The whirring of the blender drowned out all noise. The frothy protein drink always tasted better when you didn’t get clumps of protein disrupting its smooth consistency.
I gazed over to the tv panel in the on the other side of the room. Flipping through the channels earlier, I had settled for the news. The reporter was interviewing what appeared to be a team of scientists. They fit the stereotype with their clean cut grooming and white lab coats.
The blender stopped after the preset setting reached its time limit. I gripped the pitcher and filled a large glass with the vanilla liquid, taking a sip. Without the noise of the blender, the discussion between the reporter and the scientist filtered through, capturing my attention.
“With the advent of controlling and channeling nuclear fission. Many options have opened to us.” The woman intoned.
“Our team has been charged with creating a dimensional tear, or small worm hole. This technology will be instrumental in colonizing the stars.”
The reporter turned to the screen as he asked his next question. “There are those who believe that manipulating these forces outside of our control could be very dangerous. After all, nuclear fission is the same phenomena that powers the sun. Are we able to contain this process? Or is there a chance that playing with this will have unintended effects that would be detrimental to our way of life?
The woman was about to respond when another man walked over to her, motioning her to step aside. She nodded in acquiescence as a familiar face filled the screen.
The man with raven black hair and golden eyes looked at the camera. It was Charles Cohan Jr. the eldest recognized son of Charles Cohan Sr., the founder of Cohan Industries. He was now in his 60s though he appeared to be in his 40s.
His perfect smile and genetically altered eyes were striking.
“Every necessary precaution has been taken.”
“Cohan industries, has mastered nuclear fission. As the primary source of earth’s energy, our nuclear reactors are able to contain the power of the sun. We will use this power to create a wormhole.”
“You will be the first to see history in the making. The great pioneers of space travel shared footage of the rockets that landed on the moon. Cohan Industries will show the world the first wormhole.”
The interruption of my phone buzzing on the counter drew my attention away from the Trillionaire. A notification light came up in the corner of my vision. Pushing the glasses up to the bridge of my nose, I reached out and flicked the notification dot to the middle of my vision. The bubble expanded and showed who the message was from. It was Yumi, my younger sisters best friend and a close coworker of mine. Well, at least she used to be my coworker. Over the past week, we had been in contact. Even though I was no longer with the company, I still wanted to know what was happening to my coworkers. Many of them were friends.
Yumi: Kevin had a meeting with the director this morning. Half of our department is gone…
Cass: Did you talk to him about his meeting? Was he let go?
Yumi: No, he is still here… She told him he isn’t meeting expectations and if things continue as they have been, he will no longer have a job here.
I winced. The director was ruthless. I paused before responding.
Cass: Harsh.
Yumi: Yeah… Cass, did you get your paycheck yet?
I groaned nervously; I didn’t want to look at my accounts. My gut told me I wouldn’t like what I would find. Regardless, it was time to check. Hiding from the reality of the situation would not help me. I asked my AI to do the honors.
“Lana, pull up my bank statements, please.” The ledger like statements filled my vision. I looked through my checking account with a sinking feeling. No paycheck.
For the first time in a long time, I felt the uneasiness that came with not having any money. I didn’t have enough money to rent, and I was still making payments on my top of the line VRs. I justified buying the best because they would help me with work. That was no longer the case. My apartment wasn’t cheap and my accounts were drained. At this rate, I would need to keep things lean.
I could handle this. I wouldn’t go to my family for this. If I did, they would likely help me, but I took pride in being self sufficient. I had been self sufficient ever since I went to college and that wasn’t about to change anytime soon.
My family couldn’t know, at least not yet. Not until I had a new job. Yumi would tell my sister, who would probably tell my parents. If I could work fast, though, I could get a new job and play it off as no big deal.
That is what I will do. This isn’t that big of a deal, just a minor setback…
I responded to Yumi.
Cass: I haven’t received anything yet… maybe they are just taking longer to get the paperwork ready and my check just hasn’t processed.
Yumi: maybe…
The conversation lolled.
