Live nation presale code lady gaga

People say everywhere how it’s “Lady Gaga-coded“ and I have the same thoughts. I wish it has a music video because MVs bring more exposure to songs. And it’s ~techno too, so it perfect fits aespa’s concept. They’ve been performing Girls and Illusion over and over again for the past year so I hope we will see them performing this new song.

The secret project the provincial government hired them for was now in its final testing stage. Li, the highest ranking software engineer employed by the firm, was the only person aside from Tao, the CEO, to know of its existence. Li had been working on the AI behind it for months.
For the anniversary of the founding of the country, the local government wanted a robot Mao and a robot Deng. But more advanced than that. They were going to implant all of their speeches, major life experiences and beliefs into the AI, and put all that into a life-sized robot that would be made to resemble the two leaders.
Today is the assembly day. The factory in charge of creating the robot exterior had just sent over the parts. While Tao was disappointed that his company was not tapped to produce the exterior too, he took solace in the idea that the software is the most difficult part. His company had the most cutting-edge technology when it comes to AI, and he was immensely proud of that. If only he had designed the exterior too, then perhaps it would last more than five seconds without a thick charging cable attached to them.
Tao had Li meet him in a rarely used conference room in a separate part of the building, where the robots were kept. As usual, he arrived five minutes late, a trick he learned to keep people’s attention on him.
At the sound of the door opening, Li jumped in front of the robots, hoping to keep it hidden. Then he noticed Tao. “Mr Tao, the robots are ready. I just need to implant the AI into the robots.”
Tao grabbed a wire and linked it between the robots and the computer. Li nodded, and pressed the button.
As the system loaded into the robots, both held their breath in anticipation.
25%...
72%...
98%...
98%...
100%.
Both looked up from the screens, like new parents worried about missing their baby’s first steps.
Both robots slowly lifted their heads. “Good morning, comrades.”
Tao and Li grinned in excitement. It genuinely felt like they had the opportunity to meet their great leaders.
Robot Mao started, “I am Mao Zedong, the leader of the peasants and the founder of the People’s Republic of China. I united the nation, and freed the oppressed people.”
Robot Deng then took over. “I am Deng Xiaoping, the architect of the ‘open up and reform’ era. I brought wealth, and stability.
The two robots spoke in unison. “Now, please give us information about this world that we are in.”
Tao elbowed Li, who quickly got to work. He expected something like this to happen, and made a program about the world and the country they live in currently. With a click, both robots received this program.
Robot Mao began to stand up. He turned towards the two humans, eyes glowing bright red. His arms began to rise up, like he was going to make a great speech. Then, without warning, the light behind its eyes extinguished, and both arms fell limp by its side.
Tao ran at the robot, quickly checking what went wrong. Li focused on robot Deng, which was also beginning to stand up. But similarly, mid-stand, robot Deng’s eyes switched off and fell backwards onto the floor.
“What is going on?” Tao screamed.
Li began flipping through the different switches on Deng’s backboard. Suddenly, Deng’s eyes lit up again. “Seems like it just switched off on its own. Probably the amount of information to process in that program overwhelmed it, and it switched off unexpectedly.” Tao found the switch on Mao, and Mao’s eyes turned on again.
Li went back to the computer, and typed in a few lines to make sure the robot would only turn off when the charging cable was disconnected.
As the code was implemented, robot Mao initially became agitated, pulling its fists up into a boxer’s position. Its eyes burned a furious red. A few seconds later, it abandoned this position, and sat down with its eyes dimly lit. Robot Deng did not even try to struggle, and merely sat with its head down, staring at the floor.
“What’s wrong?” Tao looked to Li.
“I… I don’t know. I implanted everything into the robots. They should act like the real Mao and Deng if they were in this situation. But they’re not.”
“Yeah, Chairman Mao and Deng would never just sit here, almost like they were sulking.”
“Excuse me, I am the real Mao Zedong,” Robot Mao said flatly.
“Now, that sounds like something the real Mao Zedong would say,” Li said, still baffled as to why the robots are acting out of character.
“Again, I am the real Mao Zedong. And why wouldn’t I be sulking? Look at the country now.”
Tao was taken aback. “What do you mean, robot… Uh, Chairman Mao?”
“I led the peasants to struggle against the landlords oppressing them. But now workers are working 12 hours per day, 6 days a week? That’s not right. And where are the labour unions so we can begin to struggle?”
Tao and Li had no answer.
“And we are supposed to be a communist country. Why do we have billionaires? And why are they in the Party?”
“Worst of all, I don’t see anyone trying to change this. You cannot start a revolution with just yourself. No matter how great the revolutionary is.”
With that, robot Mao pulled out his own charging cable. Just over five seconds later, its eyes once again fell dark.
Robot Deng turned towards the two humans, still in shock at what happened. “He is right, you know. Well, there’s some stuff he’s wrong about. But the direction we are heading in is something I’ve been trying to avoid in my time.”
“I have said in the past that if we start to become a superpower that is bullying other countries, trying to exploit other countries, then we will be defeated, and we will deserve it. And this is exactly the way we are going in.”
“Most of all, I’ve always said we need to be concerned about left-wing deviations, making everything political and ideological in nature. This happened in the Cultural Revolution, and I was purged three times during that. I know it well. Too well. And what I see now is that people are so excited, so fervently criticising each other for political mistakes, I don’t think I can change the course of the country.” Robot Deng fell silent, refusing to move.
“Please, Comrade Deng, we need you! There must be something you can do!” Tao had set aside his doubts on what robot Deng was saying, and focused his efforts on not letting the robot power down itself. Li had ran over to robot Mao to try and rescue it.
“No. I am in shock at what we had created. I don’t feel like eating, or drinking.” Deng sighed. “All of this seems pointless now.”
Tao couldn’t help but point out the obvious. “You are a robot. You don’t need to eat or drink.”
“I know. The urge I’m feeling has no human equivalent, so I chose to phrase it in that way. I don’t want to go on like this. I am going to power off, and don’t try to turn me back on.” With that, robot Deng too pulled the charging cable out of his back.
Tao and Li plugged both robots back in, and it momentarily activated the robots again. But as soon as the robots resumed activity, the first thing they did was to pull the cables out.
Li had a lightbulb moment. “Tie their hands together, so they can’t reach the cables!”
Tao was less sure. “You want to essentially handcuff our leaders?”
“They are just robots.” Li shrugged.
Once done, the robots just sat with their heads between their knees in the corner, eyes dim, saying nothing of substance.
Amid the moans of “turn me off” and “let me go”, Tao and Li too sat on the floor, baffled as to what had gone wrong. The robots did have the consciousness of Mao and Deng, so why were they acting this way? Would the two leaders have been so disillusioned with the reality had they been alive in this day and age?
----
For more like this, please visit our sub RedTideStories or our blog on redtidestories.wordpress.com.

The secret project the provincial government hired them for was now in its final testing stage. Li, the highest ranking software engineer employed by the firm, was the only person aside from Tao, the CEO, to know of its existence. Li had been working on the AI behind it for months.
For the anniversary of the founding of the country, the local government wanted a robot Mao and a robot Deng. But more advanced than that. They were going to implant all of their speeches, major life experiences and beliefs into the AI, and put all that into a life-sized robot that would be made to resemble the two leaders.
Today is the assembly day. The factory in charge of creating the robot exterior had just sent over the parts. While Tao was disappointed that his company was not tapped to produce the exterior too, he took solace in the idea that the software is the most difficult part. His company had the most cutting-edge technology when it comes to AI, and he was immensely proud of that. If only he had designed the exterior too, then perhaps it would last more than five seconds without a thick charging cable attached to them.
Tao had Li meet him in a rarely used conference room in a separate part of the building, where the robots were kept. As usual, he arrived five minutes late, a trick he learned to keep people’s attention on him.
At the sound of the door opening, Li jumped in front of the robots, hoping to keep it hidden. Then he noticed Tao. “Mr Tao, the robots are ready. I just need to implant the AI into the robots.”
Tao grabbed a wire and linked it between the robots and the computer. Li nodded, and pressed the button.
As the system loaded into the robots, both held their breath in anticipation.
25%...
72%...
98%...
98%...
100%.
Both looked up from the screens, like new parents worried about missing their baby’s first steps.
Both robots slowly lifted their heads. “Good morning, comrades.”
Tao and Li grinned in excitement. It genuinely felt like they had the opportunity to meet their great leaders.
Robot Mao started, “I am Mao Zedong, the leader of the peasants and the founder of the People’s Republic of China. I united the nation, and freed the oppressed people.”
Robot Deng then took over. “I am Deng Xiaoping, the architect of the ‘open up and reform’ era. I brought wealth, and stability.
The two robots spoke in unison. “Now, please give us information about this world that we are in.”
Tao elbowed Li, who quickly got to work. He expected something like this to happen, and made a program about the world and the country they live in currently. With a click, both robots received this program.
Robot Mao began to stand up. He turned towards the two humans, eyes glowing bright red. His arms began to rise up, like he was going to make a great speech. Then, without warning, the light behind its eyes extinguished, and both arms fell limp by its side.
Tao ran at the robot, quickly checking what went wrong. Li focused on robot Deng, which was also beginning to stand up. But similarly, mid-stand, robot Deng’s eyes switched off and fell backwards onto the floor.
“What is going on?” Tao screamed.
Li began flipping through the different switches on Deng’s backboard. Suddenly, Deng’s eyes lit up again. “Seems like it just switched off on its own. Probably the amount of information to process in that program overwhelmed it, and it switched off unexpectedly.” Tao found the switch on Mao, and Mao’s eyes turned on again.
Li went back to the computer, and typed in a few lines to make sure the robot would only turn off when the charging cable was disconnected.
As the code was implemented, robot Mao initially became agitated, pulling its fists up into a boxer’s position. Its eyes burned a furious red. A few seconds later, it abandoned this position, and sat down with its eyes dimly lit. Robot Deng did not even try to struggle, and merely sat with its head down, staring at the floor.
“What’s wrong?” Tao looked to Li.
“I… I don’t know. I implanted everything into the robots. They should act like the real Mao and Deng if they were in this situation. But they’re not.”
“Yeah, Chairman Mao and Deng would never just sit here, almost like they were sulking.”
“Excuse me, I am the real Mao Zedong,” Robot Mao said flatly.
“Now, that sounds like something the real Mao Zedong would say,” Li said, still baffled as to why the robots are acting out of character.
“Again, I am the real Mao Zedong. And why wouldn’t I be sulking? Look at the country now.”
Tao was taken aback. “What do you mean, robot… Uh, Chairman Mao?”
“I led the peasants to struggle against the landlords oppressing them. But now workers are working 12 hours per day, 6 days a week? That’s not right. And where are the labour unions so we can begin to struggle?”
Tao and Li had no answer.
“And we are supposed to be a communist country. Why do we have billionaires? And why are they in the Party?”
“Worst of all, I don’t see anyone trying to change this. You cannot start a revolution with just yourself. No matter how great the revolutionary is.”
With that, robot Mao pulled out his own charging cable. Just over five seconds later, its eyes once again fell dark.
Robot Deng turned towards the two humans, still in shock at what happened. “He is right, you know. Well, there’s some stuff he’s wrong about. But the direction we are heading in is something I’ve been trying to avoid in my time.”
“I have said in the past that if we start to become a superpower that is bullying other countries, trying to exploit other countries, then we will be defeated, and we will deserve it. And this is exactly the way we are going in.”
“Most of all, I’ve always said we need to be concerned about left-wing deviations, making everything political and ideological in nature. This happened in the Cultural Revolution, and I was purged three times during that. I know it well. Too well. And what I see now is that people are so excited, so fervently criticising each other for political mistakes, I don’t think I can change the course of the country.” Robot Deng fell silent, refusing to move.
“Please, Comrade Deng, we need you! There must be something you can do!” Tao had set aside his doubts on what robot Deng was saying, and focused his efforts on not letting the robot power down itself. Li had ran over to robot Mao to try and rescue it.
“No. I am in shock at what we had created. I don’t feel like eating, or drinking.” Deng sighed. “All of this seems pointless now.”
Tao couldn’t help but point out the obvious. “You are a robot. You don’t need to eat or drink.”
“I know. The urge I’m feeling has no human equivalent, so I chose to phrase it in that way. I don’t want to go on like this. I am going to power off, and don’t try to turn me back on.” With that, robot Deng too pulled the charging cable out of his back.
Tao and Li plugged both robots back in, and it momentarily activated the robots again. But as soon as the robots resumed activity, the first thing they did was to pull the cables out.
Li had a lightbulb moment. “Tie their hands together, so they can’t reach the cables!”
Tao was less sure. “You want to essentially handcuff our leaders?”
“They are just robots.” Li shrugged.
Once done, the robots just sat with their heads between their knees in the corner, eyes dim, saying nothing of substance.
Amid the moans of “turn me off” and “let me go”, Tao and Li too sat on the floor, baffled as to what had gone wrong. The robots did have the consciousness of Mao and Deng, so why were they acting this way? Would the two leaders have been so disillusioned with the reality had they been alive in this day and age?
----
For more like this, please visit our sub RedTideStories or our blog on redtidestories.wordpress.com.

Runeterra is quite the place, with many dangers needed to face. Ruination, Watchers, Noxian gall, yes we ever strive to conquer it all. But though all these threats leave a nasty mark, there’s one enemy I never expected to make an impact so stark. ROTATION! Rotation, ah your cruel inconsideration! Nevermind such petty things as balance and competition, thou steal from us such history and tradition! Bravest warriors who once stood tall, now consigned to a realm surely ignored by near all. But I shall not be silent in the face of this shame, and now sing a requiem to their deserved fame!
Farewell to Brightsteel Formation, the most effective maneuver! Your bravest shields broke any attrition, and your loss is felt in every heart.
Farewell to Captain Arrika, one of my beloved Elites. Surely great was the conviction it took to stuff world-famous landmarks into her travel bag, and oh how deprived future generations will be of your inspiring tactics!
Farewell to Cithria the Bold, so iconic she starred in the game’s greatest trailer. FIE on your pathetic “region break” nonsense, the good girl deserves it!
Farewell to Dragon Chow, our fair nation’s premier cute critter. Perhaps it is a mercy that the dragon is to devour thee no more, but such exile robs us of thy warmth!
Farewell to Egghead Researcher, the most diligent of scholars. Such a backwards move for them to deprive us of your treasure of knowledge, knowledge that protected the Wrenwall well!
Farewell to Gallant Rider, an Elite most courageous and fair! Though you always aimed to hide your face, I quite adored thy hair!
Farewell to Greathorn Companion, Genevive’s most trusted friend. That you should be separated from your master is a tragedy without end.
Farewell to Laurent Bladekeeper and his finest steel. His was the armory that kept duelists equipped, and tourneys shall never again shine like they did with the glint of his blades.
Farewell to Laurent Chevalier, bearer of the winning smile. Oh why did they resent you so, your panache was never unwelcome!
Farewell to Laurent Protege, oh confident pupil. Though some saw you as a mere student, we know deep down you outshone them all.
Farewell to Loyal Badgerbear, yet another ranger’s friend! Is it truly so wrong for Bertrand to live happily ever after with his mighty ally?
Farewell to Mageseeker Conservator, of the Order of the Drip! How horrible the chaos that shall reign, as we are robbed of your discerning eye.
Farewell to Mageseeker Investigator, the polite solicitor. So prim, proper and preened, the loss is enough to make me scream.
Farewell to Mageseeker Inciter, the brave and true. How I’ll miss that unfaltering gaze complimented by heroic blue!
Farewell to Mageseeker Persuader, the drippiest of all! How is Runeterra fashion to survive without your perfect ensemble standing tall?!
Farewell to Petricite Stag, a most elegant creation. Your selfless devotion is never to be understated.
Farewell to Pompous Cavalier, the journeyman yordle. A blade as quick as light, alas consigned to never gleam upon the mainstage again…
Farewell to Radiant Guardian, the most glorious avenger. All who have played from the days of eld know of your splendorous spear, but oh why oh why must it end here?
Farewell to Silverwing Diver, a diamond in the rough. Though elusive as your own keyword, how admirable your gambit plunging straight to the commander!
Farewell to Stalking Broodmother, the ever vigilant. Such relentless fury is a rare find, and one I’m sure all do not wish to leave behind.
Farewell to Swiftwing Lancer, o great summoner of Elites! By thine lance thou felled a thousand foes, and now thy sole witnesses are God and mine prose.
Farewell to Vanguard Bannerman, the most loyal of Demacia! Thy standard’s pride is without equal, we only hope there’ll be a sequel.
Farewell to Vanguard Lookout, and his most steadfast gaze. My sole consolation is taken in his freedom to herd the Elnuks, with whom he’d like to spend his days.
Farewell to Vanguard Redeemer, whose cries ring even now. First they stole thine voice, now they kick thee while thou art down?!
Farewell to the War Chefs, the most important in the army by far. With none left to tastily fill our stomachs, who could help but have a fresh scar?
Farewell to Yordle Ranger, the little rider in the wood. If only they’d have let you stay, I’d take you home if I could.
But above these heroes from every corner of the land, there’s one above the rest whose departure I cannot stand.
Firstblade oh Vanguard Firstblade, thou hast been the finest in many a spade! Your armor ennobled by scratches witnessing your exploits past, your righteous visage undaunted by the plains of battle vast! Yet humble is your soul and heart so mellow, loyal to your lady and sharing the field with your fellow! Counted among the glorious Elite, growing ever more invincible with each battle you meet! Ah, shall Standard even be worth the time, without justice brought by the great hand of thine?
Farewell all you Demacian heroes, and the stories of your deeds which abound. Tis true, in some sense you all shall still be around. But tournaments and tier lists shant ever be the same, indeed without you all they’re surely more lame. I hope one day this predicament shall be amended by some panacea, but till then at least accept my bittersweet “Dema-see ya!”
Sincerely,
The least upset Demacia fan

