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So tell me about this expansion.” Caelus crossed his arms and put his feet on the table. Herta ignored him.
“We’re calling it Path Life,” she said. “Don’t ask me why. Stephen decided to make it even more of a game then that past few iterations.”
“Ooooh that sounds fun.” Caelus rubbed his hands together. “And you said it was multiplayer?”
“In a sense,” Screwllum responded. “We are utilizing similar features as the Amphoreus project, but on a reduced scale. In order for it to work, we will have multiple users in the simulation at once.”
“The idea is to resonate with paths and attract the gaze of different Aeons,” Herta explained. “I found the way you managed to get Fuli’s attention very intriguing. So we’re going to try something similar here.”
“We will be sending 14 pathstriders from all different backgrounds,” Explained Screwllum. “It will be a full life simulation. They will live, they will survive, they will face trials, and they will die.”
“Stephen was really insistent on a battle royale format,” Herta interrupted. “I’ve almost given up on trying to get him to take this seriously.”
“As the pathstriders conquer one another,” Screwllum continued, “the energy surrounding their respective paths will multiply exponentially. If all goes accordingly, the final remaining participant will pull the gaze of an Aeon, and we will be able to harvest the data from the gaze for further research.”
“The gazes will be different from what you’ve experienced in the previous sims,” Herta explained. “These will be stronger, and more tangible. They’ll likely be weakened compared to a proper gaze, but in comparison to what we’ve done in the past, we will be more in touch with the real Aeons.”
“And,” Screwllum continued, “The pathstriders will not be disguised as anything. They will be playing as themselves, living their respective paths to their full capacity.”
Caelus was grinning from ear to ear.
“Oh my god this sounds so freaking cool! So, when do I start?”
“About that,” Herta frowned. “You won’t be one of the participants in this simulation.”
Caelus’s face fell.
“Oh.”
“The Stellaron isn’t going to help us in this situation,” Herta explained. Not that she felt bad for upsetting him. Rather, she was annoyed with him for not understanding already. “And your muddled past will make things difficult for us as well. We need the pathstriders to have as pure of intentions as possible, and your lost memories may jeopardize that.”
“Then… why did you call me here?” Caelus scratched his head.
“Correction: We did not call you here,” Screwllum said. “You showed up saying ‘What is up robo-nerds, let’s get this party started.’”
Caelus smirked at Screwllum quoting him in such an even tone.
“It sounded cooler when I said it.”
Herta rolled her eyes.
“Whatever,” she said. “But since you’re here, could you fetch that one passenger?”
“Uh… which one? There are a few of us.”
“The new one. The guy with no tragic backstory who just wants to see the universe or whatever.”
“Oh, Impulse? Uh yeah sure I can get him. I’ll have to get Pom-Pom to—”
“I don’t care,” Herta interrupted. “Just get him here.”
“I always did have a love for the Trailblaze,” Impulse smiled. Herta wasn’t listening, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I was always trying to keep tabs on the Astral Express’ latest adventures, you see. I even ran a fanpage for a while, but then I realized that I didn’t really have anything in common with their other fans. Everyone else is so obsessed with the members, but I just wanted to get out there, you know?”
Screwllum nodded, kindly.
“Anyway, I’m really glad they let me come with them. I mean, I knew I had to as soon as they showed up on my world. I thought for sure they would pass by when I was able to calculate their trajectory. But they didn’t!”
“What do you mean calculate their trajectory?” Screwllum asked. His gears whirred.
“Well, maybe that’s not the best way to put it. I use reported space anchor locations and their departure and arrival dates. I’m able to estimate the distance they’ll most likely be able to travel by keeping up with local news from where they’re at. Once I get a rough estimate I’m able to speculate on some of the places they might end up visiting. Usually, that means any planets that don’t have space anchors, or if they do have them, ones that the Express hasn’t been on with anyone in the current crew. Sometimes they go back to places they’ve been, but they don’t always use the train for that. That’s what the anchors are for, you know?”
Herta’s interest was piqued, though she would never admit it.
“You… this is something you do regularly?”
“I mean it’s more of a hobby I guess. Like I said, I’ve always been a fan of the Trailblaze. Since it’s kind of hard to practice when you don’t leave the planet, this was the next best thing. And learning about all the different places they go is pretty cool. I’ve been having fun working with Dan Heng in the data bank lately.”
“Well, we appreciate you sharing your background,” Screwllum replied. “Based on what you have shared, we believe you would be a very strong fit for this project.”
“Really?!” Impulse’s eyes lit up. “I mean… that’s really exciting, I haven’t really gotten to go on a proper trailblazing expedition. Well there was that one but… nevermind. This is going to be so cool!”