After receiving the letter from the Division of Cosmic Artifice, Jack and I went to bug Alina and Sigi for a bit. Alisha was the one who answered the door at Alina’s place.
“Hi, Allie. How’re you feeling, love?” said Jack.
“Not great, but getting better,” said the petite, brown-skinned, rabbit-woman. The years had made her less shy and more confident, though she still had a certain, introverted, absentminded, vibe to her. Her sweat made her wavy red locks stick to her face. Her brown eyes were slightly unfocused, making me feel extra bad about bothering our friends like this.
“You’re bunking with Alina?” I said.
“We figured it’d be best to buddy up for the time being, since we live right next door to each other anyway,” said Alisha.
“Well, if you guys need anything, do give us a shout...Or shoot us a message on the network,” said Jack.
“Will do…” said Alisha. Bringing us to one of the mansion’s tearooms where Alina sat staring dazed at a roaring fireplace. Sitting beside a holographic projection of Sigi, who was still in his mansion because he was feeling too ill to come over in person, but had elected to telecommute to this meeting of our company’s leadership.
“Hey,” said Jack.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi, yourself...Not to get snippy, but ironically the first couple of months of being immortal in the immortal realms make you feel like death warmed over. So, I can’t help wondering what was so important that you two needed to call up Sigi, Alisha, and myself before we’ve gotten through this adjustment stage,” said Alina. Sighing tiredly.
“Well, the thing is we got this letter,” Jack said. Sending the letter floating over to Alina’s lap.
Alina looked down, read the letter, and then she laughed. Or at least it started off as a laugh, before turning into a coughing fit. She lifted the letter and let Sigi’s projection read the letter as well.
“Fuck!...Of course, the most powerful organization in our slice of the cosmos would want to have a chat...and of course, it’d be now when I feel like something the dog ate up, shat out, and ate again…” grumbled Sigi.
“Well, looking at this letter it looks like we’re about to seriously hit the big time,” said Alisha. Leaning over Alina’s shoulder to read the letter as well.
“Either that or we’re in some super serious shit,” said Sigi.
“Ugh...And here I am benched. Well, I guess it’s up to you two,” said Alina.
“Yeah...I guess so. Any advice or key things you want us to keep in mind before we head in for that meeting,” said Jack.
“Heh, I think we’ve known each other long enough that you kids can already guess what kind of advice we’d give,” said Sigi.
“As Sigi said, we trust you guys. So, just get as good a deal from this as you can...Without setting the house on fire. The rest will handle itself...Or rather, we’ll help you deal with the rest when we’re feeling a lot less shitty,” said Alina.
“Fair enough. Well, in that case, we’ll get out of your hair. Here’s a storage card filled with some nice, light, restorative foods and drinks...Sigi, you’ve got a card of your own heading your way, we sent a construct that should have brought it already,” said Jack.
“I saw it...I’m actually drinking one of the teas now. Much appreciated,” said Sigi. Nodding and smiling. Indicating the mug that his holographic self was holding.
“Don’t mention it. We’ll send along a memo of how the meeting’s gone, later. And afterward, when everyone’s feeling 100-percent again we can all have a proper chat regarding our plans in the Shattered Heavens,” I said.
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A few days after checking in with the guys to see if they had any concerns, or considerations, that they wanted us to keep in mind, Jack and I went in for the meeting that the Division of Cosmic Artifice had requested. The meeting was set up in a strangely large, strangely unnoticeable, tower in one of the Shattered Heaven’s largest cities.
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Jack and I went up to the building’s front doors and they opened on their own, which was no big deal since there were tons of shops, in the mortal world, that could pull off the same gimmick. The inside was a little spookier though. There was no one there, but we could feel the presence of a whole bunch of people. We could also feel eyes on us. A grand collection of gazes chased us until we made it to the office that we were told to head to in the letter that the Division of Cosmic Artifice sent us.
We entered the office and found ourselves in a den with a roaring fire near one of the rear walls. Bare wooden walls, thick fur carpeting, comfortable chairs, and a wooden coffee table laden with tea, coffee, and various platters full of treats. There was a man sitting there. A tall, handsome fellow, with red hair, blue-green eyes, and light coffee-colored skin. He wore glasses, black slacks, black shoes, and a striped white and red, button-down shirt, with the collar half-done and the sleeves rolled up.
