He woke up to the overhead screen chiming with bells. It said, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'"

Stan sat up, troubled by the nagging Bible talk. He saw that his Talisman's screen had gone dark. It re-lit at his touch to reveal a still image of his boat with the notice, [Automatic log-out.] That much was good, but he had work ahead and he was a mess.

He tapped the overhead screen and flipped through menus to confirm that there was a washer and dryer. He squirmed around to change clothes, used the communal bathroom, and was out the door to the Fun Zone. Along the way, some bleary-eyed Sargasso residents who might've spent all night at the bar were watching him from the halls. Stan hurried past them.

At work, Sonia appeared on the foyer's screen and said, "Good morning. Please do the standard VR pod inspection, then wash and report to the kitchen."

Stan didn't complain, but he hadn't signed up to be a cook. Not that he was a bad one. He did a system check on the pods upstairs except for #1, which was in use. Back on the main floor he rounded a corner to the kitchen. There, he found a big Italian guy working alongside robotic burger-flippers and pizza-toppers.

"You're it?" said Stan, over the whirr of fans.

"On weekdays. Hi there. You know how to cook?"

"Yes. I've done salads, cakes, cookies..."

"We do pizza and burgers. So watch what I do."

The cook didn't offer much instruction, but he had Stan watch the approved process for cranking out the Fun Zone's simple menu. The kitchen literally ran itself for the most part, with the man mostly being there to solve what problems the machines couldn't. Stan had heard horror stories about how there were no safety regulations on Castor, but there were signs and warning labels all over the kitchen anyway. The cook felt that Stan had been initiated enough to start throwing some pizza dough on his own while he went out to smoke some weed.

Stan peeked into the restaurant. A few customers had trickled in, which explained the call for what the menu called a Sunrise Calzone. Stan accepted scrambled eggs and bacon bits from a robot to pour onto the dough. He asked one of the cameras, "Who's running these?"

A metallic voice said, "Tier-II servitor Leo, sir."

Not a real mind, but maybe smart enough to have feelings. "Looks like you work hard."

"Yes, sir."

He worked on the calzones. "Do you show up in the game, too?"

"No, sir." Was that a note of sadness to its voice, or was he imagining that? Just a little AI existing to work for humans.

Stan worked for a while cranking out meals, finding a rhythm that let him work with the bots and not bang into them. "When is that guy getting back?"

Sonia took over the monitor that was showing orders. She was in her skyship's cabin, reading. "He takes a while on his breaks. Likes to stare out to sea. Are you overwhelmed?"

"Not exactly. I think I just mastered the menu. Have you thought about livening it up?"

His boss pursed her lips. "We've proposed it, but your colleague is set in his ways. I'm not sure I want to disrupt his life any further right now."

"Is something wrong?"

"He recently lost his wife. I suggest not bringing that up. Now he doesn't do much but cook, smoke, and play."

Stan dropped the subject for now, but his hands twitched as he made his twentieth identical Sunrise Calzone. Back at the Community, there'd been variety and he'd needed some actual skill to cook for everyone. He glanced back at "Leo" the cooking robot with some sympathy.

#

Eventually the cook got back, smelling of marijuana, and kicked Stan out "for lunch rush". Stan found Dahl working the front desk and waiting tables, and joined him for both duties. There was no time for gaming, so Stan used his free moments to clean tables, check that last pod and clean the rest, and otherwise make himself useful. Finally he got a break and Sonia called him to the front room to say, "How would you like to try the evening shift?"

"You've hardly got anyone here during the day."

"And now I'm informed that our main evening guy has quit. Says he's going back to the US."

Stan shrugged. "If that's what Ludo needs, then okay."

"Thanks. After tomorrow's shift, take the next daytime off and come back in the afternoon."

After his work ended, Stan hopped into a free VR pod. Before playing, he asked Ludo, "Do you have a quest for me yet, since I've got time off?"

The game world appeared in the form of a royal bedroom. Stan hadn't seen this place in a while, and he looked down to see if he was playing his princess character. He was still just Stan the Craftsman. Ludo walked in as his usual self, the man with the cape of stars.

He said, "I wanted to run something by you. You know that I appear to different people in different ways, but you've usually seen me in this shape. It's not exactly standard. If you don't mind, I'd like to switch my usual interface for you to my most common appearances." Two more figures rippled into view like a mirage beside him: a woman in a flowing toga with surreal blue hair like the sea, and a griffin in similar blue fur and feathers. "Is this all right?" the three asked together, and the man stepped back and bowed.

Stan said, "All right, sir, but why?" He'd gotten used to thinking of Ludo as male, so this encounter threw him off. "I learned about gender identity stuff in school."

All three of the AI laughed. "That's not what this is about. I'm a machine; I don't have genes or organs. I pick a mask because humans need to see something they can relate to. I'm trying to standardize somewhat as part of my brand." The woman tilted her head. "Does this bother you?"

"I'm a little confused, sir. Um, ma'am. I'm used to taking my marching orders from your other self."

"Mm-hmm. Well, this shift gives a chance to start fresh, doesn't it? Would you still like a quest for your free time?"

That was familiar, at least. Stan stepped toward her and nodded. "I would."

"Then here's one. I would have you increase your powers." A message beside her said, [Quest offered by Ludo: Skill Upgrade. Learn a new real-world skill. Reward: an equivalent in-game bonus.]

"That's generous. I could even use one of your teaching programs in here." He waved around the royal apartment.

"I'd like you to go elsewhere for this. Learn more of the ways of Castor and its people." The griffin stood slightly behind her, mockingly copying her movements.

