The computer whistled a sharp note, letting Karnath know that his program had found a working username and password combination. He ignored it, focusing through the magnifying glass on the nearly two-inch-long sword he was currently painting steel blue. He finished the sword and checked the giant it belonged to for stray brush strokes. Finding none, he left the sword to dry and turned to the computer.

The program had given him the login for a mid-level manager, which was all he needed. He fished through the guy's email and the folders on his desktop. Nothing interesting, so he set up a worm to dig into the servers and grab any information they might have on Anastasia, Johnny O'Reilly, Kashmir, and Evermorn. He'd probably get more than he really wanted on O'Reilly and nothing reliable on Kashmir, but he picked NBN to hack into because they were almost certainly the best source on Her.

The mini wasn't quite dry enough to work on more so he opened up the website for Evermorn again. Farmland and a small village were in the foreground and a motte and bailey castle could be made out in the background. The fields waved in a simulated breeze as the Evernmorn logo faded in and the menu bar filled in. He'd done this five times now, and every time the scene had been different. Last time it was an ogre eating what seemed to be a roasted human leg at a campfire on a beach.

He selected "About" from the menu and waited. The first time he did this, the response was almost instantaneous, but the time had varied since. Nearly 20 seconds passed this time, the longest so far, before he saw a speck moving with purpose in the village. It emerged from between two buildings and it traveled along the road. As the road went through the fields he lost it a couple of times, but it quickly reappeared, always moving towards the screen. It grew as it approached, and soon enough he confirmed it was Shenmi, the same creature that had approached him before. He was around 3 feet tall, with long, pointed ears, and although he couldn't see them yet, purple eyes and pink skin. The creature flew on lacey crystal wings that refracted the light, forming a cloud of colors surrounding him.

Karnath had mentally tagged the creature as a faerie, following the fantasy convention of using more letters than necessary in names. Does it need an apostrophe? Perhaps Fae'rie? He continued to workshop it in his head for a few more seconds until he finally arrived.

"Master Karnath," he said in a light tenor voice. Faint bells chimed as he spoke, and Karnath smiled at the music. "It is good to see you back. How may I help you today?"

Karnath flipped on the microphone. The first time he did this he had started typing his response, but the faerie told him that he could understand him if he preferred talking. It was the most impressive AI he'd seen, well beyond the commercially available LLMs. He knew that DARPA had something like it because he'd tapped into their system, but that was the only one he knew of that was even close. "Shen, bud, what's happening?"

"Well, Master Karnath, it seems that the forces threatening Honua that I told you about are continuing to gather their strength. The Deities of Evermorn have come together to look for valiant heroes to help defeat the invaders and restore the peace of Evermorn to Honua. Have you decided to join us?"

"I'm thinking about it," he said, although he knew perfectly well that he'd be signing up. Cyrus was definitely going to go, so the rest of them would be going. "But I still have some questions. You said last time that if we agreed to help, we would be reborn into new forms that would allow us to fight the Gods' enemies."

"Not just the Gods, but all the Deities," Shenmi said.

"I'm going to follow up on that later, Shen-Shen, but let's focus here. Reborn. What does that mean?"

Shenmi straightened to his full height and said, "Honua is a place of wonder, where the many peoples have lived in harmony with the world and each other for many centuries. But with the growing threat to all of Honua, the Deities of Evernmorn know that they will need people to defend that peace. They wish to bring all of strong heart to the defense of the world, and by being reborn, you will be able to help defend it."

OK, the language is a little corny, but still a great AI. I think it's intentionally avoiding the question, not simply answering poorly. "Shenmi. What happens when someone is reborn?"

Shenmi bowed his head and answered. "Sorry, Master Karnath. I was unaware that reborn was an ambiguous term. Those who join the fight will be born again into new forms that will let them defend the peace of Honua."

"Are you messing with me, Shenmi? Okay, let's go back a step. What type of game are we playing here?"

"I assure you, this is no game. Without the help of stalwart souls, we will surely fall."

Karnath sighed. Shenmi couldn't possibly be misunderstanding, so it had to be information the makers didn't want to get out yet. But why wouldn't they want people to know? How do they expect anyone to buy it when they don't even know what it is? "OK Shenmi, what can you tell me? Can you tell me when the game comes out."

