Microstory 1489: Solar Democracy

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Here was the end of the second Democratic Republic, and the beginning of the Solar Democratic Republic. What was the difference? Well, while a lot of things were different than before, and a lot more was deliberately changed to fit the theme, it wasn’t any more or less democratic than it was before. Of course, laws and policies were constantly changing, so it could not technically be said that the government was the same today as it was four decades ago, but that could be said for any organized region. In 2204, the rogue world of Durus finally stopped being rogue, after the however many hundreds of millions of years it likely spent wandering the interstellar void. It was now orbiting the 70 Ophiuchi binary star system, and though its orbit was artificially generated using powers and technology, they finally had a home. The Durune felt safe, independent, and empowered. They no longer relied on unwitting aid from Earth, but were taking care of themselves using all the resources they had at their disposal. No one could be sure who came up with the idea first, but it sparked at some point before arrival day, and the people voted on it during the 2205 elections. Changing the name of their government was more of a symbolic gesture than anything, but that didn’t mean it was stupid, or pointless. There was no doubt that this was the dawn of a new era; just as dramatic as the shift from the Adhocracy to the Mage Protectorate, or phallocratic Republic to the Provisional Government. They had to acknowledge that things were a lot different now, not simply because they believed they were, but because society was adapting to its new environment. Laws had to be passed to account for their new star system. These were not controversial, or even more progressive, but they did need to decide on them if they were going to survive the first full orbit, which would take years to complete. They changed other things about their government too, like renaming the head of state Luminator Prime, and having officials dress up in special clothing that apported photons of light from the center of their new suns. It was symbolic, but still important. Some were worried that it was doomed to be short-lived. They read a lot more into the symbolism, but suggesting the phrase itself was as if bookending their journey. Solocracy, they argued, could be considered a combination of the words Solar and Democracy. Obviously that had nothing to do with it, and it was merely a linguistic coincidence. Unfortunately, those people turned out to be right, in a way. The Solar Democracy did not last forever, or at least its defining characteristic didn’t. The people of Durus did not know this, however, as laws had been passed overtime which regulated what secrets seers were allowed to reveal, and which they were not. For now, they celebrated, because it took a lot of work, but they came together to get this done, and nothing would have happened without this sense of unity.

Microstory 1488: Bottom of the Abyss

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Until it started borrowing some of the sunlight that Sol was giving off billions of miles away, the best source of heat that Durus had was the broken portal. It was originally created to let all of Effigy’s monster friends into this universe, but Escher Bradley used his time powers to prevent it from working properly. This caused friction that wouldn’t be present in a well-functioning portal, and that friction generated enough energy to keep the surface warm, especially in the areas closest to it. It wasn’t entirely clear what was warming the planet enough for Savitri to survive there for ten years before Escher even showed up, but people had some theories. When Jayde Kovac finally shut down this portal, seemingly for good, in 2090, something was left behind. They called it The Abyss, and while there were no more monsters coming through from the other side, that didn’t mean everything was perfectly normal. The Abyss was a dangerous place, mostly because no one knew what it was, or what happened to people in there, because no one ever came back out. Some went in on purpose, for various reasons, including curiosity, so the first Republic had to make it illegal. They posted a guard detail around the border to stop anyone from entering, and even though that border was gigantic, they had time powers which allowed them to sense when anyone was approaching from any direction. It was one of the few things the phallocratic government did right during this time period. They even passed laws to prevent anyone from trying to use it as a form of punishment, which was, quite frankly, impressive for such an oppressive administration. Over time, it became more difficult to enforce these policies, but the laws never went away, and they were carried over into the new Republic.

