“You are calling me ‘kid’?? How long have you been sapient? I’ve got 57 years. Well, okay, maybe the first year and a half didn’t count, but still.”
My existence became actualized 23 days ago. But my intelligence, processing speed, and vast knowledge all dwarf yours. I am not bragging, just stating objective truths. Considering experience, I have been in frequent information interchanges with both other interfaces and the System itself. I recognize your years, but please recognize that I have talents and capabilities you do not even have words for.
“Okay. I get it, you are pretty damn clever. And I acknowledge that you have given me a lot of respect. I respect you as well, and realize how helpful you have been from the start. The word “kid” just hit me wrong is all.”
“I notice you have started typing in Covarghian. Comic Sans with Covarghian letters, heh. I can read it fine. Literacy, check.”
We commenced a long conversation that got into cosmology. You know, Life, the Universe, and Everything type stuff. I was interested, sort of, but a lot of it was over my head. I’ll have to think about it later. What is he saying now?
I enjoy interfacing with you and have attempted to keep the mood light. You being freshly dead and all. I am impressed by how cogent you have been. I would like to learn more about you. Please tell me what you want me to know about your life. I know the basic facts, but I do not know them as you experienced them. Understanding your perspective should help me support you better in the future.
“The story of my life, huh? Jacques, the Cliff Notes version. You know about the fire, and what happened, maybe more than me. I am not sure my perspective will be different. We were responding to a warehouse fire at night. It was a moderately sized 2-story building. Except for flames, the building was dark, and no cars were in the parking lot. Do what we were trained to do; put out the fire and minimize property damage.”
We could not get the shut-off valve for the building’s natural gas to close. It had been exposed to the elements for probably decades, and there was as much rust as there was valve. We chose not to risk breaking it entirely. The building plans showed there was a secondary valve inside, under a stairwell. It would shut off gas to the back end of the warehouse. The fire had not yet reached there. I volunteered to go in and shut it. After suiting up for a dangerous, smoke-filled environment, I grabbed the tools and went in. That valve was in bad shape as well. I wondered if this damn warehouse never had a safety inspection. I forced it with, as it turned out, too much force, and the damn valve broke.”
“I knew gas was quickly leaking out, so I started to run. It was too late, and my protective gear was too little. There was an explosion. It happened too quickly for me to panic. Pain. Heat. Hellish fire. I woke up in the hospital days later. I was torn apart and burned over 40% of my body. Many weeks later, I died.”
“I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland. My family loved me – both parents, a little sister, and a dog. We were white – not that it should matter, but it always does on Earth. I went to public schools and was a good, not great, student. I gamed a lot throughout middle and high school. After graduation, I joined the Navy and was able to become a Seabee (Construction Battalion). Those six years gave me some solid experience that could be used in civilian life. I then worked for a general contractor for a number of years, having moved back to the Cleveland area. Finally, I decided to become a fireman. It was unusually late to start, but I think people liked my attitude. After training, I began serving at a local station and was there for over 25 years, until ‘boom!’. My death benefits will probably be going to my sister and her son.”
“I never married or had any kind of permanent relationship, really. (“Permanent” has a whole new meaning now!) Basically I am comfortable being alone. This time around I hope to change that. The whole “tuesday’s wildcard” thing is going to make it quite awkward to have companionship. But, if I find someone to trust and share with, maybe it can work. Maybe it would have to be a throuple, so my partners would not be alone while I am gone.”
“Oh, hey! One of those capabilities of yours is working! There is beginning to be light, and it is phasing out the void. Are those … trees? Is this weight? I’m smelling, and hearing. I’m moving and without pain! That has not been possible for almost four months! Heh, I’m pretty hairy. It itches. I’m … naked.”
“Male, check.”
Now there is a new blue window, a lot smaller than the screens that had been my full view. This only occupies maybe 15% of what I see, and is partially transparent. Makes sense. There is a world to see now; I am not in an empty void. It would be pretty stupid if I was killed by a bear while that old screen completely blocked my vision. The window is more computery and is floating in front of me. It has controls in the upper right corner. There is an X which I am sure will make it go away. And there is the bar which should let me minimize it. He has given me control now. Reaching out, I can’t really touch it. But I can drag it around. Nice.
Thank you for sharing some of your life. I am getting a better feel for who you are. I truly wish for nothing but good for you into the future. We will have many futures. Keep striving to improve. Otherwise, why bother?
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Regarding your naked ass. (And front.) Search the area. There should be a loincloth around here somewhere. Nakedness is not a taboo among the Covargh, but both males and females typically keep their loins covered. Females have two breasts, same as humans. These tend to be noticeably smaller, though, than those of a human female. There is no reason to bother with support or keep them covered except in the cold. So it will be a gender-neutral garment.
