Chapter 8 - Nowhere Wellcome - The Unforgettables: A ZeroYear litRPG

"This is all so strange..." Silas muttered to himself after he and Liora's copy accessed the central terminal of the Container Village. Whoever designed the terminal wisely placed it several miles above the spiral in a small cabin hidden in a side cleft of the gigantic spiraling structure. This location had remained secure for millennia. Silas sent a message to everyone so they could gather inside the aerolito, which remained motionless and ready to depart.

While Silas worked on the terminal, the others thoroughly searched the entire area to see if they could find any more rats. They didn't find any, just countless sealed containers and a few bits of partially digested technological material. As they walked through the streets, they noticed rat paw prints, almost always in the same paths. They also found three sets of rat footprints leading into the city, all coming from the north. The accumulated dust almost erased one, and the other two were more recent. They saw a few signs of people – rare and much older marks – near the older containers and leading north.

"We're on our way, Silas," Liora said through the communicator upon receiving the message to return to the aerolito. "We didn't find any danger here, but no recent sign of people either. The old signs are in the northern part."

Cautiously, everyone returned to the aerolito. "Guys, if it's not urgent before we talk, I need to stop by the cube to take a quick shower. I'm still covered in that blue goo!" Petra warned.

"Oh, right! Sorry for the lack of foresight, Petra. You could have come in sooner!" Liora realized.

Frank placed his gear in his cube, changed his clothes, and went to his favorite corner, thoughtful and silent. Petra, from inside the small bathroom created by the cube, with the sound of a strong shower in the background, announced in a loud voice: "Silas, Liora, please, I put my Flexoclava and my coat nearby. They're next to the side table. Could you take a look at their condition?"

"That's what I was thinking about doing!" Silas shouted back. The weapon appeared corroded at the tip, like a decayed tooth, but the armor was perfect, only very dirty. Silas and Liora spent a few minutes analyzing the equipment while Petra got ready. Then Silas spoke aloud again: "The lab coat is okay. The Flexoclava will be ready tomorrow!"

At that, the sound of the shower ceased. Petra said, "You're the man, Silas! I'm coming out in a minute." Petra emerged from the cube shower wearing training clothes, her bandana in hand. She dried her short, uncut hair, which was growing back. Her voice was now refreshed: "Can I wash this here in the cube? I mean, this blue gunk seems to be inactive, but you never know..."

Silas responded, "Yes, you can. According to Liora, the exact composition of this is Diethyl Phthalate, Water, traces of Ethanol, Carbopol, and lots of dust. Based on the data we have on the rats, this goo housed technology parasites that helped the rats assimilate the material. However, these parasites only survive a few seconds away from the rat, so it's completely harmless now."

"I understood the 'harmless' part..." Petra retorted, placing her bandana on the side of the cube.

"It's some organic but synthetic compounds. Ethanol may indicate leftovers from some reaction that is used to produce the oil. It seems to serve as a medium for parasites in symbiosis with rats. Although they're not exactly living beings, these terms explain them well, and knowing this can be useful for creating countermeasures in the future," Liora explained.

"But if they're not living beings, then were they created by someone? Where do these things come from?" Frank asked, leaning against his corner.

"No one knows for sure, and there are many hypotheses..." Silas interjected before Liora could respond, and he continued: "A popular hypothesis is that they are a reflection of people's suffering in the past and that Gate took it upon itself to transform them into abominations. According to this explanation, they would be a consequence of everything bad that happened to rational beings throughout our civilizations, mostly caused by ourselves. Paraphrasing the Monster of Malmesbury, from Earth, 'That Man to Man is a kind of God; and that Man to Man is a thorough Wolf,' and now we're paying for it..."

"Monster from where? From Earth?" Frank was astonished.

"It's the nickname of a 17th-century English philosopher, Hobbes," Liora explained. "We know about some curious things about your planet because of the Seneca Project."

"What a badass nickname! Now I know what I'm going to read next." Frank smiled.

"If you've never read it before, I suggest starting with the last part of Leviathan, the fourth part. It'll be fun..." Liora teased while Silas raised one eyebrow at his friend.

"If we are paying for everything bad our civilizations have done in the past, I'm sorry to say, but we are completely doomed! And it seems to be a vicious cycle because it is causing more suffering," Realizing that the group was once again rambling on about various subjects, Petra refocused her attention: "But remembering the problems we have at hand right now, Silas, what did you discover about this place?"

