Haley scrunched up her face, “That’s not really nice. They’re people.”
Amy shrugged, “Most of the time I’ve spent in this world was in Florida. I’ve heard that the benefits for working at Waffle House aren’t bad, but the dental care some people got before working there wasn’t great.”
Haley shook her head. “That’s restaurants. The full time staff get benefits, but most jobs are part time and they don’t get benefits at all. Are things different in your world?”
Looking over the place I found myself in the middle of a few different unrelated thoughts. First, that the island was a beautiful place. Especially around the platform where we exited the stairway, the vegetation all but screamed, “tropical island paradise.”
Colorful birds flew through the air above us. Others perched in the trees or on volcanic mound.
Noticing that, I hoped again that it was inactive, and decided to be grateful that Larry wasn’t here. While he was closer to me than some family members, he had the worst luck with fire and natural disasters.
It didn’t take long to reach the surface, relatively speaking. Izzy lead us down a hall off of the main room, giving me a chance to look at the dead, frozen bodies of all the people Rook had turned into robots as well as his own transformed body.
Amy shuddered as she passed it, telling me, “The little bit of him that’s left saw his dead body. Even for him, it’s weird and creepy.”
The glowing ring of the portal appeared before us, with the grey concrete of the dock’s control room visible through the circle. It grew larger by the instant, making it clear that we were exiting immediately.
It was less that we stepped through to the room, so much as fell through at an angle. There was no law, I supposed, that a tunnel through time and space had to synchronize with the orientation of the exit point.
Haley let go of my hand, rolling and coming to her feet. I turned on the suit’s anti-gravity, floating to the ceiling like a Rocket-sized party balloon.Continue reading Reality Tweaks: Part 1→
From where she stood next to Nataw, Kee smiled. “You met him in the future, and he chose not to kill you. I think Govan will be reasonable, provided we’re talking to the version of him who spared you. If we’re about to talk to a version of him that doesn’t know anything about that, it could become messy.”
Tiger, meanwhile, had begun to sniff Nataw and Lee, starting with their butts and crotches.
I wondered if he’d still do that if he understood that they were older than our universe. Then it struck me that, given his understanding of English, he might have decided to start there because he’s a dog.
Nataw watched him and then scratched Tiger behind the ears. Then he said a word that my implant translated as Hideaway’s name in the language of a long-fallen galactic empire. “[Hideaway]. You’re a long way from home. I never liked the Abominators, but I did like what they did with your people. Dogs for hunting dinosaurs. Who’s a good boy?”
Then he started laughing. I’m pretty sure I even heard a “Mwha-ha-ha” somewhere in there. Then the communication ended, leaving me to hope that it was an ironic “Mwha-ha-ha,” because an unironic “Mwha-ha-ha” would be a cliche.
It called up mad scientist vibes at best and at the most horribly wrong end, it reminded me of how Artificer technology had been designed to destroy civilizations either through madness or temptation and runaway self-interest. Continue reading Stage Three: Part 2→
It was as good a throw as I’d ever seen from her, but for the first time, the Bloodspear stopped in midair, hitting nothing and stopping. Then it fell to the ground and disappeared.
As it fell, though, magical symbols appeared in the air. I recognized a few. Everyone in Stapledon had had to take a survey course in magic and magical creatures. While I couldn’t read many, I recognized the one for blood and felt a burst of energy.
Heroes’ League “Jet.” 1000 Feet Above The Nine’s Island.
Checking the feeds from the jet’s cameras, I broadcast my announcement to our allies in addition to our cabin. “We’re beginning our final descent. Sensors show that the Nine’s forces are busy fighting around the outside of the main building as well as the courtyard inside. We’re going to drop out of the hatch and enter via the roof. You’ll find the intended spot on the map. It appears to be close to Magnus’ quarters.
