At the world’s top college of magic and technology, every day brings a new discovery -and a new disaster. The advanced experiments of the college students tend to be both ambitious and apocalyptic, with the end of the world only prevented by a mysterious time loop, and a small handful of students who retain their memories.
Surviving the loops was hard enough, but now, in his senior year, Vell Harlan must take charge of them, and deal with the fact that the whole world now knows his secrets. Everyone knows about Vell’s death and resurrection, along with the divine game he is a part of. Now Vell must contend with overly curious scientists and evil billionaires hungry for divine power while the daily doomsday cycle bombards him with terrorists, talking elephants, and the Grim Reaper himself -but if he can endure it all, the Last Goddess’s game promises the ultimate prize: power over life itself.
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“Should I be worried?”
Why would you be worried?” Kim said. “Dean Lichman loves us.”
Dean Lichman had asked the two of them to stop by his office, though his brief message had not said what for. That left Vell to concoct nightmare scenarios in his head.
“He doesn’t love all of us.”
“Alex doesn’t count as ‘us’,” Kim said. She was a looper in purely a technical sense, mostly due to her own refusal to be a team player. “Besides, she’s been behaving lately. She’s only been an asshole, not an active liability.”
“That we know of.”
“If we don’t know about it, Dean probably doesn’t either,” Kim said. “It’s fine, Vell, he probably just wants to ask us for advice or deal with some problem he has.”
“That’s not much better,” Vell said. “How weird would things have to be that the Dean is asking us for help personally?”
“Only one way to find out,” Kim said. She gestured to the door to the Dean’s office.
Kim entered first, and found it in much the same state as it always was. The desk piled high with paperwork, a small bowl of assorted candies shoved into the corner of the desk, and Dean Lichman behind it, frantically tapping away on a laptop. Vell had not been in this office for several years, and it was vastly different than the last time he’d been here.
“Ah, there you are, come in, have a seat,” Dean Lichman said. “Unless you’d rather we have our conversation elsewhere, Vell.”
“Why would I want that?”
“Well, it’s my understanding you haven’t been in this office since my, uh, predecessor,” Dean Lichman said.
“Oh, right, the kidnapping,” Vell said. “No, I’m good, I don’t really get traumatized by things anymore.”
Vell had been killed too many different ways in too many different places to have a functional trauma response. A few days ago he’d gotten his legs chewed off by a vending machine, and still stopped by it to pick up a soda on his way to the office.
“That’s a very concerning response, Mr. Harlan.”
“Yeah. Anyway, what did you need?”
Dean Lichman gestured for the duo to take a seat, and both did so. He folded desiccated hands in front of himself before beginning to speak.
“I would like to ask you two to take a look at an experiment that will be occurring later this week,” Dean Lichman said. “I don’t have any reason to believe it poses a threat, but I would like to be assured it is a safe and ethical environment, and, well, you two have a knack for identifying trouble spots.”
“You could say that,” Kim said. It was more accurate to say that trouble had a way of identifying them -and then leaping at them and ripping their heads off.
“I’d appreciate it if the two of you could simply examine the laboratory and give it your approval, or disapproval, as the case may be,” Dean Lichman said. “Though if you’re too busy, I fully understand.”
“If you don’t think this is dangerous, why are you asking for our help anyway?”
“Simply for my own peace of mind, frankly,” Dean Lichman said. “The school’s policies on animal experimentation are...satisfactory, I suppose, but I do want to take extra precautions when the subject is a creature as smart as an elephant.”
“An elephant?”
“Yes, a resident of a reserve in Thailand,” Dean Lichman said. “An older elephant by the name of Mae Noi. She has cancer, apparently, and she is submitting to experimental treatment in the hopes it will be useful for younger elephants.”
Kim’s digital face briefly flashed with a facial expression of concerned skepticism.
“‘She’ is submitting to treatment? As in the elephant?”
“Yes. Apparently the elephant can talk,” Dean Lichman said. “No, I don’t know how it works, they said it was ‘more impressive in person’.”
“Well now I kind of want to go just to see the talking elephant,” Vell said.
“Same.”
“Well, do try to take a few glances at the experiment’s safety while you’re there,” Dean Lichman said.
“Sounds like a plan,” Vell said. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“I’ll be there too,” Kim said.
“Excellent. Thank you both, and I’ll try not to take up too much of your time,” the Dean said. He then bid them both a polite goodbye and returned to his mountains of paperwork. Vell took a step out of the office and then took a sip from the soda he’d recently retrieved from the evil vending machine.
“So, what do you think?”
“I think I really do want to see the talking elephant,” Kim said.
“Obviously, yeah, we all want to see the talking elephant,” Vell said. “I mean the whole situation. You think the elephant thing is going to be the daily apocalypse for that day?”
“Well, on the one hand, an elephant seems like the kind of thing that would kill us,” Kim said. “But on the other, I feel like the fact we have advance warning means it’s not going to happen.”
“True. The universe probably wouldn’t make it that easy for us.”
“Yeah, but the elephant thing still feels pretty threatening,” Kim said. “Only way to find out is to wait a few days, I guess.”
A FEW DAYS LATER
“Hello you two,” Dean Lichman said. “And Hawke.”
“Hey,” Hawke said.
“He also wanted to see the talking elephant,” Kim explained.
“Well, that’s not a problem, it was an open invitation,” Dean Lichman said.
“Thanks. Still, sorry for not saying I was going to show up in advance,” Hawke said. “It took me a long time to make up my mind whether I was more interested in or afraid of a talking elephant.”
“They are rather large, aren’t they? I suppose that could be intimidating.”
“I’m okay with elephants on their own, it’s the talking part that doesn’t sit right with me,” Hawke said. “What if the elephant doesn’t like me? What if I’m the first person to ever get insulted by an elephant?”
“You’re less afraid of getting trampled by an elephant than insulted by one?”
“I’m a little afraid of trampling, but elephants are chill,” Hawke explained. “They wouldn’t attack unless provoked. I kind of feel like one might call me a dipshit unprovoked, though.”
“You have oddly specifics fears, Mr. Hughes,” Dean Lichman said.
“Yeah.”
In spite of those fears, Hawke happily stepped through the door to the zoology lab. It did not take a long time to locate the elephant in the room, as it was a literal elephant. The towering pachyderm was in a makeshift pen in the center of the lab, with an ample supply of food and a strange pedestal in front of her.
“Dr. Chanthara,” Dean Lichman said, with a polite wave to one of the researchers in the room. “Good to see you. These are the students I told you about.”
“Hm. Nice to meet you,” Dr. Chanthara said. He was, perhaps not unreasonably, skeptical of why three seemingly random students were in charge of a safety inspection. The fact that one of the three was a robot made him even more skeptical.
“Hi, nice to meet you too, and, uh, don’t mind us,” Vell said. “We just have an eye for weird things other people might miss.”
“Sure. I- wait. Aren’t you that kid who got chosen by a god?”
“Yeah, that’s me,” Vell said. “And her too, technically.”
Kim shrugged. She didn’t care for any extra attention on that point.
“Right,” Chanthara said. He was beginning to see why these students might know their stuff. “I suppose we should start by introducing you to Mae Noi. Say hello, Mae.”
The elephant shifted on her feet and poked her trunk at the wide pedestal in front of her twice.
“Hello. Friends,” a synthesized voice droned. Vell stepped a little closer to the pedestal, just enough to see that there were an array of buttons on the side facing Mae Noi.
“Oh, it’s kind of like a keyboard,” Vell said. He’d seen similar things used with dogs, though usually in a much simpler fashion. Mae Noi seemed to have a few dozen buttons at her disposal.
“Smart,” Mae Noi said, with another prod of her trunk.
“We initially put it into our sanctuary as a bit of a novelty, something elephants could choose to interact with,” Dr. Chanthara explained. “Mae Noi took to it a bit better than most. Especially once she found out she could use it to ask for food.”
“Food. Pumpkin. Pumpkin. Pumpkin.”
“No, Mae, no food until after experiment,” Dr. Chanthara scolded.
“Experiment,” Mae Niko said with a prod. “Pumpkin.”
“Yes, experiment then pumpkin,” Dr. Chanthara said.
“That’s not really a talking elephant, is it?” Hawke said.
“It’s more talking than most elephants,” Dr. Chanthara said.
“Elephant. Smart,” Mae Niko said. “Smart.”
“Yes, uh, right, elephant smart,” Hawke said. He took a step back, to avoid any further offense and any further risk of being insulted by Mae Noi.
“You’re very impressive, Mae, don’t mind him,” Kim said. “How many words does she know?”
“Our platform back home has around three hundred words, though she’s still learning some of them,” Dr. Chanthara said. “The ‘travel’ version we put together only has a hundred, just enough to make sure she can get her basic needs met and communicate about the experiment.”
“Right, speaking of, I do believe we should put some time into our reason for being here,” Dean Lichman interjected. “You’re welcome to stick around afterwards, at Dr. Chanthara and Mae Noi’s discretion, of course, but we should get underway.”
“We probably should get to business, yeah,” Kim said. She tapped the side of her metal head. “I’m going to scan the lab. Vell, you talk to the elephant and make sure everything’s above-board.”
“Abov- oh, right,” Vell said. “Sorry, not exactly used to being able to ask animals if they agree to animal experimentation.”
“Experiment,” Mae said.
“Yeah, experiment,” Vell said, as he turned to Mae. “So, Mae Noi, this experiment might hurt, do you know that?”
“Experiment. Hurt. Elephant,” Mae Noi prodded. “Experiment. Help. Elephant. Help. Baby.”
“Help baby?”
“Baby. Baby. Elephant. Sick. Baby. Sick.”
“We’ve explained the nature of her condition to Mae Noi as best we can,” Dr. Chanthara said. “She has several children, and is concerned they might be similarly affected.”
“Help. Baby,” Mae Noi said. “Experiment. Help.”
The way Mae Noi frantically tapped the buttons tugged at Vell’s heartstrings, but he choked those emotions down.
“So you want to do this experiment to help baby, got it,” Vell said. “Even if it hurts you?”
“Elephant. Old,” Mae Noi said. “Hurt. Okay. Help. Baby.”
“Huh. Well, that does sound like informed consent to me,” Vell said. “Passes ethical muster, at least.”
The campus rules allowed students to be experimented on, with their consent, so Vell saw no reason not to apply the same standard to an elephant.
“You speak up if you change your mind about the experiment, okay?”
“Stop. Stop. Stop,” Mae said, mashing the same button a few times. “Yes.”
“You got it. I’m going to go help my friends check things out,” Vell said. “Good talking to you, Mae.”
“Good. Talk. Friend,” Mae said. She waved goodbye with her trunk, and Vell waved back. He wandered away from Mae Noi’s pedestal and found Kim and Hawke carefully examining rows of beakers and various other supplies.
“Nothing sus yet, boss,” Hawke said.
“Nothing caustic, mutagenic, or explosive?”
“Well, something mutagenic, but it’s supposed to be,” Kim said. She had scanners built into her body much like those that had once been in Vell’s glasses, allowing her to analyze the complex chemical formulas at a glance. “They’re going for some gene editing similar to what we’ve tried to do on human cancer patients. Low success rate, but not harmful. Some adaptations to work on elephants, of course.”
“Run it by any of our chemistry and biology student friends yet?”
“A few,” Kim said. “Haven’t gotten anything back yet, though.”
“Maybe run it by Skye, too,” Vell said. “She’d recognize anything that’d mutate an animal.”
“She does love to mutate things,” Kim said.
“Benevolently,” Vell insisted. “Just show her. I’m going to check for any stray equipment.”
The presence of an unusually large test subject had resulted in the lab being rearranged and reshuffled, so Vell did a quick scan for any misplaced equipment that might pose a threat. He found, to his surprise, a tidy and well-organized environment, with any and all extraneous materials securely locked away. There wasn’t so much as a shrink ray out of place. Vell did another loop just to be sure, but returned to his friends empty-handed.
“This place has less safety hazards than my lab,” Vell said. Hawke stared at him for a while.
“Why does your lab have safety hazards?’
“I do runecarving, there’s like, hammers and chisels,” Vell said. “Those can hurt people.”
“Mm, true,” Hawke said. “So you really didn’t find anything?”
“Nothing,” Vell said. “This place is secure as I’ve ever seen a lab be.”
“It’s like I said,” Kim began. “We got an actual warning about it, so obviously nothing’s going to go wrong. That’d be too easy.”
“Maybe,” Vell said. “Things can get teleported in, or someone could cast a spell, or something.”
“Yeah, but that applies to anywhere, at any time,” Kim said.
“Kim’s right,” Hawke said. “I say we go business as usual.”
“I guess,” Vell said. “We have to branch out a little, at least. Can’t keep an eye on one room all day.”
The trio stopped sulking around the outskirts of the lab and returned to Dean Lichman and Dr. Chanthara.
“Everything looks good,” Kim said. “Probably the safest lab I’ve ever seen.”
“I’ll choose to take that as a compliment,” Dr. Chanthara said.
“We have very high safety standards here at the Einstein-Odinson,” Dean Lichman said, defensively. “Relatively speaking. Innovation requires some risk.”
“I understand perfectly. So does Mae.”
“Hurt. Okay,” Mae said.
“Not that okay,” Vell said. “Nice meeting you, Dr. Chanthara. You too, Mae.”
“Wait.”
Mae prodded one of the buttons on her pedestal and then pointed her trunk at the three of them. Hawke looked deeply concerned, but stepped forward alongside Vell and Kim. Mae Noi appraised them with massive brown eyes, and then moved her trunk back towards the pedestal. Vell noticed a distinctive scar on the bridge of her long nose just as Mae Noi pressed another button.
“Joke.”
“...Joke?”
Dr. Chanthara sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Just go along with it,” he said. “She likes to tell her joke.”
“Uh, okay,” Vell said. “Let’s hear it.”
“What. Elephant. Favorite. Part. Tree.”
“Umm...I don’t know, Mae,” Vell lied. He’d heard this joke from a kid, once. “What part?”
“Trunk,” Mae said. She gave a loud bray of amusement and then slammed her trunk down a few more times to emphasize the punchline. “Trunk. Trunk.”
“Oh, ha, I get it,” Kim said, hoping her feigned laugh was convincing. She’d never tried to lie to an elephant before. “Good one, Mae.”
Mae Noi shifted from side to side, looking pleased with herself, while the trio took a step back and stopped their feigned laughter.
“Did you give her buttons just to tell that joke with?”
“She gets upset,” Dr. Chanthara said. “I’m not even sure she understands the pun, she just likes people’s reactions.”
“As long as she’s having fun,” Hawke said.
“We’ll get out of your hair now,” Vell said. “Good luck with the experiment, feel free to let us know if you need a hand with anything.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Dr. Chanthara said. Some of his earlier skepticism seemed to have softened, but he did not seem entirely onboard with three strangers mucking about with his experiment. Vell and his friends left before they stretched what little goodwill they had any further. Mae Noi waved her trunk goodbye as the three left the lab and stepped back onto the quad.
“I’m going to try and sneak some classes in,” Hawke said. “Later.”
“I’ll check some of our usual hot spots,” Kim said, before she too left. Once again alone, Vell headed to one of his own classes, and called up Samson.
“Hey, Samson,” Vell began. “See anything interesting while we were playing with the elephant?”
“Well, I thought I clocked someone acting suspicious, but it turns out he was only sneaking around to go see his boyfriend,” Samson said. “Nothing apocalyptic, but I did get called a homophobe, which is pretty emotionally devastating.”
“I’m sure you’ll recover someday,” Vell said. “Keep an eye out. Usually the safer things look, the more dangerous things end up being.”
“Will do,” Samson said, before saying goodbye and hanging up.
***
Vell got increasingly nervous the longer the day went without its daily disaster. He thought about checking in on Mae Noi again, but then recalled Kim’s warning about it being too obvious, but then remembered that nobody had seen anything suspicious anywhere else, but then remember that Mae Noi’s lab had looked perfectly safe-
“Vell.”
“Huh?”
“You’re spiraling,” Kim said.
“I’m not spiraling, I’m just,” Vell said, with a pause for contemplation. “Considering multiple options.”
“In a spiral fashion,” Kim said. “Eat the damn french fries. Honestly, what’s the point of ordering so many if you’re just going to let them get cold?”
“It’s not like they’re going to go to waste,” Vell said. The same time loop that allowed him to eat massive amounts of french fries without fear of gaining weight also allowed him to avoid food waste. One of the upsides of life in a time loop.
“Just eat, Vell,” Kim said. “You worry too much about all this shit.”
“I’m in charge, it’s my job to worry about it,” Vell said.
“It’s your job to handle it,” Kim said. “There’s no point thinking about this shit before it happens, you spend all day thinking about an elephant and then the universe drops, like, a bat with tentacles on your head. Just deal with as it comes, Vell.”
Vell leaned on the table and managed to chomp down on a french fry or two.
“You know, next year, when I’m not running the show anymore, I’m going to call and see if you still think it’s that easy.”
“I sure hope so,” Kim said. “I’m saying all this shit trying to make myself believe it too.”
“Oh good, you’re lying to both of us,” Vell said. “That’s cool.”
“Fake it ‘til you make it, Vell, that’s how it goes,” Kim said. “Eat your damn french fries.”
Vell rolled his eyes and returned to his fries, which were now starting to cool. Thankfully he would not have to worry about finishing them. A loud crash from across campus interrupted him mid-bite and nearly made Vell choke on his fries. He painfully swallowed the half-chewed food and then looked over his shoulder.
“Son of a bitch, finally,” Vell said. A few years ago he’d found it weird whenever he was relieved about a disaster, but now he was just genuinely glad to get it over with. The waiting was as killer as the apocalypse. He tossed his fries in the trash and headed toward the sound of chaos, with Kim right behind him.
“Already told everybody?”
“Well, I may or may not have left Alex and Helena out of the loop…”
“Kim.”
“They’d find out anyway,” Kim said. “I got to use my brain parts to get in touch with them, even over wi-fi that shit feels dirty.”
“Just get in- stop.”
Vell held out his hand. Kim froze in place and did not move. Not intentionally, at least. There was a small amount of unintentional movement. The ground was vibrating.
“Always love a good earthquake,” Kim said.
“That’s not a quake,” Vell said. “That’s...footsteps!”
Vell grabbed Kim and dove out of the way just in time for something to barrel through the walls of the dining hall and stampede across the room. Tables, chairs, and more than a few students were crushed under the feet of a hulking, brown-furred behemoth as it charged. Kim picked herself and Vell up off the floor and tried to trail its progress.
“That’s a- oh fuck me,” Kim said. “Please don’t say you told me so.”
Vell got his bearings and looked across the room at the titanic form of a woolly mammoth. Though it was definitely recognizable as an archaic mammoth, the ancient creature was also heavily mutated, unnaturally large even by mammoth standards, and with multiple curled, jagged tusks protruding from a slobbering maw.
“Well that could be unrelated,” Vell said. “Mammoths can come from a lot of places, cloning accidents, time machines…”
The mammoth reached a wall, and rather than barreling through, turned around, facing directly towards Vell. A prominent scar covered the bridge of its broad trunk.
“Oh, nope, that’s definitely Mae,” Vell said. The scar was in the same place and at the same angle. Even a clone wouldn’t have an identical scar.
Once the revelation had struck, Mae took her turn. Vell found himself staring straight down the barrel of a very angry mammoth coming right at him at Vell-squishing velocity. Luckily he’d been charged at by a lot of creatures over four years of looping.
Vell jumped up and to the side, and latched on to one of the curled tusks, which made for very convenient handlebars. Kim did the same on the opposite side of Mae, and punched her in the head.
“Wait, wait, hold off on the violence for a second,” Vell shouted. He tried to wave at Kim to stop, but Mae was thrashing so violently he had to grip the tusks with both hands.
“Good plan,” Kim shouted. “Can you get Mae on board?”
Another set of tables got crushed underfoot. Thankfully the other students were out of trampling range by now, but Mae Noi’s feet were still coated in the blood of earlier victims.
“Mae’s smart, maybe we can calm her down,” Vell said. He then ducked to dodge a swat from Mae’s mutated trunk.
“Call me crazy, Vell, but I think this is more than just a bad mood,” Kim said, as she climbed up Mae’s seven jagged tusks like a ladder.
“We have to try,” Vell said. The loopers rule against hurting other intelligent life forms had some flexibility for blood-crazed mutants on violent rampages, but they had to at least try to reason first. Vell climbed up on of Mae’s tusks and looked into one of her bloodshot eyes for any sign of recognition. “Mae! It’s Vell, do you remember?”
The only response Vell got was an enraged trumpet, which he didn’t think was a “yes”.
“Come on, bud,” Vell said. “What’s an elephant’s favorite part of a tree, right? The trunk?”
The massive brown eye staring at Vell blinked, and he felt a brief glimmer of hope. He then felt a brief glimmer of his lungs being crushed as Mae swung her head and slammed her tusks into the wall, and Vell along with them. Kim punched Mae in the throat and then jumped across the tusks to grab Vell and carry him to safety.
“You okay, Vell?”
He opened his mouth to respond, and a pint or two of blood came out instead.
“Apparently not,” he mumbled. “I might be down a few ribs. And a lung. Or two.”
Kim carried Vell a safe distance from the fight and set him down on the ground, where he promptly spat out another mouthful of blood.
“Okay, uh, you just lie there and try to die peacefully, I guess,” Kim said.
“Way ahead of you.”
***
“Was that last bit as funny as I thought it was?” Vell asked. “I think the blood loss was affecting my sense of humor.”
“It was kind of hard to appreciate in the moment,” Kim said. “But as far as dying jokes go, it was pretty good.”
Vell and Kim walked into the lair for their morning meeting and joined the loopers that had already gathered.
“Okay, what’d I miss while I was dead?”
“Well, after Alex was done getting herself killed,” Samson began.
“You’re saying that as if it’s something to be ashamed of,” Alex said. “Vell also died.”
“Yeah, but he got killed trying to do something good. You got killed trying to do something stupid.”
“Trying to eliminate a threat is not stupid,” Alex said.
“We don’t kill intelligent creatures,” Hawke said. “Sometimes we punch them into a coma, but we don’t kill them.”
“When a dog bites, you put it down, I don’t see why the same principle doesn’t apply to a mammoth that’s crushed seventy people.”
“That wasn’t Mae’s fault,” Vell said. “She got mutated, or something. On that note: did you guys figure out what happened to Mae Noi?”
“Nothing,” Hawke said. “Looked like Mae smashed up the entire lab, trampled everyone involved in the experiment too. Nothing left to investigate, and nobody left alive to interrogate.”
“Typical,” Vell sighed. “At least we have an easy out. Dean Lichman was really concerned about the ethics of that whole experiment. We raise some kind of complaint, we could probably get the whole thing shut down.”
“The problem is getting the complaint,” Hawke said. “That lab was airtight, Vell.”
“Apparently not completely airtight,” Kim said. “I can camp out in the lab and raise an entirely justifiable stink whenever something capable of making a murder-mammoth shows up.”
“And what if it happens so suddenly you can’t complain about it?” Samson asked. “For all we know that could’ve been some kind of dimensional rift, or time anomaly, or something. It might not be as simple as somebody just putting in the wrong syringe at the wrong time.”
“He’s got a point,” Vell said. “We might want to shut this down before it gets there.”
“Seems like our best option is to plant evidence, then,” Alex said.
Everyone else at the table spent a few seconds brainstorming ways to prove her wrong, and much to their frustration, could not.
“Okay, fine,” Vell said. “But it needs to be something incidental, not something anyone would get blamed for. We want to cancel the experiment, not get anyone in trouble.”
“I could have a seizure on some sensitive equipment,” Helena offered. “It’ll break something and nobody would dare get mad at me.”
“Can you fake a seizure?”
“No, but I’m allergic to elephants, so I’d probably have one anyway the moment I stepped in the lab,” Helena said.
“I don’t feel entirely comfortable sending you into anaphylactic shock for a bit,” Vell said.
“Offer’s on the table,” Helena said. “I’ll live. Wouldn’t have made it through that trip to the zoo otherwise.”
“Anybody have any non-medical emergency suggestions?”
“Seagull in the air vents,” Kim said.
“Will that work?”
“It happens now and then,” Kim said. “Seagull gets in, and Dean has to close down the whole lab for potential material damage and biohazard risks if they shit in the vents.”
“Really? We’ve never had to deal with anything like that,” Hawke said.
“It may shock you to learn that sometimes minor, tedious bullshit happens that we have nothing to do with,” Kim said.
“That is kind of surprising, actually.”
“Enough. Kim, can you grab a seagull?” Vell asked. He shouldered his bookbag, and stuck a hand into the extradimensional pocket that existed within it. “I can probably smuggle it in with my bag.”
“Yeah, I can get you a seagull,” Kim said. Since she did not need to sleep, she had to find ways to keep herself entertained at night, seagull-grabbing being among them.
“Alright, we’ll go grab one and put it in the bag,” Vell said. “The rest of you, be ready to meet us when I call.”
***
Roughly three minutes later, Vell put out the call and they reconvened in front of the biology lab.
“Yeah, that was much faster than I thought it would be,” Vell said.
“I’m great at grabbin’ birds,” Kim said. Seagulls were among the easier birds to snatch, even. They were suckers for food, and many of them were attracted to her shiny metallic body anyway.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Vell said. “I want this thing out of my bag ASAP.”
Even though the seagull was safely within a pocket dimension, Vell would swear he could still feel the bird thrashing and squawking inside his bag. He tightened his grip on the shoulder strap and led the way towards the zoology lab entrance. He grabbed the handle and held it as he froze for a second.
“Vell, what’s up? Is this bird escaping?”
“No, the handle’s vibrating,” Vell said. It was shaking the same way a wall near an incredibly loud speaker might. He pressed his ear to the door and listened closely. He opened the door immediately, and let all his friends hear the frantic trumpeting of a panicked elephant.
Inside the lab, Mae Noi was stomping her feet and trumpeting as loud as he long trunk would allow. She swayed from side to side in her pen, bumping against the walls not quite hard enough to damage them, but hard enough that it was clear she was doing it on purpose.
“What the heck is happening here?”
“Ah, Vell,” Dean Lichman said. He hustled over to Vell’s side and gestured to the entire room. “Maybe you can figure out what’s going on.”
Mae Noi stopped braying long enough to start mashing her trunk against her pedestal, mashing out the word “Bad” over and over again.
“Our test subject, Mae Noi, has been throwing an absolute fit ever since she got here,” Dean Lichman said. “Dr. Chanthara, these are the students I was telling you about earlier.”
While Vell reintroduced himself to Dr. Chanthara, Kim and Hawke stepped up to examine Mae Noi and her enclosure. It was a far cry from the peaceful, orderly scene they had examined on the first loop. They were half an hour earlier this time than before, but Kim found it unlikely that they had been able to calm Mae Noi down, clean everything up, and get back to work in such a short amount of time. They hadn’t mentioned any of this panic on the first loop either. They were soon joined in their confusion by Chanthara and Vell.
“We’ve tried everything; food, water, her favorite toys, even videos of her children,” Dr. Chanthara said. “We’ve even offered to call off the experiment, but she won’t listen.”
“She is an animal,” Alex said. “Sometimes they do things arbitrarily.”
“Not Mae,” Dr. Chanthara said. “Some of our sanctuaries residents from traumatic backgrounds can have outbursts, but Mae was injured in the wild. She’s never been like this.”
“Maybe some experiment on the island is upsetting her,” Vell said. “A sonic experiment only she can hear, or something…”
Vell stopped and thought about it. If there had been such an irritant, it would’ve been there on the first loop too. Everything always repeated exactly the same, except for-
“Could you, uh, take a step back for a second?” Vell mumbled. “I want to try talking to her.”
“Don’t get close,” Chanthara warned him.
“I’m not, I’m not,” Vell said. He didn’t need to get very close to tell a joke.
The massive brown eyes of Mae Noi stayed locked on Vell as he approached, and she continued to mash the “Bad” button on her pedestal.
“I know, I know, bad,” Vell said. “But, uh, do you want to hear a joke?”
Mae Noi stopped. She locked eyes with Vell for a few seconds, and then cautiously tapped a button on her pedestal.
“Joke.”
“Right, joke,” Vell said. He tried to recall the exact sequence of words Mae had used on the first loop. “What elephant favorite part tree?”
Mae didn’t blink.
“Trunk,” Vell said.
After a moment of contemplation, Mae Noi let out one final, fervent, trumpet, and then started mashing buttons on her pedestal again.
“Bad. Help. Help. Experiment. Bad. Help. Bad. Help.”
“Yeah, bad help, one second,” Vell said. He turned away from Mae Noi to look at Dean Lichman. “Hey, uh, excuse me, Dean? Hey, uh, if I remember correctly there are some pretty complicated rules on having intelligent animals on campus, yes?”
“Well, yes,” Dean Lichman said. After hearing of some questionable ethical practices involving an octopus back in first year, he had instituted a few clauses into the school’s ethical code of conduct regarding intelligent animals like elephants, octopuses, and dolphins. “Mae’s presence here is a bit of an outlier, but there were workaround, given her apparent consent to the experiment.”
“Yeah, about that, is she, uh,” Vell began. “Is she registered as a student?”
“Yes.”
Vell pursed his lips. It took a few seconds for his friends to catch on.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Samson snapped. He turned his back on the crowd and leaned against a wall while Hawke put his head in his hands.
“The first rule of looping,” Alex said quietly. “Loopers are randomly selected-”
She looked up and locked eyes with Mae Noi.
“From all registered students.”

