Chapter 2 – Exchanging Information       

Complete silence and near total darkness were all that Matt could see. The darkness was only nearly total because of one odd exception, a single line of text. Those not at all comforting words read: please be patient, transportation in progress. Matt had no idea what the context for those words was or from whom they came from but none the less, they did not completely ease his discomfort. He had originally panicked; his senses being nearly totally taken from him. After some time, he was able to calm himself, perhaps because he couldn’t feel anything but likely because he had no other choice.

                Matt wasn’t sure how long he was in the void, minutes, or days. While conscious, or at least aware, he had no metric for the passing of time. No heartbeat, no breathing, no blinking, not a single bodily function to hint at the passage of time. He was beginning to wonder if this is what waited after death until the message changed.

Arriving in 10…

Arriving in 9…

                The text counted down number by number until it hit 0.

Welcome to the Exchange.

                With another flash of light, Matt found himself standing in a different room, still holding on to Tobias as detail started flooding in. Matt quickly spun and started backing up, pushing Tobias into the wall he had seen over his shoulder. His rifle raised and pointed at the… office desk? Where the hell were they? The room looked like a plain but nicely made office.

                As Matt took in more of the room, he saw the desk was wooden, not particularly fancy but solidly built. A couple monitors sat atop it, thin and sleek, they look to be state of the art. He then noticed the door in the corner of the room opposite of the desk. The room was completely mundane in its decoration, even having those cheap prints of nature scenes framed on the walls. The room being only five meters square, it wasn’t big but had plenty of room for the desk, chairs and filing cabinets. As he was about to shove his helmet back on and ask Tobias about what happened, there was a soft knock on the door.

                “Ah, Hello. I see you have finally arrived, sorry for being late, I….” the man, person, elf? Stopped short just inside the doorway as he looked straight at the business end of Matt’s rifle. “Umm, I’m sorry if I’m interrupting?”

                “Who are you and where are we?” Matt spat. He wasn’t going to close with the man, especially as he was still halfway out the door. That could lead to a whole other problem if there was any alarm to be raised or reinforcements he couldn’t see. For some reason, Matt’s default reaction wasn’t shock or confusion but aggression and readiness to commit a great deal of seemingly unjustified violence. 

                “Also, what are you? If you don’t mind, that is.” Tobias pipped up from behind Matt. Tobias had his hand wrapped around the drag strap of Matt’s armor, ready to either pull him away or hold on as they advanced.

                “Ah! Where are my manners. My name is Theil, we are in my office in the Exchange, and I am an elf. I would welcome you to sit and we can discuss your onboarding into the System.” The elf, now identified as Theil, cheerfully supplied, seeming to now disregard the business end of a gun pointed right at his face.

                ‘System? Exchange? Fucking what?” Matt asked in harsh, biting tone as his mind raced to figure out what was going on. He had to admit the elf looked for all the world, like a banker in any major city on Earth. He was wearing a grey, slim cut suit, a rather fancy blue tie, white shirt, and dress shoes. Matt even spotted what look liked a name tag above the breast pocket of the jacket. His brown hair was a respectable length and neatly combed behind his long ears, which were the giveaway for his race. His skin was a healthy tan and not a single blemish could be seen. He was of a slim build and rather short, Matt would place him at a meter and a half tall at most.

                “Eloquent as always my friend.” Tobias mumbled.

                Theil sighed and looked up at the ceiling as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why me?” he asked to no one in particular. “Look, if it gets your butts in those chairs, I’ll give you a rundown then we can do details. Deal?” He gave Matt a placating smile before gesturing to his desk.

                Matt nodded, he dropped his rifle to a low ready position, still pointed mostly at the elf’s center of mass. His blood pressure had come down a little after the initial shock and was beginning to think rationally. He watched as Theil walked over, rolled his chair out and sat down in a rather dignified manner. Theil then looked Matt in the eyes and began.

                “You were on a planet that resides outside of the System and its controlled universes but, for some reason, were marked as belonging within this universe and its plains of existence. The System then initiated its protocols to pull you in immediately and begin the integration process.” He then looked at Tobias. “You were unfortunately a side effect of the emergency recall procedures. I am sorry, but on the bright side, we can bring you onboard too.” He said the last bit with a little uptick in his voice like a reporter trying to put a spin on something.

