GM_TERRA

CHAPTER 5: gm_epiphany

"Remember what I said about apple pie earlier?" Yeah.

"Well, I lied." Fuck.

Currently, sitting in my darkroom at the table, in front of me was Exusiai, with what I could describe being the very same expression she wore when we were both back in that tower.

"Construct, we need to talk."

Exusiai pauses for a moment as she just stares into my four blue eyes. Her eyes were focused and serious. The only movement that came from her was the blinking of her eyes, not even the slight usual delayed movement of her halo and wings when she moved her main body.

This... This was a bit unsettling, seeing Exusiai so calm compared to all of the previous mindsets she had toward everything. She was almost 'air-headed' before like when we were all in the car but now? The lead-spitting Sankta was now replaced with the Sankta with an air of... Determination or a sort of caution. Cautious of what exactly? Was it the shipping container? The Physics gun? Or was it-

"You. We need to talk about... You."

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'What about me?'

I tilt my head to the side. At that, Exusiai doesn't give me much of a visual reaction, but that same determined look in her eyes never went away. It was as if it increased even more.

"...I've... seen and done a lot of crazy stuff during my time here in Penguin Logistics, Construct. From what I have gathered? Seeing the things you have done in such a short timespan, kind of trounce some of my exploits, if I were, to be honest..." Well, thank you...? What I want to know is why are you saying that as if it were a bad thing? I re-adjust myself in my seat by using the table as support.

"But there's this one problem. I... I think, that if you were to continue acting like the way you would then, you're just going to paint a target on your back."

...What? A target on my back? For what reason will there be a target on my back?

"Those guns, I couldn't sense any originium in them, yet they still fired... how?" As I was about to ask for her handbook and pen, I'm cut off.

"As much as I am a gun-nut and as much as I want to know. I... for your sake, I don't want to know the answer." Hm? For my sake? What could she mean? I try to think of all of the predictable dialogue she might be able to be programmed to speak but what she says next completely destroys any sort of answer I thought up.

"Columbia, Ursus, Yan, Laterano, even Wei Yenwu, the leader of this city, would be scrambling for your powers. I have seen what you could do, and every time I see it, something new happens. That... That's not Arts, isn't it?" What... Columbia? Ursus? Yan? An NPC leader to this map? What, what are all of these names. Are these other maps?

"No, I already know the answer, as a Sankta, one of the races with the highest aptitude for Originium Arts, I can tell there is... either something very wrong or that it is simply not Arts. Only Sankta are capable of using the guns I have seen you use. Especially the minigun." At that, I tilt my head in confusion, but as confused as I am, there is a hint of dread picking at me at the back of my mind. What are Arts anyway?

Exusiai shakes her head as she sees my head tilt. The determination in her eyes die a little for a moment, but re-ignites as she opens her mouth to speak.

"Construct, what I am essentially getting at is that you are too strong, and you need to find a way to seclude yourself and your powers more. Please, I beg of you. Officially join Penguin Logistics, we can help you. We have the specific influence and connections to keep your powers a secret. To keep you safe, from the other nations, especially from Laterano..." As she says that, I don't know if I was schizing out or anything but I swear I could see her wings and halo grow brighter, casting a light shadow over the table.

"...Laterano holds a monopoly on the firearm industry, they literally invented it, and they aren't making any space for potential threats to that monopoly, anything like the guns you have. They are very proficient in firearms, they will either reverse-engineer your originium-less guns or will simply just... Can you imagine what they would do if they found out about you? If any nation finds out about you and your powers?"

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Yeah, yeah I can. I can imagine they will amass whatever armies they have (if these other countries do exist in the first place). I can imagine that they will try to trick me. Try to persuade me. To kill me. Maybe even cut me open, dissect my brain to see if they can extract any of my powers or something.

Yes, I can imagine. But do you honestly think, that I will just sit by and let them do so to me? They're. Fucking. NPCs. Do you really think that I will let them step on me, as if I was like, what, equal to them or something? They're fucking NPCs. Compared to them I am a fucking god. I'm a real person, unlike them, these NPCs are just AI, Artificial Intelligence.

Sure, the AI I have seen is almost hyper-realistic but, do they honestly think they can defeat a player? They fucking can't, and I know they can't because I eat about a thousand NPCs per session. They are all so helpless because they are simply incapable of perceiving me as a being greater than them. To them, I am just the variable in their code that is just named 'player' and have their default just set to 'hostile'. 

They would be able to do shit even if they all banded together and tried. I have admin powers and weapons at my disposal. I bet I could destroy this whole city by pulling out the admin version of the handheld Gustav, paired with noclip I could rain down hell. They'd never be able to be on my level.

Because of this... I simply don't care. I will live freely however I want to, and if someone or something were to come to threaten that then I will not hesitate to remove it and ensure that it will never come back to try and stop me from living.

Eventually, after a painstakingly long moment of silence, I shake my head in dismissal. Exusiai looked as if I kicked a puppy but she was the puppy. The fire in her eyes die in almost an instant, snuffed out for I have a feeling that she knew what I meant by shaking my head. There was no need for me to write out my answer, make a noise, or to make erratic hand gestures. All it took was a simple shake of my head.

She knows deep down that I will not yield.

After that, she gets up and leaves my room without a sound. I get up from the chair I was sitting at and make my way over to my bed.

As I lay on it, I experience the instant relief that it brings, the springs allowing me to once again sink into the mattress... Surely now, after that exhausting conversation, I will fall asleep.

Any second now...

Any second now...

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And it was right there and then, to my utter dismay, was that I was incapable of sleep.