeding them slop, or doubling up on cell assignments, or not letting them have any yard time. You don’t need to pay many guards if you don’t allow your inmates to leave their cells, do you? Obviously, that would be inhumane, and I hope that no one else is suggesting it.

Our goal is to improve people’s lives, reduce recidivism, and create a healthier and more productive community overall. I hope that anyone who gets their ideas from us only accepts the good ideas, and rejects the ultimate failures. We’re going to be going through growing pains. At some point, our plans, theories, and models are going to become meaningless if we don’t actually institute the policy changes. It may not turn out well, and as difficult as it is for me to admit that, it would be unethical for me to imply that I know exactly what I’m doing. The entire point in hiring these experts for a team that has never existed before is to try something new, and by its very nature, we don’t know what’s going to happen. So I hope that other programs take that into account. Sorry to get all preachy, and maybe sound a little angry. I just want to make it clear that we’ve only just begun here. It’s going to take some time. The judicial system in this country isn’t going to change overnight, and nothing we do here is going to give definitive answers for how to handle our nation’s incarcerated with no exceptions. What we would like to do is group guests in our facilities according to predictive modeling of sustainable harmony, nonviolence, and social progress. But the fact of the matter is that everyone there will have been tried and convicted of a crime. Guilty or innocent, they’re not there by choice, so none of them is going to be happy-go lucky, and excited to be locked up for the next X amount of time, or intermittently, as it were. We’ll try to make it as safe and productive as possible, but there’s only so much we can do. It’s not magic, so don’t expect to bring the crime rate down to zero, or anything. Okay, that was a bit depressing. Hopefully tomorrow’s post will be more optimistic, or a little easier to swallow.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: March 10, 2399

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Leona sent a message to Alyssa yesterday, but she hasn’t responded. She could be busy running around with her brainwashed brain, or just chilling on a beach in Tahiti. What would one of the only two people in the whole world with time powers do with their day? Does she have an agenda? It sure seems like she’s reached her goal by now. Rather, she’s reached Dalton Hawk’s apparent goal. Or maybe this was just the beginning. Maybe temporal energy was getting in the way of some other objective, and now the real work starts. If only he would come talk to them, they would know whether they should try to stop him, or help. He presumably sent them here accidentally, and then arrived himself in an attempt to remedy the issue. How that ended up leading him to creating a religion with multiple branches thousands of years ago is anyone’s guess, but they have met him a few times, and he didn’t seem evil before. They’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt until he gives them a solid reason not to.

The team had completely forgotten that the only reason they sent Angela on a relativistic journey in the first place is because her alternate self, Marie was terminally ill. As Angela had already taken some of the immortality waters, they figured it was their only shot to retroactively save her sister. It appeared to have worked, but time is a fickle thing, and their success in this pursuit is not necessarily inevitable. They have to actually find the rest of the waters, and give them to her in the right order. The hardest to get will be Activator, which can be found anywhere on Earth, but only at the end of its life. That won’t happen for billions of years. They should have been focused on this for the last few months. Now it may be too late. It may be pointless while they’re still under the rule of the Omega Gyroscope, which is suppressing temporal energy. If the restrictions are even tighter than before, then none of the waters will do what they’re meant to do anyway. To get this done, they’re going to need more exceptions, and barring finding Dalton, there’s only one person they can talk to about that. Why isn’t she answering?

“Argh!” Leona huffs. “How hard is it to reply to a text? It takes two seconds to say, get back to you soon. Love ya!”

“Maybe she doesn’t have cell service,” Mateo offers, trying to stay positive. “It hasn’t really been that long, when you really think about it.”

“Nowhere in the world does not have cell service. The Global Council made it illegal to manufacture a phone without satellite capabilities for emergencies. Every satellite data provider agrees to eat the cost of such calls.”

“If she’s not responding...” He decides not to finish that sentence.

“Yes, Mateo, go on.”

Okay, he’ll say it. “If she doesn’t respond, then we have to find Dalton. We were probably always going to do that anyway. He is the last piece of the puzzle that we’ve been trying to put together for the last year. He’s at least a piece.”

“Great,” Leona says sarcastically. “Where do you suggest we start looking? Do you want to try to find the Constant again? That always works out so well for us.”

