31 First Contac

Most of the Aons on the second level of Paradise are of low to mid in rank and power. This level can be said to be exclusively created so that the low level Aons can have an alternate source of income and stimulate their competitive spirit and creativity. They can earn CP by completing requests but they can only sell their own research to other civilizations. The sale of such information is heavily regulated and monitored.

The levels above this are obscured in a veil of secrecy and there is no information available to Alyx as to how many levels are still there beyond this. Many of the civilizations are only able to stay in the second level as the resources demanded by Aons for access to those levels is astronomical. The higher the level the greater access to the technology of Aons and better services in Paradise. The main reason for many civilizations to just stay struck in the second level is due to the random distribution of important resources and the span of control of such civilizations is very small. Only a powerful civilization with a large territory would be able to achieve that.

Alyx was going through different request boards and looking through the different requests. He was looking for request which he could do with his current capabilities although he knew such requests would not exist. He was mainly looking at the distribution of these requests so he could make up his mind on what to pursue.

"It is so inefficient trying to going through every board. Is there no service which lets me sort through them?" Alyx asked Ax.

*Yeah I have access to all of them and can sort through them for you.* Ax replied.

"…"

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Alyx asked in a tired manner.

*I thought you were just touring the place.* Ax retorted.

'Although I said that, can't you at least suggest that such a feature is available?' Alyx thought to himself.

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Alyx was trying to find Aons with whom he can interact and know about their experience preferably someone in the same situation as him. He went around the city looking at the interactions between different members in the city. The second level is not as lively as the first and a bit dull. Everyone is busy and in a hurry Alyx did not even get a chance to speak and ask questions.

Alyx was not identified as an Aon due to the privacy enabled to all users who enter Paradise. Many even choose to alter their appearance and identity so it is common for users to disregard others and concentrate on their work. Most of the users here are for some official purpose and not for recreation so they are on clock to complete their assignment or work.

But no one can impersonate an Aon as there are many ways ones identity can be verified and a contract can also be formed with the Paradise administrators as guarantor. Since it is difficult to identify an Aon when they hide it the request boards have emerged to attract the attention of Aons.

Alyx was thinking on what to do when he noticed an individual who was different from others and similar to him just touring the place. Alyx thought he might be an Aon and wanted to approach him but stopped mid-way.

Alyx was stumped on how to reach out to him and not make a bad first impression. Since all the Aons here are on or near MBN he would definitely meet them in the future and didn't know whether to make their acquaintance first in the real world before approaching them in Paradise.

"Well, let's see how my first meeting with a fellow Aon is going to end?"

*Are you sure it is an Aon and not just some member of another civilization?*

"I don't care let just talk with someone. If he is an Aon it would be our luck."

Alyx approached the man and tried to get his attention. Although he was unable to tell the gender Ax informed him. Ax has access to a large database of information on all creatures and civilizations known to Aons so he was able to identify its gender and species.

The person wore a lavish and colorful dress completely different from others and had features closer to those of a slender man. Although he was not as tall as a slender man but he had short torso, long legs and long arms. His facial features can only be called as horrific with a huge mouth, small eyes and almost flat nose. He had no protruding ears and his head appeared as bottle cap from afar. Ax identified its species as Drul.

If Alyx was still a human he would have wet his pant seeing such a creature but after experiencing everything till now he was not surprised and to his surprise got used to it. He did not even feel repulsed and had no inhibitions to initiate a dialogue.

Aons don't have a fixed form or features so they take up the characteristic of other species in Paradise, this is the reason for Alyx believing that he might be an Aon.

"Hello. Excuse me. My name is Alyx and I'm new to the second level can you help me in understanding this place a bit better so I don't commit any mistake. Are there any dos and don'ts which I should be aware of?"

Alyx did not want to expose his identity and attract unnecessary attention so he just asked some of the questions he had. If the opposite person was an Aon he would know about it after talking for some time and probing him based on his attitude.

The opposite person was shocked that someone disturbed him. But hearing Alyx question he thought it was understandable.

"Hi mister Alyx but you better not try to strike a conversation out of nowhere like that here on second level although it is acceptable in the first level but it is different here. You may unwillingly anger someone and earn their ire. Most of the people here are there to do business and would not take your actions positively." Said the man with a smiling face.