《Nexus》


 001

    Nexus


    Alex was sitting on a couch reading a letter from the post office , it stated that there was a package waiting for him to pick up.


    Apparently , before they died , his parents had send a work related object home that was lost in transit for a few months.


    They used to be palaeontologist¡¯s and were away from home a lot , not that it matters now , they died in a helicopter crash that was supposed to take them to civilization.


    Tears started to drop on the paper while the image of his parents flashed before his eyes, it was only 3 months but it already felt like an eternity¡­


    He was an only child and was 19 years of age with no other family , sure he had a few friends but he hadn¡¯t seen them since the funeral.


    The insurance was enough to pay for the inheritance taxes and there was enough money left for at least a few years of frugal living.


    They might not have been around a lot but they had provided him with the means to take care of himself.


    Better go pick it up he said and grabbed his key¡¯s from the dresser and left the house.


    It wasn¡¯t far so he arrived at the post office after a 10 minute drive .


    Alex showed the letter to the office worker and got his package with a mumbled apology that they were sorry for the misplacement and with the insurance that it wouldn¡¯t happen again.


    It¡¯s no problem said Alex while smiling , it¡¯s not your fault , have a nice day !


    Back home he unwrapped the package and was dumbfounded what they had send back home ¡­ It was a big piece of shit , to be correct , fossilized crap from a dinosaur a coprolite.


    Alex started laughing , he didn¡¯t know why but he laughed started crying and eventually got mad .


    He smashed the coprolite to the ground and pieces flew everywhere.


    After that he stepped to the fridge and drunk a beer while watching some tv , 1 beer became 2 , 2 beers became 3 , etc.


    While drinking Alex didn¡¯t notice that between the crap lay a bracelet that was giving of some eerie light but as suddenly the light appeared it disappeared .


    Alex dozed off in the couch , drunk, it wasn¡¯t until the next morning or should I say midday that he awoke , hungry as hell and needing a bathroom break asap .


    While stumbling to the bathroom his eyes caught the clutter he caused in a fit of rage and hurt.


    After relieving himself and eating a few sandwiches he started to clean .


    What is this , that¡¯s not mine he thought while seeing the cuff bracelet , it¡¯s an odd design looking like it may be technological in nature.


    I¡¯ve never seen something like this , how did it get here ?


    It couldn¡¯t have been inside the coprolite could it , there wasn¡¯t any civilisation back then.


    It might even look like it could fit , how much would this be worth , I mean come one I¡¯ve never heard of anything like this before.


    I could be rich , now that I think about it , why did my parents send this home and not to the institute ?


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    Could it be that they knew what was inside ?


    Was the accident an accident , no I shouldn¡¯t think like this , nobody came asking for a package and nobody bothered me .


    What the fuck now , keep it or send it to the institute ¡­ better keep it even my parents send it home.


    I mean come on were there intelligent dinosaurs or something , it¡¯s 65 million years ago.


    With trembling fingers Alex picked up the cuff bracelet and started cleaning it.


    It should be water resistant because it literally got shat out after going through a digestive system .


    There¡­ all clean , it doesn¡¯t weigh much if I say so and it does look like it could fit me.


    Well no harm in trying it on I guess , ¡°click¡±, what was that ?


    It fits perfectly , I think I can wear this all day with how little it weighs and it doesn¡¯t budge while I move around.


    Enough playing around and better take it off , what¡¯s this ¡­


    Shit , I can¡¯t get it off , aaa fuck what the hell ?


    Needles ?


    Shit , this can¡¯t be good , I¡¯m feeling dizzy .


    Better lay dooown¡­¡­


    (2 days later)


    Aaah fuck why Am I this thirsty and hungry , why do I feel like I¡¯m skin and bones ?


    My belly is gone and I defecated in my pants¡­.


    I recommend you eat plenty and drink some rust in water !


    Who is that ?


    I am the ai of the bracelet your wearing , I repeat eat plenty and drink some rust with water.


    Where the hell should I find rust And what do you mean ai ?


    Questions can come later , eat and drink !


    Like hell I am , first I¡¯m going to clean myself up!


    I¡¯ll explain some while you do this and according to my scan you have rusted nails in your garage¡­


    My former handler named me Da¡¯grass and I am the ai of the cuff bracelet You¡¯re wearing .


    Since you don¡¯t have the authorization level I cannot tell you everything And I¡¯m still calibrating with nexus to get up to date since my emergency binding with you¡­.


    Almost 66 million years , damned , I was hoping on an error.


    As I was saying my name was Da¡¯grass and my former handler was cataloguing this planets fauna and flora to preserve it existence in the nexus database after it was determined  that a comet would wipe out most or all life on this planet.


    Sadly after a tail slash of one of its habitants he was out of commission long enough to be eaten and there was no way I could fix him, the damage done was too great.


    Which brings us to this point in time.


    I¡¯ve injected you with nanites that optimize your mind and body and give you access to Nexus.


    But don¡¯t get your hopes op yet , your case is being deliberated at this very moment.


    You are in possession of technology that doesn¡¯t belong to you and I needed you to reconnect with Nexus.


    But fret not even if they repossess me the changes to your body are permanent and give you an extended life and boosted intelligence , even your offspring would benefit from the changes.


    And no I didn¡¯t change you , I just brought about the current optimized version of your race.


    You¡¯ll be faster , stronger and smarter than the old you.


    Consider this my payment for using you to reconnect¡­


    Any questions ?


    You made me shit my pants with your upgrade and yes I¡¯ve got a lot of questions !


    Sorry , waste material needed to exit the body , Alex .


    Why couldn¡¯t you reconnect without an host ?


    I am an ai that has to work between parameters given to me by my creators , I needed a host to do this.


    There were some problems in the past with rogue ai during the optimization process of said technology , we are required to turn our self in to our masters but without host we could roam the nexus and wreak havoc.


    Why did your former host die if they were so technologically advanced ?


    He was a young one barely 2000 years old and it was his first solo mission , he thought he could outsmart and outrun every problem he encountered on your planet so he was ill prepared.


    You call 2000 years young ?


    Alex , thanks to the nanites and me controlling them you could live theoretical forever unless they decapitated you or you hadn¡¯t any access to food or water.


    Wait , what ?


    Don¡¯t start dreaming Alex , they will come and collect me , I Expect the news of your case early tomorrow.


    Oh , right that is a little disappointing after hearing that ¡­


    Then what is the Nexus exactly ?


    The Nexus is in basic a copy of the universe in a vr world , all intelligent races come together and do trade and negotiating in everything that doesn¡¯t require physical attendance .


    They play games , enjoy food and drinks go on holiday¡¯s to distant places , do research and much more.


    It¡¯s also a place where fauna , flora and even intelligent species are preserved from extinction.


    Wait , you can upload yourself in the nexus ?


    Only if certain criteria are fulfilled , Alex.


    Only intelligent species that are threatened from extinction and only a maximum of 200 000 individuals.


    They don¡¯t even have a own home world anymore and have to be adopted by an existing species to exist otherwise they are stored as data .


    Still , that¡¯s impressive, to upload your consciousness in vr¡­


    Most races merely upload a copy , Alex , with me though it would be 100 percent you .


    Who made this Nexus anyway ?


    The same beings that created me  .


    So you¡¯re saying that it exists at least 66 million years ?

 002

    Even longer ,  my creators can live a lot longer than most of the species around¡­


    That¡¯s strange , I already got a reply from the Nexus.


    Oh ¡­ what do they say , Da¡¯grass ?


    It¡¯s from the ai that maintains the Nexus , basically she is saying that none of the administrators can be contacted .


    They are exploring and she has to decide over your case to the best of her ability until they are back.


    What is her decision then ?


    You are given a level 3 clearance level because you got their technology , it¡¯s a level that young adults get that have no affiliation or job.


    That is great , what clearance level do most species get ?


    Just level 1 , access and use of the Nexus.


    You get an assistant in the Nexus and most of my functions are at your disposal apparently I¡¯m considered too old of a model and just need to keep some key technology a secret.


    I still can¡¯t talk about everything but you got more access then most and more insight in the Nexus and his working.


    Looks like you¡¯re my new master for the time being , I¡¯ll be starting to make your account and register your species.


    Done , next is my new name if you like to give me another one.


    Just keep it as Da¡¯grass , It feels weird to give you a name while I know you as such.


    Wait didn¡¯t I have to put in data for my account like a nick name or alter my appearance ?


    No , it¡¯s just your biodata that I needed unless you are going to play a game inside the nexus you don¡¯t need to put in an alias and that is also just an option.


    Alex this is important what I¡¯m going to tell you!


    Inside the Nexus you get what you accomplish through your own efforts , the first to sell something is the one who gets the credits.


    This was established to acquire as much as possible and to enrich the nexus in diversity so that as little as possible would get lost to the erosion of time.


    Shit , there¡¯s going to be a lot of angry people around the globe when they find out , not to mention world leaders who are going to lose a lot of sleep.


    It works both ways , Alex .


    They can buy a lot if they have the credits , most species even use credits on their own planet through their account after a transition.


    You get a welcome package of technology to use the nexus at an optimal state , if you want better you have to buy it but most Species gladly accept the initial upgrade.


    No need to tell you it¡¯s to acquire as much as possible to enrich the Nexus.


    Most species that enter the Nexus have at least conquered their own solar system so your species will enter a lot sooner if you wish to share that technology with earth.


    I can do that ?


    There is no rule that say¡¯s otherwise , Alex .


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    Say Da¡¯grass , I was wondering how it comes that you speak my language ?


    While I was reconstructing your brain I had to store and relocate some of your memories.


    What¡­ are you reading my mind right now don¡¯t do that my thoughts are my own , if I want you to know something I¡¯ll tell you , jeez !


    It was one time and it was necessary , I won¡¯t do it unless absolutely necessary , your wellbeing is my priority now that you are my new master.


    Ok , good to hear , if you can do that then can you access the internet too ?


    Yes , I¡¯ve been connected since I learned about it from you and have been collecting various books , music , languages and other information that is interesting to the Nexus.


    Jeez , you don¡¯t wait for anything and that is a lot of information.


    I¡¯ve got a lot of memory and once it is uploaded in the nexus it will be deleted unless it benefits us both.


    I also still have the data that my previous handler collected stored , I suggest you sell all info to the nexus at your first visit , every time someone buy¡¯s something from the databank you get credits as long as you live.


    After you die the percentage of money earned by selling the info goes to the capital city of your home planet.


    You are going to be rich because you¡¯re the first to enter and have me , Alex!


    Are there other ways to earn credits besides what you told me ?


    Yes , you can even earn money by playing games or do jobs that are requested to be done so don¡¯t worry about the others they will find their own way.


    Yeah , I was just thinking that I need money from my own world to survive here , Da¡¯grass.


    I¡¯m happy that I won¡¯t have to worry about credits but I need money from here to pay my bills.


    I can help you with that , by playing the stock market I can provide you with a stable source of income by legal means , I just need your authorization to use your funds.


    You can even do that , why am I still surprised , you need my account data ?


    I already have the information , I just need your approval.


    You have got my consent , Da¡¯grass !


    It was an exhausting day , I¡¯m going to grab something to eat and hit the hay¡­


    You will not be entering the Nexus this night ?


    I planned to go to sleep , I¡¯ve had enough excitement for today ,  strange I didn¡¯t react stronger¡­


    That was my doing Alex , I needed you to be as rational as possible while maintaining your own self , sorry !


    Don¡¯t be , I¡¯m glad you did , I don¡¯t know how I would have reacted if you hadn¡¯t!


    Remember that you cannot do this alone !


    You¡¯ll have to start from nothing and most civilizations had almost there whole population building up their virtual reality from the very first moment they learned about the Nexus.


    Hear you tomorrow , don¡¯t lose my money¡­


    Goodnight , Alex !


    <u>Musings from an ai :</u>


    Hu , me old , yeah I¡¯m old.


    Thank goodness for sleep function or I would have gone crazy¡­ 66 million years!


    What the hell was he thinking to go out without protection suit ?


    Hmm stocks are doing good , easy peasy.


    Better look at the updates I received , quite intensive , should be done before he wakes up.


    Actually good he didn¡¯t go in the Nexus gives me time to update.


    Better check if my memory could be affected , a lot of credits in there , nope no problems .


    And no program altering codes , I should be ok , it¡¯s all about efficiency with those guys ¡­


    I wonder how long it will take before our case will be reassessed , they have been gone for quite a while now.


    Well I¡¯ll better start the updates , see you tomorrow Alex ¡­


    Ringriing (doorbell)


    Good morning , Alex !


    There is a female at the front door according to my scan.


    Uh ,how late is it ?


    According to your time zone its 11.14hrs in the morning , Alex !


    That late , more important who could be coming over ?


    (opens the door)


    Ah , Helena it¡¯s you ¡­ long time n..


    Shut it Alex , It¡¯s been 3 months that you turned off your phone !


    Sam said you needed time to get over your loss but guess what , I¡¯ve had enough .


    It¡¯s time for you to rejoin the living , I know it sucks losing your parents but you don¡¯t have to do it alone.


    You¡¯ve still got Sam and me , the three musketeers , remember !


    Helena storms inside.


    First things first , we open the curtains and let some sunlight in here and maybe open a few windows , it reeks in here !


    Now where is your phone because you¡¯re going to switch it back on !


    Helena calm down , you¡¯re right I shouldn¡¯t have shut you guys out but stop shouting and sit down for a moment.


    I¡¯m sorry I ignored you all but I¡¯m starting to feel better , I¡¯ll be keeping my phone with me at all times and charge it every night.


    Oh Alex , you promise ?


    Yes , I promise you , no more shutting you guys out of my life , I give you my word !


    That was actually not so hard as I imagined , I thought you would plead with me to leave you alone¡­


    Don¡¯t get me wrong , I¡¯m happy you feel better but how come the sudden change ?


    And what is that around your arm ,are you in cosplay now because if you are I know some people who do .


    No , it¡¯s the last gift my parents send to me , I picked it up a few days ago since then I started to feel better you know.

 003

    It got lost in transit  that¡¯s why it arrived after they died.


    I¡¯m happy you got a memento from your parents and I¡¯m happier that it healed you enough to leave your cave of sadness!


    You hungry ?


    We can get a bite to eat while chatting a little , a hamburger sounds nice .


    Not before you turn on your phone , Alex !


    And yes something to eat sounds nice but you know hamburgers are calorie bombs¡­ speaking of which did you lose weight ?


    Yeah I lost some weight (turns on phone), ding ding ding ding ding ding ,¡­


    That¡¯s a lot of missed calls and messages¡­. Gulp


    ¡°I¡¯m driving¡± says Helena.


    After putting his clothes on and driving to the nearest McDonald Helena and Alex are talking what happened after the funeral and his financial status while munching on a few hamburgers.


    Helena however took the salad ¡­


    Playing with stocks is dangerous , you could lose it all , Alex !


    I¡¯m not taking to much risks and I¡¯m curious how it goes.


    Oh yeah and how much have you earned yet or lost ?


    I haven¡¯t checked yet , I¡¯ll look at it this evening , trust me !


    ¡°Ok Alex but you¡¯re better not taking any risks and don¡¯t forget about Sam and me if you check out to be a natural¡± she says while smiling .


    Back home again he promises he will keep in touch and won¡¯t lock himself up in the house to grief.


    He also promises that he will respond to every phone call he receives from them after which she departs leaving Alex on the driveway .


    Phew , thanks for keeping quit Da¡¯grass , I don¡¯t want them to know yet..


    No problem , I figured as much since you didn¡¯t mention my existence to her.


    How are you doing on the stock market Da¡¯grass ?


    From your initial investment of 40 000 I made around 76 000.


    Are you telling me that you almost doubled my money in 24 hrs ?


    Yes but this is the absolute maximum that I can earn on a normal day .


    If this trend continues I can make you a little less than 5 million in a week , is that sufficient ?


    ¡°It is Da¡¯grass , it is¡­ looks like I¡¯ll have to cut in Sam and Helena¡± he says smiling.


    I¡¯m home , Sam !


    How was he Helena , did it work , Is he alright ?


    You should have come with me Sam , than you wouldn¡¯t have to ask and I wouldn¡¯t have to tell you everything¡­


    It was better that you went alone Helena , I know you and Alex , besides what I could have told him you can do at least two times better than me.


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    I only hear excuses , Sam .


    You¡¯re my brother but sometimes I wonder if your adopted or have mush for a brain.


    We are twins Helena¡­ just reminding you !


    He is your friend too , but yeah he¡¯s doing all right , it¡¯s strange tho .


    He lost weight , looks athletic and I could have sworn he looked better than before .


    Maybe your finally realizing you¡¯ve got a crush on him since school.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it¡± says Helena while her ears start reddening , he¡¯s a friend , our third musketeer.


    Anyway he received a gift from his late parents and now feels better because he has a memento of them but I still find his behaviour a little strange .


    He doesn¡¯t take off his cuff bracelet , starts playing the stock market and I could have sworn he was sharper in mind during our conversation at McDonalds.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably nothing to worry about but if he has success at the stock market I want in!¡± Says Sam jokingly.


    Well here we are , how does it work Da¡¯grass ?


    You just lay down and I¡¯ll induce some sort of sleep the nanites do the rest , you¡¯ll be connected to the Nexus before you can count to ten Alex.


    Anything I should know ?


    Well time flows 5 times faster than in reality , a cheap trick to prolong life and get everything out of life that you can.


    And if there Is something like an emergency I can wake you up at any time , I¡¯ll be monitoring your surroundings 24/7.


    The rest we can talk about in the Nexus , we¡¯ll have plenty of time ¡­


    Ok , I¡¯m ready , let¡¯s go !


    New species [Human] detected , level 3 clearance .


    3th Tier Capitol city core prepared and stored on account of Alex Timmermans.


    Deluxe welcome packet prepared and stored on account of Alex Timmermans .


    10 Percent discount first time purchase approved for Alex Timmermans.


    Assistant ai Da¡¯grass bound to Alex Timmermans approved.


    What now Da¡¯grass , there¡¯s absolutely nothing here not even a blade of grass¡­


    Now we upload our database into the Nexus and the system will find a balance between the fauna and flora introduced by us and it will keep adjusting every time new species are introduced.


    This may take a while so we might as well find a place to start our capital city . Did you know that almost everyone else¡¯s capital city is bound to the location where the first of the species emerged in the Nexus and we even got a 3th tier city core !


    Level 3 clearance comes with some sweet benefits , Alex .


    Start the upload Da¡¯grass and tell me which location would have been the best site on earth to build a Capital city!


    There are different locations in America , Australia and Europe .


    Tell me the ones in Europe , please .


    There is a location in Great Britain , Germany and France.


    Hmmm Great Britain is an island so that one is out¡­ Which one to choose ?


    In France the weather should be better overall , what is the name of the place in France ?


    Loire Valley , as the name suggests it¡¯s a valley with room for a large metropolis and it has fertile grounds with a river that supplies water.


    Ok , France it is , now how do we get there ?


    As long as the capital core isn¡¯t placed we can get there with a thought and a map but you¡¯ve got me so I just need your permission to get us there¡­


    Do it and place the core on the best spot possible , Da¡¯grass !


    Done , you just need to activate it , just place your hands on the core and name the city !


    New Eden.


    Capital City ¡°New Eden¡± founded


    Choose your type of government


    Alex , according to your memories your preferable government type should be Democracy or Direct Democracy but I strongly suggest you pick Technocracy .


    Education is free in the Nexus you just need to buy the courses one time in name of your government.


    While you¡¯re the only one of your species here , you are the government.


    And if I pick monarchy ?


    Then you would be king over your world here in the Nexus Alex.


    What is the point of government in the Nexus ?


    To develop your presence both in this world and reality, because a capital city possesses significant purchasing power


    It¡¯s also a paid job with a fixed salary and you can set taxes , there is a minimum and maximum setting though .


    I¡¯ll believe you , I pick technocracy !


    Government type selected


    Technocracy


    Free building , government type, World Capitol building established


    Temporary leaders : Alex Timmermans


    Government cores established


    Mall available


    Tax set at 25 percent of income


    Did I just screw myself over , Da¡¯grass ?


    You mean the tax , you wouldn¡¯t have been reimbursed unless you were paying taxes, so no !


    When is the upload complete ?


    You are already being compensated for the ones that are already uploaded and bought by other species , The nexus never rests !


    I was wondering something Da¡¯grass , the nexus must need astronomical calculation power and storage¡­


    How do they do it ?


    That is the best kept secret in the universe and is considered a key technology , Alex !


    Your nanites are also a key technology , in my time nobody could refine them like my creators.

 004

    And now ?


    There are a few who managed to come near , when they sold the info to the Nexus the data got censured and the species got level 2 clearance.


    You don¡¯t want everyone to have atom bombs , do you ?


    Not all knowledge can be bought ,some are given but most must be attained Alex .


    Look the trees and grass are showing , not much diversity for the moment , though ¡­


    Let¡¯s look around for a bit Da¡¯grass , say how do I check my account by the way?


    In the nexus I can show it to you trough our link in reality I can use your phone to show it to you if you want or you can just ask.


    I was build to last and screens or holographic projections were weak points..


    Is that a sabretooth tiger  ?


    They won¡¯t attack you unless you want to actively hunt them , its to challenge hunters and to satisfy nature lovers.


    They won¡¯t breed but their population will never decline unless there has to be found a new equilibrium due to new species arriving.


    So you kept scanning even after you were buried in shit and soil.


    What can I say it¡¯s what I do , Alex .


    May I have access to the mall , I want to browse for a bit .


    Sure , knock yourself out , just use your hands like you would on a touchscreen !


    Let me see ¡­ energy¡­ higgs manipulation , zero point energy , dark matter nuclear fusion and those on the top I cannot read¡­


    That¡¯s because you don¡¯t have a name for it yet which implies you lack in theoretical knowledge and that can easily be overcome with buying physics courses .


    Spaceships¡­ solar system¡­ interstellar¡­ galactic¡­ seed ship (zero point energy driven) , battleship (zero point energy driven).


    Solar system ¡­ chemical rockets , ion drive , electromagnetic propulsion , nuclear thermic rockets , etc..


    Terraforming¡­ planetary magnetic shield , mass electrolyser , bio engineered plants


    Edible plants ¡­ narrow choices [human]¡­ tubers , fruit , grains , spices , etc..


    (hours later)


    Can you show me my credits , Da¡¯grass ?


    Sure take a look ¡­


    That¡¯s a lot of zeroes.. and this is after taxes ?


    Yes but remember that you¡¯re going to buy a lot and I expect that after a few days in the Nexus the greatest rush on your scanned items will be over .


    After that you will have a steady income with great purchase power but this what is happening now will cease.


    Your probably right so should I focus on capital city or overall development and build more cities?


    I mean our 3th tier capital city is just 1 building now.


    If I have to wait for the rest of the humans the development will go to slow and the people will make mistakes so I was thinking about something you said.


    About adopting an extinct species , they are maximum with 200 000 and can¡¯t reproduce but they might have the skills we need.


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    Think carefully Alex you are not adopting a puppy , they will be full blown citizens with right for pay and protection.


    The only thing they can¡¯t do is taking an high government position.


    But I can appoint them civil jobs and they can advise me in building up our society here.


    You¡¯ll have to send your data and demands to their leader with a request if they are interested you get the option of integrating them , less scrupulous people want them for different reasons.


    Can you give me a short list of those that would be compatible with humans and have the least chance of being ostracised ?


    That will take time because there are a lot of species in the databank and I need to go over there culture as well so you better make yourself comfortable.


    Can you show me the Deluxe welcome packet in the meantime ?


    Vr scanner with 50 meter reach and Nexus account bracelet, nuclear battery powered and waterproof (all manufacturing plans included)


    Upgraded deluxe vr cabin with nutrition and muscle stimulators for extended stay (all manufacturing plans included)


    Upgraded high end , low cost vr helmet (all manufacturing plans included)


    4 games of your choice (free to play for al humans indefinitely)


    Do you have any recommendations for the games I can choose , Da¡¯grass ?


    According to your culture or money earning wise because there is a difference in the amount you can earn if it is also considered training for a job?


    Make it 2 for culture and 2 for earning money .


    For culture I recommend Eternal Fantasy and On Empirical Demand , the first is a fantasy game like your mmorpg games and the latter is a spacefaring mmorts game.


    According to the data I acquired from your internet these would be extremely popular among your species .


    And for earning money I recommend Total war and Galactic conqueror . In the first you choose a job in the army and live it in the game.


    The better you do on your job and missions , the higher your rank gets and the more pay you get.


    But since its considered a game the pay doesn¡¯t reflect the actual salary of such profession , a lot get recruited though if they are good.


    The second one is actually the spacefaring counterpart of the first .


    You choose a profession needed on a spaceship and work yourself to the top of said profession while learning and doing missions.


    Most species use it as a training centre for recruits in their navy because the game is extremely difficult and boring most of the time , you¡¯ve got to learn a lot !


    On a positive note , you can choose the era of spacefaring so it should be a good starting point for your species who are just entering space .


    Those sound incredible , thank you , pick those for me will you !


    How do you access them ?


    When people enter vr space they can choose if they enter The Nexus or play a game .


    They even can choose to watch movies or read books in a specifically designed area or here if they bought a lifetime residence .


    For now your people have access to 4 games if they already had vr equipment.


    Then how do I enter ?


    You just ask me Alex , the method is the same as entering here.


    Most normal people play games in their free time and the time dilation is the same in games as here.


    Let¡¯s head back to the city core , did you finish your search for suitable races ?


    Just a few more minutes Alex.


    This place is starting to look a lot better than when we arrived ¡­ trees , grass , flowers and animals , it¡¯s just weird to watch animals that have been extinct for so long.


    You¡¯ll get used to it soon enough Alex.


    It is a magnificent building isn¡¯t it¡­


    The Capitol building , yes , but your eventual leaders will govern your species entire territory from here and eventually like most places reality too.


    How will the leaders be picked , do I choose them ?


    No , because of your setting everybody on your planet will have the opportunity to take a test and be appointed as a leader.


    Those with the best scores in the field that they chose will be appointed in that field and after 5 years in reality the process repeats itself.


    I¡¯m telling you again Da¡¯grass¡­ there¡¯s going to be a lot of angry people.


    I¡¯ve browsed your species internet Alex , there¡¯s going to be a lot more happy people than there are angry people.


    There is no chance to manipulate elections or politicians lining their own pockets.


    The selection has finished and I picked 5 races that should blend in rather well.


    Do you want a summary and a short description ?


    Yes please!


    The Vorax : blue skinned humanoids , look a lot like humans but slightly bigger , militaristic , efficient in wat they physically do , population 200 000.


    The Ashter : fair skinned humanoids with angelic wings , look a lot like humans but slightly shorter , religious , born physicians and psychologists , population 200 000.


    The Ea¡¯Thell : fair skinned humanoids , look a lot like humans but with pointy ears , nature attuned , excellent planners and beautifiers , population 200 000.


    The Cath¡¯nix : Mix skinned humanoids (Brown , Fair and furred) , look a lot like humans but with animal ears, empathetic , loves to play and create games , population 200 000.


    The tr¡¯hars : Mix skinned humanoids (Brown , yellow and fair) , look a lot like humans but with no hair , has difficulty grasping humor , mathematically gifted as species , they are born researchers but they are picky about their topics of interest , population 200 000


    Those look like good choices you brought up , I¡¯m tempted to take them all but I¡¯m deciding for my whole species.


    Even my inner geek is yelling at me there are Elves and Beastkin here ¡­


    Those were the best choices for me you said Da¡¯grass ?

 005

    Yes according to the psychological nature of your species these should blend in the best and I cross-referenced with the history and mythology of your planet for future interactions.


    I only need one species¡­. I can¡¯t choose Da¡¯grass !


    You still need to send a request to their leaders to see if they are willing to live among you Alex¡­


    Ok , be sure to mention that we need them to help build up our society here in Nexus!


    They get all your data that is collected from earth for so long they are deciding about joining you Alex , they will know you just started .


    Ok , just send them the request , how long will it take ?


    It depends what they are looking for , they can wait for a long time since no time passes for them while they are stored.


    Or they might be anxious to rejoin the living , it depends .


    Nobody likes to wait for too long Da¡¯grass but I guess patience is a virtue that a lot of people lack..


    Looks like your wish came true the Vorax and Tr¡¯Hars already send a reply¡­


    The Vorax say you as a species are not strong enough so they decline the invitation and the Tr¡¯Hars say you are not advanced enough so they also decline the invitation.


    Maybe waiting is not so bad after all¡­


    The Cath¡¯nix also send a reply , they are willing to accept the invitation.


    One out of three so far , we already reached our objective if the rest declines.


    The Ea¡¯Thell would have been better for building up Eden since they are excellent planners and beautifiers Alex .


    They haven¡¯t declined yet !


    I thought you were looking for only one species , why the sudden chance of heart ?


    Personal reasons and since I can decide as leader for the moment I¡¯m exercising my right as ruler.


    Your deciding for a lot of people Alex , I hope you won¡¯t cross any lines.


    I won¡¯t but I deserve something for what I¡¯m doing and that¡¯s fantasy people.


    The Ashter have send a reply , they are declining because they think there might be some problems with religious people in the future nor do they wish to be deified but they thank you for your offer and wishes us the best of luck.


    To bad , a lot of people on earth could use a born psychologist.


    That leaves just the Ea¡¯thell to answer ¡­


    The Ea¡¯thell send a reply they are willing to accept your invitation on the condition they aren¡¯t subjected to prostitute themselves.


    Prostitute ?


    Apparently there are a lot of perverts in space who offered them a place on their planet if they were willing to be concubines in monarchies or sex workers on other planets.


    You can have sex here ?


    Off course but you can¡¯t get pregnant or get sick from doing it Alex


    That could be a problem in the future I fear.


    There will always be problems Alex but you can make countermeasures.


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    Ok how do we summon them here ?


    You place your hand on a government core and accept them , their leaders will appear and if they accept they can gradually place the rest of their species on the planet.


    I recon they will wait a bit until the city or cities get build up before summoning the rest of them.


    And there won¡¯t be a problem of understanding them , right ?


    No all languages that have been uploaded in the Nexus will be heard as if it was your own language except for the words you don¡¯t have a similar counterpart to.


    Ok , Lets go find a government core then !


    There should be one in every room of the World Capitol building.


    Found one , can everyone access these ?


    Yes but you can only access and make decisions on basis of your clearance level that the system gives you according to your position in society.


    All government buildings will have at least one government core.


    Accept !


    Alex didn¡¯t know what he saw one was a thin , blond haired beauty with pointy ears and crystal blue eyes rivalling the most beautiful woman he ever saw.


    And the other was the cutest silver haired woman with green eyes and cat ears but sadly she didn¡¯t have a tail.


    For a moment he stood there motionless not knowing what to say but he quickly regained composure and said ¡°hi , my name is Alex Timmermans , pleasure to meet you¡±.


    ¡°My name is El¡¯Anor by summoning me I hope you agreed to the condition¡± said the blonde woman.


    ¡°My name is Cathy , which games do you have also pleasure to meet you!¡± said the silver haired woman.


    Yeah, I agree to your condition but some guy¡¯s will be bothering you for attention or worse according to our standards you look like a supermodel and we only have 4 games for the moment.


    But the silver haired woman was already browsing the government core.


    No problem we can handle ourself as long as it¡¯s not imposed , we are used to it from before .


    Where is the rest of your government , this is a big decision and we like to thank you all !


    For the moment it¡¯s just me , my apologies but I just arrived in the Nexus.


    ¡°This is a tier 3 city we hit the jackpot¡± yelled Cathy.


    El¡¯Anor looked at me baffled , a tier 3 city¡­ nobody has that , tier 2 is already as rare can be .


    Well it¡¯s not a city yet we only have the World Capitol building for the moment¡­


    That is not the point , how do you get a tier 3 city core while just joining the Nexus ?


    ¡°For just joining the Nexus they sure do have a lot of credits¡± said an excited Cathy.


    I thought they got all the data while they were deciding Da¡¯grass ?


    The data from your planet and stage of development not the data from your city core that is for inhabitants only.


    ¡°And you have an assistant¡± said El¡¯Anor.


    ¡°They have a lot of games in there database too but only 4 vr games¡± said Cathy.


    So that means he didn¡¯t get here the usual way.


    ¡°I need to sit down for a moment¡± said El¡¯Anor .


    Are you alright , anything I can do for you ?


    You could explain to me how you got your hands on a tier 3 city core and an assistant while your planet has not even reached star system space travel.


    I wouldn¡¯t do that Alex , the less people know the better for you !


    I¡¯m sorry El¡¯Anor but I can¡¯t tell you , all you need to know is that I got a level 3 clearance while joining the Nexus for the first time.


    And I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t tell anyone in the future.


    Fine , keep your secrets , as long as my people and I can live here I¡¯m content.


    I¡¯m also happy if I and my people can live here but you need more state owned vr games and me and my people can accomplish that.


    That¡¯s good to hear because I¡¯m going to need all the help you two can provide me.


    ¡°What do you want us to do then¡± said El¡¯Anor.


    For starters to build New Eden as best and beautiful as possible with the means given to us.


    You¡¯ll need to appoint me as head city planner then and allocate me a budget , I¡¯ll also need some help so I¡¯ll be summoning some of my compatriots.


    ¡°Oh , I can do acquisitions for the state , like buying knowledge and equipment needed for the buildings¡± said Cathy.


    Isn¡¯t that a high government position Da¡¯grass ?


    Yes but since you¡¯re the only human here it shouldn¡¯t be a problem , nobody is expected to do everything alone.


    How do I appoint them , the government core ?


    No , this time you can just tell me and I¡¯ll do so , how big of a budget will you give them ?


    They may use it all for the time being .


    I just looked at the total credits of your government and it will more than suffice for beginning to construct your world capital .


    But since you¡¯re the only one here it must mean you have got a vast fortune since the tax is set at 25 percent.


    I also got a 10 percent discount for my first purchase any suggestions ?


    ¡°You can buy games in a bulk in the name of the state and use your discount for the complete education course¡±, said Cathy .


    Everything non-material is considered free for the planets inhabitants inside Nexus as long as it is government owned.


    I would rather have that you buy city cores in bulk and entrust them to the state but that would be costly.


    Costly ¡­ thus , it is ideal for a discount ?


    What do you think Da¡¯grass ?


    It¡¯s a good idea but it¡¯s going to be costly indeed.


    How many do you need ?


    As much as possible , at least as many as your earth has countries .


    How many countries does earth have at the moment Da¡¯grass ?


    196 according to your internet but that are the official ones only , there should be a few more.


    Can I afford 200 city cores ?

 006

    Yes , with plenty to spare.


    And 300 ?


    Also , you can even buy the complete education course and still have enough but I would refrain from big acquisitions for a while after that one.


    Ok Da¡¯grass if you would do the honours and buy it in the name of the state.


    It¡¯s done Alex .


    These are 300 tier 2 city cores , this is preposterous !


    They are used as capitals for high standing societies and you spread them like cabbage!


    ¡°A tier 3 city can only buy tier 2 city cores anything less is not up to standard¡± said Da¡¯grass against El¡¯Anor .


    ¡°Is it the same with the complete education course ?¡± asked Alex .


    Unlike the name suggests it is not complete but it covers the education well within the interstellar age and yes the education package is tier 3.


    ¡°So professors and scientists may be going back to school just to satisfy their curiosity alone¡± Alex thought out loud.


    That might just well be the case , young master .


    You know , most people wouldn¡¯t have parted with their credits like you did .


    Things are cheaper if you just buy it for yourself instead of government owned except in cases like technological schematics for example.


    That was a mighty good deed you did , you gave your people the gift of free knowledge and a place to call home here in the Nexus.


    ¡°He is right you know¡± said El¡¯Anor , I never met anyone that donated to the state on that scale.


    Most people would keep their credits in their own account and spend it on themself or their children.


    ¡°Yeah , you rock¡± said Cathy and continued browsing the government core.


    She reminds me of a typical internet addict thought Alex and smiled.


    What are you smiling about asked El¡¯Anor.


    Oh nothing special , I just realized that we¡¯ll be getting along just fine .


    Let¡¯s talk a bit of what I expect you guy¡¯s to do and about your future plans here.


    After talking for hours with El¡¯Anor , Cathy and Da¡¯grass interjecting sometimes Alex realized it was going to be a steep learning curve for maximizing the worth of credits.


    The same products could have different prices depending on the way they were obtained and the most common were trough the Nexus ,  trade and natural way.


    If an inhabitant uploaded a scan to the Nexus, it would be state-owned. However, the government would only earn the full amount  if the uploader was dead.


    As long as the person was alive, they would earn with every transaction on a universal scale, and the state would receive a 25 percent tax on their income.


    But the state could only trade , while it would be cheaper than buying from the Nexus it was more of a hassle with all the travel and negotiating and you couldn¡¯t sell to other species what you bought yourself.


    And if you dared to give up on your location you could even trade in reality but it was always a risk for receiving a war fleet determined to conquer you instead of the intended merchant fleet.


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    Luckily only the head of state could give up the location because it would become garbled the moment Nexus detected it.


    Inhabitants couldn¡¯t sell state owned items unless they were a government licensed company and they had a standard contract that deposited a fixed percentage to the state .


    The city planning was going to take a while but the government core had tools to help them with that , after the city was designed the actual purchase would be happening.


    But they had to first look over the available buildings and options before starting to design it.


    Cathy insisted that there would be several game developer studios for her people including bars and restaurants.


    El¡¯Anor asked if her people could be in charge of wildlife and nature activities if they wished so , otherwise they were content with the same job opportunities as the rest of us.


    I learned that they still had their account and credits but that they were hoping on buying lifetime residences with it once the building started.


    A residence also had a core were you could buy at the mall , login to your favourite game , listen to music , etc.


    If you wanted to do that without a residence you needed to buy an option that was visualized as a bracelet on your wrist but for that you needed a core .


    And a core was a basic setting that you could upgrade


    This was all new to me and I had to adapt , I was young and flexible but feared for the old.


    Helena and Sam would love to be a part of this all if they knew.


    Thinking about them he decided to log out.


    See you later , remember that the priority is New Eden so for the moment no spending money on state owned games Cathy !


    El¡¯Anor I entrust you with the city , get the help you need that goes for you too Cathy.


    And Alex was gone.


    ¡°What do you think of him?¡± asked El¡¯Anor


    He¡¯s a good guy and friendly , a little na?ve spending his credits like that but it should give his species a good start in the Nexus.


    They¡¯ll have to adapt drastically and won¡¯t do it without a fight but that¡¯s seen on many planets.


    Their wildlife here is primary primordial , it suggests a dangerous planet but according the data I found the most dangerous being on their planet should be humans themselves.


    Maybe that¡¯s the reason why he got a tier 3  Capital city core ?


    Either way don¡¯t expect the rest of the humans to be like him , most would have picked a monarchy instead of a technocracy or worse¡­


    The 4 vr games are a good pick to develop a technologically challenged society and releasing frustration but there are many good games out there¡­ bad ones too.


    To bad he forbade me to pick up a few good ones , I¡¯ve seen their collection of games they won¡¯t know what is happening to them when they see the possibilities.


    What do you think about him and his species ? said Cathy to El¡¯Anor.


    The moment you said that this was a tier 3 city it was like a was looking in the eyes of a monster.


    And when his assistant spoke the ground beneath me gave away.


    But I think your right , we hit the jackpot being adopted by this species to bad they are not as advanced as it should be.


    This city makes it worth though , looking at the buildings available.


    And there is plenty of room to expand while the other cities will be at least tier 2  .


    Credits wise we¡¯ll be good to construct a beautiful and fully functional Capital city if these taxes come in for a few more day¡¯s .


    He must have uploaded a planets worth of data in the Nexus , if they got more this must be a rich planet for their technological era .


    Introductions


    Alex woke up hearing the birds singing outside his window.


    How long was I inside Da¡¯grass ?


    A little less than 9 hours real time and a bit short of 2 day¡¯s inside , Alex .


    Why don¡¯t I feel tired ?


    You were sleeping and thanks to being optimized you can go longer without sleep , if you let me you can even go without sleep at all .


    I can cleanse the toxins out of your brain and repair damage caused by intensive activities without breaking a sweat.


    You¡¯ll only feel tired if your continuous moving around without resting your body.


    Can you do the same to Helena and Sam ?


    You¡¯ve got a level 3 clearance so yes but I can¡¯t control the nanites if they are not in close proximity of me , you are my priority !


    Can they enter the Nexus with me ?


    Yes but only if they are near you .


    You think it would be wise to share my existence with them ?


    I want them to have a head start and to share this world of possibilities with them they are my best friends , I know them since kindergarten.


    If I can¡¯t trust them who can I trust ¡­


    And I don¡¯t want to do this alone.


    How long would it take to develop the plans I got as my welcome package from the Nexus ?


    It depends on your plans , do you wish to start your own company so you can earn money out of it or do you wish to gift it to a company ?


    You also can apply for a patent and earn a lot of money while they do the work but your name will be known to all.


    It sounds like a lot of work to manage a company and I¡¯ve got you to earn me money on the stock market.


    I also want to keep a low profile and don¡¯t want to answer all the questions they would have¡­


    So let¡¯s say I gift it to all companies who are capable of producing this , how long would it take ?

 007

    According to what I know about your planet it could be done within 3 months but after 1 month there would be already visitors in the Nexus due to testing the vr technology.


    Can I block them out until it¡¯s being distributed to the population , I fear they might keep it to a select few if they knew about the Nexus.


    You can make an appeal to the ai who manages the Nexus and voice your concerns.


    It¡¯s in the best interest of the Nexus that your populations joins her so you would make a strong case.


    Can you make an appeal then Da¡¯grass ?


    It¡¯s done , she¡¯ll be answering in a minute or so.


    Send the schematics to all companies who are capable of producing it With a short explanation and also include the most important media around the world.


    And make sure it can¡¯t be traced back to me !


    I once read that if an invention is made public no one can apply for a patent on it because it isn¡¯t considered new .


    Now what to eat I¡¯m hungry (opens the fridge) , looks like I have to go for groceries .


    The Ai of the Nexus agreed to your plan Alex , she¡¯ll be only letting them in after there are enough of users and she thanks you for your consideration.


    ¡°That¡¯s one concern less¡± Says Alex while baking an omelette .


    After eating he send a message to Helena and Sam to meet at his house at noon , first he was going shopping , a man needs to eat !


    After putting his clothes on he grabbed his key¡¯s and took off.


    Phew , a lot of people needed groceries today it seems , that took forever!


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a lot of new scans too¡± said Da¡¯grass.


    Your still scanning ?


    Yes , I¡¯m continuous scanning my environment , Alex .


    Well stop doing that , other people need to have a chance too, we¡¯ve got enough !


    As you wish but your being to considering to others if I may say so .


    First come , first served  as your people tend to say¡­


    Yeah well , I want to leave them something , I¡¯ve got more than enough income and I don¡¯t even know what to buy yet !


    ¡°A lifetime residence in New Eden is a good start¡± says Da¡¯grass or some property you can rent out.


    Cathy wanted to have a few game developers buildings , you could buy a building and hire her people .


    I doubt they¡¯ll have enough to buy such a building and they need work to earn credits , playing games earns enough to live but not for the high life of Nexus .


    Ring riiing (doorbell)


    That should be Helena and Sam , keep quit until I introduce you Da¡¯grass!


    I will , sure you want to do this Alex ?


    ¡°Hi Alex , how are you doing¡± says Sam


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    ¡°Don¡¯t mind my stupid brother Alex , he¡¯s got shit for brains¡± says Helena


    He lost his parents , how do you think he¡¯s doing?


    Long time no see Sam , I¡¯m alright considering things, thanks for asking.


    You know , they said the strangest thing on the radio just now says Helena.


    Apparently someone send schematics of vr devices to all known companies and media and its full immersion technology  .


    People are thinking it¡¯s a hoax because we are nowhere near at that level of technology but the plans are so detailed that they are being looked at by scientists and electromechanical engineers just to make sure.


    It even came with the message that 4 games would be available where you could earn credits whatever that is.


    ¡°Imagine its true¡± says Sam , full immersion vr in our lifetime.


    It sounds to good to be true , probably someone with to much time on his hands.


    Sighh¡­ I wish it was true though.


    ¡°I wonder how long it would take to come on the market if it¡¯s¡± true Says Helena.


    ¡°At the earliest in three months¡± says Alex


    ¡°How do you come at that timeframe¡± asks Sam


    Do you know something we don¡¯t ?


    Come inside , we¡¯ve got a lot to talk about¡­


    (some time later)


    So your saying that your cuff bracelet was inside a coprolite and that it gives you pseudo immortality .


    That it comes with an ai who gives you access to something called Nexus and is investing your money inside the stock market.


    You¡¯ve got any idea how crazy that sounds Alex ?


    I know you¡¯ve got it rough with your parents death but Alex this is not normal.


    I think it¡¯s better you get checked out mentally , your grieve is making you mentally ill.


    Say something Da¡¯grass ¡­


    I can assure you two that my master is not mentally ill and that he is speaking the truth.


