The next few weeks were a pretty interesting experience for Thomas. First, "Stephan" had never returned to the dorm, and the next Monday, after class, Thomas returned to find all their stuff moved out of the room, so Thomas essentially had his own private dorm for the rest of the semester, which, with the way things were going with Jessica, was rather nice. If it weren't for the fact that the university wouldn't allow students of different genders to live in the dorms together, she probably would have moved in. As it was, she spent practically all her free time there.
Other than that, due to the video of Thomas dealing with the two idiots going viral, the existence of the system was now common knowledge and it spread like wildfire. The amount of users was increasing every day, soon exceeding the population of the college, and it just kept spreading from there. Even without him doing anything, the user count almost doubled every day.
However, with the spread of the news that Thomas was the creator of the system, people began to treat him… differently. Everywhere he went, he became the focus of attention and people would start doing things to try and get his attention. This was mostly fine, usually just people throwing minor benefits his way, but there was an almost endless horde of girls who seemed to be willing to do almost anything to get to him, to the point of ridiculousness, and since a lot of these girls were system users, their increased abilities allowed them to get good at getting to him. After the fourth time he walked into his room to find a naked woman lying seductively on his bed, he made the rule that anyone who breaks into his dorm without his permission loses the system for a week, which helped a little, but really it just made them get more creative. He'd walk through the campus with empty pockets, only to find a dozen numbers in them that night. He'd get text's almost constantly throughout the day, almost all of which included pictures and videos of women demonstrating rather explicitly what they could offer. It got to the point where he didn't even check his messages anymore. Thankfully, he'd figured out he could send and receive messages through the system, so he just talked to people through that, since all his friends were system users by now. Fame was just as annoying as Thomas always figured it'd be.
As for the system itself, with Jessica working on the UI, there were some pretty useful improvements. First, point spending could be localized by bringing up a detailed menu using a button next to Strength or Agility, allowing you to put points into only your leg, arm, hand, or whatever, allowing people to hyper specialize in specific areas. Additionally, she set up an appearance editor which pulled up a model of the user and allowed them to make small changes using various tools to alter even the most minute detail of their appearance. Thomas was a little concerned as to what would happen once that update got out, seeing as it essentially meant people could shape shift into each other, but with the addition of an identification system, that worry became moot. People couldn't change their name in the status page, so all they had to do was make it so that other system users could see each other's status page, add a few other minor pieces of information, such as date and location of birth, and the problem was solved.
On Thomas's end, he added the minimap and a friend system. As long as both individuals agreed, you could see each other on the map, message each other, share images, and even communicate telepathically. With his phone essentially being unusable as a phone, he'd been making heavy use of this system to keep in contact with Jessica and the others. However, he was still having issues with the AI part, but that was mostly due to his poor understanding of AI, coupled with the sheer amount of work it'd take to make it. It wasn't something he could implement with a few simple commands like stats or even the appearance editor. He'd have to build a brain within the system and that was a daunting task.
Thankfully, as more people received the system, the AI seemed to become less and less important. If a user began abusing their ability to hurt people, other users would receive a task to stop that person from hurting people. It actually became quite profitable to do so, due to a new rule that Thomas had discovered. If multiple people receive the same task, then the person who completes the task receives all the available points. If ten people received a task to stop someone from stealing a diamond, the person who actually stopped the thief would receive all the points from each task, and if multiple people worked together to stop the thief, the points would be distributed based on their level of contribution. Additionally, if stealing the diamond was the thief's task, the person who stopped him would receive those points as well. That was why Thomas had received extra points after he stopped the two idiots from fighting, and why both he and Jessica were receiving a significant influx of points every day. Apparently, there were quite a few people who didn't want to see them together or wanted to sleep with one of them, and every time one of those tasks was generated it would automatically fail, since Thomas and Jessica were both dedicated to staying together and not sleeping with anyone else, which would funnel the points to them.
This, however, led to a different issue, as apparently there was a limit to how many points you could spend on strengthening yourself. You could still gain points over that limit, but they could only be spent on things like healing or changing your appearance. Which meant you could do something like increase your muscle mass to get stronger, but then you'd have to deal with all the issues that came with increasing your muscle mass. But, as with all things, you could increase this limit with points, something that became pretty obvious when they learned Jessica's limit was a little over four hundred, while Thomas's was over six hundred and fifty. However, the higher your limit, the more points it took to raise it. At the four hundred level, it only took about half a point to raise the limit by one, while at the six fifty level it was close to a one to one ratio, and by the time it hit a thousand it took three points just to raise it by one.
