Noriko Null wakes up feeling that something’s not right. She’s in her bed, and everything around her matches her room at Null Tower, but she can’t shake off the feeling that she’s missing something: she can’t feel the constant hum of humanity’s thoughts.
<Daren?> she calls; the last thing she remembers was going to sleep next to her boyfriend.
When she sees her bedroom disappear, with everything except her bed being replaced by a completely different room in a style that isn’t found anywhere on Earth, for a moment she wonders if she’s still dreaming.
<Surprise!> Daren Bekker says, appearing out of nowhere with the rest of the new room. She recognizes the effect: the hologram of her bedroom has just been turned off. But she doesn’t understand what else happened, and she steps off the bed while covering herself with the sheets.
<What happened? Where am I?> she asks, walking towards a large window pane.
On the other side she can see a beautiful green hill, illuminated by sunrise. A second sun is shining slightly above it, and a third sun is currently in a midday position.
<We are on Myridia.> she deduces.
<Happy birthday!> Daren tells her, getting close to kiss her on the cheek; she shies away.
<HOW are we on Myridia!?>
<We teleported your bed to the Ragnarok while you were sleeping. It was a short fly from there.>
<“We”? Who’s… this is Kari’s idea, isn’t it?>
<She helped. Her house is within walking distance; we have a whole week to enjoy the place. You like it, I hope?>
<Daren, I… I appreciate the gesture, but I have a job! I can’t just leave Earth for a whole week!>
<Why not? You do it all the time!>
<When I have to save the Galaxy, not whenever I feel like it! What if something bad happens back home while we’re away?>
<Kari said her duplicates will call if they need the Vanguard, and the Ragnarok can take you there in a couple of hours.>
<Did she? Remind me to get a few words with… wait, the Vanguard? You mean the entire team is here!?>
<Just Vesta and Quantum, plus his girlfriend. She didn’t mention where Torn went.>
<What a shocker. I need a moment to process… this…> she says, vaguely gesturing towards the rest of the building.
<But don’t EVER do this again, okay? I’ve had bad experiences waking up in unfamiliar places.>
<Noriko, I just wanted you to get some free time. If this is too upsetting…>
<No no, it’s fine, it’s just… it’s fine.> she repeats, almost like she’s trying to convince herself; wrapping herself around Daren’s arm seems to calm her down.
<Wait, what did you say about Quantum taking someone else here?>
Null City, miles away
Jane Blake’s jaw dropped the moment she walked into the city, and she hasn’t recovered since.
When her boyfriend Max Black invited her to visit an alien planet, she didn’t think she would find it so full of life. Null City is bursting with life, from street vendors to pedestrians in a constant hurry, from the colors of exotic clothes to the smell of unrecognizable foods sold, from children playing hide and seek with their own duplicates to the endless traffic of rickshaws.
<This is amazing! I can’t believe we’re on another planet!> she says, trying her best to keep her voice down. Max Black is walking next to her, hiding as much as he can inside his hoodie; as far a she can see, he’s the only black man in the crowd.
<I know, I know, it’s awe-inspiring and stuff. But try to keep a low profile, okay? You have no idea how fast the crowds can grow on this planet.> he tells her.
<Sorry! I can’t get over how everything looks so alien and so familiar at the same time! It’s kind of like New York. Except, you know, you keep seeing the same faces over and over again, because of the duplicates. And there’s no cars. And there are four suns. So, uhm, on second thought, I guess it’s nothing like New York.> she admits.
<It’s actually six suns, but I don’t think you can see more than four at a time. Days around here are really weird, don’t even try to understand how it works. I get a headache just thinking about it.>
<What I don’t understand is why are we incognito? You seem to know the place, and I understand the Vanguard is very popular here.> Jane says, stopping before a particular shop that sells souvenirs: there are entire shelves of small statuettes of Noriko, with most of them shaped like the colossal statue that oversees the entire city.
<Like really, really popular.> she adds, touching a different kind of statuette. It’s still representing Noriko, at least based on face and the pendant with the Ø symbol on her chest, but she’s wearing a rather revealing white dress and is far more endowed than her friend.
<Listen, I like the place and I’m really proud of what we did here, but every time we visit someone ends up shooting at us. For once I’d like to actually visit the place without risking my life!>.
<Do you like it? It only costs three obols.> a shop employee intervenes, smiling at Jane. She’s initially startled because he simply popped into existence a second before speaking to her.
It’s a bald middle aged man with an orange goatee, and with the corner of her eye Jane can see that three exact replicas of him are now talking to different potential customers.
<Is… is everyone a duplicate here?> she asks.
<Of course! I’m the proud owner of this shop. You’ve never seen me? I own and work at fifty shops in this city alone and in very nearly every town on Myridia. You’re not from around here, right? We don’t get many foreigners on Null Day, so you must be pilgrims! If so, may I interest you in a worthy sacrifice?> the merchant asks her, pulling her inside the shop where a duplicate is already taking something from a shelf.
<What do you mean sacrifice!?> Max asks him, quickly following them; he’s ambushed by another three duplicates of the merchant, displaying as much merchandise: a book, a sheet of fabric smaller than a handkerchief and vial of clear liquid.
<And how about you, good sir? Perhaps you are looking for a sacred relic? An older draft of the Book of Null, that Lady Null herself threw at the Supreme Pontiff? A piece of the Holy Bedsheet, from the suite where she slept after slaying Demeter? Some Divine Water from the bath she took before slaying Phobos?>
<Uhm, no thanks. Don’t you have anything about the Vanguard?> Max asks, hoping to get some hero worship. Instead the merchant gets red in the face and shouts at him:
<Get out! Get out RIGHT NOW!!!>
<What? What did I say?>
<We don’t serve Vanguardists here!> the merchant yells, pushing Max.
