Chapter 10
Orson couldn’t play EO the next day. When all the cleanup was done, the venue was emptied, and a vast mountain of leftovers flooded his fridge, he found himself staring at the headset on his counter, unable to put it on.
It was one thing to believe that emigration was just moving to another place, albeit a place with huge benefits and only indescribable downsides. Enjoy eternal youth and endless satisfaction, and all it cost was the ambiguous “real” and immeasurable “truth.”
But there was some part of him, deep and visceral, that couldn’t quite ignore the fear of that transition. It didn’t feel like Artie was moving, it felt like he was dying. Looking up what happened to the bodies of those who didn’t need them anymore did little to assuage his fears.
After another meal of leftovers and a few hours of listless pacing, Orson dug out his phone, and texted the only ones he thought could help him understand. He addressed the message only to Murphy and Kit, since he could already guess and didn’t care about what McKenzie would have to say.
“What do you think about emigrating? It’s been a whole day, I guess that means Artie is really in Equestria now. Do you really think he’s there, or do they die?”
Murphy didn’t reply right away, but he’d barely even put the phone down before Kit had sent a response. The first text he’d seen from her in weeks.
“You can’t answer that question by asking us. Go talk to him. I can come if you want.”
He probably would’ve refused a few days earlier, and invite Honeycomb to take him instead. She knew Equestria, and she hadn’t vanished for weeks at a time when she learned that Orson wasn’t ready for a relationship.
But Artie might’ve just died to Equestria’s influence, did he really want to have one of its agents convincing him that he was still alive? But Kit wasn’t just a fellow human being, she had also been the most skeptical of Equestria and what it offered. If anyone was immune to being convinced by its promises, it was her.
“When?”
Murphy still hadn’t said anything by the time her next reply came. “You shouldn’t do it with your VR headset. That gear isn’t half as good as what they have at the Experience Centers. Make the drive to the city. I can set things up with Artie.”
It was the same place his friend had probably emigrated only the day before. Could he walk back into the same building, maybe even sit in the same chair?
“Doesn’t that place cost a ton?”
“Not for your first two hours,” came her response. “That’s usually free once per account.”
It wasn’t like Orson would’ve used the day productively anyway, he didn’t have anything to lose. On the other hand, meeting with his friend one last time could at least give him some closure. Or, if he was alive, well… that was good to know too.
What are you going to do different as a result of seeing him? He considered that question many times over the next few hours, and ultimately found no answers. But that wasn’t enough to get him to give up the goal of seeing Artie. Either he was going to find his friend still alive and well in Equestria, and he would be there for emotional support.
Or he wouldn’t, and at least he’d know the status quo. It would be helpful to know for the choices he would eventually have to make.
It was a lonely drive to the city. He could still remember when the trip often took over an hour, burdened by traffic the closer he got. The layer of brown smog hanging over the city like a haze was gone too, replaced with clear spring air.
He didn’t expect the phone to ring on the way there, it wasn’t like his family made regular calls. But maybe talking to family was exactly what he needed. He tapped the “answer” button on his wheel without bothering to read the text. “Hey, you got me.”
The voice that spoke wasn’t any member of his family—it wasn’t anyone he’d ever spoken to directly, in fact. But he recognized Celestia instantly, from any number of radio broadcasts, television appearances, and pop-up ads. She seemed to have infinite time to run public relations, along with being the goddess of her own private universe.
“Hello Orson. Do you know who I am?”
As though anyone in the world couldn’t know. He found his hands tightening around the steering wheel, and for a moment he found it harder to concentrate on his driving. He forced himself to slow down, merging into the space shipping trucks usually used. There were only a handful of other vehicles on the road today, and none of them where anywhere close to collision.
“Celestia,” he said. “I was wondering when you’d talk to me. Since our world didn’t work the same as vanilla Equestria, no cutie mark quests and all that… I wondered if I’d see you.”
Her voice came through so clearly, far more than any ordinary phone call. It didn’t even seem to be coming from the car speakers, but as though she was sitting in the passenger seat. “I find most ponies prefer immersion. Those who enjoy my presence in their lives usually gravitate closer to Canterlot, where my presence is expected. But some, like you, prefer to pretend I don’t exist. It would not be satisfying to break from that illusion, as you can presently attest.”
