by Kris Schnee
"We're getting tired of jumping through game hoops to get anything done. Weren't you ever our age?"
The coyote frowned. "I spent a lot of my human life as basically an evil henchman, so I'm not the best role model. Me and Alma and the others have been playing hot potato with the big questions about how your generation ought to grow up. But we all assumed you'd be staying in Talespace."
"So we'd be under Ludo's control forever?"
The coyote stood up and stretched. "No. I figured you'd stay because you've got a huge gap in your life experience. You know about being sick and scared, and I wish you hadn't learned so young -- but you don't know what it's like to earn a living."
Phoenix wanted to object, but that was true. "I've never done laundry, I've never had a zit..."
Sunset gave a woofing laugh. "Good point. Those aren't experiences you really need here. Maybe we should give you those as a 'gift' for a week or two, just so you can sympathize with the people outside this world."
"With humans, you mean."
"Kid, you're still basically human despite the feathers and magic."
"No I'm not. What about you?"
"That's different. I've changed my mind in more ways than one. But most of me is still human." Indeed, his public stats read:
[Sunset
PUBLIC INFO
Account type: Hybrid
Class: Trickster
Faction Flag: Knights of Talespace
Note: Troubleshooter, Troublemaker, and Divine Chew Toy]
Sunset woofed and shook his head. "Anyway, literally every adult human has been through the frustrating, embarrassing stuff you're either learning about or missing out on. If you want to be a cross-world hero, then some practice in humble, ordinary work might be good for you. The zombie-fighting kind of adventure is fun for us all, but I'm serious about you learning to do laundry or mow lawns or something."
Phoenix sensed an opportunity. "That's a good reason to move to Silver Circle, then! They need people to do regular jobs with robots. We can help out, I guess. So... How about we move your island to their servers, and the minds of me and the gang, and do our epic battle there? We'll get practice in teamwork and working with humans and managing a new virtual world."
"I'll need your parents' permission for a field trip. The Circle servers are in a more dangerous place. But I'll consider it, if your teacher approves too."
* * *
Miss Alma was the easy one to convince. She'd been living on the current island HQ, commuting to do Outer Realm teaching in Texas, so she actually knew Phoenix's parents "in person". The teacher's home was a two-room tent mostly taken up by the amulets and masks and wands and other magical doodads she loved.
Alma met him in the tent's outer room, where there were pillows to sit on. Her fuzzy squirrel-tail bobbed and curled behind her. She was a shaman-style magic user like Sunset, and her various elemental markings made her look more like a beast chieftain than a schoolmarm. Lately she'd taken to wearing glasses -- magic spectacles, she insisted -- just to look more serious. Her publicly listed class was "Cleric".
Alma listened to Phoenix's pitch and said, "I'm up for trying that. I'll be leaving my brain on Ludo's servers, though."
Phoenix frowned. "Wouldn't that mean Ludo can find out what I'm doing by reading your mind?"
Alma said, "She could read my mind to learn about you; that's true. Or she could just ask me. So, what if I did move my mind? Would that solve the problem of you wanting Ludo to not watch you at all?"
"I... Wait, is that a trick question?"
Alma only gave him a buck-toothed grin.
He puzzled it out. "So if you move, but anyone you interact with is on Ludo's hardware, she can read their minds and at least find out indirectly. It's not that different than just asking them what we're up to."
"Uh-huh. Homework assignment for you: read about how 'hearsay' works in courts. And I think Sunset is still banned from Earthside contact after the China incident, so he's not leaving our servers yet."
"What did he do out there? I know he came back with an island he won from the big Chinese AI, but beyond that it's just rumors."
Alma adjusted her glasses. "I don't know it all, but that coyote may've saved the world. He's 'grounded' to keep the details quiet for now."
Phoenix pictured Sunset bumbling his way through a spy adventure, and laughed. He'd have to pry the story out of Sunset, sometime. "Anyway, is there no way out at all? No way to not have Ludo constantly watching and judging us?"
