LOCATION: SIROVA FAMILY COMPOUND
CITY: NEW SEATTLE, NEW UNITED STATES
DATE: JANUARY 23, 2164 | TIME: 5:30 AM
A few weeks after the trip to the moon, Kaela’s System legacy quest updated once again.
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[Private System Alert – Legacy Access Level III - Granted]
Kaela Sirova, you are ready for Legacy Access Level III.
The further history of the System awaits you.
Level III Message Status: Unlocked
Do you wish to view the message now? [Y/N]
Note: You can return to this screen when ready.
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She knew she was getting closer to the part of Earth and the System’s history that she was more familiar with. However, reading about it in school and experiencing it with your body and mind are two very different things.
She cleared her mind, lay prone in her bed, and selected Yes.
Her surroundings melted away, and she felt the cold stone floor materialize under her feet. Torches embedded in the walls cast soft, flickering light and gave off a faint warmth.
Three stone arches loomed before her, just as they had the last two times she had visited this space. Beyond the arches, stars sparkled infinitely in the sky.
To her left, Elliot Voss sat on the same bench, patiently waiting for her to reorient herself.
She looked to him and began walking toward the bench. Voss smiled warmly, and stood. When she was a few feet away, he extended his arms and pulled her into a tight hug.
He still appeared as a man in his eighties, but Kaela couldn’t help but notice that the strength of his embrace contrasted with that image.
“Nice to see you again, Kaela,” Voss said, sitting back down on the bench. “Tell me what you’ve been up to since you last visited.”
She recounted the incursions, the latest Peacekeeper Tutorial, and filled him in on her encounter on the dark side of the moon.
“I’ve been off planet before,” she said, “but it was through portals. It was a strange feeling being on the moon. The gravity was hard to get used to, and seeing normal humans living in such an environment was fascinating. Not to mention, I was able to open diplomatic relations with a new species.”
Voss smiled again.
“I bet your parents are proud. Darian especially would have enjoyed such an experience. He’s always had such an intent curiosity about life and its infinite variation.”
Kaela laughed.
“It’s true! He used to talk to us about it when we were children. I think he was preparing Elena and me for a future where encountering aliens would not shock us.”
They talked for a while longer. Finally, Voss stood and began walking toward the first arch.
“Shall we begin?”
Kaela followed him, ready for the next history lesson.
He placed his hand gently on her shoulder.
“The first gate begins where we left off last time. It starts with a dark event, but hold steady through the archive. You’ll see. Go ahead and step through. We can discuss on the other side. Just… brace yourself.”
Kaela suddenly grew nervous, but she nodded and stepped forward.
The Tumultuous Road to Peace
Kaela found herself on a US Navy destroyer, sailing the Pacific Ocean. It was early on April 15th, 2026, and they were performing war games in the Philippine Sea south of Japan.
Suddenly, alarms blared across the ship, and sailors began running to battle stations, a sort of controlled chaos that they trained for day and night.
Moments later, Kaela witnessed a horrific event.
A kinetic strike fell from the sky like a lance of destruction from the heavens themselves. It crashed into the supercarrier at hypersonic speed, and snuffed out every one of the 5,238 sailors and airmen aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford in an instant.
Kaela gasped in shock, as she and the two hundred sailors aboard the destroyer could do nothing but watch it happen.
Her ears rang as the shockwave reached them from nearly a mile away, traveling across the ocean surface with little resistance. Her mouth agape, she took it all in.
The System took her from that scene, and she instantly recognized the meticulously manicured greens of a golf course. Looking around, she spotted the infamous dictator of North Korea, preparing to tee off. Suddenly a hole opened in his neck, and blood spewed forth from the wound. Another followed, then one more, before he dropped to the ground.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
She saw Vanessa, Grim Thorne, and others exit the woods, weapons at the ready, and approach the remaining people.
Everyone was zip-tied and on their knees as a surprisingly peaceful discussion unfolded. She watched as a new regime was born before her very eyes.
This, Kaela remembered reading about. The assassination of the Supreme Leader led to the formation of a democratic government, and a short time thereafter, actual reunification on the Korean Peninsula.
Her perspective shifted once again, and she was in an ornately decorated meeting room.
A dozen men sat at a conference table drinking tea and talking about a war.
“The war in Ukraine,” she muttered. “I remember this, too.”
The man at the head of the table seemed quite arrogant, but he toppled over, bumping his head on the table and dying right on the spot.
The one who had confronted him took the vacated seat and began talking about ending the war and rejoining the world as a contributing member rather than a pariah.
They spoke at length while a puddle of blood continued flowing and the body on the floor grew cold.
She was pulled back out of the vision, and when her surroundings came back into focus, she stood next to the arch, with Voss nearby.
“The strike on the USS Ford led to actual world peace,” Voss said. “It was a horrific price to pay for the families of 5,238 men and women, there is obviously no doubt about that. But that strike was the precipitating event from which so much good bloomed, that it reminds me of a phrase Buddhists use often: ‘changing poison into medicine.’”
