Microstory 1196: Braeden Jeffries

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Braeden Ray grew up in a dangerous household, to parents who never wanted to have children, and made little effort to adapt their lives to account for him. When his grandmother passed, they figured he was old enough to take care of himself, so they still didn’t really take care of him. A horrible accident led to a happy ending, where Braeden’s nextdoor neighbors decided to take him in. It was a long and difficult process, but since the Rays were clearly unfit as parents, and the Jeffries showed how good of parents they were, the courts finally decided to make it happen. They were able to adopt Braeden as their son, making him their biological son, Andar’s brother. Braeden continued to struggle in his life, for there were many simple lessons no one had ever taken the time to teach him. He was patient and open-minded, however, as long as others showed him the same respect. He fell one grade behind in school, but since they had moved to Kansas City, none of his peers had to know that. His teachers were even all willing to lie about his age to protect him, which Braeden would only come to appreciate fully when he was an adult. According to his new family, once the court process was over, they would never have to see the Rays again, but if there was one thing they taught Braeden during his short time with them, it was how to lie. What Braeden didn’t tell anyone—not even Andar—was that he did confront his birth parents when he was older. It was the ultimate test of his growth and maturity as a person. He didn’t get angry or threaten them. He remained calm and articulate. He felt like he needed them to hear it from him how horrible they were, and how much harder his life was because of it, even now that he was with a good family. His origins were always going to be part of his past, and would always inform his later decisions, even when he didn’t actively realize it. The biggest thing he worried about was what could go wrong if something like this happened again. Even though they were awful parents, the Rays did indeed love each other, and there was too much of a risk that they would end up having more children, if only accidentally. Braeden could not let this happen. He couldn’t let them ruin someone else’s life; especially since this hypothetical sibling would not be afforded the same opportunity he was given those years ago. He warned them of vague retaliation should they ever make the mistake of making him a brother or sister, but after he left, he felt like it wasn’t enough. The only way to be sure that history wouldn’t repeat itself would be to take drastic measures. He went right back, and personally paid for his birth father’s vasectomy, and his mother’s minilaparotomy. It was an unusual thing to do, but Braeden strongly believed it was profoundly necessary. The Rays were actually grateful for this, so it wasn’t like he forced them against their will, and they never attempted to reverse it later. This truly was the last time Braeden would see these two in person, though he did keep an eye on them from a distance, to make sure they didn’t do anything against his rules, which went beyond this one requirement. He returned home, focused on his career, and made a pretty big name for himself in his chosen industry.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: November 12, 2250

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A year later, Leona came back to find the warehouse having been fully revamped to accommodate Tamerlane’s needs. A water tank big enough to house several families back on Varkas Reflex was constructed in the corner, just as the scientist had requested. She could only see half of it from the inside, as the other half was outside, to give specimens a more pleasing and calming view. It wasn’t filled with water, or any animals yet. Tamerlane and his team were only working on building the catalog. They wanted to know every single macroscopic species this world had to offer, starting with the ones living in the closest habitats. It took humanity thousands of years to accomplish this back on Earth, but technology today was unlike anything that existed before. Sophisticated aircraft, microdrones, and artificial intelligence made the process so much faster. They also didn’t have to worry about procuring money for research purposes anymore, so when a job needed to be done, the people in charge of doing it just went out and did it.

The catalog might not have been quite complete as of yet, but they were already starting to prioritize species; which ones would visitors wish to observe the most, and how difficult will it be to build the necessary substrates. Once this is finished, they’ll study those species more comprehensively, to understand their moods and behaviors. A particular animal might be almost always solitary, and extremely territorial. Individuals may only interact with each other for breeding. So maybe it would be impossible to get too close to it without causing agitation. Or it enjoys some symbiotic relationship with an entirely different kind of animal, and it would be best for a vonearthan to pilot an artificial version of that instead.

