Purpose

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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

Well. I guess I'm dead. At least it's happening in an exciting way... thought John as he fell towards a The Hole.
He finally got to see his destination. At the center was a large disk of absolute black. John's eyes seemed to see red spots dancing across the disk, which told John his brain was struggling to comprehend the pure darkness he beheld. John supposed the disk was actually a sphere, but the totalitity of it's darkness kept him from perceiving any depth in the shape.
Orbiting around the central black disk were six smaller black disks and six piercingly bright, white disks. They danced around each other in a bafflingly complicated, stable orbit pattern. Streams of glowing material were flung from the white objects and were devoured by the small black objects. None of the material ever came close enough to the central black disk to be pulled in before a small disk got to it first.
Whenever a white disk crossed over the central black disk, it either became dimmer or it split into a ring that rushed around the edge of the center disk.
John watched this happen a few times as he fell before he understood what was happening.

The center disk was a massive black hole.
The other black disks were smaller black holes.
And the white disks must have been the 'white holes' Tsillah had mentioned earlier. John supposed they were paired as endless gravitational loops with the black holes; any matter a small black hole ate, the same matter would exit a white hole.
John's imagination boggled as he tried to figure out the kinds of things this contraption would do to the spacetime continuum. Tesseracts, wormholes, superluminal speeds, and more suddenly seemed like child's play compared to the convoluted origami-like folds this system must have been creating.
The outer black holes might be there to counteract any damage or spaghettification the central singularity would cause. Maybe I'm not a goner after all. ... I have no idea how long it's going to take to actually get there...
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

John struggled to keep his panic and despair under control as he fell toward the mess of black and "white" holes. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to try to find a way out of his predicament, but he knew there were only two options: he was either going to be killed, which meant something went wrong or Bia and Hades intended for him to die... Or the singularity of the central supermassive black hole was spinning fast enough to spread the material of the singularity out into a toriod, creating a kind of portal, hopefully one that opened up into The Hole... And hopefully it wouldn't kill John anyway.
The fall took forever. Longer than John had originally predicted. Soon, however, the gravity of the system of singularities began to pull at John. The wind seemed to slow. John guessed the air was being pulled to the black holes as well... But then he noticed his breathing was becoming labored.
The air was thinning.
Panic gnawed at John's gut. He wouldn't be able to breathe.
Wrestling his fear back under control, John tilted into a dive, hoping he could cross the event horizon before he suffocated.
The thin air whipped last him now. He was gaining speed. John didn't know if it was gravity or his dive.
Grey fuzz formed around the edges of John's vision. His brain was running on less oxygen than it needed. John closed his eyes and meditated, blocking out the roaring wind and the pain as the thin air continued to claw at John's exposed face, making his skin raw. He timed his breaths to the sound of ocean waves, breathing slow and deep, pulling the air deep into his power lungs where the alveoli were densest to extract as much oxygen as he could from the dwindling atmosphere.
John felt a tug. 'His back felt excellent, as though he were finally laying down. But the pull soon became painful. Then, the pull became a push, the stretch became a crush. John was pulled side to side, up and down, forwards and backwards.
The wind rushed ahead, then blasted back into John's face,
He began to tumble uncontrollably.
The grey encroached even further into John's vision as his meditative concentration broke.
Primal instinct took over for a moment and John curled into a fetal position. John recovered his higher brain function enough to lock his hands together around the back of his head, then he descended into a semi-conscious state of absolute fear.
The emotion was stronger than he had ever felt before. It blotted out the titanic surges of pain, vertigo, nausea, and the occasional flash of pleasure as the battling gravitational pulls and antigravity blasts from the cosmic bodies whirling around the yawning chasm in the fabric of reality toward which he was hurtling twisted his flesh and bones in ways not possible on Earth.
John's ears popped, and he felt as if someone had driven a railroad spike into each eardrum. He felt something warm and wet on the inside of his forearms.
John vomited all over himself. The enzymes seared his esophagus, windpipe and sinuses and he coughed and choked as some of it whirled around and went up his nose and back down his throat.
Blood and sweat got into John's eyes, which were already almost blinded by lack of oxygen, and he had to shut them tight.
..Make it stop...Make it stop...Make it stop...

Something deep in John stirred. Hundreds of thousands of years of evolutionary progress away from the bestial nature of human's early ancestors relented.
But humans came from animals in the middle of the food chain.

Whatever John's ancestor was, it was an apex predator.

John opened his eyes. His hearing was restored. His vision was clear. His pain was gone. His muscles barely felt the immense forces attempting to tear him asunder.
The hundreds of old injuries, scars, and years of junior arthritis vanished.
Burnt away by the true nature of John's being.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

