1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:06,820 Speaker 1: Fractality, Chapter One, Splitter. Outside Ravencliff 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:08,820 Speaker 1: Hospital, Layer Zero. 3 00:00:20,940 --> 00:00:25,180 Speaker 1: Faize looked up at the looming abandoned hospital and knew it would be the perfect 4 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: playground. He'd seen it in the distance from the back of a truck a few weeks ago 5 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:34,940 Speaker 1: doing mun work. He'd spent the day with a dozen muns clearing a field that had been 6 00:00:34,980 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: covered in debris so some idiot could try and grow something there. Good luck with 7 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:45,020 Speaker 1: that. It was basically a perfect waste of a day, at least until he'd seen this 8 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: place peeking out over the trees like a concrete corpse. He'd thought about sneaking 9 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: away from the muns and the overseer to get a look, but that was stupid. 10 00:00:55,220 --> 00:01:00,500 Speaker 1: Didn't matter because now he was here. He pulled at the chain link fence in front of 11 00:01:00,540 --> 00:01:05,900 Speaker 1: him, brand new. He pressed his face to the links and looked at the courtyard before 12 00:01:05,940 --> 00:01:11,540 Speaker 1: the building. Trash blew around in the overgrown garden area. The 13 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:16,580 Speaker 1: concrete walkway was cracked, letting plants as big as saplings grow through. He 14 00:01:16,620 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: started climbing the fence. "Stop!" The girl behind him walked up to the fence 15 00:01:22,660 --> 00:01:26,900 Speaker 1: and after fishing a tool out of her pocket, started snipping away at the fence 16 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: instead. "Splitters, always thinking with your feet" "You mean 17 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: thinking on our feet" "No, I don't" Faize hopped off the 18 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: fence, landing lightly on the ground, and watched Ambrosia work. 19 00:01:45,100 --> 00:01:48,860 Speaker 1: Faize took the opportunity to swipe a protein bar that was peeking out of her pack. 20 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:54,340 Speaker 1: "Mm, that's good. You can stop. I want it to look like no one came through." 21 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: Amber looked at the tiny door she'd cut in the chain link fence skeptically, perhaps 22 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:06,460 Speaker 1: measuring it against herself in her mind. "You're eating now?" "Yeah. Why? 23 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:08,699 Speaker 1: It's always a good time to eat." 24 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: Faize shoved the rest of the protein bar into his mouth, then got down on all fours 25 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: to push through the little door she'd made. When he was through, he stood up and 26 00:02:18,380 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: started walking. "Wait! That sign says mines." He 27 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:29,500 Speaker 1: paused and briefly stopped chewing, looking down at his feet. 28 00:02:30,700 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: Then he kept walking until he reached the front doors, or where the front doors used 29 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: to be anyway. "Guess there's no mines." Mines were expensive. 30 00:02:41,980 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: Plus, he realized after the fact that the overgrown grass hadn't been disturbed at 31 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: all. If the fence was new and someone was laying mines, it would be muns, 32 00:02:52,580 --> 00:02:56,260 Speaker 1: and muns were lazy. Lazy work leaves clues. 33 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:03,540 Speaker 1: Ambrosia pushed through the little chain link flap with effort. When her pack caught 34 00:03:03,580 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: the second time, Faize walked over to help pull her through. She already looked 35 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:14,660 Speaker 1: tired. "You came back?" In reply, Faize tried to swipe another 36 00:03:14,700 --> 00:03:20,300 Speaker 1: protein bar. She snipped at him with the wire cutters, and he backed off. [laughs] 37 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:25,540 Speaker 1: Faize motioned for her to follow. Despite his apparent carelessness, he was actually 38 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: careful to follow the same path back through the grass just in case there actually 39 00:03:30,020 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: were mines. "Ready to get rich?" Amber rolled her eyes, but 40 00:03:36,060 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: she was smiling too. Of course she was. This was her playground too. 41 00:03:44,780 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: Amber and Faize walked around the abandoned hospital for a few minutes, scoping out 42 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: the place for security, signs of other splitters. To Faize, everything about the 43 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,340 Speaker 1: place said it was untouched. "You ready?" 