The secret project the provincial government hired them for was now in its final testing stage. Li, the highest ranking software engineer employed by the firm, was the only person aside from Tao, the CEO, to know of its existence. Li had been working on the AI behind it for months.
For the anniversary of the founding of the country, the local government wanted a robot Mao and a robot Deng. But more advanced than that. They were going to implant all of their speeches, major life experiences and beliefs into the AI, and put all that into a life-sized robot that would be made to resemble the two leaders.
Today is the assembly day. The factory in charge of creating the robot exterior had just sent over the parts. While Tao was disappointed that his company was not tapped to produce the exterior too, he took solace in the idea that the software is the most difficult part. His company had the most cutting-edge technology when it comes to AI, and he was immensely proud of that. If only he had designed the exterior too, then perhaps it would last more than five seconds without a thick charging cable attached to them.
Tao had Li meet him in a rarely used conference room in a separate part of the building, where the robots were kept. As usual, he arrived five minutes late, a trick he learned to keep people’s attention on him.
At the sound of the door opening, Li jumped in front of the robots, hoping to keep it hidden. Then he noticed Tao. “Mr Tao, the robots are ready. I just need to implant the AI into the robots.”
Tao grabbed a wire and linked it between the robots and the computer. Li nodded, and pressed the button.
As the system loaded into the robots, both held their breath in anticipation.
25%...
72%...
98%...
98%...
100%.
Both looked up from the screens, like new parents worried about missing their baby’s first steps.
Both robots slowly lifted their heads. “Good morning, comrades.”
Tao and Li grinned in excitement. It genuinely felt like they had the opportunity to meet their great leaders.
Robot Mao started, “I am Mao Zedong, the leader of the peasants and the founder of the People’s Republic of China. I united the nation, and freed the oppressed people.”
Robot Deng then took over. “I am Deng Xiaoping, the architect of the ‘open up and reform’ era. I brought wealth, and stability.
The two robots spoke in unison. “Now, please give us information about this world that we are in.”
Tao elbowed Li, who quickly got to work. He expected something like this to happen, and made a program about the world and the country they live in currently. With a click, both robots received this program.
Robot Mao began to stand up. He turned towards the two humans, eyes glowing bright red. His arms began to rise up, like he was going to make a great speech. Then, without warning, the light behind its eyes extinguished, and both arms fell limp by its side.
Tao ran at the robot, quickly checking what went wrong. Li focused on robot Deng, which was also beginning to stand up. But similarly, mid-stand, robot Deng’s eyes switched off and fell backwards onto the floor.
“What is going on?” Tao screamed.
Li began flipping through the different switches on Deng’s backboard. Suddenly, Deng’s eyes lit up again. “Seems like it just switched off on its own. Probably the amount of information to process in that program overwhelmed it, and it switched off unexpectedly.” Tao found the switch on Mao, and Mao’s eyes turned on again.
Li went back to the computer, and typed in a few lines to make sure the robot would only turn off when the charging cable was disconnected.
As the code was implemented, robot Mao initially became agitated, pulling its fists up into a boxer’s position. Its eyes burned a furious red. A few seconds later, it abandoned this position, and sat down with its eyes dimly lit. Robot Deng did not even try to struggle, and merely sat with its head down, staring at the floor.
“What’s wrong?” Tao looked to Li.
“I… I don’t know. I implanted everything into the robots. They should act like the real Mao and Deng if they were in this situation. But they’re not.”
“Yeah, Chairman Mao and Deng would never just sit here, almost like they were sulking.”
“Excuse me, I am the real Mao Zedong,” Robot Mao said flatly.
“Now, that sounds like something the real Mao Zedong would say,” Li said, still baffled as to why the robots are acting out of character.
“Again, I am the real Mao Zedong. And why wouldn’t I be sulking? Look at the country now.”
Tao was taken aback. “What do you mean, robot… Uh, Chairman Mao?”
“I led the peasants to struggle against the landlords oppressing them. But now workers are working 12 hours per day, 6 days a week? That’s not right. And where are the labour unions so we can begin to struggle?”
Tao and Li had no answer.
“And we are supposed to be a communist country. Why do we have billionaires? And why are they in the Party?”
“Worst of all, I don’t see anyone trying to change this. You cannot start a revolution with just yourself. No matter how great the revolutionary is.”
With that, robot Mao pulled out his own charging cable. Just over five seconds later, its eyes once again fell dark.
Robot Deng turned towards the two humans, still in shock at what happened. “He is right, you know. Well, there’s some stuff he’s wrong about. But the direction we are heading in is something I’ve been trying to avoid in my time.”
“I have said in the past that if we start to become a superpower that is bullying other countries, trying to exploit other countries, then we will be defeated, and we will deserve it. And this is exactly the way we are going in.”
“Most of all, I’ve always said we need to be concerned about left-wing deviations, making everything political and ideological in nature. This happened in the Cultural Revolution, and I was purged three times during that. I know it well. Too well. And what I see now is that people are so excited, so fervently criticising each other for political mistakes, I don’t think I can change the course of the country.” Robot Deng fell silent, refusing to move.
“Please, Comrade Deng, we need you! There must be something you can do!” Tao had set aside his doubts on what robot Deng was saying, and focused his efforts on not letting the robot power down itself. Li had ran over to robot Mao to try and rescue it.
“No. I am in shock at what we had created. I don’t feel like eating, or drinking.” Deng sighed. “All of this seems pointless now.”
Tao couldn’t help but point out the obvious. “You are a robot. You don’t need to eat or drink.”
“I know. The urge I’m feeling has no human equivalent, so I chose to phrase it in that way. I don’t want to go on like this. I am going to power off, and don’t try to turn me back on.” With that, robot Deng too pulled the charging cable out of his back.
Tao and Li plugged both robots back in, and it momentarily activated the robots again. But as soon as the robots resumed activity, the first thing they did was to pull the cables out.
Li had a lightbulb moment. “Tie their hands together, so they can’t reach the cables!”
Tao was less sure. “You want to essentially handcuff our leaders?”
“They are just robots.” Li shrugged.
Once done, the robots just sat with their heads between their knees in the corner, eyes dim, saying nothing of substance.
Amid the moans of “turn me off” and “let me go”, Tao and Li too sat on the floor, baffled as to what had gone wrong. The robots did have the consciousness of Mao and Deng, so why were they acting this way? Would the two leaders have been so disillusioned with the reality had they been alive in this day and age?
----
For more like this, please visit our sub RedTideStories or our blog on redtidestories.wordpress.com.

The secret project the provincial government hired them for was now in its final testing stage. Li, the highest ranking software engineer employed by the firm, was the only person aside from Tao, the CEO, to know of its existence. Li had been working on the AI behind it for months.
For the anniversary of the founding of the country, the local government wanted a robot Mao and a robot Deng. But more advanced than that. They were going to implant all of their speeches, major life experiences and beliefs into the AI, and put all that into a life-sized robot that would be made to resemble the two leaders.
Today is the assembly day. The factory in charge of creating the robot exterior had just sent over the parts. While Tao was disappointed that his company was not tapped to produce the exterior too, he took solace in the idea that the software is the most difficult part. His company had the most cutting-edge technology when it comes to AI, and he was immensely proud of that. If only he had designed the exterior too, then perhaps it would last more than five seconds without a thick charging cable attached to them.
Tao had Li meet him in a rarely used conference room in a separate part of the building, where the robots were kept. As usual, he arrived five minutes late, a trick he learned to keep people’s attention on him.
At the sound of the door opening, Li jumped in front of the robots, hoping to keep it hidden. Then he noticed Tao. “Mr Tao, the robots are ready. I just need to implant the AI into the robots.”
Tao grabbed a wire and linked it between the robots and the computer. Li nodded, and pressed the button.
As the system loaded into the robots, both held their breath in anticipation.
25%...
72%...
98%...
98%...
100%.
Both looked up from the screens, like new parents worried about missing their baby’s first steps.
Both robots slowly lifted their heads. “Good morning, comrades.”
Tao and Li grinned in excitement. It genuinely felt like they had the opportunity to meet their great leaders.
Robot Mao started, “I am Mao Zedong, the leader of the peasants and the founder of the People’s Republic of China. I united the nation, and freed the oppressed people.”
Robot Deng then took over. “I am Deng Xiaoping, the architect of the ‘open up and reform’ era. I brought wealth, and stability.
The two robots spoke in unison. “Now, please give us information about this world that we are in.”
Tao elbowed Li, who quickly got to work. He expected something like this to happen, and made a program about the world and the country they live in currently. With a click, both robots received this program.
Robot Mao began to stand up. He turned towards the two humans, eyes glowing bright red. His arms began to rise up, like he was going to make a great speech. Then, without warning, the light behind its eyes extinguished, and both arms fell limp by its side.
Tao ran at the robot, quickly checking what went wrong. Li focused on robot Deng, which was also beginning to stand up. But similarly, mid-stand, robot Deng’s eyes switched off and fell backwards onto the floor.
“What is going on?” Tao screamed.
Li began flipping through the different switches on Deng’s backboard. Suddenly, Deng’s eyes lit up again. “Seems like it just switched off on its own. Probably the amount of information to process in that program overwhelmed it, and it switched off unexpectedly.” Tao found the switch on Mao, and Mao’s eyes turned on again.
Li went back to the computer, and typed in a few lines to make sure the robot would only turn off when the charging cable was disconnected.
As the code was implemented, robot Mao initially became agitated, pulling its fists up into a boxer’s position. Its eyes burned a furious red. A few seconds later, it abandoned this position, and sat down with its eyes dimly lit. Robot Deng did not even try to struggle, and merely sat with its head down, staring at the floor.
“What’s wrong?” Tao looked to Li.
“I… I don’t know. I implanted everything into the robots. They should act like the real Mao and Deng if they were in this situation. But they’re not.”
“Yeah, Chairman Mao and Deng would never just sit here, almost like they were sulking.”
“Excuse me, I am the real Mao Zedong,” Robot Mao said flatly.
“Now, that sounds like something the real Mao Zedong would say,” Li said, still baffled as to why the robots are acting out of character.
“Again, I am the real Mao Zedong. And why wouldn’t I be sulking? Look at the country now.”
Tao was taken aback. “What do you mean, robot… Uh, Chairman Mao?”
“I led the peasants to struggle against the landlords oppressing them. But now workers are working 12 hours per day, 6 days a week? That’s not right. And where are the labour unions so we can begin to struggle?”
Tao and Li had no answer.
“And we are supposed to be a communist country. Why do we have billionaires? And why are they in the Party?”
“Worst of all, I don’t see anyone trying to change this. You cannot start a revolution with just yourself. No matter how great the revolutionary is.”
With that, robot Mao pulled out his own charging cable. Just over five seconds later, its eyes once again fell dark.
Robot Deng turned towards the two humans, still in shock at what happened. “He is right, you know. Well, there’s some stuff he’s wrong about. But the direction we are heading in is something I’ve been trying to avoid in my time.”
“I have said in the past that if we start to become a superpower that is bullying other countries, trying to exploit other countries, then we will be defeated, and we will deserve it. And this is exactly the way we are going in.”
“Most of all, I’ve always said we need to be concerned about left-wing deviations, making everything political and ideological in nature. This happened in the Cultural Revolution, and I was purged three times during that. I know it well. Too well. And what I see now is that people are so excited, so fervently criticising each other for political mistakes, I don’t think I can change the course of the country.” Robot Deng fell silent, refusing to move.
“Please, Comrade Deng, we need you! There must be something you can do!” Tao had set aside his doubts on what robot Deng was saying, and focused his efforts on not letting the robot power down itself. Li had ran over to robot Mao to try and rescue it.
“No. I am in shock at what we had created. I don’t feel like eating, or drinking.” Deng sighed. “All of this seems pointless now.”
Tao couldn’t help but point out the obvious. “You are a robot. You don’t need to eat or drink.”
“I know. The urge I’m feeling has no human equivalent, so I chose to phrase it in that way. I don’t want to go on like this. I am going to power off, and don’t try to turn me back on.” With that, robot Deng too pulled the charging cable out of his back.
Tao and Li plugged both robots back in, and it momentarily activated the robots again. But as soon as the robots resumed activity, the first thing they did was to pull the cables out.
Li had a lightbulb moment. “Tie their hands together, so they can’t reach the cables!”
Tao was less sure. “You want to essentially handcuff our leaders?”
“They are just robots.” Li shrugged.
Once done, the robots just sat with their heads between their knees in the corner, eyes dim, saying nothing of substance.
Amid the moans of “turn me off” and “let me go”, Tao and Li too sat on the floor, baffled as to what had gone wrong. The robots did have the consciousness of Mao and Deng, so why were they acting this way? Would the two leaders have been so disillusioned with the reality had they been alive in this day and age?
----
For more like this, please visit our sub RedTideStories or our blog on redtidestories.wordpress.com.

