Chapter 20 - The Verse On Me Depends - The Unforgettables: A ZeroYear litRPG

  That night, Petra tossed and turned, her mind racing. In the middle of the night, she woke and went to the firing tower under the ship to cool off, sitting in the chair and enjoying the frozen landscapes flashing by as the ship sped along its course, illuminated by the red light of Gate's sky, which supposedly intensifies daily, a harbinger of a celestial spectacle and a catastrophe on that land. Petra pondered for over an hour, gazing at the thin line of sky defined by the virgin land horizon and the underside of her ship with its faint lights invisible to outside bystanders. Finding no answers to her silent questions, Petra decided not to return to her room and went to talk to Liora on the bridge; if it were a night on Earth, it would be as late as 4 a.m.

  "Hello, Petra! Can't sleep? Today will be a busy day!" asked Liora, who, with her copy on a terminal, was exploring something on several terminals filled with colorful images, piquing Petra's curiosity.

  "It's impossible to sleep! I wanted to exchange some ideas with you about magic, but what are you doing?" Petra asked, noticing a series of screens displaying videos and text that, judging by their design, looked like artistic or commercial websites.

  "We can always chat! Ah yes, about those things," Liora replied, pointing at the terminals, "we're exploring the open networks of the City of the Dead; in a few days, Silas should re-establish a secure connection to the Metropolis network. We'll be using new credentials associated with our spiritual bank account," Liora remembers, having recently served as a magic guide for Frank. She asked herself, among all the people in Gate, if she wouldn't be the worst for this role, and she noticed her copy silently laughing at the situation and rolling her eyes at her with an emoji.

  "That's what occurred to me. I understand we have some money, and I thought of using it intelligently. I concluded that it would be a mistake to try to use this complex magic today without any external support. I say this because with the previous magic portals, we all inferred it would be completely safe, and we almost destroyed a mountain in the process. This new magic seems far more dangerous. There are observations in the final annexes about talking to a professor before learning this magic and some additional notes about it being chaotic magic; none of that appears in the other magics of the transportation school," Petra said, pacing from one side to another in the bridge.

  "That sounds like a wise decision, but what exactly are you thinking?" Liora asked, observing Petra's troubled expression.

  "I just sent a message to Mosh through the link to his research material, asking for a reference for a magic guide. I've also been using this new City of the Dead network to look for things related to what I'm learning. I found some universities that teach transport magic, but only after a selection process, and all of them are exclusively in person. Even though it’s not possible to go there to learn formally, nothing prevents me from hiring a remote study guide," Petra commented.

  "Interesting idea, just be careful with the costs of all this. I've been looking today for something I've always dreamed of having in Suma technology, but it's ridiculously expensive—more than 10 times everything I have!" Liora grumbled.

  "My idea of mapping the new Gate along our path could make us a lot of money!" Liora's copy interrupted.

  "Without satellites or adequate scans, we'll only gain anything if we're incredibly lucky!" Liora responded to her copy.

  "Well, I've been trying to train our luck for a while now, but somebody never cooperates…" the copy mumbled.

  "That again? It takes less luck to invest in the spirit financial market, especially with Metropolis's uncontrolled inflation. We can bet on Biggus's people being incompetent!" Liora grumbled back.

  "Liora, a spiritual guide for magic would cost about 10 credits per month; it's a service for students!" Petra commented with a relieved expression. "But what kind of technology are you buying that costs all that money? And what's this story about inflation?"

  "I want a technobiological structure device, one of the few cosmotech devices sold on the open market, but the Sumas are joking; I could buy an entire neighborhood in the City of the Dead with that money," Liora commented. "It's the price of your paranoia!" her copy grumbled. "Yeah! When I save our butts, you'll thank me! Basically, there are devastating things that affect only technological structures, and this same junk affects oioi. Using this Suma device, when some unfortunate mage uses that kind of thing, it won't work as it should!" Liora responded to her copy.

  "But why is it so expensive? Is it made of gold or something?" Petra asked, sitting in the armchair in the middle of the bridge.

