After an enormously stressful day-and-a-half, it was good to have a little peace on the horizon. We limped back into the stadium after dark, but activity hadn’t ceased. It looked like some stability had been restored to civilization in our absence, because the power was on at the field, and someone had turned the lights on. Tremendous flood lamps lit the night, and the field was swarming with activity. The infomorphs had been busy .

I saw that some kind of clothing industry had been set up- a lot of the seats had been massacred and the bug-like vessels were walking around with sashes and bags made from the sewn canvas. A veritable shanty-town was beginning to go up in the corners of the field, made from scavenged sheet metal and lumber. I was put in mind of the stadium-city from Fallout 4, though hopefully this one would prove to be a little less radioactive.

A great cheer went up when people noticed us entering- I supposed word of our mission had spread- and we grabbed a number of infomorphs to help unload the data sticks and mass-copy devices that would serve as their improvised food supply. Haley was a little startled, at first. “I honestly thought I’d have to introduce myself all over again with the change of body, but I guess it doesn’t make as much of a difference to them.”

I grinned, standing in the flatbed and dividing our jewelry loot from the general spoils. “Well, I’d know you anywhere.”

My chivalry did not impress. “You literally tried to murder me yesterday, in our own home.” That old jab got a chuckle out of Sherriff, who’d been largely taciturn ever since he’d lost his voice. I could feel it regrowing, in his mind, and knew it wouldn’t be long before he weighed in again. I welcomed it- I could really use his experience.

“Oh are you going to keep harping on that forever ? Help me down, m’lady.” I dismounted very gracefully, I thought, given my burns and lacerations and general condition. Barely even fell completely to the ground. The “Council” at the front gate had changed slightly, adding a few new faces since our departure in the afternoon, but I still recognized the EMT- the name on his badge said “Kevin.” He took one look at me, grimaced, and headed back to his truck, I assumed to scavenge for medical supplies.

I handed off the info sticks to Cyran, the large beetle who’d performed food research last night and was swiftly becoming the quartermaster for this little band we’d collected. By the time I was done with that, Haley had already got a crowd of people and more than a few vessels surrounding her. I didn’t know if it was word from the outside they were wanting- surely with the power back on, the radio stations would be broadcasting news? Or maybe they really did look to her as a community leader already. She had gathered them, after all, and we were already establishing a reputation as troubleshooters. Our growing authority was what we’d decided to address, in the truck on the way back.

Haley spoke without focusing on anyone in particular. “Hello everyone. Yes, we have a lot of news about downtown. Things are okay now, but they were pretty grim for a while there, and there’s bad news on the horizon. But I don’t want to repeat myself, and there’s a number of organizational things that we’re going to need to get done. We’d like to formalize some things, before we go any further. Could you find the people who have taken charge on the infomorph side, and ask them to meet with us? Also, do we have any human food? Neither of us have eaten since yesterday.”

As luck would have it, at least one scavenging party had hit a grocery store earlier, and there was a well stocked kitchen for the time being. While we made sandwiches and got bandaged by Kevin, the wise council of bug-people elders was gathered. I recognized the little mustachioed roly-poly doctor from that afternoon- he introduced himself as Vulmar- and Delmutt the woodcutter from our first night at home, which was a pleasant surprise. There was a hulking beetle that looked like it could mount a canon, or tear one in half, which Sherriff’s memories told me was a soldier vessel, and there was a waterbug-looking merchant sailor. Alongside them were Kevin and Ivona, an eastern european woman who had apparently come in late in the day with about 100 vessels that she had personally saved from her surrounding neighborhoods. We said our hellos (and I was quietly a bit stunned that the infomorphs now spoke fluent English, but glad Sherriff’s sacrifice hadn’t been in vain. The rate that information must have spread in their old society...) and then sat down to business.

We explained some of the situation of the past day- our reality-bending encounter with Cecilia and the Wiltshire Dog, for the most part. The phone call was mentioned as background material but most of the… personal details, we left omitted as we’d decided earlier. There was some interest in the vorpal sword, which Haley demonstrated as proof of our claims. The group spent several minutes trying to find an edge on the thing without ever quite agreeing where one was.

“I’ll get right down to it,” said Haley, looking around the group. “Have any of you had encounters with magic in the last day and a half? Anything, since the Swap, that could not be explained by normal physics?”

Vulmar chuffed in indignation. “Magic she says! You red-blooded flesh sacks want to know if I’ve seen magic? I was transported to a different world where people have to put matter in their bodies and, and, and dissolve it for food! Everything here is magic!” Even as he waved his countless little arms for emphasis, there was a general round of agreeable nods from the other infomorphs present. I supposed it would be difficult to distinguish, amid all the other madness.