Event Cost Breakdowns by Squirtle Squad!

Link to the sheet

The Adventure of Mushroom Rerun event runs from May 21 to May 27 and lasts for 6 days and 19 hours.

Information

🍄 This is a special 2v2 event! Every 5 matches, you will randomly receive a buff which will boost either your score, your partner's score, or the amount of currency you get. 🍄 Each boost will also have 3 different levels which indicate how effective it is. The 1☆ currency buff will give you 1 extra currency per match, 2☆ will give you 2, and 3☆ will give you 3. 🍄 We are crowdsourcing rates here 🍄 You get 10 Mushrooms per win and 6 Mushrooms per loss. 🍄 You get an extra ~0.54 Mushrooms per try. 🍄 This means you'll get a total of ~10.54 Mushrooms per try. 🍄 You will get no free Mushrooms for this event. 🍄 It costs 30 diamonds for one try. 🍄 This is a rerun of an event that has run before. 🍄 All top-scoring information is from Nikki's Info.

Quick Costs

🍄 You need 925 Mushrooms for Mushroom Umbrella (only) and 1420 Mushrooms for everything. 🍄 It will cost 2640 diamonds for Mushroom Umbrella (only) and 4050 diamonds for everything. 🍄 This event is tiered with a suit order of Mushroom Umbrella, then Stubborn Knight! This means you have to redeem the items in a set order! The tiers for the suits are intertwined, which means finishing one suit means getting some pieces of the other.

Suit	Mushrooms	Diamonds
Mushroom Umbrella	925	2640
Everything	1420	4050

Costs listed above do not include diamonds back and assume average luck and assume 100% win rate. See the sheet for more detailed costs.

Stage Guides

🍄 Rock Climbing - NI Custom Guide

• Simple > Lively > Pure > Cute > Warm

🍄 Elegant Scholar - NI Custom Guide

• Mature > Elegant > Pure > Gorgeous > Cool

🍄 Meticulous Classification - NI Custom Guide

• Simple > Elegant > Cute > Sexy > Cool

🍄 Brilliant Celebration - NI Custom Guide

• Gorgeous > Cute > Lively = Pure > Warm

Credits to Tsundere Strategists
Join our Discord here and apply to join our team here~
If you repost and/or share something from the sheet/post, please give proper credit!

