Jeff groaned as he came to. His whole body hurt. Inside and out his whole body hurt.

"Ughh, I better get some answers now," Jeff grumbled out. It was a bad idea. His throat hurt the worst.

"Yes," a voice said. "Now you can get some answers."

Jeff opened his eyes and jumped in alarm. That was also a bad idea. Pain racked him and brought him off the hard-slanted surface and down to his knees.

His eyes hurt, but he still used them to glance around the room. The room was far bigger than the one with the bowl. There was no way the pillar held a room this large. It wasn't physically possible. Then again, physics may have changed now that they were "connected".

I'm not in Kansas anymore. Jeff thought.

"Kansas? What's Kansas? I didn't get that word in my database." The voice said. It sounded very close to him.

"Where are you?" Jeff growled out through the pain. "And did you just read my mind?"

"Read your mind? Like a book? An interesting idiom. Though it looks like many of you chosen are saying the same thing. The context is quite clear." The voice rambled on. "I'll note it for future translation. Idioms rarely translate well."

Jeff was getting impatient and started speaking up when the voice switched topics.

"As for where I am, hmmm, yes, let’s go with spectacle to answer that." The voice continued. Jeff wanted to punch whoever it was so bad right now.

Suddenly a sliver of metal in front of him started to shift and remold itself. It quickly formed a very elaborate and very reflective surface.

"Here I am!"

He felt the voice vibrate off him, making it feel very close to him.

"You are the metal? Or the Pillar?" Jeff tried puzzling out.

"What? No. You do have mirrors on your planet, don't you?"

Jeff rose higher on his knees trying to peer into the mirror. He saw himself and the room behind him. He looked different. His jawline had become more chiseled. His arms had become more defined.

Curious he lifted his shirt and saw most of his fat belly had disappeared. He wasn't quite ripped, but he had four defined abs above his belly button and just a bit of pudge below.

Then he looked into his eyes. What did he expect? They still looked like the eyes of a defeated man…He looked away.

I'm tired of these games, where is this guy? He thought.

The voice laughed and Jeff felt it through his whole body.

"Being tired of games is ironic, because, in a sense, you now live in one. By drinking me into your body you have connected yourself to the Boschyan System. The System actually greatly resembles the games we introduced to your world in preparation for this event."

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"I drank you into me? You are the potion?"

"I was in the potion," it replied, "and now I am you. Or rather, we are you, and you are two." That last part almost sounded rehearsed.

Jeff moved to a sitting position resting against the slanted metal behind him.

"So you're a parasite?" He prodded.

The voice laughed again, vibrating his bones. "That's like calling a planet a speck of dust. And after I explain some things we'll see who you think is the parasite."

Jeff could feel a bit of anger from the voice at the insult. "Please, explain away. And while you're at it, tell me where my damn kids are." He growled the last part.

"Ah, yes, let me pull up my notes so I don't miss anything. The list is not set in stone, so don’t expect me to follow it to a ‘T’."

Suddenly there was a blue screen that filled Jeff's vision. Jeff's eyes nearly bugged out. It was slightly transparent and had golden streaks running through it. He turned his head a little and the screen followed. He closed his eyes and it became clearer.

Notes for System Orientation

1. Say hello

2. Discuss Spore Suits

3. What is the Boschyan System?

4. Tutorial basics

5. Fight monster to the death

6. How we are saving the humans

7. Eat food

“Kid’s first,” Jeff demanded in a gruff voice.

"Actually, why don't I just talk about the kids first?" The voice stated.

The words started changing and in a moment number 6 had been moved to number 2 and "Say hello" got crossed out. And, after a grumble from Jeff's stomach, "Eat food" got moved to number 3.

"Let's begin with 'how we are saving the humans'." The voice said smugly. The corresponding text grew bolder on the screen.

"First off, the Spore Army of the Boschyan System has been aware of your planet since it was first formed. They helped seed the first sparks of life here. The System is always expanding, but we try to do so in a… let's see, what word does xhanggeysh translate best to… The Boschyan System expands in a more humane manner. At least compared to other Systems."

"I am a Spore. A Boschyan Spore to be exact." The voice paused, embarrassment flooding Jeff's senses. "I never introduced myself did I?" Jeff shook his head. "I'm going to assume a head shake means 'no' in your part of the world, I can never keep up with all the different customs."

"My name is Kazi, and, um, what's yours?"

"Jeff. You were getting to the part about my kids?"

Embarrassment flooded Jeff's system again and he even saw his cheeks color. Sharing a body was going to get annoying.

"Your kids are safe. Far safer than you will be as a Chosen. And far safer than those remaining on earth will soon be."

The voice continued over the start of Jeff's questions.

"The Earth is being connected to the Boschyan System and, unfortunately, that means a lot of bad things for you humans. We have been protecting your solar system from the Mysts for a long time. And now… well, now to protect humanity further we need to drop the Myst Gate. When we do so Myst will come flooding over your planet changing things in ways even we can't calculate. As your guardians, we needed to mitigate the damage and act as…humanely as possible."

Jeff interrupted. "What's so dangerous about the mist?" The word "Myst" with a "y" was added as an addendum to number 2 on the list. "Pardon, Myst." Jeff said, rolling his eyes.

"We share the same brain, so semantics matter."

"Ugh, I have so many questions," Jeff stated.

"I know, but please, let me continue. I'm sure you'll have more before we finish, but I'll answer many along the way.” Kazi sounded a little like an old scatterbrained professor he once had. "First, let me answer your last question. The Mysts themselves are the furthest thing from dangerous. They are a miraculous substance that can turn you humans into Gods.

"The dangerous part is what the Myst carries with it. The Mysts are rife with Wild Spores subsiding on its essence. Those spores, much like me, attach and fuse to another living organism. Once fused those organisms can only interact with the Myst in the way the Spore allows or is capable of."

Jeff interrupted. "So you're not a parasite, you're a puppet master…"