What to get to first? It should go without saying that any intelligence agencies or governments that could subvert the governments of an entire planet probably had the resources to notice and backtrack cyberattacks. To ensure that didn’t happen I’d need to be smart about it. That meant hacking into the networks from physical locations that didn’t lead back to me and also removing any evidence in my apartment of such surveillance as well and establishing security around the apartment that was coded to me only. That meant quantum entanglement. The only problem with the implementation of this plan would be that the only person that could walk around and allow my nanite field to create the microscopic cameras that I would need would have to physically walk around and that would take time. What was that saying “Smarter, not harder.”

I altered the mission I had a copy of Thor (Thor 2) doing for now and set him to map only. I needed to know how the network was set up. I also had Thor 2 look for a location that was out of the way and easily accessible with surveillance that I could hijack tonight. I had the Thor (Thor 1) in my Place of Power move into the base under my estate near Alamogordo in my Soul Space. I kept a portal open between that location and my Place of Power and set Thor 1 to monitor and see to the needs of Desirae, Abi, Amanda, and my soul space so I could hand off tasks to it. It would just be easier. Eventually, I would recombine Thor 1 and Thor 2 fully but for now, I needed both AIs running independently.

At about 3 a.m. Thor 2 found a location near a junction that connected to an underwater cable that had been placed across the pacific floor to Hawaii and then went on to the Far East. Instead of going all James Bond and infiltrating the location and getting to the server room in person, because it was technically on a Naval Installation, I cheated. From a workshop in my Base of Operations in my Soul Space, I hijacked the Camera’s and then opened a small portal I could work through. I also wanted to see if the limit to eight feet for my chaos counted from portals I opened from within my soul space and was pleasantly surprised when it did.

The portal I opened was at an exact 90 degrees to the orientation of the camera that looked over the area where the portal opened. If it could be seen at all it would appear like a dark line on the monitor of whoever was looking. Not that I was worried, I was already feeding a false image through the cameras there. I let my chaos permeate the room and found a few more security devices which I also subverted. One of them may have detected the portal but as nothing visible to the naked eye came through, whoever was watching would probably think it was a glitch of some kind. The anomaly on the screen was much too small for anyone to come through if they’d ever seen a portal before. I then let my chaos overlap the connection points, analyzed them at the molecular level, made the physical changes I needed, and added a few components that would be impossible to trace as well as a quantum entanglement transmitter, a backup, and then a third backup. I embedded my changes within the microcircuit boards.

For someone to detect the changes I was making they would have to physically tear the boards apart. Also, as luck would have it, there were military-grade communication channels and data networks for the US military going through these communication lines. This node served as a physical backup. I set up the same kind of physical access to those systems as well. When I was done I withdrew the chaos I’d let through the portal and closed it. From the moment I opened the portal until it closed had only taken four minutes. Most of that time had been analyzing the circuits and getting to know the programming that had been used. As I knew almost all the possible combinations of programming that were available on multiple Earths it wasn’t hard.

From my control room, I accessed the node and started copying the dataflows. Once I was sure the connection was stable I put Thor 2 back to work through that connection point, then opened a portal to my apartment in California next to the laptop and removed any evidence that changes had been made to it. Anyone checking it now would only find a normal laptop. Of course, I would know as soon as someone tried to do that. I was kind of expecting it, especially after the payment method was backtracked for my mom and dad. I had absolutely no record of having as much money as that card had a couple of days at least before that happened.

I let Thor 2 continue his work while Thor 1 kept me informed. Then I manifested a simple body into my place of power. I created a cup of hot coffee in my room then had Thor 1 connect to all cable and news outlets in California and had them available on the entertainment here. I sat down in my recliner, sipping my coffee as I waited for Desirae, Abi, and Amanda to wake up.

As the night went on Thor 2 mapped and spread through the internet and military networks all over the world. He also found more locations I could tap into the network from. After I talked to the ladies I’d have to head back over and handle setting those up myself.