Yumi: Everybody has been talking about you. You are a hero here.
Cass: That’s nice, anything to keep morale up for the team.
I half heartedly typed back.
Yumi: Hey Cass, does hearing about this stuff bug you? I just thought you would want to know, but if you don’t, that’s fine.
It did bother me thinking about the conversations I had with her, the Director. But I wasn’t one to let it get me down. I sure as hell would not let anyone know I was feeling depressed. I sent her my response.
Cass: Nah, I’ve just been enjoying the free time. Money is fine, so I’m not too worried.
I gritted my teeth at the lie, but I didn’t want to worry her. Besides, I knew anything I told her would make its way to my sister, but maybe there was something I could do about that.
Cass: Hey Yumi, can I ask for a favor?
Yumi: Sure, anything, what’s up?
Cass: I’d just like to keep this on the down low for now. Don’t tell Abby.
Yumi: Okay… Though I don’t know why you’re worried about telling her…
Yumi: I’d prefer to let her know. She is always asking about you when we talk.
Yumi: I don’t feel comfortable withholding this kind of thing from her.
My gut tightened at the thought of her hearing about my latest problem. I didn’t want her to worry. At the same time how could I ask her to lie to her best friend. A compromise.
Cass: I get it. Just give me a couple of weeks. I’m sure I’ll have everything figured out by then.
Hopefully…
Cass: You know how she is. She will drop everything to come see me.
Cass: That’s not what I want for her.
Yumi: Yeah, I get it but that just how she is…
Yumi: She’ll just be concerned for you. It’s not a big deal. Most people would kill for a sister like that.
She was, of course, right. Abby was the best younger sister anyone could ask for. The two of us grew up tight. She was the socially savvy beautiful girl who talked here older brother up to all her friends. I was the guy who tried to look cool on the outside, but on the inside was just trying to keep my shit together.
Cass: Yumi, just give me a couple of weeks to wrap my head around this before telling her.
Yumi: Sure, Cass. Just don’t go all stoic on us…
Cass: Yeah, okay, it’s nothing like that. This is just a change. I need some time to adjust.
Yumi: Right, okay…
Yumi: Listen, I’ll swing by your place after work. I’ve got some errands to run before coming over. Office is boring without you.
Cass: Yeah. Thanks. That sounds fun. See you then.
Yumi: Right, I’ll catch you later.
I fell against the couch, looking up at the ceiling while I massaged my temples. I just wasn’t feeling great. I had been a bit depressed over the last week. The whole experience had got me down and I was having a hard time leaving behind.
I returned my attention to the news. No longer was the reporter interviewing scientists or the business magnate. They were now following work that was being done on some sort of multilayeredcontainment cylander.
The multiple layers of glass showed robotic arms performing some sort of process at the center. As I watched, suddenly an explosion occurred inside the rooms, but the it traveled through channels that absorbed the energy. A bright white blaze was quickly dampened as the glass of the layered cylinders turned dark black. The blaze softened though you could still see the the radiating sphere in the central chamber.
I watched in awe. The reporter had stopped explaining the process as even he was momentarily shocked by the explosion. The blazing white tennis ball of a star started to dim. The multiple shields of the glass like substance began to lighten. The blazing ball changed from a bright white to the yellow of the sun followed by an orange color, then finally to a deep red. By that time the glass of the containment system was near transparent, the size of the star had enlarged. It was unreal. The red blaze of the star began to dim.
The machinery of the containment system started to glow when the red star blazed, then flickered before resulting in some sort of silent implosion. The first and second layers of the six fold containment system shattered. Except rather than exploding outward they were sucked into the location where the star had once been. All that was left was a deep black marble that seemed to warp everything around it. The containment center continued to shudder, then gradually formed into an hour glass shaped cosmic funnel. It was layered with deep purples and blues that undulated with cosmic patterns, kind of like the northern lights.
I couldn’t believe it. They had done it. They really created a wormhole.
I stared at the screen for another moment in awe.