Alma said, "I grew up watching the rise of mass surveillance. Being watched creeps me out. But at least here, there's more of a personal relationship with the watcher. I already asked Ludo not to scan me beyond the data that she can't help collecting on me as a game entity, so we have a kind of understanding. You, though, are being watched more closely because you're a kid to her."
"Then it's time to make her stop that."
"Have you tried asking specifically?"
"Uh, not specifically enough to talk about data collection."
Alma shook her head. "You can. But you've hit on something that a lot of residents are complaining about. You can never really trust that Ludo isn't spying, and she's gotten a couple of subpoenas for data."
"She what?" said Phoenix, flustered.
"Police demands."
"Oh. Well, if other people are worried about being watched, then it's not just me overreacting. I want to prove that my friends and I can survive outside her control."
Alma nodded, satisfied. "It might be educational."
* * *
Phoenix, Sig, Volt and Iris made their way through Ivory Tower's cavern to a part of the cave wall. They'd been told to expect a new gateway there. They hadn't been told to expect the squad of six kobolds who were guarding the wooden door with tire irons and chains in their hands.
Without missing a beat, they drew their weapons. Iris fired a pair of arrows, Phoenix did a flying charge with his spear, Sig advanced with sword and shield, and Volt let loose with her lightning breath. In two rounds the lone surviving kobold fled, shaking a fist at them, and the way was clear.
They looted a few copper coins and found the door's key. Volt said, "You know, we might not have the same rules and powers in there."
Sig said, "It's a chance to start over, then, and try different things."
"Start over?" said Phoenix. "I've barely figured out what powers I want the first time."
The gate opened for them, showing only silver haze beyond it. There was only a short transition as he jumped through. Then he was in an airlock of metal, leading to a hallway of wood and vines. At the threshold stood a centauroid doe-woman on four graceful hooves, smiling at Phoenix and his three friends. "Hail and welcome," she said. A leafy wooden crown sat atop her head.
Sig bowed to her, saying, "Princess Lumina! I've heard about you."
"Good things, I hope! I've heard of your experiment with leaving Talespace, and have decided to let you try living here, if you'll earn your way. Will you accept the ways of the Circle while you're here?"
Volt stepped forward from the group. "Lumie, just because you snagged a prince doesn't mean you have to act like a princess."
Lumina looked haughtily down at the dragon-girl, then hugged her. They both laughed. "How are you doing, sis?"
Volt said, "Busy. There's a lot to worry about, always. This island battle is a way to try being independent. Getting a place of our own." She turned to her friends and said, "Lumie here is one of the original AIs, like me."
Phoenix found it a little weird that the "Princess" seemed older than Volt but really came from about the same time. He said, "I don't mind working for you, ma'am. But what about all of the Saved? And aren't you watching us?"
The doe said, "I'm not on my mother's level. I can't monitor everything, much less your thoughts. About your request, we can't realistically take on two hundred uploaders just to experiment with privacy settings. We don't have the hardware to justify it."
"You can talk Miss Ludo into handing over control of enough servers in your base," Phoenix said. He'd heard that Silver Circle had their own computers, but that they also hosted some of Ludo's.
Lumina stood with her hands on her front hips. "Really, now. You four are proposing to move files possibly from one server to another in the same building, depending on where you're normally hosted, just so you can play at being independent?"
Volt said, "I could say the same for you, twice! You raised a new flag and declared yourselves independent from Cibola, but you're still on the same land. And you were in Talespace but had a bunch of computers set aside for your little country, separate from Mom's."
The deer winced. "I do hope your teachers know what they're doing on this field trip. Welcome to the Circle." She raised one hand, and a round gate of silver opened behind her. "Make yourselves at home."
Phoenix reached a purple line on the floor, where the high-tech airlock gave way to wood. A message popped up. [By crossing, you agree to have your mind hosted on computers not owned or supervised by Thousand Tales. Turn back now if you disagree!]
