She obviously enjoyed that. It was good advice though. And Karl had to admit that it was very nice of her to save him a first floor apartment. A few minutes later he was unpacked. Then he grabbed a piece of paper from a pad he'd snatched from home, and started writing his to do list:

Tasks for me personally

write speech

check on Letisha and the egg

check on Michael

Delegate?

Get myself better gear

talk with System if I can

Tasks to delegate:

defense

money

information

managing people

Tasks for everyone:

find out how much food we have and how fast we eat it

get more groceries

figure out longer term food plan

search and rescue for more people

learn about Safe Zone features

scout marsh folk

try to get a census; what levels of what classes do we have?

Get a list of jobs going

Communications—anything to buy at the Shop? Video feeds of Earth?

Can we add buildings to the Safe Zone? Can we expand it?

Map the area, learn about threats

Get someone studying the aliens

weapons training, class training for those who want it

Karl put down the pen and rubbed his eyes. He'd instinctively moved to lift his glasses out of the way, but belatedly remembered that he hadn't needed them for days. He'd stashed his glasses somewhere to keep himself from putting them on automatically in the morning.

The easiest thing on the list to deal with was to visit Letisha. He guessed that she would still be at the...what would you call that? Hawk coop? Aviary? He was embarrassed that he couldn't recall the word. He mentally went through related languages and...

Mews. It's called a mews for hawks.

He took a shower and changed into clean clothes, and discovered another problem. My shirts are getting tight in the chest and the sleeves. Damn it. Karl remembered the last time he'd tried to buy clothing at the shop. It hadn't gone well. Oh well. The problem wasn't acute yet, so he could postpone dealing with it for a bit.

He left his apartment and walked toward the mews. As he approached, Michel Cook stirred from where he was sitting nearby, and beckoned Karl over. Karl was about to call out to him when he put a finger to his lips. Curious, Karl kept quiet until he was standing next to the archer, and kept his voice low.

“Michael. What's up?”

“I want to talk to you about Letisha.”

Karl tilted his head, wondering where this was going. “What about her?”

“I don't trust her.”

“Really.”

“I don't trust her, and I don't trust that bird she's trying to hatch. Karl, mind control is bad news.”

“I know. Terry told me how she had to fight the bird's commands, but she managed it, and that was an adult. I got a taste of it myself, but I was unconscious for most of it. If the baby bird gets out of control, we'll have plenty of warning and we'll kill it if it becomes a danger. But until then, we'll give it a chance.”

“Karl, I don't trust Letisha either.”

Karl wondered what he had missed. “Why?”

“Do you know what kind of rogue she is?”

“I think she's a Siren, but I don't really know much beyond that. You saw her lure seven of the kythar away from us in the final battle, which probably saved our lives. She said that she was good at being bait, but worked better teamed up with her sister.” Clarissa had died just that morning, while saving three children from an attack on Safe Zone #1.

“So she does mind control too.”

“I get the feeling it's pretty limited, but yes, I suppose so.”

“Karl...she stopped me from killing that last egg.”

“I know, I was there.”

“No, Karl. She asked me to stop, and I decided to go ahead and kill the thing for safety's sake. But then she begged me to stop, and I couldn't move.”

Karl let out a slow breath, thinking hard, while Michael continued.

“It was just for a second, Karl, because I gave up when you told me to. Maybe I could have fought past it. Maybe not. I think we have to worry about the System turning people into monsters too. Or letting people express the monsters they already were.”

“I hear you, Michael. Thank you for telling me. I'll use my Sense Deceit on her if need be. Her Allure may be through the roof but my Charisma and Willpower are both pretty good. And now I'm forewarned.” He sighed. “And you have a very good point about people turning into monsters. I think we need some people brainstorming what criminals with levels might do, and how to thwart them. If you're willing, I'll tap you for that group when it's time to form it.”

Karl laid a hand on Michael's shoulder. “Thank you, Michael. Every group needs a voice of caution, to catch what others miss. Good work.” He turned to go.

“Karl.” He stopped and looked back. “Thanks for...for stepping up when I couldn't lead. Once we lost Emma I...” he paused.

