Rank Nine.
She certainly had a strong enough will. Lan training had probably come quite easy. It was an excellent thing that she was doing well in a game that would give her relief from the arthritis that had limited her far too young.
Rank Nine.
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t force myself to be pleased for her. I tried, very hard, but my Oma had always made me feel such a failure in all the things she considered important, and I couldn’t just put that aside and be happy she’d effortlessly surpassed me at something that mattered to me.
[[You should convert some lux points.]]
"What?" I’d entirely forgotten Dio, and had to be glad te wasn’t commenting on my varying pulse rate. "I only have a couple left after putting in for that party."
[[Convert credits for lux points.]]
"I don’t think I’ve earned any…oh, that’s the royalty payment for the images, isn’t it? I thought that went into real-world money."
[[You have the option for either. Conversion can be accessed in-game through the [Status] menu.]]
"Hm." I searched under [Status], suspicious about why Dio had suddenly piped up, and then I said: "Oh."
I should have really taken the hint when I personally met two different people wearing my patches. Factoring in the millions of DS players, this was a clear sign.
"Dio. How many lux points would it cost to go to a different solar system?"
[[Far less than that.]]
"Return trip?"
[[Still less than that.]]
"Could I do that and be back in time to meet up for the next stage of the gauntlet?"
[[Technically. Most of your time would be taken up in leaving and returning to Mars. You wouldn’t have time to visit a planet, and would need to choose from imminent departures to high-traffic systems in order to be sure of return passage.]]
"Are there any imminent departures to high-traffic systems? Uh, that I could reach via a shuttle?"
[[Two. Choose between [Iridianis] and [Ka Bol Ka Fan].]]
"I’ll have the one with the most spectacular orbital views."
[[Very well. Negotiating on your behalf.]]
Relieved I wasn’t expected to talk my way onto a ship—I hated bargaining—I searched for the nearest shuttle service and redirected my Pod, but then realised leaving the transport ship once it reached the new system might be complicated without my Snug.
[[I’ve directed The Hare to dock with the Orafa,]] Dio told me. [[So long as you return within the day, you won’t lose your slot at Valles Marineris.]]
"That’s great."
I considered the floating mote of light drifting around the Pod, fully aware that I had been thoroughly distracted, without any intrusive questions asked, or even some pointed comments about how many lux points I was willing to spend, just so I could go somewhere other players hadn’t been first.
One of the reasons I’d stuck with Corpse Light was they left me alone. They were flexible enough to let me meander along almost as a solo player, and then welcome me when I felt like going all-in on guild activities. None of them knew me in real life, none of them knew I had a collection of participation trophies from running, had walked away from my design career, was in danger of hyper-ventilating in crowds, and cramped up if someone waved wheat flour in my general direction.
Dio—if te really was an AI, I wouldn’t be surprised if te knew all of those things. But for the first time I didn’t feel a thread of resentment for the interference of a personal alien overlord.
"Thank you, Dio," I said quietly, and te changed colour, but didn’t otherwise respond.
41
keymaster
"Okay, I have no clue what to do here."
"Same."
For the final stage of the gauntlet series we had emerged via stairs into the centre of a circular park. The pool at the top of the series of waterfalls formed a crescent, and a smooth wall curved around to meet the pool, without any of the rougher edges of the crevice accessible. The space between was filled with grass. After a good half hour of exploring, we had found no blasters, no symbols, and no obvious exits.
"But we have our clue," Arlen pointed out to Silent and Nova. "It is just that we do not understand it yet."
"Perhaps there’s an extra hint in the whole sequence," Nova said.
"You mean the first letter of each or something?" Silent said, and shared our notes of the clues from the whole gauntlet series.
Enter the Maze
Choose a Path
Find Your Way Down
Behind the Shadows
Beneath the Stars
Where the Meadow Weeps
And the Dawn Blooms
Take the Blade
Follow the Thread
To Find the Core of All You Are.
"Can’t see any clear letter code," he said. "Word puzzles would be complex to pull off, given the number of languages this game supports."
"Nothing obvious in Japanese," Nova added. "If we’re following the pattern, then this section requires us to Follow the Thread. Although, since this is the last stage, perhaps we should combine them: Follow the Thread, To Find the Core of All You Are."
"Probably a reference to lan," I said. "Core Units, etcetera."
"And lan is spirit or soul," Silent said. "Though following a thread suggests a maze or minotaur, which doesn’t match. Never seen any space less maze-like in my life."
"Under the water, is it possible?" Arlen suggested. "Water is life?"
We made a speculative tour along the rim of the large crescent-shaped pool. The surface was deceptively smooth, but there was clearly a lot of movement given the roaring of water falling at the lip.
"Let’s sit on the edge and rest while we think," I said. "We’re just tiring ourselves out, wandering around shields up."
Despite our frustrations, I maintained a good mood. My round trip to Ka Bol Ka Fan had been spectacularly self-indulgent, but a crowded system and many-mooned primary planet had fulfilled my dearest wishes for space-views. Even my brief wander through the accessible sections of the Orafa had given me much fuel for future plans. I mightn’t be ranking as quickly as I’d like, but I had had a right-place-right-time bit of good fortune that was a balm to envy, even if it couldn’t bring balance to wildly disparate lan strength. I was starting to grow concerned about losing my bet with Dio, though. Not that anything was currently trying to kill us, but there didn’t seem to be a clear path forward.
"If anyone’s watching the stream of our Challenge, they’re going to be very bored," Silent remarked—a fortunate reminder, since I’d been on the verge of deactivating my focus.
Pulling my boots off instead, I probed the water with my feet. "Deep, and the current’s strong," I said.
I carefully didn’t look too long at Nova, who sat cross-legged and apparently relaxed on the edge, but would certainly not be keen on a Challenge that required swimming lessons. She was otherwise her usual self, reverting to the teen magical girl look, and revealing no sign of tension or particular awareness of Silent. But I supposed TALiSON hadn’t necessarily been wrong: I was bad at picking up on that kind of thing.
"Too deep to go paddling, and I’m not sure I’d care to risk swimming," Silent added. "Let’s leave it as a last resort."
"If it’s not in the outer wall, perhaps there’s something concealed in the grass," Nova said.
We surveyed the park without enthusiasm. It might not be nearly so large as the lower terraces, but it was still a formidable space. Going over it in minute detail would stretch our endurance. But we couldn’t risk not keeping at least one shield up.