44 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:04,820 Speaker 1: He could hear the nerves in her voice. He looked around, spinning slowly. The 45 00:04:04,860 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: hospital atrium had grimy concrete walls that climbed to a high ceiling where glass 46 00:04:10,180 --> 00:04:15,380 Speaker 1: plates once formed a dome. Now only a rusting metal skeleton hung here, 47 00:04:15,860 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 1: threatening to fall at any moment. Sitting furniture lay in dusty ruins about the 48 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:26,860 Speaker 1: room. "Yeah, this is the place." Choosing the place for 49 00:04:26,900 --> 00:04:31,700 Speaker 1: the first rift was more art than science. It had downstream effects on the shape of 50 00:04:31,740 --> 00:04:35,280 Speaker 1: the fractality he would enter. "Give me a sec to set up." 51 00:04:36,820 --> 00:04:41,420 Speaker 1: Amber sat down cross-legged on the floor and started pulling out gear from her pack. 52 00:04:42,060 --> 00:04:47,020 Speaker 1: Her nervousness seemed to melt away as she silently set up the equipment. She fixed 53 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,940 Speaker 1: two crystals to their tripod stands and attached various wires to them. Then she 54 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:57,220 Speaker 1: attached more equipment that Faize couldn't identify. Everything ran back to her 55 00:04:57,280 --> 00:05:03,060 Speaker 1: laptop in an indecipherable tangle of cables. "Approximating the seed now. 56 00:05:03,940 --> 00:05:07,020 Speaker 1: It'll be more accurate if you'd rather stay the night here first, though" 57 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: Faize was looking at a dark stain that ran down the wall in front of him. It looked 58 00:05:14,180 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: like rust. Yeah, definitely rust. "No, 59 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: thanks. Good is good enough" "If you say so." She 60 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:31,100 Speaker 1: tapped away at the keys of her laptop, then looked up at him expectantly. " 61 00:05:31,100 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 1: [clears throat] It's time" She nodded. 62 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:42,620 Speaker 1: [exhales] Now it was his turn to be nervous. 63 00:05:43,900 --> 00:05:48,420 Speaker 1: You could free run anywhere, but you only came to a place like this for one reason: 64 00:05:49,300 --> 00:05:55,220 Speaker 1: shard runs, the Mack Daddy, real splitter work. He closed his 65 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:59,420 Speaker 1: eyes and reached out in front of him, feeling around in the air, feeling for the 66 00:05:59,460 --> 00:06:05,340 Speaker 1: place that felt right When he found it, he pulled. There was a tension there, 67 00:06:05,700 --> 00:06:11,160 Speaker 1: not quite physical. He kept pulling until he felt reality itself tear. 68 00:06:12,380 --> 00:06:17,140 Speaker 1: Some splitters treated that moment with reverence, the moment when entire universes 69 00:06:17,180 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: were created in a simple motion. All Faize could think about was shards, shards 70 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:28,580 Speaker 1: and money, because money was power, and if you had enough, you could disappear. He 71 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,740 Speaker 1: could disappear, stop doing mund work, be a real splitter. 72 00:06:34,260 --> 00:06:38,620 Speaker 1: When he opened his eyes, he saw the rift in the fractality beyond. It was a 73 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:43,420 Speaker 1: shimmering line in the air, just wide enough for him to squeeze through. He could 74 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 1: just make out the world through the rift. It was like looking through shallow water 75 00:06:48,380 --> 00:06:54,280 Speaker 1: at just another room in the hospital. "Looks stable." Ambrosia smiled 76 00:06:54,340 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: innocently and shrugged. "If you say so." 77 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:04,420 Speaker 1: Faize took another deep breath, then slipped through before he could lose his nerve. 78 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:10,660 Speaker 1: He felt the shift as a cool wave that ran through his body. There was a brief moment 79 00:07:10,700 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: when everything sounded muffled, but then he was through. The shift disoriented him 80 00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: for a moment, and he quickly fell to a crouch, letting the nausea subside. He shook 81 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: off the dizziness and stood. He was standing in a patient room, but a patient room 82 00:07:26,380 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: that had never seen patients. It had never seen anyone. If he believed what the 83 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:35,420 Speaker 1: collective priests said, it hadn't even existed until he'd created it just now. 84 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: He fished the wired earpiece out of his pocket and turned his body cam on. 85 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: [electronic beeping] "Got all your fingers?" He adjusted his earpiece. "Seems 86 00:07:46,500 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: like. I've got eight fingers, right?" "Good enough." 