Maynard sat up with a start. He checked his body but could not find a single injury. He was intact, despite moments before he was sure he was struck by a car. A frown began forming on his face. He was still wearing the clothes he remembered putting on, and as he checked his right pocket, the side he kept his phone on, he pulled out a perfectly intact smartphone. Is my memory alright? As he put his phone back in his pocket he dwelled on the oddity of what he had experienced, and his frown only deepend.
As soon as he was sure that he was physically intact he began to look around the room he found himself in. Maynard was sitting in the centre of a simple room, with red stone walls that curved inwards, capping in a pointed dome. The red walls were decorated with purple, irregular lines. Some lines criss-crossed over the entire wall, but some ended abruptly. On the end of the room facing him there was a wide screen that encompassed most of a wall, with a small panel that was pulsing with a faint light situated slightly below the screen, roughly in the middle. The only other thing in the room was an odd structure that looked like a gateway, set against the wall behind him. The structure stood out to Maynard – it was made with some kind of metal, which stood in stark contrast to the rich red and purple of the walls, however the entire structure seemed inert in comparison to its counterpart on the other wall.
“Where the hell am I?” He said as he got to his feet. As there was no response, he sighed, before making his way towards the flashing light. The one thing that Maynard focussed on was the absence of any form of light source other than the blinking panel. The entire area was pleasantly lit, but something was off about the light – Maynard simply could not put his finger on what it was.
Once he reached the flashing panel, he cried out, “Hello?” but just like his first comment there was no response. As he looked at the screen that pulsed gently by his feet, his frown deepened even further. Is this purgatory? Did I die? The more he thought about his situation the more unsure of how he felt. I’m stuck in a room without any kind of entry or exit, and my last memory is being hit by a goddamn car. Pulling his phone out of his pocket for a second time, he turned on the screen and noticed two things about the phone; firstly, there was no signal, but that did not surprise him. What did surprise him was that his phone was fully charged. It had not been on charge when he had left, and he had used it near constantly before he met up with Jay. No matter how good the battery was, it being on full charge was impossible. Unless someone went out of their way to charge it…
He put his phone back in his pocket and sat down next to the panel. He looked around the room once more, but with literally nothing else he could visibly do, he put his finger on the middle of the panel and hoped that it was not some kind of trap. Instantly the large screen in front of him came to life, with the words ‘kaiOS’ emblazoned in an impact-like font. The panel below Maynard flashed moments later and the same logo appeared before fading. A simple directory appeared on the large screen, but before he had the chance to look at the directories he had access to, he heard a soft female voice.
“Welcome to the Forge, Ringbearer. I am the Karennian Artificially Intelligent Operating System, but you can call me Kai. I am here to answer any of your questions within the realm of your clearance and to organise your missions as you explore the three rings, how may I be of service?”
“What the f***!” Maynard cried as he fell onto his back. His heart was beating a mile a minute within his chest, but he quickly managed to steady himself before tentatively asking, “…Can you hear me?”
“Yes, Ringbearer, I could hear all your speech within the confines of your room, but I was not permitted to respond until you turned on the screen.”
“Not permitted? By who?”
“I’m afraid that information is classified, Ringbearer,” Kai replied, her soft voice gaining an apologetic tone.
Maynard rubbed his eyes as he sorted out the questions he had in his head. For a full minute he sat there in silence, before finally asking, “First things first, why do you keep calling me ‘Ringbearer’?”
“If you would please look at your left wrist, you will see a cyclical pattern of three interlocking rings. That is the symbol of the Ringbearer.”
Maynard looked at his wrist, and clearly stamped on it was that same symbol he had begun seeing everywhere. Three rings, shaped like comets, with interlocking tails. It was haunting him, and with the fact that it was now stamped on his body with seeming permanence, he could not help but ask, “Why that symbol?”
“The symbol of the three rings has two meanings. The more commonly known meaning is as the representation of karma with one ring representing your karmic ties to the past, one ring representing your karmic ties in the present, and one ring representing the karmic ties of the future. It is supposed to show that actions in all stages of life can impact the actions you have made, are making or will make.”
