《Solo Island? Or is it?》 Chapter 1 Dead men tell the best tales - I hope you like. Chapter 1: The Chest in the Cave The storm had come suddenly, as if the island itself had willed it. Rain lashed the cliffs and waves slammed against the shore, their rhythm like the heartbeat of an angry god. Marcus clung to the jagged rocks, his fingers raw and trembling. The wreck of his small fishing boat was far behind him now, swallowed by the sea. He had only one thought: survive. When the storm finally relented, the island revealed itself in patches of green jungle and gray stone. Exhausted and soaked to the bone, Marcus stumbled inland, his boots sinking into the soft sand. The air smelled of salt and earth, mingling with something faintly metallic that he couldn¡¯t place. He pushed forward, driven by the primal need to find shelter before nightfall. The cave appeared as a dark maw in the side of a cliff, partially hidden by a tangle of vines. Marcus hesitated, peering inside. It was deep and dry, with just enough light filtering through cracks in the stone to make out the space. Relief washed over him as he ventured in, dropping to the ground in exhaustion. For the first time since the wreck, he allowed himself to breathe. It was then that he noticed the chest. It sat against the far wall of the cave, half-buried in sand and dirt, its metal edges tarnished with age. The chest wasn¡¯t large, but it was sturdy, with intricate carvings of waves, stars, and what looked like the face of a wolf etched into its surface. Marcus¡¯ curiosity sparked. Who had left it here? And why? He approached cautiously, brushing away the sand and debris. The lock had long since rusted away, and the lid creaked as he pried it open. Inside was a tightly rolled bundle, wrapped in thick, waterproof animal hide. He unwrapped it carefully, revealing a thin sheet of metal, engraved with delicate lines of script. The letters shimmered faintly, as though they carried a light of their own. Marcus¡¯ heart raced as he read the first line: ¡°To you, who finds this tale: heed my words, for they are both warning and guide.¡± The script shifted, seeming to form new words as his eyes traced the lines: ¡°This island is not as it seems. It is a place of trials and treasures, a world of isolation and dreams. But beware¡ªthe path to what you seek may cost you more than you are willing to give.¡± Marcus¡¯ hands shook as he continued to read. The story spoke of a man, centuries ago, who had been stranded here just as he was now. The man had explored the island, following clues that led him to the cave of the wolf¡ªa formation at the base of the tallest peak. There, the man found wonders beyond imagining, but the story ended abruptly, with a final warning: ¡°When you find the wolf¡¯s den, remember: to take is to inherit. To inherit is to remain.¡± Marcus leaned back, the metal sheet trembling in his grip. The words were both a mystery and a challenge, daring him to step into a story that was not his own. Outside, the wind whispered through the vines, carrying with it the faintest howl, like the cry of a distant wolf. He looked out into the growing darkness, then back to the scroll. A choice lay before him: remain in the safety of the cave or follow the trail of the long-dead man who had written these words. The wolf¡¯s den awaited, and with it, answers¡ªor perhaps his doom. Marcus smiled faintly, tucking the scroll into his pack. If the island demanded a tale, he would give it one. Morning arrived with a golden light that broke through the cracks in the cave walls, painting the interior in streaks of warmth. Marcus stirred from an uneasy sleep, his body sore and mind restless. The scroll sat beside him, its metallic surface glinting faintly as if eager to resume its tale. He traced his fingers over the etched lines, committing the directions to memory.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°The jagged tree at the heart of the jungle,¡± he murmured aloud, recalling the first landmark described in the scroll. ¡°Beyond it, the stream that splits the earth. Follow it to the stone that bleeds.¡± The instructions were cryptic but vivid, each phrase conjuring an image that tugged at his curiosity. He slung his pack over his shoulder, tucking the scroll safely inside, and stepped into the humid morning air. The jungle was alive with sound: the chatter of unseen birds, the rustling of leaves in the breeze, and the distant crash of waves against the cliffs. Marcus moved cautiously, his eyes scanning for the jagged tree. It didn¡¯t take long to find it. The tree¡¯s bark was blackened and twisted, its limbs reaching skyward like claws. A remnant of a long-ago fire, perhaps. He paused to examine it, his fingers brushing the rough surface. From there, he followed the scroll¡¯s guidance. The stream was easy to locate, its waters clear and cool as they cut through the dense undergrowth. Marcus knelt to drink, the cold liquid a brief relief from the day¡¯s heat. He continued downstream, searching for the next clue¡ªthe stone that bleeds. Hours passed, the sun climbing higher and turning the jungle into a sweltering maze. Doubt began to creep in. Had he misunderstood the scroll? Was this all some elaborate trick, a wild goose chase left behind by a desperate or mad man? Then he saw it: a boulder at the edge of the stream, streaked with red. Marcus approached, his heart quickening. The red wasn¡¯t paint or moss but mineral deposits, seeping from the rock like blood. ¡°The stone that bleeds,¡± he whispered, his doubt evaporating. He knelt, searching the area for the next clue. There, carved faintly into the stone, was an arrow pointing upstream. Marcus followed it, weaving through the thick foliage until he reached a clearing. The clearing was dominated by a towering cliff, its surface jagged and weathered. At its base was an opening, a dark void that seemed to swallow the light. Marcus froze. The mouth of the cave resembled the wolf¡¯s head described in the scroll, its ¡°jaws¡± formed by sharp rock outcroppings. He hesitated. The warnings from the scroll echoed in his mind: To take is to inherit. To inherit is to remain. But the pull of the unknown was too strong. With a deep breath, Marcus stepped into the cave, the darkness closing around him like a shroud. His footsteps echoed faintly, the air growing cooler with each step. What he didn¡¯t expect was sunlight spilling from the back of the cave. As Marcus ventured further, the space opened into a vast chamber, large enough to fit several buses. The rear of the cave overlooked the ocean, a breathtaking view framed by jagged cliffs. The chamber wasn¡¯t just a cave¡ªit was a home. There were signs of habitation everywhere. A bed made of driftwood sat to one side, along with a couch that looked like it had been pieced together and repaired countless times. The countertops were smooth and rounded, as though crafted by heat rather than tools, their stone surfaces seamless and polished. Above, crystals embedded in the ceiling emitted a soft, otherworldly glow, casting the room in an amber light. Marcus wandered in awe. A tarp-covered telescope stood near the edge of the opening, positioned to survey the vast ocean. A bookshelf, filled with thick volumes, lined one wall. At the center of the chamber stood a desk, upon which lay a massive book, its cover worn with age. Marcus hesitated before flipping it open. The pages were blank. Nearby, an assortment of writing tools¡ªquills, coal pencils, chalk¡ªwere neatly arranged, awaiting use. His gaze drifted to the shelves below, where more books were stacked. They weren¡¯t part of the rock wall, as he¡¯d first assumed. Each bore a name written on the spine. Marcus scanned them, a chill running down his spine when he noticed that one book¡ªhis book¡ªlacked a name. The realization hit him: if he stayed, he would write his name on the spine, just as the others had. He could study the books, unlock their secrets, and perhaps master the magic of this place. But if he did, would he be trapped here, just as the scroll had warned? He moved to explore further but stopped when he noticed a door at the back of the chamber. It was wooden, sturdy, and oddly out of place in the otherwise natural cavern. No keyhole adorned its surface, and though Marcus pushed against it, the door didn¡¯t budge. The questions began to pile up. Who had built this place? Where was the previous occupant? And if this was a sanctuary, why did it feel so much like a trap? Marcus stepped back, glancing again at the book with no name. The choice loomed before him, heavy and inevitable. Would he write his name and remain, surrendering to the island¡¯s mysteries, or would he search for a way to leave, defying the pull of this strange and magical haven? For now, the door and its secrets would remain locked. Marcus resolved to explore the island further before making any decision. The island, he suspected, wasn¡¯t finished with him yet. CH2 Marcus didn¡¯t know what to do. He wasn¡¯t a stupid man, but he was also stuck on an island that he didn¡¯t have a boat to get off of. His boat was gone. It was a beautiful place, but this was so scary. That night, he just cried. He had found some fruit on his hike, so he had something in his stomach. He just felt so hollow. He had no family left. His parents were gone. He was an only child. He had never found a mate in any which way. He did date when he was younger, but he never found anyone that made him miss them. Maybe something was wrong with him. He didn¡¯t know. But the next morning, he realized that this was his retirement. He was 44 years old and a single fisherman in a little village. So he decided to take one last adventure. When he got up, he looked around the cave. It was a beautiful pre-sunrise. The sun was not coming over the horizon, but the colors were just starting to change. The darkness was just starting to recede, where you could just start seeing shadows. Looking out over the ocean was breathtaking and beautiful, like every day. But from this height, in this cave, with all the weirdness in this cave and its glowing lights, it was magical. He just sat there with a handful of berries. It just made his decision. He got up, walked directly over to the table where the book was opened. The book. There was just a line in the book, and he wrote his name with the quill. It was his first time ever using a quill, so it was a little messy, but it was amazing because the mess disappeared after he took the pen/quill away. As he moved his hand away, the quill became a pen, and the writing was clean and neat, like he had written it with a pen. He looked down, and under where he had written his name, words just started to appear below the line. It wrote this:
Hello Marcus, Oh, really? Yes. By signing your name in this book, you hereby agree to read a contract. This contract will be scrubbed from your mind if you do not sign it, and there is no harm to you at that point. You are given 24 hours to leave the island, and your boat will be returned to you at that time. If you sign the contract, you will be given more information.