“So the fall of the regime in North Korea, the end of the war in Ukraine, it all followed the—”
“Yes,” Voss said, interrupting her. “Why don’t we move on. I’m sorry you had to see that up close. Know that the sacrifice was honored a billion times over. But I get ahead of myself, please step through the second arch.”
Kaela was still trying to shake the image from her mind, but nodded and complied with Voss.
Daybreak Over Humanity
She walked through the arch, and this time she was seated in the auditorium at Voss Tower. Thousands of people filled the chairs around her, and the buzz was electric.
It was July 15th, 2026, and as Kaela was gaining her bearings, her mother approached the podium at the front of the room.
Everyone around Kaela quieted down immediately, and were on the edge of their seats as she began her speech.
She spent a few minutes praising Elliot Voss and his life’s work, before holding up a small off-white bottle.
“Everything I am about to tell you is 100% true and has been scientifically verified.
Within 24 hours after drinking Vitalyx, you will be cured of every disease and illness.
Then, the serum begins working on your DNA, removing all negative genetic mutations. Within 72 hours of taking this…
You will be in perfect health.”
Kaela watched the people around her stare on in surprise. The scene shifted to a different day in the same setting: August 17th of the same year.
Here, Mallory announced Rejuvenex, and this time it seems the gathered crowd was less skeptical.
“This is where it all began,” Kaela muttered.
She was pulled from the vision, and back to the mystical stone arches.
“This was the period when humanity, at last, was saved from illness and disease, and granted the extended lifespan that you all enjoy now,” Voss said.
“You were responsible for all of this,” Kaela said, her eyes shining with tears.
Voss blushed and smiled.
“It was my life’s mission, and I was not willing to give it up. There were a number of issues with the distribution of the serums. We won’t get into it, but the ugly side of human nature came to bear.”
He looked down at the floor, and Kaela could see the regret in his eyes.
“In the end,” Voss continued, “all resistance was quashed, and the Core Council actually achieved an impressive 99.9% adoption rate. Those who did not take the serums were mainly the elderly and those who lived in such remote, distant places that word never reached them.”
This man had saved over eight billion people, and the few thousand he missed were still a lingering pain for his memory.
“It’s really amazing to see it happen before my eyes,” Kaela said. “I could feel the excitement in the room.”
“Truly,” Voss said. “I wish I could have been there myself! But I had already fulfilled my purpose at that point.”
He led Kaela to the final stone arch.
“Now, step through for the final piece.”
New Year’s Day
Kaela stepped through the last arch, and this time her body wasn’t anywhere in particular. Her consciousness seemed to float over the lands like a bird soaring through the sky.
A distinct voice sounded in her mind. She recognized it immediately, of course. It was the System narrating for her.
“As midnight struck on New Year’s Eve, turning to the first day of 2027, I activated the Tutorial for eight billion men, women, and children across the planet. When they reached REM sleep, their bodies rested while their minds were taken on an adventure you are very familiar with.”
Kaela continued soaring across the landscape. The wind buffeted her hair. Rivers and hills and grasslands flew by beneath her as the System continued its narration.
“Eight billion minds, each one a universe unto itself, connected to a new reality through me. I felt their confusion, their elation and excitement. I felt their hopes and dreams forming in the moment as they realized their entire existence was about to change at a fundamental level.”
Kaela felt herself move through space and time, as if she were shifting dimensions. She landed right back on the stone floor in the temple of three arches. But, before Voss noticed her arrival, the System said:
“I determined in that moment that I would dedicate my considerable power to protect and nurture humanity, and give my every effort to help you ascend to something greater. You, Kaela Sirova, were the first to achieve this, but you will not be the last.”
Voss seemed to notice Kaela now, but he did not approach yet. One last speech from the System entered her mind before her body fully materialized.
“You were granted a title, First Ascendant, which I now activate. You will lead this generation of humanity into the next phase. When you are done in the Temple of Arches, you will have a chance to prepare. When you trigger the ascension, you will enter stasis for a month. Good luck, Ascendant. I am waiting for you on the other side.”
When the System left her mind, Kaela almost fell over. Voss reached out and caught her arm, helping her until she became stable.
“Let’s sit,” he suggested, leading her to the bench again.
They sat down, and Kaela was still reeling from the experience. To say it was disorienting would be an understatement. She sat quietly for several minutes. Voss didn’t say anything while she regained her bearings. Finally, she blinked a few times, focused, and turned toward him.
“That,” Kaela said, “was something else.”
Voss smiled. He squeezed her arm gently.
“Indeed. Now, here’s what you need to know…”
He gave her explicit instructions, and her System-enhanced memory recorded every bit of what Voss told her, before she returned to her body.
She sat up in her bed and stretched her arms.
“How long was I out?”
She looked at the System clock. Twenty-four hours had passed. There was a glass of water on the nightstand by her bed and a note from Elena.
“Looks like you might be a while. Come find us when you’re up and about again.”
A notification appeared in Kaela’s vision. She checked on it.
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[Archive Access – Segment III Complete]
[Return available upon further progression.]
This quest will be updated when conditions for progress are met.
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“Wow,” she muttered. “That was a lot to take in.”
She swallowed the entire glass of water in a few large gulps, before heading into the living room to fill everyone in on her experience.