Web of Worlds

by Michael Atamanov

  Astrolinguistics skill increased to level ninety!

  Valeri-Urla, transmitting my answer to her jailers, spent a long time in silence. So long in fact that she got bored and took a dive in the blue sea, swimming a couple laps around the huge turtle. Finally, the space huntress crawled back on the shell and continued. First of all, Valeri-Urla told me the prelates had doubts that Earth’s humanity already possessed planetary shield technology. The suzerains wouldn’t have shared such a vitally necessary technology with new vassals. At the very least they wouldn’t have until their control over the planet was confirmed, meaning after the tong of safety.

  “We didn’t get it from the Geckho, it was the Jargs, long-time Geckho vassals. They are interested in strengthening the Geckho military alliance so they sent me a crystal drive on Kasti-Utsh III. It contains some blueprints for combat vehicles but the main content is calculations for the power and construction of towers to support a planetary energy screen. According to our scientists, we don’t understand everything in these calculations, but in combination with blueprints of the towers, which I obtained on the planetoid Ursa-II-II, we have enough to start building. What’s more, a Jarg specialist has come to help Earth’s scientists. I brought him on my frigate. So if Tailax also helps Earthen scientists figure things out, that would surely be perceived as a gesture of friendship between the branches of humanity. Anyhow apologies but, as you see, we wouldn’t be able to consider that a fully-fledged gift of technology.”

  I was lying and bluffing confidently, mixing easily checkable facts with flagrant lies and purposely lowering the value of the one technology my humanity needed most. And it worked, they believed me!!!

  Authority increased to 60!

  “Yes, the Meleyephatian horde is aware of the role of the Shiamiru crew and Gnat personally in the assault of the planetoid Ursa-II-II. We are aware of the TRUE story,” Valeri-Urla said, emphasizing the word. “The horde is aware of other affairs as well which place the Free Captain’s neutrality under serious doubt. In fact, let’s take it a bit further. If Free Captain Leng Gnat had not expressed a willingness to work with us, he would have already been added to a list of enemies of the Meleyephatian horde. Then, any voyage he tried to take through space would be, to put it lightly, problematic.”

  Come on, they were threatening me again! Here I suspected for the first time that it wasn’t the prelates of Tailax talking to me. Or more accurately, not only the prelates of the enslaved planet but also their true masters. They just knew too much and felt free to make comments and promises in the name of the whole Meleyephatian horde. And if I was not wrong in my suspicion, the offer to fly off in search of the force that the Meleyephatians were afraid of really was just a trick.

  “Listen closely, Leng Gnat. As an advance, the people of Earth will be given long-distance communication technology plus detailed documentation on planetary shields. You can download the data in the nearest spaceport. All you need to bring is a drive of sufficient capacity. Valeri-Urla can tell you the package activation code at a vending machine. Tailax will in its turn find out the finer details of bifurcation of space then the prelates of the church of Survival will get back in touch with you. And at that we close the negotiations. And yes, Valeri-Urla, we are happy with you! Your prison sentence has just been cut in half.”

  The girl fell silent and spent some time just listening to her feelings. But then she clearly relaxed and even started smiling for the first time since the negotiations began:

  “Okay, that’s all. They hung up. Shall we go to the spaceport?” she suggested, seemingly suggesting we go straight there now on the turtle and without any clothing. It didn’t seem to bother her one bit.

  But I thought that was an unjustified rush and refused. First of all, I didn’t want to offend Imran. My Dagestani friend had spent all day yesterday working with faction Mechanics to make “proper” meat skewers and a grill like back home in the Caucasus. He had also taken the Miyelonian kitten Tini as an assistant and stayed up deep into the night cutting and marinating meat in a special way, hoping to show the people and other races the proper, Caucasian way to make shashlik[3]. Second — I pointed at the Naiads who were still accompanying us — weren’t we waiting for one of the leaders of the underwater folk to come here? Had their leader really not come yet?

  Valeri-Urla grasped the pendant dangling between her breasts. The Beastmaster’s eyes clouded over for a second.

  “The Naiad leader arrived long ago. She’s a female, very ancient and respected. She’ll come up now.”