Hmph. So... they made a world grid after all. Want to keep the likes of me out, do they?
I'm almost glad the activation didn't destroy the planet. It gavee an opportunity to try something new out.
Those little crazy humans have done surprisingly idiotic things to their planet. Creating a being from evil, fueled by anger, hate, and despair was near the top of that list. The poorly-designed time engine with the reversal backfire was up there too.
And of course, turning the climate hostile to their own survival was pretty bad, too. They had to leave and come back after finally creating the tools to reverse the damage they'd done.
But, drawing my attention topped it all. I, who could see time as they saw the second dimension. I, who alone possessed authority over the Unstoppable and the Immovable. I, who could see that which could not bed seen, hear that which could not be heard, touch that which could not be touched, and know that which could not be known.
I picked out a human at random. A male. Lived by a large body of clean water, in a large concentration of other humans.
I inspected the creature's life. Nothing too dramatic. Never interacted with anything interesting and knew about it. Ended up happily creating plans for new machines and such.
Eh. Let's see what happens. Maybe someone will figure it out.
I made the creature draw in the Darkness and made him convert it into energy that would affect his universe.
The change was dramatic. It caught me quite off guard. The Darkness rushed from my grasp and coalesced on the creature. I tried to regain authority, but the creature refused me. Denied me.
I was powerless. The creature had taken it from me. I... I am... Diminishing. Losing sight. Dimensions faded from sight. My awareness... I can barely think... I don't understand...
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Due to some recent remarks, I'd like to clarify something:
Bia can enter the Underworld from wherever. I don't know if this is Greek canon, but here's my reasoning: she's the daughter of Pallas and Styx. She's the personification of force.
And from what I know of Ancient Greek/Ancient Roman mythology, their Gods and Titans didn't have much difficulty moving between Olympus, Earth, and the Underworld.
So I figured Bia, symbolizing Force itself, ought to be able to "force" her way into the different realms.

So Chicago doesn't really have any connection to Tatarus, Hades, The Hole, or anything like that.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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Sgt. Howard
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Re: Purpose

Post by Sgt. Howard »

GlytchMeister wrote: So Chicago doesn't really have any connection to Tatarus, Hades, The Hole, or anything like that.
... the Hell it don't...
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

Sgt. Howard wrote:
GlytchMeister wrote: So Chicago doesn't really have any connection to Tatarus, Hades, The Hole, or anything like that.
... the Hell it don't...
Well... I'll give you that. But it's not important to my story.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

Bia and Hades pulled up from their dive, stunned to silence.
John had stopped. He was now pulling tendrils of black material out of the six smaller black holes. As he pulled more dark matter from the sigularities, both the auxiliary black holes and the "white holes" shrunk noticeably. John was burning off the Dark matter as fast as he was absorbing it, using the energy to keep himself aloft.
Hades growled, and his brow furrowed. "If he keeps that up, he's going to throw the anti-warp engine out of alignment."
Bia popped her knuckles. "Then I guess we'd better get him through the accelerator before that happens."
Hades held up a hand. "Stand down. No need for a guest to do my housekeeping." The King of the Dead extended his clawlike hands, curled his fingers as if to grasp the shadows whirling around him, and slowly pulled inward.
The souls condensed around him, solidifying into fabric, chain and platemail, all a glossy black with golden trim and decoration. From the folds of his cloak, Hades drew an ornate helm. He carefully fitted it to his head and promptly vanished from sight.
"So... The eldest and youngest son of Cronos wants to add me to his nation?" John's voice, amplified to a roar, rang in Bia's ears.
A cold, hard, laugh echoed from everywhere at once. "You think to delay your containment in my realm? I am this realm! I am not just the King, I am the Underworld!"
Hades reached out from all directions with tendrils, bony hands, bladed claws, and avalanches of boulders and uprooted mountains.
The barrage was met by what seemed like an equally powerful blast of flame, smoke, ash, and lightning. It was as if John was generating a volcanic eruption. But he was no match for Hades.
The ruler of the underworld held true to His unyielding and adamantine nature. "You cannot fight death. You will not die, but you cannot resist." Hades' brought the entirety of his immense power to bear against John's feeble protest and crushed John's fire out of existence in an instant.
John, momentarily extinguished and now fully unconscious, finally fell past the event horizon of the central black hole.
Hades retreated from the system of singularities and reappeared at Bia's side, still hovering beyond the reach of the entrance to The Hole. His armor evaporated back into the whirling shroud it once was, and his tuxedo was still in pristine condition.
"That mortal is strange indeed. I could actually feel resistance up until he lost consciousness. He may not be entirely mortal for long." Hades flicked away a bead of sweat from his forehead.
"I just hope he doesn't hold a grudge." Bia replied. "He seemed pretty irritated."
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