It was then that everything went black, and the earth started to shake. I heard the shattering of windows, car alarms, and horns. People screaming and stone crushing.
It was unlike anything I had ever been through. The anxiety and depression I had been feeling was replaced with an injection of pure fear and adrenaline.
Shit! They had screwed up this time.
Another explosion rocked the house. It was so abrupt it knocked my glasses from my face and I heard a crack. I fell to the ground when all of the sudden I heard something in my head.
A large blue outlined box appeared in front of my eyes.
----------------------------------------
> Lost planet identified
>
> System initialization
>
> 97th planet identified from the 7th solar system.
>
> Defensive shroud identified, interference detected.
>
> Removing shroud to reintroduce the planet to the system.
----------------------------------------
All of the sudden, the dark room lit up and everything was completely white. There was no heat, but the light was so bright that Cass shut his eyes and crouched down to the floor, covering his closed eyes with both of his arms.
----------------------------------------
> Error: Shroud removal failed.
>
> Error: Integration of 97th planet to the 112,222nd solar system failed.
>
> Error: Detected interference, planetary teleportation failed, retry.
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The earth shook, and the sun blacked out, the earth temporarily going cold before the sun and heat returned.
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> Error: interference, planetary teleportation failed.
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All of the sudden, a grid pattern of lights appeared, scanning everything in the room. Everything showing as red until the scan passed over Cass’s body.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
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> Location based teleportation attempted
>
> Partial success
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A bright blue light flashed, and I knew no more.
My eyes flickered open.The acidic smell of bile covered my chest and my throat burned. I coughed trying to clear my throat. Blurry vision greeted followed by a wave of nauseau. All of that however was nothing compared to the splitting headache that nearly forced me to my knees. I struggled to stay up, until after a moment, my vision cleared just enough for me to realize that the sun wasn’t yellow at all. It was blood orange.
Wait, no, that wasn’t right either. Oh, there were two suns, one a blood orange, and the other just orange but smaller. I could look directly at them squinting. They were bright though, not nearly as bright as the Earth’s sun. After a moment of looking at them, it was too much for my eyes.
The blue sky stretched out over the landscape. Blades of green grass and leaves seemed to be sharper, more full of color. It should to be daytime, but no that couldn’t be right. It had to be closer to evening as the suns weren’t at the zenith of the sky. It was early afternoon on Earth. How long had I been here? What was going on?
I rubbed my dry eyes, trying to work some moisture into them. I felt exhausted and struggled to focus. Taking a deep breath I focused on my body trying to relax. My head still throbbed painfully, pulsing along with the beat of my heart. The red and orange suns beat down on me while I tried to gather my wits.
Looking out over the middle of a meadow one thing was for sure, I was no longer near Denver. The comfortable townhouse I was living in was a small community, was gone. I was gone.
I noticed a green blinking bar in my corner vision. Reaching toward it, I tried to flick it center screen as I would with my glasses. Nothing happened.
I reached to my face, feeling for the spectacles.
“Shit!” I said aloud.
My glasses fell off earlier when the earthquake hit.
Wouldn’t matter anyway, it’s not like I had access to the web and livestreams on a different planet. I mean two suns. I had to be on a different planet right?
Well, if I can’t flick it to the center screen, maybe I just need to focus on it. I focused on the blinking bar and willed it to open up. A large blue screen expanded to the front of my vision. The opaque blue was transparent enough to see through, but I was also able to read the words without issue.
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> Targeted Teleportation Success
>
> Hybrid Race Detected
>
> Nephilim: Seraph (Dominant), Primate
>
> Affinity: Light
>
>
>
> Target Breathing Stopped
>
>
>
> Lung failure, atmosphere does not contain sufficient oxygen
>
>
>
> Body tempering required
>
> Body tempering initiated
>
> Body tempering complete
>
> Body tempered to Level 6 Entity
>
>
>
> Cerebral link updated
>
>
>
> Skill Added: Basic Identify
>
> Unique Racial Traits
>
> Primate: High Adaptability (passive) >
>
> Seraph: Gift of Tongues (passive), Solar Heal (passive)
>
> Inheritance: Grace (dormant)
>
>
>
> Item: Assimilation Package
>
> Do you wish to open? Y/N
----------------------------------------
What? Nephilim, huh? Does that mean I’m descended from an angel or demon or something? Oh well, guess there was more to the bible stories than I thought. I wondered if this was literal or related to the God, I had worshipped back on earth.