<What’s going on?> Jane asks, turning towards the noise; the other duplicate has taken her to a different part of the shop, where he is showing her a small wooden box with a silver Ø symbol.
<Never mind that! Behold, fair believer, the greatest sacrifice that you can provide to our mortal goddess, in this most holy of days: the favorite food of Lady Null herself!> he says, opening the box to reveal its content: a tiny, strange ball of raw meat mixed with rice.
<This… is sushi.> the vendor says solemnly, grabbing his pendant and nodding respectfully.
<Come again?> Jane asks, utterly confused.
<Only fifteen obols! I’m practically giving it away.>
<No, this… this isn’t sushi. AT ALL.>
<I assure you it’s genuine! Only the rawest meat from the finest chicken of the monastery of…>
<Are you kidding me? You’re trying to sell me raw meat as sushi! There’s no meat in sushi!>
<Oh! My apologies! I never met an Orthodox with that haircut! Don’t worry, I have your sacrifice right here!> the merchant says, rushing to get a different box: from the outside it looks identical to the first one, but when he opens it there’s something else inside… a ball of rice, with nothing else.
<This… is sushi.> he says, repeating the gesture with the pendant.
<This is ridiculous! You don’t actually believe any of this stuff, do you!?> she asks.
<Look, lady, what do you want from me? Nobody actually knows how this “sushi” looks like, okay? It’s just a vague mention in the Book of Null! Why should I listen to an Orthodox that doesn’t even cut her own hair in the style of Lady Null?> he responds, securing his merchandise when the commotion from the other area of the shop becomes too loud to ignore.
<What’s going on?> she wonders, rushing towards Max.
He’s busy dodging the statuettes that some very angry duplicates of the merchant are throwing at him; of course he could simply transform into energy, but that would give away his identity.
<Calm down, man, I just asked a question!>
<You Vanguardists soil the name of Lady Null! I won’t have any of your kind in my shop!>
<You brought a Vanguardist into my shop!?> another duplicate asks Jane, preparing to slap her.
Max reacts instinctively, moving across the shop at lightspeed to grab his arm to protect her.
<Hey! Cool it, okay? We don’t want any trouble!> he says, but the pure and utter shock on the merchant’s face is a clear signal that things won’t calm down easily.
<You… you are one of Her servants!> the merchant says, dropping on his knees: all of his duplicates do the same simultaneously, and suddenly Max and Jane are surrounded by people bowing so deeply that their foreheads are touching the floor.
<We are not worthy! We are not worthy! We are not worthy!> they keep repeating.
<Well this is just disturbing.> Max comments, slowly stepping away; Jane runs towards him, holding tight to his arm and looking terrified.
<Max, this is creeping me out!>
<Tell me about it.> he concurs, taking her hand and leading her out of the shop. Once outside, they immediately bump into the crowd; in his haste, Max let his hoodie down. Even without his Quantum mask, it doesn’t take much time before he’s recognized.
<That’s Quantum! The Vanguard is here!> someone yells.
<Is that Lady Null with him!?> someone else adds, and in a heartbeat the number of people in the crowd increases tenfold.
Normally, Max would simply transform into energy and be on the other side of the planet before the crowd realizes it. But that would mean leaving Jane alone, and once these people realize that she isn’t Null she could get hurt.
<Close your eyes.> he tells her, covering them with his hand. At the same time he radiates enough light to temporarily blind everyone, taking extra care to prevent his photons to reach Jane.
It’s enough of a distraction to run away: it seems to take forever, but they finally manage to escape the crowd and hide in an empty alley.
They are both breathing heavily, catching their breath both from the frantic escape and the adrenaline rush.
<Are you alright?> he asks her.
<What the hell was that!?>
<It wasn’t like this last time. We were like celebrities here, but this is a whole other level!>
<I’m beginning to see why Noriko hates her birthdays.> Jane comments.
Outskirts of New Rhetra
Vesta is floating near the window of the second floor, admiring the view. She doesn’t feel particularly attached to Myridia… the memories of the atrocities committed by her sister Demeter are too fresh… but she has to admit Kari and her duplicates have done an excellent job rebuilding New Rhetra into an enchanted little town.
<Do you think she’ll like it?> Kari asks her, looking out the window.
<Being dragged here against her will? She’ll complain for weeks. But she’ll like taking a break.>
<I hope she does. I don’t think she gets enough recognition on Earth; I hope she won’t mind getting pampered for a few days.>
<I don’t know, Kari, Myridians can go… a little overboard sometimes.> Vesta comments nervously, when they both receive a message through the Neural Transmitter.
<Hey Kari, quick question: do people know where you live?> Quantum asks.
<Yeah, sure, I don’t have a secret identity and I’m the best known celebrity on the planet. Why?>
<I’m afraid you’re going to get A LOT of visitors. Do you know what a Vanguardist is?>
<Ugh, those a##holes again? Just a bunch of fanatics who believe Null isn’t the only goddess in the Vanguard.>
<Ehm.> Vesta interjects, faking a cough.
<I mean, they believe all members of the Vanguard are gods. I kick a few hundreds of them out of my lawn each week. Don’t worry about them, today is the Day of Null: they won’t get too excited as long as they don’t know that the rest of the team is on Myridia.>
<Well, you see, about that…>
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