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Ch 25, SDrama: Space Drama

Logan shot up, awake in an instance with an exclamation of dismay still lingering on his lips "-UCK!"

His voice echoed around the same Corpus Verto chamber he first encountered when coming to Ozar's Realm. TIBOR, dressed in the strange Judeo-Christian celestial garb as he'd worn the last time approached him with a serene smile. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Nagol. You were slain, but no hero ever truly dies."

Knowing full well that the Snarks had caused lethal damage, Logan was still working to parse what he'd experienced... presuming, of course, that he experienced what he thought he did. "I... died?"

TIBOR assisted him with sitting up and spoke to him as the player rather than the character, providing an answer much more clearly than if he were using 'game speak'. "In a manner of speaking, yes. Your health pool was reduced to nil and, as such, your Corpus ceased functioning."

Taking a moment to let the world stop spinning, Logan was pleased to relize that familiarizing himself with the Corpus was taking far less time than it had when he'd first arrived. "But... I didn't-- you know... actually DIE, right? Because if I'd died, then... I'd be dead... wouldn't I?"

Smoothing out the simple Corpus Verto clothing adorning the freshly raised Nagol, TIBOR offered another serene smile. "You underwent Iactis, Logan-- not unlike the method that you took to join us here on Ozar's Realm in the first place. Whether that is 1.2 billion kilometers or micrometers, the procedure is the same, albeit, information is transferred far faster the closer to the origin of the transmission."

Nagol looked down at his hands, turning them over so he could view them from every angle. "But... I'm still in the same body."

He forgot himself, and TIBOR was quick to correct. "Your Corpus is identical, but it is not the same. The Corpus you occupied at the time of your demise fell in the field. This is a replacement. Ozar's Realm can be a very dangerous place to adventure, thus each character has multiple reserves in case resurrection is needed. Your prior Corpus will remain where it fell until it is retrieved between game sessions."

Taking a breath, Nagol slowly stood, wobbling only a little until he found his balance-- definitely faster than when he arrived. "Okay... so... functionally I've been put into a new Corpus; it's the same as my last. Game-wise, I've been resurrected."

TIBOR offered the same calm, relaxing smile. "That is correct, Nagol. Welcome back to the world of the living."

The statement was a solid indicator that TIBOR(ael) was resuming his proper in-game dialogue. Taking that as a sign that the android was done providing him any hand-holding over his newest experience, Nagol looked around. "So... what about my gear?"

TIBORael gestured to the exit. "Your gear normally remains where it has fallen in the field, requiring you to go retrieve it. In this case, however, thanks to the divine will of the gods, your equipment has been benevolently returned to your room for you. Bear in mind, great hero, that this will not always be the case."

Even as Nagol worked to make sense of the in-game statement his implant thankfully translated. Apparently the first death suffered from a character during each visit to Ozar's Realm comes with a free return of gear. In Logan's case, his implant explained, he actually gets three per visit due to his status as an elite account holder. Heading to the door of the Corpus Verto room, Nagol mumbled "Thanks Star."

Even as he wandered back toward his room the implant continued to provide answers to questions he hadn't even realized he'd had. When a Corpus' health total dropped to zero the Corpus 'turned off', going catatonic as the player's Sum was transferred to a backup Corpus at the Temple. As TIBORael had indicated, the procedure was, in many ways, similar to an Iactis that got him to Ozar's Realm in the first place although, in the case of a 'player death', the Sum didn't actually have to go anywhere; everything was running on a local Sum server.

That little nugget of information caused Nagol to pause even as Logan tried to come to terms with what he was hearing; he froze in the hallway right outside his room. Although the information was helpful, he was still coming to terms with experiencing it himself. He inadvertently spoke his request. "Can you... maybe just... NOT for a little while?"

The implant acknowledged it would go into passive mode and await direct requests for input and then, somehow, Logan felt as though he was as 'alone' in his head as he was physically and, with that, he could continue. Slowly entering his room, Nagol saw that all of his adventuring gear was piled neatly on his bed. With his mind solely his once again, Nagol began reequipping his gear before standing in the middle of his room contemplating what to do next. Remembering something his dad had once told him about "falling off the horse and getting right back on" the young man resolved to at least not let his character death dissuade him from enjoying the more mild aspects of Ozar's Realm and, with that Nagol made his way back out of his room and headed for the stairs leading down to the common room.

