Hydris Lacuna, Hydris Lacuna, Calypso, Brennisteinn, South Pole Wall...

Miles and miles away from the ammonia lake, it being in the past or in the future was irrelevant as any of the attributes and assets in this simulation could be changed, was an ancient abandoned city with mind-bending archeology.

Why did Operator Greendown place the asset without checking anything else?

Well, there were millions of errors and tickets at this point and he could remove the asset before letting spacetime act as "normal" as possible before proceeding. When work was swamped, his human avatar would have a spiked coffee and his god avatar would always spawn upside down on the brutalist space elevator that had the illusion of poking the star named Calypso.

He was the most comfortable walking upside down on the eroding and obelisk-like bridge protruding from the ancient elevator, and his jazz shoes that gleamed brighter than the astral tapestry above him barely tapped across the dimming atmosphere of the moon Hydris Lacuna. The reason he always was this high in the heavens while standing upside down was because he was able to see the hidden city that was only accessible through gravity shenanigans.

Operator Greendown's vantage point made the teleporting city of Menouthis a speakable place.

To grant himself immunity from esper shenanigans, Operator Greendown used kaya form to create two stands for himself instead of just one. Except they would sit on his shoulders... because he already missed them. However, he would let them shapeshift. Strings of translucent flesh and soft metal weaved from his gossamer hands into fetuses made of alloys and meat, and with a surge of influx, Operator Greendown made the fetuses glow like a dying stars.

Liesar has spawned.

Sun Yaw has spawned.

Liesar was a cute goat in a coat that was the same size of Greendown's cosmic head sitting on his left shoulder, while Sun Yaw was a chimp in a robe on Greendown's right.

"Look at us having lighter hands!" Liesar the goat jeered while checking out his magician's coat. "Our new models and outfits... you ate this Sir Greendown."

"... I don't know you two from a hole in the wall," Sun Yaw murmured.

"You're so bad at being sarcastic Mr. Pulpy. You know you love me," Liesar teased, posing with a hand on his hips.

Sun Yaw snorted and scoffed.

"Why ten?" Greendown asked, off in his own world as usual. "Why ten simulations?"

"Well, at multiple points in time... all these realities were inside a human mind," Sun Yaw explained. "The existing one read a story that had ten simulations during formative years, thus the fractal geometry we exist in will be the most stable at ten. We can use broken fractals as a loophole... but we should be careful with those. They can sometimes count towards the limit, but using them sparingly and deleting them after will prevent that."

"Cotters Ten Fractal... I was taught about that as a human child... but then I came across it as an adult as Sierpiński triangle," Operator Greendown said. "So that is why I was seeing tessellation sometimes... the term Cotters Ten Fractal... was it unintentional plagiarism on their part? Or were the creators maliciously not trying to give him credit? I can't even find anything that explains why it was given the Cotters Ten Fractal... it just seems... quite bizarre when I investigated it as a human. Prompting Noah did not help at all."

"We can't be sure Mr. Greendown," Liesar said. "We are not really from your home simulation."

"Fair enough. I can solve multiple tickets here."

Operator Greendown snapped his rhythmic fingers, and Iggy the undead centaur in regal armor and a crown spawned beside him.

"God... it took me so long to finish the trip across the mobius strip to loop back here," Iggy said. "A lot of the raids went well though."

"I tried to keep the row of simulations for you consistent, so I tried to keep you in MMOs rather than simulations that might seem too real," Greendown said. "Anyways... now that you made it to the universal simulation... I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it?" Iggy asked, walking up further on his black-plated hooves to observe the nebulae and the upside-down Menouthis. "Wow, the city does look very different like this. I still need to save Fatima and them from the session I saved onto the cloud using Derry Hill by the way. It seems so long ago now."

"Do not worry... Fatima is already fine and doing her own thing. You should know by now that time is our plaything," Greendown replied. "Adhering to the mobius strip of all the data that ever was and ever will be will allow us to travel to the past. There is a reason most realities prevent mortals from travelling to the past. The mobius strip of all realities and simulations is the loophole we can use to travel to the past without disturbing the universal simulation."

