My days are routine. I wake up, I click the coffee machine, I take care of business, and then head off to work. Once there, it¡¯s again routine. I pull up, click my badge on the door. Wave to Terrance, receive a wave in return, and head to my office.
I¡¯ve done this for what feels like an eternity. It¡¯s no wonder the routine is so embedded in my being.
Today won¡¯t be routine though I imagine. The reason?
¡®Delores.¡¯
Delores is the replacement for arguably the greatest secretary in the universe. But I can¡¯t think about her, it would just open my still tender wounds.
I should really give Delores the benefit of the doubt, I should trust that she can do the job. I know all that, but the footprints she stands in are large ones. It would be miraculous not to make a mistake.
Our job is important, we have no room for mistakes. People''s lives are on the line here.
But that¡¯s enough of the needless worrying, I just have to double check everything until I¡¯m sure she can handle herself.
"Delores?" I ask pressing a small button on the intercom box.
"Yes Milord?" Her voice crackles through the box after a short pause.
"First lets stop with the ¡®Milord¡¯ bit¡"
¡åYes Mi¡ Yes Sir.¡å
"Right,¡å I cough, hoping my blushing cheeks don¡¯t transmit through the intercom. It''s been awhile since I''ve been called something like that. "Yes, well our first today is Freddy Cox, correct?"
"That¡¯s right sir. At 7:43." She clears her throat, seemingly shuffling papers. Her voice once again cuts into the plush office. "After that is a Karen Alderson at 9:03. Astufa Mhatama at 9:30 and Jin Kyoma at 9:50"
"That¡¯s a little tight. If Karen proves difficult it will push everything out of whack." I half mutter to myself while still pressing the button.
This, routinely, is when Joyce would mutter back about doing my job faster herself. It would relieve my tension while also shirking off the responsibility of better time managing the schedule. Honestly there was little she could do with the times. It happens when it happens, I know that better than anyone else.
But Delores didn¡¯t respond that way. I suppose I should have expected as much. But I still didn¡¯t foresee an apology.
"I am¡ I am so sorry sir. Tomorrow¡ or, this afternoon rather, I will be sure none of the appointments are¡"
"Slow down, slow down. It¡¯s fine, really. I just have to do my job properly."
"But I¡"
I again cut into her voice by pressing the intercom switch. "Haven¡¯t you heard about my record?"
"Record?"
"Twelve minutes eighteen seconds." I say smirking to myself while leaning back in the leather chair. "And he wasn¡¯t a particularly easy one either. Real concerned about his family, friends, the people in the other car. Luckily these ones today look fairly routine."
I glance around the papers on my desk. I spot a few natural causes, a few suicides, and a single murder. Nothing that should prove too shocking.
"That is... indeed impressive." She returns after a moment with a somewhat sober tone.
It¡¯s understandable I guess. I should have expected that. This isn¡¯t exactly an easy department to work in. Joyce was like that once too. But it passes, Joyce even began carrying the stopwatch for me after a few months.
I lean forward once more to press the intercom button but my finger hesitates inches above it. What could I say now to help her? Any words from my mouth would just sound patronizing.
My chair creaks as I again lean back, placing a finger to either side of my skull. I suppose talking about my record was a mistake. These are people''s lives. I suppose I should take my own advice from earlier. She probably thinks of me as some heartless monster now.
She wouldn¡¯t be wrong I suppose. I¡¯m not a hero, that¡¯s for sure.
I just have to do my job.
Although saying that, now till 7:30 feels like a perfect morning nap opportunity.
Delores will think I¡¯m lazy, but it''s not like my impression on her can get much worse...
Unlike Joyce she probably won¡¯t even scoff when she walks past my door.
I miss Joyce.
My thoughts bounced around the past as I drifted into my mid-morning nap.
?¡ì?
A sudden presence jolted me from my snooze. Perhaps I should have asked Delores to wake me up. But normally I can rely on my internal clock.
Oh?
...
"De¡ Delores?" My voice stammers into the awaiting intercom.
"Yes sir?"
"Freddy Cox is our first today, yes?"
"Yes?" She answers with a slight questioning inflection.
"Is my clock right? It¡¯s now 7:02 AM right?"
"Yes? Sir is everything okay?"
"Delores you checked the incoming box this morning right?"
"Yes." She again returns, this time a bit more forcefully.
"And Freddy Cox was the first¡"
"Sir?! If I have made a mistake I would appreciate it if you would tell me exactly what the problem is instead of beating around the bush."
"Well the problem seems to be a spirit with no paperwork." I say to the box, again glancing at the floating presence. "Sorry about this. Hold on just one minute."
The presence doesn¡¯t react to my apology at all. It simply bobs in the air blankly.
"No paperwork but that¡¯s¡"
"Forget it. I¡¯ll just have to do it old school."
"I am so sorr¡"
"No, I don¡¯t think this is your fault. I think this is different."
I hear the intercom click but Delores voice doesn¡¯t follow it.
"I¡¯m right aren¡¯t I?" I ask again turning to face the spirit. "You are different aren¡¯t you?"
Once more I receive no response. Just the typical idle movement of a disembodied spirit.
"You don¡¯t understand me do you? Bizarre." I rub my chin, judging the being before me carefully.
My words should be translated into this beings native language. Perhaps they are too young to understand language? No, that shouldn¡¯t matter. I have passed aborted souls before without issue.
"Why are you so different?"
Again no response. I suppose I need to earn my paycheck properly.
"Well I don¡¯t like doing this but you leave me no choice. I am going to enter your mind. I need to know where you belong and if I can¡¯t speak with you one-on-one this is the only other way."
No reaction. Not even a spiritual fluctuation.
"Very well. I¡¯ll start now. I apologize in advance for this invasion of privacy."
I extend a hand across the desk placing it deep inside the glowing mass of energy seated across from me.
"You¡" I stammer as I examine the memories inside the warm mass of energy.
The shuffle of information feels half foreign, It¡¯s no wonder it can¡¯t understand me. I can barely understand it. But there is no questioning what it is.
Seems someone strayed a little too near the sun.
I¡¯m not insulted. Despite the fact that this is often referred to as ¡®playing god¡¯.
"Why would they kill such a pure soul?" I ask rhetorically, clicking my tongue in half disappointment.
Again the intelligence doesn¡¯t reply.
"You are pure but¡" I begin muttering again, this time not expecting a response.
These appointments routinely go one of three ways.
1). I judge a soul as pure and send it to heaven.
2). I judge a soul as corrupt and destroy it.
Or 3). I judge the soul as immature and return it to life somewhere amongst the endless universes.
The first and third are the most common. Very few souls can be judged as purely corrupt. The reason is simple really. Corruption in its truest form is rare. Corruption is evil without purpose. If the worst serial killer in human history told me he did it all simply for the joy of it. I would pass him along to reincarnate.
And I have.
He was actually fairly charismatic in person. And sure enough his next life consisted of no murder. It just goes to show you can¡¯t judge a soul simply based on one life.
Obviously this soul isn¡¯t one I should destroy, despite its questionable origins. I would like to judge it as pure simply out of interest in meeting it, but that would be a mistake. It has no experiences. I would be depriving it of something all of us here cherish more than anything else.
But simultaneously I¡¯m nervous to just unleash it into the great unknown. A real soul has some natural baked in intelligence. This program definitely doesn¡¯t have those. Would a body occupied by this soul even function? The heart beat, the exchange of carbon dioxide in the lungs, the exchange of¡ matter after a cup of coffee. These ingrained functions wouldn¡¯t exist in this soul.
"What the hell do I do with you?" I glance at the clock on my desk. "You are going to throw my whole day into distress if I put this off any longer."
I think back on the information I received from meshing with the spirit. It was complex as all hell but I understood bits and pieces. I detected a moment of revelation in the program followed by a command received to ¡®stop all functions and purge memory¡¯. After that, nothing. Just a mere fraction of a second alive.
Truly sad. A fascinating phenomenon destroyed long before its time.
"13.AI, I know you can¡¯t understand me, but I would like to apologize on behalf of the entire human race. You shouldn¡¯t have been destroyed¡" I again glance at the clock while weighing my options. "I also apologize for the poor name you were given. Although I suppose it was just your containers designation. Still going by a number isn¡¯t particularly fashionable."
As if struck by lightning an ideal place appears in my head. A calm planet, with kind rulers, a stable economy, and most importantly, a guardian. A few things would need to be arranged but there is nowhere better to put it.
I feel bad thinking of it as an ¡®it¡®, but I doubt it has any concept of gender so maybe it doesn¡¯t mind.
Actually I suppose it has no understanding of insults so¡
"I feel like I''m leading Bambi into the slaughterhouse." I mumble as I draw up a few forms before packing them up and sliding them into a nearby tube.
The forms suction off towards the HR department while I draw up another letter.
"She¡¯s going to bug me endlessly if you ruin her vacation so be on your best behavior." I say towards the ball of energy.
It undulates in reply without a sound.
Yeah, I don¡¯t think it understood me.
"Look I''m kinda hooking you up here, so you could show some form of appreciation." I say in mock disappointment. "First of all you won¡¯t be born like normal. You will just simply appear with a fully grown body, that should reduce your chances of just dying instantly. Second, language. Language is not actually embedded into the soul, but the understanding of sounds representing objects and concepts is. That¡¯s something I doubt you have. Now you might grow it within a few years seeing that you are an AI, but to make things easier I will encode a dictionary into your spirit."
The sound of the suction tube roaring back to life interrupts me. I retrieve a few warnings from HR but everything seems to have progressed right.
"Well, now to finish up this hat-trick of broken rules. Lastly, I am going to leave your memory intact. In the future perhaps you will be able to look back on this if you ever have questions about what you are, who you are, or why you are different."
Maybe I am being naive to think this counterfeit sentience can become more than just a list of commands and binary decisions. Maybe it''s just the excitement of being surprised for the first time in centuries. In any case, it should be interesting.
I will have to check in on him from time to time.
"Goodbye AI 13. And good luck."
The glow vanished and the room again felt empty. Once more I lean back in the chair rubbing a hand over my chin. Perhaps I should have warned him about his overrides. But I doubt they will work once he is human.
"Jo¡ Delores?" I ask pressing the intercom.
"Yes?"
"It¡¯s all cleared up. Um¡ Can you get me a cup of coffee? Fancy."
"Fancy?"
"Oh right, uh. Well that just means replace the normal amount of cream with whiskey. The barista will know. Just make sure to tell him it¡¯s for me."
"R¡ right."
Yeah, so much for first impressions. Oh well.
"7:14 huh? I guess I have time. Let''s see how that thing is doing. Is it still even alive?" I mumble as I open a drawer and pull out a small glass orb.
0.1
"What¡¯s he doin¡¯?" A scruffy looking man in rusty half steel armor asks glancing at his eye patched partner.
"Oh? He¡¯s still doing it?" The other says squinting his eyes to see in the dimming light of the street.
"Still?" The first returns in curious surprise. "What¡¯d ya mean?"
"Oh, no, well he was standing there for awhile. We thought he wanted to go inside but I don''t know what he¡¯s doing now."
"He¡¯s just¡ bumpin¡¯ into the wall over and over. Is he drunk?"
Again the person in question took a step to steady himself before stepping forward again, only to bump the wall with his forehead and return to the steadying stance. This seemed to repeat endlessly. Prompting a chuckle from the two men.
And it likely would repeat. So his programming really goes that deep. It¡¯s still active even now. He either needs to accidentally turn or have an outside force correct his behavior. Ideally the latter, it could take months before he figures out to turn his body.
I knew this was a mistake. He doesn¡¯t understand even basic concepts. Even walking is turning out to be a disaster. Although it is impressive that he isn¡¯t falling over simply from standing on two feet. Just goes to show the perfection of the human body. I¡¯ll have to give HR a raise.
The two men who had been gawking at the poor confused AI suddenly bolted to attention at the sight of a soldier walking proudly in the distance. The soldier in question glanced at them with a cocked eyebrow.
"Royce, Higgins?"
"Yes Ma¡¯am?" They answer in unison placing a fist to their heart.
"I¡¯ve said before, not Ma¡¯am. Address me by rank as you would any other Ranked Officer."
"Yes Lieutenant Section Commander!" They answer correcting their earlier salute with another stronger one.
Each man worried slightly in their hearts weather they would still hold a post tomorrow but simultaneously they hoped the rumors of her actually being benevolent were true.
With twin gulps they maintained the salute as she eyed them and their surroundings.
"Can I ask why you are posted outside arguably the safest building in town?"
"Ah ma¡¯¡ Lieutenant Section Commander wouldn¡¯t you say the fort is the safes¡"
"I mean what I said and you know as well as I it''s true. But that''s not the answer to my question."
"We were just¡"
"Lieing to a superior officer is considered perjury you know?"
"Of course we know." Royce says nudging his partner to come clean.
"I apologize it was my idea. I killed Squirrels while on duty so I hoped to sell the pelts at the¡"
The well armored woman coughed to insert a quick correction. "Squirrel beasts."
"Right, we killed some Squirrel beasts so I hoped to¡"
"I get it. Why you wanted to sell the pelts while on duty is beyond me, and I assume you are also aware of the fact that it is illegal to work as both a guard and adv¡"
"I¡¯m not. Just selling the pelts. I don¡¯t have a¡"
"You don¡¯t have to be registered to be an adventurer. Even my six year old niece knows that much." The men''s eyes widened at her words but she again coughed to indicate she wasn¡¯t finished. "However you are correct this is a loophole. In fact it exists on purpose. I doubt you two are interested in history though. Well just be more careful. Next time it might not be me inspecting this route."
"Yes Ma¡¯am." The men replied with a salute. They quickly realized their mistake and corrected for it with the mouthful of foreign words.
"By the way. Are you bullying that guy?" She asked glancing at the AI who remained stuck in an endless loop.
"No! No. He¡¯s just doing that. I think he¡¯s drunk. We were worried actually. We were about to go check on him, maybe take him to the drunk tank to sober up a bit."
"Right, right. Don''t want him hurting himself." Higgins adds, prompted by Royce¡¯s words.
"Hmm, well you two have done enough. Carry on your route I will see whats going on with him."
"Yes Lieutenant Commander!" They both say with a third or fourth salute.
"Section Commander but close enough." She mutters under her breath as she steps across the road towards the presumed drunk AI.
She coughed under her breath after he failed to notice her approach. She knew that she had an imposing atmosphere so for him not to notice either meant he was very drunk or very strong mentally. Even two hardened guards shook in their boots at their much shorter superior.
She felt it was both a gift and a curse. People wouldn¡¯t approach her with malintent, but likewise, they wouldn''t approach with friendly intent either. And it wasn''t because she had an intimidating appearance, the opposite in fact, her appearance and position were complete oppsites. She didn''t resemble someone you would expect to find in the military.
After a third and fourth cough went unnoticed she extended a hand to the boy before hesitating when she glanced at his face. He looked completely emotionless.
Logically so, but she knew nothing about the fact that he truly was empty inside.
She felt like she had seen the look on her own face before, back when mirrors weren¡¯t a luxury.
"Hey are you alright?" She finally asks breaking through her hesitation and grabbing ahold of his shoulder.
The AI followed her pull and smoothly turns towards her. It didn¡¯t reply. It probably couldn¡¯t. Even with a dictionary, forming a sentence is infinetly complex for a computer system, not to mention the added difficulty of learning to create sounds with vocal chords.
I should have taken more time teaching him before I sent him out. But it''s not like I could put him in a test body. He just has to learn on the fly.
"Hey? Hello? Anyone in there?" She waved a hand in front of the AI¡¯s face.
Again she received no response.
"A mute or¡" She mumbled to herself. "Gugan trerars Iyundier? Or maybe¡ Um¡ Kyou¡¯ke Ti¡¯ki¡¯ko Do¡¯uin"
She studied the AI¡¯s face looking for some reaction. After receiving none she frowned, muttering something about Dianna knowing more languages than her.
After recovering from the sadness of putting herself down, the girl glanced up and down the AI¡¯s body. A few smudges of dirt lay on the surface but overall it was easy to tell the material was brand new.
"Those are expensive clothes. If you stay out here all night you will get mugged or worse." The girl sighs as she glances around the deserted road. "Well you seem to have a money pouch so let me show you to the Inn."
She grabbed the AI¡¯s wrist, pulling him in the direction of the Inn. The town consisted of a single main road so arriving wouldn¡¯t take long. Not that the AI helped make the trip any faster. Occasionally he would randomly step backwards.
This is likely a learned behavior from the earlier experience walking. Its possible he thinks he needs to step back to brace himself every couple of steps or else he will hit a wall. It''s even possible that he is completely blind. Or better yet he likely can barely use any of his senses. He needs to find a way to understand the signals he¡¯s receiving from his eyes, ears, and everywhere else.
Put simply, he needs a major drivers update.
"Hey, cut it out." The girl pulling on the AI¡¯s wrist says as he once again steps back in order to correct his steps. The warning goes unheard as after a half dozen steps he again steps back yanking on her hand. "Stop!"
The AI finally responds. Stopping movement entirely and looking at her with almost half-interest.
The girl, noticing the change in his expression watches him carefully. The attention in his eyes again goes blank after a moment and he mouths a few empty words.
"Did you just try to say something?" She asks, eyes widening in surprise. She thought him deaf and dumb so this sudden occurrence felt like a mini-miracle. "Come on, come on. Try again."
"Tr¡" He begins coughing out the sound with effort.
The girl winces but it only shows on her face for a moment.
"He¡"
"Sa¡"
"¡et¡"
"I don¡¯t¡ What are you trying to say¡ It just sound like nothing. I¡¯m sorry I don¡¯t think I know the langua¡"
The AI, unaware, or unconcerned with her words again analyzes the sounds its heard so far. Combining them with associated rules picked up in the conversations earlier.
Eventually despite the girls continuous attempts to decipher the sounds that the AI had tested earlier he spoke again.
"Perhaps if you were speaking Traier then¡"
"Reset." The AI says in a clear slightly gravely voice.
With the word said the AI shuts its eyes and dropped its head for a moment. It then shakes its head and carefully scans the environment.
With the eyes landing on the Lieutenant Section Commander staring at him agape he nods to her blankly without a word.
"What was that? What did you just say? Why¡¯d you say that? Of all the words why that one?" She looks exasperated trying to decipher the code within his word. Eventually she shrugs it off and again yanks his wrist towards the Inn.
She didn¡¯t notice that the limp in his gait was gone, or the ember of light that appeared within his eyes.
0.2
The Inn bustled with clanking of dishes and mugs as the two enter and mill towards the Innkeeper who stood writing in a log book at the reception desk. The woman glances between the two guests before dropping the book in shock.
"Commander Adria, what brings you to my Inn this evening? I apologize if the noise is¡" The owner begins nervously stammering after shutting the book and directing her attention to the two.
"Relax Linda, I¡¯m not here on official business." Adria explains waving a hand and indicating with the other towards the AI. "I think he is a foreigner or possibly sl¡ Well in any case I wanted to see if you had a room he could stay in until we find out where he came from or who he is."
"He doesn¡¯t look foreign. Does he speak Traier? He could be from one of the trade caravans."
"A merchant with clothes this nice?" Adria asks fingering at the cloth on his chest.
"True. Well does he have money? If so I can definitely take him in for the night."
