Science and Sorcery Box Set

by Ryan Tang

  Lances couldn't be replaced unless both tips were destroyed. The manual strongly suggested shattering your opponent's lance. That would require them to play defense until they somehow managed to break yours in return.

  Alex tried to imagine jousting in a Paragon. It seemed impossible. She was no stranger to hitting precise shots with her rifle, but it was much easier to snipe opponents from long-range. In a joust, she would have to stick the point of the lance just so while carefully protecting her shield - all while keeping every other part of her machine still as stone. Alex took another look at the bevy of disqualifying missteps and shook her head. Considering the difficulty of maintaining your position, most pilots wouldn't even get the chance to worry about winning.

  Jousting taught control, precision, and familiarity with different weapons.

  Alex thought she was a good pilot, but it seemed like the Mad Nobles had been on a completely different level. Only Matthew would be able to joust with their champions. His experience with severely damaged machines gave him control skills nobody could match. Perhaps training at jousting would give Alex the practice she needed to surpass him.

  Alex turned the page. It featured another game between the Mad Nobles. This one involved ax-throwing. Again, the goal was to hit a specific point. The ax must turn three times in the air before hitting its target; otherwise, it would be a disqualification.

  The messily-scrawled note in the margins suggested an advanced game that involved juggling axes with Paragons. The first pilot to lose three fingers lost.

  The next page essentially described a game of capture-the-flag. The opposing teams were encouraged to attack each other. Competitors were allowed to destroy everything but the cockpit. Alex read on and on. She was fascinated, but also a little troubled. The training exercises were a perfect fit for the Mad Nobles' martial attitude. But it wasn't a good fit for Plenty.

  Plenty was welcoming, friendly, and fun.

  When regular humans finally got access to Eternium and the Paragons, they had no choice but to use the great creations for war. They had no choice but to throw off the yoke of the Mad Nobles. It was the same when Alex summoned her machine from the library. She had no choice but to battle Stock as he rampaged outside.

  But did it have to be that way?

  The Mad Nobles were conquerors, but Plenty had no intention of conquering the other colonies. The people of Plenty were inviters.

  Alex had never felt more at home than she did here.

  She knew they needed a defense force. But couldn't their games be peaceful? Alex was just about to tell Emile what she thought when her tablet rang.

  The shuttle had arrived.

  ____

  Alex sprinted through the book-corridors with Emile hot on her heels.

  They descended two floors to get back to the tenth. When Alex grasped the wall, the book-corridors shifted. The books on their shelves gently moved aside so that Alex could step through to the main library. She and Emile emerged in her familiar office, which morphed into a cockpit with a panoramic view identical to the one in the Paragon simulator. She hadn't summoned her full machine yet. Other than her office, the rest of her Paragon was still hidden inside the Spire.

  The two librarians stared outside as the shuttle landed in the Spire courtyard.

  There was an outcry of joy as the passengers climbed out. A massive thrum of people sprinted forward. The people on the shuttle pushed against each other in their excitement. Alex could feel the love from ten stories up.

  Her heart swelled, but she felt a stab of jealousy.

  She wanted to be outside. She wanted to be with her friends when they reunited with their families, and she wished her parents were here on Plenty already.

  Alex shook her head and reminded herself not to feel distracted. She had to protect them. It was her duty as Plenty's ace. The librarian carefully scanned the crowd. It felt a little foolish looming above them the cockpit of what could become a Paragon. That was one problem with the legendary machines. They were 50-foot tall robots with the strength of a thousand people. When you needed them, like to fight dark gods or to rebuild your damaged colony, you really needed them. But when you didn't, it seemed like an overreaction. It was like trying to hammer in a nail with a machinegun.

  More and more people continued streaming out of the bus, and Alex felt a sudden stab of anxiety.

  What if she couldn't afford to pay for her parents?

  Timing her journey to Plenty had been such a struggle, and it'd put her in two months of debt. And now that all these people had come, it'd be harder to coordinate the next trip.

  Alex gnawed at her lip.

  Emile gave her a gentle shove.

  "Hey, everything alright? What are you worried about?"

  Alex shrugged.

  "You know it's like I said at the meeting. I want to bring my parents here. I'm just worried about how much it'll cost."

  "Huh?"

  Emile looked at her like she was an idiot. It took Alex a moment longer to remember that Waters and Stock had billions stashed in their vaults. They probably had their own private shuttles too.

  Alex started to laugh, and Emile laughed with her.

  Then her battle-mind prickled, and the mirth disappeared.

  There was a woman who looked vaguely out of place. She stood awkwardly to the side, ignoring everyone around her. There was something familiar about her that Alex couldn't quite place. For a brief moment, Alex almost instinctively summoned her Paragon. Her hand was halfway to the wall before she caught herself.

  The librarian took a deep breath and shook her head.

  It was a ridiculous thought. There was no need to overreact.

  "Hey, turn on the mics so we can hear what they're saying."

  They'd installed microphones and video cameras in the courtyard last night just in case something strange happened.

  To their surprise, Jared sprinted forward and immediately engaged the other woman in conversation. The lady looked very frustrated.