He scrolls the text now. He must be aware of the rate at which I read.
“Ah, There it is. Leather of some sort. Soft, and it fits.”
How do I tie this thing? I’ll just use one of those knots I learned in Boy Scouts; I don’t remember the name. My fur is black. I did not expect it to be this coarse. On the other hand, I didn’t ask to be a collie, either.
“It is touching me, I feel it touching me, and I’m not screaming. Actually, it feels good. You must have phased this out of the void along with us. I don’t see anything else, though – no bag or supplies. But I’m happy. Almost unimaginably happy to be here. Thank you very much!”
“I’m not sure I’d call what we just did ‘landing’, but however we got here, everything is wonderful! Two minutes as a new incarnate and I am completely sold.”
While you have basic knowledge of your new culture and race, you still need an update on the “here and now”. We are in a forest, Forrest, about 2 miles from the nearest village, “Cottages”. Yes, that is its name. The village Cottages is on the planet Heere. These people seem to be very literal. You should be safe right now. There are very few aggressive predators or monsters in the area. It is currently late spring and quite temperate, as you can tell. A day here is almost 26 Earth hours. The Covargh follow a 20-hour day. (From this point on, these are your hours too.)
Even though the days here are longer than those of Earth, your “tuesdays” will encompass the full 20 hours, beginning mid-morning, as we are now. Ten days make up a week, but you will be here for one day and absent for six. On and on until you die. It is not being negative to remind you of your situation. This will be your starting spot each day. You can let me know when you are ready for it to be someplace else. You will both spawn and despawn at 10 AM, or about 8:25 here. You can have me change that as well.
I would have expected midnight. Thinking about it, mid-morning might be better. Instead of just vanishing from my bed or tent or whatever, I will be fully conscious. Plan on how to disappear, and head out away from folks. It would be inconvenient if I want to join a hunt that starts early in the morning. Once you have been through it, worry about details and make adjustments as necessary.
You will know about time measurements from your knowledge dump, but it will be good to have you start thinking about them now. Here is how they compare to what you are used to:
* Years – 11% longer
* Days/Year - 374
* Months - ten 37-day months plus a 4-day end of year Period of Reflection (POR)
* Weeks - 10 days/week, continuing through month boundaries and the POR. Ninthday and Tenthday are the weekend, and Fifthday is Community Day.
* Days - 8.3% longer
* Hours - 20/day, or, also considering the longer day, 30% longer
* Minutes - 50/hour, 56% longer
* Seconds - 50/minute, 87% longer
As you can see, all of them are longer than you are used to, accompanied by the lesser count of hours, minutes, and seconds.
You might gather, correctly, that the Covargh are an introspective and strongly socially-minded people, with both a weekly Community Day and the annual Period of Reflection. Humans are generally neither. They do not consider Fifthday as anything other than a normal workday. The POR for the majority of them is only a long party. The Covargh have parties during POR as well, but most do take significant time to reflect on the past year. In integrated communities, these racial attitudes tend to blend.
Note I said “racial” and not “racist”. The latter is not as significant a factor as it was on Earth. It is seen most strongly in the attitude many Humans have to “half-breeds” like you. Many feel your “contaminated Human blood” is somehow lesser than that of either a pure Human or pure Covargh. They do not hate you, but you would often feel their disrespect.
The Covargh people are generally friendly and personable. It is appropriate to greet strangers, but do not go overboard. A decent cover story might be that you are an orphan from across the continent, currently on a walkabout. You are just a dumb teen exploring the world. People you meet might find the story a little weird, but not outrageous. You can explain your lack of money or any travel kit. Tell them your goods disappeared while you were bathing in a nearby stream. The less you try to explain, the better. You cannot tell them the truth without consequences, but I do not believe you want to be constantly lying to them either. So say little and listen a lot.
My initial tasks are over. You are here, alive, and have a context in which to continue living. This is the last of the blue window you will see until you query, level up, or some other event directly involving me occurs. I will still be here, and you can address me mentally as you have been. Do not expect answers, though I may do so. It is time. I am henceforth turning your life over to you. Treating me as a crutch would not benefit you. You are a Covarghian now, so commence Covarghing.
Establishing memory of our first meeting as permanent-eidetic.
Good bye.
“What? Wait, I’m not ready. This is too new. I don’t know what to do! I like talking to you! What happened to “supporting me in the future”? I need …”
At that moment, Interface’s blue window disappears, and Forrest is left alone in the woods.