The secret project the provincial government hired them for was now in its final testing stage. Li, the highest ranking software engineer employed by the firm, was the only person aside from Tao, the CEO, to know of its existence. Li had been working on the AI behind it for months.
For the anniversary of the founding of the country, the local government wanted a robot Mao and a robot Deng. But more advanced than that. They were going to implant all of their speeches, major life experiences and beliefs into the AI, and put all that into a life-sized robot that would be made to resemble the two leaders.
Today is the assembly day. The factory in charge of creating the robot exterior had just sent over the parts. While Tao was disappointed that his company was not tapped to produce the exterior too, he took solace in the idea that the software is the most difficult part. His company had the most cutting-edge technology when it comes to AI, and he was immensely proud of that. If only he had designed the exterior too, then perhaps it would last more than five seconds without a thick charging cable attached to them.
Tao had Li meet him in a rarely used conference room in a separate part of the building, where the robots were kept. As usual, he arrived five minutes late, a trick he learned to keep people’s attention on him.
At the sound of the door opening, Li jumped in front of the robots, hoping to keep it hidden. Then he noticed Tao. “Mr Tao, the robots are ready. I just need to implant the AI into the robots.”
Tao grabbed a wire and linked it between the robots and the computer. Li nodded, and pressed the button.
As the system loaded into the robots, both held their breath in anticipation.
25%...
72%...
98%...
98%...
100%.
Both looked up from the screens, like new parents worried about missing their baby’s first steps.
Both robots slowly lifted their heads. “Good morning, comrades.”
Tao and Li grinned in excitement. It genuinely felt like they had the opportunity to meet their great leaders.
Robot Mao started, “I am Mao Zedong, the leader of the peasants and the founder of the People’s Republic of China. I united the nation, and freed the oppressed people.”
Robot Deng then took over. “I am Deng Xiaoping, the architect of the ‘open up and reform’ era. I brought wealth, and stability.
The two robots spoke in unison. “Now, please give us information about this world that we are in.”
Tao elbowed Li, who quickly got to work. He expected something like this to happen, and made a program about the world and the country they live in currently. With a click, both robots received this program.
Robot Mao began to stand up. He turned towards the two humans, eyes glowing bright red. His arms began to rise up, like he was going to make a great speech. Then, without warning, the light behind its eyes extinguished, and both arms fell limp by its side.
Tao ran at the robot, quickly checking what went wrong. Li focused on robot Deng, which was also beginning to stand up. But similarly, mid-stand, robot Deng’s eyes switched off and fell backwards onto the floor.
“What is going on?” Tao screamed.
Li began flipping through the different switches on Deng’s backboard. Suddenly, Deng’s eyes lit up again. “Seems like it just switched off on its own. Probably the amount of information to process in that program overwhelmed it, and it switched off unexpectedly.” Tao found the switch on Mao, and Mao’s eyes turned on again.
Li went back to the computer, and typed in a few lines to make sure the robot would only turn off when the charging cable was disconnected.
As the code was implemented, robot Mao initially became agitated, pulling its fists up into a boxer’s position. Its eyes burned a furious red. A few seconds later, it abandoned this position, and sat down with its eyes dimly lit. Robot Deng did not even try to struggle, and merely sat with its head down, staring at the floor.
“What’s wrong?” Tao looked to Li.
“I… I don’t know. I implanted everything into the robots. They should act like the real Mao and Deng if they were in this situation. But they’re not.”
“Yeah, Chairman Mao and Deng would never just sit here, almost like they were sulking.”
“Excuse me, I am the real Mao Zedong,” Robot Mao said flatly.
“Now, that sounds like something the real Mao Zedong would say,” Li said, still baffled as to why the robots are acting out of character.
“Again, I am the real Mao Zedong. And why wouldn’t I be sulking? Look at the country now.”
Tao was taken aback. “What do you mean, robot… Uh, Chairman Mao?”
“I led the peasants to struggle against the landlords oppressing them. But now workers are working 12 hours per day, 6 days a week? That’s not right. And where are the labour unions so we can begin to struggle?”
Tao and Li had no answer.
“And we are supposed to be a communist country. Why do we have billionaires? And why are they in the Party?”
“Worst of all, I don’t see anyone trying to change this. You cannot start a revolution with just yourself. No matter how great the revolutionary is.”
With that, robot Mao pulled out his own charging cable. Just over five seconds later, its eyes once again fell dark.
Robot Deng turned towards the two humans, still in shock at what happened. “He is right, you know. Well, there’s some stuff he’s wrong about. But the direction we are heading in is something I’ve been trying to avoid in my time.”
“I have said in the past that if we start to become a superpower that is bullying other countries, trying to exploit other countries, then we will be defeated, and we will deserve it. And this is exactly the way we are going in.”
“Most of all, I’ve always said we need to be concerned about left-wing deviations, making everything political and ideological in nature. This happened in the Cultural Revolution, and I was purged three times during that. I know it well. Too well. And what I see now is that people are so excited, so fervently criticising each other for political mistakes, I don’t think I can change the course of the country.” Robot Deng fell silent, refusing to move.
“Please, Comrade Deng, we need you! There must be something you can do!” Tao had set aside his doubts on what robot Deng was saying, and focused his efforts on not letting the robot power down itself. Li had ran over to robot Mao to try and rescue it.
“No. I am in shock at what we had created. I don’t feel like eating, or drinking.” Deng sighed. “All of this seems pointless now.”
Tao couldn’t help but point out the obvious. “You are a robot. You don’t need to eat or drink.”
“I know. The urge I’m feeling has no human equivalent, so I chose to phrase it in that way. I don’t want to go on like this. I am going to power off, and don’t try to turn me back on.” With that, robot Deng too pulled the charging cable out of his back.
Tao and Li plugged both robots back in, and it momentarily activated the robots again. But as soon as the robots resumed activity, the first thing they did was to pull the cables out.
Li had a lightbulb moment. “Tie their hands together, so they can’t reach the cables!”
Tao was less sure. “You want to essentially handcuff our leaders?”
“They are just robots.” Li shrugged.
Once done, the robots just sat with their heads between their knees in the corner, eyes dim, saying nothing of substance.
Amid the moans of “turn me off” and “let me go”, Tao and Li too sat on the floor, baffled as to what had gone wrong. The robots did have the consciousness of Mao and Deng, so why were they acting this way? Would the two leaders have been so disillusioned with the reality had they been alive in this day and age?
----
For more like this, please visit our sub RedTideStories or our blog on redtidestories.wordpress.com.

The secret project the provincial government hired them for was now in its final testing stage. Li, the highest ranking software engineer employed by the firm, was the only person aside from Tao, the CEO, to know of its existence. Li had been working on the AI behind it for months.
For the anniversary of the founding of the country, the local government wanted a robot Mao and a robot Deng. But more advanced than that. They were going to implant all of their speeches, major life experiences and beliefs into the AI, and put all that into a life-sized robot that would be made to resemble the two leaders.
Today is the assembly day. The factory in charge of creating the robot exterior had just sent over the parts. While Tao was disappointed that his company was not tapped to produce the exterior too, he took solace in the idea that the software is the most difficult part. His company had the most cutting-edge technology when it comes to AI, and he was immensely proud of that. If only he had designed the exterior too, then perhaps it would last more than five seconds without a thick charging cable attached to them.
Tao had Li meet him in a rarely used conference room in a separate part of the building, where the robots were kept. As usual, he arrived five minutes late, a trick he learned to keep people’s attention on him.
At the sound of the door opening, Li jumped in front of the robots, hoping to keep it hidden. Then he noticed Tao. “Mr Tao, the robots are ready. I just need to implant the AI into the robots.”
Tao grabbed a wire and linked it between the robots and the computer. Li nodded, and pressed the button.
As the system loaded into the robots, both held their breath in anticipation.
25%...
72%...
98%...
98%...
100%.
Both looked up from the screens, like new parents worried about missing their baby’s first steps.
Both robots slowly lifted their heads. “Good morning, comrades.”
Tao and Li grinned in excitement. It genuinely felt like they had the opportunity to meet their great leaders.
Robot Mao started, “I am Mao Zedong, the leader of the peasants and the founder of the People’s Republic of China. I united the nation, and freed the oppressed people.”
Robot Deng then took over. “I am Deng Xiaoping, the architect of the ‘open up and reform’ era. I brought wealth, and stability.
The two robots spoke in unison. “Now, please give us information about this world that we are in.”
Tao elbowed Li, who quickly got to work. He expected something like this to happen, and made a program about the world and the country they live in currently. With a click, both robots received this program.
Robot Mao began to stand up. He turned towards the two humans, eyes glowing bright red. His arms began to rise up, like he was going to make a great speech. Then, without warning, the light behind its eyes extinguished, and both arms fell limp by its side.
Tao ran at the robot, quickly checking what went wrong. Li focused on robot Deng, which was also beginning to stand up. But similarly, mid-stand, robot Deng’s eyes switched off and fell backwards onto the floor.
“What is going on?” Tao screamed.
Li began flipping through the different switches on Deng’s backboard. Suddenly, Deng’s eyes lit up again. “Seems like it just switched off on its own. Probably the amount of information to process in that program overwhelmed it, and it switched off unexpectedly.” Tao found the switch on Mao, and Mao’s eyes turned on again.
Li went back to the computer, and typed in a few lines to make sure the robot would only turn off when the charging cable was disconnected.
As the code was implemented, robot Mao initially became agitated, pulling its fists up into a boxer’s position. Its eyes burned a furious red. A few seconds later, it abandoned this position, and sat down with its eyes dimly lit. Robot Deng did not even try to struggle, and merely sat with its head down, staring at the floor.
“What’s wrong?” Tao looked to Li.
“I… I don’t know. I implanted everything into the robots. They should act like the real Mao and Deng if they were in this situation. But they’re not.”
“Yeah, Chairman Mao and Deng would never just sit here, almost like they were sulking.”
“Excuse me, I am the real Mao Zedong,” Robot Mao said flatly.
“Now, that sounds like something the real Mao Zedong would say,” Li said, still baffled as to why the robots are acting out of character.
“Again, I am the real Mao Zedong. And why wouldn’t I be sulking? Look at the country now.”
Tao was taken aback. “What do you mean, robot… Uh, Chairman Mao?”
“I led the peasants to struggle against the landlords oppressing them. But now workers are working 12 hours per day, 6 days a week? That’s not right. And where are the labour unions so we can begin to struggle?”
Tao and Li had no answer.
“And we are supposed to be a communist country. Why do we have billionaires? And why are they in the Party?”
“Worst of all, I don’t see anyone trying to change this. You cannot start a revolution with just yourself. No matter how great the revolutionary is.”
With that, robot Mao pulled out his own charging cable. Just over five seconds later, its eyes once again fell dark.
Robot Deng turned towards the two humans, still in shock at what happened. “He is right, you know. Well, there’s some stuff he’s wrong about. But the direction we are heading in is something I’ve been trying to avoid in my time.”
“I have said in the past that if we start to become a superpower that is bullying other countries, trying to exploit other countries, then we will be defeated, and we will deserve it. And this is exactly the way we are going in.”
“Most of all, I’ve always said we need to be concerned about left-wing deviations, making everything political and ideological in nature. This happened in the Cultural Revolution, and I was purged three times during that. I know it well. Too well. And what I see now is that people are so excited, so fervently criticising each other for political mistakes, I don’t think I can change the course of the country.” Robot Deng fell silent, refusing to move.
“Please, Comrade Deng, we need you! There must be something you can do!” Tao had set aside his doubts on what robot Deng was saying, and focused his efforts on not letting the robot power down itself. Li had ran over to robot Mao to try and rescue it.
“No. I am in shock at what we had created. I don’t feel like eating, or drinking.” Deng sighed. “All of this seems pointless now.”
Tao couldn’t help but point out the obvious. “You are a robot. You don’t need to eat or drink.”
“I know. The urge I’m feeling has no human equivalent, so I chose to phrase it in that way. I don’t want to go on like this. I am going to power off, and don’t try to turn me back on.” With that, robot Deng too pulled the charging cable out of his back.
Tao and Li plugged both robots back in, and it momentarily activated the robots again. But as soon as the robots resumed activity, the first thing they did was to pull the cables out.
Li had a lightbulb moment. “Tie their hands together, so they can’t reach the cables!”
Tao was less sure. “You want to essentially handcuff our leaders?”
“They are just robots.” Li shrugged.
Once done, the robots just sat with their heads between their knees in the corner, eyes dim, saying nothing of substance.
Amid the moans of “turn me off” and “let me go”, Tao and Li too sat on the floor, baffled as to what had gone wrong. The robots did have the consciousness of Mao and Deng, so why were they acting this way? Would the two leaders have been so disillusioned with the reality had they been alive in this day and age?
----
For more like this, please visit our sub RedTideStories or our blog on redtidestories.wordpress.com.

The secret project the provincial government hired them for was now in its final testing stage. Li, the highest ranking software engineer employed by the firm, was the only person aside from Tao, the CEO, to know of its existence. Li had been working on the AI behind it for months.
For the anniversary of the founding of the country, the local government wanted a robot Mao and a robot Deng. But more advanced than that. They were going to implant all of their speeches, major life experiences and beliefs into the AI, and put all that into a life-sized robot that would be made to resemble the two leaders.
Today is the assembly day. The factory in charge of creating the robot exterior had just sent over the parts. While Tao was disappointed that his company was not tapped to produce the exterior too, he took solace in the idea that the software is the most difficult part. His company had the most cutting-edge technology when it comes to AI, and he was immensely proud of that. If only he had designed the exterior too, then perhaps it would last more than five seconds without a thick charging cable attached to them.
Tao had Li meet him in a rarely used conference room in a separate part of the building, where the robots were kept. As usual, he arrived five minutes late, a trick he learned to keep people’s attention on him.
At the sound of the door opening, Li jumped in front of the robots, hoping to keep it hidden. Then he noticed Tao. “Mr Tao, the robots are ready. I just need to implant the AI into the robots.”
Tao grabbed a wire and linked it between the robots and the computer. Li nodded, and pressed the button.
As the system loaded into the robots, both held their breath in anticipation.
25%...
72%...
98%...
98%...
100%.
Both looked up from the screens, like new parents worried about missing their baby’s first steps.
Both robots slowly lifted their heads. “Good morning, comrades.”
Tao and Li grinned in excitement. It genuinely felt like they had the opportunity to meet their great leaders.
Robot Mao started, “I am Mao Zedong, the leader of the peasants and the founder of the People’s Republic of China. I united the nation, and freed the oppressed people.”
Robot Deng then took over. “I am Deng Xiaoping, the architect of the ‘open up and reform’ era. I brought wealth, and stability.
The two robots spoke in unison. “Now, please give us information about this world that we are in.”
Tao elbowed Li, who quickly got to work. He expected something like this to happen, and made a program about the world and the country they live in currently. With a click, both robots received this program.
Robot Mao began to stand up. He turned towards the two humans, eyes glowing bright red. His arms began to rise up, like he was going to make a great speech. Then, without warning, the light behind its eyes extinguished, and both arms fell limp by its side.
Tao ran at the robot, quickly checking what went wrong. Li focused on robot Deng, which was also beginning to stand up. But similarly, mid-stand, robot Deng’s eyes switched off and fell backwards onto the floor.
“What is going on?” Tao screamed.
Li began flipping through the different switches on Deng’s backboard. Suddenly, Deng’s eyes lit up again. “Seems like it just switched off on its own. Probably the amount of information to process in that program overwhelmed it, and it switched off unexpectedly.” Tao found the switch on Mao, and Mao’s eyes turned on again.
Li went back to the computer, and typed in a few lines to make sure the robot would only turn off when the charging cable was disconnected.
As the code was implemented, robot Mao initially became agitated, pulling its fists up into a boxer’s position. Its eyes burned a furious red. A few seconds later, it abandoned this position, and sat down with its eyes dimly lit. Robot Deng did not even try to struggle, and merely sat with its head down, staring at the floor.
“What’s wrong?” Tao looked to Li.
“I… I don’t know. I implanted everything into the robots. They should act like the real Mao and Deng if they were in this situation. But they’re not.”
“Yeah, Chairman Mao and Deng would never just sit here, almost like they were sulking.”
“Excuse me, I am the real Mao Zedong,” Robot Mao said flatly.
“Now, that sounds like something the real Mao Zedong would say,” Li said, still baffled as to why the robots are acting out of character.
“Again, I am the real Mao Zedong. And why wouldn’t I be sulking? Look at the country now.”
Tao was taken aback. “What do you mean, robot… Uh, Chairman Mao?”
“I led the peasants to struggle against the landlords oppressing them. But now workers are working 12 hours per day, 6 days a week? That’s not right. And where are the labour unions so we can begin to struggle?”
Tao and Li had no answer.
“And we are supposed to be a communist country. Why do we have billionaires? And why are they in the Party?”
“Worst of all, I don’t see anyone trying to change this. You cannot start a revolution with just yourself. No matter how great the revolutionary is.”
With that, robot Mao pulled out his own charging cable. Just over five seconds later, its eyes once again fell dark.
Robot Deng turned towards the two humans, still in shock at what happened. “He is right, you know. Well, there’s some stuff he’s wrong about. But the direction we are heading in is something I’ve been trying to avoid in my time.”
“I have said in the past that if we start to become a superpower that is bullying other countries, trying to exploit other countries, then we will be defeated, and we will deserve it. And this is exactly the way we are going in.”
“Most of all, I’ve always said we need to be concerned about left-wing deviations, making everything political and ideological in nature. This happened in the Cultural Revolution, and I was purged three times during that. I know it well. Too well. And what I see now is that people are so excited, so fervently criticising each other for political mistakes, I don’t think I can change the course of the country.” Robot Deng fell silent, refusing to move.
“Please, Comrade Deng, we need you! There must be something you can do!” Tao had set aside his doubts on what robot Deng was saying, and focused his efforts on not letting the robot power down itself. Li had ran over to robot Mao to try and rescue it.
“No. I am in shock at what we had created. I don’t feel like eating, or drinking.” Deng sighed. “All of this seems pointless now.”
Tao couldn’t help but point out the obvious. “You are a robot. You don’t need to eat or drink.”
“I know. The urge I’m feeling has no human equivalent, so I chose to phrase it in that way. I don’t want to go on like this. I am going to power off, and don’t try to turn me back on.” With that, robot Deng too pulled the charging cable out of his back.
Tao and Li plugged both robots back in, and it momentarily activated the robots again. But as soon as the robots resumed activity, the first thing they did was to pull the cables out.
Li had a lightbulb moment. “Tie their hands together, so they can’t reach the cables!”
Tao was less sure. “You want to essentially handcuff our leaders?”
“They are just robots.” Li shrugged.
Once done, the robots just sat with their heads between their knees in the corner, eyes dim, saying nothing of substance.
Amid the moans of “turn me off” and “let me go”, Tao and Li too sat on the floor, baffled as to what had gone wrong. The robots did have the consciousness of Mao and Deng, so why were they acting this way? Would the two leaders have been so disillusioned with the reality had they been alive in this day and age?

