Dawn, Prime Shard, 2565 A.D.
Archos Alpha Site, Northeastern Continent
Saturday morning, Alessia and Barb made a point of getting outside as soon as allowed. There were a few balconies dotting the outside of the massive facility, and it was from one of these that they looked east towards a dramatic sunrise. There were no rosy fingers caressing gentle clouds, but there were bold scarlet claws embracing massive blue-black columns of vapor. There was no gentle, golden foreglow - but rather a shouting yellow of a shade Alessia had never seen chasing down a fleeing sea of orange.
Far in the distance, low foothills rose, covered in dark vegetation. A deep black beyond that, which the blazing dawn couldn't cut through, hinted at mountains beyond. Before either, a vast flatland stretched, some parts left wild and others carefully gridded into smaller facilities, greenhouses, and farms. There were no bird calls or rustling squirrels busy about - but the silence heightened the awe.
"It's almost like another Earth," Alessia whispered. It seemed inappropriate to talk loudly in the face of the monumental.
"Do you think they plan on bringing other people here?" Barb asked, "as settlers, not just tourists?"
"Maybe," Alessia said, "it could even be a plan B, if something happened to Earth. But -" she shuddered - "they are going to allow us back on Earth, right? I assume we aren't supposed to be the first colonists of Dawn."
"If it weren't for my grandma, I wouldn't mind that at all." Barb stretched and yawned. "She's the only one I've got back at home, and who cares about college if you could pioneer a whole new civilization?"
"When you put it that way," Alessia yawned in response, "it doesn't sound bad. My parents wouldn't miss me, not when they have my three perfect older sisters to show off."
"Some of us are born for other worlds." Barb patted her on the shoulder. "Should we check out the grounds?"
"Sure." The two went back inside to catch the elevator down. Outside, a landscaped courtyard led them out on a stone path out into a field of dew-covered grass. The morning air was cool, but a little humid. There were a few wildflowers poking up, greedily opening petals to drink in the amber light. It must have been spring on Dawn vs. summer.
"I'm sure not having to terraform from scratch was a huge plus," Alessia kicked at a rock, finding it rolled just like any other. Once a shard world of appropriate size and distance from its sun was discovered, Archos could modify its reality with programming, until it had all the desired parameters of atmospheric composition, orbit, location, and the like. Then it was a complex but not terribly difficult system of generating terrain, generating portals, and transplanting materials, seeds, and even genetically modified animals from Earth where needed. They could even create denizens, like artificial human npcs, to populate it and jumpstart civilization. A shard world could be made habitable within a year - though it was generally at least a decade before one was opened to the public for tourism or gaming purposes.
"If I designed a planet, I'd want lots of waterfalls." Barb fantasized, "and mountains. It would be like New Zealand and Switzerland had a gorgeous baby."
"Not all over, surely," Alessia laughed. "I like the sound of it, though. I'd want a planet with forests - nothing hot like Aanbree, just a cool and quiet place with lots of nooks and hideaways to explore. And hot springs."
"I could go for a hot spring, minus the smell."
The two walked a ways further, until the shadow of the Archos facility no longer fell on them. The two exchanged glances and slight nods.
"I think this is a good distance," Alessia said with a Voiced Whisper. "We'll have to find a spot with Farrash like this, in between the buildings. Assuming they don't send drones out, that is."
Barb just nodded. There was know knowing how sensitive security might be in picking up or enhancing human speech, so the best route was to avoid looking suspicious to begin with.
"We should circle back," Alessia continued sending her whisper. "Get some breakfast. I don't think we should practice too much this morning since more people will be about, and I don't want to exhaust my aura in case I need to cast Privacy a few times later."
"Yes, I'm hungry, too." Barb replied in a normal speaking voice. There was no reason to worry if anything heard that. "I want to do some more research on my pad, anyway," she pointed out, "so I guess we'll meet back up this afternoon."
"After my other engagement, yah." Alessia agreed as they retraced their steps. "I'll see you later, then." She wanted to do some 'research,' too - their mutual code for studying the spell lists, both their own and those of the other mage schools. They both wanted to memorize as much as possible.
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A few hours later, Alessia made her way to the chosen cafe'. Kai wasn't there yet, so she pulled up the menu with a tap of the wrist on the table. It was interesting to see there were actual businesses on Dawn, not like the company cafeteria where food was provided for free. And while Alessia wasn't well off by any means, she could afford to splurge a little now and then. Whether her account was transferrable across planets was another matter entirely.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Interestingly, the table showed prices in two currencies. One, the U.S. dollar - not surprising, since her wrist datachip would have let it know which country she was from. But the other was some other currency she hadn't seen, with an odd symbol that looked like a backwards C with a horizontal line, as if the manat symbol, ₼, had been rotated clockwise. The general conversion rate seemed to favor it by ten: A $25 burger meal was 2.5Ɔ, a $20 crepe breakfast was 2Ɔ, and a $30 sandwhich and salad was 3Ɔ.
