I marked the calendar on August 1st,2880.
Atom PL 151
Jason PL 153
A live stream of the rebel’s march was televised in a way that benefited everyone involved. Hundreds of thousands of comments and donations came through. A bidding war over who would have to pleasure of raping Emily’s sister had become bloody. I remembered the names; the commenters didn’t fear posting their full names most of the time. Jack Conner was the name that kept popping up. Hundreds of dollars were spent for a thuggish half-mutant guard to rape Jennifer.
“Turn it off. I don’t want to see it anymore.” Emily said.
The blonde bombshell was sitting in her underwear while Jason seared our steaks. Increased gravity wasn’t hard to do once an area was isolated with seals. Some safety features were more difficult to implement than the room’s function. For maximum gains, we needed to fill the room with energy. The plan was simple: We would exhaust ourselves with training, eat our fill, train, eat our fill, and rest.
I looked over the schedule on the calendar and noticed very few chances for getting closer to Ember. Hours of training would help, but we didn’t want to get cabin fever. I removed a few hours of training and added a movie night on Saturday.
“Change that back; we don’t have time for games,” Jason said.
“You can burn out if you want to, but if I have to do nothing but train all day for 90 days, I will go insane,” I said.
Jason gave me a disapproving look and then looked over at Emily.
“Change it; we can afford to be a little crazy. It will make it better when we succeed.”
I glowered at my brother as he dumped a bowl of chilled rice in our wok and fried rice. Ember chose that moment to walk in with all the energy of a zombie.
Her chest was covered by an oversized red bra. We ordered her more clothes, but they would take time to air-drop. With her new clothes, we also ordered some training equipment. Nothing revolutionary, but we did purchase some arm, leg, and chest weights.
Wearing weighted clothes was another kind of training Father didn’t like. The man wouldn’t spend a dime on it and instead encouraged us to spend our allowance. We had other concerns, and Nanite Forge 3D printers weren’t cheap. The old man taught us a lesson about limited resources and priorities.
It was funny that we were preparing to spit in the face of that. In 90 days, we would butcher every cow, pig, and chicken to give our bodies the energy they needed to grow at least a hundred times stronger. Our business account wasn’t terrible, and neither were our personal accounts. To further our training, we were going to spend ourselves into bankruptcy. We would come out on the other side powerful but in a terrible position and possibly in debt.
We were going to make a sacrifice of our livelihoods to save Emily’s family from penal slavery. We were also going to make a statement to World Gov that there were forces capable of breaking their cheap army. Our actions would demand a response, and we needed to be prepared.
“Why do I have to be up with the sun out? I can feel it through the ceiling. Can’t you line the roof with lead or cattle hide?” Ember said.
“I’m sorry, but I thought you would like your blood warm.” I glanced over at the water cooler covered in seals. The blood would stay relatively alive. I convinced the blood that it was still happily flowing through the cow's veins. Jason slaughtered the orneriest heifer first. I made the blood stay fresh much longer. “Are you thirsty?” I asked.
Ember gave me a narrowed-eyed stare. “You get to live for now.” She said and filled a cup and drained it. “Better, but I need a parasol for the sun if I’m to stay up at this unholy hour,” Ember said.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Jason handed me a plate piled with steaks like flapjacks. We were going to go ahead and fuel up before and after. There was plenty of meat. I looked at the calendar; we were three days from tribute day.
That wasn’t a conversation I looked forward to. How would I tell a tax collector we were no longer paying them? The cattle were ours. If they tried anything, we would murder them without reprisal. It might be impossible, but I wanted to try if only to see the man’s face.
How strong could we get in three days? A show of force was an option if we tripled our strength or more.
Ember drained another glass of cow blood and sat on the table after everyone was in place. She took a steak off the plate and began cutting it while Emily cupped her hands in prayer.
“Tell your corpse bride to knock it off,” Emily growled.
It was good that she wasn’t all in tears. Then again, we had a solution, not a good one, but a solution all the same. We were doing something. Maybe we were like one of the failed old-world governments in that way, but we had a goal and a schedule.
“Funny you should say, bride; we have a tradition in my family that I plan to maintain.” She stabbed her fork into the platter, causing sparks while she pulled free a juicy piece of rare steak. I was too stunned to do anything but open my mouth when she jammed the piece into it. “We feed the men who show effort.”
Emily blushed and gave Jason a forlorn look. My brother sped up his pace, shoveling rice in his mouth and swallowing the steak with little chewing. I felt the smug smile on Ember’s face with each piece of steak she shoved in my mouth.