"Don't be so pessimistic about humanity, Petra. In the ranking of bad things, Earth is far from being the worst. But let's get back to our world. No city or village in this region from the time of the Old Metropolis survived. Any ruins from that time must be buried deep. The venal monoliths spread the debris of the cataclysm to the point where we are now, where the spiral route ends. This northern vein was the one that carried the most debris due to its size and proximity to the impact. That's why we traveled through a sea of mountains almost the entire journey," Silas explained.

"If there are no more cities, then what in the world are all those containers here?" Petra asked.

"There were new cities. Only the old ones are gone," Silas continued, "from the data I just got here, starting from the year 1173 after the fall of Old Metropolis, the sending of materials and people to this area began. The Northern cities backed this initiative. Metropolis contributed only some devices and materials, given the critical state of rebuilding the New Metropolis at that time. This contribution explains the sending and accumulation of this cargo here, and it will continue like this until the year 11172, as I saw in the schedule. Between the years 1200 and 1900, people from the North lived here for sure. Paradiso already existed, and it was around the same time that Rocatrista was consolidated as a city, which was previously just a way station in the middle of the Northern vein."

Frank nodded, and Silas continued: "The last record of manual entry into the aerolito control system was on 03/23/1911, in the Gate calendar. After that, nothing more. And today is 04/37/9612. More than seven thousand years have passed since then..."

"Okay, but no one else came here? The manual record only says that someone operated from this terminal." Liora asked.

"Yes, but since this terminal started operating in 1219, until 1911, we have daily records of manual monitoring activity, even when it wasn't the arrival day for any aerolito. Therefore, people were operating at this station every single day," Silas continued. "There are other details about activities since then. There are automatic records of at least three passenger compositions arriving here after the manual recording stopped in the years 1911, 1912, and 1915. There´s no other record, and none of those three seem to have returned. And also, I didn't see any record of any of this in Rocatrista's data system."

"Are we stuck here? Why does no one return?" Petra asked with concern.

"They probably returned through teleporting magic or some similar power, but calm down. It doesn't mean there's no way back for us," Silas reassured. "Normal passenger compositions would take at least 220 days to go or return, while cargo compositions take an average of 46 days. Any composition returning to Rocatrista loaded needs to interrupt the outgoing line unless I do the trick of jumping with the aerolito. That's risky, considering two compositions with windshields in opposite directions because the aerolitos are created by magic, and they follow very specific rules. They always tend to float in the center of the lanes, with little height variation. Everything else is controlled by technology, like the compositions on top of the aerolitos, windshields, and engines to accelerate. In most cases, the veins are quite branched, and we have many cycles, but the Northern vein is not. It's a huge straight line with no branches at all."

"Okay, so to return, we will have to train this jump maneuver. Maybe we can program some device to make the process safer," Petra suggested.

"That's a good idea!" Silas concluded, "But there are other ways to return. We could hire a transport mage and convince them to get on a cargo aerolito to fetch us. It's a bit expensive, and we need to contact Rocatrista first, or, once we have contact, we can ask Rocatrista to hold a composition for 46 days. This way, we could return without worries. But the question is, are we returning immediately?"

"I'd sure be glad to return right now, but first, let's find out what happened to the people here. Are there more cities nearby?" Frank asked.

"There are records of three more destinations from before 1911. One of them is very close to here. It's a few minutes' trip to the north on an airbike in a valley just behind that hill." Silas pauses briefly to point to the spot. "Materials were sent from here via atmospheric ships to two other destinations. I have records of the cargo ships in the system, without aerolitos, that collected materials in this area and took them to a point. Both of them are less than an hour away, probably outposts..." Silas said, scratching his head.

"I was going to ask why no one uses planes here in Gate..." Petra commented.

"Well, we have several types of aerial vehicles, divided between atmospheric and space, but there's a problem. It's common for them to be intercepted when they travel far from the veins or the monolith plates. On average, at least one incident every 7.4 days of travel, as the Metropolis data shows. This rate increases the further away from a vein or plate you are, and that's for atmospheric transport at speeds similar to those of aerolitos without any route underneath. For spaceships or spatial fold technology, it's practically guaranteed to attract problems. Some crazies operate this type of ship even though it's forbidden in the New Metropolis because the unwanted company that comes along with travelers falls upon the destination city. We could try our luck with some freelance pilot or build our own ship, but that's not for now because it would really take a long time, and no city would welcome us with a hug if we arrived on a ship. The aerolitos work very well as a way to disguise and make safe transportation, as we can see here where we are. Almost all of them reached their destination, and this has been the case for a long time."

