Aron took a deep breath and relaxed, a compassionate expression on his face as he wrapped up his first imperial address. “I know the many changes coming all at once are difficult to accept. Especially as drastic and bold as they are.” He smiled wryly. “But there’s an old saying in my family: ‘begin as you mean to go on’, and that’s what I’m doing here. There will be an inevitable teething period as everyone grows accustomed to the new changes to, well... everything, really, but I believe in humanity. I believe in our ability to adapt to anything, and overcome what we can’t adapt to.“Mankind isn’t the fastest animal on the planet. We aren’t the strongest ones, either. We can’t swim in the ocean or fly in the sky unaided, we aren’t particularly stealthy, and we don’t have a very thick, robust hide. What we do have, however, is a sapient mind. We can imagine, we can develop, and we can make conscious decisions to follow our better natures instead of our worst.“I know I’m asking a lot o
True chaos arrived the morning following Aron’s address as swarms of delivery drones and fleets of trucks left each of the training centers. The drones were carrying AR glasses and VR helmets to those who had ordered them, and the trucks were loaded with VR pods. The delivery blitz had come without warning and created even more panic and rioting in some areas, especially those that were already leaning toward resisting Aron’s empire.That didn’t stop the delivery, though, as the uncaring drones and trucks being driven by ARES troopers cared nothing for the chaos. They merely rerouted around any trouble hotspots and continued on their way.Once the equipment was delivered to their new owners, reviews and discussions began springing up on Pangea mere hours later. All of the users were basically in agreement about how wonderful the new devices were, and of course, they were posted to Pangea through the devices themselves since the lucky people who already had them couldn’t bring themselv
“Are you going to reveal the game?” Sarah asked.{Not until the new government is up and running. We need people to focus on that first, at least until a billion people have already gotten their IDs. Then we can release it, but require a government-issued ID to play it. If we release it now, people would likely be upset that they can’t immediately play it, so it needs a sufficient user base to create a self-perpetuating cycle,} Nova said. Books were still appearing on the bookshelves behind her, but the rate had slowed down a little bit. Most of the VR helmets and AR glasses had been delivered, but the pods would take a little while longer as the trucks had to reroute to avoid trouble hotspots more often than the drones did.“But what’s the difference?” Felix asked, scratching his head. “Is there something special about the imperial ID? From the way you’re treating it, it seems like there’s more to it.”Neither Felix nor Sarah had been briefed about the special features of the new imp
“Bring up all the knowledge we’ve bought a part of due to limited SP,” Aron ordered, rubbing his hands together like a kid on Christmas morning. He had forgotten that he was now the emperor of an empire that had only been founded less than twenty hours ago. It was the most important moment of its existence, though it really didn’t make much difference as he had a capable team of helpers and advisors that could keep things going for the time he would be absent.{Yes, sir,} Nova excitedly said. She waved her hand, and a list of Aron’s partially acquired knowledges popped up on a virtual screen in front of him.[Tractor and Repulsor Beams, tier 1Used to maneuver objects to and from the power source. Particularly useful in places unsuited to humans, such as deep space or other hostile environments.It was discovered as a matter of necessity by a member of a dragonoid race that has since been wiped out due to needing to move his lair after an enemy took over his territory. Upon discoverin
While Aron was busy shopping and discussing the new Research City plan with Nova, nyxians embedded in the various protest groups began plucking the instigators from the groups they were in and replacing them. After all, an unaimed herd of humanity was like a large firework launcher. Leaving either of them unattended was a very, very bad idea and could lead to incredibly destructive consequences.The nyxians still allowed the mobs to vandalize buildings and other assorted properties, landmarks, and monuments, but they limited the damage and guided it primarily to the (former) government buildings along the way. Still, a few unfortunate shops and warehouses were targeted, but once the protesters came to their senses the next day, they would likely be surprised to hear that some of their favorite stores had been destroyed while their least favorites were just fine.Nyx had instilled all of her nyxians with a rather wicked sense of sardony, after all.Not all of the groups were monolithic
For an hour or so, the riots continued unabated. Those leading them were quite happy, and patting themselves and each other on the back. After all, no matter what intelligence agency they worked for, whether it was the CIA, Mossad, MI6, MSS, or any of the many, many others working as instigators, they had all been “in the trade” for long enough that they could spot familiar faces in the crowds around them.Spies were generally valuable, and when caught, they would be ransomed by their agency at a reasonable price. So interagency friendships and rivalries were generally of the polite sort and rarely close in the case of friendships—after all, friends today could find themselves on opposite sides and working at cross purposes tomorrow—while their rivalries rarely, if ever, reached the point of a blood feud. And for the same reason, at that; enemies today could find themselves working together tomorrow.So they all knew at least one of the other instigators, and everyone knew what they w
Houston, Texas.Being citizens of the state that possessed the most good ol’ American yeehaw, the rioters that had been stopped by the LEAs only paused for a brief moment. People who had moments before been intent on punching, kicking, and biting each other into shallow graves looked at each other, nodded, then turned to face the new threat.Nobody knew, nor did it really matter, who fired the first shot, but soon, everyone in the crowd with guns had begun raining bullets on their perceived enemies. It didn’t matter if it was the police or the LEAs, anyone who stood in front of the rioters was deemed a mortal enemy and supporter of the megalomaniac who had taken away their freedom.Even the unarmed rioters were picking up stones and throwing them with all their might. Most of the thrown stones fell short, but it was the thought that counts.While receiving the bombardment, the LEAs remained still as sparks flashed on their exterior armor and the distinct whine of ricocheting bullets r
Elsewhere in the world, peace still had yet to be completely restored.In Istanbul, one of the LEAs was placing stun cuffs on one of the downed protesters when another one, who had “surrendered” earlier, rose up and swung a metal pipe at its head. But to the protester’s complete surprise, the helmet was completely undamaged while the pipe gave out. After all, when hard comes in contact with impossibly hard, hard loses.The LEA finished cuffing the prisoner, then stood and turned to face the protester that had swung the pipe at it. The man swung the bent pipe at the LEAs face, only for the disguised robot’s arm to move impossibly fast as it caught the pipe and released a taser charge from its palm. The jolt caused the protester to drop the pipe and the LEA swiftly raised its charge pistol and stunned him point blank, then stun cuffed him and moved on to the next downed protester without a word.In Novograd, Russia, someone attacked the LEAs with a molotov cocktail only for it to comple