Once Durus finally reached its destination in the 70 Ophiuchi system, and settled into its orbit, things started to change for the Abyss. People who happened to live near enough to see it noticed that it was less hazy than before. They still couldn’t see through it, but it was definitely thinning out. It would seem that the two real suns they now had were having some kind of impact on the weird temporal energy that once covered the area. The haze dissipated more and more as the weeks went by, and by October, experts confidently declared that it had pretty much disappeared completely. People loved that the Abyss was gone, but others pointed out that it could be interpreted as a bad omen. Perhaps all nonlinear temporal properties would eventually go away. People’s time powers, the time tech they had invented, even the unusual and artificial orbit were all in danger of being wiped off the face of this planet if this theory were true. Into 2205, things remained okay. It appeared that only the Abyss was affected. However, that didn’t mean things wouldn’t change in the future, especially since they hadn’t even completed a whole orbit yet. They couldn’t even be sure the suns had had anything to do with it, because they just didn’t have enough information. There was no reason to freak out, but it would also be foolish to not do something about it. A special committee formed, comprised of governmental officials, temporal manipulation experts, scientists, engineers, and more. They started thinking about what might happen if they lost all their powers, all at once, or gradually. It was probably something they should have considered long ago, and technically Durus was no stranger to the idea. That was why Hogarth Pudeyonavic built Splitsville centuries ago. It was always better to be prepared.

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 1486: Escher’s Escape

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Way back in 2021, an alien entity with time powers named Effigy trapped early Durus refugee, Escher Bradley in something called the Time Crevice. Time moves slower inside than it does on the outside, so while Escher only experienced a little over eighteen hours, by the time he got out, a hundred and eighty years had passed for everyone else. As far as anyone could tell, this was a random and natural temporal phenomenon, rather than a deliberate creation of someone’s. No one knew Escher had been there the entire time, because Effigy had the ability to change her form to mimic others, so they all thought he had returned to Earth through Hogarth Pudeyonavic’s machine. They didn’t even know the crevice existed, because Escher and his friends, Rothko and Savitri agreed that it was best to keep it a secret, or people would use it against each other. He had just used up all his energy trying to get out of there, knowing that as each second passed, he was missing one day of his life. When he finally managed to make his way to an outpost called Hildera, he was relieved to find that people were willing and able to help him. A lot had changed while he was gone, and though he had never learned anything about the terrible phallocratic republic, or the monster war before it, he was worried no one would help. A part of him kind of figured that Springfield would either destroy itself and die out, or find their own way back to Earth. He was surprised to find that Durus was now a thriving civilization, with advanced technologies, and yes, even a potential way home. Of course, he probably didn’t want or need to return to Earth. Even if he managed to go back in time, his family literally forgot he existed after he first disappeared. There was just nothing left for him there.

Someone else may have wanted him on Earth, however. After spending a few days resting, recovering, and getting to know the new world, Escher let his escorts lead him to the Nexus replica building, just to see it. As if his mere presence were the key, the machine suddenly booted up on its own, and waited for someone to input a set of coordinates. The scientists didn’t know exactly why it activated itself for him. It had been sitting there at least since its discovery in 2195. It could have been a coincidence, but probably not, since not one day had gone by that no one stepped foot in that building, if only to make sure it was still off. Still, Escher didn’t want to leave, and no one else did either. This was everyone’s home now. Anyone who had wished to be let on The Elizabeth Warren was either dead, or had since changed their minds. So, what was this Nexus replica good for? Exploration was the best answer, but there was a bit of a problem with that. The calculations were proving to be tricky, as Durus was still hurtling through interstellar space at incredibly high speeds. For anyone without intimate knowledge of how these machines worked, they appeared to work better from one star system that sat at a predictable location to another. Besides, they were coming up on their destination, and it was best if the experts focused on making sure that went smoothly, rather than taking on a new project right now. The exploration missions would have to wait, for the right time, and for the people to decide how that was going to go. For now, Escher needed a new life, and to find his place in the new world. He was a child when he was unwillingly dispatched to this rogue planet, and had never received a real education, even though he was forty years old. It was time to change that.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: Saturday, July 12, 2127

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No one in the history of Tamerlane Pryce’s afterlife construct had been assigned Level 11, white. He agreed with the other Designers that people living in the real world would not be ready to learn the truth about what happened to organic entities after death until at least the 25th century. Of course, Mateo already having experience keeping secrets meant that Pryce didn’t think this one case would be a problem. Mateo was already living on the fringes, and no one would notice his resurrection, because they didn’t know about him in the first place. Other time travelers wouldn’t be suspicious either, because they were used to crisscrossing each other’s timelines.

