INITIUM
ADAM
Adam Anders was, by his own admission, a rather normal person. His mother was Sophia Powers Anders, and his father was Truman Anders. They were wealthy, Caucasian, and had few family members. By most standards, he was in fact pretty boring. His life, up to the point where he left New York, was just a long succession of mind-numbing school, pleasantly boring holidays, and a few minor jobs that sapped his will to live.
When it came time to choose a college, Adam struggled. He had plenty of choices, none of the best schools but a hundred very good schools. But he didn't know what he wanted to major in, he didn't know what state he wanted to live in, and in fact he didn't have the slightest idea what he wanted to do with his life.
It was Adam's friend Dale who suggested Akamatsu University, in Domina City. Dale was a native Adam had met over the internet, and he insisted that the city was nowhere near as bad as everybody said. At the very least, it wouldn't be boring.
There were a couple airports in the city, but not many, so instead Adam decided to go by boat. It wasn't that far, and Dale insisted that he had to see the city by boat at least once. It was a ten hour ride out from New York Harbor before they even saw the island. Adam didn't know if that was a long time or not. The boat seemed fast enough, but it was his first time and the boat was old, so maybe he was wrong. Regardless, he had to admit that it was worth the wait.
The city was a circle a hundred miles wide, built on a great trash island only barely bigger. It shone like a dime on the water, with countless glittering skyscrapers skirted in a hundred-foot tall wall around the entire city. It was truly breathtaking, and every moment the city grew as they inched closer and closer, like some giant creature ready to swallow him whole.
The actual dock was outside the wall, a couple hundred feet from one of the four gates into the city, one at each compass direction. There was a bus with a very bored driver ready to take them in—other than Adam, there were only five other passengers on the boat. It didn't take long to load them all up. Adam only had a backpack with his clothes and laptop, so he just kept it with him.
He smelled cooking fish as he waited. Glancing around, he saw that dozens of people were grilling their catches, right there on the docks. The barbecues weren't even portable, they were bolted to the concrete. Seemed like a common practice.
It took a few minutes to roll through the gates. Whoever was in charge didn't open them any larger than was strictly necessary, so the bus had to go very slowly to make sure it didn't scrape the sides. That seemed like poor planning to him.
Inside the walls, the city looked much like a forest of steel and glass, with massive skyscrapers rising in every direction. To Adam's surprise, as they traveled further into the city, it became clear that nearly every building was a skyscraper. The city was clearly built up rather than out. Many of them connected to each other, some with closed walkways and others with what appeared to be nothing more than mutual support beams. Adam had read up as much as he could on the city before he came—though there wasn't much to find—so he knew that Domina had a high population density, but this seemed ridiculous. They lived on an island a hundred miles wide and they needed more space?
He had entered the city from the west, but the college was almost at the very center. It took about three hours to get there, even though traffic wasn't that bad, what with all the stops for the other passengers. Turned out Adam was the very last one.
He got off the bus quickly, nodded his thanks to the driver, and stood there while he drove off. That's when he really started looking around.
He felt tiny. The skyscrapers hadn't seemed as imposing when he was on the bus. He wasn't some country mouse—he had spent his entire life in New York, even if mostly in the quieter parts. He was used to skyscrapers. But here... he was like an ant in a lawn.
Adam shook his head, adjusted his pack, and headed towards the college. According to the map Dale had given him, it was just two blocks south, and the bus driver had confirmed it. He said he couldn't miss the campus.
He was right. It was a large campus, surrounded by a short wall with many openings, serving more to mark it apart from the rest of the city than to actually keep anyone out. It had just as many tall buildings as the rest of Domina City.
Adam found a map pretty quickly, and followed it to his dorm. There weren't that many people around, but those that were were slightly older than he would have thought. They were probably teachers and staff rather than students. A lot of them were in costume, with horns or weird body paint. He had seen a lot of people like that on the drive in, though he couldn't stop to gawk. He guessed there was some kind of festival going on. Not really his concern.
His dorm building was easy to spot. It was separate and unconnected to the other buildings, and looked more like a tall hotel than a dorm. He expected some sort of orientation desk outside, but there was nothing of the sort. The doors were unlocked, however, so at least he didn't have to run around looking for his badge or his keys or whatever.
The lobby was a large room, with a small office with a window to the right, and couches and pool tables to the left. On the opposite wall were two elevators, the stairs, and the bathrooms. There was a woman in the office, no more than a year or two older than Adam. He assumed she was the Resident Assistant.
