Moya frowned.  "Two questions there Nathan. First, was there really a refugee option, I wisnae paying attention?" and then with wider eyes and a wicked grin, she added,  "Second, have ye no seen Gladiator?"

In her best heroic pose, its effect somewhat reduced by her lack of height, Moya winked at an imaginary 'fourth wall' and said, "We are here to entertain you. Are you entertained?"

Chalei'nh tilted her head again at Nathan's outburst.

- "Well, dunno about that. We saw everything disappear, but that's from our point of view. Maybe it's us that disappeared, like from some of that flying saucer abductee bullshit. This D'Monic is an entertainment company, it wouldn't make sense to just destroy planetary scale cultural history without at the very least sifting through it for ideas or removing, what, six billion potential customers?"

She spread her arms, indicating the group as a whole.

- "Don't forget, their 'offer' was basically because we randomly happened to be outside. From a corporate point of view, it'd be much more profitable to just, i dunno, snag up a couple humans every new series until their mining rights expire, and leave us be in between. I know corporations, worked for them longer than i should have: It's all about cutting costs and maximizing profit with them, and i just can't see alien ones being much different."

Moya's Gladiator comment brought a chuckle however.

- "Figured you to be more of a Braveheart girl."

"Did ye?" asks Moya, "Well then, if ye ever find a Gaelic dictionary, look up the word Gombeen and dinnae just look at the picture of Mad Max they put next tae it."

Connor shook his head.

"The one thing we have going for us is the very fact D'Monix is a mega-corporation with, apparently, aliens and other stuff watching." he said.

"They have a corporate image to keep, and probably have other business ventures they do besides take over planets and ruin lives. If they lied about the premise of their game show they'd lose a LOT of money and a LOT of trust from corporate sponsors, customers from other...planets, dimensions, whatever, and so on. I also get the sense these Shaitan also have their own sort of pride in their work too." he continued.

"So at the very least...I think their offer is very real. They have to have something to lose that's worth us going through all this craziness and fighting for our lives every day. I mean the odds are surely stacked against us by design, but if D'Monix wasn't honest about the fact we had a legit chance to win and then was dishonest about payout when and IF - a big IF - we actually do win...their corporate reputation would be gone and all their other businesses would go kaput. So even if we don't trust or like D'Monix on a personal level, I do trust them on a business and corporate level. In a twisted sense...their own nature is keeping them honest and as long as we don't give up, we do have a chance to win. That's my assessment, anyway." he continued.

"At the very least, they probably can do a tax write-off if we win or something. Even if we win, I'm sure their overall business will flourish regardless. I can trust in the power of sheer capitalism and pride in one's work at the very least, and I think that applies to the D'Monix folks too. I mean...if this whole thing weren't one huge horror show, you have to admit the game show is very well made."

- "Remind me to annoy the System AI about that when it's accepting calls again."

Chalei'nh smirked at Moya, before turning to listen to Connor.

- "Wouldn't even need to write off taxes actually. Someone winning would be great to them, since it shows others that had been considering joining up that it can be done. Our faces would be plastered all over adverts and they wouldn't even need our permission since, wouldn't you know it, joining up for this meant waiving all our legal rights."

She half-shrugged before continuing.

- "Could have turned it down, wouldn't have been the only person to, but between that and a slow death from the risk of being stuck in a world thrown back into the Stone Age where all my skills no longer apply, this seemed the safer option. Besides, if there's one thing that's certain it's that these guys know what happened to our planet."

In reply to Moya (msg # 26):

"Of course I saw 'Gladiator" said Nathan "And I Damn well know that being 'entertaining' will be vital to our survival. Unlike Russell Crowe and the other actors in that movie the deaths are real and we aren't going home after this 'movie' wrap."

Nathan kept looking for the others in his old team while speaking "It was lunch time. I parked my squad car near  the Barbecue place. I hadn't moved three steps when the city disappeared. The buildings. the vehicles. Viturally every trace of the city of Fullerton GONE. he barely was able to prevent himself from screaming the last word. He took a deep breath,looked up before continuing "Sorry. wouldn't want to upset our audience."