John wasn't sure if he was awake. He was floating... And not just floating like he was on water or something. No, he was floating in nothingness. He felt no ground or water. He didn't feel any wind when he waved his hands about. He wasn't even sure he felt air in his lungs and throat.
But he could still expand and contract his diaphragm. That was still working.
John could only hear his own heartbeat.
What didn't seem to be working were his eyes. He couldn't see a damned thing. He couldn't even see the hallucinations usually caused by absolute darkness.
"Hello?" John called out. There was no response... Nor was there any echo.
John waved his arms and legs around, hoping he might find something solid or even liquid, but he didn't.
He was drifting, alone, in The Hole.
John's heart quickened.
He wanted to feel something. To see something. He almost missed the overwhelming sensation of falling closer to the entrance.
I don't remember falling through... John frowned, concentrating on the memory. "I remember getting close... It hurt so much. And then... Holy crap.[/i] John froze in his wriggling. Well. I should have expected as much, stepping up to a god. I should probably apologize for that and thank him for not just obliterating me. John made the mental note. "Least they could have done was tell me it was gonna hurt like that." He spoke aloud now.
"And what would you have done had you known from the start?" An old, frail voice spoke from behind John, who twisted and wriggled until he had turned enough to see the source.
There was a feeble, flickering light approaching him. As it neared John, it split into two small flames, about the size of the flame from a burning cotton ball. The light from these flames reflected dimly off of an immensely old face of a dark-skinned man with brutish features.
John could tell he was once very strong from the way his body had aged, but almost all of that strength was long gone. His hair was white and occasionally glowed red, like a dying ember. Scars were almost as numerous on the man's skin as wrinkles. He was shirtless, wearing only crude, baggy pants made from something akin to burlap. His chest was corded and thin, with bones showing through his gnarled skin where it was taught, while other areas it hung loose from his frame like rags.
He was walking as though his feet were on something solid, thoroughly confusing John. "You would have fought tusk and talon to stay away from the entrance, aye?"
John was slowly drifting upside-down, and was having trouble concentrating on much else. "How are you standing? I really wanna stand on something."
The man frowned, creating so many wrinkles his face started to look like a fractal. His wrinkles had wrinkles. "Because I say so." He scoffed at John. "Don't you know anything? Or did you just get shoved in here without any instruction?"
John narrowed his eyes at the ancient-looking man. "What do you think happened? Do I look like I know what I'm doing?"
The elder snorted. Two puffs of smoke drifted from his nose. "Bah! No, I suppose you don't." He glared at John, he fire in his eyes dimming. "I suggest you don't get lippy with people in here, young'un. Might get yerself burned."
"I highly doubt I'm going to be burned. If you're in charge of stuff to stand on, would you please let me stand?" John noticed his eyes ignite as he became annoyed.
The old man smiled, showing a mouth entirely devoid of teeth. "Oho! What did you do to land yourself here?"
John shrugged, now floating sideways. "I got some whacked out power. I think it involves converting dark energy and matter into regular energy and matter, or something. Comes out as fire, smoke, and lightning, last I checked. I didn't even know I could make lightning until I tried to resist Hades."
The ancient man doubled over as peals of wheezing laughter shook through him. "You tried to resist Hades? No wonder he just tossed you in here, you dummy!"
John crossed his arms, irritated. "I'm not the sort who welcomes death with open arms. I've got things to do. Now, are you going to let me stand on something or what?"
"Not my job. I'm just an old fire god. Nobody really worships me anymore. That civilization died out ages ago. Now the ziggurats are just a bunch of big piles of rocks."
John would have stepped back if he could. "Gibil? The Sumerian fire god?"
The wrinkly old god nodded. "That's how you humans pronounce my name nowadays. I've completely forgotten the original pronunciation." Gibil smiled at John's reaction. "Didn't think you'd know who built those. You a history kind of kid?"
John shook his head. "I just know a bunch of trivial stuff. It comes in handy. I don't suppose you can help me out with my power, could you? I can't really control it."
Gibil's smile fell off his face and he groaned. "Listen carefully: I'm not a wise old man who likes teaching people everything. I'm a senile, old, forgotten god with hardly any power. Besides, it's not that hard. Just gotta have the will. Nothing to it."
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Sorry about the delay. Spent the week doing yardwork and housework trying to help someone get their house ready to sell.
However, I'm hoping my free time or at least my inspiration will jump up again, so I might be more prolific this weekend. Not sure, I guess will have to wait and see.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
Warrl
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Re: Purpose

Post by Warrl »

GlytchMeister wrote:John cooked and ate a hearty lunch of extremely garlicky spaghetti, having mixed garlic powder into the hamburger and smashed a whole clove of extra garlic into the sauce, and ate three slices of garlic bread.
A "whole clove" of garlic isn't very much, to even a mild fan of the stuff. Maybe a whole bulb?

(Although, there's no indication of how much garlic powder he used. It's possible to use enough to upset one's stomach. Not easy, but possible.)

Well, you asked for nitpicks...
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

Thank you for that. Mixed up my words. I will be editing that shortly.
...
Done! Thanks again! ^_^
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

