IN A BASEMENT ROOM, Zan sat behind one of the doors which rowed the hallway which led to the White Chamber.

  Following Sigma-Prime, Zan's surprise at being led to one of the mysterious basement doors was cut short when he saw how all that lay beyond the door was an empty room with a sole desk in the center.

  "Is this it?" Zan asked.

  "It looks dusty," Sigma-Prime said, "but a quick cleaning and it will be as good as new."

  That 'quick' cleaning came quicker than Zan anticipated. Sending her gears into overdrive, Sigma-Prime twirled her limbs, spinning them in wild motions which allowed her to 'power clean' the small room in record time. Dusted, mopped, she did it all using her own body and the flow of a nearby spigot. "That will do it!" she said, stashing the mop and bucket into a nearby tool closet with a clutter.

  "Now, direct your attention to the front," Sigma-Prime told Zan as she touched part of the wall. Hitherto hidden, the wall opened to reveal a secret cabinet.

  "What are those?" Zan asked as he took his seat in the room's center.

  "These are Memory Dials. Simply adjust the dial to the memory you want, hit this central most button in the dial, and up the memory will come," Sigma said.

  Zan asked how he would know what the dials represent. Sigma explained how the different images above the dials represented different training modules. Each notch on each dial represented different lessons in a shared unit of skills. Going clockwise, or to the right, as how Zan knew it, there seemed to be ten notches to a groove, ten notches per dial.

  "One-hundred lessons per unit," Sigma-Prime explained. "I encourage you to experiment with lessons. Once a lesson has been learned, you cannot re-watch said lesson without overriding authority from me. It is only how the machine works. It's old and lacks a user-friendly interface. If you want to re-watch a lesson, let me know and I will come right down to re-set that module. Please note, until you turn the dial, you will be able to re-watch your current lesson as many times as you wish."

  A big question mark should've appeared over Zan's head for all he knew about 'user-interfaces,' but what he did understand was the 'one-hundred lessons' part. "How long does each lesson take?" Zan asked.

  "Calculating--" Sigma said in a heavily artificial tone.

  "Calculation done. On average, each lesson takes ten minutes to complete. Estimated completion time for one module is approximately sixteen hours." Sigma-Prime explained.

  "...and how many modules are there?" Zan asked, unsure of if he really wanted the truth.

  "Currently, there are four distinct modules. One for combat, one for magic use, one for history, and one for general skills and knowledge. I recommend focusing on the combat module first. However, Zan, you are free to float and consume lessons as you see fit."

  Looking at the four modules, Zan was surprised there were not more. With how long it seemed to take the Wardens to repair the base's 'memory banks,' he would have thought there were dozens of training dials. Only four? That was doable. For now...

  "Okay. I will get to it, then, I guess," Zan told Sigma-Prime.

  "Wonderful! If you need any assistance, I am only a call away," Sigma replied before gently shuffling off, leaving Zan alone.

  Looking at the dials, Zan didn't know where to begin. It was all overwhelming. Each dial had sixteen hours' worth of lectures. There were four dials. Which meant, "sixty-four hours of content to watch." Zan said to himself. "Which doesn't include breaks, meals, or general sleep. This is closer to a hundred hours. At least. And that's assuming I grind out everything non-stop."

  Wrestling with what he should do, Zan settled on committing to the combat module. That was the dial Sigma-Prime suggested, and it was also what was, pragmatically, going to be the most useful to Zan at this stage in his training.

  "Let's get this show on the road," Zan said as he stood before the sword and shield labeled dial and turned it exactly one-notch to the right. He slammed the center button. In response, a light show began.

  Zan rushed back to his desk. For a moment, it wobbled with the force of him rushing back. A close up of an old man's face appeared before the front wall, not unlike the Screen Master's oversized face, but less blue.