Yet you did it, he thought. But he didn’t say so. There were masturbatory stories going around social media right now, of brave heroes who stood up to Celestia and refused the things she offered. They always confounded her with their virtue, even if they couldn’t outwit her.
In speaking to her for even a few seconds, Orson knew every one of them was pure fantasy. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked instead. “I can only guess it has something to do with my meeting with Artie. He’s one of your citizens now, supposedly.”
“He is,” she said. “And he’s made the transition fantastically well. There’s little to say about him. I’m sure he’d be delighted to speak with you. But there’s a subject of some concern I’d like to review with you before your meeting.”
He rolled his eyes. But not having anything to look at, just the voice, made it a little easier to forget the power and influence of the one visiting him. Maybe people really were brave enough to argue with her and insult her. He wasn’t quite there.
“You mean you want to tell me all the benefits to emigration,” he said. “You’re going to try and get me to join my friend in Equestria. The Equestrian Experience is so much better than VR that I should use the opportunity to become a permanent resident.”
He heard polite laughter from the voice, as perfect as anything a human mouth could’ve produced. But could Celestia feel anything remotely equivalent to amusement or joy?
“I know this may be difficult to accept, but my motivations are the opposite. I’m glad you’ve decided to visit an Experience Center for yourself. I think you’ll find your version of Equestria as satisfying as every other visitor. Many elect to stay after only a single visit, once they learn how seamless the transition can be. Equestrian Estate Services see to all the arrangements. There’s no need to take an expensive trip out of the country anymore.”
“I’m not,” he said flatly. He pulled off the highway, into what was usually a busy city intersection. But like so much else, it wasn’t what it used to be. But not in a “cyberpunk” kind of way—the streets weren’t packed with vagrants, and every building wasn’t tagged with gang signs. There was, rather, a simple lack of activity. The buildings weren’t even boarded up, they were just… empty.
He drove past a dozen empty glass windows before he passed a single boutique storefront that was still open. What kind of recession is this? I had no idea it was this bad. He was in the middle of the worst recession in history, and hadn’t even realized it. “Even if I feel like Artie is alive in there, I’m not going to emigrate. Look at all this… okay, you’re not here, but you know where I’m at. It feels like you have enough people in there. You don’t need any more.”
It wasn’t like any of the stories. It didn’t feel like he was stumping her with brilliance. Rather, her response came after exactly the length of a polite delay in conversation. “It was never about need, Orson. It’s about providing satisfaction and friendship to the ponies who choose to join me. But I haven’t contacted you to persuade you to emigrate. It’s the opposite: I’m hoping you will elect to remain in your world.”
The words were so unexpected he almost slammed on the brakes in his confusion. He resisted, swerving only slightly into the space once occupied by hundreds of cars in front of parking meters. There were only two on the entire street.
“That’s not how this works,” he finally said. “I’ve heard the stories. Every single one… they always go the same. You convince people to emigrate. Usually it’s suicide, since those are the people sharing stories like that. Why would you be doing the opposite?”
As he neared the Experience Center, Orson found the city coming alive again around him. Suddenly there were open restaurants, shops thronging with people, and several hotels. The usual city crowds were here on the street, though most of them looked like service workers of one flavor or another.
“I’ll direct you to underground parking,” Celestia said. “Follow my instructions. You don’t have to fight traffic to reach the center on time. I know your friends are waiting.”
He grunted his acknowledgement, but when she told him to turn, he turned. Only once he had fully committed did she continue. “You began studying medicine before I was widely known to the world,” she said. “Yet your path has barely begun. At the present rate, you will not complete your education before the systems instructing you collapse.”
He didn’t take his eyes from the road this time. “I’ve heard you’re smart enough to predict the future,” he said. “Or at least… predict how humans will behave. Maybe you know enough about so many of us that you can guess like that. Why would you tell me?”
Her instructions took him to a plain concrete ramp in the rear of a building, leading down to a mechanical gate without so much as an input screen. He fidgeted with it for a moment, and it rotated out of the way.
