Synchronicity Trilogy Omnibus

by Michael McCloskey

  Captain spun forward, watching for any movement. It quickly noticed the light portals above broke up long distance vision effectively. The alternating light and dark sections of the corridor provided much opportunity for ambush.

  Captain-L1: I’m sluggish. Ship has nerfed me to level the challenge.

  Captain-L7: The Terrans are inexperienced. They will prefer defensive strategies when faced with unfamiliar environments.

  Captain-L1: So quite likely, at this moment, some high percentage of my opponents are cowering in a dark section, watching both ways and waiting to shoot.

  Captain-L1-8: Consensus.

  Captain moved forward as quickly as it could. It didn’t fire its weapon for fear of a hidden rule limiting its usage. It might also draw notice. Captain whipped through the next lighted zone and into the shadow beyond, then slowed.

  Captain-L2: My senses are diminished.

  Captain-L6: Similar to being pulled back into Reality0 from the Blaze Hollow rulesets.

  Captain-L8: Yes. Ship has balanced me against the Terrans. But my mental capacity remains. It wouldn’t modify that element, since that is exactly what’s being tested.

  Captain proceeded more slowly. It noticed a thin shimmering line ahead, close to the floor.

  Captain-L1: A hidden rule. A trap?

  Captain-L2: For now, avoid it. We can investigate later if it doesn’t look like we’re winning.

  Captain-L5: That, or shoot it now. Safer than touching it.

  Captain-L2: Avoid it.

  Captain-L1-8: Consensus.

  Captain moved around the thin line, then continued down the tube. It moved at the pace of a brisk Terran walk, hoping to stay ahead of any Terrans coming up behind.

  Up ahead, Captain spotted an intersection. A hole in the ceiling fed light into the area. A small clump of green plants covered the floor, fed by a trickle of water from above.

  Captain-L3: Likely ambush spot.

  Captain-L5: Most likely I’ve reached it ahead of any Terran.

  Captain-L1: Only if the starting distances are equalized from intersections.

  Captain-L3: I know the rule. I can’t wait forever. Unless I discover a workaround.

  Captain resumed its progress. It spun out into the lit intersection and then straight onward. It drew no fire.

  Captain spun under three more ceiling ports, each time using the hanging vines to cover its approach. It didn’t see any further dim lines. For the first time, Captain started to check behind it, in case it had picked up a shadow after moving through the intersection.

  It cleared the last group of vines and came to a dead end.

  Captain paused, curious. It examined the wall ahead. It looked solid. Then the Spinner spotted another very thin line of light, forming a square above the floor of the tube.

  Captain-L2: The player is supposed to advance, at least until they score a kill. Yet the way is blocked.

  Captain-L5: I can touch the square. I can shoot it. I can do nothing. What other options exist?

  Captain-L1: Turn back. Not advisable unless I learn something that indicates I could get away with it.

  Captain-L3: Test the wall. Shoot the wall. Shoot the square. If none of that works, let’s think on it further.

  Captain-L1-8: Consensus.

  Captain verified the integrity of the wall with its thin legs. It examined the wall for catches or controls, but found nothing. Its link offered no services except surrender.

  Captain could turn its attention to other rulesets, but that would serve to slow down or stop all progress here while the other players continued to work. Captain-L3 was periodically polling Reality0 just to be safe. Captain-L6 worked on the plan for the Red Maze challenge. The other lobes’ attention remained here.

  Captain shot the wall. Despite being an energy weapon, it made a loud noise in this ruleset. No doubt a purposeful detail of the design. The beam struck the surface and left a black mark. Some steam rose from the damp stone. Structurally, it appeared the shot had little effect. Captain verified this by tapping the wall again where it had been shot.

  Captain shot the faintly visible square. Another loud retort echoed in the tubeway. The floor became transparent under the square. The glowing lines faded. A new portal had opened.

  A well descended straight downwards from the new opening. It ended in a gray floor below. Captain noted some kind of regular metal bars along the side of the well.

