I reviewed the change in my Manifest menu with Aurin.

  Available Manifests: Noememetic Architect (Eunoic)

  Mask [Locked]

  Narration [Locked]

  Director [Locked]

  Script [Locked]

  Stage [Locked]

  Design [Locked]

  Curtain [Locked]

  Thread [Locked]

  Cast [Locked]

  Unlocked

  Showbill

  Description: Memetic Engineering, Emotive Triggers, Cognitive Contagion, Group Resonance

  Unlock Points: 0

  “Well, it does what you thought it would. Probably.” I said, opening up The Stream to check what was new there. At the very top, over the General Manifest, was a search bar that hadn’t been there before. “So, how does this work?”

  “Write what you need, and your personal System assistant will generate potential solutions. I find that the broader your request, the less useful it will generally be if it can even find a result at all. Just as an example, asking for a method to close the dimensional overlap next to us offers me a multi-million-Dust single-use reality solidifier that I can place within the overlap to automatically close it. I can study the overlap more to provide my System with more data to reduce the cost, but it will never be cheap. Instead of doing that, breaking down your problem into steps is much more effective, unless you’re looking to solve a broad problem with a single-step solution,” Makesi explained.

  “Was… this a way to get around having to propagate a full list of things I could buy?” I asked incredulously. This was exactly the kind of time-wasting bullshit that companies loved to add to their storefronts. I wanted to dissect the mind of the average shareholder one of these days to see what sheer madness lay within.

  “The variety in what you can buy is infinite. There is literally no plausible way to create a simple list. Additionally, the System Assistant is simply your own Aspect, which is sectioned away in your subconscious, being informed what is metaphysically possible. Your Aspect is an extension of you. If you don’t like the suggestions, then learn to use your Aspect differently so it learns how you want it to think.”

  “You could buy glasses or maybe contacts that reverse your glamour effect on the person wearing them. If I’m reading the description of Showbill correctly, that should technically be possible by applying a sort of inverse and equivalent emotive trigger. If it overlaps exactly, it wouldn’t cause the clashing effect that happened to me,” Aurin said, which was a great idea.

  “I really don't mind if you accidentally affect me. I've been on worlds where people have the Charisma Stat without needing eye contact to activate it. It's just something you learn to deal with and try to filter out over time when holding a government position in a magic-heavy society. But if that is something you're worried about, then I'm willing to wear an accessory,” Makesi said.

  I turned and pulled Aurin into a kiss. When I finally broke it off, I looked into her eyes and couldn’t stop a smile from breaking out on my face. “Thank you for thinking of that for me.” Then typed what I wanted into the search bar.

  A wearable accessory that counteracts my Charisma Stat’s effect on the wearer.

  That gave no results, which confused me for a moment until I remembered the glamour’s second effect of preventing discussion about it. That couldn't be removed by just altering people's emotions.

  A wearable accessory that counteracts my Charisma Stat’s emotional effect on the wearer.

  This had dozens of results.

  The first listing was an earring, surprisingly. It looked like it didn’t actually have to be an eye covering. Did that mean the things I bought worked differently from how my Aspect did?

  Well, Makesi’s Aspect didn’t allow spatial expansion, and he bought this aircraft, so obviously, it would have to allow a few differences. Otherwise, what would the point of the purchases be when you could just use your Aspect?

  “How do you feel about wearing an earring?” I asked Makesi, who stared at me with dead eyes in return. “Not a fan of piercings? That’s fine, there’s a ring too.”

  Messaging Vivi and Aisling, they were okay with it in the end as well. Aisling asked for an earring, and Vivi tried to insist she didn’t need one until I pressured her into it. She was already compromised, so I couldn't trust her to be honest with me in that regard.

  I bought a set of three glamour blocking accessories, initially trying to buy four, only for Aurin to put me in a headlock until I tapped out and agreed she didn’t need one.

  “And it was cruel of you to suggest I wouldn't get to enjoy your eyes anymore,” Aurin said when she finally released me.

  “Yes, I'm sorry, please don't choke me out,” I replied while I rubbed my neck.

  “But it sounded like you loved it so much last ni—Hrk” Aurin started, only stopping when I punched her throat. She didn't try again.

  -60 Dust

  Dust: 997

  The rings were matte black with red glowing symbols inscribed on them. I was fairly certain the symbols didn't actually do or mean anything, and they were just decorative.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Okay, now, how do I figure out what the hell the rest of the terms under the description mean? Like, what even is Memetic Engineering? I understand the definition of the words, but I don't know what that could possibly encompass,” I asked Makesi. These terms weren't defined the same way as my Stats and Archetype were. They were words with regular definitions instead of being defined as a whole book's worth of technical information.

  “Alright, what I recommend is you just play around with it. Searching the term ‘Give me examples of things Showbill allows the purchase of that would be useful for me to have that cost under five hundred Dust’ to get an idea of what's possible and affordable is a great way to learn the basics of a new Manifest. But also just make up scenarios and try to see what your System comes up with as a solution. That's the best way to get acquainted with its problem-solving style.” Makesi said before sending us on our way. They were scouting out the Earth Office routes and had drones watching the perimeter of the overlap.

  The Water Office hadn't started sending people inside yet, but they did try to hunt us down. Luckily, Aisling's Untraceable Manifest provided cloaking to the point that it was impossible, though. Unless they had a mind specialist who could pierce the antimemetic field generator she'd purchased for the Modular Transport.

