THE MOMENT
"Wow...," Jubilee was already enjoying the company, but the getting a good look at the city during the day was breathtaking. She'd only been there for a couple of days and had only really gone out at night. The nightlife in Williams Hub was nothing less than she would've expected from a multiversal hotspot, but it was all geared toward adults.
The first couple of nights that she tried exploring the city on her own, she was genuinely surprised that there were so few teenagers her age. But now, it all made sense; the kids ruled the daylight hours. Towering glass buildings reflected the perfect blue sky, and swarms of pedestrians flowed in all directions. Games were happening all around them as teenagers skated by launching spells and attacks at each other.
"So, where do you want to start?" Dread asked. Dirge and Dread were two teammates who volunteered to show Jubilee around, and she was thrilled. She'd grown up with the two of them treating her like a favorite niece, and she was curious what they were like as teenagers.
"Lunch first? Is Donna Chang's here?" Jubilee asked. "Should we ask the others?"
"Lunch is a good start," Dread nodded.
"Just us though," Dirge shook her head. "Bijou is working on something for Ms. Sharp, Bailey is visiting her dad, and Britt is Britt," she giggled.
"Alright," Jubilee nodded. She let Dread lead the way and started rolling to follow them. Like everyone else, they were wearing their skates and gliding along the white track that connected the hub.
"What else can you tell me about Williams Hub?" Jubilee asked. She was idly curious and wanted to talk with them some more. "Is it all nanos?" she asked.
"Yep, the entire city is an AlterNet shard," Dirge answered.
“Just the city, though. The rest of Earth is still natural and nano-free,” Dread added.
“Really?” Jubilee was genuinely surprised. She wasn't as talented with nanos as her dad, but she knew of the basics. “Why? That seems like more trouble than just converting the Earth.” Nanos became more efficient exponentially. The more of them there were, the easier they processed things.
“You'll have to ask Bijou if you want the details,” Dirge shrugged. “Captains got all the details, we weren't curious enough to ask,” she said.
“But still, that's a ton of processing. Who's doing it, Helios?”
“Yeah, what?” A golden mannequin in a crimson blazer appeared on the shop window as the trio walked by.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to call you,” Jubilee shook her head with a giggle. “But, since you’re here, I’m curious. How are you coordinating Williams Hub without an Earth full of nanos?”
“Very shoddily…,” Helios gave a stern nod, as if he were a detective solving an elaborate case. “The people of this Earth have fortunately decided to stop powering down their computers. It’s not much, but I can squeeze out a few spare cycles here and there to help things along. Can I leave now?” he asked.
“Wait,” Jubilee nodded even as she asked him to wait. “One more question, how’d you get everyone to agree to that?” she asked. Even if something were to be considered objectively good for humanity, they were still humans who liked to have independent thoughts.
“Get them to agree??” Helios laughed and shook his head. “The Pineapple Cup is too important to wait around for that. Ms. Sharp had Oren put everyone on the same page.”
“Why Oren?” Jubilee asked. Sharp Development had several employees that could have convinced everyone on Earth with a mild mental nudge. It felt odd that Oren was chosen.
“Like I said, we didn’t have time to waste. Oren wasn’t going to waste time with a delicate touch, and that was exactly what we needed. One moment to the next, everyone on Earth suddenly decided to leave their computers on. NOW can I go?”
“Thank you, Helios,” Jubilee nodded, and he disappeared from the window. “Sorry,” she turned and apologized to Dirge and Dread who’d been patient.
“Nah, curiosity’s a good thing,” Dread grinned and continued forward toward the restaurant.