"Interviewer: Professor D. V. Dens of Stanford University, thanks for coming in.
Professor D. V. Dens: It's a great pleasure.
Interviewer: So, we've seen some drastic changes in the global economy this week. In particular the stock market of our own country
Professor D. V. Dens: The one the front fell off?
Interviewer: Yeah.
Professor D. V. Dens: Yeah, that's not very typical, I'd like to make that point.
Interviewer: Well, how was it un-typical?
Professor D. V. Dens: Well there are a lot of economic systems functioning constantly across the globe at all times of the day and night, and this kind of event very seldom happens. I wouldn't want people to think that investing in stocks isn't safe.
Interviewer: Was this stock market safe?
Professor D. V. Dens: Well, I was thinking more about the other ones.
Interviewer: The ones that are safe?
Professor D. V. Dens: Yeah, the ones the front doesn't fall off.
Interviewer: Well, if this wasn't safe, why did our entire economic system rely on it?
Professor D. V. Dens: I'm not saying it wasn't safe, it's just perhaps not quite as safe as
some of the other ones.
Interviewer: Why?
Professor D. V. Dens: Well, some of them are built so that the front doesn't fall off at all."
--July 2028 interview on the C&D Money Talks show.
***
The rest of the meeting wasn't any less fun, but at least it passed relatively quickly. Libre had explained a few things about the local political scene, but it was... well, all bullshit that I'd handle later. The more immediate issues in my mind had to do with the condition of the wall and how many enemies we could expect to be crawling towards it.
"If my plan functions, then we should have about... nine more hours of relative peace," Libre said with a glance at a watch. "After which we will likely see an invasion attempt along the far-eastern flank from the air. We'll know if they try a much smaller push overland from the west, similar to what you landed within."
A lot of aliens, but not an overwhelming amount? We could handle that. Assuming he wasn't dead wrong and we weren't going to be dead-dead for it.
"Alright, I think I need to get some air. You two staying here?" I asked with a vague gesture towards Gomorrah and Hedgehog.
They wanted to stay, at least for a little while longer. There was data to copy over, and Gomorrah had questions, but honestly? I'd come in here stuck between the desire to punch someone and the need to desperately not be involved, and now that the yapping was over and the punching wasn't happening just yet, I felt kind of exhausted.
Maybe it was the flying over as well? Piloting could be surprisingly tiring.
"I'll accompany you," Crisis Mode said rather quietly.
I nodded. Probably for the best, that. I wanted to have a chat with her anyway. So, I gestured to the door with my head, then started that way, and waited just outside. Crisis Mode joined me, then when the door closed, she let out the kind of sigh that felt like it came from the soul.
"You good?" I asked.
She nodded. "I'm well, thank you. Just... it's been a long week?"
"I get that," I said.
"I... don't like him. But also, he's been kind of, I don't know, reliable? Seeing him break down like that has me a little, I don't know, it feels wrong?"
I hummed a vaguely agreeing sound. "You still went to bat for him," I said. "You didn't have to defend him or anything. I think any one of us in there would have been willing to smack him around if you called him out."
"Would you really have done that? He's a samurai?"
"So are we? If we don't call each other out for being assholes, who will?"
Crisis Mode chuckled. "Fair, I guess. How long did it take you to... you know, get used to the idea that you were a samurai at all?"
I shrugged a shoulder, then started towards the elevator. There were some people milling around. The same office worker sorts that Libre had told to get going. They watched us move by but didn't do much more than that. A lot of them were talking in the quick, low whispers of people with good gossip and too much time to spread it with.
"I guess it took me a day or two? To be fair, our situations were different. I wasn't made a samurai during like, a siege. I had a couple of days of hard work, then some time off to get my shit together. Speaking of which... you know, if you want to get your shit together, now might be a good time for it?"
"Thank you. But I'm not really sure what that means for me," she replied.
"Huh... well, I guess it's kind of about securing a few things? A home, food, finding a way to keep friends and family safe, then... I don't know, a few luxuries? Try to find something to do with your newfound wealth and fame?"
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"I don't know about that," Crisis Mode said. "The fame, I mean."
