Rise of the Star Ch. 04

"Okay, that's... big. Honestly, with the cash I'm already getting I pretty much thought I have everything done, but... Hey, are you testing me to see if I wish for something to help things forward? I mean, I get it, but kinda against the point."

"Oh, that would be a fine idea, but no. Serious. Even if it blows over. This thing..." Deep inhale. "You ever had a moment when you get so much hope that makes you think everything is gonna be alright forever?"

"I think that's what the Outsider does."

"Then look at that. You did something fit for a GOD. I'm sure he might be clapping at you. Want to ask? Maybe he didn't even notice."

"Let's not. I'd rather not give him false hope. I mean, what if it doesn't?"

"Then we just have to wait some more. But there's potential. And that's real."

She looked out the window. The woman thought for a moment about all this. Hope indeed. Like imagining this city once again restored, but this time built in such a way that even if the rest of the galaxy died it could survive. Maybe that was possible... turn that moon into a farm now since terraforming was apparently something you could do. But hope... even for them... had value. A value so big it could make everything else worth it, even if it went nowhere.

Lucy had given them the Fortune System.

*

When Threadway was established, it was not intended as a prison... just another colony that the Economic Institute used to test their new idea. Four settlements were chosen to track, measure, quantify, and finally affect in those specific ways to see if the results held. Such results were not overnight and the experiment would last close to 20 years, but it was much faster for the company. They confirmed it on the various subsidiaries of Optima. When you put money aside and see to the atmosphere, it was tangible within a much shorter time.

The joy on those scientists as things went not just exactly as imagined, but the fourth group, the one where they removed random people, could have its impact measured exactly by the value they have subtracted. They have quantified quality of life and could measure it. Sure, the intention readers were making their way to every piece of technology, but here it was a godsend. They paid up for success with glee and waited to see if the results replicated on the colony... and one could swear they orgasmed when it was the same over there.

Now the real work began. One could not argue that classical economics were easier in practice, something even a monkey could do, but this monster was something they had to assemble by hand to cover everything. They had to calculate so much ahead of time or disaster was certain... they had to calculate the cost of everything, they had to calculate the value of nothing, and they had to make sure that an increase in the Fortune metric equaled an increase in production. Some might say that resources are the final metric, but those resources need to be used on something or they are useless... in the end, the well-being of people was the final metric that any empire should wish for. AND THEY COULD MEASURE IT. But it would take a LONG time until this thing was anywhere close to ready. The Fortune system would take close to a century to refine into a functional form for society.

Time passed them. Terraforming was developed and improved. The first planet to be turned from a radioactive wasteland into a continental world would have people on it as soon as it was done... and this one knew its purpose from the start. Garden would be a weather-controlled resort paradise, with interstellar transport becoming easier and faster due to the improved FTL methods that now used much more arcane technology. They focused inward as well, refining their empire's modus operandi to strengthen defense and care for people. Justice became better, their stations became stronger deterrents to any who might get the unwise idea of war, their process of claiming systems and planets easier, and their scientific methods improved. Traditions are often as important as technologies, and these were paving the way to a better future, with tangible results at every step.

The empire gave the Galactic Community only a token amount of care. They voted and exerted their pressure but put no more resources in it than the minimum. Ever so often, something beneficial would come from it, like the resolutions to improve research efforts, but sometimes they might see others push against them, like the peace enforcements and ecological directives. It might sound like these were the moral choices, but their purpose was more to disarm and depower those who had more, enabling the guys who were left behind to catch up since they were not as affected. The time in the Galactic community saw plenty of other aliens going through Astorian space and interacting with their people, translators becoming a necessity of life if you wanted to get more of the world. There was plentiful alien culture coming through the stable channels, some utterly incomprehensible and some rather relatable.

Threadway would receive the suggestion to become a prison colony only 50 years after its forming, and that moment gave people a chance to move away... or help. Astorians did prison in a very different manner to others... it was where those who wanted to redeem themselves would try to do so, by undergoing formative challenges that they might have missed. But you needed normal people in such places. It was a scientific fact that if such prisoners had only their handlers and others like them, the only community was to be had with people like them, people who might reinforce the beliefs that they had some rightness before. No, things had to change and Threadway was the way to revolutionize justice. Many still look at it with some dread, some misplaced fear as it was not a place you wanted to be, but those who live there as well as those who go there with not much choice find it can be a pleasant place.

This planet would not benefit from the soon-to-be developed infrastructure... by their demand. No, it had to be harder, it had to be a challenge, or you incentivized people to think nothing had changed. It had to be less pleasant, but they could not say no to some further terraforming...

Bit by bit, the empire was forming into what James wanted.

*

Guests were not new. The first showed up just a few years after James might say that Astoria got its shit together. They were a well-known fact if a rare one. At any given time, there was at least a guest in the empire, with the most at the same time being 58. But what is a Guest? It was the first symptom that what James wants, that just happens. They were people from other universes and realities that would wake one day in this place, some incredibly similar and some bizarre and utterly incompatible.