The next pages changed into text. It was an NDA. It was straightforward, saying nothing, and you keep your memory. If you don¡¯t sign it, you will get your memory wiped and get the hell off our island. Marcus just went to the last page and signed. He was already in. Screw it. Let¡¯s play ball. Everybody in his village took Marcus not as a weird person but as one that was super focused on things in his life. At one point, it was baseball and pop music. He would get into these phases, and it would take sometimes years for him to get out of them or for him to get enough information where he¡¯d be happy just having it in his brain. Then he wouldn¡¯t have to feed the thoughts anymore. Well, this had piqued his interest. Marcus was sitting there in front of this book. The moment he put the pen down next to the empty inkwell¡ªyes, the desk even changed a little bit¡ªthings... Around him, things were changing in real time. He was literally just looking around. He took his eyes off the book, and the book shut itself. Then he heard a very large click come from behind him, from the far corner¡ªfrom the door. The lock had unlocked, and the door slowly, just a small amount, opened up to show that it wasn¡¯t closed or locked anymore. This intrigued Marcus. So he got up, went over, grabbed the door, and opened it. He looked inside. What he found was like a broom closet. It was small. There was just one black stone chair, and on the chair was a letter with a red seal on it. Marcus took the letter from the chair, backed up from the door, opened it, and read it:
*Marcus, welcome. You are now this planet¡¯s guardian. Others have used different names, like caretaker or one of the fates, but that¡¯s all up to what you make of it. Once you sit in the chair and close the door, you will experience one minute in this room. During that one minute, your brain will do a job that you will not remember. After that, you will be free to go back until you decide to return to this room and sit in the chair again. In return for doing this, these are the two things that will happen: The one catch is that you will do this until the day you pass away from old age on this island. Then the island will summon a new guardian or fate to take over for you. If you sit down in the chair and perform your first shift, you will retain your memories. If not, and you decide within 24 hours not to go through with it, your boat will be returned to you, and you will be asked to leave the island¡ªif needed, by force.*
This was getting stupid, so Marcus just sat down in the chair, closed the door, and said, ¡°What do I do next?¡± The moment Marcus finished that sentence, the perception of walls¡ªjust inches to feet from either side of him¡ªdisappeared. It was still black as night, but the feeling of an open area around him came into being. Then, not more than five feet in front of his face, a monitor appeared, built into a rock wall that had somehow moved further away. The door was gone. Basically, something was definitely messing with him. The TV came on. It showed a camera view of someone¡¯s office or study, with bookshelves in the back filled with books. ¡°What? What am I looking at?¡± Marcus muttered. It was a room, and there was a desk. At the desk sat a young, blue-skinned person. ¡°Huh, interesting,¡± Marcus thought. He sat there for a couple of minutes, looking at the screen and examining the scene. The person¡ªpretty much around the same age as Marcus, maybe a little younger¡ªhad a mustache of white hair on blue skin and was writing with a quill and ink in a book that looked similar to Marcus¡¯s own. As Marcus started to calm down and examine the person more closely, he coughed or made a slight noise while shifting in the stone chair. The noise was enough. The person on the screen froze. At first, their brain seemed to register the sound; Marcus noticed a twitch. Then the person began to look around. Finally, their gaze fell on Marcus. Marcus started waving without saying a word. All of a sudden, the man on the screen froze.
Abe, the apprentice, was sitting at his master¡¯s desk. It had only been about three weeks since his master¡¯s passing. Abe was now the keeper of this place, and being in charge for just a month, it all still felt like too much.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The sound startled him. He had been alone in his room when he heard it. Turning to look around, he saw one of the paintings waving at him and smiling. He froze, unable to process what was happening. Abe had been told that his order was there to guide the guardians of each planet. But he had never seen any of them, let alone spoken to one. That had always been his master¡¯s job. The last time Abe¡¯s master mentioned communicating with a guardian had been long before Abe¡¯s time. It simply hadn¡¯t happened in ages. Still, Abe had been taught what to do. He never thought he¡¯d actually have to do it, though. He stood up, placed his hand over his heart, and said, ¡°Please hold.¡± He didn¡¯t know exactly what those words meant, but he had been told they would calm the other person while he prepared. Abe walked behind his desk to a bookshelf. One section of the bookshelf, where books should have been, was solid wood. He placed his hand on the wood, pulled it down, and revealed a hidden compartment. Inside was one large, ancient book. Abe took this big book, did an about-turn, walked four steps to a lectern facing the screen, put the book down, opened it, and went to the first page. He began to read: "Hello, Guardian. My name is..." (Abe added his name here) "...Abe Mansfree." He continued to read:
*When you are ready to do your daily job, all you need to do is say to the system that can hear you right now, while you''re sitting in that chair, ¡®Please start my daily job.¡¯ That will then give you a cue, and you will have the ability to work as long as you want and earn as much money in credits on the Galactic Board. The Galactic Board is a store. After your first shift, you can access the Galactic Board by saying, ¡®Please show me what I can buy on the Galactic Board with,¡¯ and then state the amount of money you want to spend. Or, you can ask, ¡®Does the Galactic Board have such a product?¡¯ It will either show you the price or nothing at all. We are now going to let you know about an interface. We call it the Galactic Interface. It''s just a visual overlay added to your eyes. It''s a piece of glass that will be inserted. And it''s... now it''s done.*
Marcus felt it literally slip into both eyes. He felt a piece of glass instantly materialize under his eyelids. It was such a weird feeling. But within seconds, he could see blue boxes everywhere.
The interface will mostly be used for transactions between you and the Galactic Board. However, if you do not have access to your Interface Book¡ªwhich is the book on the desk in your home¡ªon your island (and it is now your island), you can use this interface. If you need to change anything on your island, you can.
Abe read a note in the book: This is a good place to stop and let the Guardian decompress all the information, do their first shift, and allow them to relax. Make sure they understand that to contact you, all they have to do is sit down in the chair, and this stream will appear for both of you.
One last note: For Abe, the book now had his name written in it magically. It was quite odd, as magic didn¡¯t exist on his planet. There was technology, but magic wasn¡¯t real. Now he was holding a magical book that was actively changing and talking to him¡ªand to another person. It was strange and unsettling. Abe had been told this would happen, but he¡¯d never truly believed it. He¡¯d never seen, felt, or experienced anything like this before.
Let the Guardian know that their time spent in the chair, to them, will feel like about two hours in real time. However, their brain will experience between one day and more, depending on what they want to accomplish during their shift.