                “Well, alright then.” Tobias said. He walked out from behind Matt and pulled out a chair across from Theil, sitting down, glancing back to Matt. “So, Theil, what is this system and these plains?”

                Matt just sighed, let his rifle hang on its sling then walked over to sit beside Tobias. If this is what they had to deal with, he might as well go with the flow. He briefly wondered if the chair could hold his weight in is armor but risked it anyway. The elf so far had not presented himself as a threat and seemed to just be trying to do his job. Matt could respect that as he had worked customer service jobs in high school and knew how the grind went.

Just as Matt settled in, the chair not even letting out a creaking noise, there was another knock at the door. After a brief pause in which the rooms current occupants all looked at each other, a second person strolled in. This being was also wearing a suit but that’s where the similarities stopped. Matt and Tobias just stared at what stood before them.

                The being was for lack of a better word, made of shadow, he had substance but light penetrated his skin by a few millimeters, illuminating a swirling vortex of darkness under the skin. There were harsh angular lines of white running along the skin that could be seen. His eyes had white sclera, but the iris and pupil were a deep red. His teeth were perfectly straight and white but also more pointed than what a typical human would have. Short white hair topped his head, cut to a low fade and the top swept off to the side with some sort of hair product holding it in place. Matt estimated him to be about the same height as himself at around 190 cm, only a little taller than Tobias. He stood just inside the door holding his briefcase, giving Matt and Tobias a onceover before his eyes settled on Theil.

                “Good morning, I hope I have the right room.” He said in a surprisingly high voice before consulting a tablet that suddenly appeared in his hand. “New initiate from an extra-universal world, right?”

                “Y - Yes, this is them, well one is supposed to be here the other was a b -bystander.” Theil choked out as he gestured to Matt then Tobias. He was suddenly looking very pale, like all his blood was being drained out of him.

                “Perfect, I am Edmond and will be your legal representation today.” He held his hand out to Matt who, out of reflex, took it. It was a firm handshake and felt like warm skin despite the off nature of this being. Matt didn’t have any sort or reaction to the man other than being a little overwhelmed at the entire situation which seemed to please Edmond greatly.

                “Matt Shultz and this is my friend Tobias DeCamp” Matt introduced himself and Tobias. Edmond smiled, nodded, and greeted Tobias just the same. “Why do we need legal representation?”

                Edmond grinned wide as he pulled up another chair to sit. “Well, you don’t need me, this isn’t a trial or anything like that. I am here to make sure your integration to the System goes smoothly and you both get what you deserve to.” He put some extra emphasis on the word both. “I must say it is a pleasure to meet Expats from another universe, none of the grade suppression applies to you. Now, Theil was it, shall we get started?”

                Theil looked like he was about to have a stroke, or maybe faint, Matt wasn’t familiar enough with elf facial cues to tell what was going on. If he had to sum it up, fear was the front running emotion in the poor elf. With a shuddering breath he started rummaging around in his desk drawer. Just as Matt was about to ask him if he was well, the elf shook himself out of it and began.

                “The System is a collection of universes, three universes and the Exchange to be exact. The system itself is the governing entity over these universes and it separated them into three sections. First, the Seed Universe where unintegrated beings of a variety of races reside. The other two are the working universes, named Higher and Lower in reference to the technology level of each. This is the Exchange, and it exists as a central hub, connected to both, providing service to the denizens of both Higher and Lower.”

                Tobias was the first to but in. “So, this System, it allows growth of its denizens and shows it with stats I assume and why does it do this?” He looked like the Cheshire cat with how big his smile was.

                “In a way, yes. Once a being becomes part of either of the working universes, their body will change and grow, with the System acting as a framework for them. This is partly from being exposed to dense mana and partly from the essence of other beings.” Theil glanced over at Edmond who smiled and nodded for him to continue. “The levels are broken into grades with F being the lowest and the highest being divine beings or gods as they are called by most. There really is no limit on growth unless you reach a bottleneck that you can’t pass or die. Beings born in the plains are limited to S grade and while ageless at that point, they can’t ascend any further. The System was created to nurture the peoples of these universes and care for them. At some point it decided we needed additional power to handle some of the threats that work their way in. We can begin the integration process as soon as you are ready.”

                “How does this Integration process work then?” asked Matt. The explanation seemed to make sense. Nothing was done for free, but it seemed the System cared for its people, albeit in an odd way.