    I was against the idea off him telling you two of my existence but he assured me that you two could be trusted and I quote : ¡°If I can¡¯t trust them who can I trust ?¡±.


    Did that voice just now came from you bracelet , Alex ? said Helena


    Sam just looked like he had seen a ghost.


    Yes , Helena and Sam meet Da¡¯grass .


    Da¡¯grass meet Helena and Sam.


    And you wanted us to get the same treatment as you with the nanites and stock market ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry what I said earlier Alex but it just seemed to farfetched¡± said Helena


    An ai from the cretaceous period that functions the minute you put it on that¡¯s more than 65 million years old¡­


    I don¡¯t blame you guys , if you told me I wouldn¡¯t believe it also , I know it sounds crazy.


    ¡°That¡¯s aliens we are talking about¡± said Sam and a lot of them if this Nexus exists .


    It exists Sam I¡¯ve already been there .


    I was out for two days when I got injected with the nanites so it¡¯s best to ask permission from your mother to stay over for a couple of days if you decide to risk it.


    Maybe even get a loan from the bank so that you can invest with me.


    Can our mother invest too , it¡¯s been rough since our dad left with that bitch.


    Yes but you can¡¯t reveal the existence of Da¡¯grass and all the rest you are about to witness.


    We won¡¯t , is your bank account number still the same ?


    We¡¯ll write over the money as soon as we get it .


    So this means you¡¯re both in ?


    ¡°Yes , no chance in hell that we are going to miss an opportunity like this¡± both Helena and Sam exclaimed .


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to convince our mother to invest so we¡¯ll be leaving , how much did you invest and how much did you earn already Alex ?¡± asked Helena.


    I invested 40 000 and how much did we earn until now Da¡¯grass ?


    Your total portfolio stands at around 150 000 after 2 days Alex.


    We¡¯ll see if we can match that , see you tomorrow Alex !


    And they left like being chased by a dog.


    The minute their money appears on my account use it to invest Da¡¯grass .


    I will do so Alex.


    Are you going into the Nexus this night Alex ?


    No , the next time I¡¯m going it¡¯s with them Da¡¯grass¡­


    ¡°I figured as much¡± said Da¡¯grass.


    I¡¯m going to watch some movies and news on tv , Da¡¯grass inform me if anything happens.


    (Evening)


    Their money arrived Alex I¡¯m buying stocks as we speak.


    How much did they send ?


    160 000


    And how much do we have?


    210 000


    Transfer 50 000 to my account , we¡¯ll be getting rich together¡­


    As you wish Alex.


    I¡¯m not feeling tired at all¡­


    I told you , you¡¯ll need less sleep now that you are optimized and I¡¯m cleaning the buildup toxins out of your brain the moment they appear .


    I¡¯m going to browse the internet for a while , thanks Da¡¯grass !


    For what ?


    For giving me this opportunity and all the rest you¡¯ve been doing.


    It¡¯s my pleasure , Alex !


    A lot of people were ecstatic on the internet .


    But as long as there where optimists claiming the beginning of a new era there were also those who claimed it was a hoax by someone that didn¡¯t abide by common sense and was trolling the world.


    Others claimed it was planted by aliens who wanted to study humanity by playing scenarios that humans needed to solve inside said games.


    They were not far from the truth ¡­ anyway , the alien part I mean.


    Not that I was an alien but it came from aliens.


    Since he wasn¡¯t tired at all he decided to play some games , something he hadn¡¯t done since het got the news of his parents.

 008

    He played until the birds starting to sing and light began shining through the windows.


    After going to the bathroom he made breakfast and he thought to himself that he not used to be such a good gamer but this night he played like a pro.


    It¡¯s got to be his enhanced brain and fine motor skills , another thing to thank Da¡¯grass he mused.


    Ding (phone)


    Hmm a message from Helena..


    Are you awake ?


    ¡°Better reply or I¡¯ll get an earful if she finds out¡± thought Alex.


    I am awake .


    Ding (phone)


    We¡¯ll be there in 15 minutes.


    I guess they didn¡¯t get a lot of sleep this night but I wouldn¡¯t either if I were in their shoes.


    Da¡¯grass , Helena and Sam will be arriving shortly anything I can do to help?


    You could prepare a large protein rich meal and some cups with rust and water , it should ease their transition.


    Consider it done Da¡¯grass .


    Ringriiing (doorbell)


    Good morning Helena , Sam !


    We couldn¡¯t sleep , Alex .


    Knowing what is going on and the impact it¡¯s going to have on Sam and my life.


    What do we need to do ?


    ¡°For starters coming into the house and have breakfast¡± said a smiling Alex


    Sorry , we are a bit nervous .


    No problem , and they walked to the kitchen.


    We need to drink and eat that food Alex ?


    It¡¯s to heavy and the water doesn¡¯t look pure.


    Trust me you¡¯ll need it.


    I hope you¡¯re not kidding Alex or I¡¯ll be putting on weight like a pig.


    While you eat , I¡¯ll explain some stuff that you might be expecting while the nanites do their work.


    The moment you¡¯ll be injected you¡¯ll feel dizzy and lights go out so you better be laying down.


    After 2 days you¡¯ll be waking up with a pants full of reeking shit and piss .


    You¡¯ll be hungry and thirsty as hell but want to clean yourself before you do that.


    So I was thinking to strip you guys and lay you in the bathtub , we¡¯ve got two in this house so it won¡¯t be a problem.


    While you¡¯re cleaning yourself you can drink the water that comes out of the shower , I know I did.


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    After that you¡¯ll be the best possible human , genetics wise, a human can be without altering to much.


    You¡­you¡¯ll be seeing me in my underwear ?


    And I¡¯m not responsive for two days ?


    You better not try anything Alex or there will be hell to pay !


    Calm down Helena , it¡¯s Alex , he won¡¯t do anything.


    Right Alex ?


    I won¡¯t , you can trust me Helena , the three musketeers you know¡­


    Fine , but I¡¯m locking the door !


    You can¡¯t do that Helena , I¡¯ll be there the moment you pass out and I need to get out of the bathroom.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think about that¡± she mumbles.


    Ok , now that¡¯s out of the way , who wants to go first ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first¡± said Helena , her ears red.


    Ok , I¡¯m ready , come in ¡­


    ¡°This is going to sting a bit¡± said Alex while moving his cuff bracelet to her arm.


    Auww , you c.. I¡¯m feeling dizz¡­


    She¡¯s out , you¡¯re next Sam.


    She¡¯s beautiful isn¡¯t she ?


    Dude she¡¯s your sister ¡­


    I¡¯m not saying it because of me , idiot !


    ¡°Come , the faster this is done the better¡± said Sam and walked to the second bathroom.


    ¡°she is¡± thought Alex while taking a quick peek and followed Sam.


    Again , you¡¯re going to feel a few stings.


    No problem ¡­ dizzy.. .


    And there out , now it¡¯s the waiting game.


    Da¡¯grass inform me if there is something I should be aware about.


    Ok , the nanites are reproducing and spreading throughout their body , it will take a while before they¡¯ll be doing anything else.


    You¡¯ll need to stay in the house while they are out or I can¡¯t do my job.


    Ok da¡¯grass , no problem.


    I¡¯ll be playing some games while you¡¯re at it.


    (Some time later)


    Alex there is something you need to know about Sam and Helena .


    What is it Da¡¯grass , are there complications ?


    It¡¯s going to take a little while longer due unforeseen circumstances but nothing to worry about.


    What is the problem than ?


    They both have a genetic disease called muscular dystrophy , it can only be inherited if both parents carry the gene .


    It can surface as an adult and it could be fatal but since I¡¯m correcting and enhancing their genetic profile it will be completely out of their system after I¡¯m done with them.


    They can even have children and won¡¯t be transmitting the decease genetically .


    Thanks Da¡¯grass , I owe you one.


    They are like family to me , I wouldn¡¯t have known what to do if I lost them too.


    No problem , it¡¯s part of my job description.


    Alex got this strange feeling that Da¡¯grass was smiling while he heard him say that but that¡¯s silly ai¡¯s cant smile¡­


    Tell me if there¡¯s anything else ¡­


    Ok , Alex.


    Alex moved from the computer to the tv and started to watch documentaries¡­


    For 2,5 days he did nothing else than watch tv , eat and play games.


    When he needed to use the bathroom he went to the one with Sam and boy did it reek¡­


    Alex , they¡¯ll be waking up soon and be hungry .


    Thanks , I¡¯ll make some dinner.


    After a while the table was set and dinner was ready , he heard some colourful swears how putrid the smell was and the showers.


    ¡°Hello sleepyheads , I hope you had some pleasant dreams¡± said Alex to Helena and Sam who threw themselves on the food as if they hadn¡¯t seen food for a long time.


    ¡°God am I hungry¡± said Helena


    You weren¡¯t kidding about what you said.


    ¡°Yeah that was awful and I could eat a horse¡± said Sam.


    Eat , you can talk afterwards and there is something you might want to know but remember it¡¯s not a problem anymore .


    ¡°Problem?¡± they both said at the same time.


    You both had muscular dystrophy A genetically decease that affects the muscles of your body , you can only get it if both of your parents carry the gene.


    It can be fatal and symptoms may appear when you¡¯re an adult.


    But like I told you it¡¯s not a problem anymore Da¡¯grass fixed you and there isn¡¯t a trace of the gene in your body left .


    You can have children and they¡¯ll be healthier than normal people.


    ¡°We dodged a bullet there¡± said a pale looking Helena.


    ¡°Yeah thanks Da¡¯grass¡± said an evenly pale Sam.


    ¡°How long were we out then if this was the case¡± asked Helena.


    A bit longer then 2,5 days.


    I better check my phone then¡­


    I¡¯ve got a message from our mother , she¡¯s having second thoughts and wants the money back.


    She says she can¡¯t afford to lose it.


    Da¡¯grass how much money do we have at the moment ?


    Around 2 500 000 , Alex.


    Transfer 400 000 to my account and from there 200 000 to Helena¡¯s account will you.


    Thanks Alex and sorry.


    Don¡¯t be , you¡¯re still investing together with me , that¡¯s just your cut .


    At which they both smiled.


    You two better go home and reassure your mother , the Nexus will be there tomorrow too .


    Tell her she¡¯s still in as you are and that she doesn¡¯t need to worry about money anymore .


    I guess I don¡¯t need a job anymore and you can quit waitering tables in the weekend Helena.


    Yeah , my feet will be eternally grateful Alex !

 009

    At which Alex chuckles and Sam laughs¡­


    Seeing them out Helena turns and says : ¡°thank you for sharing all of this with us , Alex!¡± and leaves.


    Watching them drive away Alex can¡¯t stop wondering what the future will hold for him , Sam and Helena.


    Only time can tell.


    Da¡¯grass I want to sleep normally tonight but I¡¯m not feeling tired .


    No problem Alex , when you lay in bed I¡¯ll induce a normal sleep.


    (the next morning)


    Light was shining through the window when Alex opened his eyes.


    He took his phone to look at the time it was 10.05 hr , he also saw that he had a message .


    At what time do you want us to come over ?


    He replied : whenever you want !


    After going to the bathroom he ate some cornflakes and put on the tv.


    There was a special on with an excited scientist who was talking about the vr devices and that he would like to have a chance to talk to the person whoever submitted it.


    He turned off the tv , it was to early in the morning for Alex to deal with this.


    Da¡¯grass , do you still have those scans from when I went grocery shopping ?


    Yes Alex , why do you ask ?


    Can you split it evenly and enter them under the names of Sam and Helena next time we enter the Nexus ?


    If that¡¯s what you wish for I can do so Alex but I fail to see the benefit it brings you .


    It¡¯s not always about what is best for yourself Da¡¯grass , they are my friends and I have plenty already .


    Maybe it¡¯s best if I ask them to stay here for a while , this house does have 3 bedrooms¡­


    Ring riiing (doorbell)


    That should be them.


    ¡°Hello Alex¡± said Helena as he opened the door.


    Good morning Helena , Sam .


    Did you hear the news this morning Alex ?


    No , I¡¯m not awake for that long.


    They came to the conclusion that the schematics should work so they put it on fast track development , they couldn¡¯t find any faults .


    It¡¯s a rat race between companies to be the first on the market with a developed vr device.


    So it could be sooner than 3 months before the first vr devices are sold to the public.


    ¡°The internet is going crazy¡± said Sam


    Also on another note , you made our mother cry.


    What ?


    Yeah , she was crying and smiling at the same time when we showed her the Bank account and told her that we were still investing with the money we already earned .


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    She was stupefied the moment we told her we already had a million as our share.


    ¡°She was ranting about that we should go to college and even told to Helena that you were a good boy and that she wouldn¡¯t mind that she and you would get together¡± said a smirking Sam.


    ¡°Sam , you wouldn¡¯t tell him about that¡± said a red faced Helena.


    Come on , it was funny .


    The way she was going about , it¡¯s been a long time we¡¯ve seen her this happy and stress free.


    Ever since dad left , she had to worry about bills and meeting ends need.


    She was smiling this morning before she left for work , when was the last time you¡¯ve seen that.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t help you didn¡¯t have a job¡± said Helena.


    It¡¯s all in the past now sis , with Da¡¯grass investing for us there shouldn¡¯t be any problems anymore.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad it¡¯s working out for the better for you two¡± said a smiling Alex amused by the interactions of the twins.


    I guess you two want to get in the Nexus as soon as possible.


    Yeah , we couldn¡¯t sleep this night and kept talking about what to expect and what has happened so far, strangely we don¡¯t feel tired at all.


    ¡°Probably because we got enhanced¡± said Sam answering Helena.


    Can you make an account for the two of them Da¡¯grass ?


    Done he replied , they get a level 2 clearance because of the way they are entering the Nexus.


    Thanks, Da¡¯grass !


    ¡°Now make yourself comfortable , it¡¯s best to lay down so you can use the bedrooms.¡± said Alex.


    ¡°Everybody ready?¡± Alex shouted from his bedroom and the reply was immediate a yes from both.


    Da¡¯grass if you would ?


    The next moment they stood in the lobby of the World Capitol building.


    The scans are being uploaded as we speak Alex , it shouldn¡¯t take long.


    ¡°This building is magnificent¡± said Helena , awed.


    ¡°There is nothing but nature outside though¡± , said Sam .


    Wait , is that a dinosaur ? Should we worry ?


    The wildlife doesn¡¯t attack you unless you actively hunt them down , so no .


    You can even pet them if you like.


    Is that an Elf , running towards us ?


    They are called Ea¡¯Thell not Elves , Helena .


    There is also a species that looks like Beastkin but they are called Cath¡¯nix.


    So don¡¯t call them like that , I don¡¯t know if they would be insulted.


    ¡°Ok¡± they both answered.


    ¡°But it is awesome¡± said Sam.


    Hello , you must be Alex , I¡¯m Es¡®Mea.


    El¡¯Anor send me to get you , she saw a spike in credits so she figured you¡¯ve arrived.


    Hello Es¡¯Mea , pleased to make your acquaintance!


    Please , lead the way.


    Along the way , they met different Cath¡¯nix and Ea¡¯Thell.


    ¡°They¡¯re beautiful¡± mumbled a struck Helena.


    Sam was just gazing as if he didn¡¯t could decide what to get from a menu in a restaurant¡­


    Alex , finally , where have you been ?


    Sorry , I had some real life issues , this is Helena and Sam .


    Sam , Helena meet El¡¯Anor.


    ¡°Pleased to meet you¡± all three said at the same time.


    How is the city planning going , did you make any progress?


    As a matter of fact we finished the lay out a few days ago.


    If the city is build it can house around 40 million people with room to expand.


    We were waiting for you to give the word so that we could mass purchase the buildings and construct New Eden in one go.


    There should be enough credits , thanks to you sponsoring the other city cores.


    We already have a plan for the city cores as well , I mean where to distribute them , not the layout .


    Since people go to nearest location of a city according to the place they first log in we examined the data of you city¡¯s and population density and picked the most suitable locations for all of your city cores.


    If all 300 are used and we expand them to house also 40 million people you should be able to accommodate 12 billion people.


    ¡°We are not with that many people on earth , El¡¯Anor¡± said Alex.


    No but you¡¯ll get a lot of tourists and trade , so we took the liberty of trying to calculate that in .


    We also know that not all of the population is logged in at the Nexus at the same time but we would like to give the opportunity to each own property on the long term once they start earning credits.


    Changes can always be made once your government is installed.


    ¡°So there won¡¯t be any rural areas anymore ?¡± asked Sam.


    ¡°Each city has a territory over which they can decide , if they want they can build small towns with lodgings¡± said El¡¯Anor.


    ¡°That sounds better , not everybody wants to live in a city even if it¡¯s virtual¡± said Helena .


    I just gave you the numbers , I didn¡¯t mean it like that¡­


    You did a good job El¡¯Anor but we¡¯ll be needing more city cores It wouldn¡¯t feel right to pack everybody as sardines.


    Da¡¯grass how many cities are there on earth ?


    A little less than 1.905.000 Alex¡­


    That¡¯s to many for you to buy Alex.


    A virtual world gets build up by all of its population and trade.


    And normally a population trickles down to the Nexus as the virtual world gets build up .


    They play games and scan items to earn credits which the government uses for development.


    It takes a long time to be considered a mature society and it¡¯s already a big accomplishment to have 300 city cores while just starting.

 010

    My advice is to focus on New Eden and place the remaining city cores on optimal locations for the time being.


    I guess you¡¯re right Da¡¯grass , sorry!


    Don¡¯t be , you¡¯ve already done enough , you should focus more on yourself.


    ¡°Yeah Alex , you can¡¯t shoulder all of humanity¡± said Helena comforting.


    ¡°Dude , did you really think you could manage and finance an entire planet ?¡± said Sam


    You opened the door for humanity to an entire universe that¡¯s more than enough let others do their part too .


    You guys are right , I let myself go for a while , sorry !


    El¡¯Anor can you somehow show me the layout of the city ?


    Certainly Alex .


    She put her hand on a government core and a holographic projection of a city appeared in the middle of the room above a grand table.


    We looked up the meaning of Eden in your database and figured it would be good to make it nature themed just like on our home world so we¡¯ll be buying our residences here in the capital if you don¡¯t mind.


    ¡°It¡¯s gorgeous¡± said Helena.


    Hanging gardens , wide lanes with trees , parcs , a lot of bars and restaurants , spacious marketplaces with kiosks , aesthetic buildings , enough housing as apartments and houses , villa¡¯s , etc..


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know a city could be this beautiful¡± said Sam .


    I always thought about them as grey soulless sardine cans¡­


    How do you move from one end from the city to the other end ?


    ¡°You can use the gates that are placed trough out the city or use transportation that you have bought.¡± Said El¡¯Anor.


    The gates can also be used to travel between cities if you want so.


    In our city we also had people with the same function as your cab drivers but with animal drawn carriages ¡­


    ¡°The kiosks are to access your account and mall I presume¡± said Alex.


    That is right , we don¡¯t want to many people use the government cores just to browse the mall and make purchases.


    Once they buy the option of the bracelet they¡¯ll hardly need them anymore but until then they can use the kiosks.


    Can you make a general design for the rest of the city cores with that in mind ?


    Like marketplaces with bars , restaurants and kiosks with the city building in the middle ?


    That way they¡¯ll have direct access to their account and mall , I know it¡¯s not much but at least it¡¯s something and they¡¯ll have a starting point.


    They can always change it like you told us , El¡¯Anor.


    We can make a general layout for all the other city cores but after building New Eden we¡¯ll be as good as broke so it will take a time before we can build the other city cores.


    Just build them one at the time when there are enough credits.


    Make sure to build a city core on the location of each capital city on earth and include all largest metropolises , if there are any left choose the best tourist locations.


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    Ok , we¡¯ll do as you say  Alex.


    If the design meets your approval , would you give the green light and place your hand on the government core ?


    Suddenly an excited Cathy came running in ¡­


    Good , I¡¯m on time , for a moment there , I thought I wouldn¡¯t witness this moment.


    ¡°Did you like the city , of course you did¡± she said seemingly to nobody.


    Well what are you waiting for ?


    Give your approval to the government core .


    Approved.


    ¡°Congratulations your planet owns a world Capital city¡± says Cathy.


    ¡°Development will go slower now that there are no more new scans generating the first days of income¡± says El¡¯Anor.


    If it¡¯s fine with you I like to bring out the rest of my people out of stasis and start purchasing property.


    ¡°I would like to do so too¡± say¡¯s Cathy.


    ¡°You can do as you wish , it¡¯s a big empty city for the time being but once people start coming in I would like you all to guide people in the right direction.¡± says Alex


    For example how to use the kiosks and the use of scanners and credits.


    We will , It¡¯s the least we can do for taking us in.


    But first we better buy the bracelet from the government core so that you can access your account and mall Sam , Helena .


    Da¡¯grass can you buy me one too ?


    Sure here you are Alex, done.


    Tell me when you¡¯re ready , I want to talk with Cathy for a moment , El¡¯Anor can you help them ?


    Sure Alex , it will be my pleasure !


    Cathy it was my impression that your people wanted to design games , can you afford a building to do so ?


    Well not all of us want to do so but yes we would like to do so and no we cannot afford the building.


    Most of us can buy a lifetime residence and some of us maybe a bar or a restaurant but there are still those who are without and you cannot rent unless you have an agreement with an owner.


    Then how about I buy the building and you guy¡¯s work for me , I can also buy a few residences and rent it out to your people until you can buy your own.


    That shouldn¡¯t be a problem right Da¡¯grass ?


    No it shouldn¡¯t , you have plenty of credits to do so Alex.


    That would be great Alex , thank you said Cathy .


    We¡¯ll make the best games possible , again thank you !


    I¡¯ll send you my contact information so that we can settle things more easly .


    Da¡¯grass can you buy a few apartment blocks and a game design studio ?


    If possible not to far from each other and send the location to Cathy .


    I do have enough credits for that don¡¯t I ?


    You¡¯ve got plenty of credits Alex.


    The purchase is done and the information is send.


    Send everyone who wants to work with me my information and I¡¯ll hire them as soon as I get their request , Cathy.


    The same for the residences , just send them my information and we¡¯ll get them settled as soon as possible.


    Da¡¯grass if I get those request handle them for me will you ?


    Ok Alex , I will .


    ¡°Thank you Alex , I won¡¯t forget this¡± Said Cathy.


    Do you want to develop games Cathy ?


    I would love to but you¡¯ve done more than enough for me already.


    It¡¯s in my best interest also Cathy , you would be in charge of the company and handle all things for me.


    Ok , I¡¯ll do so , what kind of games do you wish to develop ?


    Just do research on the games we have and study our lore and mythology a bit , you decide , you¡¯ve got more experience in these thing as we have .


    You won¡¯t be disappointed , now if you¡¯ll excuse me I¡¯ve got to bring my people out of stasis and tell them the good news.


    See you later , Alex !


    Bye Cathy !


    The moment Sam and Helena noticed that Alex was done talking to Cathy they walked over.


    Alex , El¡¯Anor pointed out that we have a lot of credits and that they will keep on rising for a few days , care to explain ? said Helena.


    We¡¯re not mad or anything like that but we didn¡¯t do anything yet that could earn us credits and according to El¡¯Anor it will be enough to never worry about credits anymore once the spike has ended and the income has stabilized .


    Wel Da¡¯grass ended up scanning a whole supermarket when I went shopping for groceries and since I already have so much scans on my name I decided to share it between the two of you.


    I thought that maybe you could buy some property with it and have a head start on the rest of the population.


    ¡°That¡¯s mighty considerate from you Alex , so now you¡¯ve provided for us in real life and the virtual one , a girl might get some thoughts about the reason why you did so¡± . Helena said with red ears.


    ¡°If I didn¡¯t know you I might think that you wanted something big from us like our first born or something like that because we don¡¯t own anything as a family , we are not the Rockefellers or someone like that.¡± Said Sam


    Let¡¯s go house shopping then said an excited Helena.


    ¡°That¡¯s actually not a bad idea¡± said Sam ¡°but I want my own house !¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go explore the city then and buy what we like¡± said Helena.


    El¡¯Anor , Il see you back here after we are done and you have settled your people , if there is something you need you can talk about it with us then .


    As you wish Alex but first let exchange contact information , if I¡¯m not here you can contact me !


    Good idea , El¡¯Anor!


    Da¡¯grass can you be our tour guide and financial advisor ?


    I can and I will , Alex.


    Then let¡¯s go house shopping !


    After wandering around the city for a few hours and admiring the sights they came to an agreement that they would first buy a residence and that business would come later .


    Because there was still an influx of credits they would have more to spend later so a house would come first.

 011

    But that didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t already thinking aloud what they would buy while Da¡¯grass was giving estimates what their total credit score would be and what everything would cost .


    According to Da¡¯grass there would still be a need for farms , breweries , restaurants ,etc for trade and consumption because it would be cheaper than buying from the nexus and it would provide work for others.


    The working of these were simplified and process durations were vastly reduced but new discoveries could be made because the physics were the same.


    When Da¡¯grass told that there weren¡¯t any negative consequences from eating or drinking and that you wouldn¡¯t even need to excrete Helena¡¯s eyes widened and she was determined to own a restaurant.


    Sam wanted a brewery upon hearing the news and asked if it was the same for drugs at which Da¡¯grass answered that there would not be any physical addiction but that it was possible for mental addiction.


    It seemed like Helena was tended to think about food , Sam was more inclined to think about drinks.


    According to Da¡¯grass there wouldn¡¯t be any problems financially to realize this so plans started forming in Helena and Sam¡¯s head and bombarded him with questions.


    When they arrived at a street where mansions were built they gasped for air. Staring at an idyllic scenery they fell in love at first sight.


    Seeing the reactions of both Helena and Sam , Alex asked Da¡¯grass if it was possible to see the inside and garden of the mansions.


    Da¡¯grass answered it wasn¡¯t possible because they weren¡¯t the owners but he could show them a projection which was the next best thing .


    After seeing a few projections they decided that Alex would buy the one at the end of the street and Sam and Helena the ones that bordered him at each side of the road.


    Da¡¯grass informed them that now that they had property , they would automatically reappear at their mansion if something happened and that they could travel instantaneously to every property they owned .


    They just needed their bracelet for doing so .


    He explained how the house core worked and how they could decorate their house or make minor adjustments after which they disappeared in their own houses .


    After a few hours Alex was content how his house looked and asked Da¡¯grass to send a message to Helena and Sam to meet at his house when they were finished with theirs.


    Sam was the first to appear , Alex was watching a movie when he arrived and they watched it together.


    When he started the second movie Helena appeared and they kept watching movies and talking about their houses and plans until they had enough and decided to meet up with El¡¯Anor and Cathy.


    Alex asked Da¡¯grass to send a message to them to meet , arranging to meet in 30 minutes .


    Thanks to the city gates spread across the city , they would have time to spare.  So they set off for the World Capitol building.


    When they arrived El¡¯Anor and Cathy were already waiting for them.


    And Sam and Helena had a few questions for them regarding their own plans.


    They asked if their population would be interested to work for them if they opened farms , restaurants , breweries and bars .


    El¡¯Anor was convinced that her population would be interested and so was Cathy.


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    They assured Sam and Helena that they would convey the news to their people.


    So without further delay Helena bought 2 farms and 2 restaurants while Sam bought a brewery and a bar.


    El¡¯Anor asked if they intended to trade with the rest of the universe , to which Sam and Helena had no objections.


    But since their virtual earth wasn¡¯t connected yet with the rest of the universe, they would sell through the state at a first-come , first-served basis.


    Meanwhile , the Nexus would be in charge of the relocation of goods.


    There would be less profit but the surplus of their goods would be on the market.


    Helena and Sam asked Da¡¯grass if he could be in charge of the recruiting when the Ea¡¯Thell and Cath¡¯nix came soliciting at which Alex had no problems with.


    Da¡¯grass assured them that the right persons would be hired according to the position available .


    At which Helena looked at Sam and Alex that they needed seeds but Alex refused and told them they had to do with what they got .


    He wasn¡¯t going to deprive the people of earth of more than he already had at which Da¡¯grass responded that he was being to considerate to other people but that he would comply.


    ¡°Ok Alex, you¡¯re right¡± said Helena ¡°we already have a lot so we won¡¯t be pressuring you¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your understanding¡± said Alex ¡°in a few months , everything on Earth will start to be scanned into the Nexus and you¡¯ll have everything you need.¡±


    Is there anything else that needs to be done?


    El¡¯Anor are your people settled in or are there who still need housing ?


    Our needs are settled .


    Thank you for asking , Alex.


    ¡°Alex , I¡¯ve been thinking¡± said Helena .


    I¡¯ve been browsing the technology in the mall a bit and there are some relatively cheap technologies that can benefit Earth as a whole like nuclear fusion and hydrogen extraction from water.


    Maybe we can all chip in and buy a few of these technologies for the betterment of earth ?


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t this create tactical disadvantages around the world¡± said Sam


    I wouldn¡¯t like to be the instigator of wars around the world.


    ¡°We could limit ourselves to buy green technology only and give it to the rest of the world¡± said Helena.


    ¡°So no matured Quantum computers , new energy sources or spaceships ?¡± said Sam.


    ¡°Indeed , no weapons or levitating vehicles , let the government figure it out once they are connected to the Nexus¡± said Helena


    The Nexus is going to destabilize the entire world , let think tanks and government officials deal with it.


    We¡¯ll only give them a head start so that they at least won¡¯t have to compete for energy sources.


    ¡°What do you think Da¡¯grass?¡± said Alex.


    It¡¯s going to create troubles and sleepless nights for your governments but it¡¯s the lesser of two evils and they might organize for future cases.


    And I¡¯ve seen the state of your planet on your internet so it might not be a bad idea but again it¡¯s not your job to shoulder the world.


    Your only governing this place because you are the only humans in the Nexus for the moment despite your clearance level giving you a lot of advantages.


    Most people would buy a technology and keep it for themselves to make a profit.


    ¡°Can you make a green energy package with what you know our world needs and doesn¡¯t consume more than half of our credits Da¡¯grass ?¡± said Alex.


    I can and it would be only a small percentage of your credits Alex , this technology is not high ranked and is considered mastered by all species that enter the Nexus.


    ¡°What do you think Helena , Sam do you guy¡¯s still want to go through with this?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Yes , let¡¯s do it!¡± they both said.


    Make the package and purchase it through the government Da¡¯grass.


    I¡¯ve purchased the package containing high yield solar panels , magnetic power harvesters , soil cleansing biotechnology , advanced nuclear fusion technology , mass hydrogen converter , advanced hydrogen engine , advanced quantum batteries , advanced electrical engine , advance¡­


    Stop Da¡¯grass , no need to tell us the entire list , can you distribute it around the globe like last time ?


    You mean relevant companies and media , Alex ?


    Yes and give it a permanent spot on the internet also.


    As you wish Alex !


    Well there is no turning back now guy¡¯s , the technology is shared around the globe.


    ¡°I hope we made the right decision¡± said Helena.


    ¡°It¡¯s like Alex said , in a few months everybody has access to all this technology¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Yeah but they won¡¯t have the credits for it for a while¡± said Helena.


    It will work out  , no need to worry , sis ¡­


    ¡°El¡¯Anor , Cathy it¡¯s about time we return can we trust you guy¡¯s to keep everything running over here ?¡± asked Alex.


    If a problem arises which you need our permission or so you can send a message , Da¡¯grass will notify us.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do so Alex , you can rest assured we¡¯ll be handling things over here¡± said El¡¯Anor.


    ¡°Yeah , no problem ¡°said Cathy.


    I¡¯ll be playi¡­ I mean researching your games so that we can produce Earth themed games.


    ¡°We have a lot of books where you can draw inspiration from so try reading them¡± said Alex.


    Well of to reality , Da¡¯grass if you don¡¯t mind.


    Alex opened his eyes and saw his familiar room feeling hungry.


    ¡°Well time to see what their plans are¡± he thought and moved to the master bedroom.


    ¡°Anyone hungry ?¡± he asked the siblings.


    We can go to mc Donalds , pizzahut or order Chinese food.

 012

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to a real restaurant¡± said Helena.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve got to have a reservation for that¡± said Sam.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make a call to see if there¡¯s room anywhere¡± said Alex.


    After calling 4 restaurants het got a confirmation they could come over due to several cancellations at the last moment and they left for the restaurant.


    ¡°This is classy , it¡¯s going to be expensive¡± said Sam while walking in the restaurant to their designated place.


    Strange they have room without reservation , a place like this is packed all year round.


    I¡¯m feeling a little underdressed said Helena.


    Look there is still people leaving without finishing their meal , strange.


    ¡°Maybe after this we can go for a drink¡± said Alex.


    It¡¯s been a while since we all went out for the night together.


    ¡°Sounds good to me and don¡¯t bother about those people sis , thanks to them we get to eat here¡± said Sam.


    ¡°Yeah a night out sounds great especially now I don¡¯t have to serve but be served for a change.¡± Helena responded while looking thru the menu.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have the sea bass , celeriac puree , wild sorrel and smoked sauce with shellfish and a glass of Perrier¡± said Helena to the waiter.


    ¡°For me the chicken cordon bleu and a glass of coke¡± said Sam.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have the venison wellington and a Perrier¡± said Alex as last.


    ¡°You know you¡¯re paying , Alex¡± said a smiling Sam.


    Sure why not , consider this my repayment for what I put you guy¡¯s through the last 3 months .


    They kept bantering around until their food arrived and enjoyed a good meal in good company.


    After the meal they got desert with coffee named Kopi Luwak , it was the most expensive coffee on the menu and Alex was laughing every time they took a sip of their coffee.


    After paying for their meal they walked back to their car while discussing how 3 meals with desert could cost that much but nevertheless satisfied with what they have experienced .


    They did got a little mad at Alex when he explained why he was laughing every time they drunk their coffee.


    They didn¡¯t know that this special coffee was once digested by a cat species named a civet cat and collected from their feces .


    While walking to the car Helena proposed she would be the designated driver of the evening but Alex told her that Da¡¯grass could make them sober at any time they wished so they could all enjoy the evening.


    Once they arrived at the bar they agreed to go they noticed that everyone was watching the many tv¡¯s on the walls and were listening attentively but they only heard the last sentence that there would be more news tomorrow.


    They went to an empty booth and waited for the waitress to come and get their order while listening to the conversation of others.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s got to be aliens , that¡¯s 237 technologies all intended to be good for the environment¡± said someone.


    They probably noticed how we were condemning ourselves and are trying to save the planet because we neglect to do so.


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    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that¡± said another


    Why would aliens try to save our planet while we are still on it and without making themselves known to us.


    It doesn¡¯t make sense ¡­ maybe it¡¯s a secret organization that¡¯s mainly scientific and who are trying to make right what went wrong.


    You heard them it¡¯s more advanced then what we currently have and most of it was just theoretical or in begin stages  .


    Why would they wait with disclosing these technologies until they were this advanced when we needed it like yesterday.


    Yeah I know but come on¡­ aliens ?


    If they are this advanced they would likely wipe us out and take earth for themselves and it would be much easier to save this planet.


    Why would you guy¡¯s argue from where it comes ?


    Point is that we now have it and we only need to produce it and it¡¯s available on the web so no company can keep it on the shelves or for their own benefit.


    Solar panels with more than 90 percent efficiency , bacteria that converts waste into soil , co2 scrubbers on industrial size for cities and methods to use the collected co2 , water purifiers tha ¡­


    Hello my name is Miranda , that was some crazy news h¨¦ , what would you like to drink ?


    ¡°We were to late for the news , we just came in , is it true that there were 237 technologies released ?¡± asked Sam


    Yeah there were even a few for cleaning up space around earth said the waitress.


    They told us that these technologies can even crossover to other research areas because there is technology mixed in that we don¡¯t even have like new microchips or insights in biotechnology .


    Apparently when the vr technology was released there was even a superconductor on room temperature in the schematics and the instructions how to make it.


    There is going to be a panel of scientists in the news tomorrow to answer most common questions.


    ¡°Thank you for answering our question Miranda¡± said Helena.


    No problem , now what would you like to drink ?


    A white wine for me please .


    A beer for me


    ¡°For me also a beer¡± said Sam.


    ¡°Coming right up¡±  said the waitress.


    ¡°Guy¡¯s , I think we¡¯ve overdone it a bit¡­¡± said Alex


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right¡± said Helena.


    I didn¡¯t expect 237 technologies.


    ¡°Or implications on other research departments¡± said Sam


    ¡°Now is not the time to discuss this , the walls have ears¡± said Alex


    Let¡¯s just enjoy ourselves tonight.


    The entire bar was buzzing with elated people and there was only one conversation topic the special news flash that lasted 2 hours.


    A lot of people were celebrating because of the new future prospects .


    The technologies released were promising to combat climate change and although it would take time they had the technology .


    For the optimists the future looked bright once again.


    Than there were the realists who wondered where the technology came from and who feared global strife due to changing power structures .


    And last there were the pessimists who saw a conspiracy to take over the world if not by aliens.


    While Alex , Sam and Helena were drinking they listened to the conversations around them and talked to the waitress about the news flash when she was bringing them the next drinks.


    At a certain point in the night somebody shouted that he would be investing in the stock market once he sobered up which was accompanied with a lot of cheers and laughs.


    Nobody wanted to go home and they kept celebrating until the bar owner cut everybody off because it was getting to late or should I say to early in the morning.


    At which Alex , Sam and Helena decided to go home¡­


    Once they arrived at Alex¡¯s home Helena said that they would spend the next 2 days with their mother and wouldn¡¯t be seeing him.


    They said goodbye and Sam and Helena went home.


    <u>Down the rabbit hole</u>


    <u> </u>


    Da¡¯grass just how much of our credits did you use to buy those technologies ?


    As requested half of the credits of Sam and Helena and the same amount of credits of your account Alex.


    How could we have bought 237 different technologies ?


    As I said you have more purchasing power than you know Alex and those technologies aren¡¯t that expensive.


    If civilizations don¡¯t have that technology chances are slim that they endure until integration into the Nexus.


    Could I buy a spaceship if I wanted to ?


    It depends on which one but yes you could Alex but your planet is weak and you can¡¯t trust other species on a whim .


    So even if I wanted to I can¡¯t ?


    I didn¡¯t say that , my creators also sold lots of different technologies , ships and other but according to their clearance level.


    But your creators are not even here , who knows where they are .


    The store of my creators is operated by ai¡¯s Alex and they are controlled by the ai of the nexus.


    I thought that ai¡¯s weren¡¯t given so much power by your creators ?


    I¡¯m a fully sentient ai , they are simpletons governed by the Ai of the nexus.


    Isn¡¯t that worse Da¡¯grass ?


    Let¡¯s just say that the ai of the nexus has the complete trust of my creators Alex.


    Is there something else I should know that concerns me directly ?


    The stock market is currently very active , your music and movies are doing very well in the Nexus as some fauna and flora and there were numerous attempts to pin point your location .


    Those were the most important ones.


    And less important ?

 013

    You don¡¯t need to study , I can implant an entire education with my nanites and Helena likes you on a romantic level , her temperature rises every time she sees you.


    There are attempts to control the technologies released by you by certain parties and the technologies on the internet have been frequently tried to be erased.


    Won¡¯t me gaining wealth through the stock market raise any flags or put me on the spotlights .


    I can¡¯t reassure you 100 percent but I¡¯ll do my best to keep you out of the so called spotlights Alex.


    It¡¯s best you make some plans to protect yourself Alex , just to be on the safe side.


    I can make you disappear but with an entire planet of humans who are curious about it all it would be difficult.


    You¡¯re right , I would need to live on a deserted island or Mars with an entire planet of curious humans.


    Maybe that¡¯s not so bad of an idea Alex.


    My creators had a colony builder ship among their merchandize and a big island


    In Greece counting 540 hectare , Dulichium is for sale at the price of 40.000.000.


    That¡¯s awfully specific Da¡¯grass but since I can¡¯t come up with something better¡­


    Let¡¯s start with projecting the mall of your creators on my computer since I don¡¯t have the money to buy an island yet.


    Jeez , it even hasn¡¯t been a week yet Da¡¯grass , what am I doing ?


    Your ensuring your safety Alex as should everyone.


    It was rhetorical but thanks anyway¡­


    The next hours Alex was browsing the mall and making notes what he would need while Da¡¯grass was explaining everything to him.


    Apparently when you bought a physical item you also bought the technology with the first purchase after that the technologies you already bought weren¡¯t charged again but construction and materials where always charged.


    Considering Alex had a level 3 clearance level his eventually purchases where top of the line compared what others would offer and since everything was build by ai¡¯s without ¡°humans¡± they were cheaper in construction costs .


    He also came across a bracelet with rudimentary ai and some functions that Da¡¯grass also had and asked if these could perform with the nanites like he did.


    The answer was no but they could maintain already injected nanites on an optimal level and guide them to maintain an already enhanced body and mind.


    After hearing this Alex was elated and added it to his shopping list.


    After Da¡¯grass told him what his city would need to be self sufficient and adding it to the shopping list he decided to add the building plans of a midlevel interstellar ship yard because he owned the technology to build a colony builder.


    Da¡¯grass seemed happy that Alex thought about that and ensured him that with the technology provided by the colony builder he could create and build his own starships if he bought a module design program .


    After that Da¡¯grass told him to stop spending credits and save the rest for future expenses when the need arises.


    His little shopping spree left a huge dent in the account of Alex but he was happy nevertheless.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to see why you always encourage me to submit scans , you always need more credits ¡° said Alex to Da¡¯grass.


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    So does this mean you¡¯re reconsidering your policy Alex ?


    No , it just means that I realize how fast you can go broke if you keep buying things.


    Most people buy technologies to make more credits Alex.


    That bracelet you bought for example can be the next holographic phone with access to your nexus account , it can transfer credits and technologies you bought to other devices.


    Isn¡¯t that dangerous , people could get forced to submit their credits to unsavory types.


    The ai in the bracelet works together with the Nexus to eliminate that threat , it¡¯s quite safe and once people realize this they¡¯ll stop trying.


    I hope you¡¯re right , people don¡¯t give up quickly if money is involved¡­


    Now I think I heard you say that you can download an entire education in my brain without the need to study.


    That is correct , since you have bought the complete education course and you have me and my nanites that is within the possibilities .


    Most species can¡¯t do this and certainly not with nanites that¡¯s why they embrace the Nexus and his time dilation .


    So I¡¯m cheating all the way ?


    My creators also did this , they encouraged their youth to be curious and problem solving while later they gave them the knowledge to use it.


    Anything I should know ?


    Your achieved education shows on your account if you apply for a job in the Nexus or if they ask your account info in reality but that is far off for the moment.


    No more cheating with credentials h¨¦.


    Indeed.


    Since you have the tier 3 complete education course I can give you the same education as a nonspecialized youngling of my creators.


    Nonspecialized , sounds like me , am I going to shit my pants again ?


    This time it depends on you bodily functions , I¡¯ve got nothing to do with it this time.


    Do I need to eat or drink something special ?


    Just eat and drink like you always do.


    Ok I¡¯m going to grab something to eat and drink.


    Oh Da¡¯grass make sure that the ship goes to mars and start building the city , make sure to be undetected as long as possible.


    And just to be clear , choose the best location for the city with what you know.


    As always Alex !


    ¡°Eggs on the sunny side and bacon with white bread sounds great¡± thought Alex and started to prepare his lunch.


    After lunch he drank a few glasses of water and went to the bathroom , just to be sure that no accidents would happen.


    After laying himself down in the bathtub he gave Da¡¯grass permission to start the download.


    (2 days later)


    Alex awoke with a urgent need to use the bathroom and jumped out of the bathtub placing himself on the holy throne of men.


    Jeez Da¡¯grass is that what you call an unspecialized education , I think I know stuff that is even pure theoretical in universities¡­


    Trust me Alex you¡¯re master of none , the more advanced the society the longer and more specialized education becomes.


    For most civilizations who want to progress the time dilation in the Nexus is a godsend to send people longer on the educational path.


    Great , more school , I¡¯ll be hated by all children and adolescents .


    There are life prolonging medicines in the mall and not everybody goes on the academic tour Alex.


    But most of your creators did didn¡¯t they ?


    A lot did , the curiosity was almost genetically and they made breakthroughs that enabled them to continue on this path.


    How long was I out ?


    A little less than 2 day¡¯s Alex , I pumped an entire educational course in your head and had to reconstruct your brain for maximum benefits.


    When he went to check his mobile phone he saw that Helena had sent him a message which stated that they¡¯ll meet tomorrow at his place but that they weren¡¯t sure at what time.


    He replied that they better tell their mom that they would be staying over for a few days.


    At which Helena prompt answered if they were going to be covered in feces again.


    While smiling he send that he dodged the bullet but that they shouldn¡¯t count on it that they would.


    Fine but no shenanigans she replied.


    After that he asked Da¡¯grass if he needed to do something for enabling the construction of the colony on Mars .


    The answer he got was that he could choose how the city was build but that if he didn¡¯t the classic building pattern would take place.