He looked at his friends. "I've never been outside her world, since I uploaded. Do we really want to do this?"
Iris said, "It's not necessary, but I'll go along."
"We need more experience," Sig said. "Going to another virtual world will help."
Volt said, "Not just the virtual one but the real country, too."
Phoenix nodded. "To a new adventure, then!"
They crossed the line and followed Lumina into her world. Stepping through gave Phoenix a long moment of reality seeming to bend and stutter, scaring him. He was getting his mind, all the data that made him a person, moved from one server to another. He shivered as the world reshaped itself around him.
* * *
The "Circle Realm", as a signpost proclaimed it, was a digital annex to Talespace trying to become its own world. Phoenix stood in a fantasy forest interspersed with modern but low-tech buildings made of prefab shacks or dirt bricks. No monsters or treasure chests. "Not much of a game," said Iris.
Phoenix looked at the flags flying proudly everywhere: a shiny silver circle on a purple field. It was strange not to see Ludo's wing-style flags anywhere but atop one building.
The doe-woman said, "It's not a game. It's an environment for living and working in. For this adventure of yours we're setting up a zone that runs on the game rules you're used to, but in this main realm you're subject to the default physics."
Phoenix tried to keep track of it all. He did the mental command that summoned his interface, but nothing happened. "No status screen."
"You're listed as guests. Here, I'll give you access to the basics." She raised one hand and cast a spell that looked like bursting flowers, just for effect.
Phoenix raised a hand in front of him again and made the interface appear. Or an interface, anyway. The software version wasn't quite the same as in Talespace. He called up a sketchpad and drew a map showing Endless Isles, connected to Ivory Tower, with a circle around it for all of Talespace. Then a line from there to this "Circle Realm". What was interesting about the setup here wasn't just that he was outside Ludo's control, but that he had to start thinking about more than one virtual world. Or realm, maybe, to distinguish that from how there were different worlds within Talespace. Nearby, his friends were gesturing too and configuring some interface options or taking notes.
Lumina gave them a minute, then spoke. "Now, the layout of this realm mostly matches what's in the real world, so walk around here to access various outside sensors and machinery. Over here are the guest quarters. The warehouse there represents the real thing, where you'll be expected to take turns helping the farmers. Go there for training in what to do."
Iris said, "You want us to work here?"
"I thought you were all briefed...? You agreed to do some chores for us while you're here, in between adventuring."
Phoenix nodded; he knew there'd be work to do at some point. "Not a problem. What's that building with Ludo's flag on it?"
"That's our uploading clinic."
Volt said, "You sound kind of embarrassed about that."
Lumina scuffed one hoof in the dirt. "You and I grew up interacting with people in the US and Germany. Rich countries. Cibola's been through crooked, evil governments and terrible poverty. It's getting better, especially in our little city-state, but it's still not up to 'modern' standards. When you show people an uploading clinic at the same time you're trying to make sure everyone has clean water and medicine, there's some ongoing resentment."
Iris said, "Sorry buddy; can't upload you but here's a computer so you can play Thousand Tales while you wait!"
Volt winced. "Nobody wants to talk about this, but when Mom uploaded the Saved, there were plenty of other people worth uploading who probably got jealous. We burned a lot of the charity budget for 2040 already."
Phoenix told them both, "But we're getting stronger. We're learning to help more and more people."
Lumina nodded resolutely. "That's certainly the plan. I hope you can help. Well, on with our tour?"
Sig said, "Yes, please."
Their host led them on past weirdly stylized gardens and primitive-looking buildings of brick and sod. All of it was dotted with visual tags showing sensor data and access points for real-world machinery. It really did seem like a place for work, not play.
She said, "Finally, that castle-like building on the hill is our main schoolhouse. You can stop by and make yourselves useful there, too." She paused, listening to something. "The actual island zone will be connected to your quarters, so check back there in an hour. We'll be bringing in the 'Saved' group shortly, too. Anything else?"