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The following is the first two chapters from my first fantasy novel. It's an almost Lovecraftian, dark fantasy inspired by the likes of Berserk, Attack on Titan and One Piece. I had originally thought to try and do a graphic novel. After realising the amount of effort that might take, I'll try it in prose form first.
Hope you enjoy
-----------------------------------------------------------
At the beginning there was only the Source.
The source energy of all things made from pure consciousness, an omnipresent higher being. Fated to be everything and nothing forever in an eternity of self reflection and loneliness, Source felt an eternity of despair. From that despair it gave birth to two new separate beings. Source's soul now divided into two entities.
Order and Chaos were born.
Source divided itself up equally between Order and Chaos and became all the life that that now wandered the world of Eve.
For a time, Order and chaos existed in balance. But Order, in it's increasing desire to control life, soon sought to banish chaos...
Our story begins long after Chaos and his followers have been mascaraed in an ancient war. A small village near the edge of the world is all that remains of them. In their desperation they cry out to their lord and begged Chaos for it's aid. Chaos also fearing it's extinction reached out to them. It would embed a portion its power upon one child born in precisely 9 months time. Created in to defeat Order, it is the last hope for Chaos and all of it's followers. It would defeat Order and the one who ruled in it's name. The leaders of the village David and Fae would give birth to the child of Chaos, it's power blessed upon the newborn. David and Faye named him Guy. Born to defeat Order and kill it's leader, the sorceress of Order. Chaos tells the villagers the child will be the one to rid the world of Order, and restore Chaos into the world. Soon Guy was born and the village held it's breath.
Guy always knew he was different. From his earliest memories, he sensed wasn't like the other children. Whilst they played together he trained alone. Harnessing his skills in combat.
Why do I do this? The thought was always stalking him.
"It is too much to burden you with" Guy remembers his mother telling him. "One day we will tell you everything and you will understand. You're everything our people have waited for. You're special Guy".
I don't want to be special. I just want a friend. I want to be normal...
Ten days before his 8th birthday, in the height of a winter storm, he heard his parents arguing. Every now and again the storm would drown our their voices. The next day they told him he was finally old enough to learn the truth about his birth and his destiny. All the ordeals and training would finally make sense.
Two days before his 8th birthday Guy watched the other kids celebrating one of theirs. Whilst his parents were away for a village meeting, he snuck out to join them. Guy asked if he could play too. The other children went silent. They quickly made excuses to leave. When Guy returned to his house he saw the other kids come back out again.
The next day he was once again practicing his combat skills with his wooden dagger. His father watched on.
Guy's form slipped for just a moment.
"Again Guy?." His father slapped the back of Guy's head . "How many times have I told you to concentrate!?"
Guy dropped his dagger.
"I don't want this anymore. I just want to be normal!!
Guy runs into the woods until, eventually, his father's scream disappeared into the gathering wind. Guy lies still, sobbing beside an old oak tree. A few minutes pass and exhaustion begins to creep in as his eyes turn bloodshot.
"I swear I won't come back this time" Guy muttered to himself.
The sound of thunder can be heard. Guy bolts up right and hears a scream coming from the village. He rushes to his feet and runs in it's direction. The screaming grows louder and louder as thick smoke begins to gather.
I knew shouldn't of ran away, its my fault this has happened! The words hung heavy in his mind.
He arrives back at the village. Hostile unfamiliar voices can be heard in the.
A cold voice fills the air.
"The child where is he?" Guy's father hovers in the air, his feet several feet above the ground, before a hooded figure. The hooded figure was tall and wore dark black and purple robes, his face shrouded in shadow. He carried a long body-length staff stretched towards Guy's father, a blue light shining towards his father's face at the very tip. Guy stops and watches as he sees the life slowly being choked out of him, his fathers eyes just visible through the thickening smoke.
"Tell me where he is!" the figure bellows
"I told you I have no child" David gasped
Guys eyes tremble and he holds back tears. His father's eyes meets his own for a second and then fades . Guy turns and runs. He doesn't stop. He runs for miles till the screams can no longer be heard. The only voices be could now hear was his fathers and his own as they swirled inside his head.
I have no son - He heard his father's voice
Why didn't I save them - He thought
I told you
Its all my fault. Its my fault Its all my fault Its my fault
I should of never have fled
I told you. I HAVE NO SON
Guy, aged 18, wakes up in the present day from the same nightmare. He is sleeping in a makeshift leather tent in the woods, his sweaty hand gripping his steel dagger. The full moon is high and bright but will soon be covered by thick cloud. Guy gets up and takes out his dagger and begins moving towards the nearby tree. He lunges in with it pointed just about touching the tree with the tip, just as he was taught to as a child. As the sun rises we can see that even in the gloom almost all of his strikes to tree were on target. There hundreds of incisions and pieces of tree missing, all laser focused on one spot just a few mm thick and wide.
The sunlight illuminates his lifeless eyes. He stares at the tree and wonders again, what is his purpose. His hand grips his blade as he lunges once more at the tree.
----------------
Chapter 1
Luna
Capital city
The grand temple of Order
Luna's heart danced with excitement as she walked hand in hand with her mother, her bright green-blue eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"Did you tell them I wanted white daffodils when I return to this plane? That's how I always imagined it!"
"Yes Luna, now we must hurry" her mother replied with a forced smile. Luna (7 years old) loved flowers but especially dafodils.
As they approached the grand hall, Luna's breath caught in her throat at the sight before her. The doors swung open to reveal a spectacle more magnificent than anything she had ever imagined.
Three magical orbs floated gracefully in an orbit around the hall, casting a soft, ethereal light that bathed everything in a blue mystical glow.
The religious, military, civil leaders and royal family members watched on in hushed silence as Luna and her mother entered the hall, the blue light only just bright enough to illuminate their eager faces as they watched on. It was so dim Luna could not see very far beyond the limited light the orbs cast. The distant edges of the hall still lay in shadow.
She had dreamed of final seeing the grand Hall and finally becoming a sorceress . Surrounded by white daffodils and the admiration of her family, she would emerge as the greatest sorceress ever. Luna inhaled deeply. She wondered if she'd be like the wise sorceress of the rebellion era who saved Eden from the dark one. Or perhaps the current sorceress , her great aunty Adel, whos powers would soon pass to Luna. As she approached the alter at the center of the oval hall, she looked around to see hooded figure at all side. Most held staffs with glowing blue orbs at the tip, all raised up towards the spheres that hovered in the air. A soft chant could be heard. A choir of hooded girls sang an almost forgotten ancient tongue towards the alter. Known only to a few, Luna couldn't remember what they called the language. Her mother had told her aside from a chosen few, no one remembered the name.
All as was designed by Order in his great plan. She thought
The song rose slightly as she reached the center. Luna walked up a stone step and kneeled before the alter just as she was told to do so. The grand priest, a tall balding man dressed in brilliant white robes cleared his throat and bellowed
"We begin this ceremony to welcome a new vessel to our saviour and light in the dark years. Great Lord of Order who banished Chaos to the night long ago. May we rid the heavens and Eden of all of his kin, so his name too will be lost to time" He cleared his throat again before continuing
"We the disciples of Order eagerly follow his path. Soon we will join him in the promised land"
Luna's mother whispers in her ear
"Be brave, Mother loves you" Luna didn't understand why there was a little sadness in her voice. Her mother squeezed her hand one last time then leaves her side to join her father who's eyes glared fiercely back at her.
Luna looked at her feet. I have to make him proud. Be a good daughter. Be a good sorceress
The grand priest began to speak
"So as the new eve approaches so we cast aside the old and begin anew. The final vassal and saviour." The room echoes these words with him. She could feel her heart beating in her ears
A hooded figure approaches her and removes her brilliant dark purple hood. The sorceress Adel, her great aunt and current ruler of Eden.
White haired and ancient, her passionless eyes stares down at Luna. She nods gently at Luna to begin. Now Luna needed to assume her rightful place before her and kneel. The center sphere turned blue and the air seemed to change. The great priest raises his arms and the chanting grows louder before coming to a sudden stop. Luna could sense a new presence among them. . She took a deep breath. The great priest passed a goblet of shining blue liquid to Luna. She drank a sip of the water and passed it to Adel. Adel was trembling too, even more than Luna. Adel took a sip before passing the goblet back to the grand priest.
A moment passed. From the corners of the hall a shadow moved quickly. The blue light of the spheres began to shiver and twist as the shadow passed though it. The shadow reached out and sank into Adel. She screamed as light bellowed from her mouth.
An unearthly voice rang
Do you accept me child
There was silence
Luna couldn't find her voice. She opened her mouth gasping for the words. Looking over Adel's shoulder. She saw her father's eyes glaring from the shadows. Luna's heart skipped a beat.
"Yes I I accept"
The light blasted out of Adel and hit her head on. Luna screamed as the Adel fell to the floor.
She felt the light tear into the very fabric of her soul and bury itself there. For a moment Luna no longer knew who she was, where she was, or have memories of ever being alive. Her soul was ripped out her body and flung far, far away. There she felt the pure terror of eternity gaze at her. She knew Order was with her now. Waiting, watching. For a moment she thought she could see what was almost an eye, or window of perception. Flashes of light began to appear from it. Each flash was a moment in time. The future. It began to unravel itself in her mind. Her soul screamed out as the future became a part of her. Now every moment of her life, her was as burnt into her memory and it began to unfold one second at a time.
She opened her eyes and saw clapping.
"Arise sorceress Luna."
Tears streamed down her face she took a step forward.
It was just the same as she had foreseen. It was just the same as she had foreseen. It was just as she had foreseen..! The words tormented her.
Everything is the same. No this can't be real. This can't be... Her eyes met Adel's Adel looked back at her with a sad smile.
"I love you Luna. Be strong"
"It hurts. please, please help me, please" Luna begged
"Promise me you won't give up. I believe in you" Adel replied. Luna looked at her feet.
I can't let them see me cry.
She looks up and sees her aunt collapse and lay motionless. The blue light fades and colour returns to the hall.
Luna reaches to cover her eyes as more tears began to form. She already knew what would happen next, but she couldn't prevent it. The tears kept appearing.
Stop stop, please Stop
Her father grabs her her arms away from her face and thrusts them to her side. He kneels and whispers.
"If you don't stop crying and bringing shame to out family.. to our LORD. I will no longer have a daughter. Am I understood?"
"Yes father"
"As you were, child". He glares and pushes her towards the head priest before returning to his seat.
"Continue" he bellows. Everyone who was for a moment frozen in place by his fury jolt back to their positions. All was all just as she had seen. Burnt into her mind . It was like walking through a familiar tunnel. A tunnel of her life. And then came the next moment, and the next. Like she foreseen. Like she had foreseen like she had foreseen...
Her heart slowed.
Who am I now. Please help me Aunty
She saw the daffodils she had requested dancing in the air as she walked through an applauding crowd. She grabbed one and stared at it. Onlookers sobbed and hugged each other in joy. The choir resumed, right at the precise moment she expected it would. She opened her hand and looked at the white daffodil. It was just a dead flower, nothing special.

chapters 1&2
chapter 3
chapter 4
chapter 5
chapter 6
chapter 7
chapter 8
chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
The lecture was supposed to be on Rationality 101, apparently not for Newcomers only. Serene was there to have her back but G was having a hard time focusing.
The boring black uniform more fitting for a hotel receptionist defaced the godlike beauty standing in front of a huge screen. Gentry couldn’t believe her eyes: this was the man she had her hands on a little while ago?
No, it couldn’t be.
It had been just an avatar, too perfect in its unblemished visage, too pure for this world. Yet the man whose face she remembered as if it was etched on the back of her eyelids, who she’d been constantly thinking about, who her hands itched to snatch, was standing right there, in the flesh.
Back in the dreamy simulated world she caught herself thinking that a trim waist like this couldn’t anatomically work on a human, yet here he was: a towering spread of fit shoulders perfectly balanced above the flexible whip of his midsection. The light-grey eyes that betrayed every movement of his pupils were as real as the ones that reflected the mock moon during her test. Below them lay the sharp slope of the cheekbones one could cut themselves on.
The only thing a bit different, apart from the outfit choice, was the young god’s hair. In the simulation, it was flowing and probably too long to be practical. This person’s mane was much shorter and fell down his neck in a neat ponytail, tastefully tamed with a single hairpin.
She had to get her hands on this treasure.
He was making last minute preparations for the lecture, looking through the papers on the desk, dark strands framing his face, light grey eyes sharp in careful concentration.
Professor Q, huh.
He said this was his name, and so did the note on the lecture hall door.
She was sure it was the man who had melted in her arms making the most delicious sounds a male throat could produce.
Had he recognised her?
Unlikely.
At the time of the simulation session, she didn’t have a camera that could pick up her facial features but just to be on the safe side, she decided to go by “G” in his class. There were bound to be lots of people with a name starting with a G, right? What would be the odds it was this particular newcomer that Q had tested that would end up in his class?
The man finally lifted his eyes at the audience and a gentle smile momentarily graced his features before disappearing as if he didn’t see someone he’d expected to.
The holoboard on the wall behind him obediently lit up following his nonchalant gesture. Gentry found it annoying that one needed a pair of special glasses to see all the augmented reality stuff and really navigate the city but again, with Sereen’s help she had more or less gotten used to it in the couple of days she had to deal with the necessities like settling down, getting food and finding her way around Ashtapada.
Still, could they use a piece of chalk or, at least, a marker to write on the board? No need to show off your Fully Automated Luxury Space Communism tech just to write a couple of notes on the board!
On second thought, high-tech-crazy or not, if this city brought up men like this one, she would definitely do her best to stay here to… reap the benefits!
They took a desk next to a huge clear floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the winter garden.
“Professor Q seems a little distracted today,” Sereen said, swiftly tapping a couple of buttons on G’s wrist to show her how to confirm that she was attending the lecture. “He’s usually much more chatty and friendly. I wonder what got into him.”
“Is he?” Gentry responded with an artificial air of indifference. “I just hope he’s more open to a discussion than that Poe guy.”
“He is! And Professor Poe isn’t that bad,” Sereen reprimanded before chuckling a little — since his little secret became known to students, he became known as Holopoe. “Just wait and see, it’s gonna be a blast. Q’s lectures are always very engaging.”
It proved to be utter bullshit.
After fiddling with the symbols on the interactive screen for ten minutes into the class, students getting more and more agitated behind his back, the lecturer seemed to give up. Turning back to the audience, he absentmindedly nodded to a couple of people in the lecture hall and sighed with a painfully fake smile.
“For today’s class, we are going to need to read a certain extract from a book,” he said, tone apologetic for some reason, but it solidified G’s conviction that she already knew this person. “I’ve just sent it to each of your wristcomms. We’ll have some quiet time and read it by ourselves, alright?”
“Reading from the comm?” Sereen mumbled to herself. “Couldn’t he just print them out?”
The rest of the students’ grumbles showed that they shared her disappointment. Q could only hopelessly smile again before returning to his work on the board.
Reading from the little semi-transparent screens was indeed torture. Quickly giving up on trying to awkwardly use gestures for scrolling through the text, she looked out of the window to entertain herself with the garden outside. From the modest height they were sitting at, the people below were quite discernible, partly hidden by the greenery, spread here and there in small groups and pairs. Gentry longed to be there, too. What was the use of being here with the most attractive person in the whole world if the only thing she could see was his back?
Well, the back didn’t look half bad, if she was honest, and what was below also pleased the eye.
But still. It would soon bore even the most easily entertained.
Her gaze fell to a small clearing where a lone male figure was sitting, writing something in a notebook. By the looks of it, the notebook was a real paper-made thing without the bells and whistles usual for Ashtapada. The next thing G noticed was a pair of slender legs, barefoot, stretched to dip the toes into the clear water of the artificial stream.
God bless the urban designers of this place!
The figure lifted the head and in an inconceivably graceful motion, swung the long blond bangs away from the face.
G straightened her back. Was it... Ok, maybe Q was the most handsome man she’d seen in her life but this... This was the younger boy she’d noticed a couple of days back, the one in a plaid skirt, shamelessly flirting with everyone within reach. Today, he wasn’t wearing one but the blue jeans hugging his thighs, rolled up almost to the knees, presented a picture just as tantalizing. Even with the hair was a completely different colour, even though the half-up, half-down style kept his face hidden, she was absolutely certain it was the same person.
Just you wait, young beauty, as soon as this “lecture” was over, your princess in shining armour was coming to pick you up!
Suddenly snapping out of the dull weariness, she turned on the auglasses S helped her obtain earlier and tapped away on her comm screen.
What a chance to give the local text sharing feature a go!
“The garden is pretty, but with a blossom like you, it is truly breathtaking. I wonder if anyone has picked this sweet flower or if anyone dares to,” she typed a cheesy note and folded the message into a neat 3D figurine of an origami paper crane with her fingers in the air.
Was S watching? Screw it, even if she was, she couldn’t read the message with her glasses off, right?
Carefully aiming the device at the lone figure, she launched the crane downwards, and it fluttered like a weightless butterfly in spirals, through the glass and right into the young man’s lap, not disturbing the notebook pages. He started at first at the intrusion but then turned his own glasses on and unfolded the message. A shy smile appeared on his plump lips, and he looked flattered, turning his head around to see if the sender was in sight. Catching no one, he typed something below the initial message and deftly folded it back into a crane that, to G’s surprise, flew directly at her, in uneven spirals along the wall. The man traced it with a smile, propping himself back on his arms, his whole slim body and face on full display now.
God, was he good-looking.
Easily passing the physical border of the glass again, the crane crashed into Gentry’s wristcomm, dutifully delivering the message and betraying her tactical position at the same time. An amused kind of surprise showed on the young man’s face and he waved at her to show that she had been exposed. She waved back, trying to look nonchalant but probably failing miserably.
Very smooth, G, way to go.
The message read, “Is a flower only good for looking at? Not this one.”
Oooh, this boy was playing with fire!
“Hey, G,” Sereen nudged. “Have you finished reading?”
“Mm? Oh, yeah.” Gentry lied easily. She had skimmed the first couple of paragraphs and was sure she’d be able to come up with something if asked.
“Done everybody?” the deep gentle voice called from the holoboard and G’s attention snapped back to the dignified face.
The class murmured affirmatively.
“I’m sorry today’s lecture isn’t as fun as usual,” he admitted. “I must say I’m still unsure how to approach such complex topic as this one. But with your help, I hope we’ll figure it out.”
Everyone seemed to perk up.
“You just read an extract on paradoxes,” Q went on. “And you might be wondering why we are raising a philosophical topic on a rational thinking course.”
“There you go,” Sereen whispered. “He’s back to normal!”
G humphed. This did seem interesting. Was it a good idea to read the extract after all?
Q continued, “In the text, you might have encountered the definition of a paradox. Would anyone explain it with their own words?”
A raised hand and the lecturer’s nod brought some courageous soul to their feet.
“It’s when you start with the correct premises, use consistent logic but wind up with an impossible conclusion,” they said. “There are three types: falsidical, veridical and antimony-type, which are...”
“Correct,” Q smiled and nodded the person back down. It was a smile worth starting a thousand wars over.
“Now there’s a reason why I asked you to read about them. Why do you think people have been fascinated with paradoxes for such a long time?”
S raised her hand and received a kind invitation.
“I might be wrong,” she said. “But it seems that they point at the limitations of our thinking, things that seem rational but in fact aren’t. We feel that with our all-conquering logic we can solve any puzzle but it’s not always the case. Right?”
“This is very insightful,” the teacher confirmed. “It is believed by many that what’s rational is true and therefore what rationality cannot explain must be false.”
“I definitely know someone who would die on that hill,” Gentry grumbled under her breath.
“I’m sorry?” Q asked. “Is there something you wanted to add... sorry, I don’t know your name?”
Still half mad with professor Poe, Gentry stood up. “It’s G, I’m a Newcomer. I was saying how a human mind can fool itself into thinking it knows what it looks at as long as it makes sense. But in reality, it’s not there, like the sky.”
That was the only thing she remembered from that last lecture! She felt the tips of her ears heat up but the kind and considering look on Q’s face showed her gamble paid off.
“These are very insightful observations, G, why don’t we try exploring them together?” — he waived her to sit down and turned back to the class — “Five minutes to discuss how paradoxes might reveal the weaknesses of rational thinking. Send your answers to the board when you’re done.”
“Whoa, daring as usual,” Sereen smiled. “I knew you’d enjoy his class.”
“Now, consider these two questions,” Q said to another student who stood up at his hand wave. “If an unstoppable force meets an indestructible object, what is going to happen?”
The person seemed to contemplate it for a while and the teacher didn’t rush him.
“Isn’t it one of those which are impossible to solve because the existence of the one automatically disproves the existence of the other?”
Q nodded, “Correct. The second one about the barber in a small town is of the same sort. Sereen?”
S stood up too, “The one that shaves all and only men that don’t shave themselves?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “At first, a premise like this seems perfectly reasonable, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” S responded, somewhat rashly. “But it’s clear that a barber like this cannot exist.”
“Wait, really?” Gentry whispered as Q nodded in satisfaction and urged her friend to go on.
“Yes, if we ask ourselves if this barber shaves himself. If he doesn’t, then he is part of the group which he does shave that do not shave themselves, but if he is in this group, then he does shave himself which makes it impossible for him to be this barber by definition.”
While the rest of the class was catching up with the logic, Q’s smile got only wider, more inviting.
“What does it tell us about the nature of the premise then?” he asked.
“That although it seems that it sounds logical on the surface, it is in fact nonsense and we don’t even need to hear the rest of the riddle to discard it completely,” S concluded.
The man chuckled.
“Well, I wouldn’t be that brash, to be honest, but on balance, you’re right,” he said. “If you stay after the lecture, I might recommend a couple of books on the topic. Your Newcomer friend is welcome to stay, too.”
G put up the best of the aloof fronts, “I’d be happy to, Professor.”
“Q is fine,” he smiled again and went on addressing the rest of the class that immediately exploded into a heated discussion.
***
“Basically, what I think we’re supposed to learn from this,” S concluded after a while, standing up so that everyone could hear her. “Is that before applying rationality, we have to make sure that all the premises we are dealing with are in fact realistic. Otherwise, there is no way rational thinking will help us.”
“Excellently put, as always,” Q applauded. “I’d love to see if everyone agrees or has something else to add to the discussion but our time is up. Feel free to write me a letter with your reflections on the topic.”
As interesting as the class was, the urge to leave the premises as soon as the teacher dismissed everyone seemed to be universal and applicable even to the Ashtapadans.
“I have to go now,” Sereen said. “Text you later, ok?” And with a reciprocal nod to Q, disappeared in the doors, joining the rest of the students.
Sadly, she couldn’t recall what they were talking about after the lecture, nor what titles Professor recommended for some home reading. She just hoped she didn’t make a fool of herself.
What Gentry did remember though was that after Q left as well and she came up to the panoramic window, Sereen and the mysterious flower boy were leaving the garden together. And it was hard not to notice that her new friend took off her wristcomm before they took off, and hid it in the tall grass.