  Today I had already seen my fill of Naiads of all kinds. Black and silver, normal five-foot ones, and ten-foot giants. So I naively thought they couldn’t surprise me now. I was wrong. When a toothy head the size of a compact car appeared from out of the water next to me, I took a step back and nearly screamed in fear. This gigantic predator was twenty-three feet long and weighed a couple tons at least.

  Leng Veia. Oceanid. Ocean Faction. Level-174 Matriarch.

  What was there to say here? With some imagination... well A LOT of imagination, a certain similarity could be seen with an overgrown mermaid. She had plate-eyes like a fish and a mouth full of teeth like a shark, adding some more to the picture. Veia’s huge head was topped with a mother-of-pearl crown carved from a huge spiny shell. Standing up and bowing in respect to the undersea potentate, I tried to mentally speak with the Oceanid but came up against absolute lack of understanding. Just a solid wall. On the very edge of perception, I could sense some fleeting echoes of some of Veia’s complex emotions but I couldn’t get close enough to understand. Our consciousnesses were just too different. It reminded me of my unsuccessful attempts to mentally converse with Little Sister. The Shadow Panther just didn’t understand or accept me even though her master Valeri-Urla could converse with her pet no problem. In this case I also had to ask the Beastmaster for help.

  “Valeri, translate my words for this queen of the sea. Tell her that I am the new master of this island, and have driven away its former, warlike inhabitants. I would like to propose a peaceful neighborly relationship and to guarantee that my subjects will not enter into conflict with her Naiads. We have something to offer the them as well. First of all, trade. We are willing to buy fish and seafood, paying with medicines for all kinds of ailments, as well as metal and weaponry made from it. Second, we are willing to employ Naiads for various kinds of labor. That means guarding the rocky shore and laying undersea cables as well as long-distance recon. But to start we need help from your marine folk to raise a starship that sunk in the bay. We are willing to pay handsomely, so the Naiads will not be left in the lurch.”

  Fame increased to 75.

  Valeri-Urla said nothing aloud, but based on her tense face, the transmission of such a long message to the undersea NPC required serious effort from the Beastmaster. Finally, the space girl finished her work and told me the answer:

  “Ruler of the sea Leng Veia greets you, ruler of the land Leng Gnat. The undersea folk know a place at great depth and in complete darkness where there lies a silver flying machine. It has broken into three pieces. The Naiads and sea monsters will raise all the pieces and bring them to the ruler of the rocky island. Our price is eight sharp knives made of shiny metal that does not rust under the sea and which people use underwater. Trade is also approved. The Naiads can provide Fish in any quantity. Veia also says that before the war people exchanged happy water and terrestrial fruits for pearls. She suggests renewing that trade. A basket of fruit for a handful of pearls.”

  Not a bad price. Of course I gave my agreement after which the huge Oceanid smiled, showing a huge maw packed with three rows of sharp teeth. Then she quietly slipped back underwater. Valeri commented on the successful end of the negotiations:

  “It worked, captain! Although I admit, it was hard. At times I was afraid I wouldn’t manage. Some words were extremely hard to explain. I had especially big problems with ‘underwater cables.’ How could I explain to an NPC Oceanid what that e
ven was? All that came to mind was: ‘a very long inedible worm which people want placed on the bottom.’ Veia still doesn’t understand why people would want something like that. In fact she thinks you’re a weirdo and even a bit crazy, but still she gave her agreement.”

  “Great! Thanks, Valeri. Without you, all these negotiations would have been impossible. Tell me what you would like in return.”

  The space girl started smiling even harder, for some reason grew embarrassed but in the end refused:

  “Leng Gnat, I have known since my very first day that you weren’t taking me into your crew just because. A Beastmaster has no business on a starship. But you asked me a few times if I could speak with undersea creatures, so I guessed a long time ago what kind of work I’d have to do. You needn’t give me any kind of additional pay. This was the very job you hired me to do. And don’t you dare try and leave me on this planet now! Of course it is very nice here, and a happy hunting ground for a Beastmaster. But my strict masters want me to follow you.”