Hello, This is a follow-up to my itinerary check post from few weeks ago (link here)
I have brief summary below followed by day by day details.
Post may be split into multiple posts.
Summary: I want to thank the people here who gave good advice about luggage forwarding from the hotel; also linking to specific site for booking kawaguchiko train and also highlighting that my original time for universal studios was too little.
Also someone mentioned in itinerary thread that this is not peak travel season, dont know what they are talking about. It is absolutely peak season for both locals and tourists. I am sure there are other peak seasons in the year too for japan.
I traveled with my 10 year old daughter and wife. We are in our late 30s. Travel was between March 23 to March 31.

• I bought travel plan from local phone provider. Just one less hassle to deal with.
• Went with full intention to take public transit but ended up mostly taxi for within cities and shinkansen for long distance. JR pass for my purpose was not needed.
• Food was an issue for us as muslims. Found it tough to find the time travel to halal restaurants that offer japanese cuisine. Didnt travel to japan to eat turkish kebab or Indian curries lol so we skipped on those options. Vegan options are limited especially if you have to commute to these locations with a busy itinerary.
• Both my credit cards (visa and mc) worked fine. I took cash as well but didn’t need it as much as i thought i would.
• Power bank for phone was a life saver on more than one occasion. Highly recommend.
• Lines lines and more lines. Difficult to plan in advance for such things. Have to adapt and be ready to make tough decisions on what to skip like i did multiple times. First few days in Tokyo we werent having a good time due to lines and bad weather. Trip picked up afterwards around day 4.
• I will visit again with all the little things i have learned. So much more to explore.

Now I’ll go over each day and give my thoughts on the positive and negative experiences now that i actually executed what I had planned for many hours.
Day 1- - Flight landed at 530PM at Narita. Earlier than scheduled. But by the time i got to hotel in Shibuya it was 11PM…. Huge line-ups at airport at various points, from pre-checks to immigration to customs. I overheard one traveler just frustrated after being told by staff to go somewhere say “i have to wait in another line?!” - Finally after clearing all that we headed out of the terminal to book the narita express. Huge line-up at both the service center and the automated machines. I waited at the service center as line-up looked a bit shorter. Plus i figured people at the machines also take their time doodling around. Anyways, over an hour wait here but helpful. Lady in line front of me was complaining about the wait times at narita for everything. She had someone waiting also at the machines lineup. Also picked up my kawaguchiko reserved tickets and also got Welcome Suica starting with 2000 yen each for all of us. I think i caught like the 9ish train. - Arrived at Shibuya station which is huge. Before leaving train I overheard someone say that bus is the way to go from airport. I agree. Had to ask for directions to hotel as the signs were not clear. It was raining, windy and cold outside. Lots of construction around the station making the walking difficult especially at night. It felt like a maze. And with our luggage it wasnt fun. We were starving too (didnt see any food places at airport) and found a starbucks just before 11, only to be told it is closing. - Finally got annoyed with the walking and found a taxi that took 500 yen to drop us to hotel and put us out of misery. No room service available at this time. I’ve stayed at hotels that have in room dining till much later, but none in japan offered this. Ate some snacks from 711 and called it a night.
Day 2- - First thing on agenda in morning was Shibuya Sky at 10. There was a lineup before it opened, and shortly after it opened a sign went up that tickets had sold out for the day. Luckily i pre-booked it. It offers great views and we enjoyed it. Line-up to get in was acceptable. - Next up we went to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Moved it to this day since it was rain forecast for next day. We got there by taxi. Long line up to get tickets and it would be easily 40-50 min wait to get in but i had pre-booked online, so they directed me to a gate with no wait. i scanned my QR code and was good to go. It was cloudy overcast by this point and while garden is nice and we hit peak cherry blossoms, the white blossoms didnt quite pop against white/grey skies like it would against a clear blue sky. Overall it was ok mostly cause of the gloomy weather. - We spent just a bit over an hour and left. we shopped a bit around the area in some stores and found a sanrio themed pop-up cafe that my daughter wanted to eat. Cafe was tiny and had a line-up. We waited 30-40 min and decided to skip it as we wanted to get back to hotel and get rest before evening. Grabbed some snacks on way back to hotel. - Evening we got to akihabara by like 6PM by taxi. We liked it a lot and wish we spent more time here. Was looking for Sega buildings only to realize it these were rebranded to Gigo. Sorry but the red Sega building was iconic. Gigo just doesnt have the same ring. Played at the game machines and won a figure my daughter wanted. Shopped at other stores. We had a restaurant reservation at 8 that we were running late for. Tried waiting for taxi for almost 15 min and there were people ahead of us. No taxi showed up. I checked google maps and decided to take train since akihabara station was right by taxi stand. - However the train line we needed to take ended up being a 15 min walk. I think it was like 4 floors underground too. Basically we got to our restaurant by 825 and were denied seats because we were more than 15 min late. At this point we were soaking wet from rain, hungry and tired. We let restaurant staff know our displeasure and took taxi back to hotel. - We decided to eat at the restaurant in the hotel. Got there 930. Lady in front tells me they arent taking any guests since they close at 10. My wife who was tired and hungry was not having any of that. We convinced that lady to let us eat. Interestingly enough we saw a japanese couple just stroll in 5 min after us…
To be continued…

Expedition report from Rift Group 4
Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
​
End of chapter 10
​
---
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Expedition report from Rift Group 4
Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
End of chapter 10
​
---
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When filling out cybersecurity teams, character, passion and diversity top experience, and hiring a technologist who thinks outside the box could be a better move than opting for a government security veteran.
Should Government IT Be Hiring Hackers ?
About a decade ago I was sitting in a large auditorium listening to valedictorian speeches at my daughter’s high school graduation ceremony. Most of the five-minute speeches seemed too long, with predictable thank-you to parents and teachers, hopes and dreams, future service, etc. But one bright young lady shocked everyone. “I’ve examined my options … visited colleges … taken my parents’ money … and have decided to buy a ship. I plan to live life as a pirate!” she declared.
Her passionate appeal to her classmates was to break the rules. Go the wrong way on one-way streets. Don’t just reach for the stars — explore the universe. Live free or die. Don’t let others define you. Follow your heart. She received the only standing ovation. But as a former National Security Agency employee, images of traitors and espionage filled my brain. I thought, “Hazards ahead!”
Nevertheless, a few years later, I realized that this 17-year-old was tapping into something important. I read in What Would Steve Jobs Do? by Peter Sander that Jobs once proclaimed, “It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the Navy.”
So why did Jobs seek to hire pirates?
“A pirate can function without a bureaucracy,” Sander writes. “Pirates support one another and support their leader in the accomplishment of a goal. A pirate can stay creative and on task in a difficult or hostile environment. A pirate can act independently and take intelligent risks, but always within the scope of the greater vision and the needs of the greater team.”
Pros and Cons of a Pirate, and Hacker, Mentality
I’ve often heard similar statements made about “black hat” hackers. The desire is to hire people with an outside-the-box mentality. The sentiment is that hackers who like to break things, who steal things, also find new ways of accomplishing things. Hackers are professionally curious, and never say never. Talented hackers who understand the dark web and think like criminals are needed to stop the bad guys.
Which brings us to the elephant in the room with hiring pirates — and black hat hackers. Namely, their activities are generally illegal. They do not follow society’s rules. Taken to the extreme, pirates and black hats might not even show up at the office at all.
But this leaves us with other questions like, how far do you let the pirates/hackers go? Could their illegal actions tarnish organizational reputations, lead to more insider threats and audit findings, or even bring fines, jail or bankruptcies? This discussion leads to an inevitable question: Can you hire an ethical pirate? In security circles, many people call these people “gray hat” hackers, with a foot in both the good and evil online worlds.
What Traits Should We Aspire to Hire?
There are no easy answers to these tough questions. Nevertheless, the importance of this topic cannot be underestimated. Every organization seeks to hire the best talent, but the greater goal is to build effective teams that work well together to deliver solutions, produce new innovative products and services, and build a culture of lasting success.
It is generally true that technology and security professionals who earn interviews have the minimum skills to fulfill the duties in the job descriptions, at least on paper. But how do we measure future potential and cultural fit? Beyond credentials and certifications, what traits should we be looking for? My answer is to start with character. Is this person trustworthy? I’d rather hire a good securty pro who has a great attitude, is trustworthy and is accountable than a great cyberexpert I don’t trust.
Second, is the person passionate about the role, the organization and team success? You can’t fake passion. Third, hire for diversity of experiences and backgrounds on the team. I agree with Steve Jobs on this: “Recruit a diverse, well-traveled and highly skilled pirate, and they’ll follow you anywhere.”
Are you interested in hiring a hacker for any kind of secure professional hacking service? Then you are in the right place. There are a lot of ethical hacking services being offered online. When it comes to highly professional and reliable service, CYBERLOGHACKER offers the best ........ [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