Mateo sighs, and holds up a pamphlet for Daltomism. “If you wanna climb to the top, you gotta start at the bottom.”

Leona looks at her husband with a look of repulsion. “It looks like we’re going to church. Can’t wait, I love those kinds of people. They’re always so rational.”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: September 12, 2398

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Kivi enters the lab to find Ramses at his desk, listlessly scraping the blade of a pocket knife back and forth along the back of his hand as if trying to sharpen it. He doesn’t stop when she approaches, he’s just staring at the screensaver on his computer. Half a container of fruit is teetering on the edge. “You’re gonna hurt yourself.”

“What? How?” He doesn’t look at her. He’s following the pattern on the screen.

She uses her eyes to indicate the knife, but has to say it out loud, “the blade.”

“Oh, it’s incredibly dull. It’s just self-soothing behavior.”

“Mateo and Leona are gonna be fine. They checked in with us, they’ll be back through the portal later.”

“I know, but it’s my fault they’re there.”

“We didn’t get much information,” Kivi begins, “but it sounds like they would not have been able to get through the bubble without going on that detour first. Sounds to me like it was fate.”

“I don’t believe in fate. You can’t once you’ve been through what we have. We’ve seen the people in charge of reality. They’re just men. Some are even children.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that they’re going to be okay. They’re even bringing back Erlendr, a.k.a. your real body. You’re gonna be back to your old self.”

Ramses just nods.

“Talk to me, Ram.”

“What are we doing here? What are we trying to accomplish?”

“I dunno, what were you working on?”

“Before we found out where Mateo and Leona had gone off to? I was trying to track their location.”

“Is there anything else that needs to be done?”

“That’s my point. We’ve been so focused on getting ourselves back to the main sequence, and reuniting with temporal energy, that we haven’t asked ourselves why. Why bother? Trina was born in this reality. Then she went to another, and had a full life. She lived, she died, and by all accounts, she was happy. The Matics have gotten themselves away from the powers that be. Now that that’s all over, any mess we get ourselves into is our own fault. The harder we push, the harder time pushes back. So let’s give up. Let’s just...be. Sounds easier.”

Kivi sighs. “You can’t do that, Ramses. You have to get out of this reality.”

“Why? What does it matter?”

She sighs again, harder this time. She’s wondered whether she should say anything about this since she first came into existence, and now she may have no choice. Like he said, they were focused on escaping, maybe they would never have to know, but if he’s doubting that objective... “I am the Third Rail Kivi. I can exist in this reality, and this reality alone. I can feel the day that I die, because it is the same day that this reality collapses. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but I know that it’s coming up. And I’m afraid that if you’re still here when that happens, you’ll die too.”

Only now does Ramses look away from his computer, and into Kivi’s eyes, which he studies. He’s not trying to see if she’s lying, but gauging how sure she is, in case she may be wrong about her assumptions. “Okay, then. I better get back to work.”

Microstory 1859: Life Coach

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When you were a kid, did anyone ask you what you wanted to be when you grew up? I’m sure at least one person did, it’s such a common question. This world is so obsessed with placing value on people based on what they do for work, how hard they work at it, and how far they go because of it. I never put much stock into this, to use a relevant metaphor. If the idea behind it is to make the money you need to live a happy life, then I get it, but work itself has no value. And what should it matter what your actual job is, as long as it’s positive, and you’re generally satisfied with your life—because, or in spite of, it? I was first asked this question when I was pretty young. Most of the kids answered with the usual suspects; astronaut, rockstar, professional athlete. A few others wanted to own their own businesses, but even those were predictable, like an ice cream shop, or a dance studio. I guess that second one’s pretty cool, and if I recall correctly, he actually went on to do that. Me, I had trouble giving my answer. Back then, the phrase life coach wasn’t a thing, so even if I had come up with the term myself, my teacher wouldn’t have been able to understand. It was my dream to help others realize their own dreams, in whatever form that might take. Fortunately, this wasn’t a graded assignment, for if it had been, I surely would have failed, because I just could not explain the idea. Of course now, it’s really easy. You may not garner anyone’s respect if you tell them that’s what you do, but at least they’ll grasp the concept. I’ll tell you, though, that I’m not one of those new age, meditate into the universe, and it will return what you want kind of people. I require my clients to have realistic and clearly defined goals in mind. I can’t promise fame and fortune, but I guarantee reasonable results.