  At the same time as what she said aloud, a message rang out in my head just for me:

  “Ever since that day, all my conversations have been closely recorded. Cameras and microphones capture everything I see and hear. I have been ordered to stay near you and track you, captain. What’s more, in the local spaceport, I have been instructed to pick up a package with a set of miniature espionage devices, which I have been ordered to place on your frigate. So keep that in mind, captain. I ask you please not to stop me, otherwise my masters will realize that I warned you. And I recommend you have a few one-on-one conversations with me about Tailax, the Meleyephatian horde, invasion and other politics stuff. It will make things look authentic and raise my value in the eyes of my masters. After that I might be allowed to change faction and move my physical body from the Tailax prison. And if you come up with a way to get rid of all the bugs in my body, I will be eternally grateful!”

  * * *

  Over the rest of the day I had time to celebrate the peace treaty and familiarize myself with my new territory, then have a talk with every high-profile player from the La-Fin Faction. But that wasn’t the most important thing. I finally made up my mind about the choice the game gave me when it made me a Leng and I created my own faction, which I called Relict.

  Why Relict? The explanation was very simple. When I chose the menu option “Found personal faction,” I immediately realized the game wouldn’t allow the new group to have whatever name I liked, it was just offering me a choice from among many available options. Among them were Gnat, Human-33, La-Fin 2, Tar-Layneh Double, Independent Island 1476 and a bunch of other names that were just as predictable and boring. I almost agreed to Gnat, although I considered naming a faction after myself improper and a very garish kind of bragging. But there in a long list of options I saw Relict, and I felt an electric shock.

  I immediately decided that was the very name I was looking for because it was a great reflection of the thrust of my gameplay, studying the mysterious Relict civilization, their language and ancient artifacts. What was more, my character had a unique class, Listener, which originated among that ancient race. My Energy Armor occasionally contacted the mysterious Relict Pyramid, and even my main weapon came from a Relict outpost. And Gnat was of little interest to influential Gecko or Miyelonian players as a person. There were plenty of people in the game that bends reality as it was. But as the only Listener and one of the few players who knew the Relict language, I was of great interest. So the faction name Relict was a great fit and emphasized my uniqueness. Beyond that... Logically I couldn’t explain it but I knew it was the right path! I was used to trusting my intuition and so...

  Relict Faction.

  Current player capacity: 1 of 87.

  ATTENTION!!! The name Relict has an ancient history, and your faction having this name could earn you both unexpected allies and surprising enemies. Are you sure (YES/NO)?

  I seriously considered it. Unexpected allies were of course good. But surprising enemies... The first thing that came to mind was the Symbiote aka satellite, a mysterious ball of energy which had come near my frigate a few times in space. Kirsan the repair bot, who had been around since the time of the ancient Mechanoid race, called the satellite an “ancient enemy.” The Relict drone the game had assigned me, which I had communicated with long-distance a few times, was also afraid of possible encounters with “Precursor defense systems” in space, perhaps meaning Symbiotes and the like. Would the satellite become aggressive on our next encounter? Sure, no one had seen one attack before (or so Ayukh the Navigator assured me), but no one in recent history had seen a Symbiote while being a member of an ancient faction! Nevertheless, I chose YES, confirming the foundation of a faction by that name.

  Fame increased to 76.

  Fame increased to 77.

  Fame increased to 78.

  A triple fame increase all at once? That actually scared me more than anything. The game had spread the fact that the Relicts were back, a most powerful force awakening from a many-century slumber. But there was nothing to be done. The choice was made.

  For now my faction consisted of one lone player: myself. The faction didn’t have its own Dome or corncobs. All faction members for now would be exiting the game into the same real-world locations as before. But I didn’t see a big problem with that and hoped the situation would change eventually. The level-one island node afforded me eighty-seven faction members. Right at that picnic, I received some applications to join the Relict Faction too. From my crew: Dmitry Zheltov, Imran, Eduard Boyko and Vasily Filippov the Terrans; Tini, Gerd Ayni and Gerd Mauu-La the Miyelonians; Vasha and Basha Tushihh, Avan Toy and Ayukh the Geckho. They would all supposedly appear in the list of faction members in approximately three days.