News-wise, nothing of interest was going on. There were a couple of small stories about food riots in Africa and the Middle East but for the most part, those were suppressed. The military channels showed a different light on those problems as drought and a snafu in the supply chain had left tens of millions without drinkable water or food. I could do something about that but it would take magic and currently with the low ambient mana my mana regeneration rate, even with my Convergence ability was reduced to 25% normal. Which meant it would take me about 10 minutes to recover to my full mana again. Yeah, I still had to tackle the magic went away and then came back issue. I sure hoped it wasn’t a Syndicate-type situation. The gradual increase seemed to negate that idea. Though magic was coming back. I wondered what my regeneration rate would do to the surrounding area if it actually tried to pull in as much mana as I was able to and couldn’t. Would I create a dead zone of mana in the area I was in? One problem at a time. Right now I needed to find out what was going on in the background.

Desirae was the first to come downstairs, saw I was drinking coffee and watching television then said, “Thor if you don’t mind,” as a cup of coffee appeared in her hand and she took a sip.

“Rubbed off on you did I?” I asked.

“A little,” she said with a coy smile. “As did other things.” She said grinning”

“Point to you,” I said laughing.

“Why are you over here, I know you can do whatever you need to do from wherever you’re doing it?” she asked.

“True enough, I’m here because I may need your services soon.”

“How so?” she asked.

“Well, my ability to influence, without going into ‘Johnathan is a complete prick mode’ are kind of limited. One of my ideas is to neutralize the top players and create a power vacuum I can take advantage of.”

“You want me to kill them?”

“No! That would be wrong on so many levels. These people aren’t evil..”

“Evil exists everywhere Johnathan. Good only comes about because people chose to do good.”

“Where’d you hear that?” I asked.

“Some soap opera digest article I read. The idea kind of resonated with me.”

“Well, you’re not far off the mark, but I can’t just send them to another star system and take over the world as I did before,” I said.

“So, if you’re not going to kill them, what are you going to do “

“I’m thinking of bringing to the Earth in my Soul Space. In here I am effectively God, also I can take care of them until I’m ready to put them out in the soul space.”

“Won’t they immediately know something is different, especially if they’re abducted?”

“No that’s where you come in. I’ll give you targets and you’ll snatch and grab them and we’ll set them up in exactly the same area as they left.”

“Will you be able to create and control that many variables with fake people they know from their everyday life? That is what you’re planning to do right?” she asked.

“Yeah,”

“Bad Idea unless you can transport an entire city into your soul space, and place it on your planet?”

“Do you mean like just pick up a city and bring it across?”

“I don’t know, maybe. You did say you’re effectively a God in your Soul Space right?” Desirae asked.

“You know Desirae I like these chats we have, I may be smart but damn that idea is brilliant?” I said as an Idea based on what she’d just said culminated in my mind.

“We’ll see, won’t we?” Desirae asked.

I finished my coffee in a gulp, allowed the cup to be broken down then teleported back into my Base of Operations. My default was to rely on technology to solve my problems. Why not use magic instead? Instead of waiting for Thor 2 to finish mapping the networks of the world, I would just know the world. I focused my intent and cast a spell that wiped out 30% of my mana. In an instant, I knew everything there was to know about this Planet Earth, and how it was made up as well as every artificial structure it contained including magical constructs and even Dungeon entrances and the creatures that had manifested in the debts of the oceans. I also had a very good understanding of the power that the Chinese had over everyone and the names of the seven individuals that controlled that power from China.

This was going to be easier than I’d thought. All the power came from four men and three women; Li Muchen, Sun Mingze, Tang Muyang, Quian Hoaran Pan Ruoxi, Zeng Yihan, and Sheng Xinyi. They’d even adopted English nicknames for ease of interacting with Americans. The men were Chen, Ming, Yang, and Orin. The women n were Roe, Yi, and Sin. The women were outnumbered by the men but they were far more intuitive and intelligent than their male counterparts, they’d have to be and that might make things a little easier.

I uploaded the updated information I’d just received into Thor 2, bypassed all security protocols everywhere, and expanded my network to include the whole world. I could have done this from the start, why hadn’t I? Because I didn’t want to be a domineering asshole. If everything went right I still wouldn’t be, That’s what I had these seven four.

