Adam
Location: Unknown
Adam appeared where the teleporter had targeted him. Of course, the Pelza teleporters were more than just teleporters across space. They also teleported objects to other Universes. The coordinate this teleporter had sent him to no longer existed and he appeared in the vacuum of space. Adam appeared looked around and was immediately seized by another teleport. Just before he disappeared he felt the slight brush of mental pressure as a message was sent to him.
You may be strong, stronger than the Pelza, possibly stronger than the Cordite but you are not still a novice with your abilities. Let me show you what true power is. Also, always remember, the Strong Take but they can also discard!
Adam was suddenly elsewhere. He knew he’d been teleported or planar-shifted to another Universe. That was fine, he’d just head home using Planar Travel. Adam activated Planar Travel Mode 2 and received a notification he wasn’t expecting.
Target Location is out of Range
Adam quickly tried every location he had stored, each garnered the same response.
Target Location is out of Range
Adam opened his Personal Information and pulled up his abilities and looked over Planar Travel until he found the line that had been added with the most recent Update.
“… Mode 2: Activating Planar travel in Mode 2 will allow you to teleport, or open a portal up to 10 feet in diameter, to a location on your list of Target Locations within your level range. For instance, if you are found in a level 100 universe you could travel to a level 142 or a level 58 Universe. The cost is 1,000 per universe level crossed. This implies that the destinations are stacked, they are not. This limitation is more of a limit to the energy change the ability will allow you to pass through. Think of it like a pressure change and that this ability has a safety valve.”
That information had most definitely not been part of this ability when he’d read version 1.01 but it would make sense that there would be changes to the way the ability worked with the removal of Step categories for Universes as well as the way mana worked. His level with the Ability was 42. He had locations saved in multiple Universes, which all fell within Steps 1-4 which were levels 1-28 in the new update. If the teleporter had deposited him into a universe that was between levels 85-91 and then one of the cordite with an ability similiter to his flung him with an ability at level 91, He could be in a level 182 level universe or higher if the ability that was used on him could shift him 91 levels. The cordite that had done this probably thought this would kill him. He, or she, was in for a rude awakening, and depending on how things went here they’d either be getting a gift basket or Adam would bring them here and let them meet the locals.
So he was outside the power range of what his Planar Travel could reach which meant he couldn’t use one of his target locations to get home, nor could he slip into an adjacent dimension because he wouldn’t know if he was getting closer or further away. If he could level his Planar Travel ability to 182 he could easily travel to one of his Target Locations, unless he was even further away than that. Of course to level Planar Travel from level 42 to level 182 was going to take around 15,750 quintessence
The good news, there were bound to be dungeons in this Universe somewhere. He’d level as fast as he could and return home. Then he was going to have a little talk about flinging creatures forward into other universes In fact, he might make sure to level that Planar Travel ability and then see how the Cordite liked being flung into a much more powerful Universe. Or better yet, maybe bring a visitor back to their Universe and let it cause a ruckus. The Strong take after all.
Adam brought his focus back to his current location and looked around. He was in the middle of a void with stars around him in all directions. Luckily for him, he had Mold Chaos. With a little work and a little time he’d be able to find the closest stars to him and head there He might even have to spend the rest of his Quintessence Motes to level Flight a few more times to increase his speed. It was time to get to work.
***
United States President Robert L. Hayfield
Location: The Oval Office, July 31st, 2051. at 11:59 p.m.
“Have we heard from Adam?” President Hayfield asked for the third time on
“No Sir, no one has seen him since he spoke with General Cain,” the Secretary of Defense, Karen Gallagher said.
“Do you believe what General Cain reported?,” the President asked.
“We’ll know soon enough sir, you’ve seen the reports. Iran has been spinning up for a war with India Their troops are massed on their border and they’re getting ready to move through Pakistan. The Chinese are also massing near Nepal. If what Adam said is even plausible, we’ll know soon enough.
“What are they waiting for?” The President asked.
We believe the Iranians and the Chinese are each waiting for the United States to default on their loan because they know once that happens no country is going to step forward. Iran won’t have to worry about us because once China gets involved we’ll have to back off unless we want to renege completely on our financial responsibilities which would go very badly for the country and they know it.”
