The Way Ahead

Though the pressure may have subsided, Edwin was still very aware he was talking to quite possibly the most powerful person he had ever met. This merited his full attention.

Cough.

Hopefully his brain got the memo. He was hopeful, given the constant pressure he was feeling just from speaking to someone so powerful.

“What is there to speak of… your majesty?”

The emperor didn’t speak to correct Edwin, so he took that to mean he’d gotten it right. Instead, the emperor gave a curt nod, and spoke with an easy grace that warred inside Edwin’s turbulent emotions, trying to put him at ease. “Peace, Edwin. I do not wish to harm you, unless you force me to.”

Edwin cautiously nodded. Fair enough.

“You’ve been quite a curious force within the Empire. The new liquid stone beginning production in Farport was your doing, I believe?”

“Wait, they actually got it working?” Edwin blinked, and hastily added, “Your majesty.” He’d screwed up methods of address badly enough for one day, he wasn’t going to do it again.

“To a certain distinction of working, I believe. It will perhaps be an interesting place for you to visit someday? I believe you intended to travel.”

“Yes, your majesty. Particularly now, after…” Edwin trailed off, unsure what to say exactly.

He got a distinct sense of amusement from the avior, who gave a curt nod, “Understandable. Korizan is a lovely continent with many spectacular vistas. I frequently fly here when I wish to use my wings. As an alchemist, I believe you will find many of the herbs and creatures native to the Verdant, as well as the frozen lands to the north uniquely useful, though I believe you have some experience with the former?”

Edwin nodded, “Yes, your majesty.”

“Befriended a fey, no less. Or, adopted by one, rather. You’re very fortunate, you know that?”

“Oh?”

“Yes. You survived a year living with a fey? And you did not emerge from the arrangement as an eternal slave, mindless, nor missing several key emotions or sensations, and your name and personality are essentially intact. There is a reason they are usually confined to the Verdant- though impressive work bypassing the border, I must admit. That shows ingenuity, smuggling an Arcadian in through your very skin.”

Edwin froze, “I’m not in trouble, am I?” He hadn't even considered the fact that he might be punished for bringing Inion into the empire, but if fey were meant to be banned…

“Peace, Edwin. No, you are not in trouble for bringing your ‘friend’ from the Verdant. She is the agreeable sort of fey, which is to say she is likely to overlook minor slights and opportunities which others of her kind might utilize to wholly ruin a citizen, and instead focus her ire upon those who wrong her more directly.”

“Thank you, your majesty. However… I don’t imagine you merely came to discuss my social life?” Though Edwin was dealing well enough with the pressure the emperor emitted, it was still more nerve-wracking than any interview or even test he’d ever had, and was eager to get it wrapped up.

“You would be correct in your assessment. It is nothing onerous, I must merely ensure my empire is not threatened by your presence.”

“By me?” Edwin was confused. Surely… ah. It was the Outsider thing again, wasn’t it? Some things never changed.

“Indeed.” Xares confirmed, “Outsiders have always heralded great change and massive disruption to the world, and for the good of my citizens, I must ensure they will be safe and secure.”

“How… how will you do that, your majesty?”

“I merely have a few questions regarding your homeland, and of your first few days upon Joriah. If you could recount your experience from first waking up within the Verdant. Merely answer honestly and completely, and you shall return to Vinstead quickly.”

Edwin idly wondered if… actually, he could just ask. What was the worst that could happen, “Does time pass more quickly here, your majesty? It’s a long story.”

“Very astute.”

He took that as a ‘yes’ as he sat in silence, gathering his thoughts.

It was kind of amusing. He had literally just refused to tell the story to the governor not ten minutes ago and nearly gotten killed for it, and here he was, about to give the full story to another authority figure. It wasn’t the same, he knew. Xares most likely already knew the entire thing, and he’d been quite reasonable this far. He deserved to know Edwin’s tale at least as much as Tara did, if not more. However, this would be his last time telling anyone, he told himself. It was just too risky, required too much trust. Since he had left the dwarves, he had only told Tara and Inion, both of whom had been sworn to secrecy and had extenuating circumstances. Tara had him at swordpoint, and Inion already knew. Hopefully, Xares would keep quiet? Not that it really made a difference.