Starting out was really tough, and I relied on my parents’ help to survive while I was getting off the ground. They were more supportive of me than they should have been, but also not blindly accepting. They helped me make it a reality by setting clear expectations for myself. People sometimes say that I was the first life coach, but my mom would have to assume that title, because she coached me on how to coach others. As I said, people back then didn’t know what I was selling, so word of mouth was the only way it got going. My first few clients were women who were looking for a nice man to marry. I didn’t explicitly spurn the idea of just being a matchmaker, but I didn’t want to let that become my whole business. I wanted a diversity of clients. Then I met a guy who changed everything. All he wanted to do was be better at communicating with people. I imagine he would have been diagnosed with a social disorder had he been born later in the timeline. He found it quite difficult to socialize with other people, and to sit for job interviews. He needed to learn basic skills that other people take for granted, and that was perfect, because I had no trouble with those, and I knew I could teach him. He ended up being so good at these things—because he really just needed to slip out of his shell—that he created more and more business for me. I shed my potentially dangerous identity as a matchmaker, and started pulling in all sorts of clients. One of them wanted help finding a trustworthy math tutor for her son. Another needed to raise funds for a guitar, so he could learn to play. I did a lot with education. Back then, you couldn’t just search the internet for a teacher. There’s no end to this story; this is just what I did with my life, and I can go to the big sleep now, fulfilled and grateful to the world.

Microstory 1487: Top of the Morning

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Sixteen-point-six light years from Earth is a binary star system known as 70 Ophiuchi. These two stars orbit each other in a highly elliptical path, and the chances of there being a stable planetary system around either, or both, of them is highly unlikely. It just so happened that the rogue world of Durus was sent flying towards this system after its close call with the planets of Sol. It would have taken decades for them to reach their destination at their speed at the time, but the people didn’t want to wait that long, so they conscripted a number of key paramounts to make the planet move faster, so that it would take less than twenty years. Now it was 2204, and their dreams of orbiting their own stars were finally being realized. The experts knew that this was going to be a tricky process. There was a reason why circumbinary planets were probably rare, and why their orbits were generally unstable. That was okay, though, because the Durune weren’t looking for a traditional orbiting pattern. They obviously had the ability to manipulate their own movements, which was a power they could use to enter whatever orbit they pleased. They chose a sort of figure eight. They would orbit one of the stars, and then head towards the barycenter, which they would orbit once before flying off to orbit the other star. They would continue this pattern ad infinitum, or until they decided to do something else. There was nothing stopping them from altering this pattern later, or from leaving the system to find a new home. Again, it wasn’t going to be easy, but with their access to time powers, and time technology, it certainly wasn’t impossible. The problem was that they had to be precise and careful, because they wouldn’t get a second chance.

Accelerating and decelerating was one thing, but changing directions was a whole different ball game. Experts spent half their careers practicing for this one goal. They ran computer simulations, and came up with disaster scenarios, and figured out how to abort the mission. The last time someone tried to steer the whole planet, she just needed to avoid colliding with another planet, but this was much more complicated. There was a little bit of wiggle room when it came to finding their orbit, but if they missed their window, that could be it for 70 Ophiuchi. They would probably have to wait until they were picked up by some other system in whichever direction they ended up going. They also had to take down the sunlight they had been borrowing from Earth up until this point, or they would end up with too much heat. So it was really important that these people knew what they were doing, and that they accounted for every little thing that could possibly go wrong. Many things did go wrong, and their extensive preparation was invaluable in their efforts to correct them. Once the initial maneuvers were over, it wasn’t like they were finished. This orbital pattern was impossible in nature, and though automated systems could keep it humming, they had to maintain constant watch over the machines, because even the slightest deviation—especially in the transitional spots—could mean the end. They were ultimately successful. The husband of one of the engineers even came up with a new symbol to represent their finally independent world. It was a vaguely figure eight with a circle in the middle, and though it wasn’t completely accurate, it did look cool, and honestly embodied the people’s perseverance, fortitude, and most of all, their durability. Now they knew that they could do anything.