  Captain-L5: A ladder. The rung spacing is not optimal for a Terran or a Spinner, but we can traverse it.

  Captain looked down the way it had come, then descended into the well. It brought the Spinner into a new section. The well opened into another tubelike passage. There were no lit ceiling portals, but dim glow strips decorated the sides of the tube.

  On the wall, directly beneath the well opening, a control was on the wall. Captain moved carefully to one side, avoiding standing in front of the control. It hesitated, then actuated the button with one slender metal leg.

  Nothing happened. Captain looked and listened. It peered up the well it had come from, and saw only blackness.

  Captain-L2: The trap door closed above. No one can follow me unless they shoot the door.

  Captain chose a direction and started down the tunnel. It turned to the right steadily. Captain came to another hole in the ceiling. It was identical to the last: a round tunnel with ladder rungs and a control on the wall.

  Captain-L3: Another one.

  Captain-L4: Wait. Someone could be trapped at a dead end up there.

  Captain-L7: Then I should move on. Or wait here to ambush them.

  Captain-L3: I should open the door. They’ll come down. I can shoot them in the ladder well.

  Captain-L1-8: Consensus.

  Captain flipped the switch and spun aside. It waited and listened.

  After a few seconds, sounds came from the well in the ceiling. Captain waited a few seconds longer. Another noise filtered down. It sounded like steps on the rungs.

  Captain darted out and shot up the tunnel. The weapon struck a Terran on the rungs. In the challenge the Terran looked like a humanoid robot to Captain—a feature designed to save it from having to look at the awful flesh they had. Captain moved out of sight, then spun back under the tube and fired again. Another hit. This time the Terran fired back, but too late. Captain spun by the edge of the hole to lure a shot. It came and missed, so Captain replied by going under the opening and shooting up again. The Spinner struck its target a third time.

  The Terran fell completely out of the hole. Though it landed on its feet, it immediately fell backwards onto the hard floor. Captain shot it a fourth time. The body dissolved into thin air.

  Captain-L2: One kill.

  Captain-L3: Proceed.

  Captain moved further down the curving tunnel. Another short section of featureless tube passed by, then the next ceiling portal became visible.

  Captain-L5: I think I’ve moved halfway around this circle toward where I came from. There must be four wells here.

  Captain-L3: Then I’ll harvest two more kills around this circle and head back up the way I came. Since I have kills, I should be able to double back now.

  Captain-L4: I should hurry. They may figure out how to come down here at any time.

  Captain whirled under the next well and saw it was empty. It activated the doorway using the wall control. It waited for ten seconds in silence.

  Once again noises came from above. Captain spun forward to fire up the tube. The Terran above had just started climbing down. Captain fired upwards rapidly. It took only three shots—somehow the enemy had already taken damage. The body disappeared as it fell.

  Captain-L2: Two opponents down. Very easy, using this advantage.

  Captain-L3: Quickly, before the advantage expires.

  Captain reset the portal above, closing the tube off. It stopped to mark the wall by scraping it repeatedly with a spiked appendage. Then it spun away down the curved tube.

  The next well looked th
e same as the last ones. Captain actuated the trap door, but nothing happened for a minute. Finally Captain closed the door back up.

  Captain-L4: An empty dead end, or a cautious player. In any case, I can continue around and go back up.

  Captain-L3: I think the next one is the original.

  Captain-L2: But how sure? Should I mark it and verify?

  Captain-L4: Yes. Because otherwise, someone could be waiting for me.

  Captain-L5: No, because even if it is the one I came from, someone could still be waiting for me. Ninety percent certainty is good enough.

  Captain-L1-8: Consensus.

  Captain spun down the curved corridor to the well it believed completed the circle. Unless it had miscalculated the curvature of the tunnel ring, or if this ruleset was trickier than believed, this was the well from which Captain had originally descended.

