《Perspective Engine One (THE PSYCHO-LITRPG)》 1 - A New Perspective ¡°Dr. Lee, can I be honest with you?¡± I asked, thirty-five minutes into my forty-minute therapy session. I wouldn¡¯t have to talk about my latest screw-up for too long, thankfully. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t like it any other way, Madison,¡± Dr. Lee said, taking a sip of what I assumed was water from her mint green Stanley cup. The psychologist was a thirty-something Chinese woman. She always wore a dark-colored turtleneck with small jade beads. Dr. Lee had a kind face and I loved her cute little green necklace. If only therapy helped me. Even a fucking little. ¡°I did it again,¡± I said, choking on the words as they entangled the shame I felt. ¡°I stepped on that damn scale.¡± Dr. Lee pursed her lips and looked down, scribbling something on a pad. ¡°And how did that make you feel?¡± ¡°Sick to my stomach. I don¡¯t know which weighs me down more Dr. Lee, being Bipolar or being a fat-ass.¡± ¡°Madison, when you talk about yourself that way, how does it make you feel?¡± I almost rolled my eyes at her constant drilling. ¡°I feel what I always feel,¡± I said, shaking with tears. ¡°Miserable, I¡¯m miserable.¡± I shook my head and grabbed the AriZona sweet tea sitting on my desk. Unfortunately, the bottle was almost finished. ¡°I thought we were getting rid of the scale, Madison, you told me you were going to dispose of it.¡± Well, I didn¡¯t use the word ¡®dispose¡¯ that¡¯s for sure. ¡°I know Dr. Lee, but I plucked it right from the bin before trash day, I just had to see it one more time. I was hoping my weight went down.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Dr. Lee said, clearing her throat. ¡°How much did it say?¡± ¡°Four and some change, and it hasn¡¯t changed for the better.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s focus on something else,¡± she said, ¡°have you been writing in the daily gratitude journal and reading from the list of positive affirmations?¡± I grabbed my bottle and took another sip. There was a new condensation ring left by the tea on my desk. There were hundreds at this point. I swirled the little remaining tea. My twelve-pack was down to its last bottle. I¡¯d have to get some more delivered. I glanced back at the psychologist and considered what she had said. ¡°I still don¡¯t have anything to be grateful for, Dr. Lee. I¡¯m sorry. You know what, I¡¯ll be grateful if I get my case of sweet tea same-day delivery.¡± Dr. Lee sighed. ¡°¡­and the positive affirmations?¡± I shook my head, looking away from the small box of my psychologist on the computer screen. I refused to make the box larger than it needed to be. I also refused to look at myself in the mirror image that Zoom forced upon its users. I hate seeing myself. ¡°Not that either.¡± ¡°The medication at least?¡± With this question, the psychologist took a tone that reminded me of the last five therapists. They always started bubbly and focused but eventually, they withered, and finally, I broke them. Anything under the weight of my life. Broken. ¡°I haven¡¯t missed a day of it but it doesn¡¯t work¡­yeah, I don¡¯t think it works.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re doing something. That¡¯s good news, at least,¡± Dr. Lee said, sounding almost patronizing. I shook my head. Reading Webtoons made me feel better than this shit. There was the strange probing at times. Then there was the belittling. This woman may have been my worst mental health professional yet. ¡°Listen, Dr. Lee, I have been in therapy for a decade, I¡¯m about to be twenty-five tomorrow, I don¡¯t think I can do all these things you¡¯ve been pushing on me.¡± ¡°Madison,¡± Dr. Lee took her glasses off. ¡°Have you tried?¡± ¡°Not hard enough, I guess. But I don¡¯t like this talking down to me, Dr. Lee,¡± Like I¡¯m depressed but you don¡¯t have to be rude. I crossed my arms. ¡°Is that how that felt? I¡¯m sorry Madison. I just feel like therapy has been challenging for you,¡± ¡°So is this you giving up on me then?¡± I asked, mostly to get a reaction. Dr. Lee leaned forward into her camera. The screen flickered as the psychologist smiled. ¡°Madison, this entire time I¡¯ve just been creating your profile. We haven¡¯t even started treatment yet.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I said. Sure felt like it started already. ¡°Tell me how you found this program?¡± ¡°Google ads,¡± I said, ¡° I saw ¡®Perspective¡¯, and it was like the word spoke to me.¡± ¡°The word did speak to you, Madison. I believe that you need a big change.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s because we recruited you.¡± ¡°Recruited?¡± I furrowed my brow at the word. ¡°After getting to know you for these past five weeks I have concluded that you are the perfect fit for Perspective¡¯s fifteenth experiment.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Experiment?¡± I asked, leaning back in my chair. It creaked a little. ¡°What do you mean experiment? ¡°It¡¯s more than an experiment. It¡¯s an experience and opportunity for you.¡± Dr. Lee said, her smile broadened now, teeth shining white. I didn¡¯t like experiments. Those chemistry experiments in tenth grade had the entire class whooping with glee while I found it boring. Especially the experiment understanding calories. That one felt targeted. ¡°I don¡¯t like experiments. Never wanted to be a part of one.¡± I grabbed my mouse and hovered the cursor over the ¡®x¡¯. This was getting weird. ¡°I thought this was therapy, not a science project and all that.¡± ¡°It is therapy. But you failed therapy Madison. Now we need to change your entire perspective.¡± I closed out the session with a click. I had to do it. Was it rude? I didn¡¯t care. She was being rude. I glanced at the time ¡ª 6:00 ¡ª Time was up anyway. I turned my back to the computer screen and tightened my lip. Why am I always getting caught up in scams and other weird shit? There was Brad, the catfish bastard who fleeced me out of $200. He was cute in his profile picture. Which was a damn stock photo. Whatever. Therapy wasn¡¯t for me. I promised Mom I would do it three months every year. She made me make this promise when my life went to shit in high school after Papa died. Mom reiterated this promise three years ago as pancreatic cancer took her too. Now that these three months were up, I doubted I would ever go back this time. I sighed as I glanced around my pathetic room. The full-sized bed was sunk in, the carpet floor ragged, dirty clothes overflowing, and the TV remote was still missing in action. It had been two days, and I needed to find that damn thing. I lived in a one-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and a small living room that overlooked downtown Minneapolis. Rent was cheap enough to accommodate me for the next ten years while I spent the life insurance money my parents left me. Eventually, I would get a job again and then the money would last me even longer. ¡°I wasn¡¯t finished explaining the experiment, Madison,¡± I spun back around and there was the Zoom call ¡ª active. The psychologist¡¯s window covered the entire 20¡¯ screen. The woman¡¯s face loomed large, as she leaned forward into the camera, her eyes accusatory and piercing. ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡± I said. ¡°I want to be discharged from the program!¡± ¡°Madison, you are client #670,¡± Dr. Lee said, holding her clipboard to the screen. The numbers were written neatly in bold marker for me to read clearly. ¡°You don¡¯t have any pets so that¡¯s good. No friends or family so that¡¯s good.¡± Her voice lost its softness, not truly speaking to me but reading from a list of notes. ¡°I do have friends and family!¡± I said, knowing I had already told the woman in a previous session my friends and extended family hadn¡¯t heard from me in years. Why couldn¡¯t my parents have given me a sister or a brother before they went and died on me? ¡°We have ensured the last six months of your lease have been paid for. Unfortunately, the length of this experiment is a year. Movers will put all your things in storage when the time comes. We will pay the monthly bill.¡± ¡°Dr. Lee, you are scaring me,¡± I said, my finger clicking the ¡®x¡¯ rapidly but the Zoom meeting refused to close. ¡°We believe that you need Perspective, Madison. It will be dangerous, you might snap, but you need Perspective to wake you¡ª¡° The monitor went black. ¡°Perspective that,¡± I said, crossing my arms with the desktop power cord in my hands. I leaned over and struggled to plug it back in. Screw it. I dropped it to the floor. That¡¯ll need to stay off for a long while anyway. I¡¯ll have to find the remote before I get bored. I picked up my bottle of iced tea and downed the last of it, then stood from my chair with a grunt. Damn this body. My feet hurt. My knees hurt. My back hurts. Every damn thing hurts. I slowly walked to my living room, if you can call limping and twisting trying to avoid the pain, walking. I should have been nose blind to the smell of old cardboard by now. I wasn¡¯t. The mountain of Amazon boxes on my couch rivaled Kilimanjaro. Cleaning that all up was another task for another day. A manic day. I stepped into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and scanned the shelves. The groceries were dwindling fast: Two gala apples, one cup of Greek yogurt, a glass bowl of partially eaten mac and cheese, and a half gallon of whole milk, half gone. My eyes stopped on the last bottle of the AriZona Iced Tea sitting on the top shelf just waiting for me. Last one. And that the weirdo psychologist distracted me from putting in a new delivery. There was a knock at my door. I shut the refrigerator door and squinted my eyes. ¡°Hmm?¡± Who the hell could that be? I considered for a split second that it was Dr. Lee¡¯s creepy ass. That would be illegal. ¡°Who is it now?¡± I asked tiredly, trudging to the door. ¡°Prime Delivery!¡± A man said. ¡°It says to deliver it to you by hand,¡± Had I put the order in before the session and forgotten about it? ¡°What is it?¡± I asked cautiously. ¡°A big ol¡¯ case of AriZona,¡± He said with a chuckle. As upset as I was from that crazy session, a bout of amnesia made sense. I had completely forgotten about putting in the delivery. I opened the door to see a young black guy with sleepy eyes and long dreadlocks carrying the case of tea. ¡°Here you go, miss,¡± He said with a smile, showing opaque Invisalign braces that weren¡¯t very invisible. ¡°Thanks so much,¡± I said, ¡°I forgot I ordered it,¡± ¡°Well, it says here it was a gift. Somebody likes you,¡± He pointed to the tag that said ¡®A gift for you!¡¯ ¡°Gift?¡± As the words left my mouth three large men walked off the elevator. The delivery man and I looked at the men as they approached my door. ¡°Perspective said they¡¯d be together. Clients #592 and #670,¡± the front man said, with a gruff Italian accent, ¡°two-for-one fellas.¡± My eyes widened as I shared a look with the courier. Suddenly, a man broke off from the three with a sprint, slamming into the delivery man. ¡°Shut the door!¡± The courier shouted, his voice filled with fear as he wrestled the attacker. ¡°Call the cops!¡± I slammed the door, throwing on the chain lock. ¡°Shit!¡± I screamed, looking for my cell phone. ¡°I¡¯m calling 911, assholes!¡± I ran, as best I could, to the bedroom and there my phone sat, vibrating like hell. There was an incoming video call from Dr. Lee. I tapped my finger frantically on the decline but the video call remained on the screen. The vibrating phone slipped to the floor out of my sweaty hands. That traitorous b¡ª I heard the door unlock and the doorknob turn, as it caught against the chain. I stumbled from the room, my mouth was dry with heavy pants as my heart beat out of my chest. I slammed myself against the cracked door. Being a big girl has its perks, bastards! I smiled at the thought. ¡°Come with us Madison,¡± the man said, leaning against the door. ¡°don¡¯t make this harder than it needs to be.¡± ¡°Stop it!¡± I screamed. ¡°Somebody help!¡± The men slammed their bodies into the door repeatedly with heavy thuds. Pain joined the struggle, my knees became weak. ¡°Oh no, oh no!¡± I screamed, as the men powered through me and the chained lock. The metal chain links clattering around me as I began, what I imagined to be, a theatrical tumble. I stumbled from the door, trying to prevent myself from falling, I fruitlessly slid along the wall, tripping forward and finally plowing into my couch. The mountain of empty boxes fell over me and my damn TV remote, which was hiding on the cushion, fell to the floor with a crack as its AAA batteries scattered in different directions. The three goons were only two now, and they were walking toward me. ¡°What do you want from me?!¡± I screamed, as one of the men lifted a can and sprayed a cloud of tranquilizer mist into my face. 2 - Perspective Engine One ¡°No!¡± I screamed, lurching awake. My head swirled as I lay on some sort of hospital bed. I was wrapped in white sheets, my arms tucked tightly along my sides, with a large white comforter atop me. I tried to sit up but couldn¡¯t. Where did those jerks bring me? The room I had awakened in was white. Too white. The ceiling, the walls, the floors, the four fluorescent lights ¡ª all white. If there was a door, which there noticeably wasn¡¯t, that too would¡¯ve been white. The room was the size of my bedroom. No one else was there. And it was uncomfortably quiet. ¡°Hello?¡± I said, ¡°hmm.¡± My voice was different ¡ª it felt wrong. I forced myself up from the bed, pulling the sheet off my and tossing the comforter aside. I gasped. She was a child. Still hefty, I was always a little bigger than the rest of them, but I was a child nonetheless. I wore black scrubs without pockets, grippy socks, and a patch over the left side of my chest that read #670. I felt my face. How old was I? Twelve? Younger? ¡°What the fuck?!¡± I shrieked, my shrill pre-teen voice piercing the empty room. I stood from the bed and stepped on the white glass floor. The cold sterile room made my skin ripple with goosebumps. Man, it¡¯s cold! But then another realization dawned on me. There was no pain. There was no anything. My mind was sharp and clear. I felt¡ª Perfect. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± I whispered. There was a quick beep of an intercom above. ¡°Good morning Madison, welcome to Perspective¡¯s fifteenth experiment!¡± ¡°Dr. Lee?¡± I said, tilting my head to the ceiling. The damn psychologist sounded chipper again. Reminiscent of our first therapy session. ¡°I trusted you! What the fuck is this?!¡± In that moment, swearing attached to my child-like voice made me feel like I would be scolded for the language. ¡°You are currently in the highest-graded therapy-based virtual reality AI system, Perspective Engine One.¡± ¡°Virtual reality?¡± I¡¯d thought about getting one of those VR headsets when they were first popular. Too much standing, I decided. ¡°Well, that explains why I¡¯m a kid. Now tell me why I¡¯m here.¡± My teeth clattered. ¡°And turn the heat up please, I¡¯m freezing.¡± I forgot what it was like to not have built-in insulation. ¡°You were brought here to defeat all of your mental health and physical health problems!¡± How the hell could a VR headset defeat¡ªnevermind even the thought of what the woman said was stupid. ¡°I told you over ten years of therapy hasn¡¯t been able to fix me. This is a waste of both our time.¡± ¡°Have you noticed how great you feel and how clear headed you are?¡± Hmm... I did feel amazing. ¡°Okay, sure, I¡¯ve noticed.¡± ¡°Each of your afflictions have been removed from you. They have become physical manifestations that you will encounter in Perspective.¡± Dr. Lee said. ¡°The VR-AI system labels them: Physma.¡± In an instant the room went black and fear washed over me. Before I could scream, the lights came back on and there, in front of me, was small black creature. It looked like a doberman pinscher with a massive sunflower seed in place of its head. I almost fell on the floor lurching away, as the sunflower seed head split open like a blossoming flower revealing hundreds of sharp teeth and a long spooling tongue. ¡°Physma come in all shapes and sizes,¡± Dr. Lee said, ¡° and this little one is hungry,¡± The monster bounded at me, leaping in a long arc, sharp teeth aimed for my head. ¡°Ahh!¡± I screamed, raising my hands to shield my face, before the creature burst into dust. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t have to face one yet.¡± Dr. Lee said with amusement. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°This is sick! I want to leave!¡± ¡°Not until your Big-Three Physma are defeated.¡± Fizz-ma? ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡± ¡°Your Big-Three Physma are: Social Isolation, Bipolar Disorder I, and Morbid Obesity. These are very formidable foes but with time, experience, and courage, you will be able to face them and¡­maybe defeat them.¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°I¡¯m not going to participate in this nonsense. I refuse.¡± ¡°We can unleash your Physma on you now, if you like. You are of the beginner class, so you¡¯ll easily snap, then once we bring you back, you can try again.¡± Madison imagined trying to fight three of those creatures. She was screwed. ¡°Beginner class? Is this a game?¡± ¡°Perspective prefers to be called a strategic simulation,¡± Dr. Lee said, ¡°but yes, you are currently the weakest class of the simulation.¡± ¡°Strategic simulation¡­Okay, can I have an instruction manual or something?¡± ¡°No, you will learn as you go. We, the treatment team, will guide you the best we can. I will say, if you would have listened to me and completed your daily coping skills, you could have been at a much higher starting level but¡­this is fine.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t know I was going to be shoved into a clusterfuck of a situation. Is this dangerous?¡± ¡°Perspective? Yes, it is very dangerous.¡± ¡°What the hell do you mean, ¡®very dangerous¡¯?¡± ¡°Most participants snap, unfortunately.¡± She clicked her teeth. ¡°We are at a 90% snap rate in the fourteen experiments before this one.¡± ¡°Snap? What is that? You did mention it earlier, when I was HOME.¡± I said the word as loudly as I could muster. ¡°If you exert yourself beyond your mental capacity, you will snap. To snap is to lose all brain function, leaving you in an unconscious vegetative state.¡± I shuddered at the idea. This is insane. I need to GTFO. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Dr. Lee continued, ¡°you will be kept alive in our state-of-the-art medical stasis bay. Since the first experiment, we have brought back 20% of all the participants who have snapped. That number is getting better and better!¡± The psychologist¡¯s voice seemed overly chipper after telling me this experiment could leave me brain dead. ¡°Your situation was very severe Madison, you had nothing to lose. I¡¯m glad you decided to come here.¡± ¡°What the hell!¡± I yelled, my youthful voice cracking. ¡°I did not agree to this!¡± ¡°Actually, you did. You signed the contractual paperwork on the first day. Six signatures, Madison. Even the one that detailed being extracted from your home if you refused to come willingly.¡± Damn it, I do remember it being a lot of signatures. Who the hell reads all that intake bullshit. ¡°You also took the calibration medication as well. That allowed your brain to become supple enough to adhere to the vigors of the Perspective Engine One.¡± That¡¯s why that medicine didn¡¯t work. It wasn¡¯t even treating me. That has to be malpractice or something. I shook my head. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we talk about this in our sessions?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to scare you away. I also had to see if you were a good fit.¡± I sighed. ¡°What do I even get out of this?¡± ¡°I got ahead of myself, I should have mentioned this. Each time you defeat one of your afflictions, they will heal and cease to exist in your life in the real world. At the end of this, you will be a very different woman!¡± I blinked at the thought of it. The thought of being healed. Freedom from the weight of it all. ¡°Oh.¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s also a cash prize of $81,426.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­oddly specific.¡± I squinted. ¡°Well, can you give me a rundown of the experiment?¡± ¡°Well Madison, the treatment team needs to learn more about this new experiment as well. No one knows what happens one moment to the next. Perspective only reveals a small fraction, even to us, at the start of each phase.¡± ¡°Perspective sounds controlling.¡± I said. ¡°Perspective was created to ensure minimal external manipulation as possible. Be very careful what you say about this V.R. A.I., it doesn¡¯t take kindly to disrespect.¡± I toyed with the idea of raging against the machine. But I decided against it. ¡°It¡¯s the perfect system to conduct experiments,¡± Dr Lee said, ¡°that could play a major role in the world we live in. Imagine a world where you can get rid of physical health and mental health by simply defeating them.¡± The idea did seem revolutionary, but I didn¡¯t want to be a part of the revolution. ¡°Fine. Since this is mandatory, let¡¯s get it over with. Where do I start?¡± ¡°Good. Perspective doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s good for clients to go about this experience alone. You personally know how hard life is alone, Madison.¡± Fuck off, Dr. Lee. Although when the woman mentioned going through the experience alone, Madison remembered the Prime courier. ¡°What happened to that guy with the dreads? Who delivered the package?¡± ¡°Oh? Client #592? We were trying to bring him in for a while but he was always driving here and there. Glad you helped us help him.¡± I clenched my fist. Tricking people into therapy and kidnapping them. These people are fucked. A wall in the room flashed blue three times, before disappearing. On the other side of the wall was a wide blue corridor. The walls, ceiling and floors were covered with fur and there was a small white door at the end of it. I knew it¡¯d be a white door. ¡°Please walk through the door.¡± I took a step, before stopping. ¡°What¡¯s on the other side?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first phase of the experiment: Team-building.¡± 3 - Team-Building I walked down the soft blue corridor and ran my hand along the furry wall. It was plush, dense, and curly like poodle fur. Childish curiosity led me to lean in and sniff the wall. Was that a shampoo I smelled? A better question, what the hell was that curiosity? Sure is a strange place. I turned the round knob of the white door and found a small square room. The furry blue ceiling, walls, and floors continued into the room beyond the corridor. In the middle, were three men dressed in black suits sitting at tan computer workstations. None of them had shoes and socks on. I felt fear and anger growing as I appraised the strangers. How do I know I can trust anything or anyone in this¡­thing? The one in the middle stood. He was tall and thin, clean-shaven and pale. He brushed a long strand of brown curly hair that fell in front of his eyeglasses. He was rather cute, I decided. Even if he was evil. ¡°Madison, I am Paul, Remedy Specialist,¡± he smiled as he extended his arms and bowed, ¡°Welcome to The Upgrade Room.¡± ¡°Paul, huh,¡± I squinted at him doubtfully. His height seemed about right even though he seemed a little thinner. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have happened to be one of those assholes that blasted me up with tranquilizer, would you Paul?¡± Paul¡¯s face darkened as he shook his head. ¡°How do you expect them to trust us when you¡­you know what, never mind.¡± He sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you endured that Madison. No, I was not one of those bastards or as you put it, assholes.¡± Hmm. Now he was cute and kind. ¡°Okay,¡± I said, accepting his answer. ¡°Are you a fake A.I. person?¡± ¡°We¡¯re as human as you,¡± Paul said, poking himself in the chest. I could see he liked to use his hands when he talked. He was cute, kind, and real. ¡°Let me show you.¡± The suited man walked toward me from around his desk, his long skinny feet leaving weighted impressions on the fur floor. I found myself smiling as he casually approached. Then grew furious when he took a knee and handed me a damn lollipop. ¡°There you are, little girl,¡± he said, then stood and walked back to his desk. ¡°We will ensure you have a better experience with Perspective moving forward.¡± ¡°I would have you know that I am a twenty-four-year-old woman!¡± I yelled, before covering my mouth. I had forgotten that today was my birthday. ¡°I¡¯m twenty-five today.¡± ¡°Oh? Well, happy birthday, Madison. The Prospective engine should have a birthday gift for you then. However, allow me to correct you, you are not twenty-five.¡± He leaned over his hidden computer screen with a finger pointing at the monitor. ¡°In Perspective, you are nine, well, now a ten-year-old girl. So, you shall be treated as such.¡± And here I thought I liked this guy. ¡°Okay, whatever Paul.¡± With all the things he just said to me, I decided that I needed some answers. ¡°What is The Upgrade Room? You said the system has a gift for me? And who are those two?¡± ¡°Whoa now,¡± Paul clapped his hands together and held them in place. ¡°Let¡¯s slow down, Madison. One thing at a time. We can get this out of the way first.¡± He flared his hand in circles toward the first of the other two. ¡°Introduce yourselves, gentleman.¡± ¡°Hullo Madison, I¡¯m Bill, Memory Specialist.¡± Bill was a graying, balding, barefoot man in a matching black suit with dandruff on the shoulders. He sat to the left of Paul. Bill didn¡¯t stand, but only waved from his chair, as his toes wiggled in the fur at his feet. Before I could reply the other man spoke. ¡°I¡¯m Hal, Inventory Specialist.¡± Hal was a teenage boy with black hair that covered his eyes. Kids these days. How the hell can he see? Hal could have been a few years older than the Prospective engine had made me. Hal held his hand like a gun at me with something on his finger¡ª ¡°What the heck!¡± I said, dodging as a rubberband flew by my head. ¡°Good reflexes pipsqueak,¡± Hal smiled. I gritted my teeth at the slur. He¡¯s one to talk. I could literally crush him in the real world. ¡°Now Hal, what did we say about shooting at clients?¡± Paul said, with a condescending tone. ¡°Suck it, Paul,¡± Hal replied, this time aiming his finger gun at the Remedy Specialist. The rubberband flitted with a snap and popped Paul in the temple. Paul shook his head with a sigh before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose ¡°So you¡¯re saying I¡¯m able to get a few things to protect myself from those creatures.¡± ¡°Right, unfortunately, you are of the Beginner Class, which means you only have a base remedy, that birthday gift item, and a single memory from your life.¡± I considered the three things that he mentioned. I¡¯d have to ask him about each of them because all this stuff felt so foreign to me. ¡°What¡¯s a base remedy?¡± ¡°The base remedy is from the Physma you encountered in that ¡®Welcome Room¡¯. When you defeat Physma, you internalize the ¡®remedy¡¯ of the affliction which becomes an offensive, defensive, or utility power.¡± I considered the idea of defeating something. I hadn¡¯t defeated anything in my life except a warm box of extra cheese pizza. ¡°What¡¯s about the memories?¡± I asked. ¡°A memory,¡± Bill said, crossing his legs under his desk and then wiggling his toes as he spoke, ¡°can be just the thing you need to handle what Perspective throws at you. Memories can be manipulated to change your perspective of situations. It¡¯s why I strive to remember everything in my life. Even though I regret not asking Louise to marry me¡­ I still remember the good times we shared. Even though I regret¡ª¡± ¡°Here we go,¡± Hal said with a sigh. The teen looked ready to aim a rubber band at the old man. ¡°Oh hush up boy, you wait until you have regrets that keep you awake at all hours of the night,¡± Bill said, before glancing at me and then Paul. He shook his head and took a deep breath. ¡°We all have a lot of regrets, am I right?¡± I smiled uncomfortably. ¡°It¡¯s okay to share.