"I wish you would cease calling it a game, Master Karnath. And I am not sure what you mean by comes out," Shenmi said, the chiming bells taking on a mournful tone

All right, maybe not as good as I thought. "Shenmi, when can I be reborn?"

Shenmi straightened back up. "Have you decided to join the fight, Master Karnath?"

"I have, Shenmi."

"You can be reborn as soon as you go to one of the outposts we have placed around your world. There are already more than 300 available outposts, with more being opened all the time. I can direct you to your closest outpost if you would like."

Karnath sat in stunned silence as seconds passed. None of this made sense. Outposts? Available now? A touch of paranoia set in, entertaining the idea that this was all an elaborate plot to figure out his location, but deciding it would require the feds to either actually pull off taking over all broadcasts or for Cyrus and the others to be complicit in it. He couldn't believe either were true, so he took a calculated risk. "Elko."

"I am aware of 10 places called Elko, all in North America. Several of those are ghost towns or just tracts of land, and the most likely location is in Nevada, USA. Is that correct?"

Karnath nodded. "Close enough."

"Your closest outposts are in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Reno, Nevada. Can I give you directions to either one?"

"Give me the addresses," Karnath said as he started typing a message to the others. As Karnath walked to his closet to start packing a bag, Shenmi's eyes flashed red, and a wide smile set in. A box with addresses for the two locations and a corresponding QR code replaced the image.

What a waste, Min-ji thought as she came through the front door of her apartment. She'd woken up late, lying in front of her computer, and had to scramble to make it to the restaurant on time. She'd missed the first bus and had to taxi in, and the roads were a mess. Half the traffic lights were out and they passed a couple of abandoned wrecks that choked off the road. The only saving grace was the lack of other vehicles.

After making it as the dinner rush should have been getting into full swing, she found the restaurant empty, the owner the only person there. Hyun-ae had been there that morning when the TV took over and woke up here this afternoon. No one, customer or employee, had come anywhere near the restaurant since she had woken up until Min-ji arrived.

Hyun-ae gave her some of the crab she had bought that morning, not wanting to throw it out, and Min-ji turned around and headed for home. She put the crabs in the freezer, checking to ensure they were still moving around before closing the door, and started working on the stew. After ensuring she had enough doenjang and gochujang to make a full-size batch, she texted her neighbors and asked them to come over for dinner. She had just put the anchovies in a tea bag when she got an enthusiastic response, and she lost herself in the preparations.

The kkotgetang was finished two hours later, and the neighborhood group came together shortly after. Talk at the table was split between talk about the experience the night before, and questioning the official story about what was going on in India. The government was not addressing it, and the national media were as sluggish in their response as Min-ji and the others felt. No one wanted to talk about parties or concerts or games, and the conversation soon dwindled. The last of the stew was eaten in awkward silence and the guests left quickly after finishing. It was getting late, but she wasn't tired yet, the impromptu nap after the show throwing off her sleep pattern.

She decided to check in with the others, logging in to her private network and checking through her messages. Karnath had left a message with a picture of a young Matthew Lillard with a blue mohawk and a studded leather jacket that said, "See ya soon!", and nothing since. Cyrus had sent everyone links to the website for "Evermorn", which he had become obsessed with since the commercial, the one thing she remembered clearly from the morning. Steph had acknowledged the link from Cyrus, but nothing else. Oskar had sent her three messages asking for a call when she had looked at Evermorn. She messaged back that she was just getting online and would call soon.

VPN active, she followed the link Cyrus had sent. The screen first filled with a moving image of a forest clearing, the dense foliage blocking most of the sunlight except for a few crepuscular rays. A ring of crimson mushrooms defined the size of the clearing, with the interior filled with emerald ground cover with clusters of bright red berries. The Evermorn logo and a menu bar faded in, the god rays lighting the logo warmly.