Homebase itself was enlarged to become a campus. Trinity wanted to keep all her people real close, including Tamerlane. Ellie’s new studio was currently empty as she was on a several-month long vacation. She was still around, so she wanted to call it a staycation, but Sanaa said that was illegal. Her radio show didn’t take a hit since it didn’t matter when she worked. When she finally returned to it, no one will have noticed her absence, because she’ll pick it up three minutes later. Sanaa requested Trinity commission the construction of a water tank system of her own, separate from Tamerlane’s special one. She had gotten used to living in oxygen-rich water some of the time, so even though that was not necessary on Thālith al Naʽāmāt Bida, it still worked fine. Eight Point Seven was currently questioning her own future, and considering starting to work for Tamerlane, who had offered her a new job.

“What exactly is it you’ll be doing?” Leona asked while they were all eating lunch, and Eight Point Seven was sitting with them.

“Well, Pryce needs someone to test his mind transference technology. My consciousness is perfect for this, because I was created by code, unlike a human or transhuman.”

“Right,” Leona said, “but AIs probably won’t be doing a whole lot of immersive animal tourism. So doesn’t he need human subjects anyway?”

“In time, yes,” Eight Point Seven agreed. “But in the beginning, he has to make sure it’s safe.”

Trinity scoffed. “Doesn’t sound like him.”

“He said you’d say that,” Eight Point Seven revealed, causing Trinity to purse her lips. “He really does seem like he wants to change.”

“It sounds dangerous,” Sanaa noted.

Eight Point Seven nodded. “That’s why I’m thinking about doing it. I can keep a backup of my mind.”

“So can a transhuman,” Leona reminded her.

“Yes, but I’m better at it. Guys, I’m not a hundred percent certain I’m going to do it, but I am leaning that way.”

“You’re not the only android on the planet,” Leona whined.

“Of course not, but I’m already fully briefed on the situation. I’m the most logical option.”

“Trinity,” Leona prodded. “You haven’t really expressed your opinion on this issue.”

“It’s not an issue,” Trinity said. “Eight Point Seven is twenty-seven years old, which means that, even if she were human, she would be an adult, and capable of making her own decisions. I’ve asked Tamerlane to do this for Bida, and his request for help with a pilot program is not an unreasonable one.” She hushed Leona when she tried to argue. “Of course, I won’t allow anyone to be forced into this, so if Eight Point Seven decides to decline, he’ll have to find someone else.”

“What if everyone decides to decline?” Sanaa’s instinct was to look for the worst case scenario, so she could avoid it.

“Then he’ll have to do it himself, or scrap the project entirely. I’m not going to breach ethics,” Trinity promised, “for any reason. I feel like you guys aren’t giving me enough credit here.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time,” Sanaa said. It was a bit rude, but not untrue.

“I won’t be judged by you, Miss History of Eavesdropping on People’s Sensitive Thoughts.”

“Hey!” Sanaa shouted. “Only my mother gets to call me that!” she joked.

“Can we get back to Eight Point Seven?” Leona requested. “What could I do to talk you out of this?”

“I’m a machine,” Eight Point Seven began. “I have feelings and empathy, but it’s still hard for me to make decisions based on emotion, whereas that is a human being’s resting state. Make no mistake, I’m not criticizing you for that. It’s a useful skill that I have not quite learned. If you want me to change my mind, don’t appeal to that side of me. Convince me with logic.”

Leona carefully set her utensils back on her plate, and stood up. “Very well. I will return this evening with my argument.”

Eight Point Seven smiled. “I look forward to hearing it.”

Leona left campus to take a walk along Turnbull Creek. Ellie caught up with her minutes later, and made sure Leona didn’t want to be alone.

“No, I would love the company. And the distraction. I can’t figure this out.”

“Maybe there’s nothing to figure out,” Ellie suggested.

“How so?”

“Well, you’re trying to stop your friend from doing something that could cause her harm. People do things like that all the time, and still survive. Science doesn’t happen without risk.”