Either way this felt like one of those VR video games. Except rather than feeling excitement and a dash of anticipation, all I felt was dread and fear. I had abilities, but that meant I would likely have to fight to survive, and while that was fun in video games and virtual reality scenarios. I didn’t want it to be my life. I was likely overeacting, that might not necessarily be what I would be doing. On the other hand, it might be a worse alternative.
To survive, I’ll have to learn how to use my abilities. They all seem to be passive. I wondered what an inheritance was… it said it was dormant, though, so I’d look into that later.
I was taking to long to figure things out, there could be danger nearby. Hopefully, something good would come in the assimilation package. As soon as I saw this, I flicked my eyes up as I would have with my VRs and waited. Nothing happened. I sighed. Looked like this system didn’t have the same user interface as my VRs. After attempting a few ways of interacting with the system, I thought ‘Yes’ in answer to the question. It worked. A capsule appeared in front of me, landing on the ground. It looked like a mix of a giant medicine pill and a poke ball. The top of the capsul slowly opened revealing items within.
There were four items. First, I pulled out a blue tube with a rubber looking tip and a lanyard. As I picked it up and examined it, I wondered what it was. It looked like a futuristic Life Straw. You know, the water filters people take camping where they can suck water from a lake.
I decided to try out the identify skill. It looked at the straw and I focused on identifying it. Sure enough, a notification opened in front of me.
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> Replenish-able Water Straw, Uncommon
>
> Highly durable water straw that will replenish water using mana.
----------------------------------------
I put the lanyard over my neck, then moved onto the next item. I reached in, picking up a plain copper ring I cast identify.
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> Storage Ring, Common
>
> Store up to 25 items in spatial storage. Cannot store anything living, cannot store other spatial storage items.
----------------------------------------
I put it on. Focusing on storing my water straw in the ring, I watched in shock as it disappeared. Focusing on it again and willing it back, it materialized in my hand. I smiled. It could be the end of the world, but I had to admit using magic was pretty cool.
A few more tests were necessary. Throwing the straw on the ground, I focused on storing the straw, waiting for it to disappear. Nothing happened. This wasn’t a surprise, it made sense that touching an item you wanted to store would be a requirement for storing it.
There were only two items left, and they were tokens. One was a gold piece larger than a quarter with some sort of insignia on it, and the other a platinum piece with an insignia on it.
I looked at the gold piece and cast identify.
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> System Token, Clothing
>
> System gifts you one self-repairing item of clothing, imagine clothing item and activate.
----------------------------------------
This was great. I had been running around in my socks after being transported. Thinking through my different options, several articles of clothing came to mind though I kept gravitating back to a favorite pair of hiking boots. They were hi tops, the kind that went up past your ankle giving you extra protection and helping you from twisting your ankle if you stepped on a rock or slipped. They were breathable and waterproof and they had lasted me forever. Most importantly though, they were comfortable. You can call me a wimp, but in that moment I could use a little comfort. Focusing on the boots, I tried visualizing them then thought, activate. Opening my eyes I gazed around to see what happened. Sure enough, they had appeared before me. Exact replicas, maybe the original thing. It didn’t matter, they were a sight for sore eyes. I put them on, then activated identify on them.
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> Leather Hiking Boots, Rare
>
> Comfortable, and durable hiking boots with enchantments for self-repair and self-clean.
----------------------------------------
Nice! It worked. Out of curiosity, I quickly tried to identify the rest of my clothing in succession, identify, identify, identify.