  It opened the trap door using the control. This time Captain waited for three minutes. It stared up the well, ready to shoot, but nothing moved. The Spinner started to ascend. Still no movement.

  Captain whirled out of the well. It saw an empty dead end. No enemies were visible. As it emerged, the trap door closed.

  Captain-L1: Well, it looks like the first level again. I have no reason to assume I’m not back where I started.

  Captain-L4: What now?

  Captain-L3: I have kills so I should be able to reverse direction. Go find another dead end, enter the ring, and kill more opponents.

  Captain-L4: An interesting design. It gives a big advantage to the first one to realize the dead ends are fake.

  Captain-L1: However, if they discover the trap door and wait in ambush there...

  Captain-L3: A possibility. The sooner I dispatch them, the less chance of that happening?

  Captain-L5: I won’t fall for my own trick. If the door is open, some other course may be indicated.

  Captain moved back the way it had come, once again darting under the holes that illuminated the main level. It didn’t see any enemies. At the first intersection, it decided to move straight ahead, since either left or right might head back to dead ends of the ring it had already cleared.

  The Spinner moved through the maze seeking another dead end. The sound of a shot echoed down the tunnel. It emanated from straight ahead. Captain increased its speed. It arrived at a dead end, but no one was visible. The trap door was open.

  Captain-L5: Someone is using my strategy with an enhancement: they open the door, and also use a shot to attract victims?

  Captain-L4: I haven’t taken any hits. I can afford to take a glimpse. There’s always the possibility I heard the shot that opened the trap door.

  Captain spun up, prepared to shoot downward. A Terran was on the ladder, moving downwards. Captain shot it once, catching it by surprise. After the second shot, it dissolved.

  Captain-L3: Already hurt.

  Captain-L5: For a moment I thought a Terran had set up a clever trap there. But I just happened to hear the shot it used to open the door.

  Captain-L1: Hrm, that one has a damaged helmet in Reality0. In fact, some of the watch programs have flagged it as a problem. This one is named Chris Adrastus.

  Captain-L7: I should split off some lobes to take care of that now.

  Captain-L1-8: Consensus.

  Captain-L7 and Captain-L8 dropped out of the challenge. Their attention focused on Reality0.

  Claire was nearby. As Captain’s body in the root reality stirred, she took notice.

  “How do you like the challenge?” Claire asked.

  “It’s unpleasant,” Captain said. “Spinners prefer open air to maneuver. And the ruleset was rather limited. I suspect it is so the Terrans can acclimate to the challenges.”

  “You’re performing brilliantly, of course,” Claire said. “You haven’t played that one before, though?”

  “I’ve played so many challenges that I’ve seen similar environments. But I haven’t experienced those rules before,” Captain said. “That’s the whole point. How do you know how I performed?”

  “I’ve been watching you!” Claire said. “You can talk to me and play at the same time, I see. It’s like your version of gladiatorial combat. I feel like it’s a bit less bloodthirsty, though, knowing no one is really dying.”

  “It was quite common for high level challenges to have thousands or millions of observers back on Spin. Would you like to join me in one now?”

  “Really? Me? Is your other challenge over already?”

  “No. But I can do another one at the same time.”

  “Then sure! Wait. I have no chance of defeating you.”

  “Then we can perform cooperatively,” Captain suggested.

  “Me and you? On the same team?”

  “Yes.”

  “I accept!” Claire said.

  Captain took Claire into another ruleset that hadn’t been adapted for Terrans. It found two other unsuspecting Terrans ready for a challenge and recruited them as enemies.

  The world expanded around them, widening into a vast golden space that seemed to go on forever. Three dimensional space burgeoned into something much more. Something fuller and more complex. Taut gossamer cords spanned the ether in several dimensions, running in parallel groups to infinity. Captain’s senses stretched like the cords, spanning vast distances. Each cord emitted its own sound.

  Captain had no visible body. Instead it had a vast zone inside which it could sense and shift a nebulous weight that rested on the cords. It felt its balance centered precariously around a cluster of glowing pins, placed on the cords one per cord. Each pin had its own feel.