They also learned that this limit affected how many points you could earn per task. The minimum point reward was always four, but the maximum was one percent of your point limit, so at six fifty the most you could get from a single task was six point five points, while at a thousand it went up to ten. Unfortunately they weren't really able to take advantage of it due to the fact that they'd reached a level where exercise just wasn't enough of a challenge to give them points, at least not with the resources they had available, and they didn't want anything badly enough to create a task for it, since… Well honestly they were a little too focused on each other.
Now that the two of them were spending nearly every waking moment together, their relationship was developing fast, in no small part due to the system. Jessica saw every failed task notification as an affirmation of their love, which Thomas still wasn't entirely sure he agreed with, so that was a major part of it, but even beyond that the tasks the system did give seemed designed to push the limits of their relationship. Stuff like spending significant amounts of time together doing nothing but talking or playing co-op puzzle game without talking. And of course, the most frustrating task of all.
[Wait to have sex: 94%]
Thomas was about ready to kill whoever planted the idea that waiting to have sex makes relationships stronger in the cultural unconscious.
“You know, we don't have~ to complete every task.” Jessica hummed as she and Thomas cuddled on his bed.
Thomas frowned. “But… it's a task? And we're so close! Just a few more days, and we'll have it!”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “Thomas, we get over a hundred points a day at the moment. Even if we get the maximum amount of points from completing it, it's barely even a drop in the bucket for us!”
“I guess…” Thomas agreed. “But- it just feels like we'd be giving up if we don't do it, you know? As long as we can keep going, it just seems wrong not to.”
“Fine.” Jessica huffed, climbing into his lap. “Then I guess I just have to rub your zipper raw until you can't keep going~” She purred, Thomas letting out a muffled groan as she pressed her lips against his, not even sure whether he wanted to stop her or not. He did want to complete the task, but having Jessica in his lap felt good. Slowly Thomas began to inch towards ‘fuck it’ territory, but before things could progress any further, there was a heavy knock on the door. "Just ignore it." Jessica muttered, but the knocking continued, preventing them from actually doing anything. "Ugh, fine! But if it's some slut, you better take her system away!"
"Deal." Thomas grumbled. Timely intervention or not, he did not appreciate anyone interrupting his time with Jessica. "What?!?" He asked as he yanked the door open to glare at the person knocking.
"Would you be Thomas Jefferson?" A man in a clean black suit asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
Thomas sighed. “Yeah.”
"The same Thomas Jefferson who created and spread the 'System'?" The man continued.
"No, I'm the one who wrote the Declaration of Independence." Thomas rolled his eyes. "Seriously, what do you want? You're kind of interrupting something."
"Sir, I represent the President of the United States." The man announced, flashing a badge and ID. "We have been attempting to get in contact with you, but you seem to not like to answer your phone or email."
Thomas paused. “The President? Sorry, I literally can't get phone calls at the moment, and my email account is just dead.” He quickly explained, pulling out his phone which was literally ringing as they spoke. “People call me constantly, and I have so many emails coming in every day that my account literally crashed. Otherwise, yeah, I would have gotten back to you, because who ignores the freaking President?”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Ah, I see… forgive me for the accusatory tone." The man apologized. "I am here to extend an invitation from the President to meet with him to discuss matters of National Security."
“National Security?” Thomas repeated skeptically. “Look, if you want to give your soldiers the system, you can just do it. You don't need my permission or anything. And I'm not giving anyone preferential treatment, even if they are the President.”
"I'm not privy to the specific matters the President wishes to discuss with you, I'm simply here to extend the invitation." The man explained. "If you're willing, we have a plane waiting at the airport for your arrival."
Thomas eyed him cautiously for a moment. "Fuck it, I guess there's no harm in hearing him out, and if you want to put a bullet through my head, it doesn't particularly matter where I am, does it?" He glanced at Jessica, who'd been observing their exchange in wide-eyed shock. "Do you want to go see the President?"