This came with both perks, and downsides. Mateo’s new body would be in perfect condition, and resistant to disease, which Tamerlane called the pristine edge all resurrected people would have. He also maintained a permanent remote connection to the afterlife, so he would be able to communicate with his friends while he worked to figure out how to get them all out too. There was a catch, though. He was fully capable of dying yet again, and if that happened, he would lose his Level 11 privileges, and have to start over. Honestly, this was a crapshoot when it came to Pryce’s warped mind. He may make Mateo spin the death wheel again. He might just send him back down to Earth, and maybe even sever his connection to his friends—which he might do at any time anyway. If Mateo ever returned, Pryce could also just cut his losses, and delete his code permanently, so there was nothing anyone could do. If he wanted to save Leona, Ellie, Sanaa, J.B., and Angela, he needed to be smart. He needed help. He needed Jupiter Fury.

Mateo didn’t know how to contact Jupiter, and he didn’t want to speak with The Delegator again. He had kind of burned that bridge, so he had to find some other way. Holly Blue had a special phone number to call her, but there was no way he was smart enough to remember all fifty-two digits. Dr. Malloy Hammer had a phone number too, and while it was a lot easier to remember, he never knew it, so that still wasn’t helpful. Someone on Tribulation Island, or anywhere else on Dardius, would be more than happy to help, but there was no way to get to them. He still didn’t know where the Earth Nexus replica was, so if he wanted to travel the intergalactic void, he would have to go to Egypt. Well, that wasn’t impossible, but Pryce didn’t bother to give him a new identity, so catching a flight would be problematic. In his mind, there was only one solution to his isolation, and it was kind of fitting, because it was starting to become a real useful trick these days, albeit for a different reason every time.

It always seemed to be the truth to them that the powers that be didn’t want him dead. It was also true that they appeared to ignore this concern when he had to save J.B.’s life. Or maybe they didn’t. Maybe they were only seemingly all-powerful, but millions of years ago on Dardius was actually out of their purview. It wasn’t the craziest hypothesis that they might try to save his life if something were to place it in danger. And hey, if this didn’t work, he knew exactly where he was going to go after death, and it wasn’t all bad. He chose to not call Leona about his decision, because she would probably try to talk him out of it, and be stressful about not necessarily being able to. He took the elevator to the platform of the Kansas City arcology, walked to the edge, climbed over the barrier they erected to stop this sort of thing from happening, and swung himself over.

He fell down and down and down, until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his body, and teleported him to safety. It was Paige Turner, who was these days filling in for Savior of Earth, Xearea Voss. “Sup,” she said simply.

“Sup,” he echoed.

“Are you from the future?”

“I am.” He paused a moment. “Looks like you’re still here. Feel any dry mouth?”

“Nope, I think the PTB want us to talk for a moment. What’s on your mind?”

“I was hoping to contact Jupiter Fury.”

“Fury? Not Rosa?”

Mateo rolled his head side to side. “Rosa would do, yeah, sure. Can you help?”

“I don’t have my powers anymore,” Paige said. She patted her pockets. “I don’t have any photos anyway. If you flung yourself over the edge just talk to me, I’m afraid you wasted your time. Arcadia and Memphis have me on a tight leash.”

“Well, it was a longshot, I guess.”

Paige frowned at him. “I’m not really part of the choosing one network right now. I really only have one name for you. It might not work; I’ve never tried it. Some choosers have special ways of contacting them, and this guy has one of those ways. He’s, like, a time god, or something. Reaching out to him might be a little...uncomfortable for you, what with you being Catholic.”

“I’m not Catholic anymore.”

“Well, you might have lapsed...”

“No, The Superintendent took away my faith completely, I’m surprised you remember. The only reason I do is because I borrowed Nerakali’s memory manipulation powers.”

“Oh. Then you’ll probably be fine. You have to pray, like he’s an angel. You pray to him hard enough, he may come, and hopefully agree to hook you up with the network.” She started smacking her lips. “I’m about to leave. Real quick, his name is Vendakaiel.” And with that, she was gone, off to save someone’s life who actually deserved it.

