n

n

nOther than the stream, the days went by peacefully. There were no more surprises and Eldrian continued to practice magic every day. Making an hour for spear practice as he felt he would get rusty if he did nothing.

nSoon the weekend arrived, and Eldrian headed out after the matches with the rest of Pheonix. Their ranking now standing at 16. Luckily they lost fewer points than other teams when they lost and gained more when they won.

nHowever, the difference had lessened with Erik's and Elizabeth reaching the next Tier. Their increased strength ultimately working against the group.

nToday he had organized to meet with Jen, who so far had yet to use her headset. Eldrian had sent her a short message to wait before using it. Stating that he wanted to explain what might happen.

nGetting out of his lift, Eldrian thanked the driver and told him that he would let them know when they were done. He was getting used to the luxury of having a car at the push of a button. Even being able to give his sister a lift with ease.

nI have to admit, in regards to this. Miracle isn't shy. Eldrian thought as he and Jen found themselves a table.

nAfter ordering drinks, Eldrian a cappuccino and Jen a hot chocolate, they caught up on each others' days, which ended abruptly as Jen asked,

"Why did you tell me to not use the headset? Why go through the trouble of getting it for me if you...

"

nEldrian paused as he wondered how to explain this. Finally, he decided to share everything with her. But not right away, he first started by explaining the NDA he had signed, and that what he was going to share should be kept between them. No more sharing with her friends.

n

"As I explained before, the technology they use is unknown territory. Even they do not always know what to expect.

"

nJen nodded as their waiter arrived with their drinks,

"Why does this matter?

"

n

"Because... It seems that Miracle either truly does not know why I am the only one who can use magic at this point. Or they know exactly why and it has something to do with our family.

"

n

"Our family?

" Jen paused in disbelief,

"What do you mean. Aren't we just normal people?

"

n

"I don't know?

" Eldrian replied with a shrug,

"Miracle just seemed to think that you might show similar... Experiences. Which, you know...

"

n

"I might also then be in danger,

" Jen replied, sighing as she said this.

n

"However, the chances of that are very small. For me, it only appears when I push myself past the limit. The danger should be nothing if you just enter to enjoy the world. Or rather, entirely ignore it and only use the virtual home feature.

"

nPausing, Jen took another sip of her.

"Then why are you worried?

"

n

"Because they made me sign another contract.

" Seeing Jen waiting for him to explain why this was significant, Eldrian continued,

"It basically states that if you show any signs that you might have experiences, symptoms, abilities similar to me, then I have to bring you in.

"

n

"Forcefully?

"

n

"No, I made sure that you still had the last say,

" Eldrian added, having seen Jen's contract.

"However, they added a clause that you must contact them if something happened.

"

nEldrian was quite pissed when he saw that clause, while it was not as strict as the one Joren had shown him. She still had to let a consultant follow wherever she went to be treated. This in itself was not bad, it was in fact a good thing. No other doctors would know what they were even looking at and even more so, for. It made total sense that they needed to bring in a consultant.

nWhat angered Eldrian was the fact that Joren did not inform him of this alteration. The contract he had first signed had no such clause. Most likely because they had not expected any problems for years.

nAt which time players would have moved to the cabins that were still in development. With new contracts likely far stricter, or safety measures far above the headset. Likely both. All in sound reason like the consultant part. Making no one even wonder at the reason for the clause.

n

"But that part makes total sense.

" Jen countered, to which Eldrian explained what had irritated him.

n

"Not only that, but I also know that they are not sharing everything with me. This is normal, they do have a lot of secret research not part of ANW. However, them not sharing information about me, with me... That pisses me off.

"

nJen replied with a blank stare, not understanding. Eldrian did not need more, he quickly started explaining his talk with the system. This shocked her to beyond words.

nShe had thought the talk about AI was just that. Talk. Hearing Eldrian describing the invasion of his privacy, and what the system shared made her past shocked. However, she found something that Eldrian missed.

nWhile wondering how the system could enter his soul, which seemed to be his consciousness. A thing bordering on fantasy, not sci-fi. Which all of Miracle sounded like to her. She asked,

"But that wasn't exactly news to you. Didn't your personal doctor also explain the dangers to you?

"

nEldrian paused. Realizing that Gengxin had been constantly stopping him from rushing ahead. Even going so far as to forcefully stop the game for two weeks. They had painted it as necessary for the tournament system, but Eldrian knew that was nonsense. Yet his haste and worry had stopped him from realizing all this.

nThey had been upfront about the danger. They just didn't quantify it in number, making it that much more real. Eldrian thought, losing some of the anger he had growing inside of him.

nHowever, this did not change the biggest sticking point. He did not know from where their care came, he certainly felt like it only extended for while he was valuable. Thinking about the AI, who he felt had certainly gained sentience. Not to mention the billions, trillions even, of NPCs. Eldrian knew they cared little for life.

nThen there was also the fact that the system, an AI, was more open with him. Joren had not hidden the danger the world message had to him. However, he had hidden the reason behind it.

nEldrian did not think that they did not know of candidates. They knew he had a hidden class, and they knew of legends. Through the years of observing Gaia, they must have seen one be born. There was no way something as significant as that passed by them.

nUnless the AI made an effort to block them from seeing that! Eldrian was shocked that this was totally possible. Making him wonder just how much of their monitoring was being censored by the very beings they had made to monitor the world.

nHe found this thought extremely funny, bringing a smile to his face which caused Jen to nearly ask what he was thinking about.

nThey're always in the gray. Eldrian thought, returning to the problem, They share just enough that I can't accuse them if I learn of it myself. But they do not share everything. And according to the system, this is because they fear it will ruin the experiment. Fuck that!

nAgain Eldrian thought about what the system had told him. Back when he forcefully logged back in. It was in fact not just forceful, but also thanks to the help of the developers. This however, had placed him in great danger.

nI still don't know if I should thank them for stopping the system from stopping me, or if I should hate them for the danger they allowed me to place myself in. Eldrian though, leaning more to the former than the latter.

nNo matter how much he thought about the fact that everyone in the game was just that. Inside a game, part of a game. He could not accept it.

nEven the AI had thoughts and feelings of their own. Eldrian did not feel he could classify theirs as less worthy than other humans. He could however classify their less than his, and less than his sister. His family and friends.

nBut that is always how we are. We care for those we are close to and accept that those further away need some rights. Common, basic, human rights. Eldrian thought, curious what the lives of the AI were like. Living between two realities, having time pass differently in the two.

nWait! Does that make them fourth-dimensional beings? Eldrian questioned, having no knowledge on this subject. Yet once this thought entered his mind it did not want to leave, and he made a note of researching what such beings would be like.

nOnly knowing that scientists generally speculated that they would be able to move in time and be bodiless. Eldrian did not know if they could actually move through time, but they were certainly bodiless.

n

"Sorry,

" Eldrian finally stopped thinking and spoke again. Nearly a minute of silence had passed, Jen had given him his time to sort out his thoughts.

"You are right, they were always upfront about the danger I face.

"

n

"However, they do not give me a full picture. This might be because they do not have it, but I feel that is unlikely.

"

n

"Still, their lack of care for the people in their simulation sickens me.

"

n

"But are those real people?

" Jen asked, her question hitting Eldrian right in the feels.

n

"Of course they are! If you are aware of your existence, then you are real!

"

n