Steven was quite a rational and calm man, which usually served him well as an accountant. Though he did study a lot of skills, he had a love of mathematics and a knowledge of them that went way beyond his typical day to day use. He kept himself up to date with technology and science and was versed in their general applications. Knowing as much as he did about ‘Reality’ he would often indulge in fantasy, particularly in his youth. He used to enjoy playing video games, though was not a ‘skilled’ gamer… mostly he liked being in those ‘other worlds’ if only for a time. He was a dreamer in a world that couldn’t be allowed to dream that often.
What he was experiencing right now, it was as if someone had opened the floodgates to those other worlds… strange creatures now wondering the streets… pointed eared elves, furry beasts with lion-like faces or even demon-folk just casually chatting by the shops. He walked through the groups with the most bemused expression…
…Everyone treating this as if it was completely and utterly normal. There were still humans of course, he guessed it was about one in a thousand he encountered were these odd fantasy creatures, with an even lower percentage being something not quite so humanoid.
Steven was sure he was having a panic attack, the moment he saw a centaur literally brush past him as he browsed the shops to get his usual supplies. The mare glanced back at him with a flick of her tail, as Steven clutched his basket of goods holding his breath.
The cashier was apparently a male sphinx. He was using a rather ‘odd’ looking device to serve customers, which seemed to work with levers and large buttons. He seemed to be wearing an odd cloak, with a collar around it, upon which hung a simple tie and even.. a name tag; ‘Hi I’m Merik.’ It appeared to help convey that he was more then simply an ‘animal’… Steven quickly placed his goods to be checked out, staring at the sphinx- and in particular his soft brown wings, with every beep of the machine. His tail flicked almost rhythmically as he took hold of a bag containing some fruit.
“Uh- do you need a hand?” Steven asked not quite fully realising the implication of that statement.
The sphinx gave a ‘look’. “Paws are more adequate than you,” he said with a voice that was almost a growl, as he brushed the goods through a scanner with the flat soft appendages. He delicately picked up the bananas, holding them with- admittedly ‘some’ difficulty but it looked like he had a lot of practice as he slid them into Steven’s bag. “Thirty dollars.”
Steven sighed that at least money was the same… as an accountant having that change might have stressed him out to the point of exhaustion. “R-Right..” He paid the goods and took the receipt… then started on his way home. His mind was racing with the possibilities…
“…what is going on…” He kept asking himself. “Why was everyone treating this as if it was perfectly normal? There were literal mythical folk running around the place! Legendary creatures… it made no sense. His mother said they were refugees from another world? Since when! Apparently for many years before he was even born… Though looking at the ‘kind’ of beings he had seen so far, there was… a possible pattern. The creatures were ‘distinct’, not completely random… from a rather generic fantasy perspective. “…always have been here…” Reality had been retconned and yet- for some utterly bizarre reason, he was aware of it… he could perceive the change.
A blessing… or a curse?
There was an old homeless man ranting in one corner. Crazed eyes, looking completely deranged. “Reality is gone! They are here! Invaders! Humans are being replaced! They are taking over our history! Listen to me! They take our minds! Our stories! They feed on it! Open your eyes! Open!”
Steven was startled as he saw this crazy man and felt a brief amount of pity. Steven suddenly came face to face with a mirror… did this man know the truth?
The old man suddenly locked eyes with him. “You! I see you know!” The man pointed his finger. “You know they shouldn’t be! Yet they are. They are here! They will destroy! They- They- AHHHH!” He screamed suddenly and fell back sitting on the sidewalk ranting. “Don’t listen to it don’t hear the music the song the voice the thing that takes. Nope. Must find a way back. Must get back… Defend Truth… Defend… Reality… please…”
Steven stared turning a little pale and took a few steps back… was this a possible future if he continued to dwell on what was happening… yes, he knew the truth, but for some reason it wasn’t driving him to this level of madness. Yet he could ‘feel’ it threatening to erupt… a strange fear of reality becoming non-sequitur. He backed away more slowly… not sure if he could even ‘help’ him. If he admitted that he knew it was true, it might make him more crazy... and nothing was to be gained by hiding it either. This man was in no condition to help…
The accountant sighed as he arrived back home with a sigh. The words of that man on the street still haunted him. Maybe he was just crazy… that this was all coincidence… “…what am I supposed to do?” He was just one man in the world with this knowledge. He spent his entire life just ‘going with the flow’… taking the path of least resistance. He had done his best to do what he could in life, and yet it seemed that he could no longer count on ‘reality’ staying consistent. “Maybe I need to work on a theory…” He nodded.
A practical plan was required.
First, Steven needed a way to ‘indicate’ how much reality had changed. Was it possible to construct such a device? He thought of the various forms such a machine could take though was not sure on he ‘physics’ of it. It would have to be relatively ‘simple’, but more so how would it even be built? He was an accountant... how does one ‘account’ for reality changes?
“What do I need to count to establish the changes in reality…” He mused to himself. That was the first question to answer as he looked into his notepad anxiously writing notes. It was also possible that reality wouldn’t change any further… that this was as ‘weird’ as it would get… so perhaps constructing such a device was not even necessary unless … it could be done relatively quickly.
That robot girl… might be the key to such a device. He would have to convince Florence somehow and work out if it even could be done.