  Emile fiddled at her tablet, and then Jared's voice echoed through her office. The tablet shifted, and they received a close view of the discussion, as if they were standing right next to them.

  "Where's Zach?"

  Jared winced.

  "My father passed away. I'm his son."

  "Replacing a father with a son – I thought only the Stock family did that!"

  She spoke the words in the cadence of a joke, but there wasn't anything funny about it. The woman laughed, but there was no warmth.

  "I'm the new head of production."

  Alex frowned.

  Was this lady some sort of client?

  Her voice was haughty and abrupt. Now that Alex had heard her speak, the peculiar feeling of familiarity deepened.

  "Well, that's good. I'm checking in on a missing order. We ordered 50 Paragons, and they aren't here yet. My boss is furious. He's going to come himself to meet with Stock if this issue isn't resolved."

  Alex's eyes widened.

  "Shit!"

  Jared met the woman's eyes and responded without even a moment's hesitation. He'd worked at Southern Robotics for a very long time, and he knew how to keep his cool.

  "Yeah. We have the machines. Just putting the finishing touches on them. We'll give them to you in a few days. I'm sorry for forgetting to reach out. By the way, do you have the schematics on you? I want to take another look to make sure everything's alright."

  The woman scoffed.

  "No. We sent the design straight to Stock. It's classified."

  The last sentence was an unmistakable boast, and suddenly Alex realized how she knew this woman.

  "Holy shit. Holy shit."

  She was from Diligence.

  They'd gone to high school together.

  Heidi.

  Her name was Heidi.

  Alex frowned.

  She'd been a real jerk. Alex tried not to think about high school, but she remembered that much.

  Jared once again
took her statement in stride.

  "No problem. I'll speak to him."

  "Where is he, by the way? We've been hearing some strange rumors."

  Jared scoffed.

  "He's fine. Just been feeling under the weather the last few days. He's stayed up three nights in a row working on your project."

  He shrugged.

  "You know how it is. People are always excited to make up conspiracy theories."

  Heidi eagerly agreed.

  "Yes, yes, of course. Idiots will believe anything."

  "We've got a guest house for you while you're waiting. We'll show you that in addition to the best Paragons, Southern Robotics also has the best customer service!"

  Jared did the same fake laugh Heidi had done earlier, and the woman giggled in response.

  "Plenty looks a little different than before. What happened?"

  Jared smiled.

  "Governor Waters loosened the housing regulations. We're the second wealthiest colony, after all. He didn't see why we shouldn't give the best for our people."

  She shrugged.

  "No, it's nice, I guess."

  Her tone made it clear she didn't think it was nice.

  "It's just that Stock always said seeing people with high homes distracted him. That's why he kept them low."

  She shuddered.

  "And all the colors! I'm more of a pure white lady myself. Not sure why you'd want everything so mismatched."

  "She was a boring bitch in high school too."

  Emile turned to her.

  "What?"

  Alex blinked.

  She'd spoken without meaning to.

  She pointed at the tablet.

  "That lady. Heidi. She's from Diligence. I went to high school with her."

  Jared smiled as he led Heidi away from the joyous reuniting families. He looked for all the world like everything was perfectly fine.

  But Alex knew her friend well enough to know that he was thinking the same thing she was.

  "Fuck. This mystery order is going to be a problem."

  ____

  "Can't we just ask Stock what the schematics are?"

  Jared shook his head.

  "Stock never received private mails. He had them all forwarded to my dad."

  Jared held his face in his hands.

  "His tablet was destroyed when they killed him. Maybe Stock gave these guys Peter's number instead, but that doesn't do us any good either."

  Peter and his wife were Stock's accomplices. They'd joined their strength to his in the hopes of returning to Old Earth to raise their child. After they'd fled before the final battle, there was no hint of them anywhere other than a gaping hole in the wall of the Spire's basement. Their home had been abandoned. For all Alex knew, perhaps they really had returned to Old Earth.

  The librarian shivered.

  Humanity had been driven off of Old Earth even when they had the might of Paragons. She didn't want to think about what was living on Old Earth now. There were probably monsters even worse than Stock's goddess.

  Jared lifted his head out of his hands and sighed.

  "What do you know about the Governor of Diligence? That's who she said the order was for. She said she works for the Governor's office."

  "Macob?"

  Alex hesitated.

  Back when she lived on Diligence, she hadn't thought of Macob very much at all. She'd taken his excuses at face value. But now her feelings towards him were tainted by what had happened on Plenty.

  There was a self-righteousness about him, but it didn't mean he would do the right thing. It felt like he'd do what he wanted and then justify it after.

  "I'm probably being unfair, but knowing what we know now..."

  Alex paused to choose her words.

  As far as she knew, Macob hadn't done anything illegal, but nobody on Plenty trusted opaque situations anymore.

  Jared shook his head.

  "It's not Macob. They got rid of him two months ago."

  "What?"