¡± The older man rested his chin on his palm and looked past me speculatively. These guys felt¡­real. ¡°Did you give her the memory from Perspective yet, Bill?¡± Paul asked. He looked at me. ¡°Perspective will provide the memory, you only need to hope that it¡¯s a good one.¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s right,¡± The balding man said, scratching the stubble on his chin. ¡°Sending it now.¡± ¡°Paul, you didn¡¯t turn on the interface yet,¡± Hal said, his fingers clicking away at his screen. ¡°I didn¡¯t? Crap.¡± Paul said, leaning back over his computer. His hands glided frantically over the keys. I looked between the three men, as they all seemed to work hard on my behalf. What is this place? Above there was a loud beep. ¡°Upgrade Room staff,¡± a woman said over the speaker, a different voice from Dr. Lee, ¡°please release the clients to the first phase.¡± ¡°I already sent over her birthday gift from Perspective, so she¡¯s good on my end,¡± Hal said, ¡°Piece of crap item if you ask me.¡± ¡°No item is a piece of crap,¡± Bill said, ¡°and the memory is also uploaded.¡± Paul tapped several keys and then lifted his finger theatrically to tap a final button. I nearly jumped out of my skin as a glowing panel appeared in front of me: [ Beginner Class ] [ Remedies: 1 ] [ Inventory: 1 ] [ Memories: 1 ] [ Missions : 0 ] Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Okay, you should see your Beginner Class interface. It¡¯s bound to change as you grow, choosing new classes and all, but for now, this is what you get.¡± It tracked my eyes it seemed, as I looked up and down it still appeared in sight. Even when I closed my eyes, there it was, glowing like an alarm clock in the night. ¡°How do I get rid of it? It¡¯s literally blocking my vision.¡± ¡°You can make it smaller, just reach for it and use your fingers to adjust it like a touch screen phone.¡± I reached out my hand over the red and blue information bubbles, then pinched my fingers to shrink it as small as possible, then placed it on the left in my vision. ¡°That will take some getting used to,¡± I said. ¡°Eventually you¡¯ll barely know it¡¯s there,¡± Bill said. ¡°Well, just command it to give you what you want when you want it.¡± Paul said.¡°Ask it to show you your Remedy.¡± Open Remedy? I saw a new box pop into my vision and there was a feeling that I could press this button with my mind to activate it. [ Cure for Xenophobia ] ¡°How''s the cure for xenophobia?¡± The old man and the young man looked at the Remedy Specialist quizzically as Paul¡¯s grimacing face betrayed his thoughts. My heart dropped at the sight. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s brain dead,¡± Hal said. ¡°Send us to experiment sixteen, Perspective,¡± ¡°Wait, is this not good?¡± I said, eyes darting with worry. ¡°Why is this not good?¡± ¡°Utility remedies are, well, a mixed bag,¡± Paul said. ¡°That specific one does just about nothing for combat. It just allows you to feel comfortable with the unknown.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± I said, putting my hands on my hips. ¡°And the memory?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t open it!¡± Bill shouted, nearly jumping out of his seat. Everyone looked at him as brushed his black blazer, settling himself down. ¡°Sorry for getting loud. Only use the memory if you feel hopeless. They won''t come back.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I said with an uncomfortable nod. Paul adjusted his glasses. ¡°You want to avoid all Physmas in this phase until you come back. The good news is you won¡¯t be alone, other clients should be able to protect you. Hopefully, Perspective will be kind and it will give you better remedies and accessories during the next phase. Now let¡¯s see that item.¡± Hal chuckled to himself. Hmm, open inventory? I thought A long list of empty spaces appeared in front of me. My eyes widened at the sole item in my inventory. I tapped the air and a twelve-pack of AriZona Iced Tea appeared in my arms. ¡°That was your birthday gift?¡± Paul said, turning to Hal. ¡°Told you, man,¡± Hal said, ¡°crap.¡± ¡°I¡­well, I agree with Hal,¡± Bill said, his voice concerned, ¡°what is Perspective thinking?¡± While they all seemed perplexed and bothered by my gift. I was utterly shameless. ¡°Wow, thanks Perspective!¡± I said, leaning to the side to pull a bottle of iced tea from the tight plastic wrap. Once I retrieved it, I lifted the remaining eleven bottles still held together by the plastic casing. Place in inventory? I thought. The eleven bottles disappeared. ¡°Easy enough,¡± I said, twisting the plastic top but struggling to open the bottle. ¡°I have these small child hands, so infuriating.¡± I put the top between my molars and bit down with a twist until it satisfyingly snapped open, a little of the sweet liquid spilling on my scrubs. I knocked half the bottle back immediately. ¡°That hits the spot,¡± I said. As I savored the sweetness of my favorite beverage, I considered if this strange experiment may have been a decent place to spend my twenty-fifth birthday. To hell with the idea that I¡¯m a ten-year-old, I am a grown woman! With lived experiences! I looked up and realized the three men were staring at me. ¡°Damn she¡¯s really into that tea,¡± Hal said, as the three of them burst into laughter. ¡°What?¡± I said. ¡°I love sweet tea!¡± They continued laughing as I grew embarrassed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if I was going to have it ever again after being dragged into this thing¡­¡± ¡°Okay okay, well sorry to interrupt tea time Madison, but you have to start the phase.¡± Paul said. ¡°Wait wait, what about the last prompt, it says missions?¡± ¡°Ah, completely forgot about that. Perspective will assign missions based on how things are going during the phases. They¡¯re mostly optional, but if you receive these, that means Perspective is paying attention to your progress. If you complete these, Perspective will give you bonuses such as items, remedies, and classes. ¡± ¡°How could you forget that?¡± I asked, bewildered, ¡°that sounds like a great addition to the simulation.¡± ¡°We often try to forget just how manip ¡ª no ¡ª how suggestive, Perspective can be. Now, back through the door, you came.¡± He raised his hand, palm side up, to usher me towards the door from where he stood. ¡°Wait, why do I feel defenseless?¡± I said. ¡°They said Perspective was very dangerous.¡± ¡°Because you technically are,¡± Paul said. ¡°At least you have your tea. Savor the enjoyable moments because this experiment is intense. Find some friends when you get in there. Let them know you¡¯re not ready to fight yet, but perhaps you can help in other ways.¡± Paul said. ¡°You got it, Paul,¡± I said, holding my bottle up in celebratory cheers. ¡°Remember to remember,¡± Bill said, with a rueful smile. ¡°Good luck kid ¡ª don¡¯t snap just yet,¡± Hal said. The teen stood from his desk and saluted. There were rubber bands all down his wrist. I waved at the three, realizing it was the first positive experience I¡¯d had in this place. I turned to the white door and opened it. Sunlight poured into the room. Warmth from the blazing sun above embraced me like an old friend, the cold sterile room I¡¯d woke up in a distant memory. ¡°This Perspective thing is pretty interesting,¡± I said. ¡°It is,¡± Paul said from behind his desk, loud enough for me to hear. ¡°See you again kiddo,¡± I walked out. As the door shut behind me, I heard Hal say: ¡°Perspective really hates some people huh?¡± Before I could even consider his comment, my eyes sparkled as I took in the scene in front of me. Ahead, a busy construction yard bustled with life. I had to cover my nose and mouth with the dense cloud of dust in the air. A tiny orange excavator dug into a mound of dirt, while a cement mixer parked in the distance perpetually spun. If I hadn¡¯t known I was in VR because I was a damned pre-teen, I would have thought I escaped the artificial psych ward. My eyes immediately shifted to the sound of a loud jackhammer. A faceless man with the power tool drilled into a concrete floor with ear-splitting strikes. No face¡­Must be artificially generated content. I took my attention off the site to see there were dozens of children standing on the outskirts, wearing familiar scrubs with socks. These were the other suckers who got roped into this weird thing. Someone is going to lose a toe at this rate. The few faces of the clients I could see seemed bewildered and afraid. The sounds of the construction yard stopped as if they never were. A woman¡¯s voice broke the silence, her voice loud and filled with cheer. As she spoke the words dropped in front of me like a Star Wars movie. ¡°Welcome to the first phase of Perspective¡¯s fifteenth experiment! My name is Elanor, manager of the treatment team, I am thrilled to lead this experiment. I know you, the clients, have been dying to meet one another. Apparently, Perspective thought this year¡¯s team-building activity should be¡­you guessed it! A building activity! Clients, you will need to make three friends who will accompany you through the next two phases of the experiment. I imagine some of you will click. I imagine some of you will ick. But whatever it is, you better make it quick. Perspective has chosen to be cruel on day one. You will need to survive two full days in this phase, and I can promise you, you will not be able to do it alone. There will be a temporary timer in your interface. You won¡¯t need to sleep a wink, so you better get to work! Here are some barriers: One of your Big-Three Physma will return to your body during this phase just to slow you down. We hope that Physma doesn¡¯t make it harder to make friends. If it does, you need to figure it out! Perspective says you¡¯ll have to think like Noah in this phase. Build fast and build well or you will certainly drown. Last, but certainly not least, everyone get ready to face your first Physma in battle!¡± ¡®Your Big-Three Physma will return to your body¡¯? What does that even mean? As soon as Elanor finished speaking, the bright sunny day grew obscured as massive gray clouds rolled in fast, darkening the sky. The machinery stopped operating and the faceless workers disappeared. Then, new clothes popped onto me in the blink of an eye. I recoiled at the sudden shock of the instant change. I had a hard hat and goggles on my head, with a ventilated mask covering my mouth and nose. My scrubs were exchanged for a bright orange vest, thick tan overalls, and black steel-toe boots. I felt ridiculous. A large blue circle spinner appeared above my head. My Big-Three afflictions were split evenly into three spaces like a pie chart. Social Isolation, Morbid Obesity, and good ol¡¯ Bipolar Disorder. I glanced around the construction yard to see that all the other children or rather, clients, also suffered the same fate. A red needle popped on the wheel and began spinning fast and faster. My heart thumped as my eyes followed the tiny red needle, which slowed until it finally stopped on a slice of the pie. ¡°Damn it,¡± I said, as one-hundred extra pounds engulfed my ten-year-old body. [ Beginner Class + Morbid Obesity ] [ Team: 1 of 3] [ Remedies: 1 ] [ Inventory: 1 ] [ Memories: 1 ] [ Missions : 0 ] [ Time until Phase One completion: 47:59 ] 4 - Phase One 4 - Phase One A drizzle of rain began to fall around the site. I looked down at my body, wide and heavy, then at my hands. I had thick round fingers and dense big palms. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I let myself get this way.¡± ¡°Alright guys, gather around!¡± A boy shouted, running to the center of the massive yard. He climbed atop a tall scaffolding ten feet from the ground. ¡°My name is Jax, I work as a foreman in construction. This Virtual A.I. bullshit picked the right one! Let¡¯s get it done!¡± The heavy gear on him made the boy look like a trick-or-treater. His words struck me with a strange encouragement. I began to realize the stark difference between my challenges with obesity now versus in the real world. There was no ¡®comorbidity¡¯. The word was created to bundle a person¡¯s diagnoses together like a snack variety pack. Although the weight burdened me in the VR system, I felt motivated and energized in ways I never had. I looked up from my hands and walked forward, moving slowly in the direction of the boy who gave instructions. Jax was a strong-faced child, with tan skin and eyes fiery with determination. If I hadn¡¯t known that he was an adult trapped in a child¡¯s body I would¡¯ve pegged him for an Eagle Scout. ¡°How do we know we can trust you?!¡± A boy shouted. This one question became dozens more from the crowd of children circling Jax. ¡°Should you even be up there?¡± A girl asked. The questions went unanswered. ¡°You three,¡± Jax said, pointing to a group of boys, ¡°flatten out those two tarps, then I¡¯ll show you how to hang them. We need a dry construction area for the concrete.¡± The boys looked at one another, a bit of confusion between them, before nodding and following his directions. Jax took his goggles off, looking around squinting through the mist. ¡°I need someone to drive over that cement truck and park it nearby!¡± He shouted. ¡°Yessir,¡± A boy replied, he¡¯d already somehow gotten dirt on his face. ¡°Names¡¯ Ralph, I¡¯m a truck driver, I can do it.¡± ¡°Good stuff Ralph,¡± Jax said, ¡°now I need some guys to gather some bricks. Make some piles here.