87 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:58,460 Speaker 1: "On each hand, I mean." "Let me see." Faize moved his hands in front of the 88 00:07:58,500 --> 00:08:02,220 Speaker 1: body cam pinned to his chest. "Connection's loose. Can you fix it?" 89 00:08:03,860 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: He pulled the other end of the camera's wire out of his pants pocket. The little 90 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:11,779 Speaker 1: white crystal that was supposed to be attached to the other end was loose. He 91 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:15,900 Speaker 1: tightened the nut around the connection and put it back in his pocket. "How's that?" 92 00:08:17,060 --> 00:08:22,700 Speaker 1: He put just his middle finger in front of the body cam. "Oh, no, it's worse than we 93 00:08:22,740 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: thought. There's only one left." "Only one I need." "So you gonna get to 94 00:08:28,660 --> 00:08:33,820 Speaker 1: work, or are you just gonna wait around until the slicers get you?" "Yeah, yeah, let 95 00:08:33,860 --> 00:08:37,300 Speaker 1: me get my bearings." Faize closed his eyes again. 96 00:08:40,060 --> 00:08:45,220 Speaker 1: He always located better with his eyes closed. There were two tugs on reality here, 97 00:08:45,700 --> 00:08:50,500 Speaker 1: like weights sagging into a soft mattress. He could feel roughly where they were in 98 00:08:50,540 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: relation to him. One small, softball-sized, definitely worth something. 99 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: One big. Not big, big, but pretty big. Bowling ball-sized. 100 00:09:03,260 --> 00:09:09,060 Speaker 1: Payday-sized. Not never-work-again payday, but maybe big enough to take a 101 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:14,980 Speaker 1: few years off. Time enough to build a crew. "There's two 102 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:19,780 Speaker 1: shards here. One small, one pretty big. Big one's in deep, though. I'm gonna check 103 00:09:19,820 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: out the little one first, 'cause it's on the way." 104 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:26,440 Speaker 1: He started in what felt like the right direction. 105 00:09:27,980 --> 00:09:33,140 Speaker 1: "Okay, be smart. I don't get paid if you don't come back." "I hear you." 106 00:09:34,380 --> 00:09:38,780 Speaker 1: Faize looked back at the rift, knowing it would still be there, but finding an ounce 107 00:09:38,820 --> 00:09:43,860 Speaker 1: of relief in seeing it again, as if it might disappear if he were away for too long. 108 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:45,100 Speaker 1: It wouldn't. 109 00:09:46,700 --> 00:09:51,960 Speaker 1: It would be stable as long as he was inside the Fractality to stabilize it. With the 110 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:57,300 Speaker 1: thrill of a fresh run in his heart, he took one last look at the easy way out. Then 111 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,420 Speaker 1: he turned away and started running. 112 00:10:12,700 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: Faize vaulted over a rusty file cabinet, belatedly hoping his hands wouldn't sink 113 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 1: through the flimsy metal. It didn't, and he kept running. He jogged through a series 114 00:10:22,660 --> 00:10:27,900 Speaker 1: of offices connected by closet-sized hallways. The furniture was dilapidated, as the 115 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 1: furniture in the source building had been. Pictures of people that didn't exist hung 116 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: on the walls. There were dozens of them. Portraits of people with still-gleaming 117 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: brass nameplates beneath them. He slowed only slightly to read some of the names. 118 00:10:44,540 --> 00:10:50,220 Speaker 1: Frantilda Mossmer, a wrinkly woman with a too-long neck that peered over thin 119 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:55,820 Speaker 1: glasses at him. Another plate beneath the name read, "Employee of the Year." 120 00:10:56,860 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 1: Great job, Frantilda. 121 00:10:59,740 --> 00:11:04,700 Speaker 1: The next picture was a man with pale skin and very sunken eyes. Faize looked away 122 00:11:04,780 --> 00:11:09,500 Speaker 1: after only a moment. Something about the gaze of its beady eyes made his skin crawl. 123 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:16,680 Speaker 1: The nameplate read, "Birkus Yarfned, Tool Man". Faize smiled to 124 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:17,240 Speaker 1: himself. 125 00:11:18,940 --> 00:11:21,260 Speaker 1: Tough luck, Birkus. There's always next year. 126 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:28,420 Speaker 1: He picked up the pace to make up for his sightseeing. It was hard not to want to 127 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: stop, even on a shard run. No one else had ever seen this place, and if he did his 128 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: job right today, no one would ever see it again. Eh, not great news for Birkus, 129 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:44,300 Speaker 1: actually. His hopes of ever making Employee of the Year would be dashed. 130 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 1: After a long string of offices, he came to his first real obstacle, a set of 131 00:11:50,700 --> 00:11:55,460 Speaker 1: concrete stairs that rose to the ceiling, leaving only a tiny gap into a room above. 132 00:11:56,180 --> 00:12:00,540 Speaker 1: Faize climbed up the stairs and shoved his head through the gap. There was a hallway 133 00:12:00,580 --> 00:12:04,940 Speaker 1: beyond, but the gap was too narrow to squeeze through. Well, no one said it would be 134 00:12:05,020 --> 00:12:05,340 Speaker 1: easy. 135 00:12:07,488 --> 00:12:08,048 Speaker 1: You see this? 136 00:12:08,988 --> 00:12:13,608 Speaker 2: Already working on another route. I've been watching. Seed looks good. If you're 137 00:12:13,648 --> 00:12:17,768 Speaker 2: going for that first shard, I think I've got a decent map there. The second one, 138 00:12:17,828 --> 00:12:18,108 Speaker 2: though... 