  "My name is Lord Commander Garul. I am here doing these... training videos? Is that what these are being called? Yes? Oh, good. I got it right," the face said. Zan wondered if the video was supposed to play like this. Zan understood the 'Face' was talking to someone who had been in the room with him at the time of the recording. Thousands of years ago it might have been.

  Continuing, the Face, Lord Commander Garul spoke "If you are watching these videos, it means the Order is in a Critical Situation. There are no trainers around, the Wardens are busy, too busy running the systems to help with direct training... what else does it mean? Jerry, what other factors are going into who gets to watch these videos and when? Jerry?!"

  Distorting, the audio and visual quality of the projection degraded rapidly. Words suddenly gave out only to be replaced with fresh sentences. In time, Zan would learn this was called an 'edit.'

  Beginning for real, the face of Lord Commander Garul said, "Recruit! Look at me! The world is scary and eating you up. But if you're watching this, it means you've survived. You have what it takes. If you've won the attention of the Wardens, then you truly are a comrade of mine!"

  Zan felt inside of him a rush of emotions. His tiny arm hairs stood on edge; his head felt lighter. Bliss, he felt at being praised, indirectly thought it may have been. Across eons and space, something connected them.

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  "Every silver lining has a dark side, though," the voice went on to say. "You survived. Great for you. If you're watching this, it means there are no actual trainers to help get the Order going again. You have an uphill battle ahead, yes, you do, I know. No one who didn't want a life of hardship would be watching this. So, I say to you, whoever you are, thank you. Your service will not go unrewarded," a couple of tears streamed down Zan's face.

  "But, with our busy work done, let's be real. Whoever you are. Let's get to these lessons. I cannot promise how, by the end, you will be a swift devastation machine capable of clearing out whole lines of wretched foes. No, that depends on factors out of our control. What I can promise you is this: follow my lessons and I will turn you into someone another person can depend upon. Now, unless you're busy wiping away your tears and snot, let's get down to business, shall we?"

  THE FIRST LESSON ENDED...

  "So ends our first lesson. Basic as though it be, master this elementary slashing motion and you will be well on your way to being a dependable guy the next time you're out in the field. Over and out."

  And not a drop of sweat came from Zan's brow.

  "Such a basic lesson," Zan told himself as the lesson ended. The face of the lord commander faded to indistinct static as black and white splotches spread where the commander's face had been, only for the recording to end.

  Zan questioned what he should do next. Did he want to re-watch the lesson? That would mean another ten minutes.

  "I can spare the minutes," Zan told himself.

  Pressing the center dial as a button, the message played from the beginning. Zan ignored the introduction where the lord commander fumbled with his lines. Zan did the same with the following bit where he thanked whoever was watching the video. Listening to the lord commander speak, Zan felt foolish for the strong feelings he had let himself become drawn into the first time he watched the lesson. "Whoever this man is," Zan told himself, "He died a long time ago. Focus on the lessons, not the fluff!"

  Focusing on the core content, Zan dwelt on the practical demonstration bits of the recording.

  "Watch closely as I move my arm," the video belied.

  Trying his best to watch, Zan grew furstrated when the recording's flow went too quickly to the next part of the video. "Stop!" Zan said. To his surprise, the video did stop.

  Confused, Zan sputtered on his feet, shocked at how his verbal command had stopped the video.

  At that time, Sigma-Prime walked in through the door to check on him. "You look distressed. Is something the matter?" She asked.

  Zan explained how the video stopped on his command.

  "That is by my hand," Zan. I apologize. Once the video plays, I can take direct control of the video based on your commands. I noticed you studying intent on the video's demonstrations. It is possible to 're-wind' a part of the video," the Screen Master said, going on to explain to Zan what features such as pausing, rewinding, and fast-forwarding were; "It is just like stopping your reading of a book, or finding a place behind or ahead of your current reading position," Sigma-Prime summarized.

  Zan thanked them for their help. Leaving the room, Zan resumed his lesson once Sigma left. Using the new command controls, Zan put the features to good use as the first lesson, the second go around, did not end until well after its run time had ended.

