Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Yet another chapter day!

As an update on my hand, I managed to get in with a new orthopedist about a month earlier than expected (yay waitlist!). He seemed much more competent and recommended surgery to fix the UCL in my thumb. I also have some swelling on my RCL, but the physical examination didn't reveal any laxity. Given how long it's been since the original injury, he was concerned that the hand might not heal on its own and I've already lost a lot of time with the misdiagnoses. More concerning, even if my hand did eventually heal, he indicated that there's enough laxity in the UCL that my grip might remain unstable permanently. Not an awesome result.

So, I'm waiting on a call to schedule the surgery, which should happen by the end of the week or next Monday at the latest. It sounded like the lead time to schedule the surgery was about three weeks out. I'd be spending the first two weeks in a full plaster cast. Then I'd be able to transition to a more lightweight orthotic and start physical therapy.

Not great news, but at least there's an offramp on this problem. I also don't expect this to affect the posting schedule. I use the next couple weeks to make sure I have post scheduled out for the next month or two. That might just mean we don't switch over to two chapters a week for a bit. Sorry!

However, I'll try my best to keep making progress. The dictation is much slower than typing and of had to come up with a few workarounds since it doesn't seem designed for a full book. For example, I'm having to use separate word documents for each chapter and copy paste into the primary manuscript since the dictation software slows to a crawl after a hundred pages or so.

Anyway, with all that fun news out of the way, enjoy the chapter estimation point

Chapter 6 - Deal

Pax Control Center

Jason

“Alright, story time is over!” the Gambler announced, clapping his hands and eyeing Jason and Cady.  “Which means this is the part where the two of you pay up.”

Technically, that meant it was Cady’s turn.  She might have been cagey with the specifics of her relic’s unlock requirements, but she’d at least given Jason a deadline – that timer still ticking down in the corner of his vision.

“About that… it’s almost time,” Cady murmured, peering at that simple hourglass with rapt attention. And as the timer ticked down to zero, her relic unlocked.

The last kernel of sand fell through the pinhole in the glass, moving far too slowly – as though time itself was stretching out.  That grain falling, falling, falling… then landing.

The impact was explosive.  A blast of emerald energy rocketed away from the hourglass, shoving Cady back.  Time and space were so intertwined that the energy began to rip away at the fabric of reality itself.  Tears formed in the air, massive rips that revealed a mawing, dark void on the other side.  First just a few, then dozens, then a hundred.  Merging and combining and growing until the crystalline walls of the conference room began to disappear.

Except that void wasn’t entirely empty.

Staring back through those rips were creatures Jason recognized.  Floating sacs of flesh dotted with hundreds of eyes.  Hall Monitors.  Even one was enough to put a god on the defensive.  Yet there were dozens staring through those tears.  They were completely surrounded.  All of those monsters focused solely on Cady.  On that hourglass.  On a continuity error of truly epic proportions – one that could threaten the entire game world.

Jason was already on his feet, the two halves of his scythe rotating out of each forearm and Soul Blades spearing away from the tips.  The others had joined him.  Riley’s bow was knocked and scales rippled down Frank’s arms as he transformed.  Even Eliza and Alex had pulled their wand and sword. He knew it was futile, but what other choice did they have?

The only one who seemed unaffected was the Gambler, the god still sitting at the table calmly.  “By the way, you still owe me if you all die,” he chirped happily.

Then he just went back to counting his coins.

“What the fuck are those things?” Frank growled, his voice deeper and rumbling as the transformation completed, reptilian tail swishing at the floor and wings sprouting from his back.

Jason didn’t bother to answer.  They didn’t have time.

Not even enough for him to appreciate the irony.

“Cady?  Now would be a good time to turn it off!” he grunted.  He was already inventorying how many minions were nearby, his map floating beside him.

The answer was, “nowhere near enough.”

“I’m trying,” Cady grunted with effort, even as those tears widened.