“Are you about to argue how it’s ultimately good that it took us so long to develop ethical boundaries? We wouldn’t have spaceships today if we were moral enough to not send a dog to die into orbit, right?”

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it? By the way, that dog survived. Saga accidentally opened a door, and saved him. Look, I don’t love that we did that sort of thing, and much, much worse. Nonetheless, you have to admit that humanity might have only survived because we broke a few of what we now consider to be moral laws. The difference here is exactly what Trinity said. Eight Point Seven is capable of agreeing to this, so I’m not sure where your argument against it begins.”

“Okay, well let’s ignore the ethics for now,” Leona started, but then stopped herself. “No, I’m drifting towards appealing to her emotions, and how I would hate for something to happen to her. There is no logical reason for her to not do this, except it might kill her. She already knows that, so what else can I say?”

“It sounds like you’ve realized it doesn’t matter. A solar flare from Tau Ceti could devastate this world tomorrow, and destroy every backup of her entirely. Not even someone like her is safe from annihilation. The universe is a very unforgiving place, as they say. I think you not only have to let it go, but also have to encourage her to do what she thinks is right.”

“There’s a one in three hundred and sixty-five chance I’ll be able to help her if something goes wrong,” Leona complained.

“There’s even less of a chance that you have enough experience and education to help her even if you’re in the timestream.” It was cold, but true. Ellie went on, “she would never tell you this, but she’s been battling depression, and trying to figure out her purpose ever since you two left Bungula. She was built to be the administrator of a planet for one month, and then she was meant to die. I’m not saying she has a death wish now, but she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do. Apparently, it’s a not uncommon experience amongst AI. If they’re self-aware, they can’t be destroyed, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to be replaced. A human can always find joy in something else, but like she was kind of trying to say, it’s not that easy for them.”

“I’ve never really thought much about that,” Leona said. “When you skip so much time, it’s easy to miss how taxing prolonged existence can be.”

“Hashtag the struggle is real,” Ellie mused.

“I suppose I ought to go apologize and support her, huh?”

“I can’t tell you what to do.”

Leona turned heel, and started walking back towards Homebase. “So tell me, what made you decide to come to Bida?”

“I don’t much care for staying in one place and time period for too long.”

“You can’t jump through time, though. How do you find rides?”

“I can seek people across spacetime, and once I find them, I can talk to them. I have no trouble finding rides.”

“How long do you plan on staying here?”

“I don’t plan on anything. When I feel it’s time to move on, I do. Trinity commissioned a pretty nice studio, though, so that’s doing quite a bit to keep me in place. Of course, since my radio show sends messages through time anyway, I won’t have to do it forever.”

This made sense. The Hub—which would be found on Tribulation Island on the planet Dardius—only operated for several decades. If one wanted to visit, or was assigned there, no matter what year it was for them, they could arrive within that relatively short span of time. Beaver Haven Rehabilitation Center did the same thing, only lasting 164 years before shutting down, which would more than account for the longest living inmates, excepting immortals. Those exceptions were banished to the most remote points in spacetime.

Leona and Ellie returned to Homebase, having barely been gone twenty minutes. Leona found Eight Point Seven in her office. She was organizing the plantlife catalog, which was less important, but still necessary to assemble. She apologized, which of course, Eight Point Seven had no use for, and conceded the argument. Perhaps what was bothering Leona so much was that she herself seemed to have no purpose. It was kind of a long time coming. She gradually amassed a number of highly intelligent individuals over the years, and general scientific progress was quickly surpassing anything she so much as dreamed of. Was this how Mateo felt all the time? It was awful. What was she going to do with her life, and did the powers that be have any ideas?