"My God! We're in a world full of monsters, but after all this time, why no one has taken action?" Petra rebelled.

"The people who trained in the houses of the Academy thought the same way, Petra. In the last years of the Old Metropolis, whole cities were on solid ground, far from any plate. They even managed to thaw a sea to the east of Metropolis. They spent decades with zero problems registered across Gate. Everything was running perfectly until one day it wasn't..." Liora interrupted.

"We can make a small ship and fly close to the veins!" Frank suggested.

"Yes, Frank, that's what the pilots do with their ships, but even so, it considerably increases the danger, and the cities still aren't willing to risk it. But we have to decide whether we go ahead with the plan to go after Seneca or delay it and return to Rocatrista right now."

"What a big mess of a plan!" Petra commented.

"I also think so because we had no access to this kind of information," Silas replied. "What I thought was this: as long as we don't draw attention, we can try to find Seneca. It would be best to stay in one of the villages here. Seneca passed through here around the year 1800. We need to figure out what to do. I propose we try to understand what happened here before deciding."

"It doesn't sound like a good idea to me..." Frank countered. "We managed to handle the rats, but this place makes me uneasy. Something bothers me. If transportation by ship is so dangerous, why did the people here have two?"

"The outposts are close by. The ships were only used twice each. Maybe they were temporary settlements to explore the area. And this spiral continues beneath the earth, in a large area, as the data from this terminal suggests. It seems like there are plans to build a huge city here." Silas answered.

"Considering that there is a spiral beneath the earth, it would make sense to assume that it's safer to build and travel here. But we still have unanswered questions: where are the people that leave tracks near the older containers?" Liora pondered. "Silas, you said there is a city five minutes away?"

"Yes, there are only general notes on this terminal. The people who operated here occasionally wrote their activities as reminders. In those notes, they mention another outpost on the way to the city, on top of that hill right there. If we go to the city, we'll certainly pass by this outpost." Silas concluded. "And that's all the data I could extract from here."

"Okay..." Petra reflected, "If we are going to check the area, we can start with this outpost, then the city in the valley, and then the other two points furthest away. I think that if there were people here, they should contact us soon."

"Yes, it makes sense," Liora responded, also reflecting.

"In that case, we keep our aerolito assembled here as a base of operations and walk around the area on the airbike. We'll spend a considerable amount of time in the city nearby, so let's prepare well before starting our exploration.

"We have a little over 40 days before the next aerolito arrives and also before the people in Rocatrista realize that the previous aerolito didn't return. I don't think they'll mind because we found some of them crashed in the middle of the snow. Eventually, there are problems, and I think they'll consider that was the case," Silas paused thoughtfully, then continued, "I'll need two more days to modify the airbike. I'll put in some probing devices, and it's also good to take our cubes with us. I don't think we'll find food or adequate infrastructure if the city is gone."

Frank was visibly uncomfortable in his corner. He didn't say anything. Petra concluded, "In those two days, we'll only explore the containers from here, starting right now!"

"Right, I'll get some exploration equipment, and we'll return to the Container City immediately. We still have a few hours today!" Liora said while she moved to pack her things.

"I have some passwords to open and close containers that I'm going to pass on to everyone through the communicator. I'll stay in our aerolito preparing the airbike!" Silas said as he stood up to get his gear. Frank remained silent. He put on his equipment again and stayed at the door waiting.

For the next few days, the group finds a few things different from the technological scraps they had on the aerolito they arrived in. Silas becomes excited in his makeshift laboratory, guiding the search for parts. They find an aircar in one of the older containers. The group decided to turn the two days into four so they would have two vehicles to use and a nice contingency.

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Liora identifies the mountain to the north and the guard outpost location using a dim spotlight source and a sensible camera. It seems like a cabin in the middle of a small natural recess. They only advance once they're prepared. One day before, they send the reconnaissance drone upward, up to its maximum range, to obtain a further visual return. But since there's no light coming from the valley, they can't anticipate much.

After four days of preparation, everyone is ready. Silas places the aerolito next to the inner side of the spiral and turns it towards Rocatrista, closes the door, and covers the entire composition with a durable cloth. Finally, he deactivates the energy cells inside to avoid attracting rats. He prepares it to reactivate everything in a few seconds when they need to depart.

