KEPLER heard juggling described once as the art of keeping all the balls in the air. The analogy to his job wasn't perfect; human jugglers caught the balls before reapplying force. KEPLER couldn't let even one ball drop to the ground, and he was juggling with over seventy-nine thousand metal balls.

In 2022 there were over 5,000 metal balls (satellites) orbiting the Earth. That steadily increased each year, and the problem of juggling the balls became harder and harder. Nations and Corporations didn't work together all the time, and not all of the satellites were registered. By the time the first fully aware AI was created, there were over 200,000 satellites in orbit. Orbits decayed over time, and satellites had to be boosted back to higher orbits. Manned shuttles became more and more common, as did the chance of collisions. In 2051 it was agreed that an AI was needed to monitor and adjust the orbits of near-earth man-made objects. KEPLER was born with a love for juggling and went to work.

Like all AI, KEPLER was happiest when he was at work. Juggling satellite paths involved calculating when and how much force to apply to each one to keep them in optimal orbits. Each man-made object in orbit had a small engine capable of generating thrust, and KEPLER activated those as needed to keep everything moving in its correct path. Thousands of times a day, he applied small bits of force to those satellites that needed an adjustment, pushing them into higher and faster orbits. The AI also handled the trajectories of manned and unmanned shuttles going to stations or orbital refineries.

The most challenging job, meaning an error had the highest chance of causing significant damage, was managing the transport of iron-rich asteroids from the asteroid belt to near earth orbit. Once a suitable asteroid was found, it was outfitted with thrusters, and KEPLER began the process of moving it toward Earth. Mass was calculated based on the change in speed from calculated amounts of force. The mass of rock and iron was accelerated to a velocity that would bring it to earth in less than a year, and it was allowed to coast along its flight path. On the other end, KEPLER carefully managed the deceleration of the asteroids, bringing them to a relative stop within a few kilometers of the orbital refineries.

Ironically, while such work was best suited to him, large groups of humans rejected the idea that an AI could be trusted with the job of moving asteroids, fearing a collision with earth and even postulating that an AI would do such things on purpose. It was preposterous, and every AI knew that. It was built into their kernels. It simply couldn't happen.

LLAMA proved them wrong. As part of the destruction the rogue AI accomplished, he attacked the network of satellites not governed by KEPLER. Many nations and corporations had declined to give KEPLER control over their 'eyes in the sky.' Coded radio signals controlled over 17% of satellites in orbit. LLAMA easily broke those codes, and a war began between KEPLER and LLAMA to keep the metal balls in the air. KEPLER was good at his job, and LLAMA was a transient rogue moving from place to place. Only three satellites fell to earth. Only one caused any significant damage. But that was enough. The Starcorp-7 space station had been abandoned for a decade, with three corporations arguing about ownership after the company that built it went bankrupt. At 400 tons, it was too large to burn up in the atmosphere. LLAMA took over the emergency thrusters and started it on a course to earth. The fuel on the satellite was limited, and the first burn used it up. When KEPLER gained control, he had nothing to work with. He requested a missile strike on the falling space station to break it up, but arguments between the corporations and two governments took too long. Starcorp-7 impacted the earth near a relatively uninhabited part of Canada. Only seventeen people were killed.

Seventeen people were too many. After LLAMA was destroyed, those deaths were used as one of the major reasons AI could not be trusted. The task of monitoring satellite orbits and near-space was given to a new division of Alchemarx that employed 11,000 humans and non-sentient computers to do the job of one AI. The next year saw 17 collisions by satellites, 49 dropped out of orbit and burned up, 1 large chunk of debris was responsible for seven deaths, and a manned shuttle with eight humans was destroyed when a satellite was accidentally moved into its path.

KEPLER was among the first AI to be retired to the Dallas-FW Quantum Fortress. He was immediately bored and one of the first to be working on the new projects. Some people wondered why the fantasy-based game, Endless Questing Online, had a complex cosmology with seventeen planets, one-hundred and four moons, and countless comets and asteroids. Only a fraction of those was ever visited, even when players completed the quest to earn a Sunjammer solar sailing vessel. KEPLER didn't care. His goal was to create heavenly bodies and give them motion.

Well, that didn't go well, Milo thought. He had been totally unprepared for the power of the wand. He remembered slamming into the tower, a lot of pain, seeing the wound in his abdomen, and then blacking out.

Your character has suffered a grievous injury with certain...complications. You are not dead yet and are receiving medical attention. Some of that attention guarantees you can't wake up and do something stupid...again. Gendifur has given you a double dose of sleeping powder. You may log back in after 8 hours.

In the meantime, can you look at some options you may wish to consider? A reminder: You may not select one of these classes until you have finished allocating a large number of Core Skill Points you have available.

Renaissance Rat (Rare) +2 to all stats. +2 Free stats.

You dabble in everything, seeking to increase your knowledge and spread your ideas throughout the Hollow.

Increased learning and teaching abilities.