  "If only, but it's much worse than rarity; it takes a long time to make because it modifies essence and is at the limit of what can be done with technology," Liora replied, already losing hope. "Anyway, I need to figure out how to get one of these before things get really ugly in Metropolis."

  "So, back to business, Liora, there's another reason I'm hesitant to learn this magic alone. It seems there's something wrong with it that we're not noticing. Through the comlink, I discovered that the City of the Dead subsidizes mages who learn this particular magic, and I need to know why. Seneca was one of the collaborators of the city, from what I read in the records, but after the knights were hunted, he disappeared from the lists; only two people are active today who have this magic on their list of services, and neither of them are accepting apprentices," Petra commented.

  "There's definitely something wrong with it; I'd put that aside," Liora concluded, hoping Petra would change her plans.

  "So, depending on the parameters of the accessed universe, and if the mage grants access to the city, the city hall pays between 2 and 5 million credits, plus a percentage on all services coming from there, whatever this means. If it works out, that would be enough to pay for your device," Petra replied.

  "Hmmm…" Liora mused, her eyes widening. "The idea of millions is obviously sexy, but if that's the case, it's certain to cause problems. Speaking of your magic, it reminded me of something; I noticed Vaud was uncomfortable talking about a job Seneca did for the City of the Dead back when they knew each other. I thought it was a bit strange but didn't ask anything at the time. Perhaps the magic didn't work as it should have."

  "Well, I don't know about that, but I found public manuals and Suma news to try to understand better how everything works. This magic is considered a potential market expansion for them; the terms they use are all very strange. From what I understood, they only pay if the magic's result meets certain objectives, and it seems to me that this magic is quite random. The chance of connecting to a universe with the parameters of interest is low, so that would explain the price of the payment," Petra recalled from her recent research.

  "Ah, I guess I'm connecting some pieces. At the beginning of the Seneca Project, it was imagined that your Earth already existed before and was only connected to Gate through this transport magic you're learning. But we were wrong because we discovered that your Earth was a particular universe accessed with this magic indeed, and Seneca is the mage who cast it. Still, Seneca only created a portal to an empty universe. Your civilization was created with another magic, probably from the creation school. The incorrect hypothesis we considered at the beginning of the project implies that there is a possibility that this transport magic could connect with a new civilization," Liora said, getting excited.

  "Maybe, Liora, that's why I'd like to talk to someone before," Petra concluded, getting up from the central chair and going to sit in the scanning chair. "But I don't think we can wait for Ramirez."

  "The idea of looking for a guide seems better and better; let's wait for Mosh to respond to the message you sent early," Liora concluded, looking back at her terminals. "Regarding your question about inflation in Metropolis, that's not news; Metropolis credits and spirit credits were almost worth the same since always. But Biggus, upon taking office, broke the monetary agreements and had a short period of deflation, followed by uncontrolled and endless inflation. Today, a Metropolis credit is worth less than 10% of what it was before he took office as mayor. I just don't know if he did this on purpose to worsen the crisis or if he simply doesn't care."

  "So, when we re-establish contact with Metropolis, we'll have a large amount of money when we convert the currencies; that could be interesting!" Petra thought.

  "Converting the currencies won't be that simple, and even if we manage to sell the spirit credits while Biggus's monetary policy is in effect, it would be like throwing money away. In any case, the Paradiso banks could handle the exchange if it's indispensable," Liora replied, continuing to search her terminals as she spoke.

  "The way you put it, Liora, it seems like Biggus is always the only culprit. Why did the people of Metropolis stand by and do nothing?" Petra questioned.

  Liora, startled and a little irritated, stepped away from the terminal again and said, "There's no way for you to know, but yes, the big mistake the Metropolitans made was giving power to this doomsday ideology; Biggus is just a catalyst for all this." Liora thought for a moment and, with some irony, continued: "And there goes another one of my sweet teenage memories that I'll share with you. When I was a school student, Biggus was already in power; this was before they discovered that I knew nothing about the old Metropolis, so my life was worth something to the establishment. Back then, I socialized with people who defended various points of view, and most of them were already quite dissatisfied with Biggus, even those who had voted for him. I actively participated in the protests for the return of elections in my last year of science school. It was a massive social movement that managed to get people out of their cubes and had broad support from the municipal guard and even the Metropolitan army. Everything indicated that the time for Biggus to fall had come, or it would be a civil war."