139 00:12:19,608 --> 00:12:25,308 Speaker 1: One thing at a time. He wanted that second shard, though. There was no way he was 140 00:12:25,348 --> 00:12:29,988 Speaker 1: pulling the plug at the first shard. Given more data and more time, Ambrosia's 141 00:12:30,068 --> 00:12:32,488 Speaker 1: algorithms would draw some more accurate maps. 142 00:12:34,108 --> 00:12:39,968 Speaker 2: Right. Okay. If you go back about 40 yards, you'll see a door. It leads to a 143 00:12:40,028 --> 00:12:42,888 Speaker 2: bathroom, which leads to another bathroom. 144 00:12:44,228 --> 00:12:46,768 Speaker 1: Hmm. Which leads to another bathroom? 145 00:12:47,688 --> 00:12:48,908 Speaker 2: You got it. Get moving. 146 00:12:49,968 --> 00:12:55,548 Speaker 1: But he was already moving. He was always moving. Never quite frantic, but never 147 00:12:55,608 --> 00:13:01,608 Speaker 1: quite comfortable either. He moved with urgency. Whether he realized it or not, a 148 00:13:01,688 --> 00:13:06,788 Speaker 1: silent clock was always ticking down inside a fractality. The slicers couldn't open 149 00:13:06,828 --> 00:13:11,307 Speaker 1: their own fractalities, but they would gladly enter his. When he stepped through 150 00:13:11,368 --> 00:13:15,948 Speaker 1: that rift, he rang the dinner bell. If he stayed too long, they would find him 151 00:13:15,988 --> 00:13:21,488 Speaker 1: before he pulled the shard. That encounter only ended one way: another dead 152 00:13:21,588 --> 00:13:22,108 Speaker 1: splitter. 153 00:13:34,008 --> 00:13:39,968 Speaker 1: Chapter Two: Momentum. Raven Cliff Hospital Fractality, Layer 154 00:13:40,308 --> 00:13:40,368 Speaker 1: 1. 155 00:13:42,888 --> 00:13:46,888 Speaker 1: Phase slid under a support pillar that grew from one wall to another, almost 156 00:13:46,908 --> 00:13:51,728 Speaker 1: horizontal. He vaulted a rusty hospital bed frame. He heard it clatter to pieces 157 00:13:51,768 --> 00:13:56,608 Speaker 1: behind him as he passed. The hallway ahead of him stretched far into the distance. 158 00:13:57,368 --> 00:14:01,668 Speaker 1: There was enough scattered furniture to make it difficult to see how far, but it 159 00:14:01,708 --> 00:14:07,208 Speaker 1: went far enough to give him vertigo. It went straight for a mile, maybe more. He'd 160 00:14:07,248 --> 00:14:11,388 Speaker 1: been running down it for a good 10 minutes already. The fractality was starting to 161 00:14:11,428 --> 00:14:16,648 Speaker 1: diverge from its source. Good. That meant things were about to get interesting. 162 00:14:17,688 --> 00:14:22,548 Speaker 1: Seeing no immediate obstacles, he slowed to a walk and closed his eyes to sense. He 163 00:14:22,588 --> 00:14:25,168 Speaker 1: felt a strong tug on his soul nearby. 164 00:14:27,028 --> 00:14:27,568 Speaker 1: I'm close. 165 00:14:28,528 --> 00:14:30,648 Speaker 2: Okay. I'll keep comms quiet just in case. 166 00:14:31,848 --> 00:14:34,308 Speaker 1: Just in case there was something else nearby. 167 00:14:36,608 --> 00:14:40,368 Speaker 1: The comm shards in his pocket were quiet, but they weren't silent. They had 168 00:14:40,408 --> 00:14:44,628 Speaker 1: potentials of their own. Since they didn't belong to this fractality, they would be 169 00:14:44,728 --> 00:14:49,808 Speaker 1: much quieter than the native shards he was hunting. Still, using the shards to 170 00:14:49,848 --> 00:14:55,328 Speaker 1: communicate made him louder. He considered turning his body cam off to go quiet, at 171 00:14:55,368 --> 00:15:00,028 Speaker 1: least as quiet as he could anyway, but decided against it. The nearby shard would 172 00:15:00,068 --> 00:15:01,028 Speaker 1: mask him a little bit. 173 00:15:05,088 --> 00:15:09,728 Speaker 1: Phase stepped into the adjacent room, happy to be out of that endless hallway. There 174 00:15:09,768 --> 00:15:15,048 Speaker 1: was definitely something here. It was an ambient tinkling sound, like wind chimes 175 00:15:15,088 --> 00:15:16,508 Speaker 1: blowing in a faint breeze. 176 00:15:18,568 --> 00:15:24,048 Speaker 1: Jackpot. Phase walked past a row of desks with chairs so small that they surely 177 00:15:24,088 --> 00:15:28,608 Speaker 1: would have collapsed if anyone sat in them. In the room beyond, he saw a soft white 178 00:15:28,668 --> 00:15:33,868 Speaker 1: light pulsing rhythmically. The sound of chimes grew louder. He stepped into the 179 00:15:33,928 --> 00:15:39,728 Speaker 1: room. Hanging in the center of the room, frozen in midair, was the shard, a bright 180 00:15:39,768 --> 00:15:43,928 Speaker 1: white crystal about the size of his pinky, like its own little rift in space. 181 00:15:46,168 --> 00:15:49,068 Speaker 1: You seeing this? Looks like a comm shard, maybe. 182 00:15:50,128 --> 00:15:52,628 Speaker 2: Yeah. You gonna pull it? Easy money. 183 00:15:54,148 --> 00:15:59,628 Speaker 1: Ambrosia was right. It was easy money. He knew a splitter could make careers pulling 184 00:15:59,668 --> 00:16:04,608 Speaker 1: shards like this and never do a day of mun work. It was the reliable path to 185 00:16:04,668 --> 00:16:08,948 Speaker 1: freedom, the path that most splitters took. Grab the first shard you could find, 186 00:16:08,988 --> 00:16:14,588 Speaker 1: then get out. But you'd never be a legend that way. You'd always be just a step 187 00:16:14,648 --> 00:16:20,208 Speaker 1: above the muns. There was no real freedom there. A gilded cage was still a cage. 188 00:16:22,088 --> 00:16:26,468 Speaker 1: Fuse had tried to become a legend that way, too. He pushed the thought away. 189 00:16:27,388 --> 00:16:33,348 Speaker 1: Besides, his sister was a legend. She'd accomplished that much. And who was 190 00:16:33,408 --> 00:16:33,708 Speaker 1: he? 191 00:16:35,328 --> 00:16:38,428 Speaker 1: Nah, I'm gonna push for the second one. I made good time getting here. 192 00:16:40,208 --> 00:16:40,668 Speaker 2: Phase... 193 00:16:43,368 --> 00:16:47,968 Speaker 1: I'll be careful. First sign of trouble, I'll double back here or head straight back 194 00:16:48,008 --> 00:16:48,548 Speaker 1: to the rift. 195 00:16:50,868 --> 00:16:51,428 Speaker 2: You promise? 