“I don’t suppose… well, if you wanted to tell people who I was, your majesty, you would be capable of doing so already?” The avior didn’t respond, but Edwin had already decided his course of action, “Well, I suppose even if time is less limited than it should normally be, it’s still precious.

“The first thing I remember was waking up as I fell from the sky. I thought I was experiencing a nightmare, but…”

Edwin wasn’t exactly practiced in telling people about his full history, but with a few expertly-directed questions from the avior emperor, who had conjured a pair of chairs for the two of them to rest in while they conversed- it didn’t escape Edwin’s notice that Xares’ was taller and grander, but it also wasn’t really a surprise either- he managed to recount his experiences to an apparently satisfactory level of detail.

“Was that you, your majesty?” Edwin realized he could ask, when his story had reached his flight up the mountainside, fleeing from the immensely powerful beings fighting.

“It was indeed, Edwin. I regret that it so nearly resulted in your death, but it is quite fortunate for us both that you survived.”

“Would you be able to tell me what it was about, by any chance?”

“No.”

Edwin waited for any further elaboration, but when none was forthcoming, he mentally shrugged and moved on, “Well, your majesty, from there I found myself caught in a snowstorm that…”

There was something about the presence of the avior which made recalling his past easier. Perhaps it was some report-getting Skill? Or perhaps a general Skill-enhancing aura that improved Memory? If Skillful Assessment was usable at the moment, he might have been able to get some vague idea, but alas.

“Yes, that was last week, your majesty. I’m still familiarizing myself with my new Skills, and Refine I’ve yet to level even once.”

“Interesting set of Skills. Such synergy and interconnectedness is usually not seen until the fourth tier if not later. You’ve spoken to a Registrar about this?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Now, some of those Paths, they are from your world? Physicist, Engineer, Biologist. What are these? You claimed you were a physicist?”

“Physics student, yes. Ah, your majesty.” he hastily added, “I hadn’t completed my education when I found myself transported here. Physics with a particular emphasis in material sciences.”

“Science. That’s what you called magic on your Earth?”

“No, it’s more like… well, it kind of is. It’s trying to understand the world and bend it to our will. It’s not magic, that’s more like an addition to the normal laws of physics from what I’ve so far. It’s a way of skeptically interrogating the world for how it works. Specifically, it-.”

“What are the sorts of things you can accomplish with it?”

“Well, from the time science was really ‘invented,’ Earth went from technology only slightly beyond what you have here on Joriah to mechanical flight, traveling to the moon, inventing and exploiting the heck out of electricity, making the internet, developing seriously advanced medicine…”

“Go on, tell me of the wonders of your home. You clearly miss it.”

“I… I suppose I do, your majesty.” he hesitated in his response, slightly hopeful that he might pick up on it and inquire about it. Fortunately, he didn’t, and Edwin breathed easy. He could talk about science all day. Few things helped him put off anxiety than having something he could talk about with fluency, “So, where do I start? Let's see….”

“No, it’s not magic. It’s… well, it’s about trying to discover new things which other people can then figure out how to use in inventions.”

“Yet not anyone can discover this new knowledge?”

“I mean, yes? In theory, anyway, anyone with the right mentality and training could discover something new, but by my time, pretty much all those easy discoveries had been made. It would take hundreds of people to find anything new… maybe? We had this quote, back on Earth, which is attributed to this really famous scientist, to the point where practically half of all physics is named after him. ‘If I have seen farther, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants,’ because no individual person can really push knowledge and development as far as everyone working together, even across time and space, can.

“Like, I won’t say that science is better than magic. Or well, no, it kind of is? Or maybe not? They’re different. Magic is a thing, science is a methodology. Well, in any case, magical science is the best, though….”

“This… 'internet' you speak of. You claim it is accessible to all?”

“Well, to most of the world, at least. It’s not free, but it’s not insanely expensive and anyone can connect over it in theory. Some people take it upon themselves to catalogue knowledge on it, so there’s these massive databanks of information that anyone can access. Sort of like your Skill database, but anyone can access basic information on pretty much any topic for free whenever they like. It lets people figure out what they might be good at, just by finding out that something they hadn’t even considered as a skill they possessed is actually really valuable.