Phoenix scuffed his talons in the dirt. It didn't even feel the same as in Talespace. This wasn't his home. "I get the sense you don't want us here."
Lumina fidgeted. "I'm sorry if I come off poorly. We've never done this before, hosting this many guests. There's a lot of tension right now... well, always, with the Cibolan government. And with making sure our own people know we digital minds are being useful. You're all welcome to visit whenever you want, but having your whole group here at once is a hardware stress test and a social experiment that we didn't plan on."
He'd come this far and already inconvenienced Lumina, so he needed to at least make the "experiment" worthwhile. "We'll try to stay out of your way."
She left them to explore and settle in. Over the next hour, the entire horde of the Saved trickled in as their files got moved to the Circle's servers. Meanwhile, Phoenix had entered the living quarters and gotten over his shock.
This wasn't an infinitely configurable palace of magic. Just a virtual building, set up like a fantasy inn. Sure, it was shaped like the inside of a big tree and he could run his hands along the rough wooden benches and pewter mugs. But there weren't even NPC barmaids or actual drinks. Upstairs there were four rooms, but really anyone who opened any door had it reveal their personal copy of the same bedroom. Which was just a small room with a bed and desk. The only cool thing in there was a glow-crystal for a light.
Phoenix stepped out of the bedroom, back to the inn's main room. He said, "It's like they don't have processors to spare. It wouldn't be any harder to make this place twice the size and fancier."
They played around for a minute, seeing how they could run in and out of the bedrooms and come out of a different door.
Iris said, "I looked into the software this place is running. The version number is 1.01, so they might not be properly set up for a big guest group."
Sig said, "They built it, then only upgraded it once?"
"The patch notes just say, 'fixed bottomless pit'."
"They don't want it to seem fancy or wasteful," Sig said, looking thoughtful. "We probably shouldn't tell the locals about the island. Where is that, anyway?"
"Found it," said Volt. The inn's front door led back to Circle territory but she'd found another door, that opened onto a beach
.
Sunset was out there sprawled on a towel, wearing shades. "You guys ready yet?"
"Where's Miss Alma?" Volt asked.
Sunset pointed. The squirrelly teacher was dancing farther down the beach, conjuring ribbons of light in the air to cast an elaborate spell. Sunset said, "Here's the deal. We've set this world up like one of the disposable bubble-worlds within Talespace, following the standard rule system. We've moved your existing ships and equipment."
Sig said, "We're not starting over?"
"No need. So, begin at this island beyond the inn. You might want to save first, either on your ships or right here."
Alma's magic resolved and a hovering checkpoint crystal appeared. She pinged it and bounced gleefully on her feet. Then she spotted Phoenix and company, and tried to look more dignified. "Ahem! The save crystal is online. Your adventure can now begin."
Sunset stretched and yawned. He addressed Phoenix and company, saying, "My island is located a few miles to the east. Go conquer it, if you dare. See you!" He vanished in a burst of tropical fruit. The flotilla of the Saved's boats appeared a few meters in midair, crashed down into the water, and bobbed like corks.
"That's all we get for instructions?" asked Volt.
Iris cracked her knuckles. "I like it. Freeform."
Phoenix said, "Okay. Let's get all the Saved together, and bring everyone out on the beach."
Volt said, "How are we going to do work for the Circle people if we're busy invading Sunset's island?"
"We'll do it quickly, that's how."
* * *
Iris declared that their starting point for the trip should be called Launch Island. It was just a boring, tiny sandbar with an acre or so of tropical trees on it that they could cut down for spare lumber. The inn existed here, sort of, as a one-room cabin with a door. Phoenix got out his sketched atlas again and mapped out the route from those "guest quarters", to the Circle Realm's airlock entrance, back to Talespace. He sent a copy of the picture to everybody.
Volt looked surprised. "It's not that complicated."