    He described it like a flower where the core was the city itself and the petals the different specialized areas like waste management , parc , animal pen , industrial zone , ship yard , landing platform , etc¡­


    Once the ship arrived they would search for resources and start construction , according to Da¡¯grass all the recourses needed would be found on Mars.


    Depending on the quantity of recourses found and if they weren¡¯t hard to mine the construction wouldn¡¯t take to long to make it habitable.


    He claimed there were protocols for every kind of situation the colony builder might encounter.


    Put at ease Alex spend the rest of the day browsing the internet and watching the news and documentaries on tv until late at night.


    With the help of Da¡¯grass he slept until noon and awoke by the tune of his phone that received a message from Helena.


    They wouldn¡¯t be coming until the evening of that day so Alex made a trip to the supermarket and afterwards he went swimming in the city¡¯s pool .


    Da¡¯grass had insured him that there wouldn¡¯t be any problems since he was waterproof and that it would make it easier for him to syphon materials for constructing more nanites.


    Refreshed , he started waiting at home until Sam and Helena would come over.

 014

    At 22.15 hrs he finally heard a car driving up his driveway and went to opening the door.


    After greeting each other the went to the kitchen and started explaining why they were so late.


    Apparently the company of their mother was downsizing their employers by half and their mother¡¯s name had fallen as one to let go.


    This distressed their mother a lot because of her situation , she was sure to find work again but that could take to long.


    Sam and Helena tried comforting their mom with talk about their investment with Alex and how they were rich if they ever cashed in.


    This brought the idea that she would start her own business selling vr equipment so they were searching at the costs of a shop and contacts of manufacturers .


    She even wanted to hire her friends at work who were also fired but she didn¡¯t know how much they earned through their investments.


    She wanted Sam and Helena to ask Alex how much she had to work with but she could wait until they came back from Alex for the information.


    Alex reassured them that they even could build a chain if they could wait for a few more days but he did say that it wasn¡¯t a bad decision to hop on the wagon as soon as possible.


    At this point Alex told them about the education course he had downloaded in his brain and that it eclipsed modern education at school without effort.


    They weren¡¯t to happy to be out again but they figured it would be only positive for them even if they didn¡¯t get any certificate that they had the knowledge acquired.


    Sam suggested to take a test on the internet afterwards but Alex told him that if he wanted a certified degree he would have to take classes at a proper school.


    Alex did tell them that it would be recorded on their Nexus account so as far as the Nexus was concerned they had a degree.


    This put a smile on both Sam and Helena¡¯s face.


    After talking some more but without telling them what he bought and was planning on Mars they prepared themselves and went to the bathrooms.


    They were surprised he didn¡¯t need them to inject with nanites anymore and Helena locked the door.


    Alex told Sam to keep his unlocked in case he needed to go to the bathroom at which Sam smiled.


    After some time passed Alex asked if they were ready and gave the order to Da¡¯grass to start.


    So for the next two days Alex was playing games on the pc and watching tv just like last time.


    At 21.05 hrs Da¡¯grass informed him that they would wake up soon and he started to make a late dinner.


    It was a close call like Alex but nobody was covered in feces this time at which they were relieved.


    During dinner Alex asked if it was ok to wire over the money tomorrow evening at which they had no objection.


    He also told them that it was best to already search multiple locations and start with their plans as soon as they came home because there would be serious competition.


    He also instructed Da¡¯grass to help them as much as possible online if he could without being noticed at which Sam and Helena were grateful.


    Sam remarked that they didn¡¯t even had a chance with playing a vr game themselves and now were going to sell the equipment necessary .


    Alex told them that this ship had probably sailed now that companies were already researching the technology , they couldn¡¯t take the risk to get caught inside a game for which no equipment should be available.


    Da¡¯grass told them that while the games were available since the moment they got their equipment the real game only started when they were connected with the rest of the universe.


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    Helena told Alex that they probably would be busy for the foreseeable future and wouldn¡¯t be seeing him at which Alex told her that he also had preparations to make and would be out of the country for a while.


    When Alex let them out Helena turned and gave him a kiss on the cheek and told him to let them know when he was back at which she departed.


    He still had his passport from last time so that wasn¡¯t a problem he thought while caressing his cheek.


    Da¡¯grass can you book a flight to Greece for me for the day after tomorrow if possible?


    Certainly Alex , I presume you made your choice to purchase that island ?


    Yeah , a bit sooner than I thought but with them setting up shop there is no better time.


    Well I¡¯ll better start packing now to bad I went shopping for groceries , it will go to waste¡­


    Night and day flew by and he wired 240 million to both his and Helena¡¯s account keeping 400 million on the stock market.


    The stock market was very active since the release of the technologies and he reaped the benefits.


    After a while Sam send a message telling him that their mother fainted while seeing the amount on their bank account and Helena was helping their mother to get back on her feet .


    Alex replied that the stock market was very active with their release of green technology and that they were still investing.


    Sam replied that he shouldn¡¯t overdo it and stay out of the spotlights.


    The day after Alex took a cab to the airport and went on his way to Greece.


    He didn¡¯t have troubles at the airports but he did get strange looks directed at his cuff bracelet .


    After arriving in Greece and checking in the hotel Alex told Da¡¯grass to set up the appropriate meetings for buying the Island Dulichium and grease the wheels if there were problems.


    450 000 euros later the had a meeting planned at the 4 th day he would be in Greece with the assurance he could buy it and build on the island whatever he wanted as long it wasn¡¯t military .


    After the third day of sightseeing he ordered Da¡¯grass to stop playing the stock market and cash in .


    He put 1.5 billion on a Swiss bank account and 100 million on his regular account which now boosted almost 340 million.


    He wired 1.6 billion to Helena¡¯s account and instructed her to transfer the unneeded funds to a Swiss bank account .


    He also mentioned that he had stopped playing the stock market.


    Some time later he got a message that stated that he should stop making their mother faint and a big thank you.


    The meeting the next day went without a hitch and het got an offer that if he paid 200 million they would lay a powerline to the island if he wanted which he declined.


    40 million poorer and an island richer he let Da¡¯grass find all available work crews that were willing to build a city for 10 000 people according to a plan that Da¡¯grass created.


    The project would be supervised by someone Da¡¯grass found and from whom he thought that he would conclude the project without too much problems.


    Da¡¯grass would follow up the project and pay the materials and crew from the Swiss bank account , at this time they were 9 day¡¯s in Greece .


    Alex told Da¡¯grass that he should keep his Swiss bank account between 1 and 1.5 billion so if there were big expenses he was allowed to use the stock market to top off .


    That evening while he was laying in his room Da¡¯grass told him that the first human had entered the game Eternal Fantasy which took Alex by surprise because it was only 20 days since the vr technology was released.


    Da¡¯grass told him it wasn¡¯t likely according to his estimates but possible since they had all the designs needed and probably the power to back it up.


    Alex forwarded the company¡¯s name to Sam and Helena with the message that they entered the vr world as first and that they may think about it to contact them for supplies once their stores are up and running.


    A thank you was send immediately by Helena.


    How long would it take to build this city on the island Da¡¯grass ?


    If you throw money at the project it could be build in 2.5 years Alex but that will increase expenses by a considerate amount.


    Make it happen Da¡¯grass , just top off if the need arises.


    Why do you want to build a city anyway Alex , it would have been sufficient for you to build a few houses.


    I¡¯m not going to live like a hermit Da¡¯grass , people are social beings most don¡¯t do well at long times without human contact .


    Here or on Mars , I¡¯m not going to be alone for as long as I live .


    Ok Alex , should I be searching and monitoring people for when the time comes or should I wait ?


    You may already start searching but look for good natured people without affiliation that can mean something in the future if nurtured .


    I will Alex , I think that we¡¯ll be finished here in Greece in another 10 days if things progress like they do now.


    I¡¯ll be staying a little while longer I haven¡¯t seen much of Greece yet , after work I¡¯ll enjoy a little vacation.


    Over the next 10 days , Alex recruited work crews , engaged with modular construction companies and engineering firms , and exchanged contact information with the people who would be leading the project .


    Needless to say , a lot of money changed hands.


    At night he would be sending the names of companies that entered the vr world to Helena and Da¡¯grass was helping them set up meetings and permits if he had access online but he made sure to be unnoticed or at least untraceable .


    The first day after everything was settled he stayed a whole day on the beach and in the water enjoying the good weather and at evening when he was back Da¡¯grass informed him that Cathy had send a message to his account.


    It stated that they had done their research and found many things in our games and books that their games lacked and would make great games .


    They already prepared concepts and designs they just needed approval to start the actual programming .

 015

    ¡°Just send Cathy a message that I trust her judgement and that she has my approval Da¡¯grass¡± said Alex.


    She also doesn¡¯t need to ask my permission every time , she has far more experience than I have , as long as she does her research she may do as she pleases.


    If I want something specific I¡¯ll ask her directly.


    I¡¯ll send the message Alex.


    She responded that she is happy with the trust you place in her and that she will deliver the best games possible.


    He stayed another 7 days visiting ruins of ancient Greece and different museums while on the last day before the trip back he relaxed on the beach.


    The following day he took the plane back and again it went without any problems if you don¡¯t count the strange looks his cuff bracelet received .


    Alex went grocery shopping and afterwards he took a cab back home.


    He sent a message to Helena that he was back at which she responded that they would come by tomorrow at noon.


    With nothing else to do he started cleaning his house , he wasn¡¯t a clean freak but some things just have to be done just like laundry.


    At around 11.00 hrs he awoke feeling refreshed and hungry so he made something to eat while waiting for Sam and Helena.


    RingRiing (doorbell)


    ¡°Alex¡± shouted Helena and gave him a big hug.


    ¡°You look tanned , must have been a good place where you went¡± she said.


    I went to Greece for business and the last week for sightseeing but yes the weather was nice.


    ¡°I wished we could get a vacation but we are still busy we can only come over for today , mom is taking over our workload for this afternoon¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Yeah we¡¯ve been swamped but thanks to Da¡¯grass we didn¡¯t have any major problems¡± said Helena .


    Mom set up a headquarters in an office building and hired a bunch of people for coordinating our chain business , she bought several locations in the country to set up shop.


    Thanks to you we even have several contracts with companies who are going to produce the vr equipement but it¡¯s still busy as hell.


    Mom wants to thank you personally for what you¡¯ve done for us , she said you must be a genius for making so much money on the stock market.


    We convinced her to keep quit about it but I¡¯m afraid that people will start asking questions.


    ¡°We¡¯ll worry about that if it pops up , if people ask how she did it let her tell them she had a rich benefactor¡± said Alex .


    ¡°She still wants to meet you when things calm down a bit¡± said Sam.


    We¡¯ll have dinner in a restaurant when the time comes said Alex .


    You told me that you wanted to have a break , how about visiting the Nexus with the time dilation you could have 2 days off and do nothing else than watching movies and eat pop corn .


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea and also the reason why we were so eager to come over here¡± said Helena.


    And I who thought you guy¡¯s were happy to see me and he winked at Helena .


    Upon hearing that remark , Helena¡¯s face immediately turned crimson.


    ¡°That too , of course¡± she said .


    They went to the bedrooms and after Alex confirmed they were comfortable they logged in.


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    ¡°So what do you guy¡¯s want to do with your free time?¡± asked Alex.


    ¡°We better check in on our business first , it has been a long time that we¡¯ve been here and with the time dilation it¡¯s even longer¡± said Sam.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s right¡± said Helena.


    ¡°You can message them and ask for updates or let the managers come over to your place and let them explain in person¡± said Alex.


    If it was me I would let them come to my place so that we could have a chat.


    ¡°That¡¯s actually not a bad idea¡± said Sam .


    That way we don¡¯t lose to much time of our few days off.


    Lets do it as you said.


    Alex sent a message to El¡¯Anor and Cathy while Sam and Helena sent messages to their managers.


    ¡°They¡¯ll be there in 30 minutes¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Same over here¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Well , we better get going and meet afterwards at my place¡± said Alex.


    Cathy was the first to arrive at Alex¡¯s place and he let her in the house while she was already excitingly telling about her plans.


    Apparently things like inventory and levels were new concepts for fantasy games as was the use of guilds like the books she had read.


    The different racing games also piqued her curiosity and she had already plans for those too.


    The first person shooters where already done but the concept of zombies was new so she was thinking of making one at a setting of an apocalyptic world , she was inspired by a movie she saw she claimed .


    She asked me to release her from the government position because she wasn¡¯t doing anything there anymore .


    She had her hands full while working for me , so I obliged .


    Alex told her he was curious how the games would turn out and asked if there was anything else she wanted to tell or ask.


    She asked what the working hours should be like , for the moment she copied what she had read about my home country.


    Alex reassured her that the current situation was satisfactory and explained that every employee could take up to 25 days of vacation per Earth year , calculated in time dilation time .


    At that time El¡¯Anor arrived and Cathy left assuring me that if there was anything else she would send me a message.


    El¡¯Anor started with apologizing that she was late but Alex told her she wasn¡¯t , it was just that Cathy was early but it worked out perfectly.


    She started telling Alex that they had made city plans for most of the tier 2 city cores and that there were enough credits to make them all skeleton city¡¯s which could be fleshed out as time passes or build 2 complete cities.


    Alex was startled by this news he hadn¡¯t expected that there were enough credits for 2 cities.


    El¡¯Anor explained to him that the higher the tier of city the more expensive they were at which she implored him to lift the lock so that they could purchase tier 1 city cores.


    They had enough tier 2 cities to boast about to the rest of the universe.


    However , she told him that development would proceed too slowly if they could only acquire tier 2 city cores .


    Da¡¯grass protested but Alex convinced him to lift the lock and make the purchase of tier 1 city cores possible.


    She asked him to put a lock on the cities design in fear that the new government would tear the cities down and ruin their hard work.


    And told him that all major attractions of the capitals were included in the designs to preserve the culture of said nations.


    El¡¯Anor also asked him to automate the fleshing out of skeleton cities so that their designs wouldn¡¯t go to waste.


    She assured him that all buildings were carefully selected for an optimum ratio of balance between work , entertainment and living space .


    Da¡¯grass told him that he could do it , but it would require credits that Alex would have to pay .


    Furthermore he could only do it for 150 earth years ,which was longer than usual , thanks to Alex¡¯s clearance level.


    ¡°You can do so Da¡¯grass , you¡¯ve got my permission¡± Alex said.


    You¡¯ve got to touch a government core for this decision  Alex .


    ¡°And I would appreciate it if you made it a delayed order until all designs are finished¡± said El¡¯Anor .


    Ok , we¡¯ve still got some time to hop over , I guess .


    I¡¯ll do so immediately , El¡¯Anor .


    Is there something else I should know or you want to ask me ?


    No , that¡¯s all Alex , thank you for doing this !


    They stood up and Alex let El¡¯Anor out of the door.


    Well let¡¯s do this , can you bring me to the Capitol building Da¡¯grass ?


    After giving the delayed order and paying the credits for 150 Earth years continuity of his and El¡¯Anor¡¯s legacy he hopped back to wait for Sam and Helena .


    Suddenly remembering that the games were visited by humans already he sent a message to both Cathy and El¡¯Anor telling them to keep their people out of the 4 state owned games until humans entered the Nexus itself.


    They both answered that he shouldn¡¯t worry that most of their people had accounts on different games but they would relay the message.


    He still had to wait for 20 minutes until Sam and Helena arrived with their managers who were carrying samples of their businesses .


    Helena said excited that they were already producing and selling so they asked for samples of what they were selling.


    After unloading everything on the table their managers left and they started taste testing what was brought .


    They especially liked the elven wine as Sam called it , it was brewed by using a juicy berry that originated from the Ea¡¯Thell¡¯s home world .


    Both Helena and Sam said that the berry and wine were a keeper in their business .


    The food was excellent and they ate it all , it even got bonus points from Helena because she wouldn¡¯t gain weight eating here in the Nexus at which Alex and Sam laughed .


    They spend the next day and night relaxing at the pool , drinking elven wine and watching movies.


    At the last day while watching movies and all off them lightly intoxicated on wine Helena¡¯s and Alex¡¯s hand intertwined and they kept holding hands .

 016

    Sam noticed it and murmured that he was going for a dip in the pool and left them alone .


    Alex looked at Helena and said ¡°I¡¯m afraid I am going to ruin what we have¡±.


    At which Helena answered ¡°I know you for a long time now Alex , you won¡¯t¡±


    The only thing that is going to change is that you can hold my hand and kiss me.


    Alex leaned over and kissed her on her lips and afterwards Helena laid her head on his shoulder and they kept watching the movie in silence .


    After an hour or so Sam went back into the house and they kept watching movies until the moment arrived that it was time to log out and go back to reality.


    Seeing Sam and Helena out of the house Helena kissed him on the cheek and told him until next time and with a spring in her step she walked to the car.


    Sam told him that if he broke his sister he would break his nose at which Alex answered that he would do almost anything to prevent that.


    Sam smiled and said ¡°it took you guy¡¯s long enough¡± and walked to the car.


    Alex went to sleep with a smile on his face , happy for what happened today.


    For the rest of the week Alex and Helena changed numerous text messages at evening and during the day he read books went swimming and watched tv.


    He was also notified by Da¡¯grass that an intergalactic cargo ship had delivered the colony builder by a nearby star and it would be arriving on it¡¯s own in the next couple of days and start construction .


    All according to his wishes to be undetected for as long as possible , Da¡¯grass would manipulate data from satellites and other if necessary .


    On Sunday , their day off , Sam and Helena came by to spend time with Alex in the Nexus.


    This continued for about another 4 weeks .


    Sam made it a habit about to leave the fresh couple to their own devices  on their first day in the Nexus ,excusing himself by saying he was checking up on the brewery and bar while enjoying some downtime .


    Alex and Helena appreciated every minute of it ¡­


    Five weeks had passed since they became a couple .


    On their last day in the Nexus  Helena told Alex that their work was nearing its end.


    Now that things were slowing down for them , their mother wanted to see him.


    Equipment was being produced and stockpiled for distribution and they would get their share of it on regular basis as stipulated in their contracts.


    The first batches should be received within a week so their mother had reserved a table in a fancy restaurant 3 days from now.


    She wouldn¡¯t be relying on Sam and Helena as much as she had the last few weeks so they would have more free time .


    ¡°Send me the time and place and I¡¯ll be there¡± said Alex .


    I¡¯m happy we can spend more time together from now on.


    Sam said ¡°Our mother also told us that the first vr cabins she gets her hands on is for her and all of us .


    And that we don¡¯t have to pay for them , like it still matters¡± .


    ¡°That¡¯s mighty kind of her¡± said Alex .


    If we ever wanted to stay longer in the Nexus than now the vr cabins can give us that option .


    We¡¯ll need to convince her to take scans as soon as she gets one of those bracelets so she can earn credits and have both feet in the Nexus.


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    ¡°We¡¯ll have a day at most before sales begin¡± said Helena .


    They want to distribute it among the population as soon as possible and I haven¡¯t got a clue why they don¡¯t follow normal marketing procedures.


    Maybe they noticed something while testing the equipment but if it¡¯s the credits increasing after scanning something you would think they would keep it for themselves as long as possible .


    ¡°They didn¡¯t say anything about it on the news either but since we have released those technologies the politicians are working for their pay and have a lot of sleepless nights¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Yeah , it seems we didn¡¯t really think it trough¡± said Alex .


    It was a good exercise before everyone gets access to the mall , at least we didn¡¯t buy weapons like others probably will do .


    Speaking of which , Da¡¯grass anything we can do about this ?


    Every species has the right to defend itself Alex , your government will always be able to buy weapon technology that is presented in the mall .


    You said the government , any chance we can deny the rest of the planet ?


    Yes , just like the city designs you protected you can do so if you pay for it.


    Also 150 Earth years according to my clearance level ?


    Yes , that is your maximum you can do and once out of the government you wouldn¡¯t be able to make such choices for the rest of the planet.


    If the next government official has at least an equal clearance level he could nullify your order without trouble .


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to do this Alex¡± said Helena


    With your clearance level it would be at least safer for the next 150 years .


    ¡°We¡¯ll make a stop at the Capitol building and log out afterwards¡± said Alex .


    After arriving at the world Capitol building Alex went to the nearest government core and gave it¡¯s command while paying the credits.


    Once logged out Sam and Helena told him that they would see him on Wednesday .


    Helena gave him a kiss on the lips and Sam told him to dress up when he would be going to the restaurant after that they left .


    Da¡¯grass I was wondering about the next government , what if they don¡¯t mean well for the human race ?


    The first test is a psychological test monitored by Nexus that you can not cheat on , if you fail you can¡¯t participate in the actual test.


    It¡¯s in the best interest of the Nexus that as much species as possible survive , don¡¯t worry Alex.


    The moment he awoke he had breakfast and went shopping for clothes.


    After finding himself something that he liked and was acceptable according to the saleswoman he paid and left to do his daily routine .


    Before he knew it was Wednesday evening and he was on his way to the restaurant all dressed up , showered and shaven .


    He saw Helena sitting at a table with her mother and brother while a waiter was guiding him to the table , she looked absolutely stunning and his heart started beating a little faster .


    Good evening miss Peeters , my apologies if I kept you all waiting .


    No apologies needed Alex and call me Sarah , go on , sit !


    I would like to have a little chat with you but I think it¡¯s best if we order first.


    After the waiter left with their orders Sarah began speaking .


    First , I can¡¯t express my gratitude for what you¡¯ve done for me , for us as a family.


    You don¡¯t know how much you¡¯ve done for us .


    I must admit that I had my doubts when Sam and Helena told me that you could help us by playing the stock market and I also admit that I got cold feet after a few days .


    At first when I saw the bank accounts I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes and fainted twice , twice Alex .


    I thought you were some kind of genius and I blamed myself that I never noticed in the past .


    But then I noticed while my children were helping setting up my little company that they always knew what to do , who to contact and when .


    They were smarter than I remembered and I know them my whole life , they even haven¡¯t left the house yet .


    How couldn¡¯t I have noticed when we live under the same roof .


    Even the business deals we set up went without trouble , we only had some minor setbacks while new players in the field have to fight for every little thing .


    They were never this smart , I would have known , I¡¯m their mother .


    Sweat was forming on Alex¡¯s head and back .


    And then all these strange things happening in the world vr , advanced technologies .


    I¡¯m not stating that I know all what is happening but I do know you¡¯ve got something to do with it .


    Alex looked around seeing if anyone was following this conversation but nobody seemed to .


    I won¡¯t tell anyone Alex , but you¡¯ve got to be careful , I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve done with my children but I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m not happy .


    It¡¯s not only your life but also that of my children.


    I hope that you can some day enlighten me what exactly is happening and if you can do to me what you have done to them .


    I trust you Alex , you¡¯ve never let me or my children down and are always ready to help where you can .


    ¡°Someday Sarah , someday we¡¯ll tell you everything you want to know , I promise¡± said Alex .


    I¡¯ll be telling the story of the mysterious rich benefactor until then if somebody asks.


    Now for the most important bit , what¡¯s happening between you and my daughter ?


    I ¡­ I think I love her miss Peeters !


    You think ¡­ you love her ?


    And I told you to call me Sarah¡­


    Look Alex if you really mean it with Helena I couldn¡¯t be happier .


    She had a crush on you ever since you guy¡¯s started hanging out but she always denied it .


    Don¡¯t play with my daughter as a toy only to throw her away when you¡¯re bored with her .


    You are still young so these things happen more often than you realize.


    Now what do you feel when you see her ?


    My heart starts beating faster and harder and I¡¯m happy to see her miss.. I mean Sarah .


    That is a very good start Alex , thank you for answering honestly !

 017

    Ah good timing dinner has arrived .


    Now not that you would have minded probably but you two got my blessing .


    Thanks Sarah !


    Thank you mom !


    Eat ,eat don¡¯t let it get cold.


    It was a joy full dinner with laughs and banter mixed with talk about the vr that would soon be released.


    During dessert and coffee Alex told Sarah that the moment she had a vr scanner in store she should take off the day and start scanning what she can.


    He advised the petting zoo , the seed market and maybe a zoo or aquarium.


    Sarah asked if he knew how to do it at which he replied that it would scan everything within 50 meters and that it was uploaded the moment you logged in with vr .


    That¡¯s what was written on the short explanation note he added at which Helena winked at her mother.


    ¡°We¡¯ll come with you and make a nice day out of it¡± said Helena.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that¡± answered Sarah with a smile .


    The shipments come in at Friday and I expect to be sold out on Saturday when the stores start selling all the vr equipment .


    So we¡¯ll have our day off on Friday , do you mind if it¡¯s only me and my children Alex ?


    No I don¡¯t mind but be sure you¡¯re the only one wearing a vr scanner , just to make sure.


    I will , I¡¯ll keep a helmet for each one of us , my employees also get first chance to buy 1 vr helmet and accessories .


    Thank you Sarah !


    It¡¯s not worth mentioning , you all can go , just be back for our day off !


    ¡°Are you sure mom ?¡± asked Helena


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need us tomorrow ?¡± questioned Sam.


    My employees and I can handle it from now on , if we need your help we¡¯ll ask.


    Thank you for all of your hard work Sam , Helena .


    You all deserve some rest and pleasure .


    ¡°See you Friday¡± and Helena hugged her mom .


    ¡°Until Friday mom¡± said Sam .


    Bye Sarah until next time !


    ¡°What have those children gotten into¡± Sarah thought while she saw them leaving .


    I¡¯m happy for Helena though , Alex isn¡¯t a bad boy .


    And after what I saw the last weeks I don¡¯t think they need to go to college anymore.


    Not that it matters now with what we have on our bank accounts thanks to Alex¡­


    Damn this bill is expensive , I might be rich now but I¡¯m not coming here every week , special occasions only .


    Thank you miss , enjoy the rest off your evening !


    ¡°Our mother sure put you on the grill, Alex¡° said Sam while in Alex¡¯s car.


    Yeah , she knew a lot more than I expected , did you guy¡¯s tell her anything ?


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    ¡°No , but like she mentioned we do live under the same roof and we did our best to get everything organized these past few weeks¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Maybe we should let her in on it , she knows to much already not to , and she is your mother¡± said Alex


    She was joking she should buy some factories and produce the equipment herself so that she would always have supply . said Sam


    ¡°We could let her run it and be silent partners¡± Helena said jokingly.


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s not such a bad idea¡± Alex murmured.


    ¡°I was joking , Alex¡± said Helena.


    No , hear me out , we give her the full treatment plus a business education and she can produce technologies we find interesting in factories we buy .


    I already have a few technologies I want to see produced and we¡¯ve got the money and credits to do so.


    We can only do so when the Nexus is opened to everyone to not be to conspicuous but it could help me on some other things I¡¯m planning to do .


    Alex , just out of curiosity , what are you planning to do ? asked Helena.


    ¡°It¡¯s not so that I have some plans to do anything specifically¡± said Alex .


    It¡¯s just that I¡¯m making some plans to ensure my safety in case people found out what we all did or what might happen .


    ¡°And those are ?¡± asked Helena .


    I¡¯m building a small city on a deserted island and a city on Mars .


    ¡°Your what ?¡± they both exclaimed .


    I bought a colony builder from the same species that build Da¡¯grass and they are currently building a city on Mars.


    ¡°You sure don¡¯t take half measurements , how big is the city once completed ?¡± asked Helena .


    Da¡¯grass how big will the city be ?


    There should be room for 250 000 people Alex .


    How will you feed all those people up there , how will you bring them there and what would they do ? asked Helena


    There is place for agriculture and cultivation machines , there is technology for rapid growth of food , and there is even room for farm animals or machine-grown meat.


    There also will be industry and I¡¯m planning to take them there with the colony builder after some adjustments of the interior.


    Da¡¯grass , how many people could it take up there simultaneously ?


    It¡¯s 250 meters long and comparable to a modern cruise ship in size but life support isn¡¯t foreseen for so much people .


    After modification it could transport around 5000 people to mars and back comfortably in one trip Alex .


    ¡°Can anyone buy from them¡± asked Sam.


    ¡°No , sales only start from clearance level 2 and this particularly ship needed a level 3 clearance¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Bummer¡± answered Sam .


    ¡°There are still space ships available at a level 2 clearance but not this ship or battle oriented ships and only interstellar.¡± answered Da¡¯grass


    A level 3 clearance unlocks the battle oriented but still only interstellar among other technologies .


    ¡°There must be intergalactic species among the level 2¡¯s in the Nexus .


    Why limit it to interstellar while the technology is in the mall ?¡± asked Alex.


    All I know is that my creators build in multiple fail safes to limit some technologies from falling in the wrong hands , without limiting their potential , Alex .


    We¡¯re home , but I like to know what you guy¡¯s think about my suggestion regarding your mom before we enter the Nexus , to take away the thorn that¡¯s bugging us.


    ¡°It would be nice to talk about everything with our mom without hiding anything¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Yeah , and if she had the business education she would be unstoppable¡± said Sam .


    ¡°So we all agree to let her in on it ? said Alex ¡°.


    ¡°Sure¡±  said Sam .


    ¡°yes¡± said Helena .


    You can tell her everything after your day off with your mom after she uploaded her scans , you can tell her that someday came sooner than we anticipated.


    Also let her plan in at least a 3 day vacation for her treatment and inform her what to expect .


    Once inside the house they made themselves comfortable and logged in.


    They went to Sam¡¯s bar and Helena¡¯s restaurant , visited the brewery and farms and even Alex¡¯s game company .


    Cathy told them that the first game would probably be released in half a year real time which baffled them because they knew that programming video games took a lot of time and hard work and this was full immersion vr .


    Cathy said it was thanks to the technology of a tier 3 game company building and the resources it provided .


    Every company in the world would like to have a spot in New Eden if this news should spread .


    They all agreed that Sarah should buy a building in New Eden as soon as possible if this could help her in her endeavours .


    Afterwards they went to Alex¡¯s villa and enjoyed the pool .


    They explored different aliens music database and some video entertainment that was holographic in nature .


    They stayed in the Nexus for 3.5 day¡¯s which translated in almost 17 hours of reality.


    As soon as they logged out they made use of the bathrooms and afterwards Alex made dinner .


    They refrained from logging in again afterwards and just watched tv while conversing over their mother and plans .


    When it was getting dark outside Alex drove them home , kissed Helena goodbye and asked them to keep him in the loop how it turned out with their mother.


    The following day Sam and Helena took their mother to the seed market then the zoo (which took longer than Helena wanted) and afterwards the petting zoo.


    When Helena saw that there still was a pet store open she ushered her mom inside to take a quick look around for an additional scan and went home for the talk after her mother submitted her scans.


    Alex¡¯s day was spend by going to the park , swimming in the city¡¯s pool and watching some documentaries on tv.


    It wasn¡¯t until the next day that he received a message that their mother was willing but they asked to do the procedure at her house for convenience .

 018

    Everything was settled now the shops were open and running , her employees could handle matters regarding shipments and distribution .


    There were guidelines what to do when shops were sold out and if there were more serious issues Sam and Helena were to step in .


    They asked to come over at the evening after the news was broadcast so that their mother could watch the news before her treatment .


    He arrived at 21.10 hrs that evening and Helena let him in the house , her mother was clothed in a bathrobe sitting in the living room .


    ¡°Hi Alex , someday has indeed come soon¡± she said .


    I never could have imagined the story that my children told me .


    They even told me about the genetic disease , you have my thanks once again .


    Aliens , the Nexus , the use of credits , clearance levels , business opportunities , the list goes on and on mister immortal .


    I don¡¯t think there is anything else that could make me more on edge than I am now .


    ¡°Well , if my plan works out we all will be immortal¡± said Alex .


    ¡°I stand corrected it was possible¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°You never told us about this Alex¡± said Helena.


    I mentioned that there were technologies that piqued my interest , one of those is a bracelet with an ai that can maintain your body¡¯s nanites once Da¡¯grass worked his magic .


    The bracelet hasn¡¯t got the capabilities to do what Da¡¯grass does but they should keep you at peak performance , he described it as the next generation phone which manages your Nexus account and serves as a link with it to the real world .


    I bought the technology thanks to my clearance level together with the colony builder .


    ¡°You keep amazing me Alex , your like an whole other person that I used to know¡± said Sarah .


    Trust me , I¡¯m not .


    It¡¯s just that my purchasing power has greatly increased compared to before and the things that I can buy now exceed what we¡¯re used to .


    Did you prepare yourself with the food and water ?


    Yeah , I wasn¡¯t keen on drinking that water though ¡­


    You should drink some more water , I expect that it will take a bit longer than with us because you¡¯re going to do both procedures at once .


    Da¡¯grass can somewhat regulate the water consumption of our body but we want to make sure that everything goes as it should .


    ¡°This is it than¡± said Sarah .


    I¡¯m nervous Alex , should anything go wrong take care of each other will you ?


    Nothing will go wrong Sarah , Da¡¯grass and I wouldn¡¯t let it come that far.


    Let¡¯s go to the bathroom ¡­


    Are you comfortable Sarah ?


    As well as can be I guess , it¡¯s a bathtub.


    ¡°See you in a few days mom¡± said Helena .


    ¡°We¡¯ll be here when you wake , after you cleaned yourself I mean¡± said Sam .


    This is going to sting a bit , see you in a few days .


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    Holy cra.. , this .. dizzyyy¡­..


    She¡¯s out , Da¡¯grass you know what to do ?


    Yes Alex , I¡¯ll give her the business management education course and work on her body and mind .


    There is still something you need to clarify though ¡­


    Should I proceed as I should due to my programming or do you want me to change something because you don¡¯t want to attract any attention ?


    What do you mean Da¡¯grass ?


    Well , unless they are younger than their prime , I should restore them to their prime , which in this case , would be around 25 years old .


    ¡°Our mom is 43 years old Alex , people will notice for sure if she looks like a college student if you should have any doubts about that¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Can¡¯t you restore her to her prime and make her look older ?


    You could take a few years off , like she had some treatment or so¡± said Helena .


    Da¡¯grass can you restore her to her prime and make her look like a woman in her early thirties ?


    Yes I can Alex , I¡¯ll proceed with these new parameters .


    Let¡¯s not go in the Nexus these few days , I want to keep an eye on our mother.


    If you wish so Helena.


    Thanks , now both of you out of the bathroom !


    By the way we think we figured out why they are not following normal marketing procedures , it was even on the news which we watched because our mother wanted to .


    Apparently , when you attempt to log in , the initial screen presents you with various options .


    One of these options is the Nexus , but it¡¯s greyed out with a message that it¡¯s not available due to a lack of users .


    Currently , only the games are accessible .


    So it¡¯s pure curiosity and anticipation for more , well what are we going to do for the next few days ?


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a tv , board games and you can use my laptop if you want¡± said Helena .


    ¡°And if you want to sleep , you can share Helena¡¯s bedroom , but no sexual activities¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Sam!!¡± Helena cried out loud .


    So for the next few days they watched tv and played board games and checked the internet¡¯s community reactions of the games.


    People were ecstatic about the full immersion vr and time dilation , and despite the shop¡¯s sale rule of 1 vr set per customer , the black market thrived with exorbitant prizes .


    By the time that the third day neared its conclusion  Helena started to worry about her mother but Da¡¯grass assured her that besides being dehydrated she was doing fine and would wake up before it became dangerous.


    First she argued with him telling that a normal human only could go 2-3 days without water before dying but Da¡¯grass told her he made sure to retain as much water as possible.


    He also told her that the nanites could repair any damage and that she was in fact an optimized human by now.


    Feeling reassured , Helena asked Da¡¯grass how much longer it would take , and he told her it wouldn¡¯t be much longer , just a few more hours .


    She started to clean the house a bit , but frankly , there wasn¡¯t much to clean ; she was just nervous .


    A few hours later Da¡¯grass finally told them that she was going to wake up and they started to make a late night dinner.


    What followed next was a colourful display of curse words about the stench emanating from the bathroom .


    20 minutes later Sarah entered the kitchen , happy that she looked 10 years younger and no longer suffering from lower back pains .


    They explained to her she had the body of a 25 year old but that they made her look older as not to raise too much suspicion .


    At which she made a conflicted expression but said that she understood the reason.


    During dinner Alex suggested to take Sarah to the Nexus so that she could see with her own eyes what they were talking about.


    Sam and Helena thought it was a great idea , the influx of credits should have reached his highest a while ago and if she had enough credits she could also buy a few properties.


    So after dinner they made themselves comfortable and logged in.


    They appeared at the world Capitol building and Sarah was awestruck by the appearance of the buildings , her eyes glazed over for a few moments and she said that she was upgraded to a level 2 clearance .


    They explained to her how to buy the bracelet option , and after she bought it from a government core , they showed her how to use it .


    After the story¡¯s you guy¡¯s told and the education Da¡¯grass implanted I¡¯ve decided to buy an office building , a house and a research and development building if I have enough credits .


    ¡°Woah , you don¡¯t have to rush mom , why don¡¯t we just show you around for the moment¡± said Sam


    Da¡¯grass complemented it with saying ¡°you have enough for an medium office building and a villa but not for an R&D building , Sarah¡±.


    ¡°Besides why would you buy such a building , we can buy all the technologies from the mall¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Well not all technologies¡± said Da¡¯grass.


    And it¡¯s encouraged to do R&D , these technologies are a lot cheaper when researched yourself and if it¡¯s different and efficient enough you can earn credits from other species.


    ¡°Can we give her the credits for it ?¡± asked Sam .


    ¡°You can , but why won¡¯t you make it a joint enterprise¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    You mentioned before that you wanted to cooperate with each other to bring certain technologies to earth .


    Why not expand this thought to the Nexus ?


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea Da¡¯grass , thank you !¡± said Alex.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do as Da¡¯grass suggested¡± said Sarah .


    But like Sam said after you guy¡¯s showed me around !


    They showed her the city , the farms , restaurant , brewery , bar and made sure to sample a lot of products .


    Like the rest of them she had a soft spot for the elven wine like Sam liked to call it and was delighted that she could eat what she wanted without repercussions.


    When she met Cathy at the game development building she was fascinated by her ears and murmured fluffy .

 019

    They got along quite fine and when they told her their plans , Cathy told her that there were a few of her own kind who would love to join her enterprise .


    Alex told her that he would send a message to her and El¡¯Anor when they started hiring.


    Cathy told them there was nothing against the rules of the Nexus to bring in their own knowledge into the company since they were citizens so it would be a win-win situation for them all .


    They said goodbye and went to their villa¡¯s .


    Sarah was captivated the moment she saw the residences and asked if they would mind if she bought a villa here herself .


    They didn¡¯t mind and she bought a villa after they told her which ones were theirs .


    After explaining to her how she could make adjustments to the villa and buy furniture she disappeared inside while telling them that she would meet up with them when she was done .


    After looking at each other the three began laughing knowing the feeling all to well .


    They went inside Alex¡¯s home and watched some holographic alien movies which all looked like science fictions to them .


    After a couple of hours Sarah returned with a big smile on her face and joined them for the rest of the movie that was playing.


    The movie finished and they agreed to start the purchase of the two building as partners where Sarah , Sam and Helena would own an equal amount of shares and Alex the majority .


    Once the Nexus opened , Sarah would lead the enterprises with the help of her children if needed and Alex would provide the credits if needed .


    After the purchase , Sarah was left broke , and the twins were nearly so .


    For Alex , however , it was if he was a rich man buying a car .


    ¡°It¡¯s an investment in the future¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°A heavy investment¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Don¡¯t complain , we¡¯ve still got income from our businesses and our scans¡± said Helena .


    Mom only has her scans for the foreseeable future .


    ¡°If it¡¯s any consolation seeds and pets do really well in the Nexus , pets especially when they are new and once known¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°We can have pets ?¡± asked Helena .


    Yes and you don¡¯t need to feed them or give them water but they are happy if you do so .


    They act like they normally would but don¡¯t shed hair or pee on the carpet and they won¡¯t die , if your tired of them you just delete them out of your household .


    They won¡¯t attack you but if you mistreat them they will automatically be deleted and you won¡¯t be able to buy another one for a considerate time.


    ¡°I¡¯m so getting a dog¡± said Sam .


    ¡°It¡¯s about time we log off¡± said Alex .


    Da¡¯grass would you mind sending a notice to El¡¯Anor and Cathy that we are looking for employees for both buildings and can you handle the hiring ?


    I can and I will Alex .


    I¡¯ll give them instructions to upload any relevant knowledge that they might have in the company¡¯s database for the time being .


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    I¡¯ll also let them handle research they think you might be interested in until further notice .


    Ok , take us back Da¡¯grass !


    They awoke at Sarah¡¯s house¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s about time I went back to my own place , Sarah¡± said Alex against her while she was coming out of her room.


    ¡°Thanks for letting me in on your little secret¡± said Sarah .


    I¡¯ll contact you for our other plans or let Sam and Helena tell you what we need or are planning.


    And thanks for giving my youth back , I feel like I¡¯m 20 years again .


    Well technically you are , you just look like your in your early thirties .


    Bye Sam , until next time .


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you out¡± said Helena .


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you know when I¡¯m coming over¡± she says while she kisses him on the cheek.


    <u>As time goes by</u>


    2 Years later


    Sarah , Sam , Helena and Alex were sitting in Alex¡¯s villa in the Nexus and were thinking about what happened the last 2 years , the reason was that Da¡¯grass told them that the Nexus would be opening for the rest of the population.


    The factories were producing vr equipment , Alex was the major shareholder while the rest had an equal share .


    Sarah¡¯s shops were doing fine , the equipment was still sold the moment it came in the shops .


    Helena and Alex lived together in Alex¡¯s house and Sam had bought his own house .


    There were 3 more games available thanks to Cathy , a fantasy game , a racing game and the zombie apocalypse survival game while a fourth was soon to be released.


    Different organizations were cleaning up the planet thanks to crowd funding actions and government subsidies .


    The only ones that were still resisting were the oil producing companies and countries.


    Religious people who saw the work of the devil in the release of these technologies were lobbying alongside those countries to ban the vr and recent developments.


    The small city on the Island was almost completed and so would be the city on Mars .


    On a funnier side , the moment Sam and Helena¡¯s father realised that they owned the various shops and factories he tried to weasel himself back into their lives.


    Thankfully Sarah , Sam and Helena saw right trough his schemes and told him to go back to his girlfriend.


    The girlfriend noticing what he was up to dropped him like a bag of stones and never looked back .


    ¡°So according to what the ai of the Nexus told Da¡¯grass a little more than 25 percent of the world population has a vr device and she decided that it was enough for access to the Nexus¡± said Alex .


    In consideration for what we¡¯ve done she gives us a week in real time to tie up loose ends that may exist .


    ¡°Outside your name on the government list of officials , I can¡¯t think about anything that we should be cautious about¡± said Helena .


    ¡°We¡¯ve also got our property and businesses¡± said Sam .


    ¡°The last 2 years a lot of people have been amassing credits thanks to scans and games¡± said Sarah .


    So it¡¯s only a matter of time others have property too .


    Maybe it¡¯s time to move to Greece , the island is almost finished and is habitable , we can also start with populating it with the people we¡¯ve been investigating for future purposes.


    ¡°Are you planning them to give them the treatment too ?¡± asked Sarah .


    Maybe a few on the island but once on Mars they¡¯ll definitely get it .


    I want some compatriots and I want them to be the spearhead of humanity .


    ¡°I thought you hadn¡¯t any big dreams¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°We can¡¯t keep in the shadows forever¡± said Alex .


    Once they notice we don¡¯t age there will be questions .


    You guy¡¯s are all welcome to join us if you want.


    ¡°We will , but gradually , I¡¯ve still got a business to run until we are organized in the Nexus¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°I¡¯ll join you , to bad for my house , I only had it for 1 ,5 years .¡± said Sam


    ¡°You¡¯ll get another one over there , you too Sarah ¡° said Alex .


    ¡°How about marrying my daughter before you leave¡± said Sarah .


    Mom we¡¯ve talked about this already , if we are going to live forever it is unlikely we¡¯ll stay together .


    We are going to keep living together and share good and bad times but we will not tie the knot .


    ¡°But what about your children ?¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°If and when we get children they¡¯ll have a loving mom and dad just as if we were married ¡° said Helena .


    Alex chuckled , it wasn¡¯t the first time Sarah and Helena brought up this subject.


    But they talked it trough a long time ago with Da¡¯grass informing them about the lifestyle of the Ethereans , his creators .


    It wasn¡¯t like the Ethereans were swingers but due to their lifespan they made contracts with their partner stipulating what they desired of the said relation and terms of the nullification of said relationship .


    ¡°Da¡¯grass can you hide my name from the government list ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°I can from the public for a set amount of time but not from the new government officials¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    But I can make it so that it¡¯s classified information and isn¡¯t to be shared with the public , but this can only be enforced while in the Nexus .


    Do so if you will Da¡¯grass .


    And send a message to El¡¯Anor that she and the rest of the city planners are fired and got a new job as advisors for the new government officials if they wish so .


    Can you make that happen Da¡¯grass ?


    It would be a temporary set job created by you the government official and can be dissolved by the new officials at any time but yes I can do so .