Although it was the second time he'd left the Temple, it only just registered that it exited into the hallway of the inn; that realization went a long way toward disrupting his suspension of disbelief. Was a temple really connected to the second floor of an inn and tavern? He came to the conclusion that, no matter how large a Hab, there had to be SOME amount of flexibility when it came to a suspension of disbelief and so he rationalized that there was no reason to obsess about it; the connection worked in a game sense even if it was not the most realistic. He resolved to let that one go and descended the stairs.

As he reached the bottom of the steps he was surprised to see that the bar was incredibly busy. Checking the time, Nagol noticed a discrepancy. "Wait... it's after 6? I thought it wasn't even 4:30 when I fought those Snarks!"

Several of the people in the bar glanced his way then went back to whatever they were doing, leaving his implant to explain that resurrection is not instantaneous. Logan didn't like that answer, taking his dialogue internally to complain that traveling across the solar system from the Lunar Spire to Ozar's Realm supposedly took less than an hour. Why did it take so long to put him into a new body if his Sum was stored locally?

His implant provided a direct answer: there was a penalty imposed for any player who died. In addition to the inconvenience of having to collect one's belongings if there were remaining Blessings of Return (the automatic recovery of gear provided a limited number of times per visit), losing an hour of play time upon each death gave a certain gravity to dying and discouraged players from taking a gung-ho approach to risking it all. That, his implant noted, as well as giving the Corpus Verto bay time to ready the replacement Corpus and complete the transfer of the Sum without the procedure being rushed.

Sighing, Nagol leaned against the wall at the bottom of the steps, glancing around at the bar in full swing. There were a LOT of people gathered about and, truth be told, the young man really didn't feel much like socialization. His mood souring rapidly as he thought back to the frustrations and discomfort of having to deal with Daliah's drama involving her ex, Logan thought for a moment that he would be best off calling it a night and was just about ready to head back up to his room when a jovial voice called to him from off to the side "A little too rowdy for your tastes, huh?"

Turning to look at the speaker, Nagol had already recognized Ozar's voice before his eyes met the calm, smiling visage of the Orc bartender. "Yeah... just died for the first time and I guess I'm still recovering."

Ozar chuckled, offering him a wink. "Oh, I get'cha. Tell you what, Nagol... seeing as nobody should spend time alone grumbling about their first death, lemme bring you into the staff room. It's usually reserved for employees, but you look like you could probably use some company, and it's nice and quiet."

Nagol honestly wasn't sure he'd be good company, but he also wasn't confident about turning down a friendly overture from the OWNER of a Hab. "Okay... I guess."

The two spent almost an hour chatting about Nagol's first death and his first resurrection. Ozar was both inquisitive and insightful, asking the right questions to get the young man to assess his own experience and, in turn, help him better explain what he went through. The focus on the specifics of what happened and the way in which Nagol handled it really helped as a debrief. That, in turn, led Nagol into his own series of questions, culminating in the biggest one up to that point. "So... even though I 'died' in game, I never actually died. My Sum completely left the Corpus and that Corpus is getting picked up from where it fell and put back into storage?"

Ozar shrugged. "Good a summary as anything, I guess. Your Sum is stored on a server here at ozar's Realm... you can think of it as a 'stasis' of sorts, and you get simulcast into a Corpus-- that's what all your senses use and how you experience things here. It's more complicated than that, but I'm thinking you want the simple answer, right?"

Nagol nodded, rubbing the side of his head as he made sense of what he was being told. "So... the Sum server thing... that's a computer... and it... sends my Sum into this Corpus?"

The Orc laughed, and leaned back in his chair. "Think of it as a safety net. Consciousness is transmitted to all the Corpora here through the central server where all Sums are stored. Rather than the slim possibility of Sums being put at risk for possible injury or actual death here in Ozar's Realm, they're simulcast into their character while they operate on the very powerful processor that serves as this hab's central column."

Letting out a long breath, Logan tried to come to grips with what he was not sure he understood. "So... I'm not REALLY in this Corpus?"

Ozar took a sip from a mug he had brought with him from the bar. "It FEELS like you are, doesn't it? But, nah... there's a tether connecting your Sum to your Corpus. Like I said: it's a safety feature. Every million-and-a-half Corpora might die due to trauma sustained during the more rigorous adventures here. The system creates a buffer between the Sum and the Corpus to limit the impact of death affecting visitor Summae and--"

Nagol interrupted. "And 'Summae' is the--"

The Orc grinned. "The plural of 'Sum'... right."