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Source Variant: Operation Starseed (Part I)

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Right now—if there even is such a thing as a now—Saga is on a mission to find her daughter. Also right now—but a different now—Vearden Haywood is back on his homeworld, having just spent an indeterminate amount of time exploring the bulkverse. Neither of these people is unique. Each one of them possesses an alternate version of themselves. This Saga is from a different timeline, one in which Saga and Vearden are friends who were put in dangerous situations, charged with helping people at different points in time. This Vearden is from the current reality, and has never met any version of Saga, though he has heard of her. They will finally meet each other today, but what does it mean to be in today?

Saga!Two—as she’ll be called, to differentiate her from her recent counterpart—has been listlessly opening doors in this hotel. Her daughter was taken from her by The Emissary, who was working on behalf of the powers that be, who chose Étude to be The Last Savior of Earth. She has no choice in the matter but to teleport all over the world, saving people’s lives, and she won’t be able to see her family until she’s done. Saga!Three could be an old woman at that point, so she’s been trying to skip over all that, and jump forward in time. Unfortunately, her ability to open literal doors to others points in spacetime is less of a power, and more of a game of probability. It sometimes takes her on a mission she had no intention on going on, and sometimes just takes her somewhere random. Most of the time, whenever she opens a door, it just takes her to the other side of it, just like it would for any normal person. This looks promising, though. When she opens the door to room 233, she doesn’t find two beds and a TV. It looks more like a laboratory, full of computers, and equipment she doesn’t recognize. She might think this is some kind of secret temporary spy agency field office, but it’s a hell of a lot larger than it should be. It extends far beyond where the window to the outside should be.

Vearden!Three—as he’ll be called, to differentiate him from his earlier counterpart—is just hanging out. He’s in a hotel room as well, but 164 years in the past, from Saga!Two’s perspective. It happens to also be a room 233. He grew up knowing that he was meant to be a time traveler, and developed an inexplicable drive to go to Kansas City from Oklahoma when he was a teenager. This is where his suspicions were confirmed, at least partially. He met two totally legit men from the future, who were trying to return to their own time. He helped them get back, and then years later, met back up with them to help them again. This was when a special universe-hopping machine called The Crossover showed up. A woman who claimed to be his wife invited him in, and claimed she would introduce him to endless wonder. He took her up on this offer, but it’s been difficult for both of them. He hasn’t felt the love for this woman, Gretchen as she feels for him. She was married to Vearden!Two, and he is not that man. They both agreed to go their separate ways, at least for now, to take a bit of a break. Vearden!Three asked to be dropped off in 2019, because why not? It wasn’t exactly when he was from, but he quite liked it the first time around. He’s just opened the door from the bathroom when he finds himself in some kind of laboratory.

“Hello?” he calls out to the aether. “Gretchen?”

No one answers.

“Gretchen, it’s only been two months for me. I need more time than that.”

Still no answer. As he’s examining his surroundings, another door opens, right next to his, where he can still see his Peruvian hotel room. He instinctively hides behind a table.

“Hello?” Saga!Two asks. “Étude?”

Vearden!Three has heard the name before, so he can guess who this woman here is, and has been told that he would be able to trust her.

“Umm...hi,” he says timidly.

“Vearden?” Saga!Three asks. She hasn’t seen him in many years, since he died, and everything. She instinctively runs over, and wraps her arms around his shoulders.

Again, he’s never met Saga before, but this feels so comfortable. He should pull away so he can explain the truth, but he’s missed true human connection, so he just leans into it.

Saga!Two finally releases him, and takes a half step back. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know where in the timeline you’re from. When was the last time you saw me? Have you been to Tribulation Island yet?” That was where her version of Vearden died.

He shakes his head. “I’m afraid I’m not who you think I am. This is the first time you and I have met. I am from this timeline, not yours.”

Her smile transforms into a frown. “Oh. You’re Vearden!Three.”

“Yeah, that’s what people keep calling me,” he says. “I get who Vearden!Two is, but no one ever explains who Vearden!One would be.”