"To make a long story short a voice the survivors in parking lot of the nonexistent shopping center in the nonexistent city was that we had a choice of dwelling in the non-ruins of our extinct civilization or gone a portal to participate in their game. The portal appeared. Sixteen of us entered. twelve were killed in ways that make an IED look humane. I got separated from the last four, I have they are still alive." Still looking around for the others he will call out. "Guys where are you?"

Connor thought about their responses thoughtfully.

"You know what? I agree with you. You're right; if we somehow wont he show we'd be the best advertising for the corporation ever. Yeah they'll be giving us a huge reward, but the fame and publicity it would garner the corporation would really help all their other business ventures. Especially since, like I said, I doubt this show is all they do. I wouldn't be surprised if there were D'Monix Burger joints, D'Monix Laundro Mats up in space stations somewhere. Chains of D'Monix gas stations, and things like D'Monix products like toiletries and other sundries." he replied.

"We'd gain a world, but they'd gain fame in the galaxy. All we've got to do is win. Easy peasy, right?" Connor added, a bit sarcastically but in a light hearted, resigned sort of way..

- "Easy there, Nate."

Chalei'nh took a deep breath along with Nathan.

- "Getting people to think there's nothing left for them back home increases the odds they'll accept the offer. Ain't the nicest way of doing things, but it works. Me, i'm pretty sure the world we knew is still out there, mostly, because D'Monix mentioned stepping through the portals waived our legal rights. That means that whoever didn't -- which includes everyone that, to our perception, disappeared -- would have the legal rights of a galactic citizen whatever those are. Pretty sure that means you can't turn 'em into burgers for the local Maccas."

"I'm Mo," says a hulking figure who has been standing to one side. He is a humanoid...dog maybe? His fur is rangy and his smell more or less fills the room, not so different from a wet dog. So perhaps 'dog' will do.

"My real name's Mohammed Murphy," he continues, "I'm fom London. Reckon I'm here for the fights. Can't say I ever liked fighting much but I'm good at it.

"And you'll want to stand clear of me when there is a fight." He lifts up a stick with a chain attached to the end. On the end of that is a spiked ball. "That's a flail," he says, "Like a nunchuk I guess, only nastier."

Moya grinned.  "Right then Mo, remind me tae keep ye between me and trouble, and in return, keep healing you. because, well why would I not?"

Warning. All video/audio feeds disabled. The AI suddenly said, its voice heard by everyone. Unlike its normal tone, this voice seemed without emotion or personality.

System Admin interrupt now engaged. Note to Wanderers-HUD and Labyrinth empowerment will be offline during system admin direct commutation.

Sure enough, two beings seem to materialize in the center of the room. One is male, the other female. Like some of the murals in the walls of the labyrinth, these beings have very 'devil' like features. However, they are ghostly in nature, and seem to be holographic rather than present in the room with you.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:02, Thu 07 July 2022.

"Greeting...Wanderers." The male says. He looks at all of you like you are some sort of vermin. Even the word 'wanderer' seems to leave a bad taste in his mouth. His voice does have a slight hiss to it.

"I am system administrator V'Varik. I insure the smooth function of the games, deal with problems as they arise, and provide assistance if required. Before you ask, No-assistance in your cases is not required. At all." He says, sounding firm with those last two words.

"You three..." He glares over at Nathan, Conner, and Tsuki. "...you will notice the three you have been working with are gone. They have been...reassigned." He says nothing else, as if that explained every question the group could ask about their absent friends.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:25, Thu 07 July 2022.

The female Shaitan then pipes in. Her voice is pleasant, having a slight purr to it. Although short, she has a wide smile for the group after she types a few things on her holographic clipboard looking device.

"Hiiiii! I am a big fan of your work so far! I am your corporate assigned PR Agent! My name is Gallbry, and I have been addicted to watching the human race for the last 50 years or so! Its so entertaining! Now, before you ask, your friends have been sent off to help less successful wanderers in the labyrinth. You wont see them during the recap, but chances are everything they learned fighting alongside you will be put to good use! Now, do any of you have any questions?" She speaks very quickly, and raises her hand in a hold gesture before anyone can ask anything.

"Please know, I may or may not be able to answer all your questions."

"Ah do have a coupla questions as it goes Hen." Says Moya, "If ye don't mind me askin', what is it you like about the human race and do the audience share your opinion?"

