by Sarah Lin
While biking back an alternate idea occurred to him out of nowhere: maybe he was approaching this from the wrong angle. If lucrim anomalies could be easily found via aura techniques, the GLA would probably already have done so. Maybe it would be more effective to use other sources of knowledge to get close, then home in on the source from there.
Though he wanted to try that immediately, he couldn't afford to miss his shift, so Rick just kept biking. He shifted up another gear even though he knew his muscles would regret it later. At least he was making clear progress there: he could comfortably bike in the 28th gear and could manage the 31st if he pushed himself. Most of that progress was just his body and lucrima soul getting used to biking, but he'd take it.
The additional ache made work a bit more productive, if not interesting: he was drained enough that his clients' blows actually worked his lucrima a bit. Rick stumbled his way through his shift, then shuffled back outside. It was getting dark, but there was still time left in the day...
When he got to the side of the road, it took him several tries to manifest his bike. Rick stared at it blearily, then realized that he was much too tired. Even if he made it out of the city without an accident, he would be too braindead to accomplish anything. Instead of going out, he headed home and paced himself instead of rushing.
Just trying to get up the steps to the second floor, he found himself stumbling and hitting the steps with his shoes. He almost looked as strung out as the meth heads around the apartment complex. Was something draining him? Then again, when he tried to think about how much sleep he'd gotten the previous two nights, he realized that was a more likely explanation. Trying to work two jobs would have been hard enough, but the constant bike training taxed his resources further.
He fumbled several times at the lock before getting inside. Melissa was watching television and turned with a smirk on her face, but her eyes widened when she saw him. "Rick... you look like you fell out of the exhaustion tree and hit every branch on the way down."
"Heh... exhaustion tree..." Rick snorted and stumbled in. His sister quickly came to support him, insistently moving him into the bedroom.
"Okay, you obviously need to get more sleep. You take the bed tonight, I command it." As she eased him down onto the side of the bed, she gave him a concerned look. "Are you sure you want to be pushing yourself this hard? I'm really doing fine, and we have plenty of money. You don't need to run yourself ragged anymore."
"If I don't..." He trailed off, too tired to put together his thoughts properly. Maybe he was just clinging to old patterns foolishly. Maybe not. So many of the people he was competing with were wealthier, more talented, and more experienced than him. If he didn't do something...
"Okay, now is obviously not the time for talking. You rest, okay?"
Rick almost heard his snoring before he passed out.
~ ~ ~
Though Rick slept in a long time, he woke up feeling refreshed. He didn't make himself get out of bed right away, instead stretching and yawning. His body ached a bit, but it was getting used to the new rigors of the lucrim bike. Though that might not be a useful combat ability, he was going to enjoy the benefits if he kept it up.
By contrast, right now neither of his jobs were benefiting him much. Working at the House of the Cosmic Fist provided enough money to live, but that was it. Surveying for lucrim anomalies was providing him nothing at all until he reported one and began receiving a salary. If he wanted to get past this exhaustion, he needed to break through that problem as soon as possible.
Rick got out of bed and saw that the door was closed. Melissa had left a drawing of a stern-looking hamster urging him to rest on the inner door. He smiled and pulled off the tape, momentarily wondering where she was before realizing that she was at work. Of course.
Meanwhile, he had an entire day without any shifts to work at the gym. He needed to use it wisely, which meant not wasting a lot of time surveying. No, he needed to start with his new approach, and he thought he had a good lead.
First, he made a few other preparations, like texting to meet up with Lisa. After that, he ate a bowl of cereal while doing his meditation, then ate two more. Damn, he was hungrier than he'd expected. Hopefully that would be enough fuel to get him through the day, because he didn't have much food that was handy for taking along on his trip out of town.
After that he biked over to Eastpark, since it was a convenient location for both of them. He found Lisa on a bench, enjoying the morning. She smiled broadly when she saw him and patted a box at her side.
"This has more of my serum, plus my attempt at a mixture that increases perception. You're not relying too heavily on this, are you? These really are just experimental."
"Actually, today shouldn't rely too much on my perception at all." Though he considered sitting down to chat with her, too much of him was eager to test out his new theory, so he just picked up the box. "And the serum is just because it's good."
"Oh, is it?" Lisa lit up and he realized that he'd forgotten to compliment her on it before now.
"Definitely. It's hard to judge how much more effective it is than normal serum, but it's definitely better tasting and feeling. You might be able to improve it more, but I'd already buy it over normal serum."
"That's a relief to hear. I've tried to approach a few massage clients with offers and I've had mixed results, so I was getting a bit discouraged."
"No, I think you're onto something." Rick put her box into his backpack and hefted it to one shoulder, already looking outward. "I don't think a single thing you've given me has been actually harmful, so you have a good track record so far."
"I'm glad to hear that. Rick, do you..." Lisa paused, a strange expression passing over her face. "But you're eager to get out of Branton to try something new, aren't you?"
