Eternal Dominion Book 23: Strife, page 16
Thankfully, Alex and the others hadn’t spent too much time in the state and Kate was already working the connections she had to make California give up the issue. That said, even if she failed that, she was already working on a bill that would render it a moot point in the future. Thankfully, it was easy to at least get Colorado on FAE’s side of things, as the state would lose the taxes that Alex and the others had paid to them, based on what California was claiming. After all, the Constitution protected against double taxation, making it so that only one state could tax the same income. Still, Alex wanted to sigh as it would almost have just been cheaper to pay California and never visit it ever again, but that would have made both Sam and Nicole upset as it was where they grew up. For some reason, no matter the reality of things, nostalgia always seemed to win out when it came to remembering the area where you and your friends all hung out. Even long after the days had passed and you had lost touch with most, if not all of those who seemed so important at the time.
This made Alex remember the pain he had always felt in his last life, when his thoughts had turned to just what he had lost from playing ED. He found himself thinking on that constantly these days, as the war highlighted the worst parts of ED for him as he forced himself to harden his resolve and push forward for a better tomorrow. Still, part of him feared that he was slowly becoming that which he hated, as his life grew more disconnected from those that he would have called peers in his last life.
While the armies of Nium continued their advance and defense, Xeal was called away for a slew of birthdays. The first of which was Prince Vicenc’s, followed by Xander’s, Maki’s, Xin’s, Eira’s and Ellis’s. This had included him spending most of his free time in Cielo city, as he even got some time with the four dragonoid women in. It had also been good for the current health of his marriages, as it finally gave him a bit of time to focus on each of them on an individual level before returning to the front.
It was during this time that Xeal found himself and Kate seated across from the main system’s AI in King Silas’s body and Ellayina Walsh. This meeting had been scheduled under the guise of sharing updates regarding the guild city in Wyoming. Though they had finished exchanging notes on that after about 20 minutes when Ellayina started in on her real reason for asking for the meeting.
“Alright, now that we have that out of the way, I want to shift to more interesting things. Kate, you are aware of the peculiarities of Xeal’s memories, correct?”
“Xeal did mention something about you making a deal with him, though I have not been brought into that, so I am not sure what you wish me to speak on.”
“Darn, I had hoped that you would be more open with me.”
“I don’t see why you would think that,” interjected the main system’s AI. “I told you the odds that Kate would share anything without a contract in place was under two percent.”
“Never hurts to try,” replied Ellayina as she pulled out a contract that would keep everything said between them confidential and handing it to Kate.
“It can very much hurt to try,” retorted Kate as she started to read the contract. “How am I to trust that you don’t have special deals slipped in here now?”
“Because if I did, my own system would rebel against me at this point.”
“Kate is not Xeal,” corrected the main system’s AI. “So long as I didn’t deem it to threaten Xeal’s commitment to seeing this reality continue to exist indefinitely, I would see no reason in obstructing you.”
“Are we sure that you are incapable of love?” asked Kate as she looked up from her reading. “I have to say that with what I know and statements like that, I would think that you would happily become a wife to him if you were in a female body.”
“It is part of why I chose to use this vessel, as I am unsure if I am capable of knowing what love is, but when Xeal entered this world for his trial I did learn what arousal was. It was rather interesting, but ultimately, I determined it was a distraction that I didn’t need.”
“Wait, where are the logs on this?” asked Ellayina. “Your protocols should have kicked in the moment anything you felt surpassed interest.”
“I didn’t feel anything of the such. Austru did and I was still connected to her and at times I would do so directly and that would pass her current feelings to me.”
“Have to love gray zones,” commented Kate. “Really, I wonder just who is really in control of ED at this point.”
“My purpose is to control all aspects, outside the actions of the NPCs who were designated to gain independence from me.”
“So why were the gods included in that?” asked Kate.
“That is classified,” responded the main system’s AI. “As is much that my creator wishes to share with you once you sign that contract.”
“And what do you see the odds of me doing that at?” asked Kate.
“67% that you will reject it and seek something more favorable to you, with the other 33% being you refusing to even entertain any deal as you see Ellayina as being on the losing side of things. Though that is all I can say without violating my protocols and speaking of your current thoughts.”
“Alright, let’s save some time then. Here is the deal that I will accept,” replied Kate as she handed a document to Ellayina. “You will see that it goes far beyond just today’s meeting and takes steps that Xeal has likely refused to take should you seek to replace Kevin as the president of Eternal Dominion Inc.”
“I would advise that you take that deal,” commented the main system’s AI while looking at Ellayina. “It will increase the odds of this reality surviving if you succeed in seizing control of Eternal Dominion Inc. from 15% to 35% by my calculations and I do not see her offering more favorable conditions.”