Because Abe was reading he did not notice Marcus next action. Marcus sat there for a moment, then said, ¡°Start my daily job.¡± He didn¡¯t remember anything that happened. It was almost as if he¡¯d blacked out. The next thing he noticed, the door to the little broom closet with the chair was open. He could see the sun had already risen. From its position, he knew it was still morning, though high enough in the sky that it wasn¡¯t shining directly into the cave. Marcus suddenly knew things he didn¡¯t before, but he couldn¡¯t explain how. For instance, he knew the sun was called Sol, and Earth¡¯s designation was 800814-Earth. He also knew that if he said, ¡°Show my current balance on the Galactic Board,¡± a blue box would pop up. ¡°Show Galactic Board balance,¡± he muttered. A blue box appeared:
15.2 GB$
Marcus walked out of the broom closet, closed the door, and went toward his desk. Placing his hands on the surface, he made a mental command: ¡°Galactic Board. What kind of dinner can I get for five Galactic Board credits?¡± A list of 1000 different meals started scrolling past his vision, and he just stopped. He closed his eyes, and that was how he turned off any of the pop-up boxes or anything that interfered with his vision. He just closed his eyes and removed light from the lens for a moment, and that shut it down. When he opened his eyes, he saw the room, and it was not spinning anymore. He wasn''t feeling nauseous, and he took a moment to breathe. There we go. Better. O.K., now that he wasn''t spinning and feeling totally nauseous¡ªof course not, he thought to himself¡ªwhat did he want? Marcus was a fisherman, so he''d eaten a lot of fish. Fish wasn''t really his thing. Beef or chicken would have been nice, and he''d love chicken wings, but he wanted something more than that. "Galactic board. What kind of meal can I get for 5 credits that has chicken and beef and a lot of other foods as a feast for one person?" The popup came up and only showed two different options: one called the meat sampler, and one called the spicy meat sampler. Marcus picked the non-spicy version, and the moment he picked it¡ªhe didn''t even have to select it, his brain just said, "That''s the one I want"¡ªit materialized on top of his book in his cave. It was a very large platter of meat, chicken, pork, and everything you could think of. It was even some meats he''d never seen before, with different colors like greens and purples. They all smelled so good, and he just moved his book aside. He realized his book now had his name inscribed in gold along the spine. He looked over at the shelf and saw an empty spot for his book. Now, every single other book had a chain and lock around them, instead of the big, long bar from before. Somehow, he knew that the more he did, the more he''d be able to read those other books of the people who came before him. But that wasn''t for right now. Right now, he saw and smelled that meal, and it caught his attention. He just started working on it hard. He was eating good that night.
Abe¡¯s Side After Marcus had left, the screen went back to being a painting. Abe was absolutely shocked. He had gone and talked with the other monks in the monastery. There were only four other ones, but he had explained to them that, as the new head, he was going to do something different. They were to keep at least one or two of them around at any one time, so that when the Guardian communicated with them again, he could bring them all in. They were going to do this as a group to help him out as best as they could, because that was the type of person Abe was. If he had a project or a problem, he''d focus on it and just keep on focusing until he figured out how to get it done, making sure everyone was happy or at least not mad. It was all about emotions, and he didn¡¯t want to mess up the next generation. Abe had gone back to his office and was sitting down at his desk when, all of a sudden, a giant platter of meat appeared on his desk. He didn''t know why or what was going on, but he remembered at least twice having to come in and remove meals that the old master had created in his office. No one understood why he did it there, but supposedly he made some of the best food, so no one questioned it. Now, he understood. The old master didn¡¯t make it. The old master was given it. So, he called in the two others that were around, as he had asked. Actually, all four of them were there, and they all came in to see. He said, "It just appeared. Take this to the kitchen, and we''re going to have a feast tonight, boys." They all couldn''t understand what was going on just yet. Abe was the most in the loop, and he wanted to read more into that book. But as he went to the next pages, they were just blank. He put the book back on the shelf and closed the wooden wall over it to hide it again. He knew their whole job was to help the Guardian, but what exactly were they helping him do? And what was with the food? Abe, not being dumb, knew about the Galactic Board since he was a child. He had about 150 to 200 credits from working for a long time. The last time he checked, it was 210 credits from about forty years of working. He made a point of one credit a month. But when he looked at his balance, it was at 244. He had just made 34 credits by doing nothing. And he got food for it. What the hell was going on? He said all this with a smile on his face, in his own head. CH3 Flip of a coin. Marcus sat down in the chair said that he was ready to go but what happened next he was not ready for The next thing he knows everything goes dark and he can feel the chair under his hands and all of a sudden it''s gone there''s no feeling from it he knows he''s there but he''s got no feeling in his body everything goes and then poof He''s in a different place without a body and he''s just a floating head Around him that he can see is lots of other floating heads and in the middle is a giant circular pillar that''s kinda talking reminds me of the major boss in the first tron movie ever made It just looks down at Marcus and says ah 800842 dash earth representative marcus welcome to day we will put you on intake welcome to the galactic board and with that his head just literally flew away and the moment it stopped it was attached to a big round ball all of a sudden you see another one of these heads just coming in at super speed flying through the air and it just hits the same ball that Marcus is on in a little next spout comes out of the ball and then puts the head up so now it''s like a little too headed harder ball So think of this an orb about five feet in diameter with two metal tubes coming out of the top of it with two heads just placed on top Marcus at this moment was gonna say something and tried to open his mouth and realize that his mouth is shut so he couldn''t really say anything just listen and look It was about a minute before the other head was lucid enough because that whole thing about connecting to the round ball really knocked him out a while When the head came to it looked over at Marcus and saw the little stiffles on his lips holding his mouth shut I just said oh I get it i''m here to be your ductationer today or whatever you want to call me you don''t need to know my name I won''t get to know yours because you can''t tell me so let''s just say hello and welcome to the galactic board As I can see that you''re a brand new initiate i''ll tell you what''s going on here and how this all works a long time ago a space race figured out how to communicate with other races except I didn''t do it right then they pissed off a really really evil thing And in doing so this evil society people creature we''re not too sure created a system and as it finds new sapient creatures it brings them into we call it the galactic board it''s just another name for the system the software whatever you want to call it but there are rules no offense the thing was evil not in psychotic evil says that young species need to grow up before they''re allowed to be harvested or abused and because your plan hasn''t figured out space travel you''re basically in a quarantine zone you''re kind of lucky that way but people still want to interact with you so what they do is they elect one person and the system the Galactic Board makes some sort of place on each planet that is under protection and then it asks one of the locals to be there arbiter You get paid for just doing this job so you''ll be getting paid 15 galactic credits today for just observing if you have an answer for us and I can only accept yes or no that''s a head up and down or a head left or right I understand that do you understand this sir Marcus looked over at this human person looking like any other normal Joe if you know what I mean Mr Joe Smith will call him and he Marcus has looked at Mister Smith and shook his head up and down he understood mister Smith just smiled and said okay let''s get on with it This is where the sci-fi part comes in because the balder on starts rolling you would think their heads would hit the ground come up hit the ground come up hit the head the ground come up over and over no their heads never moved once and you Marcus looked down he couldn''t see it where it was disconnecting it was perfect it was just moving Marxist of Dover Mr Smith and he was smoking a cigarette the moment Smith saw Marcus look at him he just kind of flicked his tongue in the cigarette right back into his mouth and there was a swallowing motion and then Mr Smith looked over at marks and said are you ready for your grand tour of the Galactic Board Marcus was like where the hell did that cigarette go but he was ready so he just nodded his head and said yesThis tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Mrs Smith was kind of laughing at this because his magic trick went over quite well and well he was in a good mood so Mr Smith started to talk as they started to roll along and as you were rolling along it was a grand white area with metal rafters like there was a hallway that they were in and the main room that they were in before was huge mr Smith then spent the next day and a half explaining that there was work to be done next time he came in but for now he''s just going to show him around the space station that they were on and the space station was in another galaxy so they''re just transmitting his brain to this body for the day the reason for the memory wipe was explained to him as you''ll see stuff here that should melt your brain we want to put good memories back into your body so that we don''t infect it or make it so that you have neurological