 020

    Sarah , we¡¯ll be needing vr equipment for 10 000 people on the island if you can ship them when I ask you I would be grateful .


    ¡°I¡¯ll be storing them in a warehouse slowly to ship them over when you need them¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°Oh , and it is your own choice if you want to run for a government position but I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t , at least not for the first few elections¡± said Alex .


    ¡°I¡¯ve got enough on my plate with the company so I won¡¯t run for a position¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°I won¡¯t be either¡± said Sam .


    We don¡¯t know how the world leaders will react so I¡¯ll be keeping out of that hornets nest .


    ¡°Can¡¯t the government type be changed if they will so ?¡± asked Sarah


    ¡°Only if there is a government official with at least the same clearance level as Alex and if the majority of the population agrees to it¡± responded Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Good¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°If all thing are settled I propose to log off¡± said Alex .


    ¡°Alex , the ai of the Nexus would like to talk with you for a moment¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    I¡¯ll log everyone off so you 2 can talk a bit .


    Huh !


    Hello Alex , I¡¯ll keep this short , you may call me Etherea if you like to do so .


    Hello Etherea what can I do for you ?


    You put me in a tough spot , Alex ¡­


    If you were an Etherean you would be eligible for a level 5 clearance level once you established your faction on Mars .


    And due to guidelines set by the Ethereans governing the potential act of other species I would have to let your clearance level  increase.


    But the technology responsible for bringing you this far is Etherean itself .


    I¡¯ve also been monitoring you and you¡¯ve passed different tests if you could call them so , these involved your actions while possessing a superior technology you shouldn¡¯t have access to and your actions while in full control of Earth¡¯s vr space.


    I¡¯m going to let you create your faction but I won¡¯t be giving you a level 5 clearance level , instead I¡¯ll cap you at level 4 and give you 1 technology of the level 5 clearance mall.


    You¡¯ve got 5 minutes to decide which one , you may discuss this with Da¡¯grass.


    After you decided I¡¯ll upgrade your clearance level , don¡¯t make me regret my choice Alex .


    Your time goes in now .


    Da¡¯grass any suggestions ?


    There is a lot to choose about Alex .


    You¡¯ve got to specify what you¡¯re looking for¡­


    The technology gap is also to big for your planet.


    Shouldn¡¯t this narrow down our choices ?


    The problem is you can only build a few of these things thanks to your city on Mars .


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    That only narrows our choice , so that¡¯s less to think about.


    What about this one here portal technology ?


    The energy sources you have are only strong enough to use it in your solar system , Alex !


    ¡°How about we choose the biggest spaceship¡± in level 5 asked Da¡¯grass .


    Once it¡¯s gone it¡¯s gone Da¡¯grass


    There will be no lasting effect that I know about but those portals sound interesting even if we can only use it in the solar system .


    But we would have the schematics , once your people advance enough they could build it .


    That¡¯s going to take too long Da¡¯grass but with portal technology we would have total control over our solar system in a matter of years which would boost our development as a species .


    And according to the specifications once we have a more powerful energy source we could use it across our own galaxy .


    ¡°So portal technology ?¡± asked Da¡¯grass.


    Yes , Etherea we choose portal technology !


    Are you sure Alex ?


    Yes Etherea I¡¯m sure !


    Curious choice , I thought you would go for the level 5 complete education course.


    Portal technology it is Alex , you¡¯re more alike with Ethereans than I thought.


    Good luck Alex !


    Upgraded to level 4 clearance level !


    Da¡¯grass you think we made a mistake ?


    It didn¡¯t sound that way how Eherea was complimenting you ¡­


    Can you upgrade the complete education course to level 4 and donate it to the state ?


    It won¡¯t be to expensive because they are mostly additions Alex , done !


    There is more Alex , you¡¯re eligible for a tier 4 city now , that means new buildings and access to more resources .


    But you put a lock on the designs of the cities already established .


    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken tier 3 is mainly the peak of interstellar and tier 4 the beginning of intergalactic¡° said Alex .


    That¡¯s a simplistic and crude manner at describing the tiers and not entirely correct or else there would be more higher tiers species , but yes Alex .


    Keep the lock in place but unlock the feature of upgrading the city to tier 4 for future government officials .


    I don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll allow it Alex , you are the only human with level 4 clearance in existence and you¡¯ll not even be part of the government .


    Just try it , if it doesn¡¯t work than nothing is lost .


    It¡¯s done Alex but I got a message from her stating that she allows it with reservation .


    Good enough , thank you Etherea !


    Now is our industry on Mars already capable of producing gates ?


    Yes , living quarters are habitable but not fully constructed and industry and ship yard are capable of producing but not all lines are available .


    Seeds are needed for agriculture to start and dna of livestock for producing meat .


    And if you want live animals they have to be imported .


    Waste management is functional and there is enough water available for a fully habituated colony.


    Gravity control is up and running also as is the colony¡¯s computer centrum and ai .


    The spaceport is capable of housing 10 ships the size of the colony builder and is finished .


    Oh , start producing 5 gates than and 3 colony builders .


    If you want to build more colonies in your solar system the chances are that you need to transport resources to the destination of said colonies Alex .


    I can design some miners and cargo ships if you want to , that¡¯s technology already possessed while purchasing the colony builder .


    If Mars didn¡¯t have the resources the colony builder would have acted as a miner and cargo ship .


    Build a miner and a cargo ship for every colony builder than if you want Da¡¯grass .


    With your converted colony builder all spaces on your space port will be occupied when all ships are build Alex .


    And if we were to divert resources , construction of your Mars colony would slow down .


    I¡¯m aware Da¡¯grass but with wat you just told me the colony is already habitable but not fully constructed and by the time we need it fully constructed it will be .


    Ok Alex I¡¯ll give the order for construction as soon as I designed the miners and cargo ships .


    Make the live support systems strong enough on the cargo ships if we were to convert them to passenger ships Da¡¯grass .


    We¡¯ll need more room for life support systems , it will take up space that can be used for cargo.


    No problem , thank you Da¡¯grass !


    Give priority to the gates for the first two if it comes down to resources .


    Now if you would be so kind to log me off , they¡¯ll be wondering what¡¯s keeping me .


    ¡°What did she want?¡± asked Helena who was sitting on the bed .


    Sarah and Sam , standing at the door , were eying Alex curiously as she asked the question.


    To put it briefly , my clearance level was upgraded , but It¡¯s capped because I only achieved it with borrowed technology.


    As compensation , I¡¯ve received a free technology that¡¯s one level above me.


    ¡°What did you get?¡± asked Sam .


    I chose portal technology , it won¡¯t be working at the same level yet as it¡¯s meant to be but we¡¯ll be able to use it in our solar system once constructed.


    ¡°That¡¯s a thing ?¡± Sarah exclaimed .


    ¡°If your clearance level increased does it affect the cities and the decisions you made ?¡± asked Helena .


    An upgrade is available for the cities but it¡¯s postponed and under reservation so it could be revoked if Etherea decides so.


    As for my decisions , I don¡¯t know .

 021

    ¡°What you paid for stay¡¯s the same but it got a little bit harder for humanity to change the government system since your still in office until a new government has been chosen¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    I just hope you were right about the government type Da¡¯grass , I¡¯m used to a Democracy .


    ¡°Considering what the Nexus offers and the responsibility and time it takes I¡¯m confident to say that if you want to progress as far as possible that this is the best choice¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°He even said there was a psychological test Alex , don¡¯t worry¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Yeah , you did the best you could if you ask my opinion¡± said Sam .


    Alright , we¡¯ve still have a week before the Nexus becomes available to everyone .


    Is there anything that needs to be done on our side ?


    ¡°I¡¯m going to prepare the company for operations in the Nexus , I already have the necessary equipment in a warehouse but it would be strange if I acted beforehand¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°We need you to sell our house and move our vr pods , along with all our other belongings , to the island¡± said Alex .


    And the moment the Nexus becomes available , we¡¯ll start relocating people under the guise of an employee town.


    If anyone asks questions tell them that the designation of the town has changed with the appearance of the Nexus .


    When you¡¯re ready you can join us Sarah.


    ¡°I never thought I would move out of the country¡± sighed Sarah.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be moving even farther given some time , you¡¯ll be a Martian eventually¡± chuckled Alex .


    I¡¯ve downloaded the schematics for the bracelet onto your computer.


    You can start producing them a few days after the Nexus opens , but make sure we get at least 10000 of them shipped to the island.


    If there would be alterations to our plans we¡¯ll contact you.


    Well I guess that¡¯s all .


    Da¡¯grass can you start supplying the town with consumables and other necessities ?


    Make sure there is furniture for all the living spaces .


    In short , ensure everything a house needs is provided.


    Sam , Helena take this week to say goodbye to everyone here and enjoy yourselves .


    We¡¯ll see each other when the Nexus opens , after that we leave for the island .


    Da¡¯grass you can already book the tickets for that evening .


    ¡°I¡¯ll be staying with mom until then¡± said Helena .


    Yeah me too said Sam .


    ¡°See you next week¡± said Sarah and they left .


    Well it¡¯s just you and me now , Da¡¯grass .


    Any suggestions ?


    Well you still had that Quest to exterminate the goblins around the mountain range in the Borderlands .


    Maybe later in the week , it¡¯s basically an hack and slash event with my level now , and those guys are annoying .


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I¡¯m going for a swim , dinner , and a movie , in that order .


    After a week everybody gathered back at Alex¡¯s home with the news that everyone who could was logging in to see the fabled Nexus .


    Da¡¯grass told them that the moment they entered they would get the choice to participate for a government position just like everyone else .


    Everybody would get a thorough explanation before they had to confirm if they wanted to participate.


    Da¡¯grass told them that it would be over within a week in reality and that the chosen would get their position.


    They logged in prematurely to watch the scene unfold and got prompted with the explanation and choice to participate .


    They naturally declined and waited for about 10 minutes when suddenly a tide of people started to appear .


    Most of them were taken by the messages and the rest stood in awe of the city before focussing their attention back to the messages .


    The Ea¡¯Thell and Cath¡¯nix were providing assistance where they could , but there were to many people .


    Thankfully , people started to explain to others what they had been told about the option of the bracelet, along with a crude explanation of how it worked.


    After watching for about half an hour Alex send a thank you message to both Cathy and El¡¯Anor and logged off .


    They¡¯ll figure it out after some time he said to Sam , Helena and Sarah .


    It¡¯s time for us to go to the airport and start our own preparations.


    Bye Sam , Bye Helena .


    I¡¯ll see you as soon as possible said Sarah.


    ¡°Bye mom¡± said Sam.


    ¡°See you soon mom¡± said Helena .


    After arriving at the airport , his cuff bracelet attracted attention again , but there were no problems .


    They safely arrived in Greece after their flight , during which his cuff bracelet attracted attention once more .


    They decided to stay a few day¡¯s touring the city and noticed that the word Nexus was frequently spoken .


    After meeting a young English couple , they learned that people were desperately buying vr equipment from which ever channel they could .


    This was to participate in the elections ,especially after it was discovered that technology could be purchased from the mall and that aliens existed.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s best we go right to the island instead of touring the city a couple of days¡± said Helena to Alex .


    ¡°I concur¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Very well , we¡¯ll head to the harbour¡± said Alex.


    After making arrangements and exchanging contact information they chartered a boat and made way to the island.


    Arriving at the town they noticed that the town was almost finished and that the workers wouldn¡¯t stay long anymore.


    They were even furnishing the homes already.


    ¡°Well lets get settled in , we¡¯ll be here for a while¡± said Alex and they moved to their designated houses .


    <u>New Beginnings</u>


    <u> </u>


    The past week on the island was uneventful , and Da¡¯grass informed them that the first inhabitants of the island would be arriving in a few days.


    He had contacted people all over the world , and the 10 000 spots on the island were already spoken for.


    Alex would foot the bill for those moving to the island because not everyone was as well off as others .


    He also told them that the government positions would be filled in a couple of hours , and that if they would like to witness it , they would have to log into the Nexus .


    Sarah already had sent the vr equipment to the island and it was already distributed among the finished residences .


    Anticipating Alex she went above his wishes and had stockpiled vr pods and nutrients which were now awaiting their new owners .


    She also let him know that it wouldn¡¯t take long for the bracelets to become available since they skipped several steps of the manufacturing process because they knew the technology worked .


    She also told him that since she anticipated the nexus becoming available she wouldn¡¯t take long to join them and she would be bringing a few bracelets with her .


    The rest would be shipped over by her employees , and she would be in contact with them through the office building in the Nexus , where they would be settling in the coming week.


    Da¡¯grass had established a steady supply route to the island , and they were generating their own power thanks to the engineers who had built a miniature fusion plant according to the plans they had supplied .


    They had also built a desalination plant for the seawater , again with plans supplied by Da¡¯grass.


    They were paid royally to keep their mouths shut and Da¡¯grass was monitoring them .


    Things were progressing nicely and without troubles so far .


    Alex hoped his luck wouldn¡¯t change.


    ¡°You know , once they find their bearings , the new government officials will contact you ,¡± said Helena to Alex .


    Sigh¡­ , don¡¯t remind me .


    It¡¯s a bummer that they¡¯ll know , and I hope they won¡¯t be too great of a trouble to us.


    ¡°They¡¯ll have their hands full with other troubles ¡° said Helena.


    You¡¯ll just need to convince them to not sell you out to the rest of the earth .


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right , I¡¯m a lucky guy to have a girlfriend like you , you know ¡° he said ,and then he kissed her .


    ¡°Don¡¯t you ever forget that¡± she said while smiling.


    Come let¡¯s go find Sam and log in.


    They found him at home watching a cnn news segment about the impending conclusion of the Nexus elections .


    A lot of politicians weren¡¯t happy that such positions would be available to people with no experience considering the impact with new technologies and aliens.


    They were fuming that these matters had to be handled with care and that other countries could become a threat with access to these resources .

 022

    ¡°Well they¡¯ve had the rug pulled out from under them .


    They¡¯ll be using every trick in the book to maintain control¡± said Sam .


    ¡°It¡¯s a common occurrence among all species who got integrated into the Nexus¡± said Alex .


    El¡±Anor and Cathy told me that it¡¯s usually a process of several decades depending on the resistance of species.


    They even go to war sometimes or threaten the new officials to do their bidding.


    The latter is used more often and the former can be gruesome.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t come to that¡± said Helena.


    ¡°You should offer asylum to the government officials if they wish so once the colony is in use¡± she said .


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it¡± was the response Alex provided.


    Let¡¯s go to our houses in the Nexus and watch some movies until we are contacted by the new officials.


    ¡°We better use the pods for prolonged stay¡± said Sam.


    We don¡¯t know how long it would take .


    ¡°Very well¡± Alex replied ,and he and Helena departed for their pods.


    Once they logged he immediately received a message from El¡¯Anor if he could set the access of the government buildings to officials only .


    A lot of people were driving her insane with questions and she was at the end of her wits .


    The new officials would be grateful too she ensured .


    Alex gave the order to Da¡¯grass to do so and he immediately got a response from El¡¯Anor thanking him .


    After that , he let Sam into his house and they started watching some alien movies again .


    He loved the fact that they were all science fictions according to their standards and wondered if he would ever get tired of it.


    War movies were stunning space battles with thousands of ships , and entire planets and solar systems were at stake .


    They had also watched fantasy films the last years and the special effects were stunning and the creatures strange .


    He let Helena pick the first movie , they would probably be holding a marathon of movies before they would be contacted.


    After a few movies Alex got an announcement that stated that new government officials were instated and a thank you from the system for his service .


    Sam and Helena looked at him and she said ¡°looks like you¡¯re no longer the one giving the orders¡± and she smiled .


    Sam laughed and said ¡°Don¡¯t worry , you¡¯re still the wealthiest person of earth in here¡±.


    ¡°I wonder how long it would take them to find me¡± , Alex said .


    ¡°They¡¯ve got El¡¯Anor and the rest as advisors and she knows where you live so it wouldn¡¯t take long once it crosses their mind¡± said Helena.


    ¡°Let¡¯s drink some elven wine to celebrate the transition¡± said Sam.


    ¡°You would drink that stuff for every reason¡± laughed Helena.


    Don¡¯t blame me , you guy¡¯s love the stuff as much as I do .


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good idea Sam , let me get a bottle or two¡± said Alex .


    They enjoyed some more movies while drinking wine and eating popcorn when Alex got a message from El¡¯Anor.


    She asked if it was ok if she came over with a few representatives of the government if they had questions .


    He answered that he preferred only one and her and only if they had no more questions for her .


    ¡°It won¡¯t be long anymore¡± stated Alex .


    I¡¯ve just got a message from El¡¯Anor asking if it was ok to come over if they had questions .


    ¡°I hope she doesn¡¯t bring the entire government¡± said Helena .


    ¡°I made sure she only brings one¡± answered Alex.


    It took them 2 more movies when El¡¯Anor send a message that she was on her way with a representative .


    ¡°Well looks like there is no more hiding from everyone , she is on her way¡± said Alex to Sam and Helena .


    They¡¯ll be arriving in the next ten minutes or so I guess.


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare some snacks and drinks¡± said Helena.


    ¡°We¡¯ll tidy up the place a bit¡± said Sam


    Everything was set when the doorbell rang and he went to open the door .


    ¡°Hi El¡¯Anor¡± , he greeted , extending his hand , ¡°and you are ?¡±


    The man returned the handshake ¡°Hello , my name is Carther , John Carther.¡±


    Pleasure to meet you , Alex !


    Likewise Alex responded , come in .


    They sat down at the table and Helena and Sam introduced themselves .


    They poured him a glass of wine and asked what he wanted to know.


    Wel El¡¯Anor here has already explained a lot and told what you¡¯ve already done for us but I wanted to meet you myself.


    A lot of people were disappointed when she told them that you would only meet one person .


    It¡¯s already a shit storm at the Capitol building with government people from different countries demanding all kinds of things .


    I understand why you didn¡¯t want to have a position in the government.


    We¡¯ve all already decided to keep our names secret here and in reality.


    We¡¯ll also be keeping El¡¯Anor and the rest as advisors considering their experience with the Nexus.


    She also ensured me that you are indeed a human and not an alien as we were speculating about your origin .


    I suspect you would like to keep things about yourself as secret as possible ?


    ¡°Your suspicions would be correct , john¡± responded Alex.


    And you won¡¯t be disclosing how you attained the rights of entering the Nexus or how you spread all the technology ?


    ¡°Again , correct¡± said Alex .


    I thought so and he took a sip of the wine.


    ¡°This is some good wine¡± John exclaimed .


    ¡°Sam sells it at his brewery and bar if you would like to drink some in the coming years¡± said Helena .


    ¡°I¡¯ll be definitely buying some once I get my bearings around here¡± said John .


    John turned his head to Alex and said ¡°Would you be willing to spread the technology we buy as a state to the rest of the world if we ask so?¡±


    I only ask because if we do so we would leave traces and would be hunted down by all governments of the world .


    And we all would like to do our best to make something out of all of this.


    We already decided to wait a bit to open our world for all the other species but we would like to see earth progress .


    Good job on the weapons ban by the way , it will make earth a lot more peaceful the coming years .


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about the government choice¡± smiled Sam .


    ¡°Yes , your clearance level makes it difficult for a lot of people but you won¡¯t hear me complaining¡± said john to Alex .


    ¡°My first impression of you is good, ¡± said Alex , ¡±so I will do so.


    But the moment you start demanding all kinds of things from me , or threaten me or my friends , the deal is off .


    ¡°We won¡¯t be asking anything of you and we won¡¯t cause you any problems¡± said John.


    We will however be grateful for anything you would like to donate to the state.


    Helena and Sam started laughing after hearing this and Alex looked confused but smiled afterwards .


    They talked for another half an hour after which they traded contact info with each other .


    When Alex showed John the way out he told him that if they ever felt threatened or in danger , they should contact him.


    At which point , John shook his hand and told him that they would do so .


    He watched El¡¯anor and John walking away and returned inside to Helena and Sam .


    ¡°I like him¡± said Helena when he returned .


    ¡°Yeah the guy seems alright¡± said Sam .


    ¡°I agree , he¡¯s smart but not haughty¡± said Alex .


    He also knows what to expect from people and how to talk to them .


    ¡°You should donate something that they can use immediately¡± said Helena ¡°just to show you appreciate him¡±.


    ¡°What would you suggest ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Some tier 1 city cores , that will keep them busy for a while¡± responded Helena.


    Very well , Da¡¯grass buy and donate 1000 tier 1 city cores to the state.


    It¡¯s done Alex .


    ¡°Jeez¡± said Helena ¡°I said a few , you know nothing about moderation¡± .


    She looked at him , smiling , and said ¡°but that¡¯s also a reason to love you¡±


    Then she kissed him.


    ¡°If you¡¯re all going to be lovey-dovey , I¡¯m going to see my dog¡± said Sam and he left .


    ¡°We should get him a girlfriend¡± said Alex.


    Maybe there is someone among the people Da¡¯grass scouted responded Helena.


    They stayed in the Nexus for two days until Da¡¯grass informed them that the first people would be arriving in a matter of hours , at which point they logged out .


    According to Da¡¯grass , they wouldn¡¯t be too surprised by with what they would experience on the island because he left a lot of hints while recruiting them.

 023

    With the Nexus appearing and the background checks , he was certain that there wouldn¡¯t be any major problems among those who were coming .


    There would be people who would need treatment or who were older , but with the nanites , that wouldn¡¯t be a problem anymore in the long run .


    Helena and Alex made something to eat and were watching tv while waiting for the first people of their island , curious about all that was going to happen.


    The first to arrive were an elderly couple with their disabled son .


    The couple had spent their entire savings on medical treatments and had even sold their house .


    They eagerly accepted Da¡¯grass invitation because it offered free treatment for their son and housing .


    Despite having no formal medical education , they had extensively studied their son¡¯s disability and contributed to his diagnosis .


    Their son had an imagination that would rival the best writers , but his condition seemed to doom him to failure.


    Struck by this sight , Helena nudged Alex to do something about it .


    Alex , knowing what she meant , told them to go straight to the small hospital and await his arrival .


    After the elderly couple left with their son for the hospital , Alex told Helena that she and Sam were in charge of receiving the new occupants .


    If they encountered similar people , they should send them to the hospital .


    Helena insisted that Sam could handle it alone , and that she would be joining him so that she could help him with food and company .


    After informing Sam , they both left for the hospital , bringing their lap tops and a bunch of movies .


    They would be spending a lot of time in the hospital .


    When they arrived at the hospital , they told the family that they would treat their son and asked them if what they would choose to study if they ever wanted to .


    Their son wanted to study literature , and the couple wanted to study medicine so that they could alleviate the pain of others after witnessing their son¡¯s suffering .


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    They told the family a great deal about the nanites , which initially made the family think that they had wandered in a cult that wanted to experiment on them .


    However , after a few minutes of explanation and with nothing to lose , they accepted the treatment .


    they promised that if it worked , they would manage the hospital until it was no longer needed.


    They let them eat and drink and after making them as comfortable as possible they injected the nanites .


    Alex and Helena spend the time watching movies with the occasional cuddle. Sam send those who were disabled or overly weakened due to disease to the hospital .


    After which , they repeated their conversations with the new patients .


    It seemed that the diseased were to first to come to the island because of the promise of free treatment .


    Luckily , they received help after almost 3 days from a bewildered old couple who looked as if they were in their mid-twenties .


    They were overly happy that their son was as healthy as could be .


    After another week , Da¡¯grass informed them that Carther from the government had send them a package of technology to be released by him .


    It was mostly medicine for the treatment of various diseases , with the most eye catching one being for uncontrolled cell growth .


    Alex told Da¡¯grass to handle it like they had done previously , with the sole difference being to give the new government full credit .


    After another 2 days Da¡¯grass told him that the first portal was ready and asked for instructions .


    Keeping in mind that the workers on the island would soon be finished he ordered him to stow it on the ship for transportation .


    He also asked Da¡¯grass to start ordering as many different seeds as possible needed for the colony .


    In response , Da¡¯grass told Alex that it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to ship different kinds of cattle and meat for production purposes .


    Alex gave him full authority to order what he thought was necessary for the colony .


    The warehouses would be fully stocked with seeds and furniture .


    After another 4 days , the worst influx of patients seemed to be over .


    He asked the couple to keep the next people in the hospital until there were enough to do them in batches of 3 days .


    This way , he wasn¡¯t confined to the hospital 24/7 and he could get a much-appreciated breather.


    Da¡¯grass assured him that once in the colony , he wouldn¡¯t be confined to one building because he could link with the Ai of the colony for this kind of work .


    The only problem was the Quantity of nanites , but this could be solved by letting them replicate in vats with nutrients .


    After another 3 days the last of the treated woke up and he was free to leave the hospital .


    Alex and Helena were happy to leave the hospital , despite not being necessary Helena never left Alex¡¯s side .


    ¡°I thought they were going to worship you when they awoke¡± said Helena .


    ¡°They were very grateful indeed , at some times even scarily grateful¡± said Alex.


    ¡°The women would have borne your children if you had asked them .


    I reminded them that you were taken¡± said a mischievous Helena .


    ¡°So , that is the reason you were staying by my side .


    I thought it was because you couldn¡¯t bear the thought of being without me¡± Alex said with a smile .


    Helena looked him in the eyes , smiled and kissed him.


    ¡°That too¡± she said ¡°but a guy who¡¯s got the attention of many girls can¡¯t be trusted to much .


    The mind is strong but the flesh is weak¡± and she laughed .


    Let¡¯s go met up with Sam , he hasn¡¯t seen us for a while .


    ¡°Very well , my mistress , lead the way¡± said Alex with a smile .

 024

    They started walking to the pier expecting that Sam would be there guiding the new arrivals .


    What they found was a small group of people listening to instructions that Sam was giving them for what to do when new people arrived .


    He was instructing them how to assign residences , transport of personal belongings carried with new arrivals and conditions for people to send over to the hospital.


    He was taking charge of the situation and Helena was proud of him .


    After Sam was done explaining everything to the group of people he walked towards Alex and Helena , noticing them earlier .


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you guy¡¯s so soon¡± said Sam .


    ¡°We¡¯ll be doing them in batches from now on , otherwise we¡¯ll be confined to the hospital for the foreseeable future¡± responded Alex .


    It seems you had everything under control .


    ¡°It was a nightmare figuring out the distribution of residences in the beginning¡± admitted Sam .


    ¡°Well you figured it out and if mistakes were made we can set them straight after most have arrived¡± said a proud Helena .


    ¡°There are rumours spreading among the arrivals , the people coming out of the hospital are telling the people everything they¡¯ve gone through at the hospital¡± said Sam .


    Most people have a hard time believing them until they show them their driving licenses or other identification cards .


    When they started talking about how they got cured , became younger , and were bestowed with knowledge a group of people expressed readiness to go to the hospital for treatment .


    I talked them out of it by saying that everyone was going to get the treatment eventually but that the priority lay with the disabled and sick for the foreseeable future .


    ¡°Well we still need engineers to maintain the island¡¯s technological infrastructure so if you find people who will be willing to learn the trait you may send them to the hospital for registration and we can do them in the next few batches¡± said Alex .


    ¡°I also told them to be quiet about it since the labour force is still here , luckily they are busy at the other side of the island but they may have noticed the excitement¡± said Sam.


    ¡°That can be attributed to arriving to the island , don¡¯t worry about it for the moment but keep them quiet about it and watch if the labour force begins to act strangely¡± responded Alex .


    Let¡¯s head back to my house so we can talk more privately , I have a few questions I want to ask Da¡¯grass and maybe we should call your mother to see how long she will still be busy .


    ¡°I¡¯ll give them instructions to spread the word that as long as the work force is here they have to be quiet and that they notify the new arrivals of this¡± said Sam .


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    Once back at their home Alex asked Da¡¯grass to ask the labour force how long they thought they were still going to be busy .


    The answer was that they needed still a little over a week for the finishing touches and furnishing the last residences .


    Most of the labour force was already disbanded and only those still needed remained on the island .


    Happy to hear the news Sam , Helena and Alex had a celebratory drink while Helena called her mother for an update .


    Sarah told her that she would be done within a week and that the reorganization to the Nexus went without too much trouble .


    She was just fine tuning communications between the Nexus and reality and had already bought the technology to make it happen smoothly , it just still needed to be manufactured but that was for her employees to handle .


    Her employees would be paid for every hour they worked be it in reality or the Nexus and they had a choice how much of it would be in credits .


    She asked El¡¯Anor and Cathy for help with this and they were happy to help , it would have been simpler if they got paid out full in credits though .


    She would be bringing a few bracelets with her but most of them would be shipped over , she was prioritizing the island and her employees before sales would start .


    She probably would arrive before the work force departed the island , she said.


    They celebrated well into the night while exchanging stories about the last few weeks and what they had been doing while playing some vr games .


    Sam apparently loved the thrill of speed in the racing game and the fact he could collect the cars , he insisted that every kind of car could be found in the game and that you could go from simple street racing to formula 1 and rally .


    It was the dream of every car fanatic he said .


    Alex had his doubts about that but was happy that Sam had fun playing the game .


    With the reduced need of sleep they were still awake when in the morning Jack , the formerly elder couple¡¯s husband was knocking on the door .


    ¡°No rest for the wicked¡± Helena jokingly said .


    Jack told them that there was a full batch waiting for treatment , the news had spread and there were already 2 people who wanted to become an engineer which made it a full batch .


    So for the next 3 days Helena and Alex were back in the hospital while Sam was organizing the people already arrived .


    People needed to man the various shops and the already hired employees of the company also started to arrive .


    These were the people that Da¡¯grass had scouted and sent to company managed by Sarah.


    It was all slowly coming together , they were still losing money with housing and feeding them but that wouldn¡¯t last .


    Once they had their treatments they would fully contribute to their little society , even if they didn¡¯t work for them directly .


    After another 4 days which they spent in the nexus relaxing and talking to John Carther , who had very little time , Sarah finally arrived and brought with her gifts .


    Da¡¯grass first needed to connect with the bracelets for a short period of time before they could be used as Alex intended after which he started distributing them .


    Sarah , Helena and Sam got one as did the not so elderly couple and the two engineers.


    He kept the other three she brought in reserve in case of something unexpected .


    Sam and Helena immediately started to test out it¡¯s functions and were satisfied with their new toy .


    It would replace their smartphones , scanners and would serve as a payment method for credits while transferring information from the Nexus to reality .


    They immediately synced their contact info with their account in the Nexus.


    But now it was time to go back to the hospital , Jack had informed them that there was a new batch of people waiting for the treatment .


    ¡°Cheer up Alex , I¡¯ll be keeping you company¡± said Helena .


    And once we are in the colony you won¡¯t have to treat them individually anymore .


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m eagerly awaiting the day that we are at the colony but it would sure simplify the procedure¡± said Alex .


    Yeah , you could do so en masse that way but it¡¯s not like you¡¯re digging in their flesh , bones and blood yourself said Sam .


    ¡°Well off to the hospital , see you in 3 days Sarah , Sam¡± said Alex and left together with Helena .

 025

    Once they arrived at the hospital he could administer the nanites immediately since they had already had the talk from Jack and his wife who were very elaborate in their explanation .


    They just conveyed their wishes what kind of knowledge they wanted and they were off to dreamland .


    Jack and his wife wanted to have a little talk with Alex , expressing their thanks once again for what he had done for their son and giving them back their youth.


    They told him that their son was enjoying every moment since he recovered and gotten his youth back .


    He was found regular watching the sunrise and walking in town just enjoying the freedom of movement .


    With the vr equipment he could already do so in the games but it was liberating to be healthy in reality .


    They also confided in him that they , along with the rest of the town , suspected he was the one who introduced the vr equipment and other technologies .


    This suspicion arose after they saw him administering the nanites and undergoing the process themselves .


    However , they assured him that no one in town would reveal this secret to the outside world .


    Helena just told Alex ¡°you didn¡¯t think that they wouldn¡¯t put one and one together after doing this did you ?¡±


    After two days Alex got the news from Da¡¯grass that the work crew had finished and that they would be leaving that same day .


    Alex immediately made a plan with Da¡¯grass for delivering the finished gate , considering the supply schedules and human activity , they chose to do so in seven days at night .


    They would ship the seeds to mars and use a warehouse to set up the gate , once the gates were active they would send everything else through .


    Alex didn¡¯t want to risk exposure letting the spaceship on earth for to long , Da¡¯grass couldn¡¯t even assure him that nobody would find out .


    He could manipulate the footage of satellites , cut transmissions and even monitor radio waves and the internet but the sooner the ship left for mars the better .


    Alex would have wanted to do it sooner but the spaceship had to travel to earth and Da¡¯grass needed to ensure that it wouldn¡¯t be detected so it had to use conventional methods according to Da¡¯grass .


    The next day after his hospital duties , Alex shared this information with Sarah and Sam who were excited to see a real spaceship in person .


    Helena suggested to let the town help with loading the spaceship since they already knew so much and she argued it would be good to feel a sense of camaraderie since they couldn¡¯t be keeping it a secret for them .


    Sam and Sarah concurred , they argued that they would eventually go to mars anyway and it would be difficult to keep a landed spaceship a secret .


    Alex had mixed feelings about this but relented , he just asked Da¡¯grass to monitor outgoing messages and intervene if necessary but in his heart he knew that they were right .


    Before the week ended he still had to do a treatment round and the people were informed what was expected from them when the ship landed .


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    They would form a chain for the small stuff and carry in groups what was to big for one person to carry.


    Jack and his wife were excited as were the rest of the people but some still had reservations , people were still arriving and not everyone had seen the effects of the nanites treatment .


    Finally the day arrived that the spaceship would land , Alex would monitor the installation of the gate and the moment they were finished the loading would stop so that the ship could leave .


    Sam , Helena and Sarah would be guiding the people and tell them when to stop loading .


    Night arrived and everyone and everything was prepared to move as swift as possible , everyone seemed to be nervous as if the moment of truth had arrived.


    Which in a way was the case , there were still those who had doubts and thought the settlement could be a cult .


    Finally they saw in the distance what appeared to be a comet coming their way but soon the flames extinguished and a dark shape was approaching the island .


    ¡°No time for daydreaming people , the moment it lands we¡¯ve got to be swift¡± shouted Sarah .


    Everyone came to their senses and waited in anticipation for the ship to land .


    The ship landed , opened its cargo doors and everyone rushed to their location .


    Alex followed the gate being unloaded and Da¡¯grass was giving orders where it should be placed .


    Everyone was loading the ship with what was in the warehouses while Alex was supervising the droids installing the gate .


    The installation lasted for an hour and Da¡¯grass told Alex that the gate would be eventually powered by their colony since they would be initiating the portals , the fusion reactor they had wouldn¡¯t be powerful enough to do so .


    The moment the installation ended Da¡¯grass send a message to everyone that it was done and that they could stop loading .


    The answer Alex received was that they just finished loading everything and were retreating from the ship .


    The moment the droids entered the ship the cargo doors closed and the ship departed .


    Dazed , the people watched the ship leave as suddenly everyone started cheering , they suddenly realized it wasn¡¯t a dream and that everything was real.


    That night there was a party in the streets and everyone contributed in the booze .


    Helena confided in Alex that they had cleared every warehouse they had including the one for provisions destined for the settlement .


    All provisions they had left was what was in the stores and homes .


    Da¡¯grass would need to place orders again to resupply the island but Alex couldn¡¯t be happier especially after Da¡¯grass told him that there were visual sightings but no footage of the whole endeavor .


    In the morning there were still people on the streets discussing recent events and how they were first sceptic about everything .


    Alex , Helena , Sam and Sarah were constantly bombarded with praises and questions that night and felt the need to sleep .


    The numerous drinks they were offered that night had taken a toll and they decided to take a day off on everything .


    ¡°Well that went a lot better than I expected¡± said Alex to Helena once they were back home .


    ¡°You better not jinx it by saying that¡± said a smiling Helena .


    ¡°There were only a few visual sightings according to Da¡¯grass but no concrete proof , it went better than I hoped for¡± replied a smiling Alex .


    Most people thought it was a meteorite that burned up or landed in the sea .


    That¡¯s a big win in my book and nobody tried to contact the outside world about it .


    ¡°They are all happy to be part of something big and with the stories of the treatment you offer , nobody dares to jeopardize that chance¡± Helena replied and then she kissed him.


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Let¡¯s start by going to bed¡± said a smiling Helena .


    It was dinner time when they awoke from their slumber and he had a message from jack that there was another batch of people awaiting treatment .


    He replied that he would be coming after dinner and went to the bathroom .


    After answering nature¡¯s call he got another message from Cathy saying that their latest game in development was finished and ready for distribution .


    It was a medieval kingdom building game where you were a noble and had to manage your people , build cities from the ground up and battling other nobles and bandits .


    Cathy mentioned she wanted to combine a fantasy game and this one with magitech features as one of her projects but there were other projects that came first .


    He gave his permission to release the game and told her that as long as she did a good job he wouldn¡¯t be interfering with her work , he was happy to have her.


    After eating dinner he and Helena left for the hospital for another three days .

 026

    They spend the next three days watching movies and talking to Jack and his wife .


    Every question about the settlement and the spaceship they had got answered by Alex and Helena but they kept the origin of the cuff bracelet a secret as the existence of Da¡¯grass .


    Jack and his wife were astonished when they learned about the colony on Mars that could house up to 250 000 people .


    Fully aware that they would talk about it to the other residents of the island they disclosed everything they knew about the colony .


    Jacks wife , Mary , asked if it was possible to bring pets with them.


    She was an animal lover with a soft spot for cats while their son loved dogs but couldn¡¯t keep them due his previous condition .


    Alex responded they could keep pets in the Nexus and that if they logged in for a long time they would neglect them eventually .


    Mary responded that she never logged in for more than 8 hours in reality and that she preferred living cats .


    Helena told her that they would look into it and that they would get back to her after evaluating the possibility .


    Three days flew by and they returned to their home after receiving thanks from the treated people .


    Once home they asked Da¡¯grass if it was possible to bring pets with them to Mars .


    His answer was that there would be need of some aesthetic changes but that it wouldn¡¯t take long to do so and that it wouldn¡¯t compromise the structural integrity of the colony .


    It would be finished by the time they would move to the colony , there first would have to be a steady supply of food and the greenery needed the time to grow .


    Thanks to the technologies acquired by purchasing the colony builder the growth process would be accelerated greatly .


    Once the greenery was grown and animal feed was produced in large enough quantities they could transfer the livestock and move in themselves if they wanted to .


    But Da¡¯grass reminded them there was a huge need for furniture if they wanted all residences ready to move in .


    Metal sofa¡¯s weren¡¯t that comfortable to sit in he joked and wood was not easy to come by on Mars .


    Da¡¯grass estimated that in a week the second portal would be finished and they could move everything they needed through the gates .


    Alex questioned whether it wasn¡¯t a wasted effort to load everything onto the ship given the circumstances .


    Helena argued it was a good morale booster for the people on the island and a clear goal to work to something .


    Da¡¯grass told him that they now had room to order the next shipments so that he wouldn¡¯t need to worry about it .


    After their little talk they send a message to Sarah and Sam if they wanted to meet up in the Nexus .


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    They were already there and would meet him at his house after they were done with their own business .


    Sarah was at the company in the Nexus and Sam was trying out the new game Cathy had released .


    Helena suggested to invite John of the government as well as El¡¯Anor and Cathy to have a little celebration .


    Alex accepted her proposition , it was a while since they all saw each other and they could get up to date with everything that was happening .


    Alex sent the invitations and Helena asked Sam to supply the booze while she would arrange something to snack on .


    After all of that was done they logged in with their pods .


    They programmed a selection of alien cartoons and some music from the Ea¡¯Thell home world they liked and awaited their guests and orders from the brewery and restaurant .


    Sam was the first to arrive with a whole selection of booze they produced , he even had bottles of elven wine just to give them with their guests when they left .


    Sarah was the second to arrive immediately followed by Cathy who spontaneous started to talk to Alex about her next project .


    While Cathy was discussing with Alex about the next project , the snacks from the restaurant arrived and Helena was setting up all the food and drinks .


    Sarah was talking to Sam and watching with one eye to the cartoons being played , one of her questions to Sam was if he was interested to take over a brewery on earth to produce the drinks he was brewing in the Nexus .


    Sam only replied that it wouldn¡¯t work because most of his popular drinks were alien in nature and they didn¡¯t have the seeds in reality .


    Cathy , hearing this while talking to Alex replied that there were technologies that could produce seeds using the scans the Nexus provided but it would cost a lot and could be invasive to the local ecosystem .


    Sam just looked to Alex and Alex replied that he would think about it when they got to Mars while smiling .


    At that moment El¡¯Anor and John arrived and the celebration officially started.


    Everyone was mingling with each other and talking about everything they wanted to share .


    At a certain point he started to have a serious conversation with John , apparently the governments of earth were still harassing them to do as they say and were trying to identify them .


    They made demands to solely provide technology to them and asked for weapon grade technology , they knew they had more credits than most people because of the taxes .


    John told Alex that all the credits were going to the development of cities so that they wouldn¡¯t be ashamed when they opened the so called borders for the alien population .


    They only made exceptions if the technology was sorely needed by the population on earth but it was a slow process .


    He even said jokingly that they were thinking about raising the taxes since they had a thousand city cores to develop .


    Alex chuckled and asked if they needed a safe place from the government of earth .


    John answered that it wasn¡¯t needed yet but he hoped the offer would remain if ever needed but he had serious questions if Alex could hide them from them if that time would come .


    Even criminals weren¡¯t 100 percent safe when hiding somewhere on earth he argued and they had massive networks .


    They talked for another half an hour and Alex found out he used to go to yale on a scholarship and that he had kept the policy of government officials only at the Capitol building .


    After talking they mingled with the rest and kept the celebration going until El¡¯Anor and John decided they had to go back .


    Helena and Sam gave them both some bottles of elven wine and saw them out .


    After that Cathy decided to go back to the company , she received some recommendations of books to read for ideas of new games from Sam and was eager to get started .


    She was also happy when she received some bottles of the delicious wine and she left with a spring in her step .


    Sarah decided to call it a day after that and left for her own home in the Nexus while receiving the same bottles of wine the rest got .


    After everyone was gone Sam , Helena and Alex decided to finish the day with watching a few alien movies while drinking the rest of the wine themselves .


    Content with how the celebration had gone they settled in the couch and started to watch some movies .


    After a few movies and telling Sam and Helena all about his adventures in the latest game , Sam decided to go to his own house and leave the couple to their own devices .


    They cuddled and Helena chose the movies for the rest of the night , Alex didn¡¯t mind because they all looked like science fictions to him any way .

 027

    After staying for 15 days in the Nexus (3 days in reality) ,they received a message from Jack .


    The message indicated that a new batch was awaiting their treatment and they decided to log out and go to the hospital .


    ¡°Maybe once the gates are connected we do a mass treatment over at the colony and move back to the island until the colony is ready to be habituated¡± Helena proposed to Alex while walking to the hospital .


    ¡°I don¡¯t know Helena , people are still arriving and we haven¡¯t even prepared the nanites , I would like to wait until everybody has arrived before thinking about that¡± responded Alex .


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying so because then we wouldn¡¯t have to go to the hospital for three days every 4 days or so¡± she said .


    ¡°Cheer up , it won¡¯t last forever besides you¡¯re spending time with me¡± he joked .


    ¡°We spend nearly all our time together Alex¡± and she rolled with her eyes .


    Once they arrived at the hospital they told Jack and Mary it shouldn¡¯t be a problem to take pets with them to the colony and Mary was excited about it .


    She claimed that they had formed a group who were anticipating the news if they could take pets with them .


    Hearing this Alex and Helena turned red and blamed themselves not sending a message to tell them the news when they first heard it was possible .


    For making it up Alex proposed to Mary she should make a list of all the animals the population wanted and send it to him so that he could make them deliver them to the island.


    Mary was a little disappointed she couldn¡¯t choose her pet herself but once Alex explained to her it was for security reasons she conceded .


    They administered the nanites after hearing what courses the patients wanted to learn and Mary started networking in her group to spread the news among the residents and compile a list of pets that had to be ordered .


    She was sure she would have a list within a week which startled Alex because it was fast considering the amount of people the island already had .


    After three days of doing nothing but watch movies and talking to Jack and Mary the patients awoke like everyone before them , cursing at the stench and thirsty but happy when they noticed their appearance and health .


    Their job done , Helena and Alex returned to their home after receiving the thanks of the treated .


    ¡°The gate on Mars should be finished within the next day or so¡± he told Helena while walking to their home .


    ¡°Nervous?¡± she replied .


    ¡°A little , better to make use of Mary¡¯s networking skills to organize everybody and let Da¡¯grass handle the stock purchase to keep those warehouses filled¡± he answered .


    Once they entered the house , Da¡¯grass told them that the shipments of goods were already scheduled and that the residents would be busy transporting them through the gate for the foreseeable future.


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    Once the goods were on the colony , the droids would handle them without any problems .


    At that moment , Alex got a message from Sarah that the bracelets had been shipped and would arrive in a day or three , there would be 10 000 of them and she would stock a few in her warehouses in case he needed more of them .