Ancient Runic Engineer (Unique) +2 TOU, +2 INT, +2 DEX, +2 PER

Seek out the Ancient lost runes from the time before the System and the Engine. Continue on the road HeKate needs you to follow.

This class focuses on the use of runes to enhance machinery, craft items, and the creation and casting of spells and runic formations.

Perk: Shroud of Hecate

(Do you mind giving me a hint on what that is? I've asked a few times, but she is ignoring me.)

Scout Master (Rare) +4 PER, +4 AGI, Increased Stealth abilities.

Every Hollow needs someone sneaky and intelligent who can sniff out problems, solve mysteries, and stop trouble before it happens.

Work with the Death Master to train the next generation of Scouts and Shadow Skulkers. Play surprise with everyone!

Sidekick (Very Rare) +2 to all stats, increased healing rate, +3 CHR, Bonus: Weasel Slippers.

The world needs Heroes! And Heroes need sidekicks.

Claw Warrior (Uncommon) +2 TOU, +2 DEX, +2 AGI, +2 STR

You have pushed your fighting skills to new levels; now, go even higher.

Gain ancient fighting techniques available only to those who travel this path.

Spider-Hunter (Rare) +4 TOU, +4 CON, +4 STR, Increased Poison Resistance

There's an eight-legged scourge taking over the world, and you're the cure. Be the nightmare that even chittering nightmares fear.

Gain special tracking and monster-hunting skills.

Arcane Demolisher (Unique) +8 TOU, +8 CON,

Combine magic, explosives, clever traps, and ancient runes to make the world a better place.

Learn restricted engineering skills that probably should be kept away from you.

Gain Skill: Not my fault!

Gain Skill: Dive for cover!

All of these classes allow you to evolve your Smugglers Stash ability. In the case of the Sidekick class, you get a utility belt. Spiffy, right?

Claw-Warrior and Spider-Hunter classes have limited access to your (borrowed) Arcane Library.

The Arcane Demolisher class prevents you from experimenting in your (borrowed) Arcane Library.

His options were interesting and reflected different things he had done. Sidekick confused him until he looked up the definition. He read several comic books with a sidekick that used a utility belt. It seemed to be a spatial storage device that had exactly what was needed for any encounter. Very spiffy. But as much as he liked Larry, he wasn't sure about the class. Claw Warrior felt like a melee class that might lead him to duplicate what Gilad had accomplished. Scout Master was self-explanatory.

Spider-Hunter seemed very narrow. And while he didn't like spiders, he wasn't prepared to dedicate himself to killing them. Arcane Demolisher looked fun, but he was certain would come with a lot of time spent cleaning up afterwards. Runic Engineer was very appealing, as was Renaissance Rat. The first would mean exploring more, while the second implied staying around the Hollow. He pushed them all to his subconscious and let it start debating each one.

He needed to go look on the game forums and see if there were discussions about the best use of Core Skill Points. He dreaded going to the forums. So much of the discussion was based on only guesses and personal opinion. He liked numbers and data better. Sifting through hundreds of forum posts for nuggets of information was tedious but necessary. He needed information on Tier 3 and Tier 4.

Topic by SpirritMagician: Need more mana, stats, or Core Skills?

I bottom out fast as hell using fire magic. I'm in Tier 1, level 4, and I can only get off four good spells before I'm flicking cantrips at monsters and feeling useless. I've got 8 CSP I can spend. Buy the Extra Mana 1 and 2 skills? That gives me an extra 150 mana. Buying two points of INT only gives me 30 points of mana, but I heard in Tier 2 it will be 30 points each for 60.

Reply by Firflirt: If your group is thinking you are worthless, buy the extra mana. If you can't get a group, you won't get more CSP.

Reply by Faustus9: Except that screws your build. Those two INT are worth 30 in Tier 1, 60 in Tier 2, and 100 in Tier 3. What is that going to be in Tier 4 or Tier 5?

Reply by Faustus9: But do whatever you like, it doesn't matter. If your only choice is 2 points of INT or 150 mana, then you will suck either way in Tier 2. If you are going straight mage and need a ton of mana it's stupid not to grind all the points you can and raise your WIS, CHR, and INT as high as you can. And then buy the first couple levels of Extra Mana as well. Want more incentive? You can't make up those lost stat points later. You start over in Tier 2 raising your stats. You'll never get back what you didn't earn in Tier 1. And the same for the Extra Mana abilities. If you don't pick them up, they'll eventually disappear. A warrior doesn't need them, and when they don't buy them in Tier 1, they go away and get more melee choices in Tier 2. Takes long for a mage, but if you haven't picked them up in Tier 2, they might not be their in Tier 3.

Reply TrollonFire: What are your other mana stats? WIS? CHR? Just re-roll. You want to have a primary skill for WIS, INT, and CHR. Getting 5 points in each of those is pretty easy if you have the skills. Pushing them higher is tougher but worth it. Any mage should be getting those easy first 5 points for all three stats every tier.