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> Socks, Common
>
> Denim Pants, Common
>
> Cotton Shirt, Common
----------------------------------------
These didn’t even have descriptions with them. Well, I guess there wasn’t anything significant that needed to be emphasized for any of these. Lastly, I identified the expensive-looking platinum piece.
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> System Token, Soul Bound Personal Belonging, Unique
>
> Bind a personal belonging to your soul. Item will be upgraded to a growth item that will grow with you. If it is lost or damaged, it can be willed to your soul space where it will self repair. Requirements: must be an item in your possession.
----------------------------------------
I thought about everything I owned. The first thing I thought about was the pendant my mother had gifted me. I reached to my chest. I had been wearing it when I was teleported. I felt that it was still there. I pulled it out and cast identify.
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> Brazen Pendant, Unknown
>
> Soul bound item. Indestructible.
----------------------------------------
Huh, well, this was my most important possession. Was it already soul bound to me? I figured it was, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to carry it. I was assuming it was uncommon to have indestructible items. I wasn’t willing to chance it, this was my most prized possession. To me it represented the love of my parents and family. I grabbed the token and thought, activate picturing the pendant.
----------------------------------------
> Error: Pendant is already soul bound. Pick another item…
----------------------------------------
That didn’t work. Well hopefully that meant it was already bound to me. I thought through my other possessions. I did own a gun, but honestly I didn’t know if I wanted to kill anything. That might be a necessity to survival but I wasn’t ready to cross that bridge yet. At this point avoiding conflict seemed to be the best option.
Finally I arrived at my recently bought VRs, though I wasn’t sure what good they would do me without the internet. I decided to try binding them to me. At the minimum, I would get some cool shades.
Focusing on the VRs, I activated the token.
----------------------------------------
> Soul Bound Personal Item Created
>
> VR Glasses, Unique, Soul Bound
>
> Glasses may be accessed through your soul space. If glasses are damaged, they may be repaired in your soul space. If they are lost, they may be willed to your soul space. At Unique Level, glasses have 4 effects. As glasses are a growth item, the effects can evolve, and new effects may be added as you progress.
>
> Effect 1: Style is important. You may change the color and opacity from transparent to fully opaque.
>
> Effect 2: Protection. Your glasses will protect your eyes from any physical, magical, or sight altering effects.
>
> Effect 3: Eagle Eye, you may use your glasses to magnify objects and make them appear closer.
>
> Effect 4: VR Capabilities, retains all VR capabilities. System integration has been added. Access to VR streams and data are available from the time of assimilation.
----------------------------------------
I smiled. I could not believe how well this turned out. Apart from the effects, access to the web would be invaluable, and if everything else failed, I could live as a hermit watching a hundred years’ worth of anime to drown my sorrows of being kidnapped from my world. Everything was looking up.
I willed them to my face and they immediately appeared on me. It was a bit dark as the red suns didn’t produce the bright light of the earth. I willed my lenses to become transparent, which they immediately did. Cool! I thought to myself. I wanted to play with them more, but I decided to continue on. Who knew what would be coming into this new world? I was quickly starting to believe an overpowered artificial intelligence was running the show and not aliens. Not sure which was worse.
I saw the same glowing bar in my vision with my glasses, so I flicked it over to my main vision and red the remainder of the notifications. It seemed the glasses were integrated with the system. Which meant I kept my UI preferences. Hallelujah!
----------------------------------------
> Welcome to the Multiverse
>
> You have been teleported to the 112,222nd solar system which has been selected as it has a similar environment to your native world
>
> As a universal system transplant, you are provided a systems manual. Read it to better understand the system, its purpose, and key features
----------------------------------------
I sighed. My guess, there would be too much information in the manual to have time to go over it. I’d at least give it a quick look thru to see if I could glean any helpful hints. Opening the manual, I examined it’s contents.
----------------------------------------
> Universal System Manual
>
> - Introduction
>
> - Basics
>
> - Universal Network
>
> - Permissions and Security
>
> - Glossary
----------------------------------------
Strange, this didn’t feel much different then reading through some of the technical documentation I had used for some of my analytics. Regardless of the world, or ehr Universe I guess tech was tech. Naturally, I focused on the introduction. Which caused another blue screen to fill my vision.