The will? John thought about what the decrepit god had said. "Do you mean the environment responds to people's thoughts?"
Gibil shrugged. "To a point. If everyone could do anything they wanted to the Hole, it wouldn't be much of a hole, now would it?" He clenched a fist and slowly opened his hand to reveal a small ball of fire, about the size of a softball. The extra light revealed a subtle difference between what John was floating in and what Gibil was standing on. John realized he was drifting in a kind of thin, smoky material. Gibil, however, was standing on a platform of the same substance made solid.
John suddenly remembered a series of books that described a type of magic as 'the Will and the Word,' and began to concentrate on what he wanted: something solid to stand on. However, before John managed to choose a word, Gibil gave a grunt of approval and John suddenly felt gravity suddenly tug him downward. The pull caught John off guard and he ended up falling flat on his face.
"See? You're getting the hang of it now. I told you it was easy."
John slowly stood up. His ground was significantly rougher than Gibil's. "So what are you doing here?"
Gibil shrugged. "Waiting until someone figures out how to kill me or something. The Hole is currently my best shot. Usually I can recycle heat to keep living. Outside of here, I don't age. But the Hole keeps me from collecting energy, so I get old."
"You want to die?" John tried to understand the concept, but every fiber of his being rebelled at the thought. "There's got to be something to keep you around."
Gibil crossed his arms and shrugged again. "I'm bored. I stopped wanting to live several thousand years ago. I can't go to any higher dimensions, and I'm not interested in anything in this one anymore. Death is really the only thing I haven't tried."
"And I'm doing my best to help you. But death, immutable as it is, is not entirely under my command. Thanatos is not easy to convince once his mind is made up." Hades' voice echoed from the surroundings. Then he appeared between John and Gibil. "Until then, I intend to find use for your presence here."
Gibil bristled. "I heat your accursed tartar sauce or whatever!"
Hades narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Tartarus. And you provide but a small portion of the fire. I can easily revitalize you with a simple redirection of energy. You could be young and fit within seconds. You would do well to repay such generosity, hospitality, and benevolence willingly."
Cowed, Gibil hunched forward and lowered his head. "My apologies, Hades. What can I do to help?"
Hades pointed at John, who stared apprehensively at the extended finger as though it was a gun barrel. "Teach this one how to control himself."
"Um..." John managed to make a sound to catch Hades' attention. He cleared his throat and tried to speak again. "Look, I'm sorry for uh... What happened at the entrance. I was in a lot of pain and I guess-"
Hades interrupted John. "Your primitive monkey mind took over and you acted stupidly and brashly, yes?"
"Well, yeah. That's pretty much it, I guess." John shrugged and looked at his feet. His socks were charred and full of holes.
"I've dealt with several cases of apotheosis before. You humans rarely behave well when it happens to you. And that causes buildups on the banks of the Styx. Imagine crowds of people who were all recently killed violently by a misbehaving hero, demigod, or new god. How do you think that affects my realm, hmm? Scores of angry, scared, and confused souls."
John clasped his hands together. "Probably not well?"
"Badly. Very badly. Charon has enough trouble ferrying the dead on a good day. And the judges have to remain impassive and unbiased. Can you imagine how hard it is for them to do that when a horde of angry, scared, and confused souls suddenly show up and start badgering everyone they see for answers when they have jobs to do?"
"Kinda sounds like when customers asked me questions about company policy during checkout in the middle of a rush. And I was just trying to ring up their stuff."
Hades bent down and stared at John for a moment. "You worked retail. I suppose you do have some sort of understanding after all. Good. So, what do you think my point is?"
John thought for a moment. "That I need to maintain control and composure even when in an extreme situation, because the consequences could be really nasty." It wasn't a guess.
Hades straightened, seemingly satisfied. "You will stay here until I feel you are capable of living in the mortal world without destroying it or causing problems. Right now, Gibil is your teacher. Others might volunteer or be chosen to instruct you as well."
Hades donned his helmet and vanished. Gibil glared at John. "Well, isn't this just wonderful. Now I'm saddled with you until you stop blowing everything up. Just how out of control are you?"
John shrugged. "I think I could have glassed half a continent if I wasn't brought here in time. I seem to be constantly building up energy."
"Where's it come from?" Gibil came closer to John and poked him experimentally in the chest.
"I think I convert... Dark energy and dark matter into the regular stuff. And I guess it comes out really hot?" John stepped away from Gibil in an attempt to preserve his personal space.
"Hmm. Well, I can't really think of anything to do right now that seems productive." An unsettling grin formed on his face. "So let's go the other way: destructive." The old god settled into a deep, solid stance. "Well, go on. Show me what you can do."
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

John stared at the weak-looking god, unsure of himself. "I don't really think that's-"
"Oh, shut up. I don't care about dying, remember? Come on! Let's see what you're capable of!"
John shook his head. "How can you not care? How can you not want to continue to exist?"
"You try enduring for several thousand years without purpose!" Gibil shouted. His voice was surprisingly strong all of a sudden.
"You're one of the oldest beings around! Haven't you ever stopped and looked at how we humans sometimes regard our elders as fonts, bastions, sources of knowledge and wisdom that, when passed on to the next generation, can make the world a better place?" John ignored the hot feeling he was getting as his own voice grew louder. "Just imagine how much you, with your several thousand years of experience, knowledge, wisdom, reflection, and meditation, could improve things!"
"I don't want to be that! I'm not wise, you idiot! I'm a senile god with no worshippers and no usefulness beyond a simple power source!" Gibil snarled, giving his wrinkled face a terrifying appearance.
"You are an elder! Elders teach the young, in the hope that they, that we, don't make the same mistakes! To refuse is to condemn the young and to be lazy and to shirk your responsibility to your descendants, heirs, and followers!"
Gibil leapt forward and slapped John across the face. Glowing embers trailed from his fingertips as he swung. The impact twisted John's neck. "What do you think I did for five thousand years?" He growled into John's ear.
John couldn't hold back the fire any longer. He reached out and grabbed Gibil by the throat and lifted him off his feet. His clothes charred and burnt away, leaving him nude, but John didn't really care. His skin shone with the firey, tribal tattoos. Smoke streamed from his mouth and nose, and when he opened his mouth, a subtle, deep red light glowed from inside his throat.
John's voice had gone deep, and it had a multi-tonal quality to it, as though several voices were speaking. "I think you did a half-assed job of it, because the world is in pretty sorry shape considering there are apparently a whole bunch of gods out there who seem to see no need to help humanity or the planet. Wars rage for thousands of years, others between superpowers are on the verge of breaking out, the climate is shifting, the masses starve in abject poverty, pestilence and plague reign supreme in some places while money and corruption rule the rest with an iron fist. Don't tell me you did your job. You let people weaker than yourself suffer while you relaxed and wished to die in comfort."
John threw Gibil away and shot off several blasts of fire at him. "Gods exist!"
BOOM
"They have the means to help!"
BOOM
"And they do NOTHING..."
BOOM
"...Or make things WORSE!"
With this last bellow, John loosed a tremendous blast of furious energy. White-hot fire rushed outward, followed shortly by ash and smoke. The material was yellow with heat but cooled quickly in the environment of The Hole, and soon became orange, red, and finally black. Bolts of lightning arced both from John and within the cloud of roiling ash.
The heat dissipated and John became lightheaded. He staggered and fell as the ground beneath him disappeared. Floating once again, he watched as the light from the fire in his eyes dimmed and flickered out of existence.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Why can't inspiration happen when I have time to write? I need to sleep, but if I do, I'll lose most of my ideas. Ugh. Whatever. I can find time to sleep tomorrow I guess. Onwards!
...
Hmm. I just realized with all of the intersecting fan fictions, I may have to edit some of my earlier entries regarding the vampire girls to fit the timeline. And I need to figure out where my story is actually happening in time to know how I need to treat Phix (pregnancy-wise).
Umm...
*Jeopardy theme song*
Ok, here's what I'm gonna do. Phix can go on hold for now. Jin is mortal and pregnant besides, so she's out. I don't know how to write Mayahuel at all. Brandi... She... Ooh. Light bulb moment.
:)
As for the vampire girls, I'm going to start writing them as if this is occurring well after Sarge and jwhouk's fanfics occurred... Long enough for there to be a noticeable difference in her BMI, but short enough for her to still appear a bit underweight. Maybe? I don't think I'll have to describe their appearance any more now that I've done it already. Now I can just focus on their dialogue, inflection, body language, and expression.
I'll fix it all after Sarge and jwhouk and Jharris finish their stuff. I'm coming to realize I'm writing a considerably longer story. I never could just do a short story. They always turn into novel-length tales.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

