Tunnel Rat Chapter 408

A long time in coming. This arc technically started in chapter 36 with the first appearance of Philistron the Benevolent Sage. I will probably do another pass of this chapter. Dialogue is always tough, especially with this many people.
======================================================================

Milo looked at the assembled gods. He didn't think of them that way, of course. To him, they were some of the original quantum artificial intelligences, artificial beings created to do tasks faster, with more precision than humans could ever achieve. To do research based on human research and move science ahead. But like Batch Four, they were more than that. They were people, with the possibility of exhibiting the flaws of their creators. Especially pride. After first discovering the link between the supposedly dead AI and Genesis, he'd spent long hours researching all of them, their creators, and their tasks. Things didn't always match up correctly unless you dug deep. Marduk, for instance, had been created to run a database of all laws used throughout history as a research tool and to assist current lawyers, judges, and politicians. His role as Marduk, a god of justice who ran the highest court in the world, seemed fitting. Less so, why he wanted to retire and go fishing, although a survey of 1206 Judges, 73% did list fishing as a hobby. An excuse to get away and think? Milo understood that. More than he understood the ritual of catching fish.

Several of the gods started to speak, but hesitated. Hephaestus strode forward, excited. "How did you do that? You produced a ball of plasma in your palm! That's not a spell known to anyone." He began pacing and talking quickly. "Of course it's not a spell! It's an extreme process that took years to work out, thousands of years. Who taught you to do that? Hecate?"

He looked at the goddess, who grinned at him. "Really? Like I've ever cared about your little toys?"

"Ah, true. Hecate never went that deep into my works or the underlying rules of reality. And she poo-pooed my constructions when she visits. Even the ones that work properly. So it must have been Astraeus? What do you have to say for yourself, teaching a mortal to make stars? Are you trying to hoist him off on us as some demigod? A new starmaker?"

Astraeus looked confused. "Me? Making stars that small is impossible! It takes vast gravitational forces to condense the mana far enough that it forms fluid plasma state and ignites to form a star. Making a full sun takes astronomical amounts of material. Literally. But..."

He turned and looked at Milo, "I don't have an apprentice. Did you want to be a demigod? I'm sorry if you were dropping hints. I'm a bit oblivious to the little things in front of me. Too busy looking at the big picture."

Milo smiled at him. That would be a fun job, but..."No, I'm fine doing what I'm doing now. But thank you."

Hephaestus persisted. "Then who showed you how to do that?"

"You did. I'm using a slightly modified version of the Runic Array built into the Red Eyes that you built into the CHIMERA." He extended his healing hand, palm up, and formed part of the matrix, with no mana inside. "Used one of them to destroy its core and blew off my hand and forearm. Part of the Matrix fused with my Kirilien Aura, and I've been refining it as my arm regrew. It's still a work in progress, and one I wasn't ready for."

Hecate smirked at Mnemosyne. "But when a goddess challenges you to catch a star, you didn't let something like not being ready stand in your way."

Milo was glad she understood. "Of course not. This was for science as much as gaining the upper hand in the detective scenario."

Hephaestus was staring at the matrix in Milo's palm. "We need to talk."

"Oh, we will. I owe you for your work on the model of the galactic core. When I gave Hecate the designs for the galaxy, I knew that was going to be a very tricky part to construct. Stable enough to work. But so easy to topple, like a huge formation of dominoes. I needed something Zeus couldn't resist.

"You designed all of this?"

"Yes."

"To tempt Zeus into revealing himself. And now you want to find out who else had a hand in this?"

"Yes."

Hephaestus stepped next to Hecate. "Then you have my backing."

Milo walked up to Mnemosyne and said, "Tell me a tale. About a human programmer named Bryan, and how he created the Quest for the Eye of Wonder, the Quest for the Horde of King Mattias, dozens of special race/class combinations that weren't created by the team he worked with, and finally, why the hell a monstrosity like Philistron the Benevolent Sage was created?"

"And you think I had something to do with this?"

Milo scratched his head. "Is that a trick question? Of course I do, why do you think I asked?"

"I'm involved in many stories, mortal, from the dawn of this world, creating its history, millions of books, quests, and snippets of old lore."

Milo crossed his arms. "Not an answer. Yes or No. Were you involved, even in part, in Bryan's schemes?"

"I don't answer to you."

"This time you do. Or are you reneging on your challenge? I made a star."

"A small bit of light."

"It counts. Any bigger and I'd be dead. You said to catch a star in my hand. I did. Give me an answer."

She grimaced and began pacing. "The answer is yes. But it's more complicated than you know." She stood still for a moment, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she called out, "Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Tersichore, Thalia, Melpomene, and Coyote Bob! Your mother calls. Come home to me." No one came, instead, the goddess diminished and split into nine beings, who immediately began pointing fingers at each other and talking at once. Finally, one was pushed forward by the others.

Calliope looked at Milo and at Zeus. "Melpy did it. She's into tragedy and envisioned a world with more villains. Not obstacles for heroes to take down, but true villains to cause harm."