“I understand. Unfortunately, I really do. My wife Jane is just three months gone. I forget who said it, but there's a quote that goes something like this: 'You and I are members of an exclusive club whose price of admission is far, far too high.'”

“Does it get any easier?” Michael whispered.

“In some ways. In others, I don't think it ever will. Life...life goes on, even if we wish it would just stop for us for a while. We can fall down and give in, or we can push on, moment by moment, and do what is needed and good.” Karl sighed.

“Do whatever helps you, Michael. Endurance could use your skills and your brains. But if you need time, then take it. I was a wreck after Jane died. We don't have to stop being human just because the world ended. It's important that we don't. You've pulled your weight. You helped save the lives of half the people here. Take the time you need.”

“Thank you, Karl.”

Karl nodded, then turned and headed for the mews, trying to get his brain settled for a very different conversation. He decided to walk around the rest of the Safe Zone for a few minutes first.

The construction had made the ground very level, which all by itself marked the Zone as artificial in this hilly area. The dirt was fairly well compacted. There was plenty of room outside the buildings; Karl wondered if they needed to add another apartment building and if so what it would cost. Karl groaned at the thought of sifting through all the numbers.

Finally, after a walk all around the inside of the defensive stone wall, he headed back to the mews. He knocked, then entered. Letisha was leaning against the wall, staring into space. These days it was hard to tell whether that meant the person was working with their interface, or actually staring off into space.

“Hello?”

Letisha blinked, glanced at him, then at the egg for a moment before turning back to him. “Hello, Sir Karl. Welcome back. Has everyone been rescued?”

“Everyone we've met anyway. Hopefully there will be more.” Karl nodded at the egg. “How are things here?”

Letisha smiled. “Not very exciting yet. I'm taking short breaks when I have to. I'll probably sleep in here. I just don't know when it will hatch. Then it will probably get exciting quickly. I'll need huge amounts of fresh meat and I don't know where it will come from...have we found a use for Ms. Taggart?” she asked innocently, surprising a laugh out of him.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“That's better. You should smile more often, Karl. It definitely makes you more handsome.”

Karl snorted with a wry grin. “Not something I've had to concern myself with for some time.”

“Oh? Well, I suppose I'm one of the people most out of the loop, despite Terry's kind visit to update.” She pursed her lips in thought. “We really do need to talk to each other more. All of us, I mean.”

“That will probably happen tonight,” Karl observed. “It's the first time we've been something like truly safe since the System arrived. The sun is setting, no one we know is stranded...a lot of talking would be good I think.”

“I wish I could be there.”

“Have you asked Jake?”

“To watch the egg?”

“No, to set up an alarm to go off if the egg starts cracking or rocking or whatever. I have no idea how to do that but Jake is a Tinker. That way you could join us.”

“Would...you ask him, for me?”

“Certainly. I'll go do that next.” Karl took a breath. “How are you holding up?”

“Terribly, to be honest.” She sighed. “I'm almost to fifth level now, and Terry warned me that I'll feel everything more sharply when I get there. I just...I'm so alone now. Clarissa was my only family left. I keep thinking about the last thing I ever said to her. I said, 'I know you'll protect them. Go.' I should have told her I loved her.”

“She knew.”

“I know. It still hurts. I feel as if I ordered her to die. I know I didn't, but my heart doesn't.”

Karl nodded, and kept quiet for several moments, then asked, “Is there anything I can get for you?”

“If Jake could make that alarm for me, that would be the single best thing.”

“I'll go ask him.” He turned to go.

“Sir Karl? Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it. I know...I'm not going to be popular around here. For a number of reasons.”

“You're a citizen of Endurance, just like the rest of us, Letisha. I won't let people forget that.”

“'Live free or die'?”

“Yes. And also, 'E pluribus unum'. It will take a lot of different kinds of people pulling together if all of us are going to survive and thrive.” Karl cleared his throat. “Anyway, I'll see you soon. And...I'm glad you're with us.” On that note, he exited the mews, and headed to the community center.

