Chapter 69:
This is extortion, but...
Antony:
All right, I am ready to clean the slate. The Prime Minister boxed me to a platform, and the vultures, I mean, reporters, are gathered at the bottom. Thea didn’t want to come, today.
She said it was a trap. But I believe in our little Tine, you know? He is so adorable, with his curls. He looks like a human, now that I think about it. A human woman, if one doesn’t look him in the face.
“Mr. Angelid, this is your official pardon,” Rodger hands me a document, and then prints out a second one. “And one for your angel of a wife.”
“I didn’t steal,” Dorothea snaps, her hands at her hips.
“I remember that Antony took my potion, when I was too much out of it, to give consent,” Rodger says. I wince at that. My expression turns ashen, when Dorothea levels me with a glare.
“You turned me into a thief!” She yells. I close my eyes, waiting for the second shoe to drop. “I will make sure that you are paid for your potion, Mister Prime Minister.”
“The Prime Minister was stolen from?” This is the prevailing murmur, that is making the rounds around the crowd. I don’t blame the people down there. I mean, this is rather big news. Not that I am not grateful to Rodger, that he kept it all under wraps up to now.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” ah, he is a man among men. Ready to pull his fellow Naga out of the dog house.
“Was his potion the yellow one. Oh, you poor dear! You should come to New Ursula 590, and have a go at the rides at New Ursula 589,” she says. I nod energetically. Anything to get the attention off me.
“I’d love to, but we really should speak with your leaders,” Rodger says. The vultures strain their ears for our next words. I decide to throw them a bone.
“Well, I am the mayor of a town. Mirstone. Does it count?” I ask Rodger.
“Wait, is Dimension Beta a complete copy of Dimension Alpha?” A reporter asks.
“When we came to Dimension Beta, the planets didn’t even have atmosphere. We had to remain in the Dust-co all the time. You don’t know how weird it was,” I say, shuddering, when I remember the centuries of abstinence.
“We saw that,” Constantine chimes in, from next to us. “Why did the shadow Naga tried to come from the mirrors? One of them tried to grab us.”
“What you saw was dungeon grounds,” Dorothea says. I can see that Daniel’s eyes go wide.
“Those things are real?” He asks. Everyone turns to stare at him.
“How about you tell us what you think a dungeon core is, and we will fill in the gaps?” I say. What can I say? Humans explored a lot more than just the Cosmos. They know a thing or two, about Dimension Beta. Thank the Great Snake of the Sky, that they had the Dust-co, when they began to play with random teleportation.
Daniel makes a step forward, and Rodger hands him the microphone.
“Well, dungeons are these fantasy tropes, where there is a dungeon core, made of...oh. It was there in the description all this time,” Daniel rubs his forehead, and then continues. “The dungeon core uses mana. We sometimes call it magic. The purpose of the dungeon is to grow, and accumulate treasure.”
“We sometimes call them terraforms,” I say, as he finishes. “Basically, the dungeon core expands, and with it, the influence over the planet. They create atmospheres. However, they are not all sunshine, and rainbows.”
“Most of the dungeon cores turn feral, after a point. On the bright side, we only need a dungeon core to operate for about 100 years, before there is an ozone layer on a planet, and water appears on it,” Dorothea says. I know that the real explanation is far more complicated, but I have to remind myself that these people don’t have scientists who have lived during the Atlantis era.
That is not to imply that they don’t have bright minds, but they simply don’t have minds that can move progress forward for more than 500-800 years. Still, I have to say that, at least, they didn’t forget the level of progress the Cosmos had, before we all hit the reset.
“Wait, will you get in trouble for telling us that?” Constantine asks. Dorothea goes, and pinches his cheeks. I can see that his face is turning the color of ripe cherries, and know that it is not just because of the pinching. He is in the spotlight, the entire Cosmos, well, bar Earth, is watching. Yet, his grandmother is babying him. I don’t envy him.
“Not really, no. We have more territories than we know what to do with,” Dorothea tells him. “We’ll be happy to share. Not that you all can populate the entire Cosmos. And, apart from the occasional shaman from Earth, most of you won’t be able to visit in your lifetimes. There is simply too little mana in this Solar System.”
“What if we use the New Ursula mana?” Daniel asks.
“Dimension travel doesn’t work like that. Where did you think all the mana of the Cosmos went?” I ask. His eyes go wide. I let him say it.
“You used the mana of the Cosmos, to travel? The humans weren’t to blame?” He asks. I can see the hope in his eyes. All this time, when he had to keep his head bowed, and nod along as his ancestors were painted as villains. I smile reassuringly at him, and he pumps his fists high.
“Yes, oh, yes! We are not the worst lowlifes in the Cosmos,” he nearly does a victory dance, when Constantine wraps an arm around him.
“Not here, not now,” Constantine whispers. I mock glare at him. Let him have his moment, you panty pooper. I don’t tell him that in front of the reporters. He should be allowed to keep some of his pride, should he not?
“And here we were hoping we can mine Dimension Beta for its minerals,” Rodger says, as he sighs.
“Just because you can’t come in our dimension, it doesn’t mean we can’t trade among ourselves,” Dorothea says. “I am the CEO of New Ursula Boa, a mining company. In my bottomless bag, I have tons of ore, which I would like to trade, for emotion potions.”
“Bottomless what?” Rodger asks. I grin at that. Ah, the good old bottomless bag. Something we invented after we moved to Dimension Beta.