She clicked on the menu, and "About" was the only choice available. She clicked on it and the logo and menu bar disappeared and the light swirled in the center of the clearing. A winged creature formed from the light, looking up at the center of the screen. It had feathered wings, purple skin, and bright gold eyes without pupils and wore a leotard with a flowing skirt. It flew towards the screen, and when its head took up nearly half the screen, it bowed and said in a lilting soprano, "Welcome, wanderer. I come to you from the inner world, Honua, summoned by your presence. The Deities of Evermorn have tasked me with finding stalwart souls to help them preserve the peace of Honua. If you are brave and strong of heart, a new life awaits!"

Cyrus must be going crazy for this, she thought. She liked a bit of overwrought fantasy dialogue as much as the next guy, unless the next guy is Cyrus or Karnath, so she was at least intrigued. She waited for some options to fill in, but after five long seconds without the menu bar or anything else appearing, she hit shift twice to try to force something. A text bar appeared at the bottom of the screen and the pixie or whatever said, "Though I can respond to your typing, it may be easier to simply speak, if you can."

She preferred to type, but wanting to find out the speech interpretation capabilities of whatever AI this was using made her find a mic to plug in. She turned it on and said, "Hello?"

"Hello," the pixie said while smiling and bowing slightly. "I am Baomi, agent of the Deities of Evermorn."

"I'm Min-Ji."

"I am honored, Min-Ji. I am sure you have many questions about why the Deities are seeking help."

Pronunciation was flawless, Min-Ji thought. Already more capable than anything I've seen. "I do, Baomi. But first, can I get the basics of the game?"

"This is not a game, honored Min-Ji. Invaders seek the destruction or subjugation of Honua, and Evermorn needs valiant souls to fight for it. We seek those willing to be reborn into Honua as champions of Evermorn."

Not sure if this is a flaw in the AI or not. Let's see if playing along gets results. "I am willing, Baomi. How may I do so?"

Boami bowed deeply, wings spread wide. "Honored Min-ji, we thank you for your willingness to help. Doing so without reservation shows your true character. What is your location, so I can direct you to the nearest outpost?"

"Wait, what?" This was an in-person game? Had to be VR, then, and must be a pretty elaborate setup to not be something rolled out to commercial headsets. "This will all be done at remote stations? How many do you expect to be online together?"

The pixie tilted their head to the side and scrunched their eyebrows before answering slowly. "The outposts are where we will gather those to be reborn into Honua, and we hope that millions will answer the call."

Ambitious to hope for millions of people at launch, especially for something that requires going to an 'outpost'. "Itaewon," she told the AI.

The pixie smiled at the name. "There is a station in Yongsan, by the Han." Baomi made a gesture with their hand, contorting their fingers in an awkward pattern, and a QR code appeared on the screen. "The rune below contains the location and can direct you to the outpost. Do you have any questions about the process of rebirth or other aspects of Honua?"

She drummed her nails on the desk as she considered this. "When do the outposts open?"

"Honored Min-ji, they are already open. If you wish, you could begin the rebirth tonight."

Wow - stealth launch and a hard sell. Didn't expect that. "I do have some questions before that," she said. An idea occurred to her and she asked, "Do you have an outpost in Salt Lake City?"

"Yes - it is one of over 350 outposts, with more being built."

She raised her eyebrows at that - both too many and not nearly enough. They'd need 3000 people at every station to get to the million. And how did they build that many stations without anyone noticing? "OK, what is the process of rebirth?"

Baomi bowed slightly and said, "I have extensive information on this topic. How verbose would you like me to be?"

She chuckled and said, "OK, Baomi, I give. Boil it down to a hundred words."

Baomi paused, the only movement for several seconds a soft fluttering of her wings. "Candidates arrive for compatibility testing. Representatives of Evermorn help candidates understand needs of Honua and how they can be met. Candidates are interviewed by representatives to determine their place in Honua and how initial rebirth should proceed. Expected societal role is researched and best fit for initial state is selected. Contract terms are reviewed and signed by candidate and representative. Candidate enters rebirthing chambers for transfer to Honua as resident. Rebirth settings determine time of initial birth. Pace of Honua is accelerated to install necessary skills in resident to defend Honua. Pace for all candidates normalized at dawn of era."

