October 21st, 2023
5:56 PM MST
Morgan
Jack Morgan sat in detention, waiting for him to be let out. A full three hours of detention after school seemed a bit extreme, but who was he to say anything. With a sigh he simply leaned back in his chair and watched the time tick by.
It might have been interesting if he’d not completed his homework in less than 10 minutes. It could have been fun if there had been anyone else. No, he was alone and in school doing essentially nothing for several hours. IT was only his good sense that kept him from being destructive to school property, and looking at the desks around him he could tell that not everyone in the school had his good sense.
Tic. Tic. Tic.
The clock was always so slow when you watched it. Jack couldn’t help it though, he felt like this was an eternal moment, dragging on and on. With a sigh he went back to writing randomly in his school notebook, already almost entirely filled with notes few of which made sense. This incessant ticking of the clock. I know that time passes, and yet it feels like the edge of eternity. If this was a movie, something interesting would be happening behind me that I might not notice. If this was a book, readers would consider throwing it out simply for the boredom of watching someone do nothing for so long. What possible purpose am I in the stream of time?
As he wrote, he didn’t know about one thing. The world tended to have a sense of humor. A minute before he was let out, Jack Morgan passed out on his notebook.
Morgan sat up, blinking before he looked at his hands. They were so young, he was so young. “It… It worked!” Morgan said, grinning like a fool. “I’m back. I’m back!” He stood up, staring at the clock as it ticked the last second to 6:00 PM.
Before this sudden personality shift, Jack had been waiting to be let out of school to play games at home. Now, Morgan was waiting for a very different kind of game. He smiled happily as he saw the familiar text box.
> System Initializing
> . . .
> Please Stand By
> . . .
***
October 21st, 2023
8:01 PM EST
Rani
Rani marched, watching the police barrier ahead as they walked with a dozen others towards them. The barrier had twice as many cops as they had in the small group of protestors at the front of their crowd.
“Back the fuck up.” One of the cops said, raising his riot shield at Rani and the others. “I said back the fuck up!”
“Lethal force should never be the first choice.” One of the people beside Rani said, and they shouted with agreement.
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“We have enough dead, leave our communities alone!” Another shouted, yelling at the police as well.
“I’d rather call my local crackhead than you.” Rani shouted, blatantly aping a joke from John Oliver. “At least they’d get things done on time!”
The notification that filled everyone’s view had put everything at hold, but Rani was still raring to fight. It didn’t matter that it was a terrible idea, they were excellent at terrible ideas. Besides, maybe this System was on their side.
> New Quest!
>
> Tutorial (1/10): Save the City 1
>
> Difficulty: Common
>
> Description: Convince the other side to throw the first punch.
>
> Reward: Combat skill
Rani smiled, knowing that this was worth it. They could smell violence in the air, and the smell was good. “Hey ho, hey ho, these racist cops have got to go!” They shouted. The crowd cheered and followed along. Slowly the voice of hundreds, if not a thousand, of people built behind Rani. They could see the anger on the cops’ faces. Slowly it grew and grew, until one of them finally muttered something that couldn’t be heard under the rabble, and ran forward baton in hand.
> Quest Complete!
>
> Reward: Molotov Fireball
Another notification tried to fill their view, but Rani didn’t think it was worth it to look after seeing this one. The reward was enough for them. “Pigs in a blanket!” They shouted at the top of their lungs as a fireball appeared in their hand.
“Fry them like bacon!” The crowd behind them responded, getting clearly fired up.
***
October 22nd, 2023
12:15 AM GMT
Yevgeni
Yevgeni stared around the cabin at the other nine people who were in a circle. He wasn’t sure what to say, so for now he was just listening to the others.
“Mission control is saying to sit tight. These notifications, they seem strange, apparently it's not unique to us.” One of the American Astronauts said, looking at the rest of the members of the ISS crew.
“At least we haven't been hit by some cosmic rays, or whatever.” Another American said, grinning cheekily.
“Well, maybe we were, but if so the entire planet got it too.” One of the Chinese astronauts said, smiling just as widely. They all seemed to be in on a joke that Yevgeni was missing. It didn’t matter though.
“Listen.” Yevgeni said. “I’m not sure we’re going to be able to get home easily. The quests don’t really have a ‘lets get home’ vibe, do they?” The rest of the crew murmured their agreement quietly. “In that case I have a feeling that there may be dangers we are not knowing about. Something that is preventing us from going home.”
“I suppose you're right.” One of the Americans said in agreement. “My quest is mathematical. It says I’ll be able to better control our vectors afterward.”
“Well.” Yevgeni said. “My quest… My quest will probably do a lot to help us. But I need your agreement. Please don’t laugh.”
He pulled up the notification, and then willed it to be shared with everyone else in the cabin. He had a feeling it would work, and he hoped he was right.
> Quest
>
> Tutorial (1/10): First In Last Out
>
> Description: You are the descendant of Yuri Gagarin. You have inherited his legacy, and due to your current location you have already gained a bloodline resonance. You must take control of the skies, to defend the world on which you once lived. Become the leader of men!
>
> Reward: Unlocked Bloodline
“Well shit. I didn’t know you were descended from someone famous.” The talkative American said, patting him on the back.
“This is very nebulous, what does it mean?” One of the Chinese astronauts said.
“I need you to let me lead. I think.” Yevgeni said sheepishly. “All in favor?”
The cosmonaut watched as the others in the cabin began to raise their hands.