“If I might be so bold as to opine slightly over the setup of Liras?” he let the emperor nod before continuing, knowing he was on thin ice. His nerves returned in full force, but he’d already committed, “I do feel like that sort of approach may be superior to the Registrar system you currently have, let people figure out their own Classes based on what millions of people trying their own routes to success came up with. Then you don’t need to worry about those who try to do their own thing, and you can learn better Skill combinations faster.”

“We have tried similar concepts on a smaller scale a few times in the past.” the emperor countered, “Almost invariably, individuals took Skills which were utterly superfluous to their actual role in society, wasting their skill allotment. Having access to this magnitude of knowledge, however, you say encouraged people to embetter themselves and learn of the world?”

“Well…” Edwin’s mind brought up a slew of counterexamples, “Some people did?”

“Did the people of your world cast aside small-minded, foolish instincts when given access to facts which countered their views?”

“...No,” Edwin had to admit, his own experience betraying him, “But everyone was given the same opportunities to, and those who excelled did so spectacularly! Some people simply are hopeless, but that doesn’t mean trying to bring those who are determined to waste their lives away up to a decent level of productivity should also involve dragging ambitious people down to that level too.

“Also, what about the people who just don’t fit in?” Edwin started feeling himself get wound up, and he tried to pull himself back before he started insulting the system the godlike emperor in front of him had set up.

He was… well, he didn’t totally fail.

“I met one bandit who just had the bad luck of not being able to get the Walking skill, but then because of the Management and intolerance for people who didn’t fit it, he was forced into a life of being a murderer! How is that better?”

“Yes, that is the purpose of the Adventurer program,” Xares was unflappable to the point where Edwin felt slightly ashamed of his actions- enough that he could wrestle his annoyance back into its box, leaving a stronger sense of embarrassment and sense of being out of place, “Many promising individuals were forced into ostracism through no fault of their own, and so the Adventurership system was established. If you would seek to use that as exemplary of the benefits of allowing individuals to control their own Skills, I would remind you that of those who leave my wings, fewer than one in ten survive to their thirtieth year, and the vast majority live in entirely preventable poverty. However, if you can present a solution for that problem, please do inform me.”

“Ah, well... “ Edwin didn’t really have a response for that. He was sure there was one, but… “What else did you want to know about?” he sighed in resignation.

“Tell me of the government which can afford so many of its citizens wasting their lives.”

“The US? Well, okay…”

“Okay, so yes, democracy has the issue of giving people the government they want, which might not always be good for them, but it’s at least the people choosing that.” Edwin insisted.

“Would it not be superior to simply provide a consistent government, which does not so readily bow to the idiocy of the crowd?”

“You know, your majesty, until maybe a year or so before I left Earth, I might have disagreed with you fairly vehemently. These days…”

“But your majesty, Earth has the firm advantage technologically. So much of your manual work performed here is done instead by mechanical muscles on Earth. Hardly anyone needs to work with their bodies anymore, and as a result far larger and more complex projects can be undertaken.”

“Is it not the case that you are simply incapable of performing the tasks, and so require these complicated machines you speak of? If you had the Skills which you feel impede progress, what need for such technological development would there be?”

“I think that’s what I’m saying?”

“Yet you say it as though it is a hindrance for my citizens, when it is in truth a strength.”

“I mean, sure. If you have someone able to harvest an entire acre of wheat with two strokes of a scythe, then the combine harvester is pretty useless. But if you didn’t have that Skill, then… Or, you know, what about if the harvester had a Skill for its use?”

“Why would you desire such a specific Skill, though? And what of the Skills required to create such an intricate piece of machinery?”

“Well, okay I guess, but then you don’t need to dedicate a Skill for it. It’s a pretty big commitment, and with machinery, you don’t need someone at the absolute peak of their career to continue working forever. What if the person with that Mass Harvest skill died?”

“Then we have another take their place. It is one of the purposes of Class control, after all. We never need worry about losing a critical member of a project, for none have unique Skills upon which the entire project must rely upon.”

“Well, I’m not convinced that that’s a good thing. Why would you even need Mass Harvest, if you could replicate its effects with a machine? Wouldn’t you prefer to have that be a Skill with an actually unique effect? Why not..."