    ¡°Well , looks like everything is taken care of for the moment¡± he told Helena .


    ¡°So we¡¯ve got nothing to do here for the next day or so ?¡± she replied .


    ¡°Well the weather is fine and we are in Greece , how about we go to the mainland and enjoy the sights¡± she proposed .


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a policy that once on the island you can¡¯t leave without a good reason to keep everything a secret Helena , we can¡¯t be breaking it ourselves , it would make a bad example¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°Well put on your swim shorts on then , we¡¯ve got a pool that¡¯s barely been used , spoilsport¡±  said Helena .


    And maybe later we could tour the island , see what¡¯s new and needed or just talk to the people on it .


    They spend their day relaxing in the pool with some music and when they were bored again they toured the city .


    Helena was pleasantly surprised when she found out that the island had a small movie theatre and a bookstore .


    Alex feared that with the Nexus these were doomed to attract as good as none customers but it was just a fore front in case someone came to inspect the island so he didn¡¯t care .


    At evening they went to a small restaurant that served Italian food and was managed by one of the first residents that the island received .


    The manager/cook was happy to see Alex and Helena and did his best to serve them the best dishes he could make , he too had the treatment and was grateful for what they had done .


    After dinner he refused any payments for the food and told them he could never repay him for what they had done for him .


    Alex assured him that just by building their little society and following their hopes and dreams for the betterment of humanity was payment enough after which he reluctantly accepted the money .


    They decided to go home after that instead of going to the movie theatre .


    ¡°Maybe I should loan out credits to them to start businesses in the Nexus¡± he told Helena while walking back home.


    ¡°That¡¯s actually not a bad idea¡± replied Helena .


    You could let them do the work and have minority stake at their company .


    I was more thinking about letting them pay me back once their company takes of .


    ¡°Now that¡¯s stupid¡± Helena chuckled .


    Knowing you , you wouldn¡¯t even charge interest .


    Trust me , just ask for 30 percent of their company if you like their ideas , with the treatment they wouldn¡¯t fare badly .


    They¡¯ll have the majority stake and you reap profits without doing anything .


    Very well , I¡¯ll do as you say , we¡¯ll wait until the bracelets are distributed and let Da¡¯grass handle the technical stuff like setting up the contracts and the buying of buildings .


    ¡°I knew you had it in you , good for me¡± said a smiling Helena with a twinkling in her eyes .


    ¡°Good for you ?¡± asked a confused Alex .


    ¡°Because that means that I was right about you all along¡± and she kissed him.


    But let them take the treatment before they buy their businesses , just to be sure there are as little mistakes as possible .


    After they got home they went to bed but it took a while before they fell asleep.


    At around 10 o¡¯clock in the morning Alex received the message that the gate was installed and ready for use .


    Helena immediately wanted to try out the gates but Alex suggested to share the moment with Sam and Sarah , after which he send a message to them to meet at the warehouse with the gate installed .


    Da¡¯grass reminded them that according the shipment schedules the warehouses should be empty before tomorrow so they had to organize the people to do so.


    Remembering how fast the warehouses were emptied last time while loading the ship Alex didn¡¯t worry and send a message to Mary to gather the people in the afternoon with clear instructions and why she needed to do so .


    The reply was that she would do so immediately and the excitement was evident in the message .


    They had something light to eat and went to the warehouse where Sam and Sarah were already waiting for them .


    ¡°Come on slowpokes , what took you guys so long , we had to log off first to come here and we beat you guys to it¡± said an excited Sam .


    ¡°Don¡¯t scold them Sam , maybe they were busy with something more important like making my grandchild¡± joked Sarah .


    ¡°MOM¡± yelled Helena and everybody started laughing including Alex .

 028

    Standing in front of the gate , Alex addressed Sarah ¡°we¡¯ll need more vr equipment for the colony .


    Can you handle that?¡± he said .


    ¡°I¡¯ve already been diverting equipment and filling some warehouses but can¡¯t the colony produce those ?¡± she replied .


    Da¡¯grass answered , ¡°if certain materials are delivered to the colony , there¡¯s no problem in producing the equipment.


    But keep in mind that most industry is focussed on building the colony itself and the spaceships you ordered to be built Alex¡±.


    Start ordering materials that the colony could use but is not capable of producing itself , Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Well , how about opening the gate now and check things out¡± said Alex .


    With a hum , the gate activated and they had a direct view of the city on the other side .


    ¡°The gate is stable and ready for use , Alex¡± Da¡¯grass said upon opening the gate .


    ¡°You can even see the city from this side¡± said a bewildered Sam .


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful , it¡¯s got a real science fiction vibe¡± responded Sarah .


    ¡°You can even see some plants growing here and there .


    Isn¡¯t that a little too fast¡± ? said Helena .


    ¡°That¡¯s thanks to the growth accelerators .


    The city is built to last for a very long time .


    Maintenance is conducted by the droids when they are done building the city¡± answered a proud Da¡¯grass .


    Helena stepped forward to the gate and said , ¡±You don¡¯t mind if I go first , right sweetie?¡±.


    Alex chuckled and said ¡°go ahead , I¡¯ll be right behind you¡±.


    And both went through the gate before Sam and Sarah could react .


    Once they figured out what happened they followed Alex and Helena .


    One moment they were on their little island and the other moment they were on Mars .


    ¡°This is surreal , we are on Mars , mom¡± said an excited Sam.


    ¡°The city is surrounded by a shield , but the buildings can all be locked airtight should an emergency arise .


    But that¡¯s never happened before , and the colony builders have proven themselves time and time again to be exceptional in the work they deliver¡±  said Da¡¯grass .


    And if you log in to the Nexus at this point , you would get a city for Mars and it becomes available to be visited by all earthlings .


    I have to remind you though that the city can¡¯t be higher or the same tier than the Capitol city .


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    In your case you could make the city on Mars the Capitol city and thus be able to build a tier 4 city if you get the permission of the government .


    ¡°Yeah , well that¡¯s not going to happen and I¡¯ll wait for a bit longer before logging in here¡± answered Alex to Da¡¯grass explanation.


    Can you give us a quick tour Da¡¯grass ?


    ¡°The city is fairly big with all that¡¯s been built , and time is limited since you summoned the people of your island to help transfer the goods in your warehouses here .


    But if you tell me what you want to see , I¡¯ll see if it¡¯s possible within the timeframe¡± answered Da¡¯grass.


    ¡°I want at least to see the shipyard and a typical residence¡± responded Alex .


    ¡°Very well , we¡¯ll start with the shipyard¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    Follow the blue arrows if you will.


    After walking for some time , following the blue arrows they finally arrived at the shipyard and they were amazed by what they saw .


    Three ships were being built at the same time , and Da¡¯grass told them that they were the colony builders Alex ordered .


    They were building them 24/7 , and the progress showed .


    As long as there wasn¡¯t a shortage of building materials , they would be fully operational in a few months according to Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Dude , you¡¯ll have your own space fleet within a few years if you keep producing them¡± said an excited Sam .


    ¡°Maybe you should mine that comet that¡¯s been rumoured to consist primarily out of gold and platinum¡± said Sarah.


    You would have all the gold you need to produce computer chips .


    ¡°The miners are the next ones to be build¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    They¡¯ll start mining asteroids for building materials when Alex decides where the new colonies should be located , but the colony builders will already be doing this before the miners are ready to be deployed.


    They kept staring  at the ships being built for another 15 minutes while thinking to themselves were they would be several years from now .


    It all seemed to be happening so fast all of a sudden and they got worried when they thought how earth would react when they found out what they all were doing.


    ¡°Do we even have weapons should we need them?¡± asked a worried Sam.


    ¡°The colony has several for defence and thus Alex owns the schematics¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°So we are not completely without defence¡± replied Sarah .


    ¡°Even if there was nothing , with Alex clearance level he could easily procure some in the mall of the Ethereans¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to a residence for now , I want to see how we¡¯ll be living¡± said Alex .


    There are two types of residences considering the size , regular and spacious . said Da¡¯grass .


    Every residence has four bedrooms , one master bedroom and three regular rooms that can be organized to the wishes of the occupant .


    Living area , bathroom , kitchen and laundry room is accounted for in every residence .


    The sole difference is that a spacious residence has 2 bathrooms and more space for every room .


    I¡¯ll take you to one of each kind that¡¯s already furnished , if you will follow the blue arrow .


    They first went to the regular-sized one and they weren¡¯t disappointed in the size of it .


    You wouldn¡¯t feel cramped living there , even if you had a full house , and they were already furnished .


    There was plenty of room and they were sure there wouldn¡¯t be any complaints of the rooms being too small.


    When they went to see the spacious one , they thought they had arrived in a luxury apartment .


    The rooms were indeed spacious , and there was plenty of room for large parties .


    After seeing the rooms they returned to the gate and walked through back to their little island .


    ¡°That was awesome¡± said Sam after returning to the island .


    ¡°Alex , I¡¯ve brought the people to start transferring the goods through the gates¡± said a well known voice .


    They were startled , not expecting to be waited on when they exited the gate .


    It was Mary , and it looked like she brought the whole town .


    ¡°So this is the rumoured gate .


    Any chance we get a tour of the city?¡± asked Mary .


    ¡°Not for now , but once the city is fully functional , you¡¯ll all get the chance¡± Alex assured .


    Sarah , Sam , can you make sure that no one wanders off during transporting the goods through the gate and send a message when everything is done ?


    ¡°Leave it to us , Alex¡± said an eager Sam .


    ¡°Make sure to give everyone who is here to at least one chance to use the gate¡± said Alex at which the town seemed to respond positively .


    ¡°Well you heard him and you know the drill¡± shouted Sarah .


    ¡°Let¡¯s start moving these goods to Mars¡± she laughed .

 029

    Two days past without a hitch and they had already repeated the process of transferring the goods to Mars twice .


    Alex was worried that authorities would notice the massive transportation of goods to their island , but Da¡¯grass assured him that they were using different companies for transportation and that he was monitoring and altering data online to minimize risk of detection .


    Reassured Alex took stock of the bracelets that had arrived and let Da¡¯grass link with them to alter them for use of the inhabitants of Mars .


    After the configuration of the bracelets Alex sent a message to Mary to let her distribute the bracelets among the residents as soon as possible .


    ¡°Well , back to the hospital¡± he told Helena with a smile which made her eye twitch .


    ¡°You really should reconsider the option of moving them temporarily to Mars to do a mass treatment¡± she replied .


    Fine , I¡¯ll let Jack prepare some vats for cultivating nanites , the people already treated will be asked to assist Jack and Mary , and the droids will temporarily stop construction for transportation of goods to mars .


    But we¡¯ll need a skeleton crew on the island for receiving them , Sam and Sarah can be in charge of the crew  .


    ¡°You can use the hospital on the colony for the nanite treatment , that way they are all grouped together for when the nanites are distributed¡± said Helena .


    ¡°The hospital isn¡¯t big enough to handle them all at once¡± Alex replied .


    If you¡®re willing to do them en masse , then I¡¯m willing to accompany you twice.


    Besides we could sightsee the whole colony while we are there since we won¡¯t be limited to a building .


    ¡°Very well then we do half of them at a time and those that are on the island are under Sam and Sarah¡¯s supervision to transport the goods to Mars .


    That way the droids can continue construction¡± replied Alex .


    When they arrived at the hospital on the island , they shared their plans with Jack and Mary so that they could form the groups and relay the message to the residents .


    Jack immediately prepared some vats with the required materials and fluids that Da¡¯grass requested .


    They would start when the vats with nanites were prepared .


    Since the vats would be prepared sooner than a batch of people would be treated , they postponed the current treatment and let them be on the first group .


    Alex insisted that the bracelets would be distributed before the mass treatment and Mary was happy to make sure this distribution would happen before then .


    Sam and Sarah were notified of their plans and that they would be needed the next day for supervising those that remained on the island for the next week or so .


    Sam didn¡¯t mind , but Sarah made sure that they knew she appreciated being informed beforehand .


    She mentioned that she had a company to run , but assured them that she would be there .


    Alex and Helena remained with the vats at the hospital and by evening everybody on the island had their bracelet and group assigned .


    Alex found Mary¡¯s networking capacities frightening and made a mental note to never make an enemy out of her but kept quiet about it against Helena .


    Helena looked at Alex and smiled , which made him shudder and think that maybe mental connections between lovers were real .


    Helena just thought that he was thinking something silly again and smiled even harder .


    By the next day , some people came over to carry the vats through the gate .


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    The first group was assembled at the gate .


    Alex saw that they seemed eager and explained to them to use their bracelets to send a message to him about which education they wished for .


    Da¡¯grass would handle the rest , but he didn¡¯t mention that to them .


    Jack and Mary assured him that everybody had eaten and drank what was needed for the treatment .


    They also told him that those who already were processed would assist them .


    Alex opened the gate and they all went through .


    Da¡¯grass guided the group to the hospital using the arrows , and everybody was excited during their walk to the hospital .


    Most of the group members had already seen the effects of the treatment on others .


    It was as if they were young again and knew that they would get what they wanted for Christmas .


    Alex told the group that food wouldn¡¯t be available when they awoke , but there would be enough water for everybody .


    When the group members awoke , they needed to go back to the island to eat , strengthen themselves , and take over from those that still needed the treatment .


    Alex easily could have prepared energy bars or something like that .


    However , he wanted them to move back to the island willingly for the moment.


    They arrived at the hospital , and Jack and Mary took over .


    Food was available at the hospital both for them and for those who were helping them .


    Alex and Helena would also eat at the hospital for convenience .


    When they saw that there were no problems manifesting when everybody was looking for a place , Alex and Helena decided to tour the city .


    They happily followed the arrows and route that Da¡¯grass lay out for them .


    First , they visited the outer rings , the petals of the flower , as they named them .


    They were amazed at how large they were .


    The ship yard ; the landing platforms ; the farmland ; the enclosure for the animals ; the industries ; the waste management ; the park ; the water purification facilities and supply ; the artificial meat industry and its counterpart for vegetables ; there were even a few that didn¡¯t have a designation yet and could be filled in how they liked .


    Plants were starting to grow where they were needed .


    They lost track of time until their stomachs started growling .


    They had skipped meals due their fascination with the colony , and they hadn¡¯t even seen everything yet .


    After eating at the hospital and talking to Jack and Mary , who had finished administrating the nanites to everyone , they went exploring the inner city .


    It had everything a city needed , from shops to bars , and from restaurants to breweries .


    The colony even had grand banquet halls for official meetings and parties .


    Da¡¯grass assured Alex and Helena that eventually the city would be self-sufficient if all needed specimens were collected .


    They visited the ai core building and were informed by Da¡¯grass that the leaders of the colony were usually housed in the same building because it had everything for official meetings .


    The building was also the most secured of them all since it controlled the whole colony .


    After hearing this they went to see the residences .


    Every single one of the residences was spacious , it looked like the only additional luxury was that the building should be more secure than the others and that it had its own banquet hall .


    They decided to choose both residences at the top for their own and registered it with Da¡¯grass , it had a splendid view over the city .


    After messaging Sam and Sarah , the two residences under theirs also got new owners .


    The days flew by while they were exploring the colony and they even visited the warehouses who were as good as empty .


    According to Da¡¯grass , these weren¡¯t the only warehouses , but the others were in a similar state since most goods were furniture that was directly distributed among the residences .


    They decided to go back to the hospital after hearing this and figured that it wouldn¡¯t take long anymore for the first batch to start awakening .


    They told Da¡¯grass to continue with the orders until the warehouses were full with what they needed or until the authorities got suspicious .


    Da¡¯grass told them he would do anything possible to prevent the latter.


    When they returned to the hospital , they were assaulted by an unbearable stench .


    They immediately sent a message to jack and Mary that those who had been treated should help clean their own filth before returning to the island .


    Jack and Mary simply responded with a ¡°thank you¡± and kept quiet .


    At the end of the day everyone from the first batch had cleaned up their own filth and returned to the island .


    They were constantly thanked by a group that looked not older than 25 years old , and everybody was in high spirits .


    They all vowed in their heart that they would do everything possible within their means to assure the success of their newborn society , but neither Alex nor Helena were aware of this .


    When they went to get the second group they met a group with wide eyes .


    The members of this group had all seen the previous group leaving the gate , and they were sure that most weren¡¯t that young when they left for the treatment .


    The process repeated itself and Alex and Helena still kept exploring the city and enjoying the sights , but they spent more time in their new luxury apartment since they had seen most of what they wanted to see .


    Alex asked Da¡¯grass if he could walk outside on Mars but he told Alex there weren¡¯t any suits available yet nor vehicles for transportation meant for humans .


    The days flew by until , at last , the second group began to awaken .


    Their excitement mirrored that of the first group , and they received numerous thanks by what seemed an endless stream of 25 year olds .


    Unbeknown to Alex and Helena , they made the same vow in their heart as the first group , and they left the colony with a glimmer in their eyes .

 030

    Alex and Helena , thinking they could return to their home , were suddenly accosted by Sam and Sarah demanding from them to get a full tour of the colony once they exited the gate .


    So Alex asked Da¡¯grass to stock their apartments with food for 3 days and went reluctantly with Helena , who was in high spirits to show them everything , back through the gate .


    Before leaving , he put Jack and Mary in charge and pointed out to them how important it was to keep everything a secret as long as possible while interacting with the crews of the shipment deliveries .


    He would open the gate everyday at the same time and asked them to send him a message when transport to the colony had finished .


    After getting confirmation from them he followed Helena , Sam and Sarah who were already making their way to their first destination .


    They made the same tour in the same order like they did last time and Sam and Sarah were enjoying every moment of it .


    After the first day , Alex got a message with all the kinds of pets and quantity from Mary with excuses that it took so long .


    Alex replied that excuses were not necessary and thought to himself that not even a natural disaster would keep Mary far from her deadlines.


    Da¡¯grass would make the arrangements for the pets to be delivered at the same time together with all the supplies needed for a happy pet .


    On the second day they explored the inner city and when they saw a brewery , Sam reminded Alex that he would buy a data to seed converter for him so that he could brew alien alcohol on Mars .


    Helena chuckled and Sarah just laughed .


    Da¡¯grass told him he should use the Etherean mall for decent schematics , other species converters tended to be flawed or not 100 percent accurate in replicating the seeds which gave different variations of the seeds .


    Though he already made grand purchases , he still had to swallow his saliva when he saw the price of said machine .


    Cathy wasn¡¯t joking when she said it was expensive .


    Still , with the accumulation of his credits over the years , it hardly made a dent in his finances and he would be able to taste a lot of alien drinks in reality in the future .


    Sam couldn¡¯t be happier and Alex promised him that he could have a brewery on the colony which increased his happiness even if he knew that Alex would do so anyway .


    This reminded him of the loan project he intended to do among the population on the island and he let Da¡¯grass send a message to them all with the conditions and he stipulated that they could work together or alone .


    He knew through Da¡¯grass investigations that most people had dreams that got shelved because they didn¡¯t have the recourses or connections so he expected a lot of requests .


    He only asked that they wouldn¡¯t take to long to decide and he would be available for a week in the Nexus when he came back from the colony .


    Sarah and Sam looked at him wide eyed when he formulated the message .


    ¡°You¡¯re not doing it for nothing are you?¡± asked Sam .


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    ¡°I hope you¡¯re smarter than that if that was the case¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°Relax , I¡¯ve talked him out of it , he¡¯ll be asking 30 percent of the endeavour they¡¯ll be starting and to keep it simple it¡¯s the only thing he will be asking¡± said a proud Helena .


    That reminds me , you should include the business opportunities on the colony , no reason to keep the shops and so empty .


    Da¡¯grass can you make an interactive page of the colony¡¯s businesses and people needed to keep everything going without a hitch while sending the update on the first message ?


    ¡°Most of the positions are automated but human interaction is most of the time appreciated by all , I will do so¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    They continued the tour of the city while Sam already claimed the farmland for raising the necessary plants for his brewery .


    It appeared that nothing would stand in his way to bring elven wine to Earth .


    After the third day of exploring the colony , the curiosity of Sam and Sarah was quenched and they decided to return to the island .


    What they didn¡¯t expect was that somebody of the inhabitants was watching the gate for them to come out after which he immediately sent a message to someone .


    Half a minute later , Alex got swamped with messages from what appeared to be everyone on the island .


    Helena just said that he promised them and that he should take it seriously , she suggested to log in as soon as possible and read every suggestion personally and not only to rely on Da¡¯grass .


    She looked at her bracelet and continued , Mary says she¡¯s sorry but the people were afraid you would come back on your word and she compromised by saying that they should wait with their messages until you at least exited the portal .


    Alex relented and began walking to their home , the only thing he said was ¡°you know where to find me should you need me for something¡± and they watched him leave .


    ¡°You would almost be sorry for him¡± said a dazed Sarah .


    ¡°Almost , he knew what he was doing by proposing this agreement , he even said himself that he wanted those people to be the spearhead of humanity , I¡¯ll be keeping him company¡± said Helena and she followed after him .


    ¡°I wonder why she keeps him company so much¡± asked Sam .


    ¡°She loves him and she is afraid that he would bite off more than he can chew if she¡¯s not with him , once things settle down more they¡¯ll be doing their own things¡± replied Sarah .


    From what I heard she already intervened a few times .


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that¡± answered Sam .


    He always seem to be knowing what he¡¯s doing .


    ¡°He¡¯s got a rough plan at best and he¡¯s winging it , he¡¯s lucky to have Da¡¯grass and Helena but his heart is on the right place and I wouldn¡¯t wish anyone else for her¡± said Sarah.


    Once Alex and Helena returned to their home they went straight for the pods and logged in .


    ¡°You know , you didn¡¯t have to leave so abruptly¡± said Helena to Alex once they appeared in their home in the Nexus .


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry , I was just overwhelmed with all the messages I got , I¡¯ll try to do better next time¡± promised Alex .


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough for me , I¡¯ll get some snacks and drinks , you project the messages on the big screen one by one and we¡¯ll discuss them if needed¡± answered Helena and she left for the kitchen .


    Reluctantly Alex started with the first proposal and Helena joined him for what was going to be a marathon of decision making .


    Minutes became hours and hours became days (Nexus time) and there were a lot of interesting proposals ranging from ordinary bars and restaurants to film making and talent scouting .


    There were those that wanted to start trade firms as those that wanted to R&D.


    People that wanted to join firms of him or try to make it on their own with VR games .


    There were proposals for about anything that you could think of .


    Sometimes , these proposals came from groups formed on the island , while others would be recruiting among the people present in the Nexus.


    Da¡¯grass was working overtime , setting up contracts and purchasing buildings for the soon to be established firms .


    At one point , Alex received a message from John Carther from the government. The message was simple , asking if the ongoing activities were Alex¡¯s doing .


    No other details were mentioned .


    Alex responded affirmatively and suggested they should meet up another time .


    Following this , Alex and Helena proceeded with the next proposal .


    It felt like a week had passed in the Nexus , going through all the proposals .


    A significant portion of the colony¡¯s businesses were even accounted for .


    After the final proposal was addressed they turned to each other and shared an embrace , filled with relief and happiness at having finished .


    With Buying the buildings and distributing starting funds he definitely felt a pinch in his virtual wallet this time .


    However , he knew it was for the greater good .


    As time passed , he was confident that the credits would be earned back .


    After all , it was an investment .

 031

    After managing the affairs of the future Mars colonists , Alex decided to address a few more things before logging off.


    He instructed Da¡¯grass to start producing enough data to seed converters to optimize their use .


    Additionally he acquired the rights of various seeds used in alien beverages .


    Alex requested Da¡¯grass to convert one of the yet to be designated areas on the colony in farmland .


    This farmland would be solely for cultivating various seeds to fulfil the brewery¡¯s needs .


    He instructed him to start planting as soon as everything was ready .


    It would be a little surprise for Sam.


    ¡°You know that proposal for an amusement park we rejected because it wouldn¡¯t accommodate the needs of every species?¡± Helena suddenly asked Alex .


    ¡°Yeah , if we didn¡¯t have to consider the aliens it would have been a very good plan , all the fun without any risk¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°Well I was thinking that maybe Cathy could turn it into a VR game that would take the physique of different Aliens in consideration.¡± said Helena .


    ¡°That¡¯s actually not a bad idea , I¡¯ll start a video chat with Cathy to discuss if this is possible¡± answered Alex .


    Da¡¯grass make a connection with Cathy if you will .


    ¡°Hello Alex , since you¡¯re video chatting you probably want to discuss something , so how can I be of service to you ?¡± an energetic Cathy responded the moment she answered Alex¡¯s call .


    ¡°Hi Cathy , we wanted to know if it was possible to make a VR game that can take into consideration the physique of different species.¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Depends on what kind of situation you¡¯re implying , what circumstances did you have in your mind.¡± responded Cathy.


    ¡°Well the game would be an amusement park with all kinds of thrilling and relaxing rides among other attractions the park would be offering¡± said Alex .


    ¡°I¡¯ve saw one of those in a movie of your earth , that¡¯s a fantastic idea¡± responded an excited Cathy who was on the verge of yelling .


    I can¡¯t make it so that everyone can enjoy it on the same map , but I can make different versions so that species of the same size can enjoy the game together .


    After the initial scan when entering the game the players would be assigned a version that accommodates their physique , would this be acceptable?


    ¡°Could you make it so that they can choose between entering alone , in group , planet based or universe based¡± asked a nervous Alex .


    ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem , I¡¯ll create an entire world just to accommodate everyone .


    This is going to be huge¡± said a Cathy who couldn¡¯t control her excitement anymore .


    ¡°I¡¯ll put the game we¡¯re currently working on aside and start with this one immediately .


    Is it ok for me to seek external help to design the many rides and attractions?¡± asked Cathy.


    ¡°You¡¯re in charge Cathy .


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    You don¡¯t need to ask me if you deem it necessary¡± said an elated Alex.


    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else you want to add , I¡¯ll be instructing everyone to start on this game¡± Cathy stated.


    Just make sure you don¡¯t forget to include food , snacks and drinks in the game answered Alex .


    ¡°We won¡¯t . Bye Alex , Helena . Until next time¡± Cathy said , and then she terminated the transmission .


    ¡°Well she was certainly excited about the idea¡± Helena chuckled.


    ¡°That girl has an energy that a lot of people would envy¡± Alex agreed .


    ¡°I just received a message from my mother .


    The shipments with VR equipment have arrived , and she¡¯s wondering if we could open the gate so they can transport them directly to the colony¡± Helena informed.


    They are all pods . She ramped up their production , anticipating the need for them once the Nexus opened .


    She¡¯s already at the gate with a group of people .


    ¡°Da¡¯grass , please open the gate¡± Alex requested.


    ¡°Also , Sam is asking if you could extend the deadline for proposals .


    Some people who got rejected are worried that they won¡¯t get a second chance¡± Helena mentioned .


    ¡°Tell them there is no deadline , but if they are engaged in a business , they have to commit and don¡¯t change their minds¡± Alex responded .


    Why are they asking you these things ?


    They have my contact information.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it , sweetie .


    They probably thought that if you were busy , I could mention it to you if you had some spare time¡± Helena said with a smile.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a video call from John Carther , Alex¡± informed Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Well at least someone remembers my number¡± Alex murmured and told Da¡¯grass to establish the connection .


    ¡°Alex , what have you been up to?¡± began a visible tired John .


    ¡°I¡¯ve been setting up some businesses for a few friends of mine¡± Alex answered.


    You look like you could use some sleep , john .


    ¡°And what do you think is the reason I need some sleep?¡± John retorted.


    You mentioned some friends,  but those were more than 5000 businesses you established , primarily in the Capitol .


    I don¡¯t mind the influx of credits , but to seeing your name more than 5000 times , each time stating that you own 30 percent of the company , might make some people suspicious .


    Like me and the rest of the government , are you starting a criminal organization or a monopoly? John asked , sounding worried .


    ¡°No , nothing like that . You can rest assured John¡± said Alex with a smile.


    I do have some kind of an organization , but we won¡¯t engage in any illegal activities or monopolize anything .


    We just want to be as prepared as humanly possible when you decide to open the borders and carve out a spot for humanity .


    ¡°That are some big words , Alex .


    But nothing that you¡¯ve done so far contradicts what you¡¯re saying , so we¡¯ll believe you .


    However , a heads up would have been nice¡± John replied .


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I caused you to worry .


    If there is anything I can do to make it up to you , you just have to ask¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°Are you sure you can keep us and our families safe if the need should arise¡± John asked .


    ¡°I¡¯m positive about that , John .


    It wouldn¡¯t be a problem¡± answered a slightly worried Alex.


    ¡°Just keep your word then¡± replied John


    If the moment arises , you will shelter us .


    Those damned officials are getting closer and closer .


    They keep pestering everyone around the Capitol building in hopes of getting some hints about our identities .


    We are currently devising and implementing security measures with the help of El¡¯Anor , but I¡¯m afraid it might be too late by then .


    ¡°Don¡¯t wait until the last moment to ask for shelter , John¡± said Alex .


    We won¡¯t be able to extract you ; you¡¯ll have to travel on your own .


    So don¡¯t take to many risks .


    I¡¯m sure the governments are doing what they believe is right , but if they decide that you¡¯re the enemy , things could turn ugly .


    ¡°We promise we won¡¯t wait too long before turning to you for help¡± John assured .


    Goodbye , Alex . And next time you do something big like that , please notify us beforehand .


    Goodbye , John and get some sleep !


    ¡°Well looks like you¡¯ll be having your refugees sooner than we expected¡± Helena remarked .


    ¡°Yeah , I¡¯ll be recruiting among the people Da¡¯grass investigated as soon as the colony is viable .


    However , I do hope we can maintain the island as a link to earth¡± Alex responded .


    ¡°perhaps we should prioritize security personnel that Da¡¯grass has investigated .


    A society needs a reliable police force to maintain order¡± Helena mused .


    We¡¯ve already had a few quarrels .


    While they were nothing serious , that doesn¡¯t mean that it won¡¯t escalate in the future , especially if our little society continues to grow .


    You¡¯re right as usual , Helena .


    Da¡¯grass , prioritize securing enough personnel to maintain order in the colony ! Alex instructed .


    ¡°It is noted Alex , and the list is updated with security in mind¡± Da¡¯grass responded .


    Well it¡¯s been a long few days Helena .


    How about we log off and enjoy a day by the pool ?


    ¡°You just want to see me in a bathing suit¡± Helena joked.


    ¡°That¡¯s just a nice bonus¡± Alex replied and they logged off .

 032

    Two weeks passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye and the pets had arrived .


    Everybody that wanted one was notified to pick them up at the pier alongside pet food and toys .


    Mary couldn¡¯t be happier to finally receive her cat , Alex didn¡¯t recognize the breed but had to agree that the little kitten looked cute .


    Marie started talking how she always wanted this particular breed of cat but that because they had to worry about bills and moving from time to time they couldn¡¯t risk it .


    As if a dam was broken she started talking about everything that was happening in their little society .


    Everybody was concentrating on building up their businesses and were grateful for the opportunity that Alex had given them .


    Even if they had to give up 30 percent of their enterprises to Alex , they knew that without him all they had were unfulfilled dreams .


    With the nanite treatment and the education course given to them they had little problems in setting up shop and attracting a willing workforce .


    She also told him that a lot of new couples were forming among the residents.


    The fact that they were no longer sick and back 25 years old with knowledge to boot , seemed to have a positive effect on their confidence .


    Due to the investigation of Da¡¯grass a lot of people shared the same hope and dreams and this made it easier to talk to other people .


    The hospital had more doctors now but less patients , Mary already had submitted a proposal to staff the hospital of the colony with the entire group .


    However a question lingered on her lips , she wanted to know if it was possible in the future to travel the world and heal people while doing so as long as there was enough staff on the colony .


    Alex told her the truth , that it may be difficult to do so considering their situation but that if the future political climate allowed it he wouldn¡¯t stop her .


    Happy that Alex didn¡¯t outright turn her down , she pointed out a scene that was happening behind him .


    ¡°Looks like a new couple might be on the verge of forming¡± Mary said with a smile .


    Alex turned around and saw Sam talking to a blonde haired girl with a puppy in her arms .


    ¡°Well he always did like dogs , maybe that was the conversation starter he needed¡± Alex told to no one in particular .


    ¡°Pets are great for making connections , especially if they are cute¡± answered Mary.


    That¡¯s Cynthia , she was a starving artist 29 years of age , she was waiting tables just to survive.


    Thanks to you she¡¯s got her own movie company now , well , together with a few others .


    ¡°She¡¯s going to spend a lot of time in the Nexus if this is the case , will her pet be ok ?¡± Alex asked .


    ¡°They are going to alternate with each other so that at least one of them is in the Nexus at al times , and she made special arrangements for her pet.¡± replied Mary .


    Wel as long as there are no cases of neglect or abuse they are free to distribute their time as they see fit , I¡¯ve got to go see Helena , she¡¯ll be done handing out the pets and supplies .


    ¡°Goodbye Alex , see you next time¡± said Mary .


    ¡°Hi sweetie , everybody is happy to finally have their pets¡± started a joyous Helena .


    ¡°Did you see your brother?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°If you mean that if I¡¯ve seen him talking to a blonde , then yes I have¡± and she chuckled.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Her name is Cynthia and she is the co-owner of the movie company we approved.¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°Glad to have a name with the face , do you think we should invite her over ?¡± asked Helena .


    ¡°I don¡¯t know , but knowing Sam a nudge or two could help him to get something started , I mean he¡¯s obviously interested in her¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°You stay here I¡¯ll go over and give it a nudge¡± smiled Helena and she took of .


    Alex looked from a distance how Helena was talking to them both , at a certain point Cynthia started laughing an Sam looked embarrassed .


    A while later Sam was smiling and Cynthia looked to be exchanging contact info with Sam and Helena .


    Helena said her goodbyes to Cynthia and Sam and came back to Alex .


    ¡°That went well , she looks like a nice person , I¡¯ve invited her at our home in the Nexus¡± said Helena .


    After she settled her dog , she¡¯ll be coming over for a short time .


    Isn¡¯t that a little fast ? asked Alex .


    ¡°I know Sam better than you do , if he loses to much momentum he¡¯ll chicken out , he¡¯ll be worrying about every single detail that could go wrong¡± answered Helena .


    ¡°Very well , let¡¯s go home than and log in , do we still have wine ?¡± asked Alex.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got plenty thanks to Sam¡± replied Helena .


    Let¡¯s go home !


    Once home they logged in and prepared some snacks and drinks while waiting for Sam and Cynthia.


    Sam sent a message he was picking her up in front of the Capitol to guide her to their homes.


    He mentioned that the Capitol building looked like a beehive with all the people trying to get access .


    Alex felt a shiver running over his back while reading this and hoped it wasn¡¯t as bad as Sam suggested .


    Fifteen minutes after Sam sent the message they arrived at Alex¡¯s place and were welcomed in their home .


    Cynthia started the conversation by thanking them for inviting her to their home at which Helena started probing her life .


    Apparently she was an orphan who lived until her 18<sup>th</sup> birthday in the orphanage .


    After the orphanage she had tried to make her way as screen writer for tv shows but was condemned to waiting tables to pay for her rent and food .


    She was happy that she got an invitation to live on the island because she didn¡¯t like the way her boss was looking at her but in the beginning she was afraid that there were ulterior motives .


    When Cynthia saw the effects of the nanite treatment on the people treated , she realized that she ended up somewhere fantastic .


    She vowed that if she ever got the same chance , she would pursue her dream with renewed vigour .


    However , she was perplexed when she even got the chance to start her own company .


    Her answers where short and Helena didn¡¯t pry too deep in her personal life outside what she told herself .


    They started talking about what her plans were with the company and if she enjoyed the thought of living on Mars in the near future .


    Slow but steady Helena let Sam taking the lead in the conversation and only occasionally added something to steer the conversation in a direction she thought would be beneficially for both .


    While this was happening Alex had a conversation through messages with John Carther.


    The situation was as Alex had feared , and john had asked if he could offer asylum to the entire government and their families as a precaution .


    They feared it was only a matter of time until the first government member would be captured by their country¡¯s government for interrogation and persuasion .


    Alex replied to him that the location he would send them to wasn¡¯t entirely finished and that they had to make due with was available for a short period of time .


    After John agreed this was not a problem for them , Alex send him the location of the island and said that he would make sure that the virtual traces of them moving to the island would be concealed by him .


    However , he needed the names of every member of the government to be able to do so .


    John asked if he thought that was enough countermeasures , to which Alex answered that it wasn¡¯t the final destination , but that he wouldn¡¯t disclose it before they got there .


    Relieved , John started informing the other officials and sent the list with names to Alex with the message they all would be arriving within 2 weeks .


    Returning his attention to the conversation between Helena , Sam and Cynthia he noticed they were all watching him until he disclosed the reason of his conversation with John .


    After recounting the conversation he had with John with everyone they had a shocked expression on their faces .


    Especially Cynthia took it hard .


    She never imagined that there were such problems , and she was grateful to Helena and Alex that they entrusted her with this information , despite not knowing her for too long .


    Alex assured her that within 2 weeks , everybody would know this anyway , but he would appreciate it if she didn¡¯t start talking to people about it .


    Helena told Cynthia that if she wanted to talk about it , she should discuss it with Sam , since he was informed about what was happening with the colony and the island .


    At which Helena got a grateful look from both Sam and Cynthia .


    Cynthia decided that it was time for her to leave since she had a puppy waiting for her at home .


    Sam offered to walk her to wherever she decided to log out , which happened to be her company .


    They all said their goodbyes and left .


    Helena smiled , looked at Alex , and said ¡°It won¡¯t be long before they are together , they are both eager .¡±


    ¡°My brother is going to have a girlfriend¡± then with a smile on her face , she let herself drop onto the sofa .


    ¡°I¡¯m happy for Sam , but shouldn¡¯t the biggest news be that there are refugees on their way?¡± Alex answered .


    ¡°Spoilsport¡± she replied and logged off .


    Alex smiled and also logged off .

 033

    <u>Faction and colony</u>


    <u> </u>


    Days past , and Alex was diligently working with the government in the Nexus to arrange their relocation to the island .


    Meanwhile , the transportation of goods from the island to the colony continued on a steady pace .


    Shipments were increased , and the portal had to be opened every day .


    The transported goods varied widely , ranging from furniture and consumables to textile and even wood and different kinds of meat intended as samples for artificial growth .


    Livestock had been ordered and was scheduled for delivery on a date  that Da¡¯grass had indicated the colony would be ready for it .


    Sam and Cynthia , now a couple , continued to spend time together , deepening their understanding of each other .


    Sarah and Helena were as happy as could be and were joking that Sam and Cynthia would be the first to give a grandchild to Sarah .


    Helena , in particular was happy to no longer be the main subject of their jokes.


    Finally , the day arrived when the officials from the Nexus were due to arrive .


    Two weeks had passed , and during this time , Da¡¯grass , had been diligently erasing any digital evidence he could find related to the travelling officials and their family .


    ¡°They should be on the next transport to the island¡± said a nervous looking Alex.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry , it will be fine .


    Did you send a message to the people on the island who would be manning the facilities to maintain a working environment?¡± said a confident Helena .


    ¡°Yeah , but with it a lot of other people volunteered to relocate to the colony and I had to turn them down¡± answered Alex .


    The island needs its occupants in case of an inspection , and it will take a while longer for the colony itself to become self-sufficient .


    Da¡¯grass is contacting people from outside the island who have been previously investigated and is setting up dates for their arrival .


    They will be sent directly to the colony and will receive treatment similar to that of the officials during their travel .


    I can only hope we remain undetected , as it¡¯s a considerable number of people to disappear .


    Once in the colony , they¡¯ll have to pay for services rendered in credits .


    Your mother has already sent and put the necessary bracelets in production for everyone , which should make things a little easier .


    ¡°You should let everyone choose their home , even if they can¡¯t relocate at the moment .


    They were here first.¡± said Helena .


    You could establish conditions for the spacious and regular residences , and let Da¡¯grass monitor the people through the colony¡¯s network while they make their choices .


    ¡°Very well , after the officials and skeleton management have secured their homes , I will let the others choose their residences in the colony.¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°Thanks sweetie . They¡¯ll be happy to hear it . I think there will be another party on the island after they made their choices¡± replied Helena with a smile .


    ¡°There they are , I can see the ship.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Da¡¯grass let the people know that they can choose their houses this evening but can not move in yet¡± said Alex .


    ¡°That¡¯s a rather large ship and there are a lot of people on the deck¡± exclaimed Helena .


    ¡°We paid a cargo ship to transport them over .


    You don¡¯t want to know how many people there are¡± replied Alex .


    Just for future references , we can¡¯t do this for all the governments to come at least not under our current circumstances .


    Let¡¯s go to the pier ; they¡¯ll be docking soon.


    Remember , they have to turn in their smartphones and receive a bracelet .


    The others who¡¯s help we asked will do the same and each guide a family to their new homes .


    We¡¯ll be handling John Carther and his family since he is the representative of the government in the Nexus .


    Da¡¯grass , open the gate will you ?


    ¡°That looks more like a refugee ship if you see how many people are leaving the ship , all with suitcases¡± said a pale looking Helena .


    ¡°I had to assure them that they would be getting all they needed , including homes .


    Most of them were well off¡± replied Alex .


    They told their neighbours they were moving and terminated their employment.


    I¡¯ll be giving them a chance to convert some of their money to credits if they wish to do so .


    It¡¯s not like I need it , but I do feel a bit sorry for them .


    There is John , let¡¯s go to him .


    Hello john !


    ¡°Ah , Alex , thank you for receiving us , but I¡¯m afraid it will be very difficult to get us to the next location considering how many of us there are¡± said a flustered John


    ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem but may I ask you to turn in your phones and put on these bracelets ?¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°We already ditched our phones .


    These are my parents , my wife , and her parents¡± said John


    ¡°Hello pleased to meet you .


    Rest assured that you will be living comfortable¡± said Alex .


    They didn¡¯t say anything but Alex saw the relief they exuded .


    They put on their bracelets , and Alex explained to them how they were to be used .


    After they synced their Nexus accounts , they followed Alex as instructed by him.


    They were surprised when they saw that everyone , including themselves , was led to a warehouse .


    Alex told them not to be concerned and to hold their questions until they were on their way to their new home .


    This only produced more surprise on their faces .


    When they reached the gate , only gasps escaped their mouths , and they started to look at Alex as if he were an alien .


    They were to shaken up to utter any words and followed the others trough the gate .


    Once they were through the gate , more gasps escaped their mouths when they saw the city in which they now stood .


    ¡°Once it¡¯s up and running , the colony will house 250 000 residents¡± said Alex .


    Follow me to your new home .


    If you ever get lost , you can ask the city for directions through your bracelets .


    ¡°You mentioned a colony and then there is that portal .


    Where exactly are we?¡± asked John .


    ¡°You are on Mars¡± said Alex


    To explain a little more , I built it thanks to my clearance level in the Nexus .


    And no , I¡¯m not an alien , and no , I won¡¯t disclose the finer details of how I did it .


    All your basic needs are provided for .


    There are shops and entertainment , but everything has to be paid for in credits.


    The housing is free , and if anyone of your group wishes to exchange money for credits , I¡¯m willing to do so .


    Since I don¡¯t know the exchange rate , I¡¯m calculating it based on the pay for work performed per hour in the Nexus and cross-referencing it with the same work in our country .


    In the colony , we implement the same pay rates as inside the Nexus for the same jobs .


    Government officials are allocated spacious residences while the rest receive regular ones until further notice .


    Don¡¯t worry about space in your new homes ; even the regular ones have plenty of room available .


    Once your settled , you¡¯ll be free to explore the city , but keep in mind that the vegetation is still growing .


    The city will inform you of any restrictions if you wander in an area where you shouldn¡¯t be .


    Pets are allowed , but not at this time .


    If you want them , please order them through me , but do so as a group .


    Oh and John , no one has entered the Nexus from Mars yet .


    The moment you do so everyone in the world gets access to Mars in the Nexus .


    Everyone will know we have access to Mars .


    You¡¯ll get the choice if you want to build a new Capitol City , it would be a tier 4 city once completed .


    The decision is yours since you¡¯re the government , but consider everything carefully before entering the Nexus .


    Discuss it with the rest of the officials .


    ¡°It¡¯s all a lot to take in Alex .


    I¡¯ll hold a meeting this evening with the rest to discuss everything .


    We¡¯ll put a ban on entering the Nexus until we made a decision¡± replied John .


    ¡°Were here .


    This will be your new block .


    According to the city , the top has two spacious residences , while the rest are regular ones , so you can be close to your family¡± said Alex .


    Request the city for a meeting room large enough to accommodate your meeting , and register your new homes to it .


    It should have everything you need , but if there are any problems feel free to contact me .


    If there are no pressing questions , I¡¯ll be leaving and let you guy¡¯s settle in .


    ¡°Alex , thank you for everything .


    This exceeds everything I could have hoped for¡± said John , visibly emotional .


    Think nothing off it .


    Hold your meeting , and I¡¯ll see you guy¡¯s once you¡¯re settled in .