Chapter 69:
This is extortion, but...
Antony:
All right, I am ready to clean the slate. The Prime Minister boxed me to a platform, and the vultures, I mean, reporters, are gathered at the bottom. Thea didn’t want to come, today.
She said it was a trap. But I believe in our little Tine, you know? He is so adorable, with his curls. He looks like a human, now that I think about it. A human woman, if one doesn’t look him in the face.
“Mr. Angelid, this is your official pardon,” Rodger hands me a document, and then prints out a second one. “And one for your angel of a wife.”
“I didn’t steal,” Dorothea snaps, her hands at her hips.
“I remember that Antony took my potion, when I was too much out of it, to give consent,” Rodger says. I wince at that. My expression turns ashen, when Dorothea levels me with a glare.
“You turned me into a thief!” She yells. I close my eyes, waiting for the second shoe to drop. “I will make sure that you are paid for your potion, Mister Prime Minister.”
“The Prime Minister was stolen from?” This is the prevailing murmur, that is making the rounds around the crowd. I don’t blame the people down there. I mean, this is rather big news. Not that I am not grateful to Rodger, that he kept it all under wraps up to now.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” ah, he is a man among men. Ready to pull his fellow Naga out of the dog house.
“Was his potion the yellow one. Oh, you poor dear! You should come to New Ursula 590, and have a go at the rides at New Ursula 589,” she says. I nod energetically. Anything to get the attention off me.
“I’d love to, but we really should speak with your leaders,” Rodger says. The vultures strain their ears for our next words. I decide to throw them a bone.
“Well, I am the mayor of a town. Mirstone. Does it count?” I ask Rodger.
“Wait, is Dimension Beta a complete copy of Dimension Alpha?” A reporter asks.
“When we came to Dimension Beta, the planets didn’t even have atmosphere. We had to remain in the Dust-co all the time. You don’t know how weird it was,” I say, shuddering, when I remember the centuries of abstinence.
“We saw that,” Constantine chimes in, from next to us. “Why did the shadow Naga tried to come from the mirrors? One of them tried to grab us.”
“What you saw was dungeon grounds,” Dorothea says. I can see that Daniel’s eyes go wide.
“Those things are real?” He asks. Everyone turns to stare at him.
“How about you tell us what you think a dungeon core is, and we will fill in the gaps?” I say. What can I say? Humans explored a lot more than just the Cosmos. They know a thing or two, about Dimension Beta. Thank the Great Snake of the Sky, that they had the Dust-co, when they began to play with random teleportation.
Daniel makes a step forward, and Rodger hands him the microphone.
“Well, dungeons are these fantasy tropes, where there is a dungeon core, made of...oh. It was there in the description all this time,” Daniel rubs his forehead, and then continues. “The dungeon core uses mana. We sometimes call it magic. The purpose of the dungeon is to grow, and accumulate treasure.”
“We sometimes call them terraforms,” I say, as he finishes. “Basically, the dungeon core expands, and with it, the influence over the planet. They create atmospheres. However, they are not all sunshine, and rainbows.”
“Most of the dungeon cores turn feral, after a point. On the bright side, we only need a dungeon core to operate for about 100 years, before there is an ozone layer on a planet, and water appears on it,” Dorothea says. I know that the real explanation is far more complicated, but I have to remind myself that these people don’t have scientists who have lived during the Atlantis era.
That is not to imply that they don’t have bright minds, but they simply don’t have minds that can move progress forward for more than 500-800 years. Still, I have to say that, at least, they didn’t forget the level of progress the Cosmos had, before we all hit the reset.
“Wait, will you get in trouble for telling us that?” Constantine asks. Dorothea goes, and pinches his cheeks. I can see that his face is turning the color of ripe cherries, and know that it is not just because of the pinching. He is in the spotlight, the entire Cosmos, well, bar Earth, is watching. Yet, his grandmother is babying him. I don’t envy him.
“Not really, no. We have more territories than we know what to do with,” Dorothea tells him. “We’ll be happy to share. Not that you all can populate the entire Cosmos. And, apart from the occasional shaman from Earth, most of you won’t be able to visit in your lifetimes. There is simply too little mana in this Solar System.”
“What if we use the New Ursula mana?” Daniel asks.
“Dimension travel doesn’t work like that. Where did you think all the mana of the Cosmos went?” I ask. His eyes go wide. I let him say it.
“You used the mana of the Cosmos, to travel? The humans weren’t to blame?” He asks. I can see the hope in his eyes. All this time, when he had to keep his head bowed, and nod along as his ancestors were painted as villains. I smile reassuringly at him, and he pumps his fists high.
“Yes, oh, yes! We are not the worst lowlifes in the Cosmos,” he nearly does a victory dance, when Constantine wraps an arm around him.
“Not here, not now,” Constantine whispers. I mock glare at him. Let him have his moment, you panty pooper. I don’t tell him that in front of the reporters. He should be allowed to keep some of his pride, should he not?
“And here we were hoping we can mine Dimension Beta for its minerals,” Rodger says, as he sighs.
“Just because you can’t come in our dimension, it doesn’t mean we can’t trade among ourselves,” Dorothea says. “I am the CEO of New Ursula Boa, a mining company. In my bottomless bag, I have tons of ore, which I would like to trade, for emotion potions.”
“Bottomless what?” Rodger asks. I grin at that. Ah, the good old bottomless bag. Something we invented after we moved to Dimension Beta.
