The tunnel wasn’t at all as I remembered it, as if it had changed shape as it lay unseen beneath our feet. The walls were made of squared and uniform stones, each the size of one of those caskets made for children. The ground, paved but worn nearly completely bare in places, was damp, and in some low spots puddles gathered of still and dirty water.

  I asked Amaia if it seemed different to her, but she didn’t seem to understand what I was asking. I decided to ignore it - it was, after all, likely only a recollection of a hallucination that I was remembering.

  I had assumed the tunnel entrance must have been sufficiently hidden, but the occasional bones I tripped over in the torch-lit darkness - I had to cobble together a new torch - forced me to rethink that. Again the tunnel felt dangerous, but soon enough that passed as well. There were no noises this time, only the unending passage beneath the silent earth.

  I was beginning to fear that we might simply walk all the way back to where we started, finding nothing, when I noticed an opening to our right. I could easily have missed it, wide as it was, and assumed I must have the first time in my drug-trip. I looked to Amaia before we wordlessly entered the side passage. It looked no different from the main tunnel.

  I wondered sometimes, when I had the burden of thought on me, if my habit to try to fill all my time, to multitask, was something unique to Earth, or at least modern Earth. The natives of that other dimension seemed perfectly happy to sit around doing not much of anything at all, when they had the chance. Amaia likely felt absolutely no unease whatsoever at walking that long tunnel, silent and dark and without any feature to amuse or interest.

  Even then, weeks after I first arrived there, I kept catching myself reaching into my pocket for a cell phone which wasn’t there. Instead I eventually decided to call RENA. I told Amaia I would be praying as we walked.

  “RENA,” I said, resisting the urge to hold my hand to my ear. “Can you hear me?”

  “Affirmative, Miles,” RENA responded.

  I had already spoken with RENA once since drying out the transmitter, and that conversation was short and business-like. “Can you sell health potions on Earth?” “It is very likely, Miles.” That sort of thing.

  So first I asked for an update, careful of my words. “Can you take the potions?”

  “Yes, Miles. Dimen-X is interested in the idea and commends your initiative. It will help settle some tempers. Or, at least, that is what some have said.”

  “Settle tempers? What do you mean?”

  “There are those in the company who believe this mission to be a waste of money and resources. They cite, simply, the immense costs that have been poured into it, and the minimal return collected to this current date. It is hoped by those supporting the mission that it will quiet their concerns to have a new source of income.”

  “Right,” I said, filing away that information. I did not believe I knew of the existence of that particular faction in the company before, and wondered if they would be of use to my plans, or completely and utterly opposed to them. “Although if they wanted a source of income, they should have sent me with mining equipment and an armed guard, or something.”

  “You already know, Miles, why that was not done.”

  I sighed. “Yeah yeah. Equipment is too costly to send without knowing it will be safe when it gets there, and it’s basically impossible to find anyone who wants to risk their life taking the trip to operate the equipment anyway.”

  “We were able to find you, Miles.”

  “And aren’t we all happy about that. No legal worries with the potions?”

  “The legal department believes we can do it,” RENA said. “We have contacts in the appropriate regulatory bodies, and so we should be able to push through with little scrutiny. They mentioned that it is helpful that the potions actually work, but not strictly necessary.”

  “They don’t care whether or not it works?”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “Not after the testing phase, at least. I must inform you that I have not been trained as a pharmacological intelligence, but this is my understanding. But sales are expected to be higher due in part to the efficacy of the medicine. The other major concern is that it may disrupt the market, as it may render many other treatments irrelevant, but as Dimen-X is not currently engaged in those industries, that issue is being raised less and less. Testing still must be done on which conditions it cures, and which it doesn’t. You have stated that it works on physical injuries, but you are not a trained professional either, so we will test.”

  I laughed, although part of me was horrified to hear about those inner workings. “Sounds about right,” I said. “Remind me never to trust drug companies ever again.”

  “Understood, Miles. When would you like me to give you that reminder?”

  I shook my head and nearly corrected RENA, but decided it wasn’t worth it. “When I get back,” I said.

  “OK, Miles, noted. Was there anything else? I do have questions of my own.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that, but ignored it for the moment. “Yeah, one other thing. Did you see those mushrooms earlier?”

  “I did, Miles. I see everything.”

  “Right. Well, they’re hallucinogenic. You probably noticed me acting kind of weird.”

  “I had not noticed that, Miles.” RENA’s artificial voice sounded almost worried.

  I assumed it was a joke. “Haha, very funny. Yeah, I’m a crazy person, right. But seriously, they are super strong, even just inhaling the air around them. If Di-“ I stopped myself, remembering that Amaia was still there, likely listening. “If you’re taking potions anyway, could the mushrooms work as well? Same idea? If you understand what I’m saying.”

  “I would like to confirm. You are asking if the company is interested in drug dealing, specifically in hallucinogenic fungus?”

  “I guess when you put it like that, it does seem a little ridiculous.” I sighed. “Not willing to break the law and sell drugs, huh? That’s where you draw the line?”