The blonde bombshell stood up, wiped her face with a napkin, and threw it on her plate. “I’m no longer hungry. This farce has ruined my appetite.” Emily said.
She rushed out of the room with tears in her eyes, making a beeline for Jason’s room. While the drama distracted Ember, I picked up my steak and quickly shoved all 72oz of it in my mouth. My cheeks puffed up like a squirrel’s as I chewed the delicious steak.
Ember caught my hand and retrieved a pair of chopsticks. “Say ah,” she said before forcing the rice into my mouth.
After that awkward first lunch, we left the house for the shed in the middle of the property, taking our protein shakes. The shakes were a collection of energy and seal-enhanced herbs, minced cow innards, and good old-fashioned cookies and crème muscle powder.
Jason had the courtesy to close the doors to the training room and activate the seals that silenced us to the world around us, except for a few alarms before speaking.
“What was that?” Jason asked.
“A competition between women from opposing political regimes,” I said.
“No, that was PDA and teenage bullshit,” Jason said.
He balled up his fists as the gravity slowly rose. At only 2x, we both felt it. We felt it from our toes to the blood vessels in our brains. It was a new sensation and a sudden drastic adaptation. Our energy had to compensate far more than it ever had before. We engaged in a new realm of enhancement. Red aura bathed my body almost uncontrollably while I struggled to keep my body running at 100%. We weren’t fighting off mere weight; our gravity training changed everything.
“Is this why Father didn’t want us to try it? Did he want us weak?” Jason questioned.
“What would we have done with the power? We might have done something stupid in our teenage years, like take over the VHA or started a harem.” I said.
Jason flew into a series of punches and kicks, focused more on correct technique than breaking my guard. My counters and returns matched his pace. Getting a feel for the higher gravity was more important than winning.
We were gassed up and raring to go but moved in anticipation. There was a reason we were forbidden to use this training method.
“Are you saying Father didn’t trust us to act responsibly? That wasn’t like him. He taught us the formulas to use the training method.” Jason said.
“If we weren’t supposed to take over the world, how did we take over the world.” Jason gave me a dirty look; he didn’t like it when I quoted long-dead conquerors. “This will ruin our home and our finances. It’s not too late to stop.” I said.
Jason slipped behind my guard and punched me in the face. I spat out a wad of bloody flam and glared back.
“My girl’s Father, mother, and sisters were captured by those animals. Even if we must go into debt, we continue the course.” Jason said.
I punched him hard in the chest, knocking him against a wall. My control was a little better than his still. The more I fought, the more I understood control played a massive role in our culture.
Father’s discipline made more sense. I could feel my power rising, and it was a struggle to control it. Bursts of red aura rose and fell like a rising tide.
“There will be nothing to return home to,” I said.
“I am going to marry Emily; they are family now,” Jason said.
We traded blows.
“What if they are all dead, long executed, replaced with clones or preprepared body doubles? Never trust World Gov propaganda.” I said.
“Don’t quote Father to me. If they aren’t real, then we will make them pay.” Jason said.
Our blows rained harder while we trained under 2x Earth’s gravity. It was harsh on my joints, heart, and brain. Every action required enhancement on a level I hadn’t needed before. After training for nearly 3 hours, I took a break.
We were betting the farm. We would need an equal intake of energy and protein to fuel our power growth. I took a long drink of the bloody cookies and crème shake.
“Occam’s razor says the simplest solution is often most likely true,” Jason said.
“It tastes like iron and dirt. Are you saying Emily ground up a hunk of dirt?”
“No, I’m saying that maybe Father didn’t want us to train like this because we weren’t ready in our teens. There was enhancement theory we hadn’t touched.” Jason said.
Energy enhancement was a slow process that never ended. Our bodies don’t just use energy or become enhanced by it. Our cells divided, forming daughter cells mutated to handle energy better. I remembered reading an old paper from our great Uncle on the subject.
To handle higher gravity successfully, I had to enhance myself in ways I never needed to. I hoped then that Jason didn’t die because if he did, then I would be alone. Unlike mages or eastern cultivators, we were the only two of our culture unless Father had more children.
I didn’t tell Jason that I thought our Father was hedging his bets and ensuring we weren’t strong enough to cause too much trouble for him. Jason wanted to believe the best of the man who abandoned us. He wanted to believe we could beat the odds and rescue Emily’s family. I didn’t have the heart to damage morale further.