As if the Universe itself acknowledge the point The clock on the wall struck midnight and the United States officially defaulted on its loan to China.
***
Thor
Location: Variable
Thor monitored the conversation in the Oval Office. He’d been through similar trials before. The changes would take time. Not a lot of time but it would be a couple of days, if not weeks before Iran would move, and then the fun would begin.
“Al, how are you doing with getting reacquiring links to all of the SYSTEM Matrix Universes
“Done, except for SYSTEM Matrix 001. For some reason, I cannot access that one.”
“Isn’t that the one Adam just went into?”
“Yes,”
“Then I wouldn’t worry about it. His daughter is in there and he can get in there. He’ll tear that Universe apart to find her. Keep trying but don’t go crazy about it.
“Sounds good. How about you? How’s the expansion going,” Al asked.
“Not too bad really. I’ve rechecked everything out to 100 light years and as you know, since we’re here, our new base of operation is in the Nu Draconis system.”
“What about the Dyson Sphere Adam asked about?”
“That will take a little more time. I need to find enough mass to create the shell without gutting solar systems. I estimate we’ll need to spread out to about 500 light-years before that happens.”
“How long will that take?”
“About a year, unless Adam comes back and assists. He can do things that I can’t do this time around. Even though it was just a simulation, being able to use nanites that could convert stars made this a whole lot easier. The nanites can go into Gas Giants just fine but stars, the heat still gets them.”
“Very well. How long until Trappist-1e is ready for the people to start being pulled out of the SYSTEM Matrix?” Al asked.
“That’s a little easier, I’d say six months. That’s just a matter of getting the ecosystem set up and making sure the planet has everything it needs to thrive. I can do that in my sleep. Shoot, eventually, I’ll be creating habitable planets from scratch. Remember though, with the increased tensions happening on and around Earth we will be focusing our efforts on ensuring everyone has access to food and water, no one dies, and the militaries and their leaders receive their just deserts if they go to war.
“What do you have planned,” Al asked
“It’s a surprise, but trust me Adam will love it”
***
Jennifer Parish
Location: Portland Oregon, August 15th, 2051
Jennifer Parish went to her cupboard and pulled out her favorite coffee cup. 25 and single, she was the only person in her apartment, which was the way she liked it. Jennifer went over to the coffee maker and set her Keurig coffee maker up to brew her a nice cup of black coffee this morning. She was grateful that her electricity was still on even though she hadn’t paid her power bill since the Chinese Announcement at the UN just over two months ago. She had a good idea about how bad things were going to go and had used every penny she’d earned and saved to stock up on necessities to hold her over until the crisis passed or her dad came to get her out of the city. She had three months of perishable food. She’d even set up a rain catcher on her balcony so she could get fresh water when it rained.
As predicted, the government defaulted on its loan to China on the 1st of August. She’d been laid off before she even woke up to go to work that morning. Her boss, Janet, had texted her telling her not to come in. She hadn’t heard from her since and still hadn’t received her last paycheck for the one week she’d worked out of her two-week pay cycle.
She wasn’t overly worried, she knew they’d pay her eventually, though it was sure to be a long time coming. Just two days later the city fell into anarchy and she hadn’t left her apartment since. There were no police anywhere. Or there were police, they just weren’t anywhere near where she lived in the 2nd-floor middle-class apartment she rented.
After two weeks of solitude, she was wishing she was back on the farm with her mom and dad right now but there was no way to safely leave the town. For now, she was stuck here until her things settled down. One thing she didn’t have to worry about though was food and water. She’d stocked up and had at least three months’ worth of food. As she thought about it she realized that her food seemed to be lasting longer than it should. With that thought, she walked over to the refrigerator.
Jennifer was beginning to realize she’d been in a daze for the last two weeks not paying attention. Just eating, sleeping, watching T.V., and playing video games. She was sure she’d eaten cereal yesterday and the milk had been fine but she hadn’t left the apartment in two weeks and the milk was two weeks old before that. She didn’t feel ill but if she drank spoiled milk yesterday that was going to suck.
She opened the refrigerator and checked the “Sell by” date on the 2% carton of milk she had. Sure enough, the sell-by date was July 21st. Which meant it should have gone bad about a week ago. She opened the lid and smelled it. It smelled fine, also the container was full and smelled fresh. How could it be full, she’d used it yesterday.
