This how Ethan began his quest. He flew over different times and places. Just sitting up there in the ether looking down on things, and if he focused on a place and time, more information about the place would appear to him. He’d get the story from that time and place, and then the next, all the while learning about the momentum of the world from those perspectives. With this he refined his focus and gradually zeroed in on a place to land. It was a new experience for him. Ethan wondered if this was what transcended people did when they took flight. Were they just flying over things, taking a closer look, and sometimes landing?

Landing was called ‘Dropping In’. The phrase came from a reference to surfing. Surfers wait and wait on the water until the right wave comes along, They can feel it’s coming force and decide if it’s the right one. When they find the right one, they wait until the exact moment to drop into the barrel and ride out the wave. They say there is no experience like it if you ride it all the way through.

That’s what Ethan was looking for. A wave that would take him to greater understanding. When he landed on earth, it meant he had found his wave. If he chose to engage in that place and time, he would wait for the right time and Drop In.

He landed at the Empire State Building in New York City. The Empire State Building had come to symbolize a dividing line. At that particular time, anything south of East 34th Street was part of the financial district and a world of riches. If he turned right he would be walking into the wealth center of the Western World. If he turned left he would be walking into an entirely different world. Vast poverty waited for him on the north side of East 34th Street. He knew all this from his descent.

East 34th Street had become the dividing line between wealth and poverty, and it was very recognizable. The poor had spilled into Upper Manhattan and this had become a line of demarcation. They did not pass beyond this street. Was it an agreed upon line? The financial district looked tiny compared to what was bearing down on it. Ethan wasn’t sure if it was cornered or if it had decided this was where the line should be drawn.

For the first little while, Ethan just sat on the street, thinking about which way to go. He was glad he was in Observer state, because it was a little dicey there. Very aggressive and rough customers were working the street on the North Side. It was almost like they had created a barrier to the entrance of Upper Manhattan. It was angry and unwelcoming.

The south side appeared just as difficult to penetrate. No vehicles were allowed to pass through connecting avenues. You could enter South Manhattan only by foot on East 34th Street, and that only amounted to a few workers. Each avenue connected to East 34th, were guarded by private military police. Dressed in black combat uniforms and heavily armed, they barred entrance to most. The street itself was even patrolled by armored attack vehicles.

‘Well fuck,’ Ethan thought. ‘What to do? What to do?’

He kinda wanted to know what the rich people were up to. He decided that was where to start, and being an observer and invisible to the going ons of the world, walked past the guards and entered South Manhattan.

He couldn’t help but notice he was walking. He thought he’d continue flying around and zero into a new place as he had done with the Empire State Building.

‘Dually, why am I walking?’

‘Because that is the only mode of transportation available in this time and place’.

‘But no one can see me. Why don’t I just fly?’

‘Because upon landing you grounded yourself to this time and place. The technology that’s here applies to you now. Even though your body is in stasis, you will have to eat when it’s time to eat, sleep when it’s time to sleep and only travel using the modes of transportation available during this historical period.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

‘Alright.’

‘And urinate and defecate as well. You’ll have to use bathrooms, and I’m warning you now, there is no FloraClean with Extra Bubbles to wash your behind. You’re on your own when it comes to that.’

‘Have to wipe my own butt old school. Got it.’ Ethan replied, a little jokingly. “it’s rougher down here than I thought’.

‘It ‘s a disgusting time and place,’ Dually responded, with almost anger.

Ethan looked at Dually sideways, surprised to hear that degree of emotion.

‘Okay Dually, I think I’m up to speed especially now that I know all about the shitting part. So where are you going to be during all this?

‘In observer state, I am right beside you, In Actor State, if you choose ‘Real Life’, I maintain the environment you require to play your role. Other than that, I am only available to remove you from Actor state by a prompt from you. If you choose ‘Observer Life’ while in Actor State, nothing much changes from Observer State, except you are playing a character.

‘I didn’t think I’d be jumping into this so fast. I’m headed right towards Eldon Whitehead. I was hoping I could skirt around him for awhile’.

‘Well that’s not how dropping in works. Your doing a lot of processing before you descend into a Drop In. By jumping from here to there, you’re filtering through a tremendous amount of information. All that information is interpreted and judged by you, and this starts you spiraling to what is most important to you. You came here for a specific reason whether you know the reason or not. By the time you land, you’re exactly where you’re meant to be’.

‘Hmph! Well I guess I need a character if I’m going to Drop In.’

‘So, you’ve decided?’

‘Well, I don’t know what else to do. I have Whitehead over here on the south side. At this time I can’t see anything positive for me on the north side. I guess I have to go meet Whitehead. I don’t know why I hesitate, but I don’t really want to meet this guy just yet’.

‘That’s natural. I think it’s safe to tell you Whitehead is your provocateur. He is the one who will stimulate you into action regarding yourself. He is the wave. You already know this somewhere inside yourself and you are resisting it. It represents change, and from your perspective, a daunting change’.

‘Fuck Me!’ Well who do you think I should become?’

‘How about his best friend?’

‘Yeah I thought about that, but don’t you think it’s a little too chummy? Do you even think a guy as powerful as Whitehead would even have a best friend?’

‘Of course he would,’ Dually replied. ‘More than anyone, Whitehead needs a best friend. A person like him would require constant verification, and a sounding board at times. Unquestionably, Whitehead would have to be the Alpha in your relationship, but we could code that into your character. We can write in a repetitive pattern to reaffirm to Whitehead your loyalty. We’ll make it so he found and established you, and with his mentoring, refined you in his own image. That should establish a degree of trust, and believe me. we need to build this into the script. Even dead, he’ll be crafty and dangerous’.

‘That’s just it. He’s dead, and I’ve never been more afraid to meet anyone in my life’.

‘You’re at the right place and time Ethan. You wouldn’t have come here if you weren’t ready for this fight’.

‘Alright Dually. Best friend it is. Drop me in’.

What level of engagement?

‘Real Life.’

Ethan dropped in. He found himself in a luxurious suite in Lower Manhattan just in time for dinner. He was seated alone at the dinner table. Servants hovered around him, and brought him his meal and some wine. His suite was high above everything. He looked out the window at the skyline of Manhattan. He would spend the next 3 years of his life looking out that window.