issues you are in charge of what you''re allowed to know for now we''re just going to stop everything from coming through you should have no bleed over as what they call it everybody says it didn''t have a little bit but I don''t know if we really believe that or not but for today we''re just going to take you around show you the station and after one or two more days working here we''ll probably give you your own body here it''s just for today you don''t want to get lost or well in the past we''ve had people that just couldn''t stop crying or or screaming so that''s why you can''t talk you just first days so just don''t worry about breathing or anything like that you don''t have to worry you''re not really here you''re sitting in the chair This made a lot of sense to markets now that he was there and he just just listened and he just kept on going and Missus Smith kept on talking and explaining how they were founded a long long time ago and it wasn''t that amazing it was just a really old system that was still around every planet had a guardian and if you wanted to deal with things outside you had to pay for them made a daily wage and that was it we just kept the machine running if you all long live the system The undertones that Mr Smith was giving off made Marcus kind of wonder about all this and after seeing the 5th or 6th alien that he had never seen before as they were just going around Marcus realized he wasn''t on Earth anymore this was exactly what he''s being told some space station somewhere out there and their final stop for the day was at an office where he was let in and introduced a triangle a giant triangle and no this is not a gravity falls reference just there was a triangle sitting in a chair and I know how silly that sounds but yeah a triangle bright pink and everything in a chair The cube then started to talk and it just said basically I believe this is our new recruit Marcus mr Smith just nodded his head and the cube said hello with that Mr Smith turned around and left the room This shocked Marcus at first until Mr Smith being able to basically read his mind at this point somewhat understood his misconceiving nature and said the moment we rolled through that door he had taken your information and that''s all he needed he will now do all the paperwork for your next jobs and you will be informed next time you load in for now I''m going to take you to your office which is where you will start next time on your desk we''ll be writing utensils it''s like the desk that''s in your home the idea is if you want to take work home with you some of the paperwork can be sent with you to your home and if not it stays here most people don''t take their work home with them so let''s go for another jaunt around and while you''re here you won''t have to worry about using the bathroom or eating anything because the bodies we give you are mechanical your brains here not your body so do whatever you feel like doing and then when you''re done you say end job for today or something along those lines and the computer system that is monitoring at all times well basically just log you out Marcus was about to log out right there and Mister Smith just looked at him and said before you log out realize you''re going to keep yourself in the dark because if you kept all the stuff that you''re about to see in that little brain of yours you''d be crying to sleep every night and we know because we''ve let people just do it and that''s exactly what happens every time so this isn''t some conspiracy or something like that this is just us keeping the dark evils of the void out of your mind so you can have a good night''s sleep and enjoy the sunset and yes I looked up your planet and it has at your location that you sleep every night it has a beautiful sunset and sunrise so I kind of envious on that one point so realize we need your help and you''re planted in solar system need you to get through the backlog of paperwork that''s been waiting for someone in your position arbiter of Earth welcome to the Galactic Board Marcus just said in his mind log me out and as he was logging out it said please hold five seconds for us to log you out and in those 5 seconds a little blue box popped up and showing him 15.6 GBc. And then it went black ******************** Mr Smith watched the head of Marcus dematerialize off its shell and with that instead of rolling around Mr. Smith literally stood up the ball turned into a full body of the whole nine yards. Mr Smith had he looked normal he had just been doing that kind of like a way of just moving around quickly but the smirk on Mr Smith''s face wouldn''t go away cause it says he he was interested in Marcus and what Marcus didn''t know was that Mister Smith was the last guardians liaison to he knew way more than he was letting on and he was so happy that he got himself a good one now he was looking forward to him and Marcus causing so much trouble in the galactic board and with that he went strolling off to go find some work to get done and some chaos to spill over somewhere. This was Mr Smith''s most enjoyable task of any day chaos pure and simple the love of chaos he wondered to himself if Marcus would have a love for it too he could always use another friend to cause a mischief plus Mr Smith missed the stories of Loki from his past arbiters maybe this arbiter would have some good stories too and if not maybe they would just have to make some thing together :)). CH4 and CH4.5 When Marcus awoke the next morning he watched the sunrise got some fresh water from a stream some leftover food from the night before that hadn''t gone bad in the cold box and just realized that this was his new life and it was absolutely insane After a little existential self enlightenment also known as panic attack and freaking out until you calm down and realize you''re locked in he started looking around and he remembered there''s all the books and he went to go grab one of them each one of them now was locked a little differently there was a chain locking to the wall and there was a lock in front of every book the only one that was unlocked was the 1st one up for the farthest right and there was about 12 of them all lined up so he was only able to pull out one book right now and he knew this was **** and that there was something going on here so he grabbed the book took it to his desk and sat there to read it It only had two pages of writing on it but there was hundreds of pages in this book but the moment he went past page three just nothing was there so Marcus went to the first page and just read To whom ever is reading this I was stranded after my ship went down the Mary Beth I found this island and agreed to the contract just like you have welcome I can''t tell you much because all my memories are erased but the little bit that feeds back through me i''ll put here into this book so that you can tell yourself what you need to know to figure out how to get out of the control of the overseer and that''s what I call it it''s a person that knows my every thought because they''re tied into me and it''s driving me crazy and I don''t get it The next couple of paragraphs explain that they were resting here on the island while they did work on an intergalactic space station and that over the years they had paid using galactic board points to have different items in the cave installed and taken care of even after their death On the second page was an homage if you will to the telescope and it started off normal but then became very in love with the telescope by the end of the comments but the one thing Marcus realizes at the telescope didn''t just see onto the ocean and let you see anywhere in the world from his home The moment Mark has finished reading that he closed the book got up and almost ran over to the telescope and he took off the cover on it and the eye protections and he looked at all over he saw no dials or anything it looked like a couple of tubes put together from like brass tubes like it was super nice looking but it looked like it was for show Well Marcus did find some adjustment wheels at its base but there was more to loosen it to be manually moved around wherever he wanted but he realized the moment he''d looked in through the eyepiece that it was moving and he wasn''t moving the machine it was almost like having the other end of the telescope being the eye of a drone that was invisible and could go anywhere like a ghost it was kind of amazing but after about 20 minutes of that his eye started to hurt and he had been staring into A TV screen for 20 minutes I would expect his eyes to be a bit sore Marcus went back to reading the book And found there was another two pages that now had writing on them the third page was a description of the stone cooler fridge very cheap only 200 galactic board points but it would keep food that he got for at least 24 to 48 hours it couldn''t make ice though but just to have food for a day or two after he bought some he always bought and he made a note that he always bought from the galactic board Tiberius Thornton the shipwreck guy 3rd purchase and the fourth page in the book was something he wasn''t expecting it was a set of crystals meant to harness sunlight and then at night time reflect them back but in doing so brought a peace and harmony over the cave an area around it that''s why I know animals ever attacked him at night and he made a mention Mr Thornton that he didn''t actually purchase it the overseer used his money to purchase it and that was the day he figured out that he was the overseer Marcus had kinda guessed this being hints that he had new stuff but that he couldn''t know stuff so he had to trust that he was his own guard and whatever was on the other side he was protecting himself from it not just one not just two but three more books that locked literally just banished the moment he realized that and for the next couple hours he just read about the next couple of people one was a lady named Janet Margoias and she was a botanist on a different ship to head sung it seemed a lot of shipwreck people ended up on this island on purpose one of her purchases was a rock that always bled iron she would take that and make sand covered in this iron and then cook it and she made herself iron tools but Tiberius had one upper and just bought tools with lactic points she didn''t trust a galactic points and didn''t ever use them and she was super paranoid and the farther back in the books you read the more they got paranoid and the more they got worried about the overseer not realizing that they were keeping an eye on themselves