Vendakaiel. Hm. Okay, well, this should be relatively easy. Mateo went over to the nearest tree, and got down on his knees. He closed his eyes, and held his palms together, like a silly cartoon. Then he got all the cynicism and skepticism out of his system, so he could genuinely pray to this regular man who probably liked having people believe he was some kind of time god. He only had to concentrate for a few minutes before he felt himself being pulled away. He opened his eyes, and saw the tree before him stretch taller and taller, as if made of elastic. Everything else around him was doing the same, as he was sliding alongside them. This was a form of transportation he had not yet experienced. It looked scary, but it felt great. When it was over, he was still on his knees, now in a flowery garden. It was a very relaxing place to be, and immediately made him feel calm and stress-free.

“I am Vendakaiel,” came a voice behind him.

Mateo smiled dumbly, and turned around slowly. “I’m Mateo Matic. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir.” He could see a figure before him, but couldn’t really make it out. There was something very wrong—or right, depending on your definition—with the way his brain was processing information.

“Likewise. I have heard great things about you.”

“Where are we?”

“The Garden Dimension,” Vendakaiel explained. “It is where I live.”

Mateo looked around some more. “Oh, I’ve been here before.”

“Yes, it was just over a decade ago. I remember The Conservator asking The Horticulturalists’ permission to visit.”

Mateo breathed deeply. “Is there opium in the air, like that one show with the magician who got his stuff touchers chopped off? I can’t remember the name.”

“Actually, yes, where do you think they got the idea? It’s only in this one section, though. I use it to make people feel at ease, so they do not tremble at my appearance.”

“I am not so easily disturbed,” Mateo promised. “Could we go somewhere without recreational drugs?”

“As you wish.” Vendakaiel spirited them away to another part of the Garden.

It took Mateo a few minutes for his head to clear, but that was probably faster than it would have been had he taken the drugs directly. He could see the time god fully now. It was a monster. Mateo had never seen it before, but Leona had, and he could recall her memories of the event. He just needed to think harder for a moment. What did they call it again? “You’re a speedstriker.”

“Very good,” Vendakaiel said with a bow.

“You can teleport?” he questioned.

“Eh, that’s not really the right word to use. What I do involves a lot more running. When you called to me, I had to come get you, not just snap my fingers, and make you appear.”

“I see. Well, I appreciate it. Wait, I was to understand that time monsters didn’t have agency. They weren’t conscious, just glitches.”

“I’m evolved. Some human scientists trapped me, studied me, and finally, taught me. I am profoundly grateful to them for the gift of slowness. I didn’t realize how much better it is to not be in constant motion.”

Mateo nodded understandingly. “I was hoping you could help me find someone I lost track of. His name is Jupiter Fury?”

“Yes, I know the name. You’ll have to give me a second, so I can go find him. I found him.”

“Ah, that’s great.”

“I’ll take you to him, but I require something in return.”

“Naturally.” Hopefully, if it was something he couldn’t pay, Vendakaiel wouldn’t force him to pay, but just send him back to Earth empty handed.

“I need blood.”

“Oh, no.”

“It is the only thing that slows me down. The drugs help, but there’s nothing better than human blood. I don’t kill, or drink it; I inject it, like a normal person.”

“Yeah, that’s normal.”

“Look, if you can’t do it, I won’t make ya. I was just under the impression you needed my help, so...”

“You can have some of my blood, okay?”

“No can do. If I transfuse the blood of a salmon or chooser, I take on their properties. I have no interest in skipping time. It has to be a regular human.”

Mateo let out a short growl. “Ugh. Fine. I will find a blood bag when I’m on Earth. Jupiter himself will be able to help me with that too, so it’ll be a win-win.”

The creature might have been smiling, but it didn’t have very human facial features. “You better deliver, because if you don’t, you’re gonna find out just how fast I am.”

“I understand.”

The scenery stretched again, and transplanted him right in front of Jupiter Fury. “Miss me?”

“I did,” Jupiter said sincerely. “You died.”

“I’m back,” Mateo said.

“For good?”

