Singularity

by Drew Cordell

  In terms of gear, I purchased a new light blaster pistol, and a new EVA suit with the appearance of carbon-fiber mesh under dense, matte-black plates. The twin mirrored sickles of Dark Eternity embellished the suit in bright orange. As it turned out, all of the Dark Eternity-branded equipment offered in the shop was made by players, denoted by a small text tag with the crafter’s name at the bottom of the item description sheets.

  My new blaster was larger and bulkier than the EoeTech blaster that had gotten me this far. All of the level 5 light blaster pistols in the Dark Eternity catalog required a Tech 2 attribute to use proficiently. If I was going to keep using blasters—especially light blaster pistols—then I would need to put another point in Tech within the next few character levels I achieved. Fortunately, the blaster pistol I purchased only required character level 4, T1 and still came close to the stats of the best weapons available in the catalog that I could effectively use with my current level and stats.

  The quest for my class had the variable trait, meaning the location of the objective would change based on my location in the game world. For now, it was pointing me at a planet called Srefix some ridiculous distance away from Dark Eternity’s location. The objective was cryptic at best: find a Strexian scrollbind. Whatever it was, I’d try to keep an eye out for it. If the quest was anything like the few I’d already been on, then it would update me with more objectives as I gained physical proximity with the objective. The quest reward was unlisted—maybe it was the scrollbind itself. I’d try to do some digging once we logged out of the game.

  Brandon spent almost his entire 25k on a new EVA suit; this one was so big and bulky that it made him look like some kind of freakish cyborg. Enemies would have a hard time missing him, but he was now using heavy armor instead of light and would have great defenses and damage mitigation on top of his massive health pool. The armor he bought was also so versatile that he could remove the EVA functions entirely and convert it into pure combat armor with 20% increased defenses. With his remaining credits, he bought a new holographic sight for his shotgun. He specialized in the Titan class, giving him a defense and damage boost if all of his attribute points were invested in Body. The Titan class was unique in that it allowed him to choose either Armorcrafting or Weaponcrafting as his class’s associated crafting profession.

  Fen told us she chose the Faithdancer class but neglected to give us more information. If she had any other abilities, spells, or skills before gaining her class, which were restricted to the yōkai race, I’d have no way of knowing. She declined to purchase any gear, distributing her 25,000 eCr between the rest of us and helping us with our purchases. Apparently, she didn’t want to ditch her two swords and ceremonial robes that she’d had when we met her.

  With the last 10,000 eCr in our shopping spree, we loaded up on all sorts of ammo, utility grenades, health and resource stimpacks, and more. Gwen seemed thoroughly excited for the upgrades she’d selected for Ether Rogue. With everything completed, we were ready to depart, ready to plan our next steps and take a much-needed break from playing Eternity Online.

  Cadan would be waiting for us to talk with him one more time before leaving his station. The more I considered it, the crazier it was that I was willing to deal with this man again, but what choice did we have? He had many chances to kill us before now, and wouldn't he already have if he was going to? Why go through all the trouble to draw up a contract or actually gear us up with a small fortune worth of stuff, especially since those items would go with our characters if we died?

  If we hadn’t come to Dark Eternity’s station after escaping Vrenn, we would have another powerful enemy and it would be even worse given the fact that Cadan had to know where I was living in real life. If he wanted to, he could give Dalthaxia my real-world location and identity. Rollings Mining Company wouldn't try to protect me either; they were in Dalthaxia's pocket. But I believed Cadan’s story about the attempt on his life. He would still be serving Dalthaxia in-game if something drastic hadn’t happened to change that. And Dalthaxia is fishing for information on me, I thought with a surge of cold fear.

  As much as I dreaded it, I knew I needed to talk with Stacy to clear things up and try to confirm what Cadan had told me. I preferred to do it now, though I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I didn't have anything to say to her, but I needed to know that I was safe in real life—especially since Dalthaxia was probably trying to piece together my real identity now that I was working with Gwen.

  With a quick call, Cadan sent the transport cart back to pick us up from the armory after a successful shopping spree. When we walked back into the conference room, I locked eyes with Stacy.

  30 – Interlude

  [Roughly Three Years Ago. 18:09:57 UXT, September 14th, 3143. Dalthaxian Core Metropolis]

  I dropped the bag of expensive groceries, watching the contents spill across the wet pavement. The bottle of wine I bought to go with my favorite meal shattered, leaking crimson liquid into a puddle of dirty rainwater beside an overturned trash bin. I watched the dark liquid blot and disperse, making the puddle look like a pool of blood in the artificial light of the street lamps hanging overhead. I thought about the body of the man in the abandoned building—about what had happened to me and how the life I was living now was supposed to cancel that out somehow. I didn’t have any more tears to shed.

  I thought I was stronger—thought I could do this. But I was wrong; I knew that now. Turning away from the temporary living space we’d been given, I walked toward the manufacturing district, hailing a ground cab and pulling open the door. The interior smelled like burning tobacco and scorched cleaning chemicals. The backseat, made from hard resin, was uncomfortable and covered in dried mystery stains from previous passengers.

  “Where to, buddy?” the man asked in a deep, rumbling voice cracked as if from the weight of years smoking five packs a day.

