astroguy

To folks who might be mad that Steven isn’t immediately expelled, imprisoned, or punished in some other way: Please trust me that things are in the works. This chapter continues to lay that groundwork. However, the next several need to focus on Shawn. He is going somewhere that is unpleasant and I don’t want to complicate that with punishing Steven and the exploration of the hierarchy and governing system that punishing Steven requires.

It was Prof. Akana who had saved us. He'd already called for medical, and they were there within a minute. They tried to get me to stay away, but I refused. Then they wanted to look at my injuries, but I refused. I needed to stay with Zane. I shadowed them to the medical center, not caring how fast I had to run. I called the rest of the team on my bracelet and they met us at there. I was numb, and their faces told me they were, too. This had to stop, we couldn't keep doing this.

Some people have access to things they shouldn't.

Indeed. I will add, because I don't want you to be mad at me: This is briefly addressed – but deferred – in chapter 59 (what will go up next). It will then be very specifically addressed circa chapters 68–70.

Indeed, on all counts.

This chapter is a significant pivot chapter, setting up numerous consequences: Short-term physical, mid-term emotional and psychological, and long-term interpersonal, plus short-, mid-, and long-term plot. I've been iterating hard on ch. 58–64 for the last week to try to make sure they land as realistic and with an eye towards how Phase 1 of this story will climax circa chapter 90–100 (my outline is laid out explicitly through chapter 78, but beyond that it is general notes of how the rest will accelerate and climax; plus, I've written the last chapter of both Phase 1 and the overall story).

I couldn't fight with gAI, and I didn't want his base system to make the choice for me. So, I leveled up Strength to 4. I didn't want the system to randomly do it, and I figured Strength was better. I still hadn't really figured out why Endurance was an important thing. Class on Friday was mechanical. I tried to be interested in the material, but I simply wasn't. I was also starting to resent my entourage. Jake seemed to cue off my mood well, keeping his distance or offering to si

a) The mechanics are definitely modeled after various video games. There are coins, hearts, and diamonds. Coins are the basic points that let him "buy" ability/skill levels, hearts are the cum absorption that let him advance to additional ones, and diamonds are required to unlock ability/skill levels in the new ones which he needs in addition to just coins. Not saying what the diamonds are, that might remain vague for awhile even though it's quite solid on the backend. b) I'm glad you like where this is going. c) Yes, part of chapter 51++ is to bring in confidants. There comes a point where you can't just rely on yourself. I will also add that within the next few chapters, some others might be brought in. Probably others who you would not have expected (well, HOPEFULLY wouldn't have expected, I like to think I'm at least a bit good with hiding things that are then obvious upon re-read).

Yeah, I think Eitan is just taking some accelerated learning classes. Makes complete sense!!

It's a day I certainly wouldn't complain about. That said, maybe Eitan is just in some accelerated learning class?

I made it back to the dorm room. Peng and Eitan were still gone, but Jake was there, looking nervous and disheveled. "Shawn!" he exclaimed as I collapsed onto my bed. I ignored him. "Shawn, please! Let me explain. They— I— … I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want them to think we were colluding or conspiring or trying to lie and sync our stories even though Deek and Zane and I totally met up earlier and made sure we had consistent stories to protect you but I could

I won't say this isn't a plot point, but I will say that there's a difference between running the school and running an external investigation and running a military hierarchy. There are always people higher up ... until you get to the top.

As I think I posted to another chapter recently: There are many layers. The school is just the inner-most. This is a sloooooooowwwwww-ass story. Much slower than I intended when I set out, but I'm enjoying writing it and it looks like at least a few of you are enjoying reading it.

My bracelet woke me with a forceful buzz. I pressed it, and a message appeared in a small holographic bubble: "Report to the Administration building at 10:25." I pressed another button and saw it was 09:40. Fuck. 35 minutes, and I'd only gotten 7 hours of sleep. I looked around the room, and I was alone. I guess all the other guys were already at lunch and let me sleep in? I yawned, I stretched, I stood up. I went to my closet to get some clothes and the hangers were all a littl

FWIW (posting on X-mas), thru ch. 57 are posted, and I'm actively working on ch. 64. However, 58–64 are not yet posted in the queue because there's a deep emotional arc (I hope it's deep) that I want to try to nail, cohesively, which involves iteration through all of those chapters to make sure it's all set up and then not-quite-but-mostly resolved correctly and consistently. Stakes are definitely escalating. And I was just at Costco yesterday ... steaks (prices) are also definitely escalating!

