“What was I saying?” Sharkie said. “I was saying something, wasn’t I?”
Matt groaned and sat up, squinting. His eyes flitted to the pink in his vitality display, confirming that he still got rest XP from the tent even after being sent to sleep so abruptly. “All good,” he told her and scratched at his stomach below the trashcan lid. “We got the gist.”
“Powers time!” Val cheered. She had already hopped up and was ready to burst.
“Yeah?” Sharkie said, looking to Manuele.
He shrugged at her and slid to the edge of the mattress. His eyes seemed less menacing in the morning light.
“So, you want me to attack a tree?” Sharkie said, a few minutes later just beyond the tent.
“Why not?” Val encouraged.
“Okay…”
Matt kept his distance as she approached a springy sapling. Fallyn narrowed her eyes.
“This one’s for all the marbles,” Sharkie said. Then her mouth formed a circle, like a cartoon cloud that was blowing out wind. Deep purple flames rushed out from her breath, engulfing the tree in darkness that was also light. Its every branch and leaf burned with it, hardening into charcoal.
Matt watched the strange flames dance. They didn’t throw any heat, instead, when he drew close, he felt cold.
As if reading his realization, she said, “Cool right? See what I did there?” She raised and lowered her eyebrows twice.
“Yeah,” Matt said without hiding his amazement. “Is that from?” He gestured around his eyes.
“Yep. Looks like you got an upgrade in that department too. Lookin’ snazzy.” She grinned.
“Thanks.”
They each took a turn showing off their abilities and sharing any nuances for coordination. Kurtis teased Matt about turning around the mobs when he got to explaining his taunt. Matt got his shield stuck in a tree trunk demonstrating Shield Slam; Manuele had to help him yank it out.
It seemed like he and Sharkie got some really cool abilities from the gravemist. Matt almost wished he wasn’t immune, but then he recalled the story from Jim, Lauren, and Sydney—their disintegrated friends. Sharkie and Manuele were damn lucky.
Show and tell over, Matt’s party set out for their two-day hike. They shared more details about the last month while they traveled. As they trekked through grasses and trees, Matt couldn’t help but reflect on how ridiculous everything had become. The Earth was gone, aliens were real, their lives were a fucked up video game. And, as if giant saber-toothed squirrels trying to kill them wasn’t enough, there were zombie versions of the damn things too.
Matt tried to focus on the path ahead, put one foot in front of the other, and be grateful for his friends. He’d been through a lot with Fallyn, Kurtis, and Val. As weird as the whole thing was, he’d found four friends at the end of the world. And now he had another chance to add Sharkie and Manuele to that count.
Val must be rubbing off on me, Matt thought at his bout of optimism. He didn’t mind that at all.
###
“Welcome to broadcast audio link, partied travelers,” came the cool female voice, as Matt strode towards Murl’s castle the following afternoon.
The distant building seemed a tiny Lego construct with the sun streaming bright above. Matt squinted, assessing the distance, and then shot a look at Kurtis. The cat-man returned a nod. He had been muttering to himself for the last few minutes, but that was nothing unusual.
“Please be reminded,” the Operator said, “that I will only hear audio input from the initiating traveler. How may I assist you?”
“Is it the same lady?” Val asked.
“Don’t think so,” Kurtis said.
“Please restate as a question,” the Operator intoned.
“Oh, um, that wasn’t. My friend just wondered if you’re the Operator we got last time. Are you?”
“I am E-Class Operator 51783. Records show that Operator 64552 has been terminated. How else may I assist you?”
“What?” Matt blurted. He and Fallyn shared a glance.
“She was able to tell us about the case,” Kurtis ventured. “Do you have any updates you can share?”
“Do you mean the legal case involving your planet? Please confirm.”
“Yes.”
“If asked about case number 1425778, I am required to read the following. FRC petition for expedited trial date has been accepted on grounds of economic and social impact related to potential Continuance disruption. Trial is scheduled for—refresh, refresh—9 standard days from now. Humans will be notified of ruling via Announcement system following verdict delivery.”
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Same day as the Megabowl,” Fallyn said quietly. “That can’t be a coincidence.”
“What are the possible outcomes?” Kurtis asked.
“Please direct your query to a subject I am permitted.”
Kurtis bristled at Matt’s side, tail puffing up.
“Can you ask her to tell us what claims are now involved in the trial?” Fallyn requested.
Kurtis tensed but asked anyways, “What claims are involved in the trial?”
“One moment. Claims list, all parties: Violation of Code A421, Harvester Operator negligence, unlicensed technology use, unauthorized technology use, unauthorized server use, patents violation, primitive status declaration due to violence, unpaid access fees, expectation of future unpaid access fees.”
“All parties?” Matt asked, stuck on the initial words.
“Who are all parties?” Kurtis said.
“FRC, PRO on behalf of F-311246.3, the Harvester Operator, and his government.”
“And is PRO good to have ‘on our behalf?’” Kurtis made air quotes, looking like he was doing the chicken dance in his oven mitts.
“Please formulate into a question I am permitted to answer.”
“Who or what is PRO?” Kurtis tried.
“Peoples Rights Organization. A nonprofit specializing in legal matters related to Conglomerate citizens and petitioning worlds.”
“Does that mean we’re petitioning?” Val said.
Two bars in Matt’s party interface shot down, dramatically, Sharkie’s and Manuele’s. He almost didn’t hear Kurtis’ question and the Operator’s deflecting response.