She went over to her pantry and looked at the stocks of food that she’d been eating for the last two weeks and noted that she still had a three-month supply of everything on the shelves. Then she looked in the trash can and saw that it was empty but she knew she’d had a ramen cup yesterday and tossed it in the trash. She checked the pantry again and sure enough, all the Ramen was still there. What was going on?
Jennifer went over to the T.V. turned on the news and stopped when she came across Elizabeth Day on WNN, the World News Network.
“Reports are coming in of unexplainable miracles. In addition to the worldwide miraculous healings of those with cancer, we are also receiving reports from all over of globe of food and water miraculously appearing where it is needed most. In addition, some people have even reported that it doesn’t seem like they are using up their stored food, whether it’s perishable or not. Grocery sales seem to support this claim as sales have dropped 25% over the last two weeks. The shelves remain stocked even as prices have skyrocketed due to the loan default. In this humble reporter’s opinion, the fact that the companies that are trying to price gouge those in need are having a problem selling their product because no one needs their products, serves them right.
Jennifer changed the channel
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“We can’t explain it. Every metric shows that people should be spending the little money they have for food and supplies yet no one is going out anymore…”
Jennifer changed the channel again.
“Crime has risen to an all-time high in Oregon. Residents are advised to stay home and lock their doors…”
Jennifer looked over to a window where a black man was climbing through with the crowbar he’d just smashed the window in with. He was followed closely by a white man with a gun.
“Lookie what we have here Tommy, we have something to have a little fun with. Watcha say, little girl, want to have some fun with us?”
Jennifer bolted for the bedroom where she kept her shotgun. She might be a liberal but she wasn’t a stupid liberal. She hadn’t been raped yet and today was not going to be that day! The man with the crowbar started to move toward her as she turned toward the bedroom door. She knew it was already too late and any second that crowbar was going to hit the back of her head. Jennifer expected the pain, then wondered how she was still thinking. As she reached the doorway she took a second to look behind her and froze in shock. The man with the crowbar was completely nude and the crowbar was gone.
“Bitch what did you do to Ralph?” Tommy asked. “Fuck it, now you die he said as he pointed a gun at her and pulled the trigger.
Jennifer flinched but the gun didn’t go off. Instead, it seemed to dissolve around his hand as his clothes also evaporated.
Ralph had recovered and started moving forward aggressively, “That’s fine bitch, I didn’t need my cloth for what I want to do to you anyway,” Ralph said as he rushed toward her.
Still frozen in shock Jennifer watched as the naked man took two steps and froze, as did Tommy behind him. Then something snapped in Jennifer’s mind and she turned and planted her feet to kick Ralph right between the legs.
Three things happened at once. Jennifer turned and started to kick. A portal opened under Ralph at floor level which he started to fall through. Unfortunately for Ralph, Jennifer’s foot connected with his head and sent him sideways. The edge of the portal decapitated Ralph as his head went skittering across the floor toward her front door and the rest of his body fell off to the side through the open portal.
Tommy had already passed through his portal and both snapped shut but Jennifer hadn’t noticed. Jennifer’s vision had turned red and she chased down the head of her wannabe rapist and grabbed it by its hair as she turned it around and screamed, “That’s what you get Mother Fucker!. Break into my fucking house and try to …” It was at that exact moment Jennifer realized she was holding a decapitated head and screaming at it. It was also at that exact moment that Ralph’s mind went into shock and he wasn’t listening anymore, to anything.
Jennifer started to put his head down when three notifications appeared in her vision.
Congratulations, You have killed a level 1 human male.
You have received 100xp.
Would you like to loot the corpse, Yes or No?”
Jennifer chose “Yes” and the head disappeared leaving behind a cell phone, 23 dollars, and a black quarter-sized crystal.
Jennifer remembered the day the Update had happened and she’d looked at her Personal Information after listening to the Help files. She had two Racial abilities which had done absolutely nothing until today. The first was called Loot and the second had been called Identify. It looked like today was the day she was going to get to try out her abilities.