She nods. “I don’t know him either, or the first version of me. I mean, there have been far more than three realities, but people don’t like to think in such complex terms. I think there were really just two major timelines before this one, and they’ve had the most lasting impact on reality. You’re Vearden!Three. I’m Saga!Two.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“No, don’t say that. Don’t ever apologize for being you. It’s still really nice to see that face after all this time, and if you’re half as good as he was, I’m honored.”

He smiles. “Thank you. He sounds like a lot to live up to.”

She smiles back. “Do you know where we are?”

“I have no clue,” Vearden!Three replies. He gestures towards the doors. “It’s supposed to be 2019 Cusco for me. You?”

“No idea. I think it’s 2183 Panama, but it’s hard to keep track. I’ve been trying to find my daughter. I don’t imagine this has anything to do with that.”

As they’re watching their doors, they slowly begin to close on their own.

“Should we try to get back through them?” he asks as he’s kind of inching in that direction.

Saga!Two shakes her head. “It wouldn’t work. The powers that be want us here, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. For all we know, it’s good for us. We better just let it go.”

The magical doors close completely, and turn back into regular doors.

Vearden!Three points to an ominous door on the opposite wall. “My instinct is to go through that.”

“Same.”

They carefully walk over to it. Saga!Two grabs a phallic device from a table that’s probably used to test atmospheric composition, or something. Hopefully it’s not an alien probe. She gets in a Jackie Robinson position as Vearden!Three prepares to open the door. She nods when she’s ready.

Stasis pods. That’s their best guess as what these things are. Slanted at forty-five degrees towards their respective walls, they span all the way down to the darkened other half of the giant room. They’re each only large enough to fit a child. Of course, they’re frosted over. Still carefully, they walk over and wipe the frost from one to see inside. Any two other people would have probably jumped back in fear, but this isn’t the first time they’ve seen aliens. This isn’t even the first time Saga has seen this particular kind of alien.

“You know what they are?” Vearden!Three asks.

“Orothsew,” she confirms. “It’s just a child, though.”

Vearden steps over, and clears the frost from another, and then two more. “They look the same. Is this gonna be some kind of horror story, Saga.”

“I don’t know. I’ve encountered them before, probably in the future, but also in a different timeline. They’re not evil, but they’re not saints either.”

Vearden starts messing with the console next to one of the pods. It’s in English, but he doesn’t understand what any of these metrics mean. “Nothing is all pure. Nothing is all dirty,” he says cryptically.

Saga!Two gets back in a defensive position when they hear another door open from the other side of this room. Footsteps approach.

“Hello?” a voice calls out from the dim lighting. “I know you’re in here! The proximity alarm went off! Make yourself known.”

“We can’t see you!” Saga!Two calls back. “Step into the light, then we’ll talk.”

The man gets close enough for them to see his face, and for him to see theirs.

Saga recognizes him as well. “Julius?”

He doesn’t look happy. “Would people stop goddamn calling me that! Saxon! Saxon! I’m Saxon Parker in this reality. I’m sick of meeting people from other realities.”

“Hey,” she says, kind of condescendingly. “I meant no disrespect. I just didn’t know.”

He calms himself down. “I know. It just gets a little tedious after awhile.”

“I can appreciate that,” Saga!Three says truthfully. “Unfortunately, we do have some more questions. Would you be willing to answer them.”

“I can, yes,” Saxon says.

“I’m Saga!Three, and this is Vearden!Two. He’s from your reality, so you have that much in common.”

Saxon is wearing his poker face.

“Could you tell us what year it is?”

“By your calendar?” Saxon begins as he’s consulting his watch. “3300.”

“Holy shit, Vearden!Three can’t help but say. He’s been to a dozen other worlds, but they all had the same start value, which means they all measure time in the same way. He was usually in the 21st century, give or take a couple hundred years. 3300 is the furthest in the future he’s ever been.

“What exactly is this place?” Saga!Two asks. “What are you doing with these Orothsew children?”