¡± He pointed to the base of his scaffolding. ¡°We can do it, Jax,¡± Some boys said. I noticed the boy who first questioned him also began working. This Jax guy was some kind of natural-born leader. Why the hell was he here? I was approaching a pile of loose bricks in my walk toward Jax and had an idea to work. I almost laughed at the thought. Manual labor. I walked past them, then stopped. Why would I go ask Jax what I can do to help when he already said something to do? I could at least carry a few rather than just walking by them. I turned and lifted six and tucked them under my arms. Nope, too heavy. I put two back and continued walking, a laborious effort, to the bottom of the scaffolding. There was a bubble that appeared in front of me. (Minor Strength Sphere progress: 5%) I stopped to read the text. What is a minor strength sphere? I didn¡¯t remember Paul and the other guys talking about this. The percentage was increasing at a slow rate as I carried the bricks only to disappear when I put them down. Hmm. I began to wonder what would happen when it went to 100%. I allowed curiosity to get the best of me. I walked back to the pile of bricks and grabbed four more walking back to the growing pile of bricks. The percentage was now at (30%). I looked around to see that everyone was working together at this point, following the instructions given by our impromptu leader. I glanced up at Jax who had his back turned to everyone following his directions. Ralph and a couple of other boys were standing among him talking. Must be making the leadership group or something. I continued my trek back and forth to the bricks, my heavy weight making the task slow and strenuous. We were Sixty kids or so just making an effort to build in the rain. I smiled. It felt good to be a part of something. A cog in the machine they say. After a few marches to and from, a new bubble appeared in front of me. (Minor Strength Sphere progress: Complete!) (A Minor Strength Sphere has been added to your inventory.) I pulled the sphere from my inventory, a small green orb was the size of a tennis ball. It felt warm to the touch and there was smoke swirling inside it. I wonder what I¡¯m supposed to do with this. ¡°Well I¡¯ll be, you got that pretty quickly!¡± Ralph said, the dirty-faced boy walking towards me. ¡°He told us females wouldn¡¯t get strength spheres for a few hours.¡± ¡°Who told you that?¡± I asked, examining the dirtball. He was covered in so much filth it was as if he had intentionally covered himself in it. Maybe he had. His voice was very American, bragging about his pickup truck at a gas station, American. ¡°Jax of course! Can I see the sphere? He¡¯s collecting those ones from the females.¡± I looked at him in confusion. After I carried all those bricks to earn this thing, I was supposed to give it to him? Screw that. I still didn¡¯t even know what it was for. ¡°What do you mean females? Why is he collecting them?¡± ¡°He told us he was in a previous experiment,¡± Ralph said. ¡°Said the men need them more than the females, is all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go talk with him,¡± I said and whisked the sphere back into my inventory. Ralph sucked his teeth. I walked past him toward Jax, who now stood under the scaffolding to shield himself from the rain. Jax was standing alone, which made this conversation easier. ¡°Hello, Jax?¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m Madison.¡± He looked at me with a glance then averted his eyes. No reply. ¡°So¡­Ralph told me you would like the strength spheres?¡± I asked, stepping closer to him. "From women only?" ¡°Yes,¡± Jax said, looking at me through the soft rain shower. We locked eyes for a split moment, the boy¡¯s gaze was hard and impatient before I looked away. ¡°Perspective gave me a Misogynist affliction, which is bullshit because anyone can see plain as day that females don''t need strength.¡± He said, matter-of-factly. ¡°Men are working hard and are superior for this kind of labor. You can climb aboard once we¡¯re done but you¡¯ll have to give up that strength sphere.¡± The words struck me like a slap in the face. ¡°I feel like I earned it though.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care how you feel. I mean look at you! You having any spheres, let alone a strength sphere would be an utter waste of resources.¡± I stepped back, stunned and offended. The world was always a cruel place. As a recluse, I had forgotten some of the bullshit you would deal with simply for being a woman, let alone a plus-sized woman. This short conversation with Jax confirmed my suspicions that nothing had changed. I continued stepping back, as another girl stepped forward and punched Jax right in the mouth. The foreman, dumbfounded by the power of the blow, stumbled and collapsed. The girl spat as he squirmed back, crawling away from her. ¡°Who the hell do you think you are? Telling women to give their earnings away?¡± she said, voice piercing. ¡°Whoa,¡± I said, looking at the girl. I couldn¡¯t see her face very well under the equipment. The girl had dark brown skin and seemed brimming with confidence. ¡°We¡¯re all kids here, motherfucker¡± the girl said furiously, ¡°and I¡¯m not letting a man in a boy¡¯s body or a boy in a man¡¯s body, treat me like shit ever again.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Ralph said, running from behind us. ¡°We need him! He¡¯s helping us build the structure!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need no man,¡± the girl said, ¡°ladies! If you don¡¯t want someone telling you to give away your strength, meet me over there, we can build on our own protection together.¡± The girl stamped off and I, as well as the other girls, followed. So that¡¯s how it¡¯s gonna be? A bunch of the girls stayed with Jax, sitting on the outskirts of where he, Ralph, and the other boys gathered. Jax was on his feet again, holding his mouth in the distance, as he glared in our direction. We walked about twenty feet away from the boys before we came to a stop. ¡°Alright ladies, I¡¯m Victory. I appreciate y¡¯all standing with me on this. Does anyone have any experience with this construction stuff?¡± We had settled into a group of about a dozen, as the rain continued to fall around them creating soft pattering sounds. ¡°I do,¡± A girl said, walking forward. She was short and thin, with glasses under her goggles, and a long blond fishtail braid peeking from the back of her hard hat. She looked intelligent rather than simply smart. ¡°I¡¯m Irene, a structural engineer. We should talk about the things that we got from Perspective first. I think that will help too.¡± ¡°Good idea Irene,¡± Victory said. ¡°Take it away.¡± ¡°Yes, so first off, let me explain the spheres. This isn¡¯t my first attempt at the experiment, I was knocked out of experiment seven in phase two and am just now returning.¡± A wave of fear washed over me. From experiment seven to experiment fifteen. How many years is that? Eight? What is this shit? ¡°Spheres can be used in four ways,¡± Irene continued, ¡°they can be used in full effect by bursting them and breathing in the fumes. They can be combined to make new spheres which can be a way to find spheres you may not be able to get during an activity, the third way to use them is passively, just sitting in the active inventory slot, you¡¯ll pull some of the benefits. The last way, unfortunately, I haven¡¯t discovered yet.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t I get more than one strength sphere?¡± A girl asked, ¡°It¡¯s not gaining any more percentage.¡± ¡°Ah, well that¡¯s one way the beginner class is limited. You can only make one of each sphere right now. Grinding isn¡¯t effective.¡± Irene said. ¡°You¡¯ll get more though. Different actions trigger new sphere growth so you¡¯ll never know how you¡¯ll develop one.¡± There were more hands raised to ask additional questions but Victory chimed in. ¡°Thanks, Irene,¡± Victory said. ¡°We need to get to work ladies, hold your questions until we get this sorted out! Any other ideas before we get started?¡± ¡°I think we should break up into groups of three,¡± Irene said. ¡°We have to form a team of three by the end of this anyway. It will also help us divide up the tasks.¡± She pointed at me since I was closest to them. ¡°How about you join Victory and I?¡± Irene said. ¡°Um, okay,¡± I said, walking toward them. ¡°I¡¯m Madison, nice to meet you.¡± Victory seemed to appraise her with a long glance. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°So my Big-Three affliction this phase is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,¡± Irene said, ¡°My first remedy is ¡®fear of falling¡¯ so I can hover.¡± ¡°You have anything good, Madison?¡± Victory asked pointedly. ¡°So, uh, I got a twelve-pack of tea as a birthday gift but my remedy isn¡¯t really helpful. Hopefully, Perspective will give me something better in the future. But I do already have a strength sphere.¡± ¡°Okay, before we get too comfortable, I don¡¯t think this is a good idea,¡± Victory said. ¡°No offense Madison, but,¡± The girl gave me a look from head to toe. I flushed with embarrassment and clenched my fist. ¡°Wait, but I can work hard,¡± I said, looking between Victory and Irene. ¡°This morbid obesity is the affliction that I had placed on me at the start of the phase.¡± Victory nodded, placing her hands on her hips. ¡°It¡¯s not about work ethic. I think you should keep delivering bricks. We,¡± she paused, her hands moving between Irene and herself, ¡°need someone who''s a leader...I¡¯m not getting that from you.¡± ¡°But I can learn to lead,¡± I said. ¡°I just need a chance.¡± ¡°Sure you do,¡± Victory said, warily. ¡°Look, it¡¯s up to you, Irene, didn¡¯t mean to offend you none, Madison.¡± I looked at Irene who was examining me like a damn Petri dish. ¡°You¡¯re right, Victory. I¡¯m sorry Madison,¡± Irene said, ¡°maybe find some other girls who wouldn¡¯t mind taking you on. You can even wait on the side while we build, you¡¯ll always be welcome.¡± Irene turned to another girl who stepped forward to take my place. ¡®¡®What the fuck,¡¯¡¯ I whispered, dragging my feet away from the three girls as they began talking strategy. There was a wound, I noticed, as I felt pain return, raw and cutting, deep in my chest. The rain continued to pour, heightening my feelings of sadness. I looked around to see complete trios had formed between the other girls in their group. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough space,¡± A girl said as I glanced at her standing alongside another. Planet Earth didn¡¯t have enough space. There was a small collection of exposed soaked bricks sitting alone on the edge of the construction site. I sat down in that wetness, which was immediately noticeable on my bottom as it soaked through my overalls. I didn¡¯t care. I sat in the storm for a while, as seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours. I passed the time by examining the progress of two growing structures as rainwater pelted the construction site. When I first started, I was surprised to see: (Minor Surveillance Sphere progress: 7%) As the new sphere charged it gave me something else to focus on. I took time to count just how many kids, or clients rather, there were. It took effort, but there were almost thirty clients evenly split between Jax and Victory who were moving frantically, working hard to help in some way. There were the brick gatherers, the cement collectors, and the structure makers. There were also a lot of kids, almost half of the workers, who were not helping at all. Ten or so had found their own places to sit and wait in the rain while others, with more mentally debilitating afflictions, were outright impeding the developments. They¡¯re all shitty like me. I chuckled as I observed a girl stealing massive amounts of supplies, grabbing bricks, tools, even a few cans full of wet cement, and pilfering them away into her inventory. Lucky for the builders, new bricks and other necessities were generated by the VRAI system every couple of minutes. Damn. I hadn¡¯t even considered putting the bricks in my inventory. Would have saved a ton of time transporting them that way. (Minor Surveillance Sphere progress: Complete!) (A Minor Surveillance Sphere has been added to your inventory.) I pulled the pink, smoke-filled sphere from my inventory to examine it before I tucked it away. I thought about what Irene said regarding the spheres. With little effort I made a mental note: Smash it to cash it, Combine it to refine it, fill it to feel it. I began tinkering with my inventory, filling the two spheres in my active inventory slots. There were four total slots and I was interested to see how the spheres could play a role in the next part of the first phase. The puddles of water in the site had become a shallow pool now, covering up to my ankles. I had my now nine-pack of AriZona¡¯s Sweet Tea sitting on the bricks next to me along with two empty bottles. I pulled another free, tapped the plastic cap, then twisted it open. Guess I need to start figuring out which group I want to beg for a spot. I took a long sip of tea as I considered my options: Jax¡¯s group had the larger structure so far, with bricks stacked in simple horizontal rows. They were forming a wide thick wall for them to stand on. It seemed sturdy, might need that sturdiness with all this damn weight. They were all boys though, so I figured that might be uncomfortable. And, they¡¯ll want my strength sphere. I held up my chunky middle finger. Victory¡¯s group seemed to struggle a bit more with building speed, but the attention to detail was evident in their meticulous development of an endless brick stairway with an intricate diamond-like pattern. Irene¡¯s OCD must¡¯ve been in overdrive. There were already so many steps¡­too many steps. It felt shameful that I hadn¡¯t been able to help them build much yet I would still take up a place on one of their walls. I did try to help though. I felt another part of me that didn¡¯t want to return to either of the two leaders. I considered going to no place at all, just sitting here and waiting for the water to rise, until it swallowed me in it. ¡°Hey you,¡± a girl said from behind, ¡°why were you staring at me earlier?¡± I turned to see the supplies thief crouching in a puddle. She had a mischievous face, a skinny girl with green eyes, and a shaved head. ¡°I just thought it was funny,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t rat you out and cause problems.¡± ¡°Well, here¡¯s a tip. If you can lift it, you can lift it into your inventory,¡± she said with a smirk. ¡°Now I want to know. How did you know I was watching you?¡± ¡°I used my memory as soon as the phase started. It gave me a good advantage. Figured with my Big-Three affliction, kleptomania active, I would be screwed no matter what. Who trusts someone who constantly steals from them?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a klepto? Shit, that¡¯s brutal,¡± Madison said, looking at the girl differently. ¡°I¡¯m morbidly obese.