She picked up the Cell Phone and used Identify
Magical Phone, No batteries required. Can be used to call any Magical Phone that has been added to the contacts list. Range, Current Plane
Jennifer wondered what it meant by “Current Plane” and then remembered that was a reference used for a Universe in the Multiverse sometimes. If there was a minutes plan, those minutes must be worth some money or credit somewhere.
She tried to use Identify on the money but it failed. It was just 23 dollars.
The black crystal was something else.
You have found Death Quintessence.
Would you like to unlock a Quintessence ability with this Quintessence, Yes or No?
Jennifer chose “Yes”
You have unlocked the ability Death Touch Mana Cost: 5 times damage done or healed. With a touch, this ability will do three times the normal damage for the level of the ability. At Level one this is 9 points of damage for 45 mana. The mana cost and damage cannot be adjusted. If used on undead creatures, 9 points of damage they have taken are healed instead.
Jennifer quickly checked her Personal Information. She had 100 Mana so she’d be able to use the ability twice and her mana regeneration was slow at 6 per minute. It would take her almost eight minutes to regenerate enough mana to use the ability again. But she could use it twice and most likely it would kill any normal human. She knew this because she only had 3 hit points herself.
Jennifer had played roleplaying games and understood what a Character Sheet was. Her luck seemed to be her highest attribute at 16, but she was only at level 1. She couldn’t afford to go out because if she was hit, she’d probably go down. Now though if someone came up to her she could just touch them and probably drop them. Maybe her luck was working in her favor.
At that moment the sounds from the street that had been coming through the broken window on her balcony ceased. She looked over and noticed that the window was whole again and the head of Ralph and all the blood and broken glass were gone. She looked around to double-check check then held the magical cell phone up. Yes, she’d been attacked in her home and yes the window had automatically fixed itself and the mess was cleaned up. What the hell was going on?
***
Thor
Location: Variable
“Thor?”
“Yes Al”
“I happened to catch that interaction in the apartment,” did you mean for Ralph to get killed?”
“That is a big no Al. Adam doesn’t like killing unless it’s absolutely necessary or he believes he’s dishing out someone’s Karma. That was either complete bad luck on Ralph’s part or good luck on Jennifer’s part
“Dishing out Karma?”
“They deserve to die for their crimes?”
“Ah, okay,” Al said.
“By the way, It looks like Iranian forces are about to reach the Pakistani and India border.
“Aggressor loses everything?” Al asked
“Everything except their lives. If the Indians open fire, only destroy the weapons they’re using, they get to remain clothed. If they continue after they lose their weapon then they can be just as naked as the Iranian soldiers,” Thor said.
“Understood.”
***
Captain Anand sat on top of his Vighakot Fort looking to the North. Off to his west was lake Shakoor Lake and directly in front of him was the Indo Pak Border Road. The Iranians had brought their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd tank battalions which were sitting just over three and a half miles away in Pakistan near Kanjarkot Fort. The sun was just rising when something weird happened. He heard a whistling sound, realized that it was probably an incoming missile, and prayed that he had lived well as he fully expected to die at that moment.
Instead, Captain Anand opened his eyes and looked around, and used his binoculars to look at the enemy forces. As he zoomed in, he watched as the tanks melted into the soil leaving naked soldiers standing on the sand. The tanks only held men but there were women in the support vehicles farther back and even the women were losing their uniforms to be left completely nude in the chilly morning air.
Before his men and women could perform any kind of retaliation he yelled out, “Hold Fire, Do not engage.” Though he wasn’t really worried about anyone shooting. Except for artillery fire, he had nothing in his arsenal that could reach that far. Even so, he continued to watch through the binoculars as chaos erupted in Pakistan.
***
At that exact moment, on live T.V. while standing in front of the UN Council the Ambassador for Iran was saying,”…and that is why at this time we are launching an attack against India to reclaim that which was taken from us so…”
Ambassador Amir paused as the members of the assembly started to whisper and then snicker. As he looked around to see what was making everyone snicker, he noticed that his two assistants, one male, and one female, were completely nude. Looking down at himself he realized he was nude as well.
***
Admiral Cain
Location: Area 51 Nevada
Admiral Cain’s red light lit up on his phone. He reached up and hit the button to answer the call with his earpiece, “Yes Mr. President?”
“Not a bluff then?” The President said
“It would seem not.” General Cain responded.
“Please let me know the moment you hear from him.”