  "I'm really sweating now," Zan said, talking to himself. He worked all night at the lessons. There was not a lesson he didn't watch at least twice. Usually three times. On occasion, four.

  By evening's end, the pompous tone which had begun to crawl into Zan's tongue at the first lesson's end was nowhere in sight. "W-wait, what's this?" Zan reacted to a System notification. [Achievement Unlocked: Order Recruit].

  "What is this?" Zan asked himself.

  The headset voice which read to him the pop up's words generated a question mark in the middle of his HUD, empty for but the vague suggestion of darker colors at the edge of his vision marking where the System held its meta-information. He focused on the question mark to 'activate' it.

  The system voice read a new notification: "[Achievements: an experimental feature meant to gauge and promote user attentiveness to power levels.]"

  Expanding his consciousness just to the point where all the information on his HUD came alive, a new icon came into being. It looked in the shape of a trophy with a star emblazoned in its middle. Zan barely knew what a trophy was, and only because travelers told him of great competitions in far flung places where men of strength and women of beauty are judged.

  He focused on this icon, wiping what he saw, bringing his gaze to a new HUD articulation.

  Focusing on the HUD articulation, he asked the Screen Master, "Hey, what are these 'achievement' things?"

  Seeing rows upon rows of question marks, each question mark denoting an achievement locked, Zan heard the Screen Master's reply. "Connected as you are back in the command center, I took the liberty of updating your Command Center System. I had intended on rushing this feature, so it unlocked upon initialization. The project's demands and scope prevented such a reality, unfortunately. Achievements are exactly what the headset's informational code has explained: they are nothing more than carrots encouraging growth."

  "Carrots?" Zan asked, unaware of the turn-of-phrase. The Screen Master explained how carrots were used as rewards to keep certain beasts of burden moving.

  "I get it. I think..." Zan said, looking at the achievements he had since unlocked, albeit retroactively. "It's like, little nudges to encourage my growth as the Order grandmaster?"

  "Precisely." Simulacrum said, Zan's vision taking in his accomplishments.

  Zan saw achievements for destroying a single automotron; reaching qualifications for using Order gear such as equipment; and even a couple of goofy achievements for 'discovering' the command center, even though that didn't make sense considering back then, he wasn't even a soldier, let alone an Order participant.

  "Wow. I've done a lot," Zan said.

  The Screen Master replied, "You have, Zan. Take pride in your warrior's code. As with every other feature of the headset, remember, the 'achievements' here are only represented to your needs and potentials. They do not represent only your objective needs. No universal truth is to be found in them beyond using them as a tool to advance your skills."

  "Yes, yes, I know, Simulacrum. I do always remember... I have a fair number. I want to look them over. Thank you for your help."

  Simulacrum said he understood and ended the conversation there.

  Zan scanned the rows of achievements: he saw tiny trophy icons representing accomplishment from 'device created: power bike' to even 'Whiskey: First Recruit.' His real interest remained in the achievements yet to be unlocked.

  He saw icons for 'reaching power level 100' and 'declare autonomy.'

  Not knowing what the latter achievement was all about, Zan did know about power levels: glancing down to the corner, he saw Whiskey's power level had doubled. From five to ten. 'Must be from joining us and integrating with her power crystal?' Zan guessed.

  Jiehong's power level had increased to twelve. Zan's own was at seventeen.

  "I guess that reach level one-hundred achievement won't be mine anytime soon," Zan thought.

  After seeing the achievement for 'complete first video tutorial,' Zan dismissed the HUD screen. He returned to his video lessons and hoped with every lesson completed, he would gain more knowledge, more power. Glancing at a yet-to-be-unlocked trophy ("Become True Grandmaster"), he knew he was blessed. For he had fortune in how he had access to all the tools he needed to make himself into a force to be revered, feared (by the unwell), and above all, respected.

  "I'm going to do it," Zan promised himself. "I am going to become the grandmaster of this Order -- for real!