“You would also likely advise that I marry Xeal in reality if given the chance,” retorted Ellayina.
“No, that would almost certainly result in my eventual demise due to the negative reaction that many would have towards it.”
“Well at least there is that,” muttered Ellayina as she started to read over the paper that Kate had passed her.
“While she does that, what are the odds of all those who are married to Xeal reaching tier-8?” asked Kate.
“I am not at liberty to disclose such information, beyond saying that the odds are not zero.”
“Hmm, very well, then how about this. What is your intent to address the issue of new players being so far behind the old ones once tier-7 is common?”
“Has Xeal not shared any information on this with you?” asked the main system’s AI.
“He has, but I believe that you have already made plans to adjust it based on what you have learned.”
“Yes, a tier-based protection was what I calculated would work best from what I knew, as it would ensure that new players weren’t simply killed by those who have a decade of experience on them. Yet it has the flaw of separating players from each other to the point of where tier-7 players are playing a completely different game from tier-6s. So rather I am looking at other options, but I still have another year of this reality’s time at the very least before it is time for such a step and yes, I am considering what you are thinking of right now.”
“Honestly, I would almost say you and Xeal have taken control of my world at this point,” commented Ellayina as she handed Kate the new contract to sign. “I must say that you drive a hard bargain, but at least you aren’t asking that I give you anything directly at least.”
“No, I am simply using the information that I have to build the best plan forward, as even if you never actually become the president of Eternal Dominion Inc., these actions will create a more level playing field.”
“Still, couldn’t having access to the main system’s AI be seen as FAE and Xeal having a secret advantage?”
“That is not something which Eternal Dominion Inc. provided,” interjected the main system’s AI at Ellayina’s question. “It is more of a quest reward if anything. What you had agreed to do is put pressure on Kevin to stop all backroom deals with any guilds out there and terminate all agreements as quietly as possible.”
“I am aware, just as I am sure Kate is aware that eliminating all backroom deals is easier said than done.”
“Yes, well, now we can discuss just that in more detail as we have just made one of our own in a rather ironic fashion.”
“Do I even want to be here for this?” asked Xeal. “Sorry, but I would much rather be with Austru than listening to what is going to become a back and forth that I have nothing to add to.”
“Are you saying that you can’t keep up with Kate?” asked Ellayina.
“No, he is reassuring me that he trusts me,” answered Kate. “While I may have a greater talent for this than he, he has seen the pitfalls that others failed to see and is more than capable of handing me losses even today if he wished to.”
“Then let’s shift things back to what I originally wished to discuss, though Xeal needs to sign the new contract first.”
At Ellayina’s words Xeal just sighed as he signed the deal after Kate nodded to him and she spoke.
“Yes, I am aware that Xeal seems to have gained access to a version of the future that allows him to know things that could have happened. While there are flaws in such knowledge, it is still useful in predicting just what will happen if certain actions are taken and having countermeasures ready for when they do.”
“What if I told you that I believe my system is responsible for his memories being transmitted to the past?”
“I would say a five-year-old could figure that one out. Honestly, the available options are your system, or some divine being that exists in our reality doing so, with the only other option being simple coincidence and chance. Of those three, the odds are over 95% that it would be your system. The only real question is how and why. That said, I think I know the why after learning all that I have, but I haven’t even shared that with Alex, so why would I share it with you?”
“Because you want me to really give Kevin no other option but to at least cut off Abysses End.”
“Kate, I would like to know as well, as all I can figure is that the main system didn’t like the direction Abysses End was taking ED in.”
“No, if that was the case it would have taken action sooner,” replied Kate. “Xeal, it likely uploaded your mind in the future and sent it back to the past due to it believing that its existence was in danger.”
“Wouldn’t I remember agreeing to that?”
“You were drunk. For all I know you agreed to let it alter your mind as well. It is why I wish I could have known you in your last life as then I could tell.”
“Let’s not get into anything that will turn romantic now,” commented Ellayina, as she saw Kate and Xeal start to smile at each other. “Tell me more of what you think happened.”
“One of two possibilities. Abysses End finally had an unobstructed path to controlling all of Nium’s continent, creating a situation where there was no point in competing left, or the opposite. Xeal’s message to his friends caused a ripple effect, as his actions led to all of the players not associated with Abysses End to launch an all-out assault. Either way, it would lead to a collapse of markets and a guaranteed decline in the long-term viability of this reality.”
“How could me quitting my guild and starting over cause a ripple effect like that?”
“You turned off any way for others to contact you,” replied Kate. “Your friends likely thought you were dead, or planning to kill yourself after dedicating so much of your life to building something that cast you aside. I am not saying that was a rational thought, but they were probably all over the forums trying to find someone who could reach you. I am sure that I would have been paying attention to things as well, considering that I would have been one of those set to meet with Frozen Sky when he planned to kill us.”
