ALL NOVEL CHAPTER 119: Day 8: Oh Canada, Our Home and….
Atlas listened to the Portal Crushers and their enthusiastic responses for a while, and kept explaining how the friend/foe system worked.
Atlas nodded, "We can also have an auto-eject button, meaning we can remove anyone who isn’t supposed to be here with a single press. We’ve already activated the function that disables teleportation into our camp directly, but now that we have the friend/foe system, we can turn it back on."
"And the best part?" Atlas leaned in, his eyes narrowing as if he were revealing a secret. "We can charge for it." The greedy beaver inside him was rubbing its paws together in anticipation.
John seemed confused, "Why would we do that?"
Atlas straightened up, his expression growing serious, "Because it’s not just about hunting down monsters anymore, John. It’s time to start consolidating our power and building something bigger. If we want to stay on top, we need to think beyond just surviving. We need to start creating an empire."
John looked at him, still processing the shift in strategy.
"Last time, in my first run through, we stayed on top by crushing the other settlements with military power," Atlas said.
"This time, we’ll do it with a mix of military and economic power. We’ll charge other groups to teleport in, and we’ll charge for their use of our facilities. We’ll make sure we’re indispensable."
John began to understand. "So, we’re going to dominate them not just by force, but also by controlling the resources and making them rely on us."
"Exactly," Atlas confirmed. "If we want those 100 tokens to go home, we have to think bigger. We need to become the hub of this wasteland, the place where everyone comes to trade, resupply, and get stronger. It’s not the gold miners that get rich. It’s the guys selling the pickaxes."
John nodded slowly, the plan falling into place in his mind. "Alright, Atlas. Let’s do it. Let’s build this empire."
‘‘‘
Hank’s mind was wandering as the conversation turned to strategy. “How about… ‘The Portal Pub’?” he offered to Alexander. They had both tuned out the conversation Atlas and John were having. The more important matter was naming their new brewery.
“Nyah, how about 'Ale of Destruction'? You know, because we crush portals... and beers."
“Hah! That’s darn good!”
Hank grinned, "Oh, I got one—'Brewtal Force.' It’s like brute force but with beer!"
Alexander slapped his knee, "That’s mighty good! Or... 'Portal to Hoppiness'?”
Hank laughed, "Nice! How about 'The Wasted Land Tavern'?”
They both decided that the Wasted Land Tavern was the best name for their new brewery/tavern.
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‘‘POV Change – Canuck’s Settlement‘‘
Wayne stood in front of the portal, trying to pay his daily fee for the ManaDome of Awesomeness. He frowned as the screen on his device remained greyed out.
"What’s going on?" he muttered, frustration evident in his voice.
"I don’t know, man," his friend Garth replied, glancing over his shoulder. "It’s weird. Maybe it’s just a glitch or something."
Wayne shook his head, squinting at the screen. "Every time I try to select it, it says we’re overcapacity. But that doesn’t make sense."
"Heck if I know, you hoser," Garth said, running a hand through his long blonde hair.
"It’s displaying our capacity as 20 out of 20, but we clearly have more than 20 people here," Wayne said in confusion.
"Yep, it looks like we have about 64," Garth confirmed, glancing around at the bustling camp. People were everywhere—some tending to small gardens, others reinforcing the settlement’s makeshift walls.
"Wait, does it say we have a capacity of 20 out of 20?" Garth asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Wayne nodded, frowning. "But I have no idea how we upgrade that capacity."
Wayne’s frustration deepened. "Well, we can’t set up our ManaDome of Awesomeness, and that means our settlement is going to be vulnerable during the day."
"That’s true," Garth agreed, looking concerned. "But at least we’ve rarely used the ManaDome of MegaAwesomeness, so we don’t have to worry about a massive buildup of demon dogs. Maybe just six or seven tonight?"
The Canucks had noticed early on that every time they used the manadome of MegaAwesomeness, the amount of demon dogs jumped exponentially the next night. They had stopped using it for this reason.
"Sounds about right," Wayne replied, though the thought did little to ease his worries. "Well, if we get everybody on board, we should be okay."
"But what are we going to do about all these new refugees? We’re already overcapacity."
Wayne sighed deeply, the weight of their predicament settling on his shoulders. "Well, as good Canadians, we can’t just turn them away."
"Absolutely. It’s not not the Canadian way to leave people out in the cold, especially not in a situation like this. No matter how the wind blows, the true north will hold."
"Even if it stretches our resources, we have to help," Wayne said, more to himself than anyone else. "We’re known for our kindness, eh? If we chuck ‘em out and leave them to the night, they’ll definitely get killed."
"Right," Garth agreed, "but it’s going to be tough. We’re already stretched thin, and now we’ve got to worry about protecting everyone without the ManaDome. Plus, who knows how many more people might show up?"
The Red fairy in her typical non helpful way had never explained how the portals worked. Nor had she told anyone how often they reopened.
Wayne rubbed his temples, trying to think of a solution. "Maybe we can find a way to upgrade our capacity. I mean, there has to be something we’re missing. A button, a setting, something."
"Yeah, but until then, we have to make do with what we’ve got," Garth said, glancing around at the refugees huddled together near the edges of the camp. They looked tired, scared, and uncertain about their future. "And that means taking care of everyone."
After the initial head popping caused by the Red fairy it had taken a while to calm down the refugees. Getting them settled in was also a pain. As the Canucks had been given no notice of the incoming portal.
Unlike the Portal Crusher settlement, the Canucks didn’t have Atlas’ time travel knowledge.
"Hey, Wayne," one of the refugees called out, a mix of desperation and gratitude in her voice. "Thanks for taking us in. We really didn’t know where else to go. Or what to do."
“And also, Wayne and Garth? Are you guys named after the show?”
"Yeah, we get that a lot," Wayne replied with a rueful smile, though the stress still lingered in his eyes. "But don’t worry, we’re not the hosts from that old movie, ‘Wayne’s World‘."
The woman chuckled, though the tension in the air was thick. "We’re just glad to be here. Things out there look ….well, you know." She looked out at the unwelcoming terrain of the wasteland outside of the small settlement.
Wayne nodded. "Yeah, we’ll get you set up. But keep your heads down. Without the ManaDome, the day’s going to be a little rougher."
Garth clapped Wayne on the shoulder. "We’ll figure it out, Wayne. Maybe someone else in the settlement knows how to upgrade it. We just have to ask around."
"Yeah, maybe," Wayne replied, though he wasn’t entirely convinced. "For now, let’s get everyone settled. We’ll worry about the rest later."
The Canucks gave the new refugees a meal of pancakes with maple syrup, bought at the A Salt And Buttery vending machine.
“This is way better than Soylent,” said one of the Canucks.
“Well, we thought one meal wouldn’t kill us,” Wayne added.
“It’s good for morale,” said Garth. “Besides, if we don’t figure out this capacity thing, it’s not the lack of coins that will kill us. It’s the demon dogs.”
With that unpleasant statement made, the two of them turned to help the newcomers, their conversation lingering in the air like the cold Canadian wind. Despite the challenges ahead, they knew they couldn’t abandon their principles. It was what made them who they were—Canadians through and through.
‘Come on wasteland. Hit us with your best shot. We can stop you colder than a Winnipeg winter‘
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