One of the largest scandals of our age was over sports. Unbeknownst to the public, artificial intelligence managed to create exciting and realistic sports matches that gradually replaced live games.

  Athletes in professional sports were highly paid, and the stealth removal of teams and the steady reduction in hiring new athletes led to the public being none the wiser. This lasted until a CFO proudly announced the savings on an earnings call. Suddenly, everyone knew the sports they were enjoying weren’t real, and neither were the athletes they cheered for.

  The news cycle lasted three days before the next scandal, and the world kept turning.

  -”On the Fall of Televised Sports” (Earth Year 2038 AD)

  Mari:

  “That was weird.” She frowned, turning slightly towards Karin and gestured to herself. “Kris spent about half of that conversation staring at my stomach. And that was just the half where she wasn’t looking in your direction just to be polite. I’m flattered, but that seemed excessive.”

  “Pfft!” Karin let out an uncharacteristic noise of choked laughter, covering her mouth with one hand and averting her eyes.

  “No…” Mari’s eyes went wide with shock, “does that happen to all Kilthien when they choose a partner?”

  “Speaking from experience, I will say ‘maybe.’”

  “So Kris is the sort of girl who likes a person who’s fit. Honestly, it shouldn’t be surprising. She’s plenty in shape herself.”

  “Do not get things backwards. It is you she chose. Seeing you looking good is what got her attention, not that anyone with good fitness would catch her eye.” Karin finally seemed to fully compose herself.

  “Isn’t it dangerous to have such an obvious weak spot? Losing your composure over the things your daughter does might be a little too noticeable in public settings.” Mari felt a small wave of concern for the council’s leader being so easily thrown off by the antics of her child.

  Karin turned an inquisitive eye towards Mari. “Your predecessor never had children, right? Nothing was ever mentioned in the files.”

  “Almost.” Mari grew somber at the emotional tide attached to that chapter of Marielle’s memories. “A scientist from the colony she established had created a child using their combined genetics. Sadly, that scientist died along with their dream. In the end, Marielle ended up alone again.”

  The feelings of love, fear, desperation, and loneliness that made up her predecessor’s life were more prominent for Mari than the actual experiences that made up her own life as a whole. That undercurrent of emotions was the majority of what pushed Mari’s disposition into maturing so quickly after the procedure.

  “I am sorry to hear that. All I meant by bringing it up is that children are always a parent’s weakness. Why waste effort hiding it when I can simply be a person once in a while instead of a proverbial political fortress? It may seem odd to most, but if Kris ever becomes the dagger held to my throat, I would rather have had fond memories while I could.”

  Karin was a strong woman. Mari felt that more than ever, seeing her resolve and the loving expression of the mother. In turn, perhaps out of respect, she affirmed her own resolve.

  “I’ll do my best to ensure she isn’t the dagger held to your throat, then.” By the oddities of circumstance, Mari felt like she was on a similar level with Karin. Perhaps simply on a similar wavelength. “I do think it’s a little funny to imagine how embarrassed she would be if she heard this conversation.”

  A faint smile crossed Karin’s lips, rare fondness in her eyes as she peered over at Mari. With a nod, she turned back towards the field, settling her rigid mask back into place.

  Glancing around, Mari noticed the rest of the courtyard filling with eager spectators. Not everyone was focused on the imminent game, though. One small cluster was working on weaving some clothes, clearly enjoying an excuse to get fresh air. All around, similar sights were obvious. People working from tablets or having remote conversations through the world’s equivalent to cell phones, despite their lacking signal range.

  Feeling the overflowing vibrance of life all around her, Mari felt something within herself. It was a spark that Marielle—acting as the Medjay—had described as a sort of inspiration. A moment to meditate and take in the surrounding energy, then attune herself to the world.

  She half-lidded her eyes and let that energy harmonize. Medjay was a being that cherished peace and joyous life. It was the thing she fought to protect. Even if she had been a soldier, things like the precious moment around her were the rationale underpinning that life of violence.

  The world around her was full of smiles and expressions of hope for a bright future. Among all that positivity was a singular beacon: Kris, shining like a star, and she’d linked herself inextricably to Mari. That meant something.

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  This happiness—this is what is beautiful in the world. And I devote myself to the goal of safeguarding that happiness. A faint echo of Medjay’s ancient words crossed her mind.

  Even with fear in our hearts, it is worth embracing that fear as motivation. All to protect these moments. Marielle’s voice whispered directly into her mind, feeling like nothing more than the passing breeze.

  Mari was almost pulled from her reverie when those two things entered her stream of consciousness. Then she added her own line.

  I will stand by that resolve. I will be the next in line to take up this mantle. I will not let our legacy die.

  At those words, she felt something resonate in the pit of her stomach, bursting with vital energy. An oath that would grant her strength through the willpower to overcome hardships so long as she remained on the path.