The Outsider did not notice the first ones, but by the start of the second millennium, he knew where they would arrive, and he could even dictate WHERE. No longer might these people appear in the middle of nowhere or some dangerous spot, rather they would wake up in specially-prepared houses. These guests were something he wanted... other people to enjoy a casual sex empire because he would have wanted that chance.

Most were unimportant to the grand scheme of things, but some were particularly interesting. Though not all might show that quality when they arrived.

She awoke on a bed that was not her own. It was easy to tell since this bedroom was smaller than her kitchen, but it was not too bad. Middle class, perhaps. The woman tried to keep calm as she rose to her feet, silk pajamas wrapped on her form still. A door separated her from the outside world, and if only that would open... and just as she thought of that, it did. Intention readers were starting to see even such trivial uses with their spread. Not giving it much time, the older woman stepped out to find herself in a living room, one that showed very little in terms of misuse. But that was not what took her breath away.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows that separated this room from the balcony was a vista she could not recognize. Shining and beautiful skyscrapers. One might confuse it for Dubai but she was there and this was a step above. The other notable feature was the man on the balcony, back turned to her and wearing that burgundy-colored coat. Part of her tempted her to grab something solid and sneak up on him, but wisdom told her this was too easy.

In her position, kidnapping for ransom might be not so unusual. She was quite wealthy and men did less for what she might let slip. But this did not quite feel like that. It was in the atmosphere. Not quite right. Moving toward that balcony, she sought a handle and once again the door slid open, no need for her to touch anything. The sounds of the city assaulted her. And then the man turned to see her. James had taken it upon himself to welcome guests personally.

"And you are awake. Good. Apologies for the sudden thing, but while it might be technically kidnapping, the reason is different. Now, you probably have questions and I'm here to see to them. My name is James, and I'm the guy who brought you to this world to enjoy it."

Sophie needed a moment to switch to English. Though Guests also got an intuitive understanding if they didn't already speak it. Her accent was noticeable.

"Enjoy? I don't think I can if I have to leave everything behind on such quick notice."

"Right, well, this is actually a separate world. Reality. Universe. Yes, yes. Look, don't worry about time because once you're ready to leave you'll be back the same night you went away. Nobody would notice you were gone even if they were right beside you. And if you had some significant other, apologies but I haven't yet mastered getting precise people."

"Not for a while, no." A pause as she looked at the view. "What you're saying is impossible."

"And I am a god who can totally do what most find impossible. We are now at the part of giving you a wish to confirm it. Small one. Just to have it sink in."

"Can you bring my husband back?" She had a smirk... the demand was not serious.

"Didn't I just say I can't bring specific people?" Beat. "Oh, wait... apologies and condolences. Technically, I can bring people back to life, but let's just say there are reasons why I should not do that."

It was because their stay might be permanent while hers would not be. Also, James might have a very hard time pinning down her husband.

"I didn't expect you to. Perhaps a house more fitting to what I'm used to. Haven't lived in a place this small for years."

"Oh, apologies, your ladyship. I'll see about getting you a nice, big penthouse filled with people ready to kiss your ass and walk on their knees."

He was giving her sass. Refreshing after so many people were indeed kissing her ass. Sophie could not help holding back a chuckle. Maybe she did need this... a getaway from her life where she had everyone clawing at her fortune. Another look at the view. This might be a good vacation. Much better than Greece.

"It looks like things are going better here than where I am."

"Could be better, but it's in a decent enough place for now. And you've been giving me very few questions. Perhaps I should mention how so many who come here are eager to enjoy the culture of casual sex, and how you could get it on with just about everyone with little effort. Then again, you're a woman and loaded on top of that so you probably had the prettiest boytoys at your disposal whenever you felt the need."

"I assure you that I have not done anything of the sort. Nobody but my husband. And I hope this culture does not mean it will be forced on me. I would rather go home right now if everyone expects me to have sex with them."

"Oh, no. It is a right, not an obligation. Technically, it's the kind of right that you need other people to indulge it, but no forcing involved. Hm. Rare to get someone who doesn't want to fuck everything." A pause as the man noticed her accent. He then spoke in a completely different language, one that took effort to summon from memory. "Just to verify this, but can you understand this?"

Her native language. Much better. She only needed to use English with foreign businessmen.

"Yes. I can. I assume people here speak English? Or could you just use that since I could?"

"Actually, I SPEAK this language... and did so before English."

He mentioned a small town that would be notable only because people passed it when going to the main beach resort. How curious. The woman was from his country.

"And yet you seem to prefer English. I noticed some writing in it around here. Why don't they speak this?"

"Because I think this language is good only for swearing. Also, do me a favor and keep that under wraps. People here don't know that English isn't even my first language. Or that my name isn't James."

"Rather odd name for someone from over there. So, what is it?"