"How many people did you save?" I asked.
"Huh?"
"With your medic shit. Running in and patching people up. How many did you save?"
"I don't know?"
"Ask your AI," I said. "Saving folks gives a point or two. I think medical treatment counts."
She paused, and I saw her throat moving as she subvocalized something. Then she blinked. "Uh, sixty-four," she said.
That felt like a fair amount to me. Over about a week or so? That was... not quite ten a day, give or take. "You didn't save them discreetly, either, I bet. That was battlefield shit. Those militia people and soldiers and whoever else, they'll remember that. It's a good sort of fame, I think. My main source is more like infamy? Shooting people on TV is a lot less heroic than patching wounded up for free."
"I guess," she said. "Um, thank you."
I shrugged again. It was what it was. "I'm going to head over to wherever the army is gathering. Then I'm going to reload the Bastion."
"Your ship?" she asked.
"Yeah. Used up all of my missiles and rockets on the way in."
"Oh. I'm sorry?"
"I mean, it was ammo spent blowing up aliens? That's literally what it was made for. I'm pretty sure I'm way beyond net positive on points from this adventure so far. Myalis, what's that looking like?"
Point Total: 9,650
Eh, not bad. "Nine thousand points," I said. "That'll buy me something nice. Though I think I might save up for another mech unless I feel like we need something special."
"Is that a lot of points? I've been saving mine, a little. Mostly I haven't known what to buy first and so far I've reached a point where things are okay with what I have?" She tapped the chestpiece of her armour with two fingers.
"I'm like, the last person you should take advice from with that kind of thing," I said. "But I think the general rule is that you spend them as they come as long as it's stuff that makes you more likely to live longer or kill things better, then save up when the next step in that is more expensive. With the occasional splurge here and there for like, nice conveniences?"
"What do you splurge on?" Crisis Mode asked, and I felt like we were veering off serious topics and just doing small-talk now. So I mentioned a few of the more casual catalogues I had, and stuff like Protector-made food, which was still the tastiest stuff I'd ever had barring Lucy's cooking which... I had a moral and relationship-al need to declare as better no matter what.
We slipped out of the building and Crisis Mode jumped a little as she discovered the Bastion waiting for us outside.
The ride over in an army bus was neat and all, but it wasn't exactly comfortable. "I'm heading back to wherever the soldiers are parked," I said. "You can come with, if you'd like? I'll introduce you to Tinwhistle and Juno."
"Are they other samurai?"
"No no, they're army folk. Tinwhistle is the Major in charge of all the armour stuff. She's an engineer. Juno is the Lieutenant Colonel. He's the big boss, I guess. Depending on who's left here for the army?"
"I think there were some big issues with the army a week ago," Crisis Mode said. "A big break. I don't have all the details, though. I think some of them decided to go private?"
"They can do that?"
She stared around as we entered the Bastion focusing a whole lot on the two mechs parked within. "I guess so, since they did? A lot of soldiers went on to become guards. It's lucrative. I got some offers too."
"A samurai bodyguard would be a pretty badsass thing for some rich fuck to have," I said. I was sure there were a couple of trillionaries out there that had some. "How much were they offering?"
"You'd take that kind of job?"
"Nah, but can't a girl be curious?"
Crisis Mode smiled a little. "My highest offer was two hundred million credits a year."
I whistled. Damn, that was... like, ten doctors' worth of income. Probably lower-end CEO kind of cash. "A girl might do some stupid shit for that kind of cash."
"There were a lot of stipulations that were pretty much exactly that," Crisis Mode said. "It's less tempting than you'd think when the other option you have is just... freedom?"
"There's a certain appeal to that, yeah," I said. I think I'd be getting along with Crisis, she was chill.
Now, should I try to hook her up with Juno or Tinwhistle? Or maybe Hedgehog?
Or should I mind my own damned business?
No, definitely not that.
Anyway, time to check up on the soldiers and make sure that nothing was on too much fire with them. Then... yeah, then I'd see about finding a place to settle in for the night. At least for this one night, I could stand to stick around.
***
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