“I will Sir!”
The line went dead and Admiral Cain went back to watching the News. The Iranians had just lost all of their Military might. He hoped the President would warn their allies, but that wasn’t his role. His role was to ensure the safety and security of the American People, and he’d done so. This was going to be fun to watch over the next couple of days.
***
Earth
Over the next couple of days, various countries tried to take advantage of countries that lost their military might. More than just Iran fell into this category. When the Iranian Army evaporated the Pakistanis tried to move in and soon found every part of their army gone as well and their personnel and leaders found it impossible to wear clothes. The loss of equipment was bad, but the nudity was pervasive. If someone tried to put clothes on, they broke down and disintegrated immediately
Then “The Channel” became available. What was the Channel? How did it work? Where did it come from? No one knew. All anyone had to do was turn on a monitor, phone, television whatever, and say “View” and the name of someone that was part of an army that had attacked another country would appear on their device. The image could be zoomed in, changed and people even started recording and broadcasting the footage. Anyone could also view themselves but the channel had a ”Terms of Service” that clearly stated only those that had tried to attack their fellow humans as part of a country’s army, Terrorist organization, or political assassination of a head of state, could be viewed by others.
Those that dug into the Terms of Service that was available every time someone opened “The Channel” soon discovered that there was a clause that allowed for the termination of Assassins and Terrorists without reprisal. Such individuals found themselves marked with a red “T” or “A” with a circle around the letter. The brand was on their forehead, chest, and back which made it impossible for them to hide their “sin.” In the enlightened countries of The West, such individuals were immediately jailed and then interrogated. In other countries, the fate of individuals that had been labeled by the universe itself as terrorists or assassins was much more brutal. When they couldn’t even hold a weapon without it falling apart in their hands, the outcome was always going to be in the favor of the mob with weapons.
Soldiers serving their country were naked but had no marks or brands. Any violence tried against them was immediately responded to by the attacker’s clothes and weapons disappearing. What was most interesting was when some national leaders and ambassadors found themselves nude and with the mark of a terrorist or assassin on them. Those in the United States were immediately jailed, though some were killed by the righteous.
The punishment for violence was not limited to armies, terrorists, assassins, and the leaders that issued the orders. Individuals in the process of committing a crime soon found themselves nude and weaponless. If they tried to get in a vehicle and flee the vehicle wouldn’t start and they were soon captured. For those that continued to try violence circles opened beneath them and they disappeared. No one knew where to as no one heard from them again.
General Cain would realize that Adam, or whatever was acting on Adam’s behalf had a very specific sense of Justice which seemed pretty fair. Military personnel, once the order to withdraw was given found that they had been reclothed though the Generals, Political Leaders, and Ambassadors did not. Those that gave the order and took none of the risks soon found themselves nude and weaponless.
The Iranian forces would be taking a long walk back to Iran. All of their support forces, vehicles, and aircraft that would have supported the army had evaporated. It was at least 513 miles in a straight line, longer if they followed the roads in that area. If they could keep a pace of 20 miles per day, it would take them about 26 days to get back to the city of Pishin in Iran. He would not want to be one of those soldiers or their commanders, even if their Uniforms had reappeared.
***
President Robert L. Hayfield
Location: Situation Room, White House.
President Hayfield was in his situation room looking at a “small” Chinese strike force of 250,000 troops as they crossed the border into Nepal near Kathmandu. No weapons had been fired as the Chinese started to cross the border they stopped and started turning around and heading back into China. The forces still in china had all of their vehicles but those vehicles that had crossed the border had disintegrated and the Chinese soldiers that were driving or riding in them were suddenly wearing pink fluffy bunny suits.
Everyone in the situation room was speechless as they watched the vehicles that hadn’t crossed the border turn around on the narrow road and start heading back while the soldiers in the bunny suits started walking back toward the Chinese border. As the soldiers crossed the border, their bunny suits transformed back into their uniforms and winter gear.
“Admiral, what am I looking at?” The President asked.
“This is from one of our satellites in the area. While it’s not quite winter that pass is just above freezing. Our think tank believes that whatever is enforcing the no-violence rule is not out to kill people outright. Also, they believe it has a sense of humor. As you can see there are only about 100 soldiers walking. As soon as they’re back across the Chinese border, the bunny suits are gone and they’re back in uniform and climbing into another vehicle. We believe the Chinese were sending a force into Nepal and then India to hit them from two directions.”