He wasn't sure he completely understood but he also couldn't really argue the point. Still, one thought did get to him. Finally feeling like he was settling into his chair for a chat rather than a lecture, Nagol asked "So... with all of this switching around and operating on a server to pilot a Corpus or whatever, wouldn't that do really weird stuff to memories?"

His host shook his head, leaning forward a little more seriously. "Nah... between the brightest minds working on Corpus Verto and memory recording process that's been a key point for Transhumanity which started around the time the first clinical trials started-- like the one you were part of."

Not really sure what to do with that information, Nagol simply replied with "Oh."

Ozar's pleasant smile returned. "We have the ability to isolate, culture, and refine memories to better help with social, emotional, and mental growth-- and to really make kick ass immersive experiences like Ozar's Realm. Plus, now that we have such advanced mapping of the way the brain works and how memories are stored, "

Part of that sounded reassuring, but also a little frightening. "So... you mean... I could, like, wipe memories I don't want or something? Could someone ELSE do that to me?"

The Orc sat up straight, his thick, black eyebrows furrowing. "Absolutely not. While most Transhuman habs are fairly live-and-let-live there are universal laws that prohibit memory tampering... it's not only illegal, but it's unethical, unsafe, and a just plain bad idea. Sure, some memories can be faded, dimmed, or blurred by a memory care specialist for therapeutic purposes, but our memories are what make us who we are-- they're some of the most valued possessions for any Transhuman."

Nagol watched the passion with which Ozar had explained everything; the Orc was so mellow usually that the change in tone caught him by surprise. "Oh... uh... sure. I guess there has to be some limit to perfect recall... right? Plenty of memories I know I wouldn't want to relive over and over."

His host's jovial aura returned. "Oh, definitely not. Transhumanity learned a long time ago that perfect recall is no path to long term happiness. There's enough opportunities for trauma out there there are plenty of things that need to dull with time if we want to stay mentally sound. Sometime we just NEED to forget things, or let our brains adapt our memories... just because it isn't forgotten doesn't mean it can't be lessened over time and hurting is a natural part of being wounded whether it be physical or emotional. We have to be able to face things down and learn from them... it's probably the healthiest way to develop maturity and emotional strength."

Nagol shrugged, poking at the mug that Ozar had set in front of him when they first sat down. "Yeah... I guess. Losing someone you loved never stops hurting or what not, but I guess it isn't quite as painful a lot of years later."

Ozar winked. "Just so. Personally I'd like to remember the loss of a loved one rather than forget they ever existed. We can edit the strength of memories and dull emotional reactions to memories if we need to lessen the immediate impact of them but memories are what make us who we are and if we want to preserve who we are then we need those memories to stay as accurate as possible."

Logan poked at the little mental 'switch' that he'd flipped before his first experience with Iactis when he was about to 'travel' to Ozar's Realm. "Is that why everyone is able to record their memories?"

The Orc laughed. "Sure... that's one reason. There's also the whole 'shared experience' thing that popped up a few hundred years ago. Ask five different Transhumans and you're likely to get six answers."

Finally taking a sip from his drink, Nagol admired the complex flavors and how the sweetness and bitterness blended well. Letting out a sigh, he tried to conclude the topic by summarizing. "So naturally forgetting or misremembering some things help people lessen grief, lessen hate, reduce shame and stuff. Over time, dealing with memories helps people work their way through it but, if it's too hard, there are ways to lessen the impact and process at a slower rate. That about right?"

Ozar nodded. "Yep... that's about the whole of it."

Nagol laughed. "Wow... with something like that I guess people don't need shrinks anymore."

The Orc offered a broad smile as he nodded. "More or less... at least, compared to how they used to be."

With at least that much settled, Nagol went back to his earlier focus on the difference between inhabiting a Corpus and being 'simulcast'. "So... how does it all work? I mean... I'm in a Corpus right now, but you're storing my Sum separately? Like... where? How? If my Sum isn't in this Corpus, then where am I? And WHAT am I?"

Ozar sat calmly, as if he'd explored the question a hundred times. He started by holding out one hand as he began ticking off individual fingers while explaining the different components of the Hab's backup and restore system as it related to a Sum versus Corpora. By the time Ozar got to his ring finger Logan had completely lost track of what was being explained, and his implant, was not able to help much. He distracted himself looking through the door of the staff area and watching another player's "chipmunk familiar" perched on a wine glass cutely for the majority of Ozar's second hand worth of fingers.

