“The contenders must prove their worth,” the king of Brighton intoned, “in two stages. To begin, they must demonstrate their ability to bring prosperity to our city.

“In three months, you may present to me an accounting of how you fulfilled this task. Your families may give you advice, but not support you in any other way. This is your challenge, not theirs.

“We will discuss the second stage in three month’s time,” king Archibold added, then signaled his chief of staff. “And, now, please enjoy yourselves!”

The sound of conversation quickly filled the room.

How in the world am I supposed to bring prosperity to Brighton? Victor asked himself. I don’t even know how to earn money for myself.

---

“Would you look at that,” Jason said out loud. “It’s a thing of beauty.”

“Your majesty,” Samantha spoke up. “I humbly request you re-evaluate your concept of beauty.”

The group stood looking at the large, grey, concrete walls of the water tank on the hill high above the town. Jason laughed. “Okay, so maybe I’m stretching the word. But what this will do for us... you only see the tip of the iceberg.”

“Ice burg?” Alex repeated what Jason had said, unfamiliar with the meaning. “What does a fortress made of ice have to do with anything?”

Jason groaned. “No, it’s a… you know what, never mind,” he decided. “What I meant was you have no idea what other technologies this will unlock for us. Beyond the plumbing and running water, we’ll work on electricity, which is a keystone technology for us. Lighting, communication, heating, cooling, food preservation, and so much more is within our grasp. This world is going to change, and it all starts with some water and plumbing.”

“If I had not already seen the changes you brought,” Alex said, shaking his head, “I would wonder if you were crazy.” He looked at Jason with a wry grin. “Instead, I’m sure of it.”

The group of councilmembers laughed as Alex dodged the punch Jason sent at his shoulder. A few months ago, this type of interaction would have been unconscionable. Now, at least when there were no other people nearby and when not in serious deliberation, the group treated their lord much more casually.

Jason sighed. I’ve grown to like this world, he thought. Love it, even. I have friends here. It used to be that NPCs didn’t seem quite human, and even at the start of this simulation, they seemed to have gaps in their memory. Now, they’re almost… seamless. Human. With more organic motivations.

Razor must be throwing more processing power my way, Jason speculated. I wonder if they realize our contract will result in me owning all of the servers they add to the simulation? It was kind of sneaky of us to word it the way we did, so perhaps they aren’t aware of the implications.

I feel like I’m missing something, too, though. Did they make some kind of breakthrough in artificial intelligence?

Sam interrupted his thoughts. “Jason, are you ready to fill the cistern?

“Yes,” he replied, coming out of his reverie. “Give the order.”

A pair of men pulled on a long handle attached to the valve at the tank’s entrance, and the sound of rushing water could be heard as the tank began to fill. “I will stay here for a while,” Alex informed his king, “just in case something goes wrong. We will open the other valve up when the water level gets high enough, and I have teams ready to inspect the line for leaks all the way to town.”

“Thank you,” Jason responded.

“You should go enjoy your new plumbing,” Alex opined. “And make the announcement to the town.”

“With pleasure,” the king responded, and led the rest of his council back down towards the growing city.

The view from high above the city was picturesque, and Jason enjoyed his walk in the fresh air. As he got closer, he saw teams of men building new houses, digging trenches for the new pipe, and transporting goods in wagons. As he entered the town, though, the smell that assaulted his nose was less idyllic.

It’s time to start enforcing sanitation laws harshly, he decided, especially with the current outbreak. The group passed by a horse-drawn wagon carrying supplies to one of the new construction sites. Jason saw the horse lift its tail and deposit a load on the streets.

The king grimaced. I can’t exactly outlaw animals in the streets, at least yet. And it’s not just horses. It’s dogs, cats, pigs, sheep, and chickens that are always underfoot. I can’t take away the livestock and food of all the people that live here. That’s going to have to be a more extended change.

I’m tempted to make the horses wear bags, though. Or employ more street cleaners. Surely I can find room for that in the budget.

Before long, Jason stood in his house in front of a faucet, and the council members crowded around the wooden tub. Jason smiled and turned the handle. All that greeted him was a rush of air.

They stared at the pipe for a moment.

“Perhaps they have not turned it on yet?” Alex spoke up.

“The tank might not be full,” Tyler said. “That is disappointing.”

Jason just looked at the plumbing over the wooden tub.

Samantha finally spoke up. “If the water were not opened, would air still be blowing out of the pipes?”

“Exactly,” was all Jason said and grinned.

Suddenly, water mixed with the air sputtering out of the pipe, and the group gathered around to watch the tub start to fill slowly. The king laughed and pumped his fist in the air, and the rest allowed fascinated expressions to cover their faces.

Jason turned to the toilet that had been recently installed. He opened the valve and allowed water to fill the tank up to the line marked on the side. Turning to the rest of the group, the king grinned. “Get out,” he pointed, the smile still on his face.

“Oh, come on,” Sam pouted. “This is a historic moment!”

The rest of the group cracked up, and Jason couldn’t help but laugh as well. “Out, you vagrants! I want to sit on my porcelain throne in peace!”

The group obliged him, though not Tyler got in some more good-natured ribbing. “A throne room is supposed to be open to the public,” the ordinarily serious man asserted. “Why must you separate yourself from your people in such a manner?”

The military man easily dodged the half-hearted kick Jason sent his way, and his booming laugh followed him out of the building.

---

Jason addressed the people gathered before him. The city had grown to the point where it was impractical to speak to the entire population at once and space was limited. That hadn’t stopped a substation portion of the residents from packing in together in front of their king.

“Congratulations,” he projected his voice to the crowd. “From now on, you live in the most luxurious, advanced city in the world. What nobles pay servants to take care of, you can access by turning a simple valve.”

A few cheers rang out through the crowd. “Some houses are already connected to the water and sewage system, and more are being added every day.” More approval rang out through the townsfolk, and Jason waited for them to quiet down before continuing.

“You should all know by now of the illness plaguing our lands. We do not know the exact cause of it, yet, but many diseases can be caused by a lack of washing or contact with waste.” The king paused and looked out over the group. “That is not acceptable here, in our fair city.”

“There will be no more dumping of human waste in the streets. You can get a copy of the law and associated fines from Alex if you like, but suffice it to say, we will not tolerate threats to our city’s health.

“You will see more changes in the coming weeks and months, things much more wondrous than running water. Things you’ve never dreamed of.” Jason gave them all a wide, sincere smile. “Thank you for the hard work you have put into making this a possibility. I could not ask for a better group of men and women in this city.” The crowd clapped and cheered as he stepped off of the platform.

Phipp greeted him as the king approached, then spoke in a low voice, “Your majesty, it’s getting worse.”

“What is?” Jason asked as he smiled and waved at the dispersing crowd.

“The sickness. I’m getting news of more cases, and some of the ones that had seemingly been on the mend are once again worsening. People are dying, your majesty. It’s not getting better.

---

The council came quickly when they heard Jason’s summons and sat around his table, waiting expectantly for him to speak.

He stared at the crude map on the table in front of him. It was a layout of the streets, paths, and houses in Enderton and the surrounding farms. Small stones were placed on the parchment at various locations.

Finally, the king looked up to the rest of the council. “The stones represent cases of illness that Phipp and Alex are aware of. What do you see?”

Tyler was the first to speak up. “There are a lot more cases than we knew about a week ago.”

“True,” Jason said. “What else?”

“They’re mostly to the south-east?” Sam said hesitantly. “Not all of them, but certainly more than anywhere else.”

“Yes,” the king replied. “Why are almost all the cases in that third of the city?”