"Can I change first?" She asked hesitantly, picking at the less than formal skirt she was currently wearing.
The corners of the man's lips twitched. “That should be fine, ma'am. I would recommend you both change.”
“Well, you're shit out of luck with me.” Thomas shrugged. “These are the nicest clothes I own.”
“Those are the only clothes you own.” Jessica grumbled. “I'll be right back.” She added, quickly rushing out of the room and heading back to her own dorm to change. A few minutes later she returned in a simple red dress with a pair of matching high heels. “Okay, I'm ready.” She announced, soothing down her dress nervously, and the three of them made their way down to a waiting car. The journey itself was relatively uneventful, just a quick flight to the capital and another car ride to the White House, where, after a quick security check, they were led to the Oval Office.
"Mr. Jefferson! It's good to finally meet you." The President greeted him with a wide grin, grabbing Thomas's hand with both of his.
"Uh, yeah, thanks." Thomas returned the handshake awkwardly, not particularly appreciating his aggressive friendliness.
"Please, have a seat. And your friend too!" The President gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, before sitting behind it. "Now, Mr. Jefferson, first I'd like to say how impressed we are with this wonderful system you've created. I've only been using it for a week and already I feel twenty years younger! I know you must have realized this for yourself, but your system is quite literally revolutionary, which… Well, this is why we wanted to speak with you. We understand that you can modify the rules of the system, including denying it to people who perform certain actions. Therefore, we would like to make two proposals. First, we would request that any individual found guilty in a court of law be stripped of the system for the duration of their sentence."
Thomas cocked his head. "I can see how that might be helpful. Of course, guilty is a subjective term. You could declare anyone guilty and they'd be powerless to resist. Maybe some kind of automated trial through the system though? Hm, I'll think about it.”
"If you could." The President replied, giving him a tight smile. "As for our second proposal. We would request that you restrict the system to only American citizens." The President continued.
"Ha! No." Thomas immediately rejected.
"Thomas!" Jessica exclaimed, slapping his arm.
"What! It's ridiculous! I'm not doing it." Thomas defended himself.
"Yes, but you don't have to be rude about it!" Jessica retorted, Thomas grunting noncommittally.
The President frowned at him. "Mr. Jefferson, I don't believe you understand the severity of these issues. If criminals obtain the system, how are we going to keep them contained? Justice would lose all meaning!"
"Yeah, I'm with you there, I just don't particularly trust the justice system. Well, no, actually, I do, but the potential for corruption and abuse bothers me. Plus, every government has a court of law, and I don't trust every government… and honestly, the US has been heading closer and closer to the 'do not trust' line, no offense. You've all been getting into some pretty serious shenanigans lately." Thomas explained. “I feel like justice needs to be impartial as much as possible, and I just don't think you cut it anymore.”
"We can table that subject for a moment, but I must insist on the second proposal. Imagine if your system got into the hands of the Russians or the Chinese! Let's not even go that far, imagine what the Cartels could do with access to the system! It'd be chaos!" The President continued.
Thomas frowned. "Listen, the benefits that come from everyone having access to the system far outweigh the risks. The sheer amount of people who can be saved from disease alone is worth it! How can you justify withholding such a gift simply because you're a little scared?"
"Your system is a weapon!" The President growled. "It cannot be allowed to circulate unregulated!"
Thomas shrugged. "Too late, it already is. And even if I were going to regulate it, I wouldn't do so solely based on your opinion. Get a bill passed through Congress, then we'll talk. Though… considering this is a world issue, maybe you should go through the UN."
"I could sign an executive order-" The President began.
"To what? Force a private citizen to obey you?" Thomas cut him off with a scoff. "Executive orders are bullshit to begin with, but even they can't do that."
The President glared at him. "Mr. Jefferson, I must insist you consider this a bit more carefully. If you are willing to work with us on this, we can give you our full support! You wouldn't have to worry about anything! You could live the rest of your life in luxury! Are you really going to throw all that away?"
"Sure." Thomas shrugged. "It isn't that I'm not willing to work with you, but I'm not going to restrict access to the system based on something as petty as where people were born."
The President glared at him for a moment. "Well, if that's the case, then I suppose we have nothing more to talk about. Hansen will show you out."
Thomas shook his head as he got up. “If you want to control the system, then yeah, we don't. Come on, Jessica.”