  "I apologize if I said something stupid. But if it's as you say, it seems like a rather intense reaction from the people. How did he stay in power?" Petra asked, sinking into the sensor chair.

  Liora took one of the terminals and sent some video references to Petra. "Well, I'll send you some sources from that time in case you're curious to understand other points of view that are different from mine. I was very lucky to get out of those protests alive. When things heated up for Biggus, he received support from a so-called Shadow Militia. People thought they were mostly Shaufi, one of the least numerous species in Gate. Still, the Shaufi themselves knew nothing about this militia, and most of them positioned themselves radically against any association. The militia itself refused all the nicknames attributed to them; they self-identified as Jufei species, which, as far as anyone knows, is an invention of theirs. According to them, they were an evolution of the Shaufi, and the militia self-declared its official name; they became known as the Alphas. All this is a bunch of made-up nonsense; nobody knows who they really were, where they came from, or where they went afterward, but those Alphas were extremely powerful and completely brutal. Many people died during those days of protest. The Alphas supposedly infiltrated and killed all the leaders of the revolution who could represent a danger in only two or three days. Then, they started killing people who continued protesting in the streets at random. The protests ended; otherwise, it would have been an even bigger bloodbath."

  Petra thought for a moment before asking, "A Shadow Militia from out of nowhere that named themselves Alphas? How is it possible for an army of supporters stronger than the people of Metropolis to appear out of nowhere?"

  "I have no idea, but they didn't appear out of nowhere because they were a very well-trained army, and they were probably already operating in the shadows; that's why they were called a Shadow Militia by the media when they emerged, but it remains a great mystery. Today, it's rare to find one of the Alphas anywhere; the MBSI, which should protect Metropolis from this kind of thing, has also never commented on it; it's as if they never existed. Who are these forces that emerge to support Biggus's ideology? What would their real intentions be? I've never had an answer to these questions," Liora lamented.

  Petra pondered the situation and asked, "But were the Alphas also extermination mages? Because since it's possible to revive everyone, what was their motive for killing? And aren't there laws against this?"

  "Yes, the public prosecutor's office, family, and friends of those who perished filed lawsuits against the Alphas, but none of them ever went forward," Liora lamented, shrugging. She continued, "It happens that reviving someone doesn't always work, and only some of the people who were prominent opponents couldn't be brought back; for the people who could be revived, the city hall explained that the magic had failed and that there was nothing more to be done about it. After Biggus, magic can only be used to revive someone with the city hall's permission, so what they did was find a way to circumvent the laws and rights of the Old Metropolis. If the protesters were judged solely because of the protests, they would have been acquitted because they had every right to protest. Still, by sending many of them to the Umbra, they managed to silence their voices, and even today, many people are waiting to be revived with no expectation of returning anytime soon."

  "What an absurdity! But why did things happen this way? Wouldn't it be simpler for Biggus to dissolve the other powers of Metropolis at once?" Petra conjectured.

  "By doing it this way, he manages to keep some supporters on a completely fabricated argumentative line; for example, he can say that all the lawsuits against the Alphas were resolved, claiming that it was an efficient and definitive solution to the crisis," Liora could almost not contain her disgust when remembering the incident but continued speaking. "When any injured party comes out publicly to complain, Biggus government machine creates a story that the victim was an important person from the radical opposition and turns everything into an issue of political radicalism, saying that the Alphas didn't actually kill anyone but rather was the extremists that killed the victim, on their actions to radicalize the society against Biggus." Liora paused briefly to recall, "There are more extreme cases; for example, when someone cannot be revived because they were the target of extermination magic, they invent the story that some radical mage did something to prevent bringing the victim back. Usually, they argue that someone managed to revive the victim beforehand in some hidden place. However, independent investigations by the City of the Dead in the spirits' field have already refuted all these stories as false—one more reason for the animosity between both cities. In short, Petra, Biggus always reacts more extremely and violently than expected when he's contradicted, even when confronted with undeniable facts. The number of people who support him falls every year; he wouldn't win any more elections today, and he knows that very well."