Probably go w 2x32GB Ram I originally bought 4x48 I’m new to building 1st build since my first build in like 2002
Possibly case swap to Cooler Master C700M gotta find a box to ship the 4000d back to Amazon in 😂
Use: Running adobe apps, video editor, web dev, marketing and inventory system +playing games when free
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/sHxRPF
CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K 3.2 GHz 24-Core Processor CPU Cooler: Lian Li Galahad II Trinity SL-INF 61.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler Motherboard: MSI PRO Z790-A WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 96 GB (2 x 48 GB) DDR5-6800 CL34 Memory Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive Video Card: Asus TUF Gaming OG OC GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB Video Card Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 GT 1300 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Case Fan: Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan Case Fan: Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan Case Fan: Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan

Hello,
I want to start my first desktop build it will be a black and white build and I will be using my PC mostly for options trades, web browsing, movies, and youtube videos. I do some gaming on occasions but it's old titles I already have that will need a disc. drive and in my Steam account with RTS games: Total War: Shogun 2 - Rome 2 - Three Kingdoms, Disc. Drive for LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth, Disc. drive for StarCraft II, Steam: Counter Strike is my only shooter game. Total build price around $1,500 is what I want to spend on my first build, I don't need for 4K gaming since I hardly game and my current monitor is a SAMSUNG 34" ViewFinity S50GC Series Ultra-WQHD Monitor, 100Hz, 5ms, HDR10, AMD FreeSync, LS34C502GANXZA, 2023 model. Let me know what you think of my build list from PC Part Picker and if any other recommendations or tweeks on my first build, thanks.
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6qMTcH)
TypeItemPrice
:----:----:----
**CPU** [Intel Core i5-14600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jXFmP6/intel-core-i5-14600k-35-ghz-14-core-processor-bx8071514600k) $296.85 @ Newegg
**CPU Cooler** [Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black 60.09 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/HCgFf7/noctua-nh-u12a-chromaxblack-6009-cfm-cpu-cooler-nh-u12a-chromaxblack) $129.94 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** [MSI PRO Z790-VC WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/mJP8TW/msi-pro-z790-vc-wifi-atx-lga1700-motherboard-pro-z790-vc-wifi) $159.99 @ MSI
**Memory** [Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KGCZxkingston-fury-beast-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr5-6000-cl30-memory-kf560c30bwek2-32) $124.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** [Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/yGZ9TW/crucial-p3-plus-2-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-ct2000p3pssd8) $117.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** [Western Digital WD_BLACK 6 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Lvt9TW/western-digital-wd\_black-6-tb-35-7200rpm-internal-hard-drive-wd6004fzwx) $109.99 @ Newegg
**Video Card** [XFX Speedster SWFT 319 Radeon RX 6800 16 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Hg92FT/xfx-radeon-rx-6800-16-gb-speedster-swft-319-video-card-rx-68xlaqfd9) $359.99 @ Amazon
**Case** [Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3nD7YJ/fractal-design-pop-air-atx-mid-tower-case-fd-c-por1a-01) $89.99 @ B&H
**Power Supply** [Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YRJp99/corsair-rm750e-2023-750-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020262-na) $99.99 @ Amazon
**Optical Drive** [LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/z2dqqs/lg-optical-drive-wh14ns40) $54.99 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [NZXT F140 RGB 89.48 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/tjPQzy/nzxt-f140-rgb-8948-cfm-140-mm-fan-rf-r14sf-w1) $26.99 @ Amazon
**Custom** [Noctua NA-HC2 chromax.black heatsink cover (for NH-U12S, NH-U12S TR4-SP3 & NH-U12S SE-AM4)](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ZZ4NnQ/noctua-na-hc2-chromaxblack-heatsink-cover-for-nh-u12s-nh-u12s-tr4-sp3-nh-u12s-se-am4) $19.95 @ Amazon
**Custom** [CableMod PRO ModMesh E-Series G3 / G2 / P2 / T2 Cable Kit (White)](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jWtQzy/cablemod-pro-modmesh-e-series-g3-g2-p2-t2-cable-kit-white) -
*Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts*
**Total** **$1591.65**
Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-05-21 14:11 EDT-0400

32M, 5'6" 195lb Current Medications: Concerta, vitamin D, testosterone inj Had labs done 2 years ago that showed elevated LFT's, provider ordered abdominal US, which showed a small lesion. Jump forward to last month, recheck of LFT's still elevated so he wanted a repeat US. Repeat US showed growth in lesion and suggested MRI to rule out malignancy. MRI results just came through, waiting for doctor to call. Just posting to get others opinions on them in the mean time. Thanks in advance!
Will post scan results below, though I do not have access to images.
Most recent labs results with lab ranges in parenthesis,
Bilirubin, total - 1.2mg/dl (0.2-1.0); AST 49 units/L (<=37); ALT 100u/L (<64); hepatitis work up all negative
abdominal US: IMPRESSION: 1. Two hypoechoic masses in the liver with internal blood flow, the larger measuring 2.2 cm and increased in size since 2022 when it measured 1.3 cm. Recommend liver MRI with contrast to exclude malignancy. 2. Diffuse hepatic steatosis. Narrative US ABDOMEN COMPLETE 5/7/2024 1:02 PM HISTORY: R79.89 Other specified abnormal findings of blood chemistry COMPARISON: Ultrasound 7/26/2022. TECHNIQUE: Grayscale and color Doppler ultrasound imaging of the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, kidneys, spleen, IVC and aorta were performed. FINDINGS: Hepatic parenchyma is coarsened and echogenic consistent with hepatic steatosis. 2.2 cm hypoechoic lesion in the superior liver which is indeterminate, previously 1.3 cm. Additional smaller hypoechoic liver lesion is noted. The gallbladder is normal. There is no wall thickening, pericholecystic fluid, sonographic Murphy's sign or cholelithiasis. No intrahepatic or extra hepatic biliary ductal dilatation. Common bile duct measures 3 mm in diameter. Visualized portions of the head and body of the pancreas are unremarkable. Both kidneys are present without collecting system dilatation. The right measures 10.7 cm in length and left measures 10.7 cm. The spleen is unremarkable measuring 11.7 cm in length. The abdominal aorta is normal in caliber throughout. IVC is patent. No free fluid.
MRI: Impression IMPRESSION: 1. Single focal hepatic lesion with indeterminate imaging characteristics. Atypical hemangioma is in the differential, though tumor is not excluded given interval increased size and atypical imaging characteristics (T2 hypointense rim, lack of peripheral puddling of contrast). Options would include continued surveillance versus ultrasound-guided biopsy. 2. Diffuse hepatic steatosis. Narrative MRI LIVER W WO CONTRAST DATE OF EXAM: 5/14/2024 7:09 AM. CLINICAL INFORMATION: Liver lesion. TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar multisequence pre and postcontrast MR imaging of the liver. Gadavist 9 mL intravenous, without complication. COMPARISON: Ultrasound performed 5/7/2024 and 7/26/2022. FINDINGS: Normal hepatic size and contour. Diffuse hepatic parenchymal signal dropout on opposed phase T1 sequence. Single focal hepatic lesion in the left hepatic lobe measuring approximately 2.3 x 2.1 cm (5/13). Central mildly hyperintense T2 signal with a peripheral rim of hypointense signal. Early hyperenhancement, with persistent delayed enhancement, and hyperintense diffusion signal. No biliary dilation. Unremarkable gallbladder. Normal spleen size, without focal lesion. Unremarkable pancreas. No adrenal masses. Unremarkable kidneys. Symmetric nephrograms without evidence of enhancing mass or obstruction. Unremarkable stomach and duodenum. Normal caliber small and large bowel. No focal areas of bowel wall inflammation. Moderate stool burden. No adenopathy or ascites. Normal caliber abdominal aorta. Unremarkable IVC. No acute osseous findings.

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👽👽👽 Welcome to Furystorm's boutique ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 👽👽👽

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New players - use this code (STAR-MRG5-2TBJ) on registration to get additional 5000 UEC for free!
(Just click this link)

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Currencies accepted: PayPal: [$] [€], Skrill (+10%): [€], Crypto(+5%): BTC, BCH, ETH, can take others

To make an order 📨 PM me via Reddit or via Discord (Furystorm#4218)

!!! Please use standard messages, not chat (notifications aren't working properly sometimes) !!!
╔════════════════════╗
►1◄ REFERRAL SERVICE
╚════════════════════╝

20 $ per each

Info about rewards can be found here - https://robertsspaceindustries.com/referral-program
╔══════════════════╗
►2◄ SPECIAL OFFERS
╚══════════════════╝

╰( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )つ──☆
Upgrades

Item	Price, $
Starfarer Gemini to Merchantman	189
Banu Tholo code	69
Banu Lockbox (Banu Cube) code	89
Mole to Merchantman	199
Starfarer Gemini to Merchantman	189
C2 Hercules to Carrack	139
Valkyrie to Carrack	169
Constellation Aquila to Orion	219
Starfarer Gemini to Hull D Upgrade	109
Constellation Andromeda to Hull C Upgrade	139
Anvil Terrapin to Hull C Upgrade	179
F7C-R Hornet Tracker to Constellation Taurus	39
Corsair to 400i Warbond Edition	12
Hull E to Polaris	50
Ship Upgrades - Drake Kraken Conversion Kit	799
PAINTS - PERSEUS - THUNDERCLOUD PAINT	31

Stuff

Item	Price, $
CitizenCon 2951 Digital Goodies	9
Gemini LH86 Pistol - Voyager edition	6
Kruger P-72 Emerald	105
RSI VENTURE PATHFINDER ARM ARMOR	10
RSI VENTURE VOYAGER ARM ARMOR	10

╔═════════════════════════════════╗
►4◄ GAME AND SHIP COMBO PACKAGES
╚═════════════════════════════════╝

Package	Insurance	SC+SQ42	Price, $	Comments
PACKAGE - 2943 WEEKEND WARRIOR - LTI	LTI	SC + SQ42	299	F7C-M Super Hornet LTI pack
Package - Syulen Starter Pack	LTI	SC	115	Syulen LTI pack
Package - Aurora LN	3MI	SC + SQ42	59	Aurora LN (best aurora) Starter package
Package - Aurora MR SC Starter - Backer Edition	3MI	SC + SQ42	55	Cheap starter+SQ42 package
Mustang Alpha Starter	3MI	SC	55	-
Anniversary 2017 Mustang Discount Starter	5YI	No	54	-
Nox 2 pack	LTI	No	121	Nox + Nox Kue
Aopoa Nox 5 Pack	LTI	No	242	4 Nox + 1 Nox Kue
Race Team Pack	LTI	No	168	X1 + NOX + Dragonfly Black
Origin X1 THREE-PACK	LTI	No	174	X1 Baseline + Velocity + Force
Entrepreneur pack	LTI	Yes	683	Prospector + Vulture + Vulcan + Hull B + Ursa Rover
The Tortoise and the Hurricane	LTI	No	415	Anvil Hurricane + Anvil Terrapin
Starfarer + Nox 2 pack	LTI	No	431	Starfarer + Nox + Nox Kue
Origin 600i Series Combo Pack	LTI	No	977	600i Luxury + Exploration + Origin X1
Scoundrel Pack	LTI	Yes	788	7 Items, see picture
Aegis Wrecking Crew Pack	LTI	No	1155	Reclaimer + Vulcan + Eclipse + Avenger Warlock/Titan
Exotic Mega Pack	LTI	No	1260	Banu MM + Genesis Starliner + Khartu-al + other small ships
UEE Exploration 2948 Pack	LTI	Yes	850	Carrack, Terrapin, Freelancer DUR, Cyclone RN

Game package can be upgrade as well on your demand, price negotiated
╔══════════════════════════╗
►5◄ LTI STANDALONE SHIPS
╚══════════════════════════╝
CCU-d ships are upgraded from another ship. Also I have ships from original sale - they may come with different bonuses but are more expensive.