so by the time Marcus had read all four books he had found out that one of the things that the others did by and some of them didn''t leave their names they left what they wanted to be called and Marcus knew what he wanted to be called so from that point on he picked a name Cerberus spelt SURBRIS because well yeah he was in the guard the world and just do that job that no one wanted with his hand over the button if you would At this point Marcus wanted to get some more stuff so he had a little over 10 galactic points to his name and asked the system which popped up the blue screen over his eyes what kind of drink packages can I get with either five or 10 galactic points that will fit in the stone fridge Blue box Three options Option one drink package from the Oh my God this is good 12 drinks cans that will fit directly on the side of the stone fridge and will stay cold for one week 7 galactic points Option two one bottle of water that never is empty as long as it''s stored in the stone fridge this is an upgrade and has to be kept in the stone fridge clean or dirty to refill the water 10 galactic points Option three from the bargain bin one galactic point will buy you a glass that always has one drop of artificial flavoring in it just add water and that''s also how you clean it just add water and rinse it out you break it we do not replace Marcus not knowing what he might need the points for went with the cheapest option and a very nice tumbler glass was in his hand and it said his name Marcus on it in white bond and at the very bottom in the middle was a little hard drop and looked like honestly like a dry drop of blood is it dark you hit and see through itLove what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Marcus went to the stream near the cave entrance and poured the cup in the water and it over float by the time he raised it up out of the water and looked into it the whole thing looked like Red Kool Aid he smelt it it smelt like water and he tasted it and it tasted like Cherry Kool Aid it was beautiful but not too sweet just a really nice taste he drowned the whole glass and he went for another one but this time it wasn''t red it was a white and yellow and it was milky looking he smelt it smelled like nothing he tasted it pina colada every class is going to have a different flavor this is the greatest one ever Marcus also drained that down filled up the class one last time and walked it back into the cave and put it in the stone fridge for later this one was bright neon green it almost glowed when he put it in the fridge with the light reflecting off of it from the sun being hydrated Marcus took care of that and decided not i''m going to go to work and with that he got himself ready to go sit in the chair CH4.5 When Marcus logged in awoke whatever you want to call it came alive his head was attached to a chair i''m not joking a office chair he looked to him like he was sitting in the chair but he wasn''t he was the chair and he didn''t have hands but his desk in front of him had little things and as he was thinking they''d start moving almost like he had had so as he went to go grab for something it would move a little bit he was freaking out a little bit until he looked up and saw another head just smiling at him looking The other hand just said Hi Marcus it''s Mr Smith welcome back reading it to work? Mr Smith just smiled tomorrow and started to explain that on the desk are any requests from the outside universe forwarded to your planet dude look them over if you don''t know what to do you can ask me if I don''t know what to do then we can ask for a supervisor come down and help us and if we all of us don''t know what to do we can go into the library and start learning about the problem and figuring out what to do and right in the middle do you see that counterclock that has a number what''s your number read there? Marcus looked onto his side and saw the counter clock was at 327 327 that''s how many emails I have to deal with? Yep Mr Smith just kind of smiled and said good luck to ya to start your first one move that piece of paper away from the middle of your desk and the first one will be put in place of that piece of paper that piece of paper is like a placeholder to stop everything put that off to the side when you need a break put it in the middle and then no more paper will come okay Marcus could understand that so he removed the piece of paper and he put it off to the side of the train that said in and the moment he moved it before he even put in the into the other tray a folder with about five pieces of paper in it and a manila folder from like Earth appeared on his desk he opened it up and it was very simply a request to have a small community of children come down and meet with the human race and chickens that was it Though the name of the race had the word cult in it so the cult of slendesh not too sure what that was but the moment he saw the word cult he probably decided that he didn''t want to do it so he just asked Kay if I don''t want to let this happen and tell me what''s the cult of slinesh The eyebrows on Mr Smith''s robot rise so high and said grab that snap right there look at the bottom of it should be red and it should say deny does that make sense stamp it eight times not 7 not 9 8 do you understand me Marcus asked Y-8 explain i''m not doing until you tell me why marcus pointed out to his side of the table right where his right drawer was he says there''s a little flat drawer there pull it out and when Marcus pulled out his little piece of wood on there was a cheat sheet and it said if you need to deny someone for certain reasons you''d stamp it in a different number of times seven was for human rights violations eight was for humans would be murdered if they ever came to them so human race would not survive and 8 was that they were trying to openly harm the human race and kill them so 8 was the right one the cult of the Nash are really nice people but we''re infected with many viruses so you didn''t want them there good good call and good catch on that mr Smith said Mr Smith was so impressed because for the next 30 hours marcus just started plugging away at these he got them all done except for 3 three of them he said i''ll wait till the end and when he got to the end he asked Mr Smith I need help with three that I just don''t know what to do with and I need to do some research how do I look up and the three topics were Blast quartz from an Italian marble mine with exact locations and colours they wanted super specific which is really weird maybe The next one was asking for someone actually be taken away from the planet and extradited for crimes against their people and this person was a bug exterminator in New York City marcus knew he had to look up what type of people wanted this guy extradited for what crimes and he needs some help with that see if there''s any crimes actually to be extradited for but he probably wouldn''t do it anyways but still questions he didn''t need AMIB issue And the last one which is kind of the weirdest someone was accusing Earth of stealing energy from their nexus but Marcus didn''t know what a Nexus was and how humans would be stealing it so he needed more information Mr Smith asked about the courts and asked one weird question how many tons did they want and was above 20? Marcus grabbed that folder opened it up and checked it was 22 actually tons they wanted That made Mr Smith extremely upset and then evilly happy when he explained what was going on they were trying to get something like 40 or 50 tons but only record 22 hoping that no one would weigh it because it''s under the 20 limit being so close and if they got over it was worth them paying in the fine so you would approve it but you would also then put a flag on them to get weighed on the way out and if they were over in the contract that you gave up to them they''d pay triple if they were over their 20 limit and you put a note in that you said maximum 20 if they did 20 you''re fine with the price if they go over three times the price mr Smith very happy with himself with that one flicked a cigarette out from behind his ear with a flick of his tongue and yes I mean don''t don''t ask it was really weird to watch He brings one nostril on it and a weird little Flick of the facial muscle and the cigarette started up and he started puffing He was deep in thought and asked if the person being extradited had five names or 7? Marcus read his name off and Mr Smith said no look on page 3 or 4 under aliases if he''s got a rap sheet with them we''ll have it recorded because we don''t give a **** but we need to know in case this ever happens and then we can look up the severity of the crime if they''ve been looking for this guy for this long he may have done a lot worse than he told us if it''s five names he''s not royalty if it''s seven he''s royalty and this is going to be a bloody thing to kill this guy or take him back if they''re his people coming to get him so 5 or 7 mister Smith looked at Marcus and asked again? I took Marcus a little bit longer than Mr Smith would like but found it and said two names one of the aliases is 4 and 3 I think it continues on the next line here you tell me and he flips the page around and shows Mr Smith Mr Smith just said wow interesting a disgraced noble first just call the guy and let him know that these people are looking for him he might be dead for all you know like just see that line under there that''s kind of highlighted put your finger on that and then see that black cube on your desk put your finger on that once you hear a dial tone link at your old phones on your home plant you know what a phone is right then take your fingers away and when you''re done push the black cube to hang up Marcus did exactly that and to get a very gruff woman''s voice asking who the hell this was? Marcus explained what was going on and that he had to agree or disagree to have this person extradited and the moment he explained who was there for them the person on the other hand started screaming and pure Glee and pleasure like a little schoolgirl saying they come to get me and take me home thank God it''s finally time so with the actually female that looks like and plays the mail here on Earth giant bug person in a human suit agree to have her contact information passed on so they could do a pickup so I got Mr Smith they explain how to do that and after I use the stamp over the phone number the whole bundle of paper just disappeared from my hand and it was done and over if that was it I hung up on the phone call and the last