¡± ¡°I noticed,¡± the girl said, ¡°is that why they all kicked you out? I also saw you¡­trying to help those leaders, you¡¯re hard to miss.¡± ¡°So how did your memory help you see me spying on you?¡± The thief gave me a wistful smile and I understood I would never know how the hell that memory helped the girl. ¡°I¡¯m Rey, what¡¯s your name?¡± She held out her hand. We were similar in some way, Rey and I, instantly untrustworthy to someone who didn¡¯t understand how our afflictions made our lives difficult. Nearly impossible. ¡°Madison,¡± I said, shaking her hand. Rey¡¯s palms were coarse, one step away from sandpaper. Strange for hands that belonged to a girl. ¡°Well Mads, I can call you Mads?¡± I nodded. First time for that nickname. Rey stood and then said, ¡°You should use your memory.¡± ¡°I was told that I shouldn¡¯t use it unless there was an emergency,¡± ¡°It is an emergency. I bet you¡¯re doing exactly what you do in the real world when people treat you like shit. Nothing, right?¡± I felt flat-footed by the forwardness. ¡°These clients don¡¯t understand what they¡¯re doing,¡± Rey said. ¡°They¡¯re leaning into their afflictions like they do in the real world, trying to tackle a virtual problem. This whole experiment is about perspective.¡± Rey tapped her temple when she said the word. ¡°You only have one perspective right now, Mads.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks for the advice.¡± She nodded and walked away. I followed the girl with my eyes as she walked back towards the busy yard. ¡°Oh, and sorry Mads,¡± Rey said, ¡°I don¡¯t even like sweet tea.¡± Then with a smile, the thief sprinted off into the commotion of a group of Jax¡¯s kids trying to stop some twitchy kid from operating the crane. I frantically turned to my side. The eight bottles of sweet tea were gone, including the half-finished bottle I had just opened. ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± I yelled as I stood from the bricks. I searched for Rey through the storm but the damned thief was nowhere to be seen. I sat back down on the wet bricks and shook my head. Be calm. She can¡¯t help it, she can¡¯t help it. ¡°But next time I see her!¡± I belted over the constant pattering of rain. I shook my head and considered what Rey had said about the memory. The Perspective interface always floated in the corner of my view, I¡¯d done a good job to ignore it. [ Beginner Class + Morbidly Obese ] [Team: 1 of 3] [ Remedies: 1 ] [ Inventory: 2] [m. str. sphere] [m. surv. sphere] [empty] [empty] [ Memories: 1 ] [ Missions : 0 ] [ Time until Phase One completion:40:24 ] View Memory. The world around me peeled away, as the soggy construction site rippled into darkness. There was a moment of total nothingness. I floated in the void, seeing nothing, feeling nothing, being nothing. Then everything rebuilt itself, images piecing together like fragments of torn paper perfectly reassembled. It was a sunny day in Hopkins, Minnesota. The warmth of the day felt amazing in contrast to the wet yard I¡¯d been sitting in for hours now. As soon as I saw the memory, I remembered everything about it. It was my sixth birthday. The view of the memory was distorted. I had a bird''s eye view, floating above the scene, on the outside looking in. But if I focused, I could see the world from my six-year-old eyes, my childhood perspective. We were outside, Papa and I, as he guided me along on my new bike. Damn it. I miss him so much. One heart attack changed a million things. I examined myself, an adorable little girl who was closer in appearance to my VR self, rather than the pathetic version of myself in the real world. I was wobbly on the pink bike, scared shitless. Obviously way too big for it. Okay, what about this memory matters? I looked at my father, the large, wide-shouldered man smiling, walking in his t-shirt and slippers alongside me. Then I felt him too. I shifted into his worldview. There was no fear. No criticism. No doubts. He was showing his daughter how to grow, how to change, how to ride a bike. His smile was a wide and prideful one. Infectious. I felt myself start to smile hovering over the scene. Papa saw that his daughter was capable of doing good. She could do more with her life. He saw that she was capable of greatness. That I was capable of greatness. Even in me just riding this bike, I was more capable than he was at this point in his life. Because he knew he had Stage IV heart failure and I didn¡¯t have a clue. Reality snapped back much faster than it left, I returned to the construction site, water dripping off my hard hat. My tears became one with the rain both falling together before I wiped my eyes. He knew he was dying. And he was hopeful in me. Pathetic, worthless, me. I blinked, taking a deep breath to refocus on the site. When I saw the clients, there was a noticeable difference. I felt for them the way my father had felt for me. My eyes widened as her mouth gaped open. They¡¯re not worthless pieces of shit at all. None of them. They¡¯re capable. Sitting on their unused remedies, memories, and spheres. ¡°They¡¯re capable of greatness,¡± I whispered. My vision flooded with a new purple message. [ New Mission - Connect with the Idle Clients - 0 / 10 ] A mission? So Perspective must have enjoyed the intense memory of my dying father. I shook my head as I stood from the bricks and walked in the direction of those clients. Not the hard-working groups of Jax and Victory, but the clients who were wasting away, doing nothing to help. Above there was a long beep. Hello clients! We can see a lot of you are working very hard out there! While some of you seem rather¡­stuck. Perspective has informed us it will begin its first escalation. There are a few of you out there with Aquaphobia, also known as Fear of Water¡­At the forty-hour mark, you¡¯ll have the chance to defeat your fears. We can¡¯t wait to see how Perspective will manifest this Physma in the experiment! I¡¯ll inform you now, that the greater the affliction affects you, the bigger it¡¯ll be. 5 - Escalation of Afflictions 5 - Escalation of Afflictions
[ Beginner Class + Morbidly Obese ] [ Team: 1 of 3] [ Remedies: 1 ] [ Inventory: 2] [m. str. sphere] [m. surv. sphere] [empty] [empty] [ Memories : 0 ] [ Missions: 1 ] [ Connect with the Idle Clients - 0 / 10 ] [ Time until Phase One completion: 40:21 ] [ Time until Physma appears: 21 minutes ]
My interface was becoming overwhelming. I held two fingers up and pinched it to become as small as it could be. I had twenty-one minutes until those Physmas appeared. That was less time than an episode of Rick and Morty without the commercials. This was bad. I needed to see if I could help the other clients work together. I felt important as if I mattered for once. I walked toward the largest group of green-hued children that I could see, wondering why they hadn¡¯t been assisting one of the two squads. Walking took effort, as the rain beat down on me and my soaked wet clothes were thick and heavy. And I was also thick and heavy. A cluster of girls were lounging on drop cloth near Jax¡¯s wallfort. They sat in a circle of five under a large blue tarp that hung from a bulldozer, pinned in the ground at several points with large nails and bricks. There was a brick floor, built several bricks long and wide and three bricks high that made for a damp and low dark-red terrace. The platform would easily be underwater in a few hours so it was strange they weren¡¯t more worried about their safety. I approached them cautiously, hearing bursts of laughter coming from the group as I got closer. ¡°You think your remedy is trivial? ¡± I heard one of them say, ¡°My remedy for a burned tongue only allows me to spit ice cubes.¡± ¡°At least you can drink hot drinks and never worry about it.¡± Another girl replied. None of them were wearing their masks or helmets. The closer I got the more I could sense an aura of posh preppiness from the girls, which would have made my actual ten-year-old self jealous and secretly obsessive. I stepped atop the terrace, my weight displacing several bricks along the edge before I found sturdier footing. The tarp sagged in the middle where rain collected, causing it to pour off the side making a small waterfall. It felt nice to be out of the rain. There were several supplies scattered across the platform now that I could see better. A couple of ropes, a ladder that leaned over a far right edge, and a turned-over orange wheelbarrow, to name a few. I took a couple of steps getting closer to them. ¡°Hey girls,¡± I said, waving at the group. I wiped my wet construction goggles with a finger to see things more clearly. ¡°I wanted to ask ¡ª¡± Before I could finish, one of them looked at me and loudly scoffed. ¡°Ew.¡± She said loudly with a grimace on her face. ¡°Guys look what rolled over here.¡± The dirty blonde had a southern accent that you would see dramatized in a Hallmark movie. Three of the other girls turned as well. One glance in my direction and they all began laughing hysterically. I stepped back, feeling confused at the intensity of the insult. Only one of the five didn¡¯t laugh. ¡°Oh my, Tish you¡¯re right, she is a hot mess,¡± one of them said. ¡°You do not fit in here, do you hear me?¡± She had an icy prettiness, with a silver tiara on her head. How the hell this girl got a tiara, I would never know. My hand clenched into a feeble fist, as the whole scene reminded me of trying to sit at the cool kid¡¯s lunch table fifteen years ago. ¡°Hey, Marianne, that¡¯s rude, okay,¡± another girl said. Her eyes were green but they were full of concern rather than the coldness coming from the others. There was a strangeness to the way she sat, as I slowly recognized that she was paraplegic. ¡°Sorry,¡± the girl continued, ¡°the four have been bragging about which of them is the biggest narcissist, so you don¡¯t even have to guess what their affliction is.¡± ¡°Judith, why don¡¯t you mind your business,¡± Marianne said. ¡°We let you stay here with us. You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re actually pretty. Now, what is your name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Madison,¡± I said, expecting another verbal attack. ¡°Okay, Madison. Your name is now ¡®from over there¡¯,¡± Marianne pointed out into the storm, ¡°we¡¯re going to call you ¡®from over there¡¯ if we want to talk, toodles!¡± ¡°I just wanted to¡­¡± My blood boiled with anger as I clenched my fist. Why can¡¯t I do anything without being fat-shamed to hell? I glanced at Judith, who appeared to lament the whole situation. ¡°Please leave,¡± the girl Tish said, ¡°there¡¯s not much of it, but you¡¯re blotting out the sun.¡± If these conversations were going to be with rude ass clients the entire time, it would be easier to just let them figure it out on their own. ¡°Wait, Madison,¡± Judith said, as I walked away. I could hardly hear her over the rainfall pattering the plastic tarp. I turned to the girl, who was already lifting and scooting herself toward the orange wheelbarrow in the corner of the terrace. ¡°Can you take me with you?¡± ¡°Uh, Sure,¡± I said, as Marianne stood from the brick floor. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a little two-faced bitch, huh, Judith?¡± Marianne spat. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Relax Marianne,¡± Judith said, ¡°I just want to get away for a little bit, I¡¯ve been sitting here for hours.¡± Tish and the two other girls stood as well, staring at the paraplegic. ¡°Why do you think you can just come and go?¡± Tish said, her accent becoming crude. ¡°We treated you fair because you¡¯re lame, but you turned out to be ungrateful. I reckon we ought to keep you around and show you some real hospitality.¡± Damn. This went south fast. ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted, considering the most protective statement I could muster. ¡°You want to deal with me? Leave her alone!¡± I wasn¡¯t much of a fighter, but I did know how to throw my weight around. Tish picked up a brick at her feet. ¡°Fuck you gonna do?¡± The southern girl asked. ¡°I¡¯ll knock your fat head in.¡± I stepped back, staring at the dark red brick she cradled in her hand, as fear also crept into my vision. She tossed the brick from hand to hand, her glare menacing. I glanced at Judith, her face filled with worry. ¡°I won¡¯t let you hurt her,¡± I said, regaining some composure. ¡°We¡¯re not narcissists, you know,¡± Tish smiled, ¡°we¡¯re psychopaths.¡± She pulled back the brick and flung it at me, missing by a wide margin. She may have been psycho, but she couldn¡¯t hit water if she fell out of a boat. Screw it. I charged at her with a scream, half-girl, half-bull. She held up her hands to stop me, but I ran through the bitch, her body crashing down under me. She tried to get back up but I stamped her in the face with my boot and she laid back down. Must¡¯ve been the minor strength sphere. Speaking of spheres, a new one popped into view as soon as I smashed into Tish: (Minor Destruction Sphere progress: 50%) ¡°I said leave her alone!¡± I shouted, stepping over the crumpled Tish and taking defensive steps toward Judith, my eyes looking between Marianne and the other girls. ¡°Tsk. Take her then. She¡¯ll only slow you down.¡± Marianne said, stepping away from the paraplegic. ¡°Don¡¯t come back Judith,¡± ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Judith said, ¡°you all are crazy.¡± When I reached her, Judith said, ¡°Sorry for the trouble.¡± She was lying on her side, legs outstretched, inches from the orange wheelbarrow. ¡°No problem at all,¡± I said, turning away from the four to crouch down to flip up the wheelbarrow. ¡°Now!¡± Marianne said, thrusting her boot into my back. I fell head first, face crashing against the metal wheelbarrow before falling to the brick floored terrace. For a moment, I wondered what happened. Rainwater splashed against my cheek and rolled down my goggles as I lay on my side. I felt dizzy, stars splotching my vision, as I rolled to my back and saw Marianne and the other girls with bricks in their hands. ¡°Destruction sphere?¡± Marianne said as she got the same prompt I received. Oh, we¡¯re going to have fun with the two of you,¡± she smiled, then pointed at me. ¡°Especially you, for coming over here and ruining our fun.