There were a few knocks on the door. They quickly woke me up and I groggily turned the lamp on next to the bed. I checked the clock to see how long I slept when I noticed it used a different numbering system! Instead of 12 hours, it had 16 hours and the minutes seemed to be divided up a bit differently. One of them passed, I'm not sure how long each of those hours are.
The pain was starting to come back in my legs since I moved them. The bed felt just too good to get out of.
"Come in!" I loudly said so I didn't need to walk over to open the door.
Polyxena opened the door and was with another person who dressed in a similar style as her, but was a few inches shorter, had short black hair with red eyes, a red headband with ribbons, wore a black dress, light yellow tights, a two-toned black and red shawl that was black on her left half and red on the right half. A round brooch was pinned to the shawl with a light yellow bow.
The other person approached me first, put a first aid kit where there was just enough room on the night stand, kneeled by the bedside and asked how I was.
"I'm not feeling so well... This injury from yesterday still lingers when I move my legs and roll over to this side that got hit directly by that magic blast, but when I avoid moving them, I can start to feel better."
"Hello, Damien. I'm Phuong, a member of the Programmable Darling Patrol." She introduced herself and reached one of her hands out to me. I shook hands with her.
"Nice to meet you, Phuong." I said. I was relived to meet someone here with a medical background, but how often would anyone in this world have given medical treatment to a human?
"I called her about your situation and introduced you when you headed to bed." Polyxena explained. "I hope you don't mind." She said with a chuckle.
"So you're the new human that's visiting!" Phuong said curiously. She grabbed the first aid kit off of the nightstand, opened it up and looked through the supplies. "I'll need to examine your injuries". She said and sounded concerned.
I rolled off the blankets and showed where I had been hit on the right side of my torso. I didn't bleed when I got hit by that bolt of magic, but the injury felt like and looked like it burnt.
"This one looks like it was head-on." She mentioned and sounded concerned.
"I joined along with your team on a combat mission to see what it was like. Was that foolish of me?" I explained. Phuong looked stern, contemplating something, as if she was wondering whether I was foolish to suggest tagging along or if someone on the team recklessly suggested it.
"Juna was always watching over me and I wanted to see the action up close, but I had my guard down when someone attacked." I confessed to her. "We were nearby when I saw you leading a group of civilians to safety, and it would've been safer I told you and Juna that I should leave with them." I said to Polyxena.
"I'm sorry. I didn't see you but wish that I could've called out to you and asked if you wanted to leave with the group." Polyxena said.
"It's alright. I shouldn't have let my guard down. It's not that I didn't trust any of you, but that I should've kept my guard up to make your jobs a little bit easier."
Phuong reached into the first aid kit and pulled out a container of ointment. "This might sting for a few moments." She calmly warned. I winced and she was right! The injured side of my torso stung, but for only a few moments.
"How does it feel now?" She asked me.
"It's starting to feel better now." The sharp stinging feeling dulled after a few moments. It was subsiding.
"It's good to hear that." Phuong said with a smile. "That was standard combat magic. It affects humans differently than it would against Techlandians, but I always have batches of this remedy on hand to help humans that are injured by magic."
"Those criminals were malware but they didn't seem very experienced with combat" Polyxena explained. I shuddered and was visibly daunted.
"If they weren't very experienced, how am I going to survive like this if they still had this effect on me?" I worried.
Both of the Programmable Darling Patrol members in front of me also looked worried for a few moments.
"We'll talk about that more with you tomorrow, but for now you should rest." Phuong said, sounding concerned.
"I'll get you a glass of water, and then you can rest." Polyxena cheerfully said. She left for a couple of minutes and returned with a glass of water which she handed to me.
"Thanks." I said and took a drink from the glass and put it on the nightstand. I needed to move my legs and sit up to do this, but I wasn't aching. That medicine must be working!
"I'll check on you again in the morning, and you can join us for breakfast." Phuong said before she and Polyxena walked out of the room.
"Goodnight!" Polyxena said.
"Thank you, and good night." I said. I lied back down and reached my hand to the nightstand to turn off the lamp, and went to sleep.
The sunlight started to filter through the curtains and into the guest room where I slept. This woke me up, and I looked at the clock again to see how much time passed. It was around 7 AM and I lied in bed pondering whether to stay here and to make sense of how I got here, and what it'd mean for me to stay or to return to my world.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Hello, Damien? Are you awake?" Phuong asked through the door.
"Yeah. I'm checking if I can get out of bed now." I said through the door. I moved the blankets off of me and stepped onto the large orange shag rug on the hardwood floor below, which may have been another of the holdovers of these headquarters originally being a mill. My legs wobbled a bit and I steadied one of my hands against the bed. "Please come in. I might need help." I said.