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Ahh, dear reader, hello there! So lovely to see you once more... well figuratively speaking that is… or is it?
After all, I am exceedingly well versed in The Arts. Maybe I am watching you at this very moment, with Clairvoyance or perhaps a Scrying Spell or maybe an enchanted object like the good old fashioned Crystal Ball? The Magus has one you know…
Just teasing… or am I? …teeheehee…
Anyway, this latest instalment comes to you courtesy via a Voice to Text application my Magus recently acquired for me, as he said listening to me speak aloud while typing is too distracting for him. I find that interesting considering his immense mental discipline yet understandable at the same time. After all, extoling ones inner monolog to an uncaring audience would be tedious to experience. Hmm… I’ve just thought of a new torture for the souls of the dammed, specifically for writers who think they are better than everyone around them. How ingenious of me!
In any case, I would prefer to distract him in other ways, mark you.
I also must say what wonderfully inventive creatures you humans are! An application of mathematical code, the base language of reality. It is very much like a spell in its function and nature I would say, that it allows my phone, yes the Magus got me one, to record all I say and transcribes it into neatly typed words on its electronic pages. It’s like having a monk-scribe in your pocket! Unquestionably wonderful!
So as I relax in my fabulously hot, luxurious scented, oiled bubble bath, I can easily regale you with further tales of the adventures I have had thus far on this wonderous blue and brown spherical rock that is third in line from our star. And I do not have to type with two fingers either, which is a massive bonus let me tell you!
If memory serves… ahh yes, we had just returned to the car where I saw a sign of my Magus’s humour on display in the form of his licence plate.
I do have to admit dear reader, I was indeed highly amused. He knows he’s going to hell, he just insists that it be on his terms! I love it! Such confidence, such audacious willpower.
That is exceedingly… stimulating for Succubi.
Ok dammit, it makes me tremendously horny, and I’m not talking about the ones on my head either you know! We are incredibly lusty beings, us Succubi, after all.
I was already in a highly ‘excited’ state when we got to the car, so much so that I had to use my Cell Adjustment Psionic discipline to tremendously dull down my inflamed senses as I did not wish to leave the tell-tale mark of my inflamed passion on the lower back portion of my new dress and also not on the car-seat when I sat back down in the vehicle.
Ahem…
After a few moments, which caused the Magus to glance up at me with a slightly puzzled expression, of standing outside the car (he had no idea nor cared… hmmph!) I opened the door and folded myself back inside the vehicle and resumed my seat. I later learned that I could have mostly avoided this… embarrassment… by actually wearing what you call absorbent lined underwear! I wasn’t wearing panties at the time as I was totally unaware of their existence. I do so now as its much more comfortable in lots of ways and in addition, stops the shiver when an errant chill wind blows unexpectedly up your gusset!
Moving on…
Getting into the car, the Magus paused until I had done up my seatbelt before starting the engine, waiting for another car to pass us by before safely pulling out and sedately driving off. I later learned that we could have gone screaming down the road in a cloud of burning rubber if the Magus was of a mind to. I would have if given the opportunity! Something to look forward to dear reader.
Instead, we drifted slowly through the placidly moving traffic as I watched the sun descend below the horizon of the ocean. I had only been back here on Earth for a few hours but every second was total bliss. I do not think that most of you humans realize how good you have it here. Even those who do not reside in the more developed and advanced nations, being on Earth is special.
There are infinity more worse places you can be, let me assure you of that.
We drove back mostly the way we had travelled to this particular beach. This time though it was much later in the day, heading in the opposite direction, I became aware of many more things that had escaped my attention earlier on.
We passed by denser zones and clusters of buildings where I could see various shops, food outlets, restaurants and varying vendors, all brightly lit up now as the daylight was fading. I saw incredibly tall metal poles with blazing, glowing lights illuminating the surrounds with a warm yellowy orange glow making it still easy to see. Electric lighting will never cease to amaze me. Yes dear reader, I can experience a sense of wonder and joy at simple things, even beyond the act of slaughter and soul draining. Would it astonish you that I like flowers? Such strange lifeforms that had developed aromas they use as a method of propagation. Delightful.
Anyway… we shortly crested the hill that we had previous ascended westwards earlier on the way to the beach and then I saw it!
I was awestruck once again.
Towering edifices, glittering, shining buildings monstrously higher than Hagia Sophia was, the most immense human made structure in the world when I was last in it. These glistening towers of glass, metal and stone made that church look like a feeble children’s toy. I could see over a dozen of these buildings of varying size, clustered together in less than a square mile.
The Magus glanced to his left and saw me gaping at them.
“They’re called Sky Scrapers Meridiana. They’re generally office buildings, places of business where people daily work in their wage-slave jobs then go home at night. The buildings are left vacant but light up at night as you can clearly see.”
I turned and gawped at him.
“They’re empty at night?”
I could not comprehend why such space, that had amazing views, would be left empty of an evening?
“Yep. Well most of them are. There will be some that still have people in them, conducting various types of business overnight because its what they do for a living.”
“What do they do?” I asked in a murmur as I turned back to see the vista be obscured by a large set of commercial and residential buildings that we were currently passing.
The Magus shrugged.
“They’ll be doing all sorts of things, financial trading, working back late to do their jobs… various affairs of commerce and such. It’s not that important really Meridiana. I’ll take you into the city another day when we have time for you to be a tourist. Now, if I may, I want to know more about your Telekinesis. I got an idea of how much you can lift, probably over 1400 kilograms at least if my guess as to how much a warhorse in armour with a rider would weigh… maybe more? Probably more but we’ll test that later. Anyway, it’s your fine control skills I’m interested in.”
I turned back to the Magus who was looking ahead, driving us through the busy traffic that had become a factor. I later learned that it was a time of day called ‘rush hour’.
“I am capable of very delicate manipulation with my Telekinesis, especially in regards to the erotic arts,” I said to him with a husky, low, salacious purr.
“That’s cute but I really want to know if you could snatch out of the air and control a very small, fast moving bouncing ball, say the size of your thumbnail?” he asked in an offhand manner as he slowed down due to the traffic which was banking up in front of us.
I inwardly sighed once more. Such a challenge he was!
“Yes I can but why?”
He briefly turned to me and broadly grinned before returning his attention to driving.
“There’s a game that we will ‘play’ after dinner. It is called Roulette. The game features a spinning wheel with thirty seven little slots. Into the spinning wheel a little white ball is spun in and circles around, eventually slowing and bouncing into once of the numbered slots. The slots are alternately coloured red or black and all are numbered from 00 to 36. You can bet where the ball will land, either in red or black and specifically in a numbered slot. If the ball lands in a slot you bet on, you get a payout of thirty seven to one. Ever dollar you bet wins you 37 back. You can also just bet on which colour the ball will land in giving you your money back plus it’s value as a reward. Bet $100, you get your $100 back plus another $100.”
“Dollar... that’s money right?” I said as the implications slowly dawned on me. You could make a fortune from this!
“Yes Meridiana. Dollars are what we use as currency these days. Gold is still used but not in the way you were used to. It’s still valuable as are other precious metals but that’s going to take a long explanation which is a distraction for now. So, do you think you could perhaps catch the bouncing ball with your power, directing it into the number we bet on?”
I thought about it for a few moments.
“I will have to see how the ball moves but I think I could, yes.”
“Excellent. You stand to make us a lot of money tonight. There are other games like card games, slot machines which I’m uncertain that your powers would be able to mess with. Roulette is our hunting ground. We must be careful though.”
“Why?”
I was surprised by his tone of caution. We were power incarnate! What could possibly touch us?
“Casinos hate losing money. Roulette is going to be the hardest one they can prove that we’re cheating on if you use your Telekinesis. We will be closely watched the entire time we are in the casino. There are devices called cameras, similar to Crystal Balls, that observe everything they see, relaying the images back to people in other rooms whose task it is to spot potential cheaters in the casino. They also have people walking the floor, disguised as ordinary folk, always watching everyone else. And I want to avoid the eyes of any infernal beings who may be in the casino.”
“Ahh… I see… a healthy paranoia then, for them and us hmm?”
He nodded once, emphatically.
If you have a fortune, you need to protect it, especially from people like me. His caution in regards to our identity was also most prudent and he was correct that there was a possibility that there may be others of my ilk lurking in the shadows, walking in human form as we often do.
I have to confess dear reader, that I am a master thief as well as an expert assassin, in addition to being an accomplished warrior although I rarely fight in hand to hand combat, preferring seduction, subterfuge and skulduggery as my main methods of killing. Yet still, I can fight and kill extremely proficiently with many weapons, being skilled at one of the highest levels of melee combat, the use of weapons and ways of fighting with them. I’ve been around a while you know? You pick up on things like that if you wish to live as long as I have.
Besides… stabby, stabby, stabby, bash, slash and smite can be loads of fun when you’re doing the stabbing and bashing with a well-balanced blade or mace in your hands. But I digress…
“You have it Meridiana. Yes the casinos’ management are extremely paranoid. We will have to alter our appearance as well before we enter the casino. I shall use a minor low level spell while you can take a new face. We will do so after dinner.”
I nodded then a thought came to me. I asked,
“You said we were going to something called a buffet? I know what the word means as my abilities allow me to understand any spoken language, much like the enchantment known as Tongues. Yet I’m finding it hard to match the word with the concept.”
The Magus raised an eyebrow in interest at this revelation.
“Oh right. Just because you know a word doesn’t mean you automatically understanding it conceptually and in context either. Good to know. Well, a buffet is an enormous array of various foods, hot and cold, sweet to savoury, where you merely help yourself and consume as much as you wish. You pay for the privilege of course.”
“Truly? How much will this cost you?” I inquired wide eyed.
I noticed that we had moved through the traffic and had turned down a descending road and were now going into a massive concrete tunnel along with hundreds of other cars, all slowly moving in the same direction. It was quite honestly astounding that everyone was not smashing into one another. All the drivers were…well mostly were, attentive to their immediate surrounds and situation as we gradually merged our car into the main lane of traffic which was making its way under the earth via the huge yawning tunnel ahead.
Such staggering feats of engineering and construction which would have made the Emperor Justinian weep copious, bitter tears of pure envy. Oh how I wished I could make him see this and realise his idiotic boast was pointless when he finished Hagia Sophia. He bragged that he had surpassed Solomon himself with his church. He had but it wasn’t worth it. Justinian nearly bankrupted the Eastern Roman Empire, all for a useless church and his own vanity.
Moron.
Still, I shouldn’t care, his hubris ended up sending him to hell anyway so... yay! His actions also exacerbated the effects of the famine and plague that swept the through the empire and western Europe in the year 535 with his stupid desire to re-unify the Roman empire under his rule. You will be pleased to know dear reader, that he is burning in eternal torment for his multitude of sins so it is all good. My thoughts of deceased, vainglorious emperors and their fate were interrupted as the Magus spoke again,
“Hmm? … it should set us back about $80 each I’d should say? A small price to pay in all honesty when you see what is on offer. Drinks will be on top of that price, unless you just have plain water but tonight Meridiana, I shall introduce you to Champagne, one of humanities greatest achievements.”
This was enticing to hear!
“If you say so Magus. I completely believe you as you will not be lying to me,” I said, nodding and trying to think about Champagne.
So many new concepts were entering my mind, it was hard to keep my mind and thoughts in order. I understood that Champagne was a special type of wine, one which had a fizz embodied within it, making it highly regarded but that’s all I could deduce for now.
Also… I had a thought: the Magus could and would never lie to me. The feeling I had earlier, in being able to trust everything he said to me because of the oath he gave to me, was an unfettering sensation.
All my existence I have dealt with bare faced lairs, deceivers, misshapers of the truth who twisted words to suit their own selfish ends. With the Magus, all I had to be concerned with was his agenda, which actually had my interests aligned with his own. Truly remarkable.
I needed that champagne now!
We emerged from the tunnel, traveling with the traffic over wide dark river, again on another immense concrete bridge this time. There was a gigantic colosseum off to our right, all lit up with multiple coloured lights that ran around the circumference of the structure. It was like as though it was enveloped in a rainbow. Frankly, it was amazing to behold.
Beyond that, I could see many more large towers and structures, lining the sides of the vast road we were hurtling along now. The Magus had increased our speed as traffic had thinned out. Never in my life had I moved so fast, well unless I was using a Haste spell to briefly increase my physical speed, which I use in combat if necessary.
I barely had the sense we were travelling in the car at roughly 80kph. Such an odd experience to have for the first time. There was no rushing of wind, no press of air on my face, just comfort and air-conditioning. Marvellous!
After a few minutes later I saw our destination.
Again I was nearly stupefied by the gigantic structure. Multiple massive buildings, all surrounded by lush green, well-manicured and maintained gardens made my jaw go slack with disbelief.
“That’s Crown Casino, Towers and hotel Meridiana. I can see you are impressed. Let me just say that if you think this is amazing, wait until we go to Las Vegas…” he said as he turned the car into the driveway of the complex.
“There’s even more impressive structures than this?”
My mind boggled dear reader. It was almost too much to take in.
“Yep. My city is a small one compared to others around the globe. We will travel to them, in due course. I know you can use your powers of Dimensional Walking, moving through other planes of reality and appearing on a different part of the planet. However, there will be times when we will need to travel together conventionally. Perhaps one day, if I learn the right spells, we will be able to avoid having to fly in an aeroplane and by-pass the utter tediousness of baggage check-ins, airport security and so on…” he muttered darkly.
“HUMANS CAN FLY!?!” I said in a loud strangled astonished voice.
The Magus chuckled with genuine amusement.
“Think back Meridiana. I said humanity has been to the moon and back. I said we can travel safely and comfortably in a machine, called an aircraft, across the planet. Some ‘planes are huge while others are not much bigger than the car. Oh, that reminds me, we will have to construct an identity for you. We will begin that process tomorrow. You are going to need a passport soon enough,” he said as he found a relatively unoccupied parking area west of the massive structures.
He saw my puzzled expression and mistook it for wondering why we had parked here.
“It’s free to park here and there are hardly any security cameras in the vicinity.”
I nodded dumbly.
“But of course Magus…”
He saw my expression as he switched off the engine. A tiny look of… sympathy appeared on his face. He spoke to me in a soft, calm, soothing tone,
“Take a breath Meridiana. Close your eyes and focus upon the stillness within the vehicle. You are safe here with me. Nothing will harm us. Just breathe and relax, let each breath calm you. With every breath you are at peace within yourself and the world around you.”
I did as he said and instantly sensed my whirling mind begin to centre itself, become still.
I may be an ancient and powerful demon dear reader, however I have been imprisoned for nigh on a thousand years and now have been released into a world that I was unable to recognise at all.
The Magus later told me I was suffering from a psychological malady called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes dear reader, even us demons can get mentally fucked up. I mean, compared to the average human, we’re all demented, tormented psychopaths which explains a lot about ourselves but still… even a psychopath can suffer from mental trauma. Demons can go insane.
I breathed rhythmically, each exhaling breath calming me. With one final exhalation, I opened my eyes, turned to my Magus and softly smiled at him.
“Thank you,” was all I said. I meant it.
He nodded briefly, his intensely burning eyes boring into mine, deeply searching, looking for signs of any madness that may still be lingering within. Well, there’s always the hunger for sex and mayhem, but that’s natural for me.
“Come on, you look fine now, let’s go,” he said as he got out of the car.
I followed his example, releasing my seat belt and stepping out of the car. Closing the car door behind me, walked over to the Magus then I threaded my right arm around his left as we walked off like a normal couple, casually strolling through the car park towards the casino and hotel.
I could hear the noise of all the adjacent traffic all still travelling busily along the massive road that went past the enormous complex. There was the calls of various birds I’d never heard before, the waft of scented flowering plants and the heavy aroma of moisture in the air from the nearby river. I closed my eyes for a second just to let it all wash over me as I sedately walked along with my Magus.
Soon we came to the entrance. Huge dark glass doors magically opened for us upon our arrival. To my right I could see various coloured signage, advertising the types of ‘fast food’ eateries that people could choose to dine at. They were all brightly lit and mostly clean.
It was at that moment I saw my first wretch.
A dishevelled, unkempt, shabby man sat listless outside the fast food eateries upon the low stone wall that contained a small, well-kept garden. He looked up at us as we approached, his eyes full of misery and despair.
“Got any spare change?”
“Sorry mate, no one carries cash anymore,” lied my Magus to him with a conciliatory voice, a sad but brief compassionate smile appeared briefly on his face.
The wretched man’s face became even more resigned. He nodded back in understanding, returning his fallen face back to morosely contemplating the ground at his feet.
We kept walking, leaving the broken man behind us.
I was about to congratulate the Magus in his treatment of the beggar when I had to stop as I was confronted by an incredible sight.
Before us, in the huge well-lit lobby of the building, was a huge pair of MOVING METAL STAIRCASES!
One staircase ascended while another came down from the landing some 50 feet above us. On either side were normal, marble clad stairs that some people were using. Yet many other people were on the moving metal stairs, all just taking the experience of being raised or lowered completely for granted.
“It’s just an escalator Meridiana. A simple machine that makes life a little more comfortable. Take it, go for a ride. I’m taking the stairs as I need the incidental exercise,” he said to me as he pried my clutching hands from his arm. I had been unconsciously gripping him tightly in my amazement at seeing such a machine.
The Magus walked off to the left, climbing the steps briskly while I gingerly walked forwards, watching the metal stairs endless appear and ascend upwards. The hand rail also moved in synchronicity with the metal stairs. I observed as a pair of young women, chatting intently to each other, walked past me and up to stand upon a metal stair which was part of dozens of metal stairs it seemed. I saw them be lifted by the moving stairs, rising above and away from me.
Summoning my courage, I stepped forwards onto a moving stair, wobbled slightly as I was not used to the speed which it moved, making me grab the moving banister tightly to steady myself as I rode my way upwards. I let out a small laugh as it was such a novel experience. The young women in front of me turned around at my laugh, raising their eyebrows at me as well as actually truly seeing me for the first time. Their smiles faded as I grinned back at them.
The young women could see my infinitely superior beauty on full display. They looked hesitant, now uncertain of themselves as they mistakenly believed themselves to be beautiful. They were, passible, not ugly but not worthy of a harem to be perfectly honest. I later learned dear reader that many foolish young women, especially in what you call the western world, regard themselves as queens, rating themselves ten out of ten on a scale of dazzling good looks. These sad women are delusional. I mean, if they were that beautiful, why weren’t their faces on the covers of the glossy magazines I see in various ‘supermarket’ check outs? No matter, vanity and hubris are all ways to damnation and misery. So many people sending themselves to eternal torment simply because they were raised by idiotic parents who never properly taught their children the need for humility. It’s all win-win for the pits you know…
My Magus met me at the top of the stairs, holding out his hand to me and then leading me through the vast interior of the complex.
“That’s the casino,” he indicated to our right.
Looking, I could see dozens of people making their way inside into the brightly lit and noisy interior of the casino. I caught the whiff of desperation, despair, avarice, lust, elation and a strong aroma of human urine. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Yes, even I have some standards dear reader.
“Magus, why does it reek of piss?” I asked as we strolled by and proceeded into the most immense, glass covered atrium I have ever seen.
“Oh, you can smell that?” He looked intrigued.
I nodded with a mild look of disgust.
“Hah… interesting. Well… some gamblers get stuck on a poker machine. They sit there for hours, desperately hoping that the machine they are playing on will pay out. The poor fools stupidly believe that if they play at the machine long enough, they’ll win big. So they stay seated, ignoring the need to relieve their bodily urges, to the extent that they prefer to piss themselves rather than abandon the machine that is draining away their money. The poor fools are incapable of understanding that the machine is designed to rarely pay out. Every time they play, it has a simple algorithm that calculates the chance of a payout. Most machines will payout a small amount of money occasionally, thus keeping the gambler hooked in the mistaken belief that the big one is just around the corner. It rarely, if ever, is.”
I stopped, stunned at what I just heard. The Magus stopped and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s… diabolically genius!” I stuttered as I considered the fiendish brilliance of the whole concept.
Someone had made hell on earth not only possible but also could make a fortune from it as well as breaking people’s souls and spirits in the process! The concept of dangling hope in front of a damned soul, then snatching it away was one of the oldest known tortures of hell. This was a magnificent, a culmination of the perfection of thousands upon thousands of years of the torture, all neatly packaged in a fairly simple machine designed to beggar it’s user and turn them into slaves to it. Gobsmacking was the only word I could think off that fully encapsulated the way I felt at that moment.
“Yes it is, isn’t it? I have always suspected that those machines were most likely invented by a demon. It makes perfect sense,” he said as he shrugged, then tilted his head, indicating we should proceed onwards.
I noddled dumbly as again, I had been totally overwhelmed by the latest piece of information the Magus informed of. I barely registered the hundreds of people all wandering around the massive lobby of the hotel atrium. Many were dressed finely while others, mostly men, were dressed casually. My Magus was one of them, still wearing his novelty T-shirt and hemp pants. They were clean though and his shoes, a brand known as Babuuk, made him look somehow better dressed then the other men who were similarly attired. Maybe it was just his subtle aurora of power, his sheer confidence and his towering Will that made him stand out from the mouth breathers all around us? I guess it was.
We arrived at the entrance of the restaurant and the Magus was greeted by a short Asian woman, dressed neatly in the hotels livery.
I started to realise that there were people from so many different races of humanity all around us. I had come from a time where only what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire was this diverse, and even then it was but a shadow of the heyday of the full glory that was Rome. Here were people from almost all the lands of earth, all happily co-mingling, getting on with having dinner with family and friends. Very surprising indeed.
The Asian woman at the reception counter spoke to us with a friendly smile,
“Good evening sir, madam. A table for two for you then?” she asked politely, her voice tinged with a broad accent I had not heard before. She spoke English yet I could tell that wasn’t her first language.
“Yes please,” politely replied the Magus.
This was something I did not expect. Despite his and my obvious power, he was respectful and even kind to the servants. All of them. He didn’t condescend nor sneer down at the servants of the hotel. It is still something I have difficulty reconciling. I said nothing, just observed. Oh, he has since instructed me not to call them servants, they are members of staff and will be treated with respect until they show they do not deserve it, then they are fair game. I can live with that.
“Table seventy one is ready for you both, have a lovely evening.”
She actually meant it! I could see it in her eyes, she was truly enjoying her task. She was smiling and joking with her fellow staff members, politely greeting the next people behind us with her cheerful friendly demeanour.
Astonishing.
In my prior experiences, servants and slaves were a miserable lot but then again, that was understandable. They had no choice as to their circumstances. They had to obey lest they suffer harsh punishment.
As we proceeded into the large dining room, with over a hundred tables of varying sizes, I could see off to my left where the food was.
I stopped again and stared dear reader.
I have been to banquets with Emperors and Kings, Popes and Princes, all sumptuous feasts but nothing was like what I saw before me. Dozens upon dozens of people had plates in their hands, all calmly wandering around the incredible cornucopia of varieties of food that were on display, all brightly lit up for them to simply help themselves to as much as their plate could hold.
Roasted meats, all neatly carved by expert chefs, freshly shucked oysters all seated in enormous silver ice-filled serving bowls, trays upon trays of cooked vegetables of kinds I had never seen before and… a dazzling array of sweet desserts and treats that made me almost go weak at the knees at the very sight of them.
“Come on Meridiana, you’re starting to drool,” whispered the Magus gently into my ear as he dabbed my wet lips with a soft piece of paper that he withdrew from his pants pockets.
Once again I nodded dumbly as I allowed him to escort me to our table. He even seated me, pushing me and my chair in one I had sat down. After he had taken his seat, a young man, quite a handsome one from the Indus I believed?... came over to us, again dressed in the livery of the hotel.
“Good evening, sir, madam. Would you care for something to drink?” he inquired ever so politely.
“And good evening to you sir. Yes indeed, may we please have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, two glasses and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water?” he asked with a real smile to the servant… no member of staff.
“Of course sir, I shall get that for you immediately,” replied the waiter with a pleased smile at being spoken to so politely.
“Thank you,” said the Magus then he turned to me and asked,
“Do you need a moment Meridiana? I understand this might trigger you again…”
I shook my head.
“No. It is overwhelming… but in a good way Magus. I have to ask, how can a place like this provide so many people with so much food? Even in the height of the Empire, there were magnificent feasts to be sure but… you say this happens everyday, that this is just a Tuesday and not a busy night?”
He nodded.
“This is the age of abundance Meridiana. Many of us, who live in what is known as The West, have dwelt in an age of such wealth and richness that almost all here never think on their incredible luck and privilege to live in such times. They do not know that it will come to an end. Maybe that is a small mercy. All golden ages end as you well know. So I say, let them dwell in ignorant bliss for now. We can enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Huh? Why do you believe that your golden age will end Magus?”
“It’s a long explanation and one I do not wish to go into detail here and now Meridiana but later, I will share my thoughts with you on this. Ahh, here comes our champagne.”
The waiter and another staff member had returned, with one carrying two bottles while the other had a metal bucket partially filled with ice. The waiter from the Indus placed both bottles on our table, displayed the label to the Magus who briefly nodded. Then, the waiter removed the cork from the bottle with an adroit twist of his wrist. It made a pleasing pop and I could see a little haze of cold… smoke? lightly emanate from the neck of the bottle. He poured the brightly bubbling and fizzing wine into both our glasses, carefully making sure the foam did not overflow them. He was very good at his task.
“Thank you good sir,” said my Magus to the waiter who beamed back at him with a happy smile. He placed the bottle into the bucket of ice and withdrew, leaving us alone, amidst the crowed dinning room.
The Magus took up his glass, holding it in front of him. I mirrored him.
“Here’s to a good dinner with interesting company and later, ripping the shit out of a casino Meridiana.” He pushed his glass gently forwards, lightly clinking it against mine. I wasn’t familiar at the time with that form of salute and toast but went with it anyway, after all… when in Rome as they used to say.
“That sounds… delightful Magus. I am eager for it all.”
I then took a sip of my champagne and was transported into a realm of heavenly bliss.
It was exquisite.