He winced that she saw through him so easily. "You're right. Sorry, it's just that until I find an anomaly..."
"No, I understand." Lisa got up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck out there."
Her encouragement made him feel a lot lighter, and he looked forward to trying her mixture later. Perhaps after his first attempts, since he always needed a boost after unsuccessful searching. Buoyed by his rest and new motivation, Rick burned out of town at a rapid rate.
Instead of approaching the area he'd been surveying, he instead followed the highway that led to the site where they'd all been tested. Others had already swarmed that location, trying to look for residual lucrim that might offer a hint about finding other anomalies.
Fortunately, Rick had no intention of going there.
Instead he stopped at the ramshackle gas station from before. It was just as deserted as the last time and there was no sign of the old man, so he went and knocked on the door. After a long wait, the old man shuffled out, peering at him from under his bushy eyebrows.
"Hello again, sonny. You didn't come all the way out here for cheap serum, did you?"
"You gave me a good deal, but no." Rick glanced around on instinct, but there was absolutely no one anywhere near. "Last time I was here, you hoped that the GLA would clean up the area. Well, now I'm working for them. Are there any local lucrim-based problems you think could use a look?"
"Huh. Can't say anybody has ever come and asked that before." The old man tapped his cane against the ground several times as he thought. "There's more pests everywhere, but I think the biggest problem is that there are more feral dragons around lately. I think they have a nest up in the hills over there, I just haven't worked up to pushing them out yet."
Rick tried to keep his smile under control. "That sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Can you show me where?"
The old man was glad to point out the exact hills he meant and give him plenty more information about what he'd observed. Some of it was useless and the story veered into complaints about local problems, but Rick listened patiently and gathered all the key details. Once he was done, he thanked the old man and headed out over the wilderness.
The aura passing between his hands hummed in response to something. It wasn't enough that he could feel it in the air, but he knew he was close to one of the anomalies. Rick grinned and struggled not to run, instead forcing himself to walk and keep focused on the aura, targeting the source. Though the hills distorted the exact location, he knew he was getting closer.
One of the improvements Emily had suggested was theoretically supposed to help him survey an entire region, he'd just never been close enough to make use of it. Once he'd gotten about as close as he thought he could, he knelt down and focused on Emily's version of the technique. Instead of simply resonating with the nearby atmosphere, the flow of aura sent out testing spikes in multiple directions.
The task had entirely consumed him when he heard the growl. Rick looked up, dropping the technique to raise his fists defensively, and found himself facing a dragon.
It was a miserable-looking creature, its scales mangy, its mane torn and matted. Though old paintings presented them as larger than humans, this one was only as big as a medium-sized dog, albeit longer. Instead of undulated gracefully through the sky, it barely hovered at all, its claws skimming through the dirt.
Even though he was face to face with a wild creature, Rick found himself feeling more pity than awe or fear. The dragon's ancestors had been symbols of luck and good fortune, yet this half-starved creature struggled to survive on the scraps humanity left behind. Other creatures had gone extinct without atmospheric lucrim to support them, and judging from this miserable creature, he wondered how long dragons could hold out.
Rick shook himself, realizing that the dragon was wild and angry. If there was a nest, he was probably encroaching on it. Though he could definitely defend himself, fighting the poor thing felt wrong. Instead he rose to his feet and gathered up his aura around him, refusing to look away from the dragon's gaze.
Several times it made a floating loop toward him, growling again, but he refused to give way. Rick couldn't quite remember whether or not you were supposed to raise your hands over your head with dragons or not, but he towered over the thing anyway. He expanded his aura into a larger area and the dragon flinched back. After they went back and forth several times, it turned and rushed away, leaving him with only a glimpse of its flowing tail disappearing between the hills.
The encounter left Rick less pleased with his progress. His surveying technique had gotten a signal, so he advanced on it. There were no more wild dragons and he soon found his destination.
It was just a space between two small hills, yet he knew that it was the right place. He could feel a slight throbbing in the sphere they'd given him, confirming it. The aura between his hands went wild as he got closer, and when he stepped into the space itself he could feel lucrim in the air around him. Rick actually gasped at the sensation, so similar to being paid lucrim and yet different in a way he struggled to describe. This was how the entire world had once been?
For the first time, he went through the process of recording the local and lucrim flow in the sphere they'd given him. It was easy, especially after his practice trying for bank jobs. Once that was done, all he needed to do was call in the specific report to fill out his forms. Yet the process took long enough that by the time he was finished, he was of several minds.
His hand pulled out his phone and reached for the number he hadn't yet dared to call, yet the rest of him stopped the movement. Though he considered trying to absorb the lucrim, he quickly realized that was foolish. The traces of natural lucrim here might feel good, but they were nothing compared to the lucrim he'd be paid for reporting it.
