Stranger vanishes into the darkness to survey the town, find a communication point and the Easter Egg, while we remain at the Task Board to complete our tasks. Our base of operations? My first thought is Nikki's house, but it's a far walk from there to here, so it'd be better to select somewhere closer. Nikki agrees with my assessment and suggests the WHSmiths. “Even if there aren't any people, there are probably still books. We certainly won't be bored there. Plus, there's stationary in case we need to write more stuff. And food nearby, although I imagine that's going off by now …” Nikki trails off, looking thoughtful. “Are you hungry?”
“I'm not actually.”
“Nor am I. It's odd.”
Thinking about it, we've been awake for about three hours now, and no breakfast. Yet I don't feel hungry at all. “Even if we aren't hungry … surely we need to eat?”
“Maybe not … do you feel at all tired either?”
“Not really. That's odd too, right?”
“Very. By now we'd both be kind of tired, but we're fine.”
“You're right.”
“This is getting more confusing. We have to figure some stuff out before we proceed. Firstly, where are we?” I look at Nikki, confused. “I don't think we’re in the same place as yesterday. There are no people at all, and it'd be easier to move us than everyone else. Admittedly, it'd be easier to move everyone else than completely reconstruct the town, but you see my point. I think we've been moved.”
“But how can this place be real? If everyone who has a book is experiencing this, then there wouldn't be enough space on Earth.”
“Maybe this place isn't real.”
“It feels real… but also dreamlike”
“I agree. I think this is an induced lucid dream.”
“Induced how?”
“By the books.”
“How?”
“I have no idea. Anything I said would seem improbable, but I can't think of anything else. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Not really … I think it's beyond us to speculate at this point.”
“We have to start somewhere. What do you think of my idea?”
I think about it. It's a decent hypothesis, as far as I can tell. “It doesn't involve completely reconstructing a whole town, so it's not too bad.”
“Not physically. It doesn't reconstruct it physically, but it's perfect inside our heads. Surely, we don't know that much of the town that it's so detailed? And if this is a dream, how are we sharing it? I suppose that's not the oddest thing, but it needs explaining. Dammit. Too many things need explaining, and we're just following instructions to collect some points. Maybe we should just stop and try to figure things out.”
“The instructions aren't hurting us, and when we have enough points we'll be able to test the catalogue, which is what we wanted to try in the first place.”
Nikki sighs. “I suppose … I don't like this, though. I feel like I'm in danger. There's nothing true to latch onto.”
“If there ever was.”
“I appreciated the illusion, at least.”
“We at least have each other. We know we are who we are.”
“Or that's the illusion. Oh! I remember something. Stranger said it was very odd that there were two of us. They've only ever seen one person at a time.”
“So, we're in an even more abnormal situation than everyone else?”
“We are.” Nikki closes their eyes. “It's frustrating, but you're right. We need to keep playing along for now. Let's get these tasks done. WHSmith for base of operations, right?”
We write it down onto some paper and place it in the box next to the Task Board. Nikki looks at their book and the note. “Well I've got the points, but it hasn't vanished. Maybe we can do this one twice.”
“Because there are two of us?”
Nikki nods. “Yeah, that seems right. Well, where's our second base going to be?”
“Hmm, it didn't give any restrictions on the size of the base, right?”
“No, it didn't. Ah, so we do something like select the whole town?”
“The whole world?”
“There are drawbacks to having a massive base. But we always have the WHSmith to fall back on, so we might as well experiment.” I write down “the entire world” on the paper and place it in the box. The note goes blank, and I receive my ten points. Nikki looks around. “Well the world hasn't changed as far as I can tell, but shall we see if there's anything different going on the WHSmith?” I nod.
When we arrive, we find the store is locked. Nikki is amused. “I guess it's pretty much a title only thing. It's our base of operations, but we can't even get in.” I'm a bit disappointed, but more amused. “We can wait for Stranger to get back and unlock it for us. They managed to get into all those houses, so they should be able to deal with this. Anyway, let's design a symbol. Do you particularly care what it is, or shall we just get it over with?”
“If we can't change it later it might be awkward.”
“True … so nothing stupid. But I don't care enough to try.” We walk back to the Board, and Nikki places a single dot on a scrap of paper. They insert it, and the points are gained. “Easy enough.” I do the same, and we treat the other tasks in a similar, let's-get-this-over-with fashion. Our agenda is “dot”, and our titles are “Dot” and “Dottess”. They're all accepted.