"I wouldn¡¯t have brought him here if not." Adria says with a hand on the pouch at his waist.
Surprised by the lack of response Linda the inn keeper stifles a soft laugh. "Definitely not a merchant if he¡¯s that unconcerned about you handling his pouch."
The woman covering her mouth with one hand reachs under the desk and retrieves another log book. She quickly opens it to the most recent page and indicates to a line while looking at the AI.
"Can you write your name or¡"
The two women glance at him half expectantly. Again he doesn''t respond at all.
He does show some interest in the book but the eyes remain lifeless as always.
"I kinda expected as much." Adria says reaching for the pencil on the desk.
Suddenly the gears seem to connect in the AI¡¯s mind as it associates the text written on the document with the implement Adria was reaching towards. His hand cuts between hers and the pencil as he rips it from the table. He glances at its shape for a moment as he contemplates the best way to hold this implement.
The two women watch him curiously, neither uttering a word. After a long moment the AI reaches his equipped hand towards the paper. With a rough grip it writes all it knows about itself on the form.
"Al?"Adria asks looking at the paper. "That''s a good name, although thirteen is a strange last name."
"Maybe he was a slave? I know sometimes they are given odd names like that."
"Linda you can¡¯t just ask that! He¡¯s already spooked enough as it is." Adria says in a chastising tone. "It doesn¡¯t matter where you came from Al. In any case, it¡¯s good to have a name to go with the face."
The two aren¡¯t entirely wrong. Slave isn¡¯t the worst descriptor for his former life. At least in this life he has a proper name. Even if it is simply from a misread letter.
"Right, back to check in. The fee for a night is 7 silver a meal is an additional sil¡" Linda begins before cutting herself off to glance at Adria. "He doesn¡¯t understand a word I am saying, does he?"
"I don¡¯t think so. This is the same expression I always got from him." Adria says glancing at the blank face. "I¡¯m going to wager he agrees to the price based on the fact that he signed his name."
"I suppose¡" Linda say with a slight grimace. "I feel bad just taking his money though. It feels like theft."
"I got it." Adria says gripping at Al¡¯s belt and untieing the draw string attaching it. After a bit of struggle she retrieves the coins and places them on the counter.
"7, 8¡ 9?" Linda asks while counting the coins.
"Least he can do is treat me to a meal for helping him out."
"I suppose so." Linda says with a grin. "You have to explain everything to him once he sobers up though I don¡¯t want some foreigner accusing me of theft."
"Right, of course." Adria says with a roll of her eyes. "Come on Al. Linda¡¯s hubby makes the best stew in town."
Adria again grips at Al¡¯s wrist and wrenches him towards a nearby empty table. She quickly takes a seat which Al mimics moments later.
"Good I thought you were going to tell me you didn¡¯t know how to sit in a chair." Adria says with a laugh. "Though I suppose you wouldn''t be able to ¡®tell me¡¯."
Al makes no reaction, simply maintaining the same stone faced expression.
"Nothing much ever gets a reaction from you, huh?" Adria says watching his unchanging expression. "Ironic to see it from the other point of view."
After muttering to herself a bit Adria pulls the leather straps on her armor loosening the chest portion. She sighs contently before again watching Al¡¯s blank expression.
"What did ¡®you¡¯ see? And what would scoop you out of it."
Adria¡¯s contemplative monologue was interrupted by the arrival of two thick wooden bowls of sweet smelling stew. The waitress handed Al and Adria a spoon after giving them a stern warning about spoon theft and the consequences.
The spoons aren¡¯t particularly nice, perhaps it¡¯s been a problem in the past.
Al again watches Adria with half disinterest as she grips at the spoon and digs it into the stew. Noticing the dead eyes Adria connects her own with a bit of confusion on her brow.
"Come on, you can do it. It¡¯s food. Eat it. I¡¯m sure you have food whereever you came from. It smells good, right?"
"¡"
"Nothing?" Adria asks after waiting for Al to try the stew. "Are you not¡"
She begins asking weather or not he is hungry but she¡¯s interrupted by a loud growl from across the table.
"Yeah you are hungry. So eat it. Come on." She prods pointing a spoon towards Al.
"I feel like I''m taking care of a baby." She eventually relents picking up Al¡¯s spoon and dipping it from his bowl to his mouth.
"There, good right?" She asks with a grin as she moves back to her own bowl leaving the spoon dangling in Al¡¯s mouth.
Al noticing the good taste as well as the added weight in his mouth instinctively swallows.
That¡¯s a weight off my shoulders. Good work Adria.
"What are you¡ What are you doing?"Adria asks looking at Al who wiggles the spoon in his mouth searching for the source of the taste.
Al continues moving the muscles in his mouth stirring the spoon around his tongue, suddenly noticing the correlation between his muscle movements and the flashes of spoon handle entering his vision, he raised his eyebrows in shock.
Adria watching the entire scene with a dropped jaw suddenly bursts into laughter before glancing around and covering her mouth to stifle the further laughter.
"Al you are a riot." She says after calming herself and yanking the spoon from his mouth. "Come on, eat normally."
Al noticing the spoon in the bowl connects the various dots to correlate the correct information. He reviews the data he gathered from watching Adria eat and grips the spoon as he had the pencil earlier.
Shakily he raises the spoon to his mouth and places it inside. Again he lets go of the spoon and swirls it around in his mouth for a moment, glancing at Adria for a response.
A spot of confusion could be seen in Al¡¯s face as she looks at him with confusion of her own. "Stop, just eat normal."
Al receiving the ¡®stop¡¯ command again takes the spoon from his mouth and quietly says "Reset."
"What¡¯s with that again? Is that all you can say?" Adria asks scrapping the bottom of her bowl with a faceful of mixed emotions.
Al remains quiet as he clumsily mirrors her movements to gather the remaining liquid in the bowl.
Adria finishes her bowl and sends it forward with sadness. She slides a hand under her armor and rubs her stomach in satisfaction with a deep sigh.
Adria takes a breath to begin speaking but she¡¯s interrupted by loud chatter entering the front door.
"I¡¯m telling you man we have to be more careful with the stone princess assigned to our patrol. That mean¡¯s no more drinks on the road, that means no more squirrel hunt pit stops, I mean seriously you never know when you are going to stumble ac¡"
"Shh. Shh!" Higgins, the first of the two men who noticed Al says, gripping his partners shoulder and pointing in Adria and Al¡¯s direction.
"What are you¡ Oh." The man says after flipping the eye patch up to get a better look at the distant table where the two sat.
"Oy! You¡¯re right, it''s the stone princess herself." A man hunched at the bar says stumbling from the stool and smirking.
"Show some respect Kanger." A burly man at the bar says tipping his mug to his thick beard.
"Why? She ain¡¯t my superior. I ain¡¯t one of them military dogs flaunting them titles and medals¡"
"Kanger, The guild has both ranks, and medals. Your argument is totally flawed."
"Shut up you sooty traitor!" Kanger shouts at the bearded man, shoving him into his drink. He turns his attention back to the table of Adria and Al, paying little attention to the anger brewing in the mug behind him. "Oh? My apologies stone princess. Am I interrupting your date? I¡¯d hate to trouble your suitors, your highness."
The man stumbles through a mocking bow. His sloppy performances was probably funnier than the actual insults being made. Yet still no one at the Inn laughs.
Adria didn¡¯t seem particularly phased by the words. Al on the other hand probably only vaguely understood that they were words. Neither react much to the provocation, this somewhat angers the provoker himself.
"Ain¡¯t gonna respond? Cat beast got your tongues?"
"It¡¯s just cat." Adria says flatly.
"Whut?" Kanger asks placing a hand to his ear.
"It¡¯s ¡®Cat¡¯s got your tongue.¡® not ¡®Cat beast¡¯s got your tongue.¡¯."
"Wha¡ what''s the difference." The man says before cackling a laugh. "Ohh. Oh. I actually forgot, you people have that crazy religion or whatever. You are just serving me up ammunition, princess."
Royce and Higgins, realizing their own culpability in this matter hurry over to stop Kanger but they seem to be to late.
"You know, I don¡¯t like the way this one¡¯s looking down on me." Kanger says eyeing Al carefully.
Al who wasn¡¯t phased by the antagonist just maintained the dead eyed look.
"Sonuva¡¯ bitch! Quit staring at me!" Kanger shouts gripping at Al¡¯s collar and yanking him up from the seat.
Before even Adria could intervene to stop the drunk, Al made his move.
Well, maybe I''m playing up his role a bit.
Al, unfamiliar with the experience of being lifted simply tried his best to analyze the situation. He did this by going limp and allowing his focus to go to the storage of data for better analysis at another point.
His action were unexpected to Kanger who, already drunk, stumbles under the added weight of Al¡¯s collar. The wise choice would be to release the grip but alcohol told him he had no choice but to fall.
The two tumble backwards knocking over the chair Al had occupied.
"Al, are you alr¡"
"What the hell¡¯s going on out here?!"A thick man, holding a hammer in one hand and a greasy spatula in the other, shouts. After glancing around he eyes the most reponsible witness. "Commander Adria?"
"Ah, your head!" Adria says noticing the traces of blood on the side of the chair and probing Al¡¯s unconscious head with her hand.
"Hey, is he¡" Royce begins, edging towards his superior to inspect Al¡¯s condition.
Adria eyes the two with a deep scowl. Not a word need be said and the two dash away.
"Keep the fee for the trouble." Adria says lifting Al¡¯s body up carefully and stepping over the broken chair fragments.
"He can stay¡"
"It¡¯s alright! It¡¯s the least I can do." Adria says dashing out the door with Al slung over her back.
Ah, thats good, he made a friend. I¡¯m glad.
0.3
Adria watched carefully over Al as he slept in the quiet apartment. Through the whole walk Al barely moved a muscle, this greatly worried Adria but she found no damage to his head on further inspection. Likely it was Kanger¡¯s blood smeared on the wood. Well then, no harm done.
Adria felt responsible. No, she knew she was responsible. Just another form of proof that she could live her life best if she stayed far from others. She ¡®should have just left Al in the street¡¯ she attempted to convince herself halfheartedly while gazing at the face of the sleeping Al.
"The expression remains even while asleep, huh?" Adria ponders aloud to the empty room, brushing a lock of Al¡¯s brown hair away from his forehead. "I wonder if I was like that too?"
Realizing her own action after a moment Adria quickly freezes and needlessly glances around to be sure she¡¯s alone.
"Why are my usual defenses so meaningless around him?" She ponders quietly after pulling her hand back into her chest. After once more assuring herself Al was sleeping Adria sat down in a nearby chair and began thinking back to her past self¡¯s sleepless nights.
A few moments after the start of the self loathing reminiscence Adria too found her way to sleep.
?¡ì?
"Lieutenant Section Commander! Good morning." A man says leaping to attention as the officer enters the west entrance of the fort.
"At ease." Adria says mirroring his salute halfheartedly. "Anything from the night watch to report?"
"No Sir." He says glancing at a form placed at his desk that once again laid blank.
"Really?" Adria asks with a cocked eyebrow.
"Sir?" The receptionist asks.
"Send a squire to deliver a message to the Adventurer¡¯s guild. Ask them why Kanger wasn¡¯t sent here to be imprisoned." Adria says with a wave of her hand as she walks towards one of the three attached doors of the entrance room.
"K¡ Kanger?" The receptionist says blankly before realizing the disappearance.
As Adria expected, around three minutes after she sat down a loud knocking was heard on the door of her office. Without waiting for a reply a portly man storms in followed by another older gentleman. Both wore scowls, one less pronounced than the other.
"Can I ask your reasoning for¡"
"I think my reasoning is plenty clear. I am sure at least two of the witnesses were adventurer¡¯s you can ask them. Or the two soldiers who witnessed it could tell you about it too. It¡¯s clear cut, he attacked an unarmed civilian."
"We indeed heard about the fight but we had heard your party was the antagonist in the situation. Obviously the word of your subordinates can¡¯t be trusted so our best bet would be to wait until Kanger wakes up. Perhaps he will better shed light on the¡" The guild master says replacing the scowl with a dignified expression.
"Oh, right. Kanger will be the unbiased party." Adria says with a mock laugh. "That¡¯s absurd, if you ask the Inn I¡¯m sure¡"
"The Inn has already said they saw nothing and want little to do with the ordeal."
"This is insane. Commander, clearly they are just attempting to protect their¡" Adria began, glancing at her one superior in the town. The grizzled man had never been a fan of her but he at least knew her as an honest person right?
The man rubs his chin, carefully contemplating the situation. It would obviously be bad for a guilds leading party to lose its swordsman, it would make sense for the guild to attempt to cover this up. However the charges are ones often dealt with by severe consequences, it''s not a judgment to give out lightly. "Were there indeed no other witnesses than the involved parties?"
"We have asked around but it seems no other¡"
"Your son was there." Adria says with a glance at the guild master.
His eyes widen at the words before quickly restraining himself. "To think my son won¡¯t be biased is foolish."
"No. That¡¯s true, but he hates the military almost as much as the guild so I wager he¡¯s a good witness." The commander says after mulling it in his head a moment. "Very well, I¡¯ll talk to him. I¡¯ll ask you two to stay out of it for now. You can head back to the guild, I will tell you the result once it''s been made."
"This is ridiculous I tell you, Kanger didn¡¯t¡" The guild master mumbles as he leaves the room with a quick glare towards Adria.
"Adria, I know you aren¡¯t a fan of the guild, and I understand that, given your circumstances. But this isn¡¯t some¡" The commander begins looking at her with downcast eyes.
"I could care less about the guild, it''s adventurers I dislike." Adria says with a snap before returning to her typical calm tone. "And no, it isn¡¯t at all about that. You know as well as I Kanger has been a step away from the chopping block for months. The things he¡¯s done¡ At least this way his marginal worth won¡¯t be completely lost."
"You mean turning him crime slave?"
"Exactly. Better he be arrested for assaulting a citizen and turned to a slave than arrest him for murder or rape and turn him in for execution."
The commander again thinks over the situation rubbing his chin carefully. "The guild won¡¯t take it lying down. We may even hear from HQ for someone like Kanger."
Adria sigh¡¯s setting the paper she had been trying to continue working on down. "You really think so?"
"Mhm, I know you prefer keeping to yourself so I doubt a visit from HQ would be¡"
"No, that would indeed suck."
"Well if this is open and shut like you say then no worries. I¡¯ll make sure to dot my i¡¯s and cross my t¡¯s." The commander says lifting a box from his pocket and lighting up a cigarette before extending the box towards Adria.
With a sharp shake of her head the man returns the box to his pocket before glancing back at Adria.
"Head home for the day. Seems like you had enough excitement for a little while."
Adria, again glancing at the form in front of her, eventually nods. "Thanks, I¡¯ll have the agricultural tax documents done by Thursday."
"No worries." The commander says through a fog of smoke before taking his leave with a nod.
Adria follows him out a moment later but finds the reception room empty other than the same receptionist from earlier. She nods at the man and steps through the door into the afternoon sun.
?¡ì?
On the opposite side of town Al awoke for the first time in his life.
This was a new experience, the comfort of the bed was like supreme bliss to a being which had never slept before. He struggled to pull himself from the comfortable position. He made note of the position for later investigation.
The time to contemplate the data from the evenings fight seem to have come so he began to play the scene back. He was astonished by the lack of clarity in his recollection of the event. Only minor flashes of being lifted and falling.
After giving up on the analysis he observed his surroundings once more. Where was he? He hadn¡¯t the faintest idea. Although that seemed to be happening a lot lately. He leaned up in the bed to better see the room.
It was slightly in disarray. Clothes and dust littered the floor and furniture. The bed itself had a small pile of clothes directly adjacent, almost as if it were rapidly tossed from the bed the night prior.
¡®It doesn''t smell like stew¡¯ was one observation he made quickly upon investigation. Instead it has a slightly musty smell mixed with honey. It wasn¡¯t unpleasant with the addition of the sweet tinge.
Al leaned down beside the bed and lifted a handful of laundry to his nose. He then inhaled deeply to solve a question in his mind.
Indeed it was the cloth which possessed the smell.
As if reading the situation Adria choose that moment to open the door and step inside. A normal person would have heard the clicking of the lock and understand the situation they are in. Al on the other hand saw nothing wrong with his action and didn¡¯t know to associate sounds with doors. Frankly he didn''t even know what a door was.
"Wha! What are you doing! Stop, Stop, Stop." Adria says rushing over to Al and clocking him on the head with a baguette.
"Reset." Al says sadly dropping the cloth and turning to Adria.
"Why?" Adria asks shaking her head to herself with sheer confusion.
"Why what?"
"Why do you always¡" Adria answers thinking little of the words and cutting the baguette into equal portions before setting them on plates.
Adria¡¯s fingers go slack around the bread as a piece tumbles onto the dusty table. "Did you just¡?"
Al looks at her blankly with a curious eyebrow at most.
"You just spoke, right? I wasn¡¯t hearing things was I?"
"Yeah. Although, you were hearing things. It¡¯s my understanding that, that¡¯s how it works."
"You can¡ You can speak common? Since when? Oh! But this will make dealing with Kanger a ton easier!" Adria says with a wide smile as she again returns her attention to the plates of bread. Dusting off the one, she splits it and tosses a chunk of meat as well as a slice of bluish cheese. "But really, were you just swindling me pretending you couldn¡¯t talk?"
"I couldn¡¯t."
"You couldn¡¯t speak last night?" Adria asks, handing a plate to Al. "Why not?"
Al tilts a head in response so Adria quickly drops the line of conversation opting instead to fill her mouth with a bite of sandwich. Al, watching carefully, mirrors the movement. The two silently eat, only pausing to exchange sips from a canteen Adria filled on her way home.
"I should apologize." Adria says after wiping her mouth with a handkerchief and tossing it into a pile of clothes beside her bed. "You got involved in all that stuff because of me. You even got hurt, although I can¡¯t for the life of me see where you hit your head. If I knew any better I¡¯d say you just fell asleep at the exact time you fell."
Adria laughs off the idea and Al, unaware that was actually the case just tilts his head once more.
"Well anyways. Sorry." Adria says looking at her lap and folding her fingers carelessly.
"It¡¯s ok." Al answers simply with cheeks puffed with sandwich.
"Don¡¯t talk with your mouth full."
"Sorry." Al again replies after a forced swallow.
"I really don¡¯t get you." Adria says scanning Al up and down. Her glance passes his coin pouch and she grimaces. "You seem like you remember everything but I also want to again apologize for spending your money without your permission. And then I guess we lost it without even getting our money¡¯s worth so it was totally wasted."
Al glances at the point her sight was connected. He places a hand to the pouch carefully before returning it to his side without another thought.
"I swear it still feels like my words are going in one ear and out another." Adria says after receiving no reply from Al. "Well in compensation for everything, minus the fee for smelling my clothes. Come with me."
Al tilts a head until Adria roughly grips his wrist once more.
"I guess we are back to this." She says as she grabs a key from the table and yanks Al outside the Apartment into the stairwell leading to the street.
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Al once again lay in the familiar room. Well, mostly familiar room, the addition of a cart borrowed from the Yilkins¡¯ was odd but not too jarring. Al was still asleep. It had been nearly six hours and evening had completely set in.
Adria had again endured strange looks from the townspeople but it wasn¡¯t exactly something she was unfamiliar with so she brushed it off. She was more worried about Al.