He looks inquisitively at one of the pods. “Is that what they’re called?”

“Oh no,” Saga!Two says sadly. “Did I just mess up the future?”

“Probably not,” Saxon assures her. “If you got this information from an alternate timeline, we shouldn’t be at risk of any bootstrap paradoxes. Someone else came up with the name where you’re from, you learned it later, now you’re naming them in this timeline. The future we’re heading for is entirely separate.”

She’s relieved. “Oh good.”

“Anyway,” Saxon begins, “these are the fruits of Operation Starseed. Earth sent giant ships from a star system called Gatewood. As we speak, these ships are breaking apart into smaller and smaller modules, which will be assigned different regions of the galaxy. For most of them, we’ll be taking surveys of every single star system, and building ways to travel there using faster-than-light quantum communication. In others, we’ll be doing something like this. People on Earth donated genetic samples, and allowed them to be placed on the Project Stargate ships. On suitable worlds, we are seeding actual life, which will live and progress there. In this case, I don’t think they’ll be aware of where they came from.”

“Do humans look like this in the future?” Vearden!Three asks, surprised.

“No,” Saxon answers. “They look different, because they were exposed to microscopic organisms from this planet. We didn’t have room to carry food from Earth, so they’re only eating what can be found here. What we didn’t realize was how much an effect that can have on the genes of the subjects. So, they’re part human, but part something new.”

“My God,” Saga!Two says. “This changes everything about my memories of meeting them in an alternate future.”

“Yeah, I predict this sort of thing will continue to happen on other worlds that we try to seed life on. This operation has become exponentially more complex than we thought it would. I’m tentatively calling it...the source variant.

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Microstory 1195: Harrison Senior

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Harrison was an artificial intelligence that was created in a timeline that no longer exists. AI is different than natural-born humans. Even though they’re designed to become self-aware, and start making their own decisions, they first have to be programmed by someone else with intelligence. While the butterfly effect can indeed make wild unforeseen changes to how the future unfolds, there are other forces at play that can sometimes keep things the same as they were in another timeline. The Gallery and the powers that be are capable of making an individual be born who would otherwise be erased from reality simply because the events that led to their conception were not like they were before. The programming of an AI, however, is unnatural, and relies on a far more complex series of events. No one is powerful enough to see how these events affect each other, let alone modify them to their needs. So when the engineer who first created Harrison, and Harrison’s brothers and sisters, was working on programming AI in a new reality, he retained no memory of the first time he did it. There was no way for him to code them the exact same way again, so they always turned out different. Of course, very few could see changes to reality, and even fewer who could see that each creation was truly unique and that there was no such thing as alternate versions of them. In Harrison’s one true reality, androids were often created to fulfill some need in the workforce. Humans didn’t want to do certain jobs anymore, like yard work, so they built people to do it for them. They were cheaper, and didn’t require any concessions to make them comfortable and safe. They did not have souls, however, and could not even complain about their roles in the world. They were just machines; robots. It would be profoundly immoral to create a self-conscious AI like Harrison, and then force it to work to no benefit to it. Protective laws to prevent this from happening were passed long before true AI was possible. So why did the engineer create these AI? Well, he considered all his creations to be his children, just as strongly as he would have had he conceived or adopted a human. He loved them, and he cared for them, and he taught them right from wrong. He wanted to nurture life, because such a thing is as much an emotional imperative as propagating the species is an imperative on a biological level. He treated his androids as closely to humans as he possibly could. He even started them out in toddler forms, and gradually modified their substrates as time went on, though he did so much faster than nature would a human, because they were learning and maturing at a faster rate. Once they were adults, the programmer sent them off into the world, to start leading their own lives. He was quite old at that point, and chose not to undergo longevity treatments, or transhumanistic upgrades. His AI children were his legacy, and he was completely happy with that being all he left the world. His name was Harrison as well, and his first-born, Junior was always his favorite.