196 00:16:52,428 --> 00:16:52,968 Speaker 1: Promise. 197 00:16:54,308 --> 00:16:56,008 Speaker 2: Fine. Where is this other shard? 198 00:16:57,528 --> 00:17:01,688 Speaker 1: Phase closed his eyes and with deliberate effort ignored the pull of the smaller 199 00:17:01,748 --> 00:17:06,928 Speaker 1: shard near him. He could feel the bigger one farther out. He opened his eyes and 200 00:17:07,008 --> 00:17:11,368 Speaker 1: pointed at a wall. About half a mile that way, maybe a little more. 201 00:17:13,228 --> 00:17:16,448 Speaker 2: Hmm. Give me a sec to find a path. [keyboard clicking] Seed's gonna start diverging 202 00:17:16,488 --> 00:17:21,148 Speaker 2: that far out. I'm gonna try Script Kid's algo instead. He talked it up for these 203 00:17:21,268 --> 00:17:22,668 Speaker 2: low-layer distant shards. 204 00:17:24,248 --> 00:17:29,428 Speaker 1: She said something else, but he wasn't listening anymore. Something else about this 205 00:17:29,468 --> 00:17:34,308 Speaker 1: room nagged at him. Phase scanned the room until he found it, a mark on the 206 00:17:34,368 --> 00:17:39,888 Speaker 1: doorframe, the only other exit from this room. He stepped closer to examine. It 207 00:17:39,928 --> 00:17:44,468 Speaker 1: wasn't obvious. If he'd been running, he probably would have missed it. A gash in 208 00:17:44,488 --> 00:17:49,668 Speaker 1: the steel doorframe, almost a half-inch deep. He stepped into the hallway beyond the 209 00:17:49,728 --> 00:17:54,988 Speaker 1: door. There were faint scratches along the wall trailing up to the ceiling. They led 210 00:17:55,028 --> 00:17:58,308 Speaker 1: away from him, exactly in the direction he was going. 211 00:17:59,528 --> 00:18:03,688 Speaker 2: I've got a route. I'll get you close, but the last part will be on you. You still 212 00:18:03,728 --> 00:18:04,328 Speaker 2: wanna do this? 213 00:18:06,848 --> 00:18:12,380 Speaker 1: Phase was silent... He felt pulled back, a desire to honor his promise to 214 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:18,440 Speaker 1: Ambrosia and just take this easy shard. He felt pulled forward by the promise of 215 00:18:18,500 --> 00:18:23,680 Speaker 1: a real treasure. The second pull was stronger for now. 216 00:18:25,180 --> 00:18:27,060 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm in. 217 00:18:37,380 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 1: The Fractality diverged from Ravencliff Hospital with each passing step. Twice Phase 218 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:46,620 Speaker 1: had found dead ends that Amber hadn't seen coming. He was moving mostly on instinct 219 00:18:46,700 --> 00:18:51,080 Speaker 1: now, receiving only occasional suggestions from his earpiece. Although he would 220 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:55,540 Speaker 1: never tell her, he liked it better this way. There was something right about moving 221 00:18:55,580 --> 00:19:00,700 Speaker 1: through the world this way. This must be how the free-running splitters felt. His 222 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:06,420 Speaker 1: thoughts melted away. There were only obstacles and his body. He jumped onto a desk, 223 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,740 Speaker 1: swung from a light fixture, then landed on the other side of the room, rolled to 224 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:16,540 Speaker 1: keep his momentum, then he was up and running again. The wind licked at his face and 225 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:21,540 Speaker 1: he couldn't keep a smile from forming there. The first chasm he'd seen shot through 226 00:19:21,580 --> 00:19:25,980 Speaker 1: the hallway ahead of him. It was only a few feet wide and he leapt it without 227 00:19:26,060 --> 00:19:31,380 Speaker 1: slowing. In the moment he had to look down, he saw that the chasm opened up into a 228 00:19:31,460 --> 00:19:36,920 Speaker 1: tiny room with no doors. The light was dim down there. He felt a tight moment of 229 00:19:36,980 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 1: panic, imagining what it would be like to slip and fall down there. 230 00:19:42,380 --> 00:19:47,520 Speaker 1: Trapped in a concrete room with no way out, waiting for something to find him. 231 00:19:48,620 --> 00:19:52,360 Speaker 1: Phase shook the dark vision and narrowly avoided slamming his head into a set of 232 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: stairs that spiraled down from the ceiling. 233 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:01,420 Speaker 1: The hallway ahead rose in a shallow incline, bending up and out of view a hundred 234 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 1: yards away. 235 00:20:03,820 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: The potential was strong enough now to guide him without even trying to sense it. So 236 00:20:11,540 --> 00:20:13,720 Speaker 1: Is there some reason you're in there alone today? 237 00:20:15,300 --> 00:20:19,440 Speaker 1: Phase felt a pang of irritation at being pulled out of his trance of movement. 238 00:20:20,980 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: Why, you wanted to split the pot three ways? No, but I figured you'd at least ask. 239 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:33,260 Speaker 1: Wait. You told her? You told Spineless about this? 240 00:20:34,140 --> 00:20:39,940 Speaker 1: He started walking again. I just mentioned it to her. I didn't know it was a secret. 241 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 1: It's not. He still sounded defensive. Whiny. He hated 242 00:20:46,420 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 1: that. Why couldn't he control himself? He sounded like a little kid. 243 00:20:53,500 --> 00:20:59,300 Speaker 1: It's just She doesn't do shard runs anymore. She might. For 244 00:20:59,380 --> 00:21:04,900 Speaker 1: you. Phase fought the urge to snap at Ambrosia. Hey, I'm gonna go 245 00:21:04,980 --> 00:21:10,640 Speaker 1: quiet. Getting close to the shard. We're almost there. Talk soon. Then he completely 246 00:21:10,700 --> 00:21:14,100 Speaker 1: disconnected the comm shard. He left the body cam on, though. 