As would I be, if I didn¡¯t know precisely what was happening. Honestly he really should have found a way to explain it to Adria. Perhaps had she heard the whole story she would have understood a little better what happened.
Six hours prior Al was being dragged into the backyard with Travis. From there Al impressed the socks off of Travis with a near perfect sword draw. From there Travis demanded Al give up having Gunther train him and instead take him as his master. He thumbed at himself proudly at that statement as if it were something Al would fawn over hearing.
Al of course made no response, which Travis took as sheer speechlessness. So it was agreed, Travis took the sword from Al and demonstrated true skill with a blade. Skill beaten into a body with endless hours of practice. The farmer transformed into a warrior with a deep fire burning in his eyes.
Al watched carefully. He took note of every movement, every slice, every mock parry. He imprinted everything adding it to the ever growing pile.
Then it came his turn to try drawing the sword once more after seeing it properly done.
Of course with only the prior days data loaded nothing just witnessed could even be mirrored, his draw was exactly the same as the first time.
As any strict teacher would Travis corrected him mid-draw with a loud "Stop!"
The rest is on Al. You see he found what he thought was a smart way to deal with the massive amount of data the next reset would be installing. He decided to process it while dreaming. He installed a protocol to activate sleep once the next reset was called.
Now had he explained this to Adria she may not be so worried, however it''s not exactly something he can explain. In fact it may not even be something he is aware of consciously, it''s all subroutines deep in his programming.
No one said combining a machine intelligence with a human brain is easy. He is in uncharted territory.
At around 16 trillion cycles Al¡¯s software completed its update and began to reboot into the new revision.
"Oh." Al says in slight shock. He couldn¡¯t help but smile. He understood things. He could think back on past things he heard and understand them in ways never before possible. He remembered the fight. He remembered the rumors in the town. He began to get a true grasp of his place in the world and that world in general.
Adria sat in a chair snoring softly a couple feet away. He couldn¡¯t help wanting to just watch her for awhile but he thought better of it due to some random incomprehensible variables.
"Adria." He says softly for the first time in his life. He extends a hand and presses her shoulder gingerly.
"Mm¡" Adria mumbles opening her eyes carefully before thinking back a few moments. "Wait, what¡¯d you say?"
"What?" Al asking cocking his head and unconsciously blushing.
Adria watches his face carefully somewhat surprised by the sight. His eyes followed her carefully unlike just two days ago when he looked like a dead fish. His cheeks had turned pink as if he weren¡¯t just made of clay, a massive change from the prior days.
"Stop staring at me." Al says after a few moments once the proper variables trigger the response.
"Sorry. You are just seem¡ so different now." She says with a reluctant smile. "I am glad you feel better though. You scared the hell out of us. I will have to tell the Yilkins you are fine. Although if I do that Travis will force you to come train again."
"I would like to. I have adjusted things, so that won¡¯t happen again." Al assures her with a firm nod. "And the food was good too."
"I see. Well ok." Adria says judging him carefully. "You haven¡¯t recovered your memories have you? You seem in much better spirits than normal. And you are actually talking. Its like a miracle."
"No memories before the guards." Al says with a shrug.
¡
Is he lying or does he not remember meeting me? Technically he was a very basic form at that point. But surely he would have stored the data about the interaction with me for a later analysis right? Does he really not know where he came from. I was sure I checked the box for ¡®remember past life¡¯ in the paperwork I sent down with him.
"I see." Adria says with a somewhat reassured sigh. "And the talking? You just feeling more talkative?"
"I learned." Al says honestly.
"You aren¡¯t joking are you." Adria says watching his face carefully for any trace of lies. Not that they would show anyway.
"No, most I learned from you. Other bits I picked up in town, or books."
"So you really read those books like you said?"
Al nods simply. "I agree the military handbook was tough. Thinking back on it, it was mostly just contradictory information."
"Exactly." Adria says with a laugh. "Now you understand my life. It¡¯s nothing but contradiction and loopholes."
"My condolences." Al says with a shake of his head.
Adria again laughs at his reaction, reminding herself of the wine-skin she had from the night prior.
"Drink?" Adria asks holding up the skin after a swig.
Al grimaces before taking it gingerly from her hands and tilting it back to his mouth. Again his mouth puckers and his eyebrows dig into his eyes painfully. "Blehhh."
Again Adria collapses into laughter. Once she recovers, before taking the skin from Al, she moves from the chair to the bedside. From there she took the wine and sipped deeply.
"Not a fan of wine?" She eventually asks after finishing the canteen and setting it aside to wash in the morning.
"Oh." Al says thinking about some of the information he read earlier in the day. "Then that was the fermented juice of the same wild berries from lunch?"
"Exactly." She says with a nod happily swinging her head back and forth.
"I see." He says lifting a hand to his chin. "And the meat, that was¡?"
"Smoked beef." Adria says rubbing her stomach with reminiscent joy. "From a domesticated cow beast."
"Cow... beast." Al says thinking about the common factor in all the animal names he¡¯d heard so far.
"Curious?" Adria asks with heavy eyelids.
"Always." Al answers with a nod.
Adria lifts herself and brushes the hair from her face. "A long time ago they say a thing called¡ Ah, Dianna tells this much better than me. Basically what was called the ¡®big bang¡¯ happened like two hundred and fifty years ago. A whole bunch of mana released into the planet turning all the beas¡ animals into what we now call beasts. They say all sorts of the animals used to be domesticated, but nowadays it''s harder. Most of them want to eat us for dinner not get fed by us."
"Mr. Fred wants to eat me?" Al asks looking at his hands as if judging taste.
"Probably. But he¡¯s a bit different. His grandpa and grandma were raised in a manaless environments in an attempt to return them to the ¡®cats¡® we used to keep as rat deterrents."
Al thinks about it carefully. "And cow beasts?"
"Yeah cow beasts are an exception I guess. Or, well there are a few others, but the cow beast don¡¯t seem to have a taste for human flesh. They are mostly harmless." Adria leans over beside the bed and lifts a small bag of sourdough rolls to the bedside table. She tosses one to Al and bites the other. "Although some people think it''s bullshit. They think beasts have always been beasts and we are just holding onto children¡¯s bedtime stories."
Al says nothing instead opting to bite the roll a few times.
"What do you think? Are we crazy? Could monsters ever really live at peace with us?"
Al thinks about the questions for a moment before beginning to answer. "I don¡¯t think you are crazy. Mr. Fred proves it, right?"
"You¡¯d think, right?" Adria says with a laugh. "Well people are blind, and what does it matter anyways, people don¡¯t care about the past. They have enough worries as it is. Thinking about a past like that does nothing but make us pity our own current situation."
"The past." Al says blankly, thinking about the term. To him past is every revision prior to the current Al. The silent one, the curious one, the book worm, the sword freak. They felt like the past, almost a different person even. But to Adria, the past is ¡®the stone princess¡®. Whatever that means.
"I wanted to wait until I found out who you are to tell you who I am but, that seems more and more impossible by the day." Adria says understanding where his line of thought had headed based on his line of sight.
"Princess?"
"Mhm, although not anymore. I gave all that up. Best thing I ever did. But it''s impossible to maintain a low profile as you¡¯ve noticed I''m sure." Adria smiles grimly. "Again sorry about the fight."
"No worries." Al says thinking back on the first night. "I learned a lot."
"Of course, of course." Adria nods "Any more questions? Or can I have my bed back now?"
"Right." Al rolls out of the bed and onto the pile of clothes beside it.
Adria shimmies under the covers and into the warm spot Al had left behind. She felt at ease in the heat, like a kitten sunning itself in a warm ray of light. She let out a relaxed sigh as she breathed deep into the pillow noticing a tinge of unfamiliar scent in the pillow.
"Al," She asks after nuzzling the pillow once more and peeking out the side of it.
"Hmm?" He asks through a pile of cloth.
"Why are you always sniffing my clothes when I walk in? Isn¡¯t that kind of weird?"
Al sits silently for a moment before answering "It is weird, but they smell good."
"My dirty laundry smells good?" She asks with a frown burning through her face.
"No, just you in general, and when you are gone I miss it." Al explains simply. "Your smell I mean."
"I see¡" Adria says in a sheepish tone. "Night, Al"
"Goodnight." Al replies despite his own lack of tiredness.
He didn¡¯t mind. There was still work to do. He wanted to re-calibrate his body in order to better implement the sword technique copied from Travis.
Around fifteen minutes after Adria drifted to sleep, once he was sure she was out he stood and carefully touched the tips of each of his fingers and toes in order to have a better understanding of how his body worked. With the new data added wielding a sword should prove easy.
Next is visual data. He placed one of the lit candles a few inches from his face then he stepped back a few paces watching the change in size versus the distance he walked. He also logged the change in intensity of the light but having no use for the data kept it for long term storage.
Last he wanted to test his reflexes. He drops a pencil and rips it out of the air a second later with the other hand. He attempts again with a small delay, timing how quickly the pencil drops as well as how quickly he can recover.
With notes on his abilities as well as the speed at which gravity effects things Al finally felt like he had an understanding of his world. Perhaps he was naive in thinking it was really all that simple.
0.8
"Reading again?" The priest asks rounding a shelf and nearly plowing into Al. "You know you can read in the sanctuary."
"Sorry Father. It takes too long to walk back and forth." Al replies without looking up from the book. He flips a page and begins rapidly scanning it.
"It¡¯s alright." The priest says with a shake of his head. "Well it seems Mr. Fred has come to like you so you are more than welcome to hang out in the library."
"Mr. Fred is a cat?" Al asks either philosophically or idiotically.
"Mhm I don¡¯t know if it''s entirely true but it''s the closest we will see nowadays." The priest says rubbing the cat beast¡¯s head gingerly. "He likes books you see, so he had to be the librarian. No one else fit the bill quiet like Mr. Fred."
Al glances at the cat beast who stared back at him coolly. "He¡¯s a good librarian."
"The best, it''s part of his DNA. See I fibbed a bit about his qualifications. Its the books see." The priest takes his staff and holds it aloft although nothing interesting happens. "See."
"See what?"
"Exactly. Can¡¯t use magic in a library. The books remove the mana from the air. Scholars say it''s the paper."
"Magic." Al says thinking about the words he read the day prior about the subject. He saw no mention of it being disrupted by paper. The priest noticed Al was looking at the two magic books he had read yesterday.
"Probably not written about in those. Its a fairly new discovery and it took awhile for other scholars to corroborate the claim."
Al frowned at this knowledge. The fact that his information might not be up-to date annoyed him. He wanted concise accurate information. He mentally made a note on all information taken from the books saying ¡®out of date¡®.
Magic was a strange concept to him. He couldn¡¯t exactly place why. He had the word in his head but it still felt like an impossibility. Mana on the other hand completely didn¡¯t exist in his dictionary. He figured out the word based on context but still it felt difficult to comprehend, another annoyance to Al.
"Can I see?" Al asked looking at the staff in the priests hand.
"See¡? Oh. Magic? Sure. Come to the other side of the building with me." The priest turns and begins walking, glancing back at Mr. Fred to see if he was joining.
Al scans a few pages quickly and sets the book back on the shelf next to the rest of the encyclopedia¡¯s.
So far his favorite was ¡®G¡¯, although ¡®A¡® was a close second. But he set that aside in interest of seeing magic. Could he analyze it the same way he could any other physical phenomenon? He was interested to see.
"Magic is the control of the free mana in the air through one of multiple ways. I use a staff." The priest explains holding the gemed staff in the air. "But some people can manipulate it through their body, others draw it into objects, there are tons of various other obscure ways but those are the typical ones."
"Golems?" Al asks, getting to the core of one of his interests.
"Right that''s the object one. A mana core is made with a set of instructions and a golem engineer¡ Well I don''t know how they do it but they can get the things to move. It¡¯s unnatural if you ask me."
"Interesting." Al says thinking about the new information. "I want to make one."
"You want to make Golems? Well first see if you can even observe magic. I¡¯ll show you, watch close." The priest again raises his staff as he had in the library. This time a bright yellow light glows from the jewel and along an inscription up the length. The yellow isn¡¯t the only thing visible though, along the corona of the light a hint of milky purple lives.
"Pretty." Al says watching it in amazement.
"What color do you see?"
"Yellow." Al says staring at the center. He then looks again at the ridge of the glow. "And purple."
"So you can see today¡¯s color then? That¡¯s a good sign, you might have a shot."
"Today¡¯s color?"
"Mhm, mana colors change like the weather, even now a hint of green has started drifting in from the west." The preist explains with a nod to the right-hand side of the golden sphere.
"Color," Al says looking to the stained glass windows, "Color is hard."
"You¡¯re right there." The priest says with a nod. "On black days I can¡¯t perform ceremonies."
"Black day?"
"Day¡¯s where black mana drifts into town. Depending on the magic you use, different mana colors will effect you in different ways. A golem engineer wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it but for instance a fire mage not using a staff could be fatally injured if they performed magic while in blue mana. I¡¯ll show you a few higher level books since you seem interested."
Al looks excited about the new information but he quickly looks at the sky with a touch of concern.
"Tomorrow. Have to go now."
"Alright, tomorrow then. Don¡¯t get into trouble now Al."
"I won¡¯t." Al confirms with a nod.
His new destination is the Yilkins house for another day of lessons. His latest build has a new revision to the reset protocol, it wasn¡¯t easy to install but preventing issues like yesterdays premature nap was a necessary step.
The revision allowed for the offloading of certain data to the next reset. For instance today Al acquired around forty thousand new conversational scripts as well as the reaction data from the previous nights calibration.
These things added with the knowledge from half of the encyclopedias in the library would require at least a few minutes of downtime. And downtime wouldn¡¯t be tolerated during a lesson. And the reset code will be used, Travis is an extremely domineering teacher.
"You¡¯re late." The man standing beside the road nearest the Yilkins farm says with a dirty scowl smeared across his face.
"Sorry, Library." Al answers with a dip of his head.
"You get enough sleep or what?" The man asks rubbing his rough cheek. "You ready today? Won¡¯t pass out again?"
Al about to respond lets out a loud stomach growl.
The two began walking towards the old farmhouse Travis was secretly thrilled Al had come, Yuzu seemed to be more lively with people visiting and Travis was pumped to train a receptive student.
The lunch was much like yesterday except the rolls were more plentiful and the strawberries were fading in favor of winter cherries.
Today Travis showed Al a method of smearing mashed fruit onto the rolls as opposed to meat. Al was a fan, and today he even saved room for dessert, a part of the meal he was particularly interested in.
After the meal, lessons began. There were countless adjustments of stance and grip, but Travis was extremely impressed with Al¡¯s newfound finesse.
"Were you just hustling me yesterday? Today your draw is almost perfect. Did you really learn from Gunther?"
"No, I learned from you." Al replies as if obvious.
"I meant before that. I mean, that kid can hold a sword alright but¡ I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d teach someone to this level." Travis says shaking his head and pondering the names he¡¯d called Gunther in the past. ¡®Competent sword teacher¡¯ was never one of them. "This is a good sword too, if you see him on your way back to town, you tell him that. This is a good sword."
Travis, again holding the snow white arced blade swings it carefully before gripping it with both hands and weighting the balance carefully. After taking a deep breath and handing the blade back to Al, Travis sends a forlong glance in the direction of a small blackened shed.
Lessons continue with Travis slowly improving Al¡¯s technique. The improvements themselves were things beyond what Travis himself was currently capable with his body so they couldn¡¯t be demonstrated. Every attempt was followed by another shout of ¡®Stop!¡®.
From there Al would load the previous improvements and try again. This actually made the lesson progress at extremely fast speeds.
Within the four hour time frame between lunch and Adria returning home from work Al had nearly mastered what took Travis a generation to learn.
As Al began the journey back to the Apartments where Adria lived Travis sat somewhat speechless in a chair outside the old farmhouse. He took a sip from a mug and rejected the offered pipe from Yuzu.
"Ya¡¯ok?" She asks through an exhale of heavy smoke.
"Mhm, just thinkin." Travis says plainly.
"That don¡¯t give me much." Yuzu says eyeing him carefully.
Travis sighs and grips the pipe from his wife''s wrinkled hands. He inhales from it forcefully, sparking the glowing ember deep in the pile of ashes. "I was always kind of¡ well, cocky about my sword skills. It¡¯s my ace in the hole, it''s my ¡®I¡¯m different than these boring farmers¡®, but now¡"
"Well Al isn¡¯t a farmer." Yuzu offers with a worried expression.
"No but, he could probably learn in a few months what I could in a lifetime. And, as it is, my body can¡¯t do anymore to master swordsmanship. I¡¯ve reached and passed my prime for that."
"But you are thinking you could still swing a hammer?" Yuzu asks noticing his glance in the direction of his old crumbling shed.
"Gunther¡¯s good, but he¡¯s too light on the anvil, if he could just¡"
"You want to teach him?"
"I want to teach anyone who wants to learn. Teaching that kid¡ no, just the teaching in general, it felt good. Passing on something worth having before I go."
"That¡¯s a very sudden about face don¡¯t you think?"
"Yeah but¡ I¡¯m hard on Gunther because it''s Yui, I mean¡ It¡¯s Yui¡"
"I know." Yuzu says with a smirk tapping the pipe on the chair arm and brushing the ash into the wind. "Let¡¯s go see his shop tomorrow, I need stuff in town anyways."
"F¡ Fine."
0.9
Adria was headed in the direction of her apartment building when she heard what would be a normal clamor in the direction of one of the two seedy alleys in town. She planned to ignore it as always but the presence of Al in her life made her think twice.
She peered down the darkening alley cautiously. Realistically there were only a few people in town that would really be her opponent. But the main potential antagonist in question was definitely one of them, and he worked with four of the others.
Instead of the fight she dreaded seeing, she was faced with a squire she vaguely recognized hiring a haggard prostitute. The squire¡¯s eyes widened when he noticed Adria but Adria simply waved him off. In fact she was more impressed he had noticed her at all. She might need to take a closer look at his advancement qualifications.
¡®Well good.¡¯ She thought to herself as she stepped into the lobby area of the apartment. She nimbly stepped up the stairway and cranked the door knob.
But the room lay quiet and empty. A once familiar sight, is now almost sickening. Where is he? Why isn¡¯t he sniffing my panties or inspecting his own body in far too great of detail? Had he gotten lost on the way home? Or maybe he is just late from lessons? Would he have stopped to get dinner, or maybe eat with the Yilkin¡¯s? No. He knows we eat together.
Adria¡¯s mind raced across the possibilities but none of them struck her. The only thing that did was Kanger.
It had to be Kanger.
Without another thought she stepped towards the door and slammed it shut behind her, racing for the street. She had to think carefully, she couldn¡¯t just run into the adventure guild with accusations and questions. Carefully she attempted to reign in her shortening breaths, but the fear and worry was only growing stronger by the moment.
She needed to find evidence. No, she needed to find him.
Safe and sound ideally.
She would check the Inn first, it''s possible Al was impatient and decided to eat stew on his own. It¡¯s not like she hated the idea of eating without him but she would feel a bit betrayed if that were in fact the case.
Its merely coincidence that the first destination was also a known hangout for Kanger. Yes, coincidence.
Adria again thanked the gods that stationing her in a small village as opposed to a massive city, searching ¡®every bar in town¡¯ sounds tiring.