Not even three seconds later, I felt the web on my feet. I slowed almost to a stop, then I heard a snapping sound, and I continued to drop. I landed in a small pool of water, my feet just touching the ground before I stopped. I pushed up to the surface, sputtering as I breached it, the disgusting feeling of water in my nose. I frantically looked around for the closest shore but saw steep walls around me except in the farthest direction. Resigned, I paddled over and managed to get out.

We have witnessed something, that's for sure!

"What?" Heath's head was still buried in my shirt, his tears moistening my chest. But what he said didn't make sense. "What do you mean?" I made out a few words: "Escaping … pod … Sage … blasted away … bulkhead … couldn't …" I looked around for any help. Ian quietly came up to me and whispered in my ear. I held Heath closer until his sobs abated. I pulled back slightly and he looked up at me. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known the pod would detach, you could

I continued up the ramp, circling the inside of the Great Dicku many times. I encountered relatively little. After the last hidden door, I kept a closer eye on the walls, running my hands along them at most times to see if there was any give. So far: Nothing, though my hands sometimes came away a little sticky and … cummy. I looked down, over the ramp's edge towards the center of the area. I saw the floor on which I had entered far below, with that sticky spiderweb in the center. I shu

P.S. I will add that I'm broadly in the "space field." The description of the EVA and collection of helium-3 is about as accurate as I could make it; I went through several passes of tweaks to make sure that everything was correct from a physics, astronomy, and engineering standpoint (exotic, futuristic tech aside). The only part that was a bit excessive is the amount of helium-3 that you could probably rake in those passes that Shawn made, that was excessive, despite it being just over 2 mg. The tone of this chapter was also intentionally very mechanical and devoid of emotion, attempting to pick my words so that they echo what the main cast is feeling.

Tricksy, ain'tn't I? "Phase 1" of this work can broadly be called "Innocence." Which means that the story is going to start to pivot to how that concept is tested. In fact, I've preliminarily called chapter 1 of Phase 2 (chapter ~100), "Innocence Lost."

"Shawn." I heard my name called, softly. I drew it around me like a warm blanket as I rode across the sea in a magical boat. "Shawn." A different voice, welcoming me as I flew through the stars, across the galaxy, pausing to look back and see its majestic spiral wonder from millions of light-years away. "Shawn!" A louder voice, grounding me, as I flew back to Earth. I collected floating bodies in their emergency suits. I impacted the ground, a shudder ringing out as the impact th

I walked through the inky blackness until I entered a large room with a soft glow throughout. I looked around, and the room was circular. If I had to guess, it was a little smaller than the size of the tree itself. How could the tree survive if it had such a massive area taken out of its middle? Maybe things here don't have to make sense, they just follow their own rules … or whatever rules the gods set up. I walked a few steps further and peered up. There was a series of landings and

Please note: I did some major rewrites for chapters 1–17, where 13 was also split in half to a new 14, meaning that the previous chapter 17 is now chapter 18. This was done December 21, 2025. This "new chapter 18" is the revision of the old chapter 17. IF YOU DID NOT READ CHAPTER 1–17 AFTER DECEMBER 20, 2025, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND RE-READING FROM THE BEGINNING. There have been some rather significant "lore" / mythology / cosmology changes, and some minor characterization changes. Chapters 19–21 are also in the queue to go up, one per day, after this.

I took a deep breath and walked forward. I passed no other people, no signs, no nothin' as I walked and walked and walked. I was traipsing across nothing but a flat, grassy field, but after many, many minutes, I saw trees start to encroach from either side, like they were funneling me towards an area. They weren't sinister, but I couldn't help but feel like they were funneling me towards a specific destination. They narrowed down to a small path, then suddenly they stopped and opened up