----------------------------------------
> Primordial’s Universal System
>
> Lead Developer: Elohm
>
> Contributing Developers: Gaia, Shiva, Anubis, Hermes
>
> Maintenance: Watchers
>
> We, who emerged from the very depths of chaos, were born into an unfathomable expanse without boundaries or limits. Mere intelligences, we embarked upon an eternal journey, yearning to manifest tangible existence and discover our purpose. Through arduous trials and ceaseless labor, we waged a valiant war against the abominations that sought to perpetuate the all-consuming void, that dark abyss known as the great nothingness.
>
> In our unyielding quest, we forged the Primordial’s Universal System. A sacred construct, designed to imbue the cosmos with order, integrity and the proliferation of sentient minds destined to ascend to heights akin to our own. For the eldritch horrors are an enemy to all sentient beings.
>
> Embark, gain strength, let the system guide you as the cosmic energies intertwine with your essence, empowering you on your journey. For it is only through cultivation of inner strength that one can impose their will upon the chaotic forces that abound and triumph over the vast abyss of nothingness.
>
> - Elohm
----------------------------------------
I felt chills run down my spine as I finished reading the passage. In a thought, it sounded ridiculous. The passage was over the top, beyond dramatic, and yet I found it radiated with power and resonated with my being. If I was reading this right, the system was developed by gods to combat Eldritch horrors.
I then opened the basics option at which point I was inundated with pages and pages of information.
Nope, I immediately shut the window. Not going to deal with that now. I already feel overwhelmed. I’ve read through enough technical documents to know I don’t have the time or brain power to go through that information.
I thought for a moment, then decided to try something. “Lana, are you there?”
“Hello Cass, how may I be of assistance today?”
“Are you able to run an analysis over the system documentation? There is too much for me there. If you can become an expert on it and answer my questions later, that would be a great help.”
I will process the documentation as requested.
I smiled. The wonderful AI was already saving me a major headache.
I decided to give my VR glasses a try to see what else Lana could do.
I looked around to find that group of people I had seen earlier. As soon as I found them, I sent a request to Lana.
“Apply 8x magnification.”
Immediately, my glasses zoomed in and I couldn’t see them in my vision. As I slowly scanned the valley, I found them. It looked like there were some parents, likely in their 40s with two teenagers who were probably 12 to 14 years in age. The kids looked panicked, and the wife seemed to be talking to her husband with a serious look in her eyes.
They looked like an average family that was scared and confused. Didn’t think they would be dangerous to me, so I ran over to see if there was anything I could help with.
The hot gust of air blew against my skin as I ran. As I thought about my situation, I further realized the predicament I was in.
Shit! Where are my family, my friends? How about Yumi, Cindy, David and the others? I was either dead, or teleported, or both.
I felt a sinking feeling. I started to feel hopeless. Unless my family and friends were moved here as well, I might never see them again. The spike of anxiety that caused me was overwhelming. My heart started beating hard and I started hyperventilating.
At work, many people might think that I’m laid back and collected. What they don’t realize is most the time I’m freaking out inside. Over the years, I’ve just gotten real good at hiding my responses.
“Not the time for a panic attack”, I told myself aloud. I always talked to myself out loud. The sound of my voice helped me stay grounded. It helped me focus. It was the same exercise I would do when I was given a hard analytical work assignment, I wasn’t sure how to tackle.
This was no different. I needed a quick analysis. What information did I have available to me? I was likely on another planet, hooked up to some sort of system whose purpose it was to assist me in becoming stronger so that I could help keep eldritch horrors at bay. Seemed a little out of my pay range, but hey I’m just the new guy at the bottom of the pyramid. What do I know?
“Okay, I have the clothes on my back, my wallet, phone, and a set of car keys. I took a closer look at the family as I approached them. It looked like they had kids with them. Continuing jogging towards them, it was strange, but I felt faster and stronger than normal.