The name did not start with a J unless one might anglicize it. As the man probed with some extra questions, he became aware that not only was this woman from a place close to where he used to live, but she was from the same world, as the events she described were exactly as he remembered them.

"Well, this is certainly something." He had switched back to English. "But... guest. Go on and enjoy the vacation, Sophie. I think we have something even for you here." Beat. "Do you actually want that penthouse?"

Another laugh from her.

"No, I think I might enjoy stepping down a bit. I'll let you know if I think up a good wish."

"You could wish for a sex drive back, but I have sworn against messing with minds. Might want to get a comfort worker... there's an office for it not far. Go downstairs and ask the doorman."

"Before you go... I do appreciate this, at least for now. You know... when you are someone like me, life becomes so different and I so missed how things were before we were successful. This looks like a chance to live those times again."

"Or close enough. And I know. The irony of wealth. When you finally stop having the worries that poor people have, you get new ones. Tried to make sure it wasn't the same here. Getting there."

"Good luck with it.... 'James'."

He was gone in a cloud of mist. The woman stepped closer to the railing to look at Hope's Landing with remarkable energy. Gone were so many of her worries and now she was brought down to normal. She'd have to make her own coffee and breakfast, at least until she got that comfort worker... no, this was better than her normal.

James avoided telling her that Guests inevitably leave. Some died before that, and you might say they stayed here for good, but others were gone right as they were enjoying things. For her it would be no different. Six years. Six pleasant years as she found a community to take her in and show her the pleasures of this place, even if the woman was not interested in sex, the empire still had much to give her. Intangible things that she had rarely seen before... safety, trust, appreciation, comfort, respect... the symptoms of a healthy society.

And one day she would not wake up in the empire, but her grand mansion that had resided in her memory rather than a fixture of daily life. Even though the woman was in a place where those of her world would kill to be in... she saw how horrible it was by comparison. She was back among the wolves and the vultures, back in a place where people were hunted with only a thin veneer of civilization to deny it. Sophie wanted that other world back.

The fun thing was that she could do that one day.

*

Many might argue that when the Fortune System was finished, THIS was when the empire properly started. The time when people's actions were measured according to how well people were benefitting from them. It was not implemented wholesale overnight, but it was a gradual change. You can't just switch economy at the drop of a hat.

First would come the strong incentive to implement that system in any company of sufficient size, adjusting pay according to that score. Naturally, government institutions would have it as a requirement and this would see a vast increase in their efficiency now that people were paid according to how much of a benefit they were bringing. When Security had it enforced, many officers left as they saw how it would turn out... while they might not be the kind to warrant shooting by citizens, their cumulative actions might require they get a second job.

Misfortune entered the fray right after the System became standard in every public institution. How to quantify things that displease others intentionally rather than accidentally. There was always a cost, but some were causing damage on purpose. This became the point when the justice system would integrate with fortune as this calculus was useful to determine damages as well as how much was just the cost of a process.

Many argued and resisted the displeasures of the fortune system. Doctors argued that they should not be penalized if patients were in pain that they could not remove, but they got hit back with the question if they were trying to avoid consequences. And thus, while they grumbled at the start, it would lead to better care when your caretaker wanted their patient in as little pain as possible, the old malpractice cases were almost small compared to the thousands of smaller pains that might add up to even more.

Intention readers could greatly help in separating those who caused harm on accident and on purpose. Perhaps not a truth serum, but it could tell if you had valid concerns or just wanted to fuck shit up with an excuse. There were FAR fewer reports to security when people might get prosecuted for using it against people they don't like. It was the dawn of a new age indeed.

But it would take a century until the fortune system would replace the economy, and it took an army of bureaucrats, judges, and economists manually reviewing individual scenarios to see how it should fit in the grand scheme of things. Naturally, some people working that system would find that their position gave them the unique opportunity of declaring themselves and their friends as owed more and any who opposed them as worth less. That might have caused a new regime to rise, but the unfortunate leader of that idea had his penthouse railing break right before he screamed all the way down from the 89th floor. His replacement was quick to notice the issue and send his concerns further, leading to the randomized and anonymized review system that also had the much more impressive AIs comparing those scenarios to others to keep people honest.

It was the second millennium for the empire and things were going forward, if they were still a ways from their true power. James saw how it could still go. It would be a slower time. Not a boring time, as there was an issue in the galaxy as one of the pirate clans saw a very powerful and influential leader rise, giving birth to the equivalent of space Mongols, conquering things relentlessly rather than their previous methods of asking for tribute and attacking you if you didn't pay up. Thankfully, the fortified space stations could tell them to fuck right off. Like any empire based around a prominent leader, once that leader fell in a battle with a combined fleet that even had ships from Astoria, that khanate was done and it fell soon back into their previous ways, the Azaan decided to clean them out for good after that.

This was technically another attempt by He Who Is Everything to destroy the empire, as that pirate nation was not far from it, but there were a couple of other empires in the way that suffered at their hands. But that shard would have to do better. James didn't even help with this one, though one could see the galaxy as an extension of him.