She was stepping forward one ponderous step at a time, her own mana flaring as she fought against the power of the hourglass – the way time and space warped around it.  Her limbs strained, her arm reached forward, her fingers inching toward that relic.

Slowly.  Far too slowly.  The Hall Monitors were already preparing to attack, rainbow energy coalescing around their eyes.

So, Jason did the only thing he could.

He blasted forward in a blur of motion, the air mana crystals embedded into his skeletal feet triggering and wind gusting around him as he charged forward.  With each step, he triggered the gems again.  And again.  And again.  Until the bone began to crunch and fracture under the stress and the world blurred around him.  As he struck that field of unstable time, it slowed him rapidly – his headlong charge stalling.

Yet the field wasn’t entirely immune to the law of physics, Jason still racing forward.

By the time he reached Cady, he was only able to nudge her gently.

Just a few scant inches as the room around them transformed into a kaleidoscope of color. At least, the dust would look fantastic on stream…

Then her fingertips barely touched the relic… and the power winked out abruptly.

The tears in the fabric of the game world popped back into place like the snap of a cosmic rubber band, the backlash of energy enough to leave ripples in time and space that cascaded through the room.  Jason and Cady dropped to the ground and the others were sent careening backward, crashing into furniture and slamming up against the walls. 

Leaving them groaning, breathing hard, and slowly pushing themselves back upright.

“Ahh, I knew you had it in you,” the Gambler commented into that sudden silence. He looked up at the group.  “Also, I told you so.  The relics are bad news.”

“I’m starting to think he might have a point,” Eliza murmured quietly as she inventoried her equipment and the many pouches dotting her robe.

Even Riley and Frank looked shaken.  Alex wide-eyed and sword still in hand, his eyes now locked on that innocuous-looking ring on his finger.  Imagining its power, no doubt.

Yet, strangely, Jason felt calm.  The same feeling that had swept over him while watching a hundred undead children murder Karen’s guildmates.  Maybe that should have been concerning, but he couldn’t even muster any anxiety over his unusual mental state.

Besides, there were more pressing questions.

Like what did Cady see as she stared into the depths of that hourglass?  Her fingers reaching out to touch it, but not quite making contact – the earth avatar now more cautious.

“So, were we right?” Jason asked finally.

“About what?” Alex demanded.

Frank pointed at him.  “I hate to agree with the angelic asshole, but what he said.  Also, are we going to talk about how we all almost died?   Maybe what the fuck those ugly things were?”

Jason grimaced.  “Hall Monitors.  We encountered them during our journey back in time.  They help regulate the continuity of the game’s timeline.  As for Alex’s question…”

He trailed off, still watching the earth avatar.  “Cady and I already knew parts of the gods’ story.  Bits and pieces, anyway.  Enough that we could make a few logical deductions.”

Jason turned to the others.  “You heard the Gambler.  This game world wasn’t created by Cerillion.  They just built the framework.  The rest was designed from the inside out – by the gods themselves.  And that same design philosophy continues today.  After all, we were the ones who brought back the elemental cities, that built Pax, that recovered the gate pieces and began to re-create a fast travel or waypoint system.”

They were beginning to see it now – Jason could tell from their expressions.

“As a fresh generation of avatars, we’ve been molding this world in our image,” Jason continued.  “We are the developers.  And game developers have tools.”

“So, the relics—” Alex began slowly.

“They can alter the game mechanics,” Eliza confirmed, awe coloring her voice.  She tugged at her beanie, suddenly uncomfortable wearing something so dangerous.

They even had proof, didn’t they? For example, the mana generator they has stolen from the Half-Mile Club and repurposed into the Respawn Field around Pax. The combination of all six affinities flowing through that device allowed them to change many aspects of the game world. The same device Smiles had used to create “mutators” during their fight in the Mile High Club, changing gravity, temperature, and even affecting their respawn rate.

At that revelation, Alex looked at his ring with more trepidation, the Gambler tried his best to ignore those dice, and Jason wondered what secrets his own urn might hold – his dark mana thrumming in excitement at the possibilities…

“So, what does the hourglass do?” Alex asked finally.