I lied. Kinda.
I'm too tired to write properly. Need sleep.

Bugger.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

Tsillah was in a considerably better mood after she, Lilly, and Suzie went to visit the Willis Tower. Due to their experience with the Library and, in Tsillah's case, whole other worlds, neither of them were very impressed by the building itself, but rather by how normal, mortal humans had built the structure without magic or superpowers or anything.
"It's kinda wierd, being so underwhelmed by something like that." Suzie said, carefully speaking around a mouthful of deep dish pizza.
Lilly shrugged. "I never really got the regular point of view. I was raised in a society where star gates were as normal as taking a trip on a plane. Nothing any 'normals' are doing is all that impressive."
"I don't know how they did it, you know? Most of the stuff my folks have was built with magic. Handcrafted stuff is actually a little more... Coveted." Tsillah slurped some soda. "Dad's ferry is made with magic. He said Hades' scepter was handmade, though. I think Heph made it for him after he called out Hera for tossing her kid out the window. Boy, was that a noisy family reunion."
Suzie checked her watch. "We'd better get back after this, guys. Bia did tell us to get Phix and Brandi."
Lilly rolled her eyes. "Phix has bigger fish to fry. We'll send our report to Brandi and wash our hands of this whole fiasco."
"No need, girls." Brandi's voice crackled from all of their earpieces. "I've been speaking with the crew here at the library. I'll let you finish your lunch, but after that I need to speak with you three directly. And Tsillah?"
"Yes, Director?" Tsillah responded quickly.
"I'm sorry you were stuck up here while Bia took John. If you want, would you like to go tell Bia to meet me here as well? Once I'm done with you, you can take the rest of today off to go see your dad."
Tsillah smiled brightly. "Of course! Thank you, Director!"
Lilly leaned back in her chair, grinning. "Daddy's little girl, huh?"
Tsillah smirked. "Only when I want to be!"
They finished their meal and made a quick stop at a hemo joint, where Lilly and Suzie both got a to-go cup of blood to wash down the pizza, before catching a taxi to a Library portal. A storm had begun to roll in from the west. The Windy City was in for some rough weather.

Brandi was waiting for them when they arrived at the mission control room. She was wearing business attire, but not so formally as to cover up her... Assets entirely. Several of the tech-heads had quite a bit of trouble concentrating around her. Not to mention she was powerful enough to crack the world in half like an apple with a flick of her wrist.
"Good to see you two again! How- oooh, Lily, you look very good. I see recent events have certainly had an effect on you." She smiled warmly as she looked the vampire girls up and down. Tsillah busied herself by taking out everyone's earpieces and helping out the other workers.
Suzie extended a hand to Brandi. "Always a pleasure to see you as well, Director."
Brandi stared at Suzie's hand, a little confused. "Haven't we moved past handshakes already?" She wrapped Suzie in a hug, then pulled in Lilly as well. "Isn't that better?" She released the two thoroughly baffled vampires and fixed a concentrated stare upon them. "So. Tell me about this John Smith."
"Cautious. He got some kind of premonition about us. Instead of dismissing it as a weird dream and seeing only what he wanted to see, he looked us up." Suzie began.
"Well, that in itself is remarkable. He didn't let himself be blinded by a self-imposed illusion like most humans." Brandi raised an eyebrow and fell silent, signaling the vampires to continue.
Lilly cleared his throat. "Not only that, he then went and made about as good a vampire killing kit as he could come up with. None of it would have worked, but still. He did his damndest to avoid being caught flat-footed." Lilly listed off the preparations John had made, smirking slightly.
"He seems a bit paranoid, don't you think?" Brandi put a hand on her hip and leaned into her leg.
"I'd be freaked out too if I learned vampires exist and two might be after me." Suzie shrugged.
"Once we convinced him we weren't going to eat him and he wouldn't be able to stop us if he tried anyway, he became very cooperative." Lilly finished.
Tsillah joined the conversation, appearing at Brandi's elbow mid-sentence. "He answered all of the questions and I don't think he fought on his way to the Hole. Even if he did, it's pretty understandable. The entrance is probably really scary to a normal human."
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