                “Well, this all gets broken down into three main blocks. First is the actual integration which will register you with the System, highlight your affinities, give your unique perk, and repair any damage, effectively bringing you to perfect health. Then we have class qualifications and selection, it’s a more nuanced part but equally important. Finally, we have the actual Exchange portion where we tally funds, and you select equipment before you go off to your starting planet.” He again glanced over at Edmond who just smiled and nodded, again not weighing in with anything.

                “I will be acting as your personal Exchange representative for the remainder of your life here in the Universes. I will help manage your accounts, property, and any investments you wish to make in the future. Most of that is restricted until the initiation phase is over. To get started, you need to choose which plain you wish to go to, Higher or Lower, then we can begin the integration.” Said Theil as he looked between Matt and Tobias.

                Matt and Tobias looked at each other before nodding. Both saying at the same time “Higher.”

                Theil hummed before producing a small box from his desk drawer. “That is a wise choice, I can see from your equipment that you come from an advanced planet so it will give you quite the head start. I have here an integration stone, you only need to touch it and the rest will happen automatically. Ah, just a warning, this might hurt since it will be introducing you to mana and forcibly fixing any injuries you have.”

                “Wait,” Tobias raised his hand. “We both have augmentations that we willingly had implanted. Will those be removed as part of this process?” he rubbed at the base of his skull absently as he asked.

                “Umm, I don’t think so since it only enhances right? Its not an injury or illness, right?” at our nods, he continues. “In that case, it will stay put. Given that you have both chosen the Higher plain it would likely have been in your future anyway.”

                That was a relief to Matt. He was very fond of his armor and weapons. They had cost him a lot of time and effort to acquire. He took great pride in his equipment, always making sure it was just perfect and all components were properly maintained. And most of all, he finally finished configuring his settings connection his implant to his armor, it was just the way he wanted it.

                “I guess ill go first.” Said Tobias as he placed his hand on the stone.

                From the stone came a warm amber glow. It traveled up Tobias’ arm and spread across his chest to then engulf his whole body. In just a moment after the process began, the glow sank into his skin, and he flopped back in his chair with a very goofy smile on his face. Matt knew that smile, it was the same one he had when completely and totally sloshed.

                “Well?” Matt asked.

                “That was amazing.” Tobias sighed. “Every slight ache and torn muscle is totally gone, my joints don’t hurt anymore either. Honestly, I feel like I’m eighteen again. All fresh and ready to face the day.” Tobias looked at Matt and gave him a shit eating grin. “You might have a different experience.”

                Matt was inclined to agree. He had many scars, fractured bones, even shrapnel in his body still and from what the elf said, all that would be fixed. With a sigh, Matt propped his rifle against the desk, took off his glove and reached for the stone. Edmond’s eyes were locked on Matt as he reached forward, almost like a kid watching his birthday cake being brought out. As soon as Matt touched the stone, he felt the changes wherever the glow spread. 

                As the glow covered Matts body, a prickling sensation could be felt over his scars, not painful but not pleasant either. As the glow reached the first of his major injuries, the chewed-up surface of his bicep, the pain started. He could feel the shrapnel being forced out of his bicep, burning a line on its way to the surface of his skin. He clenched his jaw at the pain before the feeling was instantly soothed after the glow spread past the area. His shoulder was a much more pleasant experience, the constant dull ache fading away to nothing almost instantly. This went on, some areas having worse pains than others until finally the light receded.

                “Th- Ackha” Matt started then hacked as he felt a poking sensation in his mouth. He held up his hand and spat three fillings out into his palm. “That was not at all what I expected.” Theil passed a trash can over the desk and Matt dumped the fillings in. He would have to fish out the bits of shrapnel from the base layer of his armor later.

                Theil turned on his computer monitors and looked at the screen. He taped an Icon and a detailed page popped up showing Tobias’ information. He nodded then clicked a second icon and a nearly identical page displayed Matt’s information. Nobody noticed that Edmond had moved and was leaning forward from over Matts shoulder as he read the screen.

                “It worked.” Edmond said to under his breath. His voice was filled with many emotions, joy, sadness but most of all, relief. “It actually worked. We had hoped, but to see it myself…” He trailed off as he saw Matt giving him the side eye.

                “Care to share with the rest of the class?” Tobias said.