¡± That was a little dramatic. ¡°Damn it,¡± I said, ¡°I just wanted to help,¡± as they stepped closer to smash my face in. ¡°Help yourself,¡± one of the girls said. I shut my eyes tight awaiting the attacks but nothing happened. There was a gasp. I opened to see the girls standing over me, eyes wide, almost bulging from their sockets. Their bricks clattered to the terrace floor as tears poured down both sides of their cheeks. Judith had her arms raised at them from the ground. ¡°Remedy for hiccups,¡± she said, ¡°they can¡¯t breathe.¡± I stood to my feet, looking between Judith and the other four. Seeing the deepening blue lips and cheeks of the girls, I said, ¡°Don¡¯t kill them.¡± They were crazy, but they were held captive by their afflictions just the same as Judith, Rey, and me. I could still see Papa, smiling and guiding me along feeling hopeful for my future. Judith''s arms were still raised as the girls fell to their knees scratching at their throats. ¡°Don¡¯t kill them, Judith!¡± I screamed, as the paraplegic released them and they fell to the floor with harsh gasps. ¡°Sorry, I just wanted them to know I meant business,¡± Judith said. I looked at her warily, considering what I just saw. ¡°Can I still come with you?¡± ¡°Of¡­of course,¡± I said. She wouldn¡¯t do very well if I left her here I supposed. At this point, they would end up killing one another. I turned over the wheelbarrow and proceeded to lift Judith into it. She was heavy, but it was possible. Before I pulled off with her, I looked at the rope at my feet, and I tucked it into my inventory. I also turned to the metal ladder that was close by as well. Grasped a rung and tried to pull it into my inventory. It didn¡¯t work. If you can lift it, you can lift it, Rey said. I grabbed it by the side rails and managed to pick it up with a quick thrust and pulled the ladder into my inventory. Phew. Rey had also subconsciously taught me to take what I could get. I almost took the tarp but I didn¡¯t want to be an asshole. The four girls were huddled together again, each of them wary of us as we prepared to leave. ¡°I came here to tell you to use your memories. They might help you deal with the affliction or just change your perspective,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to tell us what to do,¡± Tish said. She was holding her head and nose, so whatever she said came out nasally. ¡°Suit yourself.¡± I grasped the handles, as Judith covered herself with her coat to prevent water from filling into the wheelbarrow too quickly. I rolled her off of the platform and we splotched into the high flood water. (Minor Steering Sphere progress: 4%) Steering sphere? Really? I almost laughed out loud. The waters were just below my knees and pushing the wheelbarrow through it all took effort. I¡¯d spotted a group of three boys on a small stack of bricks near an orange excavator and headed in that direction. ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± Judith said loudly, over the rain splashing around us. ¡°I was given a mission to connect with the clients who weren¡¯t helping,¡± I said. ¡°Well, you can see why I wasn¡¯t helping now, with my active affliction being paraplegic. I got so excited when I stood up on my own two feet only to come crashing back down at the start of this phase.¡± I could almost imagine that reality since I was crippled in my own way. ¡°Mine is morbid obesity. I was having a hard time dealing with this shit,¡± I said. ¡°then one of the other clients told me to use my memory. It really put things into perspective for me.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t used my memory yet,¡± She said. ¡°What was it?¡± I didn¡¯t respond right away. It was an odd feeling, wanting to keep the memory to myself. It was, after all, personal and a very special moment in my life. ¡°It was surreal, to say the least, but it was exactly what I needed.¡± I said, ¡°It made me want to share with everyone who seemed to be having a rough go at this experiment. I wanted to let them know they can make it through. That they¡¯re capable of more.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really nice of you,¡± She said. ¡°I try, sometimes,¡± I said, as I continued pushing her through the water. The wheelbarrow was heavy and barely manageable, but for some reason, I felt like I wasn¡¯t getting tired. I kept going without taking any breaks. (Minor Steering Sphere progress: 57%) The boys were closer now and I could see they were talking to one another, a bit of an argument between two of them. ¡°So how did you end up with those girls?¡± I asked. ¡°One of Jax¡¯s guys built a little rest area for the workers. That was before they realized they didn¡¯t have to rest.¡± ¡°What do you mean they didn¡¯t have to rest? That doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learned that everything that we do expels a different type of energy in this place. It¡¯s like we can pull directly on Perspective, the system allows it. Whenever we feel pain or get tired, our body isn¡¯t really experiencing it. This virtual reality experience is in our mind, so that takes on the pain and strain.¡± I remembered when I saw the stars and felt dizzy. Then I looked at my arms, which weren''t growing tired as I pushed the wheelbarrow. ¡°And you figured all that out just by looking around at everyone huh?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m a scientist in the real world, a high school science teacher, really. I didn¡¯t truly figure it out. This is just a hypothesis.¡± ¡°High school huh? Seems like a rough time.¡± I said. I would have never chosen that as a career. I was not a fan of teenagers at all. ¡°It had its moments,¡± she said, with a chuckle. ¡°Hey, before we get over there, how do you feel about joining team Madison?¡± Before I could respond, I felt a bump then a scream, as the wheelbarrow slipped from my grasp, plunged underwater. [ Time until Physma appears: 5 minutes ] 6 - The Sight of a Physma ¡°Judith!¡± I screamed, grabbing the girl by the shirt, as the wheelbarrow sank. There was a massive hole, the size of a hot tub. The hole, I assumed, was dug by the now waterlogged orange little excavator that rested beside us. The water was nearly still, but there was a flow of water that drifted into the pool. Judith had only gone under for a second, but I could see that it had more than bothered her. Her arms flailed around a bit before she clung to me, nails digging deep into my gear. I felt her heavy deep heaves as we stood on the edge of the hole. I looked up to see one of the boys had come from the bricks and was heading in our direction. ¡°Hey, what happened?!¡± He shouted from afar, loud enough to hear over the constant rainfall. He was headed right for the hole that the wheelbarrow had just sank to the bottom of. ¡°Watch out! There¡¯s a ¡ª¡± He jumped right in the hole and stood, water coming up to his chest. He swam across it easily before reaching us. He was a Native American child with jet black hair slick with water. His goggles hung around his neck like a necklace more than protective eyewear. ¡°Hey what¡¯s going on here?¡± He said. ¡°We were trying to reach you, the three of you, before this hole in the ground swallowed up our wheelbarrow.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m paraplegic,¡± Judith said, ¡°so I needed the extra help getting around.¡± Without another word, he came to us and tucked his head under Judy¡¯s armpit letting her arm rest around his neck as she hung between us. We were soaked from head to toe, rain relentlessly showering around us. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll take you guys to the tower.¡± I glanced ahead at the poorly stacked structure of bricks being battered with rainfall. Tower? That thing didn¡¯t tower over anything. ¡°You gonna grab a leg?¡± he asked. ¡°Oh, right.¡± We each grabbed one of Judith¡¯s legs and carrying her became significantly easier. ¡°This works pretty well,¡± Judith said as she settled between us. ¡°Good thinking uh¡­?¡± ¡°Takoda," he said, as we took our initial steps toward the tiny tower of bricks. "Everyone calls me Tako.¡± ¡°My name is Judith, nice to meet you Tako.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Madison.¡± I said, my eyes low, watching my steps. We walked around the large dark hole where our means of transportation was now sitting. For a moment I considered trying to add the wheelbarrow to my inventory but I remembered I probably couldn¡¯t lift it underwater, even with rope. We would have to find another way to get around. ¡°So¡­ why were you trying to reach us?¡± Tako asked, his tone humble, as if asking why would anyone ever try to reach him. ¡°I¡¯ve been coming around to let people know to use their memories, people that weren¡¯t actively helping with building.¡± ¡°Hmm, well, I already used my memory,¡± he said, ¡°it really helped me make a decision. I was working with Jax before I came over here.¡± ¡°Really? What made you leave?¡± I asked. ¡°I decided to help look after this guy over here, he¡¯s been sitting unresponsive since the start of the phase. We think he might be catatonic. Me and Jason have been calling him Kat.¡± Perspective made someone catatonic at the start of the phase? How fucked was this experiment? ¡°Does he walk or talk or do anything at all?¡± Judith asked. ¡°Well if we guide him he can walk, but he hasn¡¯t said anything at all,¡± ¡°Damn this place,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°We built this tower here, but we hadn¡¯t even considered that the water would get so much higher. I guess we¡¯ll add to it when the time comes, keep building up.¡± I looked at the 3 minutes left on the Physma countdown and wondered if he even considered the dangers that came with that. We got to the tiny tower, which was about four or five feet wide and tall. Jason, a chubby kid, wide eyed with concern, sat with a small black boy. ¡°Hey, we saw you guys fall in,¡± the kid said, his hard hat dripping with rainwater, ¡°do you guys need some help?¡± ¡°Yeah, Jason,¡± Tako said, ¡°she¡¯s paraplegic and they just lost their way to get her around. We¡¯re going to need to make some room. Madison, there¡¯s a few steps here.¡± ¡°Here let me take her off your hands,¡± Jason said, walking over. I nodded, letting the two boys take Judith, as we climbed the rudimentary steps. When we got to the top, I looked out to see the raging storm. The two large structures looming in the storm were like flourishing icebergs protruding from the water. growing in stature. I sat down, feeling ours shift under my weight. I looked at the catatonic boy, rain dripping from his hard hat, as he stared in the distance in silence. His goggles were off and even in the rain I could see he had familiar brown eyes and those short dreadlocks poking from under his hard hat hadn¡¯t had the chance to grow yet. ¡°I know him.¡± I said. It was the Prime delivery guy. 2 minutes ¡°Do you know his name?¡± Tako asked. ¡°No, we were both taken together when he came to deliver an Amazon package.¡± I leaned forward, and glanced into his eyes. He looked back at me, mouth quivering with a slight twitch. Shit. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°There¡¯s only a couple minutes left until those things come, man, I don¡¯t know what to expect.¡± Jason said. He was a twitchy child, his hands opened and closed with darting eyes. ¡°then there¡¯s what to do with Kat when the water gets too high. Damn it, we should have went to Jax¡¯s tower before it got this bad.¡± ¡°There¡¯s still time,¡± I said. ¡°We can go back to Jax,¡± ¡°No,¡± Tako said, ¡°he made it clear he won¡¯t accept Kat. He told me he¡¯s a liability.¡± I hated to think that bastard Jax was right about that. But I damn sure wasn¡¯t letting Kat out of my sight. Not after this place took us both together. His life at least seemed put together compared to¡­this. ¡°We¡¯ll figure this out Amazon dude,¡± I said, grabbing his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you get a chance to escape, kind of like you tried to give me.¡± ¡°This is too much,¡± Jason said, ¡°I don¡¯t care what you said Tako, but we¡¯re all gonna die man.¡± ¡°Relax,¡± Tako said. I glanced at Judith who had squinted eyes and a taut mouth, a knowing glance of suspicion. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you two feel about this,¡± Judith said, ¡°but I think we should disclose our afflictions. It¡¯ll help if we¡¯re on the same page and there¡¯s no surprises. As you can see, I am paraplegic this phase.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡± Tako said. ¡°My affliction is alcoholism. There¡¯s no alcohol here so it really hasn¡¯t affected me at all. Yes, I want a drink right now, but there¡¯s no drink to be had.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m morbidly obese,¡± I said, looking down. ¡°in case you didn¡¯t notice.¡± Tako shrugged, ¡°You seem alright to me Madison.¡± I looked at him and smiled. Tako turned to Jason. ¡°Feel like I should have known this. What¡¯s your affliction Jason?¡± Jason looked between the three of us and sighed. ¡°Look, I don''t feel comfortable sharing that information. I¡¯m a private person.¡± I nodded. Privacy about this should be okay. HIPAA laws exist for a reason after all. 1 minute ¡°No. We won¡¯t just trust you,¡± Judith said, looking at me for support, ¡°we just had to deal with four psychopaths so it had better be something that isn¡¯t threatening and I want to know,¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay Judith,¡± I said, turning to her, ¡°let him have his privacy,¡± ¡°No, Madison, this is serious,¡± Judith said, raising her voice. ¡°This guy could be a serial killer for all we know and he¡¯s just biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a serial killer, what the hell?¡± Jason yelled. ¡°I just helped you up here didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°It just doesn¡¯t make sense why you¡¯re being secretive when we¡¯re all in this together, just make it make sense,¡± Judith said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to make sense to you!¡± Jason shouted, ¡°Tako, can you vouch for me? This is ridiculous.¡± ¡°He¡¯s been great since I¡¯ve been here, and we¡¯ve had no problems.