Chapter 5: Alexa to the Rescue

Kane's mind was still reeling from the shocking revelation about the personal merger. But his mind was made up now. With the shocking revelation now out of the way, he thought of various other topics he wished to learn about.

He resumed his conversation with the GUIDE, making sure to cover all the doubts in his mind, no matter how small. He sought to understand the stages involved in the merger process, knowing that he had to prepare for what lay ahead. How many stages were there? Was there a schedule for them? Could he refuse to take part? Why was it necessary?

He was pretty sure that if this were a college professor, they would be fuming, but the robot showed no such reaction. Its form remained the same and its voice maintained the same pitch throughout.

As the GUIDE elucidated the different stages and the challenges Kane would face, the enormity of the merger hit him like a freight train. There was just so much involved. Just the complexity of how this process which was taking place at a universal level alone left him confounded. But then there were bits and pieces of information that could either save you or condemn you. It was all like a really complicated RPG game, but the mechanics did not make it fun to play. Instead, it made it a headache for one to keep in mind.

But Kane understood that there was no choice but to proceed. And he wasn't alone in this. Once he was done, he was going to have another call with his friends. An update was urgently required now.

When he had questioned the unexpected change in the color of his irises, the GUIDE responded with cryptic reassurance, mentioning the inevitability of mutations during the merger. It added that all such mutations were intended to be advantageous. Which seemed really suspicious to him. But the GUIDE would not explain further on them.

He had come to notice that while the GUIDE answered him on almost everything, it would refrain from including certain parts or refuse to answer certain queries. It wasn't even trying to avoid the topic, but simply answered:

|*You are unauthorized to learn this knowledge.*|

It was only after he asked how he could raise his authorization that he learnt something that changed his perspective about this apocalypse.

|*There are no methods to raise your authorization. No rules exist during the merger, and no rules will be made from now on either. The GUIDE will decide if it wants to raise your authorization according to its supervision*|

And that had left him completely baffled.

He had been expecting the GUIDE to be like the systems that worked in the novels to help the characters improve and reach the top of the world. But unexpectedly, no such thing existed. This was when he fully understood why it was called a GUIDE.

Its only job was to provide the basic information when asked. It was not a nanny that was going to offer him quests or missions to improve himself. It was not going to bring opportunities placed on a platter for him to level up. And it was definitely not going to save his ass if found himself in trouble, unless of course he remembered to ask it. Even then, it would depend if his authorization was high enough to elicit the required information from it.

This was a disaster.

....

Kane slowly got up from his kitchen floor. It seemed as if no time had passed while he had the conversation with the GUIDE inside his mind. Dusting off his pants, he thought loudly in his mind:

*'Take the form of a smartwatch'*

And behold as a black smartwatch appeared on his right wrist. He had been expecting for something like this to happen, but damn, that looked cool.

"Its almost like magic. If only I could learn to conjure stuff up like that as well."

|*Resident Kane need not fret. If you pass the personal merger, you will surely have the opportunity to explore and learn magic as you call it.*|

It did not surprise him anymore after hearing it. He had already decided that nothing was going to phase him now. Anything and everything was a possibility. So come what may, he would take it in stride.

But often times, implementing such a mentality required more trials and errors.

As he stepped out of his kitchen, suddenly the temperature dropped.

A chill spread around him and he shifted towards the entrance of the hall at the opposite end from where he stood. As if confirming his fears, a shrouded apparition was slowly floating towards him. The scene reminded him of dementors, but right now he had no time to compare the similarities, as rushed away from the apparition and tried making for his front door.

Bits of information that would explain his current predicament floated in his mind as he tried to formulate a plain. 

The apparition was a Temporal Echo, a ghost of sort formed due to the merger. They were just one kind of the anomalies that would soon descend on them, but currently he was ill prepared to face one.

"GUIDE, is that a level 1 Echo?"

|*Indeed. You would be able to vanquish it easily if you had a flamethrower. That would literally burn the apparition to oblivion. But aware of your lack of equipment, I'd suggest to make a run for it. Echoes are awfully slow.*|

Kane knew that, which is why he had bolted for the front door immediately. But when he saw the distorted door handle, he knew that his trouble had just doubled. The Echo had space locked the area. Dammit.

His heart racing, Kane considered his options. His two-bedroom apartment wasn't large. But it was eight stories above. And it was doubtful if he could access the windows either. So making a jump away was out of option. Did he have a way to defeat the monster?

|*You could try to destabilize it using a very high frequency. A risky maneuver. But also your next best bet*|

Listening to the GUIDE's robotic voice, Kane felt frustrated, but agreed that it was sensible advice.

He remembered the vital information about echoes: their touch alone could lead to severe consequences, the best option being to sever the limb or area of touch. Worse yet, if he got possessed, landing in a coma would be the best outcome, the worst being paralyzed for a lengthy period.

Temporal Echoes, like their name suggested, were mere reflections of past or present. And since it was only a level 1 Echo, it wouldn't kill him. He could try to avoid it for long enough till it dissipated on its own. But in this closed space, he felt his luck was against him. Taking the GUIDE's advice, he decided his best bet was to try to stall it. Making up his mind, he shouted out loud:

"ALEXA, turn on all the speakers and run the highest frequency that can be generated quickly."