  I hesitated. There were an almost infinite number of correct answers and only one that was wrong. “Take me to a bar. I don’t care which one.”

  “Ah… There’s Johnny’s over on fourth, or Retrobrew over on Collins,” he suggested. When I didn’t respond, he started driving. “Johnny’s it is, that’ll save you a few points on your fare.”

  I stared at the patina of dry spatter on the plastic divider separating me from my driver. I didn’t care what his name was, and he sure as hell didn’t care what mine was, as long as he got paid. Dark thoughts swirled in my head as he pulled the cab to a stop next to a worn-down bar in the middle of the manufacturing district. It was located in just another Dalthaxian Slum project crammed into a city block in the metropolis. This place was exactly what I wanted. Only it wouldn’t solve my problems the way I needed it to. This wouldn't erase the past.

  “You getting out, buddy?” The driver probably knew a binge when he saw one, and something about my mood must have tipped him off that I was here for all the wrong reasons. If I got out, I knew I’d be more likely to pass out in an alleyway before I made it to the place I was supposed to call home. Maybe if I tipped well, I could have the bartender make arrangements and book a cheap motel room for me ahead of time before I was too drunk to think. No. This wasn't enough—it would never be enough.

  “You know what? I’m not. Take me to the Rollings Mining Company recruitment center.”

  He looked at me with eyes showing what might have been concern over getting paid, but obliged nonetheless, not bothering to go through the artificial pleasantries of asking if he could call someone for me or just take me home because he knew that wasn’t what I wanted. After a moment of fleeting hesitation, he shrugged then flicked the knob on the side of his analog fare meter, resetting it and pulling away from the curb without saying a word.

  It would have been easier to drown my problems in alcohol, to go under into the long dark. The bottle would blot away my pain like wet ink, but that pain would be waiting to pierce through the darkness when I surfaced. Stacy would still be there. This was a more permanent solution. />
  “Kyle Gennan, age 25 with good references and employment history,” the woman behind the counter of the Rollings Mining Company recruitment desk said with enthusiasm, looking up from her console screen to confirm the information was correct.

  “Yes, ma’am. That’s me,” I said, giving her the best smile I could while my heart fragmented. The weight of what I was about to do loomed over my head like a death sentence.

  Kyle Gennan’s employment history and references were all falsified, but they were aligned with the skills and experience I had gained on Salgon, however awful my employment there had been. At least Graves gave me the option of working again, I thought bitterly.

  “Thank you, Mr. Gennan. I am happy to be able to pre-approve you for employment with our company with a standard five-year contract. It looks like we’ll be sending you to a rogue planet named Tiyvan. We have mining operations set up on its surface and the natural satellites that orbit the planet.”

  She looked at the holofeed in front of her again, pulling new information. “You'll spend the first two months of your journey to Tiyvan training and completing aptitude testing to find your ideal role in the company, and the next six months can be spent in stasis, or you can train with Rollings specialization paths and potentially earn additional income. Regardless of your decision, you will be paid for the eight-month transit from Dalthaxia to Tiyvan.”

  This was as permanent as it got. As far away from Dalthaxia and Salgon as it got. “Can I review the contract, please?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level as my heart hammered away in my chest. I was terrified of leaving, but I was too scared to stay.

  “Of course, please let me know if you have any questions. It's a fairly standard independent contractor agreement, but we include full benefits and free healthcare while you're working for us in addition to salary.” She flipped the holoscreen so I could examine all the terms of the contract.

  The money was substantial, and everything else looked good. It was no wonder so many people tried to work for companies like this, even if that meant leaving loved ones behind to try to give them a better life during the absence. By the time I was done with my employment contract, I would have a lot of savings. I could do almost anything. Be almost anyone. I felt like I was the one throwing things away, but I reminded myself that this wasn't my fault. I had to do everything in my power to find a new life. There was nothing left for me on Dalthaxia, even though I had only been here for two weeks.

  I signed the contract. “When can I leave?”

  She smiled. “You're in luck, the next transport to Tiyvan leaves in two days. If that doesn't work, then we can send you on a freighter with mining supplies in three months.”

  “I’ll be ready to leave in two days,” I said, knowing that I couldn't wait three months.

  “Great, would you like to stay at our dorms at the starport while you wait? I can set you up with a complimentary room and dining hall pass. If you would like to stay somewhere else, you'll need to be at the Rollings starport terminal at twelve PM two days from now.”

  “That’s perfect, I’d like to stay in a dorm at the starport while I wait.”

  The woman gave me a key card, and I thanked her for helping me get the contract set. It was a surprisingly painless process, but then again, if it was clear I couldn't perform after completing my training, then they would just send me back to Dalthaxia on the transport's return journey and pay me for my time. I couldn't let that happen.

  The speakers in my flight chair’s headrest beeped, alerting me we were about to take off. The latches on my safety restraints clicked into place, locking and securing me for takeoff. Everything shook as the massive transport hauler prepared its powerful engine turbines, squaring up for a hard fight against gravity with a 90-degree launch angle. The ship would launch directly into space before readjusting and taking us to the distant planet of Tiyvan as it endlessly drifted through space.