Jason’s attention snapped back to him.  “Our best guess?  It controls the mechanics relating to time and space.  The time compression.  Possibly the heightened awareness offered by some spells and skills – which compresses time even further relative to the other travelers.  Perhaps even the instancing system itself.”

“Uh, for us slow people in the back… that helps us how?” Frank asked.

A fair question, but hadn’t Jason already told Karen the answer?

There was only one solution to their pesky population problem.

“We were hoping the hourglass would allow me to create layers,” Cady declared finally, taking over for Jason, her eyes still on the hourglass.  “Multiple duplicate instances of Pax – possibly even a way to travel between them.”

Her gaze shifted to the Gambler. “And why stop there?  What if we could do the same for the Mile High Club?  Hundreds of thousands of travelers could participate in the death games simultaneously without any waitlist.

Cady’s glowing emerald gaze was on Eliza now. “Or what if we could enhance the time compression of our crafting districts – further accelerate learning and crafting speeds?  The payoff is potentially endless,” she added, in part for the Gambler’s benefit.

The god sure seemed to be listening now.

Silence hung across the room as she finished speaking.

“Uh, so is that possible?” Frank asked tentatively.

All eyes were on Cady now – watching, waiting, anticipating.  Even Jason.  His own freedom was at stake here.  If they could pull this off, he could finally leave Pax.  Could finally take the fight to the avatars.  Even unlock his own relic.

Cady grimaced but then nodded.  “It looks like it, but…” she trailed off uncertainly.

And now the Gambler’s eyes were gleaming, his hoard all but forgotten.  His lips curled in a sly, predatory smile as he watched Cady – the way she frowned at that hourglass.

“You look upset,” the God observed.  “Did I not tell you the relics come with a cost?”

She glared back at him.  “This is too much.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… except we have a deal,” he replied.  A wave of his hand and the contract reappeared in the air beside him, its terms outlined in glowing green.

“I know that,” Cady snapped back.  “But it also doesn’t say when I have to deliver.”

The God’s smiled slipped, his eyes darting to the small print.

“What’s the cost?” Jason asked.  When she hesitated, he added, “You’re going to have to trust us a little, Cady.  The same way I trusted you when you asked for two in-game weeks to unlock your relic – two weeks we spent policing this damn city and preventing it from falling apart.”

Frank and Riley could certainly relate, crossing their arms and glaring.

They had been more than patient enough.

Cady heaved out a sigh.  “I can form the layers, but it will take a massive amount of Time – far more than I have left after bringing Pax forward in time.” She hesitated, chewing on her lip in thought.  “The hourglass allows me to borrow the deficit… at the cost of my own playtime.  If I use it, I’ll be frozen again for two weeks in-game.”

The group went silent as they digested that news.

Well, shit.  That was one hell of a cost.  One that took an avatar out of play.

Or, at least, partially.  Cady could always still use her clones to replace herself in this timeline. Jason suspected that’s how she’d been maintaining her “day job” at Cerillion.

Frank was the first to react.  “Oh noooo,” he murmured.  “That’s just terrible.  You mean we’d have to survive without your micromanaging for two whole weeks?  How will we do it?”

He could barely suppress his smile.  Riley didn’t look too broken up either.

Although, Cady was genuinely upset.  Jason could tell even though she tried not to show it.  Her shoulders were tense and lips pinched.  He knew why, even if Riley and Frank didn’t.

That’s why he could anticipate what she was thinking.

Her goal was simple. Cady was trying to save her sister – to protect her.

Yet she hadn’t managed to secure the data on the Lazarus Project – a smoking gun she could have used as leverage against George.  Her next step was obvious. Cady likely plan to use that data to win Finn over to her side in exchange for Rachael.

After all, they both had a similar goal.

The two of them together would be more than enough to destabilize or destroy the game world – to hold it hostage in order to negotiate with George.  And Jason knew they wouldn’t hesitate if it meant saving their family, consequences to the others be damned.

