Jacob’s grandfather shushed him the moment he got home, as he stared at the small television set in the studio apartment. It was one of those boxy units with a curved screen from the far past, still running but with strange lines and colors that prevented it from ever reaching above an average level of visual quality. They almost never used it due to the high cost and unreliability of electricity, but when Jacob saw the screen he understood. His grandfather gestured to the Newscast that was playing, and Jacob crossed the room to join him on the couch.
A very serious looking man was on the screen in front of the Korean National Assembly, a flat, square shaped building with a blue dome that Jacob recognized from a few international programs he had watched in his youth. Below the man the headline flashed repeatedly: Second Invite Found in South Korea; North threatens War
“…expected to give a press conference on the unprecedented events later tonight.” The man’s voice was professional and serious, with a slight British accent to it. The sound didn’t surprise Jacob; most foreign correspondents came from the British Isle, and they were commonly used by national networks when no local anchors were available. “For those turning in, the second Wonder Corp. Invite card has been found right here in Seoul, South Korea, by famed Competitive Caster Ku Da-Yeon, known more in the west by her casting pseudonym ‘ViolaKu’”
B-roll footage appeared on the screen as the reporter talked of Viola’s last match, showing her casting a variety of musical themed cards. Ku Da-Yeon had won at least 7 National Casting titles in Korea, and was a prominent figurehead of Korea’s state-sponsored Casting development program. She modeled her match persona on many of the old musical groups from South Korea, wearing glimmering exaggerated outfits and using dance-like motions while casting. She attributed this to her personal love of music, having played the Viola since she was a child. The Agency internally believed it was really a decision made by the Korean Ministry of Culture, to make her more palatable to a Western audience. Violas were a well known classical instrument of the west, and as a name “ViolaKu” was far easier to say for English speakers than her proper Korean Name. Additionally, the music she integrated into her style had been incredibly popular in the west, making her even more relatable to non-Korean audiences. The opinion of her name and personae within the country was largely unknown outside of the peninsula due to strict expression laws , but she always had a large showing at her public appearances.
“So far, Viola hasn’t made any public appearances, nor given any official interviews.” The reporter continued “However her management company - SW Incorporated - issued a statement saying she was extremely excited to have found the invite, and she looked forward to touring the Wonder Corp. facilities.”
The footage switched to that of a rocket launching, with a large North Korean flag on the side. B-roll of Korean soldiers played, before a shot of armed men staring at each other intensely at the Demilitarized zone’s one meeting place.
“Across the border North Korea responded with another rocket test, demonstrating their latest hypersonic missile for their glorious leader.” The reporter’s voice was dry and professional despite the news; North Korea threatened to invade its neighbor at least twice a week, issuing near-constant demands for cards and a machine of its own. “They issued a statement decrying Viola’s discovery as ‘another example of imperialist aggression’ that would allow South Korea ‘unequal access to Weapons of Mass Destruction’. The Military of North Korea organized many of its units across the armed forces in what it is calling a military drill, gathering them just outside the demilitarized zone - in what the international community is calling a act of aggression. The South Korean president is expected to address the security situation to the South Korean assembly within the hour, and has been in talks with leaders from around the globe since the announcement of the card discovery has been made.”
The North Korean nation had a nearly insatiable desire for the cards, a desire significantly hampered by heavy sanctions. They had still managed to get their hands on quite a few despite this - likely smuggled in by their allied neighbors - but they demanded ever more. Neither of the Korean nations had managed to get their hands on a machine; the portal over their peninsula was one of two known that didn’t issue one, instead pouring in thousands of cards before closing. South Korea however managed to secure a steady source of cards due to their allies, and even with the high import prices had become one of the Card Capitols of the world. Almost immediately after the first international tournament was announced their government implemented a development program across the country similar to the ones they used for Olympic sports, creating special Card Academies and clubs, with a clear pathway to representing the country as you trained in matches. To no one’s surprise the program had been a massive success, with the small, machine-less nation taking home awards and international titles at every single tournament that had been held - save for one tournament 22 years ago. North Korea immediately after announced their own program, but without a stable card supply had only managed to make rare appearances at tournaments.
Jacob’s grandfather picked the remote off the couch next to him and shut off the television, darkening the room and filling it with silence.
“I’m going to guess the entire world is this insane right now?” Jacob’s grandfather sighed as he spoke, leaning back into the couch
“Pretty much.” Jacob replied “it’s dissolved into complete madness, the sooner the invite cards are found, the better.”
Jacob’s grandfather grunted, running a hand through the long grey hair that hung from his head. His body had become old and frail with age, but he had been blessed with the unique genetics of never going bald.
“How’s the station?” Jacob’s grandfather asked after a pause.
“Equally mad.” Jacob got off the couch and moved to the kitchen, sighing as he stood up “Just about every officer has been assigned to the Invite Cards. They’re chasing every possible lead, Officers are working double and triple shifts, it’s a nightmare. We couldn’t manage the caseload before, and now we have a fraction of the officers available for more than triple the workload.”