We might have come in for a meeting, but the guy was clearly done with work. There was an undone tie lying on the table beside the man, and he held a coffee in his hands that smelled of blood and chocolate. The man’s gaze was sharp and seemed to see too much, and despite clearly being some kind of ultra-powerful immortal, the dude looked exhausted. He was also giving off a vibe that made it feel like he was a hair away from destroying the entire multiverse right here and now. Which was a little terrifying because for the first time in forever, I could sense I was in the presence of an existence that could extinguish my own existence like a little kid blowing out a birthday candle.
“Uh, good afternoon,” said Jack. Taking the lead as always.
“Afternoon,” said the man. Nodding and taking a sip of the coffee he was holding.
“Hi,” I said. Feeling the man’s gaze on me and realizing at that moment that he was another eidolon. His alienness made my own alienness react. Like two weirdo magnets bumping into each other.
“Well, my name is Seren Kaylan. I’m the current Co-Director of the and Lead Programmer and UI Designer for the Division of Cosmic Artifice. Thanks for coming in,” said the man.
“Um, thanks for having us,” said Jack.
“Yes, well, thanks for answering my message so quickly. No need to stay standing...Please, have a seat. Pardon the bloodlust in the air. I just had to deal with one of our clients throwing the mother of all tantrums and well...I’m sure you know how it is,” said Director Kaylan.
“Actually, not really...Our partners usually handled most of that, and we dealt with the programming, design, and maintenance part of things,” I said. Jack and I hesitantly sat down. Relieved to hear that the guy probably wasn’t about to kill us, because for the first time in a long while there would have been basically nothing we could do to stop it. I wasn't even sure we'd have been able to run considering how the space in this building had been constructed, and the number of powerful immortal entities we'd passed on our way in.
“Tch...You're fucking lucky then. Seems like you and my sister, Dana, our Division’s head of engineering, reality-digitalization, and World Design, would have a lot to talk about,” said Director Kaylan.
“Heh, maybe...So, if you don’t mind us asking, exactly what was it that you wanted to talk to us about?” said Jack. Chuckling nervously.
“Mhm? Oh, well, first we wanted to call you and give you some props. The Division’s been keeping an eye on that literal virtual reality that you had going...The Empty-Dream?...We’ve been aware of it, for a while now, and your methods, your workmanship, and the results you had with your user population, has us pretty impressed,” said Director Kaylan.
“I...Um, thanks,” I said.
“Well, that’s my Jill for you. I helped but most of that is all his work,” Jack just smiled. Proving that she had nerves of steel, as she patted me on the arm.
“Hm, interesting...In any case, our DCA would like two things of you. The first is whether you would be okay with working with us and expanding the scale of your operations to include various at-risk worlds we watch over. There are roughly 300,000 worlds that we believe would be a good match to get the Empty-Dream treatment that your Shattered World got. Your Empty-Dream seems to operate similarly too...and potentially better than, similar digitized-realities that we have created. Converting cosmic dangers...in this case the chaotic sea... into opportunities and resources for the local populace. Which in turn stabilizes the world at large and the societies living within,” said Director Kaylan.
“Yeah, we’d be fine with that,” I said. After thinking about the man’s request for a few seconds.
“Excellent! And would you be opposed to the DCA being a bit hands-on, and involved, with the expansion process? I understand that this world’s your baby and that you might be sensitive about having other hands looking at and touching your codework, but...,” said the man.
“No. No, that’s fine. Honestly, I could probably use the help, considering that expanding to other universes would greatly increase my workload,” I said. Recalling that I’d already been in the midst of planning potential measures I could take if I was intending to expand the scale of the Empty-Dream on my own.
“Great...Our second request is actually a job offer...We’ve looked into your reputations, we’ve looked into your track records, and we’ve seen your work...And I’m talking about the both of you. So, Mister and Missus Calloway, we believe that two of you are the kind of people that our Division needs most,” said the Director.
“So what do you say?” said the Director. Smiling lightly.
Jack and I looked at one another. Jolting in surprise at the sudden offer of membership with one of the most powerful, most influential, organizations in the entire cosmos.
“Uh….” said the both of us. Unsure of how to answer because we knew that this would surely be a life-changing decision.