247 00:21:15,780 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: The light inside this area of the Fractality was unreliable. They'd come to 248 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: Ravencliff during the day so that most of the rooms would be illuminated by 249 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 1: daylight. Those illuminated rooms would get copied more often than the relatively 250 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:32,860 Speaker 1: rare dark rooms. But now that he was getting farther and farther from the epicenter 251 00:21:32,900 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 1: where his rift was, the Fractality was spiraling into surrealism. It was nowhere 252 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:43,100 Speaker 1: near as crazy as some of the stories he'd heard from veteran splitters. Places 253 00:21:43,140 --> 00:21:48,740 Speaker 1: without air, without light. Escher-like mazes that started to treat basic laws of 254 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: physics as mere suggestions. Phase remembered the claw marks he'd seen earlier. 255 00:21:54,740 --> 00:21:59,420 Speaker 1: He slowed and listened to the world around him, looking for anything out of place. 256 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:05,340 Speaker 1: The world was still and quiet. The air stagnant. 257 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: Sounds would carry a long way in this silence. Suddenly, he felt 258 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:13,300 Speaker 1: very alone in here. 259 00:22:16,860 --> 00:22:21,900 Speaker 1: Caution would be more important than speed now. He looked into every doorway, peeked 260 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:27,460 Speaker 1: around every corner before stepping past. His heart pounded. This was stupid. 261 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,940 Speaker 1: He should have taken the first shard. Something moved in the shadows of a darkened 262 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:37,180 Speaker 1: room to his left. He froze. Phase peered through the doorway, 263 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:44,040 Speaker 1: waiting for his eyes to adjust. All he saw was darkness. All he heard was silence. 264 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:45,480 Speaker 1: He kept moving. 265 00:22:47,380 --> 00:22:51,860 Speaker 1: Stupid, stupid, stupid. The pull of the shard was so strong it could have been in 266 00:22:51,940 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: any of these rooms. Something crashed to the floor of a room nearby. He started 267 00:22:56,900 --> 00:23:02,280 Speaker 1: running. It was just debris. Just debris. This place was getting unstable. Things 268 00:23:02,340 --> 00:23:08,180 Speaker 1: fell apart here. And yet, he kept running. Nowhere in particular, just 269 00:23:08,620 --> 00:23:14,620 Speaker 1: closer. He hoped. He hoped. Phase tried to convince himself that there was 270 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:18,620 Speaker 1: nothing wrong. That at any moment now he'd see the shard. He would pull it 271 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:24,640 Speaker 1: immediately. His way out. He Something slammed into his shins. Pain shot 272 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:29,700 Speaker 1: up his legs and he skidded across the floor, scraping and bruising his side. Stunned 273 00:23:29,740 --> 00:23:34,320 Speaker 1: from the fall, he looked back at the cinder block he somehow missed. He rolled onto 274 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: his back and looked down the hallway ahead of him. He realized then the fall had 275 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:44,940 Speaker 1: saved his life. The first thing he noticed was that a red glow illuminated an 276 00:23:45,020 --> 00:23:50,560 Speaker 1: otherwise dark room three doors down. The sound of chimes echoed into the hallway, 277 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:56,880 Speaker 1: calling him closer. The second thing he noticed was claw marks. So 278 00:23:56,940 --> 00:24:02,620 Speaker 1: many claw marks on the doorframe. There was a sound nearby. Not in the red room, but 279 00:24:02,660 --> 00:24:07,740 Speaker 1: behind him, in one of the other dark rooms. Another sound, like the clicking of a 280 00:24:07,820 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: pencil against stone, came from a room on the other side. 281 00:24:12,636 --> 00:24:16,196 Speaker 1: He craned his head around, trying to determine the source of the sounds, heart 282 00:24:16,456 --> 00:24:22,436 Speaker 1: beating faster. "Time to go, Phase." He gritted his teeth, jumped up, and ran 283 00:24:22,476 --> 00:24:27,276 Speaker 1: for the red room. If he could just get inside, if he could just pull the shard... 284 00:24:28,976 --> 00:24:33,136 Speaker 1: At the last moment, he spun away from the illuminated room, changing direction to 285 00:24:33,196 --> 00:24:37,816 Speaker 1: keep running down the hallway instead. As he turned, he saw inside the shard room. 286 00:24:38,276 --> 00:24:43,796 Speaker 1: He saw the walls moving. The walls hadn't been moving, he 287 00:24:43,856 --> 00:24:49,296 Speaker 1: realized, his brain finally catching up. The things covering the walls were moving. 288 00:24:50,076 --> 00:24:56,036 Speaker 1: That meant... "Amber!" No response. He climbed over a small tower of 289 00:24:56,116 --> 00:25:00,176 Speaker 1: file cabinets, falling awkwardly down the other side and bruising his legs even 290 00:25:00,236 --> 00:25:05,216 Speaker 1: more. The connection, the connection. Phase plugged the comm shard back in. 291 00:25:05,536 --> 00:25:08,576 Speaker 2: You idiot. Where are you going? 