"So tell me more about these Hero powers I have now." We'd moved back to the front room after I'd finished my dinner. The remains of Iter's meal now fed the compost bin. I took the lounge chair this time, and Iter sat on the sofa nearby. Taiga was off somewhere, having asserted her ownership rights sufficiently to her mind. I took a swig of my drink. Well, technically my second drink, since Iter had opted not to consume the lager I'd opened for him.
"Where would you want to begin?" Iter asked, composing himself in his seat.
"Well, I tested out some things, but not others." I thought back. "There were a whole bunch of skills listed with fancier names, but it wasn't clear how to activate them." I pulled up the Status screen once again, then scrolled down to the skills list and picked the first one I saw. "There's one called 'Adept of Ages'. What's that do?"
"Adept of Ages is a passive skill that boosts your Mind attribute by a set percentage." Iter recited readily, posture perfect as if he were an elocution instructor. He seemed to be enjoying the interaction, and exuded a sense of satisfaction.
"Okay, but what does that mean?"
He looked nonplussed for a moment, then sat back and looked up, considering. "Perhaps We need to start closer to the root of it." He repositioned himself in his seat, and sat up even straighter. "There are 4 core attributes that the Divine Communion abstracts and interacts with, and which form the basis of all other derived attributes and skills: Body, Mind, Spirit, and Luck." He looked at me for acknowledgement.
"Yep, I see those in Status." They were:
Core Attributes
Body: 30 (x1.25 = 37)
Spirit: 70 (x1.25 = 87)
Mind: 50 (x1.25 = 62)
Luck: 50 (x1.25 = 62)
"Body represents your physical being; health, stamina, endurance, etc. Spirit represents how in tune you are with the world around you, your ability to sense the essence and energies of the world, make connections, and interact with them. Your Spirit also effectively governs your ability to manipulate Magic as well." He looked at me meaningfully here, but it rolled off my ignorance. "And finally, Mind, which represents your mental faculties, but also your ability to see patterns, perform analysis and synthesis, and focus your thoughts to the task at hand." He paused to gauge my understanding.
I nodded to show I was following along. "What about Luck?"
"Luck represents your ability to influence the element of chance and chaos in the world." He replied. "We would not recommend you rely on it, but being able to tip the scales when they are at balance provides a useful benefit in the long term."
"So what, I can choose to succeed at something if the outcome is close enough?" That sounded cool.
"No, these are all passive abilities at their foundation. It is more appropriate to think of it as a rounding process, where the accumulated effect creates a more positive outcome over time. You may not ever recognize it in the moment, but Luck will provide small benefits that accrue."
Hmm, less cool, but frankly I'd take all the luck I could get at this point.
"So Divine Communion grants these abilities." I considered something that had been bothering me for a bit, then asked, "So why is my Body attribute so low compared to Spirit or Mind? As a Hero, couldn't you have set me to be high-spec across the board?"
"The Divine Communion is an interface, a catalyst, and a means to apply Divine power to affect outcomes. But it operates primarily by interacting with your soul, which forms the raw material for the initial baseline. Put simply, you are smarter today than you are strong, Mai, so the Divine Communion represents this."
I looked closely, but couldn't tell if he was teasing me or not. I decided to let it go.
"But as the Divine Communion engages with you over time, your attributes and skills should increase. This is the essence of what it means to be a Hero."
As I thought about this, he continued, warming to a topic he obviously felt some pride in.
"Derived attributes are those that, as the name implies, are derived either directly or in combination from your core attributes. However, unlike core attributes, derived attributes may also represent pools of resources that can be utilized for various effects, as with Health, Magic, and Focus."
I referenced the next section of my Status:
Derived Attributes
Health: 37 (+)
Magic: 0 [max 87] (+)
Focus: 62 (+)
Charm: 62
Intuition: 50
Will: 75
Fate: ??? (+)
There certainly were a few more of them.