Shit, shit, shit. Not only were they taking heavy damage but they were likely confused or freaked out—or both. They’d parted ways mid-morning. He remembered the Chatbot coming up in conversation, but had the Operator? Did they mention how the broadcast worked?
“Hey, ask about some way to let Sharkie and Manuele know what’s happening,” Matt requested. He was relieved to see their health bars going up.
Kurtis ran an oven-mitted hand along the back of his neck. “Operator, we’ve got two people separated from us hearing this. I don’t think they’ve seen Operator stuff before. Can you tell them what’s going on?”
“I am not permitted to pass messages between travelers in the Continuance. I am prohibited from taking any actions or revealing any information that would give one traveler an unfair advantage. Please also note that cheat codes are strictly prohibited and could result in a ban.”
Matt recognized that script. Something about how this Operator said it was so cold compared to the last one—almost robotic. But Sharkie was smart; Matt hoped that was enough for her to figure it out. He eyed her and Manuele’s health bars. They fluttered ever so slightly but stayed close to full.
“Is there some sort of party chat that’s part of the system and we could use?” Kurtis asked.
“Party chat is a premium feature which any traveler may enable.”
“How?” Val said.
“How do we enable it?”
“Premium features may be enabled through the Store Menu, in the Features tab.”
“And what do we purchase items with?” Kurtis grated.
“Conglomerate Credits of course.” The ‘of course’ was clipped as if the Operator was biting back the words, regretting what she’d said.
Could those be what he’d been collecting all this time? Matt thought the name, Store Menu, and a huge black box appeared in front of him, larger than any of his other menus. He stopped walking so that he didn’t fall. It filled his entire field of view except for the tiniest border of grass, mountains, and sky.
It was like he was in the menu. The items shook, twirled, and shone, demanding his attention. An ornate sword, glowing pale blue and spurting smoke, was promoted on the main page, alongside a pink robe he knew Val would be drooling over. A box with a lid that kept opening and closing glowed on the tile beneath it, and then to the right there was an assortment of potions and what looked like a spinning box. Matt scanned the top and sides of the interface for some indicator of a Features tab. There were tabs with different icons, but he didn’t know which was which.
Matt thought, Features, and the images flipped. The icon of a gear seemed to be highlighted above. The tiles in this tab were smaller, arranged like the thumbnails in his Skills Menu with an image on the left and some text beside it. There were lock symbols on all of them.
He scrolled down the list, lingering on a few. City Rest: Gain Well Rested anywhere in cities. Hide Headgear: Toggle show/hide for any head armor or adornment. Rock On: Import personal music to enjoy (will not be audible to other travelers).
There we go, Party Chat. He mentally selected the tile and it expanded to provide more information. Each traveler requires Feature to partake in communication, blah blah… Then Matt’s jaw dropped at the price. His mouth actually opened, standing there in the sunshine of the meadow. He was unsure if his friends had kept walking or were staring at his expression. He just couldn’t believe it, 1 million CCs. He wouldn’t have that if they all pooled their money together, and they’d each need to spend that to unlock it.
“Shit,” Matt hissed.
Someone squeezed his arm. He closed the menu to catch a smile from Fallyn. She’d waited. He nodded and they resumed walking towards the castle. Kurtis’ tail was now twice its usual size.
“Parties of four may enter and must complete three challenges,” the Operator was saying. “While there is no time limit, of those to complete all three, the party with the fastest time will be declared the winner.”
Matt had barely heard Kurtis’ question. He’d seen corporations like this, clients of his accounting firm. He’d seen their books. They had more money than God and still set unaffordable prices. Of course, FRC was one of those—as if destroying the Earth hadn’t been enough of a clue. Matt still reeled at the number, 1 million CCs. FRC was definitely evil and he was willing to bet that he was missing something about the economy too.
Matt reached up to adjust glasses that were no longer there. He hadn’t done that in a while. He brushed the hand along the side of his hat, playing it off like that’s what he’d intended.
“But we have more than four,” Val protested from about ten feet ahead. Wiggles scurried at her side dragging a maple branch with fresh green leaves.
Shit. Matt’s brain was still catching up to what the Operator had said. Parties of four or something?
“What happens if we try to enter with more than four in our party?” Kurtis asked.
“Loading,” said the Operator. “Dungeon instances are programmed to permit partied travelers, in order of entry request, until specified population limit. Additional travelers will not be able to pass entry. Note that future patches could change any aspect of Continuance programming. For latest patch notes, please see official boards.”
Fuck. And Sharkie and Manuele must be hearing that too, unable to talk to them. Unable to do anything. Matt glanced at their party interface boxes, the smirk on Sharkie’s face in her portrait, the aloof expression on Manuele’s. How did they choose those images? It wasn’t like he was ever asked to pose for a photo.
“Unfortunate,” Fallyn said softly from Matt’s side.
“Is there anything else you can tell us, to help us prepare?” Kurtis requested.
“Please formulate a specific question.”
The cat-man huffed, shoulders rising and falling, orange fur practically glowing in the bright sun. He tried variations then dove into asking about boss fights, trash mobs, puzzles, mechanics, buffs, debuffs—drawing on memories of games and losing Matt in the jargon.
“I am prohibited from providing information that would give one traveler an unfair advantage,” the Operator rattled off each time.