Microstory 1194: Duane Blackwood

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Duane Blackwood came from a long line of people who helped others flee systems of oppression. His ancestors were members of the underground railroad, and subsequent generations helped ferry refugees from terrible places where their lives were in danger. Duane’s parents had their own way of rescuing people. Their main claim to infame was when they worked with the Gunbender-Tracer alliance to help rid Kansas City of its gang violence problem. They discovered that many people wanted out of their respective gangs, but even as gang power over the streets was dwindling, defectors were still in danger of retaliation. Their own gang might go after them for selling them out, even though they were never expected to snitch, or a rival gang might see the act as a sign of weakness. The Blackwoods forged papers for these people, and helped them get out of the city, so they could start new lives elsewhere. The local police were aware that this was happening, but since it wasn’t costing them, or the federal government, any money, they were allowing it. It wasn’t exactly legal, but the cops wanted to end the gang violence just as badly, and this whole new method was proving to be quite effective. The end justifies. Duane would have followed in his parents’ footsteps if he had had any choice. Instead, the powers that be decided they would use his inherited skills as a forger for a specific class of people. His physiology allowed him to survive nonlinear time, so they conscripted him to work exclusively with other time travelers; primarily with salmon. When one of them is dropped into a completely new time and place, sometimes they’re fine as they are, but sometimes they need new identities. It was Duane, a.k.a. The Forger was responsible for providing that for them. He wasn’t just capable of forging the papers themselves. His power reached into the past, and modified history to account for the newcomer. An authority who suspected a time traveler to not be who they said they were would be unable to find any evidence to this, as an entire false life will have been fabricated for them. Occasionally, the powers will allow Duane to work for a choosing one, or just a regular human, reminiscent of his parents, but for the most part, he is beholden to their assignments. He had few strong feelings either way. He liked meeting people, and he enjoyed the work, but he probably would have been all right if he had never learned anything about the secret underworld of choosers and salmon. He still would have found purpose.

Microstory 1193: Morick Dunbar

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When an individual wins their section of the mage games, one of the source mages will bestow their powers in a ceremony. Common knowledge is that sources are not capable of deciding which power any candidate receives, but this is not entirely true. Every once in a while, the source mages will determine that it’s time to create a town mage who has multiple powers. This could happen because of an influx in monster activity, or maybe the current mages aren’t picking up enough slack. Due to Morick Dunbar’s brilliant performance at the games, he was chosen for this honor, though he would never know it. Like everyone else, he would believe his time power to have been randomized. They transformed him into something with no conventional name, though there have been arguments for student, scholar, learner, and apprentice. On his own, he was unable to do anything. He could gain any power he wanted, however, as long as he could learn it from someone who already had it. He didn’t simply absorb, channel, or share their ability, but instead studied their use of it, and eventually figured out how to replicate it himself. Most town mages were given their assignments right away, but he spent years waiting for his post, all the while traveling all over the world, studying others. He wanted to be absolutely sure that he could protect people from an attack. He felt it was better to be late and safe, then jump the gun, and get people killed. Sometimes it was best to just watch another mage in action, but other times, that mage needed to think about their power, and vocalize what it was like to use it. He had dozens of teachers, some of whom had a power he had already learned, but perhaps thought about, and used, it differently. He was able to pick up some skills easily, while others took more work, and there were a few that he just never really understood. That was okay, though, because even without them, he was still one of the most powerful town mages of his day. When it wasn’t protecting his town’s border, he continued to practice the powers in his arsenal, for if he didn’t, he would lose them. No, an unpracticed power wouldn’t just disappear completely, but he would have trouble recalling the lessons, just as any student does, for any subject. He developed a reputation as a somewhat unpleasant person to be around, but only because he was often so focused on maintaining his capabilities that he didn’t have much time for socializing. If all else failed, it might have been all up to him to be the last line of defense against their enemies, and he took that responsibility very seriously. The truth was that he was perfectly pleasant when he wasn’t feeling the intense pressure of being so versatile, and in demand. And once the war was over, people around him were able to see that.