The Orc offered a tusky grin as he finished the technical side of things. "Make sense?"

Nagol fidgeted. "Uh... clear as mud, thanks!"

Rather than push the issue, Ozar did a remarkable job of understanding the not-so-subtle cue that it was perhaps time to change the conversation. "So... what were you doing out in the fields alone? Didn't you have a group with you when you left?"

The young man's frown reappeared. "Daliah got into an argument with her ex. He was working today and they got into it pretty bad."

Ozar's response was bland at best. "Ah."

Feeling like he had to clarify, Nagol explained "I really don't like dealing with people going through confrontation and stuff like that... so I split."

The Orc nodded thoughtfully. "And... you said you were killed by a swarm of Snarks?"

Nagol nodded. "Yeah. Five. I got one but the rest took me down before I could run."

Rubbing his chin, the green skinned bartender groused. "That's strange... packs of Snarks aren't supposed to wander too close to the roads."

Feeling the pending condemnation, Nagol elected to bite the bullet and admit to his own shortcomings. "Well... I... mighta strayed off the road a little."

Ozar nodded casually, then shrugged. "Ah... I guess everyone has to have their learning moment at some point, right?"

The young man rolled his eyes, immediately thankful that the Orc went easy on him and didn't bother being reproachful. "Tell me about it! I left my group behind... I didn't stay on the road... and then I tried to stay and fight a pack of Snarks. I guess even if they were only level three they could still be pretty nasty."

The Orc gave him a hearty slap on the back. "Hey... no sweat, Nagol. I'm not here to judge. It might've been a 'less-than-smart' move but you learned something, so it's not all bad, right? Nothing wrong with failing so long as you can take away a lesson."

Nagol smiled despite himself, nodding thoughtfully as he looked down at his hands resting atop the table. "Yeah... yeah, I guess that's true. I should probably go looking for Daliah though... apologize or something, I mean. It's kind of a shitty thing to do to just run off on a group."

Ozar shrugged. "Sure... if you want to apologize there's nothing wrong with that... but Daliah logged out a little while ago while you were finishing up with your rez."

It wasn't that Nagol doubted Ozar's comment but he reflexively checked her status himself and, sure enough, his implant acknowledged that Daliah was no longer active in Ozar's Realm. "Well crap."

The Orc chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Nagol... I spoke with her before she split and, even if you feel pretty crappy about the whole thing I'm pretty sure she felt worse. She was leaning on my bar for a good thirty minutes telling me HER side of things and, truth be told, I can kinda see why you split."

The Human sighed. "She felt bad, huh?"

Shrugging, Ozar leaned back in his chair, kicking his large, sandaled feet up onto the table. "Well, when you've lived long enough confrontation is usually done directly and straight-forward... it often gives the wrong impression for folks not used to it-- especially Class Ones like yourself. When you get to know everyone in your part of the solar system it's important to be able to address misunderstandings, frustrations, and differences of opinions clearly and openly. It's a big change from how Humans used to do it."

Nagol 'hmm'ed at that. "Yeah... I guess you can carry some pretty heavy baggage with you after long enough... kinda makes me surprised that exes are allowed to work together here... or that there isn't some kind of rule about fraternizing with coworkers or whatever."

The Orc out-and-out laughed at that. "Nagol... given how long we live, it's not easy to stay out of one another's way forever. Survive enough decades and eventually your past (and your past flings) become inescapable. In general my workers and guests are expected to be mature enough to deal with their personal 'baggage' as you call it without it affecting their ability to work, or play, or whatever."

Sighing, the Human slouched in his chair. "Guess that doesn't happen in all situations, huh? Maybe I should take a break or something."

Nagol didn't need to look up to know that Ozar had inched closer; the Orc was pretty hefty and the scooting of his chair was anything but subtle. "The great thing about this place is that you can do things at your own pace. Even if you choose not to adventure there's still lots of ways you can enjoy yourself."

The way Ozar quickly addressed Nagol's admittedly depressing statement gave the Human a moment's pause; he suddenly remembered that he was talking about the Hab to its owner and he had to quickly reassess his belly-aching. "I mean... I AM having fun... it's just... well... I guess... I..."

The Orc immediately came to his rescue by pushing him out of his idle search for the right words. "OTHER than the interpersonal issue, you were enjoying yourself?"

