Mark crouched down next to the corpse of the Litch to retrieve the quest item. He’d barely needed to tug at the ring and the finger all but disintegrated, followed a second later by the rest of the corpse. Mark hopped up and spun away, trying desperately not to get a mouth full of Litch dust. It looked like a plain gold ring to Jace, but that wasn’t his concern. As long as the jackass that sent them on this damn errand paid them. They’d finished the quest and they had well earned some good ‘ole rest and relaxation. Gold coins paid for that R and R. Rinse and repeat. For ten years. The cycle within the Cycle.
They left Owly the owlbear to gleefully enjoy his meal of the corpses that had fallen, once again lifeless, to the crypt floor once the Litch’s power was cut off. The construct would dispel after an hour, so he wasn’t likely to hurt anything. The crypt was pretty out of the way, and it was unlikely even an owlbear could make it to any nearby towns before the one hour timer ran out. Jace figured that Owly had more than earned a bit of fun with the time he had… if constructs really felt anything at all. Or sims, for that matter.
Well, technically, wasn’t he just a sim now, too? A sim fueled and controlled by his consciousness? Jace shook his head. That philosophical shit gave him migraines. It made him think and Jace didn’t like to think. It’s not that Jace was dumb. Far from it. The problem was when Jace started thinking, his mental health started nosediving. Thinking about his current situation inevitably lead to thinking about the War, the Colony, what he, and the thousands of other Colony Members, were expected to do when the Cycles end and they go back to the real world.
The final Cycle.
Jace slapped his younger brother on the back, causing the smaller man to woof. “Okay, quest complete! We’re both exhausted and we’re all out of go-go juice. Let’s splurge and use a portcrystal back to town.”
Normally, the frugal Mark would argue, but he could tell that Jace was running on fumes, both energetically and emotionally. Jace had grown more restless and depressed in the recent months. That’d always tended to happen when they’d been in a particular Cycle for a prolonged period. There was no way to know for sure when the current Cycle would end, so it was best to try and make the most of it. “Yeah, good idea. In the state we’re in a band of halfling children could kick our asses.”
With a grin, Jace reached into the Sack-of-Holding at Mark’s shoulder. In his mind he pictured a portcrystal, and a second later he could feel the cold smoothness of the gem on the palm of his hand. The portcrystal was a shard of purple crystal about the length of a railroad spike. Jace held it out in front of him, and Mark reached out to grip the shard as well, placing his hand below his brother’s. Jace pictured the alleyway just behind the Inn back in town and sent a tendril of energy down his arm and into the portcrystal. There was a bright flash of purple light and the cold, dankness of the crypt was instantly replaced by a warm summer breeze and the sounds of birds chirping. The crystal shard in their grip dissolved into ash, which lazily wafted away on the wind.
Mark sighed. “I think we’ve only got two left. We’ll need to stock up again.”
Jace nodded and waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah, I know. We’ve got plenty of time for that. This job should give us more than enough to get what we need and enjoy ourselves for a few days. But first, I want a hot bath, a hot meal, and an even hotter piece of a-“
Everything froze.
The birds stopped chirping.
Villagers froze in place, mid-stride, mid-bite, mid-thrust.
Even the wind stopped blowing.
Attention Members of Colony A-1. A consensus has been reached. The current Cycle will end exactly twenty-four hours from now. Please conclude any important business and prepare for renewal. Thank you.
A.I.D.A.’s voice wasn’t really an audible thing. Both brother’s could hear her precise, clipped tones in their head. It was really creepy and Jace was glad that it rarely happened. Once the message ended, reality went back to normal.
Jace whooped so loud that it caused a few passing villagers to stop and stare at him. He ignored them. “Thank fucking Christ! I am so over this sword and sorcery bullshit!”
Mark frowned. “Damn, I really liked being a wizard!”
Jace rolled his eyes. “Sure, it was great fun- at first! But you know what they never talk about in all those books, and games, and movies and shit that you obsessed over as a kid? The realities of hygiene in a medieval fantasy setting! Everyone smells like they’re from a fucking petting zoo, and that’s when they’re clean! And don’t get me started on the lack of indoor plumbing! You can make a fucking flying castle, but you can’t conjure up a working toilet so I don’t have to shit in a bucket?!”
“Yeah, I guess, but-“
Jace clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Nope! I’m glad we’re done. I know you love this stuff, bro, and I sincerely hope that you get to sling spells again in another Cycle, but I am more than ready to move the fuck on!”
Mark sighed and shrugged. “I got to be a kick ass wizard and live out my childhood fantasy for a decade. I’ll miss it, but I got no cause to complain. I wonder what we’ll get to do next?” His face brightened. “Oh! Superheroes would be cool!”
Jace grinned. “Yeah! That’d be badass! I wonder if we’d be able to fly?”
“Well, shit, now I’m excited to see what’s next!”