"Health, Magic, and Focus follow directly from Body, Spirit, and Mind respectively. Charm, Intuition, Will, and Fate, are combinations of the core attributes; Charm derives from Body and Spirit, Intuition from Body and Mind, and Will from Spirit and Mind."
"And Fate?" I was wondering about that one, since it was displayed as ???.
"Fate is unique, in that it is derived from a combination of all core attributes, as well as other factors." I waited for him to continue, but he didn't. He sat waiting for my acknowledgement, as he had before.
After an awkward pause, I asked the obvious question, "So why don't I see numbers after Fate? Is it due to these other factors or something?"
"We cannot tell you. We can say that Fate is intentionally obscured." He looked at me impassively.
"Why?" I asked after a moment of silence, brow furrowed trying to reason this circumstance out. Everything else had been so straightforward, bordering on the simplistic.
"Because knowledge of this value would affect it. Fate is effectively unknowable by the Hero," he replied.
I thought about it. "That sounds like some quantum theory shit, where measuring the outcome causes it to change."
He lifted his chin thoughtfully, and nodded. "That is an apt analogy."
I'm no product designer, but that seemed like a poor UI choice. "So then, why include it in Status at all? Why not leave it off as a hidden variable, or something?"
"Because there are instances where Fate comes into play, and the Hero should see that relationship. Also, as your God, We can see your Fate." He quickly added, "And no, We cannot reveal it. Nor would We wish to." He smiled as if at a mischievous child.
I wasn't going to ask, but I decided to let it go and pick on something else I'd wondered about. "What are these little plus-sign things after some of the attributes?"
"Those relate to skills, indicating that this attribute receives some manner of bonus due to one or more skills in effect. For example, We described the skill Adept of Ages as a passive skill that boosts your Mind attribute by a set percentage." He stood and walked over to me. He bent over on the arm of my chair where I was looking at Status, and pointed to the skill in the skill list. "Adept of Ages boosts Mind, which provides an increase to your Focus pool. In this case, that can be determined through computation to be a 25% increase." He leaned in towards me expectantly, clearly seeking some kind of reaction. His face was right next to mine.
"That's… pretty good?" I said, taken a little aback by his closeness.
He beamed, accepting my response as praise. "Indeed! We chose this skill and other passive skills to deliver the maximum benefit!" Smugness radiated from him.
I focused on the skills list to avoid looking at him. There were passive skills for every core attribute, as well as some like Swift Regeneration that improved the recovery of derived skills. Those seemed pretty straightforward, though at some point I might want to verify the rates the god mentioned to see if everything was boosted by the same amount. Maybe replicate this in a spreadsheet to see if I could glean anything additional from the numbers and rates. I thought about experiments I could do as I looked over the skills. The names were all fairly grandiose and cringe. I mean, Destiny's Chosen? I might as well put on an eye patch and exclaim about the sealed power in my left hand.
"What does this one do," I pointed to the Status, since Iter was still here, basking in self-satisfaction. The skill I was pointed at was:
Inner Alchemy (convert Health/Magic/Focus)
"Does that mean I can change Focus to Magic, and vice versa?"
Iter redirected his attention to the Status and nodded, "Yes, but only up to the maximum." He pointed at the Magic attribute, where it displayed Magic: 0 [max 87]. "You cannot exceed the maximum value, but you could quickly use one pool to regenerate another that had been depleted. It comes at an increased cost to the other, though."
I looked at the '0' displayed for Magic, and thought, why not? I didn't want to mess with my Health, so I concentrated on willing my Magic to go up and my Focus down.
Immediately a wave of mental exhaustion came over me. At the same time, I saw my attributes change:
Health: 37 (+)
Magic: 0 [max 87] (+)
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
Focus: 52 [max 62](+)
I quickly recovered from the sensation of exhaustion, but a slight headache remained. I could tell my Focus had depleted slightly. But Magic still remained at 0.
"It didn't work."