one The race that we''re accusing the humans of stealing their energy were saying that they sent music out into the universe and because of that it interacted with their energies that they''re pumping out to take over their sector pushing them back in doing so it''s draining them to fight back Marcus explained this to Mr Smith and Mr Smith had no **** clue what to do¡­. Mr Smith on his desk there was a buttoning and he said see the button he is pointing down at it this is the call of supervisor you don''t do this unless you got a **** **** good reason you ready and Mr Smith just smacked his button and a little light in the room a little red light came on It wasn''t more than 20 seconds and they heard a metal ball rolling down the hallway towards them... Ch 5 CH5 As the door to Marcus''s and Mr Smith''s room opened a triangle connected to a ball on the floor rolled in it was the supervisor from before and it was writing on a ball it was all one piece but the ball moved and the triangle didn''t it was very odd to look at but made absolute sense for this place The supervisor looked at Mr Smith and asked what is. the importance of the issue. Mr Smith just looked over and said, remember, does not have enough information on. functionality of his planet and system to answer. to answer a threat of violence towards the people due to theft of energy from that planet and their own. more or less his people sent out a radio frequency and it is now interfering with another species and they''re upset and want reparations. The manager kinda paused for a second, and then just slowly turned over to look at Marcus. and said it would be. two weeks before I have enough time to answer that question properly. and didn''t say anymore and just kind of left it there. Marcus looked over at Mr Smith and Mister Smith, not was not happy, but wasn''t frowning either. It''s either little hamster running around in Mr Smith''s brain, trying to figure out what to do. And then Marcus asked. the manager a simple question. Pardon me sir. I do have some galactic credits. I have. 10. Would that provide me with any paid assistance that I could ask for? I''m not too sure how all this works. The moment Marcus had finished asking it, Mr Smith''s face lit up with a smile. It just super duper happy. But the manager also noticed. that and slowly turned to see Mr Smith and said Mr Smith What idea do you have? And I know that look explain yourself. Mr Smith looked over at Marcus and said, Marcus, please ask the galactic board for an AI assistant with Axis to the Grand Library and Mr Smith looked over to the manager and asked what other system. would he be permitted to have the AI connected to for access for referencing information grabbing. The manager was like a not a bright pink, but like a very white slash pink color and all of a sudden it was like more pink came into it and it came out more a little livelier and you could tell I think this is him thinking. within. 15 seconds it went. pure white for one second and then went back to it slash white pink coloring and said 10. black the credits have been deducted and an assistant will be here shortly to work with you permanently. Thank you for your purchases today and congratulations on getting all but one of your backlog files done. That is not a new record but is damn close. Congratulations you will be gifted with 5 extra GBC¡¯s. And with that, the manager turned around, the door slid open, and he just wheeled his way out and gone. Marcus looked over at Mr Smith And the smile on Mr Smith''s face said in everything. Marcus just asked. So what? It just happened and what did we do? Is this a good thing? Will this help? The giggling that came out of this man was that of a child like you just do it all the cookies from the cookie jar and not just one or two. I mean, all of them for all time. This was the pure glee of crazy demon madman. And it was beautiful and soothing and odd to hear this man almost cackle. Within a minute, Mr Smith calmed down and. put on a smile and very politely just said here''s what just went down You as a new employee, do not have access to a lot of stuff like 99.9% of stuff. It hinders the living crap out of you until you understand and basically give in to the system And then you work your little **** off just to get a small amount of help to get your job done It''s a way to keep everybody not bored. What you''ve just done has gotten yourself a terminal to a giant book that lets you ask any question and get any answer that you can think of. Now, the side effect is you''ll always know the information you look up. So when you go back to your home place, where you live, and you think the overseer is keeping an eye on you, you''ll remember things like how to use different things that you have. access to better like. I''ll give you a hint. Did you know you probably have some fake walls in your home that are hiding things And do you even know how to look for that with your glass inserts in your eyes? The visor. if you will, the the overlay. What is going to happen? in the next couple minutes. We''re going to get a new employee for your officer. If we''re really lucky, you might even be able to have them visit you at your home so you have a visit. So this is going to be well a partner for you. Let''s partner works for the big system. So don''t be dumb and don''t abuse your privileges And wow, you''re going to be able to look up so much stuff. They kept chatting for the next couple minutes and then the door slid open and a little ball rolled in and had two little arms and hands holding a box. It rolled around the desk to Marcus and just stopped. Marcus looked down, grabbed the box, the hand saluted and bailed off out the door again without the box Mr Smith said just open it your assistance inside the box. You''ll get used to the weirdness here. Marcus opened up the. opened up the box. It wasn''t taped or anything. It just was closed and then he just opened it inside. It looked like a tablet, but it was all just one piece of solid silver. So it was like a YouTube play button without anything on it. As he picked it up it was warm to the touch and he could hear a small sound come from it. The next thing he knew, it just said, Hello, Marcus. And it came from head of the back of where he was holding, and he looked around, flipping it over and couldn''t see any holes for the speaker. And he, hello, Marcus could say Hello Marcus. I am your ai assistant. This is a boot up and start up sequence. I''m going to ask you some simple questions and then. we''re going to go from there. Can I ask you some simple question? Marcus,? Marcus looked up at Mr Smith, who was just try not to laugh out loud. How silly this was, but just looked down at the tablet thing. His AI and said sure, go ahead, ask what you want My farm can take on many different shapes. What I can do is I can be an earpiece that you can hear. I can be a small animal on your desk that you can talk to. I can be a piece of technology, like a tablet or a cell phone, or I can be a neural interface directly in your brain. How would you like this to work Marcus instantly didn''t want to pick anyone. Said, can I have that all? The small tablets put in a symbol. of an earbud on the top and then kind of push and then earbud literally kind of materialize out of the liquid metal of the tablet and it then also looked like a tablet. The tablet just said of course, you can and here put this ear button in your ear and you''ll now have me connected and you won''t feel it after a couple minutes ''cause it will dissolve and you''ll always be able to talk to me. I can also be a statue. So once. you put me down on your desk, I''ll change into a little creature that can move around and try not to get your way. And then when you want to walk around and hold something or look at a document that God, you pick me up and I''ll turn back into a tablet. How does that sound? Marcus was super happy with that and said as much Tablets start talking again¡± Perfect. Now let''s go into the next one. You can call me anything you want, but do you have a name for me or a designation you want me to reply to so that we can get to the point where I know that you''re talking to me? If I need help, I''ll ask, can I get some help? Will that be an okay catch phrase? The little ai I said understood and recorded. Marcus put down the tablet and. the tablet liquefied into a ferret silvery slash block slash white. It just kind of kept on changing its colour and shape. It very fluid at its first time. Well, it moved over to the folder that they were talking about, the one that they''re having problems with, and it opened it up, and it started reading it. And Marcus and Mr Smith just watched, and then they came up and said, would you like me to explain some of the issues and solutions to the problems brought up in this complaint? Marcus just smiled so wide and said yes, please. I would love the help The assistant then went over the problem and gave a couple of different options, but to make a long story short, radio waves after 10 years are no longer the property of the planet that they were sent from. They are now galactic property And it is the responsibility of you, the party that is having a problem to. weed out any bad signals from background radiation. Now normally the signals. aren''t tracked right back to their source. It sounds like more they want the rights to those videos. I wonder if on their home planet those are now becoming a type of entertainment that people are making money on. now because it''s galactic property. It''s free to everyone and therefore the people on their home planet can''t make any money off of it unless they''re ripping their own people off. But I don''t think they understand that so I would recommend sending this part of the law and here are the not law numbers and along with that. information to their home planet, not just to the group here and see what happens. Marcus looked down and said you''ve got all this information. Can you just already send it for me, please? Can you be my assistant and help me that way too? The Little AI just said it would be my pleasure, and I''m glad it could help. Give me a couple minutes. and I''m going to package everything up and send it off. Couple let''s say 10-20 minutes later, their door to their office slid open. The manager rolled up to the open door, turned and said, Marcus, I want to thank you for sending that information off to the proper authorities. It looks like that planet hasn''t been paying a deuce and a taxman ever, and wasn''t recorded right. So no longer are you