  Makesi proposed that they were themed around the Bagua for a reason, that each Office may be circling around a prime anomaly in the Heaven Office's command structure. Because Water having a body hopper as a commander made sense in a Taoist sense, given that Water was supposed to represent continuity and flow. So why would the other offices not follow similar themes?

  That was part of why we didn't want Heaven Office to descend on us. If they did, we would be found in an instant because, as High Command, they could call upon the Wind and Wood offices. Together, those meant ‘finding the unseen’, so it was almost guaranteed they'd be able to pierce our stealth. Then they'd fall upon us with the Fire Office shock troops.

  It was only luck that meant we were dealing with Water and Earth, two groups that weren't focused on outright conflict.

  This was why cultural research was important, apparently. Anomalies were often inspired by local mythology, even outside dimensional overlaps. It was something relating to the mechanism by which Dust warped reality with its presence. Anomalies could start popping up even without contact with the stuff, though direct contact would always result in some kind of alteration for unaltered objects.

  Back in my quarters with Aurin, I noted they had acquiesced and expanded my room slightly. I received enough space to fit a night table, on which I placed a water bottle because I hated waking up thirsty with no relief in sight. I'd have to walk all the way to the pantry, where they had some kind of unlimited water source hooked up to a tap and drink directly from that because getting a cup was too much work.

  Together, we tried out different requests from The Stream, starting with the one Makesi recommended.

  Give me examples of things Showbill allows the purchase of that would be useful for me to have that cost under five hundred Dust.

  The first item was a lantern that, when lit, would cause anyone who saw the light coming from it to calm down and be less likely to form thoughts relating to violence or harming another person while the lantern remained lit. The lantern could be burned for ten minutes for one hundred Dust, or thirty minutes for five hundred. The thirty-minute version also came with three free sets of contacts that filtered the lantern light.

  It could be brushed off with enough willpower or proper mental Stats dedicated to resisting compulsion. But normal people weren't likely to want to think violent thoughts enough to will themselves to, and nobody in this world had Stats except us.

  The average person just didn't have that tendency for some reason. I wondered why sometimes.

  I could absolutely see that being useful.

  The next was an idea? A mental construct that I could purchase and hold in my mind that carried an activation phrase. I could mould it into a specific shape, then say the activation phrase to another person, and they'd become infected with the construct. They would then feel a compulsion to spread the construct to people near them, propagating it as a memetic infection.

  It started out as a blank construct, and I had to build the idea entirely myself. But if anything, that was a bonus. It would allow me to craft what kind of ideas I wanted to spread.

  The activation phrase could only be said three times. Then the idea would go dormant and begin worming its way into the victim's head. Or in my case, it would vanish from my mind.

  The only issue was that it cost five hundred Dust for the version that would be completely resisted by people with anti-authoritarian tendencies. Also, the space for the idea was rather small. I could maybe fit a single compulsive thought inside or an emotional trigger for something.

  Unless I learned how to miniaturize my mental constructs, that is, I hadn't really ever had to do that before. People's minds were rather expansive and had plenty of room to shove whatever I needed in them, and more. My policy right now was ‘more is better’ because it ensured that what I wanted to convey was instilled hard.

  The next was a… collar with a jade pendant. The collar broadcasts the wearer's emotional state to anyone within thirty metres. It could be turned on and off with a thought by the wearer. The collar was two hundred and fifty Dust.

  “Haha… why would that be on the list?” I asked aloud, my voice cracked slightly.

  Aurin placed her head on my shoulder, “I can think of a couple of reasons it would definitely be useful in the near future. One of those reasons is that I know how well you can control your emotional state when you're actively trying, and swapping between absolute adoration and complete misery would cause enough emotional whiplash that I can't see anyone managing to shoot you through that. But the other reason is why you're actually going to purchase it right now.”

  -250 Dust

  Dust: 747

  A week later, I sat on the edge of a ridge overlooking a road, waiting while I idly fiddled with the jade pendant hanging from my collar. I had been here for hours, and I was bored out of my fucking mind. I had played every song on my System ten times over, but time was just moving so goddamn slowly.

  Aisling had tried to help me with meditative exercises, but every time I tried it, I'd have a panic attack every time my mind started to go into a free fall. I was starting to think that it just wasn't for me.

  Aurin sat on a rock nearby. We found out she couldn't be more than one hundred metres away from me at any time. If she ever went further than that distance, she'd pop into existence next to me, snapped back like a rubber band.

  I finally decided this was enough and opened the group chat and sent a message.

  Ren: You're absolutely certain they'll pass through here? They were supposed to show up an hour ago.

  Aisling: Sorry! Let me check.

  Aisling: They stopped just before reaching you and aren't moving right now.

  I let out a sigh, “You wanna go for a walk?”

  “Do I have a choice?” Aurin asked in return.

  “I mean, you could just wait around and snap towards me repeatedly,” I replied, standing up from the cliffside and stretching my back. It didn't hurt like it used to anymore, but sitting in one place for extended periods of time still left me feeling stiff.

  “No thanks, it feels awful when you get too far. Moving away from you is like being slowly plunged into cold water,” she replied, and joined me on my trek down the hillside.

  I hoped they stopped because they knew I was here. That would make this a lot more fun.

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