World Filter

When Mark heard Sam's theory he knew it had to hold some water. Some other sector must have completed their spire, and so soon after theirs had to have some relevance. If this rate held, then it wouldn’t be long before more conduits joined the stage. Entire sectors were still bumping around in the dark and had to figure everything out just like they had. If their situations were anything like theirs, then Mark could only hope everyone made it.

Besides, the Caretaker still hadn’t released the rules as it had promised, if it did would it only be to their sector or the globe?

By this point, they had returned to Sam's room so she could grab some papers in preparation.

This message had been sector a wide prompt, so everyone was aware, or would be in the coming hours.

The reason Dr. Haley and Dr. Johnson were here was becoming apparent. The fourth member of their little meeting was Elizabeth, a scientist, and engineer Mark had worked with on another occasion.

Though he had not seen her since their arrival in the city, however, she was a communication expert, and right now that was exactly what Dr. Haley thought they needed. Getting in contact with this unknown sector should be a priority.

“So, the problem we’re having right now is not only one of equipment but also signal. If it were just a problem of having the right equipment then I could potentially cobble something together. However, it would seem that since this whole mess started something was messing with our ability to communicate between sectors.”

Make had never thought about it but it made sense they had not received news from the rest of the world and honestly, Mark just thought everyone was just too busy with their own survival to care about distant places.

“The energy in the air interfered with our long-distance communication and lined-in connections were cut off too, but as of late, I've noticed broadband radio waves have returned. We may be able to get a signal through with the right mix of equipment and genius.”

Mark still remembered the system saying something about it releasing sector limits or something.

“I’ll provide the latter but you will all need to get me the equipment and relay in place to boost our signal.”

Mark had to wonder where the Loyalist's heads were in all of this and decided he wanted and answer.

“Is your faction interested in working with us, or would this be something we were taking on alone?”

Now all three scientists looked uncomfortable.

“The heads of our divisions are still talking it out, but I wouldn’t count on them lending a hand though. Their stance hasn’t changed since the beginning. They will probably not squander resources on something like a hunch.”

Sam shrugged.

“Translation, they will not help. But we might still be able to count on some from NAS. We'll need to see what the others think, though this takes precedence for us. We’ll have to move the exploratory mission further up on the list than we first intended.”

Mark was currently sitting on the edge of Sam's bed but he got up to look out the window to the city below.

He still had so much to do here, but if things continued like this he would need to leave before any of them reached completion. The clinic would be completed soon but it would still be another four to five days before it was up and running.

The spire would have to be given over completely to Shelby, as they still hadn’t found anyone suitable to help.

Carl would have to take over the training and processing of [Corruption recovery.]

“-Mark, what are you thinking? Ethel is already calling in a meeting, but I’ve no doubt this will be her course of action.” Sam asked.

Mark realized the room had become quiet.

“... I just thought we’d have more time to figure all this out but if there’s a way we can get in contact with others then it's worth it. Even if all we can do is exchange information.”

They weren't sure who was on the other end, or if they could even respond. They may be in a similar situation to New York, however with the spire now giving them some breathing room they should at least try.

Right now, they had rested more than any of them had hoped for. Another journey into the wilds would be their best course of action.

Sam looked like she agreed but she’d collected what she needed and got them all moving again.

“Right then we need to see what the others think and begin preparations.”

Sam ushered them all up to the penthouse. Karter, Ethel, and Gibby were already there. They had Dr. Johnson do a rundown of what they had already discussed while they waited for Jonathan.

A quick radio over to the spire gate was all it had taken.

The guy was there in under five minutes, stepping through one of the open windows. He’d seen the message and the moment he heard of the acceleration of their plans he perked up.

Ethel was far quieter than any of them had expected but she seemed to be thinking things over, as the rest of them talked in circles.

Dr. Haley spoke up at that point.

“-Right and while I understand your viewpoint, we hoped to personally employ your faction at the same time. You see we’re reaching the final testing phases of our instrument and need to gather a large array of samples to use in its profile development. We’re willing to pay for each new sample you bring back.”

Sam seemed on board with this but added a caveat that they share whatever information they acquire from the device. Mark personally didn’t have any problem with this idea as long as it didn’t put them in unnecessary danger.

Jonathan did seem to have unfinished work at the workshop but he didn’t make too much fuss and was more than happy to leave it for now.

Everyone was so busy going over adjustments that they didn’t notice Ethel had yet to say a word, but when she finally did, the whole room fell silent.

With her hand resting on Boe's head she began to speak.

“Well… this is all rather exciting but I think we may be forgetting one extremely important piece of information… The word the system used was 'participate,' and in my mind, that only has one meaning: competition. If that’s the case, to compete for what? Against whom?”