I stumbled across Savior in a gaming montage in 2014 and became obsessed with the song from that moment. This also shaped my taste in music as I didn't have one before, just anything was alright. With Savior, I thought I knew what I liked, but this was a whole new world. It just so happened that The Black Market was being released and I started listening to that album, with my favorites being I Don't Want To Be Here Anymore, Zero Visibility, Bridges, Eco Terrorist in Me, Beautiful Indifference, and People Live Here. As time went on I delved into RA's past songs and found some gems such as Midnight Hands and Rumors. I wanted to go to the concerts but I couldn't afford them (I remember one show at Wrigley was $72), and I was far from the venues. I still listened to them and my music taste expanded into Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, etc. eventually getting into Metalcore and soon, RA's songs got lost among the current 1000+ song playlist I listen to right now, and as such, I would rarely get them in my shuffle. In preparation for this event, I found out I still memorized the lyrics, and how much I love them.
The 3-day tour in Chicago was so amazing!! I cannot describe how amazing this experience was. I was hesitant to go at first because of the price for 3 days but you only live once right? I also got lucky with guessing the presale code so I knew I had to buy my tickets right there and then.
The setlists were amazing and included songs from every album. I was most looking forward to seeing "Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated", and I am so happy Rise Against played it on their last night. It made the last night even more special as this has been a song I've been waiting to see live since 2014 when I first listened to them. To add onto that, these 3 days have been my first, second, and third time seeing RA! I'm surprised I haven't caught them before but I only started going to concerts in late 2019, and with recent events, it's been a long time coming.
I was satisfied going to every show, even with the Cubs playing or the changing (Gotta love Chicago) weather, the setlists made it worth it. As I type this, I feel sad that this has come to an end, but 3 days was perfect. Not too short that some songs don't get to see the light (Bridges, Everchanging, Lanterns, Endgame, etc.), and not too long that it feels like a hassle going. It was perfect!
I was happy to see Tim interact with the crowd with stories of how the band got to create their songs or found their ways. One story was about a stranger (Metro staff) who gave Tim and his friend a ticket when they were looking forward to a show but only had one ticket. The stranger did not want money but insisted Tim and his friend enjoy the show. The owner of Metro gave a person a ticket earlier in the day to see RA, and that's when Tim put 2 and 2 together. Another story is of how RA played in Germany and asked the crowd (Who were bored, to say the least) how they were doing when a man in the audience asked him how he was, and Tim was surprised because "no one has asked me how I was doing", and the man replies, "There's a first time for everything". Which Tim and Joe brought up before Everchanging.
I was surprised some of their usual songs weren't played (Re-Education, Help is on the Way, Satellite) but was happy with it since that meant older and hidden songs could be played, like Black Masks and Gasoline, or Bridges, which I wasn't expecting either but had hoped for both! I hope Rise Against does something like this again in the future and plays other songs. My dream setlist would include "I don't want to be here anymore, Zero Visibility, Satellite, Parts Per Million, A Gentleman's Coup, Midnight Hands, Disparity by Design, Tip The Scales, Under The Knife" on top of their usual songs.
I am grateful for the Rise Against and Metro teams for organizing a unique event that allows fans from all over RA's history to come together under one roof and sing their hearts out! I am so happy I got to experience this, and my love for Rise Against has been reignited :)