  The complimentary drink I’d had to cull my nerves—hard gin on the rocks—was working its magic, the warmth of the liquor providing some artificial comfort. A timer next to my head told me how long I had to finish the drink before it would need to be stowed in its flight bin during takeoff. Even if I wanted to turn back, it was too late. I was committed—at least for the journey to Tiyvan and back. It would be more than a year before I even had the possibility of returning to Dalthaxia unless something unforeseen happened to change that.

  I didn't know what I expected it to feel like to leave everything behind, but it wasn't this. And this wasn't my fault. As soon as I signed my contract, I had tossed the phone and datapad Cadan had given me, going off the grid so they wouldn't be able to trace me. Cadan might have been helping Stacy look for me, but he hadn't found me in time. Or maybe he had and he’d decided to just let me go. It didn't matter to me, it only mattered that I was here now and that I was leaving.

  The detachment, made worse through the buzz of the alcohol left me feeling empty and dark. Too engrossed in the emotional void to feel anything else. The journey, this contract, life billions of miles away from civilization, none of it mattered.

  Even through the heavily reinforced hull, the high-pitched whine and booming roar of the engines was deafening, drowning out all else. I watched out the small window next to my flight chair with shaking vision as we were lifted into the sky. My head sunk back into my seat, but I watched the sprawling view of first the starport, then the Dalthaxian Mid Metropolis, shrink beneath me.

  I didn't have any more tears to shed as I left my everything behind.

  31

  “Hi, Kyle,” Stacy said. My heart froze at the sight of her and the sound of her voice—the way Eternity Online captured all of her physical features with such precision. She was human and had the same face and hair. She was wearing what looked to be the same armor Gwen had purchased and had two blaster pistols strapped to her belt on either side, charge packs lining the rest of the belt’s space around her hips.

  “Hi,” I said, taking a deep breath and trying to lock away my emotion. I was at a loss for words. This exact moment had been played out in my head thousands of times before. The first year of my employment with Rollings was the worst. It had gradually faded back from there and I found myself thinking about Stacy less and less. Now that she was actually in front of me, none of the things I had wanted to say would come to me.

  “Why don’t we finalize everything and talk next steps while Kyle and Stacy talk?” Cadan suggested to the others, apparently trying to be helpful. I took a deep breath, trying to collect my thoughts.

  “Is that okay with you, Gwen?” I asked, thankful for the chance to break eye contact with Stacy, even if it would just be for a moment.

  “Yeah, sure. We’ll be outside. Try to be quick.” Gwen and the others left the room, the door clicking in place and breaking the silence.

  “I just need to confirm a couple things about Cadan’s story. That's the only thing I want to talk about,” I said, keeping my tone level.

  Stacy’s big eyes met mine again, and sorrow flashed across her sharp features. “I know I hurt you. I know this is my fault. I know I can't fix this anymore, but I'm sorry. I’ll help in any way I can. I'm glad you seem to be doing well though.”

  I didn't have anything to say to that, it was far too late for that. Time had mended most of the old wounds and heartbreak, but seeing her sent slivers of pain spiking through me. I fought back, walling myself off. We’d both made our decision, now there was nothing left. “When was the last message you sent to me on Tiyvan IV?”

  She flinched, taking a deep breath. It seemed to be clear to her I had no intention of reliving the past, even if that hurt her greatly. “It's been at least six months. Cadan told me what happened. I'm glad you didn't take their bait. I don't want anything to happen to you. When this is all over, things will be better. Dark Eternity is going to be the change humanity needs. You can be a part of that.”

  “We’ll see,” I said. In all likelihood, I would want to minimi
ze my involvement with Cadan Graves and Stacy at all costs. “Dalthaxia already knows who I am, at least in relation to Project Eternity. I need to keep them from discovering my in-game identity and linking me to Gwen Delarine in relation to the map fragment and what happened on Vrenn. I don't know why they haven't tried to take me out of the equation if everything Cadan said is true, but my situation can get a lot worse.”

  “You can trust him. He really does want to help you and make this right. So do I. I know I can't change what I did. I can’t change anything anymore. It hurts because I thought I was fighting for the right thing. Just please be sure you don't open that message from Dalthaxia. You don’t want them to know who you really are.”

  I took a deep breath. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for talking with me,” I said, ready to be done with the conversation. I wasn't going to trust Cadan, but until he gave me a reason to suspect he was lying, there wasn't anything I could be doing differently. All I could do was try to mitigate my risk and take victories where I could get them.

  Despite the chaos, today felt like a victory.

  “Good luck. Let us know if you need any help in game or out. Please stay safe,” she said. I knew the look on her face. She was on the brink of crying but wasn’t going to do it in front of me. I wasn't going to be there to comfort her—never again. I turned away and walked out of the room, rejoining my friends.

  32

  The pain of having to go to the bathroom when I logged out of Eternity Online was excruciating. It was four hours past when I was supposed to have woken up for my morning shift on Tiyvan IV. The day was mine, but I had no idea how I was going to spend it since Brandon and I wouldn’t be working our normal day job. I stumbled out of bed, making my way to my personal bathroom.