worried about them asking money from you. You''ve just made us a large amount of money because of that. There was a finder''s fee. You made seven galactic Board credits. They have been added to your account and. because you see me very efficient We have sent your assistant a small list of only 10,000 small projects that just need to be looked over and a one paragraph two paragraph outline. done for them. And thank you for being such a hard worker. The manager literally started to roll away, and Marcus said, excuse me, sir, if I wanna allow my assistant to earn that money, can I allow my assistant to look over the mall and then bring them to me after they''ve looked over the mall and worked with my assistant? I don''t want to take the money away from them. Will that work? The manager rolled back afoot, turned and looked, and Mr Smith was just looking at him like, what are you on? Are you on some sort of drug? What are you crazy? The manager changed a little bit orange and said what? I''ll allow it and we will put the money that the both of you earn. And I will. deal with it at the end of the month, depending on how much it is. But for now, AI understand. there are only a couple of upgrades I can give to you. Would you like to work towards that and take this opportunity from. Marcus or would this not be within your programming? The Little Ai didn''t take too long to think, but said Very politely. It is not in my programming to do business, but due to the fact that there is a lot of work to be done and I am here to help Marcus, I would like to do the work. And if I''m being offered to be paid versus not being paid, I would like to be paid. So I would also like to use that money that I would earn for upgrading to my programming to allow me to do the business part a little bit better and become. more robust. Can that be arranged? The triangle had a chute of green, like through a vein, go from the bottom right to the top of its head, and then a smile, a green smile went right across its entire body for a split second and disappeared and said that would be perfect. There''s one problem. It''s going to cost 100 credits, and it''s the advanced a. I. System that allows you to learn. Would you like to put all the money that you are going to work towards? that upgrade Yes Was all that had to be said. and with that, the manager just rolled off The ai just looked up at Marcus said thank you and just literally turned into a tablet and started loading all 10,000 little cases and said, Mr Smith, please take him out for a walk. I think you guys need a little bit of an air after that and I have a lot of work here. Maybe talk to you guys tomorrow. Mr Smith just smiles ear to ear, going that just could get any better and said not. Let''s go for that walk You now have. two extra credits and I think. you deserve a treat Did you know you can buy food? here on the station and it''ll be delivered to your home. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Marcus actually smiled and said, yes, I actually figured that out and had myself a nice meat dinner last night. It was quite nice and a drink. Mr Smith just smiled it''s splendid that is amazing that you''re starting to learn the system so quickly. So let''s go down. There is a plant. I think you should buy it makes. little fruits grow on it. Takes about two days for the fruits to replenish themselves and they''re no bigger than your thumb. They give you a lot of energy and it''s.. A nice little plant to put on your desk. It needs sunlight and some water. I thought you would like that. It cost. two galactic Ford credits. Marcus asked, what''s the name of the plant? Mr Smith turned his head and looked directly at Marcus and smiled and said, you got a couple of different names One of the joke names is a gum gum tree. Another one is the abrosia. tree. but my favorite. And it''s actual name. The tree of many fruits. Mr Smith instantly recognized the problem and his smile disappeared and he. basically touched his ear and said, hey, little AI please order. an allergy test for Marcus''s human body due to the fact he is thinking about buying the tree of many fruits. They I came back saying test done and it is recommended not to buy that fruit tree. It contains seven different fruits that would change the chemistry of your blood and body with not one good side effect Therefore you would have a major allergic reaction to it. Do not buy Mr Smith was a little bummed out and looked over at Marcus, who had honestly thanks to the AI had heard the conversation and it was just like I understand. Mr Smith then asked the ai what small add on for, let''s say, 2 GALACTIC board credits. Could we get for Marcus''s home? that he doesn''t already have? Seven items came up and were listed in a little blue box.
Combat Bush fork at night. This is a piece of wood that clips onto your belt. You. usually along your spine and your right hand and left hand will come up to two grips as you pull them out. They are 6 inches long Fork and knife that a cattle rustler would use back in the old days. 1 GBC.
The Big Bad Curtains. This is just a curtain rod once you. hang it somewhere. Curtains will drop and can be open and closes by moving them around. But the idea is to make a room as dark as possible. So as long as you don''t leave a gap above them, these are meant to block out any light until you open up them. 2 GBC
Stone fridge digital display. This is just a small little. magnet that you put on the front of your stone fridge and it allows your AI to send messages if they''re not there or leave messages between each other. Basically, it''s a whiteboard for each other to talk to each other. 2 GBC
Designer glasses. These are just a normal pair of reading glasses that don''t impair the person''s sight in any which way except connected up to the Galactic Board. Glass within your eye. This will add a new layer allowing you to see in. designer mode Therefore, if you have things that need to be checked, but you can''t see through something using these will allow you to zoom in and out on parts underneath other parts. It''s like X ray mode. 4 GBC (sale 2 GBC only today)
A little bit of magic. A little bit of magic is a small. stone that you put where you. sleep in your home. and what it does is it finds the ambient magic in the area. And if there''s enough of it, it''ll make small moats of pure magic come out or. allow those pieces of pure magic to manifest in different ways. And also seeks out negative ways for the magic. to seep into reality and tries to neutralize him and keep the person safe. So if you had a haunted house over time, this would cleanse the house. 9 GBC (sale 2 GBC today only)
Stone fridge random. pack. This is a pack of items or food that will work with the little stone bridge at. an add-on. 4 GBC ( 2 GBC sale only today)
Little Stone fridge recycler. This is a little bag that you put on the side. And when you put anything inside of it, it will disassemble that material down. and add it back to the little stone fridge if you. recycle enough the the fridge may repair itself. or make itself better in some way. This will also remove any garbage from the area if. the little stone fridge doesn''t have the right components to repair or upgrade. It may use some of the material to leave a message requesting repairs and what to be repaired. 2 GBC always
Mr Smith looked them over and said, not those are pretty good. Which one are you gonna pick? Marcus was no, I''m not AI get them all. I should have 12 galactic credits, correct? The ai replied back with, after your purchases of all those, you actually have seven more galactic credits. that you have not used and I recommend saving them for a good dinner tonight. I''m actually looking forward to be able to communicate with you in your home now. And the random path, the reviews on it. I put it in there because it was on special today. But normally people will pay 15 to 24 because it usually comes with some piece of technology and even a treat of some sort. So today was going to be a really good day when you get home. And I think and if it''s okay, can I come with you? Marcus didn''t have to think he had already planned it. Yeah. And he just said, yeah, I want you. I want you when I log out to be around and that whole 9 yards, if we take some work home. I don''t have a problem with that. We''ll work from the cave. With that old outlook, Marcus. and Mr Smith went for a walk about an hour later, Marcus said. Thank you very much and logged up for the day. CH5.5 Abra''s in his office. when stuff just started appearing. But it was weird. A couple of items that came through instantly went away. Like they were teleported in and they were halfway in before they got teleported out But then a message appeared on Aves screen saying Good day. Your benefactor has ordered some items from the Galactic Ford, but do the fact that you do not have some of the items that are required You will be given. other items in return. Today specials are gift baskets. Enjoy. It was kinda cool because. the combat knife and Fork. and a small crystal appeared And you gift baskets with wine, coffee, chocolate, These things were as big as a person. They were just two huge gift baskets Some had cloth and some little scissors in it. And a just was freaked out and he just screamed at the door. The heads. that popped in the door, then saw the giant pink and green gift baskets wrapped in plastic and Abu''s opening the fork and knife and holding it, showing the guys he goes They just showed up. Take them into the other room and open them up. OK, here and he put the knife and pork back in the piece of wood and handed it off to them. They took it all. They all left except for Abe who sat at his desk and holy crap. And he checked his galactic credits. He was up to 60. and he did nothing. It wasn''t until a couple minutes later did a little wisp of white, thicker than smoke, kind of. like a drop of gas that just came out of the top of the crystal, floated into the air and popped like a soap bubble. The whole room just felt warmer, more comfortable. and then a just felt tired and had a nap. When he woke up, he felt very, very relaxed. And he looked down at the little crystal, realizing that there was a drop of that same kind of gassy liquid sticking to the very tip of the crystal just hovering there. He. touched it and it absorbed into his skin And the moment it did, it travelled throughout his whole body. And the tips of his teeth, little bits of lightning crackled as he opened his mouth and disappeared. And that was it. It was gone. Abe just tasted magic. he just got