End of an Era (Project Chrysalis Book 2), John Gold [ebook reader online txt] 📗

Lunar is a closed nation. You can only get in with an invitation. In most cases, the only people who do get invitations are scientists and researchers whose projects interest the Lunar government. The citizens themselves rarely leave. Why would they, living as they do in the most technologically developed country in the world? It has the best resorts, the best laboratories, the best hospitals, the best specialists. You can find anything in Lunar.

My shuttle flight is nearing the end. We’re entering Europa’s atmosphere and I can see the enormous Arpa Dome from my window. The shuttle flies through the energy barrier and instantly switches on the inertia suppressors.

The space ports in most colonies are built the same, so I know exactly where we’re landing. The attendant from my new orphanage is already there waiting for the shuttle doors to open.

“Hi, Anji Ganet. I’m your new supervisor, Carl Shultz, but you can call me Carl.”

He’s a man aged around thirty-five, and he stands with a military bearing.

“You have been transferred to an orphanage for gifted children. Follow me, and you’ll get your instructions and meet everyone else when we get there.”

My acquisition turns out to be a sight for sore eyes. The orphanage bought a wing in a small administrative building that was otherwise deserted. When I was preparing to make the purchase, I focused on a few different criteria, with price in just second place. I want to swim! Because of that, I picked Arpa, a resort city on the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. The entire surface used to be covered in water, and that’s what they use in the city’s resort area. This, needless to say, is way better than only being able to swim in Project Chrysalis. I can now enjoy it whenever I want. Most importantly, I only have to follow the charter and rules, though I can change a lot of that too.

There’s a huge lake with a beach right behind the orphanage. As soon as I get settled, I head out back for a swim, my money-making trip through Hashan worth every minute. The lake is warm; the sandy bottom is firm and covered with soft plants. The sky glistens above me. Arpa is protected by an enormous dome reaching three kilometers above the ground, and it can even make rain clouds. The artificial stars and the floodlight imitating sunlight adds realism to the scenery. I swim and sun myself happily. Father…mama…I want to see you so badly.

I only brought smart, tough kids to the orphanage as I need an atmosphere of trust built on mutual understanding. If we can achieve that, I’ll be able to live happily.

For now, the orphanage is only half full, with the rest of the kids scheduled to arrive over the next few days from more distant stations and colonies. But I need to jump back into Project Chrysalis in the meantime.

I log in.

It’s funny, jumping out of the water and then running out onto it wearing the lord sandals. A wave rushes in and douses me.

I shouldn’t have been so harsh on myself for making sandals I can use to walk across the water. The wonderful little things let me run and, when I need to, dive in, so I dash over to the bank. Ten meters from the beach, a message pops up.

Attention.

You’re crossing the border into No Man’s Land.

Children enjoy no protection here.

Oh, interesting! Other players can kill me here. When you kill people, you get something from them, but killing me creates big problems. I only have highly unusual things with me. If marauders figure out what’s going on, they’ll keep coming after me… Oh, geez… My respawn point is in Sural, a completely different continent.

My imp eye is a weird thing. Even though I don’t see the object, I definitely know where and how far away from me it is. It’s like an area that makes no sound, an anomaly in the background noise. All living creatures deaden sound with their bodies, of course. That means that my imp eye works even if they’re using stealth or invisibility. Right now, I have the feeling that somebody’s standing there waiting for me to walk another five meters. It’s a PK zone, so that means he wants to kill me. Well, isn’t that unfortunate for him? I don’t have anything to poison or paralyze him with, so I eat the first hit before stunning him.

Damage received: 13400 (ignored [partial]): 16863)

6700/6700

As soon as he hits me, my opponent turns visible. Sure, I could have killed him before, but I need information. He’s stunned so can’t do anything now, and I don’t sense anyone else nearby.

“My good man, you’re going to come to in a second and stop poking me with your daggers. I could have killed you the second I crossed into No Man’s Land.”

The marauder finally came to and started giving me answers.

“So, why didn’t you kill me?”

“What’s the point of that? I’m here for information, and you’re going to give it to me. If you refuse, I’ll kill you. It’ll be self-defense, too, since you attacked me first.”

“Screw you, kid.”

My dwarf hammer is imposing even when I’m only using one stream of consciousness. It leaves the man lying on the ground, a bit squished into the loose sand.

“Do you get what I’m trying to tell you or do I need to kill you after all?”

“I get it.”

“There’s a road that takes you from Imir to No Man’s Land. If I were to follow it, what city or village would I get to?”

“First, Vishki…then Zirda. After that, you can go anywhere you want.”

Finding my parents is going to be easy if that’s all there is.

“Do any of the locals work that road?”