There was no human staff, but Alessia was able to put in an order without problem, tapping her wrist to the desired item and confirming. Apparently her bank account was good across worlds. As she waited for her portabella and provolone combo to be prepared and dispensed, Kai finally showed up.
"Kai!" She greeted him warmly, gesturing him to sit across from her at the metal table in the open air. A light breeze had picked up, fluttering his brown hair.
"Hello, Alessia." He sat down and looked over the menu, quickly choosing out a steak and swiss crepe.
"Since when do you like crepes?" Alessia asked him.
"You asked to meet for crepes." Kai shrugged.
"Hmm." Alessia shrugged, "Good for you, trying something new. How's work been?"
"Good."
"What happened on Fennoth?"
"Can't talk about it."
"Ok....how are you feeling about the move here to Dawn?"
"It's nice here."
Alessia sighed and gave up, getting up to grab their meals instead. She was used to Kai leading their conversations when they faltered or she was reticent, not clamming up himself. She may have slapped his plate down in front of him a little too hard in frustration.
The food looked great - savory crepes stuffed with filling, and roast potatoes on the side.
"Mmm," Alessia sampled everything. "I have no idea what seasoning they put on these potatoes, but it's amazing. Sort of herby, but zingy."
"It's Za'atar." Kai offered, unexpectedly. "This blend is sumac, sesame seed, oregano, marjoram, coriander, and thyme. I'm not sure what variety of thyme, however, it might be local."
"You can tell all that just from eating a bite?" Alessia raised an eyebrow.
"Sure - " he paused. "Is that unusual?"
"Most humans aren't that great with seasonings," she teased, "have you been taking cooking classes without letting me know?"
"No." He looked away.
And back to the quiet. "How's your crepe?" she finally asked when things got awkward.
"It's unique," Kai answered at length, "with a robust and tangy flavor. The steak is well cooked. While the rubbery texture of the crepe isn't to my personal taste, I can appreciate the design of the dish. Many people would probably like this."
"What is with you and the food today?" Alessia ran a hand through her hair, trying to figure him out. Quiet when she asked anything personal, but practically an aibot when she mentioned anything about food. An aibot? She examined him closer as she ate. That would be too silly, right? But he was eating at a steady pace, not wolfing his food down as usual. He wasn't cracking jokes, or asking her personal questions, or subtly smirking when he thought she wasn't looking.
"Say, Kai -" she got his attention again. "What are you doing later?"
"I was planning on going back to my room. I don't have any more appointments scheduled today."
"An appointment - " she furrowed her brow, "so you met me today because we'd scheduled it?"
"Of course. I wouldn't want to have missed it. I have looked forward to our engagement all week."
"So you say -" Alessia frowned. He certainly didn't look like he'd been "eagerly awaiting" their meeting.
"Was there anything you wanted to cover?"
"This isn't a business meeting!" Alessia slammed her palm on her forehead. "We're friends. Friends don't need an agenda. That should be obvious."
"Of course. We are friends. How is your work?" Kai went back to eating, as if he didn't care about his own question. An ant crawled over his hand, but he didn't swat it away. But it drew attention to the back of his wrist, or rather to what wasn't there. The scar he'd got from a highschool fight, slashed by a glass bottle while defending her from bullies - it should have been there. He'd refused to get it healed, treating it as a badge of honor. But now, the skin was pristine - no hint it had ever been cut.
"Work's fine," Alessia narrowed her eyes. "But I'm more curious about you - who are you?"
"Kai," he stated without missing a beat. "Kai, Kaimbe Aurel."
"You've literally never gone by your full name." Alessia bit her lip. "Are you human?"
"I am biologically human. Was that a joke?"
"You tell me," Alessia leaned forward. "What happened to you on Fennoth?"
"I already said, I can't talk about that."
"Because Archos won't let you? Or because something else won't let you?"
"I think our appointment is over." Kai stood up. "Thank you for the suggestion of crepes. It's always good to try something new."
"Sure," she said as he walked away. This had not been the reunion she had envisioned - and she was heavily doubting it was a reunion at all. But if that man wasn't Kai, who, or what, was it? And what had happened to her friend?