Haley smiled sympathetically. “The human contingent, then. Kevin, Ivona?” The EMT shook his head- he’d been head down seeing to everyone he could, referring those too badly injured to a nearby hospital. No supernatural wounds.

Ivona seemed more troubled. She spoke fluent English, with a slightly eastern european accent. “I was gathering the… infomorphs, as you call them- to the northeast of here. Green Springs, Milliner, that area. I did not see anything. But- already word was spreading, of something happening further North. It sounded like hysteria at the time. A talking animal? An army on the march? I thought the people I spoke to were referring to the vessels. Now, I am thinking- maybe not?”

Haley and looked at each other. “Cecilia?” she asked, concern evident on her face. “The timeline doesn’t fit. She was downtown with us, to the west of here. Miles in the opposite direction.”

I nodded, “But that would mean… someone else got a fantasy novel?” Trouble for us, was the feeling Sherriff was sending me. I couldn’t help but agree.

We turned back to the group. Haley made a dismissing motion. “We need to table it for now, but I’ll go look by air first thing in the morning. In the meantime, we need sleep, and we need structure. You are all representatives of this community by virtue of being willing to stand up and do what needs to be done in a time of crisis. People, human and infomorph, will follow you.” There was a round of semi-reluctant nodding at this. None of these people want to be in charge. Perhaps that will make them better suited for it. Haley continued. “I would like to propose a plan of action for you.“ We had discussed this wording in the truck, as well. I had pushed for the more subtle approach. You can’t just walk in here and take charge, especially if you’re leading them to conflict.

“Why?” came the obvious question, voiced from the soldier. “I understand that I have you to thank for the strange words on the box that got me here, and the copy of your language in my head. You clearly have some power, and we need you. But what special insight do you have, that we should follow?”

“And why should we let you lead us? The government hasn’t collapsed yet.” asked Kevin, not unkindly.

Haley smiled at him, and it was a little sad. “Half the population of the world is gone or dead, and more will be following. We are insulated here, a little, but if you return to your homes tonight you are not going to find them unchanged. The world has already gone over the cliff’s edge, but acceleration hasn’t begun yet. Any student of history should be able to tell you what comes next. Once the power, and water, and food are gone. The government has collapsed- whether it knows it or not, it no longer has a monopoly on the use of force, or the power to protect you. Magic is loose. And the strongmen who rise now, who do possess both of those traits, aren’t all going to agree on whether this collection of refugees should be alive or dead. You must recognize this, and act before they do. If you wait until it becomes apparent, you’ll be dead.”

That said, she turned to the soldier. “You have a good question, Haell. The first answer is that I have more than some power. At the moment I’m the only form of magic you have access to. It’s going to grow substantially. Within a month I will be able to see to the base needs and defense of this community as well as anyone in the world. I could go off by myself and try to save the world some other way, but I feel like the only real way to save the world starts with saving the parts you know.” She looked at the others. “The second answer is that I am genre savvy. There is a narrative here. Things don’t just fall out like this. The events of the last 2 days have been unnatural, and you will have to forgive me for my arrogance here, but they are focused on me . That may rankle, but if I may offer some objective proof...” Here, she stood back and ended her human form, becoming a dragon once again.

We’d argued about this approach, in the truck. “I am telling you nobody is going to be influenced by the ‘You are an NPC’ argument,” I said.

Haley was unmoved. “But Sean, they are. The evidence is indisputable! They’re people and they have moral worth, but whatever is happening here is clearly focused on you and I. They may get hurt just to motivate me. They must understand that.”

In the moment, I thought it just might work. She was bigger now, 8 feet long and easily six feet high at the head. Her horns and fins had grown, as well, and she was beginning to look a bit like a giant gold catfish. Thankfully she didn’t seem to have the moustache-esque tendrils that the Pathfinder art books depicted for male dragons. I couldn’t really say why that would have bothered me more, but… I liked the slightly feminine cast to her face, even like this. In any case, the effect of the transformation was impressive. She was definitely gaining charisma, in the stat-points sense, and her presence had a near-physical force now. The audience rocked back (and I mourned the loss of her Lara Croft cosplay, absorbed into her body but hopefully not destroyed) as she continued. “Third: you should listen to me because I will listen to you . I am no god. But if I were I would offer you a covenant, not a list of commandments. Mutual obligations. If you say no, here and now, I will go away. If you say yes and then take it back later, I will agree and step down. By saying no right now, you are cutting off options and gaining nothing.”

Vulmar objected. “Well I think this is damn well premature! You haven’t even told us what it is you’d order us to do, yet.”