  By the time she realized it, the bell in the courtyard was ringing, signaling the beginning of the match.

  “Are you alright? Your mind seemed to be elsewhere for a while just now.” Karin’s quiet words made her stiffen, and Mari checked the time in her HUD.

  She’d lost half an hour in the blink of an eye.

  “I was… reveling in how peaceful this place is. This community is something special.”

  “I appreciate the sentiment. I never imagined I would be where I am today when I was your age.”

  Then, their conversation died down as the school instructor in charge of refereeing the match began to go over the terms.

  “This match will continue until ten scored points for either side. These devices will prevent the risk of major injury. All rules are standard.” The statement was brief, but the instructor knew better than to waste time outlining rules for players and a crowd that knew the game inside and out.

  They’d be standing about twenty meters apart. Using a magnetic field glove to catch and redirect the ball back and forth through a long corridor. Points were scored by getting the ball into the goal behind the opposing player without them catching it. If Mari had to equate it, it seemed a bit like lacrosse or something. Maybe tennis, since there weren’t teams.

  Mari had never actually been healthy enough to learn to play, and with her low hand-eye coordination, she had a feeling she would’ve gotten hurt if she tried. And with the risk of her blood being an issue, she’d been excluded from athletics almost entirely. That had struck her bullies as favoritism, which hadn’t helped her fit in any better.

  Kris stepped up to the referee and took a triangular device, which she reached around and pressed to her back between her shoulder blades.

  Her opponent, whom Mari didn’t know the name of, turned his back to the instructor and had it fastened in place for him. Anvien weren’t as flexible as Kilthien, owing to their stone-like skin.

  Then, facing one another, the two opponents held their fists forward and looked like they were about to fist bump, only for their gloves to light up and begin warring with one another. The two fields of magnetic currents actually visibly lit up in her HUD, and she watched as they rapidly fought for dominance.

  Then, as sudden as it had begun, Kris released her grip with a frown of confusion.

  “She lost?” Karin looked surprised.

  “She hurt the joint at the base of her thumb in the lab yesterday. I figured she wouldn’t go crazy for this match and risk getting hurt worse.”

  Her opponent seemed just as surprised as Karin did, but he finally collected himself and scooped up the ball in his off hand.

  “First serve goes to Cleo.” The referee announced for nobody. Well, aside from Mari finally learning the kid’s name. Not that he was actually a kid compared to her. Cleo was a bit older than her. Her mind was just doing weird things with the mental age she had changed into.

  The pair moved into the corridor, which was formed by posts that rose from the ground and were interconnected by reinforced glass. Kris practically drifted over the field on graceful legs as she followed Cleo’s eyes steadily. The Anvien boy tossed the ball into the air, slid his gloved hand towards it, and then spun his whole body while the ball began the first orbit around his hand.

  One of the rules about serving was that the ball couldn’t orbit your hand more than thrice before release. Each player could then only allow for two more revolutions before they returned it. In Cleo’s serve, however, he only used a single orbit, and allowed his pirouette to build the extra momentum.

  Mari wondered briefly if the maneuver was meant to hide his eyes from Kris’ impressive ability to judge trajectories.

  Kris stepped back with her left leg, predicting the travel of the ball as it was released, and half turned her back to Cleo as she cut an arc with her gloved hand to intercept the trajectory of the ball. As soon as the sphere latched onto the new orbit, Kris was finishing her turn, rounding her own pirouette as she curled her fingers, preparing for the release of the ball.

  Her turn concluded, her hand shot forward, and the ball sailed back after another single revolution.

  “Kris is going for the fast game. Trying to beat him before he burns out her stamina.” Mari judged aloud.

  Karin nodded, then glanced her way. “Since when were you so good at taking the measure of others? Just how much has Marielle changed you?”

  “She taught me a few ways to cheat my issue with social interaction.”

  “Of course she did.”

  They both turned back to the game to see Kris’ next release. Instead of a single revolution, she let the ball wind up twice before flicking her wrist and the speed of the match increased rapidly from there. Mari found it easy to track the ball for the first time in her life, not that she could say she was interested in taking up the sport.

  The round ended with a sight that stole Mari’s breath away.

  The ball went hurtling towards Kris at shocking speed, only for the pink-haired girl to kick into a spin horizontally, her legs off to the right side as she cut the ball from the air above her and quickly released it from the spin in a path that hovered at shin height off the ground.

  Her spin was still in motion when Cleo reached low to catch the ball, but failed to have the right momentum to redirect it. The ball punched through the field of his glove, and instead of taking up the new orbit, it sailed cleanly into the goal.

  “Point—Krissanine.” The referee managed to hide his surprise at the acrobatic maneuver.

  Impressed, Mari clapped her hands proudly, a smile on her lips. A few cheers went up, and the game continued. It would only get tougher as the game progressed and Kris grew more tired.

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