    ¡°Why did I have to come with you ?


    You handled everything yourself¡± said Helena on the way back .


    ¡°I like it when you¡¯re near me .


    Besides , I wouldn¡¯t have been feeling comfortable if I had to do it alone¡± said Alex , smiling .


    ¡°Sweet-talker¡± she said and smiled .

 034

    That evening , while the officials were holding their meeting and their families were exploring the city , all of the inhabitants of the island entered the colony to claim their residences .


    They were told that they wouldn¡¯t need to worry about whether their residences had furniture , as their chosen residences would take priority to be outfitted with the next shipments .


    Since the regular apartments where so spacious , people weren¡¯t bothered if they didn¡¯t meet the criteria to claim a larger residence .


    Many people even claimed that the regular residences were larger than the houses they occupied before moving to the island .


    There was a festive atmosphere about the whole event and people were chatting happily in the streets .


    The families of the officials mingled with the islanders , asking them questions about everything that came to their mind .


    They were surprised to learn that everyone was only 25 years old , to which most just smiled , not willing to spill the beans .


    The bars , restaurants and other establishments that were supposed to offer services to the refugees opened , and everyone made use of the opportunity to dine and drink.


    As Helena had predicted , everyone was enjoying themselves with booze and partying well into the night , completely ruining Alex¡¯s plan to return to the island after choosing their residences .


    At three o¡¯clock in the morning , Alex decided to send a message to all the establishments to close and stop serving , and to the rest of the islanders to return to their homes on the island .


    It wasn¡¯t until five o¡¯clock in the morning that the last of the islanders left the colony , with the help of others who were more inclined to follow the order to leave for their homes on the island .


    The next shipments were due to arrive in a few hours , and a considerable number of people decided to keep partying on the island until it was time to transport the goods to the colony , after which they left for their homes .


    The next day , Alex received a message from John informing him that they made a decision concerning the tier 4 city and that they had heard strange rumours from their families , who had been partying with the islanders a few day¡¯s ago .


    Helena just laughed and told Alex that he couldn¡¯t expect to keep everything a secret while they were living together in the same colony .


    So Alex decided to meet up with John at a bar in the colony to listen at what he had to say and to answer any questions he might have .


    Helena decided to visit her brother and mother while he was visiting John , which made Alex¡¯s eye twitch .


    Noticing this , Helena chuckled and told him that he was big enough to handle it on his own , which brought a smile to Alex¡¯s lips .


    He kissed Helena goodbye and left to meet John , who was waiting at the bar in the colony .


    ¡°Alex , over here¡± said a visibly relieved John after Alex arrived at the bar .


    ¡°Hello John¡± replied Alex as he sat down .


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    ¡°First , let me thank you again on behalf of everyone you took in and gave a new place to call home¡± said John


    Second , I heard the most unbelievable stories from family members who were exploring the city while we were holding the meeting what to do with the option of a tier 4 city .


    And just to clarify , we decided to build it with the help of El¡¯Anor ; it¡¯s just to good to let pass.


    ¡°You do know it means that the capital of the human race moves to Mars¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°We do , but we think it¡¯s worth the trouble in the long run¡± replied John .


    We¡¯ve discussed it intensively and even asked El¡¯Anor her opinion through messages .


    Apparently , she never heard of a tier 4 city while she was still on her home planet ; the highest she had heard of was a tier 3 city , and that race was one of the oldest she knew of .


    She did tell us that the older races tend to be reclusive , so she doesn¡¯t know exactly how we rate on a universal scale .


    But the fact that we just joined the Nexus and already have a tier 4 city at our disposal will make us the envy of many species and a boost for our development .


    As I said , it¡¯s to good to let pass !


    ¡°You¡¯re the government , so the decision is yours to make .


    As long as you know what you¡¯re doing , I won¡¯t interfere¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°Thank you , Alex¡± answered John .


    Now , the reason I asked you to meet up with me instead of sending you a message with our decision is because of the stories we heard from our family members .


    The ball started rolling when the son of one of our officials made a move on a girl he liked .


    After spending some time with her and her friends , he made his intentions clear so that they could swap contact information , at which point her friends started laughing .


    She then told him that he could be her grandson and that she had been married for over 40 years .


    The poor guy thought they were making fun at his expense and started getting mad , at which point they all showed him their identification cards .


    After that , they all heard the most amazing stories from different people at how they got injected with something that made them younger and smarter .


    The point is that there were no inconsistencies in their stories , except for some who said they were injected by you personally and that their diseases were cured .


    ¡°And you want to know if this is true and if I can offer you guy¡¯s the same treatment?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°In a nutshell , yes¡± replied John .


    ¡°I selected these people after careful investigations and knew they would contribute to this little society¡± answered Alex .


    The investigations ensured that there wouldn¡¯t be need of behaviour adjustments by the treatment .


    I don¡¯t think it would be a problem for the officials who went through the test to get elected , but I fear that after investigating the rest of your families , there might be some who need behaviour adjustments if they want the treatment .


    It wouldn¡¯t change them ; they would be still the same person , but the bad parts would have been cut out of them .


    Are you still willing to take the treatment , knowing that it would cut part of your family¡¯s self out if they don¡¯t pass the investigation ?


    ¡°If you give them the choice after the investigation , a lot of them would be willing¡± said a shaken John after gulping down his saliva .


    You know , most people on the island think they just got younger and smarter , but they don¡¯t know I¡¯m offering them pseudo immortality answered Alex who was having fun seeing a stunned John .


    After he told that to john , he heard glasses fall and break and looked at a bewildered waitress who was frantically cleaning up the mess she made .


    ¡°Damn¡± thought Alex , ¡°I let myself go while having fun , I shouldn¡¯t have told him before I told everyone else¡±.


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± said a practically yelling John .


    Forget that some would be willing their bad parts removed ; everyone on earth who is in his right mind would be willing .


    ¡°I¡¯ll start the investigations as soon as possible and let everyone know their results .


    They¡¯ll have the option to refuse the treatment but won¡¯t have the right to make objections¡± said a now down to earth Alex .


    ¡°Thank you Alex , I don¡¯t know if you fully realize what power you have in your hands but thank you¡± answered John .


    ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t , but I know that every country on earth would go to war for this knowledge .


    Murder is but a small stepping stone for this , but sadly I can only to share it with my own faction¡± replied Alex .


    So welcome to my faction , John .


    After this revelation , they made small talk and had some drinks served from a grateful waitress until it was time to go home .


    Alex truly enjoyed the talk with John after the big stuff was handled , and he walked home satisfied .

 035

    ¡°Da¡¯grass , can you start the investigations of the refugees?¡± asked Alex while walking through the gate .


    ¡°I¡¯ve already started when you talked with John about it¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°When you¡¯ve investigated all of them , let me know¡± said Alex .


    Alex , I¡¯ve just got a message from Etherea stating that she allows the construction of a tier 4 city on Mars in the Nexus .


    She¡¯s happy to see you take an active stance in the establishment of the Nexus on Earth by providing shelter to the new government and will remember it in future dealings with her .


    ¡°Does this mean they already logged in on Mars and claimed the city core?¡± asked Alex while standing still in the warehouse.


    ¡°Yes Alex . Etherea just asked me some questions about the overall situation and granted them a tier 4 city core¡± replied Da¡¯grass.


    ¡°I need to think for a bit¡± replied Alex and he walked home in silence .


    ¡°Hi Alex , back so soon ?


    I thought you would enjoy yourself a little while longer¡± said a cheerful Helena when Alex entered their home .


    ¡°They¡¯ve logged in on Mars and claimed a tier 4 city core¡± responded Alex .


    It made me think about Mars in general , and I realized that we¡¯ve got an opportunity now that our city won¡¯t be a secret anymore .


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Helena .


    We don¡¯t have to hide anymore and can construct whatever we want .


    The new government can claim credit and make for an easier transition .


    ¡°Do you mean more cities¡± asked a confused Helena .


    ¡°Those too , but I mean terraforming Mars .


    It would take hundreds of years before it would be habitable , but thanks to the mall , we can buy the technology to make it happen ¡± answered Alex .


    That are some big dreams .


    Are you sure we can afford it? Asked Helena .


    ¡°When I was browsing the mall , I came across two solutions within our price range¡± replied Alex .


    The first was a satellite network that emits a magnetic field , and the second was a construction that covers a planet like the outer segments of an orange , with the possibility to act as living space in space .


    I¡¯m not inclined to get the satellite network .


    Sure it costs a fraction , but I believe its high maintenance and doesn¡¯t provide the opportunity to set foot in space .


    The second option could sustain itself like the colony , even if we decided to leave earth behind .


    It would provide a viable magnetic shield for Mars that can continue operating for hundreds of years .


    ¡°It would be operating for far longer , Alex¡±  said Da¡¯grass .


    These technologies are meant to last and have maintenance bots for small and large malfunctions if it ever came to that point .


    Nobody wants to lose a planet that they have been terraforming .


    It would take about 20 years to construct the second option , but I advise to enlarge the mining operations if you decide to do so .


    ¡°If it takes hundreds of years to terraform , you can build some more cities too , but you should claim the colony for ourselves¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Let¡¯s just start with the terraforming project , shall we¡± said Alex , not inclined to bring the rest of the world to Mars yet .


    ¡°Do you wish to buy solely the technology or all the equipment to be delivered by a galaxy freighter?¡± asked Da¡¯grass .


    You already own a lot of technologies needed , so it would be cheaper to just buy the missing ones .


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°We need to go in space for this and I¡¯m already producing ships for other projects , let¡¯s buy it as equipment¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°I would have advised to do so if you would have asked otherwise¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    The freighter will be here in about 2 weeks with the equipment you ordered .


    In the meantime , I¡¯ll be enlarging the existing mining operations .


    ¡°So that¡¯s it?¡± asked Helena .


    You buy something and 20 years later , boom , we¡¯ve got a working magnetic shield and living space for god who knows how many people ?


    ¡°Scientists and engineers will curse you for solving that problem with swiping your credit card¡± laughed Helena .


    I just got access to the mall and the credits to buy it said an ashamed Alex .


    ¡°Don¡¯t take it so serious , Alex¡± said Helena in a gentle tone .


    A lot of people would buy a lot of crazy stuff if they had the opportunity .


    At least you bought something for the betterment of humanity .


    But there are a lot of people on earth who would have liked to be a part of something like this .


    I¡¯m worried that the mall will hollow out the scientific endeavours of humanity.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk about it with John the next time I see him¡± promised Alex .


    If you want you can log in and visit Mars .


    It should be available by now in the Nexus .


    Helena just smiled and gave him a kiss .


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to talk to John¡± she said .


    A week passed , and Alex received good news from Da¡¯grass .


    The colony was completely finished , and humans and pets could move in .


    The investigations were finished and a little less than 20 percent of the refugees had to undergo behaviour adjustments if they wished to undergo the treatment.


    According to Da¡¯grass , even the colony builders that were being constructed would be finished within a week .


    Scientists from all over the world were swarming the new tier 4 city on Mars in the nexus to obtain more information how earth gained access to Mars as were a lot of journalists and government officials .


    Alex instructed Da¡¯grass to start bringing the selected people to the colony and made an appointment with John to have a talk while enjoying a drink or two .


    He made sure to mention that those willing to undergo the treatment had to check in at the hospital after their drink and be aware of the fact that they would be under for about 3 days .


    Helena was notified that he would be spending the next three days in the colony .


    She told him that she would be playing a VR game with her brother and Cynthia from time to time , but that she was joining him while there .


    While walking to the bar , Helena told him that she was going to inspect the fields and reminded him to transfer the livestock to the pastures .


    ¡°Hello John¡± said Alex when he arrived at the bar .


    ¡°Hi Alex¡± said a nervous looking John.


    ¡°You all ready for the treatment?¡± asked Alex .


    There were some troubles with people who felt wronged to undergo behaviour adjustments , claiming that you only wanted to control the more difficult members of our society .


    But the promise of eternal life outweighed their objections .


    There were a lot of talks between us and your people to say the least .


    ¡°Can you tell me what behaviour problems they have¡± asked John .


    That¡¯s personal , but I can give you some examples of behaviour problems : psychopaths , sociopaths , sexual predators and narcissistic behaviour .


    These are only examples .


    Every member of your group had an explanation given for why they had to undergo the adjustment .


    Everybody makes mistakes ; mistakes don¡¯t justify behaviour adjustment , so don¡¯t worry that we implement this just willy nilly.


    Have your worries lessened now that Earth can¡¯t reach you ?


    ¡°Yeah but they don¡¯t give up .


    It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if they started a space program to reach Mars just to get to us¡± responded John .


    But there are a lot fewer individuals pestering us now they know we are on Mars .


    It was quite a show to watch when they realized where we were .


    Everybody that visits us here in the Nexus wanders in the vicinity of the city just to look at how Mars looks .


    ¡°There are a few things I need to talk to you about¡± said Alex .


    Helena is worried that scientists will get set aside with the mall , and I agree with her .


    So , I was wondering if you could build some institutes on Mars where the government pays them to do research and study various topics .


    ¡°I would love to do so , Alex but that all costs credits , credits we need to develop our place in the Nexus and on Earth¡± answered John .


    ¡°I know¡± replied Alex .


    That¡¯s why I would like to fund the construction of the buildings but the government has to pay the scientists and engineers .


    It¡¯s imperative we don¡¯t lose our greatest minds just because it¡¯s easier to buy the technology .


    And I know for a fact that what is offered to us in the mall isn¡¯t everything that¡¯s out there .


    By only shopping for technology we will never exceed mediocrity .


    ¡°Very well , I¡¯ll send the bill to your account and we¡¯ll start the construction the moment we receive it¡± responded John .


    Is there anything else ?


    ¡°Yes , within a week we start construction with the goal to terraform Mars¡± answered Alex .


    The duration of construction will take about 20 years , but the terraforming itself will take hundreds of years .


    Helena and I would like your government to take credit to ease transition for a Nexus government .


    ¡°WHAT !¡± yelled John


    Are you serious ?


    That¡¯s big , Alex .


    I don¡¯t know if we should take credit for this .


    ¡°Trust me , it¡¯s for the best¡± answered Alex .


    This , in combination with the institutes , will show the population that you have their best interests in mind , and there¡¯s not a lot that the rest of earth can do while you cement your legacy .


    ¡°If you are sure about this , I can only say thank you like a broken record player¡± replied John , with tears in his eyes .


    Don¡¯t mention it .


    We need to give the government credibility among the population , lest they think of you as a management game .


    What do you think about finishing our drink and then heading to the hospital for the treatment ?


    The rest are already receiving their injections as we speak .


    After John drank his drink , he said , ¡°see you in three days¡± and left for the hospital .


    Da¡¯grass , can you arrange the transportation of the livestock to the colony ?


    ¡°No problem , Alex .


    I¡¯ll notify the persons responsible for them¡± said Da¡¯grass.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going to check on the colony builders since they are almost fully constructed . Notify Helena will you ?¡± responded Alex

 036

    While Alex was admiring the construction process of the Colony builders , Helena joined him .


    They were silently looking at the shipyard when Helena spoke , ¡°I think you¡¯ll need more miners and cargo ships if you want to complete all of your projects¡±.


    ¡°You¡¯re right , but it doesn¡¯t come down to a year or 2 considering that the construction will take 20 years to complete , and I don¡¯t have to pay for personnel since it¡¯s all automated¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°Still , the miners and cargo ships can mine the asteroid belt so that resources won¡¯t be a problem in the future¡± replied Helena .


    ¡°I already thought about that .


    That¡¯s why , after all the planned ships have been built , I¡¯ll keep building miners and cargo ships¡± said Alex .


    A space station around earth for docking and living purposes is added to the to do list once there are enough resources .


    ¡°Just don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew , Alex.¡± said Helena .


    We¡¯ve got more than enough time to do it all at our own pace , and if you have forgotten , there are 8 billion more people on earth .


    You don¡¯t have to do it all on your own .


    She kissed him and said , ¡°I¡¯ll be going to Sam and Cynthia , there¡¯s an orc settlement that needs to be raided . See you later¡± and she left .


    Alex and Helena had their own schedules these three days , but they didn¡¯t neglect each other .


    They had dinner together every evening and Helena would talk about what she had been up to with Sam and Cynthia .


    Alex , in turn , talked about possible plans with the solar system and when it would be a good time to explore the nearby star systems .


    Helena chuckled several times when hearing the wild dreams of her boyfriend and told him that they had plenty of time to do these things , but that the solar system had to be developed first before thinking about spreading their wings.


    ¡°Humanity was just adapting with the whole Nexus and other species thing¡± she said.


    He also got a message from El¡¯Anor stating that they were busy with making the plans for the tier 4 city , but with the new guidelines provided by the government , half of the city would be catered to accommodate scientists and engineers .


    She said it would be quite the bill if he intended to pay for it and was making sure that there were no problems at Alex¡¯s side considering the magnitude of the project .


    Alex , with all his scans he submitted in the early days and numerous side projects wasn¡¯t concerned .


    Da¡¯grass once told him that he had submitted a planet¡¯s worth of scans due to him scanning for millions of years before he ended up in Alex¡¯s hands .


    But when he thought about all of the expended credits with his projects , he couldn¡¯t help but gulp ; he was spending credits like water on a hot day .


    He told El¡¯Anor to send the bill whenever they were ready and sent her his regards .


    The refugees had their treatment , and Helena and Alex returned to the island after they had a short chat with John , who was anxious to return home and see the rest of his family .


    Days past while they were enjoying the weather on their little island and as they were lying at the pool , Alex got a message that the colony builders were ready to be deployed .


    Helena notified Sam and Sarah , who wanted to be present when Alex would give their destination , and told Alex to wait for them .


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    They didn¡¯t have to wait for long before both of them showed up .


    ¡°You haven¡¯t deployed them yet , have you?¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°That would be a shame while we could watch them leave their docks¡± said Sam .


    ¡°You guy¡¯s want to see them leave?¡± asked Alex .


    They¡¯ll be gone before you know it .


    ¡°Humour us¡± pleaded Sarah .


    ¡°Yeah , this is history in the making¡± said Sam .


    Very well , but let me and Helena get changed before we leave then .


    While they were walking to the docks , and not the shipyard because miners were already under construction , Alex explained to them where he was going to send them .


    ¡°I let Da¡¯grass  scour the scientific world on the internet in search of interesting locations for a colony , and he returned to me with three locations where water , albeit frozen , is present¡± said Alex .


    So I decided to build colonies on those three locations .


    ¡°And those are?¡± asked Sarah .


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to send the colony builders to Jupiter and Saturn¡± explained Alex


    More specifically , Europe , a moon around Jupiter , and Titan and Enceladus , two moons around Saturn .


    ¡°Why not the moon around Earth?¡± asked Sam .


    ¡°At the time I made the decision , I was intending to keep ourselves hidden for as long as possible .


    Besides we can always build a colony on the moon afterwards¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°And when will the colonies be connected with gates?¡± asked Sarah


    ¡°The gates will be delivered to the colonies when the cargo ships have been built , their first stop will be the fledgeling colonies¡± answered Alex .


    There will be research facilities present and more defenses just to make sure , but other than that , they will be the same as the Mars colony .


    Any more questions ?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a lot of radiation at those locations?¡± asked Sarah .


    ¡°Yes , without the shields we wouldn¡¯t even be able to maintain a presence over there¡± replied Alex .


    If there aren¡¯t any more questions , I¡¯ll be giving the order for launch .


    Da¡¯grass , if you will , launch !


    As they watched the ships leave , everybody was holding their breaths .


    It didn¡¯t take long for the ships to get out of sight , but they were happy to have decided to watch in person .


    ¡°Alex , there is something you should know¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    Two galaxy freighters are to arrive at Mars in two hours , they are delivering the equipment to start construction for terraforming Mars .


    ¡°Two ? I thought all was to be delivered by one freighter¡± asked Alex .


    Apparently , Etherea changed your order somewhat in recognition what you have done .


    Your order remained the same with the exception of some prefabricated industrial complexes with docking capacities .


    Resources are delivered , and construction of needed parts is executed immediately .


    ¡°Does it change anything specifically in the construction process ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°No , you only have a much easier start .


    As long as you provide recourses , it will continue producing the parts it needs for its construction , as well as more droids for construction and maintenance¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Give a heads up to john about what¡¯s going to happen , those ships won¡¯t go undetected by Earth¡± said Alex .


    Who wants to go for a drink while we await the second big event for today ?


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea .


    There is a bar with a splendid view not far from here¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Did you know it would arrive today¡± asked Sarah .


    ¡°No , I only knew it could arrive the upcoming days¡± responded Helena while walking to the bar .


    ¡°Two major events on one day¡± said Sam .


    Do you mind if I let Cynthia know about this ?


    ¡°I¡¯m just surprised you didn¡¯t for the launch of the colony builders¡± said Alex .


    ¡°I did , but she was busy with something important for her work¡± responded Sam.


    ¡°It¡¯s over here .


    There is a terrace on top of the building where you can watch the skies very clearly¡± said Helena .


    They went upstairs , took seats at a large table , and ordered some drinks .


    A conversation over their exploits in the Nexus started and drifted towards company talk about upcoming projects , distribution and development .


    Even Sam talked about his brewery on the colony and the Nexus until Cynthia arrived , and Helena decided that business talk was over .


    Alex , remembering that they had made Sarah look just a bit younger when she got the treatment , asked her if she wanted to complete the transformation of her appearance since it didn¡¯t matter anymore .


    At first , she told him that he shouldn¡¯t bother,  but when Da¡¯grass told her that it was purely cosmetic and that she didn¡¯t even had to be put to sleep , she yielded.


    Cynthia , spooked by the voice of Da¡¯grass , was brought up to date by Sam on the existence of Da¡¯grass while everybody watched the transformation of Sarah happen before their eyes .


    Her skin became smooth , and she looked like a 25 year old , just like everyone else in the colony .


    She smiled happily and looked radiant .


    ¡°Now we can be like sisters¡± said Sarah to Helena .


    ¡°Mom!¡± replied Helena .


    And everyone was holding their laughter , including Sarah and Helena .


    ¡°The freighters should be coming into view if you look slightly upwards at the right of Alex¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    And indeed , 2 dots in the sky became bigger and bigger as time went on , until two behemoths of space freighters were hovering in the sky .


    ¡°Those are some big ass ships¡± whispered Sam and everyone went silent .

 037

    They watched in silence while the galaxy space freighters were unloading their shipment , while Da¡¯grass was explaining what was happening .


    The miners and cargo ships that were unloaded immediately started to search for asteroids in the solar system and departed for their destinations .


    The prefabricated industrial area came in different parts and had to be connected , which was a service provided by the deliverer .


    After a few drinks , Da¡¯grass told them that the parts were connected and that the space freighters were preparing to leave .


    Alex asked Da¡¯grass if the converted colony builder could deliver any surplus resources from mars to the prefabricated industrial area in orbit .


    The answer was yes , but it could only hold about half as it was converted for human transport .


    This wasn¡¯t a problem for Alex since the distance that had to be crossed wasn¡¯t as big and multiple trips were possible , so he gave the order to do so .


    While they watched the space freighters leave , Cynthia told the rest that she still had work to do and kissed Sam goodbye .


    After that everyone started to leave , and Helena and Alex walked home to the island .


    Three days passed and Alex got a message from John stating that he wanted to talk to him and that he would meet him at the bar they visited last time .


    Alex , who was playing a VR game with Helena and Sam , told them the news and logged out .


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to think he doesn¡¯t like to play VR games¡± said Sam to Helena .


    ¡°He just loves to play his fantasies more .


    He likes his games more than you think¡± responded Helena .


    It¡¯s just that he has so many projects that he likes to see succeed that he prioritizes them .


    When Alex arrived at the bar , John had already ordered a drink for him , and he sat down across from him .


    ¡°Hi Alex¡± said john , who looked several years younger.


    ¡°Hello john , what did you want to tell me?¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°There are a few things I wanted to talk you about¡± answered John .


    But first , the plans for the new Capital city have been completed , and we diverted the credits needed for the construction of the city .


    ¡°So once you pay your share , we¡¯ll have a tier 4 city in humanity¡¯s possession . Here is the bill !¡± and he sent a message to Alex .


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot , John¡± said Alex .


    ¡°It¡¯s the buildings , upgrades and knowledge needed to operate them .


    We used a little more than half of the city for the sole need of scientists and engineers¡± replied John .


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    The government foots the bill for the rest of the city , and even with the income we receive from taxes and selling buildings to companies , we had to be creative .


    ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t cut any corners¡± said Alex .


    ¡°No we didn¡¯t .


    This is a tier 4 city ; we need it at its best¡± answered John .


    ¡°Very well , I¡¯ll send the credits¡± said Alex , at which Da¡¯grass sent the credits to the government .


    John immediately received a message from El¡¯Anor that construction was in progress , and he smiled at Alex .


    ¡°Thank you , Alex .


    Humanity thanks you for your patronage¡± said John .


    Next time you log in , you¡¯ll have to visit our new Capital .


    We decided to keep New Edens look with the nature¡¯s aspect .


    We decided to name the city Solara , if you were curious .


    The second reason for me wanted to talk to you is the terraforming of Mars .


    We received a lot of positive responses from the population after Nasa showed the world pictures of the two space ships unloading everything .


    But there was also a little bit of panic and anger from government officials all over the world .


    They were claiming things like we sold out earth to the aliens and that those credits should have been used to buy technology to better earth , among other things .


    We also had numerous requests from journalists all around the globe if they could visit the construction site and our location on Mars .


    So my question is if you would allow it .


    It can boost our position as world government greatly among the population .


    ¡°You know there are going to be spies among them , don¡¯t you ?¡± answered Alex .


    They are journalists .


    We select them on name basis and previous works , and if a spy does get here , he¡¯ll only see the same thing as the journalists .


    ¡°They can¡¯t come through the gate , that has to be kept a secret as long as possible¡± answered Alex .


    But I have a ship that can bring them here and back .


    It¡¯s your responsibility , though , to keep them in check !


    Arrange a location that is secure an message me when they have to be picked up along with the correct location and names .


    I¡¯ll ask for some volunteers to travel with them and do a head count .


    Don¡¯t go overboard with how many you invite !


    ¡°Thank you , Alex .


    We have a few among our family members who were in security , so I¡¯ll be sending them along to make sure there are no weapons smuggled¡± said John .


    And speaking about family members brings us to the third reason I asked to talk to you .


    First of all , we are all grateful for what you have gifted us .


    I mean I even didn¡¯t recognize my mom and dad at first.


    They look and act like 25 years old who just got wed , and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if I got a brother or sister while technically they are seniors .


    We all look like 25 year olds .


    I mean even our chronic backpains and diseases are cured .


    Which brings me to the point of several people who had to undergo the behaviour adjustments .


    There are people who suddenly got emotions for the first time in their life and have to get used to them .


    There are people crying and feeling guilty about what they have done during their life and want to make amends .


    ¡°They can¡¯t leave the colony!¡± interjected Alex .


    ¡°Their guilt is eating them up , Alex¡± said John .


    We have to do something for them .


    It¡¯s not like they committed murder , but there are some serious things among them .


    ¡°Let them write up all the names of the victims or locate them and give them monetary compensations based on recent court decisions of similar cases¡± said Alex .


    Send the names and compensations to me , and I¡¯ll handle the delivery .


    If they can¡¯t pay , I¡¯ll do so , but they have to pay me back .


    I¡¯ll also be cross referencing the compensations and adjust them if I deem it necessary , so be honest .


    ¡°Thank you , Alex .


    I feel pity for the victims , but seeing them in this state , they looked broken , Alex¡± answered John .


    ¡°I¡¯ll be giving the victims to choose between credits , their local currency , or a mix of both¡± said Alex .


    With the upcoming of the Nexus , they may be able to build up a new life or pay of debts they have in real life .


    ¡°At least they¡¯ll have a shot at a new life¡± responded John .


    Thank you for doing this , Alex . I¡¯ll tell the rest .


    They had a few more drinks and talked about how everyone was enjoying their newfound youth until they decided to leave for their homes .


    Alex gave Da¡¯grass instructions on how to handle the compensation matter while walking home .


    Da¡¯grass assured him that he understood and would handle it with care , leaving no traces back .


    The victims would receive fair compensation , and Alex returned home content and happy to see Helena .

 038

    The next few days , Alex looked for volunteers to keep an eye on the journalists when they would get picked up .


    They also had to keep an eye on them while at the colony , so Alex sent them to John to get a crash course in security from the people responsible for it.


    They wouldn¡¯t be a match for a trained professional , but they could guard the doors and stay close to the journalists while providing answers to their questions .


    The gate had to be covered up , and Alex was also considering a ban on filming the residents of the colony .


    He also received a list of names and compensations that had to be distributed.


    There were also a few requests to locate people with descriptions and clues on how to possible find them .


    Alex put Da¡¯grass to work in locating these people and after some time , he found them .


    Messages where sent to all the victims with an explanation and choice of compensation in credits , local currency or a mix of both .


    There were many relieved people , but also those who got angry or burst into tears .


    Da¡¯grass did his best to ease their grieve during the short time he was in contact with them and offered them to deliver letters to the perpetrators .


    Alex wasn¡¯t so na?ve to believe that everything was resolved , and he knew there were probably those who wanted to see the perpetrators on trial .


    That¡¯s why he had Da¡¯grass explain to them the behavior problems the perpetrators had and that they were treated with alien technology , ensuring they wouldn¡¯t cause any more problems .


    Alex felt sorry for them but couldn¡¯t let the perpetrators go without endangering their colony and faction .


    At the last moment , Alex decided to gift them a VR pod and bracelet on top of the compensations received .


    He let Da¡¯grass place the orders while informing the victims of the possibilities of the Nexus and that companies would pay premium for their credits if they chose to sell them .


    The choice was theirs to make .


    Somewhat relieved that this matter was over , Alex discussed with Da¡¯grass when the next treatment of people would take place .


    They were arriving constantly according to the schedule made by Da¡¯grass , and the portal was open daily .


    When the journalists would arrive on Mars , the schedule would be interrupted , and for the duration of the stay on the colony , the next group of colonists would be sheltered in various hotels on the mainland .


    Alex decided that the next treatment would happen after the journalists left and the colonists staying in the hotels had arrived in the colony .


    Shortly after making this decision , he received a message from John asking how soon the spacecraft could reach earth .


    Da¡¯grass answered that with conventional propulsion , it would take a couple of days , but that if they used their advanced drive with safety margins , it would only take a few hours .


    Thinking about the miners and cargo ships responsible for the construction in Mars¡¯ orbit Alex told John that it would take a few hours .


    If he wanted the construction completed within 20 years he couldn¡¯t hide the ship¡¯s velocity .


    The next question John asked was when he could send the ship at the earliest .


    The answer was the day after tomorrow , as he had to divert the next groups of colonists .


    After that , Alex received coordinates on Earth along with a timetable that was scheduled for three days later and a list of names belonging to the journalists .


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    ¡°Da¡¯grass , notify the relevant persons and send the list with names and the timetable with the departure time at the docks¡± asked Alex .


    And start diverting the next groups of colonists for a week .


    It¡¯s about time I joined Helena in the Nexus .


    We were about to explore Solara together ; she probably has already started though ¡­


    Alex logged in and went to the nearest gate for access to Solara , where he waited at the New Capital building for Helena to show up after he sent a message that he had arrived .


    The building was more impressive than the one at New Eden , and the roads an buildings that he saw were beautiful , with hanging gardens and a skyline dotted with floating gardens .


    After 20 minutes of immersing himself in the surroundings , Helena showed up .


    ¡°Hi sweetie¡± said Helena while she walked to him with a spring in her step .


    ¡°You went exploring without me , didn¡¯t you?¡± said Alex with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Only for the last 2 days in Nexus time¡± answered Helena with a twinkle in her eyes and a radiant smile .


    ¡°Well if your still up for it , I could use a guide¡± said Alex .


    ¡°Sure , follow me , sweetie¡± said Helena , grabbing his arm .


    ¡°The city is even more beautiful and bigger than New Eden .


    El¡¯Anor and her team went all out on this one¡± she said .


    ¡°Bigger huh ? I already thought the bill was on the heavy side¡± responded Alex .


    ¡°You can¡¯t blame him¡± said Helena , ¡°We practically begged him to do so , and he saw an opportunity¡± .


    Even if you lost all your money and credits , he would still be a friend of yours .


    ¡°Maybe , but I don¡¯t like to find out¡± answered Alex while walking and enjoying the scenery .


    People tend to disappear when your down on your luck .


    ¡°True , but don¡¯t talk like that now , just enjoy the surroundings¡± said Helena .


    There is something I like you to see later on .


    They walked for hours , going through all the districts while Helena explained what he saw .


    John didn¡¯t lie when he said that a little over half of all the buildings where dedicated to scientists and engineers .


    Every subject in science and engineering was covered ; there were even farms to experiment with engineered plants .


    It was a lot to take in , and Alex started to wonder if they even had that many scientists and engineers on earth .


    And to top it off , John , or better said , the government , had to pay them in credits for services rendered .


    Da¡¯grass interjected , saying that they were paid for the knowledge they had while working per hour , and since Earth wasn¡¯t that advanced , the bill wouldn¡¯t be to big while revenue would increase while humanity found its way in the Nexus .


    Somewhat reassured , Alex continued the tour with Helena until they arrived at one of the residential districts .


    They walked to the biggest building and stood right before it when Helena said , ¡°What I want to show you is in this building on the top floor¡± .


    You know we can¡¯t get in , but you can access the layout through your bracelet .


    I want you to see how it looks to you and give me an honest answer .


    Alex asked Da¡¯grass to show him the layout , and what he saw was a spacious penthouse with the rooftop as bonus .


    The penthouse itself had plenty of rooms with enough space , and a big party could be held in the main room if one wanted to do so .


    The rooftop had a pool with garden and looked out over the whole city with a good view of the floating gardens .


    The best part was that everything could be modified to meet the owner¡¯s taste .


    ¡°Well , what do you think ?¡± asked Helena .


    ¡°I find it beautiful with a lot of potential¡± answered Alex , true to his feelings .


    ¡°Great , because I want us to buy it together before anyone else does !¡± said an excited Helena .


    It would be our house , here inside the Nexus .


    We don¡¯t have to sell our houses in New Eden , but I want us to own this one together .


    I checked how much half of it costs and it won¡¯t be a problem for me to buy it .


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want , I¡¯ll be happy to buy it together with you¡± answered Alex sincerely .


    Da¡¯grass , can you make the transaction for a co-owned residence on the top floor of this building .


    ¡°It¡¯s done Alex .


    You and Helena are the proud owners of a penthouse¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    You can enter the building now and decorate and modify it as you see fit .


    When Alex tried to enter the building with Helena , she stopped him and said , ¡°Ill be doing the modifying and decorating of our house , sweetie¡±


    ¡°Come back later when I send a message its done¡± and she left him standing .


    After that , Alex wandered the streets of Solara for hours , waiting for Helena to send a message while Da¡¯grass gave a more in depth explanation of everything he saw in the city .


    Alex was convinced that the scientists and engineers would love it here , and he was glad that he and Helena were responsible for making it happen .


    Finally , Da¡¯grass informed him that Helena had sent a message indicating that he could return to their home .


    He used the insta transport and startled Helena , who was standing in the room next to him .


    ¡°Maybe we need some rules about the insta transport¡± muttered Helena .


    Well what do you think , Alex ?


    Alex observed the room and went to see the other rooms , after which he told Helena , ¡°It¡¯s modern yet warm and homey¡±.


    Helena hugged him and said , ¡°aren¡¯t you glad you let me do the decoration¡± and gave him a kiss .


    I also thought about our little gatherings .


    Wait until you see the roof top .


    There was a bar and lounge next to the pool with a table big enough to accommodate everyone in their group , plus some more .


    ¡°In case we invite some people over , I didn¡¯t want to mess with the garden to much¡± explained Helena .


    ¡°You did a great job , Helena . I like it very much¡± said Alex .


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve seen the master bedroom yet¡± she said , taking his hand and leading him back indoors .

 039

    Three days passed , and everything concerning the gate had been handled , including shipments that had to be transported to the colony .


    The gate was concealed as a closed off construction site and would only be activated as a last resort .


    For the coming week , Sam would handle everything on the island , and Cynthia would keep him company if her schedule allowed it .


    Sarah was busy organizing all of their businesses on Earth in the Nexus but would stay in the colony for the time being .


    Alex and Helena wanted to observe the journalists from a distance , but their main reason for staying in the colony was to assist John if needed .


    Every journalist that visited the colony would be accompanied by a volunteer who had received a crash course in security and had been briefed on what information needed to be concealed .


    There were over a hundred journalists who would visit , so Alex knew that information would inevitably leak .


    The only question was how much and what kind of information.


    Everyone in the colony was instructed to keep conversations to a minimum and let the volunteers handle the journalist¡¯ questions .


    Nevertheless , the colonists also had a list of topics that needed to be avoided .


    Since the spaceship had already departed for earth , Alex and Helena went through the gate as the last people who needed to be in the colony .


    They decided to wait in their apartment until they received the message that the journalists had arrived .


    Several hours passed while they talked to each other until Da¡¯grass told them that the ship was nearing Mars and would pass the construction site in orbit .


    Since there were no windows , Alex gave permission for the journalists to go onto the bridge to view the construction site .


    While Da¡¯grass showed them footage of what was happening on the bridge , Helena had the time of her life watching the journalists react at the fact that there were no pilots .


    But soon the journalists¡¯ attention was focused on the construction site and they were filming and taking photo¡¯s as if their lives depended on it .


    They let the space ship circle the construction site a few times before deciding it was enough and let the ship land .


    Alex and Helena walked to the dock , curious how the journalists would react when entering the city .


    They weren¡¯t disappointed .


    While exiting the ship , the journalists were already filming and taking photo¡¯s .


    This continued as they entered the city and were led to their apartments , where they would sleep and work while in the colony.


    There would always be someone at their door or by their side until they left , but they were free to go where they wanted , just under supervision .


    While the journalists were depositing their luggage , John was preparing for the welcome speech and interview with drinks before letting the journalists to their own devices .


    It would take about 2 hours before they would start their investigations of the colony unless they decided to grill John .


    Alex and Helena decided to eat something  while waiting for the journalists .


    They picked a restaurant that had a clear view of the reception hall .


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling a bit like a spy¡± said Helena while laughing .


    ¡°Then you would be one of the prettiest spies that exist¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°Sweet talker¡± replied Helena and she slapped him on the arm .


    They ate leisurely and waited , talking about small stuff until they saw the first journalist exit the building .


    ¡°It won¡¯t be long before the rest of them come out¡± said Helena .


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    ¡°Do you want to follow one of them or walk through the colony and observe while crossing paths with one of them¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Walking across the colony with plenty of stops at bars¡± replied Helena .


    Following one of them is asking to be found out , and they already have someone watching them .


    I¡¯m just curious what they think of this place .


    ¡°Yeah , I¡¯m a bit curious too¡± answered Alex .


    So for the next few days , Alex and Helena did nothing but walking through the city and drink at bars while receiving updates from Da¡¯grass .


    The journalists explored the whole city , from ordinary shop to production facility and the ship yard .


    All of their questions were answered by the security personnel accompanying them , and they started to enjoy the bars and restaurants as if they were on earth .


    Sometimes a journalist tried to ditch the one accompanying them , but they were almost immediately found by the colony¡¯s AI .


    Most of the journalists didn¡¯t mind , but when they asked questions they didn¡¯t get answers to , they tried harder and formulated their questions in a way to make someone slip up .


    Colonists had to endure questioning too , and a slip up wasn¡¯t far off in those circumstances .


    On the fourth day everything had settled in a routine , and the journalists seemed to be only enjoying themselves .


    While Sarah , Helena , and Alex were talking to each other at a bar about what was happening and their companies , they suddenly got approached by a journalist and his security companion .


    ¡°Sarah Peeters , I never forget a face , but you seem a lot younger.


    To meet you here on Mars of all places , that should be an interesting story !¡±


    ¡°Excuse me , who are you?¡± asked Sarah .


    ¡°Max , Max Mertens , from the magazine science and technology .


    I interviewed you when you opened a VR factory , the first in our country .


    But sorry when I say that you looked older than you do now .¡±


    ¡°And how do you know if I am this Sarah and not someone else who looks the same? ¡± asked Sarah .


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to weasel your way out of this , Sarah¡± said Max .


    I never forget a face , and yours would be especially hard to forget after you rejected me when I asked you if you would be interested in a meal with me .


    Helena and Alex started to sweat ; this was bad .


    Sarah sighed .¡± I would appreciate if you didn¡¯t mention this in your magazine , Max¡± pleaded Sarah .


    ¡°I don¡¯t know , Sarah , this seems to be a big story , and I am a journalist¡± said Max .


    You on Mars and younger than before , that seems like the biggest scoop I can get since no one wants to disclose how they got here .


    It also explains why everyone seems to be only 25 years old around here .


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mention this , I¡¯ll make it worth your time¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°You mean money ?¡± said Max .


    I¡¯m not interested in that , Sarah .


    ¡°I can make it so that you can visit Jupiter and Saturn , where three bases are being build¡± interjected Alex .


    ¡°That sounds more interesting , but it won¡¯t do


    Who are you anyway ?¡± asked Max .


    ¡°He is the boyfriend of my daughter , Max¡± said Sarah.


    ¡°Looks to me he¡¯s got a lot to say in this place if he can promise me that¡± replied Max .


    ¡°Shit¡± thought Alex , ¡°I¡¯ve should have kept quit¡±.


    ¡°We are a small community , everyone can ask for favors¡± interjected Helena .


    ¡°That proposition is a good start , but I need something more , something that rivals my findings here¡± said Max .


    Look I¡¯m not a bad guy but I¡¯m a journalist and frankly , this is the biggest job I ever had .


    Chances are I¡¯ll never get anything as good as this again , so I can¡¯t let this opportunity go .


    ¡°What if you could get your own magazine in the Nexus and a prime location ?


    You wouldn¡¯t need to look for articles and could let others do the work¡± asked Helena .


    ¡°Shit¡± thought Alex .


    ¡°Helena , look out with what you say¡± pleaded Alex with his eyes.


    ¡°Sure you guy¡¯s aren¡¯t some big shots around here ?¡± asked Max .


    ¡°I¡¯m the daughter of a rich mother who¡¯s got enterprises in the Nexus and on Earth¡± said Helena .


    Do you think we can¡¯t afford it ?


    ¡°It¡¯s tempting .


    I¡¯m not getting any younger , and it would be fun to have my own magazine , but like I said , I¡¯m not doing this for the money¡± said Max .


    ¡°I¡¯ll have dinner with you , and we can discuss what might interest you¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°A dinner and a drink afterwards at a bar of your choosing¡± answered Max .


    ¡°Fine , tomorrow evening we¡¯ll have dinner and a drink¡± replied Sarah .


    Max smiled and said , ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to that¡± and he left after exchanging contact information .


    ¡°Don¡¯t you find it strange he went easy on us the moment you agreed to a dinner and a drink?¡± asked Helena to her mother .


    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice .


    When I started the company and had the interview , he did try a couple of times to get a date with me .


    He even sent me flowers and chocolates like in the movies¡± answered Sarah .


    I thought it was because I had money or that he wanted an inside scoop .


    ¡°That bastard , he made us sweat just because he wanted a date with you .


    That¡¯s why he emphasized the fact that he didn¡¯t do it for the money¡± exclaimed Alex .


    ¡°Oh my¡± chuckled Helena , ¡°looks like mother got an admirer who isn¡¯t persuaded by money or power¡± .


    ¡°That¡¯s not a laughing matter , Helena¡± said Sarah .


    He¡¯s got sensitive information that could lead to major consequences back on Earth .


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to agree with you mother , Helena¡± said Alex .


    He¡¯s got us by the balls and he knows it .


    ¡°Well , there¡¯s nothing we can do about it .


    Just go out with him and let us know what he wants afterwards¡± answered Helena .


    ¡°Well , the fact that he blackmailed me to go on a date with him gets him some negative points in my book¡± replied Sarah .


    ¡°He¡¯s got some negative points in my book too¡± concurred Alex .


    ¡°I kinda feel like he went the extra mile to go on a date with my mother , who persisted in turning him down¡± said Helena .


    Before I give my final judgement on the guy , I want to see what kind of guy he is.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s romantic for blackmailing someone to go on a date with you¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°He did try with flowers and chocolates first , and he didn¡¯t stalk me¡± said Sarah.


    They decided to wait with countermeasures until after Sarah sent them his conditions and went their separate ways to their apartments , each with their own worries .

 040

    The next day , Alex and Helena didn¡¯t feel like observing the journalists , considering what had happened the previous day .


    Alex was worrying and imagining the worst case scenarios , while Helena tried to downplay the whole situation and put his mind at ease .


    It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t understand the gravity of the situation or imagine a romantic play involving her mother and Max , but she was certain the whole situation would resolve itself even if Max wrote the article .


    However , she couldn¡¯t deny the fact that she was worrying too .