Phuong entered the room with a first aid kit and stood in front of me to catch me if I fell.
I took my hands off of the bed, and took a step forward, but it felt difficult. "Alright. I can get out of bed but I'm not sure how much further I can walk now." I said.
"Do you still have any pain where the blast struck you?"
"Hardly. I may still just be tired… That battle took a lot out of me."
"It's okay if you still need to rest. Breakfast will be ready in about an hour and a half. I can check on you then, and help you get to the dining hall if you need it." She offered.
"Okay. Thank you." I said. I went back into bed and turned on the TV, which was on top of a dresser in front of the bed, along the opposite wall.
The TV turned to a channel. It featured a performer on stage who had medium-length orange hair in a shaggy hairstyle that was decorated by blue ribbons. The performer wore a two-layered billowing dress. The top layer was a light teal color at the top with a gradient down to light blue and the bottom layer was also light blue, and reached about to knee-length with beige boots.
The dress had a rainbow-striped belt, but the colors were in a different order and started with green. The sleeves of the dress were short and projected upwards like the fashions in some sci-fi movies and comics, giving the outfit a futuristic edge.
There was also a bit of an old-fashioned touch to the performer's outfit which had metal earrings, bracelets and necklaces; one of the necklaces was an elegant chain with a red and green apple-shaped charm.
The performer created a holographic screen, and projected an image on it next to her while she painted on a canvas in front of her.
"Is that also magic, or advanced technology?" I asked Phuong, who was still in the room. She was standing beside me a few steps away and also watching the TV. "I've seen screens like those before, but only in movies, not in real life!"
"Those are the most basic form of channeling data that everyone can do, but I observed that in your world, these would be considered magic and there's a large divide between magic and technology." She said.
"Hmm... There is. They're completely separate in my world, but there's a famous quote that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and there's a movie that's gotten popular that blurs the lines between fantasy and science fiction." I said.
"Could these be signs your world could move towards merging technology and magic?"
"I'm not sure about that, but a lot of people have been seeing computers for the first time. I had even had some relatives who say they don't understand those "magic boxes" when I told them about my job, referring to computers!" I said with a chuckle. Phuong chuckled too.
"Juna said she's from The Bell Tower, and I was told The Ship Deck has a rivalry with Grand Blue. Do you know which sector that Operating Superstar is from on TV?" I asked.
"That's Diana from The Orchard and she’s part of the Chariots of Colors team. I think she’s their second OS. She debuted earlier this year and she's part of a new team as its second member."
Phuong and I chatted for a while more about the world of Techlandia while we watched Diana's performance on TV before she'd leave the room.
Diana finished a painting she made on a canvas, which was a psychedelic landscape. It closely matched the holographic projection that she showed earlier. “This is the newest of my collection, and will soon have prints for sale!” She added. The camera moved to show off some of her paintings which were framed and propped up on a large table next to her and she gestured her hands towards them.
I walked to the dining hall in time for a breakfast that was made for me. Some of it looked familiar but some of it looked drastically different. There was a food that looked like pancakes but were square and had sugar crystals embedded in them, which wasn't too weird, but there was another food that reminded me of French toast but it was green. That creeped me out when I saw it, but I was assured that it was safe to eat. I had to explain that in my world, bread that's green is spoiled!
"Your stamina doesn't seem fully recovered so I made this for you." Piper said. I thanked her, sat down at the table and started eating.
"These differences between your world and ours are very interesting!" Phuong said while she wrote down more notes on a notepad at the table.
"That'd be a good one for any more humans that visit!" Polyxena said.
Conversations continued, and notes continued to be written down. Piper demonstrated another song on her guitar in between courses.
"Have you considered if you want to stay here?" Piroska asked me.
"You're very generous, and I appreciate it. Your team let me stay the night here while I recover from my injuries and invited me to this great breakfast, and there's a lot in this world that I'm curious to see. Juna, you see some potential in me and offered for me to be your apprentice. I don't fully understand that potential but I'm honored. However…" I started to worry. "Will I ever be able to go back to my world?"
"I'd like for you to be my apprentice, but I don't want to sway your decision." Juna said.
I quietly thought for a few minutes. I have a stable job back at the human world, it pays well enough and I got to make one of my dreams into a reality. Making software for the OS that I want to see succeed, one that some of my old colleagues who work for some of the mainframe companies dismiss as not being a serious OS.
I don't have any children, I'm single and rarely ever hear from family that they could assume I moved to another country instead of another world when I don't make it to the family reunions, and none of them want to pay dollars a minute to call in another country! Ugh... Did my workplace even file a missing person report when several of my coworkers saw me get sucked into a dimensional portal?!