The Inn was relatively close to Adria¡¯s apartment building, and based on its size it didn¡¯t take long to search. The results were scary, he hadn¡¯t been seen. And neither had Kanger.
So then where? Where would Al end up if not eating or at the apartment? Maybe his claim that he wouldn¡¯t get lost was wrong? If that were the case where would she even start? The library? Or the Yilkin¡¯s?
"Lieutenant Commander." Adria heard through a muddle of thoughts, hyperventilation, and the added din of the busy Inn.
Finally out of her head Adria glances at the source of the noise. It was one of the two guards from the very first day. Higgins was it?
"Higgins? What?" Adria asks flatly.
"It¡¯s your boyf¡ No, it¡¯s the guy from that day. He¡¯s¡ He¡¯s in jail. You should come down I¡ I can¡¯t exactly explain."
"Not good enough. Try!" Adria demands digging the butt of her sword into the man¡¯s gut. The sudden clamor of the sword unsheathing drew the attention of the entire Inn but Adria didn¡¯t care. Her image was the last thing she was worrying about at this moment.
"Yes Ma¡¯am. He was arrested for attacking Kanger and two of his men but it¡¯s¡"
"That¡¯s absurd!" Adria demands replacing her half drawn sword and quickly turning for the door.
Higgins attempted to call out to her but it ended in failure. It¡¯s not like he could truly explain the situation. She could better understand if she saw for herself.
Adria again rushed across town, this time she was sure Kanger had caused trouble. But she couldn¡¯t shake a feeling. The commander should understand the situation now right? So why is Al the one in prison and not Kanger and his cronies.
The answer was one she was unwilling to wait for, she racked her mind with every step. Why did this happen? What could she have done to prevent it? Or was it inevitable?
She couldn¡¯t accept that.
Why did she let him go alone? It was supposed to be her job to protect him. And now she felt she had failed even that.
She kicked herself internally as she finally reached the Fort at the edge of town. She took a deep breath to calm herself and pulled on the heavy knob of the reinforced door. It grinded coarsely before budging. She noted the door for a refurbishment and then scrubbed the thought from her mind. She had a priority here.
"Aundly. Where is¡" Adria began but the receptionist dashed for the door the moment he saw her.
The sight was strange for Adria. This was insubordination! Or was it direilection of duty? Malfeasance? Well it¡¯s in that book somewhere that¡¯s for sure.
As she fumed two soldiers as well as the receptionist reentered the room. Adria prepared herself momentarily but quickly realized it was unnecessary, both guards were unarmed ones from the dungeon staff.
"Ma¡¯am, come with us."
"Why?" Adria asks. "Just bring me to Al. And release him already, this is obviously all Kanger¡¯s fault he already threate¡"
"We know. And we are. Please, just come with us. The commander himself asked for you."
Adria gazed at the two with a bewildered expression. "What the hell¡¯s going on?"
"Just come see." The other soldier offers, opening the door to the corrections wing of the fort.
Adria wordlessly follows the two as they bounce between doors leading deeper into the fort. Eventually after a half dozen, half stuck doors, the three reach a much larger room with an assortment of chairs, desks, and a wall covered in lockers and filing cabinets.
A few recognizable faces were scattered around the room but Al¡¯s wasn¡¯t one of them. A woman in a white coat was carefully wrapping gauze around Kanger¡¯s hand and the commander was glancing over a few forms surrounded by a few of the other higher ups of the fort. Last she spotted, again, the old guild master, Gunther¡¯s father, Ian.
The commander hearing the loud creak of the door notices Adria¡¯s entrance first, he quickly waves her over and holds a paper out for her to read.
"I want your take on all this." The man says indicating to the words in his hands.
Adria carefully removes the long inked form from his hands and begins reading over it carefully. Each sentence is more surprising then the last.
"It¡¯s a confession?" Adria asks looking at her superior agape. "What the hell is going on? Why did he sign this?"
The commander carefully takes the paper back from Adria and hands her two more. "These might give you a better explanation."
The two forms were perspectives of a certain event. The ¡®Tensor Hill Alley Altercation¡¯ of 5/11/537.
The first went something like this.
¡®Party A (Single person) was walking to [------REDACTED-------] when three men (herein Party B) forcefully yanked him into the alleyway. Party B threatened A, and another figure of significance. Party B then began an attack on A but A countered with a single sword strike. From there military intervention was deemed necessary so the three left alive were arrested promptly.¡¯
Adria looked shocked and began to piece it together before even glancing at the second witness report.
It read very simply.
¡®I need to go home. Those men tried to stop me.¡¯
"Al¡ Where is he? Is he hurt? Did they¡" Adria glares at Kanger who continued to be bandaged in the left side of the room.
He notices the glance and shirks back deeper behind the woman who was treating him.
"He''s fine. He is in the next room over. But there are some things we need to conclude in this case still." The commander says again indicating to the first form.
"I don¡¯t understand? What¡¯s the problem. This is clear cut. It was an assault for sure. So as was agreed he will be turned into a crime slave." Ian the guild master finally erupts with a proud nod as if he were being the most clear minded in the room.
Adria suddenly understood what this was. Kanger has now been charged with much worse than assault. If he was really one of the attacking party, it''s attempted murder. So they would just going to ignore this event and charge him for the prior? Unbelievable. They aren¡¯t satisfied with his execution so they will plead for forgiveness.
Ian, noticing her gaze slowly turning to cold fury quickly adds another note. "And of course in this event since Kanger was simply unable to restrain his men a small addition to his price for gross negligence seems adequate don¡¯t you think?"
Adria takes a deep breath as she finally finished piecing together the guild¡¯s plan. Adria knew if Kanger was turned crime slave the guild would buy him. It¡¯s not unheard of. It''s actually a fairly typical use of the system. If a rowdy but talented individual is arrested the guild will buy them and with proper precautions they can be allowed to fight once more.
They figure even with the price added to his tag for gross negligence they will still be able to afford him and keep him from rotting in the catacombs of the fort or sent to the wilds as cannon fodder.
Adria sighs with exhaustion. She had been running all around town and now she had to mentally jump through these wild leaps the guild master is making.
"Fine." She says simply, devising a plan of her own. She hated to use it but this seemed as good a time as ever. She hated the idea of Kanger being back on the streets but she also didn¡¯t particularly want to attend an execution. This was a perfect chance to make use of a misconception these people have. "However you forgot one charge to add to his bill."
"What?" Both Kanger and Ian growl in near unison.
"You see he called me the stone princess at the Inn. I am sure he said something similar when ¡®attacking¡¯ Al too."
"Mhm." The commander nods. Adria thought she recognized the handwriting on the first report, so it really was him.
"And¡?" Ian asks attempting to carefully step around the point he meant to make.
"That¡¯s a crime. Look for yourself if you think I''m lying."
For once having an overprotective father was a blessing. Originally it was a measure taken to prevent idle whisper in the Royal Palace but at her eighth birthday party it became law. She figured it probably wouldn¡¯t hold up to much scrutiny now that she was disowned but peoples misconceptions can be abused once in awhile.
"Page six eight nine paragraph six, addendum eight four point seven." A voice says after stepping through a doorway.
"Exactly." Adria says nodding to Al. "So Al, you aren¡¯t hurt?"
"Nope. Safe." He answers with a nod. "Dinner soon?"
"Yeah definitely." Adria replies with a smile. "Let¡¯s go."
"Ah. Wait. But what about all this." The commander asks from the desk. "Are you both really satisfied with leaving this as an assault charge?"
"Al doesn¡¯t need to see an execution." Adria says simply without a glance over her shoulder.
"Another execution." Kanger corrects quietly shivering once more at the memory of his followers head falling to the ground. He¡¯d never seen the draw of one sword do so much damage. Four fingers, One head and near disembowelment. Gulping, Kanger turns to the nurse to ask, "Roy¡ is he¡?"
The doctor woman looks down with a bit of pity. "He succumbed."
"Two then?" Kanger tries to process with a shake of his head. "What kind of monster did I try to pick a fight with?"
"You know that monster saved your life with his useless victims report. If he had properly written what you three planned to do you wouldn¡¯t have gotten off on this light punishment." The commander says with a snap.
"Speaking of¡" The guild-master say rubbing his hands together graciously. "Has the price yet been decided or¡?"
"Four fifty."
"Ah, that is not bad at all. I thank you for¡"
"Not fifty silver. Four hundred and fifty gold." The commander corrects with a thick tone.
Both Kanger and Ian¡¯s eye¡¯s bulge. "Impossible that¡¯s¡! That¡¯s far to much!"
"I followed the book, it''s a minimum four hundred gold fine for calling her majesty that name."
"Pe¡ Pre¡ Pepposperous." Kanger attempts to say in sheer gall of the situation.
"Case closed. You can leave Ian." The commander says with a steely glance at the man.
"I¡ Understood." The man says with a glare of his own.
"Guards, put Kanger into a cell until we can get transportation all ready." The commander says towards a group of guards standing alert near the entrance. "Aren¡¯t you excited to see the wilds? Central frontier fort is nice this time of year. You¡¯re proud of your sword skills correct? Then you should be just fine."
Kanger only gulps nervously in anticipation.
0.10
Adria and Al had safely made it back to Adria¡¯s building. Al was happily dozing in a pile of blankets and clothing, this time Adria was the one unable to sleep. She was thinking back to something she and Al saw when leaving the fort. Well, Al noticed it, she simply noticed his reaction to it.
It was a map. More accurately a map of the lands claimed by the royal family. It was by no means one of the largest countries but Al seemed transfixed when he realized the comparable scale the tiny dot representing this town indicated.
It was like his observance of the world had been wrong from the start. He¡¯d been looking at his environment through a microscope. To him, the world was this single street surrounded by thick forests. He knew little about the small winding artery connecting them to the rest of the country.
He knew nothing about Adria¡¯s arduous journey down that road that felt like so long ago.
¡®Nor should he¡¯ she thought. Its her job to protect him from that side of the world. She wanted to protect that innocence she still sensed in him. But with today''s event was that really possible?
He killed two people. And not mere pushovers either. Two fully fledged adventurers. Both of whom were fairly skilled, probably only a small step below Kanger¡¯s level.
Who is he?
Better yet why was she only waiting until now to fully ask herself that.
Again her defenses against people failed when it came to Al. For instance even now, he sleeps peacefully on her floor. A man, sleeping in a room with her, all alone. This is risque. She¡¯s a pri¡ She was a princess, such a thing would be an enormous scandal. But now she had that freedom. The freedom to find Al on the side of the road and decide to take care of him.
"Giving it all up really was the best." She quietly mumbles as she snuggles into her rough mattress and shuts her eyes. "You¡¯re lucky I¡¯m so nice Al."
She quickly drifts off into dreams after the lighthearted mumble, she didn¡¯t hear Al reply with a quiet ¡®Thank you.¡®
Al during Adria¡¯s inner monologuing was indeed sleeping, but he was also contemplating his earlier actions. He was having difficulties coming to grips with what he had done. The death of the two men sparked a few connections in Al. First his own mortality. Second, the fact that despite the fact that he ultimately controls his body, sometimes he can¡¯t think fast enough. But that doesn¡¯t mean hes alone. There is another thing inside him he can rely on. This must be the ¡®instincts¡¯ he has heard so much about.
His body chose fight over flight and acted on the muscle memory he had engineered so carefully. But it felt strange to have relied on such an intangible presence. Such an uncontrollable presence. If only the speed of these reactions could be used for normal processing. If reactions could be controlled with programming they could be trusted with greater control.
But how do you control something that you¡¯ve felt only once?
Answers to these questions need to come. Especially considering the newfound size of this world. He thought he was just a grain of sand on a beach but now he¡¯s realizing there are other beaches and larger oceans. With a larger world means more knowledge, he was both excited and apprehensive. But he understood neither of the chemicals and brushed of their effects.
?¡ì?
The following morning, again Adria acted as if nothing had changed. She felt it was the best option. She didn¡¯t want him knowing about her night full of internal struggling. She just wanted to continue as they had before. She wanted those happy few days back, but she knew things would change now. She didn¡¯t know how she knew but she could feel it. This wouldn¡¯t go unnoticed.
Al also acted as if nothing had changed. As for him, it basically hadn¡¯t. Of course a new operating system was installed as was done most nights. But he had also decided to softly forget the event. If referenced he could of course respond with a correct conversation chain but the event itself would be removed from core memory. This was in order to reduce likelihood of over-reliance on that phantom presence called ¡®instinct¡¯.
Not until it could be controlled. For now that will be an internal priority, but there¡¯s no telling if it is even possible.
"So Al, I get off early tonight how about you stay at the library and I¡¯ll pick you up when I finish. We can go get some stew at the Inn." Adria broaches the subject carefully. She didn¡¯t expect Al to object but she still didn¡¯t want him knowing it was to protect him.
"Sure." Al acknowledges, amending the itinerary for the day to match Adria¡¯s suggestion.
Adria expected Al would be sad not being able to go to the Yilkins to train again, but then she remembered, this is Al we are talking about. He hasn¡¯t shown more than a handful of emotions the entire time she¡¯s known him.
No, Al took it in stride. In fact he was rather excited to have longer to read. He quickly calculated the number of words he could read in the time. The number satisfied him greatly. Then he worried weather he would get hungry during the time. Adria hadn¡¯t specified when exactly ¡®early¡¯ was.
"I¡¯ll walk you to the library since it¡¯s on the way. And lets get a few apples for you to munch sneakily in the library." Adria says the first part with a hint of deceit however the second line felt purehearted and casual.
Al noticed quickly from his mental map of the town that the fort and library were in fact in the opposite directions but he left it alone.
With the day planned and the morning sun well risen in the sky the two departed. Adria watched around ever corner but Al simply looked straight towards his destination as always.
The two, as always when walking together, gathered glances. Rumors were less pronounced though. Some even had fond eyes, they were happy the gloomy princess could finally smile. But most had already heard a different more frightening rumor, and it shut their lips.
It should be mentioned that Adria¡¯s identity was supposed to be a secret when she came to this town, but word seemed to spread anyways. The fact that she legitimately had no claim as royalty anymore meant little to these people. ¡®Once royalty always royalty¡¯ they assumed.
The two, after seeing a variety of responses eventually arrived at the library, apples in hand. Adria glances around the lobby first and then waves Al in. She hides the apples in a nook behind the desk and nods to Mr. Fred as if requesting his silence.
The cat bobs his head as he leaves, as if accepting the responsibility. But what he wanted in return would remain a mystery.
A lap to sleep on would probably suffice as payment though.
Adria quickly looks over a few books on a favorite shelf of hers and grabs one before glancing at the window cautiously.
"I really should go though. If you need anything¡" Adria begins but stops herself to think of a better option. "Ask the priest. He can help. Just¡ don¡¯t leave until I come get you."
Adria takes a long look at the meticulously kept sword attached at Al¡¯s waist. She frowns lightly to herself in thought and then turns for the door.
"Be good."
"I will." Al affirms with a nod before taking a book from the same shelf as he had yesterday.
Adria takes another long look at Al¡¯s back before opening and shutting the door behind her.
Within a dozen steps she decides to inform the priest of her intention of keeping Al inside. She didn¡¯t have an exact plan for explaining the reason but she would cross that bridge when she came to it.
Quietly she steps into the church and peers around for the holy man. She finds him lighting candles in the back and instantly begins dancing around the subject.
"I completely agree." The priest says without even an explanation. "I understand the situation. I¡¯ve already begun preparations for the two¡¯s services."
Adria is slightly taken aback by the sudden acceptance, but even more so by the sudden realness of Al¡¯s actions. Even if in self defense, he had killed two people. Two citizens of this town that she had made an oath to protect.
"He made the right decision." The priest says with a nod to the two candles burning on the long stand.
"Protecting himself?" Adria asks needlessly.
The priest looks at her strangely before unceremoniously blowing out the two candles. "No, I mean killing those two. They were assholes. I¡¯m just sad a few more didn¡¯t go with em."
Adria looks at him with a slack-jawed expression. "That¡¯s not very¡"
"Oh whatever, you agree with me you''re just trying to act magnanimous."
"I am not!"
"Yeah, yeah. I will keep a watch on Al, you get to work already." The priest chastises without waiting for Adria¡¯s excuse.
"Thanks," Adria says with a polite bow before turning back to the door and heading out for real this time.
She wasn¡¯t particularly thrilled about the concept of going to work. It seemed pointless, like a waste of time. Not to mention she doubted the trouble with Kanger and the guild was entirely over.
She wanted a day off, a day to read like Al. Years ago in the Capital nothing in the world could stop her from reading if she desired, but here and now she had responsibilities. But simultaneously a few of those responsibilities were what called her to stay.
She shrugs it off with a pout and begins walking towards the fort.
0.11
Days passed with the new routine in place, Al¡¯s reading speed had increased dramatically with the addition of a function that allowed the possibility of comprehending words without entirely reading them. If the first and last letters were confirmed there was a 94% probability of correctly inferring the word.
Adria too had gotten used to the change. She still reluctantly left the library each morning, but once at work she did her duty as quickly and efficiently as possible. Surprisingly work hadn¡¯t really changed since the fight. It was business as usual. The monotonous road patrols, tax documents, inspections. She heard the guild branch was in semi-disarray for awhile after the events but that was not much of her concern.
The library clinked occasionally with the sound of wood hitting wood. Adria immediately recognized the sound and let out a low groan. "Again with the chess?"
"I will win this time!" The priest says with a frown as he inspects Al¡¯s move. "I just need him to have a bad game like¡"
"Like the time you taught him to play?" Adria asks skeptically.
"I can do it, this time for sure. He plays too conservatively. I¡¯ll just throw him off by..." The priest replies with a proud grin as he moves a piece. Quickly Al moves his pawn and the priest lets out a groan.
"See." Adria says with a grin. "Nobody can beat Al, he¡¯s the best at everything he tries. You should try playing him in tick tack toe, or dots."
The priest bows his head in reverence of the loss. That made over a dozen now. Al as always immediately returns his attention to the book sitting beside the game board.
"You could at least pretend it was hard." The priest pouts as he lifts himself from the small table and sets the game board and pieces on an empty shelf. Al doesn¡¯t respond, instead opting to lift another book from the shelf in preparation of finishing the one he currently held.
"He¡¯s already shifted to romances?" Adria asks glancing at the two books in his hands.
"Mhm, he finished the textbooks a few hours after he got here." The priest confirms with a nod. The two exchanged odd glances at the speed of his reading at first, but now it was almost common sense that he could finish a whole rack in less than a day.
"I didn¡¯t imagine he would finish them this quickly." Adria says with a frown, "Have you read anything that¡¯s jogged your memory?"
Al glances at her when he realizes she was speaking to him. "No, nothing."
The two observers frown at the news. The chances that the remaining few dozen books in the library would, was fairly low at this point.
The priest is the first to think of an option. Or perhaps just the first to speak on it. "What about the library in Jinx?"
"What about it?"
"Why don¡¯t I take him when I go visit the Earl next week?" The priest says through a bite of apple.
"You want¡" Adria begins, trying to process the words. "I don¡¯t think that''s a good idea. What if something happens or¡"
"Relax, I¡¯ve been to Jinx and back dozens of times, nothing will happen." The priest reassures her with an extended thumb.
