Finally, some explanations

Having returned to Ingrid’s office, he was given his remaining nine questions, and so he started with the simplest one he could think of.

“What is the Abyss?”

“That’s a complicated question… Too complicated to answer fully in the short timeframe I have to allocate to you specifically, however, I will give you the general rundown. The Abyss is a secret society that exists adjacent to your society. Mostly through the use of barriers, pocket spaces of a sort that can be placed on top of the normal world. One can enter them as long as they overlap the place you are standing in on Earth. Most Abyssal organizations use those to hide their activities from the mundane world, while others stick to the shadows and apply their influence secretly. They do this because of the one truth that exists in the Abyss, if you do something to reveal magic to the general populace, you will suffer a fate worse than ****. You will die, and your existence will be systematically wiped from the memories of those outside the Abyss. That does not mean that any single person learning of the Abyss would result in a ****, even if they themselves don’t have any powers, but it does mean that if it becomes exposed in a way that the general populace cannot deny, it will result in the **** of the people responsible and an altering of memories and events.

“Regardless, there are still many groups that operate in the mundane world. Some you have met already, the Order of the Golden Rose for example, guilds of people who take the responsibility of protecting innocent bystanders and the weaker members of the Abyss into their own hands. And many more you have not met yet who practice slavery, who create and supply magical ****, and other such actions that you might consider despicable. Those same sort of people are responsible for the other truth so common in the Abyss, that might makes right. It is a belief that has been repeatedly fought against, usually to no avail. Though many nations of order have risen to rule over the course of history, most of them have done so by virtue of their strength, or even more usually, the strength of their founders. I do not have time to tell you of that long and storied history, but I’m sure you can get that information on your own, and if you wish the libraries of this mansion are open to you. I think that is all we have time to talk about regarding this matter.” Ingrid stopped.

John took a few moments to process the information that she told him, it was a mix of new and predictable information but it was still utterly surprising. Eventually, he did manage to get his head around it and went on to ask the first in a line of questions he had regarding the test itself.

“I think I understand, so I’d like to ask about the test now. Why all the secrecy regarding it?”

“The only real reason is a ceremonial one. As our ancestors did when discovering the american gate to the second plane, every new group of explorers must discover a new gate. For now, given the harsher conditions of the second plane and that not even one gate has been discovered, we have been using other gates here, in the first plane. As far as we know, there is one on each continent, today you discovered the european gate, the only other gate we have sent people to find up till now.”

“So you’re telling me no one else but the first few families ever became an explorer?”

“Being an explorer is something of a ceremonial power as well. It dictates which members of the Council and the Federation are able to launch expeditions on their own. In other words, who the leaders of our movements will be. Who will pave the way to the future. But it is not necessary to be an explorer to venture out, as long as you find yourself among the crew of an explorer.”

“Then why the hell was I doing any of this?”

“I believed in your potential, as a leader and as an explorer. That is why I set it up that you would take the test. And knowing how close Orianna was to completing it, I suspected it would go splendidly for both of you. Evidently, I was right.” John was shocked to hear it. He was obviously being manipulated, yet he was not sure he disagreed. It seemed unlikely that he would have chosen the same path had he known beforehand. He did not seek to lead, and if he was able to explore with others he would have welcomed it. Even so, he was not upset. A sense of certainty washed over him, of purpose. If he was to be a leader, he would make the most of it, and that meant having some purpose beyond himself, even beyond the sheer idea of exploration. Still, there was something he began wondering about.

“Alright, let’s say I believe that. Why didn’t I get any training?”

“Two reasons. The first is much more complicated than the second. Once again, the ceremonial aspect of this whole thing creeps its decrepit head, the first families were explorers, and as such they required no additional training to undergo the task. That, I am sure, is the main reason no one has passed the test again, the great potential that could be found among the recruits for the Council either found themselves under the command of others or sent to waste away there. Not that any of the other explorer families were complaining, they enjoyed the privilege and exclusivity of their position and no new blood made it much easier to manage. The other is something of a more practical reason, I wasn’t sure that if I had trained you in secret for some time that Orianna would not have already found the gate, or that the gate in the second plane would already have been found.”

“Huh? Why do you care if the gate in the second plane is found?”

“As you might have noticed from the scene last you were here, my control over the Council is far from absolute. In fact, my list of enemies is longer than my list of friends. Regardless, this is not the time to talk politics, all you must know is that it is of grave importance that we discover a gate in the second plane before any other group.” John stayed silent for a minute, trying to process the information given to him.

“We?”

“Yes, John. My goal was never to use you. I want you to help me of your own volition. Because I believe we both think the same way. Just as I grew up in this world believing that the greed and lust for power driving those around me was unjust and destructive, you have come from a world in which that greed and lust for power has not only been turned for good, but was suppressed. I wish to do the same thing, even if in the beginning it will only be in the Gateway. That is why I have focused on gaining power in the Council, and that is why I need your help. I will teach you all I can, and in return together we will start that change here, with the Council. Now, I’m not going to **** you to do that, as I said, I want it to be of your own accord. So what do you say?” There was no way he could give an answer, he still didn’t even know anything about this world, but so far Ingrid had been helpful, so he gave as polite an answer as possible.

