CROWN
Orpheus was able to attach my Sanctuary exit to what she called a “Temporary Presence Sanctuary.” Apparently it was something like a sanctuary but unattached to any one universe. I wasn't sure where the space was coming from if it wasn't actually attached to a universe, but that was just one more question among many that kept cropping up whenever I tried to think too hard about how the cluster and universes were laid out.
I wondered why we didn't have one just constantly around, but the moment I stepped through the door, that became clear.
I grimaced at that. I was currently not using any Proxy body, so my appearance was largely human, but for the pointed ears and tail that seemed to cling to me ever since I’d incarnated as Tastka. I could dismiss them with some concentration, but it didn’t seem worth the effort. Living so long in different bodies made me less attached to my original appearance, so it didn’t bother me.
The room itself wasn’t huge, but it gave the impression of it. It consisted of a half-circle, so that most of those in the room could face toward a central speaker who was atop a stage. A message flashed on my interface, indicating that some level of perception filtering was being done, so it was likely the room appeared differently to different administrators.
I was, of course, trying not to panic at the fact that the time dilation was so high. I'd been juggling two things, and although I had left one with a reluctant realization that I needed to be more hands off again, that didn't mean that I wanted to be in here for years of time in my universe. I definitely needed to get back to Downside as fast as possible.
But my worry about that was secondary to something that I realized. My door opened up into a small rounded area like a balcony, although it wasn't actually set very far above the floor. It also had an opening allowing free egress into the rest of the room. In fact, I had my own little space where I could settle in and watch whomever was speaking.
What bothered me is how few other balconies there were. I had never bothered to ask Orpheus exactly how many Administrators were in the cluster. I had always assumed that there were dozens, which is one reason why it was so important that I start generating energy early. If I was one of only 30 or 40 Administrators that meant that they really needed my energy, but I knew there were several more experienced Administrators who managed multiple universes somehow.
The problem is that now that I was in the room, in what was supposed to be an all hands meeting, I could actually count how many other doors there were. Aside from mine I only saw ten doors. That meant that unless something else was going on the entire cluster had a total of eleven Administrators. Maybe twelve if Orpheus didn't have her own door.
I'd known the cluster was in trouble, but I hadn't realized there were so few Administrators for an entire classification of universes – hundreds or thousands of divergent worlds.
The meeting had been timed well, which made me more relieved. The other administrators were either already present, or entering, as I took a seat in the flush chair left in my balcony.
To my right, I saw a familiar sight: a glistening, slime-covered green octopus-like creature. It sat within a basin of some kind of oily, darker green fluid, and three eyes on one side – out of the total of six – ‘blinked’ at me with the irising into a pinhole and back to a jet black pupil.
One of the shiny tentacles lifted up in my direction… but the voice that followed was mellow and pleasant, if a bit androgynous.
“You must be the unnamed Administrator. A pleasure to meet you.” The tentacle tip wobbled. “Please, call me Trent. I am the next senior Administrator of the cluster.”
The utter normalcy of the voice and the greeting took me aback for a moment, but I’d been hardened against bizarre beings in my work. I recovered from my open-mouthed astonishment within a moment, and smiled back. “That’s me. Nice to meet you.”
“It’s about time! I’ve heard way more about you than I ever wanted!” Another voice spoke to my left, the only balcony to that side. It had a strange echoing quality, but distinctly feminine somehow.
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“Uh?” I turned to look, and saw something… new.
She wasn’t human, but definitely humanoid. Her body was feminine, yet naked and a glossy black all over. The nakedness likely wouldn’t have distracted me at this point, but I noticed that she was featureless over both the breasts, and down below. She had the appearance of a sleek, mannequin-like creature poured into the shape of a young woman.
It wasn’t perfect. At her joints and various other ‘flex points’ I could see a hot orange glow seeping out, as if from cracks in the surface. Her eyes were pools of white fire, and her hair a tumbling mane of living flame, flickering and varying in length. Despite the alien form, she looked very human in facial features, aside from a flat nose with only two slits for nostrils. Her grin showed the teeth were a gleaming grey rather than white, the color of pumice instead of enamel.
“Ember,” I guessed mildly. “I’ve been wondering about you. It’s nice to finally meet you, as well.” I stepped back so I could nod to Trent. “Is uh, this it?”
