11-19-2016, 04:08 AM
The trip down into the depths of the fort had been interesting enough, and had provided him with new information about Amber. Put in context as a part of a four-person unit she was marginally less impressive. Still, Kelly was certain he had been right about her being the leader.
All that however, even the glowing gem with its taunting promise of power, was secondary to the realization of his goal.
Data. At last, I'm going to have some understanding.
"Thank you," he said, sliding into the chair in front of the main terminal, "I sincerely appreciate it."
The interface seemed simple enough. While Amber and Murasaki headed back down the hall, discussing her latest adventures, the traveler called up the search function, marveling at how much they were trusting him, and he began his education.
Three hours later, Kelly finally dragged himself away. He'd taken a ten minute break to summon an integrated wrist-computer and multiband communicator as soon as he had found out that there was a wireless data-network accessible from anywhere in the Omniverse, but that newfound source of information had only supplemented his headlong plunge through team AMBR's data archives. He'd exhausted himself, analyzing continuously as he read, barely even blinking, until finally he sat back in his chair and rubbed his bleary-red eyes, snorting the smell of hot electronics out of his nose.
Lit by the glow of that massive screen, he didn't know whether to grin savagely, scream in anger or burst out in mean-spirited laughter. The madness, the opportunity, the potential, the sheer bloody-minded incompetence!
The Omniverse was, depending on where you were, either a near-lawless frontier, a collection of city-states separated by wilderness, a wasteland, an actual nightmare, or a barely-disguised mess. The biggest offender in the latter category was the Empire, and the Kingdom was only better by way of a more benevolent social character. Both were, in Kelly's view, horribly mismanaged to the point of being actually offensive on both an ethical and a professional level.
Professional...? That's interesting.
Even disregarding proxy-conflicts between the two big fish in this multi-fishbowl continuum, The other 'verses all had problems, factions, struggles of their own... Kelly had only gotten the most general layout of the major players, only begun to scratch the surface of his new home.
There would be nuances that nobody talked about, things that had to be seen to be understood, unspoken social norms and institutionalized invisible prejudices. There would be powerful people moving behind the scenes, other Primes, with their own agendas. Some, like Amber and her team, might have goals that broadly aligned with his own. There would be new tools to learn, new methods and strategies. There would be alliances to make, resources to gather, and yes, things to do.
Nobody asked to be brought here. They don't need fools and monsters making their lives worse. So, so much to do... I'll have to break it down into small, manageable goals, at least until my powers come back, and I've set the groundwork for targeting a major problem. Of course, when it gets to that stage a lot of things will start happening very quickly. It's best to wait until I know what resources I'll have at my disposal before I start seriously contemplating the endgame. There's still so much I can't predict, and so much I don't know.
The first order of business, he decided, was to establish useful contacts inside the Empire while remaining a free agent, at least to start. Kelly wanted to begin outside of the existing power structure, both because there would be less scrutiny that way and because he was certain that any official career he tried to build would eventually conflict with his long-term goals. Unfortunately, this meant that he was limited to the criminal element, the politically undesirable, and the private sector. It would be hard, considering there were things he was simply not willing to do, but he'd figure something out.
After the Empire, he'd do the same in the Kingdom. He'd have to keep his eyes open for opportunities elsewhere, as well. The traveler would need a base of operations, powerful resources and tools on which to draw, allies among the other primes...
Kelly also wanted to know more about the Underverse. The fact that people here had 'solved' the problem of Prime immortality by sending powerful troublemakers into an unexplored hellscape ruled by the most potently evil Prime ever known made him very, very nervous.
He stood up and stretched, popping his back, his elbows and his knees. The traveler had been sitting for so long, just reading, that his joints had begun to lock up, but now it was time to go. He turned away from the terminal and opened the door, only to collide with the door-frame on his way out and nearly lose his balance. Kelly was eager to begin, to establish himself as a force for progress and sanity in the boiling mass of chaos into which he'd been thrown. Sadly, it seemed that before he did anything else, he was going to need a nap, or at least a strong cup of coffee.
Do I even drink coffee?