“I honestly can’t say anything, I wouldn’t even know what I’m getting myself into. I’ll consider it, I have no reason not to, but I don’t think I’m ready to give you an answer anytime soon. Plus, I’m not even sure what that really means... Regardless, I still have four more questions, so I’m going to use them. What the hell is up with this whole Gateway thing anyways? Orianna told me that you guys discovered it, but I still don’t even know what that means.”

“I don’t think we have the time to go into the long explanation of it but in short, it’s a sort of other dimension that’s nestled near our own. It is quite similar to barriers, but it’s distinctly different in a few ways and nobody knows why. First, as I implied earlier, we believe there are multiple gates on every plane that lead to another plane, and unlike barriers, that is seemingly the only way to enter them. We think this given that we have found multiple gates on earth that lead to this plane, and that we have located a few of the gates on this plane approximately. However, up until now we only located those, and there was no direct proof of the existence of another gate on this plane. The only reason such a discovery was not entirely necessary is because of the energy a gate outputs. While a gate is inactive it generates a certain type of magical energy that acts as interference due to its immense power. Because of that, we can detect that power to a relatively specific range. This is something we have done in the second plane, so far to no avail, due to its inclusion of an entire galaxy and the limitation of our method of locating the gates. But, every new gate we discovered on Earth led to a location close to one of the other gates in this plane. The theory is that the gate you have just discovered will allow us to locate a gate in the second plane. Thus, I have my own inquiry to you John. Where did you end up when you went through that gate?” The young man was somewhat confused, while he could understand what Ingrid meant generally with his limited knowledge of the Abyss, there seemed to be a lot of missing elements to that puzzle in his mind. Nonetheless, he answered here question.

“A planet, one designated XR2. Or at least, that’s what one of my abilities told me.”

“That you even have an ability capable of giving you such information is of some interest. But regardless, that is a very interesting discovery. As XR2, at least if my information is correct…” Ingrid paused for a second to think, as if trying to confirm the information. “Is on the other side of the galaxy. Which makes it an ideal location to begin searching for a gate anew.”

“Are you asking me to do that?”

“I am. It is part of your responsibility now, as an explorer, whether you wish to do so or not. Of course, first you will undergo some training, and far more if you accept my prior offer but for now that is what you must know. Regardless, the second difference is quite important. It is a matter of size and history. While some known parts of the Abyss have existed for long periods of time, and are quite large, none of them are as large or old as our own galaxy, which the second plane clearly is. The history, as far as we are aware, was not created when we arrived but developed naturally. We understood this through extensive examination of the fabric of the second plane’s reality. There are a few more differences, but they would go far beyond your current understanding of the Abyss.”

“Well, I assume I don’t have a choice in the matter then. Not that I do not wish to do so, it was originally my intent to explore regardless. However, I do have another question. If I’m going to be leading an expedition, will I be allowed to pick my crew?”

“Yes, although that matter is somewhat far off, your training should prepare you for that as well. Obviously, like any leader, your expedition will start small, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find volunteers for it among the new recruits you will be trained with.” She paused for a moment. “That was your last question, so I think it’s time for you to be off. I will be willing to answer further questions in the future, but for now it is time that we both get back to our duties.”

It annoyed John that his questions had ran out so quickly, he still had more to ask, but for now he was satisfied with the information he got. More than that, he wanted to go home to see Alice and his parents. Now that he knew he could ask those same questions later, he was happy to stop for now.

“My butler will once again escort you, this time to the gate back to your town. You shall be sent for next week, when you will start your training. Further information will be given to you then. I’m sure you can handle your parents on your own, and I hope you have an answer for me by then as well.” Ingrid nodded when John went to leave. “Farewell, John. However, before you leave, I must insist that you complete your addition to the Council formally. My maid will take you to a room in which you will find many historical contracts that you must follow. They are mostly a formality, and quite a few of them are with now extinct organizations, but nonetheless, if you are to join us in leading the Council you must sign all of them.”

Exiting the room, the Gamer was escorted to a giant library. Inside the library he found a stack of contracts that could only be described as enormous. It contained several hundred documents all written in English that John could barely parse. They all spoke of ancient agreements with various groups in the Abyss. Most of which seemed to promise that in exchange for any information and technology found in the planes, material support would be provided to the Council. By the time John had finished signing half of them, adding his last name to them as seemingly about a dozen others had done over the years, a clock in the room showed it was almost midnight. So he was escorted to a small guest room where he spent the night. He was able to finally finish signing the documents the next day, finding nothing else of note. Once he did, the same maid that had escorted him there escorted him to the industrial area.