“Oh, hello,” she said in an uninterested tone. “You one of the new students?”
“Uh... yeah.” He walked up to the counter. “Adam Anders. I should be in room 909.”
She clicked through a computer. “Okay, checks out. ID, please.”
He presented his driver's license without complaint. She glanced at it, then at him, then moved to hand it back—but she stopped at the last second.
“This isn't a Dominite ID,” she said. She didn't sound suspicious, just the tiniest bit curious.
“Yeah, it's from New York,” Adam said. “That's where I'm from.”
“And you came here?”
“I have a friend here. Dale Odell Abraham? Maybe he already checked in?”
“Maybe.” She didn't bother to check, she just handed the ID back. “If you take the elevators up, take a left out of there, and your room should be on the right.” She handed him two pairs of keys, and a thick white plastic card. “Put this in your wallet. You'll need it to get into the lobby or the elevators.”
Adam looked around the lobby... which he had gotten into without the card. “Uh...”
“The lobby is unlocked today and tomorrow for new students. But starting Sunday, you'll need that to get in. I'll be pissed if you lose it and I have to open the door for you.”
“Right, thank you.” He put the card in his wallet as she suggested and pocketed the keys.
“Your roommate came through about an hour ago. I don't know if he's still there.”
“What? Oh, good. Thank you.” Adam frowned. If Dale was already here, why hadn't she recognized his name? He wanted to ask, but she had already gone right back to ignoring him. Eh, whatever. She had probably seen a thousand students today, she couldn't be expected to remember all of them.
Adam headed towards the elevators and swiped his wallet—with the keycard inside—against the reader, which was where the call button normally would be. It only took a moment before the doors opened. Probably no one was using them at the moment. This was the first day to move in. Maybe he was early. Still, at least Dale was here. He said he liked getting places early.
He stepped inside, careful to keep his oversized pack from hitting anything, and tapped the button for floor nine—floor nine out of forty. Sheesh. His dad's old dorm had only been three floors.
It only took a couple minutes to reach his floor. As promised, his room was only a few feet away from the elevator. It was a long hallway, with the elevators in the middle in a small alcove with a couch. All he had to do was turn left, and his room was there, on the right side. He pulled out the keys and opened the door.
There was someone there already, and he had claimed the left side of the room as his own. He hadn't done much to it. There was a laptop on the desk and some clothes poking out of the drawers below the window, but not much else. It took Adam a moment to notice that his bed was also made. The one on the right was still a bare mattress.
The only problem was that whoever this person was, he was not Dale. Adam had been talking with Dale on video chat for the past few years. He was skinny and pale, and was usually hunched over a computer. This guy was about average size, dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans that showed off some pretty decent muscles. He probably played a sport, though Adam didn't see any equipment laying around.
Other than that, he seemed normal. When Adam came in, he looked up from rearranging the three textbooks on the shelf above his bed. He ran his hand through his short blonde hair and grinned. He had a square jaw, like in an old comic book, and glittering blue eyes.
“You must be my roommate. I'm Derek.” He held out his hand to shake.
Adam took it, hesitantly, adjusting his massive backpack to a more comfortable position. “I'm Adam. I... think there's been a mistake. I was set to room with a friend of mine, Dale.”
Derek shrugged, “I don't know what to tell you. I was supposed to be on the first floor, but they reassigned me a couple days ago.” He grinned again. “My mom bowed out of helping when she found out I was on floor nine.” He sat down on his bed, freshly made. “If you call your friend, I'm sure we can run to the RA and sort everything out.”
Finally admitting defeat, Adam sighed and set his pack on his own bed. “I haven't been able to get in touch with him for a week. I'm a little worried.”
“Hm,” Derek said noncommittally, frowning. “I'm sure it's nothing. What part of the city are you two from? We can just go find him.”
“He's from.... North Outer? I think? I'm from New York.”
Derek gaped. “From... from outside Domina?”
“Yeah, so?” Adam shifted on the bare bed, uncomfortable under the look Derek was giving him. “What's the big deal?” They hadn't talked about Dale's home much. He kept insisting it was just something Adam needed to see for himself. Adam was pretty sure he had been just trying to entice him to come.
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“What's the... the big deal is that this city is a little different from what you're used to. We need... we need...” Derek leaped off his bed. “We need to go out. Any other bags?”
Adam shook his head. “No, everything is in here.” He paused, remembering his first mistake. “Uh, except sheets. I need sheets.”
Derek waved his hand dismissively. “We'll find a shop in a few minutes. C'mon, we're leaving.” He headed towards the door. “Got your keys? Your phone?”
“Uh...” Adam rose to follow, patting his pockets. “Keys, yes. I don't have a cell.”
“You...” Derek rolled his eyes. “Okay, that's first on the list. You need a phone.”
Adam bristled slightly. He had always been defensive on not having a phone. Not having any friends he could meet offline meant that a phone was a bit unnecessary. “I've never needed a phone before. Why should that change now?” He left out the fact that if he had ever really needed one, he had always been able to ask his bodyguard. That... didn't seem important.
Derek headed towards the elevator, Adam still following. “If you want any kind of social life in Domina, you need a cell phone. Not even a social life, really, a life at all. Trust me, it will become clear in a minute.” He pressed the button for the elevator. “As long as you're not looking for anything fancy, we can probably get you one for free. We'll find a shop in a second.”
The elevator dinged, and they entered. It was otherwise empty. Derek pressed the button for the first floor.
“So we're heading for a mall, then? Or something?”
“No need,” Derek said, his eyes on the ticking floor numbers. “Central in general has lots of shops, and South Central has even more, for the students in the area. I'd be surprised if we had to go a hundred yards before we find a cell phone store.”
They reached the first floor, and the doors opened. A girl loaded with clothes and linens tried to get in before they could exit. She probably couldn't see anything over the cloth in her arms. They squeezed past her.
“First, you need to understand how the districts are split up here. Did your friend explain that to you?” Derek nodded in greeting to our RA, who was sitting on the couch reading a magazine as she waited for more new students to show up.
“No. I mean, he mentioned he lived in North Outer, but other than that, nothing.”
“It's very easy. There are three rings, Outer, Middle, and Central. They're split by the eight directions. So you get twenty-four districts, like North Outer, North-West Middle, and South Central. Got it?”
It seemed like a rhetorical question. Derek wasn't paying attention to him now that they were outside, but was glancing around the street, looking for a store.
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Good.” Derek crossed the street—jaywalking, Adam noted—and Adam hurried to catch up. Cars slowed to let them pass without so much as honking their horns.
The shop Derek had apparently selected had a large sign out front on one of those folding cards, rather than a neon one over the storefront. The sign proclaimed it to be 'the Cell Store, open 24 hours.' Nothing more.
The interior was, as promised, a small cell phone store. To the left, which was also the side with the register behind a counter, the wall was covered in cell phones of every make and model. A quick glance told Adam that the newer ones were closest to the door. The right wall was arranged similarly, but with accessories instead.
Derek wasted no time, and went straight to the boy behind the counter. Adam had to do a double take—he really was just a boy. He'd have been surprised if he was sixteen.
“Hi, we need a cheap phone. What do you recommend?”
The clerk looked at him stupidly, then at Adam, then he sighed. “Depends on what you're looking for. You need a video camera?”
“I...” Derek glanced over at Adam. “I'd say yes. How much?”
“Well, we've got a few free ones, but also this.” The boy pulled a box from under the counter, labeled with stats Adam didn't understand. “It's got an HD camera, waterproof, and some pretty good armor on it. Only ten bucks.”
Adam frowned. There's no such thing as a free lunch. “What's the catch?”
“Drinks power like a horse. You get about ten hours before you need to recharge it—quite a bit less, depending on how much you use it.”
“That doesn't sound so bad.”
But Derek shook his head. “It is. Trust me on this. Okay, show us what else you got.”
They went through another two dozen phones like that. The clerk listed the pros and cons, Adam thought it sounded good, and Derek shot it down. Too short battery life. Not enough armor. No camera. Terrible reception. Not worth the price.
It took about twenty minutes to get out of there, despite the fact that they were the only ones in the store the entire time. Adam left with a small black flip-top with enough dense plastic armor that it felt like it weighed more than a pound.
But it was free, and it met Derek's standards. Surprisingly, the monthly plan had taken all of thirty seconds. The clerk had pulled out a piece of paper, and Adam signed it in three places with no objections from Derek. Adam was wary of how good a five dollar per month plan would be, but they both assured him it was perfect.
Back in the lobby of their dorm, Derek plopped down on the couch opposite of the RA.
“First, you need to get everything set up. Open it and press the button labeled 'MC' under the screen.
As he said, there was a small button, above the other ones that most phones have. Adam pressed it and held it up to his ear.
“Hello,” a pleasant female voice, clearly computer generated, said. “My name is MC. Is this your first Domina cell phone?”
“Uh...” Adam turned to Derek. “It didn't say what button to push.” He just smiled.