292 00:25:09,096 --> 00:25:09,736 Speaker 1: I don't know. 293 00:25:11,476 --> 00:25:16,416 Speaker 1: There was a reverberating cry from somewhere behind him. The shriek set his nerves 294 00:25:16,496 --> 00:25:21,936 Speaker 1: on end. It made his limbs want to freeze up. It made him want to crawl into a corner 295 00:25:21,976 --> 00:25:22,616 Speaker 1: and hide. 296 00:25:23,776 --> 00:25:25,176 Speaker 2: Phase, where are you going? 297 00:25:26,156 --> 00:25:29,456 Speaker 1: He couldn't die here. No, no, no. They couldn't get him. He- 298 00:25:29,796 --> 00:25:30,556 Speaker 2: Phase. 299 00:25:32,196 --> 00:25:37,636 Speaker 1: A memory drifted into Phase's mind. Another Fractality run, long ago. 300 00:25:37,636 --> 00:25:43,636 Speaker 1: "You'll see things in here, Teddy, things you aren't ready to 301 00:25:43,716 --> 00:25:49,016 Speaker 1: see." His sister, Fuse, walked, holding her hand on his shoulder. 302 00:25:50,336 --> 00:25:56,236 Speaker 1: Phase hated his real name. "You're supposed to call me Phase." Fuse 303 00:25:56,316 --> 00:25:56,996 Speaker 1: just laughed. 304 00:25:58,556 --> 00:26:04,076 Speaker 1: "You're not Phase, not yet." She stopped walking and motioned for him to sit down 305 00:26:04,136 --> 00:26:09,056 Speaker 1: next to her. She tucked the hair dangling in her face back behind one ear and handed 306 00:26:09,096 --> 00:26:13,356 Speaker 1: him a water bottle. He hadn't even realized he was thirsty until he took a drink. 307 00:26:13,396 --> 00:26:18,396 Speaker 1: "One day you're gonna open your own rifts, Teddy, and I won't be here to help you." 308 00:26:19,916 --> 00:26:24,796 Speaker 1: Phase didn't know what to say to that. Where was she going? Fuse looked out at the 309 00:26:24,856 --> 00:26:30,096 Speaker 1: trees of a forest that wasn't real. He still couldn't believe he was here, actually 310 00:26:30,156 --> 00:26:36,156 Speaker 1: inside a Fractality. "Do you know what makes the Splitters strong? Why 311 00:26:36,196 --> 00:26:37,936 Speaker 1: we're not all dead or locked up?" 312 00:26:39,836 --> 00:26:45,536 Speaker 1: He thought for a moment, not wanting to be wrong. "Shards." She 313 00:26:45,616 --> 00:26:51,276 Speaker 1: smiled, but then shook her head. She fixed an unexpectedly serious stare to him, 314 00:26:51,976 --> 00:26:57,776 Speaker 1: her green eyes piercing him. He stopped drinking. "No, not 315 00:26:57,856 --> 00:27:00,256 Speaker 1: shards." "Freedom?" 316 00:27:01,956 --> 00:27:06,676 Speaker 1: She seemed to consider this, but shook her head again. Phase felt a pang of 317 00:27:06,736 --> 00:27:12,276 Speaker 1: frustration. "Sometimes, but that's more likely to get you into trouble than out of 318 00:27:12,336 --> 00:27:18,276 Speaker 1: it. Slicers are fast, faster than you, but they're dumb. 319 00:27:19,296 --> 00:27:24,916 Speaker 1: Tesserati are smart, smarter than you, but they take orders, 320 00:27:25,216 --> 00:27:29,896 Speaker 1: move as a group." Phase didn't speak, afraid to get it wrong again. 321 00:27:29,896 --> 00:27:35,136 Speaker 1: "What makes us strong?" "Momentum. 322 00:27:36,156 --> 00:27:42,036 Speaker 1: Act fast, but think. Anyone can go fast. You have to keep moving, but always 323 00:27:42,076 --> 00:27:47,416 Speaker 1: make the smarter move. Be bold. Keep them on their toes. But don't be stupid 324 00:27:47,476 --> 00:27:52,836 Speaker 1: either." When Phase didn't respond, she lifted two fists into the air apart. 325 00:27:52,836 --> 00:27:58,536 Speaker 1: "Mind and body." She brought the two fists together. "Momentum." 326 00:28:00,956 --> 00:28:05,016 Speaker 1: Phase rounded the corner at full speed, knowing he could be brained by anything 327 00:28:05,076 --> 00:28:10,336 Speaker 1: sticking out, but also knowing he was dead if he slowed down. Something big slammed 328 00:28:10,396 --> 00:28:15,816 Speaker 1: into a pile of file cabinets he passed. He was in a cafeteria now, or something like 329 00:28:15,896 --> 00:28:21,436 Speaker 1: one anyway. He closed his eyes and felt for the rift, felt for his way out. He 330 00:28:21,496 --> 00:28:26,956 Speaker 1: couldn't feel it, and he had to fight the rising panic. He had to be smart, had to 331 00:28:27,016 --> 00:28:32,136 Speaker 1: keep moving. He felt himself tiring, but the scratching on the walls kept him going. 332 00:28:32,796 --> 00:28:33,575 Speaker 1: Momentum. 333 00:28:35,116 --> 00:28:36,276 Speaker 1: "Find me a route to the rift." 334 00:28:39,156 --> 00:28:42,976 Speaker 1: He heard something clatter in his earpiece as if Ambrosia had been shaken awake. 335 00:28:45,256 --> 00:28:45,836 Speaker 2: I'll try. 336 00:28:47,336 --> 00:28:53,296 Speaker 1: "Just give me the rough direction, shortest path." He had an idea. An extended 337 00:28:53,336 --> 00:28:57,596 Speaker 1: chase wouldn't favor him. Splitters might look graceful compared to the average 338 00:28:57,656 --> 00:29:01,996 Speaker 1: person, but the Slicers, the Slicers lived in Fractalities. 339 00:29:03,676 --> 00:29:07,096 Speaker 2: Okay. Take a left out of this room, then the next right. You should see a long 340 00:29:07,156 --> 00:29:07,616 Speaker 2: hallway. 341 00:29:08,896 --> 00:29:13,636 Speaker 1: He took a left out of the cafeteria and glanced to the right. Something large and 342 00:29:13,736 --> 00:29:18,896 Speaker 1: flat rounded that corner on a hundred chitinous legs. The segmented body shimmered 343 00:29:18,956 --> 00:29:24,616 Speaker 1: like asphalt on a hot day. Crap, crap. He took the next right and 344 00:29:24,696 --> 00:29:28,556 Speaker 1: almost ran straight into a wall. Dead end. "Amber!" 