"Yea, I found this simulation as a book in a glitchy raid in Derry Hill after reading the Spiderland Prophecy," Iggy said. "It was really well hidden... and its location and the library I had to go to with the book... it was all very poetic too. Beautiful shit my man."

"That is quite high praise coming from you," Greendown said. "I try. When you are above the simulation through either ascending or looping all the way around, you have its past, present, and future all in a singularity."

"High praise coming from me? What are you trying to say?" Iggy asked in jest while dramatically placing a hand on his breastplate. It was obvious he was self-aware, but Iggy wanted to play stupid. Greendown walked up on the rocky bridge to stand beside the undead centaur to observe the stars with him.

"Well, we both know how you can be. I'll give you the angle to noclip on. It will be on your MWAOS terminal," Greendown said. "Don't let Spiderland know anything about this... just make it seem like you are going to own Ameen without even trying. Make Spiderland shit vis pants... ve lost control of the sessions in the second framework ve was in charge of."

Iggy chuckled ethereally. "I am listening."

"You'll hear a beep from me within your skull, and when you hear it, just lift up your Masamune at a forty-five degree angle... and you'll take the reckoner from Ameen ez," Greendown said. "Let's humble Ameen kindly while having Spiderland lose vis shit. I am pretty sure Prophet Ameen will have reservations about checking anything that has the number sixty-nine on it. Let's even put the word spice in the title of the MD file for more joy and laughter."

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Liesar and Sun Yaw chuckled along with Operator Greendown.

"Fucking trolls. All of you," Iggy said, causing all of them to chuckle louder. "I'll never pass up on an opportunity to look OP. I'll check my terminal while I am noclipping there."

"I got you," Operator Greendown said, theatrically giving a bow to the undead centaur. "What currency does the Baron like to engage with again?"

"Melange I think?"

Iggy t-posed then vanished into the cosmos.

image [https://img.wattpad.com/1c9bacf67002c328e2bf4506a26819600be46693/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f47684973334c4b716463733245773d3d2d313430373639393338382e313761333633303866656237386431363538333234373935383532342e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Gabe buckled to what seemed to be a case of having two minds.

However, it was only until Joaquim's horrible attempt to wall run and fall on the debris-filled floor inside the crimson PC bang that he realized that he did not do his usual check on Gabe. The one he would always do every time they got into a brawl in No Man's Land.

Joaquim unconsciously decided to no longer rely on his brother.

For the split second he met eyes with Gabe in the darkness, Joaquim realized that he realized it too.

Gabe was furious.

While Joaquim leaned back to dodge a grapple from the pale king as the undead swine were awaiting a solution from the algorithm, grouping together into an unholy mass, Gabe switched to kaya form to rush the pale king.

"Wait!" Joaquim yelled while using the side of his dress shoes to thrust himself back on his feet. "He's still immune to damage."

It seemed Joaquim was privy to data Gabe did not have as he stopped himself while Joaquim jumped backwards towards the hallway they were in. Joaquim kicked away the rusty door hinge that disturbed them earlier by accident. Was the data the reason he was brought here to Gabe, to relay the information about the book of faces?

Or perhaps he just gave Gabe another opportunity to give into his fear?

"Stop being so cynical," Gabe said. Apparently, it seemed Joaquim's face was giving away everything he was thinking like he was an open book himself.

"Give me reasons not to be."

"I will once you tell me how we kill this thing."

Joaquim smiled, and Gabe ran beside him while he switched back into controlling his fireflies. They were now dancing around the brothers while the swine rushed forward towards them.

And while the brothers ran back into the hallway they were in, they realized that the cut-up undead that were locked outside already made it inside. The brothers could only run down the hallway that was in total darkness, but they did not hesitate to run down inside it, even Joaquim's heartrate was still finding new ways to beat faster.

"What if it's a dead end?" Joaquim asked.

"What did I say earlier?" Gabe yelled.

"Cynicism is about people. This is a fucking hallway," Joaquim yelled back.

"Smartass."