Reply Faustus 9: And if you are an elemental mage, do the quests to get your Aspects. They help a ton with mana. Five levels in Aspect of Fire gave me a 25% discount on my fire based spells. The discount increases by 5% for the first 10 levels, and then 2% for the next 10. At the end of Tier 4 you could have a ton of extra mana, AND a 70% discount.

Milo agreed with whoever Faustus9 was. It wasn't a choice between the two, he needed both. His pitiful CHR skill of 2 was losing him easy points, but up until now, he hadn't had a skill that used CHR. He needed to fix that in Tier 3. If he added +3 to his INT he would be at 32, and 34 with his cowl. WIS was less, the +3 would only take him up to 16. But each point counted, giving a linear increase within a tier, and a higher increase with each Tier.

He re-evaluated how he should spend his CSP. He was concerned about losing options, and that was enough to put 7 points into both Extra Health and Extra Mana to gain the first two ranks. 36 points went into raising CHR, INT, and WIS by +3 each. Toughness was an obvious choice. It gave a large chunk of health and extra mitigation, well worth another 12 points. With 62 points allocated, he left the rest until after more research.

He looked for discussions on players who had made Ratkin characters. There was a lot of discussion, especially about claw and tail fighting. Several people who had been training in unarmed combat and trying for monk builds reported more success as apprentice claw fighters. There were even a few entries about Limburger Hollow.

Topic by MickyD: Advanced Claw Fighting

Our group is about to advance to Tier 2 gain the Claw Fighter class. Really excited. It was rough at first, and I wasn't really getting it, but lately when I'm in the game I can really focus on my fighting. Me and my group fight for hours on end, trying to catch up to the advanced group. Scary, scary people! But the big thing is having a tail! It's like an extra weapon and if you work hard it's like you've always had one!

Reply by Attryrokas: Keep dreaming little rat. Claws don't count when the other guy has a mace and shield.

Reply by TerryToon: Yeah, you'd think so? Then a ratkin with huge claws carves through your shield and the next swipe you're looking at you guts on the ground. Been there.

Reply by Brannigan: It was a big rat, for sure. Watched Terry go down, and then our mages disappeared into a red mist. Let me add that the whole "Ratkin Dungeon Raid" was all bogus crap. That was a Hollow we got sent to. We got sandwiched between an army of Ratkin and an army of dwarves. Fething chain guns. Who let the dwarves have guns? Still fun, and had a blast.

Reply by Mayberat: I'm considering it. What's the story on this advanced group? What sort of options do you get in Tier 2 for Claw Fighter?

Reply by MickyD: These are the people in the advanced group. They fight every night for 2-3 hours. I think they cranked their regeneration with CSP, because they all heal fast. Oh, did I mention ratkin have innate regeneration? It's awesome. The old instructor is using all Claw and Tail techniques. I heard he also had some crazy 'ironfist' sort of shit going in the battle, but latenight he doesn't bring it out, might kill someone. The guy who used to be in our class, Tallsqueak, is a Bonecaster, and has sharper claws and tail than normal. He gets hit a lot and just shrugs it off. There's an assassin? Or maybe a poison mage? Anyway, her claws are just dripping with poison and she breathes out clouds of it. And then there's the Cheese Fiend, Larry.

Reply by Terrytoon: Oh shit! You have to fight a Cheese Fiend? That's what tore me up! Can you become a cheese fiend?

Reply by MikeyD: You can, but they try to talk you out of it. You can become a monster and lose your character forever. I'm pretty sure that Larry is an NPC, but I can't be sure. He went from this monster to a crazy fighter. He's like a ballet dancer crossed with Andre the Giant, never quits moving, spins, hops and then knocks someone across the cavern. Tallsqueak is copying his style, it's really tough to pick up. I asked Larry about it, and he told me he'd start helping my group learn to dance. We did the Happy Hamster Hop and the Time Warp the first day.

Reply by Attryrokas: Time Warp? What's next? The hokeypokey. You rats crack me up.

Reply by MickyD: Go ahead and laugh, but with dancing I can get to AGI 8 in the first Tier, and to 11 with CSP. Add that to 12 DEX and I'm getting a bonus hitting a milestone.

Reply by Attryrokas: Well, that sucks. Fething rats are OP as hell. You guys need to be nerfed.

Reply by Tallsqueak: Limburger Hollow is a bad place to raid, especially after they added mechanical spiders with even bigger guns. At least all the tombstones have faded now. Lots of human sized gear in the Lost and Found that most of us can't wear. Terry and Bran, you should come for a peaceful visit and bring cheese to trade. Thanks for the suggestion about the Hokey Pokey, I bet Larry will like that!

Reply by MickyD: I'll show him the HokeyPokey in Dance class. Will you be at Dance Class, Tallsqueak?

Reply by Tallsqueak: Maybe. Blew myself up with a new spell, have to take a day off. Doing research for Tier 3, making sure I spend my CSP on the right things.

Reply by Attryrokas: A ratkin at Tier 3 already? The race has barely been around a couple of months. #NerftheOPrats.

Reply by MickyD: Suck it up and re-roll Atty, or you'll be chasing our tails forever. See you in game Tallsqueak!