My roommate should have enough money to pay the rent on his own for at least a month, or he could let one of his friends who lives further away live here. He's usually responsible, but we've argued quite often. He'd probably be happy to let one of his friends move in, but so help me if he gets rid of my record player, my computer, my D&D stuff or my concert T-shirts! He could keep them to remember me by, or I want them back!
I explained some of this to Juna and the others. They understood and shared my concerns. Juna handed me a letter.
"Gerald left last night to go back to work at his sector, with his colleagues and rival, but he wrote this letter for you." She said. I curiously picked up the letter and read it:
"To the human known as Damien, let not the informal speech, styles and mannerisms of the Programmable Darling Patrol mislead you into thinking the life of an Operating Superstar is all merriment and games. The battle that you witnessed was not out of the ordinary for us and there likely will be tougher yet, and the versatility of Operating Superstars is a strength but also our weakness. You shalt need to be initiated into a team where you shalt have rules to follow, others to work with, and a lot of work to do.
If you choose Juna's tutelage, you shalt become a member of The Awks, but collaborate with the Programmable Darling Patrol and may stay at The Ship Deck for your early work. You would likely face the struggles that she does; if you choose my tutelage as an Operating Superstar, you shalt need to move to The Forge post-haste to join my team of Great Iron Smithing Crew and be prepared to partake in among the most ambitious of projects.
Great Iron Smithing Crew stands in opposition to the All-Around Numerators of Grand Blue's vast size and influence, but alas we have had to play by their rules often. If you pursue either path with the risks involved, the work you do could be revolutionary to Techlandia. There is another newer path to be an Operating Superstar based in the hobbyist and entertainment fields. A path less formal in nature that I do not fully comprehend, nor can I be certain of its long-term success, but it is an experiment worth recognition with how we can materialize the abilities of our skillset beyond projected expectations."
I finished reading the letter. "It was about becoming an Operating Superstar. I considered the idea of being a Developer if I can work here." I contemplated.
"What do you think about that?" Etta asked.
"That battle was harrowing, but inspired me to become an Operating Superstar and I like the camaraderie here. It’s more than I can say about my workplace sometimes, and I'm sure with help I could reach greater heights here in Techlandia!" I said. I was fired up, despite thinking of some of the frustrating times at work I had to work overtime to meet a deadline crunch, or when I needed to pick up the slack from coworkers that were at work but dumped their responsibilities on me so they could chat by the water cooler, and how the management often overlooked this.
There were no signs of that on this team. I didn’t get thrown into battle as an unprepared human; I was given a choice whether to see it for myself and I chose to see it with the risks that came with it. The group cheered.
"Do you have any more questions before you start?" Etta asked me.
"Will I get the chance to visit my world?" I asked.
"You'll have to disguise yourself since your new form may change your appearance, and you wouldn't be able to tell anyone about your new life. You wouldn't be able to stay for long either." She answered. This was somewhat assuring that I could still come back for a short time. That should be enough to take the things I wanted to keep. I thought for a few moments about what I'd say if I my coworkers saw me return. If I said I had to quit because I suddenly got a new job opportunity, that'd be true.
"Okay. I'm ready." I said.
"Alright! I'll tell the Developers and we can get started!" Etta cheerfully said. She stepped from her seat and activated the video phone in the kitchen. The screen lit up and she pressed some buttons when a dialing sound could be heard.
"Hello. We have an initiate who is ready." She said to the other person on the line.
"Who will be the primary mentor to the initiate?" The other person asked.
"Juna will, but I also offer to be his mentor during when Juna is away."
"Yes. Since Juna lives here part-time we needed a full-time member of the team to step in when she's away. We'll be there right away."
"Thank you!" Piroska cheerfully said before she hung up.
A group of people entered the dining room; it was difficult to see their faces since they wore large gray hats with large brims that framed their faces in shadow. They wore long gray lab coats with red lapels and trim.
"This is Damien. He's our new initiate." Etta introduced me to them.
"He's a Developer from his world!" Piper added. I was flattered by this, but also confused because what I did as a developer doesn't look like it's the same thing as what these Developers do.
"Yes, but I programmed software..." I nervously said.
"That doesn't sound so different. You’ll be fine!" Piper said, trying to assure me.
The group nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Damien. We can help you if you'll become a Developer or an Operating Superstar." One of them said who looked to be the leader of the group. This Developer was holding a large book that looked like a grimoire.
"I'm here to become an Operating Superstar." I said with more confidence. The Developers nodded.
"Follow us, and we'll help you with your initiation." The team and I followed them through a hallway and an area I hadn't seen before.
"Authorized personnel only" stated a red and gray sign on the wall just before another room. Piroska was leading the group and she opened the door, which revealed a staircase to a basement. I looked nervous.
"We're authorized personnel and you're with us." She said.