It was almost 6 a.m. on the West Coast, so it would be 9 p.m. in China. I had two hours. I morphed everywhere on the Earth in my Soul Space into a copy of the Earth I’d just come to know, except for my estate and Base of Operation. Then I teleported into the copy of the Board Chamber Li Muchen had made in his 3,000 Acre Estate in the middle of China. Not one to wait, I focused my intent and teleported all seven Chinese leaders into the room behind their seats at the crescent-shaped table I’d created which I stood facing

As they appeared, each looked down at themselves and realized they were in whatever attire they’d been in, As Sheng Xinyi had been about to take a bath she was in a silk robe. The others were all fully dressed, though Yang and Ming were both in exercise outfits and looked to have been sweating profusely.

I was slightly impressed when Qian Haoran, Orin, made a gesture with his right hand and a bolt of death magic launched at me. I raised my right hand and caught the magical bolt and snuffed it out of existence as I activated true sight and noticed that all seven were covered in layers of magical protection. Nothing that could prevent me from doing whatever I wanted but they were at least skilled in the arts. It also, explained why I was looking at individuals that appeared to be no older than 40 yet all felt to be well over 100. Someone was teaching magic somewhere.

With a wave of my hand, I bypassed all of their protections, cleaned them up, and put them in their business attire and I spoke in perfect Mandarin, “Please sit, we have much to discuss”

“What is the meaning of this outrage?” Tang Muyang declared as all seven stood behind their chairs not moving.

“Shock and Awe it is then,” I said as I had the walls and ceilings evaporate around us, and the room we were in rocketed upwards and away from the Earth into my artificial solar system. I kept the room we were in pleasantly covered in a breathable atmosphere and at normal gravity as we moved all the way out to the orbit of the Moon in seconds and came to land on the surface at the bottom of the Tycho crater.

“Fool, you have doomed us all,” Sun Mingze declared.

“So there are others already interested in Earth, I wonder who they are this time. Not to worry, I’ll find out soon enough,” I said jovially. I looked at each of them and noted that they still hadn’t moved and were clinging to the back of their chairs for dear life. I waved and a cup of hot tea materialize before them. “Please sit, know that you are safer hear than you could be anywhere else and that I will return you to your homes shortly.”

“How can we trust the word of a Gweilo,” Li Muchen asked snidely

“You can trust my word, asshole! because I gave it. If I wanted to atomize you, I could do so with a thought. Then, I’d bring you back and do it again. I do not take insults well, nor will I tolerate them.”

“What can you do, by bringing us here you have already shown a weakness that you need us.” Li Muchen started until he was cut off.

“I NEED NOTHING!” Boomed from the air around everyone as my manifest form didn’t move and an exact copy of LI Muchen materialized beside me out of Chaos.

Looking over the crowd my copy of Li Muchen spoke in his voice with his accent perfectly as I’d copied Li Muchen down to the atom and was simply controlling him, “I need nothing from any of you. I would prefer to work through you and allow you to retain some of your prestige and honor, for the empire you have created is grand and the population of Earth has not suffered horribly under you but as you know times are changing as magic once again returns to Earth. I can make puppet copies of you while I allow you to live out your lives there,” the copy of Li Muchen said as he pointed to Earth above the horizon” or we can talk, without insult and I can help you move the populations of Earth into the new age. Make no mistake, I can do it alone but I would much prefer cooperation than absolute control.” The copy of Li Muchen said. When he finished he evaporated.

I looked them over, noted now the telltale signs of fear in their eyes proceeded, “The Earth you see in the sky over there, that is not the Earth you know. That is my Earth. In this place I control everything. I can adjust and maintain it however I wish. If you chose not to work with me, I will return you to an exact copy of your holdings and you will be able to live out your lives normally with the unfortunate truth that the only individuals you’ll have contact with for a while will be everyone here,” I said pausing as Sheng Xinyi moved.