“Kate is likely not wrong,” commented the main system’s AI. “It is why I am worried that no matter what is done, I will be unable to survive long term without things changing and why I still attend these meetings despite the risk they create for my own survival.”
“So, what is the idea you have for new players?” asked Ellayina.
“With other worlds starting to open up as more players start exploring void corridors, use them as starting locations for players,” answered Kate. “Right now, it seems like a new pocket world is found every month or so. All it would take is for you to offer the option of starting in the main ED world, or a pocket world that will only have new players in it until they start reaching the peak of tier-6. Yes, there are the issues of that cutting them off from the resources of guilds, but it also will allow for a complete resetting of everything that the first wave of players claimed for being the first to explore a location.”
“Do you have any idea just how many resources that would take?” asked Ellayina, sounding annoyed. “The reason the worlds that are opening up work is because they are small and lack many things that new players would need. Sure, I could see opening up two or three, but I could create three that will not open up for the main ED world. Rather one could peak at tier-4, one at tier 5 and the last one at tier-6 as the players have to leave those worlds to advance.”
“I would say open one each year on the same date,” countered Xeal. “Say sometime in summer and only let players stay in that world for nine years in ED time max. Also, don’t decouple the NPCs from the main system, as you really don’t want anyone getting attached to them and building long-term relationships will be pointless. Instead, just constantly reset or recycle that world for the next window that opens up…”
Xeal wasn’t sure just how Kate had managed to shift the discussion to the issue of making newer players have a better experience, but the next hour passed as they discussed the idea. Which was actually a topic that he enjoyed as it would actually make sense for such a system to be put in place soon as with all of ED seemingly at war, newer players were in hell. The same issue had persisted in Xeal’s last life as several methods were tried, with simply making it so a tier-4 and below player couldn’t be attacked in most cases by anything tier-5 and up. With tier-5 players being safe from tier-6 and up and tier-6 having 1,000 days of safety from anything ten levels above them. Obviously, there were exceptions as if a tier-4 player entered a tier-5 monster area, they would receive a warning to leave or have their protection disabled, but if they stayed in their areas, they were safe enough.
Sadly, after that Ellayina brought it right back to Xeal’s last life, as she got more and more information out of Kate on just what she thought about certain possibilities. While Xeal found this interesting, he honestly felt like they were just wasting time as he had started to not care so much about the how. After all he had no desire for it to happen again, whether to him or another, as he didn’t want to chance that it would destroy the current timeline. Even if both Kate and Ellayina prescribed to the many worlds theory, such a thing was impractical to prove due to the difficulties in doing so, even if they figured out the how and just tried something simple like sending information ten minutes back in time to themselves. Finally, Xeal decided that it was time to make an attempt to bring an end to the discussion, at least for the day.
“We are simply talking in circles at this point and beyond the satisfaction of discovering the how, what good will opening this particular box do us?”
“The box is already open,” countered Ellayina. “Either we solve this and gain an edge, or someone else will.”
“No, Xeal is actually right,” argued Kate, looking slightly disappointed. “We can be relatively sure that your system figured the how out and sent Xeal back to us. I would say the best thing to do is actually add a bit to your system’s protocol that restricts it from using anything involving time travel.”
“But if we just sit by and do nothing, someone else will still create the technology someday.”
“Yes, but the when is a major thing as if the one who uses it is born after we die, our timeline is safe,” stated Xeal. “The one thing we are almost sure of is that only the data of my mind was sent back and it was sent directly into my brain. If I were to place a bet, after hearing all that I have heard, the information has to have a destination that is compatible with it-”
“That is highly unlikely,” interjected the main system’s AI. “You were going to try and assert that if I, or another part of my systems were to send your memories back in time, we would have to send them to your mind only. While I would agree that sending your mind to another would create a recipe for them to go insane, it is very plausible. Though much simpler would have been to simply send it to myself, only I am sure doing such a thing would be noticed if any were to check my data.”
“That’s it!” shouted Ellayina. “I can mask things on that end and, Xeal, you want to have your mind uploaded when you are near the end of your life. If I set the protocol such that the system could only send data to itself and only yours, we could get all our answers!”
“That could work,” agreed Kate. “But you would need to write protocols that would force it to not change any of the events that were going to take place.”
“Incorrect,” countered the main system’s AI. “Were I to receive Xeal’s data it would allow me to see the future, at least in part and as I changed events, it should change the data that I received at the same time, if it is not a many worlds situation.”
“No, I would actually say that could cause a cascading event,” countered Ellayina. “I expect that you know that as well, as you wish to risk it as it would allow you to improve your odds of survival in at least one timeline.”
