The Contest Winners

22/7/4999

The next day the system randomly selected the winners of Jessica's improtue contest.

Jessica had been busy all morning seeing to it the new operation was set up properly and she assuring herself that M.A.V.I.S. and the other P.A.I.L. have everything well in hand. She made sure the magic flow was good on the factory made machines. She quality checked each one as they arrived a lot sooner than she had expected because behind her back the people had voted and paid for 5 extra automats. When she found out she had frowned and growled slightly.

"I get that you are all excited but for fucks sake I need to be able to do things at my own pace. Do not do anything like this again in the future sign that you understand," Jessica said not bothering to look for a camera. A contract was issued to all who had voted and paid behind her back.

Earlier that morning the broadcast P.A.I.L. had come by and informed her that his predecessor would be taking over her live stream. He looked a little disappointed but the older version had decided to come out of retirement to make sure nothing was overlooked. That is what he claimed but in truth he just wanted to A LOT. The three of them all knew it so it wasn't a lie but Jessica had still made him admit out loud and he did so sheepishly.

Working quickly and checking over all 50 of the new machines, the first being kept by M.A.V.I.S. in her own office. She called the automats that had actually started new production without her permission to make more.

"Hi this is Jessica Strongwell, my order has been filled," She said into her phone reading something off a holo-pad.

"Yes I understand that you are all excited and if this plan works out the way I want it to I will be ordering more but I don't want these to get out of hand. This is still new magitech and I am still running security protocol checks," She said sighing and rewriting something on the pad quickly.

"No, I don't want you to finish the ones you started. I want them destroyed right now.(Pause) You eat the cost of materials if you can't find a way to salvage them. I get that I have never had to do the second gen so soon on anything before but each of these things weighs a fuckton so I am going to try to find a way to make the next order lighter and smaller. (Pause) Laughter, yes you could do that or I could come over their and perma destroy your automats and be well within my rights doing so," She hung up the phone knowing that the automat P.A.I.L. would at the very least break down the extra 20 or machines at the beginning of the construction cycle. She stood up and stretched it was 3 hours until lunchtime and her phone beeped giving her the names of the lottery winners and one other name. She read this and looked surprised by two things. The first surprising thing was that the general winner was actually currently stationed on the space station in orbit. The second surprising thing was the unexpected name. One of the 100 the now 10 cycle old half-human half-dwarf of one of the Fae family's had not only guess correctly what the invention was for but had written a pretty accurate guess as to how it functioned. He included the buzzing feature and everything. She had actually met him before as they lived in a small community still but hadn't seen him since she stopped using magic. She sent his mother a text and told her to ask him to think of a prize for himself for being so close to getting it exactly right. Jessica loved all the Fae families and being able to give one of them something they wanted made her heart fill with joy. She smiled and set off for the teleport pad. She teleported herself up the the tech-gravity using stationary space station that orbits Karth. Just like their ancestors from Earth had intended they had a few non-grav space stations in orbit running tests on the effect of zero or low gravity environments had on different things. This is how they had discovered how to regrow limbs after all. If a milkworm is born in a space it takes an entirely new properties and can in fact be given a sample of someone's DNA and produce stem cells that can then be affected by magic to take on the shape and form of the missing limb, eye or even skin grafts. The process is actually harmless to the milkworm who with the help of low priest(est) light elves had actually adapted their say milk ducts to allow the stem cells to be harvested. They can throughout their lives be used to help many of those who had lost something in battle or accidently. The stem cells they produce have answered many questions that had burned in the hearts of the scientist that had found themselves in a strange new place this was how they cracked the problems of artificial wombs and allow two same gender parents to make a baby together. With no government oversight the scientists are free to use their best judgment and so far it has worked out beautifully.

She waited for the astronauts orbiting station to dock with the stationary one. She watched while he took a return to gravity potion that helped him adjust quickly from a weightless environment. She greeted him warmly and congratulated him on winning. He was light elf of about 200 cycles with a bald head (he shaves it to keep from accidentally shedding near blank milkworms) he is 7'0" tall and was currently wearing a lab coat and scrubs.

"Hi there," Jessica called out, "Are you the astronaut ever calls Blankspace?"

The man nodded his eyes lit a little smiling he said, "My given name stop being used so long ago now I don't know if I could remember it without looking it up." He laughed as the light went out again. Jessica wiggled her nose and stepped back onto the telepad.

"So am guessing you want to pop down back to Karth for lunch, right?," She asked she knew they didn't get many opportunities to return as the magic users had been busy (and the former chairman had hid the fact he was using the young for his own bs). He nodded agreeing to return to Karth.

"I would prefer to stay up here and show you around but I know that you are busy with your own things and I would also like to check out M.U.G.," he said climbing onto the telepad. His OG ancestor had in fact been the one to first suggest the milkworms as a possible food source after they had first been scanned. Jessica had learned about this in her history of OG's class.

She smiled and said, "Oh good because I forgot to bring one the peppermint sticks I made yesterday and I wanted the opinion of someone non magical."

She activated the telepad and teleported them both down it to the city where M.U.G. resides on the SUN contenant.

"Since we are going to tour M.U.G. let's eat here. When we are done I can take you over to MOON to visit with family if you want," Jessica said looking around unsure of what had changed in the short time she had been gone. He nodded and noticed her head swiveling.

He began to sniff the air. It was about to start raining but is smelled different somehow. Jessica noticed what he was doing and his confused expression. She followed suit and sniffed the air.

"Oh my," she muttered, "Is that a storm?"

The man opened his eyes wide, "We get light rainfall good for plant growth not storms on Karth."

"Yes but think for a second. Two cycles ago the planet had all of its magic was drained so bad it pulled from every magic bearing lifeform on it in a desperate bid to stay functioning. Maybe, the firewall protected version of the system finally decided that keeping the weather perfect wasn't the best use of its magic," Jessica proposed.

"You talk as if it were a known fact. I know it is still our working theory but yes that would make sense," the man replied, "It is a good thing all new constitution other than the skywalks have always followed the Plan A always fails rule and we still put lightning rods on buildings."

As they were talking the people watching took note of the conversation. Milkworm ranchers and farmers nearby heard what they said and closed the roofs of their ranges and fields.

News alerts scrolled across the bottom of any screen not watching Jessica.

****Severe weather warning Jessica smells a storm.****

****Update we have turned back on the weather dopplers and in fact there is a lighting storm with heavy rainfall headed towards the city.****

Phones beeped all over Karth as the "Weather Man" P.A.I.L. who had been retired for nearly two full millennium went live. He had reactivated all weather doppler stations on Karth. They had been maintained by the committee solely to preserve history. The O.G.'s did not trust the eternal spring and had set these up to get a heads up when things changed. The Weather Man P.A.I.L. had gotten sick of giving the same broadcast for nearly 3,000 thousand cycles he had shut it down and retired to New Japan.

Jessica's phone alert her to the new buletin. The Dark Fae were roused again. Seeing what was happening they abandoned this hibernation cycle. They were prompted to the contest and entered on one screen while carefully monitoring the weather P.A.I.L.'s broadcast. They did need the extra sleep but they could just take the chemicals that it produced medically it wasn't pleasant which is why they still did the hypernation. Honestly even if it had been pleasant they still would have preferred the old way. They had really interesting dreams.

Jessica said the man, " We should probably get lunch before it gets started."

He smiled and nodded his agreement. He had been in space during the Blackout and even from there he had felt the pull. He had voted with Jessica against the skywalks but he had friends who she had saved in the fall. If she thinks we have time to eat before it gets started I trust her judgment, he thought, after all my family has always trusted the Strongwells'. Never once have they steer us wrong.

They went to a nearby ramen shop to eat and talk.

"So tell me something Jessica," He asked while they waited for their orders, "Why didn't you just kill the former Chairman when the system declared him your families mortal enemy?"

Jessica coughed on the water she had just sipped. Her eyes narrowed, "Who says I won't?" She said in dark sinister tone. Her face quickly broke out into a smile and she began to laugh. Her merth infecting all those around her who began to laugh as well. One of the other customers who was having a bad day because he still hadn't heard back from the employer he wanted to work for felt his spirits lifted. "I at least got it out with a straight face." She said through her laughter. She calmed down a bit and looked him in the eye.

"I know no one on Karth could, or even at this point would, stop me. I had considered it to be honest but only for a little while. The thing is, it is the second law of Karth for a reason to not kill people. It's not that I don't think it would be justifiable but how would he learn from that?," Jessica asked the man with sincerity.

"He wouldn��t," he replied, "But then we wouldn't have an actual asshole on Karth."