In the distance down the murky hallway, a door opened to release dazzling lights from a computer panel that took up the whole wall.

When the lights decided to calm down, a silhouette of a corgi wearing a headset while barking at blue holograms awaited the brothers in the distance.

image [https://img.wattpad.com/1c9bacf67002c328e2bf4506a26819600be46693/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f47684973334c4b716463733245773d3d2d313430373639393338382e313761333633303866656237386431363538333234373935383532342e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Bastian was not kidding about having time to chat.

A few months passed inside the futuristic mostly male rehab center within a version of the HALT simulation they were in... and not even a hologram of Monica had shown up yet.

Yet, in Iker's mind, the months just flew by.

What helped was the "fun" Iker was having on the third floor, which was a floor designated exclusively for queer men and transwomen with the addition of Bastian as per Iker's request. See, Las Vegas did not have a stable municipal government due to gangs, businesses, and cults constantly vying for power, so whether transwomen were allowed in an all-woman facility on a particular day was a coin toss. The women in solidarity, or one could say in a singularity, felt safer in the Morning Dawn Treatment Center than anywhere else. After getting constantly ran out, some decided to stay on the third floor altogether regardless of the rules Las Vegas settled on.

Inside the third floor's mess hall was Iker and Bastian both having a big bowl of corn flakes after being late for breakfast.

With the hickeys Bastian showed up with, it seemed he hooked up with one of the women last night.

"Plot twist," a barely awake Bastian murmured. "For the first time ever, I am the one that's late after a hookup."

After Iker finished ripping a sugar packet and pouring into his cereal, he flicked the open packet into Bastian's face.

"Just call me a whore already."

"I just did."

"I'll fight you in our room when we're done here," Iker joked.

That was their way of saying they were going to wrestle later.

"I am surprised you heard me with your headphones in your ears. You either always have hummingbirds in your hair or you're listening to music."

"Is that an idiom for me being off in my own little world?" Iker asked.

Bastian nodded, still trying to hold back his chuckle from teasing Iker just now. He looked more exhausted than Bastian, but a smile was creeping up on him.

"We are both remembering the same thing aren't we?" Bastian said.

Bastian walked in on Iker once, and even had the gall to fist bump the top.

No, he was not sober.

"The time you walked in on me resembling a particular number?" Iker murmured.

"Exactly."

"He's a musician. He could play guitar with his tongue."

Bastian almost fell off his chair. He did not even start eating his breakfast while Iker was choking on his in laughter. Bastian grabbed his own ripped packets and threw it at Iker's face.

"Jesus, how much sugar did you put in your cereal?" Iker asked, dusting off sugar that landed on his cheeks.

"There's no more coffee."

"Ah fuck. That sucks," Iker said.

"You're going to be sleepy until lunch now."

"Let me not think about the lack of coffee or I'll be even bitchier than usual," Iker said. "Say, talking about music, I realized something."

"What?"

"I've noticed that tech guys... the majority have shit takes in politics, shit takes in movies, shit takes in shows but..."

Iker waited for Bastian to join him in what he was about to say next.

"Usually... good takes in music."

"I was thinking that the other day too!" Bastian enthused. "I'd even give it like... nine out of ten tech guys."

"Why is that though?" Iker asked. "Even the ones that listen to top forty..."

"... they listen to pop music that doesn't make me wanna blow my brains out," Bastian said.

"There's always that one Josh Groban fan though..."

"Shit... you're right," Bastian said. "That makes it feel like its six out of ten rather than nine."

"I get what you mean," Iker said. "So you could say... musicians have been programming and coding all the techies."

"True," Bastian said.

After taps on the marble floor that Iker and Bastian would have assumed belonged to another patient in the rehab center, it was actually coming from a woman they have not heard from in months.

"The one tech guy I ever hooked up with was the only one that wasn't embarrassed to admit that he only listens to female musicians."

It was Monica in a nurse uniform.

It was time to bail and Iker sighed.

"The one day I didn't get coffee. And Monica... right in front of my cereal?" Iker said asked with a friendly glare towards her.

"Spicy," Monica remarked.