  Claire’s mind had expanded as had Captain’s. The Spinner felt its partner’s questing mind run along the cords.

  Captain felt the impulse to move. It examined the arrays of long lines. They were aligned into six vast families of parallel lines, each family headed in orthogonal directions to other families in many dimensions. When Captain moved, its new body stretched out along the lines, each motion a compound set of the lines added together. But its body was restrained. The pins were clustered too tightly.

  Captain looked out across great distances. There, far away, another cluster of glowing pins. These belonged to Claire. Its mind sought still further.

  More islands of glowing pins, each attached to its own infinite thread. These were the enemy.

  Captain made its move, sliding a pin forward as far as it dared, allowing itself a new range of motion in that direction. Toward the enemy. Its body’s weight shifted accordingly, becoming slightly more stable in one of the six dimensions.

  Captain watched Claire’s thoughts play through the ether. At first she could only wander across one dimension, then two. Finally her mind seemed to accept the other directions and it stretched against its confines in all six families.

  An enemy made a similar move but along a different set of lines. Then Claire’s body stirred. Captain could tell she felt the stifling confines of the clustered pins. She ached to move, but hesitated.

  Captain-L7: She is adapting. But can she see the game?

  Claire moved one of her pins, along a parallel axis to Captain’s own.

  Captain-L8: Not optimal. We should expand in various directions to afford our bodies maximum coverage and stability.

  Captain-L7: It may be fine. The others are Terrans as well, they will tend to attack in a direct fashion. We now lean heavily toward them.

  Captain-L8: Yes. Our balance is stable along that one axis. It may take them a while to realize they could push us in any of twelve directions along the six line families.

  Captain-L7: Give her a hint.

  As the enemies stretched out an infinity away, Captain expanded in a new direction. Claire boldly moved out in yet another vector, expanding their power.

  The game developed, move after move. Claire was behind Captain, but each move she expanded herself across vast distances. By the fourth move she saw the enemy clusters, noticed Captain expanding again in their direction, and followed its le
ad.

  Captain made another move. A pin expanded from a cluster of tiny glowing pins that had become Captain and Claire’s forward power center. It solidified the balance of their bodies as they moved out to press their opponents off balance. The more they confined their enemies, the more comfortable their own space became.

  Claire contemplated her next move for too long. Then finally she took a move. She moved a glowing node pin along a thousand-mile stretch of gossamer thread and locked it into position, to reinforce both one of her own nodes and one of Captain’s along an orthogonal path, so no matter what direction the enemy pushed, they couldn’t be brought off-balance quickly.

  Captain-L8: She made a good move. But is it because I drew her mind there? Because my move emitted the sound of the vector to hint to her?

  Claire’s mind drifted across the lines of Captain’s previous move as the enemies pondered their next step.

  Captain-L7: Yes. She knows.

  The enemy made a move to attack one of Captain’s nodes out away from the center of its pins. Captain responded indirectly, strengthening Claire’s position and hinting to her to take the defense of Captain’s position along the same thin fiber that stretched out to infinity. They would be stronger if braced against each other cooperatively, than if each of them sought a stable base on their own.

  This time Claire saw that a good move was lined up with Captain’s move again. Claire had noticed that Captain was communicating with her outside the rules of the challenge.

  After that breakthrough, the team started to win steadily. Captain knocked down two of their opponents’ pins, then Claire followed suit. The enemy was put off balance, growing more confined as Captain and Claire exerted superior leverage across several dimensions at once. Captain computed optimal pairs of moves to execute that would give its partner hints.

  Captain-L7: It is really me that’s winning here.

  Captain-L8: But this is an important lesson. Claire will realize there are elegant depths to these worlds. She noticed that I threw hints to her, and that’s enough.

  Captain-L7: And if we win... she can experience the new feedback mechanism. That should bolster her resolve to master this way of life.