Tasks done, we sit outside the WHSmith, flipping through the catalogue to see what we can purchase – when we figure out how to purchase – and wait for Stranger. We've accumulated 107 points each. I can afford exactly one of the selves in the catalogue, and Nikki can afford any of theirs. The one “self” I can afford looks very similar to me, but has a softer face, smoother hair, and small breasts. Their description is:
Life:
Essentially identical to base self
Ambitions:
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Identical
Skills:
Can tell mildly captivating stories
Can illicit slightly more sympathy from select groups (some males),
Can tie a cherry with tongue.
It seems worth buying to try out. But I don't know exactly what would occur; do I become the person, or do they just appear in this world with me? Nikki doesn't know either, and they have a lot more choice to me. They seem confused as to why mine costs so much more, but upon reading more entries we form a crude theory: changes in life don't cost very much at all, changes in ambitions seem to cost slightly more (roughly 10 points per ambition), and skills cost the most, being roughly 40 points per skill, but some being a lot more. We try to find a pattern to the skills, and we see a rough correlation with the time it would take to learn the skill. If the skill can't be learned, we think it costs at least 100 points.
Stranger arrives while we discuss this, and hands us two pieces of paper with notes about the town. We go deposit these, while Stranger tells us they found the Easter Egg (which was in fact a regular looking egg with the words “Easter Egg” written on it), and they will take us to the communication point, as there is one not too far away, near the cinema. We follow them. Nikki and I chat about what we're going to do when we've finished all the tasks, and Stranger informs us that the tasks are replenished every time there's a Point Collection Event. They say we won't have to wait a week, but they're not sure why we don't have to when it says we will in the book.
“Thanks,” I say.
“Thanks?” they repeat back to me.
“For helping us out.”
“I'm doing it for my own benefit.”
As I say, “Even so, I appreciate it” we stop at a telephone box next to a lake across the street from the cinema.
“This is what I've seen others use to communicate before.”
“It won't work without electricity …” Nikki says.
“It worked fine for other people.” I check my book, and inform Nikki we have gained the points for finding it, so it must be legitimate.
“Then let's try it.” Nikki looks inside the box. “It's a pretty normal, except there's a box to put paper in, like the one on the Task Board. Nikki opens the door and steps inside. They try the phone, but nothing happens. “Are you sure others could use this?”
“Yes,” says Stranger. “But never that bit, which you have by your ear. You use the box to send notes.”
“To who?”
“I don't know where the notes go, but people always send notes detailing what they want to purchase.”
“So, it's communication with Your Company?”
“I would guess that,” Stranger says.
“It seems likely, but we can't assume.” Nikki pokes their finger at the slit in the box. “Shall we write something.”
“I don't know what to say.”
“I'll do the message.” Nikki gets out some paper and writes. Halfway through they stop. “I think I'll need to identify you. Can I use your name again?”
I sigh. “Yes.”
“This would be easier if you could think of a new one.” Nikki finishes writing and shows us.
Hey. This is Nikki Towers. I'm currently with my friend (Lollipop) who doesn't like her name, and this other person who doesn't like names in general. Would you mind saying who you are, so we know who we're talking to? Also, if you're Your Company, we'd like to purchase Lollipop's first entry in their catalogue, and my thirty fourth. We have sufficient funds. I hope you're having a good day, and that this message finds you well.
“It says everything we need to say, I guess.”
“Let’s send it.” Nikki deposits it and we all go quiet. I check my book to see if the points have been deducted. They have not. Nikki peeks inside the hole to see if the letter is still there but can't see anything very well in the poor light, especially because of the angle.
“So, we're done for now?” I ask.
“I guess …” Nikki looks at Stranger. “Anything else we ought to know?”
“Most people take longer than you to finish the first set of tasks, but from now it will be harder. The next collection event might take up all the time.”
“I see …” says Nikki. “Hey, did anyone you observed eat or sleep or complain about being tired?”
“Yes, to the first two, no the third.”
“Oh. I guess we ought to eat then. We could get sugary stuff from the cinema.”
“You mean steal it?” I ask.
“Yeah. I mean, no-one owns it right? We are the Dot and Dottess of this town, so it's all ours.”
“I still don't feel hungry, though.”
We walk across the street and find the door is locked. We look to Stranger. “Would you mind opening this for us?” Nikki asks.
“I don't mind, but don't expect me to do everything you say.”
“I don't. We're business partners, so if you need something done and we can do it, just say.”
“I will.”
