The petition was started by a young woman with a small streaming channel on VirTube. She’d been ecstatic by the launch of the Cutting Edge streaming service, where the 24/7 content provided ample opportunity to talk and react. Many people would simply watch the abbreviated stream versions provided by Razor, but some would want to hear more about what the shorter version had missed while not having time to watch the whole thing. Her parents, who she still lived with, thought the 12+ hours she’d spent on the stream in the last two days was a big waste. She saw it as her chance to go pro and ride the wave of popularity while the world’s gaze was focused on a single story.

Her niche was different from what the most popular commentators discussed. She was mildly interested in the relationships and the kingdom building aspects of the simulation, but that wasn’t what her channel focused on. No, she had decided to focus on the “uplift” aspect of the story - the technological change.

Razor’s lack of focus on those areas hadn’t discouraged her, though it certainly made her work harder. What it had done, instead, was make her streaming sessions more unique, and she’d already seen her audience numbers skyrocket after only two days. They’d tune in to see her point out the tech progression hidden within the stream. When she saw the headline - DIGITAL INTELLIGENCE GOES STRAIGHT FOR GUNS! - calling Jason a warmonger and a potential menace to society, she was incensed. Within a matter of hours, her newfound subscribers helped her get over 100,000 signatures on a petition. That petition requested that Razor, Inc, provide a list to the public of all the inventions that Jason had made in the sim, to help defend his name.

Jason’s focus was very different from the headlines, and she knew the person that proved the media wrong would be getting a lot of attention in the next few days. She would use that attention.

---

Hardly any people in Silver City noticed the closed doors of the old apothecary shop. Those few who inquired about it were told by the shopkeeper next door that the proprietor had left to restock her supply of herbs, and no, he didn’t know when she would return.

The woman in question walked down the streets of Brighton, headed for the estate of the king’s Marshal. Publically, Pierce of House Woodmere was in charge of the city guard and any soldiers the government employed. Privately, he operated a small network of spies and informants, both within the city and in the surrounding regions.

She presented a letter to the estate guards, who glanced at it and waved her through. Soon, she found herself in a waiting room on an ornate couch, informed that the master of the house would be with her shortly.

“Good to see you again, Martha,” Pierce’s cheerful voice rang out as he stepped into the room. “How is business?”

“Well as ever, thank you, Pierce,” she said with a smile. “It’s good to see you too.”

Peirce held out his arm to Martha and asked, “Shall we take tea on the veranda together for old time’s sake?”

“I’d like that,” she replied. “It’s been a rather long journey.”

“Any troubles?”

“On the journey, no,” Martha replied as she took her seat, looking out into the garden. “You, on the other hand, may have some trouble shortly.”

“Do tell, old friend,” Pierce requested as he sank into his own cushion. His butler followed soon after to serve them.

Martha told the Marshal of the information she had gathered from the palace cook. “I was able to corroborate her story with another person who had been at the court that day. They certainly plan to attack Brighton.”

Pierce cursed quietly. “I’ve heard they have been taking over villages in the unclaimed lands, and I advised the king to take decisive action and stop their spread. So far, his advisors have been divided on the subject. I dare say this will light a fire under them.”

“The rumors say that Brighton attacked first,” Martha volunteered.

“Ha. I would have loved to expand our influence more aggressively, but the rest of the king’s court convinced him that Silver City would take it as an act of war if we encroached into the unclaimed lands.”

Martha nodded. “It seems they did the same thing to you.”

“They did. And with this news, we will have to take action,” Pierce said. “I appreciate you making the trip yourself. This is big news to trust from anyone but you.”

“You are welcome,” Martha said as she sipped her tea and made eye contact with Pierce.

“Would you like to join my son and me for dinner tonight? I’m sure you have a few things to do before beginning your journey back.”

“I would love to,” Martha said. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen Victor. How’s the boy doing?”

“Well enough,” Pierce said, and proceeded to fill her in on the details of his life in the past year. The two friends sat on the veranda for another hour, sipping their tea, sharing old memories and new experiences. Finally, Pierce excused himself and went to speak with his regent about the threat to their city.

---

The leaders of the two occupied towns that Enderton had been in contact with arrived in Jason’s village on the same day. They both got a full tour of the town, as well as a private demonstration of the guns Jason had used to drive away the Silver army. Both men were suitably impressed, and their confidence that he would be able to help them reclaim their town grew dramatically.

Just wait until the world sees the flintlock that Otto is working on, Jason thought. Now that’s a big leap forward.

At the end of the weapons demonstration, it came time for Jason to broach the most important subject. The men gathered around the wooden targets with multiple holes in them. Splinters the size of a man’s hand stuck out at odd angles near many of the exit points. “So,” Jason began, “let’s talk about timing and what support your towns will be able to provide our liberation efforts.”

The two men glanced at each other, and then at the targets again before turning back at Jason. The older of the two middle-aged men was the first to speak. “My lord, we appreciate your willingness to rid us of the enemy. I believe I speak for both of us when we say we will gladly pledge our loyalty to your kingdom. Your people speak very highly of you and the changes you brought. Some of your common laborers live in houses as nice as the best in our village. We want what you have to offer.

“As far as what my village can do to help this transition: we can let you know where the bulk of their forces are. Their men typically eat together, and several of our townsfolk have been pressed into serving in their men. We may be able to poison their food, though I would only want them to do that if you were able to attack shortly after and save us from retaliation.”

Jason grimaced but nodded. Not a pleasant thing to do, but then nothing in war is honorable. If it saves the lives of my people, it’s worth it.

The other town leader took that opportunity to speak. “My town is further away to the northeast and deeper into the unclaimed lands. We only had a garrison of twenty at first, and after your victory, that was reduced to ten. If you send us a messenger immediately after you recapture theirs,” he nodded to the other leader, “Our town will take matters into our own hands.” The man clenched his fist. “We will pledge fealty to you immediately afterward. Please just make sure none of their forces escape in our direction, as our farms and outlying areas would likely suffer their predation.”

Jason nodded. “We’ll try to keep them contained and be sure that any that escape capture leave our valley. But stay on your guard for a while after this occurs.”

The town leaders nodded.

“How do we know that the Silver kingdom won’t send another army and take our village or raze it to the ground at a later date?”

Jason replied, “We’ll just have to make sure they have a larger threat to deal with. That, and a method of faster communication, so we know when you need us. I have a few ideas…

---

Tanya saw the note from her subordinate about the petition the afternoon after the young independent commentator had started it. Within an hour, she also had received several messages from her media contacts asking if the clips and off-the-record commentary she had sent previously accurately reflected Jason’s technological priorities. Little girl, you’re becoming an annoyance, Tanya thought. I can ignore the petition, and play off the rest as my concern for an issue the public should be aware of. If they want to push the questions further, they’ll have to be content in the future without insider-access.

She informed the rest of the team of her decisions and had her public relations manager give the media outlets a call. If they want the insider scoop that gets them prominent headlines and millions of views, they’re going to have to play by my rules.

Satisfied that she had things under control, she put away her headset and left for home. I could use a glass of wine, she thought. It’s been a long, annoying day.