Min-ji realized she probably should have paid more attention to the content than to counting the words, but she got the idea. She figured the outposts were stores where they were selling the VR equipment for people rather than stations people would play at. The launch of the game itself was probably still a good way off, and might be reliant on enough people getting the equipment. She thought about asking more but decided it would be easier to get answers at the station itself. The AI had turned out to be better than she had expected, although she could see some shortcuts they may have taken to make it seem more intelligent than it was. She took a shot of the QR code and said, "Thanks, Baomi. I'll go to the outpost."

"The Deities thank you, and await your arrival," Baomi bowed again, their head lowered and neck exposed. Without raising their head, the pixie slowly dissolved into light that broke apart as fireflies. The clearing on the screen had gone dark. Min-ji watched the fireflies circle for several minutes, daydreaming about what Evermorn might entail.

"Do you really think that we won't be coming back, Oskar?" Steph talked to the microphones in the car, relying on the safety systems in the luxury vehicle to keep her on track.

"If you don't think it's a possibility, then I don't think you questioned the thing enough," Oskar's voice came through the speakers clearly, and Steph could tell he was annoyed. She hoped he was annoyed at Cyrus, not her. "I'm not saying for sure. It's absolutely ridiculous to think, but if I take the thing at its word, that's the result. Cyrus might be right, and I might be taking marketing too literally. But maybe he doesn't want us to think it's true."

Steph snorted at that. "I'll bite. Why would Cyrus not want us to believe it's true?"

"Because Cyrus wants this, Steph. Cyrus wants to be reborn, and wants us to go with him. And you know, if Anya would be there with me, I'd want it. But she means more."

"You can't be serious. This is not a lifechanging event, it's a game. Hopefully a really detailed game, but a game."

"I hope you're right."

Steph clenched the wheel as she pulled into the exit lane. "Why not go? If by some crazy happenstance you're right, you walk away."

"What if we can't? What if as soon as we step in, that's it? Quipi wasn't exactly clear on that point, no matter what I asked. Or even if we can, what if I can't? Like I said, if not for Anya."

She was grateful the roads weren't backed up today as she smoothly got out of the exit lane and headed up the hill. "I got the impression that early adopters would have greater freedom - if you don't go now and we tell you later that you were wrong, you might not be able to join us."

"I know, but I'd rather miss the game than miss her."

"Bah," she said, but she smiled as she did it. Oskar and Anya were good for each other, and she was glad he had her. She just didn't want to miss her friend when playing. "All right, Oskar. But when we're all telling you about how great the game is, I will take pleasure in rubbing this in."

"I hope so, Steph. Be safe out there."

Steph nodded to her reflection in the windshield and hung up. Her phone took over the speakers and Rihanna started singing the one with Eminem. Her granddaughter loved the song as a tween, so she heard it so many times that she knew it and sang along out of habit. The song took her through the neighborhood and she listened to the last chorus parked in the garage.

She shut the car down and headed into the house, walking past the old convertible under the sheet. She absently patted the fender while walking up the step to the door. The house was quiet as she walked in, and she thought again that she should go to the shelter and adopt a dog. She untied her shoes and slipped them off in the mudroom, sliding her textured socks on in their place. She walked silently into the kitchen, heading directly to the fridge. As she knelt down next to the fridge to get a bottle from the wine cooler, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass. Her once-red hair was completely grey, and the wrinkles were more pronounced than she'd like, but so it goes, as they say.

She found a rosé and straightened, her back arguing against it. She got the motorized corkscrew out and took the top off, filling a glass a little fuller than recommended. She walked into the living room, intending to turn on an old movie, drink a bottle of wine, and just miss him for a little while. When the light turned on and she saw a small but dangerous-looking man sitting in her chair, the glass fell from her hand.

The glass stopped abruptly before hitting the ground, the wine sloshing around but none of it spilling. The man looked at her with eyes split by verticle black pupils set above a small beady nose and a thin-lipped mouth too wide for the face. "Sorry to startle you," he said in a high-pitched, nasal voice. "Please, Ms. Phillips, have a seat. I have a proposal for you to guarantee your grandchildren's future, in exchange for just a small favor."