Jane checked her accounts. It had only been five minutes since the last time she’d checked, but her fame had already risen by 2100. That was a rate of 420 fame per minute! 7 fame per second! It defied all intuition. 94,321… It was the most fame she’d ever had.

And it was still increasing!

What had happened now? Had her character defeated another set of trackers? Or was this the result of some heroic final stand? She wasn’t delusional. She knew Alf and Blix wouldn’t be able to hold out long against the Intersys General, but even so, she hoped they could keep the run going a bit longer. They were the best investment she’d ever made, and even if they were just a game, part of her had really enjoyed interacting with them. They were so fresh and exotic. And invigorating! She’d never experienced such overpowering emotions. It was a wonder humans could function.

She pulled up her EMFRPG feed and plugged into it where she’d left off.

The equilibrium swirl deposited her in a dappled world of fluttering green. She was in a tree again. She still didn’t understand the part trees played in human mating rituals, but there was definitely a correlation. Alf and Blix spent an inordinate amount of time in trees.

Talk, talk, talk… Jane fast-forwarded through the dull parts until a small group of the General’s soldiers approached. Throwing rocks… Jumping out of the tree… Jane squinched at the intensity of the pain feedback. Why did he keep doing that? Didn’t he understand that pain receptors were there to protect him from harm? Humans were so stupid. It was a wonder they’d survived as a species.

More fighting… More stealing… It was the same thing over and over. What was causing all the excitement?

She paused the feed and searched the boards: Jane Goes Dark, One Thousand Fame for More Information on Jane, Is-To-Be Dark for First Time in Millennia…

It was unbelievable. Alf and Blix had generated more fame by being invisible than they had by defeating two of the General’s most powerful warriors. Everything they did defied intuition.

When she got to the most current headlines, she almost fluttered out. Jane Defeats Intersys General’s Five-Squad Company…

This couldn’t be happening. It was getting way out of control. If this kept up, the General wouldn’t just stop at destroying her in the game, he’d go after her in reality.

She plugged back into the EMFRPG feed and fast-forwarded to get to the end.

“Pardon the interruption,” Mother’s voice sounded over the whine of the feed. “Spectrum, overall rank 210, requests a shared experience with you.”

Spectrum! Jane pulled out of the feed. Number one in social, Spectrum? A shared experience? With her?

“Yes,” Mother said. “Shall I tell her you’re busy?”

“No!” Jane jumped to her feet, fluttering her manipulators to shake off the tension. “How do I look? How’s my color? Too much violet?”

“You look fine, Darling,” Mother soothed. “Shall I bring her likeness here or bring yours to her quarters? She has approved either option.”

“Her quarters!” She squinched and tried to compose herself. “I would prefer to liken in her quarters, please.”

“Of course,” Mother’s reassuring voice. “Prepare for requillibration in three, two, one...”

The world tipped around her, and suddenly she was standing in the largest private quarters she had ever experienced. Warm reds, deep violets… Everywhere she looked, comfort and perfect harmony reined. There was even a soaking pool. It was filled with effervescent pink bubbles.

“Welcome, Dainty.” Spectrum stood in front of a massive interface wall. “Thank you for agreeing to the experience on such short notice.”

Jane was stunned. Spectrum was huge, easily four times her size. And her egg sac presented forward, front and center, barely veiled at all. And it was massive—practically an extra appendage. And it was the darkest shade of violet she had ever seen—which meant she had mated. At least once. When had she been the number one ranked female? She’d been in the hundreds as long as Jane could remember.

Jane rotated her stance, turning so that her pathetically small-in-comparison egg sac was facing away from her host. “Um… Thank you.” Jane finally remembered her manners. “Thank you for the invitation. What experience would you like to share?”

“You and your allies stopped publishing your feeds. You can’t pretend you don’t know that we’re all simply mad to share your astonishing experiences.”

“I will publish them… eventually,” she finished lamely. “You must understand the need for some degree of secrecy.”

“Of course. Dearest Dainty, I would never dream of undermining your work. I’m your greatest fan.”

Jane didn’t know what to say. She was so shocked she almost lost control of her color modulation. “Um… Would you mind calling me Jane?” She had always hated her name. It was just another reminder that the only thing she had ever ranked number one in was tininess—which was just a polite way of saying she came in dead last at size or gravitas or significance.

“Of course. Dearest Jane. I applaud your commitment. Total immersion it will be, then. You may call me Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine. I have the honor of working with Negentropy, ahem, Queen Charlemagne. We both, it seems, share a common enemy: King Alexander, the Almighty Arrogant One himself.”

“This is true?” Jane fluttered. “Of course, it’s true. I’m just surprised.”

“Charlemagne and I are scheduled to wage war with Alexander in”—the experience distorted, scrambling all sound and light—“days.”

“Mother blocked the timetable,” Jane said. “But I get the general idea.”

“Oh dear…” Spectrum squinched. “Let me get right to the point then. Charlemagne and I would like to—” The experience distorted once again, this time for almost a minute.

“Mother blocked everything after would like to,” Jane said.

“Perhaps we should—”

The experience distorted again. In a way, it was a relief. Too much was hitting her at once. She couldn’t be sure, but she suspected Negentropy and Spectrum wanted to collaborate in some way—maybe even form an alliance. Which was heretofore unthinkable. First Ranked Social and First Ranked Numerical Analysis wanted to work with her? It was the opportunity of a lifetime.

When the distortion finally ended, Mother’s voice filled the quarters. “I’m sorry, Darlings, but in-game negotiations, data exchanges, and strategy discussions aren’t allowed. If you attempt further collaboration, I will have to send Dainty’s representation back to her quarters.”

Spectrum ruffled her manipulators in frustration, but she didn’t object. Instead she glided forward, egg sac swaying hypnotically, and intertwined manipulators with Jane. She obviously wanted Jane to know how much she wanted to talk, which was all the information Jane needed.

“Goodbye, dear… Jane,” Spectrum said. “Perhaps I’ll… see you soon?”

Jane nodded, signaling she’d gotten the message. As soon as she got back, she’d tell Alf to find Eleanor and Charlemagne.