Outworld/Zenon 8 Business Park

Time Passes

Author: Thoughtful Spider

Thoughtful Spider stepped out of the shadows and into the Board Room of Executive Boot Camp 15G.

There was a door, of course, but there was also image to consider.

Sitting in the chair at the head of the table, he poured a drink from a nearby spider. As his implants engaged with his terminal, his psychitecture began to fill in the tactical analysis on the Shapers active on this side of the breach.

Spider steepled his fingers and silently watched the inhabitants of the room, as they pored through the data coming from the receiver at the centre of the table, or gathered around a spider for a mandatory social break.

He wondered where they slept.

Time passes.

The inhabitants interrogated Spider's thoughts, the probes asked what the key threats were to the Project Deliverables

Spider's mind went instantly to the Weaver. Their fight had been an ineffective waste of resources; while Orb Weaver had been left defeated and hexed, he was still an active rogue asset. Worse, Spider had invited the Walker to face him again.

Another operative might – should – attempt to eliminate him on sight.

MINE. The word filled his mind.

Thoughtful Spider took a deep breath and disconnected from the terminal. That was enough for today. He instructed a nearby inhabitant to amend the report, noting Orb Weaver had been positively identified and any further interaction was to be escalated directly, exclusively, to Thoughtful Spider.

He stepped out into white corridors, which hadn't been there before.

Time passes.

'You want to change your look? But, darling, it's so iconic!'

'The world engine systems attempted to identify me as a member of the Penitent Order. In other assignments, this could potentially be beneficial, however given my current position as the sole Protean Dynamic representative, brand confusion should be avoided.'

'But do you really want to add more colour? I always felt that your vibe was red and black, just two colours, darling, down at the essence of Spider!'

'I have noticed that the inhabitants of Opportunity Noxx do not engage well with my 'vibe', it would be better to responsively redesign my appearance to fit with the Joy Effect sensibilities of the majority of the stakeholders within the realm.'

'Spider? Are you worried that people don't like you?'

'It is a rebranding exercise'

'If you say so, darling, by the way, are the glass rooms new?'

Time passes.

Walking the streets, he found himself impressed by Joy Effect. They were clever, imaginative, irresponsible, untrustworthy, extrovert.

In other words they were some of the best Opportunities available.

It was obvious where the other shapers lived; their towers dominated the skyline of the city, the surrounding territories brightly lit, sounds being brought on the winds of the constant parties.

Here, out towards the edges, reality warped slightly. Spider hypothesised that it was the fluctuating nature of the world that had, thus far, prevented the realms from running out of food. Would that continue after the world engines shut down for the final time?

When he returned to the Nidus, Spider requested an analysis on how long it would take for food riots to break out in Outworld.

Time passes.

Thoughtful Spider looked up as a picture of a smiling Coffeespider was placed in front of him.

The employee was Joy Effect, some of the others Shapers had sent their inhabitants to help in Spider's realm. At least he assumed they had. The inhabitants in whites and pastel orange certainly didn't look like Spider's employees.

Spider nodded approval at the new logo design, the mortal beamed and scampered away.

The other inhabitants in the Nidus pored through the data coming from the receiver at the centre of the table - mostly stock orders, but the occasional piece of intel - or gathered around a spider for a mandatory social break.

Thoughtful Spider stepped into the light of Franchise Centre Eight.

Time passes.