up out of the room and had the feeling. What''s was in those gift baskets was going to make dinner tonight very, very nice And with that, he walked out. Ch 5.6 When Marcus got back, his cave and he got out of the chair. on the counter next to the little fridge. was the fork and knife. And he opened it up and looked at it and smiled. And on the fridge, the little communications magnet was already there. The recycler was on the side. It just looked like I get black garbage bag. That''s it. But it was only like half a foot deep. So he knew he can put very much in there at a time. And there was a little lid to it. So he could close the lid. But besides the fridge was a little red box tied with a ribbon and everything And written in black on the red was little. stone fridge. Random box. He opened up the box and inside the box. I''m not joking. Was an easy button, just like from Staples. except it said what. meal a day. Stick to fridge on a little sticker attached to it. Remove sticker when ready to use. so Marcus took it and stuck it to the fridge and removed the sticker and under the sticker was a counter and it had the number 12 on it. He opened the fridge to check and all that was in there was his glass of green liquid. He pulled that out and drank it. It was lime Kool aid, but super concentrated and sweet. Just gave you a sugar buzz. So Jolt cola. But they didn''t smell like anything. It just tasted that way. He closed the fridge door and pushed the button. And as he removed his hand, the 12 turned to an 11 and a timer. and a timer of five minutes showed up. He went to he went to go open the fridge door and it wouldn''t. It was shot locked and the timer was counting down. So he walked away and took his drink and sat down at his desk and said, hey, AI are you there? It was a couple seconds, but then the I said, I''m here in your ear, but I''m not too sure how to get to your desk. Give me a couple minutes to figure it out. Now that you''ve invited me, and there was a little pool of silver liquid on the desk that was starting to pool, coming up out of the desk. So Marcus realized it would take some time for that too, and just sipped his drink and looked out over the ocean. By the time a little snake appeared on the desk and the a said, I''m here and just started moving around the desk. Marcus. looked over at the fridge and it picked down to zero. So he walked over and opened it. and a card. A cartochi plate of meat and cheese and other. things were there, except this one was like a tackle box. When you pulled it out, you opened it up and it had more layers. They have a 5 layers of this thing and it fit in the fridge so he could have some then put it back in the fridge on. the box. It said once you''re done with the food, please place those box back in the fridge and push the button to replenish the food within this box. Every day will be a different type of food. Thank you for using stone fridges. He hasn''t looked around and had noticed this metal bar now going across the big open area window. But what he didn''t realize is if he looked up, there was two of them. So he looked at the AI and said do I have two of these black oak curtain things on the AI took a moment and said no, you have one that''s way better than the new one that you just bought. Do you want to give back? the one that you just bought or keep it? Marcus asked to return it and was informed that he''d only get one credit back. He was OK with that and said, sure. Hey ai. Do you have the controls to make the blackout lines work? And with that, the whole cave went dark and the lights on the roof started up. After about 10 seconds the. blockout was lifted and the lights went back to normal and the sun shone back in and. Marcus was very happy with this because the smile on his face. and the food in his hand and the drink that he was working on sitting at his desk, looking out of the ocean, said this could be worse. The rest of the day went by, and a little bit of a drugged haze because some of the fruits were. actually on purpose, fermented and some of them were laced with alien drugs, but the AI now knowing what. Marcus was allergic to had made sure that anything that he could buy wouldn''t be toxic to him, but didn''t say it wouldn''t get him blitzed out of his mind and the fridge was now tailored. to help not hinder him. 5.9 Mr Smith took. a small walk to the manager''s office, knocked and was told to come in. And as the triangle was sitting there, Mr Smith just flicked a coin and said here''s 10 galactic board credits I want you to add as much chaos to any of his purchases for the next ten purchases. When don''t tell him The manager took the money and said, done. So why are you picking on the new guy? And what do you expect to gain from this? Mr Smith just turned and started to walk away and over his shoulder. The said, fun, like every other time I do this. As the door closed, the manager sat there, pulled up a screen and went over to the pools that they all ran and put 100 board credits. down on Marcus. and the comment was this is a keeper, I think. The manager then swapped over to a screen that he had been running. all day long. It was of Marcus in his cave and at. Marcus pulled out the kit from the fridge. and took it over to his desk and then opened it up and spread everything out so he could see it. One little green and purple fruit. No bigger than a thumb. was very noticing. noticeable from and he realized that one of the safe fruits from the tree of many fruits had made it in to his cartieri platter. And with that the manager paid 10 credits to the system and added life insurance to Marcus because, well, just because it didn''t kill him didn''t mean it wasn''t gonna make him have one hell of a trip Now, would it happen any lasting side effects would be need to be seen. 5.9.5 Marcus''s little AI love that it had already been given the advanced protocol and it had to work through all 10,000 projects and files and then it would be given free range to start its own projects. But for now it was happy just having a good partner and work to do. But it noticed the little purple and green fruit and then notice the manager put health insurance on and the moment Marcus not noticing what it was, but grabbing it as one of the things he was munching on, popped in his mouth and then swallowed. the AI started recording the signals that his brain were sending through the glasses. So basically the AI could see what Marcus was seeing and the trippy effects that were coming off were recorded for all to see and he uploaded it as part of the show. The health insurance was activated immediately and the AI was upgraded to help a I permanently. and only one small amount of cells that would have gone into cancerous had to be killed other than that it was a totally safe trip. It did unlock a small piece of Marcus''s brain and this was recorded and sent up to the manager who then sent that off to research, saying please advise on any side effects. Thank you. I''m with that. Everybody just watched this show and Marcus just watched the ocean and wow, what a great view. that lasted for 17 hours market. filled his glass of drink three different times and got a bloody Mary a. alcoholic zombie drink from Manitoba and a thing called ayahuasca. That night, he had gone through almost everything in the little box that closed back in, like a bento box. And the last little bit that he couldn''t eat that were more garnish. He threw it in the recycler into the little garbage can, and then he put it back in along with a spot for his glass. and went to bed. The next morning, he realized he had to use the bathroom, but didn''t know where to go. And asked the AI and the AI told him to put on his designer glasses. And as he put them on, finding them stuck to the fridge like a magnet, he realized there was 2 little doors beside the kitchen. 1 went down a set of stairs, but it wouldn''t open. He could see the stairs and could see the door, but it wouldn''t open. And he knew he had to unlock it somehow. And the other one opened up to a little bathroom and had a shower and a toilet and a mirror and a sink and a nice little bathroom. So he used the bathroom. And then. went to himself. What? Let''s go for a swim. And he took himself down to the ocean and went for a swim. He was. swimming around diving. when he thought not. AI. How much work do you think I could get done today? The little eye was a fish hanging around him. It swam up and said, I have about 100 files for you to look over out of the 10,000 that we may be able to get rid of to day. Do you want me to ask you questions while you swim? He said yes, please keep me busy and keep my mind going. I would love to have something to keep me occupied. The two of them started going through the files, just denying almost everything. And when they didn''t understand something, they would take an hour or two to have the AI research it and then talk between the two of them. And a couple of times they asked Mr Smith if he''d like to be in on the conversation. And he was connected in to their little conversation, and he dropped out of the conversation, dropped in when he won. It was like having a discord chat set up It was kind of nice. And with that, Marcus had walked around the island twice and gotten. lots of exercise and gotten 92 of the 100 dealt with because they. had come up with eight problems and that was going to be tomorrow. Marcus was going to go into the office and get rid of those 8 in person. and maybe set up another hundred to be worked on. But this point he had to ask himself by doing these actors how much they had made. So with a thought to himself, the little blue box of how many galactic credits popped up. And he was kind of shocked to see that he had
35.6 GBC
Mr Smith asked AI. to advise. Marcus to get a hobby. The Little AI acknowledges Mr Smith, but said, not at this time. He has to get used to just doing work, and if I can keep him busy, then he''ll get good and then. we can get him. a hobby when he starts getting lonely. I will be recommending to Marcus to get the interface allowing him to watch. a video in. his vision as if he was putting his eyes to the telescope. Therefore he can sit down and look through the telescope while being on his bed or something like that, allowing him to have longer times of seeing his world keeping him in touch with it could be a double edged sword, but it''s what''s recommended for long term. incarceration like he is. Mr Smith, knowing most of this, just agreed and said. to friendship and a little lady said to friendship that was it end of the day