With James out of commission for the foreseeable future, there was bound to be a dip in the speed of developing technology within my world. Although we had long since caught up to the standard of technology James was used to, he was a naturally gifted inventor. It would be hard to replace him in the short term.

How long am I going to have to skip ahead this time, if I want to make up for this loss? I asked myself with furrowed brows, thinking back to my options. There were a few, to say the least. The simplest and most straightforward was, as I had considered, just fast forwarding until after James had finished his ‘recovery’. However, there was also the chance that his intensely negative karma would cause a catastrophe in the meantime.

I was doing all of this to avoid a catastrophe, so I wasn’t really all that keen on provoking one without cause. The other options were to find a way to speed up his recovery without another wave of negative karma destroying everything, or find someone capable of taking his place until his return.

For the former, I wasn’t familiar enough with the karma system to come up with a foolproof method of solving James’s problem. I still wasn’t even able to smite him and remake him as a Companion until Fyor’s advancement reached the floor his race was native to. If I tried to help him, I would only be making things worse in the long run.

Thus, it came down to a matter of finding someone that could fill the role until he returned. I was prepared to ask the High Mother for help, as the Metong were incredibly advanced and had access to technology that was well beyond that which James was capable of. In some fields, at least. However, when I remembered that, I also remembered another figure that had only just recently returned to the world.

The Head of Research for the Geer was someone who had once attempted to destroy Deckan for resources. Recently, when I was going back through important history notes that Terra had marked for me, I saw that he had been revived. Terra had even used her incarnation to threaten him not to cause trouble for our races again.

Still… he is someone that can casually create fourth-tier spell diagrams. As long as the threat he poses is neutralized, he could become a valuable asset. With that in mind, I sent a message to Tsubaki. Tsubaki, there’s someone that I want you to visit… I think that it will be most effective if you personally go.

Tsubaki stepped out of the gate that she had created, her feet touching an entirely metallic ground. Thick plumes of smoke rose throughout the skyline, numerous factories all hard at work pumping out cogs and mechanical limbs. Her nine tails swished happily behind her, glad that her Keeper had relied on her for this mission.

At the same time, she understood why it was required for her to be the one to do this. There were, in fact, two reasons. First of all, Tsubaki was the one that had originally killed the Head. In terms of intimidating the opposition, there was no better choice.

Secondly, her domains made her uniquely suited for this negotiation. Remember… I cannot mention James’s name, or there will be consequences. Tsubaki reminded herself of what her Keeper had told her, hands crossed in front of herself as she walked along. Nearby, she could see several clockwork entities watching her, hesitating, unsure if she was a friend or foe. She could even sense them communicating, broadcasting her position.

Tsubaki said nothing, simply walking through the factory city. Eventually, she felt the ground shaking beneath her, and heard the dense sound of colossal steps approaching. “What are you doing here, fox?” A booming voice asked, and Tsubaki turned to see a towering figure. From the large number of domains she sensed, she was sure that this was the Head.

Defying all logic, this entity had more than fifty domains scattered throughout its body, each limb acting as a remotely controlled entity rather than part of the same being. The true ‘core’ was the head itself. “I have come at the behest of my Keeper.” Tsubaki said calmly, turning to fully face this towering figure.

“I have no business with your Keeper.” The Head said in a grumbling tone, though Tsubaki merely watched him calmly.

“Perhaps not yet. However, should you continue to have business with my Keeper, there is a high likelihood that everything you are building here will be destroyed in the coming years.”

When she said that, the pressure released from the Head grew exponentially, though Tsubaki merely tilted her head. Regardless of his dozens of domains, he had too few people acknowledging his existence to build up a bulk of divine power. “You seek to threaten me, fox?!”

“Not in the slightest. This doom will not be by the Keeper’s hand.” Tsubaki kept that same, level tone as she spoke, one hand coming up to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Rather, there is a looming threat to this very world. Without your assistance, it is quite likely that all life in the universe will be destroyed. Including you and your recreation of your species.”

The giant golem glared down at Tsubaki. “And what is it that the oh-so-mighty Keeper wants from me that he sent his most trusted pet to deliver the message instead of coming to do so himself?”

Tsubaki’s brow twitched faintly, clearing her throat. “I am the Servant of my Keeper. And it is in this service that I offer you a piece of advice.” After she said that, light began to radiate from her body, crushing the adjacent buildings and shoving the giant golem to its knees. Her eyes had darkened, her expression fierce as she glared at the golem. “You may insult me however you wish. However, if you insult my Keeper, I will simply remove you again, and find an alternative for him. It would only take a thought for me to connect your divine circuits, triggering an eruption of power that can shatter this planet.”