Silas climbs into the airbike while the others are already waiting in the aircar. Petra comments, easing the tension, "This reminds me of family trips!" Both vehicles are modified and full of monitoring devices. Silas does a final check and says, "Everything's ready! Let's go! The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll be back!" Frank nods. Liora starts the engine, and they all head up the hill towards the outpost.

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Name: Silas "Archon" Cade Species: Ebex XP: 20 / 2 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 1 Super-Energy Magnitude 3 Super-Resistance (ebex) Magnitude 1 Super-Technique Magnitude 6 Unknowledge (ebex) Magnitude 1 Superior Technology: Architect Magnitude 6 Natural Combined Armor (ebex) - Know it all (party) - Skills Traditional Dancing (Dex) +2 Mathematics (Int) +4 Computer Engineering (Tech) +4 Kung fu (Res) +4 (fixed - know it all) - - Essence: Reality +4 Days: 9167 Equipment Superior safety clothes (AC 3) Silas´ Flexoclava, Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produces 1TP / turn (quirk: Silas got +3 hit bonus when using it) Other 3 credits on Paradiso account Survival kit (food cube, shelter cube) Flight surveillance drones (1x, normal tech) Airbike, speed +4 (boosted), flight (normal tech) Aircar, perception +4 (boosted), flight (normal tech)

Name: Liora “Stardust” Gorgath Species: Oioioi XP: 19 / 2 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 1 Super-Dexterity Magnitude 15 Shardify (oioioi) Magnitude 1 Superior Technology Network (oioioi) - Structural (oioioi) - Know it all (party) - Skills Aerolito´s Dojo Training (Dex) +4 Informatics (Wis) +3 Streetwise (Cha) +4 Kung fu (Res) +4 (fixed - know it all) - - Essence: Reality +4 Days: 8612 Equipment Double-trouble (5), ranged, hit: Dex, 2TP\turn, prototype (quirk: +3 hit when shooting twice a turn) Other Secure private network nano-connector Mk1: enables connection with Mag1 safety 2 credits on Paradiso account Survival kit (fuel cube, shelter cube)

Name: Petra "Warden" Somerson Species: Human XP: 18 / 2 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 4 Super-Resistance Magnitude 10 Super-Wisdom Magnitude 1 Super-Constitution Magnitude 1 Skills Aerolito´s Dojo Training (Res) +4 Shooting (Dex) +4 Military Discipline (Mor) +4 Tang Soo Do (Str) +4 (fixed - know it all) - - Essence: Reality +4 Days: 5281 Equipment Flexoclava, Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 1TP / turn Sci-lab jacket (AC 3), regen, prototype (quirk: AC 2 to magical defense) Other Survival kit (food cube, shelter cube)

Name: Frank "Firebreaker" Summers Species: Human XP: 18 / 2 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 2 Super-Willpower Magnitude 1 Super-Strength Magnitude 7 Super-Dexterity Magnitude 5 Super-Constitution Magnitude 1 Skills Aerolito´s Dojo Training (Dex) +4 Bar Politics (Int) +4 Power Drinking (Res) +4 Drunken Fighting (Str) +4 (fixed - know it all) - - Essence: Reality +4 Days: 5001 Equipment Dual-ray trigger happy riffle (5), ranged, hit: Dex, 2TP\turn Ebexian Flexoclava (d12), melee, hit:Dex Other Survival kit (food cube, shelter cube)

Superior Technology projects People on development Silas 6 research/day People on prototyping Silas 12 research/day People on production Silas, Liora (1 copy) 13 research/day Blueprints Flexoclava Foundation melee weapon + 1x internal energy generator 20 / 20 Research Sci-lab jacket Foundation main protector + regeneration 20 / 20 Research Dual-ray trigger happy riffle Foundation ranged weapon + energy(2) 30 / 30 Research Prototype Silas´ Flexoclava Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 1TP / turn (quirk: Silas got +3 hit bonus when using it) 20 / 20 Research Sci-lab jacket of disbelief AC:3, regenerate (quirk: AC:2 for magical defense) 20 / 20 Research Double-trouble Damage: 5, ranged, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produces 2TP\turn (quirk: +3 hit when shooting twice a turn) 30 / 30 Research Production Flexoclava (complete: 2x) Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 1TP / turn 20 / 40 Research Dual-ray trigger happy riffle (complete: 1x) Damage: 5, ranged, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 2TP\turn 30 / 30 Research