  I had heard Valeri’s position as well and knew the Beastmaster was open to joining the Relict Faction, but before that she would need permission from her jailers. Denni Marko, as I immediately realized talking to him, wasn’t attached to his present faction and would join whichever one necessary to stay with his partner Valeri.

  The biggest surprise was that the Jarg wanted to join the new faction. The spiny armadillo, who alone took down nearly half of Imran’s shashlik, even tearing a few chunks literally from the mouth of the panther, used the universal translator to spit out a stormy tirade, telling me and everyone around that he was willing to join the RELICT faction in awkward broken phrases. Of course, I didn’t refuse the Analyst. He had already proven his worth.

  By the way, the Jarg’s name Uii-Oyeye-Argh-Eeyayo was no problem for the Miyelonians, but the other space races also found it a real tongue twister. No people or Geckho could remember or pronounce it without issue. The Jarg was also categorically opposed to shortened forms like just Uii and grew angry when he heard them, puffing up threateningly and showing a readiness to explode. So the spiny Analyst was simply called “Jarg,” and that didn’t bother him one bit.

  After my negotiations with the key players of the La-Fin Faction, two of them immediately agreed to join the recently created Relict Faction. First was garrison leader Gerd T’yu-Pan. And I hadn’t decided whether to take him with me into space or put him in charge of defense of the island. In that case I would allow him to choose the thirty or forty most capable soldiers of the Human-3 or La-Fin Faction to serve under him. But regardless the all-powerful level-105 Shocktroop was a very valuable acquisition.

  The second high-profile player to join my side was Mage Diviner Gerd Mac-Peu Un-Roi. I chose the young talented mage as an advisor and, what was more, was planning to leave him in charge on the island in my absence. Most likely, I could have recruited others like him as well, but Princess Minn-O La-Fin in her usual half-joking half-serious manner announced that it was time for me to grow a conscience and that she as head of the La-Fin Faction would also need some of her key players. What was more, the La-Fin Faction had been bled dry after the desertion of leading mage rulers to competing cliques of the magocratic world, so every
high-profile player had a huge value. It was the pure truth and so I stopped trying, simply enjoying the nice evening, outdoor picnic, pleasant company and surprisingly enjoyable singing of Bard Vasily Filippov.

  After sundown, wanting to see my territory, I went up on the highest peak of the island and many players came with me. Of course, I didn’t have to play mountain climber. We all could have just taken a Sio-Mi-Dori assault antigrav. I only took one of the five, leaving the four others with the La-Fin Faction. But there was a fairly well-worn and comfortable path leading to the top, which sentries used every day, and I wanted to walk it to get some fresh air for my tipsy head.

  But it wasn’t only a spontaneous desire to walk that got me out. It was a great chance to get my Mineralogy out of its dead stop at level one and I wanted to take advantage of it. The stalled skills problem actually went even deeper. Not only Mineralogy, also Rifles, Sharpshooter, Targeting and in some sense Medium Armor had me worried. They weren’t levelling because I had no way to actively use them. And that affected how fast my character leveled, which was going quite slow at this point. The times had long passed when Gnat would grow ten to fourteen levels per day. It took me three days to hit level eighty-three and I didn’t like that one bit. And so — into the mountains!

  A night’s walk between huge outcroppings of rock — what could be better for a Geologist! We all carried flashlights, which made the rocks shine back all kinds of colors as they slid over them. The rocks were clearly of volcanic origin. On my way to the top, I confidently recognized basalt, andesite and gabbro as well as a lot of other volcanic stones, raising my Minerology to 56, Eagle Eye to 76 and Medium Armor to 58. Just in that night the mountain trek brought my progress to level 84 up by a quarter!

  But finally I reached the top, a bit winded but happy! A pitch-black sea on all sides, an even darker jagged rocky island underfoot and a distant shore in the East, territory of the Human-3 Faction. The Rainforest node to be more accurate. I stopped at a precipice and, taking in a full chest of fresh sea air, called out to my advisor Gerd Mac-Peu Un-Roi: