Chronicles of the Exalted Sun Child

The first few fields to fill were simple enough, simply her name, age, sex, country of origin, and others of a similar vein. There was also a fill for associated organisations, and one of the examples given had been the Adventurers’ Guild, so Yuriko took out her hexagonal badge and held it up for the Autotab to scan. It instructed her to hold the badge over the viewscreen, as a reflection of her appeared on it. She held up the device as it asked her to hold the badge up next to her face, then a moment later, an image of her and her badge was captured.

Some of the fields she already filled out were replaced with different answers, and some of the fields she’d left blank were filled up. Country of origin was filled in as Bresia Republic, and underneath that, a new field appeared.

Change country origin to Dragon Fall City? Checking this box makes you eligible to full immigration with the associated rights, obligations, and benefits. This will not make you a citizen immediately, but will put you on the list. Immediate benefits include removal of foreign sales tax, access restrictions will be set to de facto immigrant status.

There was more in smaller letters, and the only reason Yuriko’s head wasn’t pounding was that it hadn’t been that long since she started. Well, that and the bigger fields had print that was easy to look at and read.

Shrugging to herself, Yuriko mentally connected with Gwendith to ask about the option.

‘I don’t see how it’ll hurt.’ Gwendith replied, ‘We’re noted as originating from Bresia anyway, and do you think anything really changes? Ah, we would get discounts, so more coins… or Autochredits? Yeah, that, to spend and live on. I…hadn’t realised how big and complicated this place was when I first heard about the Eternal Tower. I don’t think we can just go look for where we’re supposed to climb the tower. And we still have that appointment to register with the Conclave of Authority.’

‘Hmmm, and finding out how we can make use of portals to get back to Rumiga might take a while.’ Yuriko mused. The way the Gate Spire moved them from the Portal Gate to the circle without her awareness or consent had been a bit disquieting. None of her instincts told her it was dangerous, but even so, that they were able to do so meant that there might be knowledge she needed there.

‘Ah, that’s still your goal, huh?’

Yuriko couldn’t help but look at her lover with some concern. ‘Gwen? You don't want to return to Rumiga?’

‘Ah, I’m fine if you want to. But really, I’ll be fine as long as we’re together.’

Yuriko flushed and she couldn’t help but grin, ‘Oh. Uhm, my parents are still there, and my youngest sibling was just born. I’d like to get to know her, at least. Oh, I should contact Mum again once I can manage. She wasn’t able to tell me my sister’s name.’

‘I understand, love.’ Gwendith giggled. ‘But back to your original question? I’d say tick the box and put us in line for real immigration. It wouldn’t change much, and if we have to, we could just leave.’

‘Alright.’ Yuriko agreed and then connected mentally to the rest of her group.

‘I don’t mind,’ Heron agreed.

Saki and Ryoko expressed similar sentiments to Gwendith and Devotee just shrugged. Since the vote was unanimous, Yuriko went ahead and toggled that option.

A brief summary of her career as an adventurer was listed down, and she couldn’t help but snort. She hadn’t actually completed any missions as she’d focused her efforts at the Niria Academy. So her list of accomplishments was embarrassingly empty. But, oh well.

“I see that almost all of you are affiliated with the Adventurers’ Guild. That’s good. Dragon Fall City always needs combatants to fight the continuous scourge threat from the Red and Orange Zones.” Officer Helspike said idly. He had not been looking at their Autotabs, but somewhere off in space. His eyes were glimmering with some strange lights though.

It took a few more minutes for Yuriko to complete the form and press on submit. But instead of completing, one more field was needed: a bio imprint. It requested for all of her fingerprints and thumbprints, so she followed the instructions and the viewscreen captured the image of her imprints. Then, the thing spat out a string of letters and numbers, buzzed for a bit, then spat out a chip from the side. Her name was printed on the top.

That part took a while to finish and while waiting, she marveled at the Autotab and how it was able to create a layout of letters for her to press to fill up the fields, though she might have preferred writing things down with a pen, or with her Animus. Nothing of the sort was provided here, of course, but she should adapt to the technology here, just as she adapted to Arcana Weaving in Bresia.

While she filled in the form, she’d also surreptitiously experimented with how much she could use her Anima. Her perception was similarly limited by the material that made up the floors and walls, but she could inspect and touch the table and chairs. Officer Helspike did not notice, or if he did, he made no indications of it. She also noticed that the temperature inside the conference room was pleasantly cool. There was a square vent on the ceiling that blew in warm air. A bit of a surprise, really, considering she came from a desert city, but it was still the first week of the Season of Earth and it should have been reasonably cold outside. She hadn't noticed when they first arrived on the acropolis’ roof, but thinking back, the air there had been surprisingly warm.

“What do you mean scourge?” Heron asked.

“The city isn’t free of danger, especially the lower floors,” Helspike said. “It’s safe up here in the Violet Zone, of course, but not everyone can stay here. Employees of the Gate Consortium such as myself, members of the governing body of Dragon Fall City, of course, and the super wealthy. But that number comprises less than a thousandth of a percent of the city’s population. Well, don’t worry, from my initial look into your Profiles, you’ll be welcomed into the Green Zone. Not much danger from mutant scourge there.” He smiled, but perhaps because his eyes were mechanical, Yuriko felt it was an empty and insincere smile. Well, there was little she could do about that.

Come to think of it, she didn't know how they would be able to use the Portal Gate again. When she asked, he answered offhandedly, “Ah, that’s at least a million ACs per person. It depends on where you want to go.”

Hmm, that would just about clean out their funds, wouldn’t it? Yuriko couldn’t help but sigh. Perhaps worrying about funds was something an adult would have to face. She’d never had to do it before, considering how easy it was for her to generate coins. Well, once they’d found their balance in this new city, they’d be able to find out what can make them Autochredits and where they could go about it. Helspike mentioned the Adventurers’ Guild, so there was little doubt they could make ACs that way.

She was somewhat eager to explore. Her Davar wanderlust was giving her an itch to go out into the city and find out everything interesting inside it.

“Now, since you’ve completed your Profiles, we can go ahead and convert your metal currencies to Autochredits. Do you wish to sell it or deposit and loan ACs instead?”

“We’ll sell,” Gwendith answered for the group.

“Very well.” From the table, another Autotab flipped up from the table, and Helspike stretched out his hand. Then, his fingertips detached and split into about a dozen pointy things each, and he started inputting hundreds of letters into his device. “We will transact through the Gate Consortium’s Central Bank. The exchange rate for metal coins is quite favourable today. Would you like to deposit your Autochredits into a single multi-user family account, or would you prefer dividing it up into different accounts?”

“Can we not do both?” Gwendith asked.

“Certainly you can, but you’ll have to do that later through your interface,” Helspike said. “I’ll set up a group account for you to transfer the ACs first, then I’m sure you can manage to set things up the way you prefer.” He gestured with his other hand, and Yuriko’s Autotab beeped. The viewscreen blinked and something else replaced the original contents. It was a list, as far as she could tell.

“These are the typical costs of goods per Zone, so you’d know the value of Autochedits and your old metal currency. The information is part of the welcome package from the Gate Consortium to potential new citizens of Dragon Fall City. Please peruse it while I set up your account. In the meantime, please put your metal currency into this chute.”

A hole opened on the table, along with a smaller viewscreen. He gestured to it while he continued to input the keys on the his Autotab.

Gwendith pulled out a copper pence from Xotha and tossed it in. A moment later, the viewscreen reflected 1.2 AC. A second copper pence went in, but the counter only increased by a flat 1 AC instead of 1.2.

“The value is based on the purity of the metal, I’m afraid. The fiat value of the coinage from its country of origin is not taken at face value.” Helspike said, raising a few more questions in Yuriko’s head than answers.

‘I get it.’ Gwendith sent to Yuriko. ‘Toss all the stuff in.’

‘Alright.’

And so they did. The counter continued to go up and up, until the value on the screen went up to 8,837,930. Just a bit short of the nine million ACs the officer gave them earlier.

“All done? Then the next step is to give you these.”

He tapped the table again, a panel opened and up shot eighteen devices. Six with a strap and a screen that was roughly an inch across, another six that were about a quarter the size of the Autotabs, and the last six were visors with a belt that would go around the head.

“Autowatches, Autotabs, and Autovisors. You may choose one to link to your Profile. Once you have, insert the authenticator chip to finish the uplink, then make sure you keep that chip safe. It will be your proof of identity, and should it be lost, remaking it will be an arduous and long process. Expensive, too.”

He pointed at the smallest one, the Autowatch, “This is the most secure, probably, and the one with the least features. It will measure your health, can link up to other devices, and is mostly non-intrusive. You will probably want an Autotab or visor to go with it, if you want to peruse REI-space for the basics, at least. You’ve used an Autotab just now, but these are civilian models and calibrated for mobile functions. It’s an excellent intermediate communications device, too. The Autovisor is the closest you can get without replacing your fleshware into autoware, automata gear.” He nodded towards his hand and pointed at his eyes. “With these, as well as a neural link, you can stay connected to REI-space and it will augment your reality. I would suggest picking the watch for your security and purchase the other tools. These are civilian standard models, you may purchase the others for five thousand ACs each.”

“We’ll take them all,” Gwendith said with a smile, and Helspike nodded as though he expected nothing less. He helped them set up the autowatches, then linked them with the Autotab and Autovisor. For another three thousand ACs, he also installed a collar for Fluffington.

When Yuriko put the visor on, she found it didn’t impede her vision at all, and when she looked at Helspike for more than a second, his name popped up above his head.

“I believe all of our business is done. One last thing, please make sure to update your residence before twenty four hours have passed. Failure to do so will disqualify you from de facto immigrant status, and the price of Gate Consortium’s services may fluctuate depending on your wealth level and economic status. Also, make sure to re-register with the Adventurers’ Guild Hall, the pin for their location will be sent to your profile. Thank you for coming to Dragon Fall City, and may your stay be fruitful.”

With those words, he ushered them out of the conference room and led them towards the immigration counters, and left them to make their way out of the building.