“Test connection. Username Symphony.”

“Username confirmed.”

“Log in to Anterra.”

“Connecting to Anterra servers.”

The list of characters available was much longer than five, the consequences of experimenting with a wide range of classes, races, and combinations, giving each a fair chance so others could see some of the potential fun Anterra’s highly-varied options could offer.

BlightTheBloodied was not on the list.

For the moment, Cami chose Swan. This was a one-year anniversary party, and while Symphony remained a favourite, it was easier to feel outgoing and playful when she was being Swan. Especially when Neon was there.

The glitches had stopped, and no one had been able to explain them. Tech support at Anterra had tried their best, but had confessed that now and then it occurred and they couldn’t predict, prevent, or interrupt it; the software worked its way through the list of Active characters, then stopped and reset itself. It was high on the list of bugs to fix, but so far they were baffled. They had apologized profusely, since she had been through somewhat more than just inconvenience as a result.

By then, she’d been able to tell them that it had actually been a blessing in disguise. The counsellor Jessamine had recommended was wonderful and had helped her sort out a lot of confusing feelings. She had an appointment with the nanosurgeon next month, and was very much looking forward to it. Jessamine and Elavetha had both booked time off so they could come stay with her and Neon for a few days, just for moral support and to pamper her while the nanites finished their job.

The stream of her glitches had gone viral, which was both good and bad. She’d lost subs in droves, and the potential sponsor had pulled out. She’d had to report many of her incoming messages as abusive, and that had been difficult at best. Neon had offered to let her move in with her, so she wouldn’t need to worry about rent while she sorted things out, and Cami had accepted.

And yet, there had been messages that made her cry, supportive and sympathetic, outraged on her behalf, cheering her on for having figured out something so big and yet so fundamental. Messages begging her to make that change to her stream, so they could better appreciate the game, and those had come with new subs.

They hadn’t even completed the move to Neon’s house when the trickle of new subs became a flood of them: first one gamer magazine ran an article about her glitched day, then others hopped in, and they weren’t all focused on a gamer audience. Another sponsor, a larger one, had contacted her and told her they were actively looking to support diversity, and would she be interested in working with them? After some thought and talking to Neon and to Jessamine and Elavetha, she’d managed to negotiate that into a package deal: both her and Neon full-time, and the other two part-time because they both had jobs they valued but they wanted to be part of this. The new Rose Guild bloomed, and embraced new players just trying to get a feel for the game, offered mentorships, and actively encouraged experimentation and respectful self-expression. They also held periodic guided retreats in the Temple of Lost Souls.

Anterra had decided to make an example of her erstwhile companions: Apexecutioner, Uxium_Ixium, and Battlerage all had their accounts suspended for a month and returned to find that they had lost several levels each plus were on probation for hate speech and hate-motivated griefing. The remainder of the previous Guild of Silence, turned over to JackSlasher as the least psychopathic of the bunch, still existed but its members were more cautious—whatever they might think, no one wanted to suffer the same fate.

OnyxSwan stretched happily, and stepped out of her private office as Guildmistress to head downstairs. There would be a big, public party next month, to mark the founding of the Rose Guild, but tonight was just for her and her three best friends to enjoy the city’s nightlife and just celebrate the twist of fate that had led to a computer glitch making four lives so much better.