Jace ruffled his little brother’s hair like he used to do when they were kids. “Thattaboy! Now, we’ve got a day left in this world. Let’s say we sell off all our shit and live like kings for twenty-four hours? We’ll throw biggest going away party these shitkickers have ever seen! Whaddaya say little bro? You ready to party like it’s 1699?”
Mark laughed and nodded. “Lead the way, kemosabe.”
“Yessssssss! PAR-TAY!” Jace threw up his hands and declared, “Tonight will be legendary!”
It wasn’t.
After getting their quest reward and selling off everything that they owned, the two brothers found themselves flush with gold and with a powerful inclination to spend it in an extravagant fashion. As the old saying goes- you can’t take it with you. The first stop in their epic night of partying and debauchery was the Inn, where Jace bought the very folk he’d been complaining about for years endless rounds of drinks. He quickly became everyone in town’s best friend as word spread. Hilda the barmaid, who’d Jace had been flirting with for months, seemed especially interested, much to his delight. Yes, the eldest brother was truly living it up, Animal House style, complete with a toga that he’d fashioned out of a bed sheet. The fact that absolutely no one but the two brothers understood the reference mattered to Jace not in the slightest. He’d suffered through medieval hell for a decade and he was ready to leave it all on the field!
Unfortunately, for all his ambition, French toddlers had a stronger tolerance for alcohol. Within two hours of making their triumphant entrance, Hilda had literally drunk Jace under the table, where he remained, snoring loudly, until morning. Mark, on the other hand, had a very lovely evening.
While Jace was doing his best Beluishi impersonation, Mark had spent the evening chatting with a delightful young lady from a neighboring village visiting her older sister. The two managed to find a little corner away from the spectacle that Jace was making and have a nice meal of roasted chicken and local veggies. Once again, Mark was fascinated at how detailed A.I.D.A. was. Any person completely ignorant of A.I. and the simulation would swear that Becca was really a twenty-four year old woman who’d lived in Stonehedge her entire life, but dreamed of one day traveling to Summergrove to train in herbology with the elves there. The two talked until the sun came up, and Mark smiled wistfully as Becca kissed him gently on the lips and promised to see him again that night after she’d gotten some sleep.
Mark sighed as he watched her disappear up the Inn steps to her room; and then went to dump some cold water on his brother. They only had about an hour left before the new Cycle; and God forbid Jace try to make life-defining decisions that could massively influence the next sixty years while hungover and half-conscious. He’d already be pissy that he missed out on his night of partying with Hilda because he’s a lightweight. Mark would have fun teasing him with that for a while.
The Innkeep, Barry, had a pitcher of water ready for him. This wasn’t their first rodeo. Mark nodded his thanks as he took the pitcher and moved to the table that Barry pointed out. The response once the water hit him was immediate. Jace’s eye snapped open as he choked and spit out water. “Wuzzafuck?!”
“Wake up, loser. We’re starting a new life today.”
Jace grabbed at his temples and moaned, “Oh, God, my fucking head!”
Mark was unsympathetic. “Barry will have your tonic ready. Get up and get your shit together. We’ve got about an hour before A.I.D.A. hits the reset button.”
Jace waved at the air. “Yeah, yeah, okay. Give me a fucking second, alright?”
Mark shrugged and headed back to the bar. Barry already had a steaming cup waiting. It wasn’t exactly coffee. The locals called it zuhan. It was a type of bean with a slightly bitter-sweet taste when ground and brewed. It was almost like really dark chocolate mixed with coffee, and it definitely had an equivalent to caffeine in it. It only took a few sips to jolt you awake and make it feel like you had live wires running through your veins. Jace loved the stuff and Mark knew that it would be one of the few things that he missed about this Cycle.
A few minutes later Jace shambled up next to his brother at the bar. Barry immediately placed a tall glass in front of him with a heavy thunk. A foul smelling steam was gently wafting up from the glass. Jace wrinkled his nose at the smell and gagged a bit.
Mark shrugged. “You’re the one that wanted to ‘par-tay’.”
“Fuck you.” Jace closed his eyes and downed the glass in a single pull. He managed to swallow, but only barely. For a moment he looked like he was going to spew it back out, but after a few seconds of heavy breathing with his eyes closed, a few swallowed gulps as his body tried to reject the stuff, and pounding the bar top so hard that Mark was concerned he might break something, the color started to come back to Jace’s face, and his eyes weren’t bloodshot anymore. Jace gasped, “Baltro’s ballsack, that shit is vile!”
Barry grunted from behind the bar. “Works though. You two want food?”
Mark chuckled at the sick look on his brother’s face at the thought of food and then shook his head. “No thanks, Barry. Maybe bring my brother a mug of zuhan, though.”
The innkeeper smirked. “Sure thing, Mark.”
Once he disappeared into the kitchen, Mark turned to face his brother, who had his head down and buried in his arms on the bartop. He mumbled through his arms, “Okay, what happened?”
“Not much. You spent most of our money on buying everyone in town rounds of drinks, and then Hilda proceeded to outdrink you until you passed out and slid down to where I found you five minutes ago.”