345 00:29:29,416 --> 00:29:32,756 Speaker 2: It's going, it's going. Stupid script kid. 346 00:29:34,216 --> 00:29:40,196 Speaker 1: He heard the sound of a hundred clicking legs on concrete walls. "Amber!" Phase 347 00:29:40,316 --> 00:29:45,756 Speaker 1: pressed his back to the dead end, eyes wide. They'd tear him apart, cut him up, 348 00:29:46,356 --> 00:29:50,456 Speaker 1: take as many pieces as they could until he passed out, until he died and the 349 00:29:50,476 --> 00:29:54,376 Speaker 1: Fractality fell apart, sending the monsters back to wherever they came from. 350 00:29:55,976 --> 00:30:00,156 Speaker 1: The very first Slicer came around the corner, then shivered and fell off the wall 351 00:30:00,196 --> 00:30:05,076 Speaker 1: with a thud. It unfurled its segmented body and its front half rose into the air, 352 00:30:05,716 --> 00:30:11,656 Speaker 1: almost as tall as him. Dozens of razor-sharp limbs unfolded. "No, 353 00:30:11,776 --> 00:30:12,796 Speaker 1: no, no, no, no, no." 354 00:30:12,856 --> 00:30:13,576 Speaker 2: Take the next right. 355 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:18,980 Speaker 1: His legs moved without his mind. He ducked as he slipped past the creature. The 356 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,820 Speaker 1: slicer swiped it where his head had been moments before. 357 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 1: The next right brought him down a hallway with few obstacles. He sprinted down it. 358 00:30:28,940 --> 00:30:34,860 Speaker 1: It's this way, right? Roughly, but you're so far. Don't 359 00:30:34,900 --> 00:30:39,840 Speaker 1: worry about that. When I disconnect my body cam, I want you to pour as much power as 360 00:30:39,860 --> 00:30:45,840 Speaker 1: you can into the signal, okay? Okay. Phase ripped the cable off his body cam and 361 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 1: chucked the rest of the device, shard and all, as far down the hallway as he could. 362 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:52,800 Speaker 1: Then he ducked into a dark room 363 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:55,240 Speaker 1: and waited. 364 00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: He heard scuttling sounds and moved down the hallway past him. He ignored them, 365 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: closing his eyes and sensing. 366 00:31:04,580 --> 00:31:08,700 Speaker 1: He still couldn't feel the rift he'd enter through, but he guessed the slicers 367 00:31:08,820 --> 00:31:14,480 Speaker 1: could. Fuse had called them dumb, but they were only dumb in a can't-do-math or a 368 00:31:14,900 --> 00:31:19,980 Speaker 1: can't-tie-shoelaces kind of way. They had sharp senses and an instinct for finding 369 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:20,360 Speaker 1: prey. 370 00:31:22,340 --> 00:31:26,860 Speaker 1: He focused, trying to ignore the stronger pull of the bigger shard nearby. 371 00:31:28,820 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: There, he felt the first shard. 372 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:33,080 Speaker 1: Phase? 373 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:38,100 Speaker 1: I'm fine. Calm silence. Trust me. 374 00:31:40,100 --> 00:31:44,160 Speaker 1: It must have been terrifying for her now that he'd gone dark. She wouldn't know for 375 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:49,340 Speaker 1: sure he was dead until the rift closed in the real world. But it could take a long 376 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,700 Speaker 1: time for someone to die. Too long. 377 00:31:54,340 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 1: He moved on instinct from there. A few times he stopped and ducked into a closet or 378 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:03,780 Speaker 1: an open door, not knowing why he'd done so until he heard the scuttling sound of 379 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:08,880 Speaker 1: slicers in the distance. At first he'd been tempted to go back for the second, 380 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:14,060 Speaker 1: bigger shard. Once the creatures realized he wasn't going for the rift, they might 381 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:18,820 Speaker 1: go back to the red one, thinking he would seek out the largest potential. Or 382 00:32:18,860 --> 00:32:21,420 Speaker 1: whatever passed for thinking in their alien minds anyway. 383 00:32:23,580 --> 00:32:28,800 Speaker 1: Instead, he moved quickly but quietly on instinct back to the first shard. 384 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:33,880 Speaker 1: When he heard the tinkling chime, he finally released some of the gut-wrenching 385 00:32:33,940 --> 00:32:38,220 Speaker 1: tension he'd been holding. Phase jogged up to the brilliant white crystal and 386 00:32:38,260 --> 00:32:42,360 Speaker 1: without hesitation yanked it out of the air where it hung suspended by invisible 387 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:42,840 Speaker 1: threads. 388 00:32:44,740 --> 00:32:50,120 Speaker 1: He felt those threads pull, then snap, and with it all of 389 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:55,960 Speaker 1: reality unraveled. Somewhere far away he heard the frustrated yowls of the creatures 390 00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:00,780 Speaker 1: who had hunted him. When he opened his eyes again, he was on his hands and knees, 391 00:33:01,340 --> 00:33:06,340 Speaker 1: breathing deeply. Someone grabbed him and pulled him into a squatting position. He 392 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 1: grinned at Ambrosia and held out the shard. His first shard. 393 00:33:12,260 --> 00:33:17,900 Speaker 1: See? No problem. She snatched it out of his hands, scowling. You 394 00:33:18,300 --> 00:33:24,240 Speaker 1: idiot! She pushed him and he fell backward onto his butt. He rolled all the way back 395 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:29,780 Speaker 1: and laid down, looking at the ceiling of the dilapidated hospital. It was a sight he 396 00:33:29,820 --> 00:33:31,440 Speaker 1: wouldn't miss anytime soon.