You can click on the price of original sale item to see it's contents.

Ship manufacturer	Ship model	Insurance	Price (CCU-d), $	Price (Original sale), $
Aopoa (Xi'an)	Khartu-Al	LTI	179	-
-	Nox	LTI	-	77
-	Nox Kue	LTI	-	77
-	San'Tok.Yai	LTI	231	-
Aegis Dynamics	Avenger Titan	LTI	74	100
-	Avenger Titan Renegade	LTI	95	111
-	Avenger Stalker	LTI	84	-
-	Avenger Warlock	LTI	100	-
-	Eclipse	LTI	305	333
-	Gladius	LTI	116	-
-	Gladius Valiant	LTI	132	147
-	Hammerhead	LTI	672	777
-	Hammerhead Best in Show Edition	LTI	746	-
-	Nautilus	LTI	672	-
-	Reclaimer	LTI	336	550
-	Reclaimer Best in Show Edition	LTI	429	-
-	Redeemer	LTI	333	-
-	Retaliator Bomber	LTI	284	-
-	Sabre	LTI	184	221
-	Sabre Comet	LTI	195	-
-	Vanguard Warden	LTI	263	357
-	Vanguard Harbinger	LTI	289	-
-	Vanguard Sentinel	LTI	268	-
-	Vanguard Hoplite	LTI	231	268
-	Vulcan	LTI	216	242
ARGO Astronautics	MPUV Cargo	LTI	74	84
-	MPUV Personnel	LTI	-	89
	Raft	LTI	142	-
-	SRV	LTI	165	-
-	Mole	LTI	321	-
-	Combo Pack	LTI	-	111
Anvil Aerospace	Arrow	LTI	95	137
-	C8X Pisces Expedition	LTI	69	79
-	C8R Pisces	LTI	84	-
-	Carrack	LTI	420	-
-	Carrack W/C8X	LTI	440	-
-	Carrack Expedition	LTI	447	-
-	Carrack Expedition W/C8X	LTI	468	-
-	Crucible	LTI	369	431
-	F7C Hornet	LTI	121	-
-	F7C Hornet Wildfire	LTI	189	210
-	F7C-S Hornet Ghost	LTI	140	-
-	F7C-R Hornet Tracker	LTI	155	-
-	F7C-M Super Hornet	LTI	199	252
-	F7C-M Hornet Heartseeker	LTI	200	-
-	Gladiator	LTI	177	221
-	Hawk	LTI	116	132
-	Hurricane	LTI	210	231
-	Terrapin	LTI	231	263
-	Valkyrie	LTI	357	-
-	Legionnaire	LTI	132	-
Banu	Merchantman	LTI	399	-
-	Defender	LTI	226	237
Consolidated outland	Mustang Beta	LTI	95	-
-	Mustang Gamma	LTI	74	-
-	Mustang Delta	LTI	84	-
-	Pioneer	LTI	-	1499
Crusader Industries	Ares Inferno	LTI	252	-
-	Ares Ion	LTI	252	-
-	Genesis Starliner	LTI	357	578
-	C2 Hercules	LTI	368	-
-	M2 Hercules	LTI	483	-
-	A2 Hercules	LTI	735	-
	C1 Spirit	LTI	137	-
	E1 Spirit	LTI	163	-
	A1 Spirit	LTI	210	-
-	Mercury Star Runner	LTI	273	-
Drake Interplanetary	Dragonfly Yellowjacket	LTI	-	84
-	Dragonfly Black	LTI	-	84
-	Dragonfly Ride Together Two-Pack	LTI	-	126
-	Buccaneer	LTI	126	142
-	Caterpillar	LTI	336	-
-	Caterpillar Best in Show Edition	LTI	347	-
-	Corsair	LTI	263	-
-	Cutlass Black	LTI	126	-
-	Cutlass Black Best in Show Edition (2949)	LTI	137	-
-	Cutlass Steel	LTI	221	-
-	Cutlass Red	LTI	142	-
-	Cutlass Blue	LTI	168	-
-	Herald	LTI	111	-
-	Vulture	LTI	158	-
Esperia	Vanduul Blade	LTI	284	326
-	Vanduul Glaive	LTI	373	-
-	Prowler	LTI	399	510
-	Talon	LTI	132	-
-	Talon Shrike	LTI	132	-
Gatac	Railen	LTI	242	-
Greycat Industrial	ROC	LTI	77	-
Kruger Intergalactic	P-72 Archimedes	LTI	-	90
-	P-72 Archimedes Emerald	LTI	-	105
Mirai	Fury	LTI	69	-
-	Fury MX	LTI	69	-
-	Fury LX	LTI	69	-
MISC	Endeavor BASE	LTI	378	-
-	Endeavor DISCOVERY-CLASS	LTI	-	683
-	Endeavor Master Set 2018	LTI	-	1399
	Expanse	LTI	168	-
-	Freelancer	LTI	121	-
-	Freelancer DUR	LTI	147	-
-	Freelancer MAX	LTI	163	-
-	Freelancer MIS	LTI	184	-
-	HULL A	LTI	99	-
-	HULL B	LTI	147	-
-	HULL C	LTI	357	-
-	HULL D	LTI	462	-
-	Odyssey	LTI	578	-
-	Razor	LTI	163	179
-	Razor LX	LTI	168	-
-	Razor EX	LTI	174	-
-	Prospector	LTI	163	179
-	Reliant Kore (Mini Hauler)	LTI	84	105
-	Reliant Tana (Skirmisher)	LTI	95	-
-	Reliant Mako (News Van)	LTI	121	-
-	Reliant Sen (Researcher)	LTI	105	-
-	Starfarer	LTI	315	399
-	Starfarer Gemini	LTI	347	452
Origin Jumpworks	X1 Baseline	LTI	-	69
-	X1 Velocity	LTI	-	74
-	X1 Force	LTI	-	79
-	M50	LTI	121	-
-	85X	LTI	-	79
-	100I	LTI	74	95
-	125A	LTI	79	-
-	135C	LTI	84	-
-	300I	LTI	77	-
-	315P	LTI	77	-
-	325A	LTI	93	-
-	350R	LTI	137	-
-	400i	LTI	265	-
-	600i Touring	LTI	399	525
-	600i Exploration	LTI	420	580
RSI	Aurora CL	LTI	74	-
-	Apollo Triage	LTI	268	-
-	Apollo Medivac	LTI	294	-
-	Galaxy	LTI	378	-
-	Mantis	LTI	168	-
-	Perseus	LTI	557	-
-	Polaris	LTI	735	999
-	Constellation Taurus	LTI	179	-
-	Constellation Andromeda	LTI	252	-
-	Constellation Aquila	LTI	321	-
	Zeus MK II MR	LTI	205	-
	Zeus MK II ES	LTI	163	-
	Zeus MK II CL	LTI	163	-
-	Scorpius	LTI	263	-
-	Scorpius Antares	LTI	252	-
-	Orion	LTI	489	-

╔════════════════════════════════════╗
►6◄ NON-LTI SHIPS & PACKAGES, COMMON
╚════════════════════════════════════╝

Ship/Package	Insurance	Price, $	Comments
Consolidated Outland Mustang Alpha Vindicator	6MI	66	Limited Vindicator version
Kruger P-72 Archimedes	10YI	55	-
Kruger P-72 Archimedes	6YI	45	-
Kruger P-52 Merlin	6YI	37	-
RSI Aurora ES	10YI	37	-
Argo MPUV 1C Cargo	10YI	53	-
MISC Endeavor OLYMPIC-CLASS	4YI	578	Endeavor with modules
RSI Constellation Phoenix	10YI	399	-
RSI Constellation Phoenix	6YI	389	-
Origin 890 Jump	6MI	1099	-
Origin 890 Jump	6YI	1249	-
Origin 890 Jump	10YI	1349	-

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗
►7◄ PLANETARY VEHICLES & COMBO PACKAGES
╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝

Vehicle	Insurance	Price (CCU-d), $	Price (Concept), $	Comments
Anvil Ballista	LTI	153		-
Hoverquad	LTI		74	-
Greycat PTV	6YI		27	-
Greycat PTV	10YI		37	-
Origin G12	LTI	84		-
Origin G12R	LTI		84	-
Origin G12A	LTI		90	-
Tumbril Cyclone	LTI		74	Base version
Tumbril Cyclone-TR	LTI		79	With ground turret
Tumbril Cyclone-RC	LTI		79	Speedster
Tumbril Cyclone-AA	LTI		95	Anti-air + countermeasures
Tumbril Cyclone-RN	LTI		79	Scout & Scan
Tumbril Ranger RC	LTI	105		Racer
Tumbril Ranger CV	LTI	111		Offroad
Tumbril Ranger TR	LTI	116		With Gun
Tumbril Nova	LTI	126	132	Tank
URSA Rover	5YI		63	-
URSA Rover	10YI		70
Lynx	LTI	79
URSA Rover Fortuna	LTI	79		Limited green skin edition

Below are listed combo packs with different combination of vehicles, or with space ships

Combo packs	Insurance	Price (Concept), $	Comments
Offroad Vehicle Pack	LTI	137	Cyclone TR + URSA + Greycat PTV
Tumbril Cyclone Pack	LTI	305	All Cyclones
All-Terrain Vehicle Mega Pack	LTI	473	All Cyclones + Ursa + Lynx + Greycat
Air and Space Pack LTI	LTI	315	Terrapin + Cyclone AA
Ground Vehicle Pack VIP	LTI	378	Gragonfly + Nox + X1 + Ursa + Cyclone + Nova + bonus
Deluxe Ground Vehicle Pack VIP	LTI	840	A lot of items, check screenshot

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
►8.1◄ MODULES, PODS, BATTLEFIELD UPGRADE KITS (BUKS), OTHER ITEMS
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Module	Insurance	Price, $
MISC Endeavor Modules (Pods)	-	-
BIODOME POD	10YI	126
TELESCOPE ARRAY POD	10YI	153
SUPERCOLLIDER POD	10YI	155
SERVICE EQUIPMENT AND CREW POD	10YI	53
GENERAL RESEARCH POD	10YI	72
GENERAL SCIENCE POD	10YI	71
FUEL POD	10YI	60
MEDICAL BAY POD	10YI	105
LANDING BAY	10YI	105
RSI Galaxy Modules
Galaxy - Med Bay Module	10YI	116
Galaxy - Refinery Module	10YI	126
Galaxy - Cargo Module	10YI	95
Aegis Vanguard battlefield upgrade kits
Harbinger battlefield upgrade kit	LTI	140
Sentinel battlefield upgrade kit	6MI	69
Other stuff
Add-ons - Aegis Idris P after market kit	-	294

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
►8.2 ◄ FPS WEAPONS, ARMOR, CLOTHES AND OTHER GEAR
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Module	Insurance	Price, $
Overlord "Dust Storm" Armor Set	-	11
Overlord "Riptide" Armor Set	-	11
Overlord Helmets "Silent Strike" Pack	-	8
Overlord Helmets "Forces of Nature" Pack	-	8
Parasite Replica Helmet (Original)	-	11
Parasite Replica Helmet (Dark Birth)	-	11
Stegman's Cordimon "Voyager" Complete Outfit	-	11
Stegman's IndVest “Pathfinder” Complete Outfit	-	11
RSI MacFlex Rust Society full armor set (5 items)	-	21
RSI Venture Rust Society full armor set (5 items)	-	32
Mr. Refinement’s Cabinet of Rare & Exquisite Spirits	-	11
Life in the 'Verse Shirts Pack #1	-	5
Life in the 'Verse Shirts Pack #2	-	5
"Caudillo" Helmets Pack #1 by CC's Conversions	-	10
"Caudillo" Helmets Pack #2 by CC's Conversions	-	10
"Caudillo" Helmets Pack #3 by CC's Conversions	-	10
QuikFlarePro Pack	-	5
QuikFlarePro Pack Deluxe	-	6
Polar Vortex Collection	-	7
Cold Front Collection	-	7
UltiFlex FSK-8 "Mirage" Combat Knife	-	5
UltiFlex FSK-8 "Ghost" Combat Knife	-	5
Urban Collection by Element Authority	-	11
Adventurer Collection by Element Authority	-	11
Manaslu Rust Society Jacket	-	8
RSI Horizon Rust Society Helmet	-	8
RSI Beacon Rust Society Undersuit	-	6
Paladin helmet	-	10

╔════════════════════════════════════════╗
►9◄ CROSS-CHASSIS UPGRADES (CCUS), SHIPS
╚════════════════════════════════════════╝

IAE-insurance upgrades (adds IAE insurance (10 years) to your ship)

Upgrade	Price, $
Prospector to F7C-M Super Hornet	50
Vanguard Warden to Caterpillar	60

