Dark Matter Ascension

The System could have living people run a bunch of functions through consoles, giving them a sense of purpose. Plus, it gave them a steady income and provided them with their housing. The Cosmic System had its computational load lightened by the manual entry.

"Just remember, never tell a Civilian that the System doesn’t really need them. It is not required to have them working – but it does help slightly ."

"Why not tell them?" Jace asked.

"People crave a purpose. For some of them, data entry for The Cosmic System is a great purpose. Quite a few, in fact. Plus, they get to talk to new Aspirants and help assuage the loneliness – what you are doing now."

The door opened and Ollie wrapped himself around Jace’s neck – partially to hide within the clothing from other Wayfinders, partially to be able to whisper back and forth with Jace. He was caught off guard at the woman that walked out and shut the door behind her.

"Hi," she said. The same voice from the console near the door. "Good to meet you in person!" She had tan skin with patches of blue, a trio of fins along the top of her head, surrounded by a length of blue and white hair. She was wearing a fitness outfit and was quite athletic in appearance.

Her midsection had some type of slits running along the sides, and Jace noticed the slight movement as they opened and shut in time with her breathing. She was extremely fit. Someone who was either genetically blessed or put in a hell of a lot of work in the gym.

Shark lady, Jace thought as he returned the smile. "Good to meet you. Shhiv-zal, right?"

"Shhiv is my name. The -zal part is my pod-designation." She giggled and her sharp, jagged teeth shone in the light. "Thank you for remembering me." Her piercing, bright blue eyes seemingly danced with enthusiasm as the black slits where the iris would be stayed perfectly still, fixated on him.

"How couldn’t I? You literally saved my life."

She gripped a strand of her hair and twirled it around her finger, "Well…sure…" She had a long tail with a razor-like fin on the back that was tipped with the same white color as her hair, and it swayed back and forth like an excited dog’s tail.

"I mean it," Jace said as he put on the most thankful expression he could muster; which wasn’t that difficult. He didn’t even have to force it like he had to force expressions when he was playing up a part in a scheme with the crew he used to run with. It was authentic. "Buying you a meal is the least I can do. And I’ve never bought a meal for anyone except my sister."

She got next to him and pulled up her cosmopanel, bringing up an image. "This restaurant is always open. My favorite place for a meal." She put a hand to her chin and frowned, "Humans are omnivores?" she asked as she looked at him with a sidelong glance.

Jace had to look a little bit down to meet her gaze, having a few inches of height on her. "Yeah. But I haven’t had real food in…forever."

Her jaw dropped, revealing the sharp, jagged teeth. "What? Really?"

Jace nodded and began walking as he visualized the location she had shown. "Earth is run by the corps. Some governments still have power, but they’re being bought up. Real food is for the rich. I got synthetic stuff." He reached into his backpack and pulled out one of the ration pouches, "This stuff has been my main meal the past…month?"

She looked sad, but gave a resolute nod, "Then we have to get you some real food." She licked her teeth, and that’s when Jace noticed she didn’t have lips. And she didn’t really have a nose, either. The space between her mouth and eyes protruded slightly, and he spotted tiny slits that moved at the same rate as her ab-gills.

"I’ll take any recommendation you have," Jace replied. He was a little surprised when she interlaced her arm around his, resting the crook of her elbow against his.

"Oh, and if you have time there’s a fantastic place I love to go swimming. Do you swim?"

"I do," Jace replied. "I think you’d outswim me." Inside, he felt an odd tumult of emotions. Is it normal for a person to be this bold? Maybe it is? Is this what a date is? I’ve never been on a date before. He whispered down his shirt, "Ollie? Help."

The otter either didn’t hear him or ignored him. The slight grin he could make out in the outline of the shape told Jace which response was the likely one. Fine. Be that way. I’m going to assume that this is a date.

"Ah, but I have to work today! Well, maybe later if you’re in town for a while," Shhiv said.