Nagol looked up, straightening his posture. "Yeah-- a lot, actually. It's a incredibly new experience and it's engaging and fun! I'm really enjoying it... I was enjoying it... until the... well... you know."

Ozar accepted the statement with good grace. "Of course, Nagol. Thank you for saying so. I always want visitors to feel welcome and be able to unwind. When I hear that a--"

Whatever the Orc was going to say was interrupted by a knock at the door followed by a female voice calling "Ozar! Do you have a moment?"

Nagol was surprised that his host looked a little caught off guard but he recovered quickly. "Oh, Hanna... come on in, my dear."

A rather plain-looking Human woman entered. If Nagol hadn't known better he would have sworn that she was 'normal'-- nowhere near what he'd come to expect of a Transhuman, and definitely not one of the fantastic races of Ozar's realm. Having already caught the Orc by surprise, she quickly did the same with Nagol. "I'm sorry, Logan."

His bewilderment only lasted for a few seconds until he realized that, considering she had access to the staff room she was probably a staff member, which meant that she'd know his real name rather than just his character's. He figured the least he could do was be gracious. "That's alright-- I figure people need to speak with Ozar so it's not like I get to monopolize him or anything."

The Human woman shook her head. "No... not about him. I meant Linus."

Although Logan had already pieced the puzzle together Ozar spelled it out for him. "Hanna Kraff here is another character belonging to Daliah's player."

Before Nagol could add to the conversation Hanna continued. "I'm sorry about the whole Linus thing. After I realized you left it all caught up to me. I'd promised to show you around and got so caught up in my own stuff I completely neglected how all of that was affecting you. It was unfair of me to--"

Ozar was surprisingly icy with his simple interruption. "You're right. It was unfair for you to disrupt Logan's game with your personal issues." Nagol was ready to object but the Orc immediately continued, his voice much warmer. "But I know how much you take on your shoulders, Bri-- the only thing I can fault you for is not asking for help when you need it."

Nagol raised an eyebrow. "Bri?"

Rather than address his question, Ozar nodded to Hanna while she looked back to Nagol. "Linus doesn't have my contact info on this character so that's not something we have to deal with... at least, we wouldn't, if you're willing to give me another chance as a guide in Ozar's Realm. I'd like to make this right."

Logan had heard quite a few apologies in his 20-something years and most of them were accompanied by bawling and emotional words of desperate attempts to 'make things right'. He was honestly surprised at just how direct, straight-forward, and factual the one he was hearing in the moment; it almost seemed insincere in comparison, except he couldn't help but acknowledge the genuine nature of it. The dichotomy was beyond confusing. "I mean... we WERE having fun..."

Ozar sat up straighter, stretching before he got to his feet. Leaning over, the Orc gave Nagol a pat on the shoulder. "I better get back to the bar. Feel free to hang out a little while longer here-- nobody'll tell you to leave."

It was a quick farewell and the green-skinned bartender left Nagol alone with Hanna. She took a seat across from the young man, the middle finger on her right hand tracing the wood grain of it as she spoke. "You're at the right level for taking on the Amber Hill Trail if you want... Linus isn't approved to run any of the NPCs there so I know we wouldn't have to deal with him..."

Eyes still on the door closing behind the Orc, Nagol focused on that instead. "Does he do this often?"

Glancing over her shoulder at the closed door. "Who? Do what?"

Nagol sat back in his chair. "Ozar."

Hannah looked back to Nagol. "You mean take an interest in new players, or isolate people so that they're forced to deal with their problems sooner rather than later?"

The young man smirked. "Either."

She offered a faint smile in return. "Yes on both counts."

Letting out a deep breath, Nagol elected to bite the bullet and tear off the bandage in order to get it out of the way. "Will you tell me about the whole 'ex' thing? If you're okay talking about it, I mean..."

Hannah shrugged in response. "I guess... it's the least I can do. It's still a little fresh, but if I can't talk about it after forty years I guess I never will."

Nagol perked up an eyebrow. "You're saying 40 years is 'recent'?"

The discussion rapidly dissolved into laughter, chiding, and joking about how mutable a thing perception was. Before Nagol knew it almost two hours had passed. As the night came to a close, he realized he WAS willing to give the game another chance and he resolved to meet Hanna in the bar so they could try adventuring again the following day-- just so long as Linus wasn't involved in any way. Shaking hands on it, the plan was set, and Nagol went back to his room in order to decompress from what was, to him, a very unusual day. It was the first of many.