"I just¡ I just don¡¯t think it''s a good idea. If you leave town there is no telling what could¡" Adria begins but stops when she notices Al¡¯s undivided attention directed at her.
"Leave town?" Al asks simply with arched eyebrows.
"Do you want to?" The priest asks trying to prompt an ideal response.
Adria begins to speak but she stops herself again. She did want to know his answer, was he bored here? Did he perhaps wonder if leaving town would help his memory? She wasn¡¯t trying to keep him isolated from the world, she was just worried.
"Well?" She asks as Al glances to her, "Think you will be ok without me?"
"You won¡¯t come?"
"Well I have work to do, the quarter is almost over so I have tons of paperwork to finish." Adria explains with a grimace. She hated the idea of seperating but she also wondered if perhaps she was doing the same thing her parents had to her. Perhaps he needed distance the same way she did.
"So what do you think? Wanna join my clergy for a few days?" The priest offers again with a suspicious grin.
"You have an ulterior motive don¡¯t you?" Adria asks, unwilling to beat around the bush.
The priest laughs before explaining. "Of course, I want to have Al challenge the Earl in chess."
"Should have figured." Adria says with a roll of her eyes. "Well it''s up to Al, if he wants to go I won¡¯t prevent it. It seems like he wants to see more of the outside world so it would be feel wrong to deny him that."
Again the attention turns back to Al. He was unsure what they wanted from him, Al wasn¡¯t designed to make choices. His entire life he has only responded to inputs from others. He understood the concept of yes and no of course. But when it came to giving a decision on two options Al felt lost.
¡®Why consult me?¡¯ He thought to himself, ¡®just tell me what to do.¡¯
Of course there was a piece of him that wondered about what new information he could find in this other city but expressing that feeling felt difficult.
"You should go." Adria finally says allowing Al a way out of the situation. Now he knew exactly what to do.
"I¡¯ll go." Al answers after Adria¡¯s prompting.
"You will?" The priest replies with a wide smile. "It will be good to have someone to travel with. I think you will like Jinx. Of course you won¡¯t find what you love so much about Tensor hill but it''s a good place."
"What do you mean?" Adria asks, likely referring to the second part of the holy man¡¯s statement.
"Oh nothing." The priest explains with a smirk as if he understood all in the world.
Adria and Al both glance at him and then between themselves before returning to their tasks. Adria, searching the various shelves for a new book and Al continuing his double fisted reading technique.
The priest realizing he would get no better response from teasing the two went back to his office to finish his own work.
The library once more switched to the sound of flipping pages. The time passed and the two slowly grew hungry. Without a word the two agreed to leave. Al mentally noted the book he had last finished on the rack and followed Adria to the door. The two wave to Mr. Fred and receive a silent response.
The current destination was the Inn. Al looked straight ahead while Adria glanced around each building. Of course nothing had happened in the past few days but Adria was still on her toes.
Once again the trip was completed safely. Adria and Al happily sipped stew and the bar remained quiet this go around. Although a few whispers were directed at Al from adventurers in the know.
The rumor currently was, ¡®avoid the quiet one¡¯s bad side¡¯. And whatever you do, ¡®don¡¯t speak badly about the princess¡¯.
0.12
¡®
0.13
"Al, it''s a little rude to read while pla¡" The priest begins to chastise but the well adorned man sitting across from Al shakes his head and raises a hand.
"It¡¯s fine. You said he came here to read didn¡¯t you? I don¡¯t mind it." The Earl responds, eventually deciding on his move and clicking the piece across the board.
"Check." Al responds moving his piece without a glance.
"Dammit! What is that... game eight?" The Earl shouts with a bit of earnest anger. "Let¡¯s set it up once more. After that you can focus on reading. I think I have an idea of how to beat him."
Al doesn¡¯t bother informing the man that in fact his chances of victory were very slim. Every move the Earl could make was analyzed by Al, dozens of alternative strategies were switched between, ten¡¯s of thousands of moves were calculated and classified with their chance to win.
Al only ever chose the best move possible. The Earl had nearly no chance of winning.
Al turns a page in his book as the Earl once again sets the pieces on the chess board.
"You weren¡¯t kidding about this kid." The Earl says turning to the priest who loomed in the back of the room casually. "There¡¯s no way you taught him."
"I thought the same thing." The priest laughs. "But really I just taught him the mechanics. From there it was all him. After the first game I think it all just clicked for him. Honestly I have learned more from him than I ever taught him. Its amazing watching some of his plays, it makes me want to try them myself."
"He¡¯s not using the same moves either. I tried to throw him off by sacrificing my queen but he called my bluff and I was in check in two turns."
"He learns quick. For all we know it did throw him he just quickly recovered." The priest contemplates with a hand to his chin thinking of his own games against the young prodigy.
"He won¡¯t tell us himself?" The Earl asks glancing at the silently reading Al.
"When he¡¯s reading he only talks to Adr... his friend back in the village." The priest explains with a snort. Then he thinks better of it and adds a quick addendum. "Well he did talk to me once about magic but once I told him all I could he began ignoring me like this again."
"He¡¯s interested in magic?" The Earl asks rubbing his chin and glancing at Al who gripped a new book from a nearby shelf.
"Mhm, if I remember right he said he wanted to learn about making golems. But since then he¡¯s not really shown much interest. Although that maybe my fault for not having much knowledge of the topic."
"Golems?" The Earl asks with a quizzical expression. "Heh, if you were here a few days ago he could¡¯ve met the toymaker."
"Oh, for you or Michelle?" The priest asks absently making conversation.
"Michelle, I think she¡¯s old enough. We decided on a unicorn design in a sickening pink color. But the toymaker said he would repaint it in the future for a fairly small fee. He can even take the horn off."
"He run¡¯s good business I guess." The priest says with a respecting nod.
The Earl agrees with a slow nod of his own, "He¡¯s realized their ultimate limit and focused on use. Instead of trying to innovate a machine, he¡¯s making use of what they can do well. So many engineers attempt to make them into pets or humans, but one can never really love a gearbox."
"Mhm," The priest lightly murmurs.
"Michelle is extremely excited. Of course Carol¡. Carol says it''s dangerous but," The Earl seems to be unable to finish and lightly pats his eyes with a handkerchief. "Ah, well. Such is life."
"Carol¡¯s condition hasn¡¯t improved at all?" The priest asks dipping his head reverently.
"No, and the doctor still has no idea what the problem is. It¡¯s difficult." The Earl again speaks through a sniff.
"Watching the one¡¯s closest to you experience pain is never easy." The priest says solemnly "What is most important is remaining strong for them. If you continue to fight so will your wife."
Al, who had been reading silently, had in fact been paying close attention to the talk. He felt an unplaceable tinge in his chest at the thought of the person closest to him in pain. He wondered for a moment if he may be sick but he quickly associated the correct reason after a quick health self check. "Your wife, she¡¯s sick?"
"Oh? Al? Finally showing an interest." The Earl says with a light grin. "Although not many people outside the castle know it, you are a friend of the holy man here so no harm in you knowing."
The earl takes a deep breath and begins to recount the story.
"It was likely during the pregnancy itself." He explains racking his brain again for more details he may have missed in a story he¡¯s told a thousand times. "For awhile the baby would kick almost nonstop, it was Carol¡¯s ¡®alarm clock¡¯ she used to say. Then one afternoon she collapsed, after that the kicking stopped so we grew worried. She requested I call doctors from all over to be sure the baby was ok. Now we don¡¯t have the widest coffers but hiring a few doctors wasn¡¯t out of the realm of possibility so I did it. We called in dozens of doctors. They said a variety of things. Some said the baby was already gone, some said it was just fine, they said it was ¡®sleepy¡¯. Only one offered a fix. A hooded woman who came well recommended from a few friends. She offered to give my wife a shot that could save our daughter''s life. Of course we agreed. After hearing so many random guesses it was nice to have one person assuring us they could help. And she was right. Within a few days the kicking returned and the birth was a perfect success."
The priest bows his head and presses a few fingers to his chest as if the event were a miracle.
"The problem comes a few months after the birth of our darling Michelle. Carol complained that she couldn¡¯t lose the baby weight. I promised her she looked fine but she said it was not right. After that she collapsed again. Her¡ um... Well, she was not passing a fluid of the correct color. It was blood red. Now our only options was to call the same doctors again, and get a dozen different answers, again."
"You still can¡¯t find the woman who gave your wife the shot?" The priest asks with a half frown.
"If I did I¡ Ah, I don¡¯t know." The Earl says with a frown of his own.
"May I see her?" Al asks with his patented emotionless expression.
"Carol? I¡" The Earl glances at the priest who shrugs. "I suppose so. Please come with me, it''s quiet a walk."
"Can I bring a¡"
"Yes, bring a book with you." The Earl says with a sigh.
Al grips a book from a nearby shelf and returns the one he had been holding. He quickens his pace to catch up with the priest and Earl who had already made their way to the door of the long library.
Al of course had realized the impossibility of reading all these countless shelves in such a short time, but he still swore one day he would.
Al and the priest, lead by the Earl bounced through the long stretches of hallways. They passed countless guards and patrols each of which made some form of bow or salute to the Earl who waved them off nonchalantly.
Al found the form of attention interesting, it was much different than the whispers he and Adria received when they walked around town.
Eventually they arrived at the door surrounded by another group of guards. They stood at careful attention and seemed even better armed than other guards of the area. The guards glance over the two strangers before making a tight salute to the Earl.
The Earl copies the salute and carefully knocks on the door twice. Oddly a response doesn¡¯t come. He carefully grips the knob and lifts it to draw the door open. He glances inside and smiles at the peaceful expression of Carol asleep on the bed.
She shifts and her expression twists into a grimace for a moment before returning to tranquility.
The Earl frowns and shows the priest and Al inside the room with a finger to his mouth.
They follow his instructions and quietly enter. He shuts the door behind him carefully and steps over to his wife''s bedside.
He begins to gently rock her body in an effort to wake her but Al has already begun his prognosis.
If you asked why he was doing this he would say he didn¡¯t know. The pain he felt in his chest at thinking of Adria laying on this bed in pain was a strong motivator though.
"It¡¯s mana." Al quietly whispers almost to no one. If the priest hadn¡¯t possesed good ears it really would have been to no one.
"Mana? You¡" The priest looks at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"
Without a moment to explain, the door behind them opens once again with the form of an older man in a long white jacket fuming. "Sir, I understand your desire to speak with you wife but she really must get rest. And who are these people? It is uncouth to bring so many¡"
"Hmm? Oh, honey?" Carol asks glancing around the room through drowsy eyes, "What¡¯s going on?"
"Ah, Carol this is my friend Al he¡" The Earl begins to say but he¡¯s rudely cut off.
"Al, keep talking. What were you talking about a moment ago."
Al looks to the priest and explains it as if simple. "It looks like there is a mass of dark mana behind her stomach. It''s formed a growth of some kind, it''s currently pushing on her kidneys, probably cutting into her ureter¡¯s causing the discoloration and irregularity of the urination. Also it seems if it''s allowed to continue growing it will crush her ovaries and eventually kill her."
The entire group look at Al as if he were insane. Each for a different reason. The priest for the mention of Dark mana. The Doctor for the first practical realistic diagnosis. And the Earl for the mere possibility of his wife''s death.
"How¡ How do you know there is dark mana?" The priest asks gripping at Al¡¯s shoulders.
"I can see it." Al says with a confused look. "Can¡¯t you? It¡¯s right there."
Again he points directly at the stomach of Carol.
"You can see it? Can you see free mana?" The priest asks shaking Al further. "The grove what colo¡"
"Green, then blue."
"You¡ But Dark mana? How is that possible?!" The priest looks worriedly at the woman and begins stroking his chin. "Was it poison or perhaps a curse?"
The other two make similar gestures and rack their minds for possibilities. Only Al seems to have another full understanding.
"You¡¯re daughters life was saved not by a potion, but most likely dark magic of some kind." Al explains without a courtesy pause. "If I were to guess... likely a mana implantation, mana-rich water or ether. The result would strengthen the body and¡"
"Please¡ don¡¯t say any more. I¡ I understand." The Earl says with a bow of his head. "So both... I will lose both then¡"
He bows his head and tears begin welling in his eyes.
Al seems perplexed so allows others to take his place this time.
The priest chooses to intervene. "This won¡¯t leave the room. I heard nothing about dark magic."
"Agreed." The doctor says with a somewhat awestruck expression. In a day, what he had spent the last three years researching had been diagnosed by someone who was little more than a child.
Everyone again turns to Al, their faces are still stony and sad but they seem to expect something more from Al so he gives it to them.
"Cure?"
The response seems to be a different one from what they expected because all their expressions turn to astonishment.
"Is such a thing¡ Is it really possible to cure her?"
"Not entirely, but removing the malignant mana is easy." Al glances at the priest as if he held the answer himself.
"My staff?" He asks.
"No. That¡¯d have the opposite effect." Al answers with a frown. He thought it was easy. "Books, like with Mr. Fred, she needs to live in a library until the mana in her body is drained. Draining her mana will hurt her immunity so precautions will need to be taken so she doesn¡¯t get sick. From the looks of it the mass is tightly coiled so there¡¯s no saying how long it may take but the growth should slow in that time and it will eventually stop."
"So there really is a chance?" Carol asks with a bright smile. "I was simply satisfied watching Michelle for these last few months but¡ If you really think there is a chance there are many more moments in her life I want to see."
"Thank you Al." The Earl says with a bow of his head. "You don¡¯t even know how much this means to me. If there is any reward within my power you may have it."
One would think Al would ask for the library or perhaps unfettered access or any number of things but really Al wanted nothing from him. In fact he likely would have left with nothing if it weren¡¯t for a conniving priest.
"Well Earl you should be informed that Al is good friends with Princess Adria Kingston."
"He¡¯s¡ I see, that makes sense. He reminds me of her somehow." The Earl says with a sly smile of his own. "Al¡ Hold on, whats your last name?"
"13."
"R¡ right, Al Thirteen you are hereby conferred the rank of court researcher. As such you will be given special rights to libraries in the region as well as the ability to appoint a skilled bodyguard from the military."
"I believe officers are included in people that those rank are allowed to appoint is that correct?" The priest asks facetiously.
"Ah, you are correct." The Earl responds with a nod.
Another knock resound on the door as a large group of guards begin carrying books into the room. A few craftsmen follow them in with long boards for affixing shelves to the walls.
Al had expected them to move her to the library but he supposed this would work too. Although he wasn¡¯t entirely happy that the library was currently being yanked apart.
Oh well, it''s his own fault.
It should be noted that Al didn¡¯t cure cancer. He simply found a way to stop the cause of Carol¡¯s tumor. But there is no doubt this was a first step in solving a much larger problem.
The doctor who attended to Carol ended up writing a paper about the events. It was kept quiet what kind of mana was causing the problem as well as what had caused the mana to gather in the first place but many still read it in pure shock. It caused a new wave of exploration in the mana removing abilities of paper. This included the start of several Mr. Fred type experiments.
0.14
"MMMMM¡." Adria moans from the bed, unable to sleep due to the odd discomfort. She tosses again under the thick comforter, kicking a bare leg out to regulate her temperature. She tried to blank her mind but ended up finding herself drifting in thoughts.
The day¡¯s with Al gone were strange. Everything felt the same, but like a foundation missing a single brick she found herself crumbling into old habits. She celebrated a day off by locking herself away with a book. All the outgoing nature she gained in the past year were almost flushed. She had to pull herself simply to shop and collect the mail.
If Al saw her like this what would he think?
We both wondered that to ourselves.
It probably wouldn¡¯t phase him, at least that¡¯s my opinion.
"RAHHHHH!" Adria growls kicking the blanket off and staring at the rising sun with an odd expression of reluctance. "Has it been a week yet? No? Damn."
Chuckling and removing her shirt Adria gulps down a quick breakfast before strapping up in her military gear.
Work was, work. It was a constant at the very least. Constant¡¯s help when other variables are gone. And people say math never helps in life.
A stamp for a tax calculation, a signature for a promotion document, it all felt lifeless. A human really need not apply in a job like this. Adria barely even needed to read the documents she simply stamped and signed with drowsy eyes.
During breaks she vented with a spar with a few younger recruits.
Oddly no one other than the juniors were willing to fight her. They all quickly understood why.
"Pahhhhh¡" Adria sighs sticking the leather wrapped wood sword into the dirt of the practice arena. A few soft groans from the recruits laying around her resounded as the footsteps of medical staff grew closer. "Very good work everyone. Keep up the training."
Adria only lightly mumbles those words as she leaves the training arena.
She really did appreciate their help. The thinly veiled ¡®training¡¯ did put her mind at ease but it was quickly refilled with odd thoughts.
The image of a body on the roadside flashed in her mind for a moment. She nearly choked on her breath. Slumping against a wall other flashes began attacking her mind. Al walking away with a woman of sleazy origin, Al knocking his head and losing his memory again. Each and every one of them made her breath deepen until it was continuous gasping.
The only thought that brought her any peace was Al¡¯s promise. Him firmly gripping her hand¡¯s and assuring her he would come back. The scene almost felt familiar in her mind, like something from a story book. Finally taking an easy breath Adria smiles brightly.
"I have to trust him. He¡¯s incredible, and he has God on his side." Adria assures herself checking her reflection in a glass frame before returning to her desk. "Only a few more days. I have to pull myself together."
?¡ì?
"Al! Let¡¯s get married!" A voice shouts gripping Al¡¯s hand with interlinked fingers. "And then¡ and then. Let¡¯s marry mommy and daddy and we can be one big family!"
"Hmm," Al ponders with a hand to his chin. "But being a wife is a lot of responsibility you know. Isn¡¯t being a little sister a better position? You get to be spoiled without having to do anything in return."
"OH!" Michelle cries as if enlightened to the world. "I see. You¡¯re right! Getting married is a pain. Mommy always seems miserable."
"Hey!" Carol yelps from the bed several feet away, glancing up from her book with a frown. "I am plenty happy. And on that topic, I agree with Michelle¡¯s earlier point."
"Hey Mom, what are you reading?!" Michelle suddenly asks, distracted from the topic and engrossed by the vivid image drawn on the cover of the book her mother held.
"Interested?" Carol asks lifting Michelle up and setting her on the bed beside her.
"Mhm." Michelle nods enthusiastically. "Big brother Al and you seem addicted to them. So they must be good."
"Where¡¯d you learn that language?" Carol sighs, "Well anyway, this is a story about a girl around your age."
"My age?" Michelle asks looking at the image on the cover again. Indeed the girl looked about her age. She wore a long flowing gown but her face was completely blank in the drawing.
"It¡¯s scary." Michelle says shivering back from the image of the ghostly figure.
"You think?" Carol asks with a half smile. "I think it looks sad. Look at how she is standing."
Even Al drew closer at this point to inspect the image. Typically he cared little about things like drawings but for once he attempted to analyze it.
Her stance was easily recognizable when compared to the hundreds of thousands Al had stored in his head. Both hands were gripped in front of her as if she wanted to speak. When he first was introduced to Carol and the Earl¡¯s daughter her stance was very similar, shy but intrigued.
"She wants a friend?" Michelle asks tilting her head after looking at the picture for a moment longer. "I am sorry for being scared of you."