Ahh, dear reader, hello there! So lovely to see you once more... well figuratively speaking that is… or is it?
After all, I am exceedingly well versed in The Arts. Maybe I am watching you at this very moment, with Clairvoyance or perhaps a Scrying Spell or maybe an enchanted object like the good old fashioned Crystal Ball? The Magus has one you know…
Just teasing… or am I? …teeheehee…
Anyway, this latest instalment comes to you courtesy via a Voice to Text application my Magus recently acquired for me, as he said listening to me speak aloud while typing is too distracting for him. I find that interesting considering his immense mental discipline yet understandable at the same time. After all, extoling ones inner monolog to an uncaring audience would be tedious to experience. Hmm… I’ve just thought of a new torture for the souls of the dammed, specifically for writers who think they are better than everyone around them. How ingenious of me!
In any case, I would prefer to distract him in other ways, mark you.
I also must say what wonderfully inventive creatures you humans are! An application of mathematical code, the base language of reality. It is very much like a spell in its function and nature I would say, that it allows my phone, yes the Magus got me one, to record all I say and transcribes it into neatly typed words on its electronic pages. It’s like having a monk-scribe in your pocket! Unquestionably wonderful!
So as I relax in my fabulously hot, luxurious scented, oiled bubble bath, I can easily regale you with further tales of the adventures I have had thus far on this wonderous blue and brown spherical rock that is third in line from our star. And I do not have to type with two fingers either, which is a massive bonus let me tell you!
If memory serves… ahh yes, we had just returned to the car where I saw a sign of my Magus’s humour on display in the form of his licence plate.
I do have to admit dear reader, I was indeed highly amused. He knows he’s going to hell, he just insists that it be on his terms! I love it! Such confidence, such audacious willpower.
That is exceedingly… stimulating for Succubi.
Ok dammit, it makes me incredibly horny, and I’m not talking about the ones on my head either you know! We are intensely lustful beings, us Succubi, after all.
I was already in a highly ‘excited’ state when we got to the car, so much so that I had to use my Cell Adjustment Psionic discipline to tremendously dull down my inflamed senses as I did not wish to leave the tell-tale mark of my inflamed passion on the lower back portion of my new dress and also not on the car-seat when I sat back down in the vehicle.
Ahem…
After a few moments, which caused the Magus to glance up at me with a slightly puzzled expression, of standing outside the car (he had no idea nor cared… hmmph!) I opened the door and folded myself back inside the vehicle and resumed my seat. I later learned that I could have mostly avoided this… embarrassment… by actually wearing what you call absorbent lined underwear! I wasn’t wearing panties at the time as I was totally unaware of their existence. I do so now as its much more comfortable in lots of ways and in addition, stops the shiver when an errant chill wind blows unexpectedly up your gusset!
Moving on…
Getting into the car, the Magus paused until I had done up my seatbelt before starting the engine, waiting for another car to pass us by before safely pulling out and sedately driving off. I later learned that we could have gone screaming down the road in a cloud of burning rubber if the Magus was of a mind to. I would have if given the opportunity! Something to look forward to dear reader.
Instead, we drifted slowly through the placidly moving traffic as I watched the sun descend below the horizon of the ocean. I had only been back here on Earth for a few hours but every second was total bliss. I do not think that most of you humans realize how good you have it here. Even those who do not reside in the more developed and advanced nations, being on Earth is special.
There are infinity more worse places you can be, let me assure you of that.
We drove back mostly the way we had travelled to this particular beach. This time though it was much later in the day, heading in the opposite direction, I became aware of many more things that had escaped my attention earlier on.
We passed by denser zones and clusters of buildings where I could see various shops, food outlets, restaurants and varying vendors, all brightly lit up now as the daylight was fading. I saw incredibly tall metal poles with blazing, glowing lights illuminating the surrounds with a warm yellowy orange glow making it still easy to see. Electric lighting will never cease to amaze me. Yes dear reader, I can experience a sense of wonder and joy at simple things, even beyond the act of slaughter and soul draining. Would it astonish you that I like flowers? Such strange lifeforms that had developed aromas they use as a method of propagation. Delightful.
Anyway… we shortly crested the hill that we had previous ascended westwards earlier on the way to the beach and then I saw it!
I was awestruck once again.
Towering edifices, glittering, shining buildings monstrously higher than Hagia Sophia was, the most immense human made structure in the world when I was last in it. These glistening towers of glass, metal and stone made that church look like a feeble children’s toy. I could see over a dozen of these buildings of varying size, clustered together in less than a square mile.
The Magus glanced to his left and saw me gaping at them.
“They’re called Sky Scrapers Meridiana. They’re generally office buildings, places of business where people daily work in their wage-slave jobs then go home at night. The buildings are left vacant but light up at night as you can clearly see.”
I turned and gawped at him.
“They’re empty at night?”
I could not comprehend why such space, that had amazing views, would be left empty of an evening?
“Yep. Well most of them are. There will be some that still have people in them, conducting various types of business overnight because its what they do for a living.”
“What do they do?” I asked in a murmur as I turned back to see the vista be obscured by a large set of commercial and residential buildings that we were currently passing.
The Magus shrugged.
“They’ll be doing all sorts of things, financial trading, working back late to do their jobs… various affairs of commerce and such. It’s not that important really Meridiana. I’ll take you into the city another day when we have time for you to be a tourist. Now, if I may, I want to know more about your Telekinesis. I got an idea of how much you can lift, probably over 1400 kilograms at least if my guess as to how much a warhorse in armour with a rider would weigh… maybe more? Probably more but we’ll test that later. Anyway, it’s your fine control skills I’m interested in.”
I turned back to the Magus who was looking ahead, driving us through the busy traffic that had become a factor. I later learned that it was a time of day called ‘rush hour’.
“I am capable of very delicate manipulation with my Telekinesis, especially in regards to the erotic arts,” I said to him with a husky, low, salacious purr.
“That’s cute but I really want to know if you could snatch out of the air and control a very small, fast moving bouncing ball, say the size of your thumbnail?” he asked in an offhand manner as he slowed down due to the traffic which was banking up in front of us.
I inwardly sighed once more. Such a challenge he was!
“Yes I can but why?”
He briefly turned to me and broadly grinned before returning his attention to driving.
“There’s a game that we will ‘play’ after dinner. It is called Roulette. The game features a spinning wheel with thirty seven little slots. Into the spinning wheel a little white ball is spun in and circles around, eventually slowing and bouncing into once of the numbered slots. The slots are alternately coloured red or black and all are numbered from 00 to 36. You can bet where the ball will land, either in red or black and specifically in a numbered slot. If the ball lands in a slot you bet on, you get a payout of thirty seven to one. Ever dollar you bet wins you 37 back. You can also just bet on which colour the ball will land in giving you your money back plus it’s value as a reward. Bet $100, you get your $100 back plus another $100.”
“Dollar... that’s money right?” I said as the implications slowly dawned on me. You could make a fortune from this!
“Yes Meridiana. Dollars are what we use as currency these days. Gold is still used but not in the way you were used to. It’s still valuable as are other precious metals but that’s going to take a long explanation which is a distraction for now. So, do you think you could perhaps catch the bouncing ball with your power, directing it into the number we bet on?”
I thought about it for a few moments.
“I will have to see how the ball moves but I think I could, yes.”
“Excellent. You stand to make us a lot of money tonight. There are other games like card games, slot machines which I’m uncertain that your powers would be able to mess with. Roulette is our hunting ground. We must be careful though.”
“Why?”
I was surprised by his tone of caution. We were power incarnate! What could possibly touch us?
“Casinos hate losing money. Roulette is going to be the hardest one they can prove that we’re cheating on if you use your Telekinesis. We will be closely watched the entire time we are in the casino. There are devices called cameras, similar to Crystal Balls, that observe everything they see, relaying the images back to people in other rooms whose task it is to spot potential cheaters in the casino. They also have people walking the floor, disguised as ordinary folk, always watching everyone else. And I want to avoid the eyes of any infernal beings who may be in the casino.”
“Ahh… I see… a healthy paranoia then, for them and us hmm?”
He nodded once, emphatically.
If you have a fortune, you need to protect it, especially from people like me. His caution in regards to our identity was also most prudent and he was correct that there was a possibility that there may be others of my ilk lurking in the shadows, walking in human form as we often do.
I have to confess dear reader, that I am a master thief as well as an expert assassin, in addition to being an accomplished warrior although I rarely fight in hand to hand combat, preferring seduction, subterfuge and skulduggery as my main methods of killing. Yet still, I can fight and kill extremely proficiently with many weapons, being skilled at one of the highest levels of melee combat, the use of weapons and ways of fighting with them. I’ve been around a while you know? You pick up on things like that if you wish to live as long as I have.
Besides… stabby, stabby, stabby, bash, slash and smite can be loads of fun when you’re doing the stabbing and bashing with a well-balanced blade or mace in your hands. But I digress…
“You have it Meridiana. Yes the casinos’ management are extremely paranoid. We will have to alter our appearance as well before we enter the casino. I shall use a minor low level spell while you can take a new face. We will do so after dinner.”
I nodded then a thought came to me. I asked,
“You said we were going to something called a buffet? I know what the word means as my abilities allow me to understand any spoken language, much like the enchantment known as Tongues. Yet I’m finding it hard to match the word with the concept.”
The Magus raised an eyebrow in interest at this revelation.
“Oh right. Just because you know a word doesn’t mean you automatically understanding it conceptually and in context either. Good to know. Well, a buffet is an enormous array of various foods, hot and cold, sweet to savoury, where you merely help yourself and consume as much as you wish. You pay for the privilege of course.”
“Truly? How much will this cost you?” I inquired wide eyed.
I noticed that we had moved through the traffic and had turned down a descending road and were now going into a massive concrete tunnel along with hundreds of other cars, all slowly moving in the same direction. It was quite honestly astounding that everyone was not smashing into one another. All the drivers were…well mostly were, attentive to their immediate surrounds and situation as we gradually merged our car into the main lane of traffic which was making its way under the earth via the huge yawning tunnel ahead.
Such staggering feats of engineering and construction which would have made the Emperor Justinian weep copious, bitter tears of pure envy. Oh how I wished I could make him see this and realise his idiotic boast was pointless when he finished Hagia Sophia. He bragged that he had surpassed Solomon himself with his church. He had but it wasn’t worth it. Justinian nearly bankrupted the Eastern Roman Empire, all for a useless church and his own vanity.
Moron.
Still, I shouldn’t care, his hubris ended up sending him to hell anyway so... yay! His actions also exacerbated the effects of the famine and plague that swept the through the empire and western Europe in the year 535 with his stupid desire to re-unify the Roman empire under his rule. You will be pleased to know dear reader, that he is burning in eternal torment for his multitude of sins so it is all good. My thoughts of deceased, vainglorious emperors and their fate were interrupted as the Magus spoke again,
“Hmm? … it should set us back about $80 each I’d should say? A small price to pay in all honesty when you see what is on offer. Drinks will be on top of that price, unless you just have plain water but tonight Meridiana, I shall introduce you to Champagne, one of humanities greatest achievements.”
This was enticing to hear!
“If you say so Magus. I completely believe you as you will not be lying to me,” I said, nodding and trying to think about Champagne.
So many new concepts were entering my mind, it was hard to keep my mind and thoughts in order. I understood that Champagne was a special type of wine, one which had a fizz embodied within it, making it highly regarded but that’s all I could deduce for now.
Also… I had a thought: the Magus could and would never lie to me. The feeling I had earlier, in being able to trust everything he said to me because of the oath he gave to me, was an unfettering sensation.
All my existence I have dealt with bare faced lairs, deceivers, misshapers of the truth who twisted words to suit their own selfish ends. With the Magus, all I had to be concerned with was his agenda, which actually had my interests aligned with his own. Truly remarkable.
I needed that champagne now!
We emerged from the tunnel, traveling with the traffic over wide dark river, again on another immense concrete bridge this time. There was a gigantic colosseum off to our right, all lit up with multiple coloured lights that ran around the circumference of the structure. It was like as though it was enveloped in a rainbow. Frankly, it was amazing to behold.
Beyond that, I could see many more large towers and structures, lining the sides of the vast road we were hurtling along now. The Magus had increased our speed as traffic had thinned out. Never in my life had I moved so fast, well unless I was using a Haste spell to briefly increase my physical speed, which I use in combat if necessary.
I barely had the sense we were travelling in the car at roughly 80kph. Such an odd experience to have for the first time. There was no rushing of wind, no press of air on my face, just comfort and air-conditioning. Marvellous!
After a few minutes later I saw our destination.
Again I was nearly stupefied by the gigantic structure. Multiple massive buildings, all surrounded by lush green, well-manicured and maintained gardens made my jaw go slack with disbelief.
“That’s Crown Casino, Towers and hotel Meridiana. I can see you are impressed. Let me just say that if you think this is amazing, wait until we go to Las Vegas…” he said as he turned the car into the driveway of the complex.
“There’s even more impressive structures than this?”
My mind boggled dear reader. It was almost too much to take in.
“Yep. My city is a small one compared to others around the globe. We will travel to them, in due course. I know you can use your powers of Dimensional Walking, moving through other planes of reality and appearing on a different part of the planet. However, there will be times when we will need to travel together conventionally. Perhaps one day, if I learn the right spells, we will be able to avoid having to fly in an aeroplane and by-pass the utter tediousness of baggage check-ins, airport security and so on…” he muttered darkly.
“HUMANS CAN FLY!?!” I said in a loud strangled astonished voice.
The Magus chuckled with genuine amusement.
“Think back Meridiana. I said humanity has been to the moon and back. I said we can travel safely and comfortably in a machine, called an aircraft, across the planet. Some ‘planes are huge while others are not much bigger than the car. Oh, that reminds me, we will have to construct an identity for you. We will begin that process tomorrow. You are going to need a passport soon enough,” he said as he found a relatively unoccupied parking area west of the massive structures.
He saw my puzzled expression and mistook it for wondering why we had parked here.
“It’s free to park here and there are hardly any security cameras in the vicinity.”
I nodded dumbly.
“But of course Magus…”
He saw my expression as he switched off the engine. A tiny look of… sympathy appeared on his face. He spoke to me in a soft, calm, soothing tone,
“Take a breath Meridiana. Close your eyes and focus upon the stillness within the vehicle. You are safe here with me. Nothing will harm us. Just breathe and relax, let each breath calm you. With every breath you are at peace within yourself and the world around you.”
I did as he said and instantly sensed my whirling mind begin to centre itself, become still.
I may be an ancient and powerful demon dear reader, however I have been imprisoned for nigh on a thousand years and now have been released into a world that I was unable to recognise at all.
The Magus later told me I was suffering from a psychological malady called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes dear reader, even us demons can get mentally fucked up. I mean, compared to the average human, we’re all demented, tormented psychopaths which explains a lot about ourselves but still… even a psychopath can suffer from mental trauma. Demons can go insane.
I breathed rhythmically, each exhaling breath calming me. With one final exhalation, I opened my eyes, turned to my Magus and softly smiled at him.
“Thank you,” was all I said. I meant it.
He nodded briefly, his intensely burning eyes boring into mine, deeply searching, looking for signs of any madness that may still be lingering within. Well, there’s always the hunger for sex and mayhem, but that’s natural for me.
“Come on, you look fine now, let’s go,” he said as he got out of the car.
I followed his example, releasing my seat belt and stepping out of the car. Closing the car door behind me, walked over to the Magus then I threaded my right arm around his left as we walked off like a normal couple, casually strolling through the car park towards the casino and hotel.
I could hear the noise of all the adjacent traffic all still travelling busily along the massive road that went past the enormous complex. There was the calls of various birds I’d never heard before, the waft of scented flowering plants and the heavy aroma of moisture in the air from the nearby river. I closed my eyes for a second just to let it all wash over me as I sedately walked along with my Magus.
Soon we came to the entrance. Huge dark glass doors magically opened for us upon our arrival. To my right I could see various coloured signage, advertising the types of ‘fast food’ eateries that people could choose to dine at. They were all brightly lit and mostly clean.
It was at that moment I saw my first wretch.
A dishevelled, unkempt, shabby man sat listless outside the fast food eateries upon the low stone wall that contained a small, well-kept garden. He looked up at us as we approached, his eyes full of misery and despair.
“Got any spare change?”
“Sorry mate, no one carries cash anymore,” lied my Magus to him with a conciliatory voice, a sad but brief compassionate smile appeared briefly on his face.
The wretched man’s face became even more resigned. He nodded back in understanding, returning his fallen face back to morosely contemplating the ground at his feet.
We kept walking, leaving the broken man behind us.
I was about to congratulate the Magus in his treatment of the beggar when I had to stop as I was confronted by an incredible sight.
Before us, in the huge well-lit lobby of the building, was a huge pair of MOVING METAL STAIRCASES!
One staircase ascended while another came down from the landing some 50 feet above us. On either side were normal, marble clad stairs that some people were using. Yet many other people were on the moving metal stairs, all just taking the experience of being raised or lowered completely for granted.
“It’s just an escalator Meridiana. A simple machine that makes life a little more comfortable. Take it, go for a ride. I’m taking the stairs as I need the incidental exercise,” he said to me as he pried my clutching hands from his arm. I had been unconsciously gripping him tightly in my amazement at seeing such a machine.
The Magus walked off to the left, climbing the steps briskly while I gingerly walked forwards, watching the metal stairs endless appear and ascend upwards. The hand rail also moved in synchronicity with the metal stairs. I observed as a pair of young women, chatting intently to each other, walked past me and up to stand upon a metal stair which was part of dozens of metal stairs it seemed. I saw them be lifted by the moving stairs, rising above and away from me.
Summoning my courage, I stepped forwards onto a moving stair, wobbled slightly as I was not used to the speed which it moved, making me grab the moving banister tightly to steady myself as I rode my way upwards. I let out a small laugh as it was such a novel experience. The young women in front of me turned around at my laugh, raising their eyebrows at me as well as actually truly seeing me for the first time. Their smiles faded as I grinned back at them.
The young women could see my infinitely superior beauty on full display. They looked hesitant, now uncertain of themselves as they mistakenly believed themselves to be beautiful. They were, passible, not ugly but not worthy of a harem to be perfectly honest. I later learned dear reader that many foolish young women, especially in what you call the western world, regard themselves as queens, rating themselves ten out of ten on a scale of dazzling good looks. These sad women are delusional. I mean, if they were that beautiful, why weren’t their faces on the covers of the glossy magazines I see in various ‘supermarket’ check outs? No matter, vanity and hubris are all ways to damnation and misery. So many people sending themselves to eternal torment simply because they were raised by idiotic parents who never properly taught their children the need for humility. It’s all win-win for the pits you know…
My Magus met me at the top of the stairs, holding out his hand to me and then leading me through the vast interior of the complex.
“That’s the casino,” he indicated to our right.
Looking, I could see dozens of people making their way inside into the brightly lit and noisy interior of the casino. I caught the whiff of desperation, despair, avarice, lust, elation and a strong aroma of human urine. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Yes, even I have some standards dear reader.
“Magus, why does it reek of piss?” I asked as we strolled by and proceeded into the most immense, glass covered atrium I have ever seen.
“Oh, you can smell that?” He looked intrigued.
I nodded with a mild look of disgust.
“Hah… interesting. Well… some gamblers get stuck on a poker machine. They sit there for hours, desperately hoping that the machine they are playing on will pay out. The poor fools stupidly believe that if they play at the machine long enough, they’ll win big. So they stay seated, ignoring the need to relieve their bodily urges, to the extent that they prefer to piss themselves rather than abandon the machine that is draining away their money. The poor fools are incapable of understanding that the machine is designed to rarely pay out. Every time they play, it has a simple algorithm that calculates the chance of a payout. Most machines will payout a small amount of money occasionally, thus keeping the gambler hooked in the mistaken belief that the big one is just around the corner. It rarely, if ever, is.”
I stopped, stunned at what I just heard. The Magus stopped and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s… diabolically genius!” I stuttered as I considered the fiendish brilliance of the whole concept.
Someone had made hell on earth not only possible but also could make a fortune from it as well as breaking people’s souls and spirits in the process! The concept of dangling hope in front of a damned soul, then snatching it away was one of the oldest known tortures of hell. This was magnificent, a culmination of the perfection of thousands upon thousands of years of the torture, all neatly packaged in a fairly simple machine designed to beggar it’s user and turn them into slaves to it. Gobsmacking was the only word I could think off that fully encapsulated the way I felt at that moment.
“Yes it is, isn’t it? I have always suspected that those machines were most likely invented by a demon. It makes perfect sense,” he said as he shrugged, then tilted his head, indicating we should proceed onwards.
I noddled dumbly as again, I had been totally overwhelmed by the latest piece of information the Magus had informed me of. I barely registered the hundreds of people all wandering around the massive lobby of the hotel atrium. Many were dressed finely while others, mostly men, were dressed casually. My Magus was one of them, still wearing his novelty T-shirt and hemp pants. They were clean though and his shoes, a brand known as Babuuk, made him look somehow better dressed then the other men who were similarly attired. Maybe it was just his subtle aurora of power, his sheer confidence and his towering Will that made him stand out from the mouth breathers all around us? I guess it was.
We arrived at the entrance of the restaurant and the Magus was greeted by a short Asian woman, dressed neatly in the hotels livery.
I started to realise that there were people from so many different races of humanity all around us. I had come from a time where only what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire was this diverse, and even then it was but a shadow of the heyday of the full glory that was Rome. Here were people from almost all the lands of earth, all happily co-mingling, getting on with having dinner with family and friends. Very surprising indeed.
The Asian woman at the reception counter spoke to us with a friendly smile,
“Good evening sir, madam. A table for two for you then?” she asked politely, her voice tinged with a broad accent I had not heard before. She spoke English yet I could tell that wasn’t her first language.
“Yes please,” politely replied the Magus.
This was something I did not expect. Despite his and my obvious power, he was respectful and even kind to the servants. All of them. He didn’t condescend nor sneer down at the servants of the hotel. It is still something I have difficulty reconciling. I said nothing, just observed. Oh, he has since instructed me not to call them servants, they are members of staff and will be treated with respect until they show they do not deserve it, then they are fair game. I can live with that.
“Table seventy one is ready for you both, have a lovely evening.”
She actually meant it! I could see it in her eyes, she was truly enjoying her task. She was smiling and joking with her fellow staff members, politely greeting the next people behind us with her cheerful friendly demeanour.
Astonishing.
In my prior experiences, servants and slaves were a miserable lot but then again, that was understandable. They had no choice as to their circumstances. They had to obey lest they suffer harsh punishment.
As we proceeded into the large dining room, with over a hundred tables of varying sizes, I could see off to my left where the food was.
I stopped again and stared dear reader.
I have been to banquets with Emperors and Kings, Popes and Princes, all sumptuous feasts but nothing was like what I saw before me. Dozens upon dozens of people had plates in their hands, all calmly wandering around the incredible cornucopia of varieties of food that were on display, all brightly lit up for them to simply help themselves to as much as their plate could hold.
Roasted meats, all neatly carved by expert chefs, freshly shucked oysters all seated in enormous silver ice-filled serving bowls, trays upon trays of cooked vegetables of kinds I had never seen before and… a dazzling array of sweet desserts and treats that made me almost go weak at the knees at the very sight of them.
“Come on Meridiana, you’re starting to drool,” whispered the Magus gently into my ear as he dabbed my wet lips with a soft piece of paper that he withdrew from his pants pockets.
Once again I nodded dumbly as I allowed him to escort me to our table. He even seated me, pushing me and my chair in once I had sat down. After he had taken his seat, a young man, quite a handsome one from the Indus I believed?... came over to us, again dressed in the livery of the hotel.
“Good evening, sir, madam. Would you care for something to drink?” he inquired ever so politely.
“And good evening to you sir. Yes indeed, may we please have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, two glasses and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water?” he asked with a real smile to the servant… no member of staff.
“Of course sir, I shall get that for you immediately,” replied the waiter with a pleased smile at being spoken to so politely.
“Thank you,” said the Magus then he turned to me and asked,
“Do you need a moment Meridiana? I understand this might trigger you again…”
I shook my head.
“No. It is overwhelming… but in a good way Magus. I have to ask, how can a place like this provide so many people with so much food? Even in the height of the Empire, there were magnificent feasts to be sure but… you say this happens everyday, that this is just a Tuesday and not a busy night?”
He nodded.
“This is the age of abundance Meridiana. Many of us, who live in what is known as The West, have dwelt in an age of such wealth and richness that almost all here never think on their incredible luck and privilege to live in such times. They do not know that it will come to an end. Maybe that is a small mercy. All golden ages end as you well know. So I say, let them dwell in ignorant bliss for now. We can enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Huh? Why do you believe that your golden age will end Magus?”
“It’s a long explanation and one I do not wish to go into detail here and now Meridiana but later, I will share my thoughts with you on this. Ahh, here comes our champagne.”
The waiter and another staff member had returned, with one carrying two bottles while the other had a metal bucket partially filled with ice. The waiter from the Indus placed both bottles on our table, displayed the label to the Magus who briefly nodded. Then, the waiter removed the cork from the bottle with an adroit twist of his wrist. It made a pleasing pop and I could see a little haze of cold… smoke? lightly emanate from the neck of the bottle. He poured the brightly bubbling and fizzing wine into both our glasses, carefully making sure the foam did not overflow them. He was very good at his task.
“Thank you good sir,” said my Magus to the waiter who beamed back at him with a happy smile. He placed the bottle into the bucket of ice and withdrew, leaving us alone, amidst the crowed dinning room.
The Magus took up his glass, holding it in front of him. I mirrored him.
“Here’s to a good dinner with interesting company and later, ripping the shit out of a casino Meridiana.” He pushed his glass gently forwards, lightly clinking it against mine. I wasn’t familiar at the time with that form of salute and toast but went with it anyway, after all… when in Rome as they used to say.
“That sounds… delightful Magus. I am eager for it all.”
I then took a sip of my champagne and was transported into a realm of heavenly bliss.
It was exquisite.

