Chapter 330: Nexus Founder: The Tree City

[Title modified: Nexus Founder: The Tree City. Increased and improved Patron options. Increased and improved House options. Presence +2. Small power boost in natural settings.]

Despite the strange feeling of the young tree in his mind, Mason couldn’t help but look at his title and grin.

He walked through the raised bridges and platforms that made up his Nexus and his new ‘Tree City’, surrounded in the glow of blue light. Time was still ‘frozen’, the forest leaves still, no sign even of a breeze.

Mason had eventually decided to stop waiting for the others and began to explore. Turned out the Nexus was already operating. An automated lift took him to the top of closest tree, sliding smoothly up cables that looked like bamboo.

He looked down, shaking his head in wonder at the view of Nassau maybe a hundred feet below.

“Welcome, Patron.”

Mason turned to find a ghostly figure floating slightly above the platform. It was flat-faced and vaguely human, dressed like some androgenous alien from an old and probably low budget sci-fi flick.

“Uh. Hello.” Mason looked over the rail at another platform, searching for the main area with the actual Nexus devices. “Can you tell me where…”

“Would you like a tour of the facilities? Along the way, I am able to impart a collection of limited but useful information.”

Mason sighed, as ever feeling trapped inside the bounds of roboGod’s imagination. This didn’t feel like he had much of a choice.

"A tour would be super.”

“Wonderful! Follow me, please. We have a lot to cover.”

The semi-automated tour guide floated along the platform, looking around as if for the first time.

“You have chosen your Nexus as a raised city in the Great Forest of the Western Continent. This is, if I may say so, an excellent choice.”

Here it looked at him and smiled, then dropped it instantly in a somewhat disturbing transition before it gestured to three rings of maybe houses around their tree.

“Platforms are currently built in three varieties, which you might think of as residential, commercial, and industrial. All have standard facilities conducive to human existence. In each structure you will find fresh water access, a power source, and transportation devices linked to the central hub. Though the different varieties contain different scaling.”

Mason nodded and did his best to listen and comprehend, understanding this was important. He needed to pay attention, despite the urge to tell the thing to shut up so he could go look for himself, or leave someone else in charge of administration.

“What if we want to build more platforms?” he asked, and the alien hologram blinked and smiled.

“All construction and adjustment can be done through the Nexus system.”

Right. Video game. Follow the made up rules. Though Mason suspected it wouldn’t stop them from doing some construction on their own. They’d been able to repair Nassau’s gate on their own, after all, and change plenty of things on the walls.

So he just nodded along and continued on the tour, and his guide happily pointed out the different ‘varieties’ and their differences. It wasn’t so different than any city, Mason imagined. They had bigger areas for a kind of commercial district, then even bigger and more complicated areas for crafters.

“Transportation rules can be regulated,”

the guide explained.

“All bridges, lifts, and teleporters can be programmed with different access capability and with nearly unlimited possibilities.”

“This is your primary residence,”

his guide explained on an area slightly away from the others, with a smaller platform entirely on its own.

“Would you like to see inside?”

Mason stopped and stared in amazement. There was some kind of waterfall going through it, a dozen balconies ringing the outside. It looked like a giant log cabin, the kind of place you went on holiday. A forest mansion mixed with a luxury hotel.

He just shook his head, not needing to see if roboGod was also an interior designer. He’d have plenty of time for the niceties.

“Let’s keep going,” he said. “I want to see the central beacons.”

His guide nodded and took him back, finally circling to the central platform.

The Great Tree pierced through it like a spear, rising above the forest canopy. All around the massive trunk were constructs similar to those Mason had seen in the desert, but all with a kind of woodland ‘theme’ to their design. What looked like a

river

flowed through the floor, covered by some kind of…translucent wood.

“Why…how is there…”

Mason’s guide glanced at the water.

“The central tree is an endless source of water, power, and limited nutrition. All are distributed through the platforms physically

—technically with roots—but what might be best understood as self-renewing pipes. Do you have any questions?”

Mason shook his head in amazement. To say this ‘Nexus’ was an upgrade in their situation was to say almost nothing of the reality. He supposed technically Nassau had seemed to have an endless supply of water and power, but actually he had no idea how it worked. And the ignorance of the ‘source’ had always given him a kind of…

temporary

feeling. But not anymore.

“Initial Nexus devices are as follows: Central Communication Beacon; Central Teleportation Beacon; Central Affinity Beacon; Central Administrative Beacon. Would you like to know more?”

Yes, for Christ’s sake, I want to know everything, he thought. But he pointed at the ‘Affinity Beacon’ because at least the others made some kind of definitional sense even without details.

“What’s that do? The affinity beacon.”