Haley gave the little bug-doctor a head tilt of acknowledgement. “True. I want you to prepare . Those of you who are trained in combat, train the rest. Prepare more breeding space for combat capable vessels. Send out groups to scavenge as much food and weaponry as possible. Fortify this space- make it defensible. Accept those who come by, I’m not saying we need to go all lost tribe here, but if we hurry, we can be weeks ahead of any other-”

Kevin interrupted her. “Are you nuts? Look, ma’am, I get that shit is weird, but you’re talking about going full Mad Max here! Even if half the world is gone, the power is on. The rumor is that the National Guard is mobilizing! You’re jumping the gun in a big way.” There were nods of agreement, even from the infomorphs.

Haley hissed in frustration. “ Listen to me . I get that there’s a powerful draw to inertia. You moved fast in the crisis, but now you’re safe and you have food and some part of you thinks that must mean the crisis is over, that you can sit tight and someone who knows better will come along to rescue you. Nobody is coming to save you . Nobody ever was! We humans were going to kill ourselves within a century with climate change, or nuclear war, or something and not one person in a position to stop it was going to lift a finger! Now the pace towards that end has accelerated and you’re sitting here hoping that if you just ignore the bad days, the good ones will come again. It can’t happen that way. All you do if you bunch up and don’t fortify is make yourselves a target.”

But the infomorphs were unconvinced. The waterbug merchant spoke up: “But we weren’t on the verge of killing ourselves, miss. Our food supplies are stable, thanks to you. I sailed the seas for 90 season cycles, and only ever saw the empire grow. Other civilizations came and went, but the big ones? They were stable. This new world is strange, to be sure, but here we sit surrounded by the trappings of a great civilization, and you are calling for war preparations! I am sorry. I will not support this plan. But you may stay here, if you wish. Strong men or no, we will greet all with open arms.” The others nodded. It was final.

I stood, then, and put my hand on her shoulder. She looked like she wanted to argue, maybe even to take the room by force, but she mastered herself, and ultimately lowered her gaze. She wrapped her scaled neck around my shoulders in a surprisingly emotive hug, and then we left. I was not sure if dragons could cry, but I felt like I was about to find out.

She spoke to me softly as we walked. “All those people, Sean. We gathered them up and brought them together and now they may die because they don’t understand the danger they’re in. Can’t, until the inertia in the gears of our world runs out.”

I didn’t want to tell her she was wrong, not now , but I had to ask. “What makes you so sure they are? They make good points. Food scarcity may not even affect the infomorphs. The power’s still running. Humanity could still recover. Even if it does collapse it could take years, a long slow decline that leaves plenty of time for us. We don’t know that there’s another magical threat on the horizon, even.”

She looked at me with love and maybe a touch of despair. “Sean, how many threats did Sherriff’s world have? How many diseases?”

Surprised by the change of direction, I wracked my brain. “Uh, well, he can remember a memetic virus that spread on visual contact and encouraged the infected to replicate it. Also there’s a type of mental disorder slash disease that some infomorphs go through where they stop really grasping the boundary between their thoughts and others and their minds overwrite the values of victims with their own, sometimes unintentionally. Uh, there’s a couple of natural predators of infomorphs who latch on and remove information about themselves from the victim’s mind. Lots of afflictions of the vessels, of course, probably bacterial and-” I stopped, catching up. “And we don’t have immunity to any of them.”

Haley sniffled. It was distractingly cute. “Maybe three billion humans left on earth assuming nobody’s done anything stupid like started a nuclear war elsewhere. Even with no magic in the mix, how many in a year? Two years? Withmemetic diseases on the horizon?”

I agreed. “But there is magic in the mix. Which might save lives. Or… make them worse. But either way it’ll concentrate power in hands of those that can use their gifts, or those that exploit them.”

She just sounded glum now. “It all comes down to power. They’re still sitting in there, thinking that this is- is a big storm , that when it comes down to it an elected official is going to set things right. It hasn’t sunk in yet for them that it’s happening everywhere . The only thing anyone without magic can do right now is get out ahead of it, before the rest of the world starts moving.”

I kept my hand on her back. She seemed to like scritches between the wings, when she was in this shape. “Well, they welcomed us to stay. We could stay here and protect them anyway.”

She leaned into my hand, but shook her head. “No, whatever’s happening, I don’t want to draw it down on them. But. Idid lie, in there. They may make no contract with us, but I have no intention of leaving them alone. We can set up somewhere near, and I’ll watch over them until we hit some point where they can’t deny the world’s changed anymore, and then maybe-”

It was then that Delmutt caught up with us, scurrying on her mantis legs. “Wait!”

We stopped and turned. “Yes, miss D?”

She held up a claw for time, panting. “Sorry. Let me just. Vessel’s not made for. Running. Oof. Okay. I want to come with you. There are others.” Seeing our shared glance, she hastened “Only a few! But, we’ll trade around for soldier vessels if that’s what you want. We’ll fight. We can be extra hands for you. You don’t have to do… whatever it is you’re doing, by yourself. And-” she looked kind of bashful?