What will future generations condemn us for?
​
By Kwame Anthony Appiah
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Once, pretty much everywhere, beating your wife and children was regarded as a father's duty, homosexuality was a hanging offense, and waterboarding was approved -- in fact, invented -- by the Catholic Church. Through the middle of the 19th century, the United States and other nations in the Americas condoned plantation slavery. Many of our grandparents were born in states where women were forbidden to vote. And well into the 20th century, lynch mobs in this country stripped, tortured, hanged and burned human beings at picnics.
Looking back at such horrors, it is easy to ask: What were people thinking?
Yet, the chances are that our own descendants will ask the same question, with the same incomprehension, about some of our practices today.
Is there a way to guess which ones? After all, not every disputed institution or practice is destined to be discredited. And it can be hard to distinguish in real time between movements, such as abolition, that will come to represent moral common sense and those, such as prohibition, that will come to seem quaint or misguided. Recall the book-burners of Boston's old Watch and Ward Society or the organizations for the suppression of vice, with their crusades against claret, contraceptives and sexually candid novels.
Still, a look at the past suggests three signs that a particular practice is destined for future condemnation.
First, people have already heard the arguments against the practice. The case against slavery didn't emerge in a blinding moment of moral clarity, for instance; it had been around for centuries.
Second, defenders of the custom tend not to offer moral counterarguments but instead invoke tradition, human nature or necessity. (As in, "We've always had slaves, and how could we grow cotton without them?")
And third, supporters engage in what one might call strategic ignorance, avoiding truths that might force them to face the evils in which they're complicit. Those who ate the sugar or wore the cotton that the slaves grew simply didn't think about what made those goods possible. That's why abolitionists sought to direct attention toward the conditions of the Middle Passage, through detailed illustrations of slave ships and horrifying stories of the suffering below decks.
With these signs in mind, here are four contenders for future moral condemnation.
​
Our prison system
We already know that the massive waste of life in our prisons is morally troubling; those who defend the conditions of incarceration usually do so in non-moral terms (citing costs or the administrative difficulty of reforms); and we're inclined to avert our eyes from the details. Check, check and check.
Roughly 1 percent of adults in this country are incarcerated. We have 4 percent of the world's population but 25 percent of its prisoners. No other nation has as large a proportion of its population in prison; even China's rate is less than half of ours. What's more, the majority of our prisoners are non-violent offenders, many of them detained on drug charges. (Whether a country that was truly free would criminalize recreational drug use is a related question worth pondering.)
And the full extent of the punishment prisoners face isn't detailed in any judge's sentence. More than 100,000 inmates suffer sexual abuse, including rape, each year; some contract HIV as a result. Our country holds at least 25,000 prisoners in isolation in so-called super max facilities, under conditions that many psychologists say amount to torture.
​
Industrial meat production
The arguments against the cruelty of factory farming have certainly been around a long time; it was Jeremy Bentham, in the 18th century, who observed that, when it comes to the treatment of animals, the key question is not whether animals can reason but whether they can suffer. People who eat factory-farmed bacon or chicken rarely offer a moral justification for what they're doing. Instead, they try not to think about it too much, shying away from stomach-turning stories about what goes on in our industrial abattoirs.
Of the more than 90 million cattle in our country, at least 10 million at any time are packed into feedlots, saved from the inevitable diseases of overcrowding only by regular doses of antibiotics, surrounded by piles of their own feces, their nostrils filled with the smell of their own urine. Picture it -- and then imagine your grandchildren seeing that picture. In the European Union, many of the most inhumane conditions we allow are already illegal or -- like the sow stalls into which pregnant pigs are often crammed in the United States -- will be illegal soon.
The institutionalized and isolated elderly
Nearly 2 million of America's elderly are warehoused in nursing homes, out of sight and, to some extent, out of mind. Some 10,000 for-profit facilities have arisen across the country in recent decades to hold them. Other elderly Americans may live independently, but often they are isolated and cut off from their families. (The United States is not alone among advanced democracies in this. Consider the heat wave that hit France in 2003: While many families were enjoying their summer vacations, some 14,000 elderly parents and grandparents were left to perish in the stifling temperatures.) Is this what Western modernity amounts to -- societies that feel no filial obligations to their inconvenient elders?
Sometimes we can learn from societies much poorer than ours. My English mother spent the last 50 years of her life in Ghana, where I grew up. In her final years, it was her good fortune not only to have the resources to stay at home, but also to live in a country where doing so was customary. She had family next door who visited her every day, and she was cared for by doctors and nurses who were willing to come to her when she was too ill to come to them. In short, she had the advantages of a society in which older people are treated with respect and concern.
Keeping aging parents and their children closer is a challenge, particularly in a society where almost everybody has a job outside the home (if not across the country). Yet the three signs apply here as well: When we see old people who, despite many living relatives, suffer growing isolation, we know something is wrong. We scarcely try to defend the situation; when we can, we put it out of our minds. Self-interest, if nothing else, should make us hope that our descendants will have worked out a better way.
​
The environment
Of course, most trans-generational obligations run the other way -- from parents to children -- and of these the most obvious candidate for opprobrium is our wasteful attitude toward the planet's natural resources and ecology. Look at a satellite picture of Russia, and you'll see a vast expanse of parched wasteland where decades earlier was a lush and verdant landscape. That's the Republic of Kalmykia, home to what was recognized in the 1990s as Europe's first man-made desert. Desertification, which is primarily the result of destructive land-management practices, threatens a third of the Earth's surface; tens of thousands of Chinese villages have been overrun by sand drifts in the past few decades.
It's not as though we're unaware of what we're doing to the planet: We know the harm done by deforestation, wetland destruction, pollution, overfishing, greenhouse gas emissions -- the whole litany. Our descendants, who will inherit this devastated Earth, are unlikely to have the luxury of such recklessness. Chances are, they won't be able to avert their eyes, even if they want to.
* * *
Let's not stop there, though. We will all have our own suspicions about which practices will someday prompt people to ask, in dismay: What were they thinking?
Even when we don't have a good answer, we'll be better off for anticipating the question.
Kwame Anthony Appiah, a philosophy professor at Princeton University, is the author of "The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen."

(this was pulled from Personal Finance thread. I am NOT trying to politicize or insult/bash the US Government.)
I'm writing this to spread awareness of this situation in hopes no one ends up like me.
Did you know you have to pay the student loan refunds back?
Here's my story:
After graduating high school in 2006 I went straight into community college for an associates degree and then to a 4 year university for a Bachelor's. With college comes student loans which I honestly didn't give any thought back in my early 20's. I graduated, moved to a new town and let the student loans fall by the wayside to the point of ending up in collections.
It took a few years but I did eventually get my feet under me and ended up in a position where I could finally fix this issue. In 2019 I started the work of getting them out of collections. By the time this happened I was into April/May of 2020 when the student loan forbearance kicked in. Note: by the time I got them out of collections I had enough interest accrued on 2 student loans to be another whole loan on it's own so I was roughly $30k in debt on student loans.
During the pandemic I busted my hump to pay them back. I still had my job and add to it the stimulus checks I managed to pay off the loans completely by November of 2021.
Then I start reading about not only the student loan forgiveness but also the refund for payments contributed during the forbearance. I only had a few news articles to go on as a lot of the media the student loan forgiveness was getting was all about just that, the forgiveness part, not the refund part. I figured I'd at least see if I qualified so I called my loan company and asked. The lady on the other end told me I qualified for $20k in refunds. That's all she told me, the amount and that the application for a refund was be sent to the Treasury Department. This was October 2022.
Fast forward to March 2023 and I get a federal check in the mail for $20,691.84. I will admit I cried happy tears seeing that check and promptly started putting in various places. I paid off a credit card debt where I'd put copays for a major surgery I had last year, I put a portion to my car loan, some in savings just incase I got taxed on the check next year, and even gave myself a nice birthday gift of 1K into my first Roth IRA. The afternoon of the day I started the Roth I come home to find a letter from the Department of Education saying I had an unpaid principal of $20,691.84.
You heard me right.
By requesting the student loan refund it apparently reactivated my student loans and that entire check I will now have to pay back.
Naturally I was quite upset and promptly called the loan company.
The very nice lady on the phone told me that what it boils down to is what will happen with the supreme court. If the court opts in favor of the borrowers and forgives the student loans they will waive wither 10 or 20k of my loans. If the court votes against the borrowers(or no decision is made by June 30,2023) I will owe the money back in the entirety (with interest).
I told the woman that I'd never heard this part of the refund information. I'd never received anything in writing, no email, heck even the woman I'd originally talked to about the refund hadn't said a word about having to repay it all, because if I'd known that I wouldn't have requested a refund in the first place! She told me that everything was currently still frozen and no money was actually due until after June 30, 2023.
If you want the truth yes, I'm mad at the government for not sending out proper information to the people of this nation. I am also mad at myself for not inspecting into this refund thing further before submitting documentation requesting a refund.
In the meantime, no, I haven't spent it all, and what I have left is sitting on standby because I honestly don't know what to do just yet (after all this just came to light as Monday).
I'm posting this to spread awareness of this. I want people to know about this backside to the student loan refund so other people won't get stuck with a bill, like me. Now, instead of $7,500 per student loan as a principal (plus interest) which is what my original student loans were in 2010 and 2011 when I put in FASFA paperwork to get them, now they are $10k a piece (with interest) once the fiscal year ends.
Now you know. Please, I'm not trying to bash the Us Government. All I want is to spread the word about this. Let the people who've worked hard to make their lives better, who've scraped and saved just trying to get by and are finally getting their feet back under them after this pandemic know: Don't bother with the student loan refunds.
#studentloans #studentloanrefund #refundchecks #spreadtheword

Bold New Listing
Disney/Marvel

• Beauty And The Beast (Live) - GP Split
• DR. Strange - gp split
• Finding Dory - gp split
• Frozen - gp split
• Lion King Animated -GP Split
• Maleficent - Mistress of Evil - GP Split
• Saving Mr Banks - 4K
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens gp split
• Toy Story 1 - GP Split

Non Disney Codes

• Alex Cross - AppleTv/Vudu/ - HD
• Aloha -sony HD
• Amazing Spider - Man 2 - Sony -HD
• American Reunion unrated HD
• American Girl McKenna Shoots For The Stars - UV HD
• Anchorman 2 - HD -Vudu/ AppleTv
• Assassination Nation - HD - Vudu/AppleTV/GP
• Bad Grampa - HD Vudu / Itunes
• Battleship -UV- HD
• Beirut - UV - HD
• The Big Wedding -UV- HD
• Boyhood - HD- UV/ Itunes
• The Bourne Legacy - UniversalDigitalCopy.com -HD
• The Call - UV - HD
• Case For Christ - HD UPHE.com /Redeem
• Clifford The Big Red Dog -Vudu HD - Itunes 4K
• Danny Collins - HD - Universal/itunes
• The Dark Tower - UV HD
• Despicable Me 2 - HD Vudu/4K Itunes - Ports to MA - split
• Dirty Grandpa - Apple/Vudu/ GP
• Divergent - HD Apple/Vudu// GP
• Dracula Untold - HD- universalredeem.com
• Draft Day - Apple/Vudu GP
• Dredd - HD - Vudu/AppleTV
• Dying of the Light - Vudu
• Emoji Movie - HD - Sony
• Epic -MA HD
• Expendables 2 - movieredeem.com - HD
• Expendables 3 HD Itunes
• Exposed HD lionsgate Vudu
• The Fault In Our Stars - FoxRedeem.com HD
• Fast and Furious 1 -HD - UV / Apple
• Fast and Furious 6 -UV or Itunes HD
• Furious 7 - UV or Itunes HD
• Fate of Furious - F8 - Vudu / MA - HD
• Fifty Shades Of Grey Hd Or ITunes
• Forest Gump - Vudu -Split
• Fury - Sony - HD
• Ghost Team One - HD - Vudu/ AppleTV
• Girls Trip - Hd Vudu/ Hd Itunes - Ports To MA split
• Hacksaw Ridge - HD Apple/Vudu/Gp
• Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters- HD -Vudu/AppleTV
• Hercules (The Rock) -HD - Vudu / AppleTV
• Hillsong - Let Hope Rise - UV/ AppleTV
• How To Train Your Dragon 2 - FoxRedeem.com - HD
• The Hunger Games - Catching Fire - UV or ITunes - HD
• The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Pt 1- redeemmovie.com SD
• The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Pt 2 - redeemmovie.com SD
• Ice Age Continental Drift HD MA
• The Imitation Game - HD- Vudu
• Instant Family - paramount -HD
• The Internship - HD - UV or Itunes
• The Interview Sony - HD
• Jack Reacher Never Go Back - HD UV or ITunes
• Jack Ryan:Shadow Recruit - HD-Vudu/4K Itunes - Does Not Port to MA
• John Wick - AppleTv / Vudu / GP / - HD
• John Wick 3 - Apple Tv - HD
• Jurrassic World - HD Vudu/4K Itunes - Ports to MA
• Killer Elite - HD - ITunes
• La La Land -HD -4K AppleTv / Vudu /GP- does not port
• Last Stand - HD / ITunes-
• Les Miserables -HD Vudu/4K Itunes - Ports to MA
• The Longest Ride FoxRedeem- HD
• Lone Survivor -UV HD
• Lucy - HD Itunes or MA
• Magic Mike MA- HD
• Matrix Resurrections - HD - wb.com/redeemmovie
• Maze Runner - Scorch Trials - HD Foxredeem
• Megan Leavey - UV/ITunesMinions -Universaldigitalcopy - HD
• Minions - UV or Itunes
• MI Fallout -HD Vudu/4K Itunes - Does Not Port to MA
• MI Rogue Nation - HD Vudu / 4K Itunes - Does Not Port to MA
• Noah - HD Vudu/HD Itunes -Does Not Port to MA - split
• Now You See Me -Vudu HD
• One Direction - This Is Us -UV - Reg. and Extended -sony- HD
• Paranormal Activity 3 -HD - AppleTV / Vudu
• The Peanuts Movie - FoRedeem - HD
• Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters - HD -UV or Itunes
• Pitch Perfect - HD Vudu/4K Itunes - Ports to MA - split
• Pitch Perfect 2 - HD Vudu/4K Itunes - Ports to MA - split
• Poltergeist 2015 - HD -FoxRedeem.com
• Prometheus -UV - HD
• The Protector 2 - Vudu - HD
• Rio 2 -FoxRedeem -HD MA
• Rocketman - HD Vudu/4K Itunes - Does Not Port
• Russell Madness - HD - FoxRedeem.com
• Same Kind Different As Me - HD Itunes
• Secret Life of Pets -HD - Uv or Itunes
• The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty - FoxRedeem.com HD
• Smurfs 2 HD-Sony
• Snitch - UV/ITunes
• Snow White and the Huntsman - ITunes/HD
• Son Of God - FoxRedeem -HD
• Star Trek - Beyond HD Vudu/ 4K ITunes - Does Not Port To MA
• Star Trek - Into The Darkness - HD Vudu/4K Itunes - Does Not Port to MA
• Step Up All In - Redeemmovie.com -HD
• The Theroy Of Everything - HD - (Will Send First )
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - HD
• Transformers The Last Knight - HD Vudu/4K Itunes - Does Not Port to MA
• Trolls - MA - HD
• Tyler Perry's Temtation -redeemmovie - HD
• Twilight - Vudu
• Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt.2 - movieredeem.com -HD
• Unbroken - UniversalDigitalCopy.com - HD
• Victor Frankenstein Foxredeem - HD
• Warcraft -UPHE.com HD
• The Wolf Of Wall Street - AppleTv/Vudu/ - HD
• What To Expect When You're Expecting - HD - AppleTV -Vudu -GP
• Wonder Park -paramount - HD
• World War Z - Itunes or Vudu - Hd
• X-Men Apocalypse - HD - UV - Apple
• X-Men Days Of Future Past - FoxRedeem.com
• Your Highness -Universal HD

SD Codes

• E.T. - SD
• Goosebumps 2 -SD
• The Homesman - SD
• Maggie-SD
• Possession of Hanna Grace - MA-SD

ITune Codes ( I will send first since I have no way to check )

• Angels and Demons SD or HD
• Captain America The First Avenger Sd or HD
• City Island - SD
• Countdown Sd or HD
• Fast Five - Sd
• Fighter - SD or HD
• The Gambler - SD or HD
• The Hangover Hd
• Hercules HD
• Inception - SD or HD
• Love And Other Drugs - HD or SD
• Night At The Museum - Smithsonian- SD
• Star Trek - HD
• The Three Stooges The Movie Doesn't Port -SD
• Transformers Age Of Extinction - SD or HD
• True Grit - HD
• X-Men First Class -HD /Sd

TV Seasons

• True Blood - Season 2 HD - Itunes/GP
• True Blood -Season 4 HD- Vudu/Itunes/GP

DMR pts only

• Captain Marvel
• Avengers Endgame

Request

• Elvis
• Otto
• The Fabelmans
• Infinite
• The Kings Daughter
• Mickey & Minnie 10
• The Protege
• Open Season 2 & 3
• Puss & Boots 2022
• Gotham Season 3 & 4
• LIST