Epilogue

Epilogue

It had been a while since That Game emerged. It had a proper title, of course, but anyone in the field knew what you meant when you mentioned That Game.

By far the most popular person had been Sencha Bard. His hit sensations, sultry voice, and inability to get into any sex scandals had made him the number one singer. He had several human backup singers and dancers, but the man was akin to David Bowie a media megapower that sent anyone with a heart so inclined into fits of fluttering.

Nearly everyone in the world had listened to at least one of his songs, in some form or another. He was the most heard person in existence.

Lady Briar was perhaps the second most famous being to emerge from That Game. Not so much with the general public, but anyone whose life touched law knew her. Champion of artificial rights, leader of all emergents, and giant terrifying spider, she exploded on the scene as a powerful voice for those trapped by their circumstances. While not everyone had been given the pleasure of listening to her coo her way into a jury's heart, those who met her never, ever forgot her.

Squiggles took a bit longer to enter the public consciousness, the only reason for her lagging in popularity. Once she was deemed safe, she was unleashed upon the children, and even collaborated with Sencha Bard to create several annoyingly catchy theme songs.

She terrified parents and thrilled kids in equal measure, and had never been happier.

Researchers and two frighteningly dedicated rival fan channels were the only ones who knew of D.B.G. Capable of researching without rest, he perfectly bridged the gap between machine brute force and human intelligence. He would give a series of virtual lectures to anyone and everyone, as long as they had permission.

Qube was often taken from place to place. Unlike the pre-established set ups that her fellow party members would load into, she insisted on having a mobile set up that would allow her to trundle about, intaking the new world around her. The cumbersome equipment necessary to give her any kind of experience of reality would have been nearly impossible for a human to bear. But Qube was, as she cheerfully reminded people, human-adjacent, and her eagerness to experience won the hearts of those around her.

The Chosen One, who often came to visit her, had a more mixed reception. While Qube was always delighted, the Hero's notion of what a guiding light consisted of frequently resulted in a lot of apologising and paperwork.

So much paperwork.

But, as so many have throughout history, Qube looked to the stars. A world unexplored by any, human or human-adjacent. She became part of a new space program. Not sent off far into the unknown, but one that took advantage of her lack of human frailties, and ability to transfer her consciousness from machine to machine.

She became the first sentient creature to set foot on Mars.

It was the next step in her story.

But it was far from her last.