My name is Michael North

"Ding! Quest issued. Reward: 50,000 glory points, one inquiry from infofield. Objective: host's planet is in turmoil. Host is only person who can stop panic and chaos. Please, do as much good as you can and earn million glory points in three days."

'Even Glory wants me to take action,' Michael shook his head.

He excused himself and retreated to his room. The parents were in the middle of a lovey-dovey moment, and it felt a little awkward to stay in the same room as them.

"Glory, does it mean what I think it means? Inquiry from the infofield, so I can ask any question I want?"

"Host is correct. Infofield possesses every bit of knowledge about past and present."

Michael threw his hands in the air in triumph before coming up with an idea, "Can I ask about the future?"

"Host is able to do so."

His eyebrow twitched, "And will I get an answer?"

"Negative."

Ah, Glory was still Glory. No doubt about that.

Michael sat on the bed and made a list of pros and cons in his mind for the hundredth time, adding the inquiry to it. There were quite a few benefits to telling everyone the truth. Greater exposure, millions of glory points, the kind of popularity that brought money. Of course, the most important thing was saving lives and ending the panic.

However, standing out against the governments meant getting in trouble. There was a small chance they'd ignore his shenanigans, but Michael wouldn't bet on that.

Ever since he jumped into this world, he wanted one thing – to live a better life. Helping his friends and his parents was a big part of it, and threatening their safety was the opposite. But millions of lives were at stake, and millions were more important than few. Simple math.

In his heart, Michael knew he had to do this. After ten years of house arrest and torture, he strived to act. He was afraid of the consequences but pushed himself to do something, anything.

"My arms are trembling."

Even Control over Emotions couldn't hide the jitters that enveloped him.

For ten years, he was impotent and incapable, weak and powerless. Not anymore. But he remained the same person inside, used to thinking and planning, not acting.

"Stop it. Stop!"

He stood up and hit the table with his hand to stop it from trembling. A twinge of pain burned his palm. The scar ached, reminding Michael of his altercation with the robber.

He clenched his fist, and the fingers covered the scar.

Dumbfounded, he stared at it for a minute, and then smiled.

"That's right. As long as I'm prepared to fight, as long as I'm ready for them, I will have no weaknesses. If you make a fist, they can't hurt you."

Michael already received his parents' approval. He had the means and the incentive to tell the truth to the world. It was time to go big or go home.

But acting without a plan was the worst thing he could do in this situation.

Michael spent an hour writing a speech and outlining his presentation. After everything was done, he called Dimitri.

"Yeah?"

"Dim, change of plans. I want you to release Angry Birds 2 right now."

There was a short silence with some cursing in the distance, before the programmer responded, "Why the heck would you do that?"

"Trust me. Also, I will send you a video in an hour. I want you to post it on our site…"

"The company site? North Gaming?"

"Yes," Michael grinned. "There's more. You need to prepare an update for both our games, put the video in them too. Make it so they can't play until they watch it. Come to think of it, hold off on the sequel and release it with the video already embedded."

Dimitri croaked, choking on air, "Mike, buddy, what's wrong? You're not yourself!"

"You'll understand when you watch the video. But you'll have to be fast. How much time do you need?"

"Ah, I guess, twenty minutes? I'll get Alex to help."

"Good. Dim," Michael sighed, "do you want to change the world?"

"S-sure?" the programmer replied without confidence.

"We start today."

Michael hung up the phone.

This was the best he could do. There was a reason why he had to go so far.

In order to warn the people, he needed three things. First, proof that superpowers existed. Second, the ability to reach millions of people with the information. Third, reputation, so that people believed his words.

Between a popular actor and a rarely seen politician, who could provoke the masses? Michael may not have been well-known, but he had many identities. Game developer, famous YouTuber, genius multimillionaire at 15. With all these combined, he believed he stood a chance.

He also planned a three-pronged attack through three different platforms. The governments had plenty of tools at their disposal to shut down the public opinion.

Discrediting his words as a conspiracy theory?

Deleting his videos, banning his channel?

DDoS-attacks on his website?

Blocking his games on Google Play and App Store?

Even if the governments had some influence on such titans as Google and Apple, they would have to use all these methods at once! Michael didn't put all his eggs into one basket. If just one platform worked, he would succeed!

He also had to be careful not to break any laws. After the video got out there, the governments would try every trick in the book to accuse him of hate speech or instigating a revolution, pin any crime on him. He had to keep his record clean.

This meant no hacking and no hiring people to support his agenda. Blocking the games until the players watched the video was a bit over the top, but it couldn't hurt him too bad. It wasn't political.

Michael turned on the recording software and stood before the camera, stretching his limbs. This was the most reckless, dangerous and the most well-thought out thing he had ever done.

His mood was solemn, but a small smile curved his lips. He had to do more than provide information, he had to reassure the people.

"Hey, everyone! I'm Michael North, and this video is on many platforms again. I'm afraid this is not an announcement of a new game, but wait!" He waved his arms, "Don't go! This is a hundred times more important. Today, I'm here to tell you the truth about what's been happening around the world for the past week. This is not a joke and not an ad."

"Half a year ago, the Chaos comet passed by our planet. On that day, some of you might've been hurt or lost loved ones. It was a terrible tragedy like no other. However, its long-lasting effects are still here, changing our lives. The reason so many strange things happened this week is… the comet has given us powers."

Michael swallowed, images flashing before his eyes.

Anna. "Two things I can rely on are EIS and you. I'm asking you to teach me."

Dad. "Sometimes all you need is a voice you can trust."

Mom. "Let's listen to your father one more time. Do the right thing."

Glory. "I'm not some chosen one." – "Host is mistaken."

And Jones, just an hour after Michael appeared in this world. "I like to think that nothing is impossible, Mikhail. Maybe one day you could become a great man as well."

Michael took a deep breath and turned off Control over Emotions.

"I know so much because I'm just like you. The comet left its trace on me, gave me powers. In this video, I will explain everything."

He called on his old pain and new hope. The powerful emotions shone brightly through his eyes. Michael directed his piercing gaze straight at the camera and made the step he'd been so hesitant about.

"My name is Michael North, and I am the first Alter."