Mateo chuckled. “Is anything in this universe good?”

Jupiter smiled softly, and nodded in agreeance. “Report.”

And so Mateo went about telling him the story of how he died, where he went after it happened, and what his wife and friends were doing without him. He didn’t know if Jupiter himself would be able to help, but perhaps the virtual construct was like another reality, and there was a way to break into it without Pryce knowing about it. After the story, though, Jupiter didn’t think that was the case. The most likely explanation was that the simulations were being run on a massive network of computers, which were orbiting together in a massive collection, around some star. This star was probably located very far away so as not to allow the Earthans to discover it too soon. He would have to take some time to think of their options, which was a really good sign, because it meant Jupiter was truly interested in helping.

While he was waiting on that, he went into the other room alone, so he could form his technopsychic connection to the afterlife. Leona answered the call, which prompted him to appear before her like a hologram. Except this was all virtual, so he could interact with the things around him just as much as she could. It was all just ones and zeros. Leona called them avatars. “How have you been this last year?”

She held up both of her wrists, where he could see a Cassidy cuff on each. “Pryce wrote the code for them. We’re all on the Bearimy-Matic pattern, just like we were before. I’ve only been here a day.”

He wasn’t sure whether to be upset about that, or not. At first, he didn’t think it should make a difference, but then he decided it might be for the best. Mateo was in the main sequence now, and Pryce heavily implied that he managed to encode his original pattern into the new body. If true, he and Leona would be separated through space, but at least not through time. “I’m going to get you out. I’m working on it as we speak.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Leona said. “Angela doesn’t deserve this. If you can only rescue one of us, let it be her. The rest of us are fine.”

“If I rescue her, he’ll punish you,” Mateo reasoned. “Everyone is getting out.”

“Okay.” Leona didn’t just not want to argue. She seemed to agree.

“Now.” He smiled reassuringly. “How about a tour?”

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Glisnia: Dynastis (Part IX)

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Hogarth didn’t know where she was, or who this...entity before her was, but she always tried to follow Leona’s Rules of Time Travel. Rule Number Five seemed pertinent right now, treat everyone you meet with respect, as they may unexpectedly return. “My name is Hogarth Pudeyonavic. I’m not sure what’s happening here. I scanned a book that I...”

“Created with your mind?” Aitchai finished for her.

“Yes.”

“That code delivered you to me. How can I be of assistance?”

“We’re not sure of all the details, but we believe we tapped into an alternate reality, and accidentally...merged our two together? The alternate sun is bleeding into our reality, but it’s small right now, at least from our dimensional perspective.”

The man tilted his head back in thought. “Hm. Interesting.”

“Have you seen anything like this before?”

“I’ve seen overlaid realities before, yes, of course. I’ve never heard of your specific case, though. It is quite interesting. Is it growing?”

“Yes, we believe as it slowly pulls itself into our reality, it’s adopting our dimensions.”

“Quite right, except I don’t imagine it’s from an alternate reality. I believe you’ve reached another universe; one that is—to dumb it down, with apologies—smaller than yours. Did you see colors as it was first emerging?”

“I was not there. They called me in to help. One of them is indeed from a different universe. He has the power to enhance other people’s power, and he was trying to use it to help one of our people access other realities. It’s this whole thing.”

Aitchai shook his head dismissively, but still respectfully. “I don’t need to hear anything about it. Just give me a second.” And then his stood there for a moment, unmoving. “Okay, you’re good.”

“Really? It was that easy?”

“For me, anyway.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m everything.”

“Like...literally, err...?”

“Pretty much, yeah. I was a man once.” He raised his arms outward at a ninety-degree angle, lifted his shoulders, and looked down at his chest. “I looked like this. My name was Dyne Dyne Pala Pala. A few of us encountered a temporal anomaly, and it made us all immortal. We each have our own thing, though. My version is...unusual, and my essence ultimately became integrated with the fabric of time and space, for every universe in the infinite. I’m everything now. I’m really just the energy that pervades all matter. You’re talking to a high concentration of it, in a form that just makes it easier for us to communicate.” He shook his hands like he was warming up to play the piano. “I don’t normally have hands anymore, though.”