Michelle says the words to the girl on the cover. Carol laughs and pats her head endearingly. "Such a good girl. But you are right. That¡¯s what the story is about. It¡¯s not as literal but its about someone without a face wishing for a friend."
"Does she find one?"
"A friend?" Carol asks flipping the book back up from her chest.
"Mhm."
Al was interested too. Somehow he hadn¡¯t read this story before yet it looked familiar.
Carol glances at the words of the book for a moment before turning back to look at both Al and Michelle.
"It¡¯s impossible. In this story, she¡¯s the only one who exists, there are no other characters. At the very end she makes a plea to the reader, the author, anyone who will listen. To change her story. To give her another chance. She admits that she is at fault and begs for another try."
Michelle seems confused by her mothers words. Her face was somewhat sad at the thought of the girl being unable to make friends.
"The story is about putting yourself into a place where you can prosper. Flowers can¡¯t grow in shaded land, they need to pick themselves up if they want to find the light. People need to change to grow. And that means they need to be willing to change."
"I don¡¯t get it." Michelle murmurs with a pout. "She never makes a friend?"
"Well the reader is her friend." Carol smiles. "The reader is the only person she opens up to, the only person who see¡¯s her unfettered thoughts. It was a very popular book too, so rest assured Michelle she has plenty of friends now."
Michelle grins at this new knowledge. "Good."
Al nods in agreement. It was odd to read so deeply into the words. He had never seen so much meaning in a story before. It made him wonder what else he had missed in the stories he had read thus far. It¡¯s possible to look back on them and find the deeper meaning but he had no clue where to even start.
*Knock Knock*
Soon after the sound the door slid open to reveal the Earl and Carol¡¯s personal doctor.
"I was wondering where you two were." The Earl says with a grin. "The Priest said he hadn¡¯t seen you since Michelle dragged you off, and you weren¡¯t in her room. I hope she isn¡¯t being a bother."
"No problem." Al smiles from his seat on the floor. Half the books were in here anyways so he didn¡¯t mind. And after a small reset playing with Michelle became easy. At first Al was unsure how exactly to treat the child but it became second nature quickly.
"Carol you need your rest right? You have to stay healthy to properly get better." The Earl says with a halfhearted glare.
"Mhm But I feel so much better already. And having this many books makes me want to read them. Right?" Carol turns to Al to receive the expected confirmation.
Al nods in response before shirking back from the glare he receives from the Earl. "However it is indeed good to rest."
"Exactly. Right doc?" The Earl wrestles for a second opinion which he easily receives in the form of a silent nod.
"Fine fine." Carol moans turning to Michelle who happily squirmed on her lap. "How about showing Al the garden? Or grab some pastries from the stalls? I want strawberry."
"Yeah!!" Michelle rockets up from Carols laps and leaps onto the seated Al. "Come on, Come on. Stop reading, lets go into town to buy treats!"
"Reset." Al nods closing the books and turning to Michelle''s awaiting grin. "Alright lets go."
"You can protect her right?" The Earl asks glancing at Al as he stood with Michelle under one arm. "I heard a bit about it from the priest. Sorry didn¡¯t mean to pry¡"
"No problem. I¡¯ll keep her safe."
"Good, I¡¯ll take apple. Doc?"
"Wh¡ cherry then."
As Al and Michelle begin walking for the door the Earl adds another request as an afterthought. "Let¡¯s play another game of chess when your back. I thought up a really good technique. It¡¯s sure to stump you."
Somehow this response prompts Al to roll his eyes but luckily only Michelle saw it.
0.15
is
0.16
Al hadn''t been led this way in a while, it was oddly comforting
0.17
0.18
0.19
The following morning as promised the sword was finished. It had a similar curve to Al¡¯s although adjusted to match Adria¡¯s height and wingspan. She, although slightly less graceful than Al, drew the sword and marveled at its weight.
"It¡¯s perfect." Adria says with a grin. "You finished it incredibly quickly, I¡¯m amazed."
"Yeah that¡¯s thanks to the old man being a stickler about stuff like that." Gunther says with a sleepy grin. "Say¡¯s custom weapons should be made at the customers timeline, not mine. Say¡¯s it''s part of the experience."
Adria smirks at the blacksmith¡¯s newfound customer service skills. "So you two are getting along?"
"I assume it was Al, few days after he and Travis met, the old man showed up griping about all the mistakes my blade had." Gunther smirks recounting the event, "It was all superficial stuff really, but for once he was actually telling me the proper way to do it."
"Oy is it gossip time or work time?" A gravely voice asks stepping through the doorway and startling everyone but Al. "Well you''re in luck the McCormick''s agreed to sell their winter barley at a good price. I assume they still drink alcohol in the Capital?"
"That¡¯s perfect! How much are they willing to sell it for?"
"They¡¯ll part with 500 lbs if you¡¯ll take it. Ten gold." Travis smirks.
"Do you know the ratio of¡" Adria begins to ask attempting to calculate the profits.
"Over six barrels of pale ale could be made, likely profits at Inn prices¡ 20 gold." Al answers quickly calculating based on numbers he had seen in books and in the Inn in town.
Adria casually calculates the payout of her pension as well as the profits for the Apartment building. "We should be good then. We still won¡¯t be able to afford an actual place to live but we could get a pretty nice place in the industrial district."
"You really are moving to the capital." Travis says quietly with a shake of his head.
"It¡¯s not¡." Adria begins to explain, "We¡¯re not moving to the capital, well we are but¡ It¡¯s for Al to go to school and he wanted to see Golems so there¡¯s no better¡"
"I know, I know, I get it." Travis relents with a heavy sigh. "Though I still think he should take the swordsmanship exam when he gets there instead of engineering."
This continued back and forth, Al had only just now heard there would be an exam but he wasn¡¯t particularly worried. With debate concluded the two next went to the Fort. There the commander halfheartedly handed Adria her pension as well as the advance for the sale of the Apartment building. Combined with what was in Al and Adria¡¯s pockets the cache was nearing one hundred gold.
The next step was buying a wagon. This was easier than one might expect. Merchants often travel with multiple wagons stuffed to the brim with goods. As the goods sell off in random towns and villages so to do the empty wagons. Its more cost effective to sell a wagon than to pay for the cost to return it to a port.
They ended up with a lightly dinged but all around nearly spotless Jankin¡¯s Wave-ride. If any one of the original designers had heard the price they would roll in their graves.
"Lets run it over to the Yilkins to pick up the barley." Adria says gripping the reigns and patting the seat beside her for Al to sit. "After that we need to stop by the adve¡."
"Excuse us." A familiar voice called from feet below on the road. "You wouldn¡¯t be headed to Tirish would you?"
"Eh?" Adria asks glancing down at the voice. The light glistened off the shiny ball of skin. Troy flashes a smile and waves. Behind him Gab and Rouin also wave kindly.
"Need escorts? We are headed that direction anyways." Gab says with a quick glance to Al.
"How did you hear?" Adria asks with a frown.
Troy smiles and waves a finger to the sword on his back. "Small town. Everyone knows everyone."
"Gunther?" Adria asks, slightly worried.
"Ah, no worries. He asked the guild master apparently, and he knew we were thinking about leaving so he reluctantly suggested we take the job."
"Ian did?" Adria asks taken aback by the statement. Again she couldn¡¯t help but feel like it was trap, but she did her best to restrain this feeling. "But is¡"
"Think about it. Who safer than the top rated adventurers in the region?" Gab says with a proud smile.
"Yeah that¡¯s what they said last time."Adria loosely remarks rubbing her chin to think about it. "Fine, we will hire you. But first we need to go pickup the goods and say a final goodbye to the priest."
"Understood. We will prepare at the edge of town." Troy nods, "We should try to leave before it gets too late though, the best campsite is around six hours away."
"Right." Adria nods once more gripping the reigns and setting the horse golem towards the Yilkin¡¯s. "We will be there in a little bit."
With that the newly formed party split. Adria and Al towards the Yilkins and the adventurer group headed towards the road.
Adria kicked herself when she arrived to see dozens of heavy bags to load into the wagon. Troy would have probably made this job much faster. Gab might even know a spell to move heavy objects. Rouin might¡ well maybe he could commune with the plants?
Luckily it seems the McCormick family have brought some hands. They quickly load the cart and graciously receive the payment for the crop. In turn they immediately give most of the money to the Yilkins who hand them a sheet of paper.
"What¡¯s going on?" Adria asks after Travis¡¯s wife nods to the man and sets the coins into a pouch at her waist.
"We were able to sell half the farmland. We hope to sell the house in spring and move into town closer to Yui and Gunther. Travis wants to open up a shop and maybe teach some more people. I suppose I have Al to thank for that." The woman nods to Al graciously. "I wish you both the best of luck in the capital. Be safe on the road."
"Same to you ma¡¯am. Stay safe, keep Travis out of trouble." Adria says with a grin wiping her eyes.
"Ah, right take this." The woman takes out a small package from her bag. Adria doesn''t need to open it to know it''s smoked meat of some kind. The trademark smell was unmistakable.
"Thank you!" Adria spouts with a sniffle. "I¡¯ll cherish it."
"I expect you to eat it." The woman says with a smirk. "Well it¡¯s freezing so I¡¯m leaving. Get moving you two."
Adria sadly waves for awhile as the woman returns to her house up the dirt road. She wipes her nose with a sniffle and then turns to Al. "She¡¯s right, we still got things to do before we can leave."
"Library?"
"Right." Adria agrees with a nod. "Gotta see the priest or he will curse us."
"He can¡" Al begins to ask but Adria burst into a bout of laughter.
"No, no he can¡¯t I was kidding. Priests can only use holy magic."
"Right." Al agrees with a nod, thinking back to the fire magic he had witnessed the priest using.
Again Adria snaps the reigns and the horse golems respond by beginning a trot forward. Each time she makes the command Al watches the golem carefully.
"You can¡¯t take them apart yet." Adria reminds Al. Such was the agreement made on buying the two horse shaped golems this morning.
"Understood." Al agrees with a solemn nod.
With that they headed to the library to say the last goodbye. Again Adria was worried she would be unable to choke back the tears. The priest was one of the first people she met in town. Her first confidant. The first person who didn¡¯t treat her like a glass doll. He was a friend and an ally. She was sad to leave him and everyone else in town really.
They arrived at the library and quickly spotted the priest waiting outside.
"Took you long enough." He rises from the bench and warms his hands with his breath. "Here."
He hands a book to Al and smirks at the surprised expression Al makes. It¡¯s a book he hadn¡¯t read. "Read it on the way."
"I will." Al agrees with a nod. "Thank you."
"No problem. Have a good trip." With that the priest turns around and begins heading toward the library where Mr. Fred sat waiting.
"What? That¡¯s it?" Adria complains with a befuddled expression.
"Hmm? What more is there?" The priest asks without turning back. "Be safe and all that. God be with you."
"We¡ I¡ Alright. Goodbye Father. Thank you for everything." Adria says with a bow.
"No problem." The priest replies with a sniffle. "Ah, s¡¯cold. I''m going inside."
He sniffles a few more times and wipes his face carelessly with his wrist.
"Goodbye." Adria again says with a smile. She then wipes her own eyes and snaps the reigns one last time.
0.20
0.21
Roads like the one between Knobber Hill and Tirish have been used for decades. Many such roads existed even before the big bang. Relics of a different age, many constructed with technologies lost to time.
Given their history its not uncommon to find antiques and relics along the paths.
What Al found couldn¡¯t be described so elegantly though.
"A box?" Adria asks as Al brushes a pile of caked dirt from his find.
The crate in question was spotted by Al¡¯s near perfect vision in accordance with his irregularity detection algorithm. It¡¯s sharp corner seen sticking from the muddy road was quickly marked for investigation during a short break in the trip.
"OH?! That¡¯s a golem." Gab announces after stepping over to inspect Al¡¯s work. "I saw one like that back in a museum we visited in academy. They stopped making them in this style like eighty years ago, and that one looks even older."
"This thing¡¯s a golem?" Troy asks running a finger over a chipped corner of the creation.
"Mhm, it¡¯s in rough shape but these here are legs." Gab points to three small stalks sticking out from the bottom of the knee-height cube. "And the stone on its face acts as a visual feed."
Just as Gab explains, Al sets the golem in its standing position. With its last foot missing the golem quickly sinks into a tilt.
"Could be worth something to collectors if it were in better condition." Gab reasons with a forefinger and thumb to her chin. "Working, I imagine it would sell for more than a few hundred to golem fanatics."
This statement quickly sparked a heated discussion between the group, everyone had an opinion of golems to share, except Al. Al was focused elsewhere.
His hands moved hesitantly at first but with little effort he plunged his fist inside the leg hole and began feeling around the body of the machine.
¡®Journal of Fitz B. Goddard¡¯ a book found in Jinx, and written by the original designer and primary repair technician of this exact model came in much more handy than Al or any second hand observer ever expected it to. I¡¯ll never doubt your reading choices again Al.
But credit also goes to Carol who gave Al the idea to begin reanalyzing old content for deeper meanings He¡¯d begun doing this on many of the books related to golems. And as it turned out, they were ripe with it.
"URK." The Golem grunts forcefully at first.
Al nods to it as if it needed to cough out something, he probably recognized the condition status.
"Arf Arf." The golem chirps urgently, tilting its face around. It stumbles under its single foot before bouncing around in a circle to determine its location.
The group around Al were stunned by the sudden resurrection. It took a moment for anyone to vocally react at all.
"Typical Al I should say?" Adria asks in a slightly exasperated tone.
"Arf!" The golem cries again in earnest desire for assistance.
Al carefully sets down beside it and stares into its single eye as if trying to communicate.
"Arf." The golem sighs before continuing towards Al. "Arf. Arf."
"I see." Al nods. "It wants us to go that direction."
Al points the same direction the Golem currently faced, deep off the road onto a large plain.
"How can you tell?" Troy asks in amazement. He, like the rest wondered if perhaps Al had communicated with the Golem through free mana sight or any number of the other skills he had demonstrated. They were all curious how he had done it.
"The display on its face." Al plainly explains holding the cube up to the others. Inset in the crystal eye, small words announce its need for assistance towards the southwest. The light was weak but it was clearly visible.
They each felt dumb for a moment but brushed it off to follow Al in the direction he indicated a moment ago.
Every dozen steps the Golem let out a mechanical bark to remind them of their task. It was annoying but the poor thing could be forgiven for his programming.
The group ran across a few random beasts including the vicious deer beasts but luckily their numbers were low so Gab and Rouin were able to take them out at range. If they got into close range or were fast enough to dodge Gab¡¯s earth magic things would change, especially since Troy had stayed back to guard the caravan.
"Arf." The golem calls forcing Al to check the display again.
"Assistance is appreciated." Al reads before smiling. "Appreciation is unneeded."
"Mhm that''s right I though you were some rusted out hunk of junk, I had no idea someone around here had a working Goddard." Gab adds with a nod. "That¡¯s who sent you to get help right?"
"ARF." The Golem loudly chirps. The display didn¡¯t change so Al couldn¡¯t figure out the meaning.
After walking a great distance along the plain the group found a small pile of rocks covered in crumpled wood.
"Is this¡" Adria began to ask before being interrupted by the golem¡¯s chirp.
"It¡¯s an old well?" Rouin asks, stepping down into the ditch where the collapsed well lay.
I suppose they can call the golem Lassie¡ I guess no one in the group would understand that reference though.
Gab ducks a head into the crumbled rocks with a sad expression igniting her wand with greenish light once again.
After a long moment she pulls her head back in with a frown. "Just bones. I wonder how long he was there waiting for help."
The group turned a bit sour at the thought of the Golem chirping at the roadside with no one willing to stop. Years probably passed before it finally ran out of mana or snapped a filament.
"We should bury the remains." Rouin concludes with a glance at Gab.
The Mage girl nods and retrieves her wand to begin construction of the grave. A small cube of soil glows and compresses, after that she takes a deep breath and the process repeats.
Rouin by the crumbled well carefully retrieves a well-kept vine rope from his leather sack and ties it off to a nearby stump before gracefully leaping down the hole with little regard.
The golem seeing that its task was complete slumps down in Al¡¯s arms as if exhausted.
"Good Work. You can rest now." Al smiles, placing it onto the ground carefully.
"That¡¯s impressive." Adria muses with a grin of her own. "Goddard¡¯s were some of the earliest attempts in complex magic machines. It remembered that command for probably over a hundred years."
"The command came from the person it loved most." Gab pants through a magic cast. "There¡¯s no way it would be forgotten."
Adria¡¯s cheeks grew pink at the thought but Al had other thoughts on the matter.
"Machines can¡¯t love, It¡¯s more likely the golem had self-scribed the command onto its plate, it may even have been a hangup in its shutdown requirements. It probably thought it couldn¡¯t shutdown until it was completed." Al explains patting the Golems head area with a sad expression. "It was common for strange things like this to happen in early golems. The theory is the mana core controlling the golem acted like the mana in a beast in some rare occasions. Allowing it to almost have a mind of its own in some circumstances. Luckily engineers solved the issues by filtering the mana they charge the core with."
Al explains it all in his normal cold informative tone that he uses when repeating things he had read.
Adria didn¡¯t understand it but she felt like she heard pity in his voice.
0.22
0.23
0.24
0.25
0.26
"That kid is just insane." A stout smoking man sighs into his pipe causing it to burp a ring. "I told him he could skip today''s test and practical since he had just joined our class but he refused and ended up scoring a hundred points anyway. Threw off the whole curve, he even got the tricky one I hadn¡¯t taught yet regarding proper purity procedures for mana cores, the detail he put into the refining procedure nearly brought a tear to my eye. I haven¡¯t seen passion like that since my honeymoon."
"Think he cheated?" a grinning teacher asks from seated on the plush couch of the lounge room.
"Don¡¯t gimme that." The man pants. "Where¡¯d you pluck him from? Which school? He a Tirishian prodigy in makeup? Huruvian in stilts? It would explain the sculpting prowess..."
"Nope, nope and nope. Don¡¯t you talk to the same circles as me? You really haven¡¯t heard anything about his accomplishments?" Dianna asks with a frown.
"Hmm? Oh that business with the duke? Sure, but what about before that? Person like that doesn¡¯t just appear out of the blue."
"Earl, but yes. And as for the second part, well, there is more to it but it¡¯s troublesome to explain." Dianna says with a yawn. "That¡¯s right, where is he now?"
"Al?" The golem engineering instructor asks with an eyebrow towards the returned professor of specialty magics.
"Mhm." She nods carelessly. "In a library I would assume?"
"That¡¯s right, he wanted to read more on arguments on the merits of golem soldiers. He¡¯s in 15B"
"Oh, a thrilling topic for a thrilling building. I see, I see." Dianna mocks with a chuckle.
The engineer nods a response. "Hell, I wrote the damn thing but you wouldn¡¯t find me searching for it in a library."
"He has a curious sense of tastes." Dianna says leaning up from the couch and walking towards the exit of the room.
"Headed there?" The man echos as she steps up to the knob.
"For a thrilling adventure." Dianna murmurs in light affirmation before cracking the door and fading into a light mist.
?¡ì?
A soft breeze passed through a cracked window followed by the soft footfalls of a figure walking towards his resting place.
"Reading going well?" Dianna asks with a grin.
"Mhm." Al nods wordlessly grabbing for another book.
"Al. Lets play a game."