Moya smiles a gentle smile as sweet as Tablet, showing an innocence not seen on her face since she was smaller than a can of Tennants.  She looks around and asks, "And where are the cameras?"

Chalei'nh watched the two people materialize when she first noticed it, and waited for them to finish their introductions. She dismissed the admin almost immediately after he had finished speaking, denoting him as 'disgruntled manager' in her mind, which in her experience meant he would not be of any use to them in the foreseeable future -- if anything, V'Varik likely saw them as just being there to create more work for him, seeing as how he was in charge of bugfixing.

Gallbry on teh other hand seemed way too enthusiastic, making her wonder what part of it was actually real, and what part of it was actually running through a PR script to get the candidates motivated. Probably a mixture of both. Still, she did not want to appear too jaded, and so she decided to humor her.

- "Two questions actually."

She waited until Gallfry had answered Moya's questions, or otherwise held her attention if her intent was to answer all of them in a single pass.

- "First, i hope you can't fault us for wanting to know what happened to the rest of our species, those either inside buildings at the time or deciding not to take you up on your offer. Second, legal rights were mentioned as applying to those staying behind, what would those entail?"

She gave an apologetic shrug.

- "I'm afraid that, as a relatively new species to the galactic community, we are unfamiliar with its laws and regulations. There is also the matter that several individuals back on Earth rely upon me to support them, therefore the opportunity to make arrangements to transfer this duty to another would need to be provided. Not for my sake of course, but for theirs."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:00, Thu 07 July 2022.

Moya nods and reaches out to give Chalei'nh's hand a little squeeze and to smile at her.  She doesn't say anything though.  Context is everything.

"I´m just wondering if I still count as human," Mo says, slobbering a little as if to emphasize the point.

Connor frowned slightly as the admins appeared, although he did his best to contain his feelings given some of the others were cracking a bit. But deep down, he wanted nothing more than to unleash unholy magical hell on the two of them. Especially the disgruntled male Shaitan. But he knew such things, at least right now, were just the daydreams of the victimized and of the downtrodden. He had to balance out his anger with his very-solid grasp on the present reality.

And the female Shaitan seemed more sympathetic to them than the male did. If it was real or not had yet to be seen, although Guildmaster did tell them that not all shaitan were necessarily "the bad guys." The problem is Connor had no way to tell the good ones (or at least the helpful ones) from the bad ones.

"I'd like to ask you both...what do you really get out of doing all this? Yes, you're a giant super-corporation, and yes you're finding ways to monetize the gameshow just like any other normal Earth gameshow. But I mean...what D'Monix is doing to us and to the Earth is flat out imperialistic and cruel. I mean people were defenseless and getting eaten by spiders and stuff..." he said, but with forced calm.

"I don't expect pity, but I mean...wouldn't this make your company look really bad to all of your inter galactic customers, or whatever else it is you people do besides torment lesser races? Or is this some sort of natural-selection thing where you're actually trying to go good and uplift your lessers, but only if we deserve it or something?"

V'Varik seems to ignore all other questions, but his eyes narrow upon Chalei'nh's statement. Even as Gallbry seems to want to jump in and provide answers, he raises his hand and silences her.

"Maybe you lesser creatures don't understand your situation here. You are part of the mining and farming right D/Monix has claimed to this planet. You have no more legal concerns than the rocks, plants, or...animals we reconvert into new shapes and materials. Your concerns matter to us as much as a fly's need to provide for its maggots matters to you. Fight or die...ether way we will film it."

He turns to someone off to the side the hologram does not show. "I am done here. No. I am too busy to waste my time with such...vermin." His image then vanishes.

Gallbry's face changed from smiling salesperson to utter loathing as V'Varik vanishes. She then sits on a unseen chair, pulls out a long pipe witch lights itself, and blue smoke moves around her and forms shapes of people and what might be boats...or cars? Its unclear due to the smoky nature of the images.

"Well, thank Zuzu he's gone!" She sighs. "Anyways, let's get you guys some real answers, huh?"



Gallbry answers Moya's question first. "The human race is one of a kind in the galaxy. Your ability for conflict and hatred while at the same time struggling for peace and unity is noted in the universe. Plus, you inspired several fast food chains across the galaxy. Many of us have watched you from the time of your first cities. Many of us explored your world while you still lived in caves. However, this is the first time Labyrinth lands has come to earth, but many species within the multiverse confederacy have been looking forward to seeing it."

