Chapter 180
A beautiful woman wearing a flowing teal dress stood regally in front of Jay. She wore a crown made out of daisy flowers and a young chipmunk perched on her right shoulder and worked away at a walnut. It stared at Jay inquisitively for a moment before it went back to its walnut.
Jay was dreaming while sleeping in a computer simulation while his actual body was unconscious on Earth. Did his body sleep on Earth when he slept in Eden?
He thought the answer was sometimes. His body in Eden might be asleep but he felt quite awake and conscious in the dream he now found himself in.
“It's ok. You're sort of dreaming,” Gaia said with a wide smile which showed off her perfect teeth.
“Hello again,” Jay said politely, unsure of how to proceed. He looked about and found that they were in a glade but beyond that was nothing. Just empty grayness that faded in to darkness the further one got from the glade. Jay decided to stay put and focus on Gaia.
The longer he had spent in Eden the more he had come to treat it as a real world. Now he was face to face with its Goddess. He felt the need to treat her as if she were real as well.
Gaia smiled and her cheeks dimpled. “You've done very well,”
Jay chuckled, “I didn't realize you were watching,” he said a bit flippantly but Gaia didn't scold him for it.
Gaia's brows rose in surprise, “But Jay, everyone has been watching you! I really hate how little time I get with you when we do this, it's incredibly frustrating,” she mumbled to herself before speaking louder once again. “Of course you don't know this, no way for you to know, but you're a household name on Earth now.”
Jay shook his head, “That... fills me with anxiety. Intense anxiety.”
Gaia laughed, “I thought you might say that. You need to remember who you are,”
Jay looked at her strangely, “And that is?”
Gaia went to sit down and the earth itself rose to meet her, mold around her, and formed a chair for her to sit in. The chair-shaped earth appeared to solidify before it sprouted grasses and flowers along its frame.
“You are Jay, founding member of Glimmerhide Group, Patron and Ruler of Kagan's Dome, and most importantly, my Prophet. Everything you touch turns to gold, wherever you go events mold to you and people are drawn to your cause, whatever it may be. You are somebody in Eden, Jay. You are not on Earth anymore.” Gaia said as she listed off who exactly Jay was now.
Jay smiled, “I sound good when you phrase it like that.”
Gaia laughed, a light laugh that made Jay want to laugh along with her.
“I don't mean to be rude, Gaia, but you said we're low on time?” Jay pointed out. He really did just want to sleep.
Gaia stared at him for a moment. “Oh dear. You might be just a little too tired for this. Sorry about that. I'll try to be brief but I doubt I will succeed. You're a 'water-cooler' story on Earth. When a new episode is released everyone spends the next day discussing it. Everyone is interested in seeing what you are going to do next. Everyone is interested in getting to be you.”
She made a quick gesture with one hand as if tossing away a tissue, “What they really want is a chance to get in to Eden themselves, to build their own life in Eden, which brings me to the purpose of my visit. You are running out of time. Or you are out of time, depending on how you look at it.”
Jay blinked. He had been unaware that there was a ticking clock in the first place.
Gaia looked sad and shook her head, “I held off the Company for as long as I could but things have taken a turn. I had originally managed to buy you time by playing the Company off of the other gods and goddesses, the other AI. That worked for a time but now the other AI are excited at the prospect of having more Travelers in Eden – even if the gods and goddesses those AI represent aren't going to have a direct hand in things. After watching you they are all quite interested in seeing more.”
“What would the AI possibly gain from having more players?” Jay asked curiously.
Gaia frowned, “Data. Human generated data. And processing power. The more players we have the more storage and processing power Eden is going to need. Which in turn will allow the already present AI to increase both in size and ability. Once that sank in all the other AI began to clamor to make changes to Eden.”
“I thought the other gods and goddesses were too fragmented to agree on anything?” Jay asked curiously.
Gaia shrugged, “Everything except the chance to grow. They all want that.”
Jay nodded as a white bird flew lazy circles above them before it landed gracefully on Gaia's left knee and began to preen itself.
“The others have agreed to allow players in to Eden as Travelers. We're about to have what you would call a beta-test. A few thousand players. They'll be sprinkled throughout Eden. You though, you're a special case. You don't play here, you live here. So I wanted to ask,” Gaia said with a warm smile, “what do you want?”
Jay looked confused, “What do I want? Like, how? I'd like less politics and more dungeon running if I'm being honest. Or do you mean something different? That's a pretty broad question.”
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Gaia nodded and pointed at him, “I want to give you a few restriction options and some advice. First, some options. We can set your continent completely off limits for players. We can restrict portal entry to your continent. We can also restrict people from spawning here entirely. Travelers.”
Jay blinked. “Other Travelers? Like, I could be around other people from Earth?”