Jace groaned. “Damn. I gotta learn to pace myself better.”
“Drink up. You’ll feel better.”
Jace took his brother’s advice and nursed his drink. After about ten minutes he started to feel human again. “So, you ready to start over again?”
Mark shrugged. “I really liked being a wizard. Magic is….incredible! I honestly don’t know how I’ll feel, after getting so used to this every day.” He held up his right hand, and the little pixie spell flared to life, hovering on his palm. Mark gave the pixie a weak smile before dispelling it and shrugged again. “I’m sure it’ll depend on what type of ‘world’ we’ll be in this time.”
“Yeah…”
Jace sure wasn’t going to miss the primitive fantasy hell they’d been living in. He gripped his brother’s shoulder and pulled him in for a short side hug. “It’s going to be great, buddy. You’ll see.”
Attention all Colony Members: Cycle reset in five minutes. Please prepare for de-resolution.
Jace grinned as both brother’s stood from their bar stools. They learned the hard way after the first cycle to not be sitting or lying on anything that wasn’t solid ground. “Here we go!”
Mark threw a final wave to a very confused looking Barry the Bartender as his body began to derez. “Thanks for everything!”
The world around them faded to black. The world became a complete void, like standing in a massive, empty warehouse. Luckily, Mark’s profile had been hardwired into Jace’s pod, so they would always be together; otherwise, Jace mused, the whole process would be a hell of a lot more terrifying. When he spoke, his voice sounded muffled as though he were speaking into a pillow, and not in a wide open nothingness.
“I will never get used to this. It’s so creepy.”
Whenever A.I.D.A. appeared, she always looked like a female, maybe in her mid twenties and average height. She was also completely blue, and glowed like she were made of light. She reminded Jace of Cortana from Halo. Hell, that’s probably what she’d been modeled after. The Cycle’s programmers were clearly uber-nerds.
A.I.D.A. waved her hand and screens appeared before both brother’s eyes. “Before you is a basic breakdown of the next Cycle and the starting choices available to you. As always, make your selections carefully, for once they are locked they cannot be reset. The new Cycle will begin in approximately five minutes. Any choices that remain unselected at that time will be randomized and locked for you. I will remain until relaunch to address any questions or concerns that you may have.”
Jace squinted at the bright screen before him and muttered, “Nice of them to give us a whole five minutes to choose the direction of our lives for what could be the next sixty years.”
Then he saw the description of the next Cycle and let out a woop.
“SPACE COWBOYS MUTHAFUCKA!”
He excitedly glanced over the very basic summary. Space faring civilization. Aliens. Politics. Scoundrels and gamblers. Space pirates. It sounded like a blend of Firefly, Star Wars, and Cowboy Bebop. This would be amazing! He kept reading. It didn’t take long. They never provided them with much information going in. It didn’t look like there’d be any magic or an equivalent to the Force or anything, so Mark would be disappointed.
There was a beep as his selection was locked and was now surrounded in gold. Name: Jason Reynolds.
Mark arched an eyebrow. “Reynolds? Really? Why not just call us Solo?”
Jace leveled a finger in his direction. “You don’t have a stone to throw, asshole! I spent the last decade with the last name Dresden because you had to fanboy out when you found out you could be a wizard. I had to fucking talk you down from naming us Potter, for Christ’s sake! It’s my turn to pick and it’s your turn to shut your cake hole!”
Mark held up his hands in supplication. “Okay, fair enough! Could you at least not name the ship anything too obvious? No Serenity or Millennium Falcons, alright?”
Jace’s lips twisted into a smug grin as he locked in another selection. “Oh, I think you’ll like what I chose. Just for you, bro.”
Mark’s panel beeped again.
Occupation: Bounty Hunter/ Pilot/First Mate of the Lonestar
Mark grinned. “Lonestar!“
Jace winked. “May the Schwartz be with you!”
Mark squinted at the other occupation choices and then asked, “Why bounty hunter?”
“I’m tired of being goodie goodies all the time. I didn’t want to be another lawman or in the military. I knew you’d never go for anything too dark or outright villainy, so I thought bounty hunter was a good middle ground.”
Mark grunted. “Thanks for not going full-on space pirate. I appreciate it.”
Jace snorted. “It would have been fun, but I didn’t want to raid and pillage with Sally Sadsack for the next sixty years.”
“Nice.”
“Cycle relaunch in two minutes. Please finalize your selections and prepare for reintegration.”
The two brothers finished their remaining selections in silence. Those were more personal. By the time A.I.D.A. had begun the ten second countdown, both brother’s had all of their selections locked in.
“Cycle relaunch in ten…nine…eight…”
Jace slapped his little brother on the shoulder. “This is going to be great! I’m so fucking excited!”
Mark grinned at the positively giddy expression on his brother’s face. It’d been a long time since he’d seen Jace smile like that. Too long.
“Seven…six…five…four…three…”
“See ya, space cowboy.”
Mark rolled his eyes.
“Two…one…”
Cycle Five Initiated.
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