She then gestures all about her. "The cameras, as you call them, are everywhere. We end up using less than 1% of the footage. The AI sorts through most of the materials and then incorporates it into its personality matrix. Which may be why its sort of malfunctioning these days..." she sighs.



Gallbry sighs. "Yes, that is the question most worlds ask when taken over by the games. As you and your people are not recognized citizens by the confederacy, you are classified as wildlife. Those without legal rights can have their matter reorganized and their memories altered. Its not death...but it could be worse depending on who you ask. As for those outside the games...well, they have legal rights until they choose to surrender them. D/Monix is not required to do anything to or for them until they sign away such rights. Given the state of the world outside, it might be tempting for those who must rebuild your world's civilization."



Gallbry smiles at Mo. "Your matter might be all turned about, and your memories might be altered, but even D/Monix cannot tell you who you are. Only you can do that."



Gallbry looks briefly at the floor and takes a deep inhale of her pipe. Breaths out the smoke. "One of the main reasons the multiverse is not at a constant state of war is the games. People make enormous sums of money off the games, but other planets also find unity around the games. Our peace is bought by the spilling of less advanced species blood." She then looks Conner in the eyes, which is weird, because her eyes are just glowing fields of light. "It does not mean all of us are happy about it."

"Anyways, I need to tell you what a cooperate sponsored PR agent does, and what the confessional means. Do you have any other questions or can I begin?" She says, looking at each person present.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:28, Fri 08 July 2022.

Moya tries to think of an interesting question to ask but she can't so she says, "No thank ye, Hen.  Feel free tae carry on."

- "Work-related stress is a result of a failing business strategy as much as treating those that have no power over you is childish. Have fun with that."

Chalei'nh smiled as V'Verik disappeared, giving Moya's hand a small squeeze back in return. Once he did, she turned to Gallbry after she was done replying.

- "Actually, in our society wildlife does have some moral rights independent of their usefulness to humans, and the fact that we are having a conversation and have the mental faculty to understand what it meant to step through a portal does imply we share a similar level of sentience. To regard everyone outside of one's zone of control as lesser than they -- despite overwhelming evidence -- is, quite honestly, surprisingly primitive for an organized government. Could you tell me more about how the Confederacy is run?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:33, Fri 08 July 2022.

Connor considered her responses, and thoughtfully nodded.

"Understood. And what happens if we, through some slim chance, end up beating the games? Do we get acknowledged as our own galactic faction and treated with legal rights? And how about our powers and abilities? What happen to those if we win the game? Are they limited to inside the game or can they become real if we win somehow?" he asked, curious to what she'd say.

He was told early on that if he won they won they'd have rights to all of Earth's salvaged matter, as well as the excess matter from other planets and such that they currently use for the game. While he'd free guildmaster and such, could that allow him to remain a Wizard and reformatted super-human?

Gallbry sighs. "Well, you have convinced me. Now you just need to convince V'Varik, his entire fundamentalist movement which has taken over my dimension and own the majority shares of D/Monix. Good luck with that..." She rolls her eyes, or at least you think that's what she is doing, because she does not have pupils or even an iris. "As for telling you how the Confederacy is run...I am not allowed. That would be cheating, and if it was discovered I told you my neck would be on the chopping block...so to speak. Now, if you find out on your own, that's not my fault." She seems to imply something else, but its not clear what.



"Those are good questions. And I can tell you honestly I have no idea what happens if you win. Nobody has won...ever. However, I do know you planet's matter will revert to you as the winner. It's why people keep at the games so intensely. There are beings within the labyrinth who have played for centuries, if not longer, just trying to get to the end and free their people. And should tell you, D/Monix barely plays by the rules. That being said, those rules are enforced by the AI itself. Even D/Monix cannot totally bypass its will. Unfortunately...its sorta insane. No one can guarantee the AI's favor, and that favor is often fleeting as its demented whims."

She shakes her head. "However, as your PR Agent, I can help you with those rules that involve my job. Unless anyone else has any other questions?" She looks at those who have not spoken.

Moya smiles and asks, "Are tattoos popular in your culture, Hen?"