Rooting for me? How quaint.
Searching Neo’s memories brought me an understanding of the Alhamisian social order. Eminents were the highest class, the bourgeoise, the elite of the elite – comparable to the one percent of earth. They made it clear they were superior to everyone else by always floating five inches above the ground, and the soles of their feet never touched dirt. Prominents were directly below them, rich, wealthy, and influential and comparable to the millionaires and upper-middle class. They floated two inches above the dirt to signify they were higher than the rest, but not high enough to be at the same level as the Eminents.
Then there were the Middlings, like Neo, Juma and everyone else. Not all Middlings were dirt poor or broke, but even the wealthiest Middling couldn’t compare to the poorest Prominent. Finally, the class below Middling: the Lowling. A class consisting entirely of slaves and criminals who were more or less property.
Godscript Notification!
[You have received a new message.]
Another message?
Title: Formal Person versus Person [PvP] Request
Time Delivered: 13:51:55 AM, 12th Syco, 2141AE.
Sender: Sophia Alphaphilia [Lance Brigade Vice-Captain] [Recruit First Class] [NMR Kill Count: 98]
Details:
As tradition goes, the AAA allows for handling of internal disputes through the method of single person versus person combat with a stipulated time, victory conditions, and punishments issued upon loss. This is to entrench the ideology and understanding that in the AAA, the only attribute that truly matters is one’s ability. As you have thus questioned my authority on basis of gender in front of the Lance Brigade, I find it only fitting to properly and formally display the reason as to why I am the Vice-Captain, by decimating you before a live audience.
Prominent Macey has granted my request, with much glee as to once I told her cause of our discord. The time of our Duel has been set for 1800 hours, with the venue being the Mosh Pit. Refusal to partake in the Duel will mean an immediate demotion from AAA Recruit, to a role best fitting for those who do not understand social structure. Perhaps washing the dishes and scrubbing the latrines will be more suited to someone of your nature.
Regards,
Sophia Alphaphilia.
I laughed. This girl is out for me, isn’t she?
As much fun as I was having impersonating an AAA recruit, I still needed to prepare for the eventuality of the cat coming out of the bag. I needed to find a method of escape, get a sample of Hoplite’s blood, and discover a means to free Zlosta.
The first task of course, would be finding her.
Sitting on Neo’s bed, I grabbed one of the papers with the fake letters, scrolling through the language with ease. It was a marvel how a couple of days ago, I’d been in Fort Zyvar, surrounded by Erzili’s books and needing to translate them to read. Now, I was a soldier, sitting on a bed in the barracks, and I was fluent in reading and writing two languages.
The language structure of Marién was similar to that of French, complete with masculine, feminine and gender-neutral pronouns used for everything from sticks to sexual fluids. However, that wasn’t my focus. What intrigued me about the language, was that the structure in which it was written was somewhat sparked an idea about the Antediluvian Hieroglyphs.
I grabbed a pen, twirling the device in my fingers before noticing that it was different from the pens on earth, in that there wasn’t an ink chamber. You can study all the marvels of how a magic society reinvented a pen later. For now…
I wrote unto the parchment: FIND ZLOSTA JANJE.
[Recognizing Command Prompt…]
[Analyzing…]
[Checking Authorization Level…]
[Error!]
[Authorization Failed]
[You have not met the requirements needed to access this command.]
Requirements Needed:
Tier 9+
High [Sense] Parameter
Any High Level [Scrying] Skill
Any High Level [Scrying] Spell
“Of course.”
I groaned before writing on the parchment: PROVIDE FURTHER EXPLANATION.
[Recognizing Command Prompt…]
[Analyzing…]
[Checking Authorization Level…]
[Authorization Found.]
[Demiurge: Janus]
[Command Authorized.]
Hint: The “Find” Command
Using the “Find” Command, you can find individuals, objects, people and items anywhere they may be in Alamir. However, the requirements needed to access this command go up the rarer the item, or more powerful the person you are attempting to find. Some individuals are hidden with Anti-Scrying Spells or abilities, and this may also cause the requirements needed to find them to be higher to circumvent any preventive measures they may have utilized.
Well that explains it. It also explained why I couldn’t simply use it to find the Heart of Sisyphus. Either Zlosta was hidden somewhere, or it was that she was too high level for me at the moment.
I scribbled quickly unto the parchment: FIND BLACK KEYCARD.
[Recognizing Command Prompt…]
[Analyzing…]
[Checking Authorization Level…]
[Authorization Found.]
[Demiurge: Janus]
[Command Authorized.]
My World Map immediately lit up. The map shrunk, further and further, until it narrowed down on Sector One-Zero-One, and within the large sprawling complex, it identified three different spots.
Black Keycard Found
Nearest Locations:
Location: AAA Training Facility Sector-One-Zero-One, General Hoplite’s Quarters.
Location: AAA Training Facility Sector-One-Zero-One, Lt. General Luxeme’s Quarters.
Location: AAA Training Facility Sector-One-Zero-One, Central Command Center.
“Central Command Center.”
Tempting as it was to try the first two options, it was an unnecessary risk. Getting the Black Keycard from the Central Command Center seemed to be the best option. The map lit up the Keycard’s location, and I set a marker.
But just in case…
I marked the two locations, General Hoplite’s Quarters, and Lt. General Luxeme’s Quarters.
“All that’s left…”
I scribbled into the parchment: What is Remitech?
[Recognizing Command Prompt…]
[Error!]
[Invalid Command Prompt]
[Command “What is” Not Recognized]
“Wouldn’t be that easy, would it?”
I thought about something else, humming before I wrote: DISPLAY ALL COMMANDS.
[Recognizing Command Prompt…]
[Analyzing…]
[Checking Authorization Level…]
[Error!]
[Authorization Failed]
[You have not met the requirements