The world shifted around them and Jace found himself – still arm in arm – in front of a flat, single-story building. There was a large entrance, and Shhiv pushed through the door nearly dragging Jace along with her. She waved her hand at a plump, squid-humanoid standing behind the counter. "Hi Bhev!" She turned to Jace, "This is Bhev-val, one of my best friends from my world."

The squid-lady was human-like, save for her dark, green skin and ten tentacle-like arms that were busy with a variety of tasks in the diner-style restaurant. "Shhiv! You’re in early. And you brought some arm candy."

Jace chuckled nervously, "Hi. I’m Flicker."

Shhiv gave him a sidelong glance of curiosity, but nodded, "He’s an Aspirant!"

"I can see that. Though that symbol is one I’m not familiar with," Bhev replied.

Ollie whispered in Jace’s ear, "No Aspirants or Ascendants in here. Just keep your identity secret. You are doing good!"

Shhiv led Jace over to a booth, and she sat opposite him as she slid into the seat, clasped her hands, and rested her arms on the table. "This is my usual place for most of my meals. I don’t really get out much. Outside of swimming, exercise in my apartment, work, and eating here. What about you? What’s your routine like?"

Jace ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the grime and muck. "I don’t have one," he replied. He was still reeling from the abrupt nature of this sudden apparent romantic interest.

Ollie laughed. "Tell you what, I will go back to the Starlit Sea and leave you two alone. Don’t forget, her favorite food is ghantos-pepper wings." He vanished with a pop.

Bhev came over with a small tablet held in one tentacled appendage. Jace reflexively moved away, and she frowned at him, "I get it; new species to The Cosmic System. You’re human, right?"

Jace nodded, "Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend-"

"Oh hon, don’t worry about offending me." She put all her tentacles on what Jace could compare to her hips, "I deal with all types of folks. You’ll get used to water-born creatures." She looked over a Shhiv, "Especially if you’re with this one. She’s feisty . Do you want the usual?"

Shhiv nodded, "Yes, please."

"Do you have Stardust to pay for it? Or are you going to end up lifting boxes again to pay your tab?" Bhev asked.

"I’m paying," Jace said. "But I don’t know what to get. Do you have a menu?"

"Hon, everything my husband makes tastes good," Bhev replied. "You’re an omnivore if my cosmopanel is right. I know just the thing." She turned and walked behind the counter, speaking to someone through a window to a back kitchen.

"Oh, and an order of ghantos-pepper wings, please," Jace said after the waitress. She looked back, gave him a slight nod – perhaps of approval, he couldn’t tell.

Shhiv cleared her throat gently as Jace refocused on her, "What made you choose Aspirant instead of Civilian?"

Jace set his hands on the smooth, steel table. "I want to bring my sister back."

"Oh? Is she on a trip somewhere?"

"…She’s dead."

Shhiv went red in the face, "Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-well, I mean-umm…" she trailed off.

"It’s okay. She’s been gone a few years now." Jace pushed aside any sorrow for Chroma – he’d dealt with the grief as best he could. Thinking about it now wouldn’t help anything or anyone.

"But you said bring her back? How?" Shhiv asked.

"Tier 10. If I can become a Tier 10 Ascendant before…Let’s see, she died 2 years ago…I have 7 years and 10 months to get to that Tier."

Shhiv’s eyes went wide. "Really? Tier 10?! That’s unheard of!" She was quite enthused and leaned forward with her not-lips pulled back into a smile. "A good goal, though. Bringing back family. Is she your only family?"

Jace nodded, "Yeah. The only other person is my mother. But she abandoned us. I don’t want anything to do with her."

Shhiv nodded and gently grabbed his left hand, squeezing it gently. "It’s alright."

"What about you?" Jace asked. "You mentioned a ’pod’?"

"Oh yeah!" she squeezed his hand a little tighter. "I have forty-eight brothers, twenty-three sisters, a bunch of cousins, and of course my mom and dad."

"That’s a big family," Jace replied. "How do you keep track of them all?"

"By scent! We have a distinct smell that our noses can pick up. You do, too. It’s like…I hope that Universal Translation gets this right…lemons?"

Weird. I don’t smell any lemons. Jace shrugged, "That’s neat. Easy way to memorize who people are."