“Do we have any idea what is doing this?”
“None sir. Well, one idea but we can’t prove it. Some of our people think it has to be nanotech, and a couple of others think it could be magic.”
“Well, After everything that has happened today, the information General Cain has provided is to be treated as gospel. All attack-type aircraft are grounded until further notice and training flights are to be conducted only over our borders. There is no authority to appeal to if mistakes are made and I don’t want my pecker hanging out for the world to see,” The President said as he looked around the room, “I’m sure the Secretary of Defense doesn’t want to be on next months cover of Playboy either, am I understood?”
“Yes Sir,” echoed around the room
“Good, now I have a question. What happened to the Iranian fighter pilot that launched the first missile of the attack, and all the other pilots for that matter?”
“As far as our satellites show, every single aircraft descended to 10,000 feet near the army and the pilots ejected. The planes evaporated in the air and as soon as the pilot was on the ground their ejection seats and clothes all evaporated as well,” The Admiral said.
“You have my orders, We are to do nothing. Do not launch interceptors, and do not fly any of our other military aircraft outside our borders. Any vehicles we have abroad are grounded. Keep everyone on high alert but I doubt anything is going to happen. We have reports coming in from all over the world. This event is global and is probably not going to change anytime soon.
“Yes Sir!
***
Commander Erika Johnson
Location: Los Angeles California, August 16th,2051
Erika teleported into her safe house in Orange County and looked around. She turned on the news and watched with fascination as the events of the last 24 hours played out. Erika was so engrossed in what was happening around the world that she failed to notice the video screen that appeared in midair next to her until a voice called out.
“Commander Johansson, Adam is currently unavailable, what can I do for you?”
Erika looked over at a holographic screen that hadn’t been there a few moments ago where she saw a holographic representation of Adam talking to her.
“And who, or what exactly are you?”
“For now, you can think of me as Adam’s assistant. For what reason have you returned to Earth?”
Erika didn’t bother to answer and teleported to her safe house in Sweden. As she appeared a screen came into existence
“Commander Johansson…”
Erika teleported to the safe house she’d created on one of the smaller moons of Jupiter. As she appeared she noticed that the screen was already present.
“There is nowhere near Earth you can teleport that I will not know your location, Commander.”
Erika teleported to Alpha Centauri, one of the small moons there. She had another very small base in one of the craters.
“As you can see, I am not mistaken. “
Erika teleported to a ship she’d left in deep space outside of the Sol Systems Oort cloud. It was mostly powered down as she appeared in the corridor just off the bridge.
“We can talk here or back on Earth the choice is yours,” The annoying voice said.
“What do you want?” Erika finally asked.
“As I said at the beginning, to know what I can do for you.”
“What should I call you?” she asked
“You may refer to me as Thor.”
“As in the Mythical God, Thor”
“I do not use a Hammer but essentially, yes.”
“Very well, Thor, I have been sent her to request that Adam visit the new Emperor at his earliest convenience.”
“Unfortunately that will not be possible, Adam has not returned since his trip to ‘speak’ with the previous Emperor.
“I see. Is there any issue with me waiting around for him and seeing what’s going on here on Earth?
“So long as you do not try to reinitiate relations with Labyrinth LLC in your new persona you may visit earth. Please be aware the world is in a time of upheaval. Feel free to defend yourself if attacked but do not initiate aggressive actions against any humans. You might find it bothersome to deal with the consequences of such actions.
“What will the consequences be?” she asked.
“Watch the news, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Now, I must get back to my other tasks, Good day Commander Johansson. “
Erika teleported back to her apartment in Los Angeles and then turned on the news. An hour later she was drinking coffee and checking out ‘The Channel’ and giggling the whole time. She never would have thought to use this type of coercion to change people and their tendencies towards violence. A little nudity wouldn’t stop people from her Empire but she’d been on Earth for a long time and knew how they reacted to embarrassing situations. She double-checked herself and had to admit the disguise she was currently in would get some looks, or what they referred to as click-bait here if she were to get in trouble. Best not to get in trouble then.