¡± Tako said. ¡°We¡¯ve been looking after Kat together,¡± he shrugged, looking at me with a ¡®get your friend to chill out¡¯ face. ¡°Judith,¡± I said, ¡°stop. We can¡¯t just ask people to reveal personal things about themselves when we first meet them. He¡¯s been kind to us right now.¡± This was starting to feel like when she almost killed those girls. ¡°Fine whatever, I¡¯ll let it go,¡± she said, ¡°just don¡¯t turn your back on him.¡± ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you?¡± Jason shouted, standing on the tower. ¡°No one is bothering you Judith, mind your own damn business!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s all just relax¡ª¡± Tako said, before: 0 minutes A hulking frog-like creature bounded from the water with blue and green streaks glowing along its slimy bubbled skin. The Physma was the size of three horses ripped apart and stitched together at the sides. It had six thick long hind legs that stretched out before it landed in the yard with a monumental splash. ¡°Fuck!¡± I shouted, standing and gawking at the creature. Goosebumps rippled over my skin as fear overwhelmed me. As Jason turned to see the monstrosity, his eyes widened, pupils tiny and black with horror. His body seemed to spasm backward, silent in dumb stricken awe before a wretched scream was ripped from his mouth. ¡°WATER!¡± Jason shrieked, ¡°IT¡¯S MADE OF WATER!¡± The massive frog¡¯s croak was deep and rolling, its glowing translucent sac expanded to appear filled with thousands of writhing worms. I felt Judith¡¯s hand grasp mine, and glanced down at her wide eyes, face full of remorse. We both knew immediately. Aquaphobia. Jason¡¯s Big-Three affliction this phase was Aqua-fucking-phobia. I thought back to Hal¡¯s last comment as I left the Upgrade room. Perspective really did hate some people. We need to stick together. I said. At least I thought I said. No it was only a thought. My mouth was open, but no words came as I gaped at the frightening sight. How do we fight? How can we fight such a creature? ¡°Use your remedies,¡± Tako said, his voice quiet and stern. ¡°Make sure your spheres are active and ready to be broken if necessary.¡± ¡°No!¡± Jason shouted, continuing to quiver. ¡°That won¡¯t do shit! Look at that monster!¡± ¡°Use your memory, Jason,¡± Tako said. ¡°I know you weren¡¯t open to using it before, but now is as good of a time as any.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what would happen if someone activated a memory in front of a massive threat. The Frog-like creature hadn¡¯t moved from where it appeared, but its bleached bone colored eyes with inverted triangles for pupils loomed in our direction. ¡°No, fuck that!¡± Jason yelled, ¡°It¡¯s too late for that! We need to run!¡± Then, without another word, Jason leapt through the air from the tower with more force than I ever could¡¯ve considered the chubby boy to muster. There was a croak from the Physma, as a tongue as black as death lashed out of its mouth. It flew through the heavy showers with astounding force and speed, latching to Jason¡¯s face. In a loud snap, the tongue recoiled, ripping the boy''s head off. Jason¡¯s adolescent corpse spun through the air, continuing its descent into the water, where it disappeared, leaving three glowing spheres behind where his body lay. As if the Physma was for him, and only him, the frog-like creature flickered and vanished as well. ¡°Jason! No!¡± Tako screamed, looking where his friend was thrown. In the distance, more frog horrors, various shapes and sizes, began to appear from the water, loud croaks and children¡¯s shrieks filling the stormy sky. From behind me, there was a mumble before words became audible. ¡°I¡¯m scared of water too,¡± Kat said. [ Beginner Class + Morbidly Obese ] [ Team : 1 of 3] [ Remedies : 1 ] [ Inventory : 4] [m. str. sphere] [m.surv. sphere] [empty] [empty] [ Memories : 0 ] [ Missions : 1 ] [ Connect with the Idle Clients - 8 / 10 ] [ Time until Phase One completion: 39:28 ] 7 - Prey The endless patter of rain and the occasional croak were the only sounds heard as silence fell over the construction site. Twelve, I counted twice, twelve Physma-Frogs sat motionless in the water like savage sticky-tongued sentries. There was a red aura hovering over each Physma. The Minor Surveillance Sphere¡¯s passive slot ability was proving to be essential. I also could still see the two purple auras of the mission targets in different places in the distance as well. If there was a Physma coming for Kat, they weren¡¯t near our tiny tower. An hour passed by, while Tako continued to stare where Jason¡¯s body had disappeared as I sat in front of Kat. The boy¡¯s blank stare persisted, with no obvious changes since his sudden outburst. His hard hat and goggles blocked most of the rain that poured over him. At this point I had stopped noticing the endless shower beating down on me. ¡°Hey, Kat, can you hear me?¡± I whispered, ¡°I was the woman from the apartment, blink twice if you can understand. ¡± He looked at me, or rather through me, and did not respond in words nor blinks. The real guy was trapped in there and now he had a creature waiting to rip his head off before he had a chance to escape this nightmare. I turned to look at Judith, who was sniffling with tears and as she gazed in the distance at the various Physmas. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Judith said, her third cycle of apologies, ¡°I didn¡¯t know he was aquaphobic. I feel like it¡¯s my fault.¡± Tako sighed but remained silent. I half expected him to explode on Judith eventually, as the last moments of his friend¡¯s life were spent in a frivolous argument. Knowing he wasn¡¯t really dead made me feel less sad about the situation. He¡¯d be resuscitated and given another chance to do this bullshit again. ¡°I was too paranoid about all this shit, this place is getting under my skin,¡± She said. I examined the paraplegic, arms hugging her limp knees as the rain poured over her. Perhaps there¡¯s more to not having your legs to free you from the bullshit you end up in that would have made me paranoid too. ¡°So, Judith,¡± I said, moving closer to her. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about these Physmas, I know you have too.¡± ¡°Yeah, but it seems too simple,¡± she said softly. ¡°Perspective went easier on us than I gave it credit for.¡± ¡°If by easier you meant sudden death when you move,¡± I said, glancing at the creatures through the rain fall. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°My other hypothesis is that there aren¡¯t a lot of clients with aquaphobia. Seems like if you aren¡¯t aquaphobic they may not attack you.¡± I nodded considering her words. I wasn¡¯t afraid of water but I couldn''t say I loved water either. Papa taught me the art of floating at a very young age. Do I go swimming? Never. It¡¯s a very neutral relationship. ¡°Here¡¯s the dilemma,¡± Judith continued, ¡°we have to keep building or else we¡¯ll drown, but our friend here said he¡¯s afraid of water. There¡¯s probably a frog out there with his name on it that will come to eat him eventually.¡± ¡°What happens if we kill the Physma before it can kill him?¡± Tako finally said. ¡°I¡¯m tired of sitting around waiting.¡± ¡°I think that should bypass it all together.¡± I said. ¡°How do you kill it though?¡± I glanced at Judith and gave her a knowing look. She shook her head. ¡°Frogs can live 4 to 7 hours without oxygen. My remedy is practically useless against them.¡± ¡°Wait, what are your remedies?¡± Tako said, looking at the girl partially responsible for his friend¡¯s death. As Judith explained her remedy for hiccups, I brought mine to focus with the remedies prompt. The green box loomed in front of me. ¡°That seems really powerful,¡± Tako said, as Judith finished. ¡°Mine isn¡¯t good at all.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a utility remedy called Cure for Xenophobia.¡± ¡°What does it do?¡± Judith asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t used it.¡± ¡°You mean to tell me this entire time you¡¯ve been sitting on a remedy and you haven¡¯t even touched it. But you¡¯re going around telling people to use their abilities to save themselves. What the hell, Madison.¡± Judith said, with a little scoff at the end. I nodded. When she put it that way, it did sound dumb to not have even tried it. ¡°Well, fire it up.¡± Tako said. ¡°Let¡¯s see what happens.¡± [ Cure for Xenophobia ] I activated the remedy with a mental push of the button. (Cure of X: 5:00 minutes) A five minute timer appeared in front of me and began counting down. In the same moment my mind exploded with ideas, terrifying ideas that would have never occurred to me due to the danger that was associated with them. How much did fear of the unknown limit the human mind? Shit. ¡°Well?¡± Judith said impatiently. ¡°It¡¯s helping me think,¡± I said, my eyes scanning around the construction site. ¡°I think we can figure out which Physma is Kat¡¯s, but first,¡± I leapt from the tiny tower, half considering that I might be headless before I reached my destination. My heavy body made a splash in the water, now just above my knees. ¡°Madison! What the hell are you doing?¡± Judith yelled. I ignored her for now. The rain rippled against the surface of the flooded site and I had to drag my feet to feel for the¡­there. The spheres were still there, the ones dropped by Jason. I reached into the water as if I was bobbing for damn apples and lifted the three into my inventory. (A Minor Strength Sphere has been added to your inventory.) (A Minor Surveillance Sphere has been added to your inventory.) Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. (A Minor Construction Sphere has been added to your inventory.) I figured he¡¯d have those, but the construction sphere was new. I pulled the yellow sphere from my inventory and examined it, as rain splashed against the glass. ¡°You alright over there Madison?¡± Tako asked, his voice loud over the rain. ¡°Just wanted to get Jason¡¯s spheres,¡± I said, climbing the steps of the small tower, ¡°we¡¯re going to need them. There¡¯s three of them so we can split them evenly. There¡¯s strength, construction, and surveillance.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not touching them,¡± Tako said. ¡°Jason¡¯s life is connected to those spheres. I would tell you to leave them but I know you have to survive. I couldn¡¯t take them though. It doesn¡¯t feel right.¡± ¡°Let me know if you change your mind, Judith, which do you want?¡± ¡°The only one that makes sense to me right now is surveillance, I can¡¯t really do much but look around otherwise.¡± ¡°I never had the construction sphere,¡± I said, as I handed Judith the pink swirling orb of surveillance. I equipped the additional strength sphere first. There was an immediate surge of power, like a shot of caffeine was released in my muscles. Holy shit. My body tingled with strength as I clenched my fist. The words glowed a little brighter in the interface with a little plus one next to it An overlay appeared that showed structural integrity of buildings as well as building supplies, which were slowly becoming submerged. How are we supposed to continue building if we lose all of the bricks underwater? I glanced at the little excavator and noticed it had the word inoperable hovering over it. I pulled the rope from the inventory. ¡°Tako, can you tie a rope by any chance?¡± I asked. ¡°Make it into a loop?¡± ¡°I can,¡± He said, grabbing it from me. ¡°But¡­why?¡± ¡°I have an idea, give it to me when you¡¯re done.¡± He gave me a grunt of approval as I took a closer look at the interface [ Beginner Class + Morbidly Obese ] [ Team : 1 of 3] [ Remedies : 1 ] [ Inventory : 4] [m. str. sphere + 1] [m.surv. sphere] [m. const. sphere] [empty] [ Memories : 0 ] [ Missions : 1 ] [ Connect with the Idle Clients - 8 / 10 ] [ Time until Phase One completion: 38:14 ] (Cure of Xenophobia: 3:02 minutes) The cure of xenophobia made me even more brazen with my sudden growth of strength. The timer was a little over three minutes and I wasn¡¯t sure if there was gonna be a cooldown or something. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m gonna do something crazy now,¡± I said. I hefted a loose brick from the tiny tower¡¯s floor. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± Judith said. ¡°Are you about to¡ª¡± I hurled that son of a bitch with every bit of strength I had in the direction of the closest Physma. The brick flew through the air with incredible force and speed. Watching it fly, I couldn¡¯t believe I was the one who threw it. I also couldn''t tell if I missed. (Minor Precision Sphere progress: 10%) ¡°This is insane Madison,¡± Judith said. ¡°Really, really insane.¡± ¡°No, I get it,¡± Tako said. ¡°Madison, here¡¯s that rope you wanted.¡± He lifted a brick from the tower floor. ¡°We aren¡¯t going to get anywhere but underwater just sitting around.¡± He hurled the brick and it noticeably wasn¡¯t as impressive as the one that I had thrown. ¡°Now you¡¯re both trying to get us killed. Well, fortunately, you aren¡¯t hitting anything with that throw, Tako,¡± Judith said. ¡°Ok Judith,¡± I said, ¡°you seem to see a bit better than we can. Would you mind helping us?¡± ¡°So I can make it easier for us all to get killed?¡± She said, ¡°no thanks.¡± ¡°Come on Judith, I think this could work,¡± I said, almost pleadingly. ¡°I said no,¡± She said, ¡°seriously, I¡¯m scared.¡± ¡°Do it for Jason,¡± Tako said firmly, ¡°You¡¯re using his sphere after all.¡± She hesitated, then said, ¡°fine. You¡¯re right Tako. I didn¡¯t consider that.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± He said quietly, glancing at me through the rain. I know Tako, she¡¯s not exactly what I expected either. ¡°Madison, I don¡¯t know if you can try throwing a bit softer¡­and a little more to the left.¡± I nodded at the accuracy. Made me wonder how good two surveillance spheres were. ¡°Tako, you weren¡¯t close at all unfortunately. I don¡¯t think you can do it with only one strength sphere.¡± ¡°Darn it,¡± He said. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get ready if it retaliates.