Bhev brought over two steaming platters of food. Set them down, and placed a small, thin panel on the table. Last, she placed a plate – tiny in comparison to the platters – of something akin to chicken wings. There were only two of them, and they seemed to be glowing with red and black hues. "When you’re done just tap your cosmopanel on the table to pay. Drinks are in the dispenser to your right, hon." She walked away and back behind the counter.

Shhiv clapped her hands excitedly before picking up a set of utensils. In front of her was a plethora of meat that smelled wonderful. Spiced meats, sweet sauce-covered meats. The smells alone were making Jace’s mouth water. "And you got my favorite too!"

Jace grinned, "My Wayfinder did some research. He said it was your favorite."

"But they’re so expensive!"

"My treat. You’re worth every bit of Stardust for saving my life."

She blushed and reached for one of the wings, consuming the whole thing in one enormous bite – bones and all. Jace reached for one, and he could feel the heat radiating from it as he moved it closer to his mouth. "How spicy are these?" he asked.

"Not too bad."

Jace tentatively took a bite and almost instantly pulled it away from his mouth, panting at the sudden onset of heat. Shhiv laughed, and Jace would’ve joined her if not for the searing agony on his tongue. He placed it on the plate, and through light coughs, said, "It’s all yours."

"Oh, don’t forget a drink," Shhiv said through a mouthful of food. She grabbed a metal cylinder near the end of the table, flipped it over, and put it under a well-concealed spigot. "Ice water." There was a whoosh noise as the cup slowly filled to the brim.

Jace followed her lead, "Lemonade." The cup became very cold and filled up with sweet liquid. His favorite beverage. The orphanage used to put in a lemonade mixture to filter out the heavy mineral flavor of the poor-quality water. More importantly, it calmed the riotous heat.

Shhiv chuckled and swallowed a chunk of meat, "That checks out."

The platter that was set in front of him was not as meat-heavy, but still smelled and looked delicious. Picking up his own utensils, he began taking small bites of each little bit of food, savoring the flavors of real cuisine and not synthetic, processed sludge he had eaten his whole life.

"What does?" Jace asked as he began consuming the meal.

"The drink smells just like the thing you smell like." She grinned, "May I try a sip?" Jace slid the cup over to her and she sniffed it before pouring some into her open maw. "Mmm. I like that!"

Jace cracked a smile, "This is nice. I could get used to eating this type of food."

The two continued eating, focusing on their meal over any continuing conversation. To Jace, this was a feast fit for a corpo-elite. The richest of the rich. Everyone on Earth should get to eat like this. The thought of this type of food being available only to the upper crust left a festering kernel of hatred in Jace’s stomach.

An idea popped into his head. What if I went and secured one of those portals? Somehow got a crew together, took over the Earth-side of the portal, and worked on getting people here? He already knew two other Aspirants. Getting more on board for such a cause shouldn’t be difficult. Ollie said that the Star Council people were really into making worlds better. I should see if I can seek them out.

They finished their meal. "I don’t know how to pay. Normally Ollie-"

"Ollie?"

"My Wayfinder. Normally he deals with Stardust transactions." He placed his left hand on the table and saw his Dark Matter symbol flare with a purple light. A screen appeared in his vision.

<<<<<>>>>>

[Current Stardust: 2130.]

[Requested Stardust: 20.]

<<<<<>>>>>

"Oh, uhm. Confirm?" Jace said. The panel flared with the same starry-blue, and his Dark Matter symbol emitted a small stream of Stardust into the device. "Huh. I don’t need Ollie to use it." He looked over at Shhiv as he set the panel down. Her eyes were wide and glued to his hand.

"That’s how you use Stardust? That’s amazing!" She raised her left hand and Jace could see the dull brown Civilian symbol. "This thing takes a lot longer. We have to say a whole line of commands when making transactions. Or, we can use our cosmopanel."

Jace smirked, "Well, I guess that’s a benefit of being an Aspirant." He frowned slightly, "How much longer do you have?"

"Hmm?"