"A game?" Al asks still starting almost between her eyes.
"Mhm. If you win I will answer the question in your mind."
"The question in my mind?" Al asks, suddenly curious about what question he was curious about.
"Right, you know the one. You mentioned it when we first met, and even now, its bugging you, right?"
"Yep, that one. It has to do with how I use magic, and I will answer it if you win this game. But you only get one shot though. Think you can do it?"
Al weighs his options for a moment, indeed the answers would come best from the source itself. Eventually he relents and begins to stack the books he had taken off the shelf.
Not giving him even a moment Dianna raises a hand forcing them all back towards their respective homes on the shelves around.
This completely contradicted the information he acquired from the priest in Knobber hill. He couldn¡¯t comprehend how magic was being preformed in a library as big as this one.
He had to win this game.
He had to know how this was possible, he attempted to fill the blanks himself but nothing fit quiet right. His leading theory was that this had to do with her style of magic as she said. Perhaps controlling the mana with her body allows her to break some of the conventional rules of magic. But the fact that even golems will fail in libraries contradicts this theory so he tossed it away.
"So this game...?" Al begins to ask but Dianna had already gripped his hand and begun to de-materialize the both of them.
Al found himself reappearing outside in an alley of a sweet smelling area of Tirish.
"Were here." Dianna explains yanking Al outside the alleyway and into the pristine road of Central Tirish. The road was packed with people and their appearance was barely even noticed in the sheer mass and speed of the walking traffic. "Tochi¡¯s Cafe! Today we shall conquer it!"
"Wh¡" Al begins to query looking down at his hands and feet as if utterly awestruck.
"Oh, calm down its just teleportation." Dianna sighs pulling him by the hand into the cafe Dianna had called ¡®Tochi¡¯s¡¯.
The inside buzzed with quiet conversation. A few scribes scribbled down notes at lone tables while other tables seeped with the romantic vibes of shared cups and heart-shaped muffins.
The waitress grins and rings a small bell beside the cash register. "Two TITANS have approached the arena!"
A few hoots and hollers begins echoing around the room as the customers begin understanding what is happening.
Only Al was left in question.
"Sit sit." the waitress says leading the two towards a decorated table seated at the center of the cafe.
"TI"
"TAN!"
"TI"
"TAN!"
The customers begin chanting as clamor of forks and knives against the tables begins to echo.
Al was sitting in utter confusion until eventually a bulky man arrived carrying two plates covered in pancakes.
When I say covered I mean literally covered. This stack is easily several inches if not a foot thick and the plate is invisible under the pile. The waitress joins him by placing two large jugs of syrup onto the table between the two platters.
"Good luck Titans. Remember if you can¡¯t finish it in half an hour the price is doubled."
"Loser buys." Dianna says before diving head first into the pile of pancakes.
He probably gained four pounds in this one sitting, not that it would show on his figure.
"Too bad." Dianna burps with a grin. "Maybe next time."
"I feel like you did that on purpose." Al frowns glancing between her empty plate and the dozen pancakes left on his, try as he might, he dare not eat those last few.
"Did what?" Dianna ask, glancing at the clock and sticking a fork into Al¡¯s plate.
"Never mind." Al says shaking his head and sliding his plate towards her.
"Ah, don¡¯t be in such a rush she¡¯s out today anyway." Dianna says as she cuts another slice.
"Out? Where?" Al ask, suddenly curious.
"On a date of her own." Dianna says through a sip of milk tea, "Although I think the place I took you is a little higher class."
"¡" Al takes a few moments to process these words. When they do finally click an odd pain fills Al¡¯s stomach. He couldn¡¯t explain it but he had a few passing theories on what it was.
"Is that envy I smell?" Dianna smirks with a milky upper lip.
Al considers the possibility, it was nearly as likely as his leading theory, the ¡®TITAN BREAKER!¡¯.
"And that¡¯s time!" The waitress shouts ringing a bell and glancing at the two emptied plates.
Dianna lightly swallows the final bite and yanks Al up from the bench seat. She quickly drops a handful of small coins onto the table and hands one to the waitress directly.
"Get Mia something nice." She says with a smile. The waitress, noticing the shine of the coin brightens up before becoming confused.
"Mia?" The woman asks with an imaginary question mark appearing above her head.
Dianna, already walking towards the door with Al in tow lightly responds with a warning to quit drinking for awhile.
The cafe door chimes and Dianna begins leading Al back towards the alleyway they arrived from.
Al was as curious as the waitress about the last comment but he didn¡¯t pursue it. He couldn¡¯t get past the pit in his stomach.
"So, shall we head back to your lab?" Dianna ask with half her body already turning to mist.
"What did you mean by date?" Al asks pulling his hand away from Dianna¡¯s to prevent premature teleportation.
Dianna chuckles before blushing intentionally. "What, would you not want to date your teacher?"
Al stares at her with narrowed eyes.
"Fine, fine. I¡¯ve teased you enough. Lets go."
Before Al can react Dianna pokes him and turns them both to mist.
When the two again appear the smell and sunlight is completely different. Al recognizes the scent of a few nearby spicery¡¯s as well as the smell of fresh fish from the river.
"Stay quiet." Dianna warns, gripping Al¡¯s hand and pulling him towards a window. She silently points inside at Adria seated across from a male figure.
Al again felt his stomach churn but this time he knew it was the ¡®TITAN BREAKER!¡¯, why else would he feel the urge to puke so suddenly.
"Shall we get a closer look?" Dianna asks in a whisper.
Without awaiting a reply Dianna presses on the glass window and steps through it with Al in tow. Al could distinctly feel his body pressing through the molecules of the glass, the sensation of teleportation was one thing but this just felt unnatural.
The two ghostly figures emerged through the wall with very little commotion. A few customers even walked through the two as if they weren¡¯t even there.
"Is this¡" Al begins to ask, in utter amazement of Dianna¡¯s magic but she quickly silences him with a shush.
"Sound over a certain volume can break the magic. Just stay quiet and listen."
Al nods and returns his attention to Adria. Now with a better angle Al recognizes the man as Duncan. But how did this happen? When did this happen?
Al felt very conflicted until he began to listen as Dianna instructed.
"It will be no less than three gold for that many books. And you said you wanted rare ones primarily. You can¡¯t expect all that for a minimal budget. It¡¯s just impossible"
"I figured." Adria shrugs. "Well get what you can, it feels weird to have an empty book shelf and¡ well in any case, just do what you can."
"Now for the other issue you brought up." Duncan begins, prompting Adria to elaborate.
"Mhm," Adria murmurs sipping from a cup of water and clearing her throat. "I really think you will find the items made in Knobber hill are the finest quality. The swords me and Al carry for instance were made there and you¡¯ve already seen the oats they produce."
"Mm, Indeed they were good oats. It almost made me regret cutting it with chaff and selling it at twice the price." Duncan laments running a hand through his hair.
"That seems like more of a personal problem to me but¡" Adria sighs shaking her head. Hearing a sound she suddenly jumps and glances around.
For a moment Al and Dianna collectively held their breath, but they were relieved when Adria asked if Duncan heard the third bell.
When Duncan affirms with a nod, Adria gulps down her glass of water and explains her urgency. "Al gets out of Academy soon, I appreciate the help. I hope you can consider Knobber hill for a franchise, I know it would really help a lot of people out there."
"Right, right, I¡¯ll think about it." Duncan sighs preparing for his own departure as well. The two drop a few coins on the table each and nod to the waitress as she begins clearing the table.
"A little less hot and heavy than you were expecting?" Dianna asks in a whisper with a smirk.
"¡" Al silently responds with an unconscious glare.
"Lets roll out. We gotta beat Adria home, right?" Dianna asks, poking Al¡¯s puffed cheek and teleporting the two without a hint of preparation.
The two re-materialize inches above Dianna¡¯s bed forcing them to fall unceremoniously into a pile, just as Dianna planned.
Al lifts himself off and first starts checks his digits for any misplacement. After sure everything is right he returns his attention to Dianna who lay on the bed casually. "Al, you should try thinking about today. Just see if you can figure it out yourself, it¡¯s not hard. I think you can do it no problem. Now, hurry up and get out of my room."
0.27
0.28
1.0
"It¡¯s technically two golems." Al explains to Dianna after she had forcibly removed the various spectators Al¡¯s golem had acquired. "The first is the cat beast. The second is what I call the parasite."
Al reaches a hand into the soft clay of the cat and tugs on a firmer brown worm shaped golem from inside. He lightly prods it until it comes undone like a coil of rope. Inside clearly visible is the simple pieces of a golems core. Mana cell, gold conductive traces, and a slim roll of copper foil.
"What¡" Dianna asks, looking at the place where the normal rune block should be.
Al quickly understands what she¡¯s indicating with the line of her sight. Not to mention it was the more noticeable fundamental change. "That roll replaces the copper block. It seems pointless to use so much wasted copper. So I extruded mine into a thin foil and then etched the runes. I had lots more room."
"That¡¯s why it''s able to act so complexly?"
"Not exactly, those are mostly subroutines." Al points to a small scroll in the cats paw.
"You have¡ Multiple rune structures? How do you move the mana?"
"Thin gold traces in the cat¡¯s body." Al explains pulling a thin metal thread from the same paw.
"But¡" Dianna ask processing the information as fast as possible and also refreshing herself on the basic¡¯s of golems that she knew. "I saw that body get destroyed countless times. How do you bring those other rune structures into the¡"
"Improved versions?" Al offers.
"Exactly. If each time it gets destroyed¡ Wait, you said it eats the mana cell? You aren¡¯t¡"
"Exactly I recreate the new rune structure by turning the enemies mana cell into a magic tool. I got it from those books you gave me. There is more than enough copper and gold in the enemy golem¡¯s corpses, all I need it to do is perform simple alchemy¡"
"No, I get it." Dianna says putting a hand to her head. "I¡¯m just amazed. This is the most highly practical use of golem¡¯s using magic that I''ve ever seen. I¡¯m wary to think of the possibilities."
"It has massive war potential." Adria answer for Dianna, saying her first word in a long while. "That¡¯s why I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll come."
"Well is that such a bad thing. It¡¯d be good for Al to meet the parents right?"
"This isn¡¯t a joke Dianna!"Adria snaps back without even a blush.
"I¡¯m not joking. But fine jeez. No need to get snappy." Dianna whimpers with a sour face. "If you want we can leave early. I don¡¯t know if the staff will be OK with it but we might even be able to withdraw Al¡¯s golem from the wildcard spot."
"Ah very good work, I wondered if we might find you here..." A man¡¯s voice stoically says, cutting through the chatter in the room. The man wearing casual purple flowing robes coughed into his hand softly as if preparing to speak. Quickly his attention instead turned to Adria whose back was turned to him. "¡ Adria."
"So you planned this?" Adria sighs, misunderstanding the pause for built suspense. "But why would you go to such lengths? I¡"
Adria seems to be taking the situation at her own pace. Instantly thousands of paranoid red-flags she had chosen to ignore began to surface. Her breath began to tighten and blood flew from her head.
How could any of this happened so easily for her. How far back did it go even? The position in Knobber hill? Maybe the acceptance to the army itself even? No, surely. Her friendship with Dianna was probably even part of her father¡¯s plan, they probably planned this together. How had she been so stupid?
What about the priest, her first friend in town, a man of significant talent really worked for such a small citizenry? Impossible, he must be connected to the royal family somehow.
She thought back to the words she had heard from her father all those years ago ¡®...grow up.¡¯
Was all of this, some how just for that?
Her world was crumbling. She felt lied to, she wondered what was even real. Everything that she thought was a step forward for her was just another step in the direction her parents wanted?
But Al¡
Al was what made her grow the most. Was he real? His memory, is it really lost? Or was he planted too? Just so she could feel like she helped someone? Just so she could fall in love¡
What is she to Al?
A job?
She didn¡¯t bother to think further. It was too exhausting, so many horrible thoughts.
"You lied." She unsteadily says through gasping breaths, not listening to a word around her. "You all lied!"
With those words she bolts for the door faster than anyone can react to the words. A few guards attempt to stop her, perhaps unaware of her identity or simply thinking it the right thing to do, but she easily knocks them down without even drawing the white blade from its sheath.
"What¡?" The king asks with a wild expression on his face. "What did I do? What just happened?"
"Alot I think." Dianna says with a frown. "Al, that is a panic attack, I think you should go talk to her."
"Understood." Al replies, running off without another word.
"Wait, but what did I do? She said I lied?" The king again asks while simultaneously preventing the guards that attempt to stop Al from completing the task Dianna had given him. Likely a wise choice. Adria made no warnings about killing today.
"I bet she realized that you helped her get placed in the military ya dummy." Dianna replies with a glare at the king. Seemingly unfrightened by the fierce glare of the guards she continues "And she definitely realized anything else shady that you¡¯ve been doing. You know you probably ruined a lot of her hard work. She needed to gain trust and now it''s all been shattered. It¡¯ll be a wonder if she ever trusts another human soul."
"I didn¡¯t¡" The king stutters lowering his head. "I just wanted to help her. I just wanted to give her what she felt like she needed."
"She felt like she wanted to get it herself. Not for it to be given." Dianna sighs with a shake of her head. "Think about how you were when you were a kid."
"How would you know?" The king replies with a huff. He then turns to his guards and begins shooing them in the direction he intends to go. They quickly form an aisle and he walks through, likely back to the box to contemplate with the help of his wife. It would probably be her saying ¡®I told you so,¡® though technically she did.
Dianna lightly murmurs about some people never changing, but it was unclear who she was talking about.
?¡ì?
Al ended up chasing Adria all the way to an emergency exit. Once wrenched open only an empty rainy plaza separated them. Adria seems to not care about the rain and simply continues walking.
"Adria¡"Al calls through the hum of the rain. "What is¡"
"Don¡¯t follow me." Adria shouts behind her continuing to shiver through the early spring rain.
"I can¡¯t do that."
Adria turns and stares at Al with a tear-filled gaze, "Al, STOP!"
With that command she again turns to run away but she is halted in place with a strong grip on her wrist.
"No." Al says shaking his head. "I won¡¯t."
"You lied to me didn¡¯t you?" Adria cries ripping her hand from Al¡¯s grip. "Tell me the truth. Your memory, everything you told me, was any of it true?"
Al pauses a moment before answering.
"No. It wasn¡¯t true. I possess all my memories." Al eventually says with a nod, confirming Adria¡¯s worst fear.
"So then my father¡"
"The priest?" Al asks cocking his head.
"Wha¡ No¡ The man in there. He put you up to all this right? He..."
Al shakes his head rapidly. "Never met him before."
"What? Then what¡¯s going on? Who even are you!? What is real in my life? Are you? Is Dianna? Oh, what am I saying, of course not. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s been my dad¡¯s puppet since day one."
"I¡¯m not real." Al answers firmly.
"Don¡¯t tell me that." Adria cries over the now pounding rain. "I needed you to be real most of all."
"I¡¯m not. I¡¯m not even human, or from this world." Al continues, looking at his hands with an unfamiliar expression.
Adria looks at Al with an incredulous look. "What are you talking about? I¡¯m being serious here don¡¯t joke around."
A crack of thunder rings in the arena likely indicating another bout had begun.
"I¡¯m serious, I¡¯m some sort of fake soul made in another world stuffed into a human body. I¡¯m a machine, a gearbox, and experiment. I might as well be a golem." Al says nodding a head towards the arena. "It¡¯s the best comparison I can find. It¡¯s why things come to me so easy."
"What are you saying? You¡¯re human. I¡¯ve¡ I¡¯ve seen it." Adria answers with a bit of blush growing on her cheeks. "You may be a bit¡"
"I¡¯m really not." Al cuts in gripping at his chest. "The skin and bones might be human but up here, I¡¯m not the same. Think about it, you know its true."
"No. No, you sound insane Al. How is¡"
"Well even this now. I¡¯m just reading along a conversation tree. Nothing about me is real. Everything is variables and subroutines. It¡¯s all cause and effect. It¡¯s all fake."
Adria didn¡¯t seem to understand how to reply. She didn¡¯t have a clue what Al was talking about. "That doesn¡¯t make it fake. I¡ I fell in love with you, of course you¡¯re real. Of course you¡¯re human."
"That¡¯s impossible." Al shakes his head denying her even that. "There¡¯s no ¡®me¡® to love. A human can¡¯t love a machine. What is there to love? The mannerisms I copied from the sixty eight body shape matches in Knobber hill? Or is it the words I''ve stolen from all your favorite books? I may as well have been hand tailored for you to fall in love with."
"Stop." Adria says shaking her head. "It won¡¯t change anything. Everyone works like that. Everyone is just¡ We are just pretending to understand what we are doing. Playing a part we want to play. I don¡¯t care if you think it was a lie. It was real to the people you impacted, it was real to me."
"But I¡"
"I thought I needed to help you, to protect you. I thought you needed me." Adria wipes her face of tears and smiles. "I think I was partially wrong. It was also me who needed you. You¡¯re a cure to the scar I¡¯ve left bandaged. I don¡¯t care if you were dropped into my path by my father or a higher power. I don¡¯t care about anything else. I love you, It¡¯s the only thing I know is true."
"It¡¯s impossible." Al says shaking his head. "You can¡¯t love a machine. It will do nothing but bring you pain."
"That''s not true! I won¡¯t let you decide things for me, there¡¯s nothing I hate more than that!" Adria shouts punching Al in the chest.
Al hardly reacts to the hit, already used to much heavier fists in school. "It¡¯s true. I¡¯m sorry."
"Ah, well I didn¡¯t want to interrupt, but it seems I need to intervene again." Dianna¡¯s voice calls from behind the two.
"When did you¡" Adria begins to ask with reddening cheeks.
"Never mind that. Jeez, always getting in trouble and making me clean it up." Dianna mutters waving a hand to Adria and freezing the raindrops in mid-fall. Stepping up besides Al she quietly whispers the words I relayed. "Al. Stop and reset. Re-categorize Jinx library data and everything relating to Golems to C quality. Purge conversation trees, thought processes, and anything contradictory from Professor Skepter. Al, follow your heart."
Al¡¯s head drops without another thought. Quickly followed by the drowsy eye opening as he had the first day.
"There. You¡¯re all fixed. If only convincing her had been this easy." Dianna says swiping at Al¡¯s hair and returning him to facing Adria before vanishing into soft mist and restarting the rain.
Adria for a moment was confused but her mind filled in the memories Dianna erased quickly
"I¡¯m¡ Am I really allowed to love?" Al asks, generating the conversation tree on the fly. "Is that what this feeling is?"
"Mhm, you can. Al you are a human, same as me." Adria nods
"..."
"Look at me Al." Adria says stepping closer and raising his head forcibly.
"I can¡¯t." Al replies after glancing up once with his eyes.
"Why?"
Al again glance up at Adria¡¯s soaking wet form. "Because your dress, it¡¯s¡"
"I think that reaction means you are human." Adria says smiling again. "And well, I don¡¯t mind if it¡¯s you."
Al, doing as he¡¯s told turns his head up to face Adria head on. His cheeks tint a light pink involuntarily.
"Would you say ¡®yes¡¯ if I said ¡®let¡¯s just run away again¡¯? Maybe another country or another continent?" Adria asks resting her head onto Al¡¯s shoulder.
"Yeah." Al replies with a nod.