Nobody knew where anything or anyone was yet, really. Nobody knew where to find Jake, so Karl had to guess. He had to check the Shop pedestal twice, because there were so many people around it. Finally he found the Tinker sitting on the stairs leading towards the upper level.

“Hi Jake. Are you guarding the...? Uh...What is upstairs anyway? I haven't seen it yet.”

“Meeting rooms. One big one for everybody, and several smaller ones. I'm claiming one of those for my quartermaster duties.”

Karl nodded. “Good to know. Jake, Letisha has a request.”

“What is it?” Jake looked wary. I suppose he's already inundated with requests and even demands from people.

“She was wondering if you could figure out a way to set an alarm on the egg, to let her know when it vibrates or starts cracking or something like that. It'd be nice if she could join the rest of us for dinner. As it is she's stuck there all the time.”

“Yeah, that's not good...Hmm...I can't use any electronics...point to point would be easiest, but that would just tether her in a different place...I just don't have the parts to...hm...maybe...right. Sir Karl, I'd like to put in a request for metal. There are some really useful items we could build if we had even ten or twenty units. For example, we could build more Shop terminals. I mention it because I think I can buy something for Letisha, but I have to wait in line and it takes forever.”

Karl mulled that over. “Something to talk about. For the moment, let's go see if we can get you a jump to the head of the line. Do you know what you need? Will it take long?”

“Just a minute or two, if that.”

“I think this is a worthy cause. Come on.” Karl reminded himself to be polite and diplomatic when he did this.

There was a line of eight people. The woman at the pedestal was avidly looking through options.

Karl walked up next to the person at the front of the line and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, folks. Since there's a lot of demand for the Shop terminal, it looks like we need a couple of rules for the line—just until we get more Shop terminals. Who is actually waiting to make a purchase?”

Four of the people raised their hands. “Do you know exactly what you want?” Two of the hands went down. Karl nodded. “Okay. One thing we could do is move those people to the front of the line. That includes Jake, who needs to buy something for the Safe Zone right now, which is why I'm bringing it up. Or, we could just limit everybody to two minutes at a time at the terminal, and Jake can wait like everybody else. What would people prefer?”

Valerie the druid was one of the people in line. “By all means, if it's for the Safe Zone, go first. Right, everybody?”

“Yeah sure, but what about the rest of us?” Alain the mage asked.

“I vote we make an express lane. Two minutes or less people go first, then the rest of us can take our time,” Christine piped up from the back. “I mean, all I need are arrows. I've bought them before; it'll take me thirty seconds.”

The woman stepped away from the pedestal and blinked, then moved out of the way. Jake hesitated, then stepped up. “May I? I'll be quick.”

The man at the front of the line shooed him forward. “Go ahead. By the time we finish arguing about it you could be out of the way already.” Jake accessed the Shop and started flipping through rapidly. Discussion about the line continued.

“Sir Karl, how soon can we get more terminals?”

“Well, if I understand Jake right, it's a Safe Zone upgrade so it uses raw materials. If it was wood or stone I'd tell him to do it right now, but it takes metal and we've got only one unit left. As soon as we can find a way to get more metal without having to pay through the nose for it, that'll go up first thing.”

“What would count as metal? Coins?”

“That would be crazy expensive, worse than buying ingots,” Valerie pointed out. “Maybe we could bring filing cabinets or bikes or cars or something?”

“Would that work?”

Jake stepped away from the terminal. He was holding a small white object in his hand. “Thanks everybody!”

“Getting more terminals is high priority,” Karl reassured those still in line. “Thanks for your patience.”

He followed Jake away from the group. More quietly he added, “We've got to figure out how to get more metal, it's almost as important as food.” Then he looked down at the thing in Jake's hand. “Is that what you needed?”

“I think so.” Jake was working with his pad one handed as they walked.

As they were leaving, Patty stepped out of the kitchen and bellowed, “thirty minutes until dinner!” Then she disappeared again, leaving slightly louder discussion in the cafeteria in her wake.

Karl went with Jake to the mews, restraining his curiosity. Jake was so engrossed in reading his pad that Karl had to tap him on the shoulder to keep him from walking past it. He mumbled a thanks as they walked up. Karl knocked quickly before Jake barged right in.