What gave him greater pause was thinking about the poor dragon. If it lost this source of lucrim, would it survive? Obviously it had survived before the recent set of anomalies, but judging from its poor health, he wasn't sure how long it would last. Even if he tried to do something, what could he do?
In the end, Rick decided that it would be foolish to give up his chance for the sake of an animal. He'd research more and see if something could be done, but he and Melissa needed this. Rick reached for the sphere and made the call.
Chapter 16: Getting the Job
Though he'd expected to be escorted to some sort of official headquarters, Rick instead found himself meeting with CSLA staff in an unremarkable office building. It didn't even seem particular to them, just some cheaply rented space. Not that it really mattered, compared to the contract.
He sat in a metal chair next to a folding table, reading over one of the most important contracts of his life. The woman in the green pantsuit was working on her phone, occasionally leaving to take a business call, so she didn't seem to care how long he took. Rick tried to go over all the fine print with all the suspicion he could muster, but to his surprise it actually looked rather straightforward.
It was far from ideal, but the contract was blunt about the disadvantages. He had no guarantee of future employment, no retirement benefits, and little authority from the GLA. Yet that didn't seem terrible to him compared to the salary, not to mention the performance bonuses. They even gave minimal health insurance, covering serious injuries but not chronic conditions.
So it seemed like unless he failed to perform or did something grossly unprofessional, he'd have a well-paying job for the duration of the project. Not finding any hidden hooks, Rick stared at the paper a while longer, then signed in all the appropriate places.
"Good." The woman took the contract and slid it to one side of the table. "While you read, we've finished analyzing the anomaly you located. It's a solid one, so you're off to a good start."
"Thanks. Uh... I was a bit unclear on what the minimum standards for performance are."
"It's a sliding scale - as anomalies become rarer, our minimum requirements will decrease. That clause is mainly in there to prevent anyone from meeting the qualifications and then collecting a paycheck for no work. If you keep working at your present rate, you can count on receiving considerably more than the base salary."
Despite himself, he smiled. "Oh, then I'm not the last person to find one?"
"That reminds me, I need to issue you your proper equipment." The woman reached under the table - where there should have been nothing - and came up with a wooden sphere and a slip of paper. Rick saw that there appeared to be an ID and password on the paper, but puzzled over the sphere before she explained. "The ether sphere we gave you at the trials was simply a generic tool without any proprietary technology. This is what you'll be using to measure and record lucrim."
"Does it work any differently?" Rick picked it up carefully, noting that it seemed much stranger than the original. That one was like a dull marble for storing lucrim, but this was built from ether-enchanted wood. If his life became less hectic, he'd need to spend more time analyzing it.
"The differences would be immaterial to your work. We do expect you to take care of it, but if it's destroyed, it will just be a small deduction from your paycheck. In any case, perhaps more important is your account information. Our network is accessible from your phone, but you can't access anything useful without the permissions in that account."
"What kind of information?"
"Updates about the terms of the contract, potentially information relevant to all surveyors, and a few additional functions like the merit scoreboard. Set a new username if you don't want your name to be visible to all other candidates, by the way."
"Got it." That seemed like a pointless step when they'd already put his name at the top of the list for everyone to see, but he didn't want to antagonize his new boss. Besides, he was interested in seeing what other information was there.
"If there's nothing else, you can go. In the future you can
make reports via your phone."
"Actually..." Rick wasn't sure it was a good idea, but decided that he should ask. "I noticed a feral dragon living near the lucrim anomaly, probably feeding off it. Will anything be done for it?"
For the first time the woman actually focused on him, as if her usual scripts had been interrupted. Yet all she did was shrug. "Once the locations are noted, we clear the lucrim via an extremely efficient extraction process. Any local wildlife will presumably go somewhere else. If you're really concerned about them, you can engage some kind of conservation program, but that's extracurricular."
He nodded, inwardly relieved to find out that the dragon wouldn't be exterminated or anything. Her comment about conservation programs made him curious. So far in his life he had been too focused on his own problems to think much about animals, but the half-starved dragon had struck him. If there was some way he could do his job in a way that harmed lucrim beasts less, he wanted to take it.
That was a concern for another time, though. Rick thanked her and headed out of the blank office back into the waiting room. It was nearly as spare, but it had a few folding chairs. He sat down in one and did as she said, logging in with his new ID. There was no need for an app or any kind of installation, so other than sucking up his data allowance, he approved.
First he looked for announcements, but those areas seemed to be empty. The only areas with any content were the scoreboard and a tiny forum with a few pointless threads. After glancing at the latter, he pulled up the scoreboard.
[1) Elliot Rutherford III - 114 merits
2) Pan Zhou - 76 merits
3) Kate Durham - 73 merits
4) [redacted] - 70 merits
5) Skinmaster0 - 51 merits
5) Oswaln - 51 merits
5) Heidi Cunningham - 51 merits
8) Damian - 50 merits
8) Machk Bearan - 50 merits