I wondered if there was a request. “Go on?”

She came out with it in a rush. “ I want to be a dragon too !”

---

The next morning

---

“Whatever it is you’re doing” turned out to be sleeping like the dead and having our wounds bandaged, but early the next morning we reconvened with Delmutt and her motley crew to make plans. There were three others beside her- she had traded for the slim dragonfly body of a scout, and the other three had taken sentinels, an ant-like form that stood on hind legs, with wide-set compound eyes and a visible neck. “Good for visibility, and rifle-work,” she explained. Sherriff approved. < She. Make good. Choice? Choice.> His speech was coming back quickly now, something which we were both grateful for.

The plan for the day was simple. The stadium leaders hadn’t agreed, but we still needed supplies and information for ourselves. Haley was going to fly North-East and interview locals, to see if she could spot any magical threats or potential allies, based on Ivona’s rumors. I was going to go South , to collect our cat and cell-phones, use them to contact our families, and also loot as many non-perishable groceries and long term camping supplies as I could fit in the back of the truck. Both of us would keep an eye out for defensible places to hole up, though we both agreed we would probably need to move to the city center and stake out a high-rise penthouse or something. We agreed to reconvene by mid-afternoon at the stadium, retrieve Haley’s newfound hoard, and decide where to make camp for the night.

I wasn’t a fan of this plan. I didn’t want to split the party a second time- if this was narratively driven, didn’t it set me up to get captured again? But Haley couldn’t carry a person yet, and she’d move much faster on her own. She had me take the infomorphs. “You’re going to need protection more than I will,” she said, “and they are going to need to scavenge weapons. There are gun stores all over the place, see if you can find something they can use.” So off we went. I gave her a long hug farewell, and watched her fly away into the sky. I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, as she disappeared.

Delmutt buzzed to my side, and bobbled consolingly. I assumed that was a consolation bobble. Bug body-language was weird. “Watching loved ones leave is always hard. But she’ll be back.”

That raised an interesting topic, as we headed to the truck. “ Do you guys have loved ones, then?” Sherriff’s life had been… surprisingly isolated. I got in the cab with two of the sentinels and Delmutt, a cramped but workable fit. A third got in the truck bed, and we were off. “I mean, I know you don’t normally have gender, so I kind of wondered what your social relationships were, without that need for reproduction.”

“Oh but we do reproduce!” She said, “Just not in the way that you do. Your breeding is much more like our vessel’s. Infomorph reproduction is… a meeting of the minds. There can be two, or three, or many. Each chooses pieces of themselves to give to the newborn. The more there are, the less each must sacrifice and regrow. But the newborn will be fully formed, with the instincts and patterns of lifetimes, when it is created. Then it is up to the parents to guide it as it finds its role in life and develops memories that solidify it in that groove.”

“Huh,” I said, kind of impressed. “That’s… actually really beautiful. So your social relationships do stem from a need for reproduction, then?” It had always been a sore spot between us and other couples. We’d chosen early on not to have children. It was… not a popular decision, in these parts.

“Oh not always. Sometimes you just find someone you like being around. Some people get so used to being together they end up sharing the same vessel, though that is a bit taboo. I had a partner, at home.”

Oh, shit, I guess I hadn’t realized- “None of you were transferred in proximity to each other, were you? All of you split up from each other, across the planet.” Wow, what a nightmare. Why weren’t they tearing the world apart to get back to each other? I’d been with Haley for nine years, the thought of having to endure this crisis alone… it was harsh enough that I almost turned the truck North to drive after her, as we pulled out of the stadium.

Delmutt nodded sadly. “We’d lived together for fifteen season cycles. They were… sweet, and funny, and smart, and they had the most amazing wood carving techniques, I could sit and watch for hours. Infomorphs are very long-lived, compared to your species. Very few moving parts. We might live five or six hundred cycles, but accidental death tends to claim us first. If we survive all of this, we’ll find each other again. I have faith in that.”

Sherriff was strangely muted, in the back of my skull. He seemed like he was… in mourning? I wanted to ask him why, Iknew he had nobody like that in his life. Maybe that’s why. It was interesting, knowing he was me on some level. His life had been so violent, so driven . Was that who I’d have become, without Haley?

I tried to be reassuring. “We’ll find your family, Delmutt. We’re off to find a way to contact mine, today. But we’ll get you all in touch with each other. Somehow.” I just hope Haley’s wrong. The infrastructure of this world needs to hold together for a little longer and maybe we can steer it back on course.

But then I turned on the radio, and started learning just how right she was.