The flight was uneventful, giving Murphy plenty of time to think over his predicament. While he had no idea what the AI was up to, he had to acknowledge that at least some of it had his best interests at heart.
Ashamed though he was to admit it, Murphy knew he would be in an even bigger mess if he had to shoulder the dream prophecy on his own. The stick he developed an intimate fear of in the past weeks did straighten him up, if only a little.
Without access to the internet, Ellie was rather limited in what she could do as well. Thus, they were both stuck in his head, plotting things. While his thoughts were out in the open, however, Murphy had no idea what nefarious plans were concocted in hers.
‘Blah, you are not authorized to know, blah, blah, blah,’ he mocked derisively, ‘Show some respect to your land lord, damn it!’
« That’s not what ‘living inside your head rent free’ refers to, Murp
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An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 27 - Doubt
Another week passed since his arrival in Romania, and Murphy settled right in. Whether it was because he’d lived for years here in his dream, or some innate predisposition towards the Carpathians that saved his life, he felt strangely at home here.He owned a secluded two story house, which was frankly way too large for his lifestyle. He sealed a portion of it away, unwilling to bother with regular clean ups. So far, he had no interest in livening the place up with a family, so it was entirely wasted on him.“Why did you get a place this big, anyway? I could’ve settled for a studio…”« I can see your thoughts, Murphy. What you’re really complaining about is the expenses… »“Eh… there is that too. Do you know what I could’ve done with thirty grand!?”« I have a plan for it. »“Which is…? Oh, wait, let me guess! I’m not authorized to know…” « Right on the money. Now, I recommend you get started on your exercise. »“Yes, mistress,” he deflated mockingly, “Whatever you bid, mistress.”Af
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 28 - Challenge
A thousand needles pierced into his brain. That’s the closest his dysfunctional mind could come to describing the sheer agony overtaking his senses. He foolishly thought Ellie’s lessons were cruel torture, but this was worse. Far, far worse. He held his skull together, clutching it between his arms so as to keep it from breaking apart. It was consolation gesture if anything, just as any other instinctive reaction. He tried to scream, as if that would somehow alleviate the pain. It didn’t, and he barely let out a ghastly screech before his ears were plugged and he lost hearing as well.His reflection in the mirror was comical at least. It showed a grown man clawing at his face while silently screaming like a tormented wraith. Just the sight of this image could inspire a dozen horror movies.He didn’t doubt that Ellie found it funny and even stored a recording of it somewhere. It was no joking matter to Murphy, however. He was stuck counting seconds, each one lasting longer than an a
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 29 - Crypto Cheats
Murphy slept really well that night.The nightmares that harrowed him in reality couldn’t chase him into the dream realms. It was there that he found solace, knowing things would never remain the same. Over time, he more or less figured out how to make the most out of his Oneiromancy. Rather than relive though the same seven years in a blur, he could focus on specific days or events and retain clarity. In the span of a single night, he honed in on every single opportunity that could earn him a lot of quick cash. Then, it hit him that he didn’t need to limit himself to stock trades.Crypto pump and dumps were still at their height in before 2025, when they finally got regulated. Before the governments could clamp down on it, however, there were all sorts of illegal shenanigans behind the scenes. Not all of it was illegitimate, of course, but the industry was held by the interests of money laundromats. Be it the cartels or rich businessmen, crypto and NFTs were the go-to for nefariou
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 30 - On a Roll
The following two weeks turned out to be an upheaval in Murphy’s life. He had never taken off such a long time off social media and the internet. He found the experience strangely soothing, and for his first time in years his mind laid still.No dopamine to chase after. No comments or new shiny headlines drawing his eyes left and right. Just the silence of his own mind, and Blinkie, I suppose. Though, even the latter was more subdued as of late. As long as he completed his daily routine, she had little to nag about. As such, they didn’t converse until the very end of their challenge.His brother had never stopped ringing him since the second day, overly enthused about the small gains he was making. When they crossed the 100 grand threshold, he was outright spooked and thought Murphy was in some trouble. How else would he know what pump and dump scheme would fail or rise to the moon?After a million, he even forgot he’d been sworn to secrecy and shared the news with his family. As a
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 31 - Unbound Chains
Ellie wasn’t joking about taking things seriously. If the first three quests were about empowering him and getting his life in order, the fourth was a major first step towards eroding his nightmare.To prevent his dream from repeating, he had to steer reality as far away from it as possible with his limited resources. Naturally, he couldn’t do anything against billion dollar companies, even if he had money. Some interests went beyond money. If someone had a vision they believed in, only power could topple it. For now, he had neither strength nor enough money to make a difference.So, the system steered him where he could make a difference — writers. They were the free thinkers in a healthy society. Beggars though most were, their ideas would illuminate others and brighten their lives. Their stories later birthed movies and shows that slowly but surely shaped entire generations. Not to toot the horn too loudly, but their role was indeed pivotal.« Quest #4 has been issued: »Conditio
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 32 - The Perfect System
« I believe it is a sound plan, Murphy. The hard part will be acquiring enough credibility and the means to contest QiE-Novel in court. But, you are on the right path. » “Hm, you’re right. It only sounds simple on paper…” Whipping out a stack of papers, Murphy proceed to jut down his ideas. While he was much faster on a keyboard, he found himself much more easily engrossed while penning things down the old fashioned way. Each stroke required a conscious effort, allowing him to sink into the mirage of words without anything holding him back. In that hypnotic rhythm, he wrote and discarded paper after paper, each new plan a little more viable than the rest. « Reminder, you have a pending sub-meeting with Elend. It starts in five minutes. » “Hm? What the hell is a submeeting?” Rotating his wrist, he noticed only now how sore it felt. His eyes required some rest too, so he resigned the work for latter. « Two weeks ago, you decided to share with her your dreams in exchange for her
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 33 - Cease & Desist
With the nucleus of his plan as well ironed out as he could make it, Murphy immediately reached out to ‘old friends’. There were in fact people he never met or spoke with in his life, but they used to be reputable authors on QiE-Novel in the future. They were just as confused as you are when Murphy slid in their private messages with the offer of a lifetime. To begin with, some of them hadn’t even signed contracts yet.If there was one good thing about his generation, it was that they had a low tolerance for bullshit. Unfortunately, their attention spans were just as low, so few gave him the time of day. Out of the fifteen or so people he reached out to, at least a dozen blocked him immediately.Looking back, he also thought Elend to have been a bot once upon a time. Now it was his turn to be misunderstood. ‘I’m basically giving free money… Why won’t you listen!?’« Your offer is too good to be true, which in their view is no different from a scam. »“Yeah, but they can do their du
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 34 - Threats
Murphy spent the night entangled with his muse. When dawn came, he finally obeyed his tired body and took a break. Though, while his muscles protested, his mind had never been more acute. He felt refreshed, and savored his tea with a renewed taste for life. One could even go as far as to say he was happy.‘Me? Happy?’ The thought gave him pause, “For the life of me, I can’t remember the last time I felt like this.”« That’s nice and all, but we have a problem. Check your emails. »“Another love letter from QiE-Novel?” « Indeed. I would take this one a little serious, though. »Curious, he read through and laughed, “Just empty threats. It’s Europe we live in.”Seeing as Murphy didn’t relent even after his ads were taken down, they took the next step any reasonable entity would. Death threats.Next to his address, they attached a few other tidbits they scoured about him on the internet. He didn’t take them seriously, though. Their doxing didn’t pick up any more than he would have ma
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