"I don't know how he is possible. Then again I don't know how I am possible," Jessica said thoughtfully, "Since he is here we have to help him. I am Strongwell we may have been forced to kill people in past generations but those were on Earth. My OG had killed some very bad men on Earth. He was something called a United States Marine. He was a skilled and trained fighter. He still had a gentle soul and that has held true throughout the generations. I will fight to protect what needs protecting and as far as the former Chairman is concerned I need to find a way to protect him from himself."

"You talk like someone twice my age sometimes," he replied with a chuckle.

Jessica laughed, "Yeah and the rest of the time I talk like a bratty child." Her eyes did the gleam thing.

"What was that look for?," He asked as everyone on and orbiting Karth knew that look now.

"Oh I just figured out a way to at least help him a little," Jessica said, "I am going to change how his light truth works. I don't like that something I did is causing someone constant pain. That can wait however, after all he kind of deserves it." She heard a murmur of agreement. "Well that was creepy." Her eyes darting around her. She had honestly forgotten that she was still live. The man pointed to the screen in the room with sound down subtitles on. Oh right, she thought. She rolled her eyes and then their food came.

They talked about things he had been working on and Jessica made a few suggestions that once he heard them were so obvious he could kick himself for not seeing it before. As they were getting ready to leave the storm clouds outside had gathered. They looked blacked with metallic shades of the normal rainbow colors still swirling around. Jessica put up a magic umbrella over them as walked down the street and the first droplets began to fall. They caught a public use self driving car.

"M.U.G. please," she called out to the on board computer. The intelligence in this vehicle was entirely mechanical had no life of its own. That being said she could always find a free car when she needed one and she liked to think that was because she was always polite.

They chatted a bit more about a suggestion she had made until they arrived at the shop.

"That was quick and smoothe, thank you very much," She said getting out of the car she jogged around to help the astronaut out. His joints were a bit stiff, he was very tall and the car was a compact. They went into M.U.G. and Jessica was confused for a second as to why M.A.V.I.S. wasn't there to greet her. The false store projection was once again hiding the lived in warmth and she twitched a little at the sight of it. Alohra called out, "Be right with you," from the back room. Her other employees were busy with customers and she saw the woman she kicked out the other day taking her test on the manual at a table in the corner marked THE NAUGHTY CUSTOMER CHAIR.

She ignored the woman for now and said, "Come with me to the back. I have a lot of stuff to show you." Jessica was really very excited to show off her shelved project to another research/inventor. Most of the people she was close to only cared about what her inventions could help them with and not how they worked and why. She couldn't talk them publicly but she still loved to bounce ideas off of other people who she thought would not take unnessary and stupid risks. "Oh she said I sent you a confidentiality contract when you won you signed it right?"

"Yes it should be in your notifications," He said and when she pulled up the her notifications screen he could see why she had asked. She had thousands. He had noticed her glancing at her screen throughout the meal occasionally tapping it but she had stayed engaged the whole time he just now realized she had been responding to all of these people's questions the entire time. Jessica let out a frustrated sigh. "System find contract notification please." With her left hand she was typing replies to everyone of the messages she could. After the system showed her it to her and she confirmed, "One second. (to the man) System set status to busy reply all I will try to get back to you when I am free." She faced forward looking at a camera directly in front of her. "This next part is private and most of the screen would be blank for you all anyway so here is a best of Jessica clip show that my personal broadcast P.A.I.L. put together for you, please enjoy." The screens switched to Harmon hosting a clip show of her life. She stretched and looked at the astronaut nodding upward indicating that he should stretch too. He did so not knowing what would happen next.

When they walked into the back room. Alorha cleared out so they could roam around and talk freely. Jessica got a small smirk on her face when they were alone and asked, "You are used to weightlessness but have you ever flown in gravity?"

"No, I am not close enough to any of the Fae for a private flight.," He replied.

"Since I want this to work right I am going to say the spell out loud," she told him, "I need you to remain relaxed and trust me ok?"

He nodded as he realized what was about to happen. She figured out how to give another person air wings? He thought surprised.

"I have only ever used this spell on friends before so they could also chase after Peter. I came up with it less than a week after I figured out my own but most people didn't trust a three cycle old to be able to hold the magic together so only my family and close friends have succeeded before but I think you might," Jessica breathed a deep breathe in and closed her eyes. She didn't bother pulling her wand. This spell came before the toy.

The naughty Fae has taken flight

Thinking he is getting away, laughing with delight

I grant to you your own wings

Go and teach him what his naughtiness brings.