The quiet room began to fill with murmurs.

“This may be the pessimist in me, but it's very possible that we won’t find an ally on the other end of this mission. The system never cares to explain things, allowing us to flail about, but it's because of this that when we get clues like this we need to pay attention. Because right now... we’re potentially looking at a sector-wide battle”

Everyone in the room fell silent, as though icy water there dosing their enthusiasm. Just moments ago they were all filled with a fervent energy to get moving but now it seem as though no one wanted to be the first to speak.

After a minute or two Sam stood looking wary.

“Well we don’t know that just yet, and whoever they are won’t either. Shouldn’t we give them the benefit of the doubt?”

Ethel still looked lost in through but then gathered herself, nodding slowly as a smile spread over her face.

“I think we should, but I also think we need to play our cards close to our chest, because if this is truly a battle, then we have no idea of the consequences of losing.”

The mood of the room remained low as they all mulled over her words. Mark could see her concern, they weren't certain it was a competition but it was a solid possibility where the system was concerned.

Jonathan took her words to heart but his next ones held a certain sense of hope.

“Then we prepare the invite our enemies to the table. If they prove to be friends, we treat them as such but if not, we prepare for that too. Being paralyzed by what-ifs will not help us, we need to keep going forward.”

Mark shifted from wariness to contemplation, all they needed to do was prepare for the potential. Looking at the unknown people as enemies right out of the gate would not help anyone; however, holding back just a hint of doubt could serve them well.

By the look of the light in their eyes Sam, Gibby, and Karter seemed to come to the same conclusion.

Ethel looked around the room and then snorted, a small smile slowly creeping back onto her lips.

“We’re going to be fine, I do agree our best option is to get in contact with this other sector if we are able. I can only assume they have the same problem of their spire remaining closed, but even just communicating would be a great boon. So we should prepare for the next few days and send out our exploration properly.”

There was a round of nods and Karter began to outline what they would need if they were to be ready to leave in the next couple days or so.

The main point would be finding their replacements.

Sam had already found hers and Mark had Willow, but Jonathan was still going over his choices. He had wanted to bring in Ning Wei but she turned him down.

Mark had hoped to get to know Willow more before leaving her in charge but he had already given her a permanent post in their order. Now it was up to her to see how things went.

After some more back and forth, Mark headed to the spire to cover the gate once more and in his downtime, he worked on [Light control].

He even began dedicating a large portion of his energy to his [Animated minds]. His thoughts were that he could off-lode some of the calculations onto them, but it turned out to be just as difficult to perfect. So instead he worked on improving his healing [Animated minds].

When he got back to HQ in the late afternoon, Mark took care of everything that had cropped up while the others sunk their teeth into the sudden preparations. Even making time to check on Terry, who was still resting like the dead.

They had informed NAS and the Loyalists of the plans to proceed and Lisa had already informed them she would be coming later tonight so when the time came Mark, Sam, and Jonathan were waiting for her on top of one of the nearby buildings. Mark glanced at Sam once more as though asking if she were certain about this, but only got a nod in return.

The sun was just beginning to set when a secondary ball of fire rose on the horizon. As it got nearer Mark made out Lisa glowing from within what looked like turbulent flames. Patrica was in her arms and yet the heat never seemed to touch her. That same circlet nestled on Lisa’s head glowed with power and fury. Just behind the glowing blaze, a dark churning mass of decay and rot hid in its shadow, carrying Nathan as though a beast of burden.

Mark could only call up an image of a Valkyrie descending into battle alongside her companions.

When the three landed the brilliant fires extinguished and Mark saw them clearer. Patrica looked swallow, and yet there was lifeforce brimming from her chest.

Mark was familiar with her Ideal and he could sense just the faintest twinge of power from all the way over here. It was different from what he had known before, but only slightly.

The moment Patrica was put down she made her way to Mark and wrapped him up in a hug. Her usual blissful attitude remained, if not a little more haggard than usual.

Mark could feel the woman in his arms was just skin and bones, and he shot a worried look at Lisa who’d only pursed her lips when she was sure the woman wasn’t looking.

Opening her mouth Lisa spoke in a slightly warmer tone than Mark was used to.

“So… you guys called about something 'incredibly important'? What's up?”

Sam looked between the three of them and took a breath.

“Well, I'm sure you saw the message this morning and have your theories, and we need to discuss that, but we called you here because we need to talk about a similar topic... What we mean to say is some information was gathered the we felt-”

Jonathan tutted to himself.

“We spoke to the Caretaker and have answers, in exchange for help we’ll tell you everything we know.”