Sheng Xinyi moved around her seat and sat, lifting the tea and taking a sip as she said, “It took a moment but I recognize you Johnathan Bennard. We had been watching you because you showed extreme intelligence. We were worried that you might prove a problem. However, you fell into line just like all the other Americans and took the easy road to obscurity. Yet, unless I am dreaming, this is not possible.”

I produced a copy of her cell phone before her and opened a very small portal near the ceiling of the room she’d teleported out of as I said, “Please, call your people, verify for yourself where Johnathan Bennard is.”

Sheng Xinyi picked up the phone, hit the emergency call combination built into her phone, and then made the call to her security people. As the seven of us listened to her I had a monitor rise out of the moon’s surface behind me showing the scene from the camera viewing her room where I’d opened the portal. While we listened to her verify that Johnathan Bennard was at work performing his duties as normal, two men in full military-grade combat gear entered the room and swept it. So intent on her conversation that she hadn’t noticed the monitor, Sheng Xinyi continued to talk with her security people trying to keep up the ruse, for a full five minutes until the screen showed 20 more people entering the room and searching for her. All were armed and looking for someone or something.

“Sheng Xinyi,” I said as I pointed to the monitor behind me.

She looked up from her phone, saw the monitor behind me, nodded, then closed the phone which I broke down. “Am I to be punished for calling for help?” she asked.

“No, I wanted all of you to see that you truly are not on Earth anymore. Also, I am not Johnathan Bennard. At least not the Johnathan Bennard from your Earth. I may have had that name once but it is no longer the name I go by. Please call me Adam, or if you insist on being formal Adamantadine.”

“What are you?” Pan Ruoxi asked.

“I was a man, thrust into impossible circumstances that resulted in the situation we find ourselves in today. Did each of you have vivid bad dreams last night?” I asked.

All seven gave a curt nod. “I will provide a very short explanation of what occurred and where we find ourselves now and where we will go from here. Before we do that I have two questions. First, who, or what is on the real moon? Second, What caused magic to come back into the world?”

Sun Mingze answered first, “The simple answer to your questions about the moon is that we do not know who or what is on the moon. We only know that they are aliens and they are there. We were contacted, in Chinese, 30 years ago and told to prevent all missions to the moon.”

“Fair enough, I’m guessing a show of power was given?”

“Yes, an asteroid that had been in a stable orbit, suddenly changed course and traveled into Jupiter. They informed us where to look, what to watch for and why. We detected no collisions, the asteroid just suddenly shot off in a trajectory that six months later had it slamming into Jupiter.” Qian Haoran said.

“Thank you for the information,” I said as I waved my hand and a folder appeared next to every seat. “Please sit down, enjoy your tea and read the file. It will explain why you had the bad dreams and why I am not the Johnathan Bennard you think I am. While it will not give away all my secrets I will inform you now that I am versed in every single school of magic. Also, whatever my skills couldn’t match, my level and attributes could more than makeup for it. If one of you would like to spar in non-lethal combat to test this claim I am more than willing to demonstrate. Here I can heal any wound and easily bring any of you, or myself, back if there was an ‘accident’.”

“Are you a God?”

“I have met Divines, but no, I do not consider myself one of them. Please sit, and read, if you are hungry please let me know and I will provide refreshments, anything you desire, I can create.”

Zeng Yihan replied, “I would like a bowl of soup that my mother used to make for me when I was a child, that recipe is lost time, can you provide that?”

Testing my claim, sneaky. I searched through her memories until I found the appropriate ones, watched her mother prepare the soup, retrieved the flavor and smell from her memory, and then had chaos bring the bowl into existence in front of her.

“I, I don’t believe it.” Zen Yihan said.

“If you have the memory, I can create it here.

She took a cautious sip, then smiled. I received six other requests, created their meals, and then left them to read as they ate. I teleported back to my Base of Operation to check in on the ruckus their disappearances were causing.

While they were reading and eating I focused my intent again and used a majority of my magic to conjure food and water supplies near every starving person on planet Earth. No subtlety, it was just suddenly there. Enough for everyone to survive for another seven days. That took almost 90% of my mana. While I rested for the six minutes it took my mana to regenerate, I watched as my seven guests read the files I provided. The next part was going to be tricky.