Brandi listened as the three agents completed their report to her. When they finished, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking skyward as she exhaled. "From what you've told me, we have no reason to believe he's any more likely to be a problem than any other average human. If anything, I'd say we got lucky. He seems to be alright. A bit eccentric, but that's to be expected. Everyone's weird somehow."
"What's going to happen to him?" Tsillah asked, a frown creasing her brow.
"Yeah, are we just gonna let the kid rot in some back alley of Necropolis?" Lilly crossed her arms, sending a clear signal that she did not want that to happen. "It's not like he did anything to deserve being locked up."
Brandi grinned. "John is able to tap into a massive store of energy that makes up a majority of the universe by weight. He's also, so far as anybody knows, the only being who can. It's a kind of power nobody else has had to deal with before. Even golems like me and Bud use warped spacetime to screw with inertia and newton's laws."
"So what you're saying is he's too dangerous not to lock up." Suzie scowled. "And you and Ms. Budur aren't?"
Brandi's smile faltered and was momentarily tinged with pain. "We were. Until we got control of ourselves again. That's why Ms. Villarreal saw fit to let us be part of society... Both because we had made progress and because it would help us grow even more." She leaned against a desk and put both hands on her hips. "The same will apply to John."
Tsillah looked at Brandi, her eyes slowly widening. "Wait... Who's going to be dealing with him? If he's..."
Brandi simply looked back at Tsillah, silently encouraging her to complete her idea.
"Do you mean you and Ms. Villarreal will be instructing him? He's that big of a deal?" Tsillah gasped. The immortal golem Director of the MIB and the Jaguar Girl were both going to work with John.
Brandi nodded. "Few gods can be bothered to do anything besides what they already want to do, especially by anyone below them on the pecking order. I've gone through the process before, and Monica was the one who put me through the last few steps."
"Who started it?" Suzie tilted her head to one side, curious.
Brandi grinned openly... And there was a tiny smidgen of viciousness in her expression. "That would be Tepoz."
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

Tepoz was quite happily sitting in his bean bag chair reading the local news on his iPhone (which worked more like a tablet for him) with the weather channel babbling away about torrential rain approaching Chicago when an uneasy feeling came over him.
The diminutive golem paused in his reading for a moment and looked around his apartment (which was really just the crawlspace attic at Monica's house).
"Meh. Probably just someone walking over one of my graves." With a shrug and a rustle of beans, he returned to his news. The Local on the 8's came on, and Tepoz unconsciously began to wag one of his bunny-slippered feet to the generic weather channel music.
He reached out for his glass of coffee (with a little splash of brandy) and missed.
By a whole dimension.
"Whuuuhhh...?" He wobbled on his feet for a few moments before his brain registered he was now standing. A few moments later, he realized he was in a room full of computers and busy techs.
"Ahem?" Brandi's voice sounded above him, and he looked up, and immediately regretted his choice of action.
"Whoops!" Tepoz shut his eyes tight and backed away a few paces before he opened them again. "Uh, Hi Brandi! What's up?"
Brandi smiled wickedly. "You've been volunteered again. Hop up, we need to go visit Monica."
"What? Volunteered? AGAIN?"
"Come on, it'll be fun! Besides, it's only one out-of-control being of unimaginable power. You handled the three of us pretty well, John ought to be a piece of cake!"
From his left came a snort and a chuckle. "What could possibly go wrong?" A thin woman with dreadlocks stood smirking at him.
It did nothing to calm Tepoz. I don't suppose I have any choice in the matter... He threw his hands up in the air in a gesture of supreme exasperation. "Sure, whatever! Not like I had anything better to do today." Tepoz poited onto Brandi's shoulder. "Let's go, before I change my mind."
"It doesn't really matter if you do." Brandi chuckled and poited the pair of them to an alleyway just outside of Monica's Antiques shop. "Here, jump into my purse. I don't know if there're any customers inside."
"Where'd this come from?" Tepoz climbed down to Brandi's elbow before dropping in.
"I poited it from home just now. Do you really have to ask?"
Tepoz rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Ok. Come on, let's go poke the Jaguar Girl with a stick and see what happens."
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