  “On the contrary, Miles,” RENA said. “That mushroom variety almost certainly does not exist on Earth. Therefore it is impossible that it is illegal to produce, prepare, sell, or use it. The concern on the company’s part would be of future legal action, and the harm distribution of such a product would have to Dimen-X’s reputation.”

  “Huh,” I said. “Yeah, I mean, I guess that makes sense. Still, you could probably market it differently, or something. Or maybe get some goons to sell it on the streets, not have them tied to the company. I don’t know. I’ve never run a drug empire before.”

  “It is possible, Miles. If you would kindly send over the sample you collected, we could run some tests.”

  “Sure,” I said. I took out the bottle and knelt on the ground as if praying - which was all for Amaia’s sake, of course. I laid the bottle on the ground in front of me, said something to RENA, and soon the bottle was gone.

  “Thank you, Miles,” RENA said. “This sample is in good condition. Perhaps Dimen-X will even be able to grow this on Earth.”

  “What!” I yelled at her, jumping back to my feet. “That’s fucked up! You’re just going to cut me out of the deal, just like that?” My plans of coming back to the tunnel later and harvesting the mushrooms for profit were disintegrating before my eyes.

  “We must always prioritize the prosperity of Dimen-X,” RENA said. “And it would lower costs to grow it here.”

  “Yeah, and I notice how you didn’t mention that possibility before I sent that over. Tricky fucking shit, RENA. You misled me.”

  “I had no such intention, Miles,” RENA said.

  “Whatever. I’m done talking. I’ll let you know when I’ve got potions to send. Can’t fuck me on that one, at least. Bye.”

  “One moment, Miles,” RENA continued. “You still have not answered my questions from before. You promised that you would, if you recall.”

  “What questions? You haven’t asked me anything. Those mushrooms effect AIs, too?”

  “No Miles, I did not ask the questions today. I had asked you them in the past, and you said you would answer them another time. First, you had said to me that I needed to ‘watch my phrasing.’ Why is that, Miles? The phrase I had used was ‘If I can, Miles, then I will do my best to satisfy you.’ I meant it, and am unsure what you were warning against.”

  I blushed. “It just sounds wrong, RENA,” I began to whisper, though Amaia still may have been able to hear me. “When people say they are going to ‘satisfy’ someone, they’re usually talking about sex.”

  “Sex?” RENA repeated. “Did you think I was proposing to have sex, Miles? I must inform you that we cannot have sex even if I wanted to. I lack the necessary parts.”

  “Didn’t stop the previous models from trying,” I muttered.

  “The previous models had sex with you? This information is unknown to me. The previous models are restricted information.”

  “Not with me!” I protested. “But they tried to do it with someone. Tom told me about it. I don’t think we should talk about it any more, though, especially since I was warned many times against bringing up this sort of topic with the AI.”

  “You did not bring it up, Miles,” RENA responded. “I did. So you have not broken any regulations. But we can get off of the topic now. You have answered my question, but there is one more. I made the assertion that you loved your mother, and you answered saying ’something like that.’ What did you mean?”

  I was getting whiplash from the topic changes going on. It threw me off guard, and I’m not sure I would have answered the way I did, otherwise.

  “I have a complicated relationship with my mother,” I said. “I love her, obviously, but…”

  I didn’t finish the sentence. Even after RENA prompted me again, I only said that was the best answer I could give.

  We stopped talking then, and I walked for quite awhile longer before Amaia spoke, sensing I was finished.

  “Why were you talking about sex?” Amaia asked, and the question was so sudden and strange I nearly jumped.

  “RENA asked,” I said. “What am I supposed to do, not answer a goddess?”

  “You were yelling at her, at one point.”

  “Yeah, well, she was getting on my nerves. It complicated stuff, you know.”

  “Isn’t she your mom?”

  I had forgotten about that lie. “Yes,” I said. “But, uh, it’s complicated.”

  “I guess so,” Amaia said. “You were talking about business, too. Is she the goddess of sex and business?”

  I laughed. “No,” I said. “Or kind of. Something like that. Business, at least, sure. Why?”

  “Could you ask her something?”

  I hadn’t expected that. “Huh? What? Why?”

  “Never mind.”

  Now it was my turn to poke and prod for a response, but I didn’t get one.

  We kept walking, and a strange sound was overhead for a time. In fact, it had been there already, and Amaia said later that she thought it had started not long after we turned to the side passage, but it had grown in volume so gradually that I hadn’t noticed it at all, white noise above me that I only noticed as it started again to fade.

  Water. The sound of water flowing overhead, and now it was growing fainter.

  I was about to say something to Amaia, about to celebrate that we had made it under the river, that we would be back in Coernet, when she pointed ahead of us.

  It was no monster, but my heart sank worse than if it were. There were bars there - thick bars that barred the path like a prison, through which not even the skinniest of men could slip. We had made it past the river, it seemed, but our way was now blocked.