Jacob pulled the soup pot out of the fridge, looking at its meager portions. It was worse than he thought. Not only was tonight the last night they could have it, but they would only be having half portions. Those CivCreds came at just the right time. He ignited the gas stove like he had the day before and placed the soup pot on it, watching it carefully as the small amount began to warm up. He reached up and opened a cupboard, grabbing the kettle where his grandfather always placed it after washing it. He filled that with water near the basin, and placed it on the stove as well. Maybe some tea would help with the lack of food. They had a little bit of jasmine tea mix left, and he could always gather more supplies at the fields at the edge of the city.
“Where do they have you?” Jacob’s Grandfather slowly got up from the couch, grunting as he did. The elderly man moved towards the kitchen, before sitting down at the small dining room table.
“Archives.” Jacob responded flatly “Looking for any historical records on Wonder Corp.”
His Grandfather scoffed. “Good luck finding anything other than hyper-sanitized public statements. Wonder Corp. would do anything to stay as secretive as possible.”
“Because nothing says secretive like a massively publicized scavenger hunt, leading to a full and open tour of their corporate headquarters.”
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“I amend my statement, Wonder Corp. would do almost anything to stay as secretive as possible.”
Jacob smiled in amusement, picking up the large soup spoon to stir the slowly heating mixture of cabbage, garlic, onion, and water. The savory mix slowly began to fill the room with the smell of its ingredients, and Jacob sighed. He would miss the smell when they ran out of spices.
“Actually, there was something in the archives.” Jacob pulled two bowls from the cupboard and ladled the last of the soup into both of them. As expected there was just enough for half a portion each. He discretely took a small portion of his own soup and added it to his grandfathers bowl, before bringing the bowl to the table. “Something that didn’t even have a classification level, it was freely available.”
“Really?” Jacob’s Grandfather raised an eyebrow at the information, and at the bowl being placed in front of him. Jacob turned back to the kitchen to check on the kettle before his Grandfather could say anything, grabbing his own bowl off the kitchen counter. The kettle was still heating up, so Jacob quickly wolfed down his soup, savoring each bite as he did.
“Yeah, it was from your era.” Jacob said between bites, his mouth full of cabbage “An old Wartime reel. War Cards for War Heroes.”
“Ah, I remember that campaign.” Jacob’s grandfather smiled as he ate, his mind turning to recollection “Though I remember it primarily being posters. Wonder Corp was competing with DefTech for a contract at the time; I don’t think they got it.”
“Maybe the reel was meant for government eyes then.” Jacob grabbed two mugs out of the cupboard and placed them on the counter, before grabbing the kettle. The water had finally heated up, and he added a generous helping of hot water to each. He grabbed two tea decanters from the same cupboard, then filled them with crushed leaves from a box on the counter. He had made the Jasmine tea mix himself two weeks prior, using wild growing flowers and tea leaves that had become invasive just outside the city. His grandfather loved Jasmine tea, and while it wasn’t Jacob’s favorite it was slowly growing on him. He placed the decanters into the mugs and brought them over to the table, putting one in front of his Grandfather and keeping another for himself The water steamed lightly as it slowly changed color from clear to a slightly translucent yellowish brown. Jacob sat across from his grandfather as they waited for the tea to steep.
“It had footage from inside their headquarters.” Jacob held his hands over the mug, warming them on the steam “And of their machine.”
“What did you see?” Jacob’s Grandfather looked at him with curiosity “Tell me all about it.”
Jacob recounted as much of the video as he could remember, sharing every detail he could with his Grandfather. The elderly man took special notice of the figure constantly flanked by bodyguards, though Jacob had few details. After he was done describing the footage Jacob’s grandfather sat deep in thought.
“During the insurrection.” the old man said, his voice falling back into the same tone it had yesterday when he had discussed the war “One unit of men got the chance to visit every company. Their official job was to assess who would be the card provider for the armed forces. Unofficially, their job was to track down who was selling cards to both sides. The insurrectionists were surprisingly well equipped; most thought Wonder Corp. My money was on a foreign government.”
“Who did it end up being?” Jacob tapped the side of his mug, and finding it fairly cool took a light sip. The tea was warm, but felt slightly diluted. It needed more time to steep.
“If they found out,” Jacob’s grandfather took a sip, then lightly rotated the cup to make the tea mix better “They never said. The unit was dissolved and its members re-assigned. I never saw any of the guys assigned to it again, even in my Agency days. It was heavily classified. The Wonder Corp. headquarters completely closed up afterwords. Fired all their scientists and engineers, never let anyone else in or out. They’ve been a mystery ever since.”
Jacob’s grandfather leaned forward, with an almost conspiratorial tone as he continued “I think you must have caught a glimpse of the Wonder Corp. founder. If you did, that’s the only glimpse of the founder that’s been put on film.”