Just as quickly as the pressure came, it faded away, and Tsubaki’s expression turned calm once more as her light faded.The Head was left to tremble, not detecting any falsehood in her words. Why is it that everyone that comes here threatens me?! He thought to himself helplessly.

“Now, as for the business, it is one that is mutually beneficial. In doing this, you will allow your name to spread among the population, garnering respect and faith that will be useful in increasing your power. All that my Keeper asks is that you aid in researching a specific field.”

The light in the golem’s eyes changed when he heard that. “You want me to… research?” He asked, as if thinking that he had heard wrongly. He had assumed that Tsubaki was here to ask him to build some superweapon to fight their supposed adversary. Research was already the Head’s passion, the purpose of his creation.

“That is correct. Your field of research will be defending the realm border from void incursion. If you agree, I will use my power to grant you all the necessary tools and capabilities.”

Looking at Tsubaki’s calm face, the Head didn’t quite know how to answer. “What are the odds of the world’s destruction, should I refuse?”

“For races that are welcomed on the primary planets, there is a projected ninety-eight percent chance that they will be able to evacuate enough people in time before the invasion. Additionally, the primary planets are given an additional layer of shielding from void incursion, which will weaken the power of any monster seeking to attack them.”

“However, for this race which is currently neither welcomed on a primary planet, nor possesses the additional layer of shielding… there is an almost one hundred percent chance that you will lose the vast majority of your population. The chance that your people will be entirely annihilated is as high as seventy percent.”

There was a sound of grinding gears from the golem’s body. “And if I agree?”

“That depends on your contributions. Should the defenses be raised high enough to completely protect the world from void incursion, there will naturally be no lingering threat to you or your people.”

After a long moment’s pause, the Head slowly rose back to his feet. “Very well… then, I shall accept this request on behalf of the Geer.”

Tsubaki nodded her head, as if this conclusion was inevitable. “In that case, there is only one thing left to do.” After she said that, her divinity surged again, though this time it was not in the form of a pressure. “I offer you a contract of service. Should you agree, you will have access to all of this world’s knowledge for the purpose of defending against the void. In return, you will assist in the development of technologies for the allied worlds.”

As she spoke, silver lights began to flow out of her body, forming a large scroll-like contract that hovered in front of the golem. “Should you attempt to willingly use this knowledge and the developed technologies to harm the allied worlds and their inhabitants, outside of defense of yourself and your kin, your core program and all stored copies will be forfeit. These are the terms, with your divinity as the seal.”

The Head’s eye flashed, a powerful detection spell sweeping over the contract. It took only a few seconds for him to analyze its purpose. Should he infuse it with his divinity, it would form a binding pact. With this, he would immediately gain access to the internet that the allied worlds used, and have full authorization to access detailed records for their research. But, as she said, if he attempted to harm them… there was a dark power within the contract, one that he fully believed capable of wiping his program.

Thankfully, he did not detect any hidden clauses or secret traps. Everything was exactly as Tsubaki had described. Remembering that he was already being threatened not to harm the allied worlds, this contract did not truly pose any additional risks to him. As such, he stretched out one giant hand, infusing his divinity into the contract.

As he did, something clicked in his mind, a new connection forming that broke through the constraints of space. At a guess, this seemed to be a shielded void tunnel, allowing him to directly access the network. When he had recovered from his shock, he looked down to find that Tsubaki had already left.

“Welcome back.” I smiled as I saw Tsubaki walking into the living room, carrying a large bowl of popcorn in her hand. One of her avatars must have informed her that we were sitting down to watch one of the many movies that we missed the release of over the last couple skips. “How did it go with the Head?”

Tsubaki offered a warm smile as she nodded her head, moving over to sit next to me on the couch. “As you expected, he signed the contract without any complications. I believe that he will begin working immediately.”

“You didn’t mention you-know-who, right?” I asked in concern, causing Tsubaki to shake her head.

“As you said, my Keeper. Doing so would only cause unnecessary harm. Thus, I relayed the facts to him as they were needed, and allowed him to make an informed decision.” Her smile grew even wider, leaning over slightly as she offered me the bowl.

Realizing what she wanted, I chuckled, bringing my head up to lightly pat between her kitsune ears. Her body shuddered briefly, eyes going closed. Sitting on the other side of her, Dana snickered and shook her head. “The movie’s about to start, you two. Let’s not make it another twenty years before we’re able to see a new one.”

I rolled my eyes, bringing my hand down to hold the bowl. Tsubaki looked at Dana with a faint pout, but straightened her posture now that she had received her ‘reward’ for her mission.