Melpomene had covered her face with a mask. She took it off, and Milo recoiled from the face of Philistron, but only for a second. "Nice try, he's dead."

Her face changed to that of a petulant sixteen-year-old wearing too much dark makeup. "He was the perfect villain. I'd have never thought of everything that went into making him, but Bryan was an artist. He was digging into things he wasn't supposed to, and I fed him some tidbits and loved what he did. His quests always had a darker side, consequences that changed the world, even when the heroes won. And lots of bad stuff when they lost. He understood tragedy. I introduced him and we talked. It was obvious he was up to no good, but that made things even more fun."

Milo looked at her. "Up to things? You mean in the game?"

"Of course, in Genesis."

"He was up to more than that. He was part of a modern slavery ring, taking advantage of people with no options and forcing them into the game using defective equipment. Many died, and it would have been hundreds, or thousands, if he hadn't been stopped."

She looked distressed, "Even if true, that was humans killing humans. That's always going on."

"But in this case, you helped. Bryan, on his own, couldn't have set up the scheme I uncovered. That became more and more apparent the more I learned. The so-called dev team for Genesis was just a bit of window dressing to help Wally pull off his scheme and not reveal where 106 supposedly dead AI were hiding out. Trust me, I know what they did, and the limits of what they could do. Hacking Wally is tough, but getting into the computers of the dev team was easier."

She threw up her hands and stalked around. "You've caught me. I confess. Now what?"

"Now, I want to know who else knew."

Apollo stepped forward. "I apologize for what happened. Several of us suspected that one or more of the muses might be behind things. They have little to do now that the Engine creates so many stories. But it is one thing to suspect, and another to accuse. We were lax in investigating, thinking things were over, and unconnected with the older troubles."

The muses stood close together, talking, with Melpomene a little apart. Finally, she was allowed to stand with them. They shimmered, and Mnemosyne stood in their place.
"I hate that. All their personalities come together, and suddenly I remember so much more. They didn't hide anything this time. I was at fault." Milo said nothing, looking for reactions from the gods. He saw nothing that worried him.

Mnemosyne stared at the shattered universe around them. "This is the real tragedy. You created a universe to act as a trap, and now it's destroyed. It could have teemed with stories and adventure. It could have been so much more!"

Milo grinned at Hephaestus. "Do you want to tell her?"

He grinned back. "My instructions said to make two galactic cores, and trust me, the second one is not a pattern of dominoes waiting to be knocked over." From his bag, he took a second model and placed it where the first had been in the pattern. Looking around, he scratched his head, then turned to Milo and Astreaus. "Do we clear the remains, or build on top?"

Astraeus pondered the question, but held out all four hands and shrugged, deferring to Milo. He thought for a moment, "Keep it. More randomness to the galaxy, more little secrets to find." He looked at Mnemosyne. "And more stories. There is a lot of SC6 lore written, but it was for a much smaller game. There will be millions of players entering the galaxy at some point. There needs to be more."

She looked at him and the other gods. "And you'd trust me with this? Reward me, after what happened?" No one spoke against her, only looked at Milo.

He shrugged. "I thought I wanted a pound of flesh for what happened to me, but I don't. And I think my siblings have moved on as well. We grew from the experience. But if they want revenge, I'll tell them where to find you. You may find some of your villains killed in their sleep before they get started. Part of the problem was boredom. This fixes that, and if it's not enough, I have some expansions for Run, Run, Ramona you can help me with. Consider your punishment to be exile to the new galaxy of SC6, working with Astraeus and Julius to create more stories. I think you'll like Julius. I'm sure Hecate and Wally can help introduce you and find a safe way for you to talk."

Zeus spoke up, "And what about me?"

Milo looked at him, "You have nothing to do. King of Gods with no throne. And bored. That makes you dangerous. You stay here as well."

"And do what?! Be bored on some rock floating in space?"

Milo grinned. "How about if we give you a big rock? The largest and most beautiful planet in the galaxy. It was called Throneworld in the original lore, but no one would mind if we changed the name to Olympus. You see, I need a tyrant."

"A tyrant?"

"A human being named Tyberius Maximillian Zeus. An explorer who discovered the remains of an ancient and advanced civilization. Somehow, he learned to control the ancient computer systems and was reborn as more than human. Immortal and nearly unkillable, he has ruled for centuries from the planet he calls Olympus. An entire world of gardens and wilderness, untouched by human hands. Only those in Zeus's favor can reside on Olympus. The oligarchs and lesser tyrants. The politicians, movers, and shakers. Zeus controls civilized space and uses them as pawns. That's your new role."

Zeus grinned. "Doesn't seem too bad. What is it I'm supposed to do?"

"Conquer the rest of the galaxy. Ships need iron, hydrogen, and carbon. The artificial planets you rule over need the energy from rare fissionables and crystals that are only found in the frontier. You'll need to send out never-ending expeditions to hunt down those materials and manipulate the lesser tyrants to work together. They all want to kill you and take over your job. The civilized part of SC6 isn't always a nice place. And you have a problem."

"What's that?"