“Who’s their founder?”
“Don’t know. Almost no one does. Unlike DefTech and the other companies, Wonder Corp. was founded after the portals opened. They weren’t an existing company that pivoted into making cards. The Cards were their sole purpose. They used a shadowy law firm to set up the corporation, and all the records from that firm were burned in wartime bombings. Only thing I’ve heard about him was from fellow soldiers who knew men in that unit. He was supposedly quiet, odd, an unusual man. Spoke in riddles.”
“Sounds like a character out of an old movie.”
“And yet his company now produces the most desirable cards in the world.” Jacob’s grandfather finished his tea, and set the mug aside “People gravitate towards those who are loud and brash, who speak clearly and say what you want to hear. In my experience it’s the quiet, confusing ones you have to worry about. You never know what they’re going to do.”
“Like start a global scavenger hunt for card packs that causes world-wide insanity?”
“Exactly.”
Jacob picked up both mugs and returned to the kitchen, thinking it over. He reached into his pocket, feeling the soft paper of the CivCreds inside them. He knew he should tell his father about his encounter with the Order of Aman’thea, and the mysterious truck. A benefit of his Grandfather being a former Agency Officer was he still held a lifetime Top Secret Security Clearance. The Agency had granted one to him and his wartime colleagues as a special retirement gift, though both parties knew it was so that the Agency could ask for assistance on cases at any time. Still, something told him not to say anything. Not yet at least. A feeling in his gut. A feeling that told him of a need for secrecy; that the encounter wasn’t over, and would never be over if he said anything to anyone. He trusted his Grandfather more than any soul in the world, but still he held back. His gut was rarely wrong, and the encounter still troubled him.
He pulled the CivCreds out of his pocket, and walked back over to the table. He placed them in front of his grandfather, and sat back down. His Grandfather’s eyes widened, and he gently picked up the currency.
“Where did you get this?” His grandfather’s voice was a bit incredulous. It had been a long time since they had had any extra cash, and it had never been this much. While the purchasing power wasn’t especially high, it was still a rare sight.
“Found it on my way home.” Jacob replied “Sticking out of a pile of rubble. No one was around, and it doesn’t have any signs of being stolen.”
Jacob’s Grandfather nodded. Despite their simplicity, CivCreds were incredibly difficult to steal; not since the government found a unique combination of cards that caused any notes that had been stolen in any way to glow a fierce blue. The ones casting the cards picked the color blue as a reference to an old fantasy series, where a character had a weapon that glowed blue in the presence of evil. In both the past and present one thing had remained true: nerds loved their in-jokes.
“I figured since it was a lot, you should help me decide what we get.” Jacob spoke softly. He hadn’t exactly lied about where he had found the currency, but he hadn’t told the whole truth either. “We just ran out of soup. That can’t buy a lot, but it could buy some vegetables to tie us over. Maybe even some spices. Give us something nice to eat.”
“Cabbage is fine.” His grandfather mulled it over, then slid the money back to Jacob “Most of the cards you carry are old. You should get some more. Maybe even some Wonder Corp. packs, add something fresh to your new deck.”
“Don’t tell me you also want to try for one of those invite cards.”
“The invite craze will pass eventually. But your need for Cards won’t.” His grandfather picked up the money and pressed it into his hands “No one lives forever. You need to take advantage of the years you have, not waste them chasing impossible cases. It’ll be years before the Agency gives you a deck, but what you have now is a fresh start with cards that work. A few more packs, and you’ll have a full sized Battle Deck you could use in actual matches. Not a half empty equip deck, and a battle deck meant only for street fights in alleys.”
His Grandfather stood up, and headed over to the couch to settle in for the night. “Sleep on it, think it over, and don’t make any decisions yet. But remember, hunger is temporary. And opportunity only knocks once.”
His grandfather used the same sleep card he had gotten yesterday, equipping it and covering himself in blankets. Within moments the old man was fast asleep, snoring lightly as he slept on the couch. Jacob stared at the money and replayed the truck and the priest in his mind. All of it was too coincidental. Too close together. Almost like it was planned; but by who?
Jacob sighed, then moved over to the couch. He pulled out his sleep pad from underneath, climbed under the blankets, and equipped a sleep card. Immediately he felt the magic wash over him. His eyes grew heavy, his mind blurred, and he slipped into the darkened realm of sleep.
not get a machine to manufacture cards is fascinating to me as a writer. I love worldbuilding and lore dumping, but am keenly aware that exposition has a tendency to tell instead of show; this week’s poll is meant to gauge what you as readers think of that. I read every comment and pay attention to every poll, so I heavily encourage you to use those features!
not directly related to the cards. He gets to do some actual agency work, and I hope you like it.
trust in the cards…
Do you want more, or less exposition and lore dumps in future chapters?