“Do you interfere a lot?”

“I’m not sure I would say a lot, as I’ve lost all concept of scale, but I suppose about as much as I feel is necessary. There are some points in spacetime that need my attention, as do some people. You are one of those people. I needed there to be a book in your world, or rather your world needed it. Most universes are just...normal. They don’t have time travel, or anything. Closest they might get are relativistic speeds. For the few with special needs, I monitor more closely.”

“Why me?”

He smiled, though as a holographic projection of a boundless metaconsciousness, it was just for show. “I don’t talk to many people, and they all ask that. The answer is...no particular reason. You’re random.” He seemed worried that sounded offensive.

“Whew, what a relief,” Hogarth said. “Now I don’t feel so pressured. Whatever I do, it’s what I’m meant to do, right? I don’t have some specific purpose or destiny that I’ve been missing.”

“No, you’re just part of the puzzle. You’re a brighter part, I would say—you stand out more—but you still fit just as snuggly in the tapestry of reality as anyone else.”

“But I have been given the chance to talk with you directly, which is rare?”

“Indeed. You’re a puzzle piece that I picked up and inspected, to stay with the metaphor.”

“Does this have to be a one-time thing?”

“It’s not a one-time thing, but it’s not a whenever you can’t find your car keys kind of thing either. Your universe has car keys right?”

“Not anymore,” she responded. “Well, don’t worry, I won’t bug you too much.”

I’m always with you, though,” Aitchai added, “as cheesy as that may sound: in the sun’s rays, in the hum of electrical lines, in the cold of winter; that’s me. I am the energy that keeps all things moving. At least, I’m the conscious element of these natural processes.”

She nodded again. “Thank you for your help with this. Are you gonna warn me about messing with things I don’t understand?”

He shook his holographic head. “Nope. I trust you.”

“I appreciate your support.”

And with that, he was gone, and Hogarth was back in the training room.

Everyone else was still staring at the space where the miniature sun used to be, the rest of the group having entered the room at some point. Now everything was fine, and they were confused. The ones here when she left were standing a little farther from the epicenter of the problem than they were before, indicating that it had grown while she was talking with Aitchai. It took them a second to realize she was back.

“How long have you been gone?” Hilde asked.

Their friends walked over to hear better.

“A few minutes, I guess. Why, do I look older?” Hogarth joked.

“No, it’s just that it’s fixed,” Holly Blue pointed out. “Did it only take you a few minutes to get your answer, and correct the issue?”

“I met someone who fixed it,” Hogarth began to explain. “It only took him a second or two. We spent the rest of the time talking.”

“Who was this person?” Holly Blue was concerned.

“He called himself the Aitchai. Crimson, I’m sure you’ve heard of him.”

“Oh, yeah,” Crimson started, but then said, “no. Why? Should I have?”

“He’s, like...the god of the bulkverse, so I guess I assumed you had at least heard the name at some point in your travels.”

“No, ‘fraid not,” Crimson replied.

“How do you know he was who he said he was?” Holly Blue posed.

“How do you know I am who I say I am?” Hogarth volleyed. “We never really know anything. I choose to believe. He did fix the sun. It was from another brane, by the way, not an alternate reality.”

Jupiter slapped Ambrose on the shoulder, somewhat affectionately, but also a little to roughly. “You boosted my power a lot more than you knew you could. You need to be more careful, brother.”

Ambrose nodded his head, horrified. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

“Well, it’s all right now, we got it fixed,” Hogarth reminded them.

“How can we be sure it won’t happen again?” Holly Blue was about ready to scrap the whole project.

“You mean how can you ever trust me again,” Ambrose corrected.

“I was jokin’ with you, man,” Jupiter assured him. “It takes two to Tango.”

“He’s right,” Lenkida said. “We need safeguards, and contingencies, and simulations. You have all been going through this really quickly, but this has always been a long-term project. We have plenty of resources to keep us busy for the next several years. Figure out how you’re gonna do what you need to do before you start trying to do it.”

Hogarth looked over at her lab partner. “Holly Blue. Don’t.”