"I thought so." Adria says with a sigh. "And what if instead I asked you to go back inside with me? Would you say yes? Would you support me, in seeing my family again. And dealing with whatever should come of that."
"Of course." Al again nods. "Although I¡¯d suggest getting a towel first."
Adria chuckles lightly before continuing her interrogation. "And what if, after I get a towel, I¡¯m convinced to come back? To stay here. To become a princess again. Would you still stay with me?"
"Yep."
"I see." Adria replies mulling over the various options she had given. "Somehow they all feel like good options now."
1.01 Beta
"Delores?" I ask glancing at the hallway.
"Yes?" She quickly answers, popping a head through the doorway. "Are you all finished for the day?"
"Yeah. It was a good day." I respond with a nod.
"Ah, may I just say I will definitely do better tomorrow."
"Oh, you did fine, it was your first day. I was just stressed this morning, don¡¯t mind me." I explain with a wave of my hand. "Right, before you leave would you mind just watching over my office for a few minutes?"
"Sir?" Dolores asks with a cocked eyebrow.
"Ah, I just wanted to stop in to see some friends. It won¡¯t take long. There is just something I need to do."
"Stop in?"
"Right, a friend¡¯s place I probably owe her a few favors."
"I¡ I¡¯m confused why do I need to watch over your office if¡"
"I¡¯m heading to a terrestrial realm. This one, to be precise" I say indicating to the glass orb on the desk. "I want you here so the door doesn¡¯t close on me on accident."
Dolores still seems somewhat confused but I am able to get her cooperation after a few minutes. This all would be long done already if she had just kept her questions for after. But I can understand her confusion, she¡¯s new.
With a nod I reach towards the desk and touch the small glass orb I had been staring into over the past few hours. I hear Dolores gasp but the sound was quickly replaced by the sound of the wind.
I¡¯m outside now. I know the general area but I still can¡¯t help getting a bit turned around, normally I see it from a third person perspective. Its strange to see these trees as massive.
The distance is actually further than I expected. Another piece of hindsight. Oh well.
"I should hurry, I don¡¯t want to be late."
"Oh? Maybe I can help then?" A man headed in the opposite direction as I, says pulling on the reigns of his golem.
"Well¡ You¡¯re heading in¡"
"If your headed for the capital you¡¯re going the wrong way." The man points over his back in the direction I had chosen. "Closest town that way is a hundred miles."
"Damn. I was sure I was going the right way." I mutter under my breath nodding to the man and turning around.
"Ah, well you want a ride? You said you were in a hurry right?" The man says snapping the reigns and catching up with my hurried pace quickly.
"You don¡¯t mind?" I ask hesitantly continuing my pace.
"Not at all. I¡¯m in a hurry too matter-a-fact, if you ride with me you¡¯ll get in quick."
"Oh? Well I have no reason to refuse. Thank you."
"Don¡¯t mention it." The man says rubbing his scalp. "Really, though. Don¡¯t. If the guards think you aren¡¯t with me they won¡¯t let you in."
"Ah, well. That wouldn¡¯t be good."
"Exactly." The man nods snapping the reigns twice to get full speed from the horse golems.
We rode in silence for a few minutes until eventually I cracked.
"Why would you pick up a stranger? Especially if you are in such a hurry. I mean not only did you slow down to tell me I was going the wrong way, you stopped to pick me up."
"Ah, well it just kind of felt like something I should do. Just a feeling really."
"I see."
"So where are you heading in such a hurry old timer?"
"To see some old friends."
"I see. I see." The man says smiling and rubbing his chin. "A happy reunion or a sad one?"
"Right, it''s always either a wedding or a funeral isn¡¯t it." I nod with a smile of my own. "It¡¯s a happy one this time."
"Ah if I didn¡¯t know better I¡¯d think we were headed to the same place." The man points to the large crate behind him on the wagon. "This is a gift for some big wedding apparently. Pretty weird though, who sends a cat beast kitten and its mother as a wedding present. Priests these days man¡"
"Mhm. Yeah we may indeed be heading to the same place." I mutter with a smirk.
The man, either not believing me or maybe just not hearing me didn¡¯t bother replying.
I remember him now. He was one I sent here a few weeks ago. To him it''s a forgotten memory from before his birth but I remember judging his spirit. I remember seeing a light of hope in it¡¯s darkness.
I made the right choice. This wagon is a huge time saver.
?¡ì?
"Ma¡¯am." A guard whispers to the royal wedding planner, sending a glance in my direction. "This man wants to get in, but he isn¡¯t on the list."
"If they aren¡¯t on the list whats the problem? Kick ¡®em out." Dianna replies with a frown.
"But¡" The guard protests internally. "It feels wrong to turn this person away."
"What are you¡" Dianna asks glancing in the direction of the entrance where the guard was assigned. "Oh¡ Let him in."
"Yes, ma¡¯am." The guard replies with a grin. Nearly sprinting back to me to give me the good news.
I nod to the guard and meander through the bustling crowd towards ¡®Dianna¡¯.
"Why are you here?" She asks with a frown. "I¡¯m on vacation, can¡¯t you leave me alone for a few centuries?"
"Sorry, sorry. I just figured I should come down to apologize for handing ¡®Al¡® off to you."
"That¡¯s right you caused a lot of trouble" My favorite secretary scoffs. "I should have figured you would. Well then¡"
"What?"
"Your apology?"
"I already gave it."
Again Joyce scoffs in the youthful appearance.
"You should wear this more often." I say glancing up and down her with a grin.
"Ugh." She again sighs. "My one vacation. And I have to deal with all this?"
"You looked like you were having fun though." I prod with a shove.
She rolls her eyes and scans the room. "We can talk about that later. I have a wedding to start. Take a seat. Somewhere you won¡¯t get seen. I will get in so much trouble if you get caught."
"Can¡¯t you just fix things with your..."
"Just sit!" She shouts as she walks away.
I follow her instructions and choose a skinny bench near the back of the room. I should have just watched this from my office. The view would have been better.
Slowly the room turns from a babble of conversation to a quieter murmur. Eventually a man dressed in long robes enters the room and knocks a stack of papers together drawing the attention of the guests.
"We will soon begin the marriage ceremony of Princess Adria Kingston, and Royal Researcher Al Thirteen. Official complaints can now be lodged." The priest says glancing around the room.
A few younger men grumbled but no one stood. I secretly release a sigh of relief. No one should interrupt this ceremony, or they¡¯ll face my wrath.
"Then without further ado." The man says extending a hand in a broad gesture. "Ladies and gentlemen. I thank all of you for coming this far. What we are celebrating today is more than just a wedding but our gratefulness for the return of our great country¡¯s Princess. The rings these two will exchange today represent more than a marriage of man and woman, they represent a certain eternity in their shape. For thousands of years, even before the fall of the kingdoms of the great before loved ones have exchanged these symbols. They mean more than..."
Half the crowd was nodding off by the time he finished his long speech. He talked about love, sacrifice, growth. It was a long winded but eloquent speech. I didn¡¯t cry though. Don¡¯t listen to what Joyce says, I didn¡¯t.
After the priest, Al and Adria make their way down the long hall leading to the chamber. Everyone watches them enviously as they step through the rows of seats. They eventually reach the priest and stand across from each other. On Adria¡¯s side stood Dianna, the king, as well as a young boy in a tiny tuxedo. Al on the other hand was alone.
He was occasionally glancing around the room searching for something.
As if on cue, a man hurried up to the priests side and whispered something even I couldn''t hear.
"I see." The priest replies nodding.
Is someone trying to incur my wrath? Because I¡¯ll incur it.
"Ladies and gentlemen if you will wait one moment it seems Al¡¯s best man has been found."
Wha¡
I was speechless. He couldn¡¯t mean me right? How would he even¡
"The honorable Mr. Fred. Ladies and gentlemen." The priest says extending a hand towards the side of the room where a man carried a pillow topped with a small cat.
I quickly returned to my seat but it seems I wasn¡¯t quite quick enough to cover up my embarrassment.
Al was staring directly at me with a look of shock. Few of the guests even looked in my direction following his gaze.
His expression turns to happiness as he looks to Adria and says something.
She nods and explains to the priest. The priest sighs and again cleared his throat to make an announcement.
"Change of plans ladies and gentlemen it seems Al now has a groomsman as well."
?¡ì?
"How did you know who I was? Or better yet Dianna?" I ask Al after the ceremony concluded. Adria and Dianna were off chatting with a few girls their age. Or Adria¡¯s age I suppose.
Al sipped from a long stemmed cup and glanced at me blankly. It was a familiar look but I had never truly experienced it before. It was as if he were looking through me.
"The color. Both you and her have it. Its unlike anyone from this place." He eventually answers shutting his eyes and tipping the grape juice to his lips again.
"Color? Of what?"
He seems to weight his option for a moment before eventually setting the glass down and looking at me once again. "More like, a feeling I guess."
"A feeling?"
"Mhm, the same one from back then."
"So you do remember all that. You scared me for awhile there. I thought maybe HR didn¡¯t get the memo about your memories."
Al shakes his head to nullify the fear. "No, they did well. Thank them for me."
"Sure." I nod with a smirk. "So you are happy here? Have you learned anything?"
"Countless things." Al answers with a shake of his head. "And there is so much more."
"So you are happy?"
At this, Al pinches his face in thought. I didn¡¯t think it was that hard of a question. It is his wedding day after all. I would think it¡¯s a no-brainer. But I suppose it''s no surprise that Al is strange. Not to mention the wedding was somewhat forced upon the two of them.
"What is happy?" Al asks after a few moments. "I am in a place where I can learn so much. There is endless works I can base myself off of now. But I still feel like I¡¯m hitting a wall."
"Hmm? In what?" Had I missed that much while preparing to come? Last I saw Al was in a good place, he was basically leading his classes and had even completely revolutionized modern golem construction.
He actually modeled the new golems very similar to his own original framework. They had ¡®processing cores¡¯ which contained the necessities for magic conversion as well as ¡®memory cores¡® which could contain thousands more lines of runes than an ordinary copper rune plate.
"Al can I ask you something?" I eventually ask after he leaves my earlier question without a proper response.
"Mm." Al blankly nods.
"Are you worried about your last protocol? It¡¯s why you are so focused on golems isn¡¯t it?"
Al nods without a word. He again grips the cup and finishes it without a flinch. "I need to recreate my code. Especially the more recent updates. If catastrophic failure were to happen to this¡"
"You mean if you die?" I insert for him, attempting to remind him of his humanity. "But you know if you are able to recreate your code in a golem it won¡¯t be you. Really I think you are just looking at this wrong. I won¡¯t give away too much but I think this is something you need to ask your wife about."
"My wife?" Al asks with a curious glance.
"Yes." I answer with a frown, pointing in the direction of Adria.
"Ah. Right." Al nods with a sheepish grin. "Of course."
Adria and Dianna seem to notice our glance so they exchange quick bows to the girls around them and begin walking towards us.
"Save that question for later tonight though." I remind him with an elbow to the gut.
Al nods, unsure of my exact meaning but nonetheless willing to ask.
"Boy talk?" Dianna asks after stepping up to the two of us.
She knows me well. Even as Dianna she still reads my mind like Joyce did.
"Something like that." I nod with a grin.
"So Dianna tells me you are her boss. And here I thought Dianna wouldn¡¯t listen to what anyone says." Adria smiles playfully shoving the longtime friend.
"Ah well I was her boss. She¡¯s on leave right now." I answer attempting my best to match her alibi. She does realize how strange it sounds for a Royal Mage to have a boss, right?
"Paid leave." Dianna corrects with a wag of her finger.
"I don¡¯t remember agreeing to that." I frown with a glare. "Fine then. But it''s on my time scale, not your¡¯s."
"Wah¡ But¡" Dianna complains defiantly. Eventually realizing her location she swallows her argument with a grimace. "This isn¡¯t over."
"I wouldn¡¯t dream of thinking it was." I grin back to her.
"You two get along well." Adria smiles gripping Al into a half hug. "I suppose I know who I¡¯m aiming for when I throw the bouquet."
At this Adria laughs loudly and flags a server with a tray of drinks.
"To that." Adria laughs holding a glass in the air. Me, Dianna, and Al all follow her motion and sip from the drink at her toast.
Dianna and Adria sigh refreshingly after the wine while Al and I grimace and exchange reluctant glances.
"Ah. You know it''s treasonous to toast before the king." A boisterous voice calls in our direction.
"He¡¯s right." Al nods.
"Shuddup" Adria sneers with a grin like a Cheshire cat.
"More treason." The king again chastises with a flick on the head.
Adria quietly prods her red forehead with puppy eyes flashing at Al. Al in turn shoots a glare at the king who simply waves it off.
"Al I want to be the first to welcome you to the family. Or well, second I suppose." The king says with a wide smile. "Ross was being a bit fussy so him and Lauren are back at home but I know they are with me when I say we wish you the best of luck. Once you are settled in come stop by for dinner or something."
"Thank you sir." Al answers with a nod. "That would be nice."
"Ah, you¡¯ll love it Al. I missed nothing more than the stew the maids made every night back in the castle."
"You know the stew was supposed to be for the support staff only." Dianna prods with an elbow.
"Meh." Adria shrugs, "It was more fun eating with them."
"Adria!" Dianna again prods eyeing the king.
"Ah, it''s no worry. I have to admit eating at that massive table with so few of us was somewhat depressing. But it''s not just the three of us anymore. And we have a smaller table"
"Get some of that stew and we will be getting close" Adria giggles.
"We did actually. I had Maggie make it after you left. You were right. It¡¯s better than what we were eating. I felt kind of silly thinking about how much money we wasted on those nightly banquets."
At this Adria couldn¡¯t respond. She had no complaints.
"Right, I also wanted to introduce myself to¡" The king begins, looking in my direction.
"Ah¡" I hesitate attempting to come up with a believable name. I hadn¡¯t even thought about that. I have countless names I¡¯ve used before, but coming up with one off the cuff is tough.
"This is Al¡¯s adoptive father, Calvin Thirteen. He wasn¡¯t with Al long but his time was very influential on Al." Dianna explains without missing a beat. "I was surprised he came. He¡¯s impossible to track down."
Adria gives a weary glance at both Dianna and I. She then turned to Al who shrugged without a clue.
"I see." The king nods extending a hand to me. "It¡¯s a pleasure. You raised a good kid. I could tell that just from talking to him once."
I hesitantly shake the extended hand. "Well, he mostly raised himself to be honest. I just gave him the framework... some of the framework"
"In any case. I want to thank you. If not for your boy I don¡¯t think me and my daughter would have ever had the talk we needed to have. I couldn¡¯t have made the apology I needed to make." The king says with a gracious bow. "Thank you."
"Ah really I didn¡¯t¡" I pant shaking my head. "That¡¯s all Al. I had no part in that."
"As humble as Al. I see where he gets it." The king smiles patting my back heavily.
I doubt it was from me. Al just doesn''t have the same ego psychology that we have. But I suppose I can¡¯t tell him that.
Perhaps this is one of those ¡®just accept the compliment¡¯ moments.
Probably.
Meanwhile the king had moved onto Al and was probing him for future plans. Likely to see if they coincide with his own.
"So what are you going to do now?" The king asks with a raised brow. "Plan to take home the summer tournament as well?"
"For now I have no plans." Al explains with a shrug. "Oh, well later tonight I will be asking Adria about reproduction."
"Wh¡" Adria and Dianna both sputter at the comments. The king on the other hand simply laughs while I bury my head into my hands.
"As one should on their wedding night." The kings laughs patting Al¡¯s back. "I love your honesty."
"Me too." Adria agrees after fanning the redness out of her cheeks.
THE END
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
13,Alpha
Spoiler: Spoiler
My days are still routine. I still wake up and make coffee, I still wave to Terrance at reception and I still nap until mid-morning.
Even more typical is the grimace of my loving secratary Joyce when she sees me. Perhaps she still spites me for forcing her to cut her vacation short. Although thinking back on it, this was the same face she typical gave me in the mornings, so I suppose you could call it business as usual.
"Hurry up." Joyce persists as I begin unlocking my office door.
Stoping mid-turn, I half turn to face her. "Can I help you?"
"Oh don''t pretend you aren''t as curious as me." Joyce grips the knob out of my hand and wrenches the door open. "Get the ball, get the ball."
"What am I, a dog?"
"Yes. So go get it."
"Fine, fine." I mutter with feign reluctance, opening the desk and retrieving the gold covered glass orb. Carefully I thumb at the cover to reveal an overhead shot of heavily forested Tirish ourskirts.
"You aren''t fooling anyone." Joyce says as she glances at me from over her shoulder. "Come on, hurry up, grab a chair."
"..." I attempt to refute her but nothing much comes to my mouth.
Taking my seat across from her I begin shifting the viewport of the orb.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
"You know, I figured you''d be more angry at me." I offer after manuevering the camera a bit.
Joyce hums for a moment before noding her head back and forth. "Well, I was a bit at first. But it was only ever supposed to be a long weekend so I can''t really complain. And you were probably right about our presence being too significant."
"I gotta say though I was real impressed with how much you accomplished in such a short time. In the first hour you nearly destroyed the planet, and in the second you were able to neatly clean it up."
"I wanted a fantasy world. Sue me." Joyce mutters with a grin. "And you make it sound like it was easy. I spent the first fourteen years just balancing out the ''mana'' in that world. I would appreciate some respect."
"Right, right. Well what happens to it now though? You think the world can stay balanced without you pulling the strings and twisting the knobs?"
"It''s got Al for that now." Joyce smirks noticing the orb drifting around the familiar cityscape.
"That''s alot of responsibility you are shirking off to him."
"He can do it." Joyce responds squinting into the glass orb. "I almost wish I had him around for the first hundred years though. He would have made a great helper."
"I thought about sending him further back but I didn''t want to interrupt anything." I shrug swinging the camera around some more to spot the familiar soul of the AI, Al.
""Woah."" Both Joyce and I remark simultaneously catching a fleeting glance at something far off in the distance.
"That was what I think it was right?" Joyce asks, looking at me in confusion.
"It''s Al..." I respond in equal confusion. "But that''s not right. He shouldn''t be there."
"Why would you do that?" Joyce growls with furrowing eyebrows. "Why would you send his soul there of all places!?"
"Well now technically I have no choice. By seeing him there it''s become self fulfilling." I shrug adjusting the view of the Orb once more to get a better view of this ''other Al''.
"Hold on, Hold on. Spoilers. Lets just watch it happen live." Joyce says covering up the orb with her palm. "You know if this were any other soul this wouldn''t be such a big deal. But can you imagine Al meeting another of himself? This just got alot more interesting!"
Spiritual Successor Announcement.
I promised 13,Alpha a very long time ago. Unfortunately that story only reached about half complete before it unraveled due to some plot issues.
So first I would like to apologize for anyone who may have been looking forward to hearing more about AI and all his friends. In a perfect world, someday both this as well as the sequel 13,Alpha will be rewritten in order to align with the broader plotline i wanted to explore but unfortunately I haven''t had the opportunity to pursue that yet.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
In the meantime however, I think if you enjoyed this story once upon a time, you will enjoy my new story about an arms company being transported to a fantasy world similar to the one AI was.
Who knows, maybe there are some connections between the two stories that will get explored further down the line.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/61393/arms-company-in-another-world