Iter peered at the Status, then nodded expectantly. "Yes, We anticipated this was the case. There is no Magic in this world, you see. While the Divine power We granted can do much, We cannot create Magic from nothing." He frowned apologetically.
That was a little disappointing. Some part of me was hoping I'd found a loophole, a way to use Magic like a character that travels to another world with cheat abilities. Ah, well, I guess nothing's easy. I noticed Focus tick upward to 53 while I was contemplating this circumstance. I suspected Still Mind had activated to regenerate my Focus now that it had gone down. I confirmed this quickly in the Journal, and then went back to thinking about what happened. While that didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, it did show I could move some attributes around, which still sounded like a good skill to have. I might have even been able to heal myself faster in the hospital if I'd used this skill – though I shuddered at the thought of the headache I'd have received by dumping all my Focus into my nearly empty Health all at once. Still, this line of thinking was both weird, and oddly familiar. I took a sip of my forgotten lager. It had grown unpalatably warm, and I scowled while swallowing.
"It all seems like some kind of tabletop rpg or video game."
Iter looked at me blankly. "What manner of game?"
"A game, played on a, hmm, a computer?" I could see the puzzlement on his face. "A type of machine. And it's displayed on a TV or monitor." I was explaining video games and computers to a god in my front room, and it's not remotely the strangest thing I did today. "You're a god, you know about quantum mechanics. You have to know about computers."
"We do not. Is it a calculation device? That you play games with?" He tilted his head at me.
I was dumbfounded.
He expanded, "The quantum mechanics you reference are fundamental forces, they are entirely different from these 'computers' you describe. Our knowledge of tools and devices is focused upon the world of the Demon Seed. We understood the details of your world of origin would be somewhat irrelevant in your new role." He frowned a little at this misjudgment. Then he brightened, "But We are eager to learn."
Lacking context for how to explain the whole concept of computers and modern technology, I grabbed a controller from where it sat on the coffee table. I turned it and the game console on, then pressed the power button on the TV remote control. The game console start-up music sounded briefly, then the base menu appeared. The god watched on with curiosity.
I started up one of my favorite RPGs, and loaded a saved game to quickly show him what I meant. "This is a game run on a device called a gaming console. In the game, you play as a character you created, and do quests using skills and magic."
The god had risen and walked over to the TV. "So this is…a simulation of some kind?" He knelt down and pressed a hand to the TV and left it there, his eyes darting to each source of movement in the game.
"It's a simulation, yes, but these images are generated within the game console, and then rendered on the TV screen. Well, if it's an online game, some of the information is coming from a server somewhere." I saw him looking back at me in confusion. "Nevermind, let's keep it simple. The information comes from this box," I walked up and pointed out the console, "and then is transmitted from a cable to this screen." I pointed to the TV.
"What is that device you are holding?" Iter had turned to focus on my hands.
"It's a controller. I use it to manipulate the character on the screen, and any other elements that the game design allows me to."
"There are no cables to connect the item you hold to either box or screen," he observed.
"Yeah, then we get into wireless networks and other technologies that would be hard to explain. But it works, see?" I manipulated the controls and made the avatar on the screen jump and move around. "But I brought it up because of this." I launched the character screen, with all its attributes and skills.
"Most intriguing." Iter breathed, taking in all the details. "It does bear a striking resemblance to the Divine Communion in superficial aspects." He leaned back. "I wonder if a bearer of the Divine Communion somehow replicated it in the past."
"Or maybe the gods copied our world's games as a convenient interface?" I countered.
He gave me a condescending look. "Preposterous. The Divine Communion has been bestowed upon multiple ages of Heros," he paused. "Though it is true that time is not a constant between worlds." He seemed to come to some internal conclusion. "This bears investigating. Mai, let Us have charge of that 'controller'." He held out his hand expectantly.
I blinked. "Uh, hold on, let me get you set up with a new profile. I don't want you ruining my saves." I opened the home screen and began to create a new profile. The god pouted for a moment, then moved to sit down in the center of the coach, across from the TV.
"Very well," he replied, and watched the screen with interest as I manipulated menus. The tiredness of the day was catching up to me, despite the regenerative properties of my skills. I started thinking about going to sleep, when it struck me.
"Do you have anywhere to go tonight, or…" I said as I handed Iter the controller.
He took it, and immediately began using it to flit through the different menus of the game's home page, reading through all the options. "No," he replied, "do you?"
A worrying thought began to form.
"Uh, where were you planning to sleep tonight?"
"We do not sleep."
"Really? But, no, that's not what I'm asking. Do you have somewhere else to stay, or…" I trailed off, both afraid of and expecting the answer.
"We plan to remain close to you, wherever Our Hero journeys." He raised his eyebrows, looking at me as if the answer was self-evident.
I squeezed the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger. I was too tired to care anymore. I poured out the unfinished beer in the kitchen sink, then quickly showed him how to operate the lights, the TV, and where the various controls were. I pointed out the bathroom down the hall, but he didn't seem to need that, either (though he did seem curious). Then I pointed out where my room was, banned him from entering under any circumstances, and went to bed.
✦ ✦ ✦
"We have arrived at a hypothesis."
This was how I was greeted first thing in the morning, before I'd made my coffee. I waved a hand vaguely in Iter's direction, sitting cross-legged on one end of the couch in front of the TV, controller still in his hands. Curled up on the couch cushion as far from Iter as possible, lay a dozing Taiga. I was wearing a white mecha-anime themed t-shirt, a dark red zip-up fleece jacket, charcoal jogger pants, and slippers due to the cold hardwood floors. I had my hair up in a messy bun and my contacts in, but everything was still blurry in the morning fatigue. I blinked and muttered a pretty good semblance of a "good morning" and went to the kitchen to assemble a cup of caffeine.
His voice followed me, "The Communion takes the form of an interface you are familiar with. In this case, a video game character screen. Were you unfamiliar with such games, it is likely a different sort of interface would appear instead."
I filled the reservoir on the K-Cup machine and waited for the water to boil. "You said a hypothesis. Didn't you make this thing? Don't you know?" I called out.
"We did not invent the Communion, another God did. You met Him, actually – it was Metam who first crafted the Communion and created the first Hero. In any event, We merely brought the Communion into being through the means of the contract. You are Our first and only hero."
I put in a new pod, and pulled down the lever in front. "There can be only one?" I muttered under my breath, as I pushed the cup size button to start. I re-entered the room, and leaned against a wall. I scratched my head and yawned, then peered more closely at the god. "Do you have any other clothes?" The white god robes he wore were still immaculate and unwrinkled, but if he was going to be hanging around, it would be better to blend in.
"We can appear in any guise desired," he began, then paused. "Oh! Is this like the character creation screen, where We choose our appearance?" He looked at me in anticipation.
"Nothing so drastic, but those robes stand out. Can you change into other clothes?" I thought for a moment. "I could lend you a t-shirt and some pants until we can get to a store. They'd be a little short, though." I winced a little internally at the thought of spending my now fixed funds on new clothes for a god.
"No need," he replied, and instantly he was wearing the same leather armor outfit as his character on the TV. The female character.
"Wow! Uh, that's amazing, but… that outfit is worse than the robes. Unless we're going to a cosplay convention," I added. The gear was really very detailed. And, being a video game, very unrealistically feminine. He'd even changed his hairstyle into a long braid down his back to match. I wasn't at all jealous of how pretty he looked.
"Hm," he thought, then instantly he was wearing the same anime t-shirt and sweatpants I was wearing. "How is this, then?"
I goggled at him, then put my hand over my face. This is both easier and harder than I expected. "I was thinking something that was more your own style."
He lifted the hem of the shirt and seemed oddly disappointed, then looked at me. "We have no concept of what style is considered appropriate in this world. What would you suggest?"
I fought back some vindictive and unhelpful thoughts, then had an idea. "Let me show you some different styles, and you can decide what you like the most."
I collected my laptop from the desk where it was charging, and brought it to the coffee table. I sat down in the middle, between Taiga and where Iter had been sitting previously. Taiga raised her head at the disruption of her nap, then lowered it gently back down. I opened a browser tab and brought up an online shopping site.
"Here are a few different outfits to start with." I showed him some men's casual wear to start. I pondered briefly whether I was restricting his tastes too much by focusing on men's clothes. While he presented as more androgynous than masculine, he was a god. Maybe he thought differently about himself? Thereself? "You can also browse to different categories if you want, and get an idea of different styles." Then I thought about the initial outfit he tried. "Maybe stick to the current season's featured fashions as a safe choice for now."
"Very well," he leaned over to see the laptop screen. I slid it in front of him, and shifted over to the side on the couch so he could sit down more easily. He did, and I gave him a quick orientation on how to use the touchpad, how to navigate a browser window, and then left to retrieve my finished and cooling coffee.
"One more thing," he called from the front room. "There appears to be a quest We are unable to complete within the game due to something called a 'DLC'. Can you acquire it?"
✦ ✦ ✦
A mug of coffee warming my hands, I sat in the lounge chair again, bemused at the progress Iter had made through the game overnight. Taiga had shifted from her puddle on the coach to bask in the sun of a nearby window ledge. She yawned, and idly watched the birds flit around the lemon tree in the yard of the house next door.
Iter's character had to be level 7 already, and he'd passed the first stage of the game. I didn't think it was possible to get that far in one night, especially for a game this size. Most distressingly, he'd named his character 'Mairead'.
As to his outfit, he'd settled on a white, loose long sleeve shirt and fitted cream-colored jeans. He even added a portion of the pattern that was on his robes along the hem, collar, and sleeves of his new shirt in silver embroidery. He kept his hair long, but now had it in a loose ponytail down his back. Seeing him in modern attire, cross-legged on the couch and deeply engrossed in a video game, was strangely unsettling. He was still barefoot, though.
"About these divine powers – how do they work, exactly?" Watching him shift outfits rapid-fire had made me curious all over again about what he was capable of. "I thought you said magic doesn't work here? That," I waved vaguely at his new outfit, "seems pretty magical to me." This had occurred to me last night as I was falling asleep, too, so I tried asking.
"It doesn't, and Divinity is not Magic." He quickly took out a group of enemy knights blocking a pass, directing his character to cast AoE control spells, while maneuvering his tank and rogue companions to engage and flank. "A simple way to imagine it is that Magic manipulates physical reality, while Divine power manipulates the soul and spiritual world."
I thought about that, and took a sip of coffee while his archer mopped up the stragglers with a skill. "Wait, that doesn't hold up. Your divine power, or the Communion, or whatever, healed my physical body. Wouldn't that be Magic then?"
"I said it was a simple analogy," He shrugged. "But Our Divine power is far from simple." A smug grin spread across his face, as he felled the last enemy with a spell.
I was about to reply, when the doorbell rang. A black an orange blur jumped down from the window, as Taiga headed towards the back of the house. Thinking it could be a delivery, I set my coffee down and went to the front door. Alameda was fairly safe as far as places in the Bay Area went, but occasionally packages go missing. I saw the silhouette of a person through the frosted window next to the door, and frowned. Something needs signing?
Opening the door, I saw Bushra Patel standing on the wide porch, wearing a puffy black winter parka, gray loose knit hat, and a disgruntled expression. The last time I saw her, she was trying to strangle the VP of Engineering. A familiar cardboard box was in her hands. I stood still, mouth open, my thoughts in disarray. She glared at me with dark, appraising eyes, before she pushed the box into my hands and propelled herself past me, inside.
"I brought your things. Let’s talk."