Yet that option was off the table.  Which meant Cady had no choice but to use the relic and stabilize Pax.  A situation that Jason had created by beating her to the punch.

He wasn’t happy about it, but he’d also had no choice.

And now, neither did she.

Yet his skeletal visage gave away nothing.

“It’s fine.  We can make it work,” Jason reassured Cady.  “The others can manage Pax in your absence.  And, teasing aside, you probably could use a break.”  She’d been online constantly.

“I don’t think you understand,” Cady muttered, flowing green text and calculations scrawling through the air around her – a dozen contracts and inventories materializing as she reviewed her own hoard of time.  “This isn’t a one-off problem.  I would need to sustain those layers.  At best, they would last for a few real world days, then I’ll have to do it again…”

Ahh, Jason could see her point.  She would effectively be locked out of the game for good – using the relic essentially removing one of the avatars from play.  That wasn’t ideal.

Even Frank and Riley didn’t look amused anymore.

And the Gambler’s smile just widened.  Almost like he’d anticipated this problem.

Yet a solution came from an unexpected source.

“What about your contracts?” Alex asked suddenly.

Cady’s brow furrowed.  “What do you mean?”

The avatar of light shook his head.  “I’m not certain I understand your abilities, but it’s clear you could contract with this God.  And you keep talking about Time as a currency.  So can you create contracts with Time paid as the balance?”

Cady nodded. “Yes, yes, that’s how it works.  But, as I said, I don’t have—"

“What if you made another contract?  Except this time, with every traveler in Pax?”

“That would be—” She froze abruptly, suddenly reconsidering his point.

“Is that even possible?” Frank asked.  “And what would she offer in trade?”

“The layering itself,” Eliza replied quietly, watching Alex.  “Lots of people would probably sign it if they didn’t have to wait in line to use the Mile High Club.  Or access the city services.  And it would turn Pax into a safe haven for the travelers – attracting more of them.  Especially if they could offset the time loss with improved crafting and training speeds.”

Alex nodded.  “It would also help from a real-world standpoint.  The system has been notorious for failing to enforce playtime limits, which has led to spikes in player uptime.  As I’m sure you’re aware, this has become a political issue in the real world.”

He wasn’t wrong.  Jason glanced at Alfred where the cat lounged nearby – both Frank and Riley following his gaze.  This was yet another issue the AI had left to the travelers to resolve.

Alex didn’t notice, still deep in thought.  “Maybe this gives us a path to resolve both issues – improving conditions in Pax while dampening anti-VR sentiment in our world.”

Frankly, it was a brilliant plan.  Jason hated to say it, but he was impressed.

A few more seconds passed as Cady’s hands blurred, a few hundred calculations cascading through the air rapidly.  Then her smile widened.  That was excitement shining in her eyes now.

“I guess you aren’t completely useless,” she offered to Alex. 

High praise coming from her, although he didn’t seem to appreciate the ‘compliment.’

“It’s possible,” Cady confirmed, turning back to the others.  “I’ll still need to use the relic to prime the pump, so to speak.  But if we could convince most of the players in Pax to sign the contract, the layers should become self-sustaining.  The problem is how to pitch the idea.  I bet people are going to be skeptical about signing away game time.”

“Leave that to me,” Jason offered, his dark mana flaring powerfully, responding to the excitement humming through his veins.  The tantalizing promise of power.

Although, Alex looked put out – likely upset at being pushed out of his own idea.

Yet he’d already shown that he was more than a pair of pretty wings.

“Or should I say… us?” he added, Alex’s usually stoic expression registering surprise.

“What?  It was your idea,” Jason offered with a grin.  “Besides, you did well in the Mile High Club.  I think we really sparkled together on camera.

“So, what do you say?  Want to put on another show?”

Alex only hesitated for a moment before his resolve hardened.  His own mana flared powerfully – light and shadow dancing through the conference room.

That sure looked like a, “hell yes.”