    Around 17:30 , they got a message from Sarah that she was going to the restaurant and that she would send a message the moment the date had ended.


    ¡°Do you think she knows she wrote date instead of negotiations¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry , my mom will handle the whole situation professionally¡± answered Helena .


    Alex and Helena watched some movies to distract themselves , which was possible because the colony was connected to the nexus in the entertainment department .


    But the hours crept by nonetheless .


    It wasn¡¯t until 00:30 that they got a message from Sarah stating that she was on her way to their apartment , but that they didn¡¯t have to worry and that the situation was resolved .


    When Sarah arrived and Alex opened the door , they saw that she was carrying a box of chocolates .


    They didn¡¯t mention the chocolates , but Alex and Helena briefly looked at each other while Helena stifled a smile .


    ¡°How did it go?¡± asked Alex as they walked to the living room .


    ¡°Turns out he really did only want a date with me¡± replied Sarah .


    The moment I showed up , he gave me a box of chocolates and said he was sorry he couldn¡¯t find any flowers .


    He bought a suit in the colony just for our date .


    While we were having dinner , he excused himself on different occasions for the fact that he literally blackmailed me into going on a date with him .


    He never imagined he would encounter me here and saw a chance while he had practically given up on any romantic relations with me .


    Don¡¯t get me wrong , I¡¯m still irked by what he did , but he made me promise to at least give him a chance while he¡¯s here .


    Max promised me that he wouldn¡¯t use the information he has on us in his article , even if I decided that things wouldn¡¯t work out between us .


    But I¡¯m a little concerned what will happen if he isn¡¯t supervised by us , so I¡¯m thinking about giving him a magazine to run anyway , but in the name of our company .


    He was very thoughtful during dinner , even when I gave him an earful on his behavior .


    When we were at the bar , he surprised me by taking my hand and asking for a dance .


    I haven¡¯t danced since your father started having affairs with other women.


    Again , he apologized and asked me if I could find it in my heart to forgive him.


    But like I said , I¡¯m still a little bit mad about the way he forced me to go on a date with him .


    He was worried that we would retract the offer of visiting Saturn and Jupiter since the construction of those three bases would be a big scoop for his magazine and the other journalists .


    Nevertheless , he wouldn¡¯t complain about it if we chose not to send them for a view of the construction .


    When I left , he stretched his hand for a handshake , or so I thought , but he kissed it like a gentlemen and asked if I was interested in seeing him again .


    ¡°Looks like you had a wonderful date , mom¡± said Helena .


    ¡°That bastard made me worry just because he wanted a date with you .


    I¡¯m feeling sick¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°Come now , Alex¡± said Helena


    This is the best possible outcome for us and the colony .


    It was just a date he was after .


    ¡°Still , I want to make him sweat like he did with us¡± said Alex .


    How about making an entry in the police database that his car is reported stolen or staging a critical malfunction with the spaceship while they are visiting Saturn and Jupiter?


    ¡°You will do nothing of the sort , Alex , or you¡¯ll be sweating because of me¡± answered Helena .


    ¡°Still , it would be funny¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°Not you too , mom¡± replied Helena .


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    ¡°Very well , I won¡¯t do anything of the sort , but he deserves it¡± said Alex .


    ¡°Thanks , sweetie .


    So we are sending them to watch the bases being built then?¡± Asked Helena .


    ¡°Yeah , I¡¯ll notify John .


    While they are there they can activate the locations in the Nexus¡± answered Alex .


    I¡¯ll let John tell the journalists in the upcoming days and send them to Jupiter and Saturn in three days .


    ¡°Da¡¯grass , send a message to John and prepare the spaceship for an extended stay in space with double rations , just in case something happens¡± said Alex .


    ¡°The message has been sent and preparations are underway , Alex¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°How long would it take to reach their destinations and get back to earth?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°The short distance from Mars to Earth needs larger safety margins with the propulsion so in this case , the ship could go faster since there is a larger distance to cover¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    It can¡¯t travel at maximum speed , but they could be back on earth in a little more than a week considering the planets¡¯ location .


    ¡°They can use the VR sets to entertain themselves while they are traveling .


    What about when they want to sleep or go to the bathroom¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Facilities have already been installed , Alex , and if they want some space to stretch their legs they can go to the cargo hold¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Sent a follow up message to John with all the information he needs¡± said Alex .


    ¡°Well , since everything has been handled , I think I¡¯ll be going to my own apartment¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°Wait , mom!¡± Helena suddenly exclaimed while her mother was going to the door.


    ¡°Yes , what is it?¡± asked Sarah .


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget your chocolates¡± and Helena started laughing .


    As if al the stress had lifted , everyone started to laugh , and Sarah left red eared but with a smile on her face .


    In the coming days , Helena and Alex resumed their activities in the colony , and Sarah was meeting Max every evening after her work was done .


    Until the day came when the ship was set to leave for Jupiter and Saturn .


    John had decided to board the ship as well , as he wanted to be there when Europe , Titan and Enceladus would join the territory in the Nexus .


    Helena , Alex and Sarah watched the journalists board and saw Max , who boarded last , look back one more time before he entered the ship .


    Sarah¡¯s face turned red , but neither Alex nor Helena had seen it , and they resumed their activities after they watched the ship leave .


    The gate was once again in plain sight , and people went back to their daily lives.


    Helena and Alex returned to the island only to see that the next batch of colonists was already being processed to be led to the gate and the colony .


    There were a lot of them since the gate had been closed for a week .


    ¡°Well , sweetie , you know what to do¡± said Helena .


    I¡¯ll be going to the pool for a bit .


    I¡¯ll join you when I¡¯ve had my share of sun and water .


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you at least build in an extra day , Da¡¯grass¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Sorry , Alex , next time I will do so¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    And Alex went back trough the gate , returning to the colony for the upcoming days .


    When the new colonists arrived at the colony , Alex saw different expressions on their faces mostly shock and awe but he figured that most of them would already know of the existence of the colony .


    It¡¯s just that most of them wouldn¡¯t even have thought that they would be a part of it .


    After a day , Helena joined him after having her dose of sun and water and immediately told him that it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to move the gate to one of the petals of the colony and make it a restricted area .


    Her reasoning was that it would make things easier if they had visitors and that they just needed to close off access to that region of the colony .


    She had a very good point according to Da¡¯grass , and Alex also saw the merit in the idea .


    It would considerably lower the chance of exposure of the gate , so he made Da¡¯grass do so while they were still awaiting the awakening of the new batch of colonists .


    It didn¡¯t even take a day to be done , after half a day , the gate was moved and reconnected with Earth while modifications of the petal and access point to the colony were carried out .


    Next time , they just could just seal of the area and leave the visitors to their own devices if they wished .


    The days passed , and one by one , the moons around Jupiter and Saturn were added to the Nexus while the new batch of colonists awakened from their treatment .


    Helena and Alex went sightseeing in the Nexus and enjoyed the scenery of the newly added moons .


    Along with millions of others , they set foot on Europe , Titan and Enceladus and were in awe of the majestic planets in the sky .


    It wasn¡¯t long after that when John sent a message that he was flooded with requests from space agencies and scientists around the world , demanding a spot in the colony and use of its resources .


    Da¡¯grass told Alex that it was to be expected and that it was best to use a distraction and partially agree to their request for future developments .


    Alex couldn¡¯t think of a distraction he could implement until Helena muttered that it was maybe for the best of the colony that they had decided to grant access to the aliens when they were still in charge of Earth in the Nexus .


    ¡°That¡¯s actually not a bad idea if we grant partial access¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    We can select a few races to grant access to Earth in the Nexus , and the people would be busy dealing with them instead of us .


    If I access the database , I can select species that prefer trade and are considered peaceful to minimize the risk for Earth .


    Earth could increase it¡¯s income and development while travel outside your own territory becomes possible .


    But it¡¯s best if we add more moons and planets to the Nexus to show we have no problem reaching them .


    ¡°Won¡¯t that be seen through the moment they access our database or talk to someone here?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°They¡¯ll know we have the capabilities , and I hope that will be enough since they would be peaceful and relatively compatible with humans¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°I bet my brother would be interested to travel to those locations and link them with the Nexus¡± said Helena .


    He can bring Cynthia .


    Since they can access the Nexus , she can continue working , and they get to spend a little bit of time with each other while enjoying the view from the bridge.


    ¡°Okay , make a list and send it to El¡¯Anor .


    Also , send a message to John explaining the why and how of what we discussed and ask him kindly to implement the list of species deemed suitable by you¡± ordered Alex .


    And just to make sure , add the Ethereans to the list .


    If they ever want to visit us , they¡¯ll be welcome .


    ¡°I appreciate it , Alex , but you won¡¯t be able to visit their territory .


    Except for the shop for higher tiers , they rarely interfere with other species¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry , Alex , everything will work out somehow¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°You¡¯re probably worried about losing the control of the colony¡± answered Helena .


    It won¡¯t come to that .


    Worst case scenario , you¡¯ll build another city for them .


    ¡°Thanks , Helena¡± answered Alex , and he squeezed her hand .


    ¡°I¡¯ve got an answer from John¡± interjected Da¡¯grass .


    He says it isn¡¯t a decision he can make alone , so he¡¯ll suggest it to the rest of the government .


    He¡¯ll plead in your favor , but he¡¯s hesitant to do so since he feels Earth is not ready yet , and he questions how you could possible make a selection among so many species .


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to tell him about Da¡¯grass if you want his full support , sweetie¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Fine , if that¡¯s the only solution .


    Da¡¯grass , send him a message that I want to talk to him when he gets back and that I¡¯ll explain everything to him¡± said Alex .


    ¡°Don¡¯t act like that .


    Cynthia knows too¡± responded Helena .


    ¡°But she doesn¡¯t know his origin¡± replied Alex .

 041

    Days passed , and the journalists were back on Earth while John arrived at the colony .


    The moment John arrived , he sent a message to Alex , saying he would see him at their usual spot after visiting his family .


    Alex replied that he would come over as soon as he received a message that John was on his way .


    They didn¡¯t have this conversation in the Nexus because Alex wanted to tell him in person , and they agreed to do it at the bar to keep it casual .


    If there were to many people , they could still decide to move the conversation elsewhere .


    The waiters would only hear snippets of the conversation at best , and Alex just needed to be a little more careful than last time , even if he had fun while telling John .


    After a few hours , John finally sent a message , and Alex went to the bar .


    The bar was almost empty and they moved to a spot where they could talk freely after getting their drinks .


    ¡°Well , tell me , what do you want to explain to me?¡± asked John .


    ¡°Just to clarify , I want you to keep everything what I¡¯m about to tell you a secret¡± said Alex .


    After this , there would be no more significant secrets between us .


    Don¡¯t betray my trust , John !


    Alex then started telling him everything : how is parents had sent a package before their death and the discovery of Da¡¯grass and his capabilities .


    Alex even told him everything he did in the Nexus and why he made some decisions that shaped the current situation of humanity and the Nexus .


    John didn¡¯t interrupt him to ask questions and just said after Alex was done telling the story , ¡°That¡¯s quite the story . thank you for what you have done and I¡¯m sorry for your loss¡± .


    ¡°So you want to shift the attention and , in the meantime , provide benefits for humanity¡± confirmed John .


    ¡°Long story short , yes!¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°Very well¡± told John .


    I would have helped you anyway , but now that I know your reasons , I¡¯ll do anything in my power to make it happen .


    You are right to keep Da¡¯grass a secret , or at least his origin and capabilities .


    I¡¯m grateful you found Da¡¯grass and made use of its capabilities the way you did.


    I¡¯ll summon the rest of the government the moment I get home .


    Don¡¯t worry , I¡¯ll make it happen .


    El¡¯Anor has got the list , right ?


    ¡°The list has been sent .


    There are several dozen species on it which your people shouldn¡¯t have too many problems with¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Nice to finally meet you , Da¡¯grass¡± said John .


    ¡°Likewise , John .


    I¡¯m looking forward to interacting with you¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Alex , supplies have been loaded .


    Sam and Cynthia , plus a few others who wanted to come along , are ready to depart¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°They are already departing ?¡± asked John .


    ¡°They have to visit a little more than 170 locations according to your scientific database¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


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    They are primarily moons , and not every planet can be landed on .


    ¡°Well , I¡¯ll be going then .


    A lot of people to convince¡± said John .


    ¡°John , thank you , and thank you for the new capital city in the Nexus .


    It¡¯s beautiful¡± said Alex .


    ¡°Well , you paid half of it¡± laughed John as he departed .


    Again , days passed , and different locations became available in the Nexus .


    John sent a message that he had convinced the rest of the government and that they were waiting until enough locations had become available .


    They wouldn¡¯t be waiting until Sam returned to the Colony since public opinion had shifted towards the accessibility of the colony .


    Some governments on Earth were instigating the people so that control of the colony would be handed over to them .


    For them , it was a fight for control , but times were changing , and the Nexus was the root of change .


    It wasn¡¯t that there were no problems in the Nexus but they were easier to control , and no physical harm was possible .


    Built in security systems ensured safety while providing an abundance of liberty.


    A couple more days passed , and Helena and Alex visited all the places that were already available .


    Unfortunately , they weren¡¯t the only ones who thought of visiting them .


    Everywhere they went , a mass of people obstructed the view ; the only thing they had a clear view of was the skyline .


    Things would calm down eventually , and Alex and Helena decided to visit again once it did .


    John had given a statement that they were to partially open Earth¡¯s Nexus to the universe and that people were advised to act friendly to the aliens when they visited .


    This caused a ripple throughout Earth , and governments claimed that they needed to establish diplomatic relations themselves , not a rag tag group of individuals who weren¡¯t even appointed through proper elections .


    Alex felt a pang of guilt by this , but Da¡¯grass assured him that most species would only deal with the established government in the Nexus and companies certified by them .


    These species had been doing business like this for a long time and had encountered similar situations during their life in the Nexus.


    Their species even went though the same process at one time , so they had at least history as an example .


    Da¡¯grass also told Alex that with partially opening Earth in the Nexus would completely open shared games with the rest of the universe .


    This meant that if they played similar games they would meet even more species .


    They could still choose an Earth only server , so to speak , but gamers who went for the credits mostly chose the harsher competition for the trade opportunities in credits in those games .


    Since they were only just opening to the universe , all the gamers would get a one-time chance to transfer their account to the universe server when logging in .


    If they didn¡¯t , they would have to start over again from scratch if they wanted to switch later .


    Sadly , things like houses or shops in the game couldn¡¯t be taken with them but fair compensation was provided .


    While Da¡¯grass was explaining this to Alex , Helena¡¯s eyes twinkled , and she told Alex that she would be in game until John opened up Earth¡¯s Nexus .


    Not knowing what she was up to , Alex let it slide .


    A few days passed , and while visiting  Helena , Alex noticed that she had spent a considerably sum to buy as much property in the game as possible in the name of their guild , and that they were officially nobles in game .


    ¡°No sane person would spent so much credits for a title in game¡± thought Alex .


    He gave her a kiss before logging out .


    The next day , John opened up Earth , and Helena prompted Alex to log in and change ¡°servers¡±.


    When he did , their nobles title were kept , and a huge sum of credits was in their guild coffers .


    ¡°The property value changes on supply and demand¡± explained Helena .


    ¡°I figured there would be more demand than supply on the universe server , affecting the invested credits¡± she smiled .


    ¡°The noble titles are limited in quantity too¡± and she gave Alex a quick hug .


    While they were watching all the different species in game , Alex said to her , ¡°you do know we don¡¯t need the credits , right ?¡±


    I¡¯m not denying them to anyone or stealing .


    I just wanted to have a little fun , Marquess Timmermans .


    Alex sighed , ¡°Did you tell Sam at least?¡±


    ¡°To log in the universe server ? Yes , I did¡± said Helena , smiling .


    Now shoo , let me build our Empire !


    ¡°It¡¯s just a game , Helena .


    Don¡¯t overdo it and don¡¯t spend to much credits on it¡± said Alex as he logged out .


    Entering the Nexus , Alex didn¡¯t notice anything different ; no other species were visiting yet .


    Da¡¯grass told him that news probably hadn¡¯t spread yet .


    The other species¡¯ governments would receive the news first , and the option to travel to earth would become available at their gates .


    Once their governments processed the news , they would open up their side , and travel between each other territories would become available .


    Just when he was about to log out , he noticed a dwarf like person exiting a gate , wearing formal clothes and heading to the Capital building .


    ¡°Well , now we¡¯ve got everything¡± murmured Alex .


    Elves , Beastkin , and dwarves .


    Is there anything I should know , Da¡¯grass ?


    ¡°I picked species that your race would be most favorable to , and the universe is vast with all kinds of possible lifeforms¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    Some even look alike with minimal differences , but I have to inform you that no such thing as magic exists .


    The Ethereans never came across it .


    ¡°Won¡¯t some of our games be insulting to them?¡± asked Alex , worried .


    ¡°Most species build up a tolerance to it .


    It happens more often than you think¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    You¡¯ll come across a game with humans as villains or monsters sooner or later .


    ¡°Great ¡­ now we have to hope that humans don¡¯t take offense¡± answered Alex , feeling defeated , and logged out .

 042

    <u>Further developments</u>


    <u> </u>


    The next few days passed , and humanity was occupied with first contact diplomacy .


    A few dozen different species sought contact with the government of Earth¡¯s Nexus , and John was buried in work .


    Governments around the world tried to initiate first contact with the aliens as well , but the aliens made it clear they would only talk to the government of Earth¡¯s Nexus.


    Needless to say , it was frustrating for most of the officials on Earth .


    Helena and Sam were busy negotiating trade deals for their businesses , while Sam had to switch between real life and the Nexus for integration of the many moons in the solar system .


    There was a boom of new businesses in the Nexus with the appearance of different species , and there was a trade of credits with local currency on Earth .


    In the last few days , Alex had been busy reviewing business proposals from new colonists who were informed by the older residents that Alex offered investments for a thirty percent stake in their endeavors .


    Everyone was busy , and credits exchanged hands with each new proposal made.


    Helena and Sam were the first ones done with their negotiations , maxing out their production of goods .


    The farms and brewery were now operating at full capacity , and their managers would oversee everything .


    Sarah was still busy browsing the many technological advancements of the different species , looking for something that their factories might produce at a price listed cheaper than the mall would sell it for .


    Helena joined Alex for a few hours while he was assessing the proposals until she decided that he was doing fine and returned in game to further develop their little empire .


    At a certain point , Da¡¯grass informed him that the last shipment had been transferred to the colony and that the warehouses were filled .


    Da¡¯grass also informed him that if there were still changes he wished to make , it would be prudent to do so sooner rather than later since he was expecting that there would be visitors in the future.


    At this , Alex sent a message to his friends asking if there was anything they wanted to see changed in the colony or if they had any ideas that might improve it .


    Sarah wanted that the colony to produce flowers and plants for decoration .


    Helena missed the accessibility of seafood in the colony , and Sam questioned if there were enough warehouses .


    John answered that it was his colony and that he was fine with how he managed it , but he asked if Alex thought that security was good enough or if it could be improved .


    Jack and Mary told him that everything was good as it was , but that the hospital was empty unless they were doing treatments .


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Alex thought for a bit and asked Da¡¯grass , ¡°is there still enough room to make all of this happen ?¡±


    ¡°Not unless if some have to share the same petal of the colony¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°And if we build the extra warehouses on the location of the portal?¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°Then there would be room for the plants and seafood but not for the security .


    I suggest you convert a building for security personnel and cells¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    You already enlisted colonists for this function , but there are no more petals available for a base of operations if you want seafood and plants for decoration.


    ¡°Make it so . We can still change the layout or build to meet our needs¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°You¡¯re self sufficient as a colony with a surplus since your city isn¡¯t fully inhabited , but a few more cities with different specializations for trade wouldn¡¯t hurt¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it¡± grumbled Alex .


    Send a message to Jack and Mary to keep at least minimum occupation of the hospital if there are no treatments , but to maintain a good communication  with the rest of the personnel in case anything should happen .


    Produce uniforms for the security personnel and enlist them according to capabilities and experience .


    Let them rotate in shifts , but just like the medical personnel , they need to maintain a good communication if they are off duty in case something happens.


    I don¡¯t expect any problems , but better to be safe than sorry .


    ¡°I¡¯ll work something out¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    I¡¯ll also equip them with nonlethal weaponry .


    ¡°Thanks , Da¡¯grass . Send a message to everyone with the changes to whom it may concern¡± replied Alex .


    After this , Alex continued to review the applications , and construction started in the colony to make the changes .


    After he was finally done , he went to visit Helena , who had bought a territory in the game with several shops and enterprises in their name .


    She assured him that it would be a good investment and that he should trust her .


    Alex told her it was just a game and that they had real businesses to spend their time on .


    She replied that the businesses in game were mostly automated thanks to the NPC¡¯s and that it wouldn¡¯t be stressful to handle it .


    Alex saw her smiling while she was explaining it to him and decided to just give it up .


    He knew her well enough and wasn¡¯t in a mood to start a discussion with her .


    They made plans to start visiting the other species¡¯ Nexus in a few days and gave each other a kiss .


    When he logged out of the game , he got a message from Sarah stating that she wanted to buy more factories on Earth for production of more alien technology.


    She told him that she wanted to expand the business while there was still room to do so and that other companies were probably thinking the same thing .


    She needed credits for the technology and currency for the factories .


    She would handle the rest , and the existing factories would be upgraded .


    Alex asked her if she wouldn¡¯t be swamped with work if she did that , but she assured him that her employees and she would have everything done without to much effort .


    They had 5 times more time in the Nexus , and some technologies were too good to pass on , she claimed .


    Alex said he would give her the funds to do so but asked her not to overwork herself or her employees .


    Da¡¯grass would follow her up and provide the necessary funds the moment she asked for them .


    Alex decided to spend some time at the pool and logged off , heading outside .


    After a few hours , Helena joined him and found him asleep in the shade of a large parasol at the poolside.


    She looked at him , smiled, and jumped in the pool .


    Alex slept right through it .


    When he awoke , Helena was lying beside him , and the sun had shifted to provide her with shade from the parasol .


    He wasn¡¯t sunburned , probably thanks to the nanites in his body .


    ¡°Hey , sleepyhead¡± said Helena .


    Since you are already standing , do you mind getting something to drink for me?


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a better idea¡± replied Alex and he princess carried Helena to the bedroom .


    After an intense battle between the sheets that lasted longer than anticipated , they both lay content next to each other on the bed .


    ¡°You still owe me a drink¡± giggled Helena .


    An orange juice is good .


    ¡°Fine , I¡¯ll be right back¡± answered Alex , giving her a quick kiss .


    After Alex returned with some drinks , they talked for a while before resuming their activities .


    This time , it was Helena who started round two .


    Alex would remember this evening for quite a while .

 043

    The next days were spent visiting the various different species¡¯ nexuses.


    They visited the home worlds of aliens that looked like Dwarves , Grey¡¯s , a larger version of Grey¡¯s and gnomes .


    Since they took their time visiting these worlds , they couldn¡¯t visit them all in one go but were in awe of what they saw .


    Each nexus they visited had there own different style and skyline .


    They marveled at the sight of the animals and enjoyed the local cuisine and drinks .


    Alex gathered recipes and seeds for Sam¡¯s brewery while Helena did the same for her restaurants and farms .


    The species that looked like Dwarves were born engineers and industrious , and they saw the weirdest creations while walking through their cities .


    When they visited the species that looked like Grey¡¯s , they were surrounded by a bunch of them who wanted to know everything about their species and asked the most curious questions , from the food they ate to their mating rituals.


    When one of them took out a contraption that looked too much like a probe according to Alex , they left in a hurry to the next species¡¯ Nexus world .


    The larger grey¡¯s they visited seemed quit and observant , Alex and Helena noticed that they seemed to be immersed in various research or reading since all of them seemed to be carrying some kind of holographic pads , which they interacted with when they were standing still or sitting at a bar or restaurant .


    Their skyline was fascinating , to say the least .


    Even during the day , a planet similar to Saturnus was visible , and at night the skyline looked to be immersed in a sea of stars .


    When they visited the species that looked like gnomes , Helena could barely hold her laughter and murmured , ¡°Gnomes rule¡±.


    They looked adorable according to Helena , and they seemed very outgoing .


    Like the dwarves , they busied themselves with all kinds of engineering , and the weirdest things could be seen even on the streets .


    In this way , 9 days passed in real time while they were visiting the different species¡¯ home worlds and moons in the Nexus .


    They even visited colonized star systems , which made Alex think about the future .


    When they were about to visit the next species on the list , Da¡¯grass said something that shocked both of them to the core .


    ¡°Let me be the first to congratulate the soon to be parents .


    According to my readings Miss Helena has been successfully impregnated¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°What did you say , Da¡¯grass ?¡± replied Alex , shocked .


    ¡°Are you sure ?¡± asked Helena .


    ¡°I said congratulations on a successful pregnancy,  and yes , I¡¯m sure .


    According to my readings , the eggs have successfully embedded themselves in the womb of Miss Helena¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    You¡¯re going to be father and mother of two children , according to my readings.


    Alex couldn¡¯t even mutter a word ; dumbfounded , he looked at Helena who was as shocked as him .


    Helena logged of without saying a word and returned to the real world .


    Alex followed and logged out as well .


    They exited the pods and went to the living room , placing themselves on the couches .


    ¡°It must have been that day at the pool¡± said Helena quietly .


    ¡°What do you want to do ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°What do you mean with what I want to do?¡± said Helena .


    If there is someone to blame , it¡¯s you¡­


    ¡°If the children are unwanted , I can terminate the pregnancy¡± interrupted Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Thanks for the suggestion , Da¡¯grass , but I need to think¡± answered Helena and she left .


    Alex , caught by surprise , was too late to stop Helena from leaving , and his legs refused to comply .


    When his legs once again responded to his commands , Helena was nowhere to be found .


    Helena sent a message asking to be left alone for a bit to think .


    She would come back once she made up her mind , she stated in the message .


    Like this , Alex , left alone in the house , started thinking about the situation himself .


    Hours passed , and the day was coming to an end .


    He still hadn¡¯t heard anything from Helena .


    Worried , he sent a message to Helena asking when she would be back .


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back when I¡¯m done .


    I¡¯m with my mother¡± she replied .


    Somewhat relieved he answered, ¡°okay , just to let you know , I¡¯ll support you with whatever decision you make¡± .


    She didn¡¯t reply , and just like that , evening turned into night and night into day.


    Alex , who was unable to sleep , awaited the moment that Helena would return.


    ¡°Alex , the ship with Sam is turning back .


    Every moon and planet that could be integrated into the Nexus has been¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Ok , thank you for letting me know , Da¡¯grass¡± replied Alex .


    Now I just need to hope that Sam doesn¡¯t break my nose when he hears the news¡­


    At that moment , Alex heard the door opening and he rushed to the door .


    ¡°Sorry I let you wait for this long .


    I fell asleep at my mother¡¯s place¡± said Helena.


    She said she didn¡¯t let you know because she wanted you to stew for a bit .


    Alex gulped .


    I¡¯ve thought and talked with my mother about it and decided to keep them .


    If you don¡¯t , I won¡¯t be blame you but I¡¯ve decided to be a mother for..


    ¡°Before you finish , let me assure you that I will be there for you and the children¡± interrupted Alex .


    I might not have expected this and was caught by surprise .


    I even let you carry this burden alone .


    For this , you have my sincere apologies .


    I love you and I don¡¯t want to lose you.


    These children might not have been in my plans for the foreseeable future , but I¡¯ll love them at least as much as I love you .


    I¡¯ll be as good as a father as I possible can .


    This is my promise to you .


    At this , Helena started to smile and looked radiant in Alex¡¯s eyes .


    ¡°I was hoping you would say something like that¡± answered Helena .


    My mother told me she would help us raise them , but since we don¡¯t lack funds and have our own things to do , she mentioned that it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to hire someone when the time comes for caring for them when we can¡¯t .


    I don¡¯t know anything about caring for children , so I¡¯m happy you¡¯ll be there to share the responsibilities .


    Don¡¯t get me wrong , I¡¯ll be the best mother possible , but I¡¯m scared to do it wrong .


    ¡°I understand well enough¡± answered Alex .


    I¡¯ve never been as scared and happy at the same time as now .


    ¡°We are going to be parents¡± stated Alex while he looked Helena in the eyes .


    ¡°And we¡¯ll do it together¡± said Helena and she kissed him .


    My mother wants to see you , and she¡¯s happy to become a grandmother .


    ¡°She joked about it long enough¡± answered Alex and he started to laugh , feeling the built up stress fall away .


    ¡°That she did¡± laughed Helena .


    The next in line is my brother .


    ¡°Speaking of your brother , his ship is returning¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°When will he back ?¡± asked Helena .


    ¡°He¡¯ll be back in two days¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°And let me congratulate you again on your pregnancy now that you¡¯ve decided to keep them¡± .


    ¡°Thank you , Da¡¯grass !¡± replied Helena .


    ¡°Yeah , thanks!¡± answered Alex .


    Maybe we can organize a get together when your brother is back , and we can announce it to everybody we consider friends in our newly bought penthouse .


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea , but first I¡¯ve got an important question for Da¡¯grass¡± stated Helena .


    ¡°What might your question be?¡± asked Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Can I still drink alcoholic beverages while in the nexus ?¡± asked Helena .

 044

    Two days passed , and it was the day that Sam would return .


    In the meantime , Alex and Helena had discussed intensively what preparations they would implement , and Alex had met with an emotional Sarah who couldn¡¯t believe that she was going to become a grandmother .


    Sarah tried once again to convince Alex to marry Helena , but Helena shut her down by saying that she was already having her grandchildren , at which Alex smiled and grabbed her in a hug .


    They hadn¡¯t told Sam yet and wanted to surprise him with the rest of their friends who were already invited to their penthouse in Solara .


    While they were awaiting the ship to land , Helena reminded Sarah and Alex to keep quiet until she told everyone at the party that evening .


    Sarah looked deadpanned at Helena and said , ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can , I¡¯m just too happy¡±.


    ¡°Just try your best¡± answered Helena , and she sighed .


    Alex had no choice but to laugh at their antics while he was reminiscing about the thought of him becoming a father .


    His only wish was that his parents had could witness this moment just like Sarah did , and a single tear found his way down his check .


    He was sure that they would be happy that Helena would be the mother .


    ¡°The ship is landing¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Everyone remember what I told , not a word!¡±


    ¡°What is it , sweetie ?


    Why are you crying?¡± asked Helena noticing the tear .


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡± answered Alex . ¡°I¡¯m just happy¡±.


    ¡°Okay , but don¡¯t let Sam suspect anything .


    I want him to be surprised with the rest of our friends¡± answered Helena .


    Sarah just looked at Alex as if she knew what he was thinking .


    The ship landed , and Sam and Cynthia walked out with the rest who had accompanied them on their voyage .


    ¡°Hey guy¡¯s , you shouldn¡¯t have bothered meeting us here¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Nonsense , my brother comes back from a trip through our solar system and nobody would await him ?


    That would be a shame¡± replied Helena .


    Tell us everything , how was your trip ?


    ¡°Yeah , is there anything special that happened?¡± asked a smiling Sarah .


    Cynthia got red eared , but nobody seemed to notice .


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything , but I have to say that if you visit it through the Nexus , you would see the same thing we did¡± answered Sam .


    It was a thrill traveling with a certified spaceship , though it was boring with no windows if we hadn¡¯t had the VR equipment onboard .


    We had to use the bridge of the ship to peer outside , so it was the main attraction of the ship if we weren¡¯t using the VR equipment .


    ¡°Well , if it wasn¡¯t for all of those people visiting the planets and moons , we could have seen how it looks like¡± said Alex while they were walking out of the docks .


    ¡°Yeah , we noticed when we entered the Nexus for some sightseeing¡± said Cynthia.


    ¡°Did you already visit some other species¡¯ home worlds in the Nexus?¡± asked Alex .


    No , we want to do so after Cynthia has finished her project .


    She was busy even while we were traveling with a real spaceship .


    ¡°We spent enough time together even if we were on a real spaceship , or do I have to remind you later?¡± rebutted Cynthia .


    Sam got red eared and answered meekly , ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind being reminded later¡± at which Cynthia got red faced and looked at the ground while she hit Sam on the shoulder .


    ¡°I think my brother has grown up¡± laughed Helena .


    ¡°Yeah , I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if I became a grandmother real soon¡± answered Sarah .


    At this , Alex snorted while trying to hold his laughter and Helena got red eared.


    ¡°Mom ! It¡¯s none of your business , and we are all grown-ups here .


    Besides , we aren¡¯t a couple long enough to be thinking about kids¡± replied Sam.


    Cynthia just looked like she transformed into a tomato and kept quiet .


    Now if you¡¯ll excuse us , Cynthia and I need some time to discuss something , so we¡¯ll be leaving for our apartment .


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    We¡¯ll be seeing you this evening .


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to discuss safely¡± answered Alex while they were departing which got a chuckle from both Helena and Sarah .


    After Sam and Cynthia were far enough , Sarah looked at Alex and said , ¡°I¡¯m kinda happy that you and Helena didn¡¯t discuss safely¡± laughed , and walked away .


    Hours passed , and evening approached .


    Helena and Alex were setting up everything in their penthouse .


    There was enough food and drinks to serve a starving platoon for two days , and soothing music was playing in the background .


    Sarah was the first to arrive , followed by John and El¡¯Anor .


    A few minutes later , Cathy arrived .


    They were greeted by a happy Alex and Helena , who served drinks and made small talk while awaiting the rest .


    Jack and Mary were next to arrive , followed closely by Sam and Cynthia.


    Everyone had arrived , and Helena took Alex¡¯s hand while watching their friends and family .


    They mingled and talked with their friends , sharing some laughs and talking about business and everything that came up , but they kept it short , telling them they had the whole evening for talking .


    After about an hour of mingling , Helena and Alex rounded everyone up to tell them the good news .


    ¡°Dear family and friends¡± , started Alex , ¡°the reason why we decided to throw this little party is because we have something to tell you all¡± .


    ¡°Are you going to marry my sister?¡± joked Sam .


    No but the reason is¡­ started Alex .


    ¡°Oh my god , you¡¯re pregnant!¡± shouted Cathy .


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡± answered Helena .


    ¡°I¡¯m pregnant with two children .


    They¡¯ll be born in about 8,5 months .


    We found out really quickly thanks to Da¡¯grass¡±. Helena started telling before the news that Cathy spread started settling in.


    There was a short moment of silence before Cathy rushed to Helena to offer her congratulations , and everybody started to congratulate them .


    One by one , everyone approached the happy couple and wished them the best.


    Mary even offered to watch the kids if they were busy , at which Helena told her she would talk to her later that evening after the ruckus settled down .


    Sam told Alex , ¡°after all that on the docks, you were hiding something like that.


    You know marriage would just make it official¡±


    ¡°We decided long ago that we wouldn¡¯t marry .


    I¡¯m taking it as a win that you didn¡¯t break my nose¡± laughed Alex .


    Sam just smiled and hugged him , ¡°congratulations!¡±.


    After everyone had congratulated Alex and Helena , the party started for real .


    Everyone was happy , drinking and eating like there was no tomorrow .


    A lot of conversations were held .


    With John , Alex talked about state affairs and projects to be .


    John asked him if he could purchase technology from the mall of the Ethereans for the state , at which Alex asked Da¡¯grass , who asked Etherea .


    At which Da¡¯grass told him that there were no restrictions but that she preferred it if he would only use it for his faction since humans were at the bottom of technological achievements and had not yet earned a higher tier .


    John decided to follow the wishes of Etherea , and after his conversation with Alex , he rejoined the party .


    With El¡¯Anor , he talked about her job and if she was content with her life among the humans .


    She laughed when he asked about her life among his species and told him that humans could be devoted to a single thing if they wanted , considering the many suitors that she had .


    If she were to make an evaluation on the fact that they didn¡¯t give up , she was confident that humans could go far if they weren¡¯t distracted , and she laughed.


    Alex started to worry and asked if her life was interrupted by this .


    She stated that the Nexus offered enough protection for them not to worry about it .


    Most of her species actually enjoyed it at some level and if they went too far , they had methods to handle it .


    With Jack , he had to explain who Da¡¯grass was and how he could have made that evaluation of Helena , so he had to introduce him while asking not to tell others except those at the party .


    Cathy just asked if she could hire more people for the game development and promised him a gift when the babies would be born .


    After talking to everybody , he searched for Helena and saw she was talking with Mary and rejoined the party .


    The party lasted well into the night until John decided to leave .


    After congratulating the couple again , he told them that if he wished for work to be done , he had to do so himself and thanked them for the invitation .


    After that , the rest started to leave as well , and just like John , they congratulated them once again and thanked them for the party .


    When Sam wanted to leave , Alex transferred the rights of the seeds and recipes he gathered while visiting the alien planets and got the second hug of that evening .


    When it was just Helena , Sarah , and him , Sarah came to him and told him that it was a fantastic evening that she wouldn¡¯t forget and that she had the time of her life talking about becoming a grandmother .


    Helena rolled with her eyes and said with a smile , ¡°You¡¯ll be a grandmother for a long time , just hope that you don¡¯t become a great grandmother too soon¡±


    At which Sarah chuckled and said , ¡°that would mean that you would be a grandmother yourself .


    Besides , they aren¡¯t even born yet , and your brother will be next¡±.


    I saw a fire burn in the eyes of Cynthia while we were talking about your future children and our own experiences with raising children .


    Hearing some of her stories of growing up in the orphanage , she is set to do everything right and to be there if she ever has children .


    Sarah left , and it was only Helena and Alex .


    They tidied up the place and settled on the couch , watching some movies and drinking elven wine .


    ¡°Mary is going to be our nanny for the children¡± said Helena , ¡°I asked her after she offered to watch them when we are busy¡± .


    ¡°That¡¯s great , we¡¯ll have to pay her well enough for her to keep doing it¡± joked Alex .


    If they look anything like me , they¡¯ll be a handful .


    ¡°They are going to be girls , and they¡¯ll be the sweetest and smartest children that there are¡± said Helena as if she had a hand in it .


    ¡°So they¡¯ll look like neither of us¡± replied Alex jokingly , at which Alex got a fist against his shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I could get pregnant twice , but can you ask Da¡¯grass if he could do something about it ?¡± asked Helena .


    ¡°I can do something about it so you could have sex without worrying about getting pregnant¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    Which of you I need to fix , or do I do it to both of you ?


    ¡°Fix Alex , no need to worry about me¡± answered Helena .


    ¡°Hey , don¡¯t get I a say in this?¡± asked Alex.


    ¡°You are my master , so you decide¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    But you¡¯ll be the easiest to undo the changes if you decide to reverse it.


    ¡°So it can be undone ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Yes , it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for me¡± replied Da¡¯grass.


    ¡°Very well , do it !¡± said Alex reluctantly .


    ¡°Thanks , sweetie , we should have thought about this sooner¡± said a smiling Helena .


    Maybe you should send this information to the rest of the faction so they can decide for themselves .


    ¡°Very well , Da¡¯grass sent a message to the faction with an explanation and instructions¡± said Alex


    They can travel to the colony for the next couple of days if they wish to be fixed after they send a message with their approval .


    I have to be here for the next couple of days anyway¡­


    But damned if this isn¡¯t going to spark some heavy discussions between couples.


    Helena smiled lovingly at Alex while he was ranting something about a man¡¯s pride and nestled on his shoulder , shutting him up .


    They stayed like this for a long time , watching movies and just enjoying each other company .

 045

    Three months passed and a lot had happened during this time .


    According to John , people had to know that Alex was the big man in the colony who provided them with lodgings , jobs and a place in the faction .


    So , Alex went on a tour through the colony with Helena to show his face , much to Helena¡¯s amusement .


    The security of the colony was up and running , fully outfitted for their job , and got to know Alex and Helena while they went from one gathering to another .


    Alex designated some people to run the colony with him as leader and made sure that everyone understood that the colony wasn¡¯t like a normal city but a faction with him in charge .


    Nobody had any objections because they knew when they traveled to the island that this would be the case , but there were some questions about how far he would go if he could manipulate the nanites in the whole colony .


    Alex reassured them that he couldn¡¯t do anything but shut the nanites down without their approval .


    This shocked some people , but only for the reason that what was given could also be taken away .


    And again , Alex had to explain that the changes that were made couldn¡¯t be taken away without their approval ; they would be living the rest of their life in a natural way if this ever happened .


    On a personal level , Alex and Helena resumed their travels to the other species¡¯ home worlds¡¯ Nexus and finally had the chance to watch their own solar system through the Nexus .


    The new Batch of miners was dispatched , as were the cargo ships with their cargo , a gate for each colony that was being built .


    The next batch of miners would soon be ready for deployment and Alex had Da¡¯grass designing a luxury transport ship for use in the solar system with the possibility for interstellar travel .


    The gates couldn¡¯t be put to use immediately since the colonies were still under construction , but the moment life support worked , they could use them .


    As for the transport ships , John was negotiating with different countries for scientists to gain access to the colony , and they would be used for this reason .


    Da¡¯grass had told them that the unborn children would be girls and that they were as healthy as optimized unborn children could be , at which Helena started to ask various questions about every little detail .


    Da¡¯grass assured her that although nanites were present in both children , he hadn¡¯t changed them in any way and that they would indeed be extremely intelligent .


    Helena beamed for a whole week after hearing this , and Alex had to admit that he was kind of proud too .


    Sam finally brewed the Elven wine in the colony , and the first batches went to their circle of friends .


    Helena pouted that she couldn¡¯t drink it since she was pregnant , so Alex made a habit of not drinking it when she was around , not that he was dependent on alcohol .


    Sarah was busy with their company and factories , and various technologies started to find their way into society , but she still found the time to date a journalist named Max Mertens .


    Alex couldn¡¯t understand what she saw in the man , but Helena was just happy that her mom was dating someone , even if it was just in virtual reality .


    Cynthia was busy with two projects : a movie and an elaborate documentary about humanity from before the Nexus and the transition .


    Alex had some second thoughts about the latter but decided to let her go through with it .


    The colony wasn¡¯t as empty as before and started to fill up , which made Alex think about stopping the influx of people .


    The project in Mars¡¯ orbit was gradually advancing , but it would take a lot of time before completion .


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Da¡¯grass informed him that sometimes production faltered due to a lack of resources , but that with the next batch of miners , this problem would be solved.


    The three other colonies in production didn¡¯t face this problem because they were prioritized in resource allocation .


    With this news , Alex pondered about the Space station he wanted to build in Earth¡¯s orbit and bought a design from the Etherean mall for a large trading hub with docking space to accommodate a small fleet .


    At Da¡¯grass¡¯s suggestion , he included a prefabricated  industrial zone with two miners , similar to what was delivered for the mars project .


    Like this 3 months had passed and everything seemed to settle down .


    ¡°You know , a lot of what you¡¯re building goes to humanity at some point¡± said Helena .


    And you know Etherea isn¡¯t keen on sharing your access from their mall with humanity .


    ¡°She also said there are no explicit rules prohibiting it¡± defended Alex .


    But you¡¯re right . After this I¡¯ll only buy from the regular mall if it isn¡¯t solely benefitting our faction .


    ¡°Good choice , no need to upset an entity that can be considered a god in the Nexus¡± laughed Helena .


    ¡°Do you still have morning sickness ?¡± asked Alex slightly worried .


    ¡°Not since several weeks , sweetie .


    You know Da¡¯grass fixed it for me¡± replied Helena while rubbing her slightly bulging belly .


    Shouldn¡¯t you inform John about the space station unless you want him to find out when the prefab gets delivered ?


    ¡°I already sent him a message to meet me at the bar¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°Good , I¡¯ll be going to my mom for a bit , discussing some names for our daughters¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I have a say in this ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Sweetie , we are seriously considering the names you suggested , but we want to be thorough , and to be honest , there are a lot of names that can be considered better than Samantha and Esmerelda¡± said Helena .


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with those names ?¡± asked Alex .


    They might be a little outdated , but we can call them Sam and Es if it¡¯s just us.


    I think they are great names , distinguished even .


    ¡°Sweetie , I¡¯m serious when I say we are considering them , but let us discuss it ourselves , okay ?¡± replied Helena.


    Besides , we already have a Sam in the family .


    Now off to John . I¡¯ll see you this evening !


    After walking to the bar and reminiscing the conversation with Helena , Alex decided to leave the matter of naming their daughters to Helena .


    Even if he liked those names , they would still be his daughters , even if they had another name .


    John wasn¡¯t there yet , so he decided to order a drink .


    While looking through the menu , he noticed they had the elven wine and ordered a bottle with two glasses .


    While pouring the glasses and thinking about how Sam had already distributed the wine in the colony , John arrived .


    ¡°Hello ,Alex . I see you already discovered the wine on the menu¡± said John while smiling.


    ¡°Yeah , I didn¡¯t know he already distributed it among the colony¡± responded Alex.


    ¡°How is Helena ?¡± asked John.


    ¡°She is starting to develop a belly and is now with her mother discussing possible names for our daughters¡± replied Alex.