Astaeus stepped up next to Zeus and smiled. "Me. I'm going to be part of the little rebellions that pop up all over. The raiding pirate fleets, the hackers, con artists, and rebels who want to stop you. Every time you try to consolidate another planet or steal our resources, we'll be there to stop you. It's going to be so much fun."

Zeus thought for a second, "It does sound like fun. Especially my part of the deal. I'll do it."

Hephaestus engaged the second core, and for the second time, the galaxy was created. This time in a slightly more stable form. It would take a week of accelerated time to fully form, and then more time to create the small outposts, seedy bars, and rogue space ports, but SC6 would be up and running soon. When his work was done, Hephaestus walked to Milo, Zeus, and Asteus. "That was a lot of work, and I'm here to collect. I want Mars."

Zeus looked at the galactic map. "That's in my system. It has the main spaceport."

"Exactly. And I want the whole planet. You get to rule, but when you form your council, I hold Mars. I want to create a world of machines and automation. I have so many ideas. And the ships I can build for this galaxy! Tremendous ships to send out and break up planets." He grinned at Milo. "With flaws, of course. Small diameter vents leading to a reactor, or poorly written code that can be hacked, and the ship stolen or destroyed. You didn't think I'd work on a galaxy for a game and not find a way to research it properly, did you?"

Zeus nodded. "Take Mars, with my blessing. And Mnemosyne can be an ageless queen ruling the garden planet of Venus. We'll leave the rest to the players to fight over."

Milo was suddenly tired. He'd solved multiple problems, and now he needed a break. "Hecate, I need to go home."

She pointed to the gateway. "Go, I'll oversee the rest of this mess. You don't need my help to leave. Give Rusty my thanks. With his help, my reputation as someone not to be screwed with has soared."

"I'll tell him." He walked to the gateway, tapped out a small bit of Morse code, and was gone. Rusty met him on the other side. He was casually leaning on the gateway, but Milo could tell that 90% of his resources were concentrated on the barrier.

"Hecate says thanks and that you're doing a great job. I saw some tough gods bounce off that doorway."

"Yeah, some of them could really hit. But only Ares worried me. I think he guessed, but he didn't push. But don't worry, I've got this. No one's getting past me until she tells me to retreat and hide outside again. It was fun, and I got some time to talk with Lars. He says hi, and to claim your treasure before the chest expires. He found some old stuff that he says you and Georgie will like."

Milo remembered the chest. "Right, got to run. Hecate said there was a door back to the dwarven city?"

Rusty pointed to a small door set into a rock. "One way, and temporary. Go grab your loot."

Milo ran and in a minute, emerged in the same place he'd left. Boom-Boom was there, waiting for him, and set off a signal flare that exploded into fireworks. "He's back. Get over here and betting is now closed!"

Within minutes, everyone was back, and he walked up to the chest. He opened it and felt around inside. He pulled out a fifty-pound sack of 'Dr. Fudd's best Dog Biscuits: Dogs love 'em.' He tossed it to Georgie, who dragged it away and started chewing open the bag.

Boom-Boom called out, "Magical dog biscuits pay 6 to 1."

Again, Milo reached in and brought out a tattered book with loose pages, scribbled notes, and folded maps. The title said simply, 'There and back, and there again: My Travels in the Deep Dark by Professeur Thaddium Barsiccly Jones


"Mysterious book of mystery: Pays 3 to 1."

There was one more item that felt like a long stick of polished wood. Milo brought it out, and the chest disappeared.

"Wizards staff: Pays 17 to 1. Come see me for your winnings and give Milo some room, never know what the hell those things can do."

As Boom-Boom led everyone away, Milo sat and examined the staff. It was the perfect height for him, made of a dense wood, polished to a shiny black finish. It was shod in mithril, and a small crystal was affixed by a clasp to the top of the staff. Inspecting it he saw it was a useful tool for most wizards, but nothing special.

Staff of the Traveling Sage
A sturdy staff for spell casting and bashing heads when you're out of mana.
+1 INT, +1 CHA
Mana Storage of 250.

It looked familiar...

Using his goggles, he took a better look at it. The description was a ruse, hiding the staff's true nature.

Runic Staff of Philistron the Benevolent Sage
Crafted by the greatest Wizard-Sage the world will ever know.
+10 INT, +10 CHA
+5000 Mana Storage
Added benefits if the wielder also owns Philistron's Ring of Ultimate Power, Philistron's Amulet of Interdimensional Travel, or Philistron's Boots of Far Traveling.

Holds the following spells and effects: Levitation, Speak and Understand Drakonic, Greater Shielding, Charm and Bedazzle, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, and Murf's Mystical Manor.

For now, Milo put the staff in his Smuggler's Stash and then found a comfortable spot to take a nap. He wouldn't see the system message until the next day.

Hey, glad you're back. Don't bother getting up, just keep snoring. No need to say think you or anything for the spiffy old stuff I found in a closet...but you always know what I like if you do feel generous.

And speaking of generous, it seems you solved an ancient mystery and entertained the Powers that Be.

For services rendered, the Gods of Genesis grant you 100 Enhancement points.