He had no idea. Concentrating on walking a straight line in spite of his tired brain, he set off in search of either a place to catch some sleep before he left, or Amber, or anyone who would hopefully be able to point him in the right direction.
All that however, even the glowing gem with its taunting promise of power, was secondary to the realization of his goal.
Data. At last, I'm going to have some understanding.
"Thank you," he said, sliding into the chair in front of the main terminal, "I sincerely appreciate it."
The interface seemed simple enough. While Amber and Murasaki headed back down the hall, discussing her latest adventures, the traveler called up the search function, marveling at how much they were trusting him, and he began his education.
Three hours later, Kelly finally dragged himself away. He'd taken a ten minute break to summon an integrated wrist-computer and multiband communicator as soon as he had found out that there was a wireless data-network accessible from anywhere in the Omniverse, but that newfound source of information had only supplemented his headlong plunge through team AMBR's data archives. He'd exhausted himself, analyzing continuously as he read, barely even blinking, until finally he sat back in his chair and rubbed his bleary-red eyes, snorting the smell of hot electronics out of his nose.
Lit by the glow of that massive screen, he didn't know whether to grin savagely, scream in anger or burst out in mean-spirited laughter. The madness, the opportunity, the potential, the sheer bloody-minded incompetence!
The Omniverse was, depending on where you were, either a near-lawless frontier, a collection of city-states separated by wilderness, a wasteland, an actual nightmare, or a barely-disguised mess. The biggest offender in the latter category was the Empire, and the Kingdom was only better by way of a more benevolent social character. Both were, in Kelly's view, horribly mismanaged to the point of being actually offensive on both an ethical and a professional level.
Professional...? That's interesting.
Even disregarding proxy-conflicts between the two big fish in this multi-fishbowl continuum, The other 'verses all had problems, factions, struggles of their own... Kelly had only gotten the most general layout of the major players, only begun to scratch the surface of his new home.
There would be nuances that nobody talked about, things that had to be seen to be understood, unspoken social norms and institutionalized invisible prejudices. There would be powerful people moving behind the scenes, other Primes, with their own agendas. Some, like Amber and her team, might have goals that broadly aligned with his own. There would be new tools to learn, new methods and strategies. There would be alliances to make, resources to gather, and yes, things to do.
Nobody asked to be brought here. They don't need fools and monsters making their lives worse. So, so much to do... I'll have to break it down into small, manageable goals, at least until my powers come back, and I've set the groundwork for targeting a major problem. Of course, when it gets to that stage a lot of things will start happening very quickly. It's best to wait until I know what resources I'll have at my disposal before I start seriously contemplating the endgame. There's still so much I can't predict, and so much I don't know.
The first order of business, he decided, was to establish useful contacts inside the Empire while remaining a free agent, at least to start. Kelly wanted to begin outside of the existing power structure, both because there would be less scrutiny that way and because he was certain that any official career he tried to build would eventually conflict with his long-term goals. Unfortunately, this meant that he was limited to the criminal element, the politically undesirable, and the private sector. It would be hard, considering there were things he was simply not willing to do, but he'd figure something out.
After the Empire, he'd do the same in the Kingdom. He'd have to keep his eyes open for opportunities elsewhere, as well. The traveler would need a base of operations, powerful resources and tools on which to draw, allies among the other primes...
Kelly also wanted to know more about the Underverse. The fact that people here had 'solved' the problem of Prime immortality by sending powerful troublemakers into an unexplored hellscape ruled by the most potently evil Prime ever known made him very, very nervous.
He stood up and stretched, popping his back, his elbows and his knees. The traveler had been sitting for so long, just reading, that his joints had begun to lock up, but now it was time to go. He turned away from the terminal and opened the door, only to collide with the door-frame on his way out and nearly lose his balance. Kelly was eager to begin, to establish himself as a force for progress and sanity in the boiling mass of chaos into which he'd been thrown. Sadly, it seemed that before he did anything else, he was going to need a nap, or at least a strong cup of coffee.
Do I even drink coffee?
He had no idea. Concentrating on walking a straight line in spite of his tired brain, he set off in search of either a place to catch some sleep before he left, or Amber, or anyone who would hopefully be able to point him in the right direction.