Stranger opens the door as if it wasn't locked at all, and steps inside, followed by Nikki and me. I ask how they opened it. “It is another thing that is hard to explain. I am not as bound to this reality as you are, is the best way I can phrase it. This has advantages, but more disadvantages.” I nod to acknowledge I heard what they said, although I didn't understand quite what they meant – I hope I will at some point, but there's no use questioning further at the moment.
Though still not hungry, I feel like I should really eat, and I can smell popcorn in the air. Nikki does too and leads us to the counter, which we step around the back of. Nikki sighs. “The popcorn doesn't look too good.” They look at the rows of sweets behind us and pick a few. “I guess this is all there is. Not at all healthy, but I think sugar will do us good after all we've done today.” I nod and take some winegums for myself. Stranger inspects a few packets but doesn't take anything.
“It'd be nice if we could watch a movie. Despite everything, I think I'm bored.”
“Me too,” I say.
“I am also,” Stranger says. I'm surprised to learn they have the capacity for boredom.
“Hey, if you could get electricity going in the houses, could you get enough to run a projector?”
They shake their head. “I did not produce electricity. I produced the light.”
“I see … we need a generator or something. I doubt this place has any.”
Stranger looks to one of the rooms where films are shown, and I follow their gaze. The door is opening, and the impression of a very tall person slips out – I say impression because even though I'm staring at this person I can't make out any features at all; I am only left with the idea that they are person-shaped. Nikki looks too and smiles. They raise their hand and say, “Hey, welcome to Dotland.”
Stranger cautions Nikki: “The attitudes of our kind vary. Often we are hostile.”
“Perhaps, but we've been spotted anyway and there's no harm being friendly.”
I think the person laughs, but what I actually hear is not a laugh at all: It's low, and high, hostile and abrasive. Constant. And it feels like it's happening at the centre of my skull. It doesn't hurt. But it drowns out all else, and after what feels like minutes it ends. It wasn't meant to be threatening, I think, and so I don't take it as such. I'm left a bit disorientated but thinking back to it, it wasn't too awful.
Nikki laughs a bit too. “What's so funny?”
Stranger asks: “You could tell it was laughing?”
They nod. “Somehow, yes.”
It approaches us, but slowly. At least, I think it's slow. I don't actually see it move, just notice it get closer – the closer it gets the darker my peripherals grow, and the more amorphous it becomes. Eventually I feel like it's right in front of us. Then it speaks. I don't hear its words, but I get their meaning. The effect of hearing its voice is very similar to its laugh. What it conveys to us is that we're the most unusual thing it's ever encountered, and it finds that a bit funny. Nikki smirks and nods. They say that it happens to be the most unusual thing they've encountered too. It laughs again, and at this close range, the sound is even louder. I recognise it's an illusion, so I'm not worried about it damaging me, but it throws my balance off and I fall. This prompts it to laugh even more.
It calms down eventually. At least it doesn't seem hostile, although I don't know how stable it is. It might decide to murder us on a whim. Of course, Stranger might also do that.
Nikki continues the conversation: “So what brings you here?” Nothing. “Do you have any particular goal in mind?” Survival. “Sounds easy enough.” It's not. “You seem to be doing fine right now.” I've avoided my existence ending narrowly five times by now.
Stranger joins in: “How old are you?” It gives some kind of answer, that Stranger probably understands but which I don't. It is possible Stranger recognises Nikki and I exchanging confused looks, so they translate: “We can't … measure time as you can. The quantity it gave me is about one day, which makes it one fourth my age.”
Dot and Dottess of this world, it addresses us, if something abnormal happens it is worth the effort to utilise it. Nikki nods. “I get what you mean. Things have been literal and easily exploited so far.” Yes, yes, and that is not the intention at all. It is an opening, a rare opportunity, and I want to use it as far as I can. Nikki's face lights up. “Oh, I do too. I think we can take this very far.”
I smile up at Nikki, although they aren't looking at me and I can hardly see them in the poor light. Ambitious as always. Whatever they're planning, it's a risk – exploiting glitches in games sometimes breaks everything, and we can't reload life. If it weren't for them, I'd be content with the set-up as it is now; collecting points, buying ideal selves, repeat. But they can see there's so much more to be gained, and I want to be with them until we get it all, or until we die. This isn't really a secret., I've said I admired their ambition more than once, and I've probably said that I don't want to be away from them a few times too. I smile up at Nikki. I believe that can deduce what I’m thinking, but I say it out loud anyway.
Nikki smiles down at me. “We'll go to the top together,” they confirm. “That's what I want too.”