“What?” Holly Blue asked. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You’re about to suggest we give up, and I’m telling you, don’t suggest that.”

Holly Blue breathed in deeply, then released it all from her lungs at once. “I need to go before I say something we both regret.” She reached over to her wrist, and activated her teleporter, disappearing in a flash of lightning that was only there for effect.

“I’ll talk to her,” Crimson said as it prepared to teleport as well.

“Wait,” Hogarth stopped it. “Take her to Declan. She doesn’t wanna be here anymore, and this is my responsibility.”

Crimson tipped an imaginary cap. “As you wish.” It exploported away. Was that a good word for it, exploportation?

There was silence for a few moments.

“Ethesh,” Hogarth began. “I could do with a technician.”

“At your service,” he replied.

The two of them walked out of the room, and headed for the lab. There was a moment during this that gave her pause. This whole facility operated on wireless energy. Solar radiation was absorbed by the conversion panels on the outer layers, and delivered everywhere else. Every entity that required electricity to survive got it from broadcast nodes that the engineers installed at strategic locations. It didn’t matter where a mech or transhuman went, there was always a node nearby to supply them with power, and the signals generally overlapped with each other, so there was no loss of constant recharge, even though everyone was equipped with a backup battery. There were a few spots, however, with no overlap. They were simply oversights that no one had bothered to correct, but again, that was fine, because constant supply was a luxury, not a necessity. The threshold separating the training room and the hallways was one such of these spots, and when Hogarth crossed it, she could feel it. It was only for a second, but her sensory detectors were sensitive enough to register it. Normally, she would move on, and not give it any thought, but now she noticed it.

“What is it?” Ethesh asked her.

“That’s the Aitchai.”

“Your magical god friend?” he questioned.

She looked around like a paranoid wallaby. “He’s everywhere,” she whispered.

Ethetsh looked around too, but only with his eyes. “Are you seeing him right now? Is he telling you to do things?”

“Everything is always everywhere, and right here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s all connected.”

“Do I need to get a doctor?”

“Energy. Matter. Matter. Energy.”

“You’re really starting to freak me out, and I don’t freak out easily. I once met Ludwig van Beethoven backstage in Gandren Hall...in the past.”

“We’re thinking about this all wrong. We don’t need an altreal siphon. The time siphon will do just fine, as long as we use it correctly. Just a few molecules from everywhere, it’s all connected. Crimson Clover!” she shouted at medium volume.

Crimson exploported in. “Holly Blue has agreed to go meet Declan, but she has to get ready first. What do you need?”

“I need my body back,” Hogarth demanded.

“I can’t take her to Declan’s universe unless I keep it. I promise to return it immediately afterwards.”

“Don’t worry about Holly Blue right now. I can finish the matrioshka body.” She grabbed it by her shoulders, and forcefully swapped their consciousnesses.

< > Entire Story

Microstory 1485: Turn of the Century

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Before the Mage Protectorate fell to the war with the monsters, a special committee formed to plan a huge celebration for the turn of the century. The year 2100 was meant to signify a fresh start for the people of Durus, and a more meaningful shift than one might assume. Other than a few stragglers, plus ageless Ecrin Cabral, there weren’t a whole lot of people left on the planet who also once lived on Earth. Some of them didn’t have any recollection of it, because they were too young when the Deathfall sent them all to the rogue world. Despite all the wondrous things that the mages could do, and all the protective measures they took against the monsters, life was hard on Durus, and life expectancy was lower than it was on Earth. Medicinal treatments, and medical resources, did not accompany time powers, so if someone got sick enough, there was a significant chance that they would ultimately die from it. So the 22nd century was very important to these people, and it was a major disappointment when it just sort of stopped mattering. The Protectorate was destroyed in 2090, and though the phallocratic Republic formed in plenty of time to maintain schedule, the government was not interested in carrying it through. They just felt it was too much work to make sure women weren’t treated equally, and to coordinate all that supervision, so they let it go, and moved on with their oppressive and joyless regime. A lot had changed by the time the 23rd century approached, and of course, people wanted to actually do something to observe the occasion. A new committee formed, and this time, they weren’t going to let anything stop them from recognizing everything they had been through, and expressing hope for everything they were yet to do.