  "So, is that why Vaud and Mosh supposed that things would get ugly in Metropolis when the Big Bang appears in the sky?" Petra reflected.

  "Yes, it'll probably be a problem. On top of everything else, protests are expected again in a few years when Biggus completes another decade in power," Liora said listlessly.

  "I'm feeling your perplexity, but this time, are there elements that increase the chances of a revolution working?" Petra asked.

  "More support from the mages, perhaps?" Liora said, winking at Petra with disdain. "Or maybe from other economic sectors of society tired of wasting money. But I have little hope because nobody knows for sure who's supporting Biggus, nor if there's any motivation beyond maintaining political power. Everything remains shrouded in mystery," Liora replied, finishing sending the media references to Petra and returning to seek happier topics in the City of the Dead.

  After a brief silence on the bridge, Petra's comlink beeped with a new message.

  "Look! Mosh already replied!" Petra said, reading aloud. "Hello, Petra! I know the ideal person, Amanda. She's a young professor who guides students from various magic schools; it's a fairly common and simple service. She just can't have students from Metropolis after the agreements fell apart a few years ago, but that's not a problem for you. Your magic teacher can't be associated with Metropolis either; if that's the case with your teacher, you'll have to find another."

  "Darn! It doesn't seem there's an option without a teacher," Liora noted.

  "Let's see if there really isn't, but if I say I'm learning on my own, the same thing might happen as with Frank and Ramirez," Petra thought.

  "When Frank visited Rocatrista a few days ago, wasn't Ramirez with some apprentices?" Liora recalled.

  Petra widened her eyes and nodded affirmatively. "That's right, and that lawyer, Maria, mentioned a proposal to spend time learning magic in Rocatrista instead of going to Metropolis, but without further details. Hmmm. If I need to name a teacher, could I name Ramirez? Maybe after Silas fixes the secure communicators, I should send a message directly to Maria. I'll take the opportunity to ask if there aren't any laws preventing anything."

  "That sounds like a plan. If you intend to avoid depending on Ramirez, it's better to check with Amanda before involving more people. From what I understood, the guidance service is just support classes, so you can talk about magic without major commitments," Liora thought, looking at the various screens open in front of her.

  Petra picked up a terminal and started typing as she spoke. "I'm going to send a message to Amanda and see what happens. I'm just asking what I need to do to hire the services. I'll say that I learned the first transport magic, and now I'm in a hurry to learn the most complex one, but I'm having trouble contacting my teacher."

  After a few seconds, the reply arrived, and Petra shared it with Liora.

  Amanda: "Hello Petra, Mosh just sent me a message explaining that you're on a trip, but without going into further details. It's simple, actually; I provide direct support to the students, answering the most common questions. I charge monthly—10 credits for 20 hours per month—and if you need more time, I charge 15 credits for up to 40 hours for the busier months, generally before exams. You said your teacher is having problems, but that doesn't matter; guarantee that neither you nor your teacher has ties to Metropolis; any other scenario is OK."

  Liora shook her head, raising her eyebrows. "See! Simple is beautiful."

  Petra replied, "She sent me the payment link and a small contract referencing a law that prevents having students or teachers from Metropolis. It seems perfectly fine; I can sign it via my comlink, and it's done. The bank assistant will handle all the payments."

  Petra typed the message, copying Liora: "Hello Amanda, I'm sending you the signed contract; since we're in a hurry, I'd like to schedule the first session with you as soon as possible."

  Amanda immediately replied: "Hello Petra! I've already received the notification of your payment. If you like, we can start our first conversation in five minutes, which is just enough time for me to prepare the initial material. It'll be about the transport school, right?"

  Petra replied, commenting to Liora and getting up while answering Amanda on the comlink. "Wow! This is the best service in Gate so far! Maybe I should go to my room, but I'll keep the telepathic connection open."

  "The City of the Dead is famous for its efficiency. If you need anything, call. Good luck in your first class!" Liora replied, immediately returning to explore the spirits' internet with her copy.