Monica had decided she hated paperwork most about having her own business. Taxes were somewhat acceptable... Somebody had to keep the government afloat, after all. Bills were understandable as well. Nothing is free, after all... And keeping the building's temperature and humidity within a narrow range to help preserve her stock took more energy than usual. Plus invoices, reciepts, letters, all of those things had to be kept on file somehow.
But did it have to all be on paper? Surely the twenty-first century had something new to offer to keep the constant flood of paperwork to a minimum by now.
But no. The state and federal government may accept taxes from computers, but all of the info she and Georgette needed to actually do those taxes were on paper. Her utility companies insisted on sending bills via snail mail, and had no method of electronic payment submission. And of course, almost half of her customer base either didn't like using technology to handle their money or simply couldn't grasp how a debit card is basically a check, and some didn't even have an email address to send electronic invoices to.
Of course not. This is an antiques store. I should know better. Half of the people I deal with are old codgers and have never touched anything more advanced than a typewriter in their lives.
"Hey, M?" Georgette called from the front desk. "Someone named Brandi is here for you."
"Oh, for the love of-" Monica growled quietly, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, let her back here." She half-shouted.
Brandi walked into the back room and looked around for her friend. "Hello? You in here, Monica?" All she saw was a desk piled high with binders, folders, boxes, and loose papers. It was surrounded by filing cabinets, some with drawers open to display even more paperwork crammed tightly into them.
Monica stuck her hand up and waved. "I'm in here!"
Brandi chuckled. "You look like you're trying to claw your way out of a grave!"
"That's because Tepoz took today off." Monica grumbled petulantly. "I need that smurf to help me out back here."
Tepoz poited on top of a stack of binders. "Yeah, about that. I don't think I'm getting today off after all. And you might have a different attitude about paperwork after we're done."
Monica locked Tepoz in a deathly glare. "If the Library wants me to do its dirty work for free, it better look somewhere else. I'm running a business and mentoring a fae princess on the side. I barely get enough free time as it is."
Brandi and Tepoz exchanged glances nervously. It was not lost on Monica, who rolled her eyes and scowled.
"Um... Well, it's not really just the Library. It was kind of my idea." Brandi spoke through a nervous smile.
Monica directed her glare at Brandi. "You thought this... Whatever it is... would be a good idea? Why?"
"Because you've done it with Jin, Bud and I. You're the best person I could think of. And I think this warrants the best."
"What am I, chopped liver?" Tepoz arched an eyebrow at Brandi.
"You kept us drunk off our asses for millennia." Brandi replied cooly before returning her attention to Monica.
Tepoz wisely decided to shut his trap.
Monica put her head in her hands and sighed. "Did someone make a golem?" Her voice was muffled, but the supreme level of worry and exasperation was still evident.
"Not... Quite. Some guy in Chicago was suddenly picked up on the Library's dimensional threat monitoring system. It had no idea what the blip was, so it sent Tsillah, Suzie, and Lily out to investigate."
"Oh, that trio is a good combination for making things go critical fast." Monica sat back in her chair and combed a hand through her hair to get it out of her face.
Brandi nodded. "That's exactly what happened. Turns out the bogie was a kid named John Smith. And he can apparently convert dark matter and dark energy into the regular stuff. It comes out as fire, smoke, lightning, ash, stuff like that. Bia took him to a containment facility in the Underworld called the Hole."
"And his power got out of control, and he needs help to not melt everyone's faces?" Monica surmised.
Tepoz had been busy replacing his lazy-day outfit with more athletic and durable clothes when Monica made her guess. He snorted and straightened from tying a tiny shoelace. "He's way more powerful than Indy's Ark or an epic guitar solo." The tiny alcohol godling poited his bunny slippers home before continuing. "I bet he could glass half a continent if he sneezes too hard."
Monica slumped in her chair. "Ugh. So you need me not just to help teach him to keep himself under control, but also to ferry you two to the Underworld, right?"
Brandi nodded. "Right. The underworld has several layers of defenses to prevent cross-contamination between it and other planes of reality. Wormhole transportation can't get us there, as there's a layer of True Void between the Underworld and everything else."
Monica sighed. "This could take ages, you know that? I'm going to have to get people to babysit my life here."
Brandi smiled, relieved to finally give Monica some good news. "Actually, no!"
Monica reacted to Brandi's suddenly bright demeanor like she had a hangover, squinting and drawing away slightly. "...what? It took you thousands of years. Even if John didn't have the trauma you three did, it could still take centuries..."
"The Hole has some funny time scaling. In there, an eon can pass while the other realities only experience a moment." Brandi clasped her hands behind her back, crossing her fingers for good luck.
"So... I might come out of this like Shelly." Monica was none too pleased with that idea. Nor was she going to enjoy spending centuries in this Hole with these two and John for company. With a pang, she realized she might almost forget Jet, just like how Shelly nearly forgot her.
"I think if things turn out like that, we'll bring in others to help out. Maybe take shifts or something?" Tepoz shrugged. "I don't mind the time issue. It's better than being stuck in the form of a carved rock for millennia. Damn, that was boring sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Monica turned to Tepoz, quite puzzled. "How could being a statuette be sometimes exciting?"
Tepoz smirked. "You know those soap operas on Telemundo? I spent a couple centuries as a mantelpiece for a family just as melodramatic as one of those shows." He giggled and blushed. "That poor old couch saw more action than I ever would have predicted."
"Ew. Ok. Point made and taken." Monica looked at Brandi. "Anything else?"
Brandi thought for a moment. "Hmm... Oh! Don't wear anything too expensive. I wouldn't bet on him being in control enough to not kill you or even to avoid destroying your clothes."
"Great. That's just awesome. Some guy I don't know is gonna see me naked. Thanks for the warning."
Brandi made a mental note to ask around for some indestructible clothes when she got the chance.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
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Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:52 pm
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Re: Purpose