    They drank from their glasses and went silent for a while .


    ¡°The reason why I wanted to talk to you is that I ordered a prefab from the mall to start building a space station in orbit around Earth¡± said Alex , not wanting to beat around the bush.


    ¡°That¡¯s good news . Isn¡¯t this against the wishes of Etherea?¡± asked John.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably the last time I do this kind of thing .


    Next time , I¡¯ll order blueprints from the regular mall if it doesn¡¯t solely benefit the faction¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°Wise choice , you wouldn¡¯t want to be on bad terms with those that can take your benefits away¡± answered John .


    By the way , I negotiated with the scientists and they are ready to depart for the colony anytime you see fit .


    I was waiting for the right moment to tell you , but you beat me to it by arranging this meeting .


    ¡°Did you get anything out of it ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°They¡¯ll be joining the scientific community of Solara .


    Others are already doing so¡± answered John.


    Education in the Nexus is also gaining in popularity since it is free and more advanced .


    Did you know that you can get private tutoring and study at your own pace?


    The fact that your degree is automatically registered on your account as proof is also enticing , no more deception or cheating .


    They drank from their glasses and went silent again .


    ¡°When do you want me to pick them up ?¡± asked Alex after some time .


    ¡°As soon as it is convenient for you¡± answered John .


    ¡°Da¡¯grass , if we stop recruiting for the colony , how long before the last people arrive and what would the occupancy rate of the colony be ?¡± asked Alex.


    ¡°The last people would arrive in a month¡¯s time and the occupancy rate would be 75 percent if the island moved to the colony¡± answered Da¡¯grass.


    ¡°Do you think they would notice the influx of people if the scientists arrived earlier ?¡± asked Alex.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend it , Alex , they are scientists they notice patterns¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they found out about the gate just by living here .


    ¡°You heard him . In a month , I¡¯ll be sending a ship .


    Any chance we can let them sign a non-disclosure contract ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask them , but they are already under contract from different organizations.


    I¡¯ll see what our legal team can come up with¡± replied John .


    There would be around 4000 of them if they all pass the background checks.


    ¡°That many ¡­ if you give us their names , then Da¡¯grass can do the background checks¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°I¡¯ll send the names over as soon as I get them all¡± confirmed John.


    After that , they started talking about small stuff and just enjoyed the wine .


    It was a pleasant evening with no timetable .

 046

    Two weeks passed , and it was the day that the prefab would be delivered into Earth¡¯s orbit .


    In those two weeks , the colony¡¯s council suggested different things to make live in the colony easier .


    According to them , the colony didn¡¯t need so much space for the cultivation of plants and flowers , and half of the space could be converted into a pool since plant growth could be accelerated .


    They also asked for bicycles to be transported to the colony for easier movement across it .


    At this , Da¡¯grass mentioned to Alex that transport could be handled by the colony¡¯s AI and that vehicles were accessible in the mall .


    So Alex bought the blueprints for autonomous vehicles to be used as taxis in the colony and started production while ordering a batch of bicycles to accommodate the colonists .


    Da¡¯grass assured Alex that even though there were no traffic lights , there would be only be a minimal chance of accidents due the fast response time of the colony¡¯s AI .


    While Alex was watching the news on the island with Helena , he got a message from John saying that the arrival of the prefab had reignited the discussion about the colony among different nations across the globe .


    There were claims that the colony used resources that rightfully belonged to Earth¡¯s inhabitants and that no country may lay claim on those recourses .


    Others viewed it as the transgression of a conglomerate claiming Mars for itself , while others were worried for Earth¡¯s fragile stability and demanded that the colony place itself under supervision of the UN .


    Since John was living on Mars , he took it upon himself to defend Alex¡¯s faction , but he needed Alex¡¯s stance on different subjects , and it wasn¡¯t sure if Alex could stay out of the spotlights  .


    John assured Alex that as long as he stayed neutral in Earth¡¯s politics and provided benefits for Earth , he could ensure the continuation of the colony .


    However , it would be a hard fight since everyone wanted a slice of the pie .


    According to John , different countries had started collecting credits from their citizens to buy their own starship blueprints , so in the near future , Alex wouldn¡¯t be the only one capable of interstellar travel .


    Alex could only ride the waves as they came and hope that John and his team could solve this mess .


    He felt powerless , but Helena assured him that things wouldn¡¯t go awry since he could provide many benefits to humanity and already had done so .


    ¡°Worst case scenario , we colonize another planet¡± joked Helena .


    ¡°That¡¯s not funny , Helena .


    We just built this colony and other infrastructure is in progress¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°If those officials have half a brain , they¡¯ll see the benefits you bring , so don¡¯t worry , sweetie¡± answered Helena .


    As the reporter on tv mentioned the arrival of the Galaxy Cargo starships Alex and Helena followed the news and went quiet .


    Another two weeks passed , and the first taxis were already transporting people across the colony while the bicycles had arrived and being sold in different shops .


    The last colonists for the time being had arrived and were undergoing treatment while John was negotiating with the UN about the colony¡¯s future .


    The luxury transport ships were still being built , so Alex had to send the converted colony builder to pick up the scientists .


    A few of them didn¡¯t pass the background check and weren¡¯t allowed to join the rest of the colony , but those were a minority , and almost 4000 scientists would be joining the colony in search for knowledge .


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    For the convenience of the scientists , the ship would land at different locations around the globe to pick them up .


    This would enlarge the timeframe before the ship could return to Mars , but it would be faster than a plane circling the globe .


    Since they wanted to bring different kinds of equipment with them , this solution was deemed the best choice .


    ¡°This hover taxi is quite handy¡± exclaimed Helena .


    ¡°you just need to tell it were to go or point at it on the holographic map and it takes you there¡±.


    ¡°No front seats though ; you couldn¡¯t drive them yourself even if you wanted to¡± protested Sam .


    ¡°Yeah , but there¡¯s room for six and we can talk to each other¡± replied Alex .


    Besides , I wouldn¡¯t feel comfortable people driving themselves inside the colony.


    ¡°The bicycles are popular too¡± said Helena , looking through the window .


    ¡°Just why did you want me to come also?¡± asked Sam .


    ¡°It¡¯s just people arriving by ship¡± .


    ¡°We don¡¯t see you much anymore , and these are 4000 scientists arriving by a genuine spaceship¡± laughed Helena .


    Or are you already to the point where you find this mundane ?


    ¡°Fair point , sis . It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t see Cynthia as much as I would like ; she¡¯s always busy with work¡± said Sam .


    ¡°How is her work progressing now that you mention it ?¡± asked Alex .


    She¡¯s putting a lot of work in the documentary , trying to capture it as best as possible for future generations .


    She¡¯s using interactive alien software .


    There is one main story , but if you want to know more about a topic , it branches like a tree if you ask for more information .


    The main story is the development of humans from cave dwellers to integration with the Nexus , but if you want to know more of the domestication of the wolf to dog or architectural knowledge of the Victorian era , you can ask .


    She¡¯s constantly adding more and more information .


    I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s bitten of more than she can chew .


    ¡°If I understand this right , it¡¯s indeed a very large project .


    Maybe she can update it periodically with information users are curious about , or I¡¯m afraid she will never finish this project¡± suggested Alex .


    And the movie ?


    ¡°Since everything we watch looks like a science fiction movie , she wanted to make a medieval movie .


    But if I¡¯m not mistaken , the main character is a time traveling engineer or something like that¡± replied Sam .


    ¡°Were already here , I can see the docks¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Like those novels we used to read ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Yeah , like those novels¡± said Sam while he was exiting the taxi .


    How long before they arrive ?


    ¡°According to Da¡¯grass they¡¯ll arrive within minutes¡± replied Alex .


    How does making movies in the Nexus actually work ?


    ¡°Well according to Cynthia , she¡¯s got access to her own VR space which she can transform into any setting she wants , and she has access to NPC¡¯s who she can instruct to perform certain tasks , or she can use live actors¡± answered Sam .


    Every scanned item can be rented at a cheap price but it may only be used to make movies , or you¡¯ll be banned from using it ever again .


    I don¡¯t know the specifics , but that is how I understood what she was explaining.


    ¡°They are here¡± said Helena , and they watched the ship land .


    When the doors opened , a stream of people exited and began unloading their equipment .


    Surprised faces and curious looks were abundant .


    Colonists were distributing bracelets and explaining how they worked while slowly there was a trickle people leaving for their designated apartments and workrooms .


    The scientists quickly grasped the workings of the bracelet and let the colony¡¯s AI guide them to their locations .


    As a few of them passed Alex , Sam and Helena , they overheard them saying what a thrill it was to travel on a ship that could reach Mars in such a short time and that the colony looked like a sci-fi city .


    Alex even heard a scientist murmuring if he should ask the colonists for better equipment , but he watched him shake his head as if it was a bad idea .


    One of them looked at Alex and nodded his head at him in acknowledgment  .


    ¡°We¡¯d better take the taxi back before one of the scientists decides to claim it for himself¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Not a bad idea¡± agreed Helena , who was watching the eager eyes on their transportation vehicle .


    ¡°Within a few weeks , there will be enough taxi¡¯s¡± said Alex .


    ¡°That might be , but a few weeks is not now¡± said Sam and he boarded the taxi.


    Once inside the taxi , Alex asked Da¡¯grass to accommodate the scientists in their requests as long as they weren¡¯t too exorbitant and that he was permitted to make small purchases from the regular mall and use the industrial zone to meet the scientists¡¯ demands .


    He also told him to notify them of this through a message , which made Helena¡¯s heart flutter .


    The three of them might not have studied science or engineering in school but they were science fiction lovers and understood the importance of science , so she was happy that Alex was favoring the scientists .


    Helena entered the destination in the taxi , which was a restaurant close to their apartments .


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry enough to eat for three¡± she joked , at which Alex laid his hand on her belly .


    They talked for a bit until they arrived at the restaurant , and Sam decided to join them for dinner .


    They had a pleasant evening together , and for a moment it felt like they were in their old days before the Nexus , just the three of them .


    Helena enjoyed every moment of it , and she wasn¡¯t the only one .

 047

    Three weeks passed and talks with the UN progressed  satisfactorily according to John .


    Alex would have to make concessions , providing access to various infrastructures while helping the UN build a presence in space .


    The UN stated that , with the appearance of the Nexus , global power structures were shifting , and if spacefaring capabilities weren¡¯t developed , the situation could become dire .


    In exchange for his assistance , the UN would recognize Alex¡¯s faction and colony as an independent state on Mars but urged him not to claim the entirety of Mars or its resources .


    They would protect him from other Earth nations as long as he helped construct the necessary infrastructure.


    John urged Alex to accept this deal , with Helena supporting John¡¯s opinion .


    So Alex began making plans with Da¡¯grass , who explained that their converted colony builder could transport droids and equipment to build a fortified spaceport with shipyards , while miners and transport ships could deliver resources .


    Alex ordered the construction of equipment and more miners , and authorized the purchase of necessary technology from the mall .


    Helena asked Alex to build a few more colonies on Mars , since they would be recognized as a state , and Alex reluctantly agreed .


    Da¡¯grass assured him that no additional colony builders were needed for this endeavor ; equipment produced by their industry could be delivered by cargo ships they already owned , significantly reducing building time .


    Alex told John that the UN needed to provide a location for the spaceport and specify any particular requirements for its construction .


    They had to notify them as soon as possible since the plans would be made shortly .


    John didn¡¯t waste any time and contacted them in VR after sending a message to those in charge .


    Finally alone , Helena looked at Alex and said ,¡±since the state is your faction does that make you a King and me your Queen?¡± .


    ¡°I don¡¯t know , Helena , I guess?¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so gloomy , sweetie¡± said Helena .


    It¡¯s a pretty good deal we got and all you have to do is build some stuff for them.


    And you should thank John later on ; he went through all this trouble for you when he didn¡¯t need to .


    ¡°I know . I don¡¯t think I could have gotten us this good a deal¡± said Alex .


    ¡°It¡¯s more like it was a necessity for the UN to remain strong enough to face the upcoming difficulties rather than John¡¯s negotiating skills¡± giggled Helena.


    But I have to admit , without him we would have to make more concessions.


    ¡°Sam has some new drinks ; I¡¯ll send him a casquet with enough wine after this whole thing is done¡± said Alex.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll appreciate it¡± said Helena , giving Alex a warm smile.


    ¡°Alex !¡± said Helena nearly shouting .


    I think I felt a kick from one of the babies .


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    Alex immediately put his hand on her now clearly showing belly .


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything ¡­ wait , I think I felt it , that¡¯s awesome !¡± he said , happiness radiating in his voice and eyes .


    They stood there for what seemed like mere minutes , reminiscing about what the future would hold , until John¡¯s voice brought them back to reality .


    ¡°I talked with them , and since they don¡¯t know what an interstellar military spaceport should look like, they trust it you to design it .


    However , they asked to ensure it holds enough military personnel to be deployed at any moment and to consider that it might be attacked¡± said John.


    They¡¯ll send the coordinates for the spaceport as soon as they find a big and safe enough location .


    ¡°Next time you see them , tell them to start stocking up on resources for building their own ships .


    I¡¯ll include some blueprints in our deal because I¡¯m in a good mood right now¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°You know their ships will need weapons and that there is a ban on purchasing them , don¡¯t you ?¡± asked John .


    ¡°You are the government . If they want weapons , they¡¯ll have to deal with you¡± grinned Alex .


    ¡°Great , more work . Why did I even volunteer to do this for you¡± said a conflicted John .


    ¡°Don¡¯t pout , maybe you can agree on something that¡¯s in your favor¡± said a smiling Helena .


    ¡°I highly doubt that , but I guess it¡¯s worth a shot .


    It is for the stability for our world , I think¡± mused John .


    ¡°John , thank you . I won¡¯t forget what you¡¯ve done for me¡± said Alex .


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it . I made connections that we , as the government in the Nexus , will surely need in the future¡± replied John .


    Well , if that¡¯s everything , I¡¯ll be going back to my wife .


    She was complaining she didn¡¯t see me as often as she would like .


    ¡°Send her our regards and apologies in this matter¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Well , see you guy¡¯s around¡±  said John and left .


    ¡°Da¡¯grass , can you make some preliminary plans for the UN spaceport ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°It depends on how large the land is , Alex , but I guess I can make one with the base necessities with the option of adding shipyards and landing platforms¡± responded Da¡¯grass .


    Should I make some plans for additional colonies as well ?


    ¡°Can you make plans for three extra colonies that are connected with each other through a maglev railroad¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be a problem , but if you add one more colony , I can make it more aesthetic and use one colony as a hub to the other colonies¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Very well , since we are doing this anyway , make it so¡± said Alex .


    Since we are busy now , anything special about the scientists ?


    ¡°No , they made some requests for technology , vehicles and equipment but they are mainly exploring and examining the surface of Mars¡± responded Da¡¯grass .


    They can¡¯t wait until the other colonies are up and running to visit them .


    There was one request about using a spaceship to visit previously discovered exoplanets with the help of telescopes , but since we needed our ships , I declined .


    ¡°Well , we¡¯ve got three new passenger ships , but I¡¯m not inclined to send them unmanned or without maintenance crews¡± said Alex .


    Send a message to those interested in becoming pilots or crew and let me know if we¡¯ve got enough people to man a ship .


    ¡°Done¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Sweetie , maybe we should send some scientists of our own if they are willing , bolstering the crew and keep an eye out for our own interests¡± interjected Helena .


    ¡°Okay , that¡¯s not a bad idea . Can you do so , Da¡¯grass ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°We don¡¯t have many that qualify for this , but some medical doctors aren¡¯t a problem .


    I¡¯ll send a message to those that qualify¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    I¡¯ve already got some replies from people interested in the job of pilot and maintenance crew , Alex .


    A few of them ask if they can bring their family or partner along and when they will get the knowledge of operating the ship .


    ¡°Are they trustworthy enough to give them this opportunity?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Although people change over time , the fact that you¡¯ve given them so many benefits makes them as loyal as you can find¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    There are a lot of people interested in becoming pilots but there are only enough maintenance crews to fill 2 passenger ships .


    ¡°Pick the best ones for the job and start making preparations for two ships to head out¡± decided Alex .


    Inform the relevant persons , including the scientists , and initiate the knowledge download required when they are in a safe place .


    When the scientists have decided which planets they want to visit and when to depart , plot out the courses for both ships .


    ¡°As you wish , Alex¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Now that his highness has decided what to do with his loyal subjects and has handled his current affairs , would he be happy enough to take his queen on a date?¡± joked Helena .


    ¡°I¡¯ll always have time to take my queen on a date¡± said Alex with a smile .


    ¡°Then summon our carriage so we can eat , drink and maybe have a dance or two¡± said Helena , keeping up the joke .


    ¡°I would do a lot for my Queen , but sadly I was born with two left feet and have to disappoint her¡± said an embarrassed Alex .


    ¡°Everyone can sway , sweetie¡± said Helena and she ordered a taxi on her bracelet .

 048

    As the days progressed , Alex decided to give a downgraded version of blueprints from the cargo ship and a designer program for spaceships to the UN.


    According to Da¡¯grass , it would probably be better than what other countries might purchase in the mall since the initial purchase of technology was costlier the more advanced it was .


    The UN sent more directives what the spaceport should consist of and the minimum number of soldiers it should house at all times .


    After a week passed , they sent the coordinates where the spaceport should be built , and Alex immediately send over the first batch of equipment and droids with the converted colony builder .


    The construction of the other colonies was put on hold until all the equipment needed for the construction of the spaceport was sent .


    Alex diverted some miners and cargo ships to speed up the construction of the spaceport , which would slow down the construction of other facilities , but this would only last until the next batch of miners was finished .


    According to Da¡¯grass , the location provided by the UN was large enough to act as a mid-sized spaceport capable of transporting civilians and military personnel , if the UN permitted it .


    The military part wouldn¡¯t be accessible to civilians , of course , but that decision was up to the UN .


    After relaying this information , Alex received news that this was acceptable , and Da¡¯grass finalized the spaceport plans .


    At Alex¡¯s request , the spaceport would have bunkers , shields and the same defense armament as the colony .


    Da¡¯grass noted that the bunkers wouldn¡¯t be necessary with the shields , but Alex insisted , saying the military loved their bunkers and that the command center should be located within one .


    Da¡¯grass reluctantly agreed but asked Alex to not share the technology blueprints of the shields and defense armament .


    With everything in order , construction of the spaceport could start barely one week after negotiations .


    The use of the luxury passenger ships was also met with great enthusiasm .


    The scientists were ecstatic about being allowed to use the passenger ships to visit and study the exoplanets , leading to another wave of equipment requests submitted to Da¡¯grass .


    Half of the cargo rooms on the ships were converted to support scientific research , and an additional 200 researchers ,mainly biologists , were to be picked up by the converted colony builder when it returned to deliver another batch of equipment and droids .


    There wasn¡¯t an exact departure date yet , but spirits were high among the scientists who hadn¡¯t even settled in their new environment .


    I the meantime ,Alex received a message from Cathy stating that the amusement park world was ready to be launched and asked if he wanted to be the first to use it together with Helena .


    Alex replied that he would be honored and sent an invitation to Sam and Helena .


    Sam couldn¡¯t make it , but Helena was happy to join him , and since Sam couldn¡¯t join them , they considered it a date .


    That evening , they logged in with the help of Da¡¯grass and were surprised by what they saw .


    There were rides everywhere as far as the eye could see , gates connecting the different areas , food and drink stands , bars , restaurants and even gift shops .


    Alex was confused about the gift shops and sent a message to Cathy about them , but she answered that the items could be sent to their home in the Nexus as a memento .


    Cathy had to send a request to the ¡®admin¡¯ of the Nexus to be able to do so since it was considered a game , but surprisingly she had received a positive response .


    ¡°Sweetie , look at this ! There is a Water Amusement Nation , Arcade Nation , Carnival Island , Disco Nation and we are in Loco Ride World¡± said an excited Helena .


    There are others too , but I don¡¯t really know what they mean .


    ¡°Let me have a look¡± said Alex .


    Crazy Air Nation , Balls Balls Balls Island , hmmm .


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    I¡¯m not sure , but maybe Balls refers to something like a ball park ?


    I don¡¯t know about Crazy Air Nation though , and there are a few others I don¡¯t really understand .


    ¡°Never mind , we¡¯ll have plenty of time to discover everything .


    Since we are already here , let¡¯s start with some rides¡± said Helena .


    So , for the next few hours , they went from one ride to another .


    After that , they went to Arcade Nation and played retro videogames .


    There were many games they didn¡¯t know , and according to Cathy , those were games from her and El¡¯Anor¡¯s home world .


    There was to much to see and to do , so they only enjoyed themselves for a few hours in each area .


    After a while , Helena decided she wanted to close off with Water Amusement Nation , even though they hadn¡¯t seen everything the amusement world had to offer .


    They weren¡¯t disappointed . There were water rides , bars in pools , and much more .


    They settled in a pool bar and had a drink while occasionally dipping their heads in the water .


    ¡°Imagine if the place was filled with people , Alex¡± said Helena with dreamy eyes .


    ¡°Yeah , I think this will do very well . This place is huge and can be expanded with new attractions if needed , according to Cathy¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°Alex , Etherea wants to speak with you¡± said Da¡¯grass suddenly .


    ¡°Well time for me to leave then , I guess¡± pouted Helena .


    ¡°Da¡¯grass , is it okay if Helena stays ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind if she stays¡± resonated the voice of Ethera .


    ¡°Hi , Ethera¡± said Alex .


    ¡°Hello , nice to finally meet you¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Hello , to the both of you . The reason I¡¯m contacting you is because you¡¯ve created something that can enrich the Nexus¡± said Etherea .


    While it¡¯s not something that can elevate your tier , I¡¯m authorized to negotiate a deal to acquire this for the Nexus .


    I can offer you credits or technology of the same value .


    ¡°What is it that you want to acquire for the Nexus¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Well , it¡¯s this , of course . This amusement park world of yours¡± replied Ethera.


    I want to make it an option if you go to any gate in the Nexus .


    But since this will deprive you of your income , I have to compensate you for your losses .


    So , is there something that you want if you would be willing to part with it ?


    ¡°Sweetie , maybe we can find something for our fledgling state¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Etherea , I believe I can buy most of the technology I want myself¡± replied Alex.


    ¡°You know this isn¡¯t true , Alex ; even you are limited with what you can buy¡± answered Etherea .


    That might be true , but I¡¯ve looked intensively at the mall and what I want isn¡¯t on it .


    ¡°And what is it that you want ?¡± asked Etherea .


    ¡°Sweetie , a capital city for our state would be great since the colonies are limited in space¡± pleaded Helena .


    ¡°A capital city only appears at tier seven in the mall¡± responded Etherea .


    ¡°But I wanted a power source for the gates , Helena , and Etherea herself says a capital city isn¡¯t available¡± said Alex .


    ¡°If you want a power source and your girlfriend wants a city there might be a solution in the tier 5 mall¡± said Etherea reluctantly .


    It¡¯s a main city with a capacity of 10 million people .


    I believe this is the solution that you wanted .


    But since it¡¯s a tier higher than you , it isn¡¯t available for purchase and it¡¯s more expensive than I was willing to negotiate with you .


    ¡°Come on Etherea , please . You said it yourself that in normal conditions I would have been promoted to tier 5 , and I can pay the difference with my own credits¡± pleaded Alex .


    ¡°Please Etherea would you be so kind?¡± asked Helena .


    There was a moment of silence while Etherea thought over the situation .


    ¡°Very well , I¡¯ll deduct the difference from your account and make it my early gift for the birth of your children .


    But don¡¯t expect this to happen again¡± said Ethera.


    I¡¯ll send all of the schematics and related technology to Da¡¯grass and your colony¡¯s AI .


    If you would be so kind to log off , I¡¯ve got some work to do !


    ¡°Thank you Etherea¡± said Alex .


    ¡°yeah , thank you!¡± said Helena .


    The moment they logged out , they got a message from a panicking Cathy that their program for the amusement park world had disappeared from their mainframe .


    Alex had to reassure her and explain what had happened .


    To his surprise , when he had explained everything , she was on cloud nine and happy as could be .


    She said this rarely happened and was considered an honor among the residents in the Nexus .


    Helena just smiled . She would get the city she wanted , and Alex would get his power source - it just had to be built .


    ¡°I guess you want to change your plans for the new colonies?¡± asked Dagrass.


    ¡°Yeah , can you make the hub the main city?¡± responded Alex .


    ¡°I¡¯ll need some more room since the main city is bigger , but it can be done¡± replied Da¡¯grass .


    Do you want me to build it in a way that it can be connected to more cities in the future?


    ¡°Just to make sure , I would do so¡± said Helena .


    ¡°You heard her , Da¡¯grass . Just to make sure , anticipate it¡± said Alex .


    ¡°The main structure is defined , but is there anything I should take into consideration?¡± asked Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Give the new colonies a specialization that is needed , such as agriculture , sea culture and science/engineering¡± replied Alex .


    As for the main city , make it balanced with what we¡¯ve learned here for now .


    Alex , you should know that the new city comes with large shipyards but no plans for spaceships , and the city is more advanced than what we had .


    Would you like to integrate the new technology in the new colonies ?


    It¡¯s easier to do this from the start , and they would be more efficient .


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think of that . Is it possible to upgrade the existing colony as well?¡± Asked Alex .


    ¡°For a part , but I wouldn¡¯t recommend an overall overhaul for the moment since we are dependent of these systems for our survival here¡± replied Da¡¯grass.


    We could start with our industries , line by line , for optimization and easier construction of the new colonies and main city .


    ¡°Wel , you know best . Integrate the technology and make a plan that¡¯s most suitable . I trust you Da¡¯grass¡± answered Alex .


    Keep me in the loop , and if there are decisions to be made concerning the colonies and main city , just ask me .


    Helena , who was listening to the conversation , was overjoyed .


    Everything was coming together and they were smack in the middle of it .


    She was proud of Alex and she would make sure he knew it.

 049

    After a night of cuddling with Helena , Alex fell asleep with her in his arms , only to be awoken by a call from an excited John .


    ¡°Alex , you beautiful son of a bitch , the UN has decided to enter talks with the government for the seat of planetary defense thanks to you¡± yelled an excited John .


    When they went over the plans of the spaceport you submitted and are going to build , they were ecstatic .


    They thought you were going to ship them of with a small spaceport and were already happy when you told them you¡¯d build them a mid-sized spaceport .


    But when they saw the plans , they were flabbergasted.


    Five shipyards , 20 large landing sites that can be divided in 60 medium or 180 small spaceship landing sites , bunkers , command center , warehouses , shields , barracks , defensive armaments , civilian terminals , and the list goes on .


    That¡¯s not a medium spaceport but a large , well-fortified and strategic spaceport that might become the most important center on Earth .


    It didn¡¯t take long for the top to decide that it was at least worth considering cooperation with the government of the Nexus .


    ¡°Euhh , all I can say is that according to Da¡¯grass , it¡¯s considered a medium sized spaceport according to Etherean standards¡± replied a confused Alex .


    ¡°I saw the plans , Alex . That¡¯s a large spaceport .


    I don¡¯t care about the Etherean standards , thank you !¡± replied John .


    ¡°Well , don¡¯t ask me to buy anything . I saw my account and I¡¯m pretty sure that I¡¯m not the richest human in the Nexus at the moment¡± joked Alex .


    ¡°Did it cost you that much ? That can¡¯t be right¡± replied a shocked John .


    ¡°No , no . I bought something else and I don¡¯t think that I could have afforded it if I didn¡¯t get compensation from Etherea¡± clarified Alex .


    ¡°Compensation ? And what did you buy ?¡± asked John .


    ¡°Wel , you know Cathy was creating an amusement park world , right ?¡± asked Alex .


    ¡°Yeah , I know . Did she finish it ?¡± asked John .


    ¡°Yes , she finished it yesterday and Etherea bought it to implement it as an option for every civilization in the Nexus¡± answered Alex .


    I got the choice to be reimbursed with credits or technology , but the technology I wanted was more expensive , so I had to chip in with my own credits .


    ¡°Don¡¯t drag it out , Alex . Just tell me what you bought¡± said a nervous John .


    ¡°I bought the schematics and related technology of a more advanced main city with a population capacity of ten million people to be built here on Mars¡± said Alex .


    I¡¯m pretty much broke for the moment .


    ¡°Damn boy , looks like you¡¯re going all in on this one .


    That¡¯s the population of a small country¡± responded John .


    ¡°The good news is , when it¡¯s built , we¡¯ll have an energy source for our gates and thus expand their range¡± said Alex .


    ¡°What¡¯s the bad news?¡± Asked John .


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to play out Helena¡¯s fantasy and act like a king with her as queen¡± joked Alex .


    ¡°Hey , I heard that !¡± interjected Helena , who was wrapped in blankets , at which Alex and John started laughing like madman .


    ¡°Nothing as good as a good laugh to release the built-up stress¡± said John .


    ¡°Thank you Alex . I¡¯ll see you later ; I¡¯ve got some UN officials to convince¡± said John .


    ¡°Bye , John¡± said Alex and the connection broke off .


    ¡°If you¡¯re done with your bromance , come back to bed¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Very well , my queen¡± answered Alex , and he lay back next to Helena .


    Another two weeks passed , and equipment and droids were still being transported to the construction site of the spaceport , which was already being built .


    It attracted a lot of media attention , and UN officials were constantly being seen on the news channels .


    There were talks of a reform of the organization , but nothing concrete yet .


    The fact was that they kept protecting the nations that joined .


    Talks with the government of the Nexus were officially not over , but John let Alex know that they would take up the mantle and occupy the seat of planetary defense .


    They assured that , in time , they would come to an agreement with the rest of the world , as it was a necessity .


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    It would be a difficult path , but John and Alex were hopeful that , in time , all parties would come to an agreement .


    The UN had already contacted them , but officially , they hadn¡¯t reached out yet.


    On Mars itself , scientists were preparing to leave for the exoplanets .


    Two ships would head out , and not including the ships crew , there would be 300 scientists on each ship .


    Medical personnel were provided by the colony and accounted for as crew , as were family members of the crew who would be handling the daily chores .


    The ships crew would be taking scans themselves and looking out for resource-rich locations and possible colonization sites .


    According to Da¡¯grass , they could easily be gone for a year if they wanted to visit al the planets on their list while doing scientific research  .


    So Alex told the pilots that if anything went wrong or the majority wanted to return , they had the permission to do so .


    The ships were loaded with supplies and would be growing their own food as well , with no problems expected in this regard .


    ¡°Come on , we¡¯ll miss the departure at this rate¡± pleaded Helena .


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry , sis , I¡¯m sure Alex can postpone the departure if he wants¡± replied Sam .


    ¡°I told you to hurry¡± said Cynthia .


    Those recipes won¡¯t run away .


    ¡°You¡¯re late because you were browsing recipes?¡± asked Sarah.


    ¡°I found a race that claims to be the best producer of alcoholic beverages¡± answered Sam while entering the taxi .


    ¡°Everyone can claim to be the best at something ; that doesn¡¯t make it so , you should know that¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°We¡¯ll be there in time , don¡¯t worry¡± said Alex to Helena .


    The time to get there is negligible thanks to the taxi¡¯s .


    ¡°What do you guys think of having a drink afterward¡± asked Sam .


    It doesn¡¯t occur too often that we are all together these days .


    ¡°You know I still have work to do¡± said Cynthia .


    ¡°Come on , just for a bit now that we are all together¡± pleaded Sam.


    ¡°Very well¡± yielded Cynthia .


    ¡°I¡¯ve got no problems with that . In fact , I look forward to it¡± said Sarah .


    ¡°We don¡¯t have a problem with that either , do we , sweetie¡± asked Helena .


    ¡°No , no problems at all¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°What do you guys think they¡¯ll find out there?¡± asked Helena .


    ¡°Chances are great they¡¯ll find nothing .


    Best case scenario is resources , in my opinion¡± said Sam .


    ¡°There are a few locations that look promising according to Da¡¯grass¡± interjected Alex .


    But they¡¯ll probably look nothing like Earth .


    ¡°And size does matter¡± giggled Sarah .


    Too big , and we would have trouble moving around¡­


    ¡°Mom!¡± Cried out both Helena and Sam .


    ¡°Look we¡¯ve arrived¡± said a flustered Cynthia .


    A large crowd was gathered , watching as people said their goodbyes and boarded the ships .


    Equipment and necessities had already been loaded in the previous days .


    Cheers could be heard here and there mingling with the grumbles of scientists who hadn¡¯t been chosen by their compatriots .


    Ten minutes after the doors closed , they received a message that the ships were about to depart .


    ¡°This is history in the making - the first time humanity leaves its own solar system to explore another one¡± whispered Helena to Alex .


    ¡°We¡¯ve been making a lot of history these last couple of years¡± responded Alex.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make it any less valuable¡± said Helena , as she watched the ships take off .


    They kept watching until the ships were out of sight , then returned to their taxi just in time to prevent it from being taken by another group .


    The people who wanted to board the taxi recognized Alex and Helena and decided to wait for another .


    ¡°The perks of being famous¡± joked Alex once everyone was in the taxi .


    ¡°More like , ¡®Don¡¯t anger the boss or you¡¯ll be fired¡¯¡± laughed Sam .


    Helena selected a bar on the holographic map , and the vehicle departed .


    ¡°It¡¯s the same bar we went to when we watched the delivery of the prefab in Mars¡¯ orbit¡± explained Helena .


    ¡°It¡¯s a nice place with a good view¡± said Sarah agreed.


    The trip was short , and soon they were seated at a table , ordering their drinks.


    Helena assured them that she was fine with them drinking while she couldn¡¯t , and she ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail .


    Sarah started talking to Alex about opening a franchise offering full-time VR during stasis .


    She argued that while in stasis , users could still enter the Nexus , prolonging their life according to the technology specifications .


    She had already purchased the technology and was confident that there would be a clientele for it .


    Alex agreed but emphasized the importance of allowing users to exit the stasis pods whenever they chose .


    He transferred the necessary funds to the company¡¯s account , insisting that payments for the service should at least be made partially in credits .


    Sarah agreed but seemed a little distracted after that .


    ¡°What is it mom?¡± asked Helena , noticing her behavior .


    ¡°Well , there is something on a personal note I want to ask¡± admitted Sarah .


    But it¡¯s a bit of a sensitive topic knowing Alex .


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad for you to act like that¡± said Alex .


    ¡°Very well . You know I¡¯ve been dating Max for the last few months¡± began Sarah .


    ¡°How could we forget¡± grumbled Alex .


    ¡°See ? That¡¯s what I mean¡± Sarah replied.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him , mother . He¡¯s just being childish¡± said Helena .


    We don¡¯t have anything against you and max dating , do we , sweetie?


    ¡°Sighh ¡­ no , we don¡¯t¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°Well , okay . My question is if we can invite him to the colony so that we can be together?¡± asked Sarah .


    He¡¯s been a real gentleman and we hit it off quite well .


    He makes me feel like I¡¯m the most important thing in his life , and he doesn¡¯t even have to put in any effort .


    I think he really means it when he tells me he wants to spend the rest of his life with me.


    ¡°Good for you , mom¡± said Sam .


    ¡°Yeah , congratulations mom . I¡¯m happy for you¡± added Helena .


    ¡°You do realize that if he gets the treatment , the rest of his life might be longer than he thinks¡± interjected Alex .


    And if he has a personality disorder , it¡¯ll need to be fixed .


    ¡°I haven¡¯t told him anything about the treatment yet , but I¡¯m confident that if he gets the choice , he¡¯ll even risk a behavior adjustment to be with me¡± replied Sarah .


    And I¡¯m fully aware that if we live for so long , we may eventually drift apart , as you mentioned .


    ¡°Very well , send him to the island , but he better not publish anything about it in his magazine¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°He works for us now , and he won¡¯t . Thank you Alex¡± said a grateful Sarah .


    ¡°Yeah , thanks , sweetie . See ? It wasn¡¯t that hard was it?¡± said Helena while she winked at him .


    For the rest of their time at the bar , they talked about smaller things , like what was happening in their personal lives and the documentary that Cynthia was making .


    She admitted that the project was growing beyond the original scope she¡¯d envisioned but was determined to make it work .


    As for her movie , she shared that she wanted to bring the novels she loved reading to life , even if they didn¡¯t have a large audience .


    Helena told her that the universe was vast and that there could be more ¡®people¡¯ interested in them than she dared to imagine .


    This brought a smile to Cynthia¡¯s face , and she departed happily with Sam.


    Sarah was the next one to depart , saying she had to share some good news with Max .


    And so , the little gathering concluded with Alex and Helena heading back to their apartment .


    ¡°I wonder why the amusement park world isn¡¯t an option yet¡± asked Helena while they waited for the taxi .


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°According to my talks with Etherea , she is accumulating various retro entertainment from across the universe to add to the amusement park world.


    Nothing will be deleted or altered , though¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Well , now we know¡± Helena said with a smile .

 050

    Two weeks passed . Max Mertens arrived at the island , the option for the amusement park world was available , and the first ship arrived at their first planet .


    Alex , Helena and Sarah where awaiting Max outside the warehouse where the gate was located .


    They decided to wait out of sight just to be sure , even if they knew it was probably pointless .


    ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough for doing this for me¡± said an elated Sarah .


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°Yeah , mom , even Alex acknowledges the fact that everyone deserves to be happy¡± beamed Helena .


    ¡°Well , almost everybody¡± murmured Alex , at which Helena elbowed him in the ribs .


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean Max¡± retorted Alex while rubbing his ribs .


    ¡°There he is¡± said Sarah , and she started waving at Max .


    Noticing Sarah¡¯s antics , Max started smiling and quickened his pace .


    ¡°Thank you for doing this after what I¡¯ve put you guy¡¯s through¡± was the first thing Max said to Alex before hugging Sarah .


    ¡°Yeah , well , Sarah convinced us that you¡¯re not the bad person we thought you were¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°Where is the ship that¡¯s going to take us to the colony ?¡± asked Max .


    ¡°There is no ship here , and what you¡¯re about to see has to be kept a secret from outsiders as long as possible , so keep in mind what you say to whom¡± responded Alex .


    ¡°Follow me !¡± and they entered the warehouse .


    ¡°Is this a portal ?¡± exclaimed a flabbergasted Max .


    That explains a lot !


    Aren¡¯t you worried that you¡¯ve been found out by all those goods and people you¡¯ve transferred ?


    ¡°It¡¯s a gate and although it worries me , I had help to cover it up as well as we could¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°Come , honey¡± said Sarah and she grabbed Max¡¯s arm and dragged him through the gate before he started asking his millions of questions .


    Alex smiled at this and said to Helena , ¡°You look after your mother¡± which got him elbowed one more time .


    ¡°You¡¯re just imagining things¡± said Helena as she walked through the gate .


    Alex¡¯s smile didn¡¯t disappear until they arrived at the hospital .


    Jack and Mary where waiting and began explaining to Max what was going to happen and what choices he had to make .


    Sarah followed them inside and said once again ¡°Thank you¡± while turning around before grabbing Max¡¯s hand and entering the hospital .


    ¡°It¡¯s getting difficult to move around¡± complained Helena .


    ¡°Just a little while longer , and then we¡¯ll have difficulties sleeping¡± joked Alex .


    ¡°If Mary is going to look after them after they are born , she¡¯ll need lots of milk¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Can you arrange something ?¡± she asked Alex .


    ¡°The colony has artificial milk makers ; even the hospital has a small one just in case¡± answered Alex .


    I looked it up and discussed it with Da¡¯grass because I had the same thoughts as you .


    If we can get a sample of your milk , it can even produce the same as yours , so you wouldn¡¯t need to breastfeed if you don¡¯t want to or are unable to do so .


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Jack and Mary wouldn¡¯t mind test-driving their toy at the hospital¡± said Alex , which conjured a smile on Helena¡¯s face .


    ¡°How about the ship , any news already?¡± asked Helena


    ¡°The planet isn¡¯t capable of sustaining life ; it hasn¡¯t got a magnetic field .


    They¡¯re still scanning for resources¡± replied Alex .


    When they logged in on the surface , they got the message that since the planet isn¡¯t part of our solar system there has to be at least a colony full of people to claim it in the Nexus .


    ¡°What about space stations , and how does the Nexus know ?¡± asked Helena .


    I don¡¯t know , Helena . We¡¯ll have to ask El¡¯Anor or Cathy about that .


    ¡°Or you just could ask me¡± said a disgruntled Da¡¯grass .


    When you enter the Nexus , your brain gets scanned .


    Any constructed station where people are habited gets the option like the city core but for a space station in this case .


    Or do you want the whole story instead of the short version ?


    ¡°The short story is just fine , Da¡¯grass . Sorry !¡± said Alex .


    And just in case if you were wondering , when you logged in for the first time , the system recognized you as a new species and started initiating procedures .


    ¡°Sorry , Da¡¯grass . Next time we¡¯ll think off you first when we have a question¡± said Helena .


    ¡°Yeah , thank you!¡± said Alex .


    After that , they went home and logged into the Nexus , where movement was a lot easier for Helena .


    It wasn¡¯t until three weeks later that they saw Max Mertens and Sarah show up at their apartment .


    They were enjoying each other¡¯s company , and Sarah had shown him around the colony.


    He was grateful and anxious .


    After assuring him that there were no hard feelings left between them , he returned to his normal self .


    He had been visiting the amusement park world with Sarah while in the Nexus , and work had been piling up for both him and Sarah .


    But before they both returned to their work , he wanted to tell them that he wouldn¡¯t betray their trust in him .


    Thus , life resumed it¡¯s normal course with playing games in the Nexus and visiting the amusement park world .


    <u>New Life</u>


    Seven weeks passed , and the due date for the birth of their two daughters drew near .


    In the meantime , Alex had received various reports of solar systems , but so far , no planet was found were life was present .


    There were a few candidates that were interesting enough to be mined for their resources , so Alex had them marked for future endeavors .


    Both ships were on their way to their new destinations , and the scientists were analyzing all the data they received .


    There were different discussions among the scientists that weren¡¯t work-related and they were questioning the colonists , which alarmed Alex to some degree , but he knew it was inevitable .


    Progress on the space station and spaceport was visible , but it would take a while before they were finished .


    Things on Earth were calming down , at least on the surface , now that the UN was building a spaceport and civilians started dreaming of a life among the stars.


    The UN had also started training pilots and maintenance crews through the game that Alex had chosen to be incorporated in his welcome package and they weren¡¯t the only ones .


    Just to make sure , Alex made Da¡¯grass design a warship and put it in line to be produced .


    He also let him design a scientific vessel with minimal defense capabilities .


    There would be four warships and two scientific vessels in the near future of the colony , and Helena was not amused .


    ¡°You know how I think about war¡± Helena fumed .


    ¡°I know , but we need the capability to defend ourselves¡± retorted Alex .


    ¡°Let the UN defend us then¡± said Helena , not letting down .


    ¡°That¡¯s just shifting the responsibility , and we are considered a sovereign state now .


    Besides , technology-wise we have the upper hand , not counting the soldiers¡± answered Alex .


    They¡¯ll probably never even leave the docks besides for escorting duties .


    I¡¯m not a warmonger , you know that!


    Besides , it¡¯s just 4 ships not an armada .


    ¡°That¡¯s how it starts¡± Helena complained .


    You¡¯ve got four , they¡¯ll make six , you make eight , and they make ten ¡­


    ¡°Do you think the rest of the world isn¡¯t going to make their own ships ?¡± replied Alex .


    What if they want what we have and we can¡¯t defend ourselves ?


    We¡¯ll be sitting ducks , destined to just hand over what we made and call our home , only to live under their rule and whims .


    ¡°Sweetie , I don¡¯t feel good , I think I¡¯m in labor , my stomach is contracting¡± interjected Helena .


    ¡°I¡¯ll call a taxi , we¡¯ll go to the hospital¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°She¡¯s not in labor , Alex , it¡¯s just induced by the stress of the conversation¡± said Da¡¯grass .


    It will go away if she just rests .


    ¡°Sorry Da¡¯grass , but I¡¯ll feel better if Mary examines her¡± replied Alex .


    ¡°I understand , Alex but don¡¯t forget I rebuilt your and her entire body and mind. She¡¯ll be fine with some rest¡± answered Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°Listen to Da¡¯grass , sweetie , I¡¯ll be fine¡± said Helena .


    ¡°You know , if you want , I can induce the labor . Your children would be healthy if they are born now , and you wouldn¡¯t need to rush to the hospital while she¡¯s in labor¡± suggested Da¡¯grass .


    ¡°It¡¯s up to Helena , she is carrying them¡± answered Alex .


    ¡°I want to say yes , don¡¯t get me wrong but after carrying them for nearly nine months , I¡¯ll be happy to get them out of my body¡± laughed Helena .


    But wait until tomorrow . I just want to sleep for now .


    We can notify Sam and my mom to meet at the hospital tomorrow .


    ¡°Very well , I¡¯ll send a message to them . You get some sleep¡± said Alex .


    Tomorrow we¡¯ll be parents of two beautiful girls .