"Left, I mean. Civilians have 150 years max, right?"

"Oh…uhm…my species lives about 500 years? I’m only twenty-five. I got lucky with the Cosmogenic Merging timing when I was 5 years old. I’ve still got another 130 years before I either die or go back home." She frowned, "And I don’t want to go back home."

"Why not?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, "I…gah, this is embarrassing. I’m technically a princess-"

"Really?" Jace asked. "I’ve heard of those during story time where I lived as a kid. Castles, magic, the whole deal?"

"No magic, but yes to the castles. But I’m super far down the line of inheritance. I’ve got hundreds of people ahead of me in the succession. I barely spent time with my parents; just a nanny for those first few years, and then I was sent to Khrox for my education when merging hit. I’ve stayed here since."

Jace nodded and smiled, "How much time do you have left before work?"

Her face paled and she checked her cosmopanel, "Crap! I’ll have to skip my morning workout." She stood up and Jace did as well.

The squid-woman waved to them as they exited, "Come visit anytime, hon!"

Jace waved as he walked alongside Shhiv. She interlaced her arm through his again. "I…uhm…why do you do that?" he asked. "Not that I’m upset or anything," he quickly added.

"You can only travel with people in Khrox if you’re touching the person – if you’re a Civilian." She smiled, "Plus, I get to look like I’m with an Aspirant! How exciting is that?"

Jace blushed, "Ah…well…happy to help you as a status symbol."

She turned to him and gasped, covering her maw with her other hand, "Oh, I didn’t mean that you’re just looking like you’re with me. I mean-oh, okay, wow." She took a deep breath and moved her hand away, smiling with that maw of straight yet sharp teeth. "Well, if you can’t tell, I’m already interested. In you. Gosh, this is so weird to say out loud." She took a deep breath and her smile softened. "Okay, I’ll shut up now."

"I…I don’t know what to say." Literally. This has never happened to me! What the hell do I do? "Thank you?"

"I would love to take you out to my favorite swim spot when you have a chance and I’m off work."

Jace nodded as reality warped and shifted. They were standing in front of a glass building with dark, silver reflective panels. There were rotating doors that people stepped into before vanishing into the air. "I haven’t been swimming in a few years. I’d like that."

She grinned, "I’ll send your Wayfinder a request. Since you don’t use a cosmopanel, I’ll just interface through him to message you." She let his arm go and her tail wrapped around his leg for just a moment before letting go. "Have a good one! I’ll see you around ’Flicker.’" She giggled before vanishing into the building’s interior.

I need a place to sit and think. Jace began walking, visualizing somewhere with trees and benches. After a minute of walking, he arrived at an enormous park. Vibrant grasses of all lengths and colors were interspersed amongst each other, and benches were placed all around. A playground was nearby, and Jace smiled as he saw hundreds of children playing on the various bits of equipment. Chroma would love it here.

Sitting down, he leaned forward and cupped his head in his hands. Okay. Think Jace. You’ve got a woman who is obviously into you. But you’ve never done this before. He felt an odd sensation of fluttering in his torso, and he finally noticed his heart beating rapidly. Okay. Breathing exercise. Calm down. He took deep breaths and closed his eyes.

There was a pop and Ollie appeared wrapped around his neck in his silvery-outline form. "So, how did it go?"

"I…think it went well?" Jace replied. "I honestly don’t know."

"Well, tell me what happened." Jace did so, and Ollie cracked a smile and chuckled with his deep voice as the Aspirant finished. "You did well for a first date. I already have a message and contact request from Shhiv. Should I add her?"

"What does that do for me?"

"It means you can contact her through The Cosmic System without using me as your interface. You can just think about contacting her, and then can send a message. Text and pictures only, though. Video feeds are too intensive given the number of users."

Jace nodded, "Can we also add Greg?"

"Sure. I will send a request to his Wayfinder, Darrin."

"And Quinn. And Xera."

"Will do!"

Jace looked around the park once more. "Okay. Back to the apartment for a bit of sleep. Then…I guess we wait for Xera’s instructions."

"Yup!"