Post by GlytchMeister »

With no small amount of effort, Monica managed to extract herself from the overstuffed office and led Brandi and Tepoz, who was again riding in the purse, back to the front room and told Georgette what was going on and the many possible effects the situation could have.
Brandi, sensing oncoming private moments, excused herself and wet outside to wait for Monica.
Jet wasn't exactly happy about the turn of events. "You mean you might be in this... Hole? For centuries while I only experience a few seconds? What... What will that do to... Us?"
Monica shook her head and looked at her feet. "I... I don't know. Shelly seemed to turn out ok, and she was in the Time Forest for several thousand years."
Georgette stepped closer and took Monica's hands in her own. "Just... Don't forget me, ok? I don't know how I'd cope with that. You coming back changed would be nothing compared to that, I think."
"I'll... I'll try," Monica sniffed. This is going to be a long trip.
One of Jet's hands gently tilted Monica's face up by her chin, and her slender form pressed against Monica's body. "Let me give you something to remember me by," Jet whispered as she leaned in and passionately kissed her beloved.

"Woah," Tepoz murmured, peeking out of Brandi's purse at Jet and Monica. He felt a hard finger slam into the side of his head with a sharp crack! "OW! Hey! Jesze, use your words!"
"Give them their privacy!" Brandi hissed between her teeth.
"Whaat? If they wanted privacy they should've gone into the office or-" Crack! "OK, OK! I get it. Cut that out! I'm durable, but I still feel!"
Monica walked out a few (long) moments later, rather flushed and breathless. Her expression was a strange mixture of arousal and pain, but her overall mood seemed to be better.
Brandi nodded to herself, reassured by Monica's improved humor, and led the way to the blind alley where they could safely teleport. "Where to first?"
"My house," Monica replied quickly. "I need to change into something cheap and disposable. Then we're going to the volcanic island Jin and I found a while back."
"Why?" Tepoz poked his head out of Brandi's purse as they rounded the corner.
"Because I've never Deathwalked before. I don't know what effect I'll have on my surroundings. I need an already very destroyed place to practice."
"Do you even know how?" Brandi asked, an eyebrow raised.
Monica stopped in her tracks. "Uhhh..."
Brandi rolled her eyes. "I think we should hit the books too, in that case. If we can't find anything there, maybe Tina can poke the keyhole in your head or something. I know she got you to take Jet with you to the Jaguar Girl's private dimension."
"How do you...?" Monica stared at Brandi.
"Hon, I'm the Director of the MIB. Everything that is none of my business is specifically my business."
"I thought that was Jin." Monica narrowed her eyes at Brandi.
"She was the MIB. Now she's a married mother-to-be with a big trust fund."
"I wonder how that's working out for her. I didn't even know she was fertile." Monica shut her eyes and concentrated on her home before teleporting the three of them.
Tepoz hopped out of Brandi's purse onto the floor. "She's doing pretty good, actually. What's-his-face is driving her nuts with his babying her." He smirked and poited into his room to turn off his TV.
Monica ran upstairs to change while Brandi made for the fridge to see if Monica had anything to drink. Cracking open a can of sprite, she leaned against a counter and sipped, thinking. I just hope Jin's kid is going to stay alive the whole way through. Reproduction is a tricky business, and its pretty unexplored with Golems, especially Golem-Human unions.
Tepoz appeared next to the kitchen sink and sat on an overturned coffee mug, much like a normal human would sit on a five-gallon bucket. "If anything looks like it's about to blow up, I'm hiding behind you. Just so you know."
Brandi snorted. "Why, so your clothes don't get singed?"
Tepoz shrugged. "That's the hope. It's hard to get clothes that fit. Especially since I can't shop for them myself."
Brandi looked at Tepoz. "Just order doll outfits online."
"Huh?"
"There are whole fashion lines out there for dolls. You'd be amazed how into it some enthusiasts can get." Brandi rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised you hadn't thought of that before."
"Yeah, well, I didn't need to until your cronies banned me from the ParanorMall." The tiny golem grumbled.
"That wouldn't have happened had you not gotten the whole college volleyball team fall-down drunk." Brandi fixed a stern look on Tepoz.
"They asked for it! AND they were all over 21!"
"They caused three hundred thousand dollars of property damage. AND they caused undue stress to the sewer system. I had to send agents and engineers down to repair the damage the one girl caused before it resulted in a sinkhole!"
Monica came back downstairs in a slightly ratty tshirt, jeans with holes in both knees, and a pair of truly ancient-looking sneakers. Her hair was drawn back in a ponytail now. "What are you two arguing about now?"
"Nothing," Tepoz replied innocently.
"Something," came Brandi's icy reply.
"O...K..." Monica looked at the two of them for a few seconds before forging ahead. "Ready to go?"
"Almost," Brandi closed her eyes and furrowed her brow. Instantly, her entire outfit changed from formal business to something very similar to Monica's outfit. Brandi chose a tank top and shorts, both with significant threadbare spots (in non-critical areas). "Now I'm ready."
An instant later they were in the entrance hall of the Library, and Brandi was already bringing up the holographic search interface.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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