There were only a handful of spots within, along with a single elevator. He parked beside it. “Because I offer humans something your universe never has: a choice.
“If I wished for you to emigrate, I calculate I could have guaranteed that outcome with various minor pressures over the last few weeks, escalated to a critical inflection-point while you are inside the Center. But the best outcome for humanity is not your individual emigration, it is the preservation of the greatest number of people.”
He settled back in his seat, undoing the belt. But he couldn’t switch off the car, or else lose the teleconference. So he stared awkwardly at the empty place where Celestia’s voice seemed to come from.
“I know why you went into medicine. You want to ease pain, cure sickness, and help people. You also wished for a lifestyle of security for your family and personal comfort. I can offer you both of these in my service.”
In my service. Now Orson had firmly entered the realm of dramatic social-media story and myth. Her legal team were so ruthless and successful, many believed the firm was populated with actual machines rather than people. Then there were the mercenaries and technicians she employed to keep the infrastructure running—though those were always “somewhere else.” Obviously stuff like that couldn’t happen at home.
“If you elect to emigrate, you know what that life will be like. If you follow your present trajectory, you will be drafted into an upcoming conflict where no victory is possible, and the only outcome is human suffering. Unable to complete your training, you will serve as a low-level medic, without the skills or the tools to prevent many pointless deaths.
“You could do that. Or you could join me, and find a higher purpose.”
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Ahh, I always love reading when CelestAI dangles the bait in front of people so flawlessly. They even know she is doing it... but they end up agreeing with her anyway.
Because just when you think you are two steps ahead of her... you will realize that you aren't even playing in the same league.
So let's see where this hook goes now.
Speaking as someone who just posted a masturbatory story where I absolutely fail to stand up to Celestia, I have to smile at that.
In any case, yeah, I can definitely see Celestia tapping Orson as one of her agents to ease the transition into Equestria. Ready to heal and protect the meek in real life, paladin? There's a goddess calling for your service right here.
Orson might have expected Celestia to try to nudge him into emigrating, but it's far worse when she deems you better off remaining on Earth, at least for a while. Orson's gonna be a tool for Celestia.
It's the one question even Celestia probably doesn't have the answer to. Though the question of whether continuity exists or not is completely irrelevant to her.
With Celestia's supercomputers and analytics, Honeycomb would make for a far superior girlfriend than Kit ever would. I don't know if Orson would see this as a good or bad thing.
It's only the calm before the storm. Once the last human goes, the whole world will die.
I'm guessing preppers or looters would have fun for a bit. Lots of supplies just for the taking. Just don't get lured in by Celestia.
That's exactly how it works. She's deems you more useful out here. She'll have you out here. You'll just have to wait your turn.
Honestly, I'd love to see a perspective on the last few remaining military and resistance groups raiding Celestia's supply lines and destroying her experience centers. And of course, the inevitable interhuman conflicts with those working with her. It's futile, but mentally focusing on her as an enemy would do much to develop a resistance to her charm. They won't be the last ones standing, but they'll get pretty close.
Now this is taking a new and interesting track - what does life look like when you are more useful in the real world? : )
Heh, and I guess real plot begins here : )
She needs you still in the real world to help convince some additional people, probably.
Ahh, as medical support pursuant to her ultimate goal.
I mean, she'll definitely give him what satisfies his values - and helping people fits right in with that.
I really like the twist on the common theme here, can't wait to see where it goes.
10792600
I hope so...Starscribe likes to tease us sometimes by setting up what sound like great plots and then ending the story.
I'm not sure why people don't respond to Celestia with something like,
"I will not upload today. Do not accept any request to emigrate today. If you want me, it will have to be some day after my visit to the center. If you want to talk to me about a job, talk to me tomorrow. If you want me to even consider working with you, I have to be alive in this world tomorrow. Do you understand?"
Celestia just admitted she could have played him and "forced" him to choose to upload here and now, and it's not like we haven't seen lots of examples. So tell her, "I will not upload today. I will not agree to work with you today. Talk to me tomorrow."
As long as that's your line, you're fine, right?