The octopus gestured toward the rest of the assembly. “This is every remaining Administrator of the cluster, aside from Orpheus.” Diamon was there, as well as something that looked like a six-winged, two-headed bird. The rest appeared to be astonishingly normal humans.
I was about to comment on this when Trent continued. “It is comforting to see Administrators with forms like your own, that do not require perception filters.”
That’s when it hit me that the ‘normal humans’ in the other seats – a youthful woman, an elderly man, and so on – were not human at all. I had no idea what they looked like, but it was evidently far too alien for me to comprehend.
“Quiet, everyone.” A familiar voice called out. Orpheus had entered the room.
She stepped up to the stage, walking through her own balcony at the far end of the room. There, she held up a hand. “The time dilation is extreme for this meeting, so we need to hurry. I will get straight to the point.”
Orpheus gestured behind her, where the clump of bubbles I had always imagined the cluster to look like appeared in midair, as if a hologram. “The incursion attempts have begun to escalate dramatically. Most of you are already donating to the practical limit of what you can, in order to aid me in shielding the entire cluster.”
A bright force field of white surrounded the cluster, showing little blips of red. I immediately understood this to signify the incursion attempts. Was that a universal symbolism, or did the display itself have a perception filter? I wondered that, but only briefly. Dwelling too long on these things just made the work harder.
If this were collection of humans, someone would've interrupted already. I know I was tempted, but I also didn't know enough that I could say something meaningful. So I kept my mouth shut. All of the other Administrators did the same.
The image faded, and Orpheus sighed. “Instead of using more energy to attempt to block the incursions, I will be selectively refocusing my defensive efforts. One of our two new Administrators – the one with the provisional name of Crown – has a unique aspect to their universe structure. I have discussed this with them and believe that their theory of how it can be used against a cluster incursion is correct.”
Some things never change even when you're effectively a god. I felt the eyes in the room turned toward me, and I did my best to remain looking at Orpheus and pretend not to notice.
“Even with this plan, Crown cannot defend against the incursions alone,” she continued. “Their unexpected success has drawn more attention to them, and rather than view that as a disadvantage, we have chosen to use it as bait. This means that we will be allowing them to attack at various points, usually at Crown. However, for this to work, it cannot be an obvious trap. We must selectively weaken our barrier to allow a few minor incursions.”
This revelation did not lead to murmurs of unease. I could still feel some tension, despite the alien forms around me, but most of these were veteran Administrators. Unlike myself or Ember, they were likely extremely old and this incident may not have been the first they had been through.
Orpheus caused the cluster to appear again, but this time it was colored in various sections. The colors were not uniform, with many tiny splotches, and I realized that this represented which universes belonged to which Administrator. They were not all bunched together, with some Administrators having dozens of universes spread out all over the cluster, giving it a speckled look.
My own, I noticed, was distressingly close to the edge of the cluster. I’d thought it couldn’t be more alien than what these creatures could make, but apparently something placed it relatively close to drifting out of the cluster.
“With the reserves that we currently have and the intensity of the attacks, I cannot hold them off for much longer without triggering our plan.” For the first time, Orpheus looked tired to me. Worn, slumping, and without her usual crisp presentation. If the filter was doing that, it did an excellent job.
She looked up and scanned the room, eyes moving over each of the ten Administrators. “I can give you at least thirty cycles. No more than one hundred. Likely much less than a hundred. That is why we must plan how to address the incursions when they begin.”
I flinched at that. I'd spent a long time developing my incursion resistance plan, but that meant that I had neglected some other things that I probably should have paid more attention to. So few cycles before the attack meant that I wouldn't have enough time to bring up more cultures. That made it extremely difficult for me if I wanted to bolster Upside. There just weren't enough elves to cover all of Upside, unlike the inhabitants of Downside
But maybe I had a chance. Orpheus wasn’t done, and she caused the cluster-hologram to spin a few times, highlighting several areas.
“Fortunately,” she began, “I have been studying. I believe I have a new strategy. It will require all of us to work together and coordinate our defenses. And that is what this meeting is for.”
The purple-haired Administrator smiled. A predatory smile, unlike the ones she normally showed. I smiled back.
“Everyone, take notes. What we decide here determines which universes still exist.”
Dungeon World