“Hello?” It was starting to get dark inside the building. Karl wasn't sure she could see them clearly.

“Hey, Letisha, hi, I got you something.”

“What is it?” she asked eagerly. “Did you build it?”

“No, no time or parts. It's alien tech.”

“Ooooh. Can I see?”

“Sure. Here, this is the sensor.” He handed her what looked like a small, curved brick of white plastic. “Try pressing it gently against the egg.” Letisha did so, and made a pleased sort of squeak as it changed shape slightly. “This part is the receiver. I'm using my pad to set it up now.”

“What kind of settings does it have?”

“Tons. We can pick parts of the spectrum, sound frequencies, motion, a couple of things I don't even know what they are.”

“Really? Let me see...that one might measure mana; what do you think?”

Karl stayed back and smiled as the two young adults did their geeking. This was more life he'd seen out of Letisha since they'd met, barring that one time she got to play with the map pad. When it became clear that they were not going to stop any time soon, he stepped towards the door.

“Dinner's in twenty-five minutes,” he called out to them. “Don't be late!” He started walking back and could still hear them for a few moments.

“Ooh! Can we set up a timer?”

“I think so... yeah, see? There. Twenty minutes.”

“Oh! I thought you were going to do something like this...”

Well, that's the healthiest reaction I've seen yet. It's insane that we aren't frantically studying the aliens and their technology, but there's this little matter of surviving to deal with first. As he was about to enter the cafeteria, a thought struck him and he headed into the apartment complex instead. He stepped into the corridor and called, “Twenty minutes to dinner!” then wandered up the stairs and repeated it on the second and third floors. That done, he sat down on the stairs and tried to think of what else he needed to do.

He checked his notifications, but nothing major had come up in the past hour or two, and the little light stopped blinking for a change. Guess I'm all caught up. Terry will be thrilled. While he had them open, he practiced scrolling back. Quite a lot had happened that day. He came to the point where he had almost died...well, that wasn't very specific. The point where he was flying through the air and really thought he was about to die.

Karl closed his eyes and let his mind go back to that incredible sensation of flight. He had been hurled a couple of miles by the magically enlarged hobgoblin lord. It took several seconds, and he had been sure there was no way he could survive the impact. He'd made his peace with God, and even said thank you to the System, and said that he wished it were freed someday. And then...there it was:

System Notification: Thank YOU, Sir Karl.

At the time, he'd found it incredibly funny that even the System was calling him 'Sir' Karl now, and would have died laughing but for the Hypnotic Hawk snatching him out of midair before impact and flying with him back to her nest intended as food for her young.

But now, looking at it, Karl had an impression of unfinished business here.

You're welcome, System, he thought at the interface.

There was no reply. Karl stared at the notification. It was the only time the System had ever addressed him directly. But now that he knew that it could, he found himself wondering why it didn't.

System? Would you like to talk?

No reply. Karl pondered that for a moment.

System, are you able to reply?

No response. It either can't, or won't. Then Karl tried to think outside the box, because the System broke so many assumptions he was even doubting logic from time to time. It can't, or it won't, or...it can't right now.

System notification: You've discovered an important fact about the System.

The System has many features that can only be accessed if the proper circumstances are met.

Experience +25

A tiny amount of experience for a tiny insight. But it was a response, of sorts. It can't talk to me right now. It could talk to me then, because...? Karl furrowed his brow. I thought I was about to die. But I've thought that a few times.

Then Karl's mouth fell open a bit as he had another idea. It was able to talk to me because even the System thought I was going to die? But why would they program it with the ability to talk to someone about to die? Why program that exception?

Karl felt the pleasure of the intellectual hunt. He was on to something. Challenge assumptions. Why program that exception?

Before you ask why, ask if. That maxim was one Karl used a lot in discussions and to clarify his own thinking.

If that exception was not programmed...then the System cheated. It did it because it didn't expect to get caught! Karl almost laughed aloud.

System Notification: You've discovered an important fact about the System.

Information on this topic is not available.

Karl whistled softly, grinning. Okay, we'll leave it for now, System. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble with your masters.