¡± He started looking around as I picked up another brick and flung it, a little more to the left. (Minor Precision Sphere progress: 20%) ¡°Too far left,¡± Judith muttered. I grabbed another and slung it, then another and another, flinging them at the creature nonstop. ¡°Bullseye,¡± Judith finally said. The moment she said it, the precision sphere jumped up massively from 50% to: (Minor Precision Sphere progress: Complete!) (A Minor Precision Sphere has been added to your inventory.) I equipped the sphere into the final empty slot. ¡°Hmm, just got a minor precision sphere,¡± I said, lifting up another brick. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen that one yet,¡± Tako said, as he replenished the pile of bricks next to me. ¡°Does it do anything good?¡± I gripped the brick in my hand and peered off in the distance trying to recreate how I threw the last brick that finally struck the thing. There was a blue arched line that appeared, reminding me of this mobile golf game I was addicted to for a month. ¡°It helps me aim,¡± I lined up the target. ¡°When you hit it the last time, its vocal sack glowed a little bit. Just a hypothesis, but see if you can aim it slightly lower than you did before.¡± ¡°Must be a weak area,¡± Tako said. I tried to adjust the blue line but it was like I had the worst golf club possible. It didn¡¯t bend nor give me any more information. I flung it as hard as I could, imagining the change in trajectory more than anything. ¡°Nice, another hit, you missed the sac but¡ªoh, shit.¡± There was a loud croak in the distance that began a cacophony of them. I looked to see the Physma flying through the air in our direction. Not just the one I hit. All fucking twelve of them. Tako ran in front of me, seeming to prepare for the incoming creatures. ¡°Now we¡¯re dead!¡± Judith screamed, as the timer for the Cure of Xenophobia hit zero, and was replaced by a new blue ten-minute cooldown timer. 8 - Decisions of the Dying The crash from the remedy felt sudden and abrupt. The world grew obscure again, as feelings of uncertainty and fear darkened my resolve faster than dusk on a late winter¡¯s day. I could hardly remember the ideas and plots that I strung together. What was the knotted rope for? Why did I try to pelt the creatures with bricks? I couldn¡¯t help but look up. The Physma frogs were coming down now, presenting us with twelve ways to die. None were as big as the one that killed Jason, but they were still scary as shit. ¡°Let¡¯s see what happens!¡± Tako shouted, revealing his strength sphere, surveillance sphere, and construction sphere cradled in his hands. I looked at him, reeling from the loss of my remedy. I should tell him. I should warn him.¡°Jason died before he could fight. I won¡¯t do the same. Protect them Madison.¡± Tako dashed the spheres on the bricks of the tiny tower. The spheres, once broken, released spinning thick funnels of smoke. The blue, yellow, and green smoke snaked through the air. The spinning smoke dancing through the rain, undeterred by the storm as the tore into Tako¡¯s nose, mouth, eyes, until the boy glowed with power.
Tako considered that perhaps his memory would have been something from his childhood or his raging twenties even. It wasn¡¯t. Tako looked over the scene that happened just a week ago lamenting the moment. The scent of antiseptic cleaner was the first thing he noticed. Dakota placed her little hand in his as he laid in the hospital, a cluster of beeps around them. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Uncle Tako?¡± the five-year old asked. ¡°Your eyes are so yellow.¡± Her big smile, normally filled with a brightness, life and happiness, had deflated at the sight of him. He tried to lift himself up from the bed, but he couldn¡¯t move. He was too weak. ¡°I¡¯m sick, Little One,¡± Tako said, glancing at his sister, who glared at him in the corner of the room with her arms crossed. She was pissed. Of course she was. He had lied to her for ten years. How could he have told her that he never stopped drinking? Dakota had her mother¡¯s smile. Aiyana adored her big brother just as much as Dakota did when she was little. Big-bro-Tako. And he was almost successful. Almost the change their American Indian family needed after their father died from this bitter drink as well. Life had just taken a bad turn. ¡°Mommy has so many pictures of me around,¡± He said, sniffling, ¡°I¡¯ll always be there with you guys.¡± Reluctantly, he experienced the deep concern within Dakota¡¯s perspective, his niece was filled with immense love and compassion for his illness. That was what moved him to Kat¡¯s side during this phase. Tako also visited his sister Aiyana¡¯s perspective as well. Tako saw shame and hatred in her eyes when he looked from where he lay in the bed. He was wrong. It wasn¡¯t that Aiyana felt angry toward him, Tako learned. It was anguished frustration in the face of powerlessness. She was strong, relentless even, in the midst of her broken heart. He drew from each of his loved ones perspective, as he made his last stand.
Tako detonated, exploding with astounding energy. The tower blasted upward beneath our feet as bricks fell into place by their own nature, sending us shooting in the air. It felt like I was flying up a drop tower without the seat. ¡°Grab Kat!¡± I shouted as I fell atop Judith who pulled the catatonic boy in at the last moment. I held them beneath my weight and outstretched arms as the momentum held us down. Judith and I wailed at the top of our lungs. My voice fell out from under my scream turning to silence. I could see Tako, still standing, pulling endless bricks from his inventory, flinging them with immense force in the direction of the Physmas. The only physma I could glimpse, exploded at the impact of the brick, gore spilling from it like candy in a pinata. Or perhaps it was water. We were above the other frogs now. I could feel their tongues slamming into the tower causing it to rumble as we continued to explode upward. My ears popped from the pressure until we began to slow. Eventually the rumbling stopped as the rapid building ceased. ¡°Shit¡­shit¡­shit,¡± Judith winced from under me. ¡°That was¡­whew.¡± We were so high in the sky the air felt thin and crisp. We were above the rain clouds, somehow, and I considered if this was a glitch in Perspective. I could see Tako was shaking now, his arms still aiming below as he rapidly exhaled. ¡°I think you did it, Tako,¡± I said, sitting up. ¡°I think we¡¯re safe,¡± Kat sat up on his own as Judith lifted herself too. ¡°Wait, something¡¯s not right, grab him,¡± Judith said, as the boy toppled over the edge. ¡°No Tako!¡± Judith screamed. ¡°Tako!¡± I shouted, pulling my rope from my inventory as fast as I could. I leaned over the tower and with a quick aim I threw the rope. I missed. ¡°No!¡± I watched as his body plummeted down and further down beneath the clouds. I leaned back, taking deep breaths in the thin air. I felt myself growing dizzy with a strange grief over the boy I barely knew. ¡°Oh my God,¡± Judith said, her voice almost a whisper. ¡°Why does this keep happening.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault Judith,¡± I said, trying to recall the final moments, ¡°I think it¡¯s my fault.¡± ¡°I¡¯m starting to think you¡¯re bad luck.¡± She said, pulling her legs into a hug. I shook my head, toying with the idea of telling the girl to fuck off. Would be quite the drop if she did. I took a deep breath as I thought about Tako. The kid smashed his spheres to help us. He¡¯d given his life just for us to survive. I glanced at the now seven minute timer that sat in view. I was hopeful that the Cure of Xenophobia would save us from this. No, I needed to think for myself. I considered the ladder, no, that¡¯s impossible. Perhaps the rope in my inventory. Maybe we could shimmy down¡­no that¡¯s stupid. I needed the remedy. We sat in silence, the three of us, as I awaited the timer to drop to zero. A part of me felt pathetic, relying on this borrowed power. I trusted it more than I trusted myself. What good am I? Really? Fuck. ¡°Hey,¡± Judith said suddenly. ¡°You¡¯re not bad luck Madison, I shouldn¡¯t have said that. We¡¯re all stuck in this shit.¡± I looked at her warily. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°I¡¯ve been kind of bitchy¡­since you picked me up from over there, I¡¯m sorry. First it was Jason, now Tako,¡± She glanced at Kat who stared off in the distance then took a deep breath. ¡°This is bullshit.¡± I was slightly taken aback by the second apology, then again, I was glad I didn¡¯t have to ask for it. ¡°Thanks for saying that Judith,¡± I said, ¡°I know this is stressful,¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve just been pissed about how I got here is all,¡± She shook her head. ¡°Into Perspective¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I was¡ª¡± ¡°Well, look who we have here.¡± A voice said behind me. ¡°Good to see you again Madison,¡± I turned to see Irene, floating there. Ah, yes. She had the remedy for fear of falling. ¡°Oh my goodness, I am so glad to see you,¡± Judith said. ¡°Well I came flying over when the Physma left and this tower sprouted up in the sky.¡± ¡°Did you see a boy falling from here?¡± I asked, hope rising. There was a chance. A chance Tako could be alive. ¡°Yes I did. I grabbed him right from the air and flew him to safety. He was unconscious, but alive. Figured I would make sure noone else was up here.¡± Judith and I both breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Okay so let¡¯s get you three down. I constructed this makeshift device. You¡¯ll all have to grab on to me.¡± From her inventory, she pulled out a parasail looking device, made from tarp. ¡°That¡¯s pretty crafty,¡± Judith said, ¡°have you already tested it?¡± ¡°Used it to help the ladies get down from the Living Steps,¡± I assumed that was what they called that structure they built. ¡°You think I can fit?¡± I asked, examining the stable looking thing. ¡°It looks good but it will be dangerous if we all go at once.¡± ¡°Well I do have two strength spheres,¡± Irene said, ¡°but okay, I¡¯ll take you two first,¡± Irene said, pointing at Judith and Kat. I motioned to pick them both up when Irene said, ¡°wait what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Oh, he¡¯s catatonic and she¡¯s paraplegic,¡± I said. ¡°Perspective really screwed us over.¡± Irene nodded, with an uncomfortable smile, as I lifted Kat over Judith¡¯s arms, then they put them over her shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back for you,¡± Irene said as she walked off the edge and flew down. A long tongue shot from the brick tower below. ¡°Fuck!¡± I yelled, as I could hear them screaming as well. Bastard must have been climbing for us. The lurking Physma missed, but its tongue lashed out again with incredible speed. It attached to Irene¡¯s leg and ripped the small limb from her body, sending the parasail spiraling with guttural screams. I grabbed a brick from my feet and slung it down at the creature. It pelted against its head, but somehow didn¡¯t seem to do much. It seemed satisfied chewing on the leg of Irene before it turned it attention back to the parasail. Shit. He was going attack them again. I needed a better idea. I slammed my cure of Xenophobia, which was finally off the cooldown. The rush of ideas and enthusiasm made me feel invigorated and invincible. I glanced at my Physma problem with new eyes. ¡°That¡¯s really crazy,¡± I said aloud, but I had to try it. ¡°Perspective, don¡¯t let us die,¡± I pulled one of strength spheres from my slot. ¡°Mazel tov,¡± I said, smashing the glass orb on the ground. The green smoke spiraled up, forcing itself in my lungs. It reminded me of that one time I tried pot in my only semester of college. I almost fell into a coughing fit until I felt a surge of power. My arms and legs tingled as a wave of energy coursed through my veins filling me with immense strength. [ Beginner Class + Morbidly Obese ] [ Team : 1 of 3] [ Remedies : 1 ] [ Inventory : 4] [m. str. sphere] [m.surv. sphere] [m. const. sphere] [empty] [ Memories : 0 ] [ Missions : 1 ] [ Connect with the Idle Clients - 8 / 10 ] [ Time until Phase One completion: 38:02 ] [bonus - m. str. sphere x 5 : 20 seconds] Times five! But 20 seconds wasn¡¯t much. I pulled the rope from my inventory and made it taut, as I jumped off the edge of the tower, angling my massive body toward the creature. I hope this works. The wind rushed around me, making it hard to breathe. It wouldn¡¯t be much longer now. Wham! I slammed into the Physma, my weight causing the creature to recoil. Its body was thick and slimy, I nearly skidded off the damn thing. I pulled my taut rope and slid it into the huge creatures open mouth. It¡¯s sticky spit created an adhesion as jerked myself up with a core strength I never had before to mount the motherfucker. I kicked off the tower with all my might, causing the me and frog to free fall. We toppled through the air, falling back into the storm below, water pelting me all around. I hope this works. In a resounding spash, we landed on the ground as the Physma¡¯s slimy soft body absorbed the shock of the fall. The frog creature exploded into an array of watery gore, covering me in disgusting muck. (Cure of Aquaphobia: has been added to your remedies.) (Minor Destruction Sphere progress: Complete!) (A Minor Destruction Sphere has been added to your inventory.) I stood in the pool of water, now up to my hips. Around me, two smaller frogs awaited. They were sentries, paying me no mind. I guess I couldn¡¯t become a target to the creatures. Fear only attacks if it¡¯s present. Let¡¯s see what this remedy can do. I slammed the prompt for Cure of Aquaphobia. (Cure of Aquaphobia: 50 gallons remaining) My hands felt uncomfortably moist as it clicked in my mind what this remedy could do. I lifted my arms, and simultaneously blasted the creatures with unending geysers. They ballooned and burst from the attack. I glanced up to see the parasail still gingerly gliding down, as rain stormed around it. I still had a few seconds left before my bonus strength expired. I pushed through the water with ease as I stood near where Judith, Kat, and the one legged Irene would land. I glanced up again, to see the parasail was empty, floating along currents of wind in the storm as it landed to a float.