Sorted by: Manufacturer -> ship

Target ship manufacturer	Target ship	Upgrade from	Price, $
Aegis Dynamics	Avenger Titan Renegade	325A	18
-	Avenger Warlock	325A	29
-	Avenger Warlock	Arrow	26
-	Eclipse	Constellation Andromeda	78
-	Eclipse	Vanguard Sentinel	37
-	Eclipse	Vanguard Warden	53
-	Eclipse	Blade	37
-	Gladius Valiant	Gladius	32
-	Gladius Valiant	M50	23
-	Hammerhead	Constellation Aquila	477
-	Hammerhead	600i Touring	357
-	Hammerhead	600i Explorer	315
-	Hammerhead	Merchantman	131
-	Hammerhead	Hull D	236
-	Hammerhead	Crucible	446
-	Hammerhead	Carrack	173
-	Hammerhead	Reclaimer	383
-	Hammerhead	Prowler	351
-	Hammerhead	Orion	131
-	Hammerhead	Glaive	446
-	Nautilus	Constellation Aquila	462
-	Nautilus	Endeavor	425
-	Nautilus	Crucible	425
-	Nautilus	Genesis Starliner	372
-	Nautilus	M2 Hercules	246
-	Nautilus	Merchantman	110
-	Nautilus	600i Explorer	294
-	Nautilus	600i Touring	336
-	Nautilus	Orion	110
-	Nautilus	Prowler	330
-	Nautilus	Carrack	173
-	Nautilus	Reclaimer	372
-	Nautilus	Hull D	215
-	Nautilus	C2 Hercules	372
-	Nautilus	Valkyrie	399
-	Reclaimer	Constellation Aquila	110
-	Reclaimer	Starfarer Gemini	84
-	Reclaimer	Endeavor	73
-	Reclaimer	Crucible	73
-	Reclaimer	Valkyrie	49
-	Redeemer	Constellation Andromeda	78
-	Redeemer	Vanguard Hoplite	84
-	Redeemer	Mole	31
-	Retaliator Bomber	Constellation Andromeda	57
-	Retaliator	Razor	19
-	Retaliator	Ballista	26
-	Sabre	Prospector	31
-	Sabre	Gladiator	16
-	Sabre Comet	Sabre	31
-	Sabre Comet	Freelancer MIS	26
-	Sabre Comet	Khartu-Al	31
-	Sabre Comet	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	23
-	Sabre Comet	Gladiator	35
-	Vanguard Harbinger	Constellation Andromeda	68
-	Vanguard Harbinger	Retaliator Bomber	31
-	Vanguard Harbinger	Vanguard Sentinel	26
-	Vanguard Harbinger	Vanguard Hoplite	68
-	Vanguard Harbinger	Vanguard Warden	42
-	Vanguard Hoplite	Constellation Taurus	54
-	Vanguard Hoplite	Defender	33
-	Vanguard Hoplite	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	54
-	Vanguard Hoplite	Hurricane	44
-	Vanguard Hoplite	Terrapin	33
-	Vanguard Sentinel	Constellation Andromeda	52
-	Vanguard Sentinel	Vanguard Warden	31
-	Vanguard Warden	Constellation Andromeda	31
-	Vanguard Warden	Vanguard Hoplite	35
-	Vulcan	Prospector	61
-	Vulcan	Cutlass Blue	40
-	Vulcan	Freelancer MIS	40
-	Vulcan	Sabre	46
-	Vulcan	Sabre Comet	30
-	Vulcan	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	40
-	Vulcan	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	30
-	Vulcan	Gladiator	51
-	Vulcan	Khartu-Al	46
Anvil Aerospace	Carrack	Constellation Aquila	267
-	Carrack	Mole	320
-	Carrack	M2 Hercules	99
-	Carrack	600i Explorer	147
-	Carrack	600i Touring	189
-	Carrack	Prowler	183
-	Carrack	Reclaimer	225
-	Carrack	Genesis Starliner	225
-	Carrack	Valkyrie	215
-	Carrack	C2 Hercules	189
-	Carrack	Hull D	73
-	Carrack	Endeavor	283
-	Carrack	Crucible	283
-	Carrack	Starfarer Gemini	294
-	Carrack W/C8X	Carrack	55
-	Carrack Expedition	Carrack	60
-	Carrack Expedition	Carrack W/C8X	40
-	Carrack Expedition W/C8X	Carrack	80
-	Carrack Expedition W/C8X	Carrack W/C8X	73
-	Carrack Expedition W/C8X	Carrack Expedition	68
-	Crucible	Starfarer Gemini	26
-	Crucible	Constellation Aquila	94
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	Prospector	43
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	Khartu-AL	27
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	22
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	Gladiator	32
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	Freelancer MIS	22
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	Sabre	27
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	Razor EX	43
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	Prospector	63
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	Freelancer MAX	68
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	Razor EX	63
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	Gladiator	52
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	Khartu-AL	47
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	Sabre	47
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	Sabre Comet	31
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	42
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	Freelancer MIS	42
-	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	Prospector	31
-	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	Khartu-Al	16
-	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	Gladiator	22
-	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	Sabre	16
-	Gladiator	Prospector	21
-	Hawk	Gladius	21
-	Hurricane	Constellation Taurus	22
-	Hurricane	Prospector	69
-	Hurricane	Gladiator	58
-	Hurricane	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	48
-	Hurricane	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	37
-	Hurricane	Freelancer MIS	48
-	Hurricane	Sabre	53
-	Hurricane	Sabre Comet	37
-	Hurricane	Khartu-Al	53
-	Terrapin	Prospector	84
-	Terrapin	Constellation Taurus	33
-	Terrapin	Freelancer MAX	86
-	Terrapin	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	52
-	Terrapin	Freelancer MIS	63
-	Terrapin	Vulcan	36
-	Terrapin	Gladiator	73
-	Terrapin	Khartu-Al	65
-	Terrapin	Sabre	65
-	Valkyrie	Constellation Aquila	78
-	Valkyrie	Endeavor	42
-	Valkyrie	Starfarer Gemini	52
-	Valkyrie	Crucible	42
-	Valkyrie	Glaive	42
Aopoa (Xi'an)	Khartu-Al	Prospector	29
-	Khartu-Al	Freelancer MAX	31
-	Nox	Aurora LN	22
-	Nox	Dragonfly Black	15
-	Nox	Dragonfly Yellowjacket	15
-	Nox	MPUV Cargo	27
-	Nox Kue	Aurora LN	17
-	Nox Kue	Dragonfly Black	15
-	Nox Kue	Dragonfly Yellowjacket	15
-	Nox Kue	Mustang Beta	15
-	Nox Kue	MPUV Personnel	15
-	Nox Kue	MPUV Cargo	22
-	San'tok.yāi	Constellation Taurus	56
-	San'tok.yāi	Hurricane	46
-	San'tok.yāi	Vulcan	56
ARGO Astronautics	MPUV Cargo	Mustang Alpha	15
-	SRV	F7C-R Hornet Tracker Mk I	26
-	SRV	Razor	31
-	SRV	Prospector	21
-	SRV	Freelancer MAX	26
-	SRV	Razor EX	21
Banu	Merchantman	Mole	239
-	Merchantman	Starfarer Gemini	220
-	Merchantman	Prowler	231
-	Merchantman	600i Touring	236
-	Merchantman	600i Explorer	194
-	Merchantman	Genesis Starliner	273
-	Defender	Constellation Taurus	31
-	Defender	Retaliator	84
-	Defender	Cutlass Blue	57
-	Defender	Freelancer MIS	65
-	Defender	Gladiator	70
-	Defender	Khartu-Al	65
-	Defender	Sabre	65
-	Defender	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	59
-	Defender	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	50
Consolidated outland	Mustang Delta	Mustang Gamma	22
-	Mustang Delta	Avenger Stalker	15
Crusader Industries	Genesis Starliner	Constellation Aquila	115
-	Genesis Starliner	Endeavor	73
-	Ares Inferno	Constellation Andromeda	26
-	Ares Ion	Constellation Andromeda	26
-	A2 Hercules	600i Touring	393
-	A2 Hercules	600i Explorer	351
-	A2 Hercules	Carrack	220
-	A2 Hercules	Constellation Aquila	519
-	A2 Hercules	Crucible	483
-	A2 Hercules	Endeavor	483
-	A2 Hercules	Hull D	273
-	A2 Hercules	Merchantman	168
-	A2 Hercules	Orion	168
-	A2 Hercules	Prowler	388
-	A2 Hercules	Reclaimer	430
-	A2 Hercules	Starfarer Gemini	504
-	C2 Hercules	Constellation Aquila	110
-	C2 Hercules	Valkyrie	47
-	C2 Hercules	Crucible	73
-	C2 Hercules	Endeavor	73
-	C2 Hercules	Glaive	73
-	C2 Hercules	Starfarer Gemini	84
-	M2 Hercules	Constellation Aquila	236
-	M2 Hercules	600i Touring	110
-	M2 Hercules	600i Explorer	68
-	M2 Hercules	C2 Hercules	147
-	M2 Hercules	Crucible	199
-	M2 Hercules	Endeavor	199
-	M2 Hercules	Genesis Starliner	147
-	M2 Hercules	Prowler	105
-	M2 Hercules	Reclaimer	147
-	M2 Hercules	Starfarer Gemini	210
-	A1 Spirit	F7C-R Hornet Tracker Mk I	63
-	A1 Spirit	Razor	68
-	A1 Spirit	Khartu-Al	42
-	A1 Spirit	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	26
-	A1 Spirit	Sabre	42
-	A1 Spirit	Prospector	57
-	A1 Spirit	Zeus Mk II MR	21
-	C1 Spirit	Freelancer	26
-	C1 Spirit	Legionnaire	15
-	C1 Spirit	Nova	15
-	C1 Spirit	Cutlass Black	26
-	C1 Spirit	Talon	21
-	C1 Spirit	Talon Shrike	21
-	E1 Spirit	Razor	15
-	Mercury Star Runner	Prospector	120
-	Mercury Star Runner	San'tok.yāi	31
-	Mercury Star Runner	Defender	52
-	Mercury Star Runner	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	99
-	Mercury Star Runner	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	89
-	Mercury Star Runner	Freelancer MIS	99
-	Mercury Star Runner	Hurricane	63
-	Mercury Star Runner	Khartu-Al	105
-	Mercury Star Runner	Razor EX	120
-	Mercury Star Runner	Sabre Comet	89
-	Mercury Star Runner	Sabre	105
-	Mercury Star Runner	Terrapin	52
-	Mercury Star Runner	Vulcan	73
Drake Interplanetary	Caterpillar	Constellation Andromeda	116
-	Caterpillar	Constellation Aquila	36
-	Caterpillar	Retaliator Bomber	78
-	Caterpillar Best in Show Edition	Vanguard Harbinger	89
-	Corsair	Prospector	115
-	Corsair	Constellation Taurus	68
-	Corsair	Freelancer MAX	120
-	Corsair	Freelancer MIS	94
-	Corsair	Sabre	99
-	Corsair	Sabre Comet	84
-	Corsair	Gladiator	105
-	Corsair	F7C-M Super Hornet Mk I	84
-	Corsair	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	68
-	Corsair	F7C Hornet Wildfire Mk I	94
-	Corsair	Vulcan	68
-	Corsair	Hurricane	57
-	Corsair	Razor EX	115
-	Corsair	Khartu-Al	99
-	Cutlass Black Best In Show	Gladius	52
-	Cutlass Blue	F7C-R Hornet Tracker Mk I	36
-	Cutlass Blue	Razor	36
-	Cutlass Blue	Prospector	31
-	Cutlass Steel	Constellation Taurus	47
-	Cutlass Steel	Railen	21
-	Cutlass Steel	Defender	26
-	Cutlass Steel	Terrapin	26
-	Cutlass Steel	Vulcan	47
-	Cutlass Steel	Hurricane	36
-	Cutlass Steel	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker Mk I	47
-	Dragonfly Black	MPUV Cargo	15
-	Herald	325A	26
-	Herald	Avenger Titan Renegade	21
-	Vulture	Prospector	31
-	Vulture	Razor EX	31
-	Vulture	Sabre	15
-	Vulture	Khartu-Al	15
-	Vulture	Gladiator	21
-	Vulture	SRV	21
Esperia	Blade	Constellation Andromeda	52
-	Glaive	Constellation Aquila	52
-	Glaive	Starfarer Gemini	26
-	Talon	Gladius	42
-	Talon	Reliant Mako	36
-	Talon	Freelancer	21
-	Talon	Cutlass Black	21
-	Talon	Buccaneer	21
-	Talon Shrike	Gladius	42
-	Talon Shrike	Reliant Mako	36
-	Talon Shrike	Freelancer	21
-	Talon Shrike	Cutlass Black	21
-	Talon Shrike	Buccaneer	21
-	Prowler	Constellation Aquila	147
-	Prowler	Reclaimer	57
-	Prowler	Genesis Starliner	57
-	Prowler	Endeavor	110
-	Prowler	Crucible	110
-	Prowler	600i Touring	42
MISC	Freelancer MIS	Prospector	32
-	Freelancer MIS	Freelancer MAX	37
-	Freelancer MIS	Gladiator	22
-	Freelancer MIS	Sabre	16
-	Freelancer MIS	Razor EX	32
-	Endeavor	Constellation Aquila	78
-	Endeavor	Starfarer Gemini	52
-	Hull A	300I	42
-	Hull A	Mustang Gamma	47
-	Hull B	325A	94
-	Hull C	Constellation Andromeda	294
-	Hull D	Constellation Aquila	278
-	Hull D	Starfarer Gemini	262
-	Razor	F7C-R Hornet Tracker Mk I	15
-	Razor	Nova	36
-	Razor LX	F7C-S Hornet Ghost Mk I	21
-	Razor LX	Freelancer DUR	26
-	Razor LX	Razor	15
-	Razor LX	350r	36
-	Razor EX	Freelancer MAX	15
-	Razor EX	Retaliator	15
-	Razor EX	Razor LX	15
-	Reliant Tana	325a	15
-	Reliant Sen	Arrow	21
-	Reliant Mako	Gladius	15
-	Starfarer	Constellation Andromeda	76
-	Starfarer	Vanguard Warden	55
-	Starfarer	Vanguard Harbinger	24
-	Starfarer	Vanguard Sentinel	39
-	Starfarer	Vanguard Hoplite	76
-	Starfarer	Blade	39
-	Starfarer	Retaliator Bomber	39
-	Starfarer	Apollo Medivac	39
-	Starfarer Gemini	Constellation Aquila	57
-	Starfarer Gemini	Redeemer	21
-	Starfarer Gemini	Mole	47
Origin Jumpworks	350r	Freelancer	28
-	350r	Nova	17
-	350r	Legionnaire	17
-	350r	Talon	23
-	350r	Talon Shrike	23
-	M50	Gladius	22
-	85X	Aurora CL	15
-	100i	Dragonfly Black	18
-	100i	Dragonfly Yellowjacket	18
-	100i	MPUV Personnel	22
-	100i	Mustang Beta	22
-	100i	X1	16
-	125a	100i	22
-	125a	85X	19
-	125a	Ursa	19
-	125a	X1 Force	14
-	135C	100i	27
-	135C	125a	15
-	135C	300i	14
-	135C	Cyclone	19
-	135C	Mustang Gamma	19
-	X1	Mustang Alpha	26
-	X1	Aurora LN	15
-	X1	MPUV Cargo	21
-	X1 Velocity	Mustang Beta	21
-	X1 Velocity	MPUV Personnel	21
-	X1 Velocity	X1	15
-	X1 Force	Aurora CL	21
-	X1 Force	X1 Velocity	15
-	X1 Force	Nox	21
-	400i	Constellation Andromeda	21
-	400i	Vanguard Hoplite	21
-	400i	Constellation Andromeda	21
-	400i	Scorpius	31
-	600i Touring	Constellation Aquila	147
-	600i Touring	Constellation Phoenix	110
-	600i Touring	Reclaimer	57
-	600i Touring	Starfarer Gemini	120
-	600i Touring	Endeavor	110
-	600i Touring	Crucible	110
-	600i Touring	Eclipse	162
-	600i Touring	Genesis Starliner	57
-	600i Touring	C2 Hercules	57
-	600i Explorer	600i Touring	63
-	600i Explorer	Constellation Aquila	189
-	600i Explorer	Prowler	57
-	600i Explorer	Genesis Starliner	99
-	600i Explorer	Starfarer Gemini	162
-	600i Explorer	Endeavor	152
-	600i Explorer	Reclaimer	99
-	600i Explorer	Crucible	152
-	600i Explorer	C2 Hercules	99
RSI	Apollo Triage	Constellation Andromeda	23
-	Apollo Triage	San'tok.yāi	23
-	Apollo Medivac	Constellation Andromeda	49
-	Apollo Medivac	Vanguard Warden	26
-	Apollo Medivac	Apollo Triage	36
-	Apollo Medivac	Vanguard Hoplite	47
-	Constellation Taurus	F7C-R Hornet Tracker Mk I	42
-	Constellation Taurus	Razor	47
-	Mantis	Razor	15
-	Mantis	Ballista	21
-	Perseus	Mole	409
-	Perseus	Carrack	110
-	Perseus	Carrack W/C8X	89
-	Perseus	Carrack Expedition	84
-	Perseus	Carrack Expedition W/C8X	63
-	Perseus	Merchantman	57
-	Perseus	Orion	57
-	Perseus	600i Explorer	241
-	Perseus	M2 Hercules	194
-	Perseus	Hull D	162
-	Polaris	Constellation Aquila	530
-	Polaris	Perseus	183
-	Polaris	M2 Hercules	357
-	Polaris	Nautilus Solstice Edition	149
-	Polaris	Hammerhead	149
-	Polaris	Carrack	367
-	Polaris	Crucible	499
-	Polaris	Merchantman	210
-	Polaris	Orion	178
-	Orion	Constellation Aquila	249
-	Orion	Starfarer	255
-	Orion	600i Touring	273
-	Orion	Reclaimer	294
-	Orion	Genesis Starliner	294
-	Orion	M2 Hercules	168
-	Orion	Prowler	252

╔════════════════════════════════════════╗
►10◄ CROSS-CHASSIS UPGRADES (CCUS), DOWNGRADE
╚════════════════════════════════════════╝
CCUs from more to less expensive ships