The light of the room we were in faded into darkness while we walked down the stairs. Carefully, everyone put their hands on the rails. One of the Developers brought a flashlight to light the steps ahead. When most of us were down the stairs, Piroska clapped her hands once, and the lights turned on. They didn't light the entire room, but we could see enough to not stumble.
It resembled a room from a sci-fi movie but it was also eerie. Some ceiling lights provided a bit of light, but more lighting came from lights that lined the walls and stairs, and small lights that surrounded furniture. The lights revealed that in the middle of the room, there was a rectangular metal pod that was about 9 feet long and lying horizontally. There was a large pipe that connected to it from the back wall. A few feet away from the pod was a console that was connected to it by another pipe, was much shorter in width, but had a similar look.
"Is this for an initiation for a sci-fi funeral?" I nervously muttered. It might've been more the lighting and atmosphere of this room that led me to think this reminded me of a funeral!
"Does this resemble the funerary rites in your world?" Phuong asked. She had a clipboard and pencil in one hand to write more notes.
"It sort of does." I chuckled.
"You could think of that way!" Piroska said. "When you enter this and start the process, the life you used to know will end, but your life as a Techlandian and an Operating Superstar will begin!" She cheerfully said.
"That's a way to put it!" I added.
"Piroska is right, but I should've installed more lights on the ceiling to make this room not look so foreboding to initiates." Piper nervously chuckled.
While the rest of the group and I watched, Juna walked up to the console and put her hand on a metallic section on top of it, which produced a circular holographic screen above it. The screen lit up and requested a code. One of the Developers whispered something to her, and she entered the code on the console keyboard.
She turned towards me. "This is authorizing me to be the OS to lead your initiation." She said before she looked back at the console. The control panel lit up again, and the neon lights around the rim of the pod began to glow. A "message to the initiate" displayed on the console screen.
"You'll need to read this first to make your final decision. There'd be no going back to being a human." She added. I nodded to her, and approached to read the screen.
However, just as I was going to read it, I stepped back. Something didn't feel right to me.
Piroska noticed my hesitation. "There are some... unique methods and risks of becoming an Operating Superstar and moreso for humans." She said with a nervous chuckle. "The technology has improved a bit since I was initiated."
"A bit." she said. That’s not really assuring, but I kept listening.
"If you stay in Techlandia, you’ll need to be initiated into a skillset, a category of skills you'd focus on the most." Juna advised.
I thought about her answer and thought something about it sounded familiar.
"But aren't all of you Operating Superstars but have different combat abilities?" I asked, remembering the battle that I witnessed; Piritta and Piper wielded melee weapons. Piritta mentioned having a power that she saves as a last line of defense. Polyxena wielded a wand and cast defensive spells. Juna wielded a wand and I witnessed her trap and banish enemies, and Piroska wielded a staff.
"Most of us have a combat skill as one of them. Mine is as a Mage." Juna said.
"Mine is a Mage but I'll still clobber enemies with my staff because there are no rules against that!" Piroska added.
"Maybe you could also be a Ranger if you throw your weapon around." Etta snarked.
"Is that a challenge?!" Piroska boasted.
"Can you be more than one?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation on-topic.
"We can all specialize in up to 3 skillsets at a time, in all seriousness." Etta said. "And being an OS counts as one of them."
I realized how some of this sounded familiar.
“In my world, there's a tabletop game where players create characters they play as and go on campaigns, or missions with each other. The characters can be of different classes which have different skills, strengths and weaknesses. This is what I'm reminded of now." I explained while I nervously gauged their reactions.
"That sounds fun!" Etta said. The other members agreed or looked interested.
"How do these characters get their classes? I ponder if it’s like how we do." Piritta said.
"In this game, everyone creates their own characters and decide when making the character what class they want theirs to be." I said. I then looked towards Juna. "Would I need to immediately decide what my secondary skillsets would be?"
"Not immediately."
"Okay, so do I have some time to decide on that during my training?"
"Yes." Juna said. She noticed I still looked hesitant. "You witnessed the risks of being an OS when you saw us fight. You could instead train as another class through an apprenticeship." She added without judgment.
"And that doesn't involve this coffin thing?" I asked and stared at the pod again.
"If you wanted to become a Developer here, you’d join us in an apprenticeship program." One of the Developers said.
I assumed that if I became a Developer here, it’d be safer, but no easier. Despite what these Developers do, which seem to have a key role in initiating Operating Superstars, their work seemed more familiar. Piper might've been right about that.
Is what I did as a software developer in the human world, developing programs and maintaining them drastically different than an Operating Superstar, or OS, being initiated and trained to harness their new skills?
"Thanks for explaining that, but I made up my mind." I said.
Now this was it...