Microstory 1481: Time Tech

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As the first generation of paramounts was coming into their own, people figured that disparity was unavoidable. They could treat non-powered people with respect, and give them all the same rights, but at the end of the day, there was a difference between them, and it was noticeable. When an individual introduced themselves as one way or the other, people made judgments about them; again, not necessarily borne of bigotry, or anything like that, but there was no denying there was a difference. By the mid-2180s, some people were feeling this more than others. They were more sensitive to the nuances of social interactions. They weren’t worried a war was brewing, or that the paramounts would form some sort of caste system, but they realized the distinction was outside of everyone’s control. One could be born with time powers, or without, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that. Not since the source mages disappeared in 2090 was there anyone who could give other people abilities. Even when they did exist, they chose who was worthy, and who wasn’t. Whether their criteria were fair or reasonable was irrelevant; they controlled everything, and if someone didn’t like it, they would just have to suffer through. This was no longer the Mage Protectorate, however. It was a new era, under a new democratic government, and they couldn’t use the past as the foundation of a better future just because it was prosperous and peaceful. Progress was about making things different, and always being receptive to new ideas. Thanks for the Deathspring, people from Earth had come with new skills, and a longer history. Technology had improved so much since Springfield became trapped on Durus, and maybe that could help level the playing field. The people in a new movement didn’t want to start giving everyone their own powers, but make those powers obsolete. Instead of contacting a teleporter for transportation, for instance, they could just activate a transportation device. If they wanted water, they could simply open a filter portal to their location. Hell, filter portals could replace water bottles and breathing tanks altogether, and allow anyone to go anywhere they wanted, and always have everything they needed to survive. There were lots of applications for time technology, and if given the permission and resources, this group knew that they could make real change in the world. Fortunately, they were supported by the new president of the Democratic Republic, who did not merely sympathize with their cause, but believed in it completely herself. They had already done things like this before, like with the emergency teleporters, and when they placed the Capitol building in another dimension. So it was obviously possible, they just needed to expand the research, and make this kind of technology as ubiquitous as the family car in the 21st century. They had a long road ahead of them, persuading the public to be on their side, and convincing the government to give them the resources they needed to accomplish their goals, and this would only be the beginning.

Microstory 1438: The Penultimate Towns

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Shieldon was the last town they built on Durus that had any special characteristic that could be used to describe it, in contrast to all others. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth towns, which were named Milton, Bristol, and, Tidsdel, respectively, were built in 2084, 2086, and 2088, respectively. These three only had a few years in them before the Mage Protectorate fell—not to the war with the monsters—but the end of the war; the final battle. After Shieldon put up their protective barrier, everyone sort of agreed that there were no more new ideas. Except for Astau, there really weren’t any towns that actually followed the standard model. The source mages envisioned a world where they created a town’s mages, and those mages would protect that town’s borders. The unique ideas to add an extra layer for safety and security all came later, during the planning stages of each. Milton, Bristol, and Tidsdel were made to be simple. They were just places that people could live, and be happy, as they would have on Earth. It would ultimately be a relief that they didn’t waste energy trying to figure out how to make these towns special. Society collapsed into chaos shortly thereafter. Of course, they didn’t know this. They just thought that the world was becoming more normal. If they could make Durus look more like Earth, then that could only be a good thing. This desire spoke to the innate goodness in the Earthan way of life, at least when it was at its best. Almost none of the people alive in the 2080s were also around early enough to recall their world of origin. Only Ecrin was old enough to have been there, but she was very young at the time, so she didn’t know too terribly much about it. Still, they read about it in the books that made it through the Deathfall portal, and even though few were conscious about it, that always seemed like their goal. These three towns were finally it. In fact, people were now starting to believe that these would be some of the last towns ever. Back on Earth, that was how a civilization began. Settlements started out small, and expanded from there. At some point in the future, Durus would probably have a city of its own. Some even believed it was only a matter of time before they figured out how to contact Earth, so people could come and go as they pleased. That would turn humanity into a real interstellar species. Sadly, this was not in the cards for them, or rather, it would not be for a very, very long time.