“Please speak to me as you would a normal person,” the voice replied smoothly. “Clearly we have not met before. My name is MC, and I am in charge of all communication in Domina City.”
“Uh... hello. So... you're a real person?”
“Yes and no. The program you are speaking to now is not sapient, but simply an extremely clever help program I created. Please look at your screen.”
Adam did as the voice asked. In the upper-right corner of the cell screen, the letters 'MC' flashed five times, then disappeared. He put the phone to his ear again.
“When that symbol is present, you are speaking to the real MC. You can attempt to contact me at any time by simply pressing the MC button and asking to be connected. However, I am very busy, and I prioritize calls based on emergencies, so there will normally be a long wait. The programs will be able to help you with anything you need most of the time.”
“Uh... okay.” This all seemed weird to him, but he decided to just push past it. “I guess... I guess I need to set up my account. I think.”
“Alright then. I will begin by asking a few questions. Please answer honestly, but if there is something personal you do not wish to share, just say so, and we can move on.”
“Okay. Shoot.” He glanced at Derek, who seemed to think the whole thing was funny.
“First, what is your full name? We will come to nicknames in a moment.”
“Adam Anders.”
“No middle name?”
“Andrew.”
“Any nicknames you prefer to be called by?”
“No, Adam is fine.”
“Where were you born?”
“New York City. But I've lived in upstate New York my whole life.”
There was a long pause. “One moment,” the voice said.
Adam waited. And waited. And waited. He looked at Derek. “Does it normally take this long?”
He frowned. “No, it shouldn't.” He glanced at the RA. “You ever heard of MC glitching?”
“Yes, but that's not what this is.” She didn't look up from her magazine. “You'll see.”
“Hi, Adam Andrew Anders?” It was the same voice as before. But it was slightly... less robotic, Adam thought. More bubbly than anything, really.
“Yeah, you just—” Adam started, then looked at the screen. Sure enough, the MC icon was glowing strongly. “Is this... the real MC?”
“Yeah, that's me! Sorry, it's been a slow day, and I set up my programs to flag me if a newb called. Is this really your first day in Domina?”
“Uh... yeah.” Adam really didn't know what to make of this. Was the operator really allowed to just start talking to her customers? “Is that a problem?”
“Far from it! It's so rare that I get to meet new people. What are you in the city for?”
“College, you know. Akamatsu University.”
“Ah, kay. The kids call it AU, by the way. But you really do seem interesting—why don't I show you around the city?”
“I'm...” Adam looked at Derek again. He seemed surprised, but far from shocked. Maybe this wasn't quite as unusual as it seemed. “My roommate was actually going to show me around.”
“Ohh?” There was another pause on her end, much shorter this time. “Derek or Emily?”
Adam blinked. “What?”
“Oh, no, Emily would be your RA, right? So I guess you're rooming with Derek.” Her tongue clicked in disapproval. “He's just gonna end up showing you a bunch of those quiet places he likes to hide. Which is okay if you like hanging out on rooftops, but I have a feeling you're looking for something more. Or worse, he might try to get you into the slayer business. Good money there, but they always need fresh—”
“Wait, wait, back up, how'd you know who was sitting next to me?”
“You have GPS in your phones. Obviously. Oh, crap! Uh... do I have permission to track your phone's GPS?”
She sounded genuinely contrite, but Adam wasn't in a trusting mood. “I'm going to have to say no.”
“That's okay,” she said, although she seemed a little hurt. “That's my mistake. But I still want to show you around the city.”
“Can you really spare that much time? I mean, I don't really know what your job entails—”
She laughed, a musical sound. “No, don't be silly. I'll have to spawn a program for you. But if you have any questions she can't answer, she can connect you to me. I'd be happy to help. One second...” She paused. “Okay, we'll start you right outside the dorms. And remember, the programs are pretty clever. Just talk to her like you would a real person.”
“Alright. And...” Adam didn't really know what to say. He wasn't used to this much attention. And just because he was from outside the city? “Thanks for the help. I honestly appreciate it.”
“It's no trouble at all,” she replied warmly. “Talk to you later.”
There was another pause, then her voice came back, more polite and robotic. “I am prepared to start your tour, Mister Anders. Would you like to begin?”
“One sec.” He took the phone away from his mouth and turned to Derek. “I guess I'm gonna start a tour of the city, so it's okay if you want to go back to the room.”
Derek shook his head. “No, no, I'll come with you. I can introduce you to some people along the way. Besides, I haven't done the tour in years. Maybe she's added something.”