Target ship manufacturer	Target ship	Upgrade from	Price, $
Aegis Dynamics	Eclipse	Redeemer	64
-	Eclipse	Caterpillar	17
-	Vanguard Harbinger	Constellation Aquila	17
-	Vanguard Hoplite	Constellation Andromeda	30
-	Reclaimer	Hull D	94
-	Reclaimer	Merchantman	78
-	Vulcan	Defender	26
-	Vulcan	Terrapin	15
-	Sabre	Constellation Taurus	32
-	Sabre	Freelancer MIS	16
-	Sabre Comet	Constellation Taurus	52
-	Retaliator Bomber	Redeemer	36
-	Vanguard Harbinger	Redeemer	57
-	Vanguard Sentinel	Redeemer	42
-	Vanguard Warden	Redeemer	26
-	Vanguard Warden	Hull C	26
Anvil Aerospace	F7C-M Super Hornet	Constellation Taurus	47
-	F7C Hornet Wildfire	Constellation Taurus	37
-	Gladiator	Constellation Taurus	26
-	F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker	Defender	21
-	Hurricane	Defender	21
-	Gladiator	Constellation Taurus	26
-	Gladiator	Cutlass Blue	28
-	Valkyrie	Hull D	42
-	Valkyrie	Merchantman	47
-	Valkyrie	C2 Hercules	31
Aopoa (Xi'an)	Khartu-Al	Constellation Taurus	31
Consolidated outland	Mustang Delta	Hull A	15
Crusader Industries	Genesis Starliner	Hull D	73
-	Genesis Starliner	Merchantman	73
-	C2 Hercules	Hull D	31
-	M2 Hercules	Orion	52
Drake Interplanetary	Corsair	Defender	42
Esperia	Prowler	Merchantman	120
-	Prowler	Hull D	105
MISC	Freelancer MIS	Constellation Taurus	37
-	Freelancer MIS	Cutlass Blue	37
-	Razor	Freelancer MAX	15
-	Razor EX	Constellation Taurus	15
-	Razor EX	Cutlass Blue	15
-	Starfarer	Constellation Aquila	37
-	Starfarer	Caterpillar	18
Origin Jumpworks	350r	Cutlass Red	15
-	600i Touring	Hull D	110
-	600i Touring	Prowler	110
-	600i Explorer	Merchantman	152
-	600i Explorer	Carrack	99
RSI	Apollo Triage	Mercury Star Runner	42
-	Orion	Carrack	120

╔═══════════════════════════════╗
Click here to continue to 2nd part of the store
╚═══════════════════════════════╝
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Hi all,
My doctor is on vacation for a week and just looking to see if anyone with similar experience can help explain these results to me? I messaged the doctors care team to see if a covering Gyne can discuss further. Still waiting. To me, seems concerning. I also have a hx of AIS of Cervix (conization procedure with clear margins back in 2016) and DX of endometriosis through Laparoscopic in 2019. What prompt a pelvic ultrasound is heavy menstrual bleeding with large clots (recently dx with anemia) and post intercourse bleeding. Thank you
IMPRESSION: 1. Echogenic area seen within the endometrium concerning for endometrial polyp. Tumor not excluded. Further assessment of endometrium recommended. 2. Both ovaries are borderline prominent in size. They also contain multiple cysts that likely represent follicles. No dominant follicle is identified. As such, cannot entirely exclude polycystic ovarian morphology. Clinical correlation advised. 3. Trace free pelvic fluid.
Uterus measures approximately 3.0 x 5.3 x 9.1 cm. No myometrial mass seen. Endometrium measures up to 11 mm image 73. Echogenic focus seen within the endometrium approximately 4 x 7 x 11 mm images 74 and 76, likely polyp. Left ovary measures approximately 2.2 x 3.2 x 3.2 cm, estimated volume approximately 12. There are left ovarian cysts, representative left ovarian cyst approximately 11 mm image 91. Right ovary measures approximately 2.2 x 4.0 x 3.9 cm, estimated approximately 18. There are right ovarian cysts as well, representative right ovarian cyst measures up to 12 mm image 128. There is trace free pelvic fluid.

I’m planning on sitting my L2 in May 2025, as due to other commitments, this is the best option.
From inquiring with MM, the content for this exam will supposedly only be released in mid to late August. (And apparently there’s going to be “changes to the curriculum”).
I was planning on starting studying within the next month (I know early, but it’s the most free time I’ll have up until May ‘25!). However, I’m not sure where to start with learning material, as the actual curriculum isn’t released yet, and probably won’t be till August (which is much later than I’d like).
My question is what can I use to revise that will almost certainly be in the curriculum (I obviously have my level 1 content still, so assuming reviewing parts of this maybe best)?