  Macob had been Governor for so long. Alex thought he would just keep on getting re-elected forever. Nobody on Diligence had the time to pay attention to politics. It was only for the people who had the most time on their hands. Alex had briefly gotten interested in her high school years, but the men who ran against Macob seemed almost identical to him, and she soon grew disillusioned.

  Macob and his opponents were both smarmy and wealthy. Sometimes his rivals were a little angrier than him. Sometimes they smiled more. There was one time when a woman ran against him, but she just said the same thing everyone else did. Every candidate who ran against Macob had the exact same platform.

  His opponents all promised to "bring diligence back to Diligence," claiming that Macob was going too easy on the colony's workers. But most people thought they worked hard enough, so those candidates always got trounced. It was only people like Heidi, whose parents owned a factory, who supported them. It wouldn't be a surprise if Heidi ended up working for one of those candidates.

  Did one of Macob's opponents finally bring him down? It would explain why her parents had been working so much.

  "We need to find out more about this guy. I don't like the thought of him coming here himself. Ask your parents about him. I'll shoot a note on the Forums to see if anyone knows who he is."

  Alex sent a message to her parents.

  To her surprise, they responded immediately. Her dad's response was almost gushing.

  "Absolutely fantastic. Really regret not voting for him. This guy is the best thing to have happened to our colony. I'm hoping you'll move back here after we're done."

  Alex stared at the screen.

  Her parents had never cared about politics. She figured they might have vaguely been for Macob, but it'd always seemed like they didn't bother to vote.

  "Wow. What's he like?"

  A moment later, her mom sent her a video.

  Alex popped it open.

  The first thing she noticed was how startlingly handsome he was.

  "Wait, what?"

  Emile practically leaped at the screen.

  "What's this guy doing running for Governor?"

  He looked like he should have been an actor. He was the most handsome man Alex had ever seen. His eyes were radiant blue, and his red hair had a casually windswept look about it that made him look like he'd just returned from a great adventure. A perfect row of freckles dotted his high cheekbones. Even though it was a debate, he wasn't wearing a suit. He'd dressed casually in a flannel shirt and jeans, but he had a natural elegance to him that Macob couldn't hope to match. In comparison, the former Governor looked pitifully overdressed.

  The handsome man's welcoming grin had just the slightest undertone of menace. He was very friendly, but he wasn't someone you could take advantage of. He spoke clearly and elegantly, crisply articulating every sentence.

  From the very first word, Alex saw how Macob was defeated. This man had an effortless appeal that was intelligent and friendly at once. Listening to this man was like listening to Emile talk about Southern Robotics's crimes. Macob always seemed like he was talking down to you.

  A news alert hovered above the video. Macob hadn't just been defeated. He'd been completely trounced, losing by over 60 points. The new Governor, Joshua Steel, had captured 78% of the vote. Macob only had 14%, with the rest going to various smaller candidates.

  "I'm sick and tired of seeing us taken advantage of!"

  He shook his head, and the frustration and indignation practically leaked from the screen.

  "I swear if I'm elected we'll become a strong colony again! What kind of colony are we if our greatest dream is for our children to escape? Everyone just views us as a place to live and then leave! We're not as creative as Plenty. We're not as fun as Generosity. We're not as exciting as Devotion. Well, I think that's nonsense. Plenty is my home. I will make us a place where your children are proud to grow up. I will make us a place they are proud to return to!"

  The camera p
anned out as the crowd cheered and cheered. Macob tried getting a word in, but Steel's supporters just shouted him down.

  When Macob finally got a chance to speak, he sounded pitiful and hesitant. His typically arrogant voice was weak and pathetic compared to the other man's strident bravado.

  "What you're saying is unacceptable! Diligence is already strong! I have given us 30 years of prosperity, and I aim to give us 30 more! How dare you question what I've done for the colony? Do you know how bad things would have gotten without me?"

  Alex thought the other man might laugh.

  Nobody could consider Diligence to be strong or prosperous. The day her parents finally saved enough for Alex to move to Plenty, the entire neighborhood threw a party to congratulate her. Proclamations of Diligence's worth were usually a kind of dark sarcastic joke.

  But Steel didn't laugh. He thundered.

  "Thirty years of failure! Thirty years of being picked on by the other colonies! Thirty years of people leaving and never coming back!"

  He shook his head.

  "No. Not just leaving and never coming back. Leaving and never even thinking of coming back!"

  An accusatory finger flared through the air like a shot from a rifle.

  "You! We are weak because of you! We are nobodies because of you!"

  Macob whined, but Steel plowed right over him.

  "The only people you care about are your rich friends from the other colonies. Need to make something cheap? Come to Diligence! Need to do something meaningful? Don't come here! Look anywhere else! You did this to us! You sold us out!"

  Alex found herself nodding along. No wonder her parents liked him. They often wished Alex could go home. They often felt like their hard work was going to waste. Despite all their efforts, things on Diligence never got any better. But now, Alex knew where their hard work had gone. The savings from ordering cheap metal from her home colony had gone straight to Stock and Waters's bank vaults. More likely than not, Heidi's parents had taken a massive cut of their own.

  The people on Diligence got almost nothing.