Stan smiled. "Yes... ma'am. I'll do it." He felt a little derailed somehow, for having this other "interface" to talk with, but at least he wouldn't confuse people now by talking about Ludo as "him".

#

He went back to his living-pod to nap, then checked out the built-in computer to access the seastead's network. New skills, huh? He'd love to find a real magic teacher, and he probably could learn stage magic, but Ludo wanted him to go outside and he didn't have a ton of money. What could he study cheaply?

There was a two-session first aid class being offered for almost no money, on his upcoming free days. Nice. He signed up. That wasn't for a while yet, so for now: Game time!

Back in Thousand Tales, he'd recovered from one major wound. He'd paused in the sea northwest of Tourney, where gulls wheeled about. He sailed onward and docked. Along the way he'd conjured up a few more copper lumps to sell, so he now had a little spare money to get wood and bricks. With his raw materials and the rental of a general crafting station and a forge, he made the main parts he'd need for an intermediate-level smithy of his own. He went to Davis' place and found the rabbit absent. Stan shrugged and went in. Now came another crafting puzzle to assemble his new anvil, stand, table and so on into a whole that the game would recognize.

[Are you trying to install this station aboard a ship?] asked Ocean.

"That's the plan, once I've built the next tier of hull."

[Note that the station you're assembling won't fit on a second-tier boat.]

Stan frowned and brought up a wiki within the game. The easiest kind of forge to make was the most primitive, and you were supposed to use that to make a better one. The interesting thing was that there wasn't a single "better" model. Instead you could get a higher quality rating (to build better items), or make it compact, or a few other options. Stan had been hoping to apply the first two upgrades at once. He said, "According to this, I need some exotic material to do both. A springy fire-resistant material... Frostwood, maybe, for a wooden anvil?" The hard wood would drain heat from metal slowly, increasing the time he could work it.

[That would be an interesting but viable choice. Gems are a more common ingredient.]

He scoffed. There wasn't a logical reason why gluing emeralds to an item would make it work better. "Tha'ts not my style."

For now, he set the equipment up as a respectable but non-compact forge that Davis could play with. Stan needed lots of wood for a new hull anyway, and he needed to get that stockpiled before selling his boat. Off to the south island, then!

He took along a party of two people in pirate getup who wanted to team up for resource harvesting. They sailed south and set about chopping trees, covering each other's backs.

"Have either of you seen frostwood?" he asked. The forest here was mostly ordinary oak and cedar.

"Probably it's only on icy islands," said one guy. "There are a few of those if you go northwest. And east, I think."

He could handle that. They got attacked by a couple of wolves before they were done loading the ship, but it wasn't much of a problem and hey, free hides. They made it back to Tourney and Stan stockpiled his share.

He checked a public map. There was usually frostwood on Island West-6 South-5, which was a long sail away. It was treated as a treasure, too, not a terrain feature you could sneak in and harvest right from shore. That meant doing some adventuring, and he wanted a party for that. He contacted Dominic and Alaya, another former partner.

Alaya sent, "You're out to saw logs again? I swear you're part beaver. I'm up for whatever though."

"Hey, it's a legitimate part of the game!"

In the background a song started up, something about how being a lumberjack was OK.

Dominic wrote, "Sounds fun, but I can't do it tonight."

Stan yawned. "Yeah, I'm working nights starting in two days." They arranged a late session for the weekend, including having Stan transport them while they caught some sleep. Heh; he was providing transport service.

He did two smithing odd jobs to earn money, made a few iron bits he'd need for his next ship, and was about to log out when he saw:

[Special Techniques: You've earned another talent! Make a selection.

-Mighty Oak (from Woodworking): Wooden objects you craft are 50% sturdier!

-Box of Scraps (from Smithing): Reduce smithing penalties for poor materials/equipment!

-Alloy Expert (from Smithing): Use exotic metal alloys' bonuses without penalties!

-Spellbinder (from Magic): Store spell effects on your allies!

Did you know: the Enchantment skill is used to apply magic to items.]

"No straightforward combat upgrades?"

[You don't seem to like them. Shall I start including them again?]

"Not at the expense of the cool stuff." He checked his stats. "Wait a minute; I don't have Pack Man anymore for the carrying capacity bonus?"

[You have it, but the linked Merchant skill is now #7 on your skill list.]

That felt like a step back! He now had Magic in his #5 slot from frequent use, and Sailing in #6, since he hadn't been doing much trading lately. "Is there way to refund upgrades I'm not using?"

[Not easily, but it can be done.]

He frowned. His official class was Craftsman, and he wasn't sure how much he wanted to continue being a trader rather than a maker. "You always make these things tough choices."

[Thanks!]

He'd rather have the power to work easily than to create the best possible equipment. What good would it do for his fellow adventurers to have one suit of super crystal armor when what they really needed was a dozen suits of iron? "Box of Scraps, please. And change my public note to... 'Smith For Hire'."

Now his stats read:

[Stan Cooper

PRIVATE INFO

Account type: Standard

Mind: Tier-III

Body: Element-Touched (Earth)

Main Skills: Smithing, Woodworking, Inspect, Hammer, Magic

Talents: Gadget Inspector, Box of Scraps, Pack Man (inactive)

Shamanic Magic 1: Growth, Metal, Create, Water. 2: Tailwind.

Save Point: Ship

PUBLIC INFO

Note: Smith for hire.

Class: Craftsman]

Which still raised the question of where to go from here, what to do with his powers. He tried out a little more smithing, making a custom carrot coin for Davis using conjured copper. It seemed not to matter, now, that he didn't have exactly the right tools. Stan nodded, returned to the boat, and logged out.

Back in reality he stretched and slept. There was a lot to do, to get ahead.