## /MementoMoriGacha Weekly Discussion Thread
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I sit alone in my room on the seventh floor, writing what will surely be my last will and testament. The heroin which allowed me to forget and to sleep for the last couple of years has lost its power to keep the screaming terrors away. The drug destroyed my body and mind, gradually eating away at them like a corrosive acid. Now I have become a slave to it. And yet, without it, I do not sleep for weeks, but instead continuously see the scenes from that terrible night running through my head on repeat as worsening waves of madness crash on the shores of my consciousness.
In the caverns under the town of Frost Hollow, I found the meaning of true madness. Ever since I escaped that den of horrors, it is difficult to tell what is real and what is only the feverish delirium of an unhinged mind.
Even now, they wait behind the door to this cheap, bare rented room. They drag their claws over the wood. I hear them hissing in that strange, ancient tongue, the one I first heard in the tombs of rock that had been undisturbed for countless millennia.
***
I had first heard rumors of an unexplored cavern from my friend, an experienced caver named Sonia who had explored caverns all over the world. I had been looking for some excitement in my life, some break from the constant monotony and boredom of simply working and sleeping. I had gone caving quite a few times over the year leading up to the trip, but I was not nearly as experienced and had never explored a supposedly virgin passageway of cavern before.
“How do you know no one’s gone down there?” I asked, curious. We sat across from each other at a local diner, getting some early breakfast before our planned descent. The sunrise was still another half-hour away, the sky flat and dark. We would be joined by Sonia’s husband, Phil, who would meet us there shortly after sunrise. I repressed an urge to yawn, chugging half of the steaming hot coffee in one long swallow. Sonia leaned close to me, her nearly colorless blue eyes reminding me of chunks of ice floating down a muddy stream.
“Phil’s friend just found it randomly,” she whispered before glancing around conspiratorially, as if she feared someone would care enough to eavesdrop on a conversation about a cave. “Well, it’s in the middle of a farm, and Phil’s friend, Jack Graysole, owns the entire property and surrounding woods. Jack says he noticed the cows kept going over to a certain spot in the field when it got really hot during the summertime. They would all gather around this little indentation in the grass. After seeing it a few times, Jack got curious and went to investigate what the cows were doing.
“He found a small hole in the ground, almost entirely covered by weeds and grass. He said he felt a cool breeze constantly blowing out of the hole, a breeze that smelled like burning matches and charred metal. After bringing out some shovels and digging down a couple feet, Jack realized that the hole wasn’t a hole at all, but the beginning of a steep passageway leading deep into the bowels of the earth.”
***
The owner of the land decided to unofficially call the newly-discovered cavern Graysole Caverns. Out of respect for him, this is also the name we all used. This is the story of how I found myself in the bowels of a strange subterranean tunnel, a tunnel where creatures beyond my comprehension slunk and hunted, skittering monstrosities who would be more at home in a nightmare.
After grabbing a couple coffees to take with us, Sonia drove over to Graysole Farms. Cows stood out in the grassy fields, huddled in tight circles as they repetitively chewed. The thin silhouette of Jack Graysole waited for us next to the herd. He had a face like a raisin, I thought to myself. I watched his thin, shaking body standing in the middle of an overgrown grassy field. Jack stared down blankly at something only he could see. Sonia and I started unloading some equipment from the car while we waited for Phil.
Once we had the backpacks loaded with some simple supplies, such as water, food, headlamps, rope, a couple extra batteries, some buck knives, and radios, we headed over to accompany Jack. We weren’t taking much, as we didn’t really expect to be down there for more than six or seven hours at the most.
Jack Graysole’s withered old face was as slack and expressionless as that of a corpse. He stared down at the ground as if he were in a trance, waving back and forth slowly on his feet like a plant in a light breeze.
“Jack?” Sonia called out as we approached. I could hear the man’s teeth chattering as we got nearer.
“Hey, what are you doing over here this early? You interested in accompanying us down there?” Sonia joked. But Jack might as well have been totally deaf for all the reaction he gave. Sonia glanced over at me with an anxious expression. I wondered if the old man was having a stroke.
I quickly walked over to where he stood, staring down at a black circular hole about three feet across directly in front of his feet. The entrance to Graysole Caverns stared up at us like a sightless pupil. As I drew within a few feet of Jack and looked straight into his blank eyes, I noticed something alarming.
His pupils were quickly dilating and constricting before my eyes. They would shrink to tiny pinpoints, then, a couple seconds later, rapidly expand until they became dark and serious. I could see his thready, rapid heartbeat pulsating in a vein on the side of his temple. Alarmed, I reached forward and put my hand on his shoulder.
Instantly, he came to life, like a man waking up from a nightmare. Shrieking, he looked at me with fully dilated pupils, reminding me of a panicked deer surrounded by wolves. His quavering old man’s voice shook with ineffable existential horror and mortal fear.
He took a step back away from us, seeming to realize where he was and what he was doing. He looked around, confused, then straight at me and Sonia. His eyes focused with anger and fear, as if we were demons here to drag him down to Hell. His eyes flicked back and forth between us constantly. Jack raised a trembling hand and pointed it straight at my heart.
“It’s you,” he said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. His teeth chattered despite the warm spring air. His skin looked deathly pale. “You’re the one who will bring an end to humanity, who will release the ruler of nightmares upon us.” He continued to point accusingly for a long moment at me, his face turning chalk-white. Then his eyes rolled up in his head. Slowly, he stumbled and fell backwards onto the soft grass of the field.
“Jack!” Sonia cried, running over to the old man. Jack’s breaths had started to come in slow, drawn-out gurgles, like a man with a slit throat trying to breathe. Frothy blood bubbled from his lips as they turned blue. Staring up at the endless expanse of cloudless sky, he exhaled one last shuddering breath and died.
***
Phil showed up only a couple minutes later. He found me and Sonia in a state of utter panic, both of us bent double over the still body of Jack. Sonia was on the phone with 911, and I was trying to give Jack chest compressions. The way his fingernails and lips shone with that cyanotic blue cast made me feel sick and weak. I knew it was futile, that I was simply playing with a corpse at this point, but I didn’t know what else to do. I felt if I didn’t do something, I might explode.
I heard the faint wailing of sirens approaching as Sonia’s panicked voice continued babbling to the 911 operator. Phil stood by her side, his tall, dark features searching and lost.
“Oh God, I think he’s dead!” Sonia cried over and over to the operator, as if she thought the operator could do anything about it. I didn’t hear what the operator said in response. As the ambulance pulled in, I gave up on chest compressions. I stood up and took a step back, looking sadly down on the kindly old man’s dead body.
The paramedics ran over. Phil, Sonia and I stood back while they worked on the corpse, trying to shock the heart back into life. But Jack’s open eyes stayed glazed as they stared sightlessly up into eternity.
***
The paramedics left. A couple police officers stayed behind to ask us a few routine questions. Eventually, after an hour or so, they left, too.
“What a fucked-up day,” Phil said, shaking his head grimly. “Do you guys still want to do this? Maybe it’s an omen from God telling us to go home.” Sonia and I exchanged a glance, then we both nodded at the same time.
“Definitely,” she said. “It’s sad what happened to Jack, but realistically, we don’t know what’s going to happen to this property now that he’s passed away. It might get sold or taken by the bank for all we know. This could be our one and only chance to explore this cave.”
“I don’t believe in omens. I’m still down,” I said, feeling slightly sick from the experience. I still remembered how Jack’s body had cracked under the weight of my chest compressions, how his ribs had snapped like bones shattering in greedy hands. “We’ll do it in memory of Jack. I plan to put this up on YouTube.” I pulled my GoPro out of my bag, turning it on. Phil groaned at that.
“Do we have any idea how far down this cave goes?” Phil asked. I felt a sense of relief now that the topic had changed from the death of the old man.
“I sent a little camera down on a rope, but it only went about a hundred feet,” Sonia responded. “It’s pretty steep at first, then it levels out. I couldn’t really see much after it leveled out, but it looks like it should be easy to climb down. There’s plenty of handholds, lots of jutting rocks.”
Phil put on his headlamp and small pack. As he crawled down into the hole, his tanned face looked up at us and gave us one last devilish grin. Once he had gone down a few dozen feet, Sonia started descending. She looked excited and happy. I noticed how she couldn’t stop smiling as she disappeared from view.
I watched their lights grow smaller and dimmer in the circular tunnel. I marveled at how perfectly circular the entrance was. It almost didn’t even look natural.
Taking a deep breath in, I followed my friends down into the dark.
***
“This isn’t too bad,” I said as I climbed down. The jutting rocks gave plenty of handholds and footholds for us. It wasn’t so tight that it felt like a coffin, either.
“It only gets easier from here!” Sonia called up.
“How do you know?” I asked. “You said you’ve never been here before.” She laughed.
“I know. Probably just wishful thinking,” she said. Far below us, Jack’s voice drifted up, faint and weak. He had already reached the bottom.
“The tunnel really opens up down here, guys,” he called. “It’s somewhat… bizarre, though.”
“What do you mean by that?” Sonia asked. I looked down, seeing Sonia and I would reach the bottom in seconds. “Forget it, I’ll let it be a surprise.” I heard her drop down. Slowly and carefully, I lowered myself down the last few feet. There was a short fall onto a smooth granite floor. I looked up, seeing what Phil and Sonia were so mesmerized by.
“Oh, wow,” I said, speechless. I blinked rapidly, wondering if the image would clear like a mirage. The tunnel was cut into a perfectly triangular shape, each side about seven feet long. The ceiling met in a point above our heads.
All along the smooth walls of gray rock, I saw thousands of black orbs peeking out. They looked similar to obsidian, but they were perfectly smooth and circular, each about the size of an orange. They were formed into interlocking diagonal patterns and followed the tunnel straight down as far as the eye could see.
“What is this place?” Sonia asked, taking a tentative step forward. I looked up, seeing the distant pinpoint of sunlight far above our heads. Our voices continued to echo off down the massive tunnels, disappearing in eerie waves into the thick curtain of shadows.
“Are you recording all this?” Phil asked me. I laughed, giddy.
“Of course! This is internet gold right here,” I said. “No one’s going to believe that this isn’t man-made, however. I can’t even believe it. Do you think Jack was playing a joke on us or something?”
“Jack had the sense of humor of a wet paper towel,” Phil whispered, shaking his head. “No, he wouldn’t do something like this.”
“Well, let’s go check it out,” Sonia said, taking a step forward. Her headlamp bobbed up and down rapidly, throwing dancing shadows through the triangular tunnel. It continued straight ahead, without the slightest deviation or curve, disappearing off into a dark point in the distance.
***
We walked as fast as we could, excited to see where, if anywhere, the strange tunnel led. Phil, always the conspiracy theorist, babbled excitedly.
“This has to be aliens, man,” he said, running his fingers through his dark hair. “I bet that scientists will find out this shit is millions of years old when we get back up and tell everyone. Maybe aliens came to earth in ancient times and made a bunch of stuff underground.” Gradually, as we walked, I noticed the tunnel opening up. The pointed triangular ceiling rose up higher above our heads and the walls moved outwards, as we were walking up a triangular funnel. At first, it was so subtle that I didn’t believe it when Sonia pointed it out.
“No, look,” she said, raising her hand above her head. “When we first started down this weird tunnel, my fingers were only maybe a foot away from the top. Now it’s a couple feet.” I was about to respond when our headlamps illuminated something standing in the middle of the tunnel.
“What the fuck is that?” I whispered, stopping cold in my tracks. Phil and Sonia looked up at the abomination at the same time. Its back was to us. It stood nearly as tall as the tunnel, which was now about twenty feet high.
The bottom half looked black and spidery with dozens of long, jointed legs. A bloody, white spine rose out of the mass of legs. Inhumanly long, skeletal arms stretched out in front of it. Its face was pointed away from us, but the back of its head resembled an enormous pointed skull with deep fissures like the cracks of an earthquake running through the bone. The abomination stayed as still as a statue, and for a long moment, I wondered if we were looking at some macabre work of art.
Then, suddenly, one of its insectile legs twitched. A moment later, the other legs started jerking and twisting. There was a sound like bones shattering as it rose up to its full height, turning around to face us.
Its face was like something from a nightmare, melting and reforming constantly like dripping candle wax. I would see a black eye appear on its forehead, then a grinning mouth on its chin, then the features would get sucked back into the folds of melting flesh. After a few moments, two enormous eyes appeared on its face, dark and cold like craters on the surface of the Moon. The mouths and noses disappeared back into the dripping skin, and only the two lidless eyes remained, emanating a cold, reptilian consciousness beyond the ability of my mind to comprehend. I felt terror radiating from its body like freezing waves.
“Free me,” it cried in a gurgling voice that seethed with insanity. It had a shrieking, metallic ringing behind every word that gave it an alien quality. “Free me, and I will give you the waters of eternal life. Within me, I contain the seeds of immortality. Within the nightmares, we live forever, always together, never alone.”
“Who are you?” I asked, terrified. The black reptilian skin of the enormous beast glistened as it knelt down, its massive face drawing near to mine. A sideways mouth burst out of the liquified flesh, showing hundreds of fangs growing like tumors from its white, bloodless gums. The fangs varied in size from only a couple inches to long, sword-like projections that stabbed into the creature’s flesh, causing white blood glittering with rainbows to fall like raindrops all around me.
“I have many names,” it hissed, its thousand voices rising and falling in crashing waves of sound. “I was present at the beginning, when this planet was no more than dead cliffs and endless freezing oceans. Those holy ones who search for us, the ancient ones, call me Niralahoth.”
“How do we free you?” Phil asked, looking terrified. He held Sonia’s hand tightly.
“By letting me into your mind and body,” Niralahoth cried, shaking the cavern. “I was thrown down here, cursed and forgotten. I cannot leave this place of shadows within this body. But in the body of another, my consciousness can be free, and the seeds of new life can spread beyond this prison.”
“There’s no way anyone’s going to do that,” I said, my eyes widening as Niralahoth’s reptilian skull turned towards me in fury. “I mean, you’re asking one of us to give up our individuality, our lives, right?”
“I am asking you to become one with me and gain power undreamt of by mortals,” it cried. “I have within me the fountain of life, the waters that send death away screaming.” I glanced anxiously at Phil and Sonia, wondering if we would have to run.
“The answer is no,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, we can’t do that,” Phil said, backing me up. “But, anyways, I think our trip has ended. It’s time to turn around…”
“You will never return,” Niralahoth cried, skittering away from us. “If you will not accept salvation, then you must accept death.” Within seconds, it slunk away from us, backpedaling on its many skittering legs into the shadows.
***
All around us, a rumbling started.
There was a pounding that crashed through the rock tunnel, as if an insane blacksmith were hammering on a massive anvil. The ringing of crashing rock started off slowly, with a few stones smashing down around us with heavy blasts of sound. Within seconds, the cacophony sped up, rising into a constant stream of destruction. The black orbs were spinning in place all up and down the tunnel, their glossy obsidian surfaces flashing with sparks of blue light.
“It’s collapsing!” Phil cried, running back in the direction we came, holding Sonia’s hand as she tried to keep up with him. I could only stare for a long moment, not sure what to do. It seemed that the direction Phil was heading stood closer to total collapse.
“Wait!” I cried, but my voice was drowned out in the destruction all around us. I felt a rock smash into my shoulder, sending me down to my feet. I heard Phil give a scream of pain, then another stone came down and smashed into my forehead. I remember seeing everything spinning around me as the world went black.
***
I awoke to find my headlamp still shining straight up in the dusty tunnel. Large chunks of the tunnel had slid out of place and crashed to the stone floor. The granite chunks that had fallen looked unnaturally smooth, most of them in the shapes of cylinders or cubes and varying in size from that of an egg to that of a small car.
My head throbbed. It felt as if a tight belt of fire were wrapped around my temples. Groaning, I put my fingers up to my forehead. They came away slick with blood.
Slowly, I started pushing myself up on my feet. I was relieved that nothing seemed broken. I had a deep gash running from the center of my scalp down to my left temple and some shallower cuts on my shoulders and back, but I knew none of that was life-threatening.
“Sonia?” I whispered, my voice coming out weak and strained. I reached into my pack and found a bottle of water. I chugged it quickly in one long swallow.
“Phil?” I cried again, this time stronger. I heard a soft weeping nearby. Staggering, I followed the sound.
Sonia was bloody and covered in cuts and scrapes, sitting next to Phil’s prone form. I saw Phil’s right arm pinned under a massive slab of granite. His arm disappeared from the elbow down in a spreading puddle of thick, dark blood.
“Oh God, Max, I think he’s hurt really bad,” she wept. Phil’s eyes rolled wildly in his head, his face pale and bloodless. I looked down the way we had come, seeing the entire tunnel blocked by large slabs of stone, many with strange, black orbs peeking out like the lenses of cameras.
***
I don’t know how much time passed. My phone died after a day, and then we were counting the endless darkness in breaths and tears.
Phil swam in and out of consciousness as his arm putrefied and blackened around the crush site. After a couple days, Sonia and I agreed that something had to be done. We told Phil we would need to amputate his arm. He was half-delirious, but he came back long enough to understand us and nod weakly.
We made a fire with Phil’s pack, trying to find fuel to throw in it to get it roaring. As it grew, I saw one of the black orbs near the flames abruptly ignite, as if it had been covered in gasoline. Blue, almost colorless flames rose from its surface. We started throwing the small black orbs on the fire until it rose high in the air. I sanitized the buck knife with the flames and pulled a rope tourniquet tight around Phil’s arm. He was conscious but seemingly insane, talking to himself more than anyone else.
“How are we going to get the car started without a key?” he gurgled to someone only he could see. “We need to look around. It has to be here somewhere.”
“Phil, can you hear me, bud? We need to fix your arm. We need to get you out of this mess. OK?” I said as comfortingly as I could. Phil’s eyes rolled wildly, but they didn’t meet my own. I sighed and looked over at Sonia.
“Let’s do it,” I said, giving a grim nod.
I pulled the buck knife out, slicing quickly down through the flesh next to the tourniquet. His veins throbbed like fat worms as the blackened, necrotic skin split easily under the blade, releasing a rancid-smelling gas that hissed out of the wound.
I couldn’t believe how hard it was to slice all the way through the arm. It felt like I was stuck in that hellish task forever. Phil’s eyes rolled in his head as his skin turned the color of clotted milk.
“God, Jesus, make it stop,” Phil whispered over and over, exhaling ragged, pain-filled breaths. The blood spurted from the blackened, dying tissue all over the dust-covered cavern floor, covering my hands in its warm, slick embrace.
After what was probably only three or four minutes, but felt like hours, I had sliced all the way down to the bone. The infected tissue of his arm spurted great gouts of orange pus mixed with rivulets of blood. The hard part was over.
Standing up, I took my steel-toe sneaker and stomped down on his arm as hard as I could. Phil cried out in a powerful voice, as if all the agony and suffering in the world was contained in that one shriek. The bone snapped under my weight with a sound like a tree branch cracking. A moment later, Phil rolled away from the rock that had pinned me in place for so long. Something alien and spongy was shoved into my face, a mass of destroyed red tissue pulsating in time with a runaway heartbeat. At first, shell-shocked and revolted, my mind couldn’t comprehend that I was looking at the stump of Phil’s mutilated arm. I hardened my heart and forced the giddiness and madness to the back of my mind. The time had come to cauterize the wound.
“Sonia, give it to me,” I said with a tremor in my voice. I reached out a hand towards her, a hand stained with Phil’s blood. It looked as if I were wearing a wet, crimson glove. Sonia only stared blankly at me for a long moment, however. A surge of anger ran up my chest.
“Sonia, toughen the fuck up! He’s going to die if you just sit there!” I swore at her, hearing my deep, angry voice bounce around the caverns. Sonia pulled back, as if she were struck. Inwardly, I cursed having a woman as my only able-bodied companion in this situation. She was a competent enough caver, but what would happen if violence and blood came over us? What would happen if, or more realistically when, we needed to fight?
Grimly, Sonia leaned forward and yanked the burning black orb out of the roaring fire, handing it to me on the end of a buck knife that had just barely pierced its hard, strange exterior. The handle of the knife felt coarse and splintery under my filthy skin. I put it to the spongy stump of Phil’s arm. The stump twitched violently. Phil tried to pull away as black smoke rose from the burning flesh.
There was a smell like bacon sizzling. The searing meat of Phil’s arm blackened and crisped under the heat of the orb, which had become no more than a cylinder of glowing blue embers by this point. I felt simultaneously sick and giddy. I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or vomit. I felt like I was on the verge of some kind of madness, that the stress and insanity of the experience had started to shatter my mind.
His eyes rolled back in his head and he appeared to go into a seizure for a few seconds. With a long exhalation of breath, he finally, mercifully, lost consciousness. It’s hard to admit it, even this close to the end, but a small, sick piece of me was jealous of Phil. Most likely, he would be dead soon, maybe within hours, while Sonia and I would slowly starve and dehydrate like animals over a period of weeks. I looked at her lithe body and soft skin, seeing the feminine curves of her hips and chest. She was a beautiful woman. I knew Phil to be a lucky man. At least, before this trip, he was.
I watched her body, wondering if I had what it took to eat her or Phil if I had to. Did I have an iron heart that would allow me to slice into my friends and consume their raw, cold flesh? Perhaps, by that point, it would be hunger and madness driving me forward, and I wouldn’t even hesitate. I shuddered at the very thought.
***
I fell asleep that night, having strange dreams of massive gods with melting faces sitting in judgment in a circle around me. We had very little food or water left. No one knew we were down here. Rescue was not coming.
When I awoke, I found myself alone. Phil had died from his injuries while I slept, the black streaks of septic shock spreading up his arm towards his heart. His eyes stared sightlessly up at the rock ceiling.
“Sonia?” I called out, my heart racing as I sat up. “Where are you?” My headlamp was growing dim. I looked in my pack, realizing I was on the last of my batteries. I saw a silhouette walking out of the darkness, the thin, pale form of Sonia. She was trembling badly.
“I saw them,” she said. “Niralahoth and its priests. The priests aren’t human. They look reptilian with sideways mouths and too many eyes.” She shuddered.
“Why would you do that?” I asked. Her eyes grew distant.
“You know we’re not getting out of here alive,” she said. “Not on our own. I wanted to see what it offered. It says that if we take a piece of its nightmare into us, we will gain the power to leave this place, that it simply wants to see the surface and spread its nightmares there.” I shook my head.
“Insanity,” I muttered. “We’d be better off dead.” Sonia nodded.
“My thoughts exactly,” she responded grimly. I didn’t realize what she meant until the next day, when I woke up and found her hanging next to Phil’s body, her tongue swollen and blue as it poked out of her cyanotic lips. And then I was truly alone.
***
Soon after Sonia committed suicide, the last of the batteries for the headlamp died. I had run out of food and had only a small sip of water left. I don’t know how much time passed in the darkness, starving and raving, following the tunnel by running my hands over the walls. I heard many things skittering in the darkness, and a few times, I heard the demonic voice of Niralahoth as it split and distorted.
“You are on death’s door,” it hissed. “Will you not drink from the fountain of life?” I couldn’t tell where the voice came from in the maddening blackness. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. I had lost nearly all of my sanity in that pit of shadows by this point. I tried laughing constantly to keep my spirits up, and when that failed, I simply cried.
“I’ll do it,” I wailed. “I’ll do it. Just let me see the sky again. Get me out of here, Niralahoth.” Everything went deathly silent all around me, then a laugh rang out like the grinding of glass.
In front of me, I saw a tornado of fire descending from the ceiling, surrounding the massive, spidery form of Niralahoth. It rose its skeletal arms upwards, as if it were Zeus calling down lightning. In the sudden brightness, I saw the fiery form of snakes slithering and centipedes skittering forwards in that tornado, each massive creature sculpted from flames in the spinning cyclone of energy. Niralahoth reached into the tornado of fire with its sharp points of fingers and plucked something small from it. The fire instantly dissipated. In its hand, I saw a tiny, swirling orb that looked like it contained a firestorm within it.
“The nightmare seed,” Niralahoth gurgled as it skittered forward towards me. I could only stare, open-mouthed and starving. I hadn’t slept for days, it felt like, and everything seemed slow and unreal.
In a blur, its skeletal arm shot out and forced the orb into my mouth. Despite the fire raging within it, it felt freezing cold. As it touched my tongue, it gave off a sensation like frostbite all throughout my mouth. I screamed and tried spitting it out, but it seemed to have a mind of its own. It started liquifying, dripping down my throat.
I felt something cancerous and sick spreading throughout my body, radiating out from my heart and stomach to every inch of it. I tried to scream, but it caught behind my teeth. I fell to my knees, clawing at my face as that insane, alien laugh continued resounding all down the tunnel. I fell unconscious and woke up under a beautiful sky in the fields of Graysole Farms.
***
Soon after, I realized that my life would never be the same. Everywhere I went, I could hear the wailing voice of Niralahoth. Behind the trees, I always saw skittering shadows, creatures with long, spidery legs that stalked me every day and night. I slept with every light in the house turned on, yet when I woke up, they would all be shut off, and I would find myself in darkness, next to something in the bed with far too many legs and a face that dripped like burning wax.
I sold everything I owned and tried to move far away, to give as much distance between myself and those cursed caverns as I could, but the nightmares followed me like a shadow. I realize what a fool I was in those ephemeral moments of madness. Sonia was much wiser than myself; I should have killed myself or died rather than allowing that thing inside of me.
Even now, I can feel it creeping through my heart, spreading through my blood. I feel it trying to crawl its way out of my throat, the thin, black legs peeking out at the back of my esophagus.
I only hope that, when I finally jump and feel my bones shatter against the concrete far below, I will kill whatever is inside of me. For I fear the consequences for the world if it were to escape.

If you go on PrismReads.com, they are having an LGBTQIA+ book blast. All books are free. Download one or all. Now make sure something is the genre you like if you go. Some are fantasy, some are not, but they're all LGBTQIA+ and free. Did I mention free? I like free things 😄 some ARE definitely fantasy.
The only one on their that I've already read is Gilded Lies by Julie Mannino. That one is definitely fantasy and also romance (far more plot and not smutty). I recommend that one since I've finished the trilogy and loved it. I needed something short today, so I'll be reading The Monster's Desperate Prey by Ciara Bane. Don't judge😁
Here is a handy dandy list of the books I've copied for you. Please check prices. Apparently there can be glitches at times. If you come here late, I'd say you should have a look because while the event is one day, maybe some books will stay free for more than one. Anyway, enjoy!
Topped by My Father-in-law – Jay L. North Of Books and Paper Dragons – Vaela Denarr & Micah Iannandrea
Paint It Black – Kaos Emslie
Rise of the Resistance – Niranjan
Fractured Alliances – Niranjan
Last of Daylight – Nicole Hayes
Caught Up in Leaves and Vines – Jake Graham
The Fairy Festival – Arizona Tape
The Seven: Wooden Edition – Erin Curran
Hunt You Down – Rae Simmons
Gambit – TK Eldridge
Revelations: An Epic Dystopian Science Fiction – Ronin Romero
A Glorious Mess, Silver Locket Origins, Book 1 – Kennedy Sutton
Godsfall: The Book of One – Adam Gaffen
Gilded Lies An MM Fairy Prince Romance (Midas Book 1) – Julie Mannino
Bound by Scars & Secrets – Sienna Archer
Compass To My Heart – Bennu Bright
Soren – miranda page
No Rest for the Wicked (Life is Hell book 1) – Naomi Valkyrie
Sin on a Dark Knight – Rhiannon Futch
The Monster’s Desperate Prey – Ciara Bane
Worked by the Werewolf – Ciara Bane
The Vampire’s Kiss – Rae Simmons
Waves – Howl Avery
Devour – Howl Avery
How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster) – Marie Cardno
Her Unforgotten Bear Mate – Arizona Tape Surrogate Omega – Jacey Davis
Surprised by Fate – RS McKenzie
Omega’s Forever Home – Lacey Daize
Garden of Secrets – Drake LaMarque
Mark’s Promise – JoJo Stone
Persuade You – Ashley Rayne
Seeking Two Lovers – Lynn Burke
A Beach Far Away – BL Maxwell
Spark: A Chanukah Sport – Allie Lasky
Olivia’s Loving Threesome – Tamara Earthsong
Choke – Charity Parkerson
A Murder for Crow – layla dorine
After Hours – Becca Lamb
The Seven: Wooden Edition – Erin Curran