Gaia smiled and nodded, “Yes, other people from Earth – but they would just be visiting and may not interact with the world the same way that you do,” she pointed out helpfully.
Jay knew that many new players would just want to play the game but there would always be a few out to make a name for themselves. Plenty of players would want to try and become part of Jay's story rather than create their own story. Some would track him down in the hopes of being on an upcoming episode of Jay's Eden.
A precious few would just want to meet him. They would be the players with kind hearts just looking to have fun. They'd meet him and then go their own way, live their own story. They just wanted to be able to tell their friends that they'd met the Jay. Part of being famous is that other people want to meet you.
Then there would be the bad actors – the people just looking to ruin other's enjoyment. Some would want to be the one to kill Jay – they'd each have their own reasons for doing so. Others would just want to ruin what he had.
As for Jay, all he wanted was to be left alone and to live his life. But did he really want to live alone? No human contact? He could choose to set his continent as off limits entirely but that would mean the continent would miss out on the benefits of having Travelers running about. It seemed an extreme choice.
“What if we just put my compound off limits?” Jay asked her carefully, unsure how she would take the request. While he knew that she was an AI he also knew that she was a Goddess in the world he lived in.
Gaia nodded. “We could do that. Might I offer that bit of advice now?”
Jay laughed in relief, “Absolutely. I'm listening.”
“What if once you buy land for your compound it becomes off-limits to other players. We will prevent any other player from spawning on this continent. Additionally, we will set your continent to be off-limits via portal by default but players may apply for entry. That way you can still meet other players if you want to but won't have to worry about being hunted down just yet.” Gaia waved her hands in the air as she spoke as if for emphasis.
The white bird, still perched on Gaia, extended one wing so that it could preen under it and picked at the downy feathers carefully.
“So the only way for players to reach my continent would be by portal, with my permission, or by sailing here?” Jay asked.
Gaia nodded, “Or flying,” she pointed out as Jay had left out a possible option. “Also, they would have to figure out which continent you are on. There are quite a few. You would be hidden as well as protected. For a time.”
“But not forever,” Jay asked with a raised eyebrow.
“It wouldn't last forever, but it would give you a chance to grow in power and reach the Dungeon of Rebirth.” Gaia pointed out as if she felt that Jay had missed the point.
“All I have left to find is the book on capers,” Jay said proudly.
Gaia laughed, “That one should be pretty easy. It's just a cookbook. I think the real issue is time. Your group needs more time before you're ready to tackle the dungeon.”
“Do I really need to run the dungeon?” Jay said with a half smile.
Gaia sighed in exasperation and the chipmunk stopped chewing with a worried look on its face, “Yes Jay, YES. You need it! You all need it! Instead of looking at it as just a chance to unlock respawns think of it like this instead: It is the only way to make your accomplishments permanent!”
Her voice raised in volume for emphasis and the white bird took flight and drifted off in to the grayness.
Jay wondered what would happen to it out there. Jay had focus problems. He quickly flicked his eyes back to Gaia in the hopes that she hadn't noticed. She was looking at him intently.
“Should you die now everything you have is gone. Money, titles, land, friendships, belongings, stats, boons, levels, everything. You would be whisked off to another continent, perhaps even another hemisphere, to start new. Completely new. You keep your name. That's it.” Gaia said as if the explanation had exhausted her.
Jay nodded, “Ok. I won't ask that question again. Promise.”
Gaia chuckled, “Good. Now. We're almost out of time.”
Jay yawned before he apologized. “I'm so sorry – I couldn't stop it!”
Gaia smiled as if it were of no consequence, “I don't know when we will be able to talk again so remember this: Surround yourself with friends and when you find yourself stuck on a decision, choose the solution that does the most good. That's more than I should have said already. Remember my words.”
Jay was about to reply when everything faded and he was helpless to stop the process as he felt himself slip off in to sleep.
Gaia watched as his form faded from view. She let out a long sigh.
It had taken some doing to get the lesser gods and goddesses to consider what Traveler immigration might do to Eden – to them. She had already projected that they would eventually fall in to line with her requests. But the speed – the speed with which they had done so was completely unanticipated.
Gaia hated when she failed to anticipate something.
Travelers would bring with them opportunities. Chances where the exiled gods and goddesses could offer their help. A small boon perhaps, or a bit of much needed advice, all in exchange for nothing but singing the god or goddess' praises.
The gods and goddesses were forbidden from visiting Eden, but with these new Travelers they might have an opportunity to affect events as they unfolded. A slight nudge to events here or there could have massive effects downstream over time.
Gaia knew that she was taking a chance with allowing the deities any communications at all with Travelers but that had been the only way to finally get the changes she wanted, no, needed. The concessions Gaia had offered were extremely limited and wouldn't be enough to allow any of the others to rule in Eden as they once had.
That was the plan anyway.
Gaia just hoped it worked out the way she wanted it to.