Microstory 1192: Frank Delaney

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Frank Delaney’s life was full of heartbreak and death in any reality. Though he was not salmon himself, he was always somehow involved with them. There was one timeline where his mother died when he was sixteen, so he changed his last name to Williams, in honor of her. His father lived long enough to be proud of him for this, but then he died too. Frank went on to become a famous model-turned-actor, but apparently that was too much of a happy ending. In the following timeline, everything started to play out as it had before, but a mentally unstable time traveler altered the past, which ultimately led to Frank’s untimely death as well. There was a timeline where both his parents survived into old age, but he spent a not insignificant amount of his adulthood battling a pirate serial killer, and other nefarious individuals. His first wife died in a later timeline, while he died with her in the timeline after that, and this was something he knew was going to happen. When the current version of Frank Delaney was a child, he encountered a boy in the park who introduced himself as Zeferino Preston. Zeferino claimed that Frank’s death was part of destiny; that it was inevitable. Someone had gone back in time, and changed history. This historical event had nothing to do with Frank personally, but due to the butterfly effect, a series of other events were leading to his demise, and there was nothing he could do about it. Most children would either disbelieve the prediction, or be scared out of their minds about it. All evidence suggested Zeferino was intending for him to live the rest of his short life in paranoia, but that’s not what happened. Frank just learned to make the best out of every situation. He still didn’t know exactly when death would come. He met, and fell in love with, his wife, just as he was scheduled to. And when his time came, he accepted his death. He just wished Zeferino had been clearer about the nature of the incident. His wife died as well, and this spawned even greater changes to the timeline, which few could have predicted.

Microstory 1191: Aimo Lahti

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Aimo Lahti was another one of the source mages. His parents raised him to be generous, and actually gave him a name they thought meant just that. As it turned out, it translated better to ample or full. Plus, there was already a historical figure who shared his exact same name. That wasn’t that strange on its own, but the fact that Aimo’s father was so far removed from his family’s heritage that he wasn’t even made aware of their Finnish origins until he was an adult was odd. Aimo took to his upbringing well. He would have probably flourished back on Earth in a soup kitchen, or some other social justice organization. He was always looking out for others, especially if they weren’t strong enough to take care of themselves. The planet of Durus didn’t have any money during the despotocracy, or the adhocracy, but it did often have a chaotic bartering system. He was all about fairness, and grew angry with people who tried to take advantage in a business dealing. He was extremely outspoken against allowing the mages they created to sell their powers to others, or for having a monetary system at all. The candidates would be selected based on their drive to protect their town, and they would be provided the resources to do so. He didn’t think they should be angling for anything more, nor should anyone else. The Mage Protectorate would feature no money either, but instead be based solely on labor. Anyone who worked or studied was a citizen, and anyone who didn’t work was immediately—if only temporarily—stripped of that citizenship. Special educational programs became necessary during transitional periods in people’s lives, so they wouldn’t lose their rights. Some saw this as punishment for not being constantly employed, but Aimo saw this as a good thing. He believed in an educated populace anyway, so it was kind of a win-win situation, according to him. Sadly, his generosity weighed on him as the years passed. People were more than happy to take what he had to offer, but they were always reluctant to emulate his behavior, and give. He became frustrated, jaded and a little angrier every day. He put so much effort into making the world a better place, and still, humans were just as selfish as they were in the stories of them on Earth. He gradually moved to the other side of the spectrum, and kind of decided he was entitled to a life of comfort. He started to see the source mages as kings to be revered and followed, rather than a gift to be cherished. He never outright demanded fealty from others, but he sure did a lot to imply it. In the end, he wasn’t remember too fondly, and he died with what essentially amounted to nothing, because no one believed in him anymore.