“The Central Affinity Beacon is a kind of gathering device. This Nexus can be chosen by external sources, including but not limited to: player and non-player settlements, resource locations, and certain completed dungeons. Once chosen, the Affinity Beacon can track and store subsequent income. It can also…”

“Wait. Are you saying it’s like…a tax collector?”

“Taxes are…an appropriate comparison. It can also store raw energy, typically gathered and stored by affinity, which can be used by the Nexus itself, or by its citizens, for many purposes, including crafting or defence.”

Mason was getting that ‘overwhelmed’ feeling again, but took a breath and forced himself to keep listening.

“OK. The communication beacon. How the hell does it work?”

His guide took him towards it, leading him inside what was more or less a rectangular building with several rooms that looked like offices. There was a central ‘boardroom’ with a circular table, and each had a device that was probably the system’s version of a tablet. But it looked a bit like a map made out of bark.

“All human settlements and beacons can be contacted from this two way device,”

said his guide, pointing at the map.

“Once communicated with, each settlement can always attempt to communicate back, even with lesser devices. But of course it can be ignored. Knowledge of other settlements can also be shared.”

The guide touched the map, and a grid pattern of small lights appeared with question marks beneath them. Mason was sad to see the ‘map’ was completely greyed out, the location of the lights clearly not where they really were.

“How do we contact them? They’re all greyed out.”

“Communication beacons can only be contacted once activated. None are currently activated.”

Right. Mason remembered the system message when he’d been getting his ‘gift’ in the desert. It said they’d all be activated soon. And then he guessed all of these lights were going to light up like Christmas. Or so he hoped. And kind of dreaded.

It showed him the Administration Beacon next, which basically was a central method to watch and control how the city worked. They could shut off all the functions, change permissions, and interact with the…‘guards’?

“Automated defence,

” his guide explained.

“One guardian per tree. Limited range and behaviors. Modifiable.”

Mason blinked.

“What exactly

are

these guardians?”

The holographic alien just stared, until another hologram appeared floating above its hand like a humanoid tree. It reminded Mason of the guardian he’d fought in the great tree when Seamus tried to burn its heart. Though he couldn’t tell how big it was.

“There’s one of

those

,” he asked, “guarding every tree in this city?”

“Correct,”

said the hologram.

“Size and abilities are determined by Nexus and settlement levels. Guardians can reform if destroyed. Initial spawn time is one month.”

Jesus. Christ. How many trees were there? Had he just gained a whole army of settlement defenders?

“How far can they go? I mean…can I

order

them? How exactly do they even…”

“Guardian behavior is determined by Nexus level and upgrades. Please follow me to the Teleportation Beacon, and the conclusion of the tour.”

Mason followed, still fighting the thrill at the discovery of the guardians. The more he saw, the safer he was starting to feel. Though a small voice in the back of his mind was already screaming:

what exactly is all this defence intended to stop?

His guide finally took him to a square, glass-like box that looked a little like a giant elevator. It moved to a complex panel and held out its hand.

“Teleportation controls are also determined by Nexus upgrades. But initial travel can be made between any willing settlement that contains a teleportation device. And most teleportation abilities can choose the Nexus as a location. Do you have any questions?”

Mason scoffed. He had a

thousand

questions.

“What does ‘willing’ mean? And what do you mean ‘most’ teleportation devices? What about Wyrdwalk? And how do I know if a settlement has a device?”

The hologram stared as if Mason hadn’t asked it anything, or else it wasn’t permitted to answer. He shook his head.

“The whole ‘please ask questions’ thing is a bit like corporate feedback forms, isn’t it?”

The guide just stared, and Mason turned away. He looked again at the amazing structure, feeling the hungry grumblings of the great tree, the hum of immense power surrounding him. He walked to the platform rail and looked over Nassau, through forest that was maybe his more than anyone else’s.

He realized if he climbed to the top of the great tree he could probably look out over the forest, seeing who knew how far. The thought sent a tingle of excitement through him usually reserved for coming home to his girls. Or for a desperate fight to the death.

“No more questions,” he said quietly, and heard the guide pop out of existence. He closed his eyes as the blue light seemed to settle—as the cool breeze resumed and slid across his face.

This was his now, as his girls were. As maybe Nassau and this whole forest was. To enjoy. To protect. To be responsible for.

“God damn you, Cerebus,” he said, entirely without passion. Then with his ridiculous senses he heard the people of Nassau below losing their minds as they came alive and saw the changes, and the beginning of a tree city now floating above them.

“It’s alright! I’m coming down!” Mason shouted, walking towards the lift before changing his mind. With a grin he ran towards the edge of the platform, then leapt over the rail for the nearest tree.