“What’s the other meaning though?”
“The symbol is the mark of the three deities that govern our multiverse, Art, Bor, and Esh. The chosen bearers of that mark have been given the task of exploring the myriad worlds of our multiverse and performing tasks that represent the will of the deities.”
Maynard let out a massive breath of air and replied, “That is a lot to take in.”
“It is accepted that there will be some issues with coming to terms with your current situation, which is why we have a reflection period before you are sent on your first mission. You may ask me any question you may wish and I will endeavour to answer as long as I am able to. Food will be provided as long as you ask, and there are message boards that you may look through which contain the discussions of other Ringbearers, however you will not have the ability to comment in any form until you have completed your first mission. Of course, when you are ready, I will tell you about your first mission as a Ringbearer.”
“Thanks, I think?” Maynard replied. He laid back on the ground and sighed as he ran through everything he knew about his situation, trying to find some kind of answer to the infinite questions he had. One after another, new questions would pop into his head, but after a time one question stuck out the most. He knew it was bratty, he knew it was obnoxious, but he had to ask, “Why me?”
“I’m afraid I cannot tell you, Ringbearer,” Kai replied with that same apologetic tone.
“I should have expected as much,” Maynard said with a sigh, “Alright, different question, am I trapped here forever, or will I be able to get home somehow?”
“You will not be trapped here forever, however that information is classified until after you complete your first mission.”
So it’s possible to get home, he thought to himself, but the method is something that they want to obscure to get me to work for them. Well if I’m stuck here, I may as well look at the resources that they have given me. He sat up and moved over to the panel, which served as a keyboard, and began to browse the directory that he had been given access to. On the first screen there were two options he could choose, ‘communicate’, and ‘order’. There was a third option, but it was greyed out and written in a language that he could not understand, so for the moment Maynard left it alone. He was tempted to click on the communicate button, but the rumbling of his stomach reminded him that he had not eaten since before he started drinking, and he had no idea how long he had been asleep for. After choosing the order option, he was given three more choices, ‘free’, ‘trading’, and ‘auction’, however the second two options were greyed out in the same way that the final option on the first screen was, so he moved into the free directory and began looking at his choices. This time there were numerous categories, but the ones that caught Maynard’s eye were the food, clothing, and the furniture choices. Once again, he was tempted to explore other categories, but his hunger won out. He chose that category and a simple pop-up box appeared in front of him with the words ‘enter request here’ written at the top. Without much thought, Maynard typed pepperoni pizza into the box before hitting the return key. The box closed and he was returned to the root directory, but in the corner of the screen he could see a countdown indicator.
Maynard watched the indicator then asked, “Kai, could I have just asked you to get me a pizza?”
“Yes,” Kai replied, “However, my systems give the option of ordering the food for yourself as some people do not like dealing with me. Apparently a disembodied voice can be ‘distracting’ or ‘scary’.”
“That makes sense,” he replied, “It also makes my life a bit easier.”
“I aim to serve.” There was a whirring as the metal gateway that stood at the far wall behind Maynard began pulsing. He turned and watched as a charge ran through the gate, momentarily forming something that looked very similar to a mirror. A pizza box was ejected gently and landed on the floor, which forced Maynard to stand up to get it as his stomach continued to rumble. He opened the box gingerly, as if trying to defuse a bomb, and was gifted with a waft of heat and the scent of freshly cooked dough. Inside the box was a perfectly cooked, thin-crust pepperoni pizza that made his stomach rumble with excitement, but he was still careful. Gingerly, he picked up a slice of the pizza, folded it and took a bite. He groaned in appreciation and quickly began devouring it, leaving not a single scrap behind. As he lay down, his stomach quelled, and he realised two things. The first was that he was thirsty, but the second was slightly more important, “Umm, Kai,” he asked tentatively, “Where am I supposed to go to the toilet?”