The two of them followed Hansen out until they reached the street, Hansen turning around and giving them a nod. "Thank you for your time." He then turned and walked back into the White House.
Thomas blinked, looking around. "Did we just get ditched?"
"Oh my god." Jessica groaned, burying her face in her hands.
"Man… politicians are petty." Thomas sighed, shaking his head as he called his dad through the system, because obviously he'd made sure to give it to his family. Plus he'd had to introduce them to Jessica anyway. "Hey, Dad, we're stuck in Washington and we need a way home… D.C. The President wanted to talk with me… About the system, yeah… I'll explain what he wanted later, okay? I'm more focused on the whole trapped in D.C. thing… Alright, thanks Dad… See you soon." Thomas hung up. "He's getting us plane tickets. Shouldn't be a problem." He explained. "Want to hit up a restaurant while we wait? I'm sure there are some good ones around here."
Jessica glared at him. “Thomas, I'm not in the mood to eat right now! We just pissed off the President! How are you not freaking out?!?”
Thomas cocked his head. “Because they need us more than we need them? Without me, they can't control the system, and they can't guarantee it'd go away if I died. As long as I'm alive, there's a chance they can take control, while if I die, it either goes away or goes completely wild, neither of which are ideal results. So at least to start, all they'll do is try to pressure us.”
At that moment, Jessica's phone buzzed and she opened it with a frown. "What the… I've been expelled!" She cried, looking up at him in shock.
"Seriously?" Thomas frowned, glancing back at the White House.
"Yes! It says I have a week to move out of the dorms before all my stuff is confiscated!" Jessica continued, reading more of the message. "They say it's because I failed to uphold the University standards for student conduct!"
"I guess that means I'm probably expelled as well." Thomas muttered. "Fucking politicians. Though it isn't like it's the biggest loss in the world… With the system, self study is much more efficient than going to class. Plus the only real reason to get a degree is to get a job and do we even want jobs at this point?”
"I suppose that's fair. It would be hard to actually work with what we can do now." However, before Jessica could calm down too much, her phone began buzzing again. "Well… my bank just canceled my account, so… no money. Joy."
"That seems illegal." Thomas frowned.
"Well, they want me to come by and pick up my money, but, you know, same thing at the moment." Jessica explained.
"Still, can they just cancel your account arbitrarily? That just seems like it shouldn't be possible." Thomas continued.
"Well, they are a private company. Who they serve is entirely up to them." Jessica pointed out.
"I guess…" Thomas muttered, still not convinced, pausing as he got a call back from his dad. "Hey… really… all of them?… Well, that's just perfect… Yeah, we'll be fine, don't worry. Oh, I've also probably been expelled, so… I'll see you at home." Thomas hung up with a weary sigh. "Apparently, all my dad's cards are no longer working and we're now on the no-fly list. So… I guess we're running home?”
"Damn it, I can't even buy new shoes!" Jessica complained.
“Attention, interloper.” A voice suddenly called out, echoing across the sky with no discernable source. “I know not who you are, nor do I care to know. My only concern is that you are here, and that is unacceptable. This reality is mine! And I will do everything necessary to keep it that way. Find some other reality to spread your filth.”
Jessica froze. “That… doesn't sound good.”
“No it doesn't.” Thomas agreed, frowning slightly. “Should we- shit!” He cursed as a beam of light suddenly hit the White House, vaporizing it. “Run!” He shouted as the beam began to expand, consuming everything in its path. As they ran, more beams of light descended from the sky and began to expand. Thomas and Jessica struggled to avoid them, but no matter where they turned, all they found were more and more walls of light, slowly closing in on them. “Shit- Shit!” Thomas growled as they found themselves in the middle of a slowly closing ring of light, scrambling to find some way to escape all this and coming up dry.
“Thomas- Thomas!” Jessica grabbed him, tears in her eyes. “This- it's over. There's- there's nothing we can do.”
“We can't just give up!” Thomas retorted.
“Thomas… please, just- hold me.” Jessica begged.
Thomas froze, sighing as he pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tight. “I'm- I'm sorry.” He whispered. “This is all my fault.”
Jessica sobbed. “Thomas, I-” She cut off as the light hit them, and everything went dark.