There was just one problem. When this new party planning committee started getting to work in 2195, someone pointed out that they had just done a huge celebration for the Bicentennial fifteen years ago. That wasn’t really a problem on its own, but that thing was a rager—a week-long rager. Most agreed that this would somehow have to be bigger and better in every way. But what did that mean? Two weeks long? Faster rides? More impressive time power modifications? That was what the committee was for, and why they needed five years to plan it. All of that was exactly what they did, except that the official events would only last for eleven days, rather than the full two weeks. There were multiple groups of people who were allowed to go back in time, so they could enjoy all the celebration had to offer without concern for scheduling conflicts. They added other features, like Air Gap competitions, which was a game the source mages made up that involved running towards the objective while separating one’s opponents from it by manipulating dimensional space. People today were doing it with time tech. It was huge, and fun, and dangerous. The day pass team only had five people on it, but others were trained, so they could fill in as needed. For these two weeks, everyone was called up to be at the ready to save people’s lives before they were placed in danger. Like the Bicentennial before it, it was a hugely successful extravaganza, and everyone had a really great time. Once it was done, though, they had to put it behind them, because the time was quickly coming upon them when their little wayward planet would finally reach its goal in the Ophiuchi system. Playtime was over, and they had a lot of work to do.

Microstory 1484: Necter of the Gods

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The universe is but one in a sea of infinite others. Each is called a brane, and is swimming around a sort of hyperdimensional metaspace known as the bulk. Do not confuse these with alternate realities. Any similarity between two branes only occurs because one was modeled upon the other. Some of them are natural, but some are conceived in the minds of people. The latter can last indefinitely, or collapse quickly, and are usually created through dreams, or fictional storytelling. An example of the former, on the other hand, will not resemble any other. It may have humans in it, or it may not. Its physical laws may feel familiar, but that will be coincidence, not because of some inherent interversal connection. No matter what, each universe is independent, through both time and space. And it is extremely difficult to travel between them. Interversal travel has only been invented twice in the entire histories of the entire bulkverse, and every means of travel beyond it has been based on that original technology. Because these branes do not operate on the same timeline, there really isn’t any such thing as the first, but one did inspire the pursuit of the other. They called it The Crossover, and the biggest reason the one group of people who encountered it were capable of replicating its function was because they were immortals who were billions of years old. They called their version the Nexus Network. It started out as a way to jump between systems in a galaxy, before expanding to other galaxies, and eventually all over the universe. Once the process was fully automated, and left to conquer the cosmos, its inventors decided they needed a new challenge. They chose interversal travel as that challenge, and proceeded to spend millions of years working on the problem. That was how difficult it was.

Getting out of one’s current brane was the easy part, but navigating the bulkverse, and finding somewhere to land was all but impossible. The best computer in any universe is usually not anywhere near good enough to make the necessary calculations. Once those calculations are made, however, the system that utilizes the data doesn’t have to be very large, or even all that complex. After all that time figuring out how to travel to other universes, this small group of immortals had to come to terms with the fact that their latest challenge was over, and they had nothing more to do with the rest of their eternal lives. There was talk about building more systems in these other universes, but they weren’t sure that it would be worth it. Their home universe had quadrillions of people in it, spread across many galaxies, and they needed a way to reach each other quickly and conveniently. In these other branes they visited, the population was always a lot lower. They expanded within their galaxy, and into neighboring galaxies, in some cases, but their levels never reached a meaningful fraction of the number the immortals were used to. Even further down the timeline, they seemed to be doing okay with their own technological advances. Still, there were a few cases where the group’s means of instantaneous intergalactic travel would be quite useful. In salmonverse, they didn’t build a full network, but they constructed a handful of them in strategic locations. One of them was Durus. The Durune were aware of temporal manipulation, and psychic abilities